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Story highlights Tuesday marks the two-year anniversary of the disappearance of MH370
All 239 people aboard the Boeing 777 are presumed dead
Malaysia's Prime Minister says he's "hopeful" the plane will be found
(CNN) Two years after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished from radar screens, investigators say they still believe the missing airliner will be found.
The search operation to find the plane is expected to be completed later this year, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a statement Tuesday.
"We remain hopeful that MH370 will be found in the 120,000-square-kilometer area under investigation," Najib said.
If it isn't, officials said, Malaysia, Australia and China will meet to determine the next step.
Read More | {
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For parents living in North America and other developed countries, the choice not to have children immunized is a luxury and a privilege. As this map makes painfully clear, there are many parts of the world where it's the inaccessibility of vaccines that's the problem.
This map was produced by Benjamin Hennig and Save the Children using information found in Finding the Final Fifth: Inequalities in Immunization (2012).
It looks strikingly similar to a map showing child mortality under age 5:
[ via Vox ] | {
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Canada
People watch the East York Toronto Canada Day parade, as the country marks its 150th anniversary with "Canada 150" celebrations, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 1, 2017. Mark Blinch/Reuters
What's it like living in a country with single-payer healthcare?
In Canada, doctors have waiting lists and the process is more like getting into a country club where you have to be recommended by other members. Once I finally got "inside" the system, I was pleasantly surprised.
The wait to see my doctor is never more than a few days, but referrals to specialists can take a bit longer. Special equipment, like MRI machines, always have a waiting list and work around the clock, so it is not unusual to get an appointment a month or two out, with a middle of the night time slot. It is a little strange to drive an hour to a hospital, which seems deserted at 2 a.m. and find the radiology waiting room packed.
What do you really like about it? What do you think people might overestimate?
Aside from some system glitches, I would say that Canadian healthcare, like an American HMO, works pretty well most of the time, especially if you don't get sick!
I have had my Canadian medical coverage since 2012, and the biggest challenge has been getting the US to acknowledge it is real.
Can you share how much you pay in a typical month for your healthcare?
In Ontario, there is no monthly out of pocket cost, though each province is different. We do carry an additional plan, which covers prescriptions, massage etc.
— Heidi Lamar, business owner, dual citizenship in the US and Canada | {
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I think it’s pretty obvious that Doc Brown bought the DeLorean in Beverly Hills…
So, I’m watching Beverly Hills Cop for the umpteenth time, when what to my wondering eyes should appear? A DeLorean parked outside of Victor Maitland’s house. Immediately, the questions begin to run through my head…. “What is that doing there?” “Is that Doc Brown’s DeLorean?” “Who put it there?” “Is it legally parked?”
I see three possibilities…
The DeLorean is a totally different car than the one appearing in Back to the Future. Of course, that’s ridiculous. Maybe haps either Doc or Marty has visited the past and wanted to see Axel Foley catch the bad guys. There are some problems with this theory though… The BTTF movies keep pretty close track of Marty’s time with the car. There is really no point in time that Marty goes exploring through time and space. However, there is an infinite amount of time for Doc Brown to tour around after he drops Marty off at the end of the first film. The trouble with the particular DeLorean in BHC is that it doesn’t seem to have the vents on the back, Mr. Fusion, or any other time machine features. While Doc could have visited Beverly Hills prior to putting in Mr. Fusion. But more than likely, it’s number three… The most logical possibility is that this is the DeLorean the Doc Brown buys to make his time machine from. Look at the facts: Both Beverly Hills and Hill Valley are in California. Doc says he spent much of his family fortune on his time machine; easy to do when buying a sports car in Beverly Hills. Finally, the events of Beverly Hills Cop take place in June of 1984, over a year before Marty McFly travels to the past in October of 1985. This gives Doc plenty of time to build his time machine.
Doc Brown bought his time travelling DeLorean in Beverly Hills in 1984. It’s the only explanation that makes sense! I’m sure you were all curious to know that delicious little morsel of made-up trivia.
Do you agree with my theory? Do you have a theory of your own? Let me know in the comments! | {
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I'd like to thank David for writing the below. Like many of my past guest posts it's fair to say we disagree but there's little... | {
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Ex-MP offers tours of former constituency for £5 Published duration 18 September 2015
image caption Sir Bob now spends his free time being a tour guide in Colchester
A former MP who lost his seat of 18 years in the last general election is conducting tours in his former constituency for £5 a time.
Liberal Democrat Sir Bob Russell takes visitors on two-hour tours of Colchester every fortnight.
He hopes money from the tours will pay for a statue of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star writer Jane Taylor, who lived in the town, and boost tourism.
"I now have time on my hands," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
"I've gone from an 80-hour, seven-day week - I've gone from the outside lane of the motorway to a country lane - so I'm trying to put my time to good purposes.
"I think Colchester needs to up its game in heritage. We're not York, we're not Chester, we're not Cambridge, but we're very much still a premier tourist attraction.
image copyright David Hawgood / Geograph image caption Sites of interest in Colchester include the oldest surviving town wall...
"We need to promote ourselves more, and this is my little way of doing it."
Sir Bob puts on two separate tours, covering 2,000 years of Colchester history from Roman times up to the present day.
The town is known as Britain's "first city", created by the Emperor Claudius in AD 49. It boasts attractions including the oldest and largest surviving town wall and the largest surviving water tower in the country.
Asked whether people want a former MP carrying out a tour, he said: "There's been no problems so far."
image copyright David Hawgood / Geograph image caption ...and the largest water tower in the country, affectionately named "Jumbo"
He plans to run the tours each spring and summer and the £5 fee is voluntary.
However, it is not the first time he has conducted tours of his beloved town.
In 2013, he offered tours to raise money for the Liberal Democrats, including showing people the spot where he broke his arm at the age of 14.
You can hear more about Sir Bob Russell's Colchester tours and his thoughts on the future of the Liberal Democrats on Sunday Politics East, at 13.30 BST on Sunday on BBC One. | {
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Preston striker Sean Maguire challenges for the ball against Southampton at Deepdale
Billy Bodin found the net for the Lilywhites with a fine finish in the 18th minute to equalise Danny Ings' early opener for the Saints which resulted from goalkeeper Connor Ripley's mistake.
Ings restored the visitors' lead on the stroke of half-time, heading home a Ryan Bertrand cross.
Substitute Jake Vokins netted Southampton's third goal in the 83rd minute.
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It was North End's first defeat of pre-season after wins over Bamber Bridge, Cork City, AFC Fylde and Chorley.
Alex Neil limited himself to only three substitutions as he looked to give the sharpness levels a push with the start of the season now only a fortnight away.
Southampton's movement and use of the ball was impressive at times, certainly a good test for North End's chasing legs even if the result wasn't the one they desired.
PNE started in a 4-2-3-1 formation - Bodin operating on the right-wing and Tom Barkhuizen on the left, with Alan Browne as the No.10 behind Sean Maguire.
Preston's Billy Bodin
Ben Pearson was in the holding midfield role with Daniel Johnson just ahead of him in the centre.
The early pressure came from the visitors, a lot of their play coming down the right through wing-back Cedric and frontman Michael Obafemi.
Ripley saved Bertrand's fourth minute shot with his legs, then Shane Long sent a header straight at the PNE goalkeeper.
North End's first chance came in the 10th minute as Jan Bednarek's header back to his keeper fell short of his target.
PNE winger Tom Barkhuizen goes past a Southampton defender
Barkhuizen stole in, managed to take it wide of the keeper but from a narrow angle could only bundle a shot wide of the near post.
Within a minute Southampton took the lead, one gifted to them by Ripley.
Jordan Storey played a back pass to the keeper who succeeded in kicking his clearance against the legs of Ings who was closing down, the ball looping over Ripley and into the net.
PNE levelled in impressive fashion within seven minutes, Tom Clarke's throw-in on the right finding Bodin to the side of the box.
Preston goalkeeper Connor Ripley punches clear
Bodin spun inside between two Southampton defenders, stepped across another in the box and then whipped a left-foot curling finish with some pace into the far corner.
At the other end, a Cedric cross found Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at the far post but he headed straight at Ripley.
Just past the half hour, Obafemi ran into the box to collect an Ings, his low shot saved by Ripley's outstretched right boot.
Southampton regained the lead a minute before half-time, Ings nodding in at the near post from Bertrand's left-wing cross.
The opening 20 minutes of the second half were non-eventful, the contest developing into something of a midfield battle with little in the final third.
A header from Browne looped into the gloves on keeper Angus Gunn, while at the other end a clearance from Clarke struck Stuart Armstrong and travelled goalwards - forcing Ripley to save.
North End counter-attacked well in the 69th minute with Sean Maguire and Daniel Johnson linking-up well to play in Barkhuizen who put his shot too close to Gunn who saved easily.
The Saints wrapped-up their victory with seven minutes remaining, substitute Nathan Redmond the creator with a tricky run which took him to the byline to the left of goal.
His cut back found Armstrong whose shot was blocked, the ball rolling to Vokins who took a touch before rolling the ball home from six yards.
PNE: Ripley, Clarke (Rafferty 78), Storey, Davies, Hughes, Pearson, Johnson, Bodin (Burke 78), Browne, Barkhuizen (Moult 72), Maguire. Subs (not used): Earl, Harrop, Gallagher, Ginnelly, Ledson, Stockley, Bauer, Huntington, Potts, Rudd.
Southampton: Gunn, Bednarek Klarer 72), Stephens, Hoedt, Cedric, Smallbone, Hojbjerg (Sims 61), Bertrand (Vokins 72), Obafemi (Redmond 61), Long (Reed 61), Ings (Armstrong 61). Subs (not used): O'Connor, Johnson, Lewis.
Referee: Peter Bankes (Merseyside) | {
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Automobiles are shown for sale at a car dealership in Carlsbad, California, U.S. on May 2, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
(Reuters) - New vehicle sales in the United States are expected to drop next year as higher interest rates and rising prices could prompt customers to hold off their car-buying plans, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) said on Thursday.
The dealer lobby estimated sales of 16.8 million units for 2019, saying this would be the first time since 2014 that U.S. new vehicle sales could fall below the 17-million mark.
“If incentives continue to go down and interest rates go up, it will put tremendous pressure on consumers with rising monthly payments,” NADA Chairman Wes Lutz said in a statement. “The level of interest rates moving forward will be a wild card.”
Auto sales in 2018 benefited from President Donald Trump’s overhaul of the U.S. tax code that put more money in the hands of the consumers.
“We’re not going to have that again in 2019,” NADA senior economist Patrick Manzi said. “That’s one of the main reasons we’re expecting new vehicle sales to fall off slightly.” | {
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О путешествиях во времени Даже если в будущем откроют какую-то иную теорию, я не думаю, что путешествия во времени когда-либо станут возможными. В противном случае нас бы сейчас захлестывал поток туристов из будущего. Из книги «Моя краткая история» 2013 года
О восстании машин С помощью генной инженерии мы сможем усложнить ДНК и усовершенствовать человечество. Но это будет медленный процесс: придется ждать около 18 лет, чтобы увидеть первый эффект от изменений в генетическом коде. Компьютеры, в свою очередь, удваивают свои скорости и память каждые 18 месяцев. Существует реальная опасность, что они разовьют интеллект и захватят власть. Из интервью The Telegraph 18 октября 2001 года
О межгалактическом этикете Если пришелец с другой планеты протянет вам левую руку — не пожимайте ее. Он может состоять из антиматерии. Вы оба исчезнете в чудовищной вспышке света. Из книги «Теория всего» 2014 года
О конце света Недавние пророки с большей готовностью рисковали головой, указывая точные даты конца света. Им даже удавалось сбить цены на фондовом рынке, хотя не могу взять в толк, почему конец света заставляет людей продавать свои акции. Полагаю, ни деньги, ни акции все равно с собой не возьмешь… Конечно, и научные прогнозы могут оказаться не надежнее, чем предсказания оракулов и пророков. Можно вспомнить прогнозы погоды. Но представляется, что в определенных ситуациях мы можем дать надежный прогноз… Вселенная действительно находится на лезвии бритвы. Из книги «Черные дыры и молодые вселенные» 1993 года
О колонизации космоса Мы рискуем уничтожить себя своей жадностью и глупостью. Мы не можем смотреть только внутрь себя, на маленькую, все более загрязненную и переполненную планету… Если нам удастся пережить следующие несколько сотен лет, мы должны будем расшириться в космос. Тогда изолированное бедствие не уничтожит весь человеческий род. Из интервью Ларри Кингу 10 сентября 2010 года
Об искусственном интеллекте Это джин из бутылки. Нам нужно двигаться вперед и развивать искусственный интеллект, но мы также должны помнить, что он действительно опасен. Я боюсь, что ИИ может вообще заменить людей. Если люди разрабатывают компьютерные вирусы, кто-то разработает и ИИ, который реплицирует сам себя. Это будет новая форма жизни, которая будет превосходить людей. Из интервью Wired 28 ноября 2017 года | {
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Jesse Eisinger has a great column today on the way in which the Fed is failing to embrace its crucially-important role as America's top bank regulator. " data-share-img="" data-share="twitter,facebook,linkedin,reddit,google,mail" data-share-count="false">
Jesse Eisinger has a great column today on the way in which the Fed is failing to embrace its crucially-important role as America’s top bank regulator. The Fed is “the most powerful banking regulator in the world,” he writes, but doesn’t act that way:
In the years before the financial crisis, the Fed was a miserable failure in that role, a creature of the banks, not a watchdog… Under the giant Dodd-Frank package, the Fed was given an expanded regulatory role. The new consumer financial products regulator is housed within the central bank. The Fed also now officially oversees investment banks, which it had to rescue during the crisis. Congress broadened the Fed’s remit to cover nonfinancial institutions deemed “systemically important.” Congress created a new role, the “vice chairman of supervision,” to raise the prominence and importance of its responsibility. (It remains unfilled.) Perhaps most important, the Federal Reserve is supposed to play a major role in taking over big banks that fail. Banking supervision has always been something of a backwater at the Fed. Within the institution, the sexy stuff is monetary policy. That’s where most of the resources and attention goes. The chairman and the board spend a disproportionate amount of their time on it, and monetary policy expertise largely dictates the selection of board members. Many question that mind-set.
It’s ridiculous that the job of vice chairman of supervision remains unfilled. Everybody knows the man who can, will, and should do the job: Dan Tarullo. He literally wrote the book on such things, and he’s already on the Fed board — so why the delay?
As Jesse quotes Mike Konczal as saying, “regulation needs accountability and transparency, and the Fed is just not set up to be accountable or transparent.” That needs to change — and the only way that the change is going to happen is if every board member is pushing for it to happen. Especially Ben Bernanke. He hasn’t started doing that yet, which is a bad sign. And even if and when Tarullo gets the bank-supervision job, he’s going to need to have a lot of institutional support in the rest of the organization if he’s going to be effective. So far, there’s precious little indication that he’s going to get it. | {
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Naming your children? why not zoidberg? | {
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OTTAWA -- Questions over whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or anyone in his office "directed" Canada's former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to abandon the prosecution of a case against SNC-Lavalin dominated question period on Thursday, following a denial from the prime minister.
The Globe and Mail has reported that the Prime Minister's Office tried to get Wilson-Raybould -- who was also the federal attorney general at the time -- to ask prosecutors to make a deal in the corruption and fraud case against the Quebec-based engineering and construction company.
According to the Globe, Wilson-Raybould was unwilling to play along and did not follow through despite the high-level pressure.
CTV News has not independently verified the story.
Trudeau has flatly denied the allegations.
"The allegations in the Globe story this morning are false. Neither the current nor the previous attorney general was ever directed by me or anyone in my office to take a decision in this matter," the prime minister said Thursday morning in Vaughan, Ont.
The bombshell report prompted intense backlash in the House of Commons on Thursday. The Conservatives framed Wilson-Raybould’s move to minister of veterans affairs as a demotion for not following the PMO’s orders, while the NDP said the Globe’s report proves that the Liberals offer special treatment to their wealthy friends.
Reacting to the prime minister’s comments and the report, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said the allegations in the story are "incredibly shocking," and said Trudeau’s "carefully crafted" answers so far, fall short.
"If he continues to fail to be transparent with Canadians, Conservatives will make every effort and explore every option to make sure Justin Trudeau and his office are held accountable," Scheer said.
"We knew the Trudeau Liberals were willing to do shady things to help their ultra-rich friends -- but this is something else. Mr. Trudeau needs to explain who authorized attempts to pressure the former attorney general to let SNC-Lavalin off the hook," tweeted NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.
The Tory leader, members of his caucus, and NDP MPs all pressed the government about the report during question period.
The charges the company is facing were the result of an RCMP probe into SNC-Lavalin allegedly paying millions in bribes to Libyan public officials.
The prime minister was not in Ottawa to respond to the allegations. Taking the questions in Trudeau’s absence was Canada's current Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Quebec MP David Lametti. He was appointed to cabinet in January in a shuffle that saw Wilson-Raybould moved into the Veterans' Affairs portfolio.
Repeatedly, Lametti called the report "false" and denied that he has at any time been "directed or pressured" by Trudeau or his office.
NDP MP Nathan Cullen called the government’s repeated response a "carefully crafted denial that isn't a denial at all."
Raitt: ‘Big trouble coming’ if allegations are true
Speaking on CTV’s Power Play, Conservative MP Lisa Raitt said that Trudeau should “come clean” on exactly what happened. She added that if the allegations are true, the fallout would be “deadly.”
“If they did it, they’ve got big trouble coming,” she said. “I think this is an absolute sign of political interference.”
Liberal MP Kim Rudd defended the government’s response and described Lametti’s words in the House of Commons as “very clear.”
“He said that there was no direction nor was there any pressure. So it has become a war of words, if you will, about picking and choosing and picking apart,” Rudd said.
Rudd also rejected characterizations that Wilson-Raybould was demoted. She called Veterans Affairs “a portfolio that is so important to our government.”
“You use the term ‘firing.’ I use the term, ‘being moved to a portfolio’ – because Scott Brison resigned, of course, that’s why there was a shuffle,” she said.
Rudd added that, based on Wilson-Raybould’s activity on Twitter and Facebook, she’s clearly “engaged” with her new job.
“If you look at her social media from the day she was appointed, she has taken that on with vim and vigor.”
NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice called the Globe’s report “credible journalistic work” and echoed Singh’s accusation of the Liberals appeasing their rich associates.
“I think it shows a real face of the Liberals and their millionaire friends,” Boulerice said.
Ontario’s former AG: ‘I would’ve called 911’
Ontario’s former attorney general Michael Bryant, who now serves as executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, said that the Globe’s report details “the kind of allegation that can lead to criminal investigations.”
“If it had happened when I was attorney general, I would’ve called 911,” Bryant told CTV’s Power Play.
With a federal election coming later this year, Bryant said the situation is particularly complicated. He called on the attorney general and solicitor general to reassure the public that there isn’t “one justice system for the folks on Parliament Hill and then one justice system for everybody else.”
“It’ll be their job to show complete transparency,” he said.
The Attorney General of Canada has the ability to become involved in cases such as the SNC-Lavalin case by instructing federal prosecutors to pursue a "remediation agreement" rather than a criminal prosecution. These agreements can include having the company accept responsibility, denounce the wrongdoing, vow to implement corrective measures, and pay financial penalties.
If Wilson-Raybould had intervened and asked federal prosecutors to cut a deal in the case, such a move would’ve become public. If the attorney general directs the Public Prosecution Service of Canada on a case, it gets published publically in the Canada Gazette.
The governing Liberals amended the Criminal Code as part of an omnibus budget implementation bill in 2018 to allow these kinds of agreements. Ahead of the legislative change, The Canadian Press reported that the government considered it a tool to hold companies accountable. In its reporting, it was noted that this law change could help SNC-Lavalin.
The Globe and Mail has reported—citing sources speaking on condition of anonymity— that Wilson-Raybould was leaned on to have federal prosecutors pursue the remediation agreement but she was unwilling. The report also noted a number of registered meetings in which SNC-Lavalin lobbied high-level members of Trudeau's office and parliamentarians on the topics of "justice" and "law enforcement."
In a lengthy post about leaving the justice department that Wilson-Raybould made the day of the shuffle, she stated "it is a pillar of our democracy that our system of justice be free from even the perception of political interference and uphold the highest levels of public confidence."
CTV News has asked Jody Wilson-Raybould for comment on the story and her office said she will not be commenting today. | {
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Missed the rest of the series? Check out “Part #1” “Part #2“, “Part #3” and “Part #4“
When I first started this series critique number 5 was “The Kin team hasn’t done anything since the ICO.” A lot has happened since then, including the launch of the Kinit app, and so we’ve heard less and less of this critique over time.
Instead, a new negative narrative has surfaced that we’re going to combat, one that I call “the two blockchain problem.”
It seems whenever Kin related news gets shared around cryptocurrency communities we consistently hear:
“Kin can’t decide which blockchain they’re on.“
“Kin keeps flip-flopping on blockchains.“
There are two subtle points that people are misinterpreting here, that we should clear up.
Critique #1 – “Kin Can’t Decide Which Blockchain They’re On!”
At first, when I heard users complaining about this decision, I thought it was in reference to the migration from the Ethereum blockchain to the Stellar blockchain, and then to their own Kin blockchain. However, after taking the time to have in-depth discussions with these users, I’ve realized instead they are (surprisingly) upset that Kin is a token that lives on two blockchains.
While cross-chain projects like ChainLink and Bitcoin-to-Ethereum Atomic Swaps have been celebrated, people seem to think that Kin’s chain-duality is a negative, rather than a positive.
The Case for Two Blockchains
Ethereum Scaling
When Kin first launched, they were focused on the Ethereum blockchain, as most new ICOs and blockchain projects from 2017/18 were.
At the time, Ethereum was yet to face some of the platform’s worst scaling challenges, such as the CryptoKitties craze, and the upper bounds of Ethereum’s transactions-per-second capacity had been mostly untested.
Shortly after Kin’s launch, the Ethereum network was hammered by the launch of CryptoKitties. Seeing how few transactions were needed to clog the Ethereum network, Kin realized that they could not possibly implement their project on Ethereum blockchain in the short term.
They even went as far as to calculate what would happen if Kin were to ‘airdrop’ a little bit of Kin to each Kik user, and realized that if they did this, they would take down the Ethereum network for days.
Rock and a Hard Place
At this point the Kin Foundation knew they had to explore other options, including their own blockchain.
The challenge became that moving to your own blockchain means:
Losing out on existing Ethereum infrastructure like web wallets, hardware wallets and decentralized exchanges.
Exchanges have less incentive to list your coin, as they now have to run a node of your blockchain rather than just add a smart contract token.
Increased overhead, as you now need to create your own software wallets and node tools.
Decreased security at the initial launch of the network, as you lose access to Ethereum’s global network of validators.
Decreased liquidity for investors, as they can no longer easily move tokens within the Ethereum network.
We’ve seen examples of these challenges faced by other popular projects. Consider RavenCoin, a mine-able community token that launched around the same time as Kin. They’ve faced a tremendous uphill battle with their token, and even though they have a large and highly involved community, they are only listed on a few small unknown markets, have a market cap of only $39M and get less than $600k/day in daily turn over. Beyond that, a significant portion of the developer’s time is spent upgrading and maintaining software wallets, which takes away resources from their main vision.
The Decision
The Kin Foundation, realizing that they didn’t want to put their users in that position, decided to do something new. They decided that they would continue to explore other blockchains while still keeping the Kin token available on the Ethereum network, so that users could take advantage of the existing ecosystem for liquidity.
While this introduced significant confusion, especially in messaging surrounding “KIN1” and “KIN2” (Read: “What the heck are KIN1 and KIN2?“)
Critique #1 – Conclusion & TL;DR
Kin isn’t split between blockchains, and they don’t have two tokens. The Kin Foundation is focused on building the Kin Blockchain, a highly-customized fork of the Stellar blockchain that supports 0-fee transactions and high-rate TPS.
Since Kin knew that moving to their own blockchain might result in reduced liquidity for token holders, they allowed Kin to remain active on the Ethereum blockchain for trading.
Kin is not building tools to support the Kin token being used on the Ethereum blockchain. Their tools are focused on the Kin blockchain, and users will be able to move their tokens over via Atomic Swaps.
Critique #2 – “Kin Keeps Flip-Flopping on Blockchains!”
In recent years, especially in political-spheres, changing your mind has been demonized with the word “flip-flopping.”
Before we get to the Kin Foundation specifically, let’s first clear this up.
“Flip-Flopping” is changing your answer to a question, or your position on an issue without substance (or without meaning), primarily to take advantage of a current benefit. (i.e. lying to a crowd for votes).
Changing your mind is what happens when you learn new information that disproves your previous position. It is not flip-flopping, it is not bad, it is actually the most healthy thing to do when presented with new information. (In startups this is often called a “pivot.”)
To that end, the Kin Foundation has never once “flip-flopped” on which blockchain they are going to use. Instead, they’ve learned new information as time went on and changed their minds.
Leaving Ethereum
As we mentioned earlier, Kin’s decision to leave Ethereum was based on challenges around scalability.
The inability for the Ethereum blockchain to scale to the level that Kin needed for integration into their own Kik app, let alone into multiple enterprise partner apps, meant that they simply couldn’t complete their vision on the Ethereum blockchain.
While Ethereum is rapidly moving towards scaling solutions, even optimistic estimates put these as being implemented sometime in 2020, which would delay Kin’s timeline far too long.
This initially lead to Kin exploring Stellar.
Aside: Ethereum Vs Kin
It’s worth noting, that many have argued that if Ethereum won’t have scaling before 2020 then there is no way Kin will be able to create their own blockchain that will have scale.
The important distinction here is that Ethereum is trying to create a scaling system on a live blockchain, while managing a number of existing features, none of which were designed for this scaling system.
Kin, on the other hand is trying to implement scaling by building a blockchain of their own, and only having the features they want/need within it. They are two very different products, with different challenges.
Leaving Stellar
After leaving the Ethereum blockchain, the Kin Foundation began to explore Stellar’s blockchain as an alternative, due to its focus on high scalability and low cost fees. Stellar achieves those goals by using a more efficient consensus model and removing the overhead of a “Turing Complete” smart contract language, like Ethereum has.
While Stellar proved to be advantageous from an underlying technology perspective, it introduced a unique set of challenges in terms of user experience.
To create a new wallet on Stellar, a user must first fund the wallet with at least 1 Lumen (Stellar – XLM), and whenever they send a transaction the user must burn 100 Stroops (0.0000001 of a Lumen).
This meant that in order to use Kin, users would first need to purchase and load their wallets with Stellar, and make sure they have a balance of Stellar in their wallet at all times in order to make transactions.
Since most users would be using Kin via third-party apps, they wouldn’t be aware of background processes like this, and certainly wouldn’t be familiar with how to use exchanges to purchase Stellar and load it into their wallet.
This would drastically increase either the financial load on developers (requiring them to spend around $0.50 for each new account activation) or increase the education friction on new users. Either of these options would ultimately lead to less adoption in the Kin ecosystem.
This finally led the Kin team to decide they needed to pursue their own blockchain.
The Kin Blockchain
Kin obviously wanted to avoid making their own blockchain to start, as building a blockchain from the ground up is a tremendous cost and comes with its own headaches.
But, given that no other blockchain technology was ready to perform at the scale they needed without sacrificing user experience, the Kin team pivoted and decided to build their own based on a fork of Stellar.
Building their own blockchain comes with a lot of advantages. It will allow them to create the exact infrastructure that they and their partners need without worrying about third-party developers and other complications.
It also means that Kin has the potential to expand beyond their initial ambitions and offer other features in the future including smart contract support (like we learned in their recent Engineering AMA).
Critique #2 – Conclusion & TL;DR
Kin didn’t flip-flop. They learned new information, and pivoted in response.
They had to do this twice. It wasn’t their initial plan to build their own blockchain, but, now they are doubling-down on that, and this brings a lot of benefits.
They aren’t going to be changing their blockchain again.
A Final Note
There has been a lot of fuss about Kin’s journey with multiple different blockchains, especially in the messaging around KIN1 and KIN2. The fact that the Kin Foundation is a blockchain company that is willing to change course when learning new information is a good thing.
Adaptation is key to success in startups. Far too many blockchain projects seem to worry that admitting you were wrong is a point of weakness, and so they cling blindly to their statements. In the end, that will be the downfall for a number of these companies.
If there is one thing Kik has proven they are good at, it is evolving to stay in the fight. For the last decade they’ve had to continually evolve to stay relevant, and that’s something that’s foreign to most blockchain startups.
I personally believe that Kin should go all in on their new blockchain, building it first as a platform for themselves, then supporting other projects that want to live within the ecosystem, because Kik is one of the few companies with the expertise to help deliver on a project at this scale.
Whatever lays ahead for the Kin blockchain, I think it’s clear that their decision to change blockchains was the right choice for them and that many of the critics who disliked that choice were kind of like baseball fans refusing to cheer for anyone other than the home team.
There is a lot that Kin hasn’t done right to date, but, the project has an incredible potential and has shown they have the ability to bring real partners into the fold and help make crypto adoption mainstream – and in the end, that’s why we had to examine “What Critics Fail to Understand about Kin.”
[thrive_leads id=’3175′] | {
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Just a month after his return from a stint aboard the International Space Station where he served as the first Canadian commander of that vessel, astronaut Chris Hadfield announced his resignation on his first trip back to his home country. “I’ve had such an interesting career and after 35 years it’s time to step down,” he said.
Hadfield said he is looking forward to moving back to Canada after years spent in Houston to be near NASA Johnson Space Center, a move that will fulfill a promise he made to his wife nearly 30 years ago. Hadfield also appears mindful that, with the limited options available to Canadian astronauts, his sticking around for another flight could stand in the way of the two astronaut candidates currently in training. As it is, Canada is not expected to have another slot on ISS until 2016.
Hafield achieved a remarkable level of renown and public engagement during his spaceflight, attracting more than a million Twitter followers and creating a widely popular series of videos about life in space, and two music videos while aboard the station.
Watch the full report:
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Greetings Adventurers!
This week we implement the new changes coming to the enhancement system. These new additions should make it easier to get the gear you need to take on bigger and badder enemies.
First we're adding Valks’ Cry, an item that will add to your current failstack up to +10. Additionally, we have added the option to extract Valks’ Cry and Cron Stones from Pearl Outfits. Valks’ Cry can also be obtained from events, drops, attendance, loyalty, and more. Alongside Valks’ we are adding Fairy's Blessing which will work the same as Valks’ Cry and can be obtained by trading in Leila's Petals to specific NPC’s.
The long awaited Caphras Stone enhancement system is also coming which once added to one of your items, will accumulate energy that will allow for an enhancement with a 100% chance of success.
To help usher in these changes, events will be starting which will help all of our adventurers understand these systems.
For more detailed information about these and other changes, continue on to the rest of the patch notes!
[Event]
A Late Summer Night’s Dream event has begun. Event Period: 8/30 00:00 UTC ~ 9/19 23:59 UTC During the event period, new Challenge under Challenge tab (Y) will be available to obtain Late Summer Night's Wish Box! Click <Here> to see how you can score big in the late summer nights!
Hands of Gold event has begun. Event Period: 8/29 After Maintenance ~ 9/26 09:00 UTC. During the event period, collect [Event] Golden Troupe Coin and exchange for precious items! [Event] Golden Troupe Coin will be exchangeable even after the event ends. Click <Here> to see how you can participate in this golden event!
Valks Attendance Rewards event is back! Event Period: 8/30 00:00 UTC ~ 10/03 23:59 UTC In this attendance event, check in every day for the chance to receive Advice of Valks and Valks’ Cry items along with more rewards! Click <Here> to see the daily rewards in detail!
Black Spirit’s Adventure is back! Event Period: 8/29 After Maintenance ~ 9/19 Before Maintenance Now Valks’ Cry will be obtainable as a reward (for completing 1 round of BSA1) along with some other changes in the rewards being given. This time, the dice can be thrown at max 5 times daily to participate in Black Spirit’s Adventure.
New Rulupee Travels has been added as a permanent addition! Rulupee has returned and is HERE TO STAY! Travel around Balenos, Serendia, and Calpheon now and check out the beautiful areas with Remastered graphics and audio! Rulupee is preparing a special reward for all adventurers who complete the entire chain of Rulupee Travels quests, but it looks like she needs more time. Let’s give her some more time! Click <Here> to see the reworked Rulupee event in detail!
[Ongoing Events]
Remastered Trailer Contest Submission Period: 8/22 ~ 9/16 Staff Pick: 9/17 ~ 9/21 Winners Announcement: 10/1
Remastered Screenshot Contest Submission Period: 8/22 ~ 8/29 (Final Submit Date) Staff Pick: 9/3-9/5 Winners Announcement: 9/5
Gold Rush!: 8/23 00:00 UTC ~ 9/12 23:59 UTC
Guild Attendance Rewards: 8/9 00:00 UTC ~ 12/26 23:59 UTC
Loyal Attendance Rewards: 8/2 00:00 UTC ~ 9/5 23:59 UTC
[Ended Events}
Squad Up! event
Conquer Savage Rift event
Double the Silver and Guild EXP bonus for completion of Guild Mission
[Content]
The following contents are now available: Valks’ Cry (Outfit Extraction) Valks’ Cry and Cron Stone are items that help you enhance your gear. They will be obtainable through various ways such as droppable loot, event rewards, attendance rewards, NPC shop, Loyalties shop under Pearl Shop, and through extracting from Outfits. Valks’ Cry increases your Valks enhancement chance by +1. At max, your Valks enhancement chance can be stacked up to +10 using Valks’ Cry. (Valks’ Cry is Family-bound). The amount of Valks Enhancement Chance your character has will appear in the Enhancement window. Cron Stone helps protect your Enhancement level from dropping when you fail at Enhancement. (Cron Stone is Family-bound).
Valks’ Cry Extracted Cron Stone Extracted Helmet 8 24 Armor 18 54 Gloves 7 21 Shoes 7 21 Main Weapon 12 36 Sub-weapon 7 21 Awakening Weapon 14 42 Total 73 219 ※ Valks’ Cry or Cron Stone extracted from different components of gear of one-piece outfits that fill up as armor parts in Equipment will be accumulated and extracted altogether. i.e.) ※ The number of Valks’ Cry or Cron Stone extracted from an one-piece outfit like [Ninja] Gavi Regan Armor (which occupies 3 slots: top, gloves, and shoes) will be the same as if you had extracted a [Ninja] Cokro Clothes (top), [Ninja] Cokro Gloves, and [Ninja] Cokro Shoes. (A total of 32 Valks’ Cry will be extracted from [Ninja] Gavi Regan Armor.)
Caphras Stone Once your item is combined with the Caphras Stone, it will begin to gain EXP and as your item increases in level it will gain a boost in stats. Once it has reached the maximum Caphras Level of 20 the ‘Upgrade Enhancement’ button will become activated and your gear can be enhanced to the next level i.e. III→IV, provided it is at Max Durability. Although, be warned, this will reduce Durability to 0 and reset the Caphras Level. Caphras Stone drop at a higher rate in Kamayslvian regions compared to Valencian regions. The areas where Ancient Spirit Dust and Caphras Stone can be obtained are the following. Bashim Base Desert Naga Temple Titium Valley Gahaz Bandit's Lair Cadry Ruins Taphtar Plain (Centaurus Herd) Basilisk Den Crescent Shrine Pila Ku Jail Roud Sulfur Mine Polly's Forest Fadus Habitat Navarn Steppe Tooth Fairy Forest (Forest Ronaros) Manshaum Forest Mirumok Ruins Gyfin Rhasia Temple Caphras Stone can also be obtained through Daily Quest rewards, and it can also be obtained at a chance from opening Narc Magic Sealing Stone Reward Bundle. You can obtain Ancient Spirit Dust and Caphras Stone from Mining, Underwater Gathering, Gathering (Collecting from tree sap or blood using Fluid Collector, Butchering, Lumbering), or from defeating monsters in areas of Balenos, Valencia and Kamasylvia. You can get Caphras Stone x10 by performing Simple Alchemy with Ancient Spirit Dust x50, Black Stone (Weapon/Armor) x10, and Black Stone Powder x1. However, you will get the same amount of Alchemy EXP as when you make the stones one by one. You can get Caphras Stone x1 for performing Simple Alchemy with Ancient Spirit Dust x5 and Black Stone (Weapon/Armor) x1. With the new enhancement system added, Ancient Spirit Dust and Caphras Stone have also been added. For the table to see the benefits of Caphras Stone and Upgrade Enhancement, please click <Here>.
Fairy’s Blessing Fairy’s Blessing is a special addition which works the same as a Valks’ Cry. Upon use of Fairy’s Blessing x1, Valks enhancement chance will go up +1. Ceilyn is located to the right of Herawen in Kamasylve Temple. However, this exchange will not be activated when the quests ‘Laila's Scattered Petals’ and ‘Mysterious Companion’ are under progress. Laila's Petal can be exchanged for Fairy’s Blessing from Fairy Queen Theiah or Ceilyn. (Laila’s Petal can be obtained by defeating monsters, Gathering, and Fishing.) Laila's Petal x10 → Fairy’s Blessing x1 For details on the newly-added content above, please click our guide on Enhancement <Here>.
