text
stringlengths 14
100k
| meta
dict |
|---|---|
PETALING JAYA: Eateries that place their tables and chairs on the sidewalk or parking lots are courting danger, says National Road Safety Council member Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.
“Some eateries are placing tables and chairs on the walkways of shoplots, inconveniencing the public, especially disabled people.
“If tables and chairs are placed on parking areas, it could also cause fatal accidents like the recent incident,” he said.
On Sunday night, a four-wheel drive rammed into a table at an open-air area of a hawker centre in Serdang, Selangor, killing a diner.
In a statement yesterday, Lee said the authorities should initiate a policy to govern the safety of the public at roadside eateries.
“The relevant agencies, especially the local authorities, should view this latest tragedy seriously and initiate a policy governing safety for the public when eating on public roads.
“Such tragedies have happened before but were forgotten,” he said, citing an incident that occurred in June 2003 in Section 14, Petaling Jaya, where a car rammed into diners who were seated on the curb outside a 24-hour mamak restaurant.
“It was reported that the local authority then declared that all food outlets and restaurants, including mamak stalls, would have to stop placing tables, chairs or stools outside their premises.
“But due to short memory and poor enforcement, there are still many eateries which place tables and chairs outside their premises,” he said.
Lee also said road users should always be alert to ensure the safety of others. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
March is here this week and Denver is prepared with some great events. Start your week off by dancing the night away at God Save the Queens and end it by letting go of all of your stress at Yoga & Finesse. Whatever you make of the week, make sure to check out this roundup of events in Denver.
Monday, February 26
God Save The Queens
When: February 26, 9 p.m. – 2 a.m.
Where: Hi-Dive Denver, 7 S Broadway, Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Hi-Dive Denver hosts God Save The Queens featuring a queer punk night. Dress up in punk, goth, deathrock or whatever tickles your fancy to party the night away. Scott Toxsin and Novelí spin banging beats for you to dance to, so get ready to rock your night away.
Vinyl Bingo Night
When: February 26, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Where: Carbon Cafe & Bar, 1553 Platte St., Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Carbon Cafe & Bar present Vinyl Bingo Night, where you can play bingo with a vinyl twist. DJ D’Vinyl spins musical hits from the ’50s through ’80s that you can identify the title and artist to mark your card with. If you get a bingo, you win a prize.
Tuesday, February 27
Hamilton
When: February 27 – April 1, 7:30 – 10 p.m.
Where: Denver Center for the Performing Arts, 1101 13th St., Denver
Cost: $165-$595, very limited tickets available here
The Lowdown: The hit musical Hamilton has made its way to Denver. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts welcomes the historically based musical that has been taking the nation by storm. You can experience the majesty of Alexander Hamilton’s life and the history of the United States.
Mutiny Open Mic
When: February 27, 10 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Where: Mutiny Information Cafe, 2 S Broadway, Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Sip on some coffee and listen to some funny sets at Mutiny Open Mic. Jose Macall hosts the comedy night where you can even show off your comedy skills if you want to. Don’t worry about who is in the audience, just grab the mic and give it go.
Think & Drink Pub Quiz
When: February 27, 7 – 9 p.m.
Where: Black Shirt Brewing Co., 3719 Walnut St., Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Black Shirt Brewing Co., hosts a Think & Drink Pub Quiz. Make up a team to guess answers to questions from Nathan Land of Comedy Works. Imbibe on $2 cans of beer as you beat others at trivia and win prizes.
Mario Kart Tournament
When: February 27, 7 – 10 p.m.
Where: Monkey Barrel, 4401 Tejon St., Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Show off your racing skills at a Mario Kart Tournament. You have a chance at winning prizes such as Denver Nuggets tickets, Lootcrates and more. Sip and munch on drink and food specials throughout the night as you play to keep you fueled. You can also snag some great giveaways and if you win, be entered in the Mario Kart Grand Finale.
Wednesday, February 28
Black Music Matters
When: February 28, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Where: History Colorado, 1200 Broadway, Denver
Cost: $10 get tickets here
The Lowdown: Celebrate Black Heritage Month at Black Music Matters. Musicians such as Spirit of Grace, Theo Wilson and more perform music to tell the history of African American peoples. Students from North High School, Noel Community Arts School and Slavens K-8 also perform renditions of music to bring happiness to your soul.
Heathers Movie Party
When: February 28, 7 – 9 p.m.
Where: Alamo Drafthouse, 7301 S Santa Fe Dr., Littleton
Cost: $5 get tickets here
The Lowdown: Before there was Mean Girls, there was Heathers. Alamo Drafthouse Denver presents a Heathers Movie Party. The event features a viewing of Heathers as well as a sneak peek of a new television series based on the film. You can also get in on a snack bag based on Heather Chandler’s favorite picks.
Music Video Trivia
When: February 28, 7 – 9 p.m.
Where: ViewHouse Eatery, Bar & Rooftop, 2015 Market St., Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Win some sweet prizes at Music Video Trivia. ViewHouse Eatery, Bar & Rooftop show clips of music videos on a 190″ LED TV in the heated courtyard tent. You could win up to $100 in ViewHouse gift cards and take the title of trivia winner. Food and drink specials will fuel your quizzing.
Ratio Comedy Night
When: February 28, 8 – 10 p.m.
Where: Ratio Beerworks, 2920 Larimer St., Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Ratio Beerworks is back at with Ratio Comedy Night. Hear from the best comedians that Denver has to offer. Set from Rachel Weeks, Mitch Jones and more will keep you laughing all night long. You can grab a beer, a seat and watch some hilarious people entertain you.
Thursday, March 1
Opening Reception
When: March 1, 5 – 8 p.m.
Where: Art Gym Denver, 1460 Layden St., Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Art Gym Denver presents an Opening Reception of Giant Woodcuts. Giant Woodcuts features the traditional technique of woodcutting to produce giant prints. Artists featured in the exhibition include James Bailey, Lyell Castonguay and more. The exhibition is a part of Mo’Print, the month-long celebration of printmaking in Denver.
Informed
When: March 1, 5 – 8 p.m.
Where: Space Gallery, 400 Santa Fe Dr., Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Space Gallery holds an opening reception of Informed— an exhibition of print as an influence. The exhibition features artists Patricia Aaron, Pattie Lee Becker and more. Works in the exhibition include painting, sculptures and installation, all inspired by printmaking. This is another in an expansive list of events that will occur in conjunction with Mo’Print.
We Still Live
When: March 1 – 31, 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Where: Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, 2401 Welton St., Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Experience some moving art at We Still Live. The exhibition was created as a community-based art venture in coordination with Arts Street and Thomas Evans (aka Detour) to help make a change in Denver youth’s lives. Youth explore their self-identity and more while creating projects to help their neighborhoods.
Great Space Escape
When: March 1, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Where: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver
Cost: $18 get tickets here
The Lowdown: Learn more about space at Great Space Escape. The adult-only tour brings you through the Gates Planetarium. The tour is led by certified museum astro-nerds to create a full experience. You can also buy a drink at the cash bar to make the tour a little more ‘out there.’
Friday, March 2
Colorado Dragon Film Festival
When: March 2 – 4, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Alamo Drafthouse Denver, 4255 W Colfax Ave., Denver
Cost: $10 tickets available here
The Lowdown: Alamo Drafthouse Denver hosts the Colorado Dragon Film Festival. Films from all over Asia can be viewed all throughout the weekend. This year Korea stands as the featured country for the festival.
First Friday Artwalk
When: March 2, 5:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Where: Denver Art Districts
Cost: Free
The Lowdown: Enjoy a Denver tradition by kicking another month off with First Friday Artwalks. Many art districts in Denver (especially the Art District on Sante Fe) will host free gallery events, some of which are posted below. You can grab a drink and small bites at many of the galleries. Artists are usually present at the event. So grab your coat and get ready for an art-filled night.
Colfax Ave. Exhibition and District-Wide Art Walk
When: March 2, 5-9 p.m.
Where: 40 West Arts District, 1560 Teller St., Lakewood
Cost: Free and open to public
The Lowdown: Head over to Lakewood for the Colfax Avenue Exhibition and District-Wide Art Walk. All of the district venues are open for the event and completely free to visit. Jellyfish are also back with a fabric installation. You can grab light snacks and refreshments to keep your walk going.
Casey Kawaguchi & Lance Inkwell
When: March 2, 6 – 10 p.m.
Where: Abstract, 742 Santa Fe Dr., Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Indyink Gallery makes way for new works from Casey Kawaguchi & Lance Inkwell. You can take a look at the gallery, grab a beer and check out the featured works. You can also snag a limited edition shirt from both Casey Kawaguchi and Lance Inkwell.
Banff Mountain Film Festival
When: March 2 – 4, 7 – 10 p.m.
Where: Paramount Denver, 1621 Glenarm Pl., Denver
Cost: $20 get tickets here
The Lowdown: The Banff Mountain Film Festival brings mountainous adventure to you in the comfort of a movie theater. You can watch as explorers adventure to the highest peaks and amazing exotic locations all to get in the wonders of nature. Multiple outdoor films are featured during the weekend-long event.
Midnight Madness
When: March 2 – 4, 11:59 p.m. – 2 a.m.
Where: Landmark’s Esquire Theatre, 590 Downing St., Denver
Cost: $9.50 get tickets here
The Lowdown: Landmark’s Esquire Theatre presents a viewing of The Never Ending Story at Midnight Madness. You can watch the classic ’80s film created by Wolfgang Petersen that brings you into the land of Fantasia from the pages of a book.
Cultural First Fridays
When: March 2, 5 – 9 p.m.
Where: Museo De Las Americas, 861 Santa Fe Dr., Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Stop into Museo De Las Americas for free to get a look at new exhibitions and experiences at Cultural First Fridays. This Friday features Bomba from Barrio E’! and the Pachucos y Sirenas Exhibition. You can grab a drink, listen to some great music and explore the space.
Bill Coors: The Will to Live
When: March 2, 4 p.m.
Where: Gates Concert Hall, 2344 E Iliff Ave., Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Learn more about the life of Bill Coors at a Bill Coors: The Will to Live viewing. The film shows Coors’ life and his journey through anxiety, depression and more. You can see how he found the will to live. Register here.
First Friday Reception
When: March 2-3, 6-10 p.m.
Where: Helikon Gallery & Studios, 3675 Wynkoop St., Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Helikon Gallery & Studios welcomes First Friday Reception. The reception features two shows, Pixel Palette II and Gazes: New Work by John Vogl. Pixel Palette II features digital painting as fine art and Gazes: New Work by John Vogl features John Vogl’s solo exhibition with commercial illustrations.
Saturday, March 3
Colorado Book Festival
When: March 3, 10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Where: Denver Public Library, 10 W 14th Ave. Pkwy., Denver
Cost: Free and open to public
The Lowdown: The Denver Public Library hosts the second annual Colorado Book Festival. The festival showcases books from Colorado authors, programs to help with reading and writing and more. You can meet authors, purchase books and attend the workshops.
Penny Admission
When: March 3, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Where: Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, 1485 Delgany St., Denver
Cost: $.01 at the door
The Lowdown: The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver welcomes back Penny Admission. Colorado Residents can get into the museum for only a penny, that is right— one cent— all day long. You can get the chance to see exhibitions featuring Cleon Peterson, Diego Rodriguez-Warner, Arthur Jafa’s work and more.
A.J. Keith
When: March 3 – April 28, 12 – 10 p.m.
Where: Racines Restaurant Denver, 650 Sherman St., Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Denver artist A.J. Keith features his work at Racine’s Restaurant Denver. Keith’s work features landscape scenes and playful colors. His new paintings are featured at the exhibition.
Holi Fest
When: March 3, 12-4 p.m.
Where: Cheesman Park, 1900 E 11th Ave., Denver
Cost: $35-$50 get tickets here
The Lowdown: Celebrate the festival of colors at Holi Fest. Shadhika hosts the celebration to bring awareness to International Women’s Week. You can throw colorful powder at friends at family all in the sake of love and the victory of good over evil. Each color symbolizes something so make sure you brush up on the meanings.
Sunday, March 4
Sunday Sanctuary
When: March 4, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Where: McNichols Building, 144 W Colfax Ave., Denver
Cost: Free admission
The Lowdown: Begin your holistic journey at Sunday Sanctuary. Holistic artists, healers, spiritual guides and more will help you become more inspired to walk a more holistic lifestyle. The event is presented by 7 Healing Stars Oneness Center.
Yoga & Finesse
When: March 4, 9 – 11 a.m.
Where: The Walnut Room, 3131 Walnut St., Denver
Cost: $15 get tickets here
The Lowdown: Fold into the perfect poses at Yoga & Finesse. Kady from Big Booty Yoga leads the yoga session with Bruno Mars finessing his way into your heart and asanas. After class, you can sip on a mimosa or beer and keep jamming to Bruno’s music. All levels are welcome. Spots fill up fast so make sure to get tickets quick.
Want this list before everyone else?
Mark Your Calendars
King Lear
When: March 9 – 24, 7:30 – 10 p.m.
Where: The Bakery, 2132 Market St., Denver
Cost: $15 tickets available here
Monty Python and The Holy Grail
When: March 9, 8:30 – 10:30 p.m.
Where: Alamo Drafthouse Denver, 7301 S Santa Fe Dr., Littleton
Cost: $8 tickets available here
Denver Home Show
When: March 23 – 25, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Where: National Western Complex, 4655 Humboldt St., Denver
Cost: $9 tickets available here | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
click to enlarge SCREENSHOT VIA TWITTER
Oh, oh no.
I too, am an African America woman and value equality pic.twitter.com/8VdOoSJGtj — Brandon🗡 (@brvnd0) October 24, 2019
Oh no Mizzou, baby what is you doing? pic.twitter.com/RoyeTX8MmN — NUFF (@nuffsaidny) October 24, 2019
that Mizzou tweet is exactly what these institutions view as being diverse.
"We've got our WW, and our token Blacks. We're done." — Sister Night’s Nose (@Phllp_Wnslw) October 24, 2019
Why would y’all post this. Do you not have any Black people on the PR team? Did you run this by *any Black person on campus*? pic.twitter.com/lmHh0BQYki — Afro New Guinea 🇿🇦🇵🇷🇵🇬 (@simplyshorty___) October 24, 2019
Earlier we made a mistake when we posted a graphic about our student athletes. We apologize. Our intent was to provide personal information about our students, but we failed. We listened and removed the post. This video better represents our intent to celebrate our diversity. pic.twitter.com/Hhwd62Il4Z — Mizzou Athletics (@MizzouAthletics) October 24, 2019
So y’all mean to tell me out of “I am a brother, uncle and I am a leader” you chose I am a brother. And out of “I am an African American woman, a sister, a daughter and a future physical therapist” you chose “I am an African American woman” ?????????? Y’all need help. Lmao. https://t.co/RfuoVopzee — SPOOKY ANS👻 (@ansssleyy) October 23, 2019
They posted the video showing the statements in their entirety. The man said, "I am a brother, an uncle and best of all, I am a leader." The woman said, "I am an African American woman, a sister, a daughter, a volunteer, and a future physical therapist." — Nιɳα Mσɳҽι (@wildfonts) October 24, 2019
Sign up for our weekly newsletters to get the latest on the news, things to do and places to eat delivered right to your inbox.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
On Wednesday afternoon, the University of Missouri of Athletics Department attempted to celebrate, by way of tweet, the diverse backgrounds and talents of its student athletes. Specifically, how they are "more than a student athlete."A laudable idea! The only problem was, well, everything else about the now-deleted tweet:The tweet featured the beaming images of four Mizzou athletes sorted into boxes, with each proudly facing the camera behind a line of text that someone clearly didn't think about long enough before hitting publish.That's because there seems to be a clear difference in the messages displayed between white and black student athletes. There was gymnast Chelsey Christensen — "I am a future doctor" — and swimmer/diver CJ Kovac — "I am a future corporate financer." Opposite them were two black student athletes, whose texts did not include the word "future" or even mention their areas of study. Instead, runner Arielle Mack is shown stating only, "I am an African American woman."Similarly, Chad Jones-Hicks — who appears to not be a student athlete, but rather a "Ticket Office Assistant" according to Mizzou's website — is shown stating only, "I value equality."Not to put too fine a point on it, but what the fuck, Mizzou!? Especially for a university where the subjects of campus racism and the role of black student athletes collided just a few years ago, in 2015, when a series of protests and boycotts led to the resignation of the university system president. It was a pretty big deal at the time. Anyway. Mizzou's social media effort — part of a larger #NCAAInclusion campaign — also included stand-alone tweets featuring the individual student athletes, including Caulin Graves, who, like the two other black people featured, seemed to exist only as a diversity checkbox. Graves' banner said, "I am a brother."Hours after posting the tweet, the Mizzou Athletics deleted it, and later posted an apology along with a video showing more athletes making their own "I am..." statements.To its credit, Mizzou Athletics acknowledged that it had messed up."Earlier we made a mistake when we posted a graphic about our student athletes," it tweeted. "We apologize. Our intent was to provide personal information about our students, but we failed. We listened and removed the post."However, the video Mizzou posted along with the apology only raised more questions about the "mistake," as it features two of the black athletes included in the tweets, Arielle Mack and Caulin Graves. The video indicated that the statements featured in the deleted tweet had actually been lifted, out of context, from statements given by the athletes themselves.In the video, Mack indeed says, "I am an African American woman," but that's not the end of her line. She continues, "... a sister, a daughter and a future physical therapist."Graves, too, didn't just say he was "a brother." His full quote was "I am a brother, uncle and best of all, I am a leader."This contrast — and the apparent intentional selection that took place in editing the black athletes' statements in the deleted tweet — did not go unnoticed.Not a great look, Mizzou. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Media mogul Oprah made some serious cash from just one tweet.
According to Market Watch, Winfrey racked up a whopping $12 million for merely writing about how she was able to lose weight and still eat bread.
Her post, a 30-second video clip published Wednesday, was to promote her journey with Weight Watchers, of which Winfrey is the largest individual stakeholder.
MORE: Oprah Winfrey &Gayle King Reveal Weight Loss After the Holidays--a First for Both
"I lost 26 pounds, and I have eaten bread every single day," she said in her testimonial clip.
An hour after Winfrey sent her story into the Twitterverse, Weight Watchers shares climbed slightly over $2 a share, and since Winfrey owns roughly 6 million shares, the surge in share prices made the celeb $12 million, just like that.
Just because she made $12 million, however, doesn't mean she's got it already in her bank account. She'll get the money once she decides to sell her shares, which, judging by the way things are going, probably won't be any time soon.
In October, the television titan announced that she became a spokesperson for Weight Watchers just after she purchased 10 percent of the company's shares. Following in the footsteps of the brand's previous celebrity spokespeople — Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Hudson, Sarah Ferguson, Jenny McCarthy and Lynn Redgrave — Winfrey filmed a commercial to promote her partnership.
[NATL] Top Entertainment Photos: Best of the American Music Awards, and More
The one-minute video shows Winfrey sitting in a chair and explaining why she joined Weight Watchers.
"Inside every overweight woman is a woman she knows she can be. Many times you look in the mirror and you don't even recognize your own self because you got lost — buried — in the weight that you carry. Nothing you've ever been through is wasted, so every time I tried and failed, every time I tried again, and every time I tried again, has brought me to this most powerful moment to say, 'If not now, when?'" said Winfrey, whose best friend Gayle King is also a member.
"I feel that way, and I know millions of other people feel that way. Are you ready? Let's do this together."
PHOTOS: Oprah Winfrey's memorable moments | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Inter-Milan, l'assist di Ancelotti: Illarramendi scende ancora nelle gerarchie
vedi letture
Lucas Silva titolare nel Real Madrid contro lo Schalke 04 nell'andata degli ottavi di Champions. La scelta di Ancelotti non è passata inosservata agli occhi di tifosi e addetti ai lavori, soprattutto perché il tecnico italiano ha di fatto preferito il brasiliano, appena arrivato e con solo 20 minuti di presenza in Liga, a Asier Illarramendi, centrocampista preso come sostituto di Xabi Alonso e pagato 39 milioni dalla Real Sociedad. Quella dell'esclusione del basco è notizia che può essere letta anche in ottica mercato, soprattutto per Inter e Milan, due club che nel corso degli scorsi mesi si erano mossi per il giocatore. A gennaio non si è mosso, ma a giugno potrebbe cambiare tutto. Anche perché Lucas Silva scalpita e ha dimostrato di poter giocare titolare al fianco dei vari Kroos, Modric e Isco. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
I played my first game of Pokémon at the age of 35. I was in high school when Pokémon became popular, too preoccupied with mosh pits and girls to concern myself with HP and evolutions. Years later, my seven-year-old son decided he “gotta catch ‘em all.” He convinced me to play against him a few times, serving dual roles of teacher and opponent.
The problem is that seven-year-olds rarely play fairly. Either he made up rules as he saw fit, strategically withheld important information, or some combination thereof. I’ll never know the difference. I do know that I lost badly. It’s tough to win a game when the rules keep changing.
I’m not sure if Rockies pitching coach Steve Foster has ever played Pokémon against a seven-year-old, but he can certainly empathize with feelings helplessness and frustration. The physics of pitching in Colorado are neither fair nor consistent.
Rocky Pitching
The Rockies pitching staff was their strength last year, but has cratered in 2019. Their ERA and FIP jumped from 4.33 and 4.06 in 2018 to 5.39 and 4.82 this season. Of course, the whole league has gotten a little worse as well. However, adjusted stats like FIP- also show the team declined from 94 (eighth best in MLB) to 103 (17th in MLB). Individual pitchers have displayed drastic differences, such as Kyle Freeland’s ERA rocketing from 2.85 to 7.39 or German Márquez allowing a .602 OPS on the road and an .895 at home.
There could be many reasons for the drop-off, but the changed ball has to be one of them. Since Foster took the position in 2015, MLB has experienced wild fluctuations in scoring. Runs were down, then way up, then back down a little, and now ludicrously high.
As Dr. Meredith Wills explained for The Athletic, the baseball itself has changed significantly, causing wild differentials in home runs. Not only does the ball travel farther, but lower seams make it more difficult to snap off a breaking pitch, which in turn makes them more likely to hang in the zone and be well-struck by the batter.
Movement from pitches is generated by air pressure differential. If a pitcher grips and releases a pitch in a certain way, it will spin such that there is more drag on one side than the other. This creates less air pressure on one side, causing vertical and horizontal movement. If the seems are lower and pitchers can’t spin them as much, there is less pressure differential and less movement.
This creates a unique problem for Foster. While the ball is more challenging for pitchers all over MLB, there’s less air to begin with in Colorado. The thin mountain air compounds the difficulty of throwing a pitch with decent movement. The result is the slicker baseball is more devastating for the Rockies pitchers than other teams’.
Changes in Movement
Using Pitch Info data available on FanGraphs, we can compare horizontal and vertical movement of pitches year-to-year. Their have been 14 pitchers to throw at least ten innings for the Rockies both this year and last. By measuring how their average pitch movement has changed, we can see what affect the different baseball might have.
To clean up the data a little, we need to remove any pitch that a hurler used less than two percent of the time in either 2018 or 2019. This prevents any data skewing from pitches that aren’t really part of their repertoire or might have been miscategorized.
Here’s how pitch movement has changed since last season for 14 Rockies pitchers (X = horizontal, Z = vertical). If you’re so inclined, you can view the full spreadsheet here, including individual player data.
Rockies Pitch Movement Changes 2018-2019
Pitch Type # of Pitchers Pitch-X change (in.) Pitch-Z change (in.) Pitch Type # of Pitchers Pitch-X change (in.) Pitch-Z change (in.) Fastball (FA) 13 -0.5 -0.3 Cutter (FC) 4 0.0 0.1 Sinker (SI) 4 0.0 0.0 Changeup (CH) 9 -0.3 0.1 Slider (SL) 12 -0.4 -0.4 Curveball (CU) 8 0.5 0.0
We can see substantial movement decreases in fastballs and sliders. Heaters are moving 0.5 inches less horizontally and 0.3 inches less vertically. There are two pitchers (Tyler Anderson and Kyle Freeland) who have increased both types of fastball movement, but for ten others they lost both vertical and horizontal movement. Harrison Musgrave lost 0.3 inches horizontally, but has no change vertically.
The Rockies’ sliders are moving 0.4 inches less both horizontally and vertically. Two pitchers have lost at least 1.5 inches horizontally (Musgrave and Bryan Shaw), while four lost at least an inch vertically (Musgrave, Shaw, Jake McGee, and Jon Gray).
Both curveballs and changeups have very little change in vertical movement, but opposite changes in horizontal movement. Changeups are moving 0.3 inches less horizontally, while curves are dropping a half inch more. The individual data is noisy for both pitches though. There are few pitchers for both pitch types that had large gains and large decreases in vertical movement. If a couple of them altered their grips, for example, it would throw off our data.
Cutters and sinkers are used less frequently than the others, with only four Rockies using each of them. These pitches show almost no change at all on average, but there are differences in individual pitchers. Anderson’s cutter is moving 0.5 inches more horizontally and 0.9 more vertically. Shaw’s moves 0.2 inches less horizontally and 0.6 less vertically, so there is some offset. This is probably more indicative of the pitchers making changes than the ball and air quality impacting these pitch types.
Making Meaning
Fastballs and sliders are the two pitches thrown most often, and by the most number of pitchers. They’re also the two pitches with the greatest decreases in movement. A fraction of inch might not sound very substantial, but it can have a huge impact in launch angle and exit velocity.
Moving the bat-meets-ball contact point 0.3 inches vertically is the difference between a home run and a pop up, or a line drive and a ground ball. A half inch horizontally could be the difference between the sweet spot and the end of the bat.
These numbers are only averages and don’t include home/road splits. There are several other factors that could impact movement changes as well as the different ball, such as grip changes, injuries or other physiological alterations, and a few for which we probably can’t even account.
However, something is definitely different about the Rockies pitching staff this year. Given what we know about the changes in the baseball, that’s as likely a reason as any. Maybe Steve Foster should bring in Charazard out of the bullpen. That’s a Pokémon , isn’t it?
Daniel R. Epstein is an elementary special education teacher and president of the Somerset County Education Association. Tweets @depstein1983 | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
When President Donald Trump nominates a justice to the Supreme Court on Monday night, he will be carrying out the agenda of a small, secretive network of extremely conservative Catholic activists already responsible for placing three justices (Alito, Roberts, and Gorsuch) on the high court.
And yet few people know who they are—until now.
At the center of the network is Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society, the association of legal professionals that has been the pipeline for nearly all of Trump’s judicial nominees. (Leo is on leave from the Federalist Society to personally assist Trump in picking a replacement for Justice Anthony Kennedy.) His formal title is executive vice president, but that role belies Leo’s influence.
Directly or through surrogates, he has placed dozens of life-tenure judges on the federal bench; effectively controls the Judicial Crisis Network, which led the opposition to President Obama’s high court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland; he heavily influences the Becket Fund law firm that represented Hobby Lobby in its successful challenge of contraception; and now supervises admissions and hires at the George Mason Law School, newly renamed in memory of Justice Antonin Scalia.
“Leonard Leo was a visionary,” said Tom Carter, who served as Leo’s media relations director when he was chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), in an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast. “He figured out twenty years ago that conservatives had lost the culture war. Abortion, gay rights, contraception—conservatives didn’t have a chance if public opinion prevailed. So they needed to stack the courts.”
Amazingly, said Carter, Leo has succeeded in this mission with few people taking notice.
“The Christian right has been written about a lot, but hardly anyone talks about the Catholic right,” Carter said. “Four Supreme Court justices—they’re more successful than anybody: the NRA, the Israel lobby, Big Pharma, no one else has had that kind of impact.”
Catholic Fundamentalist
Leo is a member of the secretive, extremely conservative Knights of Malta, a Catholic order founded in the 12th century that functions as a quasi-independent sovereign nation with its own diplomatic corps (separate from the Vatican), United Nations status, and a tremendous amount of money and land.
The Knights, which recently have tussled with Pope Francis and resisted his calls for reform, take their own set of vows, as monks do. On the surface, the primary work of the order is humanitarian work around the globe, but it is also home to noted Catholic conservatives including Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, a frequent foe of the reformist pope.
“Leonard’s faith is paramount to him,” Carter said. “When he traveled, staff members had to find him a church near where he was staying so he could say [attend] Mass every day.”
To be sure, none of this is to repeat the odious claims of anti-Catholicism of papist conspiracies and dual loyalty. But Leo has spent a career shaping the federal judiciary to reflect rigid, conservative religious dogmas.
Those include the notions that human life begins at conception and that homosexuality is immoral. The reason is that the moral “natural law” is as part of the fabric of the universe as the laws of nature, and it trumps any secular law that humans (or legislatures) might dream up. As developed by St. Thomas Aquinas and a millennium of subsequent philosophers, everything has its “natural” function and its “unnatural” misuse. Food is for nourishment, not gustatory delight; sex is for procreation, not pleasure; sensual enjoyment is luxuria, a sinful diversion of pleasure from its intended purpose of reproduction.
“ He figured out twenty years ago that conservatives had lost the culture war. So they needed to stack the courts. ” — Tom Carter
Moreover, men and women are “complementary” to one another; heterosexual marriage is part of the structure of the universe. Thus the Catholic catechism teaches that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life.” And life begins at conception, making abortion and even contraception acts of murder. And since God has decided all of these facts, individuals have no rights (secular or religious) to decide them for themselves.
Leo’s religious beliefs have also occasionally manifested as bias against other faiths. When he was chairman of U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (he was appointed by President Bush in 2007), Leo fended off a discrimination lawsuit brought by a Muslim former employee who says she was fired because of her faith. Several USCIRF employees resigned over the controversy and Leo was fired not long thereafter.
In 2011, Leo played a leading role in successfully opposing an Islamic center near the site of the 9/11 attacks in New York that was maligned by the right as the “Ground Zero Mosque” (it wasn’t a mosque and was several blocks from Ground Zero). Leo was the director of Liberty Central, a Tea Party affiliated group he co-founded with Ginni Thomas, wife of Clarence Thomas, that organized a petition against the center.
Three Justices and Counting
Leo is most closely associated with the Federalist Society, which he joined in the 1990s. Sometimes thought of as a legal association, the Federalist Society is actually a large right-wing network that grooms conservative law students still in law school (sponsoring everything from free burrito lunches to conferences, speakers, and journals), links them together, mentors them, finds them jobs, and eventually places them in courts and in government. It’s like a large-scale fraternity, knitted together by ideological conformity. (The Federalist Society did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.)
The Federalist Society network is now estimated to include over 70,000 people. In 2016, they reported $25 million in net assets.
Leo played the decisive role in the appointments of Justice Alito (whom few people had heard of before Leo first promoted him), Chief Justice Roberts, and Justice Gorsuch—as well as in the unprecedented stonewalling of would-be Justice Merrick Garland.
Now, of the 25 people on Trump’s Supreme Court list, all but one are Federalist Society members or affiliates. Justice Gorsuch was the speaker at the 2017 Federalist Society gala. And when Gorsuch was asked how he had come to Trump’s attention, he told Congress, “On about December 2, 2016, I was contacted by Leonard Leo” (PDF).
And of the 18 people Trump has nominated to federal appeals courts, 17 are Federalist Society members or affiliates.
These include appellate court Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a leading Supreme Court contender and member of a far-right Catholic sect called the People of Praise that makes use of actual “handmaids” (now called “women leaders”); John Bush, who compared abortion to slavery, promoted the birther conspiracy, and then lied to the Senate about doing so; Thomas Farr, whom the Congressional Black Caucus described as “the preeminent attorney for North Carolina Republicans seeking to curtail the voting rights of people of color” (PDF); and Jeff Mateer, who said in a speech that parents suing on behalf of their transgender children “really shows you how Satan’s plan is working and the destruction that’s going on.”
Indeed, while the Trump list was initially credited to John Malcolm at the Heritage Foundation, Carter said that this was just another tactic of obfuscation: “a way of saying it’s Heritage’s list and not Federalist Society’s list.”
Ironically, while trying to downplay the Federalist Society’s influence, White House counsel Don McGahn, the point man on judicial nominees, managed to confirm it.
“Our opponents of judicial nominees frequently claim the president has outsourced his selection of judges,” McGahn said at a Federalist Society event last year. “That is completely false. I’ve been a member of the Federalist Society since law school, still am, so frankly it seems like it’s been in-sourced.”
In addition to creating a vast network that serves as a counterpoint to the mainstream legal world, the Federalist Society has mainstreamed ideas that were once considered intellectual outliers: that most of the New Deal and administrative state are unconstitutional, that corporations have free speech and free religion rights, that women and LGBT people are not “protected classes” under constitutional law, and that there is no right to privacy implied by the due process clause of the Constitution (i.e., banning abortion, contraception, and gay marriage are entirely constitutional).
Two decades ago, hardly anyone in the legal academy took these ideas seriously. Now, they are litmus tests for conservative judges.
‘Very Good at Staying in the Shadows’
But the Federalist Society is only one arm of Leo’s network. Another is the Judicial Crisis Network, founded in 2009 during the Bush 43 administration as the Judicial Confirmation Network, with the aim of pushing through Bush’s conservative judicial nominees.
Rebranded as the Judicial Crisis Network under Obama, JCN then led the effort to stonewall Obama’s nominees, with unprecedented success. It wasn’t just torpedoing the nomination of Garland—although he was surely JCN’s greatest victory. In the last two years of the Obama presidency, the GOP-led Senate confirmed only 38 percent as many judges as the Democratic Senate did under the last two years of President George W. Bush.
JCN is headed by Leo protégé Carrie Severino, a former clerk to Justice Thomas and the wife of Roger Severino, now heading the HHS office charged with helping health-care providers discriminate against women and LGBT people. Like Leonard Leo and Amy Coney Barrett, the Severinos are extremely devout, extremely conservative Catholics.
But, Carter says, despite whatever legal separations exist between JCN and the Federalist Society, “JCN is absolutely Leonard’s group. Carrie was working out of the Federalist Society office. Federalist Society staff babysat her kids as the JCN project was launched… The JCN is Leonard Leo’s PR organization—nothing more and nothing less.”
JCN is also a “social welfare” 501(c)(4) organization, meaning its records are largely hidden from public view, and it utilizes that status to raise and spend dark money in a variety of ways.
For example, JCN has spent millions of dollars on local judicial and attorney general races across the country—$2 million in Michigan alone (PDF)—and on influencing state legislatures to pass socially conservative and pro-business libertarian legislation. A 2015 investigative report by The Daily Beast revealed how JCN’s intervention swung judicial elections in Wisconsin, Michigan, and California. JCN also is one of the top three funders of the Republican Attorney General Association, which, among other things, helped Scott Pruitt rise to national prominence by suing the EPA, which he went on to lead. It even donated $1 million to the NRA.
After reports that JCN spent $17 million to defeat Garland and promote Gorsuch, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse asked Gorsuch about its work at the justice’s confirmation hearing. “There’s a small group of billionaires who are working very hard to influence and even to control our democracy,” Whitehouse said. “They set up an array of benign sounding front groups to both organize and conceal their manipulations of our politics.”
Effectively, the Federalist Society creates the pool of conservative judges and its offshoot JCN promotes them for appointment or election. And Leonard Leo effectively manages both organizations, which work out of the same office and are funded by the money he raises.
“Leonard is very good at staying in the shadows,” Carter continued. “Getting stuff done without having it traced back to him, leaving no fingerprints.”
Hand Behind Hobby Lobby
The Becket Fund gained national fame for being the lawyers of Hobby Lobby, the evangelical-owned crafts chain who won a religious exemption from the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that qualified health plans include contraception coverage.
Named for Catholic martyr Thomas Becket, it is run mostly by far-right Catholics and places Catholic concerns at the center of its work.
“When I was there,” Carter told The Daily Beast, “the halls at the Becket Fund were lined with anti-Catholic cartoons from the 1880s and 1890s… I was told that the philosophy is ‘we protect everybody, because if we don’t stop [liberals], they’ll be at our door next.’”
Carter noted that “At Becket, everything has precedent for Catholics eventually. Hobby Lobby were evangelicals, but the issue was contraception.” (Indeed, abortion and contraception were of little concern to conservative Protestants throughout most of the 20th century; they were seen as “Catholic issues.” It was only with the creation of the New Christian Right in the 1970s—itself a response to the forced desegregation of schools—that they became of concern to conservative Protestants.)
As for Leonard Leo, “Becket was saved at least two times by Leonard Leo before Hobby Lobby ,” said Carter. “It was either Federalist Society money or fundraising. Only Leo could raise that kind of money.”
Bought His Own Law School
Finally, thanks to a huge $30 million donation made in 2016, Leonard Leo is the most powerful individual at the newly renamed Antonin Scalia School of Law, formerly the George Mason University School of Law.
When the donation was made, all that was stated publicly is that $10 million came from the Koch brothers and $20 million from an anonymous donor brought to the law school by Leonard Leo. This was an obfuscation. Since then, however, it has emerged that the $20 million came from a shell corporation called the BH Fund, of which Leo is president.
In other words, it was money that Leo raised (from a still-unknown source, hiding behind the shell corporation) and donated himself.
Indeed, it was revealed in May 2018—thanks to Freedom of Information Act requests filed by a GMU Law alum—that the law school regularly consults with Leo on developing programs, hiring faculty, admitting prospective students, and placing students in federal clerkships.
The documents released as part of the FOIA request show Leo intervening multiple times on behalf of conservative student and faculty candidates, and promoting curricula on “Law and Economics,” which predominantly favors conservative legal positions by evaluating issues in terms of financial efficiency rather than justice.
All of this is in clear violation of academic standards of independence. GMU Faculty Senate Chair Keith Renshaw said at a GMU board meeting on May 3 that “the faculty is deeply disturbed by the recent revelations of these gift agreements… In no instance should a philanthropic donor to a university have any influence over academics. That includes curriculum, faculty hiring, faculty firing, and faculty or student research and scholarship. The ideology driving the influence is not what matters. Academic independence, academic freedom and academic integrity are what matter.”
But the arrangement makes perfect sense in the context of Leo’s octopus of organizations and influence. Rather than merely grooming conservative law students at schools across the country, now Leo has a law school of his own.
Secret Money Funds It All
Who is paying for all this work? Behind Leo stands a network of dark-money funders in both socially conservative and economically conservative arenas.
First among them are Ann and Neil Corkery, and the dark-money group the Wellspring Committee, of which Ann is president and Neil is the sole board member. Wellspring was founded out of the Koch network in 2008, and has funded other Koch groups like Americans for Prosperity, often in a labyrinthine way that involves passing millions of dollars from one organization to another to evade accountability.
Wellspring raised $24 million from 2008-2011, as revealed by the Center for Responsive Politics and distributed over $17 million, largely to other shell organizations. Yet because it is defined by the IRS as a “social welfare” organization, it is impossible to know exactly where the money is coming from or going.
Wellspring received 90 percent of its revenue, nearly $28.5 million, from a single anonymous donor in 2016, an investigation by Robert Maguire at the Center for Responsive Politics. It gave a grant to the Judicial Crisis Network that accounted for 83 percent of the group’s total revenue in 2016.
The Corkerys have been staff members or directors at the extreme-right Catholic League (famous for its boycotts of movies; its leader Bill Donohue said the group focuses on “public embarrassment of public figures who have earned our wrath.”); the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage (Neil served as treasurer); and Leo-affiliated organizations like the Becket Fund and the Judicial Crisis Network.
The Corkerys themselves are members of the extreme, ultraorthodox Catholic sect known as Opus Dei, perhaps best known for members’ engaging in literal self-flaggelation and other body-mortification practices. (According to 1990 interview, Neil introduced Ann to the sect, though he later dropped out and she remained.)
Moreover, Wellspring came into existence largely thanks to the support of Robin Arkley, California’s “foreclosure king,” who also funded Leo’s work at the Judicial Crisis Network and the Federalist Society. (Subsequent funding has come from the Templeton Foundation and conservative businessman Paul Singer.) In 2011, Corkery fired her fellow Wellspring board members and replaced them with her daughter and the son of a JCN board member.
“Ann [Corkery] is very good at cultivating relationships and capitalizing on them,” a conservative source told The Daily Beast in 2015.
The second major dark-money conduit to and through Leo is the “BH Group,” formed in August 2016. (Leo himself listed the BH Group as his employer on a recent campaign finance filing.) An investigation by Robert Maguire revealed that the BH Group, another C4 organization, received $750,000 from Wellspring for “public relations” and another $947,000 from JCN.
In other words, Leonard Leo and Leonard Leo paid Leonard Leo.
And what has the BH Group done with the money? It donated $1 million to the Trump inauguration—a check, in other words, from Leonard Leo, though it was publicly described as anonymous.
“It’s really quite striking,” Maguire told The Daily Beast. “Someone who orchestrated a secret $1 million contribution to President Trump’s inaugural committee has been given enormous discretion over one of the most important decisions President Trump will ever make, and that same person is central to orchestrating the funding of two dark money groups that will barrage people in certain parts of the country, promoting whoever is ultimately nominated.”
“ Someone who orchestrated a secret $1 million contribution to President Trump’s inaugural committee has been given enormous discretion over one of the most important decisions President Trump will ever make. ” — Robert Maguire
One open question is the relationship, if any, between the BH Group and the BH Fund, which, as described above, is the LLC which donated $20 million to the George Mason Law School in exchange for Leo gaining influence in admissions, hiring, and curriculum. These are, apparently, separate organizations, but they are both controlled by Leonard Leo and have almost identical names.
Maguire told The Daily Beast that no one knows what or who “BH” stands for.
Who is funding Wellspring, the BH Group, and the BH Fund? If you add up the figures, it’s at least a $45 million question ($24 million at Wellspring, $1 million at BH Group, $20 million at BH Fund).
Yet thanks to the opacity of these C4 organizations, we simply do not know.
Other donors to Leo’s network of organizations include Koch Industries, the Mercer Family Foundation, the Chamber of Commerce, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and her husband, as well as Chevron, Google, Microsoft, and Pfizer. Are they behind the unaccounted-for $45 million? If not, who is?
There’s often a misperception that the supposedly apolitical Supreme Court justices keep politicians at arm’s length. In fact, Republican politicians dine, drink, and hunt with them all the time (when Dick Cheney accidentally shot a man in the face, he was out hunting with Justice Scalia), with Leo at the table more often than not.
“He’s gotten away with all kinds of things for years, and nobody seems to notice,” Carter told me. And because Leo is shaping institutions with life-tenure members, his impact will be felt for decades to come.
Correction: This piece previously called People of Praise, People of Prayer. It also mistakenly referred to Carrie Severino as the “husband” of Roger Severino. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Twitter has a stronghold on the blogosphere, yet sometimes, it’s hard to be heard. If you’re struggling to grow your Twitter following, you’re not alone.
I have more than 160,000 followers now, and quite a few readers have asked how I’ve grown my following. Here are my tips.
1. Leverage your other “engagement media” profiles
Do you have an existing online profile somewhere outside of Twitter (big or small)? Use it to springboard into Twitter. If it’s a blog, mention that you’re using Twitter in a post, add Twitter sharing buttons to your home page and individual posts, and link to it from your profile and contact pages.
If you’re on Facebook, use one of the numerous tools or apps available to republish your tweets to Facebook. If you promote your blog on Google+, share your Tweets there. Using Pinterest? Cross-pollinate between those followers and your Twitter followers to maximize the return on the time you’re investing in social media.
It goes without saying that you should add Twitter, along with your other social media account details, to your email signature, business card, and so on. The same applies with any online (or even offline) presence that you have—link to your Twitter page and link to it often.
2. Tweet often—but leave space for engagement
The more active you are on Twitter, the more likely you are to have others find and follow you. However, tweet too frequently and you run the risk of losing followers. I try to stick to one topic at a time and create pauses between them to let others interact.
Striking the right balance takes time and experimentation. Watch who retweets your updates—and which updates they’re sharing—to get a sense of your strongest advocates.
And be sure to engage with those who share your updates and those who respond to you. Thank them, answer their questions, and ask them why they likes that tweet or this post. Consider this engagement part of your ongoing market research for your blog, and your social media strategy.
3. Get talking
The secret to building your follower list is interaction. I get most new followers on those days when I interact with other Twitter users_and over time, that’s grown to a massive number of people.
We call them @ replies but you can, of course, also use the @_name functionality to engage with people you don’t know or follow—and who don’t know or follow you.
Asking questions is perhaps the best way to get conversational on Twitter. Get ten people to answer a question you’ve tweeted and if even just one person retweets one of those ten replies (or your original question), you’ll have gained exposure to whole new rafts of potential followers.
Just as important is to participate in other people’s conversations. Reply to their questions and ideas as much as possible.
The key with Twitter really is shared interests. people will share your tweets with their followers if they think you share a common interest with them, and your tweet is relevant. So, be conversational about topics that will interest others. Be conversational in a way that encourages your followers to reach out to their own networks.
Finally, you might find your first few engagements on Twitter easiest if you’re not talking about yourself—I find I do better when I’m not talking about me! No one likes to hang around with people who just talk about themselves, so get the balance right between talking about yourself and talking about others and other topics of interest.
4. Provide optimal value
Tweeting on a personal level is fun and for many that’s as far as it goes, but if you’re interested in growing your Twitter influence, you need to provide your followers, and potential followers, with value.
It’s the same principle as growing a blog—if you help enhance people’s lives in some way they are more likely to want to track with you, read more of what you have to say, and share your ideas with others.
Make your conversations matter on some level. Sure you can throw in personal tweets and have some fun, but unless you’re providing something useful to people (information, entertainment, news, education, etc.) they probably won’t follow you for long, or share your content with their own networks.
5. Tweet in peak times
Last week I tracked when I had new Twitter followers add me, and found (as I expected) that the frequency of follows where made during business hours in the USA.
