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New Delhi: The advertisement is over a year old, but internet has a long memory and a short temper.
As Ganesh Chaturthi fever gripped parts of the country over the weekend, a section of Hindus were also taking a break from the euphoria to lead a #BoycottRedLabel movement on Twitter — the tea, not the alcohol.
A seemingly innocuous advertisement of the beverage, released in September 2018, was retrieved from the archives of the world wide web to give parent company Hindustan Unilever (HUL) a hard time.
The ad shows a Hindu man approaching a Ganpati idol-maker to take home a murti of Bappa for the first time. The elderly idol-maker offers parcels of knowledge about Hindu traditions and tales to his customer, leaving the man suitably impressed. But then, because it’s time for his namaaz, the idol-maker puts on a skull cap, revealing his Muslim identity. The Hindu buyer is surprised, feels betrayed and disappointed.
“I have some work today, I’ll come back tomorrow,” he says, excusing himself from the interaction.
The idol-maker asks him to at least stay for (Red Label) tea. Facilitated by a glass of chai, the Hindu man’s bigotry disappears when the Muslim man explains why he does what he does: “Bhaijaan, yeh bhi toh ibadat hai” (Brother, this is also worship).
The last frame reads, “Inspired by a true story.”
Victim complex
For many Hindus on the internet, HUL’s campaign was more about showing their community as bigoted and exclusionary than about fostering a sense of secular harmony among people.
“Very easy to pick on Hindus,” user indy_jones3 wrote, while internet-famous Payal Rohatgi (with “Ram Ram ji. Can anyone in this advertising world make an advertisement preaching Muslims in India to not slaughter animals on Eid,”) also joined the chorus.
Some users even made placards asking others to “Boycott Red Label who insult Hindus on Ganesh Chaturthi.”
At the foundation of this outrage was a sense that Hindus, who constitute nearly 80 per cent of India’s population as of 2011 census, were the victims of selective targeting.
https://twitter.com/ynitesh466/status/1168183868563906560
This isn’t even the first time that Red Label, let alone HUL, has been at the receiving end of the Hindu population’s ire at the perceived threat to their cultural pre-eminence. Earlier this year, the tea brand was under fire for depicting a Hindu man deliberately losing his elderly father in the chaotic crowds on the Kumbh Mela, only to change his mind and return with a cup of Red Label tea.
“#RedLabel encourages us to hold the hands of those who made us who we are. Watch the heart-warming video; an eye-opener to a harsh reality,” the brand’s tweet read.
.@RedLabelChai encourages us to hold the hands of those who made us who we are. Watch the heart-warming video #ApnoKoApnao pic.twitter.com/P3mZCsltmt — Hindustan Unilever (@HUL_News) March 7, 2019
Hindu nationalists fought vociferously against what they saw as an affront to their values and their holy festival — #BoycottHindustanUnilever trended on Twitter, with calls to avoid all HUL products, including the completely unrelated Vaseline and Dove.
You deleted this.. But we won't forget or forgive… Time to say No to Unilever products and yes to Indian brands… My fav is Patanjali pic.twitter.com/NYQSy55za0 — नंदिता ठाकुर (@nanditathhakur) March 7, 2019
Yoga guru and owner of Patanjali products Baba Ramdev capitalised on this opportunity, comparing HUL to the East India Company, which had laid the foundations for British colonialism in India.
From East India Co to @HUL_News that’s their true character. Their only agenda is to make the country poor economically & ideologically. Why shld we not boycott them? For them everything, every emotion is just a commodity. For us parents are next to Gods #BoycottHindustanUnilever https://t.co/suozbymLBI — स्वामी रामदेव (@yogrishiramdev) March 7, 2019
What HUL wanted to highlight in their ad isn’t a work of marketing fiction — old parents are often purposely abandoned at Kumbh Melas, and have to make their way to the volunteer-run lost-and-found camps on site.
And the fact that discrimination against minority communities is on the rise is also well recorded — hate crimes were reported against Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis just days into BJP’s second term.
Incidents of communal violence have also risen by 28 per cent between 2014 and 2017 – marked particularly by increasing cow vigilantism and the use of hateful as well as divisive rhetoric by high-ranking politicians.
When Surf Excel’s Holi ad portrayed a girl protecting her Muslim friend from the onslaught of colours and water so that he could reach the mosque to offer his namaaz in white clothes, worried Hindus cried out ‘Love Jihad.’
They poured HUL’s Surf Excel down the toilet, demanding an apology for the advertisement that preached the ‘offensive’ idea of inclusivity.
Dear HUL, holi is a festival of joy and love. Colour make lives joyful.
Holi colour is not dhaag – black spot, pl. note.
You started, we will end it, if don't apologise. pic.twitter.com/stOrSI2Hxu — DharmaRakshak (@oldhandhyd) March 11, 2019
pic 1 secularism want ( love jihad )
pic 2 hindu want ( reversed love jihad )#boycottSurfexcel #BoycottHindustanUnilever pic.twitter.com/epo3dQTLjH — हिंदुपुत्र तुषार दळवी (@Tushardalvi97) March 10, 2019
Also read: Indians are Netflixing religion to match kundlis, find jobs, get a Green Card
The power of #
It’s not just about online posturing, though. The unfortunate truth is that the hashtag outrage of thousands of Hindus does come at a cost for those at the receiving end. Online anger has been mobilised into mob murders and lynchings over fake WhatsApp rumours of child kidnappings.
And brands know only too well the impact of a call to boycott them or their products.
In 2017, an online campaign demanding the boycott of Amazon for selling toilet seat covers with pictures of Hindu gods on its US website resulted in a police case. The Sector 58 police station in Noida had registered an FIR against the e-commerce giant for “hurting Hindu sentiments” under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code — promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc and performing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony.
Amazon promptly removed the products from its website, just as they would, a year later, remove a tweet endorsing outspoken Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker.
In 2018, Bhasker had dared to hold a #JusticeForAasifa placard on Twitter, pushing hurt Hindus to call for a #BoycottAmazon campaign.
Many online protectors of India took offence to her and other actors’ anger over the horrific Kathua rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl, while members of the Right-wing Hindu Ekta Manch — with a BJP leader in front — had waved the tricolour in support of the accused in Srinagar.
Ask @JeffBezos why is marketing team at @amazonIN knowingly razing Amazon's brand, in India, to ground by associating itself with hinduphobic @ReallySwara ? If team at @amazonIN is so insensitive to Hindu sentiments, then let there be #BoycottAmazon — Aham Brahmasmi!!! (@Sanity_3) April 19, 2018
What the hell is this Amazon? (@AmazonHelp, @amazon) How many times you will hurt the sentiments of Hindus? Why do you do this every year, every time? Till when will this continue? Will it ever stop? pic.twitter.com/XuwlHHu4qY — Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) May 16, 2019
“There’s an organised set of trolls tracking what I do and say,” Bhasker had told ThePrint in May, adding that “I’m too far down that path now, I’ve crossed that bridge”.
After the actor started campaigning for Kanhaiya Kumar and other “candidates from secular platforms,” during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, she had said, “I’ve lost four more brands.”
Despite their hard-lining Hindu(tva) stance, the pious packs of online trolls don’t discriminate when it comes to the kinds of brands they boycott and urge others to. With fashion, online shopping, food, detergent and tea now out of bounds, apparently, one can only wonder what a true Hindu is actually allowed to use anymore.
Most recently, the trolls even declared they were ready to stop eating halal meat of McDonald’s, which only broke a profit in 2018 after 22 years in India.
Unorginally, #BoycottMcDonalds flooded the internet, with hungry Hindus, like user @HasdaaPunjab asking the chain to “Go To Hell,” along with the thinly veiled threat of “If you not want to end up like ZOMATO, ensure that JHATKA MEAT is served.”
Go To Hell, then. We Hindus only have JHATKA MEAT, Will educate others as well to not have any Non Veg Food From your chain. If you not want to end up like ZOMATO, ensure that JHATKA MEAT is served. Else, embrace for Financial Loss. https://t.co/ySGeo7Cxec — ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (@HasdaaPunjab) August 23, 2019
Why don't you open separate outlets for discerning 0.1% peaceful clientele in each city ? Let's see if you can keep this open even for a day…why you expect majority of your clients to suffer halal? — ravinder.k.malhotra🇮🇳 (@marquee58) August 23, 2019
In late July, when a customer whose Twitter handle was @NaMo_SARKAAR (now deleted), refused to take an order from a Muslim man, Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal had said that his company “wasn’t sorry to lose any business that comes in the way of our values”.
Just cancelled an order on @ZomatoIN they allocated a non hindu rider for my food they said they can’t change rider and can’t refund on cancellation I said you can’t force me to take a delivery I don’t want don’t refund just cancel
— पं अमित शुक्ल (@NaMo_SARKAAR) July 30, 2019
We are proud of the idea of India – and the diversity of our esteemed customers and partners. We aren’t sorry to lose any business that comes in the way of our values. 🇮🇳 https://t.co/cgSIW2ow9B — Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) July 31, 2019
Overnight, more than 5,866 one-star ratings hit the Zomato app, with over 100K tweets of #BoycottZomato and #ZomatoUninstalled surging on Twitter.
Patriotism is blind, especially when conflated with religious identity
If, as the Hindu majority claims, it is being unfairly attacked and underserved, then being a minority should logically be a good thing. And yet, the same Hindus who rally against minority appeasement are also fearful of becoming a minority in their own country.
A series of false equivalences, like Bhasker using the word ‘Hindustan’ on her placard must mean she is against all Hindus, is also a significant trope in Hindu trolling.
The logic doesn’t need to stick, as long as enough people get behind it.
When Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel was accused of saying that he didn’t want to expand to “poor nations” like India and Spain, the internet backlash was so strong that it carried those who didn’t even bother to read the app’s name.
#BoycottSnapchat may have been trending, but those blind with rage accidentally uninstalled Indian e-commerce app Snapdeal instead.
If things weren’t already complicated enough, Snapdeal had already dealt with a similar controversy of its own before this — brand ambassador Aamir Khan’s statement that “India was intolerant” had pushed customers to respond with…intolerance. They asked for the company to fire him.
Names don’t even have to be similar for trolls to misdirect their wagging finger. In August 2016, a cartoon carrying Myntra’s logo, which had showed Krishna ordering a sari for Draupadi from the online fashion retailer went viral.
Soon, people starting uninstalling Flipkart-owned Myntra, as the Quartz reports, “for an ad it didn’t even make”.
We did not create this artwork nor do we endorse this. https://t.co/EWyWUEsky5 — Myntra (@myntra) August 26, 2016
These hashtag revolutions might seem like trivial politics of distraction, but they have the power to affect actual change and not just for those directly involved.
#MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter are some examples of effective online mobilisation for social justice. But for some, they are used to promote only one idea of equality — in which they are at the top of the food chain.
Also read: ‘I don’t f**k fascists’: How politics is shaping the dating lives of Indians on Tinder, Hinge
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The track is set to start as the week's top-selling & most-streamed song.
Kendrick Lamar's "Humble" is set to blast onto next week's Billboard Hot 100 (dated April 22) in the top five and perhaps pose a challenge to the chart's current No. 1, Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You," which has reigned for 10 weeks so far.
Following its first full week of activity, industry forecasters suggest that "Humble" could sell more than 125,000 downloads in the week ending April 6. When finalized streaming (likely in the range of 40-50 million U.S. streams in the tracking week ending April 6), propelled by the track's official video, and radio airplay (10-15 million in all-format audience in the week ending April 9) are added to the mix -- as the Hot 100 blends U.S. streaming, airplay and sales data -- the track should start in the top five on the April 22-dated tally.
"Humble" should arrive as the top-selling and most-streamed song of the week, while Sheeran's "Shape" should remain the week's most-heard song on radio. Per current data and projections, Sheeran's wide lead in airplay could offset Lamar's leads in sales and streams, keeping "Shape" at No. 1 on the Hot 100.
Highlights of next week's Hot 100 will post on Billboard.com on Monday (April 10), with all charts updating online Tuesday, as always.
With the expected lofty launch for "Humble" on the Hot 100, Lamar will land his first top 10 as a lead artist, following three top 10s in featured roles. A$AP Rocky's "F**kin Problems," featuring Drake, 2 Chainz and Lamar, hit No. 8 in 2013; Taylor Swift's Lamar-assisted "Bad Blood" topped the June 6, 2015-dated Hot 100; and Lamar recently rose to No. 6 as a guest on Maroon 5's "Don't Wanna Know."
"Humble" introduces Lamar's new LP, which may be called simply ALBUM, expected next Friday, April 14. | {
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Luka Doncic just won the EuroLeague championship for Real Madrid, and at 19 years old he became the youngest player to win the Final Four MVP and EuroLeague MVP. He has yet to announce if he'll be coming over from Europe to the NBA, but the assumption is that he will be in the playing in the States next season.
After dominating the game in Europe, he has the chance to go No. 1 overall and become the first European to be taken that high since Andrea Bargnani in 2006. Our Gary Parrish has him going No. 2 to the Kings in his latest mock draft following the combine in Chicago. However, if he isn't taken No. 1 overall then there's a chance he'll fall a few picks. According to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, the Kings and Hawks, owners of the No. 2 and 3 overall picks respectively, are expected to target American frontcourt players.
Doncic's next destination was a focal point on many a conversation over the course of the weekend. It still remains to be seen which NBA team will elect to draft him. The growing consensus among NBA decision makers in attendance at Stark Arena in Belgrade is that the teams drafting behind the Phoenix Suns at No. 1, the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks, are likely to pass on European prodigy in favor of American frontcourt players. The question remains whether a team will trade up into the top three to snag Doncic, or if he will fall to the No. 4 (Memphis) or even the No. 5 pick (Dallas), after being heavily scouted in the Euroleague playoffs against Panathinaikos, and mostly struggling.
Doncic is arguably the best prospect to ever come out of Europe, but critics of his are hesitant to prop him up because of questions about his athleticism and he doesn't have elite athleticism when compared to top college prospects. The Kings and Hawks might choose to pass on the point guard due to their reported desire for a frontcourt player.
It would be shocking to see a prospect as highly regarded as Doncic fall out of the top five picks of the draft, but crazier things have happened before. It all depends on what the teams at the top value and what they're looking for. | {
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There's no denying that Guitar Hero and Rock Band were extremely popular videos games. But one question always seemed to arise during those marathon gaming sessions: Why spend countless hours learning how to play a fake guitar when you could spend that time learning to play an actual guitar?
The answer was obvious. Learning to play video game guitar is less tedious, less demanding and rewarded with immediate feedback and instant gratification. Basically, it is easier and thus more fun. You just fire up the game, and within minutes, you're playing songs you've heard on the radio. With actual guitar playing, it could take months to get to that point.
SEE ALSO: How an Electric Guitar Actually Works
Software developers have been trying to reconcile this conundrum for years, and their work is beginning to bear fruit. Several new products have launched recently that attempt to gamify guitar lessons by providing immediate feedback, gradually increasing levels of difficulty and constructing a manageable learning curve.
So dust off that old guitar that's been sitting in your closet for years, because here's a list of seven games and apps that will help you learn to play.
This $20 mobile app for iPhone and iPad is one of the earliest attempts to gamify guitar playing. It first launched in December 2010. The app senses pitch to determine if you're playing the right note.
Rock Prodigy features more than 150 lessons for players of various skill levels. It automatically tracks your results and progress. There is also a library of nearly 100 songs (possibly the best song library since The Beatles: Rock Band); and for each song, a global leaderboard lists the 10 best scores of all time.
GuitarBots works similarly to RockProdigy. It gives immediate feedback, scaled lessons and the opportunity to play songs. Rather than operating as a mobile app, however, GuitarBots works through your web browser. If your computer has a built-in microphone, you're good to go.
You can try GuitarBots free for five minutes each day, but you'll have to pony up $9.99 each month for unlimited access. It's a relatively low price if you think about how expensive private music lessons can be.
Though GuitarBots is a recent release, its developer, Ovelin, has been in the guitar gamification business since 2011 when it released Wildchords. While Wildchords was meant strictly for beginners, GuitarBots offers challenges for players of all levels. Check out the video below to see the app in action.
In late 2011, Rocksmith brought gamified guitar learning back to the gaming console. Ubisoft originally released the game for XBox 360 and PlayStation 3. A Windows version launched in October 2012. The game comes with a cable that allows you to connect an electric guitar, since consoles don't have built-in microphones.
The game itself features mini-game challenges and songs to play. It self-adapts to how you are playing, giving you an appropriate level of difficulty. A cool feature of Rocksmith is that you can also use it to learn bass.
BandFuse is another console video game expected to launch for XBox 360 and PS3 in the coming months. According to the game's website, it will initially include a Guitar Hero-esq career mode, featuring a list of pop rock hits from throughout the years.
The site makes no mention of lessons or instructional games. It seems like BandFuse will follow the Guitar Hero and Rock Band molds, focusing mainly on song-play. It will also include a multiplayer mode in which up to four players can make original music in real time.
In June 2012, gTar concluded a successful KickStarter campaign, more than tripling its $100,000 goal. It is a uniquely designed product — a guitar body literally powered by an iPhone.
Lights illuminate on the gTar's fretboard, telling you which notes you should be playing. The iPhone's speaker works as an amplifier. Like the others, it has something to offer for players of all levels.
SEE ALSO: iPhone-Powered gTar Teaches You How to Play the Guitar [VIDEO]
Incident, the company that developed gTar, is currently taking preorders for $399. The product is expected to ship within the next few months.
YouTab does not fit the gamified theme of the previous list entries, but it is still a fun way to pick up a few new guitar tricks. Once you've already learned to play a bit, YouTab is a next-level tablature web app that will help you increase your repertoire of songs.
For those who don't know, a guitar tablature is kind of like sheet music for dummies. You don't need to know how to read music to understand a tablature.
YouTab combines videos (but mostly just the audio track) with a moving tab for a better learning experience. It helps you determine exactly when to change from one chord to another, and which frets you should be holding on each of the strings at all times.
SoundSlice is a lot like YouTab; in fact, the concept is nearly identical. Both offer ways to combine YouTube videos with tablature. The main difference is the user interface.
YouTab currently has more songs available, and it's easier to navigate. Soundslice has a very smooth way to annotate songs, which makes it better for those who record instructional videos. It allows for multiple parts, so one song could feature a tablature for both the rhythm and lead tracks.
SEE ALSO: Soundslice Will Revolutionize How Guitarists Learn From YouTube
Both sites definitely have something to offer over general tablature sites, but they need more content. Song selection is quite limited on each.
Images courtesy of Flickr, "Dmitri" Beljan, Rock Prodigy, gTar, YouTab and Soundslice
BONUS: 10 Movie Stars With Surprising Musical Talents | {
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FORT WAYNE, Ind. | South Dakota wrapped up its second straight Summit League women's basketball title after downing Fort Wayne 90-63 in a conference game at Gates Sports Center here Thursday.
The Coyotes jumped to a 23-5 lead after one quarter and never trailed, shooting 61.2 percent from the field (30 of 49) and 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc (6 of 12).
Tia Hemiller scored 14 points to lead South Dakota while Nicole Seekamp had 11 and Kate Liveringhouse 10.
The Coyotes (23-5 overall, 14-1 Summit) have one more loop game at IUPUI on Saturday before competing in the Summit League tournament and an automatic NCAA tournament berth starting March 5.
Kamilah Carter scored a game-high 21 points for the Mastadons (6-22 overall, 2-13 Summit).
SOUTH DAKOTA (90)
Tia Hemiller 6-6 0-0 14, Kelly Stewart 1-4 2-2 5, Margaret McCloud 3-5 0-0 6, Caitlin Duffy 2-3 4-4 9, Nicole Seekamp 4-9 3-4 11, Jasmine Trimboli 1-2 2-4 4, Allison Arens 0-0 0-0 0, Jaycee Bradley 2-4 0-0 5, Bridget Arens 2-2 5-6 9, Madeline Homoly 1-3 2-2 4, Kate Liveringhouse 4-5 2-3 10, Heidi Hoff 2-4 0-0 5, Abigail Fogg 2-3 4-4 8. Totals 30-49 24-29 90
FORT WAYNE (63) | {
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Central Asia’s glaciers make up the third-largest mass of frozen fresh water on earth, the planet’s “third pole.” The region’s “thousands of glaciers and regular snow melt form the headwaters for 10 of Asia’s biggest rivers, which bring drinking water, power and irrigation directly to 210 million people, while these river basins indirectly support more than 1.3 billion people,” according to the World Wildlife Fund. That resource is now doubling as a hazard, with glaciers skipping the melting process altogether to rupture and flood in a region that has warmed at twice the global rate of climate change.
Last week, a glacier in northeastern Afghanistan burst and flooded the Panjshir River basin, killing at least ten people. The floodwater triggered landslides as it carved through the valley and damaged 56 houses, washed out two bridges, wrecked a highway, broke an irrigation canal, and swamped farmland, according to an internal report from the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) , an intergovernmental agency based in Nepal. That same week, a glacier in western China released 35 million cubic meters—or 14,000 Olympic swimming pools—of fresh water into the Yarkant River basin, prompting evacuations, Greenpeace East Asia reported. Both disasters struck in places that are not traditionally at risk for glacial outbreak floods, but catastrophes like these seemed poised to become the new normal.
As glaciers heat up, meltwater can pool into lakes at their feet. The resulting glacial lakes sit behind walls of ice and debris collected by the glacier’s downhill slide called terminal moraines. Think of these as natural dams. But those dams can break due to any number of environmental triggers, including rainfall. In the Panjshir flood, an icecap melted, reportedly triggering a small landslide, which then in turn caused a glacial flood.
Glacial lakes are more likely to form if the glaciers they are under intense heat, which is now very common amid global deglaciation. Different altitudes of the Yarkant River Basin have warmed between 2°C and 3.5°C since 1961, according to data that Greenpeace East Asia collected from the Taxkorgan and Shache meteorological stations in west China.
These kinds of floods are increasing in frequency and tend to occur at lower altitudes, where glaciers often sit closer to civilization, said Arun Shrestha, the regional program manager for river basins and cryosphere at ICIMOD.
In the Yarkant River basin, glacial outbursts have increased markedly since 1980s, research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences shows. In the Yarkant River basin, glacial outburst floods have become far more common since the 1990s. And before last week’s Panjshir flood, Shrestha told me, ICIMOD didn’t even consider glacial outbreak flooding a big issue in Afghanistan. Historically, glacial outbreak floods were normally isolated to high-altitude glaciers. But that’s no longer the case.
“In the eastern Himalayas, the glaciers are quite high up. In the western Himalayas and Karkoram [a mountain range in Northwest India and Pakistan], the glaciers are quite low and quite close to the villages. So, outbursts are very dangerous,” said Shrestha.
ICIMOD is now setting the groundwork for the tricky process of mapping and assessing Afghanistan’s glaciers for hazards. Because of the vast number and immense isolation of glaciers, most of the analysis needs to be done by locals trained in the proper methodology and assisted by remote sensing. The Hindu Kush mountain range in Afghanistan contains more than 3,000 glaciers and China has more than 40,000. To the north, climate change’s impact on the glaciers of Central Asia’s Tien Shan mountains, which stretch from Kyrgyzstan to China, also remains poorly understood. The vast size and complex landscapes of the Central Asian region defy generalization. Information on the conditions that lead to glacial outbreak floods, or even the solutions that mitigate the damage, do not easily translate from ecoregion to ecoregion.
But the stakes of understanding these landscapes are now immense. Glacial outburst floods are geomorphic events—catastrophes by definition. And as bad as the floods are, they aren’t the only consequence of climate change on the third pole. A warmer world means less snow and more rain during winter, and quicker glacial melt in spring. Earlier melts and runoff through winter and spring could cause less fresh water resources when demand is highest, in summer and fall.
“We have seen a lot of cases in the Karakorum and western Himalayas where people are already having problems getting enough fresh water to irrigate their farmlands,” said Shrestha. “In that area, the only source of water is glacial melt. Without any irrigation, they will not have any agriculture.”
In Pakistan, Shrestha said, farmers have turned to innovative means of supplying fresh water for irrigation, namely solar-powered pumps and hydraulic ram pumps, which pump without electricity or diesel by capitalizing on water pressure to convey water through the irrigation system.
That’s not enough, said Liu Junyan, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace East Asia, who added in a statement that monitoring of glacial hazards should be strengthened, climate projection modeling needs to be enhanced, and hydraulic engineering that could mitigate flood damage needs to be constructed.
But the mountainous terrain of Central Asia presents a political problem as well as a glacial flooding risk. The mountain ranges themselves are often borders. Funding, innovation, communication, and policies jigsaw unevenly over the region. Shrestha works in Kathmandu, Nepal. But when we spoke, he was in Delhi, India, struggling to work his way through the various hoops of securing a visa into Afghanistan. Once there, his work will require different strategies for different communities in different places. But when asked which problem is more urgent—the flooding or the droughts, which now disturbingly come hand-in-hand—Shrestha balked at the question. | {
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how the fuck do you know he had one job?
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Filming has begun on the remake of the iconic German expressionist horror film “Nosferatu” with Doug Jones starring in the title role.
F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent film is considered the first true vampire film ever made. It follows a young woman’s supernatural quest to not only save her true love’s soul, but in fact the entire world from the shadow of infernal darkness.
Director David Lee Fisher (“The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”) is creating a remix of the original film with a mixture of live-action combined with colorized digital backgrounds recreated from the original film.
The film, shot in 1921, was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” with names changed because the studio could not obtain the rights to the novel.
Jones has played such characters as Abe Sapien in the two “Hellboy” movies, the Pale Man from “Pan’s Labyrinth” and the Silver Surfer in “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.”
Other cast members include British actor Emrhys Cooper (“Mamma Mia”), Joely Fisher (“Ellen”), Sarah Carter (“Falling Skies”) and Jack Turner.
BeamScreen Productions is the production company. Producers are Paula Elins, Derek Zemrak and Leonard Pirkle. | {
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The Port Coquitlam couple who lost a series of court cases over a dispute around parking spaces at their condo, have been forcibly evicted from their home, and the locks to the unit changed.
RCMP escorted Cheng-Fu Bea from his home of 17 years under a court order issued last month that ruled the Beas must sell.
"The lawyer used the RCMP to force me out of my unit. It's abuse," said a visibly distressed Bea. "Where can I go? I have no place to go."
Cheng-Fu Bea was evicted from his Port Coquitlam home after a court battle over parking spaces. (CBC)
"Today we are here to keep the peace," Cpl. Jamie Chung of Coquitlam RCMP said. "Our first priority is to make sure everyone is safe. And make sure both parties are following the court order."
The court order came after a six-year battle between the Beas and their strata council, prompted by the council's 2006 decision to change their bylaws and limit visitor parking spaces to visitors only.
After the strata fined Bea for continuing to park in the visitor spot, he took the strata to court, representing himself in 50 court appearances before 28 different judges.
"It's been six years of an ongoing dispute," said strata member, Carlyne Jimenez. "He keeps taking us to court and filing one petition after another. And I mean we have had enough. All the owners have had enough."
Coquitlam RCMP evicted Cheng-Fu Bea Monday after a six-year court battle over parking spaces at Bea's strata. (CBC)
The action cost the strata $173,000 in legal fees, to be recouped from the sale of the condo, with any monies left over going to the Beas.
"We wish him all the very best," said strata council president, Iuliu Varva. "We wish that he will build his life again somewhere else. And hopefully he learned a lesson. And we learned a lesson from this."
But Bea says he is not ready to give up, and will do anything he can to get back into his home. | {
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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Labour's Liam Byrne: "If you want welfare to work to genuinely work, then you need jobs"
Labour has said it would offer the long-term unemployed a guarantee of a six-month job if it was in government.
Businesses would be given subsidies to hire people on a temporary basis, with those refusing a suitable job having benefits docked.
Labour said the move sent a "clear message" about its stance on welfare but admitted it could not commit to the scheme if returned to power in 2015.
David Cameron said the opposition was avoiding hard choices.
BBC political correspondent Vicky Young said Labour were setting out what should be done now rather than committing themselves to the measures if they were re-elected or making a future spending pledge.
The announcement, she added, must be seen in the context of the debate over welfare reform ahead of a parliamentary vote on Tuesday about scrapping the link between benefit rises and inflation by limiting most working age benefits to a 1% increase.
Labour said its plan, intended to help 129,400 people out of work for two years, would be funded by restricting tax relief on pension contributions available to higher-rate taxpayers.
The long-term unemployed would be offered 25 hours of work a week in the private or voluntary sectors at the national minimum wage for six months.
Welfare debate
The scheme expands Labour's existing jobs guarantee proposal which has up to now only covered 16-24 year old job-seekers.
Labour's shadow work and pensions spokesman Liam Byrne said the long-term unemployed needed to be "working or training and not claiming".
"I know that will be a culture shock for many people but for many more it will be a lifeline," he told the BBC News Channel.
Analysis Labour's "jobs guarantee" isn't the guarantee of a full-time, permanent job for everyone who has been unemployed for two years. The scheme, as envisaged, would aim to provide the long term unemployed with six months part-time work or training. But as Labour are in opposition, the scheme of course doesn't exist at all. And it isn't - yet - a firm manifesto commitment for 2015 - though it is similar to the Future Jobs Fund, which the party designed when in power. Politically, though, it allows Labour to go on the front foot ahead of next week's vote in the Commons on benefit levels. Labour will oppose capping the increase in most benefits at 1% for the next three years - a real terms cut. But they don't want to be seen as soft on "scroungers". So they will argue that if the government were to adopt their idea of a "jobs guarantee" now, then the long-term unemployed would be compelled to participate in work or training schemes - and the benefits bill would come down. This, they believe, will help them survive a coalition attack next week when both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems will say Labour just isn't serious about cutting the costs of welfare or making work pay.
"There is a vital principle at stake here," he added.
"The government promised us an awful lot on welfare reform...What is now happening is long-term unemployment is going through the roof. That is pushing up the welfare bill and to balance the books the government is having to raid working families tax credits.
"We are saying there is a different way to bring the welfare bill down."
The proposed subsidies, he added, were an acknowledgement of the fact that businesses expected to make a profit and would not take on new staff "for nothing".
While the headline rate of unemployment has fallen in the each of the last seven months, Labour says the number of long-term jobless is nearly 150% higher than in late 2010.
At the end of Labour's six-month scheme, workers would have to find a permanent job or revert to claiming jobseeker's allowance.
The £1bn cost of the scheme - which Labour hope could eventually be extended to those out of work for 18 months or a year - would be funded by introducing a 20% limit on tax relief on pension contributions for those earning £150,000 a year or more.
Labour said the current 50% limit on tax relief on pensions for the highest earners should be brought into line with the 20% level for basic rate taxpayers.
'Bizarre'
Ministers say the government's Work Programme, in which firms and charities are paid to help find jobs for the long-term unemployed, is "on track" despite opposition criticism.
The government insists nearly 10% of the initial participants have got into work and stayed there for six months, while 50% of those who have taken part have come off benefits.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Conservative chairman Grant Shapps: "You can't spend the same money twice"
Mr Cameron said a million private sector jobs had been created since the coalition government came to power in May 2010 and claimed Labour was "just not focused on the big challenges" confronting the UK.
"This is sort of reheating a rather unworkable scheme that we inherited in 2010," he said.
"I think what Labour really need to focus on is their bizarre decision to support benefits going up faster than wages, which is what they are going to be voting for on Tuesday."
The Treasury said Labour had already earmarked cuts in pension tax relief to reverse austerity measures and was effectively spending the same money twice.
In response, Labour said that while it remained opposed to government cuts in tax credits, it could not commit to reversing the changes until it had seen the state of the public finances after 2015 and the money saved was now needed to help people into work. | {
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More than 9,000 Shincheonji church members in self-quarantine as president describes coming days as ‘very important moment’
This article is more than 6 months old
This article is more than 6 months old
South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in has placed the country on “red alert” after it reported its fifth death and more than 123 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infected to 556.
As the nation struggled on Sunday to contain the deadly Covid-19 outbreak in the city of Daegu, the president described the coming days as “a very important moment”, the news agency Yonhap said.
The government would bolster its fight against the virus by raising the alert level one notch to the highest of “red”, he told an emergency meeting of agencies in Seoul on Sunday.
Coronavirus: northern Italian towns close schools and businesses Read more
The president said the government and the local authorities should not hesitate to take “unprecedented powerful” measures to contain the viral disease without being limited by “regulations”.
Of the 123 new cases, 75 are related to the Shincheonji church in the country’s fourth-largest city of Daegu and a neighbouring hospital.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it has placed more than 9,000 Shincheonji members in self-quarantine and thousands of worshippers have been screened for the virus.
It came as a Japanese government minister apologised after a woman allowed to leave the coronavirus-hit cruise ship Diamond Princess on Wednesday tested positive for the infection on Saturday, raising more questions about the country’s management of the outbreak.
In South Korea, the government has tried to contain the outbreak by declaring Daegu and its adjacent county Cheongdo “special care zones”. But that did not stop the number of infections more than doubling in a single day on Saturday.
So far South Korea had released 18 fully recovered novel coronavirus patients from hospitals, the KCDC said.
The number of people being checked for the virus and under quarantine came to 6,039 on Sunday morning, the KCDC said. The country has tested 22,633 suspected cases; 16,038 tested negative.
South Korea confirmed its first new coronavirus case from a Chinese woman from Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus outbreak, on 20 January.
The country’s 31st patient, a probable “super spreader”, had attended the Shincheonji church’s worship services.
In a rare public message on Saturday night, the prime minister, Chung Sye-kyun, reassured people that the virus could be contained if the public cooperated with the government’s instructions.
On Sunday Daegu’s mayor, Kwon Young-jin, advised locals to stay indoors and said: “The crisis level of Daegu and the North Gyeongsang province is grave.”
He asked all Shincheonji members with symptoms to come forward and be tested.
“Hiding is not the answer,” he said. “If you hide, it could hurt your health, your family’s health, and will not help in the early cessation of the situation.”
China’s death toll from the virus rose to 2,442 on Sunday after the government said 97 more people had died, all but one in the epicentre of Hubei province.
The national health commission also confirmed another 648 new cases.
Most of the deaths and new infections were in Hubei’s provincial capital, Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in December.
Coronavirus hits Torres Strait's traditional fishers as rock lobster market hits rock bottom Read more
China’s total infections reached 76,936, the commission said in its daily update.
The coronavirus has spread to more than 25 countries and is causing mounting alarm due to outbreaks in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
China’s numbers of daily new infections are well down from the outbreak’s early height. But China has sowed confusion about the data by repeatedly changing its counting methods.
On Saturday the US state department raised its travel advisory to South Korea.
US citizens were asked to “exercise increased caution” when travelling to South Korea, where “sustained community spread” has been reported.
“Sustained community spread means that people in South Korea have been infected with the virus, but how or where they became infected is not known, and the spread is ongoing,” the department said on its website.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also issued an “alert level 2” travel notice, saying “older adults and those with chronic medical conditions should consider postponing nonessential travel”.
Britain has also advised its nationals “against all but essential travel to Daegu and Cheongdo”, and Israel refused to allow non-Israelis to disembark from a plane that departed from South Korea on Saturday. | {
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67 Pages Posted: 15 Aug 2011 Last revised: 7 Jun 2018
Date Written: December 23, 2016
Abstract
We test whether ratings are comparable across asset classes over a 30-year sample. We examine default rates by initial rating, accuracy ratios, migration metrics, instantaneous upgrade and downgrade intensities, and rating changes over bonds’ entire lives in multivariate regressions. These approaches reveal substantial and persistent differences across broad asset class types, as well as across subcategories of structured finance products. Our results are best explained by variation in rating agency incentives and variation in underlying risk profiles across asset classes. We conclude that regulations requiring ratings to perform comparably across asset classes will prove difficult to enforce and we advocate instead a regulatory framework that better distinguishes risks and incentives across asset classes. | {
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NPR Battleground Map: Florida, Pennsylvania Move In Opposite Directions
The past month has not been kind to Donald Trump.
He has landed in controversy on everything from how much he (eventually) gave to veterans groups to Trump University (and the judge who he declared biased because of his Mexican heritage) to his response to the Orlando shooting.
National polling has certainly reflected that — Hillary Clinton has opened up a 6-point lead in the RealClearPolitics average of the polls after the two were tied at the end of May. But Trump continues to be competitive in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania because of blue-collar white voters. Polling and reporting bears that out. NPR's Don Gonyea, for example, traveled to Northeastern Ohio earlier this month and found Rust Belt union voters, people who should be reliable Democrats, considering Trump, in part, because of his trade message.
Still, there appears to be some earth shifting beneath Trump's feet, especially with disunity between Trump and party leaders and the pause he's giving some rank-and-file, mainstream Republicans. At the same time, Democrats have moved more toward unity. Clinton joined Trump as the presumptive nominee for her party, got the endorsement of President Obama and liberal hero Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Bernie Sanders is inching closer to endorsing her.
When evaluating the landscape this month, we have made some changes to the NPR Battleground Map, most notably:
-Florida (29 EVs) moves from Toss Up to Lean D
-Pennsylvania (20 EVs) moves from Lean D to Toss Up
The changes are net-plus of 9 Electoral Votes for Clinton from last month's initial ratings. It moves Clinton's advantage in our map over Trump to 279-191, as you can see in our battleground map above. (This style of map is new this month and reflects a proportional representation of each state by Electoral Vote strength.)
A presidential candidate needs 270 Electoral Votes to become president. In other words, if Clinton wins just the states leaning in her direction, she would be president without needing any of the toss up states — Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio or Pennsylvania. (If you want to read about Trump's potential path, check out the write up of our initial ratings last month.)
Florida
Because of demographics, Florida has appeared to us to be, if not leaning, moving toward Democrats, especially with Trump on the ticket.
Adam Smith at the Tampa Bay Times noted:
"A candidate wildly unpopular with non-white voters and presiding over a deeply fractured party with swaths of voters who can't stomach their nominee simply has little shot of winning a state as diverse and competitive as Florida. This, at least, is the conventional wisdom from wise political players who never imagined the reality star could win the Republican nomination against Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. TheTampa Bay Times surveyed more than 130 Florida political professionals, fundraisers and other experienced politicos, and nearly 70 percent predicted Clinton will win Florida in November. ... "Florida being Florida, the safe assumption is that the numbers will tighten into a neck-and-neck contest by November. Yes, Trump can win America's biggest battleground state, but only if the GOP closes ranks behind him. And only if he can perform far better against Clinton than Mitt Romney did against Barack Obama in places like Tampa Bay and North Florida to compensate for what most experts predict will be a historic Democratic drubbing in vote-rich southeast Florida."
