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I think human life is intrinsically more valuable than animal life. FUCK ME, RIGHT?
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A simple white plastic footstool that tucks under your toilet has made one Utah family multimillionaires. "Now everyone is like, 'Why didn't I think of that?'" said Bobby Edwards, the 41-year-old creator and former CEO of Squatty Potty. "I have proven a lot of people wrong, and it's felt really good." It all started because Bobby's mother had trouble in the bathroom. "I was constipated my whole life," Judy Edwards reluctantly admitted. Age only made the problem worse. A few years ago, a medical professional recommended Judy use a footstool to raise her knees while on the toilet. She tried it, and it worked. "It's just a world of difference," she said. Her husband, Bill, was amazed. "We both thought, 'Wow, we're in our 60s, why are we just now hearing about this?'" But the footstool wasn't perfect, and so Bobby — a self-described gypsy forever looking to make a "big splash" — saw a business opportunity. "There was nothing out there on the market that we could find to help us solve the problem. So we made it."
They made the first stool out of wood and named it the Squatty Potty, based on what they heard traditional hole-in-the-ground toilets in China were called. Other potential names included "The Health Step," "The S--- Shelf," and "The Stool Stool." Bobby said squatting is the way humans are supposed to, well, poop. "We all have a kink in our colon," he said. "It's there to maintain continence. Otherwise we'd be crapping our pants wherever we go." Sitting on a toilet relaxes the kink to a point, but squatting opens everything up for better evacuation. "Most of your problems with your colon start where that kink is," said his father, Bill.
The family began giving footstools to friends, who considered them gag gifts, until they started using them. "I saw the results, and I saw the effect on people, and I'm like, 'There really is something here,'" said Bobby. So he and his parents and one other brother took $35,000 to set up a website and begin manufacturing for real. Judy decided the stools needed to be made out of plastic to bring down the price, and they placed their first large order. "The first order was like 2,000 Squatty Potties, they arrived from China, and we got this big container full," said Bobby. "I was like, 'What? We are never going to sell these,' right? Now we sell that many a day."
In the beginning Bobby sent free Squatty Potties to health bloggers to generate buzz, and success has flowed with more regularity than Metamucil. Dr. Oz's show called (Bill Edwards thought it was a crank call from his kids), then Howard Stern started talking about the product. Finally, on their second try, Squatty Potty qualified for "Shark Tank." They sold $1 million in product within 24 hours of the TV appearance, and the company also received a $500,000 investment from Lori Greiner which led to high-profile shelf space in Bed Bath & Beyond. First year sales in 2011 were $17,000. In 2016 sales hit $19 million and continued to rise from there. The Edwardses made all products in the USA, which Bobby Edwards said saved on transportation costs and gave them the ability to scale production up or down quickly as needed. "It's actually much trimmer and leaner manufacturing in the United States for our product." The biggest challenge had always been finding a marketing balance between humor and health. "You can get really gross, or you can get so ambiguous that people don't know what you're talking about," said Bobby. The Squatty Potty YouTube ad is a good example. It stars a Prince Charming character and a unicorn that poops ice cream. "This is where your ice cream comes from," says the prince. "(Unicorns) are good at pooping, but you know who sucks at pooping? You do." When first presented with the idea for the video, the Edwards family thought it was too cheeky and too expensive. "We're talking about a subject nobody wants to talk about," said Judy, "and if a unicorn, or anything, is going to show poop, we don't want it to be poop, we want it to be something that people like and enjoy." Hence, the ice cream. "It's not OK to talk about poop, but it's OK to talk about ice cream," said Bill. They eventually decided to spend $250,000 to make the ad. At last count, it had over 100 million hits, and sales have surged. "We're going to make more videos, and they're going to cost a lot more than that," Bill laughed.
The family admits making mistakes along the way, like paying other people for services they could have done themselves. "You're the one that has to make it happen," said Bobby. He said one consultant turned around and created a competing product. "It was very hurtful." Knockoffs showed up, but the Edwardses came out with new products, like a portable Squatty Potty, which fits into a backpack; a new attachable bidet and a potty training product called the Squattypottymus. The success has been stunning. Judy Edwards originally thought they might just sell a few Squatty Potties here or there to help supplement their retirement income, because no one likes to discuss pooping problems. "I still am embarrassed to talk about it," she said. Not nearly as embarrassed as she used to be. After receiving an equity injection from an unnamed venture capital firm, Bobby Edwards says his mother has retired, and he is "taking a few months off after hiring a new CEO!" The company continues to expand its product line, which now includes toilet foam for toilet paper, touted as more eco-friendly than wet wipes. Bobby and his mother remain on the Squatty Potty board, "but our day to day involvement has come to an end." Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank." More from Strange Success: A college kid invented a bathroom shelf for your | {
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A handful of KBO stars pulled out following offseason surgeries. Among the country's major league players, Los Angeles Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin and Minnesota Twins' Park Byung-ho were never considered because of injuries. Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers and Kim Hyun-soo of the Orioles were dropped from the provisional roster because of their club commitments. Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Kang Jung-ho was cut from the team following a DUI accident in December. | {
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Well, that was quick! Back in 2015, when Monster Hunter Cross was first announced, I made a prediction that the earliest that we'd see the title hit our shores would be in late 2016; today, however, Monster Hunter Cross has been confirmed for a western release in Summer 2016 as Monster Hunter Generations! Most of the information from our initial article regarding the game's Japanese announcement still applies here; Monster Hunter Generations is the next game in the popular Monster Hunter franchise, with a twist. Instead of being an entirely new evolution to the series—like Monster Hunter 4/Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate was in comparison to Monster Hunter Tri/Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate—it takes a route similar to the Japan-exclusive Monster Hunter Portable 3rd on PSP, acting like a stop-gap title between new releases to experiment on what direction to take the series in as a whole going forward.
Long-time fans will recognize some of the areas that Monster Hunter Generations takes the series back to.
In Monster Hunter Generations' case, the game focuses around a few new core concepts: Hunter Arts, Hunting Styles, and the inclusion of 4 villages spanning the series' history. Hunting Arts act as rechargable "super moves" that can be fired off in the middle of a hunt to either deal massive damage to a monster, buff your character/party, and more. Hunting Styles change up a weapon's moveset to experiment with the idea of what makes that weapon unique—there are 4 different styles available for each and every weapon type in the game (sans the new Palico-based Prowler hunting option).
As was mentioned in our initial coverage last year, Monster Hunter Generations includes 4 separate "flagship monsters," alongside the inclusion of a ton of other monsters from the series' history. Unlike Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, the game does NOT include a "G-rank" of quests at the end of the game, capping out at "High-rank" quests at end-game. Additionally, the game lacks the titular Expedition and Frenzy/Apex Monsters featured from the previous title, replacing them with Deviant and Ferocious Monsters respectively. Coming from someone that has already played the Japanese release, I'd think of the title more like Monster Hunter Portable 4th/Freedom 4, rather than Monster Hunter 5, or even Monster Hunter 4.5.
Named Variant monsters take the place of both subspecies monsters and Guild Quests—two features notably absent from Monster Hunter Cross.
Regarding how well these changes to the gameplay affect the game as a whole, the obvious thing to mention is the fact that the game allowss for even more customization than before. Beyond the obvious—the fact that you can choose and swap out your personal Hunting Arts/Hunting Styles—Monster Hunter Generations also introduces a few changes to the weapon upgrade system that allows for nearly every "stop-gap" weapon in a weapon tree to be viable at the end-game. Different Hunting Styles can make weapons feel almost entirely different and can change how a weapon is used completely, and Hunting Arts just compliment that. Although most western hunters will have a few months to wait to play this game, there's a lot of fun to be had tinkering with and deciding exactly what sort of hunter you want to make. As for me, I'm still not sure if I prefer Monster Hunter Cross (the Japanese release that Monster Hunter Generations will be based off of) to Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, and I don't know what, exactly, Monster Hunter Generations means for the series as a whole, but it's definitely going to be worth your time when it releases in the West this year.
Anyway, regardless of what the title itself means for the franchise as a whole, western gamers will be able to play Monster Hunter Generations sometime this Summer complete with a Western-exclusive Fire Emblem collaboration!
What do you think about yesterday's announcement? Are you planning on buying Monster Hunter Generations when it hits western shores? | {
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Why We Should All Dump Yahoo Now:
Yahoo compromised the security and privacy of hundreds of millions of users and all the people they communicate with by installing a secret software program that searched all incoming emails at the request of US intelligence officials.
We strongly encourage everyone to delete their Yahoo account. Here’s how.
Name (optional): Email: Zip Code: Signing this petition will ensure that we are able to stay in touch with you at your non-Yahoo address about this and other issues that affect your security and digital rights.
Share this Tweet this Donate $5
Yahoo let the NSA read your email before you even opened it.
Yahoo was just revealed to be the very first US internet company to build a program, at the request of US Intelligence Services, to search every single incoming message of every single user in real time.
There have been conflicting reports about exactly what kind of program was installed, with initial reports stating it was probably just a modified version of Yahoo’s existing scanning system that searches all incoming email for malware, spam and images of child pornography. But sources have since told Motherboard that the program was more like a “rootkit.”
Rootkits generally allow an attacker—or in this case the government—to take complete control over a computer or network in a manner that is difficult to detect. This also suggests that the government had much greater access to Yahoo's data than was previously reported. A rootkit could grant total surveillance capability over all data coming into or out of Yahoo's servers.
This is an absolutely unprecedented privacy violation. Surveillance experts and former government officials are saying they have never seen such a broad demand for real-time digital surveillance, nevermind one that calls for the creation of a new computer program. This program, essentially a wire-tap on the web, is beyond the scope of any of the already overreaching surveillance laws currently on the books.
“The order issued to Yahoo appears to be unprecedented and unconstitutional. The government appears to have compelled Yahoo to conduct precisely the type of general, suspicionless search that the Fourth Amendment was intended to prohibit,” said ACLU Staff Attorney Patrick Toomey.
Communication giants Microsoft, Twitter, Google, Facebook, and Apple have all rushed to put out statements assuring users that they had not received or complied with similar directives, some going so far as to say that if they had they would challenge it in court. Apple pointed to a recent statement by CEO Tim Cook, which reads, “I want to be absolutely clear that we have never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services. We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will.”
Meanwhile, Yahoo issued a statement that does not outright deny that the program existed, nor address the myriad of privacy and security concerns that have been raised.
Even former Yahoo Chief Information Security Officer, Alex Stamos, is appalled by the program. When he found out about it in 2015 he immediately resigned his position, telling coworkers that he had been excluded from the decision to implement the program. He also cited flaws that seriously endangered the security of user data and left the program vulnerable to hackers.
Yahoo is a sinking ship. This is not the first security problem Yahoo has struggled with. Just last month it was revealed that over 500 million (and possibly many many millions more) Yahoo user accounts were compromised by “state sponsored actors.” This hack was almost certainly a result of Yahoo consistently refusing to invest in the necessary and standard security practices adopted by their competitors after a massive hack six years ago, to which Yahoo also fell victim.
And their security is not going to get any better. Yahoo was recently sold to Verizon for 4.8 billion dollars. Telecom companies including Verizon have been colluding with the NSA for years to gather information on billions of people worldwide, as Edward Snowden’s 2013 revelations have shown. Beyond handing your data to a prying NSA, Verizon also notoriously created an innovative way to track your online habits on both your phone and on your non-Verizon devices like personal laptops. They then sell your information to marketers. The Verizon-Yahoo merger is going to compound the security issues these two companies have created, resulting in a service where your communication becomes nothing more than a piece of data to be rifled through by the government and sold to the highest bidder.
You deserve to have the safety and privacy you expect. It’s time to dump Yahoo. | {
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Thai Mature Bi-atch Linda Needs Some New Meat
This breezy is truly impossible to resist. Kid’s dressed in some killer fishnets that can thrill everybody needless to say, and what rump i say about the ones udders. Linda invitations youthful guy to her room and plows his brains out, as a prize he finishes off on her clean-shaven cooch. | {
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Premierul Viorica Dăncilă a făcut confuzie între „predilecţii” şi „predicţii”, în declaraţia de dinaintea şedinţei de Guvern de joi. Astfel, referindu-se la date ale INS, ea a spus că „sunt date oficiale care arată faptul că Guvernul a avut dreptate şi care infirmă, cu argumente incontestabile, predilecţiile opoziţiei, aşa-zişilor analişti sau, mai grav, a unor instituţii publice”.
Viorica Dăncilă a prezentat, înaintea şedinţei de Guvern de joi, date ale Institutului Naţional de Statistică privind creşteri în diferite sectoare economice.
„Sunt date oficiale care arată faptul că Guvernul a avut dreptate şi care infirmă, cu argumente incontestabile, predilecţiile opoziţiei, aşa-zişilor analişti sau, mai grav, a unor instituţii publice”, a spus Dăncilă, făcând confuzie între „predilecţii” şi „predicţii”. Totodată, premierul a greşit spunând „a unor instituţii publice”, forma corectă fiind „ale unor instituţii publice”.
Definiții dexonline.ro:
PREDILÉCȚIE, predilecții, s. f. Înclinație, atracție deosebită pentru cineva sau ceva; preferință. ◊ Loc. adj. De predilecție = preferat, favorit. ◊ Loc. adv. Cu(sau de) predilecție = de preferință, mai ales, îndeosebi. – Din fr. prédilection.
PREDÍCȚIE, predicții, s. f. (Livr.) Prevestire. [Pr.: -ți-e. – Var.: predicțiúne s. f.] – Din fr. prédiction, lat. preadictio, -onis. | {
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Turning the Western on its head: Simple subversion in Sergio Corbucci’s The Great Silence (1968)
It could claim to be the most subversive denouement in the history of narrative cinema. The ending of Sergio Corbucci’s Italian Western The Great Silence (1968) sees not only the film’s hero gunned down, having failed to save the day, but also features the massacre of every other sympathetic or victimised character in the film. Upon deeper examination there are several factors that contribute to its subversive stance. Corbucci was a director of several Spaghetti Westerns containing left wing and radical politics as either the subject or subtext. The Italian Western itself was seen as a subversion of a unique American art form. This was mainly down to what Frayling (2006) calls the ‘Cultural Roots’ controversy, the initial criticism faced by Westerns of Italian origin that they ‘had no ‘cultural roots’ in American history or folklore, they were likely to be cheap, opportunistic imitations’ (Frayling, 2006 p,121). Another significant factor that may explain the film’s subversive tone was its timing. The film was released in 1968, and contains an explicit, though not terribly in depth, criticism of capitalism, an interracial sex scene, and has a downbeat, pessimistic ending, all of which are in keeping with the counter cultural zeitgeist of the late 1960’s. While each of these factors contributes, it is the ending that marks the film as a truly subversive work of cinema.
The Great Silence is not as overtly political as some of Corbucci’s other westerns. His films A Professional Gun (1968) and Companeros (1970) belong to a sub genre of political Spaghetti Westerns, alongside films such as A Bullet for the General (Damiano Damiani, 1966), The Big Gundown (Sergio Sollima, 1966) and Face to Face (Sergio Sollima, 1967). Sergio Leone contributed his own political Spaghetti Western with A Fistful of Dynamite (1972). These films dealt with explicit political and revolutionary themes, often set during the Mexican revolution. The basic narrative of each film was that of an American or European being educated in the ways of third world revolution by a bandit or revolutionary figure:
the Westerns in this sub genre were intended to be read as parables about the relations between the Third World (represented by Mexico) and the capitalist countries of the West (represented by the outsider). (Frayling, 2006, p232).
The political Spaghetti Westerns typically extolled simplistic revolutionary Marxist politics, while occasionally referencing anarchism via crudely drawn ‘anarchic’ characters or unsubtle references to Bakunin. Porton (1999) highlights the bandit character of Juan in Leone’s film and the way the ‘Outsider’ character shows contempt for this ‘anarchism’ by throwing away his book of Bakunin’s writings as examples of this.
While the narrative of The Great Silence does not concern revolution, it contains in its basic plot a number of critiques of capitalism and on the whole works as a subversion of what Will Wright describes as the ‘The Classical Plot’ of the western.
The Classical Plot is the prototype of all Westerns, the one people think of when they say, ‘‘All Westerns are alike’’. It is the story of the lone stranger who rides into a troubled town and cleans it up, winning the respect of the townsfolk and the love of the schoolmarm.’ (Wright, p32, 1975)
Wright cites Shane (George Stevens, 1953) and Dodge City (Michael Curtiz, 1939) as two examples of this model. With such a standard, familiar plot, and with such recognisable iconography, the Western is ripe for subversion. From within the industrial context of Hollywood Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954) is an excellent example of a film which takes some of these elements and twists them into something unusual. In Johnny Guitar it is the foregrounding of the female characters and the overall passivity of the male characters which subverts some of the ideology of the traditional Western. The Great Silence lays out its narrative in a relatively straightforward way. The hero, a mute gunfighter called Silence, arrives in a town called Snow Hill and is hired by a local woman to kill the bounty hunters who have shot and killed her husband. The bounty hunters have been hired by Policutt, the local banker, to kill former townspeople who have been forced from their homes and have to steal to survive. Corbucci’s criticism of capitalism here is explicit. The townspeople have been declared criminals by the state, and the hunting of them is protected by law. However, the townspeople are only outlaws due to the policies of the state and its protection of property over people. Thus the narrative is set up for Silence to kill the villainous capitalists and liberate the town. However, each aspect of the film in some way deviates from most standard Western texts, whether American or Italian. The location is not the traditional Western landscape, it is set in the snow, rather than the desert or plains. The bleakness of the winter landscape complements the bleakness and pessimism of the tone of the film, foreshadowing the ending of Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971). It also provides further motivation for the characters, and the living conditions and chances of survival for the outlawed townspeople is made much harder as a result. In his book 10,000 Ways to Die: A Directors Take on the Spaghetti Western, Alex Cox notes that “many shots are filtered by smoke, or falling snow, or windows. Indeed, there are so many rippling images through glass that the film at times resembles a ship inside a bottle, or a snowscene –fair metaphors for the enclosed, cruel world herein displayed” (Cox, 2009, p187). In this sense the backdrop of snow isolates the events of the story by providing very little other visible geographical detail. While it would be a stretch to say that this gives the film a fairytale element, it does divorce it from being part of the recognisable world of the Western. The film takes place in its own world, rather than part of the American Frontier.
Silence shares superficial characteristics with other heroes from Spaghetti Westerns: he is dressed in black, has superhuman accuracy with a firearm, and is anti heroic, sharing some of his characteristics with the villains. For example his price for hire is the same as that of the chief bounty hunter Tigero. Hero and villain sharing similar traits is also clearly visible in Leone’s movies, where the dualism of Leone’s heroes and villains is a recurrent motif. Corbucci’s Django and Leone’s The Man with No Name are quiet characters, typically ‘strong and silent’ types, but Silence is actually a mute, as a result of his throat being cut by Policutt as a child. Being unable to express himself verbally gives him an unusual vulnerability and sensitivity. It is not because he is tough that he does not scream in pain when tortured at one point, but because he cannot. His ‘exceptional ability’ is that he is extremely fast and accurate with a gun. However, even this factor deviates from the iconography of a standard Western. His gun is a semi automatic Mauser rather than a revolver. His accuracy with it is incredible, but the gun’s more rapid rate of fire gives him an unfair advantage over his opponents, who are using the standard single action revolvers familiar from most Westerns. His ‘exceptional ability’ in this case is more as a result of technology than any physical prowess. The hero with special, unique equipment is familiar from many genres, and was a vital component of sixties action cinema, with the James Bond franchise leading the way. It is also, of course, present in Propp’s narrative functions, the hero’s use of a ‘Magical Agent’. The key Spaghetti Western reference for the hero with special equipment is Gianfranco Parolini’s ‘Sabata’ trilogy, Sabata (1969), Adios, Sabata (1971), and Return of Sabata (1971). Sabata has an array of unique firearms to mark him as special and give him advantage over the villains. But for Silence this ‘exceptional ability’ and special equipment does not save him. After Silence has been killed Tigero removes the Mauser from his corpse and takes it for himself, delivering a symbolic castration upon the hero. The hero is not only defeated but also defiled. This is not the only indignity suffered by Silence. His shooting hand is held in a fire just prior to the climax, injuring him sufficiently so that he cannot defend himself adequately at the final showdown. The destruction of the hero’s hands is significant. In the very first scene Silence shoots the thumbs off a bounty hunter so that he is unable to be able to fire a gun again. He also shoots off Policutt’s thumb. Silence is a killer for hire like the bounty hunters, and both use similar torture techniques, thus the link between them is established.
In the American Western the action takes place across a number of homosocial spaces, the saloon, the range, amongst cavalry units and such like. But there is often a home, run by women, to come back to, as a refuge or reward. The concept of the family, even if it is temporarily torn apart in film such as The Searchers (John Ford, 1956), remains fundamentally in place. In the Italian Western this is not the case. The home and family is seen as a weak unit, vulnerable to the whims and desires of bad men. The massacres of the families that take place near the start of Leone’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) serve to show us the ruthlessness of the chief villains and the power of the gun, money and business over that of the family. The regular invasion of the home in the Spaghetti Western and the relative lack of female characters, means the entire screen space becomes homosocial.
Spaghetti Westerns were, with one or two exceptions, a celebration of the masculine world where men were men and women – on the rare occasions they appeared – seemed to like it that way: the understated masculinity of the classic Hollywood Western (which belonged to the same world, only less so) had turned into in your face close ups of rugged faces, twitching hands and fetishized weaponry, maleness as spectacle and style, and sometimes into extraordinary feats of athleticism and grace. The audience stared at the protagonists staring at each other. The women were usually, as the cliché goes, madonnas or whores and sometimes both at once. The politics of the Spaghetti Western, which could be quite radical, did not extend very far into sexual politics’. (Frayling, 2006, p. XVI)
However, the lead female character of Pauline in The Great Silence is more proactive and displays more power than is usual in an Italian Western. She seeks vengeance for the death of her husband through Silence, and dies by his side at the end when she attempts to use the dead Silence’s gun to kill Tigero. Her actions in this case propel the narrative. She also has two interesting scenes with Policutt where she demonstrates a control over her own body and sexuality which is unusual for this type of film. First, she turns down his offer of sex for $1000, instead willingly offering herself to Silence. That her and Silence later share a sex scene and fall in love implies this is because she finds him more attractive than Policutt. Pauline is also the one who seduces Silence, rather than the other way round, and because he is unable to verbally consent to her advances, she has to physically make a move on him. Later in the film she avoids being raped by Policutt. This is with Silence’s help, but the fight she puts up again shows a higher level of autonomy over her body than most female characters in American or Spaghetti Westerns. In this sense she is neither ‘madonna’ nor ‘whore’. Her character exists as a vital part of the narrative, rather than providing a shorthand image of ‘goodness’, as a ‘madonna’ type character would, or as a ‘whore’ type character, which typically exists to provide visual pleasure, and to give the hero someone to save. Pauline is also black, which adds another subversive twist to the film. Black characters have been historically underrepresented in Westerns and sex scenes between white and black actors are still a rarity in commercial cinema. It allows Corbucci to make the character of Tigero more villainous by making him a racist. After he has been paid to kill Pauline’s (black) husband he comments ‘What times we live in, when a black man is worth as much as a white man’.
The pessimistic ending of The Great Silence is the culmination of all these subversive tweaks to the traditional Western codes and conventions. The death of the hero is in itself not that unusual, certainly not in the late 1960’s. In the same year the African American hero of Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968) is shot and killed. The death is presented in a matter of fact way and the corpse of the hero is then slung on a bonfire. As in Corbucci’s film the hero not only dies but suffers indignity. In Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969) the two heroes are also murdered at the film’s climax. The key difference is that the heroes are killed by similarly disenfranchised groups, in these cases reactionary, Redneck characters. In their own way they are as much outsiders from mainstream American society as the leads. They stand in ideological opposition to the lead characters – blacks, zombies, hippies – but, as Southerners, are also traditionally in opposition to the central, or union, American government. The villains who kill Silence and Pauline, and who then turn their guns on the outlawed townspeople, leaving none alive, are working as part of the establishment. They are not the law, but they are in the service of capital by helping to protecting it. By the films’ end capitalism is shown as a crushing force, more powerful than the interests of the public. Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971) is one of the few films that comes close to sharing a similar, inevitably bleak conclusion where the good characters are powerless against the unstoppable, evil establishment. However, what makes Corbucci’s film more subversive than The Devils , and more so than Romero and Hopper’s films, is that it is part of a far more established, conventional genre. Night of the Living Dead , Easy Rider and The Devils may be original, subversive, and idiosyncratic films, but were all made without the restrictions of well established genre conventions. Unlike these films The Great Silence not only contains material that is oppositional and anti authoritarian, but also subverts and comments on the very genre that it is part of.
The film’s simple politics (Cox 2009), made as part of an action film, lead to the inevitable debate about what it means to make films within the system it criticises. Frayling outlines the argument made by Cahiers du Cinema critic Pierre Baudry that;
A colonial ideology is being used to ‘criticise’ a colonial reality – a dangerous game to play – and, in the process, all we get is a repetition of nineteenth – century stereotypes (the dignified poor versus the immoral rich). (Frayling, 2006, p. 228,)
This is in relation to the more explicit political Spaghetti Westerns of Corbucci, Sollima, and Damiani, but this argument could also apply to The Great Silence or to any film made by a significant studio that criticises the capitalist institution which either makes or distributes it. Staig and Williams counter this by claiming that “the motifs of the political Western can get the message across to a mass audience better than any Le Vent d’Est of a Jean Luc Godard” (1975, p. 92,). This is a persuasive argument, going against the Godard/Dziga Vertov groups’ concept that it is important to make films politically, rather than just make political films. The politics of these films also contradict the claim made by Sterritt (1999) that Le Vent d’Est (1970) (which stars Spaghetti Western icon and self-proclaimed Communist, Gian Maria Volonté) was ‘cinema’s first Marxist western’ (1999, p. 130). However, while exempting Corbucci, Sollima and Damiani from criticism, they are also of the opinion that “in many cases the political Western was just another gimmick employed by directors to add a new novelty to their films” (1975, p.92). They go on to make the point that these films appear to be addressing politics that have little relation to the real West that the films are aiming to represent. This is a flawed argument however, because many films use the trapping of genre (the setting, locations, iconography) to spin a narrative that is allegorical. In the Science Fiction genre this is standard, just in reverse, where representations of the future may be used to comment on the present. But this is not necessarily how The Great Silence works. It does not have to be read as politically allegorical. It is a subversive film that uses the narrative conventions and iconography of the genre (drawing heavily on the ‘Classical Plot’) to criticise and comment on the conventions of the genre itself. And rather than being allegorical, it is a targeted attack on capitalism and other reactionary politics, in keeping with the mood of the times it was made.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cox, A. (2009) 10,000 Ways To Die: A Director’s Take on the Spaghetti Western. Kamera Books.
Frayling, C. (2006) Spaghetti Westerns: Cowboys and Europeans from Karl May to Sergio Leone. 2006 edition, I.B. Tauris & Co.
Porton, R. (1999) Film and the Anarchist Imagination. London. Verso Books
Staig, L and Williams, T. (1975) Italian Western: The Opera of Violence. London. Lorrimer Publishing Ltd
Sterritt, D. (1999) The Films of Jean Luc Godard: Seeing the Invisible. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press
Wright, W. (1975) Sixguns and Society: A Structural Study of the Western. London.University of California Press, Ltd. | {
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@nikita94 said:
Can you show Patch Notes?
There's a new map "Molten Falls", probably Goroth themed; new Store item - rename token;
Some small tweaks to weapon balance: Tribolt bolts will travel slower but for longer, teeny tiny buff to LG, teeeeeeeEEEEEEEEny tiny nerf to Super Shotgun, we're talking server ticks worth of timing.
Galena's Totems are twice as easy to destroy and take longer to recharge, Sorlag gets another buff to ability and speed but nerf to airstrafe, Strogg buffed in drone department, TEEENY TINY suggestive buff to Clutch.
Not posting precise values because: 1) they're subject to change overnight; 2) whatever the values are, most probably those are not going to be precisely the same in public build. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
CRAIG BOX: I made sure to see it early because I didn't want anybody spoiling it for me. I mean, I'd be heartbroken if, before watching the movie, I'd learned that [CENSOR BLEEP]
ADAM GLICK: I said, no spoilers!
CRAIG BOX: Oh, not a spoiler, though make sure you do a Google search for Thanos and click the little gauntlet icon in the top right-hand corner, the little info box. It's a little Easter egg. But you probably do want to make sure you've seen the movie first, because you never know what you'll find spoiled.
ADAM GLICK: You should have seen "Infinity War" in order to click on that.
CRAIG BOX: It's getting to the point where you pretty much have to have seen all 22 preceding movies to understand everything that they want you to.
[ADAM CHUCKLING]
ADAM GLICK: Fair enough. I will say that when I watched "Infinity War," there were certain characters that they never even said the name of the character. They just assumed you knew who they were and what their power was. And I felt a little lost, as I've probably only seen about half of the movies.
Speaking of spoilers, I want to mention that I'm really enjoying the latest season of "Game of Thrones." But I will leave it at that until it completes so as not to ruin that for anyone.
CRAIG BOX: I still haven't seen it from the beginning. So you may have to wait a lot longer than that.
[ADAM CHUCKLING]
Played any new games lately?
ADAM GLICK: I have. One I really enjoy, it's called Gorogoa. It is everything that I love about creative and artistic puzzle games that's out there. It really shows what some great indie developers are putting out there. So if you like things like "Framed" or "Monument Valley," some of these just kind of creative and different ways to approach a mobile game, I've really found that it's been enjoyable, and something that's really been a fun, artistic, and creative way to enjoy a game on a phone.
CRAIG BOX: And looking on Twitter, I see you've had some good conversations this weekend.
[ADAM CHUCKLING]
ADAM GLICK: Ah, yes, we were wandering through the local park where we moved, and it's always full of some really interesting people. We really love it.
But there was this one gentleman that I just love. We've seen him there a couple of weeks. And he just has a giant sign that just feels so Seattle. He has a big whiteboard that says, "I desire a conversation. Will you talk to me?"
And he's sitting there in a tie dye shirt, and hat, and sunglasses. He has this purple towel on his lap, and he is hand-feeding a squirrel while sitting there and chatting with folks. And I just was like, I love this guy.
CRAIG BOX: Was the sign written in human or in squirrel?
ADAM GLICK: It was written in English.
CRAIG BOX: Got some very smart squirrels in Seattle, then, obviously.
[ADAM CHUCKLING]
ADAM GLICK: Indeed. Well, you know, we are a big reader city. So the library is right there, and you know, everyone's reading. Also I wanted to call out that it was one year ago today that we launched the first episode of this podcast. And we wanted to offer our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported us with the podcasts, from our guests to especially you all, our audience, for tuning in each week.
We love doing this podcast, we love meeting all of you at events, and we look forward to the next year as we continue to bring you news and interviews from across the cloud-native world.
CRAIG BOX: Yes, thank you. Please come up and say hello if you see us at KubeCon EU. And if you don't follow us yet on Twitter, please pop on and check out @KubernetesPod. We'd love it if you dropped us a line to say hello. We love hearing from you all, and we want to have the chance to thank you individually for sharing a few moments of each week with us.
ADAM GLICK: Let's get to the news.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Docker announced on Monday that on Thursday, April 25, 190,000 accounts' data had been hacked. Usernames and hashed passwords were taken, as well as API tokens for GitHub and BitBucket if they were attached to the account for auto-builds. Docker is asking users to change their Docker Hub password, as well as any other accounts that shared the same password. If you had auto-build set up, Docker has revoked those tokens, so your auto-builds will fail till new tokens are created and shared. Note-- to do this, you may have to unlink and relink your accounts.
Since this only impacted some Docker Hub users, Docker has said that they have sent password reset emails to all impacted users. So you should check your email to see if you've been impacted. Docker also posted the slightly confusing statement that you don't need to change your password unless you were emailed, but that changing your password isn't a bad idea. Given that advice, it might make sense to update your password out of an abundance of caution.
CRAIG BOX: Rancher Labs has released an operating system to accompany their K3S-- that's K-3-S-- Kubernetes distribution. They have again named the project, spelled K-3-O-S, with no pronunciation guide. So while Adam wanted to call it "KeyOS," I'm going with "Chaos," as if it was from "Get Smart." K3OS is based on the Ubuntu kernel, with tools added from Alpine Linux. It also has K3S built in, so patching your OS and Kubernetes happens in one step.
Rancher says that this is targeted at fast-startup application settings like edge computing. K3OS is a slimmed-down OS, conceptually similar to things like Google's Container OS and CoreOS, which Red Hat bought last year. It's also a little like Rancher OS, which it seems like they might have forgotten that they make.
ADAM GLICK: One cluster, or many? It's easy to communicate within a cluster, but cross-cluster boundaries can be hard. A service mesh can be a solution, but it sometimes raises more questions about how to architect your network and where to put your fault domains. Andrew Jenkins, the CTO of Aspen Mesh, talks about extending Istio across clusters in an article on InfoQ looking at various trade-offs when running in a multi-cluster environment. No one answer is suited to all use cases, but if you can identify your requirements and trace a line with your finger, he ends with a table of options.
CRAIG BOX: The Google Cloud Security Team had a very busy Next conference, launching a variety of new features. Product manager and episode 8 guest Maya Kaczorowski, along with Anne Bertucio, has written a summary of them all, including enhancements to identity, secrets, software supply chain, container isolation, and OS hardening. If you didn't have a chance to get to Next and you have a passing interest in container security, you should check it out.
ADAM GLICK: The Linux Foundation is looking for people to help localize the Kubernetes docs. The community has been expanding the documentation to additional languages over the past year, with partial documentation now available in nine languages. There are more languages being added, like Hindi. So if you are multilingual and would like to help support one of the existing languages or add a new one, the folks at SIG Docs would love to hear from you.
If you're interested in the history of docs localization, take a trip all the way back to episode 5. But be warned, we weren't anywhere near as slick back then.
CRAIG BOX: If your applications depend on SSL or TLS to the point where hardware acceleration is under consideration, Mikko Ylinen from Intel has a deal for you. On the Kubernetes blog, he explains how a combination of the device plugin and runtime class features, both beta and 114, can enable this use case. Device plugin is used to register the hardware accelerator on a node with Kubernetes so you can schedule work to nodes with their hardware. Runtime class is used because you need to use KataContainers to virtualize that hardware and pass it through to your container.
Mikko suggests that SSL termination for ingress is the most likely reason to use this. An example is given for HA proxy, which uses open SSL, and work is being done to enable Envoy, which uses Google's boring SSL fork to do the same.
ADAM GLICK: The CNCF is rebranding the EmpowHER networking event to be EmpowerUs. This is an event being held at KubeCon EU, and focuses on female and non-binary attendees by providing networking opportunities and hors d'oeuvres. The event will be held Monday, May 20, from 6 to 8 PM at the Hotel Porta Fira. Registration is now open if you're interested in attending.
CRAIG BOX: And that's the news.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Gabe Jaynes is a DevOps architect with KeyBank. Welcome to the show, Gabe.
GABE JAYNES: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
CRAIG BOX: Can we start by asking what exactly is KeyBank?
GABE JAYNES: So Key is a 200-year-old bank that has gone through many mergers and acquisitions over the years. We have a wide footprint across the country, from Alaska, but based in Cleveland. We have about 1,200 branches. And we're a top-20 in deposits US bank. So we like to make the joke that were the biggest bank no one's ever heard of.
CRAIG BOX: And so your customers are customers as opposed to financial services for businesses, or...?
GABE JAYNES: We do a bit of both. So a lot of what we do is in the consumer space. We have a large online banking for those consumers, as well as a treasury service for our corporate customers. And both of those we actually host on the front ends. All the client stuff is hosted on Kubernetes within containers.
CRAIG BOX: Wow. So you mentioned before you're a 200-year-old company. So that was obviously pre-internet. What was the journey like for you? First of all, like, when did KeyBank start adopting digital banking?
GABE JAYNES: It definitely goes back to the early ages of the internet, where we had a very simple web page. And actually there was a sort of Max Headroom character that someone was trying to develop, as the guidepost for your digital experience with KeyBank.
CRAIG BOX: The Clippy of money.
GABE JAYNES: Yes, indeed. And it didn't last long from what I can see from the wayback machine of the internet. But we've developed from there. We've had several internet banking solutions that we've developed in-house. But back in 2015, it was realized that we were kind of behind our peers, from studies showing the quality of it, et cetera. So we realized we had to rewrite the entire thing as a new modern web app, using modern technologies.
CRAIG BOX: Are you regulated to the same degree that the large banks and the sort of industrial finance sector is?
GABE JAYNES: Yes. So many of the same regulations, which is always an interesting topic, and always an interesting way to shut down progress. But we find ways to kind of work with our regulators, work with our audit and legal teams, and make sure that we are crossing all the T's, dotting all the I's, and we're ahead of the game in terms of security and our ability to deliver reliably.
CRAIG BOX: So the genesis of your Kubernetes story goes back to 2015. What happened then?
GABE JAYNES: We were looking to rewrite our web and mobile apps. And what started to happen is, we were going to acquire another bank, and it was a major acquisition for us. We realized that the timeline for that development was too far in such a way that our new customers were going to have to convert experiences twice-- once to KeyBank, and then once to KeyBank new experience.
We realized we didn't want that. So the project was called Digital '17. We were going to deliver in the middle of 2017. And all of a sudden, we had an acquisition that was going to be customer day 1, October 2016. So that customer day 1 was a big date for us. If we couldn't deliver long before that and convert customers over internally, we weren't going to be able to deliver a new experience at all, and we were going to shut down the project.
So we were in the architecture space at the time, drawing pretty pictures in Visio. And we realized we needed to roll our sleeves up and actually deliver something that could help accelerate this experience, accelerate the development environment, move away from the waterfall model of, every week or two you get into a testing environment and then you see all the defects you've introduced a week or two before.
CRAIG BOX: I'm glad you could do it within two weeks.
GABE JAYNES: Yes, indeed. So it was a very manual process. It was a very laborious process for the development and product delivery teams. And we wanted to make sure that that was a better, smoother, faster, automated experience in every way.
CRAIG BOX: With the way everything changes, sometimes it's hard to remember what things were like four years ago.
GABE JAYNES: Indeed.
CRAIG BOX: What was the state of the cloud at that time, to you?
GABE JAYNES: So for us, cloud was an aspirational goal. We definitely like the idea of using someone else's automation and someone else's resources, and getting that frictionless "if I need a server, I get a server." But at the same time, we were looking a little bit deeper than that and realizing that the world of Hypervisor, the world of VMs and building heavy platforms on top of that, and then patching and maintaining those wasn't necessarily something that was going to make us faster and a differentiator in the banking space with our peers.
CRAIG BOX: You were running virtual machines on-premises at this time?
GABE JAYNES: Yes.
CRAIG BOX: Right. And the automations that you were looking at then, what kind of technologies were you evaluating in order to make this modernization?
GABE JAYNES: There were a large number of cloud orchestration tools that we had looked at from any number of vendors. And we continued to come back to the idea that the orchestration that they were trying to build, a template that would deliver a three-tier architecture, et cetera wasn't really fitting our needs. Most of our apps are very custom, very niche apps, a lot of Windows things that are meant for more workgroup sizes, but we build them into the various lines of business that we have.
So looking at that, it was too varied to say, this template fits all of our apps. We realized we needed to be more custom. Or, for things we developed internally, we wanted to make sure we had the paved road of the fastest, best delivery that we could provide. And that's really what led us to containers and trying to find something to orchestrate container so we could run them in production.
CRAIG BOX: All right. And so what was the evaluation like for tooling available at the time in the container space?
GABE JAYNES: At the time, the way we looked at it, we looked at what Mesos was offering, what Docker Swarm was offering, what Kubernetes was offering, and we spent a little time with Pivotal and what they were bringing to the table. We realized at that time-- and this is December 2015, I'd say-- that Kubernetes was ahead of the game in what they could deliver in the enterprise space specifically for the needs that we thought we had at the time.
We learned very quickly what we didn't know, and we learned very quickly what we'd need to solve for if we were to build this system.
CRAIG BOX: Well, let's dig into those. What didn't you know?
GABE JAYNES: One of the things, when we started to look at what it would take to run containers in production and orchestrate them with Kubernetes, there were a lot of blanks in what should be our on-prem registry, what should be our networking layer, what's our software-defined network, what's the ingress tier, are we going to use F5, and is that mature yet? Are we running something like HAProxy, or are we running something else?
So there were any number of decisions to be made. And we realized if we were going to do this alone, we were going to have to do a lot of testing. If we're going to roll up our sleeves and really do this ourselves, and roll our own, it was going to be troublesome and it was going to take a lot of time just to pick the right technologies.