Tweeting at the times when your followers are online only increases the chances of their finding and adding you to their lists, and sharing your tweets—timing certainly affects sharing on Facebook, and if you look at your retweet stats, you’ll find it does on this network, too.
My being situated in Australia can have some positives and negatives, but one of the things I don’t enjoy about it is that I miss out on a lot of interaction with my followers who are on the other side of the world. While many social media management apps will let you schedule status updates and tweets, there’s no substitute for in-person, real-time interaction on Twitter.
Bonus tip: tweet from the heart
Don’t worry too much about how you “come across” on Twitter. Just be yourself and tweet form the heart. Don’t stress too much about the numbers—instead, use the platform to connect genuinely with the Twitter followers you already have, and let the rest take care of itself!
Top Twitter Blog Marketing Tips has more Twitter tips.
Oh, and if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the burden of social networks, read my post on how to beat the social media beast! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Did You Know?
In stichomythia terse, contentious, and often biting lines are bandied back and forth. Characters engaged in stichomythia may alternately voice antithetical positions, or they may play on one another's words, each repartee twisting or punning on words just spoken to make a new point. Classical Greek dramatists, such as Aeschylus and Sophocles (who wrote Agamemnon and Oedipus the King, respectively), used this device in some of their dialogues. Shakespeare also used it in exchanges in his plays. For instance, in the Closet scene in Hamlet (Act III, scene iv), the Queen tells Hamlet "Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue" to which Hamlet retorts "Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue." Not to be idle with the origin of "stichomythia": the word is from Greek stichos (meaning "row," "line," or "verse") and "mythos" ("speech" or "myth"). | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The Walking Dead - Season 2
The second season of "The Walking Dead" continues on Feb. 12. Here's a promo containing snippets from the midseason premiere. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
David McNew / Getty Images
There’s a disturbing irony within the food industry: Many of its employees rely on food stamps.
The food sector accounts for 13% of our nation’s gross domestic product, collectively selling $1.8 trillion in goods and services. It employs about 20 million workers, or about one in five of all Americans working in the private sector.
(MORE: How to Go to the Movies for $1 This Summer)
But even though we rely so much on the industry – it provides us the very substance that keeps us alive, after all – we’re barely (and sometimes not) paying its workers a living wage.
According to a new report by the Food Chain Workers Alliance, only 13.5% of food industry workers earn livable wages. The median wage is $9.65 an hour, and 86% of workers are earning either subminimum, poverty or low wages.
Due to such depressed earnings, many food industry employees also struggle to just to eat, creating a rather depressing irony that those who feed us can barely feed themselves. Almost 14% of them rely on food stamps compared with 8.3% in all other industries. For the study, the organization interviewed 700 workers and employees in the five main sectors in food service: production, processing, distribution, retail and service.
(MORE: 10 Questions for Joseph Stiglitz)
It’s not just poor wages that food industry workers have to deal with. Most (83%) also don’t have health insurance and, as a result, many (35%) rely on emergency rooms for treatment when they get sick. And not having insurance may actually be harming those who rely on the industry employees. More than half of food industry workers say they have worked when they’re sick, largely because they either don’t have paid sick days or don’t even know that they do (79%).
Just as troubling, many of them (40%) work more than 40 hours a week and a third say they don’t always receive lunch breaks.
The future for many in the industry doesn’t look much brighter. Few food industry employees get on-the-job training that could help them find a better job or move up the ladder. Three-quarters of those surveyed say there is no ongoing training by their employer and about the same number say they have never had an opportunity to apply for a better job. More than 80% have never received a promotion.
The organization that conducted the study suggests a few ways to fix the situation, such as increasing the minimum wage and forcing employers to guarantee workers’ health benefits. But that sort of legislation doesn’t look to be imminent on the national level. The sad irony inside the food industry is only likely to persist. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Foreign media banned from reporting in Tehran from Dec. 7-9
Most of the Iranian capital’s Internet links with the outside world were down on Saturday, two days ahead of planned demonstrations by opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Sources close to Iran’s technical services told AFP the cut was the result of “a decision by the authorities” rather than a technical breakdown, but telecommunications ministry officials were unavailable for comment.
ADVERTISEMENT
Officials furthermore revoked all foreign media permits, in an attempt to block any reports coming out of Tehran between Dec. 7 and Dec. 9.
“Police and elite Revolutionary Guards have warned that any ‘illegal’ rally will be fiercely confronted on Monday when the country marks Student Day, commemorating the killing of three students in 1953 under the former Shah,” reported Reuters.
Internet lines, texting and at times even mobile phone connections have often been cut or scrambled since Ahmadinejad’s contested re-election in June, but this was the first such occurrence a full two days before planned protests.
Iranian opposition groups are preparing to hold fresh demonstrations on Monday, several websites reported, as the nation marks the annual Students Day.
The elite Revolutionary Guards and other authorities have warned they will crack down on any attempt by regime opponents to hijack the event to mount further protests against Ahmadinejad.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tehran on December 7 marks the 1953 killing by the shah’s security forces of three students, just months after a US-backed coup toppled popular prime minister Mohammad Mossadeq.
With AFP. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
It may not sound like a classic Saturday night blow-out, but at 8 p.m. on March 29, millions of people around the world will turn off their lights to celebrate Earth Hour. This event, sponsored by the WWF, a global conservation organization, is intended to increase awareness of global warming and spur action to combat the issue. The movement began last year when the WWF asked residents of Sydney, Australia, to turn off their lights for an hour. So on March 31, 2007, 2.2 million people and 2,100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights. Even icons such as the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House went dark. Electricity in many cities and countries is powered by coal-fired plants that produce carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas that human activities emit into the atmosphere. The WWF estimates that if the greenhouse gas reduction achieved during the Sydney Earth Hour was sustained for a year, it would be equivalent to taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year. The event has expanded this year to include cities in other countries, such as the United States, Canada, Denmark, Israel and Thailand. Chicago will serve as the U.S. flagship city for the event, with Atlanta, Phoenix and San Francisco joining it as leading partners in the endeavor. Individuals can sign up to participate on the Earth Hour site — so far 240,000 people have signed their support of the event. Celebrities such as singer/songwriter Nelly Furtado and the band Fall Out Boy have pledged to turn out their lights, as have the Phoenix Suns and Chicago Cubs.
10 Ways to Green Your Home
Timeline: The Frightening Future of Earth
What's Your Environmental Footprint? | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Mirror's Edge Catalyst PC System requirements
Mirror's Edge Catalyst PC System requirements
| Source: EA Author: Mark Campbell
Mirror's Edge Catalyst PC System requirements
The PC System requirement for Mirror's Edge Catalyst have been announced, requiring a minimum of 6GB of RAM, 25GB of storage and the minimum or a GTX 650Ti or an R9 270X.
On the CPU side, the game will require at least four cores/threads and a 64-bit operating system. Control wise the game will be playable with both mouse and keyboard and with a gamepad.
On the recommended system requirements the game suggests that users have 16GB of system memory, which is pretty high by modern gaming standard and over half of what the total Hard drive storage requirements are for the game.
MINIMUM:
OS: Windows® 7 64-Bit (use the latest Service Pack)
CPU: Intel i3-3250 / AMD FX-6350. (Note: Mirror's Edge Catalyst requires at least 4 logical cores to run.)
RAM: 6 GB
HARD DRIVE: At least 25 GB of free space
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 650 Ti 2GB or better / AMD Radeon™ R9 270x or better
INPUT: Keyboard and mouse, dual analog controller
RECOMMENDED:
OS: Windows 10 64-Bit (use the latest Service Pack)
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 at 3.4 GHz / AMD FX-8350 at 4.0 GHz
RAM: 16 GB
HARD DRIVE: At least 25 GB of free space
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB or better / AMD Radeon R9 280x 3GB or better
INPUT: Keyboard and mouse, dual analog controller
Mirror's Edge Catalyst will launch on PC, Xbox One and PS4 on May 24th.
You can join the discussion on Mirror's Edge Catalyst's System requirements on the OC3D Forums.
The PC System requirement for Mirror's Edge Catalyst have been announced.https://t.co/LPGZPZt4PQ pic.twitter.com/GINyclkEfC — OC3D (@OC3D) April 19, 2016
1 - Mirror's Edge Catalyst PC System requirements «Prev 1 Next»
Most Recent Comments | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
GO TO PART 35
Point: Doctor Cornelius Van Til, the father of Presuppositional apologetics, is famous for asking the following question to those who would attack the Christian faith: “On what foundation rest the guns which he directs against the Christian position?” Cornelius Van Til was insightful to note that the presuppositions one bring to the discussion about the truth of Christianity matters. In fact presuppositions are very crucial. Elsewhere Van Til said,
The issue between believers and non-believers in Christian theism cannot be settled by a direct appeal to “facts” or “laws” whose nature and significance is already agreed upon by both parties to the debate. The question is rather as to what is the final reference-point required to make the “facts” and “laws” intelligible. The question is as to what the “facts” and “laws” really are. Are they what the non-Christian methodology assumes that they are? Are they what the Christian theistic methodology presupposes they are?” (Source)
Thus “The Christian position seeks to make human experience intelligible in terms of the presupposition of God; the non-Christian position seeks to make human experience intelligible in terms of man who is conceived of as ultimate.” Often many anti-theists and proponents of non-Christian religions that reject the sovereignty of God would believe that chance is ultimate. Van Til believes a chance universe is self-defeating of knowlege in which chance makes everything unintelligible as he stated in a famous quote:
So hopeless and senseless a picture must be drawn of the natural man’s methodology based as it is upon the assumption that time or chance is ultimate. On his assumption his own rationality is a product of chance. On his assumption even the laws of logic which he employs are products of chance. The rationality and purpose that he may be searching for are still bound to be products of chance. So then the Christian apologist, whose position requires him to hold that Christian theism is really true and as such must be taken as the presupposition which alone makes the acquisition of knowledge in any field intelligible, must join his “friend” in his hopeless gyrations so as to point out to him that his efforts are always in vain. (Source: Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of the Faith (P&R, 1972), p. 102.)
Van Til’s own illustration in the famous quote was the following:
Suppose we think of a man made of water in an infinitely extended and bottomless ocean of water. Desiring to get out of water, he makes a ladder of water. He sets this ladder upon the water and against the water and then attempts to climb out of the water. (Source)
But I think the following illustration below would be a helpful supplement to explain why a chance ultimate universe makes knowledge irrational and unintelligible.
Picture:
Imagine a middle school kid doing his class work in his math class. He has a lot of math problems. His method of finding out the solution? He uses some dice that he rolls out and whatever the number lands on is what he writes down as his answer. Would anyone think the child truly is learning? No, his answer is a product of chance.
Now let’s say the child has an exercise that asks what is four multiplied by four. Of course we know the answer is sixteen. Remember the child is using his dice to find out the answer. He rolls two dice and the answer is sixteen. Would anyone say the child truly “know” that sixteen is the solution? No, again, his answer is a product of chance. It just happened to land on “sixteen.” Here we see that one of the important aspect of truly knowing something is that one came to the conclusion according to proper methods as oppose to mere chance. This is an illustration of how methods based upon chance destroys knowledge. How much more problematic is a worldview that assert that behind every aspect of attaining knowledge is the fury of chance. Chance melts away knowledge like a bright sun to an ice cube. Even if it so happen that the right conclusion was reached, chance has reduce every method of knowledge to a game of dice.
POSSIBLE SCENARIO FOR EMPLOYING THIS ILLUSTRATION DURING APOLOGETIC EVANGELISM
NON-CHRISTIAN: Can you explain to me why you keep on thinking an atheistic worldview destroys knowledge?
CHRISTIAN: Let me try. You don’t believe the universe is the result of God creating it right?
NON-CHRISTIAN: No.
CHRISTIAN: So the universe therefore was not purposely created by a Person in your view. That is, the universe’ ultimate explanation is chance, in that it is unguided, and non-purposeful. Now let me mention a scenario. <INSERT ILLUSTRATION>. Do you think the child who uses dice to solve his math problem truly know the answer he writes down?
NON-CHRISTIAN: No.
CHRISTIAN: Why is that?
NON-CHRISTIAN: The answer he got was arrived by chance.
CHRISTIAN: Likewise with your worldview that believes in a chance universe reducing all attempts of knowledge as unintelligible. That is because chance in a chance universe reduces the methods and tools for knowledge as irrational.
GO TO PART 37 | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Gregorian calendar, also called the Western calendar and the Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar.[1][2][3] It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582; the decree, a papal bull, is known by its opening words, Inter gravissimas.[4] The reformed calendar was adopted later that year by a handful of countries, with other countries adopting it over the following centuries. The motivation for the Gregorian reform was that the Julian calendar assumes that the time between vernal equinoxes is 365.25 days, when in fact it is presently almost exactly 11 minutes shorter. The error between these values accumulated at the rate of about three days every four centuries, resulting in the equinox's being on March 11 (an accumulated error of about 10 days) and moving steadily earlier in the Julian calendar at the time of the Gregorian reform. Because the spring equinox was tied to the celebration of Easter, the Roman Catholic Church considered that this steady movement in the date of the equinox was undesirable.
The Gregorian calendar reform contained two parts, a reform of the Julian calendar as used up to Pope Gregory's time, together with a reform of the lunar cycle used by the Church along with the Julian calendar for calculating dates of Easter. The reform was a modification of a proposal made by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius (or Lilio).[5] Lilius' proposal included reducing the number of leap years in four centuries from 100 to 97, by making 3 out of 4 centurial years common instead of leap years: this part of the proposal had been suggested before by, among others, Pietro Pitati. Lilio also produced an original and practical scheme for adjusting the epacts of the moon for completing the calculation of Easter dates, solving a long-standing difficulty that had faced proposers of calendar reform.
The Gregorian calendar modified the Julian calendar's regular cycle of leap years, years exactly divisible by four,[6] including all centurial years, as follows:
Every year that is exactly divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are exactly divisible by 100; the centurial years that are exactly divisible by 400 are still leap years. For example, the year 1900 is not a leap year; the year 2000 is a leap year.[7]
In addition to the change in the mean length of the calendar year from 365.25 days (365 days 6 hours) to 365.2425 days (365 days 5 hours 49 minutes 12 seconds), a reduction of 10 minutes 48 seconds per year, the Gregorian calendar reform also dealt with the past accumulated difference between these lengths. Between AD 325 (when the First Council of Nicaea was held, and the vernal equinox occurred approximately 21 March), and the time of Pope Gregory's bull in 1582, the vernal equinox had moved backward in the calendar, until it was occurring on about 11 March, 10 days earlier. The Gregorian calendar therefore began by skipping 10 calendar days, to restore March 21 as the date of the vernal equinox.
Because of the Protestant Reformation, however, many Western European countries did not initially follow the Gregorian reform, and maintained their old-style systems. Eventually other countries followed the reform for the sake of consistency, but by the time the last adherents of the Julian calendar in Eastern Europe (Russia and Greece) changed to the Gregorian system in the 20th century, they had to drop 13 days from their calendars, due to the additional accumulated difference between the two calendars since 1582.
The Gregorian calendar continued the previous year-numbering system (Anno Domini), which counts years from the traditional date of the nativity, originally calculated in the 6th century and in use in much of Europe by the High Middle Ages. This year-numbering system is the predominant international standard today.[8]
edit] Description
The Gregorian calendar is an arithmetical calendar potentially extending over an infinite time scale. It consists of a series of contiguous calendar years identified by consecutive year numbers.[9]
It is a solar calendar and counts days as the basic unit of time, grouping them into years of 365 or 366 days; and repeats completely every 146,097 days, which fill 400 years, and which also happens to be 20,871 seven-day weeks.[10][11] Of these 400 years, 303 common years have 365 days and 97 leap years have 366 days. This yields a calendar mean year of exactly 365+97/ 400 days = 365.2425 days = 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes and 12 seconds.
A Gregorian year is divided into twelve months:
No. Name Days 1 January 31 2 February 28 or 29 3 March 31 4 April 30 5 May 31 6 June 30 7 July 31 8 August 31 9 September 30 10 October 31 11 November 30 12 December 31
Although the month length pattern seems irregular, it can be represented by the arithmetic expression L = 30 + { [ M + floor(M/ 8 ) ] MOD 2 }, where L is the month length in days and M is the month number 1 to 12. The expression is valid for all 12 months, but for M = 2 (February) adjust by subtracting 2 and then if it is a leap year add 1.
A calendar date is fully specified by the year (numbered by some scheme beyond the scope of the calendar itself), the month (identified by name or number), and the day of the month (numbered sequentially starting at 1).
Leap years add a 29th day to February, which normally has 28 days. The essential ongoing differentiating feature of the Gregorian calendar, as distinct from the Julian calendar with a leap day every four years, is that the Gregorian omits 3 leap days every 400 years. This difference would have been more noticeable in modern memory were it not that the year 2000 was a leap year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendar systems.
The intercalary day in a leap year is known as a leap day. Since Roman times 24 February (bissextile) was counted as the leap day,[12][13] but now 29 February is regarded as the leap day in most countries.
Although the calendar year runs from 1 January to 31 December, sometimes year numbers were based on a different starting point within the calendar. Confusingly, the term "Anno Domini" is not specific on this point, and actually refers to a family of year numbering systems with different starting points for the years. (See the section below for more on this issue.)
edit] Lunar calendar
The Catholic Church maintained a tabular lunar calendar, which was primarily to calculate the date of Easter, and the lunar calendar required reform as well. A perpetual lunar calendar was created, in the sense that 30 different arrangements (lines in the expanded table of epacts) for lunar months were created. One of the 30 arrangements applies to a century (for this purpose, the century begins with a year divisible by 100). When the arrangement to be used for a given century is communicated, anyone in possession of the tables can find the age of the moon on any date, and calculate the date of Easter.[14]
edit] History
edit] Gregorian reform
Detail of the tomb of Pope Gregory XIII celebrating the introduction of the Gregorian calendar.
The motivation of the Catholic Church in adjusting the calendar was to celebrate Easter at the time it thought the First Council of Nicaea had agreed upon in 325. Although a canon of the council implies that all churches used the same Easter, they did not. The Church of Alexandria celebrated Easter on the Sunday after the 14th day of the moon (computed using the Metonic cycle) that falls on or after the vernal equinox, which they placed on 21 March. However, the Church of Rome still regarded 25 March as the equinox (until 342) and used a different cycle to compute the day of the moon.[15] In the Alexandrian system, since the 14th day of the Easter moon could fall at earliest on 21 March its first day could fall no earlier than 8 March and no later than 5 April. This meant that Easter varied between 22 March and 25 April. In Rome, Easter was not allowed to fall later than 21 April, that being the day of the Parilia or birthday of Rome and a pagan festival. The first day of the Easter moon could fall no earlier than 5 March and no later than 2 April. Easter was the Sunday after the 15th day of this moon, whose 14th day was allowed to precede the equinox. Where the two systems produced different dates there was generally a compromise so that both churches were able to celebrate on the same day. By the 10th century all churches (except some on the eastern border of the Byzantine Empire) had adopted the Alexandrian Easter, which still placed the vernal equinox on 21 March, although Bede had already noted its drift in 725—it had drifted even further by the 16th century.
Worse, the reckoned Moon that was used to compute Easter was fixed to the Julian year by a 19 year cycle. However, that approximation built up an error of one day every 310 years, so by the 16th century the lunar calendar was out of phase with the real Moon by four days.
The Council of Trent approved a plan in 1563 for correcting the calendrical errors, requiring that the date of the vernal equinox be restored to that which it held at the time of the First Council of Nicaea in 325 and that an alteration to the calendar be designed to prevent future drift. This would allow for a more consistent and accurate scheduling of the feast of Easter.
The fix was to come in two stages. First, it was necessary to approximate the correct length of a solar year. The value chosen was 365.2425 days in decimal notation.[16] Although close to the mean tropical year of 365.24219 days, it is even closer to the mean vernal equinox year of 365.2424 days;[17] this fact made the choice of approximation particularly appropriate, as the purpose of creating the calendar was to ensure that the vernal equinox would be near a specific date (21 March). (See Accuracy).
The second stage was to devise a model based on the approximation which would provide an accurate yet simple, rule-based calendar. The formula designed by Aloysius Lilius was ultimately successful. It proposed a 10-day correction to revert the drift since Nicaea, and the imposition of a leap day in only 97 years in 400 rather than in 1 year in 4. To implement the model, it was provided that years divisible by 100 would be leap years only if they were divisible by 400 as well. So, in the last millennium, 1600 and 2000 were leap years, but 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not. In this millennium, 2100, 2200, 2300, 2500, 2600, 2700, 2900, and 3000, will not be leap years, but 2400, and 2800 will be. This theory was expanded upon by Christopher Clavius in a closely argued, 800 page volume. He would later defend his and Lilius's work against detractors.
The 19-year cycle used for the lunar calendar was also to be corrected by one day every 300 or 400 years (8 times in 2500 years) along with corrections for the years (1700, 1800, 1900, 2100 et cetera) that are no longer leap years. In fact, a new method for computing the date of Easter was introduced.
In 1577 a Compendium was sent to expert mathematicians outside the reform commission for comments. Some of these experts, including Giambattista Benedetti and Giuseppe Moleto, believed Easter should be computed from the true motions of the sun and moon, rather than using a tabular method, but these recommendations were not adopted.[18]
Gregory dropped 10 days to bring the calendar back into synchronization with the seasons. Lilius originally proposed that the 10-day correction should be implemented by deleting the Julian leap day on each of its ten occurrences during a period of 40 years, thereby providing for a gradual return of the equinox to 21 March. However, Clavius's opinion was that the correction should take place in one move, and it was this advice which prevailed with Gregory. Accordingly, when the new calendar was put in use, the error accumulated in the 13 centuries since the Council of Nicaea was corrected by a deletion of ten days. The last day of the Julian calendar was Thursday, 4 October 1582 and this was followed by the first day of the Gregorian calendar, Friday, 15 October 1582 (the cycle of weekdays was not affected).
edit] Adoption
Although Gregory's reform was enacted in the most solemn of forms available to the Church, the bull had no authority beyond the Catholic Church and the Papal States. The changes that he was proposing were changes to the civil calendar, over which he had no authority. They required adoption by the civil authorities in each country to have legal effect.
The Nicene Council of 325 specified that all Christians should celebrate Easter on the same day. It took almost five centuries before virtually all Christians achieved that objective by adopting the rules of the Church of Alexandria (see Easter for the issues which arose).[19] The bull Inter gravissimas became the law of the Catholic Church in 1582, but it was not recognised by Protestant Churches, Orthodox Churches, and a few others. Consequently, the days on which Easter and related holidays were celebrated by different Christian Churches again diverged.
edit] Adoption in Europe
Four Catholic countries adopted the new calendar on the date specified by the bull. Other Catholic countries experienced some delay before adopting the reform; and non-Catholic countries, not being subject to the decrees of the Pope, initially rejected or simply ignored the reform altogether, although they all eventually adopted it. Hence, the dates 5 October 1582 to 14 October 1582 (inclusive) are valid dates in many countries, but invalid in others.
Spain,[20] Portugal, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and most of Italy implemented the new calendar on Friday, 15 October 1582, immediately following Julian Thursday, 4 October 1582. The Spanish and Portuguese colonies adopted the calendar later because of the slowness of communication. France adopted the new calendar on Monday, 20 December 1582, immediately following Sunday, 9 December 1582.[21] The Dutch provinces of Brabant, Zeeland and the Staten-Generaal also adopted it on 25 December of that year, the provinces forming the Southern Netherlands (modern Belgium) on 1 January 1583, and the province of Holland followed suit on 12 January 1583.
Many Protestant countries initially objected to adopting a Catholic invention; some Protestants feared the new calendar was part of a plot to return them to the Catholic fold.[22] In the Czech lands, Protestants resisted the calendar imposed by the Habsburg Monarchy. In parts of Ireland, Catholic rebels until their defeat in the Nine Years' War kept the "new" Easter in defiance of the English-loyal authorities; later, Catholics practising in secret petitioned the Propaganda Fide for dispensation from observing the new calendar, as it signalled their disloyalty.[23]
Denmark, which then included Norway and some Protestant states of Germany, adopted the solar portion of the new calendar on Monday, 1 March 1700,[24] following Sunday, 18 February 1700, because of the influence of Ole Rømer, but did not adopt the lunar portion. Instead, they decided to calculate the date of Easter astronomically using the instant of the vernal equinox and the full moon according to Kepler's Rudolphine Tables of 1627. They finally adopted the lunar portion of the Gregorian calendar in 1776. The remaining provinces of the Dutch Republic also adopted the Gregorian calendar in July 1700 (Gelderland), December 1700 (Utrecht and Overijssel) and January 1701 (Friesland and Groningen).
Sweden's relationship with the Gregorian Calendar was a difficult one. Sweden started to make the change from the Julian calendar and towards the Gregorian calendar in 1700, but it was decided to make the (then 11-day) adjustment gradually, by excluding the leap days (29 February) from each of 11 successive leap years, 1700 to 1740. In the meantime, the Swedish calendar would be out of step with both the Julian calendar and the Gregorian calendar for 40 years; also, the difference would not be constant but would change every 4 years. This system had potential for confusion when working out the dates of Swedish events in this 40-year period. To add to the confusion, the system was poorly administered and the leap days that should have been excluded from 1704 and 1708 were not excluded. The Swedish calendar (according to the transition plan) should now have been 8 days behind the Gregorian, but was still in fact 10 days behind. King Charles XII recognised that the gradual change to the new system was not working, and he abandoned it.
However, rather than proceeding directly to the Gregorian calendar, it was decided to revert to the Julian calendar. This was achieved by introducing the unique date 30 February in the year 1712, adjusting the discrepancy in the calendars from 10 back to 11 days. Sweden finally adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1753, when Wednesday, 17 February was followed by Thursday, 1 March. Since Finland was under Swedish rule at that time, it did the same.[25] Finland's annexation to the Russian Empire did not revert this, since autonomy was granted, but government documents in Finland were dated in both the Julian and Gregorian styles. This practice ended when independence was gained in 1917.
c. 1755) which is the main source for "Give us our Eleven Days" William Hogarth painting (1755) which is the main source for "Give us our Eleven Days"
Britain and the British Empire (including the eastern part of what is now the United States) adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, by which time it was necessary to correct by 11 days. Wednesday, 2 September 1752 was followed by Thursday, 14 September 1752. Claims that rioters demanded "Give us our eleven days" grew out of a misinterpretation of a painting by William Hogarth. After 1753, the British tax year in Britain continued to operate on the Julian calendar and began on 5 April, which was the "Old Style" new tax year of 25 March. A 12th skipped Julian leap day in 1800 changed its start to 6 April. It was not changed when a 13th Julian leap day was skipped in 1900, so the tax year in the United Kingdom still begins on 6 April.
In Alaska, the change took place when Friday, 6 October 1867 was followed again by Friday, 18 October after the US purchase of Alaska from Russia, which was still on the Julian calendar. Instead of 12 days, only 11 were skipped, and the day of the week was repeated on successive days, because the International Date Line was shifted from Alaska's eastern to western boundary along with the change to the Gregorian calendar.
In Russia the Gregorian calendar was accepted after the October Revolution (so named because it took place in October 1917 in the Julian calendar). On 24 January 1918 the Council of People's Commissars issued a Decree that Wednesday, 31 January 1918 was to be followed by Thursday, 14 February 1918, thus dropping 13 days from the calendar.
The last country of Eastern Orthodox Europe to adopt the Gregorian calendar was Greece on Thursday, 1 March 1923, which followed Wednesday, 15 February 1923 (a change that also dropped 13 days).
edit] Adoption in Eastern Asia
Japan decided to officially replace the its traditional lunisolar calendar with the Gregorian calendar in 1872, so the day following the second day of the twelfth month of the fifth year of the Meiji emperor's rule, became 1 January 1873, thus bringing Japan's calendar in alignment with that of the West. Still, it is common to use Nengo, reign names instead of the Common Era or Anno Domini system, especially for official documents; for instance, Meiji 1=1868, Taisho 1=1912, Showa 1=1926, Heisei 1=1989, and so on. Still, this system has increasingly been replaced in popular usage by the "Western calendar" (西暦, seireki) over the course of the twentieth century.
Korea adopted the Gregorian calendar on 1 January 1895 with the active participation of Yu Kil-chun.[26] Although the new calendar continued to number its months, for its years during the Joseon Dynasty, 1895–97, these years were numbered from the founding of that dynasty, regarding year one as 1392.[27] Between 1897 and 1910, and again from 1948 to 1962 Korean era names were used for its years. Between 1910 and 1945, when Korea was under Japanese rule, Japanese era names were used to count the years of the Gregorian calendar used in Korea. From 1945 until 1961 in South Korea, Gregorian calendar years were also counted from the foundation of Gojoseon in 2333 BCE (regarded as year one), the date of the legendary founding of Korea by Dangun, hence these Dangi (단기) years were 4278 to 4294. This numbering was informally used with the Korean lunar calendar before 1945 but is only occasionally used today. In North Korea, the Juche calendar has been used since 1997 to number its years, regarding year one as the birth of Kim Il Sung in 1912.
The Republic of China (ROC) formally adopted the Gregorian calendar at its founding on 1 January 1912, but China soon descended into a period of warlordism with different warlords using different calendars. With the unification of China under the Kuomintang in October 1928, the Nationalist Government decreed that effective 1 January 1929 the Gregorian calendar would be used. However, China retained the Chinese traditions of numbering the months and a modified Era System, backdating the first year of the ROC to 1912; this system is still in use in Taiwan where the ROC government retains control. Upon its foundation in 1949, the People's Republic of China continued to use the Gregorian calendar with numbered months, but abolished the ROC Era System and adopted Western numbered years.
edit] Adoption by Orthodox Churches
Despite all the civil adoptions, none of the national Orthodox Churches have recognised the Gregorian calendar for church or religious purposes. Instead, a Revised Julian calendar was proposed in May 1923 which dropped 13 days in 1923 and adopted a different leap year rule. There will be no difference between the two calendars until 2800. The Orthodox churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Greece, Cyprus, Romania, and Bulgaria adopted the Revised Julian calendar, so until 2800 these New calendarists would celebrate Christmas on 25 December in the Gregorian calendar, the same day as the Western churches.[citation needed] The Armenian Apostolic Church adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1923, except in the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, where the old Julian calendar is still in use.[28][29]
The Orthodox churches of Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, the Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, Poland and the Greek Old Calendarists did not accept the Revised Julian calendar, and continue to celebrate Christmas on 25 December in the Julian calendar, which is 7 January in the Gregorian calendar until 2100. The refusal to accept the Gregorian reforms also has an impact on the date of Easter. This is because the date of Easter is determined with reference to 21 March as the functional equinox, which continues to apply in the Julian calendar, even though the civil calendar in the native countries now use the Gregorian calendar.[citation needed]
All of the other Eastern churches, the Oriental Orthodox churches (Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Syrian) continue to use their own calendars, which usually result in fixed dates being celebrated in accordance with the Julian calendar but the Assyrian Church uses the Gregorian Calendar as enacted by Mar Dinkha, causing a schism; the Ancient Assyrian Church of the East continues to use the Julian Calendar.[citation needed]
All Eastern churches continue to use the Julian Easter with the sole exception of the Finnish Orthodox Church, which has adopted the Gregorian Easter.[citation needed]
edit] Timeline
The date when each country adopted the Gregorian calendar, or an equivalent, is marked against a horizontal time line. The vertical axis is used for expansion to show separate national names for ease in charting, but otherwise has no significance.
Since the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, the difference between Gregorian and Julian calendar dates has increased by three days every four centuries:
Gregorian range Julian range Difference From 15 October 1582
to 10 March 1700 From 5 October 1582
to 28 February 1700 10 days From 11 March 1700
to 11 March 1800 From 29 February 1700
to 28 February 1800 11 days From 12 March 1800
to 12 March 1900 From 29 February 1800
to 28 February 1900 12 days From 13 March 1900
to 13 March 2100 From 29 February 1900
to 28 February 2100 13 days From 14 March 2100
to 14 March 2200 From 29 February 2100
to 28 February 2200 14 days
A more extensive list is available at Conversion between Julian and Gregorian calendars.
This section always places the intercalary day on 29 February even though it was always obtained by doubling 24 February (the bissextum (twice sixth) or bissextile day) until the late Middle Ages. The Gregorian calendar is proleptic before 1582 (assumed to exist before 1582) while the Julian calendar is proleptic before year AD 1 (because non-quadrennial leap days were used between 45 BC and AD 1).
The following equation gives the number of days (actually, dates) that the Gregorian calendar is ahead of the Julian calendar, called the secular difference between the two calendars. A negative difference means the Julian calendar is ahead of the Gregorian calendar.[30]
where D is the secular difference; H is the hundreds digits of the year using astronomical year numbering, that is, use (year BC) − 1 for BC years; and is the floor function of . The floor function truncates (removes) any decimal fraction of a positive real number (⌊4.75⌋ = 4), but avoids the ambiguity of truncating a negative number containing a decimal fraction by returning the more negative of its neighboring integers (⌊−1.25⌋ = −2).
The calculated difference increases by one in a centurial year (a year ending in '00) at either 29 February Julian or 1 March Gregorian, whichever is later. For positive differences, 29 February Julian is later, whereas for negative differences, 1 March Gregorian is later.[31][32]
edit] Beginning of the year
The year used in dates during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire was the consular year, which began on the day when consuls first entered office—probably 1 May before 222 BC, 15 March from 222 BC and 1 January from 153 BC.[33] The Julian calendar, which began in 45 BC, continued to use 1 January as the first day of the new year. Even though the year used for dates changed, the civil year always displayed its months in the order January through December from the Roman Republican period until the present.
During the Middle Ages, under the influence of the Christian Church, many Western European countries moved the start of the year to one of several important Christian festivals—25 December (the Nativity of Jesus), 25 March (Annunciation), or Easter (France),[25] while the Byzantine Empire began its year on 1 September and Russia did so on 1 March until 1492 when the year was moved to 1 September.[34]
In common usage, 1 January was regarded as New Year's Day and celebrated as such,[35] but from the 12th century until 1751 the legal year in England began on 25 March (Lady Day).[36] So, for example, the Parliamentary record lists the execution of Charles I as occurring in 1648 (as the year did not end until 24 March),[37] although modern histories adjust the start of the year to 1 January and record the execution as occurring in 1649.[38]
Most Western European countries changed the start of the year to 1 January before they adopted the Gregorian calendar. For example, Scotland changed the start of the Scottish New Year to 1 January in 1600 (this means that 1599 was a short year). England, Ireland and the British colonies changed the start of the year to 1 January in 1752 (so 1751 was a short year with only 282 days). Later that year in September the Gregorian calendar was introduced throughout Britain and the British colonies (see the section Adoption). These two reforms were implemented by the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750.[24]
In some countries, an official decree or law specified that the start of the year should be 1 January. For such countries we can identify a specific year when a 1 January-year became the norm. But in other countries the customs varied, and the start of the year moved back and forth as fashion and influence from other countries dictated various customs.
Neither the papal bull nor its attached canons explicitly fix such a date, though it is implied by two tables of saint's days, one labelled 1582 which ends on 31 December, and another for any full year that begins on 1 January. It also specifies its epact relative to 1 January, in contrast with the Julian calendar, which specified it relative to 22 March. These would have been the inevitable result of the above shift in the beginning of the Julian year.
edit] Dual dating
During the period between 1582, when the first countries adopted the Gregorian calendar, and 1923, when the last European country adopted it, it was often necessary to indicate the date of some event in both the Julian calendar and in the Gregorian calendar, for example, "10/21 February 1750/51", where the dual year accounts for some countries already beginning their numbered year on 1 January while others were still using some other date. Even before 1582, the year sometimes had to be double dated because of the different beginnings of the year in various countries. Woolley, writing in his biography of John Dee (1527–1608/9), notes that immediately after 1582 English letter writers "customarily" used "two dates" on their letters, one OS and one NS.[45]
"Old Style" (OS) and "New Style" (NS) are sometimes added to dates to identify which system is used in the British Empire and other countries that did not immediately change. Because the Calendar Act of 1750 altered the start of the year,[46] and also aligned the British calendar with the Gregorian calendar, there is some confusion as to what these terms mean. They can indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January (NS) even though contemporary documents use a different start of year (OS); or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian calendar (OS), formerly in use in many countries, rather than the Gregorian calendar (NS).[38][47][48][49]
edit] Proleptic Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar can, for certain purposes, be extended backwards to dates preceding its official introduction, producing the proleptic Gregorian calendar. However, this proleptic calendar should be used with great caution.
For ordinary purposes, the dates of events occurring prior to 15 October 1582 are generally shown as they appeared in the Julian calendar, with the year starting on 1 January, and no conversion to their Gregorian equivalents. The Battle of Agincourt is universally known to have been fought on 25 October 1415 which is Saint Crispin's Day.
Usually, the mapping of new dates onto old dates with a start of year adjustment works well with little confusion for events that happened before the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar. But for the period between the first introduction of the Gregorian calendar on 15 October 1582 and its introduction in Britain on 14 September 1752, there can be considerable confusion between events in continental western Europe and in British domains in English language histories. Events in continental western Europe are usually reported in English language histories as happening under the Gregorian calendar. For example the Battle of Blenheim is always given as 13 August 1704. However confusion occurs when an event affects both. For example William III of England arrived at Brixham in England on 5 November 1688 (Julian calendar), after setting sail from the Netherlands on 11 November 1688 (Gregorian calendar).
Shakespeare and Cervantes apparently died on exactly the same date (23 April 1616), but in fact Cervantes predeceased Shakespeare by ten days in real time (for dating these events, Spain used the Gregorian calendar, but Britain used the Julian calendar). This coincidence, however, historically encouraged UNESCO to make 23 April the World Book and Copyright Day.
Astronomers avoid this ambiguity by the use of the Julian day number.
For dates before the year 1, unlike the proleptic Gregorian calendar used in the international standard ISO 8601, the traditional proleptic Gregorian calendar (like the Julian calendar) does not have a year 0 and instead uses the ordinal numbers 1, 2, … both for years AD and BC. Thus the traditional time line is 2 BC, 1 BC, AD 1, and AD 2. ISO 8601 uses astronomical year numbering which includes a year 0 and negative numbers before it. Thus the ISO 8601 time line is −0001, 0000, 0001, and 0002.
edit] Months of the year
English speakers sometimes remember the number of days in each month by memorizing a traditional mnemonic verse:
Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November. All the rest have thirty-one, Excepting February alone, Which hath twenty-eight days clear, And twenty-nine in each leap year.
For variations and alternate endings, see Thirty days hath September.
A language-independent alternative used in many countries is to hold up one's two fists with the index knuckle of the left hand against the index knuckle of the right hand. Then, starting with January from the little knuckle of the left hand, count knuckle, space, knuckle, space through the months. A knuckle represents a month of 31 days, and a space represents a short month (a 28- or 29-day February or any 30-day month). The junction between the hands is not counted, so the two index knuckles represent July and August. This method also works by starting the sequence on the right hand's little knuckle, then continuing towards the left. It can also be done using just one hand: after counting the fourth knuckle as July, start again counting the first knuckle as August. A similar mnemonic can be found on a piano keyboard: starting on the key F for January, moving up the keyboard in semitones, the black notes give the short months, the white notes the long ones.
The Origins of English naming used by the Gregorian calendar:
edit] Week
In conjunction with the system of months there is a system of weeks. A physical or electronic calendar provides conversion from a given date to the weekday, and shows multiple dates for a given weekday and month. Calculating the day of the week is not very simple, because of the irregularities in the Gregorian system. When the Gregorian calendar was adopted by each country, the weekly cycle continued uninterrupted. For example, in the case of the few countries that adopted the reformed calendar on the date proposed by Gregory XIII for the calendar's adoption, Friday, 15 October 1582, the preceding date was Thursday, 4 October 1582 (Julian calendar).
Since the 400-year cycle of the Gregorian calendar consists of a whole number of weeks, each cycle has a fixed distribution of weekdays among calendar dates. It then becomes possible that this distribution is not even.
Indeed, because there are 97 leap years in every 400 years in the Gregorian Calendar, there are on average leap years for each starting weekday in each cycle. This already shows that the frequency is not the same for each weekday (indeed, to be the same, this number must be an integer), which is due to the effects of the "common" centennial years (1700, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, etc.).
The absence of an extra day in such years causes the following leap year (1704, 1804, 1904, 2104, etc.) to start on the same day of the week as the leap year twelve years before (1692, 1792, 1892, 2092 etc.). Similarly, the leap year eight years after a "common" centennial year (1708, 1808, 1908, 2108, etc.) starts on the same day of the week as the leap year immediately prior to the "common" centennial year (1696, 1796, 1896, 2096 etc.). Thus, those days of the week on which such leap years begin gain an extra year or two in each cycle.
The following table shows the distribution of extra days during each 400-year cycle:
Occurrences Leap year starts on Leap day occurs on 15 Sunday Wednesday 13 Monday Thursday 14 Tuesday Friday 14 Wednesday Saturday 13 Thursday Sunday 15 Friday Monday 13 Saturday Tuesday
Note that as a cycle, this pattern is symmetric with respect to the low Saturday value.
A leap year starting on Sunday means the next year does not start on Monday, so more leap years starting on Sunday means fewer years starting on Monday, etc. Thus the pattern of number of years starting on each day is inverted and shifted by one weekday: 58, 56, 58, 57, 57, 58, 56 (symmetric with respect to the high Sunday value).
The number of common years starting on each day is found by subtraction: 43, 43, 44, 43, 44, 43, 43.
The frequency of a particular date being on a particular weekday can easily be derived from the above (for dates in March and later, relate them to the next New Year).
See also the cycle of Doomsdays.
edit] Accuracy
The Gregorian calendar improves the approximation made by the Julian calendar by skipping three Julian leap days in every 400 years, giving an average year of 365.2425 mean solar days long.[54] This approximation has an error of about one day per 3,300 years with respect to the mean tropical year. However, because of the precession of the equinoxes, the error with respect to the vernal equinox (which occurs, on average, 365.24237 days apart near 2000[55]) is 1 day every 7,700 years. By any criterion, the Gregorian calendar is substantially more accurate than the 1 day in 128 years error of the Julian calendar (average year 365.25 days).
In the 19th century, Sir John Herschel proposed a modification to the Gregorian calendar with 969 leap days every 4000 years, instead of 970 leap days that the Gregorian calendar would insert over the same period.[56] This would reduce the average year to 365.24225 days. Herschel's proposal would make the year 4000, and multiples thereof, common instead of leap. While this modification has often been proposed since, it has never been officially adopted.[57]
On time scales of thousands of years, the Gregorian calendar falls behind the astronomical seasons because the slowing down of the Earth's rotation makes each day slightly longer over time (see tidal acceleration and leap second) while the year maintains a more uniform duration. Borkowski reviewed mathematical models in the literature, and found that the results generally fall between a model by McCarthy and Babcock, and another by Stephenson and Morrison. If so, in the year 4000, the calendar will fall behind by at least 0.8 but less than 1.1 days. In the year 12,000 the calendar would fall behind by at least 8 but less than 12 days.[58]
edit] Calendar seasonal error
This image shows the difference between the Gregorian calendar and the astronomical seasons.
The y-axis is the date in June and the x-axis is Gregorian calendar years.
Each point is the date and time of the June Solstice (or Winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere) on that particular year. The error shifts by about a quarter of a day per year. Centurial years are ordinary years, unless they are divisible by 400, in which case they are leap years. This causes a correction on years 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, and 2300.
For instance, these corrections cause 23 December 1903 to be the latest December solstice, and 20 December 2096 to be the earliest solstice—2.25 days of variation compared with the seasonal event.
edit] Leap seconds and other aspects
Since 1972, some years may also contain one or more leap seconds, to account for cumulative irregularities in the Earth's rotation. So far, these have always been positive and have occurred on average once every 18 months.
The day of the year is somewhat inconvenient to compute, partly because the leap day does not fall at the end of the year. But the calendar exhibits a repeating pattern for the number of days in the months March through July and August through December: 31, 30, 31, 30, 31, for a total of 153 days each. In fact, any five consecutive months not containing February contain exactly 153 days.
See also common year starting on Sunday and dominical letter.
The 400-year cycle of the Gregorian calendar has 146,097 days and hence exactly 20,871 weeks. So, for example, the days of the week in Gregorian 1603 were exactly the same as for 2003. The years that are divisible by 400 begin on a Saturday. In the 400-year cycle, more months begin on a Sunday (and hence have Friday the 13th) than any other day of the week (see above under Week for a more detailed explanation of how this happens). 688 out of every 4800 months (or 172/1200) begin on a Sunday, while only 684 out of every 4800 months (171/1200) begin on each of Saturday and Monday, the least common cases.
A smaller cycle is 28 years (1,461 weeks). For any given date of the year, the day of the week also repeats in one of the following patterns:
after 5, 11, and 22 years after 6, 11, and 17 years after 6, 17, and 23 years after 11, 17, and 22 years
However, a dropped leap year (such as 1900) temporarily disrupts the 28-year cycle and the repetitions within it.
The Doomsday algorithm is a method to discern which of the 14 calendar variations should be used in any given year (after the Gregorian reformation). It is based on the last day in February, referred to as the Doomsday.
Common years always begin and end on the same day of the week, since 365 is one more than a multiple of 7 (52 [number of weeks in a year] × 7 [number of days in a week] = 364). For example, 2003 began on a Wednesday and ended on a Wednesday. Leap years end on the next day of the week from which they begin. For example, 2004 began on a Thursday and ended on a Friday.
Not counting leap years, any calendar date will move to the next day of the week the following year. For example, if a birthday fell on a Tuesday in 2002, it fell on a Wednesday in 2003. Leap years make things a little more complicated, and move any given date occurring after March two days in the week on the following year, "leaping over" an extra day, hence the term leap year. For example, 2004 was a leap year, so calendar days of 1 March or later in the year, moved two days of the week from 2003.