A Quinnipiac poll this month showed Clinton up 8 (47 to 39 percent), though she only leads by 3 in the RCP average. Of course, while the fundamentals appear to favor Clinton there, Obama won it by less than a point in 2012 and Democrats worry that strict Voter ID laws could make it tight.
Pennsylvania
Democrats have won Pennsylvania in every presidential election in the last quarter-century (since 1992). But Pennsylvania is a place that is an emerging battleground.
As David Wasserman wrote at 538:
"I'd argue Pennsylvania has leapfrogged Colorado and Virginia as the next most winnable state for Republicans. In fact, it may be on pace to claim sole 'tipping point' status. As it turns out, Colorado and Virginia are among the top 10 fastest Democratic-trending states in the nation — they are, respectively, getting about 0.9 percentage points and 1.2 points more Democratic-leaning compared with the country every four years. By contrast, Pennsylvania has gradually migrated in the opposite direction. It's gotten about 0.4 percentage points more Republican every four years. Projecting this trend forward another four years from 2012's results would reorder the existing battleground states on the 2016 electoral map."
An Election-Year Project: The View From... The View From Pennsylvania: A Swing District In A Swing State The View From Pennsylvania: A Swing District In A Swing State Listen · 6:58 6:58
NPR's Steve Inskeep and the team at NPR's Morning Edition traveled to a key county in Pennsylvania recently in The View From Here series — Bucks County. It's the kind of place Donald Trump likely has to win if he wants to win Pennsylvania. Obama won it twice, narrowly in 2012, as did John Kerry in 2004. Blue-collar whites were open to Trump's message.
That's also true elsewhere in the state as well. See Politico's piece on Cambria County in the Western part of the state. It went for Romney, but is indicative of the trend in a place that used to go for Democrats. The key in Pennsylvania — especially places like Bucks that has a higher rate of college graduates than the country at large (37 percent vs. 29 percent) — is if Trump's tone turns off GOP and independent white professionals.
The RCP average has Clinton just 0.5 percentage points ahead with polls this month showing her in the low 40s and 1-point, non-statistically significant, leads. Clinton has work to do to keep this state blue.
Other changes/notes:
-Georgia (16 EVs) from Likely R to Lean R: Georgia's demographic trends are unmistakable. The white versus non-white vote has drastically declined over the last couple of decades. Trump is still the favorite, but, like Obama in 2008, who finished just 5 points behind, the RCP average right now is just 4.
-Nebraska (1EV) from Likely R to Lean R: Nebraska is one of those states that splits its electoral votes by congressional district. This one, in the Omaha area, is the most left-leaning in the state. (Obama won it in 2008.) There is a Democratic congressman there, Brad Ashford, who was endorsed Monday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
-Utah (6 EVs): There's been a lot of talk about Utah and whether it should move to Lean R. Mormons remain unconvinced of Trump and his morality, and because of that he's been struggling in the polls. But Clinton hasn't seen much of a boost, polling in the 30s. No Democrat has won more than 35 percent (Obama in 2008) in Utah in the last 50 years. Now, if Clinton starts to poll in the 30s, or Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, starts to get in the mid-to-high teens, then this state could be for real. But until then, it remains Likely R.
Here's the full breakdown:
Safe D (164): California (55), Connecticut (7), Delaware (3), Hawaii (4), Illinois (20), Maine* (3), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (11), New York (29), Rhode Island (4), Vermont (3), Washington, D.C. (3), Washington state (12)
Likely D (37): Maine (1), Minnesota (10), New Jersey (14), New Mexico (5), Oregon (7)
Lean D (78): Florida (29), Michigan (16), Nevada (6), New Hampshire (4), Virginia (13), Wisconsin (10)
Pure Tossup (68): Colorado (9), Iowa (6), North Carolina (15), Ohio (18), Pennsylvania (20)
Lean R (28): Arizona (11), Georgia (16), Nebraska* (1),
Likely R (27): Indiana (11), Missouri (10), Utah (6)
Safe R (136): Alabama (9), Alaska (3), Arkansas (8), Idaho (4), Kansas (6), Kentucky (8), Louisiana (8), Mississippi (6), Montana (3), Nebraska (5), North Dakota (3), Oklahoma (7), South Carolina (9), South Dakota (3), Tennessee (11), Texas (38), West Virginia (5), Wyoming (3) | {
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19歳の若手女優・浜辺美波がブレーク目前。広瀬すず、橋本環奈に続く〝存在〟として大きな注目を集めている。
「女優としての将来性が高く評価されています。ルックスは爽やか系美少女で折り紙付き。間違いなく〝すず・かん〟に続く存在と言えます」（芸能ライター）
浜辺は2011年、『東宝シンデレラオーディション』で〝ニュージェネレーション賞〟を受賞。17年に大ヒット映画〝キミスイ〟こと『君の膵臓をたべたい』に主演し、テレビより先にこちらで名を上げた。
「〝キミスイ〟の後、毎日放送制作のドラマ『賭ケグルイ』に主演したのですが、一番早い放送時間が同局の深夜0時50分。ネット局のTBSが1時半。2時過ぎの局もあって、残念ながら話題になりませんでした」（テレビ雑誌編集者）
写真集出版で知名度アップ！
石川県出身。オフィシャルページによれば、現在CMは大小合わせて12本に出演中。反面、ドラマでは単発や脇役が中心で、いまひとつ大きな作品がない。
「すずが無名の10代半ば、結婚情報誌のCMに出たとき、あまりのかわいさに騒然となりました。CMは無名で構わないし、売れている必要もない。一方、ドラマは視聴率に表れますから知名度は必要。その点でいくと、浜辺はまだまだ小粒と言えます」（アイドルライター）
顔は目、鼻、口とバランスよく配置されている感じで、主張しているパーツがあるわけではない。
「自身のインタビューで語っているのですが、彼女は『顔に特徴がない』のが特徴なんだそう。個性的でもクセ顔でもなく、誰からも好かれるビジュアル。ファンは『極め付きの和風美少女』と絶賛しています」（同・ライター）
身長は155センチと小柄な部類。加えて、バストは推定Aカップだとされる。
「これまで一度も水着はやっていません。体つきは細身できゃしゃ。胸はわずかに膨らんでいる程度です。彼女は〝微乳〟を気にしているようで、だから水着をやらないという話もあります」（グラビア雑誌編集者）
とはいえ、水着は人気を上げるための大きな売り物。しかも〝微乳〟は大きな魅力でもある。
「今、彼女には〝美微乳写真集〟のオファーが各出版社から殺到中です。微乳ファンにとっては、Aカップはタマらない刺激。もし写真集が発売されれば、全国の〝微乳好き〟が爆買い。部数30万部、ギャラ1億2000万円以上は最低線。写真集を出して一気に知名度を上げるべきだと思います」（アイドル評論家）
全国で推定1000万人以上とウワサされる〝微乳〟マニアから評価を受ければ、史上最大の売れ行きも夢ではなく、大ブレークも確かなものとなるに違いない。
【あわせて読みたい】 | {
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Britain is as much at risk from far-right extremists at home as it is from Isis jihadist militants, a senior Home Office adviser has warned.
The anonymous official said the government should not ignore the threat of violence from right-wing extremists who are growing in number in the wake of Islamic State terrorism and crimes involving Muslims in Britain.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Thursday that the government is putting an emphasis on the "global jihadist agenda" while possibly ignoring the growth of the far-right at home.
He said: "I have been working with people from the far-right for about 27 years now, I can see increases in some of these groups and membership in some of these groups based on things that are happening nationally here and internationally.
"A lot of the emphasis is put on the global jihadist agenda, which is fine, and it needs to be, but I really feel that this agenda, the repercussions of some of that in terms of the far-right can't be ignored."
The adviser warned about the prospect of a violent attack being carried out by the far-right on the streets of Britain that could have been prevented.
"I wouldn't want to get to the point where something happens and we look back and think actually we should have addressed that as well", he added.
The expert told the Today programme he had met with a Briton who expressed desires to put everyone who is not white British into Nazi-style death camps.
He said: "I had one person who said he would like to implement death camps here in the UK and when I asked who he would like to put in the death camps, he just listed everyone that he didn't see as white British.
"So that was every Asian person, every black person."
Labour former communities secretary Hazel Blears said today the government needs to better support the Muslim majority who condemn Islamist extremism.
Blears called on ministers to put more emphasis on anti-extremism programmes such as Prevent, and bring different communities together. | {
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Élections fédérales Opinion
QuébeC
Le français est-il en perte de vitesse ?
Vincent Geloso Professeur adjoint en économie au King’s University College
Chaque campagne électorale fédérale, le Bloc québécois ressort le même disque : il faut appliquer la loi 101 aux sociétés sous compétence fédérale (comme les banques, les aéroports et les télécommunications) afin de protéger le fait français au Québec.
Cette année, la promesse du Bloc arrive alors que le gouvernement Legault se dit ouvert à l’idée de rouvrir la loi 101. À cette promesse s’ajoute inévitablement l’idée d’exiger des candidats à l’immigration qu’ils aient une connaissance du français, réduisant effectivement notre bassin d’immigration potentielle. Pour justifier ces promesses, on nous fait planer le sempiternel spectre d’un déclin du français au Québec.
Aussi attirant puisse-il sembler, ce discours alarmiste n’est pas ancré dans les faits.
Les données nous montrent que non seulement le français se porte-t-il très bien au Québec, mais rien n’indique qu’un déclin est en vue.
Certains soulignent que l’utilisation du français à la maison est en baisse. Cette affirmation ne se base que sur un portrait partiel. Il est vrai que l’utilisation « seule » du français à la maison est en baisse depuis 2001 ; cependant, l’utilisation du français conjointement avec d’autres langues est en hausse.
Avec l’augmentation de la population immigrante, il est normal de s’attendre à une montée des mariages interlinguistiques, ce qui mène à des ménages multilinguistiques. Cet effet minimise le déclin perçu du français, puisqu’il ne s’agit pas de ménages parlant une autre langue au lieu du français, mais bien de ménages parlant une autre langue en plus du français.
Un autre développement linguistique intéressant, mais moins souvent discuté est le fait que l’utilisation du français dans les milieux de travail augmente. Tant Statistique Canada que le Conseil supérieur de la langue française s’entendent pour dire que l’utilisation de la langue de Molière au travail augmente rapidement.
Alors, comment réconcilier ces développements apparemment antagonistes avec l’affirmation que le français n’est pas en danger ? Ceux qui parlent le français à la maison ne sont pas nécessairement ceux qui utilisent le français au travail. Il y a plusieurs francophones, en vertu d’un mariage avec un anglophone ou un allophone, qui restreignent leur utilisation du français à la maison. Ils continuent néanmoins d’utiliser le français dans leurs milieux de travail. Simultanément, les partenaires anglophones ou allophones augmentent leur utilisation du français à la maison tout en utilisant le français au travail.
Au net, il est donc possible que le français progresse même si l’utilisation « seule » du français à la maison diminue. Ainsi, la montée du multilinguisme chez les francophones masque la véritable vitalité du français au Québec.
Impossible de parler de « déclin »
Dans un article à venir dans le Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (coécrit avec l’économiste Alex Arsenault Morin), je produis une estimation de cet effet du multilinguisme qui montre qu’il est impossible de parler d’un déclin du français. Pour ce faire, il suffit de vérifier (en utilisant les données du recensement) si une personne dit utiliser le français « le plus souvent » au travail ou à la maison. En d’autres mots, il faut créer une mesure de l’utilisation du français suivant les gens dans les différentes sphères de leurs vies.
Avec une telle mesure, il appert que la vitalité du français n’a pas diminué depuis 2001 : 88,5 % des gens utilisent le français « le plus souvent » dans au moins une sphère de leurs vies. De plus, lorsqu’on regarde l’utilisation quotidienne du français, on remarque qu’elle a augmenté sensiblement depuis 2001 : 90,2 % des Québécois disaient utiliser le français chaque jour dans une sphère ou l’autre de leur vie, comparativement à 90,9 % lors du recensement de 2016.
Il s’agit d’un développement normal qui accompagne un autre développement rarement souligné par ceux qui essaient de vendre leurs propositions en utilisant le spectre d’un déclin.
Depuis les années 60, le rendement économique de la connaissance du français augmente constamment relativement à l’anglais.
Cette augmentation est si importante que l’économiste François Vaillancourt a découvert que – toutes choses (comme le niveau d’éducation) étant égales par ailleurs – un anglophone unilingue aura un revenu 8,2 % inférieur à celui d’un francophone unilingue. Aussi longtemps que le rendement économique positif du fait de connaître le français continue de grandir, la vitalité du français au Québec continuera de s’accroître.
Du travail à faire
Cela ne veut pas dire que rien ne peut être fait pour renforcer la vitalité du français. Il y a des mesures ciblées et précises qui pourraient encourager son utilisation. Les mesures les plus susceptibles d’accomplir cet objectif sont celles qui augmenteront la valeur de parler français. Afin de cerner ces mesures et d’en débattre de manière calme et posée, il faudrait cesser de sortir des épouvantails pour nous faire croire à une crise. Si nous avons une mauvaise compréhension de ce qui se produit sur le terrain, les politiques que nous adopterons seront tout aussi mauvaises. | {
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Oklahoma City Thunder: Mike Miller talks Billy Donovan, reveals what he told Kevin Durant about his new coach
The slender shooter from South Dakota – nicknamed “Skinny” – picked upstart Florida over all the interested national powers, including Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina.
But people were most surprised that Mike Miller didn’t go to Kansas. KU had the noted basketball tradition and Lawrence seemed to be the environment that jived most with Miller’s laid-back, country personality. But he instead chose sunny Gainesville and a Florida program in rebuild mode.
Jayhawks coach Roy Williams was so perturbed by the decision he accused Florida of recruiting violations and publicly challenged new Gators coach Billy Donovan, whose legend was just starting to explode onto the college basketball landscape.
An ensuing 10-month investigation came up clean. Florida was cleared of any wrongdoing. Miller went with the Gators because he clicked with Donovan and believed in what the young coach was building. | {
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Greetings Rocksmith fans!
While you wait for next week’s Linkin Park songs to be announced we still have to determine the Best DLC of 2014!
The results from The Battle of the Quarters Thirds are in, So we now have 6 entries to vote on, only two will move on to the final round next Sunday!
In order of poll and placement:
Thanks for voting!
0 0 vote Article Rating | {
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WOLF POINT (Left) Photograph of an architectural model of the 525-foot residential tower that will be the first of three buildings constructed at Wolf Point near Merchandise Mart. Photo obtained from bKL Architecture, the Chicago firm commissioned to design the tower. (Click on images to view larger versions.) 26-Feb-13 With proper advance notice this time, the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards again approved a zoning reclassification that will let developers build a 525-foot, 510-unit residential tower at Wolf Point. Most of the people speaking during one hour and eight minutes of discussion in Council Chambers at City Hall Tuesday morning were in favor of the project. Supporters say it will attract $1 billion in investment, 2,000 jobs, and $40 million per year in tax revenue with no taxpayer subsidy. The first tower alone will cost $175 million and create 400 construction jobs, according to Jack George, an attorney for Houston-based Hines Interests L.P., which will develop the 3.85-acre site on land owned by the Kennedy family. This is probably one of the most comprehensive planned developments that will come before you, George told the committee. The amount of detail that has gone into providing for this planned development, it is truly extensive a project. About 15 people attended the meeting in support of Friends of Wolf Point, a vocal critic of the project. The group is concerned that increased traffic as a result of the development will overwhelm their neighborhood. Ellen Barry, president of the non-profit group, again disputed traffic studies commissioned for the project. She says the infrastructure near Wolf Point has not been upgraded in 40 years and she is especially concerned about street-level railroad crossings. Additional development at this complexity, she fears, will only add continued major risk to the safety of people coming over those tracks. 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly assured the committee the city would be making substantial changes to greatly enhance pedestrian and vehicular safety on the site and that safety at railroad crossings would be improved. This has been a lengthy process that I believe has worked, said Reilly. Im sad that not everyone is thrilled with the project but I think, given where we started from 14 months ago, this is a vast, vast improvement over what was introduced initially. After being approved by the Chicago Plan Commission on January 24, the project passed the zoning committee on February 11 but Friends of Wolf Point got the meeting repeated after pointing out the project had not been posted on any official city agenda. (Above) Rendering of the three-tower development, visualized from the south. Behind the towers are 350 West Mart Center at left and Merchandise Mart at right. The committee approved amendment of Planned Development 98 that was first approved on June 22, 1973. The project will eventually include a 950-foot south tower and a 750-foot east tower that will both contain a mix of office, retail, and residential space. Related story: Wolf Point neighbors ask city council to delay approval By Steven Dahlman | Loop North News | [email protected] Tweet FREE WEEKLY EMAIL UPDATE Whats news in the Loop and Near North
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“Can you love your neighbor as yourself and at the same time knee him in the face as hard as you can?”
So wondered Pastor Paul Burress, as we interviewed him about his “fight ministry,” which he started to bring his take on Christianity to more people in Rochester, N.Y. For Mr. Burress and his ministry, the answer is yes — members of his congregation fight one another in church on a regular basis.
As this Op-Doc video shows, Mr. Burress is one of a growing number of pastors who incorporate mixed martial arts (M.M.A.), a violent sport also known as cage fighting that embraces kickboxing and wrestling, into their parishes. Pastors like him feel that the church’s traditional evangelizing is not resonating with young men anymore, and they are resolved to change that. They justify their unorthodox approach by arguing that many of the Bible’s core tenets involve fighting: for freedom, for one’s beliefs, and for Jesus, too.
Though it was banned in nearly every state a decade ago, M.M.A. is now one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. (Mr. Burress is a retired M.M.A. fighter; New York State prohibits professional M.M.A.) Churches like Mr. Burress’s integrate fighting into many elements of their worship, which they supplement with M.M.A. viewing parties and even, in Mr. Burress’s case, live fighting events (Several pastors have estimated that 700 churches have incorporated M.M.A. into their ministries. | {
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Until recently, Yoda was practically the only representative of his species known to Star Wars viewers (besides Yaddle). And so when The Mandalorian’s Baby Yoda, or the Child, came on the scene and captivated viewers with his wide eyes, pointy ears, and the dusting of white hair on his baby head, we didn’t have much understanding about what childhood for this species is like. And the Child doesn’t give us much to go on either. As a great Popular Mechanics article notes, for instance, “we don’t really know how much of a cognitive leap is required before a young Yoda is able to use the Force for the first time.”
Another question that’s fueled speculation and meme-making is: If Baby Yoda finally speaks, what will his first words be? When The Mandalorian starts, Baby Yoda is approximately 50 years old and not vocalizing yet, other than cooing sounds. With our one point of reference, that silence can seem like the restrained wisdom of a Jedi master, but the Child may also just be pre-verbal. There could be many reasons that Baby Yoda isn’t talking, even though it has been estimated that he’s roughly equivalent to a human 5-year-old. Maybe he can speak, but he simply doesn’t want to yet. Maybe his species takes a lot longer to begin speaking than humans do. In a darker scenario, maybe Baby Yoda has mostly been isolated from language input and has missed the critical period for language development. We currently know very little about his life prior to when the Mandalorian finds him held captive by Nikto mercenaries.
If Baby Yoda is like a human child, though, first words may be on his horizon, especially with the socialization he’s been getting lately. But don’t assume that just because he looks like Yoda, he’ll talk like him too. If language acquisition by Yoda’s species is anything like the human trajectory, linguists would predict this is pretty unlikely.
When we hear characters in the Star Wars universe speaking English, they’re really speaking Galactic Basic. There are various accents and dialects, but the most famous variant may be Yoda’s, which changes the word order of Galactic Basic Standard. In terms of English grammar (since that’s how we hear Basic anyway), this means that while most characters speak with subject-verb-object order (“You must have patience”), Yoda often, but not exclusively, produces object-subject-verb order (“Patience you must have!”). This is a simplification of Yoda’s syntax, but for the sake of simplicity we’ll use that label to describe his word order.
When human babies learn to talk, their first utterances reflect the language or languages of their immediate environment. Babies raised in a monolingual English community will produce their first words in English. In a multilingual environment, first words in more than one language are common, with language learners quickly determining how and when to use each language. When toddlers start making simple sentences, those utterances often mirror the most frequent patterns in the syntax of the language the toddler is speaking. That isn’t to say that toddlers and children always get the forms right, of course. Most people have experienced a child making an error like “I breaked it” in English or “una mana” in Spanish, even though adults don’t say this. In the English breaked case, for example, a child is actually appropriately applying a form they have learned—the regular past tense “-ed”—before they learn that there is an alternate irregular past tense form for break.
As for Baby Yoda, at least in the current moment, he’s living with speakers of Galactic Basic Standard who use subject-verb-object order. We do not know, however, what he experienced in the past. Perhaps he lived with other members of Yoda’s species for a part of his life, which might mean that he received language input from adult speakers of this species. Could that be enough to justify speaking like Yoda when he finally talks? Considering that he doesn’t speak now (and barring the “he just doesn’t want to talk out loud yet” option), even if he lived with other Yoda-style speakers in the past, it’s still doubtful that he would have typical Yoda syntax. Between whatever language was spoken around him when he lived with the Nikto mercenaries and the Galactic Basic spoken by the Mandalorian, Dr. Pershing, and the Sorgan villagers, his exposure to Yoda’s variant of Basic would become less salient over time. If Baby Yoda is like a human, his first words should reflect the language environment he’s in once he begins to talk. This would track with cases of young adopted children, from preschool through early elementary school, who rapidly lose access to the first language they were exposed to, even within three to six months of being adopted.
On the other hand, since so little is known about Yoda’s species, there’s a possibility that the members of this species actually speak a different language. Because Yoda traveled throughout the galaxy so much, perhaps he learned Galactic Basic as an adult. This might mean that Yoda’s object-subject-verb word order is a result of what linguists call “transfer”: As Queen Mary University of London professor David Adger pointed out in 2017, Yoda could be applying the word order from a hypothetical native language “Yodish” to his command of Basic. If this were the situation, then it would be even less likely that Baby Yoda would have been exposed to the object-subject-verb variant of Basic, presumably because the first adults he lived with would have been speaking Yodish around him. The end result of this situation would be the same as above: If Baby Yoda did not yet reach the critical period for language before he left his Yodish home, then his access to Yodish would quickly decline now that he’s surrounded by Basic speakers.
A last option to consider is that the Yoda species is in some way hard-wired for object-subject-verb word order. This possibility would mean that Yoda is much less humanlike than we have been considering. One of the goals of the field of linguistics is to understand all of the variations found in human language, from the possible sounds of language, to how words are built, to possible word orders and more. Languages can differ greatly from one another on these dimensions, but one of the hallmarks of human language acquisition is that no one is hard-wired for any specific language. Instead we acquire whatever language or languages are spoken by the people around us and with whom we want to communicate. We could envision a scenario in which Yoda and others of his species are somehow neurologically committed to object-subject-verb word order, but it would be curious and rather arbitrary that Yoda then learned to speak the same Basic as all of the other speakers in the galaxy in every way except for word order.
So, when Baby Yoda finally talks, what language should he speak? The Standard variant of Galactic Basic. I have spoken.
Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. | {
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Yeah, if you could go ahead and reply within a reasonable time frame so i don't have constant panic attacks That'd be great
267 shares | {
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Image copyright Reuters
Sports Direct says it regrets rescuing House of Fraser in its much-delayed results, which revealed a €674m (£605m) tax bill from Belgian authorities.
The firm, which bought the department store out of administration a year ago, said: "If we had the gift of hindsight we might have made a different decision in August 2018."
It described problems at House of Fraser as "nothing short of terminal".
It added it was in talks with Belgian officials to resolve the tax bill.
The full-year results had been due to be published on 15 July but were delayed until 26 July, in part, because of uncertainty over the future trading performance of House of Fraser.
'House of horrors'
Those results had been expected to be published on Friday morning, but were subject to continuous delays throughout the day.
It has now emerged that Sports Direct, which is majority-owned and run by billionaire Mike Ashley, was hit by the tax bill by Belgian authorities on 25 July.
The company said the request for back taxes is linked to the way its goods are moved throughout the European Union and are taxed in Belgium.
Meanwhile, it also said that its chief financial officer of two years, Jon Kempster, is stepping down and will be succeeded by his deputy, Chris Wootton.
Commenting on House of Fraser, Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "It's a House of horrors, more like."
He said Sports Direct had "every reason to regret buying House of Fraser now".
"It's such a shame as there were such high hopes," he added.
Image copyright PA
Mr Ashley had vowed to turn House of Fraser into the "Harrods of the High Street" when he bought the department store chain out of administration for £90m last August.
However, on Friday he said: "In the short-term you can't justify it. It's like buying a broken down car at the roadside - you have to get it to the garage to fix it."
But he said: "Long-term, we'd like to think we are hopeful of where we are going."
Analysis
By Simon Gompertz, BBC personal finance reporter
With the benefit of hindsight, buying House of Fraser looks to Mike Ashley like buying a millstone and tying it around his own neck.
He paid £90m to the administrators and has seen his Sports Direct profits reduced by £51m since then. That's been the cost of keeping House of Fraser going.
Now a cull of the stores is about to start. There are still 54. Not many have gone while he tested which ones had a future.
Some carried on losing money even after he had bullied the landlords into charging zero rent.
Mr Ashley warned that there is going to be "a lot of store closures" in the coming months, with smaller outlets in smaller towns most at risk.
When I asked him if that meant most House of Fraser stores would be shut down, he answered "no" but it is clear that thousands of jobs could be in danger.
Shop closures
Before House of Fraser went into administration last year - it was planning to shut 31 of its 59 stores. Sports Direct said it could close some stores - but didn't say how many.
It said: "There are still a number of stores which are currently paying zero rent and that are still unprofitable, and unfortunately this is not sustainable.
"We are continuing to review the longer-term portfolio and would expect the number of retained stores to reduce in the next 12 months."
Image copyright Reuters
Sports Direct said that it is working hard to turn House of Fraser around, but said "it will not be easy".
"On a scale out of five, with one being very bad and five being very good, House of Fraser is a one," the company added.
For the year to 28 April, underlying profits at Sports Direct dropped by 6% to £287.8m.
However, taking out House of Fraser, Sports Direct's income rose by 10.9%.
Total full-year sales grew by 10.2% to £3.7bn. | {
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FOIA documents uncover interesting information...
Recently we began receiving documents in response to a FOIA request we filed with the FBI about Eric McDavid. The documents have uncovered a few alarming pieces of information, but one in particular we felt it necessary to share with the public as soon as possible. For years people have been speculating that writing political prisoners would result in a person being “put on a list.” Unfortunately, it seems that those speculations were not unfounded.We have received perhaps hundreds of pages documenting Eric's correspondence with other people. These letters are not just kept on file – the Sacramento County Main Jail forwarded all of these letters to the Sacramento FBI field office, which then forwarded them to local field offices around the country (and to law enforcement internationally) to warn the FBI in other cities of a “possible environmental/animal rights extremist” or “a possible anarchist extremist” in their community. Originally, the FBI's communications included a statement that “Sacramento is forwarding this communication for information purposes only.” But later, they began including a much longer statement which read, in part: “this information has been determined to be of such a nature that some follow-up as to the possibility of criminal activity is warranted...” These statements were included no matter what was the content of the letter – often the documents include the statement that the letter was “benign in nature.”It is unclear whether or not the FBI is still forwarding Eric's correspondence to local field offices. We have not received any documents dated after his move to a federal facility. It is also unknown whether or not all correspondence with political prisoners is treated in the same manner. What we do know is that if a person sent Eric a letter to the Sacramento County Main Jail with their full name and address on it, the local FBI field office more than likely now has that information.We are not sharing this information to raise alarm or spread fear. We have every intention of continuing to write political prisoners, and we urge others to do the same. That said, we hope to expose the FBI's politically motivated investigations and, unlike the FBI, we believe people have a right to know when they have been spied on. This kind of government intrusion could cause the “chilling effect” so often thrown about in conversations about 1st amendment activities. But when we give in to those fears, political prisoners are the ones who suffer. And this is exactly what the government wants. The state is constantly trying to expand its reach by gathering information about social movements and those who participate in them. Instead of letting this new information scare us into silence, we should use it to make informed decisions about how we support and prioritize political prisoners. This kind of repression has implications for more than just people involved in “activism.” Millions of people are incarcerated in this country. It is possible that the government uses similar tactics to investigate other communities that they actively repress. Writing our friends, family members and comrades should not be a justified excuse for investigation – no matter who our friends are.We are attaching three documents. The first is typical of the documents the FBI sent towards the beginning of Eric's time at Sac County. The second is an example of what they sent to international law enforcement agencies. The final document is an example of the later version with the language about “follow up” being “warranted.”If you would like to find out if the FBI has been collecting information on you, here is a website that explains how to request information under the freedom of information act. | {
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def get_att(webinar_id) finalArray = [] api_service = ApiService.new response = api_service.get_attendees(webinar_id) json = JSON.parse(response.body) for x in json['_embedded']['attendeeParticipationResponses'] first_name = json['_embedded']['attendeeParticipationResponses'][x]['firstName'] last_name = json['_embedded']['attendeeParticipationResponses'][x]['lastName'] email = json['_embedded']['attendeeParticipationResponses'][x]['email'] finalArray << [first_name, last_name, email] end # x = 2 # first_name = json['_embedded']['attendeeParticipationResponses'][x]['firstName'] # last_name = json['_embedded']['attendeeParticipationResponses'][x]['lastName'] # email = json['_embedded']['attendeeParticipationResponses'][x]['email'] # finalArray << [first_name, last_name, email] Rails.logger.info(finalArray) end
The idea is to return an array of arrays with all of the people and their 3 tags.
I know that the JSON parse data is working because the commented out code works perfectly and I can change x assignment and it runs. The for loop also works because it counts 15 responses in json['_embedded']['attendeeParticipationResponses'] when I add a counter. So I know the 15 people are there and I can add them one by one into the final array (which I got to hold multiple arrays by the way), but for some reason the second I put it in the for loop I get the weird error which fully reads: | {
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Last year, West Virginia did something no other U.S. state had done in a federal election before: It allowed overseas voters the option to cast absentee ballots for the midterm election via a blockchain-enabled mobile app. According to Voatz, the company West Virginia worked with, 144 individuals from 31 countries successfully submitted ballots via the app for the November election. Before that, there was a smaller pilot of the system in two West Virginia counties that May.
West Virginia billed the experiment as a success and says it plans to use the technology again in 2020. Voatz has already made deals with other local governments in the U.S., most recently for Denver’s May municipal election.
But how secure and accurate was the 2018 vote? It’s impossible to tell because the state and the company aren’t sharing the basic information experts say is necessary to properly evaluate whether the blockchain voting pilot was actually a resounding success. With 2020 looming, that’s troubling, given what we now know about the extent of Russian incursions into our election systems in 2016.
State officials in West Virginia said the goal of rolling out the mobile voting option was to make voting easier for troops living abroad. But West Virginians overseas didn’t have to be in the military to take advantage of the process. All citizens had to do was register, download the app, go through a few verification steps such as uploading a photo ID and taking a video selfie, and make and submit their ballot selections on the screen. And all of it was said to be secure. With the blockchain technology it used, the firm insisted, the votes would be near-impossible to hack. (Blockchain is a digital public ledger that records information. It can be shared and used by a large, decentralized network, so it is theoretically more resistant to tampering.)
But numerous election technology experts sounded the alarm over what they said was the enormous potential for glitches and security risks on people’s mobile devices, the networks that hosted them, and the servers that held their information. Amid the words and phrases they used to describe West Virginia’s experiment: “horrible,” “horrific,” “completely nuts,” “high-flying blockchain promises,” “the Theranos of voting,” and “no.” Some pointed to the lack of transparency around the app, others to the inherent weaknesses of conducting an election over the internet at all.
Our closest look at the details of the voting experiments came in an eight-page white paper published in February, but it was short on details. In the report, Voatz said that it had retained four independent security experts to audit its system. Though the white paper included “fun facts for election geeks,” it failed to name any of these auditors. Also unlisted: the scope of the tests conducted, what exactly the auditors had access to, how long they had to perform the tests, what vulnerabilities were discovered, the severity of those vulnerabilities, and whether or not they were fixed.
When asked about why a redacted audit or report from the auditors wasn’t released, Voatz co-founder and CEO Nimit Sawhney, who co-authored the white paper, gave multiple reasons. First, he pointed to a nondisclosure agreement with the auditors. Then, he stated that there was no way to share any more information about the audit without revealing proprietary information about the system. But one would expect a redacted report or even an abstract of the report for transparency’s sake, given the stakes of introducing a new system to our already rickety voting process. Depending on the secrecy of its system architecture is such a poor security mechanism that researchers have even coined a term for it: security by obscurity.
To its credit, Tusk Philanthropies, the organization that funded most of Voatz’s mobile voting pilots, contracted ShiftState Security to conduct its own, separate audit and to review the other audits and penetration tests (where auditors look for security vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit). ShiftState Chief Security Officer Andre McGregor told me that the firm deployed “a couple of consultants,” including himself, over a month to conduct a full security review, interview Voatz employees, and see whether penetration tests conducted by another firm were in line with the results one would expect from a pen test of that type of software stack. McGregor said Voatz “did very well” in the audit. But he declined to answer several questions because of a nondisclosure agreement he had signed with Voatz. After Voatz Senior Vice President Larry Moore told me that the company would release McGregor from his NDA, McGregor stated that any interview questions would need to be sent via email, but he did not respond to those.
Voatz’s lack of transparency makes it hard to check if votes were tabulated accurately. The most important part of conducting a post-vote tabulation audit—a way to achieve confidence that reported election results are correct—requires taking a random sample of ballots that reflect the true intent of the voter. This is where having a paper trail from voting can come in handy. With machines that generate paper ballots or traditional paper-based voting, you can hold the piece of paper and verify it before putting it into a scanning tabulator.
Voatz’s website states that “a paper ballot is generated on election night” and is tallied “using the standard counting process at each participating county.” What that means is the voter’s vote is sent to the county clerk staff as a PDF, and the county clerk staff prints it out and puts it into the scanning tabulator. Those paper ballots generated from the PDF might still be useful to audit the tabulator itself, but not the vote casting process, since the voter never had a chance to review the paper directly. This requires the voter to trust that the government will do all this correctly behind the scenes.
“There isn’t anything like that to check when you’re using internet voting or mobile phone voting, so there’s no way to go back and ensure that the tabulation was correct and that it matches something the voter intends,” said Audrey Malagon, mathematical adviser for Verified Voting, a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for regulation and legislation promoting accuracy, transparency, and verifiability of elections.
Voatz’s website also says that a postelection audit can compare “the paper ballots with the anonymized voter-verified digital receipts generated at the time of vote submission.” But a carbon copy of a mobile or online vote is not a paper ballot, and comparing that receipt with the results is not a tabulation audit. “In order to have an authentic tabulation audit, you have to be able to audit something that the voter has been able to verify, and so any time you’re introducing these extra steps and extra processes, you have the extra potential for error,” Malagon said.
Sawhney says that each voter receives a verifiable receipt of their vote and has the ability to check whether it represents their intent, and an anonymous carbon copy of the email is sent to the jurisdiction. The tabulation audits have been conducted based on the copies sent to the jurisdiction. But what if the signature scheme is broken or an email wasn’t properly sent to both recipients? “The only thing a voter can actually verify is something that the voter sees. If the voter is in one place looking at a voter-verifiable receipt and someone else is in another place looking at a printed ballot that supposedly matches that receipt, how do we know that it actually does?” asked Mark Lindeman, Verified Voting’s senior science and technology policy officer.
Voatz’s use of blockchain doesn’t solve this problem. Advocates of blockchain voting point out that the blockchain is resistant to tampering, which they say can protect the process. But anyone who has voted in this way might want to check their vote in the blockchain to make sure it’s actually there and says what they intended. Although Voatz is hoping to change this in the future, its users currently have no way of doing so. And generating paper ballots that the voters are unable to see or verify is not enough.
Even if Voatz does manage to build a viewer allowing voters to verify their votes within the blockchain, it still doesn’t solve the problem of tabulation audits, where using random samples is part of the point. And it’s not possible to ascertain whether carbon copies of voting receipts reflect voters’ intent the way paper ballots can.
Finding a technical solution that will allow voting systems to show that what’s being recorded, counted, and stored in the blockchain reflects the voter’s intent without compromising the voter’s secrecy isn’t easy. That’s why many experts think that blockchain isn’t an appropriate tool for voting, at least not yet.
Voatz has promised additional white papers, and that future audits will be conducted by third-party firms and will be in the public domain before 2020. If that happens, it would be a step in the right direction. An audit of the vote in Denver was conducted by the National Cybersecurity Center, a nonprofit organization established in a bill signed by former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is the founding director and has a nonvoting seat on the board. The tabulation audit was, again, conducted based on receipts. The audit itself was, at least, more transparent, with an audit process demo and video posted publicly, along with a Facebook Live video by the Denver Elections Division.
More audits by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are planned too, though it is unlikely that the results will be shared publicly in a meaningful way. Donald Kersey, general counsel and former elections director/deputy legal counsel for the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office, said that penetration testing will be done by the Department of Homeland Security in the summer and fall, and that tests will include on-site internal intrusion attempts in the fall. This will generate an audit report, but not one that’s public, though Kersey plans to summarize it for voters. When asked how voters can determine whether he is cherry-picking from the report, Kersey said, “If there’s something insecure, we want to know about it, and if it can’t be mitigated, we’re not going to use it.”
“Nobody’s interested in putting out something that is not safe and not up to a certain standard,” said Sawhney. “We believe it is pretty robust and does what it claims to do.”
But “pretty robust” is not good enough when it comes to voting securely. And without seeing a proper tabulation audit or other details about how it works, we simply can’t evaluate it.
Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. | {
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Article content
The former president of the Progressive Conservative party is now running a political action committee dedicated to boosting a centrist alternative ahead of the next Alberta election.
