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Tonight, Dark Matter season 3 airs another new episode in “The Dwarf Star Conspiracy,” and this installment brings us further into the home stretch of the story this summer. There are three episodes left, and we’ve just learned some key revelations regarding Two and her past through “Built, Not Born.”
What better time to get some insight from the man responsible for everything behind the scenes? With us just getting into Dark Matter this year, it was a thrill to speak with showrunner Joseph Mallozzi about his creative process, about the decision-making that goes into certain episodes and arcs, and of course the finale and a potential season 4 renewal.
CarterMatt – Whenever I talk to a showrunner for the first time, one of the first things I always like to do is get more insight into what inspires them and what drives them. For you, you’ve done so much work within the Stargate universe and then this show. What is it about this space — outer space — that you find appealing?
Joseph Mallozzi – Genre storytelling just gives you so many opportunities to tell a wide array of stories, whether it be things like time loops or time travels. You’re able to explore different facets of humanity, and there is obviously an appeal there.
One lesson I learned very quickly on Stargate was that viewers tune in for the hook, but they stay for the characters. One of the things that I love about the show is being able to write for these characters — they’re all very different and I love their various relationships and how we develop them. The cast is fantastic and they bring these characters to life in a way that allows me to do so much with them. There are instances in film and television where you want to write for a certain character, but the performer sometimes isn’t up for the task. In the case of Dark Matter, the entire cast just allows me the freedom to explore relationships that go beyond what was originally envisioned so many years ago.
Also, there’s a great sense of fun. The shows that I used to love are the ones like Farscape, Firefly or anime like Cowboy Bebop — shows with a sense of humor underlying the drama that allows the audience to connect with the characters in ways that we don’t see as much in today’s television.
So what is your process of coming up with stories, and how far in advance do you work on that? You’ve given yourself so many opportunities to tell rich backstories, so what makes you decide ‘I’m going to do an episode around Two’s backstory’ or ‘I’m going to do something for Three here’?
I sat on the concept of Dark Matter for many years because Stargate kept getting picked up and it gave me years to develop the characters and backstories. One of the things about this show is that we have a five-year plan — I know what the last scene of the last episode is going to be. I know where these journeys end up. I don’t have all of the details, but I know where I want to go. I get to drop little hints along the way and set up stuff for down the line.
As for when we reveal what, it really comes down to writer instinct. You want to present various mysteries to the audience, but you don’t want to leave them hanging for too long. For example, on this past episode we finally got the Portia – Android backstory. It was something that we had set up very early on and we’d hinted at throughout the series, a connection between Two and The Android that goes beyond what is there on the surface. We finally find out about it, and there are many questions still to be answered. I check out Reddit and listen to fan questions, and one of the biggest ones they’ve asked [this week] is ‘what is that bridge between the character Rebecca, who you see leaving Shaw’s lab in the flashback, and then the character Portia who ends up brutally murdering these two men aboard the Raza?’. You’ll be getting a big hint as to what happened to motivate that turn in episode 12.
I’ve always been a big fan of shows where stuff happens every episode. Whether you’re finding out about the characters or the big picture, I want the audience to come away with something every episode.
I want to go back to ‘All the Time in the World,’ since you wrote it and Groundhog Day is one of my favorite all-time movies. What’s the process like of charting out an episode like that and determining the parts of it that are real?
When we sit down to break the specific season, we’ll break the character arcs and discuss some of the beats that I want to hit. I knew I wanted to do a time-loop episode, so I went off and watched around two dozen time-loop episodes of various shows and a dozen movies. I wanted to do justice to the concept and to our show, and I could think of no better character to lead that than Three.
One of the other things that it allowed me to do is progress the Sarah storyline, one that could’ve otherwise taken me half a season to do. He had to come to terms and accept Sarah, and he was able to do it in the loop over the course of the episode.
The various sci-fi ideas just allow you to get where you want to go in the big picture. In the case of ‘All the Time in the World,’ it’s the Sarah – Three relationship. In the case of ‘Isn’t That a Paradox,’ the episode I refer to as Back to the Future meets Stranger Things, it was a way to get the working blink drive back and to give some backstory on the blink drive. Beyond that, it was a chance to get some background on the characters, allow them to shine and allows us to explore the relationship in some fun ways.
Since you bring up Sarah … that was a heck of a cliffhanger that you guys just did! With her now back and with Victor, what are some of the emotional ramifications that this is going to cause for Three? You guys have put him through the wringer!
Three has obviously never been the biggest fan of androids, and now the love of his life is one. Ironic, no? She’s essentially out of touch; I wouldn’t say that she’s riding with a bad crowd, but she’s riding with a crowd that may influence her in a way that Three may not support. I’ll say that, and I’ll say that we have big plans for the Sarah character. That story should be a lot of fun.
I’m someone who doesn’t always love to know too much about what’s coming up, so without getting altogether specific, what sort of plans were put in place for the finale? Is there a big emotional cliffhanger this time, was that planned, or was that something that you came across along the way?
No, there was always intent. Even though we’re a serialized show, I like to make sure that every season has a beginning, middle, and end. I like to think of season 1 as a ship war mystery, and we start the show learning that these characters are terrible people and criminals. We end season 1 with them being hauled off to prison. Season 2 is about them saying ‘we’re through being reactive, we don’t belong in prison.’ They go on this story of redemption, but they try to pervert this corporate war and at the end of season 2 they fail in that.
We start off season 3 with this crisis of conscience for Two and we have an adversary in a former ally, Ryo Ishida, and it’s in this backdrop of corporate war. We’re going to complete that storyline by the end of the season, and we will begin a new chapter that will hopefully set things up for season 4. That will take the series in a completely different direction, one that I think sci-fi fans are going to really respond to and really love.
I think in terms of cliffhangers and season-enders they’re all very different. Season 2 was very much ‘everybody in jeopardy’. Season 3 I think will be more of a ‘holy crap’ moment where viewers are going to be desperate to find out what’s next.
That is a pretty perfect segue to what I have for you next. The ratings have been fairly steady year-to-year, but how are you feeling about the season 4 odds right now? Have you gotten any indication one way or another?
To be honest with you I have no idea. In previous seasons I always put our chances of renewal at 70-75% just because I knew what we were doing and the type of show we are. The fourth season I was always a little bit more nervous about. Last season we heard after episode 9 and this season we’re coming up to episode 11 and we still haven’t heard.
Like you said the ratings are solid, and we’re a part of a great Syfy Friday lineup. We’re very different from some of the other shows that they’re putting on the air, which are a bit splashier and are big-budget productions. There’s always a concern, but I’m hopeful and the cast is hopeful. I feel more confident than pessimistic.
So when would you guys be returning to work then, and when would the writers room be open in the event that it comes back?
The writers room we actually ran [back in June], so we have most of the stories that we want to tell. Things are just in a holding pattern in terms of scripts. We could find out anytime between now and the end of September, and the plan is to go into prep around the middle of October. We’d start shooting in November like last year and wrap in May of 2018.
Let’s end on something fun here. One of the fun things about Dark Matter is that your cast basically gets to play so many different iterations of their characters and do so many different things. At a certain point do you ever get anyone asking to take on new versions [of themselves] or have different ideas in general?
We’ve created an ensemble show, and within that each character tends to get their chance to shine over the course of a season. Different cast members often approach it in different ways. Anthony Lemke, who plays Three, is in my office a lot of the time pitching ideas and going over things with me. Melissa [O’Neil] has a little bit more this season. Zoie Palmer, who plays The Android, she texts me. We text back and forth more than I do with my girlfriend. She’s always saying things like ‘why don’t we do a scene like this?’ or other things [similar].
In episode 11, The Android gets a new outfit. I didn’t write the episode, but I went down on set and Zoie was like ‘I would like to address this costume change as a bigger deal in a scene,’ and I said ‘great.’ So I went upstairs and wrote a scene for her. There’s a scene where Two approaches The Android in the corridor and they have a discussion about it. It may be as simple as a wardrobe change, but it really goes deeper for The Android’s character and this is coming off this past episode, where there was this idea that she is very much an individual and very much able to blaze a new trail for herself.
It all depends on the actors. Jodelle [Ferland], on the other hand, is very quiet. She very much loves her character and she drives a lot of the story, but she’s not someone who will come up to the office to pitch ideas. That’s fine. I’m always receptive to ideas the cast members have and the office door is always open.
Want some other news related to Dark Matter?
We suggest that you head over to the link here! Remember that new episodes air Friday nights at 9:00 p.m. on Syfy, and we thank Joseph very much for his time.
Meanwhile, feel free to share your thoughts on this interview in the comments. (Photo: Syfy.)
Love TV? Be sure to like CarterMatt on Facebook for more updates!
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Many people don’t consider nursing to be a customer service job, but if you’ve ever worked as a nurse, you know that serving others is what the profession is really all about. Instead, though, we call them patients instead of customers. Often these patients can be somewhat difficult to deal with. They can be angry and stubborn and mean to the very people who are trying to help them.
Working with difficult patients is one of the greatest challenges of nursing. As a professional, you are expected to remain friendly, helpful, and compassionate at all times. While certain patients make this goal hard to achieve, there are a few things you can do to make working with them a bit easier for everyone.
1. Listen
As a nurse, it’s tempting to run through the checklist of things that you have to get done for the day. However, it is incredibly important to make time for patients and listen to what they have to say. When you listen, practice good eye contact. This will let the patient know you are paying attention to what he is saying. Be careful with your body language, since this will also send the patient about whether or not you are actually listening. Face the patient, maintain eye contact, and dedicate just a couple of minutes to listening. No multitasking allowed!
2. Empathy
Don’t forget that as much as you might be struggling, your patient is not having a great time either. As a nurse, you will see people at their worst. Remember that how they are acting in the hospital is not entirely indicative of who they are as a person in general. As your patient, they are ill, in pain, scared, and probably frustrated. He might be worried about his lack of insurance or when he’ll be able to get back to work. A lot of these worries can show up as meanness. Try to remember that it’s not personal and that they are in a difficult situation.
3. Stand Your Ground
Sometimes difficult patients require a firm hand. While it’s true that many challenging patients act the way they do because they are afraid or in pain, it is also true that many might just be grumps. Negative people will find a way to make everyone around them miserable, too. If you suspect this to be the case with your patient, stand your ground. Don’t give into negativity. Keep your positive attitude and keep looking on the bright side. You may not be able to change your patient, but you can keep them from changing you!
4. Document Events
Sometimes a difficult patient will remain difficult, no matter what we do. We can have all the empathy in the world, but sometimes that won’t make a difference. In cases like these, you must document any incidents that may occur with the patient. Make sure you know what your hospital or clinic’s policy is regarding documentation and stick to it. Cover yourself and try to resolve issues as they arise. If you’ve documented everything, and the situation takes a turn for the worse, things are more likely to turn out in your favor.
5. Seek Assistance
If you have done everything possible to reach the patient and mitigate any growing problems, sometimes you’ll simply need to let your supervisor know. Show them any reports of incidents that you have documented. If other nurses are familiar with your difficult patient, it’s a good idea to get their opinions and interactions down in writing as well. The more people know of the situation, the better.
6. Take Your Patient Seriously
Sometimes the patient may feel that not everything is being done to help them, or that they are being ill-treated. While it may sound like exaggeration or a bad mood (and it could be that), take the safe way out and believe their point of view. If they feel that things are going so poorly that they would like to sue the facility, that that statement seriously and report it immediately. If your patient is indicating that they are unhappy, it’s up to you to take the steps to resolve issues before legal actions are taken.
Final Thoughts
Being a nurse is a challenge. Dealing with difficult patients compounds that challenge. However, by following the above tips, you’ll be more ready to deal with these types of patients with empathy and professionalism. | {
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Working with Date and Time API - Java 8 Feature
7902 Mar 20, 2016
A new java.time package is introduced in Java SE 8 for date and time handling. Let us try to understand that what are new features and why a separate API was required for date and time handling..
java.util.Date
Date date = new Date(2001, 12, 1);
High level overview of JDK 1.8 Date Time API
java.time
method description 1 of Creates an instance where the factory is primarily validating the input parameters, not converting them. 2 from Converts the input parameters to an instance of the target class, which may involve losing information from the input. 3 parse Parses the input string to produce an instance of the target class. 4 format Uses the specified formatter to format the values in the temporal object to produce a string. 5 get Returns a part of the state of the target object. 6 is Queries the state of the target object. 7 with Returns a copy of the target object with one element changed; this is the immutable equivalent to a set method on a JavaBean. 8 plus Returns a copy of the target object with an amount of time added. 9 minus Returns a copy of the target object with an amount of time subtracted. 10 to Converts this object to another type. 11 at Combines this object with another.
Working with LocalDate
package com.groupkt.java8;
import java.time.DayOfWeek;
import java.time.LocalDate;
import java.time.Month;
import java.time.temporal.TemporalAdjusters;
public class LocalDateTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// current date in local time zone
LocalDate date = LocalDate.now();
System.out.printf("date=[%s]%n", date); // 2014-08-15
// specific date
date = LocalDate.of(2014, Month.AUGUST, 15);
System.out.printf("date=[%s]%n", date); // 2014-08-15
// date from nth day of year
date = LocalDate.ofYearDay(2014, 227);
System.out.printf("date=[%s]%n", date); // 2014-08-15
// date from string
date = LocalDate.parse("2014-08-15");
System.out.printf("date=[%s]%n", date); // 2014-08-15
date = LocalDate.now();
//date=2014-08-15 isLeapYear=false
System.out.printf("date=%s isLeapYear=%b%n", date, date.isLeapYear());
//date=2014-08-15 number of days in this month=31
System.out.printf("date=%s number of days in this month=%d%n", date,date.lengthOfMonth());
//date=2014-08-15 number of days in this year=365
System.out.printf("date=%s number of days in this year=%d%n", date,date.lengthOfYear());
//today is [2014-08-15], yesterday was [2014-08-14] and tomorrow will be [2014-08-16]
System.out.printf("today is [%s], yesterday was [%s] and tomorrow will be [%s]%n",
date, date.minusDays(1), date.plusDays(1));
//Last day of current month=SUNDAY
System.out.printf("Last day of current month=%s%n",
date.with(TemporalAdjusters.lastDayOfMonth()).getDayOfWeek());
//Next Friday will be on 2014-08-22
System.out.printf("Next Friday will be on %s%n",
date.with(TemporalAdjusters.next(DayOfWeek.FRIDAY)));
}
}
Working with LocalTime
package com.groupkt.java8;
import java.time.LocalTime;
import java.time.temporal.ChronoUnit;
public class LocalTimeTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// current time
LocalTime time = LocalTime.now();
System.out.printf("time=[%s]%n", time); // 02:43:00.833
// specific time
time = LocalTime.of(13, 30);
System.out.printf("time=[%s]%n", time); // 13:30
// time from string
time = LocalTime.parse("13:30");
System.out.printf("time=[%s]%n", time); // 13:30
time = LocalTime.now();
//Current time is [02:43:00.990], before 35 minutes was [02:08:00.990] and after 35 minutes will be [03:18:00.990]
System.out.printf("Current time is [%s], before 35 minutes was [%s] and after 35 minutes will be [%s]%n",
time, time.minusMinutes(35), time.plusMinutes(35));
//truncating seconds and milliseconds time=02:45
System.out.printf("truncating seconds and milliseconds time=%s%n",
time.truncatedTo(ChronoUnit.MINUTES));
}
}
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We are using classwhich is available since beginning of Java e.i. JDK 1.0 for date and time handling in Java, but this class has many problems like1. java.util.Date class is not thread-safe and can lead to potential concurrency issues2. object of java.util.Date class stores date and time both, so the name of class is confusing3. this does not stores time zone information4. poor API design which creates confusions for example year starts at 1900, month starts at 1 and days starts at 0what do you think, date object holds "December 1, 2001" ? NO, this date object holds "January 01, 3902". This is because of confusing Date APIs, later Java team realize that this Date constructor is confusing so they deprecated it in JDK 1.15. lacking of various methods like add/subtract some days to a date object6. java.util.Date.toString() returns time-zone as well while this object does not have information about time zoneBecause of above points developers started using third party API like Joda-TimeLater Oracle team decided to have its own API for date and time handling and worked under JSR 310 with the author of Joda-Time (Stephen Colebourne).1. a new packageis created2. LocalDate class is to hold local date only without time zone information3. LocalTime class is to hold local time4. ZonedDateTime class to hold date and time both with time zone informationall of above class has following similarities1. None of them have public constructor2. None of them have setter method (immutable objects)3. All of them have factory methods to create instances4. All of them have most of below methods (making similar interface to each other) | {
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Believe it or not, Konami’s booth was likely the best of the bunch at E3 2015, and my favourite part of their presence didn’t even have anything to do with Snake. It was based around football instead. Pro Evolution Soccer 2016, to be exact.
As I headed towards Konami’s part of the Convention Center’s real estate, my eyes immediately jumped to the massive Metal Gear display, before settling in on a boring looking, walled-in booth situated beside it. The construction looked dull, and from the outside, it seemed as if I was in for another generic meeting room demo. That wasn’t the case, though.
Despite having a bland exterior the booth actually held one of E3’s hidden gems, that being a realistic-looking English pub wherein multiple Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 demos were set up. It was a functional space, too, because you were more than welcome to ask the incredibly friendly bartenders for a pop, water or beer while you played.
If you’ve followed my reviews of both FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer over the past few years, you’ll know that, after two years of average review scores, PES scored a fantastic number last year. In doing so, it also dethroned EA’s footie simulation as my favourite soccer title of the year. High praise, indeed, but it was certainly well-deserved.
This year, it seems as if Konami could very well take the title again, because the few matches I played (against developers, media and AI opponents) were magnificent. The best interactive soccer I’ve ever played, to be exact.
During a pre-game presentation, it was said that Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 is seen as a forward-moving follow-up to last year’s revitalization of the brand. In fact, Konami was actually candid about how, prior to last year, the series had gone through a turbulent time, which made them want to work even harder towards bringing it back into prominence. And, with this iteration, they seem to have succeeded at making an already great game even better.
Going hands-on with the title gave me a deeper appreciation for the series, its featured sport and all of the emphasis the developers placed on what they’d fixed and fine-tuned. That included changing the camera so that the pitch is larger, making the game more accessible and working on the visuals so that they’ll look less washed out. It all showed, and I was impressed with what I saw, although I wished I would’ve seen the game’s dynamic weather system come into play.
Put simply, Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 looks and plays like an armchair footballer’s dream. It’s fast, fluid, fun and easy to jump into, while offering the type of complexity that hardcore fans desire. The AI is smarter than ever, the controls are as fluid and accessible as they’ve ever been, and the fun factor is through the roof.
The honest truth is that I’m finding it tough to say anything negative about Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 at this point in time, and I hope that’s something that will continue into this fall when I review its finished build. It’s shaping up to be an incredibly realistic, fun, beautiful and immersive sim, and that’s exactly what we want from this series. | {
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Final Thoughts
The Ultimate Fighting Championship ’s most marketable rivalry will finally get its second breath.After a superlative 2015 campaign, the outspoken Conor McGregor entered his March showdown with Nate Diaz with an aura of destiny. At that point, McGregor was undefeated in the UFC and had not tasted defeat since an early career submission loss in 2010. After the Irishman tapped to a rear-naked choke from Diaz, the rematch was booked for UFC 200, but a maelstrom of drama surrounding press obligations and faux-retirement unfolded, pushing it back until now. This will be McGregor’s second fight above 145 pounds and his second fight of 2016.On the other side of cage at UFC 202 on Saturday in Las Vegas will be longtime MMA antihero and cult favorite Diaz, who notched the most important win of his career when he throttled McGregor at UFC 196. Since then, he has become a bona fide star in the sport. The winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 has nearly a decade of UFC fights under his belt, as well as stints in World Extreme Cagefighting and a one-off Strikeforce bout, making him a true veteran of the sport. Diaz is 3-3 in the UFC fighting above lightweight, and this will be his second fight of the year.There are a lot of narrative and stylistic threads running through this fight, so let us see what the Tale of the Tape says:The anthropometric side of things favors Diaz, who is the larger, rangier fighter. Diaz also is more experienced and more comfortable at welterweight, whereas McGregor’s lone trip above featherweight ended with him tapping. The only other time McGregor has fought a taller opponent was his 2013 win against Max Holloway , and he has never fought anyone with a longer reach than Diaz.The big difference between this fight and the first match is how both men are prepared this time around. In the first bout, McGregor was training for a completely different opponent and was readying himself for a shot at another title, which would have been an unprecedented feat had he won. When slated opponent Rafael dos Anjos pulled out with an injury, Diaz filled the void with 10 days’ notice.The pendulum swings both ways here. On the one hand, Diaz was clearly at a disadvantage then because he was not in any kind of fight camp, while McGregor was actively training. At the same time, that kind of last-second changeup could have been psychologically deflating for McGregor, especially since it was not for a belt and was contested at a higher weight class than he had been preparing for. Whether or not the short notice affected one man more than the other does not matter; this time, both of them have had full camps that have been specifically tailored for each other, and thus the nature of the fight is different. It will be interesting to see who will benefit more, though it is worth noting that McGregor has the more obvious adjustments to make since he lost last time.Barring any strategy that drastically deviates from the last fight, most of the rematch will again take place on the feet. Let us see how the striking numbers break down:Both Diaz and McGregor are accomplished strikers, yet their styles are very different.McGregor is a high-volume pressure fighter with a diverse arsenal of strikes at his disposal. He is a gifted power puncher with expert command of angles and mechanics, and he has a number of flashy yet still effective kicks that round out his game. For his multi-faceted techniques, his target is pretty predictable: 80 percent of his strikes are aimed at his opponent’s head, while 14 percent are to the body and six percent to the legs. Similarly, 86 percent of his strikes come at range while only three percent are in the clinch and 11 percent are to grounded opponents. Although he eats three more punches per round than Diaz does, he also punches opponents five more times per round. This tendency to be more active explains the differential, as his overall defense is better, if not negligibly so.Diaz is also a high-volume pressure fighter but in a less pronounced and more patient way. Although he does have some kicks in his repertoire, he is primarily a boxer. He utilizes his long range to push opponents against the fence and open up with an accumulation of punches that eventually wears them down. Diaz is even less balanced than his Irish foe: 86 percent of his strikes go upstairs, while nine percent and five percent go to the body and legs. Predictably, he tends to strike at a distance, where 82 percent of his total striking output comes from. The clinch and ground make up for the remaining 12 percent and six percent of his strikes, respectively.The X-factor here will be the power. In 19 fewer fights, McGregor has twice as many knockdowns as Diaz. Granted, all of those knockdowns were against featherweights, but Diaz nonetheless has not shown any kind of one-punch power; his striking is successful in its volume and attritional effects. They are going to engage in exchanges, and they are going to punch each other in the face a lot. If McGregor has figured out his cardio problems and can maintain an aggressive pace for longer, then it will be interesting to see if Diaz’s chin will continue to hold up as it always has.Yet we cannot ignore the ground component, as it was ultimately how the last fight concluded. Here are the grappling statistics:It probably comes as no surprise to hear that this is where Diaz will have his biggest advantage. He is not a very strong pure wrestler inasmuch as takedowns and positioning are concerned, but he is an offense-minded jiu-jitsu specialist with a crafty submission game. He attempts at least one takedown per round on average but completes less than a third of them. Once on the ground, he has several fight-ending options, though he has mostly favored chokes throughout his career. Though his submissions are high-percentage, Diaz also uses his jiu-jitsu to sweep opponents and work in better positions; he swept his opponent in nearly half of the fights in which he advanced position on the ground. An early-career loss in the WEC is the only time Diaz has been submitted, but it seems safe to say that he probably will not have to worry about that against McGregor. Similar to their first fight, if it goes to the ground, it will likely be a quick path to victory for the Cesar Gracie pupil.After eight fights in the UFC, not much has changed regarding McGregor’s ground game. It is not that he has failed to improve in training camps, but there has not been much observable evidence of how he has been improving. The only times he has been on the ground for extended periods came against a short-notice Chad Mendes and a short-notice Diaz, and neither of those instances went well for him. What we have seen from McGregor is solid defensive wrestling to avoid going to the ground, and if it does get there, he has shown effective stalling and good scrambling to get back to his feet. Prior to shooting in on Diaz in their first fight, McGregor had only attempted takedowns against Holloway and Diego Brandao , so even though his numbers might look solid, there is only a very small sample size to analyze. He has still yet to attempt a submission in the UFC, and even though he has fought off two-thirds of the submission attempts he has faced in the promotion, all three of his career losses have been by submission. Needless to say, he should look to avoid this phase of the game altogether in order to maximize his chances to win.In spite of their first meeting, the bookmakers have insisted that McGregor is still the favorite . This time, it is only slightly so. Depending where you look, “Notorious” is anywhere between -117 and -130, whereas Diaz is in the range of -110 to +110. Such variance shows how many narrative and stylistic angles there are to this rematch. On one hand, McGregor clearly took the first round last time and punched himself tired, but on the other hand, Diaz actually won the fight. With full, focused camps for both of them, it is anyone’s guess how it will play out. The pressure of a potential loss weighs much more heavily upon McGregor, though. Not only will it close the door on the rivalry with Diaz, but it will also send him back to 145 pounds with little leverage for future cross-division super fights. For Diaz, a loss would likely do little to dim his emerging stardom; if anything, it would only mean another monstrous payday somewhere down the line with a McGregor rubber match. No matter what happens, this has fireworks written all over it. | {
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Now a days there watching your favorites shows on various different platforms. In this world of internet there are various video streaming apps that are available where you can comfortably… | {
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ARLINGTON -- After losses on Friday and Saturday threatened his team's chances for a division title, Rangers manager Jeff Banister refused to show his concern.
"From great challenges come your greatest victories," Banister said.
• Buy AL West Champions gear
:: ALDS: Rangers vs. Blue Jays -- Tune-in info ::
Banister knows great challenges from growing up in the Houston area with a fierce determination to play in the Major Leagues. As a high school sophomore, he developed bone cancer and osteomyelitis in his left ankle. A doctor said amputation offered the best chance of full recovery, but Banister begged them not to crush his dream.
Banister underwent seven operations, achieved full recovery and ended up playing baseball for Baytown Junior College. He was an undersized catcher and was involved in a devastating collision at home plate, crushing three vertebrae in his neck. He was paralyzed for 10 days before he began another long, agonizing and ultimately successful recovery.
• Watch Game 1 of the ALDS on Oct. 8 on FS1
The dream refused to die. Banister played college baseball at the University of Houston and was drafted by the Pirates as a light-hitting, defensive minded catcher in the 25th round of the 1986 First-Year Player Draft.
His greatest victory came on July 23, 1991, when the Pirates finally called him up to the big leagues. He pinch-hit for pitcher Doug Drabek and beat out an infield single to shortstop. It would be his only at-bat in the Major Leagues, but his dream had been fulfilled.
"I carried a whole truckload of people with me down the line," Banister said. "I'm still carrying that. I think, as a kid, each one of us has dreams. Then there are some things that happen [that] life just throws at you that you have no answer for.
"To be able to walk into a Major League game when everybody told you that you wouldn't, you couldn't, you shouldn't, go pick another occupation, go do something else -- now you get an opportunity to do it. It happens and you are on top of the mountain for one day, one moment in time, you carry those people with you and it is the best thank you that you can give, that's what it meant."
Banister spent 29 years in the Pirates organization as a player, coach, field coordinator and Minor League manager. Then the Rangers hired him as manager a year ago, and he has achieved another great victory.
The Rangers wrapped up the division title with a 9-2 victory over the Angels on Sunday. The first-year manager with a dream that never died is taking his team into the postseason.
Welcome to the Jeff Banister Show. Now all of baseball gets the chance to see and understand who the Rangers' manager is, what he has overcome to get to this point and how he has led a turnaround for a team that lost 95 games in 2014.
"Banister always made us believe this could happen, so we never thought it wouldn't," designated hitter Prince Fielder said.
The Rangers refused to quit this season even though they started off 8-16, were four games under at the All-Star break and eight games out of first place on Aug. 2.
They seemed to take their lead from a manager who knows better than most what it takes to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The lessons Banister learned in his recovery from bone cancer and from almost permanent paralysis are something he'll carry with him forever.
"The impact is, I don't take any day for granted," Banister said. "When I wake up every morning and put my feet on the floor ... I thank God that I've got another day. I understand perseverance, I understand what hard work means, that pain is one of those things we are given to let us know we are alive from time to time."
Banister said he owes much to his parents. His father, Bob, who passed away in 1988 of a massive heart attack, was a football coach; his son wears a tattoo in his father's memory. His mother, Verda, was an algebra teacher who is still his biggest fan.
"My two parents instilled in me that you survive, that you push and you endure, because the other option is not what I am looking for," Banister said. "My passion for baseball runs so deep [that] there were nights, laying in a hospital bed knowing that I wasn't going to get up, that one thing I could do was I could dream, I could think about and I could challenge myself when I got out of the hospital, I would continue to play the game of baseball because it gave me joy at a time when there was no joy.
"It gave me something to think about that made me strive in days I really didn't care to go forward. So that burning desire, that internal fire that burns inside of me to have success to pass on, to push forward, was melded a long time ago in a couple different hospital rooms."
When Banister was in high school, he used to drive up from LaMarque, Tex., to the Astrodome to watch the Astros play. Because his father was a football coach, he knew his way around the world-famous facility. So he got into the games for free by walking through the loading docks with nobody ever asking any questions.
Now he walks through the front door as manager of a division championship team.
"All those men around you, and all those players around you, had everything to do with it," Banister said. "This coaching staff, everything that they believed in, they just took a Texas boy out of Pittsburgh and said, 'You know what? Lead us somewhere, take care of us and we'll do the rest.'"
Leer más: Texas Rangers | {
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To access my MA Final project click on the image above to go to the mini-site, or check it out at the Education section of Gamasutra.com | {
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Une perquisition a eu lieu vendredi au domicile supposé du chauffeur du camion qui a tué au moins 84 personnes jeudi soir à Nice.
Le Tunisien Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, 31 ans, l'auteur du massacre du 14 juillet à Nice (sud-est), est décrit par ses anciens voisins comme taciturne, violent envers son ex-femme et sans pratique religieuse affichée.
Né le 31 janvier 1985 à Msaken dans la banlieue de Sousse (Tunisie), il avait épousé une Niçoise franco-tunisienne et était père de trois enfants dont un bébé. Le couple portait des tenues vestimentaires occidentales, selon tous les témoignages recueillis par l'AFP.
L'homme "n'avait jamais fait l'objet de la moindre fiche ni du moindre signalement de radicalisation", a précisé vendredi le procureur de Paris François Molins.
Selon le site internet du premier quotidien francophone de Tunisie, La Presse, il a quitté la Tunisie pour la France en 2005.
Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel ne fréquentait jamais la petite mosquée en contre-bas de la cité périphérique du nord de Nice où il vivait avec son épouse avant leur séparation et il buvait des bières, selon plusieurs membres assidus de "l'Association cultuelle de Nice Nord".
"Il n'est pas soumis à Dieu, je ne l'ai jamais vu à la mosquée", assure un gardien d'immeuble de ce quartier, attablé au restaurant attenant à la salle de prière. A son côté, trois musulmans pratiquants aux longues barbes confirment.
Il était en revanche "connu des services de police et de justice pour des faits de menaces, violences, vols et dégradations commis entre 2010 et 2016", a précisé le procureur de Paris.
Le 24 mars, il avait été condamné à six mois de prison avec sursis pour des "violences volontaires avec arme" commises en janvier, lors d'une altercation liée à un accident de la circulation, selon un communiqué du ministre de la Justice.
Il avait fait une dépression
Il avait fait une dépression au début des années 2000 et n'avait pas de lien avec la religion, a affirmé à l'AFP son père en Tunisie.
"De 2002 à 2004, il a eu des problèmes qui ont provoqué une dépression nerveuse. Il devenait colérique, il criait, il cassait tout ce qu'il trouvait devant lui", a déclaré Mohamed Mondher Lahouaiej-Bouhlel devant son domicile dans la ville de Msaken, dans l'est de la Tunisie.
Il raconte que la famille avait alors emmené Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel chez le médecin qui lui avait prescrit des médicaments pour lutter contre ces crises nerveuses. Il a décrit un homme "toujours seul, toujours déprimé" et qui ne voulait pas parler.
Cheveux blancs et visage tendu, le père de l'auteur du massacre du 14 juillet a affirmé que sa famille en Tunisie n'avait quasiment plus eu de contact avec lui après son départ en France. Il n'a pas pu indiquer à quelle date son fils était parti vivre dans ce pays.
"Quand il est parti en France nous ne savions plus rien de lui", a-t-il insisté. Selon lui, son fils, n'avait "aucun lien avec la religion". "Il ne faisait pas la prière, il ne jeûnait pas, il buvait de l'alcool, il se droguait même", a-t-il raconté. "Nous sommes aussi choqués" par ce qui est arrivé, a ajouté le père de l'auteur de la tuerie de Nice.
Son père a indiqué que l'homme "n'était pas en bons termes" avec son ex-femme.
"Très violent avec sa femme"
Un habitant de son ancienne barre d'immeuble "Le Bretagne", où le tueur vivait au 12e étage avec son épouse mais en était parti depuis environ 18 mois, dresse pour sa part un profil d'homme déséquilibré. "Je ne crois pas du tout à un problème de radicalisation, je pense plutôt que ça relève de la psychiatrie", a-t-il commenté.
"Il faisait des crises. Quand il s'est séparé de sa femme il a déféqué partout, trucidé le nounours de sa fille à coup de poignard et lacéré les matelas", détaille-t-il. "Son épouse avait demandé le divorce suite à une altercation violente", raconte-t-il.
"Un jour, il était venu chercher les voisins pour qu'on constate qu'elle n'avait pas fait la vaisselle", se souvient-il à propos de cet homme "fermé" qui ne décrochait pas un mot dans l'ascenseur.
Plus pudiquement, le gardien d'immeuble qui connaissait le couple parle d'un homme pratiquant la musculation et les combats, "très violent avec sa femme", plutôt timide et gentille qui a grandi dans le quartier. La jeune femme, que les policiers sont venus interpeller vendredi matin pour la placer en garde à vue, avait accouché de son troisième enfant après le départ de son mari, selon plusieurs habitants du quartier.
A la pharmacie, les employés tombent pourtant des nues, en évoquant "un couple jeune et moderne" et décrivant l'époux comme "quelqu'un de posé". L'homme exerçait une activité de chauffeur-livreur.
Une dizaine de voisins interrogés l'ont décrit comme "solitaire" et "silencieux". Sébastien le voyait souvent garer son petit camion de livraison pour rentrer déjeuner à la maison, le plus souvent en short. Sa voisine de palier, Alexia, dit lui avoir parlé une seule fois. A l'étage supérieur, une famille nombreuse soulignait que le jeune homme ne répondait jamais à ses salutations.
Une perquisition a eu lieu vendredi à son dernier domicile situé dans un petit immeuble de quatre étages d'un quartier populaire de l'est de Nice, où il vivait en célibataire depuis la séparation du couple. La porte de l'appartement du premier étage était fracassée et grand ouverte vendredi matin, alors que des membres de la police scientifique en combinaison y recueillaient encore des indices, a constaté l'AFP.
Une photo officieuse
Un journaliste d'Al-Jazeera a publié une photocopie de la carte de résident de Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel. Selon le Nouvel Obs, plusieurs voisins ont identifié le chauffeur sur ce document et les numéros d'identification sur la carte de séjour correspondent au 3 janvier 1985, date de naissance de Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel.
Un autre titre de séjour a été publié par d'autres médias. | {
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The developers of Canon hacked firmware "Magic Lantern" have begun porting the custom software to the 5D Mark III. Earlier today, Alex Dumitrache of the Magic Lantern firmware development group posted the image above of the 5D Mark III displaying a rudimentary "Hello, World!" string. This might seem insignificant, but it indicates that Canon hasn't taken drastic measures to prevent the firmware from being modified. The Magic Lantern Team has brought the custom firmware to the 5D Mark II, the T2i / 550D, and many other models.
The firmware is targeted at film makers, unlocking a variety of options and settings that Canon holds back right out of the box, like adjustable audio levels instead of an automatic gain control. However, photographers and videographers alike can enjoy zebra stripes for identifying blown out highlights or underexposed shadows, motion detection, enhanced exposure controls, extended bracketing, and several other features.
If you are a current owner of a Canon 5D Mark III and want to follow the progress of the project, be sure check out the Magic Lantern Wikia and the team's Twitter page. You can also take a look at some of the work done with Magic Lantern equipped cameras at their dedicated Vimeo page. | {
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A few weeks ago, Nicolas Cage collected a prize for “Best Global Actor In Motion Pictures” at the Huading Awards in Macau. “I believe in the genius loci of a place, the genie of the place is what I call it,” he said at the time. “Making a movie in China, I’m buzzing with good energy, I feel great here. I love the people I’m working with, I love the crew, and there’s a genuine warmth and enthusiasm that I get from my conversations.” In a recent interview, he combined more praise for the country’s film industry with displeased words regarding Hollywood’s lack of roles for male Asian actors.
Cage had just wrapped shooting on the U.S.-Chinese-Australian co-production Outcast when he sat down with the state-operated CCTV network. “I do want to come back, and I want to work with a Chinese director and Chinese actors,” he said, singling out Tony Leung as a performer he particularly admired. “If there’s something that makes sense for a white guy like me, I’d like to do that here in China.” He also expressed a desire “to have a base near mainland China,” possibly in Hong Kong.
When it came time to discuss Hollywood’s casting practices, Cage launched into his criticism. “We do see Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, and Chow Yun Fat, but it’s very rare to see the Chinese male actor in Hollywood movies, which is something I take great umbrage with,” he said. “You know, my son is Asian.” (Cage has a son, Kal-El, with his Korean-American wife.) “He may want to direct one day; he may want to be an actor like his father, and I want that to be open to him. So I want to make some kind of effort to see more of that happen in Hollywood.” | {
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Wealth and income concentration at the top has risen by half as much in recent years than previous estimates and is rising less rapidly. The uncovering of methodological weaknesses and thus mismeasurement in the most widely-cited estimates of wealth and income held by the top 1 present has implications for income distribution public policies.
MEDIA RELEASE
Wealth and Income Inequality Rising Less Rapidly than Estimated by Piketty, Others, New Brookings Research Finds
Improved estimates emphasize importance of methodology, macro data in calculating top wealth and income shares; implications for effectiveness of redistribution policies
Wealth and income concentration at the top has risen by half as much in recent years than previous estimates and is rising less rapidly, according to a new paper presented today at the Brookings Panel on Economic Activity (BPEA). The uncovering of methodological weaknesses and thus mismeasurement in the most widely-cited estimates of wealth and income held by the top 1 present has implications for income distribution public policies.
In “Measuring income and wealth at the top using administrative and survey data,” Jesse Bricker, Alice Henriques, and John Sabelhaus of the Federal Reserve Board and Jacob Krimmel of the University of Pennsylvania reconcile widely divergent estimates of increases in wealth and income, demonstrating how specific choices in data sets and methodological decisions affect the levels and trends. They find that while the concentration of wealth and income of the top 1 percent has indeed increased since 1992, it increased far less than prior research has found.
A widely-cited estimate from Saez and Zucman (2016) estimates the share of wealth held by the top 1 percent increased 13 percentage points, from 29 percent in 1992 to 42 percent in 2013. The new, more robust Bricker et al. research shows income shares rising only 6 points over that same time period, to just under 34 percent in 2012. Similarly, Piketty and Saez (2003, updated) estimate the share of income held by the top 1 percent increased 10 points, from 13 percent in 1991 to 23 percent in 2012, while the new Bricker et al. research shows only a 7 percentage point increase to 18 percent in 2012.
The new estimates use two main sources of data at the individual level (micro): administrative tax records and the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finance (SCF) household survey. However, the authors’ note that their efforts to reconcile existing estimates rely on available macro (aggregate) data, which they believe is key for understanding top wealth and income shares because changes in the aggregate composition of income and balance sheets over time affect for whom the micro data are comprehensively capturing. Methodology, in addition to data sources, has also played a key role in overstated estimates of top wealth shares inferred directly from administrative tax records, they note. The mismatch between micro income and macro wealth concepts and coverage leads to a bias in ‘capitalization’ factors used to infer top wealth shares.
Although the new estimates are gleaned from the best available data sources, the authors point out that the data used for their preferred estimates are still likely not fully capturing comprehensive wealth and income measures. The omission of many employer-provided benefits, health transfers, and other forms of substantial income, like Social Security, from most data sources makes it difficult to accurately examine inequality across the entire income distribution.
“One specific concern is that wealth concentration may feed on itself, if undue political influence is being exercised by those who can (sometimes independently) finance election campaigns, and generate an even more favorable tax or regulatory environment for themselves in subsequent periods,” they write. “The primary concerns about the effects of rising wealth inequality involve investment and economic growth. Rising wealth concentration may intensify financing constraints for the non-wealthy, affecting investment in education, entrepreneurship, and other risk-taking for those with diminished resources. As with incomes, however, it is important to consider what may be driving estimates of top wealth shares, before recommending policies to address those trends.”
The mismeasurement has implications for policies designed to benefit families in the middle and bottom of the wealth and income distribution, they note. “The failure to properly measure the effects of government policies and market practices that disproportionately benefit families in the middle and bottom of the wealth or income distribution leads directly to overstatement of top wealth and income shares. Policies and practices such as social insurance and government investment in human capital generate real benefits and the debate is thus properly focused on the distribution of those benefits. If we measure only the costs of such policies and practices, without measuring the benefits, it becomes more difficult to make the case in favor of such policies in policy debates,” they conclude.
Read the full paper from Bricker et al »
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Frogs
Generally speaking, though, when we think of frogs, we generally picture what are called "True Frogs"....
members of the family Ranidae, containing more than 400 species.
These frogs have the characteristics of: two bulging eyes
strong, long, webbed hind feet that are adapted for leaping and swimming
smooth or slimy skin (generally, frogs tend to like moister environments)
Frogs tend to lay eggs in clusters. Frogs from this family can be found on every continent except Antarctica. They are referred to as the "true frogs" because of their generalized body form and life history: the so-called generic frog.
Members of this family include the bullfrog, common frog, green frog, leopard frog, marsh frog, pickerel frog, and wood frog.
Toads
The term toads tends to refer to "True Toads"....
members of the family Bufonidae, containing more than 300 species.
These types of frogs have are characterized by: stubby bodies with short hind legs (for walking instead of hopping)
warty and dry skin (usually preferring dryer climates)
paratoid (or poison) glands behind the eyes
The chest cartilage of toads is different also.
Toads tend to lay eggs in long chains. (There are some toads (genera Nectophrynoides), however, that are the only types of anurans to bear live young!) True Toads can be found worldwide except in Australasia, polar regions, Madagascar, and Polynesia, though Bufo marinus has been artificially introduced into Australia and some South Pacific islands.
Besides Bufo, the family includes 25 genera, all of which, like the frogs, are anura! | {
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Mayor Bill de Blasio used a “Save Our City” theme for his seventh State of the City speech — prompting confused New Yorkers to wonder, “Save us from what — your leadership?”
“We need a plan to save our city because that’s where we are right now,” Hizzoner told a crowd of hundreds at the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan Thursday.
“We’re at a point where we have to be saved. This city and everything it stands for must be saved and we are the ones who have to save ourselves,” the mayor said in the first few minutes of his more than hourlong address.
“His theme was ‘save the city!’ He has been mayor for six of his [full two terms’] eight years Who does he think it needs saving from?” asked Councilman Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island) after the speech.
De Blasio also cited “a particular fear out there, a particular anxiety.
“People are afraid New York City won’t be New York City anymore. They’re afraid that our heart and soul could slip away,” he said, blaming “greed” for making the metropolis unaffordable.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who is running to succeed the term-limited de Blasio in 2021, agreed about the feelings of anxiety, but panned Hizzoner’s overall message.
“People are anxious about things like housing and homelessness, and worried that they can’t afford to live here,” Johnson (D-Manhattan) told The Post.
“But I wouldn’t frame it like the city needs to be ‘saved.’ It needs vision, big ideas and serious investment in things like NYCHA, our transportation system and affordable housing,” Johnson said.
In a rebuttal speech following the mayor’s address, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said de Blasio’s shortcomings are the reason the city needs saving.
“The mayor spoke of the need to save our city, and he may be right — but in many cases, at critical points, past opportunities to take on issues have been met with policies that were either insufficient to address the scale of need, or further deepening it,” Williams said.
He pointed to “misplaced money and priorities” in de Blasio’s handling of mental-health policy, mismanagement of NYCHA, and missed targets for homelessness.