Calendar days occurring before 1 March do not make the extra day of the week jump until the year following a leap year. So, if a birthday is 15 June, then it must have fallen on a Sunday in 2003 and a Tuesday in 2004. If, however, a birthday is 15 February, then it must have fallen on a Saturday in 2003, a Sunday in 2004 and a Tuesday in 2005.
edit] Calendar matches between months
In any year (even a leap year), July always begins on the same day of the week that April does; therefore, the only difference between a July calendar page and an April calendar page in the same year is the extra day July has. The same relationship exists between September and December, as well as between March and November: if an extra day is added to the September calendar, the calendar for December is obtained; remove a day from the March calendar, and that for November is obtained.
In common years (non-leap years), there are additional matches: October duplicates January, and March and November duplicate February in their first 28 days. In leap years only, there is a different set of additional matches: July is a duplicate of January, while February is duplicated in the first 29 days of August.
edit] English names for year numbering system
The Anno Domini (Latin for "in the year of the/our Lord") system of numbering years, in which the leap year rules are written, and which is generally used together with the Gregorian calendar, is also known in English as the Common Era or Christian Era. Years before the beginning of the era are known in English as Before Christ, Before the Common Era, or Before the Christian Era. The corresponding abbreviations AD, CE, BC, and BCE are used. There is no year 0; AD 1 immediately follows 1 BC.
Naturally, since Inter gravissimas was written in Latin, it does not mandate any English language nomenclature. Two era names occur within the bull, "anno Incarnationis dominicæ" ("in the year of the Incarnation of the Lord") for the year it was signed, and "anno à Nativitate Domini nostri Jesu Christi" ("in the year from the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ") for the year it was printed. Nevertheless, "anno Domini" and its inflections "anni Domini" and "annus Domini" are used many times in the canons attached to the bull.[59]
edit] Proposed reforms
The following are proposed reforms of the Gregorian calendar:
edit] See also
edit] Notes | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The infinite monkey theorem states: should an infinite number of monkeys type on an infinite number of typewriter keyboards for an infinite amount of time, they will eventually type every possible finite text an infinite number of times. Similarly, should a single ape with an infinite number of lives be given an infinite amount of escape attempts over an infinite amount of time, it will eventually be able to escape the confines where it is being held captive. The latter can be proven by Devolver Digital’s latest published high-octane action game APE OUT.
Devolver Digital calls APE OUT “a wildly intense and colorfully stylized smash ‘em up about primal escape, rhythmic violence, and frenetic jazz,” and to be honest I think that describes the game perfectly. In APE OUT, the player controls a captured ape that breaks free from its cage and starts rampaging about as it tries to escape the building it is being held in.
With a combination of wit, force, and quick timing, the player must make their way through randomly generated maps while fighting armed enemies who are attempting to shoot the ape. On top of it all, the game has rhythmic drumming and cymbal crashes that accompany the player’s actions along the way which ends up adding to the intensity and franticness of it all.
Simplicity is the name of the game when it comes to APE OUT, and there is beauty in its minimalist approach. Combat consists of either pushing an enemy or throwing an enemy which allowed me to focus more on sudden enemy appearances and quickly react to them. There are a variety of enemies such as snipers, shotgun wielders and bomb throwers. One of the greatest features in APE OUT is how enemies can all be utilized in different ways. During gameplay, players can strategically plan whether to attack or defend themselves during the escape. I found myself more focused on the appearance of enemies so that I could plan out the best approach.
Any given run would have me thinking about how not only to react to the threat of enemies attacking me but also how I can use them to attack another enemy. This layer of strategy added a good depth to the game and I found myself more immersed because of it. It was exciting to see what enemies I might find when turning to round a corner and it was extremely satisfying when I was able to react quickly and combo while utilizing some cool attacks and defenses moves.
However, that’s not all since another thing that I really liked about APE OUT is how it handles failure. You see, I died a lot of times during my many playthroughs, but I never felt frustrated or discouraged. This has a lot to do with the fact that the game shows a map of the level upon death. This ultimately allowed me to see a white trail indicating how I went about navigating the procedurally generated map, which allowed me to see where I was in relation to the goal location for the level. This ended up encouraging me because I was able to see how far I was able to progress each attempt and this also made me feel like the next attempt would get me to the end of the level. Being that the maps are randomly generated to an extent, each subsequent attempt still offered an unknown challenge which kept each playthrough fresh.
Music is a central theme to this crazy people throwing monkey game. Each stage is illustrated by a vinyl cover with its own unique album art, and each stage is separated by a Side A and Side B. The game’s soundtrack, which features a variety of drumming and cymbal crashes, added a lot to my experience with the game. Whenever I broke glass or threw an enemy into an obstacle, a symbol crash would play on top of the intense drum beats playing in the background. This made my actions feel more rhythmic and I felt like I was participating in a jazz jam session at the same time I was brutally causing my enemies limbs to explode everywhere.
Overall, I absolutely loved my time with APE OUT. From its art style to its tight gameplay and catchy soundtrack, APE OUT is a game that I think a lot of people would enjoy. It’s easy to pick up and play but offers enough of a challenge to warrant continuous play. The game consistently adds surprises around every corner with new enemies and new ways to use the Ape’s abilities.
Sadly, it may not appeal to those who don’t enjoy high adrenaline games such as Hotline Miami, but I personally think this is a perfect addition to your gaming library. I found myself constantly returning to the game in short and long bursts and was left satisfied each time. APE OUT took me by surprise but also showed me just how fun a game can be when it has an addictive game loop and a fluid control scheme that never lets the player down. Now, I think it’s time I get back to perfecting my escape techniques. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Its particular brand of automotive care prompted a police investigation and a local politician to complain to council. Now, its operations are being reviewed and it faces closure on a technicality.
Owner and strip-club entrepreneur Warren Armstrong has vowed to fight to keep his business going, but the girls who work there do not understand what the fuss is about. They say it is good money and good fun and they are contemptuous of suggestions their work is degrading. "The thing is, there's two brothels around the corner and there's touching, there's sex going on, everything else," a miffed Summer, 25, told brisbanetimes.com.au.
"They come here, they get a car wash; they're not allowed to touch us, they're not allowed to do anything, so what's the difference?" There is also no alcohol served on the premises, another reason why Summer and her 22-year-old colleague, Bailey, say they moved over from strip-club work.
Bailey was a receptionist before boredom and curiosity led her to dancing. When the late hours and wandering hands became too much for the petite brunette, the daylight car washing gig seemed like a good option. The girls pay to use the car wash bays and take the rest home and while the work can be erratic it can also be lucrative.
Isabelle and Eva are German backpackers financing trips home and further travel. "From three months of fruit-picking I got the same amount of money I can earn in three days here," Isabelle said.
"The most I earned in one day was $735 and of course it's not like that all the time, but it is still much better than waitressing." Isabelle says she needed the work to start with and had never done any stripping or dancing back home. Now, she says she enjoys the atmosphere and would consider something similar in Germany to help her through university. "Last weekend we had a bucks’ party and a whole lot of Chinese tourists in a bus and we just had a big water fight, it was really fun,” she said.
"Other times you can get some strange men but that doesn't bother me. "They're all really nice people - they're just perverts as well."
All girls agree they feel safe and have rarely had any problem customers. "A lot of them just come here to wank," Isabelle says. Does she mind washing their cars while they, ahem, wax their sticks?
"No, not really, it's hard to explain but it just doesn't worry me." So what is Brisbane's problem if the girls like the work and the clients like the product?
Why are brothels tolerated but a nude car wash - surely the definition of good, squeaky clean fun - is being run out of town? "Obviously people have nothing better to complain about," Summer says wearily, soaking up the afternoon sun on a pink rug in middle of the driveway. "They're obviously not complaining about brothels and strip-clubs that have been around for however many years, but then you open up a car wash and all of a sudden everyone's got… problems about it.
"We're not pushing it on people, it's not affecting anybody, if you don't want to come here you don't come. "It's a job, that's it." | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
YoYo aren’t going to get involved with the politics, so as far as we’ll go will be to say that Britain’s decision to leave the EU will have profound effects on the Premier League which are only just being fully understood. We’re going to give you the breakdown of what the most significant ones are.
The majority of impact is felt by the transfer side of things. From transfers, to scouting, player registration and recruitment are all slightly different and, at worst, provide serious barriers which could impede the successful growth of Premier League teams. We’ve broken it into the most important factors.
Players are more expensive
The devaluation of the pound has increased the price of player in real terms. West Ham’s €40m pursuit of Batshuayi has, since the first bid went in on Tuesday, increased from £31m to £35m. With the revival in exchange rate unlikely to occur in the short term, this summer’s transfer window has become a lot more expensive and challenging for every team buying foreign players. As transfer fees are normally amortised over the course of the player’s contract length, it’s not just new players that are more expensive — the gradual transfer cost repayments for players has just got more expensive as well.
Michy Batshuayi has seen his price rise £4m in three days just thanks to the Pound crashing.
Players are more expensive (part 2)
Not only do players cost more to purchase, but for the foreign players who deal in euros, they are now being paid less thanks to the weak pound. This makes a move to England a lot less attractive, and increases the wage competition from clubs abroad who may not before have been able to afford it. In all likelihood, expect the net spend of English clubs to be more in the red in the coming season.
Scouting Is More Difficult
The current strategy for most elite european teams is demonstrated by Chelsea’s talent acquisition over the past decade. Identifying players around 14 or 15, the Chelsea scouting network will usually follow their development for a few years before making a preliminary move to sign them at age 16. This is when, by FIFA exemption, players are allowed to be signed up from countries within the EU/EEA. Without proper reform of these regulations, players moving to Britain would have to be above the age of 18, which will have serious implications on the popular buy low — develop — sell high strategy of current academies.
Chary Musonda, a star of Chelsea’s academy would never have been allowed to sign a contract aged 16 if post-brexit rules had applied.
Registration Would Have Serious Prerequisites
Current Home Office regulations require players transferred from outside the EU to have made a certain number of appearances for their national team. Whilst this is likely to be addressed, in its current state players such as Anthony Martial, Willian and N’Golo Kante, Dimitri Payet, David De Gea and Samir Nasri would have had serious issues completing their moves to the Premier League. So serious is this current issue that out of the top two English leagues and the Scottish Premier League, 332 players would not qualify to play.
Payet would have been one of the players who would fail to meet Home Office requirements due to not playing 75% of his National Team’s fixtures in the past two years.
Homegrown Quotas
An important part of Premier League football and squad submission for the Champions League is the number of ‘homegrown’ players that are required by UEFA for each team to consist of. These are players who have spent a certain number of years (usually 3) playing in England before the age of 18. Obviously, with the minimum age of transfer rising to 18, homegrown players would no longer be foreign — they would have to be living in the UK.
It can of course be argued that there are minor amendments that need to be agreed with the EU and between football associations and the Government to fix the problems we’ve outlined here. However, the transfers of footballers are likely to be low down on the list of priorities for whomever takes over the Prime Minister’s role, and certainly for the summer approaching there are serious obstacles for Premier League sides to negotiate before their already proposed transfer plans can be completed. The currency looks to be the most worrying problem, and judging from the quotes of some of the players, the negative speculation around the UK could make it much less attractive.
Knock that recommend button if you agree with this and help others see it.
Stay tuned to yoyosports on Snapchat for regular updates on YoYoTV!
Want to win tickets to an International Champions Cup game of your choice? Sign up to YoYo Fantasy Sports or through our Facebook and Twitter and get coverage straight to your timeline. Winners will be announced at the end of June. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
If it were not for her last name, Abigail Disney would be just another alumna of Yale (B.A.), Stanford (M.A.), and Columbia (PhD) living in Manhattan. No one would pay much attention to her opinions, none of them especially unique or different from others shared by her class. But she is a Disney, dammit, and in America in the twenty-first century we must heed the rich and privileged, especially if they parrot the left wing of the Democratic Party. Abigail Disney's father was Roy E. Disney, who instigated an animation renaissance in the 1980s; her grandfather was Roy O. Disney, the co-founder of the Walt Disney Company; her great-uncle was that company's namesake, one of the most important cultural and business figures in American, maybe world, history. Abigail is not a fan.
Uncle Walt was "hella good at making films and his work has made billions of people happy," Disney conceded in a 2014 Facebook post, but, c'mon, he was born in 1901 and died more than a half century ago and didn't have the enlightened views of whenever I happen to Tweet this so Meryl Streep was right to call him racist and sexist. Granddad Roy was somewhat better, Abigail told the Cut last month, because he "gave us money directly, which was great because I never had to go to my parents and ask for anything." Which would have been awful, since dad "lost his way in life" when he, Michael Eisner, and Jeffrey Katzenberg revolutionized Hollywood and made Abigail and a lot of other people incredibly rich, and mom "was somebody who really liked having nice things," for Heaven's sakes, "like Chanel suits." Nowadays it's Robert Iger, Disney's chairman and CEO, who's gotten under Abigail's skin.
"I like Bob Iger," she wrote in a Twitter rant this week. "I do NOT speak for my family but only for myself." And she has nothing to do with the company other than holding shares "(not that many)." But Iger's compensation in 2018 of $65.6 million is "insane." Someone has to "speak out about the naked indecency" of it all, she wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post, a newspaper owned by the richest man on Earth. The Trump tax cuts are to blame. Yes, Disney is raising its minimum wage, and gave more than half of its 200,000 employees a $1,000 bonus last year. But it has spent billions more on stock buybacks to—ohmigod—"enrich its shareholders." And among those shareholders are such undeserving folk as Vanguard and the New York State Common Retirement Fund and CALPERS. Did the retired teacher in Bakersville produce the Emmy award-winning documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell? I didn't think so. Abigail did, so talk to the hand, Mr. Mutual Fund Investor.
Abigail Disney's stand for the proletariat is absurd and self-righteous. There is, for starters, the fact that everyone involved in this psychodrama—from Disney to Iger to the owner of the Washington Post—is a super-affluent liberal. Everyone, that is, but many Disney employees, who are not an undifferentiated mass of drones but men and women with a diversity of political views, economic circumstances, work schedules, skill sets, and personal ambitions. Some of them probably liked their tax cut and bonus—and profited from the buybacks as individual shareholders and as holders of retirement accounts.
Iger is a great chief executive. He has brought Marvel, Star Wars, and Twentieth Century Fox into the Disney fold, while maintaining quality and preparing a streaming service that will compete with Netflix and Amazon Prime. He's just about doubled the global revenues of the company, from $34 billion in 2006 to $59 billion in 2018. Disney had more than a quarter of the total domestic box office in 2018, almost twice as much as its closest competitor. Abigail admits that Iger and his lieutenants "have led the company brilliantly." So what's her problem? It's that the world doesn't conform to her subjective vision of social justice. And since she's a Disney heiress known only for criticizing her family's company—sorry, Fork Films is not yet a household name—the media can't resist giving her publicity. It's the ultimate man-bites-mouse story.
Here's where things get complicated. In all likelihood—it's hard because we don't have precise data—Abigail Disney is wealthier than Bob Iger. His net worth is estimated at $350 million, but Disney may very well be worth much more. She's kicking down. "I could be a billionaire if I wanted to be a billionaire," she told the Cut, "and I'm not because I don't want to be a billionaire." And this is supposed us to make us feel … what, exactly? Sorry for her? Proud? Even if she were $250 million away from the nine-zero club, she'd still be twice as rich as the man she's being celebrated for spitting on in print. It wasn't the board that compensated Abigail. Why would it, she didn't do anything. It was luck. And yet she isn't using her platform to call for an inheritance tax. Odd.
According to Inside Philanthropy, the Robert Iger and Willow Bay Foundation has assets of $100 million and recently provided $1 million in grants. Presumably the foundation will ramp up its activity after Iger retires. He's already closing in on Disney's rate of giving. "I've given away in the range of $70 million in the last 30 years," Disney told the Cut, for an average of a little more than $2 million a year. Which doesn't strike me as all that much for someone as woke as she. That's why it's called virtue signaling.
What sacrifices has Abigail Disney made, other than denying herself billionaire status? About 20 years ago,
I had to fly out to California for a meeting but I had to get back to New York by the next morning for a conference. And the guy who ran our family's company put me on the 737 alone. I flew across the country overnight, by myself on that giant plane, and I was sitting there thinking about the carbon footprint and the number of flight attendants and the other pilot on-call and what it was costing, and I just wanted to be sick.
No more private jets for Abby!
Around the same time, she joined the board of the New York Women's Foundation.
I remember this wonderful Korean lady came over for a meeting at my house, and the next day she called me and she said, ‘You didn't offer me a glass of water.' And that never crossed my mind, but I have to be conscious of the fact that people who come into my home are coming into a place that feels daunting and intimidating [where does she live, Arendelle Castle? Ed.], and I need to go the extra mile to make them feel welcome. … Just like I watched my father increasingly surround himself with yes men, I started to deliberately surround myself with no ladies.
Sorry, Bob, but you're going to have to give up your bonus because 27 years ago a "wonderful Korean lady" made Abigail feel bad.
Reading the interview with the Cut, her op-ed in the Post, and her over-the-top Twitter feed makes you understand why Disney insists she doesn't speak for the rest of her family. I wouldn't want her to speak for mine.
It's a wonderful thing, this country's genius for allowing men and women with great ideas and drive to become rich beyond reckoning, indeed so wealthy that they are able to provide for their family for generations. Why do their descendants want to ruin it for the rest of us? | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
THE state government will boost funding to Christian education classes in schools in the budget, with Education Minister Martin Dixon ruling out changes to the controversial program.
Mr Dixon said Christian education provider Access Ministries would receive an extra $200,000 a year from July 1 for training, administration and the supervision of volunteer instructors.
While other courses, including Baha'i, Greek Orthodox and Islamic, are also accredited, Access Ministries runs 96 per cent of special religious instruction classes in Victoria.
The funding boost comes as Access Ministries called on Christians to take urgent action, saying its very foundation was being challenged by a court case that questioned the Education Department's guidelines on the teaching of faith in schools.
The agency called on Christians to write a letter of support for special religious instruction to Mr Dixon, Premier Ted Baillieu and their local MP. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
Connects two switches that are 3u's apart 50ft cable | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Roger Stone has once again asked the court to grant him a new trial, according to a court order issued on Friday afternoon. This request comes a day after President Trump tweeted about the foreperson in Stone's criminal trial.
"Now it looks like the fore person in the jury, in the Roger Stone case, had significant bias," he wrote. "Add that to everything else, and this is not looking good for the 'Justice' Department."
On Tuesday, CNN reported that Tomeka Hart, who was the foreperson on Stone's jury, had said on Facebook that she wanted to "stand up" for the four prosecutors who withdrew from the case in protest. "It pains me to see the DOJ now interfere with the hard work of the prosecutors. They acted with the utmost intelligence, integrity, and respect for our system of justice," Hart reportedly wrote.
Get Breaking News Delivered to Your Inbox
On Tuesday, all four government prosecutors in Stone's case abruptly withdrew, with one resigning outright, after senior Justice Department officials, including Attorney General William Barr, softened the sentencing recommendation they had sent to the judge.
They had initially recommended that Stone serve seven to nine years in prison after he was convicted in November 2019 on seven counts, including obstruction, witness tampering and lying to investigators in a case stemming from the Mueller investigation. Two of the prosecutors worked on Robert Mueller's Russia investigation in the special counsel's office.
The request is under seal, but its existence was mentioned by Judge Amy Berman Jackson in her court order instructing both parties in the case to file responses and other documents under seal by Tuesday.
Stone scheduled to be sentenced two days after that, on Thursday, February 20. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Bjørn Amundsen i Telenor. Foto: Andreas Sundby / NRK
Dårlig mobilnett på T-banen har lenge vært kilde til frustrasjon hos mange, men nå er utbyggingen av 4G i T-banenettet i Oslo ferdig. Det betyr at de reisende skal kunne surfe seg gjennom hele byen uten å miste nettet.
– Meg bekjent så er dette det eneste i sitt slag som er så omfattende på T-banen i Europa, sier dekningsdirektør i Telenor, Bjørn Amundsen.
Sporveien og Telenor har samarbeidet om prosjektet, og dekningen skal være like god uansett hvilket mobilselskap man har.
Fungerer over hele byen
Erfarne dataspill-brukere fra gaminghuset House of Nerds testet mandag 4G-tilgangen for å se om nettet fungerer i praksis. Rogerio Snarli er foreløpig en fornøyd gamer.
– Jeg har nå spilt Minecraft byen rundt. Hadde nettet droppet ut, hadde jeg dødd litt, sier Snarli.
– Her er det lagt strålekabler som går inn på begge sider av T-banenettet som gjør at du har sammenhengende dekning ut og inn av alle tunneler, og det er det ikke noe annet sted i sånn omfang som det er her, sier Amundsen.
Lekser på T-banen
Suna Live Møller Foto: Andreas Sundby / NRK
Også elever og lærere fra Humanistskolen var invitert til å teste 4G-nettet.
– Akkurat nå øver jeg til prøven som vi har etterpå, sier Suna Live Møller.
Hvor avhengig er du av nett?
– Ganske. Fordi vi har jo pc i stedet for bøker. Alt går egentlig på nettet, sier Møller.
Fra venstre: Jacob Krogsrud og August Ulvevadet. Foto: Andreas Sundby / NRK
August Ulvevadet prøver spillet Agario hvor du må være på nettet for å spille. Han kunne ønske det var stikkontakter på T-banen til lading av telefon og pc, men så langt er han fornøyd med dekningen.
– Strøm kan være ett problem, men nettet funker jo prefekt, sier Ulvevadet. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Welcome to Our Design Studio, Where You’ll Never See the Light of Day But You Can Bring
Your Dog
Welcome! We’re so pumped you’re joining us as our new Social Media Community Manager. We love our brand and we love getting our brand out there. Do you have a dog? No? You should get one! Because you can bring your dog into this office. I know, right? Everyone loves dogs. Don’t they?
You’ve probably already noticed that we’re big fans of posting photos of our studio dogs. Dogs in the conference rooms, dogs wearing hats and outfits, dogs matching the color of our rugs or furniture—you know, real Instagram-friendly stuff.
It’s our way of showing the world that, hey, we’re super into dogs, we’re really casual, and we’re really cool. We have work-life balance because our dogs can roam around here. Who can be unhappy when there are dogs around? No one, obviously. So as a starting point I’d encourage you to jump right in and start taking pictures of our dogs and posting them. Our favorite comments on posts are “I want to work there!” and “You guys are so lucky!” or “Hire me PLEEEZ” because of course we love working here AND we think it’s fun.
Just FYI, what we want to steer away from is any appearance that we work around the clock. Because we do, in fact, work around the clock. So no posts at midnight when everyone’s simultaneously ashen and greasy while also being super angry. Also, you’ll see some crying. There’s no getting around that. So, you know, treat others the way you’d want to be treated, i.e. by not posting photos of them locked in a bathroom stall sobbing. None of that. Also, those late nights are usually when the dogs that are still here start pissing and crapping in corners and near potted plants because no one has time to take them outside. So 1) watch your step and 2) obviously don’t post any of that. That’s not in keeping with our brand.
If you’re thinking tweets, keep them upbeat and clever. But whatever you do, don’t start an “OH at the studio” account. Because what’s overheard is, quite frankly, a lot of bitching. A lot of pom-pom hat wearing four eyes complaining about how this isn’t “what they fucking signed up for.” My motto is “On Instagram they can’t hear you scream.” Unless you post videos. Don’t ever post videos.
I think one thing that gets overlooked a lot is what a family friendly workplace we are. Sometimes we have kids AND dogs in the studio. So, a post with a kid and dog in it? Gold. What we don’t want to show is moms or dads working while their kids lay face down on the ground blubbering because they want to go home or they’re hungry and all we have here are artisanal potato chips, espresso, and Kombucha. That scenario happens a minimum of once a week. It’s tedious for everyone because although everyone loves dogs, not everyone loves kids. You’ll see.
Some other thoughts about getting across how creative, carefree, and young we are: employees wearing matching outfits (it happens all the time) or on the rare occasions we’re outside, it’s great to tag along and get some shots of us just laughing and enjoying each other’s company or drinking heavily. There’s a lot of drinking. Granted, 90% of the time anyone’s outside it’s to take a walk and “cool down” so treat the situation as you would if you were a National Geographic photographer on the Serengeti: always alert, no direct eye contact, watch your back, get ready to run.
Just a quick word on our creatives. You’ll notice that several of the designers have stacks and stacks of design books and publications on their desks, their Paul Rands, their Vignellis, and so on. This is great to capture. It makes the designers feel good because it allows them to think that one day they’ll also design an airline logo or redesign a subway wayfinding system or create timeless animated movie credits when in fact we all know that they’ll mostly be creating shitty animations in Keynote that only sales managers in the Midwest will see, and more importantly, not even give half a fuck about.
We don’t have many writers here, I mean, we’re a design studio. Hello. Capture what you can there. Obviously there’s not much to work with. Someone tapping away on their laptop while wearing headphones and looking all sullen and unmatching? Not that cool and very off-brand. You may notice that they’ll approach you regarding your captions and make some suggestions about edits. Just ignore them, everyone else does.
Last point for now, sometimes our employees will bake cupcakes or cookies and bring those in to share. This is great because it shows that our employees have the time to bake when in reality most of them bake for therapeutic reasons and to avoid screaming into their pillows as they fall asleep. I know because one of them told me. That’s off the record of course. Just focus on the cupcakes.
If you have any questions just let me know. You can text me. I’ll text you back something funny and you can post it! And don’t forget to check your shoes. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
By E.J. Mundell, HealthDay Reporter
(HealthDay)
THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- By 2060, almost 14 million Americans will suffer from Alzheimer's disease, a number that's nearly three times as high as today, a new report projects.
"This study shows that as the U.S. population increases, the number of people affected by Alzheimer's disease and related dementias will rise, especially among minority populations," said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency report noted that 5 million Americans -- 1.6 percent of the population -- had Alzheimer's disease in 2014.
But that number is estimated to increase to 13.9 million by 2060, equaling nearly 3.3 percent of a projected population of 417 million people.
Currently, Alzheimer's disease is the fifth leading cause of death for Americans age 65 and older, the CDC said. The new report finds that white Americans will continue to comprise the majority of Alzheimer's cases, simply due to their sheer numbers. But minorities will be hit especially hard.
Among people 65 and older, blacks currently have the highest prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia at 13.8 percent, the CDC said. That's followed by Hispanics (12.2 percent), and whites (10.3 percent).
By 2060, the CDC researchers estimated that 3.2 million Hispanics and 2.2 million black Americans will be afflicted with Alzheimer's or a related dementia.
One reason for the increase in U.S. Alzheimer's cases could be inroads made against other diseases of aging. As people are able to live longer with chronic illnesses such as heart disease or diabetes, their odds for developing a dementia in old age rises, the CDC explained.
All of this means more Americans will also become caregivers for loved ones with dementia. That makes spotting the disease early even more important, Redfield said.
"Early diagnosis is key to helping people and their families cope with loss of memory, navigate the health care system, and plan for their care in the future," he said in a CDC news release.
Planning can help ease caregiver burden, added study lead author Kevin Matthews, of the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
"It is important for people who think their daily lives are impacted by memory loss to discuss these concerns with a health care provider," Matthews said. "An early assessment and diagnosis is key to planning for their health care needs, including long-term services and supports, as the disease progresses."
The study was published online Sept. 19 in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.
More information
There's more on Alzheimer's disease at the Alzheimer's Association. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Alicia Machado campaigning for Hillary Clinton on August 20 in Miami. Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump unleashed a stream of tweets Friday morning attacking former Miss Universe Alicia Machado.
Trump said Machado "duped and used" Hillary Clinton, who mentioned the 1996 pageant winner near the end of Monday night's presidential debate to go after Trump.
Trump had called Machado "Miss Piggy" and "'Miss Housekeeping,' because she was Latina," Clinton said.
Since the debate, Trump surrogates and conservative-leaning publications have worked to discredit Machado, bringing up past allegations that she was a murder accomplice in Venezuela. They have also suggested that she appeared in a sex tape, a claim that was labeled "mostly false" by Snopes, the website that examines the validity of internet rumors.
"Using Alicia M in the debate as a paragon of virtue just shows that Crooked Hillary suffers from BAD JUDGEMENT!" Trump said in one of the tweets.
View the tweets below:
When confronted by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper over allegations that she drove a getaway car from a 1998 murder scene, Machado didn't deny the charges, instead saying she was "not a saint girl."
"You know, I have my past," she said. "Of course, everybody has a past. I'm not a saint girl. But that is not the point now."
Since Clinton brought up Machado in Monday's debate, Trump has continually defended his actions toward her.
"I saved her job because they wanted to fire her for putting on so much weight," Trump told Fox News' Bill O'Reilly on Wednesday night. "They know what they're getting into — it's a beauty contest. And I said don't do that. Let her try and lose the weight." | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Shira General Info Location Drops around 2000 (NG++)4012 15000 The Ringed City Fillianore's Rest Crucifix of the Mad King Defenses vs blunt vs thrust -- ?? ?? ?? -- ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? Low Low ??
Shira is an NPC in Dark Souls 3. Shira is part of The Ringed City.
Shira Information
"Official description goes here"
Powerful knight of Filianore's, protecting her slumber.
Player may meet her near staircase with Harald Legion Knights and at the ruins at the Filianore's Rest.
Near staircase, where she is unkillable, will be neutral/friendly towards player.
At Filianore's Rest, where she is killable, will be hostile towards player.
If you talk to Shira, knock Midir off the bridge, then touch Fillianore without returning to Shira then Shira will leave her home. She will now be found on the right of Fillianore's Rest. Defeating her yields you the Sacred Chime of Fillianore, Titanite Slab, and her Shira armour set which is found at her original location. Doing her quest is NOT required since this route makes it impossible to complete.
Questline
Start: The Ringed City: from the Ringed Inner Wall bonfire head down the small tower here and outside. Make your way outside until you come into another small building. Head down the stairs and outside once more. Then head up the stairs to speak with her. She is hidden behind a door. Speak to her and accept her request to kill Darkeater Midir and she will give the Sacred Chime of Filianore. She can then be summoned for the battle against Darkeater Midir, but will not appear if you entered the final area of the DLC, unless you return and tell her that Midir fell into the chasm. Speak to her after defeating Darkeater Midir to receive Titanite Slab. End: At Filianore's Rest bonfire, just after exiting the building, stick to the right wall soon you'll see a ruined building, go into the ruined building. She will invade your world and attack you even after Gael has been slain. (Video Location). Note: If you happen to kill Midir before talking to her, her door would be locked. However, you will still get invaded and get the Crucifix of the Mad King, Sacred Chime of Filianore and a Titanite Slab x1 as a drop. Her armor would be at her resting place, the door would be automatically unlocked and opened.
Drops
Souls: NG (15000), NG+ (around 24000), NG++ (33000), NG+3 (??), NG+6 (??), NG+9 (??)
Weapons: Crucifix of the Mad King
Other: Titanite Slab x1
After you defeat her, Shira's Set will be in the room where you talked to her initially.
Combat Information
Health: NG (around 2000)
Weak to Frost and Poison/Toxic.
Strong against ?? , ?? and ?? damage.
Use Crucifix of the Mad King and Sacred Chime of Filianore.
Can cast Lightning Arrow and use main weapon's Weapon Art.
May use Estus up to 5 times
NPC Summon
Shira, Knight of Filianore - Can be summoned for the Darkeater Midir boss battle. Her summon sign is in the preparation room, near the furthest left statue, just before the boss. She uses the same build as in her duel invasion. (Confirmed by Crown 0f Thorns, needs further testing.) However, there are reports that sometimes she has difficulties spotting a Midir.
Dialogue
First encounter dialogue
Speak thee the name of God.
Thine own god, if thou canst recall.
Ahh, then thou'st not forgotten.
Perhaps 'tis why we may converse.
I am known as Shira, servant to the Princess Filianore, matriarch of the church.
They who are ken to God's name are surely ken to the terrors of the dark.
Please, I bid thee take not from the Princess her peace or rest.
As the fire waneth, does she lie by the dark, all for the sake of Man.
Thou'st a kind heart.
To speak to a captive such as I.
It is no surprise thou rememb'rest our God.
May I ask thee a kindness?
Perhaps thou'st beheld the lone dragon that inhabiteth this city?
Midir is his name, and the Archdragons are his forebears.
He once railed against the dark, but was by dark afflicted. Now here, returned, he remaineth.
To watch over the sleeping Princess, true to the old accord.
...And yet, I would have thee put the dragon to rest.
Afore the dark consumeth him, and his vows are forgot.
I offer my sincerest gratitude, thou who art ken to God's name.
Please, take this.
(She hands you the Sacred Chime of Filianore)
I have asked a thing most terrible of thee. May this token of thanks be of aid.
I beg of thee, put the great dragon to rest.
Afore the dark consumeth him, and his vows are forgot.
As I thought. Such memories were lost by thy kind, long ago.
And so it is ye.
...who yearn for darkness.
Give thy memory a nudge.
And name thee thy God.
Very well. Then hasten on thy journey.
Only, disturb not the sleeping Princess.
As the fire waneth, does she lie by the dark, all for the sake of Man.
Carest thou to speak thy peace?
Hast thou mine entreaty reconsidered?
So, Midir hath into the chasm fallen.
Still, his voice I hear. The dark grieveth him yet.
I prithee, put him to rest.
Afore the dark consumeth him, and his vows are forgot.
Just afore the church of the Princess standeth a tower, honouring ancient knights.
There lieth a small shrine, behind the sculpted knight which beareth no arms.
Tis from there one may descend the chasm of darkness.
I prithee, put the great dragon to rest.
I know, I have asked of thee a thing most terrible.
Forgive me, thou wert but mine only hope.
I prithee, put the great dragon to rest.
Afore the dark consumeth him, and his vows are forgot.
Just afore the church of the Princess standeth a tower built to honour ancient knights.
Behind the sculpted knight which beareth no arms, is a small shrine, from which one may descend the chasm of darkness.
After defeating Midir
My most humble thanks.
Tis thanks to thee the dragon erred not from his vows.
Please, take this. A final gift of thanks.
Now, hasten on thy journey, but wake not the slumbering Princess.
As the fire waneth, does she lie by the dark, all for the sake of Man.
My humblest thanks.
Now, hasten on thy journey, but wake not the slumbering Princess.
As the fire waneth, does she lie by the dark, all for the sake of Man.
After joining Spears of the Church
Oh! Thou'rt now a spear of the church! What a wonderful, blessed day this is.
With a spear such as thee, surely the Princess will slumber most gently, and Midir's vows will be honoured.
I must thank thee, as a servant of the Princess, and a dear friend to Midir.
May thy travels be resplendent with glory.
As the fire waneth, does she lie by the dark, but now with thee to shelter her sleep.
Bless ye spears of the church. May thy travels be resplendent with glory.
Ah, thou'st a Divine Spear become! An honour once bestowed in the time of the Gods, nearly unheard of in this age of waning fire.
As a servant of the Princess, and friend to Midir.
I am honoured to have met thee.
As the fire waneth, does she lie by the dark, but now with thee to shelter her sleep.
Bless ye divine spears. May thy travels be resplendent with glory.
When she attacks you in the Church Ruins
I've searched for thee, dark-stricken creature.
I am Shira, daughter of the Duke, descendant of gods, and trusted friend to Midir.
At once, I am the honour of the gods, the glory of fire, and the fear of the dark.
Thou shalt not go unpunished.
For thy treachery, thy profanity, and thy shameless yearning! Remember this, creature.
Ne'er will I forgive thy kind.
Try again, to remember.
The great honour it was to be a spear.
...Ahh, but why.
Art thou to bed with the dark?
Never would I ever...
...forgive thy lowly kind.
Notes & Trivia | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
This story originally appeared in Right Richter, a newsletter by Will Sommer. Subscribe now to see what's happening in right-wing media from the safety of your inbox.
The internet went wild on Tuesday with the news that Boston would host a Straight Pride Parade for straight people who claim they’re an “oppressed majority.” One Twitter jokester recommended that the parade take a “straight” route right into the Boston harbor.
While the idea of a few dozen angry straight people marching might be funny, the actual origins of Straight Pride Parade are not. The event is a front for a far-right group founded by notorious right-wing brawler Kyle “Based Stickman” Chapman.
Straight Pride organizer Mark Sahady announced the parade on Facebook, claiming he received permits for the event that would likely take place on August 31.
But Sahady isn’t just a particularly aggrieved straight dude. Instead, he has a long history participating in controversial right-wing events around Boston as an organizer for Resist Marxism, a group Chapman founded at the height of the fame he earned attacking left-wing anti-fascist activists with his eponymous “stick.”
Chapman appears to no longer be involved with the group now that he’s facing felony charges in twostates over two assaults. But Sahady has taken up his position, organizing Resist Marxism events around the Boston area.
In Facebook posts, Sahady has endorsed the far-right “helicopter” meme, which calls for liberals to be thrown from helicopters as in Augusto Pinochet’s Chile.
“We may get to throw anti-American communists from helicopters sooner than we thought,” Sahady wrote in one Facebook post.
Resist Marxism’s politics get even uglier, though. In leaked internal chats published in 2018, members frequently made anti-Semitic jokes and used anti-Semitic slurs. At least one Resist Marxism event had security provided by Patriot Front, a white-nationalist hate group.
Story continues
Sahady isn’t the only Straight Pride Parade organizer with ties to Resist Marxism. Another promoter, John Hugo, unsuccessfully ran for Congress last year with an endorsement and organizing support from the group.
It’s not clear that the parade will even happen, in part because Sahady has a history of failing to pull off his events. Last August, Sahady tried to organize a National March Against Far-Left Violence. The event’s Facebook page linked to a website offering free T-shirts for attendees, as long as they provided their names and addresses. The T-shirt site was later revealed to be an antifascist sting against Sahady and his compatriots, some of whom had accidentally handed their names and addresses over to their ideological enemies.
A source familiar with the Boston government’s permitting process told Right Richter that Sahady had not been granted permit so far. Sahady didn’t respond to a request for comment.
You can sign up here, and follow me on Twitter @WillSommer for even more.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!
Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
There is a controversy in Durham where Police Chief Jose Lopez is accused of making a vile statement about a public defender. Lopez allegedly stated that the public defender deserved to be shot in a crime because he representing accused criminals. If true, Lopez would appear to not only agree with Dick in Henry IV that “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
The alleged statement was disclosed in an equal-employment complaint against the city by Durham assistant police chief, Winslow Forbes. Forbes has accused Lopez of mistreatment of black officers.
The alleged comment came on July 2 in relation to a late-June shooting in Durham. According to Forbes, the chief told subordinates he intended to say all the recent shooting victims were black and had been involved in criminal activity. When a subordinate noted that the lawyer was not involved in criminal activity, Lopez is quoted as saying that the lawyer deserved to get shot because he was a public defender.
A review is under way. Regrettably, the view expressed in the statement is all too familiar to criminal defense attorneys. People often express such hatred for attorneys without thinking of what it would be like if police could simply decide guilt or the many cases where innocent men or women were accused of crime. It is a particularly dangerous view however when held by a Chief of Police if the allegation is proven correct.
If verified, what should be the punished for such a statement by a police chief in your view?
Source: Herald Sun
Share this: Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
| {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a meeting in Sochi with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Hassan Rouhani of Iran to share their views on Syrian reconciliation. The three countries previously agreed to be guarantors of the Syrian peace process.
Welcoming his dignitary guests, Putin said the meeting comes at a crucial moment in the Syrian armed conflict, when there is an opportunity to end it.
“The militants in Syria have sustained a decisive blow, and now there is a realistic chance to end the multiyear civil war,” he said. This would require giving the Syrians a period of peace, during which they would be able to settle their differences, Putin added. This will require compromise by all parties in Syria, both the government and the rebels, he stressed.
VIDEO: Putin, Erdogan & Rouhani shake hands as trilateral talks on Syria ongoing in Sochi https://t.co/O85P0jCMgHpic.twitter.com/QfXqro12hr — RT (@RT_com) November 22, 2017
Rouhani said that the crisis in Syria has been exacerbated from the start and seriously prolonged by the foreign meddling, including “supplying and arming and other forms of support of militant groups. These consequently formed the core of the terrorist groups Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front.”
Erdogan said the three nations had already helped in resolving the situation in Syria to a large degree through the so-called ‘Astana process’ – several rounds of negotiations sponsored by Russia, Iran and Turkey and hosted by Kazakhstan. “But we don’t consider this result sufficient and believe that all stakeholders must put effort into a political resolution of the conflict, which the Syrian people would accept,” he added.
Last week, the Kremlin confirmed the meeting, which is intended “to have an in-depth exchange of opinions on Syrian reconciliation, particularly in light of common successful work within the Astana format.”
Read more
The three leaders “are planning to discuss further steps to ensure long-term stability in this country” amid “the successes in combatting terrorism and visible reduction of violence in Syria,” the Kremlin statement said.
The Sochi summit will also lay the groundwork for the National Dialogue Congress, which will bring to the table both the Syrian government and various sectarian groups willing to enter into talks with Damascus. Ankara, however, is reluctant to hold direct talks with the Kurds, while the Syrian opposition remains skeptical about discussing peacemaking efforts with the government.
Iranian leader Rouhani said on Wednesday that it was crucial that the trilateral meeting sought to find ways to reconcile the Syrian government and opposition groupings. “It is important that consultations are held in this summit [in Sochi] about that congress, which should be in the Syrian people’s interests eventually,” President Rouhani said before leaving for Russia, as cited by Tasnim news agency.
The summit comes just days after a surprise meeting between Putin and Syrian President Bashar Assad, who unexpectedly visited Sochi on Monday. Assad, whose forces have been fighting terrorists in Syria since 2011, said that it was due to Russian support that Syria still existed as a state.
Previously, Putin also held telephone conversations with US President Donald Trump and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow and Washington had reached “a fairly sustainable cooperation” on Syria, though there were “huge problems in condemning terrorists and extremists.” | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Italy has rescued 1,000 migrants from death in their own "Last Chance Flotilla."
The real-life version of "Camp of the Saints" continues. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
“Futarchy” is my proposed system of governance which approves a policy change when conditional prediction markets give a higher expected outcome, conditional on that change. In a city setting, one might be tempted to use a futarchy where the promoted outcome is the total property value of all land in and near that city. After all, if people don’t like being in this city, and are free to move elsewhere, city land won’t be worth much; the more attractive a city is as a place to be, the more its property will be worth.
Yes, we have problems measuring property values. Property is only traded infrequently, sale prices show a marginal not a total value, much land is never offered for sale, sales prices are often obscured by non-cash terms of trade, and regulations and taxes change sales and use. (E.g., rent control.) In addition, we expect at least some trading noise in the prices of any financial market. As a result, simple futarchy isn’t much help for decisions whose expected consequences for outcomes are smaller than its price noise level. And yes, there are other things one might care about beside property values. But given how badly city governance often actually goes, we could do a lot worse than to just consistently choose policies that maximize a reasonable estimate of city property value. The more precise such property estimates can be, the more effective such a futarchy could be.
Zoning (and other policy that limits land use) is an area of city policy that seems especially well suited to a futarchy based on total property value. After all, the main reason people say that we need zoning is because using some land in some ways decreases how much people are willing to pay to use other land. For example, people might not want to live next to a bar, liquor store, or sex toy store, are so are willing to pay less to buy (or rent) next to such a place. So choosing zoning rules to maximize total property value seems especially promising.
I’ve also written before favorably on Harberger taxes (which I once called “stability rents”). In this system, owners of land (and property tied to that land) must set and may continuously adjust a declared property “value”; they are taxed per unit time as a percentage of momentary value, and must always agree to sell their property at their currently declared value. This system has great advantages in inducing property to be held by those who can gain the most value from it, including via greatly lowering the transaction costs of putting together big property packages. With this system, there’s no more need for eminent domain.
I’ve just noticed a big synergy between futarchy for zoning and Harberger taxes. The reason is that such taxes allow the creation of prices which support a much finer grain accounting of the net value of specific zoning changes. Let me explain.
First, Harberger taxes create a continuous declared value on each property all the time, not just a few infrequent sales prices. This creates a lot more useful data. Second, these declared values better approximate the value that people place on property; the higher an actual value, the higher an owner will declare his or her taxable value to be, to avoid the risk of someone taking it away. Third, these declared values are all relative to a standard terms of trade, not the varying terms of actual sales today. Thus the sum total of all declared property values can be a decent estimate of total city property value. Fourth, it is possible to generalize the Harberger tax system to create zoning-conditional property ownership and prices.
That is, relative to current zoning rules, one can define a particular alternative zoning scenario, wherein the zoning (or other property use limit) policies have changed. Such as changing the zoning of a particular area from residential to commercial on a particular date. Given such a defined scenario, one can create conditional ownership; I own this property if (and when) this zoning change is made, but not otherwise. The usual ownership then becomes conditional on no zoning changes soon.
With conditional ownership, conditional owners can make conditional offers to sell. That is, you can buy my property under this condition if you pay this declared amount of conditional cash. For example, I might offer to make a conditional sale of my property for $100,000, and you might agree to that sale, but this sale only happens if a particular zoning change is approved.
The whole Harberger tax system can be generalized to support such conditional trading and prices. In the simple system, each property has a declared value set by its owner, and anyone can pay that amount at any time to become the new owner. In the generalized system, each property has a declared value for each (combination of) approved alternative zoning scenario. By default, alternative declared values are equal to the ordinary no-zoning-change declared value, but property owners can set them differently if they want, to be either higher or lower. Anyone can make a scenario-conditional purchase of a property from its current (conditional) owner at its scenario-conditional declared value. To buy a property for sure, buy it conditional on all scenarios.
