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(Charles Street 3-5-7 Stroll Friday, Sept. 30 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.) Grab your friends and take a stroll around the Charles Street Corridor and get $3, $5, and $7 deals at participating businesses!
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De nummer 1 in de lijst blijft dus dezelfde. "Spiegel im Spiegel" van Arvo Pärt (vorig jaar op 3) en "Erbarme dich" uit de Mattheüspassie van Johann Sebastian Bach (vorig jaar op 2) spelen haasje-over als nummer twee en drie.
Opvallende nieuwkomers in de lijst zijn Ludovico Einaudi ("Divenire"), Max Richter ("Vivaldi - The four seasons (recomposed)") en Wim Mertens ("Often a bird"). En ook de Vlaamse dansen van zowel Jan Blockx als Gabriel Verschraegen maakten hun entree in de Klara Top 100.
In de top 20 domineert de barokmuziek: componisten als Pergolesi, Bach, Händel en Vivaldi nemen samen de helft van de top 20 in. De volledige lijst vindt u hier. | {
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Guest post by DMartyr
Left-wing wacko Sarah Silverman was busted telling a lie about gender discrimination she faced when she was first starting out:
In an April 6 wage-discrimination-activism video for Levo League, Silverman accused New York Comedy Club owner Al Martin of having paid her less than a male comic for doing the same work:
“I was out with my friend Todd Barry and we were doing sets around town together, and I was pretty well-known already, and we both did back-to-back 15-minute sets at this club, the New York Comedy Club, and he paid me 10 bucks . . . and we were outside talking and Todd somehow brought up that he, you know, mentioned that he got 60 bucks,” she said.
“So I went back inside and I asked the owner Al Martin and I said, ‘Al, why did you pay me $10 and you paid Todd Barry $60?’ And he, it was so perfect,” Silverman continued, laughing. “He goes, ‘Oh, did you want a $60 spot?’ It was symbolic, I didn’t need $60, but, you know it was pretty s****y.” Wow!
TRENDING: Black Lives Matter Activist Wearing 'Justice for Breonna Taylor' Shirt Walked into a Louisville Bar and Murdered Three People
“Pretty s****y” indeed! Just one problem: That didn’t actually happen.
As Martin explained to PJ Media on Tuesday, Barry’s set was a booked job, while Silverman’s was just a last-minute guest spot (read: expected to be unpaid regardless of gender) that he let her have as a favor — and the $10 was cab fare he gave her just to be extra nice. | {
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While Bernie Sanders is calling for a federal ban, Harris will only commit to vague "regulations and protections"
Today, 2020 presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris released details of her criminal justice platform. While Senator Bernie Sanders –– and more than 30 major civil liberties, immigration, and public interest groups––have called for a complete federal ban on law enforcement use of controversial facial recognition surveillance technology, Senator Harris’ plan appears to fall far short of that. Instead, it repeats talking points that have been pushed by law enforcement agencies and Big Tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon, calling for vague "regulations and protections," which experts say would fail to address the harms inherent in facial recognition surveillance.
"Facial recognition poses a unique threat to human liberty and basic rights –– any candidate who wants to be taken seriously on criminal justice issues should be calling for an outright ban, or at the very least a moratorium on current use of this tech. Senator Harris’ plan says she will work with civil rights and technology organizations, but she already seems to be ignoring us," said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future, "There is growing consensus among public interest groups and tech experts that law enforcement must be banned from using facial recognition entirely. Industry-friendly regulations will only serve to speed up the adoption and spread of this uniquely dangerous and invasive surveillance technology."
Senator Harris’ disappointing position comes amid growing backlash to facial recognition surveillance that has been spreading across the country. Last month Fight for the Future launched our BanFacialRecognition.com campaign, along with an interactive map showing where in the US facial recognition surveillance is being used, and also where there are local and state efforts to ban it. Since then, 30+ organizations including MoveOn, Greenpeace, Daily Kos, Color of Change, and CAIR have endorsed that campaign. San Francisco, Somerville, MA, and Oakland, CA, recently became the first cities in the country to ban the technology. Berkeley, CA and Cambridge, MA are also considering bans, and bills to halt current use of the tech are moving in the Massachusetts and Michigan legislatures. In Congress, there is growing bipartisan agreement to address the issue, but it could easily stall under pressure from law enforcement and big tech.
Fight for the Future, which is a non-profit that does not endorse candidates for office, opposes attempts by the tech industry and law enforcement to pressure Congress to pass an industry-friendly "regulatory framework" for facial recognition that would allow this dangerous technology to spread quickly with minimal restrictions intended to assuage public opposition. But we support narrower efforts to ban or restrict specifically egregious uses of this surveillance, such as a bill introduced recently to ban the use of facial recognition in public housing. For more on our position, read our op-ed in Buzzfeed News: "Don’t regulate facial recognition. Ban it."
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In fall 2016, Green Party leader Elizabeth May and her colleagues on the House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform spent weeks crisscrossing the country to canvass Canadians’ opinions on changing the way they choose their Members of Parliament.
“We heard from hundreds of thousands of Canadians that they wanted proportional representation,” said May in a recent interview.
In its December 2016 report to Parliament, the committee recommended PR as a replacement for the first-past-the-post system the Liberals promised to end during the 2015 federal election campaign.
However, two months after the report was released, the Trudeau government declared electoral reform dead.
For May, though, the issue is very much alive. She plans to promote proportional representation in the weeks leading up to the Oct. 21 federal election and hopes for a minority government that would advance the issue in the next Parliament.
“In an era where so-called populists like Donald Trump or Doug Ford can get to power, it’s incredibly important that we ensure that no one can get power in Canada with less than the majority of the popular vote yet have 100 per cent of the power,” said May. “We must prevent that from ever happening by getting rid of first-past-the-post now, because it is the only election system, other than preferential voting, that allows that kind of distortion to happen when a party with a minority public support can gain a false majority.”
Justin Trudeau became Canada’s 23rd prime minister in 2015 when his Liberals formed a majority government with 184 seats in the House of Commons. But the party received only 39.5 per cent of the popular vote.
May said that as part of its 2019 federal election campaign platform the Greens will call for the creation of a national citizens’ assembly to determine the best alternative to the first-past-the-post system.
Fifteen years ago, a similar body in B.C. recommended a single transferable vote system, which received the support of 58 per cent of British Columbians in a 2005 referendum — not enough to meet the 60-per-cent threshold established by the provincial government. A second referendum, held in 2009, essentially reversed the results, with 61 per cent of the province’s residents voting against changing their first-past-the-post electoral system.
“One of the reasons it was so well-received in 2005 was not that every British Columbia voter really felt confident that they understood exactly how a single transferable voting system would work, but that they felt a lot of trust and confidence that the recommendation wasn’t coming from people within political parties that had self-interest at stake but from average voters on a citizens’ assembly,” explained May, the MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands.
(May also noted that her party’s democratic reform critic, Anna Keenan, who’s running as a Green candidate in the federal riding of Malpeque, Prince Edward Island, also led the pro-PR side in a provincial referendum earlier this year that found a slim majority of Islanders in favour of keeping their first-past-the-post system.)
May also believes the Liberals’ about-face on electoral reform will hurt them in October.
“A lot of people voted Liberal because they believed Justin Trudeau when he said 2015 would be the last election under first-past-the-post — and I will count myself among those people who believed him,” she said.
If the election results in a minority government, May plans to raise proportional representation as part of the conditions to support either a Liberal or Conservative government.
“We need to make sure that we get rid of first-past-the-post, whether it’s mixed-member proportional or single transferable vote or the rural-urban option that was included in last year’s referendum in B.C. or any other mathematical formulas described as consensus-based systems — and have voting that’s fair,” she explained.
“It’s clear that the system we have now is the worst.”
May referred to Patterns of Democracy, a 1999 book by Dutch-American political scientist Arend Lijphart that examines 36 democracies, including Canada’s.
“Not only do consensus-based systems have higher voter turnout and more women elected, but they also have stronger environmental regulations and better economic performance,” said the Green leader, who added that during her recent Community Matters Tour, in which she held 33 town hall meetings in every province and the Northwest Territories, at least one question regarding PR was raised.
The NDP also supports proportional representation, but the party takes a slightly different approach.
As part of their 2019 election campaign platform, the New Democrats say that if they form the next federal government they will introduce a mixed-member proportional system and establish a citizens’ assembly to determine how it would work for the following election, which would presumably be held in 2023.
A national referendum would be held after that election to allow Canadians to decide if they like the new system or whether they would prefer to return to first-past-the-post. (An NDP government would also lower the voting age to 16.)
“Canadians have told us directly that the voting system we have is broken or more generally that their vote doesn’t matter,” said NDP democratic reform critic Daniel Blaikie. “We feel strongly that we could improve upon what we have greatly, and an important piece of that puzzle is changing the way we vote.”
As with the Greens, the New Democrats would put electoral reform — along with other key NDP issues, such as universal pharmacare and national childcare — on the table during any negotiations in a minority Parliament, said Blaikie, who represents the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood-Transcona in the House of Commons.
A national citizens’ assembly would design the mixed-member proportional system, he said, figuring out the proportion of MPs who would represent ridings versus those representing parties, and the popular vote threshold required before parties win seats. It would consider how riding MPs should be elected, and how party MPs selected — by the leader, or based on candidates who receive the most votes or on regions they represent?
“It would produce Parliaments that better reflect the diversity of opinion in Canada,” said Blaikie. “The idea that people would have the opportunity to vote for a local candidate, who might be with the NDP, and vote for a party that might be Conservative or Green, I think holds a lot of appeal for people who are tired of being forced into a situation where they have to choose between candidates and parties.”
The ultimate goal, he said, is to “give Canadians a direct say between two concrete alternatives in a referendum, and the confidence they need to try something new and not be worried that they’re just taking a leap of faith.”
But PR is more than just a campaign commitment for him. “Electoral reform is one of my reasons for supporting the NDP,” said Blaikie, who established a Fair Vote chapter in Winnipeg about 15 years ago.
Fair Vote Canada will also be supporting the NDP, along with the Greens and any party or candidate who is a PR advocate in the election campaign.
Fair Vote is also calling for a national citizens’ assembly on electoral reform. And, in lockstep with the Green Party, Fair Vote has linked proportional representation with climate policy.
“Winner-take-all electoral systems such as first-past-the-post produce frequent ‘policy lurch’ — where one government elected with less than half the votes reverses the policies of the previous government. Over time, we move back and forth, instead of forward,” according to Fair Vote’s federal campaign objectives.
“On climate policy, scientists have told us we have only 11 years to reduce emissions. We simply don’t have time for the policy lurches of first-past-the-post. Proportional representation means that parties must work together to create policy — so every policy has the support of parties representing a real majority of voters. These policies are much more likely to last through changes of government. Lobbyists may not wield so much power in proportional systems, since they now need to convince multiple parties to agree to their objectives.”
Fair Vote is also taking a different approach to promoting PR during the election campaign than it did four years ago, according to president Réal Lavergne.
“In the 2015 election, our role was limited to providing information on the stance of different parties and candidates across the country,” explained Lavergne, a retired policy analyst with the federal government who holds a PhD in political economy from the University of Toronto. “This time, we are going to be campaigning in a limited number of ridings — in the order of 25, 30 ridings — actively encouraging our supporters to help elect pro-proportional representation candidates.”
One of the targeted ridings is Elmwood-Transcona, and Fair Vote will endorse both the Green candidate and Blaikie, who narrowly won the seat in 2015 against the Tory incumbent, Lawrence Toet, who’s running again this year.
“We know that the NDP and the Greens are supportive of PR, and the Bloc [Québécois] is supportive as well, though it doesn’t have a written pro-PR policy,” said Lavergne. The Bloc, like the Conservative party, also indicated support for a referendum on the issue, which he said could be seen as a “delaying tactic.”
“We’re looking at focusing on swing ridings where a pro-PR candidate is going head-to-head with a non-PR candidate.”
Ultimately, Fair Vote is hoping for a Liberal minority government that would allow the NDP, Greens and Bloc to help advance PR, particularly through the establishment of a citizens’ assembly on electoral reform.
The Conservative Party of Canada has not released any policy statement on electoral reform as part of their 2019 election campaign, and neither the party’s shadow minister for democratic institutions, Stephanie Kusie, nor Leader Andrew Scheer’s press secretaries responded to The Tyee’s requests for more information. However, the Tory members of the House Special Committee on Electoral Reform insisted that a national referendum would have to be held before any changes were made to the electoral system.
Proportional representation advocates could get a boost from Quebec, where Premier François Legault’s government is expected to table a bill on Oct. 1 that would introduce mixed-member proportional. Given that now-governing Coalition Avenir Québec, along with the Parti Québécois, Québec solidaire and Quebec’s Green Party, signed an agreement in May 2018 in support of such legislation, Quebec could become the first Canadian jurisdiction to have PR since it was briefly in place — under a single transferable vote system — in Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton in the first half of the 20th century.
Should the political route fail, the country’s highest court could weigh in on electoral reform.
Fair Voting BC and Springtide, a Halifax-based political activist group, are raising money to launch a constitutional challenge against the current voting system. They want the Supreme Court of Canada to rule that first-past-the-post violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and most particularly Section 3, which guarantees Canadians the right to vote. The groups plan to argue that should be extended to mean a right to “a meaningful and effective” vote, Lavergne said.
In an appearance before the House electoral reform committee in 2016, veteran PR advocate Peter Russell, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, explained how first-past-the-post hasn’t worked in Canada since the two-party system ended in 1921.
The multiparty system, he argued, produced 14 “false” majority governments out of 30 federal elections since then. “False” means a party that wins a majority of the House seats but not most of the popular vote. Only three were “true” majority governments: Liberal Mackenzie King’s in 1940; Progressive Conservative John Diefenbaker’s in 1958; and PC Brian Mulroney’s in 1984, when each of them won 50 per cent or more of the seats and half or more of the popular vote. The other 13 were minority governments.
Russell, author of the 2008 book, Two Cheers for Minority Government: The Evolution of Canadian Parliamentary Democracy, told the committee fears proportional representation would bring instability are misplaced.
“You get a lot of votes of confidence when there is a really good possibility that you can bring the government down, have an election, and get a majority. And oh boy, do party leaders love majorities.”
But proportional representation reduces the incentive, as parties are less likely to emerge from the next election with a majority.
Russell told The Tyee that “PR represents the will of the people better.”
Political scientist David Moscrop said even if the election produces a Conservative or Liberal minority government, the other parties will have limited leverage in pushing proportional representation. The best they can likely achieve is a commitment to a referendum on electoral forum, he said.
“I can’t imagine the Liberals or the Conservatives undermining the possibility of winning a future majority by adopting PR,” said Moscrop, a postdoctoral fellow focused on democratic deliberation and political decision making in the department of communication at the University of Ottawa.
“The biggest challenge electoral reform faces is a lack of salience. It’s just not relevant for most people most of the time, the way climate change has been through people making the connection to it from extreme weather events or insurance rates increasing. PR advocates often try to make it about values, but even then it remains abstract because you’ve got to find a way to link those values to outcomes.”
“It’s a not a vote-getter,” said Moscrop, author of the 2019 book, Too Dumb for Democracy? Why We Make Bad Political Decisions and How We Can Make Better Ones.
BC’s Big Vote: Your Guide to the Proportional Representation Referendum read more
He expects that an ambitious climate agenda or comprehensive pharmacare program would be more likely to top the agenda in any negotiations in a minority Parliament. “But if they’re trading things off, PR will be the first to go.”
Moscrop added that the odds of Trudeau dusting off his 2015 electoral-reform commitment are next to nil. “Politically, it would hurt him to go back because it would remind people that he broke his promise, which is the last thing he’s going to want.”
“The probability of a government featuring PR over, say, the next five years is also very low,” he explained. “Third-party organizations will continue to push for it and keep the flame burning, as they should. But I think we’ll be talking about climate change and pharmacare.”
But even if the public will is there, it still could take many years for proportional representation to replace first-past-the post, according to Moscrop.
BC Says No to Proportional Representation read more
He points to the example of New Zealand, which adopted a mixed-member proportional system in 1996 following a 1993 referendum. But the idea to move to MMP came a decade earlier when the country’s Labour Party, which campaigned for it, formed government in 1984 and established a royal commission that recommended it two years later.
And if proportional representation comes to Canada, expect it to first appear at the provincial level, said Moscrop.
“I would imagine somewhere in Atlantic Canada, or Quebec.”
The Tyee’s federal election coverage is made possible by readers who pitched in to our election reporting fund. Read more about how The Tyee developed our reader-powered election reporting plan and see all of our stories here. | {
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IAF chief Rakesh Kumar Bhadauria has admitted that the Mi-17 chopper crash on February 27 was a "big mistake" on part of the air force. The crash had left six IAF personnel dead.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said, "Court of Inquiry has completed and it was our mistake as our missile had hit our own chopper. We will take action against the two officers. We accept this was our big mistake and we will ensure such mistakes are not repeated in the future."
In the crash, the Indian Air Force lost six personnel when their chopper was hit by its own SPYDER air defence missile over Budgam.
Bhadauria also said, "Rafale and S-400 Air Defence missile system will further bolster the capability of the Indian Air Force."
IAF Chief on Mi-17 chopper crash in Srinagar on Feb 27: Court of Inquiry completed & it was our mistake as our missile had hit our own chopper. We will take action against two officers. We accept this was our big mistake and we will ensure such mistakes are not repeated in future https://t.co/TgNS9RsKqb ANI (@ANI) October 4, 2019
Earlier it was reported that the IAF Court of Inquiry has found five officers guilty for the crash of a helicopter over Srinagar on February 27 when India and Pakistan were engaged in a short aerial battle.
This was a day after IAF jets conducted airstrikes in Pakistan's Balakot and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps and Pakistan tried to retaliate by sending fighter jets towards the Indian side.
The fateful Mi-17 helicopter was shot down by an Indian missile when Indian air defences were on high alert following the February 26 Balakot airstrike that targetted a terrorist camp in Pakistan. The helicopter crashed near Budgam, killing all six Indian Air Force personnel on board.
The Mi-17 V-5 chopper belonged to the 154 Helicopter Unit and it crashed within 10 minutes after taking off while the Indian fighter jets were involved in an aerial dogfight with Pakistani jets. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was also a part of this dogfight. | {
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The Brooklyn Nets are likely to go after soon-to-be free agent Kyrie Irving once the market opens this summer, which would make them get rid of D’Angelo Russell.
Russell, who was a finalist for the 2019 Most Improved Player Award, will likely find himself with a unique situation – still a young player who could land himself onto a championship contender and play a major role at the same time.
Teams will also find someone in Russell, who doesn’t turn 24 until February and is coming off a season in which he stayed healthy and averaged 21.1 points per game -- he's still in his prime.
However, Russell is a restricted free agent and will have the ability to match any offer sheet.
Here are five teams that could sign Russell once free agency begins on June 30.
--
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets are in a weird position – go after Irving or re-sign Russell. It’s clear that Russell took a huge step forward during the 2018-19 season and made himself a star in Brooklyn. Russell has also expressed his love for the city, which would make things even harder on the Nets to let him walk. According to Nets Daily, the belief is the Nets will sign Irving and let Russell go.
Los Angeles Lakers
Russell and the Lakers parted ways on the ugliest of terms. But with the recent turnover in the front office, it makes a reunion between the two teams plausible. Russell would be the cheaper option compared to Irving or Kemba Walker and since he already had spent time with the Lakers it almost makes sense for the Lakers to go after him. However, ESPN reported the team still has “a lot to sort out.”
Minnesota Timberwolves
The latest rumors surrounding the Timberwolves and Russell appear to show that Minnesota is going to really pursue the point guard this summer. ESPN’s Zach Lowe suggested the Timberwolves are ready to land Russell as the “franchise point guard of the future they desperately want.” Russell also reportedly talked to Karl Towns Sr. during a basketball camp in Brooklyn – Towns is the father of Karl-Anthony Towns, who plays for Minnesota.
Utah Jazz
The Jazz reportedly have interest in landing Russell this offseason. But, according to The Athletic, the Jazz would hope the Nets renounce Russell’s cap hold and make him an unrestricted free agent instead of having to deal with restricted free agency. It’s unclear how likely the Nets are to doing that and whether their interest has dwindled since reportedly acquiring Mike Conley Jr. from the Memphis Grizzlies.
Phoenix Suns
While Jordan Clarkson was among those predicting Russell will go to the Suns this summer, it doesn’t appear they will have enough money to sign the point guard. The Suns have “openly coveted” Russell, according to ESPN. But salary cap restrictions would prohibit Phoenix from making the splash move. | {
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Author(s):Several
A Guide to Dispute Resolution in Singapore
Introduction
A conflict is virtually inevitable wherever there is human interaction. Some of these conflicts may erupt a dispute in any structure of interaction or relationship, and others may perhaps result in a multifarious international hostility and confrontation.
Successively, dispute resolution processes have developed over a period of time to intervene and manage various types of disputes. Resultantly, there is a high diversity in fields in which non-profit organization and conflict resolution professionals take on a broad array of roles. In simple terms, dispute resolution is the process of resolving disagreements and arguments between individuals or different parties. There are various types of negotiations and resolutions which include but is not limited to, litigation, conciliation, arbitration, mediation, etc.
This article delves into the court structure in Singapore as well as their mechanisms for solving different types of disputes and the options available to distressed individuals or parties.
Introduction to Dispute Resolution Methods in Singapore
The main type of dispute resolution method practiced in Singapore is litigation. However, with the growth of expertise in arbitration in Singapore, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms are largely being used in place of litigation.
The civil justice system in Singapore has stemmed from the Common Law adversarial model. Generally, the applicable standard of proof for any civil claim to succeed depends on the balance of probabilities. There is an active case management system which has been established by the Registry of the Courts, which allows the courts in Singapore to play a greater role essentially in minimizing all unnecessary delays in proceedings.
Further, SICC, short for Singapore International Commercial Court, was established in January 2015, primarily for the expansion of the scope of internationalization as well as the export of Singapore laws. Furthermore, with the increasing emphasis on the alternative dispute resolution, the Singapore International Mediation Institute (SIMI) and Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) were established.
Structure of the Courts
The court system in Singapore is two-tiered:
The Supreme Court (which is made up of the Court of Appeal and High Court)
The State Courts
The Supreme Court
The High Court in Singapore is comprised of the judges of the High Court as well as the Chief Justice. In 1994, the Court of Appeal embarked at being the apex appellate court in Singapore. The Court of Appeal takes cognizance of appeals on judgements from the High Court in both criminal and civil matters.
A civil claim of a value greater than SG$ 250,000 must be commenced in the High Court in the first instance. Consequently, large valued commercial claims are directly brought before the High Court in Singapore. There are not any specific divisions within the High Court to hear a specific type of dispute. However, in order to deal with complex commercial cases, there is a specialized list of judges that deal with specific areas of law that have been set up within the High Court of Singapore. Some of the specialized areas set up in the High Court include:
Securities, finance and banking;
Insolvency, trusts and company;
Arbitration;
Insurance and shipping;
Construction, shipbuilding, etc.
The above list is not exhaustive, but only intends to give a gist of the classifications.
The SICC is one of the division of the High Court which deals with disputes of commercial and international nature, and same was established pursuant to Section 18A of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act.
The State Courts
The State Courts in Singapore comprise of the Family Justice Court, the District Court and the Magistrates’ Court. For claims that do not exceed the value of SG$ 60,000, it is the Magistrates’ Court that hears the disputes. On the other hand, the District Court takes cognizance of the claims whose value does not exceed SG$ 250,000.
Further, the Family Justice Courts which consists of both, the Youth Courts as well as Family Courts, hears all cases related to family disputes including but not limited to, guardianship cases, divorce matters, family violence cases, applications for deputyship as under the Mental Capacity Act, successions matters, etc.
Litigation
Starting Proceedings
Generally, there are two ways to commence a civil proceeding in Singapore:
Writ of Summons: These are for actions that are likely to include a substantial dispute of facts;
Originating Summons: These are actions that are unlikely to include a substantial dispute of fact, or where it may be prescribed by law. For example, pursuant to Section 124(1) of Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act , it is clearly mentioned that all applications made to the court must be commenced by originating summons only.
Notice to the defence
The originating summons and writ of summons have to be personally served on each of the defendants. In the case where the defendant is within the jurisdiction, the same must be served within 6 months from the date of the issue.
Pre-trial Stage
After the summons has been filed, a Pre-Trial Conference (PTC) gets scheduled first. At this stage, the registrar enquires about the status of the action which has been commenced. Additionally, adequate direction is given to parties in order to proceed with litigation in a fair and expeditious manner. Further, at this stage, an application for either final or interim relief may also be made. Furthermore, each party discloses their documents which are relevant to the case, and in advance of trial, the parties exchange affidavits, which states the evidence that supports each party’s case.
Trial
In the case where the matter is resolved by way of terminated summarily, settlement or any other way of interim judgement, the matter proceeds to trial. At this stage, witnesses for each party (if applicable) state their evidence with regards to the affidavits submitted.
Post-trial
Once the court proceeding has ended, the solicitor or the advocate for the party that wins the case must submit a breakdown of the bill of costs incurred on behalf of the client, or the list of costs as ordered by the relevant authority or court to be paid by a party to the other. It is pertinent to note that litigation may continue even after the trial in case a party seeks to enforce the judgement, or when the judgement is appealed.
Interim Remedies
One of the party may bring the case to be dismissed even prior to a full trial in the ways mentioned below:
In the case where the defendant does not appear or fails to file his/her defence within the specified time, a judgement in default can be claimed by the claimant.
In the case where the defendant appears as well as files the defence though there happens to be no real defence to claim, summary judgement can be applied for by the claimant against the defendant.
Pleadings are struck out if it:
Does not disclose an adequate cause of action;
Is frivolous, scandalous or vexatious; Tends to embarrass, delay or prejudice the fair trial; Is otherwise considered an abuse of the procedures of the court.
Appeals
The appeals from SICC are heard by the Court of Appeal. It is pertinent to note that the Chief Justice may appoint an International Judge since it is at his discretion, who may sit in the Court of Appeal for an order or judgement of the SICC which has been challenged. Essentially, the time limit for the appeal a month (30 days) from the date of the judgement which needs to be challenged or appealed.
To know more about Dispute Resolution in Singapore Click here | {
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What 2017 Grandstand act became the Iowa State Fair's biggest money-loser?
Kathy A. Bolten | The Des Moines Register
Show Caption Hide Caption State Fair sees big paychecks, big flops on the Grandstand Pentatonix was a hit. Paramore, not so much. Take a look at some of the numbers from the 2017 Iowa State Fair Grandstand acts.
The 2017 Iowa State Fair made $253,170 off of Grandstand performances.
The 2017 line-up was the fair's third lowest revenue producer in a 13-year span.
Four performances were money-losers for the fair.
The American rock band Paramore has a new entry for its resume: The Iowa State Fair’s worst revenue-generating Grandstand act.
The State Fair in 2017 lost $181,600 on the rock band, the highest loss amount in a 13-year span, a review of state audit reports shows. The Grandstand’s previous worst revenue generator was American Idols Live 2007, on which the fair lost $154,410.
“It wasn’t like it was a bad show,” Gary Slater, CEO and fair manager, said of Paramore. “It just wasn’t as popular as we would have liked.”
The fair’s share of ticket-sale revenue in 2017 from 10 Grandstand shows and tractor and truck pull was $253,170, the third-lowest amount generated in a span beginning in 2004, state audits show.
In addition to Paramore, three other Grandstand performances lost the fair money in 2017, a new state audit shows. They were: Nickelback ($81,568); Flo Rida ($54,031); and John Mellencamp ($25,620).
More: Iowa State Fair Grandstand performances: Biggest hits, biggest flops (with gifs!)
But Slater isn’t disappointed by the 2017 Grandstand’s overall performance.
“I certainly don’t want to lose money but it needs to be a balance and an experience for those fair-goers of seeing an act they truly want to see,” he said.
Overall, the fair saw a 5.2 percent increase in operating revenue for the fiscal year that ended Oct. 31, 2017, an audit shows. A majority of the increase in revenue, which totaled nearly $26.9 million, came from concessions and the fair’s new Thrill Parks, the audit said.
Grandstand renovations include
bigger stage, updated restrooms
Concert-goers this year will see acts perform on a new stage and will have access to seats or a standing-only area between the stage and Grandstand. In addition, restrooms are being renovated and a new concession area is under construction.
Slater said the work at the Grandstand will mostly be completed by Aug. 9, the first day of this year’s fair.
“There’s still a lot of work to do but at this point, if it’s not completely done — it will be functional and useable,” Slater said.
The new stage will provide concert-goers the “look and feel of how a show looks every night," he said. "That’s what the entertainers want and our fans want.”
Previously, artists couldn't put up all their show equipment because of the small size of the Grandstand’s previous stage. That meant the fair was unable to book some acts either because of the stage’s size or the number of tickets that could be sold, Slater said.
DATA: See a Des Moines Register database that includes ticket sales and revenue generated for Iowa State Fair Grandstand acts from 2004 through 2017.
The additional seats increase the number of tickets that can be sold for Grandstand acts to 14,500, Slater said. Having more tickets to sell will also help keep ticket prices at “reasonable levels” while also attracting more expensive acts, he said.
“You have 4,000 more seats to spread the price over,” Slater said. “That way, you’re not turning people off by having a million-dollar act but your ticket prices are so high, nobody wants to buy them.”
In 2017, Kid Rock received $625,000 to perform the last night of the fair. At the time, it was the most ever paid to a Grandstand performer, audit records show. Ticket prices for the show ranged from $62 to $90. The fair sold 10,019 to the performance, making $65,130.
This year, the fair will pay country duo Florida Georgia Line at least $750,000 for its Aug. 19 Grandstand performance, Slater said. The group, which closes out this year’s fair, has set a Billboard record with the most cumulative weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs list.
“We’re willing to pay the higher price because we have more seats to sell,” Slater said. Ticket prices for the range from $70 to $80.
Some acts say 'no' to Grandstand performance
This past year, fair officials had a difficult time booking performers, Slater said.
“I went through more turn-downs this year than I’d had for the last five years combined,” he said. Some performers the fair pursued ended tours in July; others weren’t going to be in the Midwest during August.
The fair tried to book Grammy Award-winning entertainer Kelly Clarkson, who performs in Cedar Rapids this month. However, Slater said a clause in the performer’s contract prohibited her from appearing in a nearby venue for a specific period before or after the Cedar Rapids concert.
“We came up to the wire before we settled on those last three shows we announced,” Slater said of Papa Roach, Daughtry and Peter Cetera.
“They’re good shows and people will enjoy them,” Slater said of the last three performances signed to appear at this year’s fair. “Maybe we won’t have enough fans to sell out the Grandstand, but they’ll be good shows.”
Last year, three groups generated more than 10,000 in ticket sales, a state audit shows. More than 10,500 tickets were sold to Pentatonix, popular a cappella group that generated $106,745 for the fair, the highest amount in 2017. Also selling more than 10,000 tickets were “I Love the 90s” and Kid Rock.
Slater expects three of this year’s shows to sell 10,000 or more tickets: Reba McEntire, Thomas Rhett and Florida Georgia Line. Only obstructed view seats are available for McEntire, who appears on Aug. 10. Rhett was nearly sold out in late July and only upper level seats were available for Florida Georgia Line.
Audit highlights
The following are highlights from a newly-released state audit of the Iowa State Fair Authority for the fiscal year that ended Oct. 31, 2017: | {
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MANILA (Reuters) - An earthquake and aftershocks struck islands off the north of the Philippines on Saturday killing eight people and injuring 60, disaster officials said.
An initial quake of magnitude 5.4 that struck the Batanes islands was followed shortly by an aftershock of magnitude 5.9, according to Philippine government data. Another big aftershock struck a little later.
The first quake killed five people while three people were killed in aftershocks, Ricardo Jalad, executive director of the disaster agency, told Reuters.
“It’s traumatic ... we’re still feel strong aftershocks,” Edna Gato, a school teacher in Itbayat town, told Reuters.
The national disaster agency said it was sending medical and rescue teams to the islands, about half way between the main Philippine island of Luzon and Taiwan.
The military was also deploying an aircraft to send supplies and bring out injured, he said.
Gato said she was standing outside in an open space with more than 1,000 people.
“New houses were damaged and the old houses which we were preserving were completely destroyed,” she said, referring to traditional stone homes.
The Philippines is on the geologically active Pacific Ring of Fire and experiences frequent earthquakes. | {
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He then stuck out his pointer finger and thumb like a gun, and aimed it at his former wife as if he was shooting her, the sources said. | {
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Are we looking for MH370 in the wrong place?
Are we looking for MH370 in the wrong place?
A FORMER US crash investigator believes that Boeing will take the lead in a new privately funded search for missing MH370.
Aviation expert John Goglia, a safety consultant and former member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said while the current search led by Australia is winding down the quest for answers is far from over.
“The search will continue ... but it will be a privately run,” he said with most likely Boeing taking the lead.
“It’ll be smaller and more focused but that’s probably better.”
Boeing was not available for comment yesterday.
MORE: Aussie group may hold key MH370 evidence
It has long been considered that a private individual or company would take-over the search for MH370.
In 2015, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen found the wreck of the long-lost World War II Japanese super battleship Musashi near the Philippines.
The philanthropist spent eight years searching for the Musashi which was sunk in the Battle for Leyte Gulf on October 24, 1944.
RELATED: Malaysia Airlines fights to prevent release of MH370 documents
Other privately funded expeditions have found the Titanic, German battleship Bismarck, the pride of the Royal Navy the HMS Hood and the HMS Hood.
Last month Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester dampened hopes of extending the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 to a new 25,000 square/km search zone identified by international experts as having a high probability of containing the wreckage.
Mr Chester’s view — and that of China and Malaysia — is that the new search area is not specific enough and put him at odds with the experts’ conclusion that the location north-east of the existing search zone needs investigating.
The expert findings detailed in “First Principles Review’’, issued last month by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is the result of findings from a three-day meeting held in Canberra in early November by parties involved in the search for the missing Boeing 777.
“The participants of the First Principles Review were in agreement on the need to search an additional area representing approximately 25,000 sq. km,’’ the report concluded.
“Based on the analysis to date, completion of this area would exhaust all prospective areas for the presence of MH370.’’
The new area identified as a potential crash site adjoins an area searched in 2014 and takes into account additional information from a CSIRO ocean drift study.
It is not part of part of the 120,000 sq. km swathe of Indian Ocean swept for more than two years and in which no sign of the aircraft debris field has been found.
The new area — between latitudes 32.5 degrees south and 36 degrees south — was based on “comprehensive satellite data analysis and updated with the latest search results and the CSIRO drift analysis,’’ the report said.
It is slightly narrower than the first zone due to revised calculations that the aircraft crashed closer to the seventh arc, the curved line determined by the last satellite handshake between the aircraft and the plane.
The three-day First Principles Review was attended by Australian and international experts in data processing, satellite communications, accident investigation, aircraft performance, flight operations, sonar data, acoustic data and oceanography.
It aimed to reassess and validate existing evidence and to consider any new analysis that may assist in identifying the location of MH370, which crashed in 2014 while en-route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
A key to the finding was additional information not available when the first search area was defined.
More than 20 items of debris have been recovered and identified as likely to be, almost certainly or definitely originating from MH370, including parts the wing. | {
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Lily Collins, Kristen Stewart.
Vulture has long been tracking next year’s matchup of two rival Snow White movies — one an untitled project from Relativity Studios directed by Tarsem Singh with Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen, the other Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman, with Kristen Stewart as the ingenue and Charlize Theron as the villainess — so when we saw screenwriter Jason Keller last night at the premiere of Machine Gun Preacher (which he wrote), we had to know how he got involved with scripting the Singh version. Turns out, it all happened very fast. “Snow White I wrote in December 2010, and that is unheard of, in terms of writing a script and going into production when it did,” he confessed. “I’m just being very frank about it … at the end of last year, [Relativity] looked around, and they saw Universal was coming out with a Snow White. But they had a script that wasn’t really working, but they knew they wanted to try to keep that, so when they hired me, the first conversation we all had about that was, ‘How do we beat that other project?’ So it was literally something like, ‘We want to beat that other project. We are very, very motivated to do a Snow White project.’”
“I pitched them a take on it,” continued Keller, “and in the same meeting I pitched them a take on it, Tarsem was in the room, he said, ‘I like that take,’ the studio was in the room, they said, ‘We like that take,’ and that minute, they commenced me writing — this is December — and they opened the art department, they opened the costume department, and they started scouting locations. All in the same minute! It hadn’t even been written yet! It was all because there was a derby race. And it all happened to work. I happened to write a script that was good enough in a very short enough period of time to get Julia Roberts, and we didn’t then have to wait for art and costumes because they were already going. So it was a super-cool way to write a movie.”