We were OK with that, to iterate through it, and deliver constantly with kind of abstracting it from our development community. They don't need to know the secret sauce underneath as long as it's working and running their code and they can get to their services. But we thought we were going to spend a lot of time on that, and that was daunting at that time.
CRAIG BOX: And so what things did you have to build?
GABE JAYNES: The biggest thing that we built wasn't even the Kubernetes side. We ended up partnering with Red Hat for that. Their open-ship product at the time was very ahead in the enterprise space. It solved a lot of those boxes for it.
CRAIG BOX: Great.
GABE JAYNES: I think, at this point in time, it's more of a commodity. A lot of those things are very well understood. And you still have a number of choices, but the choices have a lot more meaning behind them in that you're trying to accomplish a specific task. When we were looking at it at that point, we really had no idea one networking layer to another. So it was nice to have a platform meant for enterprise that made some decisions for us and that allowed us to accelerate past making those decisions ourselves.
So the majority of the time we spent was actually outside the Kubernetes space, really in the CI/CD pipeline. A lot of building out the automated testing, building out Jenkins to do all of our Swiss Army knife of build and all that other stuff. We had looked at a release platform so that we could build and release in an enterprise production way, very similar to what we were trying to do with the rest of our code management and deploy. And we actually jettisoned that entire idea because we found it wasn't necessary for the kind of bespoke pipeline that we were creating for internet banking. We did everything in Jenkins.
So it was nice that we could kind of pare down what we needed to attack. The attack surface is now figure out pipelines, figure out automated testing, and figure out delivery in containers, and we're going to forget about everything else for right now. So it allowed us to really quickly move, and I think probably saved us at least three months of going back and forth and deciding if we had the right technology stack. As much as I love talking technology stacks and putting slides together with all sorts of logos on it and saying, this is what we do for everything, that conversation can change every day if you want it to. There's too much in this space not to.
CRAIG BOX: Do you think that the situation is better today, especially in the open-source world, given that the vendors put together a happy path and say, use these tools? There's so much choice. You've mentioned, say, network layers. There are still Flannel, and Calico, and Cilium. There are options out there. Do you feel that it's overwhelming?
GABE JAYNES: It is slightly overwhelming to understand what the differentiators behind them are. I think the nice thing for us is, every enterprise is different. Every enterprise has a different set of hardware and software. Whether it's the routing tiers, switching tier, the load-balanced tier, or the firewall tier, all of these things are different.
So looking at how well a product is malleable enough that it can interact with all of those, and someone's created the plugin that goes out there and manages your load balancer or whatever it happens to be, that's helpful. But it's very helpful when a company comes along to help me with a product, and they make some of those decisions, and they really at least setup kind of the guardrails so I don't have to look at all of the world if I don't want to. But at the same time, if I really need to for some reason, I can go off the paved road and find my own thing.
CRAIG BOX: Kubernetes obviously makes that very easy in that it supports plugins of disks, and storage, and networking, and so on. And then the abstractions that make that possible-- we now have the CNI, in the CRI, and the CSI Miami and so on.
[GABE CHUCKLING]
All of those things-- do you feel that that has paved the way for the integrations with the existing systems that you had, made this possible?
GABE JAYNES: Yeah, definitely. That's one of the best things about this ecosystem is, once Kubernetes had been well accepted by every major cloud, every major vendor, that kind of accelerated, and now it's very mature. Versus where we were when we started, which was trying to figure out what was mature and what wasn't. Is this ready for prime time? Can we put this in production, and can we run our bank, the most critical app, the most accessed way our bank is seen by customers?
Is this good enough for that? And am I going to be able to tell my executives, and our CEO, and our board that we're going to be OK with this because we've chosen, at the time, for an enterprise, cutting-edge technology. And we're delivering our most critical project on it.
CRAIG BOX: I wanted to ask about that. Because you're talking about starting this project in 2015 and launching 2016-2017. So that is in the first two or three years of Kubernetes' existence, let alone its maturity. What was the conversation like with the senior executives?
GABE JAYNES: We went to the product team and the product delivery manager for that internet banking experience. We decided that we could help accelerate them, and we sold them by saying, look, if you check in code today, I can deploy it a minute later. Now, give me another few minutes, and I'll run a bunch of tests against it. If you write those tests, we'll do a bunch of automated testing. And then we'll do some end-to-end testing if you want.
CRAIG BOX: What will they do for the rest of the two weeks?
GABE JAYNES: It's an interesting question. Apparently, they'll code more and deliver faster.
CRAIG BOX: Brilliant.
GABE JAYNES: So that was what was exciting our delivery team. They were very interested in what we were selling them, which was we'll accelerate everything you do and we'll give you instant feedback, rather than waiting a few weeks to see what bugs and defects you'd introduced into the codebase.
CRAIG BOX: Do you have a metric for the performance improvement or the turnaround productivity?
GABE JAYNES: We do have some metrics. I don't have one of my PR slides in front of me. We're very good at keeping those numbers and having a slide deck that kind of talks through what we've done. But we were going from a lot of manual testing that would happen every several weeks-- and that's hundreds upon hundreds of tests in a Word document that just lists, do this, then this, then this, and see what happens-- to running tens of thousands of tests every hour, basically. We're now to running millions of tests a day against all of the projects that are delivering through these pipelines.
CRAIG BOX: What's an example of one of those tests?
GABE JAYNES: Simple login tests. When we initially delivered this, we had some interesting issues with the login flow. So we continually added testing around that, forgot password, and really simple things that it seems like a simple service, but because of the way users interact with it, we needed to make sure it was foolproof. And especially as we were acquiring another bank and we were going to have hundreds of thousands of new users trying to log in and use all of this new functionality, it needed to be bulletproof.
So we wrote a lot of testing around, here all the scenarios we can come up with that test the login service, the forgot password service, all that stuff. That doesn't sound that interesting, but it was incredibly resourceful for us. It paid off a lot to be able to say, every time you change or modify the service, we're going to run a bunch of tests to make sure you didn't break it.
CRAIG BOX: So you mentioned, again, 200-year-old bank. I'm going to assume you've moved on from storing data on parchment or clay tablets or something. There's going to be some sort of mainframe behind this.
GABE JAYNES: Indeed. Like many of the fine banks of this nation and others, we have a mainframe.
CRAIG BOX: Is it all written in Fortran?
GABE JAYNES: It is a lot of COBOL, it is a lot of JCL, it's a lot of things that I don't usually get my hands on. But we definitely interface with the mainframe every day. We have a very strong relationship, a very reliable system that has been doing what it's been doing for many, many years. So moving away from that for any bank is a huge journey. And really, I wouldn't even say that mainframe is slower to deliver on. We just kind of abstract away from it with what we're doing in the services layers, and add all the functionality there.
So we have a bit of a strangler pattern, where we look at the systems that do not change on mainframe. When we add new features, we add those in the distributed space. And now, really, we're doing a lot of that in containers. So we're moving pretty quickly to abstract away from that so that we can be more agile around the mainframe without having to have very great depth in delivery on mainframe.
CRAIG BOX: Mainframes are an area that I'm not going to say I'm hugely familiar with. But the systems, to start with, we're talking VT220 terminals and so on. Do we get to a point where we are able to interact with them today in modern RESTful ways? Or do you have to implement that yourself in order to be able to build your cloud-native systems to connect to that?
GABE JAYNES: Specifically the way we interface with it, we wrote a service layer on top of mainframe that we interact with all of our main transactions, therefore, interact with the back end data, the back end systems that run on mainframe. So we have several layers of abstraction. And even the main layer of abstraction is something custom-written at Key something like 20 years ago.
CRAIG BOX: So you've extended your own mainframe system to be able to talk in a way that the Kubernetes environment's able to connect to.
GABE JAYNES: Yeah.
CRAIG BOX: How do you test and validate data across those two worlds? Like, you're talking real customer data here. Are you able to run tests that validate the-- that works end to end with a mainframe as well?
GABE JAYNES: Yeah. I think, really, all we're doing there is mainframe becomes more of a database. It's the data source, it's the truth. Everything that we look for, that data is there. So we load that with the appropriate data to test against. And then we're running the same transaction. So it just becomes another layer in the whole testing flow. We don't do anything very specifically mainframe-focused because we're looking at it as a service as a whole.
CRAIG BOX: Now you mentioned that this is for an acquisition. And we're talking about online banking, which is very modern, very web-facing technology. Are there other legacy technologies inside the bank that you're saying this platform would be really good for and thinking about migrating?
GABE JAYNES: We definitely have taken some things you wouldn't normally containerize, and run them with Kubernetes orchestrating them.
CRAIG BOX: Some examples?
GABE JAYNES: I think one of the most interesting ones-- we had some legacy code that calls directly to the IBM CICS transaction gateway. So we've got this IBM CICS service running on mainframe, and we have a client that connects to that. So it's not a very modern tool, and it wants to be root on any system it runs on, et cetera. So it has some interesting peculiarities that running in a container wouldn't normally allow for. So we break some security model and run it in a contain, but extra-permission-having space.
CRAIG BOX: OK.
[GABE CHUCKLING]
And you're comfortable running that in the same environment that--
GABE JAYNES: Looking at the controls that are in place around it and what we've been able to do from a security management standpoint, we think we have that under control. But it's something we constantly review.
CRAIG BOX: Do you have a security team that you work with?
GABE JAYNES: Yeah, and I think that was actually-- as we started to build this out, we contacted them very early. Containers are very new, this is something that in the security space not a lot of people have had their hands on, they've probably read about it at the time. And we wanted to educate them very quickly, because we didn't want to get to the 11th hour to have them say, yeah, we can actually run that in production. We don't approve any of this, we trust it, et cetera.
So we've definitely gone through that. We've run through PCI and some other things, and really tried to educate them on why this is safe, why it is isolated, why it allows us to do what we do, and why doing things in software is OK, versus having specific hardware boundaries.
CRAIG BOX: You've been a design partner for GKE On-Prem. How did that come about?
GABE JAYNES: We've been very interested in the space, being in the container space. We love what Kubernetes has allowed us to do. So we're always looking for what's next in this. We have a number of ways we want to get to the cloud. And that's a journey that we've been on for a long time, and haven't necessarily executed on, because there's no workload that's made sense to this point.
But I think we were looking for an easy gateway to connect us and allow us to run workload anywhere. That's kind of the dream of hybrid cloud that everyone has. And we have ways to do that. There's nothing that keeps us from doing that with any platform that we have. But when Google came out and said we'll be able to manage multiple clusters from the same interface, whether it's on-prem, or in this cloud, and now in that cloud and the other, that's very interesting to us. Because that takes away a lot of the management overhead and a lot of the design overhead we'd have to go through otherwise. So very inviting to us to see that and to say we can be a part of that journey.
CRAIG BOX: And what has the journey been like in terms of, for example, recommendations that you've made back to our engineering teams to improve things?
GABE JAYNES: I think it's interesting to see a product like this come about. Because what works in a lab versus what customers are doing in their enterprise, it's infinitely varied, and we're no different. We check all the boxes, we have all the right prerequisites, but the way we usually set it up is different from everybody else.
So it's been interesting to kind of feedback and say, OK, we do networking like this, we expect our F5 device to be the default gateway. And you did not see that coming. You just thought it was a load balancer. So interesting things like that force us to look at the way we do most of our regular standard networking setups, and then feed that back and say, hey, here's a scenario you might not have seen before.
CRAIG BOX: I think one of the things with cloud is there's sort of an assumption that you will do things in the way in the best practice. And I think that is, in large part, because people are able to build new systems. When you're building something which effectively needs to slot into an existing environment, just the combinations, you think they multiply out?
GABE JAYNES: Yeah. And it's interesting to see just the networking space, specifically. You go and look at the way clouds work, and it's a very flat network. And then we invented VPCs so we could make it look like your data center. We look at that and go, oh, cool, yeah, we want a bunch of zones we're going to create, because that's how we do perimeter control of networking. But that means I'm tromboning all this traffic out to a firewall to come right back to a service that may sit right next to it, physically.
So that is definitely something that we're educating ourselves on. And that's partly our network team, that's our security team, that's everyone coming together and say, this is what we want to look like. We want to look like how the cloud's run. Because if Google, and Amazon, and Microsoft aren't doing it, we probably shouldn't be doing it in our data center.
So there's definitely a shift where we have to look at our core patterns and the way we develop, and design, and architect solutions, and come back to the table and say, well, this is really the modern way to do it. And interesting projects like Istio, and service meshes-- Consul and others, Linkerd-- allow us to think about that even further, and drive it further into software, so that as long as a network is delivering my packets and it's doing all the plumbing, I can do that at a higher tier of controlling how the networking works.
Certainly, micro-segmentation comes up all the time as we talk to our security partners. And there are numerous ways to solve it. But as we look at what we're able to do coming out of the container space as kind of the genesis for this, it is allowing us to move a lot faster and solve these problems a lot better of a place where it's closer to the application and the application logic than otherwise.
CRAIG BOX: I've heard of the use case for Istio explicitly, with a financial services customer who heads a VPC with 200 IPs that needs to have all the secure services running on it. And then that's full. And they've got so many IPs available in the different zone, but they're unable to put things there because the security is inherently tied with where you are in this pre-segmented network. And being able to move the identity to the application layer and effectively make the network flat, again, for the audience, Gabe, sort of opened his eyes wide at that point. I think that's something that sounds like you'd be interested in.
GABE JAYNES: Yeah, that is definitely one of the most exciting things I'm seeing in the space now. And certainly with Anthos and what we've been doing there, it's allowing us to play with that. where we weren't doing that in our other environment because it's kind of set in stone, we run it this way.
So it's been very cool to at least have access to that and start to work on use cases where we can really change the way our networking team and security teams are looking at this with us. Because if we can drive it back to the app team's ownership, it makes everybody move faster. It makes everything more visible, more traceable, and a lot more self-service, which is something we want to drive out through everything in the enterprise.
CRAIG BOX: Could you see a world where the service mesh extends beyond your Kubernetes environments and connects together real legacy workloads?
GABE JAYNES: Definitely. I would love to see that come about as we start to build it out. We're very much at the beginning of that part of the journey. It extends deeper than just running applications, especially stateless applications as we do now. But we want to see that extend out to everything that we're doing. There are a number of ways to put that control layer in there.
But I think, at this point, we're along with Istio, and we want to see how that goes. We're looking at several other products to do that-- or other tools, I should say. But the way Google's delivering GKE on-prem Anthos with Istio built in, it allows us to play with that and kick the tires very quickly.
CRAIG BOX: What other projects or products in the ecosystem excite you right now?
GABE JAYNES: I think the way the operator framework is coming about. We have an interest in running database orchestrated by Kubernetes. It doesn't sound like a good idea, but it's something we want to at least try out and see if it helps us move faster, specifically in the development environments. And then moving forward from there, we want to be able to deliver database as just another resource service, on-prem. We don't have that capability built out today anywhere else, and we thought it'd be great to prototype it just in containers, and then provide high availability and some other things using operator framework and see if that actually provides us some value.
CRAIG BOX: And what do you think that the next step is for the digital transformation of KeyBank?
GABE JAYNES: I think scaling faster is going to be-- as we extend out into more and more development teams, taking advantage of what we've built, our pipelines, our automated testing, our containerized environments, we want to see people move faster with that, deliver faster. We say CI/CD, but our CD isn't as continuous as it might sound. That's something we're building up so that we can deliver faster when everyone is ready to do it, and start taking out some of the roadblocks and some of the manual checkpoints that we still have in a number of our applications.
So really it's scaling out to the rest of the enterprise so everyone can benefit from the speed and the agility we're delivering, and then making sure we do it in a very maintainable way, which is somewhat hard to do for us. We built something that was very focused on one set of apps. And then saying, well, here's the next 100 apps that want to go down this path as well, we didn't plan for that incredibly well. And it's been really fun to solve some of those challenges.
CRAIG BOX: From an enterprise perspective, if there's one thing you could change about anything in the cloud-native ecosystem, what would it be?
GABE JAYNES: There's too many choices, as we've already talked about. That makes it very hard to do the day job of keeping up with the enterprise work that I do, and then look around and learn what's replacing this thing that I think is sacred to me today.
CRAIG BOX: You need someone to snap their fingers and remove half of every open source project out there.
GABE JAYNES: Yeah. That sounds so bad, because the vibrancy of the ecosystem is great. But at the same time, it pains me every day.
[GABE CHUCKLING]
CRAIG BOX: All right, Gabe, thank you so much for joining us today.
GABE JAYNES: Thank you very much.
CRAIG BOX: You can find Gabe in the basement of a KeyBank office somewhere in Cleveland, Ohio. And you can find KeyBank on the web at KeyBank.com or at one of 1,200 branches around the USA.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ADAM GLICK: Thanks for listening. As always, if you enjoyed the show, please help us spread the word and tell a friend. If you have any feedback for us, you can find us on Twitter, @KubernetesPod, or reach us by email at [email protected].
CRAIG BOX: You can always check out our website at kubernetespodcast.com, where you can find show notes and transcripts. Until next time, thank you for listening and take care.
ADAM GLICK: Catch you next week.
[MUSIC PLAYING] | {
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The US State Department makes some aggressive moves aimed at canceling the elections for the National Constituent Assembly in Venezuela, the last 24 hours.
Just days after the director of CIA revealed that he had contacts with officials in Mexico and Colombia to overthrow President Maduro, the US embassy in Caracas is removing the families of its diplomats and staff from the country.
At the same time, the US Ambassador in Nicaragua, Laura Dogu, has openly threatened the country's government with sanctions for its relations with Venezuela. The US diplomat stated that the US government and Congress know which countries support Venezuela, and added that Nicaragua has not so many friends in Washington to be able to support Caracas.
Washington has been threatening Nicaragua for years with a financial embargo - a tool that now uses for its plans to overthrow the Venezuelan president.
For his part, the president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, warned that Washington's possible intervention in Venezuela could lead to armed conflicts and blamed the Secretary General of the Organization of American States for interfering in Venezuela's domestic political life.
The US imposed financial sanctions on 13 officials in Venezuela, including the Ombudsman, Tarek William Saab. In the past, Saab had accused members of the opposition of threatening to set fire to his home and burn down members of his family.
Information from:
| {
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DryadLINQ is a simple, powerful, and elegant programming environment for writing large-scale data parallel applications running on large PC clusters.
Overview
The goal of DryadLINQ is to make distributed computing on large compute cluster simple enough for every programmer. DryadLINQ combines two important pieces of Microsoft technology: the Dryad distributed execution engine and the .NET Language Integrated Query (LINQ).
Dryad provides reliable, distributed computing on thousands of servers for large-scale data parallel applications. LINQ enables developers to write and debug their applications in a SQL-like query language, relying on the entire .NET library and using Visual Studio.
DryadLINQ translates LINQ programs into distributed Dryad computations:
C# and LINQ data objects become distributed partitioned files.
LINQ queries become distributed Dryad jobs.
C# methods become code running on the vertices of a Dryad job.
DryadLINQ has the following features:
Declarative programming: computations are expressed in a high-level language containing a superset of the best features of SQL, functional programming and .Net.
computations are expressed in a high-level language containing a superset of the best features of SQL, functional programming and .Net. Automatic parallelization: from sequential declarative code the DryadLINQ compiler generates highly parallel query plans spanning large computer clusters. DryadLINQ also exploits multi-core parallelism on each machine.
from sequential declarative code the DryadLINQ compiler generates highly parallel query plans spanning large computer clusters. DryadLINQ also exploits multi-core parallelism on each machine. Integration with Visual Studio: programmers in DryadLINQ take advantage of the comprehensive VS set of tools: Intellisense, code refactoring, integrated debugging, build, source code management.
programmers in DryadLINQ take advantage of the comprehensive VS set of tools: Intellisense, code refactoring, integrated debugging, build, source code management. Integration with .Net: all .Net libraries, including Visual Basic, and dynamic languages are available.
all .Net libraries, including Visual Basic, and dynamic languages are available. Type safety: distributed computations are statically type-checked.
distributed computations are statically type-checked. Automatic serialization: data transport mechanisms automatically handle all .Net object types.
data transport mechanisms automatically handle all .Net object types. Job graph optimizations: static: a rich set of term-rewriting query optimization rules is applied to the query plan, optimizing locality and improving performance. dynamic: run-time query plan optimizations automatically adapt the plan taking into account the statistics of the data set processed.
Conciseness: the following line of code is a complete implementation of the Map-Reduce computation framework in DryadLINQ:
A commercial implementation of Dryad and DryadLINQ was released in 2011 in beta form under the name Linq to HPC: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh378101.aspx. | {
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If you ever hear an announcement on a Disneyland or Walt Disney World PA calling for a "HEPA cleanup" it means that someone has just dumped a dead person's ashes in a ride. Again.
Obviously the Haunted Mansion is a prime locale for this, but the lawns, the water rides, the castles, and every other place get their share of cremains. It's cathartic for the ash-scatterers but seriously gross for the custodial staff.
To get ashes past the bag-search, it's best to hide them in pharmaceutical pill bottles or makeup compacts. The "HEPA cleanup" code replaces an unofficial and now banned castmember euphemism: "Code Grandma."
Though ash-scattering is a misdemeanor, it doesn't seem like anyone's ever been arrested for it.
Human ashes have been spread in flower beds, on bushes and on Magic Kingdom lawns; outside the park gates and during fireworks displays; on Pirates of the Caribbean and in the moat underneath the flying elephants of the Dumbo ride. Most frequently of all, according to custodians and park workers, they've been dispersed throughout the Haunted Mansion, the 49-year-old attraction featuring an eerie old estate full of imaginary ghosts. "The Haunted Mansion probably has so much human ashes in it that it's not even funny," said one Disneyland custodian. A Disney spokeswoman said, "this type of behavior is strictly prohibited and unlawful. Guests who attempt to do so will be escorted off property."
Disney World's Big Secret: It's a Favorite Spot to Scatter Family Ashes [Erich Schwartzel/WSJ]
(Thanks, Don!)
(Image: Benjamin D. Esham, Laurentius [CC-BY-SA]) | {
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Presto chango, horror maestro David F. Sandberg is going from scares to superheroes with DC’s Shazam!
The story of a boy who can say the word “Shazam!” and transform himself into the costumed Captain Marvel will be the next film to shoot in DC’s Extended Cinematic Universe.
Shazam! will be the seventh film in the DCEU following Man of Steel (2013); Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016); Suicide Squad (2016); Wonder Woman (2017); Justice League (2017) and Aquaman (2018).
Sandberg made a name for himself after he took his no-budget horror short Lights Out from YouTube to the big screen.
He then got a chance to direct Annabelle: Creation – the prequel to 2014’s Conjuring spinoff Annabelle.
From YouTube to DC in a short three-year period is a transformation of heroic proportions.
DC has several films in the pipeline – including Suicide Squad 2, The Flash, Wonder Woman 2 and The Batman – but Shazam! will be airborne first, following next year’s Aquaman – directed by Sandberg’s mentor (and Annabelle producer) James Wan.
But going from horror to heroes isn’t that big a stretch, Sandberg says.
“The big attraction for me with that character is the fact that every kid dreams of being Superman, right? I mean I certainly did, and (Billy Batson) is a kid that gets that chance,” Sandberg tells the Sun. “He gets to become the superhero. So it’ll be big with superpowers in a way. In terms of what people can expect, I think this will be one of the more fun or lighthearted movies so far in the DC universe. It certainly will be a departure.”
Expect Shazam! to hit theatres in 2019.
Annabelle: Creation opens Friday, Aug. 11.
Twitter: @markhdaniell
[email protected] | {
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So, you just got started with React and you’ve started building React apps and you’re wondering, how do I work with forms in React? Fret not. In this tutorial, I will explain how React deals with forms and events. I’ll also walk you through how to write code that helps to get input from the different form components and submit the data in a React application. Finally, I’ll show how to use the Formik library to build all kinds of forms, from simple to complex. Forms and events in React Before we begin to write code, it’s important to note how React deals with forms and events. Consider this simple input tag below: <input type="text" placeholder="First Name"> In order to get the data inside the input tag, you need to be able to fetch the content somehow. This doesn’t come easy for React, as there’s no preset API to help with this like Vue.js’ v-model or Angular’s ng-model . It doesn’t come easy, but it can be done. How? By making sure that the view (the input, select, or textarea field) is always in sync with the state. This means that the value for the input element must first be created in the state and then set to that state value in the render() function. Something like the code block below: As you can see in the code block above, the input element has a value of this.state.inputvalue which means the value of the input element is set to be in sync with the inputvalue in the state. This essentially translates to the fact that whatever is typed in the input field will be stored in the state, but there’s a problem here. We made a custom demo for .
No really. Click here to check it out . Click here to see the full demo with network requests
React doesn’t know how to detect if there’s a change in the input element if there was an addition or deletion. Use of a form event handler — onChange to check for changes. This will lead to the code block below: In the code block above, the input element now has an addition to the onChange event. The onChange event will be executed whenever there’s a change in input element and it’s set to execute the handleChange() function. The handleChange() function will always automatically set the state to the current value of the input. One more thing to note is the addition of a new line of code inside the constructor. this.handleChange = this.handleChange.bind(this); The line of code above is used to bind the handleChange() function. This is done because in JavaScript, class methods are not bound by default. If this is not done, the handleChange() function will return undefined when the onChange event is called. So React knows how to store the values from the input element to the state now, but how do we deal with form submission. Very simple. Take a look at the code block below: This is essentially the same code block as seen above, but with a few additions. The form now has an onSubmit event that executes the handleSubmit function. The handleSubmit() function does two things; it logs the current value of the input element whenever the form is submitted and most importantly it prevents the default HTML form behavior of browsing to a new page. The line of code below is also added to the constructor so as to bind the handleSubmit function. this.handleSubmit = this.handleSubmit.bind(this); It’s important to note that there are different methods to binding the functions. Binding them in the constructor is one way, but we can also use fat arrows. See the code block below for reference: The syntax above makes sure that this is bound within the handleSubmit function. The whole process above of syncing the value of the input element to the state is called Controlled Components. We essentially made the React state the single source of truth. The React component that’s responsible for rendering the form is also responsible for what happens whenever a user adds anything to the form. Now that we’ve seen how React deals with forms and how to ensure that the values are in sync with the state, let’s build a proper form with different types of fields, that is, <input> , <textarea> , <select> , radio e.t.c The code block/demo below has all the code needed to demonstrate how to deal with the different form fields. We’ll be going through each of them to see how it works. Input The code implementation for the input field is straightforward. The value is set to be in sync with fullname which is already declared in the state. The onChange event is used to execute the handleChange function if there’s a change in the input field. The only new thing on the input field above is the addition of the name attribute. Because we’ll be dealing with multiple input fields, it’s important to note which of them is actually being modified and the name attribute helps with that. The value of the name attribute has to be the same with the state values declared in the constructor. This is also why there’s a change in the handleChange function. In the code block above, the handleChange function uses the name attribute that was assigned to the different input elements to determine what to do based on the value of the event.target.value Textarea The textarea field also works in a similar fashion to that of the input field. The value is set to be in sync with message which is already declared in the state. It also has the name attribute and it’s set to message . Select The select element has a value attribute that’s set to be in sync with editor which is already declared in the state. Because it’s a dropdown of options, it’s important to know what’s being selected, that’s why each of the option tags has it’s own value attribute with unique contents. Checkbox The implementation of the checkbox element in React forms is a bit different from the others above. Instead of setting the this.state.terms value to the value attribute on the input field, it’s set to the checked attribute. The state value also has to be a boolean value, that means either a truthy or falsy value. Radio Implementing the radio element in React forms works in a similar fashion to that of the checkbox above. The radio elements all have the same name attribute but with different value attributes, as seen above where the value for the Yes radio is Yes and the value for the No radio is No. The checked attribute is used to set the value of the state to either Yes or No as seen above whenever either of the two is selected. Using Formik | {
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The NFL played its conference championship games this weekend and for the eleventh straight year a former Longhorn will play in the Super Bowl. Fozzy Whittaker's Carolina Panthers advanced to their second Super Bowl in the team's history with a 49-15 win over the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship game in Charlotte on Sunday. Whittaker carried the ball twice and had a 19-yard kickoff return to contribute to the Panthers' win.
Cardinals C Lyle Sendlein played the entire game, but his efforts were not enough to overcome four interceptions thrown by Arizona QB Carson Palmer.
In the AFC Championship game, DT Malcom Brown's New England Patriots were in a defensive slug-fest with the Denver Broncos. Brown helped the Patriots hold the Broncos to 244 yards in total offense, but the Broncos were able to outlast New England for a 20-18 victory in Denver.
Whittaker will now join the list as one of 53 former Longhorns who have played in a Super Bowl over its 50-year history. Texas has now had a player represented in the last 11 Super Bowls. Recent Longhorns who have played in the game include Earl Thomas, Michael Huff, Quentin Jammer, Leonard Davis, Tarell Brown, Chykie Brown, Justin Tucker and Aaron Ross. Click here to see the complete list.
Super Bowl 50 will be played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA on Sunday, February 7, 2016. Kickoff is set for 5:30pm CT (CBS).
Championship game performances:
Arizona Cardinals
C Lyle Sendlein anchored a line that helped QB Carson Palmer to 23 completions on 40 attempts for 235 yards and a touchdown, but the Cardinals lost 49-15 to the Carolina Panthers.
Alex Okafor was placed on reserve/non-football injury before the game and did not play.
Cory Redding was placed on injured reserve before the game and did not play.
Carrington Byndom remains on the practice squad.
Jaxon Shipley remains on the practice squad.
Carolina Panthers
RB Fozzy Whittaker had one kickoff return for 19 yards and two carries as the Panthers defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 49-15
New England Patriots
DT Malcom Brown tallied one tackle in the Patriots 20-18 loss to the Denver Broncos.
CB Tarell Brown remains on injured reserve. | {
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The annual race from Istanbul's Asian to European shore has been named the world's best open water swimming race.
The event, held every July, sees hundreds of swimmers cross the Bosphorus in the only inter-continental swimming contest.
The World Open Water Swimming Association named the 6.5 kilometer (4 mile) course as the best in the world, according to the Turkish National Olympic Committee, which has organized the race since 1989.
A list of the top 100 open water races was drawn up by the association's members after evaluating more than 3,000 races.
The award follows the Istanbul race being named "offering of the year" in 2016.
The 29th Samsung Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim was held on Sunday, when 2,277 swimmers from 49 countries crossed the straits.
During the race, the Bosphorus is closed to shipping as swimmers cross from Kanlıca pier on the Asian side to Kuruçeşme Cemil Topuzlu Park in Europe. | {
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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Has a British mum and an American dad Upvotes for everyone | {
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These challenges test your understanding of Ethereum accounts. | {
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On May 25, two days after the disastrous performance of the Congress in the Lok Sabha election, when Rahul Gandhi offered to resign as party president at a Congress Working Committee (CWC) session, many Congress insiders and almost everyone outside the party saw it as nothing but drama. It was expected to proceed along predictable lines: Rahul will offer to resign but CWC members will persuade him to stay on, he will take back his resignation and the party will continue to conduct its affairs as usual. Though Rahul kept reiterating that his intent was serious, the party veterans were unwilling to accept his decision and kept requesting him to reconsider.
Young and mid-level office-bearers offered their resignations; there was even a farcical suicide attempt outside the Congress headquarters. However, nothing could shake Rahul’s determination and, on July 3, the Congress scion posted a letter on Twitter, stating unequivocally that his decision was irreversible. Placing the party in an unprecedented position, this development has precipitated three major challenges before it: find a non-Gandhi leader who can keep the Congress united; urgently rebuild its organisational structure and strengthen its presence across the country and, finally, create an acceptable, alternative narrative to electorally counter the unbeatable duo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his deputy and home minister, Amit Shah.
What next?
The first challenge before the Congress is to find a president or, at least a provisional president, as a CWC member puts it, till the name is ratified in a Congress plenary. Though the Congress constitution provides for election of a president, it’s unlikely to happen under the current circumstances. There have been only two occasions when the party has elected its president, and though Rahul in 2017 opted for an election, no one stood against him and he was elected unopposed.
The Congress in its current avatar was formed in 1969 when Rahul’s grandmother Indira Gandhi led a successful coup against the then leadership of the party to form the Congress (R). These leaders had blamed her for the disastrous performance of the Congress in 1967 in the assembly elections to several Hindi heartland states and wanted to dethrone her as the prime minister. The Congress (R) became the Congress (I) in 1978 and, finally, the Indian National Congress, in 1996. The original Congress, meanwhile, died a silent death.
Between 1970 and 1977, Indira Gandhi appointed three loyal lieutenants as presidents. Kasu Brahmanand Reddy, another choice of hers, was elected in 1977 but by 1978, Indira Gandhi officially took charge of the party. Since then, it was only between 1992 and 1996 that a Gandhi has not been at the helm of the Congress. This was in the interim between Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991 and Sonia’s reluctance to join politics.
In 1991, the CWC had chosen P V Narasimha Rao, a retired politician who had packed his bags to head home to Hyderabad. The idea was that a leader in his fading years would remain submissive to the veterans who would control the party till a member of the Gandhi family was ready to take charge. But Rao turned out to have a mind of his own, taking firm control of the party and government and sidelining several veterans. His tenure saw multiple splits in the party and the departure of several heavyweights, such as Madhavrao Scindia, Arjun Singh and Narayan Dutta Tiwari, who went on to form their own parties. Following the defeat of the Congress in the 1996 general election, the party chose its treasurer Sitaram Kesri, to replace Rao. Kesri, only the second Congress president to have been elected after 1969, was unceremoniously removed from the post once Sonia Gandhi decided to join politics and took charge of the party in 1998.
Ever since, the presidency stayed with the Gandhi family, with Rahul taking over as recently as in December 2017. His resignation has flung the already beleaguered party into a fresh crisis. With the FamilySonia, Rahul and Priyankaitself reluctant to get involved in the process of choosing the next president, the CWC will have to accomplish this challenging job. Like in 1991, Gandhi family loyalist and Sonia Gandhi’s political advisor, Ahmed Patel, will have to lead this process of selection of the new president.
The CWC members will do well to remember the lessons from the Rao and Kesri stints and be extremely cautious in selecting Rahul’s successor. There is one big difference, though, between 1991 and 2019. In 1991, the Congress had returned to power and Rao wielded the official authority to extend his grip over the party. Whoever is chosen Congress president now will not have that luxury. Rao was also dealing with a BJP that was just beginning to emerge as a force, on the back of the Rath Yatra wave and the Ram temple movement. The new Congress president will have to fight a now firmly entrenched BJP, armed with a formidable electoral machinery and in an India where the Hindu nationalist sentiment is running high. He or she will also have to preside over a party electorally devastated and organisationally hollowed out.
Formula for a new president?
On July 6, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh posted a sensational tweet asking for the leadership of the party to be vested with someone young. Many assumed he was indirectly hinting at giving the charge to Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who is close to the Punjab veteran. After all, Pilot spent five years working on the ground and, in December 2018, led the party to a victory in Rajasthan, earning huge political capital in the process. Pilot’s elevation to the top post will also bring an end to his power tussle with Rajasthan chief minister, Ashok Gehlot. However, a senior CWC member, who spoke to Singh after the tweet, claimed that the Punjab chief minister was talking of someone in his 60s. Irrespective of the age bracket that Singh chooses to define as young, his tweet is an explicit reminder to the CWC members that the party must make a statement of intent by choosing a young and energetic president instead of finding a stopgap arrangement in someone who will be a puppet in the hands of the Gandhis. The new India needs a face they can bank on, not a low-profile consensus candidate.
Under these circumstances, the party is gradually evolving a formula to retain a balance between the wisdom of the veterans and the energy of the young generation. A veteran will be chosen as the provisional president of the party and several young vice-presidents will be appointed under him. Every vice-president will be given independent charge of a particular region or organisational department and will be held accountable for deliverance. Another alternative is to appoint a provisional president who will remain accountable to a core committee chosen by the CWC. But that will need some tinkering of the party constitution. Whichever formula the party adopts, the big question remainswill this be a workable solution? The party certainly needs more than a workable solution as it’s in a desperate need to jump-start the organisational structure. This delay in filling up the leadership vacuum will certainly have a disastrous effect on the electoral outcome in three states going to polls later this yearMaharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand. Not only is there no clarity on who will lead the party in these states, there’s nothing like a coherent strategy either to fight the electoral battle, right from choosing winnable candidates to finding a narrative that could convince voters.
What happens to the Gandhi family?
The departures of Rao and Kesri made it evident that were two sets of rules for Congress presidentsone for those from the Gandhi family and another for non-Gandhi presidents. Rao and Kesri were blamed for the party’s poor performance in 1996 and 1998 but Rajiv Gandhi had escaped such allegations even when the party’s tally in the Lok Sabha plummeted from 414 in 1984 to 197 five years later. Under Sonia Gandhi’s leadership, the party won lesser seats in 1999 than it had won under Kesri a year ago, but there was no demand for her resignation. She was the Congress president in 2014, too, when the party touched the historical nadir of 44 seats in the Lok Sabha.
In this context, Rahul Gandhi’s offer to resign is a first in the history of the party. However, more than that, his departure could lead to the irrelevance of the Gandhi family in Indian politics. One of them has always controlled the central government or the party or, at times, both. Indira Gandhi always had loyalists as presidents of the party when she was prime minister; Sonia Gandhi relinquished the post only to have her son installed on it. Neither does Rahul have a loyalist to succeed him nor is the party in power at the Centre.
Even as he is stepping down as party president, Rahul has already stated emphatically that none of his family membersmother Sonia or sister Priyankawill take up the top post. Does that mean that the Gandhi family will fade into oblivion? The answer is a categorical no. As he makes it clear in his letter on Twitter, he will continue to be a member of the party. And if his actions in the past one month and especially in the past week are any indicator, he is certainly going to be more vocal and visible in the future. He delayed his trip abroadto see his brother-in-law Robert Vadra who had a surgeryto appear personally in two defamation cases. Outside the court, he reiterated that he will continue to fight the RSS and BJP idea of Indiaan RSS sympathiser had filed the first case in Maharashtra and Bihar deputy chief minister Sushilkumar Modi had filed the other in Bihar. This was his way of sending out the message that he outlines in his letter as wellhe will continue his battle against the BJP-RSS in a new avatar--as an ordinary Congressman.
In doing so, Rahul is hoping to achieve two goalsto nullify the campaign that Prime Minister Modi and the BJP have built around him, and tell his party leaders to focus more on performance than on posts. Unhappy with how top Congress leaders sought tickets for their children, he openly admonished two chief ministersKamal Nath and Ashok Gehlotand former Union finance minister P. Chidambaram. And by giving up his post, he hopes to lead by example in eliminating nepotism in the party. Emphasising twice in his letter that the Congress needs radical changes, he has begun the process right at the top. Much to his dismay, however, the top leaders have not followed suit. He resigned to set an example. And he expected those who were in key positions to do likewise if they had failed to deliver results, and to make way for new leaders, says a CWC member who lost the Lok Sabha election.
But the larger goal has been achievedof nullifying the Modi-BJP charge of him enjoying the privilege of being a dynast. From calling him shehzada and naamdaar, Modi has not spared any occasion to highlight that Rahul owes his political ascendancy solely to his lineage. The prime minister will not have this line of attack against the Congress the next time he goes out to campaign. Rahul’s associates see his resignation and the family’s determined decision to stay away from the top post as a throwback to the sacrifice his mother made in 2004 when she declined the prime minister's job. His decision to step down is possibly also influenced by the realisation that in the changing shape of the Indian democracy, which seems to be listing toward a presidential style of election, Rahul will need to reinvent himself to counter the personality cult of Modi. And the first step towards doing that is to present himself as a commonerfrom appearing in a lower court to watching films like an ordinary man.
Whether Rahul manages to achieve this or not, the Gandhis will never be commoners within the party. Their influence cannot be wished away in the top organisational structure and political narrative of the party. As a CWC member puts it, their approval will most likely be sought while finalising the name of the new president. While Rahul will now just a member of the party, Priyanka has not quit as general secretary. In fact, in the past one month, not only has she held a review meeting in Uttar Pradesh, admonishing workers for not working hard enough, but also been very active on Twitter, responding to developments in different fieldsfrom politics to sports. The unusual influence that a Gandhi family member wields in the party has resulted in multiple power centres in the past and it could well happen again. When Sonia had not even joined politics, several veterans had woven their political web around her to counter the authority of Rao and Kesri, reiterating the sloganSonia lao, Congress bachao. Between 2014 and 2017, there was a cold war between the old guard, who expressed loyalty to Sonia, and the young turks, who preferred Rahul. If the new president is not given enough space and the Gandhi family continues to indirectly call the shots, there will soon be a clamour to bring back a Gandhi to the top post.
The challenge for the Congress and the Gandhis, therefore, is not just to find a new president but also create a healthy working environment where roles and domains are clearly demarcated. Rahul has till now walked an unconventional path. For the party to have a smooth journey ahead, he will have to chart out a safe path for his successor too.
