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Iceland's financial system has run aground The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a "tentative" agreement to give aid to Iceland worth about $2.1bn (£1.3bn; 1.58bn euros). It is the first Western country to have approached the IMF for aid since 1976. Iceland said it should have immediate access to $833m if the "comprehensive stabilisation programme" is approved. Its financial system is close to collapse after the country was forced to take over three of its biggest, debt-laden banks this month. The Nordic nation's troubles have had severe repercussions elsewhere in Europe. In the UK, individual savers and local councils have been unable to access funds deposited in Icelandic banks. The overarching goal is to support Iceland's efforts to adjust to the economic crisis in a more orderly and less painful way
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
IMF managing director Icelandic anger at UK terror move
Governments fight economic onslaught Iceland's currency, the krona, has almost halved in value this year and banking transactions with other countries have almost completely frozen. Less pain The IMF said the tentative agreement aimed to "restore confidence" in the nation's banking system, but warned that the country's economy could contract by as much as 10% next year. IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that Iceland had put together "an ambitious economic programme" to restore confidence in its banking system, stabilise its currency. This meant it deserved IMF funding as well as the support of the international community. "The overarching goal is to support Iceland's efforts to adjust to the economic crisis in a more orderly and less painful way," Mr Strauss-Kahn said. Sustainable plan Iceland said the IMF funds would be used to stabilise its currency, reintroduce a flexible interest rate regime and to overhaul its financial regulation system, especially insolvency laws. Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde said he did not think the IMF had laid out any unacceptable conditions. "This program will enable us to secure funding and gain access to the necessary technical expertise required to stabilise the Icelandic krona and to provide support for the development of a healthier financial system," Mr Haarde said. "As a result, Iceland will commit to a sustainable long-term economic policy, and a plan for the recovery of the Icelandic economy," he added. Mr Haarde said that it was vital that the Icelandic public did not get lumbered with the debts which banks had built up when they were privately owned. Before going to the IMF, it had been in talks with Russia for a $4bn loan, but discussions broke down.
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Ils utilisent les réseaux sociaux, le courriel, possèdent des tablettes et naviguent aisément sur le web. Par contre, ils ont fait le choix de vivre sans téléphone intelligent. Plus de liberté et moins de stress, pour une meilleure qualité de vie, disent-ils. Témoignages.
Johanne Le Blanc: préserver sa liberté
«Je n'ai pas de cellulaire, je n'en ai jamais eu, explique Johanne Le Blanc. Je n'en ai jamais senti le besoin. Avec les enfants, je préférais avoir une ligne fixe à la maison qui soit utile pour tout le monde, plutôt que d'avoir un téléphone intelligent qui n'aurait été bon que pour moi.» Elle utilise les réseaux sociaux à partir de l'ordinateur de la maison, les gens de son cercle rapproché l'appellent chez elle, sans compter le répondeur et Facebook. Elle s'accorde la liberté de prendre les messages au moment qui lui convient.
«Ne pas avoir de téléphone cellulaire, en plus [de permettre] d'être plus présente dans le moment, c'est aussi une forme de liberté. Je vois les autres qui sont accrochés à leur cellulaire et qui ont ce besoin, dès qu'une cloche sonne, de regarder ce qui se passe, une fois la curiosité piquée... Ça ne m'intéresse pas.»
Maxim Bruneau: parler aux gens, pour vrai
«Mon père en avait un et il se faisait toujours déranger avec ça, se souvient Maxim. Quand j'étais plus jeune, c'est quelque chose qui m'a marqué. Aujourd'hui, étant propriétaire d'entreprise, j'imagine mal à quel point ça deviendrait un fardeau que d'en avoir un. C'est quelque chose qui me dérangerait plus qu'autre chose.» L'entrepreneur qui tient une boutique de vélos n'a pas l'impression qu'il est plus difficile à joindre pour autant. «Avec les messages textes et Facebook, on perd trop de temps. Je ne trouve pas que c'est un moyen de communication rapide. Je préfère qu'on s'appelle. C'est plus efficace et je peux sentir le ton de la voix de la personne. C'est plus humain.»
Mais que faire sans téléphone intelligent lorsque l'on doit attendre et patienter? «Je regarde autour de moi, je parle aux gens, s'il y a un livre dans une salle d'attente, je lis. J'aime le contact avec les gens.»
PHOTO SIMON GIROUX, LA PRESSE Maxim Bruneau ne croit pas qu'il soit plus difficile à joindre parce qu'il n'a pas de téléphone portable.
Pascal Chenot: être totalement là
Il a déjà possédé un cellulaire, mais il s'en est défait après un peu plus d'un an, tanné de vivre avec l'urgence de répondre quand les gens communiquaient avec lui. Aujourd'hui, il utilise le vieux téléphone intelligent de sa copine, sans carte SIM, uniquement pour avoir accès à du WiFi lorsqu'il se déplace. «Pourquoi je suis obligé de répondre si je suis occupé? Pourquoi prendre du temps pour échanger avec ceux qui ne sont pas là et qui me parlent par message texte, alors que je suis avec des gens devant moi? Je n'ai pas besoin d'être accessible à ce point-là.» Il ne prévoit pas se doter d'un appareil portable à moyen ou long terme. «Je suis bien heureux sans cellulaire. Je vois tout ceux qui textent et qui attendent les réponses instantanées. On dirait que ça devient stressant pour eux d'être accessibles tout le temps. Quand je suis avec quelqu'un, je suis là à 100 %. Je ne me sens pas obligé de regarder mon téléphone ou de régler des problèmes ailleurs.»
PHOTO ANDRÉ PICHETTE, LA PRESSE Pascal Chenot a déjà possédé un téléphone portable, mais au bout d'un an, il a choisi de s'en départir.
Thierry Muraton: le bon vieux flip
Il vient de s'acheter un nouveau téléphone. Un téléphone à rabat, comme le précédent qui a été brisé par une vilaine pluie. Il ne voit pas l'utilité d'un téléphone intelligent. «Je ne suis pas technologie du tout. Oui effectivement, c'est vraiment le fun, les gens qui en ont un ont accès à tout, mais je trouve que c'est une dépendance. On dirait que t'es tout le temps accroché à ça. Peut-être que je ne suis pas assez pressé, mais j'arrive toujours à me démerder et à trouver mes renseignements sans téléphone.»
En entrevue, Thierry Muraton souligne un paradoxe de notre époque connectée. «On est dans le monde des communications et au lieu d'appeler, on envoie des messages. Pourquoi envoyer un message si on peut appeler? La peur de déranger? La personne n'a qu'à nous le dire si on dérange. Trois ou dix messages pour remplacer un appel, je trouve qu'il y a du temps de perdu.»
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, LA PRESSE Thierry Muraton a un téléphone portable à rabat, mais il refuse de faire le saut vers le téléphone intelligent.
Marc Paradis: le savoir-vivre
«J'ai eu un BlackBerry fourni par le travail, qui se déchargeait dans mes poches. Je ne l'utilisais jamais», raconte Marc Paradis, qui n'a jamais senti l'intérêt d'adhérer à ces nouvelles technologies. Il le remarque autour de lui: les gens ont les yeux rivés sur leur appareil. «Par moments, ça démontre même un manque de savoir-vivre. Comme si c'est plus important, ce qui se dit ailleurs, que ce qui se dit ici, dans la vraie vie. Et puis, qu'est-ce qu'il y a de si important à devoir être connecté tout le temps?» Ses adolescents n'ont pas de téléphone non plus. Tout comme pour leur père, ce n'est pas un besoin pour eux. «On réussit à communiquer ensemble quand même! Et puis, je crois qu'il vaut mieux de connecter vers les gens, plutôt que vers la machine et le virtuel. Ça ne se parle plus aujourd'hui. C'est quasiment épeurant de voir que ça devient une priorité chez les gens, de rester connecté.»
PHOTO JEAN MARIE VILLENEUVE, LE SOLEIL Marc Paradis n'a jamais senti l'intérêt d'adhérer à aux nouvelles technologies, comme le téléphone port.
Isabel Forget: le sevrage, puis la découverte
En janvier dernier, Isabel Forget a brisé son téléphone. Elle a attendu un mois avant de le remplacer. «Tu perds ton téléphone, tu as l'impression que ta vie vient de tomber à l'eau. Les premiers jours, c'était vraiment bizarre. Finalement, je suis devenue plus efficace, parce qu'au lieu de répondre aux notifications un peu n'importe quand, je prenais un moment précis pour le faire. Ce mois-là, c'est particulier, c'est comme si j'avais réappris à ralentir.» Pas de sonnerie ou d'alarme ou de textos pour la déranger, elle a recommencé à lire, à prendre des marches, à profiter de ses soirées.
De cette expérience d'un mois sans téléphone cellulaire, elle a retenu qu'il est important de s'accorder des moments déconnectés, mais sans gêne, elle admet que les vieilles habitudes reviennent rapidement. «Il faut se donner le temps de prendre du recul et relaxer pour vrai. Avec le téléphone, on ne le fait jamais vraiment complètement.»
Le cellulaire en chiffres
- 85,6 % des ménages canadiens ont au moins un téléphone mobile et 75,5 % ont une ligne fixe.
Source: CRTC, 2016
- Aux États-Unis, 96 % des adultes âgés de 18 à 29 ans habitent une maison où il y a au moins un téléphone intelligent. Dans le même groupe d'âge, 51 % affirment que la maison en contient trois ou plus.
Source: Pew Research Center
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O Canada! The dividing line between the United States and its great northern neighbor is often called “the friendliest border in the world.” Which goes to show how quickly people forget that, over the years, the two countries have wanted to invade each other over everything from dreams of Irish independence to a squabble over a single pig.
The Morning News spoke to Princeton Architectural Press publisher Kevin Lippert about War Plan Red: The United States’ Secret Plan to Invade Canada and Canada’s Secret Plan to Invade the United States, his new book chronicling the sometimes fraught and often ridiculous history of tension between the two nations.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
The Morning News: I have to ask: how did you become interested in this topic? How did the history of US-Canada land disputes, which isn’t very well-known, come to your attention?
Kevin Lippert: I was having a conversation with one of [Princeton Architectural Press’s] Canadian distributors, a woman whose job is to sell our books in Canada, and she goes, “Are you working on anything that will be of interest to Canadians?’ I say, “I don’t know, what interests Canadians?” She says something like, “Canadians are very worried about what Americans are thinking of them.”
Then, two days later, I saw an article online where somebody had asked Obama if America had any plans to invade Canada and he laughed it off. But the article added that in the 1930s the United States did have a very detailed plan to invade Canada called “War Plan Red.” That information was shocking and there was something funny about the fact that that was shocking—like, when we think Canada, we don’t care enough to have a plan to invade them. We liked Iraq enough to invade them, but we don’t like Canada enough, it’s not as interesting.
War Plan Red: The United States' Secret Plan to Invade Canada and Canada's Secret Plan to Invade the United States, by Kevin Lippert.
So I dug into that history and it turns out that, like in many things, Canada was 10 years ahead of us and had developed their own plan to invade the United States in 1920. Now we’re such good neighbors and good friends, the idea seems kind of laughable. In fact, several people thought the book was a parody, that I had cooked the whole thing up and sort of forged these so-called authentic historic documents.
TMN: But the history is about more than just War Plan Red, which was in the 1930s, right? Your book discusses all these other times the US tried to invade Canada, such as during the War of 1812 which, it seems, did not go well.
Kevin: Yeah, there has been a long history of border conflicts between the US and Canada, which somehow nobody remembers. The War of 1812 was a major one, where we actually tried to invade. Either I didn’t pay attention in high school or we fast-forwarded past that war, which was a disastrous war for the United States in many regards anyway.
TMN: Why did the attempt fail so badly? Was it just arrogance at thinking that Canada would be easy to take over?
Kevin: It was a bit of arrogance, coupled with some incredible incompetence and some bad luck. Americans in 1812 really thought that conquering Canada would be, as Thomas Jefferson wrote, “a matter of marching.” I mean, we did have eight million people versus 500,000 Canadians, and our army was twice as large as theirs, and we had an increasingly powerful navy.
So I think Americans really thought it was just going to be a cakewalk. But, also, think about it this way. There’s one quote from somebody writing to President Madison saying something like, “Even the most pessimistic thinkers couldn’t imagine how undertrained and inexperienced our men are.” We were terrible soldiers and all our plans to invade Canada fell flat. People are shouting at each other in the dark, one guy rowed off with all the oars for the invasion boats—it was actually comical.
To be fair, some of it was weather-related and some of the troops were sick, but there were other larger factors as well. The war in general plunged the United States into terrible financial crisis—that was the first time the US defaulted—and so it had no money to pay its troops, and desertion was extremely high. I think 15 percent of the army deserted at one point, and there were a great number of executions as result of desertions. So morale was very low, and Canada, as it turns out, is very cold, so they were unhappy troops who weren’t getting paid in this incredibly unpopular war.
In a lot of these cases, there’s this recurring theme in which the US thinks they’re going to be welcomed as liberators. They invaded Canada during the Revolutionary War, for example, and thought the Québécois would join us in a fight against the British. We’ve heard this rhetoric in Iraq as well.
Lumberjacks enjoying pork and beans
TMN: But such a bad failure didn’t seem to be the end of these attempts to, well, encroach upon Canada’s territory?
Kevin: After the War of 1812, there were some humorous border disputes. There’s the Pork and Beans War of territory between lumberjacks of Maine and lumberjacks of New Brunswick. Basically, lumberjacks on both sides couldn’t decide where Maine began and Canada ended, and vice versa, and kept sending volunteer militia to fight the others. It was named the Pork and Beans War because that was the lumberjacks’ favorite meal, allegedly.
There’s this pig war between the British and the Americans over the San Juan Islands off Washington State. This was in 1859. An American shot a pig in his garden, but the pig was owned by a man who managed a ranch that was owned by the British. They fought over the pig and its liability until it actually became a military standoff with cannons and warships.
The pig thing was silly. Even the British rear admiral, who was given the order to attack from the governor general of Vancouver, said, “For two great nations to go to battle over a pig is ridiculous.” He stood down, so, you know, at least one calm head prevailed. Same thing with the New Brunswick thing: the British said, essentially, the territory we are wrangling over is worth nothing. It was a big fight over a few trees. Though actually the US did gain some territory over the Pork and Beans skirmish.
TMN: There was a controversy over Lincoln’s assassination, too. People thought Canadians might be involved.
Kevin: So, John Wilkes Booth had been in Quebec not long before the assassination, and there was some speculation that maybe he got some money or maybe some arms up there. In Washington it was a serious conspiracy theory that somehow the Québécois had been tangentially involved in Lincoln’s assassination.
Another time we had the Fenians, Irish-Americans who wanted to invade Canada and swap it to Britain for the freedom of Ireland. It’s unsurprisingly an ill-fated story that didn’t work out so well.
On the one hand, Secretary of State William Seward was kind of tacitly giving his approval because he was courting Irish-American votes, and on the other hand we had a neutrality law. We were playing both sides of that. We were encouraging [the Fenians], but on the other hand arresting them as they scurried, then usually releasing them very quickly so they could mount another raid. They mounted five raids, including two of them with over a thousand men. But of course it wasn’t ultimately successful.
Recruitment poster for the Canadian Mounted Rifles, 1914
TMN: All of this is new to me, and, like you said, surprising. Why is it that we’re so surprised to hear about this part of history? I don’t know anyone bats an eye to hear about border disputes between the US and Mexico.
Kevin: Really, it’s because of how intertwined our two countries are. We are each other’s largest trading partner. There’s something like 60 million border crossings a year [39,254,000 trips by Canadians to the US in 2009; 20,213,500 trips by Americans to Canada in 2010—ed.], a million Canadians who live and work in the United States every day, and ditto the Americans who work in Canada. Our militaries are at this point all intents and purposes integrated. Canada has its own army, but it’s part of NORAD, which was expanded after 9/11 to include maritime matters, so we’re really joined at the hip at this point.
And that’s why it seemed so ludicrous now to think that both countries were thinking of it. Although in fairness it wasn’t exactly war between the US and Canada, it was between the US and Britain that would be fought on Canadian soil.
Americans in 1812 really thought that conquering Canada would be, as Thomas Jefferson wrote, “a matter of marching.”
TMN: Let’s talk about the actual War Plan Red. Why did the US end up drawing up the plan?
Kevin: The concern was that the United States and Britain would end up as enemies in a war, in part because Britain owed us a huge amount of money after WWI, and they were upset that we actually wanted to be repaid. Also they were not happy about the increasing power and presence of the United States on the world stage both in terms of trade and military. So even though we were allies and had been allies in WWI, there was some background tension there.
The war office and the Pentagon do what they did today: they needed contingency plans. So they drew up War Plan Red, which was the total elimination of what was designated as “red” on the map. The idea was really to put Britain out of the way once and for all. The United States figured that the UK could amass 12.5 million men in Canada in 40 days, so the United States needed to be able to fight that. The US thought it would be a war of long duration, so it would involve ships. The plan is very detailed, with every road accounted for.
Canada's Defense Scheme No. 1
TMN: What about the Canadian plan? Was it just as detailed?
Kevin: The two plans were really kind of the same plan. I’d say that they’re almost mirror images, so maybe we each identified the soft spots along the border. But if you take the Canadian plan, which was drawn up first, and flip it over, it’s more or less the American plan.
The guy who drew it up was a WWI vet and he said it was an early version of the blitzkreig: you would invade quickly, throw the enemy off guard, and retreat blowing up bridges and roads, giving the British time to sail to the rescue of the Canadians.
The American plan was a bit the same: there would be flying columns that would attack the same cities. I’m not a military strategist but it’s interesting that the two plans are really the same, at least in terms of troop movements and overall strategy, which is that the best defense is a good offense.
TMN: I’m curious how much planning went into both plans and how likely it was that both countries thought they’d need to use them?
Kevin: Allegedly, the US plan was drawn up in two hours; I read this in my research but have no idea whether that’s true or not. The Canadian plan was a much longer process. The Canadians went on an espionage mission. They loaded into Model-Ts and grabbed Kodak brownie cameras and made notes. They went through Vermont and they made all these observations that are quite hilarious. Basically, that Vermonters are fat and lazy, they like to gossip and take a lot of breaks, and people in Burlington are more European than the rest.
The Canadians did this for many months, I think maybe as much as a year, but they also had a bigger hurdle and they were aware of that, so there was more planning. The US had kind of a hastily sketched-out plan but the US had at that point, again, thought it had the huge military advantage.
Canadian James Sutherland Brown and his espionage cohorts scout upstate New York for potential invasion
TMN: Why was the Canadian plan drawn out 10 years earlier?
Kevin: The Canadian plan was the brainchild of Buster Brown, who came back from WWI. He was suspicious of the United States, and he had also seen in Europe the horrors of what bad planning could mean. We know about the terrible conditions in WWI and he thought that Canada needed to be prepared for whatever the next war might be, and he just wanted to be prepared, so he was ahead of the game. I think he was just more forward-thinking.
TMN: When were the documents declassified? Are there any such border disputes today?
Kevin: The documents weren’t declassified until 1974, and the reaction even then was mostly that it was kind of funny. In terms of border disputes, in the late ‘60s the US sent an icebreaker called the USS Manhattan through the Northwest Passage, which was still one of those disputed areas between the US and Canada. Canada claimed it as territorial waters and US saw it as an international waterway. So that really upset the Canadians, and the United States basically said, “Well, we won’t do that again without notifying you first.” They didn’t say they wouldn’t do it again, just that next time there would be a warning. That was as close to coming to political blows as we’ve had in the past 50 years.
TMN: So nothing else since then?
Kevin: Well, there are some gray areas today. There’s Machias Seal Island, off the coast of Maine, which has a lighthouse, and it’s disputed whether it’s US or Canadian land. There’s still some dispute over the San Juan Islands and their borders, and these interesting bits of US soil surrounded entirely by Canadian land, which is just the result of the whole history of crummy border designation.
For example, there’s Province Point in Lake Champlain, which is part of Vermont but surrounded by Canadian land. There’s Elm Point and there’s Point Roberts out in Washington state, which is a little spit of land that, supposedly, has many people in the federal witness protection program because to get there you have to go through two international borders—so I suppose it’s a safe place to staff people. It’s also very popular for Canadians to come and shop, get cheaper gas and groceries. Actually, the well ran dry on Point Roberts in the early 2000s, and there was a “Canadians Go Home” demonstration among the Americans.
So there are still these little moments of friction even today, though I’d hardly call them border disputes. Today, I think, it’s all really good-natured. | {
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Orders pizza Deliverer use to work in cubicle beside mine | {
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In response to the growing safety concerns swirling around Uber, which are now making national headlines that include the story of the woman in Boston raped by an UberX driver, smaller ride-share upstart Sidecar is now letting customers select the gender of their driver. Women who might feel unsafe getting into a car with a strange man can now instead select a female driver. As BuzzFeed reports, via a Sidecar blog post this week, Sidecar made the move after launching a version of the app that allows users to shop for rides based on ratings and names, and seeing that female passengers often chose female drivers.
Sidecar further lets users "favorite" drivers they like in order to see if they're in the area when they want them.
Sidecar has had this "marketplace" model that allows for more preferences from users since February, but the gender thing is a new addition. The model also allows users to shop based on price (Sidecar drivers can set their own fare prices), and based on a driver's ETA.
The only downside now, though, comes for female Sidecar drivers, who say they could face further harassment from male passengers who select them on purpose (and, we would guess, when drunk?). Because, yes, the gender preference is available to all users, male and female. | {
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The only thing I don’t remember from that day is how I got to the hospital. The terrorists had destroyed my face so much that, when I arrived in the emergency room, I was left with the dead bodies and not the patients. I had lost so much blood that my body was paralysed. I tried to speak, to make any kind of noise that would tell them that I was alive, but nothing would come out. I did everything I could to breathe deeply, hoping that someone would see and help me. The blood in my mouth started to make bubbles. | {
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The lawyer who brought the first legal challenge to the brand-new gun limits announced by President Obama last month now is asking a judge for a quick ruling, insisting there's really nothing to argue over.
The new motion for summary judgment was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Palm Beach Division, by civil rights activist attorney Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch.
His recent lawsuit reasoned that there is "nothing in the U.S. Constitution which offers any authority or role of the executive branch with regard to legislating to change the rights under the Second Amendment."
Now he's arguing that the new gun rules, additional background check requirements, changed dealer licensing requirements and a move to abrogate privacy laws to require doctors to report on patient's "mental health" issues did not follow the Constitution and the Administrative Procedures Act.
TRENDING: Black leaders: BLM about overthrow of U.S., not race
Besides, he argues, the executive branch admitted it was making the changes "purely because [Obama] does not like the legislative decisions of Congress."
Would you be prepared to defend yourself and other innocents in a surprise attack? Find out what one courageous churchgoer did to protect others in the DVD: "Shooting Back: The Right and Duty of Self-Defense"
However, the motion argues, decisions "abridging the fundamental rights of the plaintiff and other U.S. citizens under the Second Amendment" are plainly unconstitutional.
"These actions are unconstitutional abuses of the president's and the executive branch's role in our nation's constitutional architecture and exceed the powers of the president as set for in the U.S. Constitution," he said.
He cites federal court rules that say a court "shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law."
"Defendants openly and voluntarily admit to having changed the law regulating the purchase and sale, transfer, gift, or conveyance, of firearms, and the licensing requirements for those designated as 'dealers,'" he explains.
That leaves Americans, "including plaintiff," subject to "potential criminal prosecution … for conduct that was legal prior to Jan. 4, 2016."
That was when the Obama administration announced numerous new interpretations of rules.
For example, the Obama administration warned that even individuals who sell a single firearm may, under the new interpretation, be considered a dealer and be required to obtain a federal firearms dealer's license or be criminally prosecuted.
Klayman also notes Obama ordered federal agencies to strip citizens of Second Amendment rights sometimes even if they "have not been formally adjudicated as mentally incompetent by a court of law."
And, he says, doctors are being encouraged to violate their patients' privacy and "report their patients who exhibit any poorly defined mental health 'issues.'"
"Even … those who disagree with the defendants are being labeled as mentally ill for disagreeing with politically correct opinions," Klayman says.
That should be done, the White House said, by doing away with legal impediments to unrestricted reporting of claims of "mental health issues."
One of Obama's specific goals was to "remove unnecessary legal barriers preventing states from reporting relevant information to the background check system."
"Defendants are clearly legislating, by their own admission, which violates the U.S. Constitution," Klayman argues.
He says the case is "about the need for this court to order and to create judicial precedent for all presidents to obey the U.S. Constitution and the APA."
WND reported when the case was filed that Klayman, a terrorist-suing lawyer who depends on his personal firearms for self-defense, was challenging orders Obama gave the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and other agencies.
The lawsuit names as defendants Obama, AFT Deputy Director Thomas Brandon and Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Would you be prepared to defend yourself and other innocents in a surprise attack? Find out what one courageous churchgoer did to protect others in the DVD: "Shooting Back: The Right and Duty of Self-Defense"
Klayman's case alleged: "Defendants Barack Obama and Thomas Brandon have announced and initiated actions under the purported inherent authority of the president of the United States to rewrite statutes enacted by Congress by executive order or executive action. The president states that he is doing so purely because he does not like the legislative decisions of Congress."
He said that since the agency assigned by Congress to enforce the law "has already previously interpreted and applied the relevant legislation differently, it is clearly arbitrary and capricious for the defendants … to now suddenly adopt and implement a new and different interpretation for no other reason than the political preferences of temporary occupants of elected office."
Klayman contends that even if the White House wanted to impose new rules, Obama's pronouncements this month violated the Administrative Procedures Act.
"The president cannot simply announce sweeping new rules and implement them by giving a speech or issuing an executive memorandum."
Klayman, a former federal prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice, also is the founder of the Washington watchdog group Judicial Watch.
In a recent WND commentary, Klayman explained: "Obama taught constitutional law as an instructor (not a professor). What we don't know is which nation's constitution Obama was actually teaching at the University of Chicago law school. It does not appear that it was the United States Constitution he has ever read. Perhaps it was the so-called constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, where guns are banned under its vicious anti-Christian and anti-Semitic dictatorship."
WND reported after the new enforcement was announced by Obama that Lynch followed up by admitting that one of her top priorities is to make sure Obama's policies live on long after she and her boss leave power.
Lynch is quoted in the latest issue of New York Magazine saying: "My goal is to position the [Department of Justice] where it will carry on in all of these issues long after myself and my team have moved on."
She was speaking about Obama's executive orders on gun control.
Lynch made the comment in response to a question about how she planned to prosecute gun sellers under the new executive actions. | {
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La lettera con una tregua a tempo sull'Ilva di Taranto è pronta. Ultimo check sulle scrivanie delle segreterie nazionali, poi l'invio stasera, al massimo domani mattina. Dopo una giornata di contatti e messe a punto, i sindacati rompono gli indugi e scrivono al premier Giuseppe Conte e al ministro dello Sviluppo economico Luigi Di Maio. La missiva, secondo quanto apprende Huffpost, contiene due richieste: conoscere le decisioni del governo sul futuro dello stabilimento pugliese e, soprattutto, l'invito a mettere la parola fine sulla conferma o meno della gara. Senza una risposta repentina i sindacati metteranno in campo uno sciopero all'inizio di settembre.
Preoccupazione, e tanta, quella che traspare dalla missiva dove si sottolinea l'esaurimento imminente della cassa. Il 15 settembre, data ultima indicata dai commissari, si avvicina. Ecco perché Fiom, Fim e Uilm vogliono capire da Di Maio, una volta per tutte, se ritiene che ArcelorMittal abbia acquisito l'impianto attraverso una gara legittima o meno. La gara resta in piedi oppure verrà revocata? Quelle che si sollecitano sono decisioni "in tempi stretti".
Quanto durerà la tregua dei sindacati? Nella lettera si parla di un "sollecito riscontro". Fonti sindacali spiegano che si aspetterà al massimo la fine della settimana, non un giorno di più, per sciogliere definitivamente il nodo dell'annullamento della gara. Aspettare, quindi, al massimo fino al 2 settembre. È entro quella data che dovrebbe arrivare l'esito delle verifiche, volute da Di Maio, che si stanno svolgendo al ministero dell'Ambiente. E dato che il giudizio finale del ministro dello Sviluppo economico dipende proprio da quelle verifiche, le organizzazioni sindacali si aspettano un segnale chiaro.
Un ulteriore allungamento dei tempi - è il ragionamento - non sarebbe più tollerato. Il fronte sindacale ha posizioni variegate, ma su un punto è già pronta un'intesa di massima: la negoziazione con ArcelorMittal, il colosso dell'acciaio che si è aggiudicato la gara, non può riprendere se prima non si mette un punto alla questione della gara. I sindacati provano a mettere Di Maio all'angolo con questa considerazione: se la gara è illegittima allora va annullata. In caso contrario deve dire chiaramente che la stessa gara, e la relativa aggiudicazione, restano valide. Solo così, infatti, si può tornare intorno a un tavolo senza lo scheletro di un'azienda che ha acquisito l'Ilva in modo non regolare.
Se da una parte i sindacati lasciano a Di Maio sette giorni per decidere, dall'altra congelano l'altro fronte a cui è appeso il destino dello stabilimento pugliese: la trattativa con Mittal. Il ministro ha auspicato una ripresa del dialogo che ufficialmente si è interrotto il 6 agosto, con l'ultima riunione al Mise, e che nelle scorse settimane ha registrato tentativi di avvicinamento da parte dell'acquirente finiti però a vuoto. Tutto congelato fino alla fine della settimana. Prima della "minaccia" di far deflagrare la crisi tra gli operai di Taranto. | {
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HALIFAX — Less than three months after one of Canada’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges was shut down amid a swirl of controversy, a bid to restructure Vancouver-based QuadrigaCX has failed and the virtual company has officially entered bankruptcy proceedings.
The move, approved Monday by a Nova Scotia judge, marks a turning point for the 115,000 users who are owed more than $260 million in cash and cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or QuadrigaCX cryptocurrency exchange officially placed in bankruptcy Back to video
The transition to the bankruptcy process means Ernst and Young, the court-ordered monitor overseeing the case, will be granted enhanced investigative powers as a trustee under the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
The professional services company now has the right to compel production of documents and testimony from witnesses.
Quadriga Fintech Solutions Corp. and its related companies were granted protection from their creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) on Feb. 5, but it quickly became clear the company had no real assets — and that the process of recovering the missing funds would be difficult. | {
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For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.
Paula Deen kills Trayvon Martin. That’s the premise of an upcoming episode of the long-running NBC drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The series doesn’t return for its 15th season until September 25, but news of its third episode has already generated some buzz—and whipped right wingers into a frenzy.
According to Warren Leight, the show’s executive producer, the upcoming episode is about “a very high-profile celebrity woman chef who thought she was being pursued by a rapist and [when she] turned around it was a teenager.” The chef is a fictionalized version of Paula Deen, the Savannah, Georgia-based cooking personality and author who was recently embroiled in a racial discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit. The minor she fatally shoots is clearly inspired by Trayvon Martin.
On Fox News’ The Five, co-host (and sworn enemy of Muppets) Eric Bolling described the episode’s plot as “yanking America’s race scab right off,” with the rest of the panel then tearing into SVU and NBC. (NBC is a popular target of conservative pundits on Fox; they seem to be perpetually mad at NBC, NBC News, and MSNBC, and are beside themselves over the impending Hillary Clinton miniseries starring Diane Lane.)
“The only thing missing is a George Bush or Dick Cheney character in there engaging in a serial killing spree of some Muslim characters,” opined NewsBusters’ Matthew Sheffield.
“There should be a way for Paula Deen to sue these people for slander,” declared Dan Calabrese over at Herman Cain‘s website.
“The Law & Order franchise, the brainchild of Dick Wolf, has a history of retelling recent history through a progressive lens,” wrote Christian Toto for Breitbart.com.
It’s no secret that SVU has a liberal streak. The show built an episode around Rep. Todd Akin’s “legitimate rape” comment, and not flatteringly so. Back in the sixth season, the assistant district attorney subpoenaed Donald Rumsfeld. The series is also consistently critical of gay-bashers. And in the forthcoming Paula Deen-Trayvon Martin episode, “There’s a lot of stop and frisk elements to [the SVU story], as well,” according to Leight.
If you know anything about the Law & Order universe, you know that SVU fashions many storylines using this “ripped from the headlines” approach in a bid for relevance, publicity, and higher ratings. Other examples include SVU‘s Michael Jackson-inspired episode, or a 2012 episode that combined elements of Occupy Wall Street and the Jamie Leigh Jones gang-rape allegations into one narrative.
This is also not the first time that SVU has directly pissed off Fox News. In a 2009 episode titled “Anchor,” a defense attorney explains why he’s chosen to defend man who murdered the kids of undocumented immigrants. The lawyer puts most of the blame on conservative media figures, rather than the killer himself: “Limbaugh, Beck, O’Reilly, all of them. They’re like a cancer spreading ignorance and hate. I mean, they have convinced folks that immigrants are the problem, not corporations that fail to pay a living wage or a broken health care system.”
This did not sit well with Fox host Bill O’Reilly. “That is simply defamatory and outrageous, and Dick Wolf is a coward for putting it out there,” he complained on The O’Reilly Factor. “Dick Wolf, the executive producer of Law & Order, is a despicable human being for distorting and exploiting this very complicated situation. I mean, enough is enough with these network pinheads who shove propaganda down our throats under the guise of entertainment.”
The Trayvon Martin-inspired episode, still several weeks from airing, stars Cybill Shepherd as the famous chef (Shepherd has previously played Martha-Stewart-in-prison) and Jeffrey Tambor as her attorney. Sonja Sohn and Leslie Odom, Jr. will also appear.
NBC and representatives for the series did not respond to requests for comment. | {
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Bills Legend, and fan favorite, Fred Jackson will make his return to Western New York this season as the co-host of "BILLS TONIGHT," presented by ECMC. Jackson, who was with the Bills from 2006 until 2014, will join veteran broadcaster Mike Catalana to break down the day's Bills game and look at the team's upcoming opponent. The former running back will bring a unique perspective to the show, which airs on MSG Western New York on Sundays at 11:30 p.m. following each Bills game. | {
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September 17 2020
Safety and well-being for guests and employees is the top priority this ski season.
Read More
September 14 2020
Solitude Mountain Resort is welcoming the ski community back to the thrill of the outdoors with a scheduled opening date of November 20, 2020.
Read More
September 9 2020
See Matchstick Productions' newest feature film at Solitude Drive-In on Friday, September 25
Read More
August 27 2020
Season to kick-off on November 6 at Keystone.
Read More
August 27 2020
Ski Utah has teamed up with Backbone Media as its public relations agency of record.
Read More
August 20 2020
The new ski lift will be the largest expansion project in the resort's history.
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August 13 2020
Needles Lodge to offer a new Overlook Bar and renovated servery.
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August 4 2020
Rob Sogard has been hired as the Director of Skier Services and will begin at the resort on August 17, 2020.