Still, Keller thinks there is a crucial difference between his still untitled project (which co-stars Lily Collins and Armie Hammer) and Huntsman: “Ours is not dark. I mean, I know Snow White and the Huntsman is very intense, and lots of chain mail, and armor, and Kristen Stewart has a sword. Ours is an adventure, ours is funny — it’s a comedic adventure! And there’s some great action in it. It’s stunningly gorgeous, and it’s fun … Ours will be PG or PG-13, and the other one will probably be a R. We don’t know yet. But ours is nothing like theirs.”
Still, Huntsman isn’t the only competition that Snow White has got — there are plenty of other fairly-tale stories in fast-track development right now, including a potential third Snow White movie. “Yeah, that happens in Hollywood,” Keller sighed. “You know, it goes in waves and you see a movie — Alice in Wonderland basically started this off — and that’s how Hollywood works sometimes. We’re seeing that now. But they’re all going to be unique and cool, the fairy-tale stories. When it was asteroids threatening to destroy Earth, maybe we only saw two movies, but there were probably 37 being developed and almost ready to go into production.” So is his Snow White the Deep Impact or the Armageddon of the two? Keller laughed. “Neither!”
UPDATE: A Relativity spokesperson emailed us to state that their Snow White schedule was never rushed in order to beat Universal, and that the date they started shooting (June 2011) was their intended date from early on in the production process, which started back when they bought a first draft by Melisa Wallack in May 2010. “Relativity appreciates the contributions of both [original writer] Melisa Wallack and Jason Keller on our Snow White project. We were actively developing this project since May of 2010 and haven’t altered our production timeline along the way. We couldn’t be more excited about how the film is coming together with Tarsem’s unique and visual world inhabited by this fantastic ensemble of actors.” | {
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When we moved to our current home three years ago, we were excited to be living in the forest. Now that forest is under threat.
Granted, it wasn’t the forest primeval when we arrived. Human activity had taken its toll — the area was logged 80 or 100 years ago, and Scotch broom and other species have invaded disturbed patches of land.
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We cleaned up heaps of garbage from the property and began clearing away broom and blackberries. It’s a never-ending campaign, but we’ve made much headway. Native plant species are faring better on rocky slopes that were once covered with broom.
Where Himalayan blackberries once reigned, we have found red columbine two years in a row. Fawn lilies, trilliums and orchids began to make their appearance where invasive vegetation was removed.
But there has been a change for the worse, and it can be described in one word.
Deer.
We expected the ungulates to nibble on landscaping plants and ravage fruit trees, and they did, sparing few. But that’s all in the game, part of the price of being close to nature. What we didn’t expect was damage the deer are doing to the native habitat we are trying to rejuvenate.
The deterioration is noticeable, and accelerating. At this rate, the forest will be much poorer in a few years, the plant life much less diverse. That means less habitat for songbirds. There will likely be increasing problems with erosion and invasive plants.
It’s a bleak outlook and it’s not just my imagination.
Peter Arcese, who holds the Forest Resources B.C. Chair of Applied Conservation Biology at the University of British Columbia, has done extensive study of the effect of deer populations on habitat. The research he led was conducted at 66 sites on 35 islands and the mainland.
Arcese and his team found that where there are deer and no predators, the damage was heavy to native vegetation and cultural species (plants traditionally managed by First Nations before European settlement). The reduction in native vegetation was calculated to be 52 to 85 per cent.
On islands with deer and predators, the damage was less, although the effect on vegetation was still measurable. On islands with no deer, the plant ecosystem was healthiest.
The richness and extent of plant cover declines drastically, Arcese concluded, when deer numbers exceed about one animal per 10 hectares. It’s an unhealthy situation for plant systems, and it’s bad for the deer — they will ultimately run out of food.
It’s tempting to think that if we just left the deer alone, nature’s balance would return, but that ship has sailed. We humans have displaced the predators that kept the deer in control. Doing nothing will only allow the situation to worsen, for the environment and the deer.
“I think most of the public is still unaware that encouraging deer populations is tantamount to encouraging the local extinction of a host of plants, insects and birds that rely on them via the resulting trophic cascade [the disruption of the ecological chain by the removal of a predator],” Arcese told me.
“In addition, one has to wonder about the ethics of maintaining a deer population limited by starvation and disease.”
I went outside one night last week and shone a flashlight around; seven pairs of eyes glowed back at me from the darkness within a few metres of our house. There are many more deer than that in our neighbourhood, and the forest environment shows it.
Two or three deer have been killed by a cougar on our property in the past couple of years, but that’s not enough. Perhaps the province could lend us a few of those wolves deemed to be surplus in the Interior.
Some people say we should leave those beautiful, graceful animals alone, that we should not mess with nature. An infatuation with cuteness, though, is not really a love of nature. Those who truly love nature recognize the need for checks and balances. They appreciate all of nature’s processes and life cycles, not dispassionately, but objectively.
Humans are part of nature, but unlike the deer, we can recognize when we are damaging the environment. And where there are too many deer, we perpetuate the damage when we do nothing.
What is the solution? I wish I knew.
[email protected] | {
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There probably aren't many PC gamers who are big Ubisoft fans. In spite of owning a stable of massively successful franchises, including Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell, Ubisoft has a long history of making life difficult for customers who play their titles on computers instead of consoles. PC versions of popular Ubisoft titles are released weeks or months after their console counterparts. Worse, Ubisoft PC games come saddled with onerous digital rights management (DRM), forcing reactivation after replacing a PC's video card or requiring the game to be continually online, as with Driver: San Francisco.
The times, though, might be changing a bit. In an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, Ubisoft officials offer up several interesting revelations about their past statements on the efficacy of DRM and the future direction of the company's published titles. Right out of the gate, the company pulls the plug on the idea of always-on DRM for future titles. Stephanie Perotti, Ubisoft's worldwide director for online games, states, "We have listened to feedback, and since June last year our policy for all of PC games is that we only require a one-time online activation when you first install the game, and from then you are free to play the game offline."
This is a huge concession from a publisher widely regarded as being among the most PC-hostile in the business. RPS is quick to point out that just last month, Ubisoft's chairman and CEO stated that piracy rates on PC games were as high as 95 percent and that the free-to-play model was the only way to continue to draw revenue from the PC gaming market. High piracy rates have long been a rallying cry for publishers looking to apply increasingly draconian DRM to their titles. But there's obvious cognitive dissonance between Ubisoft's titles being buried under intrusive DRM schemes and simultaneously carrying a 95 percent piracy rate. It would seem the more it tightens its grasp, the more star systems slip between its fingers.
When asked about how to reconcile the gap—how can DRM be considered effective when the piracy rate is so high?—the response was evasive. "That," Perotti replied, referring to Ubisoft's statement that DRM is a success, "was an unfortunate comment."
The rest of the interview is a short but illuminating look at Ubisoft's take on PC gaming. The RPS interviewer is merciless, and hammers the two Ubisoft representatives on several points, even earning an admission from them that Ubisoft's failure to disclose its actual piracy numbers damaged its credibility and undermined the arguments in favor of always-on DRM in the first place. Still, the takeaway is positive: "We've listened to feedback, we will continue to listen to feedback, we will continue to make sure that we deliver great games and great services, and are now operating under this policy." says Perotti. "We’ve heard you. We’ve heard customers."
This is a win for gamers in general. Ubisoft stops short of acknowledging the assertion that restrictive DRM harms only paying customers—"I wouldn’t say that, actually," comments Perotti—but a quick search around the underbelly of the Internet reveals that acquiring a pirated copy of Driver: San Francisco is pretty darn easy in spite of its fancy DRM. The path is clearing for less-restrictive DRM schemes on Ubisoft titles in the future, though, which can only be a good thing. In many ways, always-on DRM and limited activations are even worse than the bad old days of code wheels and Lenslok. I for one, definitely don't miss those things. | {
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SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Saturday escalated its attempt to create a rift between South Korea and the United States, as Washington sent mixed signals over whether it would tighten or relax sanctions on the North.
Ever since the summit meeting between the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, and President Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, late last month abruptly ended without a deal, North Korea has ceaselessly urged South Korea to distance itself from the United States and to push ahead with joint economic projects that have been held back by American-led United Nations sanctions.
North Korea’s official trade has been devastated by international sanctions imposed since 2016. The country has tried to circumvent them by importing refined fuel or exporting coal through ship-to-ship transfers on the high seas, a move banned under United Nations sanctions. It has also sought to undermine the sanctions by boosting economic cooperation with South Korea.
President Moon Jae-in of South Korea remains eager to boost inter-Korean economic ties, raising fears at home and abroad that he may steer his government away from international efforts to enforce sanctions against the North. But in reality, Mr. Moon’s hands are tied unless the United States and North Korea reach an agreement on denuclearizing the North and Washington helps to ease sanctions. | {
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Rady Ananda
Activist Post
Medical marijuana patients in Canada can expect a 50-100% increase in the cost of medication next year, all so that large commercial interests can monopolize the habilitative herb, CBC News reports.
Health Canada has banned private-dwelling production of this 34-million-year-old plant, because the Mounties complained about missing out on taxes for weed sold outside the licensed market. Actually, they called the activity “criminal” because, after all, no matter that the plant is safer and more effective than many lab-drugs, the government criminalized it.
The 4,200 small growers, who are limited to selling to only two patients, must close down all operations by March 2014, or apply for licensing under the new regime which has much stronger security protocols, necessitating serious infrastructure upgrades and paperwork protocols.
Users will be required to buy only from the large-scale factory farms, because – we all know – factory farms are so much better for the environment and the local economy.
In June, Canada passed new regulations banning pot “home grown” by cannabis patients, and bowed to pharmacist refusal to sell the herb, The Province reports, referring to the potential for break-ins and theft. It’s okay to sell highly addictive and destructive oxycontin, barbiturates and amphetamines, and, lawd knows, no pill head would ever break into a pharmacy for these drugs.
Over two-thirds of Canada’s 37,359 approved medical marijuana users grow their own under a license, some for as low as $1 a gram. (Mail order buyers pay around $5 a gram.) Home production is being criminalized so that major corporations can overcharge the sick and dying at the rate of $7.60 – $10 a gram.
The CBC News report characterized the profit potential under Canada’s new weed regime as “enormous” for the big companies, estimating a $1.3 billion business in 2014. No doubt. It’s easy to get rich when you criminalize your competition.
Genetically modified strains can also be sold without notice to patients, since Canada lacks a right-to-know policy regarding GM products. The new policy deliberately defeats the “know your farmer” notion, so patients will be stuck ingesting whatever is engineered into the plant.
Though small ops are being wiped out, Canada will allow cannabis imports. Nice to know the nation is doing so well economically that small-time growers don’t need the income. And we can be sure that creative inventions like the one below will fall prey to pesticide laden plants in factory labs:
A Tacoma, WA man got 15 years (!) in prison for designing and operating eight of these ‘Ferris Wheel’ growers that rotated over 1,500 plants under grow lights while periodically spraying them with a nutrient solution.
Heaven forbid cost-effective treatment for a wide variety of illnesses could be manufactured in the home, naturally, organically and safely. No, no, Big Pharma and the biotech industry would lose profits, and predatory capitalism as featured in the West doesn’t allow anyone to be independent of it. These are the real criminals in all of this, along with their crony regulators.
We would expect nothing less from Health Canada who fired its food safety scientists for exposing the dangers of genetically modified bovine growth hormone.
Rady Ananda is the creator of Food Freedom News and COTO Report, Rady Ananda’s work has appeared in several online and print publications, including four books. With a B.S. in Natural Resources from Ohio State University’s School of Agriculture, Rady tweets @geobear7 and @RadysRant .
Recent articles by Rady Ananda: | {
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If you've ever looked into creating your first Django project targeted at mobile devices, you were probably quick to realize that there is no be all, end all solution. Mobile development decisions have to be made with regards to handheld device detection, redirects, how to deal with desktop vs. mobile content, and so on. Your own requirements will have to dictate how you approach these decisions.
Hopefully, by explaining the mobile development goals we established at Imaginary Landscape and the steps taken to meet them, you can use this information as a foundation for your own mobile website built with Django. We'd love to hear any comments and suggestions as well.
Mobile Development: Server Setup
The first thing we considered was in which layer to handle mobile device detection. We decided we would be using an m. subdomain and wanted the redirect to occur automatically for a mobile user upon first visiting the site. Because of this, it made sense to put both the detection and redirects in the server configuration. In our case it was Nginx but using the same principles, it's simple in Apache as well. In some ways it's simpler. If you are using Apache, you can check out something like the Apache Mobile Filter which utilizes WURFL (Wireless Universal Resource File), eliminating the need to spell out the mobile user agents within your server configuration.
Linking Between the Mobile Site and Full Site
On our mobile site, we would have a link back to the full site that would simply contain a query string, allowing the server to rewrite back to the same page on the desktop version. The detection of this query string would set a cookie to avoid redirection back to mobile site for the duration of the session.
<a href="?full">Full Site</a>
Conversely, the full site would use the same method to link back to the mobile version.
<a href="?mobile">Mobile Site</a>
Nginx Configuration
You'll see below that we're using FastCGI but that's not important. I just left that in to show that we're using the same Django server as well as IP address for both the mobile and full sites. Also note that Nginx doesn't allow you to combine conditionals so we've used a variable called $mobile that we flag to determine whether to redirect.
Finally, here is the Nginx configuration stripped to the essentials.
http { server { listen 1.2.3.4:80; server_name www.domain.com; # Mobile User Agent Check if ($http_user_agent ~* '(blackberry|blazer|danger|ericsson| Google\s+Wireless\s+Transcoder|htc|iemobile|ipaq|iphone|ipod|lg|mobile| mot|moto|motorola|nec\-|netfront|netfront|nokia|opera\s+mini|palm| palmsource|panasonic|philips|pocketpc|samsung|sanyo|sec|sharp|sie\-| smartphone|sony|symbian|t\-mobile|untrusted|up\.browser|up\.link| vodafone\/|wap1\.|wap2\.|webOS|windows\s+ce)') { set $mobile on; } location / { fastcgi_pass unix:/path/to/the/django-server.socket; # ... if ($query_string ~ "full") { add_header Set-Cookie "mobile=off;path=/"; set $mobile off; } if ($http_cookie ~ "mobile=off") { set $mobile off; } if ($query_string ~ "mobile") { set $mobile on; } if ($mobile = on) { rewrite ^(.*)$ http://m.domain.com$ break; } } } server { listen 1.2.3.4:80; server_name m.domain.com; location / { fastcgi_pass unix:/path/to/the/django-server.socket; # ... if ( $query_string ~ "full" ) { rewrite ^(.*)$ http://www.domain.com$ break; } } } }
Mobile Development: Django Setup
When it comes to how Django is handled, you have to make some more choices. For some scenarios, you may need to provide variations in your application's views for mobile. I won't cover that in detail here but there are several reusable apps out there to help if you find you have more advanced requirements. Check out django-mobile or minidetector.
Django Middleware
We found that we could accomplish everything without the need to update any of our existing applications by using a simple middleware for changing the project template directory inspired by this snippet from Nathan Borror.
Put the following into the middleware.py file of a logical application or create a new one if that makes more sense.
from django.conf import settings class MobileMiddleware(object): def process_request(self, request): subdomain = request.META.get('HTTP_HOST', '').split('.') if 'm' in subdomain: settings.TEMPLATE_DIRS = settings.MOBILE_TEMPLATE_DIRS else: settings.TEMPLATE_DIRS = settings.DESKTOP_TEMPLATE_DIRS
Django Settings
Then add it to the middleware classes in your settings.py.
MIDDLEWARE_CLASSES = ( 'django.middleware.doc.XViewMiddleware', 'django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware', 'django.middleware.locale.LocaleMiddleware', 'django.contrib.sessions.middleware.SessionMiddleware', 'django.contrib.auth.middleware.AuthenticationMiddleware', 'yourapplication.middleware.MobileMiddleware', )
Finally, change your template directory settings to something like this:
DESKTOP_TEMPLATE_DIRS = ( '/path/to/your/project/templates', ) MOBILE_TEMPLATE_DIRS = ( '/path/to/your/project/mobile_templates', ) + DESKTOP_TEMPLATE_DIRS TEMPLATE_DIRS = DESKTOP_TEMPLATE_DIRS
This allows us to override any templates we'd like for our mobile version and still fall back to our full site versions when they don't exist. Your mobile_templates folder may consist of only a base_site.html template and for most projects that should be enough to significantly overhaul the layout and design of the entire site.
You're done! Now comes the fun part; trying to make your slick, new, fluid, slimmed down UI render properly in any number of ancient Nokia/RIM/Palm devices with varying CSS/JavaScript support your clients may be using. Good luck out there. | {
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One of the metrics that we care about most at Nodesmith is the reliability of our service. We are constantly trying to improve reliability and ensure that Nodesmith is able to handle incoming requests consistently. Networks like Aion will become the backbone of the decentralized web over the next decade — accessing these networks will be on the critical path for a large number of applications.
To help with this internally, we recently built a small tool to help us “smoke” test our service (and we open sourced it!). A smoke, or sanity test, is intended to give you peace of mind that your system is running as intended and help you catch bugs early.
Every hour, our smoke test tool runs every single supported JSON RPC request against both our mainnet and testnet nodes, and reports the results to us via a Slack bot!
The smoke test tool has the following features:
Executes JSON RPC requests in a Mocha test suite using the web3 JavaScript library. This tests functionality like deploying a smart contract, sending transactions, and reading network information.
Executes every hour automatically by using the Heroku Scheduler Addon.
Sends a message to a Slack channel when the test suite passes— or which tests failed if any.
Sends a message in Slack if the the balance of the account used to pay for transactions is low.
Check it out on GitHub! We’ve found this tool to be quite helpful to us so we wanted to share it with the community. It’s fairly simplistic in this first version, but it’s already allowed us to catch some bugs early on, and has given us peace of mind that the service is running smoothly. | {
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File photo used for representation only
NEW DELHI: Mandatory Aadhaar disclosure during the All India Survey on Higher Education 2016-17 (AISHE) revealed that there are over 80,000 teachers who are faculty members of three or more higher education institutions in the country. This was disclosed by the Human Resource Development minister Prakash Javadekar , at the release of the final AISHE 2016-17 report on Friday.
The HRD ministry has identified around 80,000 “ghost” teachers in various colleges and universities across the country after the introduction of Aadhaar. So far, 85% of the teachers have given their Aadhaar numbers, and the ministry believes that the number would increase when all the teachers comply.
“There are certain ‘ghost’ teachers who use proxy methods and are apparently teaching at multiple places as full-time employees. After the introduction of Aadhaar, 80,000 such teachers have been identified and action will be taken against them,” Javadekar said.
The minister, however, clarified that none of these teachers are from any central universities. “The ghost teachers have not been identified in any central universities but in some state varsities and private ones,” he said.
The HRD ministry has asked all varsities to seek Aadhaar number from all employees and students to ensure that there is no duplication.
“Sharing Aadhaar number is like sharing your mobile number or Email ID. Sharing your mobile number doesn’t mean the person you give it to can see your text messages. Aadhaar works the same way. It is protected,” Javadekar said.
The report also highlighted the growth in the sector as the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) now stands at 25.5% as against 21.5%, five years ago. In last five years, the GER of the Muslims and other minority communities has been slow. From 4.15% GER of the Muslim youth (age group of 18-23 years) in 2012-13, it is just 4.90% in 2016-17. Similarly, the GER growth for other minority groups has been 0.33% in the same period.
The survey also indicates that in last five years, the student population of higher education between the age of 18 and 23 has increased by 35 lakh. While there are just 9.3% colleges exclusively for girls, there are 15 women exclusive universities across 10 states.
There has also been a significant increase in the number of universities and colleges in last five years, with the state private and public universities having the biggest share. Among the colleges too, majority of them are privately owned.
Bengaluru has emerged as the major education hub with the biggest cluster of colleges (1025), followed by Jaipur and Hyderabad with 635 and 487 colleges respectively, the report stated.
The survey covers almost all the higher education institutions across the country. Identified nodal officers from each institution are primarily responsible for collecting and uploading the data on AISHE portal in a secured environment.
Javadekar also launched "Gurujan" - a portal for information on teachers.
Read this story in Malayalam
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The practice of pharmacy today is slow, convoluted, and doesn’t take advantage of the new wave of innovation. While other high-tech industries seem to embrace new technologies and incorporate them with ease, healthcare always tends to lag behind. Whether it’s because of tight regulations or financial pressure, the way pharmacies operate has hardly changed since the introduction of the fax machine.
Do you remember that awful high-pitched dial-up tone?
Historically, decisions on drug therapy have mostly been made by physicians, dentists, and more recently, nurse practitioners. Pharmacists have assumed the prescription was appropriate and should be the best drug for the patient. The role of the pharmacist resided in maximizing benefit and minimizing risk but more importantly; dispensing prescription medications as efficiently as they can.
Today, independent pharmacies are in a competitive market with the big pharmacy chains. With drug rebates disappearing and new pressures forming around the industry, pharmacies are beginning to finally recognize that the pharmacy of today is ripe for change. It’s becoming clear that the dispensing process can be heavily optimized through the use of technology, allowing pharmacists to spend much more time with patients. Whether its counselling, assessing, or even prescribing, pharmacists are slowly shifting to a patient-focused model of practice.
So if the pharmacists are switching their focus to patients, what kind of companies are supporting this shift?
Very recently there has been a surge of incredible new startups with patient-centered solutions. Each product is interestingly unique in its own way and it seems that each team that I’ve personally come across is tackling the challenge from a different angle.
Below are a few examples of the unique ways companies are trying to revolutionize pharmacy practice today:
1. Zipdrug
Zipdrug is a start-up offering on-demand prescription drug delivery through its mobile app and website. Currently available in New York City, Zipdrug utilizes bicycle couriers to pick prescriptions up from patient-chosen pharmacies and deliver them. The service costs users $10 per delivery (plus co-pay) but Zipdrug works with some pharmacies that cover the cost for the patient.
Zipdrug’s special sauce is that they’re able to interact with almost every pharmacy in NYC due to ePrescribing regulations. This is extremely beneficial to patients since they can stick with their old pharmacy and receive fast delivery. I think Zipdrug’s biggest challenges will stem from trying to scale their delivery model and operating in environments where ePrescribing is not standard.
2. PillPack
www.pillpack.com
PillPack provides a unique solution for patients with chronic conditions. Utilizing its own pharmacy, PillPack delivers a 2-week supply of medications to each patient by mail. Patients are billed on a monthly basis but the only charge they see is their usual co-pay. By far the greatest part of PillPack’s offering though is the way they organize and package medications. Each patient receives a “roll” of packets (see above) that are timed, dated, and include the list of meds each package contains. PillPack patients are able to easily follow their medication schedule by tearing off a packet according to time and day.
From an outsider’s perspective, the biggest challenge I see PillPack facing is offering services to patients without chronic conditions. However, I’m not entirely sure if they even need to.
3. SwiftPad
(Full disclosure: I lead marketing at SwiftPad)
SwiftPad streamlines the workflow for pharmacies. With SwiftPad, pharmacists are able to focus their time & effort on patient-focused services such as counselling and medication management therapy. The flagship SwiftPad App allows patients to add their prescriptions or refills and receive real-time updates on their prescription order. Afterwards, patients are able to manage refills and medication information through the app. SwiftPad also facilitates the order process for pharmacists by providing instant access to patient medical history, allergies, and insurance information to get a jump-start on the order process. The service is completely free for patients.
I think our biggest challenge will come from attempting to replace legacy pharmacy software. Even with a great service offering, it’s not easy to convince pharmacists to move away from platforms they’ve been using reliably for 5+ years. Despite this, I’m confident we’ll overcome this obstacle and push through. More and more pharmacists are beginning to think about innovation and the future of pharmacy. Additionally, ever since retail pharmacies got a taste of the digital space, many have been excited to try new, innovative pilot programs regularly.
4. Round Refill
Round Refill, an initiative by San Francisco’s Round Health, pushes to solve medication adherence by combining a smart pill bottle and an app. Round Health first launched their medication reminder app in January with the mission of helping patients stay on track with their medication schedule. To follow-up, the group has now opened their “Round Refill” concept for pre-order. Patients pay co-pay + $20/mo ($10 if pre-order) to receive their medication in a connected pill bottle. The top of the bottle glows when it’s time to medicate and the app automatically orders more medications by tracking how many times the bottle has been opened. Round Refill is currently available for pre-order in California and plans to ship in 2017.
Round Refill seems to be another product that will be challenged in offering service to patients that do not have regular on-going prescriptions. At the same time, I’m also unsure of how they plan on handling multiple prescriptions from one patient. The $20 fee on top of co-pay seems fairly steep as well, especially considering that PillPack offers similar value for no extra cost. With that said, I can definitely see tech-forward millennials loving a service like this. As of right now, Round Refill has 455 pre-orders, almost half of their target.
5. ScriptDash
ScriptDash is another tech-forward pharmacy offering free delivery service in the San Francisco Bay Area. The pharmacy itself isn’t much different than any other in the neighborhood, however, their combination of free delivery and visibility into prescription orders sets the bar for pharmacy innovation. By providing an easy way to track prescriptions, orders, and refills through a mobile app and web interface, ScriptDash really fills the need that has been created by techies in the bay area. Apart from usual co-pay rates, all of the pharmacy’s services are free.
ScriptDash has a solid model but it will be interesting how they handle growth. My biggest worries revolve around delivery scale and courier liability. This model is especially concerning when a very similar SF-based startup, TinyRx, abruptly stopped its services on May 6. With $5M in funding, it’s both extremely odd and intriguing as to what triggered the decision. Convenience is awesome but I still don’t know if these delivery models are the right approach. | {
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A woman has revealed how a midwife held her baby – before revealing she had slept with the dad on a vacation.
The dramatic incident happened in Merseyside at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
The midwife in question, Joanne Lumsden, worked at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she featured on the Channel 4 reality show One Born Every Minute, but reportedly failed to declare a conflict of interest in this particular case.
The mom – who has not been identified – told The Liverpool Echo how she remains “haunted” by the sight of Ms. Lumsden with her baby.
The newborn daughter was delivered safely last summer – but shortly before she became pregnant, the dad went on a vacation to Benidorm, where he met Ms. Lumsden.
Ms. Lumsden now faces ongoing disciplinary action and is no longer employed by the hospital.
The mother of the newborn claims the dad started behaving in a strange manner after his trip to the island resort.
He would make excuses to miss scans and appointments related to the pregnancy she claimed.
The mom’s partner missed the birth of his first child and she believes this was due to fear of having his affair with Ms. Lumsden exposed.
The mother said she feels ‘violated’ by what happened and that any happy memories of the birth of her daughter have been tainted.
An official complaint with the hospital has been filed.
A day after the birth, she claims Ms. Lumsden revealed she met her partner in Benidorm, telling of how she had “rubbed suncream” into his back.
This revelation came just hours after she had given birth and while she was recovering from major surgery in hospital.
A week later, when a community midwife visited her home, the new mom claims she broke down in tears and told her what had happened.
The mom claims Ms. Lumsden later called her and revealed the details of the affair – while she was still under the care of Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
Speaking to the Echo about the ordeal, the mother said: “As a mom who was looking forward to the birth of her last baby, I was subjected to the most horrific ordeal any mother to be could ever imagine.
“I put my utmost trust and confidence into the hands of a midwife who I thought was a medical professional with mine and my daughter’s best interests at heart.”
“As a woman, I am now left with a life-long memory of the midwife holding my new-born baby in her arms with the knowledge that she was having sexual relations with my baby’s father during my pregnancy and being fully aware that I was under the care of her place of work.”
The mom added that this will “haunt” her for as long as she lives.
Ms. Lumsden no longer works at the hospital, and the community midwife is also the subject of disciplinary proceedings, but the details of that disciplinary case are not known.
A spokesperson for Liverpool Women’s Hospital Trust said: “Whilst we cannot discuss the detail of individual cases due to patient confidentiality, we can confirm that disciplinary proceedings were undertaken by the Trust as a result of two members of staff’s conduct.
“The Trust took this action immediately upon being made aware of the incident and an internal investigation was also conducted.
“The disciplinary process undertaken with the members of staff involved is now being dealt with by the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC).”
They continued: “The patient also made a formal complaint to the Trust and we have been in regular communication with them throughout the complaints process.
“We would like to apologise for the upset caused to the patient as a result of their experience.”
A spokesman for the Nursing and Midwifery Council said: “We cannot discuss cases or whether we have a case or not until they reach the hearing stage.”
The Sun Online has contacted the Lumsden household. | {
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Confession: For me, the scariest part of a writer’s conference is the cocktail party. There’s no structure. No speaker. No handouts. Instead, hundreds of people who are used to spending long hours at a keyboard in coffee-stained jammies are let loose into a hotel ball room and left to fend for themselves. There are a few, you can spot them right away, who relish these things. But for many of us, it’s a struggle. Here are some practical tips for tackling those introverted road blocks.
Step 1: Prepare in Advance
Google the keynote speakers, the VIP attendees, or anyone in particular you would like to meet at the event. It is amazing what you can learn. Perhaps someone shares your passion for rescue dogs and roller derby;
Ask friends who know people you’d like to meet if they’d be willing to set up a pre-event introduction, either online or off;
Send an Email to three people you’d like to get to know better, saying “I heard from [mutual friend] that you’re going to be at the SCBWI Summer Conference. I’ve heard so much about you, and I’m really looking forward to meeting you in person. Hope to see you there!”;
Enlist a Friend to Go with You;
Volunteer to Help with the Event;
Go with a Specific Goal in Mind: e.g., I will find a critique partner.
Step 2: Practice Your Small Talk
As Mr. Darcy laments: “I certainly have not the talent which some people possess, of conversing easily with those I have never seen before.” To which Elizabeth Bennet replies, that it is because you have never taken the trouble of practicing.
Here are some questions to help start conversation: “Have you been to many of these events?” “Have you heard Lori Halse Anderson speak before?” Relay something you’ve learned about the speaker from your advance planning.
Someone will inevitably ask you about your writing. Be ready with more than the standard, “I’m working on a YA manuscript.” Instead, be prepared with a one sentence hook. So what if the person you’re talking to isn’t an agent or an editor? Maybe that person has an agent and knows that their agent is looking for exactly what you described.
Step 3: Arrive Early
It can be more intimidating to enter an already crowded room than it is awkward to be one of the first few people there;
Arriving early also allows you to join the first small conversation group. People are usually relieved to have a new member join in.
Step 4: Take Your Name Tag Seriously
The way you present your name says a lot about you. Write your first name in large, bold letters with your last name below;
You want people to be able to read your name from a little bit of a distance.
On a related note, establish a firm handshake. There are actually short YouTube tutorials on how to perfect this skill. No joke.
When you read the name tag for one of the people you emailed in advance, walk up and say, “Jane! It’s so great to finally have a face to put with the name.”
Step 5: Establish a SafeHarbor
If you arrive with a friend, avoid the urge to talk together, alone in the corner. Instead, split up and walk the room in opposite directions with the goal of meeting up on the far side of the room. This way, you can walk the room confidently, knowing there is a safe harbor at the other end.
Step 6: Ask Questions/ Listen Attentively
Focus 100% on the person talking;
Keep your body language open (no crossed arms);
People love to talk about themselves; ask: “What are you enjoying most about your writing these days?” It’s a more interesting question than “What do you write,” and it leads to a lengthier answer from which a true conversation can arise.
Step 7: Business Cards
Some people like to collect business cards, others do not. Regardless, have plenty on hand in case you are asked.
Write on the back, e.g.: “Great to meet you at the SCBWI Conference.”
If you meet someone you’d like to contact later, request their card. Make a note on the back to help you remember that person.
Step 8: Next Day Follow Up
As a general rule, event organizers are underappreciated. Emailing them to say “thank you” will help them remember you.
Send an Email to some of the people you enjoyed meeting who may also be a good contact for you. Say something like: “So great to meet you at the SCBWI Conference. It’s so rare that I find another writer who enjoys rescue dogs and roller derby.”
Finally… A Caveat: Avoid walking around the party with a copy of this post, marking off each step as it is accomplished. There’s shy, then there’s just plain awkward. Have fun at your next writers conference!
Credits: Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice, chapter 31; Diane Darling, The Networking Survival Guide: Practical Advice to Help You Gain Confidence, Approach People, and Get the Success You Want (McGraw-Hill 2nd ed. 2010); Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People (Simon & Schuster reissue ed. 2009); Jane Jackson, The Shy Person’s Guide to Conference Networking (2013), http://www.rubyconnection.com.au/articles/2013/april/the-shy-persons-guide-to-conference-networking.aspx; A Shy Person’s Guide to Networking (2013), http://www.interlinkdirectory.com/article/shy-persons-guide-networking/
Photo Credit: tainara
About Anne Greenwood Brown Anne Greenwood Brown (@AnneGBrown) writes Young Adult ("YA") fiction. She is represented by Jacqueline Flynn of Joelle Delbourgo Associates. She is the author of the LIES BENEATH trilogy (Random House/Delacorte Press), GIRL LAST SEEN (co-author/ Albert Whitman & Co.), and COLD HARD TRUTH (Albert Whitman, April 2018). Anne was a proud contributor to Writer Unboxed's AUTHOR IN PROGRESS as well as a presenter at the 2016 UnConference. She also writes adult romance under the pen name "A. S. Green." | {
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If you pre-purchase the full version of Splatoon on Nintendo eShop, you'll get some special gear for your Inkling to wear in the Splatoon Global Testfire!
※This special gear only changes your look in the Splatoon.
Global Testfire and won't transfer to the full version. | {
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A man has been arrested for allegedly plotting to blow up Times Square with grenades, local reports say.
The man’s name has not been released, but he allegedly discussed buying grenades and detonating them in Times Square, according to ABC News, who cited law enforcement sources.
He was arrested in an undercover operation by the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force when he went to buy grenades, according to CNN and the New York Daily News. He is not believed to be a part of a larger plot and police say that he posed no immediate threat at the time of his arrest, according to ABC News.
The “lone wolf,” as investigators describe him, is expected to appear in federal court on Friday. The U.S. Attorney’s office is also reportedly set to comment on the case Friday.
New York has seen multiple acts of terrorism. In 2010, a bomb attempt was thwarted in Times Square when a T-shirt venders saw smoke coming out of a car and told police. (RELATED: New York Post Fires Back At Omar’s Trivialization Of 9/11: ‘Here’s Your Something’)
Multiple bombs were detonated in New York and New Jersey in 2016, resulting in 31 people being injured. One device detonated in a trashcan in New Jersey, and two more were found before they went off. A fourth bomb in a dumpster detonated later that day in Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, and a fifth bomb was found nearby before it went off.
More recently, Richard Rojas was charged with crashing his car into a group of people in Times Square in May 2017. One person was killed and 22 were injured. He was formally in the Navy and has mental health issues.
The FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected]. | {
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Its Stonehenge may only have been 18in tall but This is Spinal Tap is monumental, casting a long, none-more-black shadow over the mockumentary form. More than three decades on, it remains a masterful study of self-deluded blowhards convinced of their inherent majesty. But by also skewering the pit-stop road rhythms of the rockumentary, the movie’s meta was as heavy as its metal. It acknowledged the parasitical nature of its chosen genre because for your mockumentary to really sing, it helps to spoof something that has already accrued plenty of recognisable signifiers, familiar elements to play up to or against.
American Vandal review – Netflix sends itself up with a four-hour penis joke Read more
The unexpected but apparently unstoppable explosion in long-form true crime investigations – from the rough-justice podcast Serial to HBO’s killer nailbiter The Jinx – has pulled the genre up from its lurid roots and popularised a loftier, more austere tone. Where once true crime programming suggested kitchen knives spilling ketchup in wobbly reconstructions, the popular focus has now shifted to forensic analysis, seeking justice by walking the viewer patiently through a maze of evidence using data visualisation techniques to help construct a convincing case.
It was only a matter of time before someone held up a cracked mirror to serious-minded deep-dive crime series like Netflix’s Making A Murderer and The Keepers, and credit where it’s due: by giving the green light to American Vandal, Netflix happily handed creators Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda the freedom to undercut some of its most popular original programming. The streaming service even stumped up enough cash to ensure that this eight-episode investigation into a miscarriage of justice – school prankster Dylan being suspended for allegedly spraying graffiti penises on all 27 cars in the faculty car park – would have the same cumulative, multi-part heft of the best true crime big-hitters.