READ | Small is beautiful
WATCH | Will fight 10 times harder than I did in past 5 years, says Rahul Gandhi | {
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The conservative op-ed website Quillette announced Monday night that controversial right-wing writer Andy Ngo is leaving his job as an editor at the site, an announcement that comes on the same day that a Portland newspaper published a story revealing that Ngo witnessed a far-right group planning violence but never reported it.
Ngo, a photographer who was until recently a sub-editor at Quillette, became a celebrity on Fox News and other pro-Trump media outlets after he was attacked by left-wing demonstrators at a Portland political rally in June. Ngo then became prominent as an opponent of political violence, with most of his criticism aimed at the left.
But footage taken by an undercover liberal activist in May and described on Monday by the Portland Mercury showed Ngo witnessing activists from the far-right group Patriot Prayer planning a violent confrontation at a bar associated with left-wing activists. Ngo never reported on what he had seen the Patriot Prayer members planning, and some of the people involved in the attack at the bar now face felony riot charges.
Hours after the Portland Mercury story ran on Monday, Ngo removed his Quillette job from his Twitter profile. Shortly after that, Ngo’s name disappeared from the masthead at Quillette, a self-described “platform for free thought” that has become a hub for the right-wing Intellectual Dark Web movement.
Ngo didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Quillette editor-in-chief Claire Lehmann insisted in emails to The Daily Beast that Ngo’s exit had nothing to do with the Portland Mercury story or the undercover footage that began to circulate on Twitter last week, saying instead that Ngo left the site weeks earlier but that the move was only made public on Monday.
“Andy actually moved on from Quillette a few weeks ago because he is undertaking bigger & better projects, we just hadn't updated the website and he hadn't updated his Twitter bio until today,” Lehmann wrote.
Asked about the videos of Ngo standing next to the far-right activists as they planned an attack on their political opponents, Lehmann said she hadn’t watched the footage.
“I haven't seen the video,” Lehmann told The Daily Beast.
Pressed on the timing of the announcement, Lehmann said Ngo had taken “a break” weeks earlier from her website because of a “brain injury” he received while being attacked at the June rally. A fundraiser for Ngo after the attack raised nearly $195,000.
“We are good friends still, he was a great worker, and I fully support him in his future endeavors,” Lehmann told The Daily Beast.
The undercover video of Ngo marks another round of controversy for Quillette this month, which was hoaxed by a left-wing prankster just a few weeks ago. An op-ed writer posed as a Marxist construction worker who was critical of the Democratic Socialists of America—but the hoax was soon revealed as a scheme meant to embarrass Quillette by tricking them into publishing an article by a writer who doesn’t actually exist. | {
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Operation Rescue’s Troy Newman joined Jim Schneider on VCY America’s “Crosstalk” program last week to discuss his efforts to shut down abortion providers, who he said are bringing God’s judgment down on America.
When a caller asked about God’s judgment for legal abortion, Newman responded that God doesn’t always make His displeasure known with “some sort of cataclysmic judgment, like the Flood” but often comes “one step at a time, one small step until the people groan so heavily and they return back to God and then they’re slowly restored.”
“If you look at what’s going on in America….we’ve had some terrible weather patterns lately, our economic clout has been taken away, the stock market is artificially inflated, there’s a lot of people that are predicting collapse there, the dollar is a fiat currency, is on shaky ground, our moral decay, our morals have decayed so far, the attack on Christians and people of faith,” he said.
“You know, it’s easier to be a homosexual in this country than it is to be a Christian, you’re a protected class there while we’re a minority. I just think that at some point, people, this country’s going to have to hit the reset button.”
Newman has previously blamed the drought in California on that state’s liberal abortion laws.
Another caller asked Newman to respond to “a lot of these religious denominations that affirm abortion” and “give ecclesiastical cover for this just outrageous and demonic activity.”
“The scripture is clear that those that handle the word of God and claim to be ministers of the Gospel will be held to a higher degree of judgment,” Newman responded. These religious denominations “that approve of abortion and homosexuality and other sins,” he said, would then receive especially harsh judgment from God.
“I don’t want to be on the Day of Judgment, period, but I definitely don’t want to be in their shoes,” he said.
Newman also answered the caller’s question about the Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling, saying, “It’s time that we really stop giving so much weight and credence to the judges that are making up law.”
Newman said that, as a pastor, he would refuse to marry same-sex couples (something no pastor is being forced to do anyway), just as he is refusing to buy health insurance or pay a fine in defiance of the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Affordable Care Act. | {
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Changes to Intel's microprocessor architecture are leading to dire predictions of doom and gloom for hardcore PC gamers.
Broadwell is the 14nm "shrink" of the Haswell microarchitecture, which is the successor to Ivy Bridge architecture present in Intel's Core series of CPUs, none of which is particularly relevant to anyone but the most die-hard PC nerds. But this may be: According to reports, Broadwell will not be released in an LGA package - that is, a chip that can be inserted into and removed from sockets - but instead will come soldered directly to motherboards. Even for just casual PC fans, that's bad news.
The move signals a possible power-grab by Intel, as it will put the squeeze on motherboard makers and OEM chip buyers. As Semiaccurate suggests, Intel could be pursuing a long-term strategy of cutting out third-party manufacturers and moving toward a scenario where it handles virtually everything itself: CPU, motherboard and integrated audio and video. For the hardcore PC types, no socketable CPU means an effective end to custom-built PCs for any purpose, gaming or otherwise.
The one glimmer of good news is the likelihood that Skylake, Broadwell's planned successor, will be socket-based. But that will last for just one or two generations and according to the report, "increasing integration will make this minor backpedaling step a rather moot point, there won't be anything left to tweak and any headroom will have been screened out at the fab prior to fuses being blown."
Is the end of the PC as we know it really in the offing? AMD could step into the breach but with less than 20 percent of the CPU market under its control as of the end of 2011, it doesn't have the muscle to prop up a robust support industry. "Dead" isn't necessarily dead, but the future of the PC isn't looking too bright.
Source: Semiaccurate | {
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New car seat recognises driver's unique 'bottom-print' - and could spell an end to fiddling for keys
360 pressure sensors in seat find unique 'print'
98 per cent accurate
Easier to use than face recognition, which requires people to stand still
Biometric security systems usually on unique, unchangeable 'markers' such as fingerprints.
But Japanese scientists have identified another unique feature which can be 'read' by a biometric scanner - our rear ends, or, more specifically, the way we sit down.
The scientists have designed a chair which measures 360 pressure points to build a 3D profile of how a person sits - and it can identify who is sitting in it with 98 per cent accuracy.
The system uses 360 sensors to build a 3D profile of how people sit down - and the way we sit appears to be near-unique. At present, the system can identify people with 98 per cent accuracy
The discovery could do away with car keys - and the researchers say it could even be used in offices instead of computer passwords.
The scientists, at Tokyo's Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology, say that the system is 98 per cent accurate.
It's a simple matter of fitting pressure sensors inside a normal car seat - so it could be in production cars as early as 2014.
The team says that the bottom-scan is actually less intrusive than other forms of biometric scans, such as the face recognition currently in use by UK passport control.
Most biometric systems require users to stand still to be scanned - whereas sitting is a natural instinct.
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Civil rights activist Cornel West defended his endorsement of Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders, stating that this is the time “for his prophetic voice to be heard across our crisis-ridden country."
West’s comments, seen in a series of tweets late Monday, come amid questions over Sanders’ commitment to fight racial injustice in the U.S. While Hillary Clinton is seen to be the preferred candidate among minority voters in the race for the Democratic nomination, West’s endorsement should give Sanders a boost, according to reports.
“My endorsement of Brother Bernie in the primaries is not an affirmation of the neo-liberal Democratic Party… My endorsement of Brother Bernie is not a downplaying of the immorality of the ugly Israeli occupation of Palestinians,” West wrote on his Twitter account Monday. “I endorse Brother @BernieSanders because he is a long-distance runner with integrity in the struggle for justice for over 50 years.”
Now is the time for his prophetic voice to be heard across our crisis-ridden country. #BernieSanders — Cornel West (@CornelWest) August 25, 2015
We will push him with integrity toward a more comprehensive vision of freedom for all. @BernieSanders #BernieSanders2016 — Cornel West (@CornelWest) August 25, 2015
Sanders has been criticized for not adequately addressing the issue of racial injustice in the country, and some also reportedly pointed out that his campaign announcement in May did not mention criminal justice reform. The 73-year-old Vermont senator, who has been an advocate for civil rights issues for decades, responded by releasing an agenda for “Racial Justice” earlier this month.
Sanders, whose home state of Vermont is 95 percent white and has less than 7,500 black residents, visited South Carolina last weekend, as he continues to struggle to connect with minority voters.
“We are tired of seeing black women yanked out of a car, thrown to the ground, assaulted, put in handcuffs and then sent to jail and then die three days later,” Sanders said last month, referring to the July 13 death of Sandra Bland, an African-American woman who died in jail after a traffic stop in Texas.
His comments followed protests at the Netroots Nation conference in Phoenix on July 18 where "Black Lives Matter" demonstrators demanded that Sanders and Martin O'Malley -- another contender for the Democratic nomination -- address racial injustice and speak Bland’s name, and the names of other African Americans who have died in police custody.
During an appearance on CNN last week, West told host Don Lemon that Sanders is the best candidate for minority voters. West has been involved in several protests against the use of excessive force by law enforcement officials against black Americans. Most recently, the 64-year-old activist was arrested for demonstrating on the one year anniversary of the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. | {
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California, with more public school students than any other state, has surprised many by declining to apply for waivers to No Child Left Behind. The implications of this decision are far-reaching, and so in the coming weeks I am going to be asking a variety of educational leaders for their thoughts. Today, I am sharing the thoughts of education historian Diane Ravitch.
What do you think of the decision by elected leaders in California to forgo the opportunity to apply for waivers to NCLB?
I was very pleased when California decided to turn down the waivers for California. I think it took a lot of courage by Governor Brown and Superintendent Torlakson.
What do you think the down side of applying for these waivers would have been?
One of the many problems with NCLB is that it came packaged with unrealistic, expensive and heavy-handed federal mandates. It put too much emphasis on testing and punishment for failure to reach impossible goals. The waivers now offered by the US Department of Education require the states to comply with other mandates, still tied to the NCLB-style accountability framework. The emphasis on testing under the waiver plan is as heavy-handed as it has been under NCLB. Many schools with high numbers of low-scoring students will be subject to firings and closings. They need help, not punishment. One of the lessons of NCLB is that the federal government does not know how to improve schools.
What do you think will be the result of this decision? How will schools in the state cope with NCLB if it remains in effect?
NCLB is a terrible, punitive, ineffective law. The law mandates that 100% of all students must be proficient in math and reading by 2014. No state is even close to that goal. More than 80% of public schools in the United States are currently "failing," by the law's requirements. Congress should scrap the accountability provisions and start over. The waivers ease the pressure for change. Every citizen in every community, town, and citizen should be calling their Congressman and Senators and urging them to get rid of this crazy law. No other nation in the world ever created a system that was guaranteed to label almost every school in the nation a failure.
Many states and districts made big promises to get Race to the Top grants. How is that working out for them?
To get Race to the Top money, states had to promise to open more privately managed charter schools and to tie teacher evaluation to student test scores, among other things. Research consistently shows that charters vary widely in quality; some are very good, some are mediocre, some are bad. Teacher evaluation by test scores is very controversial, and there is no evidence as yet that it leads to higher test scores. For sure, it will raise the stakes on testing. Since most teachers don't teach tested subjects, some states are creating more tests, and others are still trying to figure out how to evaluate those teachers without standardized scores. In New York, several hundred principals signed a petition against the state's new evaluation system, on grounds that it was untried and would demoralize their staff.
Assuming California now charts a new path for school reform, what do you think that should look like?
California is in the midst of the worst fiscal situation in modern times. The state must change the way it finances schools and universities, so that resources are available to restore what was once of the best education systems in the nation. The leadership for school reform should come from Sacramento and from local communities, from people who understand local problems. Washington should send federal dollars to help educate the students with the greatest needs--those with disabilities, those who are poor, and those who are English language learners. That is the proper role of the federal government.
How do you think this stance might influence other states across the country?
If California could send a message to other states, it should be this: There are no easy answers, no quick fixes, no solutions that can be supplied by Washington. We are all involved in the job of school improvement--parents, students, teachers, administrators, the local community. We must work together to raise up the next generation, to make sure they are healthy and prepared for good lives as citizens of our society. Our public schools are and will continue to be a vital part of our democratic society. We must improve the schools by making sure that every child in every community has a full and balanced curriculum. We must require that every school has an arts program and physical education. Our future as a state and nation depends on the education we provide today.
On January 20, the Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education is sponsoring An Evening with Diane Ravitch, who will be joined onstage by Superintendent Tom Torlakson, Linda Darling-Hammond and myself. Please join us!
What do you think of Diane Ravitch's viewpoint? Should other states follow California's lead and leave the NCLB waivers behind?
Follow me on Twitter at @AnthonyCody
image of Diane Ravitch used by permission.
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서울시보라매병원 '글로브-월' 시스템 국내 최초 도입
(서울=연합뉴스) 서울시보라매병원 김민정 간호사가 '글로브-월 스크린'을 활용해 검체를 채취하는 모습. 2020.03.16. [서울시보라매병원 제공]
(서울=연합뉴스) 김잔디 기자 = 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나19) 의심환자가 투명한 아크릴벽 밖에 있으면 의료진이 장갑이 달린 구멍을 통해 손을 뻗어 상기도와 하기도에서 검체를 채취한다. 의료진이 의심 환자와 '직접' 접촉하지 않으므로 레벨D 방호복을 입지 않아도 무방하다.
서울대학교병원운영 서울특별시보라매병원은 코로나19 검사를 위한 검체 채취 시 의심 환자와 의료진의 공간을 분리하는 '글로브-월'(Glove-Wall) 시스템을 국내 최초로 도입했다고 16일 밝혔다.
보라매병원 선별진료소에 도입된 '글로브-월' 검체 채취실은 마치 유리상자에 장갑이 달린 구멍을 통해 영아를 돌보는 인큐베이터와 유사한 구조로 마련됐다.
광고
진료소 내부 중앙에는 투명한 아크릴벽을 사이에 두고 검사자와 의료진의 공간이 분리돼 있다. 의료진은 글로브(장갑)가 설치된 아크릴벽(글로브-월) 뒤에 서서 맞은 편에 있는 의심 환자의 상기도와 하기도에서 검체를 채취한다. 직접 접촉하지 않고 아크릴에 붙은 장갑에 손을 넣어 검체를 채취하는 것이다.
내부에는 음압기기를 설치해 진료소의 공기가 밖으로 나가지 않도록 했고, 의료진의 공간은 검사를 받으러 온 의심 환자와 동선을 분리했다. 이로써 의료진은 레벨D 방호복 없이도 안전하게 검사할 수 있을 뿐만 아니라 감염 우려도 크게 덜었다. 방호복을 입고 벗느라 검사가 지연되는 상황도 크게 개선됐다.
(서울=연합뉴스) 서울보라매병원 김민정 간호사가 '글로브-월 스크린'을 활용해 검체를 채취하는 모습. 2020.03.16. [서울보라매병원 제공]
이곳에서 근무 중인 김민정 간호사는 "코로나19 사태 초기에는 레벨D 방호복을 장시간 착용해 온몸이 땀에 흠뻑 젖을 정도로 체력 소모가 심했다"며 "이제는 비닐가운과 N95 마스크 등 필수적인 보호구만 착용하면 검체를 채취할 수 있게 돼 간편하고 피로도 덜하다"고 말했다.
박상원 서울보라매병원 감염내과 교수는 "이 시스템은 환자와 의료진의 추가 감염을 예방할 뿐만 아니라 레벨D 보호구를 절감해 꼭 필요한 곳에만 사용할 수 있게 한다"며 "검체 채취 후 간단한 소독 과정만 거치면 추가 검사가 가능한 장점이 있다"고 말했다.
글로브-월 시스템은 지난달 서울보라매병원 선별진료소에 도입된 후 서울시 산하병원 및 보건소 내 선별진료소에서 벤치마킹했다. 태릉선수촌에 설치된 서울시 생활치료센터에도 도입돼 운영될 예정이다.
김병관 서울보라매병원장은 "앞으로도 환자와 의료진의 안전을 최우선으로 하고 코로나19의 종식에 기여하기 위해 최선의 노력을 다하겠다"고 밝혔다.
[email protected]
<저작권자(c) 연합뉴스, 무단 전재-재배포 금지> | {
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Update Summary
Previously, Kevin Goldstein represented the co-op in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, where he discussed the potential of blockchain in the energy industry. Augmate was featured on RCast; COO Dana Farbo discusses IoT and wearable device management. Greg Meredith responded to news about the potential DAO attack on the Ethereum network due to its code vulnerability and outlined security measures to handling mission-critical applications on a network. RChain Asia focused on the formalization of public relations and partnerships. It received permission to submit a grant proposal of $2mn together with a Korean university for blockchain research and a development facility. Major update from the progress report last week was the beginning of work from the audit and financing committee.
This week, Dan Connolly demonstrates how the RHOC balance in the Ethereum contract will part of the genesis block upon launch of the network. Greg Meredith discusses cost accounting, short circuits flow, denial of service attack, features.md, and code cleaning. He informs the community of the board’s engagement with a group called Arterial, which does digital asset management for fine arts. Lots of progress on LADL and behavioral types; Greg and community members expect to embark on a six-week seminar on LADL and behavioral types. The hangout closes with Greg discussing his trip to the Binance blockchain conference in Singapore; Jonathan Kochmer closes with an update from RChain Asia.
Timeline
Announcements
See RNode v0.8.2
Developer community update
Q4 financial report delayed till February
Please share your ideas for RSong rebranding
Try our Rholang tutorial
Bounties are still available for development work related to the implementation of Mercury requirement. Developers are welcome to put up missing tickets
Visit our developer website for dev tools
Content in brief
Technical update: extreme programming session
General
Sprint and Release Two-week sprint ends Feb 4. Priority is platform stability and work from extreme programming session (Jan. 23-25) RNode v0.8.3 released Jan. 21. Please see RNode-0.8.3 release plan for more details RNode v0.8.4 releases week of Feb. 4
Mercury requirements and acceptance criteria
Please see the documentation
Work with Whiteblock Whiteblock team completed work to implement the RChain test plan into the testing environment. We have access to the testing environment. Have not yet tested
Test net status A public test net is not yet available A view of the issues blocking the launch of a public test net is available here Platform stability is priority #1 for most people on the team
Extreme programming session this week
Extreme coding session in progress in Warsaw with Greg and most of the team. Work focused on Cost accounting and Wallet
Demo of proposed wallet solution: RHOC-REV conversion on Ethereum address
Dan Connolly demonstrates how RHOC balance in the Ethereum contract will be part of the genesis block at the launch of the network, which will enable RHOC holders to use their Ethereum address to prove ownership of their keys to move into their REV wallet. He shows the code that actually does the claiming of account balance information that happens at genesis block.
Comments and QA
About multi-sig addresses
Ed Eykholt shares his perspective on how much of a wallet requirement was covered in the demo. He says the demo features the basic requirement of a wallet but misses a primary requirement, which is “the pain to an address versus pain to a URI”
Chris Boscolo summarizes the decisions reached about wallet implementations and features. They have been working on simplifying the wallet transactions like being able to pay to a public key and how to support multi-sig in such a scenario.
Cost accounting: Short circuit flow, denial of service attacks, code cleaning, features MD
Greg Meredith is encouraged by how much is already in place with respect to cost accounting. A major focus is to make sure a short circuit flow exists before running the entire computation. A cleaning up of codes is also required against the denial of service attack to get the short circuit behavior . According to Greg, a failure mode would be completing a computation when the flow is exhausted and then, discover that the flow is exhausted.
LADL and behavioral types
Greg affirms that a lot of progress is being made on the LADL and the behavioral types. He will be doing research with Mike, Chris Williams, and Joe Denman. They hope to embark on a six-week seminar on LADL and behavioral types. The seminar will be split into two-phases: three weeks of motivation describing why the LADL desiderata are such interest and three weeks describing the challenges and solutions of the LADL/Behavioral types.
Comments and QA
Currently, there is one dimension to the phlogiston, which is cost. What do we expect at Mercury launch and when will other dimensions be added? — Ed Eykholt
At launch time, we should prepare for two dimensions in one parameter —Greg Meredith
Progress report
An open governance committee meeting scheduled today to discuss IOB4 (14:00 UTC)
The unofficial minutes from the January board meeting (3rd and 10th) is on GitHub
The Q4 2018 financial report is being delayed due to lack of resources. The board took additional bookkeeping aid from a company called Ledger Pros
The next board meeting is scheduled for Feb 5
See progress report published on the blog
Coop engaged with Arterial
The board is engaged with a group called Arterial, which does digital asset management for fine art. They are currently evaluating the RSong backend as a means to accelerate their business to an MVP. The board hopes to schedule a time with them to talk about their project and help people understand their motivation.
Greg speaks Binance blockchain conference at Singapore
Greg is excited about the conference. He met with a newly appointed board member, Mark Pui, with whom he had conversations on issues regarding RChain. The conference brought him in connection with the heads of global business development. He maintains that engagement with exchanges will be a great help when REV becomes available during Mercury launch.
RChain Asia update
Will Qui has agreed to pioneer node testing sessions for the RChain Chinese community. Jocelin, HJ, and two new volunteers at RChain Korea were at the conference and made great contacts. Jonathan Kochmer has put together a SWAP team on a couple scoping project. He discusses the need for transcribing RChain videos into textual versions and hopes to get inexpensive or volunteer transcription of rich video content. Kudos to Viraculous for weekly textual debriefs.
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David Bloomberg & Jessica Lewis on Why Players Lost Survivor Ghost Island
Each week this season on our Survivor Podcast, David Bloomberg & Jessica Lewis will talk about why each voted out player “lost the game”. For more on David’s rules of what David’s Survivor rules are, listen to our “What Hero, Healer, and Hustler Survivors Should Have Learned”.
This week, David Bloomberg & Jessica Lewis talk about the reasons why Morgan Ricke lost in Survivor Ghost Island.
We didn’t get to see a whole lot of Morgan in her three episodes on Survivor, so David and Jessica have their work cut out for them! What did she do to put herself in this position? Or was it completely outside of her control and all because of actions taken by others, like Chris and Domenick? How did the least likely target become the most likely? It’s time to figure out Why Morgan Lost.
To review the short version of David’s Rules, here is the quick version:
Rule 1: Scheme and Plot
Rule 2: But Don’t Scheme and Plot Too Much/Keep Your Scheming Secret/Don’t Backstab Until You Absolutely Need To
Rule 3: Be Flexible!
Rule 4: Don’t Let Your Emotions Control You
Rule 5: Pretend To Be Nice/Play the Social Game (and Keep Your Politics and Controversial Beliefs To Yourself)
Rule 6: Don’t Be Too Much of a Threat
Rule 7: Know How to Deal with Idols and Advantages
Appendix A: Make Your Votes Count – Keep in Mind Your End Goal
Appendix B: The Jury Phase
——
Join us again next week when we discuss the next player voted out of the game.
—–
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Jerry Haber and I, along with Verso Books, the publishers of A Time to Speak Out, have prepared the following statement from American Jews condemning the Gaza assault and Israeli policy toward the Palestinians. We hope that you will sign it and encourage others you know to do so as well. Roane Carey of The Nation has expressed some interest in publishing it there, if we succeed in getting a significant number of signatories. We hope you will help start a viral campaign by promoting this statement as widely as you can via e mail, websites and general word of mouth.
To sign, please send your full name, title (if you wish), & affiliation (if you wish) to this address. It is only for signatures and not for regular correspondence. For that, please e mail me or this site directly.
“We Shall Not Be a Party to Their Counsel!”
As human beings, we are shocked and appalled at the mass destruction unleashed by the State of Israel against the people of Gaza in its current military operation, following years of Israeli occupation, siege, and deprivation.
As Americans, we protest the carte blanche given Israel by the US government to pursue a war of “national honor,” “restoring deterrence,” “destroying Hamas,” and “searing Israel’s military might into the consciousness of the Gazans.”
As progressives, we reject the same justifications for the carnage that we heard ad nauseam from the supporters of the Second Iraq War: the so-called “war on terror,” the “clash of civilizations,” the “need to re-establish deterrence” – all of which served to justify a misguided and unnecessary war, with disastrous consequences for America and Iraq.
But as Jews of different religious persuasions, from Orthodox to secular atheist, we are especially horrified that a state that purports to speak in our name wages a military campaign that has killed over 1,000 people, a large percentage of them civilians, children, and non-combatants, with little or no consideration for human rights or the laws of war.
While the moral and legal issue concerning Israel’s right to respond militarily in these circumstance can be debated, there is near-universal agreement that its conduct of the military operation has been unjust and even criminal – with only the usual apologists for the Jewish state disagreeing.
As Jews, we stand united with another Israel, the patriarch Jacob, who cursed his sons Simeon and Levi for massacring the people of Shechem in revenge for the rape of their sister Dinah. Like Jacob, “we shall not be a party to the counsel of zealots. We shall not be counted in their assembly. (See Genesis 34. 49: 5-7).
As Jews, we stand united with the Jewish sages who rejected the zealotry of the Jewish “terrorists” at Masada, those who masked ethnic tribalism in the cloak of “self-defense” and “national honor.”
As Jews, we listen not only when the sage Hillel says, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” but also when he says, “If I am only for myself, what am I?” Hillel’s closing words also ring true in this hour of decision when a ceasefire is demanded of both sides: “If not now, when?”
Finally, as American Jewish progressives, and as human beings, we condemn Hamas and Israel for violating the human rights of civilians on both sides, although we do not necessarily declare these violations to be morally or legally equivalent. We affirm the rights of both Israeli and the Palestinian peoples to self-determination and self-defense, as we affirm the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. | {
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At the risk of stating the obvious: Awards are a good barometer for success in the entertainment industry—whether it’s Meryl Streep scooping up mountains of Oscar noms or Beyoncé’s 22 Grammys and counting, if an artist is winning such awards, it’s a pretty good indicator that they’re among the best in their field. Consider it an extremely glamorous version of a regular person receiving an award in high school for science, English, or math—if you win one of those, it’s safe to say you’re quite smart.
A good barometer for extremely proficient success in the entertainment industry, then, is winning all of the prestigious awards. EGOTing—that is, nabbing at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony—is such a rare feat that only 15 people in awards ceremony history have done it. (Six more people have EGOTed by receiving certain non-competitive awards; they are lesser EGOTs and we are not including them here.) That number used to be even smaller, but this past weekend, three more people completed the fourth leg of their EGOTs by winning at the Creative Arts Emmys: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, and John Legend, the latter of whom became the first African American man to ever EGOT and the youngest EGOTer at 39. John is most certainly a … legend, as is everyone who’s EGOTed.
But not all EGOTs are created equal. Sometimes, actors who’ve nabbed an Emmy, Oscar, and Tony will do an audiobook to squeeze in a Grammy win—like, c’mon, you’re one of the most talented people on the planet and you’re going to read a book? (I mean, we all would pull this shit if a Grammy was all that prevented us from an EGOT humble-brag, but still.) There is also the undeniable truth that some awards categories are harder to win, for either volume or competitive-field reasons. Within the iconic company of EGOT winners, then, who is the most iconic? To answer that question, I have created a points system for different EGOT accomplishments. The points system is this: any win for acting is worth five points, directing is also worth five points, Grammy wins are worth three points, a writing award is worth three points, non-Grammy musical composition and singing awards are worth two points, producing awards are worth two points, honorary awards are worth one point, miscellaneous awards (ie. “Best Orchestration”) are worth one point, Daytime Emmys are worth half as much as regular Emmys, and winning for doing spoken word or recording a friggin’ AUDIOBOOK is worth half a point.
With these metrics in mind, here is how hard math ranks history’s EGOT winners.
15. Jonathan Tunick
Emmys: Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction, Night of 100 Stars (1982)
Grammys: Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals, “No One Is Alone,” Cleo Laine (1988)
Oscars: Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score, A Little Night Music (1977)
Tony Awards: Best Orchestrations, Titanic (1997)
Honorary Awards: None
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 9
Tunick is the only person on this list who has exactly one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. We admire that the dude did the bare minimum to be part of this prestigious list—which is still impressive—and, if I’m being honest, this is the first I’m hearing of a “Best Orchestrations” category. (I gave him one point for that.)
14. Audrey Hepburn
Emmys: Outstanding Individual Achievement–Informational Programming, Gardens of the World With Audrey Hepburn (1993)
Grammys: Best Spoken Word Album for Children, Audrey Hepburn’s Enchanted Tales (1994)
Oscars: Best Actress in a Leading Role, Roman Holiday (1953)
Tony Awards: Best Actress in a Play, Ondine (1954)
Honorary Awards: Special Tony Award, Special Achievement Award (1968)
Special Academy Award, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1993)
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 13.5
One of the greatest actresses of all time doesn’t have the greatest résumé among EGOTers, but what she lacks in sheer numbers she makes up for by being Audrey Friggin’ Hepburn.
13. Whoopi Goldberg
(Daytime) Emmys: Outstanding Special Class Special, Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel (2002)
Outstanding Talk Show Host, The View (2009)
Grammys: Best Comedy Recording, Whoopi Goldberg: Original Broadway Show Recording (1985)
Oscars: Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Ghost (1990)
Tony Awards: Best Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002)
Honorary Awards: Special Emmy Award, Governor’s Award, for seven Comic Relief benefit specials (1997)
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 14.5
I love Whoopi Goldberg; it’s also amazing to say “Whoopi Goldberg has more EGOT points than Audrey Hepburn” out loud.
12. John Gielgud
Emmys: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special, Summer’s Lease (1991)
Grammys: Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording, Ages of Man (1979)
Oscars: Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Arthur (1981)
Tony Awards: Outstanding Foreign Company, The Importance of Being Earnest (1948)
Best Director of a Drama, Big Fish, Little Fish (1961)
Honorary Awards: Special Tony Award “for contribution to theatre for his extraordinary insight into the writings of Shakespeare as demonstrated in his one-man play Ages of Man” (1959)
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 17.5
11. Rita Moreno
Emmys: Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in Variety or Music, The Muppet Show (1977)
Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series, The Rockford Files (1978)
Grammys: Best Recording for Children, The Electric Company (1972)
Oscars: Best Actress in a Supporting Role, West Side Story (1961)
Tony Awards: Best Featured or Supporting Actress in a Play, The Ritz (1975)
Honorary Awards: Somehow, none
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 20.5
If the world is just, Rita Moreno will snag another Emmy in her 80s for her work on Netflix’s One Day at a Time. It’s also only a matter of time until she gets an honorary award—or three—which might allow her to leapfrog an EGOT peer or two in the rankings.
Gielgud was 87 years old when he won an Emmy to complete his EGOT in 1991. What has your grandpa done recently?
10. Robert Lopez
(Daytime) Emmys: Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition, Wonder Pets! (2008)
Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition, Wonder Pets! (2010)
Grammys: Best Musical Theater Album, The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording (2012)
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, Frozen (2015)
Best Song Written for Visual Media, “Let It Go,” Frozen (2015)
Oscars: Best Original Song, “Let It Go,” Frozen (2014)
Best Original Song, “Remember Me,” Coco (2018)
Tony Awards: Best Original Score, Avenue Q (2004)
Best Book of a Musical, The Book of Mormon (2011)
Best Original Score, The Book of Mormon (2011)
Honorary Awards: None
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 21
If you’re wondering, “Who is responsible for assaulting my tear ducts with really emotional music in animated feature films?,” well, meet EGOT-earner Robert Lopez. Wild comparison here: While it took Helen Hayes 48 years to EGOT, Robert Lopez did it in 10 years flat. However, Lopez got his Es by winning Daytime Emmys—an awards show in which the competition is Days of our Lives and General Hospital rather than Game of Thrones and The Crown. Since Daytime Emmys are about half as impressive as regular Emmys, we’re going to deduct half of his points total from those wins.
9. Richard Rodgers
Emmys: Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composed for Television, Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years (1962)
Grammys: Best Show Album, The Sound of Music (1960)
Best Original Cast Show Album, No Strings (1962)
Oscars: Best Song, “It Might As Well Be Spring,” State Fair (1945)
Tony Awards: Best Musical, South Pacific (1950)
Tony Award for Producers, Musical, South Pacific (1950)
Best Score, South Pacific (1950)
Best Musical, The King and I (1952)
Best Musical, The Sound of Music (1960)
Best Composer, No Strings (1962)
Honorary Awards: Special Tony Award “for all he has done for young people in the theatre and for taking the men of the orchestra out of the pit and putting them onstage in No Strings” (1962)
Special Tony Award (1972)
Special Tony Award, Lawrence Langner Memorial Award for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in the American Theatre (1979)
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 25
A lot of honorary awards for Rich-Rodg. Rodgers also gets the special designation of being the very first EGOT winner—back before the term EGOT was even coined. It was actually coined by Miami Vice star Philip Michael Thomas in the ’80s because he wanted to earn this rare honor, which is incredible—and a little sad—because he never even won a single award.
8. Helen Hayes
Emmys: Best Actress, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1953)
Grammys: Best Spoken Word Recording, Great American Documents (1977)
Oscars: Best Actress in a Leading Role, The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Airport (1970)
Tony Awards: Best Actress, Dramatic, Happy Birthday (1947)
Best Actress, Dramatic, Time Remembered (1958)
Honorary Awards: Special Tony Award, Lawrence Langner Memorial Award for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in the American Theatre (1980)
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 26.5
The first woman to EGOT also took nearly half a century—45 years—to complete her EGOT quest, longer than any other artist on this list. That’s impressive patience.
7. Andrew Lloyd Webber
Emmys: Outstanding Variety Special (Live), Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (2018)
Grammys: Best Cast Show Album, Evita (1980)
Best Cast Show Album, Cats (1983)
Best Contemporary Composition, Requiem (1986)
Oscars: Best Original Song, “You Must Love Me,” Evita (1997)
Tony Awards: Best Original Score, Evita (1980)
Best Musical, Cats (1983)
Best Original Score, Cats (1983)
Best Musical, The Phantom of the Opera (1988)
Best Musical, Sunset Boulevard (1995)
Best Original Score, Sunset Boulevard (1995)
Honorary Awards: Grammy Legend Award (1990)
Special Tony Award (2018)
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 27
Webber and Tim Rice—the next guy on our list, who also EGOTed along with Legend for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert—apparently made some sort of sacred EGOT pact in the ’80s. Seriously! Look: They both shared an Oscar for Evita’s “You Must Love Me” and Evita’s album at the Grammys, and also the Evita score at the Tonys. Some people agree to go to lunch together; others are like, “Yo, you wanna do this really rare artist thing and share a bunch of awards?”
Tie: 5. Tim Rice
Emmys: Outstanding Variety Special (Live), Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (2018)
Grammys: Best Cast Show Album, Evita (1980)
Song of the Year, “A Whole New World,” Aladdin (1993)
Best Musical Album for Children, Aladdin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1993)
Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television, “A Whole New World,” Aladdin (1993)
Best Musical Show Album, Aida (2000)
Oscars: Best Original Song, “A Whole New World,” Aladdin (1993)
Best Original Song, “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” The Lion King (1995)
Best Original Song, “You Must Love Me,” Evita (1997)
Tony Awards: Best Original Score, Evita (1980)
Best Book of a Musical, Evita (1980)
Best Original Score, Aida (2000)
Honorary Awards: None
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 28
Rice also gave us “A Whole New World” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” two absolute bangers, so I’m glad he gets a slight edge over his buddy Webber.
Tie: 5. Marvin Hamlisch
Emmys: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Direction, Barbra: The Concert (1995)
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics, Barbra: The Concert (1995)
Outstanding Music and Lyrics, AFI’s 100 Years... 100 Movies (1999)
Outstanding Music Direction, Timeless: Live in Concert (2001)
Grammys: Song of the Year, “The Way We Were” (1974)
Best New Artist of the Year (1974)
Best Pop Instrumental Performance, The Entertainer (1974)
Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special, The Way We Were (1974)
Oscars: Best Music, Original Dramatic Score, The Way We Were (1973)
Best Music, Original Song, “The Way We Were” (1973)
Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation, The Sting (1973)
Tony Awards: Best Musical Score, A Chorus Line (1976)
Honorary Awards: None
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 28
Hamlisch actually has an EGOTP—an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony, and Pulitzer Prize. This puts him in even more rarefied company; the only other EGOTPer—PEGOTer?—is Richard Rodgers.
4. Mel Brooks
Emmys: Outstanding Writing Achievement in Variety, The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris Special (1967)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, Mad About You (1997)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, Mad About You (1998)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, Mad About You (1999)
Grammys: Best Spoken Comedy Album, The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000 (1998)
Best Long Form Music Video, Recording “The Producers”: A Musical Romp With Mel Brooks (2002)
Best Musical Show Album, The Producers (2002)
Oscars: Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, The Producers (1968)
Tony Awards: Best Book of a Musical, The Producers (2001)
Best Original Score, The Producers (2001)
Best Musical, The Producers (2001)
Honorary Awards: None
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 33.5
The great comedian made the most of a recurring role on Mad About You, for which he nabbed three Emmys in the late ’90s—before he took on the Tony and Grammy awards in the early aughts. It’s hard to imagine anyone on this list with a more storied career; Spaceballs isn’t technically part of his EGOT, but it is in spirit.
Tie: 2. Scott Rudin
Emmys: Outstanding Children’s Program, He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’ (1984)
Grammys: Best Musical Theater Album, The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording (2012)
Oscars: Best Picture, No Country for Old Men (2007)
Tony Awards: Best Musical, Passion (1994)
Best Play, Copenhagen (2000)
Best Play, The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (2002)
Best Play, Doubt (2005)
Best Play, The History Boys (2006)
Best Play, God of Carnage (2009)
Best Revival of a Play, Fences (2010)
Best Musical, The Book of Mormon (2011)
Best Revival of a Play, Death of a Salesman (2012)
Best Revival of a Play, A Raisin in the Sun (2014)
Best Play, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2015)
Best Revival of a Play, Skylight (2015)
Best Play, The Humans (2016)
Best Revival of a Play, A View From the Bridge (2016)
Best Revival of a Musical, Hello, Dolly! (2017)
Honorary Awards: None
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 36
Rudin is one of those Broadway super-producers who seems to be involved in everything, meaning he’s had a disproportionate amount of opportunities to EGOT. That’s not necessarily a bad thing—you gotta EGOT somehow—but it’s worth noting that he has been involved in more than 100 productions between Hollywood and Broadway. His EGOT batting average is likely much lower than the rest of his peers.
Tie: 2. John Legend
Emmys: Outstanding Variety Special (Live), Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (2018)
Grammys: Best New Artist (2006)
Best R&B Album, Get Lifted (2006)
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, “Ordinary People” (2006)
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, “Heaven” (2007)
Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, “Family Affair” (2007)
Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, “Stay With Me (By the Sea)” (2009)
Best R&B Song, “Shine” (2011)
Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, “Hang on in There” (2011)
Best R&B Album, Wake Up! (2011)
Best Song Written for Visual Media, “Glory” (2016)
Oscars: Best Original Song, “Glory,” Selma (2015)
Tony Awards: Best Revival of a Play, Jitney (2017)
Honorary Awards: None
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 36
Even though Legend is technically tied with Rudin for second place in the EGOT ranking, let’s just say he’s above Rudin, who’d win in the “I have the most money to throw at things” ranking.
1. Mike Nichols
Emmys: Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special, Wit (2001)
Outstanding Made for Television Movie, Wit (2001)
Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special, Angels in America (2004)
Outstanding Miniseries, Angels in America (2004)
Grammys: Best Comedy Performance, An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May (1961)
Oscars: Best Director, The Graduate (1967)
Tony Awards: Best Director, Dramatic, Barefoot in the Park (1964)
Best Director, Dramatic, Luv and the Odd Couple (1965)
Best Director, Dramatic, Plaza Suite (1968)
Best Director, Dramatic, The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1972)
Best Musical, Annie (1977)
Best Director, Play, The Real Thing (1984)
Best Play, The Real Thing (1984)
Best Director, Musical, Monty Python’s Spamalot (2005)
Best Director, Play, Death of a Salesman (2012)
Honorary Awards: None
Total Arbitrary EGOT Points: 58.5 … holy shit
Good lord. I knew Nichols was an elite director, but seven directing Tonys in addition to two Emmys and one Oscar for directing? By these measures, Nichols is the most decorated director in history, and far and away the EGOT GOAT.