Read More
August 3 2020
Snowbird will continue on-mountain activities and offer a new dining option for fall getaways.
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July 28 2020
Voting now open for U.S. Best Ski Hotel & Best Ski Boutique Hotel
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July 20 2020
Premier Season Pass holders receive access to Needles Gondola for hiking, biking & sightseeing.
Read More
July 14 2020
Ski Utah's director of content was named one of Ski Area Management's industry up-and-comers under 30.
Read More
July 13 2020
The Snowbird Passholder Promise has been expanded to include Covid-19-related interruption coverage for season passholders.
Read More
July 10 2020
Play It Forward’s immediate focus is COVID-19 pandemic relief through a $100,000 donation to the Utah Food Bank.
Read More
June 24 2020
The 2019–20 winter still recorded the fourth highest skier visits on record.
Read More | {
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After the White House ejected two key figures who testified in the House Democrats’ impeachment proceedings, Rep. Mark Meadows on Tuesday raised concern that part of the Trump administration is trying to defeat President Trump's agenda.
“This is not about getting even, this is about having a team around you that's willing to support your agenda. Listen, this is the only president who can run on his accomplishments in the first three years and still run against his own administration because part of his administration is trying to defeat the Trump agenda,” the Republican member of the House Oversight Committee told “Fox & Friends.”
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was escorted off White House grounds Friday, two days after President Trump was acquitted in the Senate on the impeachment charges brought by the House last year over his dealings with Ukraine. Also on Friday, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who testified during the House impeachment hearings, said the president recalled him from his position.
GORDON SONDLAND RECALLED AS AMBASSADOR TO EU AFTER IMPEACHMENT TESTIMONY
A senior administration official also told Fox News that Vindman’s twin brother Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman had also left the National Security Council.
“Can you imagine what this president could have accomplished if everyone, they were in the boat, rowing the same way? But we’ve got people trying to turn the canoes over,” said Meadows, who is not running for re-election.
“They are within the West Wing. It’s not even just in parts of D.C. It’s actually on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."
With Sondland and Vindman out, eight of 12 officials who testified publicly during the impeachment hearings have left their roles, been fired, or reassigned.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In November, Sondland tied top officials to a “potential quid pro quo” involving U.S. military aid to Ukraine and investigations desired by Trump during his highly anticipated impeachment hearing testimony — yet said he never heard that link from the president himself.
Fox News’ Alex Pappas contributed to this report. | {
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As Twitchy told you earlier, ABC World News Tonight has issued a “correction” for falsely representing footage from a 2017 Kentucky gun range event as recent footage from the “slaughter in Syria.” Totally just an honest mistake, you guys. Believe them.
Well, for what it’s worth, CNN’s Brian Stelter has some thoughts about it:
ABC News says it "regrets the error." This is a huge embarrassment for the news division, especially because the video aired on both "World News" yesterday and "GMA" today. https://t.co/ydJMvjXCVR — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 14, 2019
And if anyone knows huge embarrassments for news networks, it’s Brian Stelter. Did we mention he works for CNN?
Pot, meet kettle. — VB (@Jay_L_Vee) October 14, 2019
And you/CNN are judging? — David (@dmacl123) October 14, 2019
Now do CNN. — flygriz (@flygriz) October 14, 2019
If I were you, I wouldn't be kicking my competition. CNN makes plenty mistakes that's for sure — KnowYourObama (@KnowYourObama) October 14, 2019
In other words, ABC pulled a CNN. #CNNLOL — Mister Duke (@MarkBro52115082) October 14, 2019
Good Lord you’re one to talk — Matt (@themule1989) October 14, 2019
It was not an error… And none of the BS your network does is in error. You all are propagandists trying to disguise yourselves as journalists. #JournalismIsDead — MarineRebb (@MarineRebb) October 14, 2019
Meanwhile, we’ll just leave this here: | {
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You can’t accuse Glenda Jackson of sidling back onto the boards. At the age of eighty, after a quarter of century away from theatre as MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, here she is making her first return to the stage in a gender-blind assault on the most daunting role for senior actors in the Shakespearian repertoire. In terms of post-parliamentary chutzpah, is there even a remote equivalent to this? Only a light-hearted one springs to mind. Gyles Brandreth was the MP for Chester for five years and went on to play Lady Bracknell (rather well) in a musical version of Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. But his break from showbiz was comparatively brief and he doesn’t have quite as distinguished a back catalogue as the two-time Oscar winner who has been electrifying audiences since Peter Brook recruited her for his ground-breaking RSC Theatre of Cruelty season in the mid-1960s.
Watching Deborah Warner's modern-dress production at the Old Vic, you simply can’t believe that Jackson has not been on stage for 25 years. That metal-tipped whiplash of a voice is undimmed in its power to inflict devastating, incredulous scorn as we hear from the moment that Morfydd Clark's excellent, refreshingly honest and mettlesome Cordelia refuses to play the game of lip-service in the opening love contest. A terrible fierceness of spirit animates the slight, rather frail figure this Lear cuts. Made aware for the first time of the enormities of social injustice by his outcast state during the storm, Jackson’s king delivers the lines “O, I have ta’en too little care of this” is if a red-hot needle of regret had been inserted into his brain. She’s hair-raisingly vehement as she gives vent to Lear’s misogynist rants and finds quiet touches that piercingly bring home his anguish. This Lear is dragged in on a silver cloth cradling the corpse of Cordelia and the tripping rhythm Jackson gives to “Never, never, never, never, never” as if it were a line in a song she was improvising to comfort the dead girl, breaks your heart. Hers is a portrayal of the hero that passionately vindicates the principle that, when it comes to casting, it’s the insights and instincts of the performer and not his or her gender that’s of paramount importance.
Warner's production is uneven and unmissable – offering, at its best, a powerfully imaginative vision of the stark, pitiless incoherence of the universe in King Lear. The storm and heath are thrillingly communicated. A curtain like a gigantic black bin-bag flops down, turbulently billowing and bulging over the minimalist white stage. It’s bin-bag plastic out of which Harry Melling’s Edgar fashions a crude, make-shift loin-cloth during his brilliantly frantic and unnerving impersonation of “Poor Tom”, the bedlam beggar. But some of the casting is very poor and the deliberate distancing devices – act and scene divisions flashed up; actors seen mixing with technicians; the opening love test conducted almost like a rehearsal in its spareness – paradoxically seem to seal the production off in its own theatrical reality rather than invite us to think harder about the play’s extraordinary resonances with our current world of an appalling refugee crisis, widening inequality and worsening inter-generational conflict.
There are going to be background talks about all of these connections but we want to feel them more in the texture of the production. There’s another paradox: a Lear with a female actor cast as hero seems to have gone back to the pre-Peter Brook conception of Regan and Goneril as somewhat camp villainesses instead of as the victims of their father’s unreasonable demands. Are they the product of different kinds of paternally induced trauma. You aren’t kept sufficiently guessing by Jane Horrocks’s Regan stalking about on her killer heels and Celia Imrie’s pursed, suburban Goneril, who, after poisoning her sister, dons the marigolds to scrub away the vomit.
The characterisations are so hit and miss. Rhys Ifans is a lovely warm and robust Fool, wandering about in a bedraggled Superman outfit and sticking two eggshell halves into his eye sockets as a larky but pointed parody of his master’s moral blindness. Simon Manyonda, by contrast, gives a dismayingly external account of the malcontent bastard Edmund who is here largely reduced to a cocky show-off who at one point treats us to the sight of his bare behind while he has a swift and noisy wank. | {
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On Friday, March 17, Naughty Dog will release Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End update 1.21, which makes King of the Hill a permanent game mode, adds new vanity items and three new weapons (the INSAS and Type-95 long guns, and a scoped Krivosk-XS pistol), and makes Savage Starlight skins (inspired by the comics seen in The Last of Us) available for select characters.
Here’s what you can expect from King of the Hill:
It tasks two teams with fighting for control of rotating capture points in order to reach the score limit. King of the Hill requires careful coordination and skilled use of Multiplayer’s core combat and movement systems. However, even if victory seems assured, King of the Hill offers a unique twist – after the score limit has been reached, the losing team has one last chance to make a comeback through what we call the Victory Hill. The leading team must capture the Victory Hill to win, but if the losing team takes it, they get a second chance at glory.
More update 1.21 details will be revealed when it goes live on Friday.
If you’re planning on picking up Uncharted: The Lost Legacy when it launches later this year, you’ll have access to Uncharted 4’s multiplayer.
[Source: Naughty Dog, Uncharted the Game] | {
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Chelsea wing-back Marcos Alonso has topped the Sky Sports Power Rankings this week.
Alonso won six tackles and achieved 91 per cent passing accuracy during the Blues' 2-0 win over Everton on Sunday - but was boosted by his match-winning double against Tottenham last week.
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba slipped one place to No 2, despite helping United record a third successive win during their 2-0 win over Leicester.
Team-mates Romelu Lukaku (No 5, down one place), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (No 6, up three places) and David de Gea (No 7, up 22 places) are also among the top performers.
Liverpool thrashed Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield on Super Sunday, with goal-scorers Sadio Mane (No 4, up six places), Roberto Firmino (No 8, up 34 places) and Mo Salah (No 9, up 42 places) soaring into the top 10. Meanwhile, not one Arsenal player made the top 50.
Sadio Mane soared to No 4 in the Power Rankings this week
Huddersfield stopper Jonas Lossl has been among the top three performers since the start of the season and retained his place at No 3 after keeping a third successive clean sheet during a 0-0 draw against Southampton.
Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli climbed 28 places to No 10 after putting Spurs ahead against Burnley at Wembley before a last-minute equaliser from Claret's new signing Chris Wood.
The Power Rankings methodology reflects a player's performance over the last five matchdays by awarding points to players for 32 different stats. Only games from this season will be factored before matchday five.
Below, we present this week's Power Rankings, your club's top points scorer and we will also reveal the accumulative season rankings after matchday five.
The Sky Sports Power Rankings will be updated every week during the season, so be sure to keep an eye on the big movers... | {
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China’s view of its relationships with other countries is analogous to Beijing’s famed ring roads – so who is in the inner circle and who is at the periphery? | {
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Turkey election: Leyla Zana eyes Kurdish comeback By Jonathan Head
BBC News, Istanbul Published duration 11 June 2011
image caption Leyla Zana has a passionate following among Turkey's Kurds
Ahead of Sunday's general election in Turkey, Leyla Zana does not need to campaign at all.
The diminutive 50-year-old woman is guaranteed to win a seat in parliament, such is her legendary status among the Kurds of the south-east. But people in the little town of Hazro want to see and meet her, and she seems happy to oblige.
Leyla Zana fizzes with energy. She is generous with the hugs demanded by old Kurdish women in lacy white headscarves, and with kisses for the proffered babies. But her mind seems focused on the message, and it is a tough one.
"We are the kind of people who, when we trust someone, really give them a chance," she tells the crowd in Hazro.
"Mr prime minister, we gave you eight years, and you wasted it. You have lost your chance."
She is referring to the promise by Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) of a new deal for the Kurds, a promise many Kurds say has delivered only small improvements in the freedom to use their own language.
Jail sentence
Mrs Zana is running as an independent candidate, the tactic her party - the main Kurdish party, BDP - is using to get round the requirement for all parties to win 10% of the vote before they can enter parliament.
She does not talk about her own life story, but it is a dramatic one.
Born in 1961, not far from Hazro, she was married to her cousin Mehdi Zana at the age of 14, in a typical Kurdish family arrangement. He was a Kurdish activist who was elected mayor of Diyarbakir in 1978, but was jailed and brutally tortured following the military coup in 1980.
Mrs Zana, who had two children and only one year of schooling, became a leading campaigner for Kurdish prisoners, and in 1991 she was elected the first Kurdish woman MP.
While taking the oath of loyalty in parliament, she added a phrase in the Kurdish language, promising to struggle for greater democracy. For that she was prosecuted and jailed for 15 years.
In prison she was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and awarded the Andrei Sakharov prize for human rights. Her conviction was overturned in 2004.
She is a passionate advocate of peace in the Kurdish region, yet like all the candidates backed by the BDP, she makes no attempt to distance herself from the armed and banned insurgent movement, the PKK, and its leader Abdullah Ocalan.
Since the rebels took up arms in 1984, more than 40,000 people have been killed - most of them civilians, but many young Turkish soldiers too. The deaths continue, with the PKK bombing military and civilian targets, and the army hitting PKK hideouts in the mountains.
'Our hero'
Mrs Zana accepts that there have been improvements under Mr Erdogan's government, but says it is not enough.
"This is a better, freer election campaign than we had before. I can't say the AKP has done nothing. but in their second term, they stopped. They felt too comfortable."
The Turkish people are softer now and more aware of the Kurdish conflict, she believes, than before she went to prison.
image caption Kurds make up between 10% and 20% of Turkey's population
But she argues that there can be no peace until Turks acknowledge the full extent of the abuses committed during the army's war against the PKK in the 1990s, when more than 3,000 villages, many of them in the area around Hazro, were demolished.
"Turkey is different from South Africa," she says, referring to the post-apartheid processes there.
"I doubt there is enough public appetite for the real truth. I don't believe a truth and reconciliation commission here would be effective," she says.
Just before she starts speaking in the town square, the people of Hazro stand for a minute's silence, their hands raised in the two-fingered PKK salute to the Kurdish fighters who have died. But it is as much a salute to Leyla Zana.
"She's our hero," a group of young men tell me. "She never deserted us, we will never desert her."
Radicalisation fears
The BDP has momentum on its side in this campaign - many Kurds are disillusioned with the AKP - but it is unlikely to win a landslide in the south-east.
The PKK has made enemies with its violent tactics, and the AKP's conservative, business-orientated approach has won it a solid support base.
But Leyla Zana is more or less guaranteed to win her seat, and will enjoy parliamentary immunity from prosecution.
In recent years she has been charged, and convicted, on multiple occasions by Turkish courts for pro-PKK statements.
State prosecutors have just opened another case against her for a comment on an earlier visit to Hazro last month, when she predicted that Abdullah Ocalan would be freed and become the teacher of the Kurdish people. Unlike in 1991, she is unlikely to have her immunity stripped this time.
I asked if she ever felt bitter. No, she said, that is unhealthy. But she warned of the growing radicalisation of younger Kurds.
She told a story of a Kurdish man who recently went to negotiate the release of his 12-year-old son from police custody. The moment they stepped outside the boy started throwing stones back at the police station.
"Are you crazy?" his father asked him. "Do you want to go back inside?" | {
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NEW DELHI : The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) on Friday hit out at Zomato for plans to introduce Zomato Gold in the delivery vertical as well, and said it is determined to eradicate the epidemic of deep discounting.
The association said it deliberated on eight critical issues pertaining to the online delivery space on Thursday with Zomato and Swiggy.
"Both of them deduced issues of deep discounting, high and uneven commission charges, data masking and mandatory bundling of services which are crippling the restaurant industry. There is an in-principle agreement to resolve these issues within specific timeline," NRAI Mumbai Chapter Head Anurag Katriar said in a statement.
Swiggy's approach was fairly constructive. They understood all viewpoints of the NRAI, and promised to come back with an actionable plan in the follow-up meeting, he added.
"However, Zomato's meeting began with a false note as they stated their intention to introduce Zomato Gold on the delivery vertical as well. This is an entirely unacceptable proposition to NRAI, due to the stated stance of #ZoGoisNoGo," Katriar said.
On one hand, NRAI is determined to eradicate the epidemic of deep discounting for dine-in restaurants, whereas Zomato seems to just extend the same to the delivery business, he added.
"Despite the abrupt beginning, other issues were discussed at length and Zomato will examine them at their end and revert in the follow-up meeting," Katriar said.
Elaborating on the meeting, Katriar said broad contours of resolving each issue was chalked out with Swiggy and Zomato.
"We are tentatively scheduled to reconvene in the second week of September to update the reformation progress," he added.
The meeting comes within weeks of the NRAI leading the 'logout' campaign under which over 2,500 restaurants in several major cities had reportedly delisted themselves from the dine-in programmes of services across aggregator platforms.
Zomato spokesperson said, "We had a detailed meeting with the NRAI where we discussed all issues faced by the industry and agreed to work towards solutions sustainable for all participants. We have agreed to meet in a short time to discuss potential solutions and the way forward."
Swiggy said it and the NRAI are committed to creating value for both restaurants and consumers in a sustainable manner.
"We have had a constructive and collaborative dialogue and have agreed to reconvene on all the points that were discussed. Our goal remains to enable a win-win for our small, medium and large restaurant partners and the food delivery ecosystem," Swiggy spokesperson said.
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As Nvidia disappointed its investors on Monday, by cutting its quarterly revenue guidance by $500 million to $2.2 billion, other graphics card manufacturers have also been influenced in their stock price.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described Q4 2018 as “an extraordinary, unusually turbulent, and disappointing quarter” and citing a decline in crypto mining as well as worsening economic conditions in China in a letter to shareholders.
Nevertheless, Nvidia’s rival AMD launched its Q4 revenue report and annual 2018 financial results on Jan. 29, which is much more satisfactory. According to the report, AMD’s annual revenue grew by more than $1.2 billion with the highest profitability in 7 years. For the fourth quarter of 2018, the company reported revenue of $1.42 billion, which slightly fell short of estimates of $1.44, but still satisfied Wall Street’s expectations. It stock surges over 20% after its financial report released.
However, ADM has provided lower-than-expected Q4 guidance last quarter due to the decreasing GPU demand from cryptocurrency miners. The financial statement stated that the company made almost no revenue from the cryptocurrency network. The continued softness in the crypto industry leads to a significant sales price drop in ADM’s graphics cards. For example, its Radeon RX580 device had lost almost 70 percent of the sale price at the end of 2018.
Under the rising market pressure, technological innovation is the key to win the ‘chip war”. Dr. Su indicated challenges for graphics markets, adding that:
“Despite near-term graphics headwinds, 2019 is shaping up to be another exciting year driven by the launch of our broadest and most competitive product portfolio ever with our next-generation 7nm Ryzen, Radeon, and EPYC products.”
According to AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su, much of this rise in growth can be attributed to the Ryzen chip benchmarks. She also expected a further 30% increase in Ryzen desktop processor sales and a 50% increase in notebook processor sales with the introduction of the 2nd generation Ryzen mobile chips and 3rd Gen desktop chips. | {
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On News Desk today, Edwidge Danticat writes about the legacy of the U.S. occupation of Haiti, which began a hundred years ago, on July 28, 1915, and ended in 1934. “It is very hard to figure out what to commemorate, what to remember and what to forget, during a nineteen-year-long occupation,” she writes. “In my own family, there were many stories.”
One of the stories Danticat recounts relates to the assassination of Charlemagne Péralte, one of the most famous of the rebels, or cacos, who fought the American occupation. Péralte’s death, in 1919, is legendary in Haiti, owing in large part to a single photograph taken by an anonymous U.S. Marine photographer. The image, which is currently on view in the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale’s exhibit “From Within and Without: The History of Haitian Photography,” shows Peralte’s body tied to a door, covered only in a loin cloth, a Haitian flag behind him mounted on a flagpole bearing a crucifix. As the scholar Laurent Dubois explains in an essay printed in the NSU exhibition catalogue, the Marines produced hundreds of copies of the photo and disseminated them by airplane across the countryside, as a warning to the _cacos.* _Instead, the image of Péralte’s body, with its unintended evocation of a crucifixion, became an icon of the resistance. In the decades since the occupation, the image has appeared on Haitian stamps, been reinterpreted in paintings and poems, and helped to solidify Péralte’s status in Haiti as a martyr to the cause of liberty.
“From Within and Without: The History of Haitian Photography” is on view at the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, in Florida, through October 4th.
*A previous version of this post mistakenly stated that the photos were disseminated by helicopter. | {
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Well, he did a few things in Equestria Games and Power Ponies, right? But you are probably right that he never really did save the day by himself. To be honest, I was never that interested in Spike as a character to begin with, but I understand your wish, and it would certainly be an interesting change if it came true. | {
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Steve Cortes on Sanctuary Cities: It's Racist to Not Protect Americans
Former National Football League player Burgess Owens said he remembers the NFL being known for its patriotism and character, but now its brand is "anti-Americanism and thuggery."
"We're fighting against an agenda of liberalism, socialism, and Marxism," Owens, who played for the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders in the 1970s and '80s told "Fox & Friends" on Sunday.
Owens' comments come after a new poll suggests that the biggest reason football fans tuned out to the National Football League in 2016 was San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's protests of the national anthem.
Around 26 percent of NFL fans polled said they stopped watching as much because of the protests, a J.D. Power poll found.
"I'm not surprised at all," Owens said of viewers' disappointment.
Owens said the national anthem protests are related to the way the Left uses the black community to get elected.
"We have these young people now that are reeling," Ownes continued. "Every single election cycle they [politicians] get them the anti-American sentiment, anti-flag, anti-police, anti-white, and it's all to do one thing: get white and black socialist liberal elitists elected.
"We need to stand strong because the American way has always been the way that our country has thrived and come together."
'Let the Kids Be Kids': Lawrence Jones Slams 'Whiteness' Conference for K-12 Teachers
9-Year-Old Gets Answer to His Letter to Trump | {
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Post Malone
"Goodbyes"
(feat. Young Thug)
DETAILS
"Goodbyes" and its accompanying music videowere released on the 5th of July 2019. Actress Kathryn Newton is featured in the video. Post Malone plays a gangster who's been stabbed, died, and rose from the dead. This song is the first single by Post Malone in 2019. He and Young Thug collaborated for the first time on it. Malone announced this song on Twitter on 07/01/2019. He posted the cover art and the message "GOODBYES JULY 5 MIDNIGHT EST".
TRACK INFO
Song - Goodbyes
Featuring - Young Thug
Produced By - Louis Bell & Brian Lee
Written By - Jessie Lauren Foutz, Val Blavatnik, Billy Walsh, Brian Lee, Louis Bell, Post Malone & Young Thug
Release Date - July 5, 2019
LYRICS
[Post Malone:]
Me and Kurt feel the same
Too much pleasure is pain
My girl spites me in vain
All I do is complain
She needs something to change
Need to take off the e-e-edge
So fuck it all tonight
And don't tell me to shut up
When you know you talk too much
But you don't got shit to say (say)
I want you out of my head
I want you out of my bedroom tonight (bedroom)
There's no way I could save you (save you)
'Cause I need to be saved too
I'm no good at goodbyes
We're both actin' insane
But too stubborn to change
Now I'm drinkin' again
80 proof in my veins
And my fingertips stained
Looking over the e-e-edge
Don't fuck with me tonight
Say you needed this heart, then you got it (got it)
Turns out that it wasn't what you wanted (wanted)
And we wouldn't let go and we lost it
Now I'm a goner
I want you out of my head (head)
I want you out of my bedroom tonight (bedroom)
There's no way I could save you (save you)
'Cause I need to be saved too (saved too)
I'm no good at goodbyes
[Young Thug:]
I want you out of my life
I want you back here tonight
I'm tryna cut you, no knife
I wanna slice you and dice you
My argue possessive
It got you precise
Can you not turn off the TV?
I'm watchin' a fight
I flood the garage
Blue diamond, no shark
Your Barbie life doll
Is Nicki Minaj
You don't need a key to drive
Your car on the charger
I just wanna see the side (yeah)
The one that's unbothered
And I don't want you to never go outside (outside)
I promise if they play, my nigga slidin' (slidin')
I'm fuckin' and the tour bus still ridin' (ridin')
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
[Post Malone:]
I want you out of my head (out of my head)
I want you out of my bedroom tonight
There's no way I could save you (save you)
'Cause I need to be saved too (saved too)
I'm no good at goodbyes
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
I'm no good at goodbyes
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
I'm no good at goodbyes
VIDEO SONG
For Suggestion Comment
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A guide that lists exactly where to find potential partners might hit the sweet spot for the millions of sugar babies that use SeekingArrangement.
The platform, which connects successful, likely mature sugar daddies and mommies with other users for mutually-beneficial relationships, has launched its first ever guides to dating.
The curated guides outline how to pursue successful dates in the high-flying cities of New York and Los Angeles.
Not only do the guides show sugar babies where the main concentration of potential matches live, but they also offer etiquette and style tips plus insight from two of SeekingArrangement's most established users.
Alma: Model, influencer and aspiring pop star Alma Lake, pictured, revealed the secrets to successful sugar dating in Los Angeles
Molly: New York-based sugar baby Molly Turner, pictured, is a mom-of-one and business owner who revealed her guide to sugar dating in the city
LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles - as well as neighboring areas Beverly Hills, Hollywood and West Hollywood - is a veritable hot spot for users of the app.
Data provided by the website showed that the most prevalent neighborhoods where sugar daddies/mommies live are West Hollywood, Hermosa Beach, Van Buys, Sherman Oaks and Pacific Palisades.
SeekingArrangement ambassador Alma Lake, a Colombian-American aspiring pop star with an honors degree in vocal performance, revealed her secrets to making lasting connections on the site.
The most popular areas in LA for sugar daddies and mommies West Hollywood
Hermosa Beach
Van Buys
Sherman Oaks
Pacific Palisades Advertisement
'There are a ton of people in showbiz. It’s a Sugar Culture that revolves around Hollywood and the film, music and arts industries. It also goes hand-in-hand with a big high-end car culture,' the model/influencer said about the sugar dating scene in and around LA.
Of the typical LA-based sugar daddy she usually encounters, she said he is likely a 'big baller'.
'He’s a big baller with expensive cars, expensive taste, high-end watches and clothes and has access to exclusive restaurants. He probably has a mansion in The Hills or an apartment in Beverly Hills, plus other houses in Miami or the Hamptons.'
If she's dating one of these men, you'll usually find the pair in a hot spot like the iconic Chateau Marmont hotel in West Hollywood, by the pool at the pink-tinted Beverly Hills Hotel or at celebrity-approved eateries like Delilah or Catch.
Hotels bars at The Hollywood Roosevelt, Mondrian, Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, Hotel Bel Air and The Standard or upscale Rodeo Driver restaurant Il Pastaio are also considered in her top ten places to take a sugar date.
Popular: SeekingArrangement released insight into which Southern California neighborhoods contain the most sugar daddies/mommies
On the subject of dressing for dates, Alma said she likes to 'keep it classic but have a little fun'.
'Wear a piece that shows your personality, like colorful or unique earrings, and statement pants or a top.'
She also recommends to 'add a cute designer purse' and opt for nude or black stilettos. At a date in a bar, she'll go for a long-sleeve basic color crop-top and tight pants or a tight summer dress instead.
Alma said that her life has changed since joining the often-controversial site.
'I have acquired unique jewelry and designer pieces, upgraded my apartment, traveled to unique places I’d never been before, experienced extravagant dinners at top restaurants and, most importantly, I’ve had a much more comfortable lifestyle overall and am able to help support my loved ones financially,' she said.
Before agreeing to a date with a sugar daddy, Alma said she will always insist on Skyping or FaceTiming first to ensure there was no chances of being misled.
The Colombian-American singer said she can spot a 'salt daddy' - i.e. a fraud - as he will likely 'be cheap' and 'not carry himself like he is financially successful' she said.
Offering her ultimate advice on how to attract a sugar daddy, Alma stated that it's 'imperative' to know the latest hot spots.
'Hang around the coolest hotels with other hot girl friends, don’t be shy to talk to however you think would be the right fit. Dress to impress always, by wearing unique or expensive pieces - or pieces that look expensive,' she concluded.
Pop star: Performer Alma, pictured left and right, is one of SeekingArrangement's most high profile users in Los Angeles and surrounding areas
Influencer: Alma, pictured, has 30,000 followers on her Instagram account
Chateau: Alma said her top place to take sugar daddies is the famed Chateau Marmot hotel in West Hollywood, where she is pictured left and right
NEW YORK
New York-based Molly Turner, 31, is a single mom and a small business owner. Also a SeekingArrangement ambassador, she revealed that she turns to the app to help support herself and her young son.
'I want to be around to help my son with homework, except once the math gets hard, then I want to be able to pay for a tutor. Continuing my business and working for myself is very important to me because it will allow me more time with my son and independence,' she said.
Molly has been single for two years, after a long-term 'traditional' relationship with her husband ended when he had an affair.
Mom: Molly, pictured, said using SeekingArrangement allows her to care for her son and maintain a business while 'taking care of herself' too
Her summary of the average New York-based sugar daddy is someone 'with a busy work schedule and satisfying career' and she noted that financiers and lawyers between the ages of 30 and 50 are prevalent users of the service.
According to SeekingArrangement, the areas with the highest concentration of sugar daddies/mommies are Forrest Hills (Queens), Bronxville (West Chester), Woodside (Queens), Williamsburg (Brooklyn) and Elmhurst (Queens).
If Molly is meeting a potential partner for a date, she recommends roof tops like 230 Fifth and Upstairs at the Kimberly.
Her other haunts include Lillie’s Victorian Establishment, Tavern on the Green, The Campbell in Grand Central Terminal, Le Bernardin, Shuka and Buvette.
Usually, she said she opts for comfortable outfits like jeans or Levi's shorts and sneakers or flat sandals, unless it's a fancy location in which she will opt for a fitted dress.
When making conversation, she asks them their political inclination, whether they have kids, what they're looking for in a relationship and if they are married or have kids.
On the topic of spotting a salt daddy, she said this kind of man will likely feel like 'he can buy you'.
'Listen to what they say to you,' she explained. 'Some men seem to feel they are "buying" something - that something being you.
New Yorkers: A map provided by SeekingArrangement shows the most concentrated areas for New York-based sugar daddies/mommies using the service
Date night: Molly recommends Manhattan spots like Shuka, Buvette and Masa for date locations
'I had a man once tell me I wasn’t worth very much because I didn’t look like an Instagram model. This was seemingly out of nowhere the first time we met for a drink, and we didn’t meet again.'
The mom-of-one said that SeekingArrangement allows her to feel like she's the one 'being taken care' of for once.
'I can be clear that my focus is my son and business. I can also be honest that I take on a lot with that son and business and being taken care of a bit myself is something I’m looking for in addition to some good conversation and chemistry,' she said.
The most popular areas in New York for sugar daddies and mommies Forrest Hills (Queens)
Bronxville (West Chester)
Woodside (Queens)
Williamsburg (Brooklyn)
Elmhurst (Queens) Advertisement
When it comes time to determining how an arrangement between herself and a sugar daddy will work, Molly said that she has to 'get along' with the person before things progress.
'I prefer to meet the person for a date first and make sure we get along before anything regarding a long-term arrangement is discussed. At the end of the day, it’s really important that I find someone I can enjoy my time with in addition to the financial benefits of dating someone wealthier than I am,' she said.
'I don’t want anything serious. I have a kid, but I’m not looking to have more,' she clarified.
'Being 31 with a child, it is really common to have men interested in me who do not have children and may be looking to settle down quickly. It’s important to be up front from the beginning about something this serious.'
Both women also said they are comfortable with their friends knowing they use the site. | {
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in
A Peel Regional Police officer is facing charges in connection with two alleged assaults.
Peel police say that on Tuesday, August 27, 2019, Constable Stephen Dudzinski, who has been with the police service for 21 years, was arrested and charged with three criminal offences in connection with two separate incidents.
Police allege that on December 9, 2018, the accused was on duty when he became involved in a verbal confrontation with a supervisor. Police say the confrontation led to an assault with a weapon.
The constable was suspended pending an investigation.
Police say that during the initial investigation, a second incident was identified.
Police say that on December 20, 2018, the accused was off-duty when he allegedly damaged property while causing a disturbance at a car dealership in Mississauga.
The accused has been charged with assault with a weapon, mischief and causing a disturbance in relation to the above incidents.
"The actions of the officer while on- and off-duty were serious and investigated as such. Our members are and will be held accountable for their actions to maintain the trust we have established with our community," said Acting Chief Ingrid Berkeley-Brown.
The accused will appear in court on Sept. 30, 2019.
Once criminal court proceedings have been completed, a Police Services Act investigation will follow. | {
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COPS were forced to evacuate a North London Tube station after a power drill battery explosion sparked a mass panic at the height of evening rush-hour.
Locals were told to stay inside after emergency services and sniffer dogs swarmed Southgate Tube Station shortly before 8pm.
6 One commuter was rushed to hospital on a stretcher
One witness told The Sun how she heard a "massive bang" as she left the station.
She said: "It was a really loud noise. I was on the top of the escalator and there was this massive bang.
"Everyone was like: 'What was that?'. Then I heard people screaming. By that point I had stepped off the escalator and was going to tap out.
"I turned around and the whole of the escalator was in flames. It was all so quick.
6 Cops sealed off Southgate High Street shortly after the blast Credit: Twitter / Darren Yarlett
"There were still a lot of people down there and I started hyperventilating."
Ladbrokes manager Ben Jackson, 27, told how police ordered staff to evacuate.
He said: "We just got out and were pushed back behind the cordon.
"There were about five people being treated outside the station, some were standing, some laying down.
6 Bomb sniffer dogs soon arrived at the station Credit: Twitter / Darren Yarlett
6 Fire crews rushed to the scene shortly after the first reports of an explosion Credit: Getty Images - Getty
Police close street leading to Southgate tube station after 'minor explosion'
"Police were going in with dogs and wearing yellow chem suits so they must have thought it was pretty serious."
One witness told the London Evening Standard that someone was taken out of the station on a stretcher - but cops have not confirmed any injuries.
City worker Darren Yarlett, 36, said: "The police moved us on, but they said there was an explosion in the station.
"There must be around 50 or 60 police, an ambulance, fire arms and dog units."
He added: "I didn't hear anything so don't want to jump to any conclusions but the amount of ambulances would say something has happened."
6 One eyewitness told The Sun how the escalator was 'in flames' Credit: PA:Press Association
One Twitter user shared pictures of police vans on the scene and said: "Stuck in an Indian restaurant opposite Southgate station because of a suspect bomb going off inside (the station).
"Don't know too much except we have been told to stay inside. Suspet9 device found/gone off inside tube. Saw one person coming out on a stretcher."
British Transport Police said: "Officers remain at #Southgate tube station. Enquires are ongoing to establish the cause of a reported minor explosion at 19:03 hours. We are not aware of any serious injury."
"We are currently dealing with an incident at Southgate tube station with Met Police following reports of a suspicious package. More info as we get it."
6 Terrified commuters fled the scene as the station was evacuated
MOST READ IN NEWS Breaking furlough 2.0 Rishi announces furlough plan where workers get 77% pay for doing 1/3 hours Latest City centre Almost half of new Scots Covid cases in Glasgow alone as uni outbreaks spike Exclusive A CUT ABOVE ScotGov confirm mobile hairdressers can still visit homes but beauticians can't PAEDO CAGED Beast who raped and impregnated Scots schoolgirl, 12, jailed for five years Exclusive 'TWISTED MONSTER' Passenger blasts Glasgow waiter who tried to frame her for fatal crash battle in court Gambler who spent £400k a WEEK in tiny Scots bookies suing for £3.3m losses
London Ambulance Service added: "We have treated three patients at the scene for minor injuries and have taken two people to hospital.