(For concreteness, assume that only one zoning change proposal is allowed per day per city region, that a decision is made on that proposal in that day, and that the proposal for each day is chosen via open public auction a month before. The auction fee can subsidize markets in bets on if this proposal will be approved and markets in tax-revenue asset conditional differences (explained below). A week before the decision day of a proposal, each right in a property is split into two conditional rights, one conditional on this change and one on not-this-change. At that point, owner declared values conditional on this change (or not) become active sale prices. Taxes are paid in conditional cash. Physical control of a property only transfers to conditional owners if and when a zoning scenario is actually approved.)
Having declared values for all properties under all scenarios gives us even more data with which to estimate total city property value, and in particular helps with estimating the difference in total city property value due to a zoning change. To a first approximation, we can just add up all the zoning-change-conditional declared values, and compare that sum to the sum from the no-change declared values. If the former sum is consistently and clearly higher than the latter sum over the proposal’s decision day, that seems a good argument for adopting this zoning proposal. (It seems safer to choose the higher value option with a chance increasing in value difference, and this all works even when other factors influence a decision.) At least if the news that this zoning proposal seems likely be approved gets spread wide and fast enough for owners to express their conditional declared values. (The bet markets on which properties will be effected helps to notify owners.)
Actually, to calculate the net property value difference that a zoning change makes, we need only sum over the properties that actually have a conditional declared value different from its no-change declared value. For small local zoning changes, this might only be a small number of properties within a short distance of the main changes. As a result, this system seems capable of giving useful advice on very small and local zoning changes, in dramatic contrast to a futarchy based on prices estimating total city property values. For example, it might even be able to say if a particular liquor store should be allowed at a particular location, or if the number of required parking spots at a particular shopping mall can be reduced. As promised, this new system offers much finer grain accounting of the net value of specific zoning changes.
Note that in this system as described, losers are not compensated by winners for zoning rule changes, even though we can roughly identify winners and losers. I’ve thought a bit about ways to add a extra process by which winners compensate losers, but haven’t been able to make that work. So the best I can think of is to have the system look at the distribution of wins and losses, and reject proposed changes where there are too many big losers relative to winners. That would force a search for variations which spread out the pain more evenly.
We are close to a workable proposal, but not quite there yet. This is because we face the problem of owners temporarily inflating their declared values conditional on a zoning change that they seek to promote. This might tip the balance to get a change approved, and then after approval such owners could cut their declared values back down to something reasonable, and only pay a small extra tax for that small decision period. Harberger taxes impose a stronger penalty for declaring overly-low values than overly-high values.
A solution to this problem is to use, instead of declared values, prices for the purely financial assets that represent claims on all future tax revenue from the Harberger tax on a particular property. That is, each property will pay a tax over time, we could divert that revenue into a particular account, and an asset holder could own the right to spend a fraction of the funds in that account. Such tax-revenue assets could be bought and sold in financial markets, and could also be made conditional on particular zoning scenarios. As such assets are easy to create and duplicate, the usual speculation pressures should make it hard to manipulate these prices much in any direction.
A plan to temporarily inflate the declared value of a property shouldn’t do much to the market price for a claim to part of all future tax revenue from that property. So instead of summing over conditional differences in declared-values to see if a zoning change is good, it is probably better to sum over conditional differences in tax revenue assets. Subsidized continuous market makers can give exact if noisy prices for all such differences, and for most property-scenario pairs this difference will be exactly zero.
So that’s the plan for using futarchy and Harberger taxes to pick zoning (and other land use limit policy) changes. Instead of just one declared value per property, we allow owners to specify declared values conditional on each approved zoning change (or not) scenario, and allow conditional purchases as well. By default, conditional values equal no-change values. We should tend more to adopt zoning proposals when, during its decision day, when the sum of its (tax-revenue-asset) conditional differences clearly and consistently exceeds zero.
Thanks to Alex Tabarrok & Keller Scholl for their feedback.
Added 11pm: One complaint people have about a Harberger tax is that owners would feel stressed to know that their property could be taken at any time. Here’s a simple fix. When someone takes your property at your declared value, you can pay 1% of their new declared value to get it back, if you do so quickly. But then you’d better raise your declared value or someone else could do the same thing the next day or week. You pay 1% for a fair warning that your value is too low. Under this system, people only lose their property when someone else actually values it more highly, even after considering the transaction costs of switching property.
Added 2Feb: I edited this post a bit. Note that with severe enough property limits, negative declared property values can make sense. For example, if a property must be maintained so as to serve as a public park, the only people willing to become owners are those who get paid when they take the property, and then get paid per unit time for remanning owners. In this way, city services can be defined and provided via this same decision mechanism.
Added 11July: On reflection, there’s not much need for the special 1% grab-back rule I proposed above. While it might be good rhetoric to allay fears, it isn’t actually needed. In principle it could reduce your loss from setting too low a price, but in practice I don’t think it will be possible to underprice that much; speculators will buy underpriced assets intending to sell them back.
Assuming that there’s a standard delay in transferring property, the moment someone grabs your declared value price, they must declare a new value. So you are either willing to grab it back at that price, and then set a new higher value, or you accept that they have a higher value for the property and can keep it. If you grab it back and set a higher value, they can of course take it at that new value; you can in effect go back and forth in an auction to see who values it more. Each time they grab from you will regret not having set a higher value; so this won’t go many rounds and will be settled quickly.
GD Star Rating
loading... | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Who's ready for all out war? Because it's imminent, The Walking Dead fans.
AMC has finally revealed when their hit zombie thriller will be returning to the airwaves for season eight, and much like seasons past, it'll be here just in time for Halloween. When exactly, you ask? Mark Sunday, Oct. 22 on your calendars, TWD fans!
The big reveal came along with the release of the season's special Comic-Con key art, which pits our hero Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) against the nefarious Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) on either side, while the many, many other players in the mix for this massive showdown are standing in between them. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Lovely and charming work once again man! Very cute seeing how they are playing off each other here, it feels very in character for them, and Marina of course is as lovely as always. Amazing work as always! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
During a recent appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight, progressive commentator and The Hill’s Rising co-host Krystal Ball spoke about the rise of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and her belief that the party’s establishment would prefer Donald Trump to win over the Vermont senator.
According to Ball, the Democratic establishment knows that Sanders will not invite them into his circle of influence, should he win in November, Fox News reported.
“These are all people whose power comes from their access to the establishment world — consultants whose grift is based on a certain deal flow from the DNC, et cetera — and they know what you said about they prefer Trump to Bernie — that’s exactly right because they know under a Sanders administration, all of that access and all of that deal flow, all of that is gone and it truly is over for them.”
Ball claims that top Democratic officials would rather have a Trump win and get another chance as nominating a candidate they prefer in the 2024 election. Regardless, she noted that Sanders — unfortunately for the Washington elite — is well-liked, and said that he is the “most popular senator in the country.”
The 38-year-old political commentator also noted the denial of many in the Democratic establishment who refuse to acknowledge that Sanders is now the frontrunner and ignore the enthusiastic movement of people driving his candidacy.
As Fox News reported today, MSNBC is a network that has faced particular criticism for its blackout of the Sanders campaign. The article highlighted that a voter told anchor Ari Melber on Tuesday that she voted for the Vermont lawmaker in protest of the unfair coverage he receives from the network.
A Wednesday New Republic article offered a similar perspective, claiming that MSNBC has become a “serious obstacle” for the senator due to its decision to promote “Republican anti-Sanders talking points” — something the publication claims is happening with “increasing frequency.”
The alleged opposition to Sanders’ presidency pushed David Sirota, the Sanders campaign’s senior advisor and speechwriter, to compile a Twitter thread of all the omissions and visual misrepresentations of the candidate. The thread mirrors one made by universal basic income (UBI) advocate Scott Santens, who supported former Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang — someone who was seen as having experienced similar exclusion and misrepresentation by MSNBC and other media networks.
Ball has also covered such instances of exclusion on her show. In one episode, she spoke to Nina Turner, a national co-chair of Sanders’ 2020 campaign, about the perceived media blackout.
“It is wrong and the system is rigged,” Turner said. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
A major power outage hit Central America on Monday that left Nicaragua and Honduras without power for just over an hour, according to Nicaragua's state-owned National Electricity Transmission Company (ENATREL).
The organization said "technical failures" were to blame.
Electricity operator EOR in El Salvador gave a little more information via a statement. "There was an emergency in the Central American Electrical System due to a failure in the 230 kilowatt supply line in Honduras."
Read more: Massive data breach hits almost all Ecuadorians
The blackout, which also partially affected El Salvador and Guatemala, occurred at 11:55am local time (5:55pm GMT), and continued until 1:10pm (7:10pm), when ENATREL crews solved the fault, which affected "much of the country," according to information from the Nicaraguan Government.
"We are giving priority to hospitals, health centers, which are being affected by problems in the interconnection with Honduras," ENATREL chief executive Salvador Mansell announced in a brief statement, via government media.
Mansell, who did not specify where the fault originated, said that in some places people were without power for 30 minutes, although in others the service had not been restored for up to an hour and a half.
In Honduras, Energy Minister Roberto Ordóñez reported that the first outage occurred in Pavana, in the southern province of Choluteca.
The blackout left the inhabitants of the 15 provinces and two autonomous regions of Nicaragua without power and internet access.
Residents in southern Guatemala reported a blackout via social media at the same time as the fault in Nicaragua and Honduras.
jsi/aw (EFE, dpa)
Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Welcome to the first developer diary for the Res Publica mini-expansion for Europa Universalis 4. In this diary we’ll be looking at the various ways in which Merchant Republics are expanded and fleshed out in both the expansion and the patch, as well as the new ‘National Focus’ mechanic.With the Res Publica expansion, Merchant Republics will now have the option to create a Trade Post in provinces they own. A Trade Post costs 50 administrative power and gives the province +15 trade power and +1 naval forcelimits. Each Merchant Republic can only have a single Trade Post in each node, and cannot create Trade Posts in their home node. This makes territorial control of outposts such as Venice’s Crete far more important to a Merchant Republic that wants to pull a large amount of trade home.With the Res Publica expansion, all nations will be able to set their National Focus. National Focus can be set to either Administrative Power, Diplomatic Power, Military Power, or unfocused. When set to a power, the National Focus increases the base gain to that power by +2 but reduces the base gain in other powers by -1, so a National Focus in Administrative gives the player a base power gain of +5 administrative, +2 diplomatic and +2 military instead of +3 to each when unfocused. This allows a country to focus power into a category where they have a need, for example due to a new idea group, being behind in technology, or having a monarch with poor abilities in that category. The National Focus can be changed every 25 years.Included for free in the 1.7 patch is a faction system for Merchant Republics similar to the one for Ming. Merchant Republics will have three factions, The Guilds, The Traders and The Aristocrats, and will be able to spend monarch points to increase the backing for the faction they prefer so that faction is in control. If The Guilds are in control, the republic gets +10% national goods produced and -10% build cost but -10% national manpower. If The Traders are in control, the republic gets +10% global trade power and -10% naval maintenance but -5% to tax income. If The Aristocrats are in control the republic gets +10% land morale and -10% land maintenance but -15% foreign trade power. For those that own the expansion there are also quite a few new events for the Merchant Republic faction system.Lastly in this dev diary, we’re making some tweaks to the neighbour bonus and technology groups that are included for free in the 1.7 patch. We felt that the reduction of the neighbour bonus in 1.6 was too harsh on nations that needed to catch up after Westernizing or from falling behind due to a poor monarch, so we’ve increased the neighbour bonus back to -5% for each technology level you are behind the tech leader in your tech group, with a maximum reduction of -75%. To encourage countries to stay on the cutting edge of administrative and diplomatic technology instead of waiting for the neighbour bonus, we’ve instead introduced bonuses for nations that are ahead of time in those technologies, with nations that are ahead of time in Administrative tech gaining +20% production efficiency and nations that are ahead of time in Diplomatic tech gaining +20% trade efficiency. No additional bonus was added for nations that are ahead of time in Military technology, as the military advantages are bonus enough.In addition to these changes, we’ve also made life a little easier for some of the slower tech groups by removing all monarch power penalties associated with technology groups, so Chinese nations will no longer gain -1 to all monarch powers, African nations will no longer gain -2, and so on.In the next dev diary we will talk about the Dutch Republic mechanics and new idea groups, so stay tuned! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
A wheelchair-bound San Diego man was stripped of his transit pass before he was able to board one of the city's trolleys because he didn't have proof of his disability.
Joey Canales, 31, took some shocking cell phone video as a transit cop wrote him a citation Friday and took away his discount bus pass.
'It's his job to confiscate my card because I don't have sufficient proof I'm disabled,' Canales said in the video. 'Obviously I am. I've been disabled since I was three days old.'
Shocking: Joey Canales, 31, took some shocking cell phone video as a transit cop wrote him a citation Friday and took away his discount bus pass
Disabled since birth: As he sat in a wheelchair, Canales took video as his discount transit pass confisctated
In the video, which he posted to Facebook and urged all his followers to share, Canales then points the camera at himself as he sits in his wheelchair.
The bulk of the video is focused on the officer, though, who appears annoyed that he's being recorded but who Canales says acted with professionalism.
Nonetheless, Canales was appalled at what the officer was doing.
'I have an obvious disability,' he said. 'I'm not trying to scam you. My disability is not hidden.'
Canales says the rule that being in a wheelchair is not proof enough that a person is disabled left him helpless--his only means of getting to work taken away.
MTA spokesman Robb Schupp said in a statement to NBC San Diego they require 'all people with discounted fares to carry proof of eligibility.'
That proof includes Medicare cards and disabled placard receipts.
But policy or not, Canales' outrage has been shared by people around the world since he posted the video.
'We've reached as far north as Canada and now all the way to Ireland! Way to go, Facebook!' he wrote Sunday.
The video has been shared some 12,000 times and viewed over 300,000 times as of Sunday.
Canales hopes the increased awareness will help get the MTA regulation changed. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Thousands call for San Francisco boycott after Kate Steinle verdict Following the acquittal of Garcia Zarate, thousands tweet #BoycottSanFrancisco
Thousands tweeted to #BoycottSanFrancisco in the wake of the stunning Kate Steinle verdict. On Thursday night, a jury acquitted undocumented immigrant Jose Ines Garcia Zarate for the 2015 high profile killing of Steinle. less Thousands tweeted to #BoycottSanFrancisco in the wake of the stunning Kate Steinle verdict. On Thursday night, a jury acquitted undocumented immigrant Jose Ines Garcia Zarate for the 2015 high profile killing ... more Photo: Twitter Screen Grab Photo: Twitter Screen Grab Image 1 of / 34 Caption Close Thousands call for San Francisco boycott after Kate Steinle verdict 1 / 34 Back to Gallery
San Francisco is a "liberal cesspool" that must be boycotted, according to some on social media who called for a boycott of the West Coast city after a stunning acquittal of an undocumented immigrant in the killing of Kate Steinle on a San Francisco pier.
Thousands tweeted #BoycottSanFrancisco in the 24 hours following the acquittal of Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, a 45-year-old Mexican citizen who was released from San Francisco County Jail before the killing despite a federal request that he be held for his sixth deportation. The Steinle trial been a component of the national debate over sanctuary laws for much of the past two years.
FULL STORY: Garcia Zarate acquitted in San Francisco pier killing
On Friday those disturbed by the controversial verdict took to Twitter to express their disbelief.
"Hell will freeze over before I ever visit SF #BoycottSanFrancisco," wrote an incensed Twitter user.
One man called the city a "used needle-strewn hipster dystopia."
Another seized her platform to pen a rhyming poem of sorts: "The morning fog may chill the air. We don't care. There's nothing there in San Francisco except the Liberals and the poisoned air."
Many went so far as to pledge to never use another San Francisco-made product again. It's impossible to know if they were on iPhones when they used the San Francisco-based social media network to make the declaration.
Story continues below.
Others seized the opportunity to air their extended list of grievances with the city and its excess sympathy for "liberal causes," like Colin Kaepernick's anthem protests and feminism; many hoped CalExit would come to fruition.
Although he had yet to sound off on the boycott, President Trump condemned the verdict in a series of tweets Friday and renewed calls to build a border wall.
SEE ALSO: Trump jumps on Democrats in latest Kate Steinle case tweets
The calls for boycott were met with plenty of pushback from the opposite side of the political spectrum.
"RT if you're jealous Trumpsters promise to #BoycottSanFrancisco," wrote @Millennial_Dems.
Other users pointed out the hypocrisy of boycotting San Francisco after they remained silent following the killing of Heather Heyer during a white nationalist rally and counterprotest in Charlottesville, N.C.
Outside cyberspace, many Bay Area were shocked by the surprising verdict. Speaking with The San Francisco Chronicle on Pier 14, where Steinle took her last steps, many expressed a mixture of anger and sadness for the young life taken too soon.
Vivian Ho, a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer, contributed to this report.
Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at [email protected] or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.
| {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Η ΠΓΔΜ έχει προτείνει τέσσερις επιλογές για τη διευθέτηση του ζητήματος της ονομασίας, δήλωσε ο πρωθυπουργός της γειτονικής χώρας Ζόραν Ζάεφ, σύμφωνα με το πρακτορείο Reuters.
«Οι προτάσεις είναι Δημοκρατία της Βόρειας Μακεδονίας, Δημοκρατία της Άνω Μακεδονίας, Δημοκρατία της Μακεδονίας του Βαρδάρη και Δημοκρατία της Μακεδονίας (Σκόπια)», πρόσθεσε ο κ. Ζάεφ μιλώντας στο Reuters, στο περιθώριο της συνόδου κορυφής των Δυτικών Βαλκανίων, η οποία πραγματοποιήθηκε στο Λονδίνο.
Ερωτηθείς αν η Ελλάδα θα ήταν ικανοποιημένη με κάποια από αυτές τις επιλογές, ο κ. Ζάεφ πρόσθεσε: «Ναι... Έχουν επιλογές που προτιμούν περισσότερο και μερικές που δεν προτιμούν και τόσο (σε ό,τι αφορά το όνομα)».
Συμπλήρωσε επίσης ότι το ζήτημα που παραμένει ανοιχτό, είναι αν υπάρχει «πραγματική ανάγκη» να αλλάξει το σύνταγμα της ΠΓΔΜ, κάτι που η Ελλάδα έχει επίσης ζητήσει.
Όπως είπε, «φυσικά ελπίζουμε ότι θα βρούμε μια λύση (στο θέμα του Συντάγματος). Όμως πρέπει να φροντίσουμε για την αξιοπρέπεια και την ταυτότητα και των δύο πλευρών διότι οι φίλοι φροντίζουν ο ένας τον άλλο».
Συμπλήρωσε, δε, ότι «είμαστε προετοιμασμένοι να προχωρήσουμε σε κάποια αλλαγή του Συντάγματος», διευκρινίζοντας πάντως πως η όποια αλλαγή δεν θα είναι πολύ μεγάλη, «διότι είναι πολύ δύσκολο».
Επίσης, ανέφερε ότι «εντός της χώρας μας, το πώς θα χρησιμοποιούμε το όνομα για να επικοινωνήσουμε, από τα υπουργεία στους δήμους και τους άλλους θεσμούς, είναι πραγματικά δικαίωμά μας και δεν θα έχει επιπτώσεις σε κανέναν». | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
By: Deacon Keith Fournier
The year was 258 A.D. It was a difficult beginning for what would become the First Christian Millennium. Hostility against the early followers of Jesus Christ was growing. The barbarism and severity of pagan Rome had begun to reach a fever pitch. It would soon lead to a blood lust. The newborn Christian Church, faithful to the One who had given Himself for the life of the world, continued the work of His redemption.
Roman authorities charged Christians of that era with "odium humani generis" [hatred of the human race]. The Romans claimed to be citizens of a great empire, yet they practiced primitive forms of abortion as well as "exposure", the killing of unwanted newborns.
First and Second century Rome was a challenging mission field for these early Christians. Rome proclaimed itself the shining example to the world of its age while it violated the Natural Moral Law and embraced debauchery. Sound familiar?
The day that Deacon Lawrence experienced his birth from death to life was an ominous and frightful day in ancient Rome. Four days earlier, the great Bishop of Rome, Sixtus, was arrested by soldiers of the emperor Valerian, along with his beloved deacons, and beheaded.
Valerian had issued an edict to the Roman Senate that all the Christian clergy-bishops, priests and deacons-were to be arrested and executed. There were so many holy people among the martyrs of early Rome. That makes it even more remarkable that the life and death of this one humble Deacon-Lawrence-is attributed with all of Rome becoming Christian.
Sentenced to death in the Emperor Valerian's sweeping condemnation of all Christian clergy, Lawrence offended the Emperor - and endeared himself to all Christians since then - by assembling before Valerian the real gold and silver of the Church, the poor.
According to the Christian tradition, Deacon Lawrence, knowing that the fervor of Valerians' hatred was extending to all Christians who owned property, began to give it all away. He distributed the money and treasures of the Church to the city's poor-believing the clear admonition of the Savior that they were blessed and especially loved by Him.
Valerian heard the news and wanted the treasure to satisfy his unbridled lust for worldly power. So, he offered Deacon Lawrence a way out of sure death. If he would show him where the Church's great gold and silver were located, he would issue an order of clemency, sparing his life so that he could continue his work.
Valerian was delighted when the deacon asked for three days to gather all the gold and silver of the Church together in one central place! His pride and greed filled blinded him from seeing the truth.
For three days, Deacon Lawrence went throughout the city and invited all the beloved poor, handicapped, and misfortunate to come together. They were being supported by a thriving early Christian community who understood the Gospel imperative to recognize Jesus in the poor.
When Valerian arrived, Deacon Lawrence presented him with the true gold and silver of the Church, the poor! The emperor was filled with rage! Beheading was not enough for this Christian Deacon. He ordered Deacon Lawrence to be burned alive, in public, on a griddle. Witnesses recorded the public martyrdom. The deacon cheerfully offered himself to the Lord Jesus and even joked with his executioners!
The tradition records massive conversions to the Christian faith as a result of the holy life and death of one Deacon who understood the true heart of his vocation. He was poured out, like his Master, Jesus Christ the Servant, in redemptive love, on behalf of others. It is still said to this day that all of Rome became Christian as a result of the faithful life, and the death, of this one humble deacon. He was buried in a cemetery on the Via Tiburtina. On that spot, Constantine would later build a Basilica.
A special devotion to Lawrence, deacon and martyr, spread throughout the entire Christian community. Early Christians had no doubt that those who had gone to be with the Lord continued to pray for those who still struggled in this earthly life. They saw in Lawrence a great example of how to live, and how to die, faithful to the Gospel.
Years later, St Augustine reflected on the heroism of this great deacon in a sermon preached on his feast day, emphasizing that his life and death were an example for all Christians to emulate: "I tell you again and again my brethren, that in the Lord's garden are to be found not only the roses of His martyrs. In it there are also the lilies of the virgins, the ivy of wedded couples, and the violets of widows. On no account may any class of people despair, thinking that God has not called them."
The life and death of Deacon Lawrence speaks the timeless message of the Gospel to all who will listen. Whether we are ever called to shed our blood in what has traditionally been called red martyrdom or simply called to offer our sacrifices daily in a continuous life of poured-out love, traditionally called white martyrdom, we continue the redemptive work of the Lord through our daily Christian lives and participation in the life of the Church.
The Deacon and martyr Lawrence offered himself fully to Jesus Christ - and shows us the way to do the same.
Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, Pray for us | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The rest of the Bears’ preseason work will be at Halas Hall after a few hard-hitting weeks of training camp at Olivet Nazarene University. They head north in relatively good health — the most important thing this time of year — and remain in Super-Bowl-or-bust mode.
As the Bears leave Bourbonnais behind, Sun-Times beat writer Jason Lieser analyzes how they look with less than a month until the opener:
The most impressive thing I saw in Bourbonnais was:
Tarik Cohen running wild against the NFL’s best defense. Granted a lot of the Bears’ work was minimal contact, but it was hard for anyone to get a hand on Cohen, who is as fast and agile as the Polaris Slingshot he rolled up in the day they arrived at ONU. He’ll continue to be the most exciting player in the offense this season.
How much stock do you put in Mitch Trubisky’s camp struggles?
Some. The good news for Trubisky is he’s already proven that he’s capable. It’s a big leap from capable to game-changer, though, and little of what he’s shown in training camp points toward him making that kind of move. The Bears are good enough defensively to be in contention even if Trubisky is an average quarterback, but if he plays at a top-10 level, they’ll be the favorite.
Should the Bears trade for a kicker before cut day?
Yes. That might sound crazy considering their 2020 stock of draft picks is depleted by the Khalil Mack trade and they already gave up a ’21 seventh-rounder for Eddy Pineiro, but they need to go all-in on this year. If kicker is the vulnerability that could unravel a championship bid, the Bears should be OK sacrificing another late-round pick to fix it with someone like Carolina’s Joey Slye.
Is Matt Nagy right to dismiss preseason games?
Yes. They’re pointless and boring and everyone knows it.
Believe the hype on this player:
Khalil Mack. The hype is already quite believable for a guy who is arguably the best defensive player in the NFL, but he looks even better this summer. After three all-pro selections in his first five seasons, he still isn’t ready to coast. It gnaws at Mack that he’s spent most of his career on losing teams, and he has not let up for a second this summer.
The question the Bears still must answer is:
Do they have a back-up plan for Trey Burton at tight end? The Bears cannot in good conscience go into this season blissfully assuming Burton will be good to go for all 16 games. With him coming off sports hernia surgery and still not 100 percent, they need a contingency other than hoping for Adam Shaheen to break out.
Did camp change your opinion about the Bears’ future?
It reaffirmed what most people think of the Bears, which is that they have as good of a shot as anyone in the NFL at making the Super Bowl. It requires meticulous nitpicking to find their flaws. The defense is great and the offense is good. That’s enough to give them a chance to win it all. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Warner Bros. and Comic-Con have teamed up once again, with the Studio to provide the official bags of SDCC for the ninth year in a row. For 2018, Warner Bros. brings fans 18 different bag designs featuring fan-favorite returning series plus the highly anticipated upcoming Castle Rock and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, as well as four feature films and two bags dedicated to DC Entertainment. And for the second year in a row, each bag will come with a unique collector’s pin, with 12 DC character designs for 2018. Check out the designs below!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Fans donning their cool carriers at the convention center can also make their way to the Warner Bros. booth on the convention floor (#4545), which boasts interactive elements perfect for photo-ops, including the wings of the fallen angel Lucifer as a nod of appreciation to the show’s passionate fans (#LuciferSaved); the mouth of a Megalodon shark to stand inside; a life-sized rabbit inspired by San Diego’s historic Rabbitville district; and LEGO gaming kiosks for everyone’s inner child.
Fans can grab their bags when checking in at the show. The have-to-have-it hold-all is the perfect size for all their Con swag.
The SDCC bags, produced for the studio by I.D. Me Promotions, will feature the following series and movies: Warner Bros. Television series Arrow, Black Lightning, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Krypton, Supergirl, Supernatural, and the highly anticipated upcoming Chilling Adventures of Sabrina for Netflix and Castle Rock for Hulu Warner Bros. Animation’s DC Super Hero Girls and Young Justice: Outsiders, along with Warner Bros. Animation/Blue Ribbon Content’s Constantine: City of Demons Upcoming feature films include Aquaman, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, The Meg and Teen Titans GO! to the Movies. Additionally, DC Entertainment will be featured on two bags, with one bag celebrating 80 years of Superman in DC’s comic pages and another devoted to the upcoming DC UNIVERSE digital service.
DARE TO FLAIR! (THE PINS)
The exclusive collector’s pins are manufactured by FanSets for the second year in a row, and they will feature both DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains. This year’s pins from both film and television include Arrow, Aquaman, Batman, Black Lightning, Catwoman, The Flash, Harley Quinn, Joker, Martian Manhunter, Nightwing, Superman and Wonder Woman.
SNAP TO IT! (THE BOOTH)
Fans can get a larger-than life experience at the Warner Bros. booth (#4545), which provides a fun, immersive environment inspired by celebrated series, upcoming films and more. Warner Bros. autograph signings will also take place in the booth.
Lucifer fans will have a heavenly — and devilish — time with life-sized, photo-friendly wings flown in from the City of Angels as a divine treat for the devoted fans who helped keep Lucifer alive. #LuciferSaved It’s game time, as parents and kids alike can enjoy LEGO® gaming kiosks. Brave fans can step inside the virtual mouth of the ferocious megalodon ahead of the premiere of The Meg, the upcoming action-horror film featuring the 75-foot-long prehistoric shark that’s been missing for 2.5 million years. Fans having a good hare day can snap a picture with Warner Bros. Television’s “Hop, Hop, and Away!” rabbit statue, which is part of the Rabbitville public art installation which combines the history of San Diego’s Rabbitville district (now the Gaslamp Quarter) with some of the most recognizable heroes from the DC Universe. Con-goers who hope to participate in autograph signings must visit Comic-Con.org/CCI to submit their interest via the Exclusive Signings Portal. WBTVG follows Comic-Con’s ticket drawing/wristband distribution procedure. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The Bill cuts off the source of European Union law in the UK by repealing the European Communities Act 1972 and removing the competence of European Union institutions to legislate for the UK. As such, the EUW Bill has been referred to as “the Great Repeal Bill”. The Bill provides for a complex mixture of constitutional change and legal continuity.
The EUW Bill follows the referendum result in June 2016, and the triggering of Article 50 on 29 March 2017 pursuant to the European Union (notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017. It is the most significant constitutional bill which has been introduced by the Government since the Bill for the European Communities Act itself in 1972.
The second reading debate on the EUW Bill will be held on 7 and 11 September 2017 in the House of Commons. The EUW Bill extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Regulations under clause 7 and 17 can also extend to Gibraltar.
Taking back control
The Bill is a response to the decision taken by the electorate of the United Kingdom on 23 June 2016 to leave the EU. One of the stated aims of the successful campaign to leave the EU was to enable domestic political institutions to “take back control” of the laws that applied in the UK.
Clause 1 of this Bill repeals the European Communities Act 1972 on the day that the UK leaves the EU. It returns to Parliament sole competence to legislate over policy areas where such competence is currently ceded to or shared with the EU.
The Bill provides that after exit day EU law no longer has supremacy over legislation passed by the UK Parliament and rulings made by UK courts. Laws made by Parliament post-Brexit will no longer be subject to the principle of the supremacy of EU law. It provides for legal certainty by establishing a mechanism to retain, for the time being, the corpus of EU law which presently applies to the UK, but domestic courts will, when interpreting retained EU law, no longer be bound to follow the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union handed down after exit day (clauses 5 and 6).
Legal continuity
The Bill is designed to provide legal continuity during Brexit by copying over the entire body of EU law onto the UK’s post-exit statute book. Without the legislation, huge holes would open up within the statute book on exit day. In order to provide such stability, the Bill knits together a new post-Brexit constitutional and legal framework to replace that which has governed the status of EU law in the UK for the last 45 years.
The Bill creates a new category of domestic law for the United Kingdom: retained EU law. Retained EU law will consist of all of the converted EU law and preserved EU-related domestic law which was in force on the day before the UK left the EU. Some elements of EU law are expressly not to be retained, for example, the rights under the Charter of Fundamental Rights (clauses 2, 3, 4 and 5). Retained EU law may subsequently be amended, replaced or repealed by the UK Parliament.
The scheme’s approach to continuity relies on the creation of novel legal concepts that will become major new features of the post-exit day legal landscape. These novel concepts, such as retained EU law, EU-derived domestic legislation, direct EU legislation, the supremacy of EU law are familiar in the sense that they are based on elements of our current arrangements, but will operate in ways that are fundamentally different from the concepts they will replace. The courts will eventually have to interpret these concepts and to decide how they fit within the exiting constitutional framework
Uncertainty and complexity
Secondary legislation, under powers delegated to Ministers by the Bill, is central to the scheme of the Bill. Both the correction of retained EU law, to the extent that it functions effectively after exit day, and the implementation of any agreement to withdraw from the EU will be achieved through secondary legislation to be enacted under powers in the Bill. Seven further bills, each intended to implement substantive policy changes in UK law following withdrawal from the EU, were announced in the Queen’s Speech in June 2017: it is anticipated that these and other “Brexit Bills” will also amend or replace retained EU law and implement the withdrawal agreement (assuming there is one) in specific policy areas.
Secondary legislation, also known as delegated legislation, can be used by the Government to make changes to the law using powers delegated by an act of Parliament. The use of secondary legislation provides flexibility in content and in timing. It also provides for some confidentiality in the exit negotiations. Under the provisions of the Bill, the Government will have the capacity to use secondary legislation to enact some aspects of the withdrawal agreement quickly, rather than having to use the more lengthy primary legislation procedures.
The Bill provides the legislative mechanisms to create the post-Brexit constitution and statute book rather than the substantive answers to questions as to what these will look like. These questions can only be answered as and when:
the content of the withdrawal agreement (currently being negotiated) is known,
any transitional arrangements are agreed,
the Brexit Bills are published, and
the statutory instruments that change retained EU law are produced.
The delegated powers within the Bill have attracted some comment for their wide-reaching nature. The Bill gives the Government powers to amend, if certain conditions are met, all retained EU law, including retained EU law which has been implemented in the UK through primary legislation. One of the main powers, in clause 7, is designed to enable the Government to change retained EU law so as to ensure that it operates effectively outside the EU. The power can also be used to change primary and secondary legislation that is not retained EU law, so long as the purpose of the change is to resolve a deficiency of retained EU law. The power to use of secondary legislation to amend primary legislation is known as a “Henry VIII” power.
Although many of these changes are likely to be technical in character, the way in which the powers are drafted does enable substantive policy changes to retained EU law. For example, it would be possible to replace redundant law with new rules and standards or create new public authorities to take on functions previously held by EU institutions (clauses 7 and 8).
Many of the changes to UK law required to implement any withdrawal agreement will be passed under this Bill through secondary legislation. Enacting these provisions would grant the Government the legal authority to legislate for the implementation of the withdrawal deal in domestic law, subject to existing arrangements for parliamentary oversight of delegated legislation. This could, for instance, include any arrangements agreed on the rights of EU nationals.
The discretion the Bill gives to the Government to amend retained EU law by secondary legislation is necessarily very broad, since the provisions preserved and converted by other parts of the Bill may have to be amended significantly to give effect to the withdrawal agreement (clause 9).
There has been comment on the volume of secondary legislation that will be needed to implement Brexit. Scrutiny of all the regulations made under this Bill will be a legislative challenge on an unprecedented scale. There are estimated to be over 12,000 EU regulations to be adapted into UK law, some of which will require corrections to ensure there are no deficiencies in domestic legislation upon our exit from the EU. Further primary legislation (the Brexit Bills) and secondary legislation under powers claimed in those bills will also be required to implement the withdrawal agreement.
Devolution
At present the devolved legislatures cannot legislate contrary to EU law. The Bill changes this restriction. Post-Brexit the devolved legislatures will not be able to legislate contrary to retained EU law (clause 11).
This may not amount to a major change in practical terms. However, in constitutional terms the basis of the restrictions will have changed. While currently the restriction is based on each devolved legislature being in a Member State of the EU, this Bill provides that, post-Brexit, the restriction would instead only be based on an Act of the UK Parliament.
Without this change, once the UK is no longer a Member State the devolved legislatures would be able to legislate in areas currently covered by EU law that was within devolved competence, such as agriculture. Seen in this way, the Bill effectively re-reserves to the UK Parliament these areas of competence, within competences which have otherwise been devolved. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Send this page to someone via email
When Doug Ganshorn’s brand new vehicle started consuming oil, he knew he had a serious problem on his hands.
Making matters worse, the B.C. resident says he was getting little help from the car manufacturer.
“The level of frustration is great when you buy a new car and you have these issues and your dealer or the manufacturer won’t resolve them for you,” said Ganshorn.
Since Canada does not have so-called “lemon laws,” Ganshorn turned to the Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan (CAMVAP). It’s a not-for-profit organization made up of representatives from the automobile industry, provincial and territorial governments, and consumers.
Under CAMVAP disputes between consumers and vehicle manufacturers are resolved through binding arbitration.
An arbitrator can order the manufacturer to take a number of actions which include repairing the problem at the manufacturer’s expense, buying back your vehicle or reimbursement for previous repairs or for certain out-of-pocket expenses up to $1,000.
Story continues below advertisement
An arbitrator can also rule the manufacturer has no liability for your claim.
Ganshorn wanted a buyback and says he spent countless hours preparing his case before it went to an arbitrator, and says preparation is key.
“From day one I had kept all my invoices whenever I had the car in for service. It’s very important to have all those [things] so you have proof going through the CAMVAP process,” said Ganshorn.
According to the latest award statistics, CAMVAP assessed 169 cases in 2018.
Arbitrators awarded 42 buybacks and 45 repairs, and ruled the manufacturer had no liability in 76 cases.
The non-profit Automobile Protection Association (APA), which helps consumers with car-related issues, says while it does recommend CAMVAP on occasion, it says on a percentage basis, relatively few vehicles are bought back.
“Being awarded a repair counts as a win for CAMVAP, but not always for the consumer who wanted their vehicle taken back but obtained a repair instead,” said APA director George Iny.
“In some cases the CAMVAP offer is not that much higher than the market value of the car because the formula they use depreciates the car quite quickly in some cases,” he added.
Story continues below advertisement
READ MORE: Ford owner calls for lemon laws after vehicle in repair shop for 16 weeks
Overall, Iny says CAMVAP could be much stronger.
“The industry arbitration program has government representatives on it and they are extraordinarily weak and have little to show in terms of improvement of that program over the years,” said Iny.
“They are in a position already to make small incremental changes and they don’t exercise their authority.”
Doug Ganshorn says he was awarded a buyback amount close to what he paid for the vehicle.
However, $2,700 was deducted for the first year he had driven the car for personal use.
“In the end, it was good for us since it’s the only solution we have in Canada,” said Ganshorn. “You’ve just got to be really prepared and have everything in order and just know what you are talking about at the arbitration hearing. “
CAMVAP is available at no cost to the consumer and can be accessed across Canada. Once the arbitrator rules on a decision, there is no appeal.
Story continues below advertisement
For more information on CAMVAP go to: www.camvap.ca. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
add your own caption
Drivers license renewal day is like picture day for adults | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Jari-Matti Latvala led a closely-fought Rally Italia Sardegna after a hot and dusty quartet of speed tests on Friday morning which ended in retirement for WRC leader Sébastien Ogier.
Stage info: SS4/5 SS4: Tergu - Osilo 1, 14.14km
The penultimate test of the loop is fast, wide and smooth on hard-packed bedrock, with plenty of loose stones. After a steady climb through the opening 5km, it crosses a main road and descends gently to the finish via several barriered bridges. It’s a great drivers’ stage where keeping to the line is key – and one in which Kris Meeke rolled out of the lead in 2017. SS5: Monte Baranta 1, 10.99km
New start and finish sections for the shortest test of the day, which includes tracks driven in Thursday’s shakedown. The opening kilometre runs inside Olmedo bauxite mine with jumps, corners and chicanes around old equipment offering great viewing for fans. Most is familiar ahead of a new 600m finale, which descends steeply among trees.
Latvala headed Toyota Yaris team-mate Ott Tänak by 2.8sec, but the morning ended in disappointment for Ogier who parked his Citroën C3 1km from the start of the closing Monte Baranta test with broken suspension.
The Frenchman trailed Latvala by almost 30sec in ninth after struggling for grip on sandy gravel tracks. That became irrelevant when he cut a left bend too tightly, hitting a roadside rock (pictured) which pitched the car onto two wheels and shattered the suspension.
Less than six seconds blanketed the top four drivers. While Latvala didn’t win a stage, his consistency enabled him to demote Teemu Suninen from top spot despite almost rolling and later stalling his engine in a hairpin.
“I knew it was going to be a hard morning. I took five hard tyres and it was the correct choice. It’s tricky when you have a road position that allows you to push. You can wear the tyres, so you have to find a balance between pushing and saving them,” said Latvala.
Tänak’s second place was a surprise, given the Estonian was second in the start order. The sandy surface meant the early runners cleaned the roads, creating better grip for those further back.
He had 0.7sec in hand over Dani Sordo’s Hyundai i20, the Spaniard coping without a spare tyre after using it to replace a first stage puncture. Elfyn Evans was another 2.4sec back, despite handling issues that prompted him to lock his Ford Fiesta’s differentials.
Team-mate Suninen slipped to fifth after a spin in Tergu-Osilo knocked his confidence, while Thierry Neuville rounded off the top six in another i20. The Belgian was the only driver to choose Michelin’s medium compound tyres all round and it was a decision he regretted.
“It probably wasn’t the best choice. We carried more extra weight and in these narrow stages with stones outside, the car was dancing and you can’t keep it straight,” he explained.
Team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen was seventh ahead of Kris Meeke, who lacked experience of the stages but was less than 20sec off the lead.
Esapekka Lappi dropped down the order in Tergu-Osilo with a rear puncture on his C3 but recovered to win Monte Baranta. The Finn was ninth and headed fellow countryman Juho Hänninen, who completed the leaderboard.
Head to WRC+ to watch All Live from Rally Italia Sardegna, including every stage broadcast live, breaking service park news and expert studio analysis.
VIDEO
More News | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Michael J. Casey is the chairman of CoinDesk’s advisory board and a senior advisor for blockchain research at MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative.
The following article originally appeared in CoinDesk Weekly, a custom-curated newsletter delivered every Sunday exclusively to our subscribers.
There’s an early scene in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” that stalwart of holiday season TV viewing, that provides one of the most insightful on-screen depictions of the core challenge of banking: maintaining trust.
It’s where Jimmy Stewart’s character, George Bailey, desperately trying to stave off a run on Bailey Building and Loan, tries to convince a horde of nervous customers not to withdraw their funds. Failing to win them over, he eventually reaches for his checkbook and, drawing on personal savings earmarked for his honeymoon, writes personal loans to each of them to keep his small-town lender afloat.
This scene is worth contemplating amid this month’s intensified competition among stablecoins as confidence in tether (USDT), the widely used one-to-one dollar-pegged crypto asset, has waned drastically.
Stablecoins, which promise that their token will trade at a fixed value relative to another asset such as the U.S. dollar or gold, face similar challenges in terms of building community-wide trust in their operations.
Bailey found the task to be more art than science. In the end, he had to put his own capital on the line to demonstrate that the self-interest of the bank’s owner didn’t trump those of its customers. We learn from this Hollywood classic that, in finance, trust is generated by more than just rules and technical specifications. It’s contingent upon a complex, multifaceted array of signals that, often, come down to a sense of character, a concept that, in the corporate world of today, we could define as “a trusted brand.”
At first glance tether’s trust challenge seems different from that of old-fashioned savings and loans like the fictional one in Frank Capra’s film. The latter is a commercial bank operating under a traditional fractional reserve banking model, where depositors’ funds aren’t held in full but lent out to borrowers. By contrast, Tether Ltd., as with other stablecoin issuers, asserts that it maintains a full reserve of deposited dollars to back every USDT token in circulation and that, because of that, it will always facilitate redemptions of those tokens at a fixed exchange rate – in this case, one-to-one.
The similarity emerges when we consider that a stablecoin’s value proposition goes beyond a redemption commitment to existing token holders to encompass prospective token buyers. For a stablecoin to consistently trade at par, its issuer must, in effect, convince a wide a community of future tokenholders of its future solvency. And that degree of trust can be hard to maintain, as it involves the psychology of the market, which can shift significantly over time.
Just as Bailey found that his community’s beliefs about him and his bank could be undermined by swirling stories and rumors and by a wider economic context that fueled fearful herd behavior, so too must stablecoin issuers consider a wide array of external forces that can shape trust. In the parlance of Wall Street, their quota of trust must be able to withstand a “stress test.”
Managing market psychology
Consider Tether’s predicament. Whether it has the funds it says it has isn’t the only question. The other, perhaps even more important, is whether the market believes those commitments will hold up against a wider environment of waning confidence.
It’s no coincidence that when USDT dropped to a low of $0.9253, or more than seven cents below par on Monday last week (on one exchange, Kraken, it fell even lower, to $0.85), it came on the heels of Wall Street’s worst week in seven months. In that broader, shaky financial climate, where fear started to trump greed, news that Bitfinex – the exchange that has overlapping ownership and management with Tether – had temporarily suspended certain fiat deposits because of “processing complications,” didn’t help matters.
Adding to the mix was the constant rumors and doubts over Tether’s banking relationships (to say nothing of its reserves). Investors understand that, at the end of the day, a bet on a reserve-backed stablecoin is a bet on the counterparty risk of the controlling entity’s banker. So all of this – the rumors, the glitches in deposits, and the market conditions — produced a perfect storm to trigger an investor fire sale of USDT.
The new dollar-pegged tokens competing for USDT’s sliding market share must now prove they can avoid such missteps. To do so, they must address this wider concept of trust, which means contending with the fickle, herd-like beliefs of human beings.
That goes for both those that employ Tether’s reserves-backed model, such as Gemini’s GUSD, Paxos’ PAX, Circle’s USDC and Trust Token’s TrueUSD (TUSD), and the algorithm-based approach of offerings like basecoin, which despite their fancy math, will be subject to sophisticated attacks by bots seeking to “break the peg.”
And, importantly, the real test of trust can’t be judged on current circumstances, at a time when many of these new stablecoins are enjoying such an influx of tether refugees that their market price has, from time to time, actually traded above par. It will come at a moment of crisis.
As the Argentine government learned in 2001, when it had to abandon the peso’s decade-long peg to the dollar with disastrous consequences for its economy, the ultimate test of a pegged-currency regime is always whether it can survive a moment in which market psychology is consumed by fear and mistrust. (The same goes for confidence in the banking system, by the way: it was the experience of the Great Depression that led the U.S. government to create the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and take aim the kind of corrosive, self-fulfilling psychology of fear that George Bailey had to contend with.)