In Conclusion
Fortune favors the bold, and this arbitrary EGOT math favors the producers on this list. (I’m also bad at math, and this was very difficult to put together; please pray for me.) There’s no other reality where Audrey Hepburn is second-to-last on a list of talented people, but the EGOT rankings, for the most part, leaned unfavorably against the acting portion of the talent pool. Though acting categories were awarded more points in our system, there just wasn’t enough volume from actors like Hepburn and Whoopi Goldberg to compensate for the sheer volume of certain filmmakers and producers (see: the late, great Mike Nichols burning past his EGOT competition). But just making this list is an incredible feat in and of itself—everyone gets a participation trophy! Including Jonathan Tunick, the least most impressive person to ever live. | {
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New Horizons in Blockchain Innovation
Dragonchain begins 2018 with a new CTO.
We’re pleased to begin 2018 by welcoming Paul Sonier as our new Chief Technology Officer. Paul brings a wealth of enterprise level experience as a proven innovator in cloud computing and software engineering to the team. These are areas critical to shaping Dragonchain’s next phase of development as a blockchain leader.
Paul Sonier is no stranger to blockchain technology. A former Disney colleague of both Joe Roets and Eileen Quenin, Paul was an informal advisor to the initial internal working group that gave rise to Dragonchain.
In his primary role at Disney, Paul worked on many projects integrating networked aspects of core Disney properties, such as the implementaion of Photopass tech at Disney’s world famous themeparks.
This background gives Paul a particularly unique perspective on the interest corporations have in blockchain technology, while addressing their concerns of privacy and their own internal processes.
“By allowing businesses to leverage the power of blockchain technology and still keep their critical data private and keep their internal processes intact, Dragonchain provides a critical bridge for established companies to engage with what we believe is one of the most transformative technologies since the creation of the Internet.”
A key part of Paul’s role as CTO is determining the way Dragonchain technology develops and deploys in this fast growing new industry. “Blockchain is still a relatively new technology, with new applications emerging seemingly everyday,” he said. “I think that Blockchain technology is bound to be one of the most disruptive technologies since the creation of the Internet. The combination of distributed ledger technology and a disintermediated economic model is incredibly powerful. I believe we are still at the very early days of blockchain, as well; there are still many lessons to be learned from the pioneering blockchains and there is so much more that can be (and will be) done.”
The Dragonscale incubator provides a dual opportunity in that regard, as incubator projects embark on a variety of diverse new applications for blockchain technology.
“I will be engaged with those applications both to assure their success and to make sure that we learn as much as possible from incubated projects so that we can assist other incubated projects to success,” said Paul. | {
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Riot police firing tear gas, migrants catapulting missiles at lorries and shelters set on fire. The dismantling of the “Jungle” migrant camp near Calais has had a lurid start. Those incidents lead to the question: is the never-ending crisis in Calais about to explode into uncontrollable violence?
No, says Fabienne Buccio, the calm and friendly woman who has one of the hardest jobs in France – managing police, security and government policy in the Pas de Calais area. There is a largely unseen, or little reported, “battle of Calais”, which the French government is beginning to win, she says.
“We must remain humble. The problems are very great. But, yes, I think we are starting to make real progress,” Ms Buccio told The Independent in her first interview with the British media. “The Calais crisis cannot be solved in Calais. It can only end completely when the problems which create these great flows of mass migration are resolved. But since the autumn, we have had a clear plan, balancing the need for greater security and the need for humanity. And it is beginning to succeed.”
The figures support her claims. Nearly 3,000 migrants have agreed to move to reception centres elsewhere in France since 27 October. Eighty per cent of them have applied for French asylum.
The number of Calais migrants accepting financial help to go home has increased sixfold since the start of this year. The population of the “Jungle” – the patchwork of official and unofficial migrant camps north of Calais – has fallen from 6,000 in September to about 3,700 and is still falling. New razor wire fences and police reinforcements mean that very few migrants are now reaching Britain illegally.
Ms Buccio believes that she is on course to reduce the migrant numbers to a “manageable” population of 2,000. She blames this week’s violence on mostly British “extremist” activists in the No Borders movement and a “hard core” of about 150 migrants “whom they manipulate”.
Calais Jungle evicted by police with tear gas
“The great majority of the migrants are co-operative and are beginning to accept that we – not the extremists – have their best interests at heart,” she said.
Ms Buccio, 56, a great admirer of Jane Austen, is the prefect, or senior national government representative, in the Calais area. There is no equivalent in Britain; think of it as an unelected, provincial governor.
Inside the camps in Calais Show all 20 1 /20 Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais A Kurdish child and her father get out of their tent in the makeshift migrant camp in Grande-Synthe near Dunkerque Inside the camps in Calais Kurdish migrants works around the tents of the makeshift migrant camp in Grande-Synthe near Dunkerque Inside the camps in Calais Volunteers from Holland set up a bridge of fortune over the mud using pallets of the makeshift migrant camp in Grande-Synthe near Dunkerque Inside the camps in Calais Refugees walk among tents in a makeshift camp as containers (rear) are put into place to house several hundred migrants living in what is known as the "Jungle", a squalid sprawling camp in Calais Inside the camps in Calais A makeshift camp is seen in front of containers (rear) put into place to house several hundred migrants living in what is known as the "Jungle", a squalid sprawling camp in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais The camp near Calais harbour where refugees from the Middle East and central Asia congregate to attempt the crossing from France to the UK Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Most of the temporary residents in this camp are from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria or the Kurdish administered regions Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Camp residents cook and share food at their site just outside Calais Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais A group walk through the camp near Calais Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Most of the temporary residents in this camp are from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria or the Kurdish administered regions Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais A 16 year old immigrant from Eritrea tries to brace himself against the rain and cold by sheltering under the road bridge Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Rubbish strewn on the ground near one of the campsites Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais A man stands among the tents at the campsite just outside Calais, France Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais A camp near Calais harbour where migrants from the East africa congregate to attempt the crossing from France to the UK. Most of the temporary residents in this camp are from Eritrea. Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Graffiti depicting the dangerous journey trying to smuggle onto a lorry to the UK
It was Ms Buccio who devised the plan to clear the southern part of the Jungle, which began this week. It was she who launched the first intensive effort by the French authorities to offer asylum to the migrants and “test their determination to reach the imagined El Dorado of Britain”.
Past generations of Calais migrants were obsessed with Britain. Those who have arrived more recently have been “misled by people smuggling gangs” to make for Calais, she said. When they realise that they cannot cross the Channel, they are ready to try their luck in France.
French police prepare to remove a woman, who threatened to cut her wrists, and a man from the top of a hut as they clear the Jungle camp in Calais. Both were arrested (Getty)
Of those who agree to be bussed to the 102 reception centres elsewhere in France, 100 per cent of Eritreans, 87 per cent of Syrians, 80 per cent of Afghans but only 40 per cent of Sudanese agree to give up all chance of seeking British asylum and apply to remain in France.
Ms Buccio was scathing about the No Borders activists, four-fifths of whom are British. “They are young people who are driven by an anarchist ideology of hatred of all laws and frontiers,” she said. “They have no real concern for the suffering of the migrants. They manipulate them and they mislead them. They harass the social workers we send to canvass them about staying in France.”
“And they are dangerous. One of my police officers had his hand broken in five places on Monday. They are not throwing pebbles.”
Mayhem in Calais camp
Ms Buccio is herself the grand-daughter of an Italian migrant who faced racist violence from local people when he fled from fascist Italy to Marseille in the 1930s. She has worked her way up from the bottom of the administrative pyramid to one of the most high-profile government jobs in France.
She has made a reputation since she arrived last year as a humane and hands-on official. Unlike many French prefects, she seldom appears in braided hat and white gloves.
While we speak, she takes a stream of calls from officials in the Jungle. “Be careful when you are dismantling shelters in that area,” she tells one caller. “That’s where the mosque is. And watch out that the No Borders people don’t burn it down and blame us.”
Riot police secure an area inside the camp (EPA)
For 20 years, Calais seems to have been a never-ending crisis, but that is changing, Ms Buccio insists.
“First, the Calais port and the Eurotunnel freight terminal are now almost water-tight,” she said. “The new security arrangements are working. I’m not saying that no one ever gets through. A few people managed to cross the Berlin Wall after all. But it is now very, very hard to reach the UK illegally.
“Secondly, we have been reaching out actively to the migrants in the Jungle to persuade them to go to reception centres elsewhere in France, Thirdly, we have basic but decent living conditions to offer – converted shipping containers, a shelter for women and children – for up to 2,000 migrants who wish to remain here.”
Calais threatens to become an issue in the Brexit debate. Some French politicians say that, if Britain leaves the EU, France should stop defending the British border.
“I am not a politician. That is not a question that concerns me,” Ms Buccio said. “The frontier must be protected and properly policed. We get on well with our British counterparts. There is often criticism of France in the British press but the people we deal with every day appreciate the efforts that we are making.”
Ms Buccio’s great test will come this spring and summer as more Syrian and other migrants pour into Europe. Will thousands of them make for Calais? | {
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Pantaloons that resemble an apple, Fur lined boote. The entire establishment twas surveying her. | {
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Democrats could hardly believe their good fortune last month when it became clear that Hillary Clinton was headed to a general election showdown with Donald J. Trump. Mr. Trump carried so much baggage and had insulted so many voting blocs that some Clinton supporters began to imagine a landslide.
But early optimism that this would be an easy race is evaporating. In the corridors of Congress, on airplane shuttles between New York and Washington, at donor gatherings and on conference calls, anxiety is spreading through the Democratic Party that Mrs. Clinton is struggling to find her footing.
While she enjoys many demographic advantages heading into the fall, key Democrats say they are growing worried that her campaign has not determined how to combat her unpredictable, often wily Republican rival, to whom criticism seldom sticks and rules of decorum seem not to apply.
Mrs. Clinton is pressing ahead with a conventional campaign, echoing the 2012 themes used against the Republican nominee that year, Mitt Romney. But Mr. Trump is running a jarringly different crusade: accusing her husband, former President Bill Clinton, of rape; proposing that the country conduct brutal methods of torture; and suggesting that South Korea and Japan be permitted to develop nuclear arms. Prominent Democrats say a more provocative approach is needed. | {
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Results
The best answer to the question "Do you think Gabi is best girl?" is shown on the poll results page. | {
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Mobile for sale is the best online source to find and buy smartphone according to your requirement and budget.
In today’s date, the smartphones are available in different price range and people look forward to purchasing the ones that fit best in their budget. Apart from the budget, people also look forward to having the best in class smartphones as per the need, such as the best smartphones for the music lovers, best phones for taking the photos, there are different kinds of phones for selfie lovers, etc.
WHAT KIND OF MOBILE ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
We have a lists of some of the best mobile for sale on the market right now. Whether you’re looking for a cheap keypad phone or a professional smartphone with solid battery backup, internal memory, camera and other advance features, we’re confident you’ll find the best mobile on this list that will meet all your needs.
Mobile (As Per The Brand):
1. Apple
Apple brand mobiles are always being preferred by the mobile lovers in the world. As per the brand, it is one of the best to be considered for the pwople who have the best in class phone to be used. There are different classy features included in the Apple brand smartphones in the world. For the smartphone users in the world and this is laso being considered.rred by the mobile lovers in the world. As per the brand, it is one of the best to be considered for the pwople who have the best in class phone to be used. There are different classy features included in the Apple brand smartphones in the world. For the smartphone users in the world and this is laso being considered.
Apple brand smartphones are known for the multifarious reasons and this also includes the good usability of the phone, which people also desire to have the particular quality in the smartphone. Being one of the best brand is whole smartphone sector, it also helps the people to keep it very consistent and this is also the major reason why this brand is most loved smartphone in the complete smartphone sector across the worldwide. It is also the leader in smartphone sector, for the people who also make use of classy and the attractive smartphone for their usage in daily life.
This brand comes up with the best quality and also something new concept included in the phones whcih also works as the attention-grabber in smartphone sector. The features are something, which keps eyes of the people glued to the lovely smartphones by the brand Apple and it is also to be considered by the people who just don’t think about the price tag before buying the smartphone for themselves. This brand attracts the people from around the globe and so this is getting popular with each passing day.
Apple brand smartphones are always the best to watch out for, by the people around the world and yes, buying this smartphone will surely make a dent in your pocket, and so this smartphone must be the best buy for the people who can spend huge bucks on smartphone purchase.
Read the iPhone Mobile User Guide
2. Samsung
Samsung phones are also the best to be considered for the people who love classy smartphones. These phones have the best ever features to be considered by the people who love to make use of the awe-inspiring smartphones. There are various kinds of Samsung smartphones and these have the best ever display and screen to watch out for, such as the Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 3 also has the best ever screen display to be considered by the smartphone users who love making use of the large screen size smartphones.
Even the internal storage feature of the Samsung smartphones is best to be considered for sure and you will also be able to expand the memory of the smartphone through this brand smartphone. The Samsung smartphones also provides you with the best option for customizing your screen as per your choice and preferences itself. You can make use of the class apart widgets, etc.
Samsung is the brand which comes up with the mind-boggling smartphones in different price ranges. You will be able to find the best Samsucng smartphones, in various kinds of price category, and choose as per your budget, preferences and the choice too. You will just love making use of the Samsung smartphones, by the quality of camera features, user-friendly smartphones, the highly customizitation of the notifications and the widgets in the Samsung smartphones.
The Samsung mobile phones are also best for the Android, and this is the open source operating system to watch out for. This operating system is also the best reason to opt for the Samsung phones for sure and you will just love these phones for sure. The best camera feature helps the people to take good photos and also the good selfies for the selfie lovers. The best ever music listening experience is also worth through this phone.
3.Huawei: Read the Samsung Mobile User Guide
Huawei is also one of the best ever brand smartphone to be considered by the smartphone lovers around the globe and this is the best China-based smartphone maker in the world. This particular brand is getting popular day by day and also attracts the smartphone lovers, who desire to buy the budget-priced smartphones for their usage. These kinds of smartphones comes with the better specs, and also the different price categories for smartphone users in the world.
There are various Huawei phone to be considered, for you to purchase, and these particular phones are also available in low prices. Well, we can see that the smartphone sector has the best in class smartphone brands, but then the people who just can’t spend huge bucks on purchasing the smartphones, will always look for the classy and attractive smartphone which is available in budget price and Huwei is one such brand for the people who desire to have the smartphone which is not high-priced.
Huawei is the brand which comes up with good-looking smartphones, plus the attractive phones which turns as the attention grabber for the smartphone lovers in the world. The best looking smartphones which you can buy, just without making any dent in your pocket.
Read the Huawei Mobile User Guide
4. Motorola:
Motorola is also one of the best brand in the smartphone sector to watch out for. There are various classy features which attracts the smartphone users to buy the Motorola smartphones. This phone provides you teh feature of customization and this will thrill you to bits for sure. If you check out the Moto X, then you will also know that the best ever Motorola smarthone is must to watch out for, by the smartphone lovers in the world.
Motorola is also known best for adding the attractive and useful features to stock the Android. Even the display of the Motorola phones is the one which attracts the smartphone lovers inthe world for sure. This phone provides the feature of AMOLED screen and this is the best feature which works as the attention grabber for the smartphone lovers in world. Even the Moto Assist is also the best feature to be considered and this can be found in Moto X, Moto G, Moto E.
Moto Assist has around 4 modes to watch out for and these are: Meeting, Driving, Sleeping and Home and these all features helps you to keep your smartphone upgraded. Meeting mode will be making use of the calendar for automatically keep your phone in the vibrate or silent mode whenever you have the event, so that you phone will also not accidentally go off, when you are in the meeting.
The Driving defects will be able help you at the time when you are driving, by making use of the GPS, and if your phone is also connected with the aux Jack or Bluetooth car stereo, then it can automatically begin with playing the music, and then if you get the text or phone call, this phone will said to launch in voice controlled state and also read out the message or name of who is making you the call.
Read the Motorolla Manual Guide
5. HTC:
HTC is also one of the best brand to be considered for the people who love the thrilling and trendy smartphones to be used for themselves. The sense interface feature of HTC phones, also makes this smartphone quite trendy to the core to be considered by the smarpthone lovers inthe world. This feature gives the better Android experience with the HTC smartness, and you just need to put the things which are quite useful and also very user-friendly and also makes use of the less bloatware.
HTC brand makes the breath-taking and thrilling smartphones to be considred by the smartphone lovers. Many of the people opt for using the HTC phones, as compared to the Samsung, is because of the build quality of these handsets which looks just awe-inspiring to the core for the smartphone users around the globe. Moreover, the Android phones are being loved more by the people, as compared to the Apple handsets in the world.
HTC phones are considered because of numerous reasons, like the battery backup. The screen display is also worth to be considered before buying the smartphone and HTC gives the best experience of large, clear screen for unleashing of smartphone usage experience. HTC 11 is one of the best smartphone.
HTC One User Guide
Mobile (As Per Their Usage):
There are some people who just love to click numerous photos and add on the instagram and various other social media platforms. Their eyes are being glued on the best ever smartphones which hit the markets and have awe-inspiring camera features. Moreover, they also edit the photos before adding on the social media platforms.
Well, there are different kinds of selfie smartphones available in the market, but we have compiled the 4 best ever smartphones for the selfie lovers and these are the smartphones are easy to be purchased in your budget and you don’t have to break a bank for buying these selfie smartphones.
The Oppo F1 Plus 16 Mega Pixel selfie camera has quite awesome features and this includes best front camera and this phone also has the ISOCell technology plus also the f/2.0 aperture lens also included and this feature absorbs complete light amount for taking the class apart selfies.
Sony Xperia XA Ultra smartphone is also one of the best ever selfie camera to be considered. It has the best ever camera features to be considered for the selfie lovers around the globe for sure. The internal storage is 16 GB and this can also be expanded to 200 GB. This particular smartphone also has the 6.0 inches display and also the HD resolution feature attracts the smartphone user also.
HTC desire 826 smartphone is one of the best smartpohone for selfie lovers. The rear camera of this phone is 13 MP and also captures the best photos too. Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro and this is the 16 MP selfie camera smartphone, made for the selfie lovers in the world.
1. Mobile Phone For Business Purposes
The businessmen love to make use of the best in class smartphones and this also helps them to be successful in the business for sure. In earlier days, there was only the BlackBerry phone to be meant for business purpose. In today’s date, there are various other phones available, to make a choice for the businessmen.
There are lot of choices available for the businessmen to make use of the best smartphone. We have compiled the 7 best phones for the businessmen to be considered. Apple iPhone 6, 64 GB is one of the best to be considered by the businessmen around the world.
The long battery life of this phone makes it one of the good choice for businessmen. The awesome designing feature also attracts the business people. The 4.7 inches display of this phone is another thrilling feature to be considered and this makes it the best choice for business use. BlackBerry Z30 is also one of the best to opt for, by the businessmen in the world for sure. It works on BB OS 10.2 and can also be upgraded to the 10.3 too.
Huawei Honor 5X is for the businessmen who desire to own the budget-priced smartphone for their usage. It has the 5.5 inches display to be considered by the people in business. Moto Z Play Droid is also one of the class apart smartpohone for the business people and this also includes the features which helps people in business to grow their business rapidly.
Google Pixel XL is also one of the trendy Android smartphone to be considered by the business people around the world. The Apple brand iPhone 7 Plus also attracts the business people for making use of this lovely smartphone for themselves. Samsung Galaxy S7 edge can also be purchased by the business people around the world.
2. Mobile Phone For Kids
Well, the people who are first time smartphone users, needs the best ever smartphones for themselves. These people can’t just understand as to which is the best ever smartphone to be used for themselves, because they are just the first time mobile users. Well, there are various feature-rich phones to be considered for these kind of first time smartphone users in the world.
Here we have compiled the 7 best budget smartphones for the beginners of the smartphones.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is one of the best in class smartphone which has quite good display and the resolution of 7080 pixelsx1920 pixels. This is powered by the 1.4 Ghz hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor and this also includes the 2GB RAM feature to be included in the smartphone. The internal storage is 16 GB and it can also be enhanced with the microSD card.
Coolpad Note 3 is also one of theb est to be considered for the first time users of smartphones and this particular smartphone also looks quite classy to the core, in all respects. The classy display, good camera quality, battery life feaure, all this also makes it to the best ever mobile for the beginners as such.
Lenovo K3 Note is also one of the best smartphone to be considered by the first time user of smartphones as such.
Asus Zenfone also looks quite ravishing and mind-boggling smartphone and is the best buy for the first time smartphone users.
Huawei Honor 5X also makes it to the chart of first time mobile user and looks the best smartphone too.
Meizu M3 Note, Lenovo A7000 is also to be considered by the buyers of first time users of smartphones.
3. Mobile Phone For Games Lovers
There are many smartphone users who make use of the best smartphone for unleashing their gaming experience to the core. Here we have compiled 8 best smartphones for the game lovers around the world. Moto Z is one of the best to be considered for the game lovers. It has 5.5 inches display and runs on the Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 RAM and it is one of the thrilling game based smartphones.
Coolpad Cool 1 smartphone is also designed for providing the best gaming experience to the game lovers in the world. This runs on the Snapdragon 652 powered and can also be upgraded to LeEco Le 2 also. Thecamera quality is 13 MP, 8 MP camera and runs on the Android 6.0 operating system. The battery quality is 4000 mAh and all this makes it to the best mobile for game lovers.
OnePlus 3T smartphone is also one of the best to be considered by the game lovers in the world. This phone includes the 6GB RAM and has the display quality of around 5.5 inches which looks quite appealing and attractive too. Battery is Li-ion non-removable 3400 mAh and this phone runs on the Android OS v6.0. It also has the Snapdragon 821 and RAM is 6GB. This lovely phone is available in storage capacity of 64/128 GB.
Sony Xperia XZ is also one of the best smartphone to be considered for the game lovers inthe world. Google Pixel & Google Pixel XL is also one of the best to be considered for the people who are game lovers to a lot of extent.
Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus must also be considered for the game lovers around the world. Being the Apple brand, this is also one of the best to watch out for, by the game lovers.
4. Mobile for Working Professionals
In today’s date, having the perfect smartphone is much needed. People desireto make use ofthe smartphones as per their requirements. For example, the people who are game-addicts look forward to have the best in class game based smartphones, the ones who are the music enthusiasts, desire to have the best ever smartphone which looks just awesome and gives better music experience to the core. The ones who love to take the photo, then they desireto have the best in class smartphone which provides good features of the photos and the selfies in the same.
The people who are in the field of business, desireto have best ever smartphone business smartphone to help them grow their business instantly as such and get good profits too, plus also increase the sales leads and the customer-base too.
Here we have compiled the best in class 8 smartphones for the working professionals.
HTC 10 is one of the smartphone to be considered by the people who are in the field of working professionals and this phone helps them to grow and reach new heights in their profession. The features of this particular phone includes such that, this attracts the working professsional group instantly and at the drop of a hat.
Apple iPhone SE is yet another smartphone to be considered for the working professionals and this also looks awe-inspiring to the core for sure. It has 4 inches display and has the 12 MP camera quality too. Battery life is one such amazing feature which urges the working professional to pick this smartphone for usage.
Google pixel phone is yet another to be considered by the working professionals group as this also has the classy and attractive features which is being needed in the smartphone of working professionals too. This phone includes the Google’s Assistant too and has the headphone jack included in this phone.
This luxe phone runs on the Android version and gives the enthralling experience of using smartphone, to the working professional group all over the world as such. You can also pick this phone, if you are a working professional.
Moto G4 Smartphone is also one of the best to be considered by the working professional group for sure and this looks extremely outstanding in looks too. It has the 13 MP camera quality feature included in this particular smartphone and you will get the world class experience of using the smartphone for sure. The big advantage for using this smartphone is the pricing, as this is available in low price also.
Apple iPhone is also one of the best to be considered for the working professional group. One Plus 3T Smartphone, Apple iPhone 7 Plus, Samsun Galaxy S7 Edge is also to be considered.
Mobile (As Per The Pricing):
Some people look at their budget to buy the best in class smartphone and tey want the best one for sure. There are various smartphones available in the market and you must watch out for the same, as per your choice and preferences.
1. Smartphone Under $100
There are various kinds of smartphones which are just classy to the core and these smartphones which are available in under $100 are the most budget priced smartphones which you can check out for under $100 as such. The Acer Liquid Z410 is one of the best smartphone which is available under $100 and it looks classy. It is based on 4.4.4
Android Kitkat operating system and the user interface is just marvellous to be seen as such. Motorola Moto E 2nd gen is also one of the best in class smartphone to be considered by the smartphone lovers. Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 also appears to be quite appealing for the smartphone lovers in the world. Nokia Lumia 635 is also one of the best to be checked out. Blu Life One 4G LTE Smartphone can also be made to use for the budget priced phone buyers.
2. Smartphone Under $200
Some people also increase their budget and they go with the best smartphones which are under $200 and they appear to be so elegant in looks for the smartphone lovers around the globe for sure. Motorola G4 and G5 makes it to the best in class smartphone under $200 and these are the best ones to be considered for the smartphone lovers in the world. You can buy these classy phones either offline or also through online too. And apart from the Motorola, there are also the other brands smartphones which are available for the people to be used as per their choice, colour preferences and much more to be seen as such. There are various kinds of smartphones which are available under $200 and these appears to be stunning to the core for sure.
3. Smartphone Under $500
Some people also go for the best ever smartphones which are being available under $500 and these are the smartphones which looks classy and also attractive to watch out for by the people who desire to make use of the best ever smartphone under $500 and you can also opt for the different kinds of brand like the Samsung, Motorola, HTC, Honor phones and there are also various other brands which comes up with the attractive, stylish and the enthralling smartphones under $500 for the people who desire to make use of the best ever smartphone. These smartphones can be purchased as per your interest, choice, preference too.
4. Smartphone Under $1000
There are also the best ever smartphones which are being available under $1000 and these smartphones will also thrill you to bits when you make use of these smartphones as per your need and preferences too. These smartphones look awe-inspiring and also mind-boggling too. You will also be able to find the best ever smartphones under $1000 and you can check out the best in class smartphones, as some are for the music lovers, some are for the people who love the best ever smartphones to be used and these looks gorgeous and also captivating for sure.
5. Smartphone Above $1000
Some people keep their budget high when they make use of the smartphone and they opt for the best ever smartphones to be used for themselves. The high-budget smartphones users always look forward to have the attractive and stylish smartphones and these are available above $1000, you will also be able to check out the different brand of smartphones in this price range and these smartphones look just incredible to be used. You can go with the best brands smartphones in this price range and the smartphones which are there in this range will just thrill you to bits for sure. | {
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La masacre de El Junquito. Así ha sido bautizado extraoficialmente el desenlace del operativo con que las fuerzas de seguridad venezolanas pretendían capturar a Óscar Pérez, el enemigo número uno del régimen chavista hasta el pasado 15 de enero. Esa es la fecha en que Pérez, exinspector de la Policía científica del país, y otros seis rebeldes empeñados en derrocar al “hombre fuerte” de Caracas, Nicolás Maduro, murieron bajo una lluvia de balas o cohetes. El Gobierno no ha hecho pública todavía la causa exacta de sus decesos.
Tanto peor para la imagen de Maduro. Con el paso de los días y a medida que se intensifica la opacidad en torno a este suceso, aumenta el número de instancias que lo acusan de haber ordenado la ejecución extrajudicial de los alzados y de otras dos personas atrincheradas con ellos en un chalet de El Junquito, un poblado en las afueras de la capital. La mayor alianza de partidos opositores de Venezuela, la Conferencia Episcopal local y veintitrés expresidentes iberoamericanos ya están hablando de “ajusticiamiento”.
Los subversivos se dieron a conocer el 27 de junio de 2017, cuando dispararon contra las sedes del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia y el Ministerio del Interior desde un helicóptero. En diciembre sometieron a un grupo de soldados, asaltaron una base militar y sustrajeron armas de su arsenal. Esas hazañas y sus llamados a una insurrección popular quedaron documentados en las redes sociales. Sus simpatizantes subrayan que los hombres de Pérez nunca hirieron ni le quitaron la vida a nadie, pero la élite cívico-militar revolucionaria sostiene lo contrario.
El destino de los “terroristas”
El segundo timonel del gobernante Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), Diosdado Cabello, aseguró que los agitadores nunca contemplaron deponer las armas como lo proclamó el propio Pérez en videos grabados poco antes de su muerte, que ellos lanzaron granadas contra los cuerpos de seguridad al verse sitiados en El Junquito y que terminaron asesinando a Heyker Vásquez, líder de un colectivo chavista –luego descrito como agente de la Policía Nacional Bolivariana– cuya presencia en el lugar de los hechos ha atizado controversias.
Foro Penal Venezolano señaló que la participación de civiles irregulares o paramilitares en operativos de seguridad o de control del orden público infringía lo establecido en la Constitución nacional. La organización no gubernamental (ONG) agregó, por otra parte, que el uso de lanzacohetes contra los insurgentes en El Junquito –como se vio en un video colgado en Twitter– representaba un crimen de lesa humanidad, tanto más si se consideraba que Pérez había manifestado públicamente su intención de entregarse a las autoridades.
El ministro del Interior y Justicia, Néstor Reverol, secundó a Cabello y alegó que los sediciosos habían disparado a matar cuando se les conminó a rendirse. Maduro fue más lejos y cosechó aún más críticas al justificar el destino que les tocó a los “terroristas”. Erika Guevara Rosas, directora de Amnistía Internacional para las Américas, dijo que el operativo para atrapar a Pérez “parece ilegal”. Desde el exilio, la exfiscal general de Venezuela Luisa Ortega Díaz, otrora personal de confianza del PSUV, no dudó en catalogar lo ocurrido como un homicidio.
Suspicacia razonable
En un comunicado emitido este 16 de enero, la ONG Comité de Familiares de las Víctimas (COFAVIC) ponía el episodio de El Junquito en el contexto de otras 6385 ejecuciones extrajudiciales presuntamente consumadas entre enero de 2012 y marzo de 2017, definiéndolas como acciones deliberadas, ilegítimas y con injerencia gubernamental perpetradas por agentes del Estado o particulares bajo su orden, con su complicidad o su consentimiento. El documento advertía, por si hacía falta, que hasta los imputados por terrorismo tienen derechos humanos.
Según Marco Ponce, coordinador general del Observatorio Venezolano de la Conflictividad Social (OVCS), y Carlos Patiño, portavoz del Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos (PROVEA), hay suficientes razones para sospechar que lo acontecido en El Junquito el 15 de enero fue una ejecución extrajudicial. Ambos apuntan a la resolución innecesariamente violenta de la crisis y a la conspicua ausencia de funcionarios del Ministerio Público y de la Defensoría del Pueblo, que habrían debido impedir lo que pasó.
En entrevista con DW, Ponce y Patiño resaltan también el hecho de que, a estas alturas, las autoridades no les hayan entregado los cuerpos de los muertos a sus familiares. “Eso preocupa por los antecedentes a la mano: hace algunos años, tras un controvertido operativo de seguridad que dejó varios muertos, los dolientes recibieron los restos incinerados de sus seres queridos y no pudieron exigir la realización de autopsias para determinar si ellos habían sido víctimas de ejecuciones extrajudiciales”, dice Patiño, de PROVEA.
Funestos precedentes
“A eso se suma la demolición del chalet donde buscaron refugio Pérez y los otros insurgentes”, añade Ponce, del OVCS, dejando a buen entendedor que las fuerzas del orden pueden estar más interesadas en encubrir lo sucedido en El Junquito que en desvelarlo. Los dos activistas de derechos humanos coinciden en que la suspicacia es razonable, a juzgar por los excesos cometidos por los uniformados y los paramilitares chavistas en el marco de otros operativos como la Operación para la Liberación del Pueblo (OLP) y el Plan Zamora.
“La OLP, que en teoría buscaba reducir los niveles de criminalidad, dio pie a delitos que iban desde allanamientos ilegales de viviendas y detenciones arbitrarias hasta ejecuciones extrajudiciales, como la ‘masacre de Barlovento’ de 2016, cuya flagrancia obligó al Ministerio Público a admitir que ésta había tenido lugar. Y el Plan Zamora consistía en permitir que, junto a los cuerpos de seguridad del Estado, también civiles armados y grupos paramilitares reprimieran a quienes protestaron contra el Gobierno en 2017”, detalla Patiño.
“Estamos ante un patrón sistemático de violaciones de derechos humanos”, observa Ponce. Aunque fenómenos de esta índole se registraron también en el período democrático previo a la “Revolución Bolivariana” impulsada por el difunto presidente Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), Patiño y su colega del OVCS atribuyen el agravamiento de la situación a la impunidad propiciada por el debilitamiento del Estado de derecho en Venezuela. La “masacre de El Junquito” es sólo la cara nueva de un viejo problema.
Dada la renuencia del régimen de Maduro a invitar veedores imparciales para escrutar la limpieza de los procesos electorales venezolanos o inspectores globalmente reconocidos para analizar el estado de los derechos y las libertades ciudadanas en el país caribeño, cabe preguntarse qué árbitro podría arrojar luz sobre lo que algunos llaman el “caso 15-E”. “Aunque es poco probable que Maduro responda a nuestra demanda, no podemos dejar de exigirle que encargue una investigación independiente para saber a ciencia cierta qué pasó el 15 de enero en El Junquito”, opina Ponce.
Autor: Evan Romero-Castillo (few)
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In the midst of the Edmonton Oilers' horrible 2017-18 season, one can't help but wonder what the team would look like if general manager Peter Chiarelli never went through with some of his questionable decisions. To take this exercise to a whole other level: What would the Oilers look like if Chiarelli was never hired in the first place?
Here are a list of ground rules to make these projections fair, rather than picking and choosing the good and bad moves he's made:
Any player Chiarelli acquired via trade, free agency, or waivers will not be included
Draft picks made during the Chiarelli era will still be included
Players taken with draft picks traded away by Chiarelli will be included
Players Chiarelli traded away will be included
Buyouts will remain included
Players' current cap hits will be used
Chiarelli was hired by the Oilers on April 24, 2015. Here's a look at the Oilers if they essentially operated without a GM (excluding draft picks, re-signings) from that date forward (players in bold are not on the current Oilers roster):
Forwards
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
LW C RW Taylor Hall ($6M) Connor McDavid ($925K) Leon Draisaitl ($8.5M) Nail Yakupov ($875K) Mathew Barzal ($863K) Jordan Eberle ($6M) Anton Slepyshev ($925K) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($6M) Jesse Puljujarvi ($925K) Jujhar Khaira ($675K) Iiro Pakarinen ($725K)
Buyouts: Benoit Pouliot ($1.3M), Lauri Korpikoski ($1M).
Total Cap hit: $34.71 million.
Absences: Milan Lucic ($6M), Ryan Strome ($2.5M), Zack Kassian ($1.95M), Mark Letestu ($1.8M), Patrick Maroon ($1.5M), Mike Cammalleri ($1M), Drake Caggiula ($925K), Brad Malone ($650K).
In reality, a coach would probably split up Hall, McDavid, and Draisaitl, but the the possibility of that trio together likely has Oilers fans sick to their stomachs.
The second line is made up of three players not currently on the Oilers' roster. Eberle, of course, was traded for Strome. Yakupov, who is on pace for a career high in goals with the Avs, was dealt to the Blues for a third-round pick. Barzal, a potential rookie-of-the-year candidate, was the first-round draft pick used by the Isles in the trade that sent Griffin Reinhart to the Oilers. Yikes.
Defense
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
LD RD Oscar Klefbom ($4.167M) Justin Schultz ($5.5M) Darnell Nurse ($863K) Brandon Davidson ($1.425M)
Buyouts: None.
Total Cap hit: $11.95 million.
Absences: Andrej Sekera ($5.5M), Adam Larsson ($4.167M), Kris Russell ($4M), Matthew Benning ($925K), Eric Gryba ($900K), Yohann Auvitu ($700K).
It's possible Schultz - who was moved to Pittsburgh for a third-round pick - never would have flourished as a player if he never left Edmonton, but nonetheless, a defenseman with his offensive capabilities (51 points last year) would certainly be helpful on the Oilers' back end. Davidson was dealt for David Desharnais a year ago, but is nothing more than a bottom-pairing blue-liner at best.
Goaltenders
G Laurent Brossoit ($750K)
Buyouts: None.
Total Cap hit: $750,000.
Absences: Cam Talbot ($4.167M).
While he hasn't played great this season, trading for Cam Talbot is arguably Chiarelli's best move as Edmonton's GM. Without him, they have a gaping hole in the crease.
Needs and flexibility
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Going three offseasons without making a trade or signing a free agent certainly leaves the alternate reality Oilers with many holes to fill. They could use a fourth-line center, depth on the wings, at least two defensemen, and a starting goaltender.
However, without signing Lucic to a seven-year, $42-million contract, Russell to a four-year, $16-million contract, and Sekera to a six-year, $33-million contract, the alternate reality Oilers have much more flexibility. With the roster listed above, they would currently have $27.59 million in cap space, compared to the $8.19 million in cap room the real Oilers have, per Cap Friendly.
Additionally, with Barzal in the fold and Draisaitl's ability to play center, the alternate reality Oilers could afford to trade Nugent-Hopkins and his $6-million cap hit to address the blue line, or the crease, and still have exceptional depth down the middle.
Building for the future
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Both the current Oilers and the alternate reality Oilers will be in a bind next season when McDavid's $12.5-million cap hit kicks in. However, the alternate reality Oilers seem much better suited to handle it.
Here is a list of free agents for each version of the team after this season:
Current Oilers Alternate Reality Oilers Ryan Strome (RFA) Anton Slepyshev (RFA) Mark Letestu (UFA) Nail Yakupov (RFA) Patrick Maroon (UFA) Iiro Pakarinen (RFA) Mike Cammalleri (UFA) Darnell Nurse (RFA) Anton Slepyshev (RFA) Brandon Davidson (RFA) Drake Caggiula (RFA) Laurent Brossoit (RFA) Iiro Pakarinen (RFA) Matthew Benning (RFA) Darnell Nurse (RFA) Yohann Auvitu (UFA) Laurent Brossoit (RFA)
The current Oilers project to have $13 million in cap space next season with 14 players on the roster, and several RFAs due for pay raises.
The alternate reality Oilers project to have $20.65 million in cap space next season with 10 players on the roster, and a few less RFAs due for pay raises.
Both cap situations aren't pretty. The alternate reality Oilers may have to end up trading away both Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle to free up cap room, but with a stronger and younger core in place, they're better-suited to handle the inevitable cap crunch that comes with paying elite players like McDavid and Draisaitl top dollar.
Chiarelli handed out big contracts in free agency in an effort to improve the Oilers right away. It worked, as they made the playoffs a year ago, but as far as sustained success goes, the Oilers would be in a much better spot long term if he had shown more patience in building this team. | {
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The mastiff bat originates from from Central and South America. The animals possess an effective immune system which protects them from infections. Credit: MPI f. Ornithology
The bat's immune system works in a fundamentally different way to that of other mammals. This was the conclusion reached by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in a study of mastiff bats. The research could also be significant in the fight against viral diseases that can be transmitted from animals like bats to humans.
While bats qualify as carriers and reservoir hosts of a whole range of infectious diseases, very little research has been conducted on their immune system to date. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell, the University of Konstanz and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama are now trying to bridge this gap. Their findings show that the immune system of bats may work in a way that is fundamentally different to that of other mammals. The immune defence of the animals could even provide clues as to how certain infectious diseases can be averted.
Many of the 1,300 known bat species have antibodies in their blood to protect against various diseases but rarely have the pathogens themselves. The animals seem to be able to fight off the pathogens without becoming ill themselves. But what makes their immune system so special?
The scientists studied the immune responses of Pallas's mastiff bats (Molossus molossus) in Panama. The animals follow a specific daily routine: during the day they reduce their energy consumption in their roosts in order to save energy. During this period, the bats rest motionless and their body temperature drops. It's only at sunset, when the mastiff bats set out for the hunt, that they come to life. Now, their body temperature rises to more than 40 degrees Celsius as their muscles need to work hard during their flight.
However, the high temperature could also have a side effect: it could activate the immune response against pathogens as a type of daily fever. Conversely, the daily slowdown in their metabolic rate could also inhibit the proliferation of existing pathogens in the body.
To test this hypothesis, the researchers administered a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) – a compound, harmless in itself, made up of lipid and sugar components – to the bats. As LPS is also found on the outer membrane of many pathogens, the bat's immune system assumes a bacterial attack and switches to defence mode.
As the scientists demonstrated, however, the daily temperature fluctuations remained unchanged even after the administration of LPS. The material therefore does not trigger a fever in the bats, as it does in other mammals. Furthermore, the number of white blood cells in the blood – an indicator of the strength of the immune defence – did not increase. However, the bats did lose a significant amount of mass within 24 hours – a sign for the researchers that the animals mobilise energy reserves for the immune defence.