"We remain on scene, working with other emergency service colleagues."
British Transport Police said the blast is not believed to be terror-related.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours. | {
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I often get emails from readers who are new to street photography and ask for an opinion on their work. While the level might vary from one to the other, I have noticed certain trends in the mistakes most commonly found in their pictures. I thought I would list them to help beginners forge themselves a first opinion on their work. This being said, if you are a seasoned street photographer, a routine check up can never hurt.
Note : all the lousy pictures below were taken in my first 6 months shooting street photography.
I) You are not close enough
Taking pictures of strangers can be quite intimidating, especially during the first outings. Therefore beginners tend to always stand a bit too far from action, or alternatively, shoot people from the back. While it doesn't automatically mean that the resulting pictures will bad, getting close to the action is usually a sure recipe for better pictures.
This scene had a lot of potential for a good street photograph. Yet the distance makes it difficult to understand what is going on. A seasoned street photographer would have probably rushed down to water level and gotten within a few meters.
II) Excessive use of blur
After inevitably upgrading to a more "serious" street photography camera, beginners soon discover their great capability to blur backgrounds. Of course blur is nice, and I do use it a lot, but it does not dispense you from composing adequately and creating meaningful scenes. While they will produce outbursts of wouaaahs! and beautiful! with your friends and family (who can't do the same with their Iphones), blur must not be used systematically as a mask to hide your compositional deficiencies.
Yes, bokeh is great. Yet a bit less blur would have made it a much more interesting picture, by allowing a clear read on the action going on in the background.
III) People … walking
While repeatedly taking pictures of random strangers is a great way to overcome your fear, a person simply walking or sitting does not make a good street photograph by itself. I understand the feeling of pride involved in mastering one's fear, yet it will still result in a picture of someone just …. walking.
For sure, the girl is cute yet she is just sitting in a park. Unless you consider her scratching her nose of great documentary interest.
IV) Street artists / vendors
Again, the fear of shooting strangers tend to lead beginners to pick subjects that will not object to being photographed. It is therefore not rare to see pictures of street artists (or vendors) make up a big part of a beginner's portfolio. In some ways, it is a great way to help you improve your framing and timing, yet don't expect to impress anyone with that type of pictures.
This is definitely an interesting expression but you'll probably find dozens of pictures of the same street artist on social networks. You owe more to your creative capability.
V) Bent horizon lines
Ok, Winogrand did it, but he had a whole approach built around it and was a precursor. Unluckily, most of the pictures that have a bent horizon line are failures. Composing well a frame is already very challenging, so keep your 45° inclinations for next time you go skiing in the Alps. Your audience won't appreciate to get a neck ache each time it views your portfolio.
Disclaimer : I never meant to have a bent horizon line on this one … the position of the bag probably influenced it (or was it what is written on it ?)
VI) Over-processing
Digital has opened the way to easily post process our pictures and bolster our creativity. It doesn't mean you should push it over the limits. Too much contrast, too much saturation, selective colours, HDR or even … too much grain! don't usually fare well in street photography. Remember that it is remains a documentary discipline. Don't be afraid to be artsy, but don't Warholize your pictures either.
My first presets were so heavily post processed (vignette, sepia) that it hurts my eyes to look at these pictures again.
VII) Inclusion of ads / street art
Always ask yourself the question : am I taking the picture of someone's else picture ? Juxtapositions can be fun, but usually you are just using someone's else creativity to make your own pictures look better.
Great model, great fashion photographer (and great Arch …) but what's my achievement here ?
Evidently, these are not stone carved rules and great pictures have come out of what would initially seem like a beginner mistake.
Have you found some of these patterns in your pictures? Don't worry, it is part of the learning curve. And it is much steeper than just going out with a camera and shooting strangers. Be resilient, learn from these mistakes, look at other photographers' work and you'll soon start to see improvements in your pictures. | {
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Elections BC has released some initial referendum numbers
We won’t know the results of the B.C. electoral referendum until December 7 at the earliest (when the packages are due), but some recent statistics released by Elections BC might give us an indication on what we can expect.
According to the non-partisan office, 1,060,000 packages had been returned as of yesterday. That’s equal to about 32 percent of those that were initially sent out.
Of course, some electoral districts have been a lot better about getting their ballots in than others.
And because the decision essentially pits supporters of the BC Liberal Party against those that tend to side with the BC NDP or the Green Party, we can assume that regions that voted for either party in the 2017 provincial election would tend to lean that party’s preferred way in the referendum.
Here are the top 10 regions in terms of packages returned to Elections BC, and the percentage of vote that the winning party in 2017 achieved.
Parksville-Qualicum – 18,656; Liberal – 45.37%
Saanich North and the Islands – 17,482; Green – 41.95%
Courtenay-Comox – 15,258; NDP – 37.36%
Vernon-Monashee – 14,893; Liberal – 47.87%
Kamloops-South Thompson – 14,745; Liberal – 56.56%
Kelowna-Mission – 14,200; Liberal – 57.64%
Penticton – 14, 187; Liberal – 53.55%
Shuswap – 13,470; Liberal – 56.09%
Victoria-Beacon Hill – 13,436; NDP – 53.05%
Nanaimo – 13,432; NDP – 46.54%
And the bottom 10:
North Coast – 2,543; NDP – 57.31%
Stikine – 3,104; NDP – 51.1%
Surrey-Green Timbers – 4,001; NDP – 58.19%
Nechako Lakes – 4,123; Liberal – 54.51%
Skeena – 4,271; Liberal – 53.16%
Surrey-Newton – 4,466; NDP – 57.37%
Peace River South – 4,811; Liberal – 75.63%
Surrey-Whalley – 5,159; NDP - 58.37%
Cariboo North – 5,753; Liberal – 51.4%
Surrey-Guildford – 6,049; NDP – 49.6%
Of course, regions with more people are always going to have more voters, but it’s important to remember that, unlike every other election that takes place in B.C., the results of the referendum will come through with a percentage amount from the entire province.
That is to say, winning a riding won’t matter, only the popular vote will.
It seems that, so far at least, regions that voted Liberal in the last provincial election are more active in voting in the referendum.
When we look at the top and bottom 10 in terms of percentage of registered voters that have filed their voting packages, not a lot changes in that regard.
Top 10:
Parksville-Qualicum – 39.97%; Liberal – 45.37%
Sannich North and the Islands – 35.92%; Green – 41.95%
Courtenay-Comox – 34.21%; NDP – 37.36%
Nelson-Creston – 34.20%; NDP – 41.85%
Kamloops-South Thompson – 33.31%; Liberal – 56.56%
West Vancouver-Capilano – 33.24%; Liberal – 57.14%
Powell River-Sunshine Coast – 32.41%; NDP – 50.7%
Delta South – 32.20%; Liberal – 44.5%
Vancouver-Quilchena – 31.92%; Liberal – 55.96%
Boundary-Similkameen – 31.90%; Liberal – 42.8%
Bottom 10:
Surrey-Green Timbers – 14.18%; NDP – 58.19%
Surrey-Whalley – 14.60%; NDP - 58.37%
Surrey-Newton – 15.46%; NDP – 57.37%
North Coast – 17.06%; NDP – 57.31%
Surrey-Panorama – 17.29%; NDP – 50.53%
Surrey-Guildford – 17.60%; NDP – 49.6%
Surrey-Fleetwood – 17.99%; NDP – 53.42%
Burnaby-Edmonds – 19.81%; NDP – 54.25%
Vancouver-Kingsway – 20.63%; NDP – 60.07%
Richmond-Queensborough – 20.78%; Liberal – 41.74%
Though this is a small sample, the numbers here don’t seem to indicate that B.C. will see majority of voters opt for proportional representation over the current first-past-the-post system.
Also, get the vote out, Surrey. This isn't a good look.
All statistics via Elections BC. | {
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Early last year I ended a monogamous relationship with someone I had been with for more than a decade. In the aftermath of the breakup I decided that what I most wanted at this stage in my life was sex, and lots of it. I dubbed 2013 my "year of fucking recreationally" and set out to find some hot, sweaty, messy, dirty, uncomplicated fun with like-minded friends. And find it I did! Here are some things that I learned about what it's really like to seek casual sex as a forty year old fat chick.
Now, I should note that when I tell you I'm fat, I really mean it. I'm not just slightly chubby and complaining about those last 15 pounds. I'm rather short and weigh almost precisely 300 lbs. I wear size 28 clothing. Unless you think such things are mutually exclusive, I would describe myself as reasonably pretty, in a natural, low-maintenance, naughty librarian kind of way. I am fiercely intelligent, deeply hilarious, casually stylish, utterly unselfconscious and really, genuinely nice. I am also an absolute riot in the sack. And I've been getting laid like crazy.
I am certainly not everyone's cup of tea, and I'm not at all offended by that fact. I respect that attraction is a personal thing and that lots of guys just aren't into what I have to offer. That's ok with me, as long as they're not dicks about it. I have my own tastes and preferences as well, so I'm certainly not going to begrudge anyone else theirs.
If you have a mullet or a moustache or you don't know how to use there, their and they're correctly, I'm probably not going to be attracted to you. And I'm allowed to feel that way, just as you are allowed to feel any way you wish about me. But don't do as one man did and send me a message out of the blue on Plenty of Fish to tell me that my mere presence there is disgusting and that I shouldn't subject "normal" people to the affront of having to see my picture on that site. You go have your fun and let me have mine.
During the course of this year, I have had a lot of sex with a lot of different partners. And I'm not the least bit apologetic about that fact. Everyone involved has been a consenting adult, communication about expectations and boundaries was clear, and safeguarding my sexual health is always at the forefront of my mind. So why not? Some have developed into lovely ongoing sexual friendships, and some were deliciously filthy little adventures where we never laid eyes on one another again after we parted ways. All were honest expressions of my current sexuality.
I've discovered that there are a few different categories that the men who are interested in me tend to fall into, based both on those who I have hooked up with and the many others I have chatted with on the couple of different dating websites I belong to.
One type that I have learned to pretty quickly recognize is the bucket-list guy. He has never been with a big woman, but wants to give it a go just to see what it's like and get a checkmark on his sexual bucket list. Innocent enough, I suppose, but not sufficiently fulfilling from my perspective for me to be bothered. These guys are often in their twenties and really like the fact that I am an older woman. Perhaps that would allow them to check off two boxes at once.
Much more toxic are the "attracted but ashamed" guys who chat me up on occasion. They are secretly really turned on by fat women, but are so uncomfortable with that fact that they would never dream of being seen in public with one. They are the living embodiment of the old joke, "What do a fat chick and a moped have in common? They're both fun to ride but you wouldn't want your friends to see you on one."
On the other end of the spectrum are the men who fetishize large bodies to an extent that is creepy and objectifying. To them, I am not a person as much as an assembly of measurements and body parts. I don't encounter too many of those guys, but when I do I always feel like I need to take a shower after talking to them.
That is not to say that I think there is anything creepy about being attracted to my body type. Far from it. Probably my favourite guys are those who find me really, really physically attractive and have no problem owning that desire. Guys who love my softness. Guys who massage my belly, who grab handfuls of my ass, who bury themselves between my breasts. Guys who can't get enough of every last inch of me. To them, I am a revelation – an ample woman with no body shame who says sure, let's have sex with the lights on.
One such friend tells me that he long ago stopped approaching women he was attracted to in bars. He is a quite a conventionally attractive man, with an extremely muscular build, and his preference is for women of my size or even larger. The most common reaction he would receive was one of anger from women who were so conditioned to believe in their own unattractiveness that they automatically assumed he was making fun of them.
When I began this journey of discovery earlier this year I might have been one of them. It had been many years since I had dated, and although I have been fat my whole adult life, my body now is larger than the one I had when I was last single. I had no idea what to expect on the dating scene.
One of the first men I met after the separation was someone I initially assumed was completely out of my league . He is the absolute whole package — smart, successful, a hell of a nice guy, not to mention extremely handsome with the gym-perfected body of a Greek god. The kind of guy who can pretty much have his pick of women. To my surprise, he was incredibly into me, and continues to be to this day.
We were lying in bed one night after some of the best sex of either of our lives and I asked him what it was that had attracted him to me in the first place. I knew I wasn't the type he always went for, so I was curious. He just looked at me and shrugged and smiled and said "confidence is sexy." Those words were a touchstone for me.
That friend belongs to the last group of guys, and I would say it is the largest one I encounter. Guys who are openminded to all kinds of sexiness. They don't have a physical "type" and have enjoyed women of a variety of shapes and sizes. To them, my sex appeal has more to do with my spirit of adventure and capacity for joyous abandon than the composition of my body.
I realize that my lifestyle is not for everyone, and I would never try to assert that it should be. I'm sure it won't even be the life for me forever. But at this moment, I am having a great time having exactly the kind of sex I want. And I'm doing it with the body I have right now. Because whatever I look like, I have a right to pursue pleasure without shame. And no matter what anyone else has been telling you, so do you. | {
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Au Québec, la majorité des agronomes qui conseillent les agriculteurs sur l'utilisation des pesticides sont des salariés des entreprises qui vendent ces produits. Mais ce n'est pas tout. Un rapport d'enquête rédigé pour l'Ordre des agronomes démontre que la plupart d'entre eux touchent des primes, bonis ou commissions, une pratique illégale pouvant les inciter à recommander trop de pesticides.
« Oui, c’est illégal, mais tout le monde s’en fout », dit Sylvain (nom fictif), un agronome qui travaillait jusqu'à l'année dernière pour une entreprise de pesticides. Il a accepté de témoigner, mais sous le couvert de l'anonymat, par peur de représailles au sein de l'Ordre.
Dans un rapport d'enquête distribué cet automne aux membres de l'Ordre, et dont Radio-Canada a obtenu copie, une firme externe conclut que 80 % des entreprises qui emploient des agronomes fonctionnent avec un mode de rémunération variable qui peut prendre la forme de primes, de bonis ou de commissions, en plus du salaire.
« Plus on vendait certains produits, plus on avait des commissions, raconte Sylvain. J’enfreignais donc un article de mon Code. »
L'article 31 du Code de déontologie des agronomes du Québec indique en effet qu'« un agronome doit s’abstenir de recevoir, en plus de la rémunération à laquelle il a droit, tout avantage, ristourne ou commission relatifs à l’exercice de sa profession ».
Je recevais un voyage dans le Sud si je vendais assez de poches de semences de maïs [enrobées de pesticides]. Sylvain, ancien agronome salarié d'une entreprise de pesticides
L'étude a été commandée par l'Ordre des agronomes dans la foulée d'une enquête de Radio-Canada qui révélait, en août 2017, que les agriculteurs sont majoritairement conseillés par des agronomes vendeurs, payés par les entreprises de pesticides.
C'est comme si un médecin était salarié d'une compagnie pharmaceutique qui lui demande de vendre des médicaments.
« Nos deux missions sont en conflit direct », témoigne Sylvain, l'ancien agronome salarié d'une entreprise de pesticides.
Le 30 octobre 2018, la France a voté une loi pour interdire à un agronome d'être à la fois conseiller et vendeur de pesticides. Elle entrera en vigueur en 2021. Mais au Québec, le débat est à peine lancé.
Conflit d'intérêts
Agrandir l’image (Nouvelle fenêtre) Un tracteur épand des pesticides dans un champ de soya. Photo : Getty Images / iStock / Fotokostic
« Oui, il est possible qu’il y ait des sources de conflits d’intérêts », reconnaît le président de l'Ordre des agronomes du Québec, Michel Duval, en entrevue à Radio-Canada.
« Il y a des chiffres qui ne font pas notre bonheur, dit-il. On a trouvé dans une entreprise des gens qui étaient rémunérés 100 % à la commission. Ça donne comme apparence qu'il y a un intérêt personnel à la vente du produit. »
Un comité d'experts universitaires a été mandaté par l'Ordre pour faire des recommandations. Son rapport est attendu d'ici la fin de l'année.
C'est certainement très préoccupant. André Lamontagne, ministre de l'Agriculture du Québec.
Le ministre de l'Agriculture du Québec André Lamontagne souhaite que l'Ordre soit « diligeant dans les suites qu'il va donner à ce rapport » .
Le Code de déontologie pourrait être modifié, mais il n'est pas question d'interdire à un agronome vendeur de prodiguer des conseils dans les champs.
« Je ne vous dis pas qu’on n'ira jamais à ce point-là, mais pour l’instant, on n’est pas rendus là », répond le président de l'Ordre Michel Duval.
La CAQ accepte de tenir une commission parlementaire sur les pesticides La Coalition avenir Québec a voté en faveur de la tenue d'une commission parlementaire sur l'utilisation des pesticides au Québec. Dans la foulée du congédiement du lanceur d'alerte Louis Robert, le Parti québécois avait proposé que des élus de tous les partis entendent des témoins pour examiner « les impacts des pesticides sur la santé publique et l'environnement ». Les consultations publiques permettront d'auditionner des experts. Il sera aussi question des « pratiques de remplacement innovantes disponibles et à venir. » Un rapport final sera produit. En revanche, la commission ne se penchera pas directement sur les enjeux d'indépendance des agronomes et d'indépendance de la recherche.
Comment en est-on arrivé là?
Si les agriculteurs ne font pas tous affaire avec des agronomes indépendants, c’est parce qu’il n’y en a pas assez dans les champs. Ils sont moins nombreux et moins disponibles que les agronomes vendeurs.
Par ailleurs, les indépendants facturent leurs services, alors que les vendeurs dispensent leurs conseils gratuitement aux agriculteurs.
Dans le même temps, le nombre d'agronomes employés par le gouvernement du Québec a été en constante diminution ces dernières années.
Aucun problème, selon l'industrie
« Les agronomes travaillant en productions végétales sont des professionnels hautement qualifiés qui offrent aux producteurs des conseils fiables pour favoriser la durabilité de leurs opérations », dit Pierre Petelle, PDG de CropLife Canada, le lobby qui représente les manufacturiers et les distributeurs, comme Bayer (Monsanto) ou Syngenta.
Pierre Petelle affirme que les agriculteurs du Québec « ont le choix quant à l’endroit où ils obtiennent des conseils en agronomie » et il considère que le Code de déontologie « garantit le respect des normes éthiques et professionnelles les plus élevées ».
L'ancienne présidente de l'Ordre des agronomes Claire Bolduc n'est pas de cet avis. « C'est un mode de rémunération préoccupant, dit-elle. Ça incite à faire des ventes plus importantes et à augmenter les recommandations. »
Elle recommande que le Québec s'inspire de la France et interdise à un agronome d'agir à la fois comme conseiller et comme vendeur.
Trop de pesticides inutiles dans les champs
Dans le cadre de notre enquête, en 2017, des agriculteurs témoignaient d'une baisse importante de leur utilisation de pesticides depuis qu'ils avaient commencé à recourir à un agronome indépendant.
Des cultivateurs sont encouragés par les agronomes vendeurs des compagnies à traiter leurs champs de façon préventive. Certains racontent qu'on leur présente des risques d'insectes ravageurs qui n'existent même pas encore au Canada.
Pourtant, le ministère de l'Agriculture du Québec indique clairement sur son site web qu'« il ne sert à rien de faire une application lorsque l'insecte n'est pas au rendez-vous ».
Quant au ministère de l'Environnement, il cite des études qui démontrent que l'utilisation systématique de pesticides comme les néonicotinoïdes « n’est généralement pas justifiée ».
Ce sont d'ailleurs des études qui attestent l'inutilité de certains épandages qui ont créé une crise à l'intérieur du Centre de recherche sur les grains, en 2017.
Des chercheurs avaient démissionné, se plaignant de l'ingérence de représentants de l'industrie dans leur conseil d'administration. Une affaire révélée au public par l'ex-agronome du ministère de l'Agriculture Louis Robert.
Au sein de l'Ordre des agronomes, la pression de l'industrie se fait aussi sentir. Les dernières assemblées générales ont vu plusieurs propositions visant à renforcer l'indépendance des agronomes et de la recherche se faire battre par des agronomes vendeurs présents massivement pour le vote.
Rôle accru des agronomes dès la semaine prochaine
À partir du lundi 1er avril, le gouvernement du Québec obligera les agriculteurs qui veulent avoir recours à trois des insecticides néonicotinoïdes (les pesticides « tueurs d'abeilles ») à obtenir la prescription préalable d'un agronome.
L’objectif de l'ancien gouvernement libéral, qui a décidé la mesure, est de s’assurer que certains pesticides soient utilisés quand cela est vraiment nécessaire.
Les agronomes qui signeront les justifications seront toutefois les mêmes qui officient dans les champs, donc en majorité des agronomes vendeurs liés à l'industrie. | {
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What’s the cheapest way to get my Windows laptop swept and cleaned out of malware etc? Don
There are two obvious ways to clean a Windows laptop, and both of them are free. The first is to run a number of anti-malware programs to find and remove the bad stuff. The second is to reset it to factory condition.
Most people take the software approach. This can take quite a long time, but you don’t have to re-install all your programs and data.
If you don’t have a lot of programs and data to restore, then a reset could be quicker. In this case, you can either use Windows 10’s built-in reset system or take the nuclear option of reinstalling Windows 10 from scratch. I recommend the nuclear option for bad virus infections and for laptops that only have 32GB of built-in storage. It’s also the best option if you are going to sell a laptop, or give it away.
Of course, it’s better to avoid having the problem. It’s well over a decade since malware affected any of the PCs in our house. That includes my wife’s machines, and she has no interest in becoming a computer expert.
Assuming you run antivirus software and have a firewall turned on, you can generally avoid Windows malware by keeping all your software up to date – which I do – and by not making any silly mistakes. Today, this seems to apply even if the only antivirus software you run is Microsoft’s Windows Defender. Which in my case, it is.
Fear the rootkit
Rootkits can be a pain to spot and remove. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA
Whichever route you take, start by running one or more programs designed to find rootkits and similar software. Rootkits are designed to avoid detection, sometimes for many years. Rootkit writers try to hide code in places where they can avoid detection. Late last year, ESET antivirus researchers found rootkit code hidden in the Flash memory of a PC’s Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), where it could survive even if you did a clean reinstallation or changed the hard drive.
This was the first attack of its kind to affect Windows 10, but it could become more common. It’s the kind of approach used to attack IoT (Internet of Things) devices, where recovery involves not only changing the software but updating the firmware.
Users sometimes find out they have a rootkit because something odd – high processor usage or unexplained internet traffic – prompts them to check their firewall logs to find the culprit. Rootkits act mainly as backdoors so that other programs, such as keyloggers and viruses, can be installed from remote servers. This is one way malware can reappear after you’ve removed it.
You can check for rootkits by running the Windows Defender Offline scan. To do this, run the Windows Security app (which used to be the Windows Defender Security Center) and select “Virus and threat protection”. In the section for current threats, click on the words “Scan options”. Click the radio button for the Windows Defender Offline scan and then hit “Scan now”. This will restart your PC.
Several companies also offer free rootkit scanners. Try Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit, which is now being beta-tested, and Sophos’s Rootkit Removal. For more information, see CSO’s: How to identify, prevent and remove rootkits in Windows 10.
Rootkits are scary but relatively rare. I’ve never found one despite decades of trying.
Software cleanups
Running repeated one-off scans with collection of different antivirus programs is the best way to make sure all the malware is gone. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA
If you have a PC that has been infected for a while, don’t run one scan and think you’ve solved the problem. A bit of malware that’s become securely embedded may well bring in its friends, who will bring their friends. Some of them will try to hide each other. Remove one malicious program and a second scan – or scanning with a different utility – may find other malicious programs that were previously hidden.
Save and back up your work, and for the best results, keep these three things in mind:
1. No single antivirus program will always find everything. Try two or – if one of them is Windows Defender – preferably more. It’s a bad idea to install more than one antivirus program, but you can run one-off scans with as many as you like. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and Spybot Free Edition (formerly Spybot Search & Destroy) have often found things other programs have missed. Avast is another good option. ESET has a good free online scanner. Kaspersky’s Virus Removal Tool could be worth a go. Malwarebytes’ (formerly Xplode’s) AdwCleaner targets PUPs (potentially unwanted programs) that some antivirus products leave alone.
2. No single scan will always find everything. Checking every file for every known virus could take hours, and some malware can hide other malware. If an antivirus program finds some malware, restart your PC, run it again and it may find more.
And while it’s useful to run antivirus programs in standard mode, you must run some scans after restarting your PC in Safe Mode with Networking. Safe Mode loads a minimal set of programs and drivers, which makes malware somewhat easier to spot.
3. You may need outside help. Some virus infestations are particularly hard to remove. Happily, you can go to an online forum and get an expert to analyse the problem and walk you through the removal process. In this case, my first choice would be Bleeping Computer. It provides a simple tutorial on removing malware and, if that fails, clear instructions on how to request help. The alternatives include, in alphabetical order, BestTechie, Geeks to Go and Major Geeks.
These forums are run by volunteers so be respectful, follow instructions, and reply promptly.
Do a reset
Factory resetting Windows 10 is often the best way, but there are several options to get it done. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
It should be obvious that a software cleanup could easily take half a day, and in the worst cases, several days. It might be quicker to reset your PC to factory condition. It depends how many programs you would have to re-install, and how well your backups and data are organised. For this very reason, I have all my data archived separately from my system backups.
A backup allows you to recover a device if something goes wrong, such as a disk failure. However, you don’t want to restore a backup that’s riddled with malware. Having a separate archive on an external hard drive means I can access all my data from a different PC, or copy it to a new PC without restoring any infected files.
Either way, make a backup and check that all your files are stored safely off your PC before going any further.
To reset Windows 10, run the Settings (cogwheel) app, select “Update & Security”, go to the Recovery page and look for “Reset this PC”.
The reset offers two options. The first removes all your programs and settings but keeps your personal files. The second removes everything, so it should remove any viruses except, perhaps, rootkits. However, I’d still want to reformat the hard drive to be sure.
Note that the PC manufacturer’s bundled programs and any special drivers – plus digital licenses for some apps and paid-for content – will be deleted along with everything else.
For the nuclear option, download a new copy of Windows 10 from Microsoft, along with the media creation tool. Use this to create a USB thumbdrive (8GB or larger) or a DVD that you can use to install Windows 10. You shouldn’t need a product key because it’s stored online. If your PC is licensed to run Windows 10, it should authenticate automatically.
However, remember that in many cases, you will need DVDs, product keys, log-on details and passwords to reinstall some programs and otherwise get back to where you were.
You must also keep a record of your Windows 10 administrator’s log-in details – usually a Microsoft email address – and password so that the Windows Store can replace apps and update the new installation with your preferences, including wallpapers.
Microsoft offers instructions on how to do a clean installation of Windows 10, but so do many other websites. Read a few examples, such as the ones at Windows Central and Expert Reviews. It’s not hard, but it’s not always as easy as it sounds.
Have you got a question? Email it to [email protected] | {
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Goa-based Maria Rebello created history in Indian football when she became the first woman referee to officiat... Read More
KOLKATA: The All India Football Federation celebrated the Women's Day with a special gesture towards the fairer sex.
At the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Saturday, Maria Rebello created history in Indian football when she became the first woman referee to officiate in an I-League match. She had previously officiated in the country's premier football tournament as an assistant referee.
Hosts Pune FC rode Mirjan Pavlovic's 90th minute goal to hold Shillong Lajong FC 2-2 in the match. But with Maria breaking another glass ceiling, the focus was clearly on the 'lady with the whistle'.
The Goa-based referee, who was also the captain of India women's national team, had earlier set the trend by becoming the fourth official of an I-League match. But with the Women's Day in mind, the federation decided to make the occasion memorable.
"It was a conscious decision. We wanted to send out a message to everybody. A woman referee managing 22 men on the field in the most important football tournament of the country is indeed a special moment," Goutam Kar, who's the head of AIFF's referees department, told TOI from Delhi. | {
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FILE PHOTO: A number of grounded Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft are shown parked at Victorville Airport in Victorville, California, U.S., March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
(Reuters) - U.S. budget-friendly carrier Southwest Airlines Co will add another daily flight to Hawaii from January 2020, the company said on Thursday, as it counts on leisure travel from the West Coast to boost its growth.
Southwest started flying to Hawaii from California in March, just days after a fatal crash involving Boeing Co’s 737 MAX jet led to the global grounding of the plane, which the company was planning to use for its Hawaii routes.
The new flights, between Sacramento, California, and Honolulu, will intensify competition with Hawaiian Airlines.
Southwest currently serves parts of the islands, including inner-island travel, from Oakland and San Jose in California.
(The story corrects paragraph 2 to say Southwest started flying to Hawaii days “after” a Boeing 737 MAX crash, not “before”) | {
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For other uses, see Kappa (disambiguation). For other uses, see
The Kappa-class shuttle was a Galactic Republic-era shuttle that possessed many features which were later incorporated into the Imperial Lambda-class shuttle.
Contents show]
Characteristics Edit
The Kappa-class had an angled cockpit area with wide viewport, a ventral debarkation hatch, and three stubby stabilization fins. It was designed to transport troops directly into a hot landing zone. Its blaster cannons protected the shuttle during flight, while its repeating blaster cannons cleared its destined landing area of any enemy forces, thus allowing the shuttle to establish a safe zone for its carried platoon to disembark.
The Kappa-class shuttle featured an aft vehicle bay containing either two AT-RT or AT-PT walkers. Port and starboard exit hatches from the vehicle bay allowed the walkers to disembark via two aft ramps. The walkers provided heavy firepower and armor support to ground troops landing in a combat zone. This concept saw limited employment on the battlefield since the Kappa-class shuttle was replaced with newer dropships.
History Edit
These shuttles were designed by Republic Sienar Systems, which later became Sienar Fleet Systems. During the Clone Wars, most Victory-class Star Destroyers were equipped with these craft.
Eventually, Kappa-class shuttles were replaced by more modern shuttles and dropships, which featured greater troop capacity and the capability to transport ground vehicles like the AT-AT and AT-ST walkers. As a result, many Kappa-class shuttles were transferred to secondary ships within the Imperial Navy.
Regardless of its status in the Imperial Starfleet, the interior troop cabin was open to modifications, including altering the seat arrangement or removing a seat altogether. Unfortunately, most of the Kappa-class shuttles' AT-PT complement were scrapped in favor of its more intimidating and larger cousins. By the time of the Galactic Civil War, these vehicle bays were often used to contain cargo or other more conventional ground-vehicles.
In the Rebellion Era the Kappa was still in use by The Empire, and still in limited production for system militias and mercenaries; it was also a ship used by Alliance Special Forces.[3] In any case these shuttles were highly illegal in civilian hands.[2]
Behind the scenes Edit
When the Kappa-class shuttle was first introduced in "Mist Encounter" in the Star Wars Adventure Journal 7, it was described as capable of carrying 40 passengers and 4 crew, but the deck plan showed 96 seats and room for a crew of six. However, both Rules of Engagement: The Rebel SpecForce Handbook and The Clone Wars Campaign Guide hav reaffirmed the number of passengers and crew as 40 and 4.
Appearances Edit
Sources Edit
Notes and references Edit | {
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The East Light will be promoting as six members!
On July 4, band The East Light announced through Twitter that trainee Lee Woo Jin would now be officially a part of the group. Lee Woo Jin was not able to participate in the group’s first promotions, despite technically being a member (he was announced to be the band’s “hidden card”), and took time off to appear in the survival program “Produce 101 Season 2.”
In a reply to their first tweet, The East Light also announced that they had plans to launch their first studio album as six members. Before that, however, Sa Kang and Woo Jin will be releasing a special digital single together on July 13.
The East Light debuted late last year with five members, many of whom had previously made an impression on various music and reality programs. | {
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He has revised his position on carding, and says he will present a motion for its abolition at the next police services board meeting. And he is also battling for his vision for the eastern section of the Gardiner Expressway. Matt Galloway spoke with the mayor of Toronto, John Tory.(runs 16:12) | {
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DC rejuvenated their entire comics universe in 2011 when they released their bold New 52 experiment. Although less heralded, they did the same thing for their animated universe the same year with the introduction of the Young Justice cartoon. While fans may have complained about both reboots — the loss of Bruce Timm’s long-running DC animated universe was hard to swallow at first — Young Justice’s outstanding animation, great characterization, and its fresh look at the DC universe won over almost every viewer… and then DC killed it.
Yes, the second DC animated universe is dead, gone after two mere seasons and an overwhelming amount of promise, to be replaced by Beware the Batman. There's no use in speaking ill of a new Batman cartoon we haven’t seen a minute of (ALFRED FIGHTS CRIME WITH A GUN AAARRRGGGH) but there’s plenty to lament with the loss of Young Justice — specifically, a second amazing DCAU that was destroyed before it had a chance to reach its true potential.
• It looked so good.
No offense to Bruce Timm, but he'd be the first to admit his DC Animated Universe was heavily stylized; all the men had the same barrel chests, all the women had the same tiny waists, and everybody had tiny, skinny legs. But Young Justice not only looked like modern comic art, it was simply gorgeous. Brandon Vietti’s character designs were widely varied but perfectly encapsulated each character, whether they were be a member of Young Justice or of the Justice League. And their faces were far more expressive than Timm’s, bette exemplifying the drama that the first DCAU usually had to hint at through the voices or keep underneath the surface. Without a doubt, it’s the best-designed, best animated superhero cartoon made so far — in fact, only The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra even come close to matching Young Justice for pure visual appeal.
• The team was awesome.
It’s excessively generic to point out “the team” as one of the series’ high points — I mean, any show about Young Justice would star the team, right? But the team that ended up starring in the Young Justice cartoon is vastly different from the comic. More importantly, think about how many essentially all-new characters Young Justice established to non-comics fans: Kid Flash, Artemis, Miss Martian and Aqualad. Young Justice turned these essentially unknown DC sidekicks into some of the most popular DC characters around. As for Superboy and Robin, YJ presented a streamlined, iconic take of Superboy’s post-Crisis origin that will stick in the minds of kids much, much longer than his New 52 rebirth, and by putting Aqualad in charge of the team as opposed to Robin, viewers got to see a younger, less-sure-of-himself version of Dick Grayson. Even the characters mass audiences thought they knew got an intriguing new version.
• The diversity.
Aqualad. Artemis. Blue Beetle. Miss Martian. Static Shock. Batgirl. Rocket. Wonder Girl. Eduardo Dorado. Bumblebee. Guardian. Zatanna. Tye Longshadow. Asami Koizumi. Young Justice presented a hitherto unseen amount of superheroic diversity, an extremely welcome sight. Furthermore, Aqualad and Jaime Reyes (as Blue Beetle), both dominated large portions of the first and second seasons respectively, and were arguably the most main of the main characters. But the best, most powerful argument for acceptance in YJ was probably Miss Martian, who spent most of the first season hiding her true, monstrous White Martian form from her team. In the excellent episode “Usual Suspects”, she reveals her true self to her teammates to prevent Queen Bee from blackmailing her. Not only does the team accept her, but her Superboy tells her he always knew her true form (thanks to a bit of a telepathic chaos earlier in the season) and never cared.
• It provided a truly new look at the DC universe.
