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Canada4XPlane's CYYC - Calgary International Airport
"Gateway to the Canadian Rockies"
Canada4XPlane is more then happy to share to you, "CYYC Calgary - Gateway to the Canadian Rockies"
After two years of development, the most detailed scenery for CYYC, to date, has been completed. Over 40+ custom hangars, as well as hundreds of smaller custom details, to give you the feel of standing on CYYC's tarmac. Every detail has been developed, as well as keeping the scenery FPS friendly. Every hangar has a scene to enjoy.
A donation would be greatly appreciated. If you feel like you want to donate, please donate here.
If you like the scenery, how about checking some more out here.
Special thanks to:
Misterx6 - Custom Taxiways, bases for custom gates, asphalt, and building textures.
Coolbub123 - Livery painter for the HD static aircraft.
YYZatcboy - For in depth images of CYYC
Q8Pilot - for promo video
Laminar Flow Gaming - for promo video
All the donators - that kept the team going.
ShaunAT - Conversion of sketchup YYC downtown buildings.
What Does This Package Include?
- CYYC International Airport
- Downtown Calgary Buildings
- Calgary Heliports
- Optional Winter Textures
- WT3 Compatibility
- 40+ Custom hangars and terminals
- Over 100 Custom CYYC details
- Custom dynamic lighting, and dynamic lighting asphalt.
- Accurate static aircraft
- Ground Traffic
- Winter Textures (JSGME MOD)
Required Libraries:
- BS2001
- MisterX6 Library and Static Aircraft Extension V1.61
- OpenSceneryX
- CFXP Static Aircraft Library V3.0
List of library links here
World Traffic Ground Route Files:
Installation:
1. Install required libraries.
2. Download all 3 "files"
3. Unzip the first package, and put "CFXP - CYYC" into your "Custom Scenery" folder
4. Unzip the second package, and put "CFXP - CYYC Calgary Airports" as well as "CFXP - CYYC City Center" into your "Custom Scenery" folder.
5. (Optional) for winter textures, please use this to help
Static Aircraft Delete Patch:
This is a separate DSF patch that deletes all static aircraft for those with bad frame rate, or users of Vatsim/World Traffic.
To install, simply replace the .DSF files located in the "EarthNavData"/ "+50-120" folder. Make sure to make a backup before replacing.
Licensing:
CFXP - CYYC is under an EULA to protect the use of custom elements
For any question and comments, please email us here | {
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Political hacks and Very Fake News pundits have been trying to make Donald Trump, now President Trump’s, ownership in the Trump International DC hotel a conflict of interest.
GSA Feds today struck down those claims.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal agency overseeing Donald Trump’s lease for a luxury hotel in Washington has ruled his election as president doesn’t violate the terms of his agreement barring government officials from profiting from the property.
In a letter to the Trump Organization on Thursday, the General Services Administration says it has determined that the president’s business is in “full compliance.” | {
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DUBLIN BAR THE Bernard Shaw has been refused permission by An Bord Pleanála to continue operating its iconic exterior beer garden and dining area.
The Bernard Shaw is located to the south of Dublin city centre and has been a popular hotspot for well over a decade, with its adjacent street food section Eatyard also drawing in the crowds.
Locals in that area of Dublin 2 had appealed to An Bord Pleanála against the plan, but Trevor O’Shea – CEO of Bodytonic who runs the pub – told TheJournal.ie that a renewed application will be made to continue operating the outside area.
Planning application
The bar originally applied to Dublin City Council in October for the retention and continuation of the semi-covered smoking area and beer garden to the exterior of the property on the capital’s Richmond Street.
This followed on from a previous successful planning application several years before to continue to use the area.
In its application, the Bernard Shaw said there is a “brewing unease and scepticism” at how “once-lauded cultural institutions are being replaced by hotels and short-term accommodation”.
It cited the recent demolition of venues such as the Tivoli Theatre and Andrews Lane Theatre, and said they were high-profile losses to the nightclub, entertainment and cultural spaces within the city.
“The Bernard Shaw stands to continue as an attractive destination, thriving business, and cultural touchstone in the fabric of the city’s current recovery,” it said.
For the near-term this success is depending on the operation of its beer garden, open air dining area and the big blue bus.
In objections lodged to the council by nearby residents, the noise levels from the pub were criticised.
One wrote: “It is unfair that we cannot protect ourselves against the level of noise and music coming from this venue. I cannot enjoy the back garden at all with the loud thumping. This is no life for a cancer survivor trying to live without stress. Please put the music back inside and let me enjoy living on this street.”
Another said that the venue has a weekly calendar of events and claimed it “effectively operates as an open-air live music venue”.
“These events are amplified into the beer garden and are clearly audible through the front and back windows of my house and in my back garden,” the resident said. “I have phoned the bar on numerous occasions to have the music turned off, most recently at 11pm last Sunday night. The phone is not always answered.”
In December, the council granted the venue permission to retain the area for a period of three years. However, that decision was then appealed to An Bord Pleanála, claiming the pub had not complied with previous conditions relating to noise levels and that there wasn’t a specific plan in place to address residents’ concerns.
Appeal upheld
In the An Bord Pleanála’s inspector’s report, it noted that the Bernard Shaw did not respond to the grounds of appeal made by a local resident.
The inspector noted that the existing use of the site is “clearly a vibrant enterprise with its own unique character within an area notable for the extent of dereliction”. She also highlighted that for a case to be made to keep using the site, evidence must be demonstrated of detailed noise mitigation measures.
Her recommendation was to request further information from the Bernard Shaw before ruling on the matter.
An Bord Pleanála, however, chose to refuse permission to the bar outright.
It said that to grant permission would likely delay or undermine “comprehensive regeneration” on the site and adjoining lands and would be inconsistent with the “emerging pattern of development in the vicinity”.
It added:
On the basis of the evidence submitted with the planning application and appeal, the Board is not satisfied that the development, for which retention permission and permission for temporary continuation of use is sought, would not seriously injure the residential amenity of properties in the vicinity, by reason of noise and disturbance.
‘Down this road’
Local councillor Mannix Flynn told TheJournal.ie that the decision from An Bord Pleanála was the “exact right thing” and a big boost for local residents.
“I’m not surprised they rejected it,” he said. “Certainly the local residents have had enough. The excessive noise has been too much for a long time.”
Flynn said that general area around Richmond Street can be plagued with anti-social behaviour, and it is the residents who suffer.
A bunch of cool hipsters can think it’s an amazing place. But the level of anti-social behaviour that goes on is incredible, and the noise is appalling.
“People in the neighbourhood don’t use many of those nearby laneways any more,” the councillor said. “It’s a nightmare.”
O’Shea, who runs Bodytonic, said that the group now plans to submit a fresh application to continue operating the outside area of the Bernard Shaw.
“We’ve been down this road for years,” he said, indicating that it would go back to planning authorities with a renewed application.
Bodytonic also operates Wigwam on Abbey Street, the Back Page in Phibsborough and Jam Park, which has opened this week in Swords. | {
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China’s annual Spring Festival travel rush never really gets truly started until tens of thousands of travelers are stranded together inside a single railway station for hours on end.
Such was the case last night, when rare snow in parts of eastern and central Chinese caused the delay of some trains, sending travelers spiraling into total hell. At the always hellish Guangzhou Railway Station, around 100,000 people waited outside for their train to finally come in.
For the historic occasion, local police were forced to draft 1,300 extra security personnel when the initial 2,600 officers just weren’t enough to handle the constantly surging crowd.
Check out all the fun:
Of course, migrants in Guangzhou weren’t the only ones suffering. Try to find Waldo in these pics of Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station from last night:
Suffocating scenes from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station last night.READ MORE: http://shst.me/d4q Posted by Shanghaiist on Monday, February 1, 2016
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Or at Hangzhou East Railway Station:This is just more evidence that if you are planning to stay in China for the holidays, it’s probably best to just stay put and try to move as little possible. If you’re spending it in Shanghai, check out our survival guide . Happy holidays![Images via NetEase // Tencent | {
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Eu sempre quero saber apenas do que pode dar certo, para outros e para mim; por isso, não perco meu precioso tempo na defensiva. Mas, neste texto, eu decidi gastar parte de meu tempo com algo que ameaça a democracia já golpeada e compromete o funcionamento justo das instituições e do Estado de Direito: a calúnia e a difamação.
Não, eu não sou o dono da Friboi. Nem o filho do Lula.
Aliás, para ficar mais claro: eu não sou dono da Friboi, nem filho do Lula, e nem o filho do Lula é dono da Friboi… nem nada disso.
Eu também não quero implantar “o ensino da religião islâmica” nas escolas. Nunca defendi a pedofilia. Nunca disse que os cristãos fossem doentes e nem que a Bíblia fosse uma piada, e nem penso isso.
Não sou autor de nenhum projeto de lei para mudar “trechos homofóbicos da Bíblia”, nem existe nenhum projeto de lei para isso, nem poderia existir (porque o Congresso não pode alterar nenhum livro, a não ser a Constituição), e, aliás, eu também não acho que a Bíblia tenha “trechos homofóbicos”. Há, sim, pessoas homofóbicas que interpretam a Bíblia de forma homofóbica porque, além de homofóbicas, são burras; mas isso é outra questão.
Eu também não apresentei nenhum projeto de lei para dar uma bolsa às mulheres que fizerem aborto. A Dilma não deu um milhão de reais do governo para um documentário sobre a minha vida – aliás, nem a Dilma, nem o governo, nem ninguém.
Eu nunca disse que “os negros são mais perigosos que os brancos” – tem pessoas racistas que pensam isso, e eu acho essas pessoas nojentas.
O meu projeto de lei de identidade de gênero não obriga as crianças a mudarem de sexo (gente, que estupidez!). O meu projeto de lei de casamento civil igualitário não obriga as igrejas a casarem gays (o projeto é sobre o casamento civil, não sobre o casamento religioso!). Eu nunca falei que, se o impechment fosse aprovado, eu iria embora do Brasil – não, gente, lamento decepcionar “azinimigas”, mas eu nunca falei isso!
Enfim, todos esses boatos estúpidos que circulam na internet são isso: boatos estúpidos. E, sobretudo, desonestos, canalhas, criminosos. Porque tem alguém que inventa cada um deles e coloca em circulação nas redes. E se eles conseguem se espalhar é porque quem os divulga são pessoas com grana e estrutura para isso, e porque há muitas pessoas doentes de ódio que, mesmo sabendo que é mentira, compartilham. Por quê? Porque eu sou veado, por isso.
Nessa semana, uma promotora abriu um inquérito para investigar um dos boatos acima – uma peça muito mal escrita de duas laudas sem absolutamente nenhuma evidência, baseada num boato de internet – e o jornal Estado de S. Paulo publicou o boato como se fosse uma notícia verdadeira.
Sim, o jornal Estado de São Paulo! Não vou dizer qual desses boatos foi, porque não vou ajudar essa gente a espalhar ainda mais a mentira (e peço a vocês que, se descobrirem, não compartilhem o link da calúnia nem mesmo para criticar o jornal, porque, quando alguém compartilha, mesmo que seja para criticar, acaba espalhando sem querer). Também não vou dizer o nome da jornalista, porque ela não merece ser citada. Mas vou contar o que aconteceu quando um dos meus assessores ligou para ela.
A jornalista o atendeu e, assim que o meu assessor falou para ela o motivo da ligação, ela disse: “Não vou te ouvir”. O meu assessor ficou perplexo. Ele começou a dizer para a jornalista que estava ligando porque ela tinha publicado uma notícia falsa, um boato que tem até página no e-farsas há mais de um ano, e ela o interrompeu: “Você não vai me dar aulas de jornalismo”.
Perplexo, mas sem perder a calma, meu assessor tentou explicar por que a “notícia” era falsa e disse que, se ela tivesse ligado para o gabinete para ouvir a nossa versão dos fatos antes de publicar a matéria (como qualquer jornalista aprende na faculdade que deve ser feito), teria recebido todas as informações necessárias, mas aí ela disse: “Eu não sou obrigada a ouvir vocês”.
Como assim não é obrigada? Meu assessor continuou tentando explicar que a informação publicada era totalmente falsa e aí veio a parte mais insólita do diálogo:
“A minha matéria não diz que a informação é verdadeira”, disse a jornalista.
“Ué… mas você publicou como se fosse verdade.”
“Não, eu apenas publiquei que existe essa denúncia.”
“Mas a denúncia é falsa, é um boato.”
“Eu sei. Mas eu não disse que a denúncia fosse verdadeira, apenas disse que ela existe.”
Sim, queridos amigos e queridas amigas. É assim que se faz “jornalismo” hoje em alguns veículos de comunicação brasileiros.
Os editores do Estadão têm todo o direito do mundo de não gostar de mim. Porque eu sou de esquerda e eles são de direita, porque eu sou contra o golpe e eles foram a favor, porque eu defendo as liberdades individuais e eles são ultra conservadores, ou por qualquer outra razão.
Eles têm direito de escrever um editorial criticando meus projetos de lei ou a minha atuação parlamentar. Eu não vou me ofender, porque eu sei que pensamos diferente e, numa democracia, é natural que as pessoas pensem diferente e é saudável que a imprensa faça, com absoluta liberdade, seu trabalho de informar, criticar e apresentar suas opiniões.
O que eles não podem é dizer que eu sou dono da Friboi, ou filho do Lula, ou que o filho do Lula é dono da Friboi, ou qualquer outra das estupidezes que já mencionei.
E não podem por um único e simples motivo: porque é mentira.
Muito obrigado por ter chegado até aqui...
... Mas não se vá ainda. Ajude-nos a manter de pé o trabalho de CartaCapital.
Nunca antes o jornalismo se fez tão necessário e nunca dependeu tanto da contribuição de cada um dos leitores. Assine CartaCapital e contribua com um veículo dedicado a produzir diariamente uma informação de qualidade, profunda e analítica. A democracia agradece.
ASSINE ou, se preferir, Apoie a Carta | {
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The Dragoncard is set to launch this year - Copyright of Adrian Brooks / Imagewise. Photo credit must read: Adrian Brooks/Imagewise
A British cryptocurrency exchange is launching a Visa card that it says will allow users to spend their bitcoin savings.
London Block Exchange (LBX), a newly-launched website that will allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, plans to launch a spending card in the coming weeks that will convert their holdings in bitcoin and other virtual currencies to pounds and let them spend it on the high street.
The "Dragoncard" is designed to counter a key criticism of bitcoin - that it is largely a commodity and has few applications in the real world. Only a handful of major companies accept payment in bitcoin, which has been blighted by concerns about money laundering and other criminal activity.
When a shopper spends money with the card, LBX will pay the retailer in pounds and recoup the money from the shopper's online wallet, converting one of the cryptocurrencies they hold into pounds, charging a 0.5 per cent fee.
Other firms have attempted to launch bitcoin-based cards but LBX is the first to convert the cryptocurrency to pounds, and has been provisionally approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK's financial regulator. It has received £2m in funding and is chaired by Adam Bryant, a long-time Credit Suisse banker who ran the Swiss bank's macro hedge fund team.
bitcoin price
Bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies including Ethereum and Ripple, has exploded in value this year. Its price has risen from under $1,000 at the start of 2017 to almost $7,000 today. Many senior figures in the financial industry now see it as a bubble and warn that it will not replace the stability of the existing financial system.
Transactions with bitcoin have become slow due to the increased activity on the network in recent months, which critics say make it unsuitable as a payment method. By handling the conversion itself, rather than at the point of transaction, LBX hopes to remove this barrier.
Benjamin Dives, LBX's chief executive, said: "Despite being the financial capital of the world, London is a difficult place for investors to enter and trade in the cryptocurrency market.
Story continues
"We’ll bring it into the mainstream by removing the barriers to access, and by helping people understand and have confidence in what we believe is the future of money."
Visa has previously raised concerns about cryptocurrency cards. Other attempts to launch such cards were recently forced to withdraw services to consumers outside the EU, with Visa saying the regulations were currently unclear.
LBX said it did not see such issues because conversions are only done in pounds. | {
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I met my wife on ChristianMingle.com I don't believe. Never believed. Will never believe.
442 shares | {
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Following your dreams isn't always all it's cracked up to be. Watch a movie about someone following his/her dreams, and the conventional narrative formula leads you to believe that, after one or two hiccups and a couple of hours, you'll eventually get exactly what you wanted. The real world operates somewhat differently; for some people, this dream path may pan out, but for most of us, the road to our dreams is long, challenging, and unexpected.
Of course, none of this means that the pursuit isn't worthwhile--in fact, the experience of pursuing your dreams is often more rewarding and more enlightening than the achievement of your dreams themselves.
In trying to put the pursuit of dreams into perspective, below is a list of insightful, inspiring, and in some cases, amusing quotes:
1. "You have to dream before your dreams can come true." -- A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.
Some people throttle their potential by refusing to think "what if?" and ignoring what's truly important to them in life. You have to start dreaming before you can achieve anything.
2. "I have lots of things to prove to myself. One is that I can live my life fearlessly." -Oprah Winfrey.
Fear is a limiting factor, and it's present in all of us, but moving past that fear is essential for success.
3. "Don't give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you." -- John Wooden.
The moment you believe you can't do it, everything else begins to crumble. Never stop believing.
4. "You will never find time for anything. You must make it." -- Charles Buxton. M
any people convince themselves they'll have time for their dreams in the future--but there's never a better time than now. Make time for your dreams.
5. "Never be ashamed! There's some who will hold it against you, but they are not worth bothering with." -- J. K. Rowling.
If your dreams are big, people will mock you for them. Forget those people; they will not help you succeed.
6. "To be a human being is to be in a state of tension between your appetites and your dreams, and the social realities around you and your obligations to your fellow man." - John Updike.
Our dreams are often at odds with our realities, demanding freedoms and resources we may not have. But this doesn't make them impossible to achieve.
7. "Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." -- Ray Kroc.
Persistence is much of what separates the successful from the pure wishful thinkers. Distinguish yourself by staying motivated even in the toughest of circumstances.
8. "Once in a while it really hits people that they don't have to experience the world in the way they have been told." -- Alan Keightley.
This is the realization that fuels most people to follow their dreams relentlessly. Staying complacent never led anybody to greatness.
9. "I can't imagine a person becoming a success who doesn't give this game of life everything he's got." -- Walter Cronkite.
You can't follow your dreams at a leisurely pace. You need to give them 100 percent of your effort if you want to achieve them.
10. "When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You have the choice. You can overcome and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser. The choice is yours and yours alone. Refuse to throw in the towel. Go that extra mile that failures refuse to travel. It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure." -- Mary Kay Ash.
Following your dreams is an exhausting, draining effort--but the rewards are well worth it all.
11. "Love what you do and do what you love. Don't listen to anyone else who tells you not to do it. You do what you want, what you love. Imagination should be the center of your life." -- Ray Bradbury.
Ignore everybody who tries to tell you what to do or think. Follow your own instincts and goals.
12. "I don't focus on what I'm up against. I focus on my goals and I try to ignore the rest." -- Venus Williams.
It's easy to get lost in thinking only about the challenges and obstacles before you. Instead, think only about your ultimate destination.
13. "It is better to risk starving to death than surrender. If you give up on your dreams, what's left?" -- Jim Carrey.
This quote may be a bit extreme, but it carries a great point; your dreams define you. If you abandon them, what else could possibly motivate you?
14. "Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead." -- Nelson Mandela.
Every milestone is a miniature victory in the road to achieving your goals. Don't neglect or underestimate them.
15. "The only thing worse than starting something and failing... is not starting something." -- Seth Godin.
In some cases, failure is inevitable. Don't let that stop you from starting something new. | {
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New Post Office Scratch-and-Sniff Stamps To Smell Like Poop Emoji
May 22, 2018
The U.S. Postal Service will soon launch scratch-and-sniff stamps to welcome in the summer.
The series is inspired by the digital communication devices that have gutted the post office’s relevancy and bankrupted its fiscal books.
Included are icons for the fax machine, AOL, emails, selfies, WhatsApp, and the most anticipated of all: the poop emoji.
“All of our new scratch-and-sniff stamps will smell like the poop emoji,” said United States Postmaster General Ronald A. Stroman. “Scratch the Amazon icon and sniff freshly stepped-in dog poop on hot summer sidewalk. Scratch the middle finger emoji and sniff poop on your fingers after using the restroom. We call them scratch-and-shits. And they are just for you, our disloyal consumers.”
In 2017, the U.S. Postal Service marked its 11th straight year of financial loss. Even its double-digit increase in package delivery was unable to offset drop-offs in letter mail, which counts for more than 70 percent of its revenue.
The new scratch-and-shits are not without controversy. The post office’s older clientele, which make up 100% of its letter mail consumers, are largely offended by the new campaign and also have little emotional connection to the strange icons on each sticker.
But millennials, who make up 0% of the post office’s customer base, are very excited about the changes. “I’m going to start writing letters to my politicians now,” said Aley Brubacker. “This is so retro.”
The scratch-and-shit stamps can be pre-ordered now at www.usps.com or by pony express. | {
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Riding into the sunset
After seven years of service, it is with a heavy heart I announce that the Compost Pedallers are hanging up our helmets for good. We will be providing our bike-powered compost service through the end of the year, and January 5th will be our very last day of collections.
In 2012, Eric and I started this company to increase access to composting in Austin and to challenge the status quo. Since then we have worked with hundreds of Austinites to divert 1.2 million pounds of organics away from the landfill and into our local food system. We built a distributed network of community composting sites and powered the whole thing with a fleet of cargo bikes and about six and a half million burnt calories. All in all, we created about 300,000 pounds of fresh compost and saved over $30,000 in fertilizer costs for local farms & gardens.
As hard as we worked on the business, we always took our role as activists just as seriously. We knocked on doors, attended countless community gatherings, and engaged with city council to advocate for a greener future.
We fought hard for composting. And we won.
Austin Resource Recovery now provides curbside collection to about 90,000 homes, and is on track to expand service to all Austin houses by 2020. The Compost Pedallers community has played an important role in changing the conversation and the culture around organic waste in this city, and it’s in large part thanks to your commitment and collective effort that every home in Austin is now on track to get access to composting in the next couple years.
We’re also excited to announce the sale of our commercial business to our friends at Joe's Organics. Joe and his team are doing great work to close the loop with organics recycling and urban farming, and we are honored to support their growth.
If your business is looking for great composting services in Central Texas, you should also check out Break it Down, Organics By Gosh, and Texas Disposal Systems.
So we ride off into the sunset with our heads held high, grateful for the role we got to play in the evolution of recycling in our city and for all of you who made it possible. We set out to provide a humble service, and ended up building an amazing community full of some of the most caring and passionate people I’ve ever known.
To all of our amazing members. To our farm & garden partners, and the many community organizations that lifted us up. To our unbelievable staff, interns, and volunteers who gave so much of themselves to the mission over the years. To all of you who pitched a yard sign, sported a t-shirt, attended an event, or simply offered some encouragement out your car window as one of our cyclists was huffing it up a particularly gnarly hill.
Thank you.
None of this would have been possible without you. Let’s face it, the idea behind the Compost Pedallers was a little crazy from the start. But you embraced it, you nurtured it, and you made us what we are today. Together we did what many said we couldn’t. And by rolling up our sleeves to take action, our work has inspired others around the world to do the same. Hundreds of people across dozens of countries have reached out to let us know how our efforts have motivated them to start or stick with a project in their own community.
If we have learned anything from our work in composting, it’s that nothing ever really dies. It just breaks down to fertilize what’s next, what’s new, what’s yet to come. This has been an amazing journey. Thank you all for riding along with us.
To the germinating seeds of change,
Dustin Fedako, Eric Goff, & the Compost Pedallers
Reply · Report Post | {
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Trump campaign aides charged in Mueller's Russia probe Paul Manafort and Rick Gates have been charged with money laundering, while ex-adviser George Papadopoulos cut a plea deal for lying about Russia-linked contacts.
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russian election interference has dramatically escalated, with authorities indicting former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and unsealing a plea deal with a foreign policy adviser who lied about meeting with Russia-linked contacts.
The moves are the first official public actions by Mueller, and while they do not directly implicate the president, they show how the special counsel is accelerating his sprawling probe into possible collusion between Trump campaign aides and the Kremlin.
Authorities on Monday morning unsealed an indictment against Manafort and fellow campaign official Rick Gates that charged the men with money laundering, making false statements and other counts. The two former aides pleaded not guilty in federal court on Monday afternoon. Prosecutors asked that bond be set at $10 million for Manafort and $5 million for Gates but said both may be detained at home until they can post bail.
Kevin Downing, an attorney for Manafort, called the charges against his client "ridiculous" while also defending the overall Trump campaign.
"I think you all saw today that President Donald Trump was correct. There is no evidence that Mr. Manafort or the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government," Downing told reporters after the court appearance.
While both Manafort and Gates had top roles in the Trump campaign, the criminal charges do not discuss any actions clearly related to the presidential race, although the indictment notes that a Ukrainian political party the men worked for had a pro-Russia outlook.
The charges, however, could be used to apply pressure on the two former officials to more fully cooperate in Mueller’s larger investigation.
The more revealing details came in a 14-page document showing that George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser to Trump’s campaign, cut a secret plea deal earlier this month for lying to the FBI about the campaign’s outreach to Russia-related officials.
The document describes a series of conversations and meetings with contacts whom he understood to have connections to the Kremlin about obtaining “dirt” on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and setting up a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Papadopoulos became a foreign policy adviser to Trump’s campaign in March 2016 and went on to cultivate relationships with two individuals apparently connected to Russia, labeled in the document only as “the Professor” and the “Female Russian National.” Papadopoulos also kept campaign officials appraised of his contacts and efforts including, on at least one occasion, at a meeting that Trump himself attended.
“The Professor told defendant PAPADOPOULOS, as defendant PAPADOPOULOS later described to the FBI, that ‘They [the Russians] have dirt on her’; ‘the Russians had emails of Clinton’; ‘they have thousands of emails.’”
Papadopoulos was arrested in July.
The revelations in the plea deal appear to undercut Trump’s repeated claims that the sprawling probe is nothing more than a “witch hunt” and that his campaign had no contacts with Russian officials.
Trump on Monday morning downplayed the charges against Manafort and Gates in two tweets that came before the Papadopoulos news emerged. "Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren't Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????"
He added, "....Also, there is NO COLLUSION!”
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also sought to downplay the news during the daily press briefing, dismissing Papadopoulos as a minor “campaign volunteer” and echoing the president’s line that Manafort and Gates were indicted for activity that occurred before the campaign.
“Today’s announcement has nothing to do with the president, nothing to do with the president’s campaign or campaign activity,” Sanders said.
She dismissed Papadopoulos’ role as “extremely limited” and a “volunteer position” and said the advisory council that he sat on met only once. She said Trump did not remember specifics about the March 2016 meeting he attended with Papadopoulos.
She added that Trump had “no intention” of firing Mueller and that she expected the investigation to “conclude soon.”
Manafort and Gates were indicted on 12 counts, according to a 31-page indictment unsealed on Monday morning, including money laundering, operating as unregistered foreign agents of the government of Ukraine, failing to disclose overseas bank accounts and making false statements to federal authorities.
The indictment alleges that the men set up a series of offshore companies in order to avoid taxes on their overseas lobbying work and defrauded banks in order to win loans.
The indictment of two figures central to Trump’s 2016 election and the plea deal of a third mark the most significant step yet in an investigation that has dogged Trump’s presidency, even as he and other officials have tried to redirect attention on to Clinton. The implications for Trump’s fledgling policy agenda are potentially catastrophic, as the cloud of Russia allegations only darkens, despite the White House’s insistence that nothing will ultimately come of the federal and congressional probes.
Mueller was selected to dig into Russia’s role in the 2016 election, including the hacks and release of Democrats’ emails, which intelligence agencies have concluded were designed to boost Trump’s campaign. Mueller, who was named after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May, is also tasked with determining whether any Trump associates colluded with Moscow in that effort. But the special counsel also has wide latitude to pursue any other wrongdoing he finds during his investigation.
Even before the charges were unsealed on Monday morning, White House officials moved to put distance between Trump and his former campaign chairman.
“Whatever happens today with the Mueller investigation, we don't even know that it has anything to do with the campaign, what happens today,” presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway told Fox News earlier on Monday morning.
This follows previous attempts by the White House to create distance between itself and Manafort. Trump said in August that Manafort had served on his campaign for a “very short period of time.” And at a briefing in March, then-press secretary Sean Spicer described Manafort as having “played a very limited role for a very limited amount of time” during the campaign.
Manafort served on the campaign from March through August 2016, and was campaign chairman from May until he resigned on Aug. 19.