New Residence has been added to the town of Muiquun. Muiquun 1 Muiquun 2
Makhan Murad, the new Marketplace Director NPC of Muiquun, has been added. Makhan Murad does not engage in deals with adventurers with good karma.
Lanterns have been removed from in-game. Lanterns will no longer be available via NPC Shops or other ways; please use Atanis Firefly that can be purchased from General Goods shops or Loyalties tab on Pearl Shop (F3) to light up the dark.
[System]
It has been changed that the war declared by a Guild of 10 or less members that is not accepted would be called off at midnight between Saturday to Sunday.
The field music that was being played once has now been changed to play repetitively with a pause interval of 3 minutes.
[Game World]
The length of busking music in squares of Velia and Heidel has been reduced to resolve the sound overlapping issue with background music.
[NPC]
Fixed the issue where the screen appeared abnormal while conversing with NPC Konko in Outer Valencia City.
Strange Villager and Strange Adventurer NPCs on top of the broken bridge of Serendia Watchtower have returned to their original locations.
Fixed the issue where Knowledge was not being obtained when conversing with Cleia the Marketplace Director NPC of Heidel for the first time.
Fixed the abnormal camera movement of NPC Holo the Node Manager of Holo Forest.
Fixed the issue where another NPC’s dialogue would come out when talking with Soldier NPC in Outer Valencia City.
[Knowledge]
Fixed the issue where the Knowledge icon of Melana appeared to be of another NPC’s Knowledge icon.
If your character is too distant from the ship when pressing the Ship icon to get to the key of your Ship, a new system message, “Please move closer to the ship.” will now be displayed. This applies only to Epheria Sailboat, Epheria Frigate, and Old Bartali Sailboat.
The required Power to perform the skill Quick-Retreat has been reduced by 50% for Epheria Sailboat, Epheria Frigate, and Galley.
It has been changed that the skills Fore Chop and Hind Kick cannot be used upon mounting your horse with the Matchlock equipped.
Fixed the issue where the list of buttons that appear upon selecting your Mount in Stable would go out of the square background UI when the Screen Resolution Setting was set low.
[All Classes]
Fixed the issue where the reflection of light on golden and metallic outfits was too strong in certain regions when graphics setting was placed at Remastered Mode or Ultra Mode.
Fixed the issue where CC skill effect would be applied intermittently while moving backwards with the Forward Guard maintained.
Fixed the issue where the system message to instruct you on quitting Black Spirit’s Training was not being displayed.
Fixed the issue where the cape and shield would appear overlapped when running with Durandal outfit on.
Fixed the graphical issue where the gloves appeared to be buried underneath the skin with the Cavaro outfit on.
Fixed the graphical glitch in the collarbone area with the Lazies Underwear on.
Fixed the graphical issue where part of skin in the rear part would appear outside the underwear when trying to change the character’s appearance through the Beauty window (F4).
Fixed the graphical awkwardness that occurred in a certain motion with the Zebra Underwear on.
Fixed the issue where the inside of the arms appeared to be hollow upon wearing Valoren outfit.
Fixed the issue where the hair part seemed empty upon customizing the Berserker’s hair to be shorted after wearing the Epheria Marine Helmet.
Description of skills that use Black Spirit’s Rage will now be displayed in a separate window.
Fixed the issue where the skills Surging Tide VI and Absolute: Surging Tide could not be performed after using Evasion while mounting Heilang.
The skill effect of the skill Absolute: Upward Claw has been revised.
The following skill’s descriptions have been fixed to be more accurate: Black Spirit: Heilang: Upward Claw Black Spirit: Heilang: Roaring Black Spirit: Allround Spinner Black Spirit: Legendary Beast Dance Black Spirit: Echo Pierce
Fixed the issue where the damage from the skills Upward Claw III and IV performed while consuming 100% of Black Spirit's Rage was not being applied correctly.
Fixed the graphical awkwardness on the waist area with the Cavaro outfit on.
Fixed the graphical issue where parts of red were being shown in the feather area of Cavaro outfit when dying the outfit white.
Description of skills that use Black Spirit’s Rage will now be displayed in a separate window.
The hit sound of the Lancia has now been amplified to sound clearer.
Fixed the graphical glitch of the tattoo on the arms while wearing Canape outfit when customizing from the old Wizard to the young Wizard.
Description of skills that use Black Spirit’s Rage will now be displayed in a separate window.
Fixed the issue where the cape and shield would appear overlapped when running with Durandal outfit on.
The missing text in the skill tooltip of Flow: Dash Slash has been added. Down Attack
Description of skills that use Black Spirit’s Rage will now be displayed in a separate window.
The skill effect range for the skill Sticky Snowflake has been reduced. (This is for the skill performed after Awakening of the Maehwa).
Fixed the description of the skill Chaos: Red Moon using Black Spirit’s Rage at 200% to be more accurate.
Fixed the issue where the cape and shield would appear overlapped when running with Durandal outfit on.
Fixed the graphical issue where the Jasmine Garter Belt Underwear would appear outside the outfit.
It has been changed that cooldown would not reset upon using the skill Unveiled Dagger after using Dusk.
Upon use of the skill Flash Step consecutively using Martial Spirit Shards, the skill will now be activated smoother.
Another following skill after using Crouching Wolf will now be activated faster in a combo in Gardbrace mode.
Fixed the unnatural starting motion of the skill Ultimate Crush IV.
Fixed the unnatural starting motion of the skill used during cooldown of Ultimate Crush II, Ultimate Crush III, and Ultimate Crush IV.
Fixed the issue where the Striker would go into Awakening mode after using a jump attack from a high place in Gauntlet mode.
Fixed the graphical awkwardness in the wrist part with the Blazing Inferno outfit equipped.
Fixed the issue where the cape and shield would appear overlapped when running with Durandal outfit on.
Fixed the graphical awkwardness in the arms when removing the cape with the Valoren outfit on in Crimson Glaives standby mode.
Fixed the graphical glitch of the armor penetrating through the Crimson Glaives when equipping Dandelion Crimson Glaives after putting on the Valoren outfit.
Fixed the graphical issue where the waists looked empty with the Karlstein outfit on.
Price of Marketplace-registrable Pearl Items have been increased.
Valks’ Cry will now be extractable from Outfits purchased from the Pearl Shop (F3).
Fixed the mistake in the item description of Gazelle Meat. Correct usage of Gazelle Meat is for Steak, Meat Stew, Meat Pasta, etc.
It has been edited that upon Cooking, Gazelle Meat can be replaced with Deer Meat, Lamb Meat, Fox Meat, Rhino Meat, Pork, or Beef.
New Processing method has been added so that by Drying Gazelle Meat, Rare Jerky will now be obtainable.
The item description of Archaeologist's Map has been edited. Before: ※ Click the button located on the upper right-hand side of the screen to go back to your original location. After: ※ Click the button located on the lower right-hand side of the screen to go back to your original location.
Pearls inside the Pearl Box shown in the preview of Pearl Shop will now appear shiny even with non-remastered mode of graphics.
Valks’ Cry has been newly added to the Loyalties tab under Pearl Shop (F3) and it will be available for 100 Loyalties with a purchase limit of 5 per Family per week. For details on newly added Pearl Shop Update and more, please click < Here > !
The following items will now be obtainable as droppable loot for defeating World Boss Vell. Ancient Spirit Dust, Caphras Stone
Upon death of the Fat Catfishman, the screen will now shake less.
A new system message, “You can summon after the previous summoned guild boss disappears.” will now appear upon duplicate-summoning Muskan of Madness and Ahib Griffon.
New monsters Kreator, Alten, and Kalten has been added to the Valencian Desert. Kreator roams around the Valencian Desert and summons the ancient weapons Alten and Kalten when engaged in combat. Kreators will be a rare find, and upon defeat, they will reappear with about 10~12 minute cooldown. Upon defeating Kreator, Alten, and Kalten, there will be a high chance of obtaining Knowledge.
[Quest]
Fixed the issue where the quest [Dark Knight] Desire for Power could not be progressed after throwing away the Basteer Kriegsmesser.
Fixed the issue where the completion NPC of the quest The Sacred Ritual of Home was written wrong. The correct completion NPC is Tiu.
The quest icon has been changed to a Piranha for the Fishing quest ‘Piranha.’
As the event that gave double the Silver and Guild EXP bonus for completion of Guild Mission has ended, the Guild Mission completion bonus has returned to normal.
The Lantern as the reward for the following quests has now been changed to Atanis Firefly which serves the same purpose. Secret in the Underground Storage Clear Justification Courage for Orwen Philance's Clue Curse Runs in the Bartali House Secret Duty Ever-joyful Garnier Nomad Troupe Husband's Well-Being Marni's Creation Before Andria Is Seen… Did You Say Rock Spider? Mom and Child Invisible Special Fish Worse Than an Ogre Decorations for Furniture Destroy the Cannon I Need Cedar Sap! The Manes' Symbol Safe Water Repair the House Alone Need Natural Feed A Useful Animal Awakened Artifacts
It has been changed that Monastery Boss Summon Scroll can now be used inside the Bloody Monastery.
A new button that allows you to hide or show the character’s cape has been added to Dye window(J) and Pearl Shop(F3) window.
The widget UI that displays time in Time Attack (during battle with World Boss Offin or Altar of Training) has been changed.
Fixed the color issue in the Change Skill button in Worker List window.
Fixed the issue where the list of buttons that appear upon selecting your Mount in Stable would go out of the square background UI when the Screen Resolution Setting was set low.
Fixed the text regarding stacked Taxes in Collection window of Lordship Menu.
If the rewards of Challenges that can be achieved in Challenge tab (Y) are the same, the Challenges will now be combined and displayed under one Challenge.
Fixed the issue where Ship Durability notification would not be displayed in the remastered UI of a Sail Boat. Shop Durability notification will now be displayed for Sail Boat and Battleship.
Fixed the issue where the HP bar gauge of a boss monster would not be clearly visible in dark places.
Additional change has been applied to the the following UI effects: Hunger Level UI effect Weight Limit Exceeded UI effect Mail UI effect Coupon UI effect Value Pack benefit UI effect
The size of the buttons in Party UI window has been increased in size to resolve the issue of the text going out of the box.
Fixed the issue where black shadows would appear on the left and right of the portrait you take on your character through Take Photo option in Beauty Album.
Lantern has been removed from Equipment window.
The design of the Custom HP Bar, PvP Button, Black Spirit’s Rage gauge, and EXP bar has been changed.
Background image of the Minimap has been removed.
Fixed the issue where Remastered UI would disappear after the tutorial on Skill Acquisition.
The checkbox of the Custom HP Bar in Edit UI window has been relocated.
Fixed the issue where remaining time in Guild Missions was not being refreshed intermittently.
Fixed the issue where Quick Hotkey could not be set with Find NPC button.
Mount Music will no longer be searchable in Settings window.
During cooldown after utilizing all Maids, notification will now be displayed on the Maid Icon on top-left corner of the screen.
Fixed the issue where the menu UI to choose your Transportation was being overlapped with item slots.
Fixed the issue where the amount of Silver ‘Held in Storage’ came out differently for Marketplace and Pre-Order window.
Fixed the issue where the Pet would not follow the character upon the use of Emergency Escape.
Fixed the issue where Trade Wagon in Altinova would not engage in Transport.
Fixed the issue where the list of servers in Server Selection window would be refreshed every 15 seconds.
Fixed the issue where monsters would appear from abnormal places intermittently during the waves of attack in Savage Rift.
<Known Issue>
We are aware of the issue where the Challenge ‘Play Everyday and Earn Loyalties!’ still includes Oil for Lantern under the Challenge tab (Y). The Oil for Lantern will be deleted next maintenance and the reward for the Challenge will be 100 Loyalties only
Red Battlefied daily quest, [Event] New Hero of the Arena, is unavailable for the event Hands of Gold. (Updated 8/30)
Reach us on the »forums« to share your feedback, opinions, and suggestions. | {
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The start of any solid belt is the leather, and Orion didn’t skimp with their vegetable tanned Latigo leather. Hand-worked for uniform, even color and pit-drum tanned for a strong, tight grain, the leather has a solid sheen without looking over-polished. As each sourced hide is different, the grain on each belt will vary. When the belt is bent or stretched, the leather will become lighter in color and display a unique worn-in effect. | {
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Ever since I came across the GoPro Fetch, a dog harness that you can mount a GoPro camera on, I’ve been unable to take a smile of my face. The GoPro dog mount is a product that unites my 2 favourite things on the planet – amazing tech and dogs. Before I continue you simply must take a look at this picture:
I instantly fell in love with this Labrador and his ugly pug side kick. I personally think GoPro should offer them a lifetime contract to be dog models for all future products.
The GoPro Fetch
The GoPro fetch is an adjustable padded harness that fits to your dog and allows you to mount any GoPro camera to either your dogs back or chest. The chest mount can be removed to accommodate a smaller dog and there is a good amount of adjustment available to maximise the POV. The harness is water friendly and machine washable, and as most of you who own a GoPro camera already know, they are designed to be durable in all conditions.
Watch the GoPro Fetch official product video: (featuring the Derek and Hansel of the Dog modelling world)
(Go to 1:10 secs to see a boxer dog face plant the ground)
The logistics of having a GoPro camera strapped to the back of your dog is most definitely dependant on his or her nature and the environment in which you choose to use it. Video taken from a dog calmly walking down a street will be relatively smooth and controlled. However you may feel mild nausea after watching footage of a hyperactive dog tearing around a field, rolling in the first muddy puddle he comes across before shaking himself dry.
If you already own a GoPro and are lucky enough to share your life with a furry gift from heaven, you should definitely considering grabbing the GoPro Fetch dog mount. However, I’d highly recommend you read the customer reviews first, as although the majority of people have highly rated the GoPro fetch, there are a fair number of people who were disappointed with certain aspects of the product.
If you enjoyed this post, please use the social button to share it with others………and be kind to dogs | {
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SEOUL, South Korea — The United States Navy intercepted a North Korean ship it suspected of carrying missile technology to Myanmar two weeks ago and, after a standoff at sea and several days of diplomatic pressure from Washington and Asia nations, forced the vessel to return home, according to several senior American officials.
Washington made no announcement about the operation, which paralleled a similar, far more public confrontation with North Korea two years ago. But in response to questions about what appears to be a growing trade in missiles and missile parts between North Korea and Myanmar — two of the world’s most isolated governments — American officials have described the episode as an example of how they can use a combination of naval power and diplomatic pressure to enforce United Nations sanctions imposed after the North’s last nuclear test, in 2009.
It was a rare victory: a similar shipment of suspected missile parts made it to Myanmar last year before American officials could act. Despite the Obama administration’s efforts to squeeze North Korea with both economic and trade sanctions, there are continuing reports of sophisticated missile technology exchanges, some of it by air, between North Korea and Iran, among other nations.
North Korea, aware that shipments leaving the country are under increased scrutiny, has found a profitable trading partner in the authoritarian government in Myanmar. | {
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Poliţiştii şi procurorii din Bacău bănuiesc un primar că ar fi fost capul unei reţele de hoţi de lemne. Anchetatorii fac percheziţii în localitatea Ghimeş-Făget şi vorbesc despre defrişări ilegale ce ar fi provocat o pagubă de un milion de lei.
Procurori de la Parchetul Genberal și polițiști ai Direcţiei de Investigare a Criminalităţii Economice şi ai Direcţiei de Ordine Publică din cadrul Inspectoratului General al Poliţiei Române, fac percheziţii la sediul unor instituţii publice firme și acasă la persoane bănuite deconstituire a unui grup infracţional organizat, spălarea banilor, fals în înscrisuri sub semnătură privată, tăiere fără drept de arbori şi sustragere fără drept de arbori, arată un comunicat al Ministerului Public.
În acest dosar, nouă persoane sunt bănuit că, „sub directa coordonare a unui primar de comună”, au constituit un sistem prin care au tăiat ilegal și vândut lemn în valoare de un milion de lei.
Cele nouă persoane vor fi duse la la parchet pentru audieri.
Cercetările sunt efectuate sub coordonarea procurorilor de către poliţişti din cadrul I.G.P.R. – Direcţia de Investigare a Criminalităţii Economice şi Direcţia de Ordine Publică, precum şi din cadrul Inspectoratelor de Poliţie ale Judeţelor Harghita, Neamţ şi Vrancea, cu sprijinul de specialitate al Jandarmeriei Române – Brigada Specială de Intervenţie, se mai arată în comunicat. | {
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Coloring is just for kids right? Not anymore!! Now adults are using coloring books to relax and unwind. I just sometimes get a coloring session around the office to help relieve the stress. Coloring offers many health benefits like exercising your fine motor skills and training your brain to focus. In fact doctors have known about these benefits since the early 1900s.
Psychiatrist Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology prescribed coloring to his patients to calm and center their minds. Doctors are still doing it today to combat anxiety because it’s a centering activity. The amygdala which is the part of the brain that is involved with our fear response actually gets a bit; a little bit of a rest and it ultimately has a really calming effect.
Over time, the trend is spreading nationwide as adult coloring books are popping up on bestseller lists and major publishers are producing the books in droves. It’s like yoga for your brain. You go in right, you’re tight, you’re tense, you start going through the motions and the poses and stretching out and then when you’re done, you’re like I feel excellent. It really lets you be a kid again and a worry-free lifestyle.
Stay tuned with Zeeable for more of such updates and news!!
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» Update! You can now request a demo.
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Through a project contributed by IceWarp on the principles of Free Software, LibreOffice Online will become the trusted free alternative to proprietary solutions
Springfield, Washington Metro Area and Cambridge, United Kingdom – March 25, 2015.
Collabora, a leading contributor to the popular LibreOffice productivity application, has partnered with IceWarp, the provider of global messaging and collaboration solutions, to jointly develop web-based document editing technology and contribute these to the thriving Free Software community around LibreOffice.
Highlights
IceWarp identified a growing demand for web-based and cloud-based document editing and collaboration, and selected LibreOffice as the leader in open standards productivity applications.
LibreOffice started the development of its rendering engine optimized for internet usage in 2011 and was on the lookout for a practical application, with the goal to provide the same quality of working with documents as on the desktop, but using just a web browser.
IceWarp with its enterprise solutions background and over 14 years of expertise will help LibreOffice to accelerate the development towards a real product which can be reused by the open source community in a wide range of deployment scenarios.
By creating a free alternative that any provider can implement without restrictions, the companies aim to restore fair competition to a market dominated by monopoly suppliers, to drive innovation, compatibility and interoperability through open formats, across all platforms and for everybody.
The lightweight document management features already built in the collaboration and messaging solution IceWarp Server allow users to store, manage and preview Office documents in the web browser, without having any office suite installed on their computers. To edit the documents, IceWarp provides a seamless connection between its web-based storage and productivity applications installed on user’s computer. The growing popularity of these features lead IceWarp developers to consider how best to do without an Office suite completely, and move it into the browser.
While there are several cloud-based solutions that can edit native Office formats with various degree of compatibility, none of them provides the same core values and format compatibility as LibreOffice, now being used by over 80 million active users around the world. Another challenge is that the online collaboration market is under a tight vendor lock-in, and all existing commercial API offerings are merely a window into a provider-owned cloud service. LibreOffice on the other hand, in its mission to eliminate digital divides and promote global electronic free speech, has already set to work on bringing the free Office suite into a web browser as early as 2011, but hasn’t materialized the technology into a product that everyone can use.
IceWarp and Collabora will work alongside over a thousand existing LibreOffice contributors to implement the whole online editing portion of the software, including the server-side provided by LibreOffice, and the client front-end based on HTML5 technology. The result will be a fully mature server solution, which any other provider, individual or project in the community can utilize for their applications and services. This will jump start document integration across services where it wasn’t possible before, bringing a whole new way of interactivity to how everyone works in the cloud.
Quotes
“It is wonderful to marry IceWarp’s vision and investment with our passion and
skills for LibreOffice development. It is always satisfying to work on
something that, as a company, we have a need for ourselves. I’m looking
forward to using this myself, as well as our work together as a team.”
— Michael Meeks, Vice President, Collabora Productivity Ltd
“Creating alternatives is in our DNA. In the same way customers were looking
for Exchange alternatives and made IceWarp what it is today, they will be
seeking Google Apps alternatives and we will be ready.”
— Adam Paclt, IceWarp CEO
“LibreOffice Online will extend the availability of LibreOffice to the cloud,
adding collaboration features which have been asked for by many users. In the
future, a LibreOffice user will be able to seamlessly switch from the desktop
to mobile and to the cloud without leaving his free software environment of
choice.” — Thorsten Behrens, Chairman of The Document Foundation
Resources | {
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Image caption Cane toads secrete a toxin that kills predators not adapted to eat them
Thousands of volunteers in Australia are taking part in a massive cull of cane toads.
The animals - regarded as poisonous pests - were introduced to Australia 75 years ago to get rid of beetles.
It is now thought their numbers have swelled to 200m, and there are signs they may have started spreading from Queensland down into New South Wales.
Our correspondent says most people in Australia regard the creatures as nothing other than a growing nuisance.
Queensland politician Shane Knuth told the BBC that the cull is justified.
"They're one of the most destructive creatures and the most disgusting creatures and one thing they're doing is they're killing our native wildlife and they're taking over our habitat," he said.
The toads were introduced into Queensland in the 1930s to kill beetles but the experiment failed, and their numbers have grown because there are almost no natural predators which can kill them off.
Some experts believe climate change may help account for their unstoppable migration south.
Scientific attempts to exterminate them have all but failed, leaving it to volunteers to try to dent their relentless takeover of the australian countryside, our correspondent says. | {
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Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on Monday claimed the upper hand in what he described as a “turning point” in the country’s civil war, reports the BBC.
Government forces loyal to Assad have been gradually reclaiming rebel-held towns near the border of Lebanon for the last few months. The president’s army has also managed to secure Syria’s main north-south highway, allowing them to cut off crucial supplies to the rebels. Assad claimed this showed his forces winning what he called the “war against terror.”
“This is a turning point in the crisis,” said Assad. The president is expected to announce soon that he will run for a third term in office.
Since the civil war between rebels and pro-government forces erupted in Syria over two years ago, more than 150,000 people have been killed and millions more have been driven out of their homes.
[BBC]
Contact us at [email protected]. | {
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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Steve Evans reports from Berlin
A controversial production of a Wagner opera at one of the major German opera houses has been cancelled because of harrowing scenes involving Nazis.
The Rheinoper, based in Dusseldorf, said some of the audience had to seek medical help following early performances of Tannhauser.
But the producer "refused" to tone down the staging, set in a concentration camp during the Holocaust.
The production has now been cancelled with only concert performances planned.
Analysis Wagner was a rabid anti-Semite and one of the biggest fans of his music was Hitler - so productions of his operas in Germany often cause a row. Last year, the Russian baritone, Evgeny Nikitin, was forced to withdraw from the title role in the Flying Dutchman when it was learnt that, as a youth in a heavy-metal band, he had had a very large swastika tattooed on his chest. The current production of Tristan and Isolde, at the Deutscheoper in Berlin, features naked 'junkies' walking across the stage. When the Welsh National Opera recently did Die Meistersinger in Cardiff (with Bryn Terfel) some German visitors congratulated the company on doing a traditional production celebrating German culture. It would not, they thought, be easy to do in their own country. The 200th anniversary of Wagner's birth is about to be celebrated and every German opera house seems to be planning new productions. Expect more rows.
"After considering all the arguments, we have come to the conclusion that we cannot justify such an extreme impact of our artistic work," said a statement from Deutsche Oper am Rhein.
"With paramount concern, we note that some scenes (especially the shooting scene) were depicted very realistically," the statement continued, causing "psychological and physical stress" to some audience members.
Despite "intensive conversation" with German theatre director and actor Burkhard C Kosminski about possible changes to the production, "he refused to do this for artistic reasons", according to the statement.
"Of course, we have to respect - and also for legal reasons - the artistic freedom of the director," the opera house said.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Music critic Norman Lebrecht on the drama that unfolded off-stage on opening night
Management at the Rheinoper said they were aware that the "concept and implementation" of the Kosminski's production would be "controversial".
The production, which opened last weekend, provoked "violent protests" on its opening night, according to local newspaper reports.
Head of Dusseldorf's Jewish community Michael Szentei-Heise told the Associated Press news agency: "Members of the audience booed and banged the doors when they left the opera house in protest".
He called the adaptation "tasteless and not legitimate".
The original Tannhauser, set in Germany in the Middle Ages, was first performed in Dresden in 1845.
It was based on a traditional ballad about the bard Tannhauser and features a singing contest at the Wartburg Castle. | {
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The increasing popularity of aurora photography in recent years has produced some stunning imagery from unlikely latitudes. However all is not as it seems. There are implications for the wider integrity of photography.
We’ve all seen those images over the past few years (popping up in our Facebook feeds or in the media) depicting spectacular displays of the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights from Great Britain, Ireland or the lower 48 in the US. Regardless of the location, they’re pretty amazing images. But beneath the wow-factor and thousands of ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ lurks a nasty little integrity issue. These aurora images may be photographic eye-candy, but many of them are pure high fructose corn syrup.
The extraordinary progress in digital photography has galvanised a revolution in night-time photography. Only ten or 15 years ago, really good photos of the Aurora Borealis or Milky Way were pretty scarce. A majority of photographers were still using expensive, low-ISO slide film, and the guesswork of long exposures, reciprocity failure and using the bulb setting were enough to scare many enthusiasts away. The development of digital sensors with high usable ISO made it much easier to experiment with this previously dark art (pardon the pun). Results are now much easier to achieve, and invariably of higher quality and impact. The ability to predict auroral displays and disseminate this information on the internet has also vastly increased the numbers of photographers ‘in-the-know’ about upcoming displays.
I’ve been fortunate enough to see the Northern Lights twice from Ireland. The first time I saw them in 2004 was in all likelihood a once-in-a-lifetime display, so powerful that at its peak the aurora was directly overhead, and not in the north at all. Auroras from that storm were visible as far south as the Mediterranean, and Ireland was at the heart of the activity, rather than at its southern fringe as normal. The display was intense, bright and constantly moving, with all the colour and vibrancy you would associate with a classic high-latitude event. After a couple of hours of shooting, I spent another hour just lying on my back and gazing into the sky, mesmerised by the natural lightshow going off overhead. Later I found that my images, shot on ISO400 slide film, had captured the scene pretty much as I remembered it.
The second time I saw an Irish aurora was in March of this year. The St. Patrick’s Day event produced vivid and memorable auroras at higher latitudes, but at lower latitudes like northern Britain and Ireland, the display was very faint, at least to the naked eye.
When I drove out from my home on the northwest coast of Ireland for a look, the NOAA Ovation computer model was telling me we were well inside the view line.
Yet I could see nothing. I drove out to the coast, well away from street lighting, killed the car lights, and peered into the inky blackness of the northern sky. After a minute or two I began to wonder if I could discern a faint discrepancy in the sky. Or was it just some cloud? I couldn’t tell for sure. So I set up my camera on a tripod, jacked up the ISO and made a 30 second exposure. And there they were, rendered unmistakeably on the camera LCD as a band of luminous green with upper pillars of delicate magenta. Yet the display was still barely visible to my eyes.
So what was going on? Was the camera sensor somehow embellishing what was there, or were my eyes at fault? The answer harks back to basic school biology lessons on the structure of the human eye. In simple terms, our sight relies on two different types of receptor cell. The first type, cones, respond to bright light conditions and are responsible for giving us colour information. The second type, rods, are used in low-light, but don’t transmit colour. At night we see a largely monochromatic world, unless there is a light source bright enough to kick off our cone cells. So the sensor was recording what was actually there, but the colour was just not visible to my eyes.
I continued shooting, enjoying a half-hour spell just after midnight when the auroras intensified. While still not the stuff of a Discovery Channel documentary, the lights had become much more obvious to the naked eye, containing recognisable structure and faintly discernible colour. Again though, the images on my LCD were much stronger and more colourful than what I was observing directly.
The following day the world of social media was awash with aurora images, including my own. The treatment of most images was not sympathetic. Invariably saturation had been added to the point that some images, taken in a geographically similar location, depicted auroras of lurid brilliance and intensity.
I had posted my own images as they came out of the camera, yet over the following days I felt more and more uncomfortable with them. I fielded many expressions of disappointment from Irish people who felt they had missed out on a rare and spectacular display. I had to tell most of them not to worry because the human experience had been pretty underwhelming.
Like most photographers, I routinely use adjustments in Photoshop (including increases in saturation) to render daylight images that replicate the visual and emotional impact of the original scene. This process always throws up issues of truth and integrity, especially in situations of strong and unusual lighting, where genuinely magical light may be interpreted as too much Photoshop. But this was an entirely unfamiliar situation. Here I was making no adjustments at all, yet feeling as though my image still lacked integrity.
The disparity between eye and camera was exacerbated by the faintness of the display. On delving into the subject a bit more, it turns out that aurora displays with colours visible to the eye are quite rare at lower latitudes. More intense aurora have sufficient brightness to kick our cones into operation and allow us to perceive a great deal more of their colour. Compare the image I shot in 2004 on ISO400 slide film, to those from March 2015, shot at ISO3200 on a Canon 5dmk2: that’s a three-stop difference in brightness. To further complicate matters, anecdotal evidence suggests that while some people may perceive a weak aurora as monochromatic, others viewing from the same location may still be able to discern colour.
So where does that leave us? There are plenty of photographic techniques that allow the camera to see the world in an way that our eyes cannot. Infrared is a good example. Infrared images could never be accused of lacking integrity because the viewer is in no doubt that what they are seeing is a rendition of reality that the eye cannot replicate. Similarly, many modern images of the Milky Way are so clearly removed from what we experience with our own eyes when we look up into the night sky, that they couldn’t be accused of trying to dupe the viewer. Such images can therefore be judged entirely on their own merit.
Perhaps integrity stems from the perspective of the viewer. If aurora images are shared between enthusiasts specialising in astro photography, who recognise the technicalities of what the camera records, there is hardly an issue. But if these images are used as documentary evidence in the media, to illustrate a particular event on a particular night, a problem arises. In this context, the vast majority of viewers will look at these images and infer that this is what they would have seen had they been standing beside the photographer. This may well be untrue, in which case the viewer has been deceived. I’d argue that the majority of images of lower-latitude auroral displays from the last few years would fall into this category, including those used by the most respected mainstream media outlets.
Does it matter? Well I think it does. Great photographs are not simply a rendition of what the camera is able to record. They need creative human input, but equally they must be rooted in the human experience. As a species we are blessed to have evolved the capacity for awe and wonder, which is why images of aurora, and more general photos of landscape and nature, are so popular. However the power of these images relies on the viewer’s sense of its integrity.
Like an undisclosed double exposure, or an unrealistic use of post-processing, misleading aurora images stand to benefit from a short-term popularity, because despite the cynicism of modern discourse, there is a still a balance of credulity in the general audience for photography. But eventually an understanding of this particular gulf between the eye and the camera, and the way it can be abused, will become more widely understood by the general public. The result? A further erosion of society’s trust in the integrity of photography.
Personally I’ve decided I would rather come clean about this kind of aurora photography. Especially at low latitudes, vivid auroral displays remain a rare occurrence, and we only diminish their wonder by pretending to our audience that every faint glow is a wondrous spectacle.
About Gareth
Gareth McCormack is an Irish photographer specialising in landscape, travel and adventure imagery. His images have been used by many of the world’s most prominent magazines and newspapers, including Time, National Geographic and the New York Times. He has also supplied images to many, including Tourism Ireland, Air New Zealand, Microsoft and Warner Bros.
Gareth’s style is characterised by bold and dynamic compositions, galvanised by the use of striking natural light. Visit Gareth’s website. | {
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Iran said on Saturday that it expects oil prices to plunge further below $30 per barrel, acknowledging that this could have serious impacts on its economy.
“Oil producing countries will suffer serious blows under the current conditions and with [further] plunges in prices of this product (oil),” said Iran’s First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri.
For a country that has devised its budget based on $100 for each barrel it expects to sell, it will be hard to change the calculations to $30 per barrel, Jahangiri added.
On Friday, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for January delivery dropped 22 cents to $34.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a fresh low since February 2009.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February fell 18 cents to $36.88 a barrel.
“It was not expected in Iran … for oil to fall below $60 per barrel,” he said. “Speculations show that oil will fall further to below $30 per barrel.”
Jahangiri added that Iran’s economy made a satisfactory progress over the past Iranian calendar year of 1393 (March 2014-2015). He added that more progress is expected to be achieved before the end of the current year (21 March 2016).
Iranian officials had previously announced that the country would devise the budget for the next calendar year (March 2016-2017) by considering the average price for each barrel of oil it would sell throughout the year at $42 to $50.
“In consultation with the Oil Ministry, three price options of $42, $45 and $50 were discussed which are expected to earn [about $22.5 billion],” Reuters has quoted Mohammad Baqer Nobakht as saying in September.
Oil revenues provide the lifeline of the Iranian economy and officials have already acknowledged that falling prices have severely undermined the country’s economic performance.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said earlier that certain major oil producers collaborated with world powers to put Iran and Russia under pressure by taking measures to bring down the prices of oil.
“During the days [that Iran was under the pressure of the sanctions], some big producers of oil that are dependent on world powers decided to reduce the price of oil from $110 per barrel to $40 per barrel to undermine Iran and recently even Russia,” Rouhani was quoted by the media as saying.
The president did not name any country but chances are that he was referring to Saudi Arabia which is largely blamed for the free-fall of oil prices over the past year.
During a crucial OPEC meeting last November, Saudi Arabia pushed the Organization to maintain its production despite calls by Iran and others to reduce output and help boost prices.
This led to further plunges in prices that had almost halved from highs of above $110 per barrel within only a few months. | {
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This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
SAN DIEGO — Three men were stabbed after an argument at a quinceañera in City Heights turned violent late Saturday, police said.
The 911 call came in around 11:45 p.m. at an event venue on the intersection of 42nd Street and El Cajon Boulevard, said San Diego police Sergeant Michael Tansey. At some point during the party, a group of uninvited guests, described as Hispanic men, crashed the party and began harassing female attendees, Sgt. Tansey said.
The party crashers were confronted by a group of male attendees and the verbal confrontation escalated, turning physical.
Three men, identified as an 18-year-old, 22-year-old, and 25-year-old were stabbed, the police sergeant said. In addition, a 16-year-old was hit in the mouth with an unknown weapon, said police.
All four victims were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The group of suspects left the party on foot. Someone at the party was trying to follow the group when one of the suspects fired shots at their vehicle, Tansey said. The driver has not been located.
“We found the car that was shot. Where the suspects fled and that had bullet holes in it and it was abandoned over on Marlborough Avenue And now we’re currently actively looking for suspects in the area,” said San Diego Police Lt. Mike Ramsay.
The stab victims were unable to provide a description of the group of suspects.
The incident is being investigated by gang detectives with the San Diego Police Department. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the listed Command handling the investigation or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
32.755231 -117.105042 | {
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The advocacy group spearheading the push for Indigenous recognition in the constitution is calling for the Prime Minister to urgently convene a promised meeting with Labor and Indigenous leaders on the future of the referendum.
Tony Abbott favours holding a referendum in 2017 on the 50th anniversary of the successful 1967 vote which removed a number of references that discriminated against Aboriginal people.
In March, Mr Abbott signalled his agreement to hold a meeting with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Indigenous representatives to discuss key issues related to constitutional change, but that meeting is yet to take place.
Politics in your inbox Subscribe to get ABC News delivered to your email, including top politics headlines, plus the day's top news and analysis and alerts on major breaking stories.
Advocacy group Recognise has released a poll that suggests 75 per cent of Australians would back a yes vote if the referendum was held now.
The poll was conducted by Polity Research in March and took responses from 2,700 voters.
To be successful the referendum would need an overall majority across the country and backing in the majority of states.
The poll, which has a 2 per cent margin of error, found that the majority of people in all states were in favour of the change.
A separate poll for Recognise of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voters found 87 per cent were in favour. That poll had a sample size of 750 respondents and a 4 per cent margin of error.
Poll should give leaders confidence: Recognise
Recognise joint campaign director Tanya Hosch said the poll should spur Mr Abbott to name a date for the promised bipartisan consultations.
"This confirms that when you ask them to make this decision in a democratic vote, our fellow Australians are prepared to say yes in the sort of overwhelming numbers that would absolutely carry this referendum," she said.
Ms Hosch said that traditionally, conservative voters were less inclined to support changes to the constitution.
But the poll found 67 per cent of Coalition voters would back the changes in this case.
Ms Hosch also said higher levels of support were found in regional and rural areas when compared with metropolitan areas.