A multifaceted approach to trust
So, how can these stablecoins survive such a stress test? The first step is to recognize that building lasting confidence in their brand requires a multifaceted approach and a special obsession with transparency.
For reserves-backed stablecoins, this includes practices such as: naming the banking relationship so that users can properly assess the underlying counterparty risk; committing to independent security audits of the underlying code to show that tokens are destroyed when funds are redeemed; holding regular attestations of the firms’ balances by trusted third-party auditors. (Note: this does not mean a full “audit” per se. Calls for an audit of Tether were misleading; there is no way that a crypto system’s past transactions can be audited in the traditional sense. Instead, proofs rely on attestations as to the accuracy of the firm’s claims about its balances at a point in time.)
And indeed, many of the new kids on the block are employing this multifaceted approach, using an abundance of transparency and proofs of solvency. Gemini and Paxos, moreover, have incorporated themselves as New York trust companies, imposing a fiduciary responsibility on themselves. These multiple measures are necessary, says the white paper released by the Gemini Trust Company – led by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss – because “[b]uilding a viable stablecoin is as much of a trust problem as it is a computer science one.”
Still, the fact that trust is hard to establish and easy to lose means that considerations must go beyond even these seemingly robust measures.
The core problem is that an owner/issuer’s interests in any financial operation are not intrinsically aligned with those of their investors. To assure people that this misalignment won’t lead to unfavorable results requires consistent, sometimes overboard attention to a brand of trust. In Bailey’s case, it came down to pulling out his checkbook to show his character.
This is where the new stablecoins must walk a fine line in dealing with the tether fallout. They must, of course, differentiate and distinguish themselves from that failure, showing why they are more secure, more trustworthy.
However, if the messaging, whether on Twitter or elsewhere, comes across too strongly as a bid to grab market share, to profit from Tether’s woes, one can imagine users imputing corporate motives that don’t align with theirs. That could hurt the brand and cause its nebulous pool of trust to run dry.
This is not to wish ill upon these new offerings. We should all wish for their success. A successful stablecoin could not only serve the needs of crypto exchanges as Tether has done but also integrate reliable real-time digital payments in fiat-dominated tokens into a host of other blockchain uses cases such as supply chains and cross-border remittances.
The problem is that they’ll have to face another crisis if we’re to know whether they’ve succeeded.
U.S. dollars image via Shutterstock. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Technology has grown to be a dominant part of our lives.
Hurf Tech brings you credible opinion pieces and dissections of great stories about products, trends and the future of tech.
If you are into tech, this show is just the right fit for you! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Have you ever ever seen an previous man (previous like your grandfather) fuck a phenomenal younger teen? Watch this previous dude the hell out of this younger slut and depart her begging for extra arduous previous cock. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Image copyright Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Wallace Broecker, the US climate scientist who helped popularise the term "global warming" has died in New York at the age of 87.
Prof Broecker was among the first to connect emissions of CO2 to rising temperatures back in the 1970s.
He also studied the ocean conveyor belt, linking oceanography to climate change.
Scientists the world over have paid tribute, calling Prof Broecker a "genius and pioneer".
Widely known as Wally, Prof Broecker spent a career that spanned nearly 67 years at Columbia University in New York.
In 1975, he published a paper in the journal Science that had a profound effect on thinking about the connection between carbon dioxide and temperatures around the world.
It was titled Climatic Change: Are we on the brink of a pronounced global warming? The paper was said to be the first time the phrase was used in a research paper.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Prof Wallace Broecker speaking to BBC World Service radio in 2009
The study outlined the idea that humans were having a significant impact on the climate by emitting CO2.
He argued that the world in the 1970s was experiencing what he believed was a 40-year cooling cycle that would soon end and the signal of human induced warming would soon be evident.
Just a year later in 1976, temperatures started to go up and have gone up since along the lines that Wally Broecker predicted.
In the 1980s, he told US political leaders that the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere warranted a "bold, new national effort aimed at understanding the operation of the realms of the atmosphere, oceans, ice and terrestrial biosphere".
Prof Broecker's work on the ocean current conveyor was also hugely important.
He outlined the idea that the scale of circulation of these currents must help regulate the climate system by moving large amounts of heat from one place to another. He also developed the idea that the conveyor could suddenly change, leading to dramatic climatic shifts that could occur over decades not millennia, as previously thought.
Prof Broecker was hugely concerned about the ability of humans to tackle the root causes of climate change. He became an early advocate for the idea of extracting CO2 from the atmosphere using machines.
"I don't like the idea of a technological solution any more than anyone else does but I'm saying that unless we have a technological solution CO2 is going to keep on going up," he explained to the BBC in an interview back in 2009.
"We can put a tax on CO2, society has learned how to keep water clean, now we have to learn how to keep the atmosphere in a nearly natural state.
"We are not going to be able to do that because we are predestined, I think, to double CO2 in the atmosphere."
"And that means a 3.5C warming if the models are right, it means precipitation will change almost everywhere on the planet, polar ice will melt and sea level is going to slowly rise and these things are going to change the world we live in."
Prof Broecker's high standing as a scientist was reflected in the many messages and tweets that have followed his passing.
"He has singlehandedly pushed more understanding than probably anybody in our field," said Richard Alley, a climatologist at Pennsylvania State University.
"He is intellectually so huge in how the Earth system works and what its history is, that all of us are following Wally in one way or other."
Prof Broecker was known for his friendly, humble demeanour. He suffered from dyslexia, and never learned how to type or use a personal computer. He was somewhat embarrassed at the fuss over coining the term "global warming", which he put down to "dumb luck".
In an obituary on the Columbia University website, Prof Broecker is quoted as warning that he would turn over in his grave if someone put the phrase on his tombstone. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Tipperary 0-22 Cork 0-13
Watched by a 29,114 crowd, Tipperary had too much class and intelligence for a limp Cork at a rain-drenched Semple Stadium this afternoon, writes John Fogarty.
A Munster quarter-final to forget, Cork were 11 points down at one stage early in the second half before they staged an all-too-brief rally.
Tipperary managed to go 16 minutes without scoring the second half. It meant little even though Cork strung together four points in a row in that period.
Tipperary hardly managed to get out of third gear but what they did was too good for Cork who suffered a systematic malfunction akin to what was seen here in last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final against Galway.
Goal chances were few and far between but there was enough quality from the Tipperary forwards on a day when the likes of Seamus Harnedy and Pa Horgan were reduced to relatively anonymous roles.
Cork surprisingly chose to face the wind in the first half and soon found themselves in arrears as Tipperary negated Cork’s sweeper William Egan by splitting balls to the sidelines for their full-forward to chase.
Six yellow cards, three doubles, were shown in the opening period with Cathal Barrett and Bill Cooper fortunate not to pick up red cards for interfering with each other’s helmet. Barry Kelly also chose not to penalise John O’Dwyer for an off-the-ball incident involving Lorcán McLoughlin although O’Dwyer was later booked.
Through a barrage of heavy downfalls, it was Tipperary and O’Dwyer who looked so much sharper. Three beautiful points in the space of two minutes, the last of them coming courtesy of O’Dwyer from an acute angle, gave the home side a 0-7 to 0-1 lead after 16 minutes.
Cork threatened to steady themselves with a Horgan free and a Brian Lawton point from distance but Tipperary resumed normal service and hit four in a row to lead by 0-12 to 0-4.
A Horgan free in the 33rd minute ended a 10-minute spell without a score for Cork but it was the brilliant O’Dwyer who finished out the half with a brace of points to hand Tipperary a 0-14 to 0-5 interval advantage.
Scorers for Tipperary: S. Callanan (0-8, 4 frees); J. O’Dwyer (0-7, 2 frees, 1 65); N. McGrath (0-2); Pádraic Maher, B. Maher, J. McGrath, J. Forde, K. Bergin (0-1 each).
Scorers for Cork: A. Cadogan (0-4); P. Horgan (0-3, frees); C. Lehane (0-2, 1 free); B. Lawton, C. Murphy, S. Harnedy, L. O’Farrell (0-1 each).
TIPPERARY: D. Gleeson; C. Barrett, J. Barry, M. Cahill; S. Kennedy, R. Maher, Pádraic Maher; B. Maher (c), M. Breen; S. Curran, D. McCormack, N. McGrath; J. O’Dwyer, S. Callanan, J. McGrath.
Subs for Tipperary: J. Forde for N. McGrath (53); Patrick Maher for S. Curran (56); N. O’Meara for J. O’Dwyer, K. Bergin for M. Breen (both 64).
CORK: A. Nash; D. Cahalane, M. Ellis, C. O’Sullivan; L. McLoughlin, C. Joyce, C. Murphy; D. Kearney, W. Egan; B. Cooper, C. Lehane, B. Lawton; A. Cadogan, S. Harnedy (c), P. Horgan.
Subs for Cork: A. Walsh for D. Kearney (32); K. Burke for C. O’Sullivan (41); L. O’Farrell for P. Horgan (54); J. Cronin for B. Cooper (59).
Referee: B Kelly (Westmeath). | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
O Palmeiras negocia o retorno do zagueiro Vitor Hugo, que atualmente defende a Fiorentina, da Itália. O defensor interessava ao Besiktas, da Turquia, mas o Verdão mantém conversas avançadas com o clube italiano e com o atleta.
O interesse palmeirense na repatriação de Vitor Hugo foi publicado na tarde desta quinta-feira pelo jornalista italiano Gianluca Di Marzio. Na Europa, a transferência é avaliada em 5,5 milhões de euros (cerca de R$ 23 milhões).
1 de 1 Vitor Hugo está na Fiorentina desde 2017 — Foto: Gabriele Maltinti / AFP Vitor Hugo está na Fiorentina desde 2017 — Foto: Gabriele Maltinti / AFP
O Palmeiras, até o momento, nega o acerto com o zagueiro, que é canhoto e joga pelo lado esquerdo da defesa. Ele conquistou a Copa do Brasil de 2015 e o Campeonato Brasileiro de 2016 pelo Verdão, quando chegou até a ser convocado para a seleção brasileira.
Em 2017, o Palmeiras acertou a venda de Vitor Hugo para a Fiorentina por 8 milhões de euros (cerca de R$ 27,5 milhões na época). Ele disputou 131 jogos e marcou 13 gols pelo Verdão.
Nos bastidores do Palmeiras, a possível contratação de Vitor Hugo não está relacionada ao interesse da Lazio em Gustavo Gómez. Nesta semana, a imprensa do Paraguai informou que o clube italiano estaria disposto a pagar US$ 10 milhões pelo zagueiro alviverde.
Gómez teve o empréstimo renovado pelo Milan até janeiro de 2020, mas o Verdão assegura que a decisão sobre uma possível saída é dele neste momento. A permanência em definitivo do paraguaio será sacramentada somente na próxima temporada, após os palmeirenses pagarem a última das três parcelas pela negociação com o clube italiano. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
TOKYO—Waiting for his mother to finish grocery shopping one day in 1994, 12-year-old Daisuke Okanohara passed the time with a little reading—of a research paper describing a new method to speed up data compression. He says he felt his body shake with excitement.
“It was a breathtaking method,” recalls Mr. Okanohara, now 33. He spent months testing it to see how it worked.
Today,... | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Altcoin News: ECB: Regulatory Uncertainty Holds Back Spread of Stablecoins
August 30, 2019, by Marko Vidrih on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE
On August 29, the European Central Bank published a new research report entitled “In search for stability in crypto-assets: are stablecoins the solution?”
In it, stablecoins are described as digital units of value that are not a form of a particular currency but rely on a set of stabilization mechanisms to reduce fluctuations prices.
The ECB offers a classification of stablecoins based on various concepts used to maintain the constancy of their courses. The authors distinguish four main groups of stablecoins:
tokenized funds;
stablecoins secured by assets outside the blockchain;
stablecoins secured by assets on the blockchain;
algorithmic stablecoins.
The ECB counted at least 54 existing stablecoin projects, of which 24 are at the operational stage. The total market capitalization of the stablecoins, according to the report, increased from €1.5 billion in January 2018 to €4.3 billion in July 2019. The average monthly transaction volume of stablecoins from January to July 2019 amounted to €13.5 billion.
Tokenized funds were the most common type of stablecoins. They accounted for almost 97% of the monthly trading volume among all projects, according to the ECB.
Image credit: ECB
The authors emphasize that uncertainty remains in the context of regulatory perceptions of stablecoins. Their dissemination may require improved governance structures. This also applies to the possibility of updating the smart contracts underlying them.
Stablecoins that use clear governance structures are also at risk, as they can be “constrained by uncertainty in regulatory and recognition issues,” and opportunities for their use outside the distributed registry technology space may be limited, the regulator concludes.
In July, President of the German Federal Bank and ECB board member Jens Weidmann spoke out in support Facebook's cryptocurrency, saying that global regulators should not hold the project in its infancy.
Author: Marko Vidrih | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Categories: News
Some Skidmore students really wish they could fly, and they’re looking for a coach who can help them.
They play a game called Quidditch, based on the magical, fictional game in the “Harry Potter” books. In the books, it’s played many feet above the ground. At Skidmore and on other college campuses, though it’s played on the ground, but players must keep hold of a broomstick at all times.
Other than the broomstick, it’s a lot like rugby. And even though it’s just a club sport, students play to win.
“We’ve had quite a few injuries, five or seven concussions, a broken collarbone this fall,” said club President Dorothy Parsons.
The college’s student government decided the club was too dangerous to continue without a coach, so the college is ready to pay for someone to help the students play the game without quite as much pain. They’ve started advertising for the position, asking for someone with a rugby background.
“It’s going to be tricky finding someone, but we think it could be quite helpful,” Parsons said, adding that the coach could teach them “how to tackle correctly.”
It may also help if the coach was a Harry Potter fan. The team, like the teams in the books, is led by a student who serves as the coach. The advertisement for a paid coach states that the person must be willing to work alongside student leadership.
Understanding the rules might require a reread of the “Harry Potter” books as well. The rules are based on the complex rules in the books, in which there are three different types of balls and two ways to win.
But most importantly, a muggle coach — that’s a non-magical person — must understand that at its core, the game is just fun. Parsons described it as “rather whimsical.”
“You’re riding a broom the whole time,” she said. “It is a great way to de-stress.”
The team began three years ago, starting with games against RPI’s Quidditch team. Skidmore is a member of the International Quidditch Association, and the team participates in tournaments throughout the Northeast, including games in Vermont and Massachusetts. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
By Russell Cheyne
EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday that Britain would not trigger formal divorce talks with the European Union until a "UK approach" had been agreed, bidding to appease Scots who strongly oppose Brexit.
May made the comment after meeting First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, head of the pro-independence Scottish government which says pro-EU Scots should not be dragged out against their will and has been looking at ways to keep Scotland in the bloc.
Scotland voted by 62-38 percent to stay in the European Union in the June 23 referendum while the United Kingdom as a whole voted 52-48 percent to leave, a result which Sturgeon has said made the prospect of another vote on Scottish independence "highly likely".
"I have already said that I won't be triggering Article 50 until I think that we have a UK approach and objectives for negotiations - I think it is important that we establish that before we trigger Article 50," May told broadcasters, referring to the procedure through which a country would withdraw from the EU.
May's said her decision to visit Sturgeon on her own turf less than 48 hours after taking office underlined her determination to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom after the Brexit vote had revived the issue of independence, which Scots rejected in a 2014 referendum.
Sturgeon has said she will explore all options for keeping Scotland in the EU and May, who herself had backed the campaign to remain in the bloc, said she wanted the Scottish government to be involved in the Brexit talks.
"I will listen to any options they bring forward. I've been very clear with the first minister today that I want the Scottish government to be fully engaged in our discussions," May said. "I want to get the best possible deal for the whole of the United Kingdom."
"SCOTLAND HAS HAD ITS INDEPENDENCE VOTE"
Scots rejected independence by 55-45 percent in the referendum two years ago, but since then, Sturgeon's Scottish National Party has gone from strength to strength, winning 56 of Scotland's 59 seats in the British parliament in the 2015 election.
Story continues
"As far as I'm concerned the Scottish people had their vote, they voted in 2014 and a very clear message came through, both the United Kingdom and the Scottish government said they would abide by that," May said.
Sturgeon said on Wednesday she wanted May to enable the Scottish government to explore possibilities for Scotland to remain in the EU as a central part of the overall negotiations with the bloc over the terms of Britain's exit.
She has also repeatedly said that Scotland should be able to conduct talks directly with EU counterparts, and met several EU leaders in Brussels during a visit there days after the referendum.
If independence then turns out to be the best way for Scotland to remain an EU member, Sturgeon argues there should be another referendum on the issue. Polls suggest support for independence had risen since the Brexit vote.
On Friday, Sturgeon said it would be inconceivable for a British prime minister to block a referendum voted for by the Scottish parliament.
"I work on the basis that trying to block a referendum, if there's a clear sense that that's what people in Scotland want, would be completely the wrong thing to do," Sturgeon told Sky News after the meeting with May on Friday.
May's Conservative Party, unpopular in Scotland for decades, holds only one of Scotland's 59 seats in the Westminster parliament, although it has recently improved its standing, coming second to the SNP in the Scottish parliamentary election in May.
It is now the official opposition to the SNP in Edinburgh, having beaten the once dominant Labour Party into third place.
(Writing by Estelle Shirbon and Michael Holden, Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Angus MacSwan) | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Tin Angel has served as the backdrop for engagements, graduation parties, date nights and anniversaries for a quarter of a century.
The cozy brick restaurant has remained a staple on West End Avenue, a go-to for diners young and old, as Nashville bursts at the seams with new development, trendy eateries and high-end cocktail bars.
Tin Angel’s circular fireplace, tin ceiling and exposed brick walls provide a respite from the shiny new restaurants popping up all over the city. The menu is comforting and familiar, with some surprises, and it often features what's in season.
But for owners Rick and Vicki Bolsom, it’s time for a new chapter in life and that means closing Tin Angel. They’ve sold both the building and the restaurant at 3201 West End Ave. to Nashville-based Grace Development, which plans to eventually have another restaurant in the building to serve the neighborhood.
Tin Angel will host its final dinner service on Saturday, March 23.
“We’ve been doing this for 32 years — owning and operating a series of restaurants. We really want to explore other parts of life before we’re too old to do it and enjoy it,” said Rick Bolsom, sitting inside the 80-year-old building, which he and a group of investors bought for $475,000 in 2006.
NASHVILLE RESTAURANTS:Openings and closings in February
EAT DRINK NASHVILLE:Sing up to our newsletter for the latest dining news and trends.
The Bolsoms were trailblazers in Nashville’s dining scene when they opened Cakewalk on West End Avenue in 1987. They hired Deb Paquette to helm the kitchen, who would go on to become one of Nashville’s most beloved chefs and who continues to thrill foodies at her restaurants Etch and Etc. Cakewalk was one of the few independently owned restaurants at the time where the food was fresh and seasonal.
“We were doing things that weren’t just boring,” explained Rick Bolsom, a New York native with a journalism background who moved to Nashville in the 70s. “At the same time, we had to be very careful, because if you just did cool food or whatever you want to call it, the audience wasn’t quite developed yet.”
The Bolsoms opened Tin Angel in 1993 as a more casual counterpart to Cakewalk. They poured time and money into fixing up the building once home to Bishop’s Pub, Bishop’s Corner and 32nd Avenue Brasserie, and launched Tin Angel as a kind of elevated meat ‘n’ three.
But that menu didn’t resonate with enough customers. They went back to the drawing board and relaunched with a more contemporary menu, but different than what Cakewalk was serving down the street. Rick Bolsom said he wanted Tin Angel to be a comfortable restaurant with good food, good service and fair prices.
“And success,” Rick Bolsom said. “You have to listen to the people. You think you know what’s right, and you may be right, but you’re still wrong.”
The Bolsoms would go on to partner with Paquette in converting Cakewalk to Zola, which was a Nashville favorite until it closed in 2010. Rick Bolsom helped launch the now-successful Nashville Originals, an association of independent restaurants, to protect the city’s local operators from an infiltration of chains.
The Bolsoms and their like-minded peers — including Randy Rayburn, Bob Bernstein, Deb Paquette, Margot McCormack, Tom Loventhal and Jody Faison — helped establish a true food culture in Nashville, which today is widely considered a culinary destination.
There comes a point, though, where it’s time to pass the torch to the next generation of restaurateurs. For the Bolsoms, the time is now, even though business at Tin Angel is good.
“There comes a time where you need to step back and retire, and we feel that we very carefully spent a lot of time looking at a lot of options and trying to find someone who would best represent what we consider the character of the restaurant, the neighborhood and the property,” said Rick Bolsom.
Grace Development owns commercial and residential property in Tennessee and five other states, including the Westboro apartment building across from Tin Angel.
“We really have enjoyed our years of dining at the Tin Angel and look forward to having a restaurant to serve that neighborhood in the future,” said Frederick Grace of Grace Development. Specific plans for the building aren't yet known.
As for the Bolsoms, they plan to travel and volunteer in their retirement and look forward to a new lease on life after three decades in the restaurant business.
“The biggest thing I’ll miss is just the interaction with the people. Both the people I work with — they’re extended family and we’re always going to be family — and my customers,” Rick Bolsom said.
DOWNLOAD:Nashville's changing. We'll keep you up to date. Get the Tennessean app.
Reach Lizzy Alfs at [email protected] or 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
A woman carries a deck in front of a main Haitian police station, where according to local media a group of foreign nationals including Americans armed with semi-automatic weapons were detained, after anti-government protests, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, February 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado
(Reuters) - The serious crime unit of Haiti’s national police is investigating several foreign nationals, including Americans, who were arrested in possession of semi-automatic weapons, Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant said.
The group, which included five U.S. citizens, was arrested while driving in two vehicles on Sunday in the capital Port-au-Prince, adding to uncertainty in the impoverished Caribbean country after days of anti-government protests.
Ceant wrote on Twitter late on Monday that the investigation had been turned over to the Judicial Police Department, the detective service that works on serious organized and transnational crime in the poor Caribbean nation.
Ceant also said he had convened Haiti’s police security council, which includes the interior and justice ministers and senior police officials, to discuss the case. He did not say when the meeting would be held.
The U.S. State Department has said American citizens were part of the group but has not revealed their identities.
Names given by Haitian media correspond to social media profiles of American citizens and a Serbian who claim military backgrounds and currently work for security contractors.
National police chief Michel Ange Gedeon said the group face charges of illegal possession of weapons, Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported.
Thousands of Haitians have been staging demonstrations since Feb. 7, to demand the resignation of President Jovenel Moise amid allegations of corruption and over high inflation. The protests have receded in recent days. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
For at least three days in the final week of the 2017 legislative session, a covert surveillance camera recorded the comings and goings of legislators and lobbyists living on the sixth floor of the Tennyson condominium near the Capitol.
Weeks later, in a dark parking lot of an Italian restaurant in Tallahassee, Sen. Jack Latvala of Clearwater, a Republican candidate for governor, was also being spied upon. Grainy photos show him standing and planting a kiss on the cheek, then the mouth, of a female lobbyist on the last night of the Legislature's special session.
These weren't routine smartphone photos captured for fun. They were the work of private investigators whose research has fueled an escalating barrage of rumors in the last week about sexual harassment in Tallahassee and infidelity among the state's elected legislators.
Incoming Senate Democrat Leader Jeff Clemens of Lake Worth abruptly resigned Friday after admitting to an affair with a lobbyist. Politico Florida was the first to report on Tuesday that private investigators had documented at least four separate incidents involving Latvala dining with female lobbyists and that state law enforcement officers were investigating the covert camera at the Tennyson.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Jeff Clemens admits to affair
In an interview with the Times/Herald, Latvala denied any romantic relationship with the lobbyist and said it was "nothing I'm ashamed of." POLITICO reported that the lobbyist sent them a sworn statement also denying a romantic relationship with Latvala, who is married.
At the Tennyson, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated and found that a secret device was mounted in the hallway of the common area by private investigator Derek Uman from Gainesville. His company, Clear Capture Investigations, specializes in insurance fraud and "infidelity surveillance," as well as "political and corporate surveillance."
The building's video cameras showed Uman moving the device to a new position each day — until it caught the eye of Sen. Oscar Braynon, the outgoing Senate Democratic Leader from Miami Gardens who lives on the floor.
As Braynon was walking to the elevator, he spotted something that had fallen underneath a hall table. He reached for it, and found the camera with a power pack, it's power light covered over with tape.
Braynon had reason to suspect he was being watched. Two weeks earlier, Sen. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, had resigned after apologizing for a tirade of racially charged remarks to fellow senators. Braynon's Senate colleagues had told him that the scorned Artiles wanted revenge.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Hooters 'calendar girl' and Playboy 'Miss Social' were Frank Artiles' paid consultants
"They told me, that he was putting private investigators on legislative people he thought were at fault for his demise," said Braynon, whose party lost a bitterly fought race to Artiles in the District 40 Senate seat held by Democrat Dwight Bullard in 2016.
So when Braynon found the covert camera, he turned it over to the concierge in the Tennyson lobby. The building managers were alarmed enough to alert the FDLE, which conducted an investigation. The building is home to dozens of legislators and lobbyists and other public officials.
Braynon didn't have any proof the camera was the work of Artiles, but he had the threat. He alerted the other lawmakers and some lobbyists who live on the floor, including Reps. Jeannette Nunez and Heather Fitzenhagen, and Sens. Dana Young and Anitere Flores. He said he told them that the state police were asking questions.
The FDLE investigators said the private investigator had rented a unit on the 14th floor for the week and therefore had a right to mount the camera.
"Derek Uman was acting within the full scope of the law as a licensed private investigator within the state of Florida," the investigators concluded in the report. They said "no criminal activity took place" and closed the investigation.
Uman's attorney, Jon Uman of Gainesville, did not immediately return calls for comment. The FDLE agents said Uman could be working for a "a scorned husband, a divorcee, a business partner — we don't know," Braynon said. "There is no direct link to Frank. I don't know if he did it. All I know is that he told other people in Tallahassee, and they told me."
But Braynon does know the sheer threat of political operatives and legislators hiring investigators to spy on each other will have a "terrible, toxic effect" on trust among lawmakers, who are already holding committee meetings in preparation for the next legislative session scheduled to start Jan. 9.
An attempt by the Times/Herald to reach Artiles on Monday was unsuccessful.
Latvala did not want to speculate about who was behind the surveillance as he kissed a woman lobbyist the parking lot of a popular Tallahassee restaurant.
"Somebody followed me off and on for a long period of time, and that's what they came up with,'' he told the Times/Herald. "It's nothing I'm ashamed of. I'm going to continue conducting myself the way I've always conducted myself. For 24 years, off and on, I've had a pretty good reputation in Tallahassee as a straight shooter and a moral and ethical person."
The Pinellas lawmaker, in his 16th and final year in the Senate, said he would release a more detailed statement later Tuesday after he consults with advisers. The lobbyist retained an attorney and signed the sworn affidavit, which was given to Politico Florida.
The private investigator has had experience with other political figures in Florida. Former Public Service Commissioner Nathan Skop, now a Gainesville-based attorney and consultant, told the Times/Herald that Uman followed him from Midway into Tallahassee in January 2016, days before Skop was scheduled to testify in a Hawaii against Florida Power & Light parent company, NextEra.
"I saw his car creeping around the Division of Corporations parking lot trying to get behind me when I walked out of the Division of Corporations on a Friday afternoon in Jan 2016,'' Skop said.
"I quickly jumped in car and got behind him (know the parking lot) and he didn't know what happened until he pulled out, didn't see me, and then looked in his rear view mirror and realized that I wasn't in front of him. He then took off trying to get away before I got video and photos."
Miami Herald political reporter Patricia Mazzei contributed to this report. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Fish oil does not benefit baby intelligence, study finds Published duration 22 March 2017
image copyright Getty Images image caption The decade-long study involved more than 2,500 women
Taking fish oil while pregnant does not improve the brain development of babies, new research has found.
Fish oil has been marketed to women as a prenatal supplement.
But a 10-year study of more than 2,500 pregnant women found it did not improve babies' intelligence, according to the Australian research.
The findings suggested that fish oil might lead to slightly longer pregnancies, but that would require further research, the team said.
"If a pregnant woman has a healthy, balanced diet, then the baby's brain development is not going to benefit from having these fish oil supplements," study co-author Dr Jacqueline Gould told the BBC.
Lengthy study
The research, by the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, followed women from their pregnancy to when their children were seven years old.
Participants were given either a daily fish oil supplement or a placebo.
The results found taking a 800mg dose of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 acid, had no impact on babies' intelligence.
Dr Gould said supplement makers had specifically marketed fish oil as a way to boost development in infants.
She said the research, detailed in the Journal of the American Medical Association , showed fish oil might be linked with longer pregnancies.
"What that meant was, there were slightly fewer children born pre-term," Dr Gould said.
"We're currently trying to validate that in a much bigger study." | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The BBC is reporting that police in London are investigating three more allegations of sexual assault against an unconfirmed individual believed to be Kevin Spacey.
If the British broadcaster’s report is verifed, it would take the total number of claims against the American actor being investigated by London police to six.
Police reportedly received the new allegations of sexual assault between February and April of this year. Two of the alleged assaults are believed to have occurred in London in 1996 and 2008 and the third in the city of Gloucester in 2013. Authorities have not released the name of the man at the center of the fresh probe.
The 58 year-old Oscar-winning actor currently faces accusations of sexual assault from more than 30 men, the BBC says.
In a new interview, actor Guy Pearce has reflected on working with Spacey, saying the filming of the movie L.A. Confidential (1997) was problematic.
“Tough one to talk about at the moment,” Pearce told CNN. “Amazing actor. Incredible actor. Mmm, slightly difficult time with Kevin, yeah. He’s a handsy guy.”
Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp, 46, was the first to come forward last year alleging inappropriate sexual advances made by Spacey in 1986. At the time of the incident, Spacey was 26 years old and Rapp was 14. The House of Cards star issued a public apology, but he says he doesn’t remember the incident.
The allegation precipitated dozens of others to speak out about alleged sexual misconduct by Spacey. He has since fallen out of Hollywood favor and is said to be seeking treatment.
The sixth and final season of House of Cards will run without its former star. Spacey has also been replaced in the Ridley Scott film All the Money in the World, with actor Christopher Plummer taking on his role.
Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Now Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.
Contact us at [email protected]. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Project 365-343: Begining to look a lot like Christmas
Slowly our house is starting to look very festive. Our tree is up but we’re waiting till the weekend to decorate. So todays picture is of the wreath on our door, stay tune for picture of the rest of our decorations.
Share this: Twitter
Facebook
Print
More
Email
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Reddit
| {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
If you’re a digital photography buff, here’s some required trivia knowledge: what you see above is a photograph of the first digital camera ever built. It was created in December 1975 by an engineer at Eastman Kodak named Steve Sasson, now regarded as the inventor of the digital camera. In a Kodak blog post written in 2007, Sasson explains how it was constructed:
It had a lens that we took from a used parts bin from the Super 8 movie camera production line downstairs from our little lab on the second floor in Bldg 4. On the side of our portable contraption, we shoehorned in a portable digital cassette instrumentation recorder. Add to that 16 nickel cadmium batteries, a highly temperamental new type of CCD imaging area array, an a/d converter implementation stolen from a digital voltmeter application, several dozen digital and analog circuits all wired together on approximately half a dozen circuit boards, and you have our interpretation of what a portable all electronic still camera might look like.
Here are some specs: The 8 pound camera recorded 0.01 megapixel black and white photos to a cassette tape. The first photograph took 23 seconds to create.
To play back images, data was read from the tape and then displayed on a television set:
We’re sure come a long way since then, eh?
Image credits: Photograph by Eastman Kodak | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Fresh off its trip to Atlanta for SEC Media Days, Alabama is projected to make a return trip down I-20 later this season. The Crimson Tide was selected by media members to win the SEC West as well as the SEC title in this year’s SEC Media Days poll announced Friday.
Alabama was selected as the SEC West champion with 1,971 total points and 263 first-place votes. The Crimson Tide finished above Auburn (1,664 points), Mississippi State (1,239), Texas A&M (1,091), LSU (1,025), Ole Miss (578 and Arkansas (412). Auburn received 19 first-place votes, while Mississippi State received two.
Georgia was picked to win the SEC East, earning 1,977 points and 271 first-place votes. The Bulldogs were followed by South Carolina (1,535), Florida (1,441), Missouri (1,057), Kentucky (874), Tennessee (704) and Vanderbilt (392). South Carolina received eight first-place votes, while Florida received four. Kentucky and Tennessee also earned one lone first-place vote apiece.
Teams were selected on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale.
Alabama was also projected to beat Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, which will be held Dec. 1 inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That game would be a rematch of last year’s national championship game where Alabama beat Georgia 26-23 in overtime inside the same venue.
Unfortunately for Alabama, media members have projected the correct SEC champion just six times since 1992. Alabama was the last correctly predicted winner in 2016. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
What is there to say about “Halloween” which hasn’t already been said? It has been discussed ad nauseam, and even Carpenter must be sick of talking about it all the time. Granted, he did take the time to record a new commentary track with Jamie Lee Curtis for Anchor Bay’s 35th anniversary edition, but when the 25th anniversary edition came out it just had the same commentary track from the Criterion Collection laserdisc.
We all know the story, and this is in large part due to the countless imitators who rushed to create their own psychotic killer following “Halloween’s” astonishing success. At the time of its release, it was the most successful independent movie ever made. Made for about $300,000, it ended up grossing over $50 million. “Friday The 13th” would never have existed without “Halloween,” and that franchise is far more responsible for those clichés horror movies exploit to infinity.
What I love about “Halloween” is how down to earth it is. All of these characters come across as very relatable. The way the script is written and how the actors played their roles, they easily reminded us of people from our own lives we grew up with. The only character in the whole movie who is NOT down to earth is Michael Meyers as he is a killer who has no real motive for why he heads back home to kill. As the movie goes on, we eventually stop seeing him as a person and instead as a force of evil which cannot be easily stopped.
We have all lived in a town like Haddonfield, a small town where families can raise their children in peace, or so it would seem, and the problems they face there end up paling in comparison to those they were forced to endure in the city. The parents see small town life as a home away from reality, but for the children it is reality. It is all they know. So when multiple murders occur there, it threatens to define the town more than anything else. Was there anything interesting about Haddonfield before young Michael Meyers took a knife to his sister when he was only a boy?
I also love how “Halloween” was shot. Working with Director of Photography Dean Cundey, Carpenter creates truly unnerving visuals of a killer lurking in the shadows. One moment Michael appears in the frame, and in the next he is gone. Michael could be anywhere and there is no escape from him. How does one escape from evil anyway? One of Carpenter’s main themes with “Halloween” is how evil never dies. It is a force which is with us whether we like it or not, and it is always just around the corner…
One of my favorite shots is when little Tommy is fooling around with Lindsay as they watch Howard Hawks’ version of “The Thing.” But when Tommy turns around and looks out the window, he sees a man carrying a lifeless body from the garage to the front door. The bullies at school kept warning him about the boogeyman coming, and it is an unfortunate and infuriating coincidence that they are correct. It is one of the creepiest images from “Halloween,” and it is one which always stays with me. Don’t you wonder what your neighbors are up as you look at their houses across the street?
The other brilliant thing about “Halloween” is how it was edited in such a way where you cannot be sure when or where Michael will appear next. The best example of this is when Laurie Strode is running away from Michael. Carpenter puts us right in her shoes as she desperately tries to escape the madman who wears an altered William Shatner mask. The editing plays with your emotions beautifully. You want her to escape, but you soon feel as helpless as her as she yells at Tommy to wake the hell up.
The moment where Laurie is at the front door of Tommy’s house, screaming for him to let her in, is one of the scariest scenes I have ever seen in a movie. It intercuts with her banging on the door while the Shape approaches her, and Carpenter succeeds brilliantly in leaving us stuck in a place we are desperate to escape from. Like her, we are begging for Tommy to unlock the door to where we want to yell at the movie screen, TV set or whatever device you are watching this movie on.
And who could ever forget the music? Carpenter’s score for “Halloween” ranks among the greatest horror movie scores ever composed to where I would put it up alongside Bernard Herrmann’s score for “Psycho.” Carpenter’s musical work has been done mostly in a minimalist style, very much unlike the bombastic orchestral scores from every other Hollywood composer. After all these years, the main title for “Halloween” is a piece of music I never get sick of listening to. The music succeeds in heightening the ever growing tension which never lets up even after the movie is ovr.
The final shot is unnerving and utterly perfect in the way Carpenter shows how evil never dies. We see images we have become familiar with throughout the movie, and they now have the stain of evil on them. The point is point he could be anywhere at this point.
This is definitely one of my all-time favorite movies, and the recent 35th anniversary edition Blu-ray reminded me of how I never get tired of watching it. Jamie Lee Curtis is great here as Laurie Strode, the only one who is the least bit observant about what’s going on around her. Then you have P.J. Soles and Nancy Loomis as Laurie’s so-called friends who frolic around, completely unaware of the killer stalking them from a distance. And you have Donald Pleasance, and his Dr. Loomis is a character which pretty much came to define the latter half of the franchise.
Many say “Halloween” originated the undying cliché of how teenagers who have premarital sex and do drugs are the first ones to be killed off. In the Criterion commentary, both Carpenter and the late Debra Hill make it abundantly clear they were not trying to lay any sort of judgment on these characters. Religion was not intended to shoved down our throats by anyone involved with this movie. These characters don’t get murdered because they are sinners, but because they aren’t paying attention to what is going on around them. Laurie Strode, on the other hand, is always very suspicious of her surroundings.
John Carpenter’s “Halloween” will always remain the best of all the so-called slasher movies in my humble opinion. There is no way anyone can top what he did with the 1978 classic, and this is even though Rob Zombie’s take on Michael Meyers was better than people gave his “Halloween” movies credit for. It has reached such a high level of praise in the ever growing pantheon of cinema to where duplicating its power is extremely difficult to pull off. The fact it still has the power to unsettle generations of audiences is a testament to Carpenter’s brilliance as a director, and its amazing success led him to make many other great films which continue to stay with us long after the end credits have finished.
* * * * out of * * * * | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
We depend on your support. Any donation allows us to keep reporting on New Mexico politics.
Darren White resigned from Gary Johnson’s administration over the then-governor’s push for marijuana legalization. Now, White thinks that Johnson should be the next president.
Last Thursday, just before the end of the Republican National Convention, White took to Twitter to announce his support for Johnson.
“This year I can’t back the GOP,” White wrote. “And I’m not alone.”
In ’04, I was RNC delegate. This year I can’t back the GOP. And I’m not alone. For me, I’m going w/ @GovGaryJohnson. pic.twitter.com/olmS6pbIMj — Darren White (@darrenPwhite) July 22, 2016
White told NM Political Report that distancing himself from the GOP this year was a “very difficult decision.”
“At the end of the day, I am going to vote for the future of the nation,” White said on Monday.
Johnson said it was “great” that he got White’s support.
“I think the endorsement by him implies he is on board with recreational marijuana.” Johnson told NM Political Report in a text message. “Not sure if that is the case.”
“Oh yeah, I’m on board with it,” White told NM Political Report with the caveat that he wants it to be done in a thoughtful and cautious manner.
White served as the state secretary of the Department of Public Safety under Johnson’s administration. After his resignation, White would go on to run for Congress as a Republican.
He also served under Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry as the city’s chief public safety officer. Berry is a Republican, though Albuquerque municipal elections are officially non-partisan.
More recently, White announced his role in Purlife, a medical marijuana company in New Mexico. The move that prompted Johnson to label White a hypocrite.
White publicly distanced himself from Johnson when White resigned as secretary of the Department of Public Safety after Johnson spoke in favor of legalizing marijuana in 1999.
Johnson told NM Political Report that he is ready to move past the pair’s previous disagreements.
“I hate to use this term,” Johnson said in a phone interview. “But I forgive him.”
White said any differences they had in the past are minor compared to what’s at stake.
“We’re talking about the presidency,” White said. “It’s a hell of a lot bigger than any disagreement Gary and I had in the past.”
White is not the only one who seems to be moving away from the Republican Party and toward Johnson. Johnson has continually described himself and the Libertarian Party, the political party that he’s currently running for office under, as fiscally conservative and socially liberal.
Republican delegates from Utah told a reporter at the RNC that they were dissatisfied with Republican nominee Donald Trump and would consider voting for Johnson.
White’s endorsement is notable because New Mexican Republicans have largely endorsed Trump or have stayed silent on the issue. Gov. Susana Martinez, who White has often defended in the past, stopped short of publicly endorsing Trump but was present on the RNC convention floor when the New Mexico delegation pledged their support for Trump.
U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce supports Trump’s candidacy, as do other high-profile Republican officials like Public Regulation Commissioner Pat Lyons.
Johnson acknowledged that it’s unlikely that any other high profile Republicans in New Mexico will steer away from their party.
“Even former elected officials going against the party — it’s a toughie,” Johnson said.
White said he respects those who truly support Trump, but he suspects there are others who don’t and just haven’t made it public.
“If that helps some people come forward, that’s great,” White said of his public endorsement.
White had a plethora of praises for Johnson, calling him “principled,” “honest” and “genuine.”
“Gary will work every single day to make sure the country succeeds,” White said.
When asked why he decided to go public with his endorsement of Johnson instead of keeping his vote to himself, he told NM Political Report, “That’s not my style.” | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The group stage at Cluj-Napoca takes place over the next three days, with each day’s broadcast starting at 10:20 GMT+2. Don’t forget to update your Fantasy roster before the beginning of each match day!
The show begins Wednesday the 28th with the opening matches for each group. Watch the best teams in the world as they set the tone for the rest of the tournament. The second day of the tournament features four elimination matches, followed by the four winners matches. On Friday the last four teams will emerge from the groups after a best-of-three battle through the decider matches. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Little did Yukito Kishiro know back in 1993, that the dream of seeing his manga on the silver screen would not only come true, but would take almost two decades to fulfil since the production was officially announced back in 2003.
In 2005, director James Cameron announced that he is working on another production concurrently with the Battle Angel Alita live-action film; the rights to which he presumably acquired back in 2000 (the domain name ‘battleangelalita[dot]com’ was registered to his name by 20th Century Fox around June). This ‘Project 880’ would later become the 2009 film Avatar.
In an apparent show of rampant indecision, Cameron spent the next decade waltzing between the planned Avatar trilogy and Alita as his next directorial production; repeatedly stating his unwillingness to hand the latter over to another director, citing his worship-esque love for the source material, ever since fellow filmmaker Guillermo del Toro first introduced him to the manga. Meanwhile, Cameron also casually decided to add a deep-sea exploration world record under his belt.
Finally in 2015, Cameron conceded directorial duties to Robert Rodriguez of Sin City fame, having hired him on to help condense his screenplay (reportedly 186 pages, accompanied by 600 pages of notes) into an actionable script for shooting. Full production began in 2016, with shoots taking place late that year to early 2017.
Now, with Alita: Battle Angel released globally to warm public and critical reception, and a little recent history on the film’s production out of the way, ATMA & Funomena presents from the archives of Animerica magazine, an extensive interview conducted with Yukito Kishiro back in 1993, for a glimpse of the beginnings of the mangaka’s career, as well as a little look into what he would’ve wanted the live-action Alita to be like back then.
Foreword
(Interview and words by Seiji Horibuchi. Editor’s notes are from yours truly in the present year, unless indicated otherwise.)
“When I was in high school, my big goal was to win a manga award before graduation,” Kishiro says. “It’s not as though I felt I was ready to become a real manga artist or anything, but I did think that, after I’d finally mastered the art of inking, I was ready to enter some kind of contest. That’s how I came to enter and be nominated for a ‘Best New Artist’ award from Shogakuban’s ‘Shonen Sunday’ magazine in 1984.”
Like Rumiko Takahashi, whose ‘Urusei Yatsura’ predecessor ‘Katte na Yatsura’ (‘Those Selfish Aliens‘) won the same award in 1977, Kishiro was soon deluged with offers to “go pro”. Unlike Takahashi, however, Kishiro postponed the chance to jump right into the daily grind of a professional manga artist in favour of finishing high school, going on to design school, and then working a newspaper delivery job.
“In the long run, I’d won an award at the age of 17,” Kishiro says. “In the long run, it was something of a disappointment. I’d reached the point where I was satisfied with my art, but my ideas on how to structure content were still vague. I didn’t really know how to shape a story, and there wasn’t anything in particular that I’d wanted to say. I was uncomfortable with the level of my work.”
In 1988, Kishiro made his second debut as a manga artist with the publication of his story ‘Kaiyosei’, described by Kishiro as a “horror story with somewhat of a profound theme.” The story went on to receive an honourable mention in the same contest he’d entered four years earlier.
“At the time, I was flushed with confidence and so full of myself,” Kishiro admits with a smile. “I marched right up to the editor and demanded, ‘What do you mean “honourable mention”?!'” He laughs. “Fortunately, that particular editor was a very understanding person. When he told me that he thought it was a wonderful story I was somewhat mollified, but then I happened to see some of the notes from the selection process. One of the judges had actually written ‘It’s the work of a madman!’ That’s when I realised I had to try to create a more uplifting story.”
In Kishiro’s case, it was editorial influence that defined the final shape of what, up until this point. remains his best-known work: ‘Gunnm’ (literally ‘gun dream‘), better known in English as ‘Battle Angel Alita’. Eluded by an approach to a story he was asked to draw for a Shueisha publication, one of his editors suggested he use a character from a previous, unpublished story. That suggestion – and that sketchily depicted cyborg police officer – eventually became the character of Gally, or as she’s called in English, Alita (something Kishiro himself was to humorously reference later in the Japanese version of the series).
