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Stronger
The New York Times bestselling memoir of the 27-year-old Boston Marathon bombing survivor and the basis of the major motion picture starring Jake Gyllenhaal.
When Jeff Bauman woke up on Tuesday, April 16th, 2013 in the Boston Medical Center, groggy from a series of lifesaving surgeries and missing his legs, the first thing he did was try to speak. When he realized he couldn’t, he asked for a pad and paper and wrote down seven words: “Saw the guy. Looked right at me,” setting off one of the biggest manhunts in the country’s history.
Just thirty hours before, Jeff had been at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon cheering on his girlfriend, Erin, when the first bomb went off at his feet. As he was rushed to the hospital, he realized he was severely injured and that he might die, but he didn’t know that a photograph of him in a wheelchair was circulating throughout the world, making him the human face of the Boston Marathon bombing victims, or that what he’d seen would give the Boston police their most important breakthrough.
In Stronger, Jeff describes the chaos and terror of the bombing itself and the ongoing FBI investigation in which he was a key witness. He takes us inside his grueling rehabilitation, and discusses his attempt to reconcile the world’s admiration with his own guilt and frustration. . Brave, compassionate, and emotionally compelling, Jeff Bauman’s story is not just his, but ours as well. | {
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DUBROVSKOYE, Russia — Oleg Sirota proudly holds up a wheel of Russian-made cheese with “Putin” etched into its rind.
“This is our prime block of cheese. This is the cheese for Vladimir Putin — exclusively for him,” Sirota said from his workshop in this village just outside Moscow.
The bearded cheesemaker wasn't always a supporter of the Russian president but plans to vote for him in the election scheduled for March 18.
He credits Putin for helping to make his dreams come true.
Oleg Sirota shows off a wheel of Russian-made mountain cheese with “Putin” etched into its rind. Carlo Angerer / for NBC News
The president blocked the import of European dairy products into Russia in retaliation for sanctions that followed the 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. That created a market for high-quality cheese in a country where French, Italian or Swiss products were ubiquitous.
The sanctions war triggered a crackdown on smuggled cheese, with 470 tons of it being seized in one raid in 2015. Other contraband products were steamrolled or incinerated by Russian authorities.
Spotting a sudden gap in the market and convinced that naturally aged Russian cheese would be a hit, Sirota stopped working as a programmer and invested $300,000 in his project.
“I sold my apartment, car and business, and borrowed money," said Sirota, who is in his 30s.
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The gamble paid off. Sirota now owns a barn full of dairy cows just a few steps along a snow-covered road away from the production hall, but purchases additional milk because demand for his cheese is so high.
His dairy operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and employs 11 workers. He currently produces 800 pounds of cheese a day, and plans are in place to increase that to 4,000 pounds by the end of the year.
"The agricultural sector is definitely a success story for President Putin."
Sirota says his business is now making several thousand dollars per month in profits. His product is in such high demand that some customers are prepared to prepay more than $100 to reserve a wheel of cheese in advance.
“Is it now clear why I love Putin so much?” he says with a big smile.
Production manager Sergey Nedorezov learned cheesemaking in Germany and returned to Russia four years ago to join Sirota’s project.
"This is our gold," Nedorezov says as he watches another tub of curd being pressed into rings to form cheese.
According to Nedorezov, Russians knew how to make cheese good enough for export to Europe a century ago, but the art was lost during the turmoil of two world wars and the Soviet era. For decades, Russian factories churned out mass-produced, mostly soft cheeses, while artisanal cheeses were imported.
Now, Sirota is only months away from tasting his factory's first Russian-made Parmesan, which has been aging for over a year on storage racks.
Parmesan is a favorite of Russian consumers, but nearly impossible to buy with sanctions in place and difficult to produce due the large amount of high-quality milk needed. Sirota hopes to taste it in about six months.
A block of Russian-made Parmesan cheese. Carlo Angerer / for NBC News
All Sirota needs is the Russian government to keep the counter-sanctions in place.
“I am so grateful to him, I love him so much now, I will cast my vote for him,” Sirota said, referring to Putin.
“There is a shield of sanctions and counter-sanctions above our country and we are developing and growing under this shield,” he added.
Many Russian farmers are likely to support Putin at the ballot box, according to Andrei Danilenko, chairman of Souzmoloko, the national dairy producers union.
“The farmers in the last 10 years have seen the results of increasing government support into the agricultural sector, and Putin has played a personal, significant role,” he said. “The farmers today identify him as the person who’s significantly improved their quality of life and their opportunities, so the agricultural sector is definitely a success story for President Putin.”
Wheels of cheese age for several months in storage racks at Oleg Sirota's factory. Carlo Angerer / for NBC News
The California-born Danilenko moved to Russia, the country of his parents, in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and started as a small farmer. In addition to representing dairy producers, he is also part-owner of a large agricultural company.
“The sanctions, in essence, stimulated us to take a much closer look at our own domestic production and most importantly take a careful look at efficiency,” he said, adding that agriculture and food production are among the country's fastest-growing sectors. Russia was once the world’s largest importer of grain but is now a record exporter.
Sirota, the cheesemaker, hopes to one day export his products as well.
“I am proud to be a Russian farmer,” he said. “This is not about money. I did it because I had a dream of Russian cheese, of Russian Parmesan, that we will be making this cheese — and we are actually making it now.” | {
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Something stinks in Irwindale. In recent months, officials in the largely industrial San Gabriel Valley city have appeared to be on a crusade to shut down Huy Fong Foods, the company that makes a wildly popular Sriracha sauce, for emitting chili and garlic odors that bother some neighbors. While a city should protect residents from harmful and/or unpleasant fumes, Irwindale’s aggressive and unreasonable tactics have threatened to drive a home-grown enterprise out of state and bolstered California’s unfortunate reputation as a bad place to do business.
But there may be hope for compromise in the Sriracha showdown. The city has already sued Huy Fong Foods to stop production if the odors continue. This week the City Council was on the verge of designating the factory a public nuisance, but postponed the decision for two weeks to allow more time for a settlement with Chief Executive Officer David Tran. It’s about time Irwindale leaders took a less heavy-handed approach, particularly since they lured the company to relocate to the city and to build a $40-million factory, which was completed just last year.
Tran, a Vietnamese immigrant who started his company in a small space in L.A’s Chinatown, moved to Irwindale after the city offered land in its industrial development project area and a 10-year interest-only loan so he could triple his sauce output. But while Irwindale is mostly industrial — there are fewer than 1,500 residents — Huy Fong Foods is across the street from homes, and some neighbors have complained that spicy odors are making their throats burn, eyes water and noses bleed.
Since October, air quality regulators have received 70 complaints, most of them from four households. Inspectors have made dozens of visits to the factory and nearby homes, yet have not cited the company for any environmental violations. Of course, the odors are a concern to residents even if they don’t trigger an environmental violation, and Irwindale officials are right to keep the pressure on Huy Fong Foods. But their tough tactics would be more justifiable if the odors presented a clear health risk or if Tran was ignoring the problem. He’s not. He reached out to air-quality regulators for advice early on and intends to have a new air filtration system in place by June 1 that he hopes will cut the odors.
In the meantime, Irwindale’s intransigence has prompted officials from a dozen other cities and states to court the company. A Texas lawmaker said he was troubled that Tran’s business was burdened by “excessive government interference” and said Huy Fong Foods would be appreciated and supported in his state. California can’t afford to let other states poach its entrepreneurs and private investment over local government squabbles that should be resolved in good faith. | {
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"eats popcorn" i think she does "keep eating popcorn"LOL well this is my first ever drawing of two charactor interacting with one another.......and a KorrAsami drawing ate that and a dame good one i mean ate first it was just going to be Korra no one elites just her but then i thought that wouldn't be right Korra giving an O face for nothing........and before you question that GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER! well anyway time and time again i tried to draw Asami in the drawing and every time i kept messing up and then this happened perfect eye perfect hair just like Asami but i hate makeup on my female character drawing i don't know why but i'll accept for Asami's sake and for the KorrAsami fan's :3 enjoy and have a wonderful day everybody.almost forgot while drawing this i lessened to this music: www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2HSHH… and if the video gets deleted the song is called " the weekend earned it""Legend of Korra" and all its characters are owned by "Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko" | {
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Keeping your house cool during the summer doesn’t mean you have to give up on your green endeavors. In fact, there are plenty of ways to get your home’s interior temperature down without the utilities bill going up. With environmental friendliness in mind, the following six tips will help you keep your house cool without burning a hole in your wallet or the ozone layer.
Ventilate, Ventilate, Ventilate
Ventilation is the art of getting hot air out of your home and replacing it with cooler air. OK, so it’s not an art, but it’s definitely a helpful tip that’ll keep your home’s temperature cool during the long summer months. To properly ventilate your house, all you need are windows and good timing.
During the day, hot air collects in your home through natural heating and heat absorption. To ventilate that warm air, simply open your windows when you notice the temperature dropping at night. The hot air will naturally escape, and the cooler night air will take its place.
Turn on the Fans
If you can’t tell already, ventilation is pretty important when it comes to keeping your house cool and environmentally friendly during the summer. The ventilation tip above is great, but there’s a way to kick the ventilation process up a notch: ceiling and window fans.
When outdoor temperatures begin to drop at night, open your windows and place a window fan on the east side of the house, pulling air in and another window fan on the west side of the house pushing air out. Doing so will expedite the ventilation process. Likewise, get those ceiling fans going at night – but just remember that ceiling fans cool people, not rooms.
Landscape for Shade
If your home is exposed to direct sunlight for more than two hours a day, it can raise interior temperatures by 10 degrees or more. Planting tall shrubbery along the east and west-facing sides of your house can cut down on exposure and naturally keep your house cool.
Likewise, planting bushy, low-lying shrubs or installing trellises around your outdoor air conditioning unit will also provide shade that helps it run more efficiently. Whether you’re trying to beat the heat in your Florida new home or you’re looking for ways to keep cool in your current one, remember that shade-smart landscaping goes a long way.
Avoid Heat Producing Appliances
Your home is probably full of electronic appliances, and although most of them don’t generate much heat when in use, some of them do. Try to avoid using the top three heat-producing appliances during the day: the oven, the clothes dryer, and the dishwasher.
These hot potato appliances use heat as their main function, which does the job but also increases the interior temperature of your home. If possible, only use the oven at night or early in the morning. In addition, wash and hand dry dishes and hang dry your clothes. It’ll keep your house cool, your energy usage low, and it’s great for the environment.
Keep the Air Conditioner Running Like an Eco-Friendly Champ
When the summer unleashes record-breaking temperatures and your house is hot enough to bake bread, it’s probably time to turn on the AC. Before you go running your air conditioner around the clock, first remember to clean the filter. A dirty filter uses much more energy than a clean one.
In addition, remember the thermostat rule: 74 degrees during the day and 78 degrees at night. If your AC has to drop five degrees or more to reach the desired temperature, it’s working too hard, which isn’t good for you or the environment.
Make Use of Good Blinds
Ultraviolet rays can raise temperatures through the roof, especially during the summer. A great way to keep those rays out is by installing blinds throughout your home. Not all blinds are built the same when it comes to blocking sunlight, so skip the mini blinds and choose neutral colored, wide slat wood blinds for the greatest light blocking potential.
By following the green tips above, you’ll keep your home’s interior cool without spending a fortune in air conditioning costs.
Ventilation shaft | {
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Ex-cabinet minister, human rights activist, author and outgoing Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky won the 2018 Israel Prize for his lifetime achievement and exceptional contribution to the State of Israel in the field of Aliyah and ingathering of the exiles, it was announced Sunday by Education Minister Naftali Bennett.
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Bennett congratulated the former refusnik (a term used for people who were refused permission to emigrate to Israel from the Soviet Union), saying he "symbolizes the fulfillment of the Zionist dream, from the darkness of a Soviet prison to the light of freedom as the leader of the Jewish Agency."
Natan Sharansky (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
In a statement issued following the announcement, Sharansky called the award "a great honor and a great responsibility."
"When it comes to kibbutz galuyot, ingathering the exiles, this prize also goes to (my wife) Avital and to all the Aliyah activists and Prisoners of Zion in the Soviet Union who fought valiantly for the right to immigrate to Israel. It also goes to the entire Jewish people, which supported the refuseniks’ struggle for freedom," he wrote.
“The ingathering of the exiles continues–Aliyah today is an Aliyah of free choice: Israel is the best place for self-actualization as a Jew and for impacting the future of the Jewish people. We must do everything to ensure that Israel remains a home to every Jew in the world.”
In its reasoning for awarding the prize to Sharansky, the Israel Prize committee wrote, "Mr. Sharansky's activity is an activity for the Jewish people and the State of Israel and constitutes an absolute engrossment that has even led to a violation of his freedom.
"The story of his life is a sign and a symbol of the struggle for the right of the Jews to immigrate to the Land of Israel, to settle there and to be absorbed in it with dignity."
Sharansky with the late Shimon Peres
Lawmakers from across the political spectrum congratulated Sharansky on the award.
In a Twitter post directly addressing him, President Reuven Rivlin said Sharansky has "traveled a long and moving journey, from Prisoner of Zion, a symbol of the struggle for freedom, then MK & senior minister, now chairman of the Jewish Agency," adding that Israel is "blessed to have you."
From the gulag to the Knesset
Born in 1948 in the former Soviet Union as Anatoly Borisovich Shcharansky, Sharansky was denied permission to immigrate to Israel by the government in 1973 for alleged information he was given which was vital to Soviet national security.
He then became a human rights activist, working as a spokesperson for the Moscow Helsinki Group, one of Russia's leading human rights organizations, and a leader for the rights of refuseniks.
In 1977, Sharansky was arrested on multiple fabricated charges including high treason for spying for the Americans and sentenced the following year to 13 years of forced labor.
When given his sentencing, Sharansky famously stated that "to the court I have nothing to say—to my wife and the Jewish people I say 'Next Year in Jerusalem.'"
He spent nine years in a Siberian prison. Half of that was spent in solitary confinement, where his health deteriorated to the point of endangering his life. Sharansky, a chess prodigy, later said that he managed to keep himself sane by playing chess with himself, in his head.
After nine years in prison, thanks to considerable international pressure and a campaign led by his wife, Avital Sharansky, Mr. Sharansky was released on February 11, 1986. That same day, he immigrated to Israel and arrived in Jerusalem, where he continued to fight for the rights of refuseniks.
Three former Prisoners of Zion. L-R: Rabbi Yosef Mendelevitch, Yoel Edelstein and Natan Sharansky (צילום: דוד רובינגר)
In 1995 Sharansky and Speaker of the Knesset and fellow Prisoner of Zion Yoel Edelstein founded the Yisrael BaAliyah party (a play of words, since "aliya" also means "rise," thus the party name means "People of Israel are immigrating to the State of Israel" as well as "Israel on the rise").
From 1996 to 2000 he served as Minister of Industry and Trade and then as Minister of Internal Affairs, leaving the government when it was suggested that former Prime Minister Ehud Barak's negotiations with the Palestinians would result in a division of Jerusalem.
Sharansky remained the chairman of the party, which was later merged into the Likud. He later served in the government in 2001–2003 as Deputy Prime Minister and Ministry of Construction and Housing, and in 2003–2005 as Minister of Jerusalem Affairs.
In 2009, Sharansky was elected Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, remaining in the position until 2018. Both former US President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended his farewell gala , thanking him for his service.
L-R: Avital Sharansky, fmr. US President Bush, Natan Sharansky, Sara and Prime Minister Netanyahu
For his activism, Sharansky was awarded the two highest civilian awards in the United States, the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom , in 1986 and 2006 respectively, and the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award in 2008.
He continued to lead human rights initiatives both through his writings and through his public activism. His memoir, "Fear No Evil," was published in the United States in 1988 and translated into nine languages. His best-seller, "The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror," which starred in the New York Times best-seller list, attracted considerable attention for its prescience.
Sharansky, along with other laureates of the award, will be officially awarded the Israel Prize during this year’s 70th Independence Day celebrations, set to take place on April 19. | {
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You don’t have to look around for a Confederate flag to know that the old battle cry of “states’ rights” is here again. This time, it’s not about the “right” to keep the races separate. It’s about the “right” to vote for a child molester. But understanding why it’s come to this takes some figuring.
What I’d like you to do is this: try to imagine for a moment living in a small town in the deep South — a town like, say, Gadsden, Alabama — surrounded by piney woods and sandy soil, the kind of place where everybody knows everybody else’s business. A lot of industry already moved offshore, to countries where they can pay workers even less than the right-to-work pittance they paid in Gadsden. Left behind are strip malls, Pizza Huts, Krispy Kremes, muffler shops, tire retailers, Dairy Queens, women selling Mary Kay cosmetics to each other.
Over there on Lewis Road you’ll find an old red barn set up as a horseshoeing business, with a long-dead rusted flat-bed truck up on blocks, and across the one lane black-top road, a 50-by-12 trailer home with peeling paint and an above-ground pool right next door to a ranch-style house with aluminum siding that has three cars parked on the gravel drive out front. Drive a little further, and you’ll find another ranch-style house with aluminum siding, and another, and another, and a truly amazing number of pick-up trucks parked in driveways in various states of disassembly or repair. And churches — lots and lots of churches — New Faith Community Church, and Faith Baptist Church, and Full Gospel Tabernacle, and James Memorial Baptist Church, just across the street from the Dollar General, and the Living Truth Christian Center, which is not far from the St. Paul Overcoming Church of God, which is just down Glenwood Avenue from Paden Baptist Church.
The small Southern town we’re imagining — say, a place like Gadsden, Alabama — has a population that is 34 percent black and 62 percent white, so it’s easy to imagine yourself as a citizen of either race. Now what I’d like you to do is imagine that you are one of the black citizens, and living in Gadsden, Alabama you hear this phrase over and over and over: our blacks. Let me say it again: our blacks. You also hear our negroes, and our ni**ers, but because Gadsden is under somewhat of a national spotlight and people are endeavoring to be seen as, ahem, inclusive, let’s have you imagine hearing from the mouths of your fellow citizens who are white is that you are one of our blacks.
Now what I’d like you to do is stop imagining, because that’s what you’ll actually hear in Gadsden, Alabama and towns like it all over the deep South. I know, because I’ve been there, and I’ve lived there, and years ago, I grew up there. I’ve been to Gadsden, and I’ve been to towns like it elsewhere in Alabama, and over in Mississippi, and down in Louisiana and up in Arkansas and Tennessee, too. You’ll be talking to somebody as I was some years ago when I passed through Fort Smith Arkansas — a guy sitting next to me at breakfast, to be exact — and you’ll hear them tell you that our blacks are different than the ones in Little Rock, or you’ll hear them say our blacks keep to themselves, or they’ll tell you that our blacks are good people, God fearing people. Because, you know, we’re not talking about their blacks, we’re talking about our blacks, and we know how to deal with blacks around here.
Or maybe you’ll be out at a dirt track in rural Tennessee, a place they nicknamed “Ducktona” because it’s close to the Duck River, and you’ll be watching late model race cars go round and round. And between races, when the noise of the un-muffled race cars isn’t deafening, you’ll hear someone sitting in front of you in the virtually all-white stands talking to his buddy, and he’ll say, well, our blacks aren’t like that, because they know their place around here. Or you’ll be in Louisiana south of Lafayette at a duck camp, which is to say, a place in the deep bayous where you go duck hunting, and you’ll be sitting in a wood-framed plywood bar set up on stilts so it won’t flood during hurricanes, and you’ll be listening to two fellow duck hunters, and one of them is telling the other that our blacks can’t be relied on anymore because they’ve been fed a whole load of bullshit by the goddamned Democrats, and now they don’t want to work, and that’s why we’ve got all these Mexicans and Cambodians coming in, because at least they’ll take the jobs in the chicken plants, and goddamnit, we’ve got to teach our blacks a lesson.
I’ve heard all of it, and I’ve heard worse, and I know where the phrase our blacks comes from. It comes from slavery, because the ancestors of the black people they’re talking about were actually owned by the ancestors of the people doing the talking, back when the phrase they used was our slaves. If their ancestors weren’t slave owners, some of them fought in the Civil War in defense of the right of plantation owners and other more wealthy Southern gentry to own slaves. We know this because Alexander Stephens, the Vice President of the Confederate States of America, declared as much in his infamous “Cornerstone Speech,” delivered in 1861 soon after the secession from the Union by Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Mr. Stephens, a former congressman from Georgia, was good enough to tell us that the newly formed Confederacy was “founded upon exactly [this] idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests upon the great truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery — subordination to the superior race — is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.”
Of course as soon as they lost the war, Stephens and virtually every other so-called “leader” in the deep South dropped this rationale for the Confederacy and the reason they fought the Civil War in favor of a new “cause,” that of the sovereignty of the South and the right of self-government. And they would spend the next 150 years — in fact, right up until the present day — creating and maintaining the fiction that slavery had nothing to do with their “noble cause,” which they have maintained variously over the years was “states’ rights,” and their “honor,” and of course, the current favorite, their “heritage.” They would go on to erect more than 1,500 memorials to the Confederacy and its “heroes” all over the South in prominent locations, at least 718 of which are statues and monuments.
It gets worse. They also named roads and public plazas all over the South for their “heroes,” the generals who fought for slavery during the Civil War. Right there in downtown Gadsden is Forrest Avenue, named after Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Confederate general who led his army in battles including the battles of Franklin and Nashville. Before the war, Forrest was a wealthy plantation owner and slave trader. After the war, he was an early member of the KKK and led midnight raids and whippings of black citizens in a movement to keep them from voting during Reconstruction after the passage of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
You practically can’t turn around in Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama without seeing something named after a Confederate general — a road, a courthouse, a municipal building, a park. And they kept it up. I’ve been through parts of Alabama and Mississippi where highways and buildings are named for sheriffs and local politicians who were infamous during the Civil Rights era for their opposition to voting rights for black Americans. Remember all those fights in the South over textbooks, most famously the ones on the Texas Board of Education every few years over how the history books should be written? What do you think those rights have been over? You’ve got it. They’re sick and tired down there about how all the history textbooks are running down the founding fathers of the Confederacy and talking about “negative stuff” like slavery and such. Why, the Civil War wasn’t fought over slavery! It’s was fought over states’ rights!
What does all of this amount to? Putting our blacks in their place, that’s what. Every time they turn around, black citizens of those Southern states are being reminded who is boss. They’re being told they’re our blacks, because the Southern political leadership can shove the legacy of slavery in their faces, even while they’re denying it in the schools and history books with invented rationales for the Civil War. The maintenance of this fiction, backed up by the arrogant notion that they didn’t want “outsiders” coming in and telling them how to write their laws and run their elections, was the heart and soul of the Jim Crow era, the heart and soul of the massive opposition to integration and the Civil Rights Laws of the 1960’s.
And now it is the beating heart and soul of opposition in the South to same-sex marriage, to the rights of transgendered people, even to the right to vote in general. Shelby County v. Holder, the case which defenestrated the Voting Rights Act, originated one county over from Etowah County. Gadsden is its county seat.
There is a connective tissue between Gadsden, Alabama; Selma, Alabama; Philadelphia, Mississippi; Little Rock, Arkansas; and even now Charlottesville, Virginia, where Nazis and Nathan Bedford Forrest’s KKK marched last summer in opposition to taking down Confederate statues. They’re saying over and over again, in one way or another: we don’t want outsiders telling us what to do with our blacks. We don’t want to be told who gets to go in our public restrooms. We don’t want to be told that we shouldn’t vote for a man just because he’s a child molester. It’s about our right to self-govern, our right to vote for whoever the hell we want to!
We are in a new Civil War. They voted for plenty of guys who put on white hoods and burned crosses and more than a few who put nooses around the necks of some of “their” blacks. It’s about states’ rights all over again. Once it was about the “right” to own slaves. Now it’s about the “right” to vote for a redneck child molester by the name of Roy Moore.
Which way do you think they’ll vote on December 12? | {
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Conor McGregor says he wouldn’t be surprised if he KO’d Floyd Mayweather in 10 seconds. This seems generous of McGregor – why even grant Mayweather 10 seconds?
After all, the brash fighter nicknamed "the Notorious" has never been shy about tooting his own horn. Last November McGregor became one of the only mixed martial arts fighters to hold UFC Championship titles in two different weight classes, and it was hard to imagine how the incredible fighter and even better showman would top himself. Conor called himself the Double Champ, held both title belts high over his head, and apologized "for absolutely fookin’ nuttin’" in his famous Irish brogue.
Many fans, especially those who only loosely follow combat sports, wondered aloud whether McGregor could beat Mayweather in a boxing match, while dedicated fans of combat sports generally dismissed the question. Prominent MMA journalist Ariel Helwani characterized the inquiry as disrespectful -- as Helwani told it at the time, fans should be in awe of what McGregor had accomplished within the sport of MMA, and it was foolish and unnecessary to measure him against an athlete from a different sport.
Less than one year later, McGregor’s next fight is indeed the improbable matchup pitting the uber-charismatic Irishman against the scandalous (briefly) retired boxing champion Floyd Mayweather. Analysts now seem to be divided on how to view the fight. Many insiders and analysts see the fight as a sham; journalist Dave Meltzer (who has covered MMA since its pre-infancy) has repeatedly decried the Nevada State Athletic Commission for sanctioning the bout between a 49-0 fighter that many consider to be the greatest tactician ever, and an 0-0 boxer who is essentially a promising amateur when it comes to the sweet science. The esteemed MMA fight analyst Jack Slack has said he wouldn’t bet on McGregor by KO unless the Mayweather camp itself himself told him that the fix was in.
Not everyone "in the know" is holding his nose at the fight. Helwani himself has done a 180 since the fight actually materialized, and has used his weekly MMA talk show (the MMA Hour) as a platform to analyze (or promote) the fight as if it is the generational super-fight that Showtime and the UFC would like the public to believe it is. He has trotted out guests ranging from McGregor’s coaches to Showtime’s executives, all clamoring about how legitimate and unpredictable the matchup will be.
A fan might wonder whom to believe. How can some respected analysts be selling this as not just a good fight, but as a "fight of the century," while others spin this not just as a weird matchup, but as a full-blown sham that never should have been sanctioned? Should fans be excited, or cynical?
I’ve struggled to answer this question myself; on the one hand, I know better. I know that as much as it is possible to predict the outcome of a boxing match, not only is Mayweather’s victory all but guaranteed, but it is unlikely that McGregor will be able to deliver even a single moment of gratification to his millions of adoring fans.
But at the same time, that isn’t any fun. When McGregor says he could dust Mayweather within 10 seconds, it is more fun to believe that McGregor’s threats to do the impossible have some bite. When Mayweather says that his legacy is at stake, it’s more fun to believe that he is taking a huge gamble than an incredibly safe fight to add a 50th win to his 49-0 record. When brief clips of McGregor beating on retired former WBC Champion Paulie Malignaggi are leaked by UFC President Dana White, it’s more fun to believe we are seeing confirmation that McGregor can hang with real boxers, than to question whether the brief excerpted video is all smoke and mirrors.
Ultimately, the outcome of the fight is extremely predictable, almost pre-determined. The fight exists solely as a spectacle of hype; it is entertainment, not sport; but what is wrong with that? I may not believe the analysts who claim that McGregor has a puncher’s chance, but I can still indulge in the fantasy they are selling.
Indeed, Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather is a pro wrestling match. And while the whole world tunes in to see this generation’s version of Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant, I would rather be the person asking "Do you really think Andre can be body slammed?" than the person asking "Don’t you know this is all fake?" | {
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NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) was launched in September 2018 and became the highest-resolution laser altimeter ever operated from space. The satellite is now measuring the height of Earth’s surfaces in remarkable detail. In this series, NASA Earth Observatory is sharing three early views that highlight the breadth of what ICESat-2 can “see.”
As scientists examined the first elevation data from the new ICESat-2 satellite, they saw vast, smooth stretches across Antarctica. Indeed, most of the continent’s snow- and ice-topped surface is flat. So too are the parts of an ice sheet that spread over the water, such as the Ross Ice Shelf. But there are some places where the terrain rises and falls steeply, such as the Transantarctic Mountains dividing East and West Antarctica.
The rugged terrain of the Queen Maud Mountains—a subdivision of the Transantarctic Mountains—is visible in the elevation measurement above, acquired on October 26, 2018, by ICESat-2’s Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS). For reference, the orbital path is laid over a natural-color image acquired on November 23, 2018, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite.
The ATLAS instrument measures elevation by sending pulses of light to Earth’s surface. It then measures, to within a billionth of a second, how long it takes individual photons to return to the satellite. Each dot on the visualization above represents a photon detected by ATLAS. Some of the dots in this “photon cloud” are photons from the Sun that reflected from the snow, but the densest areas form a line that indicate the height of a surface.
“ICESat-2 can track the surface nicely over some difficult terrain. It can resolve small valleys in the mountains that are really hard to see in other altimetry data,” said Benjamin Smith, a glaciologist at the University of Washington. Some of these mountain slopes are very steep, with angles of more than 45 degrees. “Think about trying to stand up on something like that. It’s a pretty severe slope.”
Not only is ICESat-2 showing more detail than previous space-based altimeters, it is also filling in existing gaps in coverage. Orbiting over more southern latitudes than ever before, the satellite can start to show changes closer to Antarctica’s center, where there are still large unknowns in how the ice is changing. Scientists think the changes are small, but the Antarctic Plateau is so vast that even very small changes to the height of the ice can lead to large changes in sea level.
“Very soon we will have measurements that we can compare to older measurements from the first ICESat,” Smith said. ICESat flew from 2003 to 2010. “Then after a year we will have repeat measurements form ICESat-2 and can begin to watch ice sheets change in real time.”
NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using ICESat-2 data courtesy of Kaitlin Harbeck, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Story by Kathryn Hansen. | {
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President Donald Trump on Monday moved to end open asylum protections to most Central American migrants traveling to the United States.
Congress won’t act so President Trump did.
The new rule, published in the Federal Register, will force asylum seekers to apply in first country they enter instead of the US.
They will have to be rejected by their first country before they can apply in the United States.
The rule also applies to children who have crossed the border alone.
As expected Democrats are outraged at President Trump’s latest attempt to enforce federal law.
TRENDING: BREAKING: Black Lives Matter Rioters in Hollywood Chase Down and Attack Driver.. UPDATE... DRIVER DETAINED BY POLICE (SHOCKING VIDEO)
Democrats want their open borders.
It doesn’t matter to Democrats that 90% of asylum cases are denied and fraudulent.
Nancy Pelosi released this statement following the president’s announcement.
Via Nancy Pelosi’s website: | {
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A warmer Arctic climate is influencing the air pressure at the North Pole and shifting wind patterns on our planet. We can expect more cold and snowy winters in Europe, eastern Asia and eastern North America.
"Cold and snowy winters will be the rule, rather than the exception," says Dr James Overland of the NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in the United States. Dr Overland is at the International Polar Year Oslo Science Conference (IPY-OSC) to chair a session on polar climate feedbacks, amplification and teleconnections, including impacts on mid-latitudes.
Loss of sea ice causes major climate change
Continued rapid loss of sea ice will be an important driver of major change in the world's climate system in the years to come.
"While the emerging impact of greenhouse gases is an important factor in the changing Arctic, what was not fully recognised until now is that a combination of an unusual warm period due to natural variability, loss of sea ice reflectivity, ocean heat storage and changing wind patterns working together has disrupted the memory and stability of the Arctic climate system, resulting in greater ice loss than earlier climate models predicted," says Dr Overland.
"The exceptional cold and snowy winter of 2009-2010 in Europe, eastern Asia and eastern North America is connected to unique physical processes in the Arctic," he says.
Irreversible change
The Arctic is warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the planet. This is known as Arctic amplification -- a much debated phenomenon at the IPY-OSC, where 2400 polar scientists have gathered to discuss the huge amount of research and new findings which are the direct result of the International Polar Year.
The changes are happening a great deal faster than the scientific community expected. Given the recent reduction of the area of multi-year sea ice and reduced ice thickness, it is unlikely that the Arctic can return to its previous condition.
"The changes are irreversible," says Dr Overland.
A landmark event
"The IPY Oslo Science Conference is a landmark event in our understanding of the Arctic climate," says Dr Overland, who is chairing one of the sessions on climate at the conference. More than 80 scientific papers have been submitted discussing Arctic amplification and its impacts. | {
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Latest Teesside headlines straight to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email
A pro cannabis rally is taking place in Redcar on Saturday.
Supporters are to campaign for a change in the law, as well as those wanting to find out more about their efforts.
As part of their campaign organisers Teesside Cannabis Club - which has joined with Tyne & Wear Cannabis Club to host the event - seeks to see the drug legalised for medicinal use.
It is the first major cannabis-based event to be held in the North-east and will take place from 12pm - with further details available on the Facebook event page.
It will feature a number of speakers and the opportunity to meet other campaigners.
John Holiday, 30, is the founder of Teesside Cannabis Club which he says has around 1000 members.
John says he used cannabis to help with a chronic stomach complaint that doctors were unable to diagnose.
However he is keen to stress that as a figurehead for the club he no longer uses the drug.
John, a mechanic from central Middlesbrough, says that after much research online he turned to cannabis oil six years ago which he says helped him dramatically - and claims he was able to come off six prescribed drugs entirely.
He said: “It completely resolved the problem.
“If it wasn’t for running this campaign I would still be using it every day.”
He added: “We are trying to promote the medicinal use, the industrial use and the recreational use - we want to tackle it on all three points.
“we are trying to get as much attention as possible. However we are not condoning anyone behaving in a illegal way.
“It’s a meeting of like-minded people.
“People will come from all over to find out the facts and speak to people.”
Currently it remains illegal for UK residents to possess cannabis in any form. It is illegal to possess, grow, distribute or sell in the UK without the appropriate licences.
It is a Class B drug, with penalties for unlicensed dealing, unlicensed production and unlicensed trafficking of up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.
A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said they would be monitoring the event and dealing robustly with anyone engaging in antisocial or criminal behaviour.
Alcohol is banned at the event. | {
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Ricky Moore is a late bloomer in the world of higher education. However, he’s not letting that halt his dream of becoming a pharmacist.
Moore spent eight years in the mines in the Rock Spring Development until 2015 when the closed the mine laying off all the miners.
“We knew something was happening when they began to cut our hours,” said Moore.
As a single father he was not left with many options other than finding a job. Moore began working as a pharmacy tech at the Kroger in Russell, Kentucky. There Moore says he found his passion and decided to take a jump, quit his job, and fully enroll in Marshall’s School of Pharmacy.
After receiving scholarships he was accepted to the school and has now completed his first week of classes.
“I want to show my daughter she can do things just like I did when I put my mind to it,” said Moore.
Moore says he now wants to also be an inspiration for other miners who are forced to hang up their hard hats and take on new futures. | {
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At first blush, the tax reform blueprint offered by House Ways and Means chairman Dave Camp seems likely to get lost in the divisions that roil the Republican Party.
Camp’s plan is too ambitious (and risky) for the party establishment. That’s why it is essentially a working paper and not a bill. GOP congressional leaders don’t want their members voting to trim or eliminate popular tax deduction ahead of the 2014 midterm elections. Neither do they welcome an elaborate discussion of whose taxes might be raised and whose might be cut.
Simultaneously, the plan is too timid for the Tea Party. Conservative groups weren’t exactly scathing, but they were restrained. FreedomWorks called it an “admirable failure.” The Club for Growth issued a statement that “salutes” Camp’s handiwork, while picking around the edges. Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform released a helpful list of fixes for the plan.
The main objections were that Camp’s blueprint didn’t go far enough in cutting taxes. It treats capital gains as ordinary income. It didn’t rely on dynamic scoring, that is, didn’t look at how tax policy changes economic behavior when estimating revenues. FreedomWorks’ Dean Clancy called for “massive tax cuts” and complained that Camp still left multiple rates in place.
Camp is even caught in a bit of an internal conservative dispute over tax reform. Some argued his plan should contain larger tax credits for families with children, like the “family-friendly” approach of Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee. Others dismissed the child tax credits already included as “social engineering.”
This is in contrast with the reaction to Paul Ryan’s budget and Medicare plans, the last detailed set of reforms proposed by a major Republican congressional leader. Ryan’s handiwork initially frightened his superiors while attracting conservative support. It later became the official House Republican budget, even as a small number of conservatives began to protest it didn’t go far enough.
Nevertheless, this obscures the extent to which Camp is reflecting a real Republican consensus. There is nearly universal support on the right for a simpler tax code, with fewer deductions and brackets plus lower rates. Camp makes the tax code less of a special-interest plaything and reduces the corporate-income-tax rate to a more competitive level.
Some of these ideas could even claim Democratic support. Barack Obama agrees the current corporate tax rate is too high. Democrats oppose many of the business subsidies in the present tax code (while supporting many others). Concessions like treating capital gains like ordinary income, revenue-neutrality, and avoiding a pure flat tax were essential to passing tax reform on a bipartisan basis under Ronald Reagan in 1986—a reform that left the country with just two brackets and a top rate of 28 percent.
Camp also subtly shifts the Republican image. Many corporate welfare recipients and lobbyists lose out. So do some rich people, comparatively speaking, thanks to the end of deductions for state taxes and changes in the mortgage interest deduction. (Admittedly, it is businesses that already support the Democrats and high-income residents of blue states that would fare the worst.) Camp takes on the bailout bait of “too big to fail” by effectively creating tax penalties for banks that grow too large.
Moreover, Camp’s plan reflects how much both major parties are hemmed in by their own ambitions—and rivers of red ink. Despite all the Washington back-patting about short-term deficit reduction, deficits are set to spike again in the coming years. Neither the national debt nor the unfunded liabilities of the major entitlement programs has been addressed.
Even the reduced annual budget deficit would have been unacceptable in any other political climate, small only compared to yearly shortfalls in excess of $1 trillion—that is, almost the size of the whole federal budget as recently as when Bill Clinton was president. That makes big Republican tax cuts or large Democratic spending increases untenable without upsetting an already precarious fiscal situation.
Dave Camp’s master plan isn’t going anywhere before November, lest swing-district voters see ads showing the Michigan Republican pushing old ladies in wheelchairs off cliffs. But if his party makes the kinds of gains it expects to, you will hear about it again.
And while a bipartisan “grand bargain” is unlikely, Camp’s proposal might be the starting point for tax reform discussions under the next president—especially if he or she is a Republican.