Although the series was focused on the sidekicks, that doesn’t mean that the show was all kid stuff. Far from it: The series encompassed the entire DC universe, including the Justice League, but as seen through the younger characters' eyes. This provided a whole new perspective on the DC universe — and what would it be like to stand in the shadow of the actual Justice League. Besides the wonderful characterizations of the younger heroes, it gave us a better look at main heroes like Shazam, Black Canary, Zatara and Red Tornado, by having them teach and/or assist the kids. This rose the stakes considerably, too; while the core Justice League seems mythic and unbeatable, they were often missing during Young Justice, forcing the kids to try to succeed in challenges even Batman and Superman might have found tough. And last but not least, forcing viewing to look at DC’s core heroes through their protégés — Robin to Batman, Aqualad to Aquaman, Artemis and Red Arrow to Green Arrow, Miss Martian to Martian Manhunter, and most dramatically, Superboy to Superman, whose discomfort around his unauthorized Lex Luthor-made clone was palpable — made this new DC animated universe fresh and fascinating.
• It was intense.
Not that Batman, Superman and the rest of DC’s Timm-verse didn’t have its share of drama, but Young Justice was not afraid to go dark. Almost every superhero had a secret, most of them terrible. Aqualad went so far undercover most of his teammates didn’t know, and seemingly killed Artemis — and then got his brain destroyed by Miss Martian for it. Hell, it turns out that Red Arrow was actually a clone of Red Arrow for almost the entire series, while the real Roy Harper had been kept comatose and had his arm cut off. And the situations the team faced were likewise dire — they weren’t fighting some kiddie version of Legion of Doom, they had to fight Lex Luthor, Vandal Savage, Despero, multiple alien invasions, and even Mongul and his entire War World. The fact that we were watching these younger, less experienced heroes try to fight these battles — and the show’s willingness to go dark when need be — meant the stakes were high in every episode.
• What could have been.
The worst part about the cancellation of Young Justice and the new DC animated universe it created? Thinking about all the possibilities we'll never get to see. And I’m not just talking about the final episode’s cliffhanger, where the Light meets up with Darkseid on Apokalips (although knowing that will never be resolved hurts very, very badly). The team battled against the Light throughout both seasons, and was clearly heading to an epic confrontation even beyond the New Gods. But before Young Justice ended, it had introduced Static and three genuinely cool, young versions of Apache Chief, Samurai and El Dorado! DC characters as varied as Plastic Man, Black Spider, Klarion the Witch Boy, Monsieur Mallah, and even Marvin and Wendy made appearances! Young Justice’s universe may not have been as enormous as Timm’s version, but it was clearly getting there. And the fact that we’ll never get to see it real its true potential should depress DC fans and fans of great cartoons alike. | {
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Der FC Würzburger Kickers hat sich kurz vor Ende der Transferperiode mit Phil Ofosu-Ayeh verstärkt. Der 27-Jährige, der aktuell bei den Wolverhampton Wanderers unter Vertrag steht, wird bis zum Saisonende für die Rothosen auflaufen. Zuletzt war der Deutsch-Ghanaer vom Premier-League-Klub an den F.C. Hansa Rostock ausgeliehen.
Länderspiel für Ghana
Der im nordrhein-westfälischen Moers geborene Außenverteidiger verbrachte seine Jugend beim VFL und SV Wilhelmshaven sowie beim VfL Oldenburg. Seine ersten Stationen im Profibereich hießen FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt und MSV Duisburg, ehe es Ofosu-Ayeh in die 2. Liga zum VfR Aalen und später zu Eintracht Braunschweig zog. Insgesamt stand der 1,81 Meter große Außenbahnspieler 68 Mal im deutschen Unterhaus auf dem Rasen. Am 13. Oktober 2015 debütierte er zudem bei der ghanaischen Nationalmannschaft.
„Phil ist ein dynamischer Spieler, den ich noch aus meiner Zeit beim VfR Aalen kenne. Seine Qualität ist unbestritten, nach einer zuletzt etwas schwierigen Phase brennt er darauf, sein Können zu zeigen. Mit seinem Einsatz kann er ein Publikum mitnehmen“, sagt FWK-Cheftrainer Michael Schiele.
Phil brennt darauf, sein Können zu zeigen. FWK-Cheftrainer Michael Schiele
„Phil hat bereits etliche Zweitliga- sowie fast 100 Drittliga-Partien bestritten und daher viele Erfahrungen sammeln können. Wir freuen uns, dass wir diesen Transfer realisieren konnten und er morgen direkt ins Training einsteigen wird“, erklärt Kickers-Vorstandsvorsitzender Daniel Sauer.
„Ich bin froh, dass der Wechsel nach Würzburg zustande gekommen ist. Die Gespräche mit den Verantwortlichen stimmen mich absolut positiv, ich werde ab morgen Vollgas geben“, sagt Phil Ofosu-Ayeh. | {
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NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday put on hold the operationalisation of visa-on-arrival for senior citizens of Pakistan amid mounting tension on the Line of Control(LoC).
Government sources said the decision was taken after several agencies sought clarifications on facilities to be offered to the Pakistani citizens though the continued tension along the LoC following killing of two soldiers by Pakistani troops could be the apparent reason.
The visa-on-arrival facility for Pakistani nationals above 65 years was supposed to start on Tuesday at the Attari integrated check post (ICP) under the new visa agreement between India and Pakistan signed in September 2012 to ease cross-border travel as part of confidence-building measures(CBM).
Some clauses of the relaxed visa regime like multiple-entry and reporting-free visas for businessmen and allowing them to visit five cities instead of the earlier three was operationalised when Pakistan's interior minister Rehman Malik visited New Delhi on December 14-16, 2012.
No new date has been fixed for operationalisation of the visa on arrival facility to the Pakistani senior citizens.
"We will take a decision at an appropriate time," government sources said.
The objections raised by some agencies include whether visiting senior citizens were required to have a sponsor in India before granting them visa on arrival. | {
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Like the expensive California fast train to nowhere, Schiff’s funhouse impeachment hearings are a useless waste of time and money, and subject him to well-deserved ridicule. They are certain not to prevent President Trump’s reelection in 2020 and may well cost the Democrats their majority in the House. With a pack of losing candidates and a series of “now we got him” flops ahead of them, this is a losing desperation ploy.
Roger L. Simon notes that the market figured this out this week.
What does it mean after the House of Representatives -- on an almost one-hundred-percent pure partisan vote, save for two Democrats who wisely demurred -- decides to expand an impeachment investigation on what they claim to be serious charges when... the very next day... the stock market zooms to all-time highs, breaking records substantially on all major indexes, and black unemployment goes to all-time lows? Well, the latter spells big trouble for the Democrats a year from now and the former means the investment world thinks impeachment is a bunch of horse hockey that will never happen (the Republican Senate will never convict Trump, not even envious Mitt) and the real news was the job figures. And it's easy to see why both of those are true. No matter what polls tell you, it's not just Kanye. African Americans are wising up to the fact they've been royally you-know-what'd by decades of Democratic Party rule. Under Trump, their paychecks are going up faster than anybody's. Even black youth unemployment is at record lows. You think they're not making the connection?
To the dummies of their far left base, the Democrats hope this week’s vote signals that the president will be impeached, but the vote was not to impeach, nor even to begin a formal impeachment inquiry. It was to set the procedures for any impeachment hearing in the house. And what a lulu it is.
Under these rules Adam Schiff can block testimony from witnesses called by Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee he chairs. It does not require the previous secret proceedings of the committee, held without even a semblance of due process, be disclosed. (For those of you muttering angrily about the selective, clearly partisan leaks to compliant press and demanding that Republicans release the transcripts, bear in mind they don’t have them. Schiff has withheld them.)
Schiff and the Democrats can subpoena whoever they want; Congressman Devin Nunes and the Republicans must make a showing of relevance in writing to Schiff’s satisfaction.” The president and his counsel will have no opportunity to participate until after the Schiff inquiry is done and a report filed with the Judiciary Committee of the House.
“There are sections of the resolution that allow [Adam Schiff] to literally have veto power over Republican witnesses,” Scalise noted. “There’s a section in the resolution that allows the chairman to literally kick the president’s legal counsel out of the room if he so chooses, not because there has been some wrong that was done, [but] just because, all at the whim of the chairman.”
I studied Russian law as an elective in law school so these kinds of rules are not unfamiliar to me, but Americans used to fair play and due process ought to find it troubling.
Conrad Black predicts they will, particularly given Adam Schiff’s record to date:
A shabby fraud launched by a partisan whistleblower who is acting on hearsay about an innocuous telephone call whose summary, though perhaps not entirely complete, was immediately released to the public cannot go much farther. It has been kept alive by a Star Chamber in which the president is not represented and the Republican questioning and calling of witnesses is done at the behest of the Democratic leadership. It cannot produce a serious offense that the president could actually be accused of committing, and now it is to be sustained by a dubious vote that will only slightly alter its almost totalitarian one-sidedness. This ghastly farce has been presided over by a pathological public liar, Representative Adam Schiff, who has outdone even his previous fiasco of failing to produce his “conclusive evidence” of the president’s “treason” with Russia. The country will not tolerate seeing its elected leader defamed and smeared by odious little people who would strip him of his elected office.[snip] Now, finally, the majority realizes that the chief culprits for the venomous indignity of the political atmosphere are the president’s enemies. At a certain point, late and far down on the behavioral scale, the country demands that the president be treated with the dignity due to the person they have chosen to be not just the leader of the government but the personification of the state, the head of the people, as Roosevelt said. Whatever else he may be, Donald Trump is the rightful president, and those who don’t like it can vote against him next year.[snip] Under any scenario, the wheels are coming off this disgraceful Democratic garbage cart in all directions. Impeachment will fizzle ignominiously while the former administration is arraigned on serious charges from the Russian scandal, and the Democrats will wallow in their squalid failure to produce a feasible candidate for the White House. Normalcy, for which the country longs, is not dead; it is reawakening at last.
In fact, analysis of polling on impeachment bears him out: impeachment will help the president’s reelection campaign in swing states.
Impeachment is a two-step process, and no president in U.S. history has been impeached and removed by Congress. The House of Representatives opens the process, with a bare majority of representatives required to impeach a president, opening the case up for a trial in the U.S. Senate. Only the Senate can remove the president, and that requires a two-thirds majority -- extremely unlikely with the current Republican majority [snip] Because Democrats have called for Trump's impeachment since shortly after his inauguration, a jaded view of this latest push is warranted. While Trump may be tainted with scandal if the House votes to impeach him, he will also be able to decry the blatantly partisan nature of the push to remove him from office. The Senate is extremely unlikely to remove him, and the impeachment charade may actually help the president in the swing states he needs to win for reelection. This impeachment battle could backfire on the Democrats, badly.
Certainly private polling by the Democrats have made them aware of this, so the plan seems to be to keep throwing mud, not impeachment.
The “Whistleblower” and the Lieutenant Colonel
So far we know of three people the Schiff Committee or its staff have spoken to in secret: The so-called “whistleblower,” Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, and Tim Morrison. Only the last two of them had been in on the call to Zelensky and the “whistleblower” flatly contradicted the two who had firsthand knowledge of the phone conversation.
The whistleblower has refused to testify after presumptively being the predicate for the inquiry. For at least two weeks, clues in the New York Times have led people to identify him as Eric Ciaramella.
Real Clear Investigations tells us a great deal about Ciaramella, and in so doing, make it obvious why he will not testify: He’s a registered Democrat who had worked with then-vice-president Joe Biden and former CIA Director John Brennan (widely believed to be the kingpin of the Russian Collusion fairy tale and attempted coup). He was employed by the CIA, had been one of the then-300 members of the National Security Council and left in 2017 after leaking concerns. He then returned to the CIA headquarters. (They must have some fine vetting at the agency to readmit someone credibly accused of leaking.) We know he met with the staff of Schiff’s committee, which included former NSC colleagues of his. He also worked with a Democratic operative, the Ukrainian-American Alexandra Chalupa, who was instrumental in spinning the Russian Collusion slander. (See John Solomon’s excellent, detailed debunking of the Ukrainian myths)
In any event, he was not on the phone call, had no direct knowledge of it and was reporting the kind of hearsay which would never be considered evidence in a U.S. courtroom. The transcript released by the White House is the best evidence and it is at great odds with his report of it. Clearly he won’t testify because his canoodling with Schiff staffers could not be avoided in any sort of inquiry nor could the source(s) of his hearsay report.
And then there’s Lt. Col. Alex Vindman’s testimony.
The Ukrainian-born witness may well have a distinguished military career or not. It doesn’t matter to me, but clearly wearing his uniform and medals to the hearing and circulating his opening statement, suggests that he and the committee hoped sentiment and one-sided reportage would disguise what was clearly the carefully vetted “unfounded and unsupported” opinion of a functionary who confused his role and that of the chief executive.
First, as discussed below, Vindman’s testimony about the July 25 call between the two presidents does not add any new facts. So, what does he say? He offers his opinions about the wisdom of the call. That’s it. His testimony about the substance of that call consists of five sentences at the end of his prepared testimony. Those five sentences basically comprise two opinions. Here is what he said: “I was concerned by the call. [1] I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the U.S. government’s support of Ukraine. [2] I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma, it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained. This would all undermine U.S. national security. Following the call, I again reported my concerns to NSC’s lead counsel.” [snip] It is correct that Vindman has “firsthand knowledge” of the call. However, his personal knowledge of that call is not important. Why not? Because the president released the transcript and we know what was said. In fact, Vindman’s prepared statement indicates he believes that the released transcript is accurate… claimed. Although some left-leaning media outlets now claim the transcript has omissions and is not accurate, Vindman did not make that claim or dispute the accuracy of the transcript. If he later changes course and claims, contrary to his prepared statement, that the transcript is not accurate, then such a shift would raise obvious credibility issues. But that discussion is for another day, if it happens.
I leave to others the question of the propriety of a military officer testifying against the president whose opinion contradicts his own.
Tim Morrison
Finally, there was witness Tim Morrison, an NSC official who actually was on the call, affirms the transcript of it released by the White House is accurate, and who does not confuse having an office in the White House with his being the President. He testified that there was nothing in the call that was illegal or corrupt.
So here we are, an inquiry based on hearsay by a person who’s a longtime Democratic operative, who clearly was a Brennan stooge on the NSC and who confected this with buddies on Schiff’s staff. Two other people who worked in the White House’s NSC – Vindman and Morrison -- were on the call. Both agree that the transcript released by the White house was accurate. The call transcript, of course, substantially undercuts the Schiff parody and Ciaramella’s creative version of it. One man’s view that it was improper -- contrary to what surely had been the advice given the president by his better-informed legal counsel -- contradicts Morrison’s view that there was nothing illegal or improper about it.
To be blunt about it, the “evidence” Schiff has elicited is as weak as his party’s candidates to replace Trump. | {
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Printer Friendly Version Coercive Population Control By Jason G. Brent 01 December, 2010
Countercurrents.org Since no rational human being can dispute the fact that the Earth is finite, no rational human being can dispute the fact that both population growth and economic growth must cease sometime in the future. By definition, neither infinite population growth nor infinite economic growth can occur on the finite Earth. Both the economy and population grow in a compound/geometric/exponential manner. Compound growth is the most powerful force in the universe, it overwhelms everything. Example – if something were to grow at the compound rate of one percent the year, it would double in about 70 years, be four times as large in about 140 years, be eight times as large in about 210 years and be over 1000 times as large in 700 years. In the table below I will use compound growth rates of one half of one percent, 1%, 2%, and 3%.
Number of years at the percentages set forth above
.............................................one-half .........one ...............two ...............three percent
Two times as large .............140...............70.................... 35....................... 24 years
Four times as large............... 280............ 140.................... 70......................... 48 years
Eight times as large.................. 420...............210.................. 105.......................... 72 years
Sixteen times as large................. 560.................. 280................... 140..................... 96 years
Thirty-two times as large.............. 700...................... 350................. 175 ..................120 years
One thousand times as large.............. 1,400................ 700.................. 350.............. 240 years
One million times as large...................... 2,800 ................1,400 ................700 .........480 years
One billion times as large........................ 4,200............... 2,100............... 1,050....... 720 years
If we assume that either the economy or population grew at the compound rate of one half of one percent per year it would take 420 years to reach a level eight times greater than the starting level. If we assume that either grew at the compound rate of 3% per year it would take just 72 years to reach a level eight times greater than the starting level. No rational person could believe that the Earth could support a population eight times as large as the current population (current population about 6.8 – 6.9 billion, eight times as large equals 54.4 – 55.2 billion) and no rational person could believe that the Earth could provide the resources to support an economy eight times as large as the current economy. Therefore, we can assume, absolutely, that both the economy of the world and the human population will never reach a level eight times as great as the current level.
There are three and only three ways in which population growth can be reduced to zero, or made negative, if that is required for the survival of our species. I challenge anyone to find methods to reduce population growth to zero in addition to the three set forth below.
1. Death by wars, with or without weapons of mass destruction, starvation, rape, murder, ethnic cleansing, concentration camps, disease and other horrors beyond the imagination of most human beings after humanity has exceeded the carrying capacity of our planet. No rational person would want this method. Therefore, humanity should not consider it.
2. The voluntary action of all of humanity for as long as humanity exists on this planet. There are many,many reasons why this is not a viable solution – in fact I could probably list 20 or 30 of them. However, I will list just a few – a) If the population in absolute numbers had to be reduced by a few billion (and not merely reducing population growth to zero) for our species to survive, voluntary action will never achieve that reduction. There isn't any rational basis to believe any such reduction could be achieved voluntarily. Many experts believe that in order for humanity to survive on this planet even a short period of time, population will have to be substantially reduced. James Lovelock of Gaia fame believes that the maximum human population the Earth can support is 1 billion or less and Prof. David Pimental of Cornell University believes the number is 2 billion or less. b) The voluntary action will have to last as long as humanity existed on the planet. Without going into a long discourse, I can state with almost absolute certainty that will never happen. In fact, I can state with almost absolutely certainty that even if all of humanity agreed to reduce population growth to zero, that control would not last 50 years. c) Voluntary action would require the agreement of every single-family on the face of the Earth. If just one family refused to comply, all of humanity would be destroyed. Example, Mr. Justice Scalia, of the US Supreme Court, had nine children. If each of those had nine and if each of those had nine and if that continued for just under 400 years ( we make the reasonable assumption that each generation is 35 years) more than 31 billion Scalias ( that is billion) would be running around. You can do the math for yourself. d) While not every Catholic follows the dictates of the Church regarding artificial birth control and abortion, enough Catholics follow the dictates of the Church such that it will be impossible to achieve zero population growth by voluntary means at any time in the foreseeable future. e) No nation on the face of the Earth has ever been able to control is population growth without abortion. It is highly unlikely that abortion will be voluntarily accepted by all of the nations of the world in time to prevent the human population from exceeding the carrying capacity of planet. Conclusion – voluntary population control will not prevent the growth of the human population exceeding the carrying capacity of the Earth resulting in the destruction of civilization as we know it and in the horrific deaths of billions of human beings. Looking at the problem another way, assume that there is a 70-80% chance of voluntary population control reducing population growth to zero prior to the destruction of civilization, then there is also a 20- 30% chance that voluntary population control will not reduce population growth to zero in time to prevent our destruction. The question then becomes is – should humanity gamble the risk of the horrific deaths of billions of human beings on a 20 or 30% chance that voluntary population control will fail. The answer to that question should be that humanity cannot afford to gamble its survival on the chance that voluntary population control will fail.
3. Coercive population control is the last choice. Before discussing this choice, it must be understood by all of humanity and all the leaders of humanity that the choice is simple – coercive population control or the horrific deaths of billions of human beings when our population has exceeded the carrying capacity of this planet. The analysis is simple – there are three and only three ways that population growth can be reduced to zero in time to prevent our destruction, or made negative if that is necessary, and the first two choices are not, in reality, choices. No one would want the control of population by the horrors set forth in choice number one above and choice number two, voluntary action will not work. The question then becomes----will the leaders of humanity understand that the only way in which the horrific deaths of billions of human beings can be prevented is by coercive population control. The next question becomes – will the leaders of humanity have the guts to take the necessary actions?
Let me summarize this essay simply. Do you agree that there are three and only three ways which population growth can be reduced to zero, or made negative if that is necessary? If you agree that there are only three methods, then, in reality, there are only two methods, voluntary population control and coercive population control, as no one would want population to be controlled by the deaths and other horrors which will occur once humanity has exceeded the carrying capacity of the Earth. The last question becomes – can you present a logical and factually supported case that the voluntary action of all of humanity will reduce population growth to zero, or make it negative, in time to prevent the human population from exceeding the carrying capacity of the Earth resulting in the horrific deaths of billions of human beings? If you cannot make such a case, the only choice left is coercive population control.
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Just after seeing Agent 47 do his rather John Woo-like thing, our man Dan Gril sat down with Tore Blystad, game director for Hitman: Absolution aka Hitman 5 aka Hitman: Subtitle, and asked the most pressing of questions: whether we’ve lost the silent assassin to open action aimed at impatient console gamers, or if stealth and caution are still very much the order of the day. And also where 47 gets his suits from.
RPS: Have you altered 47’s appearance at all to match that of Timothy Olyphant?
Tore Blystad: Ha, no. Every time a different artist makes another rendition of him he kind of slightly changes.
RPS: Do you, like comic book artists, reinterpret him differently each time? E.g. Frank Miller’s batman?
Tore Blystad: It’s difficult with a character like this. There are so many things that you can’t change, but if you pay attention… his tie is quite different from before. He’s got this clip on his tie and the cut and fabric of his suit is different too.
RPS: So, who’s his designer? Who made the outfit?
Tore Blystad: We will reveal that in the game, actually.
RPS: So, you go into a shop where there’s just racks of red ties, black suits and white shirts?
Tore Blystad: Ha, you’ll have to wait to find out. I’m not allowed to talk about it.
RPS: The alteration in physique makes him more limber and lean than previous games…
Tore Blystad: (laughing) yes, we usually call him the tank. We try to get away from the tank.
RPS: But for a tank, he can’t take many hits.
Tore Blystad: (laughing) yes, a pretty rubbish tank.
RPS: More of a Volvo?
Tore Blystad: We really wanted the feeling of playing him not to be about failing mechanically, walking into a wall or failing to fibrewire someone, it’s more about failing to hide his body or contain the situation. In the old games, it was taken for granted that whoever was playing was so good with the pad or mouse and keyboard that they would be able to perform all these things but, naturally, they weren’t. So all these people were feeling like pretty rubbish hitmen, walking around all the time being shot at and failing to perform things that should be very natural to him.
RPS: Do you think that there’s a tendency, not towards levelling down, but for all action games to go towards a centrepoint because of the imperatives of the mainstream audience?
Tore Blystad: I think, from a control point of view, everyone wants a unified system because it gives a better input; if you can pick up a game and instantly know how things are mapped out. The problem for us, we’ve been trying that a lot, but we still fail because we have so many extra mechanics that we’re running out of buttons really quickly. In the old game, there were these stupid menus so you stood next to a guy that you could drag, take his clothes or his gun, there was a door, a fuse box and you had ten different options. How do we make this simple to understand? We’re getting closer to that but without comprising, how to say, fidelity or choice, then making it more obvious for the player how to play the game.
RPS: For the PC, I guess you have as many buttons as you want. But that’s like the old simulations where you needed a keyboard overlay.
Tore Blystad: (LAUGHS) Hey! Maybe we should do that! That’s awesome.
RPS: There was something about the early Hitmans that was very simulation; we’re going to make the best, most accurate game about killing people and trying to get away with it, and always realistically difficult. Are you going more for the entertainment side now?
Tore Blystad: That depends, there are a lot of the core mechanics to the game that have been revised but not fundamentally changed. The basic traits of the old game are the same in Absolution, but of course, there’s always been a very strong desire to make a cinematic experience in Hitman games. Now we have much better tools than we ever had before, but its the balance of… when you make a game there’s a lot of choice; how do you make a cinematic experience in that world without the player feeling that they’re kind of being controlled, right? Of course, it’s difficult to judge from a demo, but the way we’ve designed the games, the AI is the centrepiece of the tech, and the way that they react is beyond our control; for instance, the music system is listening to the AI, to determine what kind of music should be playing.
If you go in guns blazing, we know how many NPCs will go into combat mode or send out hunting parties for you, if you run away. The music will listen to all these things and give you a dramatic and suspenseful experience regardless of how you want to play the game. You can seamlessly go back and forth between all these different states. And this is how to show off without trying it out and seeing how my play style is reflected in how the game presents the world to me. This is the biggest challenge we’ve had, to feel linear but not be linear.
RPS: The end moment in the gung-ho playthrough, where you did the point shooting and killed a roomful of people, that was where you crammed all your cinematic tools in?
Tore Blystad: We can only do it there because that’s where the player has decided how he wants to perform it. We can show it cinematically, but there is a way to skip what we’re doing and say, either I want to do it by myself, set it up yourself, or say “screw this, I don’t want to watch this crap, I just want to get on and do it”.
RPS: Which would be impressive in itself, like the beginning of Swordfish.
Tore Blystad: Oh, god, yes, that’s awesome. We’re looking at stuff like that, how can we do this without compromising what the player wants to do. We tried all kinds of stuff for a very long time but so it’s getting closer, its still being worked on the system, even if you did the worst point shooting ever, it should still look good. That’s our goal!
RPS: And with the music, the way that syncs with the AI, if you killed anyone in the world apart from one of the nuns, will it change to angelic choirs? Or sexy Barry White music if they’re getting it on?
Tore Blystad: (laughs) I think that might be going a little bit too far. Because not only is the music layered, but every single level has its own unique music, so that’s a lot of content, many hours of music that needs to be produced. If there was a particular funny moment we would like to enhance it somehow, we have very diverse composers who can produce all these styles and sometimes they’re sitting and jamming and they say “hey, can we use this stuff?” and we say “hey, that’s awesome, let’s make a new level for this”, so its been very synergic effect between the music, which came early. That’s new to us, before it was very much ‘here’s the game finished, now score this’. The art direction and audio direction have been the founding pillars of the project.
RPS: Trailers. How hard is it to do a stealth trailer without making it really boring?
Tore Blystad: (laughs) It’s very hard. We have in-house group of people doing trailers and ideas, and it’s getting out to the PRs; “more action, you have to have these big set pieces.” But if you look back at the Hitman games, surprisingly much of the campaign material has been an AK or two guns shooting, it’s actually not much derailing from what we’ve done in the past, but it’s a very difficult thing to convey and we also had all these people coming with “stealth is dead, no-one cares, it’s too slow and boring” and we’re really… it’s the most suspenseful play style, if you just take a little bit of time to invest tin it.
RPS: You’re the Silent Hunter of action games.
Tore Blystad: (laughs) Maybe we can make more stealth-oriented trailers if you just tell these guys (points to PR).
RPS: Facetious question; what does he do in his downtime? Does he have any hobbies? Does he walk the dog?
Tore Blystad: (laughs) We’ve been thinking about that as well. It’s hard to answer. We cannot write those things out properly; your guess is as good as ours. We cut down his dialogue a lot from the original script. He simply cannot say the words. He’s so mechanical and logical. The whole disguise mechanic, the fact that he will just abandon his clothes and again, just to get through, he’s a very disposable character, a non-character in many ways.
RPS: He’s one of those tabula rasas, like Spock in Star Trek, a logical character, or any vaguely autistic movie character.
Tore Blystad: (laughs) Playing together with the choice that the player has, it makes him a very powerful character because then the player feels it’s their experience that he’s conveying in the level.
RPS: He’s the anonymous vector or avatar; he’s also able to take a lot of shots now, though not a tank. In the first Hitman, you’d snipe someone and if you made it out, just running out, you’d be very, very lucky.
Tore Blystad: Like I say, we’re taking some liberties with the code [today] just to make sure you guys don’t see some guy dying three times in a row. It is interesting how marketing and PR changes what you can show and how you show it, compared to what the eventual game is like. There’s a whole funnel. You can almost say that the code drops are kind of a trailer for the game as well.
RPS: So what you’re saying to our readers is that the game will be NOTHING like what I’ve seen.
Tore Blystad: (laughs) NO! This code drop is highlighting the choice and tools available to the player. It’s a very massive game. Naturally E3 was about bringing him back and showing him very superficially, the key strategies you can use in the game. This is more about what you can do to the game if you played it through in different styles. In the future, there are other topics that will also extend people’s understanding of the game. | {
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Photo by Jeff Forney
Kendrick Lamar: "Compton" [ft. Dr. Dre] (via SoundCloud)
In his hotel room on Chicago's north side, Kendrick Lamar looks like someone without much downtime. It's the middle of September, and he's in the midst of a fall tour promoting his imminent major label debut, good kid, m.A.A.d city-- while simultaneously trying to actually finish the thing. He's also been hosting listening parties and, well, talking to people like me. So maybe it was no surprise that I found him laying down in a hoodie and pajama pants. I sat precariously at the foot of the bed, and Lamar propped his head up only a few minutes during our conversation.
Kendrick may seem relatively new on the rap scene, but he actually released his first mixtape-- under the name K-Dot-- almost a decade ago, at the age of 16. Last year's Section.80 was a breakthrough, leading to his first release on Dr. Dre's Aftermath label (Lamar reportedly began working on Dre's forever-delayed Detox a few years back). Aftermath is one of the most legendary imprints in hip-hop, but this will be the first album the label has released by someone other than Eminem or 50 Cent since Busta Rhymes' The Big Bang in 2006. If Lamar is successful-- and early returns have been promising-- he could breathe considerable life into the top end of the genre. He's been hailed as a savior, but rap doesn't need that. What it could use, though, is some more big-box records that can be played front-to-back.
The 25-year-old Compton rapper's flow is twisted and inventive, filled with ideas about large issues-- substance abuse, ethnicity, politics, the state of his generation. In person, he's reserved but friendly. We talked about the backlash to his recent remarks about voting, Chief Keef, approaching collaborations for his new album, and, yes, Lady Gaga.
Embedded content is unavailable.
Pitchfork: You recently faced a backlash after saying that you don't vote because "there's something else out there pushing the buttons." How did you interpret that whole situation?
Kendrick Lamar: I'm a person of my own opinions, that's how I was raised. I speak what I feel. The world is bigger than us, and I'm the only person that said that. A lot of people feel the same way but they're scared to talk. They're really scared of the truth-- they only want half of the truth. I've been living like that-- forever in fear-- but I know what to say and how to say it now. I ain't scared of myself. Y'all may be scared; I'm not scared.
Pitchfork: Do you think people in general are scared of comments like that?
KL: Nobody likes to mix the spiritual world with politics. I mean, I'm all for Obama. Gotta be. I respect the fact that our ancestors put us in the forefront to have the power to do what we do. But I'm going through something within myself spiritually that doesn't mix with politics or the world right now. I want kids to go out there and experience voting-- you gotta do that. But just know what you're voting for and who you're voting for in your heart, and not just because of who wants you do it a certain way.
Kendrick Lamar: "Swimming Pools (Drank)" (via SoundCloud)
Pitchfork: To a lot of people, your friendship with Lady Gaga is kind of weird, but I imagine it doesn't feel that way to you.
KL: Yeah, it's cool. She's a regular person. We became friends off of the genuine love for the music. She just hit my phone one day and said that she had a respect for the hip-hop that I was doing, that it wasn't like anything she heard on the radio. Then chemistry collided from there. What I respect about her more than anything is her originality. She's not afraid to be herself, and that's the same thing that Black Hippy represents.
Pitchfork: What was it like recording with her?
KL: Genius. She's over-the-top creative. You have to be in a whole other world to actually think the way she thinks. We did two or three records together, we'll figure it out where they're going to go.
Photo by Dan Monick
Pitchfork: You've worked with a diverse array of rappers, too, from Drake to Gunplay to Dr. Dre. How do you choose them?
KL: The thing about hip-hop is they always want to classify you as one particular artist, but hip-hop is about going outside the box and expressing yourself however you want to. A lot of people thought the Gunplay track wasn't going to work, but I'm a visionary when I see people-- I'm not doing it just because of the features, I actually hear something in my head, and then I execute it the same way I hear it.
Kendrick Lamar: "Cartoon & Cereal" [ft. Gunplay]
Pitchfork: Do you feel like you're expected to work with certain people?
KL: People place me with certain crews and individuals but, if it's expected, that'd be the reason why I won't work with them. Just to be in my own lane. That's why I go have a Gaga record, because it's not easy to get one. She has to like your music.
Pitchfork: Is the cover photo from your childhood?
KL: Yeah, it's from like '92. My childhood was fun, man. Falling off bikes, doing backflips. They let me run free.
Pitchfork: What about the involvement of other Black Hippy members on the album?
KL: We've done a bunch of records together-- we're trying to see which ones stick to the story. I'm not huge on just doing a record because someone's my friend or he's in the group, it's still got to make sense. Jay Rock wasn't on Section 80; the songs we did just didn't feel right. I'm not going to force a record.
DJ Kay Slay: "Highway to Hell" [ft. Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock]
Pitchfork: We're in Chicago, and the biggest rap story here this year is Chief Keef. Lupe Fiasco recently spoke out about being scared of the violent culture Keef represents to him-- do you have any thoughts about that issue?
KL: I'm younger than Lupe, so I would be more likely understand Keef. Not to say Lupe doesn't understand it, but I wasn't far away from that world that Chief was in. That's his lifestyle and that's all he knows right now. The world gotta accept that, and the industry gotta accept that. He's being real with himself-- he can't just fake it just because he's in the industry now. It's not gonna seem organic.
Pitchfork: As opposed to someone like Keef, you make reference in your music to gangs, but it's not precisely what your music is about. How did you end up going that way?
KL: It was just about growing as a person and becoming more of an adult. Now, I want more of a neutral light for everybody to live in and be happy and be successful. | {
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Plastic Wars: Industry Spent Millions Selling Recycling — To Sell More Plastic
Enlarge this image toggle caption Laura Sullivan/NPR Laura Sullivan/NPR
Editor's note: NPR will be publishing stories from this investigative series in the weeks and months ahead, even as we focus our current coverage on the coronavirus pandemic. But here's a look at some of our key findings. You can watch the full documentary film from this investigation on the PBS series Frontline.
For decades, Americans have been sorting their trash believing that most plastic could be recycled. But the truth is, the vast majority of all plastic produced can't be or won't be recycled. In 40 years, less than 10% of plastic has ever been recycled.
In a joint investigation, NPR and the PBS series Frontline found that oil and gas companies — the makers of plastic — have known that all along, even as they spent millions of dollars telling the American public the opposite.
Here are our key takeaways from our investigation:
In Partnership This story is part of a joint investigation with the PBS series Frontline that includes the upcoming documentary Plastic Wars, which premieres March 31 at 10/9c on PBS stations and online.
Plastics industry had "serious doubt" recycling would ever be viable
Starting in the late 1980s, the plastics industry spent tens of millions of dollars promoting recycling through ads, recycling projects and public relations, telling people plastic could be and should be recycled.
