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I don't ask for much, but I do think that Trenched 2: Drenched! would be a great sequel to see on Xbox Game Pass.… https://t.co/Admu5PdgMZ | {
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Among seniors, two receivers with whom Doctson will compete for draft position have had character questions crop up this year, to varying degrees. Rutgers' Leonte Carroo was recently reinstated from a suspension, but this week said he would welcome an intense character evaluation from NFL scouts. Auburn's Duke Williams was dismissed from the program by coach Gus Malzahn following multiple suspensions in a tumultuously short AU career that lasted less than two years. According to NFL Media's Lance Zierlein, Williams has no chance to be drafted in a range as early as Doctson's projection. | {
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Crypto land is recovering slightly; 0x, Tezos, Digibyte and TenX on the up, VeChain suffering.
Monday morning in crypto land is developing into a green one for a change as markets rebound from weekend losses. Total market capitalization has crept back over $250 billion and signals are turning bullish.
Bitcoin is up just two percent to $6,470, breaking a key resistance level at $6,450. There are positive signals for BTC as it approaches the next level of support. Ethereum has done better with a gain of 4.7% to trade at $460 at the time of writing.
Most of the altcoins are generally in the green with the five pumped by Coinbase showing solid gains. According to Coinmarketcap today’s winner in the top 25 is 0x which is trading 10.5% higher. Zero-x is currently trading at $1.16, up from just over a dollar this time yesterday. On the week ZRX has climbed 16.5% from $0.97 this time last Monday, it fell to a weekly low of $0.75 on July 13 before the Coinbase announcement. Over the past month 0z has made 33% gains from $0.85 this time last month. Against BTC it is up 8% on the day to 17750 satoshis and 24% on the week from 14400 satoshis this time last week.
Decentralized exchange protocol 0x has benefitted most from the premise of a Coinbase listing. Binance is taking the majority of the trade volume at the moment with over 50%. That volume has jumped from $23 million to $45 million on the day resulting in a market cap increase to $600 million and a move up the charts to 23rd spot for ZRX.
Other altcoins performing well this morning include Binance Coin up 6%, Tezos climbing 7.8%, and Digibyte with a 18% pump. TenX is also flying at the moment with a 36% spike. VeChain is still having a nightmare losing another 6% in the last 24 hours.
Total crypto market capitalization is up 3.4% to just over $260 billion and trade volume has risen from $9 to $12 billion. A small recovery is on the way but it remains to be seen if it can be sustained throughout the week.
More on 0x can be found here: https://0xproject.com/
FOMO Moments is a section that takes a daily look at the top 25 altcoins during the current trading session and analyses the best performing one, looking for trends and possible fundamentals. | {
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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets left-hander Johan Santana, who underwent Sept. 14 shoulder surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder, has started tossing a baseball, pitching coach Dan Warthen said Friday.
Warthen said he spoke with Santana, who is rehabbing at his home in Fort Myers, Fla., by telephone. During that conversation, the ace told Warthen he has played catch three times. Santana is expected to arrive at the Mets' complex in Port St. Lucie within a couple of days, ahead of Tuesday's official reporting date.
Mets officials have estimated Santana could return in June or July, but Warthen noted Santana's injury is rare for a pitcher and he didn't want to offer any precise projection.
"We'll see what happens from there. He's played catch," said Warthen, who was retained, along with third base coach Chip Hale, from former manager Jerry Manuel's staff.
Warthen said the Mets will monitor Santana closely so that he does not attempt to do too much, too soon. The pitching coach noted Santana did not want to come out of his final game in Atlanta when he experienced the discomfort last year.
The previous season, Santana did not want to cut short his season to have his elbow cleaned out, even though the Mets were not in contention for the postseason. In 2008, Santana pitched a complete game against the Florida Marlins the second-to-last game of the regular season with the Mets' postseason aspirations at stake, despite torn knee meniscus that subsequently required surgery.
"I just don't want him, because of who he is, to push himself to try to get there too early and have another setback," Warthen said. "We knew two years ago when he had the bone chips that he wasn't ready to come out. We had to talk him into that. And even last year he wasn't going to go out in that game [against the Braves]. That's who Johan is. Common sense has to prevail somewhere."
Although Warthen said he has "no history" of dealing with players who have had surgery to repair torn anterior capsules, he added that the organization will be vigilant to ensure Santana replicates his old delivery. | {
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BETHESDA, Md., April 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ted Cruz risks primary disqualification in New Jersey resulting from charges of ballot access fraud. A primary ballot disqualification hearing is scheduled by the Secretary of State for Monday, April 11 at 9:00 a.m. in Mercerville, New Jersey.
Washington D.C. Law Professor Victor Williams charges that Ted Cruz fraudulently certified his constitutional eligibility for office to gain ballot access. Williams demands that Cruz be disqualified from several late-primary ballots: "Cruz committed ballot access fraud in each state when he falsely swore that he was a 'natural born' American citizen." Cruz was born in Calgary, Canada and held his resulting Canadian citizenship until May 2014. Cruz is a naturalized (not natural born) American citizen.
Williams' fraud charges had quick effect in New Jersey. Rather than accepting Cruz's ballot petition when filed last week, the Secretary of State (Kim Guadagno) scheduled the unusual Administrative Law hearing for April 11. The Canadian-born Cruz must prove that he did not falsely certify his eligibility for office.
Cruz's ballot eligibility is also being challenged in California, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington.
Late-Entrant GOP Candidate Asserts "Competitor Candidate Standing" to Disqualify Cruz
Victor Williams warns of further action if Cruz is not disqualified from New Jersey's June 7th primary. Williams has unique litigation strategy. Williams became a late-entrant GOP presidential candidate. Now his "competitor candidate" status provides the strongest "standing" to challenge Cruz.
Attacking from Cruz's left flank, Williams announced his presidential campaign with a Huffington Post commentary: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/victor-williams/not-eligible-to-play-top-_b_9554784.html.
Williams is registered/declared as a "write-in" candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in multiple states. Such "write-in" candidates are considered "genuine opposition" regardless of actual chances or support. Example: Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
Williams' website -- VictorWilliamsforPresident.com -- details the law professor/candidate's litigation strategy. It also details Williams unique policy positions on providing student loan debt relief and ending corporate stock buybacks.
From Hardscrabble Arkansas to Harvard then Three Law Degrees
Victor Williams is long-time attorney, law professor, and prolific scholar in Washington, D.C.
A first-generation college graduate from Arkansas, Williams earned a Harvard graduate degree and then three law degrees. Williams' scholarship has defended the Executive authority of the past four presidents – without regard to party.
Sickened by the corruption, dysfunction, and incompetence of the established political order, Professor Williams launched www.disruptivejustice.org in June 2014 to apply disruptive innovation theory to law and politics.
Williams is referenced as a "Republican Lawrence Lessig" (the Harvard professor who ran as a Democrat).
Williams damns the extremist, Senate-buffoonery of Ted Cruz to shut down the government, cause a public debt default, and forbid abortion for female victims of rape and incest.
Williams promises to "Put American Workers First."
Williams declares: "American workers deserve a government that works as hard as they do."
Contact:
Victor Williams or any campaign staff
Direct line: 301-951-9045
Email
Campaign Headquarters:
5209 Baltimore Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20816
www.VictorWilliamsforPresident.com
SOURCE Professor Victor Williams
Related Links
http://www.VictorWilliamsforPresident.com
| {
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PoliticusUSA is growing fast, it’s an election season, and we have openings! PoliticusUSA is looking for bloggers, editors, and staff to join our team. If you want to reach one of the biggest liberal audiences in the United States, here is your opportunity.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Kitra, a 14-year-old female orangutan at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo showed a lot of interest last October when another female had a baby.
Next month, she may get a chance at a baby of her own, but she will have to go 2,000 miles - or 2,500 if she drives.
The Portland Zoo in Oregon is holding a berth for her. She cannot breed here because the only male in the zoo's RainForest exhibit is Tiram her father, said Tad Schoffner, the zoo's curator of animals.
The Metroparks Zoo is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which takes meticulous care to ensure genetic diversity.
One of the first steps on that journey occurred Monday morning when Kitra got a thorough physical from two of the zoo's veterinarians, a host of vet technicians, and two doctors from Indonesia.
Dr. Albert Lewandowski, the zoo's chief veterinarian, said Monday that the quantity and diversity of tests then would have taken weeks if not months for a human. Each would have been done by a different specialist in a different office during a separate appointment, he said, "but we like to do it all at once."
Among the specialists was Joan Cramer, a retired cardiographologist who used to work at Fairview General, who volunteers in that field when the zoo needs her, and volunteers as a docent, as well.
Some test results were not available at day's end Monday, but everything that could be known indicated that Kitra is ready, Lewandowski said.
"She definitely showed the most interest of any of the orangutans after Kera Wak gave birth to Merah on Oct. 5."
According to zoo staff members, mother and baby went back on exhibit on Nov. 6. Kitra followed them around until the mother stopped. Kitra went to them, bent over to plant a kiss on the baby's head, then wandered off.
When Kitra arrives in Oregon, it will be up to the zoo there to remove a contraceptive device that was implanted in 2012. She also is likely to be in quarantine for at least 30 days for her protection and that of the other animals.
Joe Yachanin, a Metroparks spokesman, said some zoos isolate new primates for 30 to 90 days, and the zoo here does it for 60.
Schoffner said Kitra will not have to worry about finding her own way to the Pacific Northwest. At least one keeper from here and another from Portland will join her on a FedEx cargo plane for the journey, a common method of moving animals that will fit.
Not a problem for Kitra. She weighed around 95 pounds Monday morning. | {
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Believes outlawing guns won't stop people from getting guns wants a law banning homosexuality | {
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Jeopardy Gameshow SoundboardJeopardy - A game show that is often billed as 'America's favorite TV quiz show.' TV contestants who are competing for lucrative cash prizes need to know a lot of information on history, geography, astronomy, and English grammar. Listen to this game show sounds and bloopers.List of sound clips on this page: | {
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Somewhere between a league icon possibly retiring, a wildly controversial call deciding a game, and a quasi-illegal formation run rampant, the divisional round delivered an engrossing set of games this weekend. While there’s plenty to talk about, let’s start with the game of the week, where the Ravens were dispatched in an instant classic:
Ravens-Patriots: You’re Thinking Right
Just when they needed it, the Patriots brought an old playoff favorite out of the mothballs: the big comeback. New England started the Brady-Belichick era with a double-digit second-half comeback, beating the Oakland Raiders in the Tuck Rule Game after trailing 13-3 in the third quarter. On Saturday afternoon, nine days shy of 13 years later, Tom Brady delivered a reprise. With no running game to speak of, he and the Patriots clawed their way back from a 14-0 start and a 28-14 third-quarter deficit that left them with a win expectancy of 8 percent to win 35-31. His second big playoff comeback might not be quite as memorable as the first, but given his advancing years, Brady might cherish this one even more.
More on the Super Bowl Barnwell’s Super Bowl Breakdown
Belichick: The Great Defender
Giving Vince Wilfork His Due
Marshawn Lynch and the Media
Cousin Sal’s SB Prop Bets
Beware the Visor: Kam Chancellor
Among the Lurchers at Media Day
Pats and Seahawks Weaknesses
NFL Defense Championship Belt
Matthew Slater: Mr. Special Teams
Story of the First Tackle
How Belichick Rules the Draft
‘You Mad, Bro?’ Revisited
Pierce on the Deflatriots Farce
The Pats’ Homegrown Linebackers
More on the Super Bowl How did the Patriots do it? Well, some shenanigans were involved, but more on that in a second. Saturday was all about attacking weak links in the opposing team’s secondary, and the Patriots did that by going after Rashaan Melvin and Matt Elam. Elam, a former first-round pick who lost his starting job to Will Hill, moved into the slot early as part of Baltimore’s three-safety sets, only for the Patriots to target him with throws to the likes of Brandon Bolden and Danny Amendola. Elam missed 16 tackles this season, and that continued on Saturday. Bolden made Elam miss on New England’s first play from scrimmage to create a first down before Amendola shook an Elam tackle attempt on his 15-yard touchdown catch.
While the Ravens took Elam off the field after that gaffe and limited him to 14 defensive snaps, they could make no such switch with Melvin, and the Patriots torched him. It’s not Melvin’s fault, really. With an unimaginable five cornerbacks on injured reserve, the Ravens were forced to sign Melvin off of the Miami practice squad in November. After he suited up for his first NFL game in Week 15, the desperate Ravens pushed Melvin into the starting lineup, where he managed to keep his head above water during his first three starts across from Lardarius Webb.
Watch Saturday’s game tape and you’ll see that Brady’s first read is to the left on just about every single pass play. It was Melvin who was staring, unmoving, into the backfield, possibly expecting safety help, as Julian Edelman wound up and threw a touchdown pass to a streaking Amendola on a play pundits really should have described as “a Wes Welker type throwing to a Wes Welker type.”
On the game-winning drive, Melvin went through a brutal sequence on the final four plays that may very well have knocked the Ravens out of the Lombardi hunt. First, on a third-and-6, Melvin missed a tackle on Amendola that allowed the suddenly shifty receiver to pick up a first down. Brady then completed a stick route to Michael Hoomanawanui in front of Melvin for nine yards and followed that with an out to Edelman, again in front of Melvin, for six more and a first down. The Ravens then pressed Melvin to the line, only for Brandon LaFell to beat him there and Brady to drop a dime over Melvin’s head for the game-winning score.
The final numbers aren’t pretty. I’m always hesitant to assign individual defensive backs targets, especially without seeing the All-22 film, but my best guess has the Patriots targeting Melvin a whopping 18 times on Saturday night. Those 18 throws produced 14 completions, 213 yards, seven first downs, and two touchdowns. If you prefer to split it by side, the combination of Brady and Edelman went 25-of-35 for 321 yards, four touchdowns, and one pick to the left side, where Melvin stayed virtually all game, producing a 92.6 QBR. The Patriots were 9-of-16 for 97 yards and a 65.9 QBR on their throws to the rest of the field.
Some of those throws to the left weren’t on Melvin. One was a touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski on an impossible-to-cover slant versus Will Hill. That throw completed a drive in which the Patriots busted out, depending on how you look at it, either one of the niftier in-game coaching adjustments you’ll ever see or a quasi-illegal substitution pattern that the referees failed to properly control.
The Patriots lost center Bryan Stork during the first half to a knee injury that could keep him out for next week’s conference championship game. Stork’s ascension into the starting lineup in Week 4 played a huge part in solidifying what had been a porous Patriots offensive line, and while New England had a pair of guards with experience playing center in Dan Connolly and Ryan Wendell, the new line didn’t take. Wendell moved to center, while backup Josh Kline came in to take over at right guard, but Kline struggled mightily; the Patriots repeatedly struggled with Baltimore linemen penetrating into the backfield on running plays and eventually gave up on the run altogether, going the entire second half without handing the ball to a running back even once.
With Kline struggling, the Patriots stumbled on a novel solution: Use four offensive linemen. They repeatedly went with an unbalanced line, alternating between plays in which Hoomanawanui and Shane Vereen were employed as offensive linemen, ineligible to go downfield or catch forward passes.
On the first play, they lined up Hoomanawanui at the end of the line, with Nate Solder at left guard next to the center, Wendell. For all intents and purposes, it looked like Hoomanawanui was the left tackle, but it was actually an unbalanced line, with Solder as the left tackle. Hoomanawanui was actually a tight end on this play, eligible to catch a pass. The right tackle was actually Vereen, who was lined up on the line of scrimmage in the slot. Gronkowski was lined up between Sebastian Vollmer (who the Ravens thought was playing right tackle, but was really right guard) and Vereen, but because he was off of the line of scrimmage, Gronkowski was also an eligible receiver, just like a running back lined up in the backfield is an eligible receiver behind a typical five-man offensive line.
The Patriots didn’t want to block the Ravens rush with four men, but Hoomanawanui ran a simple stick route and Brady threw it instantly for an easy first down. That confused me, so let’s all look at the GIF of the play together. Watch what Vereen does in the slot:
Nothing about that play is illegal. It’s tricky as hell to catch up and cover if you’re not looking for it, because the slot receiver turned right tackle gives himself up like he’s trying out for the Arkansas State punt team, the apparent left tackle runs a legal pass route, and the ball’s out so quick that by the time you’re pointing fingers, Hoomanawanui is 10 yards upfield.
Four plays later, the Patriots did the same thing, with Vereen and Hoomanawanui both staying at home as “blockers” split out on the right side, while Brady hit an open Edelman on another stick route on an overloaded left side for an easy completion. Edelman was actually in the slot, but the left tackle, Gronk, ran a parallel stick route, while Vollmer technically was off the line of scrimmage as a blocker:
Then, two plays after that, they went back to the first play they ran. The stick route to their “left tackle,” Hoomanawanui, picked up another first down:
This did not make John Harbaugh very happy. (I’ll spare you the GIF of that one.) Harbaugh picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct flag for walking onto the field to yell at the officials, but since it was first-and-goal, the foul on the Baltimore bench counted for only five yards. Despite what can be characterized only as supertroll comments from the Patriots afterward suggesting that Harbaugh needed to read the rulebook, Harbaugh was not arguing that the Patriots were completing passes to ineligible receivers.
Instead, he was arguing that his team didn’t have the proper time to make substitutions or identify who the eligible receivers actually were after the players had reported to referee Bill Vinovich. By my count, the Patriots ran those three plays between six and 10 seconds after Vinovich identified the ineligible players over the PA. Harbaugh then admitted that he deliberately took the penalty to call attention to how impossible of a task this was. While Vinovich’s crew told Harbaugh after the drive that they would give his team the appropriate time to make those subs, the Patriots scored a touchdown on the drive and then never went back to the tactic again.
Did Harbaugh have a legitimate gripe? Yes and no. There’s nothing illegal about what the Patriots were doing. Running unbalanced lines, moving blockers around a formation, and confusing a defense is all legal, and given the importance of the moment, this was a great time to unleash something confusing. At the same time, defenses are supposed to have the right to make substitutions if the offense makes a late change, with the umpire standing over the football until the defense has had the opportunity to substitute accordingly.
The loophole in that logic comes from the fact that the Patriots really weren’t making mass subs; they were replacing Kline, an offensive lineman, with a skill position player, Hoomanawanui, and then repositioning their skill position players in ways that were deliberately confusing to the defense. The Patriots weren’t technically doing anything illegal, because the rulebook doesn’t account for a change in receiver eligibility, even if the spirit of the law would seem to suggest that the Ravens should have had more of a chance to identify the Patriots’ formation. I suspect that the league will quietly tell the Patriots to cut that out and make an according change to the rulebook this offseason. I also suspect the Ravens will probably not find that to be a satisfying conclusion. I can’t fault the Patriots for employing the tactic, but if you thought it had the faint whiff of some tactic you’d see playing Madden online, I wouldn’t disagree.
Baltimore could have overcome New England’s strategic gambit with a little more luck in the first half. While the Ravens went up 14-0 and held a 21-14 lead at halftime after they turned a Brady interception into an Owen Daniels touchdown, they could have stretched their lead even further with a pair of critical fumble recoveries. The ever-busy Amendola fumbled the first kickoff of the game away, and while he was surrounding by frantically pointing Ravens, Chris Jones somehow fell on the football for a recovery. A Ravens recovery would have been worth nearly 4.4 points and swung their win expectancy from 76 percent to 88 percent. Edelman then fumbled at midfield in the second quarter, but, despite being surrounded by three Ravens, managed to recover and continue a drive that ended in a touchdown.
The Ravens got out to that early lead and stayed wildly impressive on offense throughout the first half thanks to a surprisingly dominant performance from their offensive line. It’s no accident that the Ravens were comfortable going five wide on the half-ending touchdown pass to Daniels; the New England pass rush got virtually no pressure on Joe Flacco all day, finishing with no sacks and just four quarterback hits among 45 Flacco dropbacks.
The Baltimore running game also flourished, with Justin Forsett repeatedly waiting patiently in the hole to find creases on stretch plays before bursting into a suddenly open lane for chunks of yardage. He had 10 carries for 78 yards in an efficient first half. After the whistle, the Patriots stiffened up. Forsett was still credible, but his 14 second-half carries managed to pick up only 51 yards.
With the running game slowing down, third downs ended up being what untied the Baltimore offense. The Ravens went just 1-for-9 on third down during the game, including an 0-for-5 mark in the second half that prevented them from extending possessions and keeping the Patriots offense off the field. While they did pick up a third down on a Darrelle Revis holding penalty, their main way of extending drives came on fourth down, where they went 3-for-3. One of these was a bomb to Torrey Smith that included a declined pass interference call on Brandon Browner (we all saw it coming!) and a taunting foul on Smith, neither of which mattered when Forsett took a swing pass to the house on the next play.
And then, of course, there was Flacco. With the Ravens stacking their receivers in the slot or in reduced splits to put the sideline-friendly Patriots cornerbacks in uncomfortable, awkward spots before beating the zone coverages behind, Flacco produced such a masterful first half that I actually thought I saw the boss’s Flacco column singing hosannas on the screen. He went 17-of-22 for 146 yards and three scores before the break.
Afterward, things did not go quite as well. The Patriots seemed to play more man coverage after intermission, even as Browner left the game with a knee injury. Flacco produced 146 more yards after halftime, but it was as part of an 11-for-23 performance that included a touchdown and two critical picks. Was it proof that Flacco never really had the clutch gene or whatever we’re supposed to believe athletes have in key moments all along?
It’s impossible to say. I know you can look at Flacco’s postseason history and see that the first seven games of his playoff career were basically a mess — he barely completed 53 percent of his passes, averaged 5.7 yards per attempt, and threw more interceptions (seven) than touchdowns (four) — before he went on a seven-game hot streak, throwing 17 touchdowns against one pick while winning a Super Bowl. We can see now that Flacco’s first seven postseason games were terrible and yet had absolutely no predictive value whatsoever for what he would do in his next seven games. I’m not sure I believe that Games 8-14 can tell us very much about what he’ll do over his next seven playoff contests, either.
Instead, you have to take the whole picture into account. Flacco’s playoff passer rating, after all this, is now at 88.6. His regular-season passer rating is basically the same, 84.8. To me, that suggests he’s basically the same guy in the postseason.
And yet the NFL playoffs are so unique that we almost always have to draw some meaning out of small samples. You can craft an entire postseason legacy out of a couple hundred passes in a way that you can’t in other sports. Imagine judging Dirk Nowitzki or Derek Jeter on their first 15 playoff games. That’s a blip in baseball or basketball. We’re sure about Andy Dalton’s playoff abilities after just four games.
At the end of the day, it’s all football. Here’s what Joe Flacco saw just before he threw the interception that basically ended his team’s season:
You can see exactly why Flacco threw the pass. He had Torrey Smith with a step up the sidelines against Logan Ryan, with Duron Harmon looking like a single-high safety who was too far away to close on the football. Flacco was wrong. Harmon was always looking at that side of the field, and the Patriots had double coverage on the one other receiver they were worried about (Daniels) on the other side. Flacco frantically gets the throw out to try to beat Harmon, but his throw is slightly off, and Flacco misses to the wrong side of Smith’s body. If he misses out of bounds, the game continues. Because the Patriots did just enough to fool him and because he missed ever so slightly to the wrong side, it was an easy interception for Harmon.
There’s nothing innate that has anything to do with the playoffs about that play. It’s a read and a throw and a mistake, just like the one Flacco made earlier in the game on a wheel route to Kyle Juszczyk on a pass that Jamie Collins should have picked off near the end zone. Or, surely, like a handful of plays he made during that 2012 Super Bowl run. The margins are impossibly thin in the NFL playoffs. When it comes to judging players, they’re also the only margins we get.
Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images
Panthers-Seahawks: Having an Average Weekend
Sometimes, we all forget that this is Russell Wilson’s team. It’s true that quarterbacks usually get too much of the credit, and in a way, it’s refreshing to see the defense and the overwhelming running game get most of the headlines in Seattle. Richard Sherman and Marshawn Lynch are more interesting than Wilson, who admittedly has the personality of a brand’s Twitter account talking in the first person, but there’s a reason the Seahawks became the Seahawks only when Wilson showed up and kicked into high gear about halfway into his rookie season. Seattle might have been able to get by with that great defense and a mediocre day from Lynch against Carolina, but the reason the team sailed through to the conference championship for the second consecutive year so comfortably is its somehow still underrated quarterback.
Wilson still gets painted in some circles as a game manager, simply avoiding mistakes along the way as the rest of the Seattle roster beats down opponents en route to victories. It’s hard to reconcile that with how Wilson plays and how much he has to do for this Seahawks offense, especially when the running game isn’t there. Outside of one 25-yard run from Lynch, the Panthers committed to stopping the run on Saturday night and managed to do so, holding the Seahawks to an even 100 yards on 28 rush attempts, an average of 3.6 yards per carry. Carolina’s game plan surely involved getting Wilson in third-and-long, and on the 10 third downs on which Wilson dropped back to throw, he needed an average of seven yards to convert.
When Seattle needed those third downs, though, Wilson came through and delivered. Throwing to the likes of Jermaine Kearse, Luke Willson, and Ricardo Lockette, Wilson was incredible when possessions were on the line. On those third downs, Wilson went 8-of-8 for 199 yards, three touchdowns, and seven first downs. The one completion that didn’t net a first down was a checkdown that put the Seahawks in field goal range, only for Lockette to blow it by picking up a taunting penalty. While he did go down for two sacks, Wilson had a perfect passer rating of 158.3 on third downs, the first time that’s happened in a playoff game since Ben Roethlisberger did it to the Bengals in the Kimo von Oelhoffen game in 2005.
It wasn’t just what Wilson did, of course; it was how he did it. This wasn’t the sort of game in which Wilson broke a half-dozen sack attempts in the backfield before finding a receiver who had finally freed himself on the sidelines after eight seconds of coverage. This was Wilson dropping back and hitting receivers. The most beautiful throw, of course, was the 63-yard touchdown pass to Kearse, a 35-yard touch pass that Wilson dropped in the bucket over rookie Panthers cornerback Bené Benwikere. It was Wilson anticipating two free rushers and instantly progressing past the blitz to an open Willson for a 25-yard score. It seems weird to disqualify Wilson’s past exploits based on what he can do as a scrambler, but even if you choose to do that, you can’t take away what he was doing on Saturday night.
And really, this isn’t anything new for Seattle’s star quarterback. He’s been raising his game in the playoffs for three years now to a greater extent than the players around him. Lynch, for example, has averaged 19 carries and 88 rushing yards per game during the regular season over the past three seasons. In Seattle’s six playoff games with Wilson over that time frame, Lynch has averaged … 19 carries for 87 rushing yards. Seattle’s defense has allowed a staggering 15.2 points per game since 2012 during the regular season; in the playoffs, that’s risen slightly to 16.8 points per contest.
Wilson, though, has gotten better. His passer rating, already a robust 98.6 during the regular season, is now in stratospheric postseason heights after Saturday’s display. After a nearly flawless effort, Wilson has posted a passer rating of 109.6 in the postseason. He’s off to one of the best six-game starts to a postseason career any quarterback has had since the merger, ranking as one of the six quarterbacks to start off with a passer rating of 100 or more:
Name Cmp Att Cmp% Yds Y/Att TD INT Rating Record Troy Aikman 114 160 71.3% 1,388 8.7 13 3 116.9 5-1 Joe Theismann 90 134 67.2% 1,247 9.3 11 4 111.8 6-0 Russell Wilson 97 152 63.8% 1,364 9.0 9 1 109.6 5-1 Jake Delhomme 98 157 62.4% 1,446 9.2 10 2 108.4 5-1 Aaron Rodgers 144 220 65.5% 1,781 8.1 15 4 105.5 4-2 Drew Brees 150 225 66.7% 1,648 7.3 13 2 103.7 4-2
That’s pretty impressive company. And Jake Delhomme too! The only quarterback with a touchdown-to-interception ratio close to Wilson is Drew Brees. These numbers also don’t include Wilson’s work as a rushing quarterback, most of which came with a pair of 60-yard games during the 2012 playoffs against Washington and Atlanta. It has to count as one of the most auspicious debuts for a postseason career in league history. Given what we just talked about with Flacco, I’m not sure I’d want to assign Wilson some level of postseason-specific skill that’s going to stick around, but unlike Flacco’s case, this represents the entirety of Wilson’s postseason career. Even if you think it’s just chance, Wilson has been wildly impressive so far.
Even with Wilson’s efforts, the Panthers were able to keep this a one-score game for the first 50 minutes of the contest because of how they were able to exploit the weakness in the Seattle defense. Here, the faults were even more obvious than they were for Baltimore. You can surmise that Cam Newton didn’t really want to challenge Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman, although he did nearly beat Sherman for a touchdown and fit a nice throw into the seam between Thomas and Sherman to Greg Olsen just before throwing a pick-six.
The other side of Seattle’s Cover 3 normally belongs to Byron Maxwell, and while Maxwell is clearly the weak link in Seattle’s secondary, he’s still regarded as an above-average cornerback. Maxwell was sick during the week and limited to four special-teams snaps on Saturday, leaving the Seahawks to start Tharold Simon at cornerback. The Panthers repeatedly went after Simon’s side of the field, targeting him with curl and dig routes, throws that were safe havens for Newton for most of the contest.
On throws to the left side of the field, where Simon was left alone in coverage (or given the help of nickelback Jeremy Lane) for most of the day, Newton was 16-of-21, picking up 169 yards, 11 first downs, and two touchdowns, including a slant across Simon’s face for the first Carolina score of the day. Newton’s QBR on those throws was an impressive 94.3.
Elsewhere, on his throws to the remainder of the field, Newton’s QBR was, well, 0.3. Throwing between the hashmarks and to the right side, Newton went 7-of-15 for 77 yards, three first downs, and two interceptions. One was basically a punt, a bomb that Newton tried to place past Sherman and failed. The other was the Kam Chancellor pick-six that ended the contest, a throw on which Brenton Bersin was literally knocked down and crawling on Simon’s side of the field, leading Newton to look in the other direction, identify an open Ed Dickson one beat too late, and draw Chancellor to the football for an easy game-sealing touchdown.
I suspect the Seahawks will not come away from this performance feeling especially impressed with themselves. They let the Panthers do far too much on offense, the running game was bottled up, and the Seahawks made a number of mental mistakes to level the playing field, including a pair of taunting penalties that likely cost them six points. Then again, Seattle was thoroughly unimpressive in this game last year, needing a late surge to overcome its NFC South opposition, the Saints, 23-15. And things worked out fine for the team in the long run.
John Leyba/The Denver Post/Getty Images
Colts-Broncos: Dance of the Hours
If this is the end, it arrived and went without glory. I’m not sure what I pictured when I thought about how Peyton Manning’s career might finish. I think I expected him to be effective until the final snap, that the end of the road for the greatest quarterback in the history of professional football might come after a doctor’s meeting in March or after a successful season that brought him some final level of satisfaction. I know I didn’t think it would be what we saw Sunday night.
Instead, despite both my best-informed estimates and hopes, Denver’s rapidly shifting game plan over the past month was not a sign the Broncos were saving the few bullets left in Manning’s right arm for a postseason run. It was an attempt to shift the focus away from a quarterback who wasn’t capable of his former brilliance. Manning’s struggles were laid bare and confirmed Sunday, as the Colts showed no fear of their former franchise quarterback in a comprehensive 24-13 victory in Denver.
What was most noticeable about the Colts defense in this game was just how unafraid they were of Manning. It’s one thing for the Seahawks to play Cover 3 Buzz in the Super Bowl and dare Manning to throw over the top. They’re the Seahawks, and they were still worried about Manning fitting in a steady stream of efficient completions underneath, as he would versus those Seahawks in Week 3 this season. Indy wasn’t worried about Denver’s big, athletic receivers running past them or jumping over them. They weren’t scared because they seemed to know that Manning wouldn’t be able to find them.
Indy played press man coverage across the board on so many key snaps on Sunday, and while the old Broncos — let alone the old Colts with Manning — might have run all kinds of pick plays to free up receivers or found Manning capable of throwing over the top for a big gain on at least an occasional basis, the Colts dared Manning to beat them over and over again and never had the future Hall of Famer call their bluff.
Manning was limited to meekly trying to poke holes with option routes and shallow crosses, using his anticipation and knowledge of the breaks to try to get passes out before the trailing Colts defenders would look for the football. When Manning would try to throw over the top, his passes came nowhere near his intended receiver. He threw 12 passes that traveled 15 yards or more in the air, completing just two for a total of 49 yards. Manning’s QBR on those throws, 7.2, is the third-worst performance he’s had on deep throws since returning from his neck surgeries.
The numbers seem secondary. Before a meaningless final drive, Manning left the field with scarcely believable numbers. While the game was still a competitive contest, Manning was 21-of-40 for 152 yards. Even that might oversell how much of an exhausting effort it felt like and how small the windows seemed to be. I wouldn’t want to suggest that Manning got a ton of help from his receivers. Demaryius Thomas dropped a pair of catchable passes near the line of scrimmage. Julius Thomas continued to look like a shell of his former self during those brief moments when you actually noticed he was on the field. Manning’s receivers seemed to suddenly develop a weird habit of finishing their patterns short of the sticks, a problem that arguably owes something to where Manning was placing his passes. Denver finished just 4-of-16 on third down, preventing it from ever getting any sort of long drives going. Broncos fans will look back at this game and remember C.J. Anderson’s heroic effort to break a pair of tackles on a fourth-down conversion as one of the few highlights worth remembering.
As bad as Manning looked on his own, the Colts deserve a lot of credit for how they performed. Chuck Pagano implemented an aggressive game plan and trusted an inconsistent defense to execute it, even after they somehow ended up with LaRon Landry in coverage on two big plays during Denver’s lone touchdown drive. Vontae Davis, in particular, delivered a monster performance. He knocked away five Manning passes, nearly coming away with a pick to seal up the game in the fourth quarter. There were three Pro Bowl cornerbacks on the field, but Davis was in a class of his own.
Aqib Talib and Chris Harris would have a bright stretch during a brief respite for Denver in the fourth quarter, but otherwise, they spent most of the day chasing around shadows. The Denver pass rush simply failed to show up for work, as a group centered on the one-two punch of Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware was held to zero sacks and just four knockdowns of Andrew Luck on 45 dropbacks. Indianapolis’s much-maligned offensive line, particularly tackles Anthony Castonzo and Joe Reitz, deserves an enormous amount of credit for holding up against stars who were supposed to be out of their league.
It was no coincidence that the Colts had the confidence to go five-wide on a crucial second-half third-and-16, with Luck using the space to find Coby Fleener against overmatched rookie linebacker Todd Davis for 32 yards. The Colts would score three plays later, when Luck had ample time to wander around in the pocket before Hakeem Nicks was able to work his way in front of Bradley Roby for a crucial touchdown. The Colts went up 21-10 and were never one play away from trailing the rest of the way.
It’s natural to present this win as a changing of the guard, that Luck is somehow taking Manning’s place at the throne by virtue of beating his Indianapolis predecessor in what might have been Manning’s final game. Maybe it is. More likely, Luck belonged here already. He took that place last year when he led the Colts back against the Chiefs. While Luck played well Sunday — his two interceptions were essentially arm punts — this was a team victory for Indianapolis.
The more notable transition might have been internal, with the Colts leaving Trent Richardson inactive as a healthy scratch. So many of the frustrations of the past were tied up in Richardson and the idea that the team would never reach its goals with mediocrities like him surrounding Luck. Having made it to the wild-card round before losing during Luck’s rookie season, they’ve now advanced one round further in each of his subsequent seasons. They will now try to overcome a Patriots team that’s beaten Luck three times by three touchdowns or more, a problem they’ll be happy to face in the AFC Championship Game.
As for Manning, his refusal to commit to another season after the game was telling. It was only a couple of weeks ago that both Manning and the players around him insisted he had no plans of retiring; now, in light of this overwhelming defeat, Manning suggests he will evaluate his 2015 status in the weeks to come.
He may be without the coaches who have worked with him during his time in Denver. Rumors swirled Sunday morning that the Broncos would consider firing John Fox if he failed to deliver a playoff victory, a seemingly cruel fate for a coach who has gone 46-18 while making the playoffs in each of his four seasons with the Broncos. The move would possibly allow the Broncos to promote offensive coordinator Adam Gase to head coach in lieu of losing Gase to another team, although his stock might also wane after Sunday’s disappointing display. In any case, Manning acknowledged that a coaching shakeup would affect any possible decision for him to return in 2015.
It seemed downright unspeakable as recently as a few months ago, but the Broncos could even consider moving on from Manning if they feel like his $21.5 million cap hit for 2015 is too much of a burden. Manning’s 2015 base salary of $19 million becomes guaranteed if he’s on the roster for the final day of the 2014 league year, which will come on March 9. If the Broncos release Manning before that date, they would save $16.5 million on their 2015 cap, money they could apply to extensions for the likes of Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas, and Terrance Knighton. Denver’s quarterback depth chart would then consist solely of 2012 second-rounder Brock Osweiler.
The alternative to all of that, of course, is that Manning walks into retirement. If he leaves, we’ll eventually forget about this game and remember a greatness that extended deep into his final season, when he still managed to finish among the league leaders in just about every statistical category. It would seem weird that Manning posted one of the greatest seasons in NFL history in 2013 and was done a year later, but stranger things have happened. Jim Brown and Barry Sanders retired in the prime of their careers.
For Manning, you would understand if there’s nothing left to accomplish. He has his Super Bowl ring and his passing touchdown record. He would retire 2,147 yards short of Brett Favre’s passing yardage record, but Manning may not feel the need to set any more records. He may very well just feel the need to live up to expectations, to play at the level people expect when they watch Peyton Manning play. Sunday was the first time on a big stage that it felt like Manning might never match those expectations again. Now, it’s up to Manning to choose whether it’s also the last.
Mike McGinnis/Getty Images
Cowboys-Packers: Feel It All Around
Somehow, it happened again. After last week’s Cowboys playoff game was easily reduced to a game-changing questionable call, this week’s edition was even further boiled down to your opinion of the biggest decision of the divisional round, Dez Bryant’s 31-yard reception on fourth-and-2 that was overturned upon replay review. On the surface, the story was the same. Break down the play and what it meant even further and you see that everything was different.
Of course, the obvious difference is who benefited from the call. Last week, it was the Cowboys who reaped the rewards from the decision to pick up the flag thrown on Anthony Hitchens for pass interference. This time around, the Cowboys were the ones on the short end. Depending on how capable you are of constructing conspiracy theories, a crucial call going against the Cowboys either proves the NFL was trying to cover up last week’s obvious plot to fix the playoffs in favor of Dallas or suggests that the Packers have a way cooler party bus for Dean Blandino than the Cowboys did.
More realistically, the most meaningful gap between the call made by Pete Morelli’s crew and the decision made by Gene Steratore’s all-star group this week is the accuracy. Morelli got the call wrong; he wiped away a penalty on Hitchens that should have stood, either as pass interference or defensive holding. Steratore’s call, as made upon review, was the correct one. By the letter of the law, Bryant didn’t maintain control of the ball when he hit the ground. That’s an incomplete pass, and while it took a Packers challenge to get the call right, the system worked as it was supposed to. The only disagreement I can imagine is if somebody wanted to argue that the evidence wasn’t overwhelming enough to overturn the call, which I would say is debatable.
Of course, you can argue that the rule itself doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense, and I think you would be right. If you asked 30 Helens who just happened to be football fans whether Bryant’s amazing play was a catch, I suspect most of them would agree. You could make the case that Bryant was reaching for the end zone after catching the football, although I don’t know if that’s what really happened. Defining what is and isn’t a catch is, despite most protests to the contrary, arbitrary and almost entirely subject to the whims of the observer. I’d be all for writing up a different definition of what represents a catch in the future, but I also don’t think the NFL will ever come to a definition that holds up without at some point creating controversy.
Unlike the Hitchens play, the Bryant decision had a far more meaningful impact on who actually won the football game. Given that the Lions maintained possession and faced a fourth-and-1 with the lead, the missed pass interference call didn’t affect their win expectancy dramatically. According to Advanced Football Analytics, the call shifted their win expectancy by only about 12 percentage points.
This time, Bryant’s would-be catch was the biggest play of the game. When it was initially ruled a catch, the Cowboys became favorites to win the contest. After being down five and facing fourth-and-2 from the Packers’ 32-yard line, they now had possession on the 1-yard line with a new set of downs and 4:42 to go. The AFA model leaves the Cowboys with about a 55 percent chance of winning.
Instead, when the call was overturned, the Cowboys were down five, minutes away from receiving the football, and likely stuck overcoming about 80 yards of field position if they even found a chance to return a punt. Their chances of winning after the call was overturned were somewhere in the 15 percent range, for a win expectancy swing of 40 percentage points. Indeed, when the Packers picked up a pair of third-down conversions on throws to Davante Adams and Randall Cobb, it meant the Cowboys offense would never touch the ball again.
The furor over the call masks a stunning second-half effort from Aaron Rodgers, who turned things on after looking limited during an inconsistent first half. Rodgers’s now-infamous calf didn’t appear to have healed all that much, with the MVP candidate struggling to step into throws, notably sailing a couple of corner routes to Cobb that should have been completions. The Packers took 26 of their 65 snaps in the pistol and put Rodgers under center for just the final three kneeldowns of the game, but they were unable to rely heavily on Eddie Lacy, who gained 45 yards on the opening drive before missing much of the first half because of an asthma attack.
After halftime, though, Rodgers seemed to ignore his limitations and play like his usual self. While he needed to skip to the line of scrimmage at times during the first half, Rodgers settled down and delivered one of the best halves he’s ever produced in the playoffs, going 15-of-20 for 226 yards with two touchdowns. He found a target in Cowboys cornerback Sterling Moore, who was beaten by Cobb and, more notably, Adams. Adams ran a dig route past Moore for the 46-yard touchdown that brought the Packers within one point, and when Green Bay was up late and needed a third-down conversion, it was Adams who dragged a Rodgers pass away from Moore and shoved him aside to pick up 26 critical yards.
Like the Ravens, the Cowboys might have been able to seal up the game before the Bryant non-catch with a couple of breaks on fumbles earlier in the contest. While each team recovered three fumbles, the Packers picked up what might have been the two biggest fumbles of the contest, both in the second half. The first was when Julius Peppers stripped DeMarco Murray on an off-tackle run in the third quarter, with Datone Jones recovering for the Packers. It was disheartening to see fumble woes return for the otherwise excellent Murray, but Cowboys fans had to have been more upset with the context. While losing the ball on the 42-yard line is relatively innocuous, Troy Aikman noted that Murray had nothing but daylight in front of him and would have probably scored if he got past Peppers, who shed All-Pro guard Zack Martin to force the fumble and was wonderful all afternoon.
Then, after Tony Romo led a six-play, 80-yard drive to put the Cowboys up by eight points in the third quarter, Cobb fumbled on the ensuing kickoff. Green Bay was lucky to come away with a recovery — if Dallas had fallen on the football, it almost surely would have gone up by a minimum of 11 points, which would have totally changed the tactics for each team. The Cowboys might have had a shot to run out the clock with what had been a very effective running game in the fourth quarter instead of needing to throw to catch up. Instead of Dallas going up 24-13 or even 28-13, Green Bay recovered the football and quickly drove 90 yards for a touchdown to make the score 21-20. From that point forward, the game was a crapshoot.
If there’s any silver lining, it’s that this is the rare Dallas playoff loss that Cowboys backers can remember with their heads held high. Romo and Jason Garrett, at the helm of so many disappointments in big games over the past several seasons, delivered solid performances in a game the Cowboys might have deserved to win. Romo took a couple of ill-advised sacks, and Dallas built its offensive attack around the running game, but he also made a bunch of plays when he needed to, going 15-of-19 for 191 yards with two touchdowns and zero picks.