Katherine O’Neill stepped down as president of the Alberta PC party shortly after Jason Kenney won the Tory leadership in March on a platform of uniting the PCs with the Wildrose.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Former Alberta PCs looking for centrist alternative in time for 2019 election Back to video
Now, with Kenney and Wildrose Leader Brian Jean attempting to bring their parties together in a new “United Conservative Party,” O’Neill says she is “done” with both the PCs and the prospective UCP.
She has signed on as executive director of “Alberta Together,” a new group aiming to “shape a centrist voice going into the 2019 election.”
“It’s getting people into a room and saying, ‘how can we get a very viable, credible, well-organized political party in the middle together and ready for 2019?’ So that people really can go to the polls and have a choice, that they can be able to vote for something, because I think it’s just so polarized right now that people aren’t sure where they want to vote,” O’Neill said in an interview Thursday. | {
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SINGAPORE: The Singapore dollar continued its ascent against the Malaysian currency to reach a 13-month high against the ringgit on Wednesday (Dec 19).
The Singapore dollar rose to an intraday high of RM3.0650 on Wednesday before easing back to RM3.0546, in what some dealers attributed to reduced demand for the Malaysian currency amid weaker oil prices.
This is the highest since the Singapore dollar touched RM3.0724 on Nov 20 last year.
Oil prices are under pressure as traders fret over a global supply glut, higher production and the outlook for demand.
“Doubts over the impact of planned production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are also pressuring prices,” one dealer told Bernama.
Global benchmark Brent crude futures ranged between US$56.27 and US$56.85 per barrel on Wednesday. Prices had dropped 5.6 per cent on Tuesday, at one point hitting a 14-month low.
Malaysia's Deputy Finance Minister Amiruddin Hamzah said on Wednesday that the Malaysian central bank would always make sure that the ringgit is stable, by using proactive measures to ensure sufficient liquidity and a resilient market.
"In the long term, the ringgit value would be driven particularly by the strength of the country’s economic fundamentals. Hence, Malaysia needs to focus efforts on increasing its economic resilience by diversifying revenue sources and strengthen its fiscal position,” he said.
On how far the government is monitoring the ringgit value following a possible move by the US to increase its interest rate soon, Amiruddin said the central bank’s current policy had and will continue to help Malaysia in times of uncertainty and volatility, without affecting the country’s economy.
"This policy including a flexible ringgit exchange rate will play an important role as an external shock absorber without affecting the domestic economic activities.
"Secondly, by ensuring the financial markets function in an orderly manner by taking proactive measures to make sure liquidity are sufficient, reduce speculation to avoid significant volatility in the ringgit, and lastly, using international reserves in accordance to the needs to stabilise the market,” he explained. | {
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Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2013. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
The release of the Benghazi Report highlights the hypocrisy of Clinton apologists.
‘A lot of people tell pollsters they don’t trust me,” Hillary Clinton said Monday during a speech in Chicago. “Now, I don’t like hearing that and I have thought a lot about what is behind it.”
One would imagine so. Throughout both the 2008 and 2016 campaign seasons, Mrs. Clinton has faced criticism on multiple fronts, but the attacks concerning her honesty, transparency, and accountability have always been the most notable. In 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama expressed concerns about Clinton’s honesty during their primary battle, while Republicans have made it a cornerstone of their campaign since the 2016 chatter began. From the moment she threw her hat into the ring in April last year, scandal after scandal has come up for review: Whitewater, Benghazi, the Clinton Foundation, her private e-mail server — the list, of scandals old and new, runs on and on.
In response to these criticisms, Hillary and her acolytes have offered one recurring defense: She wasn’t directly responsible.
A report released by the Democrats on the Select Committee on Benghazi — released as a preemptive dismissal of the official majority report, which at the time was forthcoming — provides only the newest example of this. Published yesterday, the 300-page document consists largely of harsh words for the Republicans on the committee. Notably, though, it contains a section titled “Secretary Clinton Never Personally Denied Security Requests,” which is concerned primarily with refuting claims that Hillary Clinton personally refused Ambassador Stevens’s requests for additional security. The presence of Clinton’s signature, the authors insist, was standard for any cable and did not necessarily indicate personal culpability.
If Mrs. Clinton had personally reviewed the requests for security and denied them, her actions would have been truly unconscionable. But that she did not does not excuse her. Clinton’s role in the Benghazi disaster runs much deeper than a signature on a piece of paper.
RELATED: The Benghazi Debacle Should Have Ended Hillary Clinton’s Career
Seeking to make her mark as secretary of state, it was Hillary Clinton who pushed the Libya intervention in the first place. And while she cannot be blamed for the military’s lack of response the night of the attack, it was Hillary Clinton who was responsible for making sure all of her staff and the outposts they manned had sufficient existing security. Mrs. Clinton’s claims that she was not aware of the situation in Libya because she personally didn’t handle the cable is belied by the fact that she was originally planning to make a trip to Benghazi and Tripoli in October 2012, one month after the attack took place. And in the aftermath of the attack, Hillary Clinton helped peddle information that she and the administration knew was false. Regardless of how the situation played out, Mrs. Clinton was the secretary of state, making her responsible for both her actions and the actions of her staff. No matter who was signing the papers, final authority — and responsibility — rests with the head of the department.
Clinton’s role in the Benghazi disaster runs much deeper than a signature on a piece of paper.
For years, Clinton apologists have employed this reasoning to defend the indefensible, repeatedly arguing that unless Mrs. Clinton was personally involved, she cannot be held accountable. But this argument lays bare a deep-seated hypocrisy. Indeed, when it comes to criticizing Republican politicians, American liberals have embraced the exact opposite logic for years. After 9/11, Democrats crucified George W. Bush for not doing enough to prevent the planes from crashing into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, as if he were an analyst monitoring terrorist chatter or working as an air-traffic controller. A few years later, Democrats blamed the less-than-ideal response after Hurricane Katrina on racial bias in the broader Bush administration. And, more recently, Democrats have called for Michigan governor Rick Snyder to resign in the wake of the Flint Water Crisis, as if he were personally responsible for putting test strips into the water supply.
But if the buck stops with President Bush and Governor Snyder for things that they certainly were not charged with personally overseeing, why doesn’t it stop with Mrs. Clinton? Why is the investigation into the Benghazi attack a “conspiratorial witch hunt” and not an investigation into what was, at best, an incompetent handling of a terrible situation? Why is there always someone, anyone, there to take the fall?
#related#The simple answer: The adoption of that consistent logic would not fit the narrative that Hillary Clinton is both experienced and capable. Famously, President Obama has suggested that there’s “[never] been someone so qualified to hold” the office of the presidency. But if Mrs. Clinton suddenly had to start taking responsibility for both her actions and the actions of those directly reporting to her, the fake shine that her apologists have contrived would inevitably start to dull. And, because Hillary is to be crowned in November, liberals can’t risk that happening.
If the Left wants to face the uphill battle of mounting a credible defense of Hillary Clinton, they should start by eliminating their rhetorical double standard. And if Mrs. Clinton truly wants the American people to trust her, she should start by finally taking responsibility for the things that have happened on her watch. | {
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The saying goes that one person’s waste is another’s treasure. For those scientists who study urine the saying is quite literal–pee is a treasure-trove of scientific potential. It can now be used as a source of electric power. Urine-eating bacteria can create a strong enough current to power a cell phone. Medicines derived from urine can help treat infertility and fight symptoms of menopause. Stem cells harvested from urine have been reprogrammed into neurons and even used to grow human teeth.
For modern scientists, the golden liquid can be, well, liquid gold. But a quick look back in history shows that urine has always been important to scientific and industrial advancement, so much so that the ancient Romans not only sold pee collected from public urinals, but those who traded in urine had to pay a tax. So what about pee did preindustrial humans find so valuable? Here are a few examples:
Urine-soaked leather makes it soft: Prior to the ability to synthesize chemicals in the lab, urine was a quick and rich source of urea, a nitrogen-based organic compound. When stored for long periods of time, urea decays into ammonia. Ammonia in water acts as a caustic but weak base. Its high pH breaks down organic material, making urine the perfect substance for ancients to use in softening and tanning animal hides. Soaking animal skins in urine also made it easier for leather workers to remove hair and bits of flesh from the skin.
The cleansing power of pee: If you’ve investigated the ingredients in your household cleaners, you may have noticed a prevalent ingredient: ammonia. As a base, ammonia is a useful cleanser because dirt and grease–which are slightly acidic–get neutralized by the ammonia. Even though early Europeans knew about soap, many launderers preferred to use urine for its ammonia to get tough stains out of cloth. In fact, in ancient Rome, vessels for collecting urine were commonplace on streets–passers-by would relieve themselves into them and when the vats were full their contents were taken to a fullonica (a laundry), diluted with water and poured over dirty clothes. A worker would stand in the tub of urine and stomp on the clothes, similar to modern washing machine’s agitator.
Even after making soap became more prevalent, urine–known as chamber lye for the chamber pots it was collected in–was often used as a soaking treatment for tough stains.
Urine not only made your whites cleaner, but your colors brighter: Natural dyes from seeds, leaves, flowers, lichens, roots, bark and berries can leach out of a cloth if it or the dyebath aren’t treated with mordant, which helps to bind the dye to the cloth. It works like this: molecules of dye called chromophores get wrapped inside a more complex molecule or a group of molecules; this shell housing the dye then binds to the cloth. The central nugget of dye is then visible but is protected from bleeding away by the molecules surrounding it. Stale urine–or more precisely the ammonia in it–is a good mordant. Molecules of ammonia can form a web around chromophores, helping to develop the color of dyes as well as to bind it to cloth.
Specific chamberpots dedicated to urine helped families collect their pee for use as mordants. Urine was so important to the textile industry of 16th century England that casks of it–an estimated amount equivalent to the urine stream of 1000 people for an entire year–were shipped from across the country to Yorkshire, where it was mixed with alum to form an even stronger mordant than urine alone.
Pee makes things go boom: Had enough with cleansing, tanning, and dyeing? Then why not use your pee to make gunpowder! Gunpowder recipes call for charcoal and sulfur in small quantities, both of which for aren’t too hard to find. But the main ingredient–potassium nitrate, also called saltpeter–was only synthesized on a large-scale in the early 20th century. Prior to that, makers of gunpowder took advantage of the nitrogen naturally found in pee to make the key ingredient for ballistic firepower.
As detailed in the manual Instructions for the Manufacture of Saltpetre, written by physician and geologist Joseph LeConte in 1862, a person hoping to make gunpowder quickly would need “a good supply of thoroughly rotted manure of the richest kind” which is then mixed with ash, leaves and straw in a pit. “The heap is watered every week with the richest kinds of liquid manure, such as urine, dung-water, water of privies, cess-pools, drains, &c. The quantity of liquid should be such as to keep the heap always moist, but not wet,” he wrote. The mixture is stirred every week, and after a several months no more pee is added. Then “As the heap ripens, the nitre is brought to the surface by evaporation, and appears as a whitish efflorescence, detectible by the taste.”
Different regions of the world had their own recipes for gunpowder, but the scientific principle at work is the same: Ammonia from stagnant pee reacts with oxygen to form nitrates. These nitrates–negatively charged nitrogen-bearing ions–then search for positively charged metal ions in the pee-poo-ash slurry to bind with. Thanks to the ash, potassium ions are in abundance, and voila! After a little filtering, you’ve made potassium nitrate.
Urine gives you a whiter smile: Urine was a key ingredient in many early medicines and folk remedies of dubious effectiveness. But one use–and those who’ve tried it say it works–is as a type of mouthwash. While “urine-soaked grin” isn’t the insult of choice these days, a verse by Roman poet Catullus reads:
Egnatius, because he has snow-white teeth, smiles all the time. If you’re a defendant in court, when the counsel draws tears, he smiles: if you’re in grief at the pyre of pious sons, the lone lorn mother weeping, he smiles. Whatever it is, wherever it is, whatever he’s doing, he smiles: he’s got a disease, neither polite, I would say, nor charming. So a reminder to you, from me, good Egnatius. If you were a Sabine or Tiburtine or a fat Umbrian, or plump Etruscan, or dark toothy Lanuvian, or from north of the Po, and I’ll mention my own Veronese too, or whoever else clean their teeth religiously, I’d still not want you to smile all the time: there’s nothing more foolish than foolishly smiling. Now you’re Spanish: in the country of Spain what each man pisses, he’s used to brushing his teeth and red gums with, every morning, so the fact that your teeth are so polished just shows you’re the more full of piss.
The poem not only reveals that Catullus wasn’t a fan of Egnatius, but that Romans used urine to clean and whiten their teeth, transforming morning breath into a different smell entirely. The active ingredient? You guessed it: ammonia, which lifted stains away.
But perhaps one of the most critical uses of urine in history was its role in making the above home remedies obsolete. Urea, the nitrogen bearing compound in urine, was the first organic substance created from inorganic starting materials. In 1828, German chemist Friedrich Wöhler mixed silver cyanate with ammonium chloride and obtained a white crystalline material that his tests proved was identical to urea. His finding disproved a hypothesis of many leading scientists and thinkers of the time, which held that living organisms were made up of substances entirely different than inanimate objects like rocks or glass. In a note to a colleague, Wöhler wrote, “I can no longer, so to speak, hold my chemical water and must tell you that I can make urea without needing a kidney, whether of man or dog; the ammonium salt of cyanic acid is urea.”
Wöhler’s discovery showed that not only could organic chemicals be transformed and produced in the lab, but that humans were part of nature, rather than separate from it. In doing so, he began the field of organic chemistry. Organic chemistry has given us modern medicines, materials such as plastic and nylon, compounds including synthetic ammonia and potassium nitrate…and, of course, a way to clean our clothes or fire a gun without using our own (or someone else’s) pee. | {
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The Out Patient Departments (OPDs) in the Siliguri district hospital and North Bengal Medical College and Hospital will remain shut on Thursday as junior doctors' strike has entered the third day here. leaving hundreds of patients in the lurch. | {
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The most contentious U.S. Soccer Federation presidential election in recent memory has reached the homestretch. This Saturday, the USSF's National Council will gather in Orlando, Florida, and vote on who will lead the organization for the next four years. The only certainty is that it won't be current president Sunil Gulati, who declined to run for re-election.
Hoping to succeed him are eight candidates: Half are former professional players, while the backgrounds of the other four lean more toward the business side. There are establishment candidate and rank outsiders, which makes for a fragmented and fluid vote that seems destined to go to multiple ballots.
Editor's Note: This story was updated on Thursday.
We reviewed their progress back in December but, with less than a week to go, here's a look at the candidates and their respective chances of victory. (And if you want to know exactly how the election works, click here.)
Kathy Carter
Chances of winning: 25 percent (up from 23) | Q&A
Carter is among those who view the position of president as less of an executive position and more of a chairperson of the board, and she wants to open up the bid process for marketing partners. She wants to bring more diversity to executive-level positions within the USSF and create a technical department to manage on-field aspects, including the hiring of coaches. She wants to go "all-in" on the women's game and stabilize the National Women's Soccer League. Perhaps most controversially, Carter wants to form an independent commission, headed by sports executive Casey Wasserman, to examine every aspect of player development.
Carter enters the final days of the race with a built-in base of support from Major League Soccer, whose delegates comprise 14.5 percent of the vote. Her challenge remains convincing voters outside of that core support that she is the best candidate to lead the USSF forward. Carter has managed to pick off a few state associations, but the athletes council, which traditionally votes as a bloc and accounts for 20 percent of the vote, will have a huge say as to her chances of success.
Update: It appears that Carter is gaining a bit of separation. ESPN FC can confirm an SI.com report that the three votes from the NWSL (4.6 percent of the total weighted vote) will go for Carter. There are still questions as to whether the bloc-vote strategy of the Athletes Council will actually be adopted but if that approach is taken, a single ballot election -- once thought to be highly unlikely -- could occur with Carter the beneficiary. If not, that means multiple ballots and more uncertainty given the number of moving parts.
Carlos Cordeiro
Chances of winning: 23 percent | Q&A
Cordeiro wants to engage in a considerable restructuring of the USSF, which starts with making the office of president more a chairperson of the board role, with the incumbent working more collaboratively with the board of directors. Cordeiro wants to create a new technical department to oversee all on-field aspects, including the hiring of coaches. He wants to appoint an independent USSF board member to oversee the awarding of future commercial rights contracts. And Cordeiro seeks to make the game more affordable for players and coaches by increasing scholarships and grants.
In terms of his chances, Cordeiro is considered to be among the favorites. As a sitting USSF vice president, he is more of an establishment candidate but carries less baggage than Carter and will provide a level of comfort to those leaning toward a more business-oriented candidate.
Kyle Martino
Chances of winning: 19 percent (up from 17) | Q&A
Martino's platform consists of three planks. The first involves making the USSF more transparent, while making the presidency a paid position. He is also emphasizing equality, which includes making the game more accessible for kids from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as better treatment of the women's national team. The third is titled "progress" and includes clarifying the youth player path, creating an environment for more collaboration among the various youth soccer stakeholders, as well as a gradual path toward implementing a system of promotion/relegation at the pro level.
Martino has made some headway in the past month and his tactic of taking on establishment candidates has broadened his appeal to a degree. The sense among delegates that ESPN FC has spoken to is that he has moved into the top tier of candidates.
Update: Martino's momentum is continuing but he absolutely must secure the votes on the Athletes Council to have any shot of winning. He may also be viewed as a compromise candidate for those disinclined to vote for Carter or Cordeiro.
Eric Wynalda
Chances of winning: 18 percent | Q&A
Wynalda is the champion of the anti-establishment wing, advocating for -- among other things -- a path to promotion and relegation, moving MLS to a winter calendar, renegotiating the CBA for the U.S. women's national team, and securing a media rights deal similar to that proposed by MP & Silva back in September. He wants to use an endowment fund to make the game more affordable for coaches and players, as well as educate parents new to the game. And Wynalda wants the relationship with SUM to be "thoroughly vetted and reviewed" to make sure that the USSF is maximizing its take from commercial rights deals.
Wynalda's campaign had been gaining some momentum among voters on the adult and youth councils, but that seems to have stalled in recent weeks. That said, in a crowded field with a fragmented electorate, he remains a force in the race.
Update: Now hearing that Wynalda's slide has abated. Whether that's wishful thinking or a last spasm of support is still difficult to tell.
Steve Gans
Chances of winning: 11 percent (down from 15) | Q&A
While Gans is among the proponents for improved corporate governance, a separate search committee for the next men's national team coach, and equality and greater support for the women's game, much of his platform's focus is on revamping the youth system. He is proposing that the development academy be re-evaluated and wants to use part of U.S. Soccer's $130 million surplus to make the game more affordable. He wants to solve what he calls "the counterproductive competition" among various youth sanctioning bodies. Gans is also keen to give the state associations at both the youth and adult levels more say in how they are run.
Gans' advantage heading into the final week is that he has few negatives (if any) and could emerge as a compromise candidate if the election goes to multiple ballots, which seems likely. However, it still looks like he has some ground to make up.
Update: As the race coalesces around Carter and Cordeiro, and perhaps even Martino, it's becoming more difficult for Gans to make any headway.
Mike Winograd
Chances of winning: 3 percent | Q&A
Winograd is not of the belief that everything in the system needs to be ripped up. His platform contains three major planks: transparency by which critical decisions are made, addressing the inequities that the women's national team faces, and tackling the costs affecting coaching education and youth soccer. He also want to take a "fresh look" at youth soccer's organizational structure on a state-by-state basis. Where Winograd sets himself apart is a novel, non-binary way of implementing promotion/relegation via "guest spots" and guaranteed positions for MLS teams. At the very least, it shows some out-of-the-box thinking.
Despite limited resources, Winograd has been effective in raising his profile and communicating his ideas effectively over the past month. Will he win this election? No, but he just may set the stage for greater involvement in the USSF down the road.
Hope Solo
Chances of winning: < 1 percent | Link to Q&A
The planks of Solo's platform consist of creating a winning soccer culture, pushing for equal pay for the women's national team and all women in the USSF workplace, addressing the pay-to-play issue in youth soccer and making the game accessible to all. She is pushing for organizational, operational and financial governance transparency. Along the way, Solo has been highly critical of what she described as the USSF's approach of valuing profits above all else.
Solo has done her best to be a disruptive force in the election. Solo has also been blunt in her belief that the USSF is failing in its mission, going so far as to file a complaint with the U.S. Olympic Committee. That said, she stands next to no chance of winning.
Paul Caligiuri
Chances of winning: < 1 percent | Link to Q&A
Caligiuri's ideas for revamping youth development include creating a performance development task force in every state, as well as youth development training centers at the state and national level. He is also advocating that there be more diversity in the USSF's ranks, as well as re-establishing links with the amateur game at the adult level. Caligiuri also wants to improve player identification by making more use of the Olympic Development Program and U.S. Club Soccer's id2 program.
Caligiuri retains considerable name recognition from his time as a player and he does have some intriguing ideas, but, in a crowded field, his candidacy has been unable to get much traction. | {
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Mel Gibson, Vince Vaughn Reteam for Thriller 'Dragged Across Concrete' (Exclusive)
'Bone Tomahawk' filmmaker S. Craig Zahler wrote the script and will direct the crime drama, which will be introduced to buyers at Berlin's European Film Market.
After first teaming up on the Oscar-nominated war movie Hacksaw Ridge, Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn are pairing up again for Dragged Across Concrete, a gritty crime thriller from Bone Tomahawk filmmaker S. Craig Zahler.
Bloom will introduce the project to buyers at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin, with WME repping U.S. rights.
Keith Kjarval of Unified Pictures is producing along with Zahler’s frequent collaborators, Dallas Sonnier of Cinestate and Assemble Media’s Jack Heller. Kjarval’s Unified Film Fund I is financing.
The script centers on two policemen, one an old-timer (Gibson), the other his volatile younger partner (Vaughn), who find themselves suspended when a video of their strong-arm tactics become the media's cause du jour. Low on cash and with no other options, these two embittered soldiers descend into the criminal underworld to gain their just due, but instead find far more than they wanted awaiting them in the shadows.
Vaughn is coming off of chewy, scene-stealing work in Hacksaw Ridge, which Gibson directed. The movie has earned six Oscar nominations, including for best director and picture. The pic also swept the Australian Film Academy’s prizes and received three Golden Globe and two SAG nominations.
Concrete will also mark a reteaming of Vaughn with Zahler. The actor last year wrapped production on Zahler’s Brawl in Cell Block 99, a prison drama that also counts Jennifer Carpenter and Don Johnson in its cast.
Gibson is repped by CAA and Hansen Jacobson; Vaughn is with WME and Jackoway Tyerman. Zahler is repped by UTA, Cinestate and Ziffren Brittenham | {
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The Democrats who wrote and passed the Affordable Care Act were sure of two things: The law had to include a mandate requiring every American to purchase health insurance, and it had to have an enforcement mechanism to make the mandate work. Enforcement has always been at the heart of Obamacare.
RELATED ARTICLE: GOP pounces on Obamacare tax form error
Now, though, enforcement time has come, and some Democrats are shying away from the coercive measures they themselves wrote into law.
The Internal Revenue Service is the enforcement arm of Obamacare, and with tax forms due April 15, Americans who did not purchase coverage and who have not received one of the many exemptions already offered by the administration are discovering they will have to pay a substantial fine. For a household with, say, no kids and two earners making $35,000 a piece, the fine will be $500, paid at tax time.
That's already a fact. What is particularly worrisome to Democrats now is that, as those taxpayers discover the penalty they owe, they will already be racking up a new, higher penalty for 2015. This year, the fine for not obeying Obamacare's edict is $325 per adult, or two percent of income above the filing threshold, whichever is higher. So that couple making $35,000 a year each will have to pay $1,000.
RELATED ARTICLE: States move toward more enrollment periods for Obamacare
There's another problem. The administration's enrollment period just ended on February 15. So if people haven't signed up for Obamacare already, they'll be stuck paying the higher penalty for 2015.
By the way, Democrats don't like to call the Obamacare penalty a penalty; its official name is the Shared Responsibility Payment. But the fact is, the lawmakers' intent in levying the fines was to make it so painful for the average American to ignore Obamacare that he or she will ultimately knuckle under and do as instructed.
RELATED ARTICLE: Obamacare oops: The administration sent 800,000 people the wrong tax form
Except that it's easier to inflict theoretical pain than actual pain. Tax filing season is enlightening many Americans for the first time about the "mechanics involved" in Obamacare's fee structure, Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett wrote to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on December 29. "Many taxpayers will see the financial consequences of their decision not to enroll in health insurance for the first time when they make the Shared Responsibility Payment."
That is why Doggett, who has since been joined by fellow Democratic Reps. Sander Levin and Jim McDermott, asked the administration to create a new signup period for anyone who claims ignorance of the penalty. On Friday, the administration complied, creating a "special enrollment period" from March 15 to April 30.
RELATED ARTICLE: Mandate penalty prompts signups for Obamacare
To be eligible, according to an administration press release, people will have to "attest that they first became aware of, or understood the implications of, the Shared Responsibility Payment after the end of open enrollment … in connection with preparing their 2014 taxes."
It's not the most stringent standard: Just say you didn't know. But even with that low bar, a significant number of Americans will decide not to enroll in Obamacare. For some, it's the result of a financial calculation; paying the fine is cheaper than complying. Others are unaware. Maybe a few are just defiant.
RELATED ARTICLE: Access to Obamacare isn't the same as access to healthcare
Whatever the reasons, quite a few people will be hit with the penalty; Doggett and his Democratic colleagues subscribe to the Treasury Department's estimate that somewhere between three million and six million Americans will have to pay the Obamacare penalty on the tax forms they're filing now. Many will owe more next year, when the penalty goes even higher in 2016.
The individual mandate has always been extremely unpopular. In December 2014, just a couple of months ago, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 64 percent of those surveyed don't like the mandate. The level of disapproval has been pretty consistent since the law was passed.
And there's very little chance the individual mandate's approval numbers will improve, now that millions of Americans are getting a taste of what it really means. They're learning an essential truth of Obamacare, which is that if you don't sign up, the IRS will make you pay. No matter how much some Democrats would like to soften the blow they have delivered to the American people, that's the truth about Obamacare. | {
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Physical release first, followed by digital release a week later.
Idea Factory International has delayed Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2: Sisters Generation from its planned January 28 release date in Europe.
While the game will still launch on January 27 in North America in both physical and digital formats, the game will now launch at retail in Europe on February 6 and digitally on February 11. | {
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In my ongoing series on calculating similarities one angle always seemed worth trying, and was pointed out many times on Reddit - use C++ and matrix manipulations. Similarity calculation fits very nicely into matrix representation, and there are algorithms targeting sparse matrix manipulation. So why did I delay it for so long? Because I had other angles I wanted to try and, from the looks of it required significant changes in the existing code base. But since last optimizations didn’t bring the time cuts I’ve expected, the time has come. Brace yourself.
Use matrixes
After some refactoring, I’ve managed to create a place where I could swap the existing implementation for the new one.
It took ~30 minutes of thinking, going back and fourth, but in the end, I’ve maneged to fit in without adding changes to the external code only for this implementation. So think, think, think and then code. Not the other way around. It is faster that way.
The function signature is this:
public static Dictionary < int , List < RecipeSimilarityLight >> calculateSimilarityMapForAll ( Dictionary < int , IngredientWeightsVector > recipeIngredientVector , ILogger logger ) {
where:
Dictionary<int, IngredientWeightsVector> vectorMap is a dictionary where the key is RecipeId and IngredientWeightsVector is a IDictionary containing the owned ingredients and weights.
I first wanted to try the most brute force approach possible - using float[][] without any fancy algorithms. Just to have a reference point. So here it is:
public static Dictionary < int , List < RecipeSimilarityLight >> calculateSimilarityMapForAll ( Dictionary < int , IngredientWeightsVector > vectorMap , NLog . Logger logger ) { //similarity calculations var matrix = CreateRecipeMatrix ( vectorMap ); var transposeMatrix = Transpose ( matrix ); var multiplyed = Multiply ( matrix , transposeMatrix ); var vectorsLength = ComputeVectorsLength ( vectorMap ); var resultMatrix = Normalize ( matrix , vectorsLength ); //finding the most similar recipes var dict = initSimilarityMap ( allRecipes ); int index = 0 ; for ( int i = 0 ; i < resultMatrix . Length ; i ++) { if ( index % 500 == 0 ) logger . Info ( "Calculated: " + index + " from: " + allRecipes . Count ); var recipeId = allRecipes [ i ]; for ( int j = 0 ; j < resultMatrix [ i ]. Length ; j ++) { var secondRecipeId = allRecipes [ j ]; var similarity = resultMatrix [ i ][ j ]; addSimilarityIfGoodEnough ( dict [ recipeId ], recipeId , secondRecipeId , similarity ); } } return dict . ToDictionary ( a => a . Key , a => a . Value . ToList ()); }
After clicking run I saw this:
Unhandled Exception: OutOfMemoryException.
and soon after, this:
So without terminating the application I fired up Task Manager and saw this:
So what is going on here? I have 16 Gigs of RAM and I get OutOfMemoryException from a process holding less than one?
Since there are many ways to look at one problem I fired up something more advanced - Process Explorer from Microsoft.
Process Explorer is a part of SysInternals Suite and it is a MUST HAVE for anyone using Windows environment. It requires no installation, just copy and paste.
Process Explorer showed the same and something completely different:
One number is the same (there is a slight difference due to my computer crashing because of low memory), but the other number is a bit, to say it politely, different. And it is huge - 35 gigabytes. So what are those two categories and why is Task Manager showing one, and not the other?
To fully understand why did I get OutOfMemoryException while still having much RAM memory free we will have to understand, at least a bit, memory allocation in Windows and .NET Framework.
Windows, memory allocation and .NET Framework
So how I ended up with ~800MB Working Set , ~45 times larger Private Byes an OutOfMemoryException and Your system is low on memory message from Windows? This has to do with the way .NET Framework behaves.
Windows has a few used memory measurement, but I will concentrate on two of them:
Private Bytes also called the Private Set
Working Set
What is the difference?
Before I continue one note: There is a lot more to Windows and .NET memory management. I’ve taken only the parts needed for this problem. Go and read the linked articles for more in depth knowledge.
Working Set
A simple explanation:
Working set is the RAM memory that the process is currently using. Touching memory fragment for the first time moves it from Private Bytes to Working Set[source]
Precise one: This is the memory that the process can is currently using. Here are all variables and mapped files.
Private Bytes
To put it simple:
Private Bytes is the memory that the process might need.
A more precise: This is the amount of memory that the OS thinks the process will need in the near future. To be even more precise it is the amount of space that has been allocated in the swap file to hold the contents of the private memory in the event that it is swapped out [source]. As mentioned by the cited article this value may, and very often is, overestimated by the OS.
So why is the OS thinking I will need 35 gigabytes of memory? It must be the .NET Framework.
.NET Framework memory allocation
When running managed code .NET Framework is taking care of memory allocation and collection. It is allocating memory in bigger chunks from the OS, so that when creating a variable, so allocating memory for it, we are not communicating with the underlying system, but only with the runtime. Why .NET is doing it? For several reasons:
To keep track of the allocated objects so it can garbage collect them.
For performance. Allocating a 20 MB chunk with one call will faster than doing it with 2000 100KB calls.
Memory fragmentation.
The last one needs a it more clarification: This is the situation when where is no continuous block of free memory of requested size, but the sum of free memory is bigger than requested. Because one ASCI art says more than 1000 words here it is:
Our memory: |oo_o_ooo__o_o_o| where: - o - allocated - _ - free
In this situation, although we have 6 slots of free memory we can’t allocate a 3 slot object. How is .NET different from the OS in this subject? .NET can change the physical address of the object in the compaction phase of the garbage collection as long as it is not pinned using fixed .
So .NET Framework is over allocating, and then Windows is also over allocating and this ends up in the system running out of memory and crashing my application? This means that the framework AND the operating system is broken?
It is best not to assume that step back, have a break and look at the code once again in few minutes.
The mystery
I finally figured it out and it was so obvious that I felt stupid. Can You guess why did I run out of memory? To make it easier:
the framework is not broken
Windows is not broken (at least in this case)
read the first and the second post.
There are no awards, but I will try to highlight those who get it. | {
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KAVARNA, Bulgaria – Graeme McDowell made amends for last year's defeat to capture the Volvo World Match Play Championship on Sunday, defeating Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee 2 and 1 in the final at Thracian Cliffs Golf and Beach Resort.
The 2010 U.S. Open champion fought back from 2 down after four holes and only edged in front of his 43-year old opponent on the 14th hole before securing the victory at the 17th.
It was McDowell's second win in three events after he also captured the RBC Heritage earlier this month.
''It's been a nice day and nice to receive a great trophy,'' McDowell said. ''We have talked all week about the prestige of this event and how many great champions have won this tournament, and it's just nice to add my name to that list of legends.''
McDowell move to the top of the European Tour money list and will also move up one place to No. 7 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
The Northern Irishman advanced to the final by defeating Branden Grace of South Africa 3 and 2 in the semifinals earlier in the day. He needed the qualities that allowed him to play on two Ryder Cup-winning teams.
Having fought back to win the 7th, McDowell appeared to feel Jaidee was tiring and made his move to win Nos. 12, 14 and 15.
''I thought when Thongchai went 2 up after four holes that this wasn't the script I had read,'' said McDowell. ''But then after winning the seventh and managing to halve nine and 10, I felt good. I felt like I was starting to get in control and I sensed Thongchai was weakening, and I just sensed an opening and I just seized that opening.''
Jaidee, who defeated Thomas Aiken of South Africa 3 and 2 to reach the final, has jumped 24 places to seventh in the Race to Dubai.
''I am very happy and had a very good week,'' Jaidee said. ''I made only one mistake in the final on the 14th hole after a poor drive. But it was a good tournament for me. My game is very solid. I came here of course to win, and to come second, I am very proud and satisfied as it is a good result for me.
''I did get very tired this afternoon, but more importantly, I enjoyed the tournament.'' | {
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“If that person that was in her room passed away from that, and my mother was in that room with her, I would have at least expected them, if possible, to let us know: Your mother was in a room with somebody that was positive, so we’re going to be keeping an eye on her for a couple of weeks just to make sure,” Loredo said. “But nothing.” | {
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Another day another podcast!
We got video game news. XO19 happened and Microsoft has some fun announcements.
We've also got some personal announcements! Or one of us does. Who could it be? What could it be about? Is the episode art a clue? Maybe!
Probably.
Definitely.
Enjoy the show!
p.s. the intro is a hot jam straight from cha boy Snaggle. I'm new to this electronic music game so don't judge too harshly. Also yes I'm using the podcast to test out new music. Don't tell Adam.
Follow us on Twitter @tforcegg
Also @phokal @thesnagglewolf @Nelbium @SirJesterful @Punchinjello @MeriMayhem
http://discord.trinityforcenetwork.com
Or reach us by email: [email protected]
Intro: A Snagglewolf Original
Outro: Level 1 Music - Silver Surfer (NES) The game is hot garbo but this music slaps. | {
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To what extent are Germany's rivers contaminated by microplastics? A study published today provides some specific clues for the first time. Between 2014 and 2017, a research group at the University of Bayreuth led by Prof. Dr. Christian Laforsch gathered and analysed water samples from 22 rivers, mainly in the catchment area of the Rhein and Donau rivers. The new findings now represent one of the world's largest data sets from standardized studies on the appearance of plastic particles in rivers. The study was commissioned by the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Rhineland-Palatinate.
The 52 water samples under examination were taken from regions in southern and western Germany that varied greatly with respect to landscape, settlement, and industrial density. The researchers in Bayreuth found and analysed more than 19,000 objects in these samples of which 4,335 were unambiguously identified as plastic particles. Around 99 percent of these plastic particles are smaller than 5 millimetres and are thus classified as microplastics. Tiny particles with a diameter of 0.02 -- 0.3 millimetres (20 -- 300 micrometers) are the most common: they account for 62 percent of the plastic particles that were found. What is striking is that higher concentrations of microplastics tend to be found in small and medium-sized tributaries. Only low to medium concentration levels were measured in the Rhein, the largest body of water studied.
Polyethylene and polypropylene are the types of plastic that have the highest market share in Europe. Unsurprisingly, the majority of particles analysed were also made of these types of plastics. The irregular, fragmentary appearance of most particles suggest that they are fragments of larger plastic objects. In addition, plastic fibres were discovered at many sampling sites. Other forms of particles such as foil remnants, beads, or pellets were not discovered as often.
Taking samples of water near the surface of rivers poses a difficult technical challenge. For this reason, the research group in Bayreuth developed a special "Mini Manta" trawl for their investigations. A built-in flow metre measures the amount of water sampled, allowing the concentrations of microplastics to be precisely determined. The particles that were discovered were then precisely measured and chemically analysed in a laboratory. In this context, special equipment for micro-FTIR spectroscopy was used. "The advantage of this method is that even the tiniest particles that are only 0.02 millimeters can be unambiguously identified as plastics on the basis of their infrared spectra," explained Dr. Martin Löder, an environmental engineer at the University of Bayreuth.
The findings of the new study showed a level similar to findings from comparable bodies of water elsewhere in Europe and in North America. Prof. Dr. Christian Laforsch emphasized that in many respects further research on the spread of microplastics in inland waters is still needed. "This study has given us some detailed initial insights into microplastic contamination of Germany's rivers. However, precisely understanding the origin, temporary accumulation, and final destination of microplastics in bodies of water will require a great deal of future research," said Prof. Laforsch. | {
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Imagine you're an isolated brain floating lonely through the vast expanse of the Universe with all your thoughts, memories and perceptions just figments of your imagination. That's a depressing thought, but not a new one. There'd even be a name for you: you'd be a Boltzmann brain.
Isolated brains could randomly fluctuate into existence.
Boltzmann brains are of interest to physicists, in particular to cosmologists. The idea is that, according to quantum mechanics, there is energy in empty space which can fluctuate, producing particles as it does so. "If you wait long enough then these fluctuations will form, not just a particle here and a particle there, but a whole complex collection of them. A virus, or a little bunny rabbit, or even a functioning human being," explains Sean Carroll, a theoretical physicist at California Institute of Technology. "The idea is that a brain is the simplest thing that can randomly fluctuate into existence and can still be counted as a conscious being." Such a brain is called a Boltzmann brain (after the 19th century physicist Ludwig Boltzmann who studied fluctuations in systems that are made up of many particles, such as gases).