American Vandal’s secret weapon – apart from Jimmy Tatro, who plays Dylan as a biddable dimbulb with the ground-trembling voice of Vin Diesel – is the way Perrault and Yacenda mimic both the sleek, gimmicky infographics of nu-true crime but also interpolate the messy mixed-media bombardment of life at your average high school, from Instagram posts and YouTube videos to poorly shot smartphone footage and misspelled instant messaging. It all feels surprisingly, tangibly real and helps extend what is essentially a playground dick joke into a JFK-style, hall-of-mirrors investigative four-hour epic.
The exactness of your spoof can sometimes backfire. The ongoing IFC series Documentary Now! is essentially a wide-ranging anthology where SNL veterans Bill Hader and Fred Armisen mimic existing documentaries with such verisimilitude, it can feel like you might be missing half the gags if you have yet to see Errol Morris’s classic The Thin Blue Line or foodie sensation Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Fellow SNL star Andy Samberg has, between series of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, taken a rather more scattershot approach, assembling star-studded casts for daft sports mockumentary one-offs like Seven Days In Hell, featuring a ridiculous Wimbledon men’s match that lasts a week, and Tour De Pharmacy, a tell-all about a fictional 1980s cycling doping scandal that somehow convinced Lance Armstrong to appear as a talking head. Both felt like gleefully oversized spins on ESPN’s 30 By 30, the lauded documentary strand that lionises sports stories large and small.
A gripping TV series gives crime victims the last word – and captures a new mood Read more
In the UK, the genre has quietly made a tangible comeback on the BBC, the incubational home of Ricky Gervais’s original the Office, still a high watermark of TV mockumentaries. The corporation has rubbing up against itself in W1A, a bumbling fly-on-the-wall workplace farce starring Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville as a bemused executive trapped in an inescapable series of vapid, buzzword-dense meetings. The BBC’s digital channel BBC3 also has This Country, a slice-of-life doc about kids looking for kicks in a rural English village and the excellent People Just Do Nothing, a profile of the blustering staff of underground London radio station Kurupt FM that, over the course of four skunk-swamped seasons, has become steadily more emotionally invested in its thwarted characters.
So why the rise of mockumentaries now? The best examples often orbit around characters who, consciously or not, clearly have no real idea what they’re doing. This dangerous mix of hubris and mental flat-footedness now seems more prevalent than ever. Are we subconsciously recognising and responding to the inescapable echo of mockumentary in everyday life? Perhaps that’s why HBO’s Veep – not technically a mockumentary but a show that, with its roaming, eavesdropping camera, certainly borrows from the fly-on-the-wall toolbox – is wrapping up with its eighth season next year. The real world has, sadly, caught up. | {
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My feelings about “Venom” are decidedly mixed. On one hand, I came out of it thinking a better movie could have been made out of this material. On the other, I cannot deny I found what ended up onscreen to be very entertaining. There are times where I wanted filmmakers to realize how less is more and how silence can be golden, but you don’t go into a comic book movie like this expecting a Terrence Malick film, and its tagline of “the world has enough superheroes” serves as a way to make it stand out among others of its genre. With this one, we can expect a little more nastiness than usual, albeit of the PG-13 variety.
The character of Eddie Brock and his alter ego of Venom has been begging for a proper cinematic treatment ever since he made his debut in the highly disappointing “Spider-Man 3.” In that ill-fated sequel, Venom was introduced almost as an afterthought to where it seemed like the bosses at Sony and Columbia Pictures forced Sam Raimi to add the character into a movie which was already overflowing with them. Well, this time Venom gets his own movie which feels long overdue, and he is played by the great Tom Hardy who has played his share of larger than life characters to where he is right at home with this one.
“Venom” starts off like the average “Predator” movie does, with a spacecraft of some kind crashing down violently on planet Earth and introducing a foreign organism, in this case a symbiote, which will soon wreak havoc on humanity. This, however, doesn’t stop Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), a brilliant inventor, from experimenting on them with the help of desperate human subjects who just want a place to sleep and food to eat.
Meanwhile, we are introduced to Eddie Brock, an investigative journalist who is infinitely determined to get to the truth no matter what the cost. Eddie has a nice apartment in the great city of San Francisco and a loving girlfriend in district attorney Anne Weying (Michelle Williams, who looks lovelier in each movie she appears in), but all of this disappears when he goes after Carlton in an effort to expose his corruption. But with greed taking precedence over ethics, Carlton succeeds in ruining Eddie’s life and gets him fired from his job, and Anne breaks up with him upon learning he got into her email which contained confidential information. It makes you want to smack Eddie for not realizing he could have clicked on the “mark as unread” button to cover his tracks.
“Venom” then moves to several months later where Eddie is now living by himself and lamenting his present state where, when someone asks if he is Eddie Brock, he responds he used to be, a cliché which has been used one too many times. However, he gets a chance to be an investigative reporter again when the ethical and concerned Dr. Dora Skirth (Jenny Slate) informs him of the experiments Carlton is doing with the alien symbiotes. But when Dora sneaks Eddie into the Life Foundation which Carlton oversees, he ends up getting infected by a symbiote and inherits superpowers no mere mortal can easily handle.
It takes a bit for “Venom” to get things going as the filmmakers are not quick to see Eddie get infected by a symbiote. Once he does get infected, it provides Hardy with an interesting acting challenge as he has to play someone inhabited by another personality. Steve Martin did this to perfection in “All of Me,” and it is never as easy as it looks. As Eddie struggles to maintain some semblance of sanity while Venom seeks to dominate his body and soul, Hardy illustrates this uneasy balance with believability and a good dose of humor. Seeing him dive into a lobster tank in a restaurant just to bring down his temperature is a gas, let alone watching him eat constantly and not look like he’s gaining weight.
I was also surprised at how good Hardy’s American accent is here. The trailers for “Venom,” which did not do this movie many favors, made Hardy’s accent sound bizarre and out of place, so it’s a relief to see him pull it off without any hitches. In addition, the actor provides a perfectly ominous voice for Venom which comes close to equaling the one he gave Bane, and it is fun to watch Hardy essentially talk to himself as he races through the streets of San Francisco and reaching heights Steve McQueen never did in “Bullitt.”
The story reflects present day events as we have watched the most ethical of reporters get hammered by certain people who have made the terms “fake news” and “alternative facts” unforgivably popular. Fake news may just be smoke, but for some it is thick enough to hide behind. It’s also interesting to see Riz Ahmed play his villainous character of Carlton Drake as if he were a variation on Elon Musk. Ahmed portrays Carlton not so much as an evil mastermind, but instead as someone whose ambition cannot be reigned in, and it gets to where all sense of morality is lost to him as he convinces himself he is the one to save humanity from certain destruction.
“Venom,” however, does get bogged down a bit by needless clichés which I could have done without. As we watch Eddie drink away his sorrows in a lonely bar, someone asks if he is Eddie Brock. His answer of “I used to be” is a piece of dialogue I have heard far too many times. After watching “The Predator” in which Shane Black laid waste to a number of action movies clichés, I came into this one hoping Ruben Fleischer, the director of “Zombieland,” would inject a bit more freshness into these proceedings than he did.
Also, is it just me, or does Scott Haze, who plays evil henchman Roland Treece, look like Billy Corgan? Haze doesn’t get much of a chance to make Roland more than the average bad guy, and I kept waiting for Eddie to tell Roland he liked him better as the lead singer of Smashing Pumpkins. No such luck though.
The movie climaxes in a chaotic fashion with loud noises and explosions, and there are a couple of post-credit scenes which do deserve your attention. One of those scenes promises a follow-up with a character who aims to be as brutal as his name. There’s also a kick ass theme song done by Eminem in which the artist continues to spit out rhymes at lightning speed, although it might have been cooler to see it put at the movie’s beginning instead of being played during the end credits. I also could have done with more of Jenny Slate in the movie. She disappears from it way too soon.
Again, I left “Venom” with mixed feelings as I felt a better version of this material could have been brought to the silver screen. Still, what I did see was never boring, and watching Tom Hardy taking on such an iconic role was alone worth the price of admission. How you feel about the movie may depend on how familiar are with this comic book character. I myself never really read many comic books as a kid, so I am unsure how the most die-hard of fans will react to this finished product. My hope is more of them will get a kick out of it than not, but they can be infinitely critical to no end.
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Korea Korea For Travelers
Korea for Students
Korea For Expats This section is all about South Korea. Whichever aspect of South Korea appeals to you it is probably covered here. From the streets of Seoul to the beaches on the East Coast, I cover every location I visit.
New Zealand Originally my home, and now my home away from home. New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. In this section I cover all aspects of the country and find out what’s worth visiting. | {
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Le gouvernement Marois met sur la glace ses promesses électorales et crée un groupe de travail pour lui proposer des mesures afin de protéger les entreprises québécoises contre les prises de contrôle hostiles. Le comité est formé entre autres de l'ex-ministre libérale Monique Jérôme-Forget.
En campagne électorale, la première ministre Pauline Marois s'était engagée à créer un fonds d'investissement stratégique de 10 milliards de dollars pour protéger les entreprises et maintenir les sièges sociaux au Québec. Elle promettait de modifier les lois afin d'élargir les responsabilités des administrateurs pour qu'ils tiennent compte dans leur décision non seulement des intérêts des actionnaires mais aussi de ceux des travailleurs et de la communauté. Elle voulait protéger les administrateurs s'ils refusent une offre d'achat hostile.
Le Parti libéral et la Coalition avenir Québec avaient pris des engagements dans le même sens, alors que la tentative de prise de contrôle de Rona par Lowe's faisait les manchettes. Mme Marois avait d'ailleurs fait son annonce dans le stationnement d'une quincaillerie Rona de Saguenay.
Mais le ministre des Finances, Nicolas Marceau, est hésitant à dire que les promesses seront respectées. L'idée de créer un fonds de 10 milliards, « ça existe encore, et si c'est nécessaire, on y reviendra. Je veux entendre la communauté d'affaires sur ces questions », a-t-il affirmé en conférence de presse vendredi. Mais cet engagement semble être sur le point de passer à la trappe. M. Marceau a d'ailleurs souligné que l'État dispose déjà de « plusieurs fonds sur lesquels on peut agir pour assurer la protection des sièges sociaux et en attirer de nouveaux ».
Quant aux changements législatifs promis, « c'est important d'avoir un éclairage là-dessus, ce n'est pas simple », a-t-il dit, une précaution qui n'existait pas en campagne électorale. « Au Québec, on peut avoir le désir d'agir là-dessus, mais les dispositions de la loi sur les valeurs mobilières sont des dispositions qui sont à harmoniser avec celles des autres provinces canadiennes. Des changements à la loi ne feront pas l'unanimité au Canada, et ça prend un appui très solide de la communauté d'affaires québécoise. »
Nicolas Marceau se défend de mettre en veilleuse les promesses électorales. « Je mets le pied sur l'accélérateur, je veux que ça avance, que ça se fasse. Le gouvernement est en place depuis neuf mois, on ne peut pas tout faire en une journée », a-t-il expliqué.
Le comité devra remettre son rapport à l'automne. Il est présidé par Claude Séguin, vice-président de la firme CGI et ancien sous-ministre aux Finances. En plus de la « dame de fer » Monique Jérôme-Forget, il sera secondé entre autres par Andrew Molson (Molson Coors) et André Dion (ancien PDG de Rona).
Monique Jérôme-Forget a fait savoir que ses convictions politiques demeurent les mêmes et que le comité n'est pas partisan. Sa nomination ne heurte pas le chef libéral Philippe Couillard. « La participation, c'est une bonne chose. J'espère que Mme Jérôme-Forget pourra transmettre au gouvernement l'importance de maintenir un climat économique sain plutôt que de se disperser dans toutes les directions et manquer d'axes fondamentaux dans la politique économique », a-t-il affirmé après une allocution devant la Chambre de commerce de Québec. | {
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 18, 2018
Contact: [email protected], 202-224-4343
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced his own “Penny Plan” federal budget that will balance within five years by assuming the repeal of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 and utilizing the “Penny Plan.” Dr. Paul’s budget includes instructions that would pave the way for the expansion of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) to help Americans more easily cover their health care costs.
“I ran for office to put a stop to Washington’s out-of-control spending and skyrocketing debt. It’s time for conservatives to govern like conservatives, and my budget plan gives our Republican-controlled Congress a chance to prove to the American people that it is serious about getting our fiscal house in order,” said Dr. Paul.
Dr. Paul’s balanced budget also reforms Congress’ reconciliation and budget processes - all without making any changes to Social Security. Senate rules allow any senator to offer a budget if Senate leadership and the Budget committee do not report out a budget by April 1. As the bill would be a privileged motion, Dr. Paul’s budget will receive a vote on the Senate floor.
You can find more background on Dr. Paul’s proposal below, and you can read the bill HERE. Earlier today, Dr. Paul held a press conference on his budget proposal, and you can watch his remarks HERE.
You can also find a full budget report HERE. This budget report is a plain-text articulation of what is included in the budget resolution. The report also provides historical context, rationales, and supporting arguments for Dr. Paul’s proposed changes, including those both inside and outside the scope of simply changing spending levels.
Dr. Rand Paul’s Balanced Budget :
• Dr. Paul’s budget simply states that for every on-budget dollar the federal government spent in FY18, excluding the BBA, it spend one penny less for the next five years (at which point balance is reached), with spending then growing at one percent thereafter.
• Reduces spending by $404.8B in FY19 and by $13.35T over 10 years relative to baseline.
• Total spending still increases by 14.6 percent over the ten-year window. Only in Washington could a 14.6 percent increase be characterized as a cut.
• Balances without making any changes to Social Security.
• Makes no specific policy assumptions – all the savings are reflected in a new budget function (Function number 930: New Efficiencies, Consolidations, and Other Savings). This budget sets a goal of balance and then calls on Congress to use the tools provided to make the changes in law needed to achieve that objective.
The BBA of 2018
• The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 raised the discretionary spending caps imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011 nearly $300 billion. With federal debt over $21 trillion, the negative impact of borrowing more money for this spending outweighs any benefit derived from it.
Expansion of Health Savings Accounts
• Provides reconciliation instructions to the Senate Finance Committee to allow for expanded HSAs. Senator Paul’s HSA expansion would allow patients to save for their entire out-of-pocket costs and use HSAs to pay premiums, while also widening eligible disbursements to include supplements, over-the-counter medicine, and other activities that promote wellness and reduce the overall cost of health care.
Reconciliation and Budget Process Reform
• Provides reconciliation instructions to all committees with mandatory spending, ensuring every eligible committee participates in the reconciliation process, as was the process’ original purpose.
• Raises the waiver threshold for all budget points of order so the Senate is held to a higher standard.
• Makes the budget spending totals enforceable for 10 years instead of just one.
### | {
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The Obama administration has sharply curtailed drone strikes in Pakistan after a request from the government there for restraint as it pursues peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban, according to U.S. officials.
“That’s what they asked for, and we didn’t tell them no,” one U.S. official said. The administration indicated that it will still carry out strikes against senior al-Qaeda targets, if they become available, and move to thwart any direct, imminent threat to U.S. persons.
Concern about Pakistani political sensitivities provides one explanation for the absence of strikes since December, the longest pause in the CIA’s drone campaign since a six-week lull in 2011, after an errant U.S. air assault killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at a border post, triggering a diplomatic crisis.
The current pause follows a November strike that killed Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud just days before an initial attempt at peace talks was scheduled to begin. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government accused the United States of trying to sabotage the talks, and the Taliban canceled the meeting.
Since then, the Obama administration has worked to improve relations with Sharif, who took office last June in the first democratic transfer of power in Pakistani history. Administration officials have praised his efforts to address serious structural problems in Pakistan and to promote peace in the region.
A senior administration official, in response to queries, denied that any informal agreement had been reached, saying that “the issue of whether to negotiate with the Pakistani Taliban is entirely an internal matter for Pakistan.”
The administration is “continuing to aggressively identify and disrupt terrorist threats in the Afghan war theater and outside areas of active hostilities in line with our established CT [counterterrorism] objectives and legal and policy standards. . . . Reports that we have agreed to a different approach in support of Pakistani peace talks are wrong,” said the senior official, one of several interviewed for this article who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the sensitive matter.
Relations with Pakistan have warmed even as U.S. tensions have worsened with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has accused the administration of plotting against him, both with Pakistan and with the Pakistan-based Afghan Taliban, a separate but allied organization with which he has said he is trying to start his own peace negotiations.
The new round of Pakistan-
Taliban talks, which was due to begin Tuesday, was postponed by the government after two members of a Taliban-named delegation declined to participate.
Disclosure of a pause in the drone campaign in Pakistan came as a senior Republican lawmaker assailed the Obama administration for tightening the guidelines under which lethal drone strikes are permitted.
Rep. Mike Rogers (Mich.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday that policy changes made by President Obama last year to the drone program “are an utter and complete failure, and they leave Americans’ lives at risk.”
Rogers cited the spread of al-Qaeda offshoots in Yemen, Syria and Africa, and said that “individuals who would have been previously removed from the battlefield by U.S. counterterrorism operations for attacking or plotting to attack against U.S. interests remain free because of self-imposed red tape.”
The chairman did not mention the CIA program in Pakistan. His comments came during a House hearing on security threats and referred to new targeting criteria imposed by Obama last May that are supposed to allow strikes only against al-Qaeda operatives who pose a continuing and imminent threat to U.S. persons, and only in cases when there is a “near certainty” of no civilian casualties.
The nation’s intelligence director signaled his disagreement with Rogers later in the hearing. Asked whether he thinks the country is at greater risk because of Obama’s counterterrorism policies, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. said, “No, I do not.”
“I don’t think it has anything to do with the policies of this administration or any other,” Clapper said. “What I think it has more to do with is the transformation, if you will, of the terrorist threat, its diffusion, its globalization and its franchising.”
While strikes in Pakistan appear to have temporarily halted, they have continued in Yemen, including recent attacks that have reportedly killed civilians.
White House officials also disputed Rogers’s characterization, saying Obama’s constraints on the drone program are meant to allow the continuation of strikes against terrorist groups, but under rules that are less likely to incite hostility toward the United States.
“The president has made clear that even as we aggressively pursue terrorist networks — through more targeted efforts and by building the capacity of our foreign partners — America must move off a war footing,” said White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden. “We will not be safer if people abroad believe we strike within their countries without regard for the consequence.”
Asked after the hearing what people or countries he was referring to when he talked about “individuals” who “remain free,” Rogers said that “terrorists who are in the crosshairs and would be removed from the battlefield under the old policy are still in the crosshairs, but are still actively planning attacks because of the policy change.”
The counterterrorism policies adopted last year were also supposed to lead to greater transparency — a goal that has been largely unfulfilled. Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) urged intelligence officials at Tuesday’s hearing to release aggregate data each year on how many people the United States had killed in counterterrorism operations and how many might be civilians.
Officials showed scant enthusiasm for the proposal. CIA Director John Brennan said it was a “worthwhile recommendation” that the administration could consider, but he declined to comment on it further.
Sharif gained an endorsement for peace talks from an all-party conference shortly after he took office. Since then, he told Parliament last week, militants have continued killing innocent civilians and Pakistani soldiers.
While “the government is doing what it can to stop drone attacks,” which have bolstered extremism and anti-Americanism, “we can no longer allow the massacre of innocent civilians” by terrorists, he said. “The situation is not acceptable anymore.”
Sharif also said that “the whole nation will stand behind” a military offensive against the extremists if peace efforts fail. The administration has pressed Pakistan for years to launch a full-scale military assault against the Haqqani network, a branch of the Afghan Taliban that is headquartered in the same tribal area along the Pakistani-Afghan border as the Pakistani group.
But the lines dividing the groups are often hard to draw. In late 2009, seven CIA officers and contractors were killed in Khost, Afghanistan, in a suicide attack that al-Qaeda claimed as revenge for a CIA drone strike that year that killed Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. He was replaced by his clansman, Hakimullah Mehsud, who appeared in a subsequently released video along with the bomber.
The strike that killed Hakimullah Mehsud was believed to be CIA retaliation for the Khost attack.
Julie Tate contributed to this report. | {
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Bway makes containers including food and paint cans and ammunition boxes. It employs about 3,000 people at 27 facilities in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, according to its website. At the Little Village plant, it manufactures metal paint and food cans, among other products. It also has two facilities in Elk Grove Village and an executive office in Oak Brook. | {
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Lorde doesn't need the help of a stylist for her upcoming tour — instead, she's hoping her fans can help
Lorde Is Asking Fans to Send Her T-Shirts to Wear on Her World Tour
Lorde wants to honor her “heroes” through her tour wardrobe — and she doesn’t need the help of a stylist to do it. Instead, she’s hoping her fans can help.
The Grammy-winning songstress reached out via Twitter on Saturday with a favor to ask — donations of “GENUINE/AUTHENTIC” band merchandise that she can wear during her shows in order to honor her musical idols.
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“Ok time to quit playing. need to rep my heroes on this tour,” she wrote, naming Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Paul Simon, Simon and Garfunkel, and Phil Collins in particular.
Anyone willing to part with their merchandise won’t be left without anything in return. Lorde offered a “homedrawn tshirt by me!” in the swap.
Fans wasted no time in replying and offering up their apparel.
RELATED VIDEO: Alessia Cara Among Only a Few Female Winners At Male-Dominated Grammys 2018
Lorde announced her 2018 Melodrama world tour back in June. The North American leg kicks off on March 1, 2018, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Following her loss at the male-dominated Grammy Awards just last month, the singer took out a full-page ad in the New Zealand Herald to thank fans and give a shout-out to some of her fellow nominees.
“I just wanted to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for loving Melodramathe way you did,” scribbled Lorde, whose second album lost the album of the year trophy to Bruno Mars‘ 24K Magic. “My nomination belongs to you.”
She also included hand-drawn tributes to the other nominated artists, like SZA and Stevie Nicks, as well as several talents from her home country. | {
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Story highlights Afrah Nasser is a Yemeni journalist and blogger currently living in Sweden
She says she is astonished by the role of women in Yemen's anti-government protests
Nasser hopes the uprising will lead to greater gender equality
It's hard not to become distressed, when I'm carefully following the situation in Yemen since violence got worse. It's even more troublesome not to become distressed thinking that there is a bleak future waiting for Yemen.
The fight by the security forces against unarmed protesters is indeed inhuman. More than 2,000 protesters have been murdered and more than 8,000 wounded by security forces across Yemen.
Afrah Nasser, Yemeni blogger and activist.
Admittedly, the uprising has a long way to go but one of its great merits so far is the exceptional participation of women.
I have been astonished by the growing numbers of female protesters as the uprising has proceeded. It started with just a few women; then day after day the number multiplied.
Thousands of female protesters have been actively participating in demonstrations across the country since February 2011. Female doctors have been playing an important role treating wounded protesters and female activists have been running seminars on political issues.
Mr Saleh's (Yemen's current president) security forces arrested four female doctors on 19 April 2011, while the doctors were marching along with a peaceful demonstration to provide medical help if needed. The female doctors were released after a huge condemnation and pressure from protesters.
Even female protesters were not immune from the savage killing by pro-government thugs. On the 16 October 2011, I was saddened to see a female protester being shot dead by a thug's bullets.
Aziza Othman was murdered in Taiz during an attack at a peaceful and unarmed protest by women. A very important recognition of women's participation in Yemen's uprising is the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Tawakkol Karman, one of the leading pro-democracy figures in Yemen.
I believe that there are several motives behind this amazing participation by women -- I myself joined the protests and rallies because I want to build and improve my country.
I wanted it to be a double revolution; a political one to topple President Saleh and a feminist one to ensure that women have equal rights in what Yemenis hope will be a new Yemen. It was a double political statement: First, that women have as much right to call for democracy as men, and an indirect message to lift gender apartheid.
Indeed, it's been hard to be a woman in Yemen. A woman's gender, by default, deprives her of rights enjoyed by men. Women in Yemen have been always marginalized in law. As in many developing countries, women in Yemen suffer from limited access to healthcare, economic opportunities and education.
I remember vividly attending a seminar in Sana'a by Amal al-Basha, one of the leading feminist and human rights activists in Yemen and founder of The Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights in in March this year. I asked her, "Do you think that the uprising will serve women's rights?"
"We have been dealing with a state system that marginalised women for over three decades; unfairly snatching their rights," she said. "Women in Yemen have only a restrained degree of legal protection in regard to family matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance.
"Many women in Yemen are forced to get married when they are still children. This corrupt system means women in Yemen have one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Seven women are raped every month in Yemen, with no concrete punishment from the state for rapists.
"Women in Yemen also suffer from illiteracy. The current system provides a relatively low degree of protection for women's physical integrity.
"There are no laws against domestic violence and the law does not recognize the concept of spousal rape. There is zero observation and accountability by the government to ban the practice of female genital mutilation. How can women not call for change! Of course the uprising will serve women's rights," she told me.
In a nutshell, the participation of women in the uprising has huge merit. What women have done so far embodies their civil and political liberty.
Bearing in mind that freedom for women in Yemen is usually subject to numerous limitations; their participation in the uprising is extraordinary. What they are doing is really a protest against socio-political norms that have always limited their freedoms. | {
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Image caption Genetics appear to dictate how the cancer behaves
Men with prostate cancer and an inherited gene mutation have the worst form of the disease, research reveals.
The BRCA2 gene is linked to hereditary breast cancer, as well as prostate and ovarian cancer.
Now scientists say that as well as being more likely to get prostate cancer, men with BRCA2 are also more likely to develop aggressive tumours and have the poorest survival rates.
They say these men should be treated quickly to save lives.
This study shows that doctors need to consider treating men with prostate cancer and a faulty BRCA2 gene much sooner than they currently do, rather than waiting to see how the disease develops Prof Ros Eeles , Lead researcher
Around one in every 100 men with prostate cancer will have the BRCA2 mutation.
These men might benefit from immediate surgery or radiotherapy, even if their disease is at an early stage and would normally be classified as low risk, according to the latest work in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Diverse disease
Prostate cancer can grow extremely slowly or very quickly, and this is something that is hard to predict early on.
Some men may live symptom-free for a lifetime, despite having this cancer.
For many, treatment is not immediately necessary.
But researchers say men with BRCA2 and prostate cancer should be treated early and aggressively because their tumour is more likely to spread.
Prof Ros Eeles and colleagues at The Institute of Cancer Research in London and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust found prostate cancers spread more quickly and were more often fatal in men who had inherited a faulty BRCA2 gene than in men without the faulty gene.
Prostate cancer The prostate is a small gland in the pelvis found only in men. Its job is to make the fluid part of semen that sperm swim in
Prostate cancer does not normally cause symptoms until the cancer has grown large enough to affect surrounding structures like the urethra that carries urine from the bladder
This can lead to problems passing urine - needing to pee more often or difficulty starting to urinate
Prostate cancer can be diagnosed by taking a biopsy (a small tissue sample of the prostate gland)
Some men may be advised to delay having treatment if the tumour is very slow growing and not causing any problems
Others may want to have surgery to remove the entire prostate
For some, treatment may offer the best chance of cure but it can cause serious side effects including impotence and incontinence
They looked at the medical records of prostate cancer patients which included 61 men with BRCA2, 18 men with a similar gene mutation called BRCA1, and 1,940 men with neither mutations.
Patients with BRCA2-mutations were significantly less likely to survive their cancer, living an average of 6.5 years after diagnosis compared with 12.9 years for non-carriers. They were also more likely to have advanced disease at the time of diagnosis.
'More deadly type'
Prof Eeles said: "It is clear from our study that prostate cancers linked to inheritance of the BRCA2 cancer gene are more deadly than other types.
"It must make sense to start offering affected men immediate surgery or radiotherapy, even for early-stage cases that would otherwise be classified as low-risk.
"We won't be able to tell for certain that earlier treatment can benefit men with inherited cancer genes until we've tested it in a clinical trial, but the hope is that our study will ultimately save lives by directing treatment at those who most need it."
More than 40,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year.
Men with a significant family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer in addition to prostate cancer can be offered BRCA1/2 testing at diagnosis, but it is not routinely offered to all patients diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK.
Dr Julie Sharp of Cancer Research UK, said: "This study shows that doctors need to consider treating men with prostate cancer and a faulty BRCA2 gene much sooner than they currently do, rather than waiting to see how the disease develops.
"We knew that men who inherit a faulty BRCA2 gene are at a greater risk of developing prostate cancer but this is the largest study to show that the faulty gene also makes the disease more likely to develop quickly and spread." | {
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Roku is bringing its free, ad-supported Roku Channel to the UK. The service, which is available starting today, will give access to over 10,000 on-demand movies, TV episodes, and documentaries, including Fifth Gear, Skins, Get Carter, and The Wicker Man. You’ll be able to access the Roku Channel on Roku devices, Now TV sticks, and Sky Q set-top boxes, and streaming quality goes up to 1080p, depending on the content and exact hardware you’re using.
All of this content is available for free, but there will be ads interspersed throughout the course of whatever you’re watching. Roku says that it’ll try to show viewers a similar amount of ads to what they’d see on other platforms, and in the case of TV shows, it’ll attempt to place ads during the show’s original ad breaks. You won’t have to watch an ad before you start watching something, and Roku tells me it won’t allow the same ad to play more than once in a half-hour period.
The Roku Channel launched in the US back in 2017
The Roku Channel originally launched in the US way back in 2017, and since then, it’s expanded with the launch of an online web-player, live news, and a dedicated kids and family section. Perhaps most significantly, in 2019 Roku added the ability to subscribe to pay TV content providers from within the Roku channel like Showtime, Starz, and HBO.
Although there’s no sign of the US’s live channels, web interface, or premium TV subscriptions, the kids and family section has made the cut. This will provide a dedicated section for family-friendly content, and Roku also says this content will show fewer ads. However, there are no separate user profiles available within the Roku Channel, so you can’t give children a dedicated profile, safe in the knowledge that they won’t stumble across anything they’re not supposed to.
Although Roku is best known for its streaming hardware, its CEO Anthony Wood said in 2018 that he sees the company more as an ad business than a hardware business. Now, with the UK launch of the Roku Channel, this focus on ad-supported content is getting a big boost outside of the US. | {
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One consequence is an upending of the traditional pattern, in which middle-aged children take in an elderly parent. As $15-an-hour factory jobs are replaced by $7- or $8-an-hour retail jobs, more men in their 30s and 40s are moving in with their parents or grandparents, said Cheryl Thiessen, the director of Jackson/Vinton Community Action, which runs medical, fuel and other aid programs in Jackson and Vinton Counties.
Other unemployed or low-wage workers, some with families, find themselves staying with one relative after another, Ms. Thiessen said, serially wearing out their welcome.
“A lot of major employers have left, and the town is drying up,” Ms. Thiessen said of Jackson. “We’re starting to lose small shops, too Hallmark, the jewelry and shoe stores, the movie theater and most of the grocery stores.”
Shari Joos, 45, a married mother of four boys in nearby Wellston, said, “If you don’t work at Wal-Mart, the only job you can get around here is in fast food.”
Between her husband’s factory job and her intermittent work, they made $30,000 a year in the best of times, Mrs. Joos said. Since last fall, when her husband was laid off by the Merillat cabinet factory, which downsized to one shift a day from three, keeping anywhere near that income required Mrs. Joos to take a second job. She works at a school cafeteria each weekday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m and then drives to Wal-Mart, where she relaxes in her car before starting her 2-to-10 p.m. shift at the deli counter.
Her 20-year-old son went to college for two years, earning an associate degree in information science, but cannot find any jobs nearby. He still works at McDonald’s and lives at home as he ponders whether to move to a distant city, as most local college graduates must. Her 22-year-old son works at Burger King and lives with his grandparents “that was his way of moving out,” Mrs. Joos said. | {
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For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.
Michelle Fields, the reporter for Breitbart News who alleged that Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, grabbed her and forcefully yanked her toward the ground after a Trump speech on Tuesday night, filed a criminal complaint against Lewandowski on Friday morning.
The police report alleges battery on the part of Lewandowski and was filed in Jupiter, Florida, where the incident took place. Here is the police report:
NEWS RELEASE UPDATE Misdemeanor Battery Investigation Update (PDF)
NEWS RELEASE UPDATE Misdemeanor Battery Investigation Update (Text)
Independent Journal Review first reported on the complaint.
I guess these just magically appeared on me @CLewandowski_ @realDonaldTrump. So weird. pic.twitter.com/oD8c4D7tw3 — Michelle Fields (@MichelleFields) March 10, 2016
This post has been updated to include confirmation from the Jupiter PD PIO. | {
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Athletes Should Fear The Heat More Than The Heart Attack
Enlarge this image toggle caption iStockphoto iStockphoto
When a runner's heart stops during a marathon, it gets a lot of press — even though it's actually a pretty rare event. A more common killer among runners, and a condition that needs more prevention efforts, is heatstroke, according to a study by Israeli researchers.
During a 2011 running race, physicians at a Tel Aviv hospital noticed there were far more heatstroke victims admitted than cardiac patients. They wondered if this was an anomaly, so they analyzed local races from March 2007 to November 2013, encompassing 137,580 runners.
Across those races, there were two serious cardiac events, neither of which was fatal or life threatening. But there were 21 serious heatstroke cases, including two fatalities and 12 that were life threatening.
There's a continuum of heat illnesses, ranging from milder heat cramps all the way to heatstroke, which is defined as a fever above 104 degrees and symptoms including dry, hot skin, rapid breathing and unconsciousness. When the body gets that hot, the kidneys, brain and other organs can fail.
One caveat: It gets hot in Tel Aviv. It's possible that not every race site will face the same heatstroke danger, though "it's reasonable to assume that heat stroke is just as common in other countries with similar climate," Dr. Sami Viskin, senior author of the study and a cardiologist at Tel Aviv Medical Center, told Shots via email. (And heatstroke can occur in mild climates too.)
It's important for racers to be prepared for heat. That means acclimatizing to warmer weather — though that can take up to two weeks, so it's not always practical. The authors say it may be better to schedule races during the summer, when participants are used to the heat, rather than the spring. People also should beware of racing if they've recently had a fever, since that can reduce the body's ability to ward off heatstroke, the authors say.
The National Athletic Trainers' Association also recommends drinking enough fluids before, during and after exercise to help avoid overheating.
And race organizers need to be able to diagnose heatstroke quickly by taking a runner's body temperature rectally on site, so they can provide proper cooling, most effectively by immersing the person in a cold water bath.
Heatstroke is a big problem, says Dr. George Chiampas, a Northwestern Medicine emergency medicine physician. He's also medical director of the Chicago Marathon, which made some changes after the 2007 race was halted amid high temperatures that sickened hundreds. (The single death that year was actually a result of a heart condition, not the heat.)
Now runners see green, yellow, red or black flags along the route to indicate whether the conditions, including weather, are good, less than ideal, potentially dangerous or so bad that the race has been stopped, Chiampas tells Shots. Post-race surveys show that runners run more slowly and adjust their strategy if conditions are yellow or red, he says.
And medical personnel near the finish line are trained to talk with runners to see if their mental status has been affected — a sign of heat illness.
The study was published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. | {
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Mysuru District Police arrested two Bangladeshi citizens for illegal migration.
Nanjangud Police arrested Mohammed Abdullah and Mohammed Habeebulla of Sathkira in Bangladesh.
The duo was working in a factory in Himmavu Industrial area in Nanjangud taluk. On a tip-off, the Police took them into custody. During the investigation, they revealed about migration from Bangladesh.
According to the Police, the duo was in Bengaluru and shifted to Nanjangud year back. | {
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india
Updated: Dec 31, 2018 08:14 IST
For Kashmir, 2018 presented some of the direst numbers seen in recent times. Terror-related incidents, at 587, were at the highest since 2012. The deaths of 240 militants and 86 securitymen made it the bloodiest year in six years. Civilian deaths jumped 167% from two years ago. By December 29, forces killed at least 240 militants, including 12 top commanders of various militant groups. Most of the violence was centred in south Kashmir’s four districts – Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag and Kulgam.
Closely tied with the security situation is Kashmir’s political reality, and what many saw as an audacious experiment on that front began unravelling early in the year. Strains between Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party reached breaking point, ending the reign of the elected government. While both parties tolerated differences on their approach to critical issues such as security (the BJP was believed to be inclined towards a more muscular approach compared to its ruling partner) for most part of their three-year relationship, the parting of ways came in the aftermath of protests in Jammu’s Kathua.
It was mid-April when two BJP ministers were forced to step down after they organised protests in support of suspects in the rape-murder of an eight-year-old girl in a Jammu village. Roughly two months later, the BJP announced it was quitting the alliance, citing “discrimination in the treatment of Jammu and Ladakh” and the Mufti government’s general approach to militancy.While resigning as chief minister on June 19, Mufti said she would not be part of efforts to turn the Valley into “enemy territory”. Roughly five months later – the assembly had been kept in suspended animation during this period – Mufti staked claim for the government with the help of her arch-rival National Conference led by Omar Abdullah. This prompted the governor to dissolve the assembly.