De Blasio’s “Blueprint to Save Our City” includes adding 100 cops to a new NYPD “Vision Zero Unit” to crack down on speeding, expanding pre-K-for-all to 26,000 3-year-olds, and legalizing basement apartments and tiny houses in backyards to create 10,000 affordable homes.
In his two remaining years in office, he also wants to invest $500 million of city pension funds into small businesses, create a landlord vacancy tax and cut fines for mom-and-pop shops in half.
In addition to the tiny homes and basement apartments, de Blasio will build 2,000 more units of affordable housing for families making under $50,000 a year.
He said he’ll help the city’s youth by expanding hours at Parks Department recreation centers, reopening six shuttered community centers and building seven new ones in the outer boroughs.
As part of de Blasio’s efforts to tackle climate change, the city will assist homeowners in installing solar panels on 50,000 homes and end the government’s use of plastic bottles by 2021. | {
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Version 0.5 (October 2016)
Author urbanadventurer (Andrew Horton)
Source github.com/urbanadventurer/username-anarchy/
Download github.com/urbanadventurer/username-anarchy/archive/master.zip
Introduction
Username Anarchy is for generating usernames when penetration testing. Usernames are half the password brute force problem.
This is useful for user account/password brute force guessing and username enumeration when usernames are based on the users’ names. By attempting a few weak passwords across a large set of user accounts, user account lockout thresholds can be avoided.
Users’ names can be identified through a variety of methods:
Web scraping employee names from LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social networks.
Extracting metadata from document types such as PDF, Word, Excel, etc. This can be performed with FOCA.
Common aliases, or self chosen usernames, from forums are also included.
Features
Plugin architecture for username formats
Format string style username format definitions
Substitutions. e.g. when only a first initial and lastname is known (LinkedIn lists users like this), it will attempt all possible first names
Country databases of common first and last names from Familypedia and PublicProfiler
Has the Facebook common first and lastnames lists
Extras
Common forum usernames, ordered by popularity
Usage
Username Anarchy is a command line tool.
___ ____ | | \ ______ ____ _______ ____ _____ __ __ ____ | : // ___/_/ \\_ __ \ / \ \__ \ / : \ _/ \ ' . / \___ \ \ o_/ | | \/| : \ / o \ | . . \\ o_/ \_____/ /______) \_____)|__| |___: /(______)|__: : / \_____) _____ \/ .__ \/ / \ ____ _____ _______ ____ | |__ ___.__. / o \ / \ \__ \ \_ __ \_/ ___\ | | \( : | / . \| . \ / o \ | | \/\ \___ | . \\___ | \____:__ /|___:__/(______)|__| \_____)|___:__//_____| \/ Usage: ./username-anarchy [OPTIONS]... [firstname|first last|first middle last] Author: Andrew Horton (urbanadventurer). Version: 0.5 Names: -i, --input-file FILE Input list of names. Can be SPACE, CSV or TAB delimited. Defaults to firstname, lastname. Valid column headings are: firstinitial, firstname, lastinitial, lastname, middleinitial, middlename. -a, --auto Automatically generate names from a country/list -c, --country COUNTRY COUNTRY can be one of the following datasets: PublicProfiler: argentina, austria, belgium, canada, china, denmark, france, germany, hungary, india, ireland, italy, luxembourg, netherlands, newzealand, norway, poland, serbia, slovenia, spain, sweden, switzerland, uk, us Other: Facebook - uses the Facebook top 10,000 names --given-names FILE Dictionary of given names --family-names FILE Dictionary of family names -s, --substitute STATE Control name substitutions Valid values are 'on' and 'off'. Default: off Can substitute any part of a name not available -m, --max-sub NUM Limit quantity of substitutions per plugin. Default: -1 (Unlimited) Username format: -l, --list-formats List format plugins -f, --select-format LIST Select format plugins by name. Comma delimited list -r, --recognise USERNAME Recognise which format is in use for a username. This uses the Facebook dataset. Use verbose mode to show progress. -F, --format FORMAT Define the user format using either format string or ABK format. See README.md for format details. Output: -@, --suffix BOOL Suffix. e.g. @example.com Default: None -C BOOL, Case insensitive usernames. --case-insensitive Default: True (All lower case) Miscellaneous: -v, --verbose Display plugin format comments in output and displays last name searches in plugin format recogniser -h, --help
Example Usage
You know the name of a user but not the username format
./username-anarchy anna key anna annakey anna.key annakey annak a.key akey kanna k.anna …
You know the username format and names of users
./username-anarchy –input-file ./test-names.txt –select-format first.last andrew.horton jim.vongrippenvud peter.otoole
You know the server is in France
Note that -a or –auto is required when you do not specify any input names.
./username-anarchy –country france –auto martin bernard thomas durand richard robert petit moreau dubois simon martinsmith martinjohnson …
List username format plugins
./username-anarchy –list-formats Plugin name Example ——————————————————————————– first anna firstlast annakey first.last anna.key firstlast[8] annakey firstl annak f.last a.key flast akey lfirst kanna l.first k.anna lastf keya last key last.f key.a last.first key.anna FLast AKey first1 anna0,anna1,anna2 fl ak fmlast abkey firstmiddlelast annaboomkey fml abk FL AK FirstLast AnnaKey First.Last Anna.Key Last Key FML ABK
Automatically recognise the username format in use
./username-anarchy –recognise j.smith Recognising j.smith. This can take a while. Username format j.smith recognised. Plugin name: f.last
Input Files
To generate usernames for more than one user account you must provide the names in a text file. This can be either TAB or CSV delimited.
Example 1
Firstname,Lastname Andrew,Horton Jim, von Grippenvud Peter,O'Toole
Example 2
LinkedIn often shows the firstname and last initial
firstname,lastinitial andrew,h foo,b
Example 3
Mixed set of names
firstname,firstinitial,middleinitial,lastname,lastinitial andrew,,,horton, jim,,,,v ,p,,o'toole,
Custom Plugins
Command line Plugins
Define a custom plugin format using either the ABK or format string format. Specify the username format with -F or –format
Example 1
./username-anarchy -F “v-annakey” andrew horton v-andrewhorton
Example 2
./username-anarchy -F “v-%f%l” -a -C poland v-nowaksmith v-nowakjohnson v-nowakjones v-nowakwilliams v-nowakbrown v-nowaklee v-nowakkhan v-nowaksingh v-nowakkumar v-nowakmiller …
Writing Plugins
You can add plugins to username anarchy by defining them in format-plugins.rb
This example uses the ABK format.
Plugin.define "last.first" do def generate(n) n.format_anna("key.anna") end end
This example uses the format string format.
Plugin.define "first" do def generate(n) n.format("%f") end end
Format Strings
Username Anarchy provides a method of defining a username format with format strings.
%F – Firstname %i.m – middle initial %M – Middlename %i.l – last initial %L – Lastname %i.F – First initial %f – firstname %i.M – Middle initial %m – middlename %i.L – Last initial %l – lastname %D – Digit range 0..9 %i.f – first initial %DD – Digit range 00..99
ABK Format
Username Anarchy provides a method of defining a username format with ABK format which translates to format strings.
Anna – %F
Boom – %M
Key – %L
anna – %f
boom – %m
key – %l
A – %i.F
B – %i.M
K – %i.L
a – %i.f
b – %i.m
k – %i.l
Forum Usernames
The forum-names folder contains:
common-forum-names.csv – A CSV file with forum names and the frequency they appeared with
common-forum-names-top10k.txt – The top 10,000 forum names
common-forum-names.txt – 1,774,313 forum names
phpbb-scraper.rb – a web scraper for usernames on PHPbb forums
Name Resources
These are resources for further study of common names.
Names
http://worldnames.publicprofiler.org/SearchArea.aspx Top 10 surnames and first names for some countries.
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/List_of_most_popular_given_names
http://www.babynamefacts.com/popularnames/countries.php?country=NZDtop baby names per country
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_Oceania
Name Parsing | {
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"We need a little patience. Everything is due to be clarified and resolved in the course of the day," said Novikov who represents Ukrainian national Nikolai Karpyuk who was sentenced to 22.5 years behind bars in Russia for taking part in armed clashes in Chechnya as a gang member. At least 30 military servicemen were killed in them.
For its part, the office of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has refuted media reports saying that the process of mutual exchange of detainees between Moscow and Kiev had been completed. "The process of the mutual release of detained individuals continues. Reports asserting that it has been completed are not true. When the mutual release of detainees is over, the president’s office will inform about that through official channels," Zelensky’s office said in a Facebook post. | {
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Duck's Foot Pistols
Also known as duckfoot pistols, it is a peculiar name for a weapon, but it is derived from the splayed shape of the webbed foot of a duck, in some cases the term is very accurately descriptive.
The principle behind this type of pistol is one of confrontation by one person against a group. Hence it was popular among bank guards, prison warders and sea captains. The threat being that one volley can kill several men. I have also seen the type referred to as a 'boarding pistol', but I have no corroboration of that term.
The four barreled rifled flintlock shown at right, is of a type that is fairly common. However there are many variants within this type... Some have brass barrels, some are Damascus... Octagonal, cylindrical and tapered barrels exist and some have smooth bores rather than rifling. In some examples the angle of spread is wider than shown at right, another very similar pistol is shown below. This one has a wider angle of spread and the barrels are tapered towards the muzzle.
The hexagonal, brass barreled, one is of similar construction and has rifled .45 calibre barrels. The drawing has been extracted from an illustration in one of Ian Hogg's books. The one piece brass frame and breach casting is so similar in many examples that I believe they castings may all have come from one source, with each gun maker finishing the castings to their own particular design and embellishment.
This three barreled percussion version has the central barrel tilted downward so that there is a vertical spread as well, this very rare English example is signed by 'Lord' of London.
The monochrome picture also came from one of Ian Hogg's books, and shows many unusual features... There are eight barrels, the centre two are parallel and face forward, the butt is heavily spiked and there is a thin barbed blade that can come into play after the pistol has been discharged.
This Flintlock Duckfoot 4 Barreled Pistol, c. 1780 has 4 individual numbered .52 calibre 2 inch rifled barrels threaded into a brass breech and frame. Checkered walnut grip with un engraved silver oval escutcheon. | {
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Updated 5:31 p.m. ET
The suspected shooter in the Dallas attack on police officers was a former enlisted Army reservist who served for six years, including a stint in Afghanistan, personnel officials said on Friday.
Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, who allegedly shot and killed five law enforcement officers -- including four Dallas police officers and a Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer, two of whom were also military veterans -- entered the Army Reserve in March 2009 at age 18 from his home of record at the time in Mesquite, Texas, the service said in a statement to Military.com.
Johnson was a private first class (E-3) at the time of discharge in April 2015, the Army said. His junior rank after so many years in the service may stem from a sexual harassment case he faced, a source told Military.com. Johnson was a carpentry and masonry specialist with a military occupational specialty of 12W, the service said.
Johnson was assigned to an engineer brigade in Seagoville, Texas, in September 2013 and was activated that same month to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, where he served with the 420th Engineer Brigade from November 2013 to July 2014. He ended his time in uniform with the same unit.
Johnson's tour in Afghanistan was cut short after a female soldier filed a sexual harassment complaint against him, according to Bradford J. Glendening, an attorney in the Reserve Judge Advocate's General (JAG) Corps and a member of the 22nd Legal Operations Detachment, a trial defense unit whose headquarters is based at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.
Glendening, who represented Johnson in the case, said the woman requested a protective order against Johnson for herself, her family and place of residence -- and that he undergo mental health counseling.
"It takes a lot for someone to be kicked out of a military combat theater like that," the attorney said in a telephone interview.
Glendening said Johnson's chain of command wanted him to receive an "other than honorable" discharge -- the most severe type of administrative discharge -- and that he submitted a document for Johnson to receive a "general discharge" in September 2014.
"Every soldier who's being kicked out of the Army has some problems," Glendening said. "I got the impression that he had a bad attitude but nothing beyond that. I remember him being slightly disrespectful of me ... He never referred to me as 'sir' or by my rank."
At the same time, Glendening added, "He never made any remarks that were threatening to me or that he wanted to seek retaliation with the Army."
It wasn't immediately clear what type of discharge Johnson ultimately received. The information from the Army didn't indicate whether it was honorable or not.
Johnson's awards included the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star; the Army Achievement Medal; the National Defense Service Medal; the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; the Army Service Ribbon; the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with "M" Device; and the NATO Medal.
Johnson was killed by police using an armed explosive delivered by a robot, a tactic that may have been a first, police said.
Law enforcement officials were still trying to confirm a motive for the killings but Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown said Johnson was upset by the two recent high-profile shootings of black victims by white police officers.
"He was upset about Black Lives Matter. He said he was upset about the recent police shootings," Brown said. "The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers."
The information on Johnson released by the Army did not make clear whether he had received advanced marksmanship training.
During the shooting, Johnson was using a long rifle and firing .223-caliber rounds, the civilian version of 5.56mm rounds used by U.S. military and NATO forces, according to Cedric Alexander, a law enforcement analyst. "They do extreme damage," he told CNN.
The attack, described as the deadliest against U.S. police since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, also left seven other officers and two civilians wounded. Former military personnel were also identified among the victims.
Brent Thompson, among those killed in Dallas, was a former U.S. Marine who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan to train local police, Fox News reported. The 43-year-old was a newly married grandfather who joined the Dallas Area Rapid Transit police department in 2009, the news organization reported.
Patrick Zamarripa, 32, who was also slain in the attack, was a Navy veteran who had survived three tours in Iraq before joining the Dallas police department about five years ago, Stars & Stripes reported.
--Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information about the gunman's military service.
-- Brendan McGarry can be reached at [email protected]. Richard Sisk can be reached at [email protected]. | {
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From Howard County Government: Howard County's Commission for Women is seeking nominations for outstanding women to be inducted into the 2018 Women's Hall of Fame (WHOF). This annual event honors Howard County women who have made significant contributions to the lives of others in Howard County, the State of Maryland or the nation through their leadership, professional and/or community service. The nomination deadline is Friday, December 22 at 5:00 p.m.
To be eligible for the Howard County WHOF, nominees may be either living or deceased and must have lived in Howard County for at least 10 years. Up to five women will be selected for induction at the Commission's annual Women's Hall of Fame Ceremony in March 2018, held during National Women's History Month. To obtain a copy of the WHOF nomination form, visit the Department of Community Resources and Services' website at www.howardcountymd.gov/cfw or contact the Department at 410-313-6400 (voice/relay) or email [email protected].
The 2018 National Women's History Month theme is "Nevertheless She Persisted — Honoring Women Who Fight All Forms of Discrimination Against Women." In addition to the WHOF, the Commission for Women will also recognize its 2018 Women's History Month middle and high school essay contest winners at its WHOF induction ceremony. Essay contest rules and deadlines will be announced in late November. The Commission for Women was created in 1980 to promote the social, economic and political equality of women. The Hall of Fame was created to leave a historical legacy of the accomplishments of Howard County women for future generations. | {
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Moon Knights believe that originally night was a time of peace and healing. Their mission is to reclaim it from those who use darkness to cause fear instead of rest. Neither black masks nor silent footsteps can sneak past a Moon Knight's watch. He
patrols cities and guards innocent sleepers. But a Moon Knight
is given the gift - or curse - of wakefulness. He will not close his eyes until the day of his death, when he will go to rest in our Mother's arms: his reward for a lifetime of ceaseless sacrifice. | {
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Self justifying America is preparing for another groundhog day presidential election
by Denis Conroy for The Saker Blog
No doubt about it; there are no answers, only responses, and the Tuesday, November 3, 2020 elections will probably deliver yet another fake litmus test for shysters who find ever more ways of using taxpayer’s money and labour as a source of capital.
Intensive solvency concerns about the performance of large US-based and European Financial Institutions have not gone away and continue to steer the global financial system toward systemic shrinkage. The response to the 2008 financial crisis was incapsulated in Obama’s ability to use syrupy sweet words to conflate hope and imprecation for the purpose of projecting Chicago School economics into the heartland of corporate enterprise…a pas de delux revealing how public interest and deep-state economics successfully…neo-conservative economics that is…manage to survive together in spite of the fact that private interests continue to engorge themselves on the wealth of the nation while emasculating the spirit of the American charter.
And as non sequitur, the inscription on the Statute of Liberty could equally be read as hyperbole in the hands of recruitment agencies seeking a labour force;
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me…” But wait, who is the ‘me’ here?
As the wheels of the industrial revolution turned, an opportunity opened up for the wretched of the earth to decamp from the miserable conditions they experienced under an old-world peonage system. “The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,” the millions caught in the maw of fiefdoms controlled by robber barons, despots, monarchs and every other one-percenter extracting whatever they could from their lowly brothers and sisters. Forever acting in deference to the principles of capitalist exploitation, they imposed the yoke of serfdom on their fellow beings for profit, whenever and wherever the possibility arose. The history of the American experience would be more of the same for a vast number of them.
Accompanying the parcelling-out of land in the newly ‘acquired’ Americas was the sound of the banker’s quill scratching the ledger as old European money etched its tentacles of ownership into a legal framework that would sanctify private property as reality de jure. The people would be allowed to dream the American dream, but the bankers would craft it in their own image.
Not aware that all systems are inevitable gamed…as rules of the game are kept in place to suit the people who gain most from them…the mesmerised multitudes seeking salvation in a continent that already possessed a multitude of people…albeit un-Christian…commenced their journey into to the heart of the capitalist ‘me’. The ‘me’ that needed them for extermination purposes and the clearance of vast tracts of indigenous land in order to access a state of colonial munificence. The original racist blueprint, nurtured within Western Colonialism’s sub-consciousness, set about replicating white supremacy and exploitive capitalism in the so-called new world in ways that presented (or misrepresented) their ability to exploit commercial opportunities in ways that inflated the idea of their own character and culture per se.
Being involved in the exploitive colonial experience, European man soon interpreted his own whiteness as something superior and promptly consigned people of colour to a lower caste. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. It was merely the awakening of the greed-is-good factor and discovering its predatory maw.
The industrial revolution produced the British Empire per means of colonisation, as did the American one. Extracting profit from labour became the denouement that would keep the labour market in bondage to a Tory psycho-social-babble-narrative that was more stick than carrot. The name of the game was to keep the vast majority of the people subjected to the will and wiles of the people who gamed the system…rules were rules because they served the interests of a governing class who needed to keep the majority of the people in a box, and the box was the status quo…or an arrangement of things that would benefit the psycho-social-babble-narrative that required fake media to deliver its delusional message of exceptionality.
And so, over time, fake became more potent than essential truths. Nobody could tell anymore who or what was real or if there were any leaders in possession of a moral compasses anymore. As business-as-usual became the mantra, the marketplace became the Holy Grail and more of the same meant more money and more power. Pretty soon many people lost their capacity to distinguish jackasses from people who could speak truth to power… the jackasses had become the majority.
With the arrival of this topsy-turvy world, movers and shakers of the moolah kind competed to satisfy the needs of a class of ‘wanters’ who wanted everything now…mainly goodies galore from a system that had consigned them to the consumerist box.
In time, capitalism in America would succeed in rendering the American dream comatose. Consumption of fake culture began to take its toll as weak-minded ‘exceptionalism’ fomented political unrest within the national psyche. American culture, in all its multiple forms, had reached its limit and the world was no longer impressed. Within a ‘box’ of tech escapism , greatness was talked up by charlatans tweeting vindictive verbiage 24/7 to a public that had long ago lost its political mojo…imagination…by not being able to imagine that there was any alternative to the ‘box’ that they were imprisoned in.
Like groundhogs, they would periodically emerge from their burrows to vote in a new president. November 3rd was such an occasion. This occasion was one where they could vote-in the expeditor of their choice, and like groundhogs using augury as barometer, sniff out the potential of their man or woman for their ability to keep America a buoyant and aggressive corporate force with a trickle down wealth effect to placate the needs of the masses.
American elections are not about real change; they are only about touting an American form of exceptionalism that nurtures the expansion of corporate power. It revolves around receiving copious amounts of taxpayer’s money to support the activities of The Pentagon and multiple intelligence agencies operating alongside America’s industrial and technical power base in order to deploy their skills in ways that ensure that the emerging economies…such as China’s state capitalist enterprise, itself a expeditor operating an inclusive economy that could give new meaning to social development.
America’s self-justifying foreign policy is about demonising those who pose a challenge to the pre-eminence of this narrative. For the past eight decades this narrative has wed those who shamelessly ‘want’ to exploit power (presidents and parliaments alike) for their own purposes and those who ‘want’ to abjectly go along for the ride.
So, it’s the voice of self-justification that has succeeded in focusing the American public on its own navel. The groundhogs who will emerge from their burrows on that designated day in November will not question why their masters believe that all those who oppose America’s desire to dominate the globe with their military might should be sanctioned out of existence or bombed back to the stone-age.
This is the genesis of a modern tragedy. The American people go to elections without being aware of what they have done in the world at large. Americans may attend their voting booths, but they and their candidates might as well stay at home, because they have become as groundhogs evermore emerging from their bunkers to sniff for signs of a spring that is losing its vibrancy.
But perhaps it’s time to extend the analogy to include the lemming. A small short-tailed furry-footed rodent that is regarded as the locust of mammals and will strip its habitat bare. This little creature tends to strip its environment of sustainable balances in its pursuit of craven objectives. Sadly, the American population and its go-it-alone policies have assumed metaphoric status… a derailed train rushing across a multilateral landscape toward cliff’s edge…simply because it has lost its ability to see itself for what it has become. Is it time to replace the Eagle mascot with the image of a lemming?
That it fails to see that the source of its craven behaviour is within its own obviously corrupt system suggests that its preoccupation with ‘particularisms’ is, by extension, a secondary problem arising from a myopia that is self-imprisoning.
The Founding Fathers ( the ancestors) of the groundhog-cum-lemming stakeholders were so totally committed to the ownership of assets…human and otherwise, that justice was left to blow in the winds of bloviators extolling Holy Writ in ways suggesting that the peon should be grateful for his lot and get-on-with-it. The foundation stones of orthodox capitalism supporting fake justice and social exclusion were set in place by the Founding Fathers and would thereafter remain embalmed in self-justification. The peons would remain captives to a system that excluded them from the narrative that gamed the system. In time, this narrative which was borne on the back of pragmatic opportunism would ultimately reach its breaking point in the 20th & 21st century.
The great-new-world developed a penchant for ‘greatness’. It had in its possession unbelievable resources. Opportunities existed in abundance and a self-righteous culture spread outward across the vast plains while simultaneously taking possession of the national psyche. The folk came to believe that they were God’s gift to history and adopted a vision of themselves as the dominant people. They accepted force as their modus operandi. They made a supreme effort to replace the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker with the banker, the media mogul, the lawyer and the fighter-pilot. Modernity need not be constrained by reason or civilising trope…progress was in the eye of the dealer and might became right. The American public would be indoctrinated into believing that it was o.k. to possess a mighty military and navy that could go forth and shit on the world by way of bombing millions of defenceless people…brown or yellow of course. They became proud of the fact that they had developed a technology that could threaten all and sundry…and their airpower confirmed that they could reach them and destroy them with merciless abandon.
So, what did it do to the American psyche? How is it possible for the people of America to not be aware that their myopic view of the world exists because they are boxed-in by their own ignorance. At the mercy of American media and tweet-street culture as it continues to release an unending stream of vitriolic admonishments imputing that some particular quarter of the system is more craven in its behaviour than another…a futile pot- calling-the-kettle-black exercise designed to shift the blame elsewhere. But alas, as the corruption is endemic, there is no othe SELF JUSTIFYING AMERICA IS PREPARING FOR ANOTHER GROUNDHOG DAY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONr particular quarter to shift the blame to.
It now seems that a significant number of Americans would not recognise craven behaviour if it bit them on the nose…more pity to those enlightened Americans caught-up in this dealer’s web of lies and more power to their elbows.
As contempt and vitriolic vapours continue to waft out of the political swamp, ever more puke will emerge to coalesce and pollute the air in ways that suck the oxygen out of the air feeding the lungs of the body politic. The movers and shakers will continue to corrode the body politic as the people’s lack the ‘bottle’ in confronting the problem of systemic corruption remain dormant. Meanwhile, President Trump and his followers will be pursued as an exceptionally corrupt clique by an equally corrupt clique such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC who conceal their own involvement in pernicious propaganda. What these two sides of the same coin have in common is a loathing for new concepts and the fear that social pressures might rise up and set about ushering in programs that would challenge their privileges and give them the short shrift to boot.
Furthermore, expect the Trump witch-hunt to gain ever more momentum in spite of the fact that his predecessors were no better than he. Trump is merely another American president expeditiously running a bully pulpit, which includes a penchant for stamping on orthodoxies…an exercise in rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, comes to mind. Strangely, the American public is proud of their amoral presidents and celebrities…think Truman, Nixon, both Clintons, George W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, Dick Cheney, Obama and others too numerous to mention and you realise that all these people had the same thing in common…an inability to live in conformity with their conscience. Ontological America had become blasé. It was o.k. to accept the fact that their leaders valued power more than conscientious deliberation.
American media (and its message) repeatedly ran half-baked delusional tropes that endlessly and selectively engaged the public in the subject of good versus evil. The idea was to project the image of American culture as a panacea for the ills of the world. Self-justification became its home-grown mantra. Throughout the 20th century it would repeat ad nauseam portrayals of itself as saviour on the big silver screens across the movieland world…that new country of distraction where propaganda reigned supreme… and with Hollywood tropes pushing the America first agenda to persuade the rest of the world that the American way of doing business could be the only feasible way of achieving progress, their endgame could be realised. The idea of making business the business of America would in time translate into making America an Empire held together by ever more propaganda to counter the fake self-justification factor.
The plan was to show that Americans could fix everything because they were a can-do people and anybody who thought otherwise had to be ‘fixed’ and the fixers didn’t need the ability to live conscionable lives to qualify as presidential candidates. Over time, the fixers became the can-do dealers in regime change and the people kept voting in presidents who promised to keep them market dominant. And the people named in the previous paragraph were chosen as laureates, not because of their enlightened views…they were not required to have them…but their business acumen and ability to fake niceties in the service of corporate expediency were seen as prerequisites for producing more of the same.
And recently, Hillary Clinton postulated the idea of regime change, declaring Trump to be an “illegitimate president.” She could not accept the fact that her clique was denied foreordination. Shakespeare believed that all the world was a stage. If he were alive today, he might say that media has become a staging mechanism wherein human perversions chase wanton dreams to waste their mojo in the quest for liberal phantoms that might fill the vacuum their ‘wanting’ moments need to fill.
Count on it, the next electoral season in the land of groundhogs and lemmings will tip the clueless political dialogue toward the cliff edge. Truly, American style democracy is nothing more than packaged freedom and fake liberalism. That’s what corporate capitalism does best, impose fake legitimacy on its own manufactured version of the American Dream.
Denis A. Conroy,
Freelance Writer
Australia | {
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This seems weird at first site but Bing Webmaster Tools has a beta option to import your sites from Google Search Console. Yes, it seems the two search engines are working together to get more webmasters to verify their web sites in Bing Webmaster Tools.
If you login to Bing Webmaster Tools, you may see an option at the top right that reads "Already verified on Google Search Console?Beta. Skip verification by importing your site." This is followed by an "import" button. Here is a screen shot:
Hat tip to @sunnykujjawal for sending this my way...
Forum discussion at Twitter.
Update: Bing just wrote about this on September 12th, weeks after we covered it. | {
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Poland’s sports minister has asked the board of the Polish Cycling Federation (PZKol) to resign after a former official said cyclists and PZKol staff claimed they had been molested, drugged and raped by one high-level employee.
In an interview for the sportowefakty.wp.pl sports website, Piotr Kosmala, who said he resigned from his post as a PZKol board member because of the allegations, claimed that testimonies recorded during an external audit revealed that an unnamed high-level PZKol employee was accused of rape and sex with a minor, and that a sedative had been mixed with alcohol to drug a victim.
But the PZKol board in a statement denied that it had received any audit results or evidence of "irregularities" and distanced itself from Kosmala’s interview for sportowefakty.wp.pl
Kosmala told the website that an employee allegedly also took “illegal commissions” from cyclists and had threatened other people in the organization.
He told sportowefakty.wp.pl that the suspected offender allegedly threatened to cut the wages of “insubordinate” cyclists and other staff, and said he would “use his contacts” to destroy their careers.
Kosmala alleged that a number of people left the sport because of bullying and that some had mental breakdowns and family problems as a result, the website reported.
The audit, which initially intended to clear up long-term concerns about possible tax-fraud in the organization, also revealed that the offender pocketed a commission of 20 to 50 percent of his trainees’ winnings without leaving a paper trail, Kosmala said in the interview.
Kosmala told the sportowefakty.wp.pl website that he left PZKol because CEO Dariusz Banaszek called off the audit after the scandal came to light with the intention of “sweeping it deep under the rug”, adding that Banaszek banned PZKol staff from speaking about it.
But Banaszek told the website that the PZKol was the victim of a witch hunt and that its independence was under attack.
Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro has said the allegations against the PZKol employee were “extremely shocking” while Sports Minister Witold Bańka has asked the board to resign.
Bańka also said the ministry and PZKol’s sponsor Orlen, a state-run oil refiner, had withdrawn their financial support for the organisation.
Footwear retailer CCC withdrew its sponsorship earlier in the year.
According to sportowefakty.wp.pl, the “sex scandal” is a major blow for PZKol, which is also in financial trouble, owing PLN 10 million (EUR 2.4 million) to a construction company for a velodrome in Pruszków, near Warsaw. (vb/pk) | {
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When she left Earth, Ellen Ripley promised her daughter she would return home to celebrate her 11th birthday. She never made it.
Fifteen years later, Amanda Ripley learns that the flight recorder from her mother’s ship has been recovered. Amanda enters Sevastopol space station to finally solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance, only to confront an unknown menace.
Engage in a terrifying quest for survival as you navigate the labyrinthine Sevastopol station. Unprepared and underequipped, you will need all your wits and daring to get out alive.
INSPIRED BY THE 1979 FILM ‘ALIEN’
A game that returns to the roots of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror masterpiece, using its atmosphere, art direction and production values to deliver the same terrifying thrills.
IMPROVISE AND SURVIVE
Explore Sevastopol station and scavenge for hidden resources, crafting items and tech to improvise weapons and deterrents against the ultimate threat.
ADAPT TO THE ALIEN’S MOVES
To evade the Alien as it hunts you down, make calculated moves and use your environment, from crawling through ventilation ducts to hiding in the shadows.
THE COMPLETE COLLECTION
Loaded with all seven DLCs including ‘Last Survivor’, a recreation of Ellen Ripley’s final mission on board the Nostromo.
FEEL THE FEAR ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
From gyroscopic aiming to HD rumble, Nintendo Switch™ technologies will keep you immersed in the horror. | {
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Constraints: added new method to interpolate based on “Polar decomposition”.
Graph Editor: “Cursor X” property now allows fractional values when working with Drivers, added options to insert keyframes at the cursor point
Dope Sheet: better frame range for new editor instances
Armatures: selection now supports selecting children, immediate children and siblings, added options to draw custom shape scale
Motion Paths: Clear Paths operator now acts on all objects/bones, Update Paths button is now shown in the toolbar too | {
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Tonight's Doctor Who episode brought back an idea that Russell T. Davies used to play with a lot: the Doctor inevitably ruins his companions. In Davies' version, it was that the Doctor winds up turning them into weapons against ultimate evil. For Moffat, it's perhaps more complicated.
In any case, "Let's Kill Hitler" includes the suggestion that the Doctor has never traveled with a woman he didn't wind up feeling guilty about, because he always messes his companions up. Except that he's already met one woman whom he can never screw up, no matter how hard he tries.
Spoilers...
So there's that scene where the Doctor is prone on the floor of the TARDIS, and he asks for a visual interface. And we, of course, think it's going to be Idris, from "The Doctor's Wife." Instead, it's the Doctor himself - but the Doctor hates himself, so he asks for a different face. He winds up gazing at a few of his former companions, and reflecting on how he screwed them up and feels guilty about it. The only one he can stand to see is Amelia Pond, the little girl, "before I got it all wrong."
But we've already met a woman that the Doctor absolutely cannot screw up - River Song, who's already been screwed up beyond all measure by Madame Kovarian and the Silence. "Let's Kill Hitler" suggests, tantalizingly, that the Doctor may be able to do with River the opposite of what he's done with all of his companions - he may be able to bring her back from being screwed up, and turn her back into a real person. (A process we've already seen the end result of.)
G/O Media may get a commission Subscribe and Get Your First Bag Free Promo Code AtlasCoffeeDay20
So here's what we now know about River Song and her increasingly complicated backstory. She's born on Demons Run, then whisked back to 1960s America to be raised by the Silence, including a stint in the world's creepiest orphanage. She's brainwashed and conditioned to assassinate the Doctor, and generally horribly abused. Then she escapes, after being shot at by her own mother, and winds up regenerating into Mels. She somehow makes her way to England and meets up with her parents, whom she appears the same age as. (Did she regenerate a second time after the 1960s? Or just age slowly?) She spends probably at least a decade pretending to be the juvenile delinquent friend of Rory and Amy, including a long period after they've already traveled with the Doctor. When she meets him, she shoots his TARDIS (possibly disabling his ability to regenerate?) and then murders him with poisoned lipstick, before having second thoughts and saving his life.
(Oh, and now we know why River Song can't regenerate in "Forest of the Dead." So she not only gives her life for the Doctor, she gives all her lives for him.)
Between the creepy orphanage, the horrible astronaut survival suit and the probably nasty assassin conditioning, River has perhaps the most nightmarish upbringing you can imagine. But at least she gets to have slumber parties with her mum and dad, in lieu of any actual parenting. I'm not sure it's that much of a consolation prize - and even though she's supposedly been their best friend for years, young Melody never seems that much interested in her parents, even when they're about to be killed. She only saves them after the Doctor begs her to.
So turning the Manchurian Candidate-ized Melody into the smart, vivacious River Song is going to be a major undertaking, and it's obvious we've only seen the first small step in that direction. (Even if we didn't already know that River finally does carry out her programming and kill the Doctor by the lake.) The Doctor seems to get through to her a bit, with his continuing concern for Amy and Rory's safety even when he's near death, and then giving her a message for River Song. And then Amy shows her the "River Song" whom the Doctor cares so much about. And the Doctor gives her a blank diary, which we know will eventually be filled with spoilers. Plus she makes a bit of a connection with the TARDIS itself, which gives her flying lessons.
The main thought that "Let's Kill Hitler" left me with was: Steven Moffat's Doctor Who tenure is going to live or die, depending on how much you love River Song. It's clearer than ever that she's the centerpiece of his vision of Who. Sure, he's created lots of other great stuff, including the Weeping Angels and the Silence, and Amy and Rory — but they all seem to come back to River Song, one way or another. And Amy and Rory are at least partly important because they're River's parents. So this is a good time to stop and look at how we feel about River Song.
River's always going to be a divisive figure, no matter what - she's a hot older woman, who's portrayed as slinky and seductive, and she's set up as a love interest for a Doctor who appears much younger. It's sort of a space-time-cougar thing.
For me personally, I had been increasingly a fan of River, thanks to Alex Kingston's brilliant performance and a huge number of awesome "oh no she didn't" moments. And the pathos she shared with Rory once or twice in the opening two-parter.
But I have to admit... after "Let's Kill Hitler," I'm... a bit less of a River fan than I was. Part of it was that Mels, River's previous incarnation, is obnoxious as hell. Seriously, she gives off this weird bratty vibe that I found really hard to deal with, like a 1990s "chick with attitude." And her whole "getting in trouble at school for going on about the Doctor" thing kind of annoyed me too - especially in retrospect, when you realize she's nattering about the man she's programmed to murder. And she shoots the TARDIS! (I did like her stealing a bus, though.) River's smugness, the quality that most people complain about with her, seems even more annoying in Mels and Young River.
But also, the shift from a River who knows more than everybody else to a River who's the only one who knows nothing seemed to sap the character of a lot of energy. She still has power, in that she's able to kill the Doctor, but she knows nothing. Young River is just as pleased with herself as Older River, but from a position of ignorance. If that makes any sense.
And then there's the coda, in which we learn that River became an archeologist for one reason only: To "find a good man." Ummm, eww? So not only are River's birth and death based around the Doctor, but now we find out the only reason she chose her career was so she could get closer to him. River is basically a sort of stalker, and the only reason why the Doctor is so into her, is because she's already successfully stalked him in her future and his past. (And then there's the "and she's a woman" line, which I'm convinced Moffat only threw in to see if he could give some feminists an apoplexy.)
For all that, I still mostly love River, and I'm still excited to see how exactly she goes from Bespoke Psychopath to Sweet Confidante. I'm guessing by the end of the season, we'll have gotten to see River's POV on the events at the lake (which older River appeared not to remember) and we'll finally see the Doctor and River's relationship take shape. And I can't wait.
Overall, "Let's Kill Hitler" was a fun romp, a good deal lighter than "A Good Man Goes to War" had been. The Doctor's approach to time travel gets contrasted with that of the Tesselector, a shapeshifting robot full of miniaturized humans (a la Meet Dave) who go around punishing history's greatest criminals. The Doctor's basically good-natured approach, of trying to make things better wherever he goes, is contrasted with this weirdly vindictive mission. The Tesselector doesn't even try to change history for the better, because they punish people at the end of their recorded timestream, when all the bad deeds have already happened. They're in 1938 Berlin to punish Hitler, except that it's too early in Hitler's timestream, and then they spot a greater war criminal: River Song herself.
Rory punching Hitler was just as magnificent as we'd all hoped, and then Rory telling Hitler to shut up and putting Hitler in the closet was kind of perfect. The little Amy-Rory flashbacks were super-cute, like Rory pathetically playing hide-and-seek and blind-man's-bluff while Amy ignored him. And we found out that Amy thought Rory was gay for years, because he never paid attention to any other girls. (Aww.) The look on Rory's face when Amy asks him to name one girl he's paid attention to is priceless – and then Rory runs away.
(Let's hope next week, we get a brief moment of Amy and Rory dealing with the fact that, after the Doctor promised their daughter would be safe, it turned out she was instead trapped in an evil orphanage and brainwashed by monsters for Rassilon only knows how long, before becoming their hopelessly screwed up crazy childhood friend and then a murderous psychopath. It would be nice to see just a snippet of a brief conversation about that... Of course, the Doctor swore on his life, which is already forfeit.)
There were a lot of perfect, hilarious little moments in this one. Like the Doctor saying he danced with everyone at Amy and Rory's wedding, and the men were a bit shy. And the Doctor saying "fault on both sides" about his time machine colliding with Hitler's office. Oh and: "I'm getting a sort of banging in my head." "I think that's Hitler in the cupboard." Also a great line: "I was on my way to this gay gypsy bar mitzvah for the disabled, and then I thought, 'Gosh, the Third Reich's a bit rubbish.'" Also, the Doctor's rules are wonderful, especially "Never knowingly be serious." And "Never run when you're scared."
Oh, and might the reference to Kennedy and history having been changed just be a sly reference to the Doctor Who book, Who Killed Kennedy? Maybe?
And we learned a bit more about the Silence - who aren't a species, but a religion who have declared a bit of a Holy War against the Doctor. They're obsessed with the first question, which is hidden in plain view but nobody knows what it is. This adds a pretty fascinating new dimension to our mouthless brainwashing monsters - except that I'm hoping this won't turn into a "religions are dumb" or "religious people do crazy shit for no reason" riff down the line. I'd still quite like to see the Silence turn out to have an actual plan.
All in all, fun stuff. What did you think? | {
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Bernie Sanders is not only ahead of Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, where the next U.S. presidential primary will take place on February 9, he is also leading her among female voters and proves more electable against Republican rivals, several new surveys show.
A tracking poll released Monday by UMass Lowell/7News shows that the senator from Vermont leads Clinton by 16 points among likely Democratic voters, claiming 56 percent support to Clinton's 40 percent support.
He would also beat any Republican nominee in a hypothetical face-off by double digits, while Clinton would beat Donald Trump and Ted Cruz by five-point margins and lose to Marco Rubio, the poll found.
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Monday's poll comes on the heels of a CNN-WMUR survey released Sunday which found Sanders ahead of Clinton among women in New Hampshire by eight percentage points, a huge jump since last week's Iowa caucuses, where Clinton won among female voters by 11 points.
Last week, an NBC News/Wall Street/Marist survey showed Sanders leading Clinton among female Democrats in the Granite state, claiming 56 percent support to Clinton's 40 percent. Those results were published just days before feminist icon Gloria Steinem and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright scolded young female voters for siding with Sanders, describing their support for the senator as sexist and shallow.
Their remarks did little to stem the tide of voters, male and female alike, increasingly turning to Sanders' "political revolution." At a rally in Portsmouth on Sunday night, Sanders spoke to another one of his now-signature huge crowds, telling an audience of 1,220 at Great Bay Community College, "Our most important task is to revitalize American democracy." | {
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We’re loving this quick and easy Instant Pot Creamy Tomato Soup with Crispy Parmesan Chickpeas! Stove-top instructions also available below. Vegetarian + GF
So I totally make all my soups in my Instant Pot now. Like seriously, all of them. It’s glorious because I get slow simmered flavor in a fraction of the time, often with little to no effort on my part. If you’re in the market for one, let me be the annoying friend shouting “DOOOOO IT!!!!” from the rooftops.
Since I know most of you haven’t taken that leap yet, I’m including complete stove top instructions for ya. After all, that’s how I made this tomato soup pre-IP!
No matter which method you use, this soup is good! Creamy tomato soup has to be, hands-down, one of my favorite comfort foods of all time. I usually serve mine up with baked mozzarella balls, grilled cheese, or a cheesy quesadilla but lately I’ve been keeping things light with my crispy parmesan roasted chickpeas on top. LOVE IT SO!
Instant Pot Creamy Tomato Soup with Crispy Parmesan Chickpeas
Craving a kiss of heat and spice? Try it with my zesty Shawarma Chickpeas on top!
5 from 10 votes Print Instant Pot Creamy Tomato Soup with Crispy Parmesan Chickpeas We’re loving this quick and easy Instant Pot Creamy Tomato Soup with Crispy Parmesan Chickpeas! No pressure cooker? No problem! Stove-top instructions also available in the post below. Vegetarian + GF Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 25 minutes Total Time 40 minutes Servings 4 servings Calories 335 kcal Author Jenn Laughlin - Peas and Crayons Ingredients 1 onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP olive oil or avocado oil
3 carrots, chopped
15 oz can tomato sauce
15 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes extra as desired
1 TBSP tomato paste
1 cup vegetable broth
1 TBSP dried basil or to taste
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar optional*
1/4 tsp oregano
3 oz cream cheese or heavy cream (add to taste)
salt and pepper to taste CRISPY PARMESAN CHICKPEAS 15 oz can chickpeas
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 TBSP finely grated Parmesan cheese approx. 1/2 oz
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper Instructions FOR THE SOUP Switch your pressure cooker to the saute funtion and sauté onion in 1 TBSP oil for 3-5 minutes, until edges are golden and brown. Next add garlic and sauté for a minute more to bring out the flavor. Add seasoning (salt, oregano, basil, and (optional) sugar) along with carrots, tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and broth. Set to high pressure for 15 minutes and allow to come to pressure, allowing a natural pressure release. Add your cream cheese and puree using a hand held immersion blender until fabulously smooth and bisque-like. You can also blend the soup, in two batches, in your blender or food processor Lastly, give the soup a taste and adjust broth/tomato/seasoning to taste, adding any extra of whatever you prefer to get your ideal thickness and flavor. Add all your roasted chickpeas on top (and a sprinkle of parmesan if you're feeling cheesy) and dive in! FOR THE CHICKPEAS Pre-heat oven to 400°F Drain the chickpeas in a colander or sieve and rinse well. Pat the chickpeas very dry with a clean dishtowel or paper towels. The drier the chickpeas, the crispier your end result. If you have time, leave them to air-dry for a few minutes, and remove any chickpea skins that come off while drying. Toss the chickpeas with olive oil and salt until all your little chicka-peas are coated, then arrange in an even layer on a baking sheet. Roast on the center rack for 20 to 25 minutes until crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Stir or shake the pan of chickpeas at the 10 minute mark for even crispiness. While still hot from the oven, toss the chickpeas with the spices and parmesan cheese. Recipe Notes Yields approx. 2 large bowls or 4 one-cup servings. * I add a pinch of sugar to my tomato soup to help cut the natural acidity of the tomatoes. My husband requests this little addition a lot. The carrots and cream cheese also help, so if needed feel free to skip the sugar and add a little extra carrot/cream to the mix, to taste. These are the electric pressure cooker instructions. For stove top instructions, see blog post below. Nutrition Facts below are estimated using an online recipe nutrition calculator. Adjust as needed and enjoy! Nutrition Facts Instant Pot Creamy Tomato Soup with Crispy Parmesan Chickpeas Amount Per Serving Calories 335 Calories from Fat 162 % Daily Value* Fat 18g 28% Saturated Fat 6g 38% Cholesterol 26mg 9% Sodium 1807mg 79% Potassium 775mg 22% Carbohydrates 36g 12% Fiber 9g 38% Sugar 13g 14% Protein 11g 22% Vitamin A 9038IU 181% Vitamin C 16mg 19% Calcium 167mg 17% Iron 4mg 22% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
If you get a chance to try this crazy tasty Instant Pot creamy tomato soup, let me know! You can leave me a comment here (LOVE checking those daily!) or tag @PEASandCRAYONS on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creations. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
Question: is it weird that I crave chickpeas? I’m talking cah-raaaaave with a capital C. It’s totally a thing right? No?