A specific question has not been formulated for the referendum.
A joint parliamentary committee is considering the steps that can be taken towards a successful vote and is due to hand down its report by the middle of the year.
"The research findings should give confidence to leaders as they seek agreement on the model to be put to voters. It confirms the electorate is strongly prepared to back this change," Ms Hosch said.
A poll released by the Australian National University earlier this year found 82 per cent of respondents were either supportive or strongly supportive of constitutional change. | {
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FACEBOOK/ALAMY Transgender Erin Bisson was humiliated after being told to use disabled toilets on cruise
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Erin Bisson, a taxi driver formerly known as Robert before identifying herself as a woman, complained to the Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal that she had been discriminated by ferry firm Condor. She alleged the staff said she would have to use the disabled toilets, rather than the ‘ladies’. Condor later admitted to the hearing that there had been a "non-intentional and non-malicious act of discrimination" towards Ms Bisson.
The company subsequently agreed to remove the words ‘ladies’ and ‘gentlemen’ on all of its toilet doors, replacing them instead with the appropriate gender symbol. The move followed talks with Ms Bisson and the tribunal panel in a bid to come up with a satisfactory resolution to the complaint. Condor now has until 30 June to implement the changes. The company also says that all of its staff have also now been trained in how to treat transgender customers sensitively.
GETTY The ferry company have apologised for 'non-intentional and non-malicious act of discrimination'
Ms Bisson told how she had been "humiliated" after being told by a staff member over the phone that she would have to use the disabled toilets when she travelled with the company.
Condor said the only facility I should be using are the disabled facilities Erin Bisson
The 40-year-old taxi driver said: “I’m transgender. “Rather that just going to use the ladies toilets I phoned up Condor before I sailed to St Malo advising them as such. "They are the ones that own the toilets and decide who uses their facilities. I did not want to be humiliated. Condor said the only facility I should be using are the disabled facilities.” Ms Bisson said that she was "completely embarrassed" by the incident, claiming that she had phoned the company in advance as she did not want to be humiliated in public. Ms Bisson, who lives on the island, lodged a complaint with the tribunal on 26 November last year and ‘community mediation’ was entered into between herself and Condor in January, but this did not successfully resolve her complaints.
GETTY Condor announced that they would be taking measures to remove 'inadvertent discrimination'
Both she and Condor wanted to avoid a full hearing before the tribunal and the ferry operator later made suggestions to Ms Bisson regarding changes it was willing to make to its customer service. A panel, chaired by Nicola Santos-Costa, found that "Ms Bisson’s complaints of discrimination are well founded" and agreed that the recommendations drawn up by Condor would "remedy" her complaint. Following the successful resolution, Ms Bisson said: “Companies should be aware that they should welcome everyone. If they are providing services they should not discriminate on religion, gender, disability or anything. It’s about equality. | {
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To counter these trends, the Trump administration has engaged in economic double-talk, including repeatedly saying, falsely, that the federal deficit — and by extension, the national debt — was falling or would fall in the future. You can watch Trump officials do this again and again — even as the debt rises — in the video above.
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In March 2017, Vice President Pence said Trump did not want a budget that would increase the deficit. Two months later, the White House proposed a budget that the Congressional Budget Office said would increase the deficit.
AD
In June 2018, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the deficit was “coming down rapidly” (it wasn’t); he later clarified that future deficits would be lower. Since then, the federal deficit has grown to the fifth-highest level in U.S. history.
And 17 months after then-budget director Mick Mulvaney said that deficit spending was needed to grow the economy, acting budget director Russell Vought told reporters in March that deficit spending was not needed to grow the economy. Over that time, the United States added approximately $1.7 trillion to the debt.
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In March 2016, Trump himself promised to eliminate the entire national debt in eight years when it was at $19.2 trillion and made up approximately 76 percent of GDP. Today, it is over $22 trillion and on track to account for 79 percent of GDP in fiscal 2019. Trump’s own fiscal 2020 budget projects that by 2025, debt held by the public will be over 50 percent higher than the year he took office.
AD
The White House and Republicans defend the $1.5 trillion tax cut by saying the cuts will spur 3 percent annual economic growth that will increase tax revenue, even with lower tax rates. Neither have happened.
Average GDP growth over the past four quarters is 2.2 percent. And even when GDP growth picked up in 2018, federal revenue lagged, as happened with the tax cuts under presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
AD
One year after forecasting that deficits would remain below $1 trillion for the duration of Trump’s presidency, the White House now projects that its own budget proposal would cause deficits to exceed $1 trillion through 2022. And the CBO expects debt held by the public to reach its highest level since World War II by the end of the next decade.
And as Trump refers to his economy as the strongest in history, his top economic adviser says the economy needs more time to grow before deficits decrease from increased revenue.
“I just need another couple of years — and I said this at the time — to let the revenues fill in if we get the kind of growth that we are hoping for,” Kudlow said in June, nearly one year after predicting lower deficits from higher growth. | {
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After a controversial and unprecedented Internet rally began last week via Reddit to make Lunada Bay, an historically localized surf spot in Palos Verdes, a friendlier place to beachgoers, the initiative has proceeded peacefully according to reports. News outlets, visiting surfers, spectators and police have also arrived on the scene to enjoy the waves and ensure the safety of those in attendance.
“Everyone can blame me for this. I don’t even care,” Christopher Taloa, who claims to be the event organizer, told KTLA. “As far as I’m concerned, there are so many people just in this neighborhood alone who want to surf here, and they can’t because they’re scared.”
At 2 PM, there were about 50 people on the beach and less than 10 people in the water.
Stay tuned for a more in-depth report. | {
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Amnesty International has urged Israeli authorities to end the use of “excessive force” against protesters in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), accusing Israeli forces of “arbitrary” and “abusive” violence against unarmed civilians.
In a statement released yesterday, the international human rights group drew attention to Palestinian casualties over the last two weeks, with four killed and more than 3,000 injured by Israeli forces during demonstrations in the opt.
Amnesty described Israeli forces’ use of live ammunition against protesters as “particularly alarming”, citing the killing on 15 December of Ibrahim Abu Thurraya, who it says was “shot in the head” by an Israeli soldier from 15 metres away as he sat “with a group of young protesters”.
Referring to eyewitness accounts, Amnesty says Abu Thurraya was “waving a Palestinian flag and chanting slogans”, and “in possession of a slingshot, which he did not use”.
“Israeli authorities must stop using excessive force against protesters once and for all. The fact that live ammunition has been used during protests in Gaza and the West Bank is particularly shocking,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“Under international human rights law lethal force can only be used when lives are at imminent risk, which clearly was not the case in the examples we have documented,” he added.
According to Luther: “Israeli authorities have consistently refused to investigate killings of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers or police or at least not done so to international standards.”
He continued:
As long as Israeli officers are not held to account for abusing their powers, the pattern of unlawful killings will continue, and Palestinians will be denied their right to peaceful protest without fear of injury or death.
The senior Amnesty official urged Israel to “properly investigate all incidents in which arbitrary and otherwise abusive force appears to have been used and bring those suspected of being responsible to justice”, and “reform its investigation systems to ensure their impartiality and independence.” | {
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About a couple of weeks ago, I found an incredibly amazing Tarot deck which existence I was entirely oblivious to: Jonasa Jaus. When I discovered that the deck had been produced in my country, I couldn’t help but rushing to find the artist and interview her, hoping that you all enjoy her creation about as much as I do. This is the result!
Interviewing Jonasa Jaus, creatrix of Jonasa Jaus Tarot.
Jonasa Jaus is the name behind Angela Castrillón, creatrix of Jonasa Jaus Tarot. An astonishing deck based in the Marseilles system, with titles in Galician and printed in Spain. A revelation and a promise for the indie stage of Tarot creation in her country.
Q. – Jonasa Jaus is a blend of pretty uncommon characteristics that somehow are a perfect fit: The measures, far from standard, offer a charming and “witchy” style that I personally adore. The deck as a strong Marseilles base, but its reminiscences of botanic symbolism make the Minor Arcana very appealing to the eye and interesting on a deeper level, as well, the combination of four primal and elemental colours seems to be just the right choice. What inspired you to create this deck?
J.J. – Inspiration came in several phases, the first one being the process of an illness – from which I am now recovered – the beginning, the uncertainty and the concerns I faced. It was then when I wanted to express myself through drawing all of those feelings, and the first picture was “Death”. Then I thought it could make a Tarot card, and I decided to draw all of the Major Arcana, the vital ones. Later, a friend of mine lent me Jodorowsky’s book analyzing the Marseilles Tarot and I kept on drawing the rest of the cards, for what I read in those pages was the organic feelings of people. This is why I consider that inspiration came in different phases.
Q. – In general terms, indie Tarot deck production is not a particularly prolific area of work in Spain. Do you think that the success of Jonasa Jaus Tarot may have a repercussion in your own country? Be an inspiration to others for creating more content?
J.J. – No. Unfortunately, in Spain, the work of an artist or illustrator is not taken seriously, as a real job as it could be a doctor. It is not considered a successful career and those who barely make a living out of it are considered “artisans” in terms of career and there is no way of making it easier. If and when you want to become a freelancer, there is not even an “illustrator” section to subscribe to. This is what artists face in general terms, but it becomes harder for those who, through their art, favour occult or unknown ways of artistic expression, just as a Tarot deck, which in Spain is seen as a deceitful occupation, related to con-artists and scammers. In a nutshell, the whole Esoteric world is not a commonly accepted topic, although there are some who appreciate its art.
Q. – The second edition of Jonasa Jaus Tarot is sold out, barely a month after its launching. That’s definitely a success! What do you think has contributed to this?
J. J. – Regarding other countries out of Spain, perhaps there is some recognition, although I don’t know to what extent yet. I am not aware. I am not even aware that I am being interviewed yet! Hahaha.
Q. – Around when can we expect a third edition? Will there be significant changes in comparison with the second edition?
J. J. – I don’t know when the third edition will be available. As of now I have found printers already so it will take me less time than the others. I guess that I’ll start the process after I make my pending journey to Galicia in November.
Significant changes? Well, so far the third edition will be just as big as the first one, although this one will be a borderless edition. This time there will be more illustration and less numbers and titles, which I guess is good news for some people.
Q. – One of the things that calls strongly my attention is the choice of Galician as the language of the deck. It is particularly curious, taking into account that the deck has been mainly shipped to the US and Canada, where Galician is far from being a known language. What made you decide to choose it?
J. J. – Well, I’ve always been fond of my roots. Although I live in Barcelona I am from Galicia, I love my land, the language, the food, the culture, all of which I’ll always be proud of. I first created the Tarot deck for myself, with no prospects of selling it. Someone found me through social media and I guess that it appeared to be quite “exotic” for the rest of the world.
Q. – Tell us about the creation of the deck.
J. J. – The creation process what pretty hard. On the one side, I was making it on the side with my main job, so it took me a year to finish it. First, I read the above-mentioned book by Jodorowsky. Then, I started digging deeper into the meanings, one by one. And to make it harder (;’D) I related flowers and plants to the meaning of each one of the cards, so each time I was learning about a particular card, I looked for a flower or plant that could be related to the meaning. Some of them because of their healing properties, some of them for their looks, or based on what their name suggested to me.
For instance, “A Imperatriz” (The Empress) is a wild flower that can be found in pathways. It is pretty common and it goes unnoticed. It is known in English as “Queen Anne’s Lace”, which scientific name is “Daucus Carota”. It’s English translation, the lace of Queen Anne, seemed pretty sexy and appropriate for The Empress.
As for the drawing, I almost always had the composition in mind. I drew it in Hahnemüehle’s fine paper, ink friendly, and then I drew it again in black ink. The hole process of inking, before the impression is available in social media, both Instagram and Tumblr. Then I scanned and painted each card in Photoshop. For the colours, I chose a limited pallete. I knew that traditional Marseilles Tarot was painted in plain and basic colours: red, yellow, blue… In my case, I made three different colour palletes and uploaded them to Facebook so my friends could help me choose. The most voted pallete is the one you can see in the cards.
Q. – Why “Jonasa Jaus”?
J. J. – It is my stage name. It is a beautiful story from the times when I had just started dating my partner. His name is Josan (Jose Antonio) and when I travelled to Galicia to visit, a friend of mine always confused his name and called him Jonás. So we were Jonás and Jonasa.
Actually, since the theme of my deck is also related to plants, I thought of calling it “Plant Tarot”, but I discovered that there was already a deck with that name, so I chose my stage name instead.
Q. – Leaving Jonasa Jaus Tarot aside, ¿what is your relationship with Tarot in general terms?
J. J. – Now? Now it is what I am. I found a window to the whole esoteric world. Ars Magica, Dark Arts, Masonry, Hermetism… All unknown to me at the time. Now it is why I tried to learn every day. Before I made my first drawing I had no relationship with the esoteric world whatsoever. I thought of it as something too “weird” and complex.
Q. – Do you think that there is a tangible difference between the way in which Tarot is regarded in Spain in comparison with how it is seen in other parts of the world?
J. J. – Yes, it is just as I said. In Spain, it is for freaks, weirdos, charlatans, it is unknown. And actually it has been with us for quite a while, in fact, once I read that the Spanish deck is pretty similar to Marseilles Tarot. And it is true! The elderly, and not so elderly, when they are playing card games, “chinchón”, bridge, “el burro”… Endless games that we learnt from our grandparents, and they from their own… This is something within us, it is in our culture and now it is undervalued. It pertains to a different sphere.
I don’t know how it is seen outside of Spain, if there’s a culture of esotericism or not, but definitely it is more accepted.
Q. – And, from now on, what are your plans for Jonasa Jaus? Will there be more decks?
J. J. – From now on, I’ll carry on. I’ll continue doing what I like, creating more decks, keeping on with my studies in the Art, but with no financial intentions. I want to create a world related to esotericism and Tarot, further away than just a deck. Perhaps, I would create some scarf or reading cloth, extend this Art and make it fashionable (It was already done by Valentino) but making it more accesible, more approachable. I don’t know, wherever it may take me, now I just can’t stop! 🙂
And this is it! I am pretty convinced that this deck will make it to the most lusted after indie Tarot decks! What are your thoughts about it?
If you want to know more about Jonasa Jaus, you can do it here.
Follow Jonasa Jaus on Tumblr.
Follow Jonasa Jaus on Instagram.
*The second edition of the deck is currently SOLD OUT. | {
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Louise Slaughter's death left a large and unexpected hole in Monroe County's Democratic circles.
She had served in the House of Representatives since 1987, building countless relationships in Greater Rochester, in much of Upstate New York, and in Washington. She was a beloved representative and a Democratic icon who transcended pretty much every division in the county party.
Slaughter had had every intention of running for reelection this year, and her death led to a scramble as candidates lined up for her seat. Four Democrats are now locked in a primary battle for the party's line on the November general election ballot: former television journalist Rachel Barnhart, City Council Vice President Adam McFadden, State Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle, and Brighton Town Board member Robin Wilt.
Registered Democrats in the 25th Congressional District will be able to vote from noon to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 26. Only Democrats can vote, and registration deadlines for this election have already passed.
All of the candidates have framed themselves as the best person to carry on Slaughter's legacy as a listener, leader, advocate, and progressive champion. But none of them is Slaughter, who famously - and to the frustration of some Democrats - refused to groom a successor.
Slaughter herself never had a chance to say who she thought would do the best job on issues she devoted herself to: health care reform, reproductive rights, railroads and mass transit, federal funding and support for scientific and medical research, advanced manufacturing and the Department of Defense's Rochester-based AIM Photonics program, and ethics reform.
Morelle is essentially the frontrunner. He's spent more than 30 years in elected office, first in the County Legislature and then in the State Assembly, where he's served since 1991. He was also chair of the Monroe County Democratic Committee for nine years. He's banking on that experience, including his knowledge of working political levers and his fundraising abilities, to win votes. He's got much of the party machine behind him, including Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren and the area's major labor unions.
Barnhart is positioning herself as a viable alternative to Morelle, since she has name recognition from her years on local television and her two previous, unsuccessful runs for office. Her platform hits a lot of progressive points, but in particular she's emphasizing redistricting and campaign finance reform.
Wilt's campaign is rooted in almost 15 years of activism on single-payer health care, social justice issues, immigration reform, and public education. Her work on those issues has earned her allies and the endorsement ROCitizen and New York Progressive Action Network, both of which grew from groups supporting Bernie Sanders' presidential bid.
And McFadden is running on his experience as a City Council member and as executive director of Quad A for Kids, an organization that runs after-school programs. He's also emphasizing community work, his reputation as a voice for populations who are "constantly being ignored or used," as he phrases it, and his work at the national level with the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials.
This will be a tough race for Democrats, who expected to have Slaughter on the ballot. Now, Democrats in the 25th Congressional District will have a chance to put someone new in the office. And voters will have several things to consider as they head to the polls.
Obviously, Democrats want to keep the seat, and while some high-profile national analysts say the 25th District is a safe Democratic seat, that's not the reality.
Gates Supervisor Mark Assini, a Republican, came incredibly close to unseating Slaughter in 2014. And this year, Republicans are running Jim Maxwell, an East Rochester neurosurgeon who is putting a lot of his own money into his campaign. That money, combined with Maxwell's political outsider status and personable nature, could make him a strong candidate.
To hold the seat, Democrats will have to weigh each candidate's general election appeal. And at the same time, they'll be making a statement about what the local party is. Primary voters have to think about which candidate's values match theirs, what they want to see in a representative, and how each candidate's experience and approach will translate in a sharply partisan and divided House. Republicans control the chamber now, and Democrats may not regain the majority in this election.
On some of the major issues, the four candidates have similar positions - not surprising, since they're all from the same party. They all support women's reproductive rights and immigration system reform, including a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
All four have raised gun law reforms as a key issue and generally, they stake out similar positions: they want a federal assault weapons ban, magazine capacity limits, expanded background and mental health checks, an increase in the legal purchasing age for guns, and longer waiting periods.
But on some other major issues, the candidates have differing positions or take different approaches. The following are sketches of the candidates, an opportunity to get a feel for who they are and their thoughts on some key issues. City's endorsement in the race will be published next week.
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Rachel Barnhart
Rachel Barnhart sees herself as the anti-establishment candidate for the 25th District seat.
She didn't want to see Joe Morelle get the party line by coronation, and she figured she was in a good position to run a grassroots challenge. She'd already built up name recognition through her years as a Rochester broadcast journalist, and through two previous campaigns, which she saw as a major advantage in what's grown to be a four-way race.
From start to finish, the whole campaign will be eight or nine weeks long, which doesn't offer candidates without a public profile adequate time to build one, she says. People probably know her best and Morelle second best, she says.
In this race, Barnhart's hitting on a lot of the same topics she did in her campaigns for Assembly and Rochester mayor: money in politics, government ethics, greater investment in mass transit, and advocating for constituents.
"I felt that it was very important that this district have a strong advocate, a grassroots candidate," Barnhart says, "someone who is a true reformer, which I've been very consistent about for the past couple of years. And someone who wants to take the Democratic Party in a different direction."
She's making campaign finance reform and independent redistricting central to her campaign; she argues that until money's influence in politics is lessened, things such as meaningful health care reform and essential changes to gun laws won't happen. Those discussions should be driven instead by evidence and data, she says.
She wants what she calls "clean public campaign financing," where there's a publicly funded matching program for candidates who take only small donations from individuals. In an ideal system, she says, all candidates would receive a set level of funding if they could raise a certain amount from small donors. And that needs to be coupled with strict limits on outside spending, she says. Otherwise, candidates will still be pummeled by moneyed interests.
Barnhart has vowed not to take corporate political action committee money, and she has heavily criticized Morelle for accepting it, at least in the past. She pushes back against his argument that while he supports campaign finance reform, he has to work within the existing system in order to be competitive. It's one thing to vote in favor of Assembly bills that aren't going to pass in the Senate, but another to actually lead by example, she says.
She's says not worried about competing with a well-financed opponent if she wins. Groups in and outside of the district want to keep this seat in Democratic hands, she says, and they'll provide resources to whomever wins the primary.
(Morelle's response to that argument: "That's a great attitude, except where is it pouring in from? The same people that I'm taking money from? Or do you want to run against somebody who's got $600,000 in the bank already with your $20,000 or $30,000?")
Barnhart, like the rest of the field, wants Congress to create a single-payer, Medicare for All health care system.
"There are different ways that could look," she says. "I think single-payer is the best option, but I'm open to suggestions to have insurers in the market, like we do now, administering the program."
She realizes that may not be an easy sell with large parts of the public, especially given past hostility toward health care reform. But she sees communication as essential, and says she would discuss the issue with any person or group, hostile or not. Part of the reason health care reform, like gun control, has become so controversial is that many representatives don't consistently communicate with their constituents, Barnhart says. And some place the interests of political parties or donors above the people they represent, she says.
Barnhart wants to see the federal Department of Education move away from the testing and school-closing regimen established under No Child Left Behind.
And on the federal government's approach to cannabis, her position is straightforward: she supports full legalization. But she also says that more research is needed into marijuana's negative and positive effects on people, including its potential for medical use.
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Adam McFadden
Adam McFadden says he hadn't thought about running for Slaughter's seat until he walked into the offices of WDKX radio, where he's an on-air regular. DKX had just done a listeners' poll on who should run for the seat, and about three-quarters of the people who responded named him, he says.
So he talked with the other declared and potential candidates, he says, and after those discussions, he decided to run.
"This isn't about throwing mud on anybody or tarnishing anyone's record or lack thereof," McFadden says. "I think we just need to have a robust conversation about issues other than who can raise the most money for the race."
McFadden is clear that he's not happy with how the Monroe County Democratic Committee has all but formally put its weight behind Assembly member Joe Morelle. The committee isn't designating a candidate in the race, but its executive committee did pass a resolution asking Morelle to run, before he declared. McFadden is on the executive committee, and he says he got a last-minute notice about that meeting.
"There should have been a real process, and not that," McFadden says.
McFadden says he's running for Congress because he believes he's got something to offer voters. He began serving on Council in 2004 and over the years, he initiated talks with former police Chief David Moore about body cameras; developed and ushered through legislation prohibiting employers from asking on job applications whether a person has ever been convicted of a crime, as well as legislation banning discrimination based on a tenant's source of income; and has been involved in city efforts around lead paint abatement in housing.
He also points to his work related to education. He's executive director of Quad A for Kids, an organization that runs after-school programs for city students in the arts, athletics, and academics. He talks a lot about the programs that emphasize science, technology, engineering, and math. Its STEM Soapbox Derby program is heavy on science, especially physics, he says.
McFadden also hosts an annual HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) fair. Last year over 1,300 students attended, more than 300 were accepted into a college on the spot, and over $1.3 million in tuition aid was awarded on the spot, he says.
But McFadden is perhaps best known for being outspoken. His critics portray him as temperamental, but he says that on Council he's been able to get things done by working directly with individuals, which is something he'd carry on to Congress. And he notes that members of City Council elected him vice president.
"I'm going to Congress," he says, "because I want this community to know that I've heard every voice, I respect every voice, and I'm trying to deliver for those voices."
He wants to see the federal government invest more in STEM education, not just for school-age youth but for adult training programs as well. That's especially important in Rochester, which has growing high-tech industries.
On the issue of health care, he wants a single-payer system, which would provide better access to care at lower cost, he says. The systems in Japan and Netherlands could serve as a model, he says.
He suggests diverting money from the military budget to help pay for the coverage, but says that even a system that eliminates premiums in favor of a small tax would help families.
He also says the federal government needs to take a serious look at how to improve people's access to healthy foods, and the nature of the food itself. He's particularly concerned about what's being put into food.
The federal government's approach to cannabis is "behind the times," he says. "And I say that because if you look at the history of drug policy and legislation in this country, it's always been punitive and mired in racism."
The federal government should legalize cannabis, he says. It has potential for medical use and it would be a source of tax revenue, he says.
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Joe Morelle
Joe Morelle is a known quantity in Monroe County and New York State politics. He served in the County Legislature, headed the Monroe County Democratic Committee for several years, at one point led fundraising for the campaign arm of the state Assembly's Democratic conference, and since 2013 has been the Assembly majority leader. As the Assembly's second-in-charge, he runs floor debates and sits on its Rules Committee.
All of that means Morelle has a record and reputation he can run on. So when he was faced with the unexpected possibility of running for the 25th District seat, and decided to do it, he invoked that experience. Morelle says he felt his knowledge of policy and politics, and his connections to former legislators who are now in Congress, could make him an effective representative in Washington.
"If ever you're in government, you think about what's the right place for you in terms of what contributions you can make," Morelle says. "And I was pretty confident that I was making and had made a contribution at the state level."
But what he saw coming out of the White House and Congress left him feeling increasingly frustrated and angry, he says. For example, he contrasts Congress's failure to reform gun laws, even following a years-long string of deadly mass shootings, with New York's passage of the SAFE Act in 2013. One of Morelle's first duties as majority leader was ushering that law through the Assembly.
Health care reform has emerged as a major issue in the race as well, not surprising to anyone watching recent Congressional elections in other states. Morelle has been clear that he supports universal health care, and during an interview he explained that he favors an approach called Medicare Extra for All, which was developed by the liberal Center for American Progress.
Under that concept, the federal government would basically create Medicare plans with comprehensive coverage that are open to everyone, not just people over 65 and younger people with specific disabilities. It would have sliding-scale premiums based on income. Low-income families wouldn't pay premiums, no family would pay more than 10 percent of its income, and employers could cover the cost of the insurance if they chose to, according to the Center for American Progress website.
Regarding climate change, Morelle wants the United States to rejoin the global Paris Accord. The country also needs aggressive carbon-emission standards for various areas, such as power generation and transportation, he says. The federal government needs to advance the development of renewable energy and encourage it through incentives, he says.
Morelle takes a different position on cannabis legalization than the other candidates in the race, who back full legalization unequivocally. There are clearly issues of structural racism in drug arrests, Morelle says, and marijuana should, at the least, be taken off the federal controlled substances list. The federal government should also allow medical cannabis as a treatment, he says.
Morelle doesn't object to full legalization, provided he can get satisfactory answers on two subjects: the ability to detect driver impairment caused by cannabis and the science around whether cannabis is addictive.
And where Morelle has framed his fundraising abilities as an asset, his opponents have criticized him over donations from various corporate, industry, and lobby group political action committees.
Morelle does support campaign finance reform but, he argues, he has to compete within the system that already exists. That's a common argument offered by established politicians who've built up large campaign funds. Morelle also acknowledges that he takes donations from people with whom he doesn't necessarily agree - also common among high-profile politicians - and he says that a contribution isn't the same as a quid pro quo arrangement. Donors view their contribution as a chance to support a qualified candidate who is willing to listen and engage in dialogue, he says.
Morelle says he's raising money not just with the primary in mind, but also with the general election in mind. In November, he would face an opponent who just cut a massive check to his own campaign, and he needs to be realistic, he says.
"I will not be outspent, I will not be outworked, and I will not cede this seat to the Republicans," Morelle says. "I'm not going to do it."
Morelle came under fire in 2015 for initially standing behind former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver after he was arrested on corruption-related charges; Silver appointed Morelle as majority leader in 2013. At first, the Assembly Democratic conference as a whole supported Silver remaining speaker, though eventually members pressured him into giving up the post.
Barnhart has also criticized Morelle for remarks he made dismissing a then-Assembly staff member's rape allegations against Michael Boxley, a top Silver aide. That happened in 2001, and a year later Boxley was later charged with raping a different Assembly staffer; he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of sexual misconduct. Morelle apologized for the comment and said he was speaking without knowing all of the facts.
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Robin Wilt
Robin Wilt's entry into activism - and eventually politics - started in 2004, when her brother was serving with the military in Iraq and was seriously injured.
She saw the care he received from the Veterans Administration system and how much it helped him. And she saw how her brother and the entire family didn't have to worry about how to pay for his care, since it was fully covered.
After that experience, it was only a matter of time before Wilt embraced the single-payer health care cause and linked up with Progressive Democrats of America, an organization that advocated for other things she cared deeply about, such as a living minimum wage and various economic, social, and environmental-justice issues.
She went on to co-found the Progressive Democrats of the Genesee Valley and to run unsuccessfully against Republican State Senator Joe Robach. Last year, she won a seat on the Brighton Town Board, on which she currently serves.
Wilt says grassroots, progressive activism is at the root of her interest in the 25th Congressional District seat.
"I spent all of my adult life on the frontlines," Wilt says, "advocating for these policies that I would eventually like to see implemented on the federal level, like Medicare for all, like a living wage, like humane immigration reform, like quality education for all, K-16 education for all," Wilt says. "I think that New York's 25th Congressional District deserves representation that is going to advocate for people in this community, not the political establishment and not corporate interests."
During her brief time on the Brighton Town Board, she pushed for the town government to adopt gender-neutral language, which it did. She also worked with cycling advocates, environmental groups, and Town of Pittsford officials to try to convince the State Department of Transportation to include dedicated bike lanes as part of plans to resurface East Avenue and implement a "road diet." The state committed to wide shoulders but wouldn't commit to a formal lane.
She sees that kind of coalition building as essential for representing the district, and she says she admired Louise Slaughter's ability to do that.
Wilt is a proponent of Medicare for All, which would be a national health insurance program open to everyone - not just people over 65 or younger people with specific disabilities - and would be funded through a small payroll tax, she says. The system's cost to taxpayers would be lower than what they currently pay for health insurance premiums, she says.
To ensure comprehensive coverage, basic Medicare plans will need to be expanded and improved so that people receive benefits "more akin to the health care that our Congressional representatives receive," Wilt says.
Wilt says campaign finance reform is essential and that the influence of money in politics is why things such as meaningful health care reform and gun law reforms haven't happened.
On climate change, Wilt says if she's elected to Congress she'll immediately try to join the bi-partisan Climate Solutions Caucus, a group organized by the Citizens Climate Lobby. The caucus explores legislation to address climate change, including proposals to put a price on carbon emissions.
Slaughter resisted joining the caucus because it's been working on a carbon fee and dividend proposal, in which fossil fuels would be taxed and the proceeds distributed as equal dividends to citizens. Slaughter favored a cap and trade program, where any revenue generated through taxes or the purchase of carbon allowances would go to the federal government for reinvestment.
The fee and dividend approach is flawed, Wilt says, because certain communities - low-income neighborhoods and coastal communities, for example - have been harder hit by climate change than others. She'd rather see the money invested in areas such as mass transit or renewable energy development, which will have both targeted and broader benefits, she says.
"It's all we've got," Wilt says. "It's the only bipartisan legislation that is before the chambers right now, and we need to make sure that we're actually working on the problem and not stymied by politics."
Wilt also supports full legalization of cannabis, which she sees as a criminal justice issue. Classifying cannabis as a controlled substance is ill-conceived, she says, and enforcement of anti-cannabis drug laws has a disproportionate impact on communities of color. | {
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La livraison de la première phase du nouveau CHUM, prévue en avril dernier, a été reportée à la fin de mars 2017.
Les problèmes au chantier du nouveau CHUM pèsent sur ses constructeurs. La firme Obrascon Huarte Lain (OHL) en sait quelque chose. Elle vient de retrancher 150 millions de dollars de ses livres.
FORTE DÉPRÉCIATION
La firme espagnole encaisse une perte de « 105 millions d'euros liée au Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal », peut-on lire dans son dernier rapport trimestriel, au 30 septembre. « C'est la conséquence d'une hausse du rythme pour achever le travail dans les temps, et d'autres coûts », est-il précisé. Au total, sur des ventes de plus de 3,1 milliards d'euros, OHL n'affiche que 3,9 millions de profit après neuf mois. En plus de la provision pour le CHUM, la firme a été touchée par la dévaluation des monnaies. S'ajoute une sanction de 34 millions d'euros pour une filiale en faillite, incapable de compléter une ligne ferroviaire à Madrid.
MAUVAISE POSTURE
« Cette dépréciation confirme que ça ne va pas bien au nouveau CHUM, dit Pierre J. Hamel. C'est une décision comptable. » La firme constate que sa participation dans le consortium vaut moins cher que prévu. « Donc, elle baisse la valeur de sa part dans cet actif », dit le professeur-chercheur à l'INRS. Et en diminuant ses profits, elle baisse ses impôts. « Mais quand tout roule, on n'a pas besoin de faire ça, rappelle-t-il. Le consortium est manifestement en mauvaise posture. » Sans compter que son partenaire, le constructeur britannique Laing O'Rourke, vit la même situation.
PAIEMENTS À VENIR
« Le consortium va avoir besoin de liquidités », dit Jean-Pierre Aubry, fellow associé au CIRANO. Selon lui, le gouvernement du Québec pourrait subir des pressions pour payer des montants plus vite. D'ailleurs, le récent rapport de l'agence de crédit DBRS, qui abaisse la cote des obligations du consortium à BBB, évoque cette possibilité. Le gouvernement pourrait commencer à payer une partie du loyer mensuel de 11 millions en fonction de la livraison de certaines parties du projet, indique-t-on. « Avec ces problèmes de retard et d'argent, une question se pose : quelle est la probabilité que ce soit bien construit ? », se demande M. Aubry.
PROBLÈMES DE CONSTRUCTION ?
C'est ce qui inquiète Jean-Pierre Daubois, conseiller syndical à la Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS-CSN). « Le plus grand danger pour nos finances publiques, c'est de recevoir un hôpital truffé de malfaçons, dit-il. Une fois que le CHUM aura accepté l'édifice, il vivra le même enfer que le Centre universitaire de santé McGill, qui a recensé des milliers de problèmes. » Et qui est entraîné dans des poursuites de 300 millions, rappelle-t-il. « Les PPP, c'est la garantie que les firmes privées prendront tous les moyens, pendant les 38 ans où Québec sera leur locataire, pour reprendre l'argent perdu. »
CONTRAT SECRET
La livraison de la première phase de l'hôpital, prévue en avril dernier, a été reportée à la fin de mars 2017. Voire en juin. Mais rien n'est officiel. « Nous négocions la date avec le CHUM », dit Mar Santos Fabian, porte-parole d'OHL à Madrid. D'ici là, depuis avril, Québec ne paie pas pour les mois de retard. Cela se traduit par une perte de 11 millions par mois pour le consortium. Mais, une fois l'hôpital construit, le contrat prévoit un service d'entretien par les firmes privées. « Ce contrat est secret, dit Jean-Pierre Daubois. Combien ça va nous coûter ? Québec doit absolument rendre ce contrat public. »
ACTIF RENTABLE
Les temps sont difficiles, reconnaît Pierre J. Hamel, de l'INRS. « OHL doit se serrer la ceinture et tenir jusqu'à ce que l'immeuble soit accepté, dit-il. Si elle le fait, c'est un actif qui vaudra cher. » Selon lui, OHL vendra aussitôt sa participation. « Le CHUM deviendra une machine à imprimer de l'argent, car il offrira des revenus locatifs intéressants pour des décennies, dit-il. Les fonds de placement auront de l'intérêt. » Mais d'ici là, les constructeurs ont d'autres défis à relever. « La démolition de l'hôpital Saint-Luc risque de libérer dans l'atmosphère des milliards de champignons très polluants, dit-il. Il faudra être très prudent. »
PHOTO OLIVIER PONTBRIAND, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE Pierre J. Hamel, professeur et chercheur à l'INRS | {
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37 ratings How To: Ignore Radio Commands By █▓▒░ Deadpool ░▒▓█ This 1-minute guide will teach you how to ignore radio commands completely, so that you can hear the enemy coming again. Award Award Favorite Favorited Unfavorite Share This item has been added to your Favorites
Created by █▓▒░ Deadpool ░▒▓█
Offline Posted 8 Dec, 2013 @ 12:59am 6,741 Unique Visitors 17 Current Favorites Guide Index Overview Introduction & Solution Comments | {
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He is not from here. He is Earth’s new protector. He has adopted humanity as his children. But the truth is – he doesn’t understand them. He is Hyperion, and he’s exploding out of the pages of Squadron Supreme and into HYPERION #1 this March! Written by New York Times Bestselling Author Chuck Wendig (Star Wars: Aftermath) with art by Nik Virella (1872), be there as the man without a world takes on the worst the humanity has to offer, but also discovers what makes them great.
“Hyperion is a man who lost his universe. He doesn’t belong anywhere. And as a result he lost himself and hasn’t yet found who he really is,” says Chuck Wendig in an interview with Marvel.com. “So he adopts America and its people as his children. But he doesn’t understand them, and this is about Hyperion going out into the country to find out who these people are. And, by proxy, who he really is, too.”
Listen to the latest episode of our weekly comics podcast!
But corruption lives in the heartland of America. And Hyperion will root out the worst of it. Through the long nest of roads and highways and small strange towns – Hyperion travels America, posing as one of us. Helping people. Exploring. All in pursuit of the answer to that one question – what does it mean to be human?
Can he save these people from themselves? He has adopted humanity – but will humanity adopt him back? Find out this March as he soars solo into comic shops with HYPERION #1!