Five days before the BJP-PDP alliance broke, the Valley was rocked on June 14 by the killing of Kashmiri journalist Shujaat Bukhari – a murder that took place on the eve of Eid, shattering a delicate peace struck by the Ramzan ceasefire.
What has followed in the months since is an escalation of tensions marked by a hardening of security operations, growing number of protests, targeted killing of security personnel (approximately 40 off-duty Kashmiri policemen were killed) and even tit-for-tat abductions of families after police detained the kin of wanted militants.
The year ahead poses tough challenges for the administration, chief among which will be holding the assembly and Lok Sabha elections peacefully. | {
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By the Popular Women’s Movement (MFP) Committee
Published in the printed edition n° 67 of the periodical El Pueblo, March 2018.
Women of the popular classes are an important part of the rise of the struggle of the masses. Today in the heart of women’s organizations a struggle is beginning between proletarian feminism and bourgeois feminism. Mothers, wives, workers, fighters, are searching for a path, therefore it is of utmost importance that it be the ideology of the working class which guides their endeavors.
The idea of woman, a reflection of politics and economics
In every society, the predominant ideas reflect the economic and political base that sustain that society. These ideas are transmitted primarily through education and the media. Therefore, ideas around women also become detached from that base. In our country, capitalism is backward and has semifeudal foundations, thus the ideology and conception of women’s role is backward and feudal. In other words, historically reactionary and patriarchal.
From there we understand that the idea of women as inferior to men did not fall from the sky. Neither did it arise with capitalism, rather, it is much older, in fact, it was born as a product of the emergence of class society and private property, centuries ago. Because of this, women’s oppression can only disappear in communist society, where private property no longer exists in the means of production.
In Chile, although they want to depict a “modern” country, we women are politically, economically, and culturally undervalued. The miserable conditions of life that bureaucratic capitalism (capitalism which is backward and submitted to foreign capital) imposes, fall most heavily on women of the popular classes.
Women don’t all fight the same battle
Proletarian feminism explains that the woman of the popular classes is exploited and oppressed, first, for being part of the people, and secondarily, for being a woman. In other words, she suffers oppression based on class and sex. Because of that, not all women find themselves in the same trench, because there also exist women who exploit the people, pertaining to the monopoly and usurer classes of our country.
On the other side, we have women of the popular classes, who constitute the immense majority: workers, peasants, temporary workers, domestic employees, migrants, small traders, students, intellectuals and professionals, etc. All of them, in addition to working in productive gainful employment, work in the home raising children and supporting the family without payment. It is also these women of the popular classes who are the strongest in the face of adversity when they fight for housing, for wages in the strike, or the right to education. The highest example of valiance and bravery are the Mapuche women in their struggle for land and survival as a people.
Non-proletarian ideas about women divide the people
Bourgeois and petit-bourgeois feminism deal with the problem primarily from a cultural point of view, decoupling it from its political and economic base. And even worse, they propose an individualist path of liberation, which will never conquer rights for women, because as we have indicated, the origins of women’s oppression are in the social relations of production. And because of that, we must fight to transform them, destroying the old State that defends them, adhering ourselves to the struggle for New Democratic Revolution.
Within the views that divide us as a people, there are the more recalcitrant positions, which affirm that the problem is that men “are bad,” while others claim that women’s liberation would be associated almost exclusively with sexual liberty and even with social advancement, centering on competing with men. At the same time, out of a lack of understanding of the material and class base, petit-bourgeois feminism looks for the solution to the problem of double oppression in an individual liberation: “my body, my choice,” “I liberate myself,” and not in the collective struggle against class and sex oppression by women of the popular classes together with their male counterparts.
The idea that we can sweep away male chauvinism through individual liberation is an illusion, seeing as the root of the problem is found in the political and economic base of our society. Only by changing this will we be able to sweep away the male chauvinism which is characteristic of patriarchy. Consequently, all steps toward uniting women to the struggle and combating male chauvinism at the same time are an advance in this sense. In turn, it is the men of the people who actively unite with the struggle that go about combating the male chauvinist ideas in which they have been educated, advancing together with their female counterparts.
We salute the women of the popular classes who are organizing themselves, who are daring to march, debate, and search for the path to liberation. We salute their vigorous momentum, as demonstrated in the days of mobilization and in their day-to-day struggles. Brave women of the popular classes who advance their class position, opposing every form of oppression and exploitation, lifting their head to struggle against the abuses and violence exerted against them, just as a growing number of male counterparts are doing.
Without the emancipation of women, there will be no emancipation of humanity. Without the struggle of class conscious women, there will be no revolution. The “woman question” is not a minor matter. The role of women is crucial in the revolutionary struggle.
Unleash the revolutionary fury of women! | {
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New ID cards are supposed to be 'unforgeable' - but it took our expert 12 minutes to clone one, and programme it with false data
Adam Laurie is no ordinary hacker. In the world of computing, he is considered a genius - a man whose talents are used by government departments and blue-chip companies to guard against terrorists and cyber-criminals.
But even by his standards, what he is about to demonstrate is mind-boggling - and deeply disturbing.
Laurie is holding one of 51,000 ID cards issued by the Home Office to foreign nationals currently working or studying in Britain.
Flawed: The new ID card design, with the same data we were able to forge
It is similar to the ID card for British citizens unveiled last week by Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, as part of the Government's ongoing National Identity Scheme.
Embedded inside the card for foreigners is a microchip with the details of its bearer held in electronic form: name, date of birth, physical characteristics, fingerprints and so on, together with other information such as immigration status and whether the holder is entitled to State benefits.
This chip is the vital security measure that, so the Government believes, will make identity cards 'unforgeable'.
But as I watch, Laurie picks up a mobile phone and, using just the handset and a laptop computer, electronically copies the ID card microchip and all its information in a matter of minutes.
He then creates a cloned card, and with a little help from another technology expert, he changes all the information the card contains - the physical details of the bearer, name, fingerprints and so on. And he doesn't stop there.
With a few more keystrokes on his computer, Laurie changes the cloned card so that whereas the original card holder was not entitled to benefits, the cloned chip now reads 'Entitled to benefits'.
As a chilling twist, he adds a message that would be visible to any police officer or security official who scanned the card: 'I am a terrorist - shoot on sight.'
And all of this has been done in such a way as to fool the electronic readers intended to check the ID card's authenticity. It is, quite simply, a terrifying achievement.
For the implications of what he has demonstrated could scarcely be more serious. Laurie's fake card could be used to fool banks, commit fraud and maybe even illegally claim benefits or free NHS care.
More disturbing still, it could be used to cover the tracks of terrorists planning atrocities on British or foreign soil. By any sensible measure, his demonstration, as part of a special Mail investigation, should be the final nail in the coffin of the Government's £5.4-billion ID scheme.
The card unveiled by the Home Secretary will not hit the streets until the end of this year, so Laurie has not had the chance to test the precise design.
But according to the UK Identity And Passport Service, it is essentially the same and potentially just as vulnerable as the Home Office's 'foreign nationals' card we tested.
'It is the same technology,' a spokesman told me. 'We're not running two different systems. It is just the facade that is different.'
This does not augur well for the reputation of the supposedly fail-safe ID card. The Government says the scheme will be rolled out only on a 'voluntary' basis, beginning with a trial run in Manchester in November.
But if Labour wins the next General Election and continues with its current policy, the scheme will be expanded nationwide by 2012.
And, as many banks, businesses and public service providers start to require an ID card as part of routine identity checks, Labour hopes the public will feel it has little option other than to 'opt in' to carrying a card, if only to make life simpler.
But would you volunteer for one? The Government insists the technology is totally secure. This investigation shows that the very opposite is true.
Our inquiries began last December, when Adam Laurie and I approached the Home Office with our suspicions that ID cards for foreign nationals, issued for the first time just one month earlier, were potentially flawed.
Officials agreed to meet us to discuss our concerns - then cancelled at the last minute. So we decided to test the system for ourselves. It took us several months to persuade a foreign student to lend us his card to examine. But when we got one, even we were shocked by what we found.
Within 12 minutes of laying his hands on it, Laurie had made a clone. I'll explain what he did next, but first some background.
Disturbing: The card, unveiled by Home Secretary Alan Johnson, will not hit the streets until next year
The Identity Cards Act introduced by Labour in 2006 states that the National Identity Register, which is the backbone of the scheme, may contain 50 separate categories of information about you.
These range from 'biometric data' - your physical characteristics, fingerprints, facial image and so on - to your current and previous addresses, your immigration status, your National Insurance, passport and driving licence numbers.
And, once registered for the scheme, if you fail to inform the Identity And Passport Service of any changes of address, you can be fined up to £1,000.
Contrary to common belief, only two sections of the community were ever to have been forced to have ID cards: foreign nationals from outside the EU wishing to reside in the UK and workers at airports. Now, following an outcry by the unions, only foreign nationals will be compelled to have them.
Even so, it is a huge project. By the end of this year, it is expected that 75,000 cards will have been issued, forming the basis of tougher immigration controls.
For our investigation we borrowed one of these cards from a foreign student whom we shall call Albert (he has asked that we do not use his true name).
About the size of a credit card, it displays his photograph, as well as printed details of his name, date of birth and so on. Embedded inside the plastic, however, is a computer chip that contains an additional digital record of all of these details, together with a copy of Albert's fingerprints.
This is called a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip. It features a tiny antenna that allows the card to bounce back information when contacted by a special electronic 'reader' device.
And it is this which was supposed to be the 'unbreakable' security measure that would ensure ID cards could never be cloned or faked.
We set out to prove whether this was indeed the case, using technology that is freely available on the High Street. We have deliberately withheld some details of our procedure, so as not to encourage criminals. But at its simplest, this is how it works.
To create his 'clone', Adam Laurie studied the card to locate a particular set of numbers that are printed on it. (These provide a key to cracking the encryption on the chip but, for security reasons, we will not reveal where they are).
Laurie then inputted these numbers into a standard Nokia mobile phone, which comes pre-equipped with chip-scanning software.
In seconds, the phone was able to read and copy the readable digital information contained in the chip.
Laurie then held the phone against a blank plastic smart card, of the sort routinely used in office buildings for electronic entry systems or for Transport for London's Oyster cards, all of which contain similar RFID chips.
He was then able to download Albert's ID chip details on to the blank smart card, creating a perfect copy or 'clone'. So far, so extraordinary. But there is more.
Would we also be able to alter the cloned card, changing the details to match another person's data? In other words, would we be able to make an ID chip that was not only a copy of a genuine one, but was a tailor-made fake - the sort that would be much sought-after by any criminal or terrorist seeking the ultimate false proof of identity?
This was a more complex process because the ID chips are supposed to be tamper-proof. Each chip stores its holder's personal data in 16 separate files, known as 'datagroups'.
Technology available on the High Street: Standard Nokias come equipped with chip-scanning software
So, for example, Number 1 datagroup has details of Albert's name, date of birth and so on. Number 2 holds a digital version of his photograph, Number 3 his fingerprints right through to Number 13, which holds details of his immigration status, and Number 14 which is reserved for future use - possibly iris scan data.
Each one of these files is supposed to be protected with a special digital key, so that if anyone attempts to change it, the card would be identifiable as a fake to any official with a digital chip reader.
To get round this hurdle, we recruited the help of another technology expert, Jeroen van Beek, an Amsterdam-based computer consultant who advises many top companies on digital security.
Drawing on the work of renowned New Zealand computer scientist Peter Gutmann, our team was able to alter the contents of each datagroup and then 'relock' them, so that the card would be accepted as genuine.
We had created a perfect fake chip. The Government's 'fail-safe' security had failed.
So how could we prove that our fake card would work in everyday use? Well, according to the Home Office's Identity And Passport Service (IPS) and the Government's Directgov website, there will be three methods used to verify ID cards as they slowly become more commonplace.
The first method is simply a visual check. You would present your ID card to a shopkeeper, bank worker, police officer or whoever and they would scrutinise the printed details on the card to confirm you were indeed the rightful holder.
The second would be an onsite check where your face or fingerprints would be compared with those held in the card chip. The third would be an electronic comparison of your face or fingerprints with those lodged on the National Identity Register when you applied for your card.
As for the first check, we have allowed ourselves the luxury of assuming that, in common with all official documents, the facade of the ID card will be faked at some point, in spite of some impressive security features.
Either that, or blank cards will be stolen to order. Last year, for example, 3,000 blank UK passports were spirited away while in transit.
Obviously, having changed the details on the chip, ours would fail the third check, the one against the information on the National Identity Register.
But the Identity And Passport Service doesn't expect most transactions to involve a check with the register, because it is likely to involve a charge to the user of about £2.
The most important check, therefore, and the one experts believe will be most commonplace, is the second one - the one where an electronic reader at a shop, bank, supermarket and so on would compare your fingerprints or facial image with that contained on your card's chip.
'Folly': Chris Huhne, Lib Dem Shadow Home Secretary, dubbed the venture an 'intrusion into our privacy'
So would our 'fake' card pass this test? Incredibly, even though more than 51,000 ID cards have already been issued, there are no official electronic readers to check them against, except at UK borders, where foreigners' ID cards have replaced old-style paper visas.
There, the readers must comply with standards set down by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a branch of the United Nations.
Its card and passport-checking software, called Golden Reader Tool, is designed to spot faked chips and will almost certainly be the system implemented in the next phase of the ID card scheme.
So we downloaded the latest version of Golden Reader and used it to test our cloned card. The card passed. We had created a perfect electronic forgery - one that could be used for any number of illegal activities.
This, however, was not enough to ring alarm bells at the Home Office.
When told of our investigation, a spokesman said: 'We are satisfied the personal data on the chip cannot be changed or modified and there is no evidence this has happened.
'The identity card includes a number of design and security features that are extremely difficult to replicate.
'We remain confident that the identity card is one of the most secure of its kind, fully meeting rigorous international standards.
That view is not shared by Ian Angell, professor of information systems at the London School of Economics. He said: 'This has put a huge nail in the coffin of the National Identity Scheme. The Government can no longer say ID cards will protect us from identity theft. You have proved that they won't.'
So what does all this mean? Well, technological fixes may eventually be available for all our hacks and fiddles.
Nevertheless, we have demonstrated that there are serious questions to be answered about the security of the whole project.
'If the Government is serious about preventing identity theft, then it really has to do better than this,' says Adam Laurie.
'My real concern is that if someone falls victim to an identity theft of the type we have demonstrated, it is going to be very hard for them to prove their innocence if that forged card is subsequently used to commit a crime.
'After all, the Government claims that the technology is foolproof.'
Even if we set aside such security concerns, it would appear that the whole ID scheme is in a shambolic state.
The Identity And Passport Service is currently issuing about 10,000 ID cards a month, but in the absence of any digital readers, any organisation that wants to check a card's authenticity is in for a shock.
The Home Office advises calling the UK Border Agency Card Verification Helpline. So I did just that. It took 19 minutes for someone to answer the phone.
Posing as a businessman, I said I had recently been shown a new ID card by a customer as proof of his identity and was uncertain whether I could rely on it. I was told to ask my customer for a 'second proof of identity'.
In other words, even the official ID card helpline says it's best to rely on other forms of identity. In which case, why bother having the cards at all?
So, the theory is flawed, the technology is flawed, and the checks on ID cards are either non-existent or woefully insufficient.
When we told Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, about our findings, he was appalled.
'The Daily Mail's investigation has blown such a huge hole in the Government's ill-fated ID card scheme that it is now sinking beneath the waves,' he said.
'Surely it can only be a matter of time before Home Secretary Alan Johnson recognises the folly of continuing with this expensive and misguided intrusion into our privacy.'
How much more proof does the Government need before it bows to the inevitable and scraps this useless and nonsensical enterprise - and saves us £5 billion into the bargain? | {
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ANYmal does not have an easy life. One of the four-legged robot’s main tasks is to learn how to stand up again — no matter how many times it is kicked, pushed or otherwise tumbles to the ground. A research team from Switzerland’s ETH Zurich University trained ANYmal using reinforcement learning (RL) and published their work last Wednesday.
RL is typically limited to applications in simulations, and it is rare to see it used on real robot systems. ANYmal is a trailblazer in this respect, and has garnered an enormous amount of attention from the AI community.
OOPS I FELL OVER
Researchers designed ANYmal as a quadrupedal robot for autonomous operation in challenging environments. Last year ANYmal was dispatched on its first missions, inspecting Zurich’s vast sewage system and visiting one of the world’s largest offshore converter platforms in the North Sea, where it scrutinized various platform areas inaccessible to humans. The 30kg dog-like robot’s delivery demo and dance moves got a very positive response at the recent CES 2019 in Las Vegas.
Designing legged robots is a challenge in part because humans simply haven’t yet figured out how to accurately craft realistic animal movements. The research team chose to use reinforcement learning to boost ANYmal’s performance, as RL requires little craftsmanship.
Training with real robots is however difficult and expensive, especially when dealing with dynamic balancing systems. ETH researchers elected to train a neural network in simulation and then transfer it to ANYmal: “Simulation is fast, cheap, and safe. Our simulation platform can simulate more than 2,000 ANYmals in real time on a normal desktop machine. In simulation, data is cheap and abundant.” The training focused on increasing ANYmal’s running speed and its skill and speed in recovering from falls.
RL-powered Fall recovery
ETH researchers say the biggest drawback of simulations is they cannot accurately capture the dynamics of complex robots, and as such training only in simulation “usually fails.” The team decided a neural network system could help the robot learn and adapt. They divided robot dynamics into three main parts: Control PC, Actuator, and Mechanics, and trained a neural network representing these complex dynamics with data from the real robot.
Using RL in simulation enabled the controllers to effectively learn directly from experiences, overcoming the limitations of previous model-based approaches. The researchers explained the process is “fully automated and can optimize the controller end to end, from sensor readings to low-level control signals, thereby allowing for highly agile and efficient controllers.” Training via simulation also lowered costs and scaled up development in real time.
ANYmal is not the only dog-like, AI-powered robot on the scene. Boston Dynamics’ “SpotMini” can also dance to music and recompose itself after a fall. But unlike SpotMini, ANYmal learned how to stand up again all by itself, eliminating human experts, experience and interventions. ANYmal’s superior ability to think on its feet could give it an edge when carrying out challenging solo missions such as rescue, visual inspection, thermal inspection, gas detection, etc.
The Robotic Systems Lab at ETH Zurich University has been working on the ANYmal project for years. Their pup owes its latest leap forward to recent improvements in cameras and sensors. Because ANYmal is designed for dangerous tasks in demanding environments, researchers used cutting-edge cameras and LiDAR to enable functionality for example across low-light conditions.
The ETH research team has high hopes for ANYmal: “Legged robots may one day rescue people in forests and mountain, climb stars to carry payloads in construction sites, inspect unstructured underground tunnels, and explore other planets.”
The paper Learning agile and dynamic motor skills for legged robots was published in Science Magazine. | {
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Scientists discover 'game-changing' new antibiotic for first time in 30 years
Updated
Scientists have discovered the first new antibiotic in nearly 30 years that can kill serious infections without encountering any detectable resistance, giving hope in the fight against evolving drug-resistant superbugs.
The antibiotic teixobactin has been found to treat many common bacterial infections in mice without resistance, including tuberculosis and septicaemia.
Researchers said the antibiotic could one day be used to treat drug-resistant infections caused by the superbug MRSA, as well as tuberculosis, which normally requires a combination of drugs that can have adverse side effects.
"The discovery of this novel compound challenges long-held scientific beliefs and holds great promise for treating an array of menacing infections," said Professor Kim Lewis from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
Teixobactin belongs to a new class of compounds and kills bacteria by causing their cell walls to break down.
It seems to work by binding to multiple targets, which may slow down the development of resistance.
The problem of infections developing drug resistance has worsened in recent years as multi-drug-resistant bugs have developed and drug companies have cut investment.
The World Health Organisation warned last year that a post-antibiotic era, where even basic healthcare becomes dangerous due to risk of infection during routine operations, could come this century unless something drastic is done.
Dr Lewis is the co-founder of the NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals, which has patented teixobactin.
Dr Lewis and his NovoBiotic colleagues sought to address the problem by tapping into new potential sources of antibiotics.
They developed a way of growing uncultured bacteria in its natural environment using a miniature device called an iChip that can isolate and help grow single cells.
NovoBiotic has since collected about 50,000 strains of uncultured bacteria and discovered 25 new antibiotics, of which teixobactin is the latest and most interesting, Dr Lewis said.
Scientists not involved in the work welcomed the finding, but cautioned that human trials of teixobactin would be key.
"The discovery of a potential new class of antibiotics is good news," said Richard Seabrook of Britain's Wellcome Trust medical charity.
"Screening previously unculturable soil bacteria is a new twist in the search ... and it is encouraging to see this approach yielding results.
"However, we will not know whether teixobactin will be effective in humans until this research is taken ... to clinical trials."
Dr Lewis hopes to start human testing in around two years.
Reuters
Topics: diseases-and-disorders, medical-research, pharmaceuticals, united-states
First posted | {
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Johnson will be the primary kickoff returner heading into the season, Pat McManamon of ESPN.com reports.
The second-year running back out of Miami (FL) didn't return a single kick in the preseason, but his quickness and playmaking ability makes him an easy choice for the role. Johnson has experience returning kicks, albeit limited -- he ran back just two kicks for 52 yards during his rookie season. | {
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Image copyright Reuters Image caption The housing market has moved at a different pace in different regions
House prices in London are moving in the opposite direction to the rest of the UK - they are falling, according to surveyors.
More surveyors reported that property prices had fallen in the three months to the end of February than those who reported price rises.
The opposite was true in the rest of the UK, with price growth led by Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The data comes from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Price growth accelerated in the South West of England and South East of England, the group said. This was mainly the result of a lack of supply of homes on the market.
Uncertainty, owing to the upcoming election, could have delayed some potential sellers in putting their home on the market, it said.
'Unaffordable'
Although London recorded its sixth consecutive monthly price fall, many buyers believed that purchasing a property in London would become more and more out of reach, said Simon Rubinsohn, the institution's chief economist.
"There is a strong view in the survey that property will become even more unaffordable over the medium term. Respondents suggest, on average, that house prices will rise by a further 30% in the capital over the next five years," he said.
Recent surveys by lenders, the Nationwide and the Halifax, suggested that prices fell on average across the UK in February compared with the previous month. | {
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The Third China Helicopter Exposition was opened in Tianjin, north China, on Wednesday. As a main exhibitor of the exposition, Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) displayed its latest developed helicopters and several conceptual aircraft.
Sailing - a multi-rotor flying car, is one of them. It was designed based on the technology of multi-rotor aircraft. It can run on the complex surface, and land and take off vertically. Furthermore, it is capable of hovering, flying forward and yawing.
The propellers of the ariphibian can stretch and retract. When retracting, the vehicle is like an ordinary car.
The flying car weighs 100 kg. It is expected to enter into people's daily life and be used in military patrol and self-driving tour after a hybrid type is developed. | {
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Roger Stone, President Donald Trump’s longtime ally and adviser, has always had a reputation for using dirty political tricks.
Glimpses of those antics appear in special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of Stone, who was arrested by the FBI early Friday morning in Florida. Stone has been charged with obstruction of official proceedings, making false statements, and witness tampering. The majority of the charges refer to Stone’s alleged lies to the House Intelligence Committee during its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign. (Stone said Friday at a press conference that he’s been falsely accused.)
But as with many of Mueller’s indictments, this one tells a story: In this case, a story about Stone’s communications with WikiLeaks — referred to as “Organization 1” in court documents — during the presidential campaign.
And that story offers some insight into Stone’s interactions with the Trump campaign, including contact about WikiLeaks. It also includes several compelling and sometimes downright bizarre details about Stone’s alleged attempts to intimidate a witness — complete with a very weird threat against a guy’s dog.
Here are the three most interesting takeaways from Mueller’s latest indictment.
1) Trump campaign officials asked Stone to find out what else WikiLeaks had on Clinton
Federal prosecutors allege that after the July 22, 2016, WikiLeaks release of emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee’s network, unnamed senior officials in the Trump campaign contacted Stone “to inquire about future releases” of potentially damaging information on Hillary Clinton.
Even more intriguing, prosecutors allege that a senior Trump campaign official “was directed to” reach out to Stone. The campaign official sought information on whether any more releases were expected.
This might be one of the biggest revelations from the indictment. It indicates the Trump campaign wanted to stay updated on what WikiLeaks had about Clinton, and that Stone was apparently the guy who kept them in the know.
But prosecutors don’t give any more details about who directed that campaign official to reach out to Stone. For that reason, the implication of this tidbit isn’t totally clear — but it certainly is tantalizing, and prosecutors almost certainly included it for a reason.
2) Email and text message evidence shows Stone was trying to get in contact with WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign
Stone is charged with lying to the House Intelligence Committee, a Congressional committee that had been investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, about discussions he had with others about WikiLeaks.
Stone denied having emails, texts, and other documents about these discussions, but the indictment makes it clear that Mueller has the receipts. Court papers describe multiple email and text exchanges between Stone and someone identified as “Person 1” — believed to be conservative pundit and conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi — and “Person 2,” believed to be radio host Randy Credico.
The emails don’t leave much to the imagination. In them, Stone refers to WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, who was granted asylum and has been living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012.
Here’s a sample of some of those messages. In one, dated July 25, 2016 (after the DNC email dump), Stone tells Corsi to “get to” Assange at the “Ecuadorian Embassy in London and get the pending” WikiLeaks “emails ... they deal with the [Clinton] Foundation, allegedly.”
Stone also received an email on August 2, 2016, from Corsi in which he stated: “Word is friend in embassy” — meaning Assange — “plans 2 more dumps. One shortly after I’m back. 2nd in Oct. Impact planned to be very damaging.”
There are also messages between Stone and Credico that tell a similar story, with Stone trying to use Credico to get in touch with Assange in order to get more dirt on Clinton’s campaign. Here’s one exchange from September 2016:
Stone had previously testified that Credico was his sole “go-between” with Assange. But the email exchanges with Corsi show that he was talking to both men. Stone was charged for lying about that, too, though it’s still not clear why he tried to conceal his communications with Corsi and not Credico.
3) Stone’s style of witness tampering allegedly includes making Godfather references and dog threats
As mentioned above, Stone testified to the House Intelligence Committee that Credico served as the sole intermediary between him and Assange. Afterward, Stone asked Credico to back up his lie, according to the indictment.
Credico repeatedly asked Stone to correct his testimony. But Stone refused — and when Credico was asked to testify before the House Intelligence Committee in November 2017, Stone tried to convince Credico to lie in support of Stone’s initial testimony.
And Stone did this quite colorfully, according to prosecutors. Stone told Credico that he should claim that Credico was Stone’s only contact to Assange, or that he didn’t remember what he told Stone — or what Stone referred to as pulling a “Frank Pentangeli,” a reference to a character in The Godfather: Part II who recants testimony during a fictional Senate hearing. Stone made the analogy in a December 1, 2017, text message.
Credico informed the House Intelligence Committee on December 12, 2017, that he would assert his Fifth Amendment right if he were subpoenaed to testify. According to prosecutors, Credico invoked his Fifth Amendment rights in part to “avoid providing evidence that would show Stone’s previous testimony to Congress was false.”
But Stone and Credico continued to discuss the Russia investigation, according to prosecutors, and Stone repeatedly made it clear that Credico would pay if he talked to law enforcement and contradicted Stone’s statements.
In one exchange, on April 9, 2018, Stone emailed Credico calling him a “rat” and a “stoolie” — a reference to ”a stool pigeon, a hilariously Godfather-esque slang term for an informant.” Stone then threatened to steal Credico’s therapy dog, before later deciding he would just threaten Credico’s life instead.
To be fair to Stone, Credico’s dog might know some things: Bianca joined Credico when he testified before the Mueller grand jury in September. | {
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Sing a song! - http://www.vimeo.com/10159341 Listen to a Paltalk presentation Sam gave in February: http://www.biobees.com/library/?dir=audio
Anarchy Apiaries
Grassroots Beekeeping in the Hudson Valley
TRT: 18min 20sec
mid July, 2008
This video follows Sam Comfort while he does hive checks and swaps out queen bees from hives at two beeyards in Northern Dutchess county, New York. You'll learn a lot!
Filmed by Daniele DeBellis and Rupert of http://www.pollinatethis.org/beeblog
Edited by Rupert | {
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The mechanism of DNA binding of the well-studied protein Polycomb, which is vital for cell division and embryogenesis, has finally been deciphered. A remarkable discovery, as it proves that the shape of DNA is at least as important for where the protein binds in the DNA as the DNA sequence. The role of the shape of DNA had not been demonstrated so clearly. Researchers at Radboud University will publish their findings on May 28th in the scientific journal Nature Genetics.
Besides the classical interpretation of the code (the ‘sequence of letters’) in DNA defining its function, it has been known for several years that the helix shape of DNA may also play a role. “We are currently able to read what is written in the human genome, but understanding the mechanisms is not an easy task,” says Gert Jan Veenstra, Professor of Molecular Developmental Biology, one of the researchers involved in this study. “The concept that helix shape is also involved in how DNA functions, is an interesting new way of perceiving DNA. It could lead to understanding its functioning in general and of the way in which proteins can bind to DNA in certain places.”
Animation: The Polycomb protein binds to the DNA helix via the MTF2 protein to switch off specific genes. MTF2 only recognises the binding spot on the DNA if the helix is in a relatively unwound state.
The Polycomb protein complex that was studied, consists of a group of proteins that are vital for cell division: by binding to DNA using the MTF2 protein, it switches off specific genes that determine the cell division rate. Besides being exceedingly important for the proper development of embryos, Polycomb mutations also play a significant role in the development of various types of cancer later in life.
Practising a new form of biology
The discovery of the mechanisms involved of DNA binding by Polycomb is one of the first concrete examples in which the shape of DNA plays a more important role for the protein’s functioning than the code contained in the DNA. It turns out that the protein can only bind to the DNA helix if the latter is relatively unwound. Veenstra: “Because the DNA-binding protein does not bind to a specific sequence in the DNA, it was difficult to find the working mechanism of the protein using regular research methods.” This mechanism had been actively sought by many people in the field for the past twenty years.
The researchers were able to distil the working model using an algorithm. “We would never have been able to find this mechanism without the use of the vast amount of data originating from humans, mice, zebrafish and frogs,” says Simon van Heeringen, who was also involved in the research. This is a new way of practising biology, the researchers say. Van Heeringen: “Without this form of research, machine learning, this scientific field would not be able to get much further.”
A boost in genetics and cancer research
According to Veenstra, their discovery will boost research into the shape of DNA: “There are many other proteins whose mechanisms we don’t really understand: many of these also play a significant role in the development of cancer.”
Follow-up studies in collaboration with Radboudumc and other medical researchers should provide additional insight into the exact role of Polycomb in cancer and the potential for new treatments.
Publication:
‘MTF2 recruits Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 by helical-shape-selective DNA binding’, Nature Genetics
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41588-018-0134-8
Want to know more? Please contact | {
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When my fiance told me about the other woman My friends were baffled that I didn't leave him. Instead, I stayed put -- and decided to embrace the uncertainty
"Are you sitting down?"
This was not a promising way for my fiancé to begin a phone conversation at 4 a.m. his time.
It was 10 p.m. in North Carolina, and I was standing at the bathroom sink of the hotel room my family had rented for a weekend at the beach, a weekend that had so far been full of happy chatter about wedding invitations, table decorations and the logistics of lodging my entire side of the family across the ocean in a country where they didn't speak the language. There was no place to sit besides the toilet lid, so I slowly lowered myself onto it, bracing for what would follow. "Yes, I'm sitting down."
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"Sharon."
"Yes."
"I can't marry you."
I felt like I was going to suffocate, then realized I was holding my breath and let it out. Finally I asked, as calmly as possible, "Why?"
"I just can't. I'm so sorry."
I couldn't get any further information out of him that night, despite my questions and tears. I had to hang up with no answers and put myself to bed in the same room as my parents and sister, trying in vain to muffle my sobs with a pillow.
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The next morning at the crack of dawn I called France direct from the room phone. Those 10 minutes cost $50, I later discovered, but even if I'd known the price, I wouldn't have cared. All I could think about was hearing his voice again and reassuring him that there was a solution.
"It's OK," I said. "We don't have to get married. But we don't have to break up either. If you're not ready for marriage, we can just go back to being the way we were before."
The way we were before was good. Incredibly good. For the three years we'd been together, every time I told someone how much I loved him, I started crying -- because I felt that happy, that lucky. I cried at every sad movie, every sad TV show, and every sad news spot; any time someone on-screen lost anyone, or anything, they loved, I pictured myself -- losing him. I had never had so much to lose.
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But I didn't really think it would happen. Not so soon. And I certainly didn't think he would choose to bring it about.
To my proposal that we return to the way things were before our engagement, he didn't give an outright "no." But he didn't confidently say "yes," either. Something was going on. There was something he wasn't saying.
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"Whatever it is, you can tell me," I said.
He was silent, and I could have sworn I heard his heart breaking. Or maybe that was mine.
"I'm probably stronger than you think I am," I prodded. "Did you sleep with someone else?"
"No."
"Did you find out you have a child?"
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"No, it's nothing that serious."
"Then what is it? Please just tell me."
It took me a week to get it out of him. Even then, he had to convey the news in an email. It began, "There is a girl."
He hadn't slept with her. He didn't need to. They'd been friends for 15 years -- since high school. They hadn't seen each other since he and I started dating, but then, poof, as soon as I left France to do my paperwork for the wedding and a permanent visa, there she was -- declaring she was in love with him.
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"Are you in love with her?" I asked him.
"I don't know."
--------
All right, you have the back story.
Now I want to talk about ultimatums. Because an ultimatum is what everyone wanted me to give him. Not during the first month, maybe. But definitely after three months, when he still couldn't make up his mind about whether it was going to be me or her. My friends and family couldn't understand why I was still talking to him, still torturing myself by listening to his ambivalence. Why didn't I tell him he had to give up seeing her and renounce any idea of a future with her, or I was gone?
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I'm going to tell you why, but first I have to ask you not to judge me. The word I'm going to use is routinely employed to justify multitudes of codependent, masochistic sins, but I need you to try to believe me, at least for a few moments, when I tell you that my failure to walk away from this relationship was not an act of codependence or self-hatred. It was an act -- here comes that word -- of love.
A lot of couples in their wedding ceremonies have someone read First Corinthians 13: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres" (NIV). My fiancé and I had not yet made any vows to love each other in this way. We had not promised each other anything (even if we had put a deposit on the reception site and bought our rings). I was not obligated by any contract to stick around and give him time to figure out how his past related to his future. But the thing was, I did love him, in the First Corinthians 13 way. And I knew -- because he told me -- that he still loved me and didn't want to lose me, even if right now he felt terribly confused.
For the first six weeks or so after he told me about Her, I had a difficult time believing he could care so much for her -- and, let's face it, love her -- and still be in love with me, too. I had grown up with good old-fashioned middle-class American monogamy as my guide to the human heart. I believed that if you loved someone heart and soul, it would make you incapable of loving -- or even considering loving -- anyone else. That was naive, I admit, but it took many long conversations and many tearful nights in his arms to convince me that a person really could love two people at the same time. Despite his confusing feelings about his high school friend, our love for each other was just as strong as before, and even getting stronger with each new difficulty, with each new heart-to-heart talk.
But that meant that I couldn't simply throw in the towel. I couldn't say, "If you don't stop seeing her, I'm not speaking to you anymore." I didn't hear it as manipulation when he told me that, even if he had to see her right now in order to figure out some things, he was still hoping that he and I would be able to make a life together. I heard it as the man I loved crying out for patience and understanding in the midst of the most difficult situation he had ever faced, a situation that called upon him to decide once and for all who he was and who he was going to become.
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It's the hardest thing in the world -- at least for me -- to live in a state of uncertainty. I usually prefer things not just nailed down but bolted, Super-Glued and tightly wrapped with several layers of duct tape. I did not want to go through days, weeks or months of not knowing if all the patience, kindness and trust I was showing were going to pay off in happily-ever-after or were instead going to make me even more devastated when one day he announced that he was marrying Her. But as I contemplated the idea of an ultimatum, I realized that there was one thing worse than uncertainty: choosing to give up on the man I loved. Cutting myself off from the man who could tell when I was out of sorts before even I had realized it, the man who was the most trustworthy, kind and gentle person I had ever met, who encouraged me, challenged me and, most of all, loved me -- that was not just hard. It was impossible.