Anwho! I’m writing this up while a bowl of leftover soup warms on the stovetop right now and I almost can’t fathom eating it without a tray of chickpeas. Since trying the combo last week I am head over heels obsessed with the combo. The lusciously thick and creamy soup topped with crispy-yet-chewy seasoned chickpeas… GAH! I suppose I should pre-heat the oven, eh?
#passthechickpeasplease
stove-top instructions
No pressure cooker? No problem! This soup cooks up easily on the stove with just a few simple steps.
In a large stainless steel pot or dutch oven, sauté onions in oil until tender. Once the onions are translucent, add garlic and sauté for a minute more to bring out the flavor. Season with salt, oregano, basil, and (optional) sugar. Add carrots, tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, cream cheese and broth. Simmer on low for 25 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have shacked up together. Next, puree using a hand held immersion blender until fabulously smooth and bisque-like. You can also blend the soup, in batches, in your blender or food processor. If using a blender/processor, let the soup cool slightly before blending for safety. Serve piping hot topped with crispy parmesan chickpeas.
love your leftovers!
The leftovers for this Instant Pot creamy tomato soup are phenomenal! Like with most tomato based soups the flavors are somehow even better the next day, which makes prepping grab and go lunches for work or school a total breeze.
Make the chickpeas sans parmesan (you can store a little cup of grated parm in the fridge to take along with your soup if desired) and they will keep in an airtight container on the counter for a few days. The chickpeas are always crunchiest straight off the pan, so expect your leftover garbanzos to be more chewy and tender, but still super flavorful and great with this soup!
Hope y’all LOVE this Instant Pot Creamy Tomato Soup with Crispy Parmesan Chickpeas!
crazy for chickpeas? | {
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India will lease a second Akula-class nuclear attack submarine
As part of the multi-billion-dollar defence agreement reached in the middle of October, New Delhi will be leasing a second Akula-class nuclear attack submarine (SSN) from Russia. The cost of this lease, which also includes a portion of the construction and sea trial costs, will sit at $1.5-2 billion U.S. (IHS Jane’s).
IHS Jane’s reported that this second SSN would enter Indian service from 2021/2022, effectively replacing the current Akula-class SSN in use by the Indian Navy – the INS Chakra. The INS Chakra’s lease is due to expire around that timeframe.
The INS Chakra is the second Russian SSN to have been used by the Indian Navy, which had previously procured the Project 670 Skat-class in the late 1980s to generate experience in operating SSNs.
Numerous reports indicated that the Indian Navy – at least as of late – was not interested in leasing the second Akula-class SSN. Rather, it had sought the newer Project 885 Yasen-class SSN, of which seven were ordered by the Russian Navy (with only one in service).
In parallel with the Arihant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), the Indian Navy also placed six indigenously developed and produced SSNs in its long-term procurement pipeline.
Analysts from IHS Jane’s and The National Interest believe that India had hoped to have its design and engineering personnel participate in the production of Yasen-class SSNs as a means to build capacity for the indigenous SSN program.
Notes & Comments:
India’s indigenous SSN and SSBN programs are significant undertakings. The culmination of layers of long-standing research, development, engineering, and industry efforts in many areas, from hull design and construction, material structures development, to miniaturized nuclear reactor development (among others) have been dedicated to bringing these programs to fruition. Operating nuclear-powered submarines has been a strategic objective for New Delhi for several decades, at least.
The principal benefits of SSN and SSBNs, especially for newcomer designers and producers such as India (which require time to mitigate acoustic detectability in their SSN/SSBN designs), reside in speed, range, endurance, and payload. SSNs can be utilized as part of distant naval deployments, such as protecting a carrier group in another region. These ships have limited utility for defensive engagements, and Pakistan’s immediate proximity indicates that New Delhi’s focus (in regards to SSN/SSBNs) is more distant.
One could place New Delhi’s desire for SSN and SSBNs in its desire to cement the Indian Navy’s status as a blue-water force in general (which could further elevate the Indian Navy’s position in global maritime affairs), and in specific terms, to possess readily available assets for use in the Pacific theatre. | {
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I met Roman Polanski in 1977, when I was 13 years old. I was in ninth grade that year, when he told my mother that he wanted to shoot pictures of me for a French magazine. That’s what he said, but instead, after shooting pictures of me at Jack Nicholson’s house on Mulholland Drive, he did something quite different. He gave me champagne and a piece of a Quaalude. And then he took advantage of me.
It was not consensual sex by any means. I said no, repeatedly, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. I was alone and I didn’t know what to do. It was scary and, looking back, very creepy. Those may sound like kindergarten words, but that’s the way it feels to me. It was a very long time ago, and it is hard to remember exactly the way everything happened. But I’ve had to repeat the story so many times, I know it by heart.
We pressed charges, and he pleaded guilty. A plea bargain was agreed to by his lawyer, my lawyer and the district attorney, and it was approved by the judge. But to our amazement, at the last minute the judge went back on his word and refused to honor the deal.
Worried that he was going to have to spend 50 years in prison -- rather than just time already served -- Mr. Polanski fled the country. He’s never been back, and I haven’t seen him or spoken to him since.
Looking back, there can be no question that he did something awful. It was a terrible thing to do to a young girl. But it was also 25 years ago -- 26 years next month. And, honestly, the publicity surrounding it was so traumatic that what he did to me seemed to pale in comparison.
Now that he’s been nominated for an Academy Award, it’s all being reopened. I’m being asked: Should he be given the award? Should he be rewarded for his behavior? Should he be allowed back into the United States after fleeing 25 years ago?
Here’s the way I feel about it: I don’t really have any hard feelings toward him, or any sympathy, either. He is a stranger to me.
But I believe that Mr. Polanski and his film should be honored according to the quality of the work. What he does for a living and how good he is at it have nothing to do with me or what he did to me. I don’t think it would be fair to take past events into consideration. I think that the academy members should vote for the movies they feel deserve it. Not for people they feel are popular.
And should he come back? I have to imagine he would rather not be a fugitive and be able to travel freely. Personally, I would like to see that happen. He never should have been put in the position that led him to flee. He should have received a sentence of time served 25 years ago, just as we all agreed. At that time, my lawyer, Lawrence Silver, wrote to the judge that the plea agreement should be accepted and that that guilty plea would be sufficient contrition to satisfy us. I have not changed my mind.
I know there is a price to pay for running. But who wouldn’t think about running when facing a 50-year sentence from a judge who was clearly more interested in his own reputation than a fair judgment or even the well-being of the victim?
If he could resolve his problems, I’d be happy. I hope that would mean I’d never have to talk about this again. Sometimes I feel like we both got a life sentence.
My attitude surprises many people. That’s because they didn’t go through it all; they don’t know everything that I know. People don’t understand that the judge went back on his word. They don’t know how unfairly we were all treated by the press. Talk about feeling violated! The media made that year a living hell, and I’ve been trying to put it behind me ever since.
Today, I am very happy with my life. I have three sons and a husband. I live in a beautiful place and I enjoy my work. What more could I ask for? No one needs to worry about me.
The one thing that bothers me is that what happened to me in 1977 continues to happen to girls every day, yet people are interested in me because Mr. Polanski is a celebrity. That just never seems right to me. It makes me feel guilty that this attention is directed at me, when there are certainly others out there who could really use it.
*
Editor’s note: The Times’ usual practice is not to name victims of sexual crimes. Samantha Geimer’s name is used here with her consent. | {
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You know about the differences between the controlled vs. uncontrolled form inputs.
You may have started out with uncontrolled form inputs — which is perfectly fine!
It turns out your requirements have got more sophisticated. You need to disable that submit button or instantly validate your fields, perhaps.
And for that, you need your inputs to be controlled.
So how do you go from uncontrolled to controlled?
The transition is straightforward. You would need to:
Identify all form controls — textboxes, selects, checkboxes. Initialize the state for each of these. Make these controls “get” their value from this.state . Make these controls “set” new values to this.state — using the onChange prop. Change your submit handler to get values from the state, instead of ref s.
Suppose you had a form with uncontrolled inputs, something like this:
class UncontrolledForm extends Component { handleSubmit = () => { const email = this . _emailInput . value ; const agreeCheckbox = this . _agreeCheckbox . checked ; ... }; render () { return ( < form onSubmit= { this . handleSubmit } > < input type= "email" ref= { inp => this . _emailInput = inp } /> < input type= "checkbox" ref= { inp => this . _agreeCheckbox = inp } /> </ form > ); } }
1. Identify all form controls
As simple as it sounds, you are just taking a mental (or paper, or code) note of what your form has. It’s important that you give each control a meaningful name. “Email field” instead of just “a text field”.
In the example above, the form controls are:
an email field;
an “agree to terms” checkbox.
2. Initialize the state for these
You now have a list of what’s inside your form. The next step would be to start storing the values of these things in this.state , instead of relying on the browser to store these for us in DOM.
Don’t worry about how these will be used or updated just yet.
Continuing the example, we would need the state to contain:
a string with the value of the email field;
a boolean indicating whether the user agrees to the terms.
In code, we would set it in the constructor like this:
class ControlledForm extends Component { constructor () { super (); this . state = { email : '' , agree : false , }; } }
3. Make the controls “get” their values from state
We are now kind of storing the values of these controls inside this.state . Now it’s time to tell our inputs to use these values.
class ControlledForm extends Component { // constructor omitted render () { return ( < form onSubmit= { this . handleSubmit } > < input type= "email" value= { this . state . email } /> < input type= "checkbox" checked= { this . state . agree } /> </ form > ); } }
Why’s it that we are using checked for the checkbox, but value for the text inputs? What would you use for textareas, or selects, or radio buttons? Refer to the “What makes an input controlled” section of Controlled vs. uncontrolled inputs in React.
4. Make the controls “set” their values to state
An input that shows a static value and cannot be changed isn’t of much value.
So we need to allow the inputs to update the state back.
If you need a refresher, here’s an excerpt from Controlled vs. uncontrolled inputs in React:
Every time you type a new character, handleNameChange is called. It takes in the new value of the input and sets it in the state. It starts out as an empty string — '' .
You type a and handleNameChange gets an a and calls setState . The input is then re-rendered to have the value of a .
You type b . handleNameChange gets the value of ab and sets that to the state. The input is re-rendered once more, now with value="ab" . This flow kind of ‘pushes’ the value changes to the form component, so the Form component always has the current value of the input, without needing to ask for it explicitly. This means your data (state) and UI (inputs) are always in sync. The state gives the value to the input, and the input asks the Form to change the current value.
We are going to write an event handler for every input, and pass it as the onChange prop.
class ControlledForm extends Component { // contructor omitted handleEmailChange = ( evt ) => { this . setState ({ email : evt . target . value }); }; handleAgreeChange = ( evt ) => { this . setState ({ agree : evt . target . checked }); }; render () { return ( < form onSubmit= { this . handleSubmit } > < input type= "email" value= { this . state . email } onChange= { this . handleEmailChange } /> < input type= "checkbox" checked= { this . state . agree } onChange= { this . handleAgreeChange } /> </ form > ); } }
5. Change your submit handler to get values from state, instead of ref s
Now for the easiest part, instead of reading from ref s in handleSubmit , we will simply get from the state.
class ControlledForm extends Component { handleSubmit = () => { const email = this . state . email ; const agree = this . state . agree ; ... }; }
All in all, the new, controlled form would look like this:
class ControlledForm extends Component { constructor () { super (); this . state = { email : '' , agree : false , }; } handleSubmit = () => { const email = this . state . email ; const agree = this . state . agree ; ... }; handleEmailChange = ( evt ) => { this . setState ({ email : evt . target . value }); }; handleAgreeChange = ( evt ) => { this . setState ({ agree : evt . target . checked }); }; render () { return ( < form onSubmit= { this . handleSubmit } > < input type= "email" value= { this . state . email } onChange= { this . handleEmailChange } /> < input type= "checkbox" checked= { this . state . agree } onChange= { this . handleAgreeChange } /> </ form > ); } }
And we can now have the most up-to-date values right in the state, enabling us to do much more than uncontrolled inputs would allow. | {
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207aicila Profile Joined January 2015 1236 Posts Last Edited: 2017-09-05 15:35:12 #641 On September 05 2017 23:25 onlystar wrote:
F.s cant be denied just because you feel its overplayed or whatever youre opinion is irrelevant.. F.s serves its purpose as a tie breaker to at least give a little bit of solid ground & balance to the players and No not many maps can do that in the same way CB has other problems on pvz side of things
Good to know there is a God-like objective arbiter of Brood War truth here to educate us with immutable facts.
If only you were around when KeSPA still existed, perhaps you would have been able to teach them as well, because they didn't understand either... Good to know there is a God-like objective arbiter of Brood War truth here to educate us with immutable facts.If only you were around when KeSPA still existed, perhaps you would have been able to teach them as well, because they didn't understand either... mfw people who never followed BW speak about sAviOr as if they know anything... -___-''''
onlystar Profile Joined March 2015 United States 943 Posts Last Edited: 2017-09-05 15:58:55 #642 lets make it personal ! good addition
207aicila Profile Joined January 2015 1236 Posts Last Edited: 2017-09-05 16:06:14 #643 On September 06 2017 00:57 onlystar wrote:
lets make it personal ! good addition
When a 2015 account says "whatever youre [sic] opinion is irrelevant" to people who have been playing and following this game for over 15 years, most of whom feel that we're sick of FS, that's when it got personal.
If you can't handle the heat don't stand in the kitchen. Better yet, don't make such a shameful display of ignorance as if you know anything about this game or its scene.
This is not StarCraft 2, where every single map needs to be the same and play out the same way with boring easy 3 bases and no fun allowed (because otherwise it would be broken and everyone would cry on b.net forums). This is BW. It's not imperative for every single map to have 50% stats in every matchup. It's also not imperative to keep playing a map from 8 years ago when many other good maps have been made since, and many of those tested in KeSPA tournaments as well.
I am done arguing with ignorant new users. I hope K.H.J will steer the thread back in a good direction with some useful info. When a 2015 account says "whatever youre [sic] opinion is irrelevant" to people who have been playing and following this game for over 15 years, most of whom feel that we're sick of FS, that's when it got personal.If you can't handle the heat don't stand in the kitchen. Better yet, don't make such a shameful display of ignorance as if you know anything about this game or its scene.This is not StarCraft 2, where every single map needs to be the same and play out the same way with boring easy 3 bases and no fun allowed (because otherwise it would be broken and everyone would cry on b.net forums). This is BW. It's not imperative for every single map to have 50% stats in every matchup. It's also not imperative to keep playing a map from 8 years ago when many other good maps have been made since, and many of those tested in KeSPA tournaments as well.I am done arguing with ignorant new users. I hope K.H.J will steer the thread back in a good direction with some useful info. mfw people who never followed BW speak about sAviOr as if they know anything... -___-''''
onlystar Profile Joined March 2015 United States 943 Posts Last Edited: 2017-09-05 16:53:15 #644 never played sc2 never will (really funny how u didn read my name or dont get the reference towards bisu hehe: only star !! )
you're mixing up a couple of things its not if you're feeling tired or bored wit a certain map
it is whatever that map can offer in terms of balance to a tournament that's why they are so important (how is that personal attack lol) its not a coincidence they put f.s as a tiebreaker
but i guess that point goes over your head im not arguing with you either bw since 98 btwnever played sc2 never will (really funny how u didn read my name or dont get the reference towards bisu hehe:you're mixing up a couple of things its not if you're feeling tired or bored wit a certain mapit is whatever that map can offer in terms of balance to a tournament that's why they are so important (how is that personal attack lol) its not a coincidence they put f.s as a tiebreakerbut i guess that point goes over your head im not arguing with you either
Ethelis Profile Blog Joined September 2008 United States 1751 Posts #645 On September 05 2017 15:13 Aylear wrote:
^ The above image isn't loading properly (probably because of the server denying direct links) so I reuploaded it here:
ASL season 4 pools are out! Bloody hell, some of these groups... ^ The above image isn't loading properly (probably because of the server denying direct links) so I reuploaded it here:ASL season 4 pools are out! Bloody hell, some of these groups...
FBH...fuuuuuuuuuuuuu FBH...fuuuuuuuuuuuuu Disabled gamer - Diamond 3 (LoL) D+ Rank scrublord on BW. Bisu doesnt need DTs, He uses probes. just ask Flash.
arb Profile Blog Joined April 2008 Noobville 14609 Posts #646 On September 05 2017 23:40 onlystar wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 05 2017 23:22 BigFan wrote:
They should really have put CB in there as well. The map is well balanced and is/was being played a lot on streams. It also feels newer than FS which has been around forever and which isn't as balanced as it was once believed.
They Will put cb in forsure dont worry
"Which isnt as balanced as once believed"
F.s is a map that is proven to be balanced yet TLrs have tried the hardest to skew the statistics in in favour of terras in Terran in TvZ pulling stats from a poorly performing and small zerg (overall) pool on afreeca vs a top tier Terran pool dat is always steady in top 5 ranking spon matches in my opinion foreigners are in a tunnelvision they gererly maps that are overplayed are hated by that community and TVZ mech switch is to hard right so we end up by these accusations regularly biased by feelings and opinios unable to make a realistic judgement
They Will put cb in forsure dont worry"Which isnt as balanced as once believed"F.s is a map that is proven to be balanced yet TLrs have tried the hardest to skew the statistics in in favour of terras in Terran in TvZ pulling stats from a poorly performing and small zerg (overall) pool on afreeca vs a top tier Terran pool dat is always steady in top 5 ranking spon matches in my opinion foreigners are in a tunnelvision they gererly maps that are overplayed are hated by that community and TVZ mech switch is to hard right so we end up by these accusations regularly biased by feelings and opinios unable to make a realistic judgement
The map definitely feels Terran favored tbh. Also I recall PvZ stats being fairly balanced too right? Which would lead to map being skewed in favor of protoss. The map definitely feels Terran favored tbh. Also I recall PvZ stats being fairly balanced too right? Which would lead to map being skewed in favor of protoss. Artillery spawned from the forges of Hell
mishimaBeef Profile Blog Joined January 2010 Canada 2256 Posts #647 hype hype hype hype hype Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
playa Profile Blog Joined December 2010 United States 1284 Posts #648 While I haven't played on fighting spirit as much as most (more of a python fan boy), I don't find it to be a good map for Terran. It might be one of my least favorite maps to play, actually. In T vs Z, a couple lurkers completely lock down an expansion. Don't even need defilers. Every expansion is minerals on top of a ramp. Can't even drop the expansions, since the ramp covers everything, practically.
Anytime I see the 5rax build, I can't help but to think "fighting spirit made me do this." And, versus Toss, that map is near impossible to split in half for mortals. Any map that is hard to split is naturally Toss favored, imo.
Circuit Breaker is not only a far more "splittable map" but good Terrans get 4 bases for free. The only downside is the third is mineral only. I guess the unbuildable terrain for turrets isn't ideal. But when you're able to max then push, not the biggest of deals.
K.H.J Profile Blog Joined January 2017 Korea (South) 769 Posts #649 Starlog.gg
Website which contains Statistics of ladder and other contents
K.H.J Profile Blog Joined January 2017 Korea (South) 769 Posts Last Edited: 2017-09-06 02:22:12 #650 ASL tier and point calculation.
Champion 4000
Final 2500
Ro4 1500
Ro8 1000
Ro16 500
Ro24 300
Previous competition = x0.9
So sum of points is,
ASL3 + ASL2 x 0.9 + ASL1 x0.81 + VANT x0.729
K.H.J Profile Blog Joined January 2017 Korea (South) 769 Posts Last Edited: 2017-09-06 03:34:10 #651 http://m.sports.naver.com/esports/news/read.nhn?oid=468&aid=0000299523
This article is most viewed in esports section.
Something interesting is in this article.
1. Blizzard's license fee for 1 competition is 100,000,000 won.
(1$ = 1,000~1,200 usually.)
2. Every competition, host company usually spend 400,000,000won.
(Not including license charge)
3. New WCG which i mentioned before re-consider SCR tournament
This article is most viewed in esports section.Something interesting is in this article.1. Blizzard's license fee for 1 competition is 100,000,000 won.(1$ = 1,000~1,200 usually.)2. Every competition, host company usually spend 400,000,000won.(Not including license charge)3. New WCG which i mentioned before re-consider SCR tournament
sc19980331 Profile Joined March 2017 China 1580 Posts #652 On September 06 2017 09:38 K.H.J wrote:
ASL tier and point calculation.
Champion 4000
Final 2500
Ro4 1500
Ro8 1000
Ro16 500
Ro24 300
Previous competition = x0.9
So aum of points are,
ASL3 + ASL2 x 0.9 + ASL1 x0.81 + VANT x0.729
Tier1: Sea Last Effort Sharp Best Shuttle
Tier2: Larva Ssak Mind Jaedong Mong Hero
Tier3: Light Stork Rush Hiya Rain Snow
Tier4: Sky Miso Lazy Mini Ample FBH
Tier1: Sea Last Effort Sharp Best ShuttleTier2: Larva Ssak Mind Jaedong Mong HeroTier3: Light Stork Rush Hiya Rain SnowTier4: Sky Miso Lazy Mini Ample FBH
Lorch Profile Joined June 2011 Germany 3511 Posts #653 They charge 100k so Afreeca can promote their game? Jesus christ that's ridiculous. I'm shocked that anyone is even interested in running any sc tournament. Kinda ridiculous that they have to spent 25% of their budget on getting a license. If that's the kinda cash blizz is asking for, no wonder kespa/ogn/mbc refused to pay.
blade55555 Profile Blog Joined March 2009 United States 17373 Posts #654 Wow that's insane. Why does blizzard charge so much zzzz. When I think of something else, something will go here
Aylear Profile Blog Joined May 2009 Norway 3953 Posts #655 Because Blizzard isn't interested in this game being an eSport. They're interested in it making them as much money in the short term as it possibly can. They're doing the same thing with Overwatch, where you need to pay a hefty licensing fee. For their big league, teams have to buy spots. As a result some teams just said fuck it and dropped the roster.
It's just what they do.
Lorch Profile Joined June 2011 Germany 3511 Posts #656 But didn't sonic once have to get a license because his prize pool exceeded 5k? Paying 100k so you can award 5k to your players seems really ridiculous. Boy do I miss esports before 2010. Yea devs didn't give a shit and we had to deal with a lot of bullshit, but at least people could reasonably run tournaments. Huge kudos to Afreeca for even running the ASL. No wonder OGN has been so cautious about doing sc again...
[sc1f]eonzerg Profile Blog Joined February 2010 Belgium 5926 Posts #657 On September 06 2017 09:49 K.H.J wrote:
http://m.sports.naver.com/esports/news/read.nhn?oid=468&aid=0000299523
This article is most viewed in esports section.
Something interesting is in this article.
1. Blizzard's license fee for 1 competition is 100,000,000 won.
(1$ = 1,000~1,200 usually.)
2. Every competition, host company usually spend 400,000,000won.
(Not including license charge)
3. New WCG which i mentioned before re-consider SCR tournament
This article is most viewed in esports section.Something interesting is in this article.1. Blizzard's license fee for 1 competition is 100,000,000 won.(1$ = 1,000~1,200 usually.)2. Every competition, host company usually spend 400,000,000won.(Not including license charge)3. New WCG which i mentioned before re-consider SCR tournament
Asl must really be a sucess at this point :/ but with the numbers i saw from quals i was really optimistic. Asl must really be a sucess at this point :/ but with the numbers i saw from quals i was really optimistic.
Ancestral Profile Blog Joined August 2007 United States 3230 Posts #658 LOL at the people saying Blizzard loses money on ESPORTS by propping tournaments up. The Nature and purpose of the martial way are universal; all selfish desires must be roasted in the tempering fires of hard training. - Masutatsu Oyama
Disregard Profile Blog Joined March 2007 China 10245 Posts Last Edited: 2017-09-06 09:12:48 #659 Wtf 88k for a tournament where the award for first place is 50k? I mean this isn't even Overwatch, what a load of rubbish. "If I had to take a drug in order to be free, I'm screwed. Freedom exists in the mind, otherwise it doesn't exist."
Silentenigma Profile Joined July 2009 Turkey 1463 Posts #660 Lol ASL does free advertising for blizzard yet they have to pay blizzard?I really hate blizzard, such a greedy company... 日本語が上手ですね
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T J S George By
I am convinced that Malayalam should be declared the national language of India. Of the many reasons, consider just two. It is a universal language spoken all over the globe and in outer space; who doesn’t know that when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, he was welcomed by a Malayali chaiwallah. Secondly, it is the only language in history that has the same spelling left to right and right to left.
Except for this double uniqueness of Malayalam, Salman Soz, the rising star of the Congress party, could have got away with his proposal that Kashmiri be adopted as India’s national language. He said this would be a step towards massive job creation, a patriotic objective of the prime minister. It would also be an international masterstroke for the BJP, which loves international masterstrokes.
Alas, such sound advice fell on deaf ears. In an international masterstroke of foolishness, the ruling party’s ruling chief called for the recognition of Hindi as the national language. The supposedly shrewd Amit Shah should have known that such a thing was an impossibility in an India that has 22 official languages, 13 different scripts, 720 dialects and a constitution that avoids any mention of a “national” language and refers, instead, to two “official” languages, Hindi and English. His government has a knack of playing with the constitution. But Hindi is not Kashmir to play with. Even a constitutional diktat will not make Hindi acceptable as national language, because it will violate mathrubhasha sentiments.
Anything touching mother and mother tongue is not negotiable. So strong is the sentiment that Amit Shah had to soften his stand. Mathrubhasha is not necessarily the language one’s mother speaks. The language with which we grow up, the language in which we think is in effect our mother tongue. That is why vast numbers of new-gen Indians have English as their mother tongue. In a few years English-speaking new-gen Indians will become the old-gen majority in the country.
This is a natural process because young people learn English to do well in life. Tamil parents settled in Delhi for life may have children who consider Hindi their mother tongue. A Kerala man who spent his working life in Hong Kong sent his daughter to a Chinese-medium school. She grew up speaking Cantonese and English and became completely alien to Malayalam.
Singapore is an example of how phrases mesh with prevailing conditions rather than their literal meanings. “Mother tongue” in Singapore means the language a citizen’s ethnic group speaks whether the citizen and his mother speak it or not. “First language” is the term for English, which is effectively the country’s national language. In Canada, French and English enjoy equality at the federal level. In tiny Switzerland, German, French and Italian are official languages with equal status. Mature democracies behave in mature ways, making everyone feel equal. Dictatorial democracies behave in dictatorial ways, making some feel more equal than others.
When a man like Amit Shah suggests that Hindi must be made the country’s national language, there is a method in his madness. He is dividing the people in order to strengthen his hold on power. Divide and rule is a favourite policy with leaders from the time of the Roman Empire. The BJP has been at it without any compunction. Divide people any which way, using religion and language and everything else, so that people who support you can put down people who don’t.
In the process, religion itself turns into something diabolic. Devdutt Pattanaik recently had an interesting take on this. What was the Lakshman Rekha all about? Was it a device to keep Ravana out or was it meant to keep Sita trapped? His conclusion was: As protection from evil, the Lakshman Rekha represented Hinduism; as a means to keep Sita enslaved, it represented Hindutva. We can see that Amit Shah’s Lakshman Rekhas have nothing to do with Hinduism and everything to do with Hindutva.
The way out of this imbroglio is to recognise Malayalam as the national language. No other linguistic culture promotes secularism as robustly as Malayalam does; see the equanimity with which beef is relished by all communities there. Besides, Malayalam promotes a broad-based outlook, not a one-man focus like Howdy Modi. It cherishes Kochi, not Houston. And Malayalis are, as Justice Katju said, the real Indians. It’s time Amit Shah learned Malayalam and became a real Indian. | {
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You claim you want me to visit more often - Telling me all my life choices are wrong when I do has determined that was a lie
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The alt-right stole Pepe the Frog, and now his creator is taking him back.
Matt Furie, the artist behind the beloved comic frog, has taken legal action against sites and people aligned with the white nationalist movement, serving cease-and-desist orders to Richard Spencer, Mike Cernovich, and the r/the_Donald subreddit, according to a Motherboard report Monday.
Furie's lawyers have also sent Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown requests to Reddit and Amazon, informing them that use of the cartoon frog's image on their sites constitutes copyright infringement, Motherboard reported.
Amazon said it respects the intellectual property rights of others, adding that it investigates IP rights concerns reported to it and takes appropriate action.
Cernovich called the action "frivolous" and said he had retained a lawyer to defend himself.
"I posted the image as a thumb nail to my article, where I described the 'alt-right' political movement, and disavowed any involvement with it," Cernovich wrote in post on Medium. "This Pepe image is clearly fair use, it's protected under the First Amendment, and any lawsuit threat is frivolous."
A Spencer representative declined to comment, while Reddit didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the run-up to the 2016 presidential campaign, Pepe became closely associated with the alt-right, a loosely knit movement of white nationalists and neo-Nazis who used the character to promote racism and anti-Semitism. As the movement grew more active online, Pepe was repurposed as a KKK member, a Nazi stormtrooper and, eventually, Adolf Hitler. At one point, Pepe's catchphrase, "Feels good man," was recast as "Kill Jews man."
Shortly after, the Anti-Defamation League added Pepe to a database of hate symbols, placing the cartoon frog in the company of SS lightning bolts and the Nazi Party flag.
Furie, who says he lost licensing deals as the brouhaha rose, wants to protect Pepe when he re-debuts. In late August, Furie and a team of lawyers shut down the distribution of a children's book that used a character named Pepe the Frog to promote Islamophobic ideas.
Updated at 5:35 p.m. PT with Amazon statement.
Solving for XX: The industry seeks to overcome outdated ideas about "women in tech."
Special Reports: All of CNET's most in-depth features in one easy spot. | {
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There are many good reasons to buy a swivel chair — in particular, the ease of movement.
But Ghislaine Viñas, an interior designer in New York who frequently uses them in her projects, thinks one of the best is the sense of play they create. “They’re fun,” she said. “I’ve put them in family lofts where the kids just use them as entertainment.”
And in a difficult space, she added, a swivel chair can be the most pragmatic choice. Ms. Viñas said she often installs them in living rooms with multiple seating areas, so the chairs can rotate between various conversation groups.
She also uses them in bedrooms with a view. “You want that great sculptural corner chair, facing into the room,” she said. And if the chair has a swivel base, she noted, it can easily pivot to face windows beside or behind it. | {
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
and then i told them "nobody's listening to your phone calls" | {
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Courtesy of The Industry.
When you imagine a traditional opera, a simple image comes to mind. It is most likely staged on a baroque set in some regal theatre. The actors are confined to the space between stage right and stage left. The voluminous orchestra plays in a bifurcating pit, a bergschrund between the audience and the singers. One composer will write the opera, so that it is usually called something like Mozart's "The Magic Flute" or Verdi's "Rigoletto" or Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo." Now forget all that, and strip opera down to its bare-boned elements: the music, the singers, and the story. Then add 24 limos. That's "Hopscotch," an ambitious new opera directed by Yuval Sharon and produced by The Industry.
It is set in 24 limousines and various locations around the North East and downtown neighborhoods of Los Angeles. It is as intimate as an embrace -- singing and playing can happen inches away from you in the cars -- and about as participatory in that viewers are tasked with holding iPhones as the opera is livestreamed to a pavilion in the parking lot of Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). Each viewer sees nine of the 36 chapters, and the ones they do see are not in chronological order.
"Hopscotch" couldn't be more different from than the usual preconceptions of an opera.
Image: Courtesy of The Industry.
On my recent "Hopscotch" journey, I climbed into a limousine underneath the L.A. River Viaduct, with a pair of strangers from Topanga Canyon, none of us knowing quite what to expect. The limo took off scooting around Chinatown while a woman sang a cappella, before stopping on Gin Ling Road in Chinatown, where a chapter involving a Roma fortuneteller took place. We then hopped into another limo, which curled up Elysian Park's wispy roads, where another chapter took place in an airstream trailer, and then an aria of four saxophones serenaded us at a point looking out over Dodger Stadium. Soon, we entered a limo outfitted with a Sennheiser wireless microphone system, and a motorcycle sidled up next to us, the rider having an intimate mic'd-up conversation with an actor inside the limo. This was the "Green Route" (there is also a "Red Route" and a "Yellow Route").
The story follows Lucha, a young woman who falls in love with a man named Jameson after hitting his motorcycle with her car. After Jameson disappears, Lucha marries her best friend Orlando, and the later chapters pertain to a maturing Lucha looking back at her life. During a press conference after a preview of the opera, Sharon pointed to a quote from Kierkegaard as a jumping off point: "It really is true what philosophy tells us, that life must be understood backwards. But with this, one forgets the second proposition, that it must be lived forwards."
This quote is a curious peg, especially with the knowledge that viewers may come away feeling the opera they just saw was a piecemeal version of a whole. Sharon says he isn't worried if the audience might be frustrated or confused. "I'm sure the audience is confused by a lot," he says. "I wouldn't be surprised. But I hope that the confusion is not one that is too perplexing, but actually that the challenge of the narrative structure I hope is one that's a pleasure. Because opera is very challenging. I hope that what we're doing is inviting people to draw in further and further into the piece."
Sharon says he likes that the structure allows audiences to decide how deeply they want to engage the piece. "An audience member that lets the music and story wash over them as they watch the world go by, and they're suddenly thrown into another musical universe and another emotional landscape, that connects to their own journey that they're going through," he says. "I love the openness of that. That's something that we've been looking at within The Industry is how to create these open matrices, that the operas that we're creating are not closed systems. Your participation as an audience member actually completes the work."
I jokingly told musical director Marc Lowenstein that I had a sense of "route envy" when I heard others discussing their experiences. He concurred that there was a certain inclination for an audience member to want to see the entirety of an artwork, but that the missing parts offer an interesting opportunity to engage with the rest of the work. "Opera is a nice realization that all art is imperfect," he says, "and that there is this general incompletion, so yeah, you do leave frustrated. 'What are the other chapters? I don't know.' But if you see the totality of any artwork, it's always, in its nature, incomplete. At its best, part of the art pushes you out into thinking about that incompleteness."
Maria Elena Altany , singer in "Hopscotch." | Photo: Courtesy of The Industry.
The incredibly layered and complex "Hopscotch" was gestated during another experimental opera, Invisible Cities, which was held during rush hour at Union Station to audiences that were provided headphones. Sharon and production designer Jason H. Thompson goaded each other into something even more perplexing than that production. "It was a challenge that we were daring each other: 'What's harder than 'Invisible Cities' that will make completing 'Invisible Cities' seem easy?'" Sharon says with a laugh. "We started thinking about driving. Fortunately, the idea really stuck. When we had an off day, and we were needing to clear our minds where the possibilities were still new, we would drive around L.A. and start thinking about sites that would seem appropriate for this project."
Sharon mentions that car culture in Los Angeles was a primary interest to him -- both in positive and negative ways -- and that the solitude that Angelenos experience every day stirred him. "The idea that in our isolated cars driving all around Los Angeles, maybe, hopefully, there's someplace where we all connect," he says.
Nicholas Deyoe , musician in "Hopscotch." | Photo: Courtesy of The Industry.
But to drive around a city as a moveable opera is another story. Elizabeth Cline, the executive director of The Industry, credits the already mobile nature of the city, and its support for the arts as a major boon to the project. "I can't think of many cities where a small non-profit like ours can sit down with a city's department of transportation almost monthly to get advice on how to make an artwork," she says.
In all, there are over 120 singers, musicians, writers, and crew members making sure "Hopscotch" runs smoothly. "'Hopscotch' is a group of artists, a production team, and an audience making artwork in real-time [in] response to a city," Cline adds. "Because we're experience so many elements all at once, doing so many new things for first time, there was never a roadmap. We had to test everything out in the field."
HOPSCOTCH Chapter 1 from The Industry on Vimeo.
Even the writing process was unique, a sort of exquisite corpse that somehow coalesced. "We got together and did a game, where we [worked] with different composers," says one of the six writers Erin Young, a young author who had never worked on an opera before. "[Yuval and Marc] said, 'Here's a setting. What would you do in this setting?' Then we all worked collaboratively on a theme, and then we broke off into composer-writer teams. And then we had a whole script, and then we went through and read it."
Lowenstein said that the story benefited from the broadly unique viewpoints. "We really wanted lots of independent voices in this kaleidoscopic mosaic telling the story of one person's life," said Lowenstein about how the writing fit into the theme of growing old and remembering the past. "If you look back on your own life, it's almost like you were a different person 20 years ago."
Members of the "Hopscotch" production team: Kira Qwan , Central Hub manager; Elizabeth Cline, executive producer (executive director, The Industry); Yuval Sharon, director (founder and artistic director, The Industry); and Ash Nichols, production manager.
In the end, you are left with a vision so infuriating that it's beautiful; so disjointed, it somehow makes total sense; so vast, yet incredibly intimate. It's a production that not only couldn't be done in any other city, but stands up on an international level as an example of where opera might go in the future. And someday, we may all look back at opera, and see this as a point in time when the opera world began to change and offer performances that reflect our current time without pandering to it. And that could save what for many might seem like an anachronistic form.
It's a daunting task, but one that Sharon seems up for. "When I started The Industry five years ago, there were two primary missions," says Sharon. "The first was to expand the definition of opera with new work, and the second was to engage and excite a new audience for the art form."
Dig this story? Sign up for our newsletter to get unique arts & culture stories and videos from across Southern California in your inbox. Also, follow Artbound on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. | {
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President Donald Trump meets with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto (left) at the G20 Summit in Hamburg on Aug. 16. Trump spoke with Peña Nieto “to extend his condolences for the lives lost and damage caused by yesterday’s earthquake." | Evan Vucci, File/AP Trump offers U.S. assistance to Mexico after earthquake
President Donald Trump offered U.S. assistance to Mexico during a phone call Wednesday with President Enrique Peña Nieto, after that country was rattled Tuesday by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 200 people.
Trump spoke with Peña Nieto “to extend his condolences for the lives lost and damage caused by yesterday’s earthquake in central Mexico,” the White House said in a statement. “The president offered assistance and search-and-rescue teams, which are being deployed now. The president also pledged to continue close coordination with Mexico as the two countries respond to the recent earthquakes and hurricanes.”
Trump swiftly reacted to the devastating natural disaster on Tuesday, tweeting solidarity with the people of Mexico City within hours of the quake.
“We are with you and will be there for you,” the president wrote.
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His response to Tuesday’s quake was in contrast to his reaction to the earthquake that hit Mexico on Sept. 7, killing at least 90 people. Trump at the time failed to reciprocate Mexico’s offer for aid to Hurricane Harvey victims after Mexico endured a magnitude-8.1 earthquake and Hurricane Katia, and he didn’t offer his condolences until days later.
“Spoke to President of Mexico to give condolences on terrible earthquake,” Trump wrote via Twitter on Sept. 14. “Unable to reach for 3 days b/c of his cell phone reception at site.” | {
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Marvel, having decided to produce anime adaptations of both Iron Man and Wolverine, has just released some impressive trailers of both.
You can see them below:
Due for Japanese release in 2010 (via Animax), the series look at first glance to have been adeptly handled by esteemed studio Madhouse. Another two anime adaptations are apparently also in the works.
Marvel seem to have moved away from the traditional depictions for these productions; they describe it as “popular Super Heroes redesigned and repurposed as emerging from the fabric of Japanese culture”. Particularly in the case of Wolverine, at first glance it is certainly easy to get the impression that this is actually a Japonified version of the series actually intended for American audiences…
Whether the end result lives up to the trailer remains to be seen, but it certainly looks promising enough at this stage. | {
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Here’s a riddle:
How is it that ever since the government began telling us what to eat, we have gotten fatter and sicker?
In 1977, when the government first set dietary guidelines, the average American male weighed 170 pounds. He now weighs 197. It’s not any better for women —145 to 170. And you don’t need an academic study to know the same thing is happening to kids. Just look around.
The weight gain has real-life consequences: the percentage of Americans diagnosed with type 2 diabetes—a condition that can lead to severe medical issues—has risen from 2% in 1977 to over 9% in 2015. In hard numbers, that’s five million people to over 30 million people.
How did this happen?
It all started innocently enough in the 1950s, when President Dwight Eisenhower had a heart attack while in office. Suddenly, the issue of heart health became a national obsession.
Keep in mind this was an era when scientists had harnessed the power of the atom, unlocked the secrets of DNA, and cured once incurable diseases like polio. Surely, there had to be a scientific solution to heart disease.
There was. And a charismatic medical researcher from the University of Minnesota named Ancel Keyes had it.
Cholesterol, Keyes claimed, was the villain of the heart disease story.
His now famous “seven countries study” determined conclusively—in his mind, at least—that people who consumed high amounts of fat—specifically, saturated fat—had higher cholesterol levels and thus, higher rates of heart attacks.
Lower your fat intake, and you would lower heart disease risk.
The ever-confident Keyes spread the gospel. As an influential member of the American Heart Association, he was in a very strong position to do so. There was only one problem: Keyes’s study was bad science. The sample size was so small, the data collection integrity so shoddy, and the life-style variables between the countries he studied so great, that his research had no scientific validity. In other words, he asserted a conclusion he couldn’t prove.
When other scientists questioned Keyes’s conclusions, they were invariably met with stern responses like: “people are dying while you’re quibbling over data points.” And, “there are great benefits and no risks” to adopting this new way of eating.
In 1973, the American Heart Association set the dietary limit on saturated fat at 10%, and in 1977, the US government followed suit. Where did the 10% value come from? It didn’t come from any scientific data. It was merely a government committee’s best guess.
This was despite contrary evidence like the 1957 Western Electric Company employee study showing no difference in heart attacks in those who ate more or less saturated fat. A longer-term study of the same Western Electric subjects in 1981 reached the same conclusion. But again, no one wanted to hear it.
To make this all easier to understand and to spread the message to schools, “the food pyramid” was created. That’s the chart you first saw in third or fourth grade with all the supposedly good foods at the bottom—meaning, “eat a lot of those,” and the bad foods at the top—"eat those ones sparingly.”
What our kids are fed in school, what our military troops are fed on bases, what sick people are fed in hospitals; what crops we plant and how we raise our cattle, are all predicated on this deceptive nutritional concept.
As Americans ate less saturated fat—margarine instead of butter, processed oils like corn oil instead of olive oil, low fat milk, low fat yogurt and so on— they also started to eat more “heart healthy” grains—exactly what the food pyramid, and the updated version called MyPlate, advise you to do.
As the consumption of saturated fat decreased by almost 40%, the consumption of refined grains—carbohydrates that convert to sugar in the body—increased substantially. Total intake of calories also began to increase.
This happened, in no small part, because food companies took advantage of the low-fat craze. They lowered fat and increased sugar. Suddenly, supermarkets were full of supposedly healthy low fat, high sugar foods. It remains that way today. Foods that are high in sugar stimulate reward centers in the brain and leave us wanting more. Thus, the famous line about potato chips: “Betcha can’t eat just one!”
The end result is a fatter population with greater and greater health issues—like type 2 diabetes, a problem that’s getting worse, not better.
How do we get ourselves out of this spiral?
There are many answers: for some, it’s a low-carb, high fat diet; for others, it’s a Mediterranean diet; for some, it’s vegetarianism; for others, it might be something else.
You need to find the best solution for you.
And that’s really the point: we need to take responsibility for our own health.
If the food pyramid has taught us one thing, it’s this:
Don’t rely on the government to take care of you.
I’m Dr. Bret Scher, cardiologist, for Prager University. | {
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By Emma McGowan
Maybe I should start a column called Tech Dudes Who Don’t Get It because practically every week there’s a new idiotic move to report. This week’s gem? CodeBabes.com, the new coding academy website that finally combines the two things that the internet is good for: learning how to code and checking out hot chicks.