W. James Antle III is editor of the Daily Caller News Foundation and author of the new book Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped? | {
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If you’re looking for a holiday gift for a mathematician, STEM student, teacher, or other math-interested person in your life (including yourself), I’ve got good news for you! I am excited to announce the availability of a product I am particularly proud of: the AMS Page-a-day calendar, published by the American Mathematical Society. You can find it in their online store. (Disclosure: This is not an affiliate link, but I earn royalties when someone buys this calendar.)
Almost two years ago, a friend asked if I knew of any page-a-day calendars about math. I poked around a bit and could find various page-a-day puzzle calendars but nothing that was quite what my friend had in mind. We went to the AMS to see if they would be interested in publishing a math calendar that didn’t focus on puzzles or arithmetic but on a much broader range of mathematical topics. Yes, puzzles are fun, but there’s a lot more to math than that. What about math-inspired art, math history and mathematicians, and all the weird and wonderful shapes and spaces mathematicians dream up? We wanted to make a math calendar that reflects the breadth of the subject and the diversity of the people who have done it, today and throughout history.
Much to our delight, the AMS said yes, and now this object exists in the world! I did most of the writing, but about 50 mathematicians, artists, and poets contributed images, poems, coloring pages, activities and puzzles for your enjoyment.
You might know that I'm a total scrooge about holidays, especially Pi Day. Well, sometimes you’ve got to give the people what they want, and the people want Pi Day! To make up for my former scrooginess, I put a bunch of them in the calendar, and I even included some other important holidays: Swiss Cheese Day, e Day, World Snake Day, the International Day of Sign Languages, and of course Constitution Day in Nepal, to name a few.
Math is done by people, so I made sure to include a lot of them. Sure, you’ll see Gauss, Euler, and Noether on the calendar, but you’ll also meet Anna Julia Cooper, Chuan-Chih Hsiung, Dattathreya Kaprekar, Graciela Salicrup, and no fewer than four Olgas. (Rejected subtitle for the project: Four Olgas, No Mercy.) You’ll learn about mathematics from every continent except Antarctica (get with it, penguins!) and from thousands of years of history. There are jokes, riddles, puns, and a few days where I’m just trolling you. Sorry about that. Feel free to send me a video of yourself throwing the calendar across the room on April 16.
The calendar is not specific to 2020. You can use it any year! If you’re stumbling on this post well after I wrote it in November 2019, you should still be able to enjoy it. It will still be a steadfast mathematical companion as you face whatever new year it is. You can even drill some holes in the top and put it on a couple of binder rings and start using it at any point in the year.
I’m not used to asking readers to pay money directly for my writing. I love that so much of my work is available for free for anyone with an internet connection. But I really am proud of this calendar, and I think anyone who is interested in any aspect of math will learn something from this calendar—and perhaps even be entertained in the process. | {
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Posted 8 years ago on Aug. 10, 2012, 11:44 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Book Bloc is getting ready for #S17. Are you?
September 15-17 NYC: Three days of education, celebration and resistance
No Matter What Your Issue, If You Follow the Money....All Roads Lead to Wall Street.
This week’s action: Check out the #S17 Call to Action video and share with your communities!
Occupy these Actions and Assemblies
Friday, August 10th, 2pm
99 Pickets Wheels 4 Workers
Join 32BJ SEIU workers and their supporters for the RIDE FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM — a bike ride to protest real estate developers like T.F. Cornerstone who are denying their largely immigrant service workers the security, retirement, safety-training and advancement opportunities afforded to 55,000 building workers in NYC. For just $2/hour per worker more, Cornerstone could stop this destructive race to the bottom.
Meet us at the starting line for the send off! Or get on your bike and make the ride!
2:00 – 3:30pm: Rally at Cornerstone’s HQ at 387 Park Ave South, Manhattan
3:30 – 4:30pm: Ride to Long Island City
4:30 – 6:00pm: Rally at Cornerstone: 4720 Center Blvd, Long Island City
Friday, August 10th, 2pm
Food for Thought Film Series
La Casita, 414 45th Street, Brooklyn
Occupy/Occupemos Sunset Park continues its series with two films on urban financial crises and how people fought back against them. "TIGHTEN YOUR BELTS, BITE THE BULLET," from 1981, and "PEOPLE'S FIREHOUSE #1" from 1979.
Saturday, August 11th, 11:00am-7:00pm
Occupy Town Square - Astoria/Long Island City
Astoria Park, 21 Hoyt Avenue North, Queens
Occupy Astoria LIC invites you to Occupy Town Square: a traveling celebration of free assembly. There will be a potluck picnic from 12-2pm, a swap-market, music, dance, teach-ins, storytelling and exchanging ideas about our neighborhood & our city.
Saturday, August 11th, 11:30am
Broadcast of Occupy Brooklyn TV!
On the web and on TV: all NYC, Verizon: Channel 43; In Brooklyn: Time Warner channel 35, Cablevision channel 68, RCN channel 83
Don’t miss Occupy Public Access TV’s first show! News and views from the international people’s resistance will be available both online and on TV.
Sunday, August 12, 12:00pm-4:00pm
S17 Work Session
33 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn
Got some work to do for S17? Join teams from across OWS as we work on all the exciting stuff that needs doing for S17: websites, volunteer coordination, calendar updates, prep for the Monday Spokes meeting and anything else.
Sunday, August 12, 4:00pm
The People’s Puppets of OWS Present: Jack and the Corporate Beanstalk
American Park in Greenpoint (Franklin St. between Milton St. & Noble St., Brooklyn)
Jack goes to college for a better future but realizes after being saddled with debt that she’s still at the mercy of the Corporate Giant. In this puppet music spectacle the audience is encouraged to get involved and help Jack take back the Golden Goose for the 99%.
Tuesday, August 14, 6:30 pm
American Autumn Film Screening
Church of the Redeemer, 30-14 Crescent Street at 30th Avenue
Occupy Astoria LIC presents the Occu-Doc American Autumn as part of their ‘Documentaries for the 99%’ series. This Occupy movie is a powerfully unique one, as described by David Swanson: “We now have a film of our own. This is not amateur hour. This is a movie as well made, in technical terms, as any Hollywood blockbuster with Pentagon funding. But this is a movie with us in it."
Friday, August 17th, Midnight Every Night until September 16th
#YesWeCamp 2.0 #PACAttack
Union Square
Join for a month of tactical #SleepfulProtests starting August 16th and culminating on the eve of Occupy Wall Street’s one-year-anniversary on September 16th. Assemble at #OccupyUnionSq for Eviction Theater to connect with sleeping groups each night at Midnight.
Saturday, August 18th, 2:00pm
4th Feminist General Assembly
Harlem Meer, Central Park - 110th St.
This will be a Feminist General Assembly focusing on the struggles of People of Color. We will work on actions to combat racial and economic injustice. Everyone is invited, allies welcome!
For Text Message alerts on your cellphone about daily events, actions, and important information, sign up for the ComHub SMS blasts by texting @owscom to 23559. | {
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とりあえず見とくれよ やり方とかそういうのはあとで説明するから、まずは魔法使いっぽくなった写真を見てください。
はい。
どうですか、これが現代の魔法使いです。モデルは妻です。
こういう遊びが簡単にできます。
魔法陣の中に立つのも良い 人の前に魔法陣を出すのもいいですが、中に立つのもいい具合になります。
かっこいいポーズは黒歴史の引き出しにいっぱい入ってるはずだよ。
手の残像が魔法使いっぽい。
大気中の魔力を魔法陣で集めるイメージです。
魔法陣は適当に作った 魔法陣は自分で作りました。円とか三角とかを適当に組み合わせれば出来ます。
作りながら、あれ、俺なんでこんなにサクサク描けるんだろう？って思いましたが、あとで理由がわかりました。
魔法陣は簡単に作れて、簡単に映せます。
白魔導士だそうです。パーカーが魔法使いっぽく見えるのはファイナルファンタジーのせいだと思います。
小道具もアリです 本を持ったりパーカーのフードをかぶったりすると魔法使いっぽさが増します。
本は重要です。どんな本でも魔導書っぽくなります。
ポーズは工夫してください ポーズについてはそれぞれ工夫してください。
逆サイド狙いで
「棒立ちが逆に面白くない？」
とか思ったりしますが、たいてい面白くなくて、オーバーにポーズを付けた方が愉快です。
指をさしたりすると、魔法で戦ってるように見えます。
いま、俺の邪気眼が開く！
魔法使いは堂々と立つのが大事。
腰が曲がってると悪い魔女感が出ます。
５００枚以上撮りました。
まだつづきがあるので次のページへ。
いったん広告です
空中にも出せます 地面に映すのは比較的簡単ですが、空中に魔法陣を出すことも可能です。
現代の光学技術は市民を魔法使いにしてくれます。
夢があります。よかったですね。
なんらかの魔法を使う白魔導士。
青魔導士。
CG合成は使ってませんよ。
このくらいの大きさまで出せます。薄っすらタネが見えていますね。
魔法陣だけを単独で空中に出すこともできます。やり方は、超アナログです。
ほとんど魔法でしょう。
本当は誰でも魔法を使えます。でも、使いたい気持ちを忘れてしまうと使えなくなります。
私は、常に魔法を使える大人でありたい（名言ぽい）。
あらゆる物に命を与える 魔法陣を使えばいろいろなものに生命を与えることができます。
はい、こうです。
水飲み場に命が宿った。
なんてことないコンクリの塊にも命が宿ります。
魔法で呼び出された、アカンやつ。
禍々しさマシマシです。
中学生のころ女神転生というゲームをやっていた者としてはたまりませんな。
ただの岩が完全に仲魔。
目が合ったら死ぬ。
ウネウネ動き出して追いかけてくるやつ。
ただの車止めに命が宿った。
猫が生贄っぽくなる 魔法陣に猫を入れると、生贄の儀式っぽくなります。
無垢な目をしていますが、生贄です。バズの儀を行います。
寝てる猫に魔法陣を投影すると、より生贄感が出ます。猫を対価にPVを稼ぎます。
次のページでは、どうやって撮ってるのかを説明します。道具さえあれば、簡単ですよ。
いったん広告です
Picoプロジェクター 今やプロジェクターは手のひらサイズになりました。
2008年くらいに技術革新があり、ここ数年の中国製品の台頭により『小型で安いプロジェクター』が出てきました。
FOSONNのモバイル DLPプロジェクター。Amazonで26,000円くらい。
掛け値なしの手のひらサイズ。iPhoneやAndroidから無線で画面を飛ばせます。
マイクロSDカードを入れて、その中身を投影することもできます。この機種はHDMIなどの有線接続はできません。
思ったよりキレイに映ります。普通に映画とか見られる。
今回の撮影ではSDカードに魔法陣を入れて投影しました。
21世紀の魔法は魔導書ではなくSDカードに入っています。
スマホの画面を飛ばすのも簡単。アプリの使い方を説明するのに便利です。
魔法陣も映せるな、と気づいた もともとはアプリの使い方を説明するために買ったんですが、いろんなものを映しているうちに気付きました。
「魔法陣を映したら楽しそうだ。」
で、さっそく魔法陣を作ることに。
こんな魔法陣を作りました。
魔法陣（っぽいもの）の作り方 魔法陣を作るのは簡単です。まず、円とか正三角形を適当に描いて、文字を丸く配置します。
こんなのを作る。今思い出しましたが、リアル中学生の頃コンパスと鉛筆で魔法陣を描いてました。
上の魔法陣を小さくして四隅とかに適当にちりばめます。
鉛筆とコンパスで作図するのは結構たいへんでしたが、画像編集ソフト使うと楽です。
魔法陣っぽくなってきた。
更に、図形とかを色々散りばめれば完成。6角形を基本にしたなら図形も6個、対照的に配置します。
こうです。
コピペでサクサクやっていきましょう。簡単ですね。
地面投影用に変形させる 真円の魔法陣を地面に投影すると縦に伸びてしまうので、遠近法に合わせて変形させましょう。
縦に伸びてしまう。
変形させるとこんな感じ。
PhotoShopの場合、変形の遠近法で10°変形させたあと、高さを65%くらいに縮小するといい感じになります。
変形後の魔法陣を地面に投影すると、こうなります。
良い。でも、台形補正できるプロジェクターならこういう苦労は要らない気がします。
直径3mくらいまで投影できます。
中に人を入れる場合はもうひと工夫必要 実際に人間の足元に投影すると、魔法陣が人間に被ってしまいます。
これはよろしくない。
対策として、人が立つ部分を黒く塗りつぶします。
『だいたいこんな感じ』でうまくいきます。普通の人は細かいとこは見ないから。
はい、足元に魔法陣があらわれたっぽい写真を撮れます。
よく見ると足の周りに魔法陣がないけど大丈夫。みんな見ないから。
撮影風景です。
カメラマンは左手でプロジェクターを持ち、右手で三脚に載せたカメラのシャッターを押します。
どうですか、超アナログでしょ。
被写体が暗いときは右手に持ったライトで照らします。
カメラを2秒タイマーにしておけば右手だけでシャッター操作とライト操作が出来ます。
外部シャッター(リモートレリーズ)を使ってもいいけど、タイマーの方が右手が自由になります。
忙しいけど一人でなんとか撮れる。
こうなります。シャッター速度とかややこしいことが分からない人は…頑張れ。
空中魔法陣の撮り方 空中魔法陣の撮り方はもっとアナログ。大事なのは勘、タイミング、コミュニケーションです。
まずこういう丸い板を作ります。材料は段ボールとコピー用紙、ガムテ。
裏側に持ち手を付けておきます。
手に持った丸い板に魔法陣を投影してみます。
分かりやすいように明るいところで撮った。
撮影手順 具体的な手順を書くと、こう。
１．カメラのシャッター速度を5秒くらいにする。
２．魔法使いが持ってる板に魔法陣を投影。
３．シャッターを切る。
４．1秒くらいで板を捨て、投影をやめる。
５．残りの時間、魔法使いは動かず待つ。
で、こんな写真になります。
半透明の魔法陣を出すことに成功。
丸い板に映す場合、魔法陣も丸い方がキレイです。
空中魔法陣用の丸いやつ。周りにごちゃごちゃ付いてるとよくない（板が写るか魔法陣が見切れる）。
色んな魔法陣 以上のように、色々な用途別に魔法陣を作っておくわけです。
このくらいあれば大体対応できます。
撮影風景 実際にどうやってるか動画も撮っておきました。
投影→シャッター→板を捨てる→被写体を照らす。
こうなります。最初は声を掛けていましたが、慣れると無言で合います。それが夫婦です。
白い傘に投影すれば大きな魔法陣になります。
うそでしょ、ってくらいのアナログ具合でしょ。
薄っすら傘が映ってますね。傘は最後まで開かない(閉じやすくする)、写り込まないフレーム外まで放る、などがノウハウです。
手ブレは躍動感を生む 三脚で撮れば安定してキレイに写りますが、カメラの感度を上げれば手持ちでも大丈夫です。良いカメラを使ってください。
多少のブレは躍動感です。ブレを怖がってはいけません。ブレは味。
大きな魔法陣を撮るときは高い位置から投影します。そうなるとどっちにしろ三脚は使えません。
左手にプロジェクター、右手に一眼レフ。手持ち撮影です(シャッター速度は0.5秒くらい)。
たまにこういう迫力が出ます。手ブレの奇跡です。
NG集 最後に、面白いと思ったけどやってみたら怖すぎたり意味がわからなくなったものを紹介します。
魔法陣の周りを走ってもらったら、狂気しか映らなかった。
シーフードヌードルを投影してみたら意味がわからなくなった。
ピザを映したら半透明で幻覚っぽい。
大きなピッツァ・マルゲリータを勧めるという、よくわからない結果に。
缶詰に至っては、白魔導士も腕を組んで悩む。
手をかざしたらなぜかたき火っぽい。
魔法陣で暖を取る魔導士。両手の幅が狭いと焚き火になるらしい。
月を持つ男は、なぜ撮ったのか覚えていない。
怖すぎる。
湾岸道路の陸橋でロッテ葛西ゴルフの光をバックにするとかっこいい。
皆さんもプロジェクターを使って気軽に魔法使いになってみてはいかがでしょうか？
(というアレな文体で締めるというご冗談) | {
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Friday, December 2nd
[MMA]
IMPI World Series: Asia 5
Hong Kong, China
Main Card – Now Sports 5 (CHN) – 5:00am ET / 3:00am PT
Nosherwan Khanzada vs. Yong Jae Lee
Ramona Pascual vs. Sun Yoo Chun
Lucas Calou vs. Sung Hoon Yoo
Anton Larsson vs. Roberto Medalla
Dixin Xiong vs. Ji Won Hong
Arben Escayo vs. Bernard Fung
Tony Chu vs. Ernest Tang
Adrian Fok vs. Bo Fai Ng
Simon Tse vs. Wai Kwan Hui
Milan Ghale vs. Gilman Ahmed
[MMA]
ONE Championship: Age of Domination
Pasay City, Philippines
Main Card – iPPV (ONEPPV.com) / Abema.tv – 7:00am ET / 4:00am PT
Brandon Vera vs. Hideki Sekine
Bibiano Fernandes vs. Reece McLaren
Geje Eustaquio vs. Toni Tauru
Honorio Banario vs. Rajinder Singh Meena
Edward Kelly vs. Sunoto Peringkat
Jenny Huang vs. April Osenio
Danny Kingad vs. Eugene Toquero
Sim Bunsrun vs. Pengshuai Liu
Xie Bin vs. Mario Satya Wirawan
Mohamed Ali vs. Leandro Ataides
Mark Striegl vs. Sotir Kichukov
[MUAY THAI]
Muay Xtreme
Thailand
Main Card – ONE 31 (THAI) – 9:00am ET / 6:00am PT
Porntawa Kelasport vs. Charly Eot
Nuepatapee Petchinda vs. Yassine Moutacim
Wanchalerm Pangkongprab vs. Grigor Stojanov
Rungrawee PK vs. Brian Allevato
Buckjo Petch Portoror vs. Georges Salamon
Dennattapol Kelaport vs. Broet Yoann
[BOXING]
Shafikov vs. Commey
Russia
Main Card – Match TV: Fighter -12:00pm ET / 9:00am PT
Denis Shafikov vs. Richard Commey
Evgeny Pavko vs. Ivans Levickis
Yoann Kongolo vs. Inal Ramonov
Georgiy Popov vs. Alexander Yudin
[MMA]
Brave CF 2: Dynasty
Isa Town, Bahrain
Main Card – TFC.tv (Free Registration Required) – 10:00am ET / 7:00am PT
Gadzhimusa Gadzhiev vs. Carl Booth
Ottman Azaitar vs. Kevin Koldobsky
Hamza AlKooheji vs. Jeremy Pacatiw
Erik Carlsson vs. Jarrah Hussein Al-Silawi
Walel Watson vs. Elias Boudegzdame
Daniel Swain vs. Alex da Silva
Troy Bantiag vs. Gary Mangat
Ben Forsyth vs. Tyree Fortune
Ahmed Faress vs. Christian Quiñonez
Haider Farman vs. Jomar Pa-ac
[KICKBOXING]
WGP #35: Final Tour
Fortaleza, Brazil
Main Card – Combate / Band Sports – 7:00pm ET / 4:00pm PT
Emerson Falcao vs. Oscar Vera
Anderson Buzika vs. Guilherme Sanchos
Marilia Fanta vs. Nin Loch
Bruno Gazani vs. Iamik Furtado
Anderson Dentao vs. Adriano Oliveira
Arlison Tenchiran vs. Williames Chacal
Ricardo Koreano vs. Johnatan Leunch
Neto Furia vs. Vinicius Bereta
Alexandre Jhonson vs. Douglas Nunes
Junior Cocao vs. Uanderson Pitbull
Celso Guimaraes vs. Douglas Menna
Preliminary Card
Rogerio Souza vs. Alan Tartaruga
Rodrigo Soares vs. Pedro Sagat
Carlose Frota vs. Geraldo Oliveira
Frank Thai vs. Samuel Bebezao
Carlos Souza vs. Heliano Viera
Diego Martins vs. Thiago Alves
[MMA]
Titan FC 42: Lima vs. Jackson
Coral Gables, Florida
Main Card – UFC Fight Pass – 7:00pm ET / 4:00pm PT
Dhiego Lima vs. Jason Jackson
Andrew Whitney vs. Farkhad Sharipov
Jack May vs. Volkan Oezdemir
Des Green vs. Martin Brown
Kurt Holobaugh vs. Yosdenis Cedeno
Hayder Hassan vs. Adriano Capitulino
Gesias Cavalcante vs. Robert Turnquest
Abdiel Velazquez vs. Bruno Mesquita
Trisha Cicero vs. Angie Reinhardt
Preston Parsons vs. David Mundell
[MMA]
Valor Fights 39: Wheeler vs Allen
Knoxville, Tennessee
Main Card – iPPV (FloCombat.com) – 7:00pm ET / 4:00pm PT
Sidney Wheeler vs. Brendan Allen
CJ Hamilton vs. Cory Alexander
Jason King vs. Wesley Golden
Arthur Walcott-Ceesay vs. Brandon Webb
Dre Miley vs. Michael Whaley
Cole Ferrell vs. Brandon Grimmett
Leo Woods vs. Preston Schick
Laila Corder vs. Christina Ricker
Emilee Prince vs. Fotini Kandris
Andre Gamble vs. Tevin Brown
Will Waterson vs. John Messer
Michael Thomas vs. John Hall
[MMA]
Bellator 166: Dantas vs. Warren 2
Thackerville, Oklahoma
Main Card – Spike TV – 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT
Eduardo Dantas vs. Joe Warren
AJ McKee Jr. vs. Ray Wood
Marcos Galvão vs. L.C. Davis
Chris Honeycutt vs. Ben Reiter
Preliminary Card – Spike.com – 7:00pm ET / 4:00pm PT
Chris Jones vs. Derrick Adkins
Chance Rencountre vs. Levi Queen
Gregory Babene vs. Emiliano Sordi
Kinny Spotwood vs. John King
[MMA]
Legacy FC 63: Harris vs. Cobb
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Main Card – AXS TV – 10:00pm ET / 7:00pm PT
Gerald Harris vs. Aaron Cobb
Trey Houston vs. Levi Queen
Jimmy Flick vs. Levi Mowles
Ryan Hayes vs. Arman Ospanov
TeeJay Britton vs. Paul Smith
Canaan Grigsby vs. Bill Smallwood
Ariel Beck vs. Kathina Catron
Joshua Anderson vs. Sterling Lenz
Cody Nieto vs. Tyler Ray
[BOXING]
LA Fight Club
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Main Card – Estrella – 10:00pm ET / 7:00pm PT
Abraham Lopez vs. Sergio Lopez
Oscar Negrete vs. Raul Hidalgo
[GRAPPLING]
Eddie Bravo Invitational 10: The Bantamweights
Mexico City, Mexico
Main Card – UFC Fight Pass – 10:00pm ET / 7:00pm PT
Geo Martinez
Eddie Cummings
Rafael Freitas
Marcelo Cohen
Bruno Barbosa
Alexis Alduncin
Arturo Cadenas Rocha
Kristian Woodmansee
Eric Medina
Ricky Lule
Suraj Budhram
Baret Yoshida
Ashley Williams
Alessandro Costa
Javier Gomez
Joey Diehl
[BOXING]
Ramirez vs. Bracero
Fresno, CA, USA
Main Card – UniMas – 11:00pm ET / 8:00pm PT
Jose Ramirez vs. Gabriel Bracero
Danny Valdivia vs. Aaron Garcia
[BOXING]
Mendoza, Argentina
Main Card – TyC – 11:00pm ET / 8:00pm PT
Juan Reveco vs. Diego Liriano
Saturday, December 3rd
[MUAY THAI]
Caged Muay Thai 9
Crestmead, Queensland, Australia
Main Card – iPPV (Cleeng) – 2:45am ET / 11:45pm PT (Fri)
John Wayne Parr vs. Matthew Richardson
Ghot Surnoi vs. Liam Brough
Nick Atkins vs. Kyle Webb
Rob Ferguson vs. TBA
Jesse James March vs. Ian Houillebecq
Benny Mahoney vs. Franz Sanchez
Myles Callahan vs. Joshua Greenhalgh
Brock Smith vs. Luke Champman
Daniel Jones vs. Nick Barnes
Roberto Serola vs. Mark Binney
Alemu Ramsey vs. George Malizis
Benji Wright vs. Jesse Saville
Wen Long vs. Jay Bali
Emjay Rose vs. Karwan Khorshid
[KICKBOXING]
WLF x KRUSH: China vs. Japan 2
China
Main Card – STREAM – 8:00am ET / 5:00am PT
Chen Qicong vs. Saikyo Haruma
Jin Ying vs. Nakamura Keisuke
Wang Pengfei vs Miyagi Hirokatsu
Miao Wei vs. Kittichai
Ren Kailin vs. Temoko Special
CHen Wende vs. Taiga
Yang Zhuo vs. Naki Mitsuharu
Li Shiyuan vs. Matsukura Shintaro
Xie Lei vs. Ilias Bulaid
Fang Feida vs. Semedo Admilson
Zhu Shuai vs. Eduard Mikhovich
Song Liyuan vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Donegi Abena vs. Piter Romankevych
Xiong Ziquiang vs. Hicham Boubkari
Jiao Fukai vs. Aoyagi Go
[BOXING]
Lebedev vs. Gassiev
Moscow, Russia
Main Card – Match TV / Match TV: Fighter – 10:00am ET / 7:00am PT
Denis Lebedev vs. Murat Gassiev
Eduard Troyanovsky vs. Julius Indongo
Rakhim Chakhkiev vs. Maksim Vlasov
Dmitry Kudryashov vs. Santander Silgado
[MMA]
British Challenge MMA 17
Colchester, Essex, England
http://www.mmatv.co.uk/mma/bcmma-17/
Main Card – Free Stream (Need registration) – 12:00pm ET / 9:00am PT
Sean Carter vs. Jordan Miller
Ben Deller Smith vs. Emrah Sonmez
Wendy McKenna vs. Ella Wu
Dylan Sheehan vs. Michael Jones
James Webb vs. Henrik Lie
Joe Harding vs. Bartosz Skrok
Matthew Findlay vs. George Neagu
Dalius Sulga vs. Arthur Jacob
Jake Moore vs. Tommy Asabre
Cory McKenna vs. Aleksandra Rola
Jack Eglin vs. Haga Rabekoto
Preliminary Card
Chaz Marshall vs. John Parthaugen
Dom Harris vs. Oli Troughtman
Adam Spalding vs. Mantas Smalleys
Steve Perry vs. Ashley Hamilton
Craig Edwards vs. Martin Chester
Ryan Pink vs. Eloge Bofale Imbula
Charlie Falco vs. Richard Dickson
Karolina Wojcik vs. Linda Høistad Birkely
Paula Donnelly vs. Sophie Newnes
Phoung Tran vs. Laith Al-Wan
Callum Penman vs. Ahmed Alash
Danny Mullins vs. Romain Delort
Ben Iontton vs. Dilawar Nasir
Eivor Hovde Hoff vs. Fiona Chrystall
Gergely Juhasz vs. Fredrik Jacobsen
Rebin Rashid vs. Campanella Mahio
Adnan Hassan vs. Jonathan Tokoudagba
Andreas Odoen vs. Kevin Treny
Tor-Inge Gloppen vs. Philip Remy Nygård
[MMA]
KSW 37: Circus of Pain
Krakow, Poland
Main Card – iPPV (KSWTV.com) – 12:00pm ET / 9:00am PT
Karol Bedorf vs. Fernando Rodrigues Jr.
Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Paweł Rak
Borys Mańkowski vs. John Maguire
Artur Sowiński vs. Marcin Wrzosek
Maciej Jewtuszko vs. Yasubey Enomoto
Łukasz Chlewicki vs. Mansour Barnaoui
Marcin Wójcik vs. Marcin Łazarz
Filip Wolański vs. Denilson Neves
[KICKBOXING]
Makowski Fighting Championship 11
Lubusz, Poland
Main Card – iPPV (FightBoxLive.com) – 1:00pm ET / 10:00am PT
Tomasz Makowski vs. Tomik Nguyen
Lukasz Plawecki vs. Lello Perego
Pawel Jedrzejczyk vs. Matous Kohout
Slawomir Przypis vs. Erik Matejovsky
Michał Szmajda vs. TBD
Maciej Zembik vs. Tomas Tadlanek
Bartłomiej Wawryszyn vs. TBD
Marcin Bodnar vs. Denis Lamanec
[BOXING]
Saunders vs. Akavov
Paisley, Scotland, UK
Main Card – BoxNation – 2:00pm ET / 11:00am PT
Billy Joe Saunders vs. Artur Akavov
Jack Catterall vs. Diego Luque
Paul Butler vs. TBA
[KICKBOXING]
K-1 World Grand Prix Euro -85kg
Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Main Card – TBD –
Superfights
Mesud Selimovic vs. Imanol Rodriguez
Giannis Skordilis vs. Maycon Oller
Borislav Vujanovic vs. Aundre Groce
-85 kg GP Quarterfinals
David Radeff vs. Nikola Noveski
Igor Emkic vs. Giuseppe De Domenico
Agron Preteni vs. Radoslaw Paczuski
Timur Aylyarov vs.Vasil Ducar
[BOXING]
Ceres Arena, Aarhus, Denmark
Main Card – TV2 – TBD
Lolenga Mock vs. Ruben Acosta
[KICKBOXING]
Enfusion Live #44
Netherlands
Main Card – iPPV (EnfusionLive.com) – 3:00pm ET / 12:00pm PT
Andrew Tate vs. Ibrahim El Boustati
Hicham Achalhi vs. Vladimir Tok
Aziz Kallah vs. Marcel Verhaar
Yassin Baitar vs. Redouan Laarkoubi
Bilal Kasrioui vs. William Diender
Patrick van Rees vs. Reda Zaidi
Fadma Basrir vs. Sanne Strabbing
[KICKBOXING/MUAY THAI]
WLF / Mix Fight Gala 20: China vs. Europe
Frankfurt, Germany
Main Card – iPPV (FightBoxLive.com) – 3:45pm ET / 12:45pm PT
Song ShaoQiu vs Enriko Kehl
Wu Jiahan vs Vladislav Tuinov
Chen Yawei vs Samir Al Mansouri
Wang Tengyue vs Andi Rogner
Wang Zhiwei vs Joan M. Lique Canaveral
Wang Wenfeng vs Sergio Wielzen
Wang Hesong vs Bartosz Zajac
Lui Dacheng vs Regian Eersel
Liang Shoutao vs Jury Kehl
Sun Weipeng vs Akam Tarageh
SuperFights
Eroll Zimmerman vs Viktor Bogutski
Atilla Tuluk vs Jerome Heinz
Erkan Varol vs BeQiri Shemsi
Tarik Khabez vs Murat Aygun
Philipp Hafeli vs Sergej Braun
Atakan Arslan vs Kevin Brenda
[MMA]
Bellator 167: Caldwell vs. Taimanglo 2
Thackerville, Oklahoma
Main Card – Spike TV – 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT
Darrion Caldwell vs. Joe Taimanglo
John Teixeira vs. Justin Lawrence
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Emily Ducote
Chidi Njokuani vs. Andre Fialho
Preliminary Card – Spike.com – 7:00pm ET / 4:00pm PT
Jonathan Gary vs. Aaron Roberson
Brandon Phillips vs. Stephen Banaszak
Justin Patterson vs. Codale Ford
Jarod Trice vs. Tommie Britton
Joey Soto vs. Bronson St. Romain
Fernando Gonzalez vs. Chris Hicks
[MMA]
The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale
Las Vegas, Nevada
Main Card – FOX Sports 1 – 10:00pm ET / 7:00pm PT
Demetrious Johnson vs. TBD
Joseph Benavidez vs. Henry Cejudo
Jake Ellenberger vs. Jorge Masvidal
Jared Cannonier vs. Ion Cutelaba
Alexis Davis vs. Sara McMann
Brandon Moreno vs. Ryan Benoit
Preliminary Card – FOX Sports 1 – 8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT
Gray Maynard vs. Ryan Hall
Rob Font vs. Matt Schnell
Kailin Curran vs. Jamie Moyle
Devin Clark vs. Josh Stansbury
Preliminary Card – UFC Fight Pass – 7:00pm ET / 4:00pm PT
Elvis Mutapcic vs. Anthony Smith
Brendan O’Reilly vs. Dong Hyun Kim
[BOXING]
Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico
Main Card – Televisa – 11:00pm ET / 8:00pm PT
Marcos Villasana Jr. vs. Jorge Rodriguez
[BOXING]
Sinaloa, Mexico
Main Card – beIN / Azteca – 11:30pm ET / 8:30pm PT
Eduardo Ramirez vs. Edivaldo Ortega
Jose Sanchez vs. Mario Rodriguez
Jorge Paez Jr vs. Johnny Navarrete
[BOXING]
Navarro, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Main Card – TyC – 11:00pm ET / 8:00pm PT
Debora Dionicius vs. Michelle Preston | {
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Садистские методы борьбы с инакомыслием на Донбассе, уже давно известны. Десятки людей вырвавшихся из застенков «ДНР» рассказывают страшные истории. По своей жестокости тюрьмы сепаратистов сравнимы разве что с камерами пыток гестапо или НКВД.
Художница из Донецка, активистка Майдана Анна пробыла в плену у террористов с 27 мая по 1 июня. Ее с друзьями удерживали в помещении управления милиции.
На пресс-конференции во Львове Анна рассказала, что ее допрашивали представители ДНР, обвиняя в сотрудничестве с «Правым сектором», сообщает корреспондент Galnet.
По ее словам, до конца мая люди с разными взглядами в Донецке нормально находили общий язык. «Сейчас на Донбассе оказаться в плену может любой, кто против ДНР, или является членом партий, общественных организаций», — добавил Дмитрий, который также был в плену у террористов.
Анна рассказала, что человек, гостивший у нее, подал информацию в ДНР, якобы девушка опасная представительница «Правого сектора».
Она рассказала: «Когда меня с товарищами привели в здание, где нас держали, нас развели по разным комнатам. В моей комнате было двое парней без балаклав. Они не прятали своих лиц, потому что считали себя «смертниками», ведь, по их словам, согласно украинскому законодательству им грозит до 15 лет тюрьмы за сепаратизм.
Ко мне подошел старший мужчина. Начал кричать, задавать вопросы об Одессе, Мариуполе. Ему не нужны были ответы. Ему важно было показать, что он — сила и власть. Я закрывалась руками и ногами. Мне порезали руки и ноги. Наставляли пистолет и говорили, что убьют. Потом — порезали шею. Врачи, которые обрабатывали рану, сказали, что я выжила чудом.
Во время допросов террористы спрашивали меня, говорила ли я «Слава Украине», ходила на митинги за объединение. «Считаете ли вы, что Донбасс украинский», — спрашивали меня.
Почти все сепаратисты были местными. Русских не было.
После допроса меня повели на верхний этаж. Далее общение продолжалось без физического насилия. Кроме момента, когда мне отрезали палец и приказывали писать на стене кровью «Люблю Донбасс». Ну я патриотка, поэтому с этим проблем не возникло.
ДНРовцы верят в то, что существует женская сотня «Правого сектора», что эта сотня участвовала в массовых акциях в Одессе. Якобы эти женщины имеют татуировки на груди. Увидев, что у меня нет татуировок, ко мне стали относиться с меньшей жестокостью.
Мы были избиты и наши раны кровоточили. Нас заставляли мыть полы и автомобили в которых вывозили трупы. Моешь пол — кровь льется по всему полу. Позже пришел старший, приказал больше не применять физического насилия. Нас поместили в медицинскую часть, где наши раны зашили активисты ДНР.
Когда ДНРовцы поняли, что мы не являемся представителями «Правого сектора», нам сообщили, что нас обменяют. «Нас привезли для обмена в Днепропетровск. Мы не имели ни денег, ни телефона, ни одежды. СБУ не придумала, что с нами делать дальше. Нас просто оставили на улице раненых и без денег. Хорошо, что ребята, которые нас меняли, немного помогли деньгами на еду и дали телефон », — добавил пленник Федор. | {
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Adelaide has sweltered through its hottest Christmas on record since 1945, while temperatures in some parts of Victoria hovered around the 40-degrees-Celsius mark.
The South Australian capital reached its forecast high of 40 degrees at 2:29pm on Christmas Day.
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"It's pretty hot. It's only the fourth time we've reached 40 degrees on Christmas Day since the weather records began," Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Simon Timcke said.
Fortunately, South Australians will have a Boxing Day reprieve with "noticeably cooler" conditions and rain forecast for the capital.
In traditional form Australians took to beaches around the country to beat the heat and shared the fun on social media.
Emergency crews were on standby as heatwave conditions continued to impact on large parts of southern and eastern Australia in the late afternoon.
In Victoria, a maximum of 39.9 degrees Celsius was recorded at Hopetoun, while Melbourne reached 35.5 degrees at about 3:00pm.
Firefighters were battling a grass fire at Woomelang, north of Birchip in the state's north-west.
By 5:30pm, a watch and act warning had been cancelled, and firefighters had the blaze under control.
Patchy rain hit parts of New South Wales, while Brisbane experienced a mostly gloomy day with showers hampering traffic out of the city.
Severe fire danger warnings remain in place for parts of Western Australia, while a major tropical low pressure system is bringing heavy rain and damaging winds to inland regions.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Craig Burke says that low will slowly move east.
"We're going to see a fair amount of cloud and moisture build through South Australia over the coming days," he said.
"Heatwave conditions will continue to affect eastern states until Friday."
Turnbull reminds people to help the vulnerable
As Australia sweltered through a steamy Christmas Day, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull urged people to remember those who are most vulnerable in the community.
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Mr Turnbull asked Australians to remember those who find Christmas difficult, including the homeless, and thanked those who work over the holidays.
"Of course many Australians continue to work very hard over the break including those who keep us safe, our emergency services personnel, the police, fire and ambulance services, our doctors and nurses keep working while most of us relax," he said.
Mr Turnbull and his wife Lucy helped serve lunch at the Wayside Chapel Christmas Party in Sydney's King Cross, which was attended by about 800 people.
"Please have a very happy Christmas, reach out, give the person next to you a hug, this is a time for love, for community for compassion, but above all for that unconditional love that Jesus taught us — Happy Christmas," he said.
Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten used his annual Christmas message to promise he will protect penalty rates.