HYPERION #1
Written by CHUCK WENDIG
Art by NIK VIRELLA
Cover by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO
Action Figure Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER (JAN160737)
Variant Cover by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO (JAN160735)
Black Panther 50th Anniversary Variant by KERON GRANT (JAN160738)
Hip-Hop Variant by SHAWNA MILLS (JAN160736)
FOC – 02/29/16, On-Sale – 03/23/16 | {
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Sprzedaż samochodu to poważna decyzja. Dobrze jest wybrać rzetelny skup aut gdzie można sprzedać samochód praktycznie od ręki. Na rynku jest bardzo wiele firm zajmujących się profesjonalnym skupem samochodów jak wybrać optymalną firmę?
Mieszkańcy Warszawy, korzystają z usług skupów aut
Skup aut Warszawa to usługa bardzo popularna na terenie Warszawy oraz okolic. W naszej stolicy jest bardzo dużo firm zajmujących się skupem samochodów. Jednak jak wybrać ten najlepszy skup aut Warszawa?
Jest kilka sprawdzonych metod, jakie pozwolą nam na wybranie najbardziej rzetelnej w firmie w tej branży. Pierwsza i moim zdaniem najlepsza jest sprawdzenie opinii o danej firmie. Skupy aut, które zaniżają ceny, kombinują i są nieprofesjonalne najczęściej posiadają bardzo duży procent negatywnych komentarzy.
Oczywiście wpadki zdarzają się najlepszym i jeśli jakaś firma posiada kilka negatywnych komentarzy a 90% pozytywnych nie ma czego się obawiać. Na chwilę obecną bardzo ciężko jest znaleźć skup aut z Warszawy, który posiada 100% pozytywnych opinii. Najbardziej wiarygodnym źródłem informacji są opinie Google, gdzie właściciel danej strony nie ma możliwości usuwania komentarzy a jedynie może odpisać komentarz osobie niezadowolonej z transakcji.
Polecany skup w Warszawie – Skupaut.waw.pl – skup aut Warszawa
Jak poznać rzetelny skup samochodów
Pierwsza sprawa to pozytywne opinie w Google. Jest tez kilka innych metoda, jakie pozwolą na weryfikacje rzetelnej firmy. W dzisiejszych czasach mamy dostęp do social media, gdzie aktywnie wypowiadają się setki milionów osób. Wystarczy zadać pytanie na lokalnej grupie czy ktoś korzystał z usług danego skupu a za pewne otrzymamy wnikliwe opinie i informacje. Skup aut Warszawa to usługa, o której możemy również szukać opinii na stronach wizytówkach na facebooku.
Jest to bardzo dobra forma weryfikacji wiarygodności firmy, ponieważ od razu widzimy, kto i jaką opinię wystawił i czy nie jest to fikcyjny profil. Skupów aut na terenie Warszawy oraz okolic jest wiele, wszystkie płacą gotówką i zapewniają profesjonalną obsługę. Mam nadzieje, że ten artykuł rozjaśnił trochę temat opinii o skupach. | {
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We play a voice memo from Karn in Ottawa about his long history of smoking weed and doing drugs despite his lungs collapsing over and over. Chris' girlfriend comes on the show and tells a story about the time she went psychotic from smoking weed. Dave explores the mormon faith and talks about why he "cares too much." | {
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Balmain will survive as a partner in the Wests Tigers after joint-venture partner Wests Ashfield accepted responsibility for the club’s outstanding loan to the NRL and agreed to establish a Tigers leagues club at Rozelle.
New dawn: the site of the old Balmain Leagues Club in Rozelle. Simon Alekna
Under the terms of a commercial arrangement that still requires member approval from both parties, Wests Ashfield will amalgamate with Balmain Leagues Club after the entity went into voluntary administration last year. The deal will result in an amalgamated Balmain Leagues Club entering into an agreement with the owners of its Rozelle site, Heworth, to build a new Tigers leagues club on the property.
The deal, facilitated by Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrnes and agreed to by all secured creditors, effectively saves Balmain from extinction and ensures it remains a partner in Wests Tigers. Wests Ashfield will also make a five-year commitment to fund the Balmain Football Club and its junior footballers.
“In landing this agreement we have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat,” Byrne said.
“The Tigers were about to become extinct, but the club can now continue as a rugby league entity and to be a partner in Wests Tigers for many decades to come.
“I approached Wests Ashfield seeking their cooperation to establish a Wests Tigers base in Rozelle. Wests and their CEO Simon Cook deserve enormous credit for coming to the aid of the Balmain Tigers at a desperate time. It’s a big thing to do.”
Cash-strapped Balmain failed to make a scheduled payment to contribute to the joint-venture outfit at the start of the year, a move that could have marked the end of its stakeholding in Wests Tigers. However, the new proposed agreement shows just how far the relationship between Wests and Balmain has evolved. The union of the unlikely marriage partners has been at times rocky, but Balmain’s financial state hasn’t been used as an excuse to force them out of the game or the merger. Wests will take over Balmain’s existing loan to the NRL and also take over Balmain’s profitable leagues club at Flemington.
Balmain directors Danny Stapleton and James Myatt will continue to have a presence on the Tigers board.
“After 20 years of sometimes tense relations between the Tigers and Wests this agreement can be the catalyst for a new and unified era of success for Wests Tigers,” Byrne said.
“Heworth, the new owners of the Leagues Club site, has also acted in good faith and shown an understanding that keeping the Balmain Tigers alive is the whole premise of their development proposal. I thank them for their rational and respectful approach.”
Council has begun publicly exhibiting amendments to the Development Control Plan for the Balmain Leagues Club precinct. | {
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guess what gina at the office told me today? no more guessing
1,852 shares | {
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The head of the organization representing 74 Saskatchewan First Nations is expressing serious concerns following the shooting death of a 22-year-old man.
Brydon Whitstone, of the Onion Lake Cree Nation, died after being shot by RCMP Saturday in North Batteford.
Bobby Cameron, chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), spoke on the Brent Loucks Show on 650 CKOM Monday morning in response to the shooting.
He said he’d been getting calls and messages throughout the weekend, with many questioning the details around the RCMP shooting of a young First Nations man.
Cameron said the situation furthers the mistrust First Nations people have about the justice system, and noted there is also a lack of trust in the independent investigation.
RCMP in a media release issued after the shooting said they had pursued a vehicle driven by Whitstone following reports of a man being chased by a vehicle and shot at.
The chase ended shortly after Whitstone allegedly rammed a police cruiser. The police release said officers opened fire “in response to the driver’s actions following the pursuit.”
Cameron said that explanation left him wondering what led police to shoot Whitstone.
“The comments about ‘in response to the drivers actions to the officers,’ what does that mean?” Cameron asked.
He said he was concerned police may have been too quick to use lethal force.
“Does damage to a vehicle warrant to kill someone on sight?”
RCMP have turned over investigation of the shooting to the Regina Police Service. The investigation will also be overseen by the provincial Ministry of Justice.
Cameron said the FSIN has long wanted to see First Nations represented in these types of inquiries.
“The majority of people that are incarcerated are First Nation people. Wouldn’t it make sense to have one of our own First Nation legal experts involved in all these processes?”
Cameron said involving First Nations people in the investigation would be a step toward rebuilding trust in the justice system. | {
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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This kiwi tastes like green | {
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Many fresh graduates ask the questions how SAP Certification adds any value to professional profile and makes CV more attractive from an employer’s point of view.Therefore it is essential to know the ways of getting SAP certification.
Let us start with LinkedIn because it is the most popular job search network in the world. One might include information about certification “SAP-(SD, MM, FI, etc) Certified Associate” or “SAP-(SD, MM, FI, etc) Certified Professional” as a headline on his or her LinkedIn profile. It is reasonable to assume that this headline definitely implies some value.
For instance, employers do not know you, but when they see this, they know that the consultant has invested some time and effort into getting knowledgeable about SAP and showing the world that he or she wants people to know it. Therefore, we conclude that it gives the consultant some additional credibility, but of course, the certification alone will not get you a job or a contract, because there is a plenty of other things in your CV that attracts employers’ attention.
In a highly competitive SAP jobs market as India, finding the first job for a fresh graduate represents a compelling challenge. The necessity to compete with experienced SAP consultants for the few available job openings may sometimes be frustrating. While SAP certification is not always a critical factor, it could in some cases give a small competitive advantage. For this reason, many freshers consider getting SAP certified on the associate level. But then, the question they are facing is how to get SAP certification?
Getting SAP Certification
Normally, getting admitted for SAP certification is not a big deal. You just register for SAP certification exam online, pay around 500 USD, and is welcome to write the certification. The situation in India is, however, remarkably different.
Back to our question - How to get SAP certification? Suppose, that we have fresh graduates (MBA, CA, ICWA) that want to become certified functional consultants in one of SAP modules (e.g., SAP BI, SAP FI, SAP MM, SAP SD). What are their options to get SAP certification? Well, the first opportunity is if they are students of a college or a university that is registered as a member of SAP India University Alliance. In this case, they have an option for getting certified on the campus. If the first option does not work for them (e.g., their university is not in SAP University Alliance), then, it is necessary to consider the second option.
The second option means that graduates should try to join one of the training centers authorized by SAP Education. It is important to make sure that a training center is trustworthy because there are many institutes that try to deceive their students. Read more about fake SAP training here. How to get SAP certification at an authorized training center? Usually, they offer a training course and after completion of this course offer students to pass SAP certification. If option number two does not work for us, it is time to consider the third possibility. According to the third option, fresh graduates should try to join an entry level SAP project support role (ideally, for SAP implementation but it is difficult) and spend some time working for a company. Gain 0.6 – 1.5 years of SAP support experience and appear for SAP certification at the cost of your company.
How to get SAP certification if none of these options did work out? Then, you should consider possibility number five. You can try to join entry level support basic project roles in SAP channel partners that is outsourcing SAP consultants. | {
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Datenverlust bei MySpace : Gone, gone, gone
Das auf Musik spezialisierte Online-Netzwerk verlor Millionen von Liedern, nun trauern viele Nutzer:innen. Grund sei ein Serverumzug, so MySpace.
Die Online-Plattform MySpace hat durch eine Serverumstellung alle Musikdateien aus den Jahren 2003-2015 verloren. Betroffen sind Millionen von Titeln, die in diesen Jahren auf das Musik-Netzwerk hochgeladen wurden. Das berichteten einige Nachrichtenseiten auf Grundlage einer Reddit-Diskussion. Wenn keine privaten Kopien existieren, ist diese Musik unwiederbringlich verloren, das gilt vor allem für unbekanntere Bands.
MySpace war ursprünglich ein Datenspeicherungs-Angebot und entwickelte sich in den frühen 2000er Jahren zu einem Online-Netzwerke für Musik mit über 260 Millionen Mitgliedern. Das Netzwerk geriet in eine Krise, weil die Nutzer:innen in Scharen zu anderen Plattformen wie Facebook oder spezialisierten Musikdiensten migrierten. 2011 verkaufte Inhaber Rupert Murdoch die Seite mit großem Verlust an die Internet-Werbefirma Specific Media, heute gilt die Seite als tot.
Dass es bei MySpace Problem mit dem Zugriff auf Dateien aus der Zeit vor 2015 gab, ist nicht neu: Bereits vor einem Jahr berichteten Nutzer:innen im zitierten Reddit-Forum von Problemen mit dem Abspielen älterer Liedern. Zunächst habe das Unternehmen angegeben, eine Lösung zu suchen. Auf Anfrage eines Nutzers vor sieben Monaten sagte das Unternehmen: „Wegen eines Server-Umzugs wurden die Dateien beschädigt. […] Es gibt keine Möglichkeit, die verlorenen Daten zurückzuholen.“
Der Historiker und Internet-Archivar Jason Scott (USA) hatte das Thema am Sonntag erneut in die Diskussion eingebracht, indem er die besagte Anfrage des MySpace-Datenschutzsprechers auf Twitter postete. „Das Thema hat nun endlich Aufmerksamkeit von einem bekommen, der selbst Aufmerksamkeit bekommt“, so erklärte Scott die Verzögerung in einem Twitter-Post.
Daraufhin bezweifelten Experten, dass der Verlust ein Unfall war: Der Aufwand und die Kosten, um die mutmaßlich 50 Millionen Songs von 14 Millionen Künstler:innen zu speichern, seien dem Unternehmen zu groß gewesen, vermutete US-Blogger Andy Baio.
MySpace entschuldigte sich am Montag und bat Nutzer:innen, Sicherheitskopien von privaten Musikdateien anzufertigen. Zusätzlich hinterlegte das Unternehmen die Adresse seiner Datenschutzbeauftragten, der Hamburger Anwältin Jana Jentzsch, die bis Redaktionsschluss nicht zu erreichen war.
Die Affäre zeigt, wie unsicher das Speichern von Dateien auf Cloud-Servern ist. Für viele Menschen sind die Nachrichtenverläufe oder Band-Aufnahmen Teil ihrer Jugend, die jetzt für immer verschwunden sind. Persönlichen Erinnerungen und Daten können auch verloren gehen, wenn Online-Netzwerke stillgelegt werden oder wie StudiVZ pleite gehen. | {
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As fall begins, I’m remembering my best summer stunt. It was one of those late-summer Sundays when the only thing to do is swim. I had a particular swim in mind. I got the idea for it during the bleakest days of last winter. When things seemed like they couldn’t get worse, I started to think about swimming across Manhattan—about plowing through every pool on the island. I would be like Neddy Merrill, the protagonist of John Cheever’s story “The Swimmer,” who swims across the suburbs, from one back-yard pool to the next. He swims because he’s lost everything—his social status, his home, his family. He’s delusional and drunk. Actually, I wouldn’t really be like him. My predicament wasn’t comparable. My drinking was under control, for the most part. My swim would be investigative, maybe healing. I spent my childhood in pools: they were like a second womb. A day spent swimming in each of Manhattan’s pools seemed like an obvious move.
In Cheever’s story, Merrill is forced, at one point, to cross a public pool. “It stank of chlorine and looked to him like a sink,” Cheever writes. “A pair of lifeguards in a pair of towers blew police whistles at what seemed to be regular intervals, and abused the swimmers through a public-address system. Neddy remembered the sapphire water at the Bunkers’ with longing, and thought that he might contaminate himself—damage his own prosperousness and charm—by swimming in this murk.” My pool marathon would take place almost entirely in Manhattan’s murk—that is, in public pools. I love outdoor public pools. As I marked the locations of Manhattan’s pools on a map, a constellation emerged: the people’s moat, a secret waterway, a liquid realm. Among the honking taxis, flashing lights, and fretful pedestrians, I would swim.
I started at the bottom—the most downtown pool—which is in Vesuvio Playground, on Thompson Street, in SoHo. There were ginkgo trees, a pretty iron fence. It looked to be a tiny pool. As I reached the deck, a stout woman in a khaki-green uniform stopped me. “Do you have a child?” she asked. I did not. I do not. “This is only for kids!” Now I could see: it was a wading pool. There were children splashing, a couple of dads. Noting my disappointment, I think, the guard said, “But we have a lotta pools for adults around here.” The nearest one, she said, was on Varick and Carmine.
I headed northwest. Three old men were sitting on a stoop across from Father Fagan Park. Orange morning glories climbed toward the hot sun. On Varick Street, a promising-looking three-story brick building appeared, wrapped around the corner at Carmine. The Parks Department’s leaf logo was stencilled on one wall. Three women sat at the entrance. One asked me whether I had my lock. I did not. All I had was a notebook, pens, a map, a MetroCard, and some cash. Nothing is allowed on the pool deck, they said, not even notebooks. Everything must be locked in the changing rooms. I said I’d be quick—just a lap or two. One of the women, a guard, sighed and said she’d stash my little cloth bag under her chair.
The changing room smelled of rubber and chlorine. A frail, very old lady sat in front of a locker in her bathing suit, cocooned in a raggedy white towel. Her hair stuck out from beneath a purple nylon cap, which covered only the top of her skull. I hurried past and walked out to the pool. The cerulean water sparkled. I crossed the concrete deck and threw myself in.
“He had an inexplicable contempt for men who did not hurl themselves into pools,” Cheever wrote. I felt the same way. The water was cool and silky. My arms clasped above my head, I dolphin-kicked underwater, turning my two legs into one strong tail. “Being embraced and sustained by the light-green water seemed not as much a pleasure as the resumption of a natural condition, and he would have liked to swim without trunks, but this was not possible, considering his project.” I pulled my arms down by my sides, then brought them around and out of the water, breaking the surface with a butterfly stroke. I took another stroke, ribboning across the surface, and kicked until I touched the wall. A Keith Haring mural—painted in 1987, three years before he died—danced on a wall above me. A waving figure rode a dolphin, which kissed the shadow-puppeting hand of a king. A fat fish ate a swimmer. A merperson gyrated.
I swam back underwater, and when I came up a lifeguard with curly blond hair was eating a blue ice pop and flirting with another guard in mirrored aviators, who was twirling his whistle around his index finger. A man and his son were lying on a bench set against the brick of the main building, a converted public bathhouse. Two scraggly pigeons cooed.
Back in the locker room, the old woman hadn’t moved. I grabbed my bag from the guard. “You were quick!” she said. I pulled on shorts, found a Citi Bike, and headed east on Houston. A posse of tatted and tanked boys sauntered past, looking like they had something to prove.
The Hamilton Fish Park Pool, which is on Houston Street just below where Avenue C begins, was one of eleven pools to open across the boroughs in the summer of 1936. Eleven! Robert Moses, who swam at Yale, had just become the city’s Parks Commissioner, and he and Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia worked closely with the federal Works Progress Administration. Some of the W.P.A. pools are magnificent. The Hamilton Fish pool is colossal; it was used by the U.S. Olympic swim team for a training session in 1952, before they headed to Helsinki. A sign there says that the W.P.A. pools changed “the way millions of New Yorkers spent their leisure time.”
I left my bag with the guard (“no problem, no problem”) and, yes, hurled myself into the water. I followed a black line that ran across the bottom for fifty metres—nearly a hundred and sixty-five feet—lengthening my stroke as I swam. Across my path, there were underwater legs running in slow motion, as if the beat of the world had slowed. Girl legs chased boy legs. The sounds of shrieking, laughter, and lifeguards’ whistles were all muffled. The water refracted the light. A woman with a snorkel dived in front of me. I dodged her and continued, stretching out, settling into an easy freestyle. The water was refreshing, cool but not cold. At the wall, I flip-turned, swam back, and got out. Two lifeguards in orange shorts were leaning against a fence. One exhibited the usual tic, twirling her whistle around her index finger. A teenage boy with a scruffy beard and a tattoo of a heart over his heart was peppering her with questions while his friend stood by silently. “It seems like it’s a good job for a young person, right? How far can you swim underwater? Where do you train? How much do you get paid?” (First-year guards get $13.57 an hour.)
Citi Bike returned, I walked north up Avenue C. Cold air wafted out of an Associated Market. Sixth Street smelled like fried chicken. On East Tenth Street, I found the Dry Dock Playground pool. (This neighborhood was known as the dry-dock district in the nineteenth century, when it was filled with bustling ironworks and shipfitters.) Trees and grass were sparse. Fence, concrete, water. I swam a lap in ten seconds. The Jacob Riis Houses towered to the north. Lifeguards blew their eternal whistles, one after another, in a circular, comforting way, the sound of soccer games ending, thunderstorms arriving, marching bands parading, a summer night. “Everyone out!” they yelled. It was their afternoon break. Outside the pool fence strolled an old man with his pocket radio tuned to a baseball game. | {
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Welcome to the Flying Club
If you’re looking for a way to shave your flying costs and socialize more with other pilots, joining a flying club can be a great option. | {
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Noam Chomsky on NATO, Russia and propaganda.
In this acTVism Munich interview with MIT professor, anarchist, philosopher and renowned linguist, Noam Chomsky, we discuss the concept of propaganda and NATO.
What happened at the end of the cold war, after the fall of the Soviet Union?
What role did propaganda play during this time?
Why was NATO founded and what is it’s function?
For what purposes is propaganda used?
All of these questions and more are adressed in this video:
VIDEO: Noam Chomsky on NATO, Russia and Propaganda
To visit our entire video playlist with Noam Chomsky, click here.
NOTE: This event with Noam Chomsky took place on the 6th of January, 2016 and due the the developments in global affairs, acTVism Munich felt the need to republish these videos to inform the public.
Noteable excerpt from the Video:
Noam Chomsky on role of NATO after the Cold War:
In 1990 [there was] no more Soviet Union. What happened? Well first of all, what happened to NATO? NATO was established to protect Western Europe against the Russian hordes, theoretically. No more Russian Hordes, what happened to NATO? Was is dissolved? No, it was expanded. It expanded to the East, now right to the Russian Borders. There’s a threat – even a threat of global war – because of [what is happening in] Ukraine. Because the mission of NATO was formally changed to protect the international energy system: sea lanes and pipelines. So it’s a global system, and also a global intervention force, run by the United States, which tells you what it always was, and tells you something about anti-communism as a propaganda device.
To read the full transcript-text of this video, click here.
To view our entire video playlist with Noam Chomsky click here.
About Noam Chomsky:
Noam Chomsky is a world-renowned political dissident, anarchist, linguist, author and institute professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he’s taught for more than half a century.
Chomsky has written more than 100 books, his latest being “Because We Say So“. Chomsky has been a highly influential academic figure throughout his career, and was cited within the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI) more often than any other living scholar from 1980 to 1992. His work has influenced a wide range of domains, including artificial intelligence, cognitive science, computer science, logic, mathematics, music theory and analysis, psychology and immunology.
Chomsky also developed the propaganda model of media criticism with Edward S. Herman which they presented in their book “Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media“. Chomsky remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, neoliberal capitalism, and mainstream news media.
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NHL teams will soon be able to hire jettisoned coaches and general managers without having to worry about compensation.
At present, clubs like the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, and Pittsburgh Penguins can seek draft picks when the likes of Peter Chiarelli, Todd McLellan, and Dan Bylsma - all of whom were fired by their respective employers - secure new gigs.
There's an increasing sense that this is quite unnecessary, seeing as the new Edmonton Oilers general manager and bench boss, as well as the new Buffalo Sabres head coach, were free agents, so to speak.
As such, the NHL will soon be taking steps to revise these guidelines, as reported by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet during the "Saturday Headlines" segment on Hockey Night in Canada:
They're going to get together at the Board of Governors meeting, which is going to be in Vegas during the (NHL) Awards, and it's expected this will be straightened out. They'll say, "Look, if somebody's been fired, you don't get compensation for them." It's only if you get somebody still working for a team. That's the way it's going to work out in the future.
The meeting is scheduled to take place after the Stanley Cup Final and prior to the draft, leaving the ability to scoop picks for essentially nothing decidedly in the past. | {
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(CNN) -- Americans may need passports to board domestic flights or to picnic in a national park next year if they live in one of the states defying the federal Real ID Act.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says there are no plans for a federal database of drivers' information.
The act, signed in 2005 as part of an emergency military spending and tsunami relief bill, aims to weave driver's licenses and state ID cards into a sort of national identification system by May 2008. The law sets baseline criteria for how driver's licenses will be issued and what information they must contain.
The Department of Homeland Security insists Real ID is an essential weapon in the war on terror, but privacy and civil liberties watchdogs are calling the initiative an overly intrusive measure that smacks of Big Brother.
More than half the nation's state legislatures have passed or proposed legislation denouncing the plan, and some have penned bills expressly forbidding compliance.
Several states have begun making arrangements for the new requirements -- four have passed legislation applauding the measure -- but even they may have trouble meeting the act's deadline.
The cards would be mandatory for all "federal purposes," which include boarding an airplane or walking into a federal building, nuclear facility or national park, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the National Conference of State Legislatures last week. Citizens in states that don't comply with the new rules will have to use passports for federal purposes.
"For terrorists, travel documents are like weapons," Chertoff said. "We do have a right and an obligation to see that those licenses reflect the identity of the person who's presenting it."
Chertoff said the Real ID program is essential to national security because there are presently 8,000 types of identification accepted to enter the United States.
"It is simply unreasonable to expect our border inspectors to be able to detect forgeries on documents that range from baptismal certificates from small towns in Texas to cards that purport to reflect citizenship privileges in a province somewhere in Canada," he said.
Chertoff attended the conference in Boston, Massachusetts, in part to allay states' concerns, but he had few concrete answers on funding.
The Department of Homeland Security, which estimates state and federal costs could reach $23.1 billion over 10 years, is looking for ways to lessen the burden on states, he said. On the recent congressional front, however, Chertoff could point only to an amendment killed in the Senate last month that would've provided $300 million for the program.
"There's going to be an irreducible expense that falls on you, and that's part of the shared responsibility," Chertoff told the state legislators.
Bill Walsh, senior legal fellow for the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based conservative think tank that supports the Real ID Act, said states shouldn't be pushing for more federal dollars because, ultimately, that will mean more federal oversight -- and many complaints about cost coincide with complaints about the federal government overstepping its bounds.
"They are only being asked to do what they should've already done to protect their citizens," Walsh said, blaming arcane software and policies at state motor vehicle departments for what he called "a tremendous trafficking in state driver's licenses."
The NCSL is calling Real ID an "unfunded mandate" that could cost states up to $14 billion over the next decade, but for which only $40 million has been federally approved. The group is demanding Congress pony up $1 billion for startup costs by year's end or scrap the proposal altogether.
Everyone must visit DMV by 2013
The Real ID Act repealed a provision in the 9/11 Commission Implementation Act calling for state and federal officials to examine security standards for driver's licenses.
It called instead for states to begin issuing new federal licenses, lasting no longer than eight years, by May 11, 2008, unless they are granted an extension.
It also requires all 245 million license and state ID holders to visit their local departments of motor vehicles and apply for a Real ID by 2013. Applicants must bring a photo ID, birth certificate, proof of Social Security number and proof of residence, and states must maintain and protect massive databases housing the information.
NCSL spokesman Bill Wyatt said the requirements are "almost physically impossible." States will have to build new facilities, secure those facilities and shell out for additional equipment and personnel.
Those costs are going to fall back on the American taxpayer, he said. It might be in the form of a new transportation, motor vehicle or gasoline tax. Or you might find it tacked on to your next state tax bill. In Texas, Wyatt said, one official told him that without federal funding, the Lone Star State might have to charge its citizens more than $100 for a license.
"We kind of feel like the way they went about this is backwards," Wyatt said, explaining that states would have appreciated more input into the process. "Each state has its own unique challenges and these are best addressed at state levels. A one-size-fits-all approach to driver's licenses doesn't necessarily work."
Many states have revolted. The governors of Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Washington have signed bills refusing to comply with the act. Six others have passed bills and/or resolutions expressing opposition, and 15 have similar legislation pending.
Though the NCSL says most states' opposition stems from the lack of funding, some states cited other reasons for resisting the initiative.
New Hampshire passed a House bill opposing the program and calling Real ID "contrary and repugnant" to the state and federal constitutions. A Colorado House resolution dismissed Real ID by expressing support for the war on terror but "not at the expense of essential civil rights and liberties of citizens of this country."
Privacy concerns raised
Colorado and New Hampshire lawmakers are not alone. Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation say the IDs and supporting databases -- which Chertoff said would eventually be federally interconnected -- will infringe on privacy.
EFF says on its Web site that the information in the databases will lay the groundwork for "a wide range of surveillance activities" by government and businesses that "will be able to easily read your private information" because of the bar code required on each card.
The databases will provide a one-stop shop for identity thieves, adds the ACLU on its Web site, and the U.S. "surveillance society" and private sector will have access to the system "for the routine tracking, monitoring and regulation of individuals' movements and activities."
The civil liberties watchdog dubs the IDs "internal passports" and claims it wouldn't be long before office buildings, gas stations, toll booths, subways and buses begin accessing the system.
But Chertoff told legislators last week that DHS has no intention of creating a federal database, and Walsh, of the Heritage Foundation, said the ACLU's allegations are disingenuous.
States will be permitted to share data only when validating someone's identity, Walsh said.
"The federal government wouldn't have any greater access to driver's license information than it does today," Walsh said.
States have the right to refuse to comply with the program, he said, and they also have the right to continue issuing IDs and driver's licenses that don't meet Real ID requirements.
But, Walsh said, "any state that's refusing to implement this key recommendation by the 9/11 Commission, and whose state driver's licenses are as a result used in another terrorist attack, should be held responsible."
State reaction to Real ID has not been all negative. Four states have passed bills or resolutions expressing approval for the program, and 13 states have similar legislation pending (Several states have pending pieces of legislation both applauding and opposing Real ID).
Chertoff said there would be repercussions for states choosing not to comply.
"This is not a mandate," Chertoff said. "A state doesn't have to do this, but if the state doesn't have -- at the end of the day, at the end of the deadline -- Real ID-compliant licenses then the state cannot expect that those licenses will be accepted for federal purposes." E-mail to a friend
All About American Civil Liberties Union • Michael Chertoff • U.S. Department of Homeland Security | {
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February 12, 2019 ▸ Conspiracy, Corporation, History, Science
Episode 366: Tuskegee Experiment: Bad Blood in Alabama
On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we look at one of the worst government conspiracy theories and most egregious cases of abusing medical ethics in American history—the Tuskegee Experiment. In a nutshell, the Tuskegee Experiment was the time the American government identified hundreds of African Americans who had syphilis and gave them medical treatment. Oh, but by medical treatment, I mean refused to give them any real medicine, even once there was a cure, and instead just watched them all go blind, dumb, and mad and die from a horrible disease that they spread to their loved ones. And took notes.
So what led this horror show of modern medicine? Aside from racism, it was a chance to watch a disease go unchecked. So, they recruited 600 black men based on what the doctors told them was “bad blood.” That’s right, for years, the doctors told these men they had bad blood and they were being treated for it. In reality, they were rotting away from syphilis for as long as 40 years (from 1932-1972). When a cure was finally discovered, the doctors refused to give it to the men. In fact, the doctors refused to even tell the men what their diagnosis or prognosis was aside from bad blood.
They even had a nurse who would spy on the men and keep other doctors who weren’t part of the Tuskegee Experiment from treating the men. Eventually, a whistle blower who found out about this in 1966 told people up the chain about this horrible experiment, and it was immediately put to a stop. Just kidding. Nobody up the chain did anything, and the suffering of the subjects was allowed to continue for several more years. Ultimately, a writer for the New York Times got the story and blew the lid off in 1972, and the Tuskegee Experiment was shut down within the month.
So, how many people in the experiment died from syphilis? How many spread the disease to their wives and children? How was this allowed to happen? What did Bill Clinton do to try and make things right? What did the victims of the experiment eventually get as a settlement for themselves and their children? What impact did the Tuskegee Experiment have on African American trust in the medical system? What did the government do in Guatemala that was even more evil? Listen, laugh, learn. | {
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Business lobby group Ibec has called on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to deliver “an economic reboot of unprecedented scale” in response to the coronavirus pandemic that has shuttered schools and businesses across the country.
Fears are growing that the spread of the virus will push businesses into crisis and Ibec warned that “extensive layoffs” were now inevitable over the coming days and weeks as the crisis deepened.
“A coordinated international and multi-agency fiscal stimulus package will ultimately be required in order to reboot our damaged economy,” the group’s Chief Executive Danny McCoy wrote in a letter that was addressed to the Taoiseach and made public.
The Government has already pledged to deliver €3bn in aid to the economy, with extra money for the HSE to help it deal with the crisis as well as supports for business and for those who either lose their jobs or cannot work on a temporary basis.
With lockdowns spreading across countries – the Netherlands became the latest country to impose measures on Sunday, there are now around 180 million Europeans who are facing restrictions on their movements and that will have a huge knock on effect on the economy of the EU and the world.
Ireland is particularly exposed as exports account for a larger share of the economy here than any major country in the EU. Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse, is not growing at all and Italy has been stricken by a double whammy of recession and ravages of the coronavirus outbreak.
More than 200,000 jobs in the State are dependent on multinational companies in areas like high tech and pharmaceuticals whose exports have helped the economy by more than any other EU economy in recent years, helping to put record numbers of people in work overall.
“By communicating the intent to deliver that stimulus, Government can now help offset some of the panic which is permeating all elements of our economy and society,” Mr McCoy wrote.
The response to the crisis so far has been mixed.
US President Donald Trump has been criticised for moving too slowly and for not providing the kind of leadership needed from the world’s largest economy to fight the crisis.
In the Eurozone, missteps by the European Central Bank’s new Chief Christine Lagarde hit markets and EU governments have been slow to say they will open the spending taps to fight the crisis.
Mr McCoy said that the Government here needed to deliver emergency wage subsidies and welfare programmes to “provide a reasonable basic income to all workers impacted by the crisis”.
“The State must further extend its cashflow supports and forbearance measures through Revenue and local Government and continue to adjust supports which can help preserve as many enterprises as possible through the crisis period,” he urged the Taoiseach in the letter.
Online Editors | {
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Cookie Dough Can Explodes In Woman’s Vagina During Shoplifting Incident
Cookie Dough Can Explodes In Woman’s Vagina During Shoplifting Incident – Greenville, NC – An incident coming out of Greenville, North Carolina is just one example of what some people will do around the holidays when they are short on cash. A 34-year-old mother of 3 is now under arrest after a shoplifting incident turned tragic. Witnesses say Shatuanee Greene entered the North Carolina Walmart on Sunday with her three children ages 5, 7, and 8 when she grabbed a can of pre-made Christmas cookie dough. CCTV footage shows the young mother take the can to the toy aisle as her children crowded around her. Greene then lifted up her skirt and made the can of cookie dough “disappear.”
When Greene was approached by Walmart security, she told her children to go find their Aunt in the front of the store. “I told her to hand over the cookie dough,” said Timothy Reiner, a security guard at Walmart. “That’s when she turned around to run and I grabbed her by the arm. She put up a good fight, and that’s when I tackled her to the ground. Then I heard a loud pop and the lady started screaming. Gooey cookie dough was running down her leg. All hot and runny… it was so damn gross.”
According to eyewitnesses, the EMT that treated Greene on the scene said the Pillsbury cookie dough can exploded in Greene’s vagina during the fall causing her extreme pain. They removed the contents at the scene. The woman was treated then released into the custody of Greenville police. While stabilizing Greene they also found candy sprinkles and a number 6 birthday candle wedged into the woman’s vaginal cavity. Greene did not suffer any serious injuries and is being held at the county jail on a $2000 bond. Her children were placed with family members. | {
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It was earlier this year we learned that, following in the footsteps of Sex and the City and Entourage, another HBO series is getting the movie treatment: The Sopranos. Rather than taking the form of a sequel, considering its lead star has passed away, the film will be going the prequel route. After scripting The Many Saints of Newark, which takes place in the titular locale back in the 1960s, David Chase won’t be stepping into the director’s chair himself, but rather reuniting with director Alan Taylor.
While he hasn’t had the biggest success in Hollywood, taking on Thor: The Dark World and Terminator Genisys, two franchise lows (though we’ll certainly hear arguments when it comes to the latter), Taylor is certainly comfortable in the world of everyone’s favorite mafia family. He earned an Emmy directing “Kennedy and Heidi,” the sixth season episode which found Tony killing off Christopher, and also directed a handful of other episodes, including the penultimate episode.
Hopefully this presumably smaller scale with a textbook he knows all the rules to, so to speak, will be a strong fit for Taylor. As for the prequel’s setting, it was a tumultuous time in New Jersey as Italians and African-Americans clashed and the gangsters fought it out in deadly ways. In terms of which characters from the original show may return, it was reported:
The time period indicates there will be room for Tony Soprano’s father, Giovanni “Johnny Boy,” the former captain of the Soprano crew (played in flashbacks by Joseph Siravo), and a younger version of his wife Livia (played indelibly in the show’s first season by Nancy Marchand), and Tony’s uncle Junior, played by Dominic Chianese.
Stay tuned for casting details. [The Wrap] | {
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Roger Rogerson (left) and Glen McNamara during their trial for the murder of Jamie Gao during an "inept" drug rip-off. "The joint criminal enterprise to which each offender was a party was extensive in its planning, brutal in its execution, and callous in its aftermath," Justice Bellew said during his sentencing remarks before the NSW Supreme Court on Friday. The pair were also given a minimum nine-year sentence for the supply of a prohibited drug. Upon hearing the life sentence handed down, Mr Gao's family released a statement, saying the life sentence was everything they had hoped for. "To have these two men, who took Jamie from us, sentenced to essentially die in jail, is absolutely fitting," they said.
Jamie Gao. Credit:Facebook "The courts can't lessen the term of Jamie's death or the impact that his death, the investigation and ensuing trial has had on our family. Unfortunately, there is no opportunity for a lesser sentence for Jamie or for those of us left behind." During his sentencing remarks Justice Bellew noted Mr Gao had been killed by two former police officers. Lucy McNamara tries to evade the media after Friday's sentencing. Credit:Anthony Johnson "Aspects of their commission of these crimes reflect the fact the offenders put to use, for all the wrong reasons, knowledge and experience that they gained as a consequence of their investigation of criminal offences when they were members of the police force," he said.