Take your pick of the tasty “virgins” offered up for your consumption. They come in the HTML, CSS, Programming, and PHP varieties and the site is promising an Internet virgin (whatever the fuck that means) and a SEO virgin soon. As you advance in your studies, your chosen innocent advances as well, and by “advances,” I obviously mean takes off her clothing.
On the CodeBabes philosophy page the creators ask us not to “take this too seriously” and their final bullet point is a disclaimer stating, “If we’ve offended anyone, that’s really not our goal, we hope there are bigger problems in the world to worry about.”
I’m sorry, bigger problems to worry about? The continued treatment of women as objects in this way contributes to a culture that results in a major tech CEO beating his girlfriend on camera (he has apparently now been fired by his board), the other super fun headline from last week. When we tolerate or endorse websites like CodeBabes or the disgustingly similar Hot Tech Today, we reinforce a hostile environment for women who are interested in working in tech, a culture problem that even the New York Times recently noted.
I just can’t even with this shit and, luckily, I’m not the only one. Soon after CodeBabes launched, a parody site called CodeDicks popped up. Instead of the “Virgins” on the original site, CodeDicks offers up a variety of “Douches” for your coding pleasure. And while CodeBabes makes me want to break things, the men and women behind CodeDicks have restored some of my faith in humanity with their sassy, smart satire.
CodeBabes has also been trending on the hashtag #NotBuyingIt, where people of all genders are expressing their disgust with CodeBabes and other sexist bullshit like it. Maybe if we all make it very clear that businesses like this are never okay, I can cancel my proposed Tech Dudes Who Don’t Get It column. I mean, a girl can dream, right? | {
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Hi folks!
As next Thursday (probably, maybe) marks the end of the Balance Arc of The Adventure Zone, you may be wondering what's coming up next for the officially unofficial wiki! Great question!
In short, we're not going anywhere. We built this to be a wiki for the show, not just the Balance Arc. We may do a redesign (current design courtesy of user:DAVID.EXE), and will update the navigation as necessary, but we're not going anywhere. Whatever comes next, we're here for it!
All of the pages will be tagged with whatever the next arc is.
In the meantime, relive all the best parts of the Balance Arc by checking out all the cool content we've got around here:
If you're feeling generous with your time or you'd like to help out while relistening, help expand the Article Stubs!
We've been so happy you're here with us, and we can't wait for whatever comes next. | {
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Recently our team has been tasked to write a very fast cache service. The goal was pretty clear but possible to achieve in many ways. Finally we decided to try something new and implement the service in Go. We have described how we did it and what values come from that.
Table of contents:
Requirements
According to the requirements, our service should:
use HTTP protocol to handle requests
handle 10k rps (5k for writes, 5k for reads)
cache entries for at least 10 minutes
have responses time (measured without time spent on the network) lower than 5ms – mean 10ms for 99.9th percentile 400ms for 99.999th percentile
handle POST requests containing JSON messages, where each message: contains an entry and its ID is not larger than 500 bytes
retrieve an entry and return int via a GET request immediately after the entry was added via a POST request (consistency)
In simple words our task was to write a fast dictionary with expiration and REST interface.
Why Go?
Most microservices at our company are written in Java or another JVM based language, some in Python. We also have a monolithic, legacy platform written in PHP but we do not touch it unless we have to. We already know those technologies but we are open to exploring a new one. Our task could be realized in any language, therefore we decided to write it in Go.
Go has been available for a while now, backed by a big company and a growing community of users. It is advertised as a compiled, concurrent, imperative, structured programming language. It also has managed memory, so it looks safer and easier to use than C/C++. We have quite good experience with tools written in Go and decided to use it here. We have one open source project in Go, now we wanted to know how Go handles big traffic. We believed the whole project would take less than 100 lines of code and be fast enough to meet our requirements just because of Go.
The Cache
To meet the requirements, the cache in itself needed to:
be very fast even with millions of entries
provide concurrent access
evict entries after a predetermined amount of time
Considering the first point we decided to give up external caches like Redis, Memcached or Couchbase mainly because of additional time needed on the network. Therefore we focused on in-memory caches. In Go there are already caches of this type, i.e. LRU groups cache, go-cache, ttlcache, freecache. Only freecache fulfilled our needs. Next subchapters reveal why we decided to roll our own anyway and describe how the characteristics mentioned above were achieved.
Concurrency
Our service would receive many requests concurrently, so we needed to provide concurrent access to the cache. The easy way to achieve that would be to put sync.RWMutex in front of the cache access function to ensure that only one goroutine could modify it at a time. However other goroutines which would also like to make modifications to it, would be blocked, making it a bottleneck. To eliminate this problem, shards could be applied. The idea behind shards is straightforward. Array of N shards is created, each shard contains its own instance of the cache with a lock. When an item with unique key needs to be cached a shard for it is chosen at first by the function hash(key) % N . After that cache lock is acquired and a write to the cache takes place. Item reads are analogue. When the number of shards is relatively high and the hash function returns properly distributed numbers for unique keys then the locks contention can be minimized almost to zero. This is the reason why we decided to use shards in the cache.
Eviction
The simplest way to evict elements from the cache is to use it together with FIFO queue. When an entry is added to the cache then two additional operations take place:
An entry containing a key and a creation timestamp is added at the end of the queue. The oldest element is read from the queue. Its creation timestamp is compared with current time. When it is later than eviction time, the element from the queue is removed together with its corresponding entry in the cache.
Eviction is performed during writes to the cache since the lock is already acquired.
Omitting Garbage Collector
In Go, if you have a map, garbage collector (GC) will touch every single item of that map during mark and scan phase. This can cause a huge impact on the application performance when the map is large enough (contains millions of objects).
We ran few tests on our service in which we fed the cache with millions of entries, and after that we started to send requests to some unrelated REST endpoint doing only static JSON serialization (it didn’t touch the cache at all). With an empty cache, this endpoint had maximum responsiveness latency of 10ms for 10k rps. When the cache was filled, it had more than a second latency for 99th percentile. Metrics indicated that there were over 40 mln objects in the heap and GC mark and scan phase took over four seconds. The test showed us that we needed to skip GC for cache entries if we wanted to meet our requirements related to response times. How could we do this? Well, there were three options.
GC is limited to heap, so the first one was to go off-heap. There is one project which could help with that, called offheap. It provides custom functions Malloc() and Free() to manage memory outside the heap. However, a cache which relied on those functions would need to be implemented.
The second way was to use freecache. Freecache implements map with zero GC overhead by reducing number of pointers. It keeps keys and values in ring buffer and uses index slice to lookup for an entry.
The third way to omit GC for cache entries was related to optimization presented in Go version 1.5 (issue-9477). This optimization states that if you use a map without pointers in keys and values, then GC will omit it’s content. It is a way to stay on heap and to omit GC for entries in the map. However, it is not the final solution because basically everything in Go is built on pointers: structs, slices, even fixed arrays. Only primitives like int or bool do not touch pointers. So what could we do with map[int]int ? Since we already generated hashed key in order to select proper shard from the cache (described in Concurrency) we would reuse them as keys in our map[int]int . But what about values of type int ? What information could we keep as int ? We could keep offsets of entries. Another question is where those entries could be kept in order to omit GC again? A huge array of bytes could be allocated and entries could be serialized to bytes and kept in it. In this respect, a value from map[int]int could point to an offset where an entry has it’s beginning in the proposed array. And since FIFO queue was used to keep entries and control their eviction (described in Eviction), it could be rebuilt and based on a huge bytes array to which also values from that map would point.
In all presented scenarios, entry (de)serialization would be needed. Eventually, we decided to try the third solution, as we were curious if it was going to work and we already had most elements – hashed key (calculated in shard selection phase) and the entries queue.
BigCache
To meet requirements presented at the beginning of this chapter, we implemented our own cache and named it BigCache. The BigCache provides shards, eviction and it omits GC for cache entries. As a result it is very fast cache even for large number of entries.
Freecache is the only one of the available in-memory caches in Go which provides that kind of functionality. Bigcache is an alternative solution for it and reduces GC overhead differently, therefore we decided to share with it: bigcache. More information about comparison between freecache and bigcache can be found on github.
HTTP server
Memory profiler shows us that some objects are allocated during requests handling. We knew that HTTP handler would be a hot spot of our system. Our API is really simple. We only accept POST and GET to upload and download elements from cache. We effectively support only one URL template, so a full featured router was not needed. We extracted the ID from URL by cutting the first 7 letters and it works fine for us.
When we started development, Go 1.6 was in RC. Our first effort to reduce request handling time was to update to the latest RC version. In our case performance was nearly the same. We started searching for something more efficient and we found fasthttp. It is a library providing zero alloc HTTP server. According to documentation, it tends to be 10 times faster than standard HTTP handler in synthetic tests. During our tests it turned out it is only 1.5 times faster, but still it is better!
fasthttp achieves its performance by reducing work that is done by HTTP Go package. For example:
it limits request lifetime to the time when it is actually handled
headers are lazily parsed (we really do not need headers)
Unfortunately, fasthttp is not a real replacement for standard http. It doesn’t support routing or HTTP/2 and claim that could not support all HTTP edge cases. It’s good for small projects with simple API, so we would stick to default HTTP for normal (non hyper performance) projects.
JSON deserialization
While profiling our application, we found that the program spent a huge amount of time on JSON deserialization. Memory profiler also reported that a huge amount of data was processed by json.Marshal . It didn’t surprise us. With 10k rps, 350 bytes per request could be a significant payload for any application. Nevertheless, our goal was speed, so we investigated it.
We heard that Go JSON serializer wasn’t as fast as in other languages. Most benchmarks were done in 2013, so before 1.3 version. When we saw issue-5683 claiming Go was 3 times slower than Python and mailing list saying it was 5 times slower than Python simplejson, we started searching for a better solution.
JSON over HTTP is definitely not the best choice if you need speed. Unfortunately, all our services talk to each other in JSON, so incorporating a new protocol was out of scope for this task (but we are considering using avro, as we did for Kafka). We decided to stick with JSON. A quick search provided us with a solution called ffjson.
ffjson documentation claims it is 2-3 times faster than standard json.Unmarshal , and also uses less memory to do it.
json 16154 ns/op 1875 B/op 37 allocs/op ffjson 8417 ns/op 1555 B/op 31 allocs/op
Our tests confirmed ffjson was nearly 2 times faster and performed less allocation than built-in unmarshaler. How was it possible to achieve this?
Firstly, in order to benefit from all features of ffjson we needed to generate an unmarshaller for our struct. Generated code is in fact a parser that scans bytes, and fills objects with data. If you take a look at JSON grammar you will discover it is really simple. ffjson takes advantage of knowing exactly what a struct looks like, parses only fields specified in the struct and fails fast whenever an error occurs. Standard marshaler uses expensive reflection calls to obtain struct definition at runtime. Another optimization is reduction of unnecessary error checks. json.Unmarshal will fail faster performing fewer allocs, and skipping reflection calls.
json (invalid json) 1027 ns/op 384 B/op 9 allocs/op ffjson (invalid json) 2598 ns/op 528 B/op 13 allocs/op
More information about how ffjson works can be found here. Benchmarks are available here
Final results
Finally, we sped up our application from more than 2.5 seconds to less than 250 milliseconds for longest request. These times occur just in our use case. We are confident that for a larger number of writes or longer eviction period, access to standard cache can take much more time, but with bigcache or freecache it can stay on milliseconds level, because the root of long GC pauses was eliminated.
The chart below presents a comparison of response times before and after optimizations of our service. During the test we were sending 10k rps, from which 5k were writes and another 5k were reads. Eviction time was set to 10 minutes. The test was 35 minutes long.
Final results in isolation, with the same setup as described above.
Summary
If you do not need high performance, stick to the standard libs. They are guaranteed to be maintained, and have backward compatibility, therefore upgrading Go version should be smooth.
Our cache service written in Go finally met our requirements. Most of the time we spent figuring out that GC pauses can have a huge impact on application responsiveness because of millions of objects under its control. Fortunately, caches like bigcache or freecache solve this problem. | {
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As Americans await Supreme Court rulings tied to same-sex marriage, a sweeping new study of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans finds some fear that the battle over marriage has drawn too much attention away from other problems they face.
Nearly all of the LGBT adults surveyed supported gay marriage, and a majority wanted to get married someday or already were wed. But 39% said they worried that the marriage fight had pulled focus away from issues such as workplace problems and adoption rights, the Pew Research Center found.
“There’s clear evidence that people were at least as concerned about employment discrimination as they were about marriage equality,” said researcher Gary J. Gates of the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, who served as an advisor on the study. “That’s been an ongoing struggle in the LGBT movement -- how do you prioritize these issues?”
The results were part of the first such survey done by Pew, which polled nearly 1,200 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender adults using an online questionnaire covering a vast swath of topics, including when they came out, how often they went to worship, and even things as specific as whether they had ever avoided a business because of its stance on gay rights.
The overwhelming majority of LGBT people surveyed said that society had grown more accepting over the past decade and would continue to do so in the decade to come. Yet many said they had faced slurs, rejection or worse. Nearly a third had been threatened or physically attacked at some time in their life, Pew found.
For the LGBT community, “these are the best of times -- but that doesn’t mean they are easy times,” said Paul Taylor, executive vice president of the Pew Research Center. “Many are still searching to find a comfortable, secure place in a society where acceptance is growing -- but still limited.”
The biggest group of people who responded to the survey were bisexuals, a group that is often overlooked in discussions about the LGBT community. Bisexuals were much less likely than gays or lesbians to be out, with only 28% saying all or most of the important people in their lives knew about their sexual orientation, compared with 77% among gay men and 71% of lesbians.
Most bisexuals who were in committed relationships were with someone of the opposite sex, the survey found, and less than half said being bisexual was somewhat or very important to their identity.
Other findings from the survey included:
--Sixty percent of the respondents said they were either married or wanted to get married someday, compared with 76% of the general public. Among those who were legally married (16%), most were bisexuals wed to someone of the opposite sex. Slightly more than half of LGBT people surveyed said they had children or wanted to have them.
--Gay men most commonly said they first thought they might not be straight around the age of 10. Lesbians and bisexuals first had that thought around the age of 13, on average. Men who ultimately realized they were gay first told a close friend or family member around the age of 18, while bisexuals did so around the age of 20 and lesbians around the age of 21, median figures show.
--Compared with other Americans, the gay community is younger, more liberal, less religious and more educated. It is also less happy, with 18% saying they were “very happy” compared with 30% of the general public. Its racial makeup is similar to the nation at large.
--Though the gay community is less religious than the general public, there was still a significant fraction -- 13% -- who told Pew they went to religious services at least weekly. Seventeen percent said they identified with a religion that was very important in their lives. Among those who had a religious affiliation, two out of three said there was no conflict between their religious beliefs and their sexual orientation.
--Only 12% of those surveyed said they currently live somewhere known as an LGBT neighborhood, such as West Hollywood in Los Angeles. Another 14% said they had lived in an LGBT neighborhood in the past.
--Who was the biggest champion of gay rights? Nearly one out of four respondents said that among public figures, President Obama was most responsible for advancing the cause. Second to the president was talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who was named by 18% of those surveyed. Smaller percentages named Anderson Cooper, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barney Frank and Neil Patrick Harris.
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NSA leak and armored-truck robbery: the odd Florida connection | {
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Cloud is becoming an ultimate destination for the new digital era, It was found that the cloud is becoming more and more common among the enterprises to host their servers and applications because of the distinct feature and benefit. | {
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By Shawn Lealos
The Atlanta Falcons welcomed the hottest team in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers, into their home stadium on Sunday. The Packers had won eight straight behind Aaron Rodgers, including a victory over the No. 1 seed Dallas Cowboys last weekend. However, Atlanta had little problems with the Pack blowing them out 44-21. Here is a look at the huge win that will send the Atlanta Falcons to their second Super Bowl in team history.
Offense: A+
The Atlanta Falcons had the second-best offense in the NFL in 2016 behind only the Green Bay Packers. However, few envisioned them having their way with a Green Bay Packers team that had already limited the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants in the playoffs, not to mention one that stopped the fast-scoring Detroit Lions to make the postseason. Matt Ryan continued his MVP season by throwing for 329 yards and four touchdowns. There are other candidates, but Ryan is proving that he has reached his full potential.
Julio Jones is a special talent and proved it in the playoffs this season. In this game, Jones caught nine balls for 180 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a huge 73-yard touchdown and run that included jukes and a stiff forearm, all from a wide receiver who is suffering from a toe injury.
However, what makes this year’s Falcons so dangerous is the multiple offensive weapons to spread the ball around to. Devonta Freeman and Tavin Coleman combined for only 71 rushing yards, but Coleman ran for a touchdown and Freeman proved his worth with four receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown through the air. Matt Ryan even ran for 23 yards and a touchdown. Add in Mohamed Sanu’s five receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown, and this was a full-team effort.
Defense: A
When seeing that the Green Bay Packers scored 21 points and Aaron Rodgers threw for 287 yards and all three touchdowns, one might wonder about the defense. However, those three touchdowns came in the second half and not many teams can stop Aaron Rodgers, one of the best NFL quarterbacks of all time. The Falcons defense shut out the Packers in the first half and were up 31-0 before Green Bay scored their first points of the game.
Ricardo Allen intercepted Aaron Rodgers once in the game and Jalen Collins recovered an Aaron Ripkowski fumble while their offense didn’t commit a single turnover. They limited the Packers to only 99 total rushing yards, and 46 of those came from Aaron Rodgers himself. This was as dominating a performance by the Falcons defense that the fans have seen all year.
Special Teams: B+
Atlanta only had to try for one field goal, which Matt Bryant made, and only punted the ball twice, with Matt Bosher putting both of them inside the 20. Bryant also kept the Packers’ kick return game from doing anything, only allowing one return all game. The Falcons return team was average, but they didn’t make any mistakes. Points do have to be taken away for a missed extra point by Bryant.
Coaching: A
This game was supposed to be a hard-fought contest, similar to how the Packers-Cowboys game ended. However, Atlanta has now outscored their playoff opponents by a combined score of 80-41 and neither the Seattle Seahawks nor Green Bay Packers stood a chance. Matt Ryan is clearly the NFL MVP this year, and the Falcons coaches are leaning on him hard. However, they are also playing amazing defense and spreading the ball around with great play calling.
Up Next
The Atlanta Falcons will need all that and more as they gear up to play the New England Patriots and Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. Brady has been to more Super Bowls than any quarterback in NFL history. Bill Belichick has been to more Super Bowls than any coach in NFL history. In contrast, this is the Falcons’ second-ever appearance at the big dance, and they didn’t win their last Super Bowl game. But if any team can beat New England, it is Atlanta—this could end up as one of the more exciting Super Bowl match-ups in years. | {
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Update – the bill passed a 2nd reading on May 12th. The third and final vote, on may 13th had the bill passing by a vote of 138-0. It now moves on to the Senate.
While states across the country are considering and passing bills to reject or nullify what many see as federal overreach in areas like health care, gun rights, medical marijuana, and more, the Texas State House struck a resounding blow tonight by becoming the nation’s first legislative body to pass a TSA nullification bill.
House Bill 1937, introduced by Representative David Simpson, seeks to ban searches by TSA (and other) agents “without probable cause” as the 4th amendment requires. It states, in part:
A person who is a public servant [acting under color of his office or employment] commits an offense if the person: (2) while acting under color of the person’s office or employment without probable cause to believe the other person committed an offense: (A) performs a search for the purpose of granting access to a publicly accessible building or form of transportation;
Even though reports from groups such as The Foundation for a Free Society, Texans for Accountable Government, and Libertarian Longhorns all indicate that the House passed HB1937 “passed by a unanimous voice vote at approximately 11pm this evening,” there’s still what many consider to be a tough battle in the Senate ahead.
NULLIFICATION?
The principle behind such legislation is nullification, which has a long history in the American tradition. When a state ‘nullifies’ a federal law, it is proclaiming that the law in question is void and inoperative, or ‘non-effective,’ within the boundaries of that state; or, in other words, not a law as far as the state is concerned.
Implied in any nullification legislation is enforcement of the state law. In the Virginia Resolution of 1798, James Madison wrote of the principle of interposition:
That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it views the powers of the federal government, as resulting from the compact, to which the states are parties; as limited by the plain sense and intention of the instrument constituting the compact; as no further valid that they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact; and that in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining within their respective limits, the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining to them.
HB1937 explicitly includes the interposition principle by making searches without warrant an offense in the state, theoretically requiring the sheriff or state police to arrest the progress of such acts.
ON TO THE SENATE
Even though Senate passage might be an uphill battle, Simpson remained positive in an update to supporters, saying, “HB 1937 passed second reading in the Texas House this evening. I would like to thank the many Texans and Americans around the country for their support and prayers. May God continue to grant favor to this effort in the Texas Senate and with the Governor. For Texas and Liberty.”
Norman Horn of Libertarian Longhorns seemed even more upbeat. “One step closer to victory!”. And, Heather Fazio of Texans for Accountable Government shared her expectations as well, “It’ll be referred to a senate committee then we make sure it passes there…”
NEXT STEPS
Also being considered in the Texas legislature is another of Simpson’s bills to nullify the TSA, HB1938, which would ban the use of body scanners in all Texas airports. Stay tuned to this website for updates on both legislative efforts. And, click here to track all TSA nullification bills around the country.
Sources close to the Tenth Amendment Center tell us to expect to see at least 10 other states consider such legislation in 2012. Should it pass in Texas, we expect that number to be significantly higher…putting the TSA square in the crosshairs of a rapidly growing movement to reject unconstitutional federal acts on a state level. | {
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Last month, Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen joined United Kingdom Home Secretary Amber Rudd and top experts at the 2018 Digital Forum on Terrorism Prevention in Silicon Valley to discuss efforts to fight back against terrorist radicalization and recruitment online.
At the Forum, Secretary Nielsen and Home Secretary Rudd pressed for decisive action against digital terrorist propaganda, as nearly all recent terror plots uncovered in the United States and the United Kingdom had an online component. They also emphasized the importance of continued collaboration between governments, the private sector, and community partners to counter this threat.
At the Digital Forum, the U.S. Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Task Force and the U.K. Home Office announced the launch of a new, “social media awareness briefing” that will be used to make tech companies more aware of online terrorist trends. The briefing will help startups and content moderators increase their understanding of the danger and develop more effective mitigation strategies.
Secretary Nielsen speaks at the 2018 Digital Forum on Terrorism Prevention
The all-day event was attended by a mix of federal, state, and local government officials; representatives from startup content service platforms; researchers; investors; community organizations; and civil society groups. Representatives from members of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) also attended the event.
Participants also discussed the balance between developing terms of service that are sufficient to counter terrorist content, while respecting users’ civil rights and civil liberties. Additionally, they discussed approaches to transitioning online counter-messaging to offline interventions dealing with vulnerable individuals, as well as the latest trends from data science and research in the terrorism-prevention space.
This was the second Digital Forum on Terrorism Prevention, with the first taking place in September 2017. Both of these events were led by the US CVE Task Force and co-presented by the DHS Office of Terrorism Prevention Partnerships and Tech against Terrorism.
Watch the discussion here, and learn more about DHS efforts to prevent terrorism here. | {
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One of the great cosmic mysteries of our time is the presence and existence of dark matter. Unlike normal matter, which is made of known particles that can emit, absorb, or otherwise interact with light and the other known particles, dark matter simply passes through both itself and everything else. It is completely invisible, as far as we can tell, except for one effect: it appears to have a gravitational mass. It affects the curvature of spacetime, and holds galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and the great cosmic web together.
When we run our simulations, however, we get very specific predictions for the structures that dark matter should form. The cosmic web lines up, but the smaller, galactic scales don’t. Long touted as the biggest problem for cold dark matter, scientists have uncovered the solution: dark matter gets heated up by stars. Here’s the story of how that happens.
At the high temperatures achieved in the very young Universe, not only can particles and photons be spontaneously created, given enough energy, but also antiparticles and unstable particles as well, resulting in a primordial particle-and-antiparticle soup. Although normal matter and antimatter particles can collide with themselves and with radiation, dark matter particles should simply pass through one another without interacting. (BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY)
Imagine the Universe as it might have been in the earliest stages after the Big Bang. It’s hot, dense, and full of matter and radiation. Only, instead of the particles you might exclusively think of — the subatomic particles that make up atoms, for instance — there’s five times as much dark matter. At these early times, particles of normal matter smash into one another and into photons, but dark matter passes through everything, refusing to collide.
It’s as though dark matter is 100% permeable: normal matter passes through it, antimatter passes through it, photons pass through it, even other dark matter particles pass through it. It’s only because dark matter is cold, or moving very slowly compared to the speed of light, that it can eventually gather together into gravitational clumps. Over time, it does exactly that, pulling the normal matter into the gravitational wells it created at early times.
The largest-scale observations in the Universe, from the cosmic microwave background to the cosmic web to galaxy clusters to individual galaxies, all require dark matter to explain what we observe. The large scale structure requires it, but the seeds of that structure, from the Cosmic Microwave Background, require it too. (CHRIS BLAKE AND SAM MOORFIELD)
What we wind up with, then, is a Universe populated with regions of space containing spheroidal distributions of matter: both normal and dark. Over time, the normal matter will collide with other normal matter particles and stick together, forming molecules, clouds of gas, and releasing radiation. The normal, atom-based matter will sink to the center of each such region, where it will typically form a rotating, disk-like shape: what we know as a galaxy.
Meanwhile, the dark matter is incapable of doing any such thing. It remains in a large, diffuse halo surrounding the galaxy itself. This should be independent of galaxy size or scale, as simulations show. Regardless of how massive the overall galaxy is, there should be a halo of dark matter extending into space by a factor of ten or more over the disk itself. This is true for Milky Way-sized galaxies, larger ones, and even tiny dwarf galaxies.
According to models and simulations, all galaxies should be embedded in dark matter halos, whose densities peak at the galactic centers. On long enough timescales, of perhaps a billion years, a single dark matter particle from the outskirts of the halo will complete one orbit. The effects of gas, feedback, star formation, supernovae, and radiation all complicate this environment, making it extremely difficult to extract universal dark matter predictions.(NASA, ESA, AND T. BROWN AND J. TUMLINSON (STSCI))
This is the standard picture: one that’s been a cornerstone of modern astrophysics for more than 20 years. But recently, observations of dwarf galaxies — galaxies between 0.1% and 1% as massive as our own galaxy — have shown that this idea of a universal dark matter profile does not fit the data very well. In particular, many of these galaxies show evidence that there’s less dark matter in the very interiors of these galaxies, or at their central cores, than these simulations predict.
If we run our simulations of a galaxy with dark matter alone, this cannot be the case. But if we take what we already know:
that dark matter doesn’t interact with itself or normal matter or radiation,
that normal matter can interact with itself and with radiation, but not dark matter,
and that normal matter and dark matter can communicate through the gravitational force,
a possible solution appears to emerge.
Only approximately 1000 stars are present in the entirety of dwarf galaxies Segue 1 and Segue 3, which has a gravitational mass of 600,000 Suns. The stars making up the dwarf satellite Segue 1 are circled here. If new research is correct, then dark matter will obey a different distribution depending on how star formation, over the galaxy’s history, has heated it. (MARLA GEHA AND KECK OBSERVATORIES)
The way to think about it is to visualize what’s going on with the normal matter in the center of this galaxy when it forms a large number of new stars. The gas present contracts down, creates new stars of a variety of masses, and starts to experience radiation emanating from the young stars that have recently formed there.
It’s the hottest, most massive stars that emit the most radiation, and those stars also emit matter particles. These stellar winds work to push gas and dust away from the center of the galaxy, giving it a boost of kinetic energy. All of that normal matter had concentrated in the core of the galaxy, and this new, important burst of star formation has worked to push it away. The galaxy’s center now has less matter — normal matter, that is — than it had before.
Galaxies undergoing massive bursts of star formation can outshine even much larger, typical galaxies. M82, the Cigar Galaxy, is gravitationally interacting with its neighbor (not pictured), causing this burst of active, new star formation, which expels gas from its central region. The effects of the stellar winds are clearly visible in red.(NASA, ESA, AND THE HUBBLE HERITAGE TEAM (STSCI/AURA))
What happens next?
Well, think about what would happen to the planets in the Solar System if you removed a large amount of mass from the Sun. It’s that large, central mass that keeps them in their stable, nearly-circular orbits. If the mass increased, they would spiral inwards; if the mass decreased, they would spiral outwards.
When galaxies form stars, it’s as though the central region loses mass, which causes all the matter around it to feel a lessened gravitational pull. Yes, the normal matter gets expelled because of the radiation, winds, and pressure. Once that’s gone from the center, though, all the matter present — both normal and dark — has less of a gravitational pull to keep it in place. The only recourse is to move to a higher, less-tightly-bound orbit.
In any orbiting system, it’s the value of the central, interior mass that maintains objects in a constant elliptical orbit. If the mass in the center decreases, the orbits of the particles inside will spiral outward, to greater and greater distances, further impacting the amount of mass in the central regions. (AMANDA SMITH, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE)
This effect is what’s known as “dark matter heating.” It isn’t that any of the radiation from the stars or any of the heat from the normal matter is getting transferred to the dark matter itself; it doesn’t involve temperature or energy transfer directly.
Instead, what’s happening is that the additional energy imparted to the normal matter is expelling it from where it was previously the most concentrated: in the galactic center. Once that normal matter is removed from the galactic center, there’s less mass there to hold the dark matter in place, and it, too, has to move to a higher, less-tightly-bound orbit. Because the dark matter gets pushed out and bumped to a higher, more energetic orbit, it has the same effects as though the dark matter was given an extra burst of energy. It’s not actually hotter than it was previously, but the effects are identical.
An enormous star-forming region in the dwarf galaxy UGCA 281, as imaged by Hubble in the visible and the ultraviolet, as part of the LEGUS survey. The blue light is starlight from hot, young stars reflected off of the background, neutral gas, while the brightest patches indicate the greatest emission of UV light. The red portions, however, are evidence of ionized hydrogen gas, which emits a characteristic red glow as electrons combine with the free protons. The gas is being expelled from this region due to stellar winds from the hottest young stars. (NASA, ESA AND THE LEGUS TEAM)
Over their lifetimes, galaxies of all types experience multiple cycles of gas flowing in and out of the central regions. When gas concentrations reach a very high level, it can trigger new star formation; when gas concentrations reach a low level, new star formation is impossible.
So what does this mean for the dwarf galaxies you’d actually find, if this idea is correct?
It means that if a galaxy had only a few small bursts of central star formation, the dark matter in the core wouldn’t have gotten heated by very much. Most of it would still be present. You’d expect a relatively high value of dark matter at the centers of dwarf galaxies that had very little history of star formation in their centers.
Dwarf galaxy NGC 5477 is one of many irregular dwarf galaxies. The blue regions are indicative of new star formation, but many such galaxies have formed no new stars in many billions of years. If the idea of dark matter heating is correct, you’d expect the mass profiles for dwarf galaxies to appear different based on their total star-formation history. (ESA/HUBBLE AND NASA)
But if a galaxy had formed large amounts of stars over its history, you’d instead expect that the gas and matter near the center of the galaxy would be largely expelled, which pushes the dark matter to higher orbits, and changes the inferred mass profile of the galaxy. Practically all galaxies had starbursting phases during the first few billion years, but the least active ones have been quiet for the billions of years subsequent to that. In other words, a rich history of recent star formation should lead to a low-mass dark matter core in dwarf galaxies, while solely ancient star formation should lead to higher-mass cores.
That’s exactly what a team led by Justin Read found in a new study released in January. According to Dr. Read:
We found a truly remarkable relationship between the amount of dark matter at the centres of these tiny dwarfs, and the amount of star formation they have experienced over their lives. The dark matter at the centres of the star-forming dwarfs appears to have been ‘heated up’ and pushed out.
It’s a spectacular case of a more sophisticated simulation explaining a phenomenon that previous simulations, making more naive assumptions, could not account for.
Star formation in tiny dwarf galaxies can slowly “heat up” the dark matter, pushing it outwards. The left image shows the hydrogen gas density of a simulated dwarf galaxy, viewed from above. The right image shows the same for a real dwarf galaxy, IC 1613. In the simulation, repeated gas inflow and outflow causes the gravitational field strength at the centre of the dwarf to fluctuate. The dark matter responds to this by migrating out from the centre of the galaxy, an effect known as ‘dark matter heating’. (J. I. READ, M. G. WALKER, & P. STEGER (2019), MNRAS 484, 1)
Traditionally, dark matter has been the go-to explanation for the phenomena we’ve observed on large cosmic scales. It explains the fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background, the large-scale structure of the Universe, and the behavior of clusters and groups of galaxies in a way that no alternative can. However, the smallest galactic scales have proven problematic for dark matter simulations, leading many to question its validity.
This new discovery is a fascinating case where theory and observation are lining up perfectly once better calculations are done. It may finally resolve one of the greatest problems for dark matter: explaining the behavior of the smallest galaxies in the Universe. Even with no direct energy transfer, dark matter is affected by the gravity of everything around it. If star formation moves mass around, dark matter will move around, too. Cold dark matter, indirectly, gets heated up by stars. At long last, we’re finally understanding how. | {
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Tom Brokaw was looking faded and fatigued as he exited NBC studios on Monday afternoon.
The embattled anchor, who still works as a special correspondent for NBC News, stared down a photographer as he made his way out of the plaza at 30 Rockefeller Center while outfitted in a body-hugging Patagonia top, khaki trench and sneakers.
Brokaw was accused of making unwanted advances towards two women in articles published last Thursday, allegations he vehemently denied just hours later in a letter sent to friends and colleagues.
The 78-year-old newsman may soon be forced to write another letter as well after a third women came forward on Tuesday with allegations against Brokaw.
Mary Reinholz writes about her alleged experience with Brokaw in The Villager, claiming that in 1968 he made an unwanted pass at her during a visit to her home in Laurel Canyon.
Brokaw and NBC News both declined to comment on these latest allegations.
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Hiding in plain sight: Tom Brokaw was seen exiting NBC offices in New York City on Monday (above) afternoon wearing a tightly fitted Patagonia top and khaki trench
Long weekend: The 78-year-old anchor looked pallid and drained as he made his way through the plaza at 30 Rockefeller Center
New accuser: A third woman came forward on Tuesday, with Mary Reinholz (left in the 1970s, right in recent years) claiming that Brokaw made an unwanted sexual advance towards her in 1968
Reinholz claims that Brokaw drove his motor scooter over to her home on the day in question, and that the two were sitting on the couch and talking when he allegedly made his move.
'We talked and then, abruptly, he was embracing me and giving me a French kiss,' writes Reinholz.
'I pulled away, reminding him that he was married and a tryst was out of the question. He said, "Yes, it would be unfair to Meredith," meaning his wife.'
At the time, Brokaw was working as a news anchor at KNBC in Los Angeles, while Reinholz was a writer for the Los Angeles Free Press.
Reinhol writes that she and Brokaw knew one another from having attended the same press conferences around the city, and she reached out to him for help obtaining a police report.
'I don’t recall much else about the episode, and shrugged it off as progressive women of my generation were wont to do,' writes Reinholz.
'After all, we were overthrowing the sedate 1950s and its dictates that good girls should never engage in premarital sex.'
She then adds: 'I had been married but wasn’t interested in Brokaw as a sex partner and the situation made me uncomfortable.'
After that she writes that she and Brokaw were in contact a handful of times, but had not seen one another or spoken on the phone for over 40 years.
Reinholz then explains why she waited until now to share her story.
'I wouldn’t be writing this account if it wasn’t for the #MeToo movement and Brokaw’s disparaging remarks about Linda Vester, a former NBC News reporter and war correspondent who accused him of groping and kissing her on two occasions and arriving at her hotel uninvited,' writes Reinholz.
She then asks: 'Why would the two women lie?'
Linda Vester - a former war correspondent for NBC who later anchored NBC News at Sunrise before leaving the network in 1999 to join Fox News - accused Brokaw of making unawanted advances on two ocassions.
She told The Washington Post and Variety magazine that Brokaw, 26 years her elder, forcibly tried to kiss her in 1994 and 1995, while he was the network's star anchor.
Brokaw said in response that he met Vester twice, 'both at her request' because she wanted career advice.
'The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Linda's allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her at that time or any other,' he said in a statement.
The second woman claims that she was harassed by Brokaw while the then-24-year-old was working as a production assistant.
That anonymous woman accused Brokaw of taking her hands, placing them on his chest and asking her to meet him in his office later that night.
Brokaw denied the allegations made by Vester in a scathing email that was sent on Friday.
'It is 4:00 am on the first day of my new life as an accused predator in the universe of American journalism,' wrote Brokaw.
'I was ambushed and then perp walked across the pages of The Washington Post and Variety as an avatar of male misogyny, taken to the guillotine and stripped of any honor and achievement I had earned in more than a half century of journalism and citizenship.'
Smiles and skull: Kelly was in a good mood as she left her office at NBC around the same time as Brokaw on Monday (above)
Speaking out: On Monday, Megyn Kelly warned the over 60 female employees at NBC who defended Brokaw in a letter by saying: 'You don’t know what you don’t know' (Kelly above with Kate Snow and Stephanie Gosk)
Brokaw went on to write about the pain Vester's accusations have caused him, and made no effort to hide his disdain for the former NBC employee.
'I am angry, hurt and unmoored from what I thought would be the final passage of my life and career, a mix of written and broadcast journalism, philanthropy and participation in environmental and social causes that have always given extra meaning to my life,' noted Brokaw.
'Instead I am facing a long list of grievances from a former colleague who left NBC News angry that she had failed in her pursuit of stardom.'
He continued: 'She has unleashed a torrent of unsubstantiated criticism and attacks on me more than twenty years after I opened the door for her and a new job at Fox news.'
Brokaw then tried to explain what happened between himself and Vester on the night in question, while also criticizing how the press handled the claims.
'Linda Vester was given the run of the Washington Post and Variety to vent her grievances, to complain that I tickled her without permission (you read that right), that I invaded her hotel room, accepted an invitation to her apartment under false pretenses and in general was given a free hand to try to destroy all that I have achieved with my family, my NBC career, my writing and my citizenship,' stated Brokaw.
'My family and friends are stunned and supportive. My NBC colleagues are bewildered that Vester, who had limited success at NBC News, a modest career at Fox and a reputation as a colleague who had trouble with the truth was suddenly the keeper of the flame of journalistic integrity.'
The repercussions are already being felt by Brokaw, who elected to cancel his planned commencement speech at Sacred Heart University next month.
NBC initially appeared to looking into Brokaw's behavior after an internal memo sent by Chairman Andy Lack was released on Friday, but it is now unclear if that is the case.
'As you have all seen now in reports from last night, there are allegations against Tom Brokaw, made by a former NBC News journalist, which Tom emphatically denies. As we’ve shown, we take allegations such as these very seriously, and act on them quickly and decisively when the facts dictate,' wrote Lack.
'The same report included claims against Matt Lauer. As you know, since the week we terminated Matt’s employment, NBC Universal has been conducting a review, led by general counsel Kim Harris -who has extensive experience in conducting reviews of this kind- with a team of legal and HR leaders. Kim has advised us that the review is nearing its conclusion, and we will have findings and further steps to share with you as soon as next week.'
Lack then closed out the memo by stating: 'Once again, our highest priority is to ensure we have a workplace environment where everyone feels safe and protected. We are absolutely committed to making this a reality--there can be no exception.'
Brokaw visited the network's offices in New York City just a few hours after Megyn Kelly warned her co-workers to be careful about voicing their support for Brokaw in the wake of sexual misconduct claims.
'You don’t know what you don’t know, and that’s not in any way to impugn Tom, who I love and who’s been so good to me,' Kelly said on Today.
Two days earlier, over 60 women including Andrea Mitchell, Rachel Maddow, Mika Brzezinski and Maria Shriver signed a letter defending Brokaw.
'Tom has treated each of us with fairness and respect. He has given each of us opportunities for advancement and championed our successes throughout our careers,' read the letter signed by those women.
'As we have advanced across industries - news, publishing, law, business and government - Tom has been a valued source of counsel and support. We know him to be a man of tremendous decency and integrity.'
None of these women have responded to Reinholz's allegation. | {
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AP
The annual window for application of the franchise and transition tag opens on Tuesday, providing teams with roughly two weeks to decide whether to apply either restriction on otherwise allowing the player to head to unrestricted free agency.
So it’s time for our annual (when we remember) look at the candidates for a tag on every team. The teams are grouped by division and conference.
Bills: Left tackle Cordy Glenn is the top, and perhaps only, candidate for the franchise tag. As teams strive to improve their ability to rush the passer, protecting for the passer becomes more important, too. Some will argue that the Bills should consider using the tag on guard Richie Incognito, who had a Pro Bowl year after returning from his NFL exile. But that’s a non-starter because there’s no separate category for guards; the franchise tag for any offensive lineman essentially becomes the franchise tag for left tackles, the highest paid members of the group.
Jets: Defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson is the obvious choice. The question becomes how much they plan to invest in the defensive line over the long haul, given the presence of Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams. They presumably hope to keep quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, but not at nearly $20 million for one year.
Dolphins: A premium will be placed on pass rushers, and defensive end Olivier Vernon is one of the few that will be available. The question for the Dolphins is whether that much money can be invested in Vernon, given the investment already made in Ndamukong Suh. Paying big money to Vernon, whether through the tag or a long-term deal, could result in the end of Cam Wake’s time with the team.
Patriots: There’s no one to tag this year.
Ravens: Kicker Justin Tucker makes the most sense for the tag, since the one-year salary is very reasonable in comparison to the open market. The only other alternative is guard Kelechi Osemele. As noted above, however, the absence of position-specific tags for interior offensive linemen means they’ll be paid like the highest-paid left tackles.
Bengals: Cincinnati has several key free agents who could qualify for the tag, including four key defensive backs: cornerback Pacman Jones, cornerback Leon Hall, safety George Iloka, and safety Reggie Nelson. Offensively, tackle Andre Smith and receivers Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu are due to hit the market. But will the Bengals feel compelled to give any of them the large, one-year salary that comes from the franchise tag? It’s possible the Bengals will view none of them as so irreplaceable that they should be tagged.
Browns: Safety Tashaun Gipson’s contract year wasn’t strong enough to justify an eight-year salary for 2016. Other candidates include tackle Mitchell Schwartz and receiver Travis Benjamin. Schwartz is the more likely of the two to be tagged, but it won’t be cheap for either guy. Two years ago, the Browns went the transition-tag route with center Alex Mack, and it resulted in an offer sheet from the Jaguars that, although matched by the Browns, gives Mack the ability to walk away this offseason.
Steelers: The Steelers have no impending free agents worthy of either tag.
Titans: One of the benefits of being 5-27 over the last two years is that there’s no reason to tag any of their free agents.
Texans: Punter Shane Lechler turns 40 later this year, but he still has a big leg — and a big role for a team that often needs to play the field-position game.
Colts: Tight ends Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener are headed to free agency, but does either guy merit the tag? Probably not. Kicker Adam Vinatieri also is headed to free agency, but because he has been tagged two prior times during his career he would be eligible for the quarterback level of the franchise tender. Which means he’s not getting tagged.
Jaguars: Punter Bryan Anger was drafted before franchise quarterback Russell Wilson. And that’s probably the only time the word “franchise” will ever be used in reference to Anger.
Chiefs: Safety Eric Berry, the 2015 comeback player of the year, is a guy the Chiefs very much want to keep. The question becomes whether they want him badly enough to apply the franchise tag.
Chargers: Safety Eric Weddle is the primary candidate, but it feels as if the bridges are obliterated based on some bizarre events between team and player from late in the season. Tight ends Antonio Gates and Ladarius Green also are due to hit the market, but it would be hard to justify tagging either, given the cost.
Raiders: Tackle Donald Penn is due to hit the market. With the Raiders forced to spend plenty of money to comply with the minimum spending requirements, maybe they’ll consider doing what they have to do to keep around a guy who has started 32 of 32 games with the Raiders. (Even so, it’s still highly unlikely.)
Broncos: Linebacker Von Miller is a no-brainer for the franchise tag, absent a new deal. The Broncos may have to use the exclusive version to prevent another team from loading up an offer sheet and gladly giving up a pair of first-round picks to get him. If they can get Miller signed, defensive lineman Malik Jackson could be tagged. Quarterback Brock Osweiler almost definitely won’t be, given that the $20 million for 2016 would become the starting point for a long-term deal.
Cowboys: None of the free agents justify the tag.
Eagles: They may want to keep quarterback Sam Bradford, but a one-year franchise tender of $20 million sets the stage for the kind of contract the Eagles would never want to give him.
Giants: Kicker Josh Brown was tagged once by the Seahawks in 2007. He can be tagged one more time before the quarterback tender would apply to him. Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul could be tagged a second time, but that’s highly unlikely. Ditto for former first-rounder Prince Amukamara, who hasn’t done enough to merit being tagged a first time.