But their own internal records dating back to the 1970s show that industry officials long knew that recycling plastic on a large scale was unlikely to ever be economically viable.
A report sent to top industry executives in April 1973 called recycling plastic "costly" and "difficult." It called sorting it "infeasible," saying "there is no recovery from obsolete products." Another document a year later was candid: There is "serious doubt" widespread plastic recycling "can ever be made viable on an economic basis."
The industry promoted recycling to keep plastic bans at bay
Despite this, three former top officials, who have never spoken publicly before, said the industry promoted recycling as a way to beat back a growing tide of antipathy toward plastic in the 1980s and '90s. The industry was facing initiatives to ban or curb the use of plastic. Recycling, the former officials told NPR and Frontline, became a way to preempt the bans and sell more plastic.
"There was never an enthusiastic belief that recycling was ultimately going to work in a significant way," says Lew Freeman, former vice president of government affairs for the industry's lobbying group, then called the Society of the Plastics Industry, or SPI.
Another top official, Larry Thomas, who led SPI for more than a decade until 2000, says the strategy to push recycling was simple:
"The feeling was the plastics industry was under fire, we got to do what it takes to take the heat off, because we want to continue to make plastic products," Thomas says. "If the public thinks the recycling is working, then they're not going to be as concerned about the environment."
It was the late 1980s, and the plastics industry was under fire as concern mounted about ever-increasing amounts of garbage. But the industry had a plan — a way to fend off plastic bans and keep its sales growing. Frontline and NPR YouTube
More recycling means fewer profits for oil and gas companies
In interviews, current plastics industry officials acknowledged that recycling the vast majority of plastic hasn't worked in the past. But they said the industry is funding new technology that they believe will get recycling plastic up to scale. The goal, they say, is to recycle 100% of the plastic they make.
"Recycling has to get more efficient, more economic. We've got to do a better job collecting the waste, sorting it," says Jim Becker, Chevron Phillips Chemical Co.'s vice president of sustainability. "Five, 10 years ago, the industry response was a little more combative. Today, it truly is not just PR. We don't like to see [waste in the environment] either. We really don't. We want to solve this."
But the more plastic is recycled, the less money the industry will make selling new plastic. And those profits have become increasingly important. Companies have told shareholders that profits from using oil and gas for transport are expected to decline in coming years with better fuel efficiency and the increasing use of electric cars. Industry analysts expect oil and gas demands from the chemicals industry will surpass the demand from the transport side in the coming decade. Plastic production overall is now expected to triple by 2050, and once again, the industry is spending money on ads and public relations to promote plastic and recycling.
Plastic is now more prevalent than it's ever been and harder to recycle. Gas prices remain at historic lows, making new plastic cheaper than recycled plastic. And the industry now produces many more different — and more complex — kinds of plastics that are more costly to sort and in many cases can't be recycled at all. Efforts to reduce plastic consumption are mounting nationwide, but any plan to slow the growth of plastic will face an industry with billions of dollars of future profits at stake.
Plastic Wars, a documentary by Frontline and NPR, premieres March 31 at 10/9c on PBS stations and online. | {
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The century-old Whistle Stop building, a former train depot, is one of Ferguson’s historic landmarks. Law enforcement reported that someone had doused the outside of the building with gasoline.
Nearby, at Ferguson Optical, manager Tim Marrah said he was surprised about the racial tone the protests have taken. He said one of Ferguson’s charms was that it had always been a place where different races mixed.
Of the protesters, Marrah said he didn’t see a need for them to leave but rather to weed out the troublemakers.
“The protests don’t need to go anywhere,” he said. “This thing needs to be resolved. The violence and the property damage is the problem, not the protests.”
Down the street, at Natalie’s Cakes & More, owner Natalie Dubose said she supported people’s right to protest, while acknowledging that the same unrest had essentially dried up the foot traffic that she relies on along South Florissant.
Business really took a dive when the farmers market down the street shut for the season earlier than usual because of the protests.
At one point, Dubose said, she went two weeks without a single customer. | {
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Nearly all of the 2011 funding for the conservative Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, which oversees state news sites nationwide, came from a single foundation that has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to right-wing causes, according to a recent report of the Center for Public Integrity.
CPI detailed that the foundation, Donors Trust, provided 95 percent of the Franklin Center funding in 2011, citing Internal Revenue Service documents. The Center uses that funding to support websites and affiliates providing free statehouse reporting from a “pro-taxpayer, pro-liberty, free market perspective” to local newspapers and other media across the country.
The Center, which Media Matters highlighted in a lengthy July 2012 report, has launched more than 50 news sites covering state government in 39 states since it began in 2009 and claims to provide 10 percent of all state government news in the United States.
Since it was created in 1999, Donors Trust and its affiliated organization, Donors Capital Fund, have raised more than $500 million from various individuals and organizations, among them billionaire industrialist Charles Koch, and doled out $400 million to a constellation of right-wing causes. That includes $86 million distributed in 2011 alone.
Donors Trust gives many of its funding sources a way to hide their donations or “pass-through” money to various right-leaning organizations and media outlets, many of whom promote free-market ideas. The size and character of these donations has earned the group the moniker “the dark money ATM of the conservative movement.”
The $6.3 million donation to the Franklin Center in 2011 was the second-largest gift made that year by Donors Trust. Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund had previously given a combined contribution of $25,000 to the Franklin Center in 2010.
Major Donors Trust contributors include the Charles Koch-controlled Knowledge and Progress Fund.
Marcus Owens, the former director of the IRS Exempt Organizations Division, told CPI, “Koch is among an exclusive pool of donors who have used Donors Trust as a 'pass-through.' It obscures the source of the money. It becomes a grant from Donors Trust, not a grant from the Koch brothers.”
CPI produced this graphic detailing the flow of money in recent years from Koch-backed and other right-wing foundations through Donors Trust to a variety of conservative groups.
The Franklin Center is also staffed by veterans of groups affiliated with Charles Koch and his brother, David.
Steven Greenhut, Franklin Center's vice president of journalism, was listed as a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute, a conservative think tank that has received significant funding from foundations headed by the Koch Brothers.
Other top Franklin Center staffers with current or past Koch ties include Erik Telford, the Franklin Center's vice president of strategic initiatives & outreach; Mary Ellen Beatty, Franklin Center director of citizen outreach; Alicia Barnaby, Coalitions Coordinator; and the Franklin Center's director of development, Matt Hauck.
The group's editors have claimed that their “professional journalism” work is walled off from the organization's more nakedly political operations that include seminars and webinars promoting conservative journalism coverage with staffers from The Daily Caller and TownHall.com. They contend their “pro-taxpayer, pro-liberty, free market perspective” doesn't compromise their accuracy or independence.
Asked about the latest funding revelations, Franklin Center's Director of Communications, Michael Moroney, sought to dispel suggestions that the Center's work is slanted, telling Media Matters in an email statement:
The Franklin Center is arguably the leader in the emerging non-profit journalism sphere and adheres to the highest degree of journalistic integrity. Even our harshest critics have found nothing wrong with our journalism, produced by a professional team of experienced, long-time newspaper reporters and editors. It's no surprise that our work has been used in hundreds of outlets across the country, including progressive-leaning outlets like The Atlantic and MSNBC.
Moroney also wrote that it was “ironic” that Media Matters would cite a report from CPI, which has received funding from a similar organization on the left, the Tides Foundation. The CPI story noted that the organization had received funding from Tides, as has Media Matters.
Mother Jones, whose non-profit arm has also received Tides funding, reports that “Donors Trust's strategic intent is far narrower and more coherent than Tides'. The groups funded by Donors Trust more or less pursue the same agenda--eliminate regulations, kneecap unions, shrink government, and transfer more power to the private sector.”
Many journalism professionals -- even newspaper editors who reprint the work of Franklin Center affiliates in their own pages - have spoken warily of the group's ideological bent.
In Iowa, The Telegraph Herald of Dubuque -- which has been publishing articles from IowaPolitics.com, a Franklin Center site, since April 2011 -- noted reader concerns in a lengthy January 2012 column by Executive Editor Brian Cooper that stated, “we approached their content with caution.”
At least two state legislative correspondent organizations, in Ohio and Idaho, have denied press credentials to Franklin Center reporters because of the organization's conflicts.
As Media Matters reported last year, the Franklin Center has its origins in the Sam Adams Alliance, a non-profit organization that promotes free-market Tea Party-style citizen activism, which “helped launch” the Franklin Center in 2009, reportedly providing the nascent organization with “seed money,” according to the National Journal.
The Franklin Center is not legally required to identify its donors, but disclosure forms from other large conservative grant-making organizations offered a glimpse at the Franklin Center's subsequent funding sources prior to the influx of Donors Trust funding. The Lynne and Harry Bradley Foundation, one of the largest and most influential conservative foundations, awarded the Franklin Center two grants in 2010 worth $190,500, both earmarked for “state-based reporting efforts in Wisconsin,” according to disclosure forms. The Bradley Foundation is also a major Donors Trust funding source. | {
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Prop 70’s resounding defeat signals need for bolder climate leadership
Maricela Morales | Guest columnist
We now know the next governor will be either Gavin Newsom or John Cox.
Newsom has promised to be a voice for environmental justice and to protect climate funds that are dedicated to communities of color and low-income Californians. We know Cox is the oil industry’s favorite, but how real is Newsom’s commitment?
Newsom’s absence from our coalition’s gubernatorial debate on environmental justice in Los Angeles earlier this year gave us reason for concern as to whether he will show up and stand up for issues that impact communities of color. Our families need to know: Will our next governor truly follow the lead of our environmental justice champions, or will it mean more of the same deceptive deals with Big Oil, as was the case with Prop 70?
Low-income residents and communities of color across California are not only on the frontlines of climate change — they’re also at the forefront when it comes to sustainable solutions. But despite our progress in transitioning toward clean energy, powerful Sacramento lobbyists want to keep Californians hooked on fossil fuels rather than enabling community-led solutions like accessible and affordable transportation options. Prop 70, which voters soundly just defeated this month, illustrates this ongoing threat.
If passed, Prop 70 would have senselessly tied up proceeds from California's climate program in endless political gridlock by subjecting it to a two-thirds vote starting in 2024. The very same Big Oil companies that pollute our communities also pushed Prop 70 because they knew imposing a supermajority vote would mean a chance to steer these funds away from some of the programs our communities depend on and toward their own priorities.
In Ventura County, for example, funds have backed direct bus service from Oxnard to Camarillo, affordable housing, plug-in cars and zero-emission transit, solar panels, tree planting, and other investments that boost air quality for everyone.
Investments from our state’s climate program have benefited working families across the state — so far, more than 50 percent of the just under $1 billion spent has benefited disadvantaged communities. These funds have made a difference for service industry workers like Dayane Zuniga, who previously had to commute three hours each way just to get to work. She would board a bus in Oxnard, transferring to two other buses before arriving at her job in Camarillo almost three hours later.
When grassroots leaders from the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) met with local officials and testified at public hearings, the Ventura County Transportation Commission said they lacked the funds to create a direct bus line between the two neighboring cities.
Two years later, they found the money: through proceeds from the state’s climate investments program. Due to advocacy by environmental justice activists, a significant share of this funding is allocated each year to help clean the air and create good local green jobs in the most polluted neighborhoods in the state, including much of Oxnard. With these funds, the county launched a direct bus line between Oxnard and Camarillo. Now, both communities enjoy the benefits of less traffic and cleaner air.
Thanks to the leadership of communities of color fighting to defeat Prop 70, this toxic measure is behind us, but the threat remains. For generations, Ventura County’s electricity has come from fossil fuel power plants that have been concentrated in Oxnard. Industrial pollution in Oxnard contributes to families suffering from some of California’s highest asthma rates.
This also means that when faced with a catastrophe like the Thomas Fire, when the fragile transmission lines stretching from Oxnard go down, power goes out throughout our entire region. These real impacts of climate change in our most vulnerable neighborhoods illustrate that while environmental injustice hurts low-income people most intensely, it ultimately harms everyone in our community.
By leading the defeat of Prop 70, working-class communities of color like Oxnard showed California’s next governor must prioritize the state’s most polluted neighborhoods when crafting climate change and clean air policies.
The message we sent to the next governor with this vote is that real climate leadership means implementing bold, homegrown solutions that directly benefit communities on the frontlines of climate change.
Prop 70’s demise also reveals the next governor should not make deals like this with the oil industry again, jeopardizing critical funding that benefits low-income communities. We need real climate leadership, not more of the same.
Maricela Morales is the Executive Director at the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), and the Central Coast Alternate Representative at the California Coastal Commission. | {
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UNITED NATIONS — Representatives from the United Nations General Assembly announced sanctions against Japan for their continued issues with whale hunting, specifically within the mobile game industry. The industry has been known for targeting certain players referred to as “whales,” who are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on random chance pulls.
“Japanese game makers are targeting poor innocent whales with promises of rate-ups of their favorite characters.” UN said in a press statement. “These dumb creatures don’t understand that they are paying real money for an image they could literally just look up online, within what is literally called a ‘gotcha’ game, and it is our duty to protect these dumb, dumb animals.”
The issue of whaling in Japan drew worldwide attention in March of this year, when Netflix released the anime Children of the Whales. The anime focused on children whose parents are addicted to mobage to the point of neglecting their family. In one particularly heart-wrenching scene, the main character Chakuro is forced to go without food because Granblue Fantasy was running a limited time iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls event.
The UN’s sanctions have drawn sharp criticism from the affected whales themselves, who insist they know what they’re doing. “People don’t understand that these games aren’t just gambling for images, there’s a lot of fun gameplay and strategy that keep people coming back,” said one Fire Emblem Heroes player who spent $500 for a five star picture of Lucina dressed in a bunny outfit.
Meanwhile, American moral guards feel this whaling epidemic is indicative of a failing on the part of Japanese citizens. “This is obviously just gambling, I don’t know how Japanese people can delude themselves this much,” posted one commenter, a few hours after buying several dozen lives in Candy Crush.
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AP - Juan Chen Chen lit up as he recalled a childhood spent romping in the Guatemalan countryside, playing soccer and spinning tops while his parents harvested maize and squash.
But his voice turned somber and his eyes wandered blankly to focus on a nonexistent horizon as he described the events of March 1980, when the army came to town. Chen managed to hide, but others weren't so lucky.
"I saw when they put a bullet in my father's head," he said. "My father was left lying there, and the dogs began to eat his brains. ... It was the soldiers who were providing security for the dam."
He and his surviving family members fled to the mountains of the Central American nation.
Chen's tale is among hundreds of oral histories being collected by the USC Shoah Foundation, founded by American director Steven Spielberg. When completed, it will be the most comprehensive repository of eyewitness accounts from Guatemala's 1960-1996 civil conflict in which some 245,000 people were killed or disappeared, most of them by soldiers and paramilitary gangs.
It's the Shoah Foundation's first time working in Latin America after gathering 52,000 accounts from the Nazi Holocaust, genocides in Armenia (1915-23) and Rwanda (1994) and the 1937 Nanking Massacre in China.
The foundation based at the University of Southern California has already recorded 100 testimonies from the conflict and plans to gather at least 500 in cooperation with the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala. The remaining oral histories will be collected in 2016 with the aim of completing the project the following year.
Fredy Peccerelli, director of the Forensic Anthropology Foundation, said the goal is to tell the stories "that nobody wants to know about, without either political or ideological filters," and paint a retrospective portrait of life before, during and after the war.
Toward that end, workers are fanning out into the countryside to interview people such as Chen, an indigenous Achi man who survived the massacres in Rio Negro, Baja Verapaz department, about 110 miles (175 kilometers) north of Guatemala City.
"We are farmers," Chen told interviewer Yeni de Leon, recalling how he met his arranged bride, Margarita, on their wedding day. He was 17, she 15. "We always lived well. There was no violence until then."
Open gallery view In this Dec. 11, 2015 photo, Fernando Osorio, a surviver of the Rio Negro massacre, poses for photos after giving his testimony to the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation FAFG in Guatemala. Credit: AP
But the army suddenly showed up asking about people who supposedly had stolen equipment from government workers who were building the Chixoy dam. There was an argument and the soldiers killed seven community leaders, touching off years of terror in the tiny town. Activists say the government sought to force residents out of the area to avoid conflicts over the construction and caused thousands of deaths.
Chen said he was forced to join patrols, but still was thrown behind bars and tortured.
"Look at my hands, here I have a scar. Look at my leg, that's where they stuck the knife in," the 58-year-old said, weeping. "They accused us of being guerrillas. ... It wasn't true."
Chen says he now wants justice, noting that some of the people who tortured him live nearby.
But justice for civil-war abuses has been hard to come by in Guatemala. Many military figures accused of ordering or carrying out mass killings still walk free decades later.
Several attempts to prosecute former dictator Efrain Rios Montt and his then-intelligence chief for the killing of 1,771 indigenous Ixil people by security forces under his 1982-83 government have balked. A new genocide prosecution is set to begin in January, but it cannot result in any punishment for Rios Montt because he has been deemed unfit to stand trial for health reasons.
According to a report by Recovery of Historic Memory, at least 422 massacres occurred nationwide during the conflict. Human rights organizations say northern Guatemala and indigenous communities in particular suffered the brunt of the killings.
Fernando Osorio, 70, also survived the Rio Negro massacre and spent two years in the mountains, surviving by eating whatever he could find. Perched on a chair in his dirt-floor adobe home, he recounted in halting Spanish the horrors he witnessed.
"My children were still little," said Osorio. "They grabbed them like cats and smashed them against a pine tree." | {
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An der engen Wohlfartstraße hat ein Mann regelmäßig Falschparker auf dem Gehweg angezeigt. Jetzt reagiert die Stadt und verhängt abschnittsweise Halteverbote. Der Ärger der Anwohner ist groß
Von Annette Jäger, Freimann
Im Gerangel um Platz auf Straße und Gehweg hat das Kreisverwaltungsreferat (KVR) an der Wohlfartstraße in Freimann eine Lösung im Interesse der Fußgänger umgesetzt: Autos dürfen nicht mehr halb auf dem Gehweg parken, sie müssen komplett auf der schmalen Fahrbahn abgestellt werden. Damit es dort nicht zu eng wird, hat die Behörde Anfang August Halteverbotsschilder aufgestellt. Jetzt ist nur noch einseitiges Parken im Wechsel erlaubt. Während sich die Fußgänger freuen, zeigen sich autofahrende Anwohner wütend und enttäuscht. Sie hatten sich eine Legalisierung des jahrelang geduldeten Gehwegparkens gewünscht. Der Streit ist exemplarisch: Auch in anderen Stadtgebieten werden die Verkehrsflächen knapp, Interessen prallen aufeinander.
Thomas Nindl wohnt in der Wohlfartstraße und ist sauer. "Argumente zählen nicht", lautet sein Vorwurf an das Kreisverwaltungsreferat. Als im Mai die Frage, wo in der Wohlfartstraße künftig geparkt werden darf, im Bezirksausschuss im Beisein von rund 40 Anwohnern debattiert wurde, stand am Ende ein klares Votum: Das Gremium sprach sich für eine pragmatische Lösung aus, nämlich dafür, das seit Jahren verbotene, aber fleißig praktizierte Halb-auf-dem-Gehsteig-Parken zu legalisieren. Damit bleibe noch immer genug Platz für Fußgänger und für Autos gebe es ausreichend Stellplätze, so die Einschätzung.
Die Behörde folgte der Empfehlung des Bezirksausschusses jedoch nicht und verbannte die Autos auf die Fahrbahn. Links und rechts im Wechsel gilt seit Anfang August abschnittsweise absolutes Halteverbot. "Die Gesamtbreite der Straße reicht für beidseitiges Gehwegparken nicht aus", heißt es in der Stellungnahme des KVR. Die Straßenverkehrsordnung erlaube das Gehwegparken nur unter der Bedingung, dass ungehinderter Verkehr von Fußgängern - auch mit Kinderwagen - und von Rollstuhlfahrern - auch im Begegnungsverkehr - möglich ist. Das sei an der Wohlfartstraße nicht gegeben.
Gunhilde Peter, Vorsitzende der SPD München-Freimann und Mitglied im Bezirksausschuss, begrüßt das Halteverbot: "Wir sollten uns langsam daran gewöhnen, dass die ,autogerechte Stadt' der 70er-Jahre der Vergangenheit angehört", schreibt sie in einer Stellungnahme. Gerade die Gehsteige müssten wieder von den Fußgängern zurückerobert werden.
"Das ist eine Riesenenttäuschung in der Nachbarschaft", fasst dagegen Nindl die Reaktion der autofahrenden Anwohner zusammen. Wer dort sein Auto abstelle, wohne auch dort. In der Vergangenheit, als Gehwegparken noch geduldet war, habe man sich miteinander arrangiert. Viele Ein- und Mehrfamilienhäuser stammten aus einer Zeit, als es noch weniger und kleinere Autos gab. In die kleinen Garagen passe maximal ein Golf, sagt Nindl. Das Gehwegparken sei sozusagen Selbsthilfe gewesen.
In Gang kam der Streit um Parkplätze an der Wohlfartstraße, weil ein Mann aus dem Landkreis Freising es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht hat, Autos bei der Polizei zu melden, die halb auf dem Gehsteig parken. Es folgten Strafzettel, die Anwohner parkten fortan legal auf der Fahrbahn, was aber zu Verkehrsbehinderungen führte, schließlich ordnete das KVR die Halteverbote an.
Mit der neuen Regelung fielen mindestens 25 Parkplätze weg, rechnen Nindl und eine Nachbarin vor, die nicht namentlich genannt werden will. Im Moment sei das wegen der Ferienzeit und aufgrund der Spielpause des Metropoltheaters an der Ecke zur Floriansmühlstraße noch zu verkraften. Aber nach den Sommerferien werde es zum Problem werden. Das KVR hält dagegen: Es seien keine legalen Parkplätze weggefallen. Vielmehr hätten sich die Anwohner durch das illegale Gehwegparken selbst Parkplätze geschaffen, die eigentlich keine seien. Man habe sich bemüht, die Halteverbote so einzurichten, dass möglichst viele legale Parkmöglichkeiten entstanden seien.
Der Streit an der Wohlfartstraße zeigt ein größeres Problem. Nach Aussagen des Kreisverwaltungsreferats gibt es geschätzt Hunderte Straßen in Münchner Wohngebieten, in denen auf dem Gehweg geparkt wird. Es liegen mehrere Anträge von Stadtratsmitgliedern vor, die zum Ziel haben, das zunehmende Gehwegparken zu reduzieren. Ein Argument ist, dass Fußgänger sich in Gefahr begeben, wenn sie auf die Fahrbahn ausweichen müssen. Für Personen im Rollstuhl oder mit Rollatoren sind die zugeparkten Gehwege ein unüberwindbares Hindernis.
In den betroffenen Straßen scheint man sich jedoch wie einst an der Wohlfartstraße mit der Situation arrangiert zu haben. Laut Kreisverwaltungsreferent Thomas Böhle gibt es nur wenige Beschwerden. Außerdem verlagere sich das Problem meist einfach in die nächste Straße, wenn das KVR Halteverbotsschilder aufstelle. Die Zahl der Autos sinkt ja nicht.
Seit Anfang August weichen auch Thomas Nindl und seine Nachbarn von der Wohlfartstraße zum Parken in die Nebenstraßen aus. Manchmal finde sich jetzt morgens ein Zettel an der Windschutzscheibe, auf dem die dortigen Anwohner "ihren" Parkraum verteidigen. Für Nindl und seine Nachbarin ist der Streit noch nicht zu Ende. | {
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Tried deploying Cloud Computing, already? Or are you still on the lookout to keep your business operations top-notch with optimal investments? Then, it’s about time you considered Cloud Computing for your needs.
Cloud Computing technology allows running your applications and programs online through public or private network connections. It offers a first-rate scalable infrastructure that does it all - store, execute or analyze data directly on the internet. Not only does this free up the memory space, it also lessens the load on your local computers saving time and improving efficiency in the process.
Cloud Computing came into existence relatively recently about a decade ago and quickly forayed into the realm of innovative technology. This got everyone excited! But with excitement there’s also concerns and skepticism that people were considering. Some of the most common questions were:
What is Cloud Computing?
How does it work?
Is it like the Internet?
How can I use the Cloud?
Is Data safe in the Cloud?
In retrospect this does sound funny today, but these questions were relevant back in the day. Just as buried seeds sprout into a seedling maturing into a plant, Cloud Computing too has gradually metamorphosed – from emerging technology to the mainstream.
That’s an interesting fact to note. Today, several organizations and businesses have begun using Cloud Computing applications and platforms as the go-to IT infrastructure to enforce the foundation of their new and established digital businesses.
According to research, this trend is likely to continue to influence the IT market in the coming years. We are going through a transition period of Cloud Computing today.
But, “what makes Cloud Computing thrive? And will moving IT operations to the cloud help your business be more profitable?”
Picture this, once upon a time, we could send and receive emails using a program installed on your PC called mail client. Then with the arrival of web-based service like Hotmail, emails were pushed to the cloud. Today, this has scaled and become more widely acceptable. Now, we all use this tactic to store and process emails in the Cloud which is convenient for those who are always on-the-go.
Here are five benefits that Cloud Computing offers to help you get a clearer view of the bigger picture:
1. Highly Cost Efficient
Cloud Computing prevents the upfront cost of installing software applications and hardware systems into your PC. Additionally, it also reduces the risk of running obsolete software which might be inefficient for your business operating needs.
Additionally, moving your business operations to the cloud saves your CapEx costs in the ongoing maintenance & support, and physical security required for running your own physical data center. Since, downtime is rare in cloud system; it also reduces your additional charge in handling potential issues related to downtime.
2. Mobility
Mobility is another important benefit of using Cloud Computing. Cloud Computing enables end users to access stored data from any devices. This feature keeps you instantly connected and updated with your clients and co-workers. On top of that, any changes or upgrades can be done automatically, which significantly reduces time and effort of managing data on the cloud.
3. Advanced Data Security
For every organization, the biggest concern is data security. Cloud offers advanced level of data security compared to traditional in-house systems. This is possible because of access control, encryption and authentication, which makes data less accessible to unauthorized users. Cloud services come with multiple security features that can be easily customized based on the security level required.
While sharing sensitive information in the Cloud, you can limit the access to a third-party by simply giving a read-only access. This way they cannot tamper or share your information to external parties keeping your data protected from human risk of impairment.
On the other hand, all activities in the Cloud are constantly audited and monitored by Cloud Service Providers to assure all the security standards are met.
4. Disaster Recovery
Data recovery is a prerequisite for any organization. Losing important data can destroy your business. Cloud assures that data is always accessible from other alternative mediums even when your laptop, smartphone or other device is damaged. Moreover, during power outage or in moments of crises, data stored in the Cloud is safe, secured and can be easily recovered.
5. Scalable and Flexible
Cloud Computing is an ideal solution for businesses that need fluctuating bandwidth demands. You can quickly and efficiently scale-up/down your Cloud capacity without investing in the physical IT infrastructure.
It’s more along the lines of the pay-as-you-go system. Billing for Cloud services works pretty much the way you pay bills for gas or power at home. It is quite agile and scalable letting you have instant access to data and scaled-up computing power, once done you can simply release it back to the cloud.
This scalability ensures that you have high-performance resources at your disposal with minimal investment.
These Cloud Computing benefits will render more profitability and growth to your business in the coming years. Moving your business operations to the Cloud promises higher ROI. Thinking of exploring? Then, get in touch with our cloud experts at Cygnet today on +1-609-245-0971 or [email protected]. | {
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Café da tarde Bolo de cenoura com cobertura de chocolate | {
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Eighteen of the school’s 1,500 pupils were made to wear the discs. They were withdrawn after protests by angry parents and community leaders, who said they were reminiscent of the yellow stars Jews were forced to wear under the Nazi occupation. | {
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Awesome chest tattoo wrok of Diablo from Blizzard games done by tattoo artist Sasha Enaken from Moscow | {
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Former President Fernando Collor de Mello says Brazil will stand with Iran like other member states of BRICS, the association of five major emerging economies, in the face of US sanctions.
Collor de Mello, currently the head of the Committee of Foreign Affairs and National Defense at Brazil's Federal Senate, made the remarks during a meeting with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in Tehran late Saturday.
The senator stressed that Brazil like other BRICS members - namely Russia, India, China and South Africa - stands by Iran and seeks to develop bilateral relations in the fields of economy and trade.
The former Brazilian president also called for the enhancement of parliamentary ties between Tehran and Brasilia.
Collor de Mello further said the international community and the UN should not remain silent while measures taken by US President Donald Trump imperil global relations.
He touched on fresh US sanctions on Latin American countries, including Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, saying those measures will never resolve problems.
Larijani, for his part, hailed Brazil's position on the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
He also underlined the need to develop industrial, agricultural and banking cooperation between the two countries as he slammed Washington's "adventurism" with regard to the JCPOA.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration unleashed a second round of sanctions against Iran. The punitive measures targeted 700 individuals, banks, aircraft, ships and companies tied to Iran’s energy and financial industries.
They came months after Washington scrapped the nuclear accord despite international objections.
The first round of the anti-Iran bans – which had been lifted under the accord -- were re-imposed in August. | {
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Chromophobic and filled with spikes, Here Comes Launchman looks like a cousin of VVVVVV, but now that developers The Layabouts have made an alpha demo available, it’s possible to defy that comparison by actually playing the game. It’s true that in the afternoon I’ve spent with it, more time than I care to remember has involved evaporating upon contact with tapering points of instant murder and I have at times been taken aback by a sudden shift of the entire colour palette, but where VVVVVV demanded precision and had controls tuned for such, Launchman has a more bouncy and loose approach to life (and death). See for yourself with the demo, or follow me to more words across the inconveniently placed gap below.
Did everybody make it? Oh dear. Several readers appear to have mistimed their jump and exploded into a cloud of pixels. Moving swiftly on, let’s discuss what they should have done and what, presumably, the rest of you all did. They should have launched themselves and, yes, admittedly I should have told them that before they ran flailing into the abyss. No matter.
If they’d followed the example of Launchman, they would have been able to choose a trajectory and a power before releasing themselves like a cannon ball, skidding to a halt somewhere safe and friendly. Perhaps an armchair in front of a cheery open fire.
Actually, scratch that, because the momentum of the launch is carried through into the landing so they might have toppled straight into the fire. Better to land somewhere safer, like a padded cell. Then, to escape, they could use their telekinetic abilities to operate the lever outside the door.
Maybe it’s a surprise to you that Launchman can manipulate objects from afar. I’ll be honest, if I could launch myself hurtling through the air and also had telekinetic powers, I wouldn’t be called Launchman, I’d be called The Uncanny Mind Fondler but given the spike- and pit-laden world the poor blighter lives in, I can understand why the launching seems so important to him.
Whatever the name, the demo has done a bloody good job of convincing me that this is one man I’d like to become better acquainted with. The levels are cleverly designed and never too complex, with most of the challenge coming from the act of traversing the space rather than figuring out what to do next. And the looseness of motion, both when hurling an object and hurling yourself, doesn’t lead to frustration thanks to the ability to apply the brakes at any time, halting motion and allowing for a little more delicacy.
The two abilities combine throughout the levels and before long, switching between them, wall jumping, and screaming curses as a fragile weight is hurled and shatters against a button instead of depressing it are all common occurrences. Actually, I didn’t scream, curse or otherwise, a single time. There’s very little suffering and very little repetition, with few levels taking me more than a couple of attempts, but there are enough mechanics on display already, with elements overlapping and new ideas being introduced, to hint at trials to come.
Also, despite this being an alpha demo, nothing seemed to be missing or broken. The only slightly nigglesome aspect was the length of the tutorial, during which text sometimes refused to advance any faster, no matter how many buttons I hammered. Developers should take note: my approach to interactive tutorials is often to sit politely for thirty seconds and then to hammer every button on my keyboard. I refuse to learn anything unless it is written in a book or emerging from the face of a wizened professor. | {
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TAMPA, Fla. — When I sat down with Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois before the season for an extensive chat, I asked some questions that might have been unthinkable six months ago during the team’s historic, 62-win season.
Is there any added pressure on coach Jon Cooper this year following last year’s playoff disappointment? And could his job be in danger?
But BriseBois, who signed Cooper to a three-year extension in March, remained bullish on his head coach even after the stunning playoff sweep and wasn’t going to waver now.
“I wouldn’t consider his seat very warm in terms of job security at all,” BriseBois said.
Why is this subject coming up? Well, with the Lightning off to a slow and inconsistent start — they’re 4-3-1 heading into Wednesday’s showdown with the Penguins — there has been plenty of frustration voiced by fans. So much so that when I solicited questions for... | {
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Teenage In Mesh Nylons Torn Up Rock-hard
Stasy wears mesh tights as a result of teen is aware of that her bf luvs this fetish attire. Originally, Stasy will fellate his massive man meat after which teen will give him the golf green gentle to her hospitable puss. The boy pulls down her tights and boinks her trimmed puss as rock-hard as it is imaginable. Stasy will get awarded his steamy spunk in spite of everything. | {
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New candidates take TUSC within sight of BBC's 'fair coverage' threshold
The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national steering committee has approved a further thirty candidates to stand under the TUSC umbrella in the local council elections taking place on May 22nd.
This brings the total figure up to 506 - with the number of councils with TUSC candidates also increasing, from 80 last week to 85 now. Most importantly, with more applications arriving even since the latest approvals broke the 500 barrier, TUSC is now less than a hundred candidates short of reaching the BBC's threshold for 'fair media coverage' in the official election period.
The full list of the candidates so far, presented in a regional breakdown and including the latest applications agreed, can be found at www.tusc.org.uk/txt/294.pdf.
There is still time to come forward as a candidate. The official nomination papers have to be handed in by Thursday 24th April. That means nomination forms could be collected from your council next week, with plenty of opportunities remaining to get ten electors in the ward where you want to stand to sign your form (see the guidance notes for TUSC candidates and agents on electoral procedures on the TUSC website at http://www.tusc.org.uk/txt/283.pdf ). Reports have come in that candidates have got their forms signed in just an hour's door-knocking, such is the anger at the establishment politicians.
The other formal requirement to appear on the ballot paper as a TUSC candidate is to get a 'Certificate of Authorisation' from TUSC. That means completing the council candidate authorisation application form available on the Candidates page of the TUSC website at http://www.tusc.org.uk/candidates.php and e-mailing it as soon as possible to Clive Heemskerk, the TUSC National Election Agent, at [email protected]
This is also a political requirement for TUSC, signifying that prospective candidates have signed up to the TUSC Local Elections Policy Platform, which commits candidates, amongst other points, to oppose all cuts to council jobs, services, pay and conditions if they were elected (see http://www.tusc.org.uk/policy for the full platform).
It remains to be seen what the BBC would describe as 'fair media coverage' for this platform, a bold alternative to the austerity consensus. But getting TUSC at least to the negotiating stage is now within reach. | {
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy has been charged in an incident of alleged domestic violence involving his girlfriend.
Hardy was officially charged with assault on a female and communicating threats.