Upon learning his fate, an apparently emotionless Rogerson hobbled down the stairs in his prison greens with corrective service officers to the cells below the historic Darlinghurst court complex. Rogerson's lawyer George Thomas speaks to the media after the sentencing on Friday. Credit:Anthony Johnson The joint criminal enterprise … was extensive in its planning, brutal in its execution and callous in its aftermath. Justice Geoffrey Bellew McNamara said to his teary family "be strong": his daughter Jessica responded by blowing kisses. During an 18-week trial, a jury heard how Rogerson and McNamara had spent months planning the murder of Mr Gao to steal 2.78 kilograms of the drug ice from him.
Jessica McNamara, here seen outside the court, apparently blew kisses to her father during the sentencing. Credit:Anthony Johnson Mr Gao was shot dead and stuffed into a silver surfboard bag then dumped at sea. His body was found floating off the shore of Cronulla several days later. "The disposal of the deceased's body at sea was both cruel and insensitive. It was done solely for the purpose of the offenders endeavouring to ensure that the deceased would never be found, rendering it all the more difficult for any responsibility to ever be attributed to either of them," Justice Bellew said. During the sentencing hearing the court heard how on the day of the murder, Mr Gao was captured on CCTV footage going into unit 803 at Padstow Rent-a-Space, with McNamara. A little more than three minutes later, Rogerson walked into the shed.
At some point, Mr Gao was shot dead although Rogerson and McNamara blamed one another. Rogerson told the court that McNamara told him there had been a struggle, and that Mr Gao had shot himself twice in the chest. But McNamara said he was by himself with Mr Gao inside the shed when Rogerson opened the door and demanded the victim hand over the "gear". Mr Gao pulled out a combat-style knife and, simultaneously, Rogerson produced a gun and fired two shots. McNamara said Rogerson then aimed the gun at his head and threatened to kill him and his daughters if he did not help dispose of the body.
Justice Bellew rejected both of their accounts but said he could not find beyond reasonable doubt who had pulled the trigger. "The deceased was executed in cold blood, just as the offenders had planned. Clearly, one of them shot the deceased. There is an obvious suspicion, arising from the evidence of the presence of gunshot residue on his clothing, that it was Rogerson who did so," he said. "Whilst I am satisfied that the deceased was shot by one of the offenders whilst in storage unit 803, I am unable to determine which offender was responsible." The jury accepted the pair were part of a joint criminal enterprise, finding them both guilty of murder and commercial supply of a prohibited drug in June. Loading
After the sentence was handed down, McNamara's solicitor Ali Abbas told a waiting media pack that he would be lodging an appeal against the conviction and sentence on Monday. Rogerson's barrister George Thomas also flagged the possibility of an appeal against the life sentence. | {
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Hong Kong is a city located on the south of China. It is best known for its breathtaking skyline teeming with skyscrapers, a deep natural harbor, and a densely populated city. The city only has a land area of 1,104 square kilometers or 426 square miles and yet its population is at 7 million. The majority (over 93%) of the population in Hong Kong are of Chinese descent or ethnicity. When you travel to Hong Kong, there is much to see and do.
It was in the late 1970s when Hong Kong established itself as a global financial and trade hub. In fact, it is one of the Alpha+ cities in the world, alongside Paris, Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Sydney and Dubai. It also ranked fifth in 2014’s list of Global Cities index beaten only by New York, Paris, London and Tokyo. The level of human development is one of the highest in the world in line with its per capita income in every household.
The limited land area has prompted development in Hong Kong to develop more infrastructure. The rise of modern architecture and skyscrapers earned the city the title as the vertical city with the most number of skyscrapers in the world. Indeed, you will be in awe by the astounding amount of skyscrapers when you travel to Hong Kong.
Currency: The official currency in Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Dollar.
Official Language: Chinese and English are the official languages of Hong Kong.
WiFi Availability: It is easy to get free WiFi access in Hong Kong. You can also get free WiFi in the Hong Kong International Airport.
Airport/s: Hong Kong International Airport is the main international airport for flights that travel to Hong Kong.
Visa Required: US citizens only need a valid passport and no need for visa to travel to Hong Kong. However, they can only stay for a maximum of 90 days at one time. Most nationalities can also travel to Hong Kong without visa for up to 180 days. For more info on visa requirements for travel to Hong Kong, visit this link: http://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/contactus/index.html
Driving: Hong Kong used to be a colony of Britain. Hence, you must drive on the left side of the road.
International Driver’s License Accepted? You can use foreign-issued driver’s license in Hong Kong or present your international driver’s permit.
Crime: The crime rate in Hong Kong is one of the lowest in the world. In fact, in 2014, the crime rate hit the lowest in over four decades.
Electrical Adapters: In Hong Kong, the electrical outlets are powered by 220 volts and a frequency of 50 Hertz.
Trivia: Hong Kong has the most numbers of skyscrapers in the world. Next on the list is New York City, which has only half of the amount of skyscrapers that Hong Kong has.
Hong Kong Cuisine
The influence of Cantonese cuisine is highly evident in the Hong Kong cuisine. However, over the years, other influences from Southeast Asia and the western world has produced a more diverse culinary landscape. There is also a great mix of places to experience the best of Hong Kong’s cuisine – from market stalls to upscale restaurants.
To give you an idea of how dishes are prepared in Hong Kong, here is a list of ingredients commonly used in their cooking:
Salted duck egg
Century egg
Red bean
Hoisin sauce
Jujube
Scallop
Chinese sausage
Shiitake mushrooms
Points of Interest
Victoria Peak
This mountain is located on the western side of the island. This is a popular spot in Hong Kong, especially among tourists, because it provides a spectacular view of the island and its skyline.
Disneyland
The happiest place in the world also has a place in Hong Kong. Therefore, a visit to Hong Kong is never complete without a trip to the world famous theme park.
Po Lin Monastery
This Buddhist monastery is Lantau Island is one of the most frequented tourist spots in Hong Kong. Make sure to include a visit if you are in the island.
Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery
This is another popular Buddhist monastery in Hong Kong. However, this is a unique one because it houses literally ten thousand Buddha statues.
Lantau Island
This is the largest island in Hong Kong that provides several other unique attractions. Hence, this is the perfect jump off point if you want to experience the best that Hong Kong has to offer.
Travel to Hong Kong Resources | {
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A lone gunman approached a Mexican journalist in the southern state of Tabasco and shot him eight times before making a clean getaway. The crime is the second murder of a journalist in Mexico in 2019 and the fourth under the administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO).
The gunman killed Jesus Eugenio “Chuchin” Ramos Rodriguez, a journalist and radio personality as he was having breakfast at a restaurant in the municipality of Emiliano Zapata, information released by Tabasco’s Attorney General’s Office revealed.
The gunman approached as the journalist ate breakfast with another individual. He fired multiple times hitting Ramos eight times, SinEmbargo.Mx reported. Private citizens tried to rush Ramos to a local hospital but he eventually died from the injuries sustained. Local journalists and authorities have not revealed if Ramos received previous threats. Ramos worked at the same radio station for more than 20 years and was the host of a local radio show.
Just hours after the murder, Jesus Ramirez Cuevas, the head of the press department for AMLO, took to social media to condemn the murder stating that the Mexican government would be working to improve security conditions for journalist and human rights activists.
Condenamos el asesinato del periodista y locutor Jesús Ramos en Tabasco. El @GobiernoMX fortalecerá las medidas de protección a personas defensoras de ddhh y periodistas. La libertad de expresión es un derecho y elemento fundamental para la democracia, la justicia y la libertad. pic.twitter.com/Q7KMzQo7qp — Jesús Ramírez Cuevas (@JesusRCuevas) February 9, 2019
Ramos’ murder comes less than three weeks after the murder of another radio journalists in the state of Baja California. As Breitbart News reported, 34-year-old Rafael Murua Manriquez died from multiple apparent stab wounds after having been reported missing. Murua worked the general director of Radio Kashana, a community station based in Santa Rosalia, which reported on human rights, gender issues, alternative lifestyles, reproductive health, and ecology.
Two other journalists have been killed in Mexico since AMLO took office in December. As Breitbart News reported, in early December, 35-year-old Diego Garcia Corona from Semanario Morelos was gunned down on his way home from work in Mexico State. That murder came just three days after the murder of Jesus Alejandro Marquez, the founder and leader of Orion Informativo in the state of Nayarit.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook . He can be contacted at [email protected] . | {
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[tw: body policing, bad/unsafe advice, shaming]
Thin privilege is not being told by your sister that you should come work with her in a warehouse, because you’ll ‘sweat the kilos away’.
Thin privilege is not having everyone else at the family dinner nod and say 'It would be good for you’. | {
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Basking in Canberra's spring sun, Floyd stands proudly on the forecourt of Parliament House.
Key points: Defecating ducks and swooping magpies proving problematic at Parliament House
Defecating ducks and swooping magpies proving problematic at Parliament House The landscaping team is now employing birds of prey to control the rogue residents
The landscaping team is now employing birds of prey to control the rogue residents The predatory birds are meant to scare the ducks and magpies away
Resplendent in a red-and-black hood, her calm demeanour masks her explosive speed and power.
"We've got her up to around about 120, 150 kilometres per hour, which is not bad. Her mother we clocked at 257 kilometres per hour," Floyd's handler Graeme Coles offers.
Floyd is a peregrine falcon, one of the nation's most remarkable birds of prey.
She is intimidating, even from a human perspective. So imagine what it must be like for smaller, slower birds who see her circling above them.
Peregrine falcon Floyd is among the nation's most remarkable birds of prey. ( ABC News: Ian Cutmore )
The falcon has been brought to Capital Hill for a reason — hired avian muscle to help the building's gardeners keep the well-curated grounds of the precinct as pristine as possible.
Parliament has a duck problem, and it is getting messy.
"They come into our lovely forecourt here, and they leave a lot of droppings that we're spending a lot of money cleaning up," Paul Janssen from the Department of Parliamentary Services landscaping team said.
That is where Floyd swoops in.
"To try and intimidate or scare the birds, and for them to feel the area's unsafe to come and spend the night because there's a predator in the area," he said.
Staff have tried other methods before including flying a kite shaped like an eagle. ( Supplied: DPS )
Turf wars and allegations of standover tactics are nothing new in Parliament, which has now employed birds of prey to try to control some of its rogue residents.
Staff have tried other methods before. They have flown a kite in the shape of an eagle, and even played other bird noises through speakers to try to force the mucky mallards to move.
Floyd does not patrol these parts alone. She is joined on the forecourt by Wot, a barking owl with piercing yellow eyes.
A barking owl named Wot has been employed to help intimidate or scare birds at Parliament House. ( ABC News: Matt Doran )
Their standover — or flyover — tactics are successful in scaring the ducks away.
"In February, we would've had easy over 40 ducks out here each night, and now we're getting a lot less," a pleased Mr Janssen said.
"We're down, sort of, [to] around 10 or below."
Behind Parliament's high walls, Tilley the goshawk is on the case, protecting the hot chips of staffers from being snatched by greedy freeloaders.
"The courtyard areas inside are getting inundated with magpies, and they're getting a bit cheeky apparently, and stealing food, and I suppose injury is the main concern there," Mr Coles said.
"The magpies certainly get a bit agitated with that bird in the courtyard," Mr Janssen added.
Tilley the goshawk intimidates magpies in the parliamentary courtyard. ( ABC News: Ian Cutmore )
Graeme Coles is a man in demand.
The one-time orthotics maker said his falconry skills were being employed by the Melbourne Cup Carnival, the Australian Open and now Parliament House.
"Controlling birds, obviously, in an urban or built-up area — you can't use lethal control," he said.
"This type of method is not hurting the birds, it's just removing them from the environment that they're in at the moment, into their natural environment."
Along with his colleague Marina Andersen, it is the second time he has brought his diverse feathered enforcement team to the capital.
"Faster the pest bird, faster the predator," he said as he explained why different birds were used in different areas.
He is due to return again in November, to check whether any of the displaced birds have come home to roost in the parliamentary zone. | {
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Russian Nuclear Engineers Foiled In Attempt To Mine BTC With Supercomputer
Several engineers at the Russian Federal Nuclear Center have been arrested for attempting to use one of Russia’s largest supercomputers for Bitcoin (BTC) mining, Interfax reports Friday, Feb. 9.
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Ed Miliband tried to shrug off the companies' complaints. Asked if they were Labour supporting businesses at a gathering of business leaders in Bloomberg, central London, he said: “No. We have simply quoted public statements by the businesses, about the place of Britain in the European Union. I think that lots of businesses all around this country are not going to be supporting either labour or the Conservatives but they are going to have a very strong view about our place in the EU. And I think this is absolutely at stake in this general election. Are we going to be reforming the EU from the inside or threatening exit? That is something that the vast majority of business people would share Labour’s position on.” | {
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There seems to be a current epidemic of ungodly men posing as Catholics and targeting virtuous young Catholic women. Just because a man says he is Catholic does not mean that he truly is in practice.
To make it worse, when you try to call them out on their indecent and immoral behaviour, they tell you that you are rigid, you are overreacting or you need to get with the times.
THIS FELLA actually admits to never wanting to get married, but is happy to keep dating women and wasting their time.
These men even openly admit that while they have a sordid past, they expect any Catholic woman that they date to be completely pure, virginal, and with no past.
No surprises then that these predators target sweet, young, trusting, and virtuous Catholic women.
A vast majority of these predatory men tend to be Catholic reverts or converts.
After living a wildlife in their youth, full of sin and all sorts of depravity, using and abusing women along the way, they hit middle age, realise that they will probably end up alone and decide that they now need to find a woman that they can dominate, control, abuse and leech off for the rest of their lives.
They choose Catholic girls because a girl that is a non-christian or of any other faith will divorce them or refuse to marry them on the discovery of their disordered personality.
However, a Catholic girl, no matter how badly they treat her or how much they abuse her or neglect her and indulge in porn or adultery, the Catholic girl will not divorce him because the Sacrament of Marriage is until death and annulments, which will free her up to marry again after a divorce, is VERY difficult to obtain.
So these guys decide to ‘convert’ to Catholicism or if they are fallen away Catholics, they decide to ‘revert’ and then begin their hunt for a naive, trusting Catholic girl who will be their prey….. I mean wife!
The Bible says to test every spirit; not everyone who claims to be a Christian truly is and by their fruits, you shall know them.
However, a lot of these predators are very good at building a public facade of virtue and humility, so they can be hard to detect and once they get you attached to them, it can be difficult to break away.
Luckily, most predators, sociopaths, abusers, and toxic individuals will throw up red flags and give you a peek of their true selves within the first 4 weeks of you getting to know them.
The point of this article is not to malign all men or the virtuous Catholic men.
This article is written for the following purposes:
to help us be more discerning and to use our heads, instead of blindly following our ‘fluttering hearts’, as one gentleman said,
to enable us to realise that men who portray several of these traits MAY SEEM EXCITING, but are dangerous and destructive, and should be avoided. To use an analogy, electricity looks pretty and sparkly, but is also lethal.
to prevent us from maligning or outright rejecting brothers who are truly virtuous by helping us to distinguish between a real virtuous brother in Christ and a predator masquerading as one,
to help us realise that no one is perfect, not even our brothers in Christ who will display a couple of traits from this list. However, a predator will score VERY HIGHLY and display more than 4 traits on this list.
So here are early dating red flags of an abuser, sociopath, predator and toxic man.
THEY ARE CHARMING AND ‘VIRTUOUS’
Charm is the predator’s favorite tool that they use to hook in their prey.
Dangerous and abusive people do not initially present as dangerous and abusive. They will come across as really nice, charming, friendly and full of virtue. This is the bait that they use to hook and lure you.
Be extremely wary of the charming man. Not all that glitters is gold.
Predators put on a false facade that deceives and fools everyone else.
Only those close to them know their true character.
THEY JUST LOVE THE INTERNET/TECHNOLOGY
If you use dating sites, even Catholic ones, I am so sorry to inform you that these predators frequent dating sites for their prey. Others will use social media such as Catholic forums, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and so on.
You can find good men on Catholic sites, but it’s VERY rare. If you can, stay off dating sites and apps.
You see, they are like a kid in candy store when it comes to the internet and technology. They are able to charm and groom several victims all at the same time, having backups to their backups, just in case their scam with one potential victim falls through.
In addition, on the internet, they are able to hide their true character via charming and innocuous words, images, pictures, and so on.
One-on-one interaction will quickly alert you that they are disordered as you will be able to pick up micro-expressions, body language tells and cues, but online, they can hide behind the screen and feed you an image of a person that is just not real.
THEY MAKE INAPPROPRIATE COMMENTS OR LEWD JOKES
One big tell is that these sociopathic and predatory men will make inappropriate jokes or comments about your body or your body parts.
In the early days, it is completely inappropriate for a man to be commenting on your legs, lips, breasts, hips, hair, and body parts. A man that is truly decent, filled with virtue and genuinely interested in you as a person will not be objectifying you in this way.
This is a warning sign that the guy has ZERO RESPECT for you, is highly sexed, is prone to seeking instant sexual gratification, wants to compromise your virtue, and also has a sex or porn addiction.
If you date or marry this guy, you will be stuck for life to a man who cheats, has affairs, abuses you, and neglects you in favour of pornography and other women.
Realise also that when the predator is this inappropriate so early in the relationship, he is testing your boundaries. He is testing you to see if you will be prime prey for abuse and to see if he can successfully compromise your purity and ruin your virtue.
You see, abuse does not generally begin with name-calling or hitting……it always starts with little acts of disrespect and boundary-pushing like these. Run!!
THEY REACT BADLY WHEN YOU SET A BOUNDARY
When you call them out of their inappropriate behaviour or tell them that you do not like being treated or spoken to in a particular way, they will gaslight you and tell you that you are overreacting, that you are too sensitive or that you are reading too much into things.
Alternatively, they may apologize, but then shut down from you, withdraw or give you the silent treatment.
You see, they are aware that they are crossing a line, but they are testing you to see if you are good prey for abuse.
So they overreact, gaslight you, over-explain their inappropriate behaviour or withdraw to make you feel guilty, make you doubt your own perception of what happened, AND to make you chase after them, apologize and put in MORE effort into the relationship.
Once you do that, they know that they have gotten you.
The silent treatment should be recognised as the abusive tactic that it is.
When someone ghosts you, respect the dead and NEVER disturb them again.
Be sure to also nail that coffin shut (BLOCK THEM EVERYWHERE) to prevent the dead from resurrecting.
THERE IS CONFUSION
The number one sign that you are involved with a predator, sociopath or psychopath is that there will be confusion.
If you find yourself feeling confused about a man’s behaviour or you find yourself googling online or searching through forums and groups for answers and advice about his behaviour in the relationship, that is a HUGE CLUE that you are dealing with a predator, a manipulator and an unstable, dangerous person with a disordered personality.
THEY PROTEST TOO MUCH
Predators and abusers know exactly what they are so they will try to tell you the opposite in the hope that constant repetition will convince you. It is a form of grooming.
They will insist again and again, repeatedly that they ‘just a good Catholic boy’, that they are virtuous, that they are chaste – it is all lies.
Remember the phrase “methinks the lady doth protest too much’?
Another example is someone who says “I will never lie” and sure, they might be open and honest about certain things, but then they LIE IMMENSELY about a whole lot of other issues.
When a man repeatedly tells you that they are chaste, they are a good Catholic boy, they will never hurt you etc, it usually is because THEY ARE NOT what they are trying to convince you they are.
If his actions and behaviour do not match up with his words, he is a predator.
Whatever the predator says that he is is what he is not; whatever the predator says that he is not is what he is.
THEY HAVE A SKETCHY PAST
This can be in their work history or in their relationships.
Abusers, sociopaths, and predators tend to leave a trail of destruction in their wake.
You will find stories that do not add up, exes that want nothing to do with them or that have blocked them; lots of house moves; lots of short-term relationships and short-term jobs.
This is a RED FLAG that this person is sociopathic, has commitment issues, is unable to foster relationships and is both unstable and dangerous.
THEY PLAY VICTIM
A lot of them will play the sympathy card to make you fall for them and to test how empathic you are.
Predators, sociopaths and abusers deliberately target sweet, caring empathic women who they know will excuse their bad, toxic behaviour.
You see, as women, we are wired to nurture and care for others.
Sociopaths, predators and abusers use this trait against us. They will tell us how nobody understands them, or they had a horrific childhood, or a horrific past relationship, people simply misunderstand them, they were wrongly accused, they were bullied or picked upon in their younger years, or in the church or in the workplace etc etc
For men, a woman will use the pity ploy or play the victim card to arouse your protective instincts.
Do not fall for it! It is a trap!!
What they want is for you to feel sorry for them and to think “Oh no, he has had such a hard life. He is so broken. I will be the one to take care of him. I will not do to him what his ex did to him or what his parents did. My love will heal him and make him happy”.
No, it won’t, but the predator wants you to think otherwise and they will have you spending the rest of your life bending over backwards and running in circles to prove it.
At the end, nothing you do will ever be good enough to validate them.
You will be used, drained, sucked dry and discarded like a piece of trash, while they merrily move on to their next prey, leaving you in completely destroyed, physically, mentally, emotionally and more.
THEY LOVE-BOMB YOU
Love-bombing is a common tactic used by cults, predators, sociopaths, and abusers to get you hooked on them. We feel flattered by the attention or think that they must be so into us, or that they are so passionate, but we do not realize that they are simply grooming us.
Love-bombing will present as lots and lots of attention, lots of messages, texts, gushing all over you on social media, leaving gushy messages on a majority of your pictures, keeping you up late with lots of messaging, texts or calls.
The love-bombing tactic is utilized to
a) make you fall for them as quickly as possible
b) confuse you so when you see later contradictory behavior in them, you explain it away.
Once they see that you have fallen for them, they then withdraw emotionally and/or physically.
This leaves you confused and you end up doing everything possible to make them happy so that things could go back to the way they were in the beginning.
Except, that beginning phase was never ever real. The person you fell in love with DOES NOT EXIST and things will never go back to the way they were because the predator enjoys keeping you hooked forever this way so that you will accept whatever mistreatment they dish out to you.
THEY BLOW HOT AND COLD
Predators and abusers are very inconsistent with their prey.
One minute, they are gushing all over you, the next minute, they are withdrawing and ignoring you.
This is not normal behaviour and it is useless trying to justify or excuse it.
This Jekyll & Hyde character is done to make you feel guilty, confuse you, and is a big clue that they are grooming you for more abuse.
This form of abuse is called intermittent reinforcement and it is designed to make you addicted to them and accepting of abuse or bad behaviour, in the hope that the good side of them will return. He won’t.
The connection and the love you feel for this person IS NOT REAL – it is entirely manufactured by them.
Blowing hot and cold also wires your brain to be trauma-bonded to the abuser, which makes you less willing to leave them when they start mistreating you, hurting you, cheating on you or abusing.
The first instance you see a person blowing hot-and-cold, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE before you get hooked!!
You will miss them afterwards, but this is because your brain was trauma-bonded to them.
Remain No Contact and your brain will return back to normal.
LITTLE TO NO TALK ABOUT THE FAITH
When you examine your interpersonal interactions with them, you will notice little to no talk about the faith or the Church.
Talking about you, your physical attributes, your job, and other aspects will dominate their interactions with you.
Take note of what they talk about as it will give you an indication of what they are trying to get from you. If they talk a lot about your looks, past relationships, sexual history, then they want to use you for sex.
If they talk a lot about your job and they want to know what type of house you live in, or your income, then they want to use you for money.
HE DEVALUES YOU
Predatory and sociopathic men generally tell on themselves in the beginning; you only have to listen.
He would say something along the lines of “I can’t believe a girl like you is still single” or something similar.
You are clearly a catch and attractive, otherwise, he wouldn’t have approached you.
But now that he finds out you are single, he is implying that something must be wrong with you because after all, you are attractive, so why hasn’t some guy snapped you up, right?
So, he is now trying to devalue you and grind down your self-worth to make himself feel better, make you grateful for his attention and also to groom you for further abuse and manipulation.
Abuse always intensifies and escalates with time. This will not get better.
He will spend the rest of his life, grinding down your self-value and self-esteem until you feel completely worthless and with no desire to live.
To a man like this, all women must be desperate to be with a man or desperate for sex, so if you are single, there must be something wrong with you.
Oh no, it couldn’t be because of any of the following:
You are a widow
You just came out of a longterm relationship
You took time out to focus on your education or career or work on yourself
Your last relationship was with an extremely toxic person and this has made you very discerning and picky about who you date.
Your last relationship ended badly years ago and you decided to bench yourself in order to work on yourself.
You are a virgin and are single because you wouldn’t put out for men
As you can see, there are many reasons why a woman is single, but men like the above generalise all women as either whores or desperate bunny boilers. They already have a negative mindset of ALL women, including you, and that would never change.
Here is an example of such a man. I give to you you EXHIBIT A. Isn’t he just delightful??!
This is truly what men like these believe. They want whittle down your self-value so much that you become groomed to accept bad treatment, abuse and disrespect from them
WALK AWAY FAST from men like these!!
Nothing good EVER results from being involved with any man who uses the “I can’t believe a girl like you is still single.” line.
Do not J.A.D.E.
JUSTIFY – your status
your status ARGUE – your reality or status
your reality or status DEFEND – your singlehood
– your singlehood EXPLAIN – why you are single.
If you engage any further with him or explain, you’ll simply convince him that you are definitely damaged and unwanted. Nothing you say or do will convince this man otherwise.
It is not you; it is him and his hatred for ALL women, and he has revealed himself as a misogynistic sociopath. Simply quietly give thanks to God that this man revealed himself and immediately cease all contact and communication with him.
Anything you say will be used against you and used to smear you publicly or behind your back.
THEY PRY INTO YOUR LIFE
These are the sort of men who bait you by revealing something ‘personal’ about themselves or their lives to trick you into sharing more of yourself.
They want to learn as much as possible about you to
a) determine if you will make good prey for them to use and abuse,
b) to know how best to manipulate and groom you, and
c) store away information about you that they can use against you later.
So they will ask you questions about your life, your income or job, your house, and so on, while revealing little to nothing about themselves.
THEY HAVE A TEMPER
Although they would try to hide this, if you are discerning, you will see a flash of impatience, hot-headedness, anger, sulking, silent treatment or a temper when they don’t get their way, when you disagree with them or when you set a boundary.
In marriage, this is the sort of predator that will physically abuse, control, and kill you.
THEY ARE CONTROLLING AND/OR POSSESSIVE
During the dating or courting phase of the relationship, a man has no right to be controlling or possessive of you. Unreasonable jealousy is a HUGE RED FLAG.
They will tell you that the reason why they are jealous or possessive is that they just love you so much, but this tactic is used to slowly isolate you from friends, family and any 3rd party that will be able to see them for what they truly are and warn you.
Isolating you from your friends, family or support system is done to make it easy for them to confuse, use and abuse you. After all, you will not know if their behaviour is acceptable or not if you have no frame of reference or input from a 3rd party.
Be wary of signs of jealousy and control, including asking you where you were, what you did over the weekend, going through your phone and so on.
These sorts of men tend to be wife-beaters, spousal murderers, and emotional abusers.
HUGE AGE DIFFERENCE
Predators and abusers deliberately target very young women, at least 15 years or younger than them, especially if the woman is in her twenties.
They do this because they are unable to fool and manipulate women of their own age, so they go for much younger women because they feel these women will be more naive, more trusting, more pliable and much easier to manipulate.
Not all age-gap relationships are like this, of course, but be very wary nonetheless, and factor this Red Flag in the context of the other Red Flags in this article.
THEY CONTRADICT THEMSELVES
Psychopaths, sociopaths, abusers and predators tend to contradict themselves A LOT. They will say one thing, then say another and when you call them out on it, they will gaslight you and tell you it didn’t happen or that you imagined it.
Even if you present them with evidence of what they said or did, they will explain it away with “Well, I actually meant *something else*” or they will say that you misunderstood them.
Watch and observe. Do their actions and behaviour match their words? If not, walk away.
THEY FUTURE-FAKE
Predators are known to string a woman along for years, keeping her holding on with promises of a future engagement or marriage.
Telling her that if only she did this or did not do that, then he would marry her.
Sometimes, he would use education, money or work as justification for faking a future that he has no intention of fulfilling.
He will have her jumping through hoops in the hope of a future, a relationship, a marriage or a family.
If you met him online, he might delay meeting up in real life.
What this man is doing is he is grooming multiple potential prey at the same time to see which one will be the perfect, most naive and gullible prey. It is immoral and he is wasting your time.
If you have not met within 2 weeks of first online contact, he is definitely stringing you along, regardless of what excuses he uses. As a woman, you cannot afford to waste your precious fertile years on a man who is simply wasting your time or who is simply keeping you on the back-burner as the last option, after he has used and exhausted all his other choices. Insulting, to say the least! Never be anyone’s Plan B or back-up.
THEY ARE HYPOCRITES
Be very wary of the so-called traditional Catholic men out there who will spout on and on about how women should be feminine, virtuous, and have all these high standards, but there is little to no talk about them working on themselves as men.
It is a form of misogyny and misogynistic men not only hate women, but they are also controlling and abusive.
Watch their social media pages or profile. Send them this article or a similar article. Talk to them about how women these days should be more feminine and traditional. Then watch how he reacts.
If his social media, profile, and conversations are all about how women should change themselves, women should do this, women should do that, he wants a woman with little to no sexual experience and there is hardly any info or talk about him improving himself to be an honourable, virtuous, traditional and masculine man, then you know that you are dealing with a misogynistic, abusive, predatory man who hates women at his core.
A truly virtuous and well-adjusted man will focus more on improving himself than whining and bitching about the evils and wrongs of women.
Watch out also for the men who complain about the legal system being unfair to men.
While it is true that, due to feminism, the legal system is biased against men, any man who has this persistent mindset on the legal system and his ‘precious’ assets is
not marrying for love,
is likely to be very stingy ( READ THIS! ),
), already has a negative perception, hatred and mistrust of women
has already determined the marriage would end anyway and WILL subconsciously sabotage your relationship/ marriage to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy, and
DEFINITELY has no business getting married or even dating in the first place.
He needs to have A LOT of self-work done.
QUESTIONABLE EXES AND FRIENDS
When you have trouble discerning a man’s true character, look at his close friends and his exes.
If his exes and friends are of questionable morals and character, there is a 99% chance that he is exactly the same.
Predators put on false masks and facades to lure their prey in, so this man who presents as charming, virtuous, and humble just might be a predatory, abusive sociopath.
If his exes were women of loose morals, immodest and pretty much nothing like you, he targeted you as prey. If you get involved with him, not only will he abuse you horribly, but he will cheat on you with….guess who…..the same type of woman as his exes.
If his friends are a bunch of womanising alcoholics or drug addicts, guess what?
He is the same. He is just hiding it from you.
YOU JUST FEEL SOMETHING IS NOT QUITE RIGHT
Your gut instincts are a gift from God.
Sometimes, there is a battle between our heart and our mind, but the gut never lies.
You do not have to wait for concrete visible proof that this person is abusive, predatory or dangerous.
Red flags are not often seen; they are felt.
If you are feeling that something is off about him or about the relationship, it is usually because it is.
Listen to your gut; it is the Holy Spirit warning you.
Your heart will lie to you, your head will deceive you, but your gut will never lead you astray.
If you notice a good number of the above Red Flags within the first three months of knowing a person, quietly exit the relationship,
Do not tell them that you know what they are, as these people can turn dangerous, stalkerish, obsessive and vengeful.
These people are not mentally ill. They have a personality disorder, which means that there is no medication that can help them and therapy makes them worse. They also get worse with time and with age.
This is why you would see a seemingly quiet family man flip out one day and kill his entire family, leaving everyone shocked because they thought he was a nice Christian.
A lot of people do not realise that:
a) over 90% of sociopaths, predators and psychopaths do not necessarily look like Charles Manson; they look just like normal people, like Bill Cobsy, Chris Watts or Ted Bundy
b) sociopaths and psychopaths are VERY charming especially to those outside of the home so that they can fly under the radar and maintain their false mask to the outside world, reserving their abuse for their wives, partners, and children
c) the sociopath or psychopath’s family, wife and children would have been enduring little acts of abuse for years before he flipped out, but they couldn’t leave due to being ashamed, being manipulated to stay or out of fear.
Some people in prominent fields even suggest that these predators (narcissists, sociopaths, and psychopaths), due to their abusive nature and complete lack of empathy, may not be human or may be possessed by a demonic force.
I am inclined to agree, because even well-known Catholic exorcist and FSSP priest, Fr Ripperger did acknowledge that these people ARE under demonic control. This is a very holy and highly educated priest that holds SIX DEGREES and he recommends not getting involved with these people, and certainly NOT marrying them!!
For more, READ THIS!!
So stay safe, dear sisters, and be very careful.
Not all that glitters is gold.
Focus on being CHOOSY, not on being chosen.
Trust and wait on the Lord and He will bring your Joseph to you, a strong, virtuous, traditional, honourable, masculine, and holy man.
It can be hard for us to fathom, but there are actually people like these with NO EMPATHY and who do not function like the rest of us.
A person with no empathy is a VERY DANGEROUS individual because there is no limit to what they can and will do, and a lot of them will fly under the radar – being openly nice and charming to outsiders, but cruel, abusive and destructive to their partners, children and family. There is no limit to what they are capable of doing and this can even extend to murder.
Engaging with these people in the belief that kindness, charity and compassion will help is fairytale-thinking, and just as naive and dangerous as entering a lion’s den, hoping it would not eat you.
It is a sin to tempt God. THOU SHALT NOT TEMPT THE LORD, THY GOD!
Dear sisters, you are NO OBLIGATION WHATSOEVER to be nice to a dangerous individual or a person that displays a significant amount of the traits listed above.
You have EVERY RIGHT to terminate the relationship and go complete NO CONTACT.
Your life could well depend on it.
Not everyone sent to you is of God. The devil sends people to you too.
So, stay safe and heed the warnings that God is giving you via your gut instincts and these red flags.
Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, pray for us.
ad Jesum per Mariam
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Complains when teenagers go on sites like 9gag and Tumblr Gets mad when they go on Reddit
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Common vampire bats often regurgitate food to roost-mates that fail to feed. The original explanation for this costly helping behaviour invoked both direct and indirect fitness benefits. Several authors have since suggested that food sharing is maintained solely by indirect fitness because non-kin food sharing could have resulted from kin recognition errors, indiscriminate altruism within groups, or harassment. To test these alternatives, we examined predictors of food-sharing decisions under controlled conditions of mixed relatedness and equal familiarity. Over a 2 year period, we individually fasted 20 vampire bats ( Desmodus rotundus ) and induced food sharing on 48 days. Surprisingly, donors initiated food sharing more often than recipients, which is inconsistent with harassment. Food received was the best predictor of food given across dyads, and 8.5 times more important than relatedness. Sixty-four per cent of sharing dyads were unrelated, approaching the 67 per cent expected if nepotism was absent. Consistent with social bonding, the food-sharing network was consistent and correlated with mutual allogrooming. Together with past work, these findings support the hypothesis that food sharing in vampire bats provides mutual direct fitness benefits, and is not explained solely by kin selection or harassment.
1. Introduction
Cooperation poses an evolutionary puzzle whenever a donor pays a cost to help a recipient: what prevents individuals from receiving the reproductive benefits of donor cooperation without paying the costs? Several mechanisms can prevent such ‘cheating’ thereby ensuring that cooperative investments yield net inclusive fitness benefits [1]. The exploitation of altruism is often prevented through kin discrimination [2] or policing [3], whereas direct fitness cooperation can be enforced by behaviours that reward helpers, punish cheats or both [1,4–8]. To identify what mechanisms enforce or maintain cooperation, controlled experiments can directly test how individuals respond to cheating. The most successful of such experiments involve organisms that are easy to manipulate in the laboratory [6–13]. Studies using more cognitively complex organisms, such as non-human primates, are often limited to learned behaviours, such as pulling levers to deliver food to others [13–15], because inducing or manipulating natural helping acts that occur in the wild is difficult or impossible.
Common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) feed only on blood and die after 70 h of fasting [16], but unfed bats often receive food from roost-mates by regurgitation [17]. Vampire bat food sharing is potentially a powerful model for understanding the cognitive enforcement of cooperation, because this behaviour is completely natural, energetically costly, occurs between kin and non-kin and can be induced experimentally. Previous work found that free-ranging female vampire bats regurgitated blood mostly to their offspring (77 of 110 donations), but also fed adult females, preferentially close relatives and only frequent roost-mates (i.e. more than 60% co-roosting association [17]). Adult donations were predicted independently by relatedness and association [17]. A captive experiment that induced food sharing among unrelated bats found that bats returned food donations to their past donors on four of six possible occasions—more than expected by chance [17]. Although vampire bat food sharing has been a textbook example of reciprocity, this interpretation has been questioned owing to several alternative explanations [18–22].