A hit in Japan, ‘Gunnm’ was quickly translated into English, Spanish and Italian-language editions and greeted overseas with amazing enthusiasm, especially given Kishiro’s ‘unknown’ status. A strange but somehow beautiful tale of a gamine cyborg, ‘Gunnm’ inhabits the kind of world which might now be called cyberpunk – a ‘Max Headroom’-like scrapyard world filled with crumbling mechanised warrens and dubious underworld figures, hulking cyborgs, bounty hunters and misfits of every stripe. Hovering over the entire landscape is a vast technological dream city, which casts its junk down onto the heads of Kishiro’s junkyard denizens, who spend their lives searching not only for a way to survive, but for a reason to live. Dark stuff.
With such success, it should have come as no surprise that ‘Gunnm’ would be chosen for animation. But when KSS approached Kishiro making his story into an animated feature, he admitted that the idea of his work being animated “took a little getting used to.”
“Manga and animation are so different,” Kishiro says. “When you are drawing manga, the units you work with to pace your story are the two opposing pages. I just couldn’t see how the pacing for the animation could possibly work by looking at the storyboards alone. But then, when I saw [the finished animation], I was very impressed with its sense of timing.” In the final product (titled ‘Battle Angel’ for its U.S. release), Kishiro’s eclectic character designs are interpreted for animation by Nobuteru Yuki, already well-known for his work on ‘Record of Lodoss War’, and who would later go on to design for the TV series ‘Escaflowne’, as well as the big-budget, animated ‘X’ movie.
At the time of this interview, Kishiro’s ‘Gunnm’ had been running for two and a half years in Japan. The story’s publication in English under the ‘Battle Angel Alita’ title was only just reaching the segment of the story with which Kishiro himself seems most taken by – the Motorball story, in which armoured warriors in cyborg bodies equipped with roller-blades fight a no-holds-barred battle that’s somewhere between roller derby, football and gladiatorial combat.
“‘Gunnm’ is an introspective story,” Kishiro continues. “To be honest, when I was first approached about allowing it to be published in foreign-language editions, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea. It’s kind of an experimental for me and I didn’t think it could be popular, especially not in the United States. To me, it’s a never-ending wonder that my work is being translated and read by all sorts of different people.”
Full Interview
(Editor’s note: the character Alita will be referred to as Gally, and the ‘Battle Angel Alita’ manga as ‘Gunnm’, respectively.)
By now you’ve seen ‘Battle Angel Alita’, the English version of your manga ‘Gunnm’. What do you think of it?
Kishiro: I’m unsure what to make of it, actually… I can’t read English (laughs). I do notice all the mistakes in my art, now that it’d been flopped. [Flopping it] really brings out the skew in the line drawings. Looking at it now, I wonder if this particular work isn’t a little immature, artistically speaking.
In the U.S., flopping pages is simply a fact of publishing life. The pages which open to the right in Japan are opened to the left in America. There’s no getting around it. There are some artists who hate flopping so much, they refuse to let their work be published abroad.
(Editor’s note: kind reminder that this interview took place in 1993. Nowadays, it’s much more conventional for English manga releases to retain the original right-to-left reading format.)
Kishiro: Well, imperfections in the artwork do become more noticeable when flopped. But then again, they’re usually the kind of mistakes which would be there anyway. They just don’t stick out as much in the original.
As far as your English-speaking readers are concerned, I don’t think anyone regards ‘Gunnm/Battle Angel Alita’ as “artistically immature.” The fans seem to love your art.
Kishiro: Okay, then – it’s my perfectionism that’s immature (laughs).
Was it always your ambition to be a manga artist?
Kishiro: I’ve been drawing manga since before I can remember, but it wasn’t until high school that I started to ink my work seriously. I’ve always liked mecha – ‘Mobile Suit Gundam’ had an incredible effect on me – and my art has been affected by it for years. I couldn’t draw people, but I could sure draw mecha (laughs). That’s why I used to avoid the problem by drawing monsters instead of people. My monsters spoke and walked like people… they just happened to be monsters. Eventually it dawned on me that it would be pretty hard to make it as a manga artist if all I ever drew were stories set in reptilian worlds, so in high school I started to concentrate on drawing the human form. Yasuhiko’s (Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, character designer for the ‘Mobile Suit Gundam’ and ‘Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam’ TV series – editor’s note from original publication) fully realised characters were a big influence on me; Rumiko Takahashi has also been a big influence.
So you’re saying your manga has been influenced by animation.
Kishiro: Oh, yes. Up until high school I watched practically everything. There was a flood of it back then, wasn’t there. I guess it reached its high point in the few years immediately after ‘Gundam’. It’s probably fair to say that the golden age of animation ended in 1984.
I can’t help noticing that you keep referring to ‘Gundam’.
Kishiro: Well, I like all the Sunrise shows, really. I loved ‘Xabungle’ and ‘Votoms’. In fact, I think ‘Votoms’ might have had more of an effect on my then ‘Gundam’ ever did. [‘Votoms’] had a four-part composition – the story would conclude at the end of each part, and a new story would start off in a different world for the next. ‘Gunnm‘ borrows quite heavily from this style of storytelling.
(The interview continues in the next page. You can find the page numbers below the ‘related articles’ section.) | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Overview
A confluence of two risky design choices, combined with various implementation issues, makes drive-by downloads possible with Google Chrome on Fedora. In total, with the risky design choices first, the issues are:
Chrome will auto download files to a user’s desktop with no confirmation.
Fedora’s “tracker” software will auto crawl downloaded files to index them, including media files.
The “gstreamer” framework, as used to handle media in the Fedora desktop, has questionable implementation quality from a security perspective.
The “tracker” component responsible for parsing media files does not appear to be sandboxed (e.g. with SELinux).
The Fedora default desktop install includes a range of fairly obscure media decoders that confer risk but are not necessary for a thorough desktop experience.
Demonstration and proof of concept
In the screenshot below, the user of the Chrome browser has visited a (malicious) website and you can see the result is a forced download leading to the side effect of a crash in a process unrelated to the web browser:
“We’re sorry, it looks like the Tracker Metadata Extractor crashed.” It certainly did, without the user needed to do anything other that visit a web page. It is not necessary to click on the button corresponding to the download.
This is in a default install of Fedora 24, but with the gstreamer updates applied (without them, gstreamer doesn’t work correctly). The crashing binary is /usr/libexec/tracker-extract . It has ASLR enabled, which is good. But ps -eZ identifies the security context as unconfined_u:unconfined_r:unconfined_t , which appears unsandboxed. The crash manifests as an out-of-bounds write.
The demo file can be downloaded here: vmnc_width_height_int_oflow.avi .
This vulnerability also affects the default install of Ubuntu 16.04, as long as the “mp3” option was selected during install. (This vulnerability appears to go significantly back into history, at least affecting all the way back to Ubuntu 12.04 and it’s older gstreamer-0.10.) Ubuntu doesn’t seem to index desktop files by default though, so the impact on Ubuntu will be less severe but still nasty via e.g. triggering thumbnailing by opening the nautilus file browser in the Downloads directory. Or opening a USB drive. Or e-mailing someone the exploit file and have them open it in a media player.
0day details
(Absent a CVE, you can uniquely identify this as CESA-2016-0002.)
The vmnc decoder renders video for a VMware screen capture format. This format is usually contained within an AVI container. The vmnc decoder in the gstreamer code base contains a fairly obvious and simple width * height * depth integer overflow in the allocation of the render buffer. From gst-plugins-bad1.0/gst/vmnc/vmncdec.c :
static int
vmnc_handle_wmvi_rectangle (GstVMncDec * dec, struct RfbRectangle *rect,
const guint8 * data, int len, gboolean decode)
{
…
bpp = data[0];
…
dec->format.bytes_per_pixel = bpp / 8;
dec->format.width = rect->width;
dec->format.height = rect->height;
…
dec->imagedata = g_malloc (dec->format.width * dec->format.height *
dec->format.bytes_per_pixel);
…
In the above code, rect->width and rect->height are attacker controlled 16-bit unsigned values taken straight from the input file. bpp is also taken from the input file, and is validated to be one of the typical depth values 8, 16, 32.
To create the PoC, an existing sample file was located from the excellent MPlayerHQ test set: test.avi . This is a vmnc-inside-avi sample file. All that is changed in the PoC is that the width and height values at file offset 0x201c are changed to 65535 and 32769, respectively. The base image is a 16bpp image, so the calculation on the overflow line is 65535 * 32769 * 2 . In signed 32-bit integer math, the result is 65534. That’s a reasonable sized buffer but subsequent decoding believes that it has a huge 65535 x 32769 canvas to render into. Heap based buffer overflow results.
Exploitability
Yes.
To be a bit more specific, there are a couple of challenges which would make this exploit tricky: firstly, this is 64-bit modern Linux (and in particular, Fedora), where the ASLR is generally pretty good. Secondly, the attacker does not have the luxury of attacking this vulnerability from a scripting environment . This is key, and makes things much harder, because pointers cannot be readily calculated based on information leaks, decisions cannot be made based on measurements of corruption side effects, etc.
However, on the flipside, there are a lot of ways in which the attacker has a lot of control and assistance to exploit this, even without script to help. Let’s enumerate them, we might find the range of possibilities surprising:
Precise control over heap chunk size that is overflowed. By fiddling with the width, height and bpp values that factor into the integer overflow, we can choose a wide range of different chunk sizes to later go off the end of. This means we can corrupt a lot of different areas of the heap depending on what works best.
Surprisingly stable heap layout. The vmnc decoding kicks off on a relatively fresh thread, which typically has a relatively fresh glibc per-thread malloc arena. Heap grooming may only be minimally required, if at all.
Possibility for 3 byte partial pointer overwrites. Because the overflow is kicking off inside a glibc thread area, the alignment of the arena is typically to 16MB or so. This means you can potentially do up to a 3 byte partial pointer overwrite reliably. In the world of partial pointer overwrites, this is a luxury.
Excellent heap grooming opportunities inside the vmnc decode loop. Inside the main decode loop, there are lots of opportunities to allocate and free memory, with great control over the sizes. This occurs in vmnc_handle_wmvi_rectangle() , which can reallocate the existing decode buffer, and vmnc_handle_wmvd_rectangle() , which allocates and frees cursor buffers. This level of control will allow good heap grooming, and the possibility of attacking heap metadata, if no other good opportunities present themselves.
A copy primitive as one of the rendering modes. This is super big. vmnc_handle_copy_rectangle() is a rendering mode that will take pixels from one area of the image and copy them to another area of the image. Since our integer overflow leads to a small image buffer but a huge image canvas size, you can see that this will enable us to read some out-of-bounds content and write that out-of-bounds. This solves one of the hardest problems we might face, which is to synthesize valid pointers in the presence of good ASLR. We can read an existing valid pointer that is out-of-bounds, and then copy it somewhere else, also out-of-bounds.
To back up a couple of the above points, we can briefly look at the PoC crashing in gdb. We’ll run the PoC through the totem media player on both Ubuntu 16.04 and Fedora 24:
gdb totem
r vmnc_width_height_int_oflow.avi
[SEGV]
(gdb) bt
#0 __memcpy_avx_unaligned ()
…
(gdb) i r
...
rsi 0x7fffbb5e0015 140736336887829
rdi 0x7fffa40237fe 140735944996862
...
The last three bytes of the rdi register at the time of the crash are reasonably consistent across both Ubuntu and Fedora, at 0x0237fe. This is just off the end of a glibc thread arena, which ends at 0x022000. This illustrates the fairly clean heap state, and the 16MB+ alignment of thread arenas.
It’s clear that writing this exploit would be a lot of fun. I’ll put it on my TODO list, but I’d love to see someone else pick it up.
Google Chrome’s culpability
Let’s be clear: Google Chrome is the most secure of the common general purpose browsers out there. It has had more effort and money put into sandboxing, code quality, mitigations, fuzzing and community security involvement than the other browsers. This is all backed by a large, strong security team -- the largest monetary investment of the major browser vendors, which speaks volumes.
However, the default download behavior is one where you can point to e.g. Firefox’s solution as demonstrably superior: the user has to accept any random attacker supplied bytes before they are dumped to disk in a well known and indexable location, with an attacker supplied filename and extension.
This could be a default behavior to re-align with other browsers, to avoid known security headaches, and probably some as-yet-undiscovered ones too.
Absent action from the Chrome developers, there is fortunately a setting that can be used in environments where security is a concern: chrome://settings -> Show advanced settings -> Downloads -> Ask where to save each file before downloading .
Fedora’s culpability
You can clearly see the appeal of parsing and indexing all files that appear on disk. It enables desktop functionality that some users will consider userful. Certainly, other non-Linux operating systems do some of this too. But, this cannot be done carelessly. The lack of a robust sandbox for automatically parsing media formats seems like the largest gap Fedora has.
This is a problem that lends itself nearly ideally to sandboxing: the inputs and outputs and clear, and the rights needed to transform the inputs into the outputs are minimal. The input is just a memory chunk of the media file to be indexed. The output is a few metadata strings, perhaps some fixed format thumbnail canvases, etc. And the rights needed to do the transform are probably minimal: no writable filesystem access, no network access, no other process access, etc.
There’s also the concern that the media attack surfaces are a little out of hand. The default desktop install offers a range of fringe decoders that provide risk, for little benefit. In the case of Fedora 24, the faulty plug-in is pulled in via the default package gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free. From the gstreamer documentation : “these plug-ins are Bad with a capital B”. I’m not the first to notice this possible disconnect. From Ted Unangst’s post : “I do not want something called gstreamer-plugins-bad to be connected to the internet”. For some of the most dodgy decoders, we probably shouldn’t even be providing a nice automatic UI to offer to install them, because users will just click “yes”.
We can note that one quick way to break the link between the two risky designs is to remove the user/Downloads folder from the list of indexed paths. This can be achieved via the tracker-preferences tool, see below.
Disabling or removing tracker is non-trivial. This thing is like a virus! There’s some good information here: How do I disable tracker? To distill it:
There’s a non-default-install tool, tracker-preferences , that appears to offer the ability to disable indexing, or configure which paths are indexed.
Or you may prefer to just eviscerate tracker from your install. A lot of things depend on it, but rpm -e tracker --nodeps does not appear to blow things up too badly.
Beware that even after removing the tracker package, a log out and then in still left the daemons running for me. Perhaps do a reboot to be safe.
Bonus 0day
(Absent a CVE, you can uniquely identify this as CESA-2016-0003.)
The render canvas, as allocated in the code snippet quoted way above, is not black filled or otherwise initialized. The call to g_malloc() is just a thin wrapper around malloc() , which does not initialize any returned heap area. Therefore, there’s an easy information leak in thumbnailing a simple 1 frame vmnc movie that does not draw to the allocated render canvas at all. This could be a problem for anyone using gstreamer in a server environment to provide thumbnailing services.
Closing notes
Did I mention that ffmpeg has a vmnc decoder too and it appears more robust than the gstreamer one?
| {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton says many things.
These are a few of them.
- March 1 - “I’m glad it looks that way, because it sure doesn’t feel that way.” Shawn Thornton, on it looking as though he gets stronger as a long fight goes on 30 notes link >
- February 3 - “It’s simple: show up.” Shawn Thornton, after loss to Carolina on what the Bruins can do differently 29 notes link >
- January 12 - “Sometimes my wires touch, and I don’t really remember things.” Shawn Thornton, on what he yelled from the penalty box 60 notes link >
- January 11 - “Not while I’m here.” Shawn Thornton, responding to Alain Vigneault saying Brad Marchand is “going to get it” 251 notes link >
- January 10 - “I’ll still talk to him, I guess.” Shawn Thornton, on dropping gloves with former teammate Mark Stuart 14 notes link >
- January 9 - “I was surprised I could stand up that long with six guys on my back.” Shawn Thornton, on the Canucks’ six-man dogpile 52 notes link >
- January 6 - “Ice on my hand is a lot better than having it up to one of my cheeks.” Shawn Thornton 20 notes link >
- January 5 - “More than once I’ve beat him. When he was in his prime, I was beating him- I’m just saying.” Shawn Thornton, on scoring on Martin Brodeur last night 43 notes link >
- June 20 - “Charlestown wears my jersey. Young girls wear Seguin’s jerseys, we figured that much out. I’m assuming people with a screw loose wear Marchand jerseys. I don’t know why you’d wear that thing.” Shawn Thornton 1,066 notes link >
“Unbelievable turnout. I didn’t know that many people lived in Boston.” Shawn Thornton, on the record-breaking Stanley Cup parade 74 notes link >
- June 18 - “So far so good. Kind of blurry, I’m not going to lie to you.” Shawn Thornton, on what victory has felt like 24 notes link >
- June 17 - “No such thing this time of year. I’ll be tired a week from now.” Shawn Thornton, on whether he was tired before Game 7 18 notes link >
- April 18 - “You’ve got to remember that our best player is 6-foot-9, 270-pounds and he’s probably the toughest guy in the league. So I’m not too worried about babysitting him.” Shawn Thornton, on having to stand up for Zdeno Chara 76 notes link > | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
What to Know Following the targeted killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, the NYPD has taken immediate steps to protect key locations throughout the city
The NYPD said that the increase in security is taken place although there is no credible threat to NYC
New Yorkers are also urged to remain vigilant
Following the targeted killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, the NYPD has taken immediate steps to protect key locations throughout the city although there is no specific or credible threat to the Big Apple.
During a Friday morning press conference, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea reiterated that there are no credible threats to the city. However, the NYPD is monitoring the developments abroad and immediately taking key steps to ensure the safety of New Yorkers.
Shea said that there will be "heightened vigilance in terms of uniformed officers -- many with long guns -- at sensitive areas, critical structures and continuing community dialogue with our community leaders."
People who were born in Iran and now live in the tri-state, including a community on Long Island, have mixed emotions about the rising tensions between their adoptive and native homelands. NBC New York’s Greg Cergol reports.
Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism of the NYPD John Miller said that many of the locations deemed sensitive areas already see a heightened level of police presence regularly.
Shea also urged all New Yorkers to remain vigilant and to call 888-NYC-SAFE if anyone sees anything that is out of the ordinary.
In a Friday morning tweet, the NYPD also said the security measures comes "based on recent world events" and urged the public to remain vigilant.
While there are no specific or credible threats to #NYC, we have adjusted our daily counterterrorism deployments based on recent world events.
We always ask the public to remain vigilant - If You See Something, Say Something.
Report suspicious activity to our #NYCSAFE hotline pic.twitter.com/qZvwmS3PkB — NYPDCounterterrorism (@NYPDCT) January 3, 2020
"The fact is that we are dealing this morning with a reality that we have not faced previously," Mayor Bill de Blasio said during the Friday morning press conference. "And it is very, very important for everyone to understand that and to understand that in these changing circumstances that the City of New York and the NYPD are acting immediately to ensure that New Yorkers are safe."
He went on to say that New Yorkers should understand that "we are now potentially facing a threat that's different and greater than anything we have faced previously."
"Over the last 20 years, this city more than any other has suffered as a result of terrorism," he said. "But the terrorism inflicted upon us came from non-state actors."
WNBC has team coverage on the global and local response after powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. airstrike.
De Blasio went on to say that the reality is different now now that the United States and Iran are in an assumed "de facto" state of war.
"We have to recognize that this creates a whole series of dangerous possibilities for our city," de Blasio said. "I am not saying this to be alarmist. I'm not saying this because I assume any outcome. I am saying this because New Yorkers deserve to know."
In a separate tweet, Mayor Bill de Blasio also said Thursday night that the NYPD has taken immediate steps to protect key New York City locations.
"We will have to be vigilant against this threat for a long time to come," the tweet reads in part.
Have spoken with Commissioner Shea + Dep Commissioner Miller about immediate steps NYPD will take to protect key NYC locations from any attempt by Iran or its terrorist allies to retaliate against America. We will have to be vigilant against this threat for a long time to come. — Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) January 3, 2020
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also announced the bolstering of security at critical points amid the mounting tensions in the Middle East.
"Recent international events are understandably causing some anxiety, and while New York has not received any direct threats, out of an abundance of caution I am directing National Guard and state agencies to increase security and step up patrols at our most critical facilities," Cuomo said in a statement.
Among the heightened security measures, New York State Police will prepare a counter-terrorism briefing that will be issued to all law enforcement agencies statewide through the State Intelligence Center, according to the governor's office. The briefing will include an update on the situation, the implications for New York State, and include indicators of suspicious activity. The briefing will be updated as events warrant.
Following the targeted killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the NYPD has taken immediate steps to protect key locations throughout the city although there is no specific or credible threat to the Big Apple.
The Department of Public Service has been in contact with all electric, natural gas, telephone and water utilities in New York State, and it has directed the companies to increase awareness and vigilance regarding cyber and physical security, Cuomo said.
Additionally, the New York Power Authority is conducting checks and patrols on all utilities, and the New York State Office of Information Technology Services is performing checks on all cybersecurity details.
The Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services will also be reviewing all vulnerability assessments and contacting appropriate agencies and businesses as needed, according to Cuomo, who also added that the MTA has also taken additional steps to enhance security following the international events.
The governor also announced he will deploy the National Guard to New York City area airports.
Amid mounting tensions in the Middle East, I am ordering that security be increased at critical infrastructure points across the state. I am deploying the National Guard to NYC airports.
While New York has not received any direct threats, we are prepared and on alert. — Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) January 3, 2020
Iran has vowed “harsh retaliation” for a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad's airport that killed Iran's top general and the architect of its interventions across the Middle East, as tensions soared in the wake of the targeted killing.
The killing of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, marks a major escalation in the standoff between Washington and Iran, which has careened from one crisis to another since President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions.
The United States urged its U.S. citizens to leave Iraq "immediately," citing "heightened tensions." The State Department said the embassy in Baghdad, which was attacked by Iran-backed militiamen and other protesters earlier this week, is closed and all consular services have been suspended.
Around 5,200 American troops are based in Iraq, where they mainly train Iraqi forces and help to combat Islamic State militants.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that a "harsh retaliation is waiting" for the U.S. after the airstrike, calling Soleimani the "international face of resistance." Khamenei declared three days of public mourning for the general’s death and appointed Soleimani's deputy, Maj. Gen. Esmail Ghaani as the new commander of the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the killing a “heinous crime" and vowed his country would “take revenge.”
Thousands of worshippers in the Iranian capital Tehran took to streets after Friday Muslim prayers to condemn the killing, chanting “Death to deceitful America.”
The targeted strike, and any retaliation by Iran, could ignite a conflict that engulfs the whole region, endangering U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria and beyond. Over the last two decades, Soleimani had assembled a network of heavily armed allies stretching all the way to southern Lebanon, on Israel's doorstep.
However, the attack may act as a deterrent for Iran and its allies to delay or restrain any potential response. Oil prices surged on news of the airstrike and markets were mixed.
The killing promised to strain relations with Iraq's government, which is allied with both Washington and Tehran and has been deeply worried about becoming a battleground in their rivalry. Iraqi politicians close to Iran called for the country to order U.S. forces out of the country.
The Defense Department said it killed the 62-year-old Soleimani because he “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region." It also accused Soleimani of approving the orchestrated violent protests at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
The strike, on an access road near Baghdad’s airport, was carried out by a U.S. drone, according to a U.S. official. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Description
set_error_handler ( callable $error_handler int $error_types = E_ALL | E_STRICT ] ) : mixed [,] ) :
This function can be used for defining your own way of handling errors during runtime, for example in applications in which you need to do cleanup of data/files when a critical error happens, or when you need to trigger an error under certain conditions (using trigger_error()).
It is important to remember that the standard PHP error handler is completely bypassed for the error types specified by error_types unless the callback function returns FALSE . error_reporting() settings will have no effect and your error handler will be called regardless - however you are still able to read the current value of error_reporting and act appropriately. Of particular note is that this value will be 0 if the statement that caused the error was prepended by the @ error-control operator.
Also note that it is your responsibility to die() if necessary. If the error-handler function returns, script execution will continue with the next statement after the one that caused an error.
The following error types cannot be handled with a user defined function: E_ERROR , E_PARSE , E_CORE_ERROR , E_CORE_WARNING , E_COMPILE_ERROR , E_COMPILE_WARNING independent of where they were raised, and most of E_STRICT raised in the file where set_error_handler() is called.
If errors occur before the script is executed (e.g. on file uploads) the custom error handler cannot be called since it is not registered at that time. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
In the 1950s and 1960s when tactical nuclear weapons were expected to rule the battlefield, the Soviet Army developed a variety of short-range tactical nuclear launchers, their answer to the American launchers like the Davy Crockett.
One of these systems was the “Reseda” launcher, two 230mm recoilless rifles that would fire an oversize 360mm tactical nuke up to six kilometers away. These launchers were mounted on a BTR-60 chassis.
But by the late 1960s, such simple systems were considered to be too primitive. A new generation of tactical nuclear launchers was ordered to be developed. Two systems were created as a result of this push, “Rosehip” for motorized rifle regiments and “Taran” for tank units.
The “Taran” project incorporated another avenue of development that was very “hot” at the time in the Soviet Union, the “missile tank.” The IT-1 tank was developed around the same time in the Soviet Union, which featured an anti-tank guided missile launcher as the primary weapon, as opposed to a traditional main gun.
Combining these characteristics, the Taran project was to create a missile tank that could launch large tactical nukes, then follow up in the attack by firing Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs). The tank was to be based on the T-64 chassis. The turret was to be completely new and feature a rocket-gun (similar to those mounted on the German Sturmtiger).
The tactical nuclear projectile itself was said to have a caliber of 300mm and a launch weight of 150 kg. The warhead weighed 65 kg and had a yield of 0.3 kilotons. Three of these projectiles were to be carried in each Taran.
While requirements for the project required the system to be able to fire out to 8 km, calculations suggest that the rocket projectile could have reached up to 12 km.
However, the rocket projectiles lacked any sort of guidance. In direct fire mode, the projectiles were expected to land within 100m of the aim point. Firing in indirect mode, this error would be increased by 2.5x.
The Taran was also meant to carry around 10-12 ATGMs in addition to nuclear projectiles. The designers wanted the Taran to be able to attack with regular tanks to mop up surviving vehicles after firing its nuclear salvo, and the large caliber of the gun made it suitable to fire ATGMs, as the effectiveness of a HEAT warhead is mostly correlated to the diameter of the warhead.
These ATGMs were estimated to be able to punch through 300mm of steel.
But by the 1970s, Soviet interest in the Taran faded. The “nuclear battlefield” was on the way out, with fears that the use of tactical nukes could lead to further escalation. The accuracy of the Taran’s main gun was also considered insufficient with the small yield of its warheads. The Taran would only be effective on large concentrations of enemy forces with its small warhead.
For these reasons, the Taran project was killed in the 1970s.
The concept of a gun that could fire both regular projectiles and guided missiles was eventually added to the regular T-64 in the T-64B.
But the Taran might not have killed the concept of a nuclear tank for the Soviets. One of the key features of the Object 195 tank prototype (considered by some to be the predecessor of the current T-14 Armata) was its ability to fire 152mm artillery rounds out of its main gun.
Theoretically, the Object 195 could fire the 3BV3 tactical nuclear shell out of its gun. This shell features a yield of 1kt, three times more powerful than the Taran’s, due to further development and miniaturization of nuclear warhead technology.
As the Armata is designed to be able to retrofit a 152mm gun in the future, we may see a return of a nuclear-capable tank to the battlefield.
Some Russian sources have attempted to discredit this usefulness of a nuclear tank.
However, their arguments, that a nuclear shell would be incredibly self-destructive, and that regular depleted uranium shells are better for anti-tank combat are contradictory to other Russian claims and ignore the resistance of armor to nuclear fallout.
Sergey Kuznetsov claims that the Armata’s main gun has a range of 4 km. Ignoring that this probably applies to the current 125mm armed version and not the 152mm version that would be nuclear capable, Russia itself has claimed that the Armata can acquire and destroy targets out to 12km.
While the 12 km range figure applies to ATGMs, there’s no ballistic limitation that would prevent the firing of a nuclear shell out to 12km from an Armata.
Even within 4 km, a tank firing a 1kt nuclear shell would probably be just fine. As said above, tanks are resistant to fallout due to filtration systems, radiation due to liners, and the blast wave due to aerodynamic design. The blast wave of a 1kt shell by most modeling would only reach out to around 1km.
The second claim given by Kuznetsov, that it’s easier to attain greater penetration by using depleted uranium, ignores the purpose of the nuclear shell. The Taran was designed to use its nuclear shells to begin the attack, and then later use ATGMs to punch through armor. The initial nuclear projectiles would be fired to disrupt enemy electronics and kill soft targets, not directly at enemy tanks in an attempt to penetrate them.
Charlie Gao studied political and computer science at Grinnell College and is a frequent commentator on defense and national-security issues.
Image: Wikipedia. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
World
Reuters
Four of Britain's distinctive red postboxes have been painted black and gold and adorned with images by or of illustrious Black Britons, in a novel way of celebrating Black History Month. One of Britain's most recognisable symbols, red pillar boxes appear on countless postcards and souvenir items, while tourists can often be seen posing for photographs next to the postboxes. The Royal Mail said it had selected one postbox in each of the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - and had them painted black with a gold trim at the top. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
TSX: ACB TSXV: RTI
EDMONTON and VANCOUVER, July 31, 2017 /CNW/ - Radient Technologies Inc. ("Radient" or the "Corporation") (TSXV: RTI) and Aurora Cannabis Inc. ("Aurora") (TSX: ACB) are pleased to announce that the convertible debenture issued to Aurora on February 13, 2017, has been converted into 14,285,714 units of Radient (the "Conversion Units") pursuant to the acceleration provisions contained therein. Each Conversion Unit consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant exercisable prior to February 13, 2019 for one additional common share of Radient at an exercise price of $0.33 per warrant.
Radient will also make the final interest payment of $41,096 to Aurora through the issuance of additional 77,540 units to Aurora (the "Interest Units"). Each Interest Unit consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant exercisable prior to February 13, 2019 for one additional common share of Radient at an exercise price of $0.53 per warrant. The issuance of the Interest Units to Aurora is subject to final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Early Warning Disclosure
Radient has been advised by Aurora that prior to the conversion of the convertible debenture Aurora held 2,777,800 common shares and 2,777,800 purchase warrants. Radient has been further advised by Aurora that after giving effect to the conversion, Aurora holds 17,245,221 common shares and 17,245,221 share purchase warrants of Radient representing approximately 9.6% of the issued and outstanding common shares, and 17.5% of the issued and outstanding common shares on a partially diluted basis.
Aurora acquired the securities for investment purposes. Aurora will evaluate its investment in Radient from time to time and may, based on such evaluation, market conditions and other circumstances, increase or decrease shareholdings as circumstances require through market transactions, private agreements, or otherwise. A copy of the Early Warning report will be filed by Aurora in connection with the acquisition and will be available on Radient's SEDAR profile. In order to obtain a copy of the early warning report, please contact Nilda Rivera, Aurora's Controller, at telephone number: 604-362-5207. Aurora's registered office is located at 1500 - 1199 West Hastings St. Vancouver, British Columbia, V6E 3T5.
About Radient
Radient extracts natural compounds from a range of biological materials using its proprietary MAPTM natural product extraction technology platform which provides superior customer outcomes in terms of ingredient purity, yield, and cost. From its initial 20,000 square foot manufacturing plant in Edmonton, Alberta, Radient serves market leaders in industries that include pharmaceutical, food, beverage, natural health, personal care and biofuel markets. Visit www.radientinc.com for more information.
About Aurora
Aurora's wholly-owned subsidiary, Aurora Cannabis Enterprises Inc., is a licensed producer of medical cannabis pursuant to Health Canada's Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations ("ACMPR"). The Company operates a 55,200 square foot, state-of-the-art production facility in Mountain View County, Alberta, and is currently constructing a second 800,000 square foot production facility, known as "Aurora Sky", at the Edmonton International Airport, and has acquired, and is undertaking completion of, a third 40,000 square foot production facility in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, on Montreal's West Island. Aurora also recently acquired Pedanios GmbH, a leading wholesale importer, exporter, and distributor of medical cannabis in the European Union ("EU"), based in Berlin, Germany. In addition, the company is the cornerstone investor with a 19.9% stake in Cann Group Limited, the only Australian company licensed to conduct research on and cultivate medical cannabis, Aurora's common shares trade on the TSX under the symbol "ACB". Visit www.auroramj.com for more information.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
RADIENT TECHNOLOGIES INC.
Denis Taschuk, CEO
AURORA CANNABIS INC.
Terry Booth, CEO
Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking information and statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The terms and phrases "goal", "commitment", "guidance", "expects", "would", "will", "continuing", "drive", "believes", "indicate", "look forward", "grow", "outlook", "forecasts", "intend", and similar terms and phrases are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. The Corporation cautions that all forward looking information and statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Corporation's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the Corporation's ability to complete the proposed shares for debt transaction. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.
Neither TSX nor TSX Venture Exchange nor their Regulation Services Providers (as that term is defined in the policies of the respective Exchanges) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Radient Technologies Inc.
For further information: For Radient: Denis Taschuk, Chief Executive Officer, [email protected], (780) 465-1318; Mike Cabigon, Chief Operating Officer, [email protected], (780) 465-1318; For Aurora: Cam Battley, Executive Vice President, +1.905.864.5525, [email protected]; Marc Lakmaaker, NATIONAL Equicom, +1.416.848.1397, [email protected] | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
As traditional pastures dry up, Mongolian herders are forced to move livestock into the big cat’s territory. Now conservationists are stepping in.
Just as the last of the blushing light drained from the sky in western Mongolia, the “ghost of the mountain” struck at the foot of sacred Jargalan mountain where the rocky snow line gives way to a dry and treeless expanse of steppe.
“I saw my animals were very afraid, they were running from something,” said Myagmarjan Maamkhuu in his yurt-like tent, or ger, the day after the incident. “When I got closer, I saw the snow leopard with one of my sheep.”
It was Tenger, a mature female well known to Maakkhuu. “Of course we were angry at first, but we’ve got used to it,” he said, offering me milky tea served in a bowl as his wife and three young sons sat by our side. “We don’t go looking for revenge.”
Maamkhuu tends more than a thousand livestock—sheep and goats mainly and a few horses—and this sheep, he said, with a zen-like lack of angst, was the third one he’d lost that week to snow leopards. In a bad year, the elusive spotted cats take up to 30 of his animals.
But the bucolic haven of that ode is fast becoming a fantasy. More than a third of Mongolia’s 2.6 million people are, like Maamkhuu, nomadic or seminomadic herders, and their pasturelands are disappearing.
Sandwiched between China and Russia, Mongolia is the world’s second largest landlocked country. It’s among the countries most affected by global warming—the focus of the world’s nations in Paris this week—because of its geographic location, fragile ecosystems, and pastoral way of life.
During the past 30 years, the region’s average annual temperature has risen by 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit (2.1 degrees Celsius).
The result: a desertifying landscape with degraded lower-altitude pastures that have traditionally nourished herders’ sheep and goats. It’s so bad that around a quarter of the country has turned into desert, while some 850 lakes and 2,000 rivers have completely dried out over the past 30 years, according to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
ENLARGE
Herders like Myagmarjan Maamkhuu are now grazing their flocks at higher elevations where pastures are richer. But snow leopards are preying on their animals, and some herders are retaliating against the cats.
So Maamkhuu and other herders are taking their animals to better pastures at higher elevations. On those mountainsides, their sheep and goats are eating grasses that sustain wild argali (blue) sheep and ibexes, themselves the main food supply of snow leopards.
Inevitably, the big cats are now preying on the domesticated animals. To protect their livelihoods, herders are hunting snow leopards, whose numbers are now as low as 4,000, with perhaps a quarter of them in the Altai Sayan mountains.
The cats are a barometer of environmental conditions in a swath of territory that spans 12 countries and holds the headwaters of 20 major river basins inhabited by more than two billion people. Rapid warming in this region is disrupting people as well as wildlife.
If climate change isn’t slowed, more than a third of snow leopard territory might become unsuitable for the cats, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which has been helping to conserve them for many years.
To date, WWF says, only 14 percent of snow leopard habitat has been studied with a view to putting conservation measures in place. Ultimately, the goal is to gather enough information to demarcate zones of protection that would be off-limits to herders and their animals.
SOURCE: www.nationalgeographic.com - http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/12/151202-mongolia-climate-change-snow-leopards-livestock-world-wildlife-fund/
Follow us on #climatechangelb to engage with us.
Check the Lebanon Climate Change website: www.moe.gov.lb/climatechange
This segment is brought to you through a partnership between the UNDP Climate Change Team at the Ministry of Environment in Lebanon and the NAHARNET team. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any party/institution.
Source: HEREWARD HOLLAND | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
2017 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Choose Player 2017 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Home Jamal Adams, S, LSU Montravius Adams, DT, Auburn Jonathan Allen, DT, Alabama Ryan Anderson, LB, Alabama Chidobe Awuzie, CB, Colorado Budda Baker, S, Washington Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee Garett Bolles, OT, Utah Tyus Bowser, OLB, Houston Caleb Brantley, DT, Florida Jake Butt, TE, Michigan Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt Julie'n Davenport, OT, Bucknell Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida Pat Elflein, G, Ohio State Evan Engram, TE, Ole Miss Gerald Everett, TE, South Alabama Dan Feeney, G, Indiana Devonte Fields, OLB, TCU Isaiah Ford, WR, Virginia Tech D'Onta Foreman, RB, Texas Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU Wayne Gallman, RB, Clemson Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M Davon Godchaux, DT, LSU Charles Harris, DE, Missouri Marquis Haynes, DE, Ole Miss Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama Adoree' Jackson, CB, USC Roderick Johnson, OT, Florida State Josh Jones, S, N.C. State Sidney Jones, CB, Washington Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami Alvin Kamara, RB, Tennessee Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss Desmond King, CB, Iowa Kevin King, CB, Washington DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame Tanoh Kpassagnon, DE, Villanova Cooper Kupp, WR, Eastern Washington Forrest Lamp, G, Western Kentucky Marshon Lattimore, CB, Onio State Jourdan Lewis, CB, Michigan Lowell Lotulelei, DT, Utah Pat Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech Marcus Maye, S, Florida Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan State Takkarist McKinley, DE/LB, UCLA Raekwon McMillan, LB, Ohio State Obi Melifonwu, S, Connecticut Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma Fabian Moreau, CB, UCLA David Njoku, TE, Miami Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan Ethan Pocic, C, LSU Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin Haason Reddick, LB, Temple Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama John Ross, WR, Washington Curtis Samuel, WR, Ohio State Juju Smith-Schuster, WR, USC Dawuane Smoot, DE, Illinois Jalen Tabor, CB, Florida Cordrea Tankersley, CB, Clemson Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina Anthony Walker, LB, Northwestern Demarcus Walker, DE, Florida State DeShaun Watson, QB, Clemson T.J. Watt, LB, Wisconsin Davis Webb, QB, California Tre'Davious White, CB, LSU Marcus Williams, S, Utah Mike Williams, WR, Clemson Tim Williams, DE, Alabama Jordan Willis, DE, Kansas State Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida Chris Wormley, DE, Michigan
Dawuane Smoot, 6-2/255
Defensive End
Illinois
Dawuane Smoot Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell
Very disruptive
Consistently pressures the quarterback
Fast, athletic defender
Speed to close
Good pursuit skills
Strong for his size
Heavy hands
Good get-off
Athletic
Twitchy
Good movement skills
Ability to bull rush
Functional strength
Adept ability to shed blocks
Uses hands and feet at the same time
Can use speed to run by offensive tackles
Quality run defender
Can hold his ground at the point of attack
Gap integrity
Fires gap to get into the backfield
Good, developed technique
Received good NFL preparation as a senior
Upside
More disruptive than productive
Decent size but not great
Lacks length
A bit of a 3-4 OLB/4-3 DE tweener
Strong, but not overpowering
2017 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Choose Player 2017 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Home Jamal Adams, S, LSU Montravius Adams, DT, Auburn Jonathan Allen, DT, Alabama Ryan Anderson, LB, Alabama Chidobe Awuzie, CB, Colorado Budda Baker, S, Washington Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee Garett Bolles, OT, Utah Tyus Bowser, OLB, Houston Caleb Brantley, DT, Florida Jake Butt, TE, Michigan Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt Julie'n Davenport, OT, Bucknell Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida Pat Elflein, G, Ohio State Evan Engram, TE, Ole Miss Gerald Everett, TE, South Alabama Dan Feeney, G, Indiana Devonte Fields, OLB, TCU Isaiah Ford, WR, Virginia Tech D'Onta Foreman, RB, Texas Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU Wayne Gallman, RB, Clemson Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M Davon Godchaux, DT, LSU Charles Harris, DE, Missouri Marquis Haynes, DE, Ole Miss Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama Adoree' Jackson, CB, USC Roderick Johnson, OT, Florida State Josh Jones, S, N.C. State Sidney Jones, CB, Washington Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami Alvin Kamara, RB, Tennessee Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss Desmond King, CB, Iowa Kevin King, CB, Washington DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame Tanoh Kpassagnon, DE, Villanova Cooper Kupp, WR, Eastern Washington Forrest Lamp, G, Western Kentucky Marshon Lattimore, CB, Onio State Jourdan Lewis, CB, Michigan Lowell Lotulelei, DT, Utah Pat Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech Marcus Maye, S, Florida Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan State Takkarist McKinley, DE/LB, UCLA Raekwon McMillan, LB, Ohio State Obi Melifonwu, S, Connecticut Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma Fabian Moreau, CB, UCLA David Njoku, TE, Miami Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan Ethan Pocic, C, LSU Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin Haason Reddick, LB, Temple Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama John Ross, WR, Washington Curtis Samuel, WR, Ohio State Juju Smith-Schuster, WR, USC Dawuane Smoot, DE, Illinois Jalen Tabor, CB, Florida Cordrea Tankersley, CB, Clemson Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina Anthony Walker, LB, Northwestern Demarcus Walker, DE, Florida State DeShaun Watson, QB, Clemson T.J. Watt, LB, Wisconsin Davis Webb, QB, California Tre'Davious White, CB, LSU Marcus Williams, S, Utah Mike Williams, WR, Clemson Tim Williams, DE, Alabama Jordan Willis, DE, Kansas State Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida Chris Wormley, DE, Michigan
RELATED LINKS:
A year ago, Illinois defensive line prospect Jihad Ward became a hot prospect in the leadup to the 2016 NFL Draft. While teams were studying Ward's college tape, sources said his teammate Smoot jumped out to them and was impossible to ignore. Smoot had a strong junior season in 2015 as he totaled eight sacks with 15 tackles for a loss, 40 tackles, two passes batted and three forced fumbles.Smoot notched 56 tackles and 15 for a loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and one pass batted in 2016, but also helped teammate Carroll Phillips to have a breakout season. Scouts said that Illinois head coach Lovie Smith and his staff prepared both well for the NFL.For the NFL, Smoot would fit best as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. Sources say that Smoot is very athletic and explosive off the edge; however, they feel he is more disruptive than productive. Smoot is the kind of player who will rack up a lot of pressures on the quarterback, but not a huge sack total. Sources say he could be a more athletic and twitchier version of Whitney Mercilus, but not as natural of a pass-rusher as Mercilus.Smoot is fast off the edge with the ability burn offensive tackles with his speed rush. He is adept at using his hands and feet at the same time to fight off blocks while working upfield. Smoot has a nice burst to close and some natural pad level to play low. He doesn't have great length, but he has functional strength with the ability to bull rush tackles into the pocket.In run defense, Smoot is a tweener for a 4-3 defense. However, he is stronger and more stout than many players his size. He was a quality run defender to hold his ground and get in on tackles in the ground game. In a 3-4 defense, Smoot should be tough in the ground game lining up on the side of a five-technique defensive end.In speaking to sources at multiple teams, they view Smoot as a mid- to late first-rounder. He shouldn't have a long wait if he slips to Round 2.In conversations with scouts, they have compared Smoot to the Packers' Nick Perry. They have similar builds and body types along with having some speed and functional strength. Perry had three so-so seasons before breaking out in his fifth year with 11 sacks. Smoot could be a similar edge defender to Perry.Detroit, Miami, Oakland, New York Giants, Dallas, Green Bay, Atlanta, New England, New York Jets, New Orleans, Washington, Cincinnati and ArizonaThere are a lot of potential fits for Smoot late in the first round or early in the second round. At pick No. 21, the Lions could consider Smoot as an end to pair with Ziggy Ansah. Detroit needs more edge rush across from Ansah and Smoot could be a safer selection.Immediately after the Lions, the Dolphins are slated to pick, and they need youth at defensive end. Along with losing Olivier Vernon last offseason, Mario Williams and Cameron Wake are both nearing the end of their careers. Miami could definitely target an end in the first round.The Raiders could consider another pass-rusher as Aldon Smith is not reliable. The Giants could lose Jason Pierre-Paul and Johnathan Hankins this offseason. Smoot could help New York on the outside.Dallas needs defensive end help, especially with the suspension issues of Randy Gregory and Demarcus Lawrence. Smoot could be a solid and safe first-round pick for the Cowboys.The Packers could consider drafting an edge rusher as Julius Peppers is nearing the end of his great career and Nick Perry is hitting free agency. Smoot fits the mold of a lot of outside linebackers who Green Bay has targeted in the past.At the very end of the first round, Smoot could be a possibility for the Super Bowl participants. Atlanta needs an end across from Vic Beasley, and Smoot could fill that void. New England could use more defensive end talent. Chris Long was only signed for the short term, and the Patriots need more pass rush as they were led by Trey Flowers with only seven sacks in the regular season.If Smoot falls out of the first round, he shouldn't have a long wait. The Jets need more edge rush, and Smoot would be a good fit on the outside of their talented interior defensive line.The Saints have to upgrade their defense and improve their edge rush. Smoot could be a nice fit in the second round if New Orleans doesn't take a defensive lineman in Round 1.In the second round, Cincinnati could be a fit for Smoot. The organization has Margus Hunt entering free agency, while Michael Johnson is a limited player. Smoot could form a nice edge tandem across from Carlos Dunlap.Smoot could also be in play for the Cardinals if Chandler Jones isn't re-signed. The Redskins want to get younger and more athletic up front. Smoot would be able to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 or 4-3 as an end for Washington. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
BENGALURU: Karnataka, which has been reeling under drought for the fourth consecutive year, is now pinning hopes on the Met department’s prediction of normal monsoon in the country.Karnatakahas been keeping its fingers crossed after Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, anticipated ‘below normal rainfall’ this year. However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted that seasonal rainfall would be 96% of the long period average rainfall for the year, thereby raising the possibilities of ending the four-year drought spell in the state. Normal or average monsoon means rainfall between 96-104% of a 50-year average of 89cm during the four-month season from June.“IMD predictions are highly authentic as it is linked to a vast number of weather stations and also considers experimental forecasts of various national and international institutes,’’ said C Putanna, a weather expert.He said the overall scenario, as of now, looks positive. “But, given the experience of the past two years, it is better we wait for the second prediction in June which provides details of month-wise quantitative distribution which may accentuate in the later half or the middle of monsoon,” he added.Farmers too are hopeful of a better agriculture season and respite from heat wave and severe water crisis. The major reservoirs, including Krishna Raja Sagar which supplies water to Mysuru and Bengaluru, is nearing dead storage. The state has requested Maharashtra to release water from Krishna river to tide over the drinking crisis in north Karnataka and is considering water rationing in Bengaluru after June 15.“A poor monsoon will have direct impact on the economy, as only 26.5% of the sown area is subjected to irrigation and rest of the cultivated land is dependent on rainfall. It also influences the quantity of water available in rivers which in turn impacts the amount of drinking water available and the amount of electricity that can be produced,” said N Manjunath, a researcher at the University of Agriculture Sciences.Three years of drought has spelled disaster for the farming community and the state has recorded over 2,000 suicides in 2016-17.Box 1Political linkFarmers’ votes will be crucial in determining the fortunes of the ruling Congress when the state goes to polls in 2018. A normal monsoon raises the prospect of revival in the agriculture sector in Karnataka (85% of the sector is rainfed) and facilitates a positive mood in favour of the government, say political experts.Box 2Karnataka, which has the extent of arid land second only to Rajasthan, has become a drought-prone state in recent times. The average annual rainfall in Karnataka is 1,248 mm. The state is divided into three meteorological zones -- north-interior, south-interior and coastal Karnataka. The coast, with an average annual rainfall of 3,456 mm, is one of the country’s most rainy regions. South-interior and north-interior regions receive 1,286mm and 731mm of average annual rainfall. While Udupi gets the highest rainfall of 4,119 mm, Bagalkot district gets the least -- 523 mm.We are carefulThe prediction of normal rainfall has brought a limited sense of relief. We hope for a normal monsoon but will tread cautiously. Forecasts for most of the past years haven’t matched with actual rainfallAgriculture minister Krishna Byre Gowda | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Tunisian investigation into 2015 attack reveals officers were unjustifiably late to arrive on scene - with one of them fainting
This article is more than 3 years old
This article is more than 3 years old
“Deliberate and unjustifiable” delays taken by Tunisian security authorities to arrive at the scene of the mass shooting in Sousse were down to “simple cowardice”, an inquest has heard.