WSOC-TV in Charlotte first was told of the arrest by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
"We are very disappointed to learn of the allegations involving Greg and are concerned for all parties as we continue to investigate," the Panthers said in a statement.
Hardy will spend Tuesday night in jail and appear in front of a judge at 9 a.m. ET Wednesday, court officials told ESPN.com. | {
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On Glee, Naya Rivera plays everybody’s favorite cage-dancing lesbian cheerleader. In real life she’s expanding into music and movies while finding time to kick it with Big Sean. Looks like she’s playing her cards right.
This feature appears in Complex's August/September 2013 issue.
Naya Rivera sits at a table at the outdoor patio of Coast, an oceanfront restaurant within the sunny Santa Monica hotel Shutters on the Beach. She’s waiting for her French 77, a cocktail made with champagne, a lemon twist, and St. Germain Elderflower liqueur.
She’s clad in a long black cotton dress and oversize sunglasses, with her hair in a bun, held in place by a black headband. Wearing just a touch of foundation and mascara, Naya doesn’t mean to intimidate, although it’s hard not to be taken aback by her beauty. She’s got the presence you’d expect of a celebrity: Her face is expressionless as she scans the emails on her phone one last time before burying it in her black Prada bag. Sitting tall with her legs crossed, she is quiet, collected, and perfectly postured. But the poised moment doesn’t last.
The waiter returns with bad news: “I’m so sorry, we don’t have any Elderflower on hand for your 77.”
“Oh no? It’s OK. I’ll just take house champagne then,” she replies graciously. Spotting a glass cylinder of plastic-wrapped sticks in the middle of the table, Naya asks, “Do you guys have sushi, too? Is that why there are chopsticks here?”
“Those are breadsticks,” the waiter says.
“Oh, breadsticks. Right,” Naya replies in a cartoonish voice, laughing with embarrassment as she sinks into her chair, hand held to her forehead.
“Trust me, honey, if we had sushi I’d be 10 pounds heavier,” the waiter says, trying to ease the tension. No need though; she’s already over it.
On Friday nights, me and my friend Madison would stand outside the liquor store and bribe older people walking by to buy us wine coolers to drink while we watched The Notebook.
The waiter treats her like he knows she’s a big deal, and he’s right—Naya Rivera’s got all the makings of a soon-to-be household name: She’s the biggest star on the Emmy-winning TV powerhouse Glee, amassing a cult-like fan base for her portrayal of feisty lesbian cheerleader Santana Lopez. She just finished filming her first movie, the horror flick Home, and she’s getting ready to drop her as-yet-untitled debut album. With her career on the verge of a major tipping point, you’d expect Naya to come equipped with some serious diva-type tendencies. So why the hell is she so cool? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that she was working full-time as a babysitter when she got cast for Glee five years ago. “I was still a nanny up until the third episode of season one,” she recalls. “I didn’t work that much and I didn’t know if I would still be around.” She only quit her babysitting gig after show creator Ryan Murphy convinced the network to make her a series regular.
With such a rapid rise, Naya is still feeling her way around celebrity. “If I wasn’t famous, I’d be on OkCupid,” she says. “All my friends are.” But Naya is famous, and she’s doing pretty well for herself in the relationship department—as her Instagram feed and numerous red carpet photos of her and her boyfriend Big Sean can attest. But today she has a different lunch companion.
“I feel like we’re on a date,” she jokes, mockingly sitting up straight in her chair. “Dates are nerve-racking. They’re weird. They’re like interviewing someone. They’re torture.”
Although the 26-year-old’s daily existence keeps her deep in the heart of La-La land, Naya is determined to keep it real. “Is it weird that I just want hummus and pita?” she continues, ditching her sushi plans. “Which I don’t see here—what was I saying?” As she chats away about family, friends, and music (faves include Big Sean, of course, Future, Robin Thicke, Lil Wayne, and Major Lazer), it becomes clear that she’s the rarest of Hollywood types: a young starlet who’s genuinely down-to-earth. Just don’t mistake her kindness for weakness.
"Naya isn’t afraid to go for and speak to what she wants,” says her Glee co-star Dianna Agron, who plays head cheerleader Quinn Fabray on the show. “Maybe there was a time in her life when this wasn’t the case, but all I have ever seen is a fearlessness to entertain and to be who she wants to be.”
Naya Marie Rivera grew up in Valencia, Calif., a cookie-cutter Los Angeles suburb, with her mother, father, and two younger siblings, Nickayla, now an 18-year-old fashion model, and Mychal, a 22-year-old tight end for the Oakland Raiders. Her mother, Yolanda Rivera, a former model, got her firstborn daughter an agent “straight out of the womb.” Naya’s first gig was a KMart commercial where she crawled across the screen in a diaper. She followed that with a starring role on the quickly canceled sitcom The Royal Family, and guest spots on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Family Matters.
Despite being on TV as a kid, Naya confesses that she didn’t have classmates lining up to be her friend—much less asking for her autograph. “I wish I had more fun in high school,” she says. “I wasn’t allowed to hang out with the black kids because they thought I wasn’t black enough, which was a problem.” Naya’s dad, George, is Puerto Rican and her half-German, half-African-American mother was strict, religious, and didn’t let her go out much. “On Friday nights, me and my friend Madison would stand outside the liquor store and bribe older people walking by to buy us wine coolers to drink while we watched The Notebook,” says Naya. She’s still a homebody who prefers to throw pool parties at her Los Feliz home rather than hit the clubs.
“I don’t understand how someone can be that funny, talented, and hot,” says her friend and Glee co-star Kevin McHale. It’s hard to believe Naya wasn’t a hit with the boys in high school, but she has her own horror story to prove it.
Naya’s prom date was a guy on the football team. “He started talking about how skinny I was,” she recalls. “All of his friends were like, ‘You need a thick girl.’ He was grinding on every other girl at the dance while I sat alone at the table, looking like a señorita.” She whips her head back and cups her hand to the side of her head, suggesting the ginormous flower she wore in her hair that night, à la Anita in West Side Story. “I didn’t even dance,” she says. “It was horrible.”
“Then he said, ‘So are you coming to the hotel?’ And I was like, ‘No, my dad is picking me up. On top of that, you’re trying to have sex with me? How rude are you?’” she says. The only time she speaks with her hands is when something pisses her off. Whoever that guy was, he must be kicking himself right now. But Naya insists she’s not bitter. “Best believe I’ll be at that reunion though.”
After lunch, which ends up being a plate of chips and guacamole, Naya heads to her weekly pedicure. Instead of her usual spot, she’s getting her toes done at ONE, a luxury spa in the Shutters hotel. The aroma of acetone and lavender permeates the private wood-paneled room, which is marked by two small porcelain tubs for soaking your feet. It doesn’t look like she needs the treatment. Her naturally bronze skin is so spotless you’d swear it was expertly Photoshopped. But she undoes the straps on her black Prada sandals anyway.
Kissing a girl was a little awkward just because we had a million grips, and all the guys wanted to visit the set that day. Heather and I just laughed it off.
“I love that they’re playing Billie Holiday,” she says, leafing through a copy of L.A. Confidential.
What begins as small talk between Naya and Traci, the older, aproned, African-American pedicurist, escalates into a history lesson about civil rights in L.A. “It’s like that with gay marriage now,” Naya remarks, sending Traci on a riff about Sir Lady Java, a 1960s transgender woman famous for her performances at the Redd Foxx Club. It’s not exactly a Zen topic, but Rivera doesn’t mind. She knows a thing or two about being a gay icon.
Ever since Glee’s 2009 pilot, Naya Rivera has played Santana Lopez, one of the most irresistible characters on television. She’s the show’s resident badass, capable of eviscerating anyone with her wit just as easily as she hypnotizes them with her palpable sexuality, which is as thick as the smog over Los Angeles. She’s also a lesbian—and it’s not just a phase. Her coming-out scene in season two became one of the hallmarks of the entire series. Santana’s relationship with her best friend, Brittany (played by actress Heather Morris), has been dubbed “Brittana” and it’s a frequent trending topic on Twitter. The pair are so beloved that their break-up last season sent many younger viewers into hysteria, some of whom sent death threats to Ryan Murphy.
“Having gay characters makes a difference, especially when you are a teenager and you need people to look up to,” Naya says as Traci nods in agreement. “Your world feels so small. The tiniest thing can make you think, ‘I’m gonna die!’ I’m glad Glee is around for people dealing with something that big in such a small world. It’s important.”
Despite Naya’s devout Christian upbringing, the announcement of Santana’s sexuality didn’t prompt her family to ship her off to Jesus Camp. “My mother believes in God but she’s the most nonjudgmental, cool person I know,” she says. “There was absolutely no problem.”
Nor did Naya have any apprehension about kissing her female co-star on camera. “Kissing a girl was a little awkward just because we had a million grips, and all the guys wanted to visit the set that day,” she jokes. “Heather and I just laughed it off.”
Santana seems to get hotter and hotter with each passing year. By the end of season four, she was doing her best Jennifer-Beals-in-Flashdance-meets-Piper-Perabo-in-Coyote-Ugly impression. That is to say, she dropped out of college to bartend and cage dance just to get by in New York, putting her hopes of becoming a professional dancer on hold. Oh, and she’s also girlfriend-less, which has left some former Brittana loyalists blogging about their ideal pick for Santana’s next lady love. Naya’s got her own ideas.
“It would be funny if she had a girlfriend who had Lena Dunham’s personality,” she says. “She’s been crying for two seasons now. I’d like her to just have fun.”
Naya’s content to leave her character to the Glee showrunners as she begins her transition to the big screen. This year she wrapped her first feature film, the Nicholas McCarthy–directed thriller Home. “It was crazy,” Rivera says, laughing. “There were stunts and prosthetics involved, but there wasn’t much screaming. It’s not a jumpy film.” Instead, Home deals with demons and devilish behavior. “It’s more like, ‘That’s messed up.’”
Before she gets back in front of the camera—Glee starts filming season five in August—Naya’s busy recording her debut album, which she’s co-writing with Jaden Michaels, who’s worked with Carly Rae Jepsen and Cody Simpson.
As anyone who’s seen Naya perform Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie” on Glee will agree, the girl is no gimmick behind the mic. She credits her dad, a former Universal Music Publishing employee who’d sneak her into the studio to lay down demos when she was a teenager.
Naya describes her album as “feel-good music for hanging out,” comparing it to early Destiny’s Child. “If you were having a summer barbecue, this would be the perfect album to play.”
After the soaking and scrubbing and foot-filing, Traci asks what color Naya would like for her toes. She requests Big Apple Red, but then decides on Vodka Caviar instead. She needs something hot to fit tomorrow’s strip-poker themed shoot.
“I want to be like Betty White—90 years old and still killing it,” Naya says. “What keeps people like that alive?”
“She can’t retire,” Traci says. “She retires, she’ll die.”
Naya’s eyes light up at the thought. “Did we just predict my fate?”
The next morning, Naya arrives in her white Range Rover at the West Hollywood photo studio, right on time for her cover shoot. After a couple of hours in hair and makeup, she tiptoes out of her dressing room looking like she hopped out of a 1960s Lucky Strike ad. Sipping on a glass of rosé through a pink straw, she waits for her cue. Her legs are thin and toned, like a Rodeo Drive mannequin. Her abs look like they’re straight out of a Pilates video. The crew around her whispers in awe.
I knew songs like ‘Ass’ because it was huge, but I never knew what [Big Sean] looked like. If I ran into him, I wouldn’t have known who he was.
Midway through the shoot, Big Sean shows up, dressed in an oversize camo jacket, dark jeans, and black adidas sneakers. As soon as the photographer calls for a break, Naya saunters over and engulfs him in a lingering hug. They don’t care who’s watching.
Naya first became aware of Sean through his music. “I knew songs like ‘Ass’ because it was huge, but I never knew what he looked like. If I ran into him, I wouldn’t have known who he was,” she says. “I was with my brother at his senior game in Tennessee and we were in his car going to get dinner. He played ‘Mula’ from Sean’s mixtape and I was like, ‘What is this song? Who is this?’ And he was like, ‘This is Big Sean.’ I said, ‘This is awesome, where do I get this?’” Before long she was hitting up Dat Piff for the first time. “It took me forever to get the music from my computer to my phone,” she recalls. She plays coy about how they actually hooked up though. “I ended up randomly meeting him. I told him that story the other day and we were still cracking up.”
Asked if Sean’s still as sensitive as the man who broke down in tears during his first major show in Detroit, Naya says: “He’s a sweetheart, but he’s not a little bitch.” She admits, though, that he “cried super hard” while watching Santana’s coming-out episode of Glee.
The pair has been together for a few months now. They make ample time for each other despite their hectic schedules. “With anything that you want, you’ll work at it and make the time for it,” she says. Together, they can be spotted everywhere from the Hollywood red carpet to the Hawaiian coast.
“She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Sean says in almost a whisper, as she steps back in front of the camera. “She’s one of those people that you can connect to, and I think she’s going to be a superstar.”
He may be onto something. Whoever comes across Naya in person or on screen either wants to be her or be with her. She’s the kind of person you want to know more about, and she’ll gladly tell you. “I feel like I’m a pretty open person and I’m never purposely not going to share things because I don’t have anything to hide,” she says. “If I feel like shouting from the rooftops, then I’ll do it.” Here’s hoping she never loses her balance.
ADDITIONAL CREDITS: (STYLING) Taylor Jacobson. (PROP STYLING) Lisa Bazadona. (HAIR) Clyde Haygood. (MAKEUP) Jo Baker. (MANICURIST) Karen Gutierrez. (CLOTHING) OPENING SPREAD: Tuxedo by Giorgio Armani / Shirt by Dolce & Gabbana / Necklace by Simon G / Right hand rings by ForeverMark and Neil Lane / Left hand rings by Effy Jewelry, Le Vian, and ForeverMark. FOLLOWING SPREAD: Bra by Dolce & Gabbana. PREVIOUS SPREAD: Bra and panties by Dolce & Gabbana / Pants by Pinup Couture / Shoes by Saint Laurent / Earrings by Neil Lane. THIS SPREAD: Halter top and pants by Emilio Pucci / Necklace and earrings by Ben-Amun by Isaac Manevitz / Left hand bracelet by Ben-Amun by Isaac Menevitz / Left hand rings by Neil Lane and ForeverMark / Right hand bracelets by Charriol and Jacob & Co.
WATCH NAYA RIVERA'S BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO HERE: | {
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Protesting Grandpa Climbs Tree, Again, to Stop Trans Mountain Pipeline
submitted to Earth First! Newswire
Monday, April 29, 2019
Unceded Coast Salish Territory (Burnaby, BC) — Early this morning, Terry Christenson, a 71-year-old grandfather of two and former Juno nominee, scaled a tree inside the Westridge Marine Terminal that has an eagle deterrent on it and erected a mid-air camp to protest the Trans Mountain Pipeline. This is the second time Christenson has protested the pipeline.
“I’m doing this for all of the grandchildren of the world. Climate change is an issue that will impact my grandchildren much more than it will impact me,” said Christenson. “Canada is already on the path to clean energy and we must continue to diversify our economy — not build more dirty pipelines. I’m here today to ensure Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hears this message loud and clear.”
Christenson, dubbed the “protesting grandpa,” was arrested for a similar protest in March 2018 in Burnaby, which came one week after a massive march against the pipeline that brought thousands of people to the streets of Burnaby. Christenson’s 2018 protest was part of a week of action organized by Protect the Inlet to slow pipeline construction ahead of a tree clearing deadline. Police removed Christenson from the tree after more than 16 hours.
Trans Mountain places eagle deterrents in trees on several of its properties in order to prevent eagles from nesting in trees where they have in the past, which could potentially interfere with any planned tree clearing activities if pipeline construction resumes.
“Orcas were spotted swimming through Burrard Inlet just last week — showing exactly what we are trying to protect in our opposition to the Trans Mountain Pipeline. We stand up for those that can’t speak, but they are communicating with us,” said Will George, a member of Tsleil-Waututh Nation and guardian of Kwekwecnewtxw, the Watch House, and Protect the Inlet. “I support anyone who wants to take action against the pipeline. We will continue to do whatever it takes to protect our families — and your families — from the threats this project poses to our waters, our lands, and our health.”
This time around, Christenson said he is again committed to staying in the tree for as long as possible.
“I care deeply about this land, the coast, the water, and all the animals and people who could be impacted by a devastating oil spill,” said Christenson. “The Trans Mountain Pipeline doesn’t have the consent of many of the First Nations it passes through. Thousands of people, including myself, aren’t going to stand by and let it get built.”
More than 27,000 people have pledged to do “whatever it takes” to stop the Trans Mountain Pipeline. From March through August 2018, around 230 people with Protect the Inlet and other environmental groups were arrested for violating an injunction demonstrating against the pipeline, with more than 30 serving jail time after receiving sentences in BC Supreme Court. Trans Mountain suspended construction on the pipeline in August 2018 after the Federal Court of Appeal overturned its approval of the project. | {
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Tens of thousands of Capetonians are making their way to Parliament in support of Palestinians.
CAPE TOWN - The Cape Town city centre is a hive of activity as tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators continue making their way to Parliament.
Many protesters say the march is to highlight the plight of Palestinians as a war continues to rage in Gaza.
According to the United Nations, more than 1,300 Palestinian civilians have been killed in Gaza.
Israel maintains it's defending itself against Hamas' rocket fire into the country.
The Parliamentary precinct is flooded with pro-Palestinian demonstrators who are chanting, singing and clapping in the streets.
Cape Town traffic officials have their hands full with motorists coming from all directions causing a gridlock in the CBD.
Demonstrators young and old are singing in unison, many holding up placards with pro-Palestinian messages emblazoned on them.
Some posters read "stop the slaughter" while another had "boycott apartheid Israel written on it.
Dozens of police officers are keeping watch over the march; a voice blasting from loudspeakers on a bakkie earlier urged protesters to remain calm.
Palestinian officials say at least five people have been killed in renewed Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
Three died in an apparent attack on Hamas the other two were killed as they rode a motorbike.
Israel claims they were militants.
Early on Friday a three day truce between the Israelis and Palestinians expired and the deadly conflict resumed.
The Isreal Defence Forces' Peter Lerner insists they are trying everything they can to avoid civilian casualties.
"We have no intention of striking civilians, we also accompany every strike we carry out with legal counsel, we discuss it, we think through it very thoroughly in order to minimise the civilian impact and indeed we are faced with a huge challenge." | {
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China is limiting its oil exports to North Korea to comply with new sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council last week, which include fuel import restrictions.
China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on its website on Saturday that China would limit exports of refined petroleum products from October 1, and ban condensates and liquefied natural gas immediately.
China will also ban textile imports from the North Korea, the ministry said.
Textiles are one of North Korea's last major sources of foreign revenue following repeated rounds of UN sanctions under which Beijing cut off purchases of coal, iron ore, seafood and other goods.
China accounts for about 90 percent of North Korea's trade, making its cooperation critical to any efforts to derail Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
'Too soon to tell'
Al Jazeera's Adrian Brown, reporting from Beijing, said that "it is too early to say how effective these new limits will be".
He added: "Of course, it's going to take months for the impact of these sanctions to be felt, but certainly banning imports of North Korea textiles will hurt the regime because textiles provide what the regime really needs most right now, which is hard currency."
Chinese leaders were long North Korea's diplomatic protectors but express increasing frustration with the government of Kim Jong-un.
OPINION: War on the Korean Peninsula is not inevitable
They supported the latest rounds of UN Security Council sanctions but are reluctant to push Pyongyang too hard for fear the government might collapse.
They also argue against doing anything that might hurt ordinary North Koreans.
Joseph Cheng of the Chinese University of Hong Kong told Al Jazeera that "China wants to demonstrate its support of the world community's position dissuade North Korea from continuing to hold nuclear tests and long-range missile tests".
But Cheng also said that Beijing understands that economic sanctions alone "will not be able to persuade Pyongyang to give up their programmes".
On Friday, US President Donald Trump praised China for increasing financial restrictions, and has been pushing Beijing to apply more pressure to North Korea over its nuclear programme.
His comments came a day after he signed an executive order allowing Washington to ramp up sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear missile programme.
Trump said the measure would allow sanctions against "individuals and companies that finance and facilitate trade" with Pyongyang.
Also on Friday, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho said his country could consider a hydrogen bomb test on an unprecedented scale on the Pacific Ocean - a threat, Japan labelled as "totally unacceptable". | {
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Kiev and Moscow have laid out their positions ahead of a possible peace summit, as western powers back a push by Ukraine’s new leader to end its five-year conflict with Russia.
French president Emmanuel Macron has offered to host talks in the coming weeks, but the diplomatic sparring between the two states hints at how hard it will be to end the war in eastern Ukraine that has claimed more than 13,000 lives.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy wants to relaunch the peace process and appears ready to risk his soaring ratings to thrash out a deal with the Kremlin that could entail hard and unpopular compromises.
In a series of statements over the weekend, however, Mr Zelenskiy and his foreign minister Vadym Prystaiko mapped out Kiev’s red lines, while the Kremlin listed conditions that should be met before talks take place.
In the February 2015 Minsk agreement that reduced but failed to end the fighting in the Donbas region, Ukraine and Russia signed off on measures to bring areas seized by Moscow-led separatists back under Kiev’s control.
They included a full ceasefire; withdrawal of foreign fighters from the area; provision of special status for Donbas giving broad powers to local officials; elections in the region under Ukrainian law, and an amnesty for militants.
None of the steps have been implemented, however, due to daily shelling and skirmishes, Ukraine’s fear that Moscow wants to create a semi-autonomous Donbas to stymie the country’s integration with the West, and – despite its denials – Russia’s continuing military, financial and political support for the separatists.
Mr Zelenskiy said he hoped to meet the Russian, French and German leaders for talks “at the end of September”, but listed several things that must be done before elections could take place in areas now held by the militants.
“It’s firstly a question of exchanging [prisoners], then of withdrawing troops . . . Only after that can we talk about a format for elections in occupied territory,” he told an international conference in Kiev.
“Elections should take place there, but only under Ukrainian law,” he added.
Blanket amnesty
Mr Prystaiko also said Ukraine would not write Donbas’s special status into its constitution or offer a blanket amnesty to all militants.
“Ukraine accepted an obligation to create a status for these regions based on decentralisation. . .There will be no special status for Donbas in the constitution,” he declared.
“I want to recall that an amnesty law was passed . . . which does not foresee a blanket amnesty. And none of our current diplomatic work foresees a blanket amnesty,” he added.
Separatist “foreign minister” Natalya Nikonorova called Mr Prystaiko’s comments “deliberate sabotage of the peace process”.
Senior Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, meanwhile, said he did not expect talks before October and that beforehand rival forces should be withdrawn from certain areas of the front line, and the summit’s conclusions and the mechanism for introducing special status in Donbas should be agreed in writing.
Allies of Mr Zelenskiy say he will face pressure to agree a deal with Russia from western states that want to repair relations with Moscow.
“President Zelenskiy might not be tall but he trains hard,” Mr Prystaiko quipped. “It won’t be easy to twist his arm.” | {
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ADE'S ANSWERS
questions and answers.
q: are you in the new King Crimson planned for next september 2014?
a: no. after 32 years I am no longer in King Crimson.
q: were you asked to be in the new King Crimson?
a: no, I was not. robert informed me in an email that he was starting a 7-piece version of the band. he said I would not be right for what the band is doing.
q: so, how do you feel?
a: "happy with what I have to be happy with". which is quite a lot.
I'm busy creating something I've wanted to create all my life, something which has never been done. FLUX: never the same twice. creatively I'm exploding with new ideas, songs, and music. in 60 days I'll be touring south america with my beloved Power Trio and next spring I'll be touring europe with Crimson Project, which is a celebration of the crimson music
tony, pat, and I have help create. life is great.
q: what would you like to say to crimson fans about the new King Crimson?
a: my advice is to check it out and if you like it: support it.
and on that note: thanks to all of you for your continued support of my music.
cheers!
Adrian Belew has posted the following Q&A on his Facebook Page in response to the recent changes in King Crimson's line-up. | {
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Have you ever wondered which anti-aging ingredients are proven to work? This week we review the science behind 5 of the top ingredients. Plus, find out why Germany wants to ban retinol!
If you’re a fan of our free podcast you can show your support by buying our new book!
Click here to get your copy for only $2.99
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SHOW NOTES
Beauty Science News: Will retinol be banned from skin care?
We discuss an article from Colin’s Beauty Pages.
Question of the week: Which anti-aging products work the best?
Terri asks…Which anti-aging products or brands actually work the best? I’m over 50 and always trying to purchase the latest great and best thing.
Here is our version of the three “Kligman questions” that you should ask about any anti-aging ingredient.
1. Based on the chemistry of the ingredient, is there any scientific mechanism that could explain why it would work?
2. Does it penetrate to the part of the skin where it needs to be in order to work?
3. Are there peer reviewed, double blind, placebo controlled studies demonstrating the ingredient really works when applied to real people?
Retinol
What’s the story? It’s a vitamin A derivative which smooths skin, unclogs pores, lightens age spots and improves skin texture.
Can science explain how it works? Yes. It fades dark spots by reducing the contact time with pigment creating cells; reduces fine lines/wrinkles by stimulating synthesis of collagen and glycosaminoglycan. May also inhibit enzymes that breakdown collagen. Smooths skin by modulating genes involved in epidermal cell turn over.
Can it penetrate skin to get to where it needs to be in order to work? Yes. Retinol has the right chemical structure to penetrate skin and this has been confirmed two ways: In vivo by measuring the level of a skin enzyme induced by presence of retinoic acid. (Also confirms metabolism to active version.) In vitro by measuring retinol metabolites on skin biopsies and cell cultures. There are some unresolved questions about how much bio-converts, however.
Is there proof it does anything when I rub it on my skin? Yes. Retinoic Acid has undergone extensive clinical testing. Fewer studies have been on the over the counter versions. Retinol shown to be effective vs placebo but not as effective when compared to retinal for wrinkle reduction.
How do we rate it? “A” The mechanism and effects of retinoic acid are well understood and it appears that other retinoids have a similar, work the same way just to a lesser extent however the OTC versions are not as well substantiated as the prescription form.
Kinetin (N-furfuryladenine growth factor)
What’s the story? It’s a plant growth hormone that supposedly promotes cell division and acts as an antioxidant. It nourishes skin cells to keep them healthy longer/ Boosts skin’s energy for increased radiance
Can science explain how it works? Sort of. Testing on cultured human skin cells (lab testing aka in vitro testing) has shown kinetin can impact cell growth factors which cause age related changes, however the mechanism is not understood. Multiple studies have shown kinetin to be an effective antioxidant; it acts like Superoxide Dismutase, an natural free radical scavenger in skin. There are no reported mechanisms for how it helps wrinkles, age spots, or barrier properties.
Can it penetrate skin to get to where it needs to be in order to work? Unknown. No studies have been done on skin absorption of kinetin.
Is there proof it does anything when I rub it on my skin? Inconclusive. There’s very limited research on topically applied kinetin. One study showed it can partially improve photo-damaged skin and increase skin’s ability to retain moisture. Another showed that when combined with niacinamide it works synergistically to reduce hyper-pigmentation.
How do we rate it? “C” because it needs penetration studies, better mechanistic understanding, and additional studies to document efficacy.
Niacinamide
What’s the story? It’s a version of vitamin B3 (Niacin) which can brighten the complexion, erase wrinkles, reduce transepidermal water loss, improve elasticity, and fight inflammation.
Can science explain how it works? Yes, partially. The mechanisms for ALL these proposed benefits are not fully understood. However, Niacinamide’s ability to increase the antioxidant capacity of skin is well studied. It works by reducing (the opposite of oxidizing) NADP. Niacinamide may reduce water loss by increasing production of lipids and ceramides and by increasing cell turn over. It may reduce wrinkles by increasing collagen production. Finally, it lightens age spots by reducing the amount of pigment transferred from melanocytes to keratinocytes.
Can it penetrate skin to get to where it needs to be in order to work? Yes, penetration has been proven directly at sufficient levels in one study. In addition several studies indirectly proved penetration by measuring increased NAD in cells after topical application (which increases due to the skin metabolizing vitamin B3.)
Is there proof it does anything when I rub it on my skin? Yes. Skin brightening has been proven in several half-face studies. Some of the studies also measured niacinamide’s ability to reduce photo-aging.
How do we rate it? “A.” Although further mechanistic understanding is required, niacinamide is one of the best studied anti-aging ingredients.
Soybean extract
What’s the story? Consists of two active ingredient types (isoflavones and protease inhibitors) which neutralize free radicals, stimulate collagen production, increase skin moisture, and reduce hyperpigmentation.
Can science explain how it works? Sort of. For antioxidancy: One study shows soy isoflavones work 4 ways to fight oxidation in skin. They MAY work as cell signaling molecule but no conclusive proof. Even though mechanisms are unconfirmed, evidence shows they are antioxidants. For collagen production/skin thickening: Only data on collagen is in vitro. Specific components of soy (genistein and daidzein) MAY have sufficient estrogenic activity to counter act thinning skin. For moisture increase: Appears to boost hyaluronic acid production but we don’t know how. For depigmenation: appears to reduce pigment production and block transfer of pigment between cells.
Can it penetrate skin to get to where it needs to be in order to work? Not known for sure. There is little direct evidence the primary soy isoflavones penetrate skin. However, there is evidence that similar compounds can reach the epidermis and dermis. It is also known that penetration depends on the formula from which the isoflavone is delivered and its pH.
Is there proof it does anything when I rub it on my skin? Yes, partly. Preliminary in vivo tests confirm skin lightening benefits (undenatured only). However, anti-aging benefits related to antioxidancy are unconfirmed in large scale tests on humans.
How do we rate it? “B-“ It gets high marks for skin lightening as long as the ingredient is properly processed. But it gets a lower score for unconfirmed anti-oxidant anti-aging effect.
Green Tea
What’s the story? It’s an extract containing polyphenols which are known to be potent antioxidants that may protect against UV damage and help photo-aged skin.
Can science explain how it might work? Yes. There’s no doubt that green tea extract is an effective antioxidant which works by quenching several reactive oxygen species. It is also capable of limiting enzymes which cause collagen breakdown and to increase synthesis by fibroblasts, but again in in vitro testing.
Can it penetrate skin to get to where it needs to be in order to work? Probably not. The active component EGCG is water soluble so it is not well suited for skin penetration. Also, It’s difficult to stabilize green tea extract long enough for it to penetrate skin. To make things worse there is little standardization about which components are contained in extracts and how much of them.
Is there proof it does anything when I rub it on my skin? Maybe, for UV prevention. At least two studies indicate at high concentrations of the active components can prevent the damaged caused by UV exposure. However there is no comparison to indicate if it as good as conventional sunscreens. The only randomized, double-blind, controlled, clinical trial involving topical green tea extract showed no improvement in photo damaged skin from topical application of green tea extract after 8weeks. There were some trends in the data which indicate that a longer questing period might have yielded better results. But so far the ingredient remain unproven.
How do we rate it? “C” The active component is is unstable and it’s not easy to get the ingredient to where it needs to be work. Also, there are no clear studies proving that it does what it’s capable of. In addition, there is little standardization to document the type and concentration of antioxidants present in the extract, not to mention in any finished products.
The Beauty Brains Bottom line
For us to believe that an anti-aging ingredient really works, it must pass the test of the three Kligman questions. Of the 5 ingredients reviewed in the paper we found, Retinol and Niacinamide get an “A” for anti-aging. The others have gaps in their data which make them suspect.
References
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2921764/
Community Comments
Julie at the Style Page shared her thoughts on our show about pore minimizing products.
Buy your copy of It’s OK to Have Lead in Your Lipstick to learn more about:
Clever lies that the beauty companies tell you.
The straight scoop of which beauty myths are true and which are just urban legends.
Which ingredients are really scary and which ones are just scaremongering by the media to incite an irrational fear of chemicals.
How to tell the difference between the products that are really green and the ones that are just trying to get more of your hard earned money by labeling them “natural” or “organic.
Click here for all the The Beauty Brains podcasts. | {
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G2 Esports were formed to be a super team, but have regressed from their DreamHack Masters Malmo 2017 form. Will they ever improve?
Photo Credit: (G2 Esports)
Superteam
The term “French Superteam” has been used to define this team ever since their formation on February 3rd, 2017. While this roster remains the best French team, it is very difficult to put G2 on any kind of pedestal. Their leadership seems inherently flawed despite the level of veteran leadership, and they are one of the most experienced lineups in the game.
The over aggression and lack of consistency against teams who are considered “worse” than them does not inspire confidence and after a full year they continue to display the same issues without signs of change. Their inability to make deep runs consistently in tournaments should raise a few concerns, but the overall fanbase still sees this team as a top three or even top five in the world. Why is that?
In terms of individual skill, G2 Esports are one of the most stacked teams globally. Owning the (arguably) best AWPer in the world, some of the greatest riflers, and a world renowned entry fragger (apEX) give G2 Esports a wealth of talent and experience to fall back on should their tactics not pan out. To their credit, they are a very good team. If a team cannot go toe to toe with G2 in frags, then G2 wins.
If G2 mismanages their economy and are not hitting shots, they do not crumble the way other teams would due to their experience and chemistry. They possess the ability to come back against lesser teams, but when they dig themselves in the hole against equal or greater squads the hole they dig is too deep. Their ability to comeback from a deficit have given G2 a solid top five reputation, but recently their claim to the top five is coming under attack.
Results wise, G2 seems like a different team in group stage compared to playoffs. There are a few things to keep in mind though, the teams who don’t make it out of the group stage are the worse teams at the event and that their last two exits at the Boston Major and Starseries i-League Season 4 were from the eventual winners (Cloud 9 and Mousesports respectively) of the event.
G2’s last few events have been miserable. Their final event in 2017 was the Blast Pro Series and could not have gone worse. In their losses, they lost by eight or more rounds and they lost often considering they placed 5th out of 6th. Blast Pro Series was one of the worst performances from G2, but IEM Oakland does one better. In by far the easier group with Renegades, Liquid, Gambit, OpTic, and FaZe Clan they got fifth in their group with wins against the lower teams who did not go far in the event.
Group Stages
G2’s group stage performance at the past three events have been respectable. Although they have been mostly without challenge. With exception of Starladder, G2 had the some of the easiest draws for getting out of the group stage. In both stages at the Boston Major, they had to play Flash Gaming, Misfits, Vega Squadron, Liquid (with a sub), and Quantum Bellator Fire. Their only notable win was against Cloud 9 on their worst map. At IEM Katowice, their groupstage consisted of beating a dead Virtus Pro, but falling in a best of three to Fnatic.
When G2 plays well, they are a world class team. Their win in Dreamhack Malmo and ESL Pro League Season 5 win emphasized their ability to be great. But G2 shouldn’t be the team getting eliminated in quarter finals or being unable to make it out of groups. Their roster has been the same for a full year, but their in game leader Richard “shox” Papillon is going to be out for an extended period of time with a wrist injury. So it begs the question to both their fans and themselves, are they a top five team?