Speaking with wife Chloe, Mr Shorten also acknowledged the many people who work over the holiday period.
"We think of all those Australians working this holiday season to make our Christmas run smoothly, who get up before the sun rises or work through the night, hard-working people, relying on penalty rates to provide for their families, something I'll always fight for," he said.
Malcolm Turnbull and wife Lucy help serve lunch. ( AAP: Dan Himbrechts )
'Reject tribalism'
In the lead-up to Christmas, Melbourne's Anglian Archbishop had reminded people to reject the growing trend of tribalism which was in stark contrast to the Christmas message of love and generosity.
Archbishop Phillip Freier said those who define themselves by their nation, race, or religion did so while excluding others as outsiders.
This morning, Brisbane's Anglican Archbishop Phillip Aspinall said the Christmas message was more important than ever with so many tragedies.
"It's a message of the possibility of peace and joy and hope," he said. | {
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EXCLUSIVE Trailer for Hansel & Gretel Get Baked.
When an evil drug-dealing witch (Lara Flynn Boyle) holds Gretel's stoner boyfriend hostage, she and her brother Hansel must save him from a gruesome death -- or face the last high of their lives. | {
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Stephen Collins, who played minister and family man Rev. Eric Camden on TV's 7th Heaven, reportedly confessed to his now ex-wife that he molested an underage girl and exposed himself to two others, prompting police on both coasts to examine his admission, and Hollywood to distance itself from the actor.
"There is a formal complaint on file and the incident is being investigated by the Manhattan Special Victims Squad," the NYPD confirmed to The Insider With Yahoo.
The LAPD also told Yahoo that detectives are reviewing Collins' secretly taped confession, but the department has yet to open an official investigation.
While no charges have been filed against Collins, and he has yet to comment, fallout from the startling revelation has reached Hollywood. Within hours of the news breaking, he was fired from the Mark Wahlberg stoner sequel Ted 2, a source told The Insider. Collins also resigned from the national board of SAG-AFTRA actor union, a spokesperson confirmed.
Meanwhile, the UP TV network, which reaches nearly 70 million homes, has pulled 7th Heaven reurns. "As a top family-friendly network, we are deeply concerned for the families that are potentially affected by these disturbing allegations surrounding actor Stephen Collins," network CEO Charley Humbard said in a statement.
According to divorce documents obtained by Yahoo, Collins, 67, admitted to sexual misconduct with three young girls during a 2012 therapy session with his now ex-wife, Faye Grant. Collins said the incidents took place over several years more than a decade prior. At the advice of her attorney, Grant secretly recorded the session. Much of what was discussed in that meeting was also mentioned in the former couple's divorce documents, obtained by The Insider With Yahoo.
In the documents, filed in February 2012, Grant says she only learned of her husband's "secret life" in January of that year, calling it "a long-term pattern of sexually molesting children." The document continues, "Stephen admitted that he had sexually molested three underage girls over a decade ago; at least two of these three girls were molested over the course of several years."
Grant also claims she'd been threatened by the husband of one of the victims for not turning Collins in to the police.
In the audio clip, obtained by TMZ, Grant asks Collins for details about a "disclosure" he made to her about sexual impropriety with a young New York City girl, who was a relative of his first wife, Marjorie Weinman. The actor reportedly admitted to exposing himself to the child three times over a three-year period beginning when she was 11. "There was one moment of touching where her hand, I put her hand on my penis," he is heard saying in the clip, noting that the incident, "lasted a few seconds."
His then-wife pushed for further details about the encounter, including whether he was aroused.
Grant, who was married to Collins for 27 years, also asked him about two other young girls, including another one from New York who was 12 or 13 as well as a Los Angeles neighbor. In one instance, he reveals that he made amends with one of the girls 12 or 15 years earlier.
In a statement to Yahoo on Tuesday afternoon, Grant insisted she had nothing to do with the bombshell recording's release: "I woke up today to learn that an extremely private recording I handed over to the authorities in 2012 per their request in connection with a criminal investigation was recently disseminated to the press. I had no involvement whatsoever with the release of the tape to the media."
NYPD's Special Victims Unit is looking into the allegations since two of the supposed victims were in Manhattan, the New York Daily News reports. Investigators went to Los Angeles a few weeks ago to interview him about the incidents. According to TMZ, source says the crime being investigated is "inappropriate sexual contact with minors."
This isn't the first time the actor has been investigated by the NYPD. According to the divorce documents, at least one of the victims did file a report with the NYPD Special Victims Unit, but, according to the Daily News, the statute of limitations on the case ran out.
Collins is known for playing the wholesome Camden patriarch on 7th Heaven, which ran from 1996 until 2007. Jessica Biel and Beverley Mitchell were among the young actresses portraying his daughters. On Sept. 17, Collins tweeted a photo of a 7th Heaven reunion he had with the women as well as his TV wife, Catherine Hicks, and other TV kids, Mackenzie Rosman, Barry Watson, and David Gallagher.
Another of Collins' roles — in the 1996 Lifetime movie The Babysitter's Seduction — saw him having a sexual relationship with his teenage babysitter, played by Keri Russell.
Update at 1:40 p.m. PT: Information added about UP TV pulling 7th Heaven reruns along with Grant's statement. | {
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Getzlaf On Injury: 'Hopefully I Can Play Tomorrow' by Staff Writer / Anaheim Ducks
"It’s not in my nature at all to step away from the game unless someone forces me to. It’s been tough and not easy to deal with." A day after missing Game 4 in Dallas with what is being described only as an "upper-body injury, Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf spoke to reporters today back at Honda Center. Getzlaf, who is listed a questionable for tomorrow night's Game 5, would not discuss the nature of the injury, but did say, "hopefully I can play tomorrow." A day after missing Game 4 in Dallas with what is being described only as an "upper-body injury, Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf spoke to reporters today back at Honda Center. Getzlaf, who is listed a questionable for tomorrow night's Game 5, would not discuss the nature of the injury, but did say, "hopefully I can play tomorrow."
On missing Game 4,
That’s a big thing that obviously sucks. I don’t think I’ve missed a playoff game in my career, so it was a tough thing to watch last night and not be a part of it. But that’s the way it is. It’s not in my nature at all to step away from the game unless someone forces me to. It’s been tough and not easy to deal with.
On his injury,
I’m not really going to discuss what exactly is going on. That’s what we’ve always done here during the playoffs. I wish I could give you insight on it, but I’m just not allowed to. I do know that it’s questionable for tomorrow. We’re going through different things today and doing our process to get ready for tomorrow. It’s just a matter of rallying around each other right now and making sure we put our best foot forward.
On what he can do as a leader when not playing,
We go through our meetings and stuff. I’m not moping around the room, that’s for sure. It’s a matter of getting the guys back to where we need to be, getting our mind set for the next one. We said right from the start we thought it was going to be a long series. Now we’ve got to hold our home-ice advantage. We worked hard during the season to get it, and we’ve got to hold it tomorrow.
On the team's mood in the locker room,
It’s good. Today we watched a little video and guys got to relax a little bit and get that excitement back in the locker room for tomorrow.
On watching the game on TV,
I didn’t get to see the first and second period. I was listening on the radio, stuck in traffic trying to get to my [doctor’s] appointment. But there aren’t a whole lot of big secrets out there at this point of the year, I don’t think. Watching the game, it was a little frustrating at times. As it is for everybody that watches from above, everything looks so easy and slow from upstairs. I know what it’s like down on the ice when things happen quickly.
On the team missing him on the ice,
The overall thing is that I play in most situations. So when I sit and watch or listen, those are situations where I feel like I can help the team. But we have guys who have stepped up and played big roles during the year, and we may need that tomorrow again. But hopefully I can play tomorrow.
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Something is rotten. Paradise Papers er historien om forråelse og moralsk forfald. En shakespearsk realitytragedie med skurke fra samfundets top og den globale elite. Tragedien afslører en fundamental forråelse af kapitalismen og underminering af samfundskontrakten i de liberale demokratier. Desværre er det hele nok snart glemt igen. Hvilket er den egentlige tragedie.
For dem, der har fulgt lidt med i medieland, bør det nu stå tindrende klart, at OECD-landene sammen med skattely gennem årtier har fået opbygget et patologisk system, hvor globale virksomheder og den økonomiske elite kan operere i en uigennemskuelig parallelvirkelighed, hvor de ’lovligt’ omgås regler, som alle vi andre må spille efter.
Panama-papirerne og nu Paradise-papirerne har afsløret, at mængden af penge, der gemmes af vejen i fjerntliggende skattely, er markant større og mere systematisk, end vi hidtil har troet. Samtidig viser undersøgelser en stadigt stigende husholdningsgæld, og at låntagning når niveauer fra før den globale finanskrise. Så alt imens en lille eksklusiv elite opbygger formuer via sindrige skattekonstruktioner, er de fleste af os gældsatte og bekymrede for vores job og betaling af næste husleje.
Også i en dansk kontekst må Paradise-papirerne betyde selvransagelse. Men trods det massive omfang af ’skatteplanlægning’ og åbenlys svindel har der været et næsten totalt fravær af fordømmelse eller forargelse fra Børsen-CEPOS-segmentet.
Den samme fløj, som forarges, når skattekroner misbruges, skælder ud over Dovne Robert, bureaukrati og velfærdsstatens forsørgelseskultur og som klager over det høje skatteniveau, der underminerer initiativ og virkelyst. Tavsheden og fraværet af fordømmelse viser, at de mangler et moralsk kompas.
Bekæmpelse af skat
Dagsordenen er åbenlyst at kæmpe mod skat og selve skattebegrebet, fordi de vil rulle staten tilbage og opbygge et frit marked, en ’utopi’. Men Paradise-papirerne bør udløse en større refleksion over, hvor længe ’nyttige idioter’ kan maskere en korrumperet skattetænkning bag en markedsøkonomisk abstraktion. For kampen for vækst og velstand går ikke gennem skattely og obskure regler, der begunstiger de få.
En af de markante sejre for den (neoliberale) økonomiske konsensus er netop forestillingen om, at der kun er et enkelt sæt af økonomiske politikker, som regeringer ikke kan afvige fra uden at tabe det hele på gulvet.
Ved at etablere begreber som ’markedet’ som en naturlig kraft har de været i stand til at frembringe en opfattelse af virkeligheden, hvor afvigelse fra den foretrukne politik ses som skadelig og uansvarlig. Hvor økonomi står over politik. Og hvor skat er noget hø.
Men vores nuværende system er ikke ufravigeligt. Det er en akkumulering af politiske valg over tid. Eksempelvis blev begunstigede skatteaftaler eller skattely oprindeligt oprettet af det britiske imperium for indirekte at subsidiere sine tidligere kolonier for at fremme væksten i finansielle transaktioner. Ikke for at hjælpe virksomheder og enkeltpersoner med at gemme milliardbeløb og omgå lokale skatteregler.
Vi har også valgt at lade finanssektoren løbe løbsk. Isoleret set er en dynamisk finansiel sektor vigtig, og udstedelse af lån er i sig selv ikke dårligt. Men der er grænser for, hvor meget finanssektoren kan fylde i samfundet, før den hæmmer vækst og begynder at kannibalisere sig selv.
Lad os derfor træffe de rette politiske valg – herunder at ulovligøre brugen af sofistikerede smuthuller og gråzoner til at undgå skat, hvad enten det er for virksomheder, pensionskasser eller enkeltpersoner.
Og sætte en stopper for eksempelvis asset-stripping, hvor holdingselskaber kan opkøbe kæder af selskaber, fylde dem med gæld og derefter presse alle værdier ud og gemme dem i skattely. En praksis, som begunstiger de få rige, men som er kostbar for samfundet.
Frem for den uansvarlige legitimering af uretfærdighed og hykleri, burde hele det politiske spektrum tage bestik af Paradise-papirerne – og begynde at forstå, hvad der driver Brexit, Trump og den voksende protektionisme, polarisering og frygt.
Globaliseringsfortællingen er blevet demaskeret og forrådt af de superrige og uansvarlige politikere. Lidt forenklet mærker vi konsekvenserne af den økonomiske globaliserings politiske skyggeside.
Der er mange årsager til, at det er kommet så vidt. Men den hastigt voksende kløft mellem top og bund står centralt. Her har særlig LuxLeaks, Panama-papirerne og nu Paradis-papirerne leveret skamfulde eksempler på, hvordan eliten og de globale virksomheder har glemt alt om fairness, lighed og retfærdighed.
Det alarmerende ved disse historier er ikke kun omfanget af de superrige og globale virksomheders skatteunddragelse, men også det faktum, at det sker så åbenlyst. Almindelige lønmodtagere ville næppe kunne slippe af sted med det samme uden at blive både retsforfulgt og dømt.
Lovlig skatteunddragelse
Men når Apple, kapitalfonde og superrige gør det, er det ikke skatteunddragelse, men effektiv skatteplanlægning til ’gavn for samfundet’. Kort fortalt, kan skatteunddragelse i dag gøres med hjemmel i lovgivningen – og opfattes som en helt naturlig praksis.
Det kræver politisk mod og lederskab at sætte fokus på denne grundlæggende ulighed. De politiske demagoger og populister i Europa og USA kan kun bekæmpes, hvis politikerne kan bevise over for vælgerne, at kapitalismen kan levere en bedre fremtid for alle grupper i befolkningen.
Det kræver bl.a. at virksomhedsledere og ejere skal samarbejde med regeringer om en mere retfærdig fordeling af kapitalismens gevinster. Herunder ved at betale en rimelig skat, men også gennem rimelige løn- og bonusordninger. Et grotesk eksempel på sidstnævnte er virksomheden Bet365’s CEO, Denise Coates, der har givet sig selv en årsløn på 1,7 milliarder kroner. For det er tilsyneladende hvad markedet mener, hun er værd!
Frem for overfladiske corporate social responsibility (CSR) tiltag, burde regeringer og globale virksomheder begynde med det grundlæggende samfundsansvar: at betale et rimeligt og fair bidrag i skat, der hvor deres aktiviteter finder sted.
Alternativet skræmmer
Kritikken af den massive globale skatteunddragelse og voksende ulighed er ikke noget, som centrum-venstre skal have patent på. Det bør være en sag for alle, der ønsker at fastholde kapitalismen som samfundets økonomiske motor. Og derfor bør højrefløjen og virksomhederne melde sig ind i kampen.
Ikke af kærlighed til lighed og regulering; men fordi alternativet er skræmmende. Hvis vi søger tilbage i historien, kan Bismarcks sociale reformer i Tyskland i slutningen af det 19. århundrede også tjene som historisk reference: kapitalismen skulle reddes fra kapitalismen.
Da den franske økonom Thomas Piketty brød igennem med Kapitalen i det 21. Århundrede, var det med budskabet om, at verden var på vej mod ekstrem ulighed. Han foreslog, at kun en 70 procent afgift på formuer ville kunne sikre den frie markedsøkonomis fremtid. Men før det kunne vi jo passende begynde med at sætte effektivt ind over den omfattende brug af skatteunddragelse og skattely.
Når støvet har lagt sig oven på mediernes fokus på kendisser og berømtheder, er det afgørende, at vi både herhjemme og i EU-regi tager fat i de strukturelle udfordringer og indleder en radikal gentænkning af skatteregler og finansiel regulering.
Den største fare er ikke, at vi kommer til at overregulere, men at Paradise-papirerne hurtigt ender på glemslens mødding over dårlig samvittighed, stort ståhej og meget lidt handling. | {
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James Harden said they got their swagger back.
What remains unclear even though their season isn't over yet: Do the Houston Rockets actually have swagger, or is it all Harden's?
The Rockets had enough effort to deliver the predictable pushback Tuesday on their first night at death's door in the NBA playoffs, beating a visiting Los Angeles Clippers team due for a letdown, 124-103, to avoid Game 5 elimination.
But the feel of the series did not change: The Clippers have more ways to win games, and they should eliminate the Rockets in Game 6 Thursday back at Staples Center.
Harden was fantastic in Game 5, posting his first playoff triple-double despite fighting the flu. It was a deserved occasion to celebrate him perhaps for the last time this season because he has carried an inordinate amount of the Rockets' load.
That's sort of the problem, though.
The Rockets look like the consummate lose-in-the-second-round team because they are so reliant on Harden.
And his magic is the sort that is more bewildering to opponents in the regular season than in the playoffs.
It's not unlike how the first incarnation of Mike D'Antoni's Phoenix Suns was overwhelming to face in regular-season games because no opponent could be prepared for the pace and attack the Suns brought that was so totally different from other teams.
There's no one quite like Harden in the league, and when you're only facing him during a packed schedule filled with all sorts of other opponents, no one is truly ready to stop him.
Scott Halleran/Getty Images
Harden is flat-out brilliant at sensing when any defender's arms are out of position for him to move into for contact for a foul—and that's beyond the simple lazy reaching that often passes for regular-season-level help defense.
So he makes his crafty lefty moves, the whistles follow, and so do a lot of regular-season victories.
In a playoff series, though, players truly study scouting reports and actually listen to what coaches tell them. And if you have a paint protector of DeAndre Jordan's caliber, then you can preach to your perimeter defenders just to be solid and do their best to keep their hands away from Harden's body. You can force him to settle for jumpers with Jordan lying in wait.
That's how the Clippers can get away with using J.J. Redick as the primary defender on Harden. Whereas high-intensity Matt Barnes can't resist doing whatever he can, however he can, Redick has largely stayed solid and just been in the way.
Harden can still create and make shots—watching him drill step-back jumpers in King of the Hill one-on-one games against Kevin Durant and Paul George after USA Basketball practices in Las Vegas last summer was captivating—but the easier path to victory for him is the free-throw parade.
It is also the root of the Rockets' aggressiveness as a team.
To Harden's credit, he committed to that approach in Game 5, and it worked. Jordan got in early foul trouble, with Clippers coach Doc Rivers explaining to reporters postgame: "He was just trying to cover up for a lot of our mistakes. To me, we did a poor job of protecting DeAndre."
The Clippers basically offered up their regular-season level of defense Tuesday night—not far from the Dallas Mavericks' deplorable first-round level of defense that Harden shredded.
The Clippers were inconsistent with both help and rotations Tuesday; Chris Paul and Barnes repeatedly got out of position with mindless double-teams, leaving Jason Terry and Trevor Ariza to nail open threes even when Harden wasn't the one creating.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
It was Harden's swagger, though, that the Rockets rode to a win, much in the same way they were able to in the regular season despite Dwight Howard's frequent absences as he struggled with a right knee problem.
As for Howard, he has been active in the playoffs, but it's impossible to rank him as one of the league's top 10 players the way Houston general manager Daryl Morey promotes when Howard doesn't give his team a clear way to win—or specific swagger.
The best that Howard gives the Rockets is excellent defense that can trigger transition offense, but that is hardly dominance. Without injured perimeter pest Patrick Beverley, the Rockets defense isn't the same—and obviously, it isn't as good as when the group can get set behind countless Harden free-throw attempts.
Behind Howard, the likes of Josh Smith, Ariza and Terry sometimes make plays and sometimes don't. The Rockets aren't a consistent enough three-point shooting team to make opponents pay for selling out with traps of Harden, which is why Kevin McHale resorted to moving Harden off the ball some to no avail in Game 4.
Harden is averaging 5.4 turnovers in the series. McHale was so desperate for more offensive playmaking in Game 5 that he moved Smith into the starting lineup because Smith is a decent passer—sometimes.
David J. Phillip/Associated Press
Things could have been different had Morey been able to secure one signature last July, when the Rockets were so close to adding Chris Bosh to their locker room—not only to offer a poised, multifaceted weapon, but to give the team a swagger other than Harden's.
Bosh proved on Miami's title teams that he is a uniquely powerful connector, someone who understands the importance of sacrifice and teamwork. That is its own kind of confidence, and it's definitely one the Rockets lack.
People can criticize Morey for dumping guys such as Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, both of whom would've helped a lot in this series, to bid for Bosh—and letting Chandler Parsons become a free agent and then go. They can try to pigeonhole Morey as an analytics guy misunderstanding the importance of human character by investing in Harden and Howard, two suspect team leaders.
But Morey completely comprehended how much more Bosh would've offered this team in sheer talent and as a uniting force. And it was looking awfully good for Houston to have Bosh and Parsons with Harden and Howard until Pat Riley sold Bosh on anchoring the Heat's post-LeBron James rebuild (and threw more money at Bosh than Morey could offer).
Bill Baptist/Getty Images
Without Bosh and Parsons, Morey still saw the Rockets as a top-four team in the Western Conference—and Harden made good on that. Houston even managed the No. 2 seed, which is why there's still the semblance of possibility the Rockets could advance if they steal Game 6 from the Clippers to set up a Game 7 in Houston.
It hardly looks likely, but Morey foresaw that way back in July in taking a big swing that resulted in a home run until Riley leaped over the fence to bring Bosh back.
It has still been a nice season for Houston fans.
Yet that was the real day the Rockets lost their swagger.
Kevin Ding covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @KevinDing. | {
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Burberry abandons plans to open £50m manufacturing facility in Leeds
Burberry, the British luxury fashion brand, has halted plans to invest £50m in a new manufacturing and weaving facility in South Bank, Leeds.
The development, which would have been located at the Grade-I listed Temple Works building, was first revealed in 2015.
The facility, scheduled to be completed in 2019, was expected to create around 200 new jobs.
However, Burberry does not intend on going forward with the redevelopment as it has allowed the building lease on Temple Works to lapse.
The global brand, which currently operates sites at Castleford and Cross Hills in Yorkshire, is still debating whether to work on further land it owns within the South Bank area.
In addition, Burberry is still going ahead with plans to open a new business services centre in Leeds, which will see 300 jobs transferred from its London offices.
This announcement comes as Burberry released its first set of financial results under new chief executive, Marco Gobbetti. Burberry reported a 3% rise in revenue to £478m for the three months ending 30th June, 2017, while like-for-like sales rose by 4%.
Mr Gobbetti said: “I am delighted to have started as Burberry CEO. We are pleased with our performance in the first quarter, while mindful of the work still to do. This is a time of great change for Burberry and the wider luxury industry.”
Globally, Burberry has 205 retail stores, 197 concessions, 59 outlets and 48 franchise stores.
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Instills strong moral compass in children Uses guilt trip to win every dispute well into adulthood
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Dallas Archer hid a loaded gun in her vagina, police say (Picture: Kingsport Police Department)
A teenager had a loaded handgun hidden in her vagina when she was arrested for driving with a suspended licence, police say.
Dallas J. Archer, was being searched when a female correction officer detected ‘an unknown item in her crotch’, according to a police report.
The 19-year-old, from Kingsport, Tennessee, was found to be concealing a stolen 22-calibre mini-revolver after being arrested when her mother claimed to have been assaulted on April 21.
A police check revealed the handgun, which is four inches in length, was stolen from a car in 2013.
Its 70-year-old owner, John Souther, told The Smoking Gun he would like the ‘little fellow returned’, but added the weapon would require ‘a bath in bleach’.
Ms Archer was charged with gun possession and introducing contraband into a penal facility.
She has been released on bail. | {
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TOMS RIVER — The father of Boston Red Sox minor league pitcher Jason Groome was arrested on drug and weapons charges on July 10, the Ocean County Prosecutors Office said in a release Wednesday.
The 43-year-old Groome, of Barnegat and also named Jason, was arrested by Prosecutor’s detectives along with members of the Barnegat Township Police and Ocean County Regional SWAT team after stopping him at the Gunning River Mall on West Bay Avenue, Barnegat at 4:40 p.m. on July 10.
Upon inspection of the pickup the elder Groome was driving, police seized approximately two ounces of cocaine and a defaced 9mm handgun, according to the release.
The younger Groome was the first-round selection of the Boston Red Sox in the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft. He received a $3.65 million signing bonus from the Red Sox. He is a 2016 graduate of Barnegat High School.
RELATED: Groome named one of Top 50 minor-league prospects
Injured in his first appearance of the season with Greenville (S.C) of the South Atlantic League, the pitcher has only recently returned to action with the Lowell (Mass.) Spinners of the New York/Penn rookie league.
According to the statement, the elder Groome was charged with possession of heroin, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, distribution of heroin, possession of cocaine over one half ounce with intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm during a controlled dangerous substance offense. He was housed in the Ocean County Jail, Toms River, pending a hearing the release said.
Two other men were arrested simultaneously by members of the Prosecutor’s Special Operations Group.
Daniel Wunder, 61, of Little Egg Harbor and Anthony Brandt, 53, of Barnegat were arrested by members of the Stafford Police Drug Enforcement Unit, Little Egg Harbor Police Narcotics Unit, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Canine Unit and Ocean County Regional SWAT team after executing no-knock warrants.
Wunder and Brandt face multiple drug charges. Both were released on a summons pending a future court appearance the release said.
Joe Zedalis may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @josephzedalis. Like NJ.com HS sports on Facebook. | {
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The first of Intel's Skylake processors are here, and while these quad-core desktop CPUs will be of limited interest to anyone who doesn't care about overclocking, examining them and their chipsets gives us some idea of what we can expect from the rest of the Skylake family.
Intel's announcement did include one more tidbit that we didn't look at in our early review—the company says that it plans to release an unlocked, overclockable K-series Skylake CPU for laptops. All K-series CPUs from all other architectures have been desktop-only chips up until now.
Overclocking laptop CPUs and GPUs has never been supported as widely as overclocking desktop CPUs and GPUs, for what should be obvious reasons. People who are really serious about overclocking use big fancy custom air coolers or some kind of liquid cooling to keep their chips from overheating, and getting a high-but-stable overclock requires careful tuning and stress testing. Laptops are more thermally constrained and not really built for custom aftermarket cooling, so how well your chip overclocks will depend at least in part on how good the OEM's cooling solution is.
We don't know anything else about this K-series laptop CPU yet—we'd assume that it would be a high-end quad-core chip like the desktop versions, but a dual-core K-series chip could make sense if Intel wanted to keep clock speeds high while keeping temperatures (relatively) low. We'll find more out about the Skylake family at Intel's Developer Forum in San Francisco later this month. | {
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What happens when a cop and a man who knows hits rights cross paths? It resembles a 3 year old throwing a temper tantrum. Except that this “3 year old” is 40, wears a badge and a uniform, and carries a gun.
Even if this guy was driving around and following this cop, it is totally his right to do so. Cops do it to us all the time.
Nicely done informed citizen, nicely done.
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Much like Deadpool enjoyed breaking down the fourth wall in his movie, he continues to chip away at the divide between Fox and Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ryan Reynolds, who plays the titular hero in the R-rated superhero franchise, took to Twitter to congratulate Avengers: Infinity Waron its wildly successful opening weekend with a very curt letter to the Merc with a Mouth from Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man) of Stark Enterprises.
“From a guy who never knows when to quit, I’m glad you guys never did. Congrats #Avengers,” tweeted Reynolds with a photo of a rejection letter from Stark to Deadpool in regards to joining the Avengers.
The letter from Stark doesn’t mince words telling Deadpool that he is not welcome to join the Avengers. “Go bother Prof. X,” Stark says.
Pending Fox and Disney merger aside, Deadpool is already part of the X-universe (he addresses that in his own tongue-in-cheek way in the first Deadpool). Even so, this isn’t the first time Reynolds dipped his foot in the Disney pool using Deadpool. He zinged the merger at CinemaCon and posted a trolling Deadpool-style tweet about the Matterhorn shortly after the news of the Disney-Fox merger this year (see below). And in a trailer for Deadpool 2 there are some subtle nods to Pixar with a Deadpool action figure dressed as Woody from Toy Story and a raunchy Infinity Stones reference when they introduce the character of Cable played by Josh Brolin — who also plays MCU’s Infinity Gauntlet-wearing purple baddie Thanos.
Avengers: Infinity War opened to $250M, which beats out Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($247.96M). Reynolds’ Deadpool 2 is also looking to make an impact on the box office when it opens May 18.
From a guy who never knows when to quit, I’m glad you guys never did. Congrats #Avengers. pic.twitter.com/voJshTKx5E — Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) April 29, 2018
Apparently you can’t actually blow the Matterhorn. pic.twitter.com/2bEAAcZrUv — Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) December 14, 2017
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'Avengers: Infinity War' Crushes $179M In 3 Days Overseas; Record Global Bow In Sight | {
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MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Team Penske announced today that American open-wheel driver Josef Newgarden will join the organization in 2017 to pilot the No. 2 Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
The signing of Newgarden comes on the heels of a successful 2016 season for Team Penske, which included a series championship with driver Simon Pagenaud – the team’s 14th IndyCar Series title – and a 1-2-3 finish in the point standings.
“When you look at the top talent in the series, both from a driving and commercial perspective, Josef is near the top of the list,” said team owner Roger Penske. “We are always looking to build toward the future and when we had the opportunity to talk with Josef, we knew that he would be a great fit with our program. He’s a fantastic driver on the track and will be great with our partners off the track. He’s hungry to win more races and win championships and we hope to give him that opportunity as part of our team.”
Newgarden, who was born in Tennessee, finished the 2016 season with one win, four podiums and 11 top-10 finishes driving for Ed Carpenter Racing. He placed fourth in the championship point standings after finishing sixth in the season-finale at Sonoma Raceway last month. His lone win in 2016 came at Iowa Speedway, where he dominated the field, leading 282 of 300 laps. Over the course of his IndyCar Series career – which began in 2012 – the 25-year-old Newgarden has earned three wins (Iowa, Barber and Toronto) and 10 podium finishes. He’s led a total of 679 laps in his career.
He began his career in karting, eventually moving to Skip Barber and various other road racing series in Europe before returning to North America to compete in the Indy Lights division in 2011, where he won in his series debut. He earned five wins en route to winning the Indy Lights title that season before moving to the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2012 with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing.
“For any open-wheel racer – or any racecar driver in general – Team Penske is a dream job,” said Newgarden. “Roger Penske is a legend in the motorsports community and his team has done just about everything they’ve ever set out to do. I look forward to working with all of Team Penske’s great partners. To get an opportunity to work with Simon (Pagenaud), Will (Power) and Helio (Castroneves), along with the rest of the team, will just help make me a better driver.”
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2016, Team Penske earned their 14th IndyCar Series title with Pagenaud last month at Sonoma Raceway. Along with Will Power and Helio Castroneves, the team finished 1-2-3 in the point standings for the first time since they accomplished the same feat in 1994 with Al Unser Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi and Paul Tracy. During the course of the 2016 season, Team Penske earned 10 wins – five for Pagenaud, four for Power and one for Juan Pablo Montoya – 11 poles and 22 podium finishes. The team led an astonishing 811 laps over the course of the season.
The 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season kicks off March 12 on the Streets of St. Petersburg. | {
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While many consider singling people out for Ebola quarantine a rights violation, singling them out for punishment for alluding to Islamic terrorism is a different story — at least in Great Britain. And 75-year-old retired hairdresser Paul Griffith learned this the hard way at that nation’s Stansted airport while traveling to Malaga, Spain, for a weeklong vacation earlier this year.
Griffith’s problems began after he set off an airport scanner and upon being asked to remove his shoes quipped, “I’m not Muslim, am I?” The Mirror reports on what happened next:
One of the security guards accused Mr Griffith of racism and called police, arguing he was "shocked and unhappy" at the pensioner's remark.
Mr Griffith, of Colchester, Essex, said: "One minute I am queuing up to get on a plane and the next I am confronted by two armed policemen. They said I had used racist language and took me to an office in the terminal.
I was quizzed for an hour and told I was free to catch my flight but had to report back to police as soon as I returned to the UK.”
Upon returning, Griffith learned he’d been criminally charged with causing “racially or religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress.” Like many other Western nations, the U.K. has “hate speech” laws, and its citizens are sometimes arrested on what’s colloquially known as a “racism charge.” And then they may have to endure an ordeal such as Griffith’s. The Daily Mail outlines it, writing:
‘When I got back I had to wait six hours before they interviewed me again, arrested me and said that I was being charged with causing racially aggravated harassment’ [Griffith explained].
‘I was photographed, had my finger prints taken and they also took a DNA swab from my mouth. Then they said I would have to go to my local police station.
When I went to Colchester police station I was told I had been charged with an offence under the Crime and Disorder Act but that I could accept a caution instead.
I refused to do that — I had done nothing wrong and I wasn’t going to admit to a criminal charge if I wasn’t guilty of any crime.’
Yet Griffith’s case has a happy ending — sort of. Breitbart reports on its conclusion:
[H]is case was scheduled before Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded not guilty to the charge. His case was adjourned by the Magistrates and was due to be heard last Thursday, but with just 24 hours to go the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charge, as they conceded that there was not enough evidence to mount a case.
“I have never fallen foul of the law before and the whole affair has been a complete waste of police time, the court’s time, my time as well as taxpayers’ money. It has been incredibly stressful — all because I asked a question and apparently dared to use the M word,” Mr Griffith said.
In addition, Griffith says he had a heart attack and had to spend more than £1,500 in legal fees during the six months he waited for the disposition of his case.
If you think this sounds a bit Orwellian, David Jones, creator of a popular children’s character named “Fireman Sam,” concurs. “Something like George Orwell’s 1984 now seems to have arrived in Gatwick airport,” said the 67-year-old in 2012, after having an experience much like Griffith’s.
In February of that year, Jones was going through security at U.K.’s Gatwick airport so he could board a British Airways flight to Portugal, where he now lives and runs a restaurant. And then, writes the Telegraph’s Jason Lewis, the following transpired:
Placing his belongings, including a scarf, into a tray to pass through the X-ray scanner he spotted a Muslim woman in hijab pass through the area without showing her face.
In a light-hearted aside to a security official who had been assisting him, he said: “If I was wearing this scarf over my face, I wonder what would happen.”
What happened was that Jones was accused of racism and detained for an hour while officials tried to browbeat him into apologizing. And while the security guard he made his comment to appeared sympathetic, stating “I know what you mean, but we have our rules, and you aren’t allowed to say that,” this wasn’t the case with a female security guard who confronted him later. “She took my passport and boarding pass and I was then escorted back through the security zone into the outer area. Here the female security guard proceeded to question me further, inferring many things that I had not said. It was impossible to get her to listen to reason. We were then joined by a second female security guard who stated that she was Muslim and was deeply distressed by my comment,” Lewis reports Jones as saying.
The security guard said that while Jones wasn’t going to be charged with a crime, he wouldn’t be allowed to leave until he apologized to the Muslim guard. Eventually a British Airways duty manager was called to the scene, and later a police officer arrived at Jones’ request. Both officials took a politically correct stance, and, with his flight’s departure time fast approaching, Jones agreed to a compromise wherein he acknowledged that his comment “‘could’ be considered offensive by a Muslim guard,” writes Lewis.
But this doesn’t mean Jones believed he was wrong. As he put it, “I felt that I made a logical observation. That while everyone was being subjected to an invasive search it was illogical that someone should be let through with their face covered. I am not opposed to having this level of security, but it must be equal for all.”
Under hate-speech law, however, some are definitely more equal than others. And it isn’t just in Britain. Here’s a short list of other cases in which political incorrectness brought persecution:
• Canadian man Mark Harding was convicted of hate speech in 1998 after distributing pamphlets critical of Muslims and Islam. His punishment included Islamic indoctrination under Mohammad Ashraf, general secretary of the Islamic Society of North America.
• Saskatchewan resident Hugh Owen, along with the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, was ruled guilty of “inciting hatred” after Owen, responding to “Homosexual Pride Week,” took out an ad in the newspaper that included four Bible citations critical of homosexual behavior. Owen was forced to pay $1,500 to each of three homosexual men who filed a complaint against him.
• Swedish Pentecostal Christian pastor Åke Green was sentenced to one month in prison in 2004 after criticizing homosexuality during a sermon. The sentence was later overturned on appeal.
• In 2006, 14-year-old British schoolgirl Codie Stott found herself seated in a discussion group with Pakistani students who proceeded to speak in a foreign language (presumably Urdu). After respectfully asking if she could switch groups because she couldn’t understand, her teacher shouted “It's racist, you're going to get done by the police.” Stott was eventually brought to a police station, arrested, fingerprinted, questioned on suspicion of a “section five racial public order offence,” and placed in a bare jail cell for three-and-a-half hours. She ultimately was released without charge.
• Columnist Mark Steyn and Maclean’s — Canada’s largest news weekly — were charged with hate speech in 2007 after the magazine printed an excerpt from Steyn’s Islam critique America Alone. The case was eventually dismissed.
• Australian parliamentarian Susanne Winter was convicted of “incitement” in 2009 after making statements critical of Islam and Mohammad. She was given a suspended three-month prison sentence and fined $31,000.
Meanwhile, during his Islamic indoctrination, Mark Harding was taught he was a kafir (an infidel) and that such a person has “perverted thoughts and ambitions” and pursues “evil-spelling activities.” This religious status is perhaps why, the first time he entered court for trial, he was confronted by Muslims who shouted “Infidels, you will burn in Hell.” But now, at least, the West is safe from infidel hate speech. | {
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Afirmațiile deputatului PSD Cătălin Rădulescu, care le-a cerut medicilor și profesorilor să dea banii din măririle de salariul înapoi, după eșecul social-democraților la alegerile europarlamentare, au stârnit reacții inclusiv în interiorul PSD.
Citește și: Medicii și profesorii, revoltă în lanț după ce Rădulescu le-a cerut banii înapoi: Este reacția furibundă a unui muribund
Comitetul Executiv al PSD a luat decizia de a-i înterzice lui Cătălin Rădulescu să mai facă declaraţii publice.
„Cătălin Rădulescu a făcut declaraţii total aiurea şi nepotrivite atunci după alegeri. În Comitetul Executiv al PSD s-a luat decizia ca deputatul Cătălin Rădulescu să nu mai facă nicio declaraţie publică. Acum nu ştiu şi dacă domnul Rădulescu va respecta această decizie”, a declarat Șerban Valeca pentru Adevărul.
„Eu îi rog pe medicii care au primit de 4 ori salariul să-l dea înapoi sau să plece din țară cum plecau până acum din cauza salariului, profesorii să meargă să muncească la fructe, că înseamnă că n-au fost mulțumiți de creșterile salariale, pensionarii la fel, să voteze USR. Fermierii să dea înapoi subvenția la USR pentru că oricum o să li se înapoi. Să vedem cum o să trăiască cu aceste partide”, a spus Cătălin Rădulescu, după ce PSD a pierdut alegerile europarlamentare. | {
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Hitching a ride on a sailing boat across the Atlantic might sound like a far-fetched endeavour reserved for the famous and well-connected. But Greta Thunberg has now managed it twice in three months – and her antics appear to be inspiring a growing, if nascent, movement in sail-hitching.