He was present for events that appear critical to the investigation into possible collusion, including a meeting at Trump Tower with a Kremlin-connected lawyer who promised damaging information on Clinton. That meeting was brokered with the help of Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
Manafort and Gates were arraigned Monday by U.S. Magistrate Deborah Robinson.
After Robinson took the bench, Downing, Manafort’s lawyer, and David Bos, a public defender who stood in to represent Gates entered not guilty pleas on behalf of both defendants.
Prosecutor Greg Andres spoke for Mueller’s office at the hearing, saying that the government considers both men a flight risk but would not object to their release to home confinement.
“Our basis for arguing risk of flight has to do with the nature of the charges and the seriousness,” Andres said. “Mr. Manafort’s significant ties abroad, we believe, constitute a risk of flight. ... Mr. Gates as well has significant ties abroad over time.”
Both men were ordered to turn in their passports and not to apply for any others. Downing said Manafort had surrendered his passport to the FBI on Sunday.
The hearing stretched to nearly an hour and 15 minutes, including a long break as arrangements were made for Gates’ home detention in Richmond, Virginia.
Asked by Robinson whether he understood he was required to surrender his passport, Manafort said, “I do.” His responses grew quieter as the magistrate judge detailed other conditions, like daily check-ins by phone with pretrial services. He and Gates may leave their homes only to meet their lawyers, for court dates, for medical emergencies and for religious observances.
The public gallery was packed for the arraignment, although a row typically reserved for families and friends of the defense was empty.
Manafort and Gates are due back in court on Thursday for their first hearing before the district court judge assigned to any trial in the case, Amy Berman Jackson, an appointee of President Barack Obama.
Manafort, a longtime GOP operative, had been under Justice Department investigation since early 2014 — long before Trump announced his presidential campaign — over his ties to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who abandoned office in February 2014 and fled to Russia amid political protests and allegations of government corruption.
The charges focused on Manafort and Gates’ lobbying work on behalf of the Ukrainian government and Yanukovych from 2006 to 2015.
The work generated tens of millions of dollars, which was then laundered through “scores of United States and foreign corporations, partnerships, and bank accounts,” according to the indictment. The charges allege both tax avoidance and concealment of their work as foreign agents. Manafort laundered more than $18 million, according to the indictment.
The scrutiny of Manafort’s record took on new relevance after investigators began looking at Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Gates joined the Trump campaign in the spring of 2016 along with Manafort, his longtime lobbying partner, to spearhead GOP delegate-counting efforts and avoid an internal party revolt at the Republican National Convention that could have cost Trump the nomination.
Gates, however, remained in Trump’s chaotic orbit during the general election campaign, working on joint fundraising and massaging internal party dynamics from the Republican National Committee even following Manafort's ouster as head of the campaign in August, after he came under fire amid reports about his lobbying work for a pro-Russia party in Ukraine.
Gates later connected with Trump confidant Thomas Barrack at an election night party, according to a New York Times report, and was hired to help run the presidential inaugural committee.
After the election, Gates joined a half-dozen Trump campaign alumni — including digital director Brad Parscale and Nick Ayers, who has since become Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff — at America First Policies, an outside group dedicated to promoting the president’s agenda.
Gates left the group in March. CNN reported the departure was due to Gates’ ties to Manafort, who faced increasing scrutiny over his ties to Russia as the extent of Moscow’s election-meddling became clear.
Gates had not been contacted by the special counsel's office, according to one associate with close ties to him, and learned of the looming charges against him in the 24 hours before the news became public.
In the past week, he had begun looking for new clients and seemed "perfectly normal," according to this person, who spoke to him. He had continued to work for Barrack.
Gates sent a note early Monday morning to friends and family apologizing for delivering bad news but proclaiming his innocence. In the note, he said he was surprised by the charges, according to a person who reviewed the note.
Some Republicans took the opportunity on Monday to reaffirm their support for the work of Mueller, with some lawmakers fearing that Trump may move to oust the special counsel.
“Months ago I & many other Republicans vowed to support Mueller investigation & allow it to work its way through process to get the facts,” tweeted Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.). “In light of today’s indictments we must continue to support and allow the integrity of the process to work.”
Democrats used the indictments as an opportunity to call for expanded probes into the Russian meddling.
“Even with an accelerating Special Counsel investigation inside the Justice Department, and investigations inside the Republican Congress, we still need an outside, fully independent investigation to expose Russia’s meddling in our election and the involvement of Trump officials,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. “Defending the integrity of our democracy demands that Congress look forward to counter Russian aggression and prevent future meddling with our elections.”
Other Democrats sought to link the indictment to the broader question of White House coziness with Russia.
“Paul Manafort and Rick Gates ran Trump’s campaign and continued to be a part of his inner circle after Election Day,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said in a statement. “This underscores the seriousness of the investigation into Donald Trump’s ties to Russia. It’s time for Republicans to commit to protecting this investigation and preserving the rule of law.”
The Papadopoulos plea could prove far more damning for the White House in the near term than the indictments. Papadopoulos’ overtures to Russians were first reported by The Washington Post in August, but that report downplayed the extent of his efforts, and the extent to which he kept senior campaign officials informed.
“It is in the best interest of our client, George Papadopoulos, that we refrain from commenting on George’s case,” Papadopoulos’ defense attorney, Thomas Breen, said in a short statement. “We will have the opportunity to comment on George’s involvement when called upon by the Court at a later date. We look forward to presenting all the facts that led to the events that resulted in this charge.”
Papadopoulos was informed as early as April 2016 that the Russians had “dirt” on Clinton and “thousands of emails.” In July, Trump would call on Russia to find the emails missing from Clinton’s server, but he said that the comment was meant in jest.
Josh Dawsey, Michael Crowley, Cristiano Lima, Louis Nelson, Nolan D. McCaskill and Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.
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Appearance and function match the final product, but is made with different manufacturing methods.
Looks like the final product, but is not functional.
Demonstrates the functionality of the final product, but looks different.
A prototype is a preliminary model of something. Projects that offer physical products need to show backers documentation of a working prototype. This gallery features photos, videos, and other visual documentation that will give backers a sense of what’s been accomplished so far and what’s left to do. Though the development process can vary for each project, these are the stages we typically see:
We're making 100 Dropped Pendant Lights!
100 Unique Lamps ...
We are making an edition of 100 Unique 3D printed lamps. Each lamp is designed, printed and assembled in house. Lamps ship fully assembled with an LED bulb*. They include a lasercut ID tag, with a parameterized serial ID number. Each lamp takes between 10-20 hours to print.
A soft, diffuse light makes these great bedside, desk, tabletop or floor lamps.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ...
We'll be documenting the design and printing process as we go:
Stay tuned for an informal home/studio tour and update via Livestream (date TBD).
Frequent updates on Instagram as lamps are designed and printed.
1/100 Dropped Pendant Light : print in progress
Process
We're designing each lamp using equations with Autodesk Fusion 360. After trying a bunch of techniques, including scripting, we found this method gives us the most variation and flexibility. And it feels a lot like sketching!
Work in progress screenshot using Fusion 360
Specifications
Printed using Warm White PLA PRO on an Ultimaker2 FDM 3D printer.
Includes a 60WE 2200K LED bulb (110V). It's just the right warmth and brightness to put this lamp by your bedside, living room floor, or on your desk.
If you're outside the US and in a country with AC voltage that's not 110V (check here if you're not sure), you'll need to buy an equivalent LED bulb. 10W Standard bulb (E26 or E27). You'll may also need to convert the US style 2 prong wall plug (NEMA 1-15 / TypeA) to your country's plug.
The bulb socket has an embedded toggle switch. We've been using this for years and it is the best one we've found. Made in Italy.
Wiring is a super heavy duty yellow SEOW 18AWG cable.
100 Dropped Pendant on CW&T Tripod Light Bracket
STL Release
If you have a printer at home, and would like to print your own shade, we will be releasing a selection of STL files to our backers. If you want an assembled socket+wire+plug to go with your home printed shade we have those available too! | {
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The Secret Links Between Keanu Reeves, UFOs & Polish Sci-Fi
small , Keanu Reeves in still from 'A Scanner Darkly' by Richard Linklater, 2006, photo: Warner Home Video promotional materials , keanu_reeves_a_scanner_darkly.jpg
With Keanu Reeves set to star in CD Projekt Red's 'Cyberpunk 2077', it's yet more proof of the famous actor's love of Polish sci-fi culture. Don't believe us? Well, have you heard of the link between Keanu Reeves, UFOs and Poland? Our intrepid reporter Dagmara Staga reveals all…
At the end of 2014, the Kuyavian and Pomeranian Voivodeship – the Polish equivalent of, let’s say, Nebraska – posted a video on its official Youtube channel in which Keanu Reeves declares: 'Kujawsko-Pomorskie. It’s great to be here'. As a typical Polish girl from the eastern part of the country, and probably much like everyone else who watched the clip, I started to wonder why a Hollywood star, teenage crush and idol, feels so great in northern Poland, which is no doubt a pleasant place to be, but an infrequent glamour destination, to say the least. On occasion, Western celebrities are hired by large Polish banks or corporations to advertise their services, but this here was a commercial from a public regional organisation, making the whole story even more mystifying. Here is Keanu below in all his enigmatic glory – and for those wondering, he makes a pretty good job of pronouncing 'Kujawsko-Pomorskie'. ‘HollyŁódź’: A Film Lover’s Guide to Poland’s Most Cinematic City
Did Keanu Reeves do it because he has Polish roots? Pretty much everyone does, so that wouldn’t be much of an explanation. Perhaps he was dating a Polish model? Here Colin Farrell and Alicja-Bachleda Curuś’s marriage popped into my mind. Maybe he’s just into post-communist countries with complicated histories, or is it simply that he fell in love with the irresistible taste of pierogi? It then occurred to me that the explanation for Mr Reeves’s fondness for the area might be much more surprising than one would assume at first. It is a well-known fact that the Kuyavian and Pomeranian Voivodeship possesses a wealth of beautiful landscapes and cultural events. Nevertheless, one of its main attractions remains unknown to the unitiated: among the colorful fields, lush forests and crystalline lakes lies the disturbingly fascinating townlet of Wylatowo, better known as the Polish Roswell. Is it possible that Keanu Reeves is a UFO enthusiast? The Polish Roswell A Tale Out Of This World: Alien Abduction & The Communist Regime
Taking into consideration that the entire earth is contaminated by American culture, it’s easy to forget that there are unexplained incidents in other parts of the world as well. It took one occurrence in 1947 to make Roswell eternally famous for its alien popularity. Wylatowo is even better, because it is constantly being visited by aliens (at least that’s what the UFO monitoring system states). Wylatowo (Vih-la-TO-vo) is a small city with only 600 inhabitants, located center-west of Kujawsko-Pomorskie. Wylatowo appeared on the map early during the 12th century. Since then, its small population of inhabitants has been leading a simple and peaceful life concentrated on agriculture and local business. Time and again, this idyllic picture was disrupted by a fire which burnt the city to the ground – first in 1458 and then in 1892. The modest character of the city is also confirmed by the fact that the only other historical event reported in Wylatowo is that in 1458, out of the 20 households of the village, two unfortunate men were sent, perhaps unwillingly, to a legendary battle against the Teutonic Knights. Since the sacrifice of those two poor soldiers, not much has happened. That was until 2000, when the first crop circles appeared. Aliens! Poland’s Space-Age Buildings
Pictograms or crop circles are geometrical marks of unknown origins. In Wylatowo, they were first noticed by a farmer, Jan Szulecki, in the summer of 2000. A media craze erupted immediately. Three years later, Wylatowo was invaded by tourists from all over the world. Each of them came to the small Kuyavian city with the same hope: to witness alien pictograms. The year 2003 also marked the year when the Nautilus Foundation, an organisation specialising in documenting and monitoring supernatural events, started to to install camera surveillance in the area. Check out all the pictograms here: click! 7 Must-See Archaeology Sites in Poland
Nowadays, Wylatowo has a well-developed monitoring system that records all unidentified objects. The last appearance of an unidentified flying object in Wylatowo (video above) was observed on 23 January 2015. Statistically, that's far better than the 'famous' Roswell. Homeland of science & imagination 14 Curious Facts about Polish Literature
While you may think the alien explanation for Keanu Reeves’s love of Kujawsko-Pomorskie might strain the truth a little bit, it's important to remember that the power of any hypothesis is that it remains a hypothesis unless proven otherwise. So while I await Keanu’s confession, I kept looking for more alien presence in Poland, and the first area I investigated was the literature of my mother tongue.
Solaris, his most recognised novel, was adapted into a movie twice, so we can be pretty certain that Mr Reeves likes it, all the more so since a bunch of his Hollywood buddies were in the more recent one. We can definitely entertain the hope that George Clooney would have discussed Solaris with Keanu. Who knows, the famous actors perhaps even discussed Lem’s most poignant passage: We take off into the cosmos, ready for anything: for solitude, for hardship, for exhaustion, death. Modesty forbids us to say so, but there are times when we think pretty well of ourselves. And yet, if we examine it more closely, our enthusiasm turns out to be all a sham. We don't want to conquer the cosmos, we simply want to extend the boundaries of Earth to the frontiers of the cosmos. For us, such and such a planet is as arid as the Sahara, another as frozen as the North Pole, yet another as lush as the Amazon basin. We are humanitarian and chivalrous; we don't want to enslave other races, we simply want to bequeath them our values and take over their heritage in exchange. We think of ourselves as the Knights of the Holy Contact. This is another lie. We are only seeking Man. We have no need of other worlds. A single world, our own, suffices us; but we can't accept it for what it is. We are searching for an ideal image of our own world: we go in quest of a planet, a civilisation superior to our own but developed on the basis of a prototype of our primeval past. At the same time, there is something inside us which we don't like to face up to, from which we try to protect ourselves, but which nevertheless remains, since we don't leave Earth in a state of primal innocence. We arrive here as we are in reality, and when the page is turned and that reality is revealed to us – that part of our reality which we would prefer to pass over in silence – then we don't like it anymore. When I first read Solaris, I highlighted these lines with tacky pink marker. When I first saw The Matrix, Lem’s books were the first association I made. Not only Solaris, but this particular quote, which deserves to be recalled whenever exploring space or earth. The Polish Composers Who Recreated Outer Space
Somehow all of these seemingly peripheral facts fit into one other like blocks in a tetris game. What brings them all together: Poland, of course. My homeland appears to be the secret thread that brings a Hollywood star, supernatural events and high quality literature together. Quite impressive, even if all of this turns out to be mere chance. But now with the advent of Keanu Reeve's appearance in Cyberpunk 2077, the biggest sci-fi game made by the biggest Polish video game developer, it looks more and more likely that these theories are adding up... Stay at Home & Play Polish Video Games
standardowy [760 px] Screenshot from the Keanu Reeves trailer for 'Cyberpunk 2077', photo: CD Projekt Red / Youtube KeanuCyperpunk2077Trailer(1).png
*The author of this text is not a UFO specialist, enthusiast or adversary and each comment will be priceless to widen her consciousness and knowledge, as well as feed her unstoppable curiosity. ** The author is looking forward to feedback from Keanu Reeves about his personal interests in Kujawsko-Pomorskie, and would be grateful if someone could transmit him this information. *** The author is also aware of the hypothetical character of this hypothetical text and even if the truth is much more down to earth and boring, she very much enjoyed exercising her imagination and detective skills. She hopes her readers will feel similarly.
Written by Dagmara Staga, Feb 2015; updated by AZ, June 2019
Sources: Culture.pl; www.kwartalnik.art.pl; www.kujawsko-pomorskie.pl; www.wylatowo.pl; www.gazeta.pl; Stanisław Lem, Solaris, MON, 1970; Mogilno, Strzelno, Trzemeszno i okolice, PAN, 1982.
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The dominant ideology does much to shape people’s views about what is happening in social affairs, why it is happening, and what if anything ought to be done about it. Ideology exerts its force in large part through what we might call its power of predisposition, that is, its default conclusions that, on examination, amount to little more than leaps of faith.
For the past century in the United States of America, the dominant ideology has been progressivism. This belief system has not been static, of course, and its specific elements, emphases, and outlooks have changed substantially since the early twentieth century. For example, whereas the early progressives were generally racist, hard imperialist, and eugenicist, today’s are generally multiculturalist, soft imperialist, and more inclined to favor killing off the human race (to save the environment) than to improve it by eliminating the biologically “inferior” people. Nevertheless, through all its emotional and intellectual ups and downs, progressivism has retained one central element: its abiding faith that the state can and should act vigorously on as many fronts as possible to improve society both here and abroad.
An economist notes in particular that progressive ideology now embraces the following default conclusions:
If a social or economic problem seems to exist, the state should impose regulation to remedy it. If regulation has already been imposed, it should be made more expansive and severe. If an economic recession occurs, the state should adopt “stimulus” programs by actively employing the state’s fiscal and monetary powers. If the recession persists despite the state’s adoption of “stimulus” programs, the state should increase the size of these programs. If long-term economic growth seems to be too slow to satisfy powerful people’s standard of performance, the state should intervene to accelerate the rate of growth by making “investments” in infrastructure, health, education, and technological advance. If the state was already making such “investments,” it should make even more of them. Taxes on “the rich” should be increased during a recession, to reduce the government’s budget deficit. Taxes on “the rich” should also be increased during a business expansion, to ensure that they pay their “fair share” (that is, the great bulk) of total taxes and to reduce the government’s budget deficit. If progressives perceive a “market failure” of any kind, the state should intervene in whatever way promises to create Nirvana. If Nirvana has not resulted from past and current interventions, the state should increase its intervention until Nirvana is reached.
The foregoing progressive predispositions, and others too numerous to state here, provide the foundation on which the state justifies its current actions and its proposals for acting even more expansively. Progressives see no situation in which the best course of action requires that the government retrench or admit that it can do nothing constructive to help matters. They see the state as well-intentioned, sufficiently capable, and properly motivated to fix any social and economic problem whatsoever if only the public allows it to do so and bears the costs.
It follows that progressives desire a change in the state’s size, scope, and power in only one direction, regardless of past and present conditions and regardless of whether previous attempts to implement progressive panaceas have succeeded or failed—indeed, if honestly assessed, virtually all of them have failed, on balance. Progressive faith in the state, however, springs eternal.
It is a great misfortune for modern Western countries, and many others as well, that serious challenges to this currently dominant ideology do not exist. The political parties compete for office, each seeking to direct more of the state’s plunder to its supporters, but the ideological differences between the competing parties is almost entirely superficial. All politically potent parties believe in a powerful, pervasively engaged state. They differ only in regard to which specific individuals should steer the Leviathan. | {
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It was revealed earlier this year that John Malkovich would be joining Paolo Sorrentino's The New Pope series following the success of The Young Pope with Jude Law in 2016.
And now first look pictures have shown John Malkovich transform into character as the Pope as he filmed scenes on the famous Vatican balcony at St. Peter's Basilica in Italy on Thursday.
The Being John Malkovich actor, 64, looked worlds away from his usual attire as he donned a white choir dress, mozzetta, gold pectoral cross, two gold Fisherman's rings and a white zucchetto skullcap.
Unrecognisable: First look pictures have shown John Malkovich transform into character as the Pope as he filmed scenes on the famous Vatican balcony at St. Peter's Basilica in Italy on Thursday
John looked every inch the supreme pontiff as he stood on the famous Vatican balcony at St. Peter's Basilica with a red papal flag draped over the ledge.
The actor's character appeared to be filming scenes where he was giving an 'Urbi et Orbi' to the crowds below him, as he stood on the balcony with a microphone in front of him and he outstretched his arm.
However, the busy schedule appeared to catch up with John as he could be seen yawning on set and later he lifted up his white choir dress to flash a pair of bottle green trainers.
Leading star: The Being John Malkovich actor, 64, looked every inch the supreme pontiff as he stood on the famous on the famous Vatican balcony at St. Peter's Basilica with a red papal flag draped over the ledge
It is not known what John's official role will be in the upcoming series or whether Jude Law, who played Pope Pius XIII in The Young Pope, will be reprising his role after the character's future was left uncertain in the 2016 season.
According to Variety, The New Pope will not be a 'second series of The Young Pope' but instead a 'second limited series set in the world of the modern papacy'.
Filming for The New Pope has already started in Italy, Paolo Sorrentino has created the series with Umberto Contarello and Stefano Bises.
HBO and Sky announced the follow-up to acclaimed limited series The Young Pope in May 2017, with Sky Italia chief of content Andrea Scrosati saying: 'Just like The Young Pope, Sorrentino is writing the script for the new show, but it will have a different twist than what would be expected.'
Supreme Pontiff: The actor's character appeared to be filming scenes where he was giving an 'Urbi et Orbi' to the crowds below him, as he stood on the balcony with a microphone in front of him and he outstretched his arm
Unknown: It is not known what John's official role will be in the upcoming series or whether Jude Law, who played Pope Pius XIII in The Young Pope, will be reprising his role after the character's future was left uncertain in the 2016 season
In The Young Pope, Jude Law starred as Lenny Belardo, who became the first American pope in history and took the name Pius XIII, his character was hell-bent on turning the world of the Vatican upside down.
The Alfie actor, 45, even received a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Pope Pius XIII, joining the likes of Ewan McGregor and Robert De Niro in the star-studded nominations.
The world premiere of The Young Pope was on 3 September 2016 at the 73rd Venice Film Festival, the first time a television show was part of the program.
The cast of the 10-part series also included Diane Keaton, Silvio Orlando and James Cromwell. | {
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Lucian Davidescu | 24 iulie 2017
Două cazuri de mega-corupție în transporturi care se întâmplă chiar acum
Abia recent a fost anunțată câte o nouă etapă din procedurile pentru două lucrări mari de infrastructură legate de București. Una este metroul ***subteran*** către Aeroportul din Otopeni. Cealaltă este Autostrada de Centură ***Sud***.
Ambele sunt atât de absurde ca oportunitate și prioritizare încât nici măcar explicația clasică, aceea că responsabilii români cu transporturile sunt imbecili, nu mai poate fi mulțumitoare. Ambele au avut parte de susținere transpartinică și doar lipsa temporară a sumelor uriașe necesare pentru a mulțumi pe toată lumea le-a mai întârziat. Persistența păguboasă sugerează că e vorba mai degrabă de afaceri de corupție cu mize de zeci sau sute de milioane de euro (și pagube de miliarde!), de exemplu prin exproprieri cu dedicație. Să le luăm pe rând.
Metroul Otopeni
Metroul ***subteran*** către Aeroportul Henri Coandă, cu un cost proiectat de 1,3 miliarde de euro, nu se justifică:
– nici prin volumul de trafic: ar merge la o încărcare de 15-30% față de media rețelei actuale;
– nici prin situația de la suprafață: ar subtraversa inclusiv Pădurea Băneasa (situație probabil unică în antologia metrourilor mondiale!), ar merge pe un traseu șerpuit și lipsit de conexiuni utile și ar presupune spargerea în bună măsură a DN1, cu tot coșmarul întins pe mulți ani pe care îl provoacă treaba asta..
– nici prin lipsa de alternative: există o linie de tren de suprafață care poate fi modernizată și extinsă pentru doar o fracțiune din cost și care ar reduce timpul de parcurs până la Gara de Nord la jumătate – 15-20 minute la suprafață în loc de 30-40 pe sub pământ!
Iată pe harta de mai jos traseul liniei ferate existente (albastru), care leagă Gara de Nord de Otopeni. Terasamentul există deja, este nevoie doar de înlocuirea liniei cu una care să permită viteze ridicate și de o extensie de doar doi-trei kilometri (roșu) care să supratraverseze DN1 mai devreme și să aducă trenul la poarta Aeroportului. Costul este estimat la sub 300 de milioane de euro, adică 1 miliard economie!
Altfel, odată finalizate ambele conexiuni, cea de suprafață și mult mai ieftină devine preferabilă iar cea subterană devine o gaură neagră. Care nu doar că nu se va amortiza vreodată, dar nici costurile de operare nu și le va putea acoperi. (O situație oarecum asemănătoare cu a autostrăzii București-Ploiești, care e și acum subutilizată în timp ce vechiul DN1 rămâne aglomerat).
Minciuni, minciuni…
O vreme, scuza a fost că a fost o cerință a UEFA pentru campionatul din 2020. Minciuna a fost infirmată mai întâi de UEFA, care a arătat că de fapt a fost doar o propunere unilaterală a părții române, apoi de realitate – că de acum oricum nu mai poate fi finalizat în timp util.
O altă scuză a fost că asta a fost cerința unuia dintre finanțatori – agenția japoneză JICA. Am întrebat personal pe cei de la JICA dacă așa stau lucrurile și… încă o minciună infirmată. Atât traseul cât și soluția tehnică au fost alegerea părții române.
Și oricum JICA nu asigură decât 300 de milioane din costul de 1,3 miliarde de euro, și oricum banii trebuie restituiți cu dobândă, ca la orice împrumut.
Desigur că ideea de a ajunge prin subteran la aeroport pare tentantă, mai ales că există mitul că „în toate capitalele se întâmplă așa”. În realitate, la majoritatea marilor aeroporturi conexiunea feroviară este de suprafață; excepțiile se numără pe degetele de la o mână și sunt de obicei orașe care au săpat rețele de sute de kilometri de tunel mai întâi.
În timpul ăsta, sectoare întregi din București sunt supra-aglomerate și sufocate de trafic. Cele mai importante – cartierele Colentina și Rahova, unde ar trebui să fiarbă o adevărată revoltă față de așa un dispreț suveran.
Centura Sud
Autostrade de centură prin ***Sud***, cu un cost estimat de aproape 600 de milioane de euro, nici ea nu se justifică drept prioritară.
În viitor, București ar trebui să aibă un inel complet de centură la nivel de autostradă, cu o lungime totală de ~100Km (separată de actuala șosea de Centură de 60Km). Proiectul a fost segmentat în două, Nord și Sud, pentru a se construi etapizat.
Însă are sens ca prima să fie construită Centura Nord, dintr-un motiv evident: Din București pornesc trei autostrăzi – spre Pitești, spre Ploiești și spre Constanța. Centura de Nord le-ar lega pe toate trei, astfel încât de exemplu cine are nevoie să ajungă din centrul țării în Port (sau chiar și spre Pitești) să nu mai aibă nevoie să treacă prin București sau să folosească actuala șosea de Centură. Asta, cu atât mai mult cu cât actuala autostradă spre Ploiești face complicat traficul din Capitală și orice degrevare ar fi binevenită. O altă variantă cu ceva sens putea fi construirea cu prioritate a segmentelor de Nord-Est și Sud-Vest.
Decizia a fost luată, în mod inexplicabil, ca prima să fie contruită totuși Centura Sud, care leagă doar capetele dinspre Pitești și Constanța dar îl evită, în mod stupid și deliberat, pe cel către Ploiești.
Alte minciuni, minciuni…
Și aici s-au încercat scuze ieftine:
– Că în Nord actuala Șosea de Centură a fost modernizată (extinsă la patru benzi) într-o proporție mai mare. Așa este, însă întreaga centură este în lucru, la un preț total și efort logistic mult mai mic, așa că probabil va fi gata pe toată lungimea cu mult înainte ca Autostrada Sud să fie finalizată. Numai că apoi ne vom trezi cu vechea poveste: Supracapacitate unde nu este nevoie (4+4=8 benzi prin Sud) și subcapacitate unde e deja sufocant de aglomerat (doar 4 benzi prin Nord), pentru încă 10-20 de ani de acum încolo.
– Că în Nord exproprierile sunt mai scumpe, ceea ce e pe cât de adevărat pe atât de irelevant. Sigur că-s mai scumpe, dar pe măsură ce proiectul este amânat prețul va crește cu atât mai mult. Pare mai degrabă să fie vorba că în Nord fie nu încasează cine trebuie fie că beneficiarii sunt dispuși să aibă mai multă răbdare, pentru un randament pe măsură!
Chiar și în cazul fericit, în care bunele-intenții se prezumă iar vina o poartă doar prostia, presiunea publică ar trebui să fie covârșitoare pentru a anula risipa și reprioritiza investițiile. Dacă la mijloc e hoția la drumul mare, atunci…
„De-ne-á / să vină să vă ia!”
Citește și:
Dovezile că responsabilii cu transporturile din București sunt imbecili
Dovezile că responsabilii cu transporturile din România sunt imbecili | {
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Nurse Lydia Fulton prepares to administer the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine as well as a vaccine used to help prevent the diseases of diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and polio at Children's Primary Care Clinic in Minneapolis, MN, Friday April 28, 2017.