Washington: Quarterback Kirk Cousins becomes the primary candidate, if the team can’t get him re-signed. But at $20 million for one year, is Cousins really worth it? From his perspective, it makes sense to go year-to-year if tagged, since he’d be eligible for unrestricted free agency or a tag of $24 million in 2017. That’s $44 million over two years, far more than Washington (or anyone else) would offer on a long-term deal now.
Vikings: The good news for the Vikings is that they made the playoffs. The better news is that they have no key free agents that would require tagging this year.
Packers: Kicker Mason Crosby is the primary candidate. Perhaps the only candidate.
Bears: Receiver Alshon Jeffery could be tagged, but will the Bears want to invest eight figures in a guy who underachieved in 2015, and who some suggest wasn’t playing through injury in order to avoid racking up bad performances?
Lions: They’ve got no one worthy of tagging this year, even with two starting defensive linemen (defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and defensive end Jason Jones) due to hit the market.
Falcons: The Falcons have no free agents that would justify use of the tag.
Buccaneers: In 2015, the Bucs opted not to exercise the fifth-year option on running back Doug Martin’s contract. That makes it very hard to justify using the much more expensive franchise tag now.
Saints: There’s no one to tag; tight end Benjamin Watson would merit some debate, but not much given his age. With quarterback Drew Brees counting for $30 million in 2016, they need to save their money.
Panthers: Cornerback Josh Norman undoubtedly will be tagged absent a long-term deal.
Cardinals: Despite a 13-3 season, the Cardinals have no free agents worthy of the investment associated with the franchise tag.
Rams: Four key starters in the secondary are due to hit the market, and cornerbacks Trumaine Johnson and Janoris Jenkins could be candidates for the tag. Kicker Greg Zuerlein also is a possibility, at a much lower investment.
Seahawks: Some have said that agent Russell Okung’s biggest fear is that tackle Russell Okung will be slapped with the franchise tag. Agent Russell Okung should welcome it, if he gets it. He won’t be getting it. Neither will linebacker Bruce Irvin. Punter Jon Ryan possibly could. The best news for the Seahawks is they won’t need it to keep quarterback Russell Wilson around.
49ers: Defensive tackle Ian Williams has become a reliable nose tackle, but it would be a shock if he’s tagged. Kicker Phil Dawson was tagged twice by the Browns; if the 49ers tag him, he’ll be entitled to quarterback money. | {
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Square Enix recently held a briefing session Q&A regarding its latest financial results, and as is often the case, the entire transcript was documented and published within a bulky PDF file. While the transcript is loaded with juicy (as well as dull) tidbits about the company and its operations, one question stood out regarding the success of Nier: Automata and how the game will impact Square's approach moving forward.
Prior to the question about the game, it was noted that Nier: Automata "was another earnings contributor, generating sales significantly above our plan." The question that resulted from this had to do with said results' impact on strategy, including "allocation of human resources."
Q: “NieR:Automata” is a mid-sized title that has produced strong results. Will that have any impact on your strategy going forward, including the possibility of revisiting how you allocate your human resources? A: In terms of the balance between in-house efforts and outsourcing, we intend to primarily develop our major franchises in-house and to outsource mid-sized titles. It is also important to cultivate new titles, and for that reason we are also thinking about how tie-ups with external companies can help balance our mix.
It's an interesting conclusion, and one that, if nothing else, bodes well for folks like Platinum Games. Since Nier: Automata overperformed and received positive buzz and response from gamers generally speaking, it could very well mean that Square Enix plans to be substantially lenient and frequent with facilitating development of titles cut from a similar cloth. From what the document suggests, this would be via talented outside development partners like Platinum and others.
Also notable from the Q&A are remarks regarding localization, and how Square intends to "aggressively roll out" both Japanese and localized versions of its mobile games, such as Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. It appears the plan is to bring "catalog" mobile releases to the West in the coming months, and attempt to release future mobile titles simultaneously in Japan and the West forward from there.
The full PDF is available on Square's site if you're the sort who enjoys combing over such things, but truth be told there's about as many walls of text as there are riveting insight (perhaps more). If you did for some reason missed Nier: Automata when it came out, you can check out our review here. There's also a superb PC edition, a trend not mentioned in Square's Q&A document but one we certainly hope the company intends to continue. | {
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Louder Than War likes a debate (join the Louder Than War Facebook page for updates on all these issues and topics and debates) and the rights issue over photographs is a hot topic. Photographer Pat Pope has written An Open Letter to Garbage over this issue…
Dear Shirley, Butch, Duke and Steve
I don’t know if you will remember me, my name’s Pat Pope and across a few years in the nineties I worked for you as a photographer. That’s one of my photos of you accompanying this letter. I worked pretty hard on that photo – actually, throughout my time as a photographer I hope I’ve always worked hard to make all the artists I’ve had the opportunity to shoot look as good as they can.
Today I received an email from your management company Big Picture Music Co. It’s a very nice email, and in it they announce that you’re working on a book about the band which you plan to self-release next year. The email says that you really like some of the photos I took of you and would like to use them in your book. It also says that in return for the use of my photos you will give me a “proper credit” but that given it is planned to be a self release the budget is “financially limited”, by which your management company mean “we’re not going to pay you”. So I wanted to ask you a couple of questions, and I wanted to do it publicly because I think it’s important that people know what your answer is. I don’t expect as many people will see this Open Letter as Shirley’s recent message to Kanye West, but I think it’s important we know where you, as artists, stand.
Q1: I’m a firm believer that musicians and artists deserve to be paid for their work. I’ll sign any petition that’s out there supporting that concept, and even when I choose to stream rather than buy, I’m one of the fans of your band that will pay for a premium service because I think you should be paid. That’s my point of view. Is it yours? When you think about artists being paid, does that include photographers? Do you think “content providers”, whatever the hell that means, deserve to be paid for their work, or is that a special category for musicians? If I want to release a music album, can I use your music in it if I give you a “proper credit”?
Q2: If you’re putting together a book, presumably someone at your management company or somebody in the band has written a budget. And if there’s a budget, somewhere in that budget, against the line for “use of photos” somebody has written “no need to pay, we’ll just give them a proper credit and get them for free”. Against all the other lines, for writing, for printing, for distribution, for retailing, for marketing, for the management company, for the band, for Uncle Tom Cobbley and all, somebody, somewhere, working for you, has written a number down because that’s what it costs. But that same person has written zero for photos, because that content, in their opinion, they can get for free. Who is that person? As a band are you happy to be employing someone who thinks like that? Because it seems to me that the person who writes down “zero for photos” today is the same person who will write down “zero for music” tomorrow because they don’t respect the “content providers”.
By writing this open letter, I’m obviously committing professional suicide when it comes to ever working with you again, and probably it won’t do my reputation any good within the music industry to be seen as troublemaker. Obviously that worries me, but it worries me more that musicians and others are saying one thing publicly about the needs for artists to be paid for their work whilst privately people working for them are doing exactly the opposite. I’m not accusing you personally of being hypocrites, I don’t know how involved you are in this process, but I’m letting you know it’s happening and it’s happening in your name.
So, very respectfully, …….no.
No, you don’t have my permission to use my work for free. I’m proud of my work and I think it has a value. If you don’t think it has any value, don’t use it. I’m saying no to a budget that says you can take my work for free and make money out of it.
Thanks, and still a fan of the band
Pat Pope
Pat’s website is here: patpope.com.
PS: Just so you know, this is actually an improvement on the management of your “Absolute Garbage” album where the record company just used my work without even asking. I only found this out when I went into a shop and bought a copy, which, when you think about it, has a certain irony. | {
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Freshman Sierra Calhoun has decided to leave Duke University, school officials announced Sunday. Calhoun departs Duke in good academic standing and is expected to transfer to another Division I school.A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Calhoun had started all 13 games for the 10th-ranked Blue Devils averaging 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals on the season."We appreciate Sierra very much and wish her the very best," said Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie Duke is coming off an 87-36 victory over N.C. A&T Friday night and will host Wake Forest Sunday at 2:00 p.m., in Cameron Indoor Stadium, as the Blue Devils open ACC play. | {
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The recent wedding of celebrities Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes was a topic of the town, especially with how roads were blocked off to “exclusivize” traffic routes for guests, and no less than the president of the Philippines’ presence at the affair. While both aspects were criticized for the inconvenience to others and mixed up priorities, there was another aspect seen that may reflect the country’s dysfunctions. As fellow blogger FallenAngel raised, it’s a government official’s wedding, they’ll be slammed even if they spent their own money. But if it’s a private citizen, many come to the defense. Perhaps even if the private citizen might be an embezzler or crime lord. As long as it’s someone famous.
Another part of the Filipino mindset is revealed once again, that Filipinos seem to be willing fantards for celebrities and “elite.” What’s the derogatory term? Starstruck ignoramuses. It’s a funny irony, too. Many Filipinos seem to hate the “elite” for the problems of the country, but other Filipinos seem to admire this same “elite,” or the actors and singers associated with them. They fawn over the romance stories of these celebrities as if this is the most important thing in the world, further demonstrating the tsismis dysfunction that is a stubborn part of Filipino communities.
Again, it’s the same old sickness of focusing on personalities rather than principles or platforms. But it also demonstrates the same thing that appears when Manny Pacquiao is in the limelight again and Filipinos shout “proud to be Pinoy:” they look for the temporary high that comes with identifying with a celebrity, rather than look for a long-term solution that helps them achieves the same status of that celebrity. They seem to feel good when Pacquiao wins a fight, or when a Filipina beauty wins a crowns or even comes close. It seems to be nothing more than the barriotic attitude of showbiz kilig.
It also demonstrates what former American First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt said:
The smallness of Filipino attitudes, like what I described above, this fantard drunkenness of showbiz kilig is what helps keep Filipino society dysfunctional. As Benign0 said, this showbiz kilig helps keep people “in their place.” Many Filipinos remain satisfied being the fantards of others while they themselves lament the status of their lives. Hence, we have many children who want nothing more than to be famous actors or singers instead of useful scientists and mathematicians, while their alienated parents work feverishly in other countries to try and give them that life. Another part of the problem is that the people who are supposed to be “intellectuals” and “educated,” or are even “activists” or “reformists” are actually themselves taken by this attitude of fantardism and showbiz kilig.
Thank goodness there are people with sane, civilized and great-minded attitudes who would have nothing of showbiz kilig. They know that showbiz is the worst place to look for people to admire and look up to, since it is nothing but entertainment. They are the real intellectuals, movers, doers and shakers. In other words, these people are not blinded by “heroes.” They hope that Filipinos idolize themselves instead of living stage props. Problem is, the small-minded Filipinos castigate them for being “mayabang.”
Of course, there are some people intellectuals admire, like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks, or others like Stephen Covey, Peter Drucker, Stephen Hawking, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. But as I reemphasize, it’s not the person that is important; it’s the ideas that they represent and practice that are important. If we focus on the platform and not the person, that can break us out of the trap of smallness and bring us to the level of great-mindedness.
Getting out of our showbiz fixation is perhaps one of the major steps to take in actually making the Philippines into a great country.
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Italy is in meltdown, Hungary in open revolt, and the US wants a trade war. Small wonder Europe’s leaders haven’t got much time for us
There is a weariness to the coterie of diplomats and officials based in Brussels intimately involved in the negotiations over the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European union. Privately they describe it as “Brexit fatigue”, the result of second-guessing a chaotic situation in Westminster for two years, and working through the summer in response to the demand from the Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, for continuous negotiations. These officials from the 27 other EU member states were picked as the brightest and the best for the existential crisis of the time, but the hard truth for these ambitious men and women is that the crisis in question is no longer Brexit.
“You go to the capitals, you can see that, because no one talks about it any more,” said Fabian Zuleeg, chief executive of the leading EU thinktank, the European Policy Centre. Speaking to his parliament on his return to Madrid from the recent leaders’ summit in Brussels, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, put it succinctly: “The British spend 24 hours a day thinking about Brexit and the Europeans think about it for four minutes every trimester.” While the UK’s chaotic withdrawal has become a dreary process to be managed, the EU is being dealt hammer blows from elsewhere – from crises that really could make or break the bloc, along with many diplomatic careers.
Foremost on the list of problem zones right now is Italy. “Nothing and nobody, no big or small letter will make us backtrack,” the country’s deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, and leader of the far-right League, told his followers in a Facebook video made in his office in Rome on Friday. “Italy will no longer be a slave and will no longer kneel down.”
Last month the European commission took the unprecedented and high-risk step of rejecting the draft budget of the third-biggest economy in the eurozone, in a move designed to force the country’s democratically elected government to rein in its spending.
With borrowing at 130% of gross domestic product, second only to Greece in the EU, Italy is said to be a danger to financial stability across Europe. Its government has been told to come up with a revised financial plan by 13 November, or face huge fines.
The potency of the Italian problem is that it perfectly encapsulates the central, and potentially fatal, issue that the European Union member states and Brussels have repeatedly failed to grapple with in any meaningful sense, either from political cowardice or lack of will.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Italian deputy PM Matteo Salvini has stoked up his nation’s budgetary standoff with the EU. Photograph: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images
When Ireland, Greece and Portugal were plunged into severe crisis as a result of the global recession, where they might once have changed their interest rates, or devalued their currencies, to get themselves back on their feet, instead their governments were simply forced to watch their young flee overseas.
Because they were eurozone countries, they had lost those crucial monetary levers. They were simply put on an austerity diet by Brussels in return for loans, and told to get their house in order at a brutal cost.
And for all the later admissions that the EU itself had been at fault in allowing such divergence in the fortunes of European economies in the first place, there has been little attempt since to build the institutional structures that could now help to promote growth in the poorest parts of Europe or respond to future economic shocks.
Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission, has called for a eurozone treasury and finance minister. There are repeated calls for the completion of the banking union, under which savers’ deposits, wherever they are held, would be guaranteed in times of crisis. But while prevarication has ruled the day, the wealth divide between the north and south of the eurozone has deepened.
According to International Monetary Fund data, the GDP per capita in Germany jumped 19% in 2016 from 2010 levels and 14% in the Netherlands and France.
In southern countries, where the GDP per capita was already lower to start with, it grew much more slowly. In Italy it rose only 6%, in Portugal 10% – and it fell 7% in Greece in the same period.
There is, meanwhile, a stench of double standards about the enforcement of the growth and stability pact under which governments have been obliged since 1997 to ensure budget deficits should be no higher than 3% of gross domestic product and that national debt is below 60% of GDP.
Loopholes and exceptions have traditionally ruled the day. “France is France”, Juncker said in 2016 of turning a blind eye to the debt levels being amassed by presidents in the Élysée palace.
Little wonder then that the new Italian coalition government of the populist Five Star Movement and the rightwing League has balked at the attempt to force such an economic strait-jacket upon Italy. And offered others encouragement.
Fabio Massimo Castaldo, a Five Star MEP who is a vice-president of the European parliament, told the Observer: “After some threats to cut the European funds, in 2016 the commission has pardoned Spain and Portugal for their public spending budget.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Emmanuel Macron, who could give Europe new leadership after Angela Merkel’s departure, has seen his popularity plunge to new lows. Photograph: TASS/Barcroft Images
“This should serve as a precedent for Italy. It’s the path to follow to sort out the problems with the EU. Some EU commissioners should, also, realise that our government is the most appreciated right now among the European big countries. President Conte’s approval rate raised above 60% of the Italian population. Clearly we cannot say the same about [Emmanuel] Macron or [Angela] Merkel.”
Guntram Wolff, director of the Brussels-based Bruegel thinktank, said it was a ominous moment which indicated the potentially fatal contradiction at the heart of this imperfect union. He said: “What we seeing now is a tension between fiscal sovereignty at the national level – the Italian parliament can and should decide its own budgetary policies – and the fact that this sovereign country has subscribed to monetary union and there are conditions, including all the fiscal rules, and they have all signed the treaties.”
The timing could not be worse. Europe goes to the polls next May to elect members of the European parliament. The high drama is perfect succour for the likes of Steve Bannon, the former key strategist in Donald Trump’s White House, who has pledged to use the moment to start a populist revolution, with Salvini’s support.
“The governance and completion of the economic monetary union is important but it goes deeper than that,” Zuleeg said of the clash with Italy. “The issue is the fragmentation and the rise of populist illiberal governments in some countries using this process as a tool to prove to the electorate that they can deliver and also challenge the EU.
“Maybe from an economic perspective there is now an acceptance that you let the markets do their thing. The market will punish Italy, they will punish any other country that goes down that route. But how you deal with that situation politically is the real challenge. How do we deal with the mess that we are going to have after the European parliament election with a big bloc of anti-EU, anti-democracy parties, to put it very bluntly?”
Poland and Hungary, led respectively by the hard-right Law and Justice party and Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz, are already squeezing the maximum propaganda value out of the commission’s decision to launch its most serious disciplinary action against them for flagrant breaches of democratic norms. They know they are safe from the ultimate punishment of losing their voting rights, as each nation has promised to veto such a move should it come before the 28 member states.
Europe is crying out for leadership. And, perhaps when French president Macron – recently buffeted by approval ratings of 26% – is back from a break next week, said to have been necessary due to exhaustion, he can deliver it. But it not that is not something that Angela Merkel, the German chancellor who last week announced her decision not to stand again in 2021, following a series of electoral disasters, is likely to be offering for long.
“Populists are already hoping to bolster their numbers in the parliament next year, and use their newfound influence to affect the EU’s personnel choices and policy output over the next five years”, said Mujtaba Rahman, head of Europe for the Eurasia Group risk consultancy. “With Merkel now clearly in her twilight zone, they will see next year as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fundamentally change the rules of the game in Brussels.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Hungary’s Victor Orbán has played up his role as the EU’s bete noire as it rebukes him for undemocratic policies. Photograph: Tamás Kovács/EPA
With such a gloomy outlook, it might suit Juncker and Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, to avert their eyes from the continent for a moment. But they probably won’t want to gaze towards America, for hanging over Europe is a trade war that could make the bloc a much poorer place.
Last July, Juncker visited the US president in the White House and came back having secured a temporary reprieve from a trade conflict that started with punitive tariffs on European steel and aluminium exports and had threatened to hit the European car market, particularly that of Germany.
An uneasy truce was reached before the midterm elections in which Juncker promised to talk about opening Europe to American imports, and made the absurd suggestion that the EU would buy more soy beans from US farmers in the midwest, a key Trump constituency. European farmers were already buying up soy beans from the US simply because they were the most competitive on the market as a result of the US-China trade war. Perhaps the conceit suited both sides then. But the soybean offensive looks likely to have run out of steam.
While seeking to avoid upsetting Trump on trade, the EU has so far set its position against the White House in relation to the US withdrawal from the so-called joint comprehensive plan of action, under which economic sanctions on Iran have been lifted in return for the regime curtailing its nuclear aspirations.
The EU has signalled its intention to protect European firms from sanctions, something the US ambassador Dennis Shea told the World Trade Organisation’s monthly dispute settlement meeting that Washington was “deeply disappointed” about. “We would encourage the European countries to consider carefully their broader economic, political, and security interests”, he is said to have warned.
The US will this week reimpose all sanctions on Iran that were lifted by the Obama administration after the 2015 nuclear agreement. The midterm elections, meanwhile, will be held on Tuesday, with Jeremy Shapiro, research director at the European council for foreign relations, predicting that a good set of results will ‘unleash” Trump from the wiser heads in the US administration, while a bad set could leave him “unhinged”.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest So what’s this about Brexit? For Donald Tusk, Britain’s problems are of minor concern. Photograph: Isopix/REX/Shutterstock
Rosa Balfour, a senior transatlantic fellow at The German Marshall Fund of the United States thinktank, said the fragility of the EU’s unity on foreign affairs, displayed by the contradictory responses to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, could be exposed. “Germany stopped its arms sales, while France didn’t,” she said. “And on Iran we really need to see whether the member states will stick with what they said they will do.
“For me the trade and Iran bit have always been quite combined. Two at the same time is not smart probably if you don’t want Trump to get angry.”
A founding father of the European union, Jean Monnet, prophesied in 1978 that “Europe will be forged in crises”; he foresaw that the bloc would end up being “the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises”.
At a summit next spring, in Sibiu, Transylvania, in central Romania, Juncker has called for his fellow leaders of the remaining 27 member states to renew “a commitment to an EU that delivers on the issues that really matter to people”.
Andrew Duff, a former MEP, author, president of the federalist Spinelli group, and veteran observer of many a European crisis, is sceptical of a great leap forward. But he believes the leaders, buffeted by world events, should, for all their near indifference at times to the Brexit process, have the UK, the world’s fifth-biggest economy, in their mind.
“You can blame the British, and everyone is going to do that, but the fact that the EU has appeared to have been so unsettled and fractious and at odds internally on a whole host of issues from immigration to Putin to Trump, it hasn’t been a glorious spectacle,” Duff said. “The Brits aren’t to be blamed for falling out of love with the EU in those circumstances.”
Duff added that the EU must consider the scenario “where the Brits change their mind”. “And if you can find something that works well, grows the member states’ economies, and provides internal and external security, which is what we all want, there is a chance the Brits will change their minds. Especially if the future isn’t as glorious as the Brexiters claim it can be.” Brexit might not be on the EU’s mind today, but building a Europe that the UK may want to rejoin possibly should be.
November, 5
Washington will next week reimpose all sanctions on Iran that were lifted by the Obama administration after the 2015 nuclear agreement with Tehran.
Donald Trump, since breaking that deal in May, has vowed to cut off Iranian oil revenue completely, and EU companies trading with oil exporters and tankers face punishment from the US administration.
November, 13
The European commission wants answers from Italy on the budget it has rejected as being a risk to Eurozone stability. Brussels warned this week that it could launch excessive deficit procedure against Rome’s populist government at any time over its insistence on high spending and borrowing.
December, 18/19
Leaders from across the EU will gather in Brussels for a summit where it will be hoped that the withdrawal agreement and political declaration on the future relationship can be signed off with the UK.
March, 29
The United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union.
May, 9
At a summit in Sibiu, Romania, the leaders of the remaining 27 EU member states will try to grapple with the genuine reform needed, in particular of the Eurozone, so that they can deal with future financial crises, perform as a military union and maintain unity between the east and west of the European union at a time of heightened tensions.
May, 23 - 26
Europeans go to the polls to elect members of the European parliament. The French president, Emmanuel Macron has framed the poll as a battle between progressive and pro-European forces against those of the nationalist, eurosceptic and anti-immigration extreme right. | {
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Using millis() Instead of delay() for Arduino Projects
So You Want To Learn How To Use millis() Instead Of delay(), Awesome!
When you first start our coding Arduino, you will no doubt be using a line of code like this:
delay(1000);
The delay function for Arduino programming is a remarkable piece of code, and there are places it needs to be used. However, more often than not, the delay function is being used where it shouldn't be. In this post, we are going to have an in-depth look at the use of delay, and show you how you can replace it with a different way to time Arduino events using the millis() function.
Firstly, Let's Understand Arduino Loops
Before we dive into why and why not use the delay() function. You need to understand how Arduino works, and in particular, what is a loop.
Below is some simple Arduino code from the 'Blink' tutorial. There are two main sections, setup and loop. The setup runs when the Arduino is turned on, and the loop continually loops itself. When all of the code within the loop has run, then it starts at the top of the loop section again.
// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board
void setup() {
// initialize digital pin LED_BUILTIN as an output.
pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
} // the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH); // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
delay(1000); // wait for a second
digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW); // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
delay(1000); // wait for a second
}
The code inside of the loop may be simple or complex, but it always loops. And these loops happen very quickly. Now that you understand how the Arduino code works, we can talk more about using millis() and not delay().
Why Use millis() Instead of delay()?
I guess the first question you probably have is 'Why?'. Why should I use millis() instead of delay()? That is a great question, and understanding it will give you a better idea of when you can use delay() and when it would be better to use millis().
The delay() function is known as 'Code Blocking'. What it does is pauses the code for a set amount of time. The time it pauses for is indicated within the brackets in milliseconds. EG: delay(1000) will pause the code for 1 second.
Using delay() to pause your code for 1 second is not horrible, and the function itself works well, but when you're in 'Pause' mode, no other code runs as you could imagine. The pause might not have any implications or problems when running a simple program like 'Blink', but you will run into a lot of issues with more complex projects.
The millis() function is nothing like delay(). It helps us time events without pausing the code. The Arduino Reference for millis() says it: Returns the number of milliseconds passed since the Arduino board began running the current program.
When you use millis() to time events instead of delay(), your code keeps on looping and allows it to do other tasks. Continuing to loop is very important if part of your project is 'listening' for events. EG: button presses, or wireless signals. If your code is paused, it can not be listening or calculating anything else.
When To Use millis() Instead of delay()?
I never use delay() for events. I think it is good practice to use millis() for event timing. Even if I am writing a small piece of code like the basic 'Blink' project, I will use millis() to time it, and not delay().
The reason I choose millis() is that I never know when I might want to add the small code into a more significant project, and if I used delay(), the larger project would not work.
However, I do use delay when I notice the Arduino is stuck performing tasks. For example, I recently created the Arduino Traffic Lights Without delay() project and it was not changing light colour status correctly. So, I used the delay() function after a changing colour function just to overcome this bug. Please note: I only delayed for 4 milliseconds, not for any noticeable period. 4 one-thousandths of a second will not generally have any major impact on a project.
How To Use millis() Instead of delay()?
After reading above, we have covered why and when you should use millis(), and now we get to the all-important how. How to use millis() to time your events instead of using delay() to pause your events.
Instead of pausing your program, what you need to do is write a small equation to check if the correct amount of time has passed, if the correct amount of time has passed, do the event, or else keep looping.
Let's rewrite the 'Blink' project, and convert it from using delay() to using millis(). After this code, we will break down what is going on.
int ledState = LOW;
unsigned long ledStarted = 0;
const long interval = 1000; void setup() {
pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
} void loop() {
unsigned long currentMillis = millis(); if (currentMillis - ledStarted >= interval) {
ledStarted = currentMillis; if (ledState == LOW) {
ledState = HIGH;
} else {
ledState = LOW;
} digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, ledState);
}
}
Variables
When using millis() we need to introduce a few variables, so let's take a look:
int ledState = LOW;
unsigned long ledStarted = 0;
const long interval = 1000;
First-line defines the state of the LED. We initially set this to 'Low' meaning the LED is not turned on.
Second-line defines the time in millis() that the LED started it's current 'State'. Because these variables are just setup when initialising, we can set it to 0.
Third-line defines the interval in which we want the LED to turn on and off. In the standard 'Blink' project, we used this number in the delay() function, but here we declare it as a variable.
Setup
The setup is the code that runs the first time the Arduino is turned on. Here is what we have inside the setup code:
pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
All we are doing is defining a pin as an output. In this case, we used the LED_BUILTIN as per the 'Blink' project.
The Loop
As we know, the loop is the part of the code that runs in a continuous loop, very quickly. Here is what we are doing inside the loop, and let's break it down:
unsigned long currentMillis = millis(); if (currentMillis - ledStarted >= interval) {
ledStarted = currentMillis;
if (ledState == LOW) {
ledState = HIGH;
} else {
ledState = LOW;
}
digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, ledState);
}
The first line: This is very important, we are getting the current millis() and storing it inside a variable called currentMillis.
At this point, we have three stored times saved as variables. We know what the current time is (currentMillis), we know when we last switched the LED either on or off (ledStarted) and we know how long we want the LED to stay in its current state (interval).
Using these three variables, we can create the equation to check if it is time to switch it either on or off. Here is the equation:
if (currentMillis - ledStarted >= interval) {
// leaving the content off this for now
}
This equation is an 'if' statement, and every time the loop runs, we check if the equation is true. If it 'is' true, then the code inside runs.
Here is the equation in a human-readable form: If the current time, minus when the LED last changed is greater than or equal to the interval we want than do this.
Let's use some figures in that equation. Let's say we just turned it on, and it has been running for just half a second, remembering that on startup we initiated the ledStarted to 0 millis. This is what the equation will see:
if(500 - 0 >= 1000)
The answer to this equation is false, so the code will not run. Half a second is NOT equal to, or greater than 1 second. The code will then continue to loop, at breakneck speed, and each time it loops, the equation gets tested. Now let's see what happens when the Arduino has been running for 1 second, and it gets to the equation.
if(1000 - 0 >= 1000)
Boom! Success! This statement now returns true. The current time is 1000, and this means that 1000 millis has passed since the LED state was switched. Now we run the code inside of this if statement:
ledStarted = currentMillis; if (ledState == LOW) {
ledState = HIGH;
} else {
ledState = LOW;
}
digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, ledState);
What is this code doing? This code is quite simple and primarily does three things. The first thing it does (first-line) is to save the current time into the variable 'ledStarted'. This is the time in which the LED started it's present on/off state.
The second thing the code does is change the 'ledState' variable to the opposite of what it was. It does this with a couple of if statements. If it was off, make it on, if it was on, make it off.
The third thing to do is to write the state (LOW or HIGH) to the LED using digitalWrite. We write to it using the 'ledState' variable from above:
digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, ledState);
The Loop On Repeat
At this point, we actually have it all working, and you probably understand what's going on, but I just wanted to show you the equation in action again, but this time show you what it looks like after the first loop, and after it has already changed the first time.
After the LED changes it's status the first time, there are new variables. Here is what the variables used to be, and what they are after the first time the LED changes:
ledState: was 'LOW' but is now 'HIGH'.
ledStarted: was '0', but is now '1000'. The last time we flicked it on or off.
currentMillis: was 0 when we started, and we override it every single loop of the main code. For our next example, let's assume the machine has been running for 1.6 seconds.
With these new variables, let's take a look at the equation again:
if (currentMillis - ledStarted >= interval)
Here it is with our variables in place:
if(1600 - 1000 >= 1000)
This equation returns false. The current time in milliseconds is 1600, and the last time we switched the LED was at 1000. So, there has not been 1000 millis since we last switched it.
From here, it keeps looping, and every time the equation is true, the code inside executes and changes the state of the LED. After a while, your equation will look like this:
if(25731 - 25000 >= 1000)
In the above equation, the Arduino has been running for 25.731 seconds, and the last time we switched the LED was at 25 seconds. The equation will return false until the current time in millis is 26000.
Things to Keep in Mind
After reading the above, you should now have an understanding of how to use millis() instead of delay(), and the reason for doing so. There are, though, a couple of things to keep in mind.
It is NOT Precise
When you run this code, and if you debug it and print out the exact millisecond that the LED switches, you will notice it is not 100% accurate. The LED will not switch exactly on 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, and so on. This is the reason we use >= (Greater than or equal to) in the equation. Sometimes it might take a thousandth of a second to trigger, and your ledStarted variable might save 1001 instead of 1000. You will not notice this in real-time, but something to keep in mind.
millis() Does Not Go On Forever
millis() returns the number of milliseconds the Arduino board has been powered up for. However, there is a limit. This number will overflow (go back to zero), after approximately 50 days.
This limit will not affect most projects, as they are turned on and off well inside the 50-day limit. However, you do need to keep this in mind. Here is an article that will help: Avoiding the millis() Overflow Issue.
We Hope This Helped
Hopefully, this article has helped you convert over from delay() to millis() and helps you to write even better code for projects that stand the test of time.
If you found this article useful, please share it with your friends, colleagues, family or students. It would mean a lot to us. If you have any questions, please comment below. We try to respond to all comments as soon as possible.
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Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., sent a letter on Monday to the ranking Republicans on the House Intelligence and Oversight Committees in which he detailed his account of White House meetings with Senate lawmakers about releasing foreign aid to Ukraine -- and cast doubt on one of the inquiry’s key witnesses just a day before the official’s planned testimony.
In his letter to Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Devin Nunes of California, Johnson– the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Europe subcommittee – said he viewed the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump as an “effort to sabotage the Trump administration."
Johnson wrote in his letter that Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a National Security Council official who is scheduled to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, is one of “a significant number of bureaucrats and staff members within the executive branch have never accepted President Trump as legitimate and resent his unorthodox style and his intrusion onto their turf.”
RICHARD NIXON'S SON-IN-LAW SAYS DEMS' IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY BEING DRIVEN BY 'AOC EFFECT'
“They react by leaking to the press and participating in the ongoing effort to sabotage his policies and, if possible, remove him from office,” Johnson said. “It is entirely possible that Vindman fits this profile.”
Johnson, who attended Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s inauguration on May 20, was responding to a request from Jordan and Nunes to hear the Wisconsin senator’s account of the meetings about aid to Ukraine.
Vindman and Jennifer Williams, his counterpart at Vice President Mike Pence’s office who is also slated to testify Tuesday, listened with concern as Trump spoke on July 25 with the newly elected Ukraine president. A government whistleblower’s complaint about that call led House Democrats to launch the impeachment inquiry.
Vindman and Williams said they were uneasy as Trump talked to Zelensky about investigations of potential 2020 political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
ZELDIN RIPS MEDIA TAKES ON IMPEACHMENT 'SCHIFF SHOW': DON'T KNOW WHAT HEARING THEY WATCHED
Vindman said he reported the call to NSC lawyers. Williams said she found it “unusual” and inserted the White House’s readout of it in Pence’s briefing book.
“I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen,” Vindman said in an earlier deposition. He claimed there was “no doubt” what Trump wanted.
The NSC official also lodged concerns about Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland. He relayed details from an explosive July 10 meeting at the White House, saying the ambassador pushed visiting Ukraine officials for the investigations Trump wanted.
“He was talking about the 2016 elections and an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma,” Vindman testified, referring to the gas company in Ukraine; Hunter Biden served on its board.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Johnson, who in his letter reiterated that he had “winced” when Sondland told him Trump likely would unfreeze nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine if the eastern European nation announced an investigation into the 2016 election, said Trump personally told him the reason for withholding aid was to deal with corruption in Ukraine.
“He reminded me how thoroughly corrupt Ukraine was and again conveyed his frustration that Europe doesn’t do its fair share of providing military aid,” Johnson wrote of his conversation with Trump. “He specifically cited the sort of conversation he would have with Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany. To paraphrase President Trump: ‘Ron, I talk to Angela and ask her, ‘Why don’t you fund these things,’ and she tells me, ‘Because we know you will.’ We’re schmucks. Ron. We’re schmucks.’”
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | {
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The sharp and sudden crack! broke the summer calm.
Alexis Handwerker had been sitting on a bench beneath a towering elm in Stuyvesant Square Park in Manhattan — now she was pinned to the ground, bleeding, disoriented and smothered by leaves. One arm was rammed back unnaturally, broken. Panicked parkgoers struggled to free her from a huge tree limb that had plummeted 30 feet.
“I don’t want to die,” she screamed. “I don’t want to die.”
Ms. Handwerker, a 29-year-old social worker, survived the July 2007 accident with grievous injuries, and sued. Her lawyers pieced together evidence that untrained parks workers had missed signs that the elm was rotting — even though the 80-foot tree, one of the biggest in New York City, had sent limbs crashing down before. The city settled in February, paying $4 million.
Ms. Handwerker’s suit is just one of at least 10 stemming from deaths or injuries caused by falling limbs and branches in New York City that were quietly resolved over the last 10 years, or are now winding their way through the courts. The city has paid millions of dollars in damage claims, with far more expected. It all comes at a time of steep cutbacks in the amount of money the city dedicates to tree care and safety.
Lawyers and investigators hired by the victims have gathered parks records, taken sworn testimony from city officials and parks workers, and hired tree-care experts to review city procedures. The collected evidence, taken together with public records and interviews with outside experts and parks officials, depicts an overstretched and haphazard system of tree inspections and care, one in which the crucial job of spotting dangers can be left to untrained workers, and repairs and pruning are delayed to save money. | {
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The 9,000m² building is the home of the university’s School of Biological Sciences and forms part of the King’s Buildings campus to the south of the city.
As well as the refurbishment of the main building, which will inlcude the removal of asbestos, the project will involve the demolition of the Darwin Library, and the construction of a new Bio-Hub building.
In 2009, RMJM drew up a masterplan for the ongoing development of the university.
For more information, contact Margaret Lochhead at the University of Edinburgh at [email protected] or look at the OJEU notice here. | {
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COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 16: Artemi Panarin #9 of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Josh Anderson #77 shake hands with Anthony Cirelli #71 of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Jan Rutta #44 after Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 16, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus defeated Tampa Bay 7-3 to win the series 4-0.
Following two decades of playoff defeat, the Colombus Blue Jackets elected to go all in at the 2019 trade deadline. Was it a success?
19 years. From the 2000 Expansion Draft until April 16th, 2019, the Columbus Blue Jackets had yet to experience the most simple of successes, a playoff series victory. 19 years, 0 playoff series victories.
But on that Tuesday night in April, the Blue Jackets finally did it, upsetting one of the best regular season teams in recent NHL history and completing the sweep against the Tampa Bay Lightning. But at what cost?
Blue Jacket’s General Manager Jarmo Kekäläinen was faced with the toughest challenge for an organizational leader, deciding between two radically divergent directions to take his franchise. He had aces high in pending unrestricted free agents Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky, and chose to go all in.
In a sporting climate that endorses folding, the Blue Jackets chose to put their chips on the table; they chose to be fun and to reward a fanbase forever deprived of remote playoff success.
In the era of the teardown, tanks, and #TheProcess, the Blue Jackets went against the grain. Though the team rewarded management’s vote of confidence by going where no Columbus Blue Jacket had gone before – the second round, grading the success of Kekäläinen’s moves isn’t simple.
The Deadline Moves
In: Matt Duchene, Julius Bergman, Ryan Dzingel, Keith Kinkaid, Adam McQuaid, 2019 seventh-round pick (Flames)
Out: Vitaly Abramov, Jonathan Davidsson, 2019 first-round pick, 2020 first-round pick (conditional), 2020 second-round pick, 2021 second-round pick, 2022 fifth-round pick
Following the Blue Jackets deadline maneuvers, the gamble was seen alternatingly as both a success and failure and sometimes both simultaneously.
On top of controversially deciding to retain ‘own rentals’ in Bobrovsky and Panarin, the Blue Jackets doubled down, bringing in Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel from the Senators, as well as defensemen Adam McQuaid and goaltender Keith Kinkaid.
Kekäläinen and Columbus management had decided to give their squad every opportunity to win, and what they did with that opportunity was then up to the players on the ice.
Deadline Additions
Duchene – 23 games, four goals, eight assists, 12 points, 17:57 ATOI
Dzingel – 21 games, four goals, eight assists, 12 points, 14:16 ATOI
McQuaid – 14 games, one goal, one assist, two points, 11:25 TOI
Kinkaid – zero games played
To argue the case for failure, one need look no further than the performances of the assets brought in by Kekäläinen. Duchene, Dzingel, and McQuaid all underperformed their career norms, failing to significantly enhance Columbus’ play down the stretch.
While the acquired skaters’ struggles during the regular season were defensible, as many trade deadline acquisitions take time to acclimatize, the Blue Jackets acquisition of Kinkaid only to play him a total of zero minutes is quite head-scratching.
Despite the Jackets’ additions failure to jell immediately, and failure to even touch the ice in the case of Kinkaid, the Blue Jackets made the playoffs. It was there where Matt Duchene showed up when it mattered, recording 10 points in 10 games.
Though the same can not be said for Dzingel and McQuaid, who combined for a mere one point in the postseason, without Duchene, Columbus may not have been able to pull off their historic upset.
Season Splits
Pre Deadline: 35-23-3 record, 191 goals for, 180 goals against
Post Deadline: 12-8-1 record, 57 goals, 50 goals against
To make a case for the success of Kekäläinen’s gamble, one must look past the numbers. The success of the Blue Jacket’s 2019 season lies in the exorcism of two decades of failure, the emotional release of a starved hockey fanbase, and the first ever happy handshake line.
Every Blue Jacket before has been forced to shake hands with their first-round vanquisher, but these 2019 Columbus Blue Jackets finally had a moment un-vanquished. The trades were made for that very moment. That handshake line.
Want your voice heard? Join the Puck Prose team! Write for us!
Regardless of the goals, assists, points, or wins contributed by the Blue Jackets deadline additions, the only number that truly matters is embodied by that victorious handshake line – 19 years, 1 playoff series victory. | {
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EXCLUSIVE
Sammy Sosa got his aristocrat on at a fancy shmancy art soiree in Miami Sunday night ... where TMZ has learned, he rubbed shoulders with other rich people looking for expensive pieces of art to fill their mansions.
It all went down at Univision star Raul de Molina's 12th annual Art Basel celebration -- where we're told Sosa rolled up in a white Rolls Royce -- and hung out with other celeb guests like NASCAR driver Pablo Montoya, artists Ruben Millares, Liu Bolin and Antonia Wright, and Disney star Sofia Carson.
The slugger just purchased a $7.6 million. 7,272 square foot home in Golden Beach -- which is one of the few places in Miami where you can own ocean front property ... and naturally he needs some equally impressive art to fill those walls. | {
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As a store of value, diamonds have their advantages over gold. They’re small, portable, and easy to grade. But, even though they pack in more value per ounce, diamonds are much harder to standardize into a form of exchange.
Now a company called Diamond Standard believes it has solved that problem by combining a hardware solution with a blockchain twist. How does it work? Gold is often traded in standardized “bars.” Diamond Standard is aiming to do the same with diamonds.
Diamond Standard sells sets of diamonds in coin-sized discs or credit-card-shaped bars, with each grouping worth exactly as much as other groupings assembled the same way. The Diamond Standard Coin and the Diamond Standard Bar are worth about $10,000 and $100,000 each, respectively.
“We created a diamond commodity by grouping sets of diamonds in a fair and transparent way,” said Diamond Standard CEO Cormac Kinney of his encased gems. “The sets are fungible, and the diamonds are independently certified.”
The new product, Kinney said, “only became possible with the blockchain, providing a permanent public record for each commodity’s diamond geological contents and provenance, and to enable remote auditing and transactions.”
On-chain diamonds
Investors use gold as a store of value and a hedge against other assets. Diamond Standard is betting that investors will find diamonds useful in a similar way once standardization and fungibility are introduced.
“Diamonds are a valuable natural resource, but unusable by institutional investors,” Kinney said.
By sealing them together, registering each one and tracking their provenance using a blockchain, the company says it has created a way trade diamonds at the speed of cryptocurrency. Owners can store their diamonds in secure vaults and audit them remotely. This allows users to trade the bars on the Diamond Standard exchange without needing to take the risk of carrying them.
That said, users can hold the Diamond Standard bars personally if they want but Kinney foresees that being a small part of the market. Additionally, he expects more than one diamonds-only exchange-traded fund (ETF) to launch with Diamond Standard bars as the underlying asset.
To enhance custody, the company will also make hardware that enables custodians to offer continuous auditability of their holdings over the internet.
Diamond Standard seems to have passed due diligence by a few investors. According to its founder, the year-old startup has more than $10 million in funding, with backing from a variety of investors, including Jamie Dinan, founder of York Capital Management, and Glen Kacher, founder of Light Street Capital.
As Bitcarbon tokens are purchased on Diamond Standard’s new exchange, the company purchases diamonds and creates the bars, using computer analysis to create groupings of precisely equal value. Thanks to an NFC chip implanted in each bar and a QR code, owners can track Bitcarbon trades and ownership with a smartphone.
Bitcarbon’s base protocol is EOS although Diamond Standard reports that its wallet has multichain functionality so transactions can run across multiple major protocols. At launch, the company will base Bitcarbon on ethereum as an ERC-20 token.
The new exchange applied to be regulated with the Bermuda Monetary Authority.
Zack Seward contributed reporting.
Diamonds image via Shutterstock | {
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My almost three-year-old decided our fish needed to be fed … So, with that in mind, he dumped two *entire* containers of food into their tank this morning! Oy! Hopefully, the little guppies will survive. Where was I when this was all happening? Well, I was still trying to clean up the mango smoothie that had been thrown all over our upstairs carpet. These kiddos are keeping me on my toes!
Submitted by: Laura Roe Stevens / Check out Laura’s blog: Navigating Vita: What’s a Single Mom to Do? / Follow on Twitter @LauraRoeStevens | {
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Ferguson, Missouri, has been racked by protests since an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson last week. Over the weekend, despite calls for peaceful demonstrations by Brown's parents, several protests became violent. Protesters were not only angry about the shooting, but were outraged by the heavy police response to the demonstrations. The militarized tactics taken by Ferguson police were widely criticized, and officials are still struggling to control the situation. On Sunday U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder ordered a federal medical examiner to perform an autopsy, in addition to one being conducted by state medical examiners, and earlier today, Missouri's governor said he was calling in the National Guard to help restore order. Gathered here are photos of the chaos in Ferguson over the weekend. | {
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Not even Kobe Bryant is immune from slime.