Maritime hitchhiking has hitherto been reserved for sailors looking for experience on different routes and vessels.
But after Thunberg’s transatlantic adventures, numbers have boomed. Daniel Krause, a full-time “cruiser”, helps to run the Sailboat Hitchhikers and Crew Connection Facebook group, which has sharply increased to nearly 21,000 members since Thunberg’s voyage. “In the past couple of weeks it has skyrocketed,” he said.
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People use the site to find crew members for their boat, or to find a vessel to hitchhike on. “It’s mutually beneficial,” says Krause. “You get a mostly free ride and the owner gets someone who can do nightshifts or who can help out with docking, anchoring and boat manoeuvres.” In most instances, hitchhikers just pay for transport to and from the boat, any visas they might need, and contribute to boat running costs like food.
However, Krause has found many of the group newbies don’t have previous sailing experience. “Many people don’t understand about the movement of a boat on the ocean which can overwhelm people with seasickness and make them feel trapped because it’s a very small space and you could be out there for days if not weeks - and once you’re out, it’s almost always too late to turn back,” he says.
“Sailboats can only go with weather and wind. Hitchhikers need to be aware that there are forces way bigger than the will of the people on the boat; it might be that the weather decides for you where you go.”
There are dozens of Facebook groups and sites offering similar services. SailingNetworks was set up in 2004, originally branded as Crew Reunited to help boat crews stay in touch after a voyage. Now budding crew members set up profiles on the site to find captains willing to take them on.
According to company director Jeremy Pocock, “younger people are seeing the opportunities to explore by getting on a boat as much more realistic than they might have done in the past”. He advises that anyone considering boat hitchhiking goes for a test run first, and then goes for a drink with the captain and crew afterwards, to ensure compatibility with both the vessel itself and the other personalities on board.
Lawrence Herbert, a 22-year-old psychology graduate, is currently hitching rides on boats around the world to build up his already quite extensive sailing experience. He’s had some scary incidents over the years, which he says beginners might not be prepared for. “I’ve had a big sail stuck at the top of the mast with too much wind which was pretty terrifying. Someone had to go up to the top of the mast in pretty bad weather and cut the sail down, which is about as bad as it gets.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Greta Thunberg sails on the Malizia II racing yacht in New York Harbor as she nears the end of her first trans-Atlantic crossing. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters
He’s currently en route to Southampton, where he’s got a place on a boat heading across the Atlantic to Saint Martin in the Caribbean, and has noticed a huge increase in aspiring boat travellers this year. “I do think the Greta Thunberg effect is huge. There’s an enormous amount of people in Gran Canaria [a popular hub for people seeking passage across the Atlantic], many who don’t have sailing experience, just trying to get on a boat.” He says these people often exchange cooking skills for passage.
The demand could indicate commercial potential for an eco-friendly transatlantic sailing service, says Ross Porter, founding director of ethical travel company VoyageVert.
“There’s no ticketed, fossil-fuel-free way of getting across the Atlantic. Now there’s all of this exciting technology that can be harnessed and applied to a problem that we have in the world, which is moving people sustainably over long distances.”
He is seeking funding to build a sustainable sailing ferry capable of transporting 200 passengers 480 nautical miles in 24 hours - meaning it could transport people from Southampton to New York in around eight days. Porter eventually envisions this as a fleet which could sail a vast network of routes across the globe – and become the future of travel.
A similar revolution is already underway in the shipping industry, which accounts for 2.5% of global carbon emissions, with companies developing strategies to transport goods on emission-free sailing vessels.
For Krause, the increased interest in sailboat travel is a logical consequence of eco-friendly lifestyle trends that have grown in popularity in recent years. “People want to downgrade their consumerism and also travel sustainably, and that’s the perfect combination on a sailboat.”
This article is part of a series on possible solutions to some of the world’s most stubborn problems. What else should we cover? Email us at [email protected] | {
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Primeira mão das meias-finais da Taça de Portugal acaba com vitória do FC Porto por 1-0
Um golo de Soares, ao minuto 60, decidiu o FC Porto-Sporting da primeira mão das meias-finais da Taça de Portugal. O brasileiro marcou, na verdade, o primeiro golo ao terceiro jogo entre estas duas equipas, adiantando os dragões no caminho para a final. A segunda mão, disputar em Alvalade, está marcada para 18 de abril.
Um golo do brasileiro Soares, aos 60 minutos, deu o triunfo ao FC Porto no terceiro clássico da época entre as duas equipas e o primeiro com golos, depois dos nulos registados no jogo do campeonato e nas meias-finais da Taça da Liga, da qual o Sporting sairia vencedor no desempate por penáltis.
O FC Porto, 16 vezes vencedor da Taça de Portugal, procura alcançar a sua 30.ª final quando visitar o Sporting, em jogo previsto para 18 de abril, enquanto os 'leões', com o mesmo número de troféus, tentam chegar à sua 28.ª final.
Na outra meia-final, cuja primeira mão está agendada para 28 de fevereiro, o Aves, da I Liga, enfrenta o Caldas, equipa do Campeonato de Portugal (terceiro escalão). | {
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Jeff Zucker defended CNN’s coverage, though he admitted they perhaps aired too many of Donald Trump’s early rallies “unedited.” | Getty Campaign operatives blast Jeff Zucker over CNN coverage at Harvard event
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — CNN President Jeff Zucker was jeered and heckled by Republican presidential campaign operatives at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics' campaign managers conference on Wednesday evening as he tried to defend CNN's coverage of Donald Trump, as a usually formal event turned tense and, at times, raucous.
The event, a toney dinner of 200 or so campaign operatives, journalists and academics at the Charles Hotel, featured Zucker in conversation with Washington Post editor Marty Baron, AP editor Kathleen Carroll and Elliot Schrage, vice president of communications and public policy at Facebook, moderated by journalist Sasha Issenberg.
After a calm beginning, it didn't take long for the evening to erupt when the conversation turned to CNN's coverage.
GOP campaign managers who worked for President-elect Donald Trump's primary opponents shouted Zucker down with increasing anger as he defended how much airtime the network gave Trump, and claimed it allowed other candidates to dial in to shows by phone.
Zucker defended CNN’s coverage, though he admitted it perhaps aired too many of Trump’s early rallies “unedited” -- an admission he has made before.
But the room grew more and more animated as Zucker went on to say that many campaign managers thought it was “unfair” how much coverage and attention Trump was getting.
"I have to respectfully push back on the campaign managers who spoke here today, because frankly, respectfully, I think that’s bullshit. Donald Trump was on CNN a lot,” Zucker said, refusing to back down. “That’s because we asked him to do interviews and he agreed to do them. We continuously asked the other candidates to come on and do interviews."
Zucker, who described an interview Sen. Marco Rubio did on CNN, where he later objected to a question about abortion and religion and subsequently refused to appear on air for 10 weeks, said they invited all candidates to come on and talk, even by phone.
The room grew increasingly restless and the strategists started piping up, interrupting Zucker and Issenberg.
“I don’t remember getting invited to call in, though,” Sarah Isgur Flores, Carly Fiorina’s deputy campaign manager said, kicking off a parade of comments.
More irritated voices across the room quickly chimed in: “We didn’t get that call.” “We’d be invited for eight seconds.” “At 2 o’clock in the afternoon we’d be invited on,” another said sarcastically.
“All of the Republican candidates were invited to come on,” Zucker said. “Cable news in general, CNN in particular, should not be held responsible for the fact that Donald Trump said yes to those interviews.”
The Trump strategists peppered throughout the room didn't stand up to defend Zucker or challenge the other strategists, with the exception of former Trump campaign manager and CNN contributor Corey Lewandowski, who stalked out of the room early and returned only after a spell outside.
"It’s not the interviews,” Rubio senior advisor Todd Harris said as another audience member shouted, "You showed empty podiums!"
"You showed hours upon hours of unfiltered unscripted coverage of Trump, this was not about interviews,” he added.
Some members of the audience applauded, and the tension in the room built up as salads were left untouched and more wine was poured.
The table featuring top members of Hillary Clinton's campaign, meanwhile, remained stone-faced and quiet near the back of the room.
“Again, Donald Trump was asked to come on and he agreed to come on and answered questions. The other candidates were asked to come on,” Zucker responded.
“That’s not true, you can’t keep saying that,” senior Mike Huckabee adviser Chip Saltsman yelled back.
"I understand emotions continue to run high, but that’s the reality. That’s not cable news’ fault, and that’s not CNN’s fault,” Zucker contended. "If they had wanted to call into the morning show, they were invited call in and they declined. I think that some of them should look in the mirror and decide whether or not they made a mistake by not taking us up."
“Go ahead and name them … that’s not true,” Saltsman continued.
Before long Issenberg tried shifting the conversation to the topic of "fake news," but Ted Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe interrupted, "You just covered that!"
Zucker was also blasted by journalists when he tried to defend CNN's decision to hire Lewandowski while he was still receiving severance from the campaign.
Lewandowski seized the microphone from the questioner, who broached the topic, in a bid to defend himself, allowing the student to finish asking it, but insisting he was adding value to the CNN airwaves.
Zucker said Lewandowski was a “good investment and decision,” as Lewandowski clapped and the rest of the room remained silent.
"If we could do that over again I would have asked that would have been paid [his severance] in full on the day we hired him,” Zucker said.
The pointed questions and attacks on Zucker, however, didn't just come from the operatives.
Washington Post correspondent Karen Tumulty asked Zucker about the "degree to which nutjob surrogates got on TV,” such as Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson, and whether the network ever considered no longer inviting them on after they made so many incorrect assertions and lies.
“At what point do you say: ‘You can’t come on our air anymore’?” Tumulty asked.
"If that is who the Trump campaign sought to put forward as the person who represents them, and they were called out time and time again by our anchors, continuously, I think it is important to have the campaign represented,” Zucker said. "I go back to what a lot of people didn’t want to hear earlier, was that I think a missed opportunity by many of the campaigns in this room was that they did not their candidates out with regard to the specific person you’re talking about. She [Pierson] was called, as were other surrogates from the Trump campaign all the time."
“At the end of the day it is up to the viewer, the electorate to decide whether that represents their candidate well,” Zucker added. “So that’s the way we looked at it.”
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After three chapters of King’s Quest, I can honestly say it’s the most consistent episodic game I’ve ever played. Not only does the story transition in a way that anyone picking up mid-game won’t be lost in the narrative, but the decisions made from previous chapters carries over in more meaningful ways then one might expect.
Once Upon a Climb is an example of a multi-part chapter game being done right. Episode three triumphs (pun intended) over the last two, blending the results of Graham’s journey into one beautifully woven tale. King’s Quest isn’t the most innovative, but it’s the most well polished.
Graham’s well-crafted story continues years after taking the throne, having become more experienced and strong through his rule. Now that Daventry is secure, Graham finds himself in another predicament, one much more personal then his last adventure. He is now a lonely king, yearning companionship in the shape of a queen, but he quickly learns this is more difficult then he could imagine.
Once again, the reason for the story is brought up by Gwendolyn, Graham’s young and eager grand-daughter who needs advice on what to get her grandma for her birthday. This is where the chapter becomes interesting.
The magical mirror that’s guided young Graham in his travels, reveals to the king that his future wife, is trapped at the top of a large tower in the middle of the forest near a kingdom called Kolyma, located in the east. Across cross deep forests and treacherous swamps, Graham, reaches his destination without a hitch, only to find two princesses trapped at the top instead of one.
Choice becomes a personal factor in chapter three, as the player can pick which princess to sway as their queen. Each girl presents a unique and opposite personality based on their preferences and world views.
On the right, is Princess Neese, an adventurous and quirky girl who loves music. Neese, is the more stereotypical princess one might imagine in a fairy tale, wearing pink and enthusiastic to make new friends despite their personality. While on the left, clad in all green, is Princess Vee, Neese’s best friend and the wiser half of the duo, usually acting as the mediator and voice of reason.
Vee, favors intelligence over brute strength, and spends her time pouring over books and solving puzzles – although she hates to lose. While not really my personal preference, I chose to go with Neese, opting for a more traditional marriage, of course she makes Graham’s life and marriage proposal anything but ordinary.
Without giving away too much of the story, the player will have to solve an assortment of puzzles and help the princesses escape their prison, and the only way to break out is to discover true love. Chapter three is more of a cinematic ride then the previous entries, but the character interactions and humor make it rise above the minimal gameplay involved. Choices from the second chapter will also shape how you solve problems with the girls, such as helping Neese fix her lute thanks to the aid of Amaya the blacksmith, with Zelda Williams reprising her role.
Controls are basic, using the cursor to highlight items or make Graham interact with the world. Solving most of the clues is done through observation and dialogue choices, while managing your inventory. Most of your time will be spent within the tower that constantly moves, learning more about the two princesses and what makes them tick. Other gameplay will involve shooting arrows in the first-person perspective and musical segments, such as plucking the strings of a lute through memorization to find a golden acorn. Funny enough, Queen Madeline of Avalon, the squirrel, will assist you in this endeavor.
Production values are still marvelous, with the cel-shaded cartoon-like graphics and brilliantly performed voice work that brings the many colorful characters to life. Fans will recognize the talents of Cerami Leigh as Princess Neese, known for roles in Borderlands 2 and Xenoblade chronicles X, and the return of Wallace Shawn as Manny, the lovable knight.
As stated above, King’s Quest has maintained a degree of consistency that allows for the game to seamlessly continue its tale without a hitch, and the development by The Odd Gentleman deserves praise for their painstaking details.
The Verdict
By now, you either love or hate King’s Quest, but I can assure fans that there is more to appreciate in this episodic tale, especially with Chapter three. Graham’s arduous journey as king has delighted me with every playthrough, and if the quality of Once Upon a Climb is any indication, I can’t wait for chapter four. While its highly recommended you play the first two chapters, anyone can enjoy Graham’s struggle without losing much in the way of narrative. King’s Quest is the happy ending that we all deserve, and probably one of the greatest adventure games I’ve played in recent years. | {
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Huddersfield chairman Dean Hoyle has honoured his pledge to enable thousands of fans to watch the club's Premier League home games for little more than a fiver next season.
Terriers owner Hoyle promised in 2010 that all fans who had held season cards throughout his time as chairman would pay £100 for their season card if the club reached the Premier League.
David Wagner steered the Terriers back to the top flight for the first time in 45 years following their penalty shoot-out win in last month's Sky Bet Championship play-off final.
Dean Hoyle celebrates after the Championship playoff final victory over Reading
'Over 4,000 Town fans who have had season cards for the entirety of Dean Hoyle's tenure as chairman will receive mail from the club this week,' Town said on their official website.
'The Town chairman made a Premier Pledge back in 2010; that season cards for fans who had a season card in every year of his time as chairman would be £100 if the club reached the Premier League.
'This week, that pledge has been rolled out, with the 4,000-plus eligible fans receiving mail in the post.'
The club said fans who qualified would receive three options - to receive a £99 refund on their 2017-18 season card, which cost £199 for adults, or to receive a voucher worth £110 to spend in the club's shops, or donate their £99 refund to the Town Foundation charity, with Hoyle adding an extra £26 donation to top it up.
'Eligible Town fans will also receive a special memento from the club to thank them for their continued support,' the club added.
Town's play-off final win against Reading at Wembley saw them promoted to the Premier League for the first time as they were relegated from the old First Division in 1972. | {
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Last updated on .From the section Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland finished second behind Germany in their qualifying group
Northern Ireland have dropped below Denmark in the Fifa rankings, meaning they will not be seeded for the 2018 World Cup play-offs.
The Danes, who have moved up seven places to 19th, will be seeded along with Switzerland, Italy and Croatia.
Northern Ireland, who dropped three places to 23rd in the rankings, Republic of Ireland, Sweden and Greece are the four unseeded teams.
The draw will take place on Tuesday, 17 October at 13:00 BST in Zurich.
The games will take place on a home and away basis, with the first legs taking place between 9 and 11 November and the second legs between 12 and 14 November.
The first team drawn for each of the ties will be at home for the first leg.
Northern Ireland were 20th in Fifa's previous rankings list but they lost to Germany and Norway in their final two group games as they finished as Group C runners-up.
Denmark, meanwhile, beat Montenegro and drew with Romania in their last two World Cup qualifiers.
Wales have dropped a place to 14th and Scotland have gone up 14 places to 29th.
Germany remain in the number one spot, with Brazil second and Portugal third.
What about the World Cup draw?
The latest rankings also confirmed England will be unseeded for the World Cup draw proper, which takes place on 1 December.
Gareth Southgate's side moved up three places to 12th in the rankings, but only the seven highest-ranked qualified teams - as well as hosts Russia - will be seeded.
That means England will be in pot two - along with 2014 winners Spain, who also missed out on being seeded, despite moving from 11th to eighth in the rankings.
Seeded teams: Russia, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland, France. | {
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About This Game
Playful Programming
Teach your workerbots requisite steps to complete tasks by asking them to repeat actions utilising a visual programming language. Designed to be easy to learn but with added complexity there are numerous possibilities.
Automated Automation
Build an army of bots to automate just about everything in your colony, teach them what to do and expand both their brains and task possibilities with numerous upgrades and options.
Various Ventures
From gathering to building, cooking, fishing, tailoring, farming, animal husbandry and more - the world of Autonauts is vast with limitless opportunities to automate and colonise.
Charming Creativity
The world of Autonauts pops to life with a low-poly art-style married with a consistent and bright colour palette adding depth and scale, creating a relaxing and attractive play space.
Travel the universe colonising uninhabited planets with the sole goal of setting worlds in motion through the power of automation.Fresh from your spaceship you must harvest stick and stone and begin your colonisation efforts. Create rudimentary crafting items from blueprints and slowly build a number of workerbots to aid in your efforts. Teach and shape their artificial intelligence with a visual programming language, then instruct them to begin the formation of your colony. Marvel as a planet you’ve shaped becomes home to a civilisation of workerbots, happy to do your bidding!Expand further with the creation of colonists; beings that require your assistance to survive. Push your workerbots further by introducing fishing, cooking, housing, and tailoring and help the colonists into a state of transcendence.Key Features:Autonauts combines the very best of agriculture, simulation, crafting, building, production-line and resource management titles to create a brand new experience unlike any other. Create the automated world of your dreams! The future is now! | {
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Cub Swanson might just be my favorite active fighter to watch. He's not a textbook fighter, in fact you could call his style a little goofy, but he sums up what I believe to be the most priceless property in a fighter: creativity. A lot of so-called technicians simply go through the motions, which they are told are the best. I love to watch fighters who work out their own methods and produce results.
There have been heaps of them from Muhammad Ali, to Roy Jones Jr., to Prince Naseem Hamed—all did weird things because they wanted to and because they worked out how to get them working. Lazy writers chalk it up to athleticism, but Angelo Dundee would be the first to tell you that Ali's style got him a pasting in the gym daily, before he worked out the kinks and started to have success with it. Those fighters could have been great by simply fighting in the textbook fashion, but their own strategic and technical quirks were what allowed them to surprise and confound world-class opponents.
I love a textbook technician as much as the next guy, but when I see a fighter reject the norm and do it his own way it's a real treat.
Treading Water
The problem for Cub Swanson, however, is that he's treading water. He continues to starch elite competition and look incredible while doing it. Yet, he never progresses.
George Roop, Ross Pearson, Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier and Denis Siver—that is far from a list of bums. Yet fight after fight, Swanson just gets lined up against another opponent. There is little talk of a title fight for Swanson despite his results.
Look at it this way, in the UFC's own rankings Swanson crushed the currently number six and number seven ranked fighters. Yet his next match is against Jeremy Stephens who has just moved into the number ten spot.
The problem is that Swanson will forever be haunted by the memory of his loss to champion, Jose Aldo.
Respect and the Art of the Bum Rush
There is a great deal of talk, when two fighters are too tentative to engage, about how much they respect each other. The truth is that if an opponent is considered a real threat, there is no better time to throw that surprise lead you've been practising. Test the chin early—it was the philosophy of a lot of top fighters. Remember Muhammad Ali leaping in with right hand leads after telling George Foreman for months about how he was going to dance and jab?
How about Fedor Emelianenko hand trapping into a leaping left hook against Tim Sylvia—his biggest test in quite a while?
Did we see what Sylvia could really do against Fedor? No. We just remember that it was all Fedor.
And that's exactly what Aldo did. A faked switch kick into bicycle knee. A beautiful and befuddling little sequence which caught Swanson cold and finished the fight in eight seconds.
The other upshot of finishing a dangerous opponent quickly and decisively is that it mutes all talk of a rematch. Look at poor Chad Mendes. He looked to be catching up with Aldo near the end of the first round round (Aldo's cheeky fence grabbing saved him from ending up underneath the great wrestler) then ate a well timed knee and was finished. Mendes, like Swanson, has finished all but one of his opponents since, but has to do twice the work to earn a rematch with the champion because all anyone remembers is the finish.
Of course, that is not to take anything away from Jose Aldo, if anything it highlights his genius. He is constantly accused of “coasting” when he doesn't feel threatened by opponents—but he sure as hell didn't coast against two of the most dangerous opponents who came knocking in Mendes and Swanson.
Beautiful Destruction
It isn't a snappy nickname for a fighter, but you couldn't sum up Swanson's style better. He is sublime to watch. There is a grace in his movements, even in the recognizably wild ones, and it captivates both the hardcore fan and the casual alike.
There are a lot of wrinkles to Swanson's game but I want to focus on that idea we talked about earlier. Doing things not because they are textbook, but because you can make them work. Because catching someone with a loopy uppercut or hook is better than throwing a dozen technically perfect but expected jabs into their ready palm.
Against Dustin Poirier, the sole opponent to take Swanson the distance since his current streak began in 2012, Swanson truly showcased the varied and eclectic methods which I rate him so highly for.
Much is made of Swanson's hands and improved boxing, but in truth his kicking plays an enormous role in setting up his punches. Swanson's looping, palm down hooks can often sneak around a guard, but they can also be ducked or fall short against a mobile opponent. Swanson's kick game ruins that escape and stands his opponents still for his strikes.
It can be as simple as this inside low kick to the shin (ouch) into a left hook.
Or as elaborate and situational as this jumping knee while fending off a single. After the knee Swanson immediately rings Poirier's bell with a hook.
If you start moving your head against Cub Swanson, and especially ducking low, you're going to have a shin bone or knee swung at your head pretty quickly to stand you right back up again.
Kicking Just to Punch
The kicking game, or more appropriately the threat of it, severely stunts defensive head movement. It isn't the case that you need to kick and then start punching in combination to benefit from this though. If you throw a hard kick against an opponent who likes to move their head a lot, they will normally be tentative to move their head so actively for a little while from then on, expecting to need to be upright in case of a kick.
Nowhere was this more obvious than against Ross Pearson. Pearson is another one of my favorites for his consistenthead movement into counters. He has some of the finest head movement based boxing in MMA. Yet Swanson was able to take that away with the threat of the kicks. The finishing sequence is a perfect example. A missed front kick to the face and Ross Pearson, never an easy man to hit, is suddenly walking in with a rod up his spine and eating Swanson's counter punches.
Though this is the finishing sequence, there were similar sequences like it throughout the fight.
It's not just magic that allows Swanson to pull it off either. The exact same threat of kicks took away Pearson's wonderful head movement against Edson Barboza. If Barboza were to simply box with Pearson he'd probably get torn apart, but because of his kicks he was able to land hard punches he never could have otherwise.
That Counter Hook...
That Pearson sequence brings us on to talking about retreating punches. A retreating left hook is a killer punch. Because it comes in from 90 degrees to the opponent's right, it's not something they tend to be ready for when running in with strikes of their own. Swanson's is arguably his money punch and he looks for it everywhere.
Here's an example of him tagging Poirier coming in:
And here's an instance of Swanson coming in behind a right lead (appropriate as he is facing a southpaw) and rocking back onto his rear foot in hopes of counter Poirier as he swings back.
We discussed Clay Guida earlier this week and talked about charging in. How the weight is out of control when a fighter is forced to step. Here Swanson enters with a significant lean and lunge.
But following his right straight, he rocks back onto his right foot, allowing him to bring his body upright and rotate the hips and shoulders powerfully on top of his stance, whipping into the left hook.
Slamming the right heel back to the floor is one way in which a fighter can generate power for the left hook. Some coaches focus on the lead foot pivot and drive of of the lead leg, some teach slamming the back heel down (off of a right straight or feint) and turning the back foot out. Both methods rotate the hips and like the palm in versus palm down issue, it's just a case of preference.
It is hard to generate the same kind of power on a chasing left hook because the weight must be moved to the right foot which is normally at the back (if you're not stepping). Consequently the left hook is the king of counter punches. This can be understood in the age old boxing adage that you should “only be hooking when he ain't looking”.
Many times when a left hook is landed as the weight rocks back onto the rear leg, it looks as if the fighter is moving backwards when it lands, such as in the instance which has been called the most perfect punch of all time: Sugar Ray Robinson's left hook against Gene Fullmer.
Assorted Madness
What really sets Swanson apart from the pack is his creativity. It's the difference between following along with Bob Ross, and simply having a bash at it on your own. You can be taught what has worked best for those before you, or you can take to trial and error with your own ideas. The smartest fighters learn the former while experimenting with the latter.
Here's an example of a sequence which you could see and instantly say “Oh, that's very Cub”. Swanson lands a hard right hook to the body (body work, another reason I enjoy his fights), then feints as if to throw the same body hook again, instead dipping his head low as he throws a high kick.
Notice the way he drops his weight as he steps in. Ordinarily people come up when they high kick. It was a very deliberate set up and it almost paid off. Constantly attempting tricks like this can tire opponents out even if they don't directly result in a knockout.
The stepping right hook he landed on Denis Siver was a beauty too. You can find my extensive writing about the idea of the stepping right hook (a favorite of Ray Sefo and Demetrious Johnson). But for now, follow Swanson's feet. As he steps into a southpaw stance it changes the angle on the punch, placing his right shoulder closer to Siver, and punishes Siver for circling out.
Or how about this faked left hook into a lead low kick. It's a combination you'll see... but probably not in the same way. That's the thing about Swanson, his movement is simply quite unique, in the same way that you would struggle to emulate Igor Vovchanchyn's striking style, he's found what works for him and made it his own.
And all of that without mentioning his brilliant hip throws:
This is the first piece I've written about Swanson, and I'm an unapologetic fan of his style, but I am never in the business of pretending fighters are perfect or invincible. Swanson has a pretty serious problem in dealing with low kicks, which you'll notice in a number of the gifs above. They knock his stance apart underneath him and that's not something you want to see from someone who might fight Jose Aldo soon.
Furthermore, in the early stages of fights he tends to get over aggressive. Against Poirier, he went from charging in, losing track of his feet and over committing his weight, to the measured but still threatening striking of the second and third round. It seemed to change in an instant between rounds and he looked like a far better fighter for it.
Wanting to start aggressively put him in range of that Aldo knee five years ago, but you can't blame Swanson too hard for getting caught by such an unusual and telegraph free lead. It is more the moments of swinging wild which are concerning such as when he was clearly overcommiting on his strikes against an overmatched George Roop.
Wherever you stand on him, Cub Swanson is a fascinating prospect in a cruddy position. Were it not for his previous loss to Aldo in WEC he would have likely been lined up for a UFC title shot already.
Pick up Jack's e-books Advanced Striking and Elementary Striking from his blog, Fights Gone By. Jack can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Check out these related stories:
Jack Slack: The Evolution of Robbie Lawler
Jack Slack: The Shape-Shifting Gegard Mousasi | {
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AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts college has stopped flying all flags on campus after an American flag was burned following the presidential election of Republican Donald Trump.
Hampshire College President Jonathan Lash tells WWLP-TV the college won’t fly any flags for the time being. He says the Amherst campus will consult with students and staff about appropriately utilizing flags in the future.
A college official says members of the campus community initially lowered the flag to half-staff after the Nov. 8 election. That offended other members of the community.
The flag was then found burned on Veterans Day. It was replaced and flown again at half-staff until Friday’s decision to remove all flags. | {
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Six major movie and TV studios have dropped their lawsuit against the defunct file-sharing software LimeWire. The companies sued the software maker and its owner Mark Gorton last year, looking for more than $200 million in damages. Previously, the RIAA won $105 million in damages from the company and through the lawsuit the movie studios hoped to get their piece of the pie. The studios haven't explained why they chose to dismiss the case.
Towards the end of the last decade LimeWire was one of the most-used pieces of software on earth, installed on nearly one in five computers.
By the end of 2010 the situation changed somewhat when LimeWire was forced to cease its operations after a U.S. federal judge granted an injunction in favor of the RIAA.
According to the ruling LimeWire “intentionally encouraged infringement,” its software was used “overwhelmingly for infringement” and the company was aware of the “substantial infringement being committed” by LimeWire users. The evidence further showed that LimeWire marketed its application to Napster users and that its business model depended on mass copyright infringements.
The record labels then went after the company for damages and settled for a record-breaking $150 million.
This big win prompted Twentieth Century Fox, Viacom, Comedy Partners, Disney, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. to launch a separate lawsuit last year. The movie outfits accused LimeWire of infringing the copyrights of approximately 2,000 of their videos and demanded several hundred million dollars in damages.
In addition, the studios requested a ruling in their favor because they feared that LimeWire could launch a similarly infringing platform in the future, through which their copyrights may be infringed.
Over the past few months the two parties have been battling in court but without much progress being made. Last week the movie studios dismissed the entire case with prejudice, meaning that the case is effectively over.
LimeWire dismissal
It’s unclear why the case was dropped, but one possibility is that the case required more resources than the studios were prepared to commit. The studios hoped that a new trial on several key issues wasn’t required as the RIAA already did much of the groundwork.
However, LimeWire objected to the motion for summary judgment and wanted to treat the case as distinct from the RIAA ruling. The software maker argued that they operated differently in the 2009 / 2010 period the studios claim the infringements were committed, and said that the RIAA case only applied to musical works, not video.
While the dismissal is good news for LimeWire, vulture’s keep circling over the company.
Early last month LimeWire was sued by the independent music publisher Microhits, who also demand millions in damages. Microhits appears to have a preference for defunct file-sharing services as it also sued Megaupload last year, a case that’s still pending. | {
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MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines’ highest court has ruled an American soldier convicted of raping a Filipina in 2006 must be placed in government custody, scrapping a deal between the two countries that allowed detention inside the U.S. embassy.
The Supreme Court, in a majority vote taken on Tuesday but announced only on Wednesday, upheld a decade-old security treaty between Manila and Washington. It also said the treaty was clear on the detention “by Philippine authorities” of any U.S. personnel serving sentences.
Jose Midas Marquez, a court spokesman, said the U.S. Marine could remain at the U.S. embassy until final arrangements have been made for his detention in a Philippine facility.
He said the court had ordered the government to begin talks with U.S. officials on Lance Corporal Daniel Smith’s transfer to Philippine custody.
The court nullified two executive agreements signed by Philippine Foreign Minister Alberto Romulo and U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney in December 2006 that allowed the transfer of Smith to the embassy premises.
“Agreements on the detention of the accused in the United States embassy are not in accord with the VFA (Visiting Forces Agreement) itself because such detention is not by Philippine authorities,” the judges said in a 19-page decision.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila said in a statement it has taken note of the court’s decision and would refer the matter to legal experts in Washington. It did not give further comments.
In November 2006, a local court found Smith guilty of raping a Filipino woman inside a former American navy base northwest of the capital Manila while on break at the end of annual U.S.-Philippine military exercises in 2005.
Smith was then sent to a local prison but was transferred shortly after to the U.S. embassy in Manila following the December 2006 agreements between Manila and Washington.
On Wednesday, left-wing activists protested against Smith’s continued detention at the U.S. embassy, questioning the validity of the 1998 security agreement that allowed U.S. troops to train Philippine soldiers in the country.
The Philippines is one of America’s closest allies in the region and was a colony for nearly 50 years until 1946. American troops retained a presence in forward bases until 1992 when Philippine senators voted to terminate a basing agreement. | {
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Warrant Officer Class Two Courage, the Australian Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment mascot, passed away last night.
CAPTION: WO2 Courage, with his handler, at a parade to welcome 2nd Cavalry Regiment to 3rd Brigade at Lavarack Barracks, Townsville, on 27 November 2014. Photo by Corporal Jake Sims.
The wedge-tailed eagle has been 2 Cav’s mascot for exactly 30 years.
A post on 2 Cav Regt’s Facebook page this morning said, “It is with a heavy heart we announce the passing of our Regimental mascot, Warrant Officer Class Two Courage”.
“WO2 Courage passed away early this morning, 16 October 2017.”
A tweet from the unit said the regiment was in mourning.
“WO2 Courage passed away last night.
“He carried our Regiment’s motto in his heart.”
Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army WO Don Spinks tweeted, “Vale WO2 Courage – 30 years of loyal and dedicated service at 2 Cav Regt”.
2nd Cavalry Regiment will host a Family Open Day on 28 October and now plan to incorporate a memorial service to officially farewell WO2 Courage.
WO2 Courage celebrated his 30th birthday in August this year, having hatched on 14 August 1987 at Taronga Park Zoo – and was presented to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment on 15 October 1987 – 30 years yesterday!
WO2 Courage was the longest-serving and most senior mascot in the Australian Army.
The badge of 2nd Cavalry Regiment – specialists in battlefield reconnaissance – is the wedge-tailed eagle with its ferocity and incredible visual acuity.
The regiment’s badge shows the wedge-tailed eagle with a lance and pennant – the weapon and symbol of mounted soldiers – signifying its ability to roam over the battlefield, seeking out its prey and striking where necessary.
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The closer the world gets to serious diplomatic engagement with Iran on its nuclear program, the more hard-liners in Washington and abroad will push military action if the effort fails. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, for one, has tried to goad the Obama administration to show Hassan Rowhani, Iran’s newly elected president, that “the military option which is on the table is truly on the table.”
Until the United States and Iran invest in diplomacy, there is no way to know if a deal is possible. But we cannot think of a faster way to sabotage this fleeting moment than to force Mr. Rowhani into a corner. President Obama has said he will not tolerate Iran’s acquiring a nuclear weapon and has repeatedly warned of a “military option.” Both he and Mr. Rowhani need courage, creative ideas and the skill to manage their domestic politics for the two nations to enter into a meaningful dialogue.
Both sides have made some reassuring comments since Mr. Rowhani, a relatively moderate cleric, beat out more conservative challengers to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The major powers are eager for more concrete action. Mr. Rowhani could send signals by choosing a moderate cabinet and nuclear negotiator, and by agreeing to early talks, even a bilateral meeting with the Americans.
Sanctions have helped push Iran to the negotiating table, and the ones in effect should be enforced. But adding new ones, as some in Congress want, would reinforce Iran’s view that the Americans’ goal is to crush the mullah-led government, and would make negotiations impossible. | {
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Healthcare conferences making a great platform to all healthcare professionals to share and gain knowledge in the field of healthcare. This is great opportunity to students to explore their knowledge and learn great advanced things from healthcare experts who are attending from around the globe. We are inviting healthcare industries to spread their products/promote their organization to entire world by using this Healthcare Asia Pacific 2020 conference as a platform.
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11. Cancer and care
Cancer can be defined as it is an irregular cell growth with the in the long run to attack or spread to entire body in a less spam of time. Not all tumors are harmful but some tumors are harmful. These days breast cancer is spreading globally in a wide range. Possible signs and side effects incorporate an irregular dying, delayed hack, protuberance, weight loss and an adjustment in solid discharges. While these signs may determine tumor, they may have different reasons.
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12. Occupational Healthcare
The importance of occupational healthcare is to decrease work-related sickness and unexpected accidents. It is also expected to promote employees' work scope, functioning and to help the workplace to function more dramatically. So Many occupational diseases are detected in the Basic Occupational Healthcare system Services but so many of them need to be referred to specialized occupational medicine hospitals.
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13. Digital Healthcare
Digital health is the combination of digital technologies with healthcare, living and society to improve the efficiency of healthcare delivery and make medicines more personalized. Digital Healthcare technologies are day by day evolving and finding new things in healthcare, even while the industry is struggling with ‘digital transformation’. Each and every year new applications emerge, but the underlying technologies driving them remain the same.
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14. Healthcare Innovations
Health innovation is to formulate and deliver new or improved health systems, policies, products, technologies, services and delivery techniques that improve people’s health. Healthcare innovation responds to meet needs by employing new ways of thinking and working with a special focus on the needs of populations. Healthcare innovation adds value in the form of improved efficiency, effectiveness, quality, safety and/or affordability.
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15. Psychiatric and mental Healthcare
Services provided to the treatment of mental problems and the improvement of mental healthcare in people with mental problems or disorders are called as Mental Healthcare. Mental healthcare includes our psychological, emotional and social well-being. It affects how we feel, think, and act. It also supports to determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life cycle, from childhood and adolescence through death.
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16. Pediatric Healthcare
Pediatrics Healthcare is the branch of medicine dealing with the medical care and health of infants, children, and adolescents from birth up to the age of 18. The word “pediatrics” means “healer of children”. Pediatricians diagnose and treat several health conditions among children including injuries, infections, genetic and congenital conditions and Cancer etc.
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17. E-Health
Healthcare services provided through internet or via electronically are called as e-health. In a wide sense, the term characterizes not only a technical development, but also a state-of-mind, an attitude, a way of thinking and a commitment for networked, to improve healthcare locally, regionally, and internationally by using IT technology.
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18. Nutrition and Healthcare
Nutrition health is about eating a balanced and healthy diet. Healthy eating means eating foods that give you the nutrients you need to maintain your body healthy, feel good, and have energy. These nutrients include protein, carbohydrates, fat, water, vitamins, and minerals
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Healthcare Events | Nursing Conferences | Mental Healthcare | Healthcare Conferences | Healthcare Asia Pacific | Primary Healthcare | {
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(RNS) — When 23-year-old Rabia Khan was a student at Princeton University, she felt safe within the confines of its ivy-covered walls. That changed when she graduated. “I am hyperaware of whether someone will attack me or say racist things to me because I am hijabi,” Khan said.
She is right to be concerned. A 2017 survey found that more than half of Muslim women living in the U.S. say they had experienced at least one incident of anti-Muslim discrimination in the last year.