Wilkinson originally suggested that food donating vampire bats obtain both direct and indirect fitness benefits [17], with direct benefits outweighing kin-selected benefits [23]. Under this scenario, cheating is prevented because bats donate preferentially to past donors and relatives. Hence, food-sharing decisions should integrate cues to kinship and future direct benefits (e.g. reciprocal donations or allogrooming [24]).
Others have suggested that non-kin food sharing might simply result from manipulation [20]. According to this ‘harassment hypothesis’, non-kin food-sharing benefits only recipients, not donors. Persistent begging by unfed bats might coerce conspecifics into food sharing. If so, donations should be solicited by recipients and directed primarily to dominant individuals.
Alternatively, donations to non-kin could simply be an incidental by-product of kin altruism. Hammerstein [20] suggested that olfactory kin recognition cues could have been miscalibrated by the lack of kin present in the captive experiment [19]. This ‘miscalibrated kin recognition hypothesis’ predicts that donors should donate almost exclusively to kin when in the more natural context of mixed relatedness.
Selection can favour indiscriminate altruism within social groups when the average within-group relatedness is high enough and the cost of helping is low enough. The ‘group-level altruism hypothesis’ predicts that donors indiscriminately help groupmates [22,25]. For example, Foster's [22] model of vampire bat food sharing ‘assumes that fed bats do not discriminate among unfed bats when giving blood’ presumably because the costs of discriminating kin are too high.
Several simulations have been developed to explain food sharing [22,23,25,26], yet no one has gathered additional empirical evidence regarding how vampire bats decide to share food (but see [27,28]). As a first step, we tested predictions of the above hypotheses by experimentally simulating unsuccessful foraging attempts in a captive colony of common vampire bats of mixed relatedness and equal familiarity. The original study [17] compared the explanatory roles of relatedness and association. Here, we directly compare relatedness and reciprocal help as predictors of food sharing, under conditions of equal association. We also evaluated alternative predictors of food sharing, including recipient age or size (as predicted by harassment) and food received from any groupmate (as predicted by generalized reciprocity [15,29]).
2. Methods
(a) Animals
All procedures were approved by the University of Maryland Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (Protocol R-10-63). We did not test unhealthy bats, late pregnancy females, or mothers and their juveniles less than 4 months of age. We stopped testing males partway through the experiment since removing males coincided with increased aggression in the colony.
We fasted 11 males and nine females out of 25 common vampire bats, descended from multiple matrilines. Bats were housed at the Organization for Bat Conservation (Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA) in a flight cage large enough to allow them to freely associate during the study and for more than 2 years prior. All bats were uniquely marked with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and coloured bands, except for three juveniles (4–8 months) born during the study that were reliably identified by PIT tags and distinctive face and body marks.
(b) Fasting procedure
To induce food sharing, we removed and fasted a subject from the group for 24 h, then returned it to the cage with fed groupmates, and recorded subsequent social interactions for 2 h with a Sony Nightshot digital camcorder and infrared illumination. We measured the subject's mass immediately before reintroduction and after the 2 h observation period. We selected available bats randomly and without replacement to serve as subjects, and tested each subject 1–5 times. After the observation period, fasted bats were provided food.
(c) Behavioural data
We refer to subjects that received food as ‘recipients’ and partners that provided food as ‘donors’. To quantify food sharing, we measured mouth-licking bouts via frame-by-frame analysis in imovie 11. We defined mouth-licking bouts as periods where food could be passed that lasted at least 5 s and were separated by more than 5 s. We noted whether one bat clearly began licking a conspecific's mouth and classified bouts accordingly as initiated by the recipient, donor or ‘unknown’. We defined allogrooming as the licking of a conspecific at locations other than the mouth. To measure mean pairwise allogrooming rates, we randomly selected individuals for focal sample observations 1–4 times during non-trial days and counted the presence and direction of allogrooming with any conspecific every minute for 60 min.
We used mouth-licking time to estimate the amount of food sharing because it strongly correlated with mass gain during the 2 h trial (r = 0.90; 95% CI = 0.73–0.96). We pooled time spent donating food from multiple days to obtain a single measure of food sharing for each directional dyad that had an opportunity to share food in each direction (n = 312 dyads), except when we analysed sequences of sharing events (see the electronic supplementary material, S1).
(d) Pairwise relatedness
We extracted DNA from 2 to 3 mm biopsy punches using Qiagen DNeasy kits, then amplified and genotyped 13 microsatellite loci to estimate maximum-likelihood coefficients of relatedness (r) for each dyad using ML-Relate [30] (see the electronic supplementary material, S1). We jackknifed across loci to estimate standard errors (s.e.) for each r value (s.e. range = 0–0.035; s.e. mean = 0.005). Across all dyads, r = 0 for 59 per cent, r < 0.05 for 69 per cent and r > 0.25 for 20 per cent. Patterns of observed and expected heterozygosity indicated no history of inbreeding (see the electronic supplementary material, S1).
(e) Statistical analysis
The variance in mouth-licking times increased with the mean, so we log-transformed mean food-sharing times for each dyad (see the electronic supplementary material, figure S1). We therefore defined ‘food donated’ from bat A to B as ln ([total food shared A to B/chances for A to feed B]+1). We defined ‘food received’ similarly, except with the roles of A and B reversed. We z-transformed all variables to standardize scales.
To analyse dyadic data, we used a randomization approach to general linear models, where we permuted food donated to sets of predictor variables creating a null distribution of comparison F-values [31]. We first conducted univariate analyses to identify variables that predicted mean food donated across dyads and then performed a permuted multiple regression using the lmp function in the R package lmPerm. To choose the best model, we selected predictors and their interactions based on backward stepwise regression using Akaike and Bayesian information criteria in JMP v. 10. We interpreted interactions by examining correlations between two variables at several values of the other variables. To compare the relative importance of predictors, we averaged the sequential sum of squares over all orderings [32] for up to three predictors using the R package relaimpo [33]. We predicted amounts of food donated across directed dyads that could have shared food in both directions. We also predicted the presence or absence of food sharing across these dyads using logistic regression, and finally the amount of food donated only within dyads that did share food.
To determine whether individual food donations were exchanged in a reciprocal manner over time [34], we examined the sequence of sharing events across trials to test for correlations between food given and received within dyads (using both amounts and proportions, see the electronic supplementary material, S1). To test the effect of general help received, we compared the mean amount of food donated by a bat to all fasted partners before and after it was fed by others to determine whether it donated larger amounts after receiving food from others.
To test for symmetry and consistency of relationships, we used Mantel and randomization tests to compare network similarity for: (i) food sharing in subsequent fasting rounds, (ii) food sharing six months apart, (iii) allogrooming given and received, and (iv) food sharing given and received, using only bats that served as subjects and were available as donors in every round (see the electronic supplementary material, S1).
Finally, to assess the harassment hypothesis, we examined whether recipients or donors were more likely to initiate mouth-licking. We also tested two potential measures of coercion ability—recipient age and size (forearm length)—as potential predictors of food donated.
3. Results
(a) Pattern of food sharing
We induced food sharing on 48 out of 52 fasting trials over 780 days, and recorded 950 food-sharing bouts [35]. Food sharing occurred primarily between females and never between adult males (see the electronic supplementary material, figure S2). Sixty-three of the 98 dyads that shared food had relatedness estimates of less than 0.05. This percentage (64%) approaches that percentage expected (67%) if partners were chosen at random with respect to relatedness (i.e. 208 of 312 possible food-sharing dyads were related by less than 0.05).
In each trial, recipients were fed by an average of 3.9 donors (range = 1–7). Median donation time per dyad in a trial was 191 s (n = 204 donations, mean = 339 s, range = 5–3315 s). The total amount of food received from all donors during the 2 h period was typically about 5 per cent of an adult recipient's mass, which restored approximately 20 per cent of mass lost during 24 h of fasting (see the electronic supplementary material, S1).
(b) Predictors of food sharing across dyads
Univariate analyses showed that food donated was predicted by food received, allogrooming received, pairwise relatedness (figure 1) and donor sex (included as a binary variable, electronic supplementary material, figure S3). All correlations were also significant before log transformations (p < 0.0002 in all cases). Figure 1. Relationships between food donated and predictor variables. z-score for log food donated was predicted by z-scores of (a) log food received (R2 = 0.27, p < 0.0002), (b) allogrooming received (R2 = 0.14, p < 0.0002) and (c) relatedness (R2 = 0.04, p < 0.0012). A bubble plot (d) shows multivariate relationships by scaling bubble size to relatedness and bubble darkness to allogrooming received.
The best multivariate model (adjusted R2 = 0.372, F 5,306 = 37.8, p < 0.0002) included food received (β = 0.319, p < 0.0002), donor sex (β = 0.267, p < 0.0002), allogrooming received (β = 0.186, p < 0.0002) and the interaction between relatedness and food received (β = 0.069, p = 0.0276), but not relatedness (β = 0.052, p = 0.16). An interaction plot showed that the relationship between food donated and received increased in slope with higher relatedness. Food received was 8.5 times more important than relatedness for predicting food donated (figure 2). Figure 2. Relative importance on food donated of several predictors. Proportion of R2 is shown for four predictor variables. An interaction effect (see text) is not shown. The full model explained 38% of the variation in food donated.
Food received, donor sex and allogrooming received, but not relatedness, also predicted the presence of food sharing (see the electronic supplementary material, S1). Among the 98 food-sharing dyads, donation size was predicted independently by food received and relatedness, with the latter relationship driven by mother–offspring pairs (see the electronic supplementary material, S1).
(c) Predictors of food sharing across trials
Sequential analysis across trial days indicated that the amount of food donated and previously received were correlated when comparing the proportion of a donor's contribution to the total food received by a partner (R2 = 0.08, F 1,160 = 13.9, p < 0.0002), but not when comparing the absolute amount of food given and received (R2 = 0.01, F 1,160 = 2.4, p = 0.1).
We found no evidence that being fed in general increased subsequent food sharing, as expected by generalized reciprocity (see the electronic supplementary material, S1). Donation sizes could sometimes be compared both before and after the donor was fed within a round of trials. In these 28 cases, we failed to find a difference in presence of food sharing (paired t 27 = 0.98, p = 0.34), total food donated (paired t 27 =−1.3, p = 0.20) or food donated per recipient (paired t 27 = 0.16, p = 0.87). When the donor was fed on the previous day, we found no difference between the amount donated on that day compared with the donor's average on other days (n = 9 donors and nine trials, paired t 8 =−0.013, p = 0.99).
(d) Consistency of social relationships
Dyadic relationships were consistent and symmetrical over time. Contrary to random association, food-sharing networks were significantly similar when comparing patterns 8 days apart (15 bats, amount shared: p = 0.0298, presence of sharing: p = 0.0072) or six months apart (67 dyads, amount shared: p = 0.0238, presence of sharing: p < 0.0002). Amounts given and received were correlated for both the food-sharing (15 bats, amount shared: p = 0.0004) and allogrooming network (figure 3). Figure 3. Allogrooming given correlates with allogrooming received. Allogrooming giving is plotted against allogrooming received for dyads that did not share food ((a) n = 214, r = 0.62, p < 0.0002) and dyads that did share food ((b) n = 98, r = 0.81, p < 0.0002). On non-trial days, dyads that shared food both gave and received more allogrooming than non-sharing dyads (F 1,310 = 32.9 and 41.0, p < 0.0002 for both).
(e) Predictors of harassment
Donors initiated food sharing in 62 per cent of non-maternal food-sharing bouts. Mean duration did not differ between food-sharing bouts initiated by donors versus recipients (t = 1.4, n = 235, p = 0.16). We found no effect of recipient age (R2 = 0.006, p = 0.2) or forearm length (R2 = 0.004, p = 0.5) on the amount of food donated.
4. Discussion
(a) Predictors of food sharing
The relative importance of relatedness and reciprocal sharing in determining the food-sharing decisions of adult vampire bats was not directly comparable in previous work [17]. Here, we found that, among captive vampire bats where co-roosting association is held constant, the predictive role of reciprocal help greatly exceeds that of relatedness. Food received from a partner was the strongest and most robust predictor of both the presence and amount of food donated to that partner. The donor's sex, amount of allogrooming received and a positive interaction between food received and relatedness predicted food donated to a lesser extent.
Distinguishing the roles of direct and indirect fitness can be difficult because social behaviours, such as punishment or reciprocal help, can change the cost–benefit ratio in Hamilton's rule (r > c/b), leading to complex interactions between direct and indirect fitness benefits [1–3,23]. For example, the predictive roles of reciprocal help and relatedness in food sharing could interact positively or negatively. Since vampire bats under the age of 2 years fail to feed on 30 per cent of nights [17], the benefits of receiving food are probably age-dependent. We might therefore expect older bats to feed related young but not vice versa, causing a negative relationship between the predictors, reciprocal help and relatedness. Instead, we found a positive interaction: highly related pairs engaged in reciprocal sharing that was more symmetrical than unrelated pairs. For example, the largest donations were four females feeding their juvenile (4 and 8 months) or subadult male offspring (19 and 31 months); in all cases, the offspring reciprocated with large donations to the unfed mothers.
(b) Evidence for social bonds
Much emerging evidence links social bonds with direct fitness benefits in social mammals (see [36] and references therein). Wild female vampire bats have been observed still roosting together after 12 years [37], and several lines of evidence suggest that such long-term social relationships play a role in stabilizing food sharing. First, allogrooming appears to serve a social bonding function because it is uncorrelated with ectoparasite levels in the wild [24], and occurred commonly and symmetrically in the absence of visible ectoparasites (figure 3). Second, dyads that share food performed more allogrooming on non-test days than non-sharing dyads (figure 3). Third, food sharing and allogrooming were correlated across dyads (figure 1), and food-sharing patterns were significantly consistent over days and months. Finally, male vampire bats rarely share food in the wild where their social relationships are transient [37], but will share food in captivity [27] where male associations are more stable. Taken together with the relatively weak correlation between the exact amounts of within-dyad food donated and received between trials, these findings are consistent with long-term social bonds involving mutual exchange of both food and grooming over long periods, rather than short-term turn-taking or calculated reciprocity [14].
(c) Alternative explanations for non-kin food sharing
Contrary to predictions of the harassment hypothesis [20], donors were more likely than recipients to approach and initiate mouth-licking (see the electronic supplementary material, S2), even when excluding mother–offspring donations. We also found no relationship between food sharing and recipient age or forearm size, both potential correlates of harassment ability. The harassment hypothesis therefore seems untenable as the sole explanation for non-kin food sharing.
Can vampire bat food sharing be explained by indirect fitness alone? Contrary to predictions of the miscalibrated kin recognition hypothesis [18], our results show that non-kin food sharing prevailed in a colony of mixed relatedness and equal familiarity. In this study, relatedness did not predict the presence or amount of food sharing across dyads that could have shared food. Although relatedness predicted donation size for food-sharing dyads, the effect was largely driven by extended maternal care (see the electronic supplementary material, S1). One interpretation of these negative results is that kin discrimination is possible, but the indirect benefits of nepotism were overshadowed by the direct benefits of reciprocal food sharing. Alternatively, a group-level altruism hypothesis might predict that ‘kin discrimination’ is based on familiarity rather than phenotypic matching, leading to indiscriminate altruism within groups [22].
The fission–fusion social dynamics of wild vampire bats lead to unstable roosting group membership, and male dispersal and occasional recruitment of unrelated females lead to low average relatedness in groups (r = 0.02–0.11 based on genetic and pedigree analyses) [37]. Under such conditions, selection is not expected to favour kin recognition mechanisms based on familiarity alone. The multi-level selection model by Foster [22] suggests that indiscriminate altruism within groups can be favoured at mean group relatedness levels as low as 0.05, but this model assumes that bats are neither reciprocating nor nepotistic, as either strategy would make a system of indiscriminate altruism unstable. By contrast, we found that the network of food donations within the captive group was less random, more reciprocal and more consistent over time, than expected by chance.
Free-ranging common vampire bats preferentially feed relatives within roosts despite frequent roost-switching and co-roosting with non-kin [17,37], indicating that vampire bats are capable of kin discrimination. While the mechanisms for kin or individual discrimination are still unclear, auditory and olfactory cues are probable. Female bats of all species recognize juveniles through isolation calls, and adult common vampire bats often produced similar individual-specific contact calls when isolated [38]. Playback studies have demonstrated that such calls allow individual discrimination in the closest extant vampire bat species, Diaemus youngi [39]. Food-sharing bouts were preceded by allogrooming and sniffing (see the electronic supplementary material, S2), which suggest a role for odour. Additional studies are needed to test recognition mechanisms in this species.
(d) Evidence for reciprocity
The correlation we observed between food donated and received does not demonstrate that receiving food determines subsequent food donated within a dyad. For this reason, we avoided the term ‘reciprocity’ to prevent confusion because the term has broad, narrow, and sometimes contrasting, definitions in the literature [1,13–15,17–19]. Reciprocity could involve partner control through direct reward or punishment within dyads, or partner choice and switching based on the perceived relative value of different partners as cooperators [4–8,10–15]. Experiments are needed to test if and how donors respond to cheating.
We found that on average fasted bats were fed by three donors, so the costs of food sharing were often divided among partners. As expected, potential donors sometimes rejected begging recipients, but unexpectedly, some fasted subjects also appeared to reject food offers from some potential donors. This surprising observation may indicate that bats favour some food-sharing partners over others, with implications for modelling vampire bat cooperation as a biological market [4,40] rather than as an iterated dyadic interaction.
Acknowledgements All procedures were approved by the University of Maryland Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (protocol R-10-63). We thank the Organization for Bat Conservation, Rob Mies, Jesse Fabian, Mary Smith and Matthew Mulkeen for their generous support. This work was funded by grants-in-aid of research from the Cosmos Club Foundation, American Society of Mammalogists, Explorer's Club Washington Group, and Sigma Xi. G.G.C. is supported by a Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, administered by the National Academy of Sciences.
Footnotes | {
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The New York State Education Department is reviewing the Clinton Global Initiative University’s decision to use the term “university” in its name without explicit permission.
The review comes in response to inquiries made by The Daily Beast.
For the first time in American history, the (likely) Republican and Democratic nominees for president are also both, bizarrely, associated with eponymous entities that use or used the term university in their titles but were never, in fact, universities.
Donald Trump once operated Trump University, later renamed the Trump Entrepreneurship Initiative (but more on that later) while Hillary and Bill Clinton’s Clinton Global Initiative (itself a faction of the Clinton Foundation) continues to host a lesser-known program they call the Clinton Global Initiative University, or CGI U.
Unlike Trump University, there is no CGI U curriculum, no fees, and no promise that attendees will attain a life of tremendous wealth and gaudy boardrooms where they can fire people for fun.
But very much like Trump University, CGI U was never a school in any traditional sense.
There is no syllabus, no classes, no papers, no grades and, in the end, no degree or cap and gown. But both organizations, at one time, called themselves “universities.”
According to New York state education law, “No individual, association, co-partnership or corporation not holding university, college or other degree conferring powers by special charter from the legislature of this state or form of regents” is permitted to call itself a “university” or “college” without consent.
A spokesperson for the New York State Education Department did not immediately respond when asked about the timeframe of the review.
Clinton Global Initiative University was founded by the former president in 2007 not as a separate company, but as an annual seminar hosted by CGI.
CGI U’s stated goal, according to information provided to The Daily Beast by the Clinton Foundation, is, vaguely, “to engage the next generation of leaders on college campuses around the world. ”
They do this via an annual meeting, usually attended by Chelsea and Bill. This year’s was in April at UC Berkeley.
The Clinton Foundation is quick to highlight a long list of boldfaced names that have addressed the students: Madeleine Albright, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Pharrell Williams, Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova and so on.
Video footage of past meetings show a conference that feels part Scientology and part TED Talk.
“Students at CGI U don’t just discuss global challenges,” the Clinton Foundation told The Daily Beast in all earnestness, “they take real, concrete steps toward solving them.”
Where the Clinton Global Initiative University is similar to Trump University, however, is that it never received permission to call itself a university.
On March 30, 2010, the New York state Department of Education sent a complaint to Trump regarding Trump University LLC.
Trump U had been founded five years previously as a means of capitalizing on the newfound superstardom that came to Trump, a developer of really yuge buildings and a tabloid fixture, with the premiere of NBC’s The Apprentice in 2004.
Trump hired ivy league professors and intellectuals to create an online curriculum that promised to teach his fans the tricks of the real estate trade.
But when those classes, sold on CD-ROM, proved an insufficiently profitable business venture, Trump U pivoted to hosting real estate seminars and selling mentorships to single moms for $35,000.
Technically Trump U never said it was a real college.
There were no credits to be had or graduation ceremony to attend.
But there was a school crest—a medieval lion roaring before a backdrop of red and gold—and a promise that, with his help and his help only, “students” could become tycoons themselves.
And that was enough to set off some alarm bells at the Department of Ed.
“In the state of New York, ‘university’ is a legally defined term that may not be used in the real or assumed name of a business corporation, or not-for-profit corporation without the prior written consent of the Commissioner of the State Education Department,” the letter, from then-deputy commissioner Joseph P. Frey, read.
Frey alleged that, based on Trump University’s website alone, “It is evident that it is holding itself out as an institution of higher education,” which, he wrote, was a violation of New York State Education Law.
“In light of this violation,” Frey wrote. “I must ask you to immediately discontinue use of the word ‘university’ in your corporation’s name.”
After first toying with renaming themselves “Trump Education,” Trump eventually settled on, “The Trump Entrepreneur Initiative” before going out of business altogether. Today, the company remains the subject of two class action lawsuits in California and a separate suit brought by the Attorney General in New York, Eric Schneiderman.
Doug Varley, an attorney with Caplin & Drysdale who the Clinton Foundation said it, “engaged with” on this issue, pointed to a caveat in New York state education law during a conversation with The Daily Beast.
Varley believes the caveat means the Clinton Global Initiative is legally permitted to use the term university to describe its program.
The law–8 CRR-NY 3.29–specifies that the same rule which forced Trump University to change its name to the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative does not apply to “individual proprietorships, associations, co-partnership or corporations which do not offer educational programs and whose name includes the world ‘college’ or ‘university’ in a context from which it clearly appears that such an entity is not an educational institution.”
For the Clintons’ sake, Varley better be right. The Clinton Global Initiative Entrepreneur Initiative doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. | {
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“The trouble [with injustice] is that once you see it, you can’t unsee it. And once you’ve seen it, keeping quiet, saying nothing, becomes as political an act as speaking out. There is no innocence. Either way, you’re accountable.” —Arundhati Roy
Once again, Arundhati Roy—the esteemed Indian author and activist—more eloquently described what I’m feeling than I could ever hope to. After tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, a lifetime in the Army and burying several brave young men for no good reason, I couldn’t remain silent one moment longer. Certainly not about the madness of America’s failed forever wars, nor about domestic militarization of the police and the border, nor about the structural racism borne of our nation’s “original sin.” Still, most of my writing and public dissent has stayed within the bounds of my limited expertise: the disease of endless, unwinnable and often unsanctioned American wars.
At times it’s been a decidedly lonely journey, particularly in the many years I remained on active duty while actively dissenting. I was, and remain, struck by how few of my fellow soldiers, officers and recent post-9/11 veterans felt as I did—strongly enough, at least, to publicly decry U.S. militarism. Then I discovered Tulsi Gabbard, an obscure young congresswoman from Hawaii who, coincidentally, serves in the Army and is herself a veteran of the war in Iraq. In the current climate of Gabbard-bashing, where even sites like Truthdig offer measured criticism, it’s hard to convey the profound sense of relief I felt that someone as outspokenly anti-war as Gabbard even existed way back in 2016. She said things I only dared think back then; and as I did, she backed Bernie Sanders—a risky endeavor that likely doomed her to the recent slanderous accusations of treason by Hillary Clinton. That’s called courage.
Perhaps the appropriate place to begin my qualified defense of Gabbard is with Clinton’s outrageous—and unsubstantiated—assertion that the long-shot 2020 presidential candidate is being “groomed” by the Russians to run a third-party spoiler campaign in the general election. First off, Gabbard should seriously consider suing for libel. Clinton has veritably, and without a shred of evidence, accused her of treason, a crime that, due to Gabbard’s continued military service, is punishable by death. This is no small matter.
This absurd accusation could usher in a new Red Scare, if there isn’t one already underway—a frightful time in American history when almost anyone outside the hawkish Cold War mainstream consensus could be labeled a “Soviet asset” or Communist fellow traveler. Gay government employees, pacifists, leftist union leaders, anti-war activists and cultural bohemians, among others, were swept up in the conformist madness. Many were unable to recover their careers and reputations.
That a self-proclaimed liberal and supposed symbol of anti-Trumpism like Clinton would peddle in such fearmongering should be surprising, but in the Democratic Party of 2019, it sadly isn’t. When Gabbard fired back that Clinton is the “queen of the warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long,” she was absolutely correct. From Iraq to Libya to Syria, Clinton has been a hawk’s hawk, and she’s been wrong on every major foreign policy issue of her day. As for the “corruption” and “rot” at the heart of the Democratic Party, consider this very simple but poignant fact: In 2005, Gabbard was serving her country in Iraq; Clinton was attending Donald Trump’s third wedding.
To be fair, there are aspects of Gabbard’s public career that deserve criticism, or at least firm requests for clarification. Early in her political life—though this has nothing much to do with foreign policy—she held some disturbingly anti-LGBT positions. I absolutely loathe that. However, she has since recanted and expressed her regret for once opposing marriage equality. Lest we forget, none other than Barack Obama “evolved” on that issue as well, moving from tepid opposition to enthusiastic support in a time period not dissimilar to Gabbard’s change of heart. As for Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, toward which Gabbard was foolishly lukewarm, she’s changed her mind on that as well. Some might accuse her of flip-flopping, but how many current Democratic favorites—think Elizabeth Warren, a former Republican—have changed course, rethought old positions and adapted to the times based on new evidence?
Then there’s Gabbard’s occasionally disturbing cozying up to dictators. I’m thinking specifically of the Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi in India, barrel-bomb-happy Bashar Assad in Syria and demonstrator-massacring Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Egypt. Modi is a neo-fascist; Assad is a monster; and el-Sissi runs the worst police state in Egyptian history. Still, it seems unproductive to reduce Gabbard’s views to the binary of loving or hating dictators. For one thing, there’s a measure of hypocrisy here. Clinton hasn’t raised a peep about Modi or el-Sissi, and the Obama administration worked hand in hand with the brutal Saudi regime.
When it comes to Syria, Gabbard has a point. She’s the only 2020 Democratic candidate willing to recognize that the U.S. launched a brutal regime-change war that involved backing al-Qaida-linked groups, even empowering Islamic State. The result has been the complete disintegration of Syrian society and a migration crisis that continues to roil the West. And this may not be politically correct to admit, but Assad, for all his many flaws, never posed a threat to the U.S. homeland and protected both Christians and other minorities. Gabbard, despite knowing it would hurt her politically, had the intellectual fortitude to admit that his was preferable to Islamist rule.
Whatever the merits of these criticisms, I can’t help but think they overshadow one vital point: Gabbard is the only Democratic hopeful to place foreign policy—specifically ending the absurd wars she was a part of herself—at the top of her campaign agenda. Love her or hate her, that is profound in post-9/11 America. She’s been an outspoken opponent of the U.S.-backed Saudi genocide in Yemen, repeatedly calls out the lie of an Iraq War that shattered the Middle East, and is almost alone in criticizing Obama’s repeatedly counterproductive actions that armed and fueled anti-American Islamists in Syria. These are vital truths in an age of obfuscation and foreign policy apathy.
Gabbard faces a near-impossible task. In today’s evermore paranoid and conspiratorial climate, anyone who espouses anything resembling Trump’s (unfulfilled) anti-war rhetoric is certain to be labeled—as I’ve regularly been—a “Putin apologist” or a “Russian asset.” Yes, she’s polling around 2%, so one could argue that I’m wasting my time defending her. Nonetheless, that Clinton bothered to attack her, that The New York Times did so twice before the “queen of the warmongers” did, and that she’s such a polarizing figure despite her long-shot status, suggests that a segment of the discredited Democratic establishment fears her. From my perspective, that alone is something to like about Gabbard.
So, from one Army major and combat vet to another, Tulsi Gabbard, please give a major speech clarifying each and every criticism leveled against you—even the uncomfortable ones. Don’t shy away from tough questions or hedge your bets. Be real; it’s potentially your best quality. Never stop beating the virulently anti-war drum, but explain how you’d use diplomacy to craft a holistic foreign policy that strays from the last 18 years of hyperinterventionist militarism.
Bang the drum; fight the good fight; and for however long you can stay in the race, force the other Democratic presidential contenders to engage with foreign policy, with the tough questions of war and peace that the party has ignored for so long, at its peril. Offer us a true answer to Trump’s muddled and possibly fraudulent “anti-war” policies.
Do that, and no matter your personal political fate, you’ll have done the nation and Constitution you swore to protect and defend a greater service than you already have. I’ll be there, rooting for you. | {
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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Order placed for 1.7 crore PPE and 49,000 ventilators, 20 domestic manufacturers developed to supply PPE: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
Current stock of Hydroxychloroquin is more than enough, Government is 100% prepared to meet emergent needs: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
Group of Ministers discusses COVID-19 containment and management strategy and setting up of Dedicated COVID Hospitals: Health Ministry
The rate of positive cases has not increased substantially in last 1-2 months, ranging between 3%-5%: ICMR
New Delhi / Mumbai, April 9, 2020
The number of COVID-19 cases stands at 5,734 as on date. A total of 166 people in the country have died because of the COVID-2019 infection. In the last 24 hours, 540 new cases and 17 deaths have been reported. 473 people have recovered so far. This was informed by the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Shri Luv Aggarwal, at the daily media briefing on the actions taken, preparedness and updates on COVID-19, held at National Media Centre, PIB New Delhi today.
The Joint Secretary further informed that order has been placed for 1.7 crore PPE and 49,000 ventilators, based on which supply has started to come. 20 domestic manufacturers have been developed to supply PPE. Shri Aggarwal further noted, “There is a feeling of fear being created that PPEs are not enough; we must understand that PPEs are not required for everyone, as per guidelines issued earlier. PPE must be used based on risk profile, its use at field-level should be as per the defined process and guidelines. What is important is that PPEs are used rationally for the right purpose and where it is needed”. He clarified that PPE is not only cover-all - it is a mix of different components. All components are required only in high-risk zones, such as in labs where test samples are collected, in emergency rooms and in mortuary-related activities. In other zones, N95 masks and gloves will be sufficient. Reiterating that the Government is making efforts to provide sufficient stock to states, he reminded that it is also necessary that PPE is used in a rational and optimal manner, for the right purpose.
About supply of Hydroxychloroquin (HCQ), the Joint Secretary briefed that the nation has made proper preparation and planning regarding current and future requirement of hydroxychloroquine. The current stock is more than enough and Government is 100% prepared to meet emergent needs, he further said. He highlighted also that hydroxychloroquine should be used as per norms. “HCQ is to be given only to contacts and doctors dealing with COVID-19 patients. It can be harmful to people suffering from cardiac diseases or irregularities. It should be used only by the specified categories of people.”
Shri Aggarwal also informed that:
Speaking about commendable work being carried at different places to deal with lockdown, the Joint Secretary cited the examples of Karnal and Lucknow. Karnal district in Haryana has started 'Adopt A Family' campaign, under which people are contributing to support needy families during lockdown; under this, 13,000 families are being supported using Rs. 64 lakh contribution which has been received. 90,000 meals are also being distributed per day to support vulnerable groups; a dedicated Karnal Live Tracker to track home quarantine and an online local delivery app called 'Need On Wheels' to deliver fruits, vegetables and other items have also been started in Karnal. In Lucknow district, efforts are being made to use hotels as COVID-19 quarantine facilities.
The Home Affairs Ministry stated:
States are taking many measures such as helplines, apps, relief camps, food camps and shelters to help people who are stranded due to the lockdown.
More than 300 grievances were addressed via the MHA control room yesterday.
Helpline for North Eastern Region 1944 is also providing services effectively.
ICMR informed that around 1,30,000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted till yesterday, out of which 5,734 were found to be positive. The rate of positive cases has not increased substantially in last 1-2 months, ranging between 3%-5%. 13,143 samples were tested yesterday.
The Principal Director General, PIB, Shri K.S. Dhatwalia informed that:
LIVE tweets by @PIB_India from the media briefing can be found on this thread.
***
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Los Puccio: Alejandro, Silvia, Daniel “Maguila”, Guillermo, Epifanía, Arquímedes y Adriana
"El fin justifica los medios" (Maquiavelo). En la pared del pasillo que comunicaba a las habitaciones de sus hijos, Arquímedes Puccio tenía la costumbre de pegar citas ilustres. Las elegía con cuidado, las escribía en una hoja de cuaderno -que luego recortaba con pulso firme-, las pegaba con cinta scotch y encendía una vela para que "iluminara" las máximas. Todos debían leerlas. Las órdenes del padre jamás se discutían.
………………………..
No es una escena de "Historia de un clan", la miniserie de Underground (producida por Pablo Culell, dirigida por Luis Ortega) que arrasó en premios y audiencia y que hoy volvió con fuerza en Netflix.
Esta es la verdadera historia del clan Puccio, esa familia tradicional que, a mediados de los 80, había transformado su casona colonial en una cárcel para ocultar, torturar y matar a las víctimas de sus secuestros.
Los hechos aquí narrados se reconstruyeron a través de testimonios de testigos, policías, jueces, fiscales, abogados, amigos, víctimas y victimarios. La intimidad del clan se revela, además, en las cartas de la familia, los diarios íntimos, el álbum de fotos.
Los miedos, las peleas, los "hijos preferidos", las obsesiones, la mala relación matrimonial, la doble vida. Cada escalofriante detalle descubre el sometimiento, la crueldad y el horror que se vivía detrás de las paredes de Martín y Omar 544. Aquí, no hay una sola línea de ficción.
Se destapa el horror
Los Puccio, amigos y parientes en una fiesta familiar a principios de los 80
En la noche del viernes 23 de agosto de 1985 doce patrulleros rompieron la calma de las empedradas calles del San Isidro histórico y rodearon, con las sirenas aullando, la manzana de Martín y Omar al 500.
Sólo una hora antes, cuarenta efectivos de la División de Defraudaciones y Estafas de la Policía Federal habían atrapado al líder de la banda de secuestradores más buscada. Estaba junto a uno de sus hijos, en una estación de servicio cerca de la cancha de Huracán, llamando por teléfono a los hijos de la víctima para pedir el último rescate: 250 mil dólares por la vida de su madre.
Así está el famoso portón de la casa de los Puccio, en San Isidro. (Adrián Escandar)
"La casa está llena de dinamita. Apenas entren, vuelan todos por el aire", alcanzó a gritar el hombre bajo, pelado y de rasgos severos al verse rodeado. El joven rubio y de pelo largo que estaba a su lado quiso resistirse e intentó manotear el arma del oficial. No pudo. Entonces, bajó la cabeza y sin mirar a su padre, dijo: "La tenemos en el sótano de mi casa".
Hablaba de Nélida Bollini viuda de Prado (58), la empresaria a la que habían secuestrado y mantenido cautiva durante 32 días, encadenada a un camastro en el asfixiante sótano del caserón colonial.
Nadie podía sospechar de esa familia que cada domingo iba a misa a la Catedral -el padre de corbata, la madre con sus mejores vestidos, los hijos en silencio-, y que conocían desde hacía tanto tiempo. "Asaltaron a los Puccio", decían los vecinos preocupados. ¿Cómo pensar algo más? Su perfil social era como el de cualquier otra familia del aristocrático barrio.
La familia "perfecta"
Arquímedes con Adriana
El padre, Arquímedes Puccio (56), era el dueño de la tradicional rotisería Los Naranjos, justo debajo de su casa familiar, donde los chicos del Club Atlético San Isidro (CASI) paraban después de los partidos para prepararse unos enormes sándwiches de milanesa o jamón y queso, y así estirar el tercer tiempo que había empezado en el club.
Silencioso, algo severo en sus modales, todos sabían que era contador público, "recibido con notas sobresalientes en la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas" –según él mismo resaltó luego en una de sus indagatorias en Tribunales–, ex miembro del servicio diplomático y vicecónsul, recibido en la Escuela Superior de Conducción Política del Movimiento Justicialista, y ex secretario de Deportes en la Municipalidad de Buenos Aires. El hombre, con inocultable orgullo, tenía colgados todos sus diplomas en el enorme y cómodo escritorio del primer piso de su casa.