The CDC has confirmed 387 cases across 15 states from Jan. 1 through March 28, compared with 372 cases in all of last year. The health agency updates the statistics weekly. There are now six outbreaks, defined as three or more cases, across four states: New York, Washington, New Jersey and California, according to the CDC.
Measles continues to spread across the U.S., with outbreaks in four states infecting more people in the first three months of 2019 than in all of last year, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This year is shaping up to be the worst year for measles since at least 2014 and is already the second-worst since the virus was declared eradicated from the U.S. in 2000. Measles has been making a comeback as parents increasingly refuse to vaccinate their children and unvaccinated travelers bring back the disease from other countries. In 2014, there were 667 confirmed cases, according to the CDC.
New York's Rockland County last week took the extraordinary step of banning unvaccinated children from public places such as schools, restaurants, malls and places of worship. There have been 157 confirmed cases of measles in the county, and the overwhelming majority of those people had not received the vaccine, according to the county.
Cheryl Healton, dean of New York University's College of Global Public Health, said she has some sympathy for the county health department in taking this action. However, she worries it could embolden parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated, known as anti-vaxxers.
"It's a carrot or a stick. They chose the stick. There's a lot of evidence the carrot works better than when you use the stick, that's why it's not used. You can get a better response by appealing to people's higher nature," she said.
The MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, is the best way to protect against measles. Two doses, the recommended amount, provides 97 percent protection against measles. Yet some parents refuse to vaccinate their children, citing religious reasons or false information that vaccines cause autism.
Measles is highly contagious, infecting up to 90 percent of unvaccinated people who are exposed to it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus can live in the air for up to two hours after an infected person coughs or sneezes, according to the CDC, meaning people can be exposed to it without ever knowing. People can be infected for days before showing signs of the virus, such as a fever, runny nose or a rash.
Measles can be especially dangerous for young children, the CDC says. It can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling and even death. The CDC recommends children get their first dose of MMR vaccine at between 12 and 15 months old and a second dose when they're between 4 and 6 years old.
The CDC says the current measles outbreaks in the U.S. are mostly linked to people traveling internationally to countries such as Israel and Ukraine that are experiencing large outbreaks. It's spreading quickly in close-knit religious communities, such as New York's Orthodox Jewish community, where many people choose not to get vaccinated.
Public health officials are desperately trying to assure parents that vaccines are safe and are the best way to protect their children from dangerous and potentially deadly diseases such as measles. The anti-vaxxing movement, which advocates against vaccination, has been pushing now-debunked studies that falsely suggested there was a link between vaccines and autism.
Most recently, a study of more than 650,000 children from 1999 to 2010 found no link between autism and the MMR vaccine.
WATCH: Here's what FDA commissioner wants you to know about measles vaccine | {
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A bill that would end the prohibition on light-rail construction in Marion and six other central Indiana counties passed the Indiana House on Tuesday.
House Bill 1365, authored by Indianapolis Democrat Justin Moed, removes the existing state law from 2014 that bans light-rail mass-transit projects in Indianapolis.
“We need to make sure the city has the tools it needs to continue to be attractive and to compete,” Moed said.
The House passed a similar bill in 2018, but it died in the Senate after Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, added an amendment that would have required Marion County to first fix its potholes.
Moed is more optimistic about the bill this year because Delph is no longer a state legislator.
Proponents of the legislation argue that it gives Indianapolis more freedom in pursuing mass transportation projects that might be appealing to companies, like Amazon, for example. Amazon had included mass transit as one of the top factors for its HQ2 site. Indianapolis made the top 20 finalists for HQ2 but was not selected.
Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, said it is a key piece of legislation.
“It’s just a tool. It’s not a mandate,” Soliday said. “Let locals decide what’s best for them.”
The House passed the measure 89-5, sending it to the Senate. One Indianapolis lawmaker, Republican Rep. Mike Speedy, voted against the bill. | {
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DOVER, Del. (AP)- The state Senate is poised to vote on a "red flag" bill enabling authorities in Delaware to seize guns from a person a family member believes is a danger to himself or others.
The measure has already cleared the House. It is similar to one passed earlier this year that allows authorities to seize guns from a person deemed by a mental health provider to be dangerous.
The bill to be voted on Tuesday permits a family member or police officer to obtain a lethal violence protective order removing a person's access to guns.
Democratic lawmakers also are pushing another gun-control measure. They plan to try to suspend rules in the Senate to resurrect a proposed ban on certain semiautomatic weapons after the measure failed to clear a Senate committee. | {
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Essex parrot picks two locks in car escape Published duration 10 November 2014
image copyright Thinkstock image caption Magic looks like a typical Senegal parrot with green, grey and yellow markings, Michelle Russell said
A parrot picked two locks on his cage and made his escape while being transported in a car in Essex.
Magic, a Senegal parrot, was being moved temporarily while his owners from Leigh-on-Sea were on holiday.
Their daughter Michelle Russell said Magic had been known to escape so a second lock had been put on the cage.
Magic flew away when the car door was opened and has not been seen since Thursday. She said the green bird would be hard to spot if he was in a tree.
Mrs Russell and her husband Lester were taking the bird from the home of her parents' Roy and Grace Jarvis to their own in Hadleigh Road when he made his getaway.
"Magic's escaped before, but he just flies around the room," she said.
"He's picked the ordinary lock before so my parents put an extra one on, a bit like a caribiner like climbers use for their ropes."
'We're desperate'
When the cage was lifted out of the car, the door came open and the parrot flew off.
"My father is devastated. Magic is very attached to him - in fact, he's the only person the bird likes," Mrs Russell said.
"They've had the parrot for about 20 years so we're desperate."
Magic had been seen in a tree but although the family have searched, he has still not been found.
"The camouflage means that he really just blends into trees. He's mainly green with a bit of yellow and some grey," she said.
"He's going to be getting really hungry by now so we're hoping he'll fly down and someone will see him."
Mrs Russell said they had taken advice from "experts on parrots" and have recordings of parrot calls which they plan to play out in the street. | {
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NEW DELHI: The Inland Waterways Authority of India IWAI ) will monitor the upcoming dredging work in Ganga by getting the 24x7 live feed through CCTV cameras from different locations. This will be done to avoid frequent visits of officials to multiple sites including in remote areas and to stop contractors from making false claims.The pilot run of this camera-based live surveillance of construction and progress at Varanasi multi-modal hub has been successful. “We spent only Rs 8 lakh for putting the system in place, but the benefits are immense. The contractor cannot lie or make wrong claims. I can monitor works using my mobile phone and don’t need to carry out any surprise visit. Sometimes, it becomes difficult to reach remote locations and you have to plan your visit. Now there is less need to visit the sites as you can see what is moving and the live status of work,” IWAI chairman in-charge Prabir Pandey told TOI.He added the real benefit of the initiative will be during the dredging of Ganga, which will start soon. Pandey said there are some locations which are difficult to reach. The CCTV-based surveillance will help check how much silt is actually dredged and the authority hopes constant vigilance will expedite the work.IWAI has also decided to put CCTV-based monitoring systems for works that are on at full swing at three locations on Ganga - Sahibganj, Farakka and Haldia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked all the infrastructure ministries to adopt technologies including live feed from CCTVs installed at the workplace for faster completion of works.IWAI is the nodal agency for development of inland waterways in India, which has gained momentum in the past four years. The Varanasi to Haldia stretch is developed as National Waterway-1 to make it navigable throughout the year both for cargo and passenger vessels.The government has earmarked Rs 5,369 crore for this work named Jal Vikas Marg Project (JVMP). The project falls in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. | {
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Nineteen years after her Jessica Lal's death, her sister Sabrina said she has no objection to Manu Sharma's release. (Photo: India Today file photo)
Nineteen years after her sister Jessica Lall was shot dead, Sabrina Lall said that she has no objection to Manu Sharma being released.
Sabrina wrote a letter to the welfare office of Delhi's Tihar Jail, where Sharma is behind bars serving time for murdering Jessica Lall.
"I would like to state I have no objection to his release, owing to the fact that he has spent 15 years in jail," Sabrina Lall said in the letter.
"I am told that in this period he has been doing good work for charity and helping inmates in jail which I feel is a reflection of reform," she added.
Speaking to the media, Sabrina Lall said, "I am a Christian I believe in forgiveness. My mom would have forgiven him in 1999 if Manu would have asked for forgiveness himself."
Sabrina Lall has also refused any financial assistance from the victim's welfare fund. Sabrina said that the money from the welfare fund should be given to someone "more in need".
"The letter from Tihar mentioned Manu Sharma applying for bail and victim welfare fund. I refused any fund. I have lost my sister and my parents. There comes a time when you need to let go," she said.
Manu Sharma is the son of former Congress leader Venod Sharma. Manu Sharma alias Siddharth Vashishta was found guilty of the murder of Jessica Lall in April 1999. Jessica was shot by Manu Sharma when she refused to serve him a drink past midnight.
He was convicted in December 2006. Manu Sharma has spent over 15 years in jail.
WATCH VIDEO | Won't object to Manu Sharma's release, Sabrina Lal writes to Tihar Jail | {
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BUCHAREST, Romania — The Romanian government on Tuesday approved legislation that would give priority to restitution claims by Holocaust survivors for property lost during World War II and under Communist rule. The move was seen as a small acknowledgment of the treatment of Romanian Jews during the war.
Most of those affected by the legislation are in their 80s and 90s, and have been trying to recover their property for many years.
“This is important because the legislation addresses not only the practical problems, but also acknowledges the history, which is essential,” said Gideon Taylor, the chairman of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, which has held meetings with Romanian politicians over the past year.
Romania, an ally of Nazi Germany until 1944, when it switched sides, had a prewar Jewish population of about 800,000. Today that number is about 11,000. A report in 2004 by an international commission led by the Romanian-born Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel estimated that during the war years, 280,000 to 380,000 Jews died in Romania and areas under its control. | {
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Verizon snuck in a couple of changes this week while CES announcements were dominating headlines and we thought you might want to know about them. For one, the upgrade fee that you pay every time you buy a new phone has increased. Also, existing customers no longer have the option to upgrade on a 2-year contract.
The upgrade fee, which was first introduced last year at $20 for device payment plans or full retail purchases, is now $30. Additionally, the $40 upgrade fee for those buying phones on a 2-year contract no longer exists. Why? Because 2-year contracts are no longer an option for any customers, even existing ones.
Verizon hasn’t actually announced that 2-year contracts are done for existing customers (they’ve been done for new customers for a while), but we confirmed with a source, in our own account, with a customer service rep, and through their support site, which has all but wiped out any reference to 2-year contracts. On their upgrade fee page, for example, up until this week, it specifically called out the $40 price for 2-year contracts, but now no longer mentions it. MacRumors first reported the 2-year contract news.
Going forward, existing customers will have to choose between device payment plans or buying phones at full retail. And yes, when they do that there will be a $30 upgrade fee.
On an unrelated note, a source told us that Verizon has announced internally that an unlimited data user who uses an “extraordinary” amount of data is someone who uses 200GB of data per month. We previously did not know the number.
UPDATE: Verizon has confirmed to us the 200GB limit. | {
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Ever since astronomers spotted 'Oumuamua, the first-ever object from beyond our solar system, it has offered more questions than answers: — What is it? Where did it come from? Why is it so darn weird?
But a team of scientists has announced they may have made major progress on that second question, narrowing down the object's origins to just four stars.
The research is based on data gathered in June that suggested 'Oumuamua wasn't just hurtling through space willy-nilly. Instead, it seemed like when the object was near the sun, it picked up a bit of extra speed, as if, like a comet, it carried something like ice that could turn to water vapor and propel the object forward a little faster than usual.
Accounting for that fact nudged 'Oumuamua's entry trajectory into our solar system a bit. (Scientists only spotted the object on its way out of the solar system, then had to retrace its path to track its origin.)
Then, the scientists consulted a huge batch of data produced by the European Space Agency's Gaia mission to pinpoint the precise locations of stars. That atlas is important not just to allow scientists to identify potential source solar systems, but also to calculate how nearby stars and their gravity tugged the object off-course along its journey.
Combining those two pieces of information, the team identified four possible stars that could have birthed 'Oumuamua: red dwarf HIP 3757, sunlike star HD 292249, and two other stars without such manageable nicknames as of yet.
Astronomers believe that 'Oumuamua (the name means "messenger from afar arriving first" in Hawaiian) must have come from a solar system with at least one large gas giant planet in order for it to have been kicked out and set off across the universe. As of yet, all four candidate stars are planet-less — but that could always change.
The new research is described in a paper posted Sept. 24 to the preprint site arXiv.org and has been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal.
Email Meghan Bartels at [email protected] or follow her @meghanbartels. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. | {
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Water under the Burrows Bonus: Pay It Forwards
Water is the foundation of our society, and of every society.
About a year ago we started working on the script of Water under the Burrows. Soon it appeared that the project was rather more expansive than Judy is Dead had been, and the topic of opening a Patreon came up. We decided against it, as I didn’t want to feel that in some sense I was selling a product, and I certainly didn’t want to make some underhanded incentive to donate like putting material behind a paywall. And besides, we didn’t really need the money. A simpler (but probably less lucrative option) was to just make a tip jar of some sort, so I just opened a Ko-fi account and let people chip in if they felt like it.
From early on we decided to donate any raised funds to some suitable cause, and I decided that a charity working to expand access to drinking water in arid areas would be fitting, considering the narrative framing around “water”. However, with the unfolding disaster in the Caribbean it seems more auspicious to pick a charity active in that area.
Hurricane Maria was the second category 5 storm of the pacific hurricane season this year, making landfall on sept. 18th and carving a swathe of devastation across the Caribbean islands, many of which were still reeling after damage from hurricane Irma just weeks prior. Infrastructure in many of these regions was already is disrepair before the hurricanes hit, compounding an unfolding humanitarian crisis. Millions of people are now without power, shelter and vitally, clean water.
Waves for Water is an nonprofit that, in their words, works “to provide access to clean water through the distribution of portable water filters, the digging and renovating of wells, and the construction of rainwater harvesting and storing systems in places where groundwater is not accessible.” The first phase of their emergency response to Irma and Maria involves distributing water filtration systems that each can filter up to 1 million gallons of water. Bottled water serves an immediate and necessary need, but as the old adage goes, “give a man a bottle of water and he drinks for a day, give him a water filtration device and he drinks for 5 years.”
Being a minor group, W4W hasn’t been rated by most big charity watchdogs like CharityWatch or BBB Wise Giving Alliance. For this reason I was skeptical to pick them as the recipient of the money, but they do enjoy a “gold” rating with GuideStar(which to be fair, isn’t a watchdog per se) for their commitment to transparency, and in the end their design philosophy of focusing on low-tech but sustainable and long-term solutions was what won me over.
Do you agree? Or would you have chosen differently? Please let me know your thoughts on the matter. It’s funny how an animated movie about talking animals made this possible. Did any of you find inspiration in Nick and Judy’s example and worked to better yourself and your society? Please reblog with your stories, I’d love to read them.
I for one can’t express my gratitude enough to everyone that helped us raise almost a thousand dollars… but I can sure try! Therefore, I extend a big thank you to each and every one of those that donated - literally - under the cut:
Anonymous - my very first donation was from anon, thank you so much!
Mustang - Thank you so much for your generous donation!
TaMarmot - Thank you so much, it’s very appreciated!
huebris - I have a lot to say but the abridged version is - Thanks!
Shak - Thank you for each of the donations!
Quilly - Thank you!
Red Velvet Panda - Thanks, Panda!
Bimpy the Wimpy Shrimpy - Thanks, Bimpy! How anybody can get any sleep nowadays is beyond me!
Claudia - Thanks for the coffee!
Karteufel - Thanks for the coffees! I appreciate it every time!
Dogsport - Much appreciated!
Alexandre Landsec - Thank you for all that you do!
Jihwan Lee - Thanks muchly! Keep making that good music!
pyrophoricitee - iyts a cip n ko-fi
Nathan P - No, YOU rock!
stevegallacci - a big thank you! And yes I have seen your work, keep it up!
Kazookie - Thanks, Kaz! And I appreciate YOU! Every time you did your part to keep me up in the wee hours of the night.
Funzinnu - Thank you for your many donations, I hope you liked the story!
Jan - Your kind words are more than enough for me Jan, thank you!
Rene - 2! Thanks Rene!
Mojo - Thanks mojo, I got the Touch!
Okie - Thanks a lot!
Zanrok - Thanks so much!
Cary Reese - Thank you!
Enny - Thanks for your donation!
Karazu - Thanks for your support!
Wessa140 - Thank you! I will!
Stubat - Thank you! Sorry there weren’t many ‘yeens, hope you still liked it though!
A bobcat - I LOVE donuts, how did you know?
Mayu Zane - Thank you!
Kazookieslama - Thanks again Kaz!
kei - Bravo to you kei!
TargaryenTurtle - You and me both buddy!
Nathan - Thank you, just watch this space!
Ozy Lellowen - And I appreciate your donation Ozy!
Harry Lime - HARRY YOU MADMAN, most of the good karma in this post is thanks to you!
Kamiten - I’m keeping, I’m keeping!
Funzinnu - Thanks again and again Funz! Always appreciate your words of support!
Ztpia -
Stubat - Oh I’m sure the damage isn’t THAT bad! You got the whole paypal donation thing down at least, which I love you for!
IronicSnap - The kudos is all thanks to you Ironic!
PocketPaws - and I truly love your words <3
CombatEngineer - YOU are amazing!
Yoshimon - So glad you liked it, I hope whatever comes next will be good as well!
InTheLionsDenOnDA - Thank you for your kind words! I don’t know when but there’s definitely going to be another project coming up!
JAK072 - I’m so happy!
doubleSidedTape - Tomato!
FrigidGlacier - 100 proof babay!
Master-Lux - And a big thanks to YOU for donating, Lux!
Daniel Côté - merci beaucoup!
Robin -Two thank you’s for a great reader! Thank you and thank you!
Eh - And all the best to you too!
Nukukun - Thank you so much!
Johnsoneer - That’s high praise! Thank you!
Axel Ember - You touch me with your kind words, thank you so much!
Silver26 - Thank yoooou!
Joel - Thank you!
Lapine - Thank YOU!
Apetzu - YOU are awesome!
rva98014 - Thanks! You know, I almost called pop-pop “Thomas” in the epilogue, no idea where I got that notion from!
And for all the other anonymous donors, a big thank you to each and every one of you as well! I hope I didn’t miss anyone. | {
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A Political Capital a Medián közreműködésével, és a német Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung alapítvány támogatásával végzett kutatást arról, hogy a magyar közvéleményben mennyire elterjedtek az álhírek, tévhitek és összeesküvés-elméletek. (A tanulmány vázlatos összefoglalóját itt olvashatja el, akit részletesebben is érdekelnek a konkrét számok.) Az eredmények nagyrészt egybevágnak az Index 2017-es, hasonló témájú felmérésével, de sokkal részletesebben vizsgálták a politikai témájú teóriákat, és ezek nagyon érdekes képet festenek a hazai közbeszédről, a propaganda és a közösségi médiás manipuláció hatékonyságáról.
A kutatás egyik alapmegállapítása, hogy Magyarországon elég magas az általános konspirációs attitűd - vagyis hajlamosak vagyunk úgy gondolkodni, hogy a világ történései mögött titokzatos, rejtőző, nagy hatalmú szereplők állnak, mindent ők irányítanak, és úgy általában semmi nem az aminek látszik. Ez a jelenség kevésbé erős a budapestieknél, a felsőfokú végzettségűeknél, és a felsőbb jövedelmi osztályokban, és a vallásosak körében. A jobboldali ellenzék (ez gyakorlatilag a Jobbikot, és a belőle kiszakadt Mi Hazánk mozgalmat jelenti) támogatóinál magasan átlag feletti ez a hozzáállás, a baloldali pártok szavazóinál enyhén feletti, a kormány szimpatizánsainál átlag alatti. Ez az eredmény ismerős a hasonló témájú nemzetközi kutatásokból: az összeesküvés-elméletekben való gondolkodás általában azokra jellemző, akik úgy érzik, hogy ki vannak rekesztve a hatalomból, és nincs kontrolljuk a közügyek felett.
Hanem aztán a konkrét teóriák támogatottságának feltérképezésekor messzire szakadunk a nemzetközi trendektől, és elszabadul a speciálisan magyar, ordító és suttogó propagandával egyszerre fűtött elmebaj.
S.O.R.O.S. a házban
A kutatók külön vizsgálták az antiszemita, és a muszlimokkal kapcsolatos konteók társadalmi támogatottságát. Előbbiek ugye nagyon régóta terjengenek, és nagyjából arról szólnak, hogy a zsidó világ-összeesküvés tör hatalomra, és irányít a háttérből tulajdonképpen mindent; utóbbiak itthon csak az elmúlt 1-2 évben robbantak be, és akörül forognak, hogy a muszlimok a nyugati világ elfoglalására vagy elpusztítására törnek, rabszolgaságba akarnak hajtani, és a saját kultúrájukat kényszeríteni mindenkire.
A kutatás szerint a magyarok átlagban elfogadják ezeket a gondolatokat, minden ilyen állításnál sokkal magasabb volt az egyetértők, mint az ellenzők aránya. Az antiszemita összeesküvéseket az átlagnál is erősebben támogatják a középkorúak, a legfeljebb szakmunkás végzettségűek, a falun élők, és az alsó-középosztály tagjai, illetve a jobboldali ellenzék szavazói. A Fidesz hívei között enyhébb, de még mindig az átlagot meghaladó ez az attitűd, a baloldali ellenzéknél átlag alatti.
Ennek tükrében érdekes megfigyelni a kormánypropaganda által orrvérzésig mantrázott muszlimellenes teóriákat: itt a társadalom közel fele egyetért a konteókkal, a negyede elutasítja, a negyede semleges a kérdésben. A demográfiai csoportok között az előzőhöz nagyon hasonló a tipikus támogatók köre: szakmunkás végzettségűek, fizikai dolgozók, középkorúak és idősebbek, illetve a szélsőjobboldailak a legtipikusabb muszlimellenesek - és egyetlen komoly különbségként megjelenik itt a Fidesz támogatóinak köre.
Itt két tanulságot vonhatunk le:
A Jobbik mérséklődése, néppártosodása nem nagyon változtatta meg a támogatóik hozzáállását, továbbra is erősen jellemző rájuk az idegengyűlölet
A kormány propagandagakampányai a teljes népességben elég hatékonyak voltak, a Fidesz bázisában egyenesen a szélsőjobboldali pártok szintjére tolták fel a muszlimellenességet
A kutatás egyik legmegdöbbentőbb pontja a Soros Györggyel kapcsolatos teóriák firtatása - ezek ugye egészen újak a magyar közvéleményben, pár éve az emberek nagy többsége az se tudta, ki az a Soros. Ehhez képest most a teljes minta 51, a Fidesz-szavazók 71 (!) százaléka értett egyet a kijelentéssel, hogy Soros György migránsokkal akarja elárasztani Európát.
A grazi szanatórium legendája
A felmérés kitért az elsősorban az orosz propaganda terjesztette, nyugatellenes összeesküvés-elméletek, illetve a hazai kormányellenes teóriák vizsgálatára is. Amerika és az EU a kereszténység lerombolására tör, ők állnak a menekültválság és az ukrajnai konfliktus mögött, terroristákat pénzelnek, és titokban a békés Oroszország megtámadására készülnek - ezek az állítások nagyjából egyenlő méretű, egyetértő, tagadó, és semleges csoportokra osztották a megkérdezetteket. A legjellemzőbb támogatók ismét csak a jobboldali ellenzék és a Fidesz szavazói voltak.
Ki miben hisz? A tanulmányban megvizsgálták, hogy az egyes pártok követői között melyek a legnépszerűbb, átlag feletti támogatottsággal bíró összeesküvés-elméletek. Az eredmény nem túl meglepő, viszont elég látványosan illusztrálja a mai politikai erők mögötti általános gondolatvilágot:
Fidesz: muszlimellenes és nyugatellenes elméletek, Soros György
Baloldali ellenzék: kormánykritikus elméletek, általános összeesküvéses mentalitás
Jobbik, Mi Hazánk mozgalom: szinte az összes vizsgált összeesküvés-elmélet
Hasonló módon nagyjából egyenlő részben támogatják és ellenzik a legismertebb hazai kormányellenes összeesküvés-elméleteket: azt, hogy Orbán Viktort Putyin zsarolja valamivel, illetve hogy a miniszterelnököt titokban egy grazi pszichiátriai klinikán kezelik. Most jön az igazán meghökkentő rész: ezt a fideszesek körében is elég sokan (18, és 25%) elhiszik. Hasonló arányban vannak olyanok is, akik egyszerre hisznek abban, hogy a menekültválság valójában Soros György, illetve Putyin titkos akciója. Az egymásnak totálisan ellentmondó állításokba vetett hit azt mutatja, hogy Magyarországon egy csomó ember, legalább százezres, de talán milliós nagyságrendben
egyszerűen feladta, hogy a gondolatait bármilyen szinten a logika vagy a józan ész vezesse.
Talán ez mutatja a legjobban, mennyire mélyen beleivódtak az összeesküvés-elméletek a magyar közvéleménybe, némelyik elképesztően rövid idő alatt vert meghökkentően erős gyökereket.
(Érdekes apróság, hogy a tanulmányt bemutató eseményen mindenki kínosan kerülte, hogy Orbán és Graz nevét egy mondatban említse, inkább a "vezető fideszes politikusok" kifejezéssel írták körül. Pedig hát mindenki tudja, és már egyetlen Google-keresés is megmutatja, hogy valójában ki ennek az - egyébként nyilván abszurd - elméletnek a főszereplője.)
Fontos tanulság még, hogy a nem politikai jellegű összeesküvés-elméletek támogatottsága jóval alacsonyabb: 15-20% hisz a chemtrailben, az ivóvíz mérgezésében, az oltásellenességben és hasonlókban - miközben az elutasítók aránya 50-60% körül mozog. Ez egyrészt örömteli (elvégre ezek potenciálisan veszélyesek is lehetnek), másrészt azt mutatja, hogy egy kormányzati szintű propagandagépezet nélkül nagyjából ennyi embert lehet meggyőzni egy átlagos konteóval. Harmadrészt viszont a teljes lakosságra vetítve elég ijesztő, hogy az országban
bőven milliós nagyságrendű ember hiszi el azt az egészen képtelen és logikátlan hülyeséget, hogy repülőkről szórt mérgekkel végez valaki népirtást az egész világ orra előtt, vagy egyszerűen tagadja a modern egészségügy egyik legnagyobb eredményét, a járványokat visszaszorító, emberéletek millióit megmentő védőoltásokat.
(Borítókép: Orbán Viktor. Fotó: Balogh László / Getty Images) | {
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First ever and only pack of Pokémon XY Evolutions and I pull this beast o: Done | {
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Stormy Daniels aka Stephanie Clifford has been ordered to pay Donald Trump $293,052.33 in attorneys’ fees, costs, and sanctions.
The Order (pdf.) is embedded at the bottom of this post.
The case arose out of Daniel’s failed lawsuit accusing Trump of defamation for suggesting that Daniels fabricated her claim that she was threatened by a man to leave Trump alone.
For background on the legal proceedings, see our prior post Trump asks Court to SLAPP Stormy Daniels with $341,559.50 in legal fees plus sanctions.
The Court threw out the lawsuit, finding Trump’s commentary was protected by the First Amendment. It’s important that Trump moved to dismiss, and the court granted dismissal, under the Texas Anti-SLAPP [Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation] Statute because that is where Daniels resided, even though the case was in California and Trump is a New Yorker. The court reasoned: Under New York’s choice-of-law principles, the law of the situs of the injury generally applies to a tort lawsuit involving diverse parties. See Stoyanovskiy v. Amerada Hess Corp., 286 A.D.2d 727, 728 (2001). However, in this day and age, with the publication of statements in online fora, the tort of defamation often involves a plaintiff injured in several jurisdictions. For multistate defamation actions, where the situs of the injury may be in multiple jurisdictions, “New York applies the law of the state with the most significant interest in litigation,” which generally is the state where a plaintiff is domiciled. See Lee v. Bankers Trust Co., 166 F.3d 540, 545 (2d. Cir. 1999). Plaintiff alleges in the Complaint that Ms. Clifford is a “resident of the State of Texas,” (Compl. ¶ 1), and conceded during argument on September 24, 2018 that Ms. Clifford is domiciled in Texas. (See Transcript of Proceedings at 11: 7.) Therefore, this Court applies Texas law to Plaintiff’s allegations of defamation and Defendant’s Special Motion To Dismiss/Strike. [footnote omitted] So when the court threw out the lawsuit, it did so under the Anti-SLAPP statute, which grants the successful defendant attorney’s fees, subject to a submission of proof: Having granted the Special Motion and denied Plaintiff leave to amend, the Court finally holds that Defendant is entitled to attorney’s fees. Texas law is unambiguous that “the TCPA requires anaward of ‘reasonable attorney’s fees’ to the successful movant.” Sullivan v. Abraham, 488 S.W.3d 294, 299 (Tex. 2016). “A ‘reasonable’ attorney’s fee ‘is one that is not excessive or extreme, but rather moderate or fair.’” Id. (quoting Garcia v. Gomez, 319 S.W.3d 638, 642 (Tex.2010)). Trump just submitted his motion for attorney’s fees. (h/t Brad Heath Twitter) He’s seeking $341,559.50 in legal fees plus sanctions. The full motion (pdf.) is embedded at the bottom of this post.