Women like Khan are watching closely as Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, the first female Muslims elected to Congress, take on leadership roles. The two are sending a message that the challenges Khan anticipates are not insurmountable.
“Muslim women who are outspoken aren't being loud,” Khan said. “They amplify their voices to be heard in a crowd that often doesn't want to listen.”
RELATED: In Chicago, one mosque charts its own path
Khan is one of six high school- and college-age Muslim women we interviewed over the last year, all of whom head their Muslim Students Associations or campus clubs or are impassioned organizers, and who see role models in the high-profile activists — Linda Sarsour, Ingrid Mattson and Amina Wadud — who have recently been redefining what it means to be a feminist leader.
Since Tlaib and Omar arrived in Washington, they have faced sexist, racist and anti-Muslim attacks from both right-wing trolls and colleagues in Congress, who have objected to everything from their positions on Palestine to how they dress. Similarly intense assaults have greeted Sarsour since she came to attention as a leader of the Women’s March in 2017. Her own criticism of Israel and her statements about the Nation of Islam have brought accusations of anti-Semitism.
Our interview subjects weren't fazed by the abuse their role models have weathered. Iman Syed, an 18-year-old high school student from Rye, N.Y., founded her school’s civics club and hopes to run for office herself someday. For Syed, Tlaib and Omar's election proves that anything is possible.
Marwa Moaz, a 25-year-old from Alexandria, Va., cited the Palestinian thobe Tlaib wore for her swearing-in, as well as Omar’s open critique of Israel, as evidence that young women like herself “should have no fear to be who we are unapologetically, and to stand up for what we believe in, even if it is not the popular opinion.”
For Shewa Shwani, a 22-year-old student at Syracuse University and president of her campus’s chapter of the Food Recovery Network, collective action by Muslim women and mutual support can overcome the barriers they face. With their shared experiences of systemic discrimination, Shwani believes, Muslim women can be more effective leaders and partners with all minority groups.
Already, said Mattson, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of Western Ontario, Muslim women are reasserting Islam's understanding of women's roles. Women once had much greater access to leadership positions in pre-modern Islamic society. While a male imam usually led prayer, according to Mattson, “there are scholars, all sorts of religious institutions and diffused religious authority, even midwives would have both a medical and a pastoral role.”
As much of the Muslim world was colonized, however, all of its institutions, including religious ones, were reconfigured after the Western model of hierarchical bureaucracy, dominated by men.
This was compounded, Mattson explained, by the “Americanization of Islam.” As the numbers of Muslims grew in the U.S. through an African-American revival and immigration, imams felt pressure to conform to the Christian model of clergy — formally trained specialists connected to a place of worship. And as "the imam became like a clergy person — like a minister in a church or a rabbi in a synagogue — and had all the power and all the authority,” Islam became confined to the mosque.
The bias became so pervasive that it is frequently found among older Muslim Americans, for whom a patriarchal model of leadership appears natural.
Mattson herself represents the coming change. A busy speaker and writer, she is the first female president of the Islamic Society of North America, one of several Muslim groups that have taken the lead as the voice of Islam in the U.S. “We’re shedding that narrow congregational model and also rediscovering our history,” she said.
Within Mattson’s work and research are “the intellectual tools,” Syed finds, to speak fearlessly against injustice in all its forms, even when her own views don’t align with those of other Islamic community members.
A number of young Muslim women we spoke with also named Wadud, a former professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and feminist scholar of the Quran, as an inspiration. “(She is a) hero who has empowered us to reclaim our leadership and reclaim the interpretation of our religious texts, reminding us that the majority of religious scholars in Islam have historically been women,” said Rana Abdelhamid, the 25-year-old founder of (IM)WISE, an organization committed to teaching self-defense to Muslim women.
Wadud has been affectionately called the “Lady Imam” since she led a Friday sermon in 1994 at a mosque in Cape Town, South Africa — a role usually reserved for men. Wadud rejects the label “leader,” which she thinks implies a hierarchical structure. Instead, Wadud wants “a whole new systematic relationship in regards to how we get things done,” which she describes as “taking ownership of the mothership of Islam.”
This means, she said, partnering with groups outside Islam. While Muslim women are not all “on the exact same page,” Wadud said, “it’s a very vibrant period.”
The young women we interviewed agreed that the new brand of leadership demands a broader exchange. “It is incumbent for Muslims to interact with all people within the community,” said Syed, “irrespective of religious faith, and to fully immerse themselves in the American experience.”
Shwani pointed out that while her parents “trusted their imam or other religious leaders with anything,” Muslim high school and college students are not afraid to challenge their leaders and pose questions that their grandparents “would’ve been too afraid or embarrassed to ask.”
Many younger American Muslims consider social justice advocates to be important religious leaders, according to Kahn, and when asked what makes a good Muslim leader, Shwani described someone who is “up to speed on events, trends,” and as “comfortable to address certain sensitive topics in our community.”
What came through clearly is that while they are guided by the values of Islam — equality, adaptability and the suppression of hateful, extremist voices — young Muslim women don’t want to solely be defined by their faith.
Syed was a featured speaker at last year’s March for Our Lives event in White Plains, N.Y., attended by more than 5,000 people. But she told us, “I don’t see myself as a Muslim leader.” Rather, she sees herself as someone who practices Islam in her private life and uses the teachings of her faith to be a more effective advocate for equality and social justice.
Nonetheless, Shwani feels that her leadership roles have come with the added responsibility of representing her religious community. “I have done a lot to help the food waste and hunger crisis on our campus and community and I hope it proves to people what … Muslim women are capable of,” she said.
As they navigate the cultural challenges of being Muslim and female in America, these young women have recognized that their struggles can also inform change. “Any woman in any leadership role today will better the position simply because they are a woman,” Moaz said. “Simply because our stories and our narratives have never been heard before. Simply because women in power shatters concepts of patriarchy.” | {
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Some foreclosure and eviction cases can be heartbreaking. However, we live by rule of law in this country, and unless we want to start giving away real estate to those with the saddest story, these evictions must take place.
Property evictions cause severe emotional pain for the dispossessed. People develop strong emotional attachments to the place they call home, and losing that attachment suddenly is so painful that many well-meaning people believe evictions should be banned. People who support prohibiting evictions do not understand that evictions are essential to the operation of our housing system.
Eviction is both a threat and a consequence. People are only evicted from their homes if they fail to make the required payments. Renters are evicted if they fail to pay rent, and homeowners are evicted if they fail to pay their mortgages. The threat of eviction is often the only reason people make housing payments. Would anyone pay for housing if they could get it for free?
The threat of eviction is enough to convince most people to make timely payments, but the consequence of eviction must match the threat for the threat to motivate compliance. When the threat becomes empty, people quit paying and squat, as we witnessed millions of people do during the housing bust.
Evictions may seem heartless, but we have these laws in place for a reason. If occupancy was the only requirement for ownership, our entire system of property ownership and finance would cease to function, and thuggery would determine who got to live where. Most often people who are being evicted have made poor choices. They knew the potential consequences for their failure to make payments, yet they chose not to make payments.
Evictions may be sad events, but they are a necessary evil.
My family’s eviction story
Not all evictions are for failure to make timely payment. My grandmother’s blind sister was 82 years old when she was evicted from her paid-off family home for a highway construction project. True story.
Rather than wait a few more years for this ailing elderly blind woman to pass on in her lifelong home on the lake in Friendship, Wisconsin, the Department of Transportation decided it was time to straighten out a dangerous corner around the edge of the lake by wiping out my great-aunt’s home.
This incident was very sad, and my great-aunt died in a nursing home shortly thereafter emotionally devastated by the event. Her son kept the bitterness alive for years thereafter. I can’t help wondering why the State of Wisconsin didn’t wait until after her passing to complete this project.
Circumstances like that cause me to question if some evictions are better avoided or delayed.
By JENNIFER SCHUESSLER, FEB. 19, 2016
The first time the sociologist Matthew Desmond rode along during an eviction, he was shocked by the suddenness of “seeing your house turn into not your house in seconds.” “You see the mover reach past someone to turn on the lights without asking, then open the fridge, open the cupboards,” he recalled recently. Touches of home are “obliterated instantly” and often just piled up on the curb. …
When anyone packs up and moves, whether voluntarily or not, the move is sudden. That doesn’t make it a social problem.
“We’ve tended to look through housing to things like neighborhoods or gentrification,” he said over lunch at a deli near Bronx Housing Court, where he was about to offer a reporter a tour. But the difficulty of finding and keeping a roof over one’s head — for many families in eviction court, rent consumes as much as 80 percent of their income, he writes — has become “not just a consequence of poverty, but a cause of poverty.” …
Excessive rent burdens is a problem. High rent burdens prevents people from saving money or spending on other goods and services. However, that problem has nothing to do with evictions, which are merely the consequence of failing to pay the rent or mortgage.
If the rent is too high, people can move to a less expensive rental, move in with others, or move out of the area. Nobody is trapped in a rental.
Mr. Desmond … doesn’t shrink from depicting less than sympathetic behavior by tenants, like the decision by Larraine, a 54-year-old woman who has just been evicted from the trailer park, to blow her monthly food stamps on a single home-cooked lobster dinner. “I was so angry at Larraine,” he recalled, using stronger language. “I remember calling my wife and saying, ‘What do I do with this? …” In an endnote, Mr. Desmond describes pressing Larraine for an explanation. The one she finally comes up with — “because I wanted to” — may not satisfy all readers.
While this woman’s decision making is atrocious, is it fair to be more upset with her because she lacks the intellectual capacity for rationalization? Just because someone can come up with a bogus justification for doing something selfish and stupid doesn’t make them any better.
But for the extreme poor, Mr. Desmond argues, bad decisions are a result of poverty, more than poverty is a result of bad decisions.
Let’s accept that his argument is true for a moment. Does that make the person trapped in poverty any less responsible for their bad decisions? What is the cure for this problem? Money?
“The difference between stable poverty and Larraine’s kind of poverty is so vast,” he said. “No amount of scrimping and saving is going to get her out.”
Her poverty is internal, and no amount of money will ever cure that. Abundance is as much a state of mind as it is a state of one’s bank account.
Squatters on my dime
While I was actively buying houses in Las Vegas, I evicted many people from their family homes. I feel no remorse, and I feel no need to justify or rationalize what I did. These people weren’t paying their mortgages, and they didn’t want to pay me rent after I bought the property, so they had to go. Was I supposed to let them live there for nothing?
In one property I purchased, the former owners squatted for over a year with an interesting legal move. They had the wife file for bankruptcy in her maiden name a few days after the foreclosure auction, and they put the property into the estate. Well, our search didn’t pick up the bankruptcy because it wasn’t in the owner’s name, so we began foreclosure proceedings. Late in the process, the bankruptcy attorney accuses us of harassment, and we had no idea what he was talking about.
Once we discovered the suit, we had to initiate our own suit to have the property removed from the bankruptcy proceedings. They didn’t own the property when they filed, so they couldn’t obtain protection from the bankruptcy court to stay there. If they had filed before the foreclosure, they would have had other rights, but if they had filed before the foreclosure, it would have shown up in a title search, and I wouldn’t have bid on the property.
The cost of all this legal maneuvering was expensive. I am not a bank. I can’t amend, extend, and pretend I am making money. I either sell quickly for a profit or I don’t profit.
Finally, a full year later, the squatters became a bit complacent, and they failed to send their attorney the $150 check to keep filing delay documents (we found the check on the counter when we got in). On the morning the courts approved our right to take possession, we went to the property, and nobody was home.
We had the locksmith change the locks while the police watched, and we had a moving truck waiting in the driveway. By noon, we had most of the house packed when the squatting former owner showed up. Needless to say, she was upset.
With the police still there to explain they were being forcibly evicted, the woman calmed down — a little. We arranged to have their possessions put in a storage unit for 30 days, which we paid for.
I could have filed suit against them for a year’s worth of unpaid rent on the house I owned, but my attorney said it would be costly to file, and since they didn’t have any assets, it was pointless. I wanted them to pay for the year they lived in my house, but when I considered my options, and when I considered the emotional price they paid when I got them out, I just let it go.
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Over 800 cars showed up to the Detroit Gambler 500—a rally made up of $500 and under shitboxes—and while I only spotted a small portion of that total, what I did see was absolute madness.
While I wasn’t able to participate in the rally like I did last year, I did make it a point to stop by the Gambler 500 lunch spot at Eastern Market in Detroit, and right away I couldn’t help but drool over this Cadillac CTS on 33-inch mud tires:
The owner had hacked the Cadi’s roof off, “massaged” the fenders and rear quarter panels, and added quintessential truck-bro accessories like a light bar, a winch, a brush guard and a snorkel.
While walking around the parking area, I also saw not one, but two tank-cars. First there was the awesome gold Pontiac Grand Prix shown above, then there was this army-green, winch-carrying Buick century:
There were also a bunch of cars whose body panels had been stripped off, especially plastic-bodied Saturns like this SW2:
Another Saturn lacking in the body panel department was this V6, all-wheel drive Vue:
Here it is sitting behind a Mad Max-ed Mercury Grand Marquis. Notice there is no rear hatch:
There was also this half-lifted Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ, whose driver was most likely staring straight up at the sky while driving:
Speaking of WJs, one gentleman used some fake flooring from Home Depot to Wagoneer-ify his Grand Cherokee:
And yes, that’s an ambulance behind the Jeep; looks like someone listened to Jason Torchinsky’s “ultimate camping excursion vehicle” advice. If you look closely, you can see it has off-road trail permits on it, which is just hilarious to see on an ambulance:
I also saw this Subaru Outback Limited which has had some steel tubing welded to it so that a minibike could be fitted out back (see what I did there?):
One of the most bizarre vehicles in the parking lot was this Suzuki Sidekick with a turkey head and neck sticking off its front bumper. I still have no clue what this was all about:
And then there was a pink camper+van. No, not a “camper van,” but a camper plus a van:
Yup:
I also have to mention this Ford Ranger with a Jeep Cherokee XJ grille up front, because it actually looks damn good:
While at the pit stop, I talked with a bunch of people enjoying what makes this rally such a blast: wrenching.
These guys were crouched down in the wheel-well of an older Ford Expedition, grunting as they yanked on a breaker bar trying to loosen a rusty bolt.
It looks like they actually bent the brake shield to access the bolt; from what I could tell, they were breaking tools trying to get that bolt free from the axle thanks to all the rust:
On the floor next to them was the offending part, a control arm that had somehow broken:
Then there was this guy Sawzall-ing some rusty metal from his Chevrolet Astro van:
And I met this Jalopnik reader who was replacing his stripped-down Saturn Vue’s front driver’s-side CV axle:
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by the wackiness and ingenuity of Detroit Gambler 500 participants, seeing as Motor City has a reputation for being chock-full of diehard gearheads, and seeing as I did attend this event last year. Still, I have to admit, I struggled to keep my jaw off the ground.
Some more photos of weird cars:
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Office Building Cleaning Services
A successful entrepreneur or businessman is one who doesn’t let even the tiniest of details affect his business. They make sure that everything that can impact the overall image of their business is taken care of. So when we talk about image building, where do we start? The place from where you conduct business, meaning your workplace. For you to have a positive image among your peers and clientele, first impressions are important. And a good first impression always comes from the way you present your workplace. Obviously no one would be impressed by a shoddy, unkempt area. For a good impression, it is important that your office is clean, hygienic and in good condition.
Office hygiene and cleanliness become all the more important when you think about it from the productivity point of view. A good employer is one who keeps the well-being of employees to be of paramount importance. This does not only mean giving them perks and benefits to keep them happy, but also taking care of their physical health. A clean workplace is less likely to invite infections and diseases, which mean the employees, are less prone to falling ill, leading to less absenteeism from work.
Office Pros Cleaning, your trusted commercial cleaning service is USA, takes the worry off you brow with our expert services. We understand how a clean workplace can make or break the deal when dealing with clients. That is why; we offer customized set of services to each of our clients as per their special needs and requirements. Here are a few of our services:
General cleaning & janitorial services
Floor care/ floor stripping/ waxing
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With years of experience, highly trained staff and great attention to detail, we assure you of our best services every time. We work in the night shifts as well. So you can leave your office keys and alarm codes with us without any worries, and let us get to work. We are an established and trusted commercial cleaning service in the community, so you need not worry about the security and safety of your workplace.
We also have customized cleaning programs for our clients, as per their needs and requirements. For example, we have run several successful disinfestation programs against a variety of widespread infections such as Flu.
Go explore our website to see what others have to say about us. You will surely have more trust in us once you see what we have to offer. You can also LIKE us on Facebook for more updates. | {
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In case you Switch users are on the fence when it comes to snagging The Game Kitchen and Team17’s gorgeous 2D Souls-like Blasphemous (which was released back in September), you’ve got a chance to “try before you buy” with a newly-announced demo.
The demo is available now via the Nintendo eShop. And for those interested, the Japanese version of the game will be arrive on December 19th for ¥2,750.
But for those who have already taken the plunge, played the game and want more, you’re in luck! When asked about DLC or a possible sequel (it’s early, I know), the official Twitter account responded that the game will be seeing free DLC next year!
Free DLC next year 😉 — Blasphemous (@BlasphemousGame) December 17, 2019
No word on just what that DLC entails just yet, however. Blasphemous is also available now on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. | {
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Trump knew of Kim’s invitation well in advance
WASHINGTON - Since last year, the United States has been aware of North Korea’s intent to resolve the nuclear crisis through a summit, a diplomatic source told the JoongAng Ilbo on Monday, contradicting the idea that U.S. President Donald Trump impulsively decided to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.“Using its own channels between the United States and the North, Washington detected last year Pyongyang’s idea that only a summit can resolve the issues,” said the source. He added that the North was persistent with the idea of a “top-down” approach and the U.S. leadership, including Trump, was frequently briefed about the situation.Washington, however, didn’t pursue the idea of a meeting because it was implementing its “maximum pressure” campaign and because it was unsure of Pyongyang’s authenticity. The United States, therefore, decided to wait until North Korea offered talks.“The United States believed that the appropriate timing would come when the North felt unmanageable pressure,” he said.After the North decided to participate in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Washington and Pyongyang began secret contacts, around Jan. 20, the source said.The contacts became more active after the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) got information that the North wanted to have a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of the opening ceremony in February. The State Department was completely excluded from the process, the source said.Although the North initiated a meeting between Pence and Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of leader Kim Jong-un, who visited the South as a special envoy for the Games’ opening ceremony, it called off the meeting just two hours before it was to start.“The media reported that Pence’s visit to the Cheonan memorial and his announcement of a plan to impose additional sanctions were the reason of the cancelation, but the North didn’t really care about those issues,” said the diplomatic source.According to him, Pence’s snub of the North Korean delegation at a welcome reception and the opening ceremony was the key reason.“They were worried that a meeting would end badly,” he said. “They called it off after receiving an order from Pyongyang late at night on the eve of the scheduled meeting.”The source explained that the cancellation was not a rejection of talks with the United States, but a decision to spare Kim Yo-jong an embarrassing position.According to the source, Trump was already aware of Kim Jong-un’s desire for a summit before South Korean envoys led by Chung Eui-yong visited the White House on March 9 to deliver the North Korean leader’s invitation. Chung visited Pyongyang and met with Kim on March 5 and came to several agreements, including the holding of an inter-Korean summit in April and moratorium on nuclear and missile tests during talks with the United States.Before his arrival in Washington, Chung informed H.R. McMaster, White House national security adviser, about the offer of a summit and intelligence agencies of Seoul and Washington also exchanged information, the source said.“Many already knew what Kim’s message would be,” the source said. “But no one knew that Trump would make public his decision right away. Trump was probably waiting for this moment since his inauguration.”After Chung delivered Kim’s invitation for a summit in the Oval Office, Trump replied that he would like to meet Kim as soon as possible. Chung said that the inter-Korean summit was to be held in April and Trump said he would like to meet Kim in April too.“After the 45-minute meeting in the Oval Office, Chung and McMaster had a follow-up meeting to discuss the specifics of the announcement,” a source who asked for anonymity told the JoongAng Ilbo. “During that meeting, the two sides decided to use the term “by May” to indicate that the North-U.S. summit would come after the inter-Korean summit.”Another official said Trump, too, believes that a “top-down” approach is necessary for the United States. “Just like the North, Trump will draw the line for negotiations first, and other officials will follow,” he said. Because of the two leaders’ styles, Washington and Pyongyang are not likely to send special envoys to deal with each other before the summit, he said.The diplomatic source also denied that Chung delivered an additional message from Kim to Trump unrelated to the summit proposal. “There is media speculation about the North’s strong desire for a peace treaty, to normalize ties with the United States and establish a U.S. embassy in Pyongyang, but they were not part of the message,” he said. “Some also said the message was about releasing three American citizens detained in the North or about the North’s freeze of the intercontinental ballistic missile program. But it wasn’t that either.”CIA Director Mike Pompeo told U.S. media Sunday that Trump is aware of the North’s history of making empty promises and understands the risks of sitting down with Kim. “The president isn’t doing this for theatre, he is going there to solve a problem,” the spy chief told Fox News Sunday.Asked about the agency’s personality profile on Kim, Pompeo said, “So, we know a fair amount about him. We know that he is rational in the sense of the response to stimulus. We have seen this. We’ve watched this administration apply pressure, and now, we’ve watched him come to the negotiating table.”He said Trump’s pressure on the North should be credited for the developments. “The president…put enormous pressure on the North Korean economy and on the North Korean leadership,” he said. “That gave us this opportunity where Kim Jong-un now has committed to stopping nuclear testing, stopping missile tests, allowing exercises to go forward, something that has been incredibly contentious in the past and at the same time saying that the denuclearization - complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization is a topic for discussion.“And that’s when Kim Jong-un said, ‘I’d like to meet with the president.’ The president made the decision it was the right time to begin that conversation,” he said.Meanwhile, South Korea continued Monday its domestic and diplomatic efforts to deal with the dramatic developments. At a meeting with senior Blue House secretaries, Moon stressed the importance of the upcoming two months, describing a “precious opportunity."“Only the people’s support will lead us to success against unpredictable outside factors,” Moon said.Moon also sent Chung to China to brief its leaders on the latest developments. Chung was scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping Monday afternoon and travel to Moscow on Tuesday. Suh Hoon, National Intelligence Service director, left for Japan and will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday.BY KIM HYUN-KI, SER MYO-JA [[email protected]] | {
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A year ago the Hawaii Climate Commission published a report that illustrated just how vulnerable the islands are to climate change, especially when it comes to sea level rise. Read more
A year ago the Hawaii Climate Commission published a report that illustrated just how vulnerable the islands are to climate change, especially when it comes to sea level rise.
On Monday, a conference sponsored by the commission began to explore the next steps: How to tackle accelerating climate changes and potential catastrophes in the decades ahead.
The Hawaii Climate Conference at the University of Hawaii’s East-West Center featured experts from Hawaii and elsewhere discussing ideas for dealing with global warming.
Commission Coordinator Anukriti Hittle said the conference was held to help to set priorities for the 22-member commission, which was established in October 2017 by Act 32 of the state Legislature. Members of the commission include a variety of state department heads and four state lawmakers.
Panel discussions Monday addressed implementation strategies for reducing emissions from vehicles, adapting to sea level rise and how to pay for climate change strategies.
During the sea level rise panel, Jennifer Jurado, chief resilience officer of Broward County, Fla., talked about how four South Florida counties, including Miami- Dade, combined forces to establish regional planning tools and help individual communities identify “adaptation action areas” at risk of coastal flooding.
New development in South Florida must accommodate a 50-year planning horizon, including 2 feet of sea level rise, she said, and the region has established a goal of maintaining 80 percent of beach dunes.
Steve Long, director of government relations with The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts, talked about his state’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program, which offers support to cities and towns in planning for climate resiliency and implementing projects.
Long said the state provides funding for vulnerability assessments and developing action plans to bolster resiliency. Communities that complete the program are certified as MVP communities eligible for additional funding for “nature- based solutions,” he said.
The Hawaii Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report, adopted by the state Climate Commission at the end of 2017, projects climate change-driven sea level rise of 3.2 feet over the next 30 to 70 years.
The report forecasts a future of coastal flooding, erosion and property damage that will force more than 19,800 people from their homes and cause $19 billion in economic losses.
Sam Lemmo, administrator of Hawaii’s Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, said Hawaii has a history of allowing development too close to the shoreline, and it continues to be a major problem.
While state policies and laws talk about climate priorities, being resilient and dealing with coastal hazards, Lemmo said Hawaii statutes fail to mention sea level rise as a major threat.
“That has to change,” he said. “That has to change quickly because we’re running out of time.”
Lemmo said not only must lawmakers acknowledge rising seas by inserting language in the state’s Coastal Zone Management Act, they should underwrite the agencies that are in a position to promote and implement adaptation measures.
“That is something we fundamentally and essentially must do now,” he said.
Lemmo said that when he started in his position 20 years ago, he never thought the problem of shoreline erosion and threats to coastal development would reach this point.
“Now with the specter of sea level rise, its going to be more and more difficult to protect our beaches and protect our existing coastal development simultaneously,” he said.
“We have to make some difficult choices about what’s important to us. What we’re willing to pay for — or give up — if we want to have beaches in the future, the bread and butter of our visitor economy.”
While the commission report estimated $19 billion in damage from sea level rise, Lemmo said that figure didn’t count infrastructure losses or economic multipliers.
“It could possibly double or triple the economic losses when we start to look at the overall picture,” he said. | {
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ST. CHARLES – The future of Pheasant Run Resort has been called into question as the DuPage Airport Authority recently filed a lawsuit seeking acquisition of the property through its eminent domain powers.
Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles, is directly north of the DuPage Airport, 2700 International Drive, West Chicago.
Phillip Luetkehans, an attorney representing the airport authority, said the entity is trying to protect its runways and airspace. He also referenced a concept plan Pheasant Run presented to St. Charles aldermen in October that envisioned adding retailers and residences to the site.
The residential use is “not appropriate” next to an airport, Luetkehans said.
“We’ve all seen what happened with O’Hare and Midway with the noise complaints,” he said.
He said attempts to negotiate with Pheasant Run have been unsuccessful.
Pheasant Run Resort, which is owned by St. Charles Resort LLC, did not provide a comment Monday.
St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina said it is his “sincere hope” that the two parties come to an equitable agreement.
“Pheasant Run, to us, is part of the fabric of this community,” he said, describing it as a symbol of the city’s east side that brings in a “good amount” of property tax, sales tax and alcohol tax.
The ownership’s plans to make Pheasant Run a more viable and modern facility are appealing to St. Charles, Rogina said. He said it is unfortunate that legal proceedings may slow that process.
When a representative from the airport authority spoke against Pheasant Run’s concept plan at a meeting last fall, 1st Ward Alderman Dan Stellato noted the airport had two years to buy the property when it was in foreclosure.
He further said he thought it was wrong that the airport, which is outside the city, would come in and tell the city how to manage or develop the property. | {
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When Ted Szal disappeared in Chicago 35 years ago, his family assumed that he had fallen victim to serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
But Szal’s family got an early Christmas gift this year when they learned that he had been alive all this time and living in a suburb of Portland, Oregon.
“My family thought I was dead,” Szal told The Associated Press. “That hurt when I heard that.”
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“There’s a difference between being murdered and running away, and I basically just ran away,” he explained.
At the age of 24, a divorce and bitter family feud had prompted Szal to toss the keys to his car down a sewer grate, hop on a plane at O’Hare Airport and never look back.
“I missed them a lot, course I did. But I’m also stubborn. I made up my mind,” he recalled.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart launched an investigation earlier this year to identify the eight Gacy victims who are still unaccounted for.
“There are a lot of people hiding in plain sight,” Dart told NBC Chicago. “And for a myriad of reasons, for family reasons, they’ve chosen not to be found.”
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In October, the Cook County sheriff’s office determined that presumed Gacy victim Harold Wayne Lovell was also alive.
Watch this video from NBC Chicago, broadcast Dec. 21, 2011.
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View more videos at: http://nbcchicago.com. | {
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Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's popularity has taken a sharp knock according to the findings of the first edition of India Today's Political Stock Exchange (PSE), with almost 50 per cent of the respondents indicating that they are dissatisfied with the performance of the Vasundhara government in the state.
The PSE is a new-gen innovation in election analysis, and is India's first ever weekly tracker of the country's political pulse.
The PSE results bring some relief to Vasundhara's counterparts in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where both Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh remain the popular choices to lead their states for yet another term.
The PSE showcases data collected through telephonic interviews by Axis My India, India's most successful polling agency.
RAJASTHAN
According to the survey of the three poll-bound states, as many as 48 per cent of the respondents want a change of guard in Rajasthan, with only 32 per cent expressing satisfaction with the incumbent Raje government.
The India Today Axis My India poll was based on telephone interviews across every parliamentary constituency of the state with a sample size of 9,850.
According to the survey, some 15 per cent of respondents rated the performance of the Raje administration as "average".
In the study, 35 per cent of respondents wanted Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot to be CM. State party president Sachin Pilot, on the other hand, won 11 per cent of approvals for the post.
Asked about their preferred choice for the next PM, most respondents -- 57 per cent -- voted for Narendra Modi. Thirty-five per cent supported Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.
Among the major issues facing Rajasthan, drainage and cleanliness topped voter concerns, followed by agricultural problems, unemployment, price rise and drinking water.
In 2013, the BJP won 163 of the state assembly's 200 seats, with the Congress trailing at 21.
MADHYA PRADESH
According to the India Today Axis My India PSE report, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan emerged as the favourite of 46 per cent of voters. Thirty-two per cent supported the Congress party's Jyotiraditya Scindia as the next chief minister of the state.
Scindia's popularity is well ahead of that of Kamal Nath, who found favour with only 8 per cent of the respondents. The Scindia scion's popularity presents a major headache for Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who has pitched Nath as the man who will lead the Congress' battle strategy in Madhya Pradesh.
While the party has not officially declared a chief ministerial face, Nath is widely seen as leading the internal race to be CM even though the PSE poll shows that Scindia's popularity is four times that of Kamal Nath's.
On the performance index though, the incumbent state administration was found to be hanging precariously to voter satisfaction. The poll found 41 per cent expressing satisfaction and 40 per cent seeking a change in government because of its performance.
The Madhya Pradesh survey, with a sample size of 12,035, indicated that 47 per cent of voters considered unemployment to be a major issue, followed by agricultural problems, drinking water, sanitation and price rise.
As many as 56 per cent of respondents voted in favour of another term in office for PM Modi, followed by 36 per cent supporting Rahul Gandhi for the top job.
In 2013, the BJP retained power in Madhya Pradesh, winning 165 of the 230 assembly seats. The Congress secured 58 constituencies back then.
CHHATTISGARH
The Chhattisgarh PSE report showed 41 per cent of respondents favouring incumbent Raman Singh as the next CM. Twenty-one per cent supported state Congress president Bhupesh Baghel.
Around 39 per cent expressed satisfaction with the Singh administration's performance, while 34 per cent voted for a change.
Drainage, sanitation and unemployment emerged as major issues in the elections due this year, followed by agricultural problems and price rise, the poll showed. The sample size was 4,598.
As many as 59 per cent of respondents want Prime Minister Modi to be given another term, while 34 per cent want Rahul Gandhi to be the next PM.
In 2013, the BJP won 49 of the state's 90 assembly seats, and the Congress, 39.
ALSO READ | Narendra Modi beats Vajpayee, Nehru, Indira to emerge best ever PM in India Today survey
ALSO READ | Mood of the Nation: 46 per cent say Rahul Gandhi best alternative to Narendra Modi in 2019 | {
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I don't know man, it's just so hot... the way that sofa cushion rolled to the floor, I had to mount it.
127 shares | {
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Say what you want about how Chinese cars have questionable build quality and safety, or how they're so often knock-offs of other production cars. They have much cooler names than other cars do — by a long shot.
Recently, your intrepid Jalopnik staff stumbled onto the fact that Brilliance's Jinbei division makes a camper called the Large Sea Lion.
That's right. The Large Sea Lion. Do you know how awesome you'd be if someone asked you what car you drove, and you could tell them "I drive a Large Sea Lion?"
Fuck your Mustang. That's one of the greatest car names ever. So is Coolbear, Urban Ark and Superlong.
Here's another amazing one: an SUV called the Golden Dragon Righto V3. Names do not get better than that.
Even the imports in China get in on the action, too. Unlike in most other markets, where a Camaro is a Camaro, in China cars often get renamed to sound more Chinese, making Chevy's muscle car the Kei Me Luo. I find that trend fascinating, even if it's totally pandering.
So here's your Show Us challenge for the day — tell us about the greatest Chinese car names of all time, be they Chinese-made cars or ones that have been rebadged. I'll get you started! | {
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Unconfirmed rumors currently suggest the TRON Foundation is set to partner with China’s internet search giant Baidu, as a crypto platform claims to have confirmed the partnership in correspondence with TRON.
As CryptoGlobe reported, TRON Foundation CEO Justin Sun recently tweeted out the TRX network is about to partner with an “industry giant” that’s worth tens of billions of dollars, which saw the cryptocurrency’s price surge.
Per the CEO, the partnership is going to be revealed “next week.” At a time various community members attempt to guess who the mysterious partner may be, crypto market platform Coinness claims to have confirmed it’ll be Baidu, and that the news will be “officially revealed by Baidu Cloud.”
Exclusive: #Tron to Cooperate with China's IT Giant #Baidu The Tron team told https://t.co/reZ2fjHrZq that a partnership had been confirmed between Tron and China's IT giant Baidu, which will be officially revealed by Baidu Cloud next week. — Coinness – Real-time Crypto Market Index and News (@coinness) October 12, 2018
Although TRON allegedly officially confirmed the partnership to Coinness, the crypto platform hasn’t yet released any details on it. This is notably not the first time TRON’s founder Justin Sun makes headlines this week, as he claimed a new updated would make TRX’s blockchain “200x faster” than that of Ethereum, at prices up to 100 times cheaper than EOS.
The update-related tweet saw TRX surge about 8% and crash a few days later. The partnership update saw the crypto rise 9% yesterday and a further 2% in the last 24-hour period, as it’s currently trading at $0.024, according to CryptoCompare data.
Although the cryptocurrency has been surging, it still hasn’t climbed back to its $0.028 30-day high, and is currently down about 90% from its all-time high of over $0.25. TRON recently released an updated toolkit for developers that’s set to help them create decentralized applications (DApps) on its ecosystem.
The TRON Foundation itself reportedly has over 100 employees working on it, some of which have come from Chinese internet giants like Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba. Justin Sun, the Foundation’s CEO, has earlier this year acquired Rainberry Inc, formerly known as BitTorrent.
This brought the TRX ecosystem 100 million new active users, as seeders on the BitTorrent platform may reportedly be rewarded in crypto for seeding. Baidu itself has been looking into blockchain technology, as it launched in April an image rights management platform called Totem using it.
The search giant has, as covered, started censoring cryptocurrency-related discussions on its forums earlier this year, in line with China’s crackdown on the nascent industry. Baidu’s forum business, per reports, was launched in 2003 and has over 300 million monthly active users.
CryptoGlobe reached out to the TRON Foundation and Coinness and they responded with the following comment: “Sorry for the late reply, we will report this partnership in details, please stay tuned with us.” | {
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Oath of the Dragon
Followers of the Oath of the Dragon do not see the world as good and evil but as a spectrum of colour. They see that the purest actions of the good can lead the dark outcomes and that though something is inherently evil it does not mean that it cannot do good. Like an ancient dragon, Paladins of this Oath often distance themselves from the politics and only intervene when truly needed. Though they will help those in need that they come across, if they beleive their cause is just or that their plight it to strong to be ignored.
Tenents of the Dragon.
The Tenents which guide the followers of the Dragon Oath are simple and represent both the mercy and ruthlessness of dragons.
Protector. Protect those who need it, whether it is from themselves or from others.
Sight of Aeons. Distancing yourself from a situation can often be the best way to see it in full.
Wisdom of Mercy Not all can see the true outcome of their actions. Help them to see the truth if you can, if they will not, protect people from their actions.
Fury. Those who threaten the weak or the many are dangers to the world and should be removed from it, they cannot run from you, you are their end.
Oath Spells
You gain Oath spells at the paladin levels listed
Oath of the Dragon Spells
Paladin Level Spells 3rd Absorb Elements, Bane 5th Gust of Wind, Magic Weapon 9th Elemental Weapon, Fly 13th Elemental Bane, Polymorph 17th Conjure Elemental, Reincarnate
Draconic Aspect.
At third level, you choose one type of dragon as your Draconic Aspect. The damage type associated with your Draconic Aspect ise used in features you gain later.
Draconic Aspect
Dragon Damage Type Black, Copper Acid Blue, Bronze Lightning Brass, Gold, Red Fire Green Poison Silver, White Cold
Channel Divinity.
When you take this Oath at third level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Draconic Presence. All creatures within 30 feet of you that can see you must make a Charisma saving throw, unless it is immune to being frightend. On a failed save a creature is frightened of you until the start of your next turn.
Wraith of the Skies. You gain flying speed of 30 for a number of turns equal to your charisma modifer.
Draconic Strike
At 7th level you gain the ability to channel your draconic powers into your attacks. When you use the Divine Smite or Improved Divine Smite features, You may choose to deal damage associated with your Draconic Aspect instead of Radiant damage.
Aura of Resitance
At 7th level you and freindly creatures within 10 feet of you have resitance to the damage associated to your Draconic Aspect.
At 18th level the range of this Aura increases to 30 feet.
Scaled Resilience
At level 15 your hitpoint maximum increases by an amount equal to your level in this class. Whenever you gain a additonal level in this class your hitpioint maximum increases by 1 additional hit point. In addition you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
Form of the Dragon
At 20th level you gain the ability by to fully embrace the Draconic powers of your Oath.
Using your action you undergo a transformation, for 1 minute you gain the following benifits:
Draconic wing sprout from your back an grant you a flying speed of 60 feet.
You gain blindsight within 60 foot and darkvision within 120.
You gain imminuty to the damage associated to the damage of your Draconic Aspect.
As an action you may make a dragon breath attack dealing 8d10 damage over a 40 foot line. Onced used it cannot be used again until after you finish a long rest.
At the start of each of your turns each hostile creature that is aware of you within 60 foot must make a DC 20 wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you until the start of your next turn . At the end of each of ceratures turn a creature can make another saving throw to end being frightened.