And so I tread that territory that everyone warned me against: the middle ground. We were not "together," but we were not really separated, either. We wrote each other emails almost every day. Sometimes he called. We both said "Je t'aime," even though I knew he might be saying the very same words to her. I knew that he was seeing her, talking to her, trying to work things out in his mind.
Some days it was just grueling. There were days I just wanted to scream at him, and a couple of times I did, by email: "I AM SO ANGRY AT YOU! HOW CAN YOU PUT ME THROUGH THIS?!" He took my anger as his just deserts, which was unnerving. I didn't want him to accept my anger. I wanted him to eliminate it. I wanted him to tell me he would love me, and only me, for the rest of his life.
But in addition to these torturous moments, there was also a miracle.
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The longer our honest communication about his doubts went on, the more calm I became. We're not talking three or four months of limbo here. We're talking seven, and no end in sight. Again, I imagine you'd like to shake me and say, "Stop talking to him! Get a life! He doesn't deserve you!" But let me tell you a secret: I am happier right now than I have ever been.
How is that possible?
Well, it's complicated, because a lot of things have happened to me in the wake of this broken engagement. The soul searching I did in the first few months led me to some life-changing discoveries about myself, my family and even God. But the biggest factor in my current happiness is my realization that my fiancé's decision about our future will not make or break my life. I have come to believe -- out of necessity, I suppose -- that external factors do not ultimately determine my happiness. I determine my happiness, by my own attitude. And I can choose to be happy in complete ignorance of the outcome of this particular situation.
I am convinced that the only way to live without ultimatums -- and thus generously and without resentment give our loved ones the time and space they will on occasion need -- is to become very good at taking care of ourselves. For me, this has primarily meant allowing myself to be creative. I began to write. The experience was so empowering that it led me to try other creative outlets I had long abandoned. I pulled out the pastels I'd had as a teenager and started drawing things that made me happy: moose, caribou and Dall's sheep. I bought frames for my pictures and hung them above my bed, where I admire them and remember that life really is amazing, and sometimes the scariest, most radical changes in our lives are the ones that ultimately bring us the most joy.
I take myself out for coffee every Thursday afternoon and allow myself to read, write or think about whatever I want while I relax for two hours in the coffee shop. A few weeks ago, I got my ears pierced for the first time. And I got my first massage. These are the things that have helped me through. Along with supportive family and friends. And God.
With this much happiness and energy in my life, I’ve learned that I can live with uncertainty. I can live with not knowing whether the man I love will ultimately choose me. Because I am not sitting around miserable waiting. I am not wasting my time so that I need a positive outcome to "make it all worth it." Every day that I'm living right now is intrinsically worthwhile; I’m putting passion into all I do.
If the man I love does come back, it will not be because I have threatened or manipulated him. His return will not be mere capitulation to the all-or-nothing terms I have set. It will come from a place of deep self-knowledge that he has found in his own time. And if I take him back, it will be because of similarly deep self-knowledge, made possible by this very difficult thing I have chosen to do: live with limbo, and take responsibility for my own happiness. | {
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Comets Acquire Four Time AHL All-Star
by Mark Caswell, Jr.
Utica Comets Director of Hockey Operations Pat Conacher announced today that the Utica Comets have acquired forward T.J. Hensick on loan from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Blair Jones being loaned to the Charlotte Checkers.
Vancouver Canucks General Manager Jim Benning announced today that the Canucks have traded forward Dane Fox to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for future consideration.
A four-time American Hockey League All-Star, Hensick, has appeared in 46 games for the AHL Charlotte Checkers this season, where he ranks tied for sixth on the team in scoring with 25 points (7-18-25). The 30-year old center was named to the 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2012 AHL All-Star teams. Hensick has amassed 456 points (137-319-456) in 484 AHL games including a 60 point campaign (19-41-60) for the Hamilton Bulldogs last year. In 112 NHL regular season games, split between the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues, Hensick has registered 38 points (12-26-38) and 18 penalty minutes.
A native of Howell, Michigan, Hensick was originally selected by Colorado in the third round, 88th overall, at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. | {
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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puts the "forever alone guy" as facebook profile picture nobody gives a fuck | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
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Photo: Danielle Levitt.; Prop Styling by Chelsea Maruskin; Styling by Kaela Wohl; Grooming by Jody Morlock.
It’s hard to top a kick in the nuts.
Especially when the kicker is Linda McMahon, the Connecticut Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. Pure comedy gold.
Jon Stewart watches the tape and doubles over with laughter. He and fifteen of The Daily Show’s writers, producers, and performers are gathered around a 40-inch flat-screen TV inside the show’s Eleventh Avenue offices early on a Thursday morning in August. Creating a segment for tonight’s Daily Show around this footage, from one of World Wrestling Entertainment’s harmless little skits, would seem to be easy. Maybe they can just run the nut shot repeatedly. Along with another clip of McMahon, the co-founder and former CEO of WWE, chugging a beer and drooling foam down her cheek.
Except that the goal here isn’t simply topping the kick in the nuts—it’s using the scrotum slam in the service of a larger point. Oh, Stewart & Co. enjoy a lowbrow laugh as much as the folks over at South Park; heck, next week they’re publishing a book that includes some excellent masturbation jokes. But Stewart and The Daily Show became America’s sharpest political satirists by aiming at least a little bit higher.
“Slut! Slut! Slut!” The next clip shows McMahon’s daughter entering the wrestling ring to a booming chant from the crowd. Followed by McMahon’s deadly serious face, in a Nightline interview. “Oh my God,” Stewart interjects. “How do you answer that as a politician? ‘Well, you don’t know my daughter’? Or, ‘You know, the use of the term slut was obviously inadvertent’?”
This sets off a spasm of free-associative jokes from the other writers. “Or, ‘You don’t understand—Americans love this shit.’ ”
“What if we ran the clip like Super Mario Brothers, and every time she kicks that guy in the nuts, a gold coin comes out?”
“Was McMahon endorsed by Triple H? Or was it Triple X?”
“That’s funny stuff,” Stewart says. “But let’s get a sense of where the media is trying to build the narrative and where the story lines are going to go.”
Segment producer Ramin Hedayati dials up a series of clips of everyone from Greta Van Susteren to George Stephanopoulos inveighing on the endorsement “proxy war” between Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, or Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, or maybe it’s—
“Somebody last night said there’s no story line here,” Kevin Bleyer says. “Was it Chuck Todd?”
They run the clip of NBC’s Todd saying, “The one thing we learned is that the candidates that got the most votes won.” The room erupts in laughter. Until Times reporter Jeff Zeleny tells Todd that the media would have blamed Obama if the results in Colorado had come out differently. “See, that’s very telling right there,” Stewart says, “where he says, ‘Had this happened, here’s what we would have done.’ ”
“They’ve already read through the ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ book on this,” John Hodgman says.
Stewart shakes his head in disgust. “Let’s take a stab at ‘Thank God these primaries are coming to an end, because as far as a news-media narrative, they’ve blown through so many ideas already—‘angry voters,’ ‘ladies’ night,’ ‘proxy war’—it’s like dresses that they feel like they can’t wear to more than one movie premiere. So they’ve got to come up with a new story line. Maybe this one is endorsements; is the next one height?”
It wasn’t exactly an innocent year, given the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Columbine, and the two frames of a topless woman hidden in Disney’s The Rescuers. But since 1999, when Stewart took over as host, the context in which The Daily Show operates has been radically altered. Terrorist attacks, two wars, and a global economic meltdown have charged the political atmosphere. More important for Stewart and his show has been the media transformation. Print is crumbling. The mainstream TV networks have steadily shed seriousness and viewers. The Internet, a minor player at the turn of the century, has become overcrowded with opinion silos. As the new century began, Fox News Channel was finding its fair-and-balanced footing and Glenn Beck, an itinerant radio shock jock, was trying on a new persona, “Limbaugh Lite.” Today, Fox News is an evil empire and Beck just led a messianic Washington rally. America’s politicians, willingly or not, often seem like they’re actors in scripts created by cable producers.
Stewart made himself into the leading critic and satirist of the media-political complex, starting with “Indecision 2000,” The Daily Show’s parody of that year’s presidential campaign. His comedy is counterprogramming—postmodern entertainment but with a political purpose. As truth has been overrun by truthiness and facts trampled by lies, he and The Daily Show have become an invaluable corrective—he’s Cronkite, the most trusted man in America, although in keeping with the fragmented culture, he’s trusted by many fewer people, about 1.8 million viewers each night. Years ago, Stewart lost out to Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel for late-night network jobs, but the shifting media fortunes have made him the long-run winner, with vastly more job security and cultural influence than his conventional talk-show competitors—and most conventional journalists.
Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux for New York Magazine
“Jon has chronicled the death of shame in politics and journalism,” says Brian Williams, the NBC Nightly News anchor who is a frequent Daily Show guest. “Many of us on this side of the journalism tracks often wish we were on Jon’s side. I envy his platform to shout from the mountaintop. He’s a necessary branch of government.”
Glenn Beck is an even more frequent Daily Show presence—as a target. The Fox News star takes a different view—surprise, surprise—praising Stewart while dismissing him as mere entertainment. Even as he’s built an enviable political base, Beck knows he’s a showman, and he thinks that makes Stewart a kind of brother.
“Jon Stewart is very funny, and if I were in his position, I’d be doing a lot of the same things. In fact, a lot of the jokes I’ve heard before, either from my staff or myself,” Beck says by e-mail. “He takes things out of context (no worse than most of the other mainstream media) and is more interested in being funny than trying to actually understand the key messages in [my] show … But I don’t think he’s looking for a Pulitzer … People like Jon, his ratings are good. Good for him, keep doing what he’s doing. People seem to like watching my show as well, and hopefully that continues for both of us for a very long time.”
The Obama presidency was supposed to spell doom—or at least irrelevance—for Bush-satirizing comics like Stewart and his protégé Stephen Colbert. But a funny thing happened and is continuing to happen. Stewart is as essential as ever. Lately the show has been on a hot streak, exposing anti-mosque demagogues and carving up spineless Democrats. One of the lessons of the recent past is that the circus is in town no matter who is in the White House, which, while far from ideal for the state of our nation, has only increased the standing of a satirist like Stewart. Creating consistently funny and barbed bits four nights a week is extremely difficult, and not only because Stewart has to fend off the adulation of an audience that wasn’t entirely kidding with those STEWART/COLBERT ’08 bumper stickers. Constant exposure to the muck of politics can easily, and quickly, produce cynicism. Yet immersion in the political-media mess has left Stewart at once more bitter and more idealistic.
“Even if you’re eating delicious chocolate cake, there are moments you feel like, ‘I’ve had too much,’ ” Stewart says. “Now replace ‘chocolate cake’ with ‘shit taco’ and you know what our day is like every day. But this is not a fragile country. I’m not suggesting we couldn’t find ourselves in deep conflict. But we had slaves, and we fought a civil war; now we’re down to Glenn Beck being hyperbolic with his audience about nostalgia. This too shall pass.” Which doesn’t mean that Stewart is so confident in the inexorable triumph of good and right that he’s going to stop ridiculing the evildoers and charlatans.
“Here’s something you always like to see,” Stewart says, scanning the front page of the Washington Post. “ ‘U.S. Trade Deficit Startles Markets.’ Now, we’ve understood the U.S. trade deficit for a while. Are the markets small children that are easily startled? The next day, they’ll get an unemployment number and go, ‘Oh, I don’t know why we were startled and lost 200 points yesterday; today, we realized the shirt on the chair wasn’t a monster, so we’re going to put 300 points back on the Dow because we’re fucking 5 years old.’ ”
Stewart sits behind his office desk, two brick walls forming a corner behind him. He wears the same off-camera outfit nearly every day: Black work boots, chinos, frayed gray T-shirt. He’ll read the New York dailies as well, plus Talking Points Memo, Andrew Sullivan, maybe the blogger Allahpundit, searching for interesting thinking and potential Daily Show material. But Stewart intentionally keeps his media consumption modest. “Mostly I look at sports websites, so my head doesn’t explode,” he says. “I’m saving that for home, when someone doesn’t pass the gravy.”
Downstairs, Daily Show staffers monitor every minute of Fox News and hundreds of political shows, at least until workplace-cruelty inspectors find out. Groups of writers and researchers assemble in Stewart’s office throughout the day, presenting revised scripts for the current show and updating him on the progress of longer-term segments, like a Wyatt Cenac search for Supreme Court contenders on Staten Island. There’s discussion of a possible Stewart-Colbert public event, a parody of Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally. “Maybe we would do a ‘March of the Reasonable,’ on a date of no particular significance,” Stewart says.
Photo: Everett Collection
The mix of satire-in-progress and office chitchat creates some strange juxtapositions. “There’s an elements meeting later for ‘Not the White Man’s Bitch,’ ” co-executive producer Kahane Cooperman says. “Hey, you know Bee-Jones’s baby was born?” she says, referring to the latest spawn of Daily Show correspondents—and Canadian imports—Samantha Bee and Jason Jones.
“Yes!” Stewart says happily. “Seven pounds thirteen ounces!”
“Send ’em a six pack of Molsons,” says Josh Lieb, an executive producer.
“That’s what they should do,” Stewart says, building on the riff, “have a couple more kids and be known as ‘The Molsons.’ ”
“Three kids under 5 years old,” says Cooperman, herself the mother of two children. “My God.”
“Well, four kids,” Stewart says—drawing laughs without having to spell out that Jason Jones is the additional toddler.
Stewart himself has a 6-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter with his wife of ten years, Tracey. The family lives in Tribeca, and one morning Stewart strolls over to Bubby’s, a comfort-food neighborhood institution, where the owner greets him with a hug. A table of twelve calls out “We love you!” as Stewart walks past. He smiles and thanks them, but is happier to hide under his Mets hat, settle into a corner table in the back, and dig into a bowl of grits. “Jon is exactly the same guy he’s always been, only with money,” says Denis Leary, a friend since 1986. “He knows that the moment he really believes he’s important, the funny goes away and he becomes Bill O’Reilly, except shorter and Jewish.”
Stewart isn’t one of those comics who is always, exhaustingly, on. But he’s never entirely off, either, his mind and tongue moving quickly. This morning brings another round of stories trumpeting polls opposing the “ground-zero mosque,” which The Daily Show has gleefully reminded people is actually slated for a location about three blocks from the World Trade Center site, on the hallowed ground of a former Burlington Coat Factory. “The wisdom of the masses is not always … wise,” Stewart says. “You could put a lot of things to a vote—you could have put anti-miscegenation laws to a vote, and that would have passed pretty handily. Either all people are created equal—or they’re not. You’re either buying into the original premise of America—or you’re not.”
Beneath the many, many dick jokes, this was the message of America (The Book), the parody American-history textbook Stewart and The Daily Show writers published in 2004. This month brings Earth (The Book), a parody history of … Earth. The conceit this time is that before disappearing from the planet—owing to ecological catastrophe, nuclear holocaust, or a pandemic that killed Dr. Nicole Kidman—humankind has left behind a guide to our existence for alien visitors. Or, more likely, alien conquerors. Besides forever settling the chicken-or-egg conundrum, Earth is a densely packed tour through everything from milestones in human development (“Our conquest of fire made it possible to safely consume meat and commit insurance fraud”) to pornography (“It wasn’t very popular. Not at all”). “Doing the show is relentless in a very specific vein. The book is our same process but a very different kind of humor,” Stewart says. “I like that it’s not ephemeral and not part of the day-to-day conversation. It was nice for people to use different muscles in writing the book. And to not see their families.”
Stewart’s interests have always been ecumenical. He grew up in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, as Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, the second son of a physicist father who once worked for RCA Labs and a mother who taught elementary-school special education; his parents divorced when Stewart was 9. He went to William & Mary, playing on the college soccer team and graduating without any particular career plan, eventually moving to New York and taking the stage on open-mike night at the Bitter End.
“I wish I could say there was a magic formula,” he says, “but I just kept working at it.” Trying to keep up with new comedy-club-circuit friends including Leary, Dave Attell, and Louis C.K. helped sharpen Stewart’s act, which was topical without being overtly political. Hosting a short-lived but clever MTV talk show in the early nineties put Stewart into the late-night derby, and in January 1999 he replaced Craig Kilborn, the original Daily Show host. The expectations weren’t especially high. Stephen Colbert remembers the reaction of his wife, Evelyn McGee, who’d been friendly with Stewart years earlier. “When Jon got The Daily Show, she said, ‘Wait a second—he wasn’t the funny one in our group,’ ” Colbert says. “ ‘He was the quiet one in the corner with a beer.’ ”
One thing Stewart knew was that he wanted to give The Daily Show more weight. “Early on, we had a bit about the 40th anniversary of Barbie,” he says. “Some of the jokes were about how ridiculous a role model Barbie was for young girls, and the other jokes were about how ugly the girl in the Barbie commercial was. I’m not so sure that worked.” Stewart’s Daily Show really began with “Indecision 2000,” its “coverage” of the millennial electoral mess that gave the world President George W. Bush. Colbert joined the cast full-time right before the start of the Republican convention in Philadelphia. “I was never interested in political comedy: ‘Hey, Ted Kennedy’s hitting the bottle again!’ ” Colbert says. “Jon taught me how to do it so it would be smart. He encouraged everyone to have a point of view. There had to be a thought behind every joke.”
The road trips to Philly and to the 2000 Democratic convention in Los Angeles reshaped The Daily Show, but not in the way Stewart had anticipated. “We were at that point merry pranksters—guys on a bus going, ‘That guy looks like Richard Gephardt!’ ” he says. “The more we got to meet people [in the media], it was—‘Oh! You’re fucking retarded! You don’t care!’ The pettiness of it, the strange lack of passion for any kind of moral or editorial authority, always struck me as weird. We felt like, we’re serious people doing an unserious thing, and they’re unserious people doing a very serious thing.”
The Bush-Gore Florida recount was a gigantic gift to “Indecision 2000,” if not the country. “We all had such blue balls from the jokes we wanted to do when Gore eventually conceded,” Colbert says. “And the night it happened, here we were doing them. I turned to Jon and said, ‘This is the most fun job on TV right now.’ ”
Media people’s lack of passion for moral or editorial authority always struck Stewart as weird.
After September 11, Stewart began to employ his newfound anger, becoming a voice of comic sanity in the whirlwind of real and manufactured fear. Segments like “America Freaks Out” and “Mess O’Potamia” punctured the false-patriotic sanctimony being peddled by the Bush administration. Yet as appalled as Stewart was by the politicians, his greater scorn was increasingly aimed at the acquiescent and co-opted news media. “I assume there are bad actors in society,” Stewart says. “It’s inherent in politicians to be disingenuous. And a mining company wants to own the company store—as it is in SpongeBob. Mr. Krabs just wants to make more money. He’s not concerned with SpongeBob’s working conditions—although SpongeBob is putting in hours that are not humane, even for an invertebrate. I assume monkeys are gonna throw shit. I get angrier at the people who don’t go ‘Bad monkey!’ or who create distraction that allows it to continue unabated. The thing that shocked me the most when I first met reporters was the people who would step aside and say, ‘Boy, I wish I could say what you’re saying.’ You have a show! You are a network anchor! Whaddya mean you can’t say it?” Stewart says. “It’s one reason I admire Fox. They’re great broadcasters. Everything is pointed, purposeful. You follow story lines, you fall in love with characters: ‘Oh, that’s the woman who’s very afraid of Black Panthers! I can’t wait to see what happens next. Oh, look, it’s the ex-alcoholic man who believes that Woodrow Wilson continues to wreak havoc on this country! This is exciting!’ Even the Fox morning show, the way they’re able to present propaganda as though it’s merely innocent thoughts occurring to them: ‘What is this “czar”? I’m Googling, and you know what’s interesting about a czar? It’s a Russian oligarch! Don’t you think it’s weird that Obama has Russian oligarchs, and he’s a socialist?’ Whereas MSNBC will trace the word and say, ‘If you don’t understand that, you’re an idiot!’ The mistake they make is that somehow facts are more important than feelings.”
What has separated Stewart from ordinary carpers, though, is his willingness to call bullshit to the face of the bullshitters. On The O’Reilly Factor this past February, he nailed Fox News as “a cyclonic, perpetual emotion machine” that gins up legitimate political disagreements into “a full-fledged panic attack about the next coming of Chairman Mao.” In October 2004, after months of Daily Show jibes at CNN’s Crossfire, Stewart appeared as a guest and delivered a nuanced, impassioned plea for Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson to “stop hurting America” by peddling mindless bickering as partisan debate. Well, and he called Carlson a dick. “I don’t disown any of the criticism, but I probably could have handled it in a lighter, less sanctimonious way,” Stewart says. “What’s been misconstrued is the idea that I’m saying I’m ‘just a comedian.’ I’m not saying I’m just a comedian. I think comedy is harder than what they do. We have to process things in a manner that’s more thoughtful.”
The right provides better raw material, but Stewart’s complaints are bi-partisan. “Obama ran as a visionary and leads as a legislator. That’s been the most disappointing thing about him,” he says. “People were open to major changes, and they didn’t get it. I mean, he was pretty clear about some shit: ‘We’re not gonna sacrifice values for safety. I’m closing Guantánamo.’ Jettisoning Shirley Sherrod showed he doesn’t quite understand this game yet, does he? He’s more than willing to sacrifice someone to the voraciousness of the news cycle than to any sense of what his narrative is. I can’t quite figure out who they are.”
Stewart is a somewhat left-of-center Bloomberg/Springsteen Democrat, but he’s avoided outright cause-mongering beyond emceeing charitable events. “We’re not provocateurs, we’re not activists; we are reacting for our own catharsis,” Stewart says. “There is a line into demagoguery, and we try very hard to express ourselves but not move into, ‘So follow me! And I will lead you to the land of answers, my people!’ You can fall in love with your own idea of common sense. Maybe the nice thing about being a comedian is never having a full belief in yourself to know the answer. So you can say all this stuff, but underneath, you’re going, ‘But of course, I’m fucking idiotic.’ It’s why we don’t lead a lot of marches.”
And he clings to the naïve hope that the legitimate news media will get its act together and become a resolute force for truth and good government. “You have to imagine someone is going to come along in a nonpartisan fashion and create a similarly tenacious organization as Fox,” Stewart says. “There’s got to be a way to translate people’s ability to be titillated into a way to inform them that’s not necessarily PBS. There’d be money in that.”
Tim Kaine called. The former governor of Virginia and current head of the Democratic National Committee volunteers to appear on The Daily Show. “How about we have him on when we go to Washington?” Stewart says to Hillary Kun, the supervising producer who books guests.
The Daily Show hit full stride with its coverage of the 2000 Bush-Gore presidential campaign. Ten years later, the Supreme Court decision that broke the deadlock is still reverberating, especially in the dead-end partisanship of our nation’s capital. Stewart returns to D.C. next month for a week of shows pegged to one prime showcase of the dysfunction, the midterm elections. Small problem: Congress, along with most other professional pols, will be out on the campaign trail (Kaine came to New York last week for his grilling). “Yes,” Stewart says, “when you show up to stick it to The Man, you always want to do it when The Man is not home.”
A decade of bad politics has made for a lifetime of comedy fodder, however. Each day at four o’clock, Stewart ducks into his office bathroom and changes from T-shirt and chinos to black suit and a muted blue tie. In the early seasons of The Daily Show, Stewart looked as if he’d borrowed his older brother’s suit, his hairstyle bordered on a pompadour, and he was thin to the point of waifish. At 47 years old, he’s suave in Armani, his black hair is rapidly giving way to gray, and he’s quit smoking and gained a few pounds, most of it from the Swedish Fish stockpiled in bowls throughout the office.
Stewart bounds down two flights of stairs, navigates a series of twisting hallways, and emerges into the empty Daily Show studio for rehearsal. He sits behind his desk and reads rapidly through today’s script in a low mumble as cameramen practice their moves and video clips pop up on monitors. Then it’s time to really create the show.
For the next hour, Stewart paces diagonally across a windowless eight-by-eight-foot room, sucking on an iced coffee and grabbing handfuls of candy. Projected in front of him on one wall is the current script; beneath it, at two keyboards, sit Kristen Everman, a production assistant, and Kira Klang Hopf, an indefatigable senior producer. Head writer Steve Bodow and executive producers Josh Lieb and Rory Albanese perch on small couches. As the studio audience files into its seats down the hall and tonight’s musical guests, Arcade Fire, tune their guitars in the greenroom, Stewart and his team go on a nonstop, rapid-fire jag that tears up and rewrites nearly three-quarters of the script. The typist transcribes, cuts, and pastes; as visual gags pop feverishly into Stewart’s brain, Hopf calls down to the art department, ordering up new video montages and a collage of an “Anchor-Me Terror Baby” to go with a reference to the “birthright citizenship” debate. Many of the new ideas will be scrapped only moments later.
“We begin with results from Tuesday night’s exciting primaries—so exciting we needed a day to cool down so we could report it dispassionately. And also we didn’t know they’d happened,” Stewart dictates in his on-camera voice, as Everman types the words into the revised script and onto the wall. “Take out, ‘We didn’t know they happened,’ ” Stewart says. “What was the theme? What narratives would emerge. If you remember, the May 19 primaries were known for their passion.”
“Check the date on the primaries,” Albanese says to Hopf, who Googles the facts.
“Can you find one more person using the word ‘anger’?” Lieb asks a video researcher.
Stewart’s pacing has switched to the Frankenstein monster’s stiff-armed lumber; now he’s doing the bolt-neck’s booming voice: “Ugh! Primary voter angry! School-funding referendum vote ‘no!’ ”
Back to Stewart’s natural tone: “But by the June primaries the anger had dissipated.”
“Leaving nothing but the sweet smell of estrogen,” Lieb says, cracking up the room. Clips of real newspeople proclaiming “ladies’ night” are inserted. Stewart picks up the pace: “The June primaries—ladies drank free!” Now he’s singing, and dancing his pathetic white-man’s disco shuffle. “Oh, yes, it’s ladies’ night …”
As Stewart speeds along, hours of work by writers and producers are cut, replaced by improvised digressions. A clip of a Fox News host hyping Tuesday’s Senate primary as the thing that “put Colorado on the national scene” provokes Stewart to ask Hopf, “Will you look at the forces behind Colorado’s statehood?” He peers over Hopf’s shoulder at the Wiki answers, then starts riffing in his best mock-serious anchor tone: “Not to be a stickler, but I believe it was the Pikes Peak gold rush in 1861 that originally put Colorado on the national scene, leading to statehood, ratified in 1876.”
Lieb: “Then they discovered beer in 1901.”
Albanese: “Then a giant woman in a bikini tapped the Rockies.” A producer begins frantically searching for the relevant photo from a Coors Light ad.
Stewart: “Of course, tragically, three years after that, a 50-foot-woman stuck a beer tap into one of their mountains. In the ensuing floods, thousands were killed.”
Lieb: “The ensuing beer-valanche.” When the laughter dies down, Lieb tacks on one more inside-comedy beat. “That’s actually Bruce Vilanch’s brother, Beer Valanche.”
No matter how far the inspired silliness wanders, Stewart steers everyone back to the theme. When the media drumbeat was “rage at incumbents,” 98.5 percent of incumbents won their primaries; on “ladies’ night” a solid majority of male candidates triumphed. “The point is,” Stewart says, “that just because a media narrative is utter bullshit doesn’t mean we won’t get another one. So this month’s primary has a ‘proxy battle’ theme.” He stops. Something’s stumping him. “The kick-in-the-nuts thing—hmmm,” he murmurs.
Albanese knows what this means. “Are we losing the kick in the nuts?” He sounds depressed. “Wwwhew.”
“I think ‘slut, slut, slut’ is better,” Stewart says. Linda McMahon’s testicle-kick video and all the jokes associated with it are vanishing from the wall script. Albanese sighs. Stewart stares. “I have an idea,” he says, then starts dictating again. “ ‘McMahon’s ability to overcome footage from her entire career was impressive’—now add a little piece of the kick in the nuts at the top of this,” he says. “Then, ‘Chuck Todd, help me out. What was the theme?’ ”
Up comes a clip of the NBC political analyst saying, “There was no big theme.”
Now Stewart explodes in mock horror: “Wait—the theme is no theme? Why do I always fall for this? Every time I lean over and look in and what do I get?”
When that line, during taping, is followed by the full McMahon foot-to-crotch, it sparks the biggest laugh of the night, probably for the viewers at home too. And maybe everyone learned another little Daily Show lesson in media criticism—confronted with the spectacle of the media-political complex, the only possible response is laughter. The studio audience, though, got an extra sermon. Every night before starting the show Stewart takes a few questions. This time a woman asks what he likes most about living in the city.
Stewart pauses, looking at the floor for a few seconds. “I grew up in a smaller town in New Jersey,” he says quietly, “and even though we were only an hour outside New York, I remember telling people I wanted to live in the city, and they said”—he puts on a belligerent dumb-ass voice—“ ‘Okay, good luck in the gay-pride parade!’ ”
When the laughs fade, he continues. “Very provincial. So the idea that everything was not only accepted, but appreciated, was my favorite thing about New York. But also that there was a certain energy, that people were like, ‘You know what, fuck it, I’m going to do something I want to do.’ ”
The audience is silent. Stewart punctures the earnestness. “And now I just think, ‘Wow, this is crowded.’ ” More laughs. “So, I got old.”
He made it here; hokey as it is, he wants to do his little part to ensure everyone—Muslim, gay, Sarah Palin—continues to have that same chance, not just in New York, but in America. “You want to add something to the world that is clarifying and not obscuring,” he’d told me earlier. “But I know the difference between real social change and what we do. You know what we are? Soil enrichers. Maybe we can add a little fertilizer to the soil so that real people can come along and grow things.” Somewhere here there’s a wisecrack to make about politics, journalism, and manure. But if there’s any clear and profound moral to be gleaned from our recent absurd era in American history, it’s that we’re better off leaving the jokes to Jon Stewart.
See Also
A Writers’ Room Transcript That Shows How Daily Show Segments Get Made | {
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This is a revolution that is partly economic, but mainly cultural. The new coalition differs from the old Reagan-Thatcher one, though it has some similarities. Back in the 1980s, working-class voters moved to the right because they felt that the left didn’t satisfy their aspirations for self-improvement. That was a cultural issue, of course; but it was primarily an economic one. It was not so much that they felt fearful as that they felt held back.
Today is different. The modus operandi of this populism is not to reason but to roar. It has at times an anarchic feel. Yet it has also mobilized a powerful media behind it. Its supporters welcome the outrage their leaders provoke. This polarizes public discourse and enhances their sense of belonging, so that even when they’re in government, they act as if they were excluded from it.
Meanwhile, traditional conservatives feel like strangers in their own land. They are unsure whether to play along with the new order on the basis that it will soon pass or to accept that this is a revolution aimed at overturning their authority and fight it.
The causes of this movement are the scale, scope and speed of change. This is occurring economically as jobs are displaced and communities fractured, and culturally as the force of globalization moves the rest of the world closer and blurs old boundaries of nation, race and culture.
The same dynamics are splintering the left, too. One element has aligned with the right in revolt against globalization, but with business taking the place of migrants as the chief evil. They agree with the right-wing populists about elites, though for the left the elites are the wealthy, while for the right they’re the liberals. | {
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Think that fencing is something that you have to start when you’re a kid? You don’t! Fencing is something that you can start at any age. In fact one of the best times to start fencing is as an adult.
There’s a great saying that goes like this:
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.
The second best time is now.
Here are seven great reasons to get started in fencing when you’re an adult.
1. You’re Not Too Old
There’s a serious culture of youth in the world today – a culture that says that being young is something that is really just for seventeen year olds. It’s not! You’re still young and vibrant in your 30’s and 40’s, and beyond! We are as young as we feel, and really it is all about our mindset. Start something new and exciting like fencing, and you’ll feel your youth.
2. Become Healthy in a Fun Way
Getting on a treadmill is a great way to get healthy, but it’s not motivating for most of us. We need something exciting that makes us want to get healthy. The fencing club is the perfect place for it! You’ll find that you’re aching to get out and work out when you’re fencing. One of the best parts of this sport is how it makes your body feel so much stronger. Plus it’s a low impact form of exercise, so you’ll be practicing great joint health.
3. Learn New Skills
With fencing you’re going to learn skills that you didn’t even know you had! You’ll learn a whole new vocabulary of words that you never knew existed. One of the best parts of learning to fence as an adult is the sense of fulfillment that you get from taking on something new.
4. Meet Great People
As adults, we sometimes fall into the rut of staying within a single social circle. We never stray from it! The fencing club is a fantastic way to meet great people who you can connect with over a shared passion. There’s an entire culture of people for you to interact with and learn from, and who are interested in you and your development. It’s a great group of people to be with!
5. Fulfill a Lifelong Dream
How many years have you seen fencing in the movies and thought “Whoa – that is really cool!” One of the best parts about fencing is that you can access this lifelong dream of yours, taking it to the next level and feeling great about it. You can just make the choice to go down to your local fencing club and fulfill that dream of the child inside you to go and take up swordfighting. How amazing is that? Do you really need the last two reasons?
6. Improve Brain Health
We know that in order to stave off mental decline, it’s essential that we keep our brains activated. In a world where we spend most of our time using just our hands and our eyes, fencing offers the chance to engage the whole body, which in turn engages the whole mind. Need more proof? How about this incredible study from the Journal of Neurophysiology that showed improved cortical elasticity after just five days of learning a new skill. You can make your brain healthier just by learning new physical skills! And the great thing about fencing is that the new skills can keep coming for years as you advance!
7. Have Fun!
You get up. You go to work. Maybe you take care of a house full of children, or an aging loved one. You worry about world politics and your mortgage. Where’s the fun? As adults we often lose sight of the fact that in order to keep all of those mundane (but essential) things going in our lives, we need to have some great fun. It’s not selfish to spend time for yourself. Fencing is so much fun! It’s exciting and thrilling, and it will have you coming back again and again.
Sounds interesting? Google adult fencing classes near you and discover the great benefits of starting your grown up fencing adventure!
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Rice University researchers have demonstrated an efficient new way to capture the energy from sunlight and convert it into clean, renewable energy by splitting water molecules.
The technology, which is described online in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters, relies on a configuration of light-activated gold nanoparticles that harvest sunlight and transfer solar energy to highly excited electrons, which scientists sometimes refer to as "hot electrons."
"Hot electrons have the potential to drive very useful chemical reactions, but they decay very rapidly, and people have struggled to harness their energy," said lead researcher Isabell Thomann, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and of chemistry and materials science and nanoengineering at Rice. "For example, most of the energy losses in today's best photovoltaic solar panels are the result of hot electrons that cool within a few trillionths of a second and release their energy as wasted heat."
Capturing these high-energy electrons before they cool could allow solar-energy providers to significantly increase their solar-to-electric power-conversion efficiencies and meet a national goal of reducing the cost of solar electricity.
In the light-activated nanoparticles studied by Thomann and colleagues at Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP), light is captured and converted into plasmons, waves of electrons that flow like a fluid across the metal surface of the nanoparticles. Plasmons are high-energy states that are short-lived, but researchers at Rice and elsewhere have found ways to capture plasmonic energy and convert it into useful heat or light. Plasmonic nanoparticles also offer one of the most promising means of harnessing the power of hot electrons, and LANP researchers have made progress toward that goal in several recent studies.
Thomann and her team, graduate students Hossein Robatjazi, Shah Mohammad Bahauddin and Chloe Doiron, created a system that uses the energy from hot electrons to split molecules of water into oxygen and hydrogen. That's important because oxygen and hydrogen are the feedstocks for fuel cells, electrochemical devices that produce electricity cleanly and efficiently.
To use the hot electrons, Thomann's team first had to find a way to separate them from their corresponding "electron holes," the low-energy states that the hot electrons vacated when they received their plasmonic jolt of energy. One reason hot electrons are so short-lived is that they have a strong tendency to release their newfound energy and revert to their low-energy state. The only way to avoid this is to engineer a system where the hot electrons and electron holes are rapidly separated from one another. The standard way for electrical engineers to do this is to drive the hot electrons over an energy barrier that acts like a one-way valve. Thomann said this approach has inherent inefficiencies, but it is attractive to engineers because it uses well-understood technology called Schottky barriers, a tried-and-true component of electrical engineering.
"Because of the inherent inefficiencies, we wanted to find a new approach to the problem," Thomann said. "We took an unconventional approach: Rather than driving off the hot electrons, we designed a system to carry away the electron holes. In effect, our setup acts like a sieve or a membrane. The holes can pass through, but the hot electrons cannot, so they are left available on the surface of the plasmonic nanoparticles."
The setup features three layers of materials. The bottom layer is a thin sheet of shiny aluminum. This layer is covered with a thin coating of transparent nickel-oxide, and scattered atop this is a collection of plasmonic gold nanoparticles -- puck-shaped disks about 10 to 30 nanometers in diameter.