Seifeddine Rezgui, a 23-year-old extremist, opened fire with an assault rifle on the beach outside the Riu Imperial Marhaba hotel on 26 June 2015 before rampaging through the five-star building, killing 38 holidaymakers.
The inquests into the deaths of 30 Britons killed in the massacre have heard details of the chaotic response by the differing security forces on the ground, including the tourist security police, national police and marine guards.
A summary of the Tunisian investigation into the atrocity, produced by Judge Akremi, revealed an armed team of tourist police, who were judged as being capable of bringing an end to the attack, took 30 minutes to arrive when it should have taken them three.
The summary, read in full to the inquest in London, also revealed two marine guards who arrived at the scene failed to stop Rezgui when one of them fainted, while the other stripped out of his uniform to lower his risk of being a target.
Rezgui, who was being guided by a terror cell based in Sousse, chose the Imperial Marhaba because it was “an easy target” and had conducted reconnaissance missions before the attack.
Woman shot in Tunisia attack tells inquest she played dead on beach Read more
The hotel was targeted because a “considerable” number of foreign tourists stayed there and few Tunisians, the summary said. Rezgui was supplied with a Kalashnikov assault rifle and five ammunition magazines each containing 30 bullets, as well as three hand grenades and fireworks.
Rezgui’s father told the investigation his son was a student and had started practising religion in the previous 18 months. A postmortem revealed Rezgui had been shot 20 times, while toxicological tests revealed the presence of an unnamed drug that brings about “aggression and extreme anger that leads to murders being committed”, the summary said.
The head of the police operations room for northern Sousse, known as CA, told the investigation he received an emergency call reporting gunfire at the hotel and attempted to dispatch the tourist police.
“CA stated that from the outset he asked the tourist security team leader to go to the scene with his men but there was no response,” the inquest heard.
“He stated that the refusal to intervene to stop the terrorist attack was due to simple cowardice, when they could have prevented the loss of life.”
The summary revealed that the team leader of the tourist security police, instead of heading to the scene of the shooting, went to the national police station to acquire more weapons.
The unit, which included two tourist police officers, were in possession of two assault rifles. Meanwhile, the team leader, known as AE, and one of the officers, spent eight minutes trying to find weapons in the police station to no avail.
In his conclusions on timing, Judge Akamai said: “AE spent more than eight minutes inside the national security police station in northern Sousse.
“He could have intervened and stopped the terrorist attack in no more than three minutes. In fact it took AE more than 30 minutes to arrive at the scene.”
After the attack, the Tunisian interior minister convened a meeting with security authorities, details of which were provided to the investigation.
“He [The minister] explained that he examined the fixed surveillance cameras in Sousse national security district, which showed that the tourist security vehicle patrol and bike patrol deliberately slowed down and did not intervene to stop the terrorist attack at that time,” the summary said.
Tunisia attack survivors say travel firm did not highlight terror threat Read more
“He explained that this was absolutely unjustifiable and confirmed that what his team committed what amounts to an offence for which it must take the blame.”
The inquest heard details of two coast guards, known as commander CE and corporal CG, who were on duty and were responsible for the area including the Imperial Marhaba.
After receiving a call the two men, who had one assault rifle between them, headed to the beach on their inflatable boat.
Upon arrival, commander CE fainted and corporal CG removed his clothes to avoid detection as a guard.
“Commander CE saw the perpetrator take a hand grenade from his right pocket and throw it, but it didn’t explode,” the summary said.
“Commander CE then stumbled and fell next to the pool, where he fainted because of terror and panic that the terrorist may have another hand grenade.”
“Corporal CG took off his shirt fearing that the terrorist would notice he was a security guard and that he was wearing a National Guard uniform.”
The inquest continues.
| {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Forget all talk about "dots", "6 months", or any other prognostication from the Fed's new leadership about what will happen in the near and not so near future. For the real answer prepare to shelve out the usual fee of $250,000 for an hour with the Chairsatan, or read Reuters' account of what others who have done so, have learned. The answer is a stunner.
"At least one guest left a New York restaurant with the impression Bernanke, 60, does not expect the federal funds rate, the Fed's main benchmark interest rate, to rise back to its long-term average of around 4 percent in Bernanke's lifetime. "Shocking when he said this," the guest scribbled in his notes. "Is that really true?" he scribbled at another point, according to the notes reviewed by Reuters."
To think one could have read Zero Hedge for free for the past 5 years and gotten the same answer (time for a pop quiz: pumping liquidity into a closed system in perpetuity is i) inflationary or ii) deflationary?). But no, one would rather pay Bernanke's former annual salary in less than an hour to get the answer from the same person who infamously stated that "subprime was contained", that "there is no housing bubble", and that he doesn't buy the premise of house price declines as there has never been a "decline of house prices on a nationwide basis."
Still, one can't blame Bernanke for providing a service that the market (one market the former chairman didn't manage to break with his central planning spree, unlike all other markets) demands. Alan Greenspan waited only a week after his departure before addressing a private dinner hosted by Lehman Brothers, the investment bank whose collapse in 2008 sent the financial crisis into high gear.
Bernanke's private dinners, all of which cost around $250,000 began near the end of March, roughly two months after his retirement.
We say around because while Greenspan has already been rocked by 50% deflation in his "assets", Bernanke too is starting to realize that without constant liquidity injections, his "inflationary" days are also numbered:
The baseline fee for a private get together is $250,000, and more if Bernanke needs to travel from his home in Washington, though the price has dropped some as he has done more events, the sources said. The size of that decline could not be immediately learned.
Certainly expect the price of a Bernanke dinner to tumble now that virtually everyone who matters, and can afford the fee, has already listened to the Chairsatan in private, and the value of Bernanke's insight has been, shall we say, "diluted":
Hedge fund attendees have included Paul Tudor Jones of Tudor Investment Corp and David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital. Others have included Michael Novogratz of Fortress Investment Group, and Larry Robbins of Glenview Capital, as previously reported in other media. All declined to comment to Reuters. David Tepper, the hedge fund manager who earned $3.5 billion in 2013 to rank as the industry's best paid investor, said at an industry conference this week that he attended the first private dinner and peppered Bernanke with questions. But Tepper said he didn't make the best use of the information, a lapse he now regrets. "I screwed up that trade," he said. At the same conference, Novogratz from Fortress said many hedge funds that bet on big interest rate and currency movements missed a hint from Bernanke at the dinner and failed to buy long duration Treasuries.
Oh yeah, it was Bernanke hinting that Tsys are due for a surge - nothing to do with the fact that the global economy is stalling and that everyone and the kitchen sink was short rates, launching one of the biggest short squeezes in recent history.
Not surprisingly, not everyone is a happy customer:
Not every guest believes they came away from a Bernanke dinner with an exclusive insight. "People can try all they want to feel that they got him to say something extra to them, but he never does," said one person who attended one of the dinners.
As for Bernanke's profound insight, it appears all he really did is admit that he failed at stimulating the economy.
In one dinner-table exchange with investors, Bernanke argued that fiscal tightening, constrained financial markets and lower U.S. productivity all point to lower real rates than would be considered normal for a long time to come. Based on trading in the massive Eurodollar futures market, investors have in recent months tempered expectations of rate rises in the years ahead; as it stands, they don't expect the fed funds rate to return to 4 percent until 2022. As recently as last September, futures markets signaled they thought this would happen by the end of 2018. At the dinners, Bernanke has also argued the Fed would want to delay raising rates if the tighter financial conditions created could threaten to harm the economy. He has also stressed that financial stability concerns would more formally be considered in policy-making, according to the sources.
In other words, blame Congress for slowing down the economy as it did not engage in reform, the same Congress which explicitly made it clear it would not engage in reform and told the Mr. Chairman "to get to work" to compensate for Congressional ineptitude. And now Bernanke has the gall to blame Congress, which is only able to do what it does thanks to, you guessed it, the Fed's ZIRP policy.
Of course, the slowing down of the economy, snow or no snow, is precisely the reason why bonds are bid. We explained as much recently:
"When the Fed begins lifting rates is almost not an issue any more,” Stan Jonas, former managing partner of Axiom Management Partners in New York, "The real question is how fast does the Fed increase rates and where do they stop. The market now sees diminished macroeconomic expectations and expects the Fed to ending the upcoming tightening cycle at around 3 percent." In other words, the bond market believes in the Japanization of America and another lost decade as the new normal low/no growth world slugs along with no escape velocity dreams anytime soon. Or even more clearly - it's about more than this cycle... the Fed's taper will run its course, the Fed will tighten rates and the economy will slump rapidly meaning the Fed will ease once again (and by then QE will have lost all credibility as anything but an asset inflation machine and along with it - the Fed's credibility)... the tumble in forward rates indicates the markets growing belief that the future growthiness looks very different from the dream priced into stocks...
Or, in other words, the Taper will lead to the Untaper, as we predicted exactly one year ago, leading to QE number... we don't even know the nuimber any more - 5, 6, 7? Rinse. Repeat.
As for the conclusion:
"He's being paid ... for sharing his wisdom and predictions, and presumably not to exert his influence on the Fed," he added. This will go on "until he's proven to not be all that clairvoyant."
The biggest shocker is not that Bernanke punked the market once again and after 5 years of QE the US economy is once again headed into a tailspin - most people with some common sense knew that in 2009.
The shocker is that people are willing to pay even $1, let alone $250,000, to listen to Bernanke speak. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
US-based solar company, eNow, has unveiled its all-electric solar-based refrigeration unit on a 53-foot trailer at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo 2018.
The eNow reefer integrates proprietary solar technology, battery storage and a patented control system.
In October 2017, eNow powered its first zero-emissions Transport Refrigeration Unit (TRU) branded ‘Rayfrigeration’.
“In the first five months of testing, emission reductions of 98 per cent nitrous oxide, 86 per cent carbon dioxide, and 97 per cent particulate matter were achieved,” eNow said in a statement.
“TRUs are refrigeration units mounted on trucks and are traditionally powered by high-polluting, small diesel engines to provide the needed cooling to transport chilled products. The Rayfrigeration TRU is the first-to-market battery powered unit for commercial use and was tested on a Challenge Dairy Class 7 truck delivering fresh dairy products throughout Fresno.
“Designed to support medium-temperature refrigeration applications, the Rayfrigeration system employs two forms of energy storage: eutectic medium (cold plates) and a high-capacity auxiliary battery system. The cold plates and auxiliary batteries are initially charged from utility power delivered to the vehicle when plugged in overnight. When the truck is operated on a delivery route, power is provided by eNow’s solar photovoltaic (PV) panels mounted on the truck’s roof. eNow joined Johnson Refrigerated Truck Bodies, Emerson, and Challenge Dairy Products, Inc. in the summer-long trial in California’s San Joaquin Valley.”
According to eNow, its team calculated that average carbon dioxide emissions over a four-day week with an average delivery day of 7.7 hours was reduced from 1,145 kilograms/week to 72 kilograms. Nitrous Oxide emissions were reduced from 7162 grams to 1.
In addition to eliminating harmful emissions, the Rayfrigeration unit was projected by eNow to reduce operations and maintenance costs by up to 90 per cent over a diesel-powered TRU.
Throughout the testing cycle, the 1,800 Watt eNow solar system provided more than enough energy to maintain optimum temperature throughout a typical day of continually opening and closing the doors while delivering fresh dairy products in California’s summer heat.
“The Rayfrigeration product is an important step forward in reducing emissions while maintaining the highest levels of efficiency and customer satisfaction for companies delivering perishable goods,” said eNow President and CEO, Jeff Flath. “eNow’s solar technology is powerful, reliable, and efficient, and more than up to the task of providing emissions-free energy for critical tasks such refrigeration of fresh foods, even the most challenging conditions. We are proud to be a part of this important project.”
The innovative business has focused on the transportation industry since 2011, and also builds solar-based power systems for in-cab HVAC and hotel loads, lift gate battery systems as well as telematics that require an energy source to ensure auxiliary batteries are always charged. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Et bestyrelsesmedlem i Enhedslisten København er involveret i en voldtægtssag og er derfor fratrådt sine poster i partiet.
Det oplyser bestyrelsen i Enhedslisten København.
Vedkommende har meldt sig selv til politiet.
'Det er forfærdeligt for offeret, og vi er dybt berørte af det. Vi vil gøre alt, hvad vi kan for at støtte offeret og hjælpe politiet i deres efterforskning.'
'Der er nedlagt navneforbud i sagen, og efter ønske fra og af hensyn til offeret og den videre efterforskning, udtaler vi os af samme grund ikke yderligere,' skriver bestyrelsen i en pressemeddelelse.
Den er sendt af bestyrelsesmedlem Maria José Nielsen på vegne af bestyrelsen.
Ritzau har været i kontakt med hende. Hun understreger, at bestyrelsen ikke udtaler sig yderligere i sagen.
B.T. har forgæves forsøgt at få en kommentar fra partiets Folketingsgruppe, men pressetjenesten henviser til Enhedslisten København i sagen. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Patrice Evra insists Manchester United have learned their lesson and plan to ignore what Manchester City get up to this season.
United's 2-1 win over Liverpool on Sunday briefly took them 10 points ahead of City, who responded by beating Arsenal at the Emirates to close the gap back down to seven.
That means it is less than the eight points City hunted down in the space of four matches at the end of last season to secure their first title since 1968 and deprive United of their 20th.
Yet the feeling at Old Trafford remains that the wound was self-inflicted, caused by too much attention being wasted on what was happening down the road.
And this time, with a squad Evra believes is stronger following the arrival of the 21-goal Robin van Persie, the France full-back is confident that Manchester United will avoid a similar calamity.
"This year we are focusing more on ourselves whereas last year we were more worried about City," Evra said. "There was too much focus on what they were going to do in their next game. But this year it's about us. By having a good season, we will become the champions.
"We finished last season with the same number of points as the champions and it is obvious we are stronger than last year given the addition of players like Van Persie and Shinji Kagawa."
With 55 points from their first 22 games, United have created a Premier League record, failing to win only four games. Since their defeat at Norwich on 17 November, they have won nine out of 10 games, drawing the other one.
Crucially, Van Persie has made a goalscoring contribution on nine occasions, underlining why the Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is not alone in believing the Dutchman will be the difference at the top this season. Not that he is the only goal threat from the Old Trafford outfit.
Depending on how United's second is viewed, Sir Alex Ferguson's squad either have 18 goalscorers in their midst, with Nemanja Vidic the latest addition, or Evra has five, not bad given he only scored three times in his first six and a half years.
"He [Vidic] said it's my goal but I don't know," said Evra. "Maybe if it was a striker, they would give the goal to [Wayne] Rooney or Van Persie. But maybe because it's Evra they will not give the goal to me."
Such arguments are side issues now, with United sizing up a trip to Tottenham on Sunday knowing they must navigate an FA Cup third-round replay with West Ham on a decidedly dodgy Old Trafford pitch on Wednesday first.
Vidic's exit after taking a smack on the head will probably rule him out, while Ashley Young seems certain to spend an extended amount of time on the sidelines after coming off worst in a crunching first-half duel with Daniel Agger. Ferguson says Nani is ready to make his return from hamstring trouble should Young need to be replaced.
However, unless Johnny Evans shrugs off the hamstring injury that kept him out on Sunday, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are likely to become the 12th different central defensive partnership Ferguson has used this season.
Not that Rio Ferdinand – who has not scored for almost five years – believes such upheavals are a major inconvenience anyway.
"It doesn't bother me who I play with and that speaks volumes for the squad," he said. "That is the most important thing. It is great to have players of Vidic's quality back because he is top drawer. We know each other's game inside out and it has been like that for a long time. But when the manager can't call upon him, or anyone else, he can have 100% faith in their replacements.
"Jonny Evans has done fantastically well when Vidic has been out. Chris Smalling has done well when he has come in and so has Phil Jones. That is more important than any individual." | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
There's no longer any doubt that our side is winning the culture wars. Last year's election saw gay marriage approvedin several states. The rapid increase in the non-religious proportion of the US population has, if anything, accelerated (the figure now stands at about 20%), and acceptance of evolution is rising along with it. Recent votes to legalize gay marriage in France and Britain and even some Latin American countries, and abortion in Ireland (!), show that the trend extends well beyond just the US. The enemy, like a dinosaur beginning to apprehend its impending extinction, gazes around at a rapidly-changing world in bewilderment and fear So -- is it time to declare victory and stop worrying?I urge caution. To begin with, these setbacks have not made the Christian Right moderate its goals at all. Recent tentative suggestions from the Republican party establishment that the party should curb its hostility to gay marriage, for example, triggered a forceful backlash from the rank-and-file base (which largelythe Christian Right), given voice by major figures such as Mike Huckabee. Any hint of compromise on abortion remains taboo for the party; the barrage of high-profile attacks on it continues, most recently in Texas and North Dakota. Republican politicians know who their core supporters are.The US Christian Right has also shown its true colors in its activities overseas. It has supported vicious anti-gay extremism in Uganda and elsewhere in Africa (Republic of Gilead blog has tracked this in detail, for example here and here ), and in other countries such as Belize . Most recently it has found a soft spot for the Putin regime in Russia , which has cozied up to the Russian Orthodox Church by enacting a series of anti-gay measures. Comments by some Christian Right leaders involved in these efforts have made it clear that they dream of someday imposing similar policies in the US, if only it were possible.But will they ever get the chance? Aren't they clearly in the minority now, and simply too weak to force their will on the country?As I pointed out two years ago, there are scenarios in which the Christian Right could impose its rule even though it is in the minority . It dominates one of our two major political parties, and uses that dominance to push its agenda at the state level in states where Republicans are in power, as the campaign of anti-abortion laws shows. At the moment, they seem unlikely to be able to achieve the same thing on the federal level. Some polls show next year's Congressional elections alarmingly close , but there's some good news for our side too, and the Republican party has a track record of sabotaging itself with gaffes and un-serious candidates (Akin, Mourdock, O'Donnell, etc.). 2016 is a long way off yet, but polls show Hillary Clinton trouncing any Republican challenger, with the possible exception of Christie.Thesituation is that the political power of the Christian Right is determined by the electoral success of the Republican party, and that party remains in trouble due to its incompetence, its inability to adapt to demographic changes, and the very fact of its subservience to increasingly-unpopular religious extremists.But there is one credible scenario in which all that could change -- a really major economic crash. Such events have a way of driving people into the arms of demagogues who offer simple solutions and point the finger at scapegoats. The Great Depression helped bring fascists to power in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s, and prolonged economic misery (caused, please note, mainly by the kind of austerity policies thatadvocate everywhere, including here) is encouraging extremist movements there even today.Author Frederic Rich recently issued a warning in the form of an "alternate history" novel titled, set in an America in which McCain won the 2008 election and then died, allowing Palin to become President. He doesenvisage Palin single-handedly imposing a theocracy (an implausible scenario); rather, conservative economic policies would have deepened the recession, creating conditions for extremism to take hold, while two Supreme Court appointments made by Palin rather than Obama would have neutralized Constitutional obstacles to fundamentalist rule. Watch him here:If you consider that an economic crash is probably the Republicans' only real chance at returning to national power anytime soon, their behavior in Congress makes much more sense -- staging histrionic confrontations over the debt ceiling, threatening a government shutdown, sabotaging Obamacare, demanding cuts in benefits spending amid a still-weak recovery, etc. would be perfectly rational tactics if thewere to damage the economy as much as possible in the hope that Democrats would be blamed and voted out of office.They are unlikely to succeed. In four and a half years they have weakened the recovery, but have not managed to kill it. Obama seems more savvy in dealing with them than he was earlier in his Presidency, and a small bloc of less-radical Republicans willing to compromise on at least some issues has emerged. Then, too, even success could backfire; polls have shown that more voters would blame Republicans than Democrats if, say, the debt-ceiling brinkmanship really damaged the country.But the fact remains -- in a two-party system, the "out" party is likely to regain power at some point. We won't really be able to declare the threat of theocracy to be decisively defeated-- and there is little sign yet of that happening. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
I can’t tell if I have a bullshit job.
Do I wake up everyday confident my work will make the world a better place? No, but sometimes I kind of do. Do I feel creatively fulfilled? Mostly, but some tasks can be tedious and boring. Am I productive all the time? Certain days I get weeks’ worth of work done, but others it feels like I only surf the web, chat with people in the office, and watch cooking shows.
But there are two things are for sure:
Even if I have a non-bullshit job now, I did many bullshit jobs to get here. My work matters to me, and I don’t like the suggestion that it’s worthless.
David Graeber of the London School of Economics describes ”bullshit jobs“ as the positions he believes are pointless, yet account for broad swaths of the modern workplace—actuaries, PR reps, and telemarketers, to name a few. Making it so nobody has to work in these roles to feed themselves is one of the motivations for a universal basic income.
The idea is that the government should pay everyone a benefit—say, the equivalent of a minimum-wage salary—regardless of income or employment status. It is a popular policy among certain pundits, wonks, and—lately—Silicon Valley types. Supporters come from an unusually broad range of political persuasions and policy backgrounds.
Depending on who you ask, universal basic income is designed to achieve one or several objectives. Some say it will ensure an income to people when robots take their jobs. Others think it would be an effective way to end poverty. And then there is the thing about bullshit jobs.
One big concern is whether governments could afford such a program. For the sake of argument, let’s assume they can. Even then, it might not be a good idea—or rather, it might not be a policy that achieves its objectives better than any alternative with smaller costs. Beyond the direct financial costs—which, remember, we are mostly discounting—it’s also important to consider the consequences of potential economic distortions.
Robot-proofing the future
Is it necessary or desirable to fight against robot stealing jobs? Since the Bronze Age, technology regularly changed the nature of work. Often the transition was messy or took a generation for people to find their place. Right now we are in that messy phase, with incomes stagnating for a generation and millennials worrying that they’ll end up poorer than their parents. In the past, people went through many of these dark days, but always eventually found their way and were rewarded with greater wealth and prosperity.
Perhaps this time is different, and what’s coming out of Silicon Valley is more disruptive than anything else over the past 5,000 years. Perhaps. But many economists still think humans will adapt and thrive this time around. If anything, universal basic income could hinder the process in which we figure out the future of work, because it removes the incentive to find a way to make oneself valuable in response to economic shifts.
Poverty and priorities
As a tool to alleviate poverty, universal basic income is not the most efficient. It is true that phasing out welfare as income rises can have nasty side effects—namely, discouraging work. But well-crafted programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit in the US provides income support to the neediest while still encouraging them to work.
What’s more, poor people have other needs that won’t be met by a bump in their paycheck, like failing schools and substandard public services. If the goal is eliminating poverty, it is better to direct public funds to those needs instead of the giving money to well-off people who don’t need it.
The meaning of life
The weakest argument for basic income is that we need to rescue people from tedious jobs and unleash their creative potential. This is at best ludicrous and at worst patronizing. Even so-called bullshit jobs matter because they can foster skills and connections. Being good at something meaningful often takes years of experience and learning from crappy jobs.
Without the burden of supposedly pointless toil, the argument goes, people will be motivated to pursue more fulfilling endeavors. But research suggests the opposite is true—motivation is driven by the need to resolve uncertainty, namely the uncertainty about whether you can pay rent. There is also weak evidence that people typically spend their free time productively. In recent decades, lower-income Americans have started to work fewer hours. But studies show (pdf) that they are spending much of their increased free time passively by watching TV, relaxing, or sleeping.
With income guaranteed, will people really stop working? The startup incubator Y Combinator is running its own trial of a basic income for a group people in the US to see for itself. Studies of US war veterans paid a guaranteed income showed sizable declines in workforce participation when the program was expanded to cover new groups of vets. Other research has showed some decline in work as a result of previous basic income trials.
Who works less and at what jobs matters. If young people decide to dedicate themselves to poetry instead of furthering their education, starting new companies, or—yes—working the low-paying jobs their predecessors did in their 20s, it can have a bigger long-term impact than if more 60-year-olds decide to take early retirement.
From bad to worse
We can argue about what ails developed economies the most. The rise of ugly economic populism suggests to me that it is not a lack of creative work—it is more likely down to growing polarization, weak community bonds, and disenfranchised, underemployed men. In an increasingly isolated world, where our darkest impulses are easily validated on the internet, work is an important place where we interact and connect with others around a shared sense of purpose. Sometimes, we even encounter people with different politics and views of the world.
I can’t understand why we’d consider creating and then calcifying a perpetually under-employed underclass by promoting the stagnation of their skills and severing their links to broader communities. But maybe it’s not just me—polls suggest a majority of Americans aren’t keen on the idea, either. And Switzerland will hold a referendum on a proposal for a universal basic income next month—it looks doomed to fail. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
With Irma threatening, we are republishing our advice for hurricane prep.
When a hurricane is looming one should run all the orchids as dry as possible to reduce the threat of fungus and bacteria. But contra-intuitively, just before the storm strikes one should saturate the orchids to the max. Now is the time to do that [Note: this piece was originally published the day before Matthew hit, so, water heavily the day before the hurricane makes landfall]. First, because we want the plants to be as heavy as possible to help prevent them being blown away or about. Second, because if one's water source is a well, electricity for the pump may be off for days or even weeks. Thoroughly watered plants will be much happier should this occur. Even if you are able to bring all your collection inside, water them thoroughly with two to three applications spaced a few minutes apart. They will be perfectly happy for a day or two without water and we will all have enough mess to deal with without watering orchids in the house.
Remember, wind velocity increases exponentially as height increases. Get your plants as close to the ground as possible but off the ground as flooding may saturate them with fungus and bacteria. Usually it is not wise to attempt to cover them with a tarp or shade cloth as the whipping of the cloth by the wind likely will cause more harm than the wind itself.
If you are growing under shade cloth, the cloth should be furled tightly to protect it. Bright burning sun is typical in the wake of a hurricane and shade will be invaluable If you are growing under trees be prepared for the possibility that the protective canopy will be destroyed. Have a plan to protect your plants from sun burn.
Good luck and please feel free to share this information with whomever may benefit from it. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Goal! Toronto FC 4, New England Revolution 1. Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC) right footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Star vs the Forces of Halloween
Summary: When Star inadvertently turns the Diaz home into a haunted-house themed deathtrap on Halloween night (and his parents into real-life monsters), it's up to the pair to turn everything back to normal.
One-shot. Written like an episode (either 11-minute or 20, I'm not sure how long it would take), to take place sometime in the latter half of season 1 and also written to keep me occupied while Every. Single. Show. I. Watch. Takes a hiatus. Let me know if you like it!
P.S. I know Halloween doesn't fall on a school day. Shush.
"Last stop! EVERYONE OFF!" The bus driver shouted as he punched the brake on the street corner nearest the Diaz home. The bus had been painted pumpkin orange, with a jack-o-lantern face on the side. The driver himself was dressed as mr. T, complete with fake gold jewelery adorned by oversized letters.
The bus's last few disgruntled teens disembarked, most in costume, all muttering to themselves and leaving behind trails of candy wrappers and costume ornaments. Last off the bus was Marco, in his usual clothes, and Star bouncing along behind him. Every other step, she was altering her outfit to some new Halloween style – a pirate outfit complete with eyepatch, the tattered clothes and green skin of a zombie, the cape and fangs of a vampire.
"Oh come on, Marco!" She whined, tapping her wand to her head and reappearing in a red riding hood outfit. "Just let me do it!"
"I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times Star, no more magic near my body!" Marco said, obviously annoyed. He swatted the wand away as it slowly made it's way towards his scalp. "Remember what happened the last time?"
Star flashed back to earlier in the week, when Marco had been standing up to the local bully, Lars, in a school hallway. Lars had been halfway through the process of stuffing an unfortunate student into one of the school's lockers when Marco had called him out. "Lars! Put him down!"
Sparing a glance, the bully looked over at his would-be opponent – a scraggly hundred pound latino in a red hoodie. He vaguely remembered getting beat up by someone similar with a tentacle arm a few weeks ago – but, thankfully, this kid seemed to be short that particular appendage. "Hah!" He chortled. "Are you gonna make me?"
Marco smiled. "Gladly." He looked to Star, who took her cue.
"Limbus gigantigus!"
A puff of pink fog, and Marco was revealed to have the arms and legs of an Austrian actor/bodybuilder. Unfortunately, the rest of his body had not been transformed to accommodate. Falling backwards under this new, extreme weight, he felt his normal-sized shoulders and chest straining to move his arms, and could hear the halls ringing with laughter as Star scrambled to undo the spell.
"Aww, are you ever going to let me live that down?" Star pouted at him.
"Nope." Marco responded as they turned onto the Diaz front lawn. His house's front porch had been transformed by big, fake webs and plastic spiders, with the odd jack-o-lantern scattered about.
The door burst open as the approached, Marco's parents appearing in the entryway. "Happy Halloween!" They shouted enthusiastically. Mrs. Diaz was dressed in a black and white skeleton costume. Mr. Diaz, as a werewolf, with a full-body costume covered in fake fur.
Star let out a squeal when she saw their outfits. "Marco, even your parents are in on it! Come oon, you've gotta have a costume!"
"I told you Star, I don't. Do. Halloween." Marco said grumpily, pushing past his parents. "I'll be in my room. Studying."
Star watched him go, unimpressed by his attitude. She blew a stray hair from in front of her face before looking at his parents. "He's been like that all day. Why does Marco hate Halloween so much! You get to dress up, and there's all this free candy!" At this she grabbed a handful from the bowl by the door and tossed it into the air, strewing it everywhere.
There was a pause as the three bent to pick up the sweets. "Well, Star, he was very young..." Mrs. Diaz began.
The parents remembered fondly as they walked a smaller, younger Marco around the neighborhood for candy collection. He was dressed in a miniature sombrero, skull mask and glitzy jacket, like he was a member of a mariachi band. He approached a porch, flickering pumpkins and a creaking sign with "BEWARE!" scratched into it spinning slowly near the door. He reached up and gave a knock. "Trick or treat!" He held out his bag.
The door slid open, the bowl of candy sitting on a table in the center of black backdrops. A small note read "take as much as you dare..."
Young-Marco reached his hand into the bowl, ready to scoop as much as he could carry into his pillowcase, when a hand shot out from the curtains and grabbed his wrist.
"Aaagh!" He shrieked, jerking his hand away from the bowl. Candy went flying and he turned around, ready to bolt, only to come face to face with the grim reaper.
"Hey! You gonna pick that -" Young-Marco caught one glimpse of his mask and screamed for his life before running down the driveway towards his parents.
"Marco! They're just costumes!" His parents shouted as he sprinted at them and buried himself in their arms.
Behind them on the sidewalk, a gaggle of kids passed by, including none other than a younger version of Marco's lifetime crush, Jackie Lynn Thomas. "Marco's scared of Halloween!" Someone in the mob yelled, and the entire group shrieked with laughter.
Marco pushed himself away from his parents hurriedly, his eyes tear-stained and cheeks bright red at being embarrassed in front of his crush. "Let's just go home..." he muttered. His parents frowned.
"...and Marco's never celebrated Halloween since." Mr. Diaz finished mournfully. The trio was sitting on the couch now, sipping out of mugs as the sky slowly darkened through the windows.
"Ooooh..." Star said. "So Marco had a bad experience, and now he's scared of Halloween." She bounced up. "I know just what to do! Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Diaz!" She headed towards the stairs.
"Star, wait!" Mrs. Diaz called.
Before they could correct the princess on her mistake, Marco slouched downstairs, a gym bag over his shoulder. "I'm going to the dojo." He announced.
"OK bye have fun!" Mr. Diaz called as Marco slammed the door behind him.
"I know just what to do..." Star muttered, chewing on her wand and looking mischievously towards the door.
"Stupid dojo, being closed on stupid Halloween..." Marco muttered to himself as he walked back down the street towards his home. The sun had set, the jack-o-lanterns were lit, and kids in costumes were bounding from house to house. "Stupid costumes, stupid day, I just wanna go home and - whaaaaa..." he trailed off, mouth agape as he stared at what had formerly been the Diaz residence.
The house had been transformed into an old gothic castle, complete with gargoyles and towers topping the roof. Spiderwebs (some with spiders the size of Marco's hands) adorned the many windows. The front lawn had been turned into a graveyard, faded tombstones and a twisted tree providing ample objects for real, live (well, dead) zombies to trip over as they lumbered around. An arrow pointed to the front door, which was open to a shroud of inky blackness. Painted in red ink on the sign were the words, "enter if you dare..."
"Grrr..." Marco growled, his eyes staring at the spot that his room would've been as he dropped the gym bag onto the sidewalk. "STAR!" He shouted.
In front of the garage door, next to a sign reading exit, Star was giving handfuls of sweets to traumatized, pale-faced children as they exited the building. "Happy Halloween!" She shouted. "Hope you had fun!"
"Star!" Marco snapped, grabbing her arm. She'd gone with a black and white striped dress, with an orange headband and spiderweb stockings in place of her normal outfit, presumably in honor of the occasion.
"Oh heeey Marco!" Star said innocently, dropping some more candy into another emotionally scarred child's bucket. Her smile was wide and just a little deranged.
"What have you done to our house?" Marco asked patiently.
"Oh that?" Star asked. "Well, I heard about how you're scared of Halloween, so I turned it into a haunted mansion!"
Marco stomped his foot. "Okay, two points. First! I am NOT scared of Halloween. Second, we have to LIVE HERE!" He frowned, annoyed at the Mewni princess.
Star stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh lighten up, scaredy cat, I can change it back, we just have to make sure everyone's outside first."
"Fine." Marco said grumpily. "Then we close it and wait for everyone to leave."
As if on cue, from behind him, "woah."
Marco turned and froze, seeing none other than Jackie Lynn Thomas and her best friend Janna standing on the driveway behind him. Jackie was in a long robe like the grim reaper's, with dark makeup covering her face, and Janna was dressed up in a witch-themed skirt, shirt and pointy hat.
"This is sick!" Janna said.
"Sweet haunted house, Marco," Jackie complimented the boy. A small whimper could be heard from the back of his throat. "What was that about it being closed?"
Marco snapped out of his daze, his annoyance at no longer having a bedroom overcoming his overpowering fear of embarassment. "Yes, sorry ladies, but -"
"It's totally still open!" Star interjected. "Go right on in guys, see you when you come out the other end! IF YOU SURVIVE." Her face changed from a charming grin to an intimidating snarl.
Jackie and Janna blinked, seemingly unphased by this behavior. "Sweet! C'mon Jackie!" Janna took the other girl's wrist and they disappeared into the front door as zombies reached for them over the fence.
"Have fun!" Star shouted at their backs as they disappeared inside.
"Star, why'd you do that?" Marco confronted her as soon as the pair was out of sight.
"Oh come on, Marco." Star said, exasperated. "We're gonna have to find your parents before we can change the house back anyway. May as well let them see it before you make me poof it."
Marco sighed. "Fine." He said. Grabbing his friend's hand, he pulled her towards the front door. "Let's go."
They approached the front door and Marco whacked away a zombie hand that had reached too far over the fence. As the two approached the door, it seemed like a curtain of darkness was covering the entryway.
"Y'know Star, I gotta say, you actually did do a pretty good job on the décor." Marco told her, impressed despite himself.
"Oh-h, you haven't seen anything yet." Star smiled evilly. "Come on!"
She pulled her friend through the shroud and into a blackness so intense Marco felt like it was pressing in on his eyes. If he'd been scared of the dark, he was sure he would've been terrified by the experience. Luckily, he wasn't, so it didn't do much for him.
As suddenly as it started, the darkness released them into the grand entryway. And grand was the correct word. A checkered floor extended for yards before turning into a pair of grand staircases that pushed up to the second floor. Between the two staircases was another inky-black doorway. Torches flickered along the walls with pumpkins in the corners. A grand chandelier fitted with waxy, melting candles hung from the roof. The walls were adorned with paintings of skeletons and Frankenstein monsters, and all of their eyes watched the pair when they moved.
"Woah." Marco said, awestruck.
"Pretty cool, right?" Star responded, taking a glance around to admire her handiwork. "Now let's see... Marco, your mom is downstairs in the dungeon, cause she's a skeleton." she pointed to an iron-bolted door on the left. "Your dad is upstairs in the study, probably. We'll either need to get to the backyard or to the garage to get out."
Marco nodded. "Oh, and I turned your parents into real monsters for the event." Star added.
Marco nodded again before he realized what he'd just heard. "What WHAT?!" He exclaimed.
"Relaax!" Star said, twirling her wand. "They were totally okay with it. Said they wanted to help you get over your Halloween fear and stuff."
Marco's eye twitched. "Star, how could you turn my parents into real monsters! Also, I'm NOT scared of Halloween!"
Star looked at him, offended. "I asked them first! And I think I did a pretty good job! Can you at least wait to see them before you start getting mad?"
"Fine..." Marco said, resigned to his fate. "Let's just get this over with..."
Taking the princess's hand, he pushed open the door to the house's brand new dungeon and stepped downstairs.
The dungeon was dark and filled with dangerous instruments. Stretching racks, shackles on the walls, even one of those weird, spike-lined coffins was placed against a wall. Behind iron cell bars were old skeletons, and on rotting wooden desks were jars with pickled eyeballs and brains and ears floating in them.
Marco sighed as the two walked, and kicked aside a discarded bone. "Look, sorry I'm so negative about all this Star, I just... really don't like Halloween."
Star looked back at him. "Your parents told me why. But that's why I made this place, so you'll never be scared of it again!"
Marco stopped. "Wait, my parents told you the story? Then why -"
A shriek echoed from the far end of the dungeon, interrupting him. "Help!" Someone screamed.
"Oh, no." Marco strained his eyes to try and see ahead. "Come on, we have to help them!"
The two ran forward, the dungeon getting progressively darker until Star was forced to use her wand for a flashlight. There was another scream, much closer this time, which was abruptly cut off.
Trick or treat... a dry voice whispered, and there was a clattering all around them.
"...mom?" Marco managed, before he turned his head.
A skeletal monster had assembled itself behind him. He had been expecting his mother as some sort of set of dry bones – a spooky human skeleton with some cobwebs in her ribcage, maybe – but this was something that not even Ludo's minions could compete with. A giant skeletal monstrosity, at least 10 feet tall, that looked like an enormous crayfish standing up on it's tail.
"Aaagh!" Marco staggered back as the monster lunged at him. It's bony claws and face (not a skull, but some sort of ornate structure composed of other, smaller bones) impacted the floor where he'd been standing and scattered away into the corners of the dungeon, reassembling themselves a moment later as the monster stood back up.
"TRICK OR TREAT!" The same voice shouted, and Marco and Star screamed as they split into two directions.
"STAR!" Marco shouted, dodging a claw and shattering it with a karate chop. "How do we beat it!" The hand reassembled and came at him again.
"I don't know!" She screamed back, jumping over the monster's tail from the opposite side of the room. "I didn't make this! It must've been your mom's idea!"
Marco was about to aim another kick towards the monster's giant ribcage, when he stopped himself. His mom! Some part of this skeleton was his mom's bones! He didn't want to hurt her!"
He staggered back. "Star, don't hurt it! My mom's in there, somewhere!"
Star aimed her wand, then dropped it to her sides. "Well if we can't shatter it, how the heck are we supposed to stop it?!"
"YOU CAN'T STOP IT, IT'S GOING TO STOP YOU!" The voice shouted from the cell directly behind Marco, and he jumped nearly a foot in the air in surprise, the monster swiping at the air where his feet had been.
He glanced into the cell and saw a human skull in the corner, it's jaw clicking as it cackled an insane laugh. The laugh was decidedly not his mom's. But he knew the puffy hair that was still on it's head...
"Star, my mom's head is in here!" Marco said. "Force the monster into the cage, and you can turn her back to normal!"
Star did just that. As Marco opened the door, she fired off a spell from her wand ("mega rainbow punch cannon!") and in a flash of light, the monster staggered back, crashing against the cell doors. Marco finished the job, running up and putting a well placed kick into it's ribcage to send it plowing through the iron door and into the back of the cell.
The skull, for it's part, went flying into the pile of reassembling bone. "WAAAAH!"
"Now, Star!" Marco said, throwing himself to the side.
"Humanus returnius normalus!" Star cried, firing her wand directly into the monster's center mass, just as it was beginning to stand.
"NOOOoooo!" The skull roared as the bones shranked and realigned. Marco watched in fascinated horror as a human skeleton formed out of the pile, clothes and flesh reappearing over the white bone, until finally, his mother stood before him, back to normal in a black and white skeleton costume.
"Kids!" She cried, smiling. She ran to Marco, who was still stunned from what he'd just seen. "Did I make a good monster?"
The trio exited the dungeon, slamming the metal door behind them, to find the entryway had remained unchanged. There was no sign of Jackie or Janna, but it looked as though other kids had stopped coming through.
The teens had just finished filling in Mrs. Diaz on what they were doing. "So, Marco, where is your father?" She asked, smiling.
Up above, dust fell from the ceiling as a heavy body pounded across the roof. They heard a faint howl from a creature that sounded not quite like a wolf, but not quite human, either.
"On the roof." Marco said.
The upstairs landing had been turned into a large and beautiful study – or it would've been beautiful, with pelts on the floors and animal heads on the walls, had everything not been bleeding something that looked suspiciously like strawberry jelly. A balcony overlooking the back of the house (which, from the looks of things, had been turned into a larger version of the zombified front yard) stood proudly behind a set of full-wall windows, doused in the white light of the full moon. A hallway to the side led off to what looked suspiciously like an asylum.
"Oh my, this is lovely!" Mrs. Diaz said as they walked through the doors. "Star, dear, you must change the rooms of our house more often!"
"Yeeah." Marco responded unenthusiastically as he reached for one of the wall's "stuffed" monster heads, only to have the two-headed bear snap at his hand and growl at him. "Let's just find dad."
The roof over their heads pounded into a fast beat as Marco's Were-dad scrambled over the roof, still howling.
"Mom, you stay here." Marco said, as he and Star stepped onto the balcony. "We'll come get you once we've turned dad back to normal."
"Okay! Be careful!" His mom called back, just as they snapped the door shut behind him.
The full moon took up the sky above them, shining down on everything, and the pair shared a moment of peaceful silence. There were no sounds of traffic, and they could faintly see the bobbing flashlights of the night's last trick-or-treaters on the next street over. Below them, even the zombie-filled backyard looked beautiful.
Marco spared a glance at Star, who had also taken a moment to admire the view. The silvery light reflected off her hair, giving it an otherworldy sheen.
"Ready to go?" He asked. She looked at him and nodded. Above them, the Were-Diaz howled again. Moment over.