Garrett, meanwhile, maintained his aggressive streak from a week ago and went for it on the fourth-and-2 call that decided the game. You can quibble with choosing to throw a fade to Bryant as opposed to simply handing the ball off to Murray, but the Cowboys came away with a pass that hit Bryant in the hands and very likely should have been caught. Some, in fact, would say it was. | {
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Parasite – the South Korean thriller directed by Bong Joon-ho – follows the impoverished Kim family, who lie about their qualifications in order to gain employment with the wealthy Parks. The film finally hits UK cinemas this weekend, after months of critical hype and illegal streaming.
The movie shares a lot with its director’s 2013 film Snowpiercer, about a post-apocalyptic train where the poor live at one end and the rich live at the other. Both films deliver blackly comic sends ups of inequality, and both feature settings that are flagrantly metaphorical.
But what’s smarter and subtler about Parasite is the way that the film deploys architecture – using two homes built from scratch in a remarkable, Oscar-nominated feat of production design – to make its point. We are informed early on that a famous – entirely fictional – architect, Namgoong Hyeonja, built and lived in the Park’s family home. It’s a clear signal to the audience to pay close attention to the two building's design.
The film opens in the home of the down-on-their luck Kim family, who live in a dungeon-like basement room deep down in the belly of Seoul, barely surviving off a communal salary folding pizza boxes. Our first glimpse of the aggressively bourgeois Park family’s abode is when Ki-woo, the Kim’s industrious son, wanders up to apply for an interview as their tutor.
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The Parks live in a modern fortress – complete with Silicon Valley-esque security systems – atop a sunny hill at the city’s highest peak. The choice of this modernist style of home – which parallels the designs of real life architects like Richard Neutra, Louis Kahn or Frank Lloyd Wright – mirrors a current urge for this kind of architecture among ‘new money’ types.
The critic Kate Wagner has labelled these homes ‘McModerns’, a play on the term McMansions – large "mass-produced" dwellings composed of a hodgepodge of architectural styles to evoke connotations of taste. “They often have big rooms, open-concept floor plans, lots of garage space and luxury amenities like high-end kitchen appliances, spacious master suites and "bonus" spaces, such as sunrooms and offices,” Wagner writes of McModerns. “Modern architecture is perceived by potential buyers as the culturally significant, high-brow form of architecture, revered by the educated and glossy magazines.”
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The Parks, who made their money in tech, fetishise western culture – their son plays cowboys and Indians; the family wear pyjamas, (not typical, according to Bong, in Korea). This fetishisation extends to their residence, which would look right at home in the Hollywood hills. The house’s architectural design – boxy, minimalist, open plan, complete with uninterrupted glass to drink in the sun – also plays heavily into the plot.
The style – beyond making the space easier to film – contrasts with the clutter of the Kim’s house. “I wanted to show the increasing density that reflects the class difference between elevated areas and lower ones as appearances change from the rich house to the semi-basement neighbourhood,” explains production designer Lee Ha-Jun, in an interview with Indiewire.
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The architecture also influences the two family’s relationships to sunlight – a common theme in Bong’s movies. “The poorer you are, the less sunlight you have access to, and that’s just how it is in real life as well: You have limited access to windows,” says Lee. “For example, in Snowpiercer, the tail cars didn’t have any windows and with semi-basement homes, you have a very limited amount of sunlight you get during the day — maybe 15 or 30 minutes — and that’s where the film opens.”
The Park house was built to glow with the sun’s position (Ki-woo is literally blinded by the sun on his first arrival at the house). Its great glass wall, which we learn the architect designed to appreciate the garden, has a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, like a cinema screen.
The contrast with the view from the Kim family’s house – where drunks piss outside their bar-covered window and yellow stink bug spray floods the kitchen – could not be starker. For the Parks, the weather is entertainment – sun lights the home, rain sustains the garden – and the rich family gather and enjoy the view like a Windows screensaver, or a glossy tv. The Kim’s home, in contrast to the Park’s, is terrorised by the elements – the rain floods and destroys their house.
At the end of Parasite, Ki-woo dreams of buying the Park’s house to free his trapped father; it turns out this dream is just that – he is still stuck back in his “banjiha”. These semi-basement flats are common in Korea, with thousands in Seoul alone (Lee actually lived in one). The homes were originally bunkers, built during the Korean war. Renting them as homes was illegal, until a housing crisis in the 1980s forced the government to change the law. It’s this kind of reverent attention to architectural detail that lifts Parasite into greatness.
Will Bedingfield is a staff writer for WIRED. He tweets from @WillBedingfield
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My Santa did a great job of getting me gifts based on what was on my gift list, and he also made some guesses that were terrific. Thank you Santa for some well thought out gifts.
I am just about to get my first grill, and my new apron will go into summer use pronto. I got my giftee one of these same aprons, so you know I secretly wanted one.
I also got a copy of "The Infinity War" comic book. I have just finished reading "The Infinity Gauntlet" so I was ready to step into this book. You have great timing. Much better than mine, I received this gift 3 days ago and didn't post it until today, sorry :(
Finally, I got some mini Oreos with peanut butter filling. These were amazing. I ate them all before I got a picture.
Thank you so much Santa. You rock! | {
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Spoiling old dogs in their twilight years by retiring them to the sofa and forgiving them their stubbornness or disobedience, doesn't do our four-legged friends any good. Regular brain training and lifelong learning create positive emotions and can slow down mental deterioration in old age. Physical limitations, however, often do not allow the same sort of training as used in young dogs. In a new study, a team of researchers led by cognitive biologists from Vetmeduni Vienna propose computer interaction as a practical alternative. In the training lab, old dogs responded positively to cognitive training using educational touchscreen games. The aim now is to get the interactive "dog sudoku" ready for home use.
Lifelong learning is not just good for people, it is also good for dogs. Dogs are capable of learning even in old age, and constant brain training and mental problem-solving create positive emotions and slow the natural pace of mental deterioration. Unlike puppies or young dogs, however, old dogs are almost never trained or challenged mentally. Senior dogs are usually perfectly integrated into our lives and we often forgive them any disobedience or stubbornness. In addition, due to their increasing physical limitations, we usually spare old dogs the sort of training we might expect from young animals.
Cognitive biologists from the Messerli Research Institute at Vetmeduni Vienna propose computer games as an efficient alternative. Simple mental tasks on the computer, combined with a reward system, can replace physically demanding training and still keep the animals mentally fit even in old age. First, however, the method must be taken out of the laboratory and transferred to the living room.
Tablet games like "sudoku" for old dogs
At obedience school or in private, puppies and young dogs are socialised and challenged using a variety of training methods to help them integrate smoothly into our daily lives. As the dogs get older, however, we increasingly -- and unconsciously -- reduce the level of regular training and challenges. "Yet this restricts the opportunities to create positive mental experiences for the animals, which remain capable of learning even in old age," explains first author Lisa Wallis. "As is the case with people, dopamine production in dogs also falls in old age, leading to a decline in memory and motivational drive. But this natural mental deterioration can be countered with the specific training of cognitive skills."
Under laboratory conditions, the training works using computer-based brain-teasers. It does take some preparation to get the dogs used to the touchscreen, but once the animals have got the trick they turn into avid computer gamers. "Touchscreen interaction is usually analysed in young dogs. But we could show that old dogs also respond positively to this cognitive training method," says senior author Ludwig Huber. "Above all, the prospect of a reward is an important factor to motivate the animals to do something new or challenging."
Mentally fit four-legged "gamers" -- laboratory solution to be made available to the general public
Using simple tasks that can be solved through touchscreen interaction, followed by a reward, even old dogs remain willing to learn. "The positive feeling created by solving a mental challenge is comparable to the feeling that older people have when they learn something new, doing something they enjoy. Regular brain training shakes not only us, but also dogs out of their apathy in old age, increasing motivation and engagement and thus maximising learning opportunities," says Huber.
It is still not clear whether dogs slowly forget the things they once learned because of reduced powers of recollection or due to a lack of training in old age. The fact is, however, that lifelong learning with the touchscreen can help counteract this development. The research team hopes that this study will not only motivate technicians and software developers, but also interested dog owners, to consider future cooperation. "Our scientific approach could result in an exciting citizen science project to increase the understanding of the importance of lifelong learning in animals," says Wallis. | {
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Végre mindenki láthatja: a poppiacot is a balliberálisok uralják. Hiszen megírta a Magyar Idők.
Szakács Árpád cikksorozata újabb része ezúttal – a színházi, irodalmi, képzőművészeti oldal után – azt bizonyítja, hogy a popzene is a balliberális oldal kezében van. Hosszasan írja, hogy Tóth Verát – akinek személye, munkássága, tehetsége megkerülhetetlen – alig játsszák a rádiók. Pedig például a „közismerten balliberális 30Y zenekar” dalai sokat szólnak az éterben.
Vastag Csabát a Petőfi Rádió nem szereti, bezzeg Király Viktort igen. Megy a közszolgálati rádióban továbbá a Hősök együttes, a Kelemen Kabátban, a Brains, a Punnany Massif, az Irie Maffia, a Halott Pénz.
És ez még mind hagyján! „A közismerten MSZP-szimpatizáns Fluor Tomi” (aki egy ízben, mint írtuk bekiabálta élő adásban egy mikrofonba, hogy Soros György, majd elnézést kért) egy rádiókedvenc, a Wellhellónak és a saját egyéb projektjeinek a számait dögivel játsszák a rádiók. Bezzeg szegény FankaDeli, aki „zeneszámaiban a legtrendibb formában dolgozza fel a hazaszeretetet, a magyar öntudathoz kapcsolódó kérdéseket, valamint drog- és alkoholellenes üzenetekkel hívja fel a fiatalok figyelmét arra, hogy van más alternatíva is” az elmúlt három évben kereken nulla alkalommal szerepelt a Petőfin.
„A legprimitívebb és legobszcénabb szövegeket gyártó, a drogozást és a züllött életet népszerűsítő balliberális előadók ezalatt több tízezer alkalommal voltak hallhatók a rádióban, mindezért sokmilliós jogdíjat vesznek fel, hiszen mi is lehetne a feladata egy állami rádiónak, mint hogy csak ezeket támogassa.”
Szakács úr még sorol néhány vidéki rendezvényt, továbbá a Pilvakert is ekézi – és ezzel bizonyítja, hogy a magyar popszcénát (is) a balliberális médiatúlsúly uralja.
Lehetne ezen jót röhögni, lehetne felhozni az állami médiából negligált úgynevezett balliberális (vagy csak nem hangos kormánypárti) előadókat, sőt, lehetne egyetérteni azzal is, hogy vannak jobboldali zenészek is, akik fájóan hiányoznak az éterből, de Orbán Viktor tusnádi beszéde után (amiben őszre ígérte a kultúrharc megvívását, és nagy változásokat) egyikhez sincs kedve az embernek, de inkább a szakácsi értelemben vett kiegyensúlyozottság okán mutatunk egy Fluor és egy Tóth Vera dalt is. | {
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One of the reasons we are so passionate about using a wiki for knowledge organization, is the ability to intelligently derive information from other information. The wiki is a dynamic platform. Caution up front, this post will not focus on medical knowledge as many of our blog posts, but will discuss the technical details of how we used the wiki to automate the creation of 14 pages of data with over 50 medication and equipment doses. The process provides an example of how placing medical knowledge on a wiki provides an exponential number of opportunities of organization, derivation, and advanced learning.
The first concept to explore is structured vs unstructured data. At the most basic form, data that has information attached to it is structured and data that has no describing information is unstructured. The data that describes data is known as metadata. This fundamental concept makes a wiki extremely powerful for organizing information compared to a blog (which is unstructured or at most semistructured). Information on a blog is only useful for retrieval for reading, linking and searching. There is no manner of combining data from one blog post with another blog post to create a derivative post, unless you manually copy and paste. Even then the data is static and updating one site does not update all other sites reposting the information. Without structuring the data, it is impossible to dynamically reference.
Enter the Template
On the wiki there are many ways of structuring data. One of the easiest is via templates. A templates groups data with other like data. The most impressive use of templates to date on WikEM is the Antibiotics by Diagnosis. Each grouping of antibiotics for a specific diagnosis are linked together as a template. When an antibiotic dose is changed for a specific disease process it changes on all pages using the template. Not only does this minimize errors, it also provides for ease of updates when new guidelines and evidence changes practice.
Building the Content
To create the Critical care quick reference, information was organized into two templates, a list of doses and values for equipment calculations, and a calculations page that would perform the weight based dosing. Then every page for age specific dosing would automatically generate and populate with all the necessary calculations. When viewed separately that look unimpressive, but when combined they can create the the dosing of a 3.5kg newborn in seconds. In a sense, the wiki behaves exactly like an excel spreadsheet where formulas populate all the necessary content. Changing the value of one cell populates all other cells referencing the original value.
The Future
This example is just the tip of the iceberg for using the structured data of a wiki. We already use the content for offline sync on mobile apps, and wikipedia uses a significant portion of their wikidata for updating content across languages. The possibilities are endless and can even extend to institutional specific data, protocols, and care pathways.
-Dan Ostermayer, MD
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A look at how the Padres could use a unique strategy to get the most out of their pitching staff
It is no secret that the San Diego Padres have a deep bullpen, and with limited rotation depth, they may need to get creative to maximize the effectiveness of their pitching staff.
MLB teams are constantly looking for ways to gain even the smallest advantage over their opponents, often employing new strategies, and even revisiting some which have been used in the past. Such is the case with “the opener,” which has caught on over the past couple of seasons but was first employed by the 1993 Oakland Athletics before being brought back to life by the 2018 Tampa Bay Rays. In this piece, we’ll discuss how the opener works, and how the Padres could use this strategy to play to their strengths in 2020.
What is the purpose of an “opener”?
The opener concept is relatively simple. The idea is to limit a starting pitcher’s exposure to the opposing lineup for a third and fourth time. The more times a batter faces a pitcher during a game, the better the batter tends to perform, especially the third and fourth Time Through the Order (TTO). The numbers back this up, but it’s also relatively intuitive; by the time a pitcher is facing a lineup for the third time, and beyond, the batters have had multiple chances to get a feel for what the pitcher is doing, and the pitcher is likely impacted by fatigue to some degree. By limiting the TTO exposure of the “starting pitcher,” the degree to which the TTO penalty takes effect can be minimized. Essentially, it works like this:
A reliever – typically with the best possible platoon advantage – is used to face the top of the opposing lineup for an inning (sometimes two innings).
The “starter” then comes in and goes to work. By the time he would normally be facing the lineup for the third time, he’s only facing them for the second time.
When the “starter” does get to the third TTO, he’s usually facing the bottom of the lineup, and presumably worse hitters than the top of the lineup. This helps to mitigate the TTO penalty.
Is this strategy effective?
In terms of limiting pitcher exposure to the TTO penalty, absolutely. According to Jeff Sullivan’s 2018 piece, the Rays were able to limit TTO penalties more than any other team in baseball by using an opener, as shown in his graph:
However, simply having faced less batters for a third time is only a good thing if you’re doing that on purpose, and not if it’s happening because your starters can’t make it out of the fourth inning, which was the case for many of the teams who were closest to the Rays in this category.
Now, the question of whether this strategy is an effective way to prevent runs is a bit more interesting. We can’t just say “Team X allowed less runs on average with an opener than most teams did without an opener, so it definitely works” because that doesn’t prove that Team X was allowing less runs specifically because of the opener. Another way to determine if a baseball strategy is effective is to see if other teams are buying into it (hint: they are). This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best possible strategy, but it does indicate that other teams see value in it. Perhaps the teams that are best positioned to benefit from this strategy are those which feature a strong bullpen and have at least a couple of very good starters that are effective enough that the TTO penalty doesn’t hurt them as much. Does that description remind you of any team in particular?
What would it look like if the Padres used an opener?
Using a reliever to start a game is not an unfamiliar concept for the Friars. Relievers have been used by the Padres to open games many times in the past, but this has usually occurred as a result of a “bullpen game” in which relievers are mixed and matched throughout the entire game.
The opener strategy isn’t necessarily as effective for frontline starters, who are often still above-average even after incurring the TTO penalty. An opener may be quite useful for a pitcher like Joey Lucchesi, though. Lucchesi is solid across the board but doesn’t necessarily have anything elite in his arsenal, which may allow hitters to adjust to him over the course of a game. His TTO splits back this up:
Lucchesi has been solid the first couple of times he’s faced opposing lineups, but he’s really struggled when facing hitters for the third time. This makes sense given that Lucchesi has three solid pitches, but only his changeup is considered to be a plus offering, and his command is good, but not elite. As you can see, Lucchesi has gotten absolutely destroyed when facing hitters for the third time in a game. It would be remiss not to mention that his sample size for the third TTO is roughly one-third of that for the first and second, but that’s also largely a result of being pulled early during the third TTO because he’s getting lit up by opponents.
The opener could be a useful option for Garret Richards, who may need to limit his workload early on given that he has less than nine big league innings under his belt since coming off Tommy John surgery and may need to knock some rust off before (hopefully) returning to his previous form. The Padres have a have a handful of young pitchers that could see MLB innings this season, and using an opener could help to keep innings counts down a bit.
It’s not yet clear how Jayce Tingler intends to utilize his pitching staff. Still, one thing is certain: if the Padres decide the opener may be an effective strategy for their club, they have enough bullpen depth to do it without hurting themselves in the late innings.
All Stats used in this article are courtesy of Fangraphs unless otherwise noted.
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Holden Phillips Holden Phillips is an Occupational Exposure Scientist who also happens to write about baseball, primarily focusing on analytics. He is a huge baseball fan and fell in love with the Padres during his college years when West Coast baseball was often the only baseball on TV after 9pm in the Eastern time zone. Find his work at eastvillagetimes.com and maxsportingstudio.com. | {
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HINTEL
POS System & Solutions Delivering more fitting services for your business
Why Choose Hintel?
Hintel Point of Sale (POS) system solutions are new generation innovation quality products adopting the eco-friendly & cost-effective design approaches based on the high-end embedded technologies, which include both highly integrated hardware and complete POS system software, catered to much more suitable services helping the merchants to effectively manage the rising business costs, raise the productivity, and improve sales performance and profitability, and that create substantial value for customers. And Hintel is a technology-based company as retail system provider, manufacturer and developer who is mainly dedicated to the new technology development and their applications for enhancing Company’s core competency via R&D investment, and Hintel aims at pushing the eco-friendly/green product design and application development with the high-end innovation embedded desktop platform building, creates the high-end electronic application products & the related solutions to the specific industry application fields such as the embedded point of sale system applications, and that provide the customers with the reliable, powerful, affordable and energy-efficient quality products, deliver more fitting services than the general-purpose PC-based technologies, offer the real benefits to consumers helping to slash the operating expenses and let merchants run their businesses more easily at low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). And also, the eco-friendly POS terminal equipments have the longer lifecycle than the conventional machine and benefit the environmental health.
New and Different Solutions to Point of Service Systems
Hintel's NEW GENERATION POS SYSTEM DESIGNS are inspired by the points of sale industry trend and requirements, which are professional and modern solutions contributed to the industry sustainability development especially for small and medium-sized retail enterprises, and help merchants easily use & maintain the business equipment, reduce the rising operating expenses, realize low TCO, and improve their profitability & customer service experience. And Hintel POS solutions meet the industry optimization development and deployment requirements, and that are technically implemented in the NEW INNOVATION EMBEDDED TECHNOLOGIES, and the embedded technologies get long evolved with the general-purpose computer science and technology, and have already become the important momentum to contribute to the industry applications that optimize the efficient use of resources, improve the product quality, and provide more reliable & high value-added services to consumers. Technologies constantly continue to improve & develop onward, and new technologies always bring up more benefits for the consumers, and promote the industry innovation and upgrading, and it is the point of service industry trends for the sustainable development and market requirements. Hintel solution can be used in the retail POS system, food and beverage industry and so on, and the consumers can benefit from their multiple aspects of the new technology innovation products, which are the powerful quality POS systems at the most affordable and competitive price, complete all-in-one hardware and software solution, more distinguished from the general-purpose PC-based POS systems equipments, highly competitive over the stability, reliability and cost performance in the market, and it is best option for retail solutions, intelligent terminal products and related industry applications.
With the concept about the Simple is better than the Complex, we strive to keep complex application systems understandable and simple as possible during EPOS system design and development cycle. Hintel new generation embedded terminals are efficient and simple to set up, use and maintain, and its design greatly reduce the requirements for machine repair, service maintenance and technical support, and it is most suitable for widespread use in the industry. Especially in the most terminal machine work environment, often there are no highly trained people, it is also important to relieve headache, and help to save manpower & reduce the running costs for the business owners.
Hintel POS System Advantages and Benefits
Hintel POS Solutions are contributed to Business & Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the affordable & eco-friendly retail business service terminal equipments, and that are high quality terminal products, and have also passed their sensitive safety tests for compliance with the consumer product safety requirements related to countries or regions, and got the relevant Product Safety Certificates such as EN55032 Class B, FCC Part 15 Class B & RoHS etc. And the equipment importers can request for test reports and certificates before placing order, and also we are pleased to assist them on the retest for verifying purpose according to their country’s requirements if desired. And the Hintel highly integrated POS Systems Advantages and Benefits are as below:
New generation innovation product
Eco-friendly/green POS solutions
Professional green Operating System for industry use
No security threat and data secure
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Lower operating expenses with Hintel technological innovations
Long lifespan business machine in the industrial grade
Quiet at work with fanless design
Simple to set up, use and maintain
Cost-effective product design
All in one (one-stop shop)
And for merchants, there may be some factors to consider when choosing point of sale system for their businesses from multiple brands, such as how reliable is it? How easy is it to use and maintain? How about the TCO of the equipment? What are the main points driving the sales growth with this brand? And Hintel solutions can provide you with the quite satisfactory answers for the questions as we fully understand your requirements and the costs involved in the retail POS business, and strive to create the best POS system to meet the market needs. And Hintel’s innovation embedded hardware & software applications are especially designed for performing the specific tasks of points of sale processing activities that have been elaborated and tailored for use only for the point of sale terminal market, and you can benefit from these new generation innovation equipments. Embracing the EPOS innovations, new technologies and change directly avail you to concretely save much more money & time in your enterprise, and also that offer a way to effectively help the equipment distributors and resellers stand out from the competitive marketplace and drive the significant sales growth.
POS Software Overview
Hintel e-POS (EPOS) software systems consist of the back office management and terminal applications. The Back Office management is to play a key role in the point of sale applications, and it takes charge of the daily operation management and control such as data input, pricing adjustment, sales analysis, store inventory tracking, data query, and report generation and so on. Hintel EPOS Back Office management is capable of providing a number of concise and specific reports such as daily sales transaction reports, monthly purchasing/sales/store inventory report, yearly sales & tax report and so on, as well as data analysis reports including the sales/profit analysis, purchasing analysis, supplier evaluation, and goods item analysis, and that help the merchants to obtain the detailed information to run their businesses with effortlessness. And for more detailed info about EPOS BackOffice management and functionalities, please view the BackOffice Management.
And EPOS terminal software is new generation POS service application solution with flexibilities, features-rich functionalities and its inherent advantages from the embedded technology, which is more practical and efficient front-end operation management application in the points of sale outlets, very easy to use and maintain with very minimum learning requirement. And Hintel point of sale software is capable of processing the various activities such as sales, refunds and on-hold transactions and so on. At the same time, the sale terminals support the multiple payment types and both the product code and user-defined code can be used to lookup for items, and it is simple and speedy to use. And for more detailed info, please view the Terminal Application Program.
Product Selection Guide
How to Choose the Right Products for Your Business?
In order to better display our products to customers, we organize products by the item categories or product snapshot or product center on our official website, and that can also act as the online product catalog through the browser-based Product Information Management (PIM), and convenient for customers to find. And we supply the all-in-one retail POS systems, cash registers and relevant peripheral devices, and the product categories consist of the following items:
Innovation Embedded POS System PC-based Point of Sale Terminal POS Board (Motherboard) POS Software (Including the Terminal and Back Office Apps) Retail POS Solutions Thermal Printer Barcode Scanner Cash Drawer And Related Accessories
And each category includes a product icon list, an individual product will be presented by clicking on the corresponding icon, there are the detailed descriptions and specifications of each product, it is convenient to choose the interested products for our customers. In addition, there is a Buyer’s Guide for further helping on EPOS system product selection. If customers still have questions, please drop us an email to support at hintel-tech.com, and we are always pleased to assist you.
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Think about eco-friendly POS systems, are you using it? Think again!
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Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance has reached a “temporary agreement” with President Trump’s lawyers to stay subpoenas relating to his personal and corporate tax returns, according to new court papers.
The move follows a Wednesday hearing in which Manhattan federal court Judge Victor Marrero told both sides to “sober up” and come to an agreement while they await his ruling on whether or not the DA’s office be allowed to enforce the subpoenas served on the president’s accounting firm as part of a criminal investigation.
The agreement states that the parties will wait “until 1 p.m. two business days after the Court rules on the pending motions to dismiss and for injunctive relief, or until 1 p.m. on Monday, October 7, 2019, whichever is sooner.”
Trump sued Vance in Manhattan federal court last week after his account firm, Mazars USA, was served with subpoenas for financial documents dating back to 2011, and relating to Trump, his businesses and other third-party entities and individuals.
His lawyers argue that a sitting president is “immune” to any form of criminal inquiry. | {
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Captation TV du débat pour le second tour de la présidentielle 2017 entre Marine Le Pen et Emmanuel Macron. Paris le 3 mai 2017 - 2017©Jean-Claude Coutausse / french-politics pour Le Monde JEAN-CLAUDE COUTAUSSE/FRENCH-POLITICS POUR "LE MONDE"
Editorial du « Monde ». Dans trois jours, les Français éliront le prochain président de la République. Ils étaient en droit d’attendre des deux candidats en lice, mercredi 3 mai, un débat approfondi qui les éclaire, avant de faire leur choix, sur leur personnalité, sur la solidité de leur projet et sur leur capacité à tracer l’avenir de la cinquième puissance mondiale. Ils n’ont eu droit – et la responsabilité en incombe à la candidate du Front national – qu’à un face-à-face confus, accablant et indigne. Mais on veut croire qu’ils auront obtenu les réponses qu’ils attendaient.
A ceux qui pouvaient l’avoir oublié, ce pugilat a rappelé crûment ce qu’est l’extrême droite française. A ceux qui font mine de ne plus savoir établir de hiérarchie entre les périls, ce spectacle navrant a désigné le plus grand de tous les dangers : l’irruption, au cœur de la démocratie française, de la brutalité et de la duplicité de la tradition politique, et familiale, qu’incarne Marine Le Pen.
Le débat d’entre-deux-tours n’est certes pas inscrit dans notre Constitution. Il est le résultat d’un accord, renouvelé à chaque élection, entre candidats qui acceptent de jouer le même jeu, qui se plient à des règles communes. Jusqu’ici, l’extrême droite en avait été écartée par son score, ou par la répugnance de Jacques Chirac à argumenter face à Jean-Marie Le Pen en 2002. Son irruption sur cette scène n’en est que plus glaçante.
En violant tous les usages de cette confrontation, en méprisant jusqu’à l’exigence de sincérité, Marine Le Pen a dévoilé ce que serait sa pratique du pouvoir, si par malheur, elle était amenée à l’exercer. Son but n’est pas d’échanger, mais d’abaisser. Sa stratégie n’est nullement de convaincre, mais de nuire. Son projet n’est qu’une entreprise de démolition.
En choisissant d’emblée d’engager une bataille de chiffonniers, en maniant sans cesse l’invective, voire l’injure, l’agressivité faussement souriante et réellement grinçante, Marine Le Pen a ainsi montré son vrai visage. Elle se disait la candidate de la « France apaisée ». Elle est apparue comme l’héritière d’une pratique politique qui a toujours reposé sur le dénigrement et la menace. L’émule, en outre, d’un Donald Trump, multipliant, comme le président américain, les insinuations mensongères. La digne championne, enfin, d’un extrémisme prêt à profiter de toutes les peurs, à creuser toutes les fractures et à attiser tous les fantasmes.
Ces angoisses sont réelles, il convient de les prendre au sérieux et de ne pas les traiter avec le cynisme dont vient de faire preuve Marine Le Pen. Ce sera l’enjeu majeur du quinquennat qui s’ouvre. Pour chaque acteur de la nouvelle vie politique que redessineront cette présidentielle et les élections législatives en juin, il faudra enfin se montrer aussi dur avec les causes qui ont fait monter le FN qu’avec ce parti lui-même, dont la candidate vient d’exposer les insignes faiblesses.
Sur le projet, et en particulier sur le terrain économique, fiscal et budgétaire, le contraste a ainsi été saisissant. La candidate du Front national s’est contentée de lancer en l’air des promesses faramineuses sans convaincre à aucun moment que leur faisabilité était réelle et leur financement assuré.
De même sur la capacité à diriger, demain, un pays comme la France. C’est, au fond, la fonction ultime et essentielle d’un tel débat : prouver aux Français que l’on a l’étoffe d’être leur président. A 39 ans, surgi au premier plan depuis quelques mois seulement, Emmanuel Macron n’a certainement pas levé toutes les interrogations à cet égard. Mais la présidente du Front national, pour sa part, a démontré qu’elle n’en avait aucune des qualités. Son rapport à la réalité des plus flous, son rapport à l’exactitude pour le moins approximatif, son rapport à la vérité toujours manipulatoire dressent contre elle, sur ce plan, un réquisitoire sans appel.
Face à cette imposture, le premier des risques serait l’indifférence. Et la nécessité la plus urgente est d’écarter fermement Marine Le Pen de ce pouvoir qu’elle convoite et qu’elle dévoierait aussi sûrement qu’elle a fait dérailler le débat de mercredi soir. Pour préserver les conditions de ce débat républicain, il importe plus que jamais que tous les démocrates se mobilisent afin que la candidature FN ne soit pas crédibilisée par un bon score au second tour. Et pour cela, il n’existe qu’un moyen : voter ce dimanche en faveur d’Emmanuel Macron. | {
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BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Wednesday sought to assure India over the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), saying the trade deal could provide many opportunities for India’s exports.
China joined 14 countries this week in agreeing terms for RCEP, which could become the world’s biggest free trade deal if officially signed next year as planned.
But India pulled out at the last minute amid worries that the deal would unleash cheaper imports from countries like China that render its own industries uncompetitive and hurt its farmers, businesses, workers and consumers.
Vice commerce minister Wang Shouwen, speaking at a news briefing in Beijing, said he understood those concerns, but the deal could benefit Indian exporters and help create more local jobs.
“We understand that some industries in India will have some concerns, but RCEP will also bring huge export opportunities to the Indian industry,” he said, adding that the deal includes a protection mechanism that can be used to put the tariffs back on if India does find the deal damaging to its domestic industries.
Wang applauded the trade pact as providing a “very significant boost” to investor confidence in the global economy against the rise of unilateralism and protectionism that has depressed trade growth across the world.
He said the deal would also greatly benefit Chinese firms, workers and consumers, as it would remove tariffs and non-tariff barriers, and bring down costs. | {
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Nintendo is launching a new Wii U Deluxe Set that puts the focus on value, and highlights the two biggest names in video games: Mario and his brother, Luigi. Available in stores on Nov. 1, the Wii U Deluxe model will come with two games – New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U – all on one disc. The new configuration will sell at the low suggested retail price of $299.99, and replaces the existing Wii U Deluxe Set, which included Nintendo Land. For fans who want to experience the uproarious fun of Nintendo Land, the game can still be purchased separately in stores and as a download in the Nintendo eShop at a new low suggested retail price of $29.99, also beginning Nov. 1.
The beautiful, limited-edition Wii U Deluxe bundle that comes with a download code for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, a gorgeous GamePad controller adorned with art inspired by The Legend of Zelda series and a download code for a digital copy of Hyrule Historia is also still available at a suggested retail price of $299.99 while supplies last.
Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing: \”Mario and Luigi are two of the biggest heroes in video games. This new Wii U configuration gives people instant access to not one, but two of the most well-received Wii U games. It’s another example of the tremendous value and variety that Nintendo is offering consumers this holiday season.\”
New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U are two of the best games on Wii U. The games offer players two separate platforming adventures – one starring Mario and one starring Luigi – each filled with dozens of creative levels. Both Mario and Luigi control differently, giving each game a distinct feel and challenge. Both games showcase the refreshing originality and game play that can only be found on Nintendo systems. | {
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This is just another video that increases my love for the Australian people. Everything I know about Australia (based mainly on movies) is it’s filled with the most attractive, toughest and nonchalant people on the planet. Check out this surfer bro just getting attacked by a tiger shark like it’s nothing. Bro’s on the boat, giggling the entire time and he screams sarcastically as a giant ass shark swims up to him looking to eat his leg off. So Australian, I love it.
Language NSFW | {
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When Twitter launched Vine, the app had access to Facebook's Friends API, which let Vine users see which of their Facebook friends were using the then-new app. But after approval from Zuckerberg himself, that access was cut off. "Unless anyone raises objections, we will shut down their [Vine's] Friends API access today. We've prepared reactive PR, and I will let Jana know our decision," Justin Osofsky, Facebook's vice president of global operations and media partnerships, said in an email at the time. Zuckerberg replied, "Yup, go for it."
The UK's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee is using this is an example of Facebook's anticompetitive nature, which is further highlighted in more of the internal files. In November 2012, in an email about reciprocity and data value, Zuckerberg talked about how Facebook's goal was to let people "share everything they want." Developers on the site, he said, could build apps to let users do exactly that, but Facebook needed to be wary of them becoming a competitor in the social media space.
"Sometimes the best way to enable people to share something is to have a developer build a special purpose app or network for that type of content and to make that app social by having Facebook plug into it," Zuckerberg said. "However, that may be good for the world but it's not good for us unless people also share back to Facebook and that content increases the value of our network. So ultimately, I think the purpose of platform -- even the read side -- is to increase sharing back into Facebook."
"I just can't think [of] any instances where that data has leaked from developer to developer and caused a real issue for us. Do you have examples of this?" -- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Although Zuckerberg may have changed his views on the world since then, it's clear that at the time all he cared about was what was good for Facebook and not anyone else. But that's something he's probably thinking more about today, as his company continues to face scrutiny over its mishandling of user data -- especially after the Cambridge Analytica data-privacy scandal from earlier this year. In 2012, however, Zuckerberg dismissed the risks of sharing user data, since it seems he couldn't imagine that the incident caused by Cambridge Analytica was even possible.
In October 2012, Zuckerberg sent an email to Sam Lessin, Facebook's former director of product management, to say he was getting "more on board" with locking down some access to developers on the site, including Friends data and email addresses for mobile apps. That said, Zuckerberg told Lessin he was "generally skeptical that there is as much data leak strategic risk as you think," and that he agreed there was "a clear risk on the advertiser side" but hadn't figured out how that related to the rest of the Facebook platform. "I think we leak info to developers," Zuckerberg added, "but I just can't think [of] any instances where that data has leaked from developer to developer and caused a real issue for us. Do you have examples of this?"
Of course, as we now know, that's basically what happened with Cambridge Analytica after it took people's data without Facebook's knowledge and then used it for political research. Unfortunately for Facebook and its users, that example Zuckerberg wanted came too late. Around the same time, the Facebook CEO discussed selling user data to developers who spent money on the site.
"If we make it so devs can generate revenue for us in different ways, then it makes it more acceptable for us to charge them quite a bit more for using platform," he said. "The basic idea is that any other revenue you generate for us earns you a credit towards whatever fees you own us for using platform. For most developers this would probably cover cost completely. So instead of every [developer] paying us directly, they'd just use our payments or ads products." Zuckerberg said the basic model for that could be letting developers use the Login with Facebook API for free (as it is today), but if they wanted access to things like someone's Friends list, then they'd have to pay $0.10 per user every year.
The emails seized by the UK Parliament also allege that Facebook thought about bypassing an Android permission screen that would ask for access to people's call logs, which would obviously be a strong violation of users' privacy. Here's a concerning email exchange between two Facebook executives from February 2015:
"Hey guys, as you know all the growth team is planning on shipping a permissions update on Android at the end of this month. They are going to include the 'read call log' permission, which will trigger the Android permissions dialog on update, requiring users to accept the update. They will then provide an in-app opt in NUX for a feature that lets you continuously upload your SMS and call log history to Facebook to be used for improving things like PYMK, coefficient calculation, feed ranking etc. This is a pretty high risk thing to do from a PR perspective but it appears that the growth team will charge ahead and do it."
The reply is even worse: | {
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The next Prospectors update scheduled to deploy on Wednesday will introduce three new features developed to improve the game experience of Prospectors citizens. Today we want to present a new “Plots” window, a revised map filter, a renewed job search, and a “Top Players” window, which will add a competitive aspect within the game worlds.
The Improved Job Search
So first, a few words about the improved job search. While searching for the best job for your worker, now you will see job proposals for all tools which are in your worker’s backpack, not only for the equipped ones. Now you can see all the great job opportunities without the hassle of changing tools.
The Map Filter
The new changes will add options for categories such as sales, purchases, and jobs. Now you can make your search more specific by choosing the exact items or work you are interested in. To set up your filter you can mark as many categories as you wish. All of the classic functions like the ability to highlight “your plots”, your “favorite plots”, “free plots or confiscated” plots, have not changed.
The “Plots” window
Some of you have a lot of property to manage and take care of. We want to present to you a new window developed to simplify this task.
Introducing The “Plots” window! This new dashboard will enable users to manage plots from one window. The “plots” window has two tabs: “My plots” tab and “My favorite plots” tab.
A bit more about them:
“My plots” tab
On this tab, you can look over details of each plot rented by you: about its resources, building info (lifetime of the building, and time needed for full repair), and items stored in the plot storage.
There is also info about the rent due-date for each plot. Plots, where the rent is expired, will be marked with red. You will see the amount of active and available jobs for every plot as well. If any of your workers are on your plot, it’ll also be shown here.
From this tab, you’ll be able to continue the rent for any of your plots or rename them.
“My favorite plots” tab
You can mark any plot on the map as your favorite, and you can have as many favorite plots in your list as you wish. It can be plots of your partners, plots where you usually buy anything, or plots which you would like to rent.
All you need to do to mark any plot as “favorite” is to go to its “info” tab and press a star in the top-left corner.
On the “My favorite plots” tab you will have all the info about each of your favorite plots stored in one place: about its resources, building info (lifetime of the building, and time needed for full repair), and items stored in the plot storage.
There will be info about active jobs, about a location and an owner of each plot from the list.
Also from here, you can easily unlist plots in which you aren’t interested anymore. We hope the “Plots” window will free some of your time from some unnecessary moves.
The “Top Players” window
The next part of the update is the new “Top Players” window where you can look over the list of the top one hundred prospectors in each of three different categories:
Level — Here you can see the most active and hardworking players with the highest level of the account.
— Here you can see the most active and hardworking players with the highest level of the account. Balance — here are all the richest players in the world with the biggest sums on their balances.
— here are all the richest players in the world with the biggest sums on their balances. Plots — this list is for the biggest landowners of the Prospectors world with the largest numbers of rented plots.
So, there are actually three different metrics that can put you on the list of the top players!
So what are you waiting for?
Get in the top player's lists, improve your rank, and become first in at least one of them! Then brag to your friends about being the top-rated Prospector. Good luck!
Join now: https://prospectors.io
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Telegram: https://t.me/prospectorsgame
Telegram News: https://t.me/prospectors
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Prospectorsio
Follow us on Twitter!: https://twitter.com/prospectorsgame
Steemit: https://steemit.com/@prospectors
Discord: https://discordapp.com/invite/3HdcTRA | {
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KEW GARDENS, Queens — The former assistant basketball coach at Wake Forest University broke down in tears on the witness stand Tuesday as he testified in his own defense about one punch on a Queens street that left a Florida man dead in August 2018.
“I’ve never been arrested prior to this case,” Jamill Jones told the jury. “I’ve never had a drink in my life.”
Jones, who stands 6 foot 5 inches tall, said he raced from his then - fiancee’s white BMW in the early hours of Aug. 5, 2018 because Sandor Szabo—a stranger—got aggressive on 29th Street in Long Island City.
Jones denied making a comment to Szabo, as Jones drove past the intoxicated man. Szabo, a 35-year old digital marketing executive, had just left his sister’s wedding.
Szabo was apparently looking for an Uber to get back to his hotel. At one point, the frustrated Szabo is seen on surveillance throwing his jacket on the ground and trying to pull a mailbox out of its sidewalk foundation.
Shortly after, Jones is seen driving by in the BMW.
The prosecutor took Jones through the surveillance footage frame by frame, showing how Szabo seemed to be trying to flag Jones for a ride, perhaps mistaking the coach for an Uber driver.
Jones said he never noticed Szabo, until he backed up the BMW to take a corner parking spot, near the Courtyard Marriott Hotel where he was staying.
“There was a gentleman on the corner. He started to walk on the street. I lost sight of him,” Jones testified.
There’s about 10 seconds on the surveillance camera where the car’s image is obscured by bright lights from the brakes being applied.
“The next thing you heard was a loud, ‘boom!’ and the rear windshield started to fall in,” Jones told the jury, referring to his fiancee’s BMW.
Jones said the woman got scared and put her head in her lap crying, while the man outside came on the passenger side and let out a large chuckle like ‘Hee Haw!’”
On direct examination, Jones had admitted chasing Szabo and punching him in the face near the opposite corner of the street, even as Szabo appeared to be backing up.
Jones said Szabo had his fists clenched and was raising his left hand.
“When I see the girl and her face was in her lap and I see him on the passenger side, I said ‘I’m going to put myself between him and whatever comes that way,” Jones testified earlier.
PIX11 learned a team of lawyers working for Szabo’s family had been trying to find the former fiancée, before and during the trial, with no luck.
The family claimed Jones showed up at a New York police precinct four days after the incident, carrying a photo of a white BMW with a bashed, rear window. They weren’t convinced the window got smashed in Queens.
Jones admitted seeing Szabo hit the sidewalk before he walked away.
Jones and his fiancée left the scene, circled around the block and then saw other people showing up at the corner. Jones said he assumed Szabo was alright—as the Florida man was propped against a vehicle—and then consulted a police officer relative the next day, before driving back to North Carolina.
But Szabo was not OK.
He'd suffered a traumatic brain injury and was brain dead. His family removed him from life support four days later, after doctors harvested his organs to help needy recipients.
The New Jersey man who received Szabo’s heart came to court Tuesday to show support for Szabo’s mother, Donna Kent.
Kent told PIX11 she couldn’t comment during the trial, because there’s been a gag order imposed.
The mother has been fighting current policy in New York City that treats one-punch deaths as third degree assaults, a misdemeanor crime.
A conviction would carry a maximum penalty of one year in prison.
Szabo’s mother wants these kinds of deaths treated as homicides.
Jones is hoping the jury will look at his background when considering the case.
He testified he worked as a financial analyst with the Department of Homeland Security before starting a coaching career in college basketball.
Jones testified he had mentored “hundreds” of young people.
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Three weeks ahead of its official announcement, the 2014 HTC One is making its video debut. A developer edition of HTC's next flagship phone has been fully detailed in a 12-minute video posted to YouTube overnight. While the original upload has since been removed, copies of it have inevitably been retained and reposted to Google's video hub.
As the leaked press images have already hinted, the new One appears to be a subtly redesigned version of the 2013 handset that shares its name. The sides of the new phone look to be a little softer and the back slightly curvier, while the display has apparently been enlarged from 4.7 to 5 inches. The headphone jack can now be found at the bottom of the phone, The top has a black plastic panel, and the side includes a microSD card slot.
"BlinkFeed is actually really cool now."