"This mass loss also occurs in other bat species," explains Teague O'Mara, lead author of the study. "This is an indication that their immune system is switched on." Up until now, however, nobody could say exactly which cellular processes were taking place. "The immune system in bats does not behave in the same way as in other mammals," says Dina Dechmann from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology. "We need to understand what makes it so special. It could help us to learn a lot about diseases that are dangerous to humans."
Thus, it is conceivable that bats could be unjustly blamed for Ebola. In a survey, scientists from the Robert Koch Institute and the Max Planck Institute are systematically analysing the current level of knowledge about the origin of the Ebola virus. According to the researchers, fruit bats cannot be the main or only reservoir. The Ebola virus itself has not yet been established in bats.
The chain of evidence so far is based on antibodies against Ebola, which have been discovered in the blood of fruit bats. The animals therefore may well come into frequent contact with the virus but are in a position to fight it off. A similar situation could arise with other infectious diseases which can be transmitted from animals to humans, such as rabies. In this case as well, an effective immune system could protect the bats from becoming ill. "If we could understand how the animals cope with the diseases, we could use this knowledge to develop new vaccines and medications," says O'Mara.
Explore further Study in bats and rodents offers insights on how viruses spread across species
More information: "No fever and leucocytosis in response to a lipopolysaccharide challenge in an insectivorous bat." Biological Letters 11: 20150576. "No fever and leucocytosis in response to a lipopolysaccharide challenge in an insectivorous bat."11: 20150576. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0576 | {
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Science news stories highlighting the discovery, activity, and role of quasars and supermassive black holes in galaxies are commonplace today. But it took a brilliant astrophysicist to connect these two ideas, theorizing that supermassive black holes in galactic centers are the power source for the bright quasars we can see across vast cosmic distances. That man was Donald Lynden-Bell, who passed away Monday, February 5, at the age of 82.Lynden-Bell contributed to many varied fields in astronomy, including stellar motions, galactic spiral structure, and quasars. His findings led him to propose that quasars’ immense luminosities are actually powered by the accretion disk of infalling matter spiraling into supermassive black holes. As matter in the disk clumps and rubs together, the friction generates emission across the electromagnetic spectrum. Lynden-Bell, as part of a group of astronomers known as the “Seven Samurai,” also contributed to the theory that a Great Attractor exists — a huge concentration of matter whose gravity is responsible for the observed motions of galaxies within our Local Group.Donald Lynden-Bell is remembered not only for his brilliance and creativity, but also for his refusal to commit himself to one small, single portion of the astronomical field. While many researchers choose a specific area of concentration, Lynden-Bell made contributions far and wide, from telescope design and the motions of nearby stars to those distant quasars and the galaxies in which they reside. He studied astronomy at the University of Cambridge, where he also taught astrophysics and served as the first Director of the Institute of Astronomy. His other professional accomplishments include the co-receipt of the 2008 Kavli Prize for Astrophysics; he was also awarded the Karl Schwarzschild Medal, the Eddington Medal, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (where he also served as president from 1985-1987), and the American Astronomical Society’s Henry Norris Russell Lectureship. The minor planet 18235 Lynden-Bell is named for him. | {
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“Ashby” Starring Mickey Rourke, Emma Roberts and Sarah Silverman is now casting extras in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Tona B. Dahlquist is currently casting extras those interested in working as extras in Tony McNamara’s upcoming comedy-drama ASHBY, set to star Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler, Iron Man 2), Nat Wolff (The Fault in our Stars, The Naked Brothers Band), Emma Roberts (We’re The Millers, Palo Alto) and Sarah Silverman (A Million Ways To Die In The West).
The comedy-drama Ashby follows the relationship between a high school student, to be played by Nat Wolff , and a retired CIA assassin who only has months to live.
Filming will begin on June 16 in Charlotte, with filming scheduled to last for five weeks.
For more details check out the casting call below:
“Ashby” Casting Call
All Types, Ages and Ethnicities are needed for filming!
In addition to All, there is special need for High School age males and females and those 18 years and older that can pass as High School teens.
Anyone interested in submitting should include a current photo/snapshot -which can be taken with a cell phone.
All submissions must include the following information -Name, age, parent’s names if under 18, phone, height/weight, clothing sizes, color/make/model/year vehicle you drive, city/state you reside. Failure to send all information request will delay your submission from being processed.
Submissions should be sent to [email protected] with heading being your ethnicity, gender,age and city/state you reside. Example Hispanic Male, 24, Charlotte,NC.
UPDATE (Tuesday, June 18, 2014): Casting directors are seeking to cast featured roles in the upcoming feature film.
Housewife Casting Call
ASHBY -Seeking Caucasian Female to portray Upscale Suburban Housewife on Wednesday 6/25. This person will be photo selected by director. Please submit a true current photo. In addition include your Name, Age, Phone, Clothing Sizes, Height/Weight, City/State you reside, Color/Make/Model/Year vehicle you drive. Submissions should be sent to [email protected] with heading WED WIFE.
Hispanic/Asian Casting Call
ASHBY (Micky Rourke,Emma Roberts Movie) is Seeking a LATINO or ASIAN Female 18 – early 20’s (that can still pass for High School age) for filming on Monday 6/23. Filming in Charlotte area.
Must be comfortable wearing a bra in one of the scenes. If available and interested, please submit current photo and information (Name, Age, Phone, Clothing Sizes, Height/Weight, City/State you reside) to us at [email protected] with heading CUTE GIRL.
Featured Role Casting Call
ASHBY -Seeking for photo purposes to portray a character’s daughter and wife. Will only need photos from each of you.
Wife -Caucasian Female -early 50’s. Need to have a photo of yourself current, as well as 40’s, 30’s and 20’s. These 4 photos are ALL of same person at different ages in their life.
Daughter -Caucasian Female -15. Need to have a photo of you at 15, 13, 10 and 8 years of age. These photos are ALL of same person at different ages in their life.
Please submit such photos if you want to be considered to us at [email protected] with heading Ashby’s Wife OR Ashby’s daughter (depending on which you are submitting for. Please make sure you include your name, phone along with requested photos.
Amputee Casting Call
ASHBY -Seeking a Male AMPUTEE (Leg) for filming one day. If you know of someone -please let them know. It can be an adult male of any age -including older males. This person will be photo selected by director.
This scene will film on Sunday 6/29.(not this sunday but next).
Submissions should 2 current photos One head/shoulder and one Full length. Please include the following information Name, Age, Phone, Height/Weight, Clothing Sizes, City/State you reside.
Submissions should be sent to [email protected] with heading AMPUTEE. Thanks
Discuss this story with fellow Project Casting fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @projectcasting.
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By: Treasure Coast Bullion Group -
Gold bullion prices increased nearly 3% in January of 2018, following a robust rise in December, and the question on many investors minds is “how far gold bullion can climb in 2018”? One of the best ways to determine what the market is thinking is to evaluate the implied volatility used to price gold bullion options.
What is an Option?
An option is a financial product that gives the buyer of the option the right but not the obligation to purchase or sell an asset such as gold bars or silver coins. There are two types of options, a call option, and a put option. A call option on gold or silver provides the owner the right to purchase gold or silver. A put option allows the owner to sell gold or silver. Each option has an expiration date when the right to purchase or sell the underlying product expires. Additional, options have a price where you can buy or sell the underlying product, which is called the strike price. When you purchase an option, you pay the seller of the option a premium.
What Goes into Pricing an Option?
There are several factors that determine the price of a gold bar or silver bullion option. This is because an option price reflects the probability that gold or silver will be above or below the strike price before the expiration date. Some of the more import factors include the number of days until expiration, the current price gold or silver, the strike price, as well as implied volatility. Implied volatility describes how much the market believes the underlying price of gold bullion or silver bars will move over the next year.
What Can Implied Volatility Tell You?
While many investors who purchase gold bullion or silver coins will never use options, the information that options describe can be an important factor when buying gold bars or silver bullion. Implied volatility tells you how much the market believes prices will move over the next year. Implied volatility comes as a percentage move on an annual basis. For example implied volatility of 14% means that the market believes that prices of gold will move 14% from current levels over the next 12-months.
How Can You Look at Gold Implied Volatility?
Gold implied volatility can be viewed on a chart using several methods, but the easiest way to evaluate gold implied volatility is chart the Gold CBOE volatility index. This index produced daily by the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) shows the implied volatility of the “at the money” strike prices for nearby gold options.
Gold implied volatility hit a fresh all-time low in December at 9.4% and has since rebounded by nearly 50%. The current reading of nearly 14% means that the market believes that prices will rise or fall by 14% in the next 12-months. With gold prices at approximately 1,345, this means that options traders put target prices at either $1,533 or $1,157 at the beginning of February of 2019.
Gold implied volatility is not stagnant and could easily climb back to the 5-year average which is closer to 16.8%. This reading would put prices in the next 12-months at either $1,570 or $1,116. In fact, momentum on gold implied volatility is positive, and will likely continue to climb especially if prices break above current resistance levels near $1,380/$1,390.
Summary
One of the best ways to evaluate how far gold bar prices will likely rise or fall over the next 12-months is to look at gold bullion implied volatility. This is can be accomplished by looking at a chart of the CBOE’s gold volatility index. The index is in percentage terms and tells you how far the options market believes prices will rise or fall over the next year.
If you are looking to take advantage of a time to add precious metals to your portfolio, click on this link to get access to your Investment Kit or better yet, give us a call today at 800–982–6105.
Good Investing,
Treasure Coast Bullion Group
Good Investing,
Treasure Coast Bullion Group | {
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At the Google I/O developer conference today in San Francisco, the search giant unveiled Android 2.2, codenamed Froyo. The new version introduces some impressive performance improvements and much-needed feature enhancements.
Vic Gundotra, Google VP of engineering, discussed Android's progress and introduced the new version of the platform during a keynote presentation on the second day of the event. In the past 18 months, Android has attracted 21 hardware makers and 60 carriers in 40 countries. There are now over 60 compatible Android devices, which are rapidly increasing in popularity. Google says that over 100,000 new Android devices are activated every day.
Android is a Java-based platform, but it uses its own custom runtime engine and bytecode format. Unlike the conventional JRE, Android's Java runtime is basically an interpreter—it just executes the bytecode. One of the most significant improvements in Froyo is the introduction of a just-in-time (JIT) compilation engine that will allow the runtime to translate bytecode into native code at runtime.
The introduction of a JIT will bring a massive performance boost, increasing application execution speed by up to five times. This will improve the general responsiveness of the platform and allow application developers to build more computationally intensive software.
Another area where Google has made major investments in performance is the Android Web browser. The company has brought its recent optimization work on the V8 JavaScript engine to Froyo, leading to a 3x speedup. The company contends that Froyo has the "world's fastest mobile browser." To back up this claim, Google conducted a demo during the keynote which showed a Froyo-powered Nexus One crushing the iPad in a SunSpider JavaScript benchmark.
Enterprise, cloud, and tethering
In addition to performance improvements, Android has also gained a number of impressive new features. In an effort to boost Android's competitiveness in the business market, Google has added some enterprise-specific enhancements, including broad support for Microsoft exchange. Another major addition is a new data backup API for third-party applications, which will make it easier for users to keep all of their application data when they move to a new device.
The early Android previews had an XMPP-based push messaging framework, but it was cut during the beta test period due to reliability issues and was not present in version 1.0. Google has finally filled that hole in Froyo with a new cloud messaging API. The new cloud messaging service doesn't just push notifications, however. Third-party applications can transmit Android "Intents" to a device, meaning that the push messages can be used to activate applications and populate them with certain data.
Sending a map to an Android 2.2 phone
During a demo of the cloud messaging feature, Google showed how it can be used to push directions from Google Maps in Chrome on a desktop computer directly onto an Android device. The Android map application on the handset opened and displayed the same directions that the user was viewing in the browser on the desktop.
Android 2.2 turns your phone into a WiFi hotspot
Another compelling new feature in Froyo is support for wireless tethering. It will be possible to use an Android handset as a WiFi hotspot, making its 3G connectivity available to other devices. During the keynote, Google demoed the feature by showing how to make an iPad connect to the Internet through a Nexus One.
An open platform
During the entire keynote presentation, Google stressed the openness of the Android platform and emphasized its technical advantages relative to Apple's iPhone. Attitude towards browser plugins is one major area where the platforms differ. Google says that Adobe's Flash player and AIR runtime will be fully supported on Froyo. Supporting Flash was an easy choice, said Gundrota, because Android is an inclusive platform and Google is committed to having the most comprehensive browsing experience.
Opportunities in mobile advertising were a major factor that compelled Google to enter the phone space. The company is starting to take advantage of those opportunities by rolling out an experimental new mobile advertising platform. This will allow companies to reach mobile consumers and will also give application developers a convenient way to monetize their software.
During the keynote, Google showed several different kinds of mobile advertisements that companies can buy. One impressive feature is click-to-call, which allows advertisers to give users an easy way to call a phone number related to the advertisement. There are also location-aware features, such as a built-in map that will show the user where they can buy a product. Google envisions interactive rich advertising that brings value to consumers.
More love for apps
Application management has typically been a weak area for Android. One of the biggest failings of the platform is that it heavily limits the amount of storage space that can be used for applications. Google has rectified this problem in Froyo by adding support for storing applications on an SD card—a feature that was previously only available to users running hacked firmware.
Updating multiple apps at once
Google has made some very significant improvements to the application marketplace, particularly in the area of update handling. In Froyo, the marketplace has gained a much-needed "Update All" button, which will finally eliminate the painful chore of updating applications individually. Users will also be able to optionally enable automatic updates for certain applications.
Google has some even more compelling features planned for application management in future versions. The company demoed a Web-based interface to the app marketplace that is designed to be accessed in a Web browser on a desktop computer. When the user selects an application to install through the Web interface, it will automatically download on the user's selected device. This will simplify application installation and discoverability. It's easier than using the bar codes that are commonly used today on Web-based application indexes.
Google also aims to sell music through the same Web-based store. When the user purchases a song, they will be able to have it automatically download on their device. Similarly, Google is building a media synchronization framework based on technology acquired from Simplify Media. It will allow users to easily access their home music collection from their Android device. Look for coverage on Ars later today.
Android has matured considerably over the past year. The operating system has gained a richer assortment of third-party applications and many new capabilities. The latest improvements that Google is pushing in Froyo add a lot more power and sophistication to the platform.
Listing image by Google | {
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I’ve finally read enough to be pretty sure I have a good understanding of our shiny new North American trade agreement, USMCA. The details, frankly, aren’t very interesting, and you can google them if you really want to. But here’s the nutshell:
It’s a very modest change to the original NAFTA.
Both Canada and Mexico had already agreed to about 90 percent of the new provisions years ago. That’s because they were included in the TPP agreement, which Donald Trump killed on his first day in office.
The net economic effect of the new agreement will be close to zero.
The agreement probably could have been concluded months and months ago. As near as I can tell, there were really no serious issues except for Trump’s comical insistence that Canada open its dairy markets further. This made no real sense since we already have a trade surplus with Canada in dairy products.
According to Catherine Rampell: “In return for greater American access to the Canadian dairy, poultry and egg markets, we gave Canada greater access to U.S. markets for dairy, peanuts, processed peanut products, sugar and sugar-containing products.” I confess I don’t get this. Peanuts? Canada doesn’t grow peanuts. In fact, according to the Peanut Bureau of Canada—which, and I am serious about this, is actually the “Canadian branch of the American Peanut Council”—the Canadian climate “isn’t very conducive to growing peanuts.” No kidding. They estimate that the total amount of peanuts farmed in Canada “may be as small as a couple hundred tonnes,” and that 85 percent of their peanuts are imported from the United States. So why would Canada want greater access to the US market for peanuts?
That’s about it. Really. The major provisions of USMCA relate to auto production and pharmaceutical patents, and even those aren’t very major. There’s just not much here. In the end, Justin Trudeau decided to give Trump his dairy provisions in return for Trump agreeing to a dispute resolution process more to Canada’s liking. The total value to the US of this stuff is about a millionth of one percent of GDP. Even among dairy farmers I doubt that it’s all that big a deal.
In any case, we already have an overall trade surplus with Canada, so the new agreement won’t have any effect on that score. This leaves Mexico, and just for the record, here’s our trade balance with Mexico over the past couple of decades:
There’s no special reason you should care about our trade deficit with Mexico, but if you do, this is our baseline. Tape it to your refrigerator and then check back in four or five years to see if the new trade deal has reduced it. My bet is that it will make no difference whatsoever. | {
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UEFA Avrupa Ligi finalinde Atletico Madrid'in Marsilya'yı yenmesi Türkiye'ye yaradı. Detayları CNN TÜRK Spor Direktörü Cem Yılmaz canlı yayında anlattı.
Türkiye'ye Şampiyonlar Ligi müjdesi Atletico Madrid'in Marsilya'yı devirerek Avrupa Ligi şampiyonu olmasından ilginç bir biçimde üç ülke kârlı çıktı: Türkiye, Fransa ve Çekya... Detayları CNN TÜRK Spor Direktörü Cem Yılmaz canlı yayında anlattı.
Canlı yayında anlattı
Türkiye'ye Şampiyonlar Ligi müjdesi geldi Cem Yılmaz'ın verdiği müjdeyi videodan izleyebilirsiniz. Detaylar ise haberimizin devamında
Atletico kazanınca...
Atletico Madrid, zaten Şampiyonlar Ligi'ne gitme hakkını elde ettiğinden Avrupa Ligi şampiyonunun Şampiyonlar Ligi kontenjanı dolmamış oldu.
Atletico Madrid, zaten Şampiyonlar Ligi'ne gitme hakkını elde ettiğinden Avrupa Ligi şampiyonunun Şampiyonlar Ligi kontenjanı dolmamış oldu.
Real-Liverpool farketmez
Şampiyonlar Ligi finalinde yer alacak
Şampiyonlar Ligi finalinde yer alacak Real Madrid ve Liverpool'un da zaten Şampiyonlar Ligi'ni önümüzdeki sene garantilemiş olmaları sayesinde bu kontenjanda dolmadı.
İşte müjde Hal böyle olunca Türkiye Süper Ligi'ni 2. sırada bitirecek takım 3 ön eleme oynamaktan kurtuldu. Süper Lig ikincisi önümüzdeki yıl Şampiyonlar Ligi'ne katılabilmek için 2 ön eleme maçı oynayacak.
Şanslı Lyon Şampiyonlar Ligi gruplarına direkt katılacak 17 takımdan 15'i kesinken boşta kalan iki kontenjanın kimlere gideceği de belli oldu. Buna göre Fransa Ligi'ni üçüncü bitirecek takım doğrudan Şampiyonlar Ligi gruplarına katılacak. Şu anda Lyon, Ligue 1'de üçüncü sırada yer alıyor.
Çek şampiyonuna müjde Diğer boş kontenjan ise Çek Cumhuriyeti şampiyonu tarafından doldurulacak. Şu an itibariyle Vitoria Plzen, Çek Ligi'nde şampiyonluğa en yakın takım.
Türk takımlarının durumu Süper Lig'de Fenerbahçe, Başakşehir ve Beşiktaş'in ikinci olma ihtimali oluyor.
Türkiye'nin 1.si doğrudan Şampiyonlar Ligi gruplarında yer alırken 2.si ise 2. ön elemeden değil 3. ön elemeden başlayacak.
Cem Yılmaz anlattı CNN TÜRK Spor Direktörü Cem Yılmaz bu durumu şöyle anlattı:
"Örneğin son haftaya girilirken örneğin Fenerbahçe ligi ikinci bitirdiği takdirde Şampiyonlar Ligi elemelerine Temmuz yerine Ağustos ayında başlayacak. Bu başlı başına önemli bir avantaj. Üçüncü ön elemeden itibaren oynayacak."
Fenerbahçe ve Başakşehir senaryosu
Fenerbahçe ve Başakşehir'in puanlarının seri başı olmaya yetmediğini belirten Cem Yılmaz "Bu nedenle rakipler de belli. Dinamo Kiev, Benfica, Ajax ve Basel. Şu anda gözüken bu 4 takım. Fakat Ajax ve Basel bir alt turdan gelecek. Onlar da Fenerbahçe ve Başakşehir'in puanlarının seri başı olmaya yetmediğini belirten Cem Yılmaz "Bu nedenle rakipler de belli. Dinamo Kiev, Benfica, Ajax ve Basel. Şu anda gözüken bu 4 takım. Fakat Ajax ve Basel bir alt turdan gelecek. Onlar da PAOK ve Sturm Graz'la eşleşecekler. Oradan iki takım gelecek. Eğer elenmezlerse Kiev, Benfica, Ajax ve Basel bizim lig ikincimizin rakipleri olacak. Süper Lig ikincisi bu dört takımdan ikisini elediği taktirde Şampiyonlar Ligi'ne kalacak" diye konuştu.
Beşiktaş senaryosu
Cem Yılmaz, Beşiktaş'ın ikinci olması halinde farklı bir durum olacağını belirterek "Beşiktaş yüksek puanı sayesinde seri başı olacak ve daha kolay takımlarla eşleşecek" diye konuştu. Cem Yılmaz, Beşiktaş'ın ikinci olması halinde farklı bir durum olacağını belirterek "Beşiktaş yüksek puanı sayesinde seri başı olacak ve daha kolay takımlarla eşleşecek" diye konuştu. | {
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What Is the Article of Incorporation and How to Write It?
Publication Date: 25 Jul 2018
So, you decided to register a company in the United States of America. As a rule, a person or a company who has taken such a decision has a vague idea of what the procedure is and what points it is necessary to pay attention to. In addition, often people do not even imagine what package of documents they should receive as a result becoming victims of advertising that promises to register the company for little money. If you are not aware how to write such documents, it is better to use an article writer for hire. But still, in this article, we will try to provide an overview of the peculiarities of the article of incorporation.
An article of incorporation usually requires the following documents or information:
corporation name
corporation place of business
a corporation’s registered agent and name
number of shares the corporation will issue
incorporators
incorporator’s signatures.
Open Delaware Corporation
First, there are the most beneficial tax incentives. That’s why 63% of Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware. For foreigners, there is a separate bonus – you do not need to be a resident of the state and even of the country in order to be a shareholder, director or top manager of the company. And, of course, in Delaware, there are an extremely advanced set of corporate laws with a minimum of bureaucracy and a huge practice of resolving disputes with the high predictability of the outcome.
Do It on Your Own or Apply to a Lawyer
There are two ways to open a company in the USA: hire a business lawyer for this or do it yourself. The disadvantage is that you need to pay a lot to the lawyer, but if you want to register yourself, you will need a person with a legal status in the US who is a member of the company or just willing to help on trust. Paying a lawyer is a simple way, so we will not consider it separately.
First, you need to understand what a Registered Agent is. In the business practice of the CIS, such a concept is absent, so it can cause difficulties.
Registered Agent
Registered Agent is the address where you want to receive all important state correspondence, for example, court summons, tax claims or letters from the state secretary. As a Registered Agent, you can choose your company’s office (if one exists), your home address in the US, the address of a friend you trust, or you can hire a special company that will provide you with an address as a Registered Agent. There are a lot of companies that provide such services, and you can only choose from reviews.
Company Name
First, you need to choose the name of the company that is not occupied. The name of the corporation usually ends with Inc. or Corporation.
Shares Authorized
The number of authorized shares is the number of your company shares. A lot of lawyers specializing in start-ups, recommend dividing the company into 10 million shares.
Par Value
Par Value is the cost of one share. It is very important to specify $ 0.00001 per share if you have 10 million shares. That is, the total value of your company will be $ 100. Thus, you will save yourself from the huge taxes of the State of Delaware, which is calculated on the basis of the company’s share price.
Registration of EIN for Taxes Payment
To open a business, you will need an Employer Identification Number (EIN). EIN is necessary for paying federal taxes, hiring employees, opening a bank account and obtaining licenses and permits. US citizens can complete the EIN online by filling out a special form.
Incorporator
The Incorporator task is to submit documents for registration and appoint the first provisional board of directors. The function of the provisional board of directors (or the incorporation, if it has not appointed the interim council) is to convene the first organizational meeting of shareholders (corporation) or participants (LLC). The powers of the incorporator end here, and he or she becomes an ordinary shareholder (if he or she has shares) or none at all.
Incorporator’s Signatures
The Incorporator has only one responsibility – to sign an article of incorporation, fees for filing articles of incorporation can be different. It depends on the state and cost from 100$ to 1000$. | {
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news.softpedia.com
February 27, 2014
The US government’s case against the 32-year-old activist Barrett Brown is far from being over. There are numerous accusations brought by prosecutors against Brown, including the fact that he conspired with Anonymous to overthrow the government.
Brown is accused of distributing data stolen by hackers from the systems of Stratfor, threatening an FBI agent, and concealing evidence during a raid on his apartment.
In January 31, 2014, the defense filed a motion to dismiss one of the three indictments, arguing that the prosecution wanted to “punish Mr. Brown for his speech” by accusing him of threatening FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Robert Smith.
“Robert Smith’s life is over. And when I say his life is over I don’t say I’m gonna go kill him, but I am gonna ruin his life and look into his [expletive] kids,” Brown said in the YouTube video that led to him being charged with threatening Smith.
Read more
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today! | {
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I’ve closely followed the saga of Edward Snowden from the moment the former CIA and NSA IT contractor grabbed the global limelight with both hands back on June 12, 2013 by appearing in the Chinese media, exposing American government secrets on a scale nobody had ever done before.
I insisted from the outset that Snowden was not the whistleblower he claimed to be, rather an attention-seeking narcissist, and that certainly once he landed in Moscow on June 23, 2013—and quite possibly before—he was in bed with Russian intelligence. Moreover, Snowden’s 1.5 million stolen documents were nearly all about NSA foreign intelligence and Pentagon military matters—not domestic surveillance. In short, the Snowden saga as presented to the public by Ed and his media enablers was a fantasy.
Now, more than three years later, my position—which garnered me criticism and epic amounts of social media trolling—has been vindicated by several sources, including the U.S. Congress. Oliver Stone’s apologia-as-film about Snowden has just opened, to decidedly mixed reviews, and its premiere has been marred by the overdue intrusion of reality on this Moscow fable. Stone has a long history of making “truthy” movies based on Kremlin propaganda, and his latest sticks with that dubious pattern.
I’ve taken the Snowden debacle personally, in no small part because when I worked in NSA counterintelligence, it was obvious that something like Snowden was bound to happen. By ignoring basic security, by outsourcing core missions to greedy defense contractors, by allowing the security clearance process to fall apart—and above all by oversharing sensitive information with people who had no “need to know” as the spies say—NSA and our whole Intelligence Community created the circumstances that made Snowden possible.
None of this is to deny the traitor’s agency: Ed did all this, willfully. Yet NSA is every bit as culpable as Snowden for this historic debacle, for ignoring years of warnings about security that predicted exactly what came to pass when Snowden stole grandly and fled to China, then Russia, where he remains. I, along with others, warned NSA years ago that it was flirting with counterintelligence disaster, and the agency was “just one asshole away” from the security abyss. Eventually that asshole was going to show up. He did, as actuarially he was bound to. His name just happened to be Ed Snowden.
What the public learned over the last week has fundamentally changed the debate on Snowden. There’s no going back for fabulists who accept the Kremlin’s cover story about Snowden. Ed’s coordinated propaganda campaign centered on “his” movie, including a plea for a presidential pardon that’s been backed by NGOs and celebrities galore, has been blown apart by the truth finally getting out.
First, we have the vivid account of Steven Bay, who had the hard luck of being Ed’s supervisor when he fled his NSA contractor job in Hawaii in the spring of 2013, only to wind up under Vladimir Putin’s roof a few weeks later. Bay’s telling of the story is balanced and utterly damning.
The Snowden his supervisor knew bears little resemblance to the “Saint Ed” image the media has fed the public for years. Bay’s account portrays a dishonest and devious junior analyst, an IT sysadmin who recently had been promoted into serious intelligence work—and it wasn’t going well. Snowden was having problems with co-workers and supervisors.
Moreover, Snowden really didn’t know anything about the Top Secret NSA programs he exposed to the world. Even the details of alleged NSA domestic surveillance—the cornerstone of Ed’s crusade—were beyond his limited grasp. As Bay explains:
All of the “domestic collection” stuff that he revealed, he never had access to that. So he didn’t understand the oversight and compliance, he didn’t understand the rules for handling it, and he didn’t understand the processing of it.
In other words, Snowden’s claim that he discovered spying on Americans and was so appalled he felt compelled to blow the whistle, is simply a fabrication. Ed decided to steal classified information long before he knew anything detailed about signals intelligence. Having spoken to several senior NSA officials about what Snowden really had access to, and when, I can confirm the veracity of Steven Bay’s story.
That said, Bay’s account is downright polite compared to what we’ve learned from the long-awaited Congressional report on the Snowden debacle. For over two years, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (the HPSCI for short, pronounced “hip-see” by Beltway cognoscenti) conducted an investigation of what happened, how and why. Its findings irrevocably shatter the claims of Snowden and his media enablers.
He was a ‘problem’ employee of the kind known to every HR department everywhere.
It bears noting that the HPSCI’s report is fully bi-partisan. Moreover, all committee members signed a letter they sent to President Obama last week, pleading with him not to pardon the fugitive with these words: “Snowden is not a patriot. He is not a whistleblower. He is a criminal.” Considering that Democrats and Republicans in Congress can barely agree that water is wet these days, it’s something special they put together a bipartisan report that actually has teeth.
How sharp the HPSCI’s teeth are with Snowden. Let’s start with the comments of the committee chair, Rep. Devin Nunes:
Edward Snowden is no hero—he’s a traitor who willfully betrayed his colleagues and his country. He put our servicemembers and the American people at risk after perceived slights by his superiors. In light of his long list of exaggerations and outright fabrications detailed in this report, no one should take him at his word.
No less scathing were the comments of Rep. Adam Schiff, the committee’s ranking member:
Snowden has long portrayed himself as a truth-seeking whistleblower whose actions were designed solely to defend privacy, and whose disclosures did no harm to the country’s security. The Committee’s Review—a product of two years of extensive research—shows his claims to be self-serving and false, and the damage done to our national security to be profound.
Perhaps the harshest words came from Lynn Westmoreland, who heads the HPSCI’s NSA and Cybersecurity subcommittee:
Edward Snowden made a decision that did more damage to U.S. national security than any other individual in our nation’s history. His actions harmed our relationships around the world, endangered American soldiers in warzones, and reduced our allies’ collective ability to prevent terrorist attacks.
The report itself lays waste to the lies proffered by Team Snowden. Those lies have been laid thickly and require extensive unpacking. Snowden, whom the HPSCI terms “a serial exaggerator and fabricator,” claims he tried but failed to join U.S. Army Special Forces due to two broken legs. In reality, he washed out of basic training due to shin splints. He systematically lied about his actual work and job titles at both CIA and NSA. Snowden advanced his career by padding his resume, lying to supervisors, and acing an NSA test by stealing the answers in advance.
Moreover, Snowden’s account of why he stole secrets is just one more lie, as the HPSCI demonstrates. The real motivation was due to problems at work caused by Snowden’s own arrogance and persistent inability to play well with others. He was a “problem” employee of the kind known to every HR department everywhere. The report notes that Snowden began illegally downloading classified information, with the intent of leaking it, shortly after being reprimanded at work for his misconduct.
Snowden subsequently claimed he was moved by moral outrage to steal secrets by the mendacious Congressional testimony of James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, in March 2013. In fact, the HPSCI discovered that Ed’s thefts began eight months before Clapper’s testimony.
This report makes clear that Snowden was never a whistleblower, having taken advantage of none of the numerous legal avenues for whistleblowers in the Intelligence Community. He even failed required NSA training on how to handle sensitive signals intelligence that may impact the privacy of Americans—then claimed that the course had been rigged to be overly difficult! (Having taken that training myself, it’s not difficult, at all—for anybody who’s paying attention.)
The HPSCI’s essential finding on Snowden’s unprecedented theft and compromise of 1.5 million classified documents from NSA, the Intelligence Community, and the Defense Department, bears careful reading:
Snowden caused tremendous damage to national security, and the vast majority of the documents he stole have nothing to do with programs impacting individual privacy interests—they instead pertain to military, defense, and intelligence programs of great interest to America’s adversaries.
The HPCSI’s three-page Unclassified executive summary will remain the final word on the Snowden case, at least until Washington sees fit to release the committee’s full report, which is 36 pages in length and highly classified, since it dives deep on exactly what damage Ed wrought on the United States and our close allies. An Intelligence Community senior official who saw some of what went into the HPSCI’s full report termed it “utterly devastating” and “astounding, like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
In response to the Unclassified report’s release, Snowden and his defenders have reacted hysterically, accusing Congress of industrial-scale lying and being part of some mysterious, bipartisan conspiracy to smear Ed and the media enablers who made him a global celebrity.
In truth, the only conspiracy here was perpetrated by Snowden and his hangers-on, who stole and compromised a staggering amount of secrets belonging to America and our closest allies. That the Snowden Operation, as I and others have termed it, benefitted Russia and other states not friendly to the democratic West, is now so obvious that you have to maintain willful blindness to not notice.
The Kremlin recently admitted that Snowden has cooperated with Russia’s intelligence services, although it was evident from Ed’s appearance in Moscow over three years ago that he was collaborating. Every single Western intelligence defector to Russia since 1917 has talked to the Kremlin’s spy services—such is the essential nature of defection—so there was never any reason to think Snowden would be different. Those who continue to insist Ed is a special case, unsullied by being in Putin’s Russia for years, are free to do so, but ought to be treated like advocates for chupacabras, unicorns and alien mind control theories.
In truth, Snowden was never any sort of super-spy for the Kremlin. Although the Snowden Operation inflicted colossal damage on Western intelligence, Ed himself was never more than a patsy, a dupe. As I’ve previously explained, his actual role, aside from propaganda, was to provide cover for the real Russian mole—or moles—lurking for years inside NSA, undetected.
All the same, Snowden’s real-world impacts are serious. His revelations have helped terrorists who wage jihad against the West. There’s no doubt among real experts that Ed’s massive compromise helped the Islamic State. Given the wave of terrorist attacks in the New York area this weekend, which appears to be a jihadist plot, Americans may be losing their patience with fake whistleblowers who hide in Moscow while aiding jihadist killers.
Ed’s myth-making movie isn’t off to a promising start, which may be an indication of the public’s mood. Its first weekend at the box office was a disappointment, just $8 million, making it the worst-performing major film ever by Oliver Stone.
As for Ed Snowden, he isn’t going anywhere. In light of the HPSCI’s scathing report and plea to the White House, President Obama will not be issuing him any pardon—and neither will any future president who doesn’t wish to incur the wrath of both the Intelligence Community and Congress.
If Snowden wants a pardon, he first needs to come home to face trial—which is something Ed shows no signs of doing. Not to mention that his life under Putin’s roof isn’t exactly free, and there’s no indication the Kremlin will let him leave Russia in the first place.
Few American defectors to Moscow ever return home. Most fade away in a haze of vodka and regret. Several have died under “mysterious circumstances” while others have disappeared altogether, presumed dead, whereabouts unknown. There’s no reason to think the Russian fate that Ed Snowden has chosen for himself will be any different.
John Schindler is a security expert and former National Security Agency analyst and counterintelligence officer. A specialist in espionage and terrorism, he’s also been a Navy officer and a War College professor. He’s published four books and is on Twitter at @20committee. | {
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Gardai investigate the non fatal shooting of a man and a woman at Grange View Lawns in Clondalkin
Gardai investigate the non fatal shooting of a man and a woman at Grange View Lawns in Clondalkin
Gardai investigate the non fatal shooting of a man and a woman at Grange View Lawns in Clondalkin
Gardai investigate the non fatal shooting of a man and a woman at Grange View Lawns in Clondalkin
Gardai investigate the non fatal shooting of a man and a woman at Grange View Lawns in Clondalkin
Gardai investigate the non fatal shooting of a man and a woman at Grange View Lawns in Clondalkin
An innocent woman and her partner are recovering in hospital today after both were shot in a gangland-style attack last night.
The couple were attacked at a Clondalkin house in Grange View Lawns just before 9.30pm.
They were named today as Robert Ellis (26) and his partner Sarah Hardiman (23).
Mr Ellis lives in Neilstown Drive, Clondalkin, while his partner Ms Hardiman is from Neilstown.
The attempted murder was witnessed by Ellis’ sister Leanne.
Sources said a lone gunman, who had been lying in wait, approached the couple at the house and fired a number of shots from a small-calibre handgun.
Mr Ellis was hit at least once in the abdomen and Ms Ellis was shot in the arm. Their injuries are not life-threatening but the couple remained in Tallaght Hospital today.
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Sources said that the attempted murder may have been carried out by criminals from the Ballyfermot area.
No arrests have yet been made in the investigation, which is being led by Clondalkin Garda Station.
“There has been a huge amount of tension in the area in recent weeks. The gunman last night showed complete disregard for human life,” a source said.
It is understood that Mr Ellis was previously a witness to a murder that happened in Ballyfermot in 2011.
A local man said that he heard the injured woman tell gardai: “I only opened the door”.
One neighbour said today that he was “shocked” to hear of the shooting and expressed disbelief at the news.
A friend of the victims said that the couple were “nice people” and said they would be in the area often visiting the homeowners where they were shot last night.
“When I arrived there were three ambulances and a fire engine with their lights flashing,” another man told the Herald last night. “There were six garda cars full of armed detectives.”
“I saw a woman being taken out of a house and being put into an ambulance.
“She had her arm in a sling,” he said.
“I was told there was a fella inside, he had been shot and ambulance crew were still working on him.”
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Whatsapp Gardai investigate the non fatal shooting of a man and a woman at Grange View Lawns in Clondalkin
Sources said that Mr Ellis was recently warned by gardai that his life was in danger. He is believed to have been the target.
Gardai sealed off the area and detectives were searching for a motorbike that left the scene after the shooting.
A 42-year-old resident told the Herald they counted at least seven squad cars at the scene.
“I couldn’t believe it, the guards were all over the place. They were armed and I saw they were wearing those vests,” he said.
A spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade said the two victims were taken to Tallaght Hospital. He said some minor treatment took place at the scene but that CPR was not required.
The two were conscious and breathing when emergency services arrived on the scene.
Last night’s attempted murder is not believed to be linked another shooting which happened at Cleggan Road in Ballyfermot last Friday night.
That shooting was witnessed by the target’s six-year-old daughter.
The girl has been left traumatised after a gunman opened fire on her dad, Stephen Smith, as he was getting onto his moped at Cleggan Road in Ballyfermot, at 8.40pm last Friday.
Mr Smith, who is in his late 30s, tried to flee the scene and get his daughter to safety, but was so badly injured that he came off the bike as the gunman fled the scene.
He was taken to St James’s Hospital, and later released. | {
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More than half of the people who managed to score a personal one on one meeting with Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State donated money to the Clinton Foundation , either as an individual or through a company where they worked.
"Combined, the 85 donors contributed as much as $156 million. At least 40 donated more than $100,000 each, and 20 gave more than $1 million," the Associated Press reported.
Does that make Clinton corrupt?
Yes. It does.
At this writing, there is no evidence that anyone received any special favors as a result of their special access to Clinton. Not that treats were not requested. They were.
(The most amusing was Bono's request to stream his band's music into the international space station, which was mercifully rejected.)
That's irrelevant. She's still corrupt.
Clinton's defenders like to point out that neither she nor her husband draw a salary from their foundation. But that's a technicality.
The Clintons extract millions of dollars in travel expenditures, including luxurious airplane accommodations and hotel suites, from their purported do-gooder outfit.
They exploit the foundation as a patronage mill, arranging for it to hire their loyalists at extravagant six-figure salaries. Charity Navigator, the Yelp of non-profits, doesn't bother to issue a rating for the Clinton foundation due to the pathetically low portion of money ($9 million out of $140 million in 2013) that makes its way to someone who needs it.
"It seems like the Clinton Foundation operates as a slush fund for the Clintons," says Bill Allison of the Sunlight Foundation, a government watchdog group.
As a measure of how institutionally bankrupt American politics is, this is all technically legal. But that doesn't mean it's not corrupt.
Public relations experts caution politicians like the Clintons that the appearance of impropriety is almost as bad as its actuality. If it looks bad, it will hurt you with the polls. True, but that's not really the point.
The point is: access is corruption.
It doesn't matter that the lead singer of U2 didn't get to live out his rocker astronaut fantasy. It's disgusting that he was ever in a position to have it considered. To put a finer point on it, ethics require that someone in Hillary Clinton's position never, ever take a meeting or correspond by email or offer a job to someone who donated money to her and her husband's foundation.
Failure to build an unscalable wall between government and money necessarily creates a corrupt quid pro quo:
"Just got a call from the Clinton Foundation. They're shaking us down for a donation. Should we cough up a few bucks?"
"Hillary could be president someday. Chelsea could end up in the Senate. It couldn't hurt to be remembered as someone who threw them some money when they asked."