From the Court Order awarding the specific dollar amount of fees, costs and sanctions:
Having concluded that Mr. Trump is entitled to all four sets of attorneys’ fees and costs that he seeks, the Court next addresses whether Defendant’s request is reasonable under the lodestar method. This involves answering two related questions. First, are Defendant’s requested hourly rates per attorney reasonable? Second, are the hours expended per task by attorney reasonable? The ourt addresses these questions in turn. * * * In reviewing the rates charged by Defendant’s attorneys, the Court agrees with Defendant that his attorneys are incredibly qualified, and that the law firm of Harder LLP has specific expertise in the fields of media and defamation law. (Mot. at 14-16.) The Court also is mindful of the fact that the instant litigation is unique in its nature and scope. It involves a defamation claim against the sitting President of the United States based on a tweet issued by the President from his personal Twitter account. (See Tr. of Proceedings at 11:8-15.) The President has used this Twitter account extensively, both during his campaign and afterwards. The litigation before this Court therefore impacts what the President may or may not say in a public forum. Based on the unique nature of this litigation and the Court’s familiarity with the fees charged in this jurisdiction, the Court concludes that Defendant’s rate requests are reasonable. In similar First Amendment anti-SLAPP litigation involving highly qualified attorneys, a court in the Northern District of California held that experienced partners were entitled to between $880 and $995 per hour, senior associates were entitled to between $450 and $535 per hour, and junior associates were entitled to$355 per hour. * * * Having reviewed the billing records submitted by Defendant, the Court reduces the total amount in attorneys’ fees and costs that Defendant claims by 25%…. Defendant is entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs of $292,052.33, a 25% reduction of the total fees and costs claimed of 389,403.11. * * * While recognizing that some Texas courts have doubled attorneys’ fees to deter frivolous SLAPP litigation, the Court declines to impose significant additional sanctions here. Plaintiff is liable to Defendant for substantial attorneys’ fees, which is already a means to deter her from bringing SLAPP litigation in the future…. Moreover, Plaintiff is presently seeking to withdraw her other defamation claim that is before this Court, (see Notice of Motion And Motion To Amend Complaint in Stephanie Clifford v. Donald Trump et al., No. 2:18-cv-02217-SJO-FFM, ECF No. 91), and Plaintiff has not taken legal action against Defendant despite rhetorically hyperbolic statements that Defendant has made about Plaintiff in the recent past (see, e.g., Declaration of Michael Avenatti, Ex. 3, ECF No. 40-2.) Plaintiff’s unwillingness to resort to litigation in light of Defendant’s continuing use of rhetorical hyperbole suggests that Plaintiff is already being deterred from filing meritless defamation claims. To the extent that the TCPA requires this Court to impose sanctions against Plaintiff, the Court orders sanctions of $1,000. Plaintiff owes Defendant $293,052.33 in attorneys’ fees, costs, and sanctions.
REACTIONS
Trump’s attorney Charles Harder declared total victory:
Michael Avenatti is trying to convince everyone he’s actually winning by losing:
Stormy Daniels v Trump – Order Awarding Trump Attorney Fees by Legal Insurrection on Scribd
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Adam Moss. Photo: Axel Dupeux
New York Media editor-in-chief Adam Moss announced today that he will be stepping down from his role at the end of March, after a 15-year run that oversaw the transformation of New York from a single publication to a groundbreaking and acclaimed multi-title print and digital company. Since March 2004, Moss has overseen New York Magazine, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018, and the development of five digital sister publications — Vulture, the Cut, Intelligencer, the Strategist, and Grub Street — all of which are widely recognized for editorial excellence and inventiveness. A successor will be announced shortly.
“Adam showed the world that a legacy print publisher could lead invention in digital products, that a brand with local origins could own national conversations, that a diversified premium media business can be constructed around an original editorial voice. He leaves at the top of his game (not a surprise: it’s the only way he operates). And he leaves the company in an enviable position — reaching the largest, most engaged audience in our history,” said New York Media CEO Pam Wasserstein. “On a more personal note, he is an inspiration and a joy. I have loved every minute of our partnership, and I am beyond grateful for his friendship.”
Under Moss’s leadership, New York has been at the forefront of magazine innovation and new ways of telling stories across all its platforms. He has twice reimagined the print magazine, making it more national in scope while retaining the New York point of view — smart, skeptical, optimistic, with a sly sense of humor — that unites everything the company publishes. In his first year at New York, Moss completed an extensive renovation of the magazine, launching new columns, ushering in a new generation of writers and photographers, and increasing the magazine’s political and business coverage. He also emphasized an enhanced commitment to covering cultural happenings (in “the Culture Pages”) and introducing the “Strategist” section, an urban sourcebook. In 2014 Moss again reimagined the print magazine as it moved to biweekly frequency, adding features, an increased emphasis on photography and visual storytelling, a new fashion section (“the Cut”), and new columns. Writers he hired in the magazine’s current iteration include Rebecca Traister, Frank Rich, Andrew Sullivan, Jonathan Chait, Jerry Saltz, and Cathy Horyn, among many others.
In 2006, he oversaw a year-long relaunch of the magazine’s website, nymag.com, transforming it from a magazine companion site into a redesigned, up-to-the minute news and information site, anchored by Daily Intelligencer (now Intelligencer), covering politics, technology, business, media, and innovation. Moss directed the development of Vulture into a leading national entertainment website, the expansion of nymag.com’s Grub Street food and restaurant blog, and the ambitious evolution of the women’s site the Cut, named Website of the Year by Adweek in 2018. The Strategist, an e-commerce site building on the magazine’s legacy of intelligent shopping coverage, launched in 2016. Monthly unique users at the sites have grown dramatically, to a record 53 million in May 2018.
During Moss’s tenure New York and its digital publications have won 40 National Magazine Awards, more than any other magazine over this time period, including Magazine of the Year, six awards for General Excellence in print and six for General Excellence online or website, as well as awards for video, profile writing, essays, multimedia, personal service, seven for the Strategist section and two for the Culture Pages section, four for the magazine’s design, two each for leisure interests, single-topic issue, and online fashion coverage. Jerry Saltz, the magazine’s senior art critic, won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for criticism. New York’s pioneering journalistic event “Cosby: The Women” won the 2015 George Polk Award for magazine reporting. The magazine has won the Society of Publication Designers’ Magazine of the Year award and the American Society of Magazine Editors’ Cover of the Year award three times each during his tenure. In 2017 Advertising Age named New York Magazine of the year and Moss editor of the year, an honor he also received in 2007 and 2001. Adweek named him editor of the year in 2016 and New York was named magazine of the year, recognizing in particular its coverage of the presidential election. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from his alma mater Oberlin College in 2005, and the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism in 2012.
Before joining New York Magazine, Moss was the editor of the New York Times Magazine, as well as assistant managing editor of the paper, overseeing the magazine, Book Review, culture and style. He was founding editor of 7 Days, a New York weekly magazine, which won the National Magazine Award for general excellence in its circulation class in 1990. Before that, he worked at Esquire magazine in a variety of positions, including those of managing editor and deputy editor. Earlier he worked at Rolling Stone magazine.
Moss sent this memo to the company’s staff this morning:
Everybody,
On March 1, I will have been the editor of New York for 15 years. That’s about twice as long as Clay Felker, and longer than any of my other predecessors. It has been, as Wendy Goodman would say, beyond, but it is now time. On March 31, I will be stepping down.
There are many reasons, but they pretty much boil down to this: editors ought to have term-limits. Experience is good, but after a while every institution needs a blood transfusion. Plus: I’ve always only really known how to edit for myself, and I no longer feel that makes sense for me and New York (“What is a PewDiePie?” I think I actually said). I want to see what else I can do. I thought hard about all this last summer. Then in September I sat down with Pam and told her I thought it was time for me to go.
I leave with great apprehension but all of it is personal — I love this place, and I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to do next. I don’t feel any anxiety for the company. For most of you I have been the only editor of New York you have known, but I have never subscribed to the myth of the all-powerful editor – I get way more credit than I deserve for the work that you do. My job has been to point the way, surround myself with people I trust, and hope for the best. And the best is what you – successive generations of you – have delivered. This is your magazine. You are a crazy-talented crew, and, as I began to assemble an account of this decade and a half, I found myself beyond proud of what you have accomplished.
For starters, in 2004 when I arrived, things were pretty simple: we were mostly working with a pile of paper– words, pictures, end of story. I came to New York because I had always been infatuated with the magazine that Clay and Milton Glaser founded. I was excited just for the opportunity to edit it. That was more than enough.
A decade and a half later, where once there was one magazine, now there are six – five invented from scratch, and the original one substantially renovated. Each is strong, original and fabulous. Look what you’ve built: The Cut began as a fashion blog and the editors evolved it into something richer and more complex, in the process inventing what a woman’s magazine can be in 2019 – simultaneously political, personal and stylish. It is on fire. Vulture was clearer about what it was from the start but the Vulture staff deftly navigated it so it now owns high-brow low-brow cord-cutting entertainment, and with it the fierce loyalty of the generation of fanatics devoted to it, making it our largest publication. In my view and many others, the all-star Intelligencer team publishes the smartest, wittiest, most prescient political (and now also business and tech) commentary anywhere – quite an accomplishment in these times. And, by the way, it delivers it in an original homepage format that demonstrates that innovation continues to drive this company’s evolution. The Strategist is a truly editorial ecommerce site – and is nearly unique in that regard: it has proven that the authority of the original New York can be harnessed for commercial means with all of its integrity and sense of joy intact, and it is an unbelievable growth story. Grub Street just launched The Thousand Best, which is a state of the art tool for navigating restaurants; Grub Street continues to punch way above its size. And the print magazine has lost none of its vitality, strength and journalistic rigor at a time when, in my view, many print magazines just seem to be giving up – I was particularly happy to see that nine of its stories made the Chartbeat list of the 120 most-engaging (in other words, most-read) stories of 2018 – three in the top ten. It is not unusual for the work of New York in all its parts to reach 50 million readers a month, which is more than a hundred times the numbers of readers we reached in the good old days. And the best thing about that is that we have grown without diluting the worth of our journalism. Almost all of the time, our most ambitious stories are also our best read.
The awards you’ve received during this period are certainly nice but I’ve always felt that the best part of them is their breadth — you win stuff for almost everything we do, and the range of the work that gets cited just goes to show how good our journalism is across so many arenas. You are recognized for your excellent essays, commentary, criticism, long form stories, reporting, video, and multimedia. You make single magazine issues that are judged the best of the year; also over and over you prove the full potential of digital journalism, which we entered early, without fear, and showed everyone else how to do. I am convinced (even if we never get credit for it) that in a very real sense you ushered in the MeToo era by bringing down potentates like Roger Ailes and igniting the taking-down of Bill Cosby. Your wisdom urgently, beautifully framed this powerful feminist moment – and continues to do so. You understood the stakes of the Trump administration before anyone believed it even possible. Your coverage of Washington – not just Trump’s Washington but also many other eras – is just shockingly good - and fearless, and right now, as the politics of our time seem to be evolving so rapidly on the right and the left you are absolutely killing it in making real sense of what is happening. You love this city and did a lot to define its modern era, but you are also its most brilliant critic. You are leading the thinking on climate change, urbanism and, incredibly, given how competitive this coverage is, technology and its effects. There’s a reasonable case to be made that nobody’s better on peak television, your food coverage is still the gold standard, you excel at covering our own media backyard, and your interiors coverage is amazing – and that’s by just one of you! The look of your work, across both print and digital, is gorgeous and original and widely imitated. You are nimble, you adapt fast to the next storytelling medium and the next storyline, and your instincts seldom fail you (well we all fail sometimes, but this is not the place to go into that). You are not afraid to be ridiculous, because you know the value of lunacy and you’re really funny. You have realized my dream for this place, which was for it to be as smart as it is entertaining, or as entertaining as it is smart, I’m never sure which, news media having always been this impossible mix of entertainment and public service. You’ve turned a local publication into a national (even international) publication (also: suite of publications) united by a New York lens which retains its clarity, its sharpness, and exuberant curiosity no matter where it is pointed. You now speak in so many languages – the printed word, digital word, audio, video, live events, the single image, the six-frame social media story, physical retail! – and you are fluent in every single one of them. And lately you’ve begun to successfully tackle our biggest challenge – the assault on the business model that has sustained media for a century – by showing early but very encouraging returns on our transition to a subscription business, and with the staggering success of ecommerce.
So, that’s a lot, and I could go on for twelve more paragraphs. And I’m certain you’ll continue to do amazing things because you’re just really, really good at what you do. I confess that I will not at all miss being your boss (managing being something I hope never to do again), but I will miss you terribly. I actually think my real talent is that I hire well and because I have always hired for some combination of wild talent, personal decency and a refusal to take things too seriously (and because I hope those traits have been contagious down the line), I find myself surrounded by a team of people I adore. The best thing about magazines is that they are truly a communal effort, more like a kindergarten project than anything else, and that’s what I am saddest about giving up. I’ll miss playing with you all.
I’m not going away entirely. I will stay in the New York family as an advisor to Pam and anyone else who asks for my help. But I won’t be running anything, making any decisions – and I’ll be off doing many other things at the same time (what?! – I’m determined not to think about that until I walk out the door).
I’ve addressed this note mainly to the editorial staff, but I also want to express my gratitude to our business colleagues – what they do is unbelievably difficult, especially in this climate, and their work makes everything possible. Above all, they are deeply respectful of our journalism, even when that journalism leads us to places that make their jobs even harder. It has been a privilege working hand in hand with them. Editorial and business are truly partners here, and that is a rare and wonderful thing.
Finally, a word about Pam. I have been extremely fortunate to have been editor during the Wasserstein ownership, but never more so than during the Pam Era. She loves this institution, believes in all of you and what you do, and has invested so very much – heart, soul and so much more – into New York. Her savvy and courage, the decisions she has made, are right now coming into focus – her bets are working. Don’t take her for granted. I can say with some confidence you are in kinder, wiser hands than you will ever be again in your working lifetimes.
She will be announcing my successor shortly. After that I suppose I will be a lame duck, but as proud a duck as ever waddled the earth. I’m here for a while yet, but allow me to take this moment to thank you all for your work, your friendship, your (principled) obstinacy, your brilliance. I know this is the right thing to do, but I am leaving with a big ache in my heart.
Adam
Wasserstein sent the following memo about Moss to the company’s staff: | {
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DES MOINES — Hillary Clinton’s closing rally before the Iowa caucuses was primed to counter any perception that her campaign lacked enthusiasm, energy or passion.
Before a crowd of more than 2,500 who filled the gymnasium of Abraham Lincoln High School, Clinton, joined by her husband Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea, sounded about an octave higher as she slammed Republicans for seeking “collective amnesia” when it came to the economy, while trying to out-do even Bernie Sanders when it comes to taking on Wall Street.
“They are running ads against me right here in Iowa,” she said, referring to a financial sector she says she will go even further than Sanders and Martin O’Malley to rein in, promising new regulations on “shadow” banking.
Clinton is contending with the surprise strength of Sanders, who is just a few points behind her, according to the latest Bloomberg/Des Moines Register poll. A Clinton loss here, along with another in New Hampshire next week, would raise the prospect of a drawn out primary season, or shades of what happened in 2008.
But she has a more extensive field operation in the state than Sanders. Supporters from around the country have come to volunteer, including a contingent of Los Angeles donors. Some say they are less worried now, at the end of the weekend, than they were at the start.
At the rally, supporters waved signs saying, “Fighting for us,” while Clinton spent a great deal of her speech trying to convey the sense that she was better prepared to go on offense against whoever is her GOP rival, as well an array of other foes, like the gun lobby, or those out to cut funding for Planned Parenthood.
She called GOP candidates’ standard response to questions about the existence of man-made climate change — “I don’t know. I’m not a scientist” — a “charade.”
“They aren’t ill-informed; they just won’t cross the Koch Brothers,” she said, invoking the billionaire industrialist donors who are a favorite Democratic target.
In the crowd was Barney Frank, who along with Chris Dodd co-authored the Dodd-Frank financial reform package. She introduced him when talking about the issue of too-big-to-fail banks. Rather than pursue legislation to break up the banks should there be the danger of another financial collapse, Clinton said that it could be done within the parameters of the Dodd-Frank law.
She defended her wonkishness, noting that her policy-heavy speeches are what is needed given that when it comes to a campaign, “this is a job interview.”
She didn’t name Sanders, but the contrast was apparent. “I will not raise middle class taxes,” she said, in an effort to contrast with Sanders, who last week said that he would raise taxes. He invited contrasts to Walter Mondale, who as the Democratic nominee in 1984 said he would raise taxes and went on to a crushing defeat.
“There are certain people who are ‘feeling the Bern.’ Today, she was on fire, and we ‘felt the burn’ in a different way,” said Jon Vein, who has been raising money for Clinton in Los Angeles along with his wife, producer Ellen Goldsmith-Vein.
He is here along with other fundraisers from Southern California, including Sim Farar and David Wolf.
Wolf noted what Clinton said about health care, and the need to improve the Affordable Care Act rather than risk dismantling it by pursuing single-payer healthcare. Sanders is a champion of a system he refers to as “Medicare for all.”
“I thought she was much more passionate, and sort of fired up when she talked about the need to get these things done now and we just can’t wait for a Democratic huge supermajority to pass things like single-payer,” he said.
Also at the rally was John Bauman, of Sha Na Na fame (he was Bowser), who said that he had been volunteering for the past three weeks from Cedar Rapids.
The three Clintons worked the rope line for about 20 minutes after her speech. But in contrast to eight years ago, they got into few conversations with these prospective caucusgoers. Instead, they were asked to pose for selfie after selfie. | {
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VANCOUVER—Seven years after the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan released radioactive elements into the environment, researchers say those elements pose minimal risk to human or salmon health along British Columbia’s coast.
A team of researchers at Simon Fraser University’s nuclear science lab collected soil and salmon samples from the Quesnel and Harrison rivers and used a high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy to search for signs of radioactive isotopes.
The isotopes — Cesium 134 and 137 — are fission fragments that do not exist in nature and, therefore, can be directly attributed to nuclear reactions.
Read more:
Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster didn’t affect fish, humans in B.C., scientist says
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Underwater robot photographs possible melted fuel at Fukushima plant
Lead chemist Krzysztof Starosta says that while they found evidence of the isotopes in both soil and salmon, the levels measured were very low. The team believes some of the lingering isotopes date back to 1960s nuclear weapons testing and the 1986 Chernobyl explosion.
“The levels found in both the salmon and soil samples remained below Canada’s safety guidelines, posing minimal risk to B.C.’s salmon and human populations,” Starosta said in a release.
He said it has been a relief to know the effects on the region have been so small, even if that was expected given Western Canada’s distance from Japan.
“Proximity to a nuclear disaster is critical, but wind and weather patterns that carry airborne radioisotopes should also be of concerns. Wherever these radioisotopes land, they will eventually decay and release some degree of radiation,” he said.
The team’s findings were published in the Canadian Journal of Chemistry.
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The Fukushima disaster occurred March 11, 2011, when a tsunami knocked out power at the seaside Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, causing partial meltdowns in three reactors.
Japan marked the anniversary Sunday with an official ceremony in Tokyo. More than 18,000 people died in the tsunami and 70,000 are still displaced from their homes.
Read more about: | {
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LEGO Wolfpack M.U.T.T.
The Wolfpack Mobile Utility Tough Terrier is an modified from an official alternate build of LEGO 31062 Robo Explorer (seen in image 5). There are instructions to build a similar dog robot included in that set. I initially set out to create a pallet swap of that dog, but I didn't have the correct pieces in my collection, so I improvised a bit. When it came to adding the ears, the Wolfpack flags coincidentally fit the color scheme. | {
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Two men armed with handguns attempted to rob an ATM courier on the campus of UW-Oshkosh Wednesday morning.
It happened at about 8:40 a.m. outside Reeve Memorial Union, at the ATM entrance facing Fletcher Hall.
UW-Oshkosh Police Chief Kurt Leibold says the robbers targeted a cash courier for Thillens ATM Services but didn't get away with any money. Leibold believes the pair did get away with the courier's gun.
One robber is described as a white or mixed-race man who wore a black jacket, blue jeans, gray hoodie, and brown ski mask.
The other robber was a black man who wore dark clothing, including a dark hoodie. He wears red and white Adidas shoes.
Both were armed with handguns.
"I believe they were targeting this courier for money. However, this courier generally doesn't carry money," Leibold said during a news conference."
The suspects got away in an older, tan, four-door car with a rounded front driven by a male describe only as white or mixed-race. UW-Oshkosh released surveillance photos of two possible vehicles, labeled as a Chevy Malibu and a Buick LeSabre.
Leibold says Thillens ATM Services has been targeted three other times since September. The previous robberies happened in the Madison area.
"It appears to be the same crew based on suspect information," Leibold says.
Surveillance video indicates that the suspects had been casing the courier. The courier makes a daily visit to campus.
Leibold says his department worked with Oshkosh Police, the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office and Wisconsin State Patrol to get the word out on these suspects. It's believed they headed to the Madison area.
"At no time did I feel that the campus was in jeopardy. This robbery we knew right away was a targeted invent. Based on surveillance information and witness statements we knew that the suspects had fled campus immediately," Leibold says.
Students received alerts on their phones Wednesday morning.
"Well, at first I got the Titan Alert, and I saw 'robbery.' Sometimes we get notifications about stuff that happens off campus, so I wasn't totally worried about it.," said freshman Sean Lawrence. "Then, we started getting more, and it was on campus."
Freshman Caleb Behnke said, "I guess it makes me more comfortable, because you never know what could happen, and just for that peace of mind it makes it way easier. "
Fox Valley Technical College's Riverside Campus in Oshkosh went into lockdown following the robbery, but it has been lifted. | {
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A liberal super PAC demonstrated outside President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE's hotel in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, playing audio released by ProPublica of crying children inside detention facilities through a loudspeaker.
American Bridge tweeted Tuesday that the activists were targeting attendees of a fundraiser for Republicans taking place at the Trump International Hotel in the capital.
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"Tonight, we make sure that @realDonaldTrump and his rich cronies hear the impact of his cruel, heartless policies," the group tweeted.
"As they enter the Trump Hotel in DC for a fundraiser, we'll be outside playing the @ProPublica audio of migrant children being ripped apart from their families."
Tonight, we make sure that @realDonaldTrump and his rich cronies hear the impact of his cruel, heartless policies.
As they enter the Trump Hotel in DC for a fundraiser, we'll be outside playing the @ProPublica audio of migrant children being ripped apart from their families. — American Bridge (@American_Bridge) June 19, 2018
Reporters outside the hotel spotted former White House press secretary Sean Spicer Sean Michael SpicerKellyanne Conway to leave White House at end of month Pro-Trump duo Diamond and Silk launch new program on Newsmax TV The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Supreme Court's unanimous decision on the Electoral College MORE, who was recently named to the pro-Trump PAC America First Action, entering the building. Donald Trump Jr. Don John Trump'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic requests pardon from Trump: 'Be my hero please' Zaid Jilani discusses Trump's move to cancel racial sensitivity training at federal agencies Trump International Hotel in Vancouver closes permanently MORE was also spotted leaving the hotel.
Trump himself was reportedly at the hotel on Tuesday night following his meeting on Capitol Hill.
WATCH as attendees arrive at a fundraiser at Trump Hotel while the cries of children being ripped away from their parents ring out pic.twitter.com/ptYCOCDjIl — American Bridge (@American_Bridge) June 19, 2018
ProPublica published the audio Monday, in which workers are heard attempting to gather information from children in Spanish as they cry out for family members. Through tears, the children repeatedly ask for their “mami” and “papa.”
“Well we have an orchestra here, right? What we’re missing is a conductor,” one border patrol agent is heard joking through the children's cries.
The audio quickly went viral, and was played by reporters in the White House briefing room waiting for press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to arrive on Monday afternoon.
At the White House briefing on Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Kirstjen Michele NielsenMore than million in DHS contracts awarded to firm of acting secretary's wife: report DHS IG won't investigate after watchdog said Wolf, Cuccinelli appointments violated law Appeals court sides with Trump over drawdown of immigrant protections MORE defended the "zero tolerance" policy for prosecuting immigrants at the border, calling on Congress to fix the issue through legislation.
"This entire crisis, just to be clear, is not new," Nielsen said. “Currently, it is the exclusive product of loopholes in our federal immigration laws that prevent illegal immigrant minors and family members from being detained and removed to their home countries."
“Congress and the courts created this system, and Congress alone can fix it,” she added. | {
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by
In my late teens and early twenties, I spent summers working for my cousin in Montreal, the only one in our family who ever “made it big” (ie, rich). Wealthy Cousin owned a major wholesale operation that supplied non-perishable items to convenience stores across the province. I remember being amazed the first time I toured the warehouse, its rows of boxes stacked higher than the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center with cases upon cases of gummy bears, SweeTarts, Juicy Fruit gum (which used to come in long, thin, sticks and was still packed with sugar back then), Oh Henrys, Glossette Raisins . . . and non-food items, too, like toilet tissue, paper towels, or feminine hygiene products.
My actual job involved filing invoices, filling out forms, and what would today be called data entry in the secretaries’ office. In those days, their “modern” computer system took up almost half the room, and because I had excelled in dactylographie at my French immersion high school, I was a natural choice to use the keyboard-heavy equipment.
As with any workplace (okay, I’m going by The Office here since I’ve never had any other “real” office job from which to draw conclusions), there were in-house politics, personal baggage, and inter-office romance. I remember being scandalized when I found out that Mademoiselle Secretary was dating Monsieur Truck Driver (and Mr. TD was married! Gasp!). I attempted to get along with everyone, of course, but the three summers I spent working there also confirmed for me that I had no knack ability patience for office politics, and so a regular 9-to-5 job really wasn’t in the stars.
One summer, I became friends with the only other secretary around my age, a young Greek beauty who was basically my polar opposite. Whereas I was quiet and reserved, Thea was brash, loud, and in-your-face. Whereas I remained shy around guys and wore relatively conservative attire, Thea flirted relentlessly, her smile outlined by thick carmine lipstick, her wardrobe replete with lace leggings, leather mini skirts, low-cut blouses and red stiletto heels.
And yet, we hit it off famously. Thea was hilariously funny, whip-smart and, despite looking like Pretty Woman before her makeover, incredibly down to earth and genuine behind her makeup. We regularly spent lunch hours giggling and squealing, sharing stories about our “outside” lives. So, understandably, when it was time for me to return to college at the end of the summer, we vowed to keep the friendship going. During my last weekend in town, Thea invited me to dinner at her house.
Almost immediately upon arrival, I ascertained that there are certain characteristics shared by all first generation immigrant homes: like ours, Thea’s sofas were cloaked in thick clear plastic; there was also a surfeit of doilies adorning every wooden surface; and an ever-so-slightly musty aroma infused the place, just like my great-aunt Irene’s home in Boston. I half expected to find the same antique doll collection in Thea’s living room.
More importantly, I was beyond excited to finally give authentic Greek food a try. Thea’s mother ushered me into the dining room, where the table groaned under dozens of plates filled with exotic looking dips and spreads; various cheeses; olives of all sizes and colors; trays heaped with sliced meat, cubed meat, ground meat, meatballs; still more trays piled with rice or potatoes; and across the room, lined up like wallflowers waiting for a dance at the prom, was a collection of desserts that all seemed to be topped with honey and pistachios.
By far, my favorite dish was a fantastic dip I had never tried before that night, which Thea’s mom told me was called “houmus.” It was a thick, creamy beige spread made from chickpeas, rife with garlic and fruity olive oil. I scooped it onto pita bread, piled it on my potatoes and even ate some straight off the fork.