Once you have made this transformation, you cannot do so again until you have completed a long rest. | {
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► Latest info on mid-engined Porsche 960
► Could use variable compression ratio tech
► Expected to arrive after the next-gen 911
Stay sharp, Ferrari, McLaren and Lamborghini: group tests are potentially going to get a whole lot more interesting in 2019, following the launch of new Porsche 960.
Yes, it looks like Porsche is still working on a new mid-engined supercar that will rival the likes of the 488 GTB, 650S and Huracan.
The long-overdue ‘960’, which is expected to cost around £200,000, will fill the blank in Porsche’s line-up between the 911 Turbo S and the flagship 918 Spyder.
What’s the latest on the 960, then?
It had all been quiet on the 960 front until partway through last year, when Porsche quietly applied for – and was granted, in September 2015 – the ‘960’ trademark. One product the name was earmarked for was a car, suggesting that the long-mooted project was slowly becoming a reality.
When recently queried about the registration, Porsche initially rolled out the response you might expect: ‘We won’t comment on future product. We’re just looking to preserve the nameplate identity and combinations that we don’t have, and to avoid going through the labour of proving a later claim based on our traditions.’
However, the spokesperson added the following: ‘There’s not been much on the topic of new models but, if you look, there are blank spots in our range – and you have to look at what the competition is doing and keep these things in mind.
‘Pragmatically, with our production cycle running as it is, we know where we are in the current model cycles – and there’s a lot to do at the moment. We’re very busy.’
So when will we find out more?
The suggested delay in the 960 project correlates with our previous information, which indicated that the mid-engined Porsche had been shunted back to 2019.
Reputedly, the next-gen 911 – so far dubbed the 992 – will arrive before the new supercar, at some point in early 2018. It’s likely, then, that we won’t hear anything more official until at least next year.
Previously, production of the 960 was mooted to being in February 2017 at the company's Zuffenhausen-based plant. Production estimates range from 3000-4000 a year, over the course of six years – like the life cycle of the 911.
What can we expect from the 960?
This isn’t going to be a pumped-up Cayman or a reworking of the 911 platform – the 960 will use new underpinnings that will be featured elsewhere in the Volkswagen Group. The structure will be formed primarily of aluminium, while other materials – including high-strength steel, titanium and composites – will be used where appropriate throughout the car.
Reputedly, a weight of 1400kg has been targeted. That should put the 960 on an even keel with the likes of the Ferrari 488 GTB, which clocks the scales at 1370kg dry. An all-wheel-drive version of the 960 would be closer to 1500kg, but would permit it to far better deploy its power and lower its 0-62mph times.
Interestingly, all-wheel steering – as featured in some iterations of the current 911 – has reputedly been discounted by those working on the 960 project, due to its additional weight. You can expect a whole host of other tech, though, including the latest Porsche multimedia system, active aerodynamics and the rotary drive mode selector.
Either way, it’s unlikely an extra few kilos here or there will dent the 960’s performance – because it’s claimed to pack a quad-turbocharged 3.9-litre flat-eight. Sounds unlikely, but there’s reputedly a Cayman running around with a prototype of this engine already fitted – and its power output is rumoured to be in the region of 650bhp.
So, if a subtle-looking Cayman punches past your 650S or R8 V10 on the Autobahn, and proves tricky to catch, it might be worth following until it stops somewhere. While the ‘B8’-engined Cayman is rear-wheel drive, the production version of the 960 is expected to be all-wheel drive initially, with more hardcore rear-drive versions following later down the line.
Porsche has history with flat-eight engines, too; its 907 and 908 racing cars of the ’60s and ’70s were fitted with flat-eights, so there’s motorsports heritage at hand to lend extra appeal – and advertising ammunition – to the new powerplant...
A flat-eight engine? Outside of the above, why?
Using a short, low-slung flat-eight engine will aid the 960’s dynamics, as well as preserve more of the classic Porsche hallmarks. The more exotic powertrain will also help the Porsche justify its premium, as well as make it more appealing alongside the likes of Ferraris – which are generally perceived to have more evocative, interesting engines.
Our sources say that force-fed flat-sixes and V8s were initially considered, but later dispensed with due a variety of issues – including performance, packaging and perception.
Former Porsche chairman Ferdinand Piech is reputed to have signed off the flat-eight engine prior to his departure in April 2015 – and he’s not unfamiliar with the idea, being the custodian of a one-off 914 fitted with an eight-cylinder boxer engine from the 908.
The company has also ploughed a lot of resources into engines with flat configurations, including the recent sixes and fours featured in the latest 991.2, 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman. This will have eased the development of a larger, more powerful version.
Porsche has also previously mentioned prototyping eight-cylinder boxers, for potential use in the 911, lending further credibility to the potential configuration of the 960’s powerplant.
We also think that the Porsche 960 might be the first of the company’s cars to use its new ‘VarioCom’ system, lending its motor some additional potency and giving it a technical edge over its rivals. After all, it would make sense for the latest of Porsche’s technical developments to be rolled out on a new flagship, before trickling down to the rest of the range.
VarioCom? Surely you mean VarioCam?
It’s not a spelling mistake, no – we’re not talking about Porsche’s long-standing variable valve timing system; Porsche has been experimenting with variable compression ratio systems for a while now, going so far as to patent variable-length connecting rods that allow for changes in compression ratio on the fly.
Late last year, it also registered the trademark ‘VarioCom’. Given that ‘VarioCam’ is a portmanteau of ‘Variable Cam’, we’d hazard a guess that ‘VarioCom’ stands for ‘Variable Compression’.
Using variable compression tech would grant the Porsche’s engine a range of benefits, including reduced emissions, smoother running, better responses and improved economy.
When quizzed about the new tech, Porsche responded: ‘The patents support our long-standing reputation for innovation and engineering rigour. How and where such things might manifest into a reality remains to be seen.
‘We’ve taken things from the racetrack to the road and brought about innovations – including brakes and aerodynamics. We’re always looking for a Porsche-specific solution to problems and to come up with robust innovations.’
Why does the compression ratio need to be varied?
Typically, the higher the compression ratio the more efficient the engine. Simply dialling up the compression ratio, however, increases mechanical stress and can lead to detonation when the engine’s working hard. This is when the fuel-air mixture in the cylinder explodes prematurely, due to heating from compression, and tries to drive the upcoming piston down – creating a characteristic rattling noise.
Detonation – also known as knocking or pinking – causes a big drop in performance and can even lead to mechanical damage if sustained. Go for a compression ratio that’s too low, however, and you’ll get sluggish low-speed performance, poor economy and higher emissions. Find a compromise between those two points and you’ll be in business, with a smooth fuel-air mix burn that’s correctly started by the spark plug, but it’ll always be a compromise.
So, employing a variable compression ratio would allow Porsche’s engine to safely produce its best output in a wider range of conditions, bolstering its performance and efficiency across the board. At low speeds and light loads it could have a high compression ratio, for example, granting it clean running and prompt responses.
When accelerating hard, however, the engine needs lots of fuel and air to produce power. A turbocharger does a great job of cramming extra air into the combustion chambers, providing more oxygen to be burnt with fuel, but also causes big increases in combustion chamber temperature – particularly at high boost and compression levels.
To avoid detonation at this point, the compression ratio could be dialled back, keeping the engine at its highest potential output without causing damage. This would be even more important when the engine was operating in a hot climate or in places where the fuel quality isn’t great – as lower quality fuels are more prone to detonation.
Porsche’s patented system uses a connecting rod with an eccentric adjuster at the top, which is controlled by oil flowing through it. This adjuster allows the position of the small end bearing, which attaches the piston’s wrist pin, to be changed – varying the length of the stroke and dynamically altering the compression ratio.
This isn’t a new idea though, is it?
It’s almost identical to a concept demonstrated by FEV Motorentechnik in 2013, among others, yet far simpler than previous concepts – like Saab’s Variable Compression engine. This engine featured a complicated two-piece cylinder block, which effectively allowed the cylinder head to be brought closer to the crankshaft – raising the compression ratio.
Porsche’s patent, published on 5 March 2015, indicates that the company is working with Hilite International to develop this variable compression technology. The two companies have a partnership that spans several years and Hilite is a major supplier in the automotive marketplace. It’s possible, as a result, that the system may be offered to other manufacturers at a later date.
Sounds like the 960 will be quick, in any case
Well, it’ll have to be to keep abreast of the rapidly developing – and increasingly capable – competition. So far, our sources have suggested that the Porsche 960 will be capable of 0-62mph in around 2.5sec, when equipped with an AWD system.
Read our original 2011 scoop story on the Porsche 960 here
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КСУ визнав неконституційним положення частини п’ятої статті 176 Кримінального процесуального кодексу, в якому йдеться про те, що до підозрюваних у тероризмі, злочинах проти основ національної безпеки України, перешкоджанні діяльності Збройних сил неможливо застосувати більш м’який запобіжний захід, крім тримання під вартою.
Відповідне рішення ухвалила Велика палата КСУ у четвер за конституційною скаргою громадян, серед яких - народний депутат Надія Савченко, а також ексголова Апеляційного суду АР Крим Валерій Чорнобук, повідомив Укрінформу обізнаний співрозмовник у суді. "Конституційний суд визнав неконституційними положення частини п'ятої статті 176 Кримінального процесуального кодексу", - сказав він.
За відповідне рішення проголосували 10 суддів.
Як повідомлялося, у травні 2018 року до КСУ надійшла конституційна скарга народного депутата Надії Савченко, у якій вона просила розглянути на відповідність Основному закону положення частини п'ятої статті 176 Кримінального процесуального кодексу України. Оскаржувані положення КПК передбачають обрання запобіжного заходу у вигляді тримання під вартою.
Савченко інкримінують вчинення дій з метою насильницького повалення конституційного ладу та захоплення державної влади, посягання на життя державного чи громадського діяча, готування до терористичного акту, сприяння терористичній організації та незаконне поводження зі зброєю, боєприпасами й вибуховими речовинами.
22 березня 2018 року Верховна Рада України дала згоду на зняття з неї депутатської недоторканності, притягнення її до кримінальної відповідальності, затримання й арешт. Того ж дня її затримали.
23 березня 2018 року Шевченківський райсуд Києва вперше обрав Савченко запобіжний захід у вигляді тримання під вартою.
У травні 2019 року Броварський суд Київської області ухвалив рішення звільнити з-під варти Володимира Рубана та Надію Савченко в залі судових засідань. Суд прийняв таке рішення через те, що термін запобіжного заходу закінчився, а новий не було обрано. | {
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After moving from Florida into California, the last reserves of my cash funds have been running low. Most of the money that was saved up before this trip has been spent driving through the center scenic route of the country running along the I-70 highway taking me into some of the most iconic cities in the US. An effort to sell fire poi sets on Etsy has started to pay off, but it has yet to make a real dent in the high cost of living in LA. The real way that I am making money at this time is coming from developing a mobile application with a Tallahasse company called LESS. It isn’t a steady income, but the Android app that is being produced will be worth the effort. If done right, it could influence thousands of people once released into the market. The only problem I have been encountering is the gradual decline in interest while working tediously during the polishing part of the production cycle. I needed a place to spark inspiration pushing me passed the last stages of this project. Big Art Labs in Los Angeles became the perfect place to visit in between coding sessions to help motivate me to finish up the work that I had started.
What makes this art collective great is the seamless integration of wide reaching creative outlets. A software hackerspace called Droplabs is what brought me here, but the friendly community is what kept me coming back. Parking can be a little tricky, making it easier to find a spot on the streets outside. Sounds of heavy duty machinery are usually interlaced between people playing music and the ever prevalent sounds of laughter once you’re inside. There is something going on here at all moments, especially around the time before Burning Man when the burners of this area are preparing to travel into the black rock desert of Nevada.
The key to getting app work done here is to utilize the widespread internet connection that streams evenly throughout the warehouse arena. The easiest way to access the world wide web is to walk into Droplabs and look at the back corner of one of the whiteboards where the password credentials are written down. If you stay for too long in the designated hackerspace it is expected to donate a little bit of money to help support the place. $5 is typical for daily use which is very cheap for the LA area. My favorite spot is over at the benches positioned outside in the middle of the warehouse complex. With the wind steady and a brightly shining sun in the sky, this location can feel like a day at the beach. If you get there at the right time you might be able to catch some big players in various industries. Skrillex was once rumored to have played a secret show here while Stefano Novelli and his team built the Skrillex Spaceship stage that was taken on tour in 2012. The individuals who started this place are heavily involved in Burning Man as well causing many types of people to float around here at any given time. Returning frequently is the best way to really get connected with everyone. Not to mention while you’re there, you can grab some vegetables from the secret community garden before leaving. There is mint, sage, and thyme to name a few. The overall abundance of art, music, software, and tools, along with a unique community makes Big Art Labs a fantastic place to get work done. I highly recommend checking it out sometime soon.
Additional Links:
– Big Art Labs: http://www.bigartlabs.com/bigartlabs_home.html
– Droplabs: https://droplabs.net/
– Stefano Novelli Designs and Fabrication http://www.stefanonovelli.com/
– LESS: https://lessutility.com/
– Fire Wizards Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/FireWizards | {
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US president Donald Trump has offered Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau his support for citizens detained in China and facing the death penalty during a phone call with the leader, the White House said.
Four Canadians have been detained in China, two of whom have been sentenced to death over drug smuggling accusations.
“During the call, the president expressed the United States’ solid commitment to standing by Canada in efforts to secure the fair treatment and release of Canadian citizens currently detained in China,” the White House said in a statement on Thursday.
The two leaders also discussed trade negotiations with China and the new North American free trade pact, the statement said.
A Chinese court adjourned a hearing on Thursday on Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg’s appeal against his sentence for drug smuggling.
He was sentenced to death in January after a court deemed his previous 15-year prison sentence too lenient.
Trudeau has said that China had “chosen to arbitrarily” sentence Schellenberg to death. His government has pleaded for clemency.
Schellenberg’s case is seen as potential leverage for Meng Wanzhou, a top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei, who was arrested in Canada on a US extradition request related to alleged Iran sanctions violations.
Following her arrest in December, China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, in what observers saw as retaliation. They have been denied access to lawyers and are allowed only monthly consular visits.
Last week another Canadian was sentenced to death for drug trafficking in a separate case in southern China. | {
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Myanmar's government today freed hundreds of political prisoners in a landmark release that could see Western sanctions on the former military dictatorship relaxed.
The surprise amnesty, the second significant prisoner release since the current military-backed government was formed and new reforms implemented, comes amid growing rivalry between the US and China in Asia. Myanmar (Burma) has long been an economically and politically tied to China, but some see its rulers as chafing under Beijing's influence, while the US is trying to recover lost ground in the region.
Singaporean academic Simon Tay says that Myanmar's reforms, though promising, could be more about forming better relations with the West, which has long called on Myanmar's rulers to bring about change, than about real democratic progress.
The timing and magnitude of today's mass release came as a surprise to many analysts, including Aung Naing Oo, a former student protester from Myanmar who is now deputy director of the Vahu Development Institute in Thailand. “The military moves slowly, cautiously,” he says explaining why the release came after some recent smaller amnesties that many found disappointing.
Among those freed today were student leaders of a 1988 uprising against military rule, monks who fronted the 2007 Saffron protests, journalists, and bloggers, as well as a former military junta Prime Minister Khin Nyunt and some former intelligence officials and military insiders who were jailed in a 2004 purge orchestrated by then-dictator Than Shwe.
The head of the EU delegation to Myanmar and Thailand, David Lipman, said today in Bangkok that the developments in Myanmar during the past 24 hours were “quite remarkable,” adding that EU governments would discuss Myanamar at an upcoming meeting in Brussels.
Freed prisoners speak
One of those freed today was Ko Ko Gyi, a former student leader who spent a total of 17 years in jail over three jail-terms. Speaking to the Monitor via a crackly telephone line from Yangon, said that “we are grateful for your support and efforts,” referring to countries and organizations that lobbied for the release.
He added that he wants to improve Myanmar's reforming political system. He would not say whether he would seek to run in upcoming by-elections set for April 1. Ko Mya Aye, another dissident freed today, said by telephone from Myanmar that he plans to campaign for Aung San Suu Kyi when the opposition leader competes in the elections. "I absolutely trust her," he said.
While the newly released prisoners look ahead, it remains unclear whether today's release covers all Myanmar's political prisoners. At time of writing, National League for Democracy spokesman Ohn Kyaing said by telephone from Yangon that his party was “active all across the country trying to verify the numbers of those released.”
“We have so far counted 232 political prisoners,” he said, speaking at 6:30 p.m. Yangon time. The count is expected to increase, as information comes in from the country lacking in modern telecommunications and with prison scattered in remote areas. Yangon-based newspaper Eleven News quoting Myanmar officials who said that 651 prisoners in total were released, including what they termed 591 “prisoners of conscience.” The remainder is believed to include Khin Nyunt's former spies.
The 591 figure is the same number that NLD had said was the number of detained dissidents, suggesting that the opposition party had some influence on government moves. Ohn Kyaing said the party, headed by Myanmar's most prominent former political prisoner, Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, was “very happy at the news of the release.”
Observers view the relationship between Myanmar's President Thein Sein, and Ms. Suu Kyi as having blossomed since a watershed face-to-face meeting between the pair since last July. Suu Kyi now makes regular press appearances to show support for Thein Sein's reforms.
New freedom, new candor?
Thai political scientist Thitinan Pongudhirak said that Myanmar's newfound freedoms allowed him share some revealing anecdotes he picked up from talking to officials inside the country at a forum on Myanmar politics today: "Thein Sein's wife is a big admirer of Aung San Suu Kyi," he said.
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But the apparent importance of such personalized politics may suggest that Myanmar's ongoing transition needs to be anchored in stronger laws and institutions.
Soe Aung, an exiled dissident based in Thailand, told the Monitor “there must be a legal and institutional reforms to ensure that that our friends and colleagues are not rearrested and put back in jails again.” | {
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news, local-news, snakes sutherland shire, shire snake catchers engadine, snakes in the shire
If the September rain keeps trickling along, expect something else to come out of hiding. The climb towards warmer temperatures this season paired with damp conditions means snakes will soon be on the move. Snake handler Andrew Melrose of Shire Snake Catchers Engadine says milder conditions will bring out more snakes – especially around properties near bushland. “There hasn’t been much rain in winter but snakes are used to that. We will start to get more activity once it warms up because breeding season starts,” he said. “99 per cent of the snakes out and about are male looking for a mate, so they’ll be on the trail scent. “They’re looking for short cuts through bushy areas around the hot spot suburbs Heathcote, Waterfall, Grays Point and Kirrawee.” The snake handler recently caught a red bellied black snake tucked away in a child’s shoe. “They are the most common in the shire,” he said. “But they’re not usually hiding, they’re just hunting for food – especially around backyard ponds where there are frogs around.” He says residents should be alert, not alarmed of the unexpected reptilian creatures. “Snakes can see movement well over an average distance, and they will only be aggressive if they feel their life is in jeopardy,” he said. “Their only reason to bite is when they become defensive.” “There’s also a lot of lack of knowledge about snake identification. Brown snakes are very rare in the shire. There’s been a couple around Engadine. But lots of people call thinking they’ve seen a baby brown where most of the time they are golden crowns, whips or marsh snakes. Baby browns aren’t actually brown in colour when they are babies.” Deaths from snake bites are also rare. Polyvalent anti-venom, which is effective for all dangerous Australian snakes, is used when the snake cannot be positively identified. It is available at St George and Sutherland Hospitals. St George Hospital emergency specialist Peter Grant says most people bitten by snakes are not seriously envenomed. “Serious envenoming occurs in approximately 10 per cent of cases,” he said. “A snake bite is an uncommon emergency, and fortunately most anti-venoms run out of date without being used. “Stocks of anti-venom are routinely audited to ensure there is adequate supply and shelf-life. “There is an efficient system of sharing anti-venom supplies between Sydney hospitals in cases where additional supplies are required.”
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KIEV -- U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland visited Independence Square in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Wednesday, the U.S. embassy said, and an opposition leader said she talked to protesters.
A spokesman for the embassy said she had visited Maidan, where several thousand of protesters were calling for the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovich.
Nuland’s highly symbolic appearance in the square came a day after Secretary of State John Kerry issued a strong statement, expressing the United States' "disgust with the decision of Ukrainian authorities to meet the peaceful protest ... with riot police, bulldozers, and batons, rather than with respect for democratic rights and human dignity."
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"This response is neither acceptable nor does it befit a democracy," said Kerry, urging authorities to show "utmost restraint" and protect human life. "As church bells ring tonight amidst the smoke in the streets of Kyiv, the United States stands with the people of Ukraine. They deserve better."
Nuland was in Kiev, along with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, to try to talk to the government and the opposition to work out a solution to the crisis.
The U.S. Embassy in Kiev told CBS News that Nuland met Wednesday morning with Yanukovych and was planning to deliver a statement outside the Presidential Administration building.
Photos posted on Twitter showed Nuland shaking hands with security personnel and there were many reports that she had helped distribute food to the protesters.
Meanwhile, CBS News correspondent Clarissa Ward reported that police had pulled back Wednesday morning after an overnight confrontation in which they attempted to remove barricades and tents from a protest camp and scuffled with demonstrators. The standoff went on for nine hours.
Buses carrying police drove away from Kiev's Independence Square early Wednesday to cheers from protesters.
Another group of police that had been stationed outside the Kiev city hall building, which has been occupied by protesters for weeks, also departed from the scene.
Arseny Yatsenyuk, a top opposition leader, called it "a great victory."
Protesters have been gathering around the clock to demand the resignation of the government in a crisis that is threatening the leadership of President Yanukovych.
The protesters, who see Yanukovych as being too close to the Kremlin in Moscow, took to the streets two weeks ago over his decision to pull out of an association agreement with the European Union, which would have established a free-trade zone and bolstered political and other ties between the former Soviet republic and the European bloc.
The protests are the biggest since Ukraine's pro-democracy Orange Revolution. Those protests, also centered on Independence Square, known as the Maidan, succeeded in forcing the annulment of Yanukovych's fraud-tainted presidential victory in 2004, and ushered his pro-Western opponents into power. Yanukovych returned to the presidency in the 2010 vote, drawing on support from heavily industrialized eastern Ukraine where there are many Russian speakers.
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Dear Mr. Will,
I read your recent column on the “supposed campus epidemic of rape, a.k.a. sexual assault” and am somewhat taken aback by your claim that forcing colleges to take a tougher stand on sexual assault somehow translates into a modern version of The Crucible that replaces witchcraft with rape hysteria.
I was specifically moved to write to you because the rape scenario that you describe somewhat incredulously is not unfamiliar to me. Not because I’ve heard it in many different iterations (I have sadly done many rape kits), but because it was not unlike my own rape. The lead up was slightly different, but I too was raped by someone I knew and did not emerge with any obvious physical evidence that a crime had been committed. I tried to push him away, I said “No!” and “Get off” multiple times,” but he was much stronger and suddenly I found my hands pinned behind my back and a forearm crushing my neck and for a few minutes I found it hard to breathe. I was 22, far from home, scared, and shocked and so at some point I just stopped kicking and let him finish. Sound familiar? For several weeks I didn’t even think about it as a rape because that was easier than admitting the truth. Again, sound familiar?
When a man who is much stronger than you holds you down (Hey baby don’t fight, you know you want it) and forces your legs open the violence and power of those movements is horrifically violating and utterly disempowering. You think you screamed NO! at the top of your lungs but you were so scared and so shocked that when you went from yelling no! to pleading no to silently weeping no is hard to remember. Implied violence Mr. Will is a terrifying thing indeed.
You labor under the fear (as some men do) that there is an epidemic of false rape. That good young men will go to jail for consent withdrawn after the fact. And while false accusations likely do happen (the Duke Lacrosse case is a recent, well-known example) these are the exception and not the rule and each time a male with a platform spouts off about a false epidemic of rape it only makes it harder for women who have been violated to come forward.
And your confusion about the under reporting statistics? First a woman has to get over her fear of her assailant and the shame imparted by society and then she has to deal with the police. There are no Special Victims Units like you see on T.V. protectively shepherding women through the process of facing assailants. And if fear and shame and being disbelieved by law enforcement were not enough of a deterrent think about having your pubic hair combed for your rapist’s DNA while you are dripping with his ejaculate. And you have the gall to wonder why some women might not immediately (if ever) report a rape? I am a 47 year-old financially and professionally secure woman in a stable, loving relationship and it took 25 years and your jackass column to get me to speak up about my rape. How easy do you think it is for a scared 20 year-old to call 911 or walk into a police station and say, “I was just raped?”
This weekend I was out dancing and experienced what I think you referred to as “micro-aggressions.” I had my buttocks pinched three times and my breasts groped twice. I was called a “bitch” and a “50-year-hag” when I politely declined hopeful suitors. Whether it is a cat call or a grope these actions represent sexual aggression and Mr. Will they have little to do with sex and everything to do with aggression. I wish someone taught those 40-something-year-old men in college that verbal assaults are not the appropriate response to “no thank you” and that pinching a women’s behind is not a mating ritual.
There is no woman who I have ever met personally or as an OB/GYN who thinks that surviving a rape confers some sort of privilege. I am genuinely curious if you interviewed a few young women hoping to earn their college rape badge or is that just a conclusion you reached looking at the issue of sexual assault through the myopic lens of misogyny?
Come spend a day in my clinic Mr. Will. Come see how the scars of rape linger even decades later.
There is no survivor privilege, just survivors.
Jennifer Gunter MD, FRCSC, FACOG, DABPM | {
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Rep. Lacy Clay, whose congressional district includes Ferguson, Missouri, plans to rehang a painting that depicts police officers as pigs, after it was taken off a Capitol Building wall by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.
Hunter's congressional office is next door.
'I think he was way out of bounds and he broke the law – it's called theft,' Clay told the Daily Caller. 'I think don't think anyone up here is qualified to be an art critic. I'm not and no other member is an art critic except one – Alma Adams of North Carolina.'
Furthermore, Clay argued, there's plenty of 'offensive' artwork in the capitol including the statues of Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, 'two traitors who caused America 600,000 lives and they're treasonous.'
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Rep. William Lacy Clay (center), who represents Ferguson, Missouri, plans to rehang a controversial painting on Capitol Hill, which depicts police officers as pigs
The painting, which shows the Ferguson protests, was created by a high school student and won a congressional art contest
Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter pulled the painting off the wall Friday, calling the move an 'impulsive thing,' but adding that it was 'offensive'
'They should be out of here,' Clay said. 'Or Nathan Forrest – the founder of the KKK. He shouldn't be hanging around here.'
The removed painting was the winner of Clay's congressional art contest in May 2016 – an interpretation of the Ferguson protests created by Cardinal Ritter High School student David Pulphus.
It hung among other art show winners.
On Friday, Duncan yanked it off the wall.
'It was an impulsive thing when I walked by,' Hunter told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of his decision to remove the painting, which he learned about last week in a tweet. 'It strikes a nerve. I'm not a cop, but I was in the Marine Corps.'
'It kind of strikes the same nerve as when the guys came home from Vietnam, and they were called baby killers,' Hunter added.
He left it unharmed on a desk in Clay's office.
Rep. Clay argued that there are more offensive pieces of art in the Capitol Building, including a statue of confederate leader Jefferson Davis
Duncan also said the move was 'nothing personal' toward Clay, as the Republican suggested called the Missouri Democrat a 'friend.'
But he did stand his ground.
'It's offensive,' Duncan told he Post-Dispatch. 'You shouldn't have something in the Capitol that depicts cops as pigs. It's that simple.'
He added that Clay could put the painting back if he wanted, the paper reported.
This morning, according to the Washington Examiner, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, which includes Clay, will do just that. | {
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Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) raised eyebrows Monday when he told GQ he couldn't answer a question about the age of the earth because "I'm not a scientist, man."
Having a top prospect for the 2016 presidential nomination say the age of the planet is "one of the great mysteries" comes at an awkward time for a party attempting to rebuild from its Nov. 6 drubbing at the hands of voters turned off by the GOP's embrace of social conservatives. But Rubio is hardly alone among potential Republican presidential contenders. Other big names for 2016 have weighed in publicly at various times over the years to position themselves as supportive of creationism proponents.
To science education advocates, these public statements fall into two categories: craven political panders to the conservative base and expressions of actual doubt in basic scientific principles. Both are disconcerting, the advocates say, and whether or not a president stands up for science has a broader impact than the education battles where creationism most often comes up.
"It's important beyond whether somebody has a direct impact on evolution [education] because it's an indicator of the way they look at the world and who they accept as reliable guides and authorities on subjects," said Dr. Eric Meikle, an anthropologist and director of education at the National Center for Science Education. "It's very important in terms of that."
For the record, Mitt Romney actually accepted the science of evolution and opposed the teaching of so-called "intelligent design" theory in science classrooms when he was governor of Massachusetts. That puts him to the left of some of the men potentially vying to be his replacement on the ticket in four years.
A look at some big names in 2016 Republican presidential speculation and what they've said about evolution or creationism:
Gov. Chris Christie (NJ)
The oft-mentioned 2016 contender -- and self-described straight shooter -- has declined open up about his thoughts on evolution. "That's none of your business," Christie said in May 2011 when asked where he comes down on evolution versus creationism.
Story continues
At a town hall a week earlier, Christie said that he believed the decision to teach creationism alongside evolution should be made at the local level. A week later, Christie clarified that this position was not an endorsement of teaching creationism. "That is not to say, as it was interpreted by some that I was advocating for the teaching of creationism," Christie said. "Folks never really have a hard time figuring out when I'm advocating for something."
The Wall Street Journal story at the time pointed out that Christie's non-answer on creationism is a departure from the governor's promise not to use an "escape hatch" on the issues:
For a politician who has built a national reputation for straight talk and not shying from a fight, Christie's demurral on creationism stands out. In the past, he has said people need not wonder where he stands on an issue.
"When you guys ask me questions, I'm going to answer them directly, straightly, bluntly, and nobody in New Jersey is going to have to wonder where I am on an issue," he said a year ago, adding: "I think they've had enough of politicians who make them wonder ... They make them wonder so they got an escape hatch. So they have an escape hatch. And I'm not interested in an escape hatch."
Gov. Bobby Jindal (LA)
Jindal, a committed social conservative, has emerged lately as the potential 2016er most ready to criticize the rhetoric of the last Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney. But Jindal is no moderate, especially when it comes to evolution.
In 2008, Jindal signed into law the "Louisiana Science Education Act," a law that according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune's Annette Sisco, "cleared the way for creationism to be taught in biology class." That led groups like the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to boycott the state as host for national conferences.
Jindal created a new firestorm around the evolution issue this summer when schools with bible-based curriculums ended up on the list of institutions included in the state's expanded voucher program. Under Jindal's education reforms, thousands of Louisiana students can use taxpayer dollars to attend schools that, as Lance Hill, executive director of Southern Institute for Education and Research, explained to Reuters in July, "use an evangelical curriculum that teaches that humans walked the earth 6,000 years ago with dinosaurs."
A biology major at Brown and a Rhodes Scholar, Jindal has endorsed the idea that local school boards should determine whether creationism or intelligent design should be taught in schools. "I don't want any facts or theories or explanations to be withheld from [my children] because of political correctness," Jindal said during a 2008 appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Sen. Rand Paul (KY)
Paul is expected to take up his father's libertarian-bent presidential crusade next cycle. And like his dad, Paul has often mixed a healthy dose of social conservative outreach in with his fiscal libertarian purity.
Almost exactly like Rubio did this week, Paul demurred on the question of the earth's age back in 2010. Taking questions from a meeting of the Christian Homeschool Educators of Kentucky during his Senate campaign, Paul declined to answer the question "how old is the world?"
"I forgot to say I was only taking easy questions," Paul said. "I'm gonna pass on the age of the earth. I think, ah, I'm just gonna have to pass on that one."
Sen. Marco Rubio (FL)
Rubio's comments to GQ were unsurprising when compared with Rubio's rhetoric on creationism in the past. Facing creationist protests, the Florida Board of Education wrestled with curriculum standards in 2008 that accepted evolution as scientifically sound. Eventually, the board ruled that evolution should be taught, but only as a "scientific theory." It was a compromise decision that drew criticism from the scientific community who said it underplayed evolution's acceptance as the basis for biological science and criticism from creationists worried that it didn't go far enough to allow their theories about the creation of the world into the mix. Then-state House Speaker Rubio was on the side of creationists.
After the state Board of Education ruling, Rubio told the Florida Baptist Witness that he'd support legislation modeled on a proposal allowing teachers who so desired "to engage students in a critical analysis" of evolution. His reasoning, from the Witness:
The "crux" of the disagreement, according to Rubio, is "whether what a parent teaches their children at home should be mocked and derided and undone at the public school level. It goes to the fundamental core of who is ultimately, primarily responsible for the upbringing of children. Is it your public education system or is it your parents?"
Rubio added, "And for me, personally, I don't want a school system that teaches kids that what they're learning at home is wrong."
Rubio then "made a comparison to the strategy employed by the Communist Party in Cuba where schools encouraged children to turn in parents who criticized Fidel Castro."
"'Of course, I'm not equating the evolution people with Fidel Castro,' he quickly added," according to the Witness. | {
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Randy Moss’ hands are a thing of NFL legend. He put on dazzling display after dazzling display during his playing days. He didn’t catch any footballs on Monday Night Countdown, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t add to the legend of his great hands.
Catching a fish at Pike Place Market is seemingly a rite of passage for announcers coming to Seattle. It challenges most, and many struggle to corral the fish using two hands and their bodies.
Moss only needs one hand to make it look easy.
The rest of the crew handled themselves well. Matt Hasselbeck, Trent Dilfer, and Steve Young all caught a fish using two hands. Charles Woodson tried to make a catch with one hand, but failed. He’s no Randy Moss. | {
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(Last Updated On: September 20, 2020)
Former UNAMA chief Tadamichi Yamamoto said this week peace talks, underway in Qatar between Afghanistan and the Taliban, will not be easy especially as there is a wide gap between the two parties when it comes to some key fundamental issues.
But it’s imperative that both parties continue their dialogue and reach an agreement, even though it might take time, he said.
Speaking to Japan’s daily, Mainichi, Yamamoto, who was head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan until March this year, said it is important to remember that this is only the first step and that due to more than 40 years of conflict, since the Soviet-Afghan war in 1979, “the situation there has become complex over these years.”
He said the talks are a historic step toward peace – especially as the Taliban had previously refused to negotiate with the government.
But this was due, “greatly to efforts by the international community including the UN, but particularly the United States, Pakistan, and Qatar.”
Yamamoto stated there would be challenges in terms of finding common ground during the talks especially on fundamental issues such as the distribution of power and system of governance, and human rights issues such as women’s rights.
“Although the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001, they still proclaim themselves the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and have maintained that they have the legitimacy to rule the country.
“They will likely insist on the Emirate as the form of government whereas the Afghan government would insist on the Republic as the form of government,” he said.
He said although the Taliban have stated that they respect women’s rights in accordance with Islam, the specifics remain unclear, “and we don’t know how much they will accept.”
“There is a wide gap between the two parties when it comes to some key fundamental issues, and patience will be needed for the talks to succeed,” he said.
He said however that when he spoke to the Taliban’s political delegation in Doha, during his term as UNAMA chief, the group said it had changed and had learned lessons from the past.
“They are more conscious of how they are perceived by the international community. However, the Taliban are a large group, and as with any organization, members have different opinions.
“They appointed their chief justice and religious scholar Abdul Hakim Haqqani, a person close to the Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, as the head of its delegation in the talks. He is said to have conservative views. He was most likely appointed because the Taliban wanted to reassure their conservative members about the outcome of the negotiation,” he said adding that he did hope this appointment is indicative of the Taliban’s seriousness about the peace talks.
“Can the Taliban’s leadership with conservative thinking move forward with peacemaking? The talks would be a test as to whether the Taliban have really changed from its past,” Yamamoto stated.
On the possibility of the Taliban taking advantage of the US troops withdrawal, to strengthen their offensive, Yamamoto said that “possibility should not be discounted.”
“While I was with the UNAMA, and spoke with the Taliban, we requested many times that the Taliban reduce violence, but they contended that violence is a negotiating leverage. They repeatedly claimed that they would not have been able to have their demands heard and hence would not have been sitting at the table without it.
“What will become important, therefore, is ensuring that the peace talks would continue to make progress on a constructive path, through compromise from both parties so that the Taliban would not resort to violence,” he said.
Yamamoto also suggested that although the peace talks have to be Afghan-owned and Afghan-led, it is imperative for the international community to be ready to work as a mediator or facilitator in the event of an impasse.
This, he said, would be to “propose ideas, persuade both parties, and sometimes even put pressure on them so that they are able to continue the talks.”
Yamamoto was head of UNAMA for more than five years before leaving in March and said in his farewell message at the time that he had only one wish – “a wish that I share with millions of Afghans: for peace to return to Afghanistan.” | {
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LONDON — The Knicks were given the royal treatment befitting the Queen as they entered a gym in London’s financial district for practice Wednesday.
More than 300 European journalists crowded into the facility as if this were the NBA Finals. Instead, it was the preface to an NBA regular-season game between two bottom-dwellers. The 10-33 Knicks face the 18-26 Wizards on Thursday at O2 Arena.
Knicks general manager Scott Perry, when he worked for Orlando, attended NBA’s London 2016 showcase, when the Magic faced Toronto, and said the media throng wasn’t nearly like this.
“Most of the fans will be rooting for the Knicks,’’ one European journalist said. “They bought tickets because it’s the Knicks and they figure New York must have a very good team.’’
Not since well before Brexit. The Knicks are battling for the NBA’s worst record, are on a 2-17 free fall, and the next time they’ll be in the spotlight is during May’s draft lottery.
“It’s not surprising because they get to watch us on TV, but they don’t see NBA players every day,’’ Knicks guard Trey Burke said. “We knew it was going to be big when we got here. I don’t think anyone knew it was going to be that much media. It was fun. Practice was fun. We’re looking forward to [Thursday].”
Indeed, the trip is a nice respite from the drudgery that faces them back in the US — where they will finish out the final 38 games without being in a playoff race.
“It helps you keep things in perspective,’’ Burke said of the overseas journey. “It’s a season where it’s tough right now, a tough stretch that we’re going through. Just to be able to sit back and see everything in a different perspective, a different lens, it means a lot.”