Epifanía Calvo
La madre, Epifanía Ángeles Calvo (53), era una mujer amable, algo callada, a quien le gustaba llevar una vida social relacionada con el barrio, el club y las madres de los colegios. Era profesora de Contabilidad y Matemáticas en la Escuela de Enseñanza Media y Técnica Nº 1 de Martínez y del María Auxiliadora. Su matrimonio con Arquímedes, con quien se casó en 1957, se desmoronaba en silencios y sumisión, pero ella nunca mostraba su infelicidad. Vivía obsesionada por las dietas, aunque nadie lo sabía.
Alejandro (centro) en una de sus giras de rugby
Alejandro Rafael (26), el mayor y más popular de los hijos, era un famoso wing tres cuartos del CASI y ex integrante de Los Pumas. El chico de pelo revuelto tenía varios apodos: "Alex" para su novia Mónica Sörvik (maestra jardinera en el colegio Todos Los Santos), "Zorri" para su familia, "Huevo" para sus amigos del club.
"Queridísimo por todos", recuerdan los memoriosos. Alex era "el más jodón" en las giras que hicieron por Inglaterra, Italia, Irlanda, Sudáfrica y Francia. Sus amigos admiraban su habilidad con la ovalada. "Un día se cansó de vender pollo al spiedo en la rotisería del viejo y abrió Hobby Wind, el mejor negocio de windsurf y esquí de la zona", rememoran hoy sus ex compañeros del CASI. Y aportan un dato personal: "Estaba muy de novio con Mónica, tanto que estaban ahorrando para comprarse un terreno. Planeaban casarse y tener muchos hijos".
Silvia, Guillermo y Maguila
Silvia Inés (25), era "una chica muy amorosa, callada y religiosa", describen sus ex compañeras de colegio. Trabajaba como profesora de Pintura y Dibujo en el María Auxiliadora -se había recibido en la Escuela de Artes Visuales de San Isidro y en Bellas Artes-, y le gustaba hacer cerámica por las tardes en la habitación que daba al patio de su casa.
Daniel Arquímedes (23, "Maguila" para todos), era "el divertido" de la familia. Jugador del tercer equipo del CASI, le encantaba viajar (así lo mostró luego la infinidad de fotos en distintas partes del mundo) y había pasado años en Australia hasta que, a principios de 1985, regresó por pedido de su padre "para que toda la familia esté junta y unida", según contó Epifanía a los conocidos del barrio.
Guillermo, era el menor de los varones y también amaba los deportes. Jugando al rugby había llegado a Nueva Zelanda, donde había decidido quedarse después de una gira. Más tarde, se instaló en Australia dispuesto a "probar una nueva vida; cosa de chicos…", como afirmó Arquímedes un domingo después de misa.
La pequeña Adriana, de 14 años, era "la luz de los ojos" del padre. Había vuelto de unas vacaciones en Mendoza junto a su madre solo veinte días antes de que la policía encontrara a la señora Bollini de Prado cautiva en el sótano de la casa. "Eran amigas inseparables", recuerdan quienes los conocieron en ese entonces.
El sótano y las víctimas
El sótano de la familia Puccio donde mantenían cautivas a sus víctimas
Nadie podía creer que esa casa tradicional fuera la fachada de una terrible banda de secuestradores. Nadie, hasta que a las diez y doce minutos de esa noche primaveral vieron cómo dos oficiales ayudaban a subir la empinada escalera del sótano a una mujer temblorosa que apenas podía caminar. De pollera y botas marrones, camisa blanca, el pelo revuelto, lloraba: "¿Por qué me liberaron? ¿Quién les avisó? ¿No ven que ahora van a matar a mi familia?".
Nélida Bollini de Prado, estuvo secuestrada 32 días en el sótano de la casa de San Isidro
La mujer, exhausta, se sentó en uno de los silloncitos de mimbre que estaban en el patio. La jueza María Romilda Servini de Cubría, a cargo de la investigación, pidió un médico. Temía por su salud. La mujer le rogó: "Por favor, no lo llame… Estoy sucia, me da vergüenza".
Alejandro Puccio, que estaba junto a su novia mirando un video cuando la policía irrumpió, gritó y lloró al verla: "¡Soy inocente, soy inocente!". Un oficial le dijo: "Calmate, nene. Ahora no digas nada. Pensá que hoy se termina una pesadilla".
La pesadilla había terminado, sí, pero para esa mujer que fue martirizada durante los 32 días que vivió encadenada a un camastro, sobre un colchón húmedo, en un cuartucho de dos por dos, en ese sótano con las paredes recubiertas de diarios, que olía a orín y a alfalfa húmeda. La banda había puesto un fardo húmedo frente a un ventilador que encendía para que la víctima "creyera que estaba en el campo".
Arquímedes con los albañiles que construyeron el sótano
Poco tiempo después, la señora de Prado me relató su calvario: "Me metieron en un cuartucho, me ataron a la cama con cadenas y me dieron unos remedios que me hacían dormir. Escuchaba siempre dos voces de los hombres que me atendían encapuchados. Cuando me traían la comida -casi siempre hamburguesas, y alguna vez pollo con un poco de arroz-, yo sentía que corrían algo como una chapa. Ellos me decían que si le avisaban a la policía iban a matar a toda mi familia. Una vez por día sacaban el tacho que yo usaba de inodoro. Y la radio estaba siempre encendida, constantemente. Sentía que me asfixiaba, y el olor a pasto era muy fuerte. Uno de los hombres me dijo: '¿Olió qué rico el olor a pasto fresco?'. En todos esos días de encierro yo pensé que me iban a meter en una bolsa con pasto y me iban a tirar por ahí. Fue un calvario. Ni un animal merece pasar por lo que yo pasé".
Su liberación fue la puerta al submundo de las torturas, los secuestros y los asesinatos del clan Puccio. La mujer fue su última víctima.
La clave de cómo funcionaba la banda era simple: el clan Puccio elegía a sus víctimas porque las conocía. Eran amigos, conocidos de los hijos en el mundo del rugby, o posibles socios del padre. Los "marcaban" abusando de su buena fe y de su confianza. ¿Cómo iban a sospechar de ellos, gente amable, educada y de buenos modales con quienes compartían un mismo círculo social?
Las víctimas del clan: Eduardo Aulet, Ricardo Manoukian, Emilio Naum y Nélida Bollini de Prado
La Justicia sólo pudo probar cuatro casos, aunque suponen que hubo más:
1982: Ricardo Manoukian (24) cuya familia era dueña de los supermercados Tanti. Alejandro, el hijo mayor de la familia, lo conocía y fue el entregador. Lo tuvieron cautivo en el primer piso de la casa. Prometieron devolverlo con vida. La familia pagó 500.000 dólares. Lo asesinaron de tres tiros en la cabeza.
1983: Eduardo Aulet (25), ingeniero industrial y empresario. Uno de la banda era amigo de su padre. Su familia pagó 100.000 dólares, pero ya lo habían asesinado, luego de hacerle escribir una carta "amorosa" para su mujer.
1984: Emilio Naum, dueño de McTaylor. Quisieron secuestrarlo y se resistió. Murió de un balazo durante el forcejeo en su auto.
1985: Nélida Bollini de Prado. Dueña de varios locales en la Avenida Independencia y de la concesionaria de autos Tito y Oscar. La mantuvieron cautiva durante 32 días. La policía la rescató la noche en que el clan iba a cobrar 250.000 dólares.
Buenos vecinos
Arquímedes Puccio, en 1985.
La gente que vivió durante años en esa tranquila manzana de San Isidro, los que compartieron tardes de club, fiestas escolares y domingos de misa, son los que reconstruyen el perfil de esta familia que hace 30 años shockeó a la sociedad sanisidrense.
Arquímedes era un hombre poco sociable, adusto, estricto con sus hijos. Concurría junto a su mujer y sus hijos a la misa del domingo en la Catedral. "Sabemos que la mamá y las chicas eran religiosas, pero el viejo sólo iba para acompañarlas, no era devoto. Y si Alex iba, era para levantarse minas. Maguila se había hecho budista zen y vegetariano y no pisaba la iglesia", recuerda un amigo que conoció muy bien a la familia.
El señor Lutemberg, dueño del kiosco Populis, justo frente a la casa de los Puccio en esa época, describió así al padre de la familia: "Tenía una costumbre rarísima: barrer la vereda a toda hora. Salía con su escoba cada treinta minutos. Cuando yo cerraba el kiosco, aunque fueran las dos de la madrugada, él seguía barriendo. Una vez cruzó a barrerme la vereda a mí: 'Hay que ser buen vecino y cooperar, ¿no le parece? Sin la ayuda de todos, no se puede mantener lindo San Isidro'. Hasta me pintó el poste de luz, porque decía que estaba feo".
La bañera del baño del primer piso, el lugar donde tuvieron secuestradas a sus primeras víctimas
Luc Chielens, encargado de la estación de servicio YPF donde cargaban la nafta del Ford Falcon gris del padre, la pick up F100 de Alex y la combi Mitsubishi amarilla que en 1985 Arquímedes le había regalado a Maguila (y que usaron para secuestrar a la señora de Prado), comentó incrédulo esa noche del 85: "Era un hombre estricto, formal y algo maniático. Le gustaba vestirse bien y usar corbata. En el barrio lo apodaban Cu-Cu, porque ante el menor ruido se asomaba a la ventanita de su escritorio y miraba todo lo que pasaba en la calle. También le decían Bernardo, porque se parecía al amigo sordo de El Zorro. Pero era un hombre de su casa, que siempre comentaba cuánto le importaba el futuro de su hija menor. Decía: 'La chiquita es la que me queda a cargo; los otros ya se me hicieron grandes y se van a ir. Pero de Adrianita me tengo que ocupar yo, y cuidar de que nunca le falte nada'".
La camioneta que usaron para su úlltimo secuestro
Los compañeros de rugby de Alejandro creyeron en la inocencia de su amigo durante muchos años. "Alex tenía una relación inexistente con el padre. Casi no vivía en esa casa: la usaba como pensión. Tenía su negocio aparte y hacía su vida con su novia y sus amigos", justificaron.
Alejandro Puccio y su novia Mónica Sörvick a mediados de los 80
Mónica Sörvick, su novia, también creyó en él, hasta que nuevos relatos de horror, secuestros y muertes señalaron al hombre que amaba. En aquel tiempo decía: "Hace tres años que conozco a esa familia. Te juro que Alex no tiene nada que ver. No tenía mucha relación con su padre; el preferido era Maguila, pero a él no le importaba porque quería que su hermano se encaminara. Daniel no trabajaba. Desde que había regresado de su viaje, se había vuelto vegetariano y decía: 'Todos los que usan tapados de piel son asesinos'... Si el padre andaba en algo raro, fue un cínico o un buen actor. Yo creo que debe haberlos engañado. Y eso es lo peor de todo: esa doble vida que llevó durante años".
Maguila era el preferido de su padre
La novia de Alejandro no se equivocó en un detalle que sólo se hacía evidente en la intimidad familiar: el preferido de Arquímedes era Maguila. La devoción paternal surge clara en una carta que le escribió para convencerlo de que volviera de Nueva Zelanda, luego del secuestro y crimen de Eduardo Aulet.
Puccio escribió, el 19 de mayo de 1983, la carta que traería de regreso a su hijo adorado: "Querido hijo, te insisto que estudies inglés. Zorri (Alejandro) acá me ayuda ya en el 'negocio' pero le cuesta aprender, es algo lento. Igual, ya cobramos los verdes. Zorri me ayudó en esto. Tengo la plata para enviarte para el pasaje. Quisiera que vuelvas, que estemos todos juntos, porque la familia es lo más importante que hay. Acá en el país todo es un desbarajuste total y hay que saber aprovechar esto. Pensá que acá hay mucha gente con plata… Espero que sepas leer entre líneas" .
Detrás de las paredes
El interior de la casa
La rotisería Los Naranjos era el lugar elegido de encuentro después del entrenamientos en el CASI. Los amigos de Alex y Maguila armaban sándwiches y luego entraban a la casa para ver alguna película.
"Con el padre sólo cruzábamos algunas palabras. Una vez le dijimos a Alex que se viniera unos días a Pinamar, porque se pasaba diez horas parado en la rotisería, y el viejo se enojó. 'Le metés malas ideas en la cabeza a mi hijo. Lo llevás por mal camino, lo hacés abandonar a la familia'. Nunca sabíamos si hablaba en serio o en broma", confiesa uno de sus amigos de entonces.
Alex en su época de wing tres cuartos del CASI y los Pumas
Otro compañero suma una escalofriante historia, que pinta de cuerpo entero al líder del clan: "Alex estaba en la cama con hepatitis. Siempre había dicho que quería un perro. Un día encontramos un dogo perdido y se lo llevamos. Estaba chocho. Al poco tiempo volvimos a la casa y vimos que su viejo tenía un brazo vendado. '¿Qué le pasó?', le preguntamos a Alex. 'El dogo los mordió a él y a Adriana', respondió. '¿Y dónde está el perro?', le dijimos. 'El viejo se volvió loco y le pegó tres tiros. Ahora está metido en un cajón de verduras… El viejo lo puso en el sótano'".
La madre vivía obsesionada con las dietas
Epifanía Calvo llevaba un diario íntimo sobre lo que ocurría en el seno familiar y en su vida. Obsesionada con las dietas, cada día anotaba su peso: "Hoy aumenté 300 gramos". Y se castigaba por los descuidos con las comidas: "No tengo que comer pan". Escribía sobre sus hijos, las salidas y las pocas charlas que mantenía con su marido: "Papá tuvo razón hoy cuando conversamos en la mesa, pero yo me quedé callada como siempre".
Silvia también escribía sus pesares. Hablaba poco y su amiga y confesora era la religiosa Cecilia Demargazzo, que le hacía de apoyo espiritual cuando las crisis familiares la golpeaban. Triste, la joven se descargó en una carta que le envió a su hermano: "Mamá y papá ya no se hablan, pero hay que seguir juntos por la familia". Y otra más, justo antes del secuestro de Ricardo Manoukian en 1982: "A papá le están yendo las cosas muy bien; pronto habrá nuevas perspectivas para todos, pero hay que hacerlas bien y saber esperar".
Arquímedes era duro, y ponía reglas en la casa que nadie podía quebrar. Exigía que sus hijos trabajaran en la caja de la rotisería, y se enojaba cuando pedían algún día libre.
En su oficina, pegadas con cinta scotch en la pantalla de la lámpara y debajo del vidrio del escritorio de caoba, Puccio había colocado cuatro frases que definían su pensamiento: "La historia de los pueblos la escriben las minorías"; "El fin justifica los medios (Maquiavelo)", "El éxito y el fracaso de una empresa no depende de lo que carecemos, sino de cómo empleamos lo que tenemos" y "La ley no castiga a los ladrones sino cuando roban mal (Honorato de Balzac)".
Con horror, como si el tiempo no hubiese pasado, un amigo del rugby recuerda: "Un mes antes de que se supiera la verdad visité a Alex en la casa. Vi que el viejo había vuelto a cambiar la frase que ponía en la pared del pasillo: 'Haz el bien sin mirar a quien', escribió. Y pensar que, en ese momento, tenía encadenada en el sótano a esa pobre mujer …"
El final de un clan siniestro
Puccio en sus últimos años: vivía en General Pico, La Pampa, tenía novia y se había convertido al culto evangélico
Arquímedes Puccio fue condenado a prisión perpetua, pero cumplió 22 años. En 2007 consiguió la libertad, se convirtió al culto evangélico, se recibió de abogado y se puso de novio. Murió a los 84 años en General Pico, La Pampa, de un ACV. Nadie se hizo cargo del cuerpo. Fue enterrado en el cementerio local, en una fosa común.
Epifanía Calvo en 2016: tiene 84 añós y vive en San Telmo (foto: Gente)
Epifanía estuvo detenida sólo dos años en la cárcel de Ezeiza. Tiene 84 años y vive en San Telmo. Los vecinos suelen verla salir tempranito de mañana, ya más repuesta de su dolencia en la cadera, para hacer las compras. En los interrogatorios en Tribunales siempre negó conocer las actividades de su marido. La justicia nunca pudo comprobar que ella haya conocido los horrores cometidos por el clan. Hoy es quien alquila la casa de San Isidro a dos jóvenes que hacen muebles.
Silvia Inés continuó dando clases de Dibujo, se casó y tuvo dos hijos. Nunca perdonó a su padre. Murió de cáncer en 2011.
Maguila Puccio hoy: no se casó, no tiene hijos ni se sabe dónde trabaja (foto: Gente)
Maguila estuvo detenido desde el 23 de agosto de 1985 hasta febrero de 1988. Recibió el beneficio de la libertad, otorgado por Zaffaroni, por haber estado dos años sin condena en la causa del secuestro de Nélida Bollini de Prado. Diez años más tarde lo sentenciaron a 13 años de prisión, pero como estaba libre desapareció y nadie pudo encontrarlo. Su vida, en esos años de prófugo, fue un misterio. Pasó un tiempo entre Pinamar, Bariloche, San Luis y Mar del Plata. Se dice que vivió en Brasil.
Nunca habló de los secuestros del clan, pero una vez mostró arrepentimiento, en una carta que le envió a la mujer que martirizó en el sótano. "Fue una actitud cobarde, irresponsable y criminal. Sé que usted sufrió lo mismo que sus hijos. Siento un profundo dolor por lo ocurrido. A veces no sabemos lo que hacemos. Por eso le vuelvo a pedir perdón. No fui el ideólogo de los secuestros; participé de manera inconsciente. Fue muy difícil enfrentar un hecho tan vergonzoso; no tuve el valor". Hoy, a los 54 años vive -desde principios de 2015- con su madre, no tiene trabajo, pareja ni hijos.
Guillermo se quitó el apellido de su padre (usa el Calvo de su madre) y nunca volvió de Australia. Vive en Sídney, se casó, y es pintor matriculado de casas.
Adriana Calvo hoy: se quitó el apellido de su padre y trabaja en un negocio náutico en San Fernando
Adriana, la menor, tenía 14 años cuando ocurrieron los secuestros. Los psicólogos que la analizaron dijeron: "Sabía todo, pero no podía comprender lo que pasaba". Pasó dos días en un instituto de menores; luego la Justicia le otorgó la custodia de la menor a sus tíos. Hoy trabaja en un negocio de venta de lanchas y motos de agua en San Fernando, visita seguido a su madre, mantiene un perfil bajo y usa el apellido Calvo.
Alejandro: estudió psicología en la cárcel para defenderse y se casó. Murió en 2008 (Télam)
Alejandro estuvo preso 22 años. En la cárcel confesó: "Tuve un padre que no pude elegir, que me golpeaba con el cinto, y que nos odia y nos desprecia". Intentó suicidarse cuatro veces. La primera, saltando del quinto piso de Tribunales, cuando iban a carearlo con un integrante de la banda quien lo acusaba de haber participado del secuestro de Manoukian.
Desesperado le escribió una carta a su novia, antes de tomar la decisión de quitarse la vida: "Amor, estoy harto de esta m… y no quiero seguir siendo un punching-ball por cosas en las que jamás participé. ¡Qué le vas a hacer si me tocó un padre loco! Fuiste lo mejor que me pasó en la vida. te amo, perdoname".
Pero su novia, abrumada por las pruebas, finalmente lo dejó. Los amigos del rugby también lo dejaron: nunca más fueron a visitarlo. Estudió psicología. Se casó en la cárcel con Nancy Arrat, una joven a quien conoció en sus días de encierro. Murió de una infección generalizada en 2008, jurando que era inocente.
Su abogado, Miguel Ángel Buigo, confió en él hasta el último segundo de su vida: "No hay ninguna prueba en el expediente. El padre lo podría haber salvado declarando la verdad, pero calló y condenó a su hijo".
Y en una breve frase resume el final de una historia que, 30 años después, sigue estremeciendo: "El chico más popular del rugby se quedó solo. El día que murió no había gente ni siquiera para llevar el ataúd". | {
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❤ Hey! Thanks for checking out my Patreon page ❤
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Pokemon GO has totally changed the mobile game industry as a whole. Since its release, it steadily acquired a huge number of players, as each hopes to be the very best. But along with those lines, there are those who try to beat the game by using cheats and/or GPS spoofing tools, among others. Nevertheless, there are some methods that aren't only helpful, but are also safe to use. Speaking of which, here's an effective substitute to "Sightings." And oh, fret not -- it's not a cheat.
With the recent changes Niantic did to Pokemon GO, most if not all players are having a hard time knowing where exactly a Pokemon is located. In fact, such dilemma, in one way or another, has caused a drastic decline of the hit augmented reality's fan base. But hey, thanks to a Reddit user by the name of longkd, players now have an alternative yet quite effective method for tracing the whereabouts of creatures.
The Pokemon GO Sightings Method Alternative
This new Pokemon GO method is basically a workaround that involves the so-called Triangulating System. The latter is utilized so as to track a Pokemon to the center of a player's diagram in-game. It holds true, though, that this technique can take a good amount of time. However, its results are far better.
Below are the steps to using this new Pokemon GO Method:
Step 1. Locate a Pokemon by using the in-game's radar.
Step 2. Simply proceed to it until it disappears wholly.
Step 3. Turn 90 degrees, and walk until the Pokemon GO creature disappears.
Step 4. Turn and then walk straight to "Spot 1." The specie will appear half the distance there.
According to the theory used on this Pokemon GO method, a triangle's circumscribed circle is typically centered on its hypotenuse. As noticed, it used a little bit of concept from Mathematics (Trigonometry in particular).
The aforementioned Pokemon GO technique was believed to have been created way before the existence of the Slingshot Method. However, the former is said to be more effective than the latter.
What are your thoughts on this Pokemon GO Sightings alternative? Have you tried it already? Let us know what you think at the comment section below! | {
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FLINT, MI - Federal lawmakers said Michigan could get the "lion's share" of $2 billion in federal funds recently released to help fight blight across the country.
U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters and U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee gathered in Flint on Tuesday, Dec. 22, to discuss the funding, which was transferred from the Home Affordable Modification Program to the Hardest Hit Fund.
"This is transformational," Kildee said of the funding. "We know that removing blight unlocks property values."
It has not yet been decided how the money will be divided up among Washington, D.C., and the 18 states eligible to receive funding from the Hardest Hit Funds. A decision is expected to be made by the Treasury in the coming weeks and months on how the funds will be distributed.
"We don't know how much, but it will have a lot of zeroes," Stabenow said.
Stabenow said Michigan and Ohio received roughly half of the federal funding released in 2013 through the Hardest Hit fund. Of the $500 million previously earmarked for Michigan, $200 million was given to cities like Detroit, Flint and Saginaw to demolish abandoned or vacant buildings.
Officials say roughly 2,000 blighted properties have so far been torn down in the Flint area and another 850 have been removed in Saginaw.
However, local officials say there are thousands of more properties that need to be removed.
"The evidence that this program works is overwhelming," Peters said. | {
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While LA Galaxy II were able to maintain their unbeaten streak, they dropped two more points, drawing with Orange County Blues 1-1 on Friday night. Jose Villarreal opened the scoring with 21 minutes remaining but OC equalized soon after to share the spoils.
In the opening minute, LA Galaxy II had a superb opportunity to score following a set piece by OC. Denzel Slager, who played last year for the Blues used his fantastic speed to get on the end of a long ball hit over the top of the defense. Slager took a couple of extra touches but failed to get a shot off as the Blues’ goalkeeper thwarted the danger.
Orange County should have scored the opening goal in the 20th minute but wasted their chance. Josh Turnley stepped up from his defensive spot and OC’s Trevin Caesar found space in behind. This left Caesar in all alone versus Dan Kennedy but the former found the outside of the right post.
Slager put on a nice attacking showing in the opening 45 minutes. He showed great technique down the right touchline, as the Dutch-born pulled off a turn to open up space. Slager continued his run into the final third before whipping in a cross back towards the middle of the box. But none of his teammates were able to get on the end of his delivery as the opportunity went to waste.
Jack McBean has been extremely instrumental in Los Dos’ success this season thus far. He has scored a couple of goals, and set his teammates up for goals of their own. In the second half against the Blues, McBean had the ball down the left before finding Jose Villarreal inside the area. Villarreal took a couple of touches to get his barrings straight before placing his shot into the bottom right hand corner of the goal.
Unfortunately, for the young guys, they could not hold their lead. In the 74th minute of the match, Orange County won a dangerous free kick. Didier Crettenand stood over the ball and curled his shot perfectly into the bottom right. Kennedy did manage to get his fingertip on the shot but he was not able to keep it from going past him.
The young G’s return to action on Wednesday as they welcome in San Antonio to StubHub Center.
Scoring Summary:
LA – Jose Villarreal (Assisted by Jack McBean) 68’
OC – Didier Crettenand 73’
LA Galaxy II Starting XI:
Dan Kennedy; Nathan Smith, Lee Nishanian, Jeffrey Payeras, Josh Turnley; Denzel Slager (Ethan Zubak 80’) , Jeff Larentowicz (Bryam Rebellon 60’), Alejandro Covarrubias, Jaime Villarreal; Jose Villarreal, Jack McBean
Substitutions not used: Bennett Sneddon, John Neeskens, Kainoa Bailey, Ryo Fujii, Adonis Amaya
Comments
comments | {
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A nurse has been was struck off for urging two dementia patients to kiss each other – and then laughing as the pair were filmed for Snapchat.
Paris Roberts, 23, “amused herself” by mocking the two dementia sufferers in the lounge of the care home in Cardiff Bay.
She urged the pair to kiss – and the 10 second recording was then posted on the social media app Snapchat.
Miss Roberts later quit the Atlantic View home which boasts the “highest quality care standards” and “very well trained and caring staff” when the video stunt was discovered.
"Acting for her own amusement"
Presenting officer Kathryn Duff told a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing: “A female resident with dementia went over to a male resident, also with dementia, and Roberts encouraged them to kiss.”
Another healthcare assistant was with Miss Roberts when she asked the elderly pair to kiss – and they went on to kiss more than once.
Miss Duff said: “The recording was then posted on the social media app Snapchat and sent to another health care assistant.”
She said that during the episode Miss Roberts was “acting for her own amusement”.
“She was entrusted with the care of elderly and vulnerable residents and fell far, far short of the standard of care. It was misconduct of the most serious kind and she showed no remorse.”
Miss Roberts, from Adamsdown, Cardiff , resigned from the home soon afterwards.
She then went for an interview at another care home without telling them she was under investigation.
"She has shown no insight or remorse choosing to deflect the blame onto others"
A Nursing and Midwifery Council disciplinary hearing ruled that Miss Roberts was guilty of misconduct at the 48-room Atlantic View care home in Cardiff Bay.
Miss Roberts, who denied the allegations, did not attend the NMC Conduct and Competence Committee hearing in Cardiff.
Hearing chairman Martyn Griffiths said: “We considered that Miss Roberts’ conduct demonstrated a serious lapse in judgement in encouraging the patients to kiss and then allowing a colleague to make a recording which was then transmitted via a social media app.
“She failed to safeguard the patients and treat them with the dignity and respect they were entitled to.
“She was in a position of authority as the registered nurse and as the nurse in charge with the healthcare assistants being her junior colleagues.
“She had a responsibility to set an example, yet instead she used her authority in an attempt to cover up her part in the incident.
“She has shown no insight or remorse choosing to deflect the blame onto others.”
Miss Roberts was struck off the nursing register in “order to protect the public and satisfy the wider public interest.” | {
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Suit alleging bias against whites, men at Harvard dismissed A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Harvard Law Review discriminates against whites and men when selecting its student editors and articles
BOSTON -- A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Harvard Law Review discriminates against whites and men when selecting its student editors and articles.
The judge's Thursday decision says the suit failed to identify anyone who was harmed by Harvard's policies.
An anti-affirmative action group in Texas filed the suit in 2018, and a second group joined in January. Both say at least one of their members is a Harvard law student, but none was identified.
A lawyer for the groups declined to comment. A Harvard spokesman did not immediately provide comment.
The suit challenged a "holistic review" used to pick 18 of the journal's 48 editors. The review can consider race and gender, among other factors.
One group filed a similar suit against New York University. It's still pending. | {
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Alan Young was born in Northern England in 1919, but his Scots father moved the family to Edinburgh, Scotland, when Young was a toddler and then to Canada when Young was about 6 years old. As a boy, he suffered from severe asthma, which kept him bedridden for long periods of time but encouraged his love of radio. By age 13, Young had become a radio... | {
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We at TowerBee are secretly building the world’s biggest cryptocyrrency payment gateway which will accept 500+ cryptocurrencies with a single API.
Cryptocurrencies are slowly making it’s way into the mainstream despite many roadblocks it faces from time to time. One of the biggest ways to bring it to mainstream is to enable business transactions using cryptocurrencies. This is where cryptocurrency payment gateway comes into picture.
A payment gateway is essential for all types of business, be it online or offline. TowerBee’s payment gateway will enable individuals and businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments with NO or minimal amount of coding. You will be able to create an account by just using your email id. No paperwork involved. You can send invoices to your customers, integrate code with your website and do much more.
Brick & Mortar businesses are also invited!
If you run a physical store or business, you can use the POS (Point of Sale) feature to collect payments from customers. Simply enter the amount that you need to collect after which QR code will be generated where customer’s can send the cryptocurrency. All this is integrated with our existing SaaS products to enable you to view various types of reports as and when needed.
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The transaction fee for using payment gateway is 0.01%, lowest in the world! Transaction fee reduces to 0.005% when paid using TowerBee token, beat that!
Where to buy TowerBee (TBE) tokens?
At present the only way to get TowerBee (TBE) tokens is by participating in ICO whose details is given below. Later on, it would be possible to get tokens from exchanges also after the TowerBee token is listed.
ICO Start Date: 05 May 2018, 06:30 AM, GMT
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TowerBee (TBE) token is ERC20 compatible token and has a maximum supply of 500,000,000 out of which 55% i.e. 275,000,000 tokens will be available in ICO.
There is 30% bonus during first 5 days of ICO where you will get 10,400 Tokens for every ETH.
Useful Links
Website
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Whitelist | {
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The US and Russian navies are at odds over an apparent near-collision in the Philippine Sea, with both sides blaming each other. CNN's Barbara Starr reports. | {
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O Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, em Matosinhos, e a Casa Cabo de Vila, em Bitarães (Paredes), estão entre os projectos premiados no Edifício do Ano 2017, pela plataforma internacional Archdaily, sediada em Nova Iorque, que anunciou esta terça-feira os 16 vencedores.
De acordo com o "site" do galardão internacional, os projectos portugueses foram os vencedores nas categorias "Arquitectura Pública" ( Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, da autoria de Luís Pedro Silva) e "Casas" ( Casa Cabo de Vila, da autoria do ateliê de arquitectura Spaceworkers, em Bitarães, distrito do Porto).
“É um momento bonito relativamente ao trabalho que fazemos, como todos os outros em que há apreço pelo que vamos projectando e criando”, reage, à Renascença, Luís Pedro Silva.
Os projectos vencedores portugueses estão na lista dos 16 vencedores, ao lado de grandes arquitectos de destaque internacional, como Herzog & de Meuron, autores da Elbphilharmonie, em Hamburgo, na Alemanha.
A Casa Cabo de Vila, do Spaceworkers, vence pela segunda vez nesta categoria, depois de, em 2015, também ter sido eleito para os prémios Edifício do Ano da Archdaily. | {
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I got 2 packages in the mail. I was expecting chocolate from my mother and the super secret Santa. Hmmm. This isn't chocolate? There's all kinds of goodies! Wait, don't throw away the wrapping paper.. What's this? Another gift? A keychain!
Then I opened the poster and was about to start drooling.
Many thanks. | {
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Howard Jarvis, the father of California’s Proposition 13. Photo: Bettmann Archive
California is not going to be a presidential battleground state in 2020, unless something truly apocalyptic strikes the Democratic opponent to the Golden State’s least favorite president ever, Donald Trump. Nor is there going to be a statewide Senate or gubernatorial race. Yes, Republicans will make an effort to claw back some of the seven U.S. House seats in California they lost in the midterms, and there will be another installment in the recently familiar struggle to strengthen or disrupt a Democratic supermajority in the state legislature. But most of the drama over elected offices could end with California’s unusually early March 3 Democratic presidential primary.
In California, of course, elections often feature major ballot initiatives as well as elected official tilts. And the 2020 election is very likely going to feature the biggest, baddest, most expensive ballot-initiative fight in the state’s long history of voter-imposed laws. As I explained a year ago, a long-awaited progressive effort to strip Prop 13 tax protections from commercial property may finally be on tap for November 3, 2020:
[I]t’s now likely that an effort to significantly roll back Proposition 13, the famed property tax limitation initiative enacted by voters in 1978, will be on the ballot in 2020. And it will likely split the political world right down the middle, with huge stakes for commercial property owners and the state and local governments (and particularly the schools) that rely on property taxes.
Prop 13 capped property taxes at one percent of assessed value at time of acquisition, and limited upward reassessments of property values to 2 percent per year so long as the property didn’t change hands. Over time it has had a profound effect on the entire taxation system in California, and has produced wildly variable property taxes on similar properties, depending on how recently they were built or acquired. Vigilant longtime homeowners are the backbone of support for Prop 13. But the system treats residential and commercial real estate exactly the same. So for years, left-of-center political advocates and policy wonks have dreamed of a reform that would create a “split roll” approach where commercial properties would lose Prop 13 protections and be treated for tax purposes like real estate in the rest of the country.
Why 2020? Well, the state has most definitely been drifting to the left in recent years, and a presidential electorate is likely to be larger and more pro-Democratic than a midterm electorate. Perhaps of equal importance, Democratic governor Jerry Brown — who was in office when the original Prop 13 passed (over his objections) in 1978 — had long opposed such a fundamental reevaluation of the tax system at the ballot box. His successor Gavin Newsom isn’t onboard the split-roll bandwagon — he’s reportedly trying to work out some legislative compromise to make the ballot fight unnecessary — but isn’t opposed to it, either. The coalition behind the proposed change is pretty formidable, as the Los Angeles Times reports:
A coalition of liberal community activists put up enough cash in 2018 to pay for signature gathering and qualify an initiative for the ballot. But the group probably lacked the money needed to wage a full-scale campaign.
The group that unveiled a replacement version of the ballot measure Tuesday includes some of California’s most powerful public employee unions — including Service Employees International Union, the California Teachers Assn. and the California Federation of Teachers. Their decision to endorse the effort makes it likely that tens of millions of dollars will be at the ready for the campaign ahead.
Backers of a split-roll reform have also modified the initiative’s language to exempt small businesses (those with 50 or fewer employees) from exposure to higher tax valuations on property valued at less than $3 million. This will presumably keep the giant businesses that will soon go to war to kill split-roll from hiding behind mom-and-pop enterprises. By some estimates, more than $7 billion a year in tax revenue for the state is at stake, and the war will most definitely be waged at a cost commensurate with the stakes:
Joel Fox, who cut his political teeth as a tax-cutting apprentice to Howard Jarvis, the iconic champion of Proposition 13, said big business has always been an easy target for those who have blamed the law for a variety of California’s problems …
In a statement on Tuesday, California Business Roundtable President Rob Lapsley called the 2020 ballot measure “a major, multibillion-dollar tax on all Californians in the form of higher prices on everything we buy — from groceries and gasoline to diapers and day care.” He and other business leaders promised an “aggressive” campaign to kill it …
Fox, who said Proposition 13 supporters believe that the ballot measure won’t stop at loosening commercial property tax rules, predicted the business community will spend whatever it takes to defend the system as it has existed for 40 years.
While this will mostly be a classic left-right, business–versus–unions and governments battle, California’s progressive tilt doesn’t guarantee victory for split-roll. As noted above, corporate types will offer a slippery-slope claim that once the taxman has feasted on commercial property taxes, homeowners will inevitably be next. And there are some affordable-housing advocates who fear split-roll will perversely incentivize commercial real-estate development by making it a larger revenue generator for local governments.
Preliminary polling shows split-roll commanding a sparse majority of popular support. But by the time this expensive slugfest comes to a close, anything could happen. | {
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Gunshots were fired at the Pentagon Tuesday in what security officials described as "a random event."
Sources tell Fox News that the shots were believed to be fired from a high-powered rifle.
Police who protect the massive Defense Department headquarters temporarily locked down some road and pedestrian entrances to the building after a civilian reported he may have heard shots at about 5 a.m. on the south side of the facility.
Steven Calvery, director of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, told reporters that five to seven shots were fired at the third and fourth floor windows of the Pentagon's south side at 4:55 a.m. Tuesday.
The bullets did not penetrate the windows, he said, and two bullets were found embedded in the shattered glass.
The windows of the offices hit were under renovation and were not occupied. No one was injured in the shooting, authorities said.
Sources close to the investigation said the shots could have been fired from highway 395. Authorities were combing a grassy area on the south side of the building and checking surveillance footage from neighboring locations for any clues in the shooting.
No suspects have been identified and a motive is yet to be determined in the shooting.
Calvery told reporters Tuesday that authorities are investigating whether there was any connection between Tuesday's incident and Monday's discovery of bullet holes in windows at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va., some 30 miles south of the Pentagon.