In fact, I left that dinner with a new favorite food: authentic Greek houmus! I didn’t find out for several years that hummus is actually Middle Eastern, and for whatever reason, just happened to make an appearance on the table that night. I carried the misconception around until I moved to Toronto, a hub of all things multicultural, and one of my friends finally broke the news to me.
While my friendship with Thea didn’t make it past the end of summer, my love of hummus persists to this day. So, when I recently found myself with a small portion of chickpeas left over from a batch of Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles (recipe from Living Candida-Free–you can get it here), I decided to combine it with another favorite dip, baba ganouj, to see what I could come up with.
The result is a hearty, flavorful spread that’s not quite as creamy as regular hummus, with a lighter texture and brighter flavor profile. The sundried tomatoes add punch and color. I loved the spread on grain-free flatbreads served with olives on the side.
Of course, I have no illusions that this dish has any relation to Greek food, but it still somehow reminds me of that incredible dinner long ago, and a friendship worth remembering.
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Eggplant and Chickpea Spread Get a taste of the Middle East with this combination spread that uses the best of hummus and baba ganouj. Use as a dip, sandwich filling, or even a pizza topping. 1 medium eggplant 4 sundried tomato halves (see note) 1 cup (240 ml) well cooked and drained chickpeas 3 Tbsp (45 ml) fresh lemon juice 1 small cloves garlic, chopped 1/4 cup (60 ml) tahini (sesame seed paste) 2 Tbsp (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil, preferably organic 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) cumin, or more, to taste 2 tsp (10 ml) smoked paprika 1/4 tsp (1 ml) fine sea salt, or more, to taste Preheat oven to 400F (200 C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment and place the whole eggplant on it. Bake until the eggplant is soft, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool about 10 minutes, until cool enough to handle, then cut in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into the bowl of a food processor. While the eggplant bakes, soak the tomatoes in boiling water for 15 minutes; drain and chop. Add the chopped tomatoes to the processor with the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Serve immediately or store, covered, up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Makes about 2 cups (480 ml). Note: for ACD stage one, use 4-6 oven-dried tomatoes instead of sundried tomatoes (recipe in this post). Suitable for: ACD All stages; sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free, soy-free, nut free, yeast-free, vegan, low glycemic.
“Mum, Chaser is my best friend, just like Thea! It’s true, Chaser is also pretty brash and a terrible flirt, but underneath it all she’s a good egg. . . she even got a blood test at the vet with me so I’d feel better. Say, is there any of that dip left? I bet that might help my paw to heal even more. . . ”
Never miss a recipe–or a comment from The Girls! Click here to subscribe to RickiHeller.com via email. You’ll get recipes as soon as they’re posted, plus cookbook updates and news about upcoming events! (“We love subscribers, Mum. . . almost as much as we love treats!”
[Disclosure: this post may contain affiliate links. If you buy using these links, at no cost to you, I will earn a small percentage of the sale.]
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Why do we keep having mass shootings? What can be done about it? Jon Stewart says too many have decided it doesn't matter any more -- that it's going to keep happening and there's nothing we can do about it.
We've reached the acceptance stage, he said on Monday's broadcast of "The Daily Show."
"It's like America has a dog that's always shitting inside the house, and we solved the problem by getting a brown rug," Stewart said.
But he does want to help the "real victims" of the violence: the news media "who are still going to have to waste valuable time going through the motions of covering these inevitable clearly unstoppable everyday ordinary soul-destroying slaughters." | {
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Over the last weekend, Portland once again became a battleground for two extremist organizations: Antifa and the Proud Boys. There is still more video coming out, but so far, Antifa is proving to be just as vicious and demented as ever. The last time Antifa organized in Portland, journalist Andy Ngo was the only person who was attacked, but the more recent rally proved to be far more violent. Enough is enough: it’s time to designate Antifa a domestic terrorist organization.
Make no mistake, the Proud Boys are a hateful, neo-fascist group. But our First Amendment protects the free speech rights of all Americans and our nation cannot tolerate the violence and intimidation Antifa is increasingly unleashing on those they disagree with — and innocent bystanders — from coast to coast. The people of Portland and communities across America deserve better from our government leaders.
We've seen the city of Portland take some measures to take the threat posed by Antifa seriously. The city has prepared 1,000 officers to combat its political violence. Yet, It is not enough. One video that surfaced shows Antifa thugs trying to pull people out of a bus to beat them. Antifa snatched a hammer originally used by the people inside the bus for self-defense and threw it inside. Antifa threw rocks at other buses and broke several windows while they tried to drive away.
GABRIEL NADALES: ANTIFA VIOLENCE FEARED IN PORTLAND SATURDAY – GROUP MUST BE CONDEMNED AND EXPOSED
In another video, a photographer is assaulted and harassed by an Antifa mob which surrounded him while one of the Antifa members is heard saying, “Death is coming to your doorstep.”
In just a few hours, 13 people were arrested, and six people were injured.
Despite all this, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler categorized the protests as “largely peaceful”, and Tweeted that he is happy that no one died as a result. That’s certainly an odd view of peaceful and a low bar to set for what we will tolerate in our communities.
Today, Antifa is far more aggressive and violent than it was when I was involved nearly a decade ago. The bottom line is that Antifa is as strong, bold and violent as it is because we’ve taken it lightly for too long.
Our society needs more than a city’s law enforcement to face the threat of Antifa. A domestic terror designation will help us combat Antifa by giving resources to our law enforcement to proactively track Antifa’s activities instead of merely responding to the group's events.
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But I can also speak from personal experience that calling Antifa what it is – a terrorist group – would go a long way in dissuading people from joining. Antifa stands for Anti-fascist, which sounds like a good and noble cause. I got involved at the age of 16 because I wanted to be a part of fighting for a better world. Its name certainly implies that Antifa does just that. While I quickly realized that Antifa was just the opposite and stopped participating, I regret that I was involved in the first place.
I am certain I would never have joined a group that the U.S. considers a terrorist organization, and I am confident that many other idealistic young people would have the same reservations. Unfortunately, once they become involved, the risk of getting sucked into the distorted cause and mob mentality is high. When our government leaders voice that the behavior we have seen in Portland is acceptable, young people will learn that it is an acceptable way to express political views.
We've seen countless examples of reckless rhetoric come from professors and lecturers at our nation's universities. One professor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrote an op-ed claiming Antifa is an expression of self-defense. How someone could think that hurting reporters and inciting riots are forms of self-defense is baffling. Giving Antifa a proper label could be effective in counteracting the influence of these professors.
Labeling Antifa a domestic terrorist organization would also help colleges and universities take action when Antifa strikes. Right now, we're watching the University of Texas-Austin to see how it protects incoming freshmen who have been threatened by an Antifa group with doxing if these students join conservative groups. We cannot accept these kinds of threats and attacks but, without the designation it’s difficult for universities to effectively respond.
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Today, Antifa is far more aggressive and violent than it was when I was involved nearly a decade ago. The bottom line is that Antifa is as strong, bold and violent as it is because we’ve taken it lightly for too long. The acts of fear and intimidation are not new. They are only another chapter that illustrates Antifa's willingness to maim political opponents.
Antifa behaves like a terrorist organization because it is one. It’s time for to call it what it is. | {
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NASA has released an image capturing the first look at Pluto's blue atmosphere in infrared.
NASA has released an image capturing the first look at Pluto's blue atmosphere in infrared wavelengths which was taken by its New Horizons spacecraft.The photo captured in July last year was made with data from the New Horizons Ralph/Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array (LEISA) instrument.In the image, sunlight is coming from above and behind Pluto while New Horizons was about 180,000 kilometres away.The image covers LEISA's full spectral range (1.25 to 2.5 microns), which is divided into thirds, with the shortest third being put into the blue channel, middle third into the green channel, and longest into the red channel.There is a blue ring around Pluto which is caused by sunlight scattering from haze particles common in Pluto's atmosphere, NASA scientists said.They believe the haze is a photochemical smog resulting from the action of sunlight on methane and other molecules, producing a complex mixture of hydrocarbons such as acetylene and ethylene.These hydrocarbons accumulate into small particles - a fraction of a micrometre in size - which scatter sunlight to make the blue haze, scientists said.The new infrared image, when combined with earlier images made at shorter, visible wavelengths, gives scientists new clues into the size distribution of the particles.There are whitish patches around Pluto's limbs, which are sunlight bouncing off more reflective or smoother areas on Pluto's surface - with the largest patch being the western section of the informally named Cthulhu Regio, NASA said. | {
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Bakari Sellers, a South Carolina Democrat who emphatically supported Hillary Clinton in 2016, told BuzzFeed News that he and black Democrats have had patience with Sanders as he’s sought to better understand the role that race plays in the United States, even as Democrats have pushed Sanders to not just rely on the narrative that he marched with King in the 1960s.
"Bernie's comments were tone-deaf and will not help him with communities of color, especially black folks," said Joshua DuBois, a strategist who led Obama's faith-based initiative. "On that hallowed day, our focus should've been on the transformative legacy of Dr. King and how we can come together to continue King's fight against systemic racism and injustice — not attacking the legacy of the first black president, who fought against many of the same things Dr. King fought."
An Obama spokesperson declined to comment. But privately, former Obama lieutenants and other Democrats knocked the timing of Sanders’ criticism, considering his words on the Democratic Party a criticism of Obama’s own leadership. One texted that Sanders’ words were “dumb as hell.”
Jeff Weaver, Sanders’ longtime top strategist, said that people were misreading the senator’s comment. “What Bernie was doing last night was praising the power and significance of the Barack Obama presidency, while at the same time pointing out that the national Democratic Party has had a lot of failures over the last 15 years, as evidenced by our loss of state legislative and congressional seats.”
It's a criticism of President Obama’s tenure that Sanders and plenty of others have made before. But the time and place for the remark — 50 years to the day after King's assassination, at an event to discuss that legacy — quickly shook loose old frustrations among Democrats who watched the senator struggle in 2016 to connect with black voters and speak to issues of racial justice.
"He was obviously an extraordinary candidate, brilliant guy. But behind that reality, over the last 10 years, Democrats have lost about 1,000 seats in state legislatures all across this country.”
"The business model, if you like, of the Democratic Party for the last 15 years or so has been a failure," Sanders started, responding to a question about the young voters who supported his campaign. "People sometimes don't see that because there was a charismatic individual named Barack Obama, who won the presidency in 2008 and 2012.
Two years later, on Wednesday night, there were cheers of "Feel the Bern!" in the hall as Sanders and the city's mayor, Chokwe Lumumba, discussed King's legacy.
On the 50th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr., Bernie Sanders was in Jackson, Mississippi, to talk about economic justice. It was here, in a state with the highest percentage of black residents in the country, where Sanders registered one of the worst performances of his presidential campaign, losing all 82 counties, by a total of 66 points.
To “dismiss with utter arrogance and lack of self-awareness the first African African president,” he said on Thursday, is “just the height and epitome of arrogance and lack of self-awareness.”
Sellers argued that Obama’s legacy encompasses not just his work as president from a policy perspective, but his symbolic importance. He alluded to the photo of a boy touching Obama’s hair in the White House to see if it felt like his. “Bernie Sanders doesn’t understand how that photo is emblematic of the hope of many African Americans and that it speaks loudly to who Barack Obama is.”
Speaking by phone on Thursday, Weaver fired back at Sanders’ critics. Sellers, he said, was attempting to sow “racial division” by “deliberately misinterpreting” the senator’s remarks. (“My father was shot because of racial [division],” responded Sellers, whose father was shot during what became known as the Orangeburg Massacre in 1968. “[Weaver] should find another line of attack, because I will not dignify that.”)
The episode, and the fast and sharp response, offers another reminder of how tense Democratic politics continue to be, especially around issues of race and economics, as the party decides its direction after Clinton’s loss two years ago.
In 2016, the 76-year-old Vermont senator struggled to attract wider black support with his message about wealth and income inequality, which he cast as "the great moral issue of our time," "the great economic issue of our time," and the "great political issue of our time" — often, critics said, at the expense of highlighting issues of race.
And in the lead-up to the first caucuses and primaries, he fumbled a series of tense confrontations with young black leaders protesting against police violence and race’s effect on mass incarceration. To his critics, Sanders’ lack of experience — coming up in politics in Vermont — and near lack of black voices among his senior campaign staff left him flat-footed on the intersectional political analysis young activists craved.
Now, as Sanders contemplates another run for president in 2020, he and his advisers face pressing question about whether his political revolution's message, and its messenger, can attract a large enough coalition of voters to win the Democratic nomination.
If former campaign aides still hang on to one frustration from 2016, it's the perception that Sanders can't connect with the black community. His pollster, Ben Tulchin, can still recite exit polling figures showing his gains with black millennials. His former press secretary, Symone Sanders, published a Washington Post op-ed headlined “It’s Time to End the Myth That Black Voters Don’t Like Bernie Sanders.” And his top aides are quick to point to a series of Harvard-Harris polls showing the senator as the most popular politician among black voters.
Sanders, in the months since 2016, has cultivated a closer relationship with leaders like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. He's been a more frequent presence at events like Wednesday's town hall in Jackson. And advisers insist that the Democratic primary, and the activists he met along the way in 2015 and 2016, did set off a real change in the senator's thinking on racial justice.
“It’s not Bernie’s fault, but the circumstance he was faced with [in 2016] is that he took on this image as this [exemplar] of progressivism when the progressive community tends to marginalize black concerns,” said Rev. Al Sharpton in an interview last week. “He was the progressive candidate and he incurred some wrath from all of us because of that.”
Tulchin, the senator’s pollster, described criminal justice and mass incarceration as relatively new issues for Sanders. “Yes, he took guidance from us on that front, because he recognized that Vermont is not at the epicenter of the criminal justice crisis, in terms of police misconduct problems. He understood that he had to absorb new areas,” Tulchin said. "But it is part of his worldview — I mean, the guy started in the ’60s as an activist in the civil rights movement getting arrested, right?"
On Wednesday night, in a brief interview backstage as he autographed campaign posters, Sanders said he saw the “fight for justice” as one for “racial justice” and “economic justice,” citing one of King’s last efforts, the Poor People’s Campaign aimed at mobilizing workers across different racial backgrounds. “That's what King's life was about,” the senator said. “We gotta move forward, fight against racism at the same time as we fight for economic justice.”
Still, early in his political career, and at times during the 2016 campaign, Sanders was reluctant to embrace any view of left-leaning politics that did not put class and economic inequality at the forefront. “The real issue is not whether you’re black or white, whether you’re a woman or a man,” he said in a 1988 interview. “The real issue is whose side are you on? Are you on the side of workers and poor people or are you on the side of big money and the corporations?”
“He was unconsciously unskillful on issues of race,” said the executive director of the Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity, Curtiss Reed Jr., who has observed Sanders for years in his home state. “His framework is income inequality and economic justice. He sees that as the all-inclusive tent.”
It made for a steep learning curve in 2015, as a new generation of young black leaders staged protests at campaign events across the country. One of the first major actions, at the annual Netroots Nation conference for liberal activists in July of that year, left Sanders and his team shaken. The candidate on stage before him, Martin O’Malley, had already bungled an exchange with leaders from the Black Lives Matter movement, telling the activists concerned about police brutality and mass incarceration that “all lives matter.” When Sanders came out afterward, the moderator immediately asked him to address the topic at hand. “Whoa, whoa whoa whoa whoa,” Sanders said. “Let me talk about what I want to talk about for a moment.”
After protesters interrupted him with chants of “say her name” — referring to Sandra Bland, a black woman who’d recently died inside a Texas prison after a traffic stop — Sanders stopped talking and paced the stage. “Listen, black lives of course matter. And I’ve spent 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights,” Sanders finally said. From the crowd, someone shouted back, “What are you doing about it now?” The protracted exchange left campaign aides “demoralized” and “devastated,” an operative present recalled. Sanders, the person said, was “pissed.”
Though Clinton won the nomination on the strength of black support, she, too, struggled with the same kinds of interactions with protesters, who objected to her use of the term “super-predators” and her support of the crime bill in the 1990s. In the wake of the 2016 election, those critiques of the 1990s, and the way politicians talk about issues of racial inequality and injustice, have become a standard feature of American political life, especially as President Trump continues to single out black politicians and protesters.
The experience was a new one for Sanders. On a trip to Seattle in August 2015, Black Lives Matter activists interrupted two events in one day. The next day, in a meeting with Don't Shoot PDX, a Portland group loosely affiliated with Black Lives Matter, Sanders repeatedly answered questions by referring the activists to his campaign website. (“He said: ‘I don't know you and u don't me, so you have to read my website, you can go on [there] and see my work and judge me from that,’" one attendee recalled in a Facebook post about the meeting.)
Around that time, the candidate brought on Symone Sanders to serve as his national press secretary and one of the first black faces of his campaign. During her first week on the job, she said, she told Sanders that he had to treat racial inequality and economic inequality as “parallel issues” — a suggestion she said he ran with. “I [told him], you know, economic equality is an issue. It’s something we need to address. But for some people it doesn’t matter how much money you make, it doesn’t matter where you went to school, it doesn’t matter what your parents do. It doesn’t matter that Sandra Bland had a job and was on her way to teach for her alma mater. It doesn’t matter. None of that matters.”
By the time his campaign aides scrambled to release a detailed criminal justice platform on Aug. 9, Sanders was still struggling. In a September meeting with Campaign Zero, a movement formed out of the Ferguson protests, activists asked Sanders why, in his opinion, there were a disproportionate amount of people of color in jail for nonviolent drug offenses. Sanders, seated across the table, a yellow legal pad at hand, responded with a question of his own, according to two people present: “Aren’t most of the people who sell the drugs African American?” The candidate, whose aides froze in the moment, was quickly rebuffed: The answer, the activists told him, was no. Even confronted with figures and data to the contrary, Sanders appeared to have still struggled to grasp that he had made an error, the two people present said.
In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Bernie Sanders said he "clearly misspoke" during the meeting:
During this extremely important meeting three years ago, where I learned a great deal, we had a very open discussion about the issues of systemic racism and the intersection of race and class. I am grateful to the participants in this meeting for engaging with me. The experiences and perspectives they related were incredibly impactful on me as a person and as a presidential candidate. While I clearly misspoke and had more to learn with regard to the causes of this problem, we all came to the meeting understanding what is absolutely true: the criminal justice system is broken and disproportionately arrests and jails African Americans. I am thankful to the participants for their work and willingness to have the kind of discussions that we need to have in order to move forward as a country. I intend to continue having conversations with activists and experts about how we, as a nation, create the society all of us deserve.
Ahead of a possible 2020 campaign, Sanders’ inner circle remains largely unchanged: His closest advisers include his former campaign manager, Weaver; his media consultant, Tad Devine; and his wife, Jane Sanders. Some note that his operation now includes Ben Jealous, the former NAACP president now running for governor of Maryland, as well as Nina Turner, a prominent Sanders surrogate who is now running his political organization, Our Revolution.
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In a post to their Facebook page, High On Fire gave notice to their fans that they are in the studio working on new music. They tagged the post Record Store Day ’19, which fittingly on 4/20 in 2019. High on Fire put out Electric Messiah earlier in 2018, via eOne. We’ll keep tracking this story as it develops. | {
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On December 14, Martin Griffiths—the UN Special Envoy for Yemen—briefed the UN Security Council about the talks that had just concluded in Sweden the previous day. Griffiths, sitting before a large UN logo from Jordan, spoke by video to a Council that had not been able to move an effective agenda to end the brutal war on this impoverished country.
Griffiths, who worked on each failed UN effort on Syria over the past decade, had been appointed to this post only in February, just after Mauritania’s Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed opted out of the impossible job that he had held from April 2015 to February 2018. No amount of talk had been able to bring the parties together. No amount of dialogue had convinced Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to stop the harsh bombardment of the country. And, no amount of pressure had moved the United States and the United Kingdom to stop providing logistical and military assistance to the Saudis and the Emiratis.
There was no real agreement in Sweden. Inside Yemen, there is bewilderment about what is going on. Haykal Bafana, a lawyer who lives in Sanaa—Yemen’s capital—told me, “It remains unclear to me what the actual terms of the ceasefire agreement are, or even whether an agreement was mutually agreed.” Griffiths told the Security Council much the same, but with language that indicated hope. The agreement does not end the fighting, he said. It is a “humanitarian stopgap to save lives and turn the tide of war towards peace.” One piece of evidence for the “humanitarian stopgap” is that all sides agree to allow humanitarian aid through Yemen’s lifeline—the Hudaydah port. “The ghastly prospect of famine,” Griffiths said, “has made solving Hudaydah urgent and necessary.”
Ghastly Prospect of Famine
The idea of Yemen as a “terrible tragedy” was expanded upon for the members of the Security Council by Mark Lowcock, who runs humanitarian affairs for the United Nations. A new study shows the “terrible tragedy” in its full scale: 67 percent of Yemen’s population needs “urgent action to save lives and livelihoods.” That means that 20 million Yemenis are vulnerable to death. A quarter of a million of these Yemenis are “on the brink of starvation.”
20 million Yemenis are vulnerable to death. A quarter of a million of these Yemenis are “on the brink of starvation.”
The study points out that “armed conflict remains the main driver of food insecurity in Yemen.” That’s an obvious point, but it needs to be made. The war on Yemen has to end to prevent the near-death of the Yemeni people.
The deal in Sweden was signed on Friday. By Saturday night and into Sunday, the crucial port of Hudaydah was hit by airstrikes by Saudi and Emirati jets. Gunfire ran across the city. Not even 24 hours would go by to preserve the peace. A senior UN official told me that such accords do not come into place immediately. They take time to settle in. The official date for the start of the ceasefire is Tuesday—December 18. But Yemen does not have the time. Near-famine is as bad as famine. Annihilation of Yemen remains in the cards.
Hisham al-Omeisy, the prominent Yemen-based political analyst, told me that both Saudi Arabia and the UAE “are trigger-happy at this point, but neither wants to be blamed for foiling agreements that came through immense international pressure.” There is a massive “global wave of public discontent,” al-Omeisy said. “Hudaydah will be the real litmus test for success of the process.”
United States Senate Weighs In
The day before the talks in Sweden ended, the United States Senate voted to end U.S. assistance to Saudi Arabia and its allies (including the United Arab Emirates) in their war on Yemen. The bill was sponsored by Bernie Sanders, the socialist from Vermont. Thanks to pressure from the U.S. peace movement—including Code Pink—and the Yemeni diaspora—such as Professor Shireen Al-Adeimi—56 senators agreed that the United States must not support this war. This is a very important statement to the capitals in the Gulf. It is to be seen if the United Kingdom will also make such a statement.
But—and there is always a but involved here—how will the U.S. specifically make sure its vast military assistance to Saudi Arabia is not diverted to the war on Yemen? Between 2013 and 2017, Saudi Arabia bought $9 billion worth of U.S. weapons—substantial parts of it now used in Yemen.
Between 2013 and 2017, Saudi Arabia bought $9 billion worth of U.S. weapons—substantial parts of it now used in Yemen.
Further, journalist Samuel Oakford has documented the ways in which the U.S. has—in relatively anonymous ways—supported the war effort. Recently, Oakford and Ryan Goodman (a lawyer formerly for the U.S. Defense Department) found that the Saudis and the Emiratis owed the United States $331 million for refueling services toward their war on Yemen. Many more such services are doubtless buried.
The U.S. Senate vote sends a strong message, but whether it will have an impact on the entanglements between the U.S. armed forces and those of the Saudis is to be seen. It will require considerable vigilance by the U.S. Senate to make sure that collaboration is not ongoing. No such appetite is available in the Trump administration, which is eager to continue to support the Saudi regime regardless of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Peacekeepers
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As part of the UN process, Griffiths announced to the Security Council that a team of UN peacekeepers will arrive in Yemen this week. They will be led by the retired Dutch Major General Patrick Cammaert, a man who has been on several UN missions previously.
Recently, Cammaert led the team to investigate the failure of a UN peacekeeping force to protect civilians in South Sudan. Cammaert’s report criticized the mission for its “chaotic and ineffective response” during fighting in Juba, South Sudan, in July 2016. Based on the report, the UN Secretary General fired the commander of the force.
When women were assaulted in plain sight in front of the UN troops, they did nothing to intervene. Cammaert’s report whitewashed this aspect of the investigation. He is, as people in the UN say, fiercely loyal to the UN and to UN peacekeeping in particular. It is hoped that his loyalty to the institution does not blind the new mission from its broader goal—to make sure that the deal on Hudaydah holds.
Haykal Bafana worries about the entry of the UN peacekeeping force. “Composed of foreign troops,” he told me, the force “will be a dangerous new dynamic that may just start a completely new war in Yemen.” There are so many guns in Yemen, so much more mayhem possible.
Complications
Saudi Arabia and the UAE still have a lot of money. They have used this money liberally through the UN system—helping fund this relief operation and that. Even now, the UN Envoy Griffiths had to thank Saudi Arabia and the UAE—bizarrely—for their injections of foreign currency to stabilize Yemen’s rial and their funds toward relief for Yemen. In March, the Saudis and Emiratis gave nearly US$1 billion to the UN, with the architect of the Saudi-Emirati war—Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—standing with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Geneva, smiling as the check was handed over.
The Saudis and the Emiratis bomb Yemen and then they help to fund the relief.
The Saudis and the Emiratis bomb Yemen and then they help to fund the relief.
There is very little room for maneuver in the UN system to be critical of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
China and Yemen
China has long said that it wants the war to end. The war has interrupted China’s ambitions to move the One Belt, One Road project into the Gulf, with Yemen’s Bab el-Mandeb Strait as a central avenue for the movement of Chinese goods and Gulf oil. China oscillates in its views on the conflict—on the one side taking positions on the war and on the other saying that it merely wants stability in Yemen. Early in the war, for instance, China pressured Pakistan not to send troops into Yemen to fight for the Saudis. Then later, China appeared to back the Saudis’ proxy, former Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. China has called for a “Yemen-led, Yemen-owned” peace deal. The agreement in Sweden is the start of such a process, say Chinese officials.
Certainly, the Chinese—unlike the United States—have far more reason to see the war end. They are not beholden to the Israelis or paranoid about Iran. The Chinese view is simple: war is bad for business, and life.
China’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ma Zhaoxu, said that the ceasefire must hold, and that Yemen must be prevented from further collapse. A decade ago, the Chinese tried not to involve themselves in the political entanglements of such crises. Even peacekeeping does not go well. There were Chinese peacekeepers in Juba, when the UN did not act to protect civilians.
Now, China is much more eager to assert itself across West Asia—even in Yemen. In Beijing, officials do not say more than that they will do all they can to help protect the future of Yemen. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said, “We are willing to continue to play a constructive role to resolve the Yemen issue.” Whether China can use its considerable influence in Saudi Arabia to bring this war to a conclusion is to be seen. Certainly, the Chinese—unlike the United States—have far more reason to see the war end. They are not beholden to the Israelis or paranoid about Iran. The Chinese view is simple: war is bad for business, and life. That much is true.
This article was produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute. | {
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Researchers have developed a model for cutting CO2 emissions from buildings by 80 per cent by 2050 in order to help fight climate change.
Energy use in buildings such as heating, cooling and lighting, is responsible for over one-third of all CO2 emissions in the USA.
The new model will require the installation of highly energy-efficient building technologies, new operational approaches, and electrification of building systems that consume fossil fuels directly.
“Buildings are a substantial lever to pull in trying to reduce total national CO2 emissions since they are responsible for 36 per cent of all energy-related emissions in the US,” said Jared Langevin, a research scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and lead author of the study.
“Because the buildings sector uses energy in a multitude of ways and is responsible for such a large share of electricity demand, buildings can help accelerate the cost-effective integration of clean electricity sources on top of contributing direct emissions reductions through reduced energy use.”
The researchers considered three types of efficiency measures, technologies with higher energy performance than typical alternatives, such as dynamic windows and air sealing of walls, sensing and control strategies that improve the efficiency of building operations, and conversion of fuel-fired heating and water heating equipment to comparable systems that can run on electricity.
They also considered how parallel incorporation of renewable energy sources into the electric grid would shift emissions reduction estimates from each building efficiency measure and the buildings sector as a whole.
“While building CO2 emissions are quite sensitive to the greenhouse gas intensity of the electricity supply, measures that improve the efficiency of energy demand from buildings need to be part of the solution,” Langevin said.
“Getting close to the 80 per cent emissions reduction target requires concurrent reductions in building energy demand, electrification of this demand, and substantial penetration of renewable sources of electricity – nearly half of annual electricity generation by 2050.
“Moreover, buildings can support the cost-effective integration of variable renewable sources by offering flexibility in their operational patterns in response to electric grid needs.”