When sunlight hits the discs, either directly or as a reflection from the aluminum, the discs convert the light energy into hot electrons. The aluminum attracts the resulting electron holes and the nickel oxide allows these to pass while also acting as an impervious barrier to the hot electrons, which stay on gold. By laying the sheet of material flat and covering it with water, the researchers allowed the gold nanoparticles to act as catalysts for water splitting. In the current round of experiments, the researchers measured the photocurrent available for water splitting rather than directly measuring the evolved hydrogen and oxygen gases produced by splitting, but Thomann said the results warrant further study.
"Utilizing hot electron solar water-splitting technologies we measured photocurrent efficiencies that were on par with considerably more complicated structures that also use more expensive components," Thomann said. "We are confident that we can optimize our system to significantly improve upon the results we have already seen." | {
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The presence of the national gun control group in front of the state Capitol Tuesday night prompted numerous shouts from gun rights supporters. While there were about 40 No More Names supporters, there were at least 60 gun rights supporters at the rally. "I think this is a joke," said Tony Mayfield of Hillsborough, who brought his AR-15 rifle and Sig Sauer T39 handgun to the rally. "We have, for all intents and purposes, a corporation from out of state doing this little publicity stunt here." Rally organizers, whose bus had Texas license plates, refused to speak to a New Hampshire Union Leader reporter and referred him to the organization's national headquarters. Some of the loudest shouts came when a reader spoke the name of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects who was killed by police during a gunfight. "He's a terrorist," several protesters shouted.
As of this writing, the Mayors Against Illegal Guns website says 6,170 Americans have been murdered by people using guns since Newtown; I can’t believe I have to ask this, but does that list include criminals — or terrorists — killed by police in an exchange of gunfire?
Alex Katz, deputy communications director for the Mayors Against Illegal Guns campaign, said rally organizers relied on a list compiled by Slate.com of people killed by guns since the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., “and his name was on the list.”… Tsarnaev “was absolutely not a victim, his name should have been deleted before the list was provided to a family member for reading and his name should never have been read. It was a mistake, it should not have happened and we sincerely apologize,” Katz said.
Heckuva job, Bloomie . Via Allahpundit, who incredulously asks , "am I awake?"This should have been the lede of the story, but it was buried in the eleventh graf. Bloomberg's out-of-state, astroturf group rolls into New Hampshire with 40 protesters. The local pro-gun picketers who arrive to offer a counterpoint end up outnumbering the anti-gun crowd at their own planned rally. Then, as the " No More Names " group commemorates victims of gun violence by reading their names out loud, bystanders are shocked to hearlisted among the "victims." Tsarnaev, you'll recall, was shot by police during a massive gun battle in the wake of the deadly Boston Marathon bombings, for which he and his younger brother were responsible. Tamerlan has also been implicated in three additional murders. AP follows up with a surreal question about "No More Names:"Gun violence is tragic, especially when innocents lose their lives. That's the sad reality, even as violent crime has ebbed to a four-decade low in America, despite all-time high levels of firearm ownership. If these anti-gun groups want to have an honest debate about the issue and build meaningful consensus, why pad the stats? How on earth would Tamerlan Tsarnaev qualify as a "victim" of "gun violence" when he was killed by cops who were returning fire after he blew up a bunch of innocent people? Even more amazingly, they tried to pull this trick off in New England, a few dozen miles from the site of the terrorist attack. As something of a moderate on these issues, the gun control lobby's behavior here certainly raises questions about the judgment and ethics of their entire cause. They seem to know it, too. Here's the Bloomberg organization in damage control mode after they inadvertently exposed their own tabulation methods:
So their excuse, if true, is that they're outsourcing their own counts to lefty media outlets? What responsible advocacy. I'll say this for the disastrous New Hampshire event: At least it drew more than three people.
UPDATE - Chris Dorner, too? Good grief.
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REFUGEES are barometers of violence. Their increase, says the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), António Guterres, shows that armed conflict round the world really is getting worse—the impression is more than just anecdote. According to his organisation, at the end of 2013 more than 50m people had been forced to flee from their homes (see chart). It is the largest count ever, an increase of 6m, or 13%, over 2012—and the sharpest rise for decades. There are now as many displaced people as the populations of Spain or South Africa.
The main explanation is the war in Syria, which has produced more homeless people than any other recent conflict—9m, almost half the pre-war population. Nearly 3m of those have crossed borders in order to throw themselves on the mercy of aid agencies or foreign states (mostly Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan). They are defined as refugees. The rest have stayed miserably within the country that has made them homeless and are called internally displaced persons.
Syria has produced more refugees than any other conflict of the past two decades: more than the genocide in Rwanda (2.3m refugees in 1994); the war in Kosovo (800,000 in 1999) or the post-war period in Iraq (at least 300,000 in 2006-13). Syria used to be one of the likeliest hosts for other countries’ refugees (mostly from Iraq). It has become the largest producer of refugees after Afghanistan—testimony to the exceptional brutality of the Syrian conflict.
This is not the only explanation, though. The civil war in the Central African Republic (CAR) displaced 800,000 people within the country and almost 100,000 who fled to neighbouring states. Strife in Mali is in its second year, and in Somalia in its fourth. The persistence of old wars explains much of the rest of the growth in the number of refugees.
In the past, many refugees were able to go home after a year or two. In the early 1990s, between 2m and 3m exiled people went back to their old homes each year. The number of those returning is now below 500,000 a year and has been for several years. A few more refugees have been able to resettle in a new country—mostly in the West—but the overall figure is so tiny (fewer than 100,000 in 2013) that it makes little impact. The result is that most refugees are stuck for years. At the end of 2013, more than half of all refugees had been in exile for five years or more.
Over the past 20 years most measures of state or public violence—such as the number of interstate wars and the rate of battle deaths—have been declining. Why then are there so many refugees and internally displaced people? In fact, there is a difference between the two groups. The number of refugees has indeed been declining. In the early 1990s the UNHCR was directly looking after more than 15m refugees worldwide; now it is caring for 12m. That change is consistent with the long-term decline in violence.
But the number trapped within conflict zones has soared. In 2013 the UNHCR was helping nearly five times as many internally displaced people as in 1993, almost 24m. They may be victims of the changing nature of conflicts: fewer wars between states but more violence associated with the collapse of states (such as Syria, Somalia and the CAR). Sometimes that collapse can be frighteningly fast, trapping people before they can get abroad. In just two weeks, more than 300,000 people have fled into Kurdish parts of Iraq from Mosul after it was captured by fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria, an extremist group. They have nowhere else to go. | {
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The inaugural address is tradition’s gift to a new President, a chance to gather the country together before the hard business of governing begins.
Donald Trump’s predecessors have seized these historic moments to issue calls for unity. Barack Obama, who took office in the midst of deepening economic crisis, used his first inaugural to steel the nation for the hardship ahead. George W. Bush, who became President in 2001 in the wake of a contested election, urged a “a new commitment to live out our nation’s promise through civility, courage, compassion, and character.”
Nobody knows how Trump, who on Friday at noon becomes the 45th U.S. President, intends to make use of his moment in history. But there is little to suggest that he will heed the road map sketched by past Presidents.
Trump has spent the weeks since Election Day practicing the same brand of us-against-them politics that won him the job. He’s feuded with U.S. intelligence chiefs, mocked political opponents and the media and carried on public spats with such luminaries as civil-rights icon Rep. John Lewis. He has treated the presidential transition as a new phase in a permanent campaign, seizing chances to rally his core supporters and making few overtures to his opponents. He has refused to be boxed in by precedent.
That may have contributed to the fact that Trump will step to the podium on the west front of the Capitol as the least popular incoming president in at least four decades. Dozens of House Democrats are boycotting the ceremony, though Obama and both Bill and Hillary Clinton will attend. His inaugural address is a prime chance for him to try to reset his image and bind the wounds of a bitter election.
Aides have been tight-lipped about what to expect. Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said the address will clock in at around 20 minutes. It will be a “philosophical document,” Spicer added, that lays out the themes that will anchor his first term. According to aides, the President-elect wrote the address personally. Lest anyone doubt it, Trump tweeted a photograph of himself with papers and a pen. (Upon closer inspection, however, the picture appears to have been taken at a receptionist’s desk.)
Specifics aside, the world is watching to see if Trump will deliver on his promise of becoming “so presidential,” or whether he will stick with what he knows. He has proven able to rein in the drama and theatrics when he wants to, such as in a speech he delivered last year about Israel. Still, he favors free-wheeling, stream-of-consciousness addresses. Meeting with supporters on the eve of his inauguration, he departed from the remarks he drew from his jacket pocket to mock a senior Republican senator, John Cornyn of Texas, for soliciting donations from him over the years, and bragged that his Cabinet had the highest IQ in history.
Another unknown is who, exactly, will be running the country once Trump’s team arrives after the short bus ride from the Capitol. None of the members of his inner circle at the White House—chief of staff Reince Priebus, chief strategist Steve Bannon and senior adviser Jared Kushner, the President-elect’s son-in-law—has served in government before, let alone at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
A sober speech would begin to alleviate widespread fears among members of both parties that the incoming President and his cohort are not prepared for the tasks ahead of them. Of the 690 political jobs that require Senate sign-off, Trump has nominated just 28. It is likely that Trump will spend his first weekend in power with just two Cabinet secretaries confirmed.
Many of the fellow Republicans who will attend the speech have been left to rely on scattered hints about how the Trump era will begin. Trump promised during the campaign to reverse many of Obama’s executive orders and restore some from the George W. Bush days that Obama scrapped. But even top Republicans have not been able to glean specifics and are likely to find out at the same time the public does.
Trump campaigned in broad promises to Make America Great Again, a phrase he copyrighted, as well as to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Questions about the specifics seldom drew answers; his supporters were willing to project their views and protect their candidate. The fury of an America First agenda powered him to the highest office in the land and is likely to be the gist of Trump’s first speech as President. It’s up to Trump to chart that course now. There really is no turning back.
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Write to Alex Altman at [email protected] and Philip Elliott at [email protected]. | {
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"This takes nothing away from what Patrick accomplished here as a player and as a man," Wilson said regarding the unrestricted free agent forward, who turns 40 on Sept. 15. "He will always be a San Jose Shark, no matter where he goes.
"But the team is at a different place right now and is continuing to evolve. We owe it to the players who have put the time in preparing for their opportunity to show what they can do."
Video: Marleau not to return to San Jose
Marleau's agent, Pat Brisson, told Sportsnet on Wednesday that "the fit is not there at this time between Marleau and the Sharks," and that he will pursue opportunities elsewhere in the NHL.
Tweet from @FriedgeHNIC: Checked in today with Pat Brisson, who represents Patrick Marleau. Brisson said the fit is not there at this time between Marleau and the Sharks. The winger very much wants to play, and will pursue other NHL opportunities.
Marleau skated at the Sharks practice facility Wednesday wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater. He told The Athletic on June 28 that returning to San Jose would be a good fit for him and skated at the facility in mid-August.
Tweet from @KKurzNHL: Marleau continues to skate at Sharks ice in a Maple Leafs sweater. Everyone else today was in teal pic.twitter.com/Gws0tTDzvO
Marleau played 19 seasons for the Sharks before signing with the Maple Leafs on July 2, 2017. He was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on June 22 and became an unrestricted free agent five days later when Carolina bought out the final season of his three-year, $18.75 million contract.
The No. 2 pick in the 1997 NHL Draft, Marleau had 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists) for Toronto last season and two assists in seven Stanley Cup Playoff games. He has 1,166 points (551 goals, 615 assists) in 1,657 NHL games, including a current 776-game streak, and 127 points (72 goals, 55 assists) in 191 playoff games. He is the Sharks leader in games (1,493), goals (508) and points (1,082). | {
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(ANTIMEDIA) Republicans’ and Democrats’ views of each other are more vitriolic than they have been in nearly a quarter century, a new in-depth survey by the Pew Research Center released last week concluded.
“For the first time in surveys dating to 1992, majorities in both parties express not just unfavorable but very unfavorable views of the other party,” the researchers noted [emphasis added]. “And today, sizable shares of both Democrats and Republicans say the other party stirs feelings of not just frustration, but fear and anger.”
According to the survey of 4,385 randomly selected Americans, “more than half of Democrats (55%) say the Republican Party makes them ‘afraid,’ while 49% of Republicans say the same about the Democratic Party.”
Further, “nearly half of Democrats (47%) and Republicans (46%) say the other party makes them feel angry,” and in both parties, 87% “have at least one of these negative feelings about the other party – frustration, fear or anger.”
Unsurprisingly, the more rigid one’s ideology and loyalty to party, the more powerful their disdain for those who subscribe to opposing beliefs. Additionally, the more “politically engaged” participants were, the more intense their negative feelings. For example, “58% of both Democrats and Republicans who are highly politically engaged are angered by the other party; fewer than half of those who are less engaged say the same.”
The blinders of partisanship also appear to heighten perceived differences between the left and right. “More politically engaged Republicans and Democrats also are more likely than the less engaged to see large differences between the policies of the two parties and to say the other party has almost no good ideas,” the researchers noted.
The increased animosity among the “politically engaged” aptly demonstrates the power of the “divide and conquer” tactics those in power employ to keep Americans at each other’s throats — as opposed to the throats of politicians and institutions.
While many Americans are aware of these deep, growing divisions in the United States, the Pew survey results highlight how quickly these shifts have occurred. In 1964, “the share of both parties with cold feelings toward the opposing party” was at 30%. By 1984, it had reached 45%. In 2004 it had spiked to 60%, and by 2012, “nearly 80% of Democrats and Republicans alike gave the other party a cold rating.”
The researchers also explain that while unfavorable views have risen, so have deeply unfavorable views: “in 2000 only about a quarter of both Democrats (23%) and Republicans (26%) had a very unfavorable view of the other party; by 2012 that had risen to more than four-in-ten.”
The Pew findings reinforce the results of a political paper, “All Politics is National: The Rise of Negative Partisanship and the Nationalization of U.S. House and Senate Elections in the 21st Century,” published last year by two researchers at Emory University. Alan Abramowitz and Steven Webster found that “regardless of the strength of their attachment to their own party, the more voters dislike the opposing party, the greater the probability that they will vote consistently for their own party’s candidates.”
In other words, a voter’s dislike of others is a greater driving force in politics than their affinity for their own party. As the Pew survey found, “those who associate three or more negative traits with people in the opposing party (as 37% of Democrats and 44% of Republicans do) participate in politics at the highest rates.”
Even as fear and anger continue to mount, however, voters expressing these emotions are less than satisfied with their own parties. Though “substantial majorities of both Democrats (73%) and Republicans (64%) say their parties make them feel hopeful,” few go so far as to feel proud or enthusiastic.
“Only about a quarter of Democrats (26%) and a similar share of Republicans (23%) say their party makes them feel enthusiastic. Roughly a quarter of Democrats (26%) also say their party makes them feel proud, while fewer Republicans (16%) say the same about their party.”
[taboola]
While the Pew findings indicate two-party bias is still very much the fabric of American politics, the lack of enthusiasm so many Americans harbor for the ruling parties is a sign of evolving views. In 2016, disdain for both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump has pushed many voters to consider other options, including Jill Stein of the Green Party and Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party.
Until this long-term shift overtakes a majority of the population, however, negativity, fear, and self-righteousness continue to dominate the American political consciousness. According to the survey, “most partisans say that, when it comes to how Democrats and Republicans should address the most important issues facing the country, their party should get more out of the deal.” [emphasis added]
For all the perceived differences between the left and right, the Pew findings reveal just how much they have in common — most notably, their sense of entitlement to power and control of policy, and of course, their deep and growing animosity toward each other.
This article (New Survey Shows Exactly Why the Two-Party System Is Failing America) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Carey Wedler and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, please email the error and name of the article at [email protected]. | {
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But final passage is a formality, and after a weekend of partisan finger-pointing — in which Democrats branded the shutdown the “Trump Shutdown,” after President Trump, and Republicans branded it the “Schumer shutdown” — the vote offered both parties a way out of an ugly impasse that threatened to cause political harm to both parties.
Mr. Schumer, speaking on the Senate floor, announced that he and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, had “come to an arrangement” to adopt the three-week spending measure while continuing to negotiate a “global agreement” that would include the fate of the dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children.
Monday’s vote came after a frantic weekend of work by a bipartisan group of more than 20 senators, who on Sunday night were discussing a plan in which the government would stay open through early February, coupled with a promise from Mr. McConnell to allow a vote on a measure to protect the Dreamers from deportation.
Mr. McConnell pledged Monday morning that he would permit a “free and open debate” on immigration next month if the issue had not been resolved by then. But his promise was not enough for many Democrats, and on Monday morning, moderate Senate Democrats were still pressing for more in exchange for their votes to end the shutdown.
By the time of the vote just after noon on Monday, the moderate Democrats were predicting the vote would pass.
“We’re going to vote to reopen the government,” Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat whose state is home to thousands of federal workers, told reporters. Mr. Warner said there was now a “path clear on how we’re going to get a full-year budget and we got a path clear on how we’re going to start an immigration debate.”
Senator Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said he was a “strong” yes.
“I said before trust but verify,” he said of Mr. McConnell. “He made this commitment publicly in the Senate floor. He was much more specific than he was last night. And frankly I think this is an important opportunity for him to demonstrate that he will carry through.”
— Sheryl Gay Stolberg
Photo
Trump: the Democrats “have come to their senses.”
“I am pleased that Democrats in Congress have come to their senses and are now willing to fund our great military, border patrol, first responders, and insurance for vulnerable children. As I have always said, once the Government is funded, my Administration will work toward solving the problem of very unfair illegal immigration. We will make a long-term deal on immigration if, and only if, it is good for our country.”
“Put this mess behind us.”
Mr. McConnell said on Monday morning that the Senate would move ahead with a scheduled procedural vote at noon on a proposal to fund the government through Feb. 8, and he urged his colleagues to put an end to the shutdown.
“Every day we spend arguing about keeping the lights on is another day we cannot spend negotiating DACA or defense spending or any of our other shared priorities,” Mr. McConnell said, referring to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the program put in place by the Obama administration that shields young undocumented immigrants from deportation.
Mr. McConnell reiterated a pledge he offered on Sunday night that he intended for the Senate to take up immigration legislation in February if the issue has not been resolved by then. A major question as senators seek to end the shutdown is what kind of commitment Mr. McConnell is willing to make regarding the consideration of legislation for the young immigrants, a central issue in the current impasse.
On Monday, Mr. McConnell pledged that the Senate’s immigration debate would have “a level playing field at the outset and an amendment process that is fair to all sides.”
“The very first step is ending the government shutdown,” he said.
— Thomas Kaplan
Democrats wanted more than McConnell’s word.
Moderate Senate Democrats Monday morning had sought a firmer commitment from Mr. McConnell that the Senate would move to address the fate of hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants, known as Dreamers, in the coming weeks.
The Democrats were part of a bipartisan group of more than 20 senators working throughout the weekend to forge a compromise to reopen the government. Mr. McConnell signaled Sunday night that he was listening to their demands, saying from the Senate floor that he intended to move ahead with immigration legislation in February if the issue had not been resolved by then.
But on Monday, Democrats wanted more in exchange for the votes to end the shutdown.
“Well I think the first thing he needs to do is strengthen his statement from last night,” said Senator Angus King of Maine, an independent who votes with the Democrats. “ ‘I intend.’ I would much rather he say, ‘I commit’ or ‘I will move.’”
As senators from the group shuffled in and out of leadership offices, Senator Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona and another member of the group, expressed optimism that such a public statement by Mr. McConnell would be enough to win over enough Democrats to vote to end the shutdown. Some Democrats called on Mr. McConnell to delay a procedural vote schedule for noon.
The crux issue, it seemed, was whether the majority leader could be trusted to keep his word. Democrats have not forgiven Mr. McConnell for blocking the Supreme Court nomination of Merrick Garland for almost a year pending the election of a Republican to the White House. And Mr. McConnell’s promises to Republican Senators Flake and Susan Collins of Maine for votes on health care and immigration in exchange for their support of the tax cut have yet to materialize.
How much of the issue is that mistrust?
“Uh, most of it,” said Senator Joseph Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia.
— Nicholas Fandos
Liberal activists weren’t ready to relent.
A broad array of liberal advocacy groups — including unions and immigrants’ rights activists — stepped up pressure on Democrats not to accede on Monday to any deal that does not include protections for the young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers.
The advocates made clear that they do not trust Mr. McConnell.
“To anyone considering such a move, let me clear, promises won’t protect anyone from deportation, because delay means deportation for us,” said Greisa Martinez Rosas, advocacy director for America’s Voice, an immigrant rights group.
Moderate Senate Democrats on Monday were seeking a firmer commitment from Mr. McConnell. But the groups remained skeptical. Vanita Gutpta, the president and chief executive officer of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, harked back to Democrats’ vote on Friday to block a spending bill that would have kept the government open, without protecting the Dreamers. | {
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GP de España
El francés cree que es el hombre indicado para el cargo McLaren está a un segundo de Red Bull con el mismo motor
Eric Boullier se defiende de quienes cuestionan su capacidad de liderazgo en el equipo McLaren, al que llegó en la temporada 2014. Boullier cree que es la persona idónea para llevar el timón del proyecto de Woking, que ahora pelea por regresar a la élite de la Fórmula 1.
Las dudas sobre la continuidad del francés se han avivado con la reciente destitución de Tim Goss de la dirección técnica de la formación. El nombre de su sustituto todavía no ha trascendido, pero puede haber más bajas en las próximas semanas.
Boullier está convencido de que él es el hombre más indicado para liderar el equipo. "Sí, lo creo. En el pasado he gestionado, revitalizado y reestructurado varios equipos, y he ganado con todos ellos en todas las categorías. Conozco mi trabajo. Tenemos que asegurarlo de que podemos hacerlo".
La McLaren de Boullier sólo ha conseguido un podio –Australia 2014-. Ha vivido los peores años de toda su historia durante su fallida asociación con Honda, en 2015, 2016 y 2017. En 2018, el equipo ha dado un paso adelante pero todavía está lejos de Red Bull, que compite con la misma unidad de potencia.
El galo no garantiza la continuidad de todos sus responsables de ingeniería, aunque afirma que confía en ellos. Y deja abierta la puerta a más cambios si son precisos.
"No puedo hacer comentarios, pero yo creo en la gente que tenemos. Creo en ellos. Siempre quieres un liderazgo fuerte, buena combinación, ser tan flexibles como sea posible. Parecen palabras genéricas, pero tenemos que tratar esos puntos si creemos que nos hemos dejado alguno".
¿Te gusta el coche? ¡Pruébalo!
En el GP de España, McLaren se ha quedado a 1,548 segundos de la Pole Position en la sesión de clasificación. Han recortado 351 milésimas respecto a 2017, cuando el déficit fue de 1,899. Boullier está convencido de sus progresos.
"Sabemos qué tenemos que hacer. Tenemos que mejorar en fiabilidad y rendimiento. Ahora hay otros equipos con el mismo motor, así que tenemos referencias. Es un camino largo. Éste ha sido otro paso. Se ha hecho un buen trabajo para recuperar la fiabilidad desde los test".
Si quieres leer más noticias como ésta visita nuestro Flipboard | {
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Houses in Britain are perfectly affordable. They’re bought and sold all the time. Official figures show 114,180 changed hands in August alone. Over 2016 as a whole, 1.2 million homes were acquired.
The problem is that houses are not affordable to the people who we want to be able to buy them, mainly people under the age of 40. As we all know, average house prices have been stretching further and further away from average wages, making it ever harder to get on the housing ladder.
When the baby boomers hit 30, their home ownership rate was around 55 per cent. When people born in the 1970s reached their third decade, around 45 per cent owned their own homes. But for those born in the 1980s, the ownership rate today is just 30 per cent.
If you can’t buy, you generally have to rent. Yet renting is a much more precarious reality for young people than it was in previous decades thanks to a slump in the supply of new social housing, the scrapping of rent regulation and a law change in 1988 allowing private landlords to eject tenants at two months’ notice.
Renting is also more expensive than it was in the past, swallowing up 28 per cent of the incomes of those in their late 20s, up from just 13 per cent of equivalent incomes in the 1980s.
This is our housing crisis: collapsing home ownership rates for those aged below 40 and insecure and expensive renting.
The policy solutions can be loosely labelled: tax, law and supply. First, taxation reform to curb the incentive to view housing as a financial asset, something that has put considerable upward pressure on prices in recent decades. Second, greater rights and security for renters under the law. Third, planning liberalisation to facilitate a greater supply of private homes and bigger government grants for the construction of many more social ones.
Jeremy Corbyn points to Grenfell fire as epitome of failed housing policy
This programme should, over time, bring down prices relative to average incomes and also improve life for tenants in the interim.
But the Conservatives have huge problems when it comes to delivering any of this. Significantly more social housebuilding would meet stiff resistance from the dogmatic small state caucus within the party. Reform of the 1998 Housing Act and new regulatory curbs on rent increases would anger landlords, a category that includes more than a quarter of Conservative MPs.
Taxes on undeveloped land to spur construction rates would be fought by private house-builders, who have been major party donors. Green Belt liberalisation, to remove an obstacle to construction and reduce the price of land for develop, would scandalise the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England and the Conservative-supporting Daily Telegraph. Proper reform of property taxation, making council tax proportionate to house values, would send the wealthy homeowners of the Tory heartlands ballistic.
The Conservatives have finally woken up to the fact they need to make an offer to people under the age of 40 on housing, or see them turn to Labour in ever greater numbers. Yet to do anything serious would also alienate these key Tory support bases. “Their problem is a structural one,” points out the economist Chris Dillow.
This bind is why Theresa May risibly dressed up trivial sums for more social housing last week as some kind of spending splurge. This is why we have another £10bn of taxpayers’ money thrown at Help to Buy, a mortgage subsidy scheme that primarily benefits housebuilders.
Theresa May apologises for failing to win the election outright
Yet the Conservative Party’s problem is even greater than having to upset traditional supporters: there’s an emotional and ideological block.
Housing was central to Thatcherism, from Right to Buy on council homes, to stripping councils of their role in building social housing, to mortgage-interest tax relief, to lifting rent controls, to privileging landlords in the law, right up to the poll tax which abolished the progressive property rates system. It was an ideological project, to create a “property-owning democracy” and to supposedly predispose the electorate to reject “collectivist” policies.
But the failure of this project means we increasingly have the democracy without the property ownership. And those collectivist policies brandished by Labour look increasingly appealing to the under-40s. | {
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MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has rejected the plea of Bollywood producer Ramesh Sippy which sought a stay on production and release of Hindi blockbuster ' Sholay 's' 3-D version being made by his nephew Sasha Sippy, the director of 'Sholay', is in dispute with Sasha over the rights of the film which was released in 1975 and created many records.Sasha, son of Sippy's brother Vijay, had recently announced making 3-D version of the film to be distributed by Jayantilal Gada.Being aggrieved, Sippy moved the High Court. Hearing Sippy's petition, Justice S J Kathawala yesterday refused to grant any relief saying his court was not inclined to give a stay on production and release of the 3-D version at this stage.The judge said that first he would frame preliminary issues raised by Sasha and his associates.Lawyers of Sasha, Birendra Saraf and Archit Jaykar, argued that Sippy did not have any rights over the movie. Hence, he should not oppose the production and release of 'Sholay's' 3-D version.Sasha and other members of the Sippy family claim to be associated with Sholay Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd , which was formed in 2000.An affidavit filed by this company said it had dealt with and commercially exploited the rights of 'Sholay' several times earlier but never before had Sippy made any claim on copyrights. Then, why now he was objecting?The affidavit further said that all the directors of the film had either retired or died and the rights of 'Sholay' were vested in ' Sippy Films Pvt Ltd '.However, in 2000, Sholay Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd came into being and rights of the film were transferred to this company by Sippy Films Pvt Ltd through a gift deed, the affidavit said. Ramesh Sippy resigned as director of Sippy Films three months before the film was released and he had nothing to do with the company, the affidavit further said. | {
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Play video content
Adam Levine's owning his lackluster performance at a huge festival in Chile, saying he acted unprofessionally and struggled on stage ... and apologized to everyone in the crowd.
The Maroon 5 frontman and the band were widely criticized for their set during the country's Viña del Mar Festival Thursday, which was broadcast live on TV. Adam was singled out ... ripped for looking disinterested and cold, and was caught on video afterward complaining ... "That was a TV show ... that was not a concert."
Levine's now offering up an explanation, saying he was held back "sonically" -- his sound just wasn't right -- and it got in his head. He says the crappy performance wasn't a dig at the group's Chilean fans ... adding he loves performing in South America.
Unclear if the apology will be enough for the folks in Chile -- they were pretty pissed, -- but Adam promises it won't happen again. | {
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Animacje i grafika
Doskonale wiemy, jak ważna jest czytelność przekazu w materiałach szkoleniowych. My jednak pragniemy ja połączyć z oryginalna i ujmującą formą. Doskonale przygotowany obraz, ciekawy scenariusz, uporządkowany komunikat – to wszystko wyróżnia nasze materiały instruktażowe i szkoleniowe. Tego typu projekty przygotowujemy zarówno dla naszych Klientów komercyjnych (w tym także dla korporacji), jak i instytucjonalnych.
Mogą z nich skorzystać firmy specjalizujące się w szkoleniach BHP, jak również pracodawcy, pragnący w ciekawy sposób przeprowadzić dodatkowe kursy dla swoich pracowników (np. z zakresu obsługi trudnego klienta). Zakres tematyczny tego typu materiałów zależy wyłącznie od Państwa oczekiwań.
Nasze produkcje filmowe nierzadko przesycone są animacjami. Niektóre projekty to wyłącznie motion design, animacja reklamowa, grafika komputerowa, efekty specjalne czy VFX. W ten sposób powstają zarówno małe jak i olbrzymie projekty. Takim wielkim projektem była interaktywna prezentacja dla Babiogórskiego Parku Narodowego zawierająca również elementy 3D. Jest tak rozbudowana, że nie można jej zamieścić na stronie, ale można odwiedzić muzeum Parku Narodowego i tam ją obejrzeć. Tu zamieszczamy jedynie film ją prezentujący oraz inne próbki animacji. | {
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Domestic violence leave needs to be introduced across the nation, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has urged.
Speaking at a White Ribbon Day breakfast on Friday, Ms Palaszczuk said it was important for people to be able to say to their employer: "I need some time to get my life in order. I need some time to look after my children. I need some time to move out of a violent relationship."
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has called for domestic violence leave to be adopted across Australia. Credit:Robert Shakespeare
"We need to have domestic and family violence leave," she said.
"Not just in government - right across our nation. | {
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File photo
BENGALURU: Isro on Wednesday said it has performed the second lunarbound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft that is currently in the lunar orbit for its rendezvous with the Moon .
All spacecraft parameters are normal, the Bengaluru headquartered space agency said after the maneuver.
"Second Lunar bound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (August 21, 2019) beginning at 1250 hrs IST as planned, using the onboard propulsion system.
The duration of the maneuver was 1228 seconds.
The orbit achieved is 118 km x 4412 km," Isro said.
The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled on August 28, 2019 between 0530 - 0630 hrs IST.
| {
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This card was AWESOME and the cat was adorable. I may have to use this MST3K image in the future. Thank you so much for the card, and I hope you have a great holiday as well. At the very least, know that you have significantly brightened mine!
Thanks again, Eric, aka almeida37 | {
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July 13, 1991
Japanese Translator of Rushdie Book Found Slain
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
OKYO, July 12 -- The Japanese translator of "The Satanic Verses," by Salman Rushdie, was found slain today at a university northeast of Tokyo.
The translator, Hitoshi Igarashi, 44 years old, was an assistant professor of comparative culture who reportedly studied in Iran in the 1970's. The police said he was stabbed several times on Thursday night and left in the hallway outside his office at Tsukuba University.
It is the second time this month that someone involved with the production of the novel by Mr. Rushdie, the Indian-born author condemned to death by the Iranian authorities two years ago, has been assaulted. On July 3, Ettore Capriolo, 61, the Italian translator of "The Satanic Verses," was stabbed in his apartment in Milan. He survived the attack with what were described as superficial wounds.
Rushdie Urges Death Order's End
The Milan police have made no arrests and offered no theory on the attacker. But the authorities said without elaboration that the assailant told Mr. Capriolo that he had a "connection" to the Iranian Embassy in Rome. A man reached at the embassy late today said no officials were available for comment.
The police reported that a janitor had found the body of Mr. Igarashi near an elevator on the seventh floor of the building with slash wounds on his neck, face and hands. They said an autopsy showed that he died between 10 P.M. on Thursday and 2 A.M. today.
In addition to translating "The Satanic Verses," Mr. Igarashi wrote books on Islam, including "The Islamic Renaissance" and "Medicine and Wisdom of the East."
Mr. Rushdie went into hiding in 1989 after his novel's publication in Britain brought a call by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran for Muslims to kill the author. Ayatollah Khomeini, who said the book was blasphemous and anti-Islamic, died in June 1989, but the assassination order has been reaffirmed by the Iranian authorities.
In the last year, Mr. Rushdie, a British citizen and Muslim who was born in Bombay, has started to give interviews, make some public appearances and issue statements construed as an apology for his book, saying he never intended to defame Islam.
But the Iranian Government refused to withdraw its assassination order, although it appeared until these recent incidents that the immediate threat to Mr. Rushdie might have subsided with the passage of time.
Reuters reported from London that Mr. Rushdie said in a written statement today, "I am extremely distressed by the news of the murder of Mr. Hitoshi Igarashi and I offer my condolences and deepest sympathy to his family." He appealed to the British, Italian and Japanese Governments and other world leaders "to make urgent representations to the Government of Iran" to have the death order set aside.
Outcry Against the Novel
No person or group in Japan asserted responsibility for the killing of Mr. Igarashi, which came to light late this afternoon, and the police said they had no specific evidence that it was carried out because of the novel.
But news organizations reported that the publisher of the novel had received death threats from Islamic militants and that Mr. Igarashi had for a time been given bodyguards. Family members of Mr. Igarashi said on television tonight that he had not received any death threats that they knew of.
It did not appear that Mr. Igarashi had any security guards at the time of his death. The police said he seemed to have been killed after some students left him about 7 P.M. on Thursday, and that perhaps the incident occurred as he was heading out the door of his office at Tsukuba University, about 40 miles northeast of Tokyo.
In 1989, the Islamic Center in Japan requested publishers, newspapers, magazines and broadcast stations not to translate or reproduce the novel, which it called an "anti-Islamic" work that "contains filthy remarks and ridicules fundamental beliefs of Islam."
'We Cannot Forgive the Novel'
There are few native Japanese Muslims, but there is a large community of Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and others who worship at the Islamic Center in the Akasaka district of Tokyo. News reports said the center had about 30,000 members.
Last year as well, a leader of a Japanese association of Pakistanis joined the condemnations of Mr. Rushdie, saying he deserved to die because of the book.
"We cannot forgive the novel because it is insulting our prophet indecently and making God's words Devil's words," the spokesman said at the time.
Nevertheless, the publisher, Shinseisha, a medium-sized house, went ahead, drawing demonstrators outside its offices in 1990. At a news conference in early 1990, a Pakistani was arrested after disrupting the scene and trying to assault a promoter of the book.
A Success but Not a Best Seller
Japanese news organizations reported that "The Satanic Verses" had sold about 60,000 or 70,000 copies in Japan, making it a success but not a best seller by Japanese standards.
Despite the threats to the publishers, the Japan Book Publishing Association said in 1990 that it supported the publishers and promoters of the book, saying, "We will make as much cooperation as possible with those organizations on this issue as we obey the basic legal rules."
But some bookstores were more cautious, hesitating to sell the novel or at least to display it. A spokesman for Maruzen books, a leading bookstore chain, told The Japan Times in 1990 that "it is difficult for us to put the book on counters because of possible confusions." | {
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A fortress island in Plymouth Sound that includes 16th-century barracks and a series of tunnels has gone on sale with a guide price of £6m.
Drake’s Island, named after the seafarer Sir Francis Drake, has planning permission for a luxury hotel and spa complex. However, a new owner may have other ideas for how best to use the six-acre plot.
The Devon island boasts an extraordinary history. Drake set sail from it in 1577 to circumnavigate the globe and it played a crucial role in defending the maritime city from French and Spanish invasions.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Devon island has previously housed a prison and, most recently, an adventure training camp
It has also been used as a prison, a religious centre, a refuge and, most recently, an adventure training facility, which closed in 1989. In 2005, anti-nuclear campaigners briefly set up a peace camp and declared the island a nuclear-free state.
The island was bought by Dan McCauley, a businessman and former chair of Plymouth Argyle FC, in the mid-1990s and last year permission was obtained to build the hotel and spa.