Even if you are not a cosmologist you will probably accept that the Universe is very large and very old. If you also accept that these fluctuations exist (they do), then you must accept that there may be some likelihood that within all this time and space Boltzmann brains do pop up. So these unfortunate beings are a real possibility in cosmology.
What worries cosmologists is not so much the possibility that we might all be Boltzmann brains dreaming unreal dreams about the world around us. Nobody seriously believes that. Cosmologists build theories about the Universe and how it evolves. In other areas of science, when you have come up with a theory (say about the behaviour of mice) you then set up an experiment (observe many mice) to see if your theory fits with observations. If it does, good, if not, you need to improve the theory, or throw it out. But since it's impossible to replicate our Universe in a lab, cosmologists can't do this. They need to come up with other ways of finding out whether a theory is plausible.
This is where Boltzmann brains come in. Once you have constructed a theory about the Universe you can calculate the probability that certain types of observers (including Boltzmann brains) come into existence. If the calculation suggests that we are overwhelmingly likely to be Boltzmann brains, rather than the good and honest observers we know we are, then that's an indication that something about the theory, or the assumptions you made in your probability calculation, is wrong.
Sean Carroll.
The obvious problem here is the word "know" in the previous sentence. How do we actually know that we are not Boltzmann brains? Well, we don't, but we might as well agree that we are not. "[If you are a Boltzmann brain] then all your ideas about history, your memory, the laws of physics and the rules of logic have all just fluctuated into your brain," explains Carroll. "And therefore you have no right to believe them because other laws, incorrect laws, could also have fluctuated into your brain. So you can't simultaneously believe that you're a Boltzmann brain and have any good reason to believe you're a Boltzmann brain."
Paradoxically, this paradox lets us off the hook: there is no point in doing science if we're not happy to agree that we're not Boltzmann brains and that our observations about the world are real. "I would advocate to try to come up with theories in which we're not likely to be Boltzmann brains and then we're on safe ground," says Carroll.
Cosmologists really do think along those lines. One theory that has suffered Boltzmann brain problems is called eternal inflation. You can find more about it here, but loosely speaking the idea is that our universe constantly sprouts new self-contained regions, like bubbles popping up in a bubble bath. We live in just one of those regions and have no access to the others, which could be very different from ours. Here calculations have suggested that we're extremely unlikely to be normal brains. This discovery sparked lively debate about the theory itself, the way people calculate the probability of our existence, and the question of whether we are "typical" beings or very rare ones.
If all of this makes you wonder whether cosmologists have lost the plot completely, be reassured that most of them urge caution when it comes to untestable theories and such probabilistic arguments. "All of this so beyond what we can immediately observe and test, that we need to be very skeptical and cautious," says Carroll. "We can't be too confident that we are on the right track. We always need to be very, very humble about making these extrapolations."
Sean Carroll has a great blog in which you can read about Boltzmann brains and many other mind boggling things.
About this article
Marianne Freiberger is Editor of Plus. She talked to Sean Carroll at the International Philosophy of Cosmology in September 2014. | {
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Il periodo era questo, quello del primo caldo. L’angolo di portico, subito dopo la vetrina del fornaio, sempre lo stesso. Lì, saldo e solido, faceva capolino un agglomerato di fango e erba che aveva resistito tutto l’inverno in attesa dei suoi abitanti. Ed era un gioco, andando a scuola, buttarci l’occhio quotidianamente per cogliere il momento esatto del ritorno. Per vedere la prima rondine. E, giorno dopo giorno, anche solo distrattamente, alzare lo sguardo per sbirciare tra i becchi e le piume di quella famiglia alata che in fondo sentivo un po’ anche mia. In una sorta di perfetta convivenza, serena e rispettosa, tra uomo e animale. Alzare lo sguardo, ripensandoci, era un po’ chiedersi se andasse tutto bene: sì, se c’è la rondine - anzi, un balestruccio nello specifico come avrei poi imparato negli anni - va tutto bene.
Oggi, sono tornato proprio ieri pomeriggio a verificare, quel nido c’è ancora: sempre là, con un quadrato di compensato sistemato alla base per raccogliere gli escrementi. Ma - nonostante questo - non va tutto bene. Ce lo dicono i numeri: le rondini sono diminuite del quaranta per cento in Europa negli ultimi 10 anni, a causa dell’inquinamento, dei pesticidi e della difficoltà di trovare spazi in cui sostare, privandoci così di un fondamentale attore nella gestione degli equilibri della biodiversità. E ce lo dicono gli atti vandalici, innumerevoli e diffusi , nei confronti dei nidi. Un tiro al bersaglio insensato e ingiustificato. Chi per diletto e chi per liberarsi dagli animali sotto i tetti o nei pressi delle case. Donne e uomini disturbati dallo svolazzare degli uccelli o dai loro bisogni fisiologici su automobili o marciapiedi. Distruggere un nido è un reato, lo dice una legge introdotta da diversi anni e lo ribadiscono ben due Convenzioni europee. E lo ricorda costantemente la Lipu, da tempo impegnata nella sensibilizzazione delle amministrazioni comunali con la delibera «Salva-rondini». Distruggere un nido è qualcosa di più: è infierire sul proprio futuro. È un campanello d’allarme inascoltato di un qualcosa che si è forse irrimediabilmente rotto tra la nostra specie e il pianeta. Di chi non si rende conto, non vuole rendersene conto, che la Terra può benissimo fare a meno dell’uomo, ma l’uomo non può fare a meno della Terra. E dovremmo ricordarcelo proprio oggi, in cui in tutto il mondo si celebra l’«Earth day».
La rondine non è il lupo. Non è l’orso. Non fa paura. Non ha implicazioni turistiche e economiche, non scatena dibattiti pubblici, non smuove paure ataviche. La rondine è simbolo di leggerezza e gioia. Ci ricorda, con la natura è fatta di ritmi, di tempi, anche di migrazioni e di fedeltà. La rondine, nei secoli, si sono adattate a noi, ai nostri abitati e alle nostre costruzioni. Le rondini, con il loro prender casa tra le nostre case, ci hanno portato a osservare scorci nuovi e inusuali delle città, ad accorgerci di non essere - comunque - gli unici occupanti di quelli spazi. «Vorrei girare il cielo come le rondini e ogni tanto fermarmi qua e là; aver il nido sotto i tetti al fresco dei portici e come loro quando è la sera chiudere gli occhi con semplicità». Cantava così Lucio Dalla. Un inno alla libertà e alla semplicità. Abbattere quel nido invece è un inno alla superficialità e alla irresponsabilità. Alla prepotenza. Metafora di una società non più in grado di badare a se stessa. Incapace di darsi una regolata. Un gesto di chi crede di non aver nulla da perdere. Forse perché ha già perso tutto. | {
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Heidi Klum’s Annual Halloween Party
Heidi Klum always manages to show up in the most outrageous, over the top, super unique yet very cool Halloween costumes for her annual Halloween parties.
This year was no different. Her party was held Friday night at at 1 Oak in New York City. Here is some pictures of Heidi with her man Seal and also a pic of Pink who attended the bash.
UPDATE: Heidi Klum explains how they came up with the idea of her costume:
“It was actually my assistant’s idea. My husband [Seal] and I were in India last year, so she said, ‘Why don’t you do an Indian goddess? Like a scary Indian goddess?’ And I said ‘OK!’ “So then she Googled around and she found Kali and showed me a picture, and I loved it,” Klum said. “I loved it because she’s so mean and killed all these different people and [had] fingers hanging off [her] and little shrunken heads everywhere.”
CLICK HERE to check out her cool cat costume at last years big event.
WENN | {
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Digg's traffic isn't what it used to be
Updated: since posting this article, it's hit the front page of Digg. Read our analysis of the stats and what they mean for Digg 4.
Since Digg came out with their much vaunted version 4 at the end of August, the social media blogs have documented in detail the trail of disaster which will surely become a case study in how to screw up a social site in business courses across the land.
Most recently, statistics have begun to emerge about the drop off in traffic at Digg.
There have been anecdotal stories of Digg's importance to publishers also being diminished, so I thought I'd share our experience on TechRadar.
There was a time when getting a Digg front page would actually crash our servers with the sheer weight of traffic; we had to re-engineer certain parts of the site to cope. That's most certainly no longer the case.
Before New Digg was launched, TechRadar was consistently in the top 30 sites making the front page of Digg; we hit the front page 177 times in the last year. Yet we have seen referrals from Digg drop off steadily until the v4 launch pretty much killed off Digg traffic entirely:
TechRadar's digg traffic
Traffic from Digg has fallen by 97% year on year, and by 86% since Digg 4 went live.
Now most Digg traffic is American, and as a British specialist site that's traffic we can, commercially speaking, manage without (despite getting nearly nothing from Digg in September we nevertheless broke all our site records).
Some US volume-based sites may not be so happy and it's certainly not making a compelling case for buying paid links on Digg.
It seems that in trying to correct the glitches which led to Mashable and Reddit owning the Digg front page, they have now excluded most of the publishers whose content made up the bread and butter of the site.
The so-called "power users" used to frequently submit our articles, but no longer have a route to do so. We don't auto-submit our articles as that seems like spam. We used to have a widget showing people which TechRadar articles were upcoming so they could vote for them, but the v4 upgrade broke that, and most of the other Digg tools.
Basically, Digg is now effectively dead to us, and I'm sure our experience is not unique: of the top 20 sites contributing front page articles in the last year, only two (CNN and Mashable) have an article on the front page today.
Something else to put in that case study.
Stuart Anderton is the Publishing Director of TechRadar
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When Chris Mitchelmore got to the section of paperwork where he had to justify hiring a longtime Liberal staffer for a job with a six-figure salary, he wrote nothing.
CBC News has obtained the documents filled out when Carla Foote was hired by the minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation to an executive position within The Rooms provincial art gallery and museum.
Each section of the hiring form is completed, until section four — titled "Rationale For Hiring."
Mitchelmore's scrawled signature rests a few inches below, giving authorization for the hire on Sept. 26, but the box of reasons for choosing Carla Foote is empty.
The section titled 'Rationale For Staffing' was left blank on Carla Foote's hiring authorization forms. (Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation)
The position was filled without competition, after it had been vacant for two years. It comes with a salary of $132,000.
The instructions in the section ask the minister to provide much of the same information the media has been demanding for months — why did the position need to be filled, was it considered difficult to fill, and was it necessary to fill it at all?
The initial job posting in 2016 stated a degree in marketing or commerce would be an asset. Foote has neither of those qualifications, but worked as the lead communications official for the provincial government.
Different story for another hire
The documents obtained by CBC News through an access to information request show a stark contrast in how Foote was hired versus how a colleague was hired a month later.
On Oct. 31, Mitchelmore authorized the hiring of Anne Chafe to a similar executive position with The Rooms. In the fourth section of that hiring form, Mitchelmore wrote three paragraphs, listing reasons for hiring Chafe to the position.
Anne Chafe's hiring forms look different, with a description provided under the rationale for staffing section. (@AnneChafe/Twitter, Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.)
Chafe's form was filled out in the days after a CBC News story raised questions about how Foote could be hired without competition.
What followed was more than a month of daily questions in the House of Assembly, and short, repetitious answers from Mitchelmore.
Earlier this month, a spokesperson for Mitchelmore's office told CBC News the minister would have nothing further to say on Foote's hiring.
Minister taking heat for hire
On Tuesday, Premier Dwight Ball voiced his support for Foote in a media scrum after question period.
"It's certainly not in my view a political payoff here," Ball said. "I think Carla Foote is highly qualified for that job."
A list of emails obtained by CBC News in the same access to information request show dozens of people in the general public did not share the premier's view. The letters criticizing the hiring decision had the names blacked out by a government information coordinator.
The Rooms houses Newfoundland and Labrador's provincial art gallery, museum and archives. (CBC)
"Please don't force good Liberal supporting voters to mark their X for Crosbie in 2019," one person wrote.
"The minister's statement aired on CBC's Here and Now last evening made me gag on my supper," another wrote in response to Mitchelmore's explanation for hiring Foote.
"Your decision to forego an open search for candidates in favour of making a unilateral, political appointment for a senior level position is unconscionable," a third person wrote to Mitchelmore. "Frankly, you should resign for the greater good."
Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador | {
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Identifying an acute myocardial infarction on the 12-lead ECG is the most important thing you can learn in ECG interpretation. Time is muscle when treating heart attacks. Missing a ST segment elevation MI on the ECG can lead to bad patient outcomes. It’s just not good. So let’s go over the ECG findings in STEMI — again, and again, and again — with multiple examples. This way, you can drill into your memory what each type of STEMI looks like on the 12-lead ECG. How to treat STEMI patients is discussed in the CAD - STEMI Topic Review.
There are five basic acute MI ECG patterns you will encounter. But sure, there are a few variations of each of these, and that is why looking at as many examples as possible is crucial — as mentioned in 10 Steps to Learn ECG Interpretation.
Type #1: Anterior ST Segment Elevation MI
This is the big one that carries a high mortality if not treated rapidly. An anterior STEMI is usually from acute thrombotic occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery — also known as the “widow maker.”
Recall that the anterior leads are technically V3 and V4; however, it is common for the septum and/or lateral wall to be involved during anterior MIs, as the LAD supplies septal branches to the interventricular septum and diagonal branches to the lateral wall. The septum is represented on the ECG by leads V1 and V2, whereas the lateral wall is represented by leads V5, V6, lead I and lead aVL. To make things more complicated, sometimes the LAD “wraps around” the cardiac apex, which is a common anatomic variant. This results in part of the inferior wall being supplied by the LAD, as well. Oh, my!
We will get to the examples soon, but first we need to understand some more basics of anterior MIs.
If the thrombus is in the proximal LAD, the septum and lateral walls will often also be involved, in addition to the anterior segments, resulting in ST segment elevation in leads V1 through V6 and perhaps lead I and aVL, as well.
When the thrombus is in the mid LAD (after the septal branch), the diagonal branch(es) may or may not be involved. If this is the case, then the ST segment elevation will be in V3 to V6 — and not the septal leads.
Because the anatomical opposite of the precordial leads would be posterior leads, which we do not commonly check in this setting, there are no “reciprocal changes” during anterior or septal MIs. Now, “high lateral” MIs with ST segment elevation in the limb leads I and aVL can show reciprocal ST segment depression in leads II, III and aVF.
Here is some more terminology. When there is not only anterior ST segment elevation (V3 and V4), but also septal (V1 and V2) and lateral (V5, V6, lead I and lead aVL), an “extensive anterior” MI is said to be present.
Recall, as well, that a STEMI is a STEMI is a STEMI. Treatment for all of them is the same, regardless of what pattern it takes — that is quick coronary revascularization.
Lastly, the official definition of STEMI according to the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for STEMI is “new ST segment elevation at the J point in at least two contiguous leads of ≥ 2 mm (0.2 mV) in men or ≥ 1.5 mm (0.15 mV) in women in leads V2-V3 and/or of ≥ 1 mm (0.1 mV) in other contiguous chest leads or the limb leads.” This means 1 mm in any two contiguous leads except leads V2 or V3, where the elevation must be 2 mm in men or 1.5 mm in women.
Below are the anterior MI ECG patterns that you may encounter.
Anterior MI Pattern – Tombstoning
This is named for obvious reasons. The J point is elevated and, along with the T wave, and it looks like a tombstone. In an anterior MI that shows “tombstoning,” there is frequently 4 to 6 millimeter of ST segment elevation. Do not confuse the ST segment elevation with the T wave. Look specifically where the ST segment is — waaaaay up from the baseline. Recall that the J point is where we need to measure the elevation from baseline, and the baseline is always the TP segment (between the T wave and the P wave).
Below is another example of tombstoning with a slightly different shape. There is septal involvement (lead V2) and a bit laterally, as well (lead V5 and V6). The more examples you see, the better.
The anteroseptal STEMI ECG example below is good enough to call a tombstone in lead V3. There is no lateral involvement here.
Anterior MI Pattern – Typical ST Segment Elevation
Although not quite a tombstone, there is still significant ST segment elevation here. The ST segment elevation barely reaches 5 mm in V3, and there is a bit of ST segment elevation laterally in lead V5 and V6. Thus, this example is an anterior STEMI with a little lateral involvement — no tombstones here. The ST segment in V3 is a good example of ST segment elevation that is “concave upward;” this is unlike the previous examples, where it is “concave downward” — also called “coving” of the ST segment.
The next example below is trying to tombstone — and maybe did in lead V4. There is definite elevation of the J point in V2 to V6, at least, and minimal elevation in V1 and V6. This is a good example to quickly point out something else. Say all the precordial leads (V1-V6) looked like the minimal ST segment/J point elevation in lead V1 and V6 below — not technically 1 mm, but looks abnormal, right? If that were the case, a non-STEMI or unstable angina may be present, as the changes are indeed from myocardial ischemia, but not officially a STEMI — meaning a big time difference in regards to treatment. Read the Unstable Angina/Non-STEMI Topic Review.
Anterior MI Example – Isolated J Point Elevation
Sure, all of these anterior MIs technically have J point elevation, and we already know that the actual definition of a STEMI from the ACC/AHA is based on the J point. However, as you can see, sometimes it is quite obvious that an anterior STEMI is present, and sometimes it is not. Below is an example where there is J point elevation, but it does not quite tombstone and does not really have eye-catching ST segment elevation.
This pattern is less common during an acute MI. But again, a STEMI is a STEMI is a STEMI, and you don’t want to miss any. There are only a few times that I recall isolated J point elevation that looks more like early repolarization but really occurred during acute chest pain from an anterior STEMI. It is important to compare to an old ECG if available. If the ST segment and J point were previously normal, then an anterior STEMI should be suspected — even if only the J point is elevated in the correct clinical setting such as acute chest pain. Here are some examples of what isolated J point elevation looks like.
If you looked quickly, you may miss this one. Again, it’s not dramatic, but the J point in lead V3 is up almost 3 mm from the baseline, and maybe 2mm in lead V4. Everything else looks fine. There is no septal or lateral involvement here, which is a bit unusual. This patient had an acute mid-LAD thrombus after the septal branches and after the first major diagonal branch.
This example below actually does not meet criteria for an anterior MI based on the J point in V3 or V4, but it does in the septal leads V1 and V2. Note that even though there is barely ST segment elevation in the high lateral leads (I and aVL), there is some good reciprocal depression in the inferior leads.
Type #2: Inferior ST Segment Elevation MI
Fortunately, recognizing the inferior STEMI is a bit more straightforward. This MI involves ST segment elevation in the inferior leads II, III and aVF and only requires 1 mm in 2 contiguous leads. There is usually reciprocal depression in leads I and aVL, which helps to distinguish this from pericarditis. There is not a lot of variation in how an inferior MI looks in regards to shape or ST segments; however, some are more dramatic than others based on the amplitude of ST segment elevation. Also, during an inferior MI, the ST segment elevation is usually concave upwards.
Below are some examples to see what they look like.
Inferior STEMI Example #1
Inferior STEMI Example #2
Inferior STEMI Example #3
Inferior STEMI Example #4
Type #3: Posterior ST Segment Elevation MI
This one is tricky when isolated, but it is very important not to miss. We treat it just like any other ST segment elevation MI, which is of course time sensitive.
The posterior wall is supplied by the posterior descending artery. The PDA branches from the right coronary artery in 80% of people (those who are right coronary dominant); therefore, occlusion of RCA can result in both an inferior STEMI and a posterior MI as well. Sometimes, it is obvious on the ECG when a posterior MI accompanies an inferior STEMI, but it can also occur all by itself.
The ECG criteria to diagnose a posterior MI — treated like a STEMI, even though no real ST segment elevation is apparent — include:
ST segment depression (not elevation) in V1 to V4. Think of things backwards. These are the septal and anterior ECG leads. The MI is posterior (opposite to these leads anatomically), so there is ST depression instead of elevation. Turn the ECG upside down, and it would look like a STEMI.
The ratio of the R wave to the S wave in leads V1 or V2 is greater than 1. This represents an upside-down Q wave (similar in reason to the ST depression instead of elevation).
ST segment elevation in the posterior leads of a posterior ECG (leads V7-V9). A posterior ECG is done by simply adding three extra precordial leads wrapping around the left chest wall toward the back.
Below are some examples including isolated posterior MIs, inferior STEMIs with posterior involvement and a posterior ECG.
Here is a patient with an isolated posterior MI. There is no inferior involvement here. It would have been nice to see more ST depression in V2, but there is some. Note the R/S ratio in V1 is quite high.
Now, here is the same patient with a posterior ECG tracing. Leads V7 to V9 were added. Leads V1 and V2 were moved a bit just to confuse us. There is not quite 1 mm ST segment elevation in these posterior leads, but you can see at least some slight elevation.
Below are two examples of ECG tracings with both inferior STEMI and posterior involvement. Remember, the more you look at the better!
Inferior-Posterior STEMI Example #1
Inferior-Posterior STEMI Example #2
Type #4: Acute MI with a Right Bundle Branch Block
Recall that a right bundle branch block does not stop us from detecting a STEMI on an ECG. Below are some examples to review in order to recognize anterior and inferior STEMIs with a RBBB.
Here is the anterior STEMI with a right bundle branch block ECG.
Now, here is an inferior STEMI with a RBBB on the ECG. Note the reciprocal depression in lead I and aVL.
Type #5: A New Left Bundle Branch Block – Equivalent to a STEMI
This must not be forgotten. At least a couple times, I recall proper treatment for STEMI was not instituted because the clinician either did not recognize that a new left bundle branch block is a STEMI equivalent or assumed the LBBB was old. You can learn the diagnostic criteria for this bundle branch in Left Bundle Branch Block ECG Review.
Sometimes, of course, there is no prior ECG for comparison, and you have to actually use your clinical judgment. Always err on the side of caution, and look out for the patient. It is better to activate the cath lab and find normal coronary arteries than to not and have a patient go into cardiogenic shock — as usually this type of MI indicates left main or proximal LAD involvement.
This is what a LBBB looks like in the precordial leads.
Note: There are criteria such as the Sgarbossa criteria and certain signs such as Chapman’s sign and Cabrera’s sign to diagnose an acute MI in the setting of a prior known left bundle, but the sensitivity is somewhat low.
Here is one last thing when trying to solidify this topic in your brain. A right ventricular infarct frequently accompanies an inferior STEMI; although unheard of to occur isolated, it may be just rare or under-recognized. An RV infarction can be detected with a right-sided ECG. It is a good idea to do a right-sided ECG in all inferior STEMI cases, as RV involvement can change the management approach. Learn the complications of STEMI in STEMI Topic Review.
Alrighty, then! By looking at these — again, and again, and again — you will never miss any type of STEMI on an ECG. This is the most important thing about using your ECG interpretation knowledge in the clinical setting, so I am glad you read all the way to the end.
- by Steven Lome, DO, RVT
Reference:
Thygesen K, et al. Third Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction. Circulation. 2012;doi:10.1161/CIR.0b013e31826e1058. | {
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We wrote previously about why you should support the Talos II from Raptor Engineering. The pre-order period for the Talos II is almost over. Making a pre-order will help them to launch this much-needed system. The goal for the folks at Raptor Engineering has always been to gain Respects Your Freedom certification. We certified a lot of new devices this year, and if we want to keep seeing those numbers increase, then it is critical that we support projects like this. As we said in our last post:
The unfortunate reality is that x86 computers come encumbered with built-in low-level backdoors like the Intel Management Engine, as well as proprietary boot firmware. This means that users can't gain full control over their computers, even if they install a free operating system.
While people are currently working to overcome the Intel Management Engine problem, each new generation of Intel CPUs is a new problem. Even if the community succeeds fully with one generation, it has to start over with the next one. This is precisely why the Talos II is important. As we said previously:
For the future of free computing, we need to build and support systems that do not come with such malware pre-installed, and the Power9-based Talos II promises to be a great example of just such a system. Devices like this are the future of computing that Respects Your Freedom.
You should help make the Talos II a success by making a pre-order by September 15th. The FSF Licensing & Compliance Lab will have to do another evaluation once it is actually produced to be sure it meets our certification standards, but we have high hopes. Here is what you can do to help: | {
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*
6 .
If complications are found with the foetus (e.g. Down Syndrome), should the parents be allowed to terminate the pregnancy? Why/why not? | {
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Well you know it’s the New Year when North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is threatening a new ballistic missile or nuclear test. This time, though, Kim Jong-un is saying the “Hermit Kingdom” is in the final stages of preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). This would be Pyongyang’s first test of an ICBM.
For years, right after Iran made news, we could always count on the North Korean dictator’s late father, Kim Jong-il, to try and grab headlines with the latest test of the Taepodong Missile, which usually failed on the launch pad or broke apart in pieces over the Pacific Ocean. The Taepodong Missile is North Korea’s version of Iran’s Shahab Missile.
In recent years, new ballistic missile tests, additional nuclear tests, and the successful launch of the Unha-3 rocket, tell us a great deal about the current leadership situation in North Korea and the maturity and capability of their technology. In fact, North Korea conducted over 20 ballistic missile tests in 2016 and has conducted 7 nuclear tests in the last decade, with 2 of those also coming in 2016.
So much for those Western reporters who wondered if Kim Jong-un would be different from his father. They pointed to his “western education,” love of the National Basketball Association, indifference towards politics and fondness for James Bond movies. Clearly, Kim Jong-un is a “chip off the old block” from both his father, and his grandfather and founder of the North Korean regime, Kim Il-sung.
Most concerning to me in recent years has been North Korea’s ability to launch the long range Unha-3 rocket to successfully get 2 satellites in space. The Unha-3 uses the same delivery technology as the Taepodong-2 Missile and is believed to have a range of at least 6,200 miles, well within the range of California. Several observers believe Kim Jong-un’s threatened ICBM test could come on January 8th, the North Korean ruler’s birthday or on January 20th, the date of the U.S. Presidential Inaugural.
President-elect Donald Trump will have to deal with many national security challenges when he becomes our 45th President on January 20th. These range from cyber attacks, radical Islam, securing our borders and rebuilding our military. The North Korean threat, with its combined nuclear and ballistic missile technology capability, must rank near the top.
On the campaign trail, candidate Donald Trump called the Iranian nuclear deal “the stupidest deal of all time” and said his top priority would be to “dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran.” With regards to North Korea, candidate Trump said he wanted China to get more involved to get Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program. He’s been right about both Iran and China. As he now confronts the North Korean nuclear threat, it will be important for our new President to remember the real link between Iran and North Korea. In short, Iran has been the “great enabler” of the national security threat America faces today from North Korea. Consider the facts:
As documented years ago by the Federation of American Scientists, Iran has been in bed with North Korea since the early 1980s and has helped fund North Korea’s missile development through oil and cash payments.
Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) confirms that Iran and North Korea entered into a scientific and technology agreement on September 1, 2012.
OSINT further confirms that following the 2012 scientific and technology deal between Tehran and Pyongyang, Iran deployed technical staff to North Korea to help with joint nuclear and missile development efforts.
Following Iran signing the Geneva interim agreement, senior North Korean officials met in Tehran in 2014 to discuss expansion of ties between the 2 countries.
A number of meetings involving Iranian and North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile technology experts reportedly took place in 2015.
U.S. Congressional testimony in 2016 revealed that Iran has conducted at least 8 ballistic missile tests since the Iran nuclear agreement was signed.
Several years ago it was documented that North Korea and Iran were both using the same miniaturized warhead design that can be traced back to the infamous Pakistani scientist, Dr. A.Q. Khan.
Yes, our new President is inheriting the most complex national security and foreign policy situation a U.S President has ever faced. With regards to the North Korean threat, though, he has a number of options. These include expediting the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to South Korea, beefing up America’s missile defenses on the West Coast, holding China accountable on the world stage and deploying a more extensive broadcast operation (using the Radio Free Europe model) consisting of TV, SatTV and radio, against North Korean broadcasts from locations in South Korea and Japan.
We are now seeing the consequences of getting a nuclear deal with Iran just to get a deal. Allowing Iran to be at least $150 BN richer as a result of unfreezing its assets, makes the current North Korean threat our new President now faces much more difficult. Make no mistake, thanks to “enablers” like Iran, the North Korean threat is the greatest nuclear weapons challenge to the United States since the Cold War. Come January 20th, 2017 it will be time for America to act and lead once again. | {
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Generally, though, you don't hear a Supreme Court justice talking like this. In fact, you generally don't hear a Supreme Court justice talking at all — much less about the big political issues of the day.
Most justices aren't Ruth Bader Ginsburg, though. And in a new New York Times interview, Ginsburg doesn't hold a thing back when it comes to the 2016 election.
“I can’t imagine what this place would be — I can’t imagine what the country would be — with Donald Trump as our president,” Ginsburg told the Times' Adam Liptak. “For the country, it could be four years. For the court, it could be — I don’t even want to contemplate that.”
Ginsburg also recalled something her late husband said about such matters: "Now it’s time for us to move to New Zealand."
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This appears to be a joke, but Ginsburg's sentiment here is crystal clear: She thinks Donald Trump would be a dangerous president. And in saying it, she goes to a place justices almost never do — and perhaps never have — for some very good reasons.
What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail share Share View Photos View Photos Next Image U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at Trump Doral golf course in Miami, Florida, U.S. July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)
Ginsburg is known for pushing the bounds of a justice's public comments and has earned something of a cult following on the left. But some say she just went too far.
"I find it baffling actually that she says these things," said Arthur Hellman, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh. "She must know that she shouldn’t be. However tempted she might be, she shouldn’t be doing it."
Similarly, Howard Wolfson, a former top aide to Hillary Clinton and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, said Ginsburg shouldn't have said it.
Others wondered what impact this might have on Ginsburg's decision to hear cases involving Trump.
And that's really a key reason justices don't talk like Ginsburg did. Sometimes they have to hear cases involving political issues and people. Having offered their unprompted opinions about such things can lead to questions about prejudice and potential recusal from future cases.
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As Greenfield notes, Ginsburg was a part of the court that decided who the president was when the 2000 election was thrown to the Supreme Court, so this isn't uncharted territory. Had she said something similar about either Bush or Al Gore, would she have been able to hear the case?
Louis Virelli is a Stetson University law professor who just wrote a book on Supreme Court recusals, titled "Disqualifying the High Court." He said that "public comments like the ones that Justice Ginsburg made could be seen as grounds for her to recuse herself from cases involving a future Trump administration. I don't necessarily think she would be required to do that, and I certainly don't believe that she would in every instance, but it could invite challenges to her impartiality based on her public comments."
Hellman said Ginsburg's comments could muddy the waters when it comes to decisions not just involving Trump but also his policies — something that could come up regularly should he win the presidency.
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"It would cast doubt on her impartiality in those decisions," Hellman said. "If she has expressed herself as opposing the election of Donald Trump, her vote to strike down a Trump policy would be under a cloud."
Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and who once clerked for conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, has criticized Ginsburg before for her public comments. But he said this one is more indefensible than any of its predecessors.
"I think this exceeds the others in terms of her indiscretions," Whelan said. "I am not aware of any justice ever expressing views on the merits or demerits of a presidential candidate in the midst of the campaign. I am not a fan of Donald Trump's at all. But the soundness or unsoundness of her concerns about Donald Trump has no bearing on whether it was proper for her to say what she said."
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Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California at Irvine, said it's valid to question how Ginsburg might have to handle a potential Trump case — up to and including a Clinton v. Trump case.
"I think this is ultimately a question for judicial ethicists, but I do think following these comments it is a legitimate question to raise, should Donald Trump’s campaign come to the Court with any legal questions before the election," Hasen wrote on his blog.
It's not clear that there is any real precedent for what Ginsburg just did.
Then-Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was criticized by some in 2000 after Newsweek reported her saying, "This is terrible," at an election-night watch party after Florida was prematurely called for Al Gore. Some argued that she should have recused herself from Bush v. Gore.
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Hellman noted that in 2004, a lower-court judge was forced to apologize for appearing to advocate against Bush's reelection. Guido Calabresi, a judge on the Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, had compared the 2000 Bush v. Gore decision to the elevation of Mussolini in Italy and Hitler.
''The reason I emphasize that is because that is exactly what happened when Mussolini was put in by the king of Italy,'' Calabresi said. ''That is what happened when Hindenburg put Hitler in.''
Calabresi was formally admonished for his comments, but that's not a possibility with Ginsburg, because Supreme Court justices are not beholden to such rules when it comes to their public comments. Justices are generally more circumspect because of professional pressure and self-discipline — not because there is a written rule that they must be.
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But for Ginsburg, it's clear that this has become a calculated risk that she is going to take. The New York Times comments weren't even the only time she has been critical of Trump. In an Associated Press interview published Friday, she also said a Trump presidency is basically unthinkable.
In an interview Thursday in her court office, the 83-year-old justice and leader of the court's liberal wing said she presumes Democrat Hillary Clinton will be the next president. Asked what if Republican Donald Trump won instead, she said, "I don't want to think about that possibility, but if it should be, then everything is up for grabs."
That's twice in two interviews — i.e. not a coincidence. | {
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The basic Polish borscht recipe includes red beetroot, onions, garlic, and other vegetables, such as carrots and celery or root parsley. Some versions are made with meat or bacon and served as a thicker stew. A vegetarian version of barszcz is presented as the first course during the Christmas Eve feast, served with ravioli-type dumplings called uszka with mushroom filling. | {
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Ouch.
MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann devoted 20 minutes of his “Countdown” program Wednesday evening to an all-out attack on the Tea Party and its candidates.
“It is,” he said, “as if a group of moderately talented performers has walked on stage at a comedy club on Improv night. Each hears a shout from the audience, consisting of a bizarre but just barely plausible fear or hatred or neurosis or prejudice.”
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“And the entertainment of the evening is for each to take their thin, absurd premise, and build upon it a campaign for governor or congressman or senator,” the MSNBC host continued. “The problem is, of course, when it turns out there is no audience shouting out gags, just a cabal of corporations and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and political insider bloodsuckers like Karl Rove and Dick Armey and the Chicken Little Chorus of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.”
Olbermann also attacked numerous candidates by name:
The Tea-Party-and-Republican-candidate for New Jersey’s 3rd House seat, Jon Runyan, defended corporate tax loopholes: “Loopholes are there for a reason. They are to avoid people from really having to pay too many taxes.” The Tea Party-and-Republican candidate for the Senate in West Virginia, John Raese, explained, “I made **my** money the old-fashioned way, I inherited it. I think that’s a great thing to do. I hope more people in this country have that opportunity as soon as we abolish inheritance tax in this country.” The inheritance tax applies only to estates larger than $3.5 million. For the 99.8 percent of Americans not affected by the estate tax, there is the minimum wage, which Mr. Raese also wants abolished. Or there is Social Security. The Tea-Party-and-Republican-candidate in the Indiana 9th, Todd Young, says “Social Security, as so many of you know is a Ponzi scheme.” The Tea Party-and-Republican candidate in the Wisconsin 8th, Reid Ribble, disagrees. Social Security “is, in fact, a Ponzi scheme.”
MSNBC’s full transcript of Olbermann’s jeremiad is available here.
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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy | {
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The Liverpool Echo is reporting that hard left firebrand Derek Hatton has been suspended from the Labour Party again – just two days after he was readmitted to the party after being banned for 34 years. The whole Hatton affair has been an absolute farce from start to finish – what on earth are Labour playing at? | {
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12
A Series Of Tragic Events
The assassination of president John F. Kennedy has been a target for conspiracy theorists for many years. It is understandable that such a major tragic event as the assassination of the president of the United States would trigger such effect. On the other hand, many believe that the Warren Commission failed on the investigation and have pointed out errors, changing stories, oversights, and even exclusion of evidence. It doesn’t help either the fact that Lee Harvey Oswald who was concluded to be the shooter was fatally shot by Jack Ruby just two days after his arrest. Due to shock and panic, the witnesses who attended the motorcade that day provided conflicting statements. The investigation relied heavily on pictures and video footage taken by the bystanders. Many unanswered questions could have been resolved with up close film taken by a woman who is known as the “Babushka Lady”. This was the nickname given to an unknown woman who can be seen using her camera directly at the president’s motorcade before, during and after the assassination.
Unknown Identity Of The Babushka Lady
The nickname came from the fact that this mysterious woman was wearing a headscarf similar to scarves worn by elderly Russian women. The word babushka means grandmother or old woman in Russian. She was either facing away or had her face covered by her camera in most of the evidence film that was recovered. This made it impossible for the authorities to identify her. Oddly enough after the shooting took place she can still be seen standing using her camera as the rest of the crowd took cover. She did not seem to be in panic or in shock, unlike the rest who attended the motorcade. Despite the massive efforts and requests by the authorities for the woman to come up, the Babushka lady never came forward. It is believed that the evidence filmed by her camera during the shooting could have been critical to the investigation. After the shooting, this mysterious woman can be seen crossing Elm street joining the crowd. She is last seen walking east on Elm street.
Beverly Oliver Claims To Be The Babushka Lady
In 1970, seven years after the shooting a woman by the name of Beverly Oliver told conspiracy researcher Gary Shaw that she was the Babushka lady. She confessed that the film was taken that day using a Super 8 film Yashica and was shortly given to two men who identified themselves as FBI agents. Beverly claimed that the two men promised to return the film within 10 days but she never heard back from them. The only problem is that the Super 8 film Yashica camera was not made until 1969 and John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22nd, 1963. Further analysis of the images captured of the Babushka lady identified her as a middle-aged well-built woman. Beverly Oliver would have been 17 years old the day JFK was shot. Other physical characteristics of Beverly Oliver are completely inconsistent with those of the mysterious Babushka lady. No other woman has come forward to this day. | {
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India has further liberalized its foreign direct investment (FDI) rules for many sectors, opening new avenues for global investors and giants such as Apple as Asia’s third-largest economy attempts to jump-start its years-low economic growth.
New Delhi said Wednesday evening that it is easing sourcing norms for single-brand retailers like Apple. As part of the new proposal, which has been approved, the government said single-brand retail companies will be allowed to open online stores before they set up presence in the bricks-and-mortar market.