The team proposed the installation of energy-saving retrofits and upgrades to walls, windows, roofs and insulation. The introduction of smart software could also be used to optimise when, where, and to what degree energy-intensive building heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation services should be provided.
The researchers stressed that policymakers will need to take action for these measures to be broadly rolled out.
“Regulations and incentives that support the sale of more efficient, less carbon-intensive technology options, early-stage research and development that drives breakthroughs in technology performance, aggressive marketing of those technologies once developed, training for local contractors charged with technology installation, and consumer willingness to consider purchasing newer options on the market are all needed to achieve the 80 per cent emissions reduction goal by 2050,” Langevin said.
“We look forward to periodically revisiting this analysis to reassess where emissions from the buildings sector stand relative to the 2050 target, under both business-as-usual and more optimistic scenarios of efficient technology adoption and renewable electricity supply.” | {
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Korrasami in Small Doses By Inspector97 Watch
162 Favourites 21 Comments 2K Views
Back from the Niagara Falls Comic Con...I was sitting beside another artist who sold cute/chibbi versions of characters. I wanted to see if i could pull that off...so I drew this
IMAGE DETAILS Image size 779x720px 244.95 KB Show More
Published : Jun 8, 2015 | {
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In September, the official Twitter account of Netflix Netherlands posted and quickly deleted the release date of The Witcher (and a few other Netflix shows). Now, via an interesting new set report from the German Serien Magazine, December 17 is once again mentioned as the release date of the show – and you can also check out our translation of their interview with Henry Cavill by clicking here.
Present during January’s filming of the Cintra banquet (an adaption of the short story A Question of Price), the journalists of Serien Magazine were given a look behind the scenes, but the crew were careful not to let spoilers slip through. “What happened exactly is a secret,” says the report, in its closing words. “A wedding had been disturbed. We will get to know on December 17.“
This is not the first time December 17 has been listed as The Witcher‘s release date. The last time, it was a verified Twitter account belonging to Netflix Netherlands who posted and quickly deleted the release date. Following this leak, Netflix issued an evasive response stating that the release date “remains unconfirmed.” With their access to the production during filming, and the stills shared in their magazine (the same ones that released just yesterday), it seems likely that they heard the release date from an official source. However, we are still waiting for the official word from Netflix, which will likely be given throughout The Witcher‘s extensive Halloween festivities next week.
For now, we’ll dive into the new report, which offers interesting insight from the journalists’ set visit: “Not much is revealed about the story on this day. It’s certain that there will be battles and political machinations into which the witcher Geralt (Henry Cavill), the sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), and their foster child Ciri (Freya Allan) will be dragged into. Separated at first, the trio is travelling through a land infested with war and plague, where humans rule over non-human species [elves, dwarves, gnomes etc]. In addition to violence, the show won’t miss out on relations between people. And of course there will be sex.”
Geralt in Cintra
The article then addresses lead actor Henry Cavill, who was chosen from a pool of over 200 candidates. “He’s not just lending this character his looks and his acting,” said The Witcher showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich. “He’s giving the character his soul.” It’s no secret that this was a dream role for Cavill, who has long been a fan of the series’ games and novels.
“As an actor, I am lucky to have the books as well as the brilliant computer games, as a visual orientation. But nevertheless I use all the different kinds of source material that are available equally to create a unique witcher.”
On Geralt’s relationship with the two female leads, Cavill discusses Geralt’s character development: “At first, Geralt believes that he doesn’t need anyone. Throughout the course of the story, however, the women have a very profound influence on him. They become something like a guiding light to him.”
An image leaked from the set of Cintra
Next, the report mentions the comparisons often made between The Witcher and the recently completed HBO drama Game of Thrones. Addressing these concerns, production designer Andrew Laws is certain that the show will be unique. Laws believes that The Witcher‘s source material has a lot of wiggle room which allows creative freedom: “The descriptions of places and locations are very vague in the books. They want to evoke a particular atmosphere – in contrast to Tolkien who put his world into very distinctive words.”
This is backed up by another report released earlier this week in which Italian site Corriere questioned set decorator Naomi Moore. According to the Italian report, each of The Continent’s countries will have a unique visual style inspired by cultures around the globe. The inspiration for Cintra, for instance, comes from Art Nouveau, while the town of Blaviken is inspired by Scandinavian architecture. Interestingly, the wizarding school of Aretuza is Gothic with Indian brushstrokes, and the city of Vizima was created with an Asian style.
Blaviken is inspired by old Scandinavian architecture, reminiscent of that belonging to vikings
The German article concludes with a look behind the scenes: “The Witcher‘s Continent is dominated by medieval aesthetics. But thanks to the fantasy element, the designers can really be creative. They are inspired by architectural styles and designs, from Polish folklore to post-modern architecture.
“On the way to one of the gigantic sets, there’s initially not much to sense of that fantastic world. In labyrinthine alleys, extras and actors are standing around in costumes. Knights have exchanged their swords for coffee cups, women in ostentatious dresses are dragging themselves through the sterile gymnasium-like atmosphere. Away from camera and play, it all appears like a carnival.
“But suddenly one finds oneself inside a huge hall made of heavy stone. And it’s the perfect illusion. There’s rubble everywhere. Knocked over wooden tables and benches are the silent witnesses of a magical force. A dinner table is spread over the ostentatious scenery. What happened exactly is a secret. A wedding had been disturbed. We will get to know on December 17.”
The above-mentioned scene is the sequence set in a Cintran banquet, where Princess Pavetta‘s hand in marriage is on offer, and suitors from across the Continent have arrived. Keeping the details of his mission close to her chest, Jodhi May’s Queen Calanthe hires Cavill’s witcher to stand by her until he would be needed. That moment arrives with an unexpected suitor, a knight who calls himself the “Urcheon of Erlenwald” and hides a monstrous face beneath his helmet’s visor. The following sequence is one of the series’ most iconic moments, and we won’t spoil it for you here. For that, as the report suggests, you will have to wait for December 17. | {
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Dengan luas wilayah yang begitu besar, dan begitu beragamnya kehidupan budaya, seni, adat dan yang lain, kadang justru ketika sedang berada di luar negeri, sebagian orang Indonesia baru mengenal Indonesia lebih banyak lagi.
Artefak Musik Langka dari Indonesia Monash University memiliki koleksi alat musik dan artefak langka dari Indonesia
Prof Margaret Kartomi sudah lebih dari 40 tahun melakukan penelitian musik Indonesia
Tala Balo dari Lampung yang dimiliki Monash University adalah satu-satunya perangkat di luar Indonesia
Hal tersebut dikatakan oleh Konsul Jenderal Indonesia untuk wilayah Victoria dan Tasmania (Australia) Spica Tutuhatunewa hari Minggu (5/5/2019) di kampus Monash University Clayton.
Konsul Jenderal hadir dalam acara bernama "A Sunday Afternoon of Music and Dance from Indonesia" (Minggu Sore Menikmati Musik dan Tarian dari Indonesia), yang diselenggarakan oleh Music Archive Monash University, (MUMA) sebuah lembaga di universitas tersebut yang mengumpuilkan berbagai informasi dan alat musik dari manca negara.
Share Konjen RI untuk Victoria Spica Tutuhatunewa (kiri) dan Prof Margaret Kartomi dari Monash University.
Selama hampir 2 jam, sekitar seratusan yang hadir dalam acara ini disuguhi dengan tarian dan permainan alat musik dari Provinsi Lampung, Kalimantan Timur, Betawi dan juga dari Nusa Tenggara Timur.
Selain pertunjukan musik dan tari, juga di tempat yang sama dipertunjukkan serangkaian instrumen musik dan artefak langka dari Indonesia yang sekarang ini dimiliki oleh Monash University.
Konsul Spica menjelaskan pengalaman pribadinya dimana dia berasal dari Maluku, sehingga selama ini di Indonesia dia belum berkesempatan untuk menikmati seni dari Provinsi Lampung.
"Kita tahu Indonesia begitu luasnya, dan saya berasal dari Timur Indonesia, dan belum pernah menyaksikan tari dari provinsi Lampung yang berada di sebelah Barat Indonesia." katanya.
"Jadi kadang kita berkesempatan mengetahui Indonesia lebih banyak justru ketika sedang berada di luar negeri seperti sekarang ini." lanjutnya.
Acara Minggu Sore bersama ini merupakan bagian dari program yang dilakukan MUMA dimana di minggu pertama setiap bulan di tahun 2019, lembaga itu menampilkan pertunjukan musik dan budaya dari berbagai negara.
"Sebelum Indonesia, MUMA sudah menampilkan musik dan seni dari India, Iran, Afghanistan, dan bulan Juni, kita akan menampilkan musik dari China dan Jepang, dimana akan ada kerjasama untuk menampilkan satu pertunjukkan." kata Prof Margaret Kartomi, Direktur MUMA.
Margaret Kartomi adalah professor di MUMA dan seorang etnomusikolog yang mengkhususkan diri meneliti mengenai musik Indonesia dan Asia Tenggara.
Share Tari Enggang dari Kalimantan Timur dengan Rayhan Sudrajat memainkan sape.
Untuk pertunjukkan hari Minggu, Margaret Kartomi mengatakan sengaja untuk menampilkan musik dan tari yang selama ini tidak banyak ditampilkan.
"Kita sengaja untuk tidak menampilkan seni tari dan musik dari Bali dan Jawa yang sudah begitu dikenal selama ini." katanya.
Dalam pertunjukkan pertama, ditampilkan Tari Sigeh Pengunten, sebuah tari yang diciptakan di tahun 1989, sebuah tari yang sekarang banyak ditampilkan untuk menyambut kedatangan tamu.
Tari ini diciptakan khusus untuk menggambarkan adanya berbagai suku yang tinggal di provinsi Lampung.
Share Alat musik harmonika dari Tanjung Sakti, Provinsi Sumatera Selatan.
Yang unik dalam penampilannya, tari Sigeh Pengunten ini diiringi oleh perangkat musik bernama Talo Balak.
Perangkat Talo Balak yang dimiliki oleh Monash University ini merupakan satu-satunya perangkat yang berada di luar Indonesia.
Selain tari dari provinsi Lampung, juga ditampilkan tari dan musik dari Kalimantan Timur.
Rayhan Sudrajat seorang mahasiswa S2 asal Indonesia memainkan alat musik Sape mengiringi istrinya Rima Sudrajat membawakan dua tarian yaitu Tari Enggang, dan Tai Leleng.
Acara kemudian ditutup dengan tari dan musik dar Betawi, dan Flores, yang menampilkan Ondel-Ondel dan Goyang Maumere.
Para penari yang tampil adalah warga Indonesia yang tinggal di Melbourne yang tergabung dalam kelompok seni Lenggokgeni.
Pameran alat musik dan artefak langka asal Indonesia kebanyakan adalah koleksi dari Prof Margaret Kartomi yang sudah selama 40 tahun terakhir melakukan berbagai penelitian mengenai musik Indonesia.
Salah satu yang ditampilkan adalah alat musik harmonika yang berasal dari Tanjungsakti, Sumatera Selatan.
Juga dipamerkan alat musik Bundengan, disebut sebagai satu-satunya alat musik sejenis ini di dunia.
Alat musik yang digunakan oleh pengangon bebek di Dataran Tinggi Dieng di kabupaten Wonosobo dan Temanggung.
Share Tari Goyang Maumere menutup acara Musik Sore di Monash University hari Minggu (5/5/2019)
Simak berita-berita ABC Indonesia lainnya di sini | {
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Cells made by fusing a normal human muscle cell with a muscle cell from a person with Duchenne muscular dystrophy -- a rare but fatal form of muscular dystrophy -- were able to significantly improve muscle function when implanted into the muscles of a mouse model of the disease. The findings are reported by researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Stem Cell Review and Reports.
These cells, called "chimeric cells," are made by combining a normal donor cell containing a functioning copy of the gene for dystrophin -- a structural muscle protein lacking in people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy -- with a cell from a recipient with the disease. In a January 2018 paper in Stem Cell Reviews and Reports, the researchers used mouse donor and recipient cells to make chimeric cells that boosted dystrophin levels by 37 percent and improved muscle function when implanted into the muscles of a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The new cells had both donor and recipient characteristics and interacted with their surroundings like normal cells. The chimeric cells remained viable and produced dystrophin for 30 days.
Now, the research group, led by Dr. Maria Siemionow, professor of orthopedic surgery in the UIC College of Medicine, report similar findings using human cells implanted in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
"Our results point to the long-term survival of these cells and helps establish the use of chimeric cells as a novel promising potential therapy for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy," Siemionow said. Her team is looking forward to clinical trials in humans in the near future, she said.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is an X-linked genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness, affecting approximately 1 in 4,000 newborn boys.
People with the disease don't have the gene for dystrophin, a structural protein that helps keep muscle cells intact. Symptom onset is in early childhood, usually between ages 3 and 5. The disorder causes muscle weakness and loss of motor function and ultimately results in respiratory or cardiac failure and death. With advances in treatment, many with Duchenne muscular dystrophy live into their teens and 20s, and some into their 30s, but there is currently no cure for the disease.
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Promising treatments include gene therapy and stem cell therapy, but each has drawbacks. Gene therapy relies on delivering good copies of missing or dysfunctional genes to cells via viruses. Not only can cells become immune to viral infection, rendering the therapy ineffective, but there also is no guarantee that viruses will only infect the intended cells. Stem cell therapy, where cells that contain the dystrophin gene are implanted into a recipient, requires that the recipient take immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection.
"This is not conventional stem cell therapy," said Siemionow, who is the lead author of the paper. "We are restoring dystrophin in such a way that the recipient won't need to take anti-rejection therapy because the implanted chimeric cells can evade the recipient's immune system. In traditional stem cell therapy, the implanted cells are 100 percent 'other' and anti-rejection medicine is needed in order to prevent the host immune system from destroying those foreign cells."
In contrast, chimeric cells are 50 percent "self" -- with many biochemical and genetic features of the recipient -- and as such can trick the recipient's immune system into ignoring them.
"The chimeric cells are just enough like the recipient's own cells that their immune system gives them a 'pass' so to speak," Siemionow said.
If such cells were to be used to treat a patient with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, then normal muscle cells from the recipient's father or close relative would be fused with muscle cells from the patient.
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The researchers fused muscle cells from patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy with muscle cells from normal, healthy donors.
In the lab, the chimeric cells were seen to express dystrophin.
When the cells were implanted into the leg muscles of a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, dystrophin levels rose approximately 20 percent of muscle fibers affected by the implanted cells at 90 days post-implantation, "enough to produce a significant improvement in muscle function," said Dr. Kris Siemionow, associate professor of orthopedic surgery in the UIC College of Medicine and a co-author on the paper.
Improvements of more than 60 percent were seen in muscle function tests of the implanted mice, and improvements of more than 20 percent in tests of muscle fatigue tolerance.
Maria and Kris Siemionow, who are mother and son, have recently launched a company to develop their chimeric cells into a therapy to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy called Dystrogen Therapeutics. | {
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おやじのせなか
こんにちは、ヨッピーです。僕の父はまじめを絵に描いたような人です。たばこも酒もギャンブルもやらない６９歳。春まで中学校の数学教師でした。
終戦後の大阪出身で医者志望でしたが、色覚に問題があり、当時は医学部を受験できなかった。そのせいか、僕を医者にしようと早くから進学塾に通わせ、私立中学へ行くように言いました。でも僕は友達と同じ公立が良くて。けんかの末、父があきらめました。怒るというより落ち込むんです。「お父さんはお前らを育てる自信がない」って。僕が「こんな家、出てやるわ」と言うと、「お前は出なくていい。父さんが出ていく」。１、２日後に帰って来ましたけど。
僕はやんちゃだったので、僕のことをあきらめていたように思います。ただ、関西学院大に進学し、その後、専門商社で働き出した時は安心していたのかな。でも結局、東日本大震災の年に退職してライターに。父に伝えたときは絶句していました。ユーモアのかけらもない父なので、人前で裸になるような記事を書いているなんて絶対言えなかった。ＩＴ系の仕事をしているとだけ伝えました。
２年前の秋、母校の大学祭に招… | {
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I migliori webinar video corsi trading online Forex CFD gratis 2020
Ciao e benvenuto ai Webinar video corsi trading online Forex e CFD gratis! Proprio ieri abbiamo aperto la piattaforma del broker IQ Option per opzioni FX e Forex CFD alla ricerca della operazione perfetta per chiudere in guadagno una giornata di trading veramente impegnativa! Webinar, cioè i video corsi aggiornati 2020. Poi ieri hai visto quell'occasione ghiotta di trading sul GBP/USD ?? Noo?! "Bisogna trovarsi nel posto giusto e al momento giusto, che nel trading significa saper guardare il grafico giusto e aprire la posizione al momento corretto!"
Oggi ci è venuto in mente quando eravamo ancora dei trader inesperti e cercavamo su internet dei video, delle strategie per capire meglio il mondo del trading, del Forex e soprattutto delle criptovalute. E allora abbiamo voluto creare una pagina dedicata a dei webinar, dei video corsi gratuiti che diano subito delle indicazioni facili sul mondo del trading con le criptovalute, forex, azioni, materie prime e opzioni. Se ti vuoi avvicinare per la prima volta al trading online, devi seguire un buon corso di trading online. Di per sè il trading non è affatto difficile come si pensava tempo fa. Tutto sta nell'avere delle idee chiare e soprattutto nell'evitare di avere opinioni errate: ecco perché i corsi di trading e i webinar sono così importanti nel 2020. Ma quali sono i migliori corsi per imparare il trading online oggi? Dove possiamo trovare le migliori lezioni di trading per imparare facilmente? È vero: su internet si trovano migliaia di offerte di corsi per il trading online e spesso sono a pagamento. Molte volte questi video corsi sono di pessima qualità, altre volte sono corsi molto costosi. Le persone che si avvicinano per la prima volta al trading online vogliono guadagnare più soldi possibili, più velocemente possibile. Aspetta! Fermati un attimo! Non fare degli errori! Non essere precipitoso! Se vuoi accedere a dei video corsi di buon livello, inizia a seguire quelli gratis! I broker fanno a gara per avere nuovi clienti e la concorrenza è ampia. Continua a leggere, ti basta cliccare sui link che troverai qui sotto per partecipare a dei corsi online di trading e vedere delle video lezioni gratis. AVVISO: Le opzioni binarie non sono promosse o vendute ai trader al dettaglio residenti in EEA se non sei un cliente professionista. I CFD sono strumenti complessi e presentano un alto rischio di perdere denaro rapidamente a causa della leva finanziaria: tra il 64% e l'89% degli investitori al dettaglio perde denaro quando negozia CFD. Dovresti considerare se conosci come funzionano i CFD e se puoi permetterti di prendere l'alto rischio di perdere i tuoi soldi.
In questo primo webinar si parla di: Principi fondamentali del profitable trading Struttura del mercato finanziario Comparazione tra Forex e trading Consigli sulla psicologia di trading Assiomi di analisi tecnica
In questo secondo webinar si parla di: Introduzione ai metodi di analisi tecnica Metodi di analisi tecnica Definizione di Trend Livelli di trading
La piattaforma Fineco è forse uno degli intermediari finanziari più popolare, anche se non per motivi di qualità, ma più che altro per motivi di pubblicità e per il motivo che è di proprietà della banca Unicredit italiana. Fineco non sta andando molto bene e probabilmente la banca Unicredit lo venderà a breve a qualche altro gruppo non italiano. Di certo la piattaforma Fineco è conosciuta, soprattutto tra i trader alle prime armi che magari vengono tartassati dalla sua ossessiva attività di marketing su internet. Molto spesso questi trader principianti cercano anche i corsi di trading online Fineco. Purtroppo questo video corso non è il massimo come potresti credere: i contenuti sono di scarsa qualità e il linguaggio utilizzato nei video corsi di trading è complesso e di difficile digestione. Diremo che offrono pochi consigli su come guadagnare con il trading online. Meglio quindi scegliere un altro corso di trading.
La piattaforma pluripremiata IQ Option offre moltissimi video corsi e sono tutti gratis. Come accedere a questi video corsi? Facile! Ti basta leggere qui come aprire un conto demo gratis e accedere alla piattaforma di trading. I contenuti video sono lì pronti ad essere guardati. Ecco qui sotto un video sulla piattaforma di ultima generazione 2020.
Qui troverai una lista dei migliori webinar, video corsi con le migliori strategie per piattaforme di opzioni, Forex, criptovalute e CFD classificati e provati dalla community di traders di binaryoptioneurope.com :
Sicuramente quando si parla di trading CFD bisogna sempre parlare del broker ForexTB (clicca qui per il sito ufficiale). La qualità dei webinar di ForexTB (clicca qui per il sito ufficiale) è indiscutibile. Sono video corsi gratuiti, sia in formato scaricabile che webinar dal vivo. Scopri qui come diventare Investous trader professionale >> Si tengono almeno 2 volte alla settimana e sono particolarmente adatti a chi vuole approfondire le tecniche e le strategie di trading a breve e lungo termine. Cosa fare per partecipare gratis ai video corsi webinars? Basta solo iscriversi! Accedi al nuovo sito educativo 2020 in esclusiva di ForexTB!
Le informazioni in questo webinar non sono intese come consigli di investimento. Fai delle ricerche prima di aprire una operazione. Gli investitori possono perdere tutto il loro capitale facendo trading di cfd e criptovalute.
Una fra le novità più significative degli ultimi anni è sicuramente AvaTrade che ha da subito attratto molti investitori Europei. Famoso oramai alla stregua dei grandi broker di opzioni, CFD e Forex anche AvaTrade punta molto sull'educare i propri clienti e a far diventare traders esperti anche quelli che si sono avvicinati al trading in criptovalute da poco. Sono tutti video corsi avanzati specializzati e con l'accesso VIP a sedute individuali. Da non perdere! Qui la pagina per vedere gratis tutti i corsi online
Un broker sinonimo di sicurezza e affidabilità è di certo AVAtrade Italia. Questo broker di CFD e Forex ha in calendario molti webinar alla settimana. Trattano di notizie di mercato e parlano soprattutto di tecniche di trading. Non dimenticare di dare un'occhiata all'Accademia di Trading di AVATrade Italia, la migliore sul mercato. >> Qui la pagina per vedere gratis tutti i corsi online
Un altro boker per trading CFD sul mercato da molti anni è Trade.com. Il broker Trade.com, uno dei migliori broker con la piattaforma CFD, tiene numerosi video corsi o webinar durante la settimana, come oggetto il Forex, azioni e materie prime. Si parla di strategie di trading, di come effettuare le analisi tecniche e di segnali di trading.
Non vogliamo però che finisci il tuo percorso formativo. La strada da trader professionale è ancora lunga e prima di lasciarti andare ti vogliamo dare un regalo esclusivo! Ben 7 guide gratis sul trading online, pronti da leggere nella tua casella di posta gratuitamente: | {
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Statt von Mordversuch sprechen Behörden bei Messerattacke von „versuchter Tötung“, schließlich nur von „gefährlicher Körperverletzung“.
„Der Rechtsstaat hätte es in der Hand, doch er demonstriert kriminellen Asylbewerbern gegenüber viel zu oft Schwäche statt hartes Durchgreifen“, sagt der AfD-Bundestagsabgeordnete Jens Kestner. „Beispiel hierfür ist der Fall des 17jährigen Syrers, der in Burgwedel/Hannover eine junge Frau lebensgefährlich mit einem Messer verletzte. Die Anklagebehörden gingen bei dieser Tat nicht von einem Mordversuch, sondern zuerst von einer ‚versuchten Tötung‘ aus, bis man schließlich von ‚gefährlicher Körperverletzung‘ sprach, die ein Mindeststrafmaß von lediglich 6 Monaten vorsieht.“
Jens Kestner wundert sich über den Hinweis der niedersächsischen Gerichte, dass es im Vergleich zum Vorjahr nur noch halb so viele jugendliche Straftäter mit „Migrationshintergrund“ gäbe und somit auch deutlich weniger Verurteilungen. Zahlen des Landeskriminalamtes belegen hingegen eine Zunahme schwerer Körperverletzungen, begangen von eben dieser Tätergruppe.
„Die 24jährige Frau wurde lebensgefährlich verletzt, wurde ins künstliche Koma versetzt und erst jetzt geht es ihr langsam besser. Dass sie nicht durch weitere Messerstiche tödlich verletzt wurde, liegt daran, dass der Täter gestört wurde. Andererseits wäre die Frau jetzt tot!“ erklärt Kestner.
„Die Fragen, wieso Gerichte den möglichen Strafrahmen so selten ausnutzen und wieso Urteile gefällt werden, die Tätern demonstrieren, dass dieser Rechtsstaat eine harte und nötige Konsequenz nicht einfordert, werden sich insbesondere die überlebenden Opfer stellen“, so Kestner. | {
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President Donald Trump has reportedly told some advisers that he hopes Rob Porter—his former staff secretary who exited his job after domestic violence allegations surfaced—would eventually return to work in the White House.
The New York Times, citing three unnamed sources, reported that Trump has been in touch with Porter and has increased the frequency of phone calls over the last few weeks as more officials departed their positions.
A White House official told the Times that Trump misses the staff structure created and introduced by Porter, but realizes that bringing Porter back may be a bridge too far.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News for comment.
The president reportedly had discussions with Porter about trade and tariffs on certain goods – a measure Trump recently introduced and worked on together with the official before his departure.
Porter was forced to resign last month after two of his ex-wives came forward with abuse allegations. One of the ex-wives, Colbie Holderness, reportedly said Porter chocked and punched her during their marriage. A photo of her bruised face was released. Porter denied the allegations and said the photo did not reflect the full story of his marriages.
Trump stressed that Porter denied the allegations, saying, “He says he's innocent, and I think you have to remember that. He said very strongly yesterday that he's innocent. So you'll have to talk to him about that. But we absolutely wish him well.”
The abuse allegations against Porter also led to a controversy over the security clearance process in the administration. Porter had an interim security clearance despite the FBI concluding the investigation. One of his former wives reportedly told her abuse story to the FBI back in January when she was interviewed regarding Porter’s security clearance and provided the photos to the agency.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | {
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If human civilization were to be destroyed and its cities wiped off the map, there would be an easy way for future intelligent life-forms to know when the mid-20th century began: plastic.
From the 1950s to today, 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been produced, with around half of it made since 2004. And since plastic does not naturally degrade, the billions of tons sitting in landfills, floating in the oceans or piling up on city streets will provide a marker if later civilizations ever want to classify our era. Perhaps they will call this time on Earth the Plastocene Epoch.
A new study in Science Advances published Wednesday offered the first analysis of all mass-produced plastics ever manufactured: how much has been made, what kind and what happens to the material once it has outlived its use. | {
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A new study finds that promoting insect-based food as pleasurable, rather than healthy or environmentally friendly, could be the most effective marketing strategy for these currently taboo or unappealing foods. Published in Frontiers in Nutrition as part of a special research collection on food systems, the study is the first to compare promotional methods for insect-based food. Promoting insects as tasty, or even as a luxurious and exotic delicacy, could help to change attitudes and achieve more sustainable food production and healthier diets.
Food production accounts for an enormous 25% of all human greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock is a huge contributor to these emissions and researchers and policymakers are trying to develop and promote more sustainable ways to produce animal protein. One controversial option is farming and eating insects.
"Insects have numerous health benefits as a source of protein and dramatically outperform conventional meats in terms of greenhouse gas emissions," said Professor Sebastian Berger, of the University of Bern in Switzerland. "Therefore, insect-based food might help in the fight against climate change."
Despite these benefits, people in Western countries rarely eat insects. Many people are wary or even disgusted at the thought of eating insect-based food. However, many of these same people will happily eat a lobster or crayfish, despite their insect-like appearance -- so it is possible such attitudes can change.
So far, no-one had investigated the best way to promote or market insects so that they are more appealing to the public. Highlighting their health and environmental benefits seems like an intuitive way to do this, as social labels such as "eco-friendly" or "fair trade" have appealed to consumers in the past.
Berger and colleagues set out to investigate the factors influencing people's attitudes towards insect-based food. They asked members of the public in Cologne, Germany, to participate in the study. First, the participants viewed an advertisement for a company offering insect-based food. Some of the advertisements aimed to highlight the environmental or health benefits of the food, while others highlighted pleasurable aspects, such as its taste.
Then, the participants had the option to eat a mealworm chocolate truffle. They completed a questionnaire to record their expectations about the truffle quality and whether they were willing to try it. Those who tried the truffle also rated how nice it tasted.