At the Kids' Choice Sports Awards on Thursday, the recently retired Lakers star received the Legend Award. And just as he finished his speech accepting the award, he got doused in slime -- gold slime.
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
The Black Mamba shrugged off the dousing amid chants and cheers in support of his career.
Even J.R. Smith, who was in attendance at the show with his daughters, chimed in.
@kobebryant I don't know if you'll ever truly get the love you deserve but I love an appreciate who you are as a person as well as a player! An for that I Thank You! Greatest Laker Ever!! A photo posted by JR Smith (@teamswish) on Jul 14, 2016 at 8:37pm PDT
The show will air Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on Nickelodeon. | {
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Hillary Clinton is back today with a new book, “What Happened,” to further explain why Donald Trump is president instead of her. But most voters still don’t buy her excuses and think it’s time for her to step off the national stage.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that just 30% of Likely U.S. Voters believe Clinton still has a future in public life. Sixty-one percent (61%) say it’s time for her to retire, up from 55% just after she lost the presidential election to Trump last November. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Half (49%) of voters believe Clinton’s continued presence on the national stage is bad for the Democratic Party. Only 21% say her presence is good for her party, while 23% say it has no impact.
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Forty-four percent (44%) say the weakness of her candidacy was the most likely reason for Clinton’s loss last November. Just 11% attribute the loss to the strength of her opponent. Forty percent (40%) still agree with Clinton that outside factors beyond her control were the most likely reason, but that’s down from a high of 44% in May.
Democrats remain more supportive than others of their unsuccessful 2016 presidential nominee.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on September 10-11, 2017 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Most voters still believe Clinton is likely to have broken the law in her handling of classified information as secretary of State and disagree with the FBI’s decision to keep secret its files on last year’s Clinton probe.
While most Republicans (59%) and the majority (53%) of voters not affiliated with either major party think Clinton lost because of the weakness of her candidacy, 65% of Democrats blame other factors instead.
Just over half (54%) of voters in her party still think Clinton has a future in public life, little changed from November. Only 38% of Democrats believe the former first lady and Obama-era secretary of State is good for their party, though; 28% say she’s bad for Democrats.
Men believe much more strongly than women than it’s time for Clinton to retire. But even a plurality (42%) of women voters agrees that Clinton’s continued presence on the national stage is bad for the Democratic Party.
Most voters of all ages agree it’s time for Clinton to retire, but older voters believe that more strongly than those under 40.
Sixty-two percent (62%) of blacks see outside factors as the most likely cause for Clinton’s defeat, but only 36% of whites and 41% of other minority voters agree. Even among voters who blame outside factors, just 37% say Clinton’s continued public presence is good for the Democratic Party.
Among those who last December said Clinton’s loss was due to outside factors, 40% named FBI Director James Comey’s announcement that the agency was reopening its investigation into Clinton’s handling of classified information while she was secretary of State as the biggest factor. Twenty-one percent (21%) said Russian interference in the U.S. election was the most likely reason for Clinton’s defeat, but nearly as many (19%) blamed so-called “fake news” sites on the internet. Only three percent (3%) said the WikiLeaks disclosures leading up to the election were the most likely reason Clinton lost, while 15% said it was something else not named in the survey.
Last October, 53% of all voters still disagreed with the FBI’s decision not to indict Clinton for her mishandling of classified information. Seventy percent (70%) said the classified information issue was important to their vote for president.
Right after the election, voters by a 48% to 35% margin said the results were more a vote against Clinton than a vote for Trump.
As recently as April, 61% of Democrats still did not believe that Trump fairly on the election. But 58% believe their party needs new leadership.
Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.
Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news. | {
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Opinion: On Valentine’s Day, Computing Editor Michael Passingham ponders the merits of Apple’s most unloved device, the Mac mini.
One of the benefits of working for a big company is that you get a say in the type of computer you wish to use. I use a Lenovo ThinkPad, while many of my colleagues use MacBook Airs – a decision that requires an opinion piece of its own to understand.
Some folk choose Mac minis. They’ll take their Mac mini out of their locker and carry it to their ‘hot desk’ for the day. At the end of each day, they’ll unplug it and return it to their locker.
I know, it’s mind-boggling – and in more ways than you might think.
Related: Mac mini
For one, it has been 854 days since Apple’s last Mac mini update, or more than two years. In and of itself, the Mac mini’s age isn’t a problem, as you should generally be able to get at least three years out of a decent computer, and often many more.
But what you won’t see on any Apple spec sheet is the fact that its ‘latest’ Mac minis use Intel’s 4th-generation ‘Haswell’ Core processors.
These actually launched in July 2014, making the technology at the heart of the device positively ancient, at least in computer chip time.
These processors are significantly less efficient and powerful than current-gen Intel CPUs, and even pale in comparison to the 5th-gen kit found in the seemingly abandoned MacBook Air.
Compared to the 6th- and 7th-gen kit found in the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro? Don’t get me started.
Related: Intel Core i processors explained
At £479, the Mac mini is the cheapest way to join the excellent macOS ecosystem; even the most expensive Mac mini model ‘only’ costs £949, which is less than you’ll pay for a new MacBook Pro.
Yet given its fossilised internals, you won’t be making the most of what macOS Sierra has to offer.
You don’t get the benefits of a great touchpad, brilliant screen or backlit keyboard. You don’t get processors powerful enough to do multimedia tasks particularly well, and the cheapest model also comes with just 4GB of RAM, plus you have to attach numerous cables to get the benefit of its desktop form factor.
One argument in favour of the device is that it features more ports than all the MacBooks. This is true: it does have a pair of ThunderBolt/DisplayPort connectors and an HDMI port, along with four USB ports and an SD card slot.
However, it can’t output to a 4K monitor at more than a juddery 30Hz, making its high-res capability useless for many people. It’s lumped with slow hard disks in all but the most expensive model, which receives a slightly faster “Fusion” drive with a bit of solid state cache. But there’s no high-performance storage anywhere to be seen.
What really irks me here is that the Mac mini has the potential to be a fantastic machine.
Nowadays, you can quite happily squeeze a proper quad-core Intel processor into a compact PC chassis, rather than the piddly U-series dual cores in the Mac mini.
Intel’s Skull Canyon range of PCs, the stylish HP Pavilion Wave and the impressive Zotac Zbox Magnus, are but three examples of what can be achieved in a compact space.
To dive a bit deeper, let’s use the Pavilion Wave as our example. It’s a complete PC that includes a built-in speaker, high-quality design, and components that are substantially faster than the Mac mini.
Yet it costs, at most, £730 for 128GB of SSD storage, a 1TB hard disk and a proper quad-core i5 processor from Intel’s sixth-gen range. Plus, it can output 4K at a full 60Hz.
All this value from HP, a company that’s aggressively pursuing Apple levels of flashy lifestyle kit. Against the odds, it’s actually succeeding. Windows 10 may lag behind macOS in terms of ease of use, but HP’s PC shows what’s possible in hardware terms.
If Apple simply refreshed the Mac mini this year with the latest 7th-gen Intel Core processors, I might see a reason to buy one again. But what the mini really needs is a complete overhaul – a new design and components that match what consumers expect in 2017.
Oh, and a nice marketing push from Apple to help me feel better about parting with my hard earned cash.
Maybe a 2017 Mac mini update is in the works and being kept remarkably well under wraps. Given that so many people prefer macOS and the Apple brand – and that the Mac mini is, in terms of computers, the easiest way to get on board with these things – it would make sense.
Yet given the complete lack of rumours surrounding a Mac mini refresh, I fear for the future of this compact machine.
It’s a shame because, ultimately, it means that Apple is content with giving you a half-arsed user experience, undermining its great software by continuing to flog slow and outdated hardware.
That’s why, this Valentine’s Day, I’ve fallen out of love with Apple.
Come autumn, I hope Apple helps me open my heart again.
WATCH: Laptop buying guide
Do you agree with Michael? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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EMIRATI SISTERS TO MAKE FORMULA 4 UAE DEBUT AT ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX
Young Emirati sisters Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi will headline the F4UAE Championship powered by Abarth when it debuts as a support act to this year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit (November 28-December 1).
The teenagers, aged 16 and 14 respectively, are currently training in Italy ahead of their first appearance in the local UAE open-wheeler championship, which now heads into its fourth season of competition as the only FIA-sanctioned open-wheeler championship in the MENA region.
The Al Qubaisi sisters – daughter of celebrated race-winning UAE driver Khaled Al Qubaisi – have extensive experience and successes in karting and open-wheelers, and will lead a field of junior racers when the championship makes its maiden appearance as a support to this year's Formula 1® grand finale of at the Abu Dhabi circuit. Their one-off appearance will be a major step forward in representing the UAE in front of a home crowd and the best teams in the world, before the championship officially begins in earnest for points come January 2020.
Amna is already in her second season of the Italian F4 Championship, where she finished a best-placed 15th in Race 3 at Imola last month. Her other accolades include becoming the first female to win both the UAE RMC Champion karting title in 2016 and the GCC Drivers Academy Competition in 2017, and was also the first Middle Eastern woman to take part in a motorsport test program for Formula E after the 2018 Ad Diriyah ePrix event in Saudi Arabia. While Hamda, who was the first Emirati to be invited to the FIA-sponsored CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy in 2016, made her F4 debut in Austria at the Red Bull Ring this past July.
Making the announcement at Yas Marina Circuit’s 2019/2020 calendar unveiling this week, Al Tareq Al Amiri, Yas Marina Circuit CEO, revealed F4UAE would debut on this year’s program with the sisters being the first drivers to announce their participation in the F4UAE non-championship Trophy Round.
“As a circuit we’re trying to support young local talents as much as we can,” said Al Tareq Al Ameri. “So we decided to host F4UAE, which is considered the first [stage] platform for professional racing for drivers after karting. We will be supporting Amna and Hamda and to be honest, we cannot wait to showcase them to the world. F4 is a global series but these are local rounds and these in turn are like feeder series to F1, so we are really excited and this is what we want to do to support local F1 aspirants.”
Launched in 2016, the FIA F4UAE Championship powered by Abarth was considered one of the most important additions to the UAE’s local motorsport calendar and has since welcomed a total of 51 drivers in three seasons, most of whom have gone on to successful results in Europe since.
"F1 is the category that the majority of our young open-wheeler racers aspire to reach and so to now give them a platform to race in front of their racing heroes is a very exciting way to start the new season of F4UAE,” said category technical director, Craig Thompson. "Announcing that Amna and Hamda will race F4UAE at the November event is great news for the region, and we know they will do everyone in the UAE proud when they get on track in front of the best teams in the world."
F4UAE is open to drivers aged 15 years and above and was created by the world’s governing body of motorsport, the FIA, to help young drivers bridge the gap between existing regional racing series and karting, to European competition and potentially Formula 1®.
2019/2020 F4UAE Championship Calendar:
NC - November 28-December 1, 2019 at Yas Marina Circuit
Round 1 – January 8-10, 2020 at Dubai Autodrome
Round 2 – January 17-18, 2020 at Yas Marina Circuit
Round 3 – February 14-15, 2020 at Yas Marina Circuit
Round 4 – February 21-22, 2020 at Dubai Autodrome
Round 5 – March 6-7, 2020 at Dubai Autodrome
AMNA AL QUBAISI RACING ACHIEVEMENTS
· UAE RMC Champion 2016 (First Female)
· GCC Drivers Academy Competition Winner 2017 (First Female)
· 2x Teen Fitness Awards Winner 2016 & 2017
· First Female Arab to test Formula E in Adiryah, Riyadh 2018
· 2 Seasons in the Italian F4 Championship 2018 & 2019
· IAME X30 Championship 2017 P3
HAMDA AL QUBAISI RACING ACHIEVEMENTS | {
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Joona ”natu” Leppäselle, 30, tietokonepeli Counter-Strike oli vuosituhannen vaihteessa pelastus vanhempien kuoleman jälkeen. ENCE eSportsin manageri teki elektronisesta urheilusta itselleen ammatin vasta 15 vuotta kestäneen peliuransa jälkeen.
16-vuotias Joona ehtii viime hetkellä napata äitinsä kiinni, kun tämä kaatuu pää edellä kohti patteria. Sytostaattihoitojen takia äidin keuhkoihin on kertynyt nestettä, eikä hengitys onnistu makuuasennossa.
Poika on nukkunut äitinsä vierellä koiranunta lähes vuoden. Siitä asti, kun äidin syöpä uusiutui. Se tapahtui vain pari kuukautta sen jälkeen, kun isä kuoli työmatkalla Kööpenhaminassa.
Yläasteikäiselle Joonalle ei kerrottu äidin sairauden vakavuutta, mutta kyllä hän tiesi. Ensimmäisenä äidiltä lähti ääni.
- En tiedä, onko hänellä vielä tänä päivänäkin WSOY:n kirjamyynnin puhelinennätys. Hän oli helvetin kova tekijä.
Elokuussa 2001 äiti on vain luuranko siitä ihmisestä, jota on joskus ollut. Lähipiirin ja Joonan itsensäkin mielestä on parempi saada ajatukset muualle. Hän käy Lahdessa tapaamassa äitiään perjantaina ja lähtee Helsinkiin Suomen suurimmille tietokonefestivaaleille, Assemblyille.
Helsingin areenassa on tuhansia samanhenkisiä ihmisiä tietokoneidensa kanssa. Pimeässä tilassa valaistusta tuovat vain hyrisevät näytöt ja ajoittaiset valoshow’t. Joona unohtaa hetkeksi sairaalasängyssä viruvan äitinsä, mutta kurjuus palaa reissun jälkeen nopeasti mieleen.
Veli tulee herättämään sunnuntaina päiväunilta ja pyytää lähtemään mukaansa sairaalaan.
- Olin nukutetun äidin vieressä vähän aikaa. Se ei ollut miellyttävä näky ja halusin kotiin.
Muutamaa tuntia myöhemmin veli tulee kotiin ja toteaa äidin kuolleen.
- Pelaamisesta tuli yksi syy, miksi olen pysynyt edes järjissäni, Joona muistelee 15 vuotta tapahtumien jälkeen.
Vichy-pullosta nimimerkkinsä saanut
Lahden juna-aseman parkkipaikalle kurvaa tumma farmariauto, jonka takapenkki täyttyy lastenistuimista. Etupenkkiä on kuulemma turha yrittää saada taaksepäin. Ratin takana istuu suomalaisen pelimaailman ikoni Joona ”natu” Leppänen, 30.
Hän on nähnyt elektronisessa urheilussa lähes kaiken.
Elektroninen urheilu (esports) - Elektronisella urheilulla tarkoitetaan videopelien kilpailullista pelaamista. - Counter-Strike on yksi suosituimmista peleistä. Räiskintäpelissä pelataan joukkueina viidellä viittä vastaan. - Suomen elektronisen urheilun liitto SEUL ry perustettiin vuonna 2010.
Leppänen pelasi 15 vuoden aikana tiensä sekä suomalaisen että kansainvälisen yleisön sydämiin Counter-Strike-tietokonepelissä, joka on yksi pelimaailman suosituimmista lajeista.
Hän on oman lajinsa Teemu Selänne, joka saa vastailla yhä kysymyksiin paluuaikeistaan. Joona ei kuitenkaan aio enää palata pelaajaksi.
Nyt, 2016 hän on tehnyt pelialasta itselleen ammatin. Hän on managerina ja osakkaana ENCE eSportsissa, joka on perustanut ensimmäisen Counter-Striken ammattilaisjoukkueen Suomeen.
ENCE haluaa maailman kymmenen parhaan joukkoon, kiinni suuriin pokaaleihin ja palkintorahoihin. Maailmanvalloitus alkaa helmikuun alussa Helsingin Messukeskuksessa järjestettävästä Assembly Winteristä.
Muistan Joonan mystisen nimimerkin ensimmäisen kerran 2000-luvun alkupuolelta. Jos silloin joku olisi sanonut minun tekevän hänestä laajan henkilökuvan, olisin varmasti naurahtanut, hörpännyt kokista ja jatkanut pelaamista.
Viisi vuotta minua vanhemmalla Joonalla lasissa oli noihin aikoihin usein vichyä, mistä myös hänen kuuluisa nimimerkkinsä syntyi. Kuplavesipullon kyljessä luki "natural”, joka lyheni sopivasti natuksi.
Tomi Hänninen
Patoniityn lähiössä olevan oranssitiilisen talon yksi suurimmista kriteereistä on ollut tarpeeksi nopea nettiyhteys. Sisälle mennessä jokaisella askeleella saa väistellä lastenleluja. Leppäsellä ja hänen vaimollaan on kolme lasta, vanhin on 8-vuotias ja nuorin muutaman kuukauden ikäinen.
Leppäsen lapsuudenkoti sijaitsee kymmenisen kilometriä pohjoiseen. Vesijärven rannalla olevaa Jalkarannan kaupunginosaa kutsutaan Lahdessa pilkalliseen sävyyn Kultarannaksi. Joona on perheensä kuopus, isoveljet ovat 8 ja 12 vuotta vanhempia. Isä omisti 90-luvulla huonekalufirman Kurikassa ja äiti möi kirjoja.
Joona pelasi nuoruudessaan jalkapalloa ja salibandya, kokeili myös mäkihyppyä. Isoveljien vanavedessä tulivat Joonan ensikosketukset pelaamiseen. Commodore 64 oli kova sana viisivuotiaalle 90-luvun alussa. Ennen vuosituhannen vaihdetta Leppästen perhe oli edelläkävijä internetin saralla, kun isän ammatin vuoksi kotona oli faksilinja ja sen myötä nopea ISDN-yhteys.
Vuonna 1996 ilmestynyttä Quakeworldia pidetään historian ensimmäisenä internetin moninpelinä, ja siitä myös Joonan pelaaminen sai vakavamman kipinän.
- Olin ihan junnu, eikä ollut edes äänenmurrosta vielä, joten tuli paljon vittuilua. En koskaan välittänyt paskaakaan muiden mielipiteistä. Olin oman tieni kulkija.
Älä nyt jauha paskaa, tuosta ei tule yhtään mitään, kaikki sanoivat.
Vanhempien kuolema suisti sumuisille poluille
Joonan vanhemmasta veljestä ja tämän silloisesta tyttöystävästä, nykyisestä vaimosta, tuli hänen huoltajiaan vanhempien kuoltua. Joona oli 16, veli 28 vuotta.
Kolmikko asui Leppästen kotitalossa siihen asti, kunnes Joona oli täysi-ikäinen. Urheiluharrastukset ja lapsuuden kaveripiirit etääntyivät, koska Joona ei jaksanut kuunnella ystäviensä voivottelua hänen kohtalostaan.
Counter-Striken pelaaminen toi merkitystä Joonan elämään ja täytti tyhjiön. Räiskintäpelissä taisteleminen ja tietokoneella päivät pitkät notkuminen ei ollut kuitenkaan veljien mieleen. Etenkään, kun 16-vuotias nuorukainen ei saanut minkäänlaista otetta talousasioihin tai kodinhoitoon.
- Älä nyt jauha paskaa, tuosta ei tule yhtään mitään, kaikki sanoivat. Vaikka ilman sitä kaikki olisi voinut olla vielä huonommin.
Veljet näkivät pelaamisessa syyn, miksi kuopuksella meni huonosti. Joona ymmärtää huoltajana toimineen isoveljensä tuolloisen tuskan.
- Pitää jälkikäteen nostaa hattua, että veli on pysynyt järjissään.
Ainakin huoltaja tiesi missä huollettava oli, kun pikkuveli pelasi huoneessaan eikä riekkunut puistonkulmassa kaljakassien kanssa.
Leppänen tosin lähti ensimmäisen kerran ulkomaille pelaamaan jo 16-vuotiaana.
Jussi Jääskeläinen / Sett.fi
Pelimaailman olympialaisista mitali kaulassa kotiin
Viisi pelaajaa istuu vasemmalla rivissä tietokoneiden kanssa, viisi oikealla. Jokainen näkee räiskintäpelin maailman oman hahmon silmin. Viisi poliisia ja viisi terroristia, puolessa välissä vaihdetaan puolia. Terroristit yrittävät asettaa pommin tai eliminoida aseillaan kaikki poliisit. Virkavalta pyrkii päinvastaiseen.
Yksi pelikierros kestää enintään kaksi ja puoli minuuttia, ja sitten uusiksi. Erävoiton tienaa 16 kierroksella ja ottelun voiton pelimuodosta riippuen yhdellä, kahdella tai neljällä erällä.
Toinen puolustaa ja toinen hyökkää. Monimutkaisen näköistä, mutta lopulta niin yksinkertaista.
Nykypäivänä erilaisin kirjainyhdistelmin nimettyjä turnauksia on tarjolla ympäri maailman. Vielä Leppäsen uran alkuaikoihin kaikki oli toisin.
Joonan ensimmäinen turnaus ulkomailla oli Koreassa vuonna 2001 järjestetty World Cyber Games. Pelimaailman olympialaisiksi ristitty turnaus järjestettiin tuolloin ensimmäisen kerran ja se jatkui vuoteen 2013 asti.
Jokaisessa lajissa oli vain yksi joukkue per maa, kuten olympialaisissakin. Leppänen siis edusti ensimmäisellä turnausmatkallaan Suomea. Tuolloin harva oli Euroopassa edes kuullut termistä elektroninen urheilu, esports.
Koreasta nousseen ilmiön pelaajat olivat kuitenkin Soulissa supertähtiä jo vuonna 2001.
- Tytöt juoksivat kirkuen Starcraft-pelaaja ”SlayerSBoxerin” (Lim Yo Hwan) perässä. Olin vähän, että mitä täällä tapahtuu.
Joona ja neljä muuta suomalaista sijoittuivat turnaukseksi pronssille ja tienasivat yhteensä 10 000 dollaria. Kolmella olympiarenkaalla koristeltu mitali on yhä tallessa ja sen hipelöinti tuo hymyn Leppäsen kasvoille. Nykyään suurimman huomion takkahuoneessa saavat tosin esikoislapsen pokaalit.
Uran ensimmäisen turnauksen järjestelyt olivat maailmanluokkaa, ja vastaavaa kokemusta joutui odottamaan pitkään.
Joona Leppäsen arkisto
”natu” pelasi 15 vuoden urallaan kymmenissä eri viiden pelaajan joukkueissa. Elektronisessa urheilussa joukkueiden elinkaari on usein lyhyt, kun pelaajat menevät milloin mihinkin suuntaan pelaamisessa tai elämässä.
Pelimaailman olympialaisissa käynyt porukka hajosi, eikä kunnianhimoinen Leppänen löytänyt heti paikkaansa useasta yrityksestä huolimatta. 2003 hän perusti lahtelaiskavereidensa kanssa porukan, joka lähti turnauksiin pitämään hauskaa. Aina se ei sitä ollut.
Leppänen muistelee kauhulla kesän 2003 Assemblyn turnausjärjestelyjä. Suomen lippulaivatapahtumassa istuttiin tuolloin vielä armeijasta tutuilla pitkospuupenkeillä ja pelattiin puupöydiltä. Näytötkin olivat jostain edellisen vuosituhannen puolelta.
- Tasoerot tasoittuivat aika paljon. Hävisimme siellä jengeille, joille ei olisi pitänyt ikinä hävitä.
Nykypäivän turnauksissa vastaavaa ei enää näy.
Erikoinen joukkueen nimi naurattaa vieläkin
Leppäsen toimistohuone on talon toisessa kulmassa. Kiinteistönvälittäjä käytti aikoinaan myyntivalttina huoneen aiempaa asukasta. Suomalaismusiikin supertähti Cheek harjoitteli riimejään samassa huoneessa 90-luvulla.
Pakkohan minun on kokeilla vetää leukoja samalla tangolla kuin nuori Jare Henrik Tiihonen.
Aah.
Tomi Hänninen
Lahti-porukan hauskanvieton jälkeen Leppänen otti jälleen askeleen ylöspäin uuteen joukkueeseen. Suomeen rakennettiin ensimmäistä kertaa superjoukkuetta, joka yrittäisi menestyä myös ulkomailla.
- Tämä oli kaikkien hyvien nimien äiti: Liquid Ice. Nestemäistä jäätä, joka voidaan tuntea myös termillä vesi, jos ihan tarkkoja ollaan. Mutta emmehän me ole.
Liquid Icen ei tarvinnut erikoisesta nimestään kauaa nauttia, sillä joukkueen voittokulku poiki nopeasti uusia mahdollisuuksia. Suomen kärkiorganisaatio Destination Skyline kaappasi koko tiimin itselleen ja alkoi yksi Leppäsen uran suurimmista menestystarinoista.
- Olimme ensimmäinen suomalaisjoukkue, joka pärjäsi maailmalla.
Reilun vuoden aikana Destination Skyline voitti lukuisia turnauksia ympäri Eurooppaa. Suomen valtion kutsu hajotti kuitenkin menestysporukan, kun osa lähti armeijaan. Leppänen oli pelannut yläasteikäisestä asti ja mietti jo 19-vuotiaana lopettavansa uransa.
Joukkuekaveri Markus ”Tico” Kivipuro kuitenkin ehti ilmoittaa lopettamisestaan ensin.
- Enhän minä sitten voinut lopettaa, kun jonkun tätä piti viedä eteenpäin. Ehkä Markusta pitää siitä kiittää.
20-vuotiaana Leppänen teki ensimmäisen ammattilaissopimuksensa brittiläisen Four Kingsin kanssa. Kuukausipalkka ei ollut kummoinen, mutta nelinumeroinen summa euroja oli työttömälle iso raha.
Leppäsen voisi sanoa olleen ammattilainen liian aikaisin. Nyt maailman kärkipelaajien kuukausipalkat lähestyvät viisinumeroisia summia. Bonusten, oheismyyntien ja turnausvoittojen jälkeen vuosiansiot voivat nousta 300 000 euroon.
Suomessa tähän palkkatasoon on toki matkaa.
- Pokaalit ja urheilullinen lopputulos ovat isompi asia kuin eurot.
Tomi Hänninen
Välillä Leppänen hoitaa sutjakasti edustamansa ENCE eSportsin asioita tietokoneella tai puhelimella. Viestit viuhuvat kolmessa eri ohjelmassa, päällimmäisenä mielessä on pelaajan radiohaastattelu.
90-luvulla talon kulmahuoneesta lyötiin alkutahteja suomalaisen musiikkimaailman mullistukselle. Vuonna 2016 Leppänen kirjoittaa pelimaailmaa uusiksi.
Brittiryhmässä vietetyt pari vuotta olivat Leppäsen pelillisesti parasta aikaa uralla. Sitä seurannut toinen, ja viimeinen, ammattilaissopimus vei hänet kuitenkin sinne, minne jokainen kilpailija haluaa: lajinsa absoluuttiselle huipulle.
Leppänen liittyi jo aiemmin suomalaisista muodostettuun 69N28E:hen, joka voitti vuonna 2007 useita turnauksia. Uran suurin voitto tuli Berliinissä järjestetyssä NGL Onessa.
Saksassa otetun turnausvoiton jälkeen joukkue rankattiin sen hetken parhaaksi maailmassa.
Huipun saavuttamisen jälkeen Leppäselle kävi kuitenkin kuin myöhemmin keväällä Stanley Cupin jääkiekossa voittaneelle Selänteelle. Mielen valtasi tyhjyys.
- Elämässäni ei ollut seitsemään vuoteen ollut tolkkua. Silloin oli iso juttu päästä töihin. Sain elämästä kiinni ja arki alkoi olla rajoissa.
Yhtäkkiä perheen 8-vuotias esikoinen kurkistaa ovelta.
”Milloin tää loppuu?” hän kysyy suu mutrussa.
Vakavasti otettava harrastus vai kaksi työtä?
Leppänen haki 22-vuotiaana ensimmäisen kerran töihin. Hän kertoi DNA:n työhaastattelussa avoimesti pelanneensa tietokonepelejä ”ammatikseen”. Hän käänsi monelle kirosanalta kuulostavan tietokonepelaamisen edukseen työelämässä.
- Minulla on paineensietokykyä, enkä mene ihan pienistä julkisissa esiintymisissä lukkoon. CS- ja työyhteisöissä on paljon samaa.
Leppänen oli DNA:lla ja lahtelaisessa IT-yrityksessä töissä vuoden 2014 alkuun asti. Peleistä ”CS:n Selänne” ei malttanut pysyä poissa kuin puolisentoista vuotta, mutta suhtautuminen oli muuttunut.
- Se oli silloin enää vakava harrastus. Ei tarvinnut ottaa stressiä pärjäämisestä, kun sillä ei ollut taloudellista merkitystä.
Oikeasti Leppänen teki kahta työtä. Ensimmäinen oli kymmenestä kuuteen toimistolla, toinen kotikoneella puoleenyöhön asti. Ja sekin oli kilpapelaamisen kannalta aivan liian vähän, koska ammattilaisaikoinaan Leppänen pelasi usein yli kymmenen tuntia päivässä.
- Terveisiä parisuhteelle siinä vaan, kun töiden jälkeen syöt ja heität ylävitoset ennen pelaamista. Jonkin aikaa sitä teki, mutta tunnit loppuvat vuorokaudessa. Lapsia kun tuli lisää, siitä tuli mahdoton yhtälö.
Puoliso on ollut lätkävaimo ilman miljoonia pankkitilillä.
Leppäsen lopettamispäätös tuli toukokuussa 2015, vaikka hän näki alan kovaa vauhtia etenevän murroksen.
Olisi todennäköisesti ollut vain ajan kysymys, että hänkin olisi päässyt kiinni kunnon palkkatuloihin. Sillä olettamuksella ei kuitenkaan maksettu yhtään viisihenkisen perheen laskua. Lopettamispäätös tuli kuitenkin täysin häneltä itseltään.
- Puoliso on ollut lätkävaimo ilman miljoonia pankkitilillä. Hän kuitenkin ymmärsi, että kyse on intohimostani.
Leppänen ei suinkaan hypännyt pois pelimaailmasta lopettamisensa jälkeen.
Hän vain sukelsi syvemmälle, kun kehittynyt ala tarjosi ensimmäistä kertaa myös oikean ammatin kolmilapsisen perheen isälle.
Joona ”natu” Leppäsestä tuli ensin elektronisen urheilun valmentaja ja asiantuntijakommentaattori. Myöhemmin hän aloitti managerina ENCEssä.
Leppäsen uran alkuaikoina tällaiset pestit olivat harvassa, mutta nyt Vierumäen urheiluopistossakin koulutetaan ensimmäistä kertaa elektronisen urheilun valmentajaa.
- Työni selittäminen on nyt helpompaa.
Tomi Hänninen
Vieläkin toistakymmentä tuntia viikossa pelaamista
Eikä Leppänen pelaamistakaan hylännyt. Hän pelaa eläköityneenä konkarinakin vielä toistakymmentä tuntia viikossa. Suurin syy tähän on suoratoistopalvelu Twitch, jossa pelaaja voi lähettää suorana videota omasta pelaamisestaan.
Leppäselle ”striimaaminen” on tapa rentoutua ja luoda omaa brändiään pelialalla.
Palvelulla oli viime vuonna yli 1,5 miljoonaa lähetysten tekijää (siirryt toiseen palveluun), ja sivustolla vieraili kuukausittain yli 100 miljoonaa kävijää. Verkkokaupastaan tunnettu Amazon osti yrityksen vuonna 2014 730 miljoonalla eurolla.
Twitch on malliesimerkki nykyajan hengailukulttuurista. Yksi tekee lähetystä, toinen katsoo ja kommentoi. Fanit pääsevät hyvin lähelle ihailemiaan ammattipelaajia, jotka puolestaan saavat luonnollisen väylän jutella seuraajilleen. Kansainväliset turnaukset lähetetään myös Twitchin kautta ja palvelusta voi katsoa uusintoja vanhoista peleistä.
Striimauspalvelut ovat yksi merkittävästi kasvavista rahavirroista pelaamisen maailmassa. “Twitchaajalle” rahaa voi tulla katsojien tilauksina ja lahjoituksina, mainos- ja sponsorituloina sekä oheistuotteiden myynnistä.
Jos häviää, niin tulee tappouhkauksista lähtien viestejä Twitteriin.
- Pelaajat ovat äärimmäisen suuria brändivaikuttajia. Jos tykkää jostain tuotteesta, sillä on tosi iso vaikutus katsojien ostopäätökseen.
Raha tuo myös lieveilmiöitä.
Vedonlyönti on tullut mukaan viime vuosina ja aiheuttanut ottelumanipulaatioita (siirryt toiseen palveluun), jotka ovat johtaneet elinikäisiin pelikieltoihin. Myös alaikäisten vedonlyönti on kasvava ongelma, koska valvonta on heikkoa. Pelin sisäisillä tavaroilla käytävää uhkapeliä verrataan Villiin Länteen.
Ihmisten kiinnostus on aivan eri tasolla kuin Leppäsen ensimmäisen turnausreissun aikaan vuonna 2001.
- Tulimme mitalit kaulassa Koreasta takaisin ja näytin pari kuvaa, että tällaista oli. Nyt jos häviää, niin tulee tappouhkauksista lähtien viestejä Twitteriin.
Ja kun tietokoneella pelattavista peleistä puhutaan, on aina uhka myös huijauksesta. Leppänen tiedostaa ongelmat, mutta sanoo yhteisön tehneen ja tekevän töitä niiden kitkemiseksi.
- Jos olet lahjakas, miksi heittäisit urasi kaivoon yhden pikavoiton takia? Tietenkin sama juttu kuin dopingin kanssa, aina on riskinottajia. Pitäisin kuitenkin näitä aika puhtaina perinteisiin urheilulajeihin nähden.
Iänikuinen kysymys urheilu-statuksesta
Niin, ne perinteiset urheilulajit.
Kirosanat lentelevät toisen toimittajan haastateltua Leppästä puhelimitse kesken kaiken. Peliguru ei pidä asenteellisista kysymyksistä hänen lajinsa urheilu-statukseen liittyen. Häntä ärsyttää, että lajista kysytään aina vain yhtä asiaa: onko se urheilua?
Hermosauhujen jälkeen hän selventää.
- Pelaajan näkökulmasta tämä on kilpailua, jossa on urheilusta monia asioita. Fyysisesti pitää olla kunnossa, että pystyy suorittamaan 110-prosenttisesti 2-3 tuntia putkeen. Mentaalipuolella on myös samoja juttuja. Tiedän kansainvälisiä tähtiä, jotka ovat käyttäneet urheilupsykologin palveluksia.
Pieni herpaantuminen voi olla ero sadan tonnin ja nollan dollarin välillä.
- Minulle urheilu-statuksella ei ole mitään merkitystä. Katsojan näkökulmasta tämä on viihdettä, jossa on samoja elementtejä kuin minkä tahansa urheilulajin seuraamisessa.
Aamen.
En tiedä, mihin tieni olisi vanhempien kuoleman jälkeen vienyt, jos ei olisi ollut peliä nimeltä Counter-Strike.
Urheiluksi myöntämistä enemmän moni maalailee kauhukuvia pelaamisen kansanterveydellisistä vaikutuksista ja sosiaalisuuden puutteesta. ”Kukkahattutädeillekin” Leppäsellä on vastaukset valmiina. Terve järki pitää olla mukana kaikessa tekemisessä.
- Päivärytmi kannattaa pitää kasassa ja tehdä jotain muuta ennen pelaamista. Käydä lenkillä, salilla tai hoitamassa asioita.
- Eikä tässä lajissa pääse mihinkään, jos ei ole sosiaalisia avuja. Tässähän ollaan koko ajan yhteydessä maailman joka kulmaan.
On vaikea olla eri mieltä Joona ”natu” Leppäsen kanssa, kun on päivän aikana kuullut hänen hurjan tarinansa. Hänelle pelaaminen tarjosi pelastusrenkaan vaikeiden asioiden käsittelyyn.
- En tiedä, mihin tieni olisi vanhempien kuoleman jälkeen vienyt, jos ei olisi ollut peliä nimeltä Counter-Strike. On tässä nöyrtynyt ja kuunnellut paskaa ihmisiltä, mutta samalla uskonut omaan tekemiseen. Koen olevani etuoikeutetussa asemassa, kun tein harrastuksestani ammatin. Sehän on kaikkien unelma.
Vihdoin esikoinen pääsee valtaamaan toimistohuoneen. Hän yrittää heti käynnistää pelikonsolin.
Miten isä suhtautuu, jos poika alkaa ammattipelaajaksi?
- Niin pitkälle en ole vielä miettinyt, Leppänen hymähtää lähtiessään auttamaan poikaansa.
Ei mene montaakaan minuuttia, kun pelikonsoli toimii ja poika pääsee kuluttamaan maanantain peliaikansa lempipelinsä parissa.
Assembly Winter 2016 -verkkopelitapahtuman Counter-Strike-turnaus nähdään suorana TV2:ssa ja Yle Areenassa 5.-6. helmikuuta. 15 000 euron turnauksessa kilpailee kahdeksan joukkuetta. Suomalaisista mukana ovat ENCE ja RCTIC. | {
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READER COMMENTS ON
"Media Watchdog FAIR Finds NYT Was 'Duped' in 'Wildly Misleading' Coverage of ACORN 'Pimp' Hoax"
(24 Responses so far...)
COMMENT #1 [Permalink]
... Ernest A. Canning said on 3/11/2010 @ 1:31 pm PT...
COMMENT #2 [Permalink]
... Macswain said on 3/11/2010 @ 2:34 pm PT...
Clark Hoyt walked into a deli and engaged in intercourse.
COMMENT #3 [Permalink]
... Macswain said on 3/11/2010 @ 2:37 pm PT...
No correction or apology to Hoyt will be forthcoming as I, using Hoyt's logic, did not claim the two events happened at the same time. That type of extreme and faulty logic betrays a bias against accurately reporting the ACORN story and Hoyt has certainly sacrificed his credibility on, at least, this issue if not completely in his role as ombudsman.
COMMENT #4 [Permalink]
... Chris Hooten said on 3/11/2010 @ 3:01 pm PT...
What's wrong with talking in a deli? Bad example.
COMMENT #5 [Permalink]
... Alex said on 3/11/2010 @ 3:13 pm PT...
Yesterday, as I was driving home I turned on NPR and they were explaining about the case where a judge upheld the decision that made the Congressional action of singling out ACORN for defunding was unconstitutional. In the description of the situation leading up to the judges decision they referred to O'Keefe, Giles and Breitbart and the media storm that ensued from their "interview" with ACORN employees. Nowhere in the short report did they mention the fact that these videos were highly edited, nor the recent decision by the DAs found that the video was highly edited and there was no case against ACORN or any employees. They did find time to mention that the justice department could still appeal this decision.
Way to go NPR, there goes another media outlet that is not doing its job.
COMMENT #6 [Permalink]
... Ska-T said on 3/11/2010 @ 5:29 pm PT...
The NYT should not apologize. They should pay ACORN an equivalent amount of money that ACORN was denied due to the NYT fostering the illegal Congressional act of attainder.
COMMENT #7 [Permalink]
... Shortbus said on 3/11/2010 @ 9:58 pm PT...
Clark Hoyt engaged in intercourse and walked into a deli.
COMMENT #8 [Permalink]
... CharlieL said on 3/11/2010 @ 10:38 pm PT...
Clark Hoyt took off all his clothes and walked into the New York Times offices yesterday. I'm really suprised he wasn't fired. (Assuming, of course, that he showers daily and does it without clothes).
COMMENT #9 [Permalink]
... Mitch said on 3/12/2010 @ 7:30 am PT...
Congratulations on the progress you've made on this issue, Brad. It looks like David will eventually bring Goliath to his knees. Looking in from outside, I try to imagine how you feel about this ludicrous drama, which seems to have started with your willingness to follow up on a reader's perfectly reasonable email. I wonder if the Times' recalcitrance came as a surprise to you, or if you'd already known how pathetic the Times' internal correctives were.
COMMENT #10 [Permalink]
... Bob Ross said on 3/12/2010 @ 7:38 am PT...
Well well it only took me about 4 postings over at Patrick's site to be put into moderation for supposed slander. All because I said I thought someone in his role would act more professionally in their personal life. It was in regards to him being put into moderation here for his personal attacks. When he tried to play it off as him being put into moderation for stating what he said was the truth. I wasn't even debating him on the issues either.
COMMENT #11 [Permalink]
... Bob Ross said on 3/12/2010 @ 7:57 am PT...
Haha already with the ban threats by Patrick
COMMENT #12 [Permalink]
... czaragorn said on 3/12/2010 @ 8:46 am PT...
I object to the claim that the NYT was "duped." One cannot be duped when one willingly joins in a conspiracy to slander a fine organization such as ACORN. There is no other explanation. The NYT has a specific agenda, which is all-out war on what little democracy we once enjoyed in the U$A. The NYT is a big business, and we all know what that means when it comes to truth, justice, and the 'murkan way. What a pathetic excuse for a society, when everything, and I mean everything, is valued strictly according to dollar worth. Meanwhile, if you need a good cry, check out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=vOhf3OvRXKg
COMMENT #13 [Permalink]
... Brad Friedman said on 3/12/2010 @ 9:07 am PT...
Mitch @ 9 asked: I wonder if the Times' recalcitrance came as a surprise to you, or if you'd already known how pathetic the Times' internal correctives were. In truth --- perhaps because I have the not-necessarily-helpful habit of giving everyone the benefit of the doubt and not assuming nefariousness until all other options are gone --- I was, and continue to be rather stunned by the entire affair. I believe I described it early on as being "gobsmacked". That feeling continues. When Sr. Editor for Standards(!) Greg Brock described their source as Fox "News" and O'Keefe himself, I thought surely he was just being sloppy, lazy, using shorthand. When he then went on, even after being called out on it, to seemingly make stuff up outta whole clothe, it became certainly more troubling. But when Public Editor Clark Hoyt jumped in, a man for whom I'd had some respect previously as a disinterested, honest party, but then, beyond all reason he continued to support what was clearly an untenable position, I became beyond-gobsmacked, but I don't know a word for it. I knew the NYT had serious internal failings. But I'd presumed they were largely based on laziness, lack of resources for a very big and important job, and the human failings we all have. I would never have predicted that the NYT would go so far out of their way to NOT simply do the right thing, when doing so would have been so incredibly simple, and appropriate, for them to do. To this day, I still try not to ascribe reasons for their now-obvious and monumental continuing failure, since I'd simply be speculating, and I don't do that here. But I'll tell ya, it's getting damned difficult not to see the entire matter as nefarious, as so many have suggested to me for quite some time. I don't know that it's nefariousness (see the above about my proclivity to give benefit of the doubt), but I'm being to run out of non-nefarious reasons to explain their continuing and seemingly self-defeating failures here. In short: No, I'd have never thought they'd have worked this hard to NOT do the right thing. I was, apparently, very wrong about that.
COMMENT #14 [Permalink]
... Jeannie Dean said on 3/12/2010 @ 9:30 am PT...
Don't have time to give this a listen right now, but Amy Goodman is covering recent ACORN developments / has on John Atlas, Pres. of ACORN HOUSING: http://www.democracynow.org/ (Way to go, Brad!)
COMMENT #15 [Permalink]
... sukabi said on 3/12/2010 @ 12:33 pm PT...
Seriously Brad, after the last 15+ years of crap coming out of "The Paper of Record" (starting most prominently with Lewinsky, the coverage of the 2000 election, and Iraq war cheerleading, and what have they done wrt election fraud / voting machines) and their failure to own up to any of their "mistakes" and set the record straight on any of those failings you're really surprised that they wouldn't feel the need to retract the ACORN "reporting" that they've done... this is just one more "story" in the narrative that they've been pushing and you're seriously shitting in their cornflakes. keep it up!
COMMENT #16 [Permalink]
... Big Dan said on 3/12/2010 @ 12:48 pm PT...
Judge Instructs Fed Agencies to Resume ACORN Funding
Acornweb A federal judge has reaffirmed her earlier ruling blocking the congressional effort to defund the anti-poverty group ACORN. On Wednesday, Judge Nina Gershon cemented a decision from last year that such action amounted to an unconstitutional “bill of attainder.” Judge Gershon has asked all federal agencies to allow ACORN funding without delay. We speak with National Housing Institute president John Atlas, author of Seeds of Change: The Story of ACORN, America’s Most Controversial Anti-Poverty Community Group. http://www.democracynow....s_fed_agencies_to_resume
COMMENT #17 [Permalink]
... Big Dan said on 3/12/2010 @ 12:49 pm PT...