This, I 100 percent guarantee you, was the calculus when Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Clinton for a one- or two-hour speech. She doesn't have anything new to say that everyone hasn't already heard a million times before.
It's not like she shared any valuable stock tips during those talks. Wealthy individuals and corporations pay politicians for one thing: access.
"It's not pay to play, unless somebody actually gave someone 50 cents to say I need a meeting," counters DNC interim chair Donna Brazile. "No. In this great country, when you meet with constituents, when you meet with heads of states, when you meet like Bono, who I love, you meet with them because they want to bring a matter to your attention. That's not pay to play."
It ain't 50 cents.
But it is pay to play. Absolutely.
Access is a zero-sum game. If I get a meeting with a senator, that's a meeting someone else doesn't get. I shouldn't get a leg up over you because I donated to a politically connected, nominally charitable foundation.
For that matter, I shouldn't get a meeting you can't get because I know someone, or because I'm famous, or whatever. Access should be, has to be in a democracy, determined solely by meritocratic criteria.
Political leaders like Hillary Clinton need to be meeting with people who can offer them the best advice and who need the most help -- not those who bought their way in.
Anyone who doesn't understand that access always equals corruption, even when access doesn't result in favors, doesn't deserve to hold political office.
— Ted Rall is the author of Bernie, a biography written with the cooperation of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. His next book, the graphic biography Trump, comes out July 19 and is now available for pre-order. Click here to contact him, and follow him on Twitter: @TedRall. The opinions expressed are his own. | {
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A blockchain system developed by Australia’s national science agency (CSIRO) and Sydney University claims to have set a benchmark of 30,000 transactions per second during a test on Amazon Cloud, according to CSIRO’s Tuesday, September 25 press release.
The technology arm of CSIRO, Data61, and the Concurrent Systems Research Group at the University of Sydney created Red Belly Blockchain as a “graduate” from CSIRO’s Pre-accelerator program ON prime.
CSIRO and the Concurrent Systems Research Group announced the first outcome of its experiment held on Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud infrastructure. Red Belly Blockchain was tested on 1,000 machines in 18 regions, including North and South Americas, Australia, and Europe.
As per the CSIRO report, Red Belly Blockchain was reportedly able to operate 30,000 transactions per second from different locations, showing an average transaction delay of three seconds.
Bitcoin (BTC) infrastructure normally scales up to eight transactions per second, according to Blockchain’s statistics for September. Ethereum (ETH) blockchain capability is up to 15 transactions per second; however, its creator Vitalik Buterin plans to scale it up to 500 using ZK-SNARK to mass-validate transactions.
According to a report released by CSIRO back in July, Red Belly Blockchain uses byzantine consensus — an algorithm that completes transactions without proof-of-work (PoW) and thus without an increase in energy consumption.
Dr Vincent Gramoli, senior researcher at CSIRO and head of the research group at the University of Sydney, noted that the current problems with “real-world applications of blockchain” include “issues with energy consumption and complexities induced by the proof of work.”
According to the CSIRO release, this is not the first time that Red Belly Blockchain has been tested on Amazon Cloud. During experiments between July 2017 and May 2018, one test showed 660,000 transactions per second on 300 machines. However, all of them were in a single Availability Zone.
Australia’s securities exchange, which has been working to implement blockchain as of December 2017 to replace its current system for processing equity transactions, said in September it would delay the transition for six months.
More recently, Australian real estate firm Vicinity announced plans this week to trial a blockchain solution for its energy network in partnership with energy tech company Power Ledger. | {
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If you’ve been a Christian for any period of time at all, you may have noticed that the more time you spend in church, the harder it is to fit in and feel comfortable with non-believers or to really enjoy worldly activities, relationships, speech, movies, habits, etc.
So how on earth are you going to make sure that your church attendance doesn’t end up damaging your friendship with the world? How can you make sure that you’ll never seem weird, different, and overly religious to friends, relatives, and coworkers? I mean, you don’t want to be the guy who can stop the telling of a dirty joke just by walking into the room, do you? Well friends, as he has been since the beginning, the deceiver is here to help. He’s prepared this handy list of his top ten tips for minimizing the sanctifying effects of Church attendance. Simply by following these easy-to-do directions you can proudly join the legions of American Christians who have already mastered the fine art of remaining babes in the faith who show little or no sign of growth in what Peter called, “the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)!
1) Try to stay up as late as possible the night before.
If possible, try to drink too much as well. Nothing says “not ready for worship” like a hangover.
2) Do nothing to prepare your heart to worship.
Make sure that your heart is drenched in worldliness all week long so that church will be an irritating culture shock. Do not pray in advance or read your bible. Make absolutely certain you do not pray for the pastor or those leading in worship. Be sure to blame the pastor and the church when you don’t “get anything out of the worship service”. Repeat this process until you actually leave the church. Remember, constant church hopping is one of the most effective means of not growing in grace.
3) Arrive at church late and then leave church as quickly as you can.
Make sure you do not prepare to go to worship the day before by buying gas, planning breakfast, setting the alarm, choosing your clothes, shining your shoes and so on, as this will ensure that you also arrive frazzled and frustrated. You should also give in to the urge to argue with your spouse and shout at your children in the car. Do everything you can to stay angry at your family during the service.
4) Schedule something you really want to do immediately after church.
If you can, try to make sure that you can only get there on time if the service ends RIGHT. ON. TIME. Think about the thing you want to do during the service, become impatient and frustrated if the sermon goes on longer than you expected. Jingle your keys, fidget, and do everything you can to indicate its time for the service to end. If all else fails, pinch the baby and pretend to be taking her out of the service. Motion to your family to follow you. You may need to wake them up first if the baby hasn’t already done so.
5) Try to Participate as little as you possibly can during the service.
Don’t sing the hymns. Think about other things or doze off during the corporate prayer. Allow your mind to wander to and fro throughout the earth during the sermon. Watch people coming in and out of the service. Make amusing faces at mischievous children, try to start a game of peekaboo with one of them. Plan out your week in detail. Fantasize about having an affair with other members of the congregation. Worry about whether you fed the dog, turned off the stove, locked up the house and set the alarm.
6) Get angry at perceived slights and stay angry for the rest of the service, or the rest of the week if possible.
After all, you TOLD the pastor about Aunt Mabel’s operation last week and he didn’t mention her in the announcements or the congregational prayer, and that what’s-her-name, you know she was giving you the stink-eye about your skirt. And that what’s-his-name should know that sitting by himself right in the middle of the row YOUR family sits in is rude and inconsiderate.
Make sure to nurture the belief that everyone else at your church spends all their time judging you and talking about you behind your back. Interpret every gesture, comment, look, or movement as evidence supporting this theory. Did I say theory? I meant FACT, of course. Assume that negative sermon illustrations are either about you or are aimed AT you. Assume that encouraging sermon illustrations are actually designed to make you feel inferior.
7) Don’t take notes or discuss anything related to the sermon or Sunday school.
When you get home (or better yet, to the restaurant for brunch – see #8) make sure you DO NOT discuss the sermon or anything you heard. Do not read Christian books or articles related to the subjects that were discussed at church. This is critically important in making sure that you’ve forgotten the entire church experience by Monday, and only have a dim impression that it was boring and unintelligible. This will also help you to nod off entirely, and sleep is the sure key to a completely fruitless Lord’s Day.
8) Pack the rest of your Sunday full of diverting things.
Plan to go out to brunch, and then shopping, preferably with friends. Attend a league game or play in one. Go fishing or hunting, or take the boat out to the lake. If you’re really broke, do your work or your homework on that day. Plan to spend time in the office. The Lord’s day is also the best day for scheduling tiresome chores like cleaning out the garage, changing your oil or weeding the yard. Make sure you are listening to music and NOT sermons while you are working.
9) Make sure you ONLY attend the morning worship service.
Avoid evening worship, the midweek bible study and every other teaching or fellowship event. Remember, one of the main keys to making sure church is fruitless is making sure you are getting as little of it as possible. Prioritize “family time” and pretend that it is just as useful as time spent under the means of grace. Initially you may need some excuses for why you aren’t attending anything else, so here are some handy ones:
It’s too hard on the children
It’s too far away to drive twice
You don’t really know anyone
You have to get ready for X
You’re too tired.
After a while though, you’ll find you don’t actually need the excuses any more.
10) Do everything you can to make sure the other members of the congregation remain strangers to you.
If you are following the other tips here ( and in particular #2, #4, and #9) that should be easy. If you find you must speak to people at church, only speak to the people you are already friends with. Make sure the conversation only consists of mindless small talk. Avoid spiritual subjects and make it very clear that, “how are you?” was a pleasantry meant to be answered with “fine” and not an actual inquiry. If someone else tries to engage you in a real conversation about something that matters, look at your watch repeatedly, keep your answers as curt as possible, and generally make it clear that this is an unwarranted intrusion into your personal space. Following these tips will make it easy for you to repeatedly complain you don’t have any real friends in the church, and make leaving as painless as possible. Make sure your NEXT church is huge enough that you can slip in and out without being noticed and where the pastoral staff will never have any idea who you are. It will also help if you select a church with theater seating and which keeps the area where the audience sits in the dark.
If the above top ten tips sound like too much effort, DON’T PANIC. Simply do everything you can to make sure you miss church entirely! Attend a “virtual church” online in your PJs, join a youth sports league that plays on Sunday, schedule a family outing on Sunday morning, take a job in a retail business or restaurant that requires you to work on Sunday, don’t set the alarm, or if you did, keep hitting snooze till its too late to go.
Remember, the deceiver wants you to know that just because you don’t actually worship God on the golf course doesn’t mean you couldn’t do it just as well as you do at church. I mean its not like the apostles and the giants of the Christian faith wasted their time with fellowship, preaching, prayer, the Lord’s supper and baptism. I’m sure if you looked hard enough into history you could probably find tons of zealous, knowledgeable, holy and productive Christians who never attended church. But who has time for that?
See you at brunch! | {
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One of the major British music magazines gave Junk a five-star review, calling it high-class cheese. If Sweden produce the kings of pop, France produces the champagne-sipping toffs.
Anthony Gonzalez is on album number seven as M83. Album six was a double which featured, in Midnight City and Reunion, two club bangers that were the ‘Intro by the xx’ of 2012; Hurry Up We’re Dreaming was nominated for a Grammy the same year that Daft Punk put out their ode to great pop music, Random Access Memories. Fans of that will no doubt love this.
Incidentally, the man who followed Daft Punk in winning the Best Album Grammy appears on the track Time Wind. Beck is no stranger to offbeat pop oddness and strings, and this classic could mean a slew of guest vocal spots for the great man. Beck’s voice is framed expertly by a soft-rock funky production, with emphasis on a bassline Paul McCartney may have written in his own electronic phase.
For the Kids has a lovely vocal from Susanne Sundfor, and a sax borrowed from one of those slow jams you used to get in 1989. First single Do It, Try It sounds like a house music number, high-class Eurotrance. But as with any M83 album, the moods that are conjured are more important than the words, which are mere melodic math, following the tunes and complementing the melodic shape. Road Blaster is very much like that, with woos in the place of the chorus.
Go, track two on the album, is a brilliant song with so many hooks and is one of four tracks which feature vocals from Mai Lan. The others are Bibi the Dog, a French-language Pet Shop Boys tune with Pinky and Perky popping up in the middle; Laser Gun, which is lovely and headnoddy and like the music of the band Air; and Atlantique Sud, which is sumptuous, sung in French and full of longing.
That last track is an example of the ‘classic’ style of songwriting so beloved still by the French. Solitude, the record’s centrepiece and the second single released to blogs and digital services, is a highlight. Proper songwriting gets called ‘70s-influenced’ and Elton John would have been proud to have written the music to a song whose lyrics seem to be sung by an octet. Lovely sweeping strings on the track, even though the song is a lament, make it sound romantic.
Moon Crystal and The Wizard are instrumentals with great chord shifts, and the former especially looks back to the ‘yacht rock’ era of glossy production and cheesy synthesised sounds. Sunday Night 1987 has another keening instrumental section, this time a harmonica plaintively played to summon up nostalgie.
A few years ago the great Sebastien Tellier entered Eurovision as France’s representative – in the best possible way, giving M83 a go would probably keep it in Paris forever more. As it is, catch him touring Junk and sway along to the swooning ballads among the soaring singalongs.
Jonny Brick | {
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「いやあ～～～～ッ、25過ぎてから男と別れるってキツいですね！」
札幌在住、スープカレー屋で働く鼓田ミナレは、酒場で知り合った
地元FM局のディレクター・麻藤兼嗣に失恋トークを炸裂させていた。
翌日、いつものように仕事をしていると、店内でかけていたラジオから元カレを罵倒するミナレの声が……！
麻藤はミナレの愚痴を密録し、生放送で流していたのだ。
激昂してラジオ局へ乗り込むミナレ。しかし、麻藤は悪びれもせずに告げる。
「お姐さん、止めるからにはアンタが間を持たせるんだぜ？」
ミナレは全力の弁解トークをアドリブで披露する羽目に。
この放送は反響を呼び、やがて麻藤からラジオパーソナリティにスカウトされる。
「お前、冠番組を持ってみる気ないか？」
タイトルは『波よ聞いてくれ』。北海道の深夜3時半、そしてミナレは覚醒するッ！
『無限の住人』の沙村広明氏が描く最新作を、『機動戦士ガンダム』『ラブライブ！』を手がけるサンライズが制作！
予測不可能な無軌道ストーリーがいよいよTVアニメで開幕する！ | {
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By JULIE SMALL | The Assocated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — A state prison inmate incarcerated at the Central California Women’s Facility was awaiting her group therapy session on Aug. 23, 2017. She stepped backward in her cell toward the door, where Correctional Officer Israel Trevino waited with waist restraints.
As he attached the chains, he reached down with both of his hands “to grope and fondle her buttocks,” according to an internal investigation that led to Trevino’s firing.
The inmate, whose name was redacted in reports, angrily asked what he was doing.
“You have a big butt,” Trevino replied.
This wasn’t the only time Trevino sexually abused an inmate in his custody, according to the investigation’s findings.
The former correctional officer, who was responsible for escorting inmates from their cells to their appointments and to the shower, tried to pull up a woman’s shirt and put his hand down her pants on an unspecified date in 2017, investigators for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation found.
That inmate said Trevino squeezed her buttocks over her clothing while escorting her and tried to get her to expose her breasts and vagina.
“Come on, show me something,” he pressured her, according to the records.
Trevino was investigated after an inmate complained about the groping to her prison social worker, who reported the allegation.
Prison officials fired Trevino in 2018 for sexual misconduct. He had worked at the women’s prison for over a decade and had been formally warned for making sexually harassing comments to inmates, according to records from the Office of the Inspector General for California prisons.
Attempts to reach Trevino for comment were unsuccessful.
Prison system spokeswoman Dana Simas responded in a written statement that officials moved to protect incarcerated women when the 2017 allegations surfaced.
“Trevino was barred from entering the secured perimeter of the prison to prevent further inmate contact during the pendency of the investigation,” Simas wrote.
The department fired at least six male correctional officers for sexually abusing women in their custody between 2014 and 2018, according to internal records released to KQED under a new state transparency law and court filings.
Some groped the inmates, others engaged in oral sex or intercourse. The disciplinary records, which are still incomplete, provide a first-ever glimpse into how the prison system deals with sexual exploitation by its officers.
The names of the women involved are redacted in the records, and two named witnesses did not respond to requests for interviews.
While the number of dismissals for sexual misconduct are extremely rare among the roughly 26,000 correctional officers who work at California prisons, inmate advocates say sexual abuse by staff is more rampant than the records show because few officers get reported or investigated.
Amika Mota is trying to change that. She spent most of a nine-year prison sentence for vehicular manslaughter at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, north of Fresno in the Central Valley. She said she and other incarcerated women put up with sexual advances because they depended on correctional officers for access to clean laundry, phone calls, tampons, time out of their cells and other basic needs.
“There’s not a bone in my body that ever felt attracted to any of these officers or felt like any of the words we spoke were true.” Mota said. “It was just this survival technique to play along.”
Officers can also write up inmates, which can result in extending a prison sentence.
One officer in her housing unit, who Mota declined to name, demanded that she write sexually explicit letters to him. She also described an officer who expected to see women without their clothes on.
“He would be really appreciative if during count we were in our bras,” she said.
Mota said she never reported any harassment, fearing retaliation.
She joined the San Francisco Bay Area-based Young Women’s Freedom Center after she was released in 2015. She’s now part of a new movement called Me Too Behind Bars, working to expose sexual abuse of people in prison and jail.
“What does it mean to feel constantly harassed, where they think it’s consensual and we think it’s not but we can’t ever say it?” Mota said.
The state’s inmate population includes nearly 5,000 women, about 4% of the 124,000 prisoners in the system.
State prison officials say they have been trying to improve conditions for female inmates in recent years, including enforcing a zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct.
“All sexual violence, staff sexual misconduct, and sexual harassment is strictly prohibited,” prisons spokeswoman Simas wrote in an Oct. 11 email.
The state prison system also investigates and tracks all allegations of sexual assault and harassment by staff, including correctional officers, to comply with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act. In 2018, 337 staff-on-inmate incidents were reported in California prisons.
Investigations substantiated just three of those allegations.
Independent probes into the culture in women’s lockups have found that these formally reported allegations likely only capture a fraction of the abuse and harassment of incarcerated women by prison staff.
The Prison Law Office, which monitors conditions for inmates as part of a settlement in a decades-old federal class action lawsuit, has interviewed hundreds of women at the Central Valley prison and documented their complaints for the court.
The firm reported in 2016 that out of a random sample of 80 women, nearly all had experienced sexual abuse or harassment while incarcerated. A second round of interviews turned up similar complaints, often at the hands of the same officers. The firm faulted a culture of bigotry and sexism at the prison.
“It was a constant stream of verbal sexual harassment or misogynist statements,” attorney Corene Kendrick said, “kind of cat-calling at its highest level.”
A lot of women complained the prison officers constantly addressed them as “bitches” or “hos,” Kendrick said. “When they’d make the announcements on the P.A. system, you know, it’d be ‘Hey bitches, time to go to lunch’.”
Sexual abuse of female prisoners isn’t confined to a single facility, records obtained by KQED revealed. Four correctional officers in the state’s other major women’s prison — in Southern California — were also fired in recent years for sexual misconduct.
In 2017 alone, three officers at the California Institution for Women in San Bernardino County had sexual contact with inmates in or near their housing units.
Officer Robert Darrow was working an overtime shift in a housing unit on May 12, 2017, when he pulled one of the women responsible for cleaning and mopping the dorm into a broom closet, according to a transcript of a preliminary hearing in a criminal case against him. He closed the door, bent her over, pulled down her sweat pants and sexually assaulted her, an investigator testified.
The encounter lasted only three minutes, according to the testimony, because Darrow heard a noise outside the closet and stopped.
In that same month, Officer Tony Garcia sent all the women in a housing unit to breakfast, but one. The woman performed oral sex on him in her cell and later provided DNA evidence of the encounter to internal affairs investigators.
A third case involved Officer Stephen Merrill entering the cell of two female inmates at 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2017, and groping them.
An investigation found, “As inmate (REDACTED) stood by the door facing the inside of the cell, she bent over and you inserted your right hand from behind her into her underwear. You grabbed her buttocks.”
The other inmate then faced the inside of the cell and bent over. Merrill reportedly also groped her from behind. The disciplinary decision released by prison officials doesn’t provide further details about the incident.
Under state and federal statutes, inmates cannot consent to sex with prison guards. Sustained findings of sexual misconduct by a correctional officer will result in dismissal, according to prison policies, and can be grounds for criminal prosecution. All three correctional officers at the Southern California women’s prison were fired and charged with felony sex crimes. Attorneys representing them did not return requests for comment.
Merrill and Garcia took plea deals, according to court records. Garcia served two days in jail and was placed on probation. Merrill’s two-year prison sentence was suspended as he completes three years of probation. He was also sentenced to less than a year of county jail time, eligible for work and weekend release.
Prosecutors in the case against Darrow argued he had “a history of being investigated for sexual activity with inmates,” according to a preliminary hearing transcript in the case. But the San Bernardino County district attorney suddenly dropped the charges against him in March of this year. Deputy DA Lisa Mann, who prosecuted the case, declined to answer any questions.
Some officers are never even charged, though.
In Israel Trevino’s case from the Central Valley prison, it took officials eight months to dismiss him for sexually abusing inmates. He was fired in April 2018.
Prison officials never referred Trevino for criminal charges — due to insufficient evidence for criminal charges, according to a spokeswoman. That’s despite investigators’ findings that he repeatedly groped women in his custody.
“The Central Region Criminal Investigation team, after a full review of the material recommended the case instead be opened as an administrative investigation,” spokeswoman Simas wrote.
The Office of Inspector General for California prisons monitors all investigations of sexual assault and harassment by officers and issues public reports.
In Trevino’s case, the Office of the Inspector General noted several deficiencies in the prison’s investigation. A prison investigator “scheduled case conferences and critical witness interviews for when he knew the OIG would not be available, and only cooperated after the OIG elevated the issue to his supervisor,” according to a 2018 inspector general’s discipline monitoring report.
The office’s case review also faulted the investigation for failing to substantiate that Trevino was dishonest “when he denied that he made inappropriate, derogatory and sexually harassing comments to inmates.”
“We have no authority to tell the department, ‘You have to do what we think you should do,’” explained Inspector General Roy Wesley. “Our power is to write about it and to bring transparency to the public because otherwise nobody knows what happens in these things.”
Inmate advocates would like California to create another oversight body with more teeth.
They also agree with the Prison Law Office’s recommendation that CDCR hire mostly female correctional officers to work inside the women’s housing units.
All of the male officers fired for sexual misconduct inside California women’s prisons in recent years had access to areas of the housing units where women are changing. Federal law mandates that male officers announce their presence upon entering those areas, but otherwise does not restrict their presence.
Attorneys with the Prison Law Office think prison officials could prevent a lot of abuse by cutting off that access.
“Washington Department of Corrections at one of their women’s prisons made it a requirement that only women apply for certain positions working inside the housing units where the women live sleep and bathe,” said Prison Law Office attorney Kendrick.
Related Articles Trooper buried amid probe of Black man’s death
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California cop rearrested in theft of cash at marijuana grow facility The California prison system has been moving in that direction, according to spokeswoman Simas. A greater percentage of jobs in housing units are designated for female officers only, and the prison system is pushing to recruit more women.
Currently women make up roughly a third of officers at the two main female prisons in the state.
Mota is still working to turn her experience in prison into an instrument for change.
Thinking about the years she was scrutinized and objectified in prison by officers who considered her “their girl” makes her anxious and shaky.
“It’s not the rules, or the regulations, it’s the culture,” Mota said. “How do you deeply affect this culture that’s existed for so long where it’s ‘normal’ and ‘OK’ to do this?”
—–
Information on the California Reporting Project: https://projects.scpr.org/california-reporting-project/ | {
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The Navy’s plans to get to 355 manned ships by 2030 will rely on new classes of ships that don’t exist yet – including new kinds of amphibious and supply ships as well as “lightly manned” ships – the acting Navy secretary told USNI News.
The Force Structure Assessment that will lay out the Navy’s path to this larger fleet, which leadership has described as “355-plus, plus unmanned,” has been delayed and won’t come out until after the Fiscal Year 2021 budget request is released next week. FY 2021 will put the Navy on a path to crest over 300 ships, Acting Secretary o the Navy Thomas Modly told USNI News in a phone interview, but the real growth will come in the FY 2022 request.
Still, Modly previewed what the FSA might hold.
“We haven’t done a really comprehensive force structure assessment in a couple of years; 2016 was the last one. So we started on a new path for that last fall, and what we’re finding in that force structure assessment is that the number of ships we need are going to be more than 355. And when you add in some of the unmanned vessels and things like that that we’re going through experimental phases on, it’s probably going to be significantly more than [355],” he said.
“There are certain ship classes that don’t even exist right now that we’re looking at that will be added into that mix, but the broad message is, it’s going to be a bigger fleet, it’s going to be a more distributed fleet, it’s going to be a more agile fleet. And we need to figure out what that path is and also understand our topline limitations, because no one wants a 355-plus fleet that’s hollow, that we can’t maintain. So we’re looking at balancing all those things.”
Asked what new ship classes the service is considering, Modly mentioned new amphibious ships, as well as new kinds of supply ships and “lightly manned” ships that are “more like missile magazines that would accompany surface action groups.”
Talk of a new class of amphibious warships began last summer, when Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger called for alternative kinds of amphibious lift for Marines in his Commandant’s Planning Guidance. Since that time, Marine Corps and Navy officials at various conferences have suggested that the services are narrowing in on the Offshore Support Vessel as a model for what they want. Having several OSVs instead of one dock landing ship (LSD), for example, might be able to carry the same number of Marines but distribute them across the littorals instead of concentrating them on one hull – which defensively makes them harder to target and offensively allows them to be more agile under the Distributed Maritime Operations and Expeditionary Advance Base Operations concepts.
On the other hand, public talk of a “lightly manned” ship type is new. The Navy had previously envisioned its Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle to serve as a magazine ship for manned combatants, but Congress used its annual defense bill to block the Navy from building an unmanned ship with vertical launch tubes. Making these ships “lightly manned” could keep the magazine ship concept alive while alleviating congressional concerns, and could create the added benefit of allowing the small crews to use their hulls to train with other nations’ navies during peacetime.
In the FY 2020 budget request the Navy released last year, the service wanted to move out quickly on the LUSV, for which prototyping was already taking place under a secretive Pentagon program that had not been talked about publicly until that point. Lawmakers pushed back and slowed the program down due to concerns about the maturity of the technology the Navy was betting on.
Modly, when asked why the Navy was betting so much of its ability to get to 355 ships by the end of the decade on quickly acquiring brand new ship classes that haven’t gone through the Navy and industry design and construction process yet, said, “I think ‘quickly’ is going to have to define everything we do, because the world is changing pretty quickly and we’re going to have to react more quickly.”
“You look at the frigate program: we think, because of the way we’ve approached that program, we’ve probably taken three years off the product development lifecycle for that. So we have to start doing the same type of thing: looking at proven hulls, things that can be adaptable for different areas. I understand the Hill’s concerns about unmanned, and we get that. … We have to convince them with data: we have to wargame this, we have to iterate it over and over again.”
The acting secretary added that President Donald Trump ran in 2016 on a larger fleet, and Congress passed the 355 figure into law in 2017. Though the Navy only has assumptions from wargames and simulations today regarding these new classes of ships, he said the service needed to settle on a “north star” and begin the research and development and construction to get hulls in the water, and then it could refine its vision as needed once fleet leaders understand how the new and old ships work together to bring naval power to a distributed fight.
Despite these big plans for the 2020s, leading to achieving a 355-ship fleet by 2030, the money doesn’t seem to be flowing from the Office of the Secretary of Defense to support that buildup alongside the expensive recapitalization of the ballistic missile submarine fleet, rebuilding readiness, manning a larger fleet and more.
Modly said the FY 2021 budget – expected to be released next week – will allow the Navy to grow some, ahead of what he expects will be a much stronger 2022 budget.
“I think what you’ll see is mostly an emphasis on readiness – we don’t want to have a hollow force, and so we had to make some trades in the end game, but we’re still on a path to grow the Navy,” he said.
“This year, this budget will keep us on a path to grow to over 300, but the ultimate goal was to grow to an even bigger fleet than that,” and the Navy is already looking at its 2022 planning and eyeing multiple paths to grow faster.
Modly said that, in the absence of the FSA this year, the 2021 Navy budget request is guided by the National Defense Strategy. That document is widely regarded as a maritime strategy, with an emphasis on distributed operations in the Pacific to counter China.
Asked why the Navy was struggling to get the funds it needs to grow to 355 ships, despite the president and Congress supporting that figure and despite the NDS being maritime-focused, Modly told USNI News, “well, it’s obvious to us in the Navy – and some of that’s parochial, and some of it’s just the thinking that we have – that it’s a maritime strategy. And particularly if you think about more of a shift to the Pacific and the threats emanating potentially from China and other areas in that region, our view is: look at the map, it’s mostly water out there. So the maritime strategy is a big piece of the National Defense Strategy.
“But, you know, the Secretary of Defense has to balance all that with the demands from the Air Force; we’re creating a new Space Force; obviously the Army has a role in that theater and other theaters. So we’re just going through the process of understanding what does the joint warfighting scenario look like in there. We’re trying to make the case for a bigger Navy, and I will continue to make the case for a bigger Navy, but ultimately that comes down to Secretary (Mark) Esper and the president to determine whether or not he wants to shift dollars to make that happen more rapidly,” Modly continued.
“I told the Navy that we’re going to head out on that path starting in 2022, and we’re going to drive towards getting to 355 by the end of the decade. I am completely convinced that there’s money within our budget that could be spent a lot more efficiently – I’m talking about just the Navy budget – and we have to do the work to do that before we can convince anybody else above us to give us more in our topline.” | {
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Dar es Salaam (AFP) - Seven people accused of witchcraft have been burned alive in Tanzania, police said Friday, adding they have arrested 23 people in connection with the crimes.
"They were attacked and burnt to death by a mob of villagers who accused them of engaging in witchcraft," the police chief for the western Kigoma region which borders Burundi, Jafari Mohamed, told AFP.
"Five of those killed were aged over 60, while the other two were aged over 40," he added.
Among those arrested on suspicion of carrying out the killings was the local traditional healer, or witch doctor.
Relatives of those killed described horrific scenes, with the bodies of family members hacked with machetes or burned almost beyond recognition.
"When I returned home in the evening, I found the body of my mother lying 10 metres away from our house, while the body of my father was burnt inside the house," said Josephat John, according to Tanzania's Mwananchi newspaper.
The attack in the village of Murufiti took place on Monday but reports only emerged after police announced the arrest of the suspects.
"We are holding 23 people including local leaders in connection with the attack," Mohamed said.
"They will appear in court to face murder charges."
Belief in witches and black magic remains strong in many parts of Tanzania.
A local rights group, the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), has estimated as many as 500 "witches" are lynched every year, based on reports that counted some 3,000 people killed between 2005 and 2011.
Many of those killed were elderly women, the centre said.
The rights group said some are targeted because they have red eyes –- seen as a feared sign of witchcraft, even if they in fact that is the result from the use of dung as cooking fuel in impoverished communities.
The centre said that many local people believe that witchcraft is behind every misfortune -- from infertility and poverty to failure in business.
Past attacks have included a series of bloody assaults against albinos, as well as against young children.
In Tanzania, albinos are killed and dismembered because of a widespread belief that charms made from their body parts bring good fortune and prosperity. | {
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For Backers in the Denver Area only. We will be at coffee shops around Denver to give you the game in person.
SINGLE UNIT - 1 full version of King Hùng Era including all 32 tiles, tile holders, rule book, coins, box, plus all unlocked stretch goal items.
Less | {
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10 декабря в Москве на Болотной площади состоялся митинг протеста в рамках всероссийской акции против фальсификации итогов выборов в Госдуму. Мы представляем аэрофотосъемку митинга. Она производилась с помощью радиоуправляемой модели вертолета, которая в процессе работы несколько раз была безуспешно обстреляна из ракетницы.
Спасибо AirPano.ru за техническую поддержку съемки!
Мы разрешаем использовать эти фотографии в блогах и СМИ при условии активной ссылки на агентство гражданской журналистики „Ридус“. | {
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Originally Posted by Mad_Max_RW Go to original post Originally Posted by
The self described geniuses and forum prophets should be given a 1 month ban for flipping out and saying this wouldn't be fixed. You know who you are. | {
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The tails of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are seen parked at Boeing facilities at the Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, September 16, 2019.
Boeing is in talks with banks to secure a loan of $10 billion or more, according to people familiar with the matter, as the company faces rising costs stemming from two fatal crashes of its 737 Max planes.
The company has secured at least $6 billion from banks so far, the people said, and is talking to other lenders for more contributions. The total amount could rise if there is additional demand from banks, one person familiar with the matter said.
Liquidity isn't an immediate concern, analysts have said, but the new debt shows Boeing is shoring up its finances amid the cash-sapping fallout of the two crashes — one in Indonesia in October 2018 and another in Ethiopia in March last year — that killed all 346 people aboard the two flights.
The amount Boeing is seeking to borrow is more than what some analysts were expecting. For example, Jefferies earlier this month forecast Boeing would issue $5 billion in debt this quarter.
But the jets' return has faced potential new delays that are threatening to drive up Boeing's costs, including a new software issue disclosed by the company last week.
Boeing this month suspended production of the troubled planes this month as the grounding stretches into its 11th month, a planned pause in production that has rippled through the supply chain and already cost thousands of jobs. However, Boeing earlier this month said it didn't plan to lay off 737 Max workers and said they would be reassigned to other functions.
The company also reversed its stance and will now recommend pilots undergo simulator training, a time-consuming and costly process, before the jets can fly again.
The company posted negative orders for aircraft last year, its weakest sales figures in decades, and handed the title of the world's biggest aircraft manufacturer over to its European rival Airbus.
Boeing has developed a software fix for the planes after a flight-control system was implicated in the crashes but regulators have not yet signed of on that or completed other checks that would allow them to certify the planes as safe to resume operations.
Boeing declined to comment on the debt raise.
Moody's Investors Service last week said it was putting Boeing's credit rating, which is investment grade, on review for a potential downgrade due to the Max issues.
"Recent developments suggest a more costly and protracted recovery for Boeing to restore confidence with its various market constituents, and an ensuing period of heightened operational and financial risk, even if certification of the Max comes relatively near-term, as expected," wrote Jonathan Root, Moody's lead Boeing analyst.
Boeing had about $25 billion in total debt at the end of the last quarter, up from around $19 billion at the start of the three-month period, the company said.
The loan Boeing is negotiating will be a two-year, delayed-draw loan, meaning Boeing can tap into it later, a move that may not immediately affect its credit rating as another type of loan or a bond would, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. J.P. Morgan estimates the grounding will still cost Boeing about $1 billion a month even after the planned production shutdown.
The new loan would come as Boeing is trying to close its $4 billion acquisition of a majority stake in Embraer's commercial plane business. The company has also continued to pay investors dividends during the crisis.
Banks that have already committed to contribute to the loan include Citigroup, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan, people familiar with the matter said.
Boeing's temporary production shut down of the planes, which had been its best-selling aircraft, is hurting its supply chain. Spirit AeroSystems, which makes fuselages and other parts for the 737 Max, said earlier this month it would lay off 2,800 workers.
Moody's downgraded Spirit to junk territory last week, saying it "reflects our expectation that Spirit's liquidity profile will quickly and materially erode in the absence of mitigating developments that remain largely out of the company's control."
General Electric, which makes engines for the planes through a joint venture with France's Safran, has laid off 70 temporary workers in Quebec, but it could hire them back later.
Suppliers are in a tough position because they want to have skilled workers in place for a resumption in production.
GE, which reports earnings at the end of the month and also makes engines for Airbus planes, can move workers to other plants and programs. The company is also considering reducing worker overtime, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The 737 Max issues have cost airlines more than $1 billion in lost revenue, and Boeing took a $5.6 billion pre-tax charge last July to compensate its Max customers for the grounding and analysts expect it to report another this month.
While the company has reached compensation agreements with airlines including American and Southwest, those agreements apply only to revenue lost in 2019 and analysts expect Boeing will have to pay more without a firm date to get the planes back in the air. American, Southwest and United have all pulled the plane from their schedules until June.
Investors will hear more on the impact of the grounding from the carriers when they report earnings later this week and when Boeing reports on Jan. 29. | {
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Summary: People who suffer from REM sleep behavior disorder are at increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease and dementia as they age, a new study reports. Researchers report RBD causes a lack of dopamine in the brain, and this can contribute to the development of neurodegenerative diseases.
Source: Aarhus University.
Researchers from Aarhus University have discovered that patients with the RBD sleep behaviour disorder lack dopamine and have a form of inflammation of the brain. This means that they are at risk of developing Parkinson’s disease or dementia when they grow older.
Do you sleep restlessly and hit out and kick in your sleep? This could be a sign of a disorder associated with diseases of the brain. Researchers from Aarhus University have studied the condition of the dopamine producing nerve cells in the brain and cells that participate in the brain’s immune system in people suffering from the sleep disorder Rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder, RBD.
The study shows that patients suffering from RBD have a risk of developing Parkinson’s disease or dementia in the future, because they already suffer from a lack of dopamine in the brain. Parkinson’s disease occurs precisely because the group of nerve cells in the brain that produce dopamine stop working.
The RBD sleep disorder is characterised by disturbances in the part of sleep where dreams take place. Healthy people are relaxed and lie still during dream sleep, while people suffering from RBD live out their dreams so that while sleeping they can hit out, kick and shout.
“These patients have an inflammation of the brain in the area where the dopamine-producing nerve cells are found,” says one of the researchers behind the study, Morten Gersel Stokholm from Aarhus University and the PET Centre at Aarhus University Hospital.
The findings have just been published in the neurological journal The Lancet Neurology.
This is completely new knowledge, as researchers have not previously demonstrated that there is a form of inflammation of the brain in patients who are at risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
“With this study, we have gained new knowledge about the disease processes in the brain in the early initial stages of the disease development. The idea is for this knowledge to be used to determine which patients with the sleep disorder will later develop Parkinson’s disease. At the same time, this is also knowledge that can help to develop drugs which can stop or slow the development of the diseases,” explains Morten Gersel Stokholm about the sleep disorder which most often affects persons aged 50-70, and more frequently men than women.
Parkinson’s disease
There are 7,300 Parkinson’s disease patients in Denmark. Symptoms are slow movements, often with shaking, together with muscular rigidity. Parkinson’s disease is a chronic condition that continues to worsen over time. The disease is somewhat more common in men than in women. Parkinson’s disease occurs because the brain lacks dopamine. It is primarily adults who are affected, and the first signs most often appear between the ages of 50-70.
Background for the results:
The study is a case-control study.
About this neuroscience research article
The people behind the project are Medical Doctor and PhD student Morten Gersel Stokholm and Associate Professor, MD, Nicola Pavese in collaboration with medical doctors from the Department of Neurology and the Sleep Clinic, Aarhus University Hospital and medical doctors from the University Hospital Clinic de Barcelona.
Funding: The project is financed by a grant from the Independent Research Fund Denmark.
Source: Bert Gambini – Aarhus University
Publisher: Organized by NeuroscienceNews.com.
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
Original Research: Abstract for “Assessment of neuroinflammation in patients with idiopathic rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder: a case-control study” by Morten Gersel Stokholm, MD, Prof Alex Iranzo, MD, Prof Karen Østergaard, MD, Mónica Serradell, BSc, Marit Otto, MD, Kristina Bacher Svendsen, MD, Alicia Garrido, MD, Dolores Vilas, MD, Per Borghammer, MD, Prof Joan Santamaria, MD, Arne Møller, MD, Carles Gaig, MD, Prof David J Brooks, MD, Prof Eduardo Tolosa, MD, and Prof Nicola Pavese in Lancet Neurology. Published online October 2017 doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30173-4
Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article
[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]Aarhus University “Restless Sleep May Be an Early Sign of Parkinson’s.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 5 December 2017.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/restless-sleep-parkinsons-8110/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]Aarhus University (2017, December 5). Restless Sleep May Be an Early Sign of Parkinson’s. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved December 5, 2017 from https://neurosciencenews.com/restless-sleep-parkinsons-8110/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]Aarhus University “Restless Sleep May Be an Early Sign of Parkinson’s.” https://neurosciencenews.com/restless-sleep-parkinsons-8110/ (accessed December 5, 2017).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]
Abstract
Assessment of neuroinflammation in patients with idiopathic rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder: a case-control study
Background
Findings from longitudinal follow-up studies in patients with idiopathic rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder (IRBD) have shown that most patients will eventually develop the synucleinopathies Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, or multiple system atrophy. Neuroinflammation in the form of microglial activation is present in synucleinopathies and is a potential therapeutic target to halt or delay the neurodegenerative process. We aimed to investigate whether neuroinflammation is present in patients with IRBD and its possible relation to nigrostriatal dopamine function.
Methods
In this prospective, case-control, PET study, patients with IRBD and no clinical evidence of parkinsonism and cognitive impairment were recruited from tertiary sleep centres in Spain (Barcelona) and Denmark (Aarhus). We included patients with polysomnography-confirmed IRBD according to established criteria. Healthy controls were recruited through newspaper advertisements. Controls had no motor or cognitive complaints, a normal neurological examination, and a mean group age similar to the IRBD group. In patients with IRBD, we assessed microglial activation in the substantia nigra, putamen, and caudate with 11C-PK11195 PET, and dopaminergic axon terminal function in the putamen and caudate with 18F-DOPA PET. Controls underwent either 11C-PK11195 PET or 18F-DOPA PET. We compared 18F-DOPA uptake and 11C-PK11195 binding potential between groups with an unpaired, two-tailed Student’s t test.