This would allow Apple, which has yet to set up retail stores in the country, to start selling a range of products through its own online store. Currently, Apple sells its products in India through partnered third-party offline retailers and e-commerce platforms such as Amazon India, Flipkart and Paytm Mall.
Over the years, Apple has requested the government numerous times to relax the local foreign direct investment (FDI) rules. Company executives have long expressed disappointment at Amazon India, Flipkart and Paytm Mall for offering heavy discounts on the iPhone and MacBook Air to boost their respective GMV metrics.
Even as this boosted the sales of iPhones in India, the discounts diluted the brand image of iPhones in the country, executives felt.
Apple will soon explore selling its products through its online store in India, a person familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. But the move is unlikely to materialize before next year, the person said, requesting anonymity.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Update August 29: An Apple spokesperson confirmed the company intends to start selling its products online through its own store in India and also set up its own retail store.
“We appreciate the support and hard work by Prime Minister Modi and his team to make this possible. We love our customers in India and we’re eager to serve them online and in-store with the same experience and care that Apple customers around the world enjoy.”
The company is also looking forward to the day when it can open its first retail store in India, the spokesperson said. “It will take us some time to get our plans underway and we’ll have more to announce at a future date.”
New Delhi previously also forced companies like Apple to source 30% of their productions locally (PDF). Now the government says it is broadening the definition to include both materials sold in India and those exported in the local sourcing law.
“It has been decided that all procurements made from India by the single brand retail trade entity for that single brand shall be counted towards local sourcing, irrespective of whether the goods procured are sold in India or exported. Further, the current cap of considering exports for five years only is proposed to be removed, to give an impetus to exports,” Piyush Goyal, Commerce and Industry Minister, said in a press conference.
Apple had urged the government previously to ease this requirement, as well.
India has emerged as one of the world’s biggest battlegrounds for smartphone vendors. As sale of smartphones slow or decline in nearly every corner of the world, Indians are showing a growing appetite for handsets.
The local smartphone market, which is the fastest growing globally and also second largest, was once commanded by local smartphone manufacturers. But things have dramatically changed in recent years with Chinese phone makers such as Xiaomi, Vivo, OnePlus, Oppo and Realme and South Korean giant Samsung together controlling 90% of the market.
Apple continues to largely focus on users looking for a premium smartphone in India. Even as the iPhone maker’s market share in India stands below 2%, per research firms IDC, Counterpoint and Canalys, Apple CEO Tim Cook has said on a number of earnings calls that the company sees major opportunity in India.
To boost sales in India, Apple has started to assemble several iPhone models locally and reached a stage where it can begin to export to overseas markets phones produced in India. Assembling phones in India allows Apple — as it does to other phone makers — to enjoy some tax benefits that Narendra Modi’s government provides.
As part of today’s announcement, the government is now also allowing foreign investment in digital media to take up to 26% stakes in companies — a figure that now stands at 100% for the coal mining industry and associated infrastructure and sales of fuel.
“The extant FDI policy provides for 49% FDI under approval route in Up-linking of ‘News &Current Affairs’ TV Channels. It has been decided to permit 26% FDI under government route for uploading/ streaming of News & Current Affairs through Digital Media, on the lines of print media,” it said in a press release.
India’s move today comes as the nation grapples with a slowing of economic growth. The economic growth in the quarter that just ended stood at 5.8%, a five-year low in the nation. | {
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A German small town Thursday sent a bus with 31 Syrian refugees on a road trip to Chancellor Angela Merkel's office in protest against her liberal migrant policy.
The Bavarian district chief behind the journey to Berlin, Peter Dreier, said his rural area was buckling under the strain of a mass influx that brought 1.1 million migrants to Germany last year.
Local citizens had told him “it’s time we set a limit,” he said. “We are trying to help these people integrate. But that won’t work if this year we face another wave of one million, or even more.”
Calling the trip “an act of desperation,” he said he had warned Merkel about his plans in a phone call last October, and had announced it to her office on Wednesday.
Pro-refugee activists condemned the trip as a publicity stunt that exploited the refugees.
The coach, carrying Syrian men with asylum status, left the southern town of Landshut in the morning and arrived at around 1700 GMT outside the chancellery, to be greeted by a large throng of media but no representatives of Merkel’s government.
Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert in a statement said that housing refugees was the task of state and local governments, who received federal support for this.
The city state of Berlin had promised to help out and put up the 31 for the first night, Seibert said.
Dreier, who had travelled to Berlin separately by car, said he was disappointed by Merkel’s refusal to engage, calling it “an attempt to ignore and negate” the problem.
– ‘No end in sight’ –
While media and police stood around the bus, Berlin city officials inside were seen negotiating with the Bavarians, as Syrians looked on with worried faces, glancing nervously at the TV cameras outside.
After two hours, Dreier said he had agreed to personally pay for the refugees’ first night in a Berlin hotel, stressing that the bus had also been laid on by “a private person”, not with taxpayers money.
He said some of the refugees wanted to later take a look at available Berlin accommodation, others had asked to travel on to another city, Hamburg, and whoever wanted to could return to Landshut.
“Let’s get some rest and see tomorrow,” said Dreier, of the small party “Free Voters”, sporting a traditional Bavarian coat for his trip to the capital.
The head of German refugee support group Pro Asyl, Guenther Burkhardt, criticised the refugee road trip, saying “people are being exploited for the sake of media footage”.
“This doesn’t solve the problems… this is a stunt that misuses the plight of refugees to send the message ‘We want to close the borders’,” he said.
Merkel has been praised for opening Germany’s doors to those fleeing war and misery, but has also weathered harsh criticism, especially from Bavaria state, the main gateway for arriving refugees and migrants.
Dreier said “there is no end in sight to the wave of refugees, and our country’s ability to house them in a dignified way is deteriorating rapidly. And I don’t see new apartments being built for the immigrants.”
He said his district had 66 migrant facilities, and around 70 more refugees were coming every week.
Although the 31 Syrians had official asylum status and were now free to look for a home anywhere in Germany, he said he had been keeping them in shelters so they would not end up homeless. | {
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Bewegungsfreiheit dank elastischem Stretchstoff und Stretchbund. Liegst du zwischen zwei Größen, wähle die größere.
Die Größenangaben beziehen sich auf das Kleidungsstück, nicht auf die Körpermaße | {
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(This is the third edition of our weekly power rankings of politicians most likely to be chosen as Joe Biden's Democratic running mate in 2020.)
First, former Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams told Elle magazine that not only would she accept the vice presidential nomination if it was offered but that she "would be an excellent running mate." Then, in an interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Wednesday night, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said she would accept a VP offer from Biden . And then, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said this : "I think the world of Joe Biden. You know, I would do just about anything for Joe Biden and to be even mentioned among the phenomenal caliber of women leaders across the country -- that in it of itself is an honor."
In each episode of his weekly YouTube show, Chris Cillizza will delve a little deeper into the surreal world of politics. Click to subscribe!
That's all in the last day alone!
Why all the activity all of a sudden? With Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders finally ending his campaign last week, it's now seen as totally acceptable to openly express interest in being Biden's second-in-command. And so, people are jockeying. A lot!
To that end, I am now going to be releasing my new and updated rankings of the Top 10 women -- Biden has pledged to pick a female VP -- who might be the Democratic vice presidential nominee, every Thursday until the choice is made.
My latest rankings are below. The number one ranked woman is the likeliest VP selection as of today.
Stacey Abrams
10. Stacey Abrams: If past is prologue, actively campaigning to be the VP pick virtually ensures that Abrams won't get it. (Historically, acting as though you are almost entirely unaware that there is even a vice president to be picked is a recipe for success.) That said, Abrams is a young (46), African American woman who came within a few thousand votes of winning the Georgia governorship in 2018. (Previous ranking: 9)
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms
9. Keisha Lance Bottoms: I've had the mayor of Atlanta on and off this list several times already. But conversations with people in the know have convinced me that she deserves a spot. KLB is not only the mayor of a large southern city but : I've had the mayor of Atlanta on and off this list several times already. But conversations with people in the know have convinced me that she deserves a spot. KLB is not only the mayor of a large southern city but she also was one of Biden's earliest and most stalwart endorsers and surrogates . And at 50, she would represent a major generational shift for the 77-year-old Biden. (Previous ranking: Not ranked)
Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin
8. Tammy Baldwin: The : The upset victory of a liberal Democrat over a sitting conservative Wisconsin state Supreme Court justice this week has to make Democrats feel good about their chances of re-taking the Badger State from President Donald Trump in November.
But there's no question how central Wisconsin will be to the electoral maps of both Biden and Trump. And Baldwin just got reelected to the Senate from the state with 55% in 2018. (Previous ranking: 7)
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth
7. Tammy Duckworth: The Illinois senator continues to fly under the national radar when it comes to the VP selection process. She's not on national cable TV much and not giving interviews where she floats herself as a possibility.
But there's a lot to recommend her -- including her military service that led to the loss of both her legs and the full use of her right arm, the fact she is the first US senator to give birth while in office and her moderate politics that line up nicely with Biden's own. (Previous ranking: 6)
Susan Rice
6. Susan Rice: I'd left Rice, who served as ambassador to the United Nations and national security adviser in the Obama administration, off my first two sets of VP rankings. I've been convinced -- by people in a position to know these things -- that was a mistake. On paper, Rice makes a lot of sense: An African American woman who is close to the Obamas and has one of the deepest reservoirs of national security knowledge in the country. Plus, at 55, Rice would represent the sort of generational pick Biden is looking for. (Previous ranking: Not ranked)
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
5. Elizabeth Warren: A week ago, Warren hadn't endorsed Biden or said she would be willing to serve as his VP. Now she's done both of those things -- : A week ago, Warren hadn't endorsed Biden or said she would be willing to serve as his VP. Now she's done both of those things -- and in one day ! I'm still skeptical that Biden would pick someone whose views, generally speaking, are considerably to his ideological left -- especially on health care. But if he's going to pick any prominent liberal, it will be the Massachusetts senator. (Previous ranking: 5)
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
4. Gretchen Whitmer: The Michigan governor is in the midst of a controversy, : The Michigan governor is in the midst of a controversy, which has drawn national attention , over whether her latest executive orders on how to combat the coronavirus strayed too close to violating individual freedoms. That negative attention likely takes some of the shine off of what has been a meteoric rise in national prominence for Whitmer. (Previous ranking: 2)
Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto
3. Catherine Cortez Masto: The Nevada senator just makes a lot of sense for Biden. She has the experience he is looking for (she was attorney general in the state before being elected to the Senate in 2016). But at 56 years old, she also makes sense as a generational bridge for him.
Plus, she is one of the highest-ranking Latina elected officials in the country, at a time when that population is booming and Biden hopes to capture those voters in key swing states like Colorado, Florida and, yes, Nevada, in November. (Previous ranking: 4)
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar
2. Amy Klobuchar: If Biden was watching the presidential campaign the Minnesota senator ran in 2020 -- and he was -- then he knows that she has a long track record of electoral success in the Midwest, favors his pragmatic approach to politics and is a very good debater. She's also far better known today than she was 18 months ago -- and better liked. (Previous ranking: 3)
California Sen. Kamala Harris
1. Kamala Harris: Like Cortez Masto, Harris is in the absolute sweet spot between age and experience. She's 55 -- a full two-plus decades younger than Biden -- but also is old enough to have served as, among other things, the attorney general of California. She is also the most prominent African American elected official in the country right now, and given how central black voters were to Biden's primary win, that's a huge advantage for her. (Previous ranking: 1) | {
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Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Spanish players confronted Romanian referee Vlad Iordachescu after the final whistle
Romania qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup after Spain suffered a shock 18-10 loss to Belgium, with ugly scenes marring the end of Sunday's match.
Spain had looked set to qualify for the first time since 1999, but their defeat in Brussels handed Romania the automatic European qualifying spot.
Spanish players confronted referee Vlad Iordachescu, a Romanian, at the final whistle in their loss to Belgium.
"We weren't allowed to play," said Spain coach Santiago Santos.
"The referee kept stopping the game at every moment. Our game was stopped continuously, the Belgians benefited from many more decisions.
"The difference between penalties against us and for us was huge. When we were trying to come back in the game the play kept on being interrupted."
Spain must now beat Portugal in a playoff to maintain any hopes of reaching the 2019 tournament in Japan, with the winner facing Samoa in a two-legged tie.
Rugby Europe issued a statement following the match clarifying its procedure for the selection of match officials.
"Referees' appointments for the Rugby Europe Championship have been made ahead of the competition by an independent and neutral skilled committee," it said. external-link
"It would be inappropriate to comment on match official performance before the usual full review has been undertaken."
World Rugby told BBC Sport it would not comment on the match until it had received a full review, however vice-chairman Agustin Pichot posted on Twitter external-link saying: "I'm going to watch the game and of course there will be an explanation."
Tempers flared at the end of the game between Spain and Belgium
Spain, ranked 19th in the world, were overwhelming favourites to beat 25th-ranked Belgium on Sunday.
But on a muddy pitch worsened by overnight snow they failed to get up to full speed and their players, angered by the way the game was officiated, were involved in heated exchanges with both the Belgian players and referee Iordachescu at the end of the match.
Members of the Spanish coaching staff were forced to restrain their players, while the referee had to be escorted off the pitch.
Romania have now extended their record of competing at every World Cup since its inception in 1987.
The Oaks lost 25-16 to Georgia in Tbilisi on Sunday but compiled 29 points in qualifying matches across the last two Rugby Europe Championships - three more than Spain.
Georgia topped the standings but having already qualified for the World Cup in Japan courtesy of their third-place pool finish in the 2015 edition, points from the games against them did not count towards qualification. | {
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It must be frustrating for Tom Nichols to have released his book The Death of Expertise and then found, through no fault of his own, that Daniel Drezner was releasing The Ideas Industry: How Pessimists, Partisans and Plutocrats are Transforming the Marketplace of Ideas at the same time. The two books are, in some ways, eerily similar. They both address the decline of scholarly authority and the rise of popularising narratives in the early twenty-first century, attempting to provide an explanation for both of them (which is an understandable impulse in the age of Trump). They both draw comparisons between the fields of academia, business, politics and foreign affairs. Their dust jackets are even the same colour. Yet Drezner’s book, though marginally less readable, is clearly superior: it includes the main strengths of Nichols’ book, but incorporates them into a far larger story that illuminates more, and excludes less. As a result, it looks set to be one of the most important books of the year. It also, as it happens, has some fascinating points of application to Christian theologians, pastors and writers.
The argument of the book is fairly easy to summarise. In Isaiah Berlin’s famous dictum, the world is made up of hedgehogs and foxes. Hedgehogs know one big thing; foxes know many little things. And in the marketplace of ideas, hedgehogs (“thought leaders” who know one big thing, and champion it tirelessly) are thriving at the expense of foxes (scholars and intellectuals who know many little things, and are better at criticism and nuance than advocacy). The Ideas Industry is shaped more by TED talks, in which a simple idea is presented to an admiring audience without any response or criticism from other experts in the field, than by rigorous back-and-forth between mutually critical and learned academics. There are various reasons for this, but the main ones are herded together in the book’s subtitle: “pessimists, partisans and plutocrats.”
The parts played by pessimists (those who believe the past was better, and that modern people simply will not listen to careful debate) and partisans (not just in politics, but in any material cause that prompts strong loyalties) are relatively obvious. If people feel they don’t have time for nuance, and society as a whole is more polarised on civic questions than it has been in generations, then you would expect the marketplace of ideas to be dominated by strongly worded, simple, frequently promoted messages. What I had not given much thought to, on picking up the book, was the part played by plutocrats: the people who fund the Ideas Industry. Elucidating this, without descending into cheap cynicism, name-calling or (too much) score-settling, is the most insightful contribution of The Ideas Industry.
Wealthy people and corporations, Drezner explains, fund the Ideas Industry through sponsorships, grants, think tank foundations, speaking honoraria, consulting fees and charitable endowments. And because they do, they generally channel funding towards individuals and institutions who see solutions to the world’s problems in the same ways they do. They are naturally inclined towards bold, new initiatives that require a big idea, high capacity leadership, a strong support network, and suitable levels of funding—and if they can lean in favour of free markets and globalisation, then so much the better. So when it comes to financial backing, it is easy to see why the hedgehogs out-meme the foxes. When you add in the power of personal branding in the social media age, and the lucrative possibilities in publishing or television, which are also far easier to capitalise on for someone with a simple idea (Thomas Friedman, Fareed Zakaria, Niall Ferguson, Malcolm Gladwell, Clayton Christensen, et al) than someone with a more complex, nuanced one (the myriad of academics you’ve never heard of), it tips the balance even further in favour of the hedgehogs: the “thought leaders.”
Drezner supports his case with a wide range of both qualitative and quantitative data, by way of universities, think tanks, lecture circuits, businesses, books, journals, NGOs and governments. Though, like many readers, I do not have the expertise to assess his thesis adequately—leading to the amusing irony, which he is clearly aware of, that his book risks achieving precisely what he is decrying—there are enough case studies of overconfidence, in which a “thought leader” persuades the world of something that other experts and intellectuals consider overstated or even spurious, to make his argument seem plausible. Yet the book does not end on a sour note. In fact, it concludes with a fascinating piece of diagnostic self-disclosure that I will return to in a moment.
So what, you may ask, does this have to do with theologians and pastors? Three things in particular struck me.
The first is that the distinction between hedgehogs and foxes, “thought leaders” and scholars, exists every bit as much in evangelicalism as it does in the mainstream—and with very similar results. The Christian subculture of which I am a part is just as prone to brand-building, turning everything into a manifestation of our pet issue, repetitious publishing and oversimplification as the business world. We are also just as fixated (if not more so!) on quick, simple solutions which do not require nuance, stress-testing or detailed thought; and to add to the problem, the solutions are often borrowed from the “thought leaders” in the business world. The first time I noticed this was when I saw Mark Driscoll (peace be upon him) citing Michael Gerber’s E-myth, which I had come across ten years before in a business context, but examples could be multiplied (The Spider and the Starfish, The World is Flat, Gladwell on expertise, and so on). Evangelicalism needs foxes. Which, in a roundabout way, is similar to the point Alan Jacobs was making in Harper’s a couple of years ago.
The second, which flows from this, is that the problems associated with patronage exist in evangelicalism as well, which can be (although need not necessarily be) theologically stultifying. Drezner points out that the best defence against the spread of influential, but badly thought through, ideas is the natural critique that comes from colleagues and other thinkers in your discipline. But when a person becomes sufficiently senior, others in their field who wish to be published become increasingly wary of crossing them, since their influence is likely to be helpful in securing tenure, book contracts, board appointments or whatever. Consequently, the people most qualified to challenge a person become those most cautious about doing so, since their future prospects might be adversely affected. It is, in effect, patronage, with all the bad (as well as the good) that goes with it. And although I don’t want to be cynical—and my personal experience has been very positive here, both with “influencers” and publishers—I suspect it happens in evangelical circles too, and for pretty much the same reasons.
But the third is the most challenging to me personally, and I think the best way of making the point is simply to quote what Drezner says in his conclusion. I doubt it will require excessive contextualisation to bring home its significance:
As my career has progressed, I have experienced the benefits of greater intellectual success, and the effects frankly scare the hell out of me. My intellectual style has evolved, and not always in a good way. With success has come confidence, and a large dollop of arrogance. I have said “yes” to writing assignments that, in retrospect, I should have declined because I lacked the time or expertise to do them justice. As I write and speak more, I read less. It has become more difficult to replenish my intellectual capital beyond listening to others speak at conferences. The more international business class flights I take, the more impatient I become with quotidian responsibilities on the ground.
Let the reader understand.
Daniel Drezner has written a great book, and probably the best non-theological non-fiction book I’ve read this year. Check it out. | {
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About how 5 months ago I went through a screening for a job. It was a referral from a friend and it had been a while since I responded to a recruiter. I was surprised how the process has changed in the past 5 years.
After the initial phone screen they sent me to a 3rd party site (HackerRank) to solve three programming puzzles in a one hour time box. It was my first attempt at this. The first two were easy but the last one was trickier. My solution didn’t pass all the unit tests. It passed something like 8/10 tests and there was no time left to debug it.
At this point I was filtered out of the company’s selection process. It turned out to be a mixed blessing due to some health issues that came up (I could not have made the trips to HQ to get oriented). However, the whole experience planted a seed in my mind.
Since then I’ve been familiarizing myself with this type of problem solving. I work through one every week.
It’s happening all over the place
I have a good friend looking for his next job, a PhD in Comp Sci with over 10 years experience. Almost every option he explores has some type of programming challenge gate either on a 3rd party site or in person. He bought a copy of Cracking the Coding Interview to get up to speed but it takes time to develop that skill. He’s been passed over by some great companies in the meantime.
The issue came up in the Megamaker Group and one person shared this very personal response:
I’m approaching my mid 40s and left my last startup (founding CTO role) in December. I have failed at least 10 programming tests and developer interviews since then. I have been developing technology for nearly 20 years including electronics and firmware (I’m an electronic engineering technologist by training) and full-blown distributed web applications with IoT integration. I’ve created software that powers full product traceability in high volume specialized manufacturing facilities around the world. Yet, I can’t get a job as a developer because I always fail these programming test gates.
This tweet from Max Howell went viral a couple of years ago. It’s funny, sad, and true all at the same time
Fact. There are a lot of senior developers out there that are in for a wake-up call when they try to find their next position at a different company.
Developers Hate Them
When this topic comes up some developers say …
“I’ll typically end an interview if this type of stuff shows up”
or
“Being able to solve a puzzle like that means nothing, can you talk to clients? Can you actually build a functioning webapp? Can you Google stuff when needed? Can you learn what ever is thrown at you? Not can you find the most efficient way to order this weird data”
The counter argument is that poor software developers dislike being tested and they are the ones that the company is trying to weed out. However, it’s also possible that some strong, independent-minded, senior developers opt-out of the process because they have other options.
I agree these challenges are not representative of day-to-day tasks for a professional software developer. The wording is not always the best and I’m not sure the information is always complete (or at least I don’t always infer the completeness of the information from the problem description). Often they are math word problems. Having a formal education is an advantage.
The hiring company is guaranteed to screen out candidates that would have made amazing team members. For example, when Daniel Buchmueller was turned down at Netflix…
Companies Love Them
In terms of programming challenges for hiring we need to realize the the world has changed. Remote work is becoming widely accepted in the software industry. International teams are increasingly common.
You now have a larger pool of great developers you can add to your team but, on the downside, this has drastically increased the number of applications you have to sort through in order to find the right candidate. Could you imagine sifting through 500 applications for a single position?
In addition, I’ve heard of getting into an interview where the candidate was way under qualified (couldn’t write a hello world type program). That would be extremely frustrating. Personally, I’d be looking for the nearest exit while offering the candidate some encouragement.
Programming puzzles as a hiring gate solve both these problems. To a company it is worth skipping over a few great candidates in order to simplify the review and selection process. With a now unlimited pool of applicants they can afford to do that. The numbers suggest that there will always be more good developers in the pipeline.
For this reason I believe that Programming challenge hiring gates are here to stay and will become even more common in the future.
It is true that everyone is hiring and senior developers have never been in more demand. But don’t think that you can walk into another job based on market demand and the number of years on your resume. Prepare for the programming test gates now while you have the luxury of time. | {
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Mitt Romney showed great discomfort and awkwardness in his performance in the Foreign Policy debate held last night in Boca Raton, Florida.
He made it clear that he does not know the geography of the Middle East, when he said Syria was Iran’s connection to the Mediterranean Sea, forgetting or not knowing that Iraq lies between Iran and Syria.
He talked of Iran as if it was Arab, when Iran is Persian, an unbelievable misunderstanding.
He has talked of military action against Iran and Syria in the past, but now backed off on that.
He has made trade threats against China, even though he has invested in Chinese trade through Bain Capital.
He has called Russia the leading geopolitical threat to America, which brings back memories of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, which ended 20 years ago.
In a poll of 21 nations, public opinion polls demonstrate that all of them massively prefer Barack Obama as America’s leader for the next four years, as they feel uneasy about the lack of knowledge and interest of Mitt Romney in their nations’ futures, Ironically, only Pakistan prefers Romney, maybe due to the raid into Pakistan that gained the end of the life of Osama Bin Laden.
The outside world knows that Barack Obama, with the assistance of Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and others, has shown respect and concern for their nations, and has become overwhelmingly popular and respected, a great relief from the low esteem felt in other nations toward George W. Bush.
Mitt Romney only sees the outside world as a profit motive, and has never shown interest in anyplace except as one to make money, or proselytize his Mormon faith, as in France in the late 1960s, and yet it is France that has the highest support for Barack Obama of any of the 20 nations that prefer that Obama be elected to a second term.
We cannot afford an ignorant, poorly informed, and less than motivated person to become our President, as he could, too easily, be manipulated by foreign policy extremists who want new wars to advance their agenda of American dominance and promotion of corporate interests. Mitt Romney is the wrong person to be our Commander in Chief in the 21st century, and having a potential Vice President, Paul Ryan, who has no greater grasp or interest in foreign policy than he has, makes that conclusion even more powerful! | {
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When it comes to cryptocurrency networks and markets, there’s a lot to keep track of. Thankfully there’s also now a bunch of dedicated bitcoin cash (BCH) data websites that provide easy to comprehend visual representations of network statistics and market indicators.
Also read: Slovenia Has the Most BCH-Accepting Physical Locations Worldwide
Monitoring BCH Network Statistics and Market Indicators
In the early days, it was much harder to find reliable data platforms in order to observe market action and network metrics. Today, however, there are numerous digital currency data sites including great number of web portals that comb the BCH network and monitor price action. The following is a list of Bitcoin Cash-centric data websites that give people identifiers, information, and statistics on nearly everything within the BCH ecosystem.
Coin Dance
Cash.coin.dance is a BCH network data website with a large number of different metrics collected. The site has been around for quite some time and provides free information on network statistics tied to the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. Coin Dance has information on node count, blocks, development, and politics and opinion data as well. For instance, the blocks section gives up-to-the-minute mining and BCH block statistics like hashrate distribution, block sizes, profitability against BTC mining, network fees, hashrate, and records of block details.
In the nodes section, Coin Dance breaks down all the BCH clients into statistical data and charts. The Bitcoin Cash platform and protocol development page shows all the completed code, proposals under discussion, and projects in the works. Coin Dance covers quite a bit of BCH network information and has been a go-to data site for many BCH proponents.
Bitcoin.com Charts
Charts.Bitcoin.com is a web portal filled with a ton of calculations and tallies that provide an insight into the BCH ecosystem as a whole. Bitcoin.com’s charts show visitors the BCH price, market cap, money supply, daily transactions, hashrate, inflation rate, block size, and network fees. Charts.Bitcoin.com also covers other statistical information like Metcalfe’s Law, the Velocity of Money, transaction size, output volume, UTXO set size, and UTXO growth. The charts are downloadable, embeddable, and press-ready so people can use Bitcoin.com’s charts for network or market data in articles or academic papers.
Blockonomics
Another website called blockonomics.co shows people transaction and invoice information. Simply paste an address or a transaction ID in the website’s window and Blockonomics will show all the data tied to that specific transaction or address. Blockonomics also allows people to monitor and create watch-only BCH wallets. This means users can get notified any time a wallet action takes place like sending and receiving BCH. The web portal also offers an invoice generator so users can create a BCH invoice in a matter of minutes.
Simpleledger.info
Simpleledger.info is a Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) transaction explorer which means users can obtain statistics on SLP tokens created and used on the BCH chain. The website is built on top of SLPDB and allows individuals to search by transaction ID, address or use a token name. Simpleledger.info also tracks the latest transactions, the most popular tokens, and token creation and burns. Since SLP tokens have become popular, the Simpleledger.info explorer has become very useful for finding important information about SLP tokens and transactions.
Blockchair
Blockchair is a blockchain search and analytics engine that allows you to compare statistical information on coins like BCH, BTC, ETH, LTC, BSV, DASH, and XRP. Users can get information about the crypto’s price, network difficulty, and transactions per second while also being able to look at them simultaneously for comparisons. For instance, you can compare the difficulty of one blockchain in contrast to the BCH network difficulty. Blockchair is also a powerful blockchain explorer that has a vast amount of data on nodes and transaction broadcasts for a total of nine blockchains.
Johoe’s Bitcoin Mempool Statistics
The website jochen-hoenicke.de is a data site that shows the number and aggregate size of transactions waiting to be confirmed. The portal created by software engineer Jochen Hoenicke combs five different blockchains: BTC, BCH, DASH, LTC, and BSV. The site gives a colorful, visual representation of unconfirmed transaction count, pending transaction fees, mempool size, fees per byte. Users can filter and sort content using a variety of different criteria on each blockchain.
Studying, Researching, and Predicting Bitcoin Cash Network and Market Movements
The aforementioned sites are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to web portals that provide the ability to monitor BCH statistics and network data. As the crypto industry grows more robust, tools like these are needed to observe and chart the BCH protocol’s daily activities as well as give an insight into the cryptocurrency’s future behavior. BCH monitoring sites are wonderful tools that provide a deep view of the network and market action. Every data point can be useful to individuals and organizations studying, researching, and predicting specific elements tied to this innovative technology.
What Bitcoin Cash monitoring sites do you use? Are there any BCH data sites not mentioned above that you enjoy? Let us know in the comments below.
Image credits: Shutterstock, Charts.Bitcoin.com, Coin Dance, Johoe’s Mempool, Blockchair, Simpleledger.info, and Blockonomics.
How could our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool help you? Use the handy Bitcoin address search bar to track down transactions on both the BCH and BTC blockchain and, for even more industry insights, visit our in-depth Bitcoin Charts.
The post 6 Monitoring Websites That Help Track Bitcoin Cash Data appeared first on Bitcoin News. | {
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[Correction: June 11, 6.50pm] An earlier version of this article misstated Cody Abbey's name as Cody Irwin. Also, a portion of the video where Abbey said that it was "not possible" for a visitor in the US to make friends with people of all backgrounds has instead been edited to say "very unlikely." The author regrets the error.
An American overseas student received thunderous applause for criticizing his own country's president in a valedictorian speech given at Peking University.
The crowd on hand cheered its loudest when graduating Yenching Academy international student Cody Abbey likened US President Donald Trump to Qinshihuang, the first emperor of China:
One reason that the new president of my country likes China lies in his admiration for the Great Wall of China. Not just for its cultural legacy, but because he fancies himself to be like Qin Shihuang (the first emperor of China) and construct a barrier that will completely isolate the American people from outsiders. [Crowd cheers wildly]
Qinshihuang occupies a controversial role in Chinese history. There are accounts of him burning down libraries and massacring scholars, leading some to call him a tyrant.
Trump had brought up the Great Wall in defending his proposal to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. "You know the Great Wall of China, built a long time ago, is 13,000 miles," Trump told former Fox News pundit Bill O'Reilly. "I mean, you're talking about big stuff. We're talking about peanuts, by comparison, to that."
Abbey's disrespect of his own country's leader in front of a Chinese crowd came at the end of a speech that was free of any politicizing. Dazzling the audience with his fluent Mandarin and classical Chinese references, Abbey bookended his speech with Confucius' famous quote "A gentleman seeks harmony, but not uniformity" to explain that communication is vital to transcend cultural differences.
READ: UK Tourism Ambassador Labelled "Foreign Male Scum" as a Warning to All Chinese Women
"The reason why there are countless conflicts that are occurring throughout the world is that there isn't enough dialog between people," said Abbey.
And that was not the only instance of "panda pandering" in his speech. During the address, Abbey told the first of many anecdotes, beginning with one about "learning." It featured Abbey recalling how he was indoctrinated into various arcane Chinese medical practices by a student who insisted on justifying them (one of which Abbey demonstrates to the delight of the audience, the "beggar's pose," shown above), but doesn't elaborate on what he gave in return.
In his second anecdote about "understanding" (edited, not shown in the video), Abbey said he eventually complied with the overly strict regulations of the school's extra-curricular clubs even though he didn't understand at first.
READ: Beijing Expat's "Love of the Hutongs" Used to Promote High-End Restaurants
In his last anecdote regarding "friendship" (also edited, not shown in the video), Abbey said he was able to make friends with people from all walks of life at the university including the poor, whereas the same thing is "not possible" "very unlikely" in the USA because its people and their opinions are irrevocably split into two immutable political parties.
Abbey said true dialog is only possible in China, a country in which official political parties are limited to just one.
Criticism of its leaders is not common in China, where speech on the Internet is closely monitored and regulated.
Abbey's ability to cater to his Chinese audience did not go unnoticed. Chinese netizens praised Abbey with some calling him "handsome." One person said, "He truly understands the essence of Chinese culture."
Others appreciated Abbey for making fun of his own president. Another person wrote, "When he first mentioned Trump, I thought he was a supporter. But when he ridiculed him. I laughed my ass off."
READ: Red Dress Charity Run Attracts Online Controversy as Animosity Towards Expats Grows
Others thought that Abbey, who was commonly referred to as a "laowai" by the Chinese media, may have gone too far in catering to his audience. "Don't know if Americans who see his speech will think he's given up his principles in favor of other cultures," said one person.
Others still see him as part of the propaganda machine. "In its development, Great China has inoculated talents from all over the world; I am a retarded fan of China!" said another person.
Back in May, a valedictorian speech given by overseas Chinese student Yang Shuping at the University of Maryland in which she criticized China for its heavy pollution caused an uproar with nationalists back home.
Watch Abbey's video here (spoken completely in Mandarin).
More stories from this author here.
Twitter: @Sinopath
Images: Miaopai | {
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I write to the beat of my life.
Recently, I ran my second Marathon. I’ve been a long distance runner for a few years, and I love it.
Running is all about rhythm. You get your stride right, lean forward, and attempt to run with some degree of grace and style. I love the feeling that you get about 30 minutes into a long run after you’ve pushed through the initial burst and settled into your stride – when you’re in that zone, it feels like you can run forever.
As I’ve been on my writing journey this year, I’ve found that the same sense of rhythm applies while I’m penning stories as well. Generally, I’ll sit down at my writing station and start plodding away, getting distracted here and there. But eventually, I’ll put my head down, and find myself really hitting a good stride where the words flow out easily, and scenes and descriptions form together well.
Another similarity with running is that I eventually get fatigued! I found this was the case as I sprinted to the finish of Mansfield Manor recently, but focus and determination got me through.
One other similarity with running is that I have to make time in my life with writing. I run early in the morning to make sure I fit it in my day, and with writing, I write last thing in the evening, when I’m winding down. It’s tough to do both running and writing, but each has a place in my life that I really value.
So here’s to many more years of both running and writing, and to the rhythm of life that drives them. | {
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Chicken pot pie is the ultimate comfort food, so we sought a way to streamline this classic dish and make individual pot pies that we could pull out of the freezer and bake any time. There are many challenges that arise in making a pot pie with a beautiful flaky crust, tender and flavorful chicken and vegetables, and a creamy sauce; when we added “freezer-friendly” to the list of requirements, this recipe became an even taller order. First, we decided to use small disposable loaf pans, which would make storage and reheating easy and allow us to serve only the number we needed (without all our ramekins being tied up in the freezer). Browning boneless, skinless breasts before cooking them in broth gave our pie the deepest chicken flavor (without the hassle of roasting). A bit of thyme and lemon juice brightened up the creamy filling, and a bit of extra liquid ensured that the filling didn’t dry out in the freezer. As for the topping, we opted to skip the homemade pie dough in favor of store-bought, which was easy to use and kept the process more streamlined. To make the crusts sturdy enough to hold up on top of the filling, we made a double-thick crust by gluing two crusts together with water. To make sure that the crusts didn’t overbrown in the time it took the filling to warm through, we covered the pies for part of the baking time.
Serves 6
Active Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Total time 2 hours 40 minutes (plus freezing time)
To preserve their color, don’t thaw the peas before adding them to the filling in step 6. Depending on how many people you are feeding, you can bake all six pies at once or bake one or two at time. Be aware that ready-made store-bought pie dough rounds typically come two to a box.
1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5½ cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 onion, chopped fine
1 celery rib, minced
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup whole milk
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or ¾ teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 (9‑inch) store-bought pie dough rounds
1½ cups frozen peas
6 2‑cup disposable aluminum loaf pans
1 large egg, beaten
1. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken and cook until well browned, about 2½ minutes per side. Add broth and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken registers 160 degrees, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer chicken to cutting board and broth to large bowl.
2. Melt butter with remaining 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, celery, and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until lightly browned and softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add flour, and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in milk, thyme, and reserved broth and bring to simmer. Cook, whisking often, until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.
3. Shred chicken into bite-size pieces using 2 forks. Off heat, stir in lemon juice and shredded chicken and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer filling to bowl and let cool completely. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour.
4. Place 2 dough rounds on lightly floured counter. Brush surface of each round with water, then place remaining 2 dough rounds on moistened rounds, pressing gently to adhere.
5. Position 1 inverted loaf pan on 1 layered dough round. Using sharp paring knife, cut out piece of dough using pan as template. Repeat twice more for total of 3 dough pieces, then repeat process on second layered dough round. Discard excess dough.
6. Stir peas into chilled filling, then evenly divide filling among loaf pans. Top each pan with 1 dough piece, then use fork to seal edges. Using paring knife, cut 3 steam vents in each pot pie. Tightly wrap each loaf pan in 2 layers of plastic and 1 layer of aluminum foil, then freeze pot pies completely.
7. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Unwrap frozen pot pies and arrange on rimmed baking sheet. Brush each pot pie with egg and cover with foil. Bake until filling is starting to bubble, about 40 minutes. Uncover pot pies and bake until crusts are golden brown, about 35 minutes. Let pot pies rest for 10 minutes before serving.
To Make Ahead: Pot pies, prepared through step 6, can be frozen for up to 1 month | {
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Super Drags foi cancelada pela Netflix após apenas uma temporada, informa o site de O Globo.
Super Drags foi a primeira animação brasileira original da Netflix. A história é sobre três jovens, Patrick, Donny e Ramon, que de dia trabalham em uma loja de departamento com clientes irritantes e um chefe exigente. À noite, eles liberam suas divas internas para se tornar Lemon Chiffon, Safira Cian e Scarlet Carmesim: três incrivelmente fabulosas Super Drags que foram recrutadas para reunir a comunidade LGBT e espalhar purpurina no mundo.