The Knicks, in their third visit to London since 2013, have four European players, though two are not here — Kristaps Porzingis (ACL rehab) and Enes Kanter (fearful for his life because of a feud with the Turkish government).
By not flying to London, Kanter continues to garner international headlines. The latest report out of Turkey has the government branding him a terrorist and looking to extradite and arrest him. It comes in the wake of Kanter calling Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan “a lunatic.’’
Security was heightened at the complex. It took journalists more than 30 minutes to enter because of bag checks, extensive pat-downs and bomb-sniffing dogs.
Mario Hezonja, of Croatia, is here and loves the rise in interest around his home continent. Knicks-Wizards will air worldwide, including Croatia. League sources believe London — which it sees as the gateway to its European fan base — is primed for an NBA team.
“It’s amazing how the game is growing,’’ said Hezonja, who speaks five languages (Croatian, Serbian, Catalan, Spanish, English) and spoke most of them Wednesday to various reporters. “The entire world is seeing. I was 16 when I was in London for the first time — the Jordan Brand Classic. It was like, wow, all these NBA players. For some [European] kids, it’s a dream to see the NBA players and an NBA game live. Now all these cameras and everything that’s going on, it’s just amazing to present the NBA in Europe and the entire world.”
Reporters came from all across the continent. A rep from a Latvian outlet bought plane tickets months ago, thinking Porzingis would be back. A Lithuanian journalist approached team president Steve Mills, who almost never talks to the media, asking about ex-Knick Mindaugas Kuzminskas.
Thursday’s winner just may be the team that offsets jet lag. Coach David Fizdale’s plan of team yoga Tuesday morning after Monday night’s red-eye worked. The Wizards wanted to get a jump on the Knicks and fly Sunday night, but their plans were foiled by a snowstorm.
“I feel good but I followed orders,’’ Fizdale said. “I listened to everything [the trainers] said. We kept them up [Tuesday], got them right into yoga and tried to keep them active as long as we possibly could. They seemed OK at breakfast [Wednesday] morning like they got rest.’’
Burke was unable to follow the plan.
“I went in the room and went to sleep,’’ Burke said. “They told us to stay up. I’m sure a lot of us did. I think we all felt a little sluggish when practice started, but we felt good.
“I think it’s definitely an experience we all are taking in. I’ve been out of the country a few times but those were in the offseason. To be able to come here during the season, it’s an experience of a lifetime.”
Fizdale attempted to explain the Knicks’ plan to Europe’s ears.
“We just want to be able to evaluate that we got better,’’ he said on what he is getting out of this wrecked season. “We want to be able to look at that group and say, OK, who can move forward with us and who can really help us move to our ultimate goal of a championship?” | {
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The most decorated American Judo athlete is set to compete in mma – Kayla Harrison will be making her professional debut in Professional Fighters League in February.
Los Angeles Times reported the story on Thursday on Twitter, and MMAFighting.com confirmed it with her manager, Ali Abdelaziz.
Former roommate of Ronda Rousey used to compete in Judo in the over 78kg division however it’s unclear just what her weight will be in mma.
Professional Fighters League, formerly World Series of Fighting changed formats and ownership recently. Still Harrison won’t be in a league just yet.
Abdelaziz said Harrison’s debut wouldn’t be part of a tournament, the new format PFL has stated it would be built around, and instead would just be a one-off fight. | {
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This is the story of my Living Room PC. I built it with SteamOS in mind, and since last year I have been running SteamOS on it. And it’s been a painful experience, even more recently than ever. And just a couple of days ago, my patience grew thinner and thinner and I came to the point where I got rid of SteamOS. Don’t worry, I am not switching back to Windows or something – but to a regular. healthy Linux distro instead.
This is somehow unfortunate. I really think SteamOS is a great idea, but at this stage it just feels too ALPHA (and I don’t mean this lightly) to be used on a gaming machine. Now, maybe I’m one of the unlucky few, so you know, your mileage may vary, but in the past 2 months I have had to reinstall SteamOS from scratch 4 times.
Four. Fucking. Times.
When I say reinstall, I mean using the install DVD, formating the root/swap partitions and going through a 45 minutes process just to get things working again – and then updating to the latest SteamOS version – another 15 minutes. No matter how many times I reinstalled it, I always end up into the “Fatal Error Loop” sooner or later – usually within a week or two. It looks like that: you start your machine, planning to enjoy games for your evening, and after the Steam logo appears in the background, suddenly things go dark, you see a blinking mouse pointer on screen or random blinking lines and nothing else happens. If you wait long enough, you usually end up having a message that SteamOS has experienced a fatal error, and is attempting to recover from it. This recovery process is completely ass, because it never solves the issue. That is why you end up in a loop, where the reboot brings you back to the same issue. This has been reported to Valve numerous times, yet at this time of writing it is still not fixed. It’s been existing at least since 2 prior updates of SteamOS, and folks like me are still getting it. Note that the recovery partition made at install is completely useless as well and does not solve the problem either. So what is the problem exactly ?
Attribution: Randall Munroe, XKCD: Mysteries.
Some careful investigation has led to a couple of hints. What happens is that, for unknown reasons, the Steam client gets corrupted, and is unable to start. Strange since I always stop my machines in a clean fashion. In several cases it appears that a whole chunk of the client is missing (tenfoot/ folder completely gone in the Steam directory), or some libraries are gone from the system for some reason. Apparently this whole corruption mess is going to be fixed in 2.88, but after getting it once too much, I am giving up. I have no more time for this.
So, that particular issue was number 1 on my list to ditch SteamOS. But it goes further. Do you know that, almost after every single Steam client update, in my case SteamOS “forgets” all the users it had registered on the system ? Now you can picture me, restarting my box and having, again and again, having to enter my username and password with the Steam Controller. Since Steam client updates are super frequent (it makes you wonder why they need so many updates, even the PS3, which I hate for that, did not have such a urge to update stuff all the time), this gets really old, really fast.
After entering your credentials, one more bug awaits me. Every. Single. Time. It goes into the “Updating Information” loop. It never ends. No progress bar. I need to reboot once more. After a reboot, finally I can go past this and find my games (still all there! my lucky day!).
Actually, not all my games. I happen to be a beta tester for some games, and when I end up with the client reset, all my beta subscriptions are gone, and guess what. I have to re-enter the beta password, and re-download the whole game again. Such a waste of time and bandwidth. Again, maybe it’s just me, but after 4 full reinstalls something tells me this is some deep flaw in the way things work.
And no, it’s not just the only things the client forgets. Every time I have to enter my credentials again, reboot, log in again, I face with despair the fact that all my settings have been erased. The resolution of my screen. My audio interface. The fact that I want downloads to occur in the background. Well, every little tweak I cared about.
Then, you have the odd games that never seem to launch on SteamOS. Speed Runners. Shufflepuck Cafe. There are probably too few users of SteamOS overall for folks to even care about it launching there. I mentioned it before as well, but because nVidia drivers have been ancient for a long time on SteamOS, many bugs encountered in games were answered by “use a more recent nVidia driver”. Gee, thanks, no way to do that with SteamOS. I guess I’ll have to wait for that update to come in… like 6 months. Or sometimes the porters are at fault. Overlord uses a GTK3 window for settings that does not work at all for SteamOS. Maybe in a couple of months they will have a launcher that works with SteamOS… if they care.
This is probably the most frustrating part of SteamOS. There is no roadmap. There is no plan. When you file issues on Valve’s GitHub account most of the folks who try to help are end users like you. I want to mention ProfessorKaos64 here, who is doing a terrific job to try to help folks as much as he can. But that’s not enough – and that should not be his role in an ideal world. In the end the elephant in the room is that the lack of Valve folks coming up and commenting, helping out on issues. It makes you wonder if anyone sees them, if anyone cares. What I like about Github is the collaboration aspect. You report stuff, the author/devs come up and comment, tell you what they can do and what not, and things get better, step by step. With SteamOS, issues are met with silence, or other end users complaining about the same thing. Waiting for a fix. Waiting for a word. Waiting very long. That does not inspire too much trust.
My expectation all along for SteamOS was that it’s an OS that “just works”. You install it, and you don’t have to worry about it anymore. It’s seamless, you can forget about it and just spend time doing what you like: playing games. You know, just like a console.
Well, that was the idea. The execution has been… terrible.
I have never seen anything so broken, even in the Linux world, and I have been using Linux as my daily driver for close to 10 years. Why on Earth would you not want to check if the Steam Client is not corrupted before you start it, since it will lead to a fatal error if you fail to do so ? Or you know, if the updated client fails, why not keep the latest working client as a backup so that you can still boot in your machine no matter what, and re-try the update later on ? The more I use SteamOS, the more I wonder if the devs actually use the OS themselves at home – have they really faced none of the issues I had ? Is anyone doing any sort of QA ? The lack of polish really makes it look like it’s at the bottom of the priority list for everyone involved.
Attribution: Randall Munroe, XKCD: Compiling.
So, goodbye SteamOS. It’s been fun… for the first few months. It’s been horrible recently. And it’s certainly not getting better.
I have now moved back to a regular Linux distro (Mint 18, Mate edition with Compton as compositor) because I know what to expect there. Sure, it won’t be as nice – some of the worst ports (like Psychonauts) will start in a window and will make you hate them until you fix all the options (adding gamepad controls for that one is… time-consuming). Sure, you will get to see the desktop screen for a while before booting in Big Picture Mode. No biggie, I can live with that. At least I can upgrade to more recent drivers. At least I can always fall back on the desktop in case my Steam client fails. At least I can install a bunch of other software if I wish to, without having to worry whether or not it’s going to cause any trouble with the base OS. At least I can make an image of the OS root partition that I know I can come back to in case everything refuses to boot.
Is this a goodbye forever? I don’t know. If Valve manages to fix what broke everything, and makes it into a very sturdy system, with more up to date drivers, and more services directly integrated (you know… “apps” to do more stuff! Even consoles have them, why not SteamOS ?), I may end up considering it again. But I’ll be sure to read the issues status on GitHub before I even think about it.
BoilingSteam lets you access our content for free, but writing articles is a constant investment. We don't use ads or sponsporship, help us make our activities sustainable by donating via Patreon or LiberaPay if you prefer it anonymous. Note that Patreon supporters get the weekly or twice-a-week Proton Deals Newsletter to help them save time and money when buying games for Linux. You can follow what we do via our newsletter, our RSS feed, our Mastodon profile or our Twitter feed. We also have Peertube and Youtube channels. If you'd like to chat, you can also find us on #boilingsteam:matrix.org. | {
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A
Ambulant food vendors are credited with nothing less but inventing restoration: they appeared centuries ago, transforming the concept of grabbing a bite when home is far and time is limited into a worldwide phenomenon. Pizza was invented as a street food; Ancient Greeks would sell small fried fish to the passengers while Chinese immigrants are the ones who introduced ramen to Japan, as the official street food of the working class.
While in countries like Thailand or Singapore, street food has been an everyday life phenomenon for big part of their history, the West has often thought of wheeled meals as an emergency solution of doubting quality. At least this is how people in the cities would define anything that was cooked in a car until a couple of years ago, but a recent street food phenomenon has arrived to change the order of things.
Gourmet street eats are a growing attraction across several world capitals. In the US, there are countless websites and walking tours addressing both the locals and the tourists towards the country’s finest grabs on the road. Sophisticated, wired vendors as www.delpopolosf.com, www.schnitzelandthings.com, www.khaomangai.com and www.eatcoolhaus.com are delighting everyone from epicureans to Hollywood stars with their wide offer of great food. Some of them are going far too creative, like the cupcake ATM of www.sprinkles.com. Thousands of fans stay informed through their favourite ambulant chef’s tweets and pics, while glossy features and food festivals are never missing from the agenda.
Each city has adopted the street food phenomenon with a different style: in chic Paris for instance, Tiffany Iung delivers homemade sandwiches straight from the basket of her vintage bike while Enrique Zanoni and Gaston Stivelmaher prepare delicious ice-cream empanadas on a beautifully remodelled, Buenos Aires-style Carrito, which is the latest addition to their brick and mortar restaurants.
The city that more warmly embraced this street food revolution before anyone else is London. There Petra Barran, a veteran of the kind and owner of the much-publicized Choc Star van, has recently launched www.kerbfood.com, a platform that makes UK’s cities taste better by giving visibility to some of Britain’s finest street food. Websites, events and tweet feeds like londonstreetfoodie, foodhawkers or StreetFeastLDN are also doing a great job with keeping street food adventurers informed regarding the finest bites across the country. More than any of their American equals, London’s gourmet vans are strongly conceptual and eye-catching: www.gurmetti.com ‘s Giacomo Bia, a purebred Italian known for his iconic sandwiches and moustache, prepares his popular grabs with the finest ingredients of his mother country. For instance Italy’s most famous butchery, Dario Cecchini, is among Gurmetti’s venerated suppliers.
Founded about a year ago, the very elegant vinn-goute is the first street food venture in London serving Seychelles-inspired dishes while thebowleruk grills the most delicious meatballs in town on The Lawn Ranger, an impossible not to notice, grass fed van.
In quite a few cases contemporary street chefs have transformed their businesses into a destination. Many of them are culinary visionaries, they have style and in some cases they are even good entrepreneurs. Using the cheapest thing one can find to cook in legally, they create food experiences in the easiest way possible. Some have written books, invented new culinary concepts (check out www.rainbofood.com’s charity van) and in some cases, invented strong brands.
A good example? After earning a cult status for its pop-up initiatives and epically proportioned burgers, Yianni Papoutsis’s www.themeatwagon.co.uk has expanded towards a permanent direction: the MEATLiquor restaurant in London’s Marylebone. | {
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Google wants to make the experience of using Chromecast more social. To do that, it's opening up the $35 device to everyone in your living room, regardless of whether or not it's connected to your Wi-Fi network. Announcing the new feature during yesterday's I/O keynote, Chromecast product manager Rishi Chandra said, "We’re using a variety of different technologies, which allows us to authenticate users in the same room as Chromecast." But considering how cool one of those technologies is, it's surprising that Chandra didn't offer more details.
GigaOm says Google's using ultrasonic audio cues to help make the connection between smartphones, tablets, and your TV. These sounds — emitted by the TV that your Chromecast is plugged into — are completely inaudible to the human ear. But the microphone in your Android phone can hear them just fine. Once you've enabled support for "nearby devices" in Chromecast settings, anyone in the room can send what they're seeing (or listening to) to the big screen for everyone to enjoy. Googler Boris Smus wrote about ultrasonic networking last August, and it seems the Chromecast team has now fully embraced the concept. As a fallback, Chandra noted that users will also have the option of entering a PIN to establish a link with Chromecast. And there's always the option of just asking for a friend's Wi-Fi password, or giving out your own.
Chandra said the feature will be arriving later this year. First on the agenda are popular requests like mirroring and a new "Backdrop" mode that lets you customize Chromecast's background with personal photos and other content when you're not actively streaming something. | {
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Article content
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s military says soldiers have recovered five Western hostages held by the Taliban for years.
Pakistan’s army did not name those held, only saying it worked with U.S. intelligence officials to track down the hostages and free them after discovering they had been brought into Pakistan.
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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Ottawa man Joshua Boyle freed after 5 years of being held hostage by Taliban Back to video
However, two army officials who spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday identified the hostages as Canadian Joshua Boyle, his American wife Caitlan Coleman and their children who were kidnapped in Afghanistan in 2012. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release the information.
Caitlan Coleman had told her family she gave birth to two children in captivity. | {
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By of the
Gun owners with permits from 25 states, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands will be able to carry their weapons concealed in Wisconsin next month.
The reciprocity list was announced late Thursday by Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen along with an updated set of frequently asked questions at www.doj.state.wi.us/about the new concealed carry law set to take effect Nov. 1.
"This newly created page provides important updates, including a link to the emergency rules, application and training requirements information, and a model certificate to serve as a guide for instructors providing students with proof of training. Permit application forms will be made available online and by mail on November 1, 2011," a Department of Justice announcement read.
The DOJ has also announced Wisconsin will recognize concealed carry permits issued by the following 25 states:
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.
Permits issued by Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands also will be recognized in Wisconsin.
The move comes amidst growing debate over a proposed national concealed carry law that would require all states to recognize permits issued by other states. Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee is among 600 mayors who signed a full-page ad in USA Today urging the U.S. Senate not to adopt the law.
Van Hollen wrote a letter to the National Rifle Association, saying he disagrees with a requirement that people who want to carry concealed weapons must take training courses. But he told the gun group that he had to set a rule establishing a minimum number of hours of training because of the way his fellow Republicans in the Legislature wrote the law.
"It is my personal belief that while individuals would be well served by receiving firearms safety instruction before carrying a weapon, the law should not mandate this instruction," he wrote. "My personal beliefs, however, are not relevant to my interpretation of the law."
Van Hollen wrote the letter in response to criticism from the NRA over a rule he wrote that stipulates firearms training courses must be at least four hours long.
Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report from Madison. | {
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Campodolcino, 11 marzo 2019 - Due interventi consecutivi nello stesso posto ieri pomeriggio, domenica 10 marzo, a Madesimo. La prima richiesta di soccorso è arrivata verso le 14.45 da parte di Soreu Alpina per tre sci-alpinisti di Cusano Milanino (Milano), Galbiate (Lecco) e Seregno (Monza Brianza), illesi ma bloccati in una zona impervia a Campodolcino. Avevano sbagliato direzione e invece di rientrare nella ski-area sono andati verso la Valle del Gualdo. Erano però fermi sopra dei salti di roccia; avvistati dai soccorritori Cnsas della stazione di Madesimo, che stavano intervenendo con i militari del Sagf - Soccorso alpino Guardia di finanza e un operatore in servizio sulle piste, sono stati raggiunti con l’elicottero e portati in salvo.
Immediatamente dopo un’altra attivazione: due scialpinisti avevano seguito le tracce dei precedenti e anche loro sono rimasti bloccati, in una valletta parallela alla prima, a un centinaio di metri di distanza. I tecnici Cnsas sono saliti fino al Pizzo Groppera e poi scesi fino al punto dove c’erano i due giovani, di Grandola e Uniti e Menaggio (Como), che sono stati accompagnati a valle in sicurezza. La programmazione dell’itinerario è importante anche quando si va fuoripista, soprattutto se non è pratici della zona. È sempre opportuno chiedere agli esperti e a chi conosce molto bene il territorio, informandosi bene prima di intraprendere il percorso. | {
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We will send you a promo code in advance.
Track time with pleasure With user-friendly actiTIME interface you can track time, register leaves and add comments in a weekly timesheet at the desk or on the go. | {
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The toll of early device replacement is magnified here because of the sheer number of procedures that take place in the United States. Nearly one million hips and knees were used last year, about half of the world’s total.
“We are No. 1 both as a provider and user of implants,” said Dr. John J. Callaghan, a professor of orthopedics at the University of Iowa. “We should be the leader in the follow-up of them.”
The Food and Drug Administration is charged with monitoring devices like artificial joints. But that system is often overwhelmed by the vast number of products it monitors and because doctors often do not report problems.
Medicare, which pays for about half the hip and knee implants in this country, rebuffed a proposal two years ago from a medical group to support a joint database. It said it was not the agency’s job to gather such data — despite the considerable savings in taxpayer dollars that might come from reducing the number of do-over surgeries.
The use of joint registries has proven beneficial abroad. In Australia, regulators use such data to force manufacturers to justify why poorly performing hips or knees should remain available, and products have been withdrawn as a result. In Sweden several years ago, surgeons alerted by their national registry stopped using a badly flawed hip long before their American counterparts did. A few medical organizations here, like Kaiser Permanente, operate their own registries to good effect and the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York has recently set up a registry.
But for more than a decade, efforts to set up an open national registry in this country have failed. One witness to those events has been Dr. Malchau, who worked for a decade at the Swedish registry. He and other registry advocates have heard all the reasons a registry cannot work here — busy doctors hate paperwork, plaintiffs’ lawyers would mine a database to find cases, general hospitals would be unfairly compared with specialty ones, to name a few.
Drowned out by those complaints is what registries do for patients. “It has been very frustrating,” Dr. Malchau said. | {
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People talk as though they don’t have control over what they believe.
I ask some atheists why they don’t believe in God: “It doesn’t make sense to me.”
I ask some Catholics why they believe: “I was born Catholic.”
And Latter-day Saints are just as guilty. We certainly believe in a process of searching and praying for truth. But listening to testimony meetings makes it clear that after all the prayers are done, people believe their “testimonies” will arrive gift-wrapped from God.
We talk about belief as though it’s something we receive, rather than something we build.
Forgive the click-bait title format and cheesy grin. I used it to emphasize that believing is a conscientious process. We can tackle it in the same way as “Lose 10 pounds in 3 weeks,” “How You Can Whiten Your Teeth Almost Instantly,” or “The One Trick to Saving for Retirement.”
None of this is to say believing is easy (just like those examples). But even though they are difficult, we can approach them like problems with workable solutions. Belief has always worked that way for me.
1. Get Over Yourself
Do whatever you want with yourself. But I had to get over myself.
I’m nine years old, staring straight out the window of my parent’s Buick station wagon. There is an impressive semi in the highway lane to our right as we near the end of some congestion. When all of a sudden we start to move backward!
I felt the sensation of the car moving. And all my visual information had us getting closer and closer to the end of the trailer.
Everything from my senses, logic, and experience told me we were moving backward.
Of course, once I burst out loony, Mom explained that the semi was moving faster than we were. I had been tricked.
Yet somehow, we convince ourselves that by the time we are adults we’ve perfected our minds to the point that we can reliably believe anything they pop out.
Why?
Why be so confident in the brain that’s telling you the circle on the right is bigger?
I’m guessing you have no trouble seeing that your political opponents are too influenced by emotion to see fact and reason. And, surprise, they think the same thing about your political beliefs. Maybe you’re both right.
I once won a debate in my Biology class on whether or not a VW Beetle qualified as a living creature by biological criteria. Our minds are not that reliable.
None of this is to say we shouldn’t bring our best mental efforts to the fore. But sometimes those best efforts work against us. Perhaps we should be a bit more circumspect about what they produce.
“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
2. Choose to Believe
In my freshman philosophy class, our professor used one lecture to outline the history of the question of God’s existence. At the end of the lecture, he opened the class for comments. One person asked if our professor believed in God. (Our professor was by nature very open about his personal life.)
He paused, looked up, crossed his arms. “The people who are like me, that believe in God,” he said, “are a lot happier than I am. I wish I could trick myself into believing in God.”
There is no silver bullet that refutes the truth claims of the Church of Jesus Christ. And there is no evidence so powerful to force belief.
Most of the world’s greatest minds have believed in God.
And the more educated Latter-day Saints are, the more they believe.
While you may personally find one narrative more likely than another, someone who is smarter than you has chosen a different narrative.
I’m not here to convince you to believe what I believe. But believing is great. And lots of people already want to. So do it. Articulate in your mind, this might be true and that might be true. There is evidence for both. Smart people believe both. So I choose to believe __________. Fill in your blank.
This is not to suggest that anything you fill in that blank will be equally valid. This is not to say once you choose to believe you should unrelentingly stay with something that is clearly not working.
What do you do with all the reasons you had to choose the other option? You file it away for now. If you’ve already accepted that every thought you had isn’t the most reliable, you can simply accept that if what you chose is right, you’ll find answers in time.
Some who leave the Church of Jesus Christ hate this, because in leaving they lost something. They need to believe that whatever argument, or evidence, or pamphlet they saw is so irrefutable that they have no choice but to stop believing. If reasonable people can see those same arguments and continue to believe then they could have too. So you’ll hear phrases like “cognitive dissonance” or for the less articulate “brainwashing.”
But there is nothing wrong with the brains of people who believe. And if you want to be one of them, the first thing you have to do is to decide.
“Somewhere in your quest for spiritual knowledge, there is that “leap of faith,” as the philosophers call it. It is the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and stepped into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two.” – Boyd K. Packer
3. Engage Your Mind for Belief
My junior year of high school I was in a speech and debate class. We had three debates during the semester, and when our teacher introduced the subject, she let us self-select sides.
One of the topics was capital punishment. At this point, I would have described myself as strongly in favor, so I joined the pro side. But unlike the other subjects, the class split quite unevenly with all but three students siding with me.
The teacher’s philosophy was usually to allow students to choose the side they felt, but in this case, the class was so uneven, she asked for volunteers. All three people opposed to capital punishment happened to be friends of mine from our drama club and mock trial team, so I agreed to switch sides.
With almost no effort, I was able to construct arguments opposed to capital punishment. When I went to the library to prepare that afternoon, finding evidence was trivially easy, and I began plugging it into my arguments.
Over the next few days, I kept hearing more and more about capital punishment in places I would never expect, and seemingly unrelated topics (like a scale graphic from my science class) immediately prompted new ideas for arguments.
By the time we debated in class, I had persuasive and cogent arguments that I personally believed for a side I only adopted by circumstance. The exercise changed my belief on the topic to this day.
When faced with a doubt, I often pose to myself the question, “If it were all true, how would this make sense?” Once I’ve framed that question, answers often rush in.
There is a phenomenon that occurred to me during this process that you can also take advantage of to help your belief. Have you ever noticed after you get a new car that you begin to notice it everywhere? This is called the Baader-Meinhoff effect. We notice what we are aware of.
Once we’ve chosen to believe, and we are looking for reasons to believe, we tend to find them. But they’re not going to appear until you’ve put yourself in a mindset to find them. This also works for those issues you’ve filed away. Over time answers will often appear where you wouldn’t have otherwise seen them. And that list of reasons to not believe begins to dwindle.
You’ve probably noticed this informally with believers. Someone who believes wholeheartedly will often describe something like a well-timed raise or a child’s change of heart as a “miracle.” These aren’t likely supernatural phenomenon, but for the person who wants to believe they give them reasons to.
“Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.” Mosiah 4:9
4. Address Reasons for Disbelief
Anyone who’s attended two weeks at the Church of Jesus Christ knows that the worst time to attend is when your child is between twelve and eighteen months. They are impossible to corral. And there is nowhere for them to go. You spend your hours wandering the hallways keeping them from interrupting other people.
I am exceptionally familiar with reasons for not believing in the Church of Jesus Christ. It’s one of the reasons I’m writing this blog. And wouldn’t you know it, just as my son was passing through this phase these arguments began to improve. Suddenly there appeared to be real reasons to abandon my faith, where there were none just weeks before.
Belief, it seems, is a lagging indicator. Lagging indicators are predictable effects that happen after some other cause. For example, clumsiness might mistakenly be seen as the cause of workplace accidents, but it’s a lagging indicator for rest. Implementing additional breaks reduces clumsiness which reduces accidents. Spending time trying to get employees to use more precise hand motions or eye paths may seem like they are fixing clumsiness, but they wouldn’t be addressing the underlying problem.
Most Latter-day Saints who abandon their faith cite belief as the reason. They no longer believe what the Church teaches.
But why did they stop believing? Why did arguments that have existed for the better part of two-hundred years suddenly find resonance? Why when faced with two coherent arguments did they choose the one away from belief.
If you want to believe, but are struggling, it’s worth the exercise to ask what is it about not believing that appeals to you. And try to fix it. For me, it was sharing toddler responsibilities more evenly with my wife. Once she started watching him every third hour so I could enjoy priesthood meetings, arguments against my faith quickly appeared as basic and unappealing as always.
“There is nothing noble or impressive about being cynical. Skepticism is easy—anyone can do it. It is the faithful life that requires moral strength, dedication, and courage.” Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Many will respond to these thoughts by suggesting that nothing in this shows why believing is a good choice or a more rational choice. I agree. If you don’t want to believe, don’t do what I’m suggesting. But like that philosophy professor, there are many who do want to believe. The peace, focus, and community that faith brings are powerful. If you want them, you are not a victim of your own mind, you can choose to believe. | {
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At its developer conference in Seattle, Docker today announced the private beta of the Docker Store, a new marketplace for trusted and validated dockerized software.
The idea behind the store is to create a self-service portal for Docker’s ecosystem partners to publish and distribute their software through Docker images — and for users to make it easier to deploy these applications.
While Docker already offered its own registry for containers, too, the Docker Store is specifically geared toward the needs of enterprises. The store will offer enterprises “with compliant, commercially supported software from trusted and verified publishers, that is packaged as Docker images,” the company says, and feature both free and paid software. Unsurprisingly, Docker will take a cut when a user installs a paid application through the store (though what exactly this revenue share agreement for paid-via-Docker content looks like is currently unclear).
The publishing process focuses on ensuring the quality of the container images and Docker notes that all the content is verified by the company and includes licensing information to support enterprise compliance.
“The use and creation of dockerized content has grown exponentially in the last couple of years,” the company notes in today’s announcement. “This demand on content and the expanded use of Docker within the enterprise naturally led to the need for more content, entitlement, visibility into security profiles and compliance.”
According to Docker, the number of containerized apps has grown 3,000 percent to 460,000 apps in the last two years and more than 4 billion images have now been pulled from the Docker Hub and image repository. Docker stressed that the marketplace will give publishers access to the company’s growing customer base.
The Docker Store is now in private beta, likely because the company wants to bring in more publishing partners before opening it up to all. Current partners include the likes of Chef, New Relic, Citrix, Splunk and Nginx. | {
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You can use PDF Compressor to reduce Linux Book size and upload it to your phone.
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Tamil Nadu’s golden age was a 1000 years ago and ever since the end of that age, the region never saw any large scale military-imperial revival. The Cholas were the last known patrons of Hindu art and literature, not to mention some very old architectural masterpieces of theirs from that era which was the highest point of Tamil architectural innovation. After their era, local lords never patronized arts and language to the extent to which the Cholas did. In fact, from the 14th century onwards, devastating invasions by the Delhi Sultanate exacerbated this void.
In fact, the time when Tamil Nadu was under its first complete foreign ruler was in the time of the Madurai Sultanate – a Sultanate established after the Tughlaq era invasions of the Deccan and the south. But the region was quick to recover its lost prestige when the armies of Vijayanagara defeated this Sultanate and restored Hindu rule here. Vijayanagara’s era saw a brief revival of Tamil spirituality as their era laid the stage for Carnatic music – a tradition in India which formed mostly within Tamil lands under Vijayanagara’s aegis and patronage.
While the rest of India was reeling under Islamic invasions in the Mughal era, Tamil Nadu was quite late in facing even these invasions as the only real threat of Islamic invasions came about during the brief era of Aurangzeb wherein most of Tamil Nadu was ravaged by the Mughals. Even then, the tiny Muslim community left behind by the earlier Madurai Sultanate was quite silent and did not take active part in the conquests unlike elsewhere in India.
Apart from these sporadic instances, Tamil Nadu has been the model sleepy town of India. It was easy prey for the Sultanates of the Deccan and Karnataka to conquer vast tracts of the region in the aftermath of Vijayanagara’s apocalyptic downfall. It was fairly easy for Portuguese and French evangelists to establish churches all over the region and convert large numbers of Tamils to Christianity. And then came the time of the British wherein Tamil Nadu was a model British colonial holding – a place that never ever rebelled large scale. We notice that the Tamils had grown soft to the extent of gullible in the aftermath of the Chola Empire itself.
Tamil Nadu’s forgotten imperial prestige and its subsequent (rather late) conquest by the Marathas (who were its last Hindu rulers) left little room in Tamil Nadu for the kind of charged up imperial feelings we see in the Marathas, Rajputs and the Jats. Tamil Nadu was a peculiarity even in South India as it had grown accustomed to foreign rule, to the extent that it became a norm to remain under foreign non-Hindu rule.
Recent times:
Our concern is more with the recent history of Tamil Nadu wherein we notice several peculiar instances in society.
The end of British rule saw the rise of a movement that called itself the ‘Justice Party.’ At this time, most positions of legal and financial powers across the region of the Carnatic were in the hands of those communities that would later get branded as forward. Mind you – this was an age old tradition – a Thevar community Chola ruler would always have a Brahmin advisor, a Chettiar treasurer and a Paravar or a fellow Thevar army general/sea lord. This sort of community based division of labour was common place in Tamil Nadu from the Sangam era and not surprisingly the British too followed this. It is no surprise therefore that most Chief Justices of the Madras Presidency happened to be from the Brahmin community.
However, Tamil Nadu also faced its biggest demographic change in the British era itself – Christianization.
I know personally scores of friends whose ancestors converted during the colonial era for:
Government jobs
Titles
Land
Money
I have heard stories from them as to how their entire village which was impoverished was converted by a British or a French missionary on monetary incentives. But here comes the great catch – caste made no difference to the missionary. Kerala and Tamil Nadu saw the peculiar phenomenon of Brahmins and landowning Chettiars converting. As to how this happened – there were numerous instances wherein entire villages including its Brahmins were at the receiving ends of famines or colonial era wartime impoverishment. And hence, it came as no surprise to me when a Christian friend of mine named John (name changed) told me that his village in Kerala had many Brahmins – all of whom converted en masse on such an incentive.
And then there was another friend whose Chettiar landowning paternal grandfather converted to Christianity thanks to a lucrative colonial government position offered to him. He was not even impoverished. He was rich. One might ask oneself that if Tamil Nadu was barely touched by the greatest military vicissitudes of the medieval era, what then the reason was for such easy Christianization. The answer is quite simple but never found in history books written by western ‘intellectuals’ – intellectual impoverishment.
Tamil Nadu’s age old tradition of patronized intellectuality died out once the Chola Empire fizzled into nothingness. Thereafter, Sri Lanka saw a resurgent Buddhism which occupied and filled the void left by the Hindu intellectual vacuum. The south east of Asia saw the rise of Islam despite the presence of Chola and Sri Vijaya colonies therein. And of course – Christianity came with a monetary colonial muscle. In other words, it had the imperial patronage that Hinduism had long lost.
Besides this, there was no major Tamil ruler like in the Maratha lands to stand up for the Hindus as a people. The local economy too became increasingly colonial trade-dependent and hence, the coastal regions wherein shipping and fisheries thrives, were the first to get Christianised. In the British era, there was no major Hindu revival neither intellectually nor politically. The generations’ long stagnation had reached a point wherein the land had lost its economic self-sufficiency and was a ripe target for a motivated foreigner who could easily spread his culture here.
The modern era:
If we look at the Justice Party and its successor the Dravidar Kazhagam, we see some striking features of colonial era intellectual poison:
One of its founding members EV Ramaswamy Naiker (later known as ‘Periyar’) was a proponent of the colonial Aryan invasion theory.
Periyar was in his own words anti-Brahmin/Brahmin-phobic. Periyar in public discourse used to narrate a tale of his pilgrimage to Kashi wherein he claim he was asked to leave a pilgrim’s lodging because he was not a Brahmin. He further claims that he was not given food – rather strange claims considering that the Naiker community was considered a forward community even by the British and that Kashi nor the surroundings have ever had had any documented instances of this kind of outright refusal to offer food to a Hindu pilgrim. Hell, the region had itself been ruled by Muslims for centuries.
Periyar claimed that the above tale was the reason for his virulent anti-Brahmin atheistic stance. However, apart from all the logical flaws in his tale, no such instance or evidence thereof even exists to corroborate this fanciful cheaply made fiction. In fact, we only have his word for its occurrence.
Periyar believed in atheism but still claimed that Tamil Nadu should be a Dravidian state – ironic as the so called Dravidian state had been a bulwark of Hindu culture and one of the regions with the largest number of temples ever built. The poster boys of Dravidianism itself – the Cholas and Pandyas had been ardent and fanatic Shaivites. So what was this confused atheist bickering on about?
He claimed that all non-Tamil speakers are Aryan invaders of Tamil Nadu – ironic again as Tamils themselves worship most the so-called ‘Aryan Gods.’ Shiva, Karthik, Vishnu and various local forms of Parvathi are wildly popular deities in whose honour even today, people of all castes organize grand village level processions and temple-fairs.
Periyar was clearly not a man who wished to change colonial thinking, but was a man who embraced it. Although he kept claiming atheism as his creed, he never ever spoke openly about Christianity or Islam – two religions which had militarily entered the region. But he had a rabid hatred for Lord Ram – whom he claimed was an Aryan invader. Periyar often claimed that Ravana was a true Dravidian king – ironic again as Ravana was an ardent Rudra-Shiva worshipper (Aryan Gods again!).
The deeds of Periyar:
Periyar’s perverse philosophy gave rise to the self-respect movement. This movement had an unabashed and openly declared goal of de-brahminization. A lot of books won’t document what Periyar’s supporters did in detail but any member of the Tamil Brahmin community (such as myself) have first-hand accounts of the things done by them during that demonic era wherein they held paramount sway over every aspect of life – from film to music to art to literature to the streets itself:
The assassination attempt on C Rajagopalachari by a member of Periyar’s party – the justification for which was that the dalits felt a sense of shame and torture under the Brahmins and that Rajagopalachari’s image as a Brahmin leader of the Congress only heightened that feeling. I needn’t even explain further.
The 1956 rally at Marina Beach, Chennai, wherein Periyar conducted a Ram dehan during Dusshera time in order to counter North India’s traditional Ravan dehan. He saw this as a Dravidian reclamation of self-respect.
He saw this as a Dravidian reclamation of self-respect. Several instances occurred across Tamil Nadu wherein processions during Ganesh pooja and Ramanavami were physically attacked by Periyar’s gangs who would later adorn the Ram statues with garlands made of slippers.
There are many first-hand accounts within the Brahmin community as to how Periyar advocated to his party members to forcibly chop off the Brahmin’s traditional Shikha (the pony-tail). There are accounts of this occurring within Chennai near Mylapore (a traditionally Brahmin temple-town within the city).
The continuation of the Dravidian movement:
Annadurai’s Chief Ministerial tenure saw the rise of legally sanctioned official discrimination against the Brahmins of Tamil Nadu. To give you an easy-to-relate account of a Tamil Brahmin from that era, I recall the tale of Mr. Somasundaram (name changed) who I had the privilege to meet in a Mumbai local near Matunga. The man told me his tale:
Back then, Annadurai and Periyar used to give speeches declaring that they wanted our very identities erased. We were blocked out of government jobs and we used to be laughed at in public and in government offices. In towns like Trichy and Madurai, this movement was particularly vile and vicious and we Brahmins felt the full fury of it. At that time, my father told me – ‘Son, look north and go. Never return for where they speak Hindi, we will be welcome. We are foreigners today in our own homeland.’