JOHN ATLAS: I’m going to talk about that in a minute, but the first thing I want to say, that needs to be said over and over again, is that the act of defunding ACORN by Congress is a national disgrace. We should all be outraged about that. Basically what happened is Congress bowed to Fox News, Glenn Beck, the rest of the right-wing echo chamber—we’re talking about the United States Congress—and then scapegoated the most effective anti-poverty organization in the country. That’s a scandal of enormous proportions. ACORN has a record of helping poor people in these hard times. They help them get homes. They help them stop foreclosures. They help them fight predatory lending. They help them register voters. I’m talking about minority voters, people who ordinarily don’t vote. Very hard to get that kind of voter registration work done. And in short, all other studies, including mine, have documented how effective ACORN has been and how important it’s been to low-income people, especially the working poor. OK, now, with the significance of the decision, first people have to understand the context. This was a case in which the Congress defunded ACORN, and they claimed they had to defund ACORN to protect the taxpayers. ACORN brought a lawsuit. They brought it against the United States government, the Office of Management and Budget, the Secretary of HUD, and the Secretary of Treasury. They had to bring a lawsuit against them because these were the people who issued orders, pursuant to the vote by Congress, to not allow ACORN to get any funding that it was entitled to, but didn’t get, and they could not, in the future, apply for federal funding.
COMMENT #18 [Permalink]
... Big Dan said on 3/12/2010 @ 12:50 pm PT...
Whoops! Jeannie posted that, I missed it! Sorry!
COMMENT #19 [Permalink]
... Chuck said on 3/12/2010 @ 1:01 pm PT...
Good grief...let me get this straight. You believe ACORN is a good thing?
COMMENT #20 [Permalink]
... Chris Hooten said on 3/12/2010 @ 2:14 pm PT...
The truth is that ACORN *is* a good thing. The narrative that some people are trying to sell you is that ACORN is a nefarious, evil entity, committing crimes all over the place, and cheating in elections. There is no real evidence of any of these negative accusations about ACORN, only manufactured evidence. Despite a ridiculous number of investigations, no wrong doing has been found of ACORN, and very few of it's employees have been found guilty of wrongdoing (most of the ones they did find were turned in by ACORN itself.) However, there is another reason for people to hate ACORN: they register poor, democratic-leaning individuals to vote. This is not in the best interest of the republicans, hence all of this manufactured evidence of wrongdoing, and misinformation being spread all over about them. Oh wait, what was I thinking? Republicans don't do shit like that. Nevermind, ACORN must be guilty after all. Otherwise... Well that would mean... Republicans will do anything to win... Which is a slippery slope...
COMMENT #21 [Permalink]
... Big Dan said on 3/13/2010 @ 7:32 am PT...
COMMENT #19 [Permalink]
... Chuck said on 3/12/2010 @ 1:01 pm PT... Good grief...let me get this straight. You believe ACORN is a good thing?
Yes. I think organizations for the poor are a good thing. You don't?
COMMENT #22 [Permalink]
... Dimitri said on 3/13/2010 @ 3:24 pm PT...
I sent an e-mail to FAIR in which I recommended your excellent reporting about the NYT/Hoyt anti-ACORN propaganda and asked them if they would be interested in the issue. They never replied but several days later they posted this action alert.
COMMENT #23 [Permalink]
... Chuck said on 3/16/2010 @ 2:34 am PT...
@Chris Hooten and Big Dan I believe it is every person's duty to help the poor. When I first heard all the hoopla about ACORN I checked their history. I was saddened to discover that this organization failed in its mission. Somewhere along the line, a few of its leaders let greed and power destroy a potentially great organization. Your comments, along with this blog have prompted me to dig some more. I hope I will discover something redeeming about ACORN. I will keep an open mind. As a small business man I've had some experience trying to have my voice heard so I could help enact change I believed would help other "small fry" like me. I was given a platform then shown the door. I've been kicked around and almost crushed by the federal government and large corporate entities who don't care one bit about an average working stiff like me. I have learned that those with the money make and benefit from the laws. Our reps on Capitol Hill might listen to the hoi poloi but will always support legislation driven by large corporations willing to pad the pols' reelection campaigns. So I respect any group that can organize and help make good things happen for the poor and other forgotten folks. ACORN has done much good but they have made many mistakes. I hope they can get their act together and give voice to the millions who have no real representation in Washington.
COMMENT #24 [Permalink]
... Jody Holder said on 3/16/2010 @ 2:50 pm PT...
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The LA Galaxy are still undefeated against LAFC and that might mean they’re looking for a rematch in the playoffs. They want it.
COG STUDIOS, Calif. — The LA Galaxy come out of the fifth edition of the El Trafico with a single point, but it also meant that LAFC still hasn’t beaten them. What does that single point say for the Galaxy? And what could it mean for the playoffs?
On today’s show, your hosts Josh Guesman and Kevin Baxter discuss the Galaxy’s draw with LAFC at Banc of California Stadium on Sunday night and dive right into the details.
The guys will breakdown the biggest takeaways from the match, tell you why Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the Galaxy might have a gripe when it comes to the refereeing, and why the mental edge continues to reside with the five-time MLS Cup Champs.
And if that isn’t enough, Kevin will probably tell you one of the worst jokes he’s ever said on our shows forcing Josh to laugh.
But the big focus will be on the result of the game, and where the Galaxy could end up in the playoffs. With a quick examination of the schedule, can the Galaxy survive? And will the Galaxy and LAFC find themselves in the playoffs?
Plus, can Zlatan Ibrahimovic break the Galaxy’s single-season goal-scoring record. He’s just two goals from tying it. And he’s doing it faster than any other Galaxy player in history.
We’ve got a packed show full of insightful looks into the match and some big lessons to absorb as the Galaxy play the final seven games of the 2019 season.
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The Schmeichel family have made so much history during their glittering goalkeeping careers that neither Kasper nor Peter realised another record had fallen during Denmark’s defeat of Peru in their opening game.
Kasper, by keeping a clean sheet on his World Cup debut, edged past his father in the number of minutes played for Denmark without conceding a goal. A man-of-the-match performance took him to 533 minutes unbeaten, a fact pointed out to him by statisticians. But it is victory, not personal glory, he will be striving for when Denmark play Australia in a decisive match in Group C on Thursday.
Australia braced for tournament-defining meeting with Denmark Read more
“I spoke to my dad afterwards but I don’t think either one of us was aware of it,” he said. “Clean sheets is a misleading statistic. It gives you the platform to win a game but you can lead 5-0 and concede a goal. It’s a personal record which is nice but it’s not important. The important statistic is the number of games you win.”
Schmeichel was praised by Denmark’s coach, Åge Hareide, for making six saves as they narrowly edged out Peru 1-0 in a performance that lacked spark in other areas. “It’s good to have a good goalkeeper, let me put it that way,” he said. Hareide acknowledged his team will have to improve if they are to beat Australia at the Samara Arena.
The Socceroos have naturally identified Christian Eriksen as the danger man, with their Huddersfield midfielder, Aaron Mooy, saying stopping the Tottenham talisman will be key. Hareide was confident Eriksen would perform despite the focus on him.
Kasper Schmeichel Kasper Schmeichel
“Christian is a player who can change matches and we try to get him involved as much as we can,” Hareide said. “The opponents, they are going to be very cautious and careful about him, but he is used to that, isn’t he, from the Premier League. We hope that we will get him up to a good level and that he will be able to show good things at this World Cup.”
Schmeichel concurred. “It goes without saying Christian is a world-class player and we are very lucky he is Danish – I’m very happy about that,” he said. “He was important to us through qualification and continues to be important. He is very down to earth – you wouldn’t think he’s a world-class player.”
Samara’s gleaming out-of-town stadium will be teeming with Australia fans, who vastly outnumber the Danes. Only 900 Danish fans are expected at the game compared with 12,000 supporters who have travelled from Australia. “We have seen the videos of people celebrating back home so we have a lot of backing,” Schmeichel said. “Some of our families also tried to get to Russia but had problems with visas and travel.”
Sign up for the World Cup Fiver.
The Denmark squad is depleted by one after the Ipswich defender Jonas Knudsen was flown home by private plane to be with his wife, who has just given birth. He was an unused substitute against Peru. | {
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"The Force is balance. For light to exist there must also be darkness."
Set on a forsaken world shrouded in shadow and ruin, the Star Wars fan film Dark Legacy is the story of a young woman named Kia (Erin Wu), who is the coerced apprentice of a powerful and mysterious Sith lord (Fabien Garcia, voiced by David Thomas).
In order to complete her "training," Kia must vanquish her sinister Sith master in a duel to the death.
Written and directed by Anthony Pietromonaco, Dark Legacy is a rare Star Wars story told from the perspective of the Sith - the enigmatic Dark Side worshipers who are the archenemies of the Jedi order.
In spirit, the short is the mirror image of another terrific fan film, HOSHINO, which chronicles the ascendance of a young woman from padawan to Jedi Knight.
Dark Legacy also continues the most welcome tradition began by The Force Awakens and Rogue One of centering Star Wars narratives around women protagonists.
The short is forbidding, gorgeous and alluring, boasting impressive production, including:
electrifying fight choreography by Phil Tan ( Pirates Of The Caribbean, Dragon Ball Z - Light Of Hope)
stunning special effects by Jaramy Aiello, and Mo Meinhart (Star Trek, The Walking Dead)
a deeply compelling narrative by Pietromonaco
mesmerizing use of light and shadow by director of photography Alex Chinnici
However, special mention must be made about Erin Wu's charismatic performance as Kia.
It takes an actor of rare ability to be able to convey intent and emotion without dialogue, but Wu succeeds in making Kia a very sympathetic character whose plight you quickly become invested in.
By the end of the short, you will want to find out more Kia, and where her fateful destiny will ultimately lead.
Watch Dark Legacy here ... | {
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the weekend lambasted the impeachment investigation launched by House Democrats as a “silly gotcha game.”
Asked about the investigation while briefing reporters in Greece on Saturday, a seemingly exasperated Pompeo responded:
This is what’s wrong when the world doesn’t focus on the things that are right, the things that matter, the things that impact real people’s lives and instead you get caught up in some silly gotcha game.
Nevertheless, Pompeo vowed to be “responsive” to Democrats’ requests for documents and other information matters related to the July 25 phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.
The July 25 call is at the center of the impeachment investigation.
America’s top diplomat noted that State had sent Congress an “initial response” letter following a subpoena for documents linked to the House impeachment inquiry. Pompeo’s revelation came after Democrats griped that Pompeo failed to meet Friday’s deadline to provide the papers.
“We’ll obviously do all the things that we’re required to do by law,” Pompeo said. “We’re going to be more responsive than the Obama administration was in the years that preceded this particular Congress.”
An intelligence community “whistleblower” claimed that during the July 25 call, Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, threatening to withhold aid if it failed to play ball.
Trump denies the accusations.
The U.S. president urged Zelensky to investigate Biden’s link to the owner of the energy company Burisma Holdings.
Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of Burisma, had been under investigation in Ukraine while the former vice president’s son was serving as the company’s board member.
In 2016, Ukraine removed the prosecutor —Viktor Shokin — investigating Zlochevsky at the behest of then-VP Biden, prompting accusations of corruption. Biden has surfaced as the leading Democrat presidential candidate.
Pompeo has come out in support of the Trump administration’s push to convince Ukraine to open corruption investigations that could target Biden and his son, Hunter.
The secretary also supports the administration’s quest to get Ukraine to investigate possible interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on behalf of Democrats.
On Saturday, Pompeo vigorously defended the administration’s effort to get Ukraine’s president to agree to a corruption investigation.
Pompeo explained:
We know exactly what we were doing there. We were trying to create a situation where there wouldn’t be a corrupt government. We wanted to make sure that they didn’t interfere in our election in 2016. We wanted to make sure that if we underwrote Javelin missile systems, something that the previous administration refused to do, we wanted to make sure we were doing this with a government that was straight up and would use that money for the things that it said it would use that money for.
On Saturday, America’s top diplomat also defended the Trump administration’s approach to Ukraine. He said it was a typical way international allies deal with one another.
“This is what we do,” the secretary declared, deeming Trump’s approach “totally right.”
“When I talk to your foreign minister, he pressures me all the time,” Pompeo told a Greek reporter.
“It is totally appropriate,” he also said. “Nations do this. Nations work together. They say ‘Boy, goodness gracious if you can help me with X, we’ll help you achieve Y.’ This is what partnerships do. It’s win-win.” | {
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Wisconsin's Ron Johnson on Wednesday became the first Republican senator to say he opposes his party's tax bill, signaling potential problems for GOP leaders. Passage of a similar package seemed certain Thursday in the House, where a handful of dissidents conceded they expected to be steamrolled by a GOP frantic to claim its first major legislative victory of the year.
Eager to act before opposition groups could sow doubts among the rank-and-file, Republican leaders were anxious to hand Donald Trump the first crowning bill of his presidency by Christmas. Trump planned to visit House GOP lawmakers Thursday at the Capitol in what seemed likely to be a pep rally, not a rescue mission.
"Big vote tomorrow in the House. Tax cuts are getting close!" Trump enthused in a tweet Wednesday. "Why are Democrats fighting massive tax cuts for the middle class and business (jobs)? The reason: Obstruction and Delay!"
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The two chambers' plans would slash the 35 percent corporate tax rate to 20 percent, trim personal income tax rates and diminish some deductions and credits — while adding nearly $1.5 trillion to the coming decade's federal deficits. Republicans promised tax breaks for millions of families and companies left with more money to produce more jobs.
A Senate Finance Committee hearing got heated Wednesday as the committee's chair, Sen. Orrin Harch, defended the decision to include in the tax bill a repeal of the Obamacare requirement for Americans to get health insurance. (Nov. 15)
"It represents a bold path forward that will allow us as a nation to break out of the slow-growth status quo once and for all," said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, as his chamber debated the bill.
Democrats said the measures would bestow the bulk of their benefits on higher earners and corporations. In the Senate Finance Committee, they focused their attacks on two provisions designed by Republicans to save money.
One would repeal President Barack Obama's health law requirement that people buy coverage or pay a fine, a move the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects would result in 13 million more uninsured people by 2027. The other would end the personal income tax cuts in 2026 while keeping the corporate reductions permanent.
"We should be working together to find ways to cut taxes for hardworking middle-class families, not taking health care away from millions of people just to give huge tax cuts to the largest corporations," said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
The Republican-led Finance panel was on track to approve its proposal by week's end. It shut down Democrats' initial efforts Wednesday to modify the Senate bill, voting along party lines against amendments aimed at protecting health care coverage for veterans or people with disabilities, mental illness or opioid addition if the insurance mandate is ended.
But with GOP leaders hoping for full Senate passage early next month, concerns by Johnson and perhaps others would have to be addressed.
Republicans controlling the Senate 52-48 can approve the legislation with just 50 votes, plus tie-breaking support from Vice President Mike Pence. With solid Democratic opposition likely, they can lose just two GOP votes.
Besides Johnson, Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee have yet to commit to backing the tax measure.
Johnson complained the bills were more generous to publicly traded corporations than to so-called pass-through entities. Those are millions of partnerships and specially organized corporations whose owners pay levies using individual, not corporate, tax rates. While details of the House and Senate bills differ, many pass-through owners would owe more than 20 percent in taxes for much of their income.
"These businesses truly are the engines of innovation and job creation throughout our economy, and they should not be left behind," Johnson said. But he left the door open to changes "so I can support the final version."
A small group of House Republicans largely from New York and New Jersey was rebelling because the House plan would erase tax deductions for state and local income and sales taxes and limit property tax deductions to $10,000.
Their numbers seemed insufficient to derail the bill. Asked if they could stop it, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., shook his head and said, "I don't think so."
Repealing the "Obamacare" individual mandate would save $338 billion over the coming decade because fewer people would be pressured into getting government-paid coverage like Medicaid. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, used the savings to make his bill's personal tax reductions modestly more generous.
Ending the bill's personal income tax cuts in 2026, derided by Democrats as a gimmick, was designed to pare the bill's long-term costs. Legislation cannot boost budget deficits after 10 years if it is to qualify for Senate procedures barring bill-killing filibusters. Those delays take 60 votes to block, numbers Republicans lack.
"To pay for these handouts to multinational corporations, millions of Americans are going to lose their health care," said Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, top Democrat on the Finance panel.
Hatch said voiding the individual mandate "means we have a chance to provide greater tax relief to middle-class families, through both reduced penalties and lower overall rates."
The House measure would collapse today's seven personal income tax rates into four: 12, 25, 35 and 39.6 percent. The Senate would have seven rates: 10, 12, 23, 24, 32, 35 and 38.5 percent.
Both bills would nearly double the standard deduction to around $12,000 for individuals and about $24,000 for married couples and dramatically boost the current $1,000 per child tax credit.
Each plan would erase the current $4,050 personal exemption and annul or reduce other tax breaks. The House would limit interest deductions to $500,000 in the value of future home mortgages, down from today's $1 million, while the Senate would end deductions for moving expenses and tax preparation expenses.
Each measure would repeal the alternative minimum tax paid by higher-earning people. The House measure would reduce and ultimately repeal the tax paid on the largest inheritances, while the Senate would limit that levy to fewer estates. | {
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(CNN) When Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro traveled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly in September, he was recovering from surgery and reportedly left after 30 hours without having met with any heads of state.
Despite the brevity of his trip, Bolsonaro did make time to meet with someone who occupies a special position within President Donald Trump's inner circle -- Rudy Giuliani.
The meeting, which involved a discussion of security and Brazil's prison system, according to a tweet by Bolsonaro's son who also attended, was just one in a series of interactions Giuliani has had with foreign leaders since he began representing Trump as his personal attorney last year.
Giuliani has met or communicated with senior government officials from at least seven foreign countries since he became Trump's pro-bono personal lawyer in April 2018 , according to a CNN review. He has also given paid speeches on behalf of an Iranian dissident group and met with a politician from the Dominican Republic.
While Giuliani has long dealt with foreign governments through the self-titled consulting firm he founded in 2002 after serving as New York's mayor, his more recent status as an attorney for the President has enabled him to interact with foreign leaders outside of official diplomatic channels while being treated like a US emissary.
Two current and two former State Department staffers told CNN that Giuliani's communication with foreign leaders has complicated, and at times undercut, official US foreign policy.
A current State Department staffer who spoke to CNN said US officials track some of Giuliani's comments because they carry the risk of confusing foreign entities and complicating messaging.
"When someone with that level of profile speaks on highly sensitive issues in a way that doesn't align with US policy, that is noted with concern," said the staffer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Andrew Miller, a former official who worked in the State Department during the Bush and Obama administrations and served on the National Security Council during the Obama era said, "There are those in the State Department and the professional U.S. national security apparatus who view Giuliani as a shadow secretary of state."
In most of Giuliani's foreign interactions, he has pursued private business interests, but his association with Trump is often highlighted by state-run media and groups he meets with.
During a business trip to Bahrain in December 2018 in which Giuliani had a rare meeting with the country's leader, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the state-run Bahrain News Agency described Giuliani as a "high-level US delegation."
Giuliani also met with Bahrain's crown prince and government ministers and discussed "the long-standing partnership between Bahrain and the U.S.," according to a statement on the prince's official website , which also referred to Giuliani as the leader of a US delegation.
Giuliani said at the time he traveled to Bahrain for talks related to his company Giuliani Security & Safety and the kingdom's security operation. Several months after his trip Giuliani confirmed that GSS had secured a contract to help train the kingdom's police force, which has received international criticism for its repression of protestors, especially in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring. Giuliani has a previous tie to Bahrain. His former law firm Bracewell Giuliani worked on financial deals for the nation.
Giuliani's 2018 trip was arranged by the lobbying firm Sonoran Policy Group, which was paid by the Bahraini government to "facilitate meetings and interactions with U.S. administration officials," according to foreign lobbying. As a private attorney, Giuliani is not an official member of the President's administration.
Sonoran also hosted an event at The Hay-Adams hotel in Washington, DC, where Giuliani met with officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo and discussed a possible consulting arrangement in July 2018, according to a source familiar with the meeting. The New York Times first reported details of Giuliani's attendance at the event.
That event , the "Opportunity Africa Summit," sought to highlight "the strategic relationship between the U.S. and Africa," according to foreign lobbying disclosures.
CNN previously reported that criminal prosecutors and FBI counterintelligence agents have been looking into Giuliani's business dealings in Ukraine.
recurring theme in testimony given to House impeachment investigators examining allegations that Trump sought Ukrainian help to boost his reelection chances. Giuliani's efforts in that country have become arecurring theme in testimony given to House impeachment investigators examining allegations that Trump sought Ukrainian help to boost his reelection chances. Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, said in closed-door testimony last month that Giuliani pressed Ukraine to "intervene in US domestic policy or politics" by opening investigations into Trump's political rivals. Giuliani has said he was solely acting "as a defense attorney to defend my client against false charges, that kept changing as one after another were disproven."
Giuliani's interactions with world leaders -- like his visit to Uruguay last November -- can be challenging for the State Department, because he does not work for the US government and does not have an obligation to report the contents of his conversations through official channels, according to Miller.
"It is dangerous because it creates the possibility that foreign countries can play various actors within the US off against each other," he said.
"When you have someone whose interests are not aligned with the US government who is prioritizing his private financial interests, that... makes it a possibility that there's going to be some compromising of US national security," Miller added.
Giuliani rejected the notion that he has enriched himself abroad through his associations with the President and said everything he has done is legal.
"I am in private law practice. I practice law honorably and well, never had a complaint. Never had an issue ever in 50 years of private law practice," Giuliani told CNN.
Giuliani has at times strayed from US policy in his statements during foreign dealings.
In June 2018, the US and 11 other nations issued a statement urging the government of Romania to continue its crackdown on corruption.
Less than two months later, Giuliani wrote a letter to Romania's President and criticized the country's National Anticorruption Directorate, which he said had "severely undermined" rule of law in the country. He called for "amnesty... to those who have been prosecuted and convicted" by the unit.
Former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, was previously retained by the same Romanian businessman but then referred the case to Freeh's firm, according to a source with knowledge. NBC first reported Hunter Biden's role in the case.
When Giuliani visited Armenia, where the nation's acting defense minister gave him a private briefing in October 2018, a reporter asked, "Mr. Giuliani as an adviser... should [the] Trump administration recognize the Armenian genocide?"
The US government does not formally recognize the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide, but Giuliani responded, "I certainly recognize it and think it's a historical fact, but I'm not here in my capacity as a private lawyer for President Trump. I'm here as a private citizen."
Despite Giuliani's insistence on not representing the US government, the conference where he gave a speech referred to him in a schedule as "Advisor to the President of the United States on Cybersecurity," which was Giuliani's role before becoming a personal lawyer for Trump earlier that year.
Giuliani has also contrasted the US government's position on Iran in his work for the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), an Iranian dissident group that the State Department designated a foreign terrorist organization until 2012
"In order to have peace and security in the Middle East, there has to be a major change in the theocratic dictatorship in Iran. It must end," Giuliani said, even though the Trump administration has called for a change in Iran's behavior, not regime change.
As Giuliani answered questions from reporters the day of the speech with his since-indicted associate Lev Parnas at his side, he clarified that the MEK paid him to give the speech in his private capacity.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo downplayed Giuliani's actions when asked about them on Gray Television's "Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren."
He said it wasn't "uncommon for private citizens to help" the US achieve its policy goals, but that he runs the State Department. "The ultimate responsibility falls to the United States government, for the secretary of state, to deliver on behalf of the outcomes President Trump has committed to the American people he'd achieve."
Giuliani's work on behalf of foreign groups has led some Democratic senators to call on the Justice Department to review whether Giuliani has complied with the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, which requires that representatives of foreign governments and political organizations file public documents that disclose their arrangements.
Sen. Tom Udall, a New Mexico Democrat who coauthored with six other Democratic senators a letter calling for a Justice Department review, told CNN in an interview he believes Giuliani could have violated FARA.
"He's advising the President. He is being paid by foreign entities, and that is exactly what's required to be disclosed under the Foreign Agent Registration Act," Udall said. "I think clearly there may be a violation of the law."
Fiona Hill, Trump's former top Russia adviser, testified in a deposition before three House committees in October that she was "extremely concerned that whatever it was that Mr. Giuliani was doing might not be legal," in regards to his work in Ukraine.
Hill also described learning of Giuliani's planned trip to Ukraine in May. "And there was, you know, kind of, quite a bit of consternation of the party of the State Department," she said.
Giuliani insists he is only guilty of one thing: defending the President.
When questioned by CNN's Drew Griffin about his international dealings, Giuliani responded, "I am being targeted by CNN because I am proving that you are corrupt in your coverage of the President all throughout this impeachment proceeding." | {
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On Wednesday, February 14, 2018 (i.e. Valentines Day), Field Notes announced the Heartbeat Edition. A combination of the Wednesday and the Red Blooded editions, the Heartbeat notebooks were not for sale. Instead, 2-packs were included as a free bonus to any order placed on that one specific day.
The Heartbeat Edition is what I’ll call a “re-skinned” edition. The innards are identical to what you’ll currently find in a standard Kraft Field Notes notebook: a light brown graph grid on 60# white paper in the standard pocket-sized (3.5” x 5.5”) dimensions. The cover, however, is different. The outside is a deep (“Sanguine”) red with tan (“Manila Yellow Kraft”) lettering, and that color scheme is reversed on the inside.
There’s nothing spectacularly new to see, but what makes the Heartbeat Edition special is the heart replacing the letter “O” in the Field Notes logo. So don’t fret about the $40+ people are charging for this edition on secondary markets like eBay. While it’s true that Valentines Day doesn’t fall on a Wednesday again until 2024, I’m sure the company will run a similar promotion sooner than that.
Additional Notes | {
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IBM, via Associated Press; Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News
A closer look at big issues facing the country in the 2012 Election.
A wave of worry about a software program called TrapWire, designed to detect terrorists casing possible targets, appears to be unjustified, as I wrote in Tuesday’s Times.
Based on stolen corporate e-mails posted by WikiLeaks, some reports hugely exaggerated the program’s sweep and capabilities; the New York Police Department, for instance, says that contrary to claims on the Web, it has never used TrapWire.
But the bogus flap over one particular surveillance product should not eclipse the very real issues lurking behind it. Government at every level is experimenting with sophisticated surveillance equipment whose capabilities are improving as rapidly as every other kind of electronic technology.
The Police Department itself, for example, just last week unveiled a new “domain awareness” system, developed with Microsoft, that links 3,000 cameras, 2,600 radiation detectors and dozens of license plate readers in six locations and mounted on cars. If officers spot a suspicious package in range of a video camera, for example, they will be able to quickly track who put it there. If a terrorist suspect’s tag number is known, the network will scan passing cars to find it.
Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman, said that under its privacy policy, the department will discard images after 30 days unless the images are part of an active investigation. But certainly the technology to capture and store such data is no longer a limiting factor.
Not so long ago, even the most aggressive government surveillance had to be selective: the cost of data storage was too high and the capacity too low to keep everything.
Not anymore. John Villasenor, an electrical engineer at the University of California, Los Angeles, studied the plummeting cost of computer data storage and reached an astonishing conclusion: It will soon be technically feasible and affordable to record and store everything that can be recorded about what everyone in a country says or does.
And there is plenty of data to store. The average person today leaves an electronic trail unimaginable 20 years ago — visiting Web sites, sending e-mails and text messages, using credit cards, passing before a proliferating network of public and private video cameras and carrying a cellphone that reports a person’s location every minute of the day.
Mr. Villasenor, also a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, estimates that to store the audio from telephone calls made by an average person in the course of a year would require about 3.3 gigabytes and cost just 17 cents to store, a price that is expected to fall to 2 cents by 2015. Tracking a person’s movements for a year, collected from their cellphone, would take so little space as to carry a trivial cost. Storing video takes far more space, but the price is dropping so steadily that storing millions of hours of material will not be a problem soon.
“It’s so cheap that you can afford to throw away 99.9 percent without looking at it,” says Mr. Villasenor, who explores the possibilities in a Brookings paper, “Recording Everything: Digital Storage as an Enabler of Authoritarian Governments.”
And a government sleuth would, of course, be able to efficiently find anything of interest in the data because of the parallel revolution in search technology.
It is hard to exaggerate how dramatic the change has been. In the 1960s, the National Security Agency used rail cars to store magnetic tapes containing audio recordings and other material that the agency had collected but had never managed to examine, said James Bamford, an author of three books on the agency.
In those days, the agency used the I.B.M. 350 disk storage unit, bigger than a full-size refrigerator but with a capacity of 4.4 megabytes of data. Today, some flash drives that are small enough to put on a keychain hold a terabyte of data, about 227,000 times as much.
That kind of convenience and economy is hard to resist, whether you are a parent storing photos of your children — or a government trying to keep an eye out for threats. | {
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Bikers put out 'green light' against officers following Waco shooting
Scroll through the gallery to see the first faces that have surfaced in connection to the shooting. less More than 170 biker gang members were arrested May 17, 2015, for their involvement in a bloody shooting at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco that left nine dead and 18 injured.
Scroll through the gallery to see ... more More than 170 biker gang members were arrested May 17, 2015, for their involvement in a bloody shooting at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco that left nine dead and 18 injured. Image 1 of / 344 Caption Close Bikers put out 'green light' against officers following Waco shooting 1 / 344 Back to Gallery
WACO - One day after a wild biker brawl and clash with police that left nine men dead, 18 wounded and about 170 under arrest for engaging in organized crime, this Central Texas town was still on guard.
State troopers and police carrying military-style rifles were guarding a sprawling outdoor mall that includes Twin Peaks, a risque chain tavern where chaos broke out Sunday afternoon when five gangs suddenly squared off.
A fight that broke out in the men's room and then quickly spilled into the bar area and parking lot turned deadly with rival bikers attacking each other and then squaring off against Waco Police who rushed inside the restaurant on the southern edge of the city.
As police rounded up the bikers and night soon fell, intelligence reports indicated that more bikers were on the way here and that officers had been "green lighted" - essentially a gang sanctioned call for killing - as retaliation.
RELATED: The Bandidos motorcycle gang roots run deep in Houston
"We are on high alert," Waco Police Sgt. Patrick Swanton said. "We encourage those individuals not to bring criminal activity to Waco. But let it be known, if they do, we are ready."
In the wake of the shooting, about 100 high end motorcycles remained parked outside Twin Peaks and inside the crime scene. Several bikes as well as vehicles, including police cars, had bullet holes punched into them. Some of the bikes also had blood.
Authorities said the investigation continues and it is not yet known whether police killed any of the bikers or if they were killed by other bikers. It is also unclear if police have obtained surveillance camera footage from inside the restaurant that would show what happened.
Waco Police, Texas Rangers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, as well as FBI agents and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, remained on the scene heavily armed with military-style rifles and other weaponry. There also appeared to be officers clad in ghillie suits on the roof of the Twin Peaks restaurants.
RELATED: Faces of bikers arrested following Waco Twin Peaks shooting begin to surface
Buildings in Waco such as the courthouse, hospital, jail, convention center and the shopping mall were all under guard by police.
The exit off of Interstate 35 to the vicinity of the restaurant was closed, causing backups for traffic. Red and blue police lights could be seen in the distance as officers blocked all entrances and exits to the area.
Police said that Twin Peaks repeatedly had declined advice to clean up their clientele and stop letting biker gang members "fly their colors" as the environment was a tinderbox for worse things to come.
A spokeswoman with a public relations firm working with the eatery chain said law enforcement officials did not ask the restaurant to cancel what she said was a "patio reservation" made for Sunday.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission ordered the restaurant closed for seven days. The Twin Peaks corporate office then revoked the franchise rights for the Waco restaurant, located in the Central Texas Marketplace outdoor mall.
"There was enough of a reason to believe violence could occur there," Swanton said in the parking lot outside the restaurant.
RELATED: Heightened security in Waco after deadly biker gang shootout
The restaurant opened last August and Waco police say it has since been the scene of several biker gang gatherings.
Longtime Waco resident Marvis Hanchey sipped coffee and watched from a nearby Starbucks inside the stereotypically suburban shopping center where Sunday's violence played out.
Hanchey said she was perplexed why incidents like the biker shooting and the Branch Davidian siege a generation ago occurred in otherwise sleepy Waco.
"It happened on the highway which goes through Waco, which is what most people do on their way from Austin to Dallas," Hanchey said. "I don't think this is anything to do with Waco. I don't know why it happens here."
Outside the restaurant there were dozens of motorcycles still left parked side-by-side from Sunday.
Swanton said those arrested are being booked into the McLennan County jail and other charges, such as capital murder, could be in the works as authorities sort out the case.
RELATED: The Latest on Waco shootings: Franchise rights revoked
At least five different motorcycle gangs were involved, he said. Among those named so far are the Bandidos and the Cossacks gangs, which both had members killed, according to the sheriff, although other law enforcement declined to comment on the gang affiliations of the dead in order to not lend the gangs any notoriety.
Larry Karson, who teaches criminal justice at the University of Houston-Downtown, said that the violence is very much part of the business of criminal motorcycle groups..
"As with any business, territory is critical to both membership and marketing," Karson said. "If a second competing motorcycle club were allowed access to Texas for example, that would impact a Texas-based club's efforts at recruiting new members as well as challenging their customer base for providing any product or service they might be providing, be it drugs or prostitution for example," he said. "Not to mention any personal insult perceived." | {
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Shot on goal by Colton Parayko saved by Martin Jones
Vladimir Tarasenko credited with hit on Marc-Edouard Vlasic in offensive zone
Brayden Schenn credited with hit on Justin Braun in offensive zone
Sammy Blais credited with hit on Joakim Ryan in offensive zone
Even Strength Goal Scored by David Perron assisted by Sammy Blais and Ryan O'Reilly
Patrick Maroon credited with hit on Tim Heed in offensive zone
Oskar Sundqvist credited with hit on Justin Braun in offensive zone
Shot missed by Robert Bortuzzo
Sammy Blais shot blocked by Brenden Dillon
Shot on goal by Patrick Maroon saved by Martin Jones
Ivan Barbashev credited with hit on Barclay Goodrow in offensive zone
Shot missed by Brayden Schenn
Colton Parayko shot blocked by Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Sammy Blais credited with hit on Gustav Nyquist in defensive zone
David Perron credited with hit on Evander Kane in offensive zone
Robert Thomas credited with hit on Brenden Dillon in offensive zone
Shot on goal by Ivan Barbashev saved by Martin Jones
Shot on goal by Vladimir Tarasenko saved by Martin Jones
Joel Edmundson shot blocked by Brent Burns
Powerplay Goal Scored by Vladimir Tarasenko assisted by Colton Parayko and Ryan O'Reilly
Shot on goal by Jaden Schwartz saved by Martin Jones
Tyler Bozak shot blocked by Tim Heed
Shot missed by Oskar Sundqvist
Alex Steen credited with hit on Timo Meier in defensive zone
Oskar Sundqvist credited with hit on Barclay Goodrow in offensive zone
Shot missed by Sammy Blais
Shot on goal by Alex Pietrangelo saved by Martin Jones
Shot on goal by Alex Pietrangelo saved by Martin Jones
Shot on goal by Patrick Maroon saved by Martin Jones
Alex Pietrangelo shot blocked by Micheal Haley
Shot on goal by Brayden Schenn saved by Martin Jones
Robert Bortuzzo shot blocked by Brent Burns
Shot on goal by Robert Bortuzzo saved by Martin Jones
Ryan O'Reilly credited with hit on Barclay Goodrow in offensive zone
Brayden Schenn shot blocked by Justin Braun
Jaden Schwartz shot blocked by Logan Couture
Shot on goal by Tyler Bozak saved by Martin Jones
Patrick Maroon credited with hit on Marc-Edouard Vlasic in offensive zone
Shot on goal by Patrick Maroon saved by Martin Jones
Colton Parayko credited with hit on Marcus Sorensen in defensive zone
Shot on goal by Alex Pietrangelo saved by Martin Jones
Robert Thomas shot blocked by Evander Kane
Powerplay Goal Scored by Brayden Schenn assisted by Alex Pietrangelo and Robert Thomas
Oskar Sundqvist credited with hit on Evander Kane in neutral zone
Tyler Bozak credited with hit on Dylan Gambrell in neutral zone
Carl Gunnarsson credited with hit on Gustav Nyquist in defensive zone
Oskar Sundqvist credited with hit on Joonas Donskoi in defensive zone
Joel Edmundson credited with hit on Joe Thornton in defensive zone
Ivan Barbashev credited with hit on Logan Couture in offensive zone
Jay Bouwmeester credited with hit on Logan Couture in defensive zone
Jay Bouwmeester shot blocked by Timo Meier
Jaden Schwartz credited with hit on Dylan Gambrell in defensive zone
Shot missed by Colton Parayko
Ivan Barbashev credited with hit on Justin Braun in offensive zone
Penalty to Patrick Maroon 2 minutes for Tripping
Oskar Sundqvist credited with hit on Dylan Gambrell in defensive zone
Shot missed by Ryan O'Reilly
Oskar Sundqvist credited with hit on Gustav Nyquist in offensive zone
Jaden Schwartz credited with hit on Joonas Donskoi in defensive zone
Shot missed by Jaden Schwartz
Even Strength Goal Scored by Tyler Bozak assisted by David Perron and Ryan O'Reilly
Alex Pietrangelo shot blocked by Brenden Dillon
Shot missed by Oskar Sundqvist
Empty Net Goal Scored by Ivan Barbashev assisted by Oskar Sundqvist
Barclay Goodrow credited with hit on Oskar Sundqvist in defensive zone
Shot on goal by Evander Kane saved by Jordan Binnington
Barclay Goodrow credited with hit on Colton Parayko in offensive zone
Micheal Haley credited with hit on Colton Parayko in offensive zone
Shot on goal by Brent Burns saved by Jordan Binnington
Logan Couture credited with hit on Brayden Schenn in neutral zone
Shot on goal by Kevin Labanc saved by Jordan Binnington
Brent Burns credited with hit on Sammy Blais in offensive zone
Shot missed by Joonas Donskoi
Brent Burns shot blocked by Robert Thomas
Shot on goal by Evander Kane saved by Jordan Binnington
Dylan Gambrell credited with hit on Tyler Bozak in offensive zone
Dylan Gambrell shot blocked by Joel Edmundson
Shot on goal by Tim Heed saved by Jordan Binnington
Joakim Ryan shot blocked by Alex Steen
Timo Meier credited with hit on Vladimir Tarasenko in offensive zone
Logan Couture credited with hit on Colton Parayko in offensive zone
Evander Kane credited with hit on Robert Bortuzzo in defensive zone
Barclay Goodrow credited with hit on Patrick Maroon in offensive zone
Brenden Dillon credited with hit on Jaden Schwartz in defensive zone
Shot on goal by Marc-Edouard Vlasic saved by Jordan Binnington
Brent Burns credited with hit on Alex Steen in defensive zone
Barclay Goodrow credited with hit on Alex Pietrangelo in defensive zone
Logan Couture credited with hit on Colton Parayko in offensive zone
Penalty to Barclay Goodrow 2 minutes for Tripping
Shot missed by Timo Meier
Shot on goal by Dylan Gambrell saved by Jordan Binnington
Shot missed by Joonas Donskoi
Shot on goal by Marc-Edouard Vlasic saved by Jordan Binnington
Shot missed by Dylan Gambrell
Marc-Edouard Vlasic shot blocked by Joel Edmundson
Shot on goal by Marc-Edouard Vlasic saved by Jordan Binnington
Justin Braun credited with hit on Alex Steen in defensive zone
Melker Karlsson credited with hit on Joel Edmundson in offensive zone
Timo Meier credited with hit on Jaden Schwartz in offensive zone
Shot on goal by Justin Braun saved by Jordan Binnington
Melker Karlsson credited with hit on Carl Gunnarsson in offensive zone
Shot on goal by Joonas Donskoi saved by Jordan Binnington
Gustav Nyquist credited with hit on Brayden Schenn in defensive zone
Marc-Edouard Vlasic shot blocked by Alex Pietrangelo
Even Strength Goal Scored by Dylan Gambrell assisted by Joonas Donskoi and Martin Jones
Shot on goal by Logan Couture saved by Jordan Binnington
Shot on goal by Barclay Goodrow saved by Jordan Binnington
Logan Couture shot blocked by Colton Parayko
Penalty to Justin Braun 2 minutes for Hooking
Timo Meier credited with hit on Colton Parayko in defensive zone
Gustav Nyquist shot blocked by Joel Edmundson
Tim Heed credited with hit on Ivan Barbashev in defensive zone
Melker Karlsson credited with hit on Joel Edmundson in offensive zone
Shot missed by Joe Thornton
Micheal Haley credited with hit on Alex Pietrangelo in offensive zone
Shot on goal by Brent Burns saved by Jordan Binnington
Marc-Edouard Vlasic shot blocked by Alex Pietrangelo
Shot on goal by Evander Kane saved by Jordan Binnington
Shot missed by Evander Kane
Shot on goal by Joonas Donskoi saved by Jordan Binnington
Shot missed by Kevin Labanc
Logan Couture shot blocked by Alex Pietrangelo
Shot missed by Evander Kane
Shot missed by Brent Burns
Shot on goal by Logan Couture saved by Jordan Binnington
Shot missed by Evander Kane
Shot on goal by Marc-Edouard Vlasic saved by Jordan Binnington
Evander Kane shot blocked by Joel Edmundson
Shot on goal by Tim Heed saved by Jordan Binnington
Shot missed by Dylan Gambrell
Evander Kane shot blocked by Joel Edmundson
Shot on goal by Evander Kane saved by Jordan Binnington
Shot on goal by Logan Couture saved by Jordan Binnington
Logan Couture credited with hit on Brayden Schenn in defensive zone
Melker Karlsson credited with hit on Robert Bortuzzo in offensive zone
Shot on goal by Kevin Labanc saved by Jordan Binnington
Joonas Donskoi shot blocked by Colton Parayko
Shot on goal by Evander Kane saved by Jordan Binnington
Shot on goal by Logan Couture saved by Jordan Binnington
Shot missed by Kevin Labanc
Brent Burns credited with hit on David Perron in defensive zone
Shot missed by Melker Karlsson
Logan Couture credited with hit on Colton Parayko in offensive zone
Barclay Goodrow credited with hit on Oskar Sundqvist in defensive zone
Shot missed by Brent Burns
Timo Meier credited with hit on Colton Parayko in offensive zone
Micheal Haley credited with hit on Brayden Schenn in defensive zone | {
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'Goed om af en toe kritisch te kijken te kijken naar de invulling van de competities' - Foto: KNVB Media
De KNVB gaat met clubs en fans in gesprek over de invulling van de Johan Cruijff Schaal en kijkt of die kan worden vernieuwd. | {
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Recently I was talking to a pro fighter about one of the most brutal weight cuts of his career, one that ended with him lying uselessly on the floor, half out of his mind, muttering over and over to no one in particular, “This is so stupid.”
And it is, once you think about it. It really, really is.
Picture yourself trying to explain the world of mixed martial arts to an alien from outer space, or a caveman unfrozen from centuries-old ice, or even just to your particularly out-of-touch cousin from out of town. Imagine what you’d say when you get to the ritual of the weigh-in, where severely dehydrated and undernourished pro athletes gather to prove that, for a very short period of time, they can trick a scale into providing an inaccurate description of what they really weigh. Imagine explaining that the reason they make this highly unpleasant and at times downright dangerous sacrifice is to qualify for a lower weight class, which will allow them to face smaller opponents over whom they’ll have a size advantage.
Only, with regards to that last part, that’s not how it really works, is it? For the vast majority of fighters, there is no advantage that comes with the weight cut, since almost every other fighter also cuts weight. You might be dropping 20 or 30 pounds on fight week, but you’re essentially doing it just so you’ll get to face someone your own size on fight night. All this suffering isn’t so much about gaining an advantage as it is about not sacrificing one.
Which makes you think that, if they really want to make their lives better and their sport safer, the best thing fighters could do would be to enter into an agreement with one another not to cut weight. Then you think about the advantage that one fighter might gain by violating that agreement when his opponent adheres to it, and you start to get a pretty good sense of why it probably won’t ever happen.
Think about it: If everyone were to get on board, fighters could end a practice that none of them enjoy, but which virtually all of them feel obligated to participate in just to avoid falling behind. They’d also be ending a practice that can be dangerous to their health, shortening their careers and detracting from their performances on fight night.
You want to hear true tales of suffering and woe? Don’t ask about the fights or even the training. Ask fighters about their weight cuts. There’s hardly anyone south of heavyweight who doesn’t have at least one horror story about the process, usually followed by a different kind of horror story about being a shadow of their true selves in the fight itself. And that’s when the cut goes relatively smoothly.
When it doesn’t, we get instances like the one we saw with former UFC bantamweight champ Renan Barao, who was knocked out of a title fight at UFC 177 by his own weight cut. We also get situations like the one at WSOF 15 last weekend, where Melvin Guillard came in so heavy that he had to agree to give up a large percentage of his pay just to keep the fight together, having already given up the chance to fight for the lightweight title by missing weight.