As to the software and performance, the person handling the One (also known under the codename M8) says that HTC's BlinkFeed is "actually really cool now" and describes the camera as "spectacular." It's still not entirely clear what the second camera sensor on the back of the phone is used for, however it seems like focusing speed and image quality have both been upgraded from HTC's current flagship.
With a folder of AT&T apps on the home screen and the video reviewer using the device on T-Mobile, it's almost a certainty that HTC's next flagship will be on the two biggest GSM networks in the US, while a recent tweet from Evleaks indicates it'll be available from Verizon as well. The 2013 One took a few months before hitting Verizon's network last year, which HTC will surely be aiming to avoid with the launch of its next big phone. | {
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Okay, this is definitely the strangest news to come out of the Filmart 2018 event. Apparently, a sequel to Jet Li’s 1982 debut film, The Shaolin Temple, is in-the-works.
As Hong Kong film historian Ricky Baker (of Eastern Heroes) says: “It’s official. The Shaolin Temple sequel NOT starring Jet Li,” followed by a shot of the film’s preliminary poster, which features what appears to be shadowy figure of Li. In other words, don’t get your hopes up if you’re expecting Jet Li (but then again, anything is possible, right?).
Directed by Chang Hsin Yen, the original film made Li a star and was responsible for the resurgence of Shaolin-based kung fu movies. The film spawned two unrelated sequels, as well as a loose remake in 2001 starring Andy Lau. In 2014, an English-language remake was announced from director Justin Lin (Star Trek Beyond), but never materialized.
We’ll keep you updated on The Shaolin Temple 2 as more news arrives. | {
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Mistä on kyse? Aku Ankan Suomen toimitus hylkää noin neljänneksen tanskalaisen Egmont-kustantamon tarjoamasta perus Aku Ankka -tuotannosta
Suomessa Aku Ankan lukijat ovat poikkeavan vaativia
Vääränlaiset hahmot, väkivaltaiset ja liian vauhdikkaat tai oudot tarinat eivät juurikaan kelpaa suomalaisille
Sarjakuvat Aku Ankkaan tehdään ympäri maailman Yhdysvalloista Norjaan, Hollantiin ja Espanjaan
Aku Ankan lukijakunta on laskenut takavuosista, mutta lehti kerää edelleen viikoittain noin miljoona ihmistä sen äärelle
Suomalaista Aku Ankka -lehteä hiotaan muita maita enemmän vaativan lukijakunnan vuoksi. Toimitus hylkää noin neljänneksen tanskalaisen Egmont-kustantamon tarjoamasta perus Aku Ankka -tuotannosta.
– Meillä on pikkaisen eri maku Suomessa kuin muissa akkaria julkaisevissa maissa. Meillä on aika paljon aikuislukijoita, sanoo Aku Ankan päätoimittaja Aki Hyyppä.
Suomalaiset tuntevat tarkasti Ankkalinnan perinteet ja puuttuvat havaitsemiinsa epäkohtiin hanakasti.
– Esimerkiksi, jos Aku on väärällä tapaa kiukkuinen. Akuhan on kiukkuinen, mutta ei millään tavalla lähtökohtaisesti ilkeä. Me hylkäämme sellaiset tarinat, jotka ovat ohi hahmosta, kertoo päätoimittaja.
Suomalaiset lukijat suosivat erityisesti "takapihaseikkailuja", jotka tapahtuvat tiukasti hahmojen omassa Ankkalinna-maailmassa.
– Lähdetään siitä ihan arkisesta tilanteesta, ja se sitten karkaa ihan lapasesta. Se on varmastikin suomalaisten mielestä paras tarinatyyppi, sanoo Hyyppä.
Aku ei saa olla väärällä tapaa kiukkuinen
Osassa Aku Ankkaa julkaisevista maista akkaritarinoista toivotaan suoraviivaisia toimintarymistelyjä.
– Ei nyt ihan supersankarimeininkiä, mutta sellaista ankanpojille lippa vinoon, skeittilautaa alle ja muuta, kertoo Hyyppä.
Hylkäämme sellaiset tarinat, jotka ovat ohi hahmosta Aki Hyyppä
Näitä sarjakuvia ei välttämättä nähdä Suomessa lainkaan, koska lukijat eivät niistä liiemmin välitä. Myös liian väkivaltaisiksi katsotut sarjakuvat, usein Mikki Hiirtä käsittelevät, hylätään.
– Onneksi siinä vaiheessa ei hirveästi sydän verta itke, sillä ne eivät ole laadullisesti sarjoina kovin erikoisia. Harvoin joutuu hylkäämään hyvän sarjakuvan sen takia, että siinä olisi liikaa väkivaltaa tai päähän lyömistä.
Parasta akkaria kokoamassa
Tavalliseksi katsotun perustuotannon lehteen toimittaa lehden kustantaja Egmont-konserni. Aku Ankan Suomi-toimitus tekee kuitenkin viimeiset valinnat. Osa sarjakuvista kootaan 1960-70-lukujen suosikkitarinoista.
– Muut pohjoismaat julkaisevat melko sellaisenaan tanskalaisten kokoaman, mutta me poimimme rusinat pullasta ja yritämme tehdämahdollisimman hyvää akkaria sen suhteen, kertoo päätoimittaja.
Muut pohjoismaat julkaisevat melko sellaisenaan tanskalaisten kokoaman, mutta me poimimme rusinat pullasta Aki Hyyppä
Sarjakuvat Aku Ankkaan tehdään ympäri maailman Yhdysvalloista Norjaan ja Hollantiin. Erityisesti espanjalaiset ovat kunnostautuneet Aku Ankan tekijöinä.
Taustalla on espanjalainen isojen sarjakuvastudioiden perinne, josta Egmont hankki osia 1970-luvulla.
– Siellä on mestari-kisälli-oppipoika-järjestelmä. Sarjakuvien tekijät tekevät aika paljon yhteistyötä ja oppivat siinä akkaripiirtämisen saloja samalla, sanoo Aki Hyyppä.
Ankkalinnan maailmassa
Aki Hyyppä on tehnyt Aku Ankkaa, Roope Setää ja muita Ankkalinnaa käsitteleviä julkaisuja jo 16 vuoden ajan. Päätoimittajana hän on toiminut Aku Ankassa vuodesta 2011.
– Sanotaan, että hyvät repaleiset humanistiopinnot ensin takana. Puoleksi vitsillä laitoin hakemuksen sisään. Sitten siitä vitsistä tuli totta, hän kertoo.
Kaikilla Aku Ankan toimituksessa on taustalla yliopisto-opintoja suomen kielessä, kirjallisuudesta tai kääntämisestä.
– Ajatuksena on lähinnä se, että emme katso itseämme opettajiksi kielen suhteen, linjaa Hyyppä.
Viime vuosina Aku Ankan lukijaluvut ovat laskeneet, vaikka ovat edelleen korkeat. Vuonna 2014 lehdellä oli lukijoita keskimäärin reilu miljoona viikossa. Vakitilaajia on noin 225 000.
– Tuntuu, että akkari-into on edelleen ihan kova. Vaikka on kaiken maailman digihärpäkettä, niin hyvä rauhallinen hetki akkarin kanssa tuntuu edelleen vetävän lapsia ja totta kai myös aikuisia, sanoo päätoimittaja Aki Hyyppä. | {
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In November 2014, this intrepid blogger trooped down to the DC Court of Appeals to watch the Mann v. National Review oral argument. In my post, I wrote that the panel was likely to conclude that the denial of an anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss was immediately appealable (having already held, in Burke v. Doe I, that the denial of a special motion to quash under the DC anti-SLAPP statute was immediately appealable), and that the tougher question would be how to apply the “likely to succeed” standard at the motion stage.
Yet, here we are, almost 18 months later, still waiting for the Court’s decision. Not only has that delay paralyzed the Mann lawsuit, with the Superior Court staying all proceedings in the case since April 2014, but it has impacted several other cases, so that there are now several appeals pending at the Court of Appeals, backed up like planes at O’Hare, all waiting to learn if the denial of an anti-SLAPP motion is immediately appealable. (As a recent article in the National Law Journal notes, the delay has prompted Mark Steyn, who did not appeal the denial of his anti-SLAPP motion, to ask the Superior Court to lift the stay, and has led Mann’s attorney to take the unusual step of asking the Court of Appeals to “issue its decision without further delay”).
Also in limbo are the movants in the VanderSloot case, which I briefly discussed in my last post. There, after non-parties received domesticated subpoenas seeking documents and testimony in connection with a libel suit then pending in Idaho, they responded by filing anti-SLAPP motions to dismiss. The Superior Court initially held that an anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss could only be filed in response to a “claim,” and that the subpoenas were not a “claim” within meaning of the statute.
The court held, however, that, VanderSloot’s motion to compel qualified as a “claim,” which made the anti-SLAPP motions proper. It nevertheless denied them, holding that VanderSloot had shown a likelihood of success on the merits. The movants appealed the denial of their anti-SLAPP motions to the Court of Appeals, where the Court, after receiving briefing on its jurisdiction, issued an order in December 2014, holding the case in abeyance pending resolution of the Mann appeal.
Another case pending at the DC Court of Appeals is Washington Travel Clinic. v. Kandrac. There, the Superior Court granted most, but not all, of the defendant’s anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss and dismissed most of the plaintiff’s defamation complaint. The court denied the defendant’s subsequent motion for reconsideration and fees. The defendant appealed the partial denial of his anti-SLAPP motion, the denial of his motion for reconsideration and the denial of his request for attorneys’ fees, in September 2014. Since then, the Superior Court has scheduled, and then continued, status hearings every six months, while the parties (and the Superior Court) wait for the Mann decision.
The most recent additions to the queue are the defendants in the lawsuit brought by Two Rivers Charter School. After the Superior Court denied their anti-SLAPP motions to dismiss, they filed notices of appeal and moved to stay the case. The Superior Court issued an Order requiring the defendants to file answers, but otherwise staying discovery. Last week, the Court of Appeals, sua sponte, issued an order holding the consolidated appeals in abeyance pending the Court’s decision in Mann.
It is not clear what is delaying the Court of Appeals’ Mann decision. What is clear is that the delay is having a ripple effect. | {
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Networking with pizza and beer starts at 6:30.
At 7pm Mike Slinn (http://micronauticsresearch.com/) and James Ward (http://www.jamesward.com/) will talk about sbt, IntelliJ IDEA and Eclipse. They will cover sbt configuration files, a live demonstration of using sbt 0.11 standalone, sbt with IntelliJ IDEA and the Scala plugin for Eclipse.
Their second topic will be a Scala project they has been working on that uses the BlueEyes framework (https://github.com/jdegoes/blueeyes) and runs on Heroku (http://www.heroku.com/). James and Mike will discuss Heroku and its support for Scala and frameworks, then they will walk through the project. Mike and James will discuss the BlueEyes service description DSL and how Akka Actors and Software Transactional Memory Refs provide scalability for this computationally intensive task.
We'll follow up with Q/A and more networking. Doors close at 9:30pm. | {
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Russell, Matt and Mr Gee on changing times and the greatest thinkers. #russellbrandpodcast
Contains Explicit Content | {
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Commercial lending is showing no signs of slowing down as rents rise and vacancies remain low. But recent stock volatility and the pending interest rate jump—could put a damper on the lending surge. Is the market becoming overheated? We asked six of the nation's top economists. Begin slideshow
Jamie Woodwell, VP of Commercial Real Estate Research, Mortgage Bankers Association “The delinquency rates (60-plus days) for commercial and multifamily mortgages held by life insurance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are all at or below 0.06%, and the delinquency rate (90-plus days) for bank-held multifamily loans is at its lowest level since the series began in 1993. Lenders are competing hard to make loans in a low-rate, high-growth commercial real estate environment, but the evidence so far is that they are sticking close to their underwriting metrics. We expect cap rates to rise with interest rates, which could present a headwind for the market."
Ray Torto, Harvard Lecturer, Retired Global Chief Economist at CBRE Harvard Graduate School of Design website "I would say lending is very competitive, and there is a lot of money looking to provide debt on good real estate assets. I have heard a few anecdotes of bad lending standards, but I do not think, or have not seen, the evidence or data that today’s lending is reflective of the malaise we have had in other cycles…that said, the concern is will it evolve and repeat past mistakes? I do have that concern as the providers of lendable funds are paid the same way today as they were in the past."
Calvin Schnure, Economist and Senior VP, Research and Economic Analysis, NAREIT "I can understand the concern that the market could be getting ahead of itself. Property prices are increasing and cap rates are extremely low. Money is flowing into the commercial real estate market from domestic and foreign buyers. But lending is not becoming overheated. It’s up only 5% or so over the past year—and that’s over a very low base. As recently as 2012, lending was still contracting. Banks have picked up their lending, as have life insurance companies. CMBS issuance is up, too, but primarily to refinance outstanding loans issued prior to the financial crisis; the level of CMBS outstanding is about where it was two years ago. Most important, though, NOI is growing, which is supporting property prices. The market is basically getting back to normal after a very slow period."
Victor Calanog, Chief Economist, Reis “The lending market has been very competitive for at least three years now, with the low interest rate environment not offering much by way of spreads. With that said, there is little systematic evidence of deterioration in LTV requirements, and most lending activity that appears 'overheated' is also concentrated in markets and property types like multifamily in gateway cities that still boast strong demand underpinning construction lending. Yes, there are areas where risk managers may need to begin flagging notes of caution, but by and large most lender portfolios appear relatively robust, with tools employed to assess downside risk.”
Kevin Thorpe, Chief Economist, Americas, Cushman & Wakefield "If CRE is overheating, then nearly every asset class is overheating (government bonds, treasuries, equities, global bonds, global real estate, everything). So pick your poison, or don’t pick anything and hide your money under a pillow, which is still not risk free. At least with CRE you get a big building that you can look at and say, 'that’s a building.' And if you get the right building, and there are many of those, you get the steady cash flow from people who invariably need to live somewhere or work somewhere, plus you get the upside of the possibility that at some future state, someone else is going want to have your big building. The debt side has not been the principal driving force behind the run-up in values as it was before the recession. Most metrics show that the banking sector is still under-contributing to CRE relative to total assets, suggesting that if the debt markets fully engage, it can get much hotter for certain assets, or at least, remain sustainably warm for a longer period of time." | {
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President Woodrow Wilson (right) attends the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 where the League of Nations was born. Also pictured are, from left, Italian Premier Vittorio Orlando, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George and French Premier Georges Clemenceau. This Day In Politics Senate spurns the League of Nations, Nov. 19, 1919
A Republican-controlled Senate on this day in 1919 refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles — a pact that had formally ended World War I while providing for a new world body, designed and championed by Democratic President Woodrow Wilson, to be called the League of Nations.
Earlier that month, Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge (R-Mass.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and the majority leader, had sent the treaty to the Senate floor. Lodge’s draft included 14 “reservations,” that curbed the League’s influence over any future U.S. decision-making. After Wilson asked his supporters to oppose Lodge’s proposed caveats, the Senate divided 55-39, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for ratification.
Another faction, led by Sen. William Borah (R-Neb.), known as the “irreconcilables,” opposed the treaty on any terms. In a two-hour speech, Borah said, that by accepting it, “We [would] have forfeited and surrendered, once and for all, the great policy of ‘no entangling alliances’ upon which the strength of this Republic has been founded for 150 years.”
A second vote on a “clean” version, stripped of reservations, ended in a 53-38 vote, this time with the pro-Lodge Republicans and the “irreconcilables” forming the opposition. Those twin votes marked the first time in Senate annals that the body had ever rejected a peace treaty.
Enmity between Wilson and Lodge played a part in framing the result. Historians have speculated that matters might have turned out differently had Wilson asked Lodge to accompany him to Paris.
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Wilson's poor health further weakened the treaty’s prospects, as did some ethnic groups. Some German-Americans felt Germany had been treated too harshly. Some Italian-Americans felt more territory should have been awarded to Italy. Some Irish-Americans criticized the treaty for failing to address the issue of Irish independence. Moreover, isolationists inside and outside the Senate railed against permanent global involvement by the United States.
The Senate reconsidered the treaty once more, this time with reservations, on March 19, 1920. That vote, 49-35, fell seven votes short of the required two-thirds majority. In 1921, Congress passed the Knox-Porter Resolution, ending the war with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian government. By then, the treaty was widely seen as lifeless. It would remain so.
After Wilson died in 1924, Lodge’s fellow committee members asked him to represent them at his funeral. Learning of the plan, Wilson’s widow, Edith, sent Lodge a note that read: “Realizing that your presence would be embarrassing to you and unwelcome to me, I write to request that you do not attend.”
As the threat of another global conflict mounted, Nazi Germany withdrew from the League, as did Japan, Italy, Spain and others. The League was officially dissolved in April 1946 at a ceremony in Geneva, to be succeeded by the United Nations.
SOURCE: WWW.SENATE.GOV; “BREAKING THE HEART OF THE WORLD: WOODROW WILSON AND THE FIGHT FOR THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS” BY JOHN MILTON COOPER JR. (2001) | {
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Hi everyone,
Content
1. STORY
2. ITEM CONCEPT & STATS
This section was updated on 11/4/2014
! The stats in this image are not updated yet !
T1 Stats
Cost: 810 gold
HP5: +10
PHYSICAL PROTECTION: +10
MAGICAL PROTECTION: +5
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T2 Stats
Cost: 1420 gold
HP5: +15
PHYSICAL PROTECTION: +20
MAGICAL PROTECTION: +10
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T3 Stats (on stack 0)
Cost: 2450 gold
HP5: +30
CDR: +0%
PHYSICAL PROTECTION: +40
MAGICAL PROTECTION: +20
PASSIVE - You permanently gain +.5% CDR per stack, and recieve 5 stacks per god kill or assist and 1 stack per minion kill. (max. 30 stacks). Regenerates 30% of your max. health over the next 10 seconds when below 400 health. Can only occure once every 120 seconds.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
T3 Stats (on max. stack 30)
Cost: 2450 gold
HP5: +30
CDR: +15%
PHYSICAL PROTECTION: +40
MAGICAL PROTECTION: +20
PASSIVE - You permanently gain +.5% CDR per stack, and recieve 5 stacks per god kill or assist and 1 stack per minion kill. (max. 30 stacks). Regenerates 30% of your max. health over the next 10 seconds when below 400 health. Can only occure once every 120 seconds.
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Passive-calculation based on 1500 health:
1500 health * 30% = 450 health – 400 health(trigger) = 50 health over 10 sec = 5 health per sec
Passive-calculation based on 2500 health:
2500 health * 30% = 750 health – 400 health(trigger) = 350 health over 10 sec = 35 health per sec
Passive-calculation based on 3000 health:
3000 health * 30% = 900 health – 400 health(trigger) = 500 health over 10 sec = 50 health per sec
The passive doesn't work below 1350 health.
3. VISUAL IMPLEMENTATION
4. ITEM COMPARISON
5. CRITIC & BALANCING ISSUES
This section was updated on 11/4/2014 | {
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(WOMENSENEWS)–U.S. pro-choice advocates are still worried about the drug "ella," which prevents pregnancy from occurring for five days after unprotected intercourse, rather than three, as the current available pills do.
The drug, which has been available as "ellaOne" in 22 European countries since October 2009, won unanimous backing from a U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, advisory panel on June 17.
This brings it a step closer to U.S. availability, which could come as soon as the fall or winter of 2010.
In studies involving more than 4,500 women, ella prevented pregnancy up to 120 hours after unprotected intercourse. Research published in peer-reviewed journals, including The Lancet and Obstetrics and Gynecology, confirm that it is safe, with mild side effects–headaches, dizziness and nausea–experienced by only 5 to 10 percent of users.
Ella (also called ulipristal acetate), however, is sparking controversy because it is a close chemical relative of mifepristone, the medical abortion pill, known as RU-486, which has been available in the United States since 2000.
RU-486 works for up to nine weeks to prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the womb or to dislodge a growing embryo.
Ella works by preventing ovulation. It’s not an abortafacient–a substance that induces abortion–because it does not affect a fertilized egg or embryo. As a result, it doesn’t terminate pregnancy as pregnancy is defined by the Washington-based American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Chicago-based American Medical Association and other health organizations.
Before the June 17 FDA ruling, 20 pro-choice groups–including Catholics for Choice, NARAL Pro-Choice America and the National Women’s Law Center, all based in Washington–wrote a letter to the FDA in support of ella.
A Second Letter
Now, these organizations are preparing a second letter to the FDA that will once again stress women’s need for a safe, long-lasting emergency contraceptive that prevents unwanted pregnancy.
"We need to get the word out and let people know what ella is, and what it isn’t," said Kirsten Moore, president of Washington’s Reproductive Health Technologies Project. Moore testified in support of ella at the June hearing.
On any given day, a million American women who do not want to become pregnant have unprotected sex and more than 25,000 women become pregnant every year after being sexually assaulted, report researchers from Princeton University in Princeton, N.J. As a result, notes the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of the pregnancies that occur in the United States every year are unintended.
Since 1999, women in the United States have had access to another form of emergency contraception: Plan B. Also called the "morning-after pill," the drug is made by the Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.
While Plan B works for three days after unprotected intercourse, ella is effective for five. Those additional two days are significant because sperm can live in the female reproductive tract for up to five days, which means ella can prevent fertilization during the entire time that sperm are viable. The extra days are also significant because women who live in rural areas or who have other barriers to contraceptive access may not be able to obtain Plan B within its three-day window.
If approved, ella will be sold in the United States by Watson Pharmaceuticals, based in Corona, Calif.
While Plan B is available in the United States to women over age 17 without a prescription, ella would require a prescription for all women who take it. Though Plan B runs around $50, ella will likely cost $100 to $150.
"Plan B has a generic alternative, but ella does not," said Alina Salganicoff, vice president and director of women’s health policy for the Menlo Park, Calif.-based Kaiser Family Foundation. "If you have prescription drug coverage, your policy will likely absorb the cost, but if you don’t, you’ll have to pay out of pocket."
Anti-Choice Advocates Speak Up
At the FDA hearing on ella, two of the 13 people who spoke to the committee were anti-choice advocates.
One of them was Wendy Wright, president of the Washington-based conservative group Concerned Women for America. She told the committee that ella "interferes with the lining of the uterus" and that the FDA should not "unleash" it on "unsuspecting women."
Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, chair of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ Washington-based Committee on Pro-Life Activities, wrote the FDA and charged that ella could be slipped to women "by unscrupulous men with the intent of causing an early abortion without a woman’s knowledge or consent."
Similar objections are echoed on the Web sites of anti-choice groups including the Washington-based LifeNews.com, Students for Life of America of Arlington, Va., and the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League.
Ella’s next step is for the same FDA administrators who oversaw the June 17 hearing to review the drug’s application and respond to its maker’s request for approval. Pro-choice advocates worry that the political opposition could lead to delays in this process, which typically takes at least several months.
Pro-Choice Activists’ Concerns
When Plan B was under fire from anti-choice activists during the Bush administration, the FDA took more than three years to approve the drug.
"Under President Obama, the agency has taken steps to bring its handling of emergency contraception in line with the science," said Amy Allina, program director of the Washington-based National Women’s Health Network. "But there is still an age restriction on over-the-counter distribution of Plan B despite medical community consensus that this is inappropriate and serves only to block timely access for young women. With that mixed record, we think it’s an open question whether the agency will bring similar political concerns to its decision on this new emergency contraceptive."
Activists also worry about access to ella. Before Plan B finally became available as an over-the-counter drug in 1999, several anti-choice doctors and pharmacists refused to write or fill prescriptions for the drug when women asked them for it.
During the June 17 hearing, the FDA committee upset some pro-choice activists by asking whether there should be any restrictions placed on ella’s sale–such as a recommendation that women take pregnancy tests before using the new drug.
"This requirement isn’t made of other emergency contraceptives and we think it’s unnecessary and potentially confusing," said Allina. "Pro-choice advocates breathed a sigh of relief during the hearing when the committee moved past that concern."
Molly M. Ginty (http://mollymaureenginty.wordpress.com) is a freelance writer based in New York City.
For more information:
Background on Ulipristal Acetate, Planned Parenthood:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/fact-ella-EC.pdf
"A New Option for Emergency Contraception: the Facts on Ulipristal Acetate," Reproductive Health Technologies Project:
http://www.rhtp.org/documents/EllaECFactSheet-UPDATEDRAFT6.7.10.pdf | {
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Today’s tournament report is a guest post brought to us by Julian Knab.
Dear fellow Agenda-seekers,
Last weekend, Munich saw it’s very first Netrunner tournament take place in the Funtainment LGS. I’ve been playing competitive Magic for almost 10 years now and have travelled to various big events all over Europe, yet I felt more excited about this local Netrunner tournament than for anything I’ve attended over the last couple years. This is what I brought to the tournament:
Runner: Criminals – Gabriel Santiago
3 Account Siphon
3 Emergency Shutdown
3 Desperado
3 Armitage Codebusting
3 Sure Gamble
3 Corroder (**; **; **)
3 R&D Interface (**; **; **)
3 Compromised Employee
3 Sneakdoor Beta
3 Plascrete Carapace
3 Special Order
3 Inside Job
2 Forged Activation orders
2 Femme Fatale
2 Crypsis
1 Ninja
1 Yog.0 (*)
1 ZU.13 Key Master (**)
———
45 cards, (15/15 influence used)
Corporation: Hass-Bioroid – Engineering the Future
3 Accelerated Beta Tests
3 Project Vitruvius
3 Executive Retreat
3 Ice Wall (*; *; *)
3 Wall of Static
3 Enigma
3 Caduceus (**; **; **)
3 Rototurret
3 Ichi 1.0
2 Chimera
3 Adonis Campaign
3 Eve Campaign
3 Melange Mining Corp.
3 Hedge Fund
3 Green Level Clearance
3 Biotic Labor
2 SanSan City Grid (***; ***)
———
49 cards, (15/15 influence used, 21 Agenda Points)
My Criminals build follows the current trend of just ignoring tags and instead just playing 3 copies of Plascrete Carapace. Other than that it’s your usual resource-denial, hyper aggressive standard Gabriel deck, looking to dominate your opponent economically. In order to do so, you have to do a lot of early game running before installing programs. This lets you easily facecheck ICE without the fear of Rototurret, thus setting back the Corp and allowing you to build up your rig while always threatening to Inside Job into any agenda they dare to install in a (most often) lightly protected remote server. R&D Interface over Maker’s Eye is a change I made just recently and consider standard by now.
Also note the three copies of Corroder. Against Criminals, Corps need to block HQ asap with some cheap yet actual End-the-run ICE. Right now, Ice Wall and Wall of Static are among the most widely played ICE in that category so opening a hand with Corroder already nullifies what would otherwise be a very efficient stop to your HQ runs. Just make sure you’re not blindly running with Corroder assuming to face a barrier…only to have the Corp rezz Rototurret and rain on your parade.
Lately, lots of people have been asking me about Crypsis. While he’s not very efficient, he’s still a strong answer to HB Rush, especially Chimera and Rototurret and definitely deserves its spot in Gabriel. Sure, you’ll later have better and more dedicated breakers but chances are, you will be able to catch the Corp off guard early on, and just run right through their suddenly not-so-safe-anymore server of 2 different pieces of ICE after starting your turn with zero Icebreakers in play.
For my Corp deck, I chose HB Rush over HB Fast Advance. There difference in builds is the overreliance of the later on Biotic Labor, often incorporating 3 copies of Archived Memories to basically score all your agendas out of hand. HB Rush however plans on scoring its first 1-2 agendas “naturally”, i.e. by exposing it to the runner for a turn, protected be cheap End-the-Run ICE and only later switches into Fast-Advance-Mode with 3 Biotic Labor but 0 Archived Memories.
Because of this strategic difference, both decks play different selections of ICE. I’ve seen several HB Fast Advance decks eschew Chimera, Enigma and sometimes even Wall of Static. The reasoning is that Enigma becomes pretty much useless really fast in the current metagame where everyone and his mother is playing Yog.0. Chimera on the other hand is awful on central servers — which is all HB Fast Advance really wants to protect in the first place! HB Rush however is well equipped to make use of the usually short window of opportunity during the early game when your opponent just can’t get past this annoying Chimera/Enigma/Whathaveyou and sees you scoring a 3/2 agenda as early as the second turn.
Besides ICE selection, another major difference between HB Rush and HB Fast Advance is their agenda suite. Because Biotic Labor works best with cheap agendas, HB Fast Advance prefers to run 3 Private Security Force and 2 False Lead whereas HB Rush usually relies on scoring the more expensive Executive Retreat in the early game by installing it behind 2 pieces of EtR-ICE (making it Inside Job proof).
Round 1: Simon with Andromeda and HB – EtF
He wins the die roll and chooses to run first, which I’m pretty comfortable with. In Netrunner, the pace of the game is much more up to the runner’s choice. For the Corp, especially HB Rush, slowrolling is going to kill you in the long run as most of your ICE will at best be just a nuisance in the endgame. The runner however gets to make choices throughout the entire game. Do you run hard? Do you prepare and give the Corp a window of opportunity? Will you trash their PAD Campaigns right away or are you planning on closing out the game in the near future? Do you call their potential early bluff because you just have to or can you actually let this one slide?
What’s most important to making all these choices is information. Because of the current scoring system, the result of the first game has a significant impact on the way you will play the 2nd one and since the runner gets to make more choices based on this information, he/she will be able to draw more profitable conclusion than the Corp during the 2nd game.
So whenever you are running first, all you got to work with is awareness of the current game state. Although this is still by far the most important resource to your game, choosing to Corp first will give you even more information at no extra price when later assuming the runner’s role.
1st game (10-2 against Andromeda)
I ICE both central servers and drop an Eve Campaign on my first turn. Fielding Andromeda, Simon doesn’t do a whole lot and just plays Sure Gamble, Desperado and Compromised Employee which is soon to be followed by second copy. Classic Andromeda who (compared to Gabe) usually trades aggressiveness on the 1st and 2nd turn for a stronger punch on the 3rd and 4th turn. On his second turn he runs into my Enigma on R&D, then Special Orders for Yog.0, which lets him steal an Accelerated Beta Test from my deck a turn later. Little did I know this would be one of only two agendas stolen from me throughout the entire tournament.
As Simon starts to run low on money and with no Fractor in sight, I am able to score Executive Retreat behind an unrezzed Ice Wall and an unrezzed Rototurret, playing around the threat of Inside Job. Still short of Corroder, Simon installs a Medium and a Datasucker but finds nothing of note in R&D and passes the turn. A timely Wall of Static quickly puts an end to his Anarch shenanigans.
At this point I am running a little low on money and couldn’t play my two Hedge Funds I drew off Executive Retreat for 2-3 turns. But with the threat of R&D runs temporarily stifled, I use two turns to ramp up to 5 credits, eventually allowing me to make cash in on my two Transaction operations. Meanwhile, instead of digging for Corroder, Simon had been putting 4-action-per-turn-pressure on HQ for several turns. Since my hand is 2x Hedge Fund, 1x Biotic Labor and 1x Enigma I’m completely fine with his actions. When he tries for a blind Account Sipphon, I am able to just rezz an Ice Wall (replacing my 1st turn Enigma on HQ); in his defense, I was down to 2 credits and could have very likely not been able to actually rezz the lonely ICE in front of HQ.
Simon tries to recover by throwing out Katie Jones and charging her. When he gets greedy and tries for a threesome with another copy of (the unique) Katie Jones, his economy hits rock bottom. “Fair enough”, he realizes his mistake and passes the turn after taking a credit. The game continues with me only drawing usless ICE while Simon eventually sets up a Corroder via Special Order after spending several turns just taking credits. Having two Biotic Labor in hand, I’m just waiting to draw into more ABTs or Project Vitruvius. Instead I draw a Executive Retreat some turns later. Because Simon is already back to pressuring my HQ real hard and could easily get through any of my remote servers…I show him an Enigma in hand, moan about its uselessness, then proceed to draw a 6th card on my last action and discard Executive Retreat.
At this point, Simon keeps pressuring my HQ which I think was a strategical mistake. He had already seen Biotic Labor which meant that any 2 point agenda would be immediately scored, greatly reducing the chance of me actually holding an agenda in hand anyway. Instead I think he should have kept pressuring R&D despite the increased costs of runs there. He however lacked a Killer other than Faerie and thus couldn’t really get through the Rototurret in front of R&D.
But once HB Rush switches into Fast Advance mode, you have to pressure R&D as frequently as possible. Running HQ every once in a while is fine but pretty low EV once you’ve seen a Biotic Labor there. So I believe the correct move for him would have been to keep drawing cards until he gets his Ninja/Femme online. Instead he keeps pressuring HQ 4 times/turn and (luckily) ignores Archives, allowing me to eventually draw into ABT and Project Vitruvius, scoring them directly out of hand and winning 10-2.
2nd game (10-0 against HB:EtF)
Simon starts with ICE in front of HQ and R&D and opens a remote server. First thing i play Compromised Employee and Desperado, then run R&D. Simon rezzes Pop-Up-Window but thanks to the credit I get from CE, I have exactly 1 credit to get through (finding nothing). On my last action I run HQ and see him rezzing Eli. He doesn’t rezz the card in his remote server (despite having 4 credits) making me think it’s either an Eve Campaign or a next-level-mind-trick 2-point agenda. Turns out it was an Adonis Campaign and he just forgot the rezz it. On his turn he takes two credits and installs an ICE in front of the remote which now makes me 100% certain that it’s neither a 2- nor a 3-point agenda. This leaves his R&D wide open on my 2nd turn:
1st action, run R&D, pay for Popup Window — steal Accelerated Beta Tests
2nd action, run R&D, pay for Popup Window — steal Project Vitruvius
3rd action, run R&D, pay for Popup Window — steal Accelerated Beta Tests
4th action, run R&D, pay for Popup Window — see Hedge Funds.
Simon draws for the turn then concedes. Only after the game we both realize it would have actually made sense for him to continue playing for the slim chance of still winning at least the 2nd game. He also immediately mentions that playing that Eli 1.0 in front of the remote server instead of R&D was a pretty bad move, especially considering that it ha already become obvious that he wasn’t hiding an agenda there. 10-0.
————–
6-0 in prestige // 20-2 agenda points
Round 2: Achim with Andromeda and Jinteki – Personal Evolution
1st game (10-0 against Andromeda)
Opponent wins the die roll, elects to run first.
I start with ICE on R&D and HQ, then put Adonis Campaign in my remote. Batshit crazy, hu?
Achim does his Andromeda thing, starting with Sure Gamble, Compromised Employee then cashes in a Bank Job on my Adonis Campaign. Fearing Inside Job (especially out of a 9 card Andromeda), I open a 2nd remote Melange Mining Corp hiding behind an Ice Wall. My opponent takes the bait, Inside Jobs and trashes the MMC. After playing Mimic and forcing me to rezz ICE Wall in front of. (I believe) he passes. On my turn I still refuse to put an agenda into a remote server protected by only 1 ICE and drop Ichi 1.0 in front of R&D. I couldn’t (and generally don’t really want to) put Ichi in front of the remote just to make it Inside-Job proof. For HB Rush, Ichi 1.0 is most useful in front of central servers as you really only want End-the-run ICE in front of your remotes to protect your critical early agenda which you plan on scoring naturally.
Achim then plays another Compromised Employee, some card I don’t remember, then runs R&D. Ichi trashes Mimic, I lose the trace then have him stopped by Enigma. On my turn I only durdle around with some Adonis/Eve Campaigns and a Green Level Clearance . Achim Inside Jobs into HQ (?) put fails the 1:3 chance of hitting my agenda. Inside Jobs on central servers against HB Rush always appears to be a pretty weak use of the card although I admit that it’s “ok” after the Corp played Green Level Clearance on the last action.
Having seen two Inside Jobs I decide it’s about time to make my move and install Executive Retreat behind the Wall Static and advance it twice. Simon runs it, gets stopped, then Special Orders for Yog.0 after taking a credit. I think getting Yog instead of Corroder is a fine move here. First, he was just short of money to Special Order and install Corroder, potentially stealing my agenda on the last action. So since he had enough reason to assume I was gonna score a 3 point agenda next turn, he was forced into shifting focus onto runs on (Enigma-protected) R&D for the rest of the game. Also, he should be more likely to naturally draw into a Corroder than his (presumably) lonely Yog.0, assuming he’s following the trend of including 3 copies of the best Fractor in every Criminal deck.
After I score Executive Retreat and drawing 2 Biotic Labor off of it, Achim can’t maintain pressure on R&D as I keep throwing all my new-drawn ICE in front of it, funded by Eve and Adonis Campaigns. Over the next 4-5 turns I draw into more ICE and two agendas, closing the game out 10-0.
2nd game (2-10 against Jinteki: Personal Evolution)
Knowing that only scoring a single agenda would immediately win me the match was a huge advantage during this game. Although it seems desirable to win 6-0, a 4-2 would be fine with considering this being only a 3 round tournament with cut to Top2 Playoffs. In my opinion, Jinteki is by far the weakest Corp when played against correctly but is also able to punish misplays just as severely as Weyland Tag ‘n Bag, so I didn’t really want to get flatlined even if it that means missing out on an agenda here and there.
Having won the first game 7-0 also meant that Jinteki’s Personal Evolution ID would be much less useful during this game.
Achim ICEes HQ, RD and opens a remote. Instead of just facechecking his ICE which most likely (and actually) was a Neural Katana, I play super passively, only trashing a PAD Campaign and drawing cards trying to find a Sneakdoor Beta or a Killer. Guys, I’m really way too afraid of Neural Katana in this game. Achim on the other hand also doesn’t do a whole lot, not advancing anything, just playing assets and upgrades and the occasional PAD Campaign. When he’s down to 2 credits, I drop R&D Interface, then run on his deck with 3 cards in hand and click through Eli 1.0. My reasoning was that this was the perfect time (even though it being basically my last action) as he couldn’t pay for a potentially devastating Snare. Hitting an agenda would ensure a 4-2 win and put me down to 2 cards in hand. Because he only had 2 credits, he wouldn’t even be able to Neural EMP me out. Worst thing would be hitting a Fetal AI which would reduce me to zero cards and kill me in case he had a Neural EMP.
I run, hit Fetal AI, then die to the Neural EMP he actually had. Fair enough. 2-10.
————–
10-2 in prestige // 32-12 agenda points
Round 3: Philipp with Kate and NBN: Making News
1st game (10-0 against Kate)
I win the die roll and choose to Corp first.
Philipp has only been playing for two weeks and already switches into “Please don’t destroy me mode” before the game even starts. He’s playing a Kate deck with very little Icebreakers. He also seems a little reluctant to put pressure on me by facechecking my ICE, allowing me to out-economy him big time. Several Adonis and Eve Campaign ramp me up to over 30 credits while Simon keeps durdling around Shaper-style, casting Diesel, Quality time and installing Rabbit Holes.
Since he can’t find a Gordian Blade for the love of his life, I easily score two agendas behind Enigma and a Ice Wall, then fast advance two additional agendas after actually doing a bit of digging with actions and Green Level Clearance, something I usually shy away from; I hardly ever draw as the Corp.
We end the game with him never having installed an icebreaker (but having discarded Crypsis?).
10-0
2nd game (10-0 against NBN-Making News)
This game was over quickly. Philipp declines to mulligan a hand with zero Ice. He slams Sure Gamble then opens two remote servers. Yeah, I was as confused as you are.
I drop R&D Interace, run and see Scorched Earth + Data Raven. I then run HQ, find nothing and end my turn running one of his remote servers, trashing a Melange Mining Corp. On his turn he draws a card, then advances the card in his remote server twice. What kind of sorcery is this? Either this guy has balls of steel or he’s just a complete madman.
Turns out he’s playing Project Junebug and I run right into it. After discarding my entire hand I draw up to 3 cards and pass the turn. Since he’s running low on money, I’m at no real threat of getting SEA Sourced + Scorched Earth out of the time. On his turn he’s playing Data Raven on a remote, puts something in it and takes a credit. I untap, and run:
1st action, run R&D — steal Project Beale, steal Breaking News
2nd action, run R&D — steal Project Beale, see some other card
3rd action, run R&D — see some other card, steal Astroscript Pilot Program.
I’m sorry for Philipp but on the other hand, you can’t really leave HQ and R&D unprotected against Criminals for three turns. He later told me he didn’t want to mulligan his first hand because of the fear of drawing an even worse one. To be honest, I’m also pretty reluctant to mulligan as the Corp but having no ICE is just one of the worst possible hands, even if it doesn’t contain any agendas; you just have to mulligan that, especially against Criminals.
I think at some point I also Account Siphoned him and cleared the tags off me. I asked him whether he wanted to react to the AS but he declined despite having an unrezzed PAD Campaign. Generally speaking having rezzable assets/upgrades in your remotes or a Bernice Mai on HQ helps a lot in reducing the impact of AS. Losing all your money on a trace is pretty bad but at least you disarmed your opponent’s Account Siphon. This decision however of course depends on a lot more factors, first and foremost to what extent credits are the actual bottleneck factor the current game state is revolving around.
10-0.
————–
16-2 in prestige // 52-12 agenda points
The Final — Achim with Andromeda and Jinteki: Personal Evolution
1st game (10-3 against Andromeda)
Achim edges out two other opponents by 2 prestige points and gets to play the final against me. He wins the die roll and to my delight chooses to run first again.
The game plays out pretty much the same way our first game did. He plays double Sure Gamble, Compromised Employee, forces me to rezz Enigma on R&D, then dicards a card. End of turn I rezz my Adonis Campaign but am too afraid of Inside Job to go the usual Rush-Route, so I hold on to my agenda. (Looking back at it now, running out that unprotected Adonis Campaign on the first turn was a pretty questionable move considering I had already seen Bank Job during our Swiss match.)
Achim casts Dyson Mem Chip and Zu.Keymaster and takes some money. I try to bait his Inside Job by installing Eve Campaign in a remote with only a single ICE in front of it. He falls for it (nothing you could really blame him for, tbh), Inside Jobs, then takes some more money and a card. On my turn, I become a little loose and decide not to play around the potential second Inside Job like I did during the Swiss. I install Executive Retreat and advance it two times. On his turn, Achim takes two more credits (going to 3 I believe; likely in order to trash a potential Melange Mining Corp), then Inside Jobs and steals my agenda. This. hurt. so. much. I got greedy and he punished me for it.
Loosing your first agenda is a really big deal with HB Rush. In order to win, in the overwhelming number of games you have to score at least one agenda naturally (meaning without SanSan City Grid or Biotic Labor). Considering that you are playing a lot of cheap yet End-the-run ICE, you’re best equipped to do so in the early game. At the beginning of the match your best strength is not the stopping-power of your ICE but their type. Even though they are rather weak ICE, most opponents will have trouble getting through Enigma, Ice Wall or Rotorurret on the first few turns. That’s why this is one of the few decks you actually want to play Chimera in, which is only week to Crypsis. The popularity of this strategy is also one of the reasons why you should really consider running 3 copies of Corroder in your Criminal deck; being able to break through Ice Wall and Wall of Static ASAP is a huge deal. Also note that while Chimera is strong in HB Rush, it usually has no place in HB Fast Advance.
Since Achim stole my very first agenda, I figure I have to adjust my game plan in order to still win this match. Biotic Labor is nice but will only get you three 2-point agendas over the course of the game. SanSan CityGrad doubles as a sudo-Biotic Labor yet is weak to being trashed before becoming active. Also, the longer the game lasts, the weaker my defence on R&D will become while also not being able to build a safe enough remote for SanSan to survive for a turn.