Surprisingly, the research team found that advertisements promoting health and environmental benefits were significantly less effective than those promoting pleasurable aspects of the food. Claims of quality and luxury enhanced the participants' expectations of the truffle and made them more likely to try it. These participants also rated the taste of the truffles more highly.
So, why may insects differ from other products where social issues have positively influenced sales? Long-term social considerations, such as environmental protection or improved health, don't appear to be enough for consumers to overcome the insect "disgust" factor. As people's aversion towards insects is largely emotional rather than rational, it makes sense to try to influence their emotions rather than make rational appeals about long-term issues.
The team's results suggest that future marketing campaigns should portray insect-based food as delicious, trendy or even luxurious, if they are to effectively change people's eating habits. Further larger studies are needed to establish if a large-scale switch from conventional animal protein to insect-based foods is feasible. | {
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McDonald’s has launched a brand new item on its breakfast menu – the Halloumi McMuffin.
That’s right, just when you thought the fast-food joint had reached peak deliciousness, the masterminds at McDonald’s have added everyone’s favourite squeaky cheese to its line-up.
The ultimate veggie breakfast bap contains grilled halloumi with crisp, shredded lettuce, a tomato slice and flavoursome olive paste.
But before you rush off to your nearest restaurant we must prepare you for disappointment because there’s a catch.
Unfortunately, the Halloumi McMuffin is only available at McDonald’s Arabia, which includes Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain.
And because life is unfair, there’s no news as to whether it will be making its way to the UK anytime soon.
Unsurprisingly, the launch has peaked the interest of fast food fans online with many calling for it to become available elsewhere.
“McDonalds in the Middle East has McMuffins with a patty of halloumi instead of meat. It’s great,” one person wrote on Twitter.
Another commented on Instagram: “Yumm, Mcdonalds. Can you please bring this to the US?”
However, it’s clear that the addition of olive paste hasn’t been a hit with everyone.
“Halloumi and olive paste McMuffin? Straight in the bin, absolutely vile,” someone else added.
And, that’s not all. McDonald’s also recently announced that it would be serving chicken nuggets all day long alongside Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, cheeseburgers and fries. | {
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2002年、消費者金融業者「アイフル」のCMに登場し、一瞬でお茶の間の心を鷲掴みしたチワワのくぅ～ちゃん。その潤んだ愛らしい瞳に母性本能をくすぐられた人が続出したが、なぜ犬はこうも人に愛されるような表情を自然とできるのだろうか？
科学ニュース「Science Alert」（６月18日付）によると、実は犬は人間に愛されるために長い時間をかけて表情を進化させてきたことが、米ポーツマス大学の研究で判明したというのだ。同論文は科学誌「Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences（PNAS）」に5月10日付で掲載された。
・「‘Puppy Dog Eyes’ May Have Evolved Just to Make Humans Melt – And It’s Working」（Science Alert）
・「Evolution of facial muscle anatomy in dogs」(PNAS)
「犬の表情豊かな眉は、人間の無意識の好みが影響を与えた結果です」
そう語るのはポーツマス大学の心理学者ジュリアン・カミンスキ氏だ。カミンスキ氏らは、そのことを比較研究するため、同一の先祖を持つとされる犬と狼の表情を分析。その結果、犬には狼にない表情筋があることが判明したという。 | {
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told listeners at the annual Values Voter summit to “keep the faith” and “not get rattled” by “tactics” being used to keep Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh off the bench.
“You’ve watched the fight, you’ve watched the tactics. But here’s what I want to tell you: in the very near future, Judge Kavanaugh will be on the United States Supreme Court,” he said to a swell of applause. “So my friends, keep the faith and don’t get rattled by all of this. We’re gonna plow right through it and do our job.”
McConnell did not mention the upcoming hearing with Kavanaugh and professor Christine Blasey Ford where Republicans claim to want to hear both accounts of the alleged sexual assault. His comments do not seem to display any desire on his part to hear her out in a way that could disqualify Kavanaugh from contention.
McConnell also patted himself on the back for keeping Merrick Garland off of the bench, calling it one of the most important things he has done as majority leader.
Watch McConnell speak here. | {
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CVS Health' topped Wall Street's expectations with its retail pharmacy business fueling growth despite fewer customers shopping in the front of its stores.
Revenue from CVS' retail pharmacy segment reached $20.7 billion, up 5.7 percent from the year-ago quarter, driven by an 8.3 percent increase in pharmacy revenue. Revenue from front-end sales, which includes goods like greeting cards and household items, grew just 0.2 percent.
Same-store prescription volume surged 9.5 percent, while front-end same-store sales dipped 1 percent.
Here's how the company did compared with what Wall Street analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected:
Adjusted earnings: $1.69 per share vs. $1.61 per share
Revenue: $46.7 billion vs. $46.35 billion
In the quarter, CVS' revenue reached $46.7 billion, up 2.2 percent from the year-ago quarter and above analysts polled by Thomson Reuters' estimates of $46.35 billion.
In the quarter ended June 30, CVS reported a net loss of $2.56 billion, or $2.52 per share, compared with a profit of $1.10 billion, or $1.07 per share, a year ago.
After stripping out one-time expenses, including a $3.9 billion goodwill impairment charge related to its long-term care business, the company earned $1.72 billion, or $1.69 per share, topping analysts' estimates of $1.61 per share from Thomson Reuters.
The company narrowed its full-year adjusted earnings estimate to between $6.98 and $7.08 per share, up from $6.87 to $7.08 per share.
CVS expects its roughly $69 billion acquisition of health insurer Aetna to close in the late third quarter or early part of the fourth quarter. California's Insurance Commissioner last week urged the Department of Justice to block the deal.
Shares of CVS gained more then 3 percent Wednesday in premarket trading.
"The strong revenue, adjusted EPS, gross and operating margins, along with cash flow generated in the quarter were the direct result of our team's ability to increase prescription growth by expanding relationships with PBMs and health plans as well as our ongoing streamlining efforts and innovation," CVS CEO Larry Merlo said in a statement.
CVS and other drugstores, including Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid, have seen their so-called front-of-store sales threatened as shoppers increasingly buy household staples online or from convenience stores. E-commerce giant Amazon will enter the pharmacy business with its $1 billion acquisition of online start-up PillPack.
To protect its physical retail business, CVS has delved further into health-care services. Its walk-in retail clinics, known as MinuteClinics, are a key component of its acquisition of Aetna. The idea is they can add more services to the clinics and steer people into them and away from more expensive facilities like emergency rooms.
CVS is also trying to expand digitally. It announced Wednesday it's partnering with Teladoc Health to roll out virtual MinuteClinic visits nationwide this year. | {
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I think we should take a step back and ask a different question, which is: 'Is it justified to demand that Muslims condemn terrorism?' Now that might sound a little radical. The reason I say that is this.
Condoning the killing of civilians is, to me, about the most monstrous thing you can to do. And to be suspected of doing something so monstrous, simply because of your faith, seems very unfair. Now when you look at the majority of terrorist attacks in the United States, according to the FBI, the majority of domestic terror attacks are actually committed by white, male Christians.
Now that's just the facts. When those things occur, we don't suspect other people who share their faith and ethnicity of condoning them. We assume that these things outrage them just as much as they do anyone else. And we have to afford this same assumption of innocence to Muslims. | {
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The small proportion of Australians who take rapper Nate Dogg's advice to "smoke weed every day" are consuming the overwhelming majority of the country's cannabis.
Daily users consumed up to 85 per cent of all cannabis in Australia in 2016, according to researchers.
That's despite them making up just 16 per cent of users.
The finding, by the University of Queensland's Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research, could have implications for the debate around legalisation of the drug.
"The pattern is very similar to what we observe in alcohol," lead researcher Gary Chan told 7NEWS.com.au.
File image of a marijuana joint. Credit: Getty
"There are some suggestions consumption patterns of cannabis might be different to alcohol, where the majority is consumed by a very small proportion of heavy drinkers.
"But that's not the case."
In the video below: First crop of cannabis to produce medicinal marijuana products on the Gold Coast has been harvested
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Researchers estimate around 1.95 million Australians used cannabis in 2016 - that's 10.5 per cent of the population.
That's an increase of 1.6 per cent from 2007.
Researchers split users of the illicit substance into categories of frequency - daily, weekly, monthly, every few months and once or twice a year.
A joint a day
Some 312,000 people fell into the daily category.
On average, they smoke approximately one joint or an equivalent amount, such as in a bong, per day.
Combined, those in the daily and weekly categories - 37 per cent of users - consumed 98 per cent of all Australian cannabis.
More on 7NEWS.com.au
Around 3.5 per cent of the population reported using the drug one or twice a year - the largest category.
Previous studies have found approximately one in 10 cannabis users will become dependent, Chan said.
Legalisation
He said the findings should be considered in policies around the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use.
"It seems to me there's a global trend towards liberal attitudes on cannabis legalisation," Chan said.
In the video below: Another US state has signed legislation to legalise marijuana for recreational use
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"For countries which legalise cannabis, they would need to bear in mind the burden of cannabis would fall on a very small proportion of users.
"We would need to have policies to discourage very heavy use."
Mental health
He urged a tax based on the drug's potency, restrictions on advertising and marketing and screening of heavy cannabis users in medical settings.
He also said cannabis has been linked to mental health issues.
The researchers analysed data collected by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on household drug use. | {
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I’m pleased to announce my accepting a product placement deal with Hasbro in 1998. Sorry it took me so long to fulfil my end of the bargain chairpeople of the board!
This was influenced by @diaper_wolf’s tweets. I know two things about her: She funny, and she like Furbies. | {
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New Oregon Duck defensive coordinator Andy Avalos prefers that his defense stay multiple and mix up its coverages, but quarters coverage may be his most dependable scheme on the back end.
Avalos plays quarters in a more aggressive fashion, allowing his corners to play closer to the line of scrimmage in order to jam receivers and knock them off their routes before bailing out. Additionally, the 10-to-12-yard depth of the safeties allows for more aggressive run support.
The diagram above is used as reference through the rest of the article. It will allow you to understand what I mean when I’m referring to receivers and their designated numbers within the formation.
The responsibilities for each position in quarters coverage are pretty straightforward, making the attack simple yet effective, when executed well.
The corners probably have the most work in this scheme. Their first assignment is the No. 1 receiver. The No. 1 receiver is the most outside receiver on either side of the formation. If that receiver stays vertical beyond 10 to 12 yards, the corner essentially plays man coverage on him. If the No. 1 runs anything shallower, the corner continues dropping to take any out-breaking vertical route by the No. 2 receiver. Should the No. 1 get to the 10-to-12-yard depth but break inside, he becomes the safety’s responsibility, and the corner takes on any vertical route by the No. 2.
Safeties will align 10-12 yards off the line of scrimmage and inside the No. 2 receiver if he is split out, or outside of him if he is attached, such as with a traditional a tight end. His responsibility will be the No. 2 receiver on any vertical route that reaches the 8-to-12-yard depth. If the No. 2 runs a route shallow of that depth, he will support the corner and attempt to rob/under cut the No. 1 receiver.
The middle/hook defender (orange on the above diagram) is simply responsible for the middle portion of the field underneath the safeties. Anything that crosses through that zone is his. The only time that this changes is if the offense is in any three-by-one formation. In that case, the middle/hook defender must run with the No. 3 receiver to the trips side on any vertical route until he receives support from the safety over the top.
The flat defenders (red on the above diagram) are responsible for the No. 2’s routes to the outside, and the No. 1 if the route brings him inside prior to that 10-to-12-yard range (such as a slant or drag). He must also be aware of any route to the flat by the No. 3 receiver.
In the video above, you’ll see the Ducks running the quarters coverage in this year’s spring game. Watch this video over a couple times to see how each position’s responsibilities unfold on the play. Justin Herbert targets Brenden Schooler, the No. 1 receiver, who’s running a vertical route beyond 12 yards. This prompts Thomas Graham to go with him, offering very little room to make a catch. It would require Herbert to throw a perfect pass, which he doesn’t accomplish here.
The Ducks will also run a variation of quarters where they drop the Stud defensive end into the flat (see diagram above). This gives the defense four zones underneath. Now that the Stud is playing the flat to the short side of the field, the second linebacker is able to become an additional middle/hook defender. Having four defenders over top and four underneath makes it especially difficult for the quarterback and receivers to find open space, though you do sacrifice your pass rush.
In the video above, again from this year’s spring game, you’ll see the Ducks running quarters coverage with four under. Notice how DJ Johnson (No. 7) does a great job carrying the No. 2 receiver to the outside without losing track of the No. 3 slipping into the flat. That’s fantastic recognition and a great understanding of his responsibilities.
The quarters coverage is effective on a couple of different levels. Not only does the shallow safety depth aid against the run, but the restrictiveness that the coverage produces in the pass game forces the quarterback to be patient. There aren’t many college QBs that are patient enough to continue to throw underneath or check down. As that fortitude begins to crumble, the Ducks will feast.
Coach Eric Boles
Newark, Ohio Top Photo Credit: Kevin Cline
Spencer Thomas, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, is an attorney for the Social Security Administration in Atlanta, Georgia, and coaches High School Football for Hillgrove HS in Powder Springs, GA. | {
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Colts linebacker Trent Cole was as unsure about the extent of Derek Carr’s injury just after the game Saturday as anyone outside the Raiders organization.
“There was no intent,” Cole reportedly said, before and after hearing what became of Carr after exiting the game in the fourth quarter.
Cole’s experience of finding out that Carr had a broken fibula and would require surgery was captured in a column by Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star. Related Articles Inside the Raiders: Play or don’t play? A weekly dilemma in a brutal sport
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Focus on Patriots: Cam Newton presents unique challenge for Raiders
Raiders mailbag: MNF was Jon Gruden’s best game as a play-caller, but watch out for the injury report this week
“Things happen, and it sucks that it happened,” Cole said before Doyel told him the news Raiders coach Jack Del Rio shared in his postgame comments that Carr is out indefinitely. “He loves to play football just like I love to play football. I hope he’s OK, man. I really do.”
Doyel, who reminded Cole no one thinks he intended to hurt Carr, decided to tell Cole that Carr’s fibula is broken.
His immediate response? Wrote Doyel: “Cole is looking at me and now he’s looking away.”
“There was no intent,” Cole said again. Doyel notes that those words were spoken “softly,” with Cole “looking down, not responding as I pat his shoulder and tell him goodbye.”
Cole repeated the phrase a few times.
“I’m walking away when I hear him again, his tired voice carrying in a quiet locker room,” Doyel wrote.
“There was no intent,” Cole said. | {
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Organizations are finding it very difficult to attract, nurture and retain right kind of talent ensuring the organizational growth. Accuprosys provides comprehensive HR Solutions through a single window across various domains to enhance the success of your organization. Our customized HR Solutions are formulated based on organization needs hence, they are best suited for the business. Our services are designed to make a difference to human resource management through our unique methodologies. Accuprosys has exceptional strengths in ensuring well-timed and dependable delivery of HR solutions to clients across various sectors. Furthermore, in case of urgent ad-hoc requirements we depute our expert staff with the client. As an end to end HR consulting firm we support your growth & eliminate all your worries by eliminating your non core activities.
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Employee grievance management services of Accuprosys include disciplinary and grievance investigations and consulting. We help companies deal with grievance complaints, manage associated legal processes and documentation, in addition to providingguidance on grievance solutions.
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For companies, the creation of a separate payroll management team may not be feasible. By outsourcing their payroll management tasks to us, companies benefit through ontime precise payroll release, statutory compliance and redressal of payroll associated grievances.
9. Leave Management
By outsourcing their leave management needs, companies can simplify their leave tracking process. We help companies track all kinds of employee leaves easily, update managers on leave associated notifications and tasks,and analyze leave statistics of the company.
10. HR Statutory Compliances
Accuprosys helps clients ensure compliance with statutory regulations such as labor laws. We assist in the maintenance of registers, licensing, government inspections, etc. and offer companies advisory services on statutory compliances and associated tasks. | {
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This is the first in an occasional series about how companies and emerging technologies are reacting to California’s drought.
A companion could be joining you in the shower in the near future – and her name is Eva.
A Santa Ana-based company is giving life to Eva, the first-of-its-kind smart shower that adjusts to its user’s every move during regular ablutions, altering the flow of water when a bather shaves, lathers up or rinses off.
The device is the brainchild of 27-year-old Torrey Tayenaka, a serial entrepreneur who has run his own business since the age of 15, when he started shooting clips for his mother’s real estate business. Tayenaka is now the CEO and co-founder of a video marketing production studio, Spark House, an evolution of his earlier business, and has tried his hand at creating a new clothing line and a better Yelp-like service.
His latest creation is a sleek and sophisticated box that connects to a shower head and uses sensors to detect how close a user is to the water source.
Although she’s only a prototype, Eva received $56,000 from Indiegogo backers and will be available as a product by December.
The device will work with a complementary mobile app, where a user can set time goals for how long his morning routine should take. Exceed the goal and Eva will issue a subtle warning – a soft beep or an illuminated LED flash.
Eva’s creators are toying with the idea of adding a voice-recording option. Imagine parents nudging their teenagers, who too often linger in the shower, to move it along.
The Eva Smart Shower is one emerging technology to address shifts in cultural attitudes about conservation, now more acutely felt as California’s worst drought in recorded history drags into its fourth year. Such crises are often a source of inspiration for imaginative tinkerers, said Gene Alexander, the director of technology entrepreneurship at Chapman University’s Leatherby Center Student Incubator and the director of the university’s Launch Labs.
“In general, we definitely see that these social or demographic trends drive innovation,” Alexander said. “A lot of people read the news and think how terrible things are. A real entrepreneur looks past the surface issues and tries to see what the underlying problem is and what the solution is.”
FINDING A BUYER
So far, the yet-to-be-built shower accessory has made a splash with young men – technology-savvy consumers who live in single-family homes, according to data from the company.
Of the 500 people who preordered an Eva unit at $89-$99, 78 percent of questionnaire respondents were men. The company also found that conservation, more than lowering a water bill, was the driving force behind their purchase.
Eva also is making an impression with people in countries like Brazil and Australia, where droughts have depleted reservoirs to historic lows and tougher water regulations are in place.
Eva’s creators estimate each shower taken with the device would reduce water use by 9.5 gallons, which could translate to 3 billion gallons saved every day if everyone in the U.S. showered with Eva (presuming everyone showers daily).
In countries like Australia, houses have been overhauled to repurpose gray water, and biodegradable soaps are de rigueur. But Tayenaka wants to make Eva a simple product that is easy to install and use, a first step before people retrofit their bathrooms.
“One thing we want is to be as soft in entry as possible,” Tayenaka said. “This thing can be installed by anyone that can screw on a showerhead. It doesn’t require a plumber. It doesn’t require you to cut into the wall.”
EARLY EVA
The smart shower isn’t inventing a radically new technology. Instead, it combines existing tech into a new product by squeezing a Bluetooth device, batteries, thermometer, water valve and sensor into one sleek, compact box.
The company plans to debut the prototype at the Coneybeare Cleantech Leaders Conference on May 14 in Irvine, with a product debut slated for December. The device will be compatible with 90 percent of showerheads on the market, Tayenaka said.
“The reason why we were confident going into this project is when you look at the actual product itself, at least when I pitched it, there’s nothing new inside,” Tayenaka said. “All it is is putting all those components together.”
Eva isn’t meant to nag or pester and shouldn’t detract from the enjoyability of a hot shower, he said. Instead, it aims to promote conservation, making it a game and awarding bragging rights for users who conserve and share their short shower times on social media platforms.
Dalip Jaggi, who is heading up Eva Smart Shower’s digital presence and app creation, said Eva is about fostering a new conservation mindset.
“If you would adopt Eva in your house, sure you’re going to save water, but in the grand scheme of things it’s not going to save the world, or the drought or anything like that,” Jaggi said.
“What Eva’s about is kind of the attitude that it brings within. I think that fundamental level of saving water – starting at the shower – can make people have that attitude the rest of the day to just save water overall, to be thinking in that way.”
Is your Orange County business finding or inventing solutions to the drought? Contact the reporter at 714-796-2286 or [email protected].
Contact the writer: [email protected] | {
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Shells is a seriously lovely café, which blends a kind of surfer cool with seaside fun and friendliness
OUR intrepid food reviewer has travelled near and far to find the finest food and these are his favourites of the past 12 months.
Vanilla in Newcastle, Co Down, was Dominic's pick of 2016.
He dined on ravioli, lamb and lemon brulee and was so enamoured that he contemplated never leaving the restaurant.
Here's what he had to say after dining there in March: "OK, here's the plan. I’m going to move in to Vanilla. I’ll just book a table and never leave. I’ll nip into the toilet now and then to freshen up, brush my teeth, sleep, and what have you. I reckon if I can brazen it out for a couple of days, make it look like I’m meant to be there, then the staff will be too embarrassed to say anything.
"This place is just the bee’s knees, you see. In fact, if you rang the day before, they’d probably make you bee’s knees; I don’t see why not – they do a crispy pig’s head (I was tempted by that, but gave it a miss, as I already have one)."
Read more: Vanilla
Another favourite was Belle’s Kitchen in Rathmullan, Co Donegal.
Dominic fell for the charms of Belle's Kitchen and waxed lyrical about Belle's fish and chips.
"There were lovely flakes of firm fish encased in a light, crisp batter. The chips were soft on the inside, with a good, golden brown outer crunch. Close my eyes and I could have been walking back from the match, eating this straight from the paper, with the Footy Echo tucked under my arm, top of the league."
High praise indeed.
Read more: Belle's Kitchen
Shells in Strandhill, Co Sligo also got the Kearney seal of approval.
Dominic treated himself to a seaweed bath followed by lunch in Shells Seaside Bakery and Cafe.
"This is a seriously lovely café, which blends a kind of surfer cool with seaside fun and friendliness. It’s light, bright, airy, fresh, and smiley, just like a day at the beach should be. "
He tucked into a BLT that was "packed with thick bacon, enough mayonnaise to flavour without overpowering, and lovely, fresh tomato" that was held together "by the café’s own white, multi-seed bread, lightly toasted, soft, and crusty".
Us, jealous? Never.
Read more: Shells
Bishop's Gate Hotel in Derry
Dominic and his dining companions tore through duck arancini, seafood cocktai, Caesar salad, pannacotta, trifle and more in their visit to the hotel restaurant and were suitably impressed.
"I think they’re on to a winner here. A good hotel can earn a place in a city’s heart – the Shelbourne, the Merchant, the Midland, the Adelphi. With its attentive staff, friendly bar, and excellent – though not faultless – food, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Bishop’s Gate Hotel becomes a fixture in Derry’s affections."
Read more: Bishop's Gate Hotel
His final favourite was Surgarbeet in Newtownstewart, Co Tyrone
"First impressions? Well, the greeting couldn’t have been warmer – instant, genuine friendliness. We were early, so it still felt more café than restaurant, with one blackboard showing the breakfast menu and another the lunchtime specials, and there was a TV tuned to a vintage pop channel. (On a side note, having Bucks Fizz singing Making Your Mind Up while we looked over the menu was either a fantastic coincidence or a touch of genius.)"
And it was here that he had a salmon fillet he declared to be "the best I’ve ever tasted. Full stop."
Read more: Sugarbeet
Now tell us where you loved to eat in 2016: | {
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FRISCO, Texas (Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012) – FC Dallas released its complete 2012 broadcast schedule today, including 21 games airing on FOX channels, six on TXA21 and seven on national TV, including NBC Sports Network, ESPN and ESPN2. Four of the FOX games will also simultaneously air nationally on Galavision.
Play-by-play duties will be split between Mark Followill and Jonathan Yardley, while a team of color analysts will share duties, including Brian Dunseth, Dante Washington, Ian Joy and Steve Jolley. Each of the color analysts will make appearances on FC Dallas broadcasts throughout the season.
FC Dallas elected to field the team of broadcasters following the untimely death of long-time FC Dallas player and broadcaster Bobby Rhine last summer. Broadcasters around the league who loved and respected Rhine served as guest broadcasters following his death to finish the 2011 season.
“It’s impossible to replace Bobby Rhine,” said FC Dallas President and CEO Doug Quinn. “Rather than make one person try to fill his shoes, we put together a team of people Bobby knew and respected. His spirit, his love of the game, should live on in FC Dallas broadcasts. We think this team will do exactly that.”
While most fans today recognize Followill as the television play-by-play personality for the Dallas Mavericks, the North Texas alum has long-term ties to FC Dallas, serving as the Dallas Burn public address announcer back during the club’s Cotton Bowl days.
Before joining the Mavericks’ telecast, Followill served as the team’s radio play-by-play voice on ESPN 103.3 FM for four seasons. He has been a play-by-play announcer for NFL games on the Sports USA Radio Network, college basketball on the Mountain West Sports Network, regional college football broadcasts on FSN Southwest and TXA21, and NBA and WNBA broadcasts for ESPNRadio.
Followill also has done play-by-play for both University of Texas basketball and volleyball on the Longhorn Network.
FC Dallas fans are certainly familiar with Dunseth, both as an analyst and as a player. The California native played 10 seasons in Major League Soccer, including one with the Dallas Burn. Since hanging up his boots in 2006, Dunseth has handled play-by-play, color and sideline reporting for FOX Soccer.
Yet another familiar face, Yardley teamed with Rhine during the 2011 preseason tournament on streaming broadcasts of the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic from Orlando, Fla. He spent the last three seasons as the radio voice of the Houston Dynamo and will once again handle play-by-play duties on the live stream of WDW Pro Soccer Classic games later this month.
Washington played 10 seasons in Major League Soccer, including four with the Dallas Burn. Rhine and Washington were teammates in Dallas during Rhine’s rookie season, but the following year, Washington was traded to the Columbus Crew.
Born in California and raised in Scotland, Joy retired from playing professional soccer in 2010 following 14 years in various leagues, including three seasons with Major League Soccer. He spent his youth career with Manchester United and Tranmere Rovers where he turned pro before a successful time in Germany where he played for Hamburg SV and his beloved FC St Pauli. His final year as a professional was spent as captain of the Portland Timbers before the club transitioned to MLS.
FC Dallas hosts the New York Red Bulls on NBC Sports Network at 2 p.m., CT, Sunday, March 11, during MLS First Kick presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods. The match, featuring two of the league’s hottest stars in Brek Shea and Thierry Henry, will mark the first MLS game broadcast as part of the new, three-year partnership between MLS and NBC. Tickets start at $15 and are available now through ticketmaster.com, FCDallas.com, or by calling FC Dallas at 888.FCD.GOAL (323.4625).
FC Dallas – 2012 TV Schedule | {
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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon’s top three leaders accused Israel on Tuesday of threatening the stability of the border region between them, amid rising tension over territorial and maritime boundaries.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun meets with Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon February 6, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri agreed to act to stop Israel from building a wall on Lebanese land at the border, and infringing on an energy block in disputed waters.
Arguments over the wall and Lebanon’s plans to explore for offshore oil and gas have elevated tensions between Israel and Lebanon.
Calm has largely prevailed along the frontier since 2006, when Israel fought a war with Lebanon’s heavily-armed Shi’ite Hezbollah movement.
The month-long conflict killed about 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 Israelis, most of them troops. There has been no major confrontation between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah since.
Israel has said the border wall is being built on its territory. The Lebanese government says it passes through land that belongs to Lebanon but lies on the Israeli side of the Blue Line, where the U.N. demarcated Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.
The three Lebanese leaders met to study recent “Israeli threats, and saw in them ... a direct threat to the stability” of the border region, the president’s office said in a statement.
They agreed to act “at various regional and international levels to prevent Israel from building the cement wall...and from the possibility of infringing on Lebanon’s oil and gas wealth and its (territorial) waters.”
Aoun, Berri, and Hariri will present a series of measures to Lebanon’s Higher Defense Council and security officials at a meeting on Wednesday, it said.
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman called Lebanon’s first offshore oil and gas exploration tender “very provocative” and urged international firms not to participate last week.
Lebanon has an unresolved maritime border dispute with Israel over a triangular area of sea of around 860 sq km (330 square miles). The zone extends along the edge of three out of five energy blocks that Lebanon put to tender early last year.
Lebanon in December approved a bid by a consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek for two blocks. | {
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But the friend had changed.
In some ways, it was for the better. People were wealthier — despite the recent decline in the ruble and jump in inflation — and better traveled. The kindhearted woman who hosted me when I first moved to Moscow in 1997 said it best: “We don’t have to wash out our plastic bags anymore.” Her tiny salary had quadrupled since I’d last seen her. She had taken her first trip abroad — a package tour to Tunisia.