For the next few months, the answer will be a resounding no until Shox’s return. Assuming Shox will be 100% when he returns, the uncertainty of G2 being a top five team is still up in the air. This team is not improving, in fact they are getting visibly worse. If the stats do not show their decline, their bi-polar in game performance is becoming predictably bad.
Conclusion
It is hard to pinpoint one or two rounds that depict just how bad G2’s issues are. In almost every game, you will see G2 throw away an anti-eco round by either not expecting aggression, or over aggressing themselves. They will lose a player early on a set strat and the team will freeze for a few seconds and then throw their bodies at the other team. With mixed results. It is not usually one person who get’s caught out either, it is discipline issue with the team that needs to be fixed.
I cannot comment on Edouard “SmithZz” Dubourdeaux’s coaching style and what exactly he does, but his impact does not show much. A coach in SmithZz’s position needs to make the team more disciplined and prepared for resistance against their executes. He does not. A coach needs to find several ways to fix over aggression issues and work with players to achieve that. There is no evidence to suggest that SmithZz is doing a proper job to hold these players accountable, and that is a problem which is starting to reflect in their results.
Do you agree with our assessment? Comment your thoughts below!
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In the centuries following the Buddha’s death, dharma teachings spread from India into the rest of Asia, evolving eventually into the three yanas, or vehicles for the teachings—Theravada, Vajrayana, and Mahayana, the predominant traditions of Southeast Asia, Tibet, and East Asia, respectively. The doctrinal distinctions that arose have caused fundamental aspects of what the Buddha taught to be disputed. Even the teachings on such essential matters as karma, enlightenment, and rebirth vary in the three yanas, and from school to school within the yanas—now more so than ever with Western epistemologies stirred into the doctrinal diaspora.
Tricycle editors—and likely lots of other dharma students—are frequently asked for the “Buddhist” take on everything from premarital sex to cloning to cosmetic surgery. The problem is, no single answer emerges from all the branches of Buddhism that have sprouted around the world. A Soto Zen response to the question “Does heaven exist?” diverges drastically from a Pure Land view or a Theravada teaching; even practical questions about how dharma practitioners celebrate the Buddha’s birthday, get married, or care for the dead elicit distinct responses pointing to distinct anniversaries, histories, and rituals, depending on who you ask and where you look.
In an effort to point to the profound variance between “Buddhisms” and teachings, Tricycle takes a look at three basic views of nirvana, its aspects and attainment, from a Theravada, Vajrayana, and a Rinzai Zen (Mahayana) teacher. While Tulku Thubten, a Vajrayana teacher, sees the possibility of sudden, unexpected, and even repeated enlightenment, Gil Fronsdal, a Theravada teacher, has described the process of reaching the “deathless” as akin to desalinating a glass of seawater: the fresh water is there, but getting out the salt—our delusion—is a task of dedication, meticulously applied, over time. And in Zen master Sherry Roko Chayat’s essay, we have enlightenment in “this very moment, this very place; we are ‘all done’ just as we are.” The differences, perhaps, will speak for themselves.
—Mary Talbot
The Good News
In the Theravada tradition the definition of nibbana is simple—the end of suffering.
GIL FRONSDAL
Nibbana is the ultimate good news of Theravada Buddhism: it means complete liberation. Naturally, people want to know about the nature of nibbana, but from the Theravada standpoint, knowing how a person is transformed in attaining nibbana is more important than understanding what it is.
When a person is thirsty, what’s important about water is not its chemical properties, but that it quenches thirst. Similarly, for someone who is suffering, what’s important about nibbana is not so much its nature but that its attainment extinguishes suffering. Nirvana (Sanskrit) and Nibbana (Pali, the language of the earliest Buddhist texts) literally mean “to go out”—like a fire—and “to cool.” Applied to the mind, it refers to extinguishing the fevers of greed, hate, and delusion, the three roots of suffering. The Buddha’s choice of this term was intimately tied to the imagery of his famous Fire Sermon. Here he said: “Everything is on fire; the eyes are on fire; sights are on fire; visual perception is on fire. . . ; the ears are on fire. . . ; the nose is on fire. . . ; the tongue is on fire. . . ; the body is on fire. . . ; the mind is on fire. . . . They are on fire with greed, hate, and delusion” (from the Mahavagga of the Theravada Vinaya).
In the language of the Buddha, the word for fuel and for clinging is the same: upadana. The Buddha understood that suffering arises from and is fueled by clinging. When the fuel is removed, suffering is extinguished. By understanding how deep-rooted and subtle clinging is in our own unliberated minds, we come to appreciate the mind of nibbana as refreshingly cool and peaceful.
Nibbana is the end of samsara. Contrary to a popular misunderstanding, neither nibbana nor samsara is a place. In attaining nibbana we don’t escape from one location to another. For the Buddha, samsara is the process by which clinging gives rise to suffering which, in turn, gives rise to further clinging. He understood that this self-perpetuating process continues over lifetimes as the “fuel” for rebirth, just as the fire from one burning house is carried to a neighboring house by the wind. Nibbana is what is realized when the clinging of greed, hate, and delusion is brought to an end. Some later Buddhist traditions equate nirvana and samsara. However, they likely attribute very different meanings to these words than those understood by the earliest Buddhist tradition. In Theravada teachings, samsara cannot be nibbana any more than a clenched fist can be an open hand, any more than burning ember in your fist can be the same as letting it go. For the Buddha, nibbana had quite positive associations—after all, it is a simile for ultimate freedom and awakening. At times he used other similes to describe this state: “the blissful, the secure, the pure, the island, the shelter, the harbor, the refuge, the ultimate.”
Other, more perplexing, synonyms include “the unconstructed, the ageless, the deathless, the featureless.” These refer to the idea that nibbana does not exist as something that can be made, shaped, or willed. It is not a “ground of being” from which anything subject to death can arise. Although there is a consciousness, “featureless, infinite, and luminous all around,” that is associated with nibbana, it is not dependent on the conditioned world. Nor does it produce the conditioned world. Rather, it is a dimension of consciousness totally independent of circumstances in the world or in one’s personal life. Because nibbana is independent, people who fully realize it are said to be “unestablished”—in other words, free from any clinging that would confine their consciousness to any point in space or time.
Experiencing nibbana is like taking a dip in a refreshing pond. A quick dip and we are slightly refreshed. With a long soak we are thoroughly refreshed. Even the first, brief dip into nibbana is a powerful lesson in the possibility of a great happiness, freedom, and peace not dependent on the conditions of the world. As long as someone believes happiness can only be found through the right conditions, it makes sense to cling to those conditions—even when knowing full well that all conditioned phenomena are subject to change. But when there is a direct, visceral experience of an alternative, the enchantment that fuels this clinging lessens dramatically. The function of attaining nibbana is to reduce and finally end all clinging. In Theravada Buddhism, the desire to walk the path to nibbana has an honored place. Once that desire is fulfilled, it naturally subsides and the mind clings to nothing, not even to nibbana itself.
Walking the path toward the complete ending of clinging and suffering is the noblest thing a person can do. It opens the fist of the mind, and allows a person to walk in the world with gift-bestowing hands.
Everything is Sacred
Nirvana is awakening to our wise and loving nature.
TULKU THUBTEN RINPOCHE
The human mind has the tendency to manufacture concepts and beliefs in relationship to things that are inherently transcendental. This often leads us to suffer the old curse of “mistaking the finger pointing to the moon for the moon itself.” The cause of this mistaken perception is the ego, since the ego’s only occupation is to sustain its flimsy existence or world of illusion. It always tries its best to create hindrances to the realization of truth.
Every thought about nirvana can be credited to the ego’s attempt to jeopardize one’s entry into nirvana itself. Yet this situation should not cause us to lose hope of discovering nirvana. Many men and women have already realized it. One may know about nectar very well from reading and listening to others’ experiences of tasting it. This is still simply intellectual understanding. One honestly doesn’t know how nectar tastes until it is touched by one’s own tongue. In the same way, you have to directly experience nirvana in order to know its true flavor. This realization requires the dropping of everything that one is shamelessly trying to hold onto. It means a spiritual death—dying to the illusion of self. This is different from physical death.We come across various terminologies and symbols created by spiritual traditions to describe this inner liberation. We even find slightly different ways of understanding nirvana within Buddhism. The point of view within the Vajrayana is that it is an awakened state endowed with wisdom and love. It is ecstatic. It is regarded as mahasukha, which literally means great bliss. This word alone can immediately create a misconception of the true state of liberation. It has nothing to do with ordinary bliss that we experience through our senses, like taking drugs or having sex. It is not necessarily some titillating or altered state of mind that inspires you to frolic in the meadows. Otherwise, hedonism and self-indulgence would be a short cut to enlightenment, which is not the case. The Vajrayana position is to counter the dry notion that nirvana is a dead end: the terminus of every experience from sorrow to bliss. The Vajrayana doctrine regards this as a pseudo-nirvana, which is nothing more than a pain-free vegetative state. It defines awakening as a state that is not only free from sorrow, but also the embodiment of transcendent love, wisdom, and ecstasy.
All schools of thought in Buddhism seem to agree that great cessation is true nirvana. Buddha himself taught that nirvana is the realm of inner peace in which all gross and subtle turbulence of mind has subsided. This comes into being by awakening to the sacred nature of all things. Vajrayana postulates that nirvana is an awakening in which one sees all things as divine, the universe itself as Buddha paradise, living beings as deities. Its unique outlook is that ultimate truth is not just shunyata, or emptiness, but all-pervading sacredness, which is called dakpa rabjam in Tibetan. One of the main features in the Vajrayana practices is to visualize beings as deities in accordance with traditional iconography as a means to gaining realization. Such practice may not be found in other traditions.
Vajrayana starts from the premise that nirvana cannot only manifest in one lifetime, but also at any time—mostly when one is not expecting it. This holds true for both women and men. It’s said that even sinners can be enlightened in one lifetime without incurring the ultimate punishment of being born in hell. The Tibetan saint Milarepa supposedly took the lives of many in his early years through the use of black magic, and then later embraced the spiritual path and became one of the most revered masters in Tibetan Buddhism. There are many people who doubt the existence of nirvana in the first place. This doubt is the product of not finding many examples of those who are enlightened or by the experience of encountering those who are regarded as enlightened by their followers but turn out to be just a big divine joke.
Of course, nirvana is not a myth. It’s a possibility for everyone, but an individual must believe in its existence in order to have any motivation to be on the path to the everlasting freedom. The essence of our consciousness is already love and wisdom. Karma, concepts, and emotional patterns are only temporarily preventing our consciousness from unfolding its enlightened nature. Nirvana is nothing more than being awakened to the enlightened nature of our consciousness. That awakened nature is who we truly are from the very beginning. In accordance with this reasoning, we are destined to be enlightened. If not in this lifetime, then definitely at some point in the distant future.
You’re Already There
ROKO SHERRY CHAYAT explains that enlightenment is already here.
What is enlightenment? What was it that the young prince of the Shakya clan realized that caused him to be called Buddha, the awakened one?
To answer in the usual discursive, conceptual way cannot convey the truth of this experience, an experience that is not limited to some past event, does not belong to some great historical figure, but is ours to discover. Enlightenment is not a thing, not a condition, not an event, not a goal, not an accomplishment. That which is without limits cannot be defined. Yet the question is a burning one for Buddhists. Even though we may be too hip to ask it, deep down, we want to know what it is that we are practicing. But in truth, we are practicing enlightenment! It is always and already here! There is not a hair’s breadth of separation between what we perceive as our separate, burdensome selves and Buddha-nature. But until this truth has been experienced, a little voice is always asking, “Why?” “What for?” “How come?” We want an answer, we want access to someone else’s understanding, we want some reassurance that what we are doing makes sense. And a good teacher’s response is guaranteed to pull the rug out from under us, to frustrate our acquisitive seeking after the attainment of something outside. Someone asked the great T’ang dynasty teacher Unmon Bunen, “What is Buddha?” Unmon answered, “Shit-wiping stick.” A more modern answer was given by my dharma grandfather, Soen Nakagawa Roshi: “A piece of toilet paper.” This may seem blasphemous: How can one compare Buddha to something that is used to wipe away shit? Indeed, if we think Buddha-nature is that which is sacred, as opposed to everything else that is profane, then of course it sounds blasphemous. But from the vista of realization, what’s blasphemous is making this separation between sacred and profane. This is the same dualistic mindset that creates the fiction of a separate self and condemns us to suffering.
In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha teaches, “All living beings are Buddha-nature,” or, as Zen master Dogen phrased it, “All that there is without anything missing, there-is [is] the Buddha nature.” Shit-wiping stick, toilet paper, birds singing, cars passing by, ants crawling on the ground, itchiness around your ear, sleepiness, everything, all that there is is nothing but Buddha-nature. What is lacking?
The Zen master Rinzai said, “Followers of the Way, it is urgently necessary for you to attain true insight.” And then he continued, “Just don’t strive!” Then what about that urgent necessity for attainment? How do we experience true insight without striving? How do we come to see that this very moment, this very place, just as it is, has nothing lacking, nothing superfluous—that we are “all done” just as we are?
In the fascicle “The Buddha-nature” in his Shobogenzo, Dogen wrote, “The principle of the Buddha-nature is that one’s Buddha-nature remains incomplete as long as one is not awakened, and that it is completed only from the moment one is awakened; the Buddha-nature and awakening can only be simultaneous. You must deeply penetrate this principle in your practice of concentration. Twenty or thirty years of grinding effort are necessary.”
That doesn’t appeal to us. We don’t like the idea of long years of grinding effort. Despite what the Buddha says in the Diamond Sutra—“There is no formula for supreme enlightenment”—we long for some guidelines, some diagram, yes, a formula for quick success. We want what our teachers have, and we want them to give it to us without delay. And therein lies the problem in at least two of its guises: we think there is something to have; and we think it’s good to get something for nothing—when, in fact, this practice of ours requires giving everything for nothing! One of my favorite sayings of Rinzai’s teacher, Obaku, is “Those who seek the Way must enter it with the suddenness of a knife-thrust. Full understanding of this must come before they can enter.” Every koan requires this from us: entering with the suddenness of a knife-thrust, giving everything for nothing, having no preconceived ideas of attainment or accomplishment, just sitting down and emptying the room so that the koan can reveal itself in ourselves, through ourselves, as ourselves. This is effortless effort: difficult, for it flies in the face of all our conditioning; easy, for it requires nothing but an utter giving up and entering into this unlimited, unbounded moment. The more we sit in this dumbfounded way, the more our heart-minds are purified. What we think is the obstacle is the very encouragement we need to open, to give unconditionally, to enter with the swiftness of a knife-thrust into what has never been hidden. This is koan practice. We empty the room, and the Way is everywhere apparent.
When there’s nowhere to turn, nowhere to run, we discover an inner motivation, a strong determination: “I’m going to sit down and shut up. I’m sick and tired of this endless round of confusion and fear. I resolve to enter into the clear, awakened mind of my innate Buddha-nature, so that true compassion can flower, can bloom in my very being.”
Motivation is so important. If we don’t have motivation, of course we’re going to sit there feeling bored, irritated, and in pain. With motivation, we can dedicate our lives: “I am here, fully present, and I vow to wake up fully so that all beings may be released from suffering.” It’s that simple. Vow, and bow, wholeheartedly, and sit down. Then, having entered with “the suddenness of a knife-thrust,” we can drink of the refreshing spring called “the readiness of time.” | {
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On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal said a “person familiar with the matter” confirmed that Google would be moving into the ride-sharing market currently dominated by Uber and, to a lesser extent, Lyft. The source said that since May, Google has been testing a feature that lets Google employees and employees of other nearby firms in the Bay Area organize carpools through Waze, a mapping and traffic app purchased by Google in 2013.
The report noted that this new service would be different from Uber and Lyft in that it would only try to connect people who are already going in the same direction, offering rates low enough to discourage drivers from operating like taxis. The service will only be available in San Francisco at the beginning.
According to the WSJ, Waze’s drivers in the closed pilot test only make 54 cents a mile, although Google doesn’t take a cut as Uber and Lyft do.
Waze and Google introduced a similar carpooling service in Israel last year, which proved popular, the WSJ wrote.
Earlier this week, David Drummond, Google’s senior vice president for corporate development, resigned from Uber’s board of directors, due to increasing conflicts of interest between the two companies. Google was an early investor in Uber, but those early ties have come loose, with Uber recently dropping Google Maps in favor of a home-brewed map system. (Uber bid on mapping system HERE last year but lost out to BMW, Daimler, and Audi.)
Uber and Google have also been working on driverless cars in tandem. While Google has been doing autonomous vehicle research for years, Uber partnered with Carnegie Mellon and recently announced that it will be introducing fully autonomous taxis in Pittsburgh this year. The autonomous taxis will have human operators in case of error, however.
The WSJ’s source said that Google is considering introducing self-driving cars into the Waze ride-sharing feature as well.
The source also said that Google would not employ the drivers of the carpooling service, nor would it vet its drivers, “instead relying on user reviews to weed out problem drivers.” Those two issues—employment status and vetting of the drivers—have proved problematic for Uber and will likely cause legal and regulatory problems for Waze and Google as well.
Correction: The mapping system Uber unsuccessfully bid for was called HERE not NEXT. | {
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TOKYO (AFP) - The news that a young reporter at Japan's public broadcaster had worked herself to death came as little surprise to those inside the country's media, where a culture of excessively long hours has become the norm.
"I thought it would happen eventually because we work like crazy... like a slave," said a journalist at one of Japan's major newspapers.
"I really thought I would die," she told AFP on condition of anonymity, recalling her days chasing after the prime minister and lawmakers in Tokyo, when she would routinely come home from work at 1.00 am and wake up four hours later.
While journalists tend to work long hours in many countries, the situation in Japan is among the most extreme, with reporters expected to be on the job 24-7.
The newspaper journalist - now in her 30s - was one of a gang of hardcore Japanese reporters who stake out the houses of politicians they were assigned to follow every single night whether there is news or not - a ritual called "Yomawari," meaning "night round".
Even on a snowy night, she used to wait hours outside the house of a politician she was covering.
"I had disposable hand warmers everywhere on my body but it was still too cold. I couldn't go to the bathroom. It's bad for your health," she said, adding that she's seen fellow journalists becoming physically and mentally ill.
And forget the weekend, she added, as political reporters chase lawmakers back to their constituencies on Friday night.
Related Story NHK apologises over death of young reporter who logged 159 hours of overtime
A former Tokyo TV reporter pointed the finger at the Japanese culture of "fighting spirit," in which you're told to never give up no matter what.
The 32-year-old, who was no stranger to working around the clock, remembers the day she kept going even though she felt seriously ill.
"I didn't have time even to check my body temperature. Later I realised I had a 39-degree fever," she said.
"Bosses would say you shouldn't be lazy but they wouldn't say you should get rest because you're working too hard."
"Then you become like a zombie... this has to stop."
The case of NHK reporter Miwa Sado, who died of heart failure aged 31 after logging 159 hours of overtime in the month before she died, made global headlines but was far from an isolated tragedy.
Every year in Japan, long working hours are blamed for dozens of deaths due to strokes, heart attacks and suicides.
Death from overwork even has its own word in Japanese - "karoshi".
According to a government report released last week, there were 191 "karoshi" cases in the year ending March 2017.
The report also showed that 7.7 per cent of employees in Japan regularly log more than 20 hours of overtime a week.
NHK journalist Sado, who had been covering Tokyo assembly elections and an upper-house vote for the national parliament, was found dead in her bed in July 2013, reportedly clutching her mobile phone.
She died three days after the upper-house election.
A government inquest a year after her death ruled that it was linked to excessive overtime. She had taken two days off in the month before she died.
NHK eventually made the case public four years later, bowing to pressure from Sado's parents to take action to prevent a recurrence.
It was especially embarrassing for NHK, which has itself taken aim at Japan's long-hours culture.
"I was shocked that someone at NHK, which has been campaigning against Japan's long working culture, died from overwork," said Shigeru Wakita, emeritus professor at Ryukoku University and an expert on labour law.
"Mass media should be able to change the habit of long working hours but they just don't," he told AFP.
NHK boss Ryoichi Ueda went to the house of Sado's parents to deliver a personal apology and vowed reform of the broadcaster's working practices.
The firm has pledged to reduce hours spent at work, introduce health standards and hold seminars to address the "karoshi" problem.
The case also attracted the wrath of the government, with Labour Minister Katsunobu Kato urging Japan's public broadcaster to reduce long working hours "so that such incidents will never happen".
The government itself has tried to clamp down on "karoshi", naming-and-shaming more than 300 companies in its first nationwide employer blacklist released in May.
In April, a government panel unveiled its first-ever plan to limit overtime - with a 100-hour-a-month cap, which sparked anger among critics and family members who lost their loved ones due to overwork.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has wrestled with the problem and introduced so-called "Premium Fridays", where employees are urged to knock off work early on the last Friday of the month.
Abe himself spent a Friday afternoon meditating in a bid to lead the way but critics slammed the plan, saying it was not compulsory with most firms simply ignoring it.
Wakita charged that the government is not being "serious enough" to tackle the issue. | {
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With the popularity of electric vehicles on the rise, the provincial government is having to top up its Clean Energy Vehicle Program.
The government has committed $27 million for the program, which provides a $5,000 credit toward the purchase price of electric cars or plug-in hybrids and $6,000 for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
So many of those cars were being purchased that funding for the program, which was expected to last until 2020, was about to run out by the end of this month.
“We are making it easier for everyone in our province to choose a clean energy vehicle as their next purchase,” Energy Minister Michelle Mungall said in a release.
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“These additional funds will make transportation more affordable today while supporting our long-term work to build a cleaner future.”
Green Party leader Andrew Weaver welcomed the news, saying the government “acted quickly and decisively on this essential priority.”
According to the Ministry of Energy, B.C. had the highest market share of electric vehicle sales in Canada at 3.7 per cent in June. | {
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<\/p><\/div>"} 1 Use his words. Michael Scott is humorous in both the things he says as well as the ways he says them. Some of Michael's go-to phrases include: "that's what she said," "TMI," and "shut it." Affirmations he spices up by saying "abso-fruitly," "yesh," and "yeppers."
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<\/p><\/div>"} 2 Get inside his head. Michael sees his calling as being a friend first, and an entertainer second. Even when he is in charge of others, his desire to be liked takes priority over his desire to be a good manager. | {
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Press TV – Kevin Barrett
The FBI announced Monday that it has arrested 150 people suspected of child sex trafficking.
Unfortunately, those arrested appear to be low-level operators – not the well-connected kingpins who pander children to the wealthiest and most powerful Americans. Elite pedophile networks connected to elements of the CIA, including the “Finders of Lost Children” and the Franklin Scandal group, have operated shamelessly and without fear of prosecution for decades. They have even peddled young prostitutes during midnight tours of the White House.
On June 29th, 1989, the Washington Times published a breakthrough story headlined: “Homosexual prostitution inquiry ensnares VIPs with Reagan, Bush: ‘Call boys’ took midnight tour of White House.’”
The story began: “A homosexual prostitution ring is under investigation by federal and District authorities and includes among its clients key officials of the Reagan and Bush administrations, military officers, congressional aides and US and foreign businessmen with close social ties to Washington’s political elite, documents obtained by The Washington Times reveal. One of the ring’s high-profile clients was so well-connected, in fact, that he could arrange a middle-of-the-night tour of the White House for his friends on Sunday, July 3, of last year. Among the six persons on the extraordinary 1 a.m. tour were two male prostitutes.”
None of the guilty parties was ever prosecuted.
In 2005, male prostitute Jeff Gannon repeatedly took midnight tours of George W. Bush’s White House. Though Gannon was using bogus press credentials, and though the Secret Service broke its own rules by failing to log Gannon in and out properly, no investigation was launched – and, of course, nobody was ever prosecuted.
Apparently, offering midnight tours of the White House for young male prostitutes is standard operating procedure in today’s USA.
Why do these criminals enjoy immunity from prosecution?
Two interrelated factors are at work.
First, America’s wealthiest families share a tradition of what sociologists and criminologists call “elite deviance”: They consider themselves above the law. Groups like Skull and Bones, whose initiates masturbate naked in a coffin in front of the older members, help intensify this culture of deviance by inculcating an ethic of superiority and impunity, and operating as a “feeder” for US intelligence services. Professor Peter Dale Scott explains that these elite organized criminals form an “overworld” which is as far above the law as the “underworld” is beneath it.
Secondly, rogue elements of various police and intelligence services, as well as top-tier organized crime outfits, use blackmail as a means of control. They employ child prostitution rings to obtain blackmail material on politicians, judges, military and intelligence officers, and other key power-brokers.
One of the most notorious CIA-linked child-pimping outfits is the Finders of Lost Children. In 1979, police in Tallahassee, Florida arrested two men who were brutally abusing six children between the ages of three and six. A police investigation revealed that large numbers of captive children were being held in two warehouses in Washington, DC and being treated worse than animals in a zoo. The children were “unaware of the purposes of telephones, televisions, and toilets” and were used in blood rituals and sexual orgies. A vast treasure trove of documents, photos, and videos showed that the Finders were running a huge, multi-national child trafficking operation.
Agent Ramon Martinez of the US Customs Service and Detective James Bradley of the Washington, DC police were horrified at what they found. They were even more horrified when their investigation and attempted prosecution of the Finders was called off – by the CIA! According to Agent Martinez’s report, the case of the Finders of Lost Children was deemed “a CIA internal matter” and all details were “classified secret and not available for review.” The CIA forced USCS, the DC Police, and the FBI to drop the case and release the two child abusers – and give them back the six children for further abuse.
The CIA’s role in organized child trafficking has been revealed by former CIA Director William Colby, who admitted to Nebraska State Legislator John DeCamp that a rogue element of the CIA was heavily involved in ritual child abuse. Colby said it would be very difficult to stop the CIA child abusers, who held enormous power, but that in the long term they might be brought down. He informed DeCamp that the abused children were being used in CIA mind-control experiments as well as blackmail projects.
Unfortunately, Colby did not live to see the demise of the CIA child-abuse faction. He was killed in a transparently fraudulent “boating accident” a few years after he began working with DeCamp.
John DeCamp’s book The Franklin Cover-up describes how children from Nebraska’s Boys Town orphanage were flown all over the US by a pimp named Larry King, a well-connected Republican who sang the National Anthem at the Republican National Convention by day, then sold child sex slaves to Republican party bigwigs at night. One of the child prostitutes implicated George H.W. Bush in testimony videotaped by investigators.
A series of mysterious deaths ended the Franklin investigation, but the truth is not hard to discover. Nick Bryant’s book The Franklin Scandal and John DeCamp’s The Franklin Cover-up flesh out the details. And the documentary film Conspiracy of Silence – which was nearly scrubbed from history by the child-abuse perpetrators – can and must be viewed on-line.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asvl6kO1Vo8
Bottom line: Though the FBI should be commended for arresting 150 suspected child traffickers, it still needs to be pressured to go after the elite pedophile organizations that apparently enjoy continuing impunity.
Author Details Author Details Kevin Barrett Read Dr. Barrett’s Latest Posts Here >>>
Dr. Kevin Barrett, a Ph.D. Arabist-Islamologist, is one of America’s best-known critics of the War on Terror.
He is host of TRUTH JIHAD RADIO; a hard driving weekly radio show funded by listener donations at Patreon.com and FALSE FLAG WEEKLY NEWS (FFWN); a audio-video show produced by Tony Hall, Allan Reese, and Kevin himself. FFWN is funded through FundRazr.
He also has appeared many times on Fox, CNN, PBS and other broadcast outlets, and has inspired feature stories and op-eds in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Tribune, and other leading publications.
Dr. Barrett has taught at colleges and universities in San Francisco, Paris, and Wisconsin; where he ran for Congress in 2008. He currently works as a nonprofit organizer, author, and talk radio host. Dr. Kevin Barrett, a Ph.D. Arabist-Islamologist, is one of America’s best-known critics of the War on Terror.He is host of TRUTH JIHAD RADIO; a hard driving weekly radio show funded by listener donations at Patreon.com and FALSE FLAG WEEKLY NEWS (FFWN); a audio-video show produced by Tony Hall, Allan Reese, and Kevin himself. FFWN is funded through FundRazr.He also has appeared many times on Fox, CNN, PBS and other broadcast outlets, and has inspired feature stories and op-eds in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Tribune, and other leading publications.Dr. Barrett has taught at colleges and universities in San Francisco, Paris, and Wisconsin; where he ran for Congress in 2008. He currently works as a nonprofit organizer, author, and talk radio host. | {
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Full disclosure: this was meant to be an article that was focused on the players who were invited to development camp and which of them were most likely to get an extended look from the club ala Michael Carcone, Alex D’Aoust, Troy Stecher, Ronalds Kenins and others who have parlayed solid showings into contracts with the club in recent years.
It became evident to me early in the game that my eyes were tending to focus more on the three players that I knew would be with the Comets this season in Tanner MacMaster, Petrus Palmu, and Kole Lind rather than the invitees. I also reseasoned that the invitees’ piece might be better served to wait until the Young Stars Tournament, or what’s left of it wraps up.
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So with that, let’s take a look at three players who will very likely be adding some scoring punch to the Comets lineup for the 2018/19 season.
Petrus Palmu
Palmu was a Canucks’ sixth-round pick, 181st overall in the 2017 NHL draft. At five-foot-six, he is not a towering young man by any means, but he definitely isn’t a small one either. He stood tall this night amongst his peers, showing a little more poise and polish to his game than most of the others that he lined up against.
The fact that he played pro hockey last season was evident in his game. He showed smooth skating, a nice shot on his goal, and some deft playmaking on the Tyler Madden tally. Palmu finished the game with a goal and a pair of helpers to help lead team white to a 6-5 victory.
When I spoke with Petrus after the game, I asked him if he saw himself as more of a left-winger or a right-winger in Utica for the coming season. Palmu indicated that he is comfortable on either side but that he spent more time on the left side last season with TPS Turku, where he won Rookie of the Year honours in the Finnish Liiga. He finished his season with 17 goals and 19 assists to give him 36 points in 59 games.
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I asked Palmu if he saw himself fitting in on the special teams’ units in Utica, either on the power-play or penalty-kill. He told me that he thinks he is a good all-around player and that he still needs to work on his game, but he followed up by saying that he also felt that he was a smart player who can handle duty on both special teams.
I have said it before, but I think Palmu will quickly become a fan favourite in Utica. He is an easy guy for fans to get behind as he has beaten the odds for his entire career to get to this point. I don’t think that it’s out of the realm of possibility that we see Petrus get into an NHL game before the 2018/19 season wraps up.
Kole Lind
Another pick from the 2017 draft, Kole Lind was taken with the Canucks first of two picks in the second round, 33rd overall. Before joining the Comets at the end of last season, Lind piled up 95 points in 58 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL. No fewer than 39 of those points were goals.
During his six-game stint with the Comets to end the season, Lind picked up one assist. He didn’t get into any playoff action as head coach Trent Cull went with other players ahead of him. Lind has said since the end of the season that his time in Utica was an eye opener for him and he better understands what he has ahead of him in the pro game now.
He has spent his offseason training hard with former NHLer Rich Pilon, and it shows. Lind looks bigger, stronger, and he showed that nasty shot that helped him pile up all of those goals over the years with the Rockets when he rifled one past the glove of goaltender Michael DiPietro for a goal. Sidebar… DiPietro is going to be a beauty when he turns pro.
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When I spoke with Lind after the game, I put the same questions to him. Where did he see himself fitting in with the Comets this season? Lind told me that he hopes to take a role on the power-play and that he thinks he can contribute offensively with goals. He went on to say that he wants to develop his game to the pro level this year in Utica.
When I asked him if he was more of a left-winger or a right-side guy, he told me that he is equally comfortable on both wings and that he can slot into the middle as well. He said his versatility helps him feel comfortable no matter where his coach lines him up.
The wings are pretty crowded in Utica, but the depth down the middle isn’t as strong. Trent Cull will have some options to play with as Lind, Zack MacEwen, Tyler Motte, Michael Carcone, and Tanner MacMaster are all wingers who have played some center in the past.
It will be interesting to watch Lind develop this season in Utica. The organization drafted him with an eye to possibly one day have him riding shotgun with Elias Pettersson in Vancouver. If he proves to be worthy of that role in a couple of years, the Canucks will have struck gold in the second round.
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Tanner MacMaster
Tanner MacMaster joined the Comets on a tryout deal towards the end of last season after four campaigns spent with the Quinnipiac program in the ECAC. He has since been rewarded with a one-year AHL deal with the club. The undrafted forward finished his final season with Quinnipiac appearing in 38 games and picking up 13 goals and 20 assists to give him 33 points.
The Canucks/Comets have seemingly been targeting players with speed and a high hockey IQ recently. MacMaster checks both of those boxes for the team. He stood out in the scrimmage with a pair of goals and looked to have his head on a swivel when he was on the ice, either looking for scoring lanes or to set up a teammate with a heady pass.
MacMaster got into 13 regular season games with the Comets last season, potting a pair of goals and five helpers to give him seven points. He followed that up with one goal and three assists to give him four points in the Comets five-game, first-round playoff series loss to the eventual Calder Cup Champs from Toronto.
In speaking with MacMaster after the game, I posed the same question to him about where he sees himself fitting in with the Comets for the upcoming season. MacMaster told me that he feels that he can play on both the power-play and the penalty-kill for the club as he took on PK duty while with Quinnipiac. He said that he takes pride in the defensive side of his game and that it is something that he is still working on. He went on to say that he wants to be a player who can be relied upon in all situations.
I asked Tanner if he thought he would be able to up his game and continue to bring more offence for the Comets. He said that the experience that he gained with the Comets at the end of the season will help him in that regard and that he feels that he now knows that some things will work out there and some won’t, and that will help him coming into the new season.
I mentioned to MacMaster that I had him pencilled in on the left side with Zack MacEwen in the middle and Lukas Jasek on the right, his reply was, “perfect, that’s awesome.” MacMaster said that he liked playing with MacEwen last year, along with the traded Chaput, but that he also felt that he worked well with Jasek. He also brought up that he played with the hard-working Carter Bancks and Wacey Hamilton last season at times as well.
MacMaster can slot up and down the lineup for the Comets and play a few different roles for the club. His versatility and hockey sense should help him to have a solid rookie campaign with Utica. He will be one to keep an eye on, folks. It will not surprise me if MacMaster is rewarded with a two-way deal with the Canucks before the start of the 2019/20 season.
Now that I have the Utica trio wrapped up, I will turn my attention to their GM, Ryan Johnson.
I asked the Comets General Manager if any of the invitees had done themselves any favours this week in regards to earning a longer look with the Comets for the coming season. Johnson said that it’s something that they have talked about and that they will discuss things further as they prepare for Penticton, (Young Stars Tournament) later this summer and that they will have some spots to fill for that event. He also said that he thought the invitees did a great job all week representing themselves.