So here’s what I did: Immediately after Achim took down my Executive Retreat, I install a Project Vitruvius and advance it twice. He’s at only 1 money (2 when he forces me to rezz Wall of Static in the remote protecting my agenda) which means that if he doesn’t have Corroder in hand, he would be 1 credit short of Special Ordering for it, installing and running. Being already pretty far behind, I figured I just had to take these odds and try to go for maximum value of Project Vitruvius. It paid off as Achim only draws a card, then takes 3 credits and passed. I score my agenda with 2 hosted power counters on it, suddenly putting me back into the driver’s seat! Achim then keeps pressuring HQ and R&D (to no success) but stumbles economically and often just resorts to taking 4 credits for the turn with the occasional card draw. In the meanwhile, I fast advance an Accelerated Beta Test, declining to use it. There might be very rare occasions where you actually might want to give it a try but most of the time it’s just a fast-advanceable 3/2 agenda.
At this point, the score is 4-3 in my favour and I’m dominating my opponent economically. When I’m at 13 credits, my hand is: Biotic Labor, Eve Campaign and 2 useless ICE. On my turn I draw Executive Retreat. I do some quick calculations, then just take 3 credits and pass. This move allows me to score my 5/3 agenda right out of hand on my next turn, something I had never done before. I’m pretty much all-in on Achim not running my weakly protected HQ and stealing the agenda. This however was pretty unlikely as I had 5 cards in hand AND he already knew I had Biotic Labor in hand, making me less likely to actually be holding an agenda in the first place. Taking 3 credits could have made him do a double take on the situation though.. Whenever your HB opponent passes with 16 credits, you should realize that you are on the risk of being Triple-Biotic-Labored out. Maybe “should” is too strong of a word but you get my point: at least consider the possibility.
When Achim just spends his turn taking credits, I’m relieved: I get to actually perform my crazy combo turn me in front of a crowd: 3x Biotic Labor (powered by Project Vitruvius), install Executive Retreat, gain a credit from my ID and advance it five times. 10-0, hilarity ensues!
2nd game (10-0 against Jinteki: Personal Evolution)
The last game of the tournament. I feel the only way I can actually lose this is by being flatlined so I play super conservatively, never putting myself in a position where I could be net-damaged out of the game. This however doesn’t mean that I’m not running hard whenever I can. Unlike during our Swiss match, I predict the Neural Katana in front of his HQ but still run into it in order to hurt his economy. Discarding three cards vs. 4 of his credits, +2 credits for me is a trade I will take any day of the week against Jinteki, especially in the early game. I discard some cards I don’t really need, then draw two more cards, luckily hit an Emergency Shutdown and cast it on his Katana. I feel pretty good about my odds at this point.
Achim installs two cards in a remote then takes money. I’m not really sure what’s going on and decide to play it safe, drawing some more cards and getting 2 Armitage Codebusting online. I let him do his thing on his turn, see him rezz a PAD Campaign and put ICE in front of it. On my turn I just draw a card and gain money with Codebusting. He opens another remote and gains money. I run R&D, get stopped by Enigma then proceed to just take money with Codebusting and draw a card, looking for my Sneakdoor Beta (which never shows up). On his turn, he advances the card in his remote twice and puts ICE in front of it. I still don’t what it is. I draw some cards, knowing that I can easily let this potential agenda slide and install R&D Interface and Zu.Keymaster. Usually you want to hide your tricky Hardware and Icbreakers until the turn you are going to use them. However, against Jinteki (and Weyland/NBN Scorched Earth) you actually want to be able to run on your very first action allowing you to draw more cards on the 2nd through 4th action in case you hit something evil.
Achim puts ICE in front of Enigma on R&D then advances the card in his remote to 4. Ronin? Junebug? Setup for a Trick of Light later? Or does he just want me to run into another Neural Katana? I don’t know. Instead of finding out the hard way, I just run R&D. With him at only 2 money, I already anticipated the Chum and just pay 5 to get through all of Enigmas subroutines.
I hit a Braintrust and a Private Security Force and the game is over, ggs! 🙂
We still finish the game just for kicks and I quickly close it out 7-0, stealing another agenda from R&D and Inside Jobbing the final one on another remote he opened.
————–
1st place
22-2 in prestige // 72-5 agenda points
Looking at it now, I feel that HB Rush might be at a point where it wants to start incorporating 2 copies of Aggressive Secretary. Nothing feels better than draining your opponent’s resources on an early run through two pieces of ICE only to see him lose two programs. Because of the current dynamics in all HB Rush matchups, the runner can’t really let you get away with scoring even a single agenda through a remote server. That’s way we start to see a lot of Crypsis and more Icebreaker-heavy builds (e.g. the 3 Corroders in most Criminals decks) and Aggressive Secretary lets us take advantage of this trend. With careful play, you should still more than often be able to score your first agenda naturally. However, scoring the 2nd agenda this way has become increasingly harder because of the reasons I mentioned above. I believe playing an Aggressive Secretary on turn 3 or 4 and advancing it twice puts so much pressure on the Corp, they just have to find a way to access what could very likely be an Executive Retreat. I will surely be giving it a try, very likely cutting a Caduceus and something. Caduceus has been very underwhelming recently. It used to be one of the most efficient pieces of ICE but Link is currently at an all-time high in runner decks as traces and NBN are something to be actually worried about.
Thanks for reading and looking forward to your feedback,
So long,
Julian | {
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有料会員の方のみご利用になれます。保存した記事はスマホやタブレットでもご覧いただけます。
長崎県の雲仙・普賢岳で43人が亡くなった1991年の大火砕流から27年となり、被災した麓の同県島原市では3日、発生時刻の午後4時8分、サイレンを合図に遺族や市民らが黙とうして犠牲者を悼んだ。市内3カ所に設けられた献花台には多くの人が訪れ、鎮魂の祈りをささげた。
当時、消防団の詰め所になっていた同市北上木場町の農業研修所跡地では、遺族が打つ追悼の鐘が響く中、サイレンに合わせて黙とう。団員の夫（当時26）を亡くした佐原次子さん（53）は「前年の5月に結婚したばかりだった。旦那はいつまでも旦那のままで、区切りが来ることはない」と小さな声で話した。
報道陣の撮影ポイントだった「定点」と呼ばれる場所でも、訪れた人が線香を上げ、静かに手を合わせた。
市関係者や地元の中学生ら約100人は午前、同市仁田町の追悼碑前で犠牲者を悼んだ。市内の中学に通う鐘ケ江葵さん（15）は「親戚の消防団員が亡くなったと両親に聞いた。噴火の記憶を忘れず、教わったことを語り継ぎたい」と語った。
古川隆三郎市長は記者団に「溶岩ドームは今も不安定だ。国に監視の継続をお願いし、市民と一体になって防災に取り組みたい」と強調した。
同日夜には、同市平成町の雲仙岳災害記念館前に並べられた約千本のキャンドルに、島原半島の学校に通う小中学生らが次々と灯をともした。幻想的な雰囲気に包まれる中、集まった人々が犠牲者を追悼した。
91年6月に起きた大火砕流は、避難勧告が出た区域にとどまり取材していた報道陣と、同行する形となったタクシー運転手や消防団員らの命を奪った。天皇、皇后両陛下は発生から1カ月が過ぎた同7月、現地を訪れ遺族らを励まされた。
〔共同〕 | {
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Women make 80.5 cents for every dollar a man earns. And it turns out this gender pay gap starts early -- as soon as girls are old enough to take on household chores and first jobs, according to a new study by bank and brokerage firm Charles Schwab.
“The wage gap starts at home, with boys earning twice as much as girls for doing household chores each week,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president at Charles Schwab and daughter of the firm’s founder.
Gregg Murset, CEO and co-founder of the household chore app BusyKid agreed that the wage gap starts quite early. While boys rake in an average weekly allowance of $13.80, girls earn just $6.71, according to his company’s data. Boys are also awarded larger bonuses by their parents.
“I do not think this is a conspiracy against girls, but I think the types of jobs that boys are given by parents at home are more strenuous, like mowing the lawn and washing the car, and as a result, the boys are earning more,” Murset said. The solution? He said parents should encourage girls to also take on the more challenging chores. Murset gave the example of his own daughter, who has taken on trimming the bushes for a higher rate.
Schwab-Pomerantz added that any first job, even if it’s a household chore, should present an opportunity for children to learn about the art of negotiation. “While kids should earn a fair allowance under their parents’ roof, first jobs—whether that be household chores or babysitting—are a great time to teach girls, and boys for that matter, the importance of negotiating their salary,” she said. “These are skills they can learn early on that will be applicable throughout their careers.”
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“I do not think this is a conspiracy against girls, but I think the types of jobs that boys are given by parents at home are more strenuous, like mowing the lawn and washing the car, and as a result, the boys are earning more." Gregg Murset, CEO and co-founder BusyKid
Yasemin Besen-Cassino, author of “The Cost of Being a Girl” and a sociology professor at Montclair State University, believes the pay gap starts around 14 or 15 years old and widens with age. She said one reason is that young girls stay in freelance positions, like babysitting, and boys move into employee-type jobs, like working for a landscaping company.
“In employing babysitters, for example, girls are given less pay than their male counterparts,” said Besen-Cassino. “And it’s more chores and more unpaid hours,” she added.
While this trend often starts at home, it almost always takes a village to help overcome these inequalities. In an experiment that Besen-Cassino designed with parents, she found that when girls asked for a raise, they were less likely than boys to get one.
Katarina Trautmann
“Parents can be aware of their biases when employing young men and women,” she said. “In interviewing them, they are more likely to ask boys how much they expect to make and tell girls how much they make.”
Furthermore, Besen-Cassino discovered that the majority of girls did not know about the going rate for jobs they were applying for. “Transparency about pay and talking about money will go a long way,” she noted.
Besen-Cassino believes that this problem must be resolved early on. “I found that these early experiences in getting low pay have long-term effects, and follows women around for many decades to come,” she said.
Regardless of how much they are earning, girls show more financial grit than boys. Schwab-Pomerantz said the females surveyed in the study are more aware of their day-to-day finances like budgeting and spending, and more girls than boys understand the value of making a financial plan. “Girls are also more willing to take on additional work to make ends meet, which further supports the idea that girls are more driven to reach financial independence,” she said.
Still, while girls (16-25 years old) spend 30% less than boys, they still have far less savings than boys ($1,267 vs. $2,000), a nearly 60 percent difference, according to the Charles Schwab report,“Young Adult Financial Literacy.” Parents should start a dialogue with their young children about the importance of saving for important life milestones, including retirement.
“Life evolves, and our financial needs evolve with it. This is something young girls and boys need to be aware of early on,” Schwab-Pomerantz said. “We all need to make financial education a lifelong pursuit.”
And regardless of the fact that girls generally tend to have good financial intentions, they face unique struggles like earning less and having different conversations about money. “Girls must be aware and proactive to overcome these circumstances. Furthermore, most young adults say their parents are their most trusted source for financial advice, so parents should be having the same money conversations with their sons and daughters,” said Schwab-Pomerantz. | {
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The Lithuanian army has moved to NATO standards and is no longer using the AKs.
Lithuania plans to give Ukraine weapons worth 1.93 mn euro, Delphi wrote Monday, 27 November, with reference to a resolution of the Lithuanian government.
Most of the over 7,000 weapons are Kalashnikov assault rifles, that Lithuania is no longer using, and almost 2 mn rounds of ammunition.. Also, Ukrainians will be given more than 80 machine guns, mortars, anti-tank guns and other weapons.
Back in 2014, soon after the beginning of the armed aggression of Russia against Ukraine Lithuania gave Ukraine 150 tons of military cargo, which mainly consisted of 5.45 mm cartridges for Kalashnikov assault rifles.
The army of Lithuania has not been using the AK-47 since the transition to NATO standards | {
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Ivar: Bio
The Viking Raiders, Ivar & Erik, have one objective in mind: World domination.
For years, The Viking Raiders used brute force to capture tag team titles wherever they went, from the U.K. to Japan. Looking to devour new competition, Ivar & Erik turned their attention to the NXT Tag Team scene in early 2018. Their impact was felt immediately, as The Viking Raiders arrived by surprise to unleash a barrage on two of the black-and-yellow brand’s top tandems, Heavy Machinery and Riddick Moss & Tino Sabbatelli, less than one week after NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
Ivar & Erik, whose gruff exteriors would look right at home beyond the wall in “Game of Thrones,” have made smash-mouth collisions their stock in trade. Yet, Ivar, a protégé of WWE Hall of Famer Killer Kowalski, is also deceptively agile for a man of his size. Every bit as athletic as he is ferocious, the 300-pounder has been known to come crashing down on opponents from the top rope.
After going undefeated for several months on Raw, Erik & Ivar captured the Raw Tag Team Titles in a thorough thrashing of Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode.
On their quest to prove they were the most dominant force on Raw, The Viking Raiders found themselves in an "anything you can do, I can do better" series of competitions against The Street Profits after WrestleMania 36, revealing a different side and set of skills for the "kinda cute" Ivar and his teammate Erik.
All other tag teams better beware.
Continue Reading | {
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This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
WOODRUFF, S.C. — A South Carolina woman who went missing with her boyfriend in late August has been found alive, according Spartanburg Sheriff Chuck Wright.
Wright said that deputies found 30-year-old Kala Brown “chained like a dog” inside a large metal container after they heard her banging on the walls, according to WYFF. Authorities believe she had been kept in the container for the last two months.
Brown said she had been chained by the neck inside the container, and said she was given food regularly.
Brown went missing with her boyfriend, 32-year-old Charlie Carver, also of Anderson County. Investigators are still looking for Carver.
Police arrested 45-year-old Todd Kohlhepp, the registered owner of the Wofford Road property where Brown was found, and took him to a nearby detention center.
Kohlhepp, a registered sex offender, was convicted of a kidnapping in Arizona when he was 16 years old, according to South Carolina officials.
Charges are pending.
Brown is being evaluated at an area medical facility, according to Wright.
Spartanburg Co. deputies searching for Charlie Carver after finding Kala Brown in container. Todd Kohlhepp (pic below) arrested. @WLOS_13 pic.twitter.com/fcoIUP89kE — Darren Botelho (@DarrenBotelho) November 3, 2016 | {
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Tonight the Fallout 76 beta was supposed to unlock for a few hours so players on Xbox One, PS4 and PC could test it out. Unfortunately for players on PC, for some reason many people saw the 50GB beta installation suddenly begin to redownload instead of unlocking -- a serious problem since it was only scheduled for access between 7 PM and 11 PM ET. Bethesda's support accounts haven't mentioned anything about extending the test period, so hopefully none of you were impacted -- otherwise you'll have to wait until November 1st between 2 and 7 PM ET for another shot.
Still, it could be worse -- this could have made it into a wide release, or just broken the game's AI for years until someone noticed.
Update: Bethesda just announced that as a result of this bug, it's extending the November 1st test session to run until 11 PM ET. | {
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調査結果によると、「フェイクニュース」という言葉を知っているのは、全体の84.6%。
熊本地震で拡散した「動物園からライオンが逃げ出した」というデマに触れながら、「あなたはフェイクニュースを見たことがありますか？」と聞いた設問には、43%が「見たことがある」と回答。
騙されたことがあると回答したのは26.3%にのぼった。また、騙された人のうち、RTや「いいね」をして拡散してしまったことがある人は27％、友人や家族に話してしまったことがある人は34％だった。 | {
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Article content
Canada blatantly Photoshopped U.S. photos in order to slap a non-existent Canadian logo on the International Space Station, a blog post by the Economist revealed Friday.
The photo in question depicts U.S. astronaut Stephen K. Robinson perched on the end of the Canadarm2 during a 2005 spacewalk on the International Space Station.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Government blatantly Photoshopped U.S. images of the iconic Canadarm to include 'Canada' logo Back to video
In official Canadian versions of the photo, however, the Government of Canada logo has been awkwardly overlaid on a portion of the Canadarm that, in reality, is blank.
Close inspection reveals the logo to have obviously been inserted digitally: The photo’s editor, whoever they are, merely superimposed the logo without paying much heed to shading, perspective or to aligning the logo with the uneven fabric surface of the Canadarm.
Any skilled graphic designer could deliver a more seamless result in about five minutes, as per National Post estimates.
Nevertheless, the altered photograph crops up in a variety of Government of Canada materials, including a Canadian Space Agency Tumblr page, an introductory website for new Canadian immigrants and even a January Tweet by Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. | {
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First World Problems
i need to poop
but i've read the front page of reddit already | {
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folykl & kuprum
• K: Knows exactly what happens to the best psychics and is, sincerely, THRILLED• F: Hugely draining to be around• K: Strident online crusader for the empire• F: GreasySurname: Darane & MaxlolSign: Gemittarius Friendsim: Volume 6 | {
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Facebook Killer DEAD After Manhunt: His Last Words Revealed Steve Stephens makes shocking request before shooting himself in the head.
Facebook killer Steve Stephens is dead after a national manhunt, and RadarOnline.com has learned that he had a shocking request in his final moments alive: McNuggets.
Stephens was on the run from cops in Pennsylvania after his brutal crime was broadcast live on Facebook two days ago. This morning, he stopped at the drive-thru at a McDonald’s outside of Philadelphia.
As he waited in the line to pay for his order, sitting in a Ford Fusion, employees of the fast-food chain recognized him and called the police.
The manager tried to hold up the fugitive, telling him that his French fries weren’t ready yet, which enraged Stephens.
“I can’t wait!” he reportedly yelled at the McDonald’s employee. “I need my McNuggets!”
Stephens sped away but state troopers found him about three miles from the restaurant.
Instead of surrendering to the police, Stephens shot himself in the head.
Cops had been on the hunt for Stephens ever since he shot Robert Godwin Sr., 74, on Facebook Live.
Godwin was making his way home from celebrating Easter in Cleveland, Ohio, as Stephens said, “Here’s somebody I’m about to kill. I’m about to kill this guy right here. An old dude.”
Stay with Radar for updates to the story.
We pay for juicy info! Do you have a story for RadarOnline.com? Email us at [email protected], or call us at 800-344-9598 any time, day or night. | {
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Today we learned the Dallas police used a bomb disposal robot to deliver and detonate an explosion, killing the suspect in last night's shooting. It was surprising, and shocking, and left me with a lot of questions. But, really, there's only one question: is this ethical?
So I spoke to an expert. Ryan Calo is a law professor at the University of Washington, who focuses on robotics law and policy. For years he's been pushing for better and clearer policy around robotics, and exploring the ethical and legal realities of robots among us.
The interview was lightly edited for clarity, but I kept the entire length of our conversation intact because basically it’s a free college lecture on the ethics of this exact situation. It can’t answer every doubt and concern, but I think Calo did a great job of framing where exactly the Dallas scenario fits in the larger conversation of robot ethics.
Paul Miller: What were your first thoughts when you heard this news?
Ryan Calo: I wasn’t surprised. I can’t even tell you how many of the major national events there are that we read about, especially calamities — whether it's oil spills and leaks, or a mine collapsing, or a hostage situation — in which robots factor. They’re increasingly used to solve or address emergency situations just like this one. I was surprised by the this particular use of a robot, to deliver a lethal payload. But I was hardly surprised that robots would be involved. It’s just rare that you would see a large national issue that doesn’t involve them in some way.
I’m seeing some reports that this was done in Iraq using MARCbot, where soldiers would send a robot in with an explosive. Have you heard of that anecdote?
I think that in the military field you see soldiers using the robots in all kinds of ways. Those robots, like MARC and the Packbot and TALON, they’re really multipurpose platforms, and you can imagine them being used in all kinds of ways. I’d be surprised if the police themselves domestically hadn’t done some version of this in the past. I’m not aware of any previous use, but I bet you that we’ll dig some up. And, so, yeah I’m aware of various uses of robots by military.
Usually, of course, what they are used to do is for reconnaissance, to diffuse bombs, to see whether there are bombs, used for protection and situational awareness. But because they are a open platform, because they are a versatile platform, and because the situations that happen in the theater of war are so varied, it doesn’t surprise me that soldiers used robots in this way.
You said that we should "distinguish between the use of a robot to kill and so-called killer robots." Could you explain what you mean by that?
There is at the moment an international movement to limit the abilities of people and nations to create systems that make their own decision about whether or not to kill. These are for lack of a better word autonomous weapons. And there’s a whole conversation about whether a human being always needs to be in the loop. And whether or not it's okay to live in a society in which a decision to kill is made by a robot.
There’s also another conversation of course going on around the adequacy of the process by which we determine who to put on a kill list and then use drones to kill them. And there is some thought in general that we don’t know enough, that we don’t have enough transparency around the drone killing program.
And then third, that if we had an all-robot army, even if it were remotely operated by soldiers, is that too little an impediment to war? Would we engage in greater violence because we would ourselves not be at risk?
So those are sort of the three major debates going on globally. What I’m trying to say is that this particular incident does not implicate any of those. I mean, here the officers were justified in using lethal force. So, any court that looked at this, barring something bizarre, would probably be pretty agnostic as to the means by which they delivered violence.
Here the officers were justified in using lethal force
For example, imagine a situation where an officer confronted a suspect. The suspect was going to use lethal force and the officer’s gun jammed. And instead of shooting the suspect, they stabbed them with a knife, or they hit them repeatedly with a gun. We would find that shocking, because it’s not the usual way of delivering lethal force. But, it would be justified. And in this situation they had tried other options. It’s wasn’t like they weren’t putting people at risk. Police officers were risking themselves all over the city, trying to protect citizens. But they were risking themselves. It’s a situation where they had exchanged fire, they couldn’t get this guy out of there, they’re worried about what he was going to do, and they got creative in using a tool, an instrument, in order to deliver justified, lethal force.
Maybe there should be policies in place for how robots are used, maybe we can be considered about the overuse of robots in policing, but this debate is not connected to the greater debate about the military use of robots, in my view.
Almost all of these robots are directly remote controlled. Would it be a different conversation if this was somehow autonomous?
Yes, it’d be quite a different conversation. And as a matter of fact, it would be a different conversation if this were a routine use of even non-lethal force. Imagine a situation in which officers don’t feel like approaching a homeless person who’s yelling in a subway station, and instead they fly a drone over to him and they taze him. I would have very specific issues with that, having to do with the fact that it’s the opposite of community policing.
There’s a great danger that you’ll over use non-lethal force delivered by a robot because you don’t have situational awareness. It’s too convenient. You mistakenly believe that non-lethal force is not dangerous. I would find that problematic in a way that I don’t find this problematic. This is a situation in which they are authorized to use lethal force, they are in the process of using lethal force, and they’re trying to find a way to stop the situation and detract the risk for themselves and the public without hurting other civilians, without compromising the building itself. You know what I mean? So they came up with a creative use of the robot.
It would be a different conversation if this were a routine use of even non-lethal force
In another domain, occasionally people will do things with robots that usually people do, and then courts have to decide what the legal effects are. I wrote about a bunch of robot cases last year. One of the cases involved was the use of an unmanned submarine to "discover" a shipwreck. Usually, in order for you to get salvage rights in maritime law, you had to physically go down to the shipwreck and pull some of it up. But in this case, the salvage company had only reached it through a tele-operated robot. So the court had to decide: does that count as exclusive possession for the purpose of maritime law? And they created a new doctrine called tele-possession. So basically what happened is the law thinks about what applies to people, and whether the use of telepresence counts.
And in this situation [referring to Dallas incident] I think that they'd do quite the same thing. Could an officer walk in there and shoot that person? Yes, of course. Could a robot be sent in to shoot the person or blow them up? Yes. And so that’s not an answer to the question of whether or not there should be careful policies in place around robotics both in the air and on the ground. There should be. But I think it pretty clearly to me answers both the moral and the legal question in this particular instance.
That’s a pretty clear example for me: it would be morally permissible for a police officer to go in and shoot this guy who is a threat to them, as it seems in this case, and so therefore using a robot in this case is acceptable. Is that a legal doctrine that exists, or is that something that is still forming?
No, the truth is that we define the lethal use of force and its justification by reference to the possibility or probability of death. So the use of lethal force is justified only where there is a threat to the officer or to civilians of grievous bodily harm or death. We don’t specify the means... The only way it would have different ramifications in law, would be if there were no danger to the officer, because they were using a robot. You see what I mean?
Now they have these sort of patrol robots that are put on people's properties, or companies’ properties. If one of those were armed with lethal or nonlethal force, then we have a different conversation, because there is no threat to bodily harm to a person in that instance. In this instance, this person is actively shooting at officers outside of where he is. It’s obviously a threat. If they can throw a grenade in there, or send an officer in there to shoot somebody, or if they can just send a grenade around the corner, they can send a robot in there. And the reason to do that, the reason to send the robot in there, is actually to get some situational awareness, because of course the robot has cameras and stuff, and also to deliver the device with a greater precision.
The means is not really important unless the means removes the danger to the officer, or if it were excessively cruel
Who knows, imagine if you throw a grenade in there and compromise the integrity of the building, or you throw a grenade in there and you didn’t realize there were other people in there, but you had no idea. In this instance you can send in the robot, look at the room, and you can detonate it as close the individual as possible. The means is not really important unless the means removes the danger to the officer, or if it were excessively cruel. The law would not permit you to beat someone to death, or torture them. Just because you can kill someone doesn’t mean you torture them. But this is not that either. This is the delivery of a lethal payload.
Some people have noted the possible security ramifications of having a lethal payload on a (presumably) wirelessly controlled robot that could be easily hacked.
I don’t know what model they used. But I do know that security in robotics is critical; it should be one of the first things that robot manufacturers think of. I’m reminded of evidence that our enemies had footage of our drones when we were sending video feed in the clear. I’m reminded of the fact that Iran downed one of our spy drones by spoofing the GPS. Motivated people can hack into these systems. I think the danger in this situation is really low because nobody knew that the robot was being used, but you can imagine some very sophisticated criminals in the future having a cyber response to the use of robots. I think that’s pretty far down the line, and you'd have to anticipate that a particular robot was going to be used. Here there was really no danger because obviously the person had no idea: no one else did. We’re all learning about it after the fact. | {
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"My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose - somehow we win out. " -Ronald Reagan | {
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Die Wünsche der User fanden Gehör: In einer Serie aus Tweets hat Twitter verkündet, dass die chronologische Timeline zurückkehrt. Diese kann als Option anstatt der derzeit üblichen Timeline gewählt werden, welche auf einem Algorithmus basiert. | {
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California has become the first state in the USA to give veterinarians legal protection to answer questions and advise on using medical cannabis for pets. Governor Jerry Brown signed into law September 28 a bill by Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) to allow vets to discuss the use of medicinal cannabis for their animal patients in their licensed practice.
Assembly Bill also requires the California Veterinary Medical Board to adopt guidelines that veterinarians may use to follow in discussing medicinal cannabis on an animal within the veterinarian-client-patient relationship.
Public interest in using cannabis for veterinary use of cannabis has surged in recent years, as pet owners have seen their old and infirm animals become more mobile, ‘youthful’ and better natured after consuming cannabis products intended for human consumption.
A fluke in Proposition 64
California had no law on the subject one way or another until, in an inexplicable twist, the authors of the human legalization initiative, Proposition 64, added a ban on its use for animals.
“None of us really got why they stuck that in there,” noted Chris Conrad of Friends of Prop. 64. “It just seems like maybe the authors read an article in a newspaper or blog and decided to run with it without looking into the topic. In fact, veterinary use of cannabis remained popular all the way until the federal government stopped letting sick people use it. A lot of this use was for horses, but nowadays it’s more about people’s dogs.
Veterans can advise “without fear of penalization”
Bay area author Beverly Potter just released a new book on the topic, Cannabis for Canines , from Ronin Press.
“I am grateful to Governor Brown for signing AB 2215 into law and allowing veterinarians to discuss the use of medical cannabis without fear of penalization or losing their state license,” said Assemblymember Kalra.
“Veterinarians in California, unlike physicians, currently have absolutely no protection from being subject to disciplinary action for having a simple discussion with their clients about medical cannabis. Now that Californians have greater access to cannabis than ever before, many pet owners are already looking at the use of cannabis to provide therapeutic and medical relief.
“This bill is a valuable first step in providing veterinarians the tools they need to better inform a pet owner’s decision on the use of cannabis and promote safe, responsible use of medicinal cannabis.”
AB 2215 also requires the California Veterinary Medical Board to establish guidelines for licensed veterinarians that can be the basis for discussions on the use of medical cannabis on an animal patient. Similar guidelines for physicians recommending medical cannabis were developed by the Medical Board of California.[1]
The bill includes prohibitions against veterinarian conflicts of interest with a licensed cannabis business.
Veterinary Medical Board sought change
Last year, the California Veterinary Medical Board issued a statement to all licensed veterinarians, stating: “There is nothing in California law that would allow a veterinarian to prescribe, recommend, or approve marijuana for treating animals. Veterinarians are in violation of California law if they are incorporating cannabis into their practices.[2]”
Although a veterinarian may lawfully discuss and administer treatment for cannabis toxicity, it has been unclear whether a veterinarian is protected from discipline or prosecution during discussions with a client regarding the use of medical cannabis treatment on an animal patient.[3]
Cannabinoids, such as Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), are naturally derived from cannabis and have shown to provide a variety of clinical benefits with existing therapeutic modalities. Preliminary research suggests THC can be useful for conditions such as epilepsy, cerebral ischemia, motion sickness, and cancer treatment. Research has identified CBD useful for psychosis, seizures, anxiety, stress, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, pain, vomiting, diabetes, mellitus, cancer, and repair of traumatized tissue.[4]
AB 2215 is supported by the California Veterinary Medical Board and the California Veterinary Medical Association, as well as business groups like the California Cannabis Industry Association and Social Compassion in Legislation, one of the state’s leading animal welfare advocacy groups.
You can also check out about cushing disease in dogs and enhance your knowledge for your pet.
[1] http://www.mbc.ca.gov/Publications/guidelines_cannabis_recommendation.pdf
2 http://www.vmb.ca.gov/laws_regs/marijuana_animals_law.pdf
3 https://cvma.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/VMB-Cannabis-Legal-Opinion.pdf
4 https://ivcjournal.com/medical-cannabis-animals/?hilite=%27medical%27%2C%27cannabis%27 | {
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India Cakes is a leading online cake delivery shop offering delicious cakes for all occasions. Browse our wide selection of cakes for fast delivery. | {
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The accused had come to Delhi on a medical visa from Afghanistan (Representational)
Four Afghan nationals have been arrested for allegedly smuggling heroin into India by hiding the contraband in their abdomen, police said on Sunday.
The accused had come to Delhi on a medical visa from Afghanistan, they said.
Abdul Haq Noorzai, Mohammad Naeim Noorzai, Mohammad Esmael Noorzai and Mohammad Nasim Noorzai, all from Farah province in western Afghanistan, were found trafficking heroin concealed in their abdomen for sale in Delhi-NCR and other states, police said.
The accused have been admitted in Safdarjung Hospital and 122 capsules totalling 920 grams heroin have been extracted from their body by doctors.
It may take a few days to extract all heroin capsules from their abdomen, senior police officer Pramod Singh Kushwah said.
The officer said they received information about an international gang and laid a trap at Indira Gandhi International Airport on February 23 and the four suspects were detained.
The accused appeared dizzy after landing at the airport and were taken to hospital, where doctors found suspicious capsules in their body.
During interrogation, they told police the cartel is headed by drug lords based in Kandahar in Afghanistan. The accused also told the police that a consignment of heroin was to be supplied to African nationals, the DCP said.
For more Delhi news, click here | {
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A highrise apartment building under construction in Ottawa's Little Italy neighbourhood caught fire Monday.
The fire started at about 11:35 a.m. Monday morning in a garbage bin on the exterior of the Ashcroft Homes Envie student housing building on Champagne Avenue S., between Hickory and Beech streets, just west of the O-Train tracks.
Flames quickly climbed about nine to 10 storeys, upgrading the fire to a third alarm and bringing extra firefighting resources to the scene, according to interim Ottawa fire chief Kim Ayotte.
Firefighters had extinguished the main body of the fire on all affected floors as of early Monday afternoon, and extensive overhauling to prevent the fire from spreading through walls was underway.
Construction workers describe being inside highrise when fire started. 0:28
1 minor injury
About 160 construction workers were inside the building when the fire broke out. A man in his 30s was treated by paramedics for minor burns on his neck, but no other injuries were reported.
I was very scared. I was trying to get down as soon as possible. - Luc Alecoeur, brick mason
Brick mason Luc Alecoeur was one of many construction workers who had to flee the building when fire broke out.
"I was very scared. I was trying to get down as soon as possible," he said.
Alecoeur said he's about to become a father and was terrified he wouldn't escape the fire.
"All I was thinking about was my baby and what was going to happen."
Residents had been scheduled to move in starting in September, according to Coun. Jeff Leiper. Several units that had already been sold were damaged in the fire.
"It's too early for us to know exactly where we are, but obviously we're going to try to get things under control and continue on a quickly as we can," said Manny DiFilippo, Ashcroft's chief financial officer.
Ottawa Fire on scene of a 3-Alarm fire in a high-rise under construction on Champagne Avenue. Crews are operating inside and outside. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ottnews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottcity?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ottcity</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottfire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ottfire</a> <a href="https://t.co/QYEa2tmuWe">pic.twitter.com/QYEa2tmuWe</a> —@OFSFirePhoto
Crews battle fire in Little Italy highrise 0:32
Champagne Avenue South is closed, and Beech Street is closed from Loretta Avenue to Railway Street. | {
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初めに、この度の新型コロナウィルス感染症(COVID-19)被害に遭われた皆様へ、心よりお見舞い申し上げます。
この度、2020年6月27日(土)に公開を予定しておりました、『シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版』につきまして、新型コロナウィルス感染症(COVID-19)拡大による国内外の未曾有の事態を受け、慎重に検討を重ねた結果、公開日の延期を決定いたしました。
楽しみにしていただいている皆様へ、予定通り作品をお届けすべく尽力して参りましたが、このようなご報告となりましたこと、深くお詫び申し上げます。
今後の公開予定に関しましては、決定次第、速やかに『エヴァンゲリオン』公式サイト、公式SNSにてお知らせいたします。
なお、ご予約いただきましたグッズ付きムビチケカードにつきましては、延期した後の公開でもご使用いただけます。
受け取りなどの詳細は、ご予約いただきました各販売ページをご確認ください。
世界中の皆様が、安心して映画を楽める日が来ることを願い、また、面白いアニメーション映画を世界中の皆様へお届けできるよう、制作に勤しんで参ります。
何卒、ご理解を賜りますようお願い申し上げます。
株式会社カラー
配給：東宝株式会社、東映株式会社、株式会社カラー | {
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Representative Image
MEERUT: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 22-year-old man as his sister filmed the act in Muzaffarnagar on Monday. An FIR for rape has been filed against the youth while his sister has been accused of abetment. Police are yet to get hold of the video. Investigating officers suspect the allegations to be a result of counter cases filed by two women against each other.
According to reports, a series of cases began when Ruksana (name changed), 25, filed a case of theft against Samreen (name changed), 28, on Friday. Samreen then filed an attempt to rape case against Ruksana’s family members on Saturday. Following this, Ruksana filed a case of rape of her 16-year-old niece by Samreen’s brother on Sunday. In her complaint, Ruksana also said that the act was recorded by Samreen.
D K Tyagi, station house officer, Civil Lines police station, said, “The two women, who earlier lived in a shared accommodation, moved back into their respective homes a month ago following a tiff. They have filed a series of cases against each other. Ruksana also said that her niece was forced into prostitution by Samreen’s family. When the minor refused, she was allegedly raped by Samreen’s brother and the act filmed on camera. The minor has been sent for medical examination. Action against the accused will be taken after we receive the reports.”
Read this story in Bengali
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When people said mean things about you as a kid, your mom told you to ignore them; When the same thing happens to you as a marketer, ignoring is not an option.
A negative comment is like a candle. It may be harmless, but with the right triggers it can escalate quickly to a fire. And you’d like to put out the fire before it spreads.
The same thing is true for your brand. A slightly negative tweet from someone with a few followers doesn’t sound like a big deal. But it could escalate into 10,000 negative comments across multiple platforms. That’s when you have a full-blown crisis to deal with.
Of course, you hope it never happens to your brand. But when it does, can you turn the tides and make the crisis a PR win?
Sounds impossible? Sit tight. I’ll show you how two brands managed to do that, and how you can do it, too.
How brands turn PR crises into big wins
How Brian from Ghost Influence won over Reddit
It’s hard to be a marketer everyone likes.
Brian Swichkow, founder of Ghost Influence, is known for marketing on Reddit, whose community hates to be marketed to and is notorious for its hostility toward outsiders.
Brian was featured in an AdWeek story that detailed how he found success stealthily marketing on Reddit.
It generated a lot of publicity and buzz. Unfortunately, not all of it was positive.
As the article is about marketing on Reddit, redditors naturally picked it up. Users felt they were being exploited, and responded angrily – Reddit style.
A thread was started where people criticized Brian’s marketing tactics.
In just a few posts, a positive article feature turned into a brand crisis.
Brian was monitoring his brand for website mentions online. With an alert for his company name, he was alerted to the conversation within 25 minutes.
This meant he was able to jump into the conversation early, and help change its direction.
Here’s what he did from there.
Most people would freak out and try to make the discussion disappear. But Brian decided to join in the conversation to clarify the misunderstanding.
He explained what he really does:
And he spoke like a person instead of a brand. Notice the “tl;dr”?
Then he explained the beliefs behind his business:
The thread became a passionate discussion about good and bad advertising. He managed to find some common ground with the Redditors and earn their respect.
In the end, they actually thought Brian was pretty cool:
And the best part? A $2B company was impressed by the way Brian handled this brand crisis and offered him a business opportunity.
Key takeaway: jumping into the conversation and engaging with your critics can come out in your favor.
Think it’s an isolated incident, or that Brian just got lucky?
Here’s another example.
How Reese’s turned a brand crisis to a branding opportunity
In Christmas 2015, Reese’s introduced the Reese’s Christmas Tree. Unfortunately, they look nothing like trees.
Pictures like these went viral online. It would be embarrassing for any brand.
Unless you’re Reese’s.
They came up with a brilliant #AllTreesAreBeautiful campaign and talked about “tree shaming.”
My personal favorite:
This had a great reaction, earning them shares and press coverage:
Key takeaway: making fun of yourself can be a great way to “own” a mistake.
A 5-step process to deal with an online crisis:
You can’t avoid brand crises. But you can prepare yourself before one happens.
Here’s what you should do when a crisis hit:
1. Monitor your brand in real time
You can’t deal with a situation you don’t know is happening.
Both Brian and Reese’s reactions worked because they responded quickly. Set up alerts for your company, product, and related keywords to receive mentions as they happen. React immediately to stop one negative mention from turning into a full-blown brand crisis.
It’s easier to change the conversation while it’s still getting started.
2. Listen to and act on feedback
People want to feel heard and understood. Trying to argue will just create tension and anger them more.
Redditors were angry that Brian was monetizing what they do every day for free. Reese’s buyers were not happy the chocolate trees look nothing like trees.
Neither of them tried to argue with the comments. Instead, they listened to and acknowledged others’ opinions, which helped open up the conversation.
3. Choose the right conversations to join
Sometimes you need to clarify things when people are misinformed. Sometimes you just need to listen, especially if the conversation is purely emotional.
In the beginning, Brian would reply to every negative comment – until he realized some people argue just for the sake of it.
Some people just want to be haters. Focus on people you can reason with.
4. Speak your audience’s language
You can’t connect with people speaking like you’re at a corporate press conference. Represent your brand, but speak like a person.
Each platform has its own language. Adapt your tone.
If you’re on Linkedin, be more serious; On Twitter and Facebook, use more images and be more fun; Cut out the fluff and corporate speak, and use lots of movie references on Reddit.
5. Treat every interaction as an opportunity
Everything you say shapes your brand perception. How you answer an angry complaint shows your values and personality. It’s also a chance to win your audience’s approval.
Brian’s conversations with the negative comments helped him win Redditors’ respect, and scored him a client. Reese’s fabulous response led to positive social media and press mentions, and even more love for their peanut butter cups.
Relax. And breathe.
A brand crisis sounds scary. And when one happens, it’s hard to know what to do. But if you’re well-equipped with the right tool and process, a negative story can be a great opportunity in disguise.
Do you have other brilliant ideas to handle these situations? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Want more help with managing your brand online? Download this free ebook. | {
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No, really, I got Abe Lincoln riding a dinosaur on an upcycled dictionary page. How cool is that?!? Also a British Blue Police Box on an upcycled dictionary page. What a treat!
Somehow my gifter figured out that we have a collection of comic book art and this makes a wonderful new addition. Thanks! | {
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更新
川崎市の介護付き有料老人ホーム「Ｓアミーユ川崎幸町」で入所者の男女３人が転落死した事件で、殺人容疑で逮捕された元職員の今井隼人容疑者（２３）が、殺害された丑（うし）沢（ざわ）民雄さん＝当時（８７）＝について、「（周囲から）見えづらい位置に落とした」との趣旨の供述をしていることが１８日、捜査関係者への取材で分かった。神奈川県警幸署捜査本部は計画的に死角を選び、犯行を目撃されないようにしたとみている。
捜査関係者によると、今井容疑者は最初の転落死があった平成２６年１１月３日夜から４日朝にかけての当直勤務で、丑沢さんの部屋がある４階を担当。就寝中の丑沢さんを起こしてベランダに誘導し、抱きかかえて投げ落としたという。落とした場所は施設の裏庭で、生け垣や柵で外部から見えづらい場所だった。
死亡した３人ともほぼ同じ位置で倒れていた。最後に死亡した女性＝当時（９６）＝は離れた部屋に居住していたが、捜査本部は今井容疑者が、別人が就寝していた部屋を通ってベランダに連れて行き、落としたと見ている。
捜査関係者によると、今井容疑者は丑沢さんについて、動き回る行動もみられたことなどから「手間がかかった」と供述。「入所者の言動に腹が立った」という趣旨の話もしている。 | {
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Pierce Corcoran was killed in December and one of the final messages he left behind has spurred his family on to fight for the safety of every American.
His mother, father, and sister shared with Breitbart News the story of Pierce and the illegal alien who killed him. The accounts were filmed the morning after the family tried to visit House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Capitol Hill and were turned away. It was in the middle of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history and while Democrats refused to even negotiate funding for border security and a border barrier.
Pierce Corcoran, 22, was killed less than a month ago, December 29, 2018, when authorities say an unlicensed illegal alien smashed headfirst into the vehicle Pierce was driving.
“He kept us on our toes since the moment he came into this world,” angel mom Wendy Corcoran said of her youngest child.
“He looked at things really simple, ya know there’s right and there’s wrong,” angel dad D.J. Corcoran said. “He was just starting to develop into a young man.” Pierce and his girlfriend were “crazy about” each other and he had bought a ring for her before he was killed.
Angel sister Avery Corcoran said he would always make a point, even when he was busy, to talk, “He made you feel special.”
The family recounted each of their own experiences of the day that Pierce was struck and killed. D.J. Corcoran, a firefighter, was out of town for another job. He received a notification of a back wreck back home, knew his son drove that route, and tried to call, but couldn’t get a hold of his son.
“I just wanted to be with my family,” said D.J. of the moment he got the news. Firefighters from precincts on the route between D.J. and home ferried him car to car to get the shocked father back to the rest of his family.
Wendy Corcoran recalled the knock on the door that was firefighters coming to tell her that her son was in a wreck and “didn’t make it.” She agonized over how to tell her husband and other children, “how am I going to repeat the words I just heard?”
Avery recalled visiting the impound lot where her brother’s mangled car had been taken. She looked inside and wedged there between the windshield and dash was her brother’s journal covered in shattered glass.
“This is my life and my actions still matter,” she recalled reading in that journal, some of the final words her brother had written. The family wear buttons with Pierce’s photo and the words “my actions still matter.”
D.J. recalled seeing his son in the morgue the next day, “I remember just looking at my baby and just laying there and it was hard.”