Over the years, we’ve heard numerous proposed solutions to the problem, ranging from increasing the number of weigh-ins to changing their date, moving them closer to fight time and limiting the opportunity to rehydrate. The fact that amateur kickboxer Dennis Munson Jr. recently died following a bout in which he’d cut weight for a same-day weigh-in ought to serve as all the reminder we need that increasing the risks of a weight cut won’t necessarily convince fighters that those risks aren’t worth taking.
Fighters can die cutting weight. They can make themselves sick. They can pass out, shut down, all within a day of what is already a dangerous and difficult competition. Getting hit in the head isn’t great for your brain as it is. Dehydrating that brain prior to the onslaught of blows seems just plain crazy, even if some can do it better and safer than others.
So why do it at all? Mostly because everybody else does it. True, there are occasionally some other reasons, such as changing weight classes in search of a fresh start or a new path to the title, or just to avoid a certain fighter. Mostly though, fighters have to cut weight just to stay even with the other fighters who are also cutting weight. If they could just agree not to do it, wouldn’t they be both be better off for it? Wouldn’t they be healthier on fight night, not to mention happier in the week leading up to it?
Most fighters I polled on the subject said yes, definitely. They also said they weren’t too optimistic about seeing the practice phased out. They were pretty sure that, whatever regulators come up with to limit it will become little more than a new system to be gamed or manipulated, which means that the saunas and scalding baths and sweat-a-thons will likely continue. The people most capable of ending the practice, at least in its most extreme forms, are the ones participating in it.
Several economists I asked pointed out that it’s kind of a prisoner’s dilemma. If we all agree to fight in the weight class closest to our natural weight, then the one who gets the greatest payoff is the one who betrays that agreement in order to fight in a lower division. The best thing fighters could do for the collective good is cooperate. After all, even with the current system, it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll fight an opponent who weighs exactly what you do. It only guarantees that you’ll fight an opponent who weighed what you did yesterday. What happens if you’re only willing to cut 25 pounds, but he’s willing to cut 30? What happens if he can do 35, or 40?
Weigh-ins are a useful bit of theater. They look very official, and they grant us the illusion of a precise brand of fairness. They’re also a last pre-fight photo op for promoters and media.
Behind it all is a borderline insane, at times dangerous system that only appears to level the playing field. The best thing fighters could do for themselves and for their bodies is to agree to knock it off. It’s also probably the last thing they’re going to do, at least on their own. | {
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More than 30,000 people have been displaced by heavy rains in south-east Brazil that have killed 54 people and left 18 missing.
The storms have caused floods and landslides, submerging entire neighborhoods and sending homes tumbling down hillsides in the states of Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro. Rains subsided by Monday, but were expected to resume later this week in some areas.
The overflowing Das Velhas River in Sabara, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, on Sunday. Photograph: Douglas Magno/AFP via Getty Images
Flooded roads created violent rapids, sweeping up victims, cars and other debris.
Those evacuated were being housed in makeshift shelters in churches, schools and fire stations. Local authorities have asked for donations of clothes, sheets and mattresses for the victims.
In Minas Gerais, 15,000 people were evacuated and in Espírito Santo nearly 10,000 more, according to local rescue efforts. In Rio, at least 6,000 were evacuated, according to local news media, citing figures from various municipalities. Rio state authorities didn’t immediately respond to a request for official data.
Local authorities warned that the Belo Horizonte metropolitan area, home to nearly 6 million people, could see up to 100 millimeters (4in) of rain in the next three days.
The city had 171 millimeters (6.7in) over one 24-hour period from Thursday to Friday, the highest rainfall in 110 years. More than 120 municipalities in Minas Gerais state have declared a state of emergency. | {
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All great economists influence all of our thinking. Yes I have read some of Adam Smith, I have read some of Karl Marx, I have looked at the words of Ricardo, I have looked at many, many others.
I don’t consider myself the world’s greatest intellectual but you learnt from everybody, don’t close your mind to the thoughts of others - that way we’re all better informed.
What I can assure all the voters is this - that all of our proposals are fully funded, we’re not raising taxes for low and middle income people at all, in any respect.
We do have to properly fund our public services and I’m utterly determined to do that, and we do that by running the economy in a sensible way and that means an investment-led economy.
We have some of the lowest levels of investment of any of the manufacturing nations of this world. | {
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Governments hail nature-based tourism as a win-win but conservationists say Australia’s wild places belong to everyone and shouldn’t be sold out
The development planned for Cradle Mountain in Tasmania’s north-west is arguably the most high-profile example of the dilemma faced by governments dealing with the growing popularity of nature-based tourism in national parks.
Visited by more than 268,000 tourists in 2017, and with visits growing at 12% a year, the facilities at Cradle Mountain were stretched to the limit. So the Tasmanian government pledged $160m to build a new visitor centre and tourism village on the edge of the heritage area.
In May this year, in the midst of a byelection, the federal government tipped in $30m to make the most controversial part of the plan a reality: visitors will soon be able to arrive at Dove Lake in minutes using a cable car instead of taking a shuttle bus.
Public land is being offered to those who can afford to pay. There is something seriously wrong with this policy Carolyn Pettigrew
At the Dove Lake viewing platform, they will not even need to step outdoors to take the obligatory selfie in front of one of Tasmania’s most beautiful views.
The project has been described as a game-changer by local politicians.
“This project, for the north-west coast of Tasmania in particular, will be the equivalent of what Mona [art gallery] has done for the south of the state and the state generally,” the Liberal candidate Brett Whiteley said, standing next to former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman.
“The benefits are enormous, whether it is the hotel occupancy, whether it is the service industry, and economic stimulator will be an understatement for what this will do for the region of Tasmania.”
But environmental groups says it marks a serious erosion of the wilderness experience for which Cradle Mountain became famous.
We say we love our national parks. The evidence suggests otherwise | Kelly O’Shanassy Read more
Greens senator Nick McKim says: “This is $30m to prop up a corporate business model and turn wilderness areas into theme parks.
“Tasmania’s wild places are owned by everyone. They shouldn’t be sold out.”
The issue of whether national parks are primarily about protecting biodiversity and fragile ecosystems or whether other activities and tourism can coexist is a perennial debate.
Sometimes it’s possible to achieve both. But with growing tourism numbers and state governments in search of ways to boost their economies and make national parks earn a return, the conflicts are becoming more stark and frequent.
Helicopters and luxury lodges
In Tasmania, the Hodgman government launched an expressions of interest process after it won government in 2014 that has so far solicited 47 proposals for development in the state’s national parks. Twelve leases or licences have already been granted, 22 have been received under the second stage of the proposals and 17 are under assessment.
“The Tasmanian government has a goal to transform Tasmania into the environmental tourism capital of the world, to create jobs in Tasmania and help reach a target of 1.5 million interstate and international visitors a year by 2020,” it says.
But the development push has horrified the Wilderness Society.
“The government goes about harvesting ideas from the marketplace, then runs them through a closed-door process and then goes about dismantling the protections on wilderness areas to allow them to happen,” says Vica Bayley, Tasmanian campaign manager.
He says the process of assessing these projects is highly secretive and does not appear to take into consideration the way it will change remote wilderness areas.
One of the most controversial projects is planned for the world heritage-listed Halls Island in Lake Malbena, a “luxury standing camp” that will include fly-in fly-out helicopter access.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest There is a luxury campsite planned for Lake Malbena and Halls Island in the Tasmanian wilderness, which includes helicopter access. Photograph: Richard Webb.
“It has been approved against the expert advice of the government’s own statutory advisory body,” says Bayley. “Lake Malbena is in a remote, high-value wilderness area much loved by bushwalkers and fly-fishers. Wilderness is wild country that is in a natural state and remote from settlement or points of mechanised access,” he says.
Bayley says the helicopter flights will shatter the wilderness experience.
The Wilderness Society has lodged federal court action to overturn a federal government approval which was required because it was in a world heritage area.
Yet, despite the criticisms, the new facilities are proving popular.
Brutal beauty on the Three Capes Lodge Walk – a picture essay Read more
The state government has opened the Three Capes track, charging $495 for the four-day, three-night walk. Walkers stay in very comfortable huts, owned by the parks service. Or there is a more exclusive, privately owned option charging more than $2,000 to stay in private lodges, fully catered.
The new facilities have opened up the park to a whole new audience that might have balked at camping.
The Three Capes track has proved so popular that the Hodgman government is considering many more new projects in national parks and has asked the private sector to pitch ideas.
New hut-based walk sites under consideration include Freycinet Peninsula, Southwest Conservation Area, the Walls of Jerusalem and the Tarkine. These areas are currently only accessible by camping, though some tour companies already offer supported walks with base camps and catering.
‘Duck-shoving’ and dance parties
The idea of luxury walking seems to have made its way northward, with the Queensland government currently running a similar expression of interest process for three walks in its national parks that will include accommodation.
These are in Hinchinbrook national park (along the Thorsburn trail), the Whitsundays and at Cooloola in the Great Sandy national park.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Shute harbour, Whitsundays, Queensland. Photograph: Ted Mead/Getty Images
But critics say the Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy has a chequered record in managing the leases it grants in national parks, often for 60 years, and that operators are allowed to routinely breach them without consequences.
They point to the crumbling eco-resort at Cape Richards in Hinchinbrook national park that has sat in ruins for the best part of a decade.
The resort, once known as Hinchinbrook Island wilderness lodge, closed in 2010 after being damaged by cyclone Yasi and was destroyed by fire in 2015. It is now being gradually consumed by nature.
A Western Australian businessman, Adam Tree, has offered to rebuild it as a glamping resort, but has been hamstrung by the department’s insistence he pick up the $800,000 owing on the lease.
“There is endless duck-shoving over these leases,” says Cairns-based environmentalist Bill Sokolich.
Under siege: our commitment to Australia's national parks is waning Read more
“The primary purpose of these places is conservation. The Newman government changed it to ‘recreation’. The ALP promised to reinstate the cardinal principle, but then added ‘conservation and tourism’,” he says.
The commonwealth is also getting in on the tourism in national parks trend. Last year it approved Swell Lodge, a luxury ecolodge in the rainforest of Christmas Island, one of the six national parks it manages.
The first solar-powered chalet in Swell Lodge opened in July 2018 and another seven are planned.
But the development will place tourists in the path of an annual crab migration, an event described by Sir David Attenborough as one of the 10 greatest natural wonders on Earth.
During the annual migration, when the island is carpeted with red crabs on their way to the sea to lay eggs, tourists will have to walk rather than drive into the monsoonal rainforest to reach their five-star clifftop chalets.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Natural wonder: red crabs migrate from the forest to the sea on Christmas Island. Photograph: SUPPLIED/PR IMAGE
The federal government has signalled it is ready to allow more development inside its parks which also include Booderee national park at Jervis Bay, Kakadu in the Northern Territory, Uluru, Norfolk island and Pulu Keeling island.
In theory this could make some of these areas more accessible, but there is always the risk that, in pursuit of dollars, the development will favour high-end resorts available only to the very few.
New South Wales has had long experience of trying to balance tourism development in the form of several ski resorts, with management of a fragile environment in Kosciuszko national park.
The battle over brumbies: how NSW's invasive species became heritage horses Read more
The latest flashpoint has been the issue of brumby culls and whether the horses, revered in Banjo Patterson poems, should be afforded heritage status.
Despite expert reports recommending continued culls, the horse-riding community has triumphed with the Berejiklian government.
The other flashpoint has been commercialisation of existing structures within parks such as Sydney Harbour national parks.
“In the name of revenue-raising, New South Wales Parks and Wilderness Service invites hire of buildings and locations in Sydney Harbour national park and other national parks as being available for weddings, corporate Christmas parties, and other functions,” says Park Watch’s coordinator Carolyn Pettigrew.
“There is even a policy for dance parties,” she says. “Just how dance parties and weddings fit with the aims of the NPW [National Parks and Wildlife] Act defies logic.
“Public land is being offered, excluding others, to those who can afford to pay. There is something seriously wrong with this policy.
“Tourism also requires the attention of parks staff, leaving them with little time to undertake conservation activities. With pressures on parks budgets and staff cuts, the problem has become acute in some NSW parks.”
Play Video 4:34 A day in the life of a ranger – video | {
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The late-great Huell Howser was a California treasure and dear to the hearts of many residents of Southern California especially. We feel he deserves to be immortalized at one of his favorite places — Griffith Park. Specifically we feel a large 20 to 40 foot bronze statue of Huell in a signature pose, maybe holding a microphone and pointing off into the distance, would be a fitting tribute. Please sign the petition to motivate LA City Council to get the ball rolling on this and pass it on!
Links | {
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The Holtsville Ecology Center on Long Island is home to bears and peacocks and now a wolf. The newest resident is a 6.5-year-old female Mackenzie wolf named Nakita. She is the latest in a growing list of illegal animals found on Long Island.
"They're wild animals, they're unpredictable," Suffolk County SPCA Chief Roy Gross said. "You never know what they're going to do."
He said Nakita's owner allegedly bought her from an out-of-state breeder as a pup and tried raising her as a dog. When she started getting aggressive, he turned her in.
Officials said that is an important lesson for people who may think exotic animals can be pets.
"These animals are by nature wild animals," Lt. Tom Gadomski of the Environmental Conservation Department of said. "Yeah, they might be friendly for a while but at some point in time they're going to turn on you."
The law is simple. Abandon an illegal animal and you can face penalties and possibly jail time. But surrender it to either the DEC or SPCA and you won't be charged.
"We will make arrangements to have the animal safely removed from your home," Gross said. "Do the right thing – do not dump them, do not abandon them."
The center also has an abandoned alligator snapping turtle that could've bitten off someone's foot.
The Holtsville Ecology Center is holding an amnesty day on September 30 where owners of illegal animals can turn them in, no questions asked.
Officials said that nationwide illegal exotic animals are to blame for the deaths of about 75 people each year.
While Nakita may look cute, don't get too close. | {
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DAPL protesters plan to stay despite the risks of a harsh winter
The camp has seen rigid temperatures, threats of arrest and a blockade. | {
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Building an Enigma machine with only TypeScript and then use Angular DI system to properly instantiate it
This blog post is the last of a series of 3, called "Enigma: Understand it, implement it, crack it":
Table of contents
If you find any typo please just make the edit yourself here: https://github.com/maxime1992/my-dev.to/blob/master/blog-posts/enigma-part-3/enigma-part-3.md and submit a pull request 👌
Intro
During World War II, one of the most valuable assets was communications intelligence. Being able to speak with only your allies and being able to listen your enemies without them noticing was priceless. Alan Turing and many other people managed to read encrypted messages from Enigma using a machine called "The Bombe":
The Bombe - Image from https://www.cryptomuseum.com
That machine was built with 36 Enigma machines to try all the combinations for a given message until you found out from the encrypted message, the original one.
Today, we're going to build an equivalent of that machine using TypeScript and Angular 🙌.
The most complicated part of the series has probably been to build Enigma.
Trying to brute force an Enigma message is probably the funniest one, so let's get to it 😄!
I've written the URL of the demo in the conclusion but I'd recommend to give it a go after reading.
1 - How to detect if a message has been found for one rotor combination?
As you know by now, the main idea is to try all the different combinations of Enigma until we find the original version of an encrypted message. If you've read the first article of the series, you know that with 3 rotors we've got 17576 possible combinations. So we clearly don't want to have to read all of them to know which message is the original one 😱.
In order to tackle that first challenge, I've decided to use a dictionary 📕. Then, for every word of a potentially decrypted message check if the word is into the dictionary. When we reach a given threshold, we consider that the message has been found.
Here's the actual implementation:
const wordMinLength = 3 ; const thresholdWordsFoundToBeConsideredEnglishWord = 3 ; export class EnigmaDecryptService { // ... private getMessageIfEnglish ( decryptedMessage : string ): string | null { const decryptedMessageWords = decryptedMessage . split ( ' ' ); let foundWordsCounter = 0 ; for ( let index = 0 ; index < decryptedMessageWords . length ; index ++ ) { const element = decryptedMessageWords [ index ]; if ( element . length > wordMinLength && WORDS . has ( element )) { foundWordsCounter ++ ; } if ( foundWordsCounter >= thresholdWordsFoundToBeConsideredEnglishWord ) { return decryptedMessage ; } } return null ; } }
Note: WORDS is a Set of words that I've found on Github. It was originally an Array but I've transformed it to a Set so that checking if a word is into the dictionary is lightning fast ⚡.
Now that we're able to detect if a message is an English one, let see how to generate all the different combinations of Enigma before trying them on the encrypted message.
2 - Lazily generate every Enigma's rotors combinations using a generator
Have you ever heard of generators in Javascript? A generator lets you create an iterator from a function. It means that you will be able to either manually call next to get the next value or loop over the values, just like you would with an array.
Here's a very simple demo of a generator taken from https://developer.mozilla.org:
function * makeRangeIterator ( start = 0 , end = 100 , step = 1 ) { for ( let i = start ; i < end ; i += step ) { yield i ; } }
2 things to notice here:
The use of the * after the function keyword
after the keyword The yield keyword
The * is here to declare that this function is a generator. Simple!
The yield is here to return a value. Simple too! 🙌
Then we can loop over it:
// will display numbers from 0 to 99 included for ( let value of makeRangeIterator ()) { console . log ( value ); }
But why wouldn't we just use an Array for that?
const values = Array . from ({ length : 100 }). map (( x , index ) => index ); for ( let value of values ) { console . log ( value ); }
That'd work too! But there's a big difference. Can you spot it?
The generator is lazy. It means that the values are produced only when needed in contrary to the Array that we have to create beforehand and hold into the memory. We had 100 items to display here which is fine, but what if it was 10.000? Or 1 billion elements? Or even... An infinite number 😮? Generators are here for that.
Within the Part II of the Enigma's series we've used a function goToNextRotorCombination and if we pass [0, 0, 0] (which represents ['A', 'A', 'A'] ) it'd return [1, 0, 0] which is the next combination.
Let's look at the implementation:
export class EnigmaBombeService { // ... private * getPossibleCombinations (): IterableIterator < RotorsState > { let rotorCombination : RotorsStateInternalApi = [ LetterIndex . Z , LetterIndex . Z , LetterIndex . Z ]; do { const combination = rotorCombination . map ( rotorState => getLetterFromIndexInAlphabet ( rotorState )) as RotorsState ; yield combination ; rotorCombination = goToNextRotorCombination ( rotorCombination ) as RotorsStateInternalApi ; } while ( rotorCombination [ INDEX_ROTOR_0 ] !== LetterIndex . Z || rotorCombination [ INDEX_ROTOR_1 ] !== LetterIndex . Z || rotorCombination [ INDEX_ROTOR_2 ] !== LetterIndex . Z ); } }
Pretty simple, isn't it?
We start from [25, 25, 25] which represents ['Z', 'Z', 'Z'] as when we type a letter the rotors are spinning first. So the first combination that'll be run is ['A', 'A', 'A'] . Then we loop until we reach the initial combination and yield every possible combination in between.
3 - Brute force the encrypted message using all the cores with a pool of web workers managed as an RxJs stream
We're now able to find out if a given message is an English one, generate all the possible combinations and (from Part II) create an Enigma machine. What we want to do next is to try on one encrypted message all the different combinations that we've generated. In order to do that as efficiently as possible, we'll discover a way of dealing with multiple threads in Javascript: web workers 🔥.
Web workers are using a message pattern where on both sides (current thread and the one in the web worker), you can either subscribe to a given message or send one. As Angular and RxJs lovers, how cool do you think it'd be to have an interface letting us dealing with web workers as if they were... Streams? :neckbeard:
Let your inner Rob Wormald guide you here:
Picture taken from a talk by Rob Wormald that is very inspiring and I'd recommend to watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHI0AzD_WfY
Hopefully, one of my colleagues (Zak Henry) at CloudNC has made that task a breeze. Really. He created and open sourced a great library that not only manages all the reactive bindings for us between the main thread and the web workers but also allows us to automatically take as many resources as possible. All that, through streams 🙏.
Here's the main idea of what we're going to build:
The library I mentioned above is called observable-webworker. Best part?
It's framework agnostic so you could also use it with React, Vue, etc.
Only 2 inputs are needed for the library to work: A workload, which can be either an Observable , an Array , or an Iterable (a generator for e.g.). Second one is the Worker itself. From that, we get a stream with all the values coming back from all the workers, in parallel 🔥.
Also, did I forget to mention that as soon as you unsubscribe from the output stream it'll kill all the web workers?
Enough talking, show me the code!
apps/enigma/src/app/decrypt/enigma-bombe.worker.ts :
// all the following is part of a web worker so we're not into // an Angular context anymore and we don't have any DI here // we need to manually instantiate the required classes @ ObservableWorker () export class EnigmaBombeWorker implements DoWorkUnit < ConfigurationToDecrypt , string | null > { private enigmaDecryptService : EnigmaDecryptService ; constructor () { const enigmaRotorServices = [ // by default we use the first 3 rotors EnigmaRotorService . ROTOR_1 , EnigmaRotorService . ROTOR_2 , EnigmaRotorService . ROTOR_3 , ]. map ( rotorConfig => new EnigmaRotorService ( rotorConfig )); const reflectorService = new ReflectorService ( // by default we use the first reflector, also called "Wide B" ReflectorService . REFLECTOR_1 , ); const enigmaMachineService : EnigmaMachineService = new EnigmaMachineService ( enigmaRotorServices , reflectorService ); this . enigmaDecryptService = new EnigmaDecryptService ( enigmaMachineService ); } public workUnit ( input : ConfigurationToDecrypt ): Observable < string | null > { return of ( this . enigmaDecryptService . decryptMessageFor1Combination ( input . initialRotorPosition , input . encryptedMessage ), ); } }
Here's what's happening in the above code:
Use the @ObservableWorker() decorator provided by the library
decorator provided by the library Create one Enigma machine for the web worker
Implement the workUnit method required by the library where we just try one combination on the machine for a given message. If the message is the English one then we return it otherwise we return null
Then from our component, whenever the input changes we get a new stream to decrypt the new message.
apps/enigma/src/app/decrypt/decrypt.component.ts :
@ Component ({ // ... }) export class DecryptComponent { // ... private decryptMessage ( encryptedMessage : string ): Observable < string > { return fromWorkerPool < ConfigurationToDecrypt , string > ( () => new Worker ( ' ./enigma-bombe.worker ' , { name : ' enigma-worker ' , type : ' module ' , }), this . enigmaBombeService . getPossibleCombinationsWithEncryptedMessage ( encryptedMessage ), ); } }
4 - Build a UI to decrypt an encoded message with the number of attempts and time taken
Now that we've got everything ready to brute force an encrypted message, we want to see in the previous component ( DecryptComponent ) what else is there. But first, let's look at the final output:
☝️ While decrypting a message
☝️ Once a message has been found
Before we get into the code, let's think about the workflow we're trying to achieve here:
Enter an encrypted message on the left input 🔒
Launch "the Bombe" which will start all the web workers to find the original message 🔥
Compute the number of combinations that have been tried so far 🔢
Compute the elapsed time (until we've got a result) ⏳
Show the decrypted text (if any) 🔓
Time to work on the code! Let's give it a go with a reactive version:
We will have a look at the whole code and then detail it piece by piece.
apps/enigma/src/app/decrypt/decrypt.component.ts :
@ Component ({ selector : ' app-decrypt ' , templateUrl : ' ./decrypt.component.html ' , styleUrls : [ ' ./decrypt.component.scss ' ], providers : [... DEFAULT_ENIGMA_MACHINE_PROVIDERS , EnigmaBombeService ], changeDetection : ChangeDetectionStrategy . OnPush , }) export class DecryptComponent { public encryptedTextControl : FormControl = new FormControl ( '' , containsOnlyAlphabetLetters ({ acceptSpace : true })); public encryptedText$ : Observable < string > = combineLatest ([ this . encryptedTextControl . valueChanges , this . encryptedTextControl . statusChanges , ]). pipe ( map (([ message , status ]: [ string , Status ]) => status !== Status . VALID ? // if the message is not valid we want to clear // the decrypted text as it's outdated '' : message . trim (), ), shareReplay ({ bufferSize : 1 , refCount : true }), ); private decryptedBundle$ : Observable < DecryptedBundle | null > = this . encryptedText$ . pipe ( switchMap ( msg => ! msg ? of ( null ) : this . decryptMessage ( msg ). pipe ( map (( message , index ) => ({ message , index })), takeWhile (({ message }) => ! message , true ), ), ), shareReplay ({ bufferSize : 1 , refCount : true }), ); public combinationsTried$ : Observable < number > = this . encryptedText$ . pipe ( switchMap (() => this . decryptedBundle$ . pipe ( skip ( 1 ), map ( decryptedBundle => ( ! decryptedBundle ? 1 : decryptedBundle . index + 1 )), startWith ( 0 ), ), ), ); public elapsedTime$ : Observable < number > = this . encryptedText$ . pipe ( timestamp (), switchMap (({ timestamp : initialTimestamp }) => this . decryptedBundle$ . pipe ( timestamp (), map (({ timestamp : currentTimestamp }) => currentTimestamp - initialTimestamp ), ), ), ); public decryptedText$ = merge ( // whenever the encrypted text changes, reset the decrypted text this . encryptedText$ . pipe ( mapTo ( '' )), // but as soon as we receive the decrypted text, return it this . decryptedBundle$ . pipe ( filter ( decryptedBundle => !! decryptedBundle && !! decryptedBundle . message ), map ( decryptedBundle => !! decryptedBundle && decryptedBundle . message ), ), ); constructor ( private enigmaBombeService : EnigmaBombeService ) {} private decryptMessage ( encryptedMessage : string ): Observable < string > { return fromWorkerPool < ConfigurationToDecrypt , string > ( () => new Worker ( ' ./enigma-bombe.worker ' , { name : ' enigma-worker ' , type : ' module ' , }), this . enigmaBombeService . getPossibleCombinationsWithEncryptedMessage ( encryptedMessage ), ); } }
A lot is going down here! Let's look at it piece by piece:
changeDetection : ChangeDetectionStrategy . OnPush ,
☝️ As we're going to work in a reactive way and only display values in the view using the async pipe, it's safe to use ChangeDetectionStrategy.OnPush for better performances.
public encryptedTextControl : FormControl = new FormControl ( '' , containsOnlyAlphabetLetters ({ acceptSpace : true }));
☝️ We create a FormControl and make sure it can only have characters that can be processed by Enigma (using a custom validator).
public encryptedText$ : Observable < string > = combineLatest ([ this . encryptedTextControl . valueChanges , this . encryptedTextControl . statusChanges , ]). pipe ( map (([ message , status ]: [ string , Status ]) => status !== Status . VALID ? // if the message is not valid we want to clear // the decrypted text as it's outdated '' : message . trim (), ), shareReplay ({ bufferSize : 1 , refCount : true }), );
☝️ We create an Observable combining the previous FormControl value and status. If the status is invalid, the encrypted text should be considered empty. This will reset the right input instead of being blocked on an old value if the text to decrypt is invalid.
Note the use of shareReplay here. We will be subscribing multiple times to that Observable but we want to share the source. As soon as everyone has unsubscribed from this stream , we want to close it ( refCount: true ). You can learn more about shareReplay and its parameters here: https://blog.angularindepth.com/rxjs-whats-changed-with-sharereplay-65c098843e95
private decryptedBundle$ : Observable < DecryptedBundle | null > = this . encryptedText$ . pipe ( switchMap ( msg => ! msg ? of ( null ) : this . decryptMessage ( msg ). pipe ( map (( message , index ) => ({ message , index })), takeWhile (({ message }) => ! message , true ), ), ), shareReplay ({ bufferSize : 1 , refCount : true }), );
☝️ We now create an observable representing the decrypted bundle ( message if any + index so that we can later compute the number of possibilities that have been tried). It's driven by encryptedText$ . Every time encryptedText$ changes, if the message is not empty then we try to launch the Bombe on that message. This gives us back a stream of potentially decrypted messages. We use takeWhile to keep that stream alive while the message has not been found. As soon as the message is found, you'll be able to notice that all the web workers will be shut down.
You may wonder why I did a condition in the switchMap based on the message instead of using a filter before the switchMap . If we did use a filter before, the workflow would be:
Enter an encrypted message
Try to decrypt the message
Remove the encrypted message, thinking it'll stop the decrypt process
It won't, the Bombe will just continue as we'd be filtering out before the switchMap and therefore not killing the inner stream
While here, with the following condition:
! msg ? of ( null ) : this . decryptMessage ( msg ); // ...
If we're decrypting a message and the encryptedText$ observable emits an empty value, we'd return of(null) which is a different stream than the one switchMap did subscribe to earlier. Therefore, it'll close the previous one.
public combinationsTried$ : Observable < number > = this . encryptedText$ . pipe ( switchMap (() => this . decryptedBundle$ . pipe ( skip ( 1 ), map ( decryptedBundle => ( ! decryptedBundle ? 1 : decryptedBundle . index + 1 )), startWith ( 0 ), ), ), );
☝️ In order to display the number of combinations tried, we'll create a stream based on the decryptedBundle$ which has an index . The only thing to notice really is the fact that we use a skip(1) because the decryptedBundle$ returns the last value that's been emitted (which could be the one when it found a previous message!). So instead of that, we skip it and use startWith(0) .
public elapsedTime$ : Observable < number > = this . encryptedText$ . pipe ( timestamp (), switchMap (({ timestamp : initialTimestamp }) => this . decryptedBundle$ . pipe ( timestamp (), map (({ timestamp : currentTimestamp }) => currentTimestamp - initialTimestamp ), ), ), );
☝️ To find the elapsed time, every time the encryptedText$ changes we also get a timestamp using the timestamp operator. This will represent the initial time. Then, every time the decrypted bundle emits, we get another timestamp and compare the two. The difference between them represents the elapsed time.
public decryptedText$ = merge ( // whenever the encrypted text changes, reset the decrypted text this . encryptedText$ . pipe ( mapTo ( '' )), // but as soon as we receive the decrypted text, return it this . decryptedBundle$ . pipe ( filter ( decryptedBundle => !! decryptedBundle && !! decryptedBundle . message ), map ( decryptedBundle => !! decryptedBundle && decryptedBundle . message ), ), );
☝️ Final piece of code: The decrypted text itself. If the encrypted text changes, we reset it. As soon as the decrypted bundle gives back a message, we return it.
Conclusion
We've seen how to build the Bombe using TypeScript and Angular by taking advantage of a generator to avoid a high memory consumption and web workers to work on multiple possibilities in parallel. Thanks to the observable-webworker library, we're also able to manage our web workers result as a stream and automatically scale the number of workers used based on the device capabilities.
I hope this series was inspiring for you and that you may have learnt a few things along the way either on Enigma's mechanisms or on the tech side with web workers, generators, etc. Let me know in the comments! 😄
Last but not least, don't forget to checkout the live demo here:
https://maxime1992.github.io/my-dev.to/enigma
Thanks for reading!
Found a typo?
If you've found a typo, a sentence that could be improved or anything else that should be updated on this blog post, you can access it through a git repository and make a pull request. Instead of posting a comment, please go directly to https://github.com/maxime1992/my-dev.to and open a new pull request with your changes. | {
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Take your recovery seriously.
Its highlighted in every sport. Commercials, TV spots, ESPN, YouTube. Not the recovery, but the "day in, day out" "24/7" hard work that these world class athletes put in. We all understand this tenfold. But even more importantly what people don't see, is the time and effort they take to maintain, care, and pamper their "temple". As an athlete, your body is your tool. It is your money maker. It is your end all, be all. If you don't have your body at 100%, your output will likely be less than that as well. If you think that giving 100% effort in training followed by 50% in recovery is going to kick it, you are in for a long, painful road.
Think of it this way: You have a cow that makes you money by producing milk. You would make sure that cow had good pasture to graze, water to drink, and shelter to keep safe. Or that Ferrari in your garage. You wouldn't wash it with dish soap, fill it with diesel, or keep the tires flat, right? So why in the WORLD would you treat your own living body any less by discounting it? Eat well and give your body the physical treatment it deserves. Spare the expense elsewhere. | {
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Hello Magic community and welcome to my personal review of the latest expansion set Fate Reforged for powered cubes! Most of you know what a powered cube is. For those of you who don’t, a powered cube normally contains what is known as “The Power Nine” which are considered the nine most powerful cards known to Magic: the Gathering.
The Power Nine:
Here begins my review of the TOP TEN cards from Fate Reforged for powered cubes!
At first glance, Ugin has a massive mana cost but most of us know that powered cubes are capable of spitting out Karn Liberated on turn one. Does it happen often? Not particularly, but I’ve seen it happen more than once. Ugin isn’t what I was hoping for once the official spoiler released but the end product is still capable of wrecking havoc, and I love wrecking me some havoc.
Pros:
Ugin’s +2 is a Lightning Bolt on a stick.
His -X is an All is Dust that can be controlled by what you are willing to pay and willing to loose and it exiles the wasted permanents instead of sending them to the graveyard.
Ugin is colorless which doesn’t limit what he can splash into color-wise and allows his +2 to target creatures that have protection from various colors.
His ultimate is a couple of activations away and is an effective ultimate at that.
Khans: (Cons*) sorry, couldn’t miss out on a chance for a horrible pun 😛
Ugin is mana intensive.
Overall Ugin isn’t a bad addition to a powered cube. I believe that Karn Liberated is better than Ugin. However, in the right situation, Ugin can make a much bigger impact for board control. I think that Ugin is worth testing for sure.
Hello new variant of Figure of Destiny. Well that’s what I thought at first. Warden is an interesting creature much like Figure, but he is a bit lack luster once I point a few things out.
Pros:
A one drop that has potential to become a threat.
His three-cost investment grants trample and lifelink.
His last ability can be used over and over again.
Warden’s level system doesn’t require colored mana for the entire cost like Figure does.
Cons:
Unlike Figure of Destiny, Warden’s cost isn’t hybrid which would have added a lot of value for his viability in other decks.
Plus Warden can’t be ran effectively in a mono colored deck like Figure of Destiny which really hinders him.
The average cube doesn’t support green aggro, especially for low drops.
Warden doesn’t level as fast as Figure. Figure becomes a 4/4 at a five mana investment which isn’t the greatest, I’m well aware. Warden, however, is only a 3/3, trample, lifelink at a missive Seven Mana investment, which is very underwhelming. If Warden’s abilities had green in its hybrid mana costs, it would have made the card a bit more playable through mana ramp and, as I mentioned, in a mono colored deck.
As a whole, I’m not thrilled with Warden of the First Tree but I could see myself giving it a short test run.
#8-Monastery Siege
Wow, Monastery Siege has great potential in more than just cube in my opinion. Monastery Siege can serve a potent role in control decks of all sorts. It’s first ability is similar to Thassa, God of the Sea and it’s second grants an effect kind of like hexproof for you and your minions (Lands, Enchantments, Planeswalkers, Creatures, & Artifacts), kind of like Kira, Great Glass-Spinner except for all of your permanents. How cool is that?
Pros:
Either choice can serve an important role in game play, period.
It splashes well into any deck due to it only requiring one blue to cast it and it only costs three mana total.
The card can provide card advantage, looting, and an amazing shield for you and your permanents depending on your decision.
Cons:
Siege only protects you and your permanents from spells.
I will be giving Monastery Siege and run for sure. I hope other players give it a try as well. Card seems super fun.
#7-Shaman of the Great Hunt
Shaman of the Great Hunt is a decent haster with an interesting effect. When it comes to red, I love haste and I also love easy to cast creatures with one colored mana in their casting cost.
Pros:
Shaman provides a good body with haste for his casting cost.
Shaman has only one red mana in its casting cost unlike most red four drops in cube.
He has an ability that turns you creatures into Stromkirk Nobles
He has another ability to aid you in card advantage if you have excessive mana.
Cons:
Red has several four drops with haste that inflict or increase damage during the combat step instead of making your creatures bigger after damage has been dished out such as Hellrider and Hero of Oxid Ridge.
His activation ability is mana intensive and through my experience, the game should be over with a red deck before an ability such as that to even be helpful.
He has no evasion, at all. Firststrike would have pushed him further. I would have even taken trample with an extra +1 in defense.
Can’t say I am sold on Shaman of the Great Hunt. He isn’t bad but he has some serious competition in the four cost slot in red. Sadly, I can’t say I will even play test this fella.
#6-Dark Deal
I overlooked this card during the time it was spoiled. I had no clue it even existed until I pulled one at the midnight release last weekend and was I surprised to see this gem. This card is like a Wheel of Fortune for black. I’m sure minds are beaming with ideas as I write up this review.
Pros:
Just as easy to cast as Wheel of Fortune
Almost does the exact same thing as Wheel
Like Wheel, it aids in possible card advantage in the right moment, it loots, but what sets it a part is that, if your opponent doesn’t have more than one card in hand, they are left without cards which is unlike Wheel of Fortune which refills each players hand to seven.
It’s a Wheel for black!
Another piece for you combo players
Cons:
Dark Deal doesn’t function exactly like Wheel (as I mentioned above).
Deal seems to be a bit more conditional.
Just like Wheel, you have to be mindful when you cast it due to the fact that your opponent generally reaps the card advantage before you do simply because the card is a sorcery and you, after all, are the one casting it.
I think the card is an exciting piece to play with once or twice so I will be giving it a spot for the time being.
#5-Brutal Hordechief
Okay, this guy is nifty but sadly I wish he and Shaman of the Great Hunt were conjoined to make a better card. So, I give you Massacring Hordechief!
Granted this guy is outside of the color cycle for the Mardu mythic rare but you get the point. Massacring Hordechief is a bit bonkers, for sure, because he is much better than Hellrider, by a long shot. Plus the added ability serves as a Vault of the ArchAngel effect which could be used if you get the opportunity later for some added life gain and some scarier attackers. But, this is not the card I am reviewing so I will move on from my fictional card.
Back to Brutal Hordechief. Hordechief is an interesting card when it comes to board presence because he has an ability that turns your creatures into Wingmate Rocs and Pulse Trackers, which is an awesome combination.
Pros:
Easy to cast cost
interesting board presence which aids aggro decks by adding to life loss due to attackers
Offers life gain
Cons:
His body isn’t as desirable as I would like at his cost.
Hordechief’s life loss/gain ability is nifty but it seems a bit week for a four drop in black.
His last ability is a bit anti-climatic for its investment.
I don’t see myself running this guy with all the other options black has to offer, so i’m going to pass on this one. If black aggro is a thing for you, I suppose he could be worth a shot for a brief time if you really want to give him a try.
#4-Flamewake Phoenix
Here is Khan’s variant of Chandra’s Phoenix which deserves a look.
Pros:
Haste with evasion
It has a chance of recurring in a better fashion than Chandra’s Phoenix in creature based decks.
Cons:
This bird has a small body.
It’s recursion ability is only doable if you control a creature of power four or greater.
It doesn’t splash well into multicolored decks due to its double red requirement in its casting cost.
Flamewake must attack each turn if able.
Flamewake Phoenix has some merit worth testing in my opinion. Flamewake shines in the graveyard better than Chandra’s bird due to the fact that it comes into play, instead of your hand. With that being said, it’s harder to deal with than a bird that must be recast from your hand at its original hefty cost. Flamewake also doesn’t require mono-red activated triggers like its former version does. I plan on testing this tiny comet when I find room for it.
#3-Monastery Mentor
Finally, time for some Kung-Fu (Prowess), and then throw some Kung-Fuing tokens into the mix! This guy is a whole Dojo in one slim and easy to utilize package.
Pros:
Easy to cast and splashes easily into multicolored becks
Has Prowess which, as we know, is very potent
Creates 1/1 monks with Prowess with each non-creature spell you cast
Cons:
No evasion
Not as potent in a creature heavy deck
Mentor’s shortcomings aren’t a drawback in my eyes. I have included cards in my cube that belong in the “Spells Matter” category before and it’s a fun deck to draft. I will be running this guy alongside Young Pyromancer and Delver of Secrets for a short time to see if it becomes a valid deck to draft.
#2-Soulfire Grand Master
This little beauty is a breath of fresh air, at least for me. Granted she isn’t an auto include for every cube out there, but I would like to share why I think she has potential for some cubes.
Pros:
A 2/2 with lifelink for two mana is good on its own.
Gives your spells lifelink
She has an ability that could be used late game as a win condition on your last burn spell.
Cons:
She is a bit limited to Boros burn for full effectiveness.
Outside of a burn beck, she is just a 2/2 lifelinker.
Her last ability is, just like the other mythic rare cycle cards, is mana intensive.
The reason I plan on running her is simple. My cube has produced potent Boros burn decks that consistently do well. Some could argue that she would only slow the decks down and they have good reasons to say that. however, I plan on giving her a shot anyways because I plan on replacing Knight of Meadowgrain with her. Granted Soulfire doesn’t have firststrike, but she is much easier to cast than Knight of Meadowgrain.
#1-Mardu Woe-Reaper
No surprise, Mardu Woe-Reaper comes in as the top auto include for most cubes. Magic has been spitting out better one drops with their recent sets. At this point we may have to start replacing old weenies with the new ones or we could end up having nothing but one drop critters in our white creature section in the near future.
Pros:
Better than Savanna Lions and Elite Vanguard
Has graveyard removal built in for pesky creatures lurking in the muck
Offers a bit of life gain
Cons:
None
At a one drop, there is nothing to complain about. Granted, if it is played turn one, you generally wont reap any benefits besides a 2/1 for one mana. But, even then, he is just as good as a Savanna Lions or an Elite Vanguard. Later in the game you have a chance of removing a creature from the yard and gaining a life or you could flicker him via a flicker effect as an added bonus if you have nothing better to do. Also keep in mind that you get his ability whenever another warrior type creature comes into play. I plan on replacing Savanna Lion with him for starters.
Honorable Mentions- Mardu Strike Leader & Archfiend of Depravity
That concludes my Powered Cube Review for Fate Reforged! Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, I hope you enjoyed it. Leave a comment if you have any advise or topics for future posts. Please follow me if you are interested in any of my future posts on Magic: the Gathering.
–HanzelGravey | {
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Caption
About to begin her take off roll on Runway 03 to Dubai as EK425 in front of a group of eager spotters on a very cold morning. | {
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Eastern Health is reporting an outbreak of syphilis in eastern Newfoundland, with 15 cases confirmed so far this year.
In all of last year, there were 26 confirmed cases.
Dr. David Allison, medical officer of health for Eastern Health, said the number of cases has steadily increased over the last decade.
"That's way above the number of cases of syphilis we would expect to see in this period of time and it really seems to be growing and growing," Dr. Allison told CBC News Tuesday.
Most of the new cases involve males between the ages of 20 and 49 who have had sexual intercourse with men.
The health authority is going public in order to raise awareness and hopefully prevent further infections.
Dr. Allison said it's important that those engaging in sex outside of a monogamous relationship protect themselves by wearing a condom.
Syphilis is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) contracted through unprotected anal, vaginal or oral sex.
Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, are the most effective way to prevent the sexual transmission of syphilis.
Of the 41 cases of syphilis reported since January 2014, Allison said 10 have been co-infected with HIV.
Syphilis increases the potential for the spread of HIV infection, Allison explained.
"One of the challenges with syphilis is that because it's an ulcer causing infection, at least in the initial stages, it can contribute to the transmission of HIV by making the virus easier to pass along from one person to another," he said.
Eastern Health to increase clinics
According to the health authority, syphilis can cause serious and permanent damage to the body if untreated.
Symptoms may appear anywhere from 10 to 90 days after an person becomes infected. The average is 21 days.
In some cases, people may not experience any symptoms, but here's what to look for:
an open sore at the point of infection (genital area, anus, mouth or lips);
flu-like illness;
muscle aches and pains;
fatigue; and/or
a rash on the chest, back, palms of hands and bottoms of feet.
Allison said it is important for anyone who believes they may have contracted syphilis to see a doctor as soon as possible.
A blood test is the simplest method of checking for the infection.
Meanwhile, in response to the outbreak, Eastern Health will begin increasing sexual health clinics for testing, treatment and follow-up.
Anyone requiring more information can call 1-877-752-4358 or visit www.easternhealth.ca/TCDT. | {
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Four anti-abortion personhood resolutions introduced into the Legislature have died in committee.
Atlee Breland of Parents Against Personhood wrote on the group's blog that this means personhood will not be on the November ballot, as some abortion opponents had hoped.
"Barring extreme legislative dirty tricks, Mississippi personhood is done for 2012," Breland wrote.
Yesterday was the last day for bills to make it out of committee in the house where they originated. Those that did not pass their respective committees are now considered dead.
The proposed resolutions, HC 61, HC 80, SC 555 and SC 574, were variations on Initiative 26, which failed to pass a statewide referendum vote last fall.
For all of our personhood coverage, visit jfp.ms/personhood.
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