A cleaning crew at the museum associated with the Quantico Marine Base called police when they noticed the bullet holes in windows high up in a part of the building that faces Interstate 95.
Police believe the shots were fired at the museum late Saturday or early Sunday, when no one was inside. Investigators used a crane to inspect the damage Monday. Because of the height of the holes, police suspect the bullets were likely fired from a rifle, but they are still working to determine what caliber of bullet was used.
Several glass panels were hit, causing about $20,000 in damage. None of the museum's artifacts -- including a harrier jet hanging near the damaged windows -- were hit.
Lapan said this was the first incident of its kind since early March, when a gunman opened fire at a security checkpoint into the Pentagon in a point-blank attack that wounded two police officers.
The shooter, identified as John Patrick Bedell, 36, of Hollister, Calif., was shot by police and died hours after being admitted to a hospital in critical condition. Authorities had no motive for the shooting, but there had been signs that Bedell may have harbored resentment for the military and had doubts about the facts behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Fox News' Justin Fishel and the Associated Press contributed to this report | {
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If you're familiar with Kevin Bacon, then surely you've heard of the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," but in case you have not, here's how it goes (courtesy of Wikipedia):
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a parlour game based on the "six degrees of separation" concept, which posits that any two people on Earth are six or fewer acquaintance links apart. Movie buffs challenge each other to find the shortest path between an arbitrary actor and prolific character actor Kevin Bacon. It rests on the assumption that anyone involved in the Hollywood film industry can be linked through their film roles to Bacon within six steps. The game requires a group of players to try to connect any such individual to Kevin Bacon as quickly as possible and in as few links as possible.
The game grew such a cult following that it spawned a website called "Oracle of Bacon" that calculates the "Bacon Number" of every human being with an IMDb profile. The ultimate test for a game like this would be a brief, fledgling acting career like, oh...say...MINE! Yes, you heard me right — I have an IMDB profile, folks!
Back in 2009, I had an eight-second part in a short film called Horrible Turn, in which I was a police chief named Tommy O'Chimina. I even wore a bobby hat! HERE...WATCH! (Fast-forward to 0:50, and don't blink!)
That small, critically acclaimed role was enough to get me a Bacon Number of THREE! Yes, that's right, as a thespian, I am three degrees removed from the great Kevin Bacon! You can go plug my name in for yourself and see! When I plugged it in, the website came up with this sequence — Sean Pendergast was in Horrible Turn with Allison Victoria, who was in Knucklehead with Logan Douglas Smith, who was in JFK with Kevin Bacon.
Yep, I am in a Bacon String that includes the movie JFK! Honestly, how have I not gotten more acting gigs? I need a better agent! (And by "better agent" I mean "an agent.")
You may wonder why I'm spending so many words on "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," which is fair. It's because I recently read a list of pending NFL quarterback free agents on Pro Football Focus. As you can imagine, it's a highly unimpressive list, mostly full of castoffs, never-beens and future franchise murderers. Rare is the franchise quarterback who hits free agency, so any list of top free agent quarterbacks will undoubtedly underwhelm.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that an underwhelming list of veteran quarterbacks includes a slew of them who have played for or have ties in some way to Bill O'Brien, the Mediocre QB Whisperer himself! So in pursuing the list, I couldn't help but think of the Kevin Bacon game and how it might apply to Bill O'Brien.
So how about we run through the list and see what we can come up with for each of these ten fellows, shall we?
1. KIRK COUSINS, Washington
O'BRIEN CONNECTION: Cousins's first offensive coordinator back in 2012 was Kyle Shanahan (1), whose fellow coordinator in Atlanta this year was defensive coordinator Richard Smith (2), who was the defensive coordinator for the Texans in 2007 and 2008, where Rick Smith not only shared the same name but was (and still is) the general manager (3). Today Rick Smith works in a moderately cohesive fashion, at times, with Bill O'Brien constructing perennial 9-7 juggernauts (4)!
BOOM! CONGRATS, KIRK COUSINS...YOUR O'BRIEN NUMBER IS FOUR! See how easy this is? Let's keep going...
2. MIKE GLENNON, Tampa Bay
O'BRIEN CONNECTION: Let's see here...Okay, Glennon played a couple of seasons for then-Bucs head coach Lovie Smith (1), who was the head coach in Chicago when they drafted Alshon Jeffery (2). Jeffery was teammates with tight end Martellus Bennett for a few years (3), and of course, Bennett was the starting tight end in New England this past season, playing for Bill Belichick (4), who we all know hired Bill O'Brien back in 2007 (5)!
Man, that wasn't easy, but MIKE GLENNON...YOUR O'BRIEN NUMBER IS FIVE! This next one should be easier...
3. BRIAN HOYER, Chicago
O'BRIEN CONNECTION: Bill O'Brien coached Brian Hoyer in New England, brought him to Houston in 2015 and watched up close as he buried the Texans' playoff chances in a deluge of interceptions against Kansas City (1).
HEY, HEY! BRIAN HOYER...YOUR O'BRIEN NUMBER IS ONE! (One, with numerous heart emojis after it, courtesy of O'Brien)
4. MATT BARKLEY, Chicago
O'BRIEN CONNECTION: Let's see, we can do the whole Alshon Jeffery string with Barkley, if we want to, but let's get creative...here we go...Barkley backed up Nick Foles in Philadelphia in 2013 (1). Foles was eventually traded to the Rams and benched for Case Keenum (2), who O'Brien reluctantly yanked out of a tree at a deer lease back in 2014 to start the final two games of the season (3).
I am the maestro of this game...MATT BARKLEY...YOUR O'BRIEN NUMBER IS THREE!
Hey, speaking of Keenum...
5. CASE KEENUM, Los Angeles
O'BRIEN CONNECTION: Stop me if you've heard this story... Keenum was yanked out of a tree at a deer lease in 2014 by O'Brien so that he could start the final two games of the 2014 season. Keenum went 2-0, allowing O'Brien to begin a streak of 9-7 seasons to which there is no end in sight (1).
YO, CASE KEENUM...YOUR O'BRIEN NUMBER IS ONE!
6, SHAUN HILL, Minnesota
O'BRIEN CONNECTION: After Teddy Bridgewater shredded his knee just before the start of the 2016 season, Hill moved up to first on the Vikings depth chart. However, his starting job was short-lived, as the Vikes traded for Sam Bradford (1), who was teammates for a portion of the previous season with the aforementioned Case Keenum (2), who, as you may have heard, was yanked out of a tree at a deer lease at the end of 2014 by O'Brien so that he could start the final two games of the regular season (3).
SHAUN HILL, you may suck, but...YOUR O'BRIEN NUMBER IS THREE! NICELY DONE!
7. RYAN FITZPATRICK, New York Jets
O'BRIEN CONNECTION: Back in 2014, good ol' Fitzy was O'Brien's hand-picked "cagey, plucky veteran stopgap with an Ivy League degree, but a Sun Belt football IQ." Fitzy managed to get benched for Ryan Mallett, beginning a two-season tradition of hand-picked O'Brien starters who were benched for Ryan Mallett (1). (Sidebar — kill me now.)
CHEERIO, FITZY! YOUR O'BRIEN NUMBER IS ONE!
8. MATT McGLOIN, Oakland
O'BRIEN CONNECTION: Back in 2012, Bill O'Brien arrived at Penn State in the wake of horrific scandal and player attrition. He needed a leader, and that leader was a spunky, undersized senior named Matt McGloin. McGloin had his best collegiate season under O'Brien, blossoming into the best undrafted free agent he could possibly be (1)!
MATT McGLOIN...YOUR O'BRIEN NUMBER IS ONE!
9. MARK SANCHEZ, Dallas
O'BRIEN CONNECTION: Mark Sanchez, in his first two seasons as an NFL quarterback in New York, was the game manager for a Jets team that appeared in two straight AFC title games, in large part because of a defense led by future Hall of Famer (and alleged innocent-citizen-knocker-outer) Darrelle Revis (1). Revis would eventually wind up winning a Super Bowl as a hired gun in 2014 with New England playing with Tom Brady (2), whose success helped contribute to the mystique that O'Brien is a "QB guru." (3)
GIDDY UP, MARK SANCHEZ... YOUR O'BRIEN NUMBER IS THREE!
10. GENO SMITH, New York Jets
O'BRIEN CONNECTION: Geno Smith got his lights knocked out and his jaw broken by teammate I.K. Enemkpali in the 2015 preseason, paving the way for Ryan Fitzpatrick to take his starting QB job with the Jets (1), and, as noted above, O'Brien had hired Fitzy the season prior, before trading him to the Jets for a bag of balls and a VHS copy of Caddyshack (2).
GENO SMITH, we know you lost your starting job, but hey...YOUR O'BRIEN NUMBER IS TWO!!
It's no Bacon Number of three, but it's something!
Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 2 to 6 p.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/SeanTPendergast and like him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.
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Brazilian striker Anderson Lopes celebrates a goal for Consadole Sapporo in Japan by jumping over a barrier - only to discover a large drop.
Lopes avoided any injury.
WATCH MORE: Player scores goal, climbs ladder, changes scoreboard | {
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I came home from work today to a package at my back door. It was late delivery from my secret Santa. I now have my very own Moose Mug!! Thank you again Santa!! My Santa got me the shower curtain from my wishlist. I love it. It's perfect for a California Christmas bathroom. Thank you Santa | {
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Posted by
Steve Bottjer ,
July 24, 2014 Email
Steve Bottjer
On Twitter:
@BottjerRNO
While some TFC supporters were not overly impressed that their club had to play a friendly against Tottenham Hotspur just days before facing off against Eastern Conference playoff rivals Sporting Kansas City and D.C. United, many of those supporters likely came away from Wednesday’s fixture against the North London side even more impressed with Reds rookie Daniel Lovitz.
After Tottenham’s highly touted midfielder Erik Lamela had shown genuine quality in giving his side an early lead via a first half brace, the 22 year old Lovitz got Toronto back into what ended up being a very close match with a picture perfect pass to set up Andrew Wiedeman for TFC’s first goal of the game.
Following the 3-2 loss in which the Elon University product was Toronto’s clear standout player, TFC Head Coach Ryan Nelsen highlighted the confidence that a young player like Lovitz can take from a strong performance against a world class side as the main benefit that his club stands to gain from in season exhibition matches against top sides from Europe.
"Dan is another young kid that's just getting better each day," TFC head coach Ryan Nelsen said after the match. "He had a very good game. He was playing against a couple of world class defenders. For a young man that six months ago was at university still, it is a great experience for him."
Lovitz concurred with his Head Coach when asked whether he had taken significant confidence from the fact that he had distinguished himself while playing against one of the top sides in the English Premier League.
“Obviously, the level of the opposition was something that I had never been up against,” Lovitz told RedNation. “It was a great experience to know that the disparity isn’t as great as I once thought it was. To be out there and experience it firsthand gives me the experience to know that my play can really dictate the outcome of games even against the biggest clubs. That’s inspiring for me as a player.”
“As a team, it was great for us to get out there and have guys who needed minutes get them and to give other guys a rest while at the same time giving a good account of the club and the city against a great team like Tottenham,” Lovitz added. “I’m still a little bit in shock to have had the opportunity (to play against Tottenham). To play ninety minutes is an incredible experience for players of my age and even younger. I’ve followed Tottenham since I was very young and to be out there with some of the guys that you only really see in video games is pretty incredible.”
Daniel Lovitz speaks to the media after Toronto's 3-2 loss to Tottenham: While the Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania native was open in admitting he has been buoyed by his recent success against MLS sides in addition to strong performance against Tottenham, Lovitz was also quick to state that his main priorities are to simply keep getting better and to keep his feet on the ground.
“It is still a whirlwind to me and I’m still rolling with the punches and not really knowing what is coming next,” Lovitz said. “At the same time, it is great to build off that and to see how I am progressing as a player.”
“The league itself is developing into one of the more competitive leagues in the world, with the talent that is coming in and with the new organizations popping everywhere,” he added. “You couldn’t ask for a better time as a player to be in the MLS and with a club like this. For me, it is a dream come true.”
Overall, Lovitz feels like he is currently in a good spot with respect to his first season as a professional player. That said, the second round MLS SuperDraft pick isn’t hiding his own sense of surprise at the trajectory that his first year in the North American top flight has taken.
“If you would have told me that would I have got into this many games when I was going into the draft, I would have jumped at even half of the number,” Lovitz explained. “It is beyond what I ever expected. I really don’t want to dwell on that too much though.”
“I just want to take advantage of my opportunities each and every day because as great as this league and this job are, it can change in the blink of an eye with new acquisitions and what the team is trying to accomplish,” Lovitz added. “I’m doing my best to ensure that I am always in that discussion.”
| {
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April is Autism Awareness month and Chili's will offer
Dine at Chili's Monday, April 7, and they'll donate 10% of your check to National Autism Association.
linked below OR mention your support of National Autism Association to your server, and we'll donate 10% of your check. | {
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Donald Trump. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
On the morning of June 23, 1972, Richard Nixon instructed his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, to contact L. Patrick Gray, the acting director of the FBI, and ask him not to investigate the Watergate break-in. “That the way to handle this now is for us to have [CIA Deputy Director Vernon] Walters call Pat Gray and just say, ‘Stay the hell out of this … this is ah, business here we don’t want you to go any further on it,’” said the president. [Correction: Haldeman said this, Nixon concurred.] The conversation remained secret until Nixon was forced to release a recording on the conversation on July 24, 1974. The recording, which became known as the “smoking gun tape,” had a seismic effect: Eleven Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee announced their support for impeachment.
The New York Times bombshell report that James Comey has a contemporaneous memo describing a conversation in which President Trump asked him to halt the bureau’s investigation of Michael Flynn, the national security adviser who had resigned the day before, follows a similar pattern. Both episodes involve the president attempting to quash an FBI investigation into their associates. Both investigations pertain to crimes of which there is no proof the president had any involvement. Just as no conclusive proof ever found that Nixon ordered the break-in of Democratic headquarters during the 1972 election, there is not yet any clear proof that Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia’s electronic break-in to Democratic electronic records during the 2016 election. The attempted manipulation of justice is, in both cases, the more serious crime.
Comey’s memo — which is “two pages long and highly detailed,” the Washington Post reports — is the kind of document that would be admissible as evidence. In addition to the memo, the contents of which have been confirmed by numerous other news organizations, Trump has publicly suggested he has recordings of the conversation with Comey — a claim the administration has refused to deny or even to discuss in any fashion.
And the crime detailed in the reported Comey memo, like the smoking-gun tape, is of the utmost seriousness. It is evidence of the president attempting to turn the FBI into an organ of personal control. In addition to the request to lay off Flynn, Trump reportedly asked Comey to direct his resources to the prosecution of leakers within the administration and journalists who report on the leaks.
Much of the surrounding public evidence — Trump reportedly asked for Comey’s pledge of loyalty, proceeded to fire Comey, and then told NBC’s Lester Holt that the Russia investigation played a role in the firing — confirms the most dire conclusions. Trump has abused his power and perverted the functioning of the government in a way utterly inconsistent with democratic government as Americans understand it. If the FBI can be unleashed on the president’s enemies, and restrained from prosecuting his allies, then the presidency would become an instrument of authoritarian control.
Here is what must happen next. Democrats must ask the Republican majority — which has so far resisted any bipartisan investigation that would grant subpoena power to the minority party — if they will subpoena Comey’s memos and any tapes that the White House has. Any of Trump’s critics, from the left to the right, who care about safeguarding the republic should organize and join public demonstrations demanding these moves. And then, unless Comey has somehow, unimaginably, lied about the content of his memos, Trump must be impeached. | {
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Introduction
Mikel Jaso
Advances in technology and improvements in nutrition have produced remarkable physiological changes in the human body over a relatively short period.
Debate over the causes and implications of those changes has been raised anew by the Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert W. Fogel and his co-authors in a forthcoming book titled, "The Changing Body." "In most if not quite all parts of the world," they argue, "the size, shape and longevity of the human body have changed more substantially, and much more rapidly, during the past three centuries than over many previous millennia."
If the pattern holds and humans become taller, bigger and longer-living, will that always represent progress? What are the limits? | {
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Altcoins often struggle in the retailer adoption department. That is only normal, as most retailers want nothing to do with cryptocurrency. Especially complicated solutions are absolutely unacceptable in this regard. Anyone with an interest in Bitcoin Cash can soon accept such payments through a new WooCommerce extension. It is not the first of such plugins, but more competition can only be considered to be a good thing.
Integrating cryptocurrency payments into WooCommerce has become a lot easier in recent years. Various plugins exist to do so when it comes to Bitcoin. For altcoins, there is a bit more work involved in most cases. A new extension for Bitcoin Cash payments will come to market in the next day or so. It offers a lot of functionality for e-commerce store owners to benefit from. There are other plugins which offer similar functionality, though. It never hurts to check out different solutions which try to achieve the same goal.
More Ways to Accept Bitcoin Cash Payments
This new plugin offers an API to take orders paid in Bitcoin Cash. It works similar to using PayPal or BitPay, as store owners will be notified if the transaction is confirmed. It is possible to set up zero-confirmation transaction times. That is always somewhat risky, but the extension can be fully customized in this regard.. Moreover, the merchant will see all orders in the backend as they are placed in real-time. It is a valuable addition to promote Bitcoin Cash adoption among WooCommerce users.
Whether or not a lot of retailers will use this solution, has yet to be determined. There is certainly a lot of positive momentum for Bitcoin Cash as we speak. It’s a cheaper and more efficient form of Bitcoin. Moreover, it is also a rather valuable altcoin, which makes it rather appealing to accept as a payment method. This plugin is seemingly the first which has a native callback for transaction confirmations as well. An interesting development, as improvements like these are always welcome.
It would be great to see more merchants experiment with different cryptocurrencies. This ecosystem is about so much more than just Bitcoin or even Bitcoin Cash. With global availability and rather fast payments -in most cases – cryptocurrencies should be preferable compared to payment cards. Right now, that is not the case. Plugins like this one may help turn the tide in the long run, though. An interesting future lies ahead for Bitcoin Cash, that much is certain.
Header image courtesy of Shutterstock | {
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Im Auftrag des FBI soll Yahoo nicht nur alle eingehenden E-Mails, sondern sein gesamtes Netzwerk nach einer digitalen Signatur durchsucht haben. US-Politiker und Bürgerrechtler fordern nun von der US-Regierung, die geheime Anordnung offenzulegen.
Der bei der massenhaften Überwachung ertappte IT-Konzern Yahoo kommt aus den negativen Schlagzeilen nicht heraus. Laut einem Bericht der New York Times von vergangener Woche soll Yahoo einen bereits bestehenden Spam-Filter modifiziert haben, um sämtliche eingehenden E-Mails seiner Nutzer nach bestimmten Inhalten zu durchsuchen. Demnach seien alle E-Mails, in denen eine bestimmte digitale Signatur entdeckt worden war, gespeichert und anschließend an das FBI weitergegeben worden.
Nun berichtet Reuters, dass die staatlich angeordnete Überwachung offenbar deutlich weiter ging, als bisher bekannt. So sei das gesamte Yahoo-Netzwerk gescannt worden und nicht nur das E-Mail-System, heißt es unter Berufung auf mehrere anonym gebliebene ehemalige Yahoo-Mitarbeiter. Zum Einsatz sei dabei ein spezielles Kernel-Modul auf den Linux-Installationen des Konzerns gekommen. Dieses schlage vor dem Spam-Filter an, sei schwierig zu entdecken und zudem sei unklar, wie es überhaupt arbeite.
Zusätzliche Zweifel äußerten die Experten auch an der bisherigen Behauptung, dass nur ein bestehender Spam-Filter geändert worden sei: Zum einen durchsuche der Pornographie-Filter lediglich Bilder und Videos, zum anderen wären die restlichen Filter, die auf Text anschlagen, von zahlreichen Mitarbeitern einsehbar. Eine Änderung auf dieser Ebene wäre wohl schnell aufgefallen, so die ehemaligen Angestellten.
Pflicht zur Geheimhaltung verhindert Aufklärung
Unklarheit besteht weiterhin bei der Frage, wie weit die Anordnung des FISC-Gerichtes (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court) gegangen ist und wen sie alles betroffen hat. Laut anonymen US-Regierungsquellen hat das US-Justizministerium eine individualisierte Anordnung des Geheimgerichts erwirkt, mit der nach der Kommunikation einer „staatlich unterstützten Terrororganisation“ gesucht worden sei.
Wie bei solchen Anordnungen üblich, musste sich Yahoo zur absoluten Geheimhaltung verpflichten. Der IT-Konzern soll deshalb ins Visier der Behörden geraten sein, da Mitglieder der besagten Terrororganisation Yahoo-Mailadressen verwendet haben sollen. Andere Mail-Anbieter wie Apple oder Microsoft haben Gerüchte zurückgewiesen, eine ähnliche Anordnung erhalten zu haben – was aber angesichts der Geheimhaltungspflicht nicht viel heißen muss.
Scannen ganzer Netzwerke verstößt gegen US-Verfassung
Ungenannt gebliebene Geheimdienstquellen betonten, bei der Maßnahme würde es sich nicht um anlasslose Massenüberwachung handeln, wie es etwa beim durch den Whisteblower Edward Snowden aufgedeckten PRISM-Programm der Fall war. Aufgrund der Beschränkung der Suche auf eine gewisse digitale Signatur würde sich die Anordnung nicht von ähnlich gelagerten Fällen unterscheiden, die auf die elektronische Kommunikation Verdächtigter abzielen, beispielsweise die Überwachung eines ausgewählten Telefonanschlusses.
Da die Durchsuchung jedoch auf das gesamte Yahoo-Netzwerk ausgeweitet wurde, wäre dies ein Verstoß gegen den vierten US-Verfassungszusatz, der „unangemessene Durchsuchungen“ verbietet, erklärte Greg Nojeim vom Center for Democracy & Technology gegenüber Reuters. Auch der prominente Überwachungskritiker Ron Wyden, ein US-Senator aus Oregon, meldete Zweifel an der Rechtmäßigkeit des Programms an. Bestehende Bundesgesetze seien auf eine unübliche Weise neu interpretiert worden, was die Regierung zur Offenlegung der Argumentation des FISC-Gerichtes verpflichten würde. Diese Sicht deckt sich mit der der US-Bürgerrechtsorganisation EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), die sich vehement für eine Offenlegung der Anordnung einsetzt.
Irische Datenschutzbehörde schaltet sich ein
Die in Europa zuständige irische Datenschutzbehörde – Yahoo hat seinen europäischen Sitz in Dublin – hat bereits angedeutet, dass eine solche Massenüberwachung gegen das EU-US-Privacy-Shield verstoßen würde, das die Grundlage für die Übermittlung personenbezogener Daten aus Europa in die USA bildet. „Jede Form von Massenüberwachung, die das fundamentale Grundrecht auf Privatsphäre für EU-Bürger verletzt, löst beachtliche Bedenken aus“, sagte ein Sprecher der Regulierungsbehörde. Scharfe Kritik übte auch der UN-Sonderberichterstatter David Kaye. Er betonte die Wichtigkeit der Wahrung der Online-Privatsphäre, die dazu notwendig sei, um im Internet nach Informationen zu suchen, diese zu erhalten und weiterzugeben.
Freilich bleibt bis auf Weiteres unbekannt, ob sich Yahoo für das Privacy Shield qualifiziert hat – die Deadline für frühe Anmeldungen ist erst vor wenigen Tagen abgelaufen, eine Liste von entsprechend zertifizierten Unternehmen ist bislang noch nicht öffentlich verfügbar. Ein EU-Kommissionssprecher betonte, dass sich die US-Regierung im Rahmen von Privacy Shield dazu verpflichtet habe, anlasslose Massenüberwachung von EU-Bürgern einzustellen. „Die USA werden für diese Verpflichtungen zur Verantwortung gezogen werden, sowohl durch Überprüfungsmechanismen sowie durch Möglichkeiten der Entschädigung“, so der Sprecher. | {
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Fox News is arguing that Planned Parenthood’s newest venture is helping “transgender patients with sex changes,” which the FoxNews.com article says will help fill budget gaps caused by the health care provider no longer accepting reimbursements for fetal tissue donations. But Planned Parenthood has offered trans-inclusive health care services, according to well-established guidelines, well before the organization discontinued fetal tissue reimbursement.
Planned Parenthood has “found a new niche that could prove nearly as controversial as providing abortions” -- helping transgender people through the “sex-change process,” says a May 5 FoxNews.com article. The article also claims that since Planned Parenthood has stopped “selling baby body parts for money,” the “gender reassignment process may enable the organization to make up the lost cash." The false allegations of fetal tissue profiteering that Fox News is referring to have been repeatedly debunked.
But Planned Parenthood offering medical care to transgender people is not “new.” Standards of care for providing transition-related services have been on the books for almost 50 years and are supported by major medical associations, such as the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association. Trans people use Planned Parenthood as a means to access a diverse range of culturally competent medical services, such as reproductive health care, STD screenings, pap smears, cancer screenings, and even sometimes hormone treatments. Planned Parenthood provides one aspect of many that go along with transition-related care.
The author is correct about one thing -- both hormone therapy services and facilitation of fetal tissue donation account for a negligible amount of Planned Parenthood’s resources each year. Currently, less than 1 percent of the organization’s health centers even facilitate donations for fetal tissue research. Hormone therapy services also account for less than 1 percent of the 9.5 million services that are performed each year, according to the latest annual report.
The article relies solely on the opinion of hate group spokesperson Peter Sprigg, a senior fellow at the Family Research Council, who is not a medical professional. Sprigg predicts severe backlash from patients experiencing transition regret, which -- much like so-called “post-abortion syndrome” -- is a conservative myth debunked by scientific evidence. More from the Fox article: | {
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Flint: Enclosure of the Water Commons
The Flint water crisis is back in the national news. Over 8,000 Flint residents now face tax liens on their homes for unpaid water bills after May 19th, and are faced with the possibility of losing their homes if they don’t pay the total amount in arrears. This follows last month’s mass water cutoffs for residences with unpaid bills. All of this is taking place despite the fact that the water is contaminated with lead, and undrinkable without the use of a filter.
In news stories about these tax liens, the references are to “residents” and “homes,” not businesses. If that seems familiar, it should. Back in 2014, when the “Emergency Manager” in Detroit was carrying out similar mass cutoffs, Homrich (the crony capitalist firm hired to handle the cutoffs) only pursued residential accounts that were in arrears. The cutoff policy did not apply to business accounts — some of which owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in back payments — despite the fact that they constituted almost half of the total amount owed. And remember: as is the case in most communities, businesses were charged a lower rate per gallon than residences.
If Flint had charged residential and commercial/industrial water users the same rates in the first place, and followed the same policy on collecting past-due bills for both, it’s a safe bet to say that far fewer residents would be in arrears and facing the loss of their homes today.
For a further point of similarity, consider California Governor Jerry Brown, whose so-called “water rationing” executive order applied only to residential users, and not to giant agribusiness operations consuming massive amounts of irrigation water.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that both Michigan and California allow vulture capitalist corporations like Nestle to pump millions of gallons out of aquifers for next to nothing and then sell it by the bottle.
Put all these things together, and what do you get? The water supply — groundwater, natural bodies of water, and other reservoirs — is a commons. The capital infrastructure for delivering this water to households and businesses, having been built at the expense of ratepayers and taxpayers, is also a commons. And like innumerable commons of the past, the water commons have been enclosed by governments whose primary purpose is to provide subsidized infrastructure for capitalist enterprises. In some cases, this infrastructure is then sold or leased to such capitalist enterprises, who then run them at a profit at the expense of consumers.
When the water commons is enclosed and run for the benefit of capital, or actually run by capital itself, price-gouging and favoritism to business are only to be expected. And every step in the process is characterized by collusion and self-dealing. That’s the nature of the capitalist state: to subsidize inputs, socialize costs and risks, and facilitate the privatization of profit.
In 17th century England, a band of landless peasants who called themselves the Diggers tore down the enclosures at St. George’s Hill, built cottages on the land, and began to cultivate it in common. Today, the only ultimate solution is the same: reclaim the commons. We should mutualize water utilities and other commons as social (not private or state) property, under the direct control of the users themselves. | {
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by
No sooner had Michigan’s ‘right-to-work’ (RTW) law passed, than supporters were out in force crowing about their success and the prospect of other states falling victim.
Non-RTW states Alaska, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin were all mentioned as potential candidates to fall. Most frequently referred to were Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Twenty-four states are currently RTW, most recently Indiana and Michigan in 2012.
The rationale behind RTW is simple. It allows capital to boost its profit-making (labor exploitation) by using state coercion. In other words, RTW increases capital’s share of produced surplus at the expense of labor. It has nothing to do with the right to work.
RTW achieves this by undermining the power of unions, thereby reducing wages (an average $1500 annually according to the Economic Policy Institute), shifting the burden of paying for benefits and pensions onto workers, creating less healthy work environments and so on.
I decided to research how capital and labor have fared in RTW and non-RTW states in the current economic downturn. Using the most recent data available from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, I calculated labor’s share of each state’s private sector GDP, a rough measure of its share of the surplus. I then calculated the average labor share for RTW states and the average for non-RTW states.
In 2011, labor’s share averaged 47.5% in RTW states and 50.6% in non-RTW states, a difference of 3.1%. RTW clearly does what it is designed to accomplish, namely increase profit-making and enhance the exploitation of labor.
It is not difficult to see why supporters thought of the states listed above as future candidates for RTW. Twenty-three of the twenty-eight states without RTW in 2011 had labor shares that are higher than the average for all of the RTW states (47.5%), making them particularly ripe for RTW exploitation.
What’s more, the states most often mentioned by supporters as candidates for RTW had some of the highest labor shares, specifically Pennsylvania (55%), Ohio (54%) and Missouri (54%). Pre-RTW Michigan also had one of the largest labor shares (54%).
How much does capital gain financially from RTW? Since the average gap in labor’s share between RTW states and non-RTW states is 3.1% of state GDP, I assumed that current RTW states would have a 3.1% larger labor share than they do now if they were not RTW.
Summing 3.1% of each RTW state’s GDP provides a measure of the value to capital of enforcing RTW on all those states. The result for 2011, when there were twenty-two RTW states, is $150.9 billion. That’s a huge number, and it’s only for one year.
And how much would capital gain financially from forcing RTW on current non-RTW states? Using the same reasoning as above, but in reverse, the value to capital of converting all twenty-eight states that were not RTW in 2011 to RTW is $253.0 billion. Again, it’s a huge number, and only for one year.
Obviously, it is unrealistic to think this will happen, but it does give a good idea of how much is at stake. More concretely, the value to capital of forcing RTW on Indiana and Michigan in 2012 would alone have been about $18.3 billion in the first year.
The financial gain to capital of RTW is enormous, and that’s the whole point of it. RTW is an instrument of class war. It is misnamed and should be called the right-to-exploit.
ROBERT HANHAM is a retired academic geographer. | {
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A teenage lynch mob beat and knifed a suspected paedophile to death in Russia, say police.
Three youths have been detained after a violent film of the 47-year-old-man's beating - shot by a female friend of the alleged killers - was uploaded to the web.
The man had arranged to meet a 13-year-old girl after telling her he wanted sex with her during a social media chat, say police.
A teenage lynch mob beat and knifed a suspected paedophile to death in Russia, say police
The girl arrived for the 'date' with a gang of teenage friends, it was reported.
Footage shows the vigilante teens kicking and beating the alleged paedophile as he lay prostrate in long grass near Efremovo, in the Tula region.
A dozen or more males and females watch as the man pleads for mercy, blood streaming from his nose.
The spectators are seen laughing and cheering while the man is plainly in severe physical pain.
Then the group is seen walking away from the scene.
It is believed the man survived this attack but a group of youths, aged 16 and 17, met him next day on 26 July armed with a gun and knife.
The man had arranged to meet a 13-year-old girl after telling her he wanted sex with her during a social media chat, say police
The man is reported to have died because of knife wounds.
The man was reported to have had a porn video involving underage girls on his social media site.
His friends' list also contained girls in their early teens.
He was reported to have invited young girls to his home and to have offered them alcohol and 'gifts'.
Neighbours confirmed that he was often visited by young girls. It was also reported that he had a previous conviction for burglary.
Footage shows the vigilante teens kicking and beating the alleged paedophile as he lay prostrate in long grass near Efremovo, in Tula region
'The mother of the 13 year old did not pay attention to her complaints about the man,' it was claimed.
Police say the man's corpse had 'signs of a violent death'.
The three teenagers were detained on suspicion 'deliberate infliction of grave bodily harm causing death'. | {
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Ireland has done all that has been asked of it, imposing harsh austerity measures in an effort to slash its huge budget deficit following a property crash that triggered a deep recession and a massive bank bailout. | {
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CAIRO: Sudan’s deposed leader Omar Al-Bashir faces trial for money laundering after a hoard of cash was found in his home in Khartoum.
Military intelligence officers who searched the former president’s house found suitcases containing 6 million euros, more than $351,000 in US bills, and 5 million Sudanese pounds — a total of more than $7 million.
He faces charges of money laundering and possession of large sums of foreign currency without legal grounds, a judicial source said.
“The chief public prosecutor ... ordered the former president detained and quickly questioned in preparation to put him on trial,” the source said. “The public prosecution will question him in Kobar prison.”
Bashir was ousted by the military on April 11 after months of protests demanding an end to corruption.
The country’s transitional military council last week ordered the central bank to review financial transfers since April 1 and to seize “suspect” funds.
It also ordered the “suspension of the transfer of ownership of any shares until further notice and for any large or suspect transfers of shares or companies to be reported.”
A delegation from the Alliance for Freedom and Change, the umbrella group for protesters, held talks with the military council on Saturday about handing over power to a civilian administration.
If the military rulers refused to hand over power, the protest leaders will announce a “sovereign civilian council” on Sunday, said Ahmed Al-Rabia, a leading member of the Sudanese Professionals Association, the group that launched the initial protests.
“If they are willing to negotiate, then there is a chance that tomorrow’s announcement could be postponed,” he said. “What we want from them is a timetable to hand over power, so things don’t drag.”
Army chiefs had held two rounds of talks with the protest leaders since Bashir was removed, he said. “During these talks we’ve felt that the military council has no desire to hand over power.”
Officials from the African Union also held talks on Saturday with the military council.
Gen. Omar Zain Al-Abidin, head of the council’s political committee, said the military council’s job was to provide a climate for political forces to rule Sudan in a peaceful and democratic way. They discussed how the African Union could help in the transition.
The group has given Sudan two weeks to form a civilian administration or risk expulsion. | {
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With pre-season over for another summer, LFCTV and LFCTV GO are gearing up for next weekend's campaign opener against Southampton by reliving the best 10 games from the 2013-14 season.
The hour-long show - 'Kop 10 Games of 2013-14' - is hosted in New York by LFCTV's new American presenter Zuri Hall, her debut appearance on the club's official channel.
Reds fans all over the world can watch Zuri's debut presenting appearance on LFCTV GO for free by clicking play on the video below.
Watch the video here »
From MTV to LFCTV: Click here to read our 13-point guide to getting to know Zuri Hall.
The Reds might have just fallen short of winning the title - eventually losing out to Manchester City by two points - but with 26 games won, 521 shots and 101 goals scored, there were certainly no shortage of contenders for places on our top 10 countdown of matches of the season.
From the eight-goal rollercoaster win away at Stoke City to the 4-0 thrashing of Everton at Anfield, it's an action-packed watch and you can tune in to LFCTV from 11pm BST to find out which game takes the No.1 spot on our list.
Click on the image below to view a gallery of photos from the filming of the LFCTV programme in New York. | {
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Acapulco ranks as Mexico’s most violent city and fourth most violent in the world based on the number of homicides committed last year.
But Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua both fell off the list of the world’s 50 most dangerous urban areas.
The ranking, compiled by Mexico’s Citizens’ Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice, put Caracas, Venezuela, in first place, San Pedro Sula, Honduras, in second and San Salvador, El Salvador, in third.
Other Mexican centers on the list were Culiacán, Sinaloa, in 17th place, Tijuana, Baja California, in 35th, Ciudad Victoria in Tamaulipas, 46th place, and Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, in 50th.
Among Latin American countries, Mexico saw some improvement last year. Five cities dropped off the list, the highest number of any Latin country.
One of those was Cuernavaca, capital of Morelos, which the study attributed to the introduction of the Mando Único, or Single Command police system, in 2013, resulting in a 28% reduction in high-impact crime.
The news might come as a surprise to new Cuernavaca Mayor Cuauhtémoc Blanco, who was in the middle of an intense war of words two weeks ago with Governor Graco Ramírez. Blanco has been strongly opposed to the Single Command system and the governor for it.
The mayor claims there is evidence its officers have not been without fault in terms of corruption and organized crime links.
In addition to Cuernavaca, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Nuevo Laredo and Torreón moved off the list of the most dangerous Latin American cities last year.
Source: El Universal (sp) | {
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