“It’s still new and we are still dealing with the reality every day that, that there’s not going to be another family picture with him in it, another vacation with him there, another holiday, another birthday, so for us, it’s the worst time we’ve ever had to face,” said Wendy.
D.J. expressed that the family doesn’t harbor hate for the offender, but that there was neglect. He empathized with other angel families and recalled trying to voice their experiences to House Speaker Pelosi and Sen. Schumer. Neither legislator would meet with the families.
The partial government shutdown temporarily ended Friday with Democrats still refusing to fund border security or a border barrier.
President Donald Trump warned in his reopening announcement that if Democrats and Republicans in Congress are unable to reach an agreement on funding these vital border measures by February 15, he will either allow the government to shut down again or will exercise the option of declaring a national emergency to build a border barrier and begin securing the U.S. southern border.
Michelle Moons is a White House Correspondent for Breitbart News — follow on Twitter @MichelleDiana and Facebook | {
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Bill Murray isn’t exactly averse to doing interviews — he regularly appears on Letterman and a number of other shows, but those are almost always light-hearted and short and because of that he has somehow managed to remain rather mysterious over the years. He doesn’t feel like someone we, his adoring public, really know. But last night Murray was Charlie Rose’s guest for the full hour on his show and it was arguably the most penetrating insight into Bill Murray, the man that I’ve ever seen. It was quite delightful.
Where the interview took place is a mystery to me. Gone were Rose’s trademark wooden roundtable and black set. In its place were two wicker chairs on what looked like the set of an IKEA commercial. Regardless of the setting, Murray was more candid and introspective than I’ve certainly ever seen him be in any interview — almost moved to tears at one point. He even shared the Oscar acceptance speech he never got to give and what he whispered to ScarJo at the end of Lost In Translation.
My personal favorite aspect of the interview: Murray talks about going through life always trying to be “available.” By that he means living in the moment and not closing himself off to experiencing new things with new people, being available “for life to happen to you.” He says it’s that personal philosophy that will lead him to crash a stranger’s karaoke party and other things of that nature. Enjoy… | {
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Given the number of headlines sent to print and the variety of plaudits doled out for Ireland’s performances in November, it has been telling that very few of those made a hero of Devin Toner, one of only two Irish players to have gone the full 80 minutes in the three games against Southern Hemisphere opposition.
While Conor Murray, the other member of that exclusive duo, had a hard time fielding all the garlands thrown his way, Toner was almost entirely absent from the reaction and opinion columns. If you were looking for his name in print, you were best served to keep your nose close to the screen for a one-time-only mention in the match report. Of course you’ll always get a number beside his name in the obligatory clickbait-before-there-were-clicks column devoted to ‘How The Players Rated’.
The honourable exception to this seemingly unconsidered media blackout has been the redoubtable Murray Kinsella, whose recent interview with Toner and thoroughly substantiated praise of his efforts at the breakdown against the All Blacks in Dublin have given Moynalvey’s siege engine a downpayment on the credit he has earned.
Sexy Second Rows, Lumbering Locks
Back in the days when we actually wrote articles instead of just passively-aggressively passing snide [and hilarious] comments on Twitter, we mentioned Toner in a wide-ranging treatise on Leinster’s second rows. That was almost four years ago. In that period he has completely exceeded expectations – ours and, I would assume, a lot of other people’s – while Iain Henderson, whose name we casually dropped in the company of Fabien Pelous, Paul O’Connell and Martin Johnson, hasn’t.
Nevertheless, this Mole believes that it’s safe to say that Toner hasn’t captured the imagination of the Irish rugby public in the way that Ultan Dillane or Henderson has. After the epic victory over the All Blacks in Chicago, one of the other Moles – one of the ones that gives this site what credibility it has – said to me that regardless of the result, or how well Toner and Ryan had performed in tandem, he reckoned that there was still a sizeable rump of the Irish rugby public who wanted a partnership of Henderson and Dillane to tape their ears up and start in the second row. Once it was out of his mouth, he took it back … but only to amend that as soon as he had heard the words hit the air, he had reconsidered: he actually thought it was a majority of Irish fans.
Provincial Towers Cup
Ireland are in the quite unusual position of having the four best second rows in the country divided equally amongst the four provinces; thus the situation doesn’t exist where arguments are made for retaining a provincial partnership at test level because they’re a complementary pairing, or know each others instincts, or are more than the sum of their parts … any of the given reasons [not all of them – or any of them, perhaps – implausible] that resurface when such selections are made.
With Toner in Leinster, Ryan in Munster, Dillane in Connacht and Henderson in Ulster, there’s a sense of balance across the provinces with regards to second rows. Not one of the above-mentioned players has a reliable partner in his home province who is a genuine threat to any one of the other three. There’s a part of The Mole – the completist part – that thinks it’s necessary to analyse each provincial second row and outline the issues with age, injury profile, physical stature, athletic capability, experience level or skill set that has them stranded a rung beneath the current quartet … but to be frank, it seems like it would be an exercise in stating the obvious. Schmidt, Farrell and Easterby have got the right four guys at the top of their depth chart.
The Mercurial Iain Longshanks
However, Les Kiss seems to be out of step with the troika: the Ulster head coach has selected Henderson solely in the back row this season. Henderson has been given the No6 jersey in eight of his ten Ulster outings at the time of writing and, in the only other game in which he was selected on the bench for his province this season, he wore the No20 jersey coming on for Clive Ross against the Scarlets back in September.
While Ulster fans will point to the injuries suffered by high-profile Springbok signing Marcel Coetzee and veteran open side Chris Henry as reason for Henderson’s deputisation to the flank, Ulster have a number of quality young back rows who must be desperate for game time – senior squad members Lorcan Dow and Conor Joyce have the pedigree of starting 9 of 10 games for their respective Irish U20 teams in 2015 and 2013, whilst academy member and Leinster transplant Nick Timoney [himself a highly decorated schoolboy player in his Blackrock College days] managed to pick up 8 caps alongside Dow in 2015. That Ulster’s recent inability to produce quality backrow forwards in the same numbers as Leinster or Munster may have something to do with the reluctance to actually select them – Chris Henry only played in his first game for his province as a 24 year old – is probably worth another day’s exploration in its own right.
That certainly was a tangent. Returning from it to the matter of Henderson’s position: he has always played both positions for Ulster. It’s a matter of public record. Indeed, with 33 of his 52 provincial starts [at the time of writing this article] coming in the No6 jersey, one would have to look at it cockeyed to argue against the motion that the powers that be in Ulster Rugby have seen him primarily as a blindside, rather than a lock.
What’s revealing in this analysis is that 15 of his 19 starts in the second row came in the two seasons under Mark Anscombe [2012-13 and 2013-14]; Kiss has only ever selected him in the second row four times, while picking him at blindside 23 times. Whatever about the [intentionally] nebulous coinage that constitute ‘powers that be’, it’s clear that, under Les Kiss’ authority, Henderson is a blindside.
On the other hand, of his 11 starts for Schmidt [over three years], nine of them have been at lock forward, with just two of them at blindside. Just as the selection pattern tells us that Kiss sees Henderson as a back row, it tells us that Schmidt sees him as a second row.
You Say Second Row, I Say Backrow – Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off. No, Let’s Call It Second Row. I Get To Decide.
Examining the situation with the context of Schmidt and Kiss’s historically close working relationship in mind, and with the orbiting dictatorial presence of Nucifora a given, the difference of opinion between the two parties – and especially because it regards as fundamental a question as what the player’s best position is – is certainly remarkable.
Why is a player widely regarded as one of Ireland’s first choice second rows consistently selected in the ‘wrong’ position by his province? Seeing him line out in the No6 jersey for Ulster this season – and especially seeing him at No6 with Robbie Diack in the No5 jersey, as happened against Connacht in October – has been a perplexing sight in what has been an increasingly selectorially authoritarian regime under David Nucifora. Schmidt sees him as a second row, and if Schmidt needs something done, Nucifora does it.
One doesn’t have to leave Ulster to find a working example: Schmidt wanted Jared Payne to play in the centre so, despite Ulster having a plethora of quality homegrown centre options, viz. Olding, Marshall, Cave and McCloskey, Payne was moved from fullback to centre. As a recompense, Ulster got the okay to sign Charles Piutau.
Huffed And Puffed And Did His Hammer
While we’ve made a plausible argument that Henderson’s rather halting progress in recent years has been down to the decade-old conflict between provincial and national coaching set-ups, The Mole has to admit – despite this wonderful house of cards he has constructed – that his litany of injuries has been a more significant issue than corporate loggerheads.
Henderson was unavailable for selection for the first two of Ireland’s four tests this November due to a shoulder injury suffered against Exeter. Before this most recent injury, he missed the guts of four months [and the entire Six Nations campaign] last season because of a badly torn hamstring [his interview with Thornley on the subject is well worth a read]; before that, he missed the first half of the 2014-15 season recovering from hip surgery.
If durability isn’t a skill per se, it sure as hell is a virtue.
And The Crowd Goes Wild
In his Man of the Match performance against Canada, Ultan Dillane was outstanding in the loose, but The Mole expected that given his performances off the bench to date. He has been able to impact against the most physical teams in the world, England and South Africa, so it was absolutely no surprise that he was able to do it against a team of part-timers.
As far as set-piece presence is concerned, there was nothing to report. He was playing in tandem with the smallest lock Ireland have capped in the pro era, the 193cm/110kg Billy Holland, and when you examine their respective efforts at the set-pieces – a key element of a front five player’s role, no matter the tactics or strategy adopted in the wider game – Holland did the vast majority of the heavy lifting.
There wasn’t a single throw to the Connacht second row, the tallest player in the Irish pack, in the lineout all day, while Holland took at least half-a-dozen. Dillane scrummaged in the easier slot behind the loosehead with Holland on the right, even though the former has 5kg on the latter. With regards to restarts, he didn’t contest any of our kicks as either a chaser or first-up hitter; and he was put in the least exposed position on their restarts, never coming close to receiving the ball. Given the nature of the analysis work done by the Irish staff, this had all the hallmarks of being intentional rather than accidental.
With an eight year age gap and a 100+ difference in the number of pro matches they have competed in, it may be a relatively meaningless conceit to point out that, on the test stage at least, Dillane was actually the senior partner: it was his seventh cap, and Holland’s first. Still, there it is.
If that comes across as a negative appraisal, it’s because we’re being contrarians. Nevertheless, it’s all fact-based stuff. We’re actually big fans of Dillane at Mole Towers. He plays with mad gusto and seems like a great lad, and he has intangible qualities that people respond too. We’re not massive men for devotees of De Big Run though, and maybe veer too far in being dismissive of popular opinion and flavour of the month hyperbole.
Dillane is obviously making progress and widening his skill set year-on-year and for a second row, he’s still a kid – he just turned 23 in November. However, at the time of writing he has not shown at test level that his set-piece contributions are of the same standard as the three players he’s seriously competing against: Toner, Henderson and Ryan.
You can see for Connacht this season that Lam has asked him to take on the role that Aly Muldowney used to play for them – the job that originated in the New Zealand system and has been taken to its peak by Brodie Retallick, that of a ball-handling second row who acts as a distributor in the middle of the pitch.
It’s understandably taking a little time for him to become accustomed to making a plethora of midfield decisions, because a lot of ball goes through your hands in that role for Connacht – Muldowney had 21 touches [13 passes/8 runs] in the Pro12 semi-final win over Glasgow last season and a whopping 33 against Leinster in the final [19 passes/14 carries]. However, while progress has been relatively slow – and to push an old saw, anything that’s worth achieving is hard to do – figuring out that role and its additional requirements at this early stage of his professional career will stand him in very good stead as his career progresses.
He Picked Up The Ball And Ran
Comments sections tend to skirt a loop of the disheartening and inane, with the occasionally memorable locus. For two simple reasons – its author’s utter belief in his cause, and its complete imbecility – one argument from about six or seven years ago on an American Football statistics blog has stayed with me, even though I can’t even begin to remember the subject of the article itself. That’s only relevant because we like to link to our sources here on The Daily Mole, and it pains me to say that I didn’t bookmark it at the time. In any case, the basis of debate concerned the nomenclature of the game itself. The contributor in question firmly and peremptorily denied that American Football had any roots outside America; that it had evolved entirely separately from rugby football, and indeed any other football; and the fact that it was called American Football was because it was played ‘on the feet’ with ‘a ball’. I shit you not.
Leaving aside the argument that all field sports are played ‘on the feet’ and with ‘a ball’ and that by this naming doctrine, golf would be called Scottish Football, what brought this memorably specious argument to mind was Donnacha Ryan’s long road back from what looked like a career-ending foot injury.
Foot injuries tend to be superficially equated them with hand injuries – digital or other small-bone injuries to an extremity – by practically everybody except those who have suffered them. That’s understandable. The foot is to the leg what the hand is to the arm.
A sizeable portion of rugby fans have seen the gruesome digital compound fractures suffered by James Horwill or Bakkies Botha and seen back on the pitch within a month, or read the story about ‘Red’ Conway having his broken finger amputated so that he could tour South Africa with the All Blacks; when they read about Simon Geoghegan retiring from a toe injury or Donnacha Ryan on the verge of doing the same almost twenty years later, it can be hard to comprehend why exactly these lads are pushed to the verge of quitting the game by tarsals, phalanges and the rest of the gristle and tissue that make up our bipeds. Why don’t they just tape it up?
They Shoot Horses
Well, you don’t run on your hands. In the inimitable style of m’learned friend, I can confidently state that Rugby Football is known as such because it was invented in Rugby, uses a ball and is played on the feet.
If a horse breaks its leg, they tend to try and do him in on the spot because it’ll only bloody torture him until they have to do it at a later stage. To this point, it may have read like I’m advocating euthanasia for all rugby-playing victims of foot injuries here; I hope nobody will jump to the conclusion that The Mole thinks Donnacha Ryan should have had a blanket put over his head at the side of the race-course before the merciful deed was done. I’m merely trying to make the [less controversial] point that said foot injuries can a] be more serious and debilitating than they initially sound; and b] certainly demand greater recognition and less derision.
The amount of force exerted through the foot can be, both literally and metaphorically, staggering. An old and often-quoted academic study “reported data from a single subject showing an initial peak of 5.5 BW [bodyweight] at ground contact followed by a second peak of 3 BW in mid support.”
If you’re the 114kg Donnacha Ryan, that means you’re putting the equivalent of well over 620kg of mass through the small bones and complicated layers of tendons and muscles with every foot strike of a sprint, and receiving the equivalent in ground reaction force … and running for him wasn’t the big problem. As with Leinster’s South African tighthead C.J. van der Linde before him, the deal-breaking issue was scrummaging. The more you read about Ryan’s sesamoiditis, the more you wonder how, given the nature of scrummaging, the general and specific postures adopted by locks in particular, and the enormous amount of force exerted through the joint of the big toe and the ball of the foot in those players, more of them don’t fall foul of this injury.
Inherent Qualities
Considering that Toner is the dominant partner in the two key in-game set-pieces, both calling the lineouts and scrummaging on the right of the partnership, there’s an argument that the Ryan/Toner second row pairing isn’t an optimal partnership. Ryan can hold up his end of things in the set-pieces, but he has the less important role in each. He’s not a bulldozer behind the tighthead like Bakkies, nor is he a consummate footballing lock in the mould of John Eales, Brodie Retallick or Victor Matfield.
However, he is tough and, with it, understated. He adds a hard edge to the Irish pack without leaking penalties or making a big deal of things. They’re qualities that you look for in a second row and characteristics that must have stood him in good stead through what can only have been a frustrating and particularly tedious period of rehabilitation. Furthermore, he’s a player who seems to be well-respected across all the provincial fanbases: that’s not something that you can say about all Irish internationals.
Plus One?
There’s no doubt that Toner is a key part of Schmidt’s Irish team. Once Schmidt took charge in November 2013, Toner was in. He hasn’t been out since, starting 32 of Ireland’s 39 test matches under the New Zealander’s watch. It’s the other spot that is up for grabs.
When The Mole talks about Dillane’s ‘potential’, it is his potential to be an outstanding international second row that I’m referring to, not just a vague reference to his obvious physical ability. NFL Hall of Fame Coach Bill Parcells once bluntly observed that ‘potential means you haven’t done anything yet’, and while that would be an undeservedly harsh assessment of Dillane, I think he’s the type of diligent, open-minded player that might react well to that not-particularly-helpful-but-not-entirely-inaccurate judgment.
While we have previously referenced his relative youth for the position as a positive, there are test second rows in the northern hemisphere who are younger and better than him: Maro Itoje and Jonny Gray. Those lads are competing with Brodie Retallick, Alun-Wyn Jones, Sam Whitelock and Eben Etzebeth to be in top five second rows in the world. Dillane is clearly not at their level yet, nor is he at the level below, where Launchbury, Toner, Lavanini and Lood de Jager make up the lower half of a putative Top 10 Locks. Dillane has some way to go to be regarded as an equal in that company.
Lam is working on building his all-court game with Connacht, but I’m not at all convinced that his set-piece skills are at the level they need to be at to be a central figure in a strong, bullying pack. In The Mole’s book, he is very much a work-in-progress.
Iain Henderson is only a part-time lover of a second row: he’s constantly doing the dirt on the position once Joe Schmidt’s back is turned. Between his significant injury problems and shuttling between two positions, Henderson has failed to nail down a starting place in the Irish pack, despite being perhaps the most physically gifted back-five forward in Ireland. It’s a surprising reality. Indeed, he’s only started one Six Nations game since making his test debut more than four years ago.
Would it be inaccurate to label Henderson as a fringe player? He’s still at the point where he has more appearances off the bench than starts to his name. Henderson hasn’t really been able to put together the sort of big-time performance that Devin Toner produced as the heart of a seven man pack and Man of the Match in the first test in South Africa.
However, Toner’s permanent switch to the right-hand [tight-head] side of the scrummaging partnership – the biggest change to his game since Paul O’Connell’s retirement, and a canny move which should serve to secure his place in the side for the foreseeable future – may also play out well for Henderson. With Toner installed as a set-piece colossus, and expected to be the dominant partner at both scrum and lineout, his partner has somewhat more freedom to wreak havoc around the pitch and make a habit of forcing issues. That might just be the part Henderson was born to play, baby.
His selection in recent weeks in the Ulster second row might signal a change of mind from Kiss with regards to his future, and might be the first step in opening up that Itoje-equivalent role to Henderson … or it might be Joe Schmidt flexing his muscles. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s Column A or Column B; the fact is that it has happened. From The Mole’s viewpoint, it seems readily apparent that the second row is going to be Henderson’s long term position, and that it’s the player himself who will have to do most of the figuring out about how to bring the best out of his immense physical gifts in that role.
No Profile, No Quarter
On current form though, and especially in the light of his recent performances for Munster and Ireland, Ryan is doing more than enough to keep Henderson on the bench for Ireland with regards to the first game of the 2017 Six Nations. Ryan’s autumn form – both seasonal and career – has seen him produce some of the best rugby of his life. He’s at his ruthless best, particularly able to impose himself in the Greco-Roman work of mauling and choke tackling and the grim battering ram contests of goal-line rucks.
With that said, he’s not the key figure in the Irish row: that’s Toner’s mark.
At 30 years of age, and with 191 appearances for Leinster and 42 caps for Ireland to his name, the Moynalvey giant is clearly within touching distance of a couple of provincial and national milestones. More to the point, he’s in the prime of his career – both in individual terms as a player performing to a high standard on a consistent basis, and as a central piece in the construction of the Irish national team. It may sound optimistic, but the Mole could see him filling this role for another four or five years; certainly into and through the next World Cup.
In terms of his quiet public persona, his constitution and durability, his keystone value to the team and his phenomenal physical size, The Mole sees Toner building a substantial comparison to John Hayes, Ireland’s first test centurion.
These big, strong, slow guys don’t tend to injure themselves too often by changing direction quickly or tearing muscles at full gallop and, because they’re so big and strong, it’s difficult enough for other people to injure them. As we’ve written above: durability may not be a skill, but it’s an asset. Toner’s exemplary fitness record, his enormous size and the fact that he functions as the pre-eminent scrummager and lineout artist in Ireland’s second row stocks could, and should, lead to a long and effective career deep into his thirties, in much the same manner as other noted big men Simon Shaw [retired at 39], Nathan Hines [retired at 38] and Bakkies Botha [retired at 36].
The comparison with Hayes has a secondary thread to it, an underlying one. Hayes is [rightly] lionised now, but this correspondent remembers when he was singled out for criticism almost on a per-match basis on national broadcasts as somebody who was too tall for the job, who couldn’t scrummage properly, who would never be good enough at the basic task of his position etc. There was a relatively long period of Hayes’ career when constant criticism from some vocal segments of the rugby media – whether it was pointed personal attacks, or just undervaluing his contribution through ignorance – adversely coloured the average Irish rugby supporter’s view of his worth to the team.
Toner has come through the equivalent period, and while he doesn’t get the same fawning attention that some other members of the pack seem to attract, he has silenced the perennial carpers, the know-nothings with big mouths. It’s not a huge reward, but it’s a hell of a hard thing to do, and he has done it the hard way. | {
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A pop-up Satan statue has been removed from a Vancouver park, shortly after the mysterious and controversial artwork was erected.
Vancouver officials say a nude statue of Satan was removed from a park near the Grandview Highway because it was not officially commissioned by the city.
The statue depicted a nine-foot-tall, anatomically-faithful figure of a red-skinned Satan, complete with horns and a visibly prominent representation of a phallus. The statue holds one hand up in a devil-horn salute.
Passersby first noticed the statue on Tuesday morning.
The sexually explicit statue was visible to commuters riding the SkyTrain route nearby.
No one has claimed responsibility for creating the statue. | {
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What's nearly as bad as running out of battery life on your phone? Having to lug around a battery charger. I have bought half a dozen of these portable chargers over the past few years, of all shapes and sizes. There's always one floating around my bag, but my bag is not always with me. What usually is, however, is my belt.
The people at Nifty, who launched a popular Kickstarter two years ago to solve the problem of unexpandable flash storage on Apple notebook computers with the MiniDrive, are now tackling cell phone battery life. They've combined a belt with a battery charger so that you can venture out with just your phone and the clothes on your back (or in this case — waist), and recharge on the move. This isn't some large, absurd belt buckle battery though; the battery is actually built into a belt that looks no different from any other you might buy at a clothing store.
The battery isn't big enough to recharge big phones
The Xoo belt houses a 1,300mAh lithium ceramic polymer flexible battery that's sandwiched into the leather. The buckle acts as an additional 800mAh battery (giving you 2,100mAh total), a ratchet to tighten the belt around your waist, and as a plug that you can connect your MicroUSB or Apple Lightning adapter to. There's a set of five LED lights along the base that let you check how much charge is left. When it's time to recharge it, you plug it in through a MicroUSB port on the other side.
The belt takes around three hours to recharge and about the same amount of time to fully charge a device that's plugged in. On something like the iPhone 6, the Xoo's battery is enough to give it a full charge (and then some), but not the iPhone 6 Plus and other "phablet"-sized devices like the Nexus 6 and Galaxy Note 4. That is perhaps a disappointment for something that takes up a good chunk of space in your bag if you're not wearing it on your body.
This isn't the first attempt to put batteries just inches from your privates. Last year, an inventor named Avi Gailor tried to get a version of this out that put everything in a removable, Zippo lighter-like belt buckle, however that project failed to meet its funding goals on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. There's also the Volt Buckle, which eschews a battery in favor of a removable belt buckle that doubles as a wall charger.
The XOO belt will run at $155 when it ships, though slightly less for the company's early backers. Nifty has put the idea for the product up on Indiegogo to get funding, meaning you won't be able to find it in stores or elsewhere online, and it might not ever end up getting mass-produced if not enough people are interested. The company tells me that it's currently got a fully functioning prototype ready, but still has more work to do. | {
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Getty Images
The Buffalo Bills really, really, really wanted Sammy Watkins.
The Bills traded away a lofty package to the Cleveland Browns to move from No. 9 to No. 4 in order to select Watkins on the first day of the draft. The cost to the Bills to move up was for a first- and fourth-round pick next year in order to move up five spots.
However, the Bills were setting their sights to higher and costlier opportunities in order to secure that Watkins would be heading to Buffalo.
In a video posted to the team’s website, Jim Monos, Buffalo’s director of player personnel, confirmed our report ahead of the draft that the Bills were attempting to move up as far as the No. 1 overall selection for Watkins.
“We went with Houston right off the bat,” Monos said. “We tried to go to No. 1. They weren’t having it. They knew who they wanted, so we started working our way right down.”
Rams general manager Les Snead said on PFT Live on Monday that he had conversations with an unnamed team that ultimately did trade up about moving up to No. 2 as well. The “unnamed team” was obviously Buffalo.
Cleveland called before the Texans submitted their pick for Jadeveon Clowney to confirm that the Bills were still interested in moving up to No. 4 if their player (Watkins) was still on the board following the first three picks. Buffalo didn’t have a feel for what the Jaguars were going to do with the third overall pick and sweated out their selection.
“We really didn’t know,” Monos said. “Jacksonville never tipped it. We had just heard so much that they needed a receiver. We thought that this was going to be Sammy. We knew that if Jacksonville didn’t take him we had a shot.”
With Jacksonville selection Blake Bortles, the path was clear to Watkins for the Bills.
The price Buffalo paid to get Watkins was substantial, but the Bills were willing to give up even more to get their guy. Now Buffalo will have to see if he was worth the investment. | {
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The LeSEE is YT’s baby, his vision of the future, where all LeEco’s services—streaming, e-commerce , cloud computing—are beamed into LeEco devices—phones, televisions, possibly cars—to serve up LeEco licensed content, like the movies it produces or the sports events it streams. It’s the most ambitious physical manifestation of the company’s eventual goal to be all things to all people by creating a thriving ecosystem of content and services. And in 2016, there’s no splashier way to make an entrance than with a self-driving car.
Maybe adding an autonomous concept car to the mix was a bit much? Not according to the CEO.
The launch wasn't what YT had envisioned (he went on about this fact for some time), but given the scale of what his company just announced, it shouldn’t have mattered. LeEco made it’s first major push into the U.S. market with the introduction of several TVs, two phones, a VR headset, an online marketplace , and content deals covering everything from cartoons to Vice. Oh, and a carbon fiber bike that runs Android.
(For those who don't know LeEco—formerly LeTV—it's been described as the Netflix of China, licensing content and building out the infrastructure to pipe into homes. Founded by Yueting in 2004, it was the first company of its kind to IPO on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, solidifying its founder's fortune and enabling him to eventually purchase TV-maker Vizio, as well as make dozens of strategic investments in companies that interest its billionaire CEO.)
Unfortunately, as YT explained, the real reason for his impromptu jog was because his company’s second all-electric, fully-autonomous concept car was involved in a crash while being freighted up from Southern California. It was slated to drive him onto stage, and since that couldn’t happen, the other model was apparently flown in from London where Michael Bay was using it as a prop (I swear this is true) inTransformers Five.
When Jia Yueting sprinted across the catwalk to close out LeEco’s expansive U.S. launch event this week, the CEO didn’t comport with most American’s view of a poker-faced Chinese executive. YT (as he prefers to be called) is the antithesis of his staid corporate peers, always in jeans and a t-shirt, a uniform that fits in well in San Francisco where it’s the de facto uniform of people with Big Ideas.
But it’s not the company or its founder’s first vehicle. Depending on who’s counting, it could be his third, and soon to be fourth concept car.
The 43-year-old executive is one of the investors bankrolling Faraday Future, the LA-based startup that's been hoovering up talent over the past few years and showed its first concept car at the Consumer Electronics Show this past January.
That same year, just across the show floor, YT’s LeEco unveiled its own concept to celebrate its partnership with Aston Martin, where the Chinese company showed its first foray into infotainment with an electrified Rapide (LeEco supposedly had a hand in the powertrain).
If two vehicle ventures weren’t enough, since then, YT has reportedly taken a stake in another EV startup in the Bay Area, Atevia, after its original Chinese investors backed out. Just yesterday, Atevia changed its name to Lucid Motors and announced the arrival of its own concept vehicle next month.
And at this week’s LeEco event, YT had some of the Faraday Future brass on hand, including Marco Mattiacci, the global chief of brand and commercial officer, when he announced (possibly without Faraday's go-ahead) that their company’s first production vehicle would debut at the upcoming CES next year.
YT clearly wants to be in the mobility business, and if you squint hard enough, you can understand why. He amassed his $4.5 billion fortune by licensing content and building the infrastructure to deliver it. And the sooner self-driving cars come to market, the sooner YT and Co. can beam the latest Matt Damon flick (co-produced by LeEco) into your car, for a nominal price, on the ride home.
For all this to work, LeEco doesn’t just have to establish itself as a viable consumer electronics player in the U.S., it also has to pry people away from the ecosystems they already enjoy, be it Apple or Amazon or Google.
Those companies have their own tightly controlled platforms that hundreds of millions of people have already bought into, be it through hardware or software or services. When you purchase a new Apple product, you’re investing into a larger ecosystem that offers a vast array of content and services, from iTunes to iMessage. Google does the same with its suite of movie, music, subscription, and data services, but it doesn’t just provide data, it “organizes the world’s knowledge ” (including yours). Facebook handles social. Amazon handles commerce. Uber, eventually, handles logistics and transportation.
To hear YT tell it, LeEco wants to handle it all.
Going beyond its core competency–data and streaming–is the next logical step in YT’s grand plan. But the companies LeEco is targeting have all had their own disastrous expansions into unfamiliar territory. Remember Apple’s Ping, the music-focused social network and content recommendation engine? Google’s litany of social networking attempts? The Facebook and Amazon phones?
The ideas may have been sound, but they weren’t born out of a larger need or greater good. Instead, it was just the relentless push to expand the ecosystem, often at the expense of what these companies do best.
LeEco has yet to sell a single branded product in the U.S., but YT is already betting on a mass of consumer acceptance, millions of subscriptions, and even more content deals “coming soon.” LeEco bought a stake in Vizio, is making its own TVs, and it’s already rolled out the third iteration of its Android-powered smartphone. All the while, its CEO is attempting to be a part at least two adolescent automakers—and by extension, three different autonomous/ride-sharing companies.
All YT needs now is a rocket company and he’ll fit right in. | {
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Star Trek type Movie
Here is some news that should make Transformers: Dark of the Moon live long and prosper in the hearts of sci-fi fans.
Mr. Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy, has joined the film as the voice of Sentinel Prime, the predecessor of Optimus Prime whose wrecked body is seen in the teaser trailer, found crash-landed on the moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969. Later, after being brought to earth, he takes the disguise form of a fire engine in the movie’s massive, climactic battle through Chicago.
Apart from his obvious Star Trek cred, Nimoy also has a history with Hasbro’s shape-shifting alien robots: He was the voice of Galvatron in 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie.
Transformers filmmaker Michael Bay had toyed with the idea of inviting him to play a voice in the second movie, Revenge of the Fallen, but wasn’t sure he could pay the veteran actor enough. “I was too scared to ask him,” the director says. “Plus, he’s married to Susan Bay, who’s a cousin of mine. So I had to be careful. I’ve met him at family functions. But he told me, ‘I would be honored. I’m glad to be back!'”
Bay has been open about changing course with this third Transformers movie and making a stronger story than the critically pulverized last one. He says part of that is giving the metallic characters a bit more soul, even if they’re villains. “The robots have more character in this movie. Much more. You really understand their struggle, on both sides actually,” Bay says.
The 3-D Transformers: Dark of the Moon opens July 1.
For future Transformers and film news, follow Anthony Breznican on Twitter @Breznican.
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18 great pop culture trios By Mary Sollosi Next | {
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Remarkable stop-motion video using Lego recreates punk rock forefathers
The Damned playing the first punk rock single “New Rose”.
The single was released on October 22nd, 1976 on Stiff Records.
Video Creator: itsnotbennings | {
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Chinese chamber of commerce and industry. Erwin Soo/Flickr. Some rights reserved.Several leading mainstream economic institutions are warning of the risk of the coming global economic crisis. On 8 September, the Citi Group published a research report, “Is China Leading the World into Recession?”, written by Willem Buiter, Citi’s chief economist. The report warns that “a global recession starting in 2016, led by China is now our Global Economics team’s main scenario. Uncertainty remains, but the likelihood of a timely and effective policy response seems to be diminishing.”
On 11 September, Daiwa Securities Group, Japan’s second largest brokerage, published a report entitled “What Will Happen If China’s Economic Bubble Bursts?”. The Daiwa report argues that China’s economic growth rate will fall towards zero even under the “optimum scenario.” However, a “meltdown” of the Chinese economy is said to be the “most likely outcome.” In that event, “if China’s economy, the second largest in the world, twice the size of Japan’s, were to lapse into a meltdown situation such as this one, the effect would more than likely send the world economy into a tailspin. Its impact could be the worst the world has ever seen.”
Then on 3 October, Lawrence Summers, the former US Secretary of the Treasury and economic adviser to President Obama, published his essay, “The Global Economy Is in Serious Danger”, in the Washington Post.
A large militant working class has emerged.
It seems that a growing consensus is emerging that the global capitalist economy is rapidly approaching the next crisis. From the point of view of global class struggle, the real question is how the next economic crisis plays a role in the current structural crisis of global capitalism (the third such ‘structural crisis’ after the structural crises of 1914-1945 and 1968-1989) and whether or not the current structural crisis can be resolved within the historical framework of capitalism.
In response to the last structural crisis, global capitalism adopted ‘neoliberalism', a set of policies and institutions designed to defeat the working classes in the core and semi-peripheral countries. But the global balance of power was not turned decisively to the favour of the capitalist classes until China undertook ‘reform and openness'. China’s capitalist transition provided several hundreds of millions of capable workers with wage rates at a small fraction of those prevailing in the core countries. The incorporation of such a massive cheap labour force undermined the bargaining power of the western working classes decisively.
Since then, China’s social structure has been fundamentally transformed. A large militant working class has emerged. According to my estimate, China’s wage-earning working class expanded from about 230 million in 1990 to 370 million in 2012. When the more privileged urban ‘middle class’ (professional and technical workers) are included, the total of urban and rural wage workers grew from about 250 million in 1990 to 420 million in 2012. Currently, about 100,000 ‘mass incidents’ (mass protests) happen annually. About 10 million people are involved in these ‘mass incidents’ every year.
Pluto Press/Minqi Li. All rights reserved.After sharp declines in the 1990s and stabilisation in the early 2000s, labour income as a share of China’s GDP began to rise after 2010, reflecting the growing strength of the Chinese working class. The squeeze on capitalist profit has led to the rapid decline of China’s economy-wide profit rate. In the early 2000s, China’s economy-wide profit rate was about twice as high as the US level. Since 2007, China’s profit rate has fallen precipitously. Under the current trend, China’s profit rate could, in a few years, fall towards levels that were last seen in the US during the Great Depression.
As several mainstream institutions have predicted, a major crisis of the Chinese economy could plunge the global capitalist economy into a crisis that will prove to be more destructive than the ‘Great Recession’ of 2008-2009. The question is whether global capitalism can survive the coming crisis, and whether favourable conditions required for global capital accumulation can be restored.
It has been commonly argued by people from both the right and the left that capitalism has been an incredibly flexible system that can adapt to new historical conditions. After all, capitalism survived the previous ‘structural crises’ of 1914-1945 and 1968-1989. However, there are at least two new developments that could make the coming structural crisis fundamentally different from the two previous ones.
Shanghai international convention centre. Harvey Barrison/Flickr. Some rights reserved.In response to the structural crisis of 1914-1945, global capitalism responded by accommodating the social challenges from the western working classes (in the form of Keynesianism and the welfare state) and the non-western national liberation movements (in the form of de-colonisation and economic development programmes). By contrast, during the structural crisis of 1968-1989, global capitalism could no longer accommodate the growing demands from the core and the semi-peripheral working classes and had to adopt neoliberal policies to restore the profit rate.
Global ecological systems are rapidly approaching total collapse.
If, by the late twentieth century, global capitalism could no longer accommodate the demands from the core and the semi-peripheral working classes, how likely is it for global capitalism in the twenty-first century to accommodate the demands from not only the core and the historical semi-peripheral working classes but also from the Chinese working class (which alone is about one-fifth of the global labour force)? Moreover, unlike during the late twentieth century, there is not another large geographical area that can provide a massive cheap labour force along with other necessary conditions required for capital accumulation to help global capitalism restore favourable conditions of capital accumulation. Insufficient energy resources alone might prevent India from becoming ‘the next China’.
In addition, the global ecological systems are rapidly approaching total collapse, imposing another insurmountable limit to global capital accumulation. In a recent comment, Kevin Anderson, one of the world’s leading climate change scholars, makes the powerful argument that a realistic climate stabilisation programme would require global emissions reduction at annual rates of ten percent or above in order to prevent more than two-degree global warming. The essential message behind this is that reasonable climate stabilisation (consistent with the perseveration of the material foundation of human civilisation) is fundamentally incompatible with the pursuit of infinite economic growth (that is, infinite capital accumulation).
Can the world simultaneously meet the basic requirements of global ecological sustainability and the basic needs of billions in the global south? We will find out the answer, one way or the other, in the coming decades.
China and the 21st Century Crisis is published by Pluto Press. | {
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Labour MP lambasts ‘shameful’ new deal, which union says will leave many staff worse off
This article is more than 11 months old
This article is more than 11 months old
Up to 12,000 Asda workers could lose their jobs next week, according to union officials, if they refuse to sign up to a new contract that will hit pay and benefits for thousands of workers.
The deal increases basic hourly pay but ends paid breaks, cuts premium pay on most bank holidays and reduces the number of hours rated as better-paid night shifts.
The contracts, which will apply to more than 100,000 of hourly-paid staff, also forces workers to accept variable shifts between 8am and 10pm and to switch between departments as required.
In August, the company told staff if they did not sign up to the new deal they would leave the business on 2 November.
The deal has been nicknamed the “Martini contract” after the drink’s 1970s advertising slogan “any time, any place, anywhere”.
The pay changes come after Asda group’s profits rose by 13% to £805m last year, while payouts to directors increased to £12m from £9.5m the year before.
Neil Derrick, the regional secretary of the GMB union, said: “Workers can be asked to work wherever, whenever including bank holidays. The flexibility and lack of certainty about when they are working, that’s the killer.
“Asda has recruited a workforce saying ‘come to us we are family-friendly business’ and this contract has driven a coach and horses through that.”
Asda workers stage protests against 'punitive' new contract Read more
Siobhain McDonagh, the Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden, has claimed in a letter to Asda’s chief executive, Roger Burnley, that approximately 2,700 staff would lose up to £500 per year as a result of the changes, with a further 300 hit even harder.
But the GMB believes at least 6,000 staff could be financially worse off out of 118,000 Asda store staff it says are on hourly pay.
Gary Carter, the GMB national officer, has written to Asda asking it to postpone the contract change and ensure there were no dismissals through negotiations with the union.
“On 2 November, we understand up to 12,000 of your loyal Asda workers will be given the sack – just before Christmas. That cannot be right,” he wrote.
McDonagh described the move by Asda as “shameful”. The MP said: “Of course I welcome any increase in basic pay, but I am completely appalled that such a major high street retailer would use this as a smokescreen to slash the terms and conditions for thousands of their most loyal staff, triggering the redundancy of even more.”
She added: “What an utterly shameful way to treat so many longstanding employees who have given decades of dedication and hard work.”
Asda says 95% of its hourly paid staff will be financially better off under the new contract. It has agreed to top up wages until mid-2021 for those losing out under the new deal.
The new contract increases the base pay rate for shop workers from £8.21 to £9 an hour, excluding premiums based on location or for special skills such as bakery.
It also maintains existing benefits including an annual bonus, share save scheme and staff discount. Asda says festive bank holidays of Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day will continue to be “voluntary” with pay at double time.
The company says the new contracts represent an investment of more than £80m and are not about cost cuts.
An Asda spokesperson said: “We have been clear that we don’t want any of our colleagues to leave us and while the vast majority of colleagues have chosen to sign the new contract, we continue to have conversations with those who have chosen not to, to try to understand their concerns.
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“It is vital that we make sure we are prepared to adapt to the demands of our market. Change is never easy but we are determined that Asda remains a sustainable business for its customers and colleagues – now and in the future.”
Asda’s contract change reflects similar alterations at rival supermarkets, which have offset increases in basic wages – partly driven by the annual increase in the legal minimum wage – by removing other perks.
Competition for workers, amid high-profile efforts by the fast-growing grocery discounters Aldi and Lidl to pay more than the legal minimum, have prompted traditional supermarkets to increase their basic pay.
Sainsbury’s eliminated paid breaks but increased the base level of pay last year. Tesco ditched its annual bonus but pledged to increase hourly pay over the next two years to £9.30, up from £8.40. | {
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2013 is done. It's over.
The Year of Luigi has come to an end and the last page from our "Word of the Day" calendar has been torn off (it was 'sinuous'!).
But just like when you get to the end of The West Wing on Netflix, everything will start all over again tomorrow. That means another 12 months of iOS and Android games for us to follow, download, and cover.
To give you some idea of what we'll be writing about next year, we put together this massive list of 50 iOS and Android games that we're looking forward to in 2014.
Keep these on your radar and you'll have a very good year.
Tales from the Borderlands
By Telltale and Gearbox Studios - heading to "mobile devices"
The Walking Dead yarn spinner Telltale has teamed up with Gearbox to make a series of episodic adventure games based in Borderlands 2's Pandora. Hair-trigger gamers should expect more walking and talking than looting and shooting.
Voxel Rush
By Rafal Wilinski - out on Android, heading to iOS
A wooshy, twitchy, endless reaction racer in which you dart between towering white skyscrapers. But that's not the half of it. Every few seconds, the rules change dramatically... until you're riding upside down or the towers start falling down around your head.
Paranormal Minis
By Ravenous Games - heading to iOS and Android
League of Evil maker Ravenous Games has spoilt its good reputation with a string of crappy games like Random Runners and Gravity Duck. But we're still holding out a little hope for this cute twin-stick zombie blaster.
Gero Blaster
By Studio Pixel - heading to iPhone
This froggy run-and-gun game from Cave Story maker Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya was supposed to hit the App Store in, errr, May? It's now December, and we're still waiting on this Metroidvania about a heavily armed frog named Kaeru and his quest to save his feline girlfriend.
Wayward Saga
By RocketCat - heading to iOS
The next game from Hook Champ maker RocketCat Games is a hardcore hack 'n' slash follow-up to Mage Gauntlet. It's going to be hard - Dark Souls hard, according to the developer - but with some merciful level checkpoints and permanent character upgrades so you don't snap your phone in two.
Project Godus
By 22Cans - heading to iOS and Android
Peter Molyneux may be best known for fart gags and unmet promises, but some may remember him from PC god game Populous. This Kickstarted epic is a spiritual successor to that old school gem. Oh, and the "winner" of Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube will be the game's deity.
Boom Beach
By Supercell - heading to iOS, probably to Android
The latest firm to cash in on a Clash of Clans clone is... Clash of Clans developer Supercell? Yep, Boom Beach is almost identical to the firm's own free-to-play juggernaut. Only now, the Viking warriors have been replaced with tiny soldiers. Can't wait to see how this one goes down.
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
By Just Add Water - heading to iOS
This cult-classic shooter, about a bounty hunter who tracks down bandits and outlaws in a dusty Wild West desert, got a new lease on life thanks to an HD remake for PS3 and Vita. Just Add Water, who put together the PlayStation port, says the game's heading to iOS, too. Exciting stuff.
Electronic Super Joy
By Michael Todd - heading to iOS and Android
An intense indie romp in which the exacting platforming of Super Meat Boy is married with the distinctive silhouette art of Limbo. All while white-hot electronic beats sear into your earholes. We have no idea how this PC game will translate to touchscreen, but we look forward to finding out.