Star boosted Marco up onto the roof from the balcony, and he offered her a hand in-turn. They heard a clattering behind them, and Marco bent over just in time to dodge the giant dog-creature that was his dad as it lunged over his head.
"Mr. Diaz!" Star called calmly, standing back up. "It's time to come down now!"
The werewolf howled again, and this time, at the edge of hearing, a chorus of howls returned his own.
"Mr. Diaz!" Star said again, louder, and more clearly enunciating her words. "It's time to come down now!"
The werewolf snapped back down from them and growled. Marco could see each of it's teeth glinting in the moonlight – sharp, pointed, and definitely not human.
"Uh, Star... I don't think that's WORKIING!" Marco shouted, and the two dove to the sides as the monster took another pass at them.
"That's the code-phrase!" Star cried. "You can't turn werewolves back to normal with magic, everyone knows that! But you can make a code phrase that the human half recognizes! He should be normal now! He's being influenced by your Earth-moon!"
"Great." Marco said. "So now I get to fight my dad."
The werewolf lunged at him again, and Marco fell to his back, using his feet to push up on it's chest as it flew over him, vaulting it to the other side of the roof.
"How do we turn him back, then?!" Marco asked the princess.
"Um, um, um..." Star bit her wand and flinched as the werewolf once again sprang at Marco, relentless, and this time swiped him backwards with his paw. "Silver!" She finally cried. "You can kill a werewolf with silver!"
"I don't want to kill him!" Marco screamed back at her, now fending off a relentless flurry of paw-swipes as his dad cornered him against the edge of the roof.
"A silver mirror will fix him!" Star shouted, relieved that she'd finally remembered how this all worked. "If we make him look at his reflection in a silver mirror, he'll turn back to normal! The one in my room will work!" She pointed to the top of the castle's tower, on the other side of the roof.
"Great!" Marco said, landing a palm-strike onto the monster's shoulder and sending his dad sliding down the side of the roof. "Let's go!"
The two slipped and slid across the roof, the monster hot on their heels. "Star!" Marco said as they approached the wall. "How are we gonna -"
"SUPER UNICORN WALL EXPLODE!" Star shouted, and with a blast from her wand, the brick wall of her tower was blasted inwards.
The two piled into the room and the werewolf blasted after them, barreling into the tower and crashing into Star's bed on the far side, emerging with a shredded pillow caught in it's claws.
"Mirror!" Star cried, and the two ran to open it's concealing curtains.
The wolf lunged after them just as they forced the curtains open, and it only took a moment for it to see, wide eyed, it's own reflection -
In a flash, Marco's dad was sitting on the floor, rubbing his forehead, back in his cheesy werewolf costume. He'd just flown into Star's mirror at top-speed.
"My son!" He cried, throwing his arms around Marco. "Star!" He exclaimed, once that was done with. "How... did I do?"
The houses on the Diaz's street were dark and lifeless when the family finally emerged from the front door. The trick-or-treaters had all gone home, it seemed, and the moon was the only illumination on the quiet street.
"All right, Star." Marco smiled at her, tired, but still somehow happy with the evening's events. It had certainly been an interesting Halloween. "You can turn the house back to normal now."
Star nodded, and they all stepped back to the sidewalk as she aimed her wand at the castle. Marco's parents gave the two magic-experts some space. "Stru-ct" she yawned. "Structurius returnus normalus."
Nothing happened.
Star frowned. "Structurius returnus normalus." She said again. "Come on, work!" She knocked her wand with her knuckles.
Janna and Jackie Lynn Thomas emerged from the garage, both of them laughing their heads off. "Hey, Marco!" Jackie waved as they walked over.
"That was seriously the coolest haunted house ever." Janna said. Star beamed at her.
"Yeah, it was pretty sweet." Jackie agreed, grinning back at Star. She looked at Marco. "Hey, me and Janna are gonna hang out and go hit up stores for discount Halloween candy tomorrow. You guys wanna come?"
Marco's mouth was open slightly, and he seemed incapable of forming a coherent response.
"I'd love to!" Star chirped, quickly breaking the awkward silence. "Oh, and Marco would also love to." She said, poking him in the side of his face. "He's just... like this, sometimes."
The two other girls shrugged. "Cool." Jackie said, seemingly indifferent. "We'll meet you here tomorrow morning and walk downtown together. Later!"
The pair walked off, and Marco finally managed to close his mouth. He looked at Star, unable to come up with a proper way to thank her for the help.
"Don't mention it." She smirked. "Hope you're not going to be like that all day tomorrow." So did Marco.
"Structurius returnus normalus!" She did a brief spin and pointed the wand towards the house. In a big puff of smoke, it was back to normal, lights glowing warmly though the windows and the front yard completely zombie-free.
The two stepped inside, and the parents said their good nights as they retreated to their rooms, presumably exhausted from being monsters most of the night.
Star and Marco returned to their rooms as well.
"Hey, Marco." Star said, as the two opened their doors. "Happy Halloween."
"Happy Halloween, Star."
AN: And that's it! I hope you liked it. There was more I wanted to do – I kinda wanted to explore the backyard, make the kitchen a human slaughterhouse, make the garage a SAW-esque set of puzzles, but I wanted to stick to the show's theme more. None of that stuff is very PG. Was also going to include a side-plot of Ludo and his monsters cutting into the haunted house and being scared by the attractions, but decided to go without that, too. Just... meh, y'know? Didn't feel like writing a character I don't particularly enjoy by himself. If I wanted, I could be persuaded to write a second chapter with these elements – Jackie and Janna exploring the first floor of the house and bumping into Ludo's monsters. But I don't know if I will. Is that something you'd like to read? Let me know.
Not sure when (or if) I'll write something like this again, but follow me if you enjoyed it! I always try to stick to the flavor and theme of what series I'm writing for, and might continue this, or do another franchise you enjoy, the next time I decide to write.
Until next time! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
I have written previously about a bill in Congress to audit the Federal Reserve.
There are currently 280 sponsors and cosponsors of this bill in the House of Representatives. This is enough to pass the bill with a substantial majority and only 11 supporters short of a veto-proof majority!
Remember, this bill is about transparency. It is about letting the American people know where trillions of their dollars went. The Federal Reserve is a private corporation which controls our nation’s money supply and interest rates. It has been around since 1913 and has never been audited.
On top of that, the Federal Reserve’s Chairman, Ben Bernanke, doesnt seem to know whats going on in his own shop. When asked by Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson which foreign banks received over $500,000,000,000 [$500 billion], Bernanke DID NOT KNOW THE ANSWER. Watch:
We have just started to step up efforts in the Senate. There are currently 21 sponsors and cosponsors of this bill in the Senate. On top on this, Senator (and former hall of fame pitcher) Jim Bunning has come out in support of this bill, but has not sponsored it as of today.
I have been leading a campaign to bombard two Senators each day (one Democrat and one Republican) with phone calls in support of this measure. Hundreds of phone calls are being made daily. This really is a grassroots effort. Those who follow me on Facebook are probably well aware of this campaign. Many of you have stepped up and adopted the status messages I have posted regarding this effort.
I urge those of you who havent been involved yet to get involved. This is grassroots Democracy at its finest. For those of you on Facebook, I urge you to spred the word about this effort to your friends.
I recommend adopting the following Facebook status messages for the rest of the week:
Status for today (7/29):
S. 604 (The Audit the FED Bill) Now has the support of 21 Senators! Victory is within reach. Lets target 1 Democrat and 1 Republican today and bombard them with calls to get their support. Democrat: Al Franken (MN) (202) 224-5641. Republican: Jeff Sessions (AL) (202) 224-4124. It literally takes less than 2 minutes to call! PLEASE REPOST!!!
Status for tomorrow (7/30):
S. 604 (The Audit the FED Bill) Now has the support of 21 Senators! Victory is within reach. Lets target 1 Democrat and 1 Republican today and bombard them with calls to get their support. Democrat: Mark Udall (CO) (202) 224-5941. Republican: Olympia Snowe (ME) (202) 224-5344. It literally takes less than 2 minutes to call! PLEASE REPOST!!!
Status for Friday (7/31):
S. 604 (The Audit the FED Bill) Now has the support of 21 Senators! Victory is within reach. Lets target 1 Democrat and 1 Republican today and bombard them with calls to get their support. Democrat: Joe Lieberman (CT) (202) 224-4041. Republican: Mitch McConnell (KY) (202) 224-2541. It literally takes less than 2 minutes to call! PLEASE REPOST!!!
And please be sure to make the phone calls. You can call two Senators and express your feelings on this bill in less than two minutes. Let them know that this bill is about transparency and that the American people have a right to know where their money is going. Remind them that the Federal Reserve has been around since 1913 and has never been audited. Here a list of contact information for all US Senators.
Americanly Yours,
Phred Barnet
Please help me promote my site:
Share on Facebook
Become a fan on Facebook | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Yesterday we wrote about Star Command, a Kickstarter-funded game that will eventually come out for both your smartphone. Its teaser video looks awesome. However, that is not the real thrust of its current coverage. Instead of being written up for its in-game narrative, or impressive gameplay (which we assume will be great), the project is in the news for, well, being a project.
The team’s members wrote a very in-depth and fascinating update to its backers, with the provocative title of ‘What the hell did you do with our money?’ We called it a window into what it is like to land a pile of Kickstarter funds. The game’s builders incorporated, and spent the cash, as they should have, working on the app. However, as anyone who has built a company knows, doing so expensive.
The group gave a detailed list of its expenses, and noted that they had taken on five-figure debt to keep the project running. However, some people complained at their expenditures. Why did the team need iPads? Following the (unplanned) firestorm of coverage, Warballoon Games (Star Command’s parent company) gave an interview to PocketTactics. It’s revelatory. We’re going to work through part of it here, but recommend that you read the team’s original entry, our coverage, and the full interview as well.
On the subject of buying iPads:
We bought two iPads so that we could feel the product our game is gonna be on. There’s really no substitute. And we watched other people play our game on them at PAX, which was fantastic. Yes, we spent $1000 on iPads and soon enough we will spend more money on Android tablets and phones. Yes, we include those costs as development costs.
On an accidental media-tsunami:
This was totally unexpected. That little post we put up yesterday got as much attention as our trailer release. […] All we wanted to do was give a little bit of an open book into how fast money can go in game development as well as some pitfalls we ran into and things other kickstarters should be wary of.
On sourcing music from the community, instead of professionally (what they ended up doing):
We considered soliciting music from the community. In your brain, you receive 20 submissions from composers and find someone out there that is a hidden talent waiting to break free. In reality, you get 100 submissions, and 95% of them are horrible or just not right for your game. We tested this market thoroughly – and were disappointed.
TNW made some notes on the company’s business practices. We were not trying to be critical, but instead wanted to leave notes for future projects and their founders. What follows might have been in response to our coverage:
[PocketTactics]: Some people called you naive. Said you were business novices that didn’t know what you were doing. [Warballoon Games]: I disagree with that. First, we think were pretty business savvy, but for arguments sake lets assume that we are complete business morons. Is that a reason not to get into business? We also haven’t ever produced a game, so by that standard we probably shouldn’t have started on that path as well. No one would ever take any risks with that logic, having spent most of the time researching the environment so that by the time you actually get in, it has all changed.
I want to personally commend the Pocket Command team for being open, drop dead honest, and dedicated. I’m going to find the old iPhone, move the SIM card over, and buy Star Command when it comes out. You should as well.
And don’t forget: if you are going to Kickstart, raise more than you think you need. You will need it.
Read next: One iota introduces self-service daily deals for Facebook pages | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Who am I as a subjective entity, and what is this objective reality in which I operate within? Is there a purpose to it all?
People have longed and desired for millennia the answers to these most fundamental of questions about human existence. Not only do people want concrete answers to their existential questions, but simple, neat explanations are sought after to define all the aspects of life. The very fact of not having an answer to a question can leave one with immense anxiety, stress, and emptiness. People fear that which they do not know, especially when it comes to oneself or environment. As a result, people, ideologies, and sciences of external origin always appear, claiming to fill the void and give concreteness to an otherwise confusing and unknown universe. We not only celebrate and accept these external explanations as facts of truth, but the people propagating them are often looked up to as idols and leaders in which the people can put faith.
As they grow in popularity and acceptance, people find strength and security in numbers. Independent thinking is far too complicated and takes far too much time, especially when caught up in the non-stop rat race many of us call reality. Emotions and thoughts can run volatile while venturing down the rabbit hole and out into the wild west of the unknown, exposing one to mysterious realities and inverse truths that often come away shattering paradigms. This is both scary and risky, especially at first, exposing one to heightened levels of vulnerability. Concreteness is a far more comfortable and secure way to navigate this complex world. Knowing is also seen as a sign of strength and confidence in society, while not knowing is perceived as weakness and uneducated. Yet, is this actually a trap, and nothing more than a deceptive spell on human perception?
The Trap:
Knowing has an intrinsic relationship with words such as concreteness, filled, closed, fixed, action, controlled, positive, full, and physical. When the perception of an idea is known, it is essentially an ideology that is set in the mind, in that it is a strong neural pattern of connection in the brain that is fully perceived consciously as right and true. There is no need to question the reality of that idea because it is fully hardened and understood as a fixed truth. Effectively, one shapes a paradigm around that idea, always experiencing the consciousness of that idea through that particular lens or filter. It’s as if one’s mind gets placed in a box with clear parameters and edges to define the “true” shape of the idea. In a sense, the belief appears whole and fully understood.
Once a box is placed around an idea, all new information is filtered through the lens and understanding of that “concrete” truth, rendering one unable to see past their preconceived box of beliefs to contemplate the existence of an alternate reality. They don’t know that the picture might be a flawed illusion. When an idea becomes so wholly concrete, new information about the idea that can’t be easily explained through the current lens, is then either distorted by the mind to fit inside the current box, or completely ignored as if it doesn’t even exist. This is where the defense mechanism of fear and denial manifests, often leading to the programmed responses of blind overconfidence or scared obedience. Ignorance is bliss, right?
This right here is the trap in its fullest form, and one that everyone falls into to some degree or another throughout life. The problem is that many fall all the way in, especially on such fundamental ideas, and never come out to question. Faith is confidently placed in an ideological belief, blinding one to the unknown possibility lying just beyond the perceived concreteness on reality. The mind, both logically and intuitively, is then completely shut off and full, stunting the possibility of any learning, growth and evolution from being added to the mix when it comes to the belief system of that idea. This is the fallacy of misplaced concreteness and is arguably one of the most dangerous spells upon human perception. This concreteness that isn’t really there, is nothing more than a subtle and hidden form of mind control that’s highly misunderstood by the public, leaving most subjectively unaware of its existence.
Mind Control:
When something is under control, it lacks the ability to authentically change or exercise free will. In fact, freedom and control are language opposites. Once one’s mind is stuck in an ideological box, it becomes completely vulnerable and loyal to whatever controls and represents it, essentially a slave to its parameters. This control on the human mind can stem from two areas, one’s own mind, or from the external environment. In a sense, one can mind control themselves or allow an external force to mind control them.
At a certain point, everyone falls prey to the mind control of an external force. In society today, the amount of external ideological boxes runs extremely deep, branching into all of religion, science, philosophy, politics, history, social relationships, brands, entertainment, media, culture, and just information in general. All these different disciplines are the same in that they claim to give concrete answers to various ideas and phenomenon. They not only attempt to explain the outside world, but they also come to help define our own subjective experience, including one’s personality and belief system.
This is extremely concerning, in that one is giving up their sovereign ability to perceive reality to an external force in which they did not create or control. At that point they become nothing but sheep, herded into a box that’s defined by some external entity. It’s a widely growing opinion that people in positions of power have knowingly created ideological boxes to herd the masses into for centuries. Ideologies/mind control are the best way to indirectly control the masses in order for the powerful to keep in power and expand their influence.
When the mainstream boxes don’t work and people begin to escape the illusion, they only create new and more nuanced boxes in which to herd the masses, to keep up with the times. This can be described as controlled opposition, and a big part of the Hegelian dialect; a technique for social control, which involves one group controlling all the views of an idea and playing them off each other for a particular purpose. This can be even more hazardous, in that those that escape often think they are making a free choice. The best example is the same group controlling both the left and right of politics as well as independent movements like the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, playing them as pawns against each other to fulfill an agenda, giving people the illusion of opposition and choice, while deterring people away from the real root problems.
We All Have The Same Enemy, Yet We’re All Divided .” For more on this topic refer to the following article, “
Similarly, people can just as easily fall victim to mind control of their own creation. Usually unintentionally, they create a concrete reality in which they won’t let anything new break apart. This often happens when one has a subjective experience that they then take and perceive to be a concrete truth, since they did indeed experience it first-hand. For example, if someone has a bad experience learning math when they are in school, they will often go long periods of time thinking and believing that they don’t like math. This is done with all ideas, from political beliefs and historical facts to scientific understandings and personal beliefs of self.
Don’t Be Afraid Of Nothing: The Great Merger of Eastern Philosophical Thought And Western Science .” For more on the fallacy of scientific concreteness refer to the article, “
Are these subjective experiences really concrete truths, or just illusions of misplaced concreteness? Many people mistake their childhood and even later into their adult years as forms of concreteness, especially when it comes to defining their personalities and “the way things work.” This is worrisome because many people are not even fully conscious in their younger years. If one never questions the concrete reality one perceives, then logically one is under a subtle form of mind control, stubbornly unable to see past their perceived concrete beliefs. They constantly distort the truth to fit their current lens and remain blind in order to maintain the status quo that is their paradigm on reality.
However, what happens when one begins to wake-up and question, re-analyzing all the ideological boxes in which they thought were a fixed part of reality? What happens when one wanders out of the box into the great unknown?
Infinite Awareness and Infinite Possibility:
Not knowing is intrinsically comparable to fluid, void, open, malleable, inaction, free, negative, empty, and non-physical. When someone doesn’t know something, reality is not fixed or set, but instead open and free to take any and all forms. As stated earlier, not having an answer can be a very stressful and uncomfortable way to walk through life, especially when society equates intelligence and confidence with having concrete answers. Many people will also claim, “Well some things are just facts in life, so why be open to things that have been proven wrong?” Again, this is all part of the trap and just a spell aimed to put human perception in a fixed box.
The point and secret seems to be remaining open and operating always in a state of not knowing. In this regard, one is then able to see fully into the box and explore its contents without falling all the way in. The moment one falls into the trap of having concrete beliefs, is the moment one’s mind stagnates. It’s not to say that there are not patterns in the universe that appear frequently, because indeed there seem to be, but it’s the idea of being able to see these patterns and adopt them without becoming a slave to any of them. When one chooses not to hold concrete truths, the possibility of growth and evolution of patterns is infinitely possible throughout one’s life. The intention is to observe and study patterns, yet always still operating in a state of unknown and questioning. This allows dialectal thinking to take place, in which one can view all the angles of an idea, instead of just one or two, to come to a current theory. All the fields of human understanding would have never evolved had people not chose to leave the current box of understanding and think differently and independently, outside of it. In fact, it is often the stubbornness of the mainstream culture and its current understandings which hold us back from further enlightenment.
Although not a perfect analogy, taking in information and determining definition is like throwing spaghetti against the wall. Some stuff sticks for a long time, others stick for only a period of time before falling off, while others simply fall off right away. This is the best theory I can conceive of thus far of how consciousness grows. One will never know of this new information and reach a higher state of awareness until one is open and vulnerable to the idea of change; understanding that nothing in reality is actually concrete. It is only a pattern that is constantly flowing and changing. Once someone undergoes a complete ego death of all concreteness, one can experience a paradigm shift, finally allowing them access to the infinite awareness and enter the state of constant growth.
The old saying goes, “Enlightenment is knowing how much you don’t know.” Don’t ever let your perception fall victim to the fallacy of misplaced concreteness. Take back control of your mind and never let anyone trap it, including the fear and denial of your own manifestation. The goal is not a destination, but instead an undefined path towards truth where there is always room for growth, re-evaluation, and evolution. Strangely enough, it is the intuition, for which cannot be explained in a 5 sense reality or scientific materialism, that guides us through the realm of the unknown and into infinite awareness and infinite possibility. The only question now is: Will you take your journey?
Originally Released October 18, 2015 | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Tensions are high between Eagles fans and Saints fans on the eve of the highly anticipated Wildcard matchup at Lincoln Financial Field. So high in fact that a planned event scheduled for Saturday at the famous “Rocky steps” has been cancelled due to safety concerns.
Saints fans originally planned a “Rocky Run” at the Philadelphia Art Museum steps on Saturday around 11 a.m. Members of the New Orleans media organized the event, which was to feature Saints fans dressed up in their team’s gear running up the steps.
After NBC10’s John Clark and others reported the news, many people chimed in on Twitter with some warning that such an event could draw violent reactions from Eagles fans.
Not wanting to take any chances, Michael DeMocker, of the Times-Picayune announced that the event was canceled.
Philadelphia Police also announced officers would be going undercover as Saints fans during the game to prevent any violent incidents.
It’s well documented that Philadelphia fans have a long history of treating both fans of opposing teams and their local brethren poorly.
In 2012, following the Winter Classic, a man wearing a New York Ranger jersey was allegedly beaten by a Flyers fan outside Geno’s Steaks. A man was also killed in 2009 following a fight in a parking lot outside Citizens Bank Park.
The now-defunct Veterans Stadium used to have “Eagles Court,” in which a Philadelphia Municipal Court judge presided over unruly fans who had been arrested during games.
Tickets for Saturday's primetime game sold out in three minutes earlier this week, with seats being sold on secondary ticketing sites like StubHub for thousands of dollars.
The Philadelphia Eagles Fan Code of Conduct prohibits “fighting, taunting or threatening remarks or gestures” as well as abusive or foul language, among other things. The policy, which is clearly displayed and shared at Lincoln Financial Field, says violators will be ejected or arrested.
Philadelphia Police spokesman Lt. John Stanford said on Friday that the department has deployed plainclothes officers, as well as uniformed patrols, at Eagles games for the past several years. He says some officers wear the opposing team's jersey, others wear Eagles gear and some wear neither.
"We do it just to make sure that people can go out and have a good time," he said. Stanford added that the patrols are not meant to target one group of fans, but to prevent trouble.
| {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
O ministro Teori Zavascki, do Supremo Tribunal Federal, morreu na tarde desta quinta-feira (19/1), aos 68 anos. Ele estava em um avião que caiu no mar, próximo a Paraty (RJ). O ministro ia para a casa de praia de seu amigo Carlos Alberto Filgueiras, empresário, 69 anos, que também morreu no acidente.
O Corpo de Bombeiros do Rio de Janeiro confirmou que cinco pessoas estavam no avião e que não há sobreviventes, mas os nomes de todos ainda não foram confirmados. Uma equipe de mergulhadores e membros da Defesa Civil do município auxiliam nas buscas, mas o tempo fechado e a localização do acidente atrapalham o trabalho.
Em nota, o Grupo Emiliano, do qual Filgueiras era um dos donos, confirmou a morte do piloto do avião, Osmar Rodrigues, 56 anos. Informou ainda que está à disposição das autoridades colaborando com as investigações em curso.”
Segundo informações publicadas pelo site Aeroagora, especializado em aviação, o avião bimotor Beechcraft C90 (prefixo PR-SOM) saiu do aeroporto Campo de Marte, em São Paulo, às 13h01, e caiu após arremeter devido a condições climáticas ao se aproximar da pista em Paraty — sua chegada estava prevista para as 13h30.
Foto do avião que caiu no mar em Paraty (RJ)
Monize Evelin/Jetphotos.net
De acordo com a Força Aérea Brasileira, quatro pessoas estavam a bordo. O dono e operador da aeronave é o grupo Emiliano, do ramo hoteleiro e imobiliário. Segundo a Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil, a documentação da aeronave está em dia.
O empresário Carlos Alberto Filgueiras, dono do grupo Emiliano e também morto no acidente, era amigo de Teori, de quem se aproximou em 2012. Naquela época, o ministro passou a frequentar o hotel em São Paulo para acompanhar sua mulher Maria Helena, que estava em tratamento de câncer — ela acabou morrendo em 2013.
Bombeiros fazem buscas no avião submerso.
Reprodução/Aeroagora
Substituição
Teori era o relator das ações da operação “lava jato” no Supremo. De acordo com o Regimento Interno do STF (artigo 38, inciso IV), o relator é substituído, em caso de aposentadoria, renúncia ou morte, pelo ministro que será nomeado pelo presidente Michel Temer (PMDB) para a sua vaga.
O regimento também permite que, em casos urgentes, os processos sejam redistribuídos imediatamente, sem aguardar a nomeação de um novo ministro. Isso já foi feito. Em 2009, após a morte do ministro Menezes Direito, em setembro daquele ano, o então presidente do Supremo, ministro Gilmar Mendes, redistribuiu os processos que estavam com o julgador e que tinham réu preso. Ele baseou-se nos artigos 38 (inciso III e IV) e 68 (parágrafo 1º) do regimento.
O artigo 38 define que o relator será substituído pelo revisor ou pelo ministro imediato em antiguidade quando se tratar de deliberação sobre medida urgente; pelo ministro designado para lavrar o acórdão, quando vencido no julgamento; mediante redistribuição, nos termos do artigo 68 do regimento; e em caso de aposentadoria, renúncia ou morte, pelo ministro nomeado para a sua vaga.
O artigo 68 do regimento define que em Habeas Corpus, Mandado de Segurança, Reclamação, Extradição, Conflitos de Jurisdição e de Atribuições, desde que haja risco grave de perda de direito ou de prescrição da pretensão punitiva nos seis meses seguintes ao início da licença, ausência ou vacância, o presidente da corte poderá determinar que seja feita a redistribuição.
Teori chegou à corte em 2012, nomeado pela presidente Dilma Rousseff (PT). Antes de ir para o Supremo, Teori foi ministro do Superior Tribunal de Justiça (2003-2012) e desembargador do Tribunal Regional Federal da 4ª Região (1989-2003).
Clique aqui para ler a trajetória do ministro.
*Texto atualizado pela última vez às 21h37 do dia 19/1/2017. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Michelle Eshpeter and friend Lee Paskar just completed the first backcountry stand-up paddleboarding expedition in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska.
The pair paddled for four days at the end of September around the Beardslee Islands, a popular kayaking destination but one no other paddleboarders had taken on, according to Eshpeter.
article continues below
“This is the coolest way to paddle around icebergs,” she said last week, speaking to The Squamish Chief from her home in Whitehorse. “You just get such a cool perspective when you are standing and are standing beside them, and you can look down and see the underside of the icebergs and things like that.”
Squamish’s Norm Hann, Eshpeter’s paddleboarding instructor and mentor, inspired this trip.
Stand-up paddleboarding is the world’s fastest growing sport, Hann said, and Squamish is an incredible hub for it.
In April, Eshpeter took a two-day course with Hann and the two hit it off right away.
Eshpeter, a fitness instructor, followed up her initial instructing course with a coastal touring class taught by Hann over the summer.
Hann said Glacier Bay is a great spot for paddleboarders, but not everyone should grab a board and head up.
“It’s a very dynamic coastal environment, and my advice is to go with someone who is a qualified wilderness guide and knows what they are doing, or to be very self-sufficient and experienced in dealing with coastal weather and remote ocean travel,” he said.
“Glacier Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and most of the places have protocols and permits that are needed for travel through these areas.”
The ocean can never be taken lightly, Hann added. “So many people get into the sport without proper training and as a result, we have already witnessed near-misses, accidents and deaths.”
Eshpeter was originally attracted to paddleboarding because of the peacefulness of the activity.
“Travelling down the water was such a beautiful way to spend a day,” she said.
She quickly realized how versatile the board and the sport could be.
On her fifth time on the board, she loaded it up with backcountry gear and went paddling down the Yukon River for an overnight trip. After that, heading out on a longer expedition around the Beardslee Islands was a natural next step, she said, adding that kayakers had raved about trips around the glaciers.
Spotting wildlife was a highlight of the expedition, she said. “You could just see how the wildlife thrive there, and it made you feel that you were really, really in nature. It felt so untouched; everywhere you looked there were bears roaming the beaches, seals following you as you paddled, and they were all playing.”
The trip included challenges. On the third day, the two friends were supposed to cross the rough waters of Bear Trap Cove, which is where the Beardslee Islands end and open water begins.
“We had a four-foot swell and there was a 20-knot wind blowing over it,” Esphpeter recalled. They had to cross to get some fresh water.
Because Paskar was less experienced, they decided Eshpeter would cross on her own.
“That ended up adding a little bit of excitement to the adventure, for sure,” Eshpeter said with a hearty laugh.
She had to paddle through extremely rough water for several hours across the cove and back, but she did it.
Paskar was worried because he could see Eshpeter crossing on the choppy water, and humpback whales were surfacing all around her.
“I didn’t see one of them – I had to concentrate to make the crossing – but for him, he said it was the craziest sight,” Eshpeter said. “Little did I know.”
She said she hopes from hearing about her adventure, others develop a passion for cold-water paddling.
“Yes, stand-up paddleboarding can be done in cold-water areas, and it can be a really good backcountry tool as well,” she said.
Eshpeter is already planning her next adventure: a winter combined backcountry skiing and paddleboarding expedition in Haines, Alaska. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
There was a time when New York Red Bull was the diamond in the collection of soccer teams that fall under Red Bull Global. There was a time when the Austrian energy drink giant went to great lengths to bring in massive stars and went to great lengths to make the MLS club the “Super Team” that was originally pitched by initial General Manager Alexi Lalas back in 2006.
Those days are long over and current head of Global Soccer, Ralf Rangnick, has outwardly expressed where the priorities are for Red Bull Global.
“It is important for RB to ensure in the next few years that more players are developing in locations like New York or Brazil, who qualify as reinforcements for us,” said Rangnick to Kicker in Germany.
The “us” he’s referring to is RB Leipzig, the team he currently is caretaker manager of until Julian Nagelsmann takes over in the summer. Leipzig has gone from pet project to number one priority with UEFA Champions League qualification in sight and potential Bundesliga trophies within reach in years to come. That means that all other teams are serving the purpose of Leipzig’s greater good.
Look no further than the last MLS off-season to see that plan in affect. Tyler Adams still hasn’t reached his apex as a player, but was stripped from New York with little in return and plugged into the Leipzig midfield. Amadou Haidara, a dynamic force in the attack for Salzburg is also moved to East Germany despite a need in Salzburg, who also compete for continental titles. The call-ups even went so far as to grab the coaches with Jesse Marsch joining the Leipzig coaching staff midway through the 2018 campaign.
Even attention has waned for the New York side. A dispute over the transfer of Alejandro Romero Gamarra festered during the off-season with Red Bull Global having little visible interaction with the situation. During that time it is reported that Global Head of Red Bull Soccer Oliver Mintzlaff was in Brazil finalizing the recently reported merger of South American sides. The issue with Gamarra remains with the team and the player frustration hasn’t appeared to be something that the front office has been able to address.
The shift is clear and the Red Bull organization is no longer hiding it. The real question: Will fans still be interested in a glorified minor league soccer team?
The answer thus far has been no. Attendance has dropped with 2018 being the lowest since 2012 and a 12% drop year over year. In 2019 attendance has started slow, 17% less than 2018. No significant new player signings were made in the off-season and the team once again crashed out of the Concacaf Champions League, adding to the fan frustration.
The latest acquisition of CA Bragantino is an example of how much money and influence Red Bull has on the global game. Merging their Red Bull Brasil team with Bragantino, they now have a second division club, ready to scout some of South America’s best talent, and move them to Germany.
Years past would have had fans believing that New York could benefit from these moves. However, it is now obvious that you can be good to play for New York Red Bulls, but don’t be too good or you’ll end up in Leipzig.
Share this: Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
| {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
By Barbara Herman on July 08 2015
Republicans blocked an amendment to a spending bill on Wednesday that would require that electronic cigarettes be subject to the Food and Drug Administration pre-market review process, reported the Hill. Republicans voted 26-23 to reject the amendment, which was proposed by Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee.
The amendment sought to remove a provision in the bill that exempted e-cigarettes and similar products from a pre-market review process, a provision Lowey described as “objectionable.”
“This bill would allow them [e-cigarettes] to stay on the market … without an FDA pre-market review and open the door for similar products to avoid FDA review down the road,” Lowey said of the spending bill, which would fund the Department of Agriculture and the FDA.
In a statement last month, Lowey described the bill as “nothing short of a giveaway to the tobacco industry.”
Although e-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine via a vaporized liquid without the traditional cigarette smoke or tar, are considered safer than smokable cigarettes, the potential danger of “vaping” instead of smoking is still not entirely known.
The FDA was given authority by Congress to regulate tobacco products in 2009, and in April 2014, it announced that it would issue new rules for e-cigarettes forcing manufacturers to create warning labels and ban sales to those under 18. The new rules also prevent e-cigarette manufacturers from marketing their products until they are reviewed by the FDA.
Public health groups including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids seem to be primarily concerned that the bill would limit the FDA’s ability to regulate how e-cigarettes are marketed to children and teens.
“Many of these products are aimed at children, including a substantial number of the 7,000 flavors of e-cigarettes … bubble gum, gummy bears, Swedish fish,” Lowey said, reported the Hill.
But for Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., that’s not the issue.
“E-cigarettes is not really smoking,” Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., said, reported the Hill. “I think most people realize they are less dangerous than cigarettes and yet we’re subjecting them to a higher level of regulation.”
Source | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
2016 is almost over, so it’s time for a small recap.
You have the latest driver!
The best things that happened in 2016
NVIDIA FastSync
I want to start with FastSync. It’s a technology that is meant to fix the problem of tearing and frame pacing. A better VSync so they say. It is indeed something that we would’ve expected 10 years ago, but it might’ve arrived too late as most gaming monitors now support either G-Sync of FreeSync. FastSync is a good compromise between V-Sync and G-Sync, but it’s not perfect. It is said that much higher framerate is required than a refresh rate of your monitor to fully benefit from this technology. Personally, I’m still a V-Sync guy and still prefer it over FastSync. This gives me lag, but at least the GPU is not slaughtered by the game engine to render frames that are not even used.
Check this video from Battle(non)sense about FastSync.
Growing popularity of ultrawide monitors
2016 might have been the first year when Ultra-Wide monitors became popular among enthusiast. Owners of the Ultra-wide monitors are very pleased with their purchases. UW eliminates the problem of multi-monitor setup configuration (well maybe except the guy who took the picture above).
According to the Steam HW Survey, 1920×1080 monitors are still the most popular among gamers (38%), but multi-monitor (2x 1920×1080) configurations still represent 30% of all Steam gamers. Do you see where this is going? It is unlikely that all of sudden all those gamers will shift to ultra-wide, but in few years the choice will be much simpler.
By far the biggest issue with ultra-wide is the price, that’s unless you are fine with 2560×1080 resolution.
The picture was taken from this YouTube video. Check this thread at Overclockers.co.uk about Ultra-wide monitors.
Mobile graphics cards are no longer slower than desktop variants
Mobile graphics cards are finally (almost) just as fast as their desktop counterparts and some even received more CUDA cores (GTX 1070M).
This required new MXM format to be developed because MXM specification only allows 100W to be delivered to the GPU. While mobile GeForce ships almost identical specifications to its desktop variants, we still can’t say that they offer identical performance, because there are thermal and power limitations that are only present in laptops.
So could we say that laptops are slowly joining the PCMasterRace? We can now replace GPU, CPU (some even support desktop processors), SSD, RAM, and what’s also interesting, you can even attach water-cooling now. It’s a great progress over the years. But unfortunately, those solutions are still far too expensive.
Picture was taken from ComputerBase article.
Asynchronous launch of DirectX12 Games and DirectX12 GPUs
I think this might be the most important thing that happened in 2016. DirectX12 is becoming a popular API among developers. Here’s the list of all games that brought DX12 support along with them:
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Hitman
The Division
Ashes of the Singularity
Quantum Break
Total War Warhammer
Deus Ex Mankind Divided
Forza Motorsport 6 Apex
Halo 5 Forge
Forza Horizon 3
Gears of War 4
Battlefield 1
Civilization VI
The Steam Survey reveals that 71% of all GPUs support DX12. Whether that’s a full support of DX12 or not, is not clear. But one thing is certain, there is simply no excuse for developers to make exclusive DX11 games anymore. The transition to DX12 should be even more visible next year.
However, there are still few problems with DX12. The first one is obviously the questionable performance gain on high-end platforms. There is no denying that DX12 helps to improve performance for mid-range and low-end systems, but the better your system is, the less likely are you to see any difference. There’s also an issue with Asynchronous Compute, which is without a doubt better supported by AMD GPUs. This gave AMD an upper hand when DX12 game engines were taking full advantage of this technology. NVIDIA will likely bright full AC support with Volta, so AMD still has the chance to regain share in high-end GPU market with Vega launching next quarter.
AMD finally has good drivers
For AMD users, this is the best thing that happened in 2016.Game ready drivers,
Game ready drivers, overclocking tool called Wattman, Shadowplay-clone called ReLive or completely redesigned UI. Everyone has its own favorite thing about Crimson.
Affordable 6GB+ cards
Both vendors finally brought 6GB/8GB cards at a reasonable price. AMD RX 480 and GTX 1060 6GB are available for 250 USD. That’s a huge step forward from 3GB/4GB cards we were using just 2 years ago. Higher frame buffers simply mean you can enjoy your games at better quality, and above all, enjoy your cards for a little longer, till it’s really necessary to upgrade.
GDDR5X and HBM2
NVIDIA was the first company to bring GDDR5X and HBM2 products to the market. Tesla P100 launch was pure marketing stunt no different than most paper launches we have seen in the past, but after few months those cards were finally delivered to first customers. Teslas are not really meant for anything even remotely close to gaming, but they exist and show promising HBM2 technology in action.
Meanwhile, GDDR5X technology, allows high-end GPU production costs to be lower, simply because GDDR5X is compatible with GDDR5. We surely expect to see more GDDR5X cards next year.
It’s time to update your driver!
In this part, we are going to talk about stuff that was meant to bring something good but turned out to be disappointing.
Experience NVIDIA in 3.0
You may not know this, but our site was designed to offer a simplified design, which was inspired by Windows Metro style. That was 2 years ago and since then this approach in web design was widely adopted by many other sites and applications. You may even find this approach present in the latest GeForce Experience and even Radeon Settings applications. In fact. that was one of the biggest changes in GeForce Experience 3.0.
However. Experience 3.0 also generated a lot of controversies. Especially by requiring users to create their online accounts, something that was mocked by the Red Team just a few weeks ago with ReLive launch.
NVIDIA is not exactly the first company you would consider to handle your personal data, as their forums were hacked 4 years ago, and then quietly reopened, leaving a lot of questions what exactly had happened.
Gamer Nexus took a closer look at what data is being transferred between your computer and NVIDIA servers when using Experience 3:
GPU specification & vendor, GPU clock speed / overclocks, Monitor and display resolution, Driver settings for specific games (e.g. G-Sync toggling, type of anti-aliasing used), Resolution, quality settings for specific games, Games and applications installed (e.g. Origin, Steam, Counter-Strike: GO, Overwatch), Memory capacity, CPU specification, BIOS revision and motherboard. Yet, there is no option to disable this without breaking Experience. But a vast majority of users need Experience only for ShadowPlay, not game optimization.
So nothing that important for your privacy. Yet, there is no option to disable this without breaking Experience.
MSI sending ‘modified’ samples to reviewers
This story broke out shortly after the GTX 1080 launch. As it turned out MSI was sending ‘slightly’ modified cards to the press. The MSI GAMING App gives you the option to choose between three overclocking modes. Retail cards were shipping with GAMING mode enabled, whereas the review samples were using OC Mode by default. In an official statement, MSI confirmed that their samples were indeed modified, but the only reason for that upgrade was to make reviewers work “easier” (so they didn’t have to switch between overclocking profiles). Right..
NVIDIA & GIGABYTE Giveaways
Who does not like giveaways? Free high-end GPU or brand new computer with just a few clicks really does wonders for social media account popularity. However, not all giveaways have a happy ending. NVIDIA, in particular, is known for taking weeks, sometimes months to deliver their prizes. It may be extremely frustrating, especially when your request is ignored by the company and leave you wondering why do you even have to fight for your prize in the first place? Just check this Reddit thread to learn more how you may be treated when you are selected as a winner. But if you think that a delay is the worst of your problems, then you should really consider taking part in Gigabyte giveaways.
This long thread at Reddit proves that not only the prize can be changed after you are declared a winner, but you may actually be ignored by PR representatives afterwards.
No high-end Radeons
I think this might be the most disappointing part of 2016 for me. This year AMD decided to focus on a mid-range segment to boost their market share (a reasonable choice from a business perspective) while sacrificing the trust of enthusiast to stick to Fiji while we await Vega. Fiji is not a bad product, it simply is not enough to keep most devoted fans around, when faster and more power efficient solutions are being delivered by the competition.
Simplified Radeon RX lineup, probably one of the best decisions for AMD this year, has clearly helped customers decide what card should they get. Hopefully, AMD will follow this trend next year, and even better if potential reappearance of Fury series will not translate into a higher price tag. We need AMD to compete, not just to be an alternative.
NVIDIA Founders Editions and TITAN X Pascal
Founders Editions are probably the worst decision NVIDIA has made in a long time. High-quality reference models, which are essentially what all reference models were to this day, only to be sold at a premium price? Do you remember the confusion when no one really knew what these cards are? Why they were more expensive? Because they were using chips selected in silicon lottery? Nope. Those were the same chips you can find on cheaper, yet better-equipped custom cards.
For NVIDIA Founders Edition cards are essentially a new way of making a profit, simply by selling cards directly from official channel. Of course, you can still buy Founders Edition from Add-in-Board partners, but that does not apply to all models.
Meet TITAN X. A card that is part of GeForce series has GeForce logo but is not named after GeForce (!?). This card is not sold by AIBs, it’s exclusive to NVIDIA. AIBs simply have no way of selling GP102 GPUs at this time.
So what’s TITAN X? Well, you may not agree with me, but TITAN X is simply an overpriced premium card for early adopters.
I love this card, and I hate it at the same time. It unlocks new levels of performance but keeps it exclusive only to those who can afford it (and there aren’t that many people who will spend 1200 US dollars on a GPU).
Display driver stopped responding!
The biggest fails of 2016
AMD RX 480 PCI-E power consumption
A problem that should have never happened. Did someone forget to measure how much power is being consumed by the graphics card? How could no one have discovered this problem before launch? Well, it did happen and left a huge mark on how we remember RX 480 launch.
The graphics card was simply using too much power from PCI-Express slot (more than 75W), which clearly violated PCI specifications. Fortunately, the fix was rather simple and was delivered in a form of a new driver (phew!).
You can find the sources of those images and comments from reviewers in our story about this issue from June.
EVGA GTX 10 Series thermal issues
Black screen, freezes, exploding capacitors, fire coming out of your graphics card during live stream.. those are not the things you expect to see after paying hundreds of dollars for your card. But those things did happen and they happened to those who bought EVGA graphics cards. Few models were confirmed to affected by this problem, a problem which eventually led to a higher temperature of VRM sections.
EVGA later issued new BIOSes for affected cards, which were meant to fix this issue simply by changing fan curvature. In my opinion owners of affected cards should still consider this rather as a workaround and apply (so-called optional) thermal pads anyway, which are offered by EVGA for free.
Some say that EVGA should’ve issued a recall on all cards that were confirmed to be affected. EVGA did not issue a recall, but they offered free cross-shipping for those who did not feel comfortable applying thermal pads themselves.
All cards currently sold by EVGA are not affected by this problem. This did, however, leave a huge mark on EVGA reputation.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 & GTX 1050 users forget about SLI!
This is probably the worst thing that happened in 2016, simply because it was intentional. NVIDIA removed SLI fingers from GTX 1060 and GTX 1050 cards only to avoid losing profit from GTX 1070/1080 sales. Two GTX 1060s, being sold at 250 USD each, could easily affect the price tag of GTX 1080, while offering similar performance (at least in applications that support SLI).
You see SLI support is not really that good, even some AAA titles still lack support for SLI and if they do, performance is not really that great. But this is not about SLI support, this is about the choice that was taken from customers without their approval. Why does Radeon RX 460 still support CF, while no sane person would use it in CrossFire? Maybe someone wants to break a new RX 460 CF world record or wants to test a new game with the card borrowed from a friend? Well, it doesn’t really matter, because no longer you have this option with GeForce 1060/1050.
What to expect from 2017
We are already looking forward to CES 2017, which starts on January 5th. NVIDIA started teasing ‘something big‘ coming on January 5th (so just when Jen-Hsun is taking the stage for his keynote). That could be highly anticipated GeForce GTX 1080 Ti.
We do not expect any new cards from AMD at CES though. It’s more likely that Raja Koduri will host another Capsaicin-styled event at GDC 2017 in February. This is where Vega should finally make its appearance in multiple forms.
What will 2017 bring for GPU enthusiasts apart from new high-end solutions? My predictions are rather simple, rising popularity of HBM/GDDR5X products, ‘affordable’ ultra-wide & HDR monitors, new GPU world records and even more bizarre graphics card designs.
Anyway, stay tuned for more GPU-related stuff in 2017. VC crew wishes you a Happy New Year. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
President Trump said Tuesday he's about to hand Congress the responsibility for figuring out what to do with illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.
"Congress, get ready to do your job - DACA!" Trump tweeted Tuesday morning.
That's a reference to President Obama's Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program, which Trump is reportedly ready to scrap. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is expected to announce in a few hours that the program will end after six months, which will give Congress time to find a legislative way of handling the roughly 800,000 illegal immigrants who are now protected from deportation and are allowed to work under the program.
Trump was under pressure to decide the fate of DACA after 10 state attorneys general had threatened a lawsuit if he did not rescind the program by Tuesday. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.