JLL property consultancy is offering the freehold of the island for sale. John Kinsey, the lead director of JLL in Exeter, said: “Drake’s Island is a remarkable piece of British history and a much-loved landmark that the Plymouth community holds close to its heart. It has long been the owners’ priority to bring the island back into sustainable use for the benefit of visitors, local residents and the wider economy.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Aidan McCauley (right) says his father, Dan, has an affinity with Plymouth
“With the added attraction of planning permission for a luxury hotel and spa, this is a unique opportunity to lead one of the south-west’s most exciting and unusual developments. But of course, that’s only one permitted approach. Now being sold freehold, it means the future is wide open for this historic island.”
McCauley’s son, Aidan, said his father had an affinity with the city and had long-held a vision to see the island brought back into use. He added: “As a family, we are passionate about seeing his vision turned into a reality and are exploring all options to make this happen.” | {
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The law reform group Justice has called for a radical overhaul of exclusions amid concerns that too many schools do not fully understand their legal duties and that the appeal process available to parents wishing to challenge an exclusion is inadequate.
According to Justice, there are “serious weaknesses” in a system that excludes, sometimes unlawfully, a disproportionate numbers of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) and those from a minority background.
One of the problems, its report said, is that schools often do not understand their duties under the Equality Act 2010 which require them to make reasonable adjustments to school policies – including zero tolerance behaviour policies – that may put Send children at a disadvantage.
Justice called for mandatory training on the law related to exclusions for school leaders and recommended the establishment of a new independent reviewer with powers to investigate individual exclusions. It also wants dissatisfied parents to have the option of appealing to a judge-led tribunal.
The report comes as concern mounts about the number of permanent exclusions in England which has been rising year-on-year since 2012 and far outstrips Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
According to the latest available figures, there were 7,905 permanent exclusions in England in 2017-18, with estimates of thousands more informally excluded either through managed moves to alternative schools or “off-rolled”, often into home education.
The Challenging School Exclusions report highlighted how a permanent exclusion can have a devastating impact on a pupil’s life, in some cases more than a criminal conviction, yet the process for challenging an exclusion is less robust than that in the youth justice system.
Under the current system the school’s governing body will review a decision by the headteacher to permanently exclude. But, according to Justice, governors lack independence and too often simply rubber-stamp those decisions.
Parents can then take the matter to an independent review panel, but its powers are limited. If it finds in favour of the child the panel can direct a school to reconsider the exclusion, but it does not have the power to force a school to take the child back. If a school refuses to reinstate a child it is required to pay £4,000, but the pupil remains excluded.
Prof Richard de Friend, who chaired the Justice working party that looked into exclusions, said: “Exclusion can have such a devastating impact on a child’s future that it is vital that exclusion decisions meet all the required statutory standards. We have concluded that at present we cannot be confident that they do because of the weaknesses we have identified in the current procedures.”
Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said Justice was right to highlight inconsistencies in the way that permanent exclusions operate, but said the proposals failed to address the bigger issue of how to prevent so many young people being removed from school rolls.
“To make a real impact on the serious issue of school exclusions, early intervention is more important than tinkering with procedures,” he said, and called for better resourcing of staff working at an earlier stage with pupils at risk of being excluded.
Barton said schools needed more flexibility in the curriculum and qualifications to ensure that more young people remain motivated by learning. He called for more funding for joined-up working between schools, social care, police and mental health agencies in recognition of the complex needs of many vulnerable young people. | {
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Last week I had a post about how McCain was trying to make it look like Obama was the antichrist.
Coincidentally, respected biblical scholars have uncovered dramatic evidence that it is McCain who is more likely to be the antichrist! How?
We believe that the End Times is near, based on the pattern of wars, earthquakes. and other strange phenomena we’ve been witnessing since the start of the New Millennium. Given that it may be imminent, the person who controls Babylon must be the Antichrist.
Since McCain has said he wants to maintain US forces in Iraq (the location of Babylon) for 100 years, he in effect wants to control Babylon.
But wait, there’s more! According to the scholars, the antichrist is likely to be Romanian, so they were surprised that McCain’s great-grandfather was actually not named John McCain, but John Mihai — and Mihai is a Romanian name.
What clinched it for us was that the name Mihai means ‘who is like the Lord’. As far as we’re concerned, that was enough. It means that McCain might easily pretend to be the Redeemer.
Finally, even McCain’s likability is consistent with being the antichrist.
Many people think that the Antichrist will be a evil-seeming leader, but in fact the Bible tells us that he will be charming.
Irony just doesn’t get any better than this. | {
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Београд Нови Сад Ниш Крагујевац Сомбор Копаоник
26° C 25° C 24° C 25° C 26° C 13° C | {
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“ “Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly lied to the American people about privacy. I think he ought to be held personally accountable, which is everything from financial fines to — and let me underline this — the possibility of a prison term.” ”
Those are the words of Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who said Facebook Inc.’s chief executive should face serious consequences for misuse of consumers’ personal data.
“He hurt a lot of people,” Wyden told Portland’s Willamette Weekly newspaper in an interview published last week.
Wyden introduced a bill in 2018 that would give the Federal Trade Commission expanded powers to punish companies that violate consumers’ data privacy, including steep fines and potential prison time for executives.
“There is a precedent for this,” Wyden told Willamette Weekely. “In financial services, if the CEO and the executives lie about the financials, they can be held personally accountable.”
Facebook is not the only subject of Wyden’s ire. Speaking in July after the government’s $700 million settlement with Equifax Inc. EFX, +2.94% over its 2017 data breach, Wyden said: “Equifax leaders knew its security was pitifully weak and yet did nothing to correct it, according to the FTC. In a just world, these executives would be going to jail.”
Despite Wyden’s wishes, that’s probably not going to actually happen. But Facebook may yet pay a price. Lawmakers have called for the company to be broken up, the FTC has opened an antitrust investigation into the tech giant, and a group of state attorneys general are reportedly pursuing a wider antitrust case against tech companies, likely including Facebook. | {
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It’s the end of four years old battle: Zenimax announced yesterday it has agreed to settle its litigation against Facebook and Oculus for “for the unlawful misappropriation of its breakthrough VR technology that Zenimax had developed,” the announcement read.
Zenimax didn’t disclose the terms of the settlement, but the company’s chairman and CEO Robert Altman commented: “We are pleased that a settlement has been reached and are fully satisfied by the outcome. While we dislike litigation, we will always vigorously defend against any infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property by third parties.”
The legal battle between Zenimax and Oculus started in May 2014, two months after the VR company was acquired by Facebook. Having been unsuccessful in its attempts to resolve the matter amicably with Oculus, Zenimax decided to take it to court. Back then, the suit claimed that Oculus and its co-founder Palmer Luckey illegally misappropriated Zenimax trade secrets regarding VR technology. Former Id Software (owned by Zenimax) employee John Carmack was particularly targeted by the lawsuit, with Zenimax saying he developed key VR technology for Oculus prior to his resignation from Id Software.
A couple of months later, Oculus fought back, claiming that Zenimax was just attempting to cash-in on Facebook’s acquisition of the VR studio, with the firm adding that “there is not a line of Zenimax code or any of its technology in any Oculus VR product.” Facebook and Oculus then tried to put an end to the lawsuit, unsuccessfully, with a preliminary trial date set for August 2016 and further accusations of theft and deception added around that time.
In January 2017, Mark Zuckerberg gave his testimony during the jury trial and denied all accusations that Oculus stole VR technology from Zenimax. In February of that year, the jury awarded Zenimax $500m (which was reduced to $250m in June 2018) after they found Oculus violated a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). However, Oculus was found not guilty of stealing trade secrets to create the Rift headset.
Zenimax kept on pushing through though, trying to block Oculus Rift sales, which was rejected by the judge in June 2018.
Other legal shenanigans around the case also included Carmack trying to strike back in March 2017, suing Zenimax for allegedly missing payments and asking for a whopping $22.5m.
In May 2017, Zenimax also claimed that former Id Software execs Carmack and Matt Hooper devised a mobile VR strategy that ultimately led to the creation of the Samsung Gear VR while still working at Id’s offices in the summer of 2013. | {
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MINI CAMPAIGN
Day 1 - Skirmish
Aug 10th 00:00 UTC to Aug 11th 00:00 UTC
"Clan Jade Falcon engages Clan Wolf Units on Blackstone in an attempt to secure a staging area for further operations."
Day 2 - Domination
Aug 11th 00:00 UTC to Aug 12th 00:00 UTC
"Clan Jade Falcon attempts to take Oberon VI from Clan Wolf on. The Hyperpulse Generator located on Oberon VI is still nonfunctional."
Day 3 - Conquest
Aug 12th 00:00 UTC to Aug 13th 00:00 UTC
"Clan Wolf units report Clan Jade Falcon Disrupting refinery operations on gas giant "Odin" in the Sigurd System"
Day 4 - Assault
Aug 13th 00:00 UTC to Aug 14th 00:00 UTC
"Local Sigurd colonies report increased Clan Jade Falcon presence. Clan Wolf, caught off-guard by the attacks, plan to retake settlements"
Day 5 - Siege
Aug 14th 00:00 UTC to Aug 15th 00:00 UTC | {
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The makers of Tide, Ajax and other common household cleansers are being asked to come clean about their ingredients.
Environmental and health activists announced plans Tuesday for a lawsuit to make Procter & Gamble Co., Colgate-Palmolive Co. and two other major firms reveal the chemical ingredients of their cleaning products and their research on the products’ effects.
The suit, to be filed today in New York, seeks to use a little-known 1976 New York law passed to combat phosphates in detergent.
The activists “say people deserve to know whether the products they use to wash their dishes and clean their homes could be harmful,” said New York lawyer Keri Powell, an attorney for Earthjustice, a nonprofit public interest law firm.
The lawsuit is being filed on behalf of six state and national environmental and health groups, including the Sierra Club and American Lung Assn. in New York.
Responding to the lawsuit, the Soap and Detergent Assn. expressed disappointment that activist groups were “using an arcane New York state regulation as a way to disparage cleaning product formulators whose products are used safely and effectively by millions of people every day.”
The industry plans a major push next year to make more information available about ingredients, said Michelle Radecki, general counsel of the Washington-based group. It represents 110 cleaning product manufacturers that together make more than 90% of U.S. cleaning products.
“The cleaning product industry is committed to providing more information than ever before on cleaning product ingredients,” she said.
Last September, the coalition of groups sent letters to several manufacturers informing them of the New York law and its requirement that they file semiannual ingredient and research reports with the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.
The letters asked the manufacturers to comply within 30 days.
“Eco-friendly” cleaning product manufacturers Method Products Inc., based in San Francisco, and Seventh Generation Inc., in Burlington, Vt., were among the companies that complied with the request.
Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble, New York-based Colgate-Palmolive and Princeton, N.J.-based Church & Dwight Co. (maker of the popular Arm & Hammer products) all refused to comply; Britain-based Reckitt Benckiser Group (which makes Woolite) did not respond.
The lawsuit seeks to invoke Article 35 of New York’s Environmental Conservation Law -- a statute that’s seen little action since it was passed in 1976 to combat phosphates, a family of chemicals once widely used in detergents until they were associated with negative health effects.
Health issues are central to the new lawsuit as well. Many of the activist groups in the lawsuit link the chemicals in household cleaning products to asthma, skin sensitization and other human health issues, as well as reproductive problems in aquatic life.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is the federal agency charged with overseeing home cleaning products, but it doesn’t require cleaning product manufacturers to provide comprehensive ingredient lists, so few companies do.
And although the federal Toxic Substances Control Act was enacted in 1976 to regulate the introduction of chemicals, it grandfathered in most of the existing chemicals on the market.
In California, two laws were approved in 2008. Together they require the state to identify “chemicals of concern,” to evaluate safer alternatives and to create a scientific clearinghouse for information on chemicals’ effects, but environmental and health groups say it will be years before consumers see results.
--
[email protected] | {
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Surrey Board of Trade wants to see six lanes instead of four on Pattullo Bridge replacement
Construction on new bridge connecting Surrey and New Westminster to begin summer, 2019; span to open in 2023
NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS 1130) – A new bridge connecting Surrey and New Westminster is expected to be up and running in five years. Premier John Horgan says the province is “taking over” the Pattullo Bridge replacement project, adding it will provide the $1.377 billion to fund it.
Construction is set to begin the summer of 2019. The new structure, which will replace the aging existing span is expected to open in 2023.
BREAKING: B.C. government is moving forward with construction of a $1.377-billion bridge to replace aging Pattullo Bridge. #bcpoli pic.twitter.com/YQkeGmm6ia — Lasia Kretzel (@lkretzel1130) February 16, 2018
The new bridge will have four lanes with the capacity to be expanded to six, and will be located upstream of the existing one. It will be owned, operated, and maintained by the province.
“This is not just a bridge across the river. It’s a bridge between governments. For too long, the provincial government pointed at municipalities and blamed them for a lack of progress,” says Horgan.
New Westminster Mayor Jonathan Coté had complained about the potential impacts a new span would have on his community. But now says he like the plans for the replacement span.
“I think a replacement four-lane bridge with improved connections to our local road network is actually going to see the traffic move a lot more efficiently than it does today.”
Coté also likes the fact the province is taking over the project, which he says gives the Mayors’ Council more latitude when it comes to making other major transit and transportation improvements.
“With this off the mayors’ plate, I’m really optimistic that we’re going to have some future positive announcements about public transit in the region,” he says.
Greens, Liberals weigh in
Though the Green Party admits this will be a “necessary and overdue upgrade,” members says the move raises questions.
“The Pattullo is a vital link in the region’s major road network, and I am particularly glad to see that the project will include space for cyclists and pedestrians,” says Green Party Deputy Leader Jonina Campbell. “The removal of tolls on the Port Mann and Golden Ear’s bridges put $4.2 billion onto taxpayer-supported debt. There are many vital elements of the Mayor’s 10-year Plan that await funding – in particular the Broadway Subway extension and the Surrey LRT.
She says it’s vital the government meet its promises to fund these projects.
Meanwhile, the BC Liberals say even though the bridge replacement is good news for commuters, they believe the fact the provincial government is taking on the whole cost is not.
The opposition is now wondering what other important projects will be cut or scaled back to pay for all of it.
Leader Andrew Wilkinson says the NDP should have waited for funding help from Ottawa, and believes today’s announcement aims to distract from the ongoing pipeline spat between BC and Alberta.
New connections
In Surrey, the new span will connect directly to King George Boulevard, as the existing one already does. In addition, there will be a new off-ramp to westbound Highway 17.
In New Westminster, the bridge will continue to connect to McBride Boulevard. There will also be direct ramps to link to East Columbia Street.
The province says the new connections will “reduce the reliance on local residential streets to access the bridge.”
Surrey Board of Trade wants more lanes
The Surrey Board of Trade is pleased with the announcement, but wants to see more lanes constructed on the new span. It wants to see six lanes, instead of four, which is in the current plan.
“With Surrey, we’re growing at a population of 800 to 1,000 a month. We’re going to be the largest city in British Columbia very soon,” says CEO Anita Huberman.
“I think we really need to make sure that we take a look at our future transportation infrastructure and bprepared for future population growth now. We’re already behind, in terms of transportation infrastructure in the region,” she adds.
Horgan says the new span will have the option of expanding to six lanes.
Pattullo Bridge Replacement will have four lanes with option to be expanded to 6. Horgan, however, believes four will be enough for now. pic.twitter.com/39Se7r1V28 — Lasia Kretzel (@lkretzel1130) February 16, 2018
Municipal Affairs Minister Selina Robinson says the new bridge will be built to “modern safety standards.”
“[It will feature] a centre safety median barrier and wider lanes to accommodate both passenger and commercial vehicles. The bridge will also have walking and cycling lanes, separated from traffic, on both sides of the bridge,” says Robinson.
“There will also be smoother connections on and off the new Pattullo Bridge with new direct road connections between the bridge and East Columbia Street in New Westminster, and a new direct off-ramp from the bridge to westbound Highway 17 in Surrey,” she adds.
The project includes the removal of the existing bridge, which will come down once the new one is opened. | {
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OK, as a parent of an actual teen boy (will be 17 in a month), I'd like to stress and then over-stress the importance what ruffians mentioned. Do you level best to TRY to keep an eye & ear out to what your kid is watching/searching for.
I'm not saying you need to get all crazy about it, but for godssake learn to check your cache.
My husband and I have wondered if the days of Playboy under the mattress were better or worse than now, when a quick check of your cache can turn up some unexpected images (the bugger will have been coached by other buggers on how to delete the obvious, not to mention laugh in the face of "parental controls" of any stripe).
What porn your kid is finding or searching for is a pretty quick snapshot of how you're doing in not raising a date-rapey-douchbag. (Oh, the conversations we've had. It's kind of miraculous that our kid's head hasn't just imploded from embarrassment.) | {
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UK Foreign Office minister Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has resigned from government, saying she can "no longer support" its policy on Gaza.
She told her Twitter followers that she was leaving with "deep regret". She was previously chairman of the Conservative Party.
Lady Warsi became the first female Muslim cabinet minister when David Cameron took office in 2010. She was demoted from the cabinet to a middle-ranking FCO post in 2012 and became minister for faith and communities at the same time.
She tweeted on Tuesday morning: "With deep regret I have this morning written to the Prime Minister & tendered my resignation. I can no longer support Govt policy on #Gaza."
With deep regret I have this morning written to the Prime Minister & tendered my resignation. I can no longer support Govt policy on #Gaza — Sayeeda Warsi (@SayeedaWarsi) August 5, 2014
She grew up in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, as one of five daughters of Pakistani immigrants. After studying at Leeds University she later worked for the Crown Prosecution Service before setting up her own legal practice.
In her resignation later she said the government's current stance on Gaza is "morally indefensible, is not in Britain's national interest and will have a long term effect on our reputation internationally and domestically".
Lady Warsi also claimed there is "great unease" in the Foreign Office over "the way recent decisions are being made".
A Downing Street spokesman said: "The PM regrets that Baroness Warsi has decided to stand down and is grateful for the excellent work that she has done both as a minister and in opposition.
"Our policy has always been consistently clear - the situation in Gaza is intolerable and we've urged both sides to agree to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire."
Chancellor George Osborne, however, called the resignation "disappointing and frankly unnecessary".
Speaking on LBC Radio, London Mayor Boris Johnson, said he had "great respect" for Lady Warsi, and hoped "she will be back as soon as possible."
Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on 8 July, which to date has killed 1,800 Palestinians and 67 Israelis causing outcry across the globe.
Lady Warsi had called for action on Gaza via Twitter before her resignation. On 21 July, she Tweeted: "The killing of innocent civilians must stop. Need immediate ceasefire in #Gaza. Leadership required on both sides to stop this suffering."
The killing of innocent civilians must stop. Need immediate ceasefire in #Gaza. Leadership required on both sides to stop this suffering — Sayeeda Warsi (@SayeedaWarsi) July 21, 2014
Three days later she added: "Can people stop trying to justify the killing of children. Whatever our politics there can never be justification, surely only regret #Gaza."
Can people stop trying to justify the killing of children. Whatever our politics there can never be justification, surely only regret #Gaza — Sayeeda Warsi (@SayeedaWarsi) July 24, 2014
In her first interview since her resignation, Lady Warsi told the Huffington Post: "The British government can only play a constructive role in solving the Middle East crisis if it is an honest broker, and at the moment I do not think it is."
"As the minister for the International Criminal Court, I’ve spent the last two and a half years helping to promote, support and fund the ICC. I felt I could not reconcile this with our continued pressure on the Palestinian leadership not to turn to the ICC to seek justice."
The British Foriegn Office is 'urgently investigating' claims that a British aid worker has been killed in Gaza, according to reports from British media.
British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond called the rising death toll caused by the Gaza offensive “intolerable” and called for a long-term humanitarian ceasefire on both sides.
He added that “a broad swathe” of British public opinion felt “deeply disturbed by what it is seeing on its television screens coming out of Gaza.” | {
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India and Iran share long-standing civilisational ties. Iran is situated in India's extended neighbourhood and the two countries have a significant overlap in their economic and security space. The visit will provide thrust to expand bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Iran on May 22-23 as India looks at stepping up engagement with the sanctions-free energy-rich nation.India is looking at doubling oil imports from the Persian Gulf nation, which a few years back was its second-biggest oil supplier. India is also looking at getting rights to develop a giant gas field.A deal on developing the Chabahar port is also on the cards "At the invitation of the President of the Islamic Republic of, Dr. Hassan Rouhani, Prime Minister Narendrawill pay an official visit toon May 22-23, 2016," the Ministry of External Affairs said announcing the visit.During the visit,will call on the Supreme Leader ofand will hold talks on a wide range of subjects of mutual interest with Rouhani.Post-sanctionshas seen a flurry of business activity with leaders from China to Russia courting Tehran.In the run-up to's visit, minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, Oil Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan and External Affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, had visited Tehran.India andshare long-standing civilisational ties.is situated in India's extended neighbourhood and the two countries have a significant overlap in their economic and security space."The visit of the Prime Minister towill seek to build on these commonalities by focussing on specific cooperation in regional connectivity and infrastructure, developing energy partnership, boosting bilateral trade, facilitating people-to-people interaction in various spheres and promoting peace and stability in the region," the MEA statement said.The visit, it said, will provide thrust to expand bilateral cooperation and "mutually benefit from new opportunities in the wake of lifting of secondary sanctions againstearlier this year." | {
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WHOA. That's one hell of a view. Love the sci-fi vibe, and the total strangeness of the scene here.
Going to second the one critique that said this reminded of Interstellar, because it sure does. However, my impression was a gas giant blocking the view of the massive sun - compared to Insterstellar that doesn't look like the view of an accretion disk to me, but light reflecting off the outer edge of a large planet. I'm guessing this particular planet may orbit with its face locked to the gas giant - allowing a near permanent eclipse during the times it's facing the star. All in all a very cool thing you only read about in hard SF books, and I've got to say you did nicely with depicting that visually.
However, I've also got to second the same critique - even in a total eclipse there is light leaking out from the bright circle of the Sun to light the ground below. This doesn't seem to reflect any of the giant star's light or the insane amount of glare that'd be coming off that much stellar surface still showing around the gas giant. Oh, I can see it around the edge, and I love the contrast between the planet's shadow and the star. But I think you're going to want to jack up the contrast, and have some of that glare bouncing off the mountains and suchlike.
I get it's an artistic piece - and there's only so much glare and contrast someone can put into something like this before they lose the cool factor of the surface and radio telescope in the background.
You could also try having the star be more fully eclipsed by the gas giant - with just the corona and flares showing. You wouldn't lose much of the scale given how big the eclipsing planet is. But you might be able to pull off a light show better fitting both the title and the surface's appearance. Just crop the entire image into more of a parorama so the sense of scale is still there. -shrugs-
I dunno. It's your artwork, and you might be well and done with the piece by now. | {
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If you’ve applied for the PlayStation Home closed beta, but have yet to receive an invite, you may want to check your inbox again as we’re opening PlayStation Home’s expanded closed beta again to thousands of new beta testers. The closed beta test is going quite well, so please don’t sweat if you didn’t make today’s list, as this wave of invitations will be followed by many more before our launch into open beta.
Since the initial wave of new invitations went out a few weeks ago, we’ve been having an incredible amount of fun in PlayStation Home meeting each other, launching into games together, and dancing the night away by Listen@Home! To give you an idea of what we’re up to, we gave some folks in the media a sneak peak of PlayStation Home. Check out their tour recaps:
Can’t wait to see everyone in PlayStation Home – I’m always down for a game of pool or rocking the robot lock!
See you in there. | {
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Rousseau: "Uso politico del Garante della privacy"
"La piattaforma Rousseau non gode delle proprietà richieste a un sistema di e-voting". In parole povere: non garantisce né la segretezza né la sicurezza del voto degli iscritti ai 5Stelle, il cui risultato può essere manipolato - senza lasciare traccia - dagli amministratori del sistema, in ogni fase del procedimento elettorale.È l'esito dell'attività ispettiva svolta dal Garante della privacy che, al termine di una istruttoria in più fasi durata due anni, ha "condannato" l'Associazione presieduta daa pagare 50mila euro e a predisporre una serie di misure correttive volte a: scongiurare la permanente vulnerabilità della piattaforma; consentire la verifica a posteriori delle attività compiute; rimuovere la condivisione delle credenziali di accesso, che rendono impossibile identificare e controllare i soggetti autorizzati a operare sulla piattaforma; progettare un sistema di e-voting in grado non solo di proteggere i dati personali da attacchi interni ed esterni, ma soprattutto di "assicurare l'autenticità e la riservatezza delle espressioni di voto". Pena, ulteriori sanzioni. La replica dell'associazione arriva prima attraverso, braccio destro di Davide Casaleggio, poi con un post sul blog delle Stelle. Ed è durissima.Enrica Sabatini, socia dell'associazione Rousseau, è la prima a replicare: "L'infrastruttura tecnologica di Rousseau, come abbiamo comunicato nei giorni scorsi, è stata potenziata recependo le osservazioni del Garante ed così ha risposto alla domanda di maggiore innovazione e a quella di essere uno strumento all'avanguardia in grado di soddisfare le esigenze degli utenti e delle tante attività che vengono svolte sulla piattaforma". Poi, sul blog delle Stelle, arriva un attacco ancora più duro: "Temiamo che ci sia un uso politico del garante della privacy e che possa risentire della sua pregressa appartenenza al Pd. Il garante della privacy dovrebbe tutelare tutti, non solo le persone del suo partito".
Il voto non è segreto
Possibilità di manipolazione
Controlli impossibili
Ma torniamo alla relazione del Garante. Anche se, dopo una precedente istruttoria, l'Associazione Rousseau ha adottato alcuni accorgimenti mirati a garantire la libertà e la segretezza del voto - come la cancellazione o la trasformazione in forma anonima dei dati personali trattati, una volta terminate le operazioni di voto, nonché il disaccoppiamento del numero telefonico del votante dal voto espresso - il Garante ritiene che gli interventi non siano ancora sufficienti. Anzi - scrive - "sono state evidenziate persistenti criticità" scrive.Oltre ad aver scoperto l'esistenza di una tabella esterna alla piattaforma (presente all'interno del data center di Wind, con cui l'associazione Rousseau aveva un contratto di servizi) contenente tutte le informazioni relative alle operazioni di voto, al numero di telefono e all'ID dei votanti, insieme all'espressione di ciascun voto, il Garante ritiene che "la mera rimozione del numero telefonico, a fronte della presenza di un altro identificativo univoco dell'iscritto", come Casaleggio rivendica di aver fatto, "non possa essere considerata quale misura coerente con gli obiettivi di protezione dei dati personali che si intendevano promuovere".Non solo "la rilevata assenza di adeguate procedure di auditing informatico, eludendo la possibilità di verifica ex post delle attività compiute, non consente - scrive il Garante - di garantire l'integrità, l'autenticità e la segretezza delle espressioni di voto, caratteristiche fondamentali di una piattaforma di e-voting (almeno sulla base degli standard internazionali comunemente accettati)".La protezione dei dati personali è messa a rischio anche da un'altra condotta, ovvero quella di lasciare "esposti i risultati delle votazioni (per un'ampia finestra temporale che si estende dall'istante di apertura delle urne fino alla successiva "certificazione" dei risultati, che può avvenire a distanza di diversi giorni dalla chiusura delle operazioni di voto) ad accessi ed elaborazioni di vario tipo (che vanno dalla mera consultazione a possibili alterazioni o soppressioni, all'estrazione di copie anche offline)". E ciò perché gli amministratori di sistema, cioè le persone in possesso delle credenziali per accedere e operare sulla piattaforma (mediante due diverse utenze con privilegi) sono cinque per il sito www.movimento5stelle.it e altre cinque per il sito rousseau.movimento5stelle.it, alcune delle quali uguali per l'uno e l'altro sito.Ma non è possibile identificarle. Perciò "la modalità di assegnazione delle credenziali e dei privilegi relativi alle varie funzionalità dei siti dell'Associazione (...) risultano inadeguate sotto il profilo della sicurezza - avverte il Garante - poiché la condivisione delle credenziali impedisce di attribuire le azioni compiute in un sistema informatico a un determinato incaricato, con pregiudizio anche per il titolare, privato della possibilità di controllare l'operato di figure tecniche così rilevanti"."La regolarità delle operazioni di voto è quindi affidata alla correttezza personale e deontologica di queste delicate funzioni tecniche, cui viene concessa una elevata fiducia in assenza di misure di contenimento delle azioni eseguibili e di suddivisione degli ambiti di operatività, cui si aggiunge la certezza che le attività compiute, al di fuori del ristretto perimetro soggetto a tracciamento, non potranno essere oggetto di successiva verifica da parte di terzi". È cioè fare un controllo su chi fa cosa, sua ex ante, sia ex post. "In questo senso la piattaforma Roussau non gode delle proprietà richieste a un sistema di e-voting", sentenzia il Garante richiamando il documento adottato dal comitato dei ministri del consiglio di europa il 14 luglio 2017 "che prevede la protezione delle schede elettroniche e l'anonimato dei votanti in tutte le fasi del procedimento elettorale elettronico".La piattaforma, infatti "non appare in grado né di prevenire eventuali abusi commessi da addetti interni, né di consentire l'accertamento a posteriori dei comportamenti da questi tenuti, stante la limitata efficacia degli strumenti di tracciamento delle attività" scrive il Garante. E "in questo senso sussistono forti perplessità sul significato da attribuire al termine 'certificazione' riferito al titolare del trattamento all'intervento di un notaio o di un soggetto terzo di fiducia in una fase successiva alle operazioni di voto con lo scoop di asseverarne gli esiti"."Non c'è dubbio infatti - si legge - che qualunque intervento ex post di soggetto di pur comprovata fiducia (notai, certificatori accreditati) poco possa aggiungere, dal punto di vista della genuinità dei risultati, in un contesto in cui le caratteristiche dello strumento informatico utilizzato, non consentendo di garantire tecnicamente la correttezza delle procedure di voto, non possono che produrre una rappresentazione degli esiti non suscettibile di analisi, nell'impossibilità di svolgere alcuna significativa verifica su dati che sono, per loro natura e modalità di trattamento, tecnicamente alterabili in pressoché ogni fase del provvedimento di votazione e scrutinio antecedente la cosiddetta certificazione". | {
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News in Science
One small leap for running robots
Steadier gait Swiss robotics researchers have made a small step towards the holy grail of getting robots to run like humans.
Harold Roberto Martinez Salazar and Juan Pablo Carbajal of the University of Zurich's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory report their mathematical analysis in a recent issue of Physics Review E.
"The hot question is how we make robots that can run as effectively as humans do," says Queensland University of Technology professor of robotics, Dr Gordon Wyeth, of the research.
"This is a small step on the way."
Unlike what we see at the movies, current bipedal robots are a long way from outrunning humans and leaping onto buildings.
In fact, says Wyeth, the fastest running robot does little more than a "quick shuffle".
"Technically it is running because both feet are in the air, but only very briefly," says Wyeth.
"Most two-year-olds could pretty effectively outrun these robots."
One of the challenges for those trying to build robots that walk and run like humans is making sure they don't fall over and don't use too much energy.
"When Asimo [a bipedal robot] walks it uses the same amount of energy as an Olympic runner would use running 100 metres," says Wyeth.
Slazar and Carbajal enhanced a model currently used to design bipedal robots to help address this challenge.
Inverted pendulum
The model used by Slazar and Carbajal likens walking legs to an inverted pendulum.
The first leg falls to a particular angle before it is stopped by the foot of the other leg striking the ground.
In a "stable" state of walking, there is enough energy in the system to keep the second leg moving foward so it too starts falling and keeps the cycle going.
There is also a side to side movement that is necessary to make sure the centre of gravity is over the foot that strikes the ground.
The inverted pendulum model can also be adapted for running, in which the legs are likened to an inverted pendulum loaded with springs.
Wyeth says to go from the stable state of walking to the stable state of running requires a kick of energy.
Slazar and Carbajal characterised the angle and speed of legs in stable walking and stable running and also worked out how best to change a robot's gait so it changes from one state to the other using the least amount of energy.
"The work is giving us a deeper understanding of what's going on in running and walking so that we might be able to build more stable, more energy efficient humanoid robots in the future," says Wyeth.
He says the many differences between robots and humans mean it is not possible to directly apply the latest findings to humans, although the findings may have some relevance to the field of biomechanics. | {
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O plenário da Câmara dos Deputados aprovou na noite desta terça-feira (21) a medida provisória que autoriza a participação de até 100% de capital estrangeiro em companhias aéreas brasileiras.
A medida provisória foi editada em dezembro do ano passado, pelo então presidente Michel Temer. Por se tratar de uma MP, o texto tem força de lei desde que foi publicado, mas precisa ser aprovado pelo Congresso no prazo de 120 dias.
A MP perde a validade nesta quarta-feira (22) e ainda precisa ser votada pelo Senado antes de virar lei. Caso o texto não seja aprovado a tempo, a medida deixa de valer. O texto deve ser analisado pelos senadores nesta quarta.
O texto aprovado pelos deputados incluiu a proibição de cobrança por bagagem e obriga as companhias aéreas a transportarem malas de até 23 quilos em voos domésticos. Esse trecho não constava da medida provisória original, mas foi incluído no texto pelos deputados.
Capital estrangeiro
A MP altera o Código Brasileiro de Aeronáutica e estabelece que a concessão ou a autorização somente será dada a empresas que respondam às leis brasileiras e que tenham sede e administração no país. Isso não impede, porém, que as companhias contem com 100% de capital estrangeiro.
Antes da medida provisória, o Código Brasileiro de Aeronáutica determinava que pelo menos 80% do capital com direito a voto em aéreas deveriam pertencer a brasileiros – ou seja, limitava até 20% de participação de capital estrangeiro com direito a voto nas empresas. A MP revogou essa limitação e abriu totalmente as empresas ao capital externo.
O texto original também retira do Código Brasileiro de Aeronáutica a previsão de que a direção da empresa será “confiada exclusivamente a brasileiros”.
Despacho de bagagem
Os deputados aprovaram um destaque, resgatando trecho de parecer aprovado pela comissão, que proíbe a cobrança, por parte das empresas, nas linhas domésticas, de bagagem:
Com isso, ficam proibidas as cobranças de bagagens de:
até 23 kg nas aeronaves acima de 31 assentos;
até 18 kg para as aeronaves de 21 a 30 lugares;
10 kg se o avião tiver apenas 20 assentos.
Pelo texto, em voos com conexão, deverá prevalecer a franquia de bagagem referente à aeronave de menor capacidade.
Ainda segundo a proposta, nas linhas internacionais, o franqueamento de bagagem será feito pelo sistema de peça ou peso, segundo o critério adotado em cada área e na conformidade com a regulamentação específica.
Em 2016, a Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (Anac) publicou uma resolução que dá ao passageiro o direito de levar na cabine uma bagagem de mão de até 10 quilos, mas autorizou as aéreas a cobrarem por bagagens despachadas.
Atualmente, bagagens de 23 kg em voos nacionais e 32 kg nos voos internacionais são cobradas à parte, com um valor adicional ao da passagem. Cada empresa estabelece o critério de cobrança e as dimensões das malas.
Se o texto for aprovado pelos senadores, a cobrança por bagagens deixará de existir.
O deputado Carlos Zarattini (PT-SP) defendeu a proibição da cobrança das bagagens de até 23 kg nas aeronaves com número de assentos acima de 31. Segundo ele, o objetivo da cobrança, quando implementada, era baratear o custo das passagens, o que não aconteceu.
“A cobrança foi autorizada com o argumento de que iria diminuir o valor das passagens. Já se passaram dois anos e o que aconteceu foi exatamente o contrário: aumentou o preço da passagem”, declarou.
O deputado Reinhold Stephanes Junior (PSD-PR) se posicionou contra a gratuidade para bagagens de até 23 kg. Ele afirmou que empresas de vários países fazem essa cobrança. | {
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Bienveillance, horizontalité, pluralisme… Ces promesses portées par Emmanuel Macron et son mouvement, La République en marche (LREM), semblent déjà bien loin. Surtout quand on les compare à l'atmosphère qui entoure le débat autour de l'extension de la Procréation médicalement assistée (PMA) aux couples de femmes et aux femmes célibataires, promesse électorale du président qui devrait être mise en œuvre en 2019.