But there was a darker side. Society had grown more defensive, and self-conscious, like a teenager constantly looking at herself in the mirror. Oligarchs had always had exit ramps — a house in London and a second passport — but now my own friends were looking for escape routes.
Intellectuals pointed me to books on Berlin in the 1920s and the concept of “ressentiment,’’ a philosophical term that describes a simmering resentment and sense of victimization arising out of envy of a perceived enemy. It often has its roots in a culture’s feeling of impotence. In Berlin in the early 20th century, it helped explain the rise of German fascism. In Russia in August, it seemed to have many targets: Ukraine, gay people, European dairy products and above all the United States.
“America stuffs its democracy in our face,” bellowed a cabdriver named Kostya in the city of Nizhny Novgorod. (His main beef was with the “propaganda of pederasts,” using a derogatory word used to describe homosexuals, a few weeks after the Supreme Court’s approval of gay marriage.) “If you’re saying yes, yes, yes, all the time and nodding your head, well sometimes you have to say no,” he said, explaining that Russia had finally stood up to the United States.
There is, of course, a lot of history behind such sentiments. In the 19th century, Slavophiles and Westernizers clashed over the right path for Russia. There was obviously the fierce rivalry with the United States in Soviet times. Since then, there have been low points, often connected with American actions in the world. (The NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999 and the American invasion of Iraq are examples.) But nothing like the current opinion of America, which this year sank to its lowest level since the Soviet Union collapsed nearly 24 years ago, according to polling by the Levada Analytical Center in Moscow. | {
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Maybe my eyes aren't what they used to be, but the history books tell us that David Jones - aka David Bowie, who celebrates a birthday today - is in this 1968 or 1969 (I'm reading conflicting reports - maybe it was shot in 68 and aired in 69?) TV commercial for Lyons Maid ice cream. A commercial directed by a young man named Ridley Scott, who would one day go on to make movies like 1492: Conquest of Paradise and GI Jane.
Apparently 21 year old Bowie is one of the boys running up the bus steps with ice cream in hand (apparently at the 7 second mark); he's also playing guitar in the band. The song from this commercial was released as a single (the band is Mint) in the UK, but I'm not sure if it ever charted.
This commercial aired when Bowie was still struggling with his career. His first album, David Bowie, didn't do very well, and when you listen to his first single The Laughing Gnome you sort of understand why. Bowie did this commercial and auditioned for Kit Kat while trying to figure out his next move... which ended up being Space Oddity, released days before the Apollo 11 launch. Ridley Scott directed advertisements (as head of the prestigious RSA, Ridley Scott Associates, commercial production company up until making the leap to features in 1977 with The Duelists.
Here's The Laughing Gnome. Bowie's son, Duncan Jones, is making a Warcraft movie, and gnomes are a race in that world... what are the chances of a Laughing Gnome reference in the movie? Perhaps the closing credits song? | {
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EXCLUSIVE
Legendary actor James Garner -- star of "The Rockford Files" and "The Notebook" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.
Law enforcement sources tell us an ambulance was dispatched to the actor's home in Los Angeles around 8PM Saturday evening ... and he was found dead when they arrived on scene.
James died of natural causes.
Garner was one of the first actors to amass success in both television and film ... and he starred in a long list of classic films -- as well as a co-starring role in the '94 big screen version of "Maverick" starring Mel Gibson. Garner was the original Bret Maverick from 1957-1960 ... as well as the same character in a short lived '80s remake.
Play video content | {
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Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has called for the island nation to be renamed to shed its colonial heritage.
See related Why Swaziland is changing its name to eSwatini
Speaking at a ceremony in the province of Maguindanao yesterday, Duterte said that the country should ditch the name “Philippines”, which was given by 16th century Spanish explorers in honour of King Philip II, in favour of an indigenous term.
“One day, we will change it,” he said, according to reports in the Philippine Star.
Duterte suggested the country should become Maharlika, the term for the warrior class who held an honoured status in the archipelago’s indigenous Tagalog society prior to Spanish colonisation.
According to an article posted on the National Historical Commission of the Philippines' website, the word derives from a Sanskrit root meaning “nobly created” - although this etymology is disputed.
However, the leader of the Senate, Tito Sotto, “seemed cool to Duterte’s idea” which he said would “entail rewriting the Constitution identifying the Philippines as the country’s name”, the South China Morning Post reports.
The idea of renaming the islands Maharlika was first proposed during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos, the military dictator who ruled the country from 1965 to 1986, as a way to encourage nationalist sentiment.
“Marcos was right,” Duterte told the audience, and “lamented that the proposal was overshadowed by allegations that Marcos was a dictator”, says the Star.
Filipino news website Interaksyon says that the idea was actually the brainchild of then-senator Eddie Ilarde, who proposed the name change in 1978.
However, “a hall in the presidential palace, the government-owned broadcast network and the present Pan-Philippine Highway” were all christened “Maharlika” by Marcos, the site adds.
Marcos also used the term Maharlika “in faking his military records”, ABS-CBN reports. He claimed to have spent the Second World War commanding a group of guerillas known as the Maharlika Unit, but US army investigators finally concluded the unit was “a fictitious creation”. | {
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Welcome to DoWntime’s not-too-regular column, Assessing Stress. That’s where we assess … stress. Or more accurately, talk and debate about the newest episodes to hit the television screen, the new releases from Big Finish, and all these good things.
And today, to bid farewell to Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie and everyone’s favourite grumpy Scot, Stevie Moff, we are joined by Michelle Coats, media-commentator extraordinaire, mastermind behind the stfumoffathaters Tumblr, and awesome person all around (who you can follow on Tumblr at @disasterlesbianamelia).
Get your tissues ready – the Feelings are coming. Spoilers galore, as per usual.
1) General Thoughts
TIBERE: In a way, it kind of feels like an extended, one hour version of the farewell tour concluding “The End of Time”, except it plays it low-key, subtle and lovingly mournful instead of big and bombastic. In many ways, the meat of the story, the essence of the arc has already been tackled by what came before. You theoretically “could” have had the Doctor regenerate at the end of “The Doctor Falls” and not too much would have been lost – but at this point, honestly, Moffat and Capaldi have earned a victory lap. Or rather, a thoughtful, loving and sweet extended adieu to the character. The plot doesn’t really click, and if you want to dig in the way the story is put together, there are plenty of things that quite work and don’t add up – but I don’t think that’s what really matters. At the end of the day, it’s all about the love the creative team have for these characters and this show – and the love the characters have for each other. And the emotional honesty and genuineness of the episode goes a long way in excusing its flaws.
MICHELLE: Well, if I might be cheeky it’s actually a lot closer to being good in comparison to the farewell tour which felt like to me a lot of self-indulgence for the sake of it (though the Verity Newman scene is one of the best individual scenes that Russell T Davies ever wrote). Honestly I really did like it. I have some quibbles but they’re mainly on a plot level, though maybe just a little bit with One’s sexism. It was just really great to play in this narrative space with the plot quite literally on pause: it gives the show a space to reiterate what Doctor Who is and why it deserves to continue; why One and Twelve should regenerate even as so many fall on the battlefield.
SCRIBBLES: An extended farewell tour is a good way to look at it, I think. This episode doesn’t really need to exist from a storytelling purpose. It’s to save the Christmas slot, as was pretty well-documented beforehand. But it turns that slow, empty space into a place for a few more character beats. And it is very slow indeed, I think certain sequences like Rusty verge a bit on the gratuitous side, despite the richness of character and theme. I suppose it’s no surprise that an episode that basically puts the plot on pause until the regeneration is literally about frozen time! It makes the most of what it can be, as a result, filling the time up with a little rumination on death and letting go. And that’s worth something.
SCARVES: I loved it. It’s hard to be subjective, and I have a couple of nitpicks, mostly to do with the First Doctor’s sexism (which we’ll get into more later, but the short version – he was in character, but the episode didn’t explore that aspect of his character with the necessary nuance for the amount it emphasized it). But overall, those nitpicks melted away, because the themes were explored in a way that makes the episode a joy to pick apart, the character work was moving, and it formed touching and kind hearted goodbye to the show from Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi. And as there’s no other place to say it and I want to respond to Scribbles here, I thought everything about the inclusion of Rusty was brilliant – it was the one thing that surprised me in an episode where you’re bound to know most of the major beats going in, and it was worth it for that alone.
MICHELLE: I’d go further than saying it doesn’t really need to exist. It feels like it shouldn’t exist. Not remotely in a bad way, but on both internal and meta levels, it’s a story in a liminal space to bridge a gap. It’s the meta-equivalent of writing a Doctor Who story inside the void (when you think of it that way, the unexpected reprise of the Doomsday theme actually makes a lot of sense). As a result all 4 of the principal characters are in a way, already dead. It doesn’t quite feel like any other Doctor Who story for that reason. This kind of allows a bleeding through of eras – earlier in the 12th Doctor era with Rusty and of course, Clara; The RTD era through New Earth and Villengard; the 1st Doctor era through…the obvious, and the Classic era in general through the Captain; even the Matt Smith era in places. It’s probably coincidental, but even the appearance of the Testimony avatars is similar to that of the ‘ghosts’ from “Army of Ghosts”. If we were to compare “Logopolis”, the programme itself and Bill as its representative functions as the Watcher, haunting the narrative. As for Rusty, it’s thematically appropriate given it was essentially Clara’s victory, the result of her persuasion of the Doctor that evil is not born, it is fashioned (as Sam Baker pointed out in the column for “World Enough and Time”). In that respect, it functions almost as a herald of her return.
SCRIBBLES: And even on a plot level, everything in this story is about the pause before a death. Bill, copied from somewhere around “The Doctor Falls,” but before her proper happy ever after with Heather. The Doctors, both holding off regeneration. The Captain, pulled away before his doom, losing his peace with it.
TIBERE: And there’s of course the spectre of Clara hanging over the story – who is herself “trapped between a heartbeat and the next”, out of time. I’ve even seen some criticisms of the story stating that the aesthetics and themes of the episode fit her a lot better than Bill, and that the inclusion of everyone’s favourite space lesbian water goddess was a bit of an awkward transition.
SCRIBBLES: There’s some things only Bill can say. Clara operates on the level of the Doctor, above it all. She understands his complexes, but only Bill knows how to cut them all down. The episode needs her to observe and commentate, because otherwise the character arcs of the Doctors don’t land. It’s hard to see what other character could have fit that. A glass duplicate of Susan, maybe? But that’s about it.
TIBERE: I think Clara’s essential role in the narrative has been, since her ending in series 9 at least, to embody the future of the show, what it can and needs to become. So it makes sense for her to be there – as almost the trigger of the regeneration, in a way, not to forget that Twelve’s final words are very strongly echoing those of his parting speech to Clara in “Hell Bent”. Bill is not quite in that position – she is the witness, the fan of the show. Their purposes complete each other, and I think that at this point Clara’s inclusion would have felt superfluous – Twelve has pretty much succeeded in embodying the ideal she represents. In a way, that story reads very much as the final chapter in that recurring underworld motif that has persisted throughout the Capaldi years – it’s the Doctor’s own afterlife, in the Greek sense: a world of shadows and echoes. The clash of aesthetics Michelle noticed definitely is part of that – and bringing back Rusty not only allows for a great contrast between series 8 and series 10 Twelve, but also calls forwards that motif, which was I think for the first time explicitly formulated in “Into the Dalek”. Except the moral stakes under the Doctor’s katabasis, here, are not so much about the discovery of an inner evil or prejudice, but more about the nature of kindness. The Doctor wants to “just be kind” – but what is that kindness, what does the Doctor do? That’s the central question here, and one’s that resolved through this great idea of “the Doctor of War” – implying that the way people have interpreted the name of the War Doctor, since the beginning, was a mistake, and that it’s his involvement in turmoil and chaos that precisely gives him a chance to improve things, by willingly engaging with the events and doing its best to change history for the better. It’s taking the political themes that have defined 2017 Who and pushes them to an ontological, abstract level. Which is a bit clunky in parts, maybe because it’s too much of an obviously metaphorical epilogue, but which is still fascinating, be it only because of the size and scope of the storytelling. It’s making the afterlife not just a prison or a labyrinth or a crypt, but the entire history of Doctor Who – through One’s presence, through that great “previously on Doctor Who” opening sequence, that starts by reminding you just how much stories have been told within that universe, through the flash-backs to previous Doctors (framed through round holograms that very clearly seem to echo the ones present in “The Eleventh Hour”, the first story of the Moffat era).
SCRIBBLES: There’s been such a fixation on liminal spaces, digital spaces, and afterlives under Moffat, and with Capaldi in particular, that this all gets really interesting. Transhumanism is such a theme here. There’s the Library, saving people to the hard drive. There’s the Cybermen under Missy, which conceptually is basically the same Testimony without the good to it, editing preserved souls and memories to distort them into Cybermen. There’s the simulation from “Extremis” that tells us you don’t have to be real to be the Doctor; those are the real Doctor, Nardole, and Bill, just responding to an alternate scenario within a computer. Their identities and choices and feelings matter, because they are, on a basic level of identity through memory, the same. There’s technology like what Heather becomes, beyond our comprehension but capable of granting immortality and undoing death. And there’s even Time Lord technology like the extraction chambers, taking people out moments before death. This episode hits the transhumanist themes home beautifully. Bill is Bill because she has lived those experiences. Digital River is still River. Danny Pink, wherever he is in that Nethersphere, is still Danny Pink. Clara’s frozen body is still Clara Oswald. And, I suppose, though a new copy in a new shape, the Thirteenth Doctor is still very much the Doctor. In a way, isn’t regeneration transhumanism of a sort? The memories get passed on to a new person, but it’s still the same person because they still have those memories?
TIBERE: The view that we are nothing but the sum of our memories is one that’s pretty easy to criticize, be it only because those memories and the lens we see them through are instrumental in pushing us to change and improve and become someone else – but I think Moffat’s aware of that, considering Eleven’s parting words including the phrase “we are all different people all through our lives”. Really, this story might be more of a farewell to the Doctor, in general, than to Twelve specifically (contrary to “The Doctor Falls”, which very much felt Twelve-specific). It’s the idea of the Doctor that’s important, and the decision Twelve has to make is to pass or refuse to pass that idea to someone else. Can he really take that risk? Of course, he can, and he does, but there’s this existential void implied by the idea of “letting go” – one the story conveys wonderfully well, for all its flaws.
2) A Farewell Tour: Characters
TIBERE: I guess that, considering the controversy that has surrounded his portrayal within the special, it makes sense to start by talking about the First Doctor? I mean, I’ll be honest, I can’t argue in all good faith that all the jokes revolving around his chauvinism were good. Some were – the “jolly good smack-bottom” line is glorious, all the more considering it’s a direct quote from “The Dalek Invasion of Earth”; some were overdoing it a bit. Or a big bit. Still, I don’t think it constitutes a betrayal of the character in any meaningful sense, and the very passionate reactions from fans who claim that this One is not their Doctor, while understandable, feel strange to me in a story that precisely argues that the ideal of the Doctor goes beyond separate incarnations and that no one can claim ownership of it. I like One a lot, as our live-blogging of his serials should make obvious – but you a one-hour episode that tries to integrate as much as possible of a complex, layered character with a complicated, messy, sometimes unpleasant history isn’t going to be without a few shortcuts and oversimplifications. Yes, this One is not entirely accurate to the Hartnell version, not in the writing, not the performance, but I think the spirit of his era is there – and that scene with Bill is probably one of the best, if not the best moment the character has ever gotten: the idea that he went away from Gallifrey to assess the morality of the universe, to understand the nature of kindness and evil, just defines the First Doctor, in his detached, fun-having mad scientist way. And of course, the episode embraces this idea that such a distant view of the universe must eventually disappear to lead into action, and yes, activism – which, really, is the message of the Hartnell era, perfectly embodied by serials like “The Romans”, or “The Dalek Invasion of Earth”. It’s rewriting the evolution of the Doctor as the slow adoption of a more radical praxis – but it’s not making things too clear-cut either. The First Doctor has a modesty and acuteness the Twelfth, in all his grandiose over-the-top theatrics, can sometimes miss. The First Doctor is not positioning himself as a living legend, and that perspective sometimes allow him to see things from a different, but equally valid point of view – just as there is prejudice and privilege in the past, there’s also a tiredness and lack of innocence in the future.
SCARVES: My hot take: this was the best, and most accurate, handling of the first Doctor we’ve had in any multi Doctor story. He gets character depth and a clear arc. He gets moments where he’s the voice of reason and advances the plot in ways that the Twelfth Doctor, by nature of the character he is – criticising Twelve for using his sunglasses and (as a result) missing the fact that the glass woman isn’t just an interface but was modelled on a real woman. He gets to make a moral stand for the kind of person he intends to be – “the Doctor, certainly, but never the Doctor of War“. He makes reasonable criticisms of his future self. He talks about his fear of going through the big change of regeneration for the first time in his life. Where “The Three Doctors” and “The Five Doctors” represent One as a crabby old man who takes charge of his other selves because he’s the oldest, this story grapples with the fact that he’s *really* the youngest Doctor. It explores why he ran away, in a scene that captures his characterisation in the 1960s, his “Victorian scientist” style of discussion, his seeming cynicism that belies the value he places on love and kindness, *perfectly*. He gets to recognise that his initial fears of his future are, while understandable, ultimately based on a misunderstanding of the surface appearance of his future self, and the true substance of who he really is. The episode pays attention to little details that made the first Doctor who he was, such as the observation that he still called the TARDIS his “ship” – that’s a level of character specificity and careful recreation “The Three Doctors” and “The Five Doctors” never got close to. Ultimately, the fact that he makes a few sexist comments is the least interesting aspect of his characterisation in this episode, and yet it’s getting the most discussion. Which is frustrating, but as it’s caused debate, it probably is worth unpacking. People who are saying the first Doctor’s sexism in this episode is a character assassination are flat out wrong. There’s nothing in this episode that is worse than anything he said in the 1960s – the most extreme of his comments (for my money, the “smacked bottom” line, though you may disagree with me here, I can understand disliking another one more) is a near direct lift of a quote from “The Dalek Invasion of Earth“. And I don’t care for the “he said that to his grandaughter!” argument – I’m sorry, does him saying that to Susan make it less sexist somehow? However, while I don’t think the episode was mischaracterizing the first Doctor, I don’t think it used that aspect of his character particularly well, in that it didn’t really say anything about it beyond “lol the Doctor was a bit sexist in the 1960s“. Which, while true, isn’t a deep or constructive exploration of what it means that the Doctor was written like that in the past. It’s just a joke that repeated a couple too many times, really, and then dropped in the final act so that we can focus on the resolution to the character arcs of both Doctors in the episode. Which could have worked if the jokes were just one or two very incidental lines, rather than the five or six we got. Either you say something constructive here, or you make this part of his character very incidental. Instead, we got an awkward middle ground where it’s a reasonably prominent part of his characterisation in the episode (though by no means the defining part of it for me), but isn’t explored in any depth beyond a simple joke done too many times. And there’s another aspect too, that bothers me – Gatiss said in post episode “Doctor Who Fan Show” that the episode captured the “delightful naughtiness” (or something to that effect, I’m paraphrasing) of the first Doctor. And Moffat did hint that they were going to show the more playful side of the first Doctor – but we don’t really get that – we don’t get the first Doctor who hides in an empty Dalek shell in “The Space Museum”, and pokes his head out giggling like a child. The only “funny” side of the first Doctor in this episode is that he shows some 1960s era political incorrectness. And if that’s your way into this aspect of his character – that it makes him “delightfully naughty”, I don’t think you’re going to approach it with the full nuance necessary.
SCRIBBLES: I think, overall, the sexist remarks were integrated into the episode well. I think the most exaggerated and unnecessary line of the lot was easily the joke about women being glass, which sounds nothing like any of the kinds of chauvinism he tends to display in the classic era, but that was bolstered by the sexist camaraderie it created with the Captain. But still, certainly, the episode leaned far more into that than needed, and I can see why it has caused many classic fans to bounce defensively right off the episode and miss its better aspects. I think something that isn’t commented on enough, though, is the way the episode plays into Capaldi’s incarnation’s own chauvinism. The biggest beat in his relationship with Bill, arguably, is right out of the Troughton era: telling her to wait in the TARDIS where it’s safe while he does all the adventuring. The sexist comments, if I recall correctly, were mentioned in a Moffat interview as helping subconsciously push the Doctor to becoming Thirteen. But given that subtext, I think the episode constructs that as being a fault on both sides situation. Twelve may not be calling women fragile glass, but he is still trying to lock them away in his wooden cupboard. And on a more out-of-universe textbook, there is still the arguable fault of Twelve just not being cast as a woman in the first place, despite Moffat’s clear belief that a woman could and should be the Doctor. That can very much be argued to be a failure, and if so, I think this episode is trying to engage with that.
SCARVES: That’s definitely something I’d have liked to have seen made explicit, actually, when the Twelfth Doctor tries to get Bill to go back to the TARDIS after arriving on Rusty’s planet – Bill saying something like “you’re still treating me like I’m made of glass” would have been a good way of explicitly critiquing the Twelfth Doctor’s flaws, and maybe adding a bit of subtlety and complexity to the episode’s somewhat limited critique of the first Doctor.
MICHELLE: It may not sound like the kind of sexism displayed in the era, but it’s a verbalisation and the most exaggerated endpoint of a certain attitude of the Doctor’s paternalism which then shows up in Twelve telling Bill to stay in the TARDIS. Which is obviously, understandably part of his grief at losing her the first time around, but it is still a certain thread that connects the two. He might never have verbalised it, partly because he would have been destroyed by Barbara if he said it, but it seems to come across that he thinks of all his younger female companions like this. It’s most evident to what he does to Susan – because he thinks Susan is dependant on him and this puts her in repeated danger, he basically finds her a man that will take her on. I do think that underscores his era, and that’s why I’m okay with it – it’s making the subtext text. Bill obviously doesn’t stand for it and destroys him in the way that Barbara would. Regarding the recognition of failure to provide a female Doctor as being a possible mistake, I do believe this is indeed where it engages with that failure and offers what it can as an apology for it. There’s an article on Vanity Fair about the episode called ‘Steven Moffat’s Final Episode Went to the Frontlines of the Culture War’ and while it gets more right than these things usually do, it does not say #NotAllWhiteMaleDoctors. It’s Steven revisiting this quote of his: ‘I think it’s important that there is a feminist critique of television, because things that go unquestioned go unchanged and what goes unchanged becomes institutionalized and what becomes institutionalized becomes your fault.’
TIBERE: Also, if they wanted to be fully era-accurate, they would have had to add some racism into the mix, and that … (No, I don’t think the First Doctor is racist, but he was occasionally given racist dialogue and some of his serials are iffy as fuck – this was a disclaimer please don’t crucify me). Yeah. No. Moffat’s meta reading, as broad as it can be, is a good compromise overall. As all compromises, it’s going to piss some people off, but it’s probably the best option possible in a scenario like that.
MICHELLE: I think ‘not a restaurant for the French’ has been interpreted as being meant as lowkey racism in some quarters, which I not only disagree with (it’s written by a man who repeatedly lampoons his own nation for god’s sake) but find absolutely hilarious. Touché, Tibs.
SCRIBBLES: I’ve often held a personal theory that, while living in the 60s, the Doctor and Susan picked up some of the attitudes of the time. Because, diegetically, there was never any explanation for the attitudes they espoused. I understand the fans saying, “of course he wouldn’t be sexist, he’s an alien from the future,” but the fact is the 60s did happen, and that’s what early Who came from. The ideology is tangible in the product. You don’t get lines like “Now, now, don’t get exasperated, Susan. Remember the Red Indian. When he saw the first steam train, his savage mind thought it an illusion, too” in a vacuum of ideology.
SCARVES: That line’s terrible in multiple ways – there’s colonialism combined with “calm down, don’t be hysterical” type sexism in one fell swoop.
MICHELLE: I’d be more sympathetic to the criticisms made by First Doctor fans if the reaction when it was announced that this sort of thing would be in a special wasn’t ‘oh, One was never like this’ and ignoring every bit of evidence where One was, in fact, like that. I kind of like that like a certain other relevant piece of media at the moment, “The Last Jedi,“ there is kind of a perversion of audience wish fulfillment and we are denied our unproblematic nostalgic pleasure we expect. Instead, we’re forced to actually critically engage with media that we love. I’m biased but honestly Doctor Who actually executes this better than TLJ does, partly because DW has a richer textual history and partly because Moffat’s just a better writer than Rian Johnson. Secondly, this has kind of happened before. They’re calling this a character assassination? What about the “The Two Doctors” where Robert Holmes takes his trademark cynicism to the point of near ugliness and has Patrick Troughton’s Doctor being flagrantly racist about both Androgums and people to make a point (a point badly made because he also manages to lean into the nastiness surrounding the era) culminating in the Doctor strongly implying that cannibalism has been known on earth but is specific to the ‘Far Indies’. Yikes. At least Bill is here to remind us that it’s okay to like the show even as we critically engage with it! I’m not sure what “The Two Doctors” wants to do by comparison because it very obviously never achieved it. I don’t want to say that One fans have no reason to be mad, because it’s a valid response, but I do want to think about it. All the lines except possibly the two about the cleaning both work as something that gives another character a great moment in responding to it as well something that he might actually at least think if not say. The glass ladies thing I’ve already discussed, but the line about Twelve being his nurse and putting women and older gentlemen to use is justified because of it being said to someone from 1914, and unlike other comments it’s clear it’s not something he actually believes. The real critique to be made here is One’s pomposity (definitely an accurate character trait) doesn’t allow him to think that a soldier from 1914 could be opened to more enlightened thinking and therefore chooses not to be honest about the situation (despite him having already seen the TARDIS). The ‘smacked bottom’ comment is an almost direct quote from “The Dalek Invasion of Earth”, and it sets up a wonderful moment between Bill and Twelve. The two cleaning comments are the only ones the episode could possibly do without, and the second one is what has Bill realise it’s the Doctor’s younger self (and the first exists to set it up, though it could work without it). I agree with Scarves that One is better captured here than at any other point where he has been depicted outside his era and the only real problem is that the thread connecting him and Twelve; and one line like ‘you’re still treating me like I’m made of glass’ would fix most of that. I think on the whole this strand is justified by being Moffat’s practical application of the quote from above about not institutionalising. That being said, if One fans still really don’t like it and the volume of it, there is a potential explanation: Doctors leaning into their flaws when given time to think about regeneration is something that has been known to happen (‘Look at you. Not remotely important.’) – something I’d argue is present with Twelve here too, his being paternalism and self-sacrifice. YMMV if that helps you deal with it. I can’t really add any more about One’s depiction that hasn’t been said except for one small bit that’s really more relevant to Bill.
TIBERE: Like, I think there tends to be an obsession about wanting the media we consume to be ideologically pure. But that’s never going to happen. Hartnell’s tenure wasn’t, Moffat’s tenure as a showrunner wasn’t (god, it feels weird to use the past tense …) either. You can wholeheartedly enjoy something that has iffy elements and political flaws – it doesn’t make it bad and it doesn’t make you a bad person.
SCRIBBLES: I think the bigger flaw is that modern Doctor Who has generally been arguing that the first Doctor was more progressive. “World Enough and Time” went on about the Doctor not even knowing what gender they were and having a crush on the Master, envisioning the early period as a sort of beautiful queer wonder. The reality of the Hartnell era is less than that, obviously, but “Twice Upon a Time” in some ways takes that even further. There’s quite a degree of whiplash to switch lenses within a few episodes. And given the choice, I do think I prefer the “World Enough and Time” approach. It’s not always perfect to pretend the Hartnell era is better than it was. I have serious issues with Big Finish’s introduction of a gay companion to his era, for example, which I think is very uncomfortably done, despite noble intentions. But it’s always hard to try to be progressive with television that’s fifty plus years old. Ideology changes with time.
TIBERE: There’s definitely an awkwardness there – I assume explainable by the fact this is an extra episode that wasn’t initially meant to exist.
SCRIBBLES: I suppose that’s the awkward thing. On a narrative level, this is the last of a three-parter, connected to the pre-credits of “World Enough and Time.” But on a storytelling level, this is it’s own beast, so that results in a somewhat jolting change in feeling.
MICHELLE: I mean, that’s a good point, but One lived a long long time, with probably only Eleven and War being around a similar amount or longer (Ten describes himself as being just a kid when visiting the Medusa Cascade at 90 years old and we know it takes an awful lot of time for an individual Time Lord incarnation to visibly age per “The Night of the Doctor” ” The Day of the Doctor” ). You can just put that down to environment change and stagnation. Even in “World Enough and Time” the inherent contradiction between the two is pointed out – for all attendant gender fluidity they still call themselves Time Lords. The Time