Death Road to Canada
By Madgarden and RocketCat - heading to iOS
A randomised road trip simulator from the developers behind Punch Quest. Only, this road trip has less highway hi-jinx and way more zombies. It's all about playing diplomat to a band of bickering survivors, like a tiny pixellated version of The Walking Dead.
Agents of Storm
By Remedy - heading to iOS
Remedy is best known for cinematic action games like Max Payne and upcoming Xbox One game Quantum Break. It's trying something very different with Agents of Storm, though. You see, this is a reverse tower defence game, exclusively for mobile.
Ace of Blades
By Everplay - heading to iOS
I liked Spellsword, a.k.a. Everplay's fantasy take on Super Crate Box. Next year, the developer plans to morph the game from twitchy arcade arena fighter into full-on platforming RPG. Sign me up.
Project Joan
By Happymagenta - heading to iOS
The gameplay of this indie run-and-gun looks pretty simple. Joan dashes to the right. You can move her between levels and gun down government goons and other such baddies. The real USP is the detailed pixel-art, and the ultra-deadly selection of weapons at your disposal. It's Jetpack Joyride-meets-Rambo.
Dungeon Keeper
By EA - heading to iOS and Android
There's been quite a fair amount of backlash against EA for turning beloved strategy franchise Dungeon Keeper into a soulless free-to-play Clash of Clans clone. But beyond the wait timers and IAPs, this remains a clever game about building a dungeon that's utterly impervious to nuisance invaders.
Brothers in Arms 3
By Gameloft - heading to iOS and Android
Not a game about hugging your brother. It's actually the latest entry in Gameloft's line of squad-based World War II shooters. Last we heard, it's going to be like an on-rails shooter but you can swipe to change positions. And then you'll shoot the Nazis in their stupid fascist faces.
Scrolls
By Mojang - heading to iOS and Android
All eyes are on Mojang for its first game after monster multi-million-selling indie phenomenon Minecraft. And its follow-up, Scrolls, couldn't be any different from the blocky world maker. This time, it's a card battler and boardgame mash-up. Currently in beta on PC; heading to mobile one day.
Turbo Dismount
By Secret Exit - heading to iOS
It's the official sequel to rumbly tumbly physics sim Stair Dismount. This one's got cars, and they're heading towards Mr Dismount at very high speeds. I don't even know what your goal is in this one, but I know we'll have a giggle watching the hero's bones get squished and crushed.
Moebius
By Pinkerton Road - heading to iPad
When Jane Jenson, she of Gabriel Knight fame, took to Kickstarter, she didn't just fund a game; she funded an entire game studio. The first fruit of the studio's labour will be Moebius, a metaphysical point-and-click thriller about an antiques dealer solving a murder mystery in Venice.
Jet Car Stunts 2
By True Axis - heading to iOS
Jet Car Stunts was an early iOS favourite. This very long-awaited sequel boasts new cars with different physics, fresh game modes, and a level editor so you can forge your own loopy tracks.
Dungelot 2
By Red Winter - heading to iOS and Android
We loved the original super-simple and super-addictive roguelike Dungelot. We said it "offers the perfect introduction to the genre for newbies". This sequel contains new characters, some interesting new mechanics, and slick new visuals. I'm booking a stay in rehab already.
Drifter
By Celsius Game - heading to iOS
A sandbox space trading game with thousands of stars to explore. Well, according to the intro to this Kickstarter project, anyway. Let's hope that this Frontier- and Elite-inspired game touches down in 2014.
Faraway
By Steph Thirion - heading to iOS
I feel like we've been threatening you with Faraway for years now. It's worth the wait, we imagine, as it comes from the creator of ultra-clever iOS classic Eliss. In this one, you're spinning around stars to make constellations. Come on, Steph. Out with it already.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
By Blizzard - heading to iOS and Android
A free-to-play collectible card game from Blizzard. It's all about making the cards feel real and tactile, and making the actual process of laying down floppy rectangles of cardboard a bit more dramatic than it sounds. The beta has gone down a storm on PC - we can't wait for the mobile edition.
The Witness
By Number None - heading to iPad
A monster new puzzle game from the brain behind Braid, Jonathan Blow. You'll be solving more than 400 puzzles on a beautiful, but uninhibited, Myst-style island. This brainteaser will be exclusive to PS4 for some unknown time, then will be available on the App Store.
Mew-Genics
By Team Meat - heading to iOS and Android
Team Meat has put the iOS version of Super Meat Boy on hold. Boo! But it did so in order to work on a crazy cat lady simulator that's inspired by Pokemon and Animal Crossing, and contains millions of procedurally generated kittens. Yay!
Mines of Mars
By Crescent Moon - heading to iOS and Android
A dark atmospheric mining title with a procedurally generated red planet into which to dig. As you dig into the dirt, you'll stumble across exotic alien flora and fauna, and uncover the secrets of the Martian landscape. You'll also be able to play co-op with a fellow astro explorer.
Exiles
By Crescent Moon - heading to iOS
Crescent Moon is best known for big fantasy-RPGs like Ravensword and Aralon. It will be taking its time machine in the opposite direction for Exiles, though, for this is a futuristic sci-fi role-playing game set on the barren wastelands of some far-off planet. The dev says it'll be heading to iOS in June.
Broken Age
By Double Fine - heading to iOS and Android
A few years back, Grim Fandango mastermind Tim Schafer asked for loads of money from the public to make a classic point-and-click adventure. He didn't cut and run, though! This $3 million game, now named Broken Age and featuring a star-studded voice actor line-up, is heading your way in early 2014.
Modern Combat 5
By Gameloft - heading to iOS and Android
It looked as though Modern Combat was going to be an annual franchise - the final step Gameloft needed to take for the series to truly be considered the Call of Duty for mobile. Sadly, this bombastic FPS got delayed into 2014, so we'll have to wait a few more months until we can murder foreigners (and one another) with realistic high-powered guns.
Snow Siege
By Milkbag Games - heading to iOS
Ask me what my favourite iOS puzzler is and I'll say SpaceChem. Then, I'll say: "Oh, but Trainyard is brilliant, too." Trainyard mastermind Matt Rix will soon release his next big game: a wintery mix of tower defence, card collecting, and Tetris. He calls it Snow Siege.
Tengami
By Nyamyam - heading to iOS
Paper is all the rage these days. That's mainly thanks to Paper Mario and Tearaway. If your game isn't made from mulched-up bits of dead trees, it's barely worth playing. Tengami is a pop-up papercraft adventure from a team of ex-Rare staffers where you fold the scenery like origami to solve puzzles. It should fit the bill.
Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon
By Tiger Style - heading to iOS
We loved the original Spider. This curious little game about an arachnid adventurer exploring a mansion and trapping flies in its web was an early iOS favourite. We can't wait to see this sequel from Waking Mars developer Tiger Style.
FTL
By Subset Games - heading to iPad
If Star Command was too shallow for you, try this in-depth indie spaceship simulator. You'll give orders to your crew, manage ship power distribution, and choose weapon targets in the heat of battle. It all takes place in a randomly generated universe, so no two playthroughs are the same.
Blackwell Legacy
By Wadjet Eye Games - heading to iOS
Wadjet Eye Games has started porting its old school adventure games to iOS - first with Gemini Rue and then with Shivah. Paranormal point-and-click game Blackwell Legacy, in which reluctant medium Rosa helps ghosts move on to the next life, is next on the list.
Deep Loot
By Monster and Monster - heading to iOS
This was one of the best games we saw at our Big Indie Pitch event in London earlier in the year. It's about a pixel-art diver looking for treasure and loot on the sea floor. Everything's turn based, so you can think about your next move. Plus, the game is filled with cameos from hot indie games.
Epic Eric
By 232 Studios - heading to iOS
Epic Eric might look like a hundred other iOS games with its simple one-button platforming and three-star scoring system. But we really like this game's clever gender-swap mode. Here, the tired 'knight saving the princess' cliché is turned on its head, and the game's name changes to Epic Erica.
Chroma Squad
By Behold Studio - heading to iOS and Android
With its first game, Knights of Pen & Paper, Behold Studio invited you to run a fake tabletop game. Next up, in Kickstarted game Chroma Squad, you'll be running a TV studio that produces sentai (think Power Rangers) shows. Sign me up.
Monument Valley
By ustwo - heading to iPad
I've only played a pair of brief preview builds of this, but I'm already making a spot on 2014's 'Game of the Year' list for ustwo's inventive isometric puzzle game. Inspired by the art of M.C. Escher, Monument Valley is about exploring impossible geometry by twisting and shifting bits of the environment to make new pathways.
Gabriel Knight: Sins of our Fathers
By Jane Jenson - heading to iPad and Android
Jane Jenson will be remaking one of her most famous games - 1993 point-and-click Gabriel Knight: Sins of our Fathers - on iPad and Android next year. In this game, you follow the owner of a rare book store as he looks into some local murders for inspiration for his upcoming novel. Morbid.
Warhammer 40k Armageddon
By Slitherine - heading to iOS
The latest Warhammer tie-in is a hex-based strategy game from genre giant Slitherine. In this game, Space Marines are pitted against Orks in 35 different scenarios. The game will feature over 100 units with upgradable stats and attributes. You'll also find a separate selection of maps balanced specifically for multiplayer.
Framed
By Loveshack - heading to iOS
Framed isn't out until next year, but it's already scooping up loads of awards and earning the backing of kingmaker Indie Fund. In this one, you rearrange the animated panels of a noir comic strip to change the outcome of a silent narrative. Super-clever, super-cool.
The Silent Age - Episode 2
By House on Fire - heading to iOS and Android
We loved The Silent Age, a free point-and-click adventure about leaping back and forth between the '70s and a ruined post-apocalyptic 2012. This sequel will be a paid-for experience, but it's set to be far longer than the original and boast more complicated puzzles.
Joe Danger Infinity
By Hello Games - heading to iOS
Joe Danger is just one character in this pint-sized toy-inspired endless-runner. You can also play as cars, airplanes, a tank, and a runaway firework. Here, you pull stunts across bedroom floors and crash through a Christmas dinner. It's all about challenging your friends to post the best score on the leaderboards.
The Collectibles
By Crytek - heading to iOS
Crytek has made an impression on mobile before, with cute puzzle game Fibble. But with free-to-play game The Collectibles, Crytek will focus on what it knows best: guns, and lots of them. You'll arrange a squad of soldiers and then tear it up in top-down knockabout firefights.
Resonance
By Wadjet Eye Games - heading to iOS
A genius particle physicist dies. His breakthrough technology could be a weapon in the wrong hands. Four characters must work together to find the scientist's secret before it's too late. Those are the cliff notes for terrific point-and-click Resonance, which could make it to iOS if Wadjet Eye finds someone to port it.
Supernauts
By Grand Cru - heading to iOS
Prediction time: Supernauts will be the free-to-play phenomenon of 2014. This social mix of city builder and Minecraft has the momentum to topple Clash of Clans from the App Store charts. Just you watch. It's currently in soft launch mode in Canada and Finland, but it will be out worldwide in 2014.
Game of Thrones
By Telltale - heading to "mobile devices"
After the roaring success of its Walking Dead tie-in, adventure game studio Telltale must have the option to work on any property and with any company it wants. So, the firm will be releasing a game based on HBO's nerdy gorefest Game of Thrones in the new year. Let's just hope that there aren't any QTE-based sex scenes.
Sonic & Sega: All Stars Racing Transformed
By Sega - heading to iOS
The original Sonic kart racer walked (or drove) away with a rare Platinum Award. Will this sequel, which contains planes, boats, and - erm - real-life NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, get the same treatment? We'll find out very soon.
World of Tanks: Blitz
By Wargaming - heading to iOS and Android
World of Tanks is one of the biggest and most profitable free-to-play games on PC. Plenty of developers have tried to emulate the success of Wargaming's MMO on iOS (trust us - we get about 50 emails about tank games every six seconds), but we're waiting to see how the Belarusian dev pulls off this official mobile edition. Expect tanks. Expect explosions. Expect in-app purchases.
Ferris Mueller's Day Off
By GlitchGames - heading to iOS
The last game from GlitchGames was Forever Lost, a dark and creepy game set in an abandoned mental hospital. Follow-up Ferris Mueller's Day Off is the exact opposite: a colourful cartoon comedy adventure. It's still got puzzles, though. A leopard doesn't change its spots, and all that. | {
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A weight washer makes short work of enormous cleaning tasks (and little ones as well). Since water showers from a washer’s spout with such power, it can lift up and expel soil, buildup, and grime that a customary nursery hose basically can’t deal with Best Electric Pressure Washer. Weight washers are regularly helpful for cleaning decks, garages, house siding, wall, vehicles, and porch furniture.
Maybe the absolute most mainstream pressure washer extras are new spouts or shower tips. There are uncommonly planned spouts that change the size and force of the shower, permitting you to handle progressively exact employments or spread more zone immediately.
To really sweeten the deal, these extra spouts or splash tips are commonly very reasonable. Another well known adornment is the surface more clean. This connection includes a round deck on wheels, commonly furnished with pivoting shower spouts, that lets you clean an assortment of floor surfaces rapidly and all the more proficiently.
Furthermore, there are an assortment of other weight washer connections, for example, brushes and surface cleaners that can assist you with handling explicit employments. The auto fire up and shutdown include likewise dispenses with siphon harm brought about by broadened sitting.
We didn’t care for the cleanser infusion framework since it utilizes exclusive cleanser bottles that are accessible just at Sears. Be that as it may, you can retrofit the unit with a standard siphon tube/channel. Since the battery must be connected all year, you’ll need an AC outlet in your capacity region.
It’s fueled by a Briggs and Stratton vertical-shaft motor with a programmed gag. We suggest a weight washer with a metal shower wand instead of a plastic one. A metal wand is increasingly solid over the long haul and makes purchasing extra extras simpler.
The shower design on a metal wand is dictated by a removable tip that you essentially click into the wand’s end. These tips go from structures that center the water for an extraordinary 0-degree pinpoint to 40-degree tips that make a scattered shower for washing.
The RY142300 has an enlistment engine, which is discovered uniquely on top of the line models (as a rule around the $200 imprint) and includes various points of interest. To start with, enlistment engines are demonstrated to last longer than the littler general engines of most of private weight washers. Second, because of the plan of an enlistment engine, it is a lot bigger and heavier.
Since pressure washers can be unsteady, the additional weight settles the RY142300. Ryobi has improved this perspective further by structuring this model with an extremely low focal point of gravity; in any event, when we gave the hose a decent pull, we couldn’t spill the unit.
Enlistment engines are additionally calmer than all inclusive engines, as they will in general murmur as opposed to cry. The Ryobi engine makes a genuinely harmless sound the extent that washer engines go. One thing to note is that when the Ryobi engine is fueled on, it runs continually, as on a gas pressure washer.
The other electric washers in our experimental group cycled on just when we pulled the shower trigger. The advantage here is that the RY142300 consistently has its full weight prepared and pausing, though the other electric models need a moment or two to increase to full weight. Except if you were utilizing your washer constantly, you wouldn’t generally see any distinction.
Electric weight washers by and large convey around 1.4 to 1.5 GPM, and you would be unable to locate a model which conveys more than that. I was somewhat confounded by this since it is conceivable to get progressively out of electric weight washers. I speculate this is on the grounds that more GPM would require the utilization of increasingly costly materials, and that would drive the cost up.
Electric weight washers have the edge with regards to measurements, weight, support and convenience. They are little, light, and a breeze to utilize. The main restricting variable with regards to their movability is the reality they must be snared to a wellspring of power.
Electric weight washers are additionally clear champs with regards to indoor use since they don’t deliver any unsafe exhaust. They’re likewise a lot calmer. On the off chance that your electric weight washer continues cycling on and off, it could be a weight issue instead of a motor issue, particularly if the water is by all accounts gradually blurring on and off as opposed to out of nowhere removing.
Check for clear water spills in the hose and washer casing to ensure that no water is depleting out and making the weight drop. On the off chance that you discover one, either supplant the hose or fix it with something waterproof, similar to elastic fix tape.
On the off chance that there’s no break, you may need to check the motor and check whether there’s some kind of problem with one of the associations, or take a gander at the spot it’s attracting power from to check whether it’s really staying aware of the interest. It speaks to how much power is given by the weight washer.
While investigating this factor, recollect that, more weight demonstrates all the more cleaning power. It is estimated in pounds per square inch. Purchaser pressure washers are accessible from 1,300 to 1,800 PSI. They are reasonable for little private employments like cleaning shades, washing grass furniture, washing vehicles, and spot cleaning mold.
Substantial weight washers originate from 2,000 to 3,000 PSI. They are appropriate for garages, expelling intense stains, carports and cleaning house sides. At last, proficient evaluation electric weight washers accompany 3,000+ PSI. They are reasonable mechanical purposes like stripping paint, spray painting evacuation and others.
These top of the line pressure washers are over the top expensive. For the greater part of the private purposes, 1,300 to 3,000 PSI go is sufficient. In view of your cleaning necessities, you can pick any one among them. Wands of an electric weight washers are accessible in either hardened steel or plastic.
Tempered steel ones are progressively solid and dependable. It is smarter to go for electric weight washer with metal shower wand rather than plastic one. Great weight washers for the most part accompany treated steel wand. It can likewise be bought exclusively. Lower valued electric weight washers accompany plastic wands.
They are less solid and association focuses are unique in relation to one brand to another. Thus, buying extra or substitution is likewise troublesome. The initial introduction of this gadget is truly stunning and amazing, and it can dazzle anybody with the absolute first look.
The shading mix of this gadget that organization utilized in this gadget, looks more than consummate and make an ideal equalization and gave a conventional look to this gadget. Here and there it looks sparkling and extremely premium, so not just highlights each the vibes of this gadget are additionally excessively acceptable.
I can wager that no different gadgets can beat this gadget as far as looks and structure. Along these lines, in the event that you are searching for a shrewd and gorgeous gadget, at that point you can go for this gadget with no if or however. What’s more, you will get it great looking and sharp.
All things considered, the structure is a piece of this gadget, presently we should discuss the force and the engine of this gadget, so my dear perusers the electric force washer 2020 Designed for very good quality execution with 2000 PSI and a 1.4 GPM water stream rate, Kärcher’s K5 Premium is ideal for clients who request a definitive degree of home cleaning.
With up to multiple times the weight of a common nursery hose, the K5 Premium is prepared to handle your hardest cleaning employments around the home. Thus, this best electric weight washer totally ready to perform brilliantly and to do a monstrous cleaning, even due to the overwhelming water pressure this gadget can clean the tiles hole effectively, so you can envision that how well it will clean and wash your vehicle.
On the off chance that we are discussing the innovation, at that point trust me no different gadgets can beat this best force washer 2020, in light of the fact that it accompanies the most recent advancements to perform incredibly in all the conditions. Like the K5 Premium accompanies The gadget accompanies the Water Cooled Induction Motor so if the Water Cooled Induction Motor courses water around the engine, bringing down working temperature. Improves execution and draws out engine life by up to 5x. | {
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Police and fire investigators were called to Lake Zurich High School this morning after a suspicious package was found outside the school, officials said.
The item turned out to be an empty video camera case and deamed harmless, said Jean Malek, a school spokeswoman. Classes don't begin until 10 a.m. because of a previously scheduled late start day, officials said.
The package was spotted near the main entrance of the school, 300 Church Street, at about 7:20 a.m. as students began arriving, said Malek.
Students were directed to a cafeteria at the other end of the building but now will be allowed to go into other areas, Malek said.
[email protected]
Microsoft Sans Serif; font-size: x-small;">CC300300 Church Street
300 Church Street
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Officers found two men and one woman, the three-week old baby’s mother, with gunshot wounds Saturday night in California home
This article is more than 5 years old
This article is more than 5 years old
A three-week-old girl is missing from a California home where the baby’s mother, father and uncle were found shot, police said on Sunday.
The 10lb baby girl, named Eliza Delacruz, is the focus of an urgent police search. Police released a photo that showed the child sleeping on a red blanket with a white bow in her hair and wearing a ruffled white dress.
Long Beach police were seeking an adult male in the shooting and have not said if the suspect is related to the missing infant. His motive was unknown.
Officers went to the residence on Saturday evening after receiving a call about the shooting and found the two brothers and the baby’s mother with gunshot wounds, police spokesman Marlene Arrona said.
One of the brothers is the father of the baby, she said.
Two of the victims remained hospitalised in critical but stable condition. The other gunshot victim was treated and released. | {
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I Millennials sono gli adolescenti e i giovani adulti di oggi e rappresentano la generazione che viene a rispecchiare i cambiamenti che stanno avvenendo nelle società globali attuali. Questa generazione è nota per dipendere in tutto e per tutto dalle nuove tecnologie e per dare poco o nessun valore a molti altri aspetti del quotidiano.
Ma c’è di più: secondo l’American Psychological Association, i Millennials tendono a vivere più sotto stress e ad avere una minore capacità di gestire rispetto alla generazione precedente. E le cifre sono la prova più evidente: il 12% dei Millennials, negli Stati Uniti, hanno qualche tipo di disturbo d’ansia. Questa conclusione segue una linea di pensiero da parte di altri due indagini in cui, tra le altre cose, si è rivelato che il 30% dei Millennials lavoratori e il 61% dei Millennials studenti erano ansiosi e avevano episodi regolari di ansia.
Ma perché questa generazione è più stressata e più ansiosa? Sembrerebbe perché è in balia di una serie di abitudini attuali tutt’altro che “amiche” per la salute fisica e mentale. Ecco una lista delle cause più evidenti:
1 – Routine del sonno: scarso e spesso causato da un uso esaustivo di dispositivi mobili e dalla tendenza a vedere la serie tardi e nei momenti meno indicati;
2 – Ignorare l’importanza di una buona alimentazione. I Millennials bevono poca acqua, mangiano poca frutta e verdura e rivolgono poca attenzione alle cure nutrizionali;
3 – Bere troppo caffè, abitudine che non riguarda solo la qualità del sonno, quanto l’aumento dell’ansia;
4 – Trascorrere tutto il giorno seduti, una realtà comune nel lavoro di oggi e che porta notevolmente ad una crescita sedentaria;
5 – Uso massiccio del telefono cellulare, che non solo causa danni alla colonna vertebrale, ma compromette anche la vista e la memoria;
6 – Trascorrere troppo tempo online, mentre la vita reale è… offline. I Millennials tendono a spendere più di due ore al giorno guardando serie TV, mentre molti altri sono “aggrappati” ai social network, svalutando i contatti personali e stando alla mercé delle conseguenze emotive che provoca la “vita digitale”. | {
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It’s not been a great week in the world of computing. The Meltdown and Spectre flaws have shaken the industry, and though it’s not quite on the same scale, a number of HP laptop owners now face having their malfunctioning batteries replaced over the danger of fire and burns.
"These batteries have the potential to overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to customers," the company said in a statement. "For this reason, it is extremely important to check whether your battery is affected."
A worldwide voluntary recall has been issued for the affected devices, which were shipped between December 2015 and December 2017. It includes batteries sold as accessories or used as replacements through HP or an authorized HP service provider.
A list of affected devices is provided below. Customers can use HP’s Validation Utility software to find out if their battery has been recalled.
If you do have a battery that needs replacing, the good news is that you’ll still be able to use your laptop, albeit with limited portability. A BIOS update will put a device in Battery Safe Mode, which discharges the battery and stops it from being charged until the mode is disabled. Until the replacements arrive, the laptops will work through a HP power adaptor.
HP will send the batteries out free of charge. As they can’t be replaced by customers, the company will help arrange an appointment with a technician for installation.
While this new issue affects around 50,000 batteries in the US alone, HP recalled 101,000 lithium-ion batteries due to fire and burn hazards in January last year. This was on top of the 40,000 it recalled in June 2016.
The recall affects batteries sold with, or as accessories for, the following models:
HP Probook 640 G2
HP ProBook 640 G3
HP ProBook 645 G2
HP ProBook 645 G3
HP ProBook 650 G2
HP ProBook 650 G3
HP ProBook 655 G2
HP ProBook 655 G3
HP ZBook 17 G3
HP ZBook 17 G4
HP ZBook Studio G3
HP x360 310 G2
HP Pavilion x360
HP ENVY m6
HP 11 Notebook PC | {
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Larry Ely Murillo-Moncada, 25, was reported missing from his home in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in November 2009. He had run out the house barefoot into sub-zero temperatures, and his family never saw him again.
His mom had a feeling that his disappearance was linked to the No Frills grocery store where he worked.
Now, after nearly 10 years, police have confirmed her theory.
Council Bluffs police announced on Monday that Murillo-Moncada’s remains were found behind a cooler at the grocery store, which has been closed since 2016. Authorities say he likely fell behind the cooler, where his body stayed for years.
His remains were found in January when cleanup crews were removing shelves from the now-defunct grocery store. Forensic investigators later tested the remains and determined that they belonged to Murillo-Moncada.
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“The mother had an idea that he has never left No Frills,” Sgt. Brandon Danielson told KETV in Omaha on Monday. “I don’t know how she came up with that idea, but [his parents] were pretty upset.”
Murillo-Moncada was last seen running out of his family home on a snowy day in Council Bluffs on Nov. 28, 2009. He was not dressed for the weather and did not have keys or a car, Danielson said.
RELATED: Chilling video highlights Nova Scotia’s cold cases
5:38 Unforgotten video series highlights Nova Scotia’s cold cases Unforgotten video series highlights Nova Scotia’s cold cases
Police in Council Bluffs say Murillo-Moncada must have fallen behind the cooler at the No Frills and become trapped in a space approximately 45 centimetres wide. An autopsy showed that he did not suffer any traumatic injuries.
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“In speaking to former employees of No Frills, it was common for workers to be on top of the coolers, as the space was utilized for storing goods,” police said in a statement posted on Facebook.
“You don’t hear about these types of cases, people found in walls, especially in this area,” Sgt. Danielson said. “We have missing person cases all the time, but this is just unique.” | {
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Last month, the FDA gave e-cig makers like Juul, Vuse and blu had 60 days to prove that they had legitimate plans to curtail underage use of their products, and in April, it asked Juul for product marketing materials as well as research on e-cig appeal among young people. While the agency has admitted that the devices might be an effective means of helping adults to stop smoking traditional cigarettes, it has ramped up its efforts to address underage use of the products. "It's now clear to me, that in closing the on-ramp to kids, we're going to have to narrow the off-ramp for adults who want to migrate off combustible tobacco and onto e-cigs," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement at the time.
Among the FDA's efforts to stop kids from using e-cigarettes is an aggressive ad campaign called The Real Cost, which aims to scare children away from vaping. Some have questioned if the measures the FDA is taking to prevent underage use have gone overboard.
We don't have a lot of research yet on e-cigarettes and their health effects, but in general e-cigs tend to have far fewer toxic chemicals than cigarettes, and there's some evidence that users have lower levels of those chemicals in their bodies than cigarette smokers do. On the other hand, some studies are finding that e-cigs may have impacts on the cardiovascular system that are similar to those of traditional cigarettes, putting users at risk of developing heart-related issues in the long term.
The FDA loosened regulations on vaping products last year, but it may introduce new rules if e-cig makers can't convince the agency that they're doing their best to stop underage use. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to release data this year that will show a sharp increase in high school-aged use of e-cigs and Gottlieb has called that rise "disturbing and startling." However, until that data is available, we won't know if it's documenting regular use or also taking occasional or even single use into account. Further, until more long-term data is collected, we won't know if this is a blip driven by novelty or it is in fact the "epidemic" that the FDA has described.
Earlier this year, Juul announced that it had committed $30 million for its fight to stem underage use and was considering features like age verification and geofencing to dissuade kids from using its products.
Update 10/2/18 1:45PM ET: A spokesperson for Juul sent Engadget the following statement from CEO Kevin Burns: | {
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This post was last Updated on December 15, 2019
of this blog, one of the main reasons why we started this project is to show the world that naturists are not some strange dark commune but that actually everyone could be one… Or could enjoy being one if they took the first step. As you may have read in the very first post of this blog, one of the main reasons why we started this project is to show the world that naturists are not some strange dark commune but that actually everyone could be one… Or could enjoy being one if they took the first step.
Our main example of “everyone” is of course ourselves, we write posts about naturism in general but also about our own experiences. But some of you might be thinking “Yes sure, those two are probably just the strange kids in the block…” (nah, we know you’re not thinking that about us, but we’re trying to write an introduction here). So we decided to let other naturists have a word as well.
So please sit back and get inspired!
Meanwhile we already published several interviews with people from all over the world. You can find them in the The Naturist Talks section.
Today we’re having David from Belgium
Hello David, tell us something about yourself
Even though it is not always true and – let’s be frank – an illusion, I like to consider myself as moderately forever young :-). Meaning that I, together with my wife, try not to get cornered by the inevitable facts of life. We do everything we can not to get closed in by them and to let them define our lives for us. Along that Pink Floyd-lyric ‘Tear down the wall!’ or to paraphrase His Original Purple Highness Jimi Hendrix: ‘Scuse us while we kiss the sky.’
How and at what age did you become a naturist?
Too late, one might say, but that doesn’t really matter. Can’t turn back the clock, can you? Of course I have considered it now and then, but nowadays I hardly ever look back or ask myself the ‘What if’-question. This is the way it turned out be, and the cliché ‘better late than never’ is out there for some reason.
I discovered naturism by accident. Well, not really by accident or purely coincidental, but it did just came along in a certain way. Before I had a, let’s say, neutral point of view: I knew it existed, that there were people enjoying it, and that there were very different ways of living the naked life. That was fine by me, as long as – in the outspokenly libertine approach, especially – we’re talking consenting adults in every aspect. No prejudices, let alone judgments, let them be happy.
But then, some years ago, I researched naturism for professional reasons and along the way some pieces fell together of what turned out to be a jigsaw I didn’t even realise was there. I was, so the speak, in the closet without even realising it. Strange but true.
Is naturism allowed in your country and what’s the public opinion?
The legal aspects of naturism in Belgium are out there to google, if you’re really interested. Nothing really spectacular or extremely interesting, I think. And besides that, I consider the often unwritten moral and ethical codes to be equally important, e.g. the consenting adults. Having stressed that: everyone should be free to choose whichever variation on naturism he or she prefers, but everyone is equally free NOT to. The sectarian attitude of moral superiority of a minority of naturists towards people who are not into it never ceases to annoy me. The same goes for the labels those same naturists relentlessly insist on stamping on other naturists. What does it matter if you’re a naturist, a nudist, a life styler, a nude recreationist or whatever else? That way those people do exactly that which we all reproach ‘the outside world’: labelling (us). Along other lines of prejudice but all the same of outright judgment. It’s a bit exaggerated, I know, but sometimes I put it like this: there are as many naturisms as there are naturists. We are all different, and that’s part of the beauty of it.
What do you think is the best and worst thing about naturism?
The best? Cliché again, but true: feeling absolutely free and at ease and at peace with myself. And the worst: dealing with it in a country with our kind of weather.
Do you find it easy to make naturist friends?
Well, I prefer to be careful with the word ‘friend’ because it has become devaluated so much in our world of social media. But to connect with people? Extremely easy! Far easier than on textile holidays and ditto occasions, in any case. It turned out to be absolutely true that the absence of clothes brings along a diminishing of hesitations, inhibitions and other often subconscious feelings that influence you in assessing and approaching people you haven’t met before. Something you only realise after your first naked conversation. And what’s more: I experienced as well that those conversations tend to go deeper than chit-chat more often and much quicker.
What’s the best tip you have for beginning naturists?
Please believe the word: once you have made up your mind, go for it with all your heart and without hesitating. Don’t mess around with bathrobes or beach towels, don’t tell yourself: ‘Later on, maybe tomorrow.’ No, once you’re at the resort or on the beach: just do it and bare all! That’s why you are there for after all, isn’t it? To find out if it is what you thought it would be and might like.
Anything else you’d like to share with our audience?
I’ll let you know when the best story has come along, but then again: I hope it keeps getting better, I’m even sure it will, so you’ll never know, I’m afraid. And neither will I.
Thank you so much for your participation David!
Do you also want to tell your story and experiences in naturism? Please get in touch via the CONTACT page! As long as we have people who like to contribute, we can keep The Naturist Talks running!
Picture credit: The photos in this post are coming from Google and Twitter. If you find one of yourself and you don’t want it to be on our blog, let us know and we’ll remove it. | {
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not sure if my dog is an awesome hunter or he just keeps finding dead squirrels
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This article is timeless and should be accurate for any version of the game.
The Reaper's Due Type Expansion Release date / Patch 2016-08-25 / 2.6 Store: Expansion Paradox / Steam Store: Content pack Paradox / Steam
Crusader Kings II: The Reaper's Due expansion feature spotlight by CK2's game director Henrik "Doomdark" Fåhraeus.
The Reaper's Due (TRD) is the 10th major expansion for Crusader Kings II. It was announced on 2016-07-21[1]. It was released on 2016-08-25[2] alongside patch 2.6.
Description [ edit ]
Little remains of those settlements where the Black Death has passed through. Hasty burials make a mockery of the sacraments and set a feast for the crows. Once prosperous provinces have been laid waste, and the lord of the land hides away – secluded in his hilltop fortress, hoping the plague will pass him by. Wiser princes took precautions, and didn’t waste the revenues from more prosperous years.
But, in time, all must pay The Reaper’s Due.
The Reaper’s Due expansion highlights the historic importance of epidemics and disease in the Middle Ages, especially the Black Death – an outbreak of the Bubonic plague that may have killed a third of the population of Europe. It introduces many new systems and features:
Epidemics Improved: As diseases spread from province to province along trade and sea lanes, they lower your manpower and sap your wealth
Hospitals and Royal Physicians: Prevent the outbreak of disease in your kingdom, and make sure your courtiers have access to the latest in Dark Ages Medical Science
Prosperity and Royal Focus: Well-managed provinces in peaceful kingdoms will pay huge dividends in gold and levies
Seclusion: Shield yourself from the diseases tearing your kingdom apart, even if it means ignoring the plight of your people
New Event Chains: Is the new epidemic the End of Days? Is there someone else to blame for these horrors? Are there supernatural origins or solutions to the world’s problems?
DLC features [ edit ]
The expansion adds a large number of small features and mechanics around the theme of death, diseases and epidemics:
Symptoms: characters no longer simply become ill Cough Fever Diarrhea Vomiting Headache Chest pain Rash Cramps Abdominal pain Fatigue Malaise disease, or will simply pass.[3]
Court Physician is a new minor title which you can give out to a well-learned person which makes them responsible for diagnosing and treating illnesses in your court.
New death screams.[4]
Epidemics can now spread along the Silk road when present, and are more likely to spread to rich and coastal provinces while being less likely to spread to poorer inland areas. They will cause depopulation on provinces even after it has died out, reducing tax incomes, levy/garrison sizes, and supply limits. [5]
The Black Death is larger and more deadly, and gets a chance of major outbreak to occur 200 years into any game, regardless of start date. After a major outbreak has happened the disease becomes endemic and may break out again, but likely on a smaller scale.
Ways to defend against epidemics: seclusion of a character's court in his castle, or building Hospitals (new holding type similar to Trade posts or Forts) to increase the disease defense level.[6]
Prosperity system[7]: as opposed to Depopulation, provinces which have not been besieged, raided, or ravaged by disease for a long time will begin to Prosper, and gain certain bonuses- such as extra tax income and faster replenishment of levies. Independent dukes or higher can set one of their Demesne provinces to be their Crown Focus for additional yearly increase and events.
New narrative events such as The rise of a Prophet of Doom, A general belief that the dead have returned to walk the earth and attack the living, or Panic based on a solar eclipse, or the quest for Eternal Life.[8]
New maimed traits (One-handed, One-legged, One-Eyed, Disfigured, or Mangled) to replace the generic maimed [9] The health penalty from most of these traits is replaced by a Severely Injured
Punish prisoners in new ways: Humiliate, Torture, Mutilate, Bad poetry and Consume (if cannibal). [10]
Recruit prisoners into your court
50 new nicknames: 'One-Eye', 'the Frog', 'the Cannibal', 'the Hideous', 'the Resilient', etc.
31 execution methods, including Hanging, Crushing, Sawing, and Bear.
Reactions events to the death of lovers, friends, and rivals
Events around cats[11]
Patch features [ edit ]
Free patch 2.6 features:
Call to arms : automatic call of allies into war, introduced in patch 2.5, will be reverted. Declining a call now has very serious consequences [12] : The alliance and the non-aggression pact are broken. You lose half your current prestige, plus 200 (same as truce breaking.) Adds an "Alliance Breaker" character modifier lasting 15 years that lowers the opinions of all vassals by -10 and all foreign rulers by -25. You get a -50 opinion penalty with the calling ruler and his or her close family (including the spouse that allowed the alliance in the first place.)
: automatic call of allies into war, introduced in patch 2.5, will be reverted. Declining a call now has very serious consequences :
Game rules: in-game configuration of some defines, without requiring to use a mod. Some options will disable achievements.[13]
A new map mode for diseases
Revised succession screen, with epitaph of departed character and brief introduction to the new one[14]
New decisions for defensive pagans [15] : Devout warriors to defend against an enemy of a different religion, Ancestor worship to ask your ancestors for help or advise with some part of your life
:
For Germanic pagans: Improved versions of the Viking Ravager Sea king Valhalla-bound trait, equivalent of Crusader great holy wars. Shieldmaiden
More female advisor options: close relatives of a ruler with high stats, and talented woman arriving in court.
Flanders is now part of the kingdom of France, and the AI king of France will no longer create the Kingdom of Aquitaine unless needed for Francia Empire creation requirements.[16]
Tweaks for nomads of Horse Lords expansion: Pillage becomes a toggle rather than an action, to make it easier. Nomad agitation modifier when conquering an empty province from a horde, until a city or castle is built. Silk road has been updated and extended to add a new branch
New targeted decisions: break non-aggression pacts and cancel tributary status of tribute-payers
Character finder new icons to indicate whether characters will move to your court, and if they are outside of diplomatic range.
Continue button on the launcher to load directly into your latest save game.
A combination of game optimizations, resulting in a 30-50% speed improvement, and with far smaller annoying pauses: [17] Uncompressed saves are smaller, which reduces compression and write times Saves are saved more efficiently The processing of things is done across the year rather than at the end of each year, avoiding the noticeable pause The map rendering is faster Some unnecessary map or UI refresh triggered for non-outdated things are removed Several computations that were single-threaded are now multi-threaded Some performance-intensive computations are improved The number of randomly generated characters is reduced, and unnecessary characters are eliminated more aggressively
Some modding suggestions.
The inability to disable Paradox's data tracking, and an EULA updated to reflect that fact
Trivia [ edit ]
Expansion was originally named <Secret DLC> in Developer diaries, as it hadn't been announced yet.
The namespace used for DLC events is "RIP" (Rest in peace).
For death screams, leek and celery were used to recreate some “sweet” and intense bone cracking sound effects, while the pepper and salad were to create a “slow crushing” sound effect. [18]
After The Reaper's Due, another two (or even three) expansions are planned before the development stops. "There are still some blanks in the Old World; rulers you cannot play and regions not yet covered..." [19]
Crusader Kings: Chronicles gamebook will unlock "a song and two event chains". [20]
Meneth worked on patch 2.6 optimization and modding features, as an intern in Crusader Kings 2 team.
The Reaper's Due was the first DLC with David "Darkrenown" Ballantyne as Game Designer.
Dev diaries [ edit ]
All developer diaries about the The Reaper's Due expansion and patch 2.6. | {
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Moscow is calling for a meeting of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPWC) on April 2 to have “an honest conversation” on the Skripal case, Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, said.
Read more
Moscow suggested convening a meeting of the OPCW executive council on April 2, where it will bring up all questions, Lavrov said adding that if "our Western partners" dodge this, then it will be further "evidence" that everything that’s happened is a "provocation."
The FM again refuted Britain's accusations against Russia over poisoning the former double agent, saying that “never before have we witnessed such mockery of international law.”
According to Lavrov, Britain has no interest in establishing the truth in the Skripal case.
READ MORE: ‘100 suspicions don’t make proof’: Moscow quotes Dostoyevsky in reply to Boris Johnson over Skripal
Speaking about the OPWC technical secretariat experts that arrived in the UK to examine the nerve agent, which London claims was used to poison the Skripals, Lavrov that they could only establish that “the chemical composition of the substance that will be presented for their analysis.” He explained that it “can’t back up or verify” the conclusions that the British side came to because the secretariat doesn’t have the rights.
Lavrov said he was glad that Yulia Skripal was “rapidly recovering.” He added that Moscow has repeatedly demanded to be provided access to Yulia, as she’s a Russian citizen, and said that he was looking forward to Britain respecting its international obligation. Earlier, London denied Russian consulate staff members access to Skripal’s daughter. | {
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This is one of my absolute favourite champagnes . Fresh and clean on the palate and made to age for many years. Aromas of fresh citrus and green apples and lots of chalky mineral notes. Layers upon layers of concentrated sweet fruit with a generous mousse. Will hold for many years, drink over the next 10 years?Copyright Per Kamperin (My collection.)Winemakers notes The 1996 Salon is a pale yellow color with a touch of green. It is clear and lively, with fine, persistent bubbles and a stunning bouquet. Initially, the nose offers hints of green apple, which soon develop into lemon and grapefruit combined with pear and kiwi notes. The wine is complex and refreshing on the palate, displaying a burst of minerality. This is a well-made, rich, powerful Champagne, all-encompassing yet subtle, with contained strength. According to Didier Depond, Salon should be served in a tulip-shaped glass instead of a traditional champagne flute. “Because of the richness and complexity of its aromas, and it… | {
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Note: Due to different features and requirements in operating systems and programming languages, not all hardware in the above lists may be supported in all Buttplug implementations.
Don't see the device you have or want on the lists? Let us know! | {
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You know what’s harder than creating an alternate reality with Javascript? Drawing a <div>.
If you don’t know what DOM-to-canvas is, I’d recommend reviewing the classic by Robert O’Callahan, and possibly one in which he talks about security of the scheme.
But here’s my TLDR:
Browsers — the thing designed to draw web pages — don’t let developers draw web pages. For reasons.
You’d be 👌 right to suspect this is one of the most requested features in a browser. Especially in a world where Rob’s predictions about 3D objects being drawn with HTML are coming true with the whole WebXR thing.
Yet it’s 7 years later and not much has changed with what the major vendors have done with DOM to canvas. It’s still not happening, for reasons.
WebXR dev see the truth
Of course, the reason given by browsers for not implementing such a feature is security. The browser uses state such as cookies when rendering a web page, which is exposed when you draw it.
It’s the same story as cross-origin policies, iframe issues, and CORS. You might recognize this as another list of web developer banes.
To say we can’t DOM-to-canvas because of the cookies is like saying we can’t take the car because of the elephant.
I just want a browser in my browser
The impetus for this post was that I wanted to run Shane Harris’s A-Frame in-app Browser in WebXR.
And all I could think was:
Cool, I remember haxing this before!
I want to use this!
I wonder which hack and caveat this requires to work…
That’s why I decided to write this post to round up the techniques I’d used and seen used.
27 ways to kinda sorta DOM-to-canvas
Since browsers didn’t implement this much-asked for feature, developers took it into their own hands with varying degrees of success. Here are some hacks you’ll see in the wild:
The Mozilla <svg>
This technique involves packing your DOM into an XMLSerializer to get an XML representation which you can wrap in a <foreignObject> that you put into an SVG, which you load into an HTMLImageElement, wait for it to load, and then finally draw to a <canvas>.
Also if you’re using images or certain styles you’ll have to compile them to data URLs and maybe insert a delay to make sure they’ve loaded before you try to draw your SVG.
This is the recommended API by the premier proponent of the web.