And thus my brothers and I came to Matunga where many Tamils live today. We were welcome here, and we got good government jobs which helped us feed our families.
This traumatic tale must be enough for you to realize what an average Tamil Brahmin underwent in the 60s and 70s. So much for all the claims of Brahmin supremacy and Brahmin usurping of positions, men like Somasundaram were Brahmins who had lesser money and titles than 5 generations of Periyar’s family which itself was of the landowning Naiker forward community.
Time for personal stories from my family:
My mother was lesser than 10 years of age at the height of Karunanidhi’s continuation of the Dravidian movement. By this time, it had been a few years since the death of Anandurai and the Dravidian movement with its self-respect ideals ran strong. Not surprisingly, this was a day at her school in Chennai when a Christian teacher (a known member of the party of Periyar) entered the class one day.
This time, she had a different subject in mind. She told all the Brahmin students in the class to stand up. Once they had done so (my mother included), she publicly shamed them saying:
These are the Brahmins. Take a good look at them. These are those who think no end of themselves and have ridiculous practices such as washing their dining areas after they eat. They behave as if they are the cleanest people in the world and as if all others are filthy. This is the Brahmin. Take a good look.
If this session had been followed by a public stoning/thrashing of the Brahmins, you’d have a first-hand analogy of what a homosexual feels like in an Islamic republic. The word the teacher used for ‘Brahmin’ was ‘Paaparae’ – a particularly vile and crass term used to brand Brahmins in that era. My mother (whose age was in single digits then) came home that day and asked her grandmother – ‘What is a paaparae? I did not understand why but the teacher today in class told us to all stand and told all the others that we are Paaparae.’ My great grandmother stayed silent and said nothing, but the look on her face was unmistakeable – one of shock and revulsion.
At other times, my grandmother has told me how she used to be instructed at home – ‘do not say outside that you are a Brahmin. You will be laughed at.’
Why, I myself faced this while playing football at the beach with my friends about 9 years ago. My brother and I used to be shamed by a few locals at the beach who upon seeing us used to shout – ‘Look! That Aiyer is here!’ Aiyer is a word for a Brahmin Shaivite. When used in a certain tone in Tamil along with a few choice words comprehensible to a Tamil speaker alone, the term becomes a slur.
Amidst all this shaming that every Brahmin has faced in Tamil Nadu, Christianization and NGO-based proselytism has taken an all new high in Tamil Nadu. Again, I have personal experiences and tales I heard from my own maid servant who told me how her failed marriage, her being forced into flesh-trade and her monetary woes were all blamed by her church on Hindu idolatory. She told me how they used to ask her to come to church and give her money with the promise of more money provided that she attends mass every week. After these masses, there would be a ritual session of cursing Hinduism. Her own family – including the popularly known street milkman are all Hindus. They themselves throw her strange looks today.
In light of this level of cultural deracination, are you still surprised that Jallikattu could be banned with such ease? Ironically, this Shaivite Hindu bull taming festival today has some vocal lobbyists in the form of rising political leaders such as Sebastian Simon known better as ‘Seeman’ in Tamil Nadu – a clear sign as to the complete and successful disconnection of Tamil Nadu’s inherently Hindu Shaivite legacy into the hands of Communists and anti-Hindu forces. There are hundreds and thousands of such instances in the last 200 years of Tamil history. But I believe that these few instances alone will paint a good picture for you.
But who even remembers men like Somasundaram who were made de-facto economic refugees within their own nation? Who even remembers the public shaming of little boys and girls who couldn’t even understand why they were being shamed? Above all – when will our dear Tamil Nadu learn to arise, awake and embrace its glorious Chola-Shaivite past and to discard these British inspired poisons? | {
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A gun used to shoot a police officer Saturday morning was the same weapon used in at least five homicides in the city so far this year, including two unsolved double homicides, Anchorage police said Tuesday (Nov. 15).
The Anchorage Police Department officer who was wounded, Arn Salao, was shot four times and underwent two surgeries after the confrontation, but was recovering and expected to survive. The suspect, 40-year-old James Dale Ritchie, was killed after Salao and Sgt. Marc Patzke — who arrived during the shootout — returned fire, police said.
"We know from our investigation in the last 78 hours that the gun used to attempt to kill officer Salao was the same gun used in five other homicides here in Anchorage in 2016," APD Chief Chris Tolley said at a news conference Tuesday.
Those five homicides are:
• The July 3 killings of Brianna Foisy, 20, and Jason Netter Sr., 41, on a bike path near Ship Creek;
• The July 29 death of 21-year-old Treyveonkindell Thompson on Bolin Street in East Anchorage;
• The double homicide of Kevin S. Turner, 34, and Bryant "Brie" DeHusson, 25, early on the morning of Aug. 28 at Valley of the Moon Park.
Tolley previously described Saturday's shooting as an "ambush" that came as the officer responded to a report of a theft suspect. Salao was shot while he was still inside his patrol vehicle, APD spokesperson Jennifer Castro said.
Castro stressed Tuesday that although the gun used to shoot Salao — a Colt Python .357 — had been linked to the five homicides, police were still investigating Ritchie's possible ties to those crimes.
It wasn't clear if Ritchie, an East Anchorage High School graduate, had any connection to any of the victims in the summer homicides.
"We still have not linked the suspect to these cases, so we still have more work to do," she said.
"Our investigations are open," said Lt. John McKinnon, head of APD's homicide and robbery/assault units. "The big thing is that the cases are still pending and we'll follow the evidence wherever it goes, and we'll make determinations on what cases we can or cannot close at a future date."
Police said Tuesday another as-yet-unsolved double homicide, which took place in January at Point Woronzof, was not connected to the other homicides.
Who was James Ritchie?
James Dale Ritchie grew up in East Anchorage and was a standout athlete at East Anchorage High School. He and his two sisters and parents lived in a home in the Wonder Park neighborhood, public records show.
At East, Ritchie was an offensive lineman on the 1994 state championship football team, according to news articles from the time. He also played on the state championship basketball team. Teammates remember him utilizing his 6-foot, 3-inch frame as a power forward.
"There were colleges looking at him in high school," said Donteh DeVoe, a former basketball teammate who played alongside Ritchie at East. "He had potential to go on to the NFL. He was a great athlete."
"He was a happy, positive person in high school. It's shocking to me," said Mao Tosi, another high school teammate.
Ritchie graduated from East in 1994, the same year Arn Salao — the Anchorage police officer injured in Saturday's fatal encounter — was attending the school as a freshman. It wasn't clear if the two men were acquainted with each other.
After high school, Ritchie's athletic dreams were derailed by drugs and a felony record. His first encounter with police occurred in 1998, four years after he graduated.
According to charging documents in that case, officers following up on a drug sale investigation encountered Ritchie in an Anchorage apartment. Ritchie, whom officers greeted by his street name of "Tiny," immediately reached for his waistband when officers came into the apartment. A loaded semiautomatic handgun fell out of his pant leg, according to charging documents.
A search revealed ammunition on Ritchie, along with a number of folded bills and a baggie filled with several rocks of crack cocaine. Officers also found an electronic scale in the bedroom and the owner of the apartment told police Ritchie and her son were apparently selling drugs.
Ritchie pleaded no contest to felony misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree. He was sentenced to three years probation.
In a letter to the judge in his case, Ritchie wrote that he "lay in bed every night thinking about how I've ruined my life. Then I sit up crying wishing I could go back to when I was in high school."
Ritchie wrote he would have "chosen a small Division II school to go play football at instead of a Division I college."
"I want to finish college, raise a family and buy a house," he wrote. "Instead as a felon I'll never be able to get a good job."
It's not clear whether Ritchie actually played college football.
There was more trouble to come.
On parole in 1999, Ritchie was pulled over for driving erratically near Columbine Street and DeBarr Road. Ritchie told officers he had been drinking tequila and beer and taken two Prozac pills. Officers found crack in the glove box and a loaded .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun in the passenger seat, as well as an open beer on the passenger floor of the car, court records show.
Ritchie again pleaded no contest to fourth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance. He was sentenced to three years probation.
In the year 2000, Ritchie filed for a business license for a vending machine servicing operation called Ritchie Enterprises, using his parents' address. It's unclear whether it got off the ground.
From 2002 to 2005, Ritchie was arrested several times for parole violations, mostly serving time for those violations in halfway houses, according to state Department of Corrections spokesperson Corey Allen-Young.
In 2005, Ritchie was arrested for first-degree burglary after police responded to a report of an East Anchorage break-in. Officers found a large wad of money on Ritchie totaling almost $5,500 and eight zip ties in his front coat tied into a set of "flex cuffs." Two guns were later found in the house occupants of the residence said did not belong to them.
Ritchie pleaded no contest in the case. Allen-Young said Ritchie spent just over two years in custody before being released on Nov. 16, 2007.
Ritchie had not been in correctional custody in Alaska since then, Allen-Young said.
The last time Ritchie applied for a Permanent Fund dividend was in 2009, according to public records. The last time he had a listed address in Anchorage was a house on Lane Street, in the Russian Jack neighborhood, in 2011.
It appears he spent some time in Virginia after that, where his parents live in Broadway, a small town not far from the West Virginia border.
Court records in Harrisonburg/Rockingham District Court show minor traffic infractions for Ritchie in 2013 and 2014.
Police said Tuesday Ritchie returned to Alaska this February.
On his Facebook page, he posted pictures at the end of January from travels around the Lower 48. Police are still investigating where Ritchie was living in recent months.
He was not homeless, and may have resided at more than one location, said Castro.
"We are hoping to get more information from the community about his daily whereabouts and activities," she said.
Reached separately by phone, Ritchie's mother and sister declined to speak on Tuesday.
"The last time I'd seen him was at a restaurant about a year ago," said DeVoe, Ritchie's former Thunderbirds basketball teammate. "He still looked young and healthy. It seemed like we were back in high school."
It was a brief encounter that ended with a smile and a hug, DeVoe said.
Rumors and fact
Authorities had been tight-lipped about a number of unsolved Anchorage homicides this year, despite the involvement of the FBI and widespread rumors a serial killer was roaming the city or that some of the killings were linked.
Witness accounts allowed police to create a sketch of a "person of interest" in the Treyveonkindell Thompson case. The FBI offered a $10,000 reward in early September for information in the case that generated more than 175 tips, according to an investigative timeline released by police on Tuesday. Police had also canvassed neighborhoods and homeless camps in areas near the shootings.
The State Crime Lab determined "a few days" after Thompson was killed that the same gun was used in the deaths of Foisy, Netter and Thompson, Castro said. That information was not made public.
After the Valley of the Moon killings, police determined the same gun was used again. At that point, "police still did not know who the shooter was or if there was more than one," according to the investigative timeline. Tuesday marked the first time police publicly acknowledged Turner and DeHusson had been shot.
Police say they withheld the fact that the same gun had been used in the five homicides — even from the families of the victims — over concerns releasing it would compromise the investigation.
McKinnon said police were trying to preserve the evidence — a strategy he believes led to the recovery of the gun after Saturday's shooting.
"If we had made a big deal about it, then it might have gotten lost or disposed of," McKinnon said.
"Without the ballistics and that gun, we had no evidential way of tying these cases together," Castro said. "That's how important that gun is."
The victims' families found out about the connection between cases prior to a Tuesday morning press conference, according to Billy Ray Turner, Kevin Turner's brother.
On Monday night, police contacted Kevin Turner's family and told them to come to a conference the next morning, said Billy Ray Turner. It was the first time they'd heard from law enforcement since shortly after his brother was killed at Valley of the Moon, he said.
Billy Ray Turner said he initially searched for answers in his brother's death, but detectives told him not to go digging. They weren't specific about details, but he said they told him if Kevin Turner was killed in such cold-blooded fashion, Billy Ray might be in danger if he came in contact with the person responsible.
His mother worried about the same scenario, so he stood down.
He started to think his brother's homicide investigation had turned cold, and another family could lose a loved one with the killer still on the streets, he said.
He said his family was hurt APD didn't provide details sooner, particularly how Kevin Turner died.
That's something he still hopes to find out.
"I want to know where was he shot, how long was he alive, did he suffer? These are the things I'd like to know," Billy Ray Turner said, adding he hoped the new evidence would serve as a turning point for more transparency in the case.
In late August, a notice went out to the public to avoid isolated trails or roads alone at night, though APD declined at that time to say if the warning was related to any of the recent homicides.
"We were trying to balance the best of both worlds without jeopardizing a case or investigation," Castro said of the warning.
Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz said police briefed him Monday afternoon on the revelation about the weapon used in the five unsolved homicides. He said he was previously unaware of any connection between the slayings.
Berkowitz said he had "actively stayed away" from pursuing information from police about the cases, citing his two years of experience in the Anchorage district attorney's office in the early 1990s.
"I think it's inappropriate for the civilian authority to intervene in a police investigation," Berkowitz said.
Berkowitz also said he did not think the police erred in withholding the information, or inappropriately prioritized an investigation over public safety.
"I would suspect that the police had access to all kinds of psychological understandings of what a person who is engaged in this kind of behavior would do and how they would behave, and shaped their investigation accordingly," Berkowitz said.
He added: "I think it's a vast oversimplification to think that the police should have compromised their investigation simply to inform the public about the course of their investigation. There's a real possibility the wrong communication at the wrong time could have jeopardized public safety." | {
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But while nearly all Gambia's better football clubs have lost a few players - the current Gambia cup holders, Wallidan, have had six or seven take the Back Way - none have suffered as badly as Banjul United.
The club formed just seven years ago to develop talent from Banjul Football Academy, and were promoted to Division One in 2013. Such is their reputation that their dusty training ground in Banjul's KG5 district occasionally receives visits from talent scouts, one of whom signed a winger, Pa Omar Babou, to an Israeli Premier League side, Maccabi Haifa, earlier this year.
But many of the club's young players are not prepared to wait around in the hope of being head-hunted. "I tell them to be patient, but the scout system is too slow for them and they believe things are quicker just by going straight to Italy or Spain or Germany," said Ebou Faye, the club's manager. "When one leaves, others follow."
Part of the problem is that the club's training ground lies just close to a bus terminal frequented by people smugglers. For a fee of around £1,000, they will courier people onwards through Senegal and Mali to the main people-smuggling hub in the city of Agadez in Niger, from where convoys head across the Sahara to the Libyan coast. | {
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(CNN) Australia's national election is too close to call after a large protest vote against the government left the country at risk of its second hung parliament in six years.
Late Saturday night, the center-right Liberal/National Coalition government was fighting to gain a majority government of 76 seats, with the result likely to remain unknown on election night.
Healthcare and education spending were important issues for voters, according to exit polling, as results showed a late-swing to the center-left Labor party.
Strong anti-government votes in Tasmania and Northern Territory led to a national swing of more than 3.2% across the country as of 10 p.m. (10 a.m. ET).
The Liberal/National Coalition government was asking for a second term, after being elected with a solid majority in the last national vote in 2013.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been in the fight of his political life during the two-month long election campaign, as polling in the last week showed a tight race nationwide against Labor challenger Bill Shorten.
Turnbull has only been prime minister since September 2015, when party members voted to oust former leader Tony Abbott after his growing unpopularity led to his party losing faith in him.
Speaking to his supporters early Sunday morning, Turnbull said that despite the uncertainty around the results, he was confident the Coalition would form a majority government.
"We live in times of rapid economic change, of enormous opportunities, and enormous challenges. A time when we need to be innovative, when we need to be competitive, when we need to be able to seize those opportunities," he said.
Turnbull said about 30% of the vote had yet to be counted and it was unlikely the final result would be known until Tuesday.
In Melbourne, his opponent Shorten said the result was a rejection of Turnbull's economic agenda. "Mr. Turnbull will never be able to claim that the people of Australia have adopted his ideological agenda," he said at an event.
Thank you. A photo posted by Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) on Jul 2, 2016 at 2:23am PDT
Monash University senior lecturer in Australian Politics Nick Economou told CNN he expected the Coalition government to return to power, with a tiny majority.
"I don't think (anyone) thought it would be quite like this, but it's reminiscent of a series of Australian state elections we've had in recent times, so perhaps this is the new norm where everyone is on a knife edge and you get a number of small party MPs," he said.
Minority parties make gains
The Coalition had won about 70 seats late on Saturday night, with between six and seven yet to be determined, as both major parties lacked the 76 needed to form a majority government.
Minor parties could decide who forms the government in Australia, including the left-wing Australian Greens who won more than 10% of the vote.
On the other side of the political specturm, Economou said anti-immigration One Nation Party leader Pauline Hanson appears to have been returned to the Australian Parliament, more than a decade after she was voted out after achieving notoriety national-wide for saying the country was being "swamped by Asians."
"She's polling really strongly in Queensland, and she'll get a Senate seat," he said.
Australian journalist Michelle Grattan wrote on the Conversation that while a hung parliament was only a possibility, a difficult Senate full of minor parties was almost a certainty.
"If the major parties want to stem the drift to a larger protest vote, they need to treat the voters and the democratic process with more respect and a lot less cynicism," she said.
Healthcare, education important issues
JUST WATCHED Australian PM voted out by Liberal Party Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Australian PM voted out by Liberal Party 01:45
An exit poll by CNN-affiliate Sky News just before the polls closed showed a close race across the country, with 72% of voters saying healthcare spending had been a "very important" issue in their vote.
Shorten and the Labor Party had made Australia's public health system a prominent issue in the campaign, promising to restore cuts made by the Coalition government.
In addition, 63% said education policy had also been an important issue for them, while 51% said they were focused on economic management.
"The taste of democracy"
- Bill Shorten gets into his election day sausage + onion + tomato sauce in bread roll pic.twitter.com/c9j2POGZEj — ellinghausen (@ellinghausen) July 1, 2016
Millions of Australians headed to the polls after voting opened at 8 a.m. across eastern Australia, as the traditional election sausage sizzle featured prominently on social media under the hashtag #democracysausage | {
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E super enervant să investești bani, timp, nervi, relații și tot ce vrei într-un proiect muzical care nu prinde la public. E și mai enervant atunci când știi că ceea ce faci e de calitate. Chestia asta se aplică la foarte multe trupe și artiști din underground-ul românesc. Apar din ce în ce mai multe piese geniale, care dintr-un motiv sau altul nu sunt apreciate de publicul din România. Cel puțin nu pe YouTube, care a devenit un fel de unitate de măsură pentru popularitatea unei piese.
Apropo, dacă ești un artist underground din România și ai ajuns la limita puterilor, nu-ți recomand să deschizi YouTube-ul. O să faci o criză de nervi. Mai mulți vloggeri s-au apucat de muzică și fac o tonă de vizualizări pe baza fanbase-ului pe care și l-au creat cu ajutorul unor clipuri în care vorbesc despre cum se vopsesc sau cum fac curat în cameră. Și fac milioane de vizualizări la fiecare piesă. Majoritatea artiștilor underground din România nici nu visează la astfel de numere.
Înțeleg că e un efort să faci sute de mii de subscriberi și sunt sigur că toți se rup în două pentru content. Nu o să judec oamenii care fac videouri unde mănâncă toate felurile de chips-uri de pe rafturile din România sau răspund dacă mai sunt sau nu virgini. Românii se uită și la Antena 3, deci nimic nu mă mai surprinde.
În schimb, mă surprinde să văd cât de bine au prins piesele lor. Eu nu mă uit la vloggeri, deci nu știu dacă-s buni la muzică sau nu. Dar am fost curios să văd care-i treaba cu melodiile astea care-s tot timpul pe trending. Așa că m-am băgat să ascult niște piese de la cei mai cunoscuți vloggeri din România care fac și muzică:
Codrin Bradea (Satana) – 2K17
Codrin Bradea, zis Satana, e un tip care face clipuri în care se joacă și înjură creativ pe ardelenește. Din când în când se oprește, că i-a intrat fum de țigară în ochi și nu mai vede monitorul. Spre deosebire de alți vloggeri, omul nu s-a apucat de muzică în ultimele trei luni. Are o trupă de hip-hop care se numește Bazooka, cu două materiale lansate până în prezent. Nu ți le recomand, pentru că sună exact ca Paraziții. Asemănarea e atât de izbitoare încât Codrin ar trebui să-și tatueze „White Pride” în frunte, doar ca să țină pas cu țintele urii lui Cheloo.
„2K17” e o parodie după toate piesele de trap. E mult mai OK decât ce bagă la Bazooka. Măcar mă face să râd. Ar trebui să se reprofileze doar pe piese la mișto, că e plin de dume. E un fel de Big Shaq, doar că el nu se leagă de grime, el își bate joc de trap. Omul nu se ia în serios. Zice că primul lucru pe care-l face când se trezește e să tragă făină, o activitate comună în rândul trapperilor. Un croissant, doi covrigi, o merdenea, chestii de genul.
Selly – Milion
Omul se laudă în versuri despre câte vizualizări a făcut, câți subscriberi are și cât de bun e la montat. De obicei, într-o piesă de trap, oamenii vorbesc despre câți bani au și toate alea. Selly nu face asta. El se laudă cu performanțele lui în Final Cut Pro sau alt program de editare video. Piesa asta e cel mai bun interviu pentru o slujbă la Bucharest Film Studios. Sper să ia slujba, pentru că nu-i văd un viitor în trap.
Oricum, merită apreciat pentru că nu se dă de parcă toată lumea e împotriva lui. Zice la un moment dat că o mie de rapperi vor să-i dea sentință, dar gagiul are 17 ani. Hai, bro, singurele persoane care-s pe urmele tale sunt followerii. Și ăia de la ANAF când vor afla câți bani se fac din YouTube. Dar ce contează când ai totul la 17 ani și ești „pe tendință”?
Bianca Adam – Tătici de Zahăr
În teorie, e ușor să faci o piesă trap. Cumperi un beat cu 10 euro de pe net, faci un text despre ceva banal și repeți un cuvânt de cel puțin 30 de ori pe refren. Problema e că tot trebuie să ai un flow, ceva, să rimezi într-un mod natural. Altminteri riști să cânți ca un măgar care s-a înecat cu mămăligă. E un motiv pentru care cei mai buni trapperi din România și-au început cariera în rap. Au învățat cum să-și controleze respirația și să o dea cât mai fin.
Cineva trebuia să-i zică asta Tequilei. Sunt sigur că are o voce fenomenală și cu un pic de antrenament ar putea să cânte corect, dar aici nu o face. La vocea ei, nu ar trebui să cânte atât de repede. Nici măcar pe hook, unde e ditamai efectul pe voce, nu sună bine. Asta pe lângă faptul că piesa e despre sugar daddies, care aparent se traduce mai nou în „tătici de zahăr”. Ugh, mega cringe. În clip ea cântă la masă, cu o porție de sushi în față, ceea ce mă face să mă simt de parcă sunt la o întâlnire la care nu am vrut niciodată să fiu.
Vlad Munteanu – FLEX
Nu m-am uitat la ce clipuri postează Vlad Munteanu, dar mă gândesc că 80% din contentul lui e despre cum să folosești lumina naturală sau artificială pentru cel mai bun Instastory. Sau cum să arăți cool în timp ce apreciezi un asfalt bine pus la punct. Nu despre asta vorbește în piesă, să ne înțelegem. El flexează cu Lino Golden și alt Munteanu. La un moment dat se dă de gol și aflăm că nu știe cum se folosește internetul. Cică: „Vorbești rău de mine, dar nici n-ai dovezi”. Exact, de parcă cineva de pe internet a avut vreodată nevoie de dovezi ca să vorbească de rău pe cineva.
E o piesă despre cât de tare se sparg ei în club și cum nimeni nu merge acasă. Clipul e filmat acasă. În plus, nu e alcool în clip. De cuie nici nu mai vorbesc. La un moment dat stau toți în fața unei mese pe care nu găsești nimic. Nici măcar un smoothie sau un Tymbark la cutie de banane, mere și zmeură. Nasol.
Florentin Hriscu – Disstrack YouTube România Rewind 2017
Primul lucru la care te gândești când te uiți la videoclipul ăsta e cum naiba a ajuns să aibă un milion de vizualizări? Apoi te uiți la celelalte clipuri pe care le postează, gen „M-AM CERTAT LA TELEFON”, „DACĂ CASA MEA AR VORBI” sau „SCOTCH CHALLENGE CU DURERE” și-ți dai seama că publicul lui nu e foarte pretențios. Nu m-am uitat peste toată lista de videouri, dar nu m-ar mira dacă ar fi și clipul „AM FĂCUT BAIE ÎN MIERE, DAR MI-AM LĂSAT ȘOSETELE ÎN PICIOARE”. Sper că nu i-am dat vreo idee.
Să faci o piesă împotriva vloggerilor care cântă e ca și cum ai protesta împotriva omului din oglindă. Omul pare atletic, pentru că face niște mișcări de breakdance gen Taz prin 2000. Caută Simplu pe Google, că sigur nu știi despre ce vorbesc. Din păcate, se face de râs cu niște dab-uri triste, cum nu am văzut de la Codrin Bradea încoace.
5GANG – Singuri Acasă
5Gang e o trupă formată din Selly, Exploit, Gami OS, Diana Condurache și Vasco Tătaru, o adevărată amenințare pentru orice concurent la Vocea României Junior. Dintre toți ăștia, Exploit e singurul care are habar de muzică. Omul produce de câțiva ani deja și nu înțeleg de ce nu-l cheamă nimeni să pună muzică la Untold. E tânăr, produce dubstep și are VLOG. E combinația perfectă pentru publicul festivalului.
Anyway, aici bagă împreună cu gașca asta de periculoși. Îți zic, nu aș vrea să mă întâlnesc cu ei pe o alee întunecată. Probabil nu m-ar lăsa în pace până nu aș da like, share și subscribe la videoclipurile lor. Acțiunea începe cu Selly care se joacă cu un pistol, un intro perfect pentru o piesă despre cum o arzi acasă de Crăciun. Își tot pasează pistolul ăla de jucărie între ei până când sunt întrerupți de Diana, care le oferă sarmale. Să ne întoarcem, totuși, cu picioarele pe pământ.
Mimi – Jingle Ballin
Înainte să dai play la clip, uită-te la descriere, unde Mimi, draga de ea, zice: „Merry Christmas guys! I’m a rapper now.” Cine ar fi crezut că e așa ușor să te faci rapper? Tot ce trebuie să faci e să zici că ești un rapper și gata. Hey, am o idee, hai să ne facem cu toții rapperi. Uite, și eu sunt rapper și vreau ca toată lumea să-mi zică 50 GHENT. De azi mă găsești doar la studioul de pe strada unde mi-am pierdut mințile.
Bine, ca să zici că ești rapper trebuie să scoți și o piesă. Nici nu contează dacă e faină, rea sau „Jingle Ballin”. Piesa asta e varză din toate punctele de vedere. Tot ce ai auzit până acum din lista asta e aur pe lângă Mimi. Producția e praf, versurile la fel, nici măcar clipul nu e decent. Sunt patru fete îmbrăcate în hainele de casting care se freacă de un tip cu o mască de ren pe față. Tinerii din ziua de azi respectă regula 34.
BONUS:
Edy Talent – Maneaua Youtuberilor | {
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If you missed the end of the Pacers/Raptors playoff game earlier tonight, you missed one hell of a finish. With Indiana trailing by three points with less than three seconds to go, the Pacers got the ball into the hands of their star Paul George, who dished the ball to a wide-open Solomon Hill for a game tying three-pointer at the buzzer. The only problem? Hill shot the ball a fraction of a second too late—and the Raptors walked off the floor with a win and a 3-2 series lead. You can watch the play here:
Drake was at the game and, as usual, he was extra animated on the sidelines. You can watch him clap in Rodney Stuckey's face here:
You can also watch him talk some trash to George with less than two minutes to go in the game here:
And after the game was over, Drizzy continued to talk trash to George. A short time after it ended, he took to Instagram and posted a photo of George with a tear falling from his eye along with the caption, “3-2…I knew you were scared.” It looked like this:
Drake has since deleted the post and replaced it with this:
But DAMN. If the Pacers needed any more motivation to win Game 6, they just got it. We’d be surprised if this series didn’t go to a Game 7 after this.
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to [email protected].
[via New York Post] | {
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NEW CITY, N.Y. - It wasn't quite man-bites-dog, but there were men and there were dogs and there was biting.
A sheriff's office said Monday that one man bit another during a fight over a couple of dogs at a park in suburban New York City.
Rockland County sheriff's Capt. William Barbera (bahr-BEHR'-uh) says two dog owners got into it Sunday night. One didn't like the way their pets were playing at a dog park in New City, about 30 miles north of New York.
Barbera says that a third man tried to break up the fight and that one of the combatants bit him on the wrist. He says that no one has been arrested but that the case is still being investigated. | {
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Substituting yarn for a project can be just like the game Mystery Date. Will it be a dream (sigh) or a dud (groan)?
The gauge can be right, and it can look fine, but sometimes there’s just something that makes a substitution fail in the end.
The reason for this not-quite-rightness may lie in a something that spinners call grist.
Grist is the density of a yarn; the concept factors in both the circumference and weight in a length of yarn. Spinners and weavers talk about grist with the acronym YPP or yards per pound.
It’s kind of a gross word, calling to mind gristle, but once I started paying attention to grist, I became much happier with my yarn subs.
Grist is key to the hand and heft of a finished project. Knowing the grist of a substituted yarn can help you avoid running out, and (my favorite) it can also keep you from making a 12-pound sweater coat. In addition, knowing how to measure grist will give you the power of knowing the yardage in every skein in your stash that is missing its ballband.
What affects grist? All the things I’ve talked about in past posts: the type of fiber in your yarn, whether it is woolen- or worsted-spun, and the number of plies in the yarn.
Spinners and weavers figure out the grist of a yarn by measuring and math. Knitters have it easy: all the info is right there on the ballband, no measuring needed. When I work with knitting yarns, I check my grist with yards per ounce.
All you need to know is how many yards are in an ounce of your yarn. It may just save your knitting day.
Mystery Date Contestant Number One
I have a knitter friend who told me she often runs out of yarn when she subs. I asked about her subbing process. She says she uses a similar weight yarn, swatches, and then subs by weight (I know, bless her heart). Here’s an example of where she was heading into yarn sub dud date territory, but we saved her by checking her grist.
My friend wants to knit a shawl that calls for a skein of Sincere Sheep Cormo Fingering with same weight of Koigu that she had in ancient stash. Both yarns are fingering weight, and knit to the same gauge.
Left: Koigu, our mystery date contestant. Right: Sincere Sheep Cormo Fingering.
Here’s what the labels say:
Sincere Sheep Cormo Fingering: 500 yards, 4 ounces (color: St. Barts).
Koigu Premium Painter’s Palette (100% Merino): 175 yards, 1.76 ounces. (My friend has 2 skeins and a little more, adding up to 4 ounces.)
We know that the Sincere Sheep is 500 yards per 4 ounces (or 125 yards an ounce), so that’s the number the Koigu has to hit for it to be a dreamy sub for the Sincere Sheep.
The Koigu has 175 yards in 1.76 ounces: 99 yards per ounce, or 396 yards in 4 ounces.
Girl, that date is a dud! If friend substitutes 4 ounces of the Koigu for 4 ounces of the Sincere Sheep, she’ll only get three-quarters of the way through the shawl before she runs out of yarn.
If you want to know a big reason why the Koigu is a denser yarn (it has fewer yards per ounce), look closely at the ply twist in the two yarns. The Sincere sheep has a very light ply twist, and the Koigu has a tighter twist. The tighter twist squeezes more fiber into the measurement of yarn, so it’s heavier and has fewer yards per ounce.
Mystery Date Contestant Number Two
The next story is my own tale of woe.
I fell in love with Independence Wool’s Texas Tweed and I decided I wanted to knit a sweater out of it. I found a sweater pattern that calls for 1,600 yards of Sincere Sheep Cormo Sport.
On the LEFT: Sincere Sheep Cormo Sport. On the RIGHT: our Mystery Date, the handsome Texas Tweed.
I swatched my Texas love and it worked as a sub. I knew I would need 11+ skeins of Texas Tweed to get the yardage.
Here are the label stats:
Sincere Sheep Cormo Sport (100% Cormo): 400 yards, 4 oz (color Vitamin C).
Independence Wool, Texas Tweed (60% Rambouillet/40% Mohair): 140 yards, 2.25 ounces.
I paused and did some math. The Sincere Sheep sweater weighs just a pound, which is great for my chosen size. But the Texas Tweed? 11.5 skeins (1,600-ish yards) weigh 1.7 pounds, almost twice the weight.
No, thanks. My Texas Tweed will probably become a shawl.
The why of the extra density in the Texas Tweed is in the fiber. The Cormo in the Sincere Sheep is very fine and light. The Rambouillet in the Texas Tweed is also fine and light, but the mohair, although gorgeously shiny and slick, is a strong and heavy fiber. The mohair is what tips the scale.
In the MDK Shop The Knitter's City Bag has all the minimalist perfection of the Knitter's Tote, now in a trimmed-down shape. Form and function meet. It holds quite a lot, actually! Knitter’s City Bag
The Truly Mysterious Mystery Date
What if you have yarn without a ball band, or leftover yarn with long-forgotten statistics, and want to know the yardage?
Step aside: measuring grist will reveal all!
When measuring for grist, you need to know the weight of a specific length of the yarn.
tangled up in pink. Misunderstood Mystery Date on the left. Measured length of mystery yarn on the right.
I use a digital scale and 10 yards of yarn. I weigh it in ounces. I divide the yardage by the weight, and presto: I have the number of yards in one ounce of that yarn.
I have a mystery tangle of yarn (which I think is cashmere, btw) that weighs .055 ounces for 10 yards.
10 divided by .055 is 181.8 . The grist for my mystery yarn is 181.8 yards per ounce.
My sexy yarn pile weighs .55 ounces, so I have 99.9 yards of it. (181.8 x .55).
Taking the time to check your yarn’s grist as part of the substitution process is quick, and can save you the heartbreak of a dud.
May all your yarn substitutions be a dream. | {
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A video was recently released with Ronda Rousey's mom going off on her daughter's coach, Edmund Tarverdyan. Dr. Ann Maria De Mars called the GFC head a 'terrible coach' and a 'bad person', and apparently there was much more on the rant.
Shortly after the first video, LatiNation released an extended clip from the same interview which had more insults directed at the Tarverdyan. The video has since been marked as 'private', but you can see the quotes from the outtake below.
"I will tell you this. Every time I go in his gym, he used to say, 'How are you?' And I'd say, 'How the f*ck do you think I am? I'm in your f*cking gym and I f*cking hate you!'" she exclaimed. "So now he doesn't ask me how I am anymore."
"Yes, (we're talking about her current coach). I hate him. I would run him over with my car if there wasn't a law against it."
Responding to the interviewer she said, "Yes, you can say his name! Who the f*ck is he?! He's not like the f*cking nameless one from Harry Potter! I hate that guy! He's like the most worthless human being God ever put on this earth."
On the first clip, Rousey's mother pointed out how Tarverdyan didn't want to train Ronda for months, despite already being an Olympic medalist when she first came to the gym. This is a fact confirmed by Edmund himself, but if there were more reasons for the apparent anger, it wasn't detailed on the two very short snippets from her interview. | {
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When Amazon announced last week that it was buying the online pharmacy PillPack, it sent stocks of drugstore companies like Walgreens and Rite Aid tumbling, as investors worried that the retail behemoth would soon upend the pharmacy market.
But even though Amazon has transformed the way Americans buy products as different as books and diapers, it may not have such an easy time with prescription drugs. That’s because to succeed, it will have to do business with powerful entrenched companies who are not necessarily wishing Amazon well.
As a relatively small pharmacy with about $100 million in annual revenues, PillPack most likely didn’t attract much attention from the pharmacy industry’s giants, said Eric Percher, an equity research analyst at Nephron Research.
“I think they have absolutely been able to fly under the radar,” he said. But now that a household name like Amazon is buying the company, “the entities that have enabled PillPack’s success — whether they knew it or not — have a decision to make,” he said. | {
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Nurses Throw Hospital Wedding for Stage 4 Cancer Patient The wedding was put together in less than a week.
-- They were planning to elope this fall.
But the stomach pains Destini Schafer started experiencing about a month ago led to a diagnosis neither she nor her fiancee, Brandon Thomas, expected.
Schafer had stage 4 cancer.
But they would still get married. Maybe not in Jamaica like they originally planned, but married indeed. Last Friday, thanks to the quick work of registered nurse Ashley Shipley-Lovekamp, Schafer and Thomas were married at Memorial Medical Center in Springfeild, Illinois, where Schafer has been for the last three weeks. Shipley-Lovekamp put the wedding together in five days.
"She's an amazing person, like a guardian angel," Thomas told ABC News of Shipley-Lovekamp. "She got tuxes donated for me and my dad, and a maid of honor dress. And wedding rings."
The couple was married in a garden area of the hospital before their friends and family, including their 8-month-old son Noah and their three children from previous relationships, Thomas said.
"From the first time I met Destini I knew I wanted to marry her," Thomas said.
Shipley-Lovekamp told ABC News, “I wanted Destini to be able to have a wedding because we didn’t know how much longer she was going to have. I wanted her to be able to be happy and focus on something other than her diagnosis."
Thomas has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for medical treatment. It's unclear what the future holds for his new wife. "We're just praying for the best," he said.
"Everything came together really well," said Shipley-Lovekamp. "There were so many people who were willing to donate and help bring everything together. We all just chipped in. Watching the ceremony, it was very heartwarming and humbling to know that we were able to do this for her.” | {
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Motorcycle land speed record holder and Scottsdale resident Valerie Thompson survived a 343-mph crash while attempting to break the overall two-wheel record in Australia on Monday, Fox News reported.
According to the report, the 49-year-old Thompson was going for the record at the Lake Gairdner World Speed Trials "when something went wrong during her run and the bike fell onto its side, digging a deep trench into the salt flats and spreading wreckage over a mile."
Thompson's "Bub 7" motorcycle reportedly lifted off the ground, with its parachutes eventually allowing it to come to a complete stop. Thompson told Fox News that she's "doing OK" and is headed back to Scottsdale to determine what went wrong.
Thompson earned the title of world's fastest female motorcycle racer when she topped out at 304.263 mph at the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials in 2016. Known as "America's Queen of Speed," Thompson has won a number of racing awards and was featured in the 2013 documentary "Why We Ride." She is a vehicle presenter at Barrett-Jackson Auction Company and Metro Auto Auctions in Scottsdale. | {
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