A série contou com cinco episódios e foi assinada por Anderson Mahanski, Fernando Mendonça e Paulo Lescaut é produzida pela Combo Estúdio. | {
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This is the heart-stopping moment a cyclist was nearly crushed by a falling lamp-post.
The incident happened in Leicester Row, near the Canal Basin Bridge, just before 3.30pm this afternoon.
The lamp-post was being removed by workmen when it came free from its harness.
As it crashed to the pavement it clipped a cyclist riding past, breaking his handlebars and injuring his hand.
The man was taken to hospital for a check-up on his hand. | {
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Kliff Kingsbury
WE’VE ALWAYS CONTENDED that some of the most astute — and resourceful — college football fans in the land can be found on the Cougfan.com Luxury Suites message board and today they proved it again in a development that could be sheer coincidence unrelated to ball, or perhaps something as exciting as the wooing of Kliff Kinhsbury to be the Cougars' offensive coordinator -- or maybe an old, deep-pocketed friend of Mike Leach’s coming to make a plea.
Regardless, we do know this, courtesy of the eagle eyes on the CF.C premium board that a private plane from Texas is scheduled to land in Pullman this evening and return shortly thereafter.
As wsucougar08 posted, the flight is scheduled to touch down in Pullman at 7:50 pm. It is then scheduled to fly out of Pullman less than an hour later and back to Fort Worth, via Lubbock. The data can be found at flightaware.com ...
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/XSR315/history/20181127/2330Z/KLBB/KPUW
UPDATED: As of 9:15 pm Tuesday, nary a private jet to be seen at Pullman-Moscow.
All this comes in the wake of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reporting Sunday that two unnamed sources said Texas Tech may be interested in bringing back Leach, who was fired in 2009. Leach’s former Tech quarterback, Kingsbury, has been the head coach for the last five years and was let go the other day.
Leach very clearly told ESPN late Sunday that he has no interest in going back to Tech and that they still owe him more than $2 million from 2009. In addition to the public statement, those within the Bohler Complex inform us that Leach has made it clear to the administrators that the Tech talk is pure hokum.
So the question looms: Why is this private plane from Lubbock coming to Pullman?
Could it be pure happenstance and that a visiting professor is coming to WSU in style or Schweitzer Engineering has a business connection based there?
Taking Leach at his word, as there is no reason to believe otherwise, could it be Kingsbury coming out for a visit and interview? He figures to be a hot commodity on the offensive coordinator market this off-season and suitors will need to strike fast. Would Leach, who serves as his own offensive coordinator, make a shift and look to hire one?
Or maybe an old friend of Leach’s is desperate to plead Tech’s case and The Pirate relented to hear him out?
Time, perhaps, will tell. But right now, the intrigue abounds.
If any of this sounds familiar, remember that it was CF.C. premium posters who let the world know in late 2002 that a private plane from Tuscaloosa landed in Pullman right as rumors about the Tide and Mike Price were circulating. | {
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Canada’s former ambassador to Spain was found to have misled Ottawa after the official government residence in Madrid was burgled twice in one year, documents obtained under the Access to Information Act reveal.
During one robbery, Malcolm McKechnie pretended to sleep as three robbers ransacked his bedroom and stole $500.
In an email debriefing to Ottawa, McKechnie neglected to mention that the residence was in one of Madrid’s safest neighbourhoods.
Read more on thestar.com:
Spain’s youth fleeing country in search of work
Spain princess testifies in historic fraud probe
Spanish protesters go back to roots of democracy with “assemblies”
The omission allowed him to justify his move to a furnished two-bedroom apartment, which cost taxpayers 5,300 euros a month, concluded a government investigative report. It said the omission amounted to a deliberate abuse of trust.
McKechnie told The Star that he was never disciplined and did not intentionally withhold information from the department.
“Whether the neighbourhood was deemed to be safe or not by whomever, it doesn’t change the fact that the (official residence) was broken into twice in one year, the second time by three armed robbers who spent 18 minutes in the place, including my bedroom,” McKechnie wrote in an email to The Star.
“This whole incident caused me considerable stress and trauma in the aftermath, preventing me from being able to sleep normally . . . In the end, the department, while sympathetic, made the decision that I either had to return to the (official residence) or end my posting. It was at that point that I decided to end my posting, return to Ottawa and retire.”
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has ordered that the investigation into the incident, as well as at least three others involving Canadian diplomats, be reopened, according to Baird’s press secretary.
All the cases took place before Baird became foreign minister in 2011, Rick Roth added.
The investigative report into the robbery and its aftermath, as well as other documents related to McKechnie’s posting in Spain, were released under the Access to Information Act in response to a request for records related to incidents of alleged wrongdoing, criminal activity or misbehaviour by Canadian diplomats or their family members. The documents covered Jan. 1, 2009, to Nov. 12, 2010.
The documents are censored; the names of those investigated, the locations and any penalties imposed have been blacked out. The Star has independently verified the identity of McKechnie and one other diplomat; the identities of the others remain unknown.
After the second burglary in a year at the ambassador’s residence in Madrid — the first robbery occurred before McKechnie’s arrival in Spain in November 2007 — improvements to the security system were made, although an email from embassy staff alleges that Foreign Affairs did not respond to three requests for additional security.
On Nov. 16, 2009, Foreign Affairs values and ethics adviser Claude Chartrand wrapped up an investigation into McKechnie and his stewardship of the Canadian mission in Madrid.
The investigation concluded that, even after the second break-in, security was not an acceptable reason to move and that McKechnie must return to the residence. “The crime rate in the neighbourhood where the (residence) was located was not that high,” Chartrand wrote in his report.
Chartrand wrote that he had a meeting with an Ottawa colleague, who told him that, as soon as the residence was secure, McKechnie “had to resume living there . . . it was unjustifiable, given the current economic context, to pay for two residences at the same time.”
McKechnie argued the department’s security detail had been negligent because they failed to tell him when he arrived in Madrid that there had been a break-in at the residence. After that robbery, security was hired but the guard was released after McKechnie’s arrival.
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Chartrand concluded that McKechnie committed an abuse of trust when he told an RCMP officer to remove a section of an email to Foreign Affairs officials that placed the residence in one of the city’s lowest crime rate areas. McKechnie told Chartrand that he thought the claim was “misleading and did not convey the reality of this neighbourhood.”
There were other concerns about McKechnie’s stewardship of the mission in Spain, as well.
In February 2009, Chartrand was approached by six employees at the Canadian mission in Madrid who asked for a private meeting.
The staffers accused McKechnie of, among other things, inappropriately borrowing 500 euros from his driver to buy tickets to a bullfight for friends and of making sexist comments.
Several of the complaints focused on a staff BBQ held in July 2008 at the official residence, when McKechnie allegedly asked a young intern to stay for a swim and to attend a Paul Anka concert with him.
“(McKechnie) stated that he noticed toward the end (of the party) when people were leaving that (name redacted) was still sitting beside the pool,” Chartrand’s report said. “He said that he didn’t want to kick her out, so he told her that she could stay longer if she wished and that he would give her a ride into the city later as he was going to a concert . . . ”
McKechnie denied he invited the intern to the concert.
Chartrand wrote that McKechnie’s borrowing cash from his driver was an “implicit abuse of power.” Inviting the intern to remain at the residence and accompany him to the concert amounted to “an embarrassment to his staff.”
McKechnie refutes the allegations.
“At no time was there any inappropriate behaviour on my part with any embassy employee,” McKechnie wrote in an email to The Star. “I found the reference to sexist comments particularly galling since it is simply not my style. I have worked with many female colleagues and bosses over a long career and always respected them and got along well with them.”
McKechnie said he was never disciplined for any of the accusations against him, although Foreign Affairs officials decided to withdraw an offer for him to work temporarily in the Canadian embassy in Rome.
“Given the circumstances, the decision may be that no action needs to be taken,” Janet Maclean, director of the values and ethics division at Foreign Affairs, wrote to then-assistant deputy minister Michael Small in May 2010. “However, I think we should have some sort of conclusion to the situation — even in the form of a note to file.”
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As a prisoner at the Jixi labour camp, Liu Dali would slog through tough days breaking rocks and digging trenches in the open cast coalmines of north-east China. By night, he would slay demons, battle goblins and cast spells.
Liu says he was one of scores of prisoners forced to play online games to build up credits that prison guards would then trade for real money. The 54-year-old, a former prison guard who was jailed for three years in 2004 for "illegally petitioning" the central government about corruption in his hometown, reckons the operation was even more lucrative than the physical labour that prisoners were also forced to do.
"Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labour," Liu told the Guardian. "There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn 5,000-6,000rmb [£470-570] a day. We didn't see any of the money. The computers were never turned off."
Memories from his detention at Jixi re-education-through-labour camp in Heilongjiang province from 2004 still haunt Liu. As well as backbreaking mining toil, he carved chopsticks and toothpicks out of planks of wood until his hands were raw and assembled car seat covers that the prison exported to South Korea and Japan. He was also made to memorise communist literature to pay off his debt to society.
But it was the forced online gaming that was the most surreal part of his imprisonment. The hard slog may have been virtual, but the punishment for falling behind was real.
"If I couldn't complete my work quota, they would punish me physically. They would make me stand with my hands raised in the air and after I returned to my dormitory they would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things," he said.
It is known as "gold farming", the practice of building up credits and online value through the monotonous repetition of basic tasks in online games such as World of Warcraft. The trade in virtual assets is very real, and outside the control of the games' makers. Millions of gamers around the world are prepared to pay real money for such online credits, which they can use to progress in the online games.
The trading of virtual currencies in multiplayer games has become so rampant in China that it is increasingly difficult to regulate. In April, the Sichuan provincial government in central China launched a court case against a gamer who stole credits online worth about 3000rmb.
The lack of regulations has meant that even prisoners can be exploited in this virtual world for profit.
According to figures from the China Internet Centre, nearly £1.2bn of make- believe currencies were traded in China in 2008 and the number of gamers who play to earn and trade credits are on the rise.
It is estimated that 80% of all gold farmers are in China and with the largest internet population in the world there are thought to be 100,000 full-time gold farmers in the country.
In 2009 the central government issued a directive defining how fictional currencies could be traded, making it illegal for businesses without licences to trade. But Liu, who was released from prison before 2009 believes that the practice of prisoners being forced to earn online currency in multiplayer games is still widespread.
"Many prisons across the north-east of China also forced inmates to play games. It must still be happening," he said.
"China is the factory of virtual goods," said Jin Ge, a researcher from the University of California San Diego who has been documenting the gold farming phenomenon in China. "You would see some exploitation where employers would make workers play 12 hours a day. They would have no rest through the year. These are not just problems for this industry but they are general social problems. The pay is better than what they would get for working in a factory. It's very different," said Jin.
"The buyers of virtual goods have mixed feelings … it saves them time buying online credits from China," said Jin.
The emergence of gold farming as a business in China – whether in prisons or sweatshops could raise new questions over the exporting of goods real or virtual from the country.
"Prison labour is still very widespread – it's just that goods travel a much more complex route to come to the US these days. And it is not illegal to export prison goods to Europe, said Nicole Kempton from the Laogai foundation, a Washington-based group which opposes the forced labour camp system in China.
Liu Dali's name has been changed | {
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement Viktor Yanukovych, the opposition leader who won Ukraine's recent election, has been inaugurated as the country's new president. His electoral opponent, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, says Mr Yanukovych won through fraud and refuses to recognise his victory. Both Mrs Tymoshenko and the outgoing President, Viktor Yushchenko, did not attend the ceremony in Kiev. International observers have said the February poll was conducted fairly. Mr Yanukovych beat Mrs Tymoshenko in the run-off by 3.5%. He won the support of only about a third of Ukraine's 37 million eligible voters. He is the first Ukrainian president to have been backed by fewer than 50% of those who voted. Despite this, his victory marked a comeback from humiliation five years ago when mass street protests - known as the Orange Revolution - overturned a presidential election that had been rigged in his favour. The protests swept to power Mr Yushchenko and Mrs Tymoshenko. 'Non-aligned state' On Thursday, Mr Yanukovych swore the oath of office in parliament in front of deputies and visiting foreign heads of state and representatives. Mrs Tymoshenko says the poll was "falsified" "I vow to defend through my actions the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and the rights and freedoms of its citizens," he said. There was a block of empty seats in the chamber where deputies belonging to Mrs Tymoshenko's bloc would have sat. After taking the oath, Mr Yanukovych acknowledged the divisions in parliament and Ukraine's economic difficulties, including "colossal debts, poverty and economic collapse". But he that he knew how to lead the country out of the crisis, urging the government and parliament to co-operate with him. Ukrainian politics has been dominated by the rivalries between Mr Yanukovych, Mrs Tymoshenko and Mr Yushchenko since the Orange Revolution. Mr Yanukovych has said he now wants to form a new coalition and oust Mrs Tymoshenko as prime minister. She has refused to step down and has called on her parliamentary coalition to oppose him. Last weekend, she withdrew a legal challenge against her rival's victory in the election. She said the court was not interested in giving her justice in her case against Mr Yanukovych. There have been concerns that he would steer Ukraine's foreign policy away from the West-leaning course that Mr Yushchenko had charted, in favour of closer ties with Moscow. His power base is in the Russian-speaking east and south of the country. In the Ukrainian-speaking west and centre, he lost every region to Mrs Tymoshenko. But in his speech, Mr Yanukovych said Ukraine was "a bridge between the East and the West, integral part of both Europe and the former USSR". Describing Ukraine as a "European, non-aligned state", he pledged to develop a foreign policy that would allow Kiev to "reap maximum rewards by developing mutually beneficial ties with Russia, the EU, US and other states". In a signal that he may not move away from closer ties with the EU, some of his advisers have said his first foreign visit as president will be to the EU headquarters in Brussels, not Moscow.
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.- “The next World Youth Day in the year 2016 will be in Krakow, in Poland!” the Pope said at the close of Sunday Mass in Rio July 28.
The event is sure to attract millions.
Bl. Pope John Paul II was Archbishop of Krakow before his election to the papacy. The archdiocese has about 1.5 million Catholics and over 1,100 diocesan priests across 439 parishes, according to the website Catholic Hierarchy.
Cardnal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the present Archbishop of Krakow, was personal secretary to John Paul II.
Poland has over 38 million people, about 90 percent of whom are Catholic, the CIA World Factbook says.
Poland is one of the most Catholic countries in Europe. Though the nation remained staunchly Catholic under Soviet-imposed atheistic communism, and took special pride in the papacy of John Paul II, the country has become somewhat more secularized in the last two decades. Weekly church attendance has dropped below 40 percent.
The choice of Krakow marks a return to Europe, which has hosted the global youth event three of the last six times.
Madrid, Spain hosted the World Youth Day in 2011 while Sydney, Australia hosted the event in 2008 and Cologne, Germany hosted the event in 2005. Toronto, Canada hosted it in 2002 while Rome hosted World Youth Day 2000. | {
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För knappt en vecka sedan föll den hitintills unika domen att polisen inte bara har rätt lägga vantarna på servrar utan även kan beslagta domännamn i kampen mot brottsligheten på nätet, vilket i detta fall betyder att piratebay.se och thepiratebay.se anses vara förverkade och överförs till svenska statens ägo.
Som så många gånger tidigare tar nu historien en ny vändning. Till Dagens Nyheter uppger en av grundarna till The Pirate Bay att domen kommer att överklagas. Skälet är inte att den tidigare ägaren Fredrik Neij, som avtjänar ett fängelsestraff för sin inblandning i piratnästet, vill ha tillbaka domännamnet utan att beslutet anses vara principiellt felaktigt.
– Tingsrätten gör en felaktig bedömning av hur man ska se på ett domännamn. Vi anser att det är en adressuppgift, inte en egendom, uppger Fredrik Neijs advokat Jonas Nilsson till DN.
Även Stiftelsen för internetinfrastruktur, som ansvarar för den svenska toppdomänen .se, kritiserar tingsrättens beslut och menar att domännamn ska liknas vid vanliga gatunamn eller postadresser. Argumentet är att adressen inte har någonting med (webb)platsens innehåll att göra och därmed inte heller brottet.
Oavsett utgång påverkar de juridiska turerna knappast den välkända piratsajten. The Pirate Bay har redan registrerat en uppsjö nya domännamn och ser nu till att sprida ut dessa för att göra det ännu svårare för ett enskilt lands myndigheter att stoppa verksamheten. | {
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Via BuzzFeed, here’s the latest in tolerance from last night’s Piers Morgan show. Mitt Romney spoke at a commencement for Southern Virginia University, whose student body is 92% Mormon, according to Hunter Schwartz, and Romney used his speech to talk about traditional Mormon pro-family values — or really, generic Christian family values. For quoting Psalms — by the way, an Old Testament book common to all Christians and Jews — the panel laughs Romney out of the room as a “religious fanatic”:
The NIV has this as “children,” while the Ignatius Catholic version uses “sons” instead. Nonetheless, the panel starts off by misinterpreting this as a specifically Mormon teaching, rather than a broad Judeo-Christian teaching about the blessings of offspring, apparently as a means to snicker at Romney’s religious beliefs while ironically revealing their own ignorance on such matters. Romney’s own count of five children seems amusing to the panel in this context, while they roll their eyes, laugh, call Romney a “fanatic” for quoting Psalms as advice, and state that this is the reason that single women didn’t vote for him — even though this never came up at all in the campaign.
There are fanatics in this conversation … but Romney isn’t one of them.
Schwartz has asked CNN if they stand by these statements from their panel. May I suggest Job 11:2-3?
Addendum: On further consideration, I’m also struck at how ungracious this attack is. Mitt Romney has stayed out of the political debate since he lost the election six months ago, and CNN is still doing spots on Mormon Weirdness? Ah, tolerance … | {
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After leading the “Play Pau Properly” charge for so long, it almost comes out as a natural defense mechanism whenever I hear the speculation of a Gasol for fill in the blank scenario being discussed. The fact is, Gasol isn’t responsible for not automatically morphing into a player with a skill set more suitable for the most recent offensive system. That said, at 8-9 (W/L) and struggling to maintain any level of consistency, the Los Angeles Lakers are a team searching for answers. Lakers’ management does not seem keen on the idea of waiting patiently while their $100 million investment takes time to figure things out.
If anything, the firing of Mike Brown after just a 1-4 start (without the services of PG Steve Nash) proved just how dire the circumstances truly were. It comes as no surprise that a source close to Lakers’ management has confirmed an interest in New Orleans Hornets’ PF Ryan Anderson as “legitimate.” Anderson is in just the first year of a 4-year, $36 million deal, having agreed to a sign-and-trade to join the Hornets in the off-season. The source went on to state:
The interest is coming from the Lakers, not New Orleans. Mitch (Kupchak) would prefer to keep Pau, as would Kobe. Jim (Buss) would prefer to continue cleaning house, and bring in players able to fit a more fast-paced style of play.
It should come as no surprise to hear of Jim Buss’ desire to obtain players to suit D’Antoni’s offense. Following the news of the organization deciding to go with D’Antoni over Phil Jackson there were plenty of reports surfacing about the Buss family strongly favoring an offense closer to the “Showtime” era to a more slow and methodical (Triangle) approach. The source went on to say:
Kupchak was clear about these facts 1.) No deal was imminent. 2.) Any proposed deal for Anderson would likely require a third team. 3.) Naturally, Gasol was generating a lot of interest from around the league, but reinforced that nothing was imminent.
Again, none of this should come as a shock, as Lakers’ brass was willing to part ways with both Gasol and Lamar Odom in pursuit of (now) Los Angeles Clippers PG Chris Paul just prior to the start of the 2011-12 season. While Anderson may lack some of the all-around offensive skills Gasol possesses, he would seem to be the perfect fit as the prototypical “stretch-4” player within D’Antoni’s system.
Personally, if I were Lakers’ management, considering Gasol with the second unit while awaiting the return of Nash would come before deciding to trade the 2-time champion. Not only would that open the floor for the starting unit by placing Jamison opposite Dwight Howard, but it would provide an opportunity to play Gasol out of the post, which has become his more natural position. That said, of all rumored deals/interest, Anderson fits the D’Antoni mold better than anyone else. With the organization seemingly grasping for answers, this will certainly be a story worthy of monitoring as the NBA season progresses.
Per ESPN:
Ryan Anderson
2012-13 Season
17.2 PPG, 8 RPG, .3 BPG, 20.30 PER
GP MPG FGM-FGA FG% 3PM-3PA 3P% FTM-FTA FT% 2012-13 Regular Season 15 32.8 6.4-13.9 .459 3.3-7.8 .427 1.1-1.3 .842 Career 269 22.7 3.7-8.5 .430 1.8-4.8 .388 1.6-1.9 .851
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Pau Gasol
2012-13 Season
12.6 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.2 BPG, 15.04 PER | {
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To follow the career and pronouncements of Frank Field is to guarantee a lifetime of banging your head against the nearest table in abject misery. Field, Birkenhead’s indefatigable representative for almost 40 years, was one of four Labour MPs who voted last month with the government to prevent Britain joining a post-EU customs union, on the grounds that working-class voters “gave politicians a clear instruction to take the country out of the EU”. Every last one of them, apparently, yelling, “The only Brexit is hard Brexit” as they left the polling station.
Now Field has been subject to a vote of no confidence by his constituency Labour members, it’s about time his obsessions – with immigration, with working-class respectability, and with meting out punishment to those on the margins of society – were held up to greater scrutiny. He has made a name for himself as an “independent thinker”, when the reality is his views and his party membership are essentially incompatible.
I’m hesitant about mandatory reselection of MPs, given that every time the party’s pendulum swings from left to right and back, everyone who doesn’t slot in neatly will be more likely to be slung out. But Field’s views are so clearly inimical to Labour principles of justice, humanity and acceptance that in his case it’s reasonable to ask whether he should still be representing Labour voters in parliament.
Frank Field criticises local Labour members after confidence vote Read more
Since the Blair era, Labour has suffered a lack of confidence in applying those principles, adhering rigidly to the belief that voters in working-class constituencies are socially conservative with authoritarian leanings, and preferring to tack to the right than to offer genuine alternatives.
Field does not lack confidence: he really does think there’s no alternative. He has campaigned to have constituents who engage in antisocial behaviour housed in metal containers under the M53 motorway. He has complained that “We still haven’t really taken the gloves off” to confront “neighbours from hell” and frequently makes distinctions in his own constituency between “toerags” and “decent hardworking taxpayers”, with only the latter deserving fair treatment.
This is in the context of Birkenhead – a Merseyside town that has lost nearly half of its population since the 1950s, and was recently classed as the fourth-worst place to earn a living in the UK in part because of low earnings and business closures. The idea that Birkenhead might be shorter than other places on “decent hardworking taxpayers” might have something to do with there not being enough jobs to work hard at and pay tax.
For a long time it was possible to see Field’s authoritarian worldview as part of a left-right continuum in Labour’s internal politics, with Field representing a strongly held “traditional” view of, for instance, working-class family and neighbourhood life (which wasn’t so much traditional as imposed by prevailing middle-class norms and, in any case, virtually impossible to achieve in conditions of extreme poverty).
When New Labour entered power in 1997, he was tasked with “thinking the unthinkable” on welfare reform because he had, according to his own website, “led the campaign to make the Labour party electable” after 1979. As well as that self-styled “campaign”, before entering parliament he headed the Child Poverty Action Group and the Low Pay Unit in the 1970s, during which time he developed a specific and obsessive image of who “real” working-class people were – revealing, by definition, who are not.
For Field, the line between respectability and its lack, and deserving and undeserving, is sacrosanct. The emphasis in his many statements on working-class respectability always comes down to self-reliance and mutual interdependence within strict local boundaries. He views the universal benefits offered by the postwar welfare state as having corrupted this ideal by offering assistance as a right rather than a conditional reward. Immigration he views solely through the prism of its perceived effects on “the white working class”.
As with many other Labour MPs who frame their obsession with immigration as simply representing the views of “real working-class people”, he happens to represent a constituency with little recent immigration (although, of course, it was built on generations of inward migration from Ireland). No matter what Field suggests, EU membership has not driven down living standards and pay rates in places such as Birkenhead, which is in the state it’s in because of actions taken – and not taken – by British governments, the current one of which he seems determined to support.
Brexit should be Labour’s focus. Its NEC candidates ignore it at their peril | Polly Toynbee Read more
His supporters in Merseyside and beyond will point to his tireless opposition to universal credit and the fact that, in places where the scheme was piloted (Birkenhead included), its introduction has made people destitute. He has set up the Feeding Britain charity with fellow Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck to ensure children in constituencies such as theirs are fed all year round. Yet he campaigns against child poverty and family suffering while, with his other hand, brandishing a stick to anyone who, in his view, doesn’t come up to scratch.
That puts him not on the “sane left”, as I suspect he would put it, but on the hard right. Labour is within reach of winning an election not by pandering to social conservatism but by pointing out, calmly and optimistically, that we are not living in the past. Even Field himself thought, “God, what am I doing in this party?” in 2015, when he couldn’t get Ed Miliband to agree with him on immigration. My question exactly.
• Lynsey Hanley is an author and a visiting fellow in cultural studies at Liverpool John Moores University | {
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AUTHOR’S NOTE: Below is an essay I first published for The Ochberg Society, a now-defunct grassroots group of journalists who cover trauma, upon the publication of FACTORY MAN in 2014. I’ve been thinking a lot about the people featured in my essay and in that book recently. Last week on Election Day, I traveled back to Bassett, Va., to talk about my just-out book, TRUEVINE, a nonfiction narrative about race, exploitation and greed.
In the front row sat a 63-year-old white man, a trucking company owner named Jerry Hatchett, decked out in “Make America Great Again” regalia — red Trump hat that matched his red suspenders. To his left sat a septuagenarian former sharecropper and furniture factory worker named Janet Johnson, who is featured in TRUEVINE. Janet is black, and the title of one of my chapters, “White Peoples Is Hateful,” was a direct quote from my interviews with her. After my talk, which centered largely on racism and its tentacles, the two had a pleasant exchange.
Hatchett, who still lives on the dairy farm where he grew up in rural Sontag (just three miles down the road from the rural crossroads of Truevine, Va.), bought five copies of “TRUEVINE” at the event. When I called him up later to ask what he thought of the election results he told me, “I run a small business” with 20 employees. “The regulations passed in D.C. are killing small businesses,” he said, citing studies that truck-related deaths have decreased greatly in the past 50 years, and yet the regulations keep tightening.
Hatchett assured me he was not racist, and I believe him. “I’ve got a lot of black friends, and I’d rather have them in my house than about three-quarters of the white people I know.” But he’s concerned about soaring health insurance premiums, which he blames on Obamacare. He’s concerned about the growing number of people in his region, black and white, who can’t pass a drug test. “People out here are hurting, and nobody in Washington has done anything about it.”
Time will tell whether president-elect Trump, who has a long history of outsourcing his own products, will actually do anything about joblessness, soaring disability rates and food insecurity in places where “the China shock” has decimated the livelihoods of so many. In places like Bassett and Truevine, where factories once hummed, I believe people want their dignity back, not painkillers. They want jobs.
More than anything, I believe Donald Trump won the election, despite just about every pollster prediction to the contrary, because Democrats and journalists failed to grasp and report on the aftermath of globalization in small towns across America. I fielded a number of reporter phone calls during the campaigns, asking for my “Factory Man” sources and their phone numbers and wanting to pick my brain, from The Wall Street Journal to The Guardian. I helped the reporters, based in Washington and New York, because that’s what members of the journalism tribe do for one another.
But what I really wanted to say to them was this: Why are you just now getting around to writing this story? NAFTA was signed in 1994; China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. Across America, dying factory towns held unemployment-rate records for more than a decade. What took you so long? And why were so many of my regional-media colleagues also unable to illuminate that story? (I describe more fully the impact of dwindling journalistic resources on smaller, regional media here.)
Democrats and most of the mainstream media ignored what was happening in rural America until the morning after the election. And they ignored it at their own peril.
The former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey once told an interviewer: “Some bones broken will forever be weak. They will ache and cause pain. The best we can hope for is acknowledgment. What drives me crazy is when people don’t want to acknowledge!”
She was talking about racist events of the past, but the same idea could be applied today to the pain inflicted by globalization, when 5 million American factory workers lost their livelihood through no fault of their own. And the only government program designed to ease them into new work was an outdated Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) run by people who looked down their noses at the displaced. (My personal favorite exchange, from a TAA training session I attended: “We’re not gonna pay for you to be in school and find out you’re in Myrtle Beach,” a presenter said, stressing strict school attendance. “Who here has money for a vacation?” said the laid-off worker sitting next to me. “I’m worried about losing my house.”)
It’s wrong to name-call all Trump voters as “deplorables.” It’s wrong to discount all rural voters for “clinging to their religion and guns.” As George Packer opined recently in a New Yorker story on the psychology of the Trump voter: “If the Democrats were no longer on their side — if government programs kept failing to improve their lives — why not vote for the party that at least took them seriously?”
Further, as the lives of rural Americans grew smaller, whiter, and less hope-filled, identity issues surrounding race became harder to unpack and more fraught to discuss, giving “Trump the aura of being a truth teller,” according to Packer. “The ‘authenticity’ that his followers so admire is factually wrong and morally repulsive. But when people of good will are afraid to air legitimate arguments [and discuss sensitive issues such as sentencing reform and urban crime], the illegitimate kind gains power.”
I hope the first step in bridging the divide is the airing of such arguments. The acknowledgment of one another’s pain.
As I write in FACTORY MAN: “The people [in trade-decimated communities] wanted their stories told. … Their world was not flat, and they wanted a witness to it. Someone to describe the creeping small-town carnage created by acronyms like NAFTA and WTO and an impotent TAA, all of it forged by faraway people who had never bothered to see the full result of what globalization had wrought.”
Perhaps those faraway people are beginning now to see the picture. It’s not a very lovely one. At Henry County’s Community Storehouse, where a converted textile-plant conveyor belt has found new life as a food-distribution device, people still arrive two hours before the doors open, some of them leaning on canes and walkers — for a box of old food.
But I take solace in the words of the poet-singer Leonard Cohen, who died last week and whose work elevated humanity’s brokenness: “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
I don’t presume to have all the answers for these complicated times, but I hope my essay, below, sheds a little more light on how the national media selectively ignored a wide swath of its citizenry.
And to all those daring to parachute in again, I say: Come on back. And stick around a while when you do.
When I first met Wanda Perdue in the spring of 2012, she was studying at a community college tutoring center in rural Virginia. She had missed the technology boom entirely. When everyone else was learning about Word and Excel, Wanda was tacking trim pieces onto dining room tables and gluing molding onto dresser drawers. When Stanley Furniture laid her off in 2010 along with 530 of her coworkers — moving most of its production offshore to China, Vietnam and Indonesia — Wanda barely knew how to turn on a computer.
When I met her, she was finishing an associate’s degree in office administration. She’d struggled mightily in the beginning, especially with college math, but soon she would be graduating with a 3.3 grade-point average. Wanda was a young 58 then — trim with pretty copper hair, Southern manners and a work ethic honed by decades of standing through sweltering, eight-hour shifts, just as her parents before her had done at a competing furniture-maker in nearby Bassett, Va.
“What I want [a prospective employer] to know is, if you need a job done, she’s going to find a way to do it come hell or high water,” said Kay Pagans, one of Wanda’s professors.
And yet, over the next two years, every time I phoned Wanda for an update on her job search, the story was the same: The only work she could find was part-time, without benefits, at Walmart, where she ran the cash register and stocked shelves in the health and beauty aisle. On the phone in August, Wanda sounded more desperate than ever. Walmart had recently announced they were cutting her hours in anticipation of Obamacare, part of its new labor-savings strategy. The world had gotten flat, as columnist Thomas Friedman likes to say. But Wanda’s side of the story rarely got reported: the 5 million factory workers who’d lost their jobs to offshoring had been utterly flattened, too.
According to the prevailing media narrative, the recession ended in 2009, and manufacturing has been slowly bouncing back. Only it hasn’t really. The official unemployment rate may have declined, but the full employment picture was not quite the smiley face that economists and business reporters were leading everyone to believe. The number of people toiling at temp work and part-time jobs, and those who have simply stopped looking for work — the so-called U6 rate — is almost double the official rate.
As The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson conceded not long after Wanda lost her full-time job, the unemployment stories were waning because the political will to fix the labor market had faded. “It’s hard to blame the media too much for resisting to write feverishly about nonexistent efforts to fix a static unemployment problem,” he wrote.
I’m not so sure. Even when the media was still reporting full steam on unemployment, a 2009 Pew Center survey showed the recession was largely being covered from the top down, told primarily through big business with stories datelined in Washington and New York. As if that’s where all the unemployed people live. The ratio of stories featuring ordinary people and displaced workers? Just 2 percent.
Thompson may blame the problem on the lack of political will, but I have another theory to add to the mix. With a few exceptions, the national media tends to cover the people it already knows, most of them found in the same ZIP codes and Facebook/Twitter realms where they live and work. National reporters rarely venture anywhere near the hollowed-out little towns where people suffering the after effects of globalization would practically grab a visiting journalist by the collar, ready for a witness to the carnage. Reporters out of Washington and New York rarely turn up in quirky Appalachian towns like Galax, Va., where all but one furniture factory has closed, or in the once-prosperous city of Martinsville, Va., which lost almost half its workforce to the offshoring of textile and furniture jobs.
I haven’t seen any of the major news outlets reporting from tiny Fieldale, where another former Stanley worker approached me last summer and spilled his story before I could ask a single question. Now 59, Samuel Watkins’ employment benefits had run out eight months earlier, and he’d plundered his 401K. He’d cobbled together work mowing lawns and weeding gardens for $8.50 an hour. He had no health insurance and had recently maxed out his credit card to have an infected tooth pulled. He hauled his tools and lawnmower gas around in the back of a dented 1999 Ford Explorer.
Samuel had no idea I was a journalist writing a book about the aftermath of globalization when we bumped into each other in July 2013, the same week that Hope Yen of the Associated Press wrote up new data showing that four in five American adults will face poverty during their lifetimes. It was one of the first national stories I’d read that directly connected poverty to the increasingly globalized economy and the decimation of factory jobs.
When Samuel struggled to explain to his Virginia Employment Commission caseworker how demoralized he felt asking the government for help, she told him, “Get a grip. You’re not going to be making $13.90 again.” Unfortunately, she was right.
In small towns like Samuel’s, the local press does what it can, covering job fairs and the opening of temp agencies, dollar stores and call centers. The opening of Martinsville’s call center StarTek, for instance, was touted as the savior of the dying town — only to close up operations seven years later and join the cheap-labor waltz to the Philippines. For one former StarTek worker I met, it was her sixth layoff in 18 years.
But that long view rarely gets explored in depth by small newspapers, where publishers and business leaders also tend to be entwined “like roots around a pipe,” as one civic leader told me. One analysis piece I wrote about Martinsville resulted in a worker I’d interviewed being forbidden from speaking to me again — or even responding to an e-mail or private Facebook message — for my book.
The slow burn of a globalizing economy, recession or not, is hard for most reporters to get their heads around. “No one’s really covered the day in and day out of the effects of free trade on the American public,” said Richard McCormack, the founding publisher of Manufacturing & Technology News and the editor of “ReMaking America,” a book published recently by the Alliance for American Manufacturing. “So much of the media is sponsored basically by advertising — Walmart and Macy’s, and if you’re the Wall Street Journal, it’s J.P. Morgan or Chase.”
Secondly, McCormack pointed out, sorting through the thousand-plus documents produced by a single U.S. International Trade Commission case is “really hard for journalists to put their arms around. It’s not cut and dry, it’s not black and white. And the importers and foreign producers have spent millions on lobbyists, lawyers and P.R. people until domestic manufacturers get completely overwhelmed. It’s a goddamn David and Goliath,” he said.
Since newsroom beats by tradition are organized geographically as well as by theme, it doesn’t often happen that a local reporter will follow the closing of a local factory to its replacement location in, say, Indonesia. While small media outlets and regional papers like the one I write for cover every factory closing and every new unemployment stat, we rarely claim the authority, the scope or the resources to pay attention to what’s happening at the World Trade Organization or the Department of Commerce.
That’s left to journalists at bigger news outlets, but these are reporters who usually haven’t bothered traversing the dying factory towns. From where they sit, the trend is barely perceptible.
The full picture of globalization, then, rarely makes its way into the news. No one is minding the back room of this new global store.
In fact, it took a freelance photographer, Jared Soares, driving to Martinsville three times a week for more than a year before I finally grasped the big picture myself, through his images: a textile plant conveyor belt converted for use in a food bank; a disabled minister named Leonard, biding time in his kitchen in the middle of the afternoon; a Trade Adjustment Assistance training session, where the PowerPoint resembled a seventh-grade filmstrip from 1973, and laid-off workers were scolded not to blow all their unemployment benefits at Myrtle Beach. (“The beach?” one woman muttered. “I’m about to lose my house.”)
If the laid-off factory workers wanted their stories told, Jared and I were going to have to help. His project, culminating in a forthcoming photography book, is the result, along with my book, “Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local — and Helped Save an American Town,” which will be published by Little, Brown and Company next June.
With any luck at all, Wanda will land a full-time job before she hits retirement age. She called in August to tell me she was about to have her first interview in many months, as a data entry operator for a local company. Wanda had her interviewing outfit all picked out, she enthused. She was nervous because three people were going to be interviewing her at once. “But I can handle it,” she added.
Turns out the business is just five minutes up a hill from her house, as the crow flies. “If it comes a real deep snow and I had to get there, I could walk,” she said.
A few weeks later, she called back. She thought the interview had gone well, but she did not get the job. “They said they’d keep my resume on file,” she added.
When I caught up with Samuel recently, his luck had improved. He’d been hired as a full-time temp worker for one of the last furniture-related companies in the region, a kitchen cabinet supplier, making $11 an hour. He has health insurance again, and is working hard to catch up on his electric bill, now three months in arrears.
His wife, a 61-year-old former furniture worker, is in the process of applying for federal disability benefits — another rarely reported but escalating trend in towns hit hard by globalization.