The capture tab
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/API/tabs/captureTab
Extension authors would flip if they couldn’t capture the contents of the browser, so browser vendors acquiesced here.
You can capture a tab screenshot if you are an extension. Presumably as an extension you are more trustworthy than a site so they are blessed with the privilege.
The idea is you call a browser-internal API and get back a data URL for a png or jpeg, which you then waste time decoding and drawing to a canvas. You’ll get double-digit FPS out of it too!
The catch is that you need to be an extension, or write one.
Unsurprisingly, I have seen sites in the wild that require you to install an extension to unlock this functionality on the site with a hack.
The fat companion
https://github.com/shaneharris/aframe-in-app-browser/blob/57c3fb4367381725735193b750692b353f94d701/server.js#L9
This is the technique used by shaneharris/aframe-in-app-browser.
The idea is that you start an extra browser somewhere. And that browser does the drawing for you, and sends you back the results.
Generally this browser will be running on some server, so this limits usefulness to the cases where you are running a local app or don’t mind the server/bandwidth bills for your app.
Again this has been used in production.
The webkit.js
http://trevorlinton.github.io/
This one is ingenious. Especially for its time in a pre-WebAssembly world.
The idea is that you literally take WebKit (the rendering engine for Safari and formerly Chrome), and you compile it to Javascript with emscripten. And then you run it in the browser, so you can finally draw things freely.
The most shocking thing is that it works, if you don’t mind 0.1 FPS.
webkit.js in Webkit
The time capsule
How did we get here?
How did we get to a point where instead of browser vendors solving a problem so many developers want solved, end developers are inventing new modes of computation inception to compensate?
In a gem from 2011 Paul Irish, we get a time capsule into what web developers were thinking back in the pre-ES5-toric times.
Here’s some of the cream of the crop.
Our friend DOM to canvas makes an appearance. As does rethinking the DOM, performance, and straight up throwing away the browser.
A step back
I can empathize with browser security, and I wouldn’t advocate breaking it. By and large browser vendors have accomplished the impossible with an arbitrary code execution platform that works (tm).
But the browser has also dug itself an immense hole: it has to support so many APIs and paradigms and interactions that sometimes things just fundamentally don’t mesh. And so this is why we can’t do a fast DOM to canvas. Because reasons.
And as a WebXR developer I’m caught in the middle. I just want a browser engine that gives me APIs and gets of the way. Maybe I’m running in a container. Maybe I’m shipping to an app store. Maybe all of the DOMs I’m drawing are local files. But the browser doesn’t know.
So that’s why we have open source.
I wanted an escape hatch so I made one
I added an Electron API that efficiently streams pixel Buffer diffs at 200 FPS. (PR #326)
I was busy bugfixing by day so I did it overnight. But as they say, an overnight success takes 7 years.
Especially if you’re a browser.
Check out Exokit: https://exokit.org
Sign up to our mailing list for updates: http://eepurl.com/dFiLMz
Homepage: https://exokit.org
GitHub: https://github.com/exokitXR/exokit
Twitter: https://twitter.com/exokitXR
Instagram: https://instagram.com/exokitXR
Discord: https://discord.gg/cf5tfTV
Slack: https://exokit.slack.com/join/shared_invite/enQtNDI3NjcxNzYwMDIxLWU2NmFmOTEzMzk4NWNiYjRhMjVkYzcyNjg5YjUyMzZkYWM1ZGI4M2IwYWZiMjNlMTJjMDlkM2U3Y2JiNTc2M2Q
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/exokitXR | {
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What has been more irritating than the Cambridge Analytica Scandal and the #CrytpoBan COMBINED is the underlying hypocrisy that is Mark Zuckerberg’s ultimate way of saying, probably under his breath, “Facebook does whatever the f*ck it wants.”
“A man wearing a red-hooded sweat-shirt stretching his hand forward with his palm open.” by Sandeep Swarnkar on Unsplash
To say the least, Facebook been under some heavy heat recently for privacy issues and data censorship, among other things.
In a May 2018 article in the Wall Street Journal, Deepa Seetharman informed readers about Zuck’s Double-Standard on privacy.
The writer illustrated two scenarios for dealing with data privacy on FB, one policy for the general public, the other for Facebook employees:
For the general public, a select group of Facebook employees are allowed to access user profiles without the user being warned, BUT that isn’t true if you work at Facebook. When someone within the company peers into a colleague’s internal account, that colleague whose account is being compromised is warned.
The warning is called the Sauron Alert.
(And yes, for those of you who are thinking it, this is a CREEPY reference to the all-seeing eye from the Lord of the Rings. If you are thinking that, you are nerdy and correct).
Photo by Jeff Finley on Unsplash
So tell me, why is it fair that Facebook employees get to know when other colleagues are peering into their profile, but when Facebook does it to other people, it is okay?
But that is just one of two GROSS double standards and breaches of digital ethics that have come from Facebook this week.
The second is that Facebook has famously banned ads that promote cryptocurrency and other deceptive financial products, but with one HUGE EXCEPTION.
Before I show you the ad and reveal who that is, take a look at the current policy regarding the status of cryptocurreny on Facebook:
“Ads must not promote financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional tactics, such as binary options, initial coin offerings, or cryptocurrency.”
Yet, that’s not actually true… for e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e.
The other day, I was on Facebook (my excuse was that I was actually conducting researching for a current project that I am working on to see which blockchains have managed to change letters in words like blockchain [to make blcokchain for example] to bypass the FB ban).
At first, I wasn’t able to find any ads that were able to do that. I refreshed the browser about 10 times so I could continue generating more ads, ensuring a wider sample size for my research.
Yet, I still was still unable to find any blockchains that bypassed the crypto as ban.
But then I found one.
An ad for tZERO appeared.
Yes the VERY FAMOUS BLOCKCHAIN from Overstock.com that is currently in live offering mode on StartEngine as an Alternative Trading System.
Yes, the same blockchain that billionaire George Soros is directly tired to after taking on a 10% stake at Overstock.com last year, the parent company of tZERO.
YES, the same cryptocurency that has a big (symbolic) “Millionaires Only” sign hanging from the landing page of the website. I say that because ONLY Accredited Investors are allowed to participate in the fundraising campaign.
To be eligible, Accredited investors need to prove that they make over $200,000 a year or have over 1 million under their possession. This leaves over 99% of crypto enthusiasts out.
Want to read more about Alternative Trading Systems? Look here.
Meanwhile, small OPOs on StartEngine such as Unicoin.life do not get to use Facebook to advertise at all.
Seems fair, right?
This is anti-small business and anti-American. But it makes sense coming out of Mark Zuckerberg’s swamp.
It almost makes sense that an elitist structure like tZERO’s Alternative Trading System would exclusively be allowed to advertise on Facebook’s platform. It’s almost like the Facebook swamp was cleared from EVERY SINGLE OTHER BLOCKCHAIN TO MAKE WAY FOR THIS ELITIST BLOCKCHAIN TO HAVE FREE REIGN. hmmmmmm
/end rant.
If anyone has an inkling as to why Facebook is allowing this to happen, please share.
Your response can address either Double Standard touched upon in this article. There is a lot of room to work with. I hope I hear some mouths barking about this.
Stop getting CyberBullied by Mark Zuckerberg.
Also, I just quit my job and dropped out of school to write about blockchain. Please consider tipping me in ETH as I would love to conintue eating, bathing, and eating Name Brand cereal.
ETH Wallet Address: 0xac48c872d99f8d2c5cace6ee57cedc9e2019f99d | {
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While smartwatches could make us even more addicted to the online world, a wristband concept device called the Ritot could take constant connectivity to the extreme by projecting the time, incoming calls, emails and notifications from Twitter and Facebook directly onto your hand.
The Ritot is what the company calls the first projection watch, however, the company has yet to show off a working prototype. Nevertheless, considering that it has already raised nearly $375,000 on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo, it's clear that there's a demand for this type of technology.
The Ritot uses light (from a pico projector) to display personalized content directly onto the top of the hand. It comes in two models: the unisex, aluminum bracelet — available in four sizes and colors (white, black, brown-gold and black-gold) — and the sport band, made of colored plastic (black, white, red, green, blue and yellow). Both versions are $120 and will ship to backers starting in early 2015.
Ritot displays social media notifications on the top of the hand.
While a digital clock is the main feature projected onto the hand, users who connect the device with their smartphones will receive vibrating notifications (and then a corresponding projection) in real-time. This means when you get a new friend request on Facebook, you'll see it pop up directly on your hand.
The wristband also projects incoming calls.
To dismiss the notifications, users can shake their hand, or it will automatically disappear in 10 seconds. The watch also comes with one touch-sensitive button that lets you manipulate the projection.
The Ritot — which is compatible with iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices — also comes with a unique wireless charger. When positioned on top of the charging station, it's possible to select from one of 20 different colors to later project onto your hand.
The Ritot comes in bracelet and sports band form.
The concept comes just a few months before Apple's anticipated iWatch is rumored to make its debut. While it's expected to have a strong focus on notifications and health and fitness apps, projecting content onto the hand appears to be exclusive to the Ritot. At least for now. | {
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Survivor type TV Show network CBS genre Reality Where to watch Close Streaming Options
Something is happening on Survivor. Something, I mean, beyond the terrifyingly ginormous statues of Boston Rob and Sandra Diaz-Twine clearly intended to give Island of the Idols contestants nightmares. And that something is this: Women are no longer winning the game.
A quick look at the numbers shows that a gender gap has definitely emerged on Survivor. And while battles are currently being waged to ensure gender parity in a variety of areas in our society, the disparity on Survivor (which producers like to consider a microcosm of society itself) is only getting larger. It didn’t used to always be that way, though.
In terms of winner distribution, the show’s first 25 seasons could not have been any more even, with 13 men and 12 women taking home the million-dollar prize. But then, something changed. Eleven of the last 14 seasons — including each of the last five — have been won by men. Here is the list:
Survivor: Caramoan winner — John Cochran
Survivor: Blood vs. Water winner — Tyson Apostol
Survivor: Cagayan winner — Tony Vlachos
Survivor: San Juan del Sur winner — Natalie Anderson
Survivor: World Apart winner — Mike Holloway
Survivor: Cambodia winner — Jeremy Collins
Survivor: Kaoh Rong winner – Michele Fitzgerald
Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X winner – Adam Klein
Survivor: Game Changers winner – Sarah Lacina
Survivor: Heroes v. Healer v. Hustlers winner – Ben Driebergen
Survivor: Ghost Island winner – Wendell Holland
Survivor: David vs. Goliath winner – Nick Wilson
Survivor: Edge of Extinction winner – Chris Underwood
Survivor: Island of the Idols winner – Tommy Sheehan
Image zoom
There have been many theories as to why males have dominated the winner’s circle in the last seven years of the show. Hidden immunity idols play a major role in how far people get and how they are judged at the final Tribal Council, and men have found way more of them than their female counterparts have. There have many theories floated as to why this is, and several female former players have chimed in saying that life around tribe camps often mirrors society in that the men often fall into the gender stereotypes and become the gatherers (making it easier for them to also search for idols), while the women are expected to stay back and tend to camp (thereby losing opportunities to procure idols) .
Vince Moua, who was eliminated on Island of the Idols, referenced this very thing taking place on the Lairo tribe when I spoke with him after his elimination. “The first day that we got onto the beach and we are going to make the shelter — one of the first things that Aaron did was, he started dictating and saying, ‘Okay, the guys are all gonna go gather stuff and the women are gonna stay here and you can prepare this and that,’” said Vince. “And I cut it immediately and said, ‘Nah, like the women can go get the things that they want to gather. Ladies, if you want to gather things, go for it. There’s no need for us to put the gender expectations on people, and the guys can also stay here and clean.’”
The topic of gender disparity in found immunity idols has even made it onto the show itself, with Angelina Keeley and Alison Raybould talking openly in David vs. Goliath about wanting to reverse the trend, and Angelina doing exactly that. Thankfully, more women have been finding more idols since then. Lauren O’Connell, Aubry Bracco, and Kelley Wentworth all found them during the Edge of Extinction season, while Chelsea Walker, Kellee Kim, Janet Carbin, Karishma Patel, and Elaine Stott all found idols during Island of the Idols. But when will those idol finds start translating to wins?
There is also the feeling among many viewers (and former players) that men are rewarded by both tribemates and juries for playing aggressively, while women are punished for the exact same behavior. If you look at the numbers, there is no question that male players have received a disproportionate amount of the jury votes. Forty-one people have made the final three (or final two in the case of Survivor: Cagayan) in the past 14 seasons. Twenty-four of them have been men, while 17 have been women.
But the gender gap in terms of jury votes awarded to male and female players is even greater. Of the 130 jury votes that have been cast (and this includes Laurel’s tie-breaker vote) at a final Tribal Council over the past 14 seasons, 104 have been for male finalists and only 26 for women. So while men make up 58% of the finalists from Survivor: Caramoan until now, they have received a staggering 80% of the jury votes. And while women have made up 42% of the finalists from that same period, they have received only a meager 20% of the votes.
And the discrepancy is only getting worse. Not only have men won the last five seasons, but each season has featured two male finalists and only one female. The starkest example is how the jury voted in those five seasons. Including Laurel’s tiebreaker vote, 50 final votes have been cast for a man to win, while only two have gone to women. Again, 50-2. Chrissy Hofbeck (who finished her season by winning the last three individual immunity competitions) received both of those votes, while Laurel Johnson, Angelina Keeley, Julie Rosenberg, and Noura Salman were all shut-out with zero.
When asked after the season about the gender disparity in winners and final Tribal Council voting, Noura had some pretty insightful thoughts:
“I’ll say this: There’s a job out there and a guy’s like, “Okay. I have 70% of what this job requires and wants. I’m going to apply.” A woman sees that job and says, ‘I’ve got, like, 80 percent. I don’t have enough. I’m not going to apply.’ They might have 85%, 90% and they’ll say, ‘No, I’m going to step away from it.’ That is what happened. You have a Dean and Tommy who think more highly of themselves in their game than it actually was, and they can put on the theatrics that Rob and Sandra said to do that. You know, I didn’t get that amazing lesson that Dean got. And they’re blowing themselves up and talking themselves up, and a woman in her head is talking herself down. She’s saying where she missed the marks, where she’s not doing it and you don’t have to say a word.
“We see it in your body language. A woman, like Sarah, that won, she came in like, ‘Oh, let me tell you.’ Her presence was commanding. Her eye contact, her conviction. That’s what you need. And that’s what these women that you’re seeing, these final three are not doing. When you see my body language, I’m looking down, my shoulders are closed, I’m crying. I’m barely looking at the jury. That is not going to win the game. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman. You need to be compelling and competent. And unfortunately these men are talking themselves up and the women are talking themselves down.
“And the biggest problem is the jury is making you walk into that and you can’t let them do that. I let them do that to me. They looked at me like, ‘Why do you deserve it? Tell us why. Why?’ And you feel at that moment you don’t have any cheerleaders, and now you let them pave the future instead of you taking the reins and saying, ‘No. Let me tell you what’s up right now.’ That’s where we go wrong as women in this game. I’ve got to say, there are other reasons too, but I think that’s what’s happening.”
When EW asked Jeff Probst about the disparity after the Island of the Idols fine, the host seemed surprised. “I did not realize that,” responded Probst. “Wow. I have zero idea. I need to pay more attention! I wonder if you merely pointing it out will impact the future. I’m serious. Sometimes, that is all it takes.”
And we’ll see what the future holds when season 40 — Survivor: Winners at War — premieres Feb. 12 on CBS.
This post was updated after the finale of Survivor: Island of the Idols.
Related content: | {
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www.globalresearch.ca Centre for Research on Globalisation Centre de recherche sur la mondialisation Saudis, Pakistanis, Israelis, and Neocons:
Stacking The Patsies of 9/11
by Chaim Kupferberg
www.globalresearch.ca 20 December 2003 The URL of this article is: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/KUP312B.html
The following are selected excerpts plus new material. The excerpts are taken from Truth, Lies, and The Legend of 9/11, which may be found at http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/KUP310A.html
In perhaps the most controversial segment of his landmark article, Chaim Kupferberg argues that, in addition to the "Official" 9/11 Legend, a number of counter-legends were built in so as to generate false leads and to take the emphasis away from the most likely instigators. Plus: An all-new section on former CIA agent Robert Baer and Daniel Pearl. The events of September 11 gave birth to three parallel threads - or counter-legends - pointing the way to the culpability of three possible foreign suspects, or patsies - namely, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Israel. Of the three, the Saudis were the patsies of choice for the mainstream "critics", who were a motley assortment of neo-cons, FBI investigators, or "retired" national security types opposed to the war in Iraq. The Pakistan/ISI thread to 9/11 flared up most noticeably in the events surrounding the death of Daniel Pearl and the alleged involvement of Omar Saeed Sheikh - events which were used, in fact, to smother the Pakistani/ISI connection to the 9/11 money trail. As regards Israel, the most radical opponents of the War On Terror were nursed on the twin threads of an Israeli spy ring and a neo-con cabal supposedly at the helm of the Bush Administration. It was not by accident that these three countries were chosen to play the role of second-tier patsies - for each of them contained insular cliques of operatives which had played seminal roles in the covert arms and drug trade - in cahoots with their more senior Anglo-American handlers - throughout the Reagan-Bush years. Moreover, these countries would make useful patsies for the very reason that they were essentially outside the "established" - i.e. Euro-American - ring of nations. In other words, if insular cliques of criminal operatives were to be ferreted out of Germany, France, or Italy, no one would think to brand these nations wholesale with the mark of Cain. The same could not be said of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Israel, whose very security - physical, political, and economic - would be staked to the publicized activities of their own respective political/criminal cliques. Moreover, much of the political and corporate elites within these countries were integrally networked with their American counterparts - indeed, largely subservient to them - to such a degree that they would also serve as useful proxies in building their own counter-legends under Anglo-Euro-American supervision. In the early stages of the 9/11 Legend, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were employed as the central bases for building up a terrorist home front within the borders of Afghanistan. As for Israel - despite its aforementioned spy ring and its supposedly allied neo-con "cabal" - its most direct and public contribution to the 9/11 Legend in fact occurred after 9/11, with the November 2002 coordinated attack on an Israeli-owned hotel and airliner in Kenya - an attack for which Israeli investigators now marshaled evidence as proof of Osama bin Laden's opening shot against the State of Israel (which was more likely Israel's "buy-in" in return for a promised attack on the Saddam Hussein regime). Thus, evidence could be amassed to cast aspersions on the activities of each of these three countries, depending on the intended audience. On another level, political elites within these countries could be assured that any aspersions would be relegated to insular "rogue" cliques. In the case of Saudi Arabia, a few princes of the Saudi royal family were thus eliminated within days of one another in 2002. In the case of Pakistan, "rogue" elements within the ISI were publicly purged in the months after 9/11. Yet in the case of Israel, its apparent "buy-in" through the 2002 Kenya attack served to strengthen, rather than weaken, the thread connecting Israel as a possible 9/11 culprit. If, in the context of this article, this would appear to be a short-sighted strategy by Israeli political elites, one can only surmise that these elites were blinded - or assured - by an apparent post-9/11 geo-strategic shift in favor of Israeli interests (i.e. an attack on Iraq) in conjunction with a publicly affirmed surge in influence among its supposed neo-con allies. With three alternative counter-legends in place to co-exist with the Official (i.e. mainstream) 9/11 Legend, the stage was thereby set to muddy the real trail leading to the events of September 11. With the participation of a global network of well-connected spinmeisters - both passive and active - each of the 9/11 threads could thus be nurtured through a series of carefully calibrated revelations. Of all the 9/11 spinmeisters, one of the most effective - and therefore damaging - was Jean-Charles Brisard, co-author with Guillaume Dasquie of The Forbidden Truth. Brisard burst on to the mainstream scene shortly after September 11 as one of the first "credible" critics of 9/11, weaving a trail of seemingly incriminating red herrings that will, in all probability, tie up a number of otherwise industrious conspiracy researchers for decades. In Brisard and Dasquie's version of 9/11, the main protectors of al-Qaida were the Saudis, who in turn were protected by greedy oil interests which sought - through the State Department - to obstruct any investigations that might unsettle their Saudi business associates. To nail down the point, Brisard recounted his summer 2001 meeting with John O'Neill, in which a frustrated, scandal-ridden O'Neill purportedly confided to Brisard that the "answer" to the al-Qaida riddle lay in Saudi Arabia. For good measure, Brisard had the well-timed implosion of Enron as a backdrop for his revelation, implicating this now-dead shell of a corporation in a stubborn push for an oil pipeline through Afghanistan (though senior Enron exec - and CIA offspring - Frank Wisner, Jr., was, as it happens, also one of the 17 elite "players" in the aforementioned "Dark Winter" exercise). Through Brisard (in addition to Pakistani Foreign Minister Niaz Naik), we learned that the U.S. had made plans as early as June of 2001 to invade Afghanistan by October of that year. During that summer, as Brisard chronicled it, a number of nations - including Iran, Russia, and India - got together for a four-day conference in Berlin, where the dispute with the Taliban was broached by U.S. diplomats. The U.S. demanded that the Taliban hand over bin Laden (in addition to negotiating for pipeline rights). Otherwise, the Americans threatened to blanket Afghanistan with "a carpet of bombs." Brisard's initial theory, then, was that this threat prompted bin Laden to launch a pre-emptive attack against the very nation that was now placing him in imminent peril. Brisard also seemed to implicate Bush, Sr. by way of his Carlyle Group interests. But in the end, as Brisard essentially kept bin Laden in place as the sole 9/11 culprit, the aspersions cast on the Bushes, the State Department, "oil interests", et al, would not amount to much - at least from a legal standpoint. At most, these parties could be judged as too blinded by greed to recognize - and pre-empt - the very real threat from al-Qaida. However you clothed Brisard's revelations, the "official" 9/11 Legend remained in place. Al-Qaida was still the defendant (albeit with a new excuse), O'Neill was still a martyr (albeit with a new Saudi gripe), and the Saudis were still suspicious (albeit with possibly a new gripe against Brisard). Brisard, incidentally, also happened to have written - for French intelligence - the first comprehensive report on the financial structure of al-Qaida, a copy of which was furnished to the Bush administration. Thus do national security types and their 9/11 critics have a deeper understanding of the 9/11 Legend courtesy of the efforts of Jean-Charles Brisard. Brisard's co-author, Guillaume Dasquie, also comes by his own intelligence connections, by way of his role as editor of Intelligence Online. It was through Dasquie's efforts that Intelligence Online, in March 2002, announced that it had come into possession of a 61-page "secret" DEA report on a large Israeli spy ring of "art students" who were casing federal buildings several months before September 11. The "leaking" of this document, in conjunction with Carl Cameron's December 2001 Fox News report on the spy ring, ignited an online firestorm among 9/11 critics - pointing the way, for some, to the Israelis as the main operative agents behind September 11. Yet, as we shall see, in the campaign to paint Israel as the main suspect, here was a case of mostly right wing sources doling out the goods for largely left wing consumption (with the obvious exception of Justin Raimondo, a political supporter of, and former speechwriter for, Pat Buchanan). Thus, while the likes of Stephen Emerson, Daniel Pipes, and John Loftus were doing the lecture circuit at Jewish Community Centers across North America, regaling this influential community with insinuations of possible Saudi and/or Iraqi involvement in 9/11, a more covert - and subtle - plan was afoot to plant the seeds of a new Jewish neocon/Zionist conspiracy among the left wing (i.e. the traditional foothold of the bulk of the American Jewish community). This relatively recent campaign to subvert the left with visions of a Jewish neocon/Zionist conspiracy dovetailed nicely with a more longstanding covert campaign - dating back more than thirty years - to build up a small but powerful right wing contingent of Jews to wean the rest from their knee-jerk liberalism (and thereby sap the strength and vigor of the traditional Democrat wing). The species of the Jewish "neo" conservative is best represented by Irving Kristol, a self-admitted former Trotskyite who had been a member of the "left-wing" Congress of Cultural Freedom (later exposed as a CIA front) before making a "sudden" right turn in the late sixties, bringing along with him a few other like-minded "disillusioned" Jews from CIA-funded "leftist" groups. The typical neo-conservative was "neo" in the sense that he would continue to hold liberal social values while espousing hard right (i.e. pro-corporate) economic views and a hawkish foreign policy - pretty much the course that American society has taken in the thirty-odd years since Kristol made his ideological "shift." Though the history is far more complex and detailed than indicated above, the crux of the point is this: in order to neutralize the influential American Jewish community on the subject of civil rights and domestic dissent (where they historically predominated), it was not sufficient only to wean the Jews from the left, but to turn the left against the Jews by now slurring them as right wing, Zionist "imperialists" (best exemplified by Richard Perle, who is actually more a product of the national security community than of the Jewish community). In concert with this strategy was a plan - also dating back more than thirty years - to wean the South from the Democrats by promoting a fundamentalist Christianity that grew in counter-point to the overall loosening social values. The typical fundamentalist Christian Republican would hold conservative social views while espousing hard right (i.e. pro-corporate) economic views and a hawkish foreign policy (best exemplified by John Ashcroft, who is actually more a product of a deeply cynical political community than of the community of belief). With that background in mind, we may now touch upon the national security/conservative clique which has furnished most of the information concerning Israeli perfidy and 9/11. For our purposes, the story begins on May 7, 1997, when Nora Boustany of The Washington Post first broached the existence of Mega, a suspected code name for a suspected Israeli mole within the upper echelons of the Clinton government. As reported by Boustany, the National Security Agency had intercepted a request from a Mossad operative to view a diplomatic letter from Yasser Arafat. When the operative was heard to ask his superior for the assistance of someone or something called Mega, he received the reply, "We don't use Mega for this." The story, in fact, broke on the very day when South Korean spy Robert C. Kim was scheduled to deliver a guilty plea after a plea bargain - a similar bargain that was, in fact, dishonored in the case of convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard in the mid-80's. Kim, like Pollard, had worked in the Office of Naval Intelligence, though Pollard had worked in the counter-terrorism section. A week before the Mega story broke - on April 30, 1997 - Pollard had petitioned the Israeli High Court to compel the Israeli government to reveal what it knew about his case. If a battle was brewing between Pollard supporters (Likud/ neocon elements) and opponents (the Bush/ Baker clique/ Woolsey/the national intelligence apparatus), the May 7 Mega leak by way of the National Security Agency seemed to head it off, publicly raising the specter of yet another Israeli mole. And then the story ultimately went cold, with no official resolution and - most crucially - no hard details by which to flesh out this possible mole hunt. Yet Jeffrey Steinberg of Lyndon LaRouche's Executive Intelligence Review has attempted to draw a line between this morsel of an item and a Mega Group that was mentioned by Lisa Miller in the Wall Street Journal on May 4, 1998. In Steinberg's telling, the Mega Group is, in fact, the shadowy Mega from the Boustany article. As Steinberg put it, the Mega Group - a select group of Jewish billionaires including Bronfman, Steinhardt, Spielberg, Tisch, and others - had come together to influence U.S. security policy toward Israel. Yet that was a disingenous - and I dare say, dishonest - reading of the Miller article. In other words - and this was very clear from the Miller article - their main concern was assimilation and philanthropy, not Israeli national security issues, as Steinberg had reported. But Steinberg's technique was all too typical - mischievously weaving two totally disconnected items so as to give the impression that he was uncovering bona fide evidence of a fully known Jewish/Israeli conspiracy. Yet taking the thread of a burgeoning Israeli spy conspiracy further, in May 2000, J. Michael Waller and Paul M. Rodriguez of Insight magazine (the sister publication of the ultra-right wing Washington Times, which is in turn owned by the Moonies) broke the story that the Israelis had possibly compromised U.S. government phone lines, giving them access to sensitive information. Carl Cameron of Fox News followed this up on May 5, 2000 by reporting on the investigation into the Israeli-founded company AMDOCS, describing "an alleged penetration of U.S. government phone systems." This thread was also taken up by Gordon Thomas, the MI5 (British intelligence) connected editor of the website Globe-Intel. Thomas, in his book, Gideon's Spies, broached the subject of the Israeli infiltration of the Clinton White House by way of the Mega mole. He also had alleged that the Mossad had a possible role in the death of Princess Diana; that the Mossad tapped Monica Lewinsky's phone in order to pick up her conversations with President Clinton; and that the Israelis stole the sophisticated PROMIS software, which eventually ended up in the possession of Osama bin Laden. Incidentally, Gordon Thomas holds himself out as a friend and intimate confidant of Mossad insiders. We shall return to Thomas shortly, for he - like Brisard and Dasquie - has also played a significant part in lining up new alternate 9/11 suspects (most recently China, in his book Seeds of Fire). Picking up the thread, in March 2001 - significantly, several months before September 11 - the U.S. National Counterintelligence Center sent out an advisory for federal employees to be aware that a number of young Israelis were approaching federal agents at their offices and at their residences throughout the country, passing themselves off as art students looking to sell their work - but more peculiarly, identifying themselves as Israeli art students, thereby "red-flagging" themselves for the benefit of the National Counterintelligence Center. A few months after September 11, Carl Cameron - in December of 2001 - once more visited the issue of Israeli penetration, this time naming a second Israeli company, Comverse Infosys, as having access to nearly all wiretaps placed by U.S. law enforcement. As part of a four-part series for Fox News, Cameron also cited a "secret" DEA report that chronicled the actions of the aforementioned Israeli "art student" spy ring. Soon after a transcript of Cameron's report was uploaded on the Fox News website, it was taken offline and purged from the archives - a presumed cover-up that actually raised far more suspicions over Israeli/Jewish influence than the report itself. Perhaps that was the intended effect - as the purpose would be to "red flag" this item for an "alternative" online audience, not for the mainstream couch potatoes who were wedded to the Official 9/11 Legend in any case. Was Cameron simply a dedicated journalist who was muzzled by his conservative, pro-Israeli, employers at Fox? Or was he rather a passive disinformation asset, coyly nursing the Israeli thread when told to do so? On May 13, 2002, with government warnings of a follow-up terrorist attack seeding the media zeitgeist, Cameron red-flagged the Israelis once more, this time reporting that a rental truck with traces of TNT was pulled over near an army base in the State of Washington. Once again, suspicious Israelis were discovered as occupants, and once again, the news suspiciously disappeared from the airwaves. There was a curious parallel to the manner by which various Israelis tended to be "pulled over" in the Israeli/9/11 Counter-Legend as opposed to the manner by which various al-Qaida operatives tended to incriminate themselves through those fortuitous cell phone and email "intercepts" in the al-Qaida/9/11 Legend. On June 23, 2002, ABC News picked up the earlier story of five "suspicious" Israelis celebrating on the roof of their van in the wake of September 11. When the police had pulled them over and searched the contents of the van, sure enough, they found...box cutters. And just as sure enough, this story also "suspiciously" vanished without a follow-up. It is also a curious fact that former CIA counterterror chief/ABC News consultant Vincent Cannistraro lent his own spin on that report. As I had pointed out in The Propaganda Preparation For 9/11, and as I will show further in this article, Cannistraro has "spun" a great deal of information on the 9/11 Legend. While the spy ring story has been neglected by much of the mainstream media, it nevertheless remains in the background, ready to be "mainstreamed" if or when the "official" 9/11 Legend begins to show cracks (or if the resident Israeli government proves to be troublesome). As I have pointed out, much of the first-hand revelations of Israeli penetrations have come not from alternative sources, but from well-established, "credible" conservative sources highly placed within the intelligence apparatus. While Daniel Pipes (CFR member and former Defense Department employee) made a disingenuous attempt at discrediting the spy ring story, the actual DEA report that was acquired by Dasquie's Intelligence Online was confirmed as authentic on February 25, 2002 by Will Glaspy of the DEA's public affairs bureau. Moreover, according to a May 5, 2002 report in Le Monde, Cameron's four-part Fox broadcast was shown and cleared with the CIA, FBI, and NSA before its airing. Clearly, somebody high up wants this out in the ether. Yet it is a curious fact that some of this information comes from sources which are traditionally known to be friendly to Israeli interests. For instance, J. Michael Waller, who wrote the Insight piece with Paul M. Rodriguez, is a member of the right wing, pro-Israel Center For Security Policy, which, according to the Center's own site, includes an "extraordinary number of members of the Center's National Security Advisory Council" in the top echelons of the Bush Administration. Waller, incidentally, also wrote an Insight piece entitled "Preparing For The Next Pearl Harbor Attack" - just a few months before 9/11 - in which he described the plan for a Homeland Security Agency, as recommended by the Hart-Rudman Commission report (yes, they had the "homeland security" blueprint in place several months before 9/11). As for Waller's associate, Paul M. Rodriguez - the managing editor of Insight - has had a history of printing incriminating items that don't quite circulate yet get the point across all the same. One particularly creepy example concerns an Insight piece that Rodriguez wrote in 1989, reporting on a pedophile ring in the nation's capital, linking one of its participants to Donald Gregg, a senior aide to President Bush. Since then, Gregg has served as Ambassador to South Korea and as head of the Korea Society. This might have something to do with the fact that the Moonies, owner of Insight, have been rumored to be a front for the South Korean CIA. Incidentally, since President George H.W. Bush has left office, he has put in a considerable number of appearances at Moonie functions. As for Gordon Thomas of Globe-Intel, it turns out that he has been a major contributor to the Israel/9/11/ Counter-Legend in addition to his other contributions to Israeli legends. Perchance he had come by this good fortune through his father-in-law, a former MI5 British intelligence operative who had introduced Thomas to so many of his intelligence contacts. Adding his own "insider" gloss to the spy ring tale, Thomas is a source for the claim that Israel sent out spies to infiltrate al-Qaida in the U.S., writing that Israel sent warnings about the impending attacks to the Bush administration through French and German intelligence. In his May 21, 2002 article for Globe-Intel, Thomas - in a Mossad "insider" scoop - revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Sharon in fact authorized a "leak" of documents showing that Bush was warned by Israel of the approaching al-Qaida threat by virtue of Israel's comprehensive infiltration of al-Qaida cells on American soil. In other words, Sharon wanted to prove to Bush (and to Globe-Intel readers?) that his Mossad agents - art students, perhaps? - had learned of 9/11 over coffee with Mohammed Atta. As Thomas put it: "Sharon's reaction is a calculated response to growing claims that Mossad has been running spy operations in the United States..." A calculated response? Either Thomas is serving us up some fairly heavy British intelligence disinformation (false-flagged as a Mossad scoop), or he's implying that Sharon was on some pretty serious weed at the time - for insisting with documented proof that, yes, his own agents did in fact illegally spy on U.S. territory, and what's more, did lunch with the 9/11 hijackers. Yet given Thomas' record of pinning likely British intelligence "hits" on the Mossad - Princess Diana, Robert Maxwell, etc. - I'm willing to bet that the former is the case. In that context, it is perhaps curious that Thomas - like Brisard - has chosen to use John O'Neill, this time in order to weave a counter-legend of Israel at the center of a global criminal network. In his latest book on Robert Maxwell, Thomas alleges that Maxwell was an Israeli "super-spy" who, in the words of John O'Neill, "was at the heart of the global criminal network." Thomas writes that O'Neill's contribution to the book was "enormous" - which is indeed interesting, as the book covers much of the corruption wrought through the British/C.I.A./BCCI networks, though Thomas employs O'Neill to "spin" the global corruption instead as the joint work of Israel (via Maxwell) and Russian criminal gangs. Thomas' fellow Globe-Intel editors are also an interesting bunch. One fellow editor, the British Sunday Express correspondent Yvonne Ridley, had made her own entry into the 9/11 Legend as a high-profile captive of the Taliban. Ridley, who claimed that the British government were inciting the Taliban to kill her by implying that she was their covert agent, was fortunately released by her captors on October 8, 2001, just one day after the invasion of Afghanistan had begun. Given such a grave accusation, one wonders why she would subsequently take up office space with an MI5 "groupie" (Thomas) - unless, of course, she had now established her bona fides as a "credible" source of disinformation. [[ New material added on December 19, 2003: Apparently, Yvonne Ridley's episode among the Taliban did help to establish her credibility - at least among the Muslim masses of the Middle East. In the aftermath of her well-publicized captivity, Ridley embarked on a course of study in the Koran, culminating in her conversion to Islam - and, most significantly, her subsequent posting to Qatar as an anti-Western correspondent for al-Jazeera. Last month, she was abruptly dismissed from al-Jazeera for reasons that remain unclear. Sandwiched between her role as a famous Taliban captive and her subsequent incarnation as a fundamentalist employee of al-Jazeera, Ridley was a key source - in collaboration with Gordon Thomas - for the contention that Mossad had provided forewarnings specifically by reason of its infiltration of al-Qaida cells. Perhaps only time will tell - but Ridley is looking more and more credible as a source of disinformation as her legend proceeds down its bizarre, twisted path.]] Rounding out the Globe-Intel editorial group is terrorism expert Martin Dillon, who wrote a well-circulated tribute to his friend John O'Neill, substantiating the official legend that O'Neill was "frustrated" by State Department efforts to block his pursuit of bin Laden. In reading the detailed revelations of Brisard, Dasquie, and Thomas, one enters the proverbial hall of mirrors, where subtle truths reflect back upon themselves as half-lies, and perceptions splinter amid a cascade of contradictions. Such is the world of the disinformation operative. As a first defense, all you need to know is when you're in it, not particularly what's in it. Still, a more curious case is that of John Loftus, a long-standing Catholic friend of the Jews who had served in the Justice Department's Nazi-hunting unit, where he had discovered - through CIA archives - the depth of the CIA program to smuggle in Nazi war criminals through "ratlines" to the United States after the Second World War. In his book, The Secret War Against The Jews, Loftus documented in painful detail the anti-Semitic history of the powerful Anglo-American "Establishment", the Wasp clique which, through their oil and industrial holdings, has had a stranglehold on American foreign - and military - policy for close to a century. Loftus, clearly intimate with a great many operatives in the intelligence community - whom he refers to as the "old spies" - had posited that the Jews were repeatedly used as pawns and scapegoats in the grand match played out by these men on the geopolitical chessboard. Loftus' reading of this Establishment - which encompasses the likes of the Rockefellers, the Dulles brothers, the Bakers, and the Bushes - dovetails nicely with the writings of scholars like Peter Dale Scott (whose personal integrity and research skills are beyond question). In other words, Loftus knows who is the real power behind the throne. Yet in the light of 9/11, it appears that Loftus has put on his blinders, going out on the lecture circuit and offering the warmed-over neo-conservative view that September 11 was essentially the work of wicked Saudis intent on destabilizing the West by priming the terror pumps with their oil wealth. More ominously, Loftus was offering his audiences a neocon bird's eye view into the near future (courtesy of his military contacts out of MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa) - a future in which a liberated Iraq would be turned over to a compliant Hashemite monarchy (now resident in Jordan), and then on to Saudi Arabia, where the Saudis would be booted and replaced by compliant Hashemite monarchs in a new Hashemite Arabia. And as for the West Bank Palestinians - well, they would be handed over to the custody of the compliant Jordanian Hashemites. As for Loftus, he was making his own contribution by heading up a class action lawsuit on behalf of the families of 9/11 against those ruthless Saudi financiers. And, as an aside, he was assuring his mostly Jewish audience that George W. Bush is, at root, a decent fellow. In short, Loftus was propagandizing his audience toward a highly selective reading of 9/11. Gone were the ominous shadows of BCCI and Iran-Contra, casting their pall over the credibility of those powerful politicians feeding us their take on a new world order. More than anyone (this writer included), Loftus should have been able to detect a high-level disinformation campaign to set up "the Jews" and "the Zionists" as the main evil conspirators behind 9/11. Yet ironically, here was Loftus casting his lot in with those very neo-conservatives who will one day serve as the showcase exhibits for what is sure to be the latest entry in an updated blood libel. From the Crucifixion, to the Rothschilds, and on to the Twin Towers, the Jews were being set up once more to play their historical role as punch toys to smokescreen a powerful oligarchy. The set-up was on two fronts - foreign and domestic. On the domestic front, the neo-conservatives headed by Dick Cheney and Richard Perle -widely dubbed by the mainstream press as the "hawks" - were being marketed as the true ideological powers behind the Bush administration. Their patchwork of inter-connected think tanks - Center for Security Policy, Project for A New American Century (PNAC), Center For Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), American Enterprise Institute (AEI) - were deeply involved in sending out various "experts" to explain the War On Terrorism in a mainstream forum, thereby setting out the parameters of debate (in addition to the parameters of the perceived threat). But did these neo-conservatives constitute a mere "rogue element" - an insular "cabal" of pro-Zionist conservatives holding a largely naive President Bush in their sway (as Lyndon LaRouche and the folks at Executive Intelligence Review would have us believe)? Or rather, were they just a group "cut-out" for other, more powerful interests - in other words, the public face that would skew the ultimate responsibility, letting the true masterminds off the hook while the "cut-out" proxies would double as potential patsies? It had certainly been the case during the Clinton era, when Richard Mellon Scaife's organization took center stage as the most vociferous entity in attacking the integrity of President Clinton. Thus, while Scaife's cronies made sure that all eyes were focused on Whitewater, Lewinsky, Foster, et al, the mainstream focus was kept far from the infinitely more nefarious, and damaging, scandal that was known by the four-letter word Mena, the crucial transit point in Arkansas which, under Governor Clinton, had served to sustain the arms/drug dealing operations that were fed through Iran-Contra and laundered through BCCI. Thus, with Whitewater as the Scaife-funded public face of the Starr inquiry into Clinton, those Clinton associates who could really provide the dirt on the Clinton/Mena connection were being "purged" in plain sight - through various prosecutions, accidents, murders, or well-timed heart attacks (in the case of Jim MacDougall). Meanwhile, all eyes were directed to the curious stain on the blue dress. Once Clinton was safely out of office (and a leash presumably was no longer needed), Scaife disappeared from public view as suddenly as he entered it - to be replaced by Dick Cheney, Richard Perle, and their coalition of fundamentalist Christian/Jewish Zionists. Picking up on the above theme, in the excerpt below, Kupferberg analyzes the contributions of Vincent Cannistraro and Robert Baer to the neo-con/Israel counter-legend. Cannistraro and Baer, two "former" CIA officials who have since served as frequent consultants and "critics" in the mainstream media, have elsewhere inserted themselves personally into the 9/11 Legend - Baer, in his self-professed capacity as Daniel Pearl's "research" partner; and Cannistraro, through his past revelation of an Iraq/Oklahoma City connection. Richard Sale [of UPI] would later go on to cite both Baer and Cannistraro (on record here) for their views of the neo-con clique in Washington - the one that was widely marketed as pushing for war in Iraq. Sale's February 11, 2003 UPI article quoted Cannistraro thusly: " 'Clearly Iraq is not the last phase of what the administration tends to do in the Middle East.' According to the neo-con theory, [Cannistraro] said, 'Syria is to be the next target.' He concurred with another view in Washington that holds that part of the Bush plan was to 'wean the Jewish lobby away from the Democrats' and that 'it's already pretty much happened.' " As for Baer's own assessment of the neo-cons: "Former CIA official Robert Baer, when asked about the master plan for the Middle East, told UPI last fall that Bush's team allegedly wanted 'to divide up Syria, give part of Iraq to Turkey, overthrow the monarchy in Saudi Arabia, [and] restore the Hashemites to the Hijaz,' a very center of Saudi Arabian culture. 'The underlying motivation' for this, Baer said, 'is Israel...' "
Recall that previously I had argued that both the "Jewish" neo-cons and the state of Israel were to be set up as second tier proxy/patsies for the events of 9/11. And while 9/11 was not at issue in the above-referenced article, it is not unreasonable to conjecture that the article was meant to be read on two levels. On the "mainstream" level, Baer and Cannistraro were pushing the view that the approaching war in Iraq was a project of an insular group of neo-cons acting on behalf of the state of Israel, allied with the Jewish lobby. No indication here of a 9/11 conspiracy. Elsewhere, Cannistraro and Baer had repeatedly gone on record as adhering to the main contours of the Official 9/11 Legend - that al-Qaida was the key perpetrator of the 9/11 attacks, perhaps with a bit of help from Saudi elements. On the "alternative", more "conspiracy-minded" level, Cannistraro and Baer were reinforcing suspicions that this powerful neo-con clique was perhaps responsible for plots more sinister than a push toward Iraq. In this respect, perhaps it was not just a matter of happenstance that Yosri Fouda had chosen to pair Cannistraro's commentary about the cheering Israelis on the white van with Lyndon LaRouche's well-circulated theory of a "rogue", self-contained, "cabal" of largely Jewish neo-cons behind 9/11. Again, something for everyone.