Findings
Between March 23, 2015, and Oct 19, 2016, we recruited 20 consecutive patients with IRBD and 19 healthy controls. 11C-PK11195 binding was increased on the left side of the substantia nigra in patients with IRBD compared with controls (Student’s t test, mean difference 0·153 [95% CI 0·055 to 0·250], p=0·003), but not on the right side (0·121 [–0·007 to 0·250], p=0·064). 11C-PK11195 binding was not significantly increased in the putamen and caudate of patients with IRBD. 18F-DOPA uptake was reduced in IRBD in the left putamen (–0·0032 [–0·0044 to −0·0021], p<0·0001) and right putamen (–0·0032 [–0·0044 to −0·0020], p<0·0001), but not in the caudate.
Interpretation
In patients with IRBD, increased microglial activation was detected by PET in the substantia nigra along with reduced dopaminergic function in the putamen. Further studies, including more participants than were in this study and longitudinal follow-up, are needed to support our findings and evaluate whether the presence of activated microglia in patients with IRBD represents a marker of short-term conversion to a clinically defined synucleinopathy in the near future.
Funding
Danish Council for Independent Research, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spain).
“Assessment of neuroinflammation in patients with idiopathic rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder: a case-control study” by Morten Gersel Stokholm, MD, Prof Alex Iranzo, MD, Prof Karen Østergaard, MD, Mónica Serradell, BSc, Marit Otto, MD, Kristina Bacher Svendsen, MD, Alicia Garrido, MD, Dolores Vilas, MD, Per Borghammer, MD, Prof Joan Santamaria, MD, Arne Møller, MD, Carles Gaig, MD, Prof David J Brooks, MD, Prof Eduardo Tolosa, MD, and Prof Nicola Pavese in Lancet Neurology. Published online October 2017 doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30173-4
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Mohamed Salah has ridiculed Sergio Ramos' suggestion that he could have battled through the shoulder injury that forced him to leave the Champions League final in tears.
In a moment he described as the worst of his career, Egypt international Salah was withdrawn early in Liverpool's eventual 3-1 defeat in Kiev following an awkward tangle with Ramos.
The Real Madrid defender was criticised heavily for his role in the incident, which threw the Liverpool forward's World Cup participation into doubt.
Ramos later mocked the "magnified" reaction and said Salah could have remained on the pitch if he received an injection, a claim rejected by the Reds star.
"My comment is that it's always okay when the one who made you cry first, then makes you laugh," Salah responded in an interview with Marca.
"Maybe he could also tell me if I'm going to be ready for the World Cup?"
Salah added: "He sent me a message, but I never told him it was 'okay'."
The Premier League Golden Boot winner remains in a race against time to be fit for Egypt's opening Group A game against Uruguay on June 15, although he says his condition has improved and is hopeful of taking part.
But the 25-year-old was quick to dismiss any suggestion that the scale of the injury was overblown.
"When I fell to the ground, I had a mixture of physical pain and a lot of worry. Also anger and sadness for not being able to continue playing the Champions League final," he said.
"Moments later, I also thought about the possibility of not playing in the World Cup and that was a devastating thought." | {
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Ghost in the Shell by Miguel Molina
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Ghost in the Shell by Devin Doty
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Ghost in the Shell by The Dark Inker
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Ghost in the Shell by Marko Manev
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Ghost in the Shell by Evan Raditya Pratomo
Ghost in the Shell by Nathaniel Rueda
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Ghost in the Shell by Luke Butland
Ghost in the Shell by Max Dima
Ghost in the Shell by Harijs Grundmanis
Ghost in the Shell by Alberto “Sting” Russo
Ghost in the Shell by Amien Juugo
Ghost in the Shell by MO CARO
Ghost in the Shell by Ruiz Burgos | {
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Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos speaks during a business meeting at Buckingham Palace, in central London, Britain November 2, 2016. REUTERS/Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool
LONDON (Reuters) - Colombia is making “substantial progress” in getting its stalled peace deal with Marxist rebels back on track and hopes to have a deal very soon, the country’s President Juan Manuel Santos said on Wednesday.
Colombia is scrambling to save a hard-won peace deal after voters last month narrowly rejected a deal as too lenient on the rebels, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in a shock result that plunged the situation into uncertainty.
“We have been making substantial progress. In the very, very near future we will have this agreement and I have the power to implement the agreement,” said Santos, who is on a state visit to Britain.
There has been some vehement opposition - led by hardline former President Alvaro Uribe - to major planks of the previous deal, including guaranteed congressional seats for the FARC and immunity from traditional jail sentences for leaders.
A renegotiation seems to depend on whether the FARC would accept tougher conditions, maybe combined with a softening of Uribe’s demands. After years of refusing to meet negotiators, Uribe has now said he is willing to seek a joint solution.
Santos predicted significant economic benefits from a peace deal, which would ease decades of unrest in Colombia.
It would boost economic growth by one-half to 1 percent annually, he said, adding: “Other people say it could be more like 2 percent.” | {
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Consider your career as a life journey and not a ladder
Success is not a destination but a journey
Why ladder climbing is a limiting approach
It’s important to remember that everything is possible and to keep open to new ideas.
You don’t have to pursue a strict and rigorous career plan, in order to be fulfilled.
Many people discover true happiness once they become open to alternative options.
Chances are that your dream job could be in a completely different sector or a different job type. Changing careers midlife is quite common.
Going for the career ladder approach will limit you and curb your attempts to unleash your full professional and creative potential.
A career path as a journey rather than a destination
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Most of us tend to associate career development with climbing theprofessional ladder; trying to manage our careers as an upwardonly process, re-framing professional development as a journey ratherthan a ladder can be much more fulfilling and beneficial in the long run.The career ladder although goal-driven, can sometimes give a limitedview of success and it’s possible that an over-reaction to not achievingthe vertical climb could be catastrophic through bad post- decisionsand mindset.Stop thinking of your career as a ladder and start to re-frame it as a path; very few people see a career history that goes up all the time, many people have solid years in work experience as preparation for more senior, more challenging or changing roles. Learning to think about career development as a rewarding and enriching experience will help you to focus on professional satisfaction and personal happiness aspirations as opposed to vertical achievement.The ladder-based career approach has a very narrow vision in terms of your own self-assessment of your potential. For example what if your ability is much more than the career goal you have set yourself and what if you have set yourself timelines that interfere with relationships and life interruptions; small successes need to be enjoyed at leisure.But the biggest limiting factor of all to the career ladder is using this as the measure of success in life. There are many flavours of success; continuous work, happy job, work-life balance, etc. And here’s the key point; if you know a person who has reach the grand age of 100 years old, ask them whether they considered their life a success, the chances are they would say ‘yes’; not because they made manager in their 20’s, director in their 30’s and executive management in their 40’s, they’re more likely to attribute success in years gone by, family and friends, indeed survival.So there’s a good and wonderful alternative you can adopt right now; to view your career as a life journey to help you accomplish the growth that you need, in the knowledge that the process will be accompanied by a lot of excitement, happiness and personal satisfaction.You might change jobs a few times and adapt in order to discover your potential. The journey may take a few hairpin bends, it might get rocky or it might go straight along the tow path, you might reach a motorway for the fast lane and then turn off on the ‘B’ road; remember that exploring the possibilities and irrational job-hopping are two completely different things.Seeing your career as a journey still means that you have a purpose and a goal, but you are measuring success entirely differently and experiencing fun along the way.Discovering happiness and the perfect job is much more than being one hundred per cent committed to getting a promotion. The pursuit of the right career involves a bit of experimentation, an open approach, a bit of luck and planning, and on occasions some professional guidance.For more information on Morgan Hunt jobs and careers, contact us today. | {
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Zach Braff knows how to make his precious godson smile.
The 38-year-old actor posed with Donald Faison and CaCee Cobb's adorable son Rocco and shared the sweet snapshot on Twitter.
"Me and my god son. Made with @donald_faison's sperm," Braff captioned the darling pic. Faison re-tweeted the wonderful moment to his followers, as well.
Braff's mouth is slightly open while he gazes wide-eyed at the camera. The 4-month-old, sporting a baby blue ensemble with a white bib, is looking off to the side and flashing a big grin.
Perhaps his parents are making a funny face at him? Regardless, what a cute pair! | {
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Pay rises: how much do nurses, the police, teachers and MPs get paid?
These figures don’t account for inflation. In 2018 prices their starting salary has fallen from the equivalent of £27,400 in 2010 to around £23,300 in 2018.
The police starting salary was £24,000 in 2010 and £23,000 in 2018.
These figures don’t take account of inflation since 2010. In 2018 prices, a new teacher’s salary in a local authority-run school in England and Wales (outside of London) was £25,400 in 2010, and is now £23,000.
These figures don’t take account of inflation. In 2018 prices, it was £25,000 a year in 2010, and in 2018 it’s £23,000.
A fully qualified nurse’s starting salary has not increased since 2010 when it was £22,000.
These figures don’t take account of inflation since 2010. In 2018 prices MPs’ pay has remained stable compared with 2010 at around £77,400.
MPs’ salaries have increased from £66,000 in 2010 to £77,000 in 2018.
A tweet which has been shared almost 20,000 times has made several claims about how pay packets have changed for police, teachers, nurses and MPs over the last eight years.
All of the figures are in roughly the right ballpark in cash terms—meaning that they don’t account for the fact that prices have also changed since 2010. To see how far these salaries will go, we need to account for inflation.
Taking that into account, all of these groups have had a reduction in pay (some more than others). We used the CPIH measure for inflation here , taking an average of the four most recent quarters, and you can read more on ways of measuring inflation in our blogpost on RPI.
Police have had the largest real wage drop—around £4,300 in eight years. Newly qualified teachers now earn around £2,500 less, followed by newly qualified nurses whose wages have dropped by £1,900. MPs' salaries have effectively risen in line with inflation. Using our inflation calculation they got a slight pay reduction of £50, though if you do the calculation slightly differently it comes out as a marginal pay rise.
Teachers, nurses or police constables who were new starters in 2010 are likely more experienced eight years on, so may well have progressed up the career ladder or have been given individual pay rises. Here, we’re comparing the salaries of people who started these careers in 2010, to those starting out eight years later.
From 2011 to 2012, public sector pay was frozen. From 2013, there was a 1% per year cap on public sector pay rises, but that was ended last year—you can read our factcheck on that here.
Newly qualified police
From September 2010, the starting salary for a new police constable was £23,300 in England and Wales.
From September 2017, when the Home Office last changed police pay , new constables can get paid up to £23,100.
Taking into account inflation between 2010 and 2018 (using the CPIH measure), this was a reduction in pay of 16% (£4,300) in the space of eight years.
Not all new constables will start on £23,100. The exact figure depends on skills and experience—those with “no qualifications” can get paid a minimum of just under £20,000. This drop in new starter wages was brought in from April 2013, after recommendations from the Winsor review into police pay and conditions.
These wages do not include the London weighting or benefits, like free travel for certain forces.
Newly qualified teachers
In 2010, the starting salary for teachers in England and Wales outside of London was £21,600 .
As of September 2017, a newly qualified teacher’s minimum salary is £22,900 . Although this looks like a modest increase, taking into account inflation, it’s actually a reduction in of around £2,500, or 10%.
This does not include those in the London area, and is for teachers in local authority-run schools. Academies and free schools don’t have to follow the government pay structure, although some do. Around 52% of England’s full-time equivalent qualified teachers at state-funded schools were employed at local authority-run nurseries, primary or secondary schools, as of November 2017. The rest mostly work in academies and free schools.
Pay rises were announced earlier this year for both teachers and the police, though only the teachers’ pay increase will rise above inflation.
Fully qualified nurse starter salaries
When nurses qualify they start on Band 5 of the NHS pay scale. From April 2010, newly qualified nurses in England got paid a starting salary of about £21,200.
From 2018, new nurses should start on £23,000. We’ve written about the new pay deal announced this year for some NHS staff, including nurses, here.
Taking into account inflation, new starter nurses are now earning around £1,900 less than they might have in 2010. That’s an 8% reduction in pay over eight years.
MPs
In April 2010, MPs earned around £65,700 and from April 2018 earn £77,400.
Their wage has broadly kept in line with inflation over the last eight years, meaning that the real terms reduction in their pay works out at around £50—less than 0.1% of their wage.
This does not include expenses, or extra money that MPs with additional roles, like being government ministers, may be eligible for. | {
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In the sea of rock-stars, you want to rock the hardest and shine the brightest and landing a job as Creative Director would make you the monarch of that ocean. But, composing a perfect Creative Director resume can seem like a daunting task.
Expectations are high, for ideas, for creativity, for the past experiences, and for the skills, and it can be overwhelming in a pinch.
Even if you feel like you would be a perfect fit for that perfect Creative Director position, it’s different when it’s about us and this is at stake. Right?
Well, no. And let me tell you why.
As with any project, Creative or otherwise, the research is necessary.
Find out about the company, the position, the clients, and if possible, who will be the first person to look at your resume for a Creative Director’s position.
If the person looking at your resume is a senior Creative or Art Director, someone who has experience in the visual and the inventive, or they explicitly ask for it – by all means, go ahead with making your resume as creatively out there as possible. Go wild. Squeeze out every single drop of juice from your artistic orange.
But bear this in mind – only about 70% of all resumes are ever actually seen by a person. Most are first filtered out by an ATS software. Even then, the average time a hiring manager will look at a resume is 7.4 seconds.
So, should you be creative, choose and match fonts, illustrate, arrange and squeeze out the artistic orange until just the pulp remains.
But make sure to have a standard, prettier-than-most, textual resume included in your ball of uniqueness.
If not, you are risking not having your resume read at all if the ATS software cannot determine whether you have the skills required. And all ATS software is interested is text.
Keep on scrolling and we at ResumeShoppe will strive to hook you up with some amazing Creative Director resume templates in apple pages & word document to get you going.
These are some of the custom made Creative Director resumes that you can choose from: | {
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Players choose their numbers for a myriad of reasons.
Some are superstitious. Some do it based on their childhood idols. Some have other odd reasons. Some even have no choice in the matter.
So over the last few months, every Blackhawks player (some who are currently in the AHL) was asked the same question:
Why did you choose your jersey number?
Here’s what they said.
***
Duncan Keith, 2: That was the number I got when I had it in my stall in Norfolk when I got sent down [to the AHL] when I was 20. Stuck with me every since. No idea.
Niklas Hjalmarsson, 4: I just think that No. 4 fits my game a little bit. At least for me, it’s a more of defensive-minded number, low number, something I think about when I hear No. 4. Maybe that was something that had to do with it, and no one had the number obviously, so it was open.
Michal Kempny, 6: [through an interpreter] I wore No. 3 for awhile, but 3 [Pierre Pilote] is hanging up there. So 6 has always been my number for the national team.
Brent Seabrook, 7: I wore it as a kid. I always liked the No. 7. I was 77 and 27 in summer hockey. I always liked 7, and I was lucky enough to have it. I always just sort of stuck with it. It was the jersey they gave me in juniors, which I was pretty pumped about, and the jersey that they gave me here. It’s pretty... | {
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Week 24 of Barstool Radio has come and gone and it was jam packed with great radio. The week starts off with Coley getting ripped into by Dave for not showing up to work after an NBA Finals game. Julian Edelman Pizza-Cucks Dave and Frankie and they find out live on radio. The Foreplay boys go to war with Howard Stern after Riggs and Trent disgrace the name of Baba Boey. The JHammy nightmare continues after Dave finds some suspicious activity on his bank statements live during the show, Frankie sends a text to find out what's going on. The hilarious Comedian Ron Funches comes in studio and joins the guys to shoot the shit. Ron gives Dave advice for becoming a weed guy, he talks about getting manicures and pedicures and he breaks news about Lebron James being a dick and not showing up for show. The Legendary Bill Burr sits down with KFC and Caleb for an incredible interview. Bill talks about his new season of his show 'F Is For Family', why he hates social media, the horrible process of buying a refrigerator online, his take on Barstool Sports and much, much more. Rico Bosco calls in and gives himself the "Call Of The Day".
278 episodes | {
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This is the fifth session for University of Texas at San Antonio sophomore Alesandro Salazar.
Each time he sits in this sound booth, wearing a skullcap of sensors, he recites nonsensical phrases from a computer monitor.
They’re intended to make him stutter.
“Cassie whu waddie,” Salazar says.
Each phrase on the computer monitor is preceded by a beep.
“Lilly rr-rurahsheeus.”
Salazar has stuttered his whole life. He’s tried traditional therapies with some success, but day-to-day speech isn’t like in a speech therapist's office, he said.
“In real life, that’s not something you can do,” he says. “You’ll get excited; you’ll get nervous; you’ll get anxious; you get all these different emotions and you can’t be this calm robot voice all the time.”
So he avoids sounds he knows he has problems with and has taught himself some tricks.
Now, Salazar is participating in a program UTSA researchers hope will lead to stutters being able to retrain their brain.
Credit Paul Flahive | Texas Public Radio Researchers track Salazar's eye movements as well.
Farzan Irani, a speech pathologist and professor at Texas State University, listens to Salazar recite the lines through headphones outside the soundproof booth.
Irani stands in front a bank of computer monitors, all with Salazar on them. He listens for stuttering, or what they call a “disfluency.”
“Viscosysinuquait,” Salazar said.
“That was actually a disfluency right there,” Irani said.
Irani said he’s involved with this UTSA research because he has seen therapy wear off for many people.
“They’ll get fluent while in therapy and then a few months down the road, the stuttering starts to rise again,” he said.
The National Institutes of Health granted them a two-year $387,000 grant for the project. It estimates that stuttering affects 3 million Americans.
“Our hypothesis is that it is a speech preparation problem not a speech production problem,” said Jeffrey Mock, an assistant professor of research at UTSA.
But first, they need an accurate snapshot of a stutters brain waves before they stutter.
Mock walks into the sound booth and inserts a large syringe into the cap on Salazar’s head.
WATCH | Salazar and Mock in the laboratory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGPyVhj1I_g
Some sensors aren’t reading well, so he pushes the syringe back and forth, swinging it around like a joystick. He then injects saltwater and starch gel, which increases the connection between the scalp and the sensor.
Mock says he’s interested in the research since he stutters, but also because their goal is to read the brain.
“As a neuroscientist, it’s really being able to predict behavior before it occurs,” he said. “That has a wide range into many different fields.”
Everything in the session is recorded: video, audio, brain waves, and even eye movement.
Farzani will analyze the video and mark when a stutter occurred.
Credit Paul Flahive | Texas Public Radio Brain waves are recorded by an electroencephalogram. Computers using machine learning will sift through the data to help refine the "target" brain waves.
He said the brain wave data will also be analyzed with the help of computers using machine-learning algorithms that can better detect subtle changes as well as help create a better predictive model.
The team’s current model predicts stuttering with about 85 percent accuracy, said UTSA psychology professor Ed Golob.
“The next step is to use the fluent brain patterns as a target to essentially train the brain to make that pattern more often,” he said.
Golob wants to create a therapy that gives audio or visual biofeedback to let subjects know if they are getting closer to the target brainwave pattern. It’s called biofeedback.
Golob said if this effort works for stuttering, it might work on more serious conditions, including strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, and traumatic brain injury.
While it won’t replace other therapies, it creates another tool to get the most out of the brain, Golob said.
But all that assumes the research proves fruitful.
Salazar doesn’t see the research benefiting him but said that’s OK because he has learned how to cope.
“I remember when I was, like, little I had all this stuff to say and I knew exactly what I wanted to say and I would try to talk and it wouldn’t come out,” he said.
He said he hopes his participation helps a kid like him.
Paul Flahive can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @paulflahive | {
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With the development of the data mining, people can be monitored everywhere, starting with surfing the web and ending with using a credit card and conducting other online transactions. However, using cryptocurrency for payment makes it possible to keep all your fiscal transactions undisclosed and feel safeguarded online.
Why VPN is Required
Modern technologies give people new opportunities: users can chat at any time of the day and night, watch favorite movies and series, conduct business meetings, and enjoy their pastime. Spending more time online, people start taking their Net safety and secrecy more acutely willing to safeguard themselves. Being aware they can fall a victim to cyber attacks, users start searching for the best way to make them feel safer when going online.
A VPN helps you remain anonymous on the net. When connecting via a virtual private net, such as NordVPN vs PIA, the user receives the IP address of another network and thus can hide the genuine location. An encrypted communication channel is forwarded between the user’s device and the VPN server, and all data transmitted through it is encoded. Thus, a third party will only receive unreadable data when intercepting traffic from this channel.
VPN Technology Makes Cryptocurrency Transactions More Secure
A side effect of cryptocurrency popularity is the increased interest of attackers. Cryptocurrency wallets are hacked more and more actively with each passing day. Therefore, VPN technology is also necessary for those who use cryptocurrency. After all, any cryptocurrency is completely digital. This means that it is essential to encrypt any data transferred to the network, as well as have a secure connection. And this is exactly what VPN technology does.
It’s worth working with wallets and exchanges through a VPN. The technology doesn’t show your real IP address to avoid tracking. VPN significantly reduces the likelihood of stealing personal info, money, etc. In some wallets and exchanges, you can create a whitelist of IP addresses that may access them. If you enter the addresses provided via VPN there, the probability of compromising your wallet or account on the exchange will be reduced significantly.
Traveling traders often use public Wi-Fi networks to access the Internet. These public networks make it easier for hackers to access user device and information. Specific encryption protocols make data about crypto transactions inaccessible and protected from cyber attacks. Moreover, only the trader and the final recipient have the decryption keys data.
VPN Technology Protects You from Censorship
State censorship is blocking more and more sites. Some countries even block entire social networks. Using a reliable VPN service is extremely important; neither hackers nor cyberspies can access a VPN connection even if they find it. When you establish a VPN connection, the website will not know who you are unless you log in.
Nowadays, there is an increasing need to use tools that make it possible to bypass these restrictions and limitations, and VPN technology is just what you need. If a free VPN may be sufficient for just surfing the social networks, a high-quality paid VPN service is recommended to use for business purposes. | {
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Muslim ghettos in Paris and Brussels are incubators of Islamic extremism where police fear to tread, crime and unemployment are rampant and radical imams aggressively recruit young men to wage jihad against the West, experts said Tuesday.
The identities of the terrorists who attacked an airport and subway station in Belgium remained unclear.
But the perpetrators of last November’s bloody attack on Paris and other terror strikes in Belgium and France hailed from Molenbeek, a Brussels slum that has long been a hotbed for radical Islam, drugs and lawlessness.
Others, including the brothers who carried out the Charlie Hebdo massacre in January 2015, lived in the “banlieues,” or suburbs of Paris, desolate, run-down neighborhoods of shops, mosques, and high-rise apartment buildings built 50 years ago to house waves of immigrants from former French colonies in Africa.
“Both in Paris and Brussels we have seen the radicalization of individuals which has led to these cowardly attacks on civilians. Unfortunately, these poor neighborhoods in which they live act as breeding grounds for terrorism because many of these people feel as if they have no other options or hope,” a senior anti-terrorism official told The Post.
Salah Abdeslam, 26, the architect of the November Paris attacks, which left 130 dead, was found last week hiding in an apartment in Molenbeek.
And other residents of the neighborhood have been linked to nearly all of Belgium’s terrorism-related incidents in recent years.
Moroccan national Ayoub el-Khazzani, who opened fire with a Kalashnikov on a high-speed train in August, lived in Molenbeek.
Mehdi Nemmouche, a French-Algerian who killed four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels last year, spent time in the ghetto.
And two suspected terrorists gunned down by Belgian cops in a shootout in the town of Verviers in January were from Molenbeek.
‘These ghettos are called ‘no-go zones,’ very deprived areas in many northern European cities. I call them stateless, they’re not accepted in France and Belgium.’ - Soeren Kern, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute
Roughly 500,000 Muslims are believed to live in Belgium, about 6 percent of the population.
The Brussels ghetto has a 30 percent unemployment rate, and hundreds of young radicalized Muslim men have travelled to Syria to wage jihad, Belgian officials admitted.
“I notice that each time there is a link with Molenbeek. This is a gigantic problem. Apart from prevention, we should also focus more on repression,” Prime Minister Charles Michel said after the Paris attacks.
“These ghettos are called ‘no-go zones,’ very deprived areas in many northern European cities. I call them stateless, they’re not accepted in France and Belgium. I think it’s the despair, and their radical preachers take advantage of that. They draw them into the mosques, and that’s how the radicalization happens,” Soeren Kern, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, a New York-based think tank focusing on international studies.
So-called “no go” zones, he added, are not formal designations by law enforcement, but an informal understanding that they are areas that are crime-ridden, run by drug dealers and gangs not safe for non-Muslims — even police and firefighters.
“There was a case in France where a mosque was on fire, and when the firefighters arrived to put it out, the local youths stoned them. It’s very dangerous,” he said.
Roughly 5 million Muslims, Europe’s biggest Islamic population, live in France, most of them in the housing projects surrounding Paris, where unemployment rates are around 25 percent.
The Charlie Hebdo attackers, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, lived Gennevilliers, a suburban neighborhood that’s home to 10,000 Muslims.
Amedy Coulibaly, the terrorist who murdered a policewoman on Wednesday and seized control of a kosher grocery on Friday before police killed him, also most recently lived in a Paris banlieue.
And the nightmare is not going away any time soon, a second counter-terrorism source said.
“This a problem that’s going to be with us a for a very long time. I think we’re talking generations — our children and grandchildren are going to be facing this problem,” said the source, a retired intelligence officer said.
“They speak their own language, they live in their own microcosm. They are isolated. They have no upward mobility. In those European societies, they are very class conscious and stratified,” he said.
“You read ISIS propaganda on the Internet and social media. Your mind becomes fertile ground for radicalization.” | {
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In her series Trading, Saskatchewan-based artist Ruth Cuthand creates a visual metaphor that outlines how early settler/Native relationships influenced First Nation people’s living conditions and wellbeing in Canada. The colorful works are created from beads which were traded by European settlers for furs in the Americas. Although dazzling aesthetically, the work’s content reveals images of deadly viruses passed on by settlers as a result of this trade, such as influenza, bubonic plague, measles, smallpox, typhus, cholera, and scarlet fever.
“Beads are a visual reference to colonization; valuable furs were traded for inexpensive beads,” explains Cuthand, an artist of Plains Cree and Scottish descent, in her statement about the project. “On the plains beads were a valuable trade item, they replaced the method of using porcupine quills. Preparing the quills for decorating clothing was a long process that consisted of sorting the quills, preparing vegetal dyes and flattening the quill to sew down in patterns. Obviously beads were quicker to use, covered large areas and came in a wide variety of colors.”
Trading explores the tragic impact of European disease through the lens of one import. You can see all of the works in the series, and learn more about Cuthand’s practice, by visiting her website. The artist will also be a part of Beading Now!, a group exhibition at La Guilde in Montreal, Canada, which runs from May 16 to July 21, 2019.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! | {
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This article is from the archive of our partner .
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is floating the idea that the U.S. boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi if Russia doesn't send Edward Snowden back to us. "I would just send the Russians the most unequivocal signal I could send them," Graham said of an Olympic boycott on Tuesday, according to The Hill. "It might help, because what they're doing is outrageous."
This is horrible. The Olympics are about strength and beauty and sports—"building a peaceful and better world through solidarity, team spirit, joy and optimism in sport." The last American president to boycott a Russian Olympics? Jimmy Carter in 1980. And Lindsey Graham is no fan of Jimmy Carter. Carter was protesting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Did the Soviets leave Afghanistan? Yeah, eight years later. And then we ended up invading Afghanistan.
A Sochi boycott could mean Russia would do what the Soviet Union did in 1984—boycott our Olympics. Or those of our allies. The next summer Olympics is in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and the 2018 Winter Games are in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Which might mean we'd have to call in Mitt Romney to save them.
Don't do this to us, Lindsey Graham! You would know what consequences this not-very-effective-tactic would have if you'd spent hours trying to parse the terribly grainy footage of the 1984 Alternate Games. In the photo above, that's Mary Lou Retton, 1984 Olympic all-around champion in gymnastics. In the GIF at right, we see the great Soviet gymnast Olga Mostepanova, whose signature performances at the Alternate Games are barely decipherable. These two did not challenge each other for the title, because of politics that didn't even work.
Luckily, Graham's usual ally, Sen. John McCain, is aware of this history. "There’s many things we can do, but I think the experience of cancelling the Olympics the last time around wasn’t very good," McCain said.
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to [email protected]. | {
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"The rule #1 of any bug hunter... is to have a good RSS feed list."
"The rule #2 of any bug hunter is to DO NOT be to fussy with 'food' specifically with left over"
Google Issue Tracker. The reason why I wanted to give a look at it was due the fact I recently read this blog post: Google Issue Tracker (not of the same caliber as the other report though). This was indeed probably the easier and simpler and tinier vulnerability I ever reported but still :p I have the privilege to receive from time to time Google Vulnerability Research Grant . One of the last I received had many target options to choose from, but one in particular caught my attention, namely. The reason why I wanted to give a look at it was due the fact I recently read this blog post: How I hacked Google’s bug tracking system itself for $15,600 in bounties . I was really impressed by the quality of this research so I thought I would give a look myself and guess what after about 5 minutes I found some little vulnerability in(not of the same caliber as the other report though). This was indeed probably the easier and simpler and tinier vulnerability I ever reported but still :p
Basically the Google Issue Tracker has a "Copy comment to..." feature:
"Copy comment to..."
So basically if you are currently on an issue source you can copy comment number X to issue destination clicking the button above. This will generate a link of the form
https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/destination?template_issue=source&template_comment=X
Navigate to https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/ destination ?template_issue= source &template_comment=4. Observe a read error message saying: "Issue b/source#comment4 does not exist"
Observe a read error message saying: "Issue b/source#comment4 does not exist" Navigate to https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/ destination ?template_issue= source &template_comment=1 . Observe a read error message saying: "Access denied for: <MAIL_ADDRESS>".
. Observe a read error message saying: "Access denied for: <MAIL_ADDRESS>". Navigate to https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/ destination ?template_issue= source &template_comment=2 . Observe a read error message saying: "Access denied for: <MAIL_ADDRESS>".
. Observe a read error message saying: "Access denied for: <MAIL_ADDRESS>". Navigate to https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/ destination ?template_issue= source &template_comment=3 . Observe a read error message saying: "Access denied for: <MAIL_ADDRESS>".
Disclosure timeline
30 -11-2017 - Started giving a look at
Google Issue Tracker
30
Reported issue to VRP
Part II - Twitter and rant
This issue was highly inspired by me reading this blog post from filedescriptor . In this post filedescriptor found an issue in the new OAuth 2 API in Periscope (little note, while I am a kind of OAuth 2 expert I still am not sure I understood this specific issue). Said that this blog post made me curious about this new OAuth implementation hence I decided to give a look at it. This was indeed a great decision since I eventually found a sever issue in the implementation. I do not need to spend too much time talking about this issue since it is identical than some other one I previously found on Facebook , and Egor Homakov on Github . This issue is so "popular" that I dedicated a section on the book I co-wrote about OAuth 2
Providing all those link and references I thought I'd have an easy time collecting a bounty and I opened an issue on Hackerone
As seen in https://hackerone.com/reports/215381 it looks like Periscope.tv implements the OAuth 2 specification.
The redirect_uri validation seems to be vulnerable.
As per https://hackerone.com/reports/215381 there is a OAuth call
https://www.periscope.tv/oauth?client_id=catbzQMNEwPxwfvEMqgMFHbNTcwWevGiDRWUaq3aHERZfgnCuy&redirect_uri=https://getmevo.com/oauth/periscope&error=true
The registered redirect_uri from client catbzQMNEwPxwfvEMqgMFHbNTcwWevGiDRWUaq3aHERZfgnCuy seems to be https://getmevo.com/oauth/periscope.
The Periscope OAuth server seems also to accept https://www.periscope.tv/oauth?client_id=catbzQMNEwPxwfvEMqgMFHbNTcwWevGiDRWUaq3aHERZfgnCuy&redirect_uri=https://getmevo.com/oauth/periscope/../../asanso&error=true.
and is indeed vulnerable to path traversal for the redirect_uri. You can see an example of a vulnerability I reported to Facebook that had the same: http://blog.intothesymmetry.com/2014/04/oauth-2-how-i-have-hacked-facebook.html.
The impact is the hijacking an access token that is indeed delivered to an attacker location
But this is was not the case :(
Disclosure timeline
Opened Hackerone report (see above)
29-08-2017 -
Response from Twitter: "We're having some trouble following your report, can you elaborate on exactly what behavior you are reporting and how it leaks the access token..."
29-08-2017 - Gave more details
30-08-2017 - Response from Twitter: "
Can you please provide an explanation and demonstration of the behavior you are reporting in your own words here, without linking to these other reports or copying from them..."
30-08-2017 - More info from me
31-08-2017 - Provide some pages of the book I co-wrote (see above) that talk about this specific issue.
31 -08-2017 - Response from Twitter: "
As we stated previously, in order to take action on a report for Periscope, we require that you demonstrate an attack that is directed at Periscope specifically and can be actively reproduced....." Invalid issue and -5 points
31 -08-2017 - Response from me: "
Periscope is an OAuth server with a broken validation algorithm.
You do not have control of what is the setup and the domain of your potential OAuth clients...
And with this broken behavior you are putting your 'customers' at risk ."
01-09-2017 - I opened a new Hackerone issue referencing this issue and asking if someone with OAuth 2 knowledge can be assigned to the case
01-09-2017 - Request from Twitter to have more info
01-09-2017 - More info from me
01-09-2017
- Response from Twitter: "
Please keep in mind that our HackerOne program does not accept theoretical or potential vulnerabilities, and requires that researchers demonstrate that the behavior they have found can be actively used in an attack against Twitter or its other in-scope services. Since you have not identified any specific attack against Twitter, we are unable to take further action on your report...."
Invalid issue and -5 points
I was a bit frustrated at this point
and you will have commentfromcopied to. But hold on what does it happen if you do not have access to issue? Well here was a little glitch that made anyone potentially knowing the number of comments existing in an issue without having access to that issue. But how? Here is the self explanatory example:Cool. This just told us that the issuehas 3 comments (without us having reading access to the issue). Right?AwardedGoogle internal issue openGoogle awarded a 500$ bounty | {
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Only three teams out of a total 32 are dominating Pro Bowl talk so far, according to new stats out this week.
The Pro Bowl, which takes place early next year, allows fans to vote on 19 players from the AFC and the NFC each. And now that voting has been open for six weeks, three NFL teams are vastly overrepresented right now.
CBS Sports points out that eight players on the Pittsburgh Steelers currently have 40 percent of the vote for their position. In other words, if voting closed today, eight members of the Steelers would be on the AFC team. That’s almost half.
Some notable Steelers players up for the vote are Antonio Brown at wide receiver, James Conner at running back, and T.J. Watt at outside linebacker. (RELATED: Former Steelers Star Rips Into Mike Tomlin — ‘Not My Kind Of Coach’)
View this post on Instagram Bigger than me. A post shared by Antonio Brown (@ab) on Nov 29, 2018 at 2:29pm PST
Two other teams who are vastly overrepresented in the vote: the New Orleans Saints and the Kansas City Chiefs.
These might be easier to predict, since it’s entirely plausible that both teams could clinch the NFC and the AFC, respectively.
Four players on the Saints are leading their position in the polls, including Drew Brees at quarterback and Terron Armstead at offensive tackle. The Chiefs also have four players leading the vote, including Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, Travis Kelce at tight end and Tyreek Hill at return specialist.
Of course, the Pro Bowl isn’t until Jan. 27, 2019, next year so voting still has time to evolve. But in a world where super teams suddenly seem to be the norm, these stats could mean something.
Follow Jena on Twitter | {
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UPDATED: explaining the role of innodb_strict_mode and correcting introduction of innodb_file_format
Compressed tables is an example of an InnoDB feature that became available with the Barracuda file format, introduced in the InnoDB plugin. They can bring significant gains in raw performance and scalability: given the data is stored in a compressed format the amount of memory and disk space necessary to hold it and move it around (disk/memory) is lower, thus making them attractive for servers equipped with SSD drives of smaller capacity.
The notion of “file formats” (defined by the variable innodb_file_format) was first introduced when InnoDB was still a plugin. The evolution of InnoDB has lead to the development of new features and some of them required the support of new on-disk data structures. That means those particular features (like compressed tables) will only work with the newer file format. To make things clear and help manage compatibility issues when upgrading and (specially) downgrading MySQL the original file format started being referred to as Antelope.
The default file format in MySQL 5.6 and the latest 5.5 releases is Antelope. Note this can be a bit confusing as the first releases of 5.5 (until 5.5.7) introduced the new file format as being the default one, a decision that was later reversed to assure maximum compatibility in replication configurations comprised of servers running different versions of MySQL. To be sure about which file format is the one set as default in your server you can issue:
mysql> SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'innodb_file_format';
The important lesson here that motivated me to write this post is that the file format can only be defined for tablespaces – not tables, in general. This is documented in the manual but maybe not entirely clear:
innodb_file_format: The file format to use for new InnoDB tables. Currently, Antelope and Barracuda are supported. This applies only for tables that have their own tablespace, so for it to have an effect, innodb_file_per_table must be enabled. The Barracuda file format is required for certain InnoDB features such as table compression.
Even if you configure your server with innodb_file_format=Barracuda and recreate the datadir and basic tables with the script mysql_install_db, the common tablespace will always use Antelope. So, to create tables under the new file format it is imperative you use innodb_file_per_table. Although this requirements is documented what might be misleading here is the fact there’s no error being issued if you set the file format to Barracuda and create a new compressed table without having innodb_one_file_per_table set – only a couple of warnings, if you pay close attention. Here’s an example:
mysql> SET GLOBAL innodb_file_format=Barracuda;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
mysql> create table test.testA (id int) row_format=Compressed;
Query OK, 0 rows affected, 2 warnings (0.96 sec)
If you do choose to check the warnings, you’ll find:
mysql> show WARNINGS;
+---------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Level | Code | Message |
+---------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Warning | 1478 | InnoDB: ROW_FORMAT=COMPRESSED requires innodb_file_per_table. |
| Warning | 1478 | InnoDB: assuming ROW_FORMAT=COMPACT. |
+---------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------+
2 rows in set (0.00 sec)
This happens when innodb_strict_mode is turned OFF, as it usually is. If it was turned ON the table creation would fail with the following error:
mysql> create table test.testA (id int) row_format=Compressed;
ERROR 1031 (HY000): Table storage engine for 'testA' doesn't have this option
Now, let’s take a look at what the INFORMATION_SCHEMA tell us about this table:
mysql> SELECT * FROM information_schema.tables WHERE table_schema='test' and table_name='testA'G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
TABLE_CATALOG: def
TABLE_SCHEMA: test
TABLE_NAME: testA
TABLE_TYPE: BASE TABLE
ENGINE: InnoDB
VERSION: 10
ROW_FORMAT: Compact
TABLE_ROWS: 0
AVG_ROW_LENGTH: 0
DATA_LENGTH: 16384
MAX_DATA_LENGTH: 0
INDEX_LENGTH: 0
DATA_FREE: 0
AUTO_INCREMENT: NULL
CREATE_TIME: 2014-01-07 14:21:05
UPDATE_TIME: NULL
CHECK_TIME: NULL
TABLE_COLLATION: latin1_swedish_ci
CHECKSUM: NULL
CREATE_OPTIONS: row_format=COMPRESSED
TABLE_COMMENT:
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
There’s two at-first-look “contradictory” fields here:
“ROW_FORMAT” says the table is using the Compact format while
“CREATE_OPTIONS” indicates “row_format=COMPRESSED” has been used when creating the table
The one to consider is ROW_FORMAT: CREATE_OPTION is used to store the options that were used at the moment the table was created and is evoked by the SHOW CREATE TABLE statement to “reconstruct” it:
mysql> show create table test.testA;
*************************** 1. row ***************************
Table: testA
Create Table: CREATE TABLE testA (
id int(11) DEFAULT NULL
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1 ROW_FORMAT=COMPRESSED
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
Conclusion
A customer contacted us asking how he could get a list of the tables using the compression format, which we can obtain by interrogating INFORMATION_SCHEMA:
mysql> SELECT TABLE_NAME, ROW_FORMAT FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES WHERE ROW_FORMAT=Compressed’;
To their surprise this statement returned an empty set. We verified that the tables created by them specified ROW_FORMAT=Compressed but as shown in this article this method is not to be trusted – ask the INFORMATION_SCHEMA instead. | {
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It was only yesterday afternoon when Bovada released odds for the chances of Marcus Mariota ending up on the Philadelphia Eagles. The original bet looked like this:
Will Marcus Mariota be on the Eagles Roster for game 1 of the 2015 Regular Season?