Even the economists and some Washington journalists are beginning to notice what Samuel Watkins could have told them four years ago. “If my company stays in business, there’s a chance I can become an actual employee,” Samuel said, hopefully. “Honey, it’s like everything else. There’s nothing promised to you any more. All you do is work till they say it’s no more.” | {
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In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre’s MayDay parade, a vibrant rite of spring in south Minneapolis for 44 years, has become so popular that it will cease next year unless the nonprofit gets outside help.
In a letter published Wednesday on the theater’s website, Executive Director Corrie Zoll said the MayDay event brings in about $150,000, mostly from individual donors. But the cost of producing the event usually runs between $180,000 and $200,000.
Last year, the event lost $50,000 that was covered by theater reserves. The theater “can no longer afford to take on these risks alone,” he wrote.
The next, and possibly final, parade is set for May 5. But city leaders reacted quickly to the news and appeared to be speeding to the rescue.
“This is so much more than a parade,” Minneapolis City Council Member Alondra Cano said, adding that the festival and the year-round work the theater does bring together families and friends from around the city and across cultures.
“The city’s going to do everything in its power to support” the theater and the parade, she said.
A giant bird puppet at the 2013 MayDay Parade in Minneapolis. The annual event is sponsored by In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, which said 2019 will be the last year it will produce the event on its own.
Mayor Jacob Frey’s office announced that he was working to save the parade.
“MayDay offers a rallying cry for workers and justice — and one of the events that best captures this inclusive spirit is the annual parade,” said Mychal Vlatkovich, Frey’s spokesman.
Frey has been in contact with Heart of the Beast leadership regarding possible partners for the parade, and Cano said she wants to work with the theater to figure out a sustainable future for the organization.
The parade was the initial attraction — and remains the unique draw — of the festival, attended by some 60,000 people last year, Zoll said.
MayDay is held in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood in Minneapolis’ bohemian south-central core. Occurring at the tipping point of spring when the ground has softened, revelers venture out of their seasonal cocoons. The parade features colorful puppets for kids and a progressive theme for adults; in 2015, for example, it was “And Still We Rise.”
The parade of giant, artist-created puppets has grown to include soccer, food trucks, dance performances as well as private brunch gatherings and parties.
In the immediate future, Cano said the city could reduce or forgive some $5,000 in permit and road-closure fees. She said she also hopes the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board will review the fee charged for rental of the large park.
Looking for support
As with many midsize arts organizations, this isn’t the first time Heart of the Beast has faced financial issues.
In 2014, the theater — which then had an annual budget of $750,000 — announced layoffs because of a significant drop in foundation grants and an unexpected mortgage refinancing need.
Since 1979, the social justice-themed theater has aimed to tell the stories of the “courageous and resourceful” people “who live in the heart of the beast,” a global metaphor.
Zoll said the nonprofit has an annual budget of about $1 million, the equivalent of nine full-time employees and contracts with about 100 artists. The theater this year will be forced to cut staff and programming “significantly,” according to Zoll’s statement. Cutting back on the already minimal pay to artists wasn’t something he said he could do.
“This is difficult news to share, and we imagine it will be difficult for some to hear,” the statement said. “With ongoing support, we believe that [the theater’s] vision, values, and work will persist.”
The announcement encouraged artists and community members to share their thoughts, give feedback, volunteer or make donations.
Also noted was that Sandy Spieler, who was one of the parade’s founders and has led it since the beginning, will step down. In a separate letter, she said she made the decision before the latest troubles.
Puppet Lab performances will go on as planned March 15-16 and March 21-22, and the theater will continue to work in schools and places of worship. The Puppet Cabaret, an evening of experimental puppet acts, is planned for Feb. 14. The theater will continue to rent out the Avalon event space.
A performer at the 2017 MayDay Parade in south Minneapolis.
Zoll said it’s scary to say that he has no idea what MayDay will look like in 2020, but that 2019 is going to be fabulous. He’s also optimistic.
“I trust that there will be a future for this event,” he said. | {
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By Jonathan Gault
October 12, 2015
BOSTON — Four was the number of the day on Boston Common this afternoon. When Molly Huddle crossed the finish line in a course-record time of 31:21, it represented her fourth title here at the Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women, which also doubled as this year’s USATF women’s 10k road championships. The victory was also her fourth in a row at a USATF Running Circuit Event in 2015 after wins at the 20k, 5k and 10-mile champs in recent weeks. And fourth, of course, was Huddle’s place in the 10,000 meters at August’s IAAF World Championships in Beijing, which preceded her recent run of dominance on the U.S. road circuit.
Huddle said that that result in the Bird’s Nest, where she missed out on a medal by just .09 of a second after a slight let-up allowed Emily Infeld to pass her at the line, has motivated her a little bit, but the main reason behind her American tour is that “it just feels good to run hard right now.” The final stop on the Huddle Express will come on November 15 at the .US National 12k Championships in Alexandria, Va., where Huddle will look to add her fifth U.S. road title of 2015. More impressively, a win in Alexandria would be her 12th consecutive in a U.S. road championship — she hasn’t lost one since Janet Cherobon-Bawcom defeated her in the 15k champs in March 2012.
Huddle wasted no time asserting her will on the field, hitting the mile mark in 5:00, right on goal pace as she attacked Shalane Flanagan‘s 31:03 U.S. road record. As Huddle ran onto the Harvard Bridge just after the mile, only Ethiopian Sentayehu Ejigu — whom Huddle edged for the B.A.A. 5k title earlier this year in Boston — was still with her, but even Ejigu could not hang with Huddle for long once they crossed the Charles River into Cambridge.
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At two miles (9:58), Huddle had a 10-meter lead and that quickly ballooned as Ejigu fell back and was caught by Emily Sisson in second. At that point, Huddle was forced to press alone along tree-lined Memorial Drive, and she knew any chance she had of eclipsing Flanagan’s record had evaporated.
“I knew I couldn’t do that alone,” Huddle said. “I was hoping if I was running 5:00 pace that there would be Sentayehu or someone to help, but once I got to two miles, I kind of knew it would be a big order to maintain that. So I just tried to run hard, as hard as I could…I usually need a race to get my best.”
With the win assured and the record unattainable (she passed 5k in 15:37), Huddle could have coasted in to the finish, but she elected to press on, wearing a determined expression as she chased the press truck back across the Harvard Bridge and into Boston’s Back Bay. Running along Commonwealth Avenue, Huddle had almost a full city block’s lead on Sisson in second, who in turn had a sizeable 100-meter gap on the rest of the field. Shortly thereafter, she made the turn onto Boston Common, breaking the tape on Charles Street in 31:21, 12 seconds under Ejigu’s course record set three years ago.
Rather than celebrate her victory, Huddle’s first action after crossing the finish line was to bend over in exhaustion. The conditions — 68 degrees and sunny, without a cloud in the sky — were perfect for spectating on a beautiful fall day in Boston, but a little too warm for running. Huddle was clearly uncomfortable before turning around to cheer on training partner Sisson, who also struggled with the heat, staggering around the finish area after taking second in 32:18. Ejigu held on for third, narrowly outkicking 2014 USATF 10,000 (track) champ Kim Conley, 32:37-32:38.
Top 20 results
1. Molly Huddle, 31, Providence, RI 31:21 ER/CR/PB $4300 + 7750a
2. Emily Sisson, 24, Providence, RI 32:18 2900 + 4750a
3. Sentayehu Ejigu, 30, ETH 32:37 2500
4. Kim Conley, 29, W. Sacramento, CA 32:38 3750a
5. Brianne Nelson, 34, Golden, CO 32:48 PB 3200a
6. Monicah Ngige, 21, Lansing, MI (KEN) 32:52
7. Rochelle Kanuho, 25, Flagstaff, AZ 33:04 2950a
8. Hannah Davidson, 25, Saratoga Springs, NY 33:06 PB 2350a
9. Alisha Williams, 33, Golden, CO 33:08 1900a
10. Katie Matthews, 24, Brighton, MA 33:09 1700a
11. Kellyn Taylor, 29, Flagstaff, AZ 33:14 1600a
12. Liv Westphal, 21, Chestnut Hill, MA (FRA) 33:26
13. Mattie Suver, 28, Colorado Springs, CO 33:34 1500a
14. Rachel Johnson, 22, Waco, TX 33:34 DB
15. Sarah Pagano, 24, Brighton, MA 33:42
16. Emma Bates, 23, Brighton, MA 33:54 DB
17. Tara Welling, 26, Portland, OR 34:07
18. Gabi Anzalone, 21, Madison, WI 34:12
19. Alycia Cridebring, 23, Pleasant Hill, CA 34:26
20. Bridget Lyons, 27, Atlanta, GA 34:28
a = Earned American Championships prize money
m = Earned Masters prize money
Quick Take #1: Molly Huddle has made a very nice living in 2015
In one of LetsRun’s Week that Was articles last year, we pointed out how much prize money Huddle took down in 2014 — $128,000. Well after today, she’s on pace to break that in 2015.
Date Race Result Prize Money 3/15/2015 NYC Half Marathon 1st (68:31) $20,000 4/18/2015 B.A.A. 5K 1st (14:50) $12,500* 6/25/2015 USATF Outdoor Champs 10k 1st (31:39) $7,000 7/25/2015 Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games 5k 2nd (14:57) $6,000 8/24/2015 IAAF World Championships 10k 4th (31:43) $15,000 9/7/2015 USATF 20k Champs 1st (66:26) $10,000 9/20/2015 USATF 5k Champs 1st (15:12) $7,000 10/4/2015 USATF 10-Mile Champs 1st (51:44) $22,000 10/12/2015 USATF 10k Champs 1st (31:21) $12,050 Year to date: $111,550
* T-Mobile CEO John Legere offered Huddle an additional $5,000 for breaking the American record after the B.A.A. 5k but we don’t know whether Huddle accepted it.
Huddle can take home an additional $20,000 for winning the .US 12k champs next month, plus a bonus of indeterminate amount for winning the USARC series (which she currently leads and will clinch with a win in Alexandria). Last year, that bonus was $25,000, so if Huddle wins the 12k champs, she could be looking at a total of $156,550 solely in prize money this year (plus another possible $5,000 from Legere). Of course, Huddle likely cost herself a significant amount in present/future sponsor bonuses by missing a medal in Beijing, but once you factor in the bonuses she did earn and her base salary, she’s got to be looking at somewhere in the $300k-plus range in 2015 earnings. Not bad at all.
How much did Huddle’s let up in Beijing cost her? Likely close to six figures. Most endorsement deals for top U.S. pros include bonus clauses for medals. One agent estimated Huddle’s might be $40,000. But that bonus rolls over into your base until the contract is over. So if she’s signed through 2016 (most deals end in Olympic years), you’re looking at $80,000 in endorsement income alone ($40,000 x 2) and there was a $5000 difference in prize money between third and fourth.
Quick Take #2: Huddle on the marathon: “If it were up to me, for sure, next year”
I caught up with Huddle after the race (interview below) but the most interesting thing I learned from her came later, off-camera. Many have suspected Huddle will make her marathon debut sometime in the near future, and she confirmed that the marathon is very much on her mind.
“Next fall would be great” for a debut, Huddle said, adding that there are still details to be ironed out before she can 100% commit to running a marathon. If she were to run one next year, Huddle said that she’d like to do it at an American race.
“New York has always had an allure,” Huddle said, adding “Chicago and Boston are great too.” Huddle has traveled to New York City in the past to watch training partner Kim Smith compete (Smith raced NYC in 2010, 2011 and 2013) and said she has always enjoyed the experience. Huddle also watched Chicago as a spectator while in college at nearby Notre Dame and has competed at the B.A.A. 5k over Boston Marathon weekend each of the past three years.
New York would be the obvious choice for Huddle to debut. She’d receive a huge appearance fee and the date (November 6) would allow her to run a track season and compete at the Olympics (the 10,000 final is on August 12) and still get in a solid buildup. Nothing is set as of yet, but it would not be a surprise to see Huddle on the start line in the Big Apple next November.
Quick Take #3: Emily Sisson celebrated her 24th birthday with a runner-up finish today
Sisson said that the race felt a bit harder than she expected it to as she underestimated the heat, but was pleased overall with her result. Sisson knew she had a very small chance of beating Huddle today but hopes to one day reach her level by making consistent yearly progress, just as Huddle has.
“Molly’s just on another level,” Sisson said. “I’m happy to see her have success and I’m proud to finish second to her.”
Sisson has now run two great races in a row (she was third at the U.S. 5k champs last month behind Huddle and Flanagan) and she said that’s the result of a much-needed break she took after the London DL meet in July.
“[The NCAA season] is a long season. I was talking to a lot of the girls, we all needed a break after that I think. It helped us, I think, a lot to get healthy and feel fresh coming into our pro careers.”
Next up for Sisson is the .US 12k champs and then the Manchester Road Race on November 26.
Quick Take #4: A “good intermediate step” for Kim Conley
Conley, who preceded Huddle as USA 10,000 champ on the track last year, opened up 2015 by winning the U.S. Half Marathon champs in January but missed the entire track season due to injury. She was pleased with her result today after she was fifth in the 5k champs last month, but it was clear that Conley is itching to return to her 2014 form that saw her PR in every event from the mile to the 10k.
“I struggled a little bit with the patience of coming back to the same level that I was at before the injury,” Conley said. “This was much better than CVS just a few weeks ago so I have to take that and look ahead and be happy with moving forward but I still want more.”
Conley has some options heading into the 2016 Olympic year. She made the 2012 team at 5,000 in dramatic fashion and then made the World Champs team at the same distance the following year before stepping up and winning her first national title on the track at 10,000 in 2014. And her victory at the U.S. Half Marathon champs shows that her range extends even farther than 10k.
Conley said the plan as of now is to run the Olympic standards for both 5,000 and 10,000 and then she’ll make a decision in June/July about what event to run given the competition she’ll face at the national and international level.
Quick Take #5: Joanie ran this one
58-year-old Joan Benoit Samuelson agonized over the weekend about whether she should run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon after a vicious stomach virus caused her to lose a lot of strength. She ultimately decided not to but was able to run the shorter 10k here today. She ran 39:02.
Being entered in both the Tufts 10k and Chicago Marathon isn’t unusual for Samuelson. Back in 1985, she actually raced this race (the first year that Tufts Health sponsored it) and won in it on a Monday in 31:49, before setting her 2:21:21 American record in Chicago on Sunday.
Discuss this race in our forum: *MB: Molly Huddle does it again – She just dominated Tufts Health Plan 10k for Women – 31:21 FTW!
Deeper Results via Race Results Weekly
1. Molly Huddle, 31, Providence, RI 31:21 ER/CR/PB* $4300 + 7750a
2. Emily Sisson, 24, Providence, RI 32:18 2900 + 4750
3. Sentayehu Ejigu, 30, ETH 32:37 2500
4. Kim Conley, 29, W. Sacramento, CA 32:38 3750a
5. Brianne Nelson, 34, Golden, CO 32:48 PB 3200a
6. Monicah Ngige, 21, Lansing, MI (KEN) 32:52
7. Rochelle Kanuho, 25, Flagstaff, AZ 33:04 2950a
8. Hannah Davidson, 25, Saratoga Springs, NY 33:06 PB 2350a
9. Alisha Williams, 33, Golden, CO 33:08 1900a
10. Katie Matthews, 24, Brighton, MA 33:09 1700a
11. Kellyn Taylor, 29, Flagstaff, AZ 33:14 1600a
12. Liv Westphal, 21, Chestnut Hill, MA (FRA) 33:26
13. Mattie Suver, 28, Colorado Springs, CO 33:34 1500a
14. Rachel Johnson, 22, Waco, TX 33:34 DB
15. Sarah Pagano, 24, Brighton, MA 33:42
16. Emma Bates, 23, Brighton, MA 33:54 DB
17. Tara Welling, 26, Portland, OR 34:07
18. Gabi Anzalone, 21, Madison, WI 34:12
19. Alycia Cridebring, 23, Pleasant Hill, CA 34:26
20. Bridget Lyons, 27, Atlanta, GA 34:28
21. Meghan Peyton, 29, Minneapolis, MN 34:29
22. Nicole Dimercurio, 24, Greenville, SC 34:34
23. Lianne Farber, 23, Sacramento, CA 34:36
24. Dot McMahan, 38, Rochester, MI 34:42
25. Brittni Hutton, 26, Alamosa, CO 34:42
26. Cally Macumber, 25, Rochester, MI 34:44
27. Laura Batternik, 30, Evanston, IL 34:45
28. Alicia Nelson, 24, Alamosa, CO 34:56
29. Wendy Thomas, 36, Windsor, CO 34:58
30. Dani Miller, 23, Rochester, MI 34:59
31. Maor Tiyouri, 25, Concord, MA 35:04
32. Rachel Mitchell, 24, Sacramento, CA 35:12
33. Megan Goethals, 23, Minneapolis, MN 35:14
34. Katie Dicamillo, 28, Providence, RI 35:17
35. Keely Maguire, 25, Newmarket, NH 35:18
36. Jen Rock, 25, Macomb, MI 35:18
37. Alison Parris, 27, Greenville, SC 35:20
38. Melissa Johnson-White, 34, Lake Orion, MI 35:21
39. Mara Olson, 22, Boulder, CO 35:22
40. Katy Moen, 23, S. Saint Paul, MN 35:47
41. Weynshet Weldetsadik, ETH 35:48
42. Katie Kellner, 24, Rochester, MI 35:58
43. Janel Blancett, 27, Atlanta, GA 35:52
44. Gina Valgoi, 24, Saint Paul, MN 35:56
45. Melanie Brender, 23, Rochester, MI 35:58
46. Lauren Sara, 23, Atlanta, GA 36:15
47. Whitney Bevins, 34, Boulder, CO 36:17
48. Taylor Bickford, 22, Cambridge, MA 36:29
49. Erin Dietz, 18, Bedford, MA 36:34
50. Sinead Haughey, 22, Blowing Rock, NC 36:40
51. Morgan Vangorder, 25, Atlanta, GA 36:46
52. Tansey Lystad, 22, Boise, ID 36:49
53. Kim Webster, 39, Framingham, MA 36:57
54. Caroline Williams, 23, Westfield, NJ 37:05
55. Erin Dromgoole, 36, Newton Center, MA 37:09
56. Brianna Castrogivanni, 23, Bridgeport, CT 37:15
40+ Joan Benoit Samuelson, 58, Boston, MA 39:02 1050m
a = Earned American Championships prize money
m = Earned Masters prize money
*Event Record; previous 31:33, Sentayehu Ejigu, 2013. Also Championships Record; previous 31:46, Marla Runyan, 2002
Team Results:
1. Boston Athletic Association $800
33:09 33:42 33:54 = 1:40:45
Katie Matthews, Sarah Pagano, Emma Bates
2. adidas Rocky Mountain Elite $600
32:47 33:08 34:56 (35:22) = 1:40:51
Brianne Nelson, Alisha Williams, Alicia Nelson, Mara Olson
3. New Balance NorCal $500
32:38 34:26 34:36 (35:12) = 1:41:40
Kim Conley, Alycia Cridebring, Lianne Farber, Rachel Mitchell
4. Hansons-Brooks Distance Project A $400
34:42 34:44 35:18 (37:46) = 1:44:44
Dot McMahon, Cally Macumber, Jen Rock, Bethany Sachtleban
5. Team USA Minnesota $350
34:28 35:14 35:47 (35:56) = 1:45:29
Meghan Peyton, Megan Goethals, Katy Moen, Gina Valgoi
6. Hansons-Brooks Distance Project B
34:59 35:20 35:50 (35:58) = 1:46:09
Dani Miller, Melissa Johnson-White, Katie Kellner, Melanie Brender
7. Atlanta Track Club Elite
34:28 35:52 36:15 (36:46) (38:13) = 1:46:35
Bridget Lyons, Janel Blancett, Lauren Sara, Morgan Vangorder, Allison Moore | {
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The Disney+ Cassian Andor series will begin shooting in June, Discussing Film reports. The series, a prequel to Rogue One, will star Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk (K-2SO) reprising their film roles.
They’re also looking to cast two younger versions of Cassian – at 9 and 13 – plus his 9-year-old sister, the site says.
We heard in October that one of Rogue One’s writers, Tony Gilroy, had joined the series. Stephen Schiff (The Americans) is the showrunner.
The Obi-Wan series also begins filming this summer, so it’s anyone’s guess as to which will make it to Disney+ first. But we can probably expect the second season of The Mandalorian first, as it’s currently filming. | {
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Not a whole lot of news this week as I’ve been on vacation, but here’s a recap of the recent progress, and a more in-depth look at how Core Decay handles player movement.
Advanced movement controls
Core Decay features a Doom-style movement scheme – that is, you move and turn at the same time on a single axis, you cannot look vertically, and there is no strafing.
The reason for this is (apart from a little bit of nostalgia!) is for the game to be highly playable on mobile. Generally, mobile FPS games are quite clunky to control since you have to manage three things at once: moving, looking, and performing actions (e.g. shooting) – while generally only using two fingers. As a result you have to stop and aim and then fire, which makes combat feel much less fluid.
With movement and looking all on a single joystick, this lets you fire, crouch, switch weapons and more all while moving. While this generally works well and combat does indeed feel quite fluid, some of you commented on really wanting the ability to strafe and turn more quickly. This is great and valid feedback, and so I implemented a solution that should hopefully feel great to use while still keeping the simplicity of the original movement scheme.
Specifically, next to the fire button there are now four buttons:
Quick strafe left: This makes you quickly dodge sideways to the left.
This makes you quickly dodge sideways to the left. Quick strafe right: This makes you quickly dodge sideways to the right.
This makes you quickly dodge sideways to the right. Crouch: This toggles crouching (used for exploration more so than for combat).
This toggles crouching (used for exploration more so than for combat). Quick turn: This makes you quickly turn 180 degrees.
Using these buttons, you can quickly move sideways and turn around quickly, while being able to keep the regular turn speed somewhat low for precise aiming. There is still some testing needed to tweak all the various speeds, and I’ll probably want to add a (tiny) cooldown to the strafing to prevent exploits, but in general it works quite well!
On PC, the game will adapt a modern control scheme with full mouse look and WASD controls, as there is far less reason to stick to a Doom-style scheme with a mouse and keyboard. As the UI will look different there is also no fire button or advanced movement controls, as they are all covered by standard FPS keyboard and mouse actions.
Head bobbing
There is now considerate head bobbing while walking (thanks @_stroopwaffle for the suggestion!), which makes a huge difference to how the game feels to play as you move around. Movement should now be less floaty and have more weight to it – note the difference compared to the first movement video which has no bobbing!
Spawners
In addition to the above, I have started implementation of spawning stations.
Enemy spawners
These new stations spawn enemies when the player is close by, and cannot be destroyed. Spawned enemies give out no XP or score, so activating a spawner should be avoided at all costs – the only exception is if you have a currently active perk that grants bonuses for destroying enemies, which still count.
Spawners predominantly exist alongside reactor cores where they spawn enemies continuously during a lockdown, but can also be found within the rest of a level where they work based on proximity.
Ammo spawners
Like enemy spawners, these stations also spawn something continuously – in this case, ammo pickups. They exist exclusively next to reactor cores where they act to prevent the player from running out of ammunition during a reactor fight (more on the mechanics on reactor fights in a later dev update).
Next time
The next dev update will feature an in-depth look at the core battle mechanics! Hopefully the spawning stations should be all done by then as well, which will give a great opportunity to demonstrate the entire core battle gameplay loop. | {
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Oh, Joe. Say it ain’t so!
After a shameless ploy for publicity valiant campaign effort, aspiring POTUS and Trump foe Joe Walsh is calling it quits:
BREAKING: Former US Rep. Joe Walsh ends his Republican primary challenge against President Trump https://t.co/aMxI8LqiK6 pic.twitter.com/VEv0UqEkMc — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 7, 2020
We’re sure this was a very difficult and painful decision for him.
Campaign was just conflicting too much with CNN appearances. https://t.co/tuomKg7H1q — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) February 7, 2020
But don’t worry. He may not be in the ring anymore, but he’s not giving up his mighty political clout:
JUST NOW: " I would rather have a socialist in the White House than a dictator." As he drops out of GOP primary Former Tea Party Republican @WalshFreedom says he will back any [email protected]/sEd1Oc4nez — John Berman (@JohnBerman) February 7, 2020
Well, can’t argue with that logic!
This is a bad argument because Walsh’s entire campaign was a definitive debunking of the fever dream that we’re currently living in a dictatorship https://t.co/2ScU4jM42n — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) February 7, 2020
Forget it; he’s rolling. | {
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What kind of player makes the best coach: the star, the role player or the coach's son? We found a variety of candidates on the teams in Mark Schlabach's post-spring Top 25.
Joe Burrow, who might be the next big name at quarterback after J.T. Barrett's final season, is the son of Jimmy Burrow, the defensive coordinator and associate head coach at Ohio, so the pedigree is there. He might have a longer career in football after college, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Burrow on a sideline donning a headset once he's done playing, given his father's position. -- Tom VanHaaren
There aren't many players in the ACC more experienced, instinctive and intellectual than Seminoles DB Nate Andrews. As a true freshman, he was a revelation, picking off a team-high four passes as Florida State won a national title. In the years since, he has dealt with ups and downs on the field, but Andrews has distinguished himself as a true student of the game, playing every position in the secondary and stepping up as a leader in the locker room. Now, entering his fifth season, he is a foundation of what could be one of the best defensive backfields in the country. -- David M. Hale
There's a reason Jalen Hurts was able to have so much success as a true freshman last season, and it wasn't just because of his incredible athleticism. His demeanor -- calm to the point of stoicism -- is a reflection of his upbringing as the son of a high school football coach. Learning closely under the wing of Nick Saban, Hurts will leave college with a master's in football studies. -- Alex Scarborough
The Trojans might not have a guy who loves being around the game as much as safety Chris Hawkins. To become a coach, that's important. But Hawkins also has the personality to recruit and motivate, which makes him a good coaching candidate. -- Kyle Bonagura
Nittany Lions wide receiver Tyler Shoop's bio on the team's website says he would like to be a football coach someday, and he already has a good pedigree through his father, Tennessee defensive coordinator Bob Shoop. -- VanHaaren
Right tackle Zachary Crabtree, who has more career starts than any other returning Big 12 offensive lineman, holds aspirations of one day being a coach. His wealth of playing experience in college should serve him well, should he pursue that endeavor. -- Jake Trotter
Hunter Renfrow was a one-time walk-on who has emerged as one of the most popular and clutch players on Clemson's roster, and though that's in part because of talent that was largely unrecognized by other coaches during the recruiting process, Renfrow also is one of the smartest players in the ACC. In last year's overtime win over NC State, for example, Renfrow noticed a weakness by one of the Wolfpack's DBs, passed along the info to the coaching staff and suggested that if teammate Artavis Scott ran a specific route, he'd be wide open. Sure enough, Clemson ran the play, and Deshaun Watson hit Scott for a critical touchdown in a 24-17 win. -- Hale
Walk-on fullback Joe Castiglione Jr. is the son of Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione. Previously a student assistant under Sooners linebackers coach Tim Kish before joining the team, Castiglione Jr. has coaching in his blood -- and possibly in his future. -- Trotter
In two years as the Huskies' starting quarterback, Jake Browning has been one of the primary reasons for the team's rapid ascension. That he was able to come in and start as a true freshman speaks to his understanding of the game. As a bonus, he is already fluent in coach-speak. -- Bonagura
Tray Matthews has come a long way since his dismissal by Georgia. In fact, since he landed at Auburn, he has become one of the most reliable players on defense, as well as a valuable teacher for young teammates still learning the different alignments and concepts. Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele went as far as to call him the "CEO of running things." -- Scarborough
David Edwards gets the nod from a few people at Wisconsin. The current offensive lineman was recruited as a tight end and played quarterback and defensive end in high school. He has had to adapt to different positions, which could help him understand the game as a head coach and figure out his own roster. -- VanHaaren
Famed LSU strength coach Tommy Moffitt has molded football players for years in Baton Rouge. Now his son, Aaron, is a defensive end on the roster. Although it's too soon to say whether Aaron could one day wear a headset and call plays, it isn't a stretch to see him as part of a coaching staff in some form down the road. -- Scarborough
Offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn already has everything it takes to be a coach. He is one of the team's top leaders, and he knows just about all of the ins and outs of how to run the Bulldogs' offense. He can play every position on Georgia's offensive line, which has made it easy for him to become a teacher of sorts in Athens. Oh, and if you've ever heard him talk, he has coach-speak nailed down. -- Edward Aschoff
Running back Chris Evans is already the coach of a youth flag football team. You have to start somewhere, and Evans is starting early. The sophomore-to-be comes from a talent-rich high school in Indianapolis, where he received excellent coaching and is now at Michigan learning from coaches with a wide range of experience. -- VanHaaren
Kc McDermott has a firm grasp of the playbook and techniques needed to play offensive line, but more than that, he takes a great deal of pride in passing all of his knowledge and understanding to the younger players. This past spring, the rising senior took incoming freshman Navaughn Donaldson under his wing to help him make the transition from high school to college. -- Andrea Adelson
QB Keller Chryst's father, Geep Chryst, is an assistant for the Chicago Bears and recently served as the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. His uncle, Paul Chryst, is the head coach at Wisconsin, and his grandfather, George Chryst, was also a college coach. It's in his blood. -- Bonagura
RB Reggie Bonnafon is the most versatile player on the team and one of its sharpest. Not only has Bonnafon had to learn multiple positions during his time there, but he also had a great role model growing up. His late dad coached him, so Bonnafon has a good idea about what it takes to get the job done. -- Adelson
K-State linebacker Trent Tanking played his high school ball for a former K-State linebacker-turned-coach (Brooks Barta). According to teammates, Tanking already has coaching tendencies on the field. -- Trotter
LB Auggie Sanchez is going into his fourth year as the "quarterback of the defense," providing vocal leadership to everyone around him. Known as a film study junkie around the USF facility, Sanchez is a team captain and backs up all his knowledge with tangible results. Last season, he finished with 120 tackles, second in school history. -- Adelson
Will Grier has yet to play a down at quarterback for the Mountaineers, and already he is respected among teammates and coaches as a student of the game. The Florida transfer and son of a high school coach erased lingering doubts in the spring about his readiness to take over at WVU, showing the form that earned him five starts with the Gators in 2015. -- Mitch Sherman
Naturally, it would have to be quarterback Luke Del Rio. His father is none other than Oakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio. Luke Del Rio has been around NFL coaches just about all of his life, and whether he was on or off the field for the Gators last year, he maintained a leadership role in Florida's locker room. -- Aschoff
Josh Jackson hasn't officially earned the starting QB job for the Hokies, but he has earned the distinction as one of the most cerebral players on the team. It's in his blood, after all. Jackson's father, Fred, coached for 23 seasons at Michigan. "He's been around it his whole life," head coach Justin Fuente said. "He's smart, and he loves the game." -- Hale
A versatile and heady defensive back, junior P.J. Locke III appears in line to take a big leap with the Longhorns after emerging as a vocal leader. Locke started nine games at nickelback last season. He skipped a redshirt year in 2015 and graduated magna cum laude from Central High School in Beaumont, Texas. -- Sherman
Cornerback DeAndre Pierce's dad, Antonio Pierce, is the head coach at California high school power Long Beach Poly and spent nine years in the NFL. DeAndre Pierce arrived in Boise last year, and coaches praised his ability to quickly pick up a solid understanding of the defensive scheme. -- Bonagura
The son of a football coach and a known motivator, linebacker Peyton Pelluer has the pedigree to transition into a successful career in coaching. He is currently responsible for making on-field calls and adjustments for the WSU defense. -- Bonagura | {
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Ten illegal immigrants, including a man previously convicted of drug charges, were arrested by Border Patrol agents in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Monday, according to reports.
The arrests came after agents in Munising stopped a van, mlive.com reported. The driver and nine passengers admitted they were in the U.S. illegally and were taken to the Border Patrol station in Sault Ste. Marie.
The agents discovered during processing that four of those men had been removed from the U.S. One of them, Jose Bernal-Medeles of Mexico, was convicted of drug charges in both Minnesota and Wisconsin and had been deported three times, WWJ reported.
BORDER APPREHENSIONS DROP FOR 2ND STRAIGHT MONTH: CBP SAYS IT’S ‘ABSOLUTE PROOF’ DEAL WITH MEXICO IS WORKING
“Today the men and women of the United States Border Patrol made Munising safer by removing a convicted illegal alien drug dealer and nine others from the streets,” said Sault Ste. Marie Acting Patrol Agent in Charge Andrew Halonen.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Bernal-Medeles and the three other men who had been deported were turned over to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations. The remaining men were being held pending further proceedings, mlive.com reported. | {
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Commissioners in a Florida county are so tired of spending money on President Donald Trump's frequent visits to his Mar-a-Lago resort that some are suggesting a special tax be levied against the property if the federal government doesn't reimburse its costs.
Palm Beach County spends more than $60,000 a day when the president visits, mostly for law enforcement overtime -- almost $2 million since January. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw says the county was expected to spend $250,000 during Trump's recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the president's sixth trip to his Winter White House in the 12 weeks since his inauguration.
County Commissioner Dave Kerner has suggested turning Mar-a-Lago into a special taxing district and imposing a levy on the resort to pay the president's security costs. Because Mar-a-Lago is incorporated as a club, it pays lower property taxes than hotels. It also gets a tax break because Trump surrendered development rights after he purchased the property from the estate of cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post for $10 million in 1985.
The 500 members pay $14,000 annually in dues. The initiation fee was recently doubled to $200,000. Forbes Magazine estimates the club is now worth $150 million.
"We're very honored to have the president here, but at the same time, his travel here is such high frequency he's not visiting Palm Beach County — he's governing from it," Kerner told Money magazine recently. "Whatever our priorities are, the taxpayers didn't pay this money to us to protect the president."
Kerner did not return numerous calls from The Associated Press to his office.
The sheriff believes the federal government will eventually reimburse the county, but can't be certain.
"I had a personal conversation with the president in February and he understands," Bradshaw said. "There is a system in place and, unfortunately, that involves Congress ... and that is not an easy thing to navigate through. I am sure they will get around to it."
Local governments aren't the only ones complaining. No solution has been found for the 28 business owners at Lantana Airport, a small field for propeller planes about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Mar-a-Lago. The Secret Service shutters it every time Trump visits Mar-a-Lago because agents believe the 350 flights it handles daily pose a security risk.
Marian Smith, who owns a flight school, says she has lost almost $100,000 because of the closures. A banner-towing company that operates from the airport says it has lost over $40,000 in contracts.
Jonathan Miller, the contractor who operates the county-owned airport, said this week that he believes a compromise will be worked out with the Secret Service, the Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies that would allow the airport to operate with restrictions during presidential visits.
"The FAA has a strong incentive to work with us and help get some funding that will put a system in place that will appease the Secret Service," Miller said.
The cost of Trump's visits divides local residents, with the schism often falling along political lines. Trump's supporters say any money spent by the county is recouped through added visitors lured by the frequent exposure and his visits show he cares about the area.
"The fact that he comes down here, the fact he is involved in the community to this extent even though he is the president, I think that's great," said Julian Detwiler, who operates produce stands at local farmers markets. "There are costs associated with everything. It doesn't cost the country or the community more for him to (visit) than lots of other things we do. It keeps the economy going."
The president's critics say the visits illustrate his hypocrisy as he frequently slammed President Barack Obama's trips, even though they were less frequent and didn't burden any single community.
"Trump is costing this area so much money, a hell of a lot of money, and he doesn't seem to give a damn," said Bob Brink, a novelist and retired local journalist. | {
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I don't always use siri on the iphone 4s but when i do, i regret having bought the iphone 4s
132 shares | {
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A BED and breakfast owner who desperately wants to retire said she has been left "shattered" by a ruling that effectively forces her to continue working.
Sandra Smart, 64, is in poor health and is now struggling to continue running the Woodlands B&B in Percy Road, Boscombe on her own.
She has run the 10-bedroom business for 16 years but now wants to stop looking after guests and move her son and daughter and their families into the property.
Her request was supported by all three Boscombe East councillors, local residents and fellow guest house owner Debbie Payne.
But it was refused by Bournemouth's planning board, who expressed concerns the business had not been actively marketed for long enough and could be made viable.
Councillors did tell her she could simply stop taking in guests and move her family in without officially changing the use of the building but Mrs Smart said this was impossible because the Woodlands would still officially be a commercial property, with all the associated rules, regulations and bills.
"Effectively I have no choice but to continue taking in enough guests to make ends meet," she said. "I was dumbfounded by the decision, just gobsmacked. It has left me shattered."
The grandmother suffers from chronic asthma, osteoporosis and arthritis and has been advised by her doctor to reduce her workload.
"I've been doing this kind of work all my life and I just want to wind down now. My children help me out all they can but they both work so they can only help me at the weekends. I was just trying to do things properly."
She now intends to appeal the decision and submit a new planning application after the summer, which she said would show the business cannot compete with big hotel chains.
Mrs Payne, owner of the Rosscourt hotel and partner in Boscombe Resort Hotels, said: "It will be incredibly difficult for anyone to get finance from a bank to buy this business because it does not make enough profit.
"Occupancy is 30 to 35 percent if you are lucky. You have to be rammed in the summer to survive the winter because there isn't the trade there.
"Sixty accommodation providers have shut their doors in Boscombe since 1999 and we are still not busy. Even the Chine Hotel closed through the winter."
Mark Smith, director of tourism, said: "Under planning policy the planning board is unable to consider the personal circumstances of the applicant.
"The Woodlands Hotel has not been actively marketed for the last 12 months yet with some investment in marketing and advertising the business could continue to be profitable." | {
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In a multicultural country like Australia, it’s easy for migrants to keep their heritage culture alive.
But our recent research that surveyed more than 300 migrants found those who adapt to Australian society, called “Australian acculturation”, have greater personal well-being than those who don’t.
Personal well-being refers to a person’s quality of life, measured at two levels.
The first: how satisfied they are with their life overall. And the second: how satisfied they are with specific life domains, such as achievements, relationships, health, safety, community connectedness and security.
We looked at the relationships between time in the host country, acculturation and personal well-being among non-Western skilled migrants in Australia. We found that migrants who reported having higher personal well-being also had:
acculturated more to the Australian culture than to their heritage culture
higher English language competency and
an Australian identity
And we found that more time spent in Australia doesn’t necessarily lead to more personal well-being if skilled migrants don’t adapt to Australian culture.