Cannistraro and Baer - who both have gone on record as criticizing the neo-cons and their spurious evidentiary claims of an Iraqi connection to 9/11 - also share a common journalistic connection with Seymour Hersh, the investigative journalist who has played his own part in discrediting the neo-cons and the state of Israel. Hersh, in fact, wrote the foreword to Baer's See No Evil - a recommended book for those wedded to the complacency theory of 9/11, to be read in conjunction with Brisard and Dasquie's The Forbidden Truth and Coleen Rowley's congressional testimony.
Hersh, a classic "access" reporter who first made his reputation in an expose of the Mai Lai Massacre in Vietnam, was playing the neo-con angle for all it was worth. In the Spring of 2003, in the midst of global hysteria over Iraq, Hersh raised allegations that arch-neo-con Richard Perle had peddled his influence with the Defense Policy Board for financial gain, thereby forcing Perle to resign his position as Chairman. Thereafter, Hersh revealed - in a May 12, 2003 article in The New Yorker - the intellectual influence behind the scheming, insular neo-cons: the late Leo Strauss, a professor at the University of Chicago. In Hersh's telling, the Bush Administration was in the grip of the influential Office of Special Plans at the Pentagon, dominated by the neo-cons, who were now branded as "Straussians." In nailing down his point, Hersh quoted Cannistraro, who claimed to have intimate knowledge of this Straussian clique:
"The group's members, Cannistraro said, 'reinforce each other because they're the only friends they have, and they all work together. This has been going on since the nineteen-eighties, but they've never been able to coalesce as they have now. September 11th gave them the opportunity, and now they're in heaven."
Again, Cannistraro here can be - and probably was intended to be - read on two levels. On the "mainstream" level, the charge consists of nothing more sinister than that of an "opportunistic" post-9/11 grab at the foreign policy agenda. Yet on the "alternative" level, Cannistraro was providing a powerful ready-made quote for use by the "9/11 conspiracy crowd." Indeed, the Lyndon LaRouche apparatus at Executive Intelligence Review was once more playing counterpoint to Cannistraro's melody - for, whether coincidental or otherwise, LaRouche's unveiling of Leo Strauss as the intellectual godfather of the neo-cons (whom he dubbed as the Children of Satan) had in fact just preceded Hersh's more "mainstream" take on the neo-con Strauss crowd. And now that Cannistraro had furnished his "smoking gun" quote, the LaRouchites at Executive Intelligence Review were subsequently quoting Cannistraro in order to burnish their contention that 9/11 was likely the work of the insular neo-con "Perle/Wolfowitz cabal".
Meanwhile, both Baer and Cannistraro were lending their growing reputations as critics of the War on Iraq in order to bolster the legitimacy of the case for the War on Terror. At least that was the inevitable effect. Like Brisard and Dasquie, Baer and Cannistraro seemed to be informational Zeligs, showing up all over the media map, structuring perceptions in a very definite direction, offering legends and counter-legends intended for various audiences, both mainstream and alternative. On the broadest level, Cannistraro and, especially, Baer were advocating the complacency theory behind 9/11, posing as mainstream "critics" of their "former" CIA employers while at the same time keeping the general contours of the Official 9/11 Legend in place. In lockstep with the neo-cons, they were also raising suspicions of possible Saudi perfidy, primarily for the Saudi role as financial and political enablers of al-Qaida. A sub-set of the Saudi thread also connected with the Cheney/ Halliburton / Enron /Big Oil theory behind 9/11. This theory had a dual use - one, for an opportunistic complacency theory behind 9/11, and the other for an opportunistic complicity theory. In any case, the ailing Cheney had already been pre-packaged as a self-contained, potentially "rogueish", power behind the Bush throne, while the dead husk of Enron was marketed as the self-contained, rogue manifestation of "Big Oil". If "Big Oil" and Cheney seemed to be taking a large dose of bad publicity in the first several months following 9/11 and the War in Afghanistan, the storyline - and the villain role - gradually shifted over to the Perle/Wolfowitz neo-cons in the year-long lead-up to the War In Iraq. And here, too, a dual use was made of the neo-cons - one, to raise suspicions of premeditated complicity, and alternatively, to raise the allegation of post-facto opportunism.
As for Iraq, Cannistraro seemed to be playing it both ways - casting aspersions on the Iraqis for the Oklahoma bombing, yet giving them a clean bill of health with regard to the alleged evidence linking them to 9/11. And, as stated before, Cannistraro and Baer's criticisms of the War In Iraq only served to bolster the credibility of their opinions concerning the War On Terror - and, by extension, to lend credibility to the Official 9/11 Legend. If, during the whole War In Iraq episode, the Bush and Blair regimes' sputtering efforts at propaganda and disinformation were being repeatedly exposed as amateurish and ill-considered, then surely - the reasoning goes - any attempts at information management concerning 9/11 would likewise have been exposed as fraudulent.
Yet it is a curious fact that, in the aftermath of the War In Iraq - at a time when more Americans do not trust CNN - the structural pivots of the Official 9/11 Legend appear more sturdy and unassailable than ever before. For surely if all those British and American intelligence operatives were heaping scorn on the "evidence" linking Iraq to 9/11, then why not repose our trust in them when they tell us exactly who was behind September 11?
End of excerpts .
[The following is new material added December 18, 2003]:
Who, exactly, is Robert Baer? In the months after 9/11, Baer first emerged on the public radar scope as a "former" CIA official involved in counter-terrorism. After publishing his widely acclaimed book, See No Evil, Baer established himself as the mainstream media's "go-to" guy when making the case for pre-9/11 complacency and opportunistic blindness. But his contributions to our understanding of 9/11 didn't end there. In addition to focusing attention on Saudi Arabia and the dominating influence of the neo-conservatives on foreign policy, Baer has personally insinuated himself into the Daniel Pearl story. On September 30, 2002, Richard Sale of UPI reported:
"Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was investigating the man who allegedly planned the Sept. 11 airplane hijackings and attacks on New York and Washington when he was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan, according to two Central Intelligence Agency officials...
...'I was working with Pearl,' said [Bob] Baer, who had written a book about his time as a CIA official and has acted as a consultant and source for numerous media outlets. 'We had a joint project. [Khalid Shaikh] Mohammed was the story he was working on, not Richard Reid [a.k.a. the shoe bomber].' "
Was Baer being truthful, or rather was he disseminating a blatant slice of disinformation? You be the judge. In Baer's latest widely acclaimed book, Sleeping With The Devil - published after the September 30, 2002 UPI article - Baer blatantly contradicts himself, as evidenced on p.199:
"I have no way of knowing whether Pearl went to Karachi and asked about Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The Wall Street Journal says no, that he was working on the shoe-bomber case."
No way of knowing? What about that "joint project" with Pearl? According to Baer's UPI version, back in 1997, Baer learned of efforts by the government of Qatar to shield Khalid Shaikh Mohammed from FBI apprehension. Khalid, at the time, was wanted for his alleged role in the aborted 1995 Bojinka plot. Yet when none of his former colleagues in counter-terrorism would follow up on Baer's leads, according to UPI, "Baer said he was frustrated and called Pearl..." telling him that "he had a hot story on terrorism..."
However, in Baer's book version, it was Pearl who had first initiated contact after hearing of Baer's leads from other sources:
"In 1998, when I was living in France, I got a call from a young Wall Street Journal reporter named Danny Pearl."
As for that "joint project" alluded to in the UPI article, here is how Baer sums up the course of their interaction in his book:
"We met in Geneva...I told him about KSM [Khalid] and Qatar. He listened, took notes, and promised to follow up on it one day. We saw each other from time to time in Washington. He would bring up the Khalid Sheikh Mohammed story, but neither of us had anything new to add."
And here is the version that Baer offered to UPI, describing the aftermath of his very first telephone contact with Pearl:
"Baer said to his annoyance, Pearl did not begin to work on the story. Nothing was done until the day of the Sept. 11 attacks when Pearl called to talk to Baer."
Thus are we faced with two alternate realities. In the quantum reality offered in Baer's book, Daniel Pearl is the dogged investigator who tracks down Baer for his story on Khalid, following it up on subsequent meetings with further queries of Baer, though neither has "anything new to add." Yet in the quantum reality offered to UPI, it is Baer who tracks down Pearl, and who subsequently becomes annoyed with Pearl's presumed disinterest in Baer's revelation - that is, until September 11, 2001. In Baer's book, three days after September 11, Pearl called Baer after sending him an email the day before. What follows is Baer's account of their very last conversation:
"I reminded him about our talks on KSM [Khalid] and Qatar. 'Worth thinking about,' [Pearl] replied."
Thus, in Baer's book version, that fateful phone call signals the end of their interaction, consequently leaving Baer with "no way of knowing" whether or not Pearl had picked up the ball and hustled on over to Karachi to flesh out Baer's initial lead on Khalid. Meanwhile, over in the UPI parallel universe, that post-9/11phone call marks the beginning of their "joint project":
"Baer said he gave Pearl all the old information he had and new information he had since obtained -- for example, that there are files on [Khalid] in the Qatari Embassy in London. Baer said he and Pearl then 'began to work together' -- in other words, Pearl would get info and check it out with Baer and Baer would feed Pearl what he was getting. It was 'a joint project,' said Baer. Baer was giving direction, but Pearl's contacts were not confined to Baer."
Simply based on the foregoing, one might reasonably conclude that Baer is either a quantum leaper or a bona fide fibber. But even if Baer's credibility is undermined by all this, what's the big deal? Isn't Baer, after all, just a retired CIA guy far out of the loop, trolling the media circuit as an "independent" critic? Or is he, rather, a key operative among an insular (though by no means rogue) counter-terror clique involved in the formation and presentation of the Official 9/11 Legend and its off-shoots?
At the time of Baer's UPI revelation, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed had only been known to the public for less than four months - dating from the time in June 2002 when he was first introduced as the "official" 9/11 mastermind. Prior to that date, scarcely any details at all were offered to the public concerning Khalid - other than a generic "wanted" listing for his alleged role in the 1995 Bojinka plot. And, perhaps, a very brief, general reference to Khalid as an expert in the hijacking of planes in Baer's first book. Yet if we are to believe Baer's post-June 2002 account, Khalid was the object of intense concern to both Baer and Pearl - neither of whom had ever gone on record as evincing any substantive interest in Khalid at any time prior to Baer's September 30 UPI account. More curiously, by June 2002, with Khalid now making the headlines as the brains behind 9/11 - and coming more than four months after Pearl's own widely publicized kidnapping - Baer was continuing to do the media circuit, promoting his earlier book along with his version of the 9/11 Complacency Theory, yet still no word on his purported "joint project" with Pearl on the newly unveiled 9/11 mastermind. Rather, Baer waited until three weeks after the well-publicized apprehension of Khalid's alleged co-plotter, Ramzi Binalshibh, and only then broached the news of his "joint project" with Pearl, tying this in with the latest bombshell that Khalid had also likely killed Daniel Pearl. Curious timing, that.
So who, exactly, is Robert Baer - and, more to the point, why should this question matter? Baer - along with the likes of Vincent Cannistraro and Milt Bearden - is among the select few who have managed to "dirty" their hands with past CIA involvement with the Afghani mujahedin. Terror, drugs, arms-smuggling,and the Byzantine workings of Mideast geopolitics - Baer has personally seen it all. In Baer's chronicle of the past CIA/Bin Laden/Muslim Brotherhood nexus, there is really nothing particularly sinister in the fact that the CIA had originally fostered and funded a network that would later go on to unveil itself as America's foremost enemy. Baer characterizes it all as blowback.
But perhaps Baer manages to provide us a crucial - though probably unintended - insight as to how we may characterize all that purported blowback. In Baer's oft-repeated account of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed's escape from Qatar, he reveals that Khalid had managed to slip away with another member of his al-Qaida cell - a man by the name of Shawqui Islambuli, whose brother happens to be the man who had assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Sadat on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood.
It is indeed an artful pairing - for these two men serve, on a symbolic level, as the operative bookends of the Official 9/11 Legend. At the tail end, of course, stands Khalid as the 9/11 mastermind. At the front end stands the Egyptian fundamentalist clique whose 1981 move against Sadat would coincide with its recruitment by Baer's CIA colleagues into the Afghan effort. One member of that Egyptian clique, Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, would go on to become a CIA asset, and, after his acquittal in relation to the Sadat killing, would then be cleared to enter the United States in 1990 by way of a CIA-approved visa. Setting up shop in a Brooklyn mosque, the men in Abdel-Rahman's circle - Sayyid Nosair, Ramzi Yousef, etc. - would go on to be implicated in the assassination of Rabbi Meir Kahane, the plot to destroy New York City landmarks, and, most importantly, the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
If the early shoots of what would eventually evolve into "al-Qaida" look suspiciously like an Egyptian-CIA hybrid, that is probably due to the fact that - from the vantage point of 1993 - a suspicious number of Egyptian CIA assets (and/or FBI informants) were popping up all over the map. For one, a former Egyptian military officer (and FBI informant) named Emad Salem had managed to "infiltrate" former CIA asset Abdel-Rahman's New York circle, giving his FBI handlers the "heads-up" on the plot to take down the Twin Towers in '93. Meanwhile, another former Egyptian military officer (and subsequent FBI informant) by the name of Ali Mohamed would train Abdel-Rahman's men in the arts of bomb-making, formation of operative cells, and all the sophisticated military tactics Ali had gleaned from his three-year stint as a U.S. sergeant with the Special Forces at Fort Bragg. Ali had first entered the United States on a CIA-sponsored visa in 1981, in order to serve his first four-month stint with the Green Berets at Fort Bragg - incidentally, the same year in which Ali had reportedly joined the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood implicated in the Sadat assassination.
After being honorably discharged from service at Fort Bragg in 1989, Ali's resume would include the training of Abdel-Rahman's men, an ongoing stint as an FBI informant (carrying on even after the 1993 WTC bombing), the authorship of al-Qaida's training manuals, along with the training of bin Laden's personal security detail and the refinement of al-Qaida's military tactics. Publicly outed for the first time in 1995 as the trainer of the 1993 New York landmarks suspects, Ali would remain free to carry on his busy globe-trotting itinerary for three more years before being lured out of his cozy Sacramento digs in the aftermath of the 1998 Embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya. Duly subpoenaed and then "secretly" indicted, Ali would go on to plead guilty, implicate his fellow conspirators, and then forever fade from public view (and scrutiny).
With just the foregoing facts in mind, it doesn't take a forensic expert to connect the dots and draw certain conclusions as to the likely paternity of what would later become known as "al-Qaida." From the vantage point of 1993, where were those suspicious dots connecting this close-knit terrorist network to Saddam Hussein? Or the Pakistani ISI? Or the Saudis? Or the Israelis? After 1995, however, there would be new dots to connect up, with new links subsequently forming in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, along with new al-Qaida cells springing up in London, Hamburg, and across the globe - and, in lockstep with the times, new investigative cliques forming across the US, UK, and the EU. Yet from that crucial, embryonic time period of 1981-1993, we can venture a reasonable guess as to which entity was most involved in coddling, handling, clearing, and funding this insular grouping of Egyptian-born radicals, from out of which would grow the full blossom of al-Qaida. And so we must ask what the likes of Bob Baer, Vincent Cannistraro, and Milt Bearden were truly up to in those years.
But that, perhaps, is a tale for another day.
For further reading on the Legend of 9/11, please read Truth, Lies, and The Legend of 9/11
To express your opinion on this article, join the discussion at Global Research's News and Discussion Forum , at http://globalresearch.ca.myforums.net/index.php
Chaim Kupferberg is a freelance researcher, writer and frequent CRG contributor.
The Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) at www.globalresearch.ca grants permission to cross-post original CRG articles in their entirety, or any portions thereof, on community internet sites, as long as the text and title of the article are not modified. The source must be acknowledged as follows: Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) at www.globalresearch.ca . The active URL hyperlink address of the original CRG article and the author's copyright note must be clearly displayed. (For articles from other news sources, check with the original copyright holder, where applicable.) For publication of CRG articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [email protected] .
© Copyright C Kupferberg 2003 For fair use only/ pour usage équitable seulement. | {
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Την εκτίμηση ότι η «αντίστροφη μέτρηση για την κυβέρνηση έχει ξεκινήσει» εκφράζει η βουλευτής και συντονίστρια Εξωτερικών και Άμυνας της Ν.Δ. Ντόρα Μπακογιάννη, σε συνέντευξή της στην εφημερίδα Real news.
Κατηγορεί την κυβέρνηση ότι «έχει φασιστοειδή αντίληψη», τονίζοντας ότι «η αντίληψη "όποιος δεν είναι μαζί μας είναι εχθρός" και άρα πρέπει να στοχοποιηθεί είχε να εμφανιστεί στην ελληνική πολιτική σκηνή από τη δεκαετία του '80». Υποστηρίζει ότι η κυβέρνηση διχάζει τον ελληνικό λαό και σημειώνει ότι «δεν υπάρχουν περιθώρια για τη συγκρότηση οικουμενικής κυβέρνησης με ένα κόμμα που θεωρεί ότι οι πολίτες που ψήφισαν ΝΑΙ στο δημοψήφισμα πρέπει να πληρώσουν και μεγαλύτερους φόρους».
Η κ. Μπακογιάννη παραδέχεται ότι «οι κυβερνήσεις της Ν.Δ. έπρεπε να είχαν ρυθμίσει το τηλεοπτικό τοπίο και να είχαν επιβάλλει κανόνες λειτουργίας νωρίτερα» και σημειώνει ότι «τα 260 εκατ. που θα εισπράξει από τους τέσσερις υπερθεματιστές θα μπορούσε να τα εισπράξει το κράτος από την αδειοδότηση μεγαλύτερου αριθμού τηλεοπτικών σταθμών, αν ο στόχος τους δεν ήταν ο έλεγχος της ενημέρωσης». Σε ερώτηση για τη ρύθμιση του χρέους εκτιμά ότι «αποκλείεται ο Σόιμπλε να πάει στο γερμανικό κοινοβούλιο με πρόταση ρύθμισης του χρέους πριν τις γερμανικές εκλογές».
Όταν είσαι πρωθυπουργός και ζητάς από τον Πούτιν τυπογραφείο για να τυπώσεις άλλο νόμισμα της χώρας σου, «τι εξωτερική πολιτική να κάνεις;» διερωτάται η πρώην υπουργός και ζητά την άμεση σύγκληση του Συμβουλίου Εξωτερικής Πολιτικής ώστε «να υπάρξει ενημέρωση για το τι συζήτησαν Τσίπρας και Ερντογάν στην πρόσφατη συνάντησή τους». | {
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The EU will be seriously affected by the Russian measures, because Russia is the EU's second biggest export market for agricultural products. However, the EU is responsible for 43% of Russian imports. Last year, the EU's overall agricultural exports to the country were worth €11.3 billion and the current Russian import ban is expected to affect exports worth €5.1 billion, although specific products and regions will be more affected by the sanctions than others.
The Russian ban covers meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables. The European Commission has already respond to the Russian measures with short-term market support measures worth more than €155 million for the sectors most immediately affected, such as peaches, nectarines, vegetables, butter and cheese.
Follow the debate live here and check out the map to discover which EU countries will be affected the most. | {
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飼育が続いたことで自然界での生態を忘れてしまった中国南部などが原産のオオアタマガメを、本来の姿に近づけるトレーニングに岐阜県各務原（かかみがはら）市の水族館「アクア・トトぎふ」が挑んでいる。ゆっくりと、でも着実に成果が出つつある。
ピッ！ 水槽の裏で笛の音が響く。オオアタマガメがむくっと反応する。
展示飼育チームの近藤由香さん（２６）の手には、アジの切り身を挟んだピンセット。えさに目を奪われたカメは水の中に誘われ、再び笛が鳴ると長い尾を水面近くの枝に巻き付けた。そして、えさを追って水場から上がると、レプリカの岩場をゆっくり登り切り、勢いよく食いついた。
自然界のオオアタマガメは、水中だけでなく陸上でも活動的で、爪を使って木や岩によじ登ったり、尾を高い場所の枝に巻きつけてぶら下がったりする。生態に詳しい神戸市立須磨海浜水族園の亀崎直樹・学術研究統括によると、尾で枝にぶら下がるのは、生息地の山間部の谷川で増水時に流されないようにするためとの説があるという。
だが、他の施設を経て２０１５年６月にアクア・トトに来たカメは、隅でじっとしているばかりだった。すでに野生らしさはすっかり失われていた。
「もっと生き生きした姿を見たい」と感じた近藤さんが、本来の生態を引き出すためにトレーニングを課すことを思いつく。
幼い頃から水族館で働くことを夢見ていた近藤さんは、愛知県江南市出身で高校卒業後、同県内の専門学校でイルカの調教技術を学ぶ。広島県内の水族館を経て１３年８月にアクア・トトへ。ゴマフアザラシやフンボルトペンギンなどの調教経験はあるが、カメは未経験だった。ゾウガメを調教した海外の文献やユーチューブの動画を参考に、訓練方法を探った。
訓練を開始したのは、昨年７月。カメの体力を考慮し、トレーニングは１日１０分。毎週３～５回続けた。最初は「これまでに調教した動物と違って、表情もほとんど読み取れなかった」。でも１カ月ほどで、まぶたの動きや視線から「今日はやる気がある」「今はえさを欲していない」など、ある程度感じられるようになった。
「笛以外の余計な音で混乱させたくない」と呼びかけなくていいように、あえて名前はつけていない。えさを挟むピンセットには黒いテープを何重にも巻き、食いついた時に口をけがをしないように配慮する。
今では、近藤さんが見えると、自分から近寄ってくるようになった。最終目標は、高いところにある枝に尾を巻き付けてぶら下がること。「多くのお客さまに本来の能力や生態を見ていただき、じっとしているだけじゃない、本当はもっとすごいんだぞと知ってほしい。一緒に頑張りたい」。近藤さんはそう言って目を輝かせた。（山野拓郎）
◇
〈オオアタマガメ〉 中国南部、ベトナム、ミャンマー、タイなどにすむ。名の通り頭が大きく、甲の中に引っ込めることができない。甲の長さは１４～２０センチ。ペットとして取引されたり、食用にされたりしたため、乱獲されて近年、生息数が激減。国際自然保護連合のレッドリストでは「近い将来野生での絶滅の危険性が高い（絶滅危惧ⅠＢ類）」に分類される。 | {
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For years, Dallas has had a strategy to deal with vacant lots owned by people long delinquent on their taxes. Acquire the property and sell it to developers. The city sets one condition: The developers must build houses for sale to low-income homebuyers.
But this week — after some debate — the City Council tweaked the rules of the land bank program to also allow construction of rental housing and commercial development on the lots.
Before, the city targeted empty lots zoned for residential use. Now it can also scoop up land meant to be used for businesses.
"Housing is the primary purpose, but the Texas land bank statute allows more than housing," David Noguera, the head of the city's housing department, told council members Wednesday. "So to the extent that the lot is located somewhere where it may be appropriate to have a commercial use, we have that flexibility."
Some council members voiced concern about opening the gates for commercial development through a program designed to add affordable homes to a city where they are scant. By law, the land bank must create housing stock for families making 115 percent or less of the area median income.
"I understand [businesses] make stronger neighborhoods, but I thought this was to provide housing," said Sandy Greyson, council member for Far North Dallas.
The current land bank inventory sits at about 200 lots. On Wednesday, the council approved use of $1.5 million in existing bond funds to buy more.
South Dallas' Kevin Felder proposed using only up to 25 percent of those funds for commercial lots.
"I would like to cap it so we don't go down the wrong path," he said.
In the end, the council decided against setting a cap.
"The [housing] department needs the flexibility to bring projects that we look at individually and decide on their individual merits," said council member Lee Kleinman of North Dallas, citing the need for places to buy food in some communities.
Noguera said the program's scope was broadened to give the city another tool to improve blighted neighborhoods, not because developers demanded it.
The housing department will focus on buying lots in parts of the city named "reinvestment strategy areas" in the housing policy approved this spring. These neighborhoods include Vickery Meadow, The Bottom and Pleasant Grove, among several others.
How the land bank works
Under the land program, the city acquires empty land from owners who fall behind on their taxes and sells each plot to developers for fair-market value or at a discount — on condition that a home be promptly built and sold to a low-income buyer.
Before the city approves the sales, developers must submit a proposal stating what they wish to build, and at what price range. State law requires that a majority of the lots developed for home sales must go to families making 80 percent or less of the area median income.
Proposals must go before the council for approval before the city can transfer a lot to a home builder. That requirement will also apply to developers of commercial properties, so the council will have control over what gets built.
City staff had previously revised the land bank program after a 2016 investigation by The Dallas Morning News revealed that Dallas had sold dozens of lots to a Mexican entrepreneur with a theft conviction and questionable sources of funding. The man, Jose Santos Coria, had transferred some homes intended for low-income families to relatives who already owned houses.
Now, the housing department must vet homebuyers' incomes before developers sell the homes. Before, the city didn't collect information from homebuyers until the sale was complete. The city also made no effort to confirm buyers' incomes.
Homebuyers will be required to live in their houses for a certain amount of time.
What housing advocates say
Dallas' land bank is one of the oldest in Texas, and the city had a hand in shaping the 2003 state law that guides it.
John Henneberger, a fair housing advocate in Austin who worked with others on that law, said it isn't a good idea for the city to be buying commercial property.
"It seems to us to be an overreach," said Henneberger, co-director of the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service.
He said state legislators went past the narrow set of criteria that housing advocates sought and gave Dallas many concessions, like the ability to sell lots to for-profit developers.
Heather Way, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin who was also involved in the land bank legislation, said commercial development itself is not the problem. She said what concerns her is a lack of safeguards to protect neighborhoods vulnerable to gentrification.
One safeguard is to require community input, Way said.
"It's very easy for cities to overlook the social and racial justice impacts of policies like this ... especially given that these lots that are going into the land bank are almost exclusively — not all, but almost exclusively — in low-income communities of color," she said.
Noguera, the city's housing director, said the public has several opportunities to weigh in on staff recommendations for land bank lots. The land bank board, the council's housing committee and the City Council consider lot proposals in public meetings before a decision is made, he said. | {
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Hoy se presenta en sociedad Cay Chapel, una isla privada en Belice de 100 hectáreas, con residencias privadas, marina, golf y hotel de lujo, que promete ser uno de los destinos más exclusivos de Occidente.
Detrás de este proyecto de 350 mdd —que se inaugurará en 2021— hay un grupo de inversionistas y desarrolladores mexicanos que encontraron una de las últimas perlas disponibles en el Caribe con el segundo arrecife de coral más grande del mundo.
“Es nuestro primer desarrollo turístico fuera de México, que tendrá la infraestructura necesaria para ser única; incluso tendrá los primeros bungalows sobre el mar, como los de la Polinesia”, cuenta Jaime Fasja, fundador y co-CEO de Thor Urbana Capital.
Para este proyecto invitaron al lagunero Grupo Orlegui, a un grupo de socios (family officer) que siempre apoya sus proyectos y a otros desarrolladores, como GCA Inmobiliaria y a Inmobilia.
La isla queda estratégicamente a 45 minutos de vuelo de Cancún, a hora y media de CdMx y a una hora de Miami y se puede llegar a ella tanto en avión desde Ciudad Belice como en lancha (25 minutos) atravesando un mar traslúcido turquesa.
“Cay Chapel contará con instalaciones de lujo y una variedad de actividad que no es posible hoy en ningún destino del Caribe”, agrega desde su oficina en Torreón Alejandro Irarragorri, presidente de Orlegui Corporativo, que tiene en su estructura a varios negocios entre ellos el Club Santos Laguna, Estadio Corona, Territorio Santos Modelo, Impulso TSM, Consorcio Vibosa Orlegi, Generación Energética Industrial y JALSER.
La isla tendrá, entre sus exclusividades, un campo de golf diseñado por Greg Norman y Lorena Ochoa, una marina de última generación que promete ser el hub de embarcaciones privadas en el Caribe, un hotel de lujo con 100 habitaciones (que en pocos días se anunciará qué cadena internacional lo operará) que se completa con un conjunto de 36 villas privadas frente al mar con 20 metros de playa propia cada una.
“Cerramos una alianza además con Fabien Cousteau, nieto de Jacques Cousteau, para tener un centro de exploración marina, ya que estamos en uno de los destinos de buceo del mundo”, destaca Fasja.
Aún sin revelar datos del costo de cada uno de los terrenos para casas privadas, ya han tenido visitas desde Europa y EU de interesados en ser los primeros propietarios de esta isla de 26 km, en un enclave único y con una infraestructura que promete lujo y exclusividad.
“Este desarrollo nos abre además las puertas a Centro y Sudamérica”, prevé Fasja, quien sigue mientras tanto de cerca sus aperturas locales este año de The Harbor (Mérida), Town Square (Metepec) y The Landmark (Guadalajara) y en el mediano plazo la de The Ritz-Carlton en CdMx.
[email protected]
Twitter: @ba_anderson | {
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CENTER CITY (WPVI) -- The man known as Philly Jesus was arrested in Center City Philadelphia Monday night.The incident took place around 6:15 p.m. at the Apple Store at 16th and Walnut streets.Police tell Action News they received a call from the store manager about a man who would not leave the store when asked.Officers arrived to find Philly Jesus, a former drug addict whose real name is Michael Grant, and who is known to Center City residents for dressing like Jesus and quoting Bible verses.Police asked him to leave the store. They say Grant refused to leave and created a disturbance.He was taken into custody and charged with Defiant Trespassing and Disorderly Conduct.Witness Jen A. Miller posted a photo on Instagram of police handcuffing Grant.This is not the first time he has been arrested.Back in 2014, his arrest at LOVE Park went viral. #FreePhillyJesus was trending on Twitter.He was arrested then for Disorderly Conduct and Failure to Disperse.At the time, Grant said he was misunderstood. He said he doesn't ask for money, but he does accept tips. | {
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According to our research of Michigan and other state lists, there were 95 registered sex offenders living in Dearborn as of September 17, 2020.
The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Dearborn is 995 to 1.
The ratio of registered sex offenders to all residents in this city is much lower than the state average.
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Draft two of three pushing lanes. Ensure you secure the strong jungle matchup. These common mantras have dotted commentary since the enforcement of standard lanes at the start of the EU LCS playoffs in 2016 Summer, but on many occasions, Splyce defied them.
“This series, I kind of realized there’s no point in playing to their strength,” Splyce mid laner Chres “Sencux” Larssen said after the five game series against Unicorns of Love that qualified Splyce for the World Championship. “So I wanted to stall out the early game and get to mid game by playing Malzahar. And that’s also why I kind of wanted to stall out the third game from a huge deficit. I don’t think their late game is that good. Our mid-late game was better than theirs, so that’s why we decided to do that.”
When other teams began putting increased emphasis on choosing counterpicks in 1v1s and 2v2s without the security of lane swaps, Splyce still found instances where they defaulted to the comfort of the scaling choice. This buffered their typically struggling early game so they could create comeback scenarios from dazzling deficits by pinching the map in 1-3-1s or flanks in the jungle. Despite a second place finish in EU LCS playoffs, Splyce averaged the third largest deficit (-1531) and the second largest deficit of any team at the World Championship (-2155) at 15 minutes.
What worked well for Splyce in Europe, securing them second place, failed abroad. Challenged by oppressive lanes, Splyce couldn’t find as many windows to come back and fell out of group stage with a 1-5 record. In the 2017 season, strong laning phase will be cultivated, and being able to secure the push to strangle out less frequently spawning jungle camps may have an even greater impact.
Unless Splyce improve their stuttering early game, it will be much more difficult for them to remain at the top. Much of the onus for the change — and Splyce’s style in general — will fall to Jonas “Trashy” Andersen.
Prior to the World Championship, I spoke with Trashy about the role of the jungler when his team falls behind early.
“I know it’s a thing a lot of people talk about like ‘oh, they’re not doing anything in the early game, it’s the jungler just afk farming’ or something like this,” Trashy said, “but there’s a lot more to it than not being proactive.
“I think it’s a lot about drafts and a lot about understanding what you want to do in game,” he elaborated. “So obviously there will be situations where it’s the jungler’s fault, but in most cases it comes down to, at the highest level, maybe the enemy just have a better early game jungler and a strong matchup that you can’t really challenge, so you have to do something else on the map.”
Draft certainly played a role in Splyce falling behind. In their climb through playoffs and regionals, for example, Splyce saved their support for last pick on red side, leaving solo lanes more open to counterpick. By Sencux’s admission, Splyce also chose matchups that would perform poorly early.
Trashy frequently chose champions like Graves, Olaf, or Gragas that did better after farming to Level 6 in terms of exhibiting lane pressure. This coincided with their struggles in standard lanes, as Trashy often would choose to counter jungle on the opposite side of the map in response to his opponent exerting pressure with a stronger pick. It’s hard to safely invade the enemy jungle if you have a weaker jungle match and your laners aren’t able to push out enough to prevent the opposition from collapsing upon you.
View photos Splyce team huddle (lolesports) More
Matchups weren’t the only problems for Splyce’s early game. Even with lane dominant picks like Karma or Aurelion Sol at the team’s disposal, Splyce’s Sencux and Kasper “Kobbe” Kobberup averaged CS deficits of more than 7 at 10 minutes in the World Championship group stage. Perhaps this is partly why, in Week 2, Splyce’s draft emphasis swung wildly to Elise, selecting the champion first or in the first rotation on red side in all three of their games.
Story continues | {
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Delaware's testing opt-out bill ignites firestorm
The simmering debate over standardized testing in Delaware exploded Wednesday in a charged hearing that saw lawmakers and parent advocates shouting over each other.
At issue was a bill to allow parents to pull their children out of the statewide Smarter Balanced Assessment, a tough new test students took for the first time this year.
Some Delaware parents have already pulled their kids out of the test, but the bill, sponsored by firebrand Rep. John Kowalko, would make it an explicit right in the law.
"Does the Department of Education know my child better than me?" asked Tara Greathouse, a mom who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Appoquinimink school board earlier this year.
Kevin Ohlandt, a Dover parent who has fervently supported the opt-out movement, gripped the conference table and his voice got progressively louder as he spoke.
"I don't care what you say, what any law says, I will always opt my child out of this test," Ohlandt said. "Make the madness stop."
Parent and teacher advocates say the bill is necessary because Smarter Balanced robs kids of valuable class time and places them under tremendous stress without giving parents and teachers any useful information.
But Gov. Jack Markell and his Department of Education say opt-outs could cripple the state's ability to measure how students are doing academically, which would make it all but impossible to make smart policy.
Despite those objections, the bill has so far breezed through the Legislature, passing the House by a vote of 36-3.
Acknowledging the outcry over testing, state leaders have directed the Department of Education to work with local districts to create an inventory of tests and possibly eliminate those that are redundant or ineffective.
Senate Education Committee Chair David Sokola proposed a resolution that would require the department to publicly report the results of those efforts and to bring lawmakers and members of the public into the process of deciding what tests might be eliminated.
Though he has concerns about Smarter Balanced, Sokola argued a broader look at testing was a better idea than simply allowing parents to skip out on that one exam.
"My concern [about the opt-out bill] is that it's focused on this one test," Sokola said. "This is exactly the kind of assessment kids are taking in high-level, high-performing countries around the world."
Groups that supported the bill said this testing inventory was no replacement for opting out.
"In all the time I've been in PTA, I've never had so much reaction, so much participation. I have never spent this much time on an issue. This is what parents want," said Yvonne Johnson, vice president of advocacy for the Delaware PTA. "What we're afraid of with the resolution is that we're not going to address the real issue, which is that Smarter Balanced is not the answer for our children."
Several parents spoke passionately in support of the opt-out bill, and a few clashed directly with Sokola.
Greathouse said Sokola and Department of Education staffers ignored her emails supporting the bill. Sokola said he never received such an email, and the two began repeatedly interrupting each other.
"This is the second time I've been in this building, and I've never been treated like this," Greathouse said as she sat down.
Sokola shot back: "Well, then run for public office and show us how it should be done."
Sokola and Ohlandt, the Dover parent, briefly battled when the senator asked him to bring an end to his remarks.
Several education and business leaders spoke against opt-out, saying the testing inventory was a better option.
"Virtually every civil rights group in the country has come together to oppose opt out," said Paul Herdman, chief executive officer of the Rodel Foundation, a nonprofit Delaware education think-tank. "They've been working for a long time to make sure their kids are counted. There have been dark days when disadvantaged students were encouraged to opt-out, and they don't want to return to those days."
Herdman said the state could lose money from the federal government if too many students don't take the test. He also said business leaders, which Rodel tries to get engaged in education issues, could lose trust in the system if the test crumbles.
"Test data ensures that students and parents have an update on how their students are doing," said James DeChene, a lobbyist for the Delaware Chamber of Commerce, which opposes the bill. "It also gives us a clear idea of how well our tax dollars are being spent."
Several people who spoke at the committee meeting lamented that the debate has become so intense and, at times, personal.
"It's extremely disheartening to see people who are so passionate about improving education for our children warring in this way," said Sen. Bryan Townsend, who supports the opt-out bill.
The bill was circulated for signatures and on Thursday it passed the committee.
The next step is a vote in the full Senate. Should it pass there, the bill would go to Markell.
If Markell chooses to veto the legislation, it would mark the first time he has rejected an education bill.
This article has been updated to correct Kevin Ohlandt's quote and add that the measure passed the committee.
Contact Matthew Albright at [email protected], (302) 324-2428 or on Twitter @TNJ_malbright. | {
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MOBILE, Ala. — Kadeem Edwards has a quarrel with a certain tradition, and for that, he may get struck down by a lightning bolt thrown by the lords of historically black college and university (HBCU) football. It is sacrilegious not to bow to the spectacle of the bands at an HBCU football game, but Edwards takes a deep breath and says something sacrilegious anyway. He wishes the bands and the halftime extravaganza did not reign over the game. Edwards is a big fan of the music. He appreciates the skill and the thrill of a show. He understands the culture and the allure of the HBCU halftime show and the postgame pageantry. The bands draw a crowd. But he wants black college football to be about more than the bands. He wants it to be more about the football again.
Tennessee State’s Kadeem Edwards at Senior Bowl practice this week. AP Photo/G.M. Andrews “The first time I saw half the people in the stands leave after the halftime show by the band, it upset me,” said Edwards, a 6-foot-4, 309-pound offensive guard who played at Tennessee State University in Nashville. “It was a little disrespectful.” He sighed and shook his head slowly side to side. “Don’t get me wrong. I love Tennessee State,” he added. “The HBCU halftime is part of the culture, and I love the bands. It fills me with pride. But, man, the football is more important to me. I don’t want the people to leave the game before the third quarter. Stay and watch us.” Edwards was sitting in a dining hall on the battleship USS Alabama here this week for a dinner with the 110 college players invited to the Senior Bowl, an all-star game that is a showcase for NFL scouts. The galaxy of college football was featured at the dinner, with players from Tennessee, Florida State, Auburn, Alabama, Notre Dame — you name it, the majordomo school was there. But Edwards was the only player in the hall from an HBCU. When the players take the field for Saturday’s game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, the fans and national television audience will recognize the helmets with an N for Nebraska or O for Oregon or the maize-colored stripes of Michigan. They will mostly not recognize the red T for TSU. What college football fans typically recognize with the HBCUs are the uproarious and audacious halftime shows put on by the bands. That culture is the identity now, more so than the football in some places, Edwards said. The high-stepping, high-hatted drum major is the big man on campus, not the quarterback. It didn’t use to be that way.
History of greatness
Once upon a time, it was football that ruled. The superstars who came out of the HBCUs are in college and pro football halls of fame — Jerry Rice of Mississippi Valley State, Walter Payton of Jackson State, Willie Lanier of Morgan State, Deacon Jones of Mississippi Valley State, Ed “Too Tall” Jones of Tennessee State, Mel Blount of Southern and on and on. “Bullet” Bob Hayes of Florida A&M has a Super Bowl ring from the Dallas Cowboys and an Olympic gold medal. Former Chicago Bears defensive lineman Richard Dent, MVP of the 1986 Super Bowl, played at Tennessee State. Former Washington Redskins quarterback Doug Williams, MVP of the 1988 Super Bowl, played at Grambling. Rice, as a wide receiver for the 49ers, was the 1989 Super Bowl MVP and is the NFL’s all-time leading receiver. At next Sunday’s Super Bowl in New York, the Denver Broncos will feature former Tennessee State defensive back Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. But Edwards is among those who worry that the great tradition of HBCU football is fading. “All the alumni and all the fans talk always talk about, what it used to be, what it used to be, what they used to have in football with the players,” Edwards said. “It is slowly dying. The crowds are going down. The traditions at HBCUs is slowly dying, and it is making HBCUs look bad with recruiting.” When HBCU recruiting looks good, it is because players like Edwards have bloomed with care and coaching. He had poor grades on graduating from high school in Sanford, Fla., and the bigger schools that had recruited him — Marshall, Central Florida, New Mexico — snatched back their offers. Tennessee State coach Rod Reed, who was the defensive coordinator at TSU at the time and is now the head coach, saw an athletic offensive lineman who needed a year for his body to mature and to get himself together in the classroom. Sure enough, Edwards bloomed. He was a three-time Ohio Valley Conference lineman and graduated with a 3.5 GPA in exercise science in December. Phil Savage, the CEO of the Senior Bowl and a former general manager of the Cleveland Browns, said the coaching that Edwards received at Tennessee State was top shelf and he could have a long career in the NFL. Savage has scouted HBCUs for more than 20 years. He has seen a slide in some programs, but he has also seen solid coaching and development of players, like Edwards. “I think there has been so much instability in terms of the coaching staffs, in particular in the SWAC,” Savage said, referring to the Southwestern Athletic Conference. “If you go there, you don’t know what you are going to get for four years.” In 2012 the NFL drafted just one player from an HBCU: South Carolina State safety Christian Thompson. The HBCU football community was dismayed. HBCU football programs are generally not as strong as they were before desegregation and the opening of major college rosters to black high school players, but many believed having just one player drafted was absurd. In 2013 just two HBCU players were drafted. The perception of HBCU football reached a nadir. As recently as 1996, 17 players from HBCUs were drafted.
‘Makes me kind of sad’ | {
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Early Saturday morning, Homer goes for a naked strut around his backyard as Maude, the sexy neighbour is trimming the bushes. Maude is disgusted by Homer's act and Marge sees it all. She forces Homer to go an apologize to the neighbours, but Homer is obviously reluctant about it. Some time passes, and Maude is still angry about it. One night, the Simpsons hold another dinner party, and all of their friends are invited, including the Flanders. As the night progresses, Homer gets more and more drunk, and makes a fool of himself. By the end of the night, all he can do is stare at Maude's miraculous breasts, and he decides to go in for a squeeze. They whole party is shocked and angry at his behavior, especially Ned. The next night, Ned returns to the Simpson house, and stares at Homer through the front window. Homer is watching TV, unaware of Ned. Still angry from the night before, Ned pulls out his gun and murders Homer. | {
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