Yes +400 (4/1)
No -700 (1/7)
...
This is what I wrote at the time:
"If you're not familiar with gambling odds, here's what this means: you have to bet $700 on "No" in order to win $100. If you do you think the Eagles are going to get Mariota, on the other hand, you can bet $100 to win $400.
Now, I'm not going to tell you how to spend your money, but I do think the "Yes" is an interesting bet given the recent moves made by the Eagles. Recent reports indicate that the Eagles are "determined" to make a strong play for the Oregon quarterback."
...
Since then, things have changed quite a bit. It was only two hours after the original post that the line shifted to:
Yes +250 No -400
Then a few hours after that, Bovada took the "Yes" option completely off the board. I woke up early this morning to check on the odds again and now... the entire bet itself is completely off the board.
You can no longer place a bet on the Eagles getting Mariota. Bovada completely took it off the board. http://t.co/UQWTBIc4ZD — Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 6, 2015
What this likely means is that a lot of money was pouring in on the "Yes" bet. As you can see, a lot of voters here at BGN thought that was the smart play:
So Bovada got scared and pulled it. BGN Radio host and gambling expert John Barchard offered his take on the situation:
LRT: That is a rarity that they pull a bet off of the board. You only do that if you know you're going to get hammered #ItsHappening — John Barchard (@JohnBarchard) March 6, 2015
And Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice added a great touch:
UPDATE: The odds are back up. | {
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Valkyria Chronicles 4 Gets New Screenshots and Info on Story, New Characters, and More
Giuseppe Nelva February 18, 2018 11:17 PM EST
Valkyria Chronicles 4 gets a large bunch of screenshots and info shedding light on new characters and filling a few gaps about the setting.
Today Sega updated the official website of Valkyria Chronicles 4, including a lot of new screenshots.
First of all, we meet a couple of new characters.
Sergio Maskyura (voiced by Masaya Takatsuka) is the military doctor belonging to the Edinburgh Navy, stationed on the snow cruiser Centurion. He used to be a pediatrician at a town hospital before the war. He’s a funny and kind person, but he can become scary when someone tries to escape treatment. His hobby is bodybuilding, boasting the top physical strength on the ship.
Andre Dunoa (voiced by Shin Aomori) is the Chief Engineer aboard the snow cruiser Centurion and also e veteran with thirty years of service, used to serve with Captain Roland for a long time. He’s a stubborn old man who often shouts at his subordinates, but his hand is steady and his ability is very trustworthy. His hobby is alcohol.
We also see and learn a bit more about the story at the beginning of the game.
The story begins on March 6th, 1935. In a flower field located within the territory of the Atlantic Federation the hero Claude Wallace has stopped his tank to take a break and take notes, while his subordinate Raz is resting on the front of the tank. The beautiful landscape seems completely untouched by the war, but Claude has strong intuition and notices that something is amiss, calling it “something in the wind”. Claude immediately prepares a counterattack and positions Squad E in the appropriate formation. Eventually, an imperial attack does come, and Squad E manages to defeat the enemy. Instead of rejoicing for his victory, Claude feels pain looking at the flower field destroyed by the battle.
After the successful counterattack, a new order is waiting for Claude, informing him of a major offensive called “Northern Cross Strategy.” the Atlantic Federation has been losing several battles against the Empire. In order to reverse the situation, the goal is to attack the Imperial capital directly. Claude and his Squad E have been selected to participate, alongside Squad F led by his former classmate Minerva Viktor.
Unfortunately, their advance into Imperial territory grinds to a halt as they reach an Imperial base in a fortified castle. Heavy artillery would be needed to pave the way, but it would take a week for it to get into position. Claude, who feels that speed of crucial to the success of the operation, decides to storm the fortress without waiting for reinforcements.
His decision is influenced by startling information brought by Christel, Minerva’s second in command: Imperial forces have launched an invasion of his motherland, Gallia. The only thing he can do for his country is to complete Operation Northern Cross and end the war as quickly as possible. This is why he left Gallia to volunteer in the Edinburgh Army.
The However, the defenses of the fort appear to be impregnable. Yet, Claude’s childhood friend Riley appears to provide reinforcements with a new artillery weapon named “Grenade Cannon” that can shoot long-range grenades. They were separated when she went to university in the United States of Vinland.
Yet, the reunion between the two is not exactly pleasant. When Claude approaches to greet her, Riley’s expression changes and she gives Claude a rather painful greeting.
On top of this, we also get a look at the menus available in Claude’s quarters. We can access the personnel and weapon files, setting information, and the medals earned during missions.
This reveal includes some really interesting information. First of all, this is the first time that we hear that Claude and Riley are actually from Gallia. The wording is a bit iffy, as the pronoun could have been both about Claude or Christel. The first hint is that Claude’s tank, the Hafen Go, is named after his birthplace, and Hafen definitely sounds like a place in Gallia. The second is more conclusive, as Riley’s profile in the gallery states explicitly that she is from Gallia, and we know that her and Claude hail from the same village.
Another interesting element is the map in the gallery. We finally learn about the “Edinburgh” that we have heard about for a while. Many thought Claude’s army was American-inspired, but this is not the case. The United Kingdom of Edinburgh is basically Valkyria’s version of the real United Kingdom. The equivalent of the United States of America is the United States of Vinland, where Riley studied.
This was caused by the fact that maps of the continent only indicated Dokkum (the equivalent of Great Britain) and Delfziji (the equivalent of Ireland), but not the name of the whole Kingdom, which is indeed United Kingdom of Edinburgh. Now we know, and it’s certainly interesting, as it gives us an indication of what kind of cultural inspiration we can expect.
Incidentally, Edinburgh is a Constitutional Monarchy where the King has only ceremonial power. It’s a rather old country (over 1000 years of history) that rose to power before the Empire and the United States of Vinland. It fields a very advanced military with high-level training, so it often holds the frontline among the countries of the Atlantic Federation and employs a number of foreign units within its line of battle.
You can check out the screenshots below. If you want to see more, you can enjoy a trailer showcasing the Imperial cast, another trailer, some videos and art featuring Kai and Raz, more videos revealing Zaiga and Ferie, similar videos and art about Riley, abother reveal about Claude, the latest batch of screenshots focusing on the Snow Cruiser Centurion and her crew, an earlier trailer, some more screenshots from a couple of weeks ago, two recent gameplay videos from Taipei Game Show, the first gameplay footage, a recent trailer showcasing the crossover DLC with the first game, another showing a wide range of gameplay features, the previous batch of screenshots and information, the first trailer, more screenshots, more artwork and info, and the first gallery of images.
Valkyria Chronicles 4 will hit the shelves both in North America and Europe for PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One in 2018. It will release in Japan for PS4 on March 21st, 2018 and for Nintendo Switch later in the summer. | {
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Apache Cassandra is an open source distributed database management system to handle large amounts of data across many servers, providing high availability with no single point of failure. It is mainly used for managing very large amounts of structured data that is spread across. It uses a type of NoSQL database, a mechanism to store and retrieve data other than the relations used in relational databases. These databases are schema-free, easy replication, simple API, consistent, and can handle huge amounts of data.
We at Benchfolks have an expert panel of trainers who provide Cassandra training online as well as in classroom mode. Our priority at Benchfolks is to ensure that all our users experience a substantial financial return on the training investment they make with the trainers and we pride ourselves on delivering maximum value added service to both the users and the trainers. We achieve this through gaining a thorough understanding of the objectives for the training and then carefully the trainers help in tailoring the training content to fit in. The quality of trainer�s content is superficial, market oriented and who combine impressive professional experience with effective training styles.
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The trainer�s curriculum is the easiest way to get started learning Apache Cassandra which includes real-life industry use-cases. The module starts with the concepts of using a highly-scalable, column-oriented database to implement appropriate use cases. The topics that are covered includes Cassandra Data models, Cassandra Architecture, Differences between RDBMS and Cassandra, Understanding Cassandra Architecture, CQL and there are many challenging, practical and hands-on exercises.
Daily many hundreds of startups and large product companies are choosing Cassandra for their next generation computing and data platforms. Some companies using Cassandra are eBay, Reddit, IBM, Cisco, Facebook, Twitter, Rackspace, NetFlix, Zoho, Digg and so on. Since Apache Cassandra is open-source, users can dive deep into its source code and change it according to the user�s requirements. The job market for Apache Cassandra is at the peak now and is growing at rate of 300%. We also have tie ups with companies who provide placements to the registered users. You can refer to Cassandra training listed below to choose from our huge list of trainers available at your choice.
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| {
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Good news to Digimon fans in the West: Bandai Namco has officially released the Digimon ReArise smartphone game for Western players! The game went live for Western territories this Wednesday, even though the earlier announced release date of the game was October 21.
Bandai Namco also released a launch trailer in its official Youtube channel, which you can watch here!
The game was released in Japan last June 2018. The game’s theme song, “The Future is Now”, is performed by four-member rock band Straightener.
The game is described by Bandai Namco as such:
“An unknown Digimon calling itself Herissmon has appeared in your smartphone.
Suddenly, a mysterious force known as “Spirals” attack…
This is the tale of your Digimon’s ReArise.
Dive into a story of new faces and old friends in this friendship Digivolving RPG!”
Below are the game’s key features as detailed in the App Store:
“A story connecting Digimon and Tamers
· A completely original story that follows Tamers and Digimon as they grow and deepen their friendships.
· Brand new characters designed and illustrated by Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, one of the original character designers from the Digimon animated series!
Nurturing Digimon-Tamer friendships through shared moments
· Watch your Digimon interact and play together in your custom DigiTown.
· Connect with other Tamers and work toward common goals.
Test the strength of your bonds in battle
· Build a personalized Digimon team and prove the power of your friendship in real-time battles of up to five-versus-five!
· Go head-to-head in the Battle Park or team up with fellow Tamers against powerful Digimon in Clash Battles.
Train and care for your Digimon
· Help your Digimon work out, listen to their unique requests, and unlock the path to Digivolution.
If you grow close and strong enough, they might even Mega Digivolve!”
Source: Anime News Network | {
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“THIS has been an absolute earthquake and a disaster for Serco,” Rupert Soames, the boss of Britain’s biggest provider of outsourced government services, told Parliament in September. He was referring to a 2013 scandal in which his firm, along with its peer G4S, continued to charge for electronic tagging of prisoners even after some had died. But it turned out that Serco’s misfortune was just beginning. On November 10th it wrote off £1.5 billion ($2.4 billion) relating to losses on contracts and acquisitions, cut its profit forecast, cancelled its dividend and announced plans both to sell some assets at a loss and to raise £550m through a share issue. Its share price fell by a third.
Serco’s travails are largely self-inflicted and unusually grave. But its “cautionary tale”, as Mr Soames puts it, should give pause to any company thinking of entering a growing market for the hard end of outsourced government services: not cleaning, catering or maintaining computers, but such things as guarding prisoners and dealing with welfare claimants.
Britain has long been a pioneer in outsourcing public services. But Australia has overtaken it in the proportion of inmates held in private prisons (see chart). The world’s second-biggest private prison is in South Africa; and Japan and Brazil have begun similar experiments. Two of France’s big outsourcing firms, Sodexo and Atos, take on tougher tasks in Britain than they do at home. Last month Sodexo, which runs five British prisons, was chosen as one of the preferred bidders for the privatisation of some probation services. Atos operates a scheme to assess disability-benefits claimants, though it has announced that it will give up the contract next year.
Firms that have taken on such work have come under constant fire from the public, press and politicians. Last year Australia’s Human Rights Commission expressed “grave concern” over housing and health care at a Serco-run detention centre for asylum-seekers, and this year G4S ended its contract at an Australian detention centre based in Papua New Guinea after a riot in February in which one person died. In Britain, an official auditor is investigating claims that Serco failed to conduct the required mental-health assessments at a centre for women awaiting deportation, where the firm had previously fired workers for improper sexual relationships with detainees. Another British contractor, Capita, took so long to evaluate eligibility for disability benefits that some claimants died before their requests were processed. Atos decided to end its disability-benefits contract after 40% of the appeals against its decisions were upheld, and its staff received hundreds of death threats. This week G4S said it had sold a business which has contracts at Guantánamo Bay, reportedly because the American government would not let it, as a foreign firm, exercise control over the division. Of course, private operators may be no more prone to mishaps than governments when they provide such services directly. But the reputational damage can harm a contractor’s prospects in other businesses. After the tagging scandal, Britain’s government gave G4S and Serco no new contracts for six months. G4S has begun to recover, but Serco is still reeling. In August it said it had lost eight of the ten “major opportunities” for business it had bid on this year. It also lost a £125m-a-year contract to run London’s Docklands Light Railway, which it had held since 1997. Demand for its services from private firms has also fallen. Australia is now seeking to turn back asylum-seekers at sea, so with fewer detainees to house, revenues from Serco’s biggest contract have dwindled. None of this means outsourcing is always bad business. Serco has prioritised growth over profits—it loses money on every asylum-seeker it houses in Britain. But Capita has been more cautious. The firm often declines to bid for contracts with big upfront costs or risks it cannot control, even if they appear profitable. Such prudence has not shielded the company from brickbats—critics have dubbed it “Crapita”. But since 2002 its profits have quadrupled.
Another successful approach comes from across the Atlantic. The two big private-prison firms in the United States, Corrections Corporation of America and GEO Group, have delighted shareholders with an average annualised return since 2004 of 18.5%. The main cause is America’s bloated justice system, which locks up more people than in other rich countries. Both companies have been criticised for funding groups that lobby for harsh sentencing. But they have also benefited from an impregnable competitive position. They have no other businesses with reputations to put at risk. And since they build their own prisons, it is hard for governments to dismiss them, because there would be nowhere else to put their inmates.
Serco’s Mr Soames says he will learn from his rivals: he wants to become “better at saying no”. And he plans to get out of the softer business-to-business contracts whose prospects were damaged by controversies in Serco’s penal services. Firms that do tough stuff like depriving people of their liberty and denying them welfare benefits can never expect to be loved, except perhaps by their shareholders. | {
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It was announced Monday that Shaquille O’Neal would be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, but he’s still jealous of Kobe Bryant’s final year.
During a recording of next Monday’s The BIG Podcast with Shaq , O’Neal weighed in on Bryant’s retirement tour. Shaq wished that he would’ve had a farewell tour of his own during his final season with the Boston Celtics.
He said via PodcastOne.com:
“I’m super jealous. I wanted a Shaq tour, man. I did. Like, I never said this but this is killing me. It did. So, you know, I had two years in Boston. I got hurt my first year, but the second year, we were going to plan a whole Shaq tour. I’m super jealous. I wanted a Shaq tour.”
He went on:
“But still, I wanted to just go to the city, and people see me play my last game. I did. I’m like – at first I tried to suck it up, but I can’t. It’s killing me.”
Even during the worst season in Lakers history, Kobe’s final season has made every Lakers game a hot ticket, especially in road games. Shaq played for six NBA teams while Kobe spent his entire career with the Lakers. A Shaq farewell tour with the Celtics, though deserved, likely wouldn’t have carried the same significance of Kobe’s last season in Los Angeles.
On the bright side, Shaq will always have a WrestleMania appearance over Kobe.
You can catch the full podcast here on Monday, April 11. | {
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The Blackhawks can wait: John Hayden embracing his opportunity in Rockford
John Hayden is working on using his size and strength to get to the net more while with the IceHogs. (Getty Images)
There are a few momentous calls in a hockey player’s life. The one informing him he has been drafted. The one informing him he has been called up. And the one informing him he can find a place to live.
Blackhawks rookies and prospects start training camp in a downtown hotel. If they make the team out of camp, they get moved to an extended-stay hotel, the kind with a couch and a kitchen. After it appears they’re in the NHL to stay, they’re given permission to find a permanent place in the Chicago area.
Alex DeBrincat got that call in late October. So did John Hayden.
So, no, Hayden didn’t expect to spend the last two months — and possibly the rest of the season — back in a hotel in Rockford while paying rent on a place in the city. But you won’t hear him complaining. Hayden knows he’ll be back in Chicago at some point. For now, though, he’s playing a major role for the IceHogs and he’s in a playoff race — neither of which would be the case were he with the Hawks.
‘‘It’s been great,’’ Hayden said during an IceHogs practice Tuesday at MB Ice Arena. ‘‘It’s been great for my development and for recognizing what kind of player I am and what I can actually be. I’m getting a lot of minutes in different situations. It’s definitely been fun.’’
With 17 games left in the American Hockey League season, the IceHogs are five points out of a playoff spot. But they’ve won three of their last four games and are brimming with confidence. Hayden has been a big part of it, with five goals and nine assists in 22 games.
So while some players sulk about a demotion, Hayden’s not even sweating the fact that the Hawks only have one regular recall left this season. Chicago can wait.
‘‘We’re in a playoff push here,’’ he said. ‘‘The last week’s been a ton of fun for us, with some big wins. So that’s where my focus is.’’
Considering he jumped directly to the NHL from Yale, it would have been natural for Hayden to view the demotion Jan. 8 as beneath him and to stew about it. But he was playing primarily a fourth-line role with the Hawks, posting three goals and eight assists in 39 games, so he took the demotion as an opportunity, not an insult. It was also a challenge.
‘‘[Sometimes] you go back to the [minors] and think, ‘Well, I’m just going to light it up,’ ’’ IceHogs coach Jeremy Colliton said. ‘‘That’s just not how it works. It’s difficult to produce offensively; it’s a good league. So it’s important you don’t try to change your game just because [you think], ‘OK, now I’m going to score points.’ You’ve got to continue to play the right way. That’s what’s going to get you back to the NHL.’’
For Hayden, that means using his 6-3, 223-pound frame to bull his way to the net, wreak havoc in the crease and punish opponents in the corners and on the forecheck. While his role in the NHL so far has been limited, he has all the makings of a prototypical power forward — something the Hawks desperately lack in their top six and on the power play.
So when the Hawks sent Hayden down, the message he got from the coaching staff and the front office was nothing he hadn’t heard before. Rockford is probably just a pit stop, but it’s proving to be important.
‘‘Since I’ve been at Yale, the conversation has been pretty similar: Try to evolve into that power game that I’ve been playing and just work on the details,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve progressed a ton here. I’ve had the puck a lot more, I’ve been playing more minutes and I definitely have more confidence. Being here has been great for me.’’
Follow me on Twitter @MarkLazerus.
Email: [email protected] | {
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Regardless of what type of ransomware infects your PC, they usually all demand the same thing: money. Your files are encrypted, your PC is unusable, and hundreds of dollars or Bitcoin needs to be paid in order to unlock everything. However, a new piece of ransomware is a little different. Once it has control of your PC, all it desires is for you to play a game.
As BleepingComputer reports, it's called PUBG Ransomware and was discovered by the MalwareHunterTeam. An infection results in your files being encrypted and updated to use the .PUBG extension. The message that appears on-screen informs you of the encryption, but then offers two options to unlock your PC. The first is to simply play the game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) , while the second is the enter a restore code, which happens to be present on-screen for you to copy.
Another top quality ransomware that asks you to play a game to decrypt files: "PUBG Ransomware".
Sample: https://t.co/qyEHMG2orL
Extension: .PUBG
This sample only encrypts files on desktop (including subdirectories)...@BleepinComputer @demonslay335 pic.twitter.com/5406DPbwmX — MalwareHunterTeam (@malwrhunterteam) April 9, 2018
The ransomware monitors your PC for when PUBG is launched. If the game is detected as running, the decryption of your files happens automatically.
This is one of the few ransomware infections you won't mind having as it's not demanding any money and the unlocking of files can be achieved almost immediately. It looks as though whoever wrote the ransomware is just a big fan of the PUBG game and wants more people playing it. The method used to encourage that is rather drastic, though.
If you do get infected by this ransomware, count yourself lucky. It should act as a reminder that your PC isn't protected and clearly needs to be running a reliable security solution.
Further Reading
Gaming Reviews | {
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Institution believed to be first British university to set up restorative justice scheme
This article is more than 1 year old
This article is more than 1 year old
Glasgow University is to pay £20m in reparations to atone for its historical links to the transatlantic slave trade in what the University of West Indies has described as a “bold, historic” move.
It signed an agreement with the University of the West Indies to fund a joint centre for development research, at a ceremony in Glasgow on Friday morning.
Glasgow University discovered last year it had benefited financially from Scottish slave traders in the 18th and 19th centuries by between £16.7m and £198m in today’s money.
In what is thought to be the first attempt by a British university to set up a programme of restorative justice, it has pledged to raise £20m for the centre, chiefly in research grants and gifts.
Universities must follow Glasgow and own up to their role in the slave trade | Afua Hirsch Read more
Other British universities, including Oxford and Bristol, have been the focus of protests over their ties to the slave trade and to powerful colonialists, such as Cecil Rhodes.
In 2017, All Souls College at Oxford launched an annual scholarship for Caribbean students and paid a £100,000 grant to a college in Barbados, in recognition of its funding from Christopher Codrington, a wealthy slave owner who bequeathed £10,000 in 1710 to build a library that bears his name.
The Glasgow agreement was first signed in Kingston, Jamaica, on 31 July. Prof Sir Hilary Beckles, the vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies, said it was a “bold, moral, historic step”.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Robert Cunninghame Graham, receiver-general in late 18th century Jamaica and owner of numerous slaves. Photograph: National Galleries Scotland
Glasgow University played a key role in the abolitionist campaign of the era but until recently Scotland’s profiteering from slavery, including from tobacco and cotton plantations, was largely ignored. One of its former rectors was Robert Cunninghame Graham, who spent two decades making his fortune as a plantation owner and slaver.
Graham Campbell, a Scottish National party councillor who became the city’s first councillor of African-Caribbean descent in 2017, welcomed the agreement.
“Our mutual recognition of the appalling consequences of that past – an indictment of Scottish inhumanity over centuries towards enslaved Af
ricans – are the justifications that are at the root of the modern-day racism that we fight now,” he said.
“This action is a necessary first step in the fight against institutionalised racism and discrimination in Scotland and the UK and for the international fight for reparative justice.”
Prof Anton Muscatelli, the principal of Glasgow University, said it was fitting the final ceremony took place on the same day as the International Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
“Talking about any institution’s or country’s historical links to slavery can be a difficult conversation, but we felt it was a necessary one for our university to have,” he said.
• This article was amended on 29 August 2019 to clarify that Robert Cunninghame Graham was a plantation owner and a slaver, not just the latter. | {
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Hey there. Yeah, I work in PS, CS4. If you have a Cintiq, but not the space, I'd jettison whatever occupies the area where you want to install the Cintiq, because it's brilliant.No, but seriously, I don't know what I ever did without one. I have the smaller one that you can hold on your lap, but am looking to upgrade to the big one soon. | {
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Anti-Trump RINO Jeff Flake isn’t fooling anyone…He saw the end of the road for his time in D.C. when the polls came out to show devastating numbers. He hasn’t helped himself with his constant anti-Trump rhetoric.
The people of his state were loud and clear…let anyone run BUT Jeff Flake! When he saw the writing on the wall and knew he couldn’t win another election, he decided to just become a thorn in President Trump’s side by opposing everything the president proposed and by bad-mouthing him (see our previous reports below). He even said he hopes President Trump doesn’t run in 2020!
“THIS IS THE PRESIDENT’S PARTY”
Flake just admitted to reporters on Capitol Hill that he knows there is no way he could win in a party controlled by President Trump.
He told reporters he wouldn’t win today’s Arizona primary if he ran. He said he would lose because “this is the president’s party much to my consternation”. He then finished with a swipe at Trump saying he would be a detriment to the party….
Jeff Flake on if he thinks he still wouldn't be able to win AZ primary: “Not a chance today. That won’t always be the case, but it is today. This is the president’s party much to my consternation and I think the long term detriment to the party. I hope that’s not always the case" Trending: Video of Rep. Jerry Nadler Goes Viral: “Umm, Jerry? You okay there, bud?” — Jason Donner (@jason_donner) August 28, 2018
President Trump has been giving it back to Flake:
How could Jeff Flake, who is setting record low polling numbers in Arizona and was therefore humiliatingly forced out of his own Senate seat without even a fight (and who doesn’t have a clue), think about running for office, even a lower one, again? Let’s face it, he’s a Flake!
How could Jeff Flake, who is setting record low polling numbers in Arizona and was therefore humiliatingly forced out of his own Senate seat without even a fight (and who doesn’t have a clue), think about running for office, even a lower one, again? Let’s face it, he’s a Flake! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2018
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OUR PREVIOUS REPORT ON SENATOR JEFF FLAKE…GOOD RIDDANCE!
Retiring Arizona Republican Jeff Flake is showing just how out of touch he is with the American people and just how traitorous he has become. He asked for Republicans to push back on President Trump and said he hopes someone runs against the president in 2020! Huh??? This guy is honestly a total jerk. Remember when he announced his retirement from the Senate with a slam to Republicans and President Trump (see video below)
EARLIER: Sen Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) doesn’t rule out at 2020 run for the White House #MTP Sen @JeffFlake: "I do hope that somebody runs on the Republican side” against President Trump pic.twitter.com/WzhVvmMpfw — Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 27, 2018
This guy is forgetting to tell people he’s thinking of running in 2020 so he’s pushing his agenda over a sitting Republican President’s…Unreal!
Jeff Flake urges Republicans to stand up to Trump when he says "things that are just totally wrong." pic.twitter.com/5Uf0B2RM2I — Axios (@axios) May 27, 2018
Sen. Jeff Flake on Sunday called on Republicans in Congress to more forcefully push back against President Donald Trump and said there is growing concern behind the scenes that the president could take action against special counsel Robert Mueller.
“When the president says things that are just totally wrong, it’s the responsibility of members of Congress, particularly those in the president’s party, to stand up and say, ‘That is not right. Truth is not relative, and there are no alternative facts here,’” Flake, R-Ariz., said in an interview on “Meet the Press.” “And I have seen instances where we haven’t done that well, and we’ve got to do it better.”
Flake’s comments came in direct contrast to an assertion from Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani to The Washington Post this week that “truth is relative.”
NBC reports:
And while Flake said Sunday there are some encouraging examples of bipartisanship when it comes to protecting the Justice Department’s investigation into the 2016 election, he believes his GOP colleagues have not gone far enough in speaking out against Trump’s criticisms of the probe. And, he said, Republicans are growing increasingly concerned privately that Trump could fire Mueller.
“I can tell you behind the scenes there is a lot of alarm,” Flake said. “There is concern that the president is laying the groundwork to move on Bob Mueller or [Deputy Attorney General Rod] Rosenstein, and if that were to happen, obviously, that would cause a constitutional crisis.”
He added, “There is concern behind the scenes. I’ve been concerned that we haven’t spoken up loudly enough and told the president, ‘You simply can’t go there.’ And he’s obviously probing the edges as much as he can, to see how far Congress will go, and we’ve got to push back harder than we have.”
REMEMBER WHEN FLAKE ANNOUNCED HIS RETIREMENT FROM THE SENATE AND USED IT TO BASH TRUMP?
The swamp is draining…One more RINO is not running for reelection. Senator Jeff Flake announced he will not run again today in a vindictive speech against President Trump and Republicans. Hey, the guy was even thinking of running as an Independent…what does that tell you? He’s NOT a conservative! He mentioned in his speech that he couldn’t support Trump’s policies on trade and immigration. Well, those two policies are what got Trump elected!
FLAKE WAS 26 POINTS DOWN IN THE POLLS:
The bombshell, which Flake, R-Ariz., detailed Tuesday afternoon on the Senate floor, will further roil Republican hopes of keeping the party’s 52-seat Senate majority in the midterm elections of Trump’s first term, when the president’s party historically loses seats in Congress.
It also likely will upend the race for Flake’s seat.
Flake, one of the Senate’s more prominent critics of President Donald Trump, has been struggling in the polls.
A GRANDSTANDING AND VINDICTIVE SPEECH:
He told The Arizona Republic ahead of his announcement that he has become convinced “there may not be a place for a Republican like me in the current Republican climate or the current Republican Party.”
Flake said he has not “soured on the Senate” and loves the institution, but that as a traditional, libertarian-leaning conservative Republican he is out of step with today’s Trump-dominated GOP.
“This spell will pass, but not by next year,” Flake said.
Among Republican primary voters, there’s overwhelming support for Trump’s positions and “behavior,” Flake said, and one of their top concerns is whether a candidate is with the president or against him. While Flake said he is with Trump on some issues, on other issues he is not. And Trump definitely views him as a foe, having denounced Flake publicly and called him “toxic” on Twitter.
“Here’s the bottom line: The path that I would have to travel to get the Republican nomination is a path I’m not willing to take, and that I can’t in good conscience take,” Flake told The Republic in a telephone interview. “It would require me to believe in positions I don’t hold on such issues as trade and immigration and it would require me to condone behavior that I cannot condone.”
LAURA INGRAHAM COULDN’T HAVE SAID IT BETTER:
Flake was for the disastrous Trans Pacific Partnership, NAFTA, open immig, blanket amnesty–and had Hillary won, he'd be happy today. — Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) October 24, 2017
As of Sept. 30, Flake’s campaign had $3.4 million on hand. He has continued to raise money — as recently as Thursday, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice headlined a fundraiser for him in Arizona.
Flake said he has ruled out running as an independent rather than a Republican, saying he didn’t think that was a viable strategy. He also said he has “no intention” of making a presidential run.
SENATE RACE HEATS UP:
Kelli Ward, the former state senator from Lake Havasu City who lost her primary challenge last year against Sen. John McCain, has emerged this year as the top GOP alternative to Flake.
But Flake’s exit is sure to prompt bigger Arizona Republican names to take a fresh look at the GOP Senate race.
The winner of the Aug. 28 Republican primary could face Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., considered the front-runner in her the Democratic Senate primary.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., praised Flake as “one of the finest human beings I’ve met in politics
Flake publicly announced his intentions in a Senate floor speech that began around noon Arizona time.
In a copy of prepared remarks released to The Republic before his speech, Flake gave a blistering critique of the “coarseness of our national dialogue” that has defined the Trump era, saying it should never become accommodated as a “the new normal.”
READ MORE: ARIZONA CENTRAL | {
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Manchester United have been offered the chance to sign Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez despite intense competition from Manchester City.
Sanchez, 29, has seemed destined to join City in either the January transfer window or the summer as he runs down his Arsenal contract, which expires at the end of June.
However, M.E.N. Sport understands United have received new hope of signing Sanchez, having contacted the Chile international's representatives earlier this season.
It is understood United initially touched base with Sanchez's camp after a deadline day move to City fell through. United are believed to have been quoted an eye-watering £25million fee for Sanchez, which is the figure City are said to be trying to negotiate with Arsenal to sign him this month.
City are believed to be reluctant to meet Sanchez's financial demands and a City insider said Sanchez 'must decide whether to put trophies before money'. A second City source insists the club is 'not desperate' to sign Sanchez this month and supporters should expect a 'big signing' in the summer if a move for the Arsenal talisman fails to materialise.
The champions elect's failure to finalise terms with Sanchez's agent has opened up an opportunity for United to negotiate a package. It is thought Sanchez's representatives are looking for a £300,000-a-week wage packet for their client as they whip up an auction between the Premier League's top two.
United have been encouraged to blindside City having used a similar tactic to recruit Romelu Lukaku from under Chelsea's noses. United worked on deals for Lukaku and Alvaro Morata simultaneously in the summer after it emerged the Belgian would prefer to join United over Chelsea. Lukaku was United's principal No.9 target but the club expected him to return to the champions.
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Real Madrid's dithering over whether to sell Morata further convinced United manager Jose Mourinho to revive his interest in Lukaku. Mourinho was concerned Madrid were dragging out negotiations with United in order to eventually offer Morata a new contract and portray a possible renewal as a coup.
Mourinho has also shown interest in Sanchez's Arsenal teammate Mesut Ozil, who has earmarked United as the only Premier League club he is prepared to join.
The M.E.N. previously reported Ozil, who played under Mourinho for three years at Madrid, was informed his best chance of securing a move to United was by running down his contract and moving on a free.
Sanchez's international teammate and City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo admitted the Arsenal number seven was 'bitter' about his protracted move to City falling through in September.
"We were talking in Chile. He went from happiness to bitterness in a few hours, although it's all in the past now," Bravo said at the time. "The transfer didn't happen because a player didn't go to Arsenal and everything collapsed.
"We would have loved to have him here, but the market gives you these time limits and the rush is not good. This time it was not possible, but hopefully we have him here in the future."
United's last signing from Arsenal was Robin van Persie in a £24m deal five-and-a-half years ago. Van Persie had entered the final 12 months of his contract and was begrudgingly allowed to leave for Old Trafford, where he scored 30 goals in his debut season as United won their 20th title.
Sir Alex Ferguson's first United arrival, Viv Anderson, also joined from Arsenal in 1987 and the club previously bought Frank Stapleton, George Graham, Ian Ure and David Herd from The Gunners.
Get all the latest Manchester United news first with our new app. Download it here now. | {
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New adaptation to adapt epilogue story for 1st time
Netflix revealed the first key visual on Monday for Netflix's live-action series adaptation of Kei Sanbe's Erased (Boku dake ga Inai Machi) manga. The series will premiere in Japan on December 15, and is slated to debut in 190 countries this winter.
The new series will adapt the manga's epilogue story for the first time.
The series will star:
Top row, left to right:
Reo Uchikawa as Satoru Fujinuma (child)
Mio Yūki (Death Note, Assassination Classroom, As the Gods Will) as Airi Katagiri
Rinka Kakihara as Kayo Hinazuki (child)
Center row, left to right:
Shigeyuki Totsugi as Gaku Yashiro
Yūki Furukawa (Itazura na Kiss, Laughing Under the Clouds, Lychee Light Club) as Satoru Fujinuma (adult)
Tomoka Kurotani as Sachiko Fujinuma
Bottom row, left to right:
Noriko Eguchi as Akemi Hinazuki
Jin Shirasu (Happy Marriage!?) as Kenya Kobayashi (adult)
Hidekazu Mishima as Sawada
Ten Shimoyama (live-action SHINOBI - Heart Under Blade ) is directing the series, with scripts by Tomomi Ōkubo. The Kansai TV/Cocoon production is filming in 4K resolution in Hokkaido's Tomakomai City, the real-life locale depicted in the original manga. Furukawa happens to be 29 years old in real life, just like the adult Satoru Fujinuma.
The original manga's story follows Satoru Fujinuma, a 29-year old struggling manga artist who possesses a strange power: a largely uncontrolled ability to turn back time before a life-threatening accident occurs around him. When his mother notices a serial kidnapper in action, and is later murdered for it, Satoru unwillingly turns back time to arrive 18 years in the past in his elementary school days, some time before an incident that has haunted him his whole life: the disappearance and murder of his classmate Kayo Hinazuki.
Sanbe began the original manga in Kadokawa's Young Ace magazine in 2012, and ended it in March 2016. Sanbe launched a spinoff manga titled Boku dake ga Inai Machi Re in Young Ace in June 2016, and ended it in November 2016. Kadokawa released the compiled book volume of the spinoff manga as the manga's ninth and final volume on February 4.
The manga was nominated for the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize 'Reader Award' in 2014 and the Manga Taisho Awards in 2015. Yen Press is publishing the manga in North America, and will release the third omnibus volume on November 7.
An anime adaptation of the manga titled ERASED in English premiered in January 2016. Aniplex of America licensed the series, and Crunchyroll, Daisuki, and Funimation streamed the series as it aired in Japan. Hulu is streaming the show with an English dub.
The manga also inspired a live-action film that opened in Japan in March 2016.
Source: Comic Natalie | {
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I never saw myself as a rat person, until my girlfriend brought home a snail. I certainly didn’t see myself spending a weekend watching basketball with a trio of rodents.
Lacey, the ever-caring animal lover that she is, couldn’t stand to let a snail, whose shell she pulled off trying to move it out of harm’s way, suffer. This meant an urgent trip to Petco to find all of the supplies to repair its shell.
On our way around the store, we found ourselves in front of the rat cages. On top of her expertise with snails, Lacey also knows a lot about rat care. It was pretty obvious with all of the adorable eyeballs on me that we weren’t walking out of here without a new pet.
Even as we were gathering the cage, the treats and anything adorable we could bribe them with, I was having second thoughts. All of the pets I’ve ever had were rescues from the SPCA. I’d rather adopt an animal than buy one stocked on a store shelf.
As if reading my mind, the cashier at Petco mentioned they had three female rats that had been abandoned together. We weren’t walking out of there without three new pets: Olive, the skittish brown-and-white one; Abby, the black-and-white food finder; and Rosie, the tan little ball of adorable.
The early going was rough. They didn’t know who we were, we didn’t know who they were. The only way to fix this was with a weekend bonding together inside watching the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The terrible punishments I’m willing to go through for the care of animals.
Fascinating thing about college basketball: There’s a whole lot of sneaker squeaking. Fascinating thing about rats: They love squeaking. At least these three do.
After a game or two, the girls were sneaking out of their nest to look around their cage for the noise. Rosie gave up first, going to sleep in their second home—a graham-cracker box. Olive gave up the second she realized I was paying attention to her and hid in the main nest.
Then there was Abby. She was the one brave enough to come to the edge of the cage and see what was going on. She stood up watching the second half a foul fest between Michigan State and St. Louis. Thirty-five fouls kept her on her hind legs and glued to the TV.
Sadly, with the Final Four this weekend, I’m running out of regular basketball content that doesn’t require a cable subscription. But Abby doesn’t seem to mind. She’s adapted to catching up on The Walking Dead with me—outside of the cage now. I’m a little worried how fascinated she is when someone gets mauled by a zombie, though. Might have to put on The Waltons to take the edge off. | {
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John Buckley
The Charleston Gazette-Mail, the daily newspaper of the largest city in West Virginia, endorsed Libertarian John Buckley for Secretary of State on October 20.
“The secretary of state is a relatively small office, but is in charge of overseeing state elections and registering businesses. Those are two big responsibilities, and should not be taken lightly.
“That’s why the Daily Mail endorses John Buckley, a Libertarian, in the upcoming election. Buckley, of Hardy County, is a retired lawyer and served time as a lawmaker in Virginia. He’s familiar with policy-making and has some ideas on how to improve elections in West Virginia. As a third-party candidate, he would take the job seriously and not allow politics to influence his decisions.”
Mr. Buckley is the second statewide Libertarian candidate endorsed by a large daily newspaper. Mark Miller, running for Railroad Commissioner in Texas, has been endorsed by the largest daily newspapers in the state.
Click here to read the full article.
Click here for John Buckley’s campaign website. | {
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While the PC version of Final Fantasy XV is probably going to happen, we’ve learned (via Nova Crystallis) that game director Hajime Tabata is actually teasing up a PC version for the latest in their breadwinner role-playing game series.
When asked of the possibility of a PC version, and if it could launch after the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases, Tabata responded:
“I’m quite positive about the idea of developing a PC version, but I would like to make a very different project if possible,” said Tabata.
“The reason I’m interested is that a PC version would propel the game to another technical level. I have in mind a version of Final Fantasy XV that is more technically developed. This version could incorporate things that we were forced to abandon because of the limitations of home consoles.”
“With the PC, this would be an opportunity to release a version far superior in terms of quality and tech. That said, if we choose to develop this project, the development will start from scratch by doing research of what would be the best technology to use. It might not be a simple port of the console version.”
Would you guys like to see a PC version of Final Fantasy XV, especially if it’s vastly superior to the console original, as Tabata is claiming? Sound off in the comments below! | {
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This is an unpaid advertisement brought to you by the Cook’s Guild.
Words of the Stripper:
I’ve always wanted to make a silly informercial strip. XD
In LOTRO game, when you craft cooking, all you ever do is stir the same darned bowl no matter what kind of fancy complicated dish you’re creating.
Baking a pie? Stir.
Roasting a bacon-wrapped partridge? Stir.
Cooking up an entire feast of Anorien? You get it, stir.
We definitely need more cooking emote.
I remember there being frying pan action during a festival quest. I SO want that to be an actual emote. I’d even pay for it at the store if they ever make it available!
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X have returned with Alphabetland, the Los Angeles punk band’s first album in 35 years with their original lineup. The group (Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom, and DJ Bonebrake) recorded the LP with producer Rob Schnapf. It is their first album since 1993’s hey Zeus! and the first time this lineup has made new music together since 1985’s Ain’t Love Grand. Listen to Alphabetland below (via Fat Possum).
Originally scheduled for release in August, the band pushed Alphabetland’s release ahead due to the COVID-19 crisis. “Let’s give people—at least our audience and maybe beyond that — something that is upbeat,” John Doe said in a new interview with the Los Angeles Times’ Randall Roberts. “Something that’s new and vital.”
Last year, X reissued their first four albums on vinyl and teamed up with Violent Femmes for a co-headlining tour. Read Pitchfork’s review of the reissue of X’s debut Los Angeles, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this Sunday (April 26). | {
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