Social connectedness
We measured personal well-being using the Australian Unity Personal Well-being Index (PWI), which measures the level of a person’s satisfaction using a points system from 0 to 100.
A chart from our study comparing the well-being of our sample of skilled migrants with the general population of Australia.
The average PWI of the Australian general population ranges from 74.2 to 76.8 out of 100, whereas the average PWI of our skilled migrant sample is higher, at 77.27.
Given the present study involved skilled migrants, it’s possible that their higher education, skills and salaries may have contributed to higher levels of personal well-being, compared to the Australian population as a whole.
Skilled migrants recorded the lowest score for the “community connectedness” domain, along with the rest of the Australian population. Community connectedness refers to the number and strength of connections a person has with others in their community.
Community connectedness may be lower because:
skilled migrants maintain close contact with ethnic and extended families
there are few opportunities for them to be involved in the wider Australian community or
they feel excluded from the wider community.
Biculturalism
Rather than acculturation, some skilled migrants will maintain their own culture, and add layers of cultural practices from their host country. For them, “biculturalism” – or being able to switch between host and heritage cultures – is more realistic.
For example, an Indian family who moved to Melbourne will keep their culture alive through food, language and friendship circles, but might also go to the footy and support an AFL team.
Full acculturation, on the other hand, is when migrants abandon their heritage cultural practices and values when they adapt to the host culture.
For a first-generation non-Western migrant, adapting to the Australian culture is even harder. Research has shown that acculturation into a Western country is unlikely for these people.
This is for a number of reasons, such as pride in their heritage culture, maintaining strong connections with relatives and friends, and the societies they move to allow them to maintain heritage cultural practices through multicultural policies.
Poor Australian acculturation can lead to social isolation
Most people migrate when they’re young, so they’re able to contribute to the socio-economic well-being of the host country by bringing in much-needed skills, knowledge, technology and investment to Australia.
But in any case, migrants grow old in a culture that’s not heritage to them, so Australian acculturation is important to help combat social isolation in their old age.
In fact, a 2015 study found older people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are at a greater risk of depression than Anglo-Australians.
So if our skilled migrant sample, with the average age of 38, are low-scoring in the “community connectedness” domain, they could fall into a social isolation trap as they age.
Australia should make ageing in a new culture a more comfortable experience, and organisations – such as Australian Multicultural Community Services and Australian Multicultural Foundation – and the government should take more responsibility for their Australian acculturation, and encourage social participation.
Asanka Gunasekara does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. | {
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Lauren Wethers, a goldsmith at Steensons jewellers in Glenarm, puts the finishing touches to a Game of Thrones Dire Wolf sterling silver brooch pin. Charles McQuillan / Getty Images
One of the props previously used on Game of Thrones gets a cleaning from taxidermist Ingrid Houwers. Charles McQuillan / Getty Images
A Game of Thrones fan takes a ‘selfie’ beside a plaque at Ballintoy Harbour, which doubles as the Iron Islands in the series. Charles McQuillan / Getty Images
The Magheramorne quarry film set which doubles as Castle Black in the television series Game of Thrones. Charles McQuillan / Getty Images
A Game of Thrones fan visits a tree-lined road known as The Dark Hedges, which doubles as the Kings Road in the series. Charles McQuillan / Getty Images
A woman takes a photograph of her son dressed in a Game of Thrones costume at the Castle Ward set. Charles McQuillan / Getty Images
Lead Game of Thrones tour instructor William Kells prepares to ‘behead’ a tourist as part of the Winterfell experience at Castle Ward. Charles McQuillan / Getty Images
A close up of a Game of Thrones tour guide’s costume and sword in Strangford. Charles McQuillan / Getty Images
Lead Game of Thrones tour instructor William Kells ‘beheads’ a tourist as part of the Winterfell experience at Castle Ward. Charles McQuillan / Getty Images
A Game of Thrones necklace on display for sale in Belfast. Charles McQuillan / Getty Images
A Game of Thrones trail bicycle ready for the next group of tourists at the Castle Ward set. Charles McQuillan / Getty Images
Taxidermist and Game of Thrones supplier of creature and fur skins, Ingrid Houwers with some of her creations previously used on the television programme. Charles McQuillan / Getty Images
A costumed fan walks past a van advertising a Game of Thrones themed menu in Belfast. Charles McQuillan / Getty Images
A tour tram drives past the Titanic film studios, formerly a paint hall for ships, which is home to the Game of Thrones production with many scenes filmed in the complex. Charles McQuillan / Getty Images | {
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Mobile payments are here to change the way we shop and transact in our daily lives. But which among the three most popular mobile payment platforms offer the most value? Let’s have a look on Apple Pay vs. Samsung Pay vs. Google Pay: Which is the King of Mobile Payments.
Like they replaced your alarm clock, compact cameras, mp3 players, and more, mobile phones are now aiming to replace your wallet too. While cash has been outdated for a long while, the age of plastic money too is now coming to an end. Hail mobile payments! But as Master Card and Visa run a virtual duopoly in plastic money, mobile payments has three contenders- from three of largest tech Juggernauts- Apple, Samsung, and Google. Let’s take a look at how their respective mobile payment systems fare against each other:
Compatibility
The first thing to know is that these payment systems haven’t gone universal yet and there are some serious limitations on devices and places you can use.
Device
Apple Pay- iPhone 6S and above, Apple Watch, MacBook Pro with a fingerprint reader, iPad 5th gen and above, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3 and above, and iPad Pro
Samsung Pay- Galaxy S6 and above, Galaxy Note 5, Gear S2 and above,
Google Pay- This is supported by all Android devices with NFC and HCE support running Android 4.4 and above.
If you consider the sheer number of supported devices, Apple Pay definitely has an advantage here.
Sales terminals
Because these payment systems make use of new technology, they aren’t supported by the older magnetic reader based POS, except for Samsung Pay. All the payment systems work on NFC terminals and in-app purchases.Samsung Pay, with its wider POS compatibility, is on an advantage here.
Geography
No, these mobile payment systems aren’t as ubiquitous as Visa or Master Card and are, for now, available only in limited countries. The most widely used is Apple Pay in 27 countries, followed by Samsung Pay in 24 countries, while Google Pay is accepted in only 18 countries. However, Apple Pay doesn’t support PayPal accounts but Samsung Pay and Google Pay do.
Three countries can represent a significant user base, thus giving Apple Pay an advantage.
Overall, if compatibly is to be considered, Apple Pay is on a lead. But there are of course other factors as well.
Security
If a tap can potentially empty not just your wallet but your full bank account, you can’t possibly over-emphasize on security. To authenticate payments via Apple Pay, you have to use any one of TouchID, FaceID, or PIN. Samsung too has a similar function and requires you to authenticate payments using iris scanner, fingerprint, or PIN. Google is on a slightly different track here- if your phone is unlocked during the payment, it won’t ask for any additional authentication. But you will, of course, unlock it using one of the same methods.
If you happen to lose your phone, all three companies allow you to wipe all the data including card information remotely.
In terms of internal mechanism, all three payment systems again use the same technology where your actual card details are never shared with merchant but a token is generated for each transaction.
Overall, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay are on a lead here. Some may argue that lack of additional authentication on Google Pay is for convenience but hey, we are talking about security.
Usability
Mobile payments aren’t just meant to replace cards but also those cash exchanging hands. After all, if you have to give your friend $100, you won’t ask them to bring an NFC terminal! Samsung currently doesn’t support peer-to-peer payments. Apple Pay is limited to transacting with only those having an Apple ID. Google Pay takes a lead here by allowing users to send money to anyone with an email address or phone number using its app or desktop interface. For both Apple and Google Pay, the money received can either be stored in app’s wallet or transferred to bank account. Being platform-independent in this regard is a major advantage for Google Pay. | {
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On Friday I taught a seminar to University of Ottawa law students about the International Health Regulations — the legally binding rules that govern how states must respond to pandemics and spreading infectious diseases. Little did I know that at the exact same time, just down the street, our federal government was flagrantly violating this international law by denying visas to people from Ebola-affected countries.
As I explained to my students, the International Health Regulations are pretty simple. They require its 196 state parties to maintain disease surveillance, to share information on public health events of international concern, and to support less wealthy countries to meet these obligations. They strictly prohibit restrictions on travel or trade unless based on scientific principles, risk to human health or a World Health Organization recommendation.
In this case, denying visas to people who have visited Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in the last three months is not science. My own research has shown that travel restrictions under these circumstances don’t work. There is also no evidence that West Africans pose a risk to Canadians’ health (especially if they’re currently living outside of their home countries). Consensus among public health officials is that pushing international travel underground and into illegal channels causes more harm than good. Finally, WHO has not recommended these restrictions — it strongly advocates against them — and slammed Australia when that country implemented restrictions just before Canada.
This means Canada’s latest move is patently illegal. That’s not good for a country that claims to be a good global citizen and champion of human rights and freedoms when they’re trampled in other countries.
But even more frightening is how this latest move is also dangerous.
First, in denying visas, Canada stigmatizes Africans, provokes retaliatory responses, disempowers the humanitarian response, and makes the contact-tracing work of public health professionals far more difficult.
Second, we undermine the global legal framework that 196 countries agreed would govern their pandemic responses and that Canada helped rewrite after it reeled from the travel advisory slapped against Toronto for SARS. If this Ebola outbreak teaches us anything, it is that health is global and that Canadians’ health depends on the co-operation of countries around the world. If countries know their citizens may face illegal and scientifically illogical travel restrictions, they are less likely to report the presence of disease outbreaks in the future.
To me, that’s what is scariest of all. This Ebola outbreak is far from the frightening scenarios depicted in films like Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion or novels like Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy. Ebola’s mode of transmission means it will not spread very far in Western or wealthy countries. Any illegal action that Canada takes now during a relatively low-risk pandemic undermines responses to inevitable future pandemics — some of which will be far more virulent and deadly.
We desperately want countries to maintain disease surveillance and to share information on public health events of international concern. We blamed China for hiding SARS in 2002 only for fear of economic consequences — preventing international action and facilitating its spread to Canada in March 2003. But how can we chastise China for breaking the International Health Regulations — or other countries that similarly try to avoid travel restrictions in the future — now that we too are breaking the very same international law that we ourselves championed?
The hypocrisy is made even worse when we recall that it was Tony Clement, then-Ontario’s health minister, who led the charge against the SARS travel advisory. Clement is now a prominent federal cabinet minister and close confidant of our Prime Minister.
All of this highlights how fragile global governance really is. International laws should not be designed in such a way that a country as advanced, rich and globalized as Canada can so easily violate them with impunity.
But it also highlights how the effective functioning of our international system depends on each country following the rules — even when they’re not politically convenient — with knowledge that in the future each country will want others to follow rules when it’s not convenient for them.
This decision to deny visas to people from West Africa is a key moment in Canada’s international relations. It’s when our government led the way in making all of us less safe and more vulnerable to bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi — our greatest threat to national and global security.
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As a Canadian, I am embarrassed. We all will be. Other countries will make sure of it. Let’s just hope they don’t also abandon the International Health Regulations as we did and stop informing us of future disease outbreaks. | {
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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AGGRESSIVELY ARGUES POLITICS TO HELP OVERTHROW THE EGYPTIAN DICTATOR MUBARAK | {
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How thoroughly did the Great Recession savage middle-class America’s finances? Economist Edward Wolff will tell you. The New York University professor has updated his long-running analysis of wealth in America to include data from the Federal Reserve’s 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances. The big takeaway: Thanks to the recession, the median U.S. household is now worth less than in 1969. (Back in July I guessed this might be the case based on a slightly different data set.)
A little context: Net worth equals a family’s assets, such as a home or retirement account, minus its debts. Or to put it another way, it’s what you own minus what you owe. In his analysis, Wolff doesn’t count consumer goods like televisions or furniture as assets because they’re not easy to sell off, and usually aren’t worth a whole lot anyway. A tiny bit more controversially, he doesn’t count vehicles either, because most people can’t just choose to get rid of their car when they need money (you have to commute to work, after all). Meanwhile, setting aside arguments about inequality, there are lots of reasons to care about the net worth of the middle class. First, it gives families a financial cushion. Second, there’s a documented “wealth effect” on spending—households are more willing to open their wallets when their home prices are rising and stock portfolio is flush. In other words, when the middle class feels wealthy, it’s good for all of us.
The story of why middle-class wealth collapsed is familiar by now. Americans loaded up on debt—especially mortgage debt—in the lead-up to the recession. Then the housing market collapsed, and suddenly families were left with little home equity, and lots of financial obligations. Many found themselves underwater on their mortgages, meaning they owed more than their house was worth.
What’s somewhat remarkable is how weakly the middle class has bounced back, even as the percentage of underwater homes has steadily declined. People are still struggling with their debts from years back, and even if the real estate market has gotten healthier, it’s not close to where it was in the bubble days (nor should it be). And you can see the economic scars lingering in the states where the housing bust was worse.
In the end, it’s a reminder that many people don’t feel like we’re in a recovery, because for them, there hasn’t been one. | {
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With a boy’s ardor, Messi put Barcelona in the final of the Champions League in Europe — the world’s most prestigious club tournament — to be played against Manchester United on Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London. He delivered both goals in Barcelona’s 2-0 victory in the first leg of the semifinal round against Real Madrid. This gave Messi a startling 52 goals in his first 50 matches of a season in which he also leads the Spanish league in assists. The first goal was merely outstanding in its timing and clever anticipation. The second was a masterpiece of acceleration, power, balance, agility, vision and darting virtuosity.
“I think this genius is impossible to describe,” Pep Guardiola, Barcelona’s manager, said. “That’s why he is a genius. He has instinct. He loves to live with pressure. He is one of the best ever created.”
That defining Champions League semifinal match was played April 27 at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid. Nine months earlier, stars from Barcelona and Real Madrid joined to give Spain its first World Cup title. Together, they lifted the winner’s trophy in South Africa. But now they played for club, not country. Temporary brotherhood fissured. Blood rivalry resumed. Madrid, the capital, was once the base of Franco’s dictatorship and is now the seat of Spain’s constitutional monarchy; Barcelona sits in the heart of the autonomous Catalan region, with its own language and cultural (and soccer) identity.
An Argentine, Messi was not born into these tensions. He came to Barcelona at 13, when the club agreed to pick up the costs of treatment for a growth-hormone deficiency. As the story goes, his contract was written on a napkin. At the time, he was about 4 feet 7 inches. He now stands 5-7. If his lack of size made him shy and self-conscious as a boy, his low center of gravity made him spectacularly elusive as a soccer player.
“We thought he was mute,” said Gerard Piqué, the lanky Barcelona center back who played with Messi in the club’s youth academy. “He was in the dressing room, on the bench, just sitting. He said nothing to us for the first month. We traveled to Switzerland to play a tournament, and he started to talk and have fun. We thought it was another person. He was really good, but he was really small and thin. His legs were like fingers. One coach said, ‘Don’t try to tackle him strong, because maybe you will break him.’ And we said, ‘O.K., but don’t worry because we cannot catch him.’ ” | {
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Poker games are getting tougher to beat by the day, especially on the world’s most competitive poker site. Even at the once-super-soft micro stakes tables, you will run into many players who are serious about the game.
Can you beat $0.10/$0.25 on PokerStars in 2019?
This 15-question quiz will put your skills to the test with 6 example hands. If you get more than 10 correct, there’s a good chance you can beat modern micro stakes games.
Keep in mind the correct answers are based on the tendencies of the $0.10/$0.25 player pool, a group that generally under-bluffs and plays loose-passively versus bets. Also remember that the rake is very consequential in these games.
Good luck!
If the quiz is not displaying above, try refreshing the page or using a different web browser.
Let us know how you did in the comments below or share your score on social media!
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In the maze of hills overlooking Los Angeles’ favorite hiking trails dwells the real-life version of Gotham City’s famous bat-loving vigilante. By day she’s Debbie Foreman, but every time someone needs something to smile about, “Batventador” and her trusty Lamborghini Aventador SV will be there to save the day. Inspired by her love of the iconic DC Comics character and movies like “The Dark Knight,” Foreman took advantage of the striking resemblance Lamborghinis have to Batman’s vehicle of choice. The car is finished entirely in matte black, sporting black-on-gold bat logos on its hood, a crystal-covered license plate and signature scissor doors. “I got this car because it looks like the Batman car and I love Batman cars, and who doesn’t love Batman?” she explained.
Instead of fighting crime however, Foreman uses her powers to raise awareness for childhood cancer. While she’s a car lover at heart, most of the events Batventador attends are to benefit childhood cancer research, as only 4 percent of government funding is dedicated to finding a cure. Foreman was inspired to combine her love for cars and caped crusaders after seeing firsthand how much of a remedy her supercar was to kids fighting the disease. While she was in Austin, Texas for a car event, Foreman decided impulsively to visit the local children’s hospital to show the patients her car. She doesn't know where the Batgirl costume idea came from, but says it felt right to buy the costume before her visit. “The kids came out, and the amazing look and smiles these kids [got] when they were going through hell...When you meet kids with cancer, it changes your life forever,” she said. During her visit, Foreman met a tall, Lamborghini-loving patient who ran outside in excitement clutching his IV bag and couldn’t help but smile when he sat in her car. The supercar owner learned that this child had refused to get out of bed or talk to staff since he arrived three months earlier, so long that the hospital had never learned his actual height. He only perked up when he got to witness one of his dream cars in person. “From then on, I knew this is what I’m supposed to do,” Foreman said. “People have no idea that something so small can impact someone’s life so big.”
Debbie Foreman
Batventador also takes inspiration from the late Lenny B. Robinson, known as the Baltimore Batman because he would dress up as Batman and visit children’s hospitals in Maryland in his convertible Lamborghini. Robinson was killed in a car accident in 2015, so Batventador has become his spiritual successor, Lambo and all. A large chunk of her vehicular exploits are for charity, but Foreman’s free time is still filled to the brim with cars. She developed her passion at a young age after attending car shows with her father. Her first car was a Datsun 280Z sports car, and she dreams of one day owning a Lamborghini Veneno hypercar. Foreman also enjoys a life full of track days and car shows in her Lamborghini. She frequently attends stylish supercar road trips like the Gold Rush Rally and Monterey Rally. As a female gearhead, Foreman also wants to break the stereotype that cars are a man’s hobby. While cars are a gender-neutral hobby and there’s nothing in motorsports that gives men any advantage over women, Batventador still endures endless criticism online for being a female in the industry. “It’s so hard for a woman to get into the car world, and when you’re in it, it’s tough. You still don’t get the respect,” she said. “I appreciate and support any women that want to get into anything with cars, even building [and] working on cars.”
Ted7 Photography | {
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Presto, Presto, Presto: The Toronto Transit Commission's other, other white whale.
It seems as though TTC officials are having more trouble than initially anticipated in making cards the standard form of payment on subways, streetcars and buses.
The full conversion to a Presto card-based fare system was just pushed back again, according to a Chief Executive Officer's report set to go before the TTC board next week.
Initially, back in 2015, the agency had promised to stop accepting "old" forms of payment — such as Metropasses, tickets and tokens — by mid 2017.
That deadline has been pushed back several times since, thanks to many, many problems with the installation and functioning of Presto card reader machines at TTC stations and vehicles.
Now, according to revised timeline from acting CEO Rick Leary, the TTC won't mandate the use of Presto cards until the end of 2019.
This is great news for people with a treasure trove of tokens at home, but it represents a very expensive headache for the City of Toronto.
As the Toronto Star points out, the transit agency must essentially pay for the operation of two different fare collection systems at once until Presto can be implemented in full. | {
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Vaikka hallituksen alkukausi on ollut takkuinen, pahimmat yhteistyötä koskeneet pelot eivät ole toteutuneet. Kolmen puolueen suhteet ovat kohentuneet keväästä, perussuomalaiset ovat sopeutuneet valtaan, eikä kokoomus ole jäänyt paitsioon keskustan ja perussuomalaisten puristukseen. Kokoomus ja perussuomalaiset ovat oppineet sietämään toisiaan.
Hallituksen salkkujaossa ihmetytti, miksi perussuomalaisten johtaja Timo Soini ryhtyi ulkoministeriksi ja päästi kokoomuksen puheenjohtajan Alexander Stubbin suosiolla pääministerin jälkeen toiseksi tärkeimmälle paikalle valtiovarainministeriksi. Järjestely on kuitenkin osoittautunut toimivaksi.
Myös presidentti Sauli Niinistö on ollut siihen tyytyväinen. Hän tietää, että hänen ei tarvitse pelätä Soinin irtiottoja ulkopolitiikassa. Stubb sai puolestaan tehtävän, jossa on helpompi johtaa puoluetta ja osallistua sisäpolitiikkaan.
Johtamisen ammattilaiseksi kehutun Juha Sipilän suurin harmi on löytynyt kotipesästä eli keskustasta. Eduskuntaryhmän puheenjohtaja Matti Vanhasen omapäisyys on ärsyttänyt puolueen ministereitä ja kansanedustajia.
Vanhanen jätti 2010 pääministerin tehtävän kesken vaalikauden ja siirtyi Perheyritysten liiton toimitusjohtajaksi. Nyt Vanhanen on kansanedustaja, jonka olisi tuettava hallituksen esityksiä ja pidettävä eduskuntaryhmä järjestyksessä. Käytännössä hän kuitenkin toimii kuin olisi pääministeri, joka ennakoi hallituksen päätöksiä ja tekee avauksia, joista useimmat käyvät yhteen elinkeinoelämän pyrkimysten kanssa.
”Me olemme korostaneet Matille, että nyt tuetaan sopimusta”, Vanhasen toimintaa hämmästelevä kokenut keskustavaikuttaja kertoo.
Syyskuun lopussa Vanhanen ilmoitti hallituksen toteuttavan pakkolakipakettinsa, koska työmarkkinajärjestöt eivät päässeet sopuun yhteisestä kasvuohjelmasta.
Hän jatkoi siitä, mihin Elinkeinoelämän keskusliiton toimitusjohtaja Jyri Häkämies (kok) oli jäänyt. Häkämies tulkitsi, ettei maan hallitus voi hyväksyä SAK:n ehdotusta, koska se ei täytä hallituksen asettamia ehtoja.
Muutama tunti Vanhasen kannanoton jälkeen Sipilä perääntyi julkisesti. Hallitus luopui sunnuntai- ja ylityökorvausten leikkauksista ja antoi järjestöille lisäaikaa ilman takarajaa.
”Sipilä kertoi jo aiemmin, että ratkaisua valmistellaan tältä pohjalta. Matin olisi pitänyt ymmärtää se”, keskustalainen hämmästelee.
Pääministeri on yrittänyt hakea yhteyksiä ammattiyhdistysliikkeeseen. Hän on tavannut kahden kesken ay-johtajia ja vieraillut järjestöjen hallituksissa.
Sipilän epäillään joutuneen neuvonantajiensa vangiksi. Vanhasen lisäksi Sipilä on ilmeisesti kuunnellut Esko Ahoa, jonka porvarihallitus ajautui 1990-luvulla törmäyskurssille ay-liikkeen kanssa.
”Siinä on vähän se ongelma, että Matilla ja Aholla on asioita hampaankolossa ay-liikettä vastaan”, sanoo entisten pääministereiden puoluetoveri.
Aho on kiistänyt olevansa Sipilän keskeinen neuvonantaja. Kolmikon yhteys olisi ollut helppo rakentaa, koska Sipilän poliittinen erityisavustaja Riina Nevamäki on aiemmin toiminut sekä Vanhasen että Ahon avustajana.
Elinkeinoelämän ja perusporvarihallituksen suhteet ovat herättäneet paljon huomiota alusta asti. Hallitusta on kritisoitu erityisesti mahtijärjestö EK:n kuuntelemisesta turhan herkällä korvalla.
Eduskunnassa käytettiin viikko sitten poikkeuksellisen värikästä kieltä, kun kansanedustajat riitelivät hallituksen kilpailukykypaketista eli suomeksi leikkauslistasta. Vasemmistoliiton puheenjohtaja Paavo Arhinmäki arveli, että hallitus ”ojentaa hopealautasella työnantajille lähes kaikki heidän toiveensa”. Sdp:n Pia Viitanen piikitteli, että ”koko hallitus pääministeri Sipilän johdolla” oli hypännyt ”Elinkeinoelämän keskusliiton pukukoppiin”.
Myös presidentti Tarja Halonen (sd) moitti hiljattain hallituksen pakkolakiesitystä vinoksi ja huomautti, että tasapuolisuuden vuoksi tarvittaisiin nyt vielä jotain, joka ”herättäisi työnantajat”.
Elinkeinoelämän ja hallituksen läheisistä suhteista kohistiin myös Vanhasen pääministerikaudella 2007–2010, jolloin monet EK:n tavoitteet päätyivät lähes sanatarkkoina lainauksina hallitusohjelmaan. Tälläkin kertaa järjestö aloitti lobbauksensa jo hyvissä ajoin ennen vaaleja.
EK, Keskuskauppakamari, Suomen Yrittäjät ja Perheyritysten liitto julkaisivat viime marraskuussa ”elinkeinoelämän yhteiset viestit seuraavalle hallitukselle”. Yksi vaatimuksista oli työntekijöiden koeajan pidentäminen. Se päätyi hallitusohjelmaan sellaisenaan. ”Hallitus pidentää koeaikaa”, siellä lukee.
Elinkeinoelämän listalla oli myös sairausajan palkanmaksun muuttaminen niin, että ensimmäisestä sairauspäivästä tehdään palkaton. Tätä hallitus on nyt ajamassa läpi osana kilpailukykypakettia.
Kolmas järjestöjen yhteinen vaatimus koski ansiosidonnaisen työttömyysturvan lyhentämistä. Se toteutunee, kun hallitus leikkaa työttömiltä 200 miljoonaa.
Paperin julkistamisen aikaan Vanhanen oli vielä Perheyritysten liiton toimitusjohtaja. Hän oli siis siinä roolissa valmistelemassa samoja tavoitteita, joiden toteuttamista hän nyt paimentaa eduskuntaryhmän johdosta käsin.
Vaalien lähestyessä EK jatkoi paineiden kasaamista uudelle hallitukselle. Järjestön varsinainen vaaliohjelma julkistettiin helmikuun lopussa pari kuukautta ennen äänestyspäivää. Siinä tuotiin uutena tavoitteena esiin kuntien ja valtion työntekijöiden lomien lyhentämisen.
Ohjelmassa vaatimus oli naamioitu toiveeksi, että ”suomalaisten edun mukainen hallitus” loisi osaltaan ”tahtotilan, jotta julkisen sektorin työehtosopimuksissa vuosityöaika yhtenäistettiin yksityisen sektorin tasolle”. Sipilän ajama lomien kuuden viikon maksimipituus on käytännössä sama asia.
Hallituksen toinen työaikaa pidentävä hanke on puolestaan EK:n entisen työmarkkinajohtajan Lasse Laatusen (kok) kuningasajatus. Laatunen vetosi pari vuotta sitten näyttävästi kirkkoon, että se olisi hyväksynyt ”työn tehokkuutta laskevien” loppiaisen ja helatorstain muuttamisen työpäiviksi. Kun vetoomukset eivät tuoneet tulosta, hallitus päätti hoitaa asian pakolla.
Kilpailukykypaketin pehmeämpää puolta edustava perhevapaiden kustannusten tasaaminen löytyy puolestaan Suomen yrittäjien vaaliohjelmasta.
Siinä puhuttiin vielä yleisellä tasolla vapaiden jakamisesta ”oikeudenmukaisemmin” kaikkien kansalaisten kesken. Sipilän suussa tämä jalostui jo ennen vaaleja ehdotukseksi, että työnantaja saa jokaisesta äitiyslomalaisesta 2 500 euron kertakorvauksen. Ajatus päätyi sellaisenaan hallituksen tavoitteisiin.
Sunnuntain korotettu palkka nousi vakavammin leikkauskeskusteluun vasta vaalien ja hallituksen muodostamisen jälkeen. Keskustelun herättäjänä toimi tälläkin kertaa EK, jonka toimitusjohtaja Häkämies luonnehti Savon Sanomissa 3. kesäkuuta sunnuntaityöstä maksettavaa tuplapalkkaa ”yksinkertaisesti vanhentuneeksi”.
Vielä tuolloin osa ministereistä torjui jyrkästi siihen kajoamisen. Kesän aikana mielet kuitenkin muuttuivat.
Hallitusohjelman yksi avainkohta on keskustan, kokoomuksen ja perussuomalaisten yhdessä sopima ”tilannekuva”. Siinä todetaan muun muassa, että ”kilpailykykymme on rapautunut 10–15 prosenttia keskeisiä kilpailijamaita heikommaksi”.
Ekonomistit ovat esittäneet toisenlaisiakin laskelmia, jotka eivät ole yhtä dramaattisia. Sipilä oli kuitenkin jo ennen vaaleja vakuuttunut, että nimenomaan 10–15 prosentin haarukka oli oikea. Esimerkiksi Kauppalehden haastattelussa 10. huhtikuuta hän oli käyttänyt juuri näitä lukuja. Haastattelu ilmestyi vain noin viikko sen jälkeen kun EK:n ekonomisti Jouko Kangasniemi oli esittänyt samassa lehdessä täysin identtisen arvion.
Strategisen hallitusohjelman valmistuttua EK:ssa laadittiin siitä pikavauhtia muistio, johon oli koottu ohjelmasta plussat ja miinukset. Plussia kertyi 67 ja miinuksia vain kolmetoista. Nekin olivat osaksi asioita, joissa hallitus kyllä eteni oikeaan suuntaan, muttei EK:n mielestä tarpeeksi ripeästi.
Viime aikoina EK on joutunut puolustamaan hallitusta jopa sitä itseään vastaan. Kun Sipilä pyysi etujärjestöiltä esityksiä Suomen kilpailukyvyn parantamiseksi, EK vastasi toimittamalla pääministerille listan, joka oli lähes yksi yhteen Sipilän itsensä vähän aikaisemmin tekemän ehdotuksen kanssa.
Pahaksi onneksi hallitus kuitenkin perui juuri samana päivänä osan alkuperäisestä paketista. Hallituksen perääntyminen synnytti tilanteen, jossa EK jäi yksin kannattamaan aikaisempaa leikkauslistaa.
Sunnuntai- ja ylityökorvausten leikkauksesta luovuttiin runsas viikko sen jälkeen, kun televisiossa haastatellut kätilöt olivat antaneet kasvot ehdotuksen epäoikeudenmukaisuuksille. Uuteen esitykseen otettua lomarahaleikkausta korjattiin muutamassa tunnissa, kun yrittäjät olivat nostaneet siitä metelin.
Elinkeinoelämän ja nykyisten hallituspuolueiden suhteet ovat läheiset myös henkilötasolla. EK:ssa, sen jäsenliitoissa ja muissa sitä lähellä olevissa etujärjestöissä on töissä parikymmentä kokoomuksen ja keskustan entistä poliitikkoa ja avustajaa. Määrä on moninkertainen verrattuna siihen, kuinka paljon heitä on työllistynyt palkansaajapuolen avainpaikoille.
Sekä EK:ssa, Suomen Yrittäjissä että Keskuskauppakamarissa on kokoomuslainen toimitusjohtaja. EK:n suurista liitoista myös Metsäteollisuutta ja Finanssialan keskusliittoa (FK) johtavat kokoomuslaiset. FK:n pitkään ajama osakkeiden hallintarekisteriuudistus nytkähti vastikään eteenpäin, kun Stubbin johtama valtiovarainministeriö ryhtyi kannattamaan hanketta.
Vastaavasti keskustan ja kokoomuksen eduskuntaryhmissä on useita kansanedustajia, jotka ovat aikaisemmin olleet töissä tai luottamustehtävissä elinkeinoelämän järjestöissä. Vanhanen jätti Perheyritysten liiton ja Kai Mykkänen (kok) EK:n vasta, kun he asettuivat ehdolle kevään vaaleihin.
Pääministeri Sipilän leimaaminen EK:n pikimustaksi korpiksi ei ole kuitenkaan keskustan kansanedustajan mielestä oikein. Tätä vastaan puhuu esimerkiksi pakkolakisuunnitelman keventäminen, koska Sipilä EK:n harmiksi piti työmarkkinaneuvottelut hengissä.
Pääministerin ongelma on, että hän joutuu tasapainoilemaan voimansa tunnossa pullistelevien elinkeinoelämän johtajien ja heitä myötäilevän Vanhasen välissä.
Kesällä Vanhanen varoitti sisäisestä devalvaatiosta, vaikka Sipilä ja elinkeinoministeri Olli Rehn (kesk) olivat puhuneet sen puolesta. Sisäiseen devalvaatioon olisi todennäköisesti kuulunut korotuksia arvonlisäverokantoihin. Sananvaihto paljasti Sipilän lyhyen kokemuksen politiikassa ja Rehnin pitkän poissaolon kotimaasta.
”Arvonlisäveron korotus ei olisi mennyt läpi eduskuntaryhmässä, koska se olisi koskettanut kaikkein köyhimpiä”, keskustan sisäpiiriläinen muistuttaa. Kaiken kukkuraksi sisäinen devalvaatio olisi tärvellyt Vanhasen toisen hallituksen muistomerkin: elintarvikkeiden alv:n alennuksen 14 prosenttiin.
Heinäkuussa Vanhanen opasti Rehniä, ettei hallitus saa painostaa Fortumia mukaan Fennovoiman ydinvoimalaan. Rehn teki toisin ja Fortumin osallistuminen varmisti Pyhäjoen voimalahankkeen etenemisen.
”Matti ei kuuntele ketään eikä testaa ajatuksiaan”, keskustan kansanedustaja huokaa.
”Ei tarvitse olla suuri asiantuntija, kun sanoo, että Vanhanen johtaa ryhmää kaksi vuotta ja sitten valitaan joku muu”, keskustaa tunteva sanoo.
Se joku löytyy helposti. Sipilä sivuutti monta edustajaa, kun hän nosti Perheyritysten liiton puheenjohtajan Anne Bernerin ministeriksi. Jonotuslistalla ovat ainakin kansanedustajat Antti Kaikkonen, Anne Kalmari, Jari Leppä ja Tuomo Puumala.
”Sipilän kuherruskuukausi on ohitse. Nyt kädet ovat syvällä savessa”, kansanedustaja sanoo.
Keskustan punamultaveteraanit ovat kummastelleet hallituksen tapaa toimia. Ahkerin päivystäjä on kansanedustaja Seppo Kääriäinen, joka sosiaalisessa mediassa verhoaa kysymyksiinsä arvostelevia kommentteja politiikan menosta. Kansanedustaja Mauri Pekkariselle keskusta laittoi laastarin suuhun nostamalla hänet eduskunnan varapuhemieheksi.
Vallan virrasta sivussa on puoluesihteeri Timo Laaninen, joka on avustanut kolmea pääministeriä. Yli 60-vuotias Laaninen on suunnitellut ilmoittavansa, ettei hän ole ensi kesän puoluekokouksessa ehdolla puoluesihteeriksi.
Stubb menetti pääministerin tehtävän, mutta puolue voitti rauhan, kun kokoomus hävisi eduskuntavaalit.
Arvioiden mukaan Stubb valitaan ensi kesänä varmuudella puheenjohtajaksi. Puolueen vahvan miehen, sisäministeri Petteri Orpon vuoro tullee myöhemmin.
”Kokoomus osasi valmistautua hallitusneuvotteluihin. Hallitusohjelma on niin hyvä, että siihen voi aina palata”, myhäilee puolueen kansanedustaja.
Kokoomuksen kritiikki Sipilää kohtaan on vaimentunut. Vielä kesällä kokoomuksessa arvosteltiin pääministeriä siitä, että hän johtaa keskustan ministeriryhmää eikä hallitusta.
Kansanedustaja ei pelkää kokoomuksen joutuvan keskustan ja perussuomalaisten puristuksiin, koska ”Sipilä on niin yritysmyönteinen”. Perussuomalaisista hän kehuu oikeus- ja työministeri Jari Lindströmiä, joka on päässyt eroon ministeriuran alkukankeudesta.
Opetusministeri Sanni-Grahn Laasonen on kokoomuksen heikoin lenkki. ”Hänellä menee paremmin kuin aikaisemmin. Eiköhän kaikki paha ole sanottu.”
Keskustan ja kokoomuksen yhteistyön ohuin säie on sote-uudistus. Sen toteutumista epäillään sekä keskustassa että kokoomuksessa.
”Sote-alueita ei tule 19. Niitä tulee selvästi vähemmän”, sanoo keskustalainen. Puoluetoverin mielestä peruspalveluministeri Juha Rehula (kesk) ei ole kaikkein diplomaattisin neuvottelija. Vaikeusastetta lisää sekin, että vastuuministeri vaihtuu vaalikauden puolivälissä.
”Kukaan ei tiedä, mitä hallitusohjelma tarkoittaa. Voiko hallitus kaatua soteen”, pohtii kokoomuslainen.
Hallituksen nyrkin ovat perinteisesti muodostaneet pääministeri ja valtiovarainministeri. Nyt sellaista ei ole.
Perussuomalaisen vaikuttajan mukaan se on luonnollista, koska hallituksessa on kolme tasavahvaa puoluetta. Silti esimerkiksi ”maahanmuuttopolitiikassa näkyy, että hallitusta johtavat persut ja kepu”.
Soinin matkustaminen ei puoluetta tuntevan mielestä haittaa hallituksen toimintaa. Lindströmistä on tullut perussuomalaisten maajohtaja. Toinen vahva mies on eduskuntaryhmän puheenjohtaja Sampo Terho.
Perussuomalainen kehuu vuolaasti Lindströmiä, koska ”Jarppa” tuntee työmarkkinoiden toimintaa. Ammattiliittojen keskusjärjestössä SAK:ssa ministeriin ei olla yhtä tyytyväisiä. ”Historian suurin myötähäpeä”, oli kertoman mukaan SAK:n hallituksen yleisarvio tapaamisesta Lindströmin kanssa.
Puoluevaikuttajan mukaan keskustelu Soinin seuraajasta perussuomalaisten johdossa saattaa häiritä auvoa hallituksessa. Joukkoja ajetaan asemiin puoluekokousta eikä vaaleja varten. | {
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