"Il y a un puissant lobby LGBT à l'Assemblée nationale et l'Assemblée nationale n'est pas la France"
Au sein de la majorité parlementaire, une députée s'est fait remarquer pour son opposition farouche à la mesure, qui tranche avec la plupart de ses pairs : il s'agit d'Agnès Thill, élue dans la 2e circonscription de l'Oise. Ce jeudi 8 novembre, elle s'est émue sur Twitter d'une réunion publique organisée par une autre députée LREM, Elise Fajgeles, autour de la PMA. Selon Agnès Thill, seul le camp des "pour" y était représenté, ce qu'elle a qualifié de "propagande", avant de s'agacer plus franchement : "C'est tellement faux de croire qu'il n'y a qu'une vision : il y a un puissant lobby LGBT à l'Assemblée nationale et l'Assemblée nationale n'est pas la France".
En circo! C’est tellement faux de faire croire qu’il n’y a qu’une vision:
1) il y a un puissant lobby lgbt à l’AN et l’AN n’est pas la France. Ici, les avis sont tout autre.
2) nos experts auditionnés étaient 50/50, comme la société, c’est malhonnête de faire croire le contraire.
— Agnès Thill (@ThillAgnes) November 8, 2018
"Une sémantique homophobe"
Ces propos ont déclenché une réaction immédiate des instances de la macronie : Gilles Le Gendre, président du groupe LREM à l'Assemblée, et Philippe Grangeon, délégué général par intérim du mouvement, ont adressé un courrier prévenant "une dernière fois" Agnès Thill du danger des "excès" de ses "prises de position publiques", condamnant "avec la plus grande fermeté" l'usage de l'expression "lobby LGBT à l'Assemblée nationale", qui relève "d'une sémantique homophobe" et constitue "une mise en cause insidieuse de certains de nos collègues".
Loin de faire profil bas, Agnès Thill a réagi à ce recadrage par un autre courrier, envoyé vendredi 9 novembre à Le Gendre et Grangeon. Dans cette lettre offensive, la députée de l'Oise s'insurge contre les reproches qui lui ont été adressés : "Vous condamnez mon propos trop rapidement, sans recul, sans contexte, sans explication", estime-t-elle, jugeant que la critique des deux responsables macronistes "se retourne contre [eux] avec encore moins de nuance que ledit propos" concernant un "lobby LGBT".
Ces temps-ci on s’écrit beaucoup à LREM. Recadrée pour avoir dérapé sur “un lobby LGBT à l’Assemblée”, Agnès Thill répond à Grangeon et Le Gendre. Elle regrette un “terme inapproprié” mais récuse toute “connotation”. Et assaisonne ses collègues: “on refuse de me saluer”. Ambiance pic.twitter.com/NvJvoEQJzM
— LaureEquy (@LaureEquy) November 10, 2018
Agnès Thill se livre alors à une description circonstanciée d'un climat "anxiogène et délétère" qui règnerait au sein de la majorité autour du débat sur l'extension de la PMA. "Des collègues parlementaires, y compris ceux de notre groupe, non contents de critiquer mes positions, m'ostracisent et m'attaquent régulièrement", déplore-t-elle, se plaignant d'être traitée "d'obscurantiste, de chrétienne intégriste, de chef de meute de la Manif pour tous". Membre du Parti socialiste entre 1981 et 1990, Agnès Thill est issue d'une famille chrétienne, et auteure d'un recueil de textes bibliques assorti de réflexions personnelles paru en 2015, Mots de Dieu pour les maux de la vie. Elle a soutenu l'ouverture du mariage aux couples homosexuels, qu'elle aurait toutefois aimé appeler autrement, et se montre favorable au droit à l'avortement. Mais elle est opposée à l'euthanasie et à l'extension de la PMA, ce qui la place en opposition avec nombre de ses collègues.
Un débat verrouillé chez LREM ?
Dans son courrier, l'élue picarde estime qu'elle est seule à respecter l'exigence de discrétion dans le débat interne à la macronie sur la PMA : "Les pro, eux, prolixes, peuvent s'organiser pour convaincre le plus grand nombre, se déclarent publiquement, font progresser leur influence, voient leurs propositions de loi faire la une, compter une composition favorable au sein de la mission". Notons toutefois que la députée utilise abondamment les réseaux sociaux pour faire entendre ses positions. Peut-être car elle estime qu'au sein de la majorité, "on préfère taire les réticences et les demandes de précautions (...), le débat apaisé promis n'a jamais lieu".
Revenant sur le terme "lobby LGBT", qu'elle reconnaît "inapproprié", Agnès Thill conteste néanmoins une "connotation" homophobe et plaide la maladresse : "Loin de toute mauvaise intention, je ne cherchais qu'à démonter les pressions, la déloyauté et la mauvaise foi, et il est vrai à exprimer une certaine colère face au harcèlement dont je suis victime et à cette énième provocation". Et promet de toujours faire entendre sa voix, plus conservatrice que celle de ses collègues : "Même si je gêne, je l'assumerai, et malgré les pressions, je continuerai à dénoncer la confiscation du débat (y compris dans nos propres rangs)", le tout pour respecter la promesse d'Emmanuel Macron de "faire de la politique autrement"... "Si cela reste possible", évidemment. | {
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August 28, 2012
Last week I was tasked by Mr. Grohl to build a real website for his upcoming Sound City documentary. And by real I mean: a place where a synopsis, cast, trailer, and other pieces of media can live and be discovered… not an FM radio or console fader.
Boo. Okay, DG.
We also needed a place to release a new series of videos in which Dave asks everyone that took part in the movie the same question: What was your first music memory? Watch this one with Kevin Cronin to see what I’m talking about. Tom Petty has the best story, but you’ll have to wait for that. ;-)
Making Magic with Isotope #
Jason Kadlec of CHNL told me about this fancy jQuery layout plugin called Isotope a few weeks ago and I’ve been dying to try it. Isotope describes itself as “an exquisite jQuery plugin for magical layouts.” Magical indeed. Check out some of the ridiculous demos here.
Setting up Isotope is as easy as adding a container of items to your site and calling isotope via jQuery on that container, providing the class of the items within:
$('#isotope').isotope({ itemSelector: '.item' });
Isotope sniffs out a default column width from your first item, but you’re better off defining this yourself within your CSS. I chose to use one column width for all my items, but Isotope is smart enough to understand a dynamically changing width. Just remember, padding counts towards your total width.
Isotope also has an insanely smart filtering engine powered by simply adding classes to your items. For example, here’s how I would define Tom Petty’s “Musical Memory” video:
<div class="item video musical-memory tom-petty"> <!-- Video content here --> </div>
I could then easily create buttons on my page that sort the Isotope to each particular class. [1] In my case, allowing visitors to filter by content type, category, and even cast member. [2] So easy, so awesome.
Special thanks to Jason for the tip and David DeSandro for writing the plugin!
Balancing the Design #
The Isotope container is a heavy piece of real estate and you’ll need to balance any other elements by adding a bit of weight to them. I did this by adding a thick border to the left side of my sidebar. I feel like this allows the sidebar to live next to the Isotope without feeling out of place. Alternately, you could try designing a lighter Isotope layout, void of any thick paddings or heavy colors.
Aesthetically, I’ve brought in some of the elements I’ve been setting up throughout the campaign such as the dark theme and “tape” textures taken from the actual Sound City fader. [3] I think these simple guidelines lend themselves well to the actual content being featured on the Isotope.
Generating the Content #
Great… but, where does the actual content come from?
Well, you could manually add the items to a static page as needed, but that’s just dumb. Instead, you’ll want to to dynamically update the Isotope with a database of content and the categories they belong to.
I considered developing my own own for about two seconds before I realized the Tumblr API was built for this shit. In addition to providing all descriptions, tags, and associated media, Tumblr also distinguishes between several post types: text, photo, quote, link, chat, audio, and video. This makes their infrastructure perfect for Isotope. So, after creating a few ICanHaz.JS templates for each content piece:
<script id="video" type="text/html"> <div class="item video"> <a href="{{ permalink_url }}" target="_blank"> <img src="{{ thumbnail_url }}" /> </a> </div> </script>
I was able to connect a simple Tumblr API call to a case loop that generated HTML from each associated post type template, which was then appended to the Isotope.
$.getJSON("http://api.tumblr.com/v2/blog/TUMBLR_URL/posts?api_key=KEY", function (data) { posts = data.response.posts; for (i = 0, len = posts.length; i < len; i++) { switch (post.type) { case "quote": html = ich.quote(post); break; case "video": html = ich.video(post); break; }; $('#isotope').append(html).isotope('insert', html); } });
So why not just use Tumblr altogether?
Honestly, I hate their theming engine. However, I’m thinking that once this thing is perfect, I could possibly write a script that generates a Tumblr theme from the provided layout and templates. That could be rad.
Let’s get Real_time_, Son #
After digging through Tumblr’s poorly documented real-time API, I finally found a solution that would allow me to dynamically add items to the Isotope as they were posted to Tumblr. I used a combination of Superfeedr and Pusher to do this.
First, we need to configure both Node package modules on our server:
// Configure Pusher pusher = new Pusher({ appId : APP_ID, key : KEY, secret : SECRET }); // Configure Superfeedr superfeedr = new Superfeedr(USERNAME, PASSWORD);
Then we can connect both:
superfeedr.on 'connected', function () { // subscribe to the sound city feed superfeedr.subscribe('http://TUMBLR_URL/rss', function (err, feed) { // subscribed ... }), // on each notification... superfeedr.on('notification', function (notification) { // trigger an action of tumblr on the soundcity channel pusher.trigger("soundcity", "tumblr"); }) };
And finally, back on the client, we’ll user Pusher’s JavaScript library to listen for Tumblr activity. For each ping we get, we should ask Tumblr for the newest post and add it to the Isotope.
// Configure Pusher pusher = new Pusher(APP_ID); channel = pusher.subscribe('soundcity'); // Listen for new Tumblr post... channel.bind('tumblr'), function (data) { // Get the newest post from Tumblr and add it to Isotope });
So now, when I take a Sound City photo with Instagram and make sure Tumblr is connected, once posted, the photo will automatically show up on the front page of Sound City. Probably unnecessary, but bad ass, and surely you’ll grab that visitor’s attention when the layout goes all Minority Report on their ass.
Looking Ahead #
The current setup works, but it’s far from perfect. I plan on redeveloping the entire client side infrastructure with [Backbone.JS](backbonejs.org) in anticipation for adding one-click media streaming to the video and audio items. Backbone will also help simplify the template rendering process.
Sign-up if you’d like to hear more on that in the future!
[1] Using jQuery BBQ, you can create a bookmark-able hashed URL history for each filter. Instructions here.
[2] Since the Sound City documentary has so many participants, I thought it would be neat to auto filter the site to a particular cast member depending on where referral traffic comes from. In other words, if you clicked a link to the site on tompetty.com, you would see Tom Petty content near the top. This is probably a bad idea, but worth some A/B testing regardless
[3] Shoutout to Flood Standard for being the perfect typeface for highlighter tape writing.
135 Kudos | {
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Mega GiveAway by Sharmaji Technical and Technical Guruji
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Has Sex With Blowup Doll Gets STD | {
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We will take a gander over the central divisions in baseball, and for the first few weeks before all of the dust settles we will take a look at pitcher(s) and hitter(s) from each team that may be available on your waiver wire. Obviously, you need to be cognizant of league-size and scoring system because these player recommendations may already be off the map for you.
AL Central
2015 Standings
Kansas City Royals 95-67 Minnesota Twins 83-79 Cleveland Indians 81-80 Chicago White Sox 76-86 Detroit Tigers 74-87
Kansas City Royals
Alcides Escobar (SS)- Escobar plays good defense and puts the ball in play, which is exactly what the Royals want him to do. Unfortunately, it makes him a better player in real life than fantasy. But, playing at the ever-so-slim shortstop position, he can be a fine place-holder for your roster without killing all of your ratios. At his best, he hits for average and is one of the more prolific base-stealers. But for whatever reason, the Royals didn’t give him the green light nearly as much in 2015. The reduced batting average also contributed to the lower-than-expected steals total. But considering his strikeout rate actually went down, that’s mostly a result of bad luck.Media To some degree, Escobar should bounce back in 2016, but 20 steals may be a safer expectation than 30.
Chris Y0ung (SP/RP)- Young already had one start this week in the rematch of the World Series against the Mets. He lasted five innings throwing 93 pitches and making one big mistake that saw Neil Walker take him deep for a two-run shot. He did not receive any offense behind him as Mets’ Noah Syndergaard was pitching lights-out. Young walked three and struck out four while only giving up three hits. He will look to bounce back against Houston on Monday. We are listing Young here for two reasons. The first is obvious:is a two-start pitcher slated to face to Colin McHugh and the Astros, and Chris Bassitt of the Athletics later in the week. The other reason is that Young can still hold relief pitcher eligibility, depending on the site you use. Getting two starts out of a relief spot is very beneficial especially in in points leagues. Unfortunately, both games will be on the road. But he gets a team that strikeouts a lot in the Astros and then a definite win possibility against the putrid A’s offense. He is definitely worth a roster spot in week 2 and could be dropped after his second start for another two-start pitcher heading into week 3. Teammate Kris Medlen will also receive two starts during week 2. But, he gets two considerably tougher match-ups versus Mike Fiers and Sonny Gray, which has me leaning towards Young here.
Minnesota Twins
Eddie Rosario (LF)- Eddie Rosario is one odd player. He’s the only one in major-league history to contribute between 10 and 20 doubles, triples, home runs, stolen bases and walks in a season–and he did it as a rookie. It may not mean anything, but players who double so infrequently rarely homer so frequently. Players who steal so infrequently rarely triple so frequently, and players who walk so infrequently rarely do much of anything. He batted a solid .316 during spring training with three home-runs and eight RBI. He bats in a somewhat advantageous spot in the five-hole for the Twins, and he looks to build on the solid numbers he put up as a rookie. Definitely could hold some value in deep leagues as a fourth or fifth outfielder, and he will not kill you in any of your categories for the most part.
Kyle Gibson (SP)- You will see a trend in most of my pitcher suggestions, as they will most likely be of the two-start variety. Gibson will receive two home starts against Carlos Rodon and the White Sox, and versus Andrew Heaney and the Angels. It’s not the opposing pitchers that gives me the green light here. It’s the less than intimidating offenses of both teams. Both finished below league average in runs last year (CHW 28th – LAA 20th). The only real improvement was the addition of Todd Frazier to the White Sox lineup. Gibson had a pretty strong spring in which he struck out 19 batters in 17.2 innings leading to a 1.53 ERA. He had a 6.7 K/9 in 2015, which was his career best. With the strong spring that number could possibly increase somewhat. There are definitely worse options out there, so do not overlook Gibson as a streaming option heading into week 2.
Cleveland Indians
Tyler Naquin (CF)- Naquin was a guy who was scorching hot in spring training. He slashed .447/.500/.842 in 42 plate appearances. These numbers earned him a spot on the Indians opening day roster. He did not play the Indians’ first game against the Red Sox because the Tribe went with a righty-heavy lineup against Boston’s ace David Price. His counterpart Rajai Davis got the start versus Price and struck out three times. So look for Naquin to see a healthy amount of playing time in center field, especially with the injury to Michael Brantley and the suspension to Abraham Almonte. Keep a close eye on Naquin as he may be able to help bolster some solid numbers for your OF positions early on in 2016.
Cody Anderson (SP)- We all are aware of the big guns at the top (Kluber, Carrasco, Salazar) so no need to list them here. They will all be 100 percent owned and should always be started. Anderson secured the fourth spot in the Tribe’s Opening Day rotation with a strong spring, though his limited strikeout potential limits his mixed league relevancy. Anderson pitched well in his Grapefruit League finale on Friday, scattering three hits over 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball in a victory over the Rangers. Here is a guy that does not present a ton of upside like his teammates. But if you need a spot start, he is a low-risk candidate to implode.
Chicago White Sox
Jimmy Rollins (SS)- Again, another player at the scarce shortstop position. Rollins was another addition for the White Sox who signed a minor league contract just before spring training. The 37-year-old was coming off of a career-low .643 OPS alongside an awful .224 batting average. The position was up for grabs and Rollins took advantage. He entered the the season batting at the two spot behind Adam Eaton and in front of Jose Abreu. Rollins went 1-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored against the A’s on Tuesday. His first home run as a member of White Sox could not have come at a better time as it broke a 4-4 tie in the top of the ninth inning. The home run came off of lefty Sean Doolittle, and ended up being the winning run in the contest. If Rollins remains in the two-hole for Chicago he is worth an add in mixed leagues as he will have ample opportunities in the runs scored category. He may hurt you in batting average, so keep that in mind when making the decision to add him.
Carlos Rodon (SP)- Here we lay again, another two start pitcher heading into week 2. But this pick is less about getting two starts than about his potential for the 2016 season. After a solid rookie season in 2015, Rodon was a hot name to consider on draft day heading into this season. The Sox monitored Rodon’s innings closely last year in his first full pro season and he wound up throwing 149 1/3 frames between the majors and minors. It appears the left-hander will not be under a strict innings cap in 2016 and it’s worth noting that the White Sox let Chris Sale jump from 71 frames in 2011 to 192 innings in 2012 in his first year as a starter. Rodon has battled control issues and inconsistency. But he was dynamite down the stretch in 2015, posting a 1.81 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 49/21 K/BB ratio over 54 2/3 innings across his final eight starts. He has huge breakout potential in 2016.
Detroit Tigers
Anthony Gose (CF)- Gose went 2-for-4, smacking a home-run and scoring three times in the Tigers’ 8-7 victory over the Marlins. Gose will be the Tigers’ everyday center fielder until Cameron Maybin (fractured wrist) comes back from injury as early as mid-April. If Gose continues to produce the way he did in the season opener and at the end of spring training, he could gain the edge of playing time over Maybin. The two were in a position battle before Maybin fractured his left wrist in early in spring training, so the situation is one to monitor once Maybin returns. In the meantime Gose can be a cheap source of speed. Gose went 2-for-4, smacking a home-run and scoring three times in the Tigers’ 8-7 victory over the Marlins. Gose will be the Tigers’ everyday center fielder until Cameron Maybin (fractured wrist) comes back from injury as early as mid-April. If Gose continues to produce the way he did in the season opener and at the end of spring training, he could gain the edge of playing time over Maybin. The two were in a position battle before Maybin fractured his left wrist in early in spring training, so the situation is one to monitor once Maybin returns. In the meantime Gose can be a cheap source of speed.
Shane Greene (SP)- Woof. That is a scary name to recommend if you remember his horrid 2015 campaign with the Tigers. Greene was 4-8 as a starter with a 6.72 ERA in 16 starts before being moved to the bullpen and eventually shut down with season-ending surgery to correct aneurysm-like symptoms in his throwing arm. Greene was battling Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd to become the club’s fifth starter in the spring. Greene had a 2.63 ERA with an impressive 14:3 K:BB ratio over 13.2 innings. Despite having a paltry 5.4 K/9 last season, Greene has some strikeout upside especially after showing a velocity spike hitting 97 mph this spring. The Tigers are scheduled to have Anibal Sanchez and Shane Greene go for two starts in week 2. Insofar as Sanchez witnessed his own struggles in 2015 and the match-ups favor Greene across their two starts (vs. Nicosio [PIT], at Fiers [HOU] compared to Sanchez vs. Niese [PIT], at McHugh [HOU]), I will give the green light to Greene heading into week 2.
NL Central
2015 Standings
St. Lous Cardinals 100-62 Pittsburgh Pirates 98-64 Chicago Cubs 97-65 Milwaukee Brewers 68-94 Cincinnati Reds 64-98
St. Louis Cardinals
Jedd Gyorko (2B/SS)- Gyorko went 2-for-5 with a home-run in Tuesday’s loss to the Pirates. Gyorko is getting a chance to show he deserves long-term playing time with Jhonny Peralta and Ruben Tejada laid up with injuries. Gyorko has three consecutive double-digit home run seasons, making him one of the best power producing second basemen in the league despite his perennial struggles in San Diego. Once he earns qualification at shortstop, his power will make him a major asset as long as he can hold onto playing time in St. Louis.
Mike Leake (SP)- Filling the vacancy left behind by the loss of John Lackey to division rival Cubbies, Leake is coming off a campaign in which he had minor struggles after joining the Giants for the second half of the 2015 season. He had a career-low 5.6 K/9 last season and has never been much of a strikeout guy. Nevertheless, he has posted three seasons of 3.70 ERA or better. Leake closed out the spring with a 2.25 ERA in five starts, while sustaining a sparkling WHIP of 0.95 and striking out 24 batters across 20 innings. The Cardinals as well as us fantasy owners will be extremely pleased if he comes anywhere near these numbers during the regular season.
Pittsburgh Pirates
John Jaso (DH/1B)- Garnering that first-base eligibility shortly in many fantasy leagues will help boost Jaso’s value as the lead-off man for the Bucs’ in 2016. Jaso is 2-for-9 in his first two games as a Pirates. The 32-year-old holds a career .380 OBP which was something that attracted Clint Hurdle and the Pirates enough to give him $8 million over the next two seasons. Jaso has never hit more than 10 homers or scored more than 57 runs in a single season. But he will have a good chance to better those marks (especially runs scored) with Andrew McCutchen hitting behind him. Even if Jaso has a bout of struggles, the Pirates will continue to ride him because he can not be much worse than Pedro Alvarez.
Juan Nicasio (SP/RP)- Similar to Chris Young , Nicasio has two elements working for him: he holds relief pitcher eligibility and garners a two-start week as the Pirates’ fifth starter heading into week 2 of the season. He battled Ryan Vogelsong in spring training for the last spot in the rotation and made it an easy decision for management as he gave up zero earned runs over 15 innings, while striking out 24 batters against just five walks. After recording a career-best 3.86 ERA for the Dodgers last season, the 29-year-old may be finally putting it all together. Being able to plug him in at RP across two-starts should give you a distinct advantage over your opponent especially in head-to-head points leagues, unless that player dishes out the aforementioned Chris Young against you. Still Nicasio presents you with more upside as he has more strikeout potential than Young.
Chicago Cubs
Dexter Fowler (CF)- After a shocking decision to re-sign with the Cubs on a one-year deal after backing out of a three-year deal with the Orioles, Fowler excited the Cubs organization and fantasy owners as he sped out of the gate going 5-for-9, with four runs, one home run and two RBI to start the season. The recent side injury that kept him off of the field during spring training appears to be gone as he is off to this fast start. Fowler looks like he could score 100 runs batting atop the potent lineup for the Cubs. The only problem with Fowler is his health. He is not a good bet to play more than 130 games.
John Lackey (SP)- The 37-year-old enjoyed one of his best seasons in 2015, working to a 2.77 ERA with a 7.2 K/9. Lackey denied a qualifying offer with the Cardinals and elected to sign a two-year deal with the Cubs. The Cubs already have two studs in Jake Arrieta and John Lester. So adding Lackey to the mix really solidifies this rotation with Jason Hammel and Kyle Hendricks at the back end. People tend to make nothing of spring training numbers. But Lackey definitely had an interesting preseason. He had a 6.92 ERA over three starts, but maintained a stellar K:BB ratio as he finished with a 14:1 ratio over 13 innings.
Milwaukee Brewers
Scooter Gennett (2B)- Despite having only 35 at-bats against lefties a season ago, Gennett not only started against Madison Bumgarner in the season opener, but also took him deep in the second inning. After the solid showing in the season opener, Scooter earned a better placement in the lineup, batting second against right-hander Johnny Cueto. He finished 1-for-4. If Gennett can hold that spot in the order, it will open up more opportunities to score runs since he will be hitting in front of Ryan Braun and Johnathon Lucroy. At a weak position, Gennett can be worth a look in deep mixed leagues as a source of runs scored, but not much help elsewhere.
Jeremy Jeffress (RP)- Although Jeffress only has one career save to his name, he did a post a 2.65 ERA and struck out 67 batters over 68 innings last season. Manager Craig Counsell has yet to comment on the Brewers’ closer situation after the injury to Will Smith. But he said earlier in March that he and Smith would share the ninth-inning duties. Now with Smith sidelined, it appears that it is Jeffress’ job to close out games for the Brew Crew. Two games into the season, Milwaukee has not had a lead in the ninth frame for any save opportunities. Jeffress did pitch a scoreless ninth inning loss to the Giants. Although it was a non-save situation Tuesday, they were just down a run and Counsell simply wanted to just use his top relief pitcher to close out the game rather than save him. All in all, Jeffress seems to be the favorite to close for Milwaukee even though that opportunity could not happen until mid-July with that awful roster.
Cincinnati Reds
Zack Cozart (SS)- Yeah, so you may have finally caught on to the pattern here with scarce positions such as shortstop or second base. Cozart was having a solid 2015 campaign before tearing ligaments in his leg and missing the second half of the season. The 30-year-old isn’t an ideal choice to bat leadoff, but Reds manager Bryan Price is expected to use him there at least until Billy Hamilton shows he’s capable of moving up in the lineup. Cozart went 3-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI in Monday’s Opening Day victory over the Phillies. Knowing how bad Billy Hamilton is at the plate, it seems unlikely that he will unpeg Cozart from the leadoff spot. Since hitting atop the order gives a player more opportunities to produce, Cozart could have some sneaky value in fantasy this season.
Brandon Finnegan (SP/RP)- Here we find another guy with dual eligibility and a two-start week ahead. Finnegan was a player the Reds acquired in a deal with Kansas City for Johnny Cueto. He pitched well in relief for the Royals in their playoff run. But he has done little since joining Cincinnati. He simply gained the Reds’ fifth spot in the rotation due to the rash of injuries to other starters. He had a horrid end to his spring, giving up six runs in back-to-back outings. But because of the lack of other options, the Reds will stick it out with him. Strictly for points leagues he is worth an add as he will get two starts. This will give him more opportunity than a low-quality one start pitcher.
Come back next week as we will track the progress of these players, as well as monitor the waiver wire for players we could be looking to add heading into week 3.
Find me on twitter: @zaksauer
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Major League Fantasy Baseball Weekly: Join Lou Landers and Kyle Amore live on Thursday April 7th, 2016 from 8-10pm EST for episode #8 of Major League Fantasy Baseball Weekly. We will discuss player positions and help prepare you for the coming draft season. This will run every Thursday as a live broadcast that will take live callers at 323-870-4395. Press 1 to speak with the host. Our Thursday night show will do some weekly recaps, player updates, and preview the coming week end games.
Our guests this week are Hernan Batista and Nick DeSisto. Both Hernan and Nick are veteran owners in Major League Fantasy Baseball Leagues. Hernan and Nick will also be frequent guests on our shows this year.
“You can find our show on I-Tunes. Just search for Major League Fantasy Sports in the podcasts section.”
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Major League Fantasy Baseball Show: Join Corey D Roberts on Sunday April 10th, 2016 from 7-9pm EST for this week’s episode of the Major League Fantasy Baseball Radio Show. We are a live call in radio show so we encourage callers at 323-870-4395 . Press 1 to speak with the host. This week we will discuss the coming week’s games Mon-Thu, do some recap of the previous 3 days, and general fantasy news.
Our guests this week are Mark Rush and Phil Weiss. Mark is the Professor of politics and law at Washington & Lee University, an author, writer, and a frequent guest on National Public Radio as well as the Arabian News Network. Mark was part of the writing staff at Ron Shandler’s old site shandlerpark.com. Since Ron shut that project down Mark has joined our writing staff here at majorleaguefantasysports.com, and also does some editing.
Phil Weiss’s resume includes working as a CPA with a large public accounting firm as well as private industry (Fortune 500), specializing in international corporate tax planning. Chief Financial Analyst for Independent RIA.
Media Experience: Frequent guest on CNBC and Bloomberg television. Multiple appearances on Bloomberg radio, local and national radio. Regularly quoted in Wall Street Journal, Reuters, New York Times, AP, thestreet.com, local news, Financial Times
“You can find our show on I-Tunes. Just search for Major League Fantasy Sports in the podcasts section.” | {
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As the dust from this week's Server and Tools Business reorg inside Microsoft is starting to settle, it's time to move from looking at the "who's" to start looking at the "why's" and "how's."
Why did the Microsoft brass decide to move Microsoft's developer marketing and evangelism under Developer Division chief Soma Somasegar?
"Microsoft has an enormous relevancy issue with developers," said one of my contacts familiar with Microsoft's thinking. Some just-leaked Hewlett-Packard public-cloud strategy information -- with its emphasis on Java, Ruby and "open source languages" -- brings this point home. While C#, C++ and Visual Basic still have their advocates, non-Microsoft-backed languages like Java, Ruby, Python, PHP and Objective-C are holding their own, growing as fast, if not faster.
From Somasegar's own reorg e-mail to the STB organization, it's clear that there's pressure to grow the Visual Studio business from its current $1-billion-plus size to $2 billion. (Visual Studio is one of a handful of Microsoft businesses, beyond Windows and Office, that have crossed the $1 billion threshhold already.)
How is Microsoft planning to do grow beyond its established developer base?
One way seems to be to put some muscle behind the company's native dev tools, like Visual C++. I noticed a brief mention in Somasegar's e-mail of "WinC++." It turns out that the new name for Visual C++ is going to be WinC++ -- something confirmed by a Microsoft job posting which mentions the "Windows C++ a.k.a. Visual C++ team."
I wondered: Is WinC++ nothing more than a new (and obviously Windows-centric name) for an old compiler?
It seems from another Microsoft job posting that Microsoft is really pushing the idea that C++ will be key to building applications for the coming version of Windows. From that posting for a Program Manager for WinC++:
"Are you excited about the new possibilities that the Windows platforms unlocks for applications? Do you want to connect with and encourage C++ developers across the globe to build cutting edge, unique Windows experiences?"
(The Windows emphasis reminds me of what the Internet Explorer team is doing, with its growing emphasis on how IE 9 is better/faster because it is optimized to take advantage of Windows 7 and beyond. It seems like the team plans to do the same with IE 10, with its "now with more native HTML" messaging that will point back to Windows 8 as the great enabler.)
Next question: Will Microsoft do more than just rename its C++ product and actually bring new C++ functionality to the table with the next version of its Visual Studio suite, expected to be called Visual Studio 2012? The answer seems to be yes.
From another Microsoft job description that mentions WinC++:
"Do you want to help developers create applications in C++ for the next version of Windows? Do you want to dig into a new version of COM (Component Object Model) and create content that shows off its capabilities? Do you want to write about new programming models for the next version of Windows?"... "The team is engaged in a number of aggressive investments in C++ language innovations and native code development targeting very large and complex development projects. It is also working on technologies to enable C++ developers to have a rich development environment by making the IDE (integrated development environment) more scalable, easy to use, and most importantly agile to accommodate what modern C++ developers need. These investments will directly influence nearly all Microsoft software products as well as many top-tier ISVs. We are embarking on some very ambitious and impactful features on several fronts, including language and code generation innovations."
Another Microsoft WinC++-related job post mentions "new developments in C++ and COM that are releasing with Visual Studio, as well as writing about additions to existing C++ libraries, such as the Standard Template Library."
Here are a few other possibly related observations:
* Microsoft's Channel 9 team has been posting more content lately about C++. * As part of Microsoft's Server and Tools reorg this week, Microsoft moved the Parallel Computing and Tools team (headed by Steve Teixeira, David Callahan and Shahrokh Mortazavi to "a combined WinC++, PCP (parallel and/or high-performance computing project?), and UX organization under Mohsen (Agsen)." Agsen is a Technical Fellow currently working in the developer division, who has been instrumental in COM+ and the Common Language Runtime. (He is talking about a "C++ renaissance" in this February 2011 Channel 9 interview.) * The Microsoft "Jupiter" Windows 8 development environment about which I blogged earlier this year, seems to have something to do with "XAML plus native code." C++ was one of the languages possibly slated to be supported by Jupiter. *Maybe there's a connection with Windows Embedded Compact 7 (and any phones/slates that make use of this platform), as well, given the C++/XAML support in that operating system.
I'm curious if any of you developers out there have any observations, guesses or wish lists to share that might shed light on what Microsoft is doing here? What do you make of this WinC++ talk? What else would you like to see in Visual Studio 2012? | {
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FILE – In this Thursday, May 18, 2017 file photo, packs of cigarettes are offered for sale at a convenience store in Helena, Mont. Tobacco companies have made claims about “safer” cigarettes since the 1950s, all later proven false. In some cases the introduction of these products, such as filtered and “low tar” cigarettes, propped […]
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Nevada Assembly passed a bill to raise the age for adults to buy tobacco products and e-cigarettes from 18 up to 21.
Republican Assemblyman Jim Wheeler’s bill was introduced Sunday, the day before lawmakers adjourn for two years. It was passed overwhelmingly by the Assembly and sent to the Senate for consideration.
The bill makes an exception for members of the military, leaving the smoking age at 18.
Wheeler said those military members would be able to present their military I.D. when purchasing tobacco products. If the bill is passed before midnight Monday and approved by the governor, the law would not take effect until July 2021 — after the next legislative session.
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ARLINGTON, Texas — Brett Gardner said in spring training that a goal of his for this season was to score 100 runs, which he hasn’t done at any level of professional baseball.
“On one hand it’s just a number, but on the other it’s important to set goals and reach them,’’ said Gardner who scored twice in the Yankees’ 16-7 win over the Rangers on Sunday at Globe Life Park.
With 20 games remaining, Gardner has 88 runs scored. His career-high is 97 in 2010.
“One hundred would be nice because I am not a guy who drives himself in 30 to 40 times,” Gardner said. “It would mean I am getting on base and the guys in the lineup would get credit. [Aaron] Judge has already scored 100, and we need that because the last few years the offense has been a little disappointing.’’
Didi Gregorius tied a career-high with four hits. He also drove in four runs. He has 10 RBIs in the last six games and is batting .385 (10-for-26) in that stretch. His 41 multi-hit games are the most by a Yankee this season.
Dellin Betances gave up two runs in the eighth inning Sunday when he walked two. He was pitching for the first time since Tuesday, when he gave up a two-run, game-winning homer to Manny Machado in Baltimore and eventually was replaced by Aroldis Chapman as closer.
Getting hit by pitches twice Saturday and once each Thursday and Friday didn’t factor into manager Joe Girardi’s decision not to start third baseman Todd Frazier on Sunday.
“We have four guys for three spots and I am just trying to keep them all involved,’’ said Girardi, who started Chase Headley at third base and Greg Bird at first base.
The fourth guy in the equation is Matt Holliday who would have been the DH if not for Girardi using Gary Sanchez there with Austin Romine catching Jordan Montgomery.
“You look at a couple of days in advance and try to put something together,” Girardi said. “It’s not been difficult.’’
As for Frazier, he had a knot on his left elbow after Saturday’s victory, but said Sunday he was fine.
Since Aaron Hicks went on the disabled list Sept. 3 with a strained left oblique muscle, the Yankees have been limited to three outfielders with extensive big league experience. They do have Tyler Wade and Tyler Austin to serve as fourth outfielders if necessary, but neither — even in the minor leagues — has spent a lot of time playing in the outfield.
That could change this coming week when Clint Frazier could be activated from the DL.
“I am not sure when he is coming,’’ Girardi said of Frazier, who has been out since Aug. 9 with a strained left oblique muscle. “But I expect him sometime [this] week.’’
In four postseason games for Double-A Trenton in the Eastern League playoffs, Frazier went 2-for-17 (.118) and has struck out 10 times.
“They have been okay,’’ Girardi said of the reports on Frazier’s at-bats. “Sometimes you don’t want to make too much of at-bats down there.’’
In 28 big league games, Frazier is hitting .243 (27-for-111) with four homers and 17 RBIs.
The Yankees didn’t need the Indians to carry a 17-game winning streak into Sunday night’s action to know the defending AL champs were a good team.
“They are on a roll and we were part of that,’’ said Girardi, whose club dropped three straight to the Tribe at Yankee Stadium in late August. “They are strong in all areas. For any team to win that many games in a row that is amazing. A pitcher can have an off day and the hitters can have an off day.’’
After Saturday’s win over the Rangers, the Yankees activated first baseman Garrett Cooper from a minor league rehab assignment, reinstated him from the 10-day DL and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In 13 big league games, Cooper batted .326 (14-for-43).
Gardner said the concern about those affected by Hurricane Irma is more important than the Yankees and Rays having to shift a three-game series from St. Petersburg, Fla. to Citi Field.
“It’s important to get the games in, but we have to remember the people that are going through this,’’ Gardner said. “It will be weird playing at a neutral site.’’
Citi Field will be neutral in name only because their fans will far outnumber those pulling for the Rays in a venue that is 9.7 miles from Yankee Stadium.
Monday night will be the first time the Yankees have played a game against a team other than the Mets in Queens since April 15, 1998. A game against the Angels scheduled for Yankee Stadium was moved to Shea Stadium that day after a portion of the old Yankee Stadium collapsed. The Yankees played the 1974 and 1975 seasons at Shea while the Stadium was remodeled. | {
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