With the Canucks/Comets rosters both swelling, I also asked Johnson if there were any plans to park a few more bodies in Kalamazoo for the upcoming season. He responded by saying that the team intended to have signed players in Kalamazoo for depth so that they wouldn’t need to use a merry-go-round of PTO players again this year. He went on to say that the team would rather have players that they know and players who will know the team culture and be familiar with the systems and be ready to step in. Newcomer Brendan Bradley is one player who falls into that category.
Comets Add Another: Sign Forward Brendan Bradley To AHL Deal https://t.co/CduKvLDWYK — CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) July 3, 2018
One last Comets related tidbit. I asked the Canucks most recent first-round pick, Quinn Hughes, if signing with the Canucks and starting the year in Utica would be a no-go for him. He responded by saying that a lot of great players have played in the AHL and went on to list Duncan Keith and Erik Karlsson as examples and that if he had to play there that he would do that as well. He followed up by saying that he was going to talk with his family, the team and his advisors and they would come up with the right decision.
I had noticed that Hughes was playing the right side in the game and asked if that was by design. He responded that his partner wanted to play the left side but that he is comfortable on either side, obviously preferring the left.
It will be a short summer for these young players as they all vie for positions for the upcoming season. The Canucks/Comets still have work to do, but you can see the bones of something good coming along on the horizon. Some of these players will play important roles for the club going forward, so make sure to keep tabs on them as they develop.
One last thing before I finish up. This was my first time being in press row at Rogers Arena. There were several of our local media members there, and they made me feel welcomed. It could have been a lot more intimidating than it was otherwise. So, thank you to those who were open to me walking up and introducing myself. I would also like to thank Petrus Palmu, Kole Lind, Tanner MacMaster, Quinn Hughes, and Ryan Johnson for answering the questions posed by a complete rookie.
All four players were bright and articulate with their responses, and Ryan Johnson took an extra few minutes with me afterwards so that I could introduce myself as a writer who covers the Comets from afar. I believe the Comets are in good hands with Johnson and look forward to watching him climb the ranks as an NHL executive.
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De acuerdo al Informe sobre la Ejecución de los Programas y las Campañas de Comunicación Social del Gobierno de la República, la Secretaria del Trabajo y Previsión Social pago a los conductores del programa de “Tercer Grado” la cantidad de 9 millones, 120 mil pesos.
El informe sobre la Ejecución de los Programas y las Campañas de Comunicación Social del Gobierno de la República, detalla los pagos recibidos por Adela Micha, Denisse Maerker, Ciro Gómez Leyva, Carlos Loret de Mola y Joaquín López- Doriga. Los pagos de acuerdo al reporte correspondiente al ejercicio fiscal del 2013, fueron de la siguiente forma:
Adela Micha $1,436,000.38 Página No.67
Denisse Maerker $1,818,000.88 Página No. 66
Ciro Gomez Leyva $1,707,000.52 Página No. 66
Carlos Loret de Mola $2,078,000.82 Página No. 66
Joaquín-López Doriga $2,078,000.82 Página No. 67 | {
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While the plates in the college football world are shifting, Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson broke his recent silence on Monday in an interview with the Idaho Statesman.
The recent movement began with Texas A&M leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, which immediately jeopardized the Big 12's future. That future appears now to be non-existent, as Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and then possibly Texas and Texas Tech could be headed to the Pac-12.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh and Syracuse are on the move from the Big East to the ACC, and the likelihood of the so-called 'super-conferences' forming appears to be a foregone conclusion at this point.
Meanwhile …
"We've resurrected … this consolidation concept with Conference USA from a football-only standpoint. The timing is right to be proactive in that," Thompson said. "Consolidation is, at least, worth exploring."
Thompson then told the Statesman that the Mountain West has reached out to members of the Big 12 and Big East that figure to be soon left in the dust about joining the 10-team league.
As for the potential Mountain West-Conference USA merger, which would form a 22-team football league, the talks have been in the works for roughly a year now, but are now picking up steam as the realignment madness is hitting its peak.
The Mountain West is set to have 10 members next year when TCU takes off for the Big East and Fresno State, Nevada-Reno and Hawaii join. However, Thompson insinuated that with the Big East crumbling, TCU could potentially be invited back into the league.
He also said that BYU, who left the league to become a football independent following last season, has not been contacted.
"I have had a lot of conversations with TCU through this process," he added. "Specifically inviting them back to the league is not my position (only the league's board of directors can do so). But it is being strongly considered and would probably — probably emphasized — be endorsed by the Mountain West Board of Directors." | {
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Claudio Ranieri is ready to move for Leicester’s record signing Islam Slimani in January.
Ranieri, the new Fulham manager, is lining up a deal for Slimani as he targets signings to boost the club’s hopes of Premier League survival.
Slimani, the Algeria international, is currently on loan at Fenerbahce but has only scored one league goal and the Turkish club are prepared to cut the deal short next month.
Ranieri signed Slimani for around £29m in August 2016 and is exploring a deal to sign him for around half the price.
It is understood Leicester will allow Slimani to join another club in January if they can agree a deal with Fenerbahce.
Leicester are also set to release long-serving midfielder Andy King, with Championship promotion contenders West Bromwich Albion registering an interest. | {
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One hundred permanent residencies each year to be given to children of Qatari mothers and skilled expatriates.
Qatar will soon be the first Arab Gulf nation to allow some of its long-time foreign residents to become permanent residents.
Issuing a new law, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani directed the government on Tuesday to grant permanent residency to 100 expatriates every year. The law also allows most migrant workers to leave the country without an exit visa.
The new permanent residency law gives priority to children born to a Qatari mother, as well as foreign nationals who have lived in the country for more than 20 years and are considered “valuable” for their skills.
Some two million foreign residents live in Qatar.
Under the new law, permanent residents are entitled to the same social security as Qatar’s citizens, including free healthcare and education in government schools. They will also be given priority in government jobs.
‘Gesture of appreciation’
As permanent residents, foreign expatriates investing in Qatar will no longer be required to have a Qatari citizen as their partners. The new law also allows them to own real estate in the country.
Once the new law is implemented, permanent residents will be able to enter and leave the country without permission from their employers, which is required for other residents.
The landmark law also allows expatriates serving in the Qatari armed forces to apply for permanent residency.
A Sudanese citizen, serving in the Qatari army for decades, told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity that he is in the process applying to become a permanent resident.
This law would serve as a gesture of appreciation to many of our Arab brothers who have lived among us for decades and made an honourable stand supporting Qatar against the siege by the neighbouring countries. Abdullah al-Athbah
Vision 2030
Analysts say the new law is part of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s ambitious Vision 2030, which aims to create a sustainable and modern Qatar in the next 10 years.
“This law would serve as a gesture of appreciation to many of our Arab brothers who have lived among us for decades and made an honourable stand, supporting Qatar against the siege by the neighbouring countries,” Abdullah al-Athbah, chief editor of Qatari newspaper Al Arab, told Al Jazeera.
In June 2017, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of funding “terrorism” and fomenting regional instability – allegations Doha denies.
Al-Athbah said the new law is a “first step” in Qatar’s “investment in human capital”, which will benefit the state in vital areas such as medicine, science and engineering.
“The pioneering new law is part of a national strategy of modernisation and sustained development,” a senior Qatari official, who declined to be identified, told Al Jazeera.
On plans to grant just 100 permanent residencies a year, al-Athbah said the move will allow the government to evaluate its policy, revise it and expand it as needed in the years to come.
Qatar is one of the richest countries in the world with an average income of nearly $124,000 a year, a figure that surpasses many Western countries, including the United States.
Follow Ali Younes on Twitter: @ali_reports | {
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Pretty Dirty – Elsa Jean & Alexis Fawx
When stepmom Alexis Fawx catches Elsa Jean ditching school and messing around with her boyfriend Jessy Jones, she doesn’t realize she’s being made the object of a wicked lesbian sex game. Elsa’s plotting to fuck her hot stepmom’s pussy, and she wants to use Jessy’s cock as the bait. Elsa gets Jessy to pretend he’s a virgin and ask for help finding someone to practice fucking. Ms. Fawx is surprisingly easy to talk to about possible options. She advises against fucking prostitutes or fucking friends, and she’s genuinely concerned that he finds the right help. When Jessy suggests maybe she could teach him about fucking, he kisses her, and she takes the bait. Suddenly, his cock is in her mouth. She’s blowing him, then fucking him and taking it deep in her pussy. She can hardly believe he’s a virgin the way he dominates her pussy. Alexis is in the middle of deepthroating Jessy’s cock when Elsa walks in on them with the camera rolling. She encourages her hot and bothered stepmom to keep going, sucking on her big tits while Jessy pounds the MILF’s pussy. Then Elsa licks her stepmom’s clit, as Jessy’s cock fucks Elsa’s tight pussy from behind, while he watches the steamy lesbian action from the rise of her ass. The girls cum for each other in so many configurations, double teaming Jessy’s probing big cock with their hot lips and wet pussy slits, till his huge load of cum explodes into their awaiting mouths. | {
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Beautiful? Maybe. But big? Definitely.
A 14-mile section of President Trump’s border wall is under construction in San Diego, at a cost of $147 million.
The money comes from the omnibus spending bill that Trump signed in March. The legislation included a $1.6 billion down payment on the “great, great” wall that – Trump promised throughout his presidential campaign – would stretch across the nation’s southern border.
The San Diego wall will reach up to 30 feet high, topped with a sheer vertical “anti-climbing plate” that offers no hand- or footholds for illicit border crossers.
It will replace a long stretch of 8-to-10-foot-high metal fencing that was built in the 1990s out of scrap metal and repurposed steel plates. Rusted and wobbly in places, the old wall has been no match for drug smugglers and human traffickers.
The bollard-style design of the new wall mimics a model already in use in other spots along California’s border with Mexico, said Vincent C. Pirro of the San Diego Sector Border Patrol – not one of the pricey new prototypes that Trump viewed on a visit to California in March.
The new wall will allow agents to see through close-set metal uprights at the base of the structure, Pirro told the Post.
“What I can tell you is that infrastructure works,” he said. “We have seen a correlation between construction of border infrastructure and the reduction of illegal human and drug traffic… we expect the new wall in San Diego to have a similar effect.”
The new wall will begin about a half-mile from the Pacific Ocean coastline, at Border Field State Park. It will run east – parallel to the existing fence – to the base of Otay Mountain, officials said.
The U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector, which covers 60 miles of the US-Mexico boundary, is one of the most active in the nation. Last year, its officers arrested more than 26,000 illegal immigrants and seized nearly 11,000 pounds of marijuana and 3,000 pounds of cocaine.
Two other border-barrier projects are already in progress – a two-mile stretch of wall in Calexico, Calif., and a 20-mile project in Santa Teresa, New Mex. | {
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Talk of a maze of underground tunnels beneath the Colonial city of Puebla in Mexico were long disregarded as mere urban legend. However, last year, city authorities confirmed that their existence was no myth, as subterranean tunnels dating back as early as 1531, when the city was first founded, were unearthed and found to extend as far as 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). Now new investigations of the underground network have begun to unravel the secrets of Mexico’s hidden tunnels.
Discovery of Hidden Tunnel Network
In September, 2015, El Universal reported that the underground tunnels, which measure approximately 7 meters (23 feet) high and 3 meters (9.8 feet) wide, were discovered during public works being carried out in the city center. Four separate entrances were found filled with earth. After removing tons of earth and mud, investigations revealed a line of tunnels running from Fort Loreto to the Fort of Guadalupe in the upper part of town, and from Fort Loreto to the District of San Jose, located in the center of the city. A third line was discovered from the Fort of Guadalupe to Los Remedios Church, where the defense of Puebla took place against the invading French Army in 1862.
"In the urban narrative or urban legends there was word of the tunnels in Puebla, but nobody knew where they were, they had never been seen", the manager of Cultural Heritage and Historical Center of Puebla, Sergio Vergara Bermejo, told El Universal.
A Secret Beneath a Historic City
Founded in 1531, Puebla is one of the oldest cities in Mexico and is among the five most important Spanish colonial cities in the country. Due to its rich history and its impressive architectural styles, Puebla was named a World Heritage Site in 1987. Stories of underground tunnels were passed down through the generations, but were long considered an urban legend until their discovery last year.
“Puebla in the seventeenth century was flooded and half the city was covered in mud, the city we walk is the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the bottom are the treasures that we must preserve,” said Bermejo.
The mayor of Puebla, Tony Gali, earmarked 5 million pesos (approx. U.S. $295,000) for the excavation and restoration of the tunnels.
Shedding New Light on Puebla’s Subterranean World
El Pais reports that local government officials in Puebla have been investigating the tunnels ever since their discovery with the aim of shedding some light on their history.
“The passageways feature different architectural styles, reflecting the time of the construction,” writes El Pais. “So far, 15 different archway systems built to support the structures have been found. For example, builders used a type of cement composition made with stone chips and other materials to fashion a half-way arch.”
Remarkably, the underground structures have withstood the weight of the buildings above, water systems, and earthquakes over the centuries, and remain in good condition.
During the restoration of the underground tunnels investigators also found the ancient remains of the Puente de Bubas, a bridgelike structure from the 17th century that was used to cross the San Francisco River, which was the main water source for the city in that era. (Credit: Saúl Sánchez )
Transporting Treasures and Supporting War Efforts
It is now known that the tunnels were initially utilized by the Catholic Church. Built around the same time as the majority of churches and monasteries in the city, the subterranean roads became a way for the Church’s treasures to be safely transported from one place to another.
Later, the tunnels supported the city’s war efforts against the French Army in the famous Battle of Puebla, in 1862.
“The details support the theory that the underground passage was used to transport weapons, ammunition and soldiers during the now-commemorated battle that took place on May 5, 1862 when Mexicans repelled an invasion of French soldiers sent by Napoleon III,” reports El Pais. “The tunnels were also used to attack the French on different fronts at the time of the invasion.”
Reviving the Ancient Tunnels
The plan is to transform the recently-discovered subterranean world into a tourist attraction so visitors can learn more about the stories and legends of this historic city.
The entrance to the first of nine tunnels – called the Puerta de Zaragoza – will be opened to visitors in February.
Featured image: Newly-discovered tunnels in Puebla. (Screenshot from YouTube video / The Telegraph )
By April Holloway | {
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With two diminutive legs locked into a leap-ready position, the tiny jumper bends its body taut like an archer drawing a bow. At the top of its legs, a minuscule pair of gears engage—their strange, shark-fin teeth interlocking cleanly like a zipper. And then, faster than you can blink, think, or see with the naked eye, the entire thing is gone. In 2 milliseconds it has bulleted skyward, accelerating at nearly 400 g's—a rate more than 20 times what a human body can withstand. At top speed the jumper breaks 8 mph—quite a feat considering its body is less than one-tenth of an inch long.
This miniature marvel is an adolescent issus, a kind of planthopper insect and one of the fastest accelerators in the animal kingdom. As a duo of researchers in the U.K. report today in the journal Science, the issus also the first living creature ever discovered to sport a functioning gear. "Jumping is one of the most rapid and powerful things an animal can do," says Malcolm Burrows, a zoologist at the University of Cambridge and the lead author of the paper, "and that leads to all sorts of crazy specializations."
The researchers believe that the issus—which lives chiefly on European climbing ivy—evolved its acrobatic prowess because it needs to flee dangerous situations. Although they're not exactly sure if the rapid jump evolved to escape hungry birds, parasitizing wasps, or the careless mouths of large grazing animals, "there's been enormous evolutionary pressure to become faster and faster, and jump further and further away," Burrows says. But gaining this high acceleration has put incredible demands on the reaction time of insect's body parts, and that's where the gears—which "you can imagine being at the top of the thigh bone in a human," Burrows says—come in.
Issus nymph Malcolm Burrows
"As the legs unfurl to power the jump," Burrows says, "both have to move at exactly the same time. If they didn't, the animal would start to spiral out of control." Larger animals, whether kangaroos or NBA players, rely on their nervous system to keep their legs in sync when pushing off to jump—using a constant loop of adjustment and feedback. But for the issus, their legs outpace their nervous system. By the time the insect has sent a signal from its legs to its brain and back again, roughly 5 or 6 milliseconds, the launch has long since happened. Instead, the gears, which engage before the jump, let the issus lock its legs together—synchronizing their movements to a precision of 1/300,000 of a second.
The gears themselves are an oddity. With gear teeth shaped like cresting waves, they look nothing like what you'd find in your car or in a fancy watch. (The style that you're most likely familiar with is called an involute gear, and it was designed by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler in the 18th century.) There could be two reasons for this. Through a mathematical oddity, there is a limitless number of ways to design intermeshing gears. So, either nature evolved one solution at random, or, as Gregory Sutton, coauthor of the paper and insect researcher at the University of Bristol, suspects, the shape of the issus's gear is particularly apt for the job it does. It's built for "high precision and speed in one direction," he says. "It's a prototype for a new type of gear."
Another odd thing about this discovery is that although there are many jumping insects like the issus—including ones that are even faster and better jumpers—the issus is apparently the only one with natural gears. Most other bugs synchronize the quick jolt of their leaping legs through friction, using bumpy or grippy surfaces to press the top of their legs together, says Duke University biomechanics expert Steve Vogel, who was not involved in this study. Like gears, this ensures the legs move at the same rate, but without requiring a complicated interlocking mechanism. "There are a lot of friction pads around, and they accomplish pretty much of the same thing," he says. "So I wonder what extra capacity these gears confer. They're rather specialized, and there are lots of other jumpers that don't have them, so there must be some kind of advantage."
Even stranger is that the issus doesn't keep these gears throughout its life cycle. As the adolescent insect grows, it molts half a dozen times, upgrading its exoskeleton (gears included) for larger and larger versions. But after its final molt into adulthood—poof, the gears are gone. The adult syncs its legs by friction like all the other planthoppers. "I'm gobsmacked," says Sutton. "We have a hypothesis as to why this is the case, but we can't tell you for sure."
Their idea: If one of the gear teeth were to slip and break in an adult (the researchers observed this in adolescent bugs), its jumping ability would be hindered forever. With no more molts, it would have no chance to grow more gears. And with every bound, "the whole system might slip, accelerating damage to the rest of the gear teeth," Sutton says. "Just like if your car has a gear train missing a tooth. Every time you get to that missing tooth, the gear train jerks."
More bugs:
The 12 Worst Insect Invaders
Bio-Bots: 9 Nature-Mimicking Machines
Megabugs: The World's Largest Insects
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Here's What Happened When A Chinese Painting Depicted An Altered Version Of History
Forty years ago this week, China opened up its economy to the rest of the world. This is the story of how one painting shows that China's current leadership is attempting to rewrite that history.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Forty years ago this week, China's leader at the time, Deng Xiaoping, opened the country's economy to the rest of the world. It was a significant moment in China's history and in world history. NPR's Rob Schmitz has the story of a painting that illustrates how China's current leadership is rewriting that history.
ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE: A few weeks ago, I went out with a couple of friends. Over pizza and beer, we talked about an art exhibition touring China commemorating 40 years of China's reform and opening. One friend, a Hong Kong businessman, showed me a picture of one of the paintings. It was an odd painting for reasons I'll describe later. So I asked him to send it to me over WeChat, China's most popular messaging app.
So you sent it to me and I didn't get it and then...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: And I sent it again.
SCHMITZ: Then you sent it again, and I still didn't get it.
Other messages he sent to me were going through just fine, but WeChat was preventing the image of this single painting from being sent.
So why do you think I didn't get it?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: I don't know. I mean, it's more interesting because after you didn't get it, I realized how sensitive the picture was maybe, you know?
SCHMITZ: And that's why I'm not sharing his name. This painting is a sensitive topic for China's government. In it, a man is pointing at a map lecturing five others who are seated. The one standing is Xi Zhongxun, the father of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Among those seated is Deng Xiaoping, former leader of China. The map is of Shenzhen, at the time, a fishing village selected by Deng to become the future showcase city of China's reform and opening, a project that turned China into the fastest moving economy in the history of civilization, turning it into the world's second-largest economy behind the U.S. Historians have many problems with this painting.
JULIAN GEWIRTZ: One is that this meeting didn't happen the way that it's depicted.
SCHMITZ: Julian Gewirtz, a China scholar at Harvard, says the meeting in the painting did happen, but it wasn't chaired by Xi Jinping's father. It was led by Hua Guofeng, who was in charge of China's Communist Party at the time. Hua, who was eventually ousted from leadership, does not appear in this painting. Another inaccuracy, says Gewirtz, is the face of Xi Zhongxun, father of Xi Jinping.
GEWIRTZ: The man is painted to look as much like the son as the father could possibly be. And on top of that, it looks like he is teaching Deng Xiaoping how to do this kind of reform and opening in Shenzhen.
SCHMITZ: In fact, Deng Xiaoping wasn't even at this meeting, but his role in creating Shenzhen is immortalized in one of China's most popular songs, "Story Of Spring."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STORY OF SPRING")
UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing in foreign language).
SCHMITZ: In spring of '79, the song goes, an old man in southern China drew a circle. The old man is Deng, but Chinese historian Zhang Lifan says the painting depicts a revised history.
ZHANG LIFAN: (Through interpreter) When I saw the painting, I immediately felt history is being rewritten. Xi's father did play a role in making Shenzhen a special economic zone. But we all know the story of how Deng drew a circle around the city to create it. Now, apparently, Xi's father did it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STORY OF SPRING")
UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing in foreign language).
SCHMITZ: Whether it's through song or a painting, historian Gewirtz says a historical event like the birth of China's economic boom is so important that remolding it is proving to be irresistible for China's current leader.
GEWIRTZ: It really epitomizes the sense that many people have that Xi Jinping and his advisers are trying to insert Xi and his family into the history of reform and opening in a new way.
SCHMITZ: At the expense, he says, of past leaders.
GEWIRTZ: That fact, I think, is what really gets people agitated when they think about this because they're able to see the manipulation of history in real time.
SCHMITZ: And that is why the painting's image went viral over China's social media. That's why it was blocked when my friend tried to send it to me. And that's perhaps why China's government has suddenly removed the painting from its national exhibition. Rewriting history, says Gewirtz, can be a delicate, sensitive process. Rob Schmitz, NPR News, Shanghai.
Copyright © 2018 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. | {
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is set to begin compiling social media data on US immigrants next month, including current green card holders and naturalized citizens, BuzzFeed News reports.
DHS quietly published the new regulation in the Federal Register last week, expanding what the agency is allowed to place in an individual's immigration file. As of October 18, the department can collect "social media handles, aliases, associated identifiable information, and search results" on any US immigrant, the Register states.
The DHS also plans to source data from "publicly available information obtained from the internet, public records, public institutions, interviewees, commercial data providers, and information obtained and disclosed pursuant to information sharing agreements." According to BuzzFeed, this surveillance practice could also potentially sweep up data on anyone who communicates with a US immigrant.
The DHS floated the idea of collecting US visitors' social data back in February, and announced in April some tourists could be required to hand over their phones and social media passwords at the border. Two months later, the Trump administration unveiled a new visa survey requiring some applicants to provide every social media handle and email address they've used over the past five years.
"There's a growing trend at the Department of Homeland Security to be snooping on the social media of immigrants and foreigners," privacy and free speech attorney Adam Schwartz told BuzzFeed, "and we think it's an invasion of privacy and deters freedom of speech."
Constitutional concerns aside, there's little evidence that monitoring a US immigrant's social media presence helps uncover threats to national security, BuzzFeed reports. US Customs and Immigration Services tested a program that scraped data on refugees in the US from social media, and found that the practice didn't reveal clear security concerns—even when other security screening techniques flagged an applicant as a risk.
"It's very difficult to successfully use social media to determine what people are going or not going to do," Faiza Patel, co-director of the Brennan Center's liberty and national security program, told BuzzFeed. "People use emojis, they use short form. Sometimes it's difficult to know what something means." | {
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“Shipbuilding”
Written by Elvis Costello & Clive Langer (1983)
Performed by Elvis Costello & The Attractions
The Music
In 1982, British producer Clive Langer was working on a song to pitch to singer Robert Wyatt. Inspired by Wyatt’s take on Billie Holiday’s classic “Strange Fruit,” Langer wrote a moody, minor key melody. Stuck for suitable words to his tune, Langer played it for his friend Elvis Costello. Within a few days, Costello had written a poetic and emotional lyric about the Falklands War.
Costello has said that he came at the song from the perspective of workers in British naval yards during the build-up to the war. The early 80s was an economically depressed time for Britain and the idea was that, while people in small harbor towns would be glad for new shipbuilding jobs, it was all at the expense of the boys who were being sent off to die in battle.
Robert Wyatt recorded the song in 1982, but Costello’s version, released a year later on his Punch The Clock album, is better-known. Costello’s “Shipbuilding” is also remarkable for being one of the last recorded performances by legendary jazz trumpet player Chet Baker.
The History
At the height of its imperialist reach, the British Empire controlled India, Australia, several African countries, and over a dozen islands around the world. Hence the old expression, “The sun never sets on the British Empire.”
But by the early 1980s, there were only a few territories left that hadn’t fought and gained their independence from the British. The Falklands was one of them. A tiny collection of islands off the coast of Argentina, with a population of just under 3000, the Falklands had been under British rule since 1833.
But in the second half of the 20th century, Argentina made a claim on the Falklands. There were a few failed incursions in the 1960s and 70s. Then, in early 1982, President Leopold Galtieri, the head of Argentina’s new ruling military junta, started beating the drums of war. Newspaper articles spelled out a plan of attack. Galtieri gave speeches to stoke patriotic fervor. And on April 2, 1982, he sent troops to the Falklands. As with many declarations of war, this one was designed to whip up national pride while drawing attention away from serious domestic issues—in this case, human rights and economic problems.
Within two days, the Argentine army had overpowered a small troop of British Royal Marines and seized the Falklands capital of Port Stanley.
The British Response
Getty Images
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher tried diplomatic pressure on Argentina, but when that failed, she ordered a naval task force to take the islands back. Led by aircraft carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible at sea, with Sea Harrier fighter planes providing cover from the air, the British army moved into the Falklands in mid-April.
The war lasted about two months. It wasn’t much of a contest. After the British sank an Argentine submarine and a light cruiser, the Argentine fleet remained in port for the duration of the war. And because the runway at Port Stanley was too short for modern fighter planes, the Argentine air force had to fly from the mainland, which put them at a disadvantage.
As the British advanced onto land, their troops outmaneuvered the Argentine commandos, defeating them in several key towns. By mid-June, British forces had the islands blockaded at sea and encircled on land. Attacks on Port Stanley lasted a week before the Argentine army surrendered.
In the war, Britain suffered 258 dead and 777 wounded. Argentina lost 649 and had 1068 wounded.
Though the Falkland Islands remain under British control, a recent open letter from Argentinian President Cristina de Kirchner to British Prime Minister David Cameron stirred trouble, calling for the islands to be returned. The British have rejected the idea of any negotiation, saying the Falkland Islanders have chosen to be British. Their statement said, “There are three parties to this debate, not just two as Argentina likes to pretend. The Islanders can’t just be written out of history.”
The Islanders will hold a referendum in March 2013 to determine their political status. | {
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on 19/03/2020 - 14:57Last edited 21/03/2020 - 00:19 by 1 other user
Greetings everyone, seems like some gold prices on this phone from HN :)
Google Pixel 3 128gb
Thanks to Price Hipster for the price pickup.
As always, enjoy! | {
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Google has hired contractors to remove Infowars.com from its search engines.
All contractors have been instructed to actively rate InfoWars as a low quality and untrusted site.
The Save Infowars Super Sale is now live! Get up to 60% off our most popular products today! | {
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Greater Pittsburgh Medical Weight Loss is your local, personalized health program that will not only help you meet your weight loss goals, but will revolutionize your lifestyle. | {
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By Samuel Hammond, Robert Orr
Executive Summary
Poor immigrants use public benefits at significantly lower rates than poor citizens. This is a finding that has been independently and repeatedly demonstrated in the U.S. context by researchers across the ideological spectrum, from the Cato Institute to the Center for American Progress. In this short paper, we confirm it again using the latest available data. Our findings include:
Low-income noncitizens use SNAP, SSI, and TANF at substantially lower rates, and in substantially smaller quantities, than citizens.
This is true of households that are in theory fully eligible for programs due to the presence of citizen children.
Medicaid and CHIP participation is broadly similar between citizens and noncitizens; however, a much larger number of noncitizens have no health insurance at all.
The key reasons low-income noncitizens are less likely to access public benefits include tight restrictions on eligibility and confusion about what benefits are available. Nonetheless, the notion that noncitizens make disproportionate use of public benefits remains widespread. At the very least, as a popular myth it ought to be avoided as the premise for public policy.
Read the report in its entirety here.
Charts and Graphs
(Click for full resolution)
| {
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TORONTO -- Love is in the air in Victoria as the B.C. capital regains its crown as Canada's most romantic city.
The picturesque city topped the rankings in the fourth annual list compiled by Amazon.ca after falling to the No. 5 spot in 2012.
North Vancouver landed in the runner-up position, with Waterloo, Ont., in third place.
Victoria unseated last year's champ, the eastern Ontario city of Kingston, which sits in fourth place, while Guelph, Ont. -- the 2012 runner-up -- placed fifth.
They're followed by Saskatoon, Vancouver, Calgary, Nanaimo, B.C. and Lethbridge, Alta.
Rounding out the top 20 are: Oakville, Ont., Kelowna, B.C., Edmonton, Regina, London, Ont., Red Deer, Alta., Kamloops, B.C., Thunder Bay, Ont., Winnipeg and Burlington, Ont.
The online retailer compiled the list by comparing sales data of romance novels, relationship books and romantic comedy DVDs from Jan. 1, 2012 to Jan. 23 2013 on a per capita basis in cities with more than 80,000 residents. | {
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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have one of the most loyal fan bases in the Indian Premier League (IPL). As a special gesture, the team management has organized for a chartered train, named the 'Whistle Podu Express' after the supporters' group, to transport hundreds of fans on the 21-hour journey to Pune. CSK's new recruit, South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir, heaped praise on the ardent followers as the videos surfaced on social media showing the supporters singing and dancing on the train as it made its way to the west coast of the country. A video has been posted on the official Twitter handle of Chennai Super Kings in which Tahir has expressed that the love of CSK fans is overwhelming and he is looking forward to meeting them in Pune.
CSK were forced to move their remaining home matches this season to the MCA Stadium in Pune after protests stemming from a water dispute in Chennai meant the safety of spectators at Chepauk Stadium, their traditional home ground, could not be assured.
The team management's efforts ensured that CSK players will still be greeted by a sea of yellow for their match against Rajasthan Royals on Friday night.
In addition to footing the bill for the train, Super Kings paid for tickets to the match and overnight accommodation for its loyalist supporters, who will return home on Saturday.
"Fans have been integral to our team and we have seen how much it matters to them," CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told the media.
"So when they approached us for help regarding travel, we thought why not go a step further and get all of them to Pune. We had little time because it happened inside three days.
Promoted
"We sent our logistics team to Pune to take care of accommodation, food and other things. We have put them up in six hotels and two marriage halls."
The return to Pune will be a homecoming of sorts for captain MS Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming, who joined forces at Rising Pune Supergiant during Chennai's two-year ban. | {
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Sonic the Hedgehog
After discovering a small, blue, fast hedgehog, a small-town police officer must help him defeat an evil genius who wants to do experiments on him. | {
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Religious leader Asaram, who is serving a life sentence for raping a minor, has sent a mercy plea to Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh, seeking a reduction of his term of imprisonment. In his petition, Asaram cited old age and sought relief from the “gruelling punishment”, PTI reported.
On April 25, a Jodhpur court sentenced the religious leader to life in prison for raping a minor girl in his ashram in 2013. Asaram moved the Rajasthan High Court on July 2, but it has not yet taken up his appeal.
Governor Kalyan Singh sent Asaram’s mercy plea to Rajasthan home department for a detailed report. The department forwarded the petition to the Jodhpur Central Jail administration, which, in turn, sought a report from the district police and administration.
“We have received Asaram’s mercy plea,” Jodhpur Central Jail Superintendent Kailash Trivedi said. “We have sought a report from the district administration and police on this mercy plea.” The report will subsequently be sent to Rajasthan Director General (Prisons) Bhupendra Singh. | {
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For the first time since 1972, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has voted to not award a Nobel Peace Prize.
“Seriously, have you watched the news?” asked Berit Reiss-Andersen, lawyer and the chair of the Nobel prize committee when reached for comment.
In recent years, the committee faced the issue of an abundance of strong candidates from which to choose, but this year, the pickings for truly deserving winners are said to be slim.
“In 2009, we gave out a record 205 nominations,” explained Henrik Syse, the Department Chair of the Nobel committee and a Professor and Senior Researcher at the International Peace Research Institute Oslo. “The record was broken again in 2010 and again in 2011. A new record was set in 2016 with 376 nominations.”
This year, the number of nominations hit an ungodly high, but sources close to the committee say these numbers are deceptive.
“Over seven hundred nominations,” admitted Syse. “And at least 600 of those were for United States President Donald Trump, calling and nominating himself, just using different voices. We had to block his number.”
The committee is sworn to secrecy on the names of nominated candidates and is forbidden from divulging the information to the media. Even potential recipients aren’t privy to the information regarding their possible nomination. The official Nobel website states that “Insofar as certain names crop up in the advance speculations as to who will be awarded any given year’s Prize, this is sheer guesswork.”
“Dear Christ, you should have seen some of the names,” commented Reiss-Andersen, filling his high-ball glass for the third time in an hour. “Even if we let a couple of things slide on the grading scale, most of the candidates were genuinely horrific choices. Don’t get me wrong, Ariana Grande’s benefit concert for the Manchester Arena bombing victims was generous gesture, but I recall looking over at Henrik at one point and whispering ‘are we really considering the chick from Sam and Cat?’”
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes created by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. Since March 1901, the Nobel prizes have awarded annually to those who have “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”
Past winners of the Nobel Peace prize include Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, former president Barack Obama, Al Gore and Mother Teresa.
“It’s a god damn shame I’m not even in the running,” opined former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci. “I mean, in my ten days on the job I kept the peace around that nut house like you wouldn’t freakin’ believe. I’ve tried to call to get them to change their minds but I haven’t been able to get through. It’s almost like my number is blocked or something.”
The committee is confidant that the Peace Prize will be awarded again in 2018.
“The year 2017 is one that should be forgotten for many reasons,” quipped Reiss-Andersen, “and 2018 is shaping up to be just as awful. The committee is confident at least one person has to stand up and say ‘seriously, everyone knock it the fuck off.’” | {
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MEERA DOES NOT KNOW HER AGE. She believes she is between 35 and 40 years old. Her home is in Rajokri, in south-west Delhi, near the financial and technology hub of Gurugram. The area was once a village, and its more than 10,000 people still largely rely on farming for income. Meera and her family live below the poverty line.
For as long as she could remember, Meera always had a mild pain in her lower abdomen. She has lost count of the number of times she had visited the local doctor, who always gave her some paracetamol and told her she was fine.
“No one thought it was anything but a stomach ache,” she told me. “If I hadn’t had screening tests done, I would have continued to take stomach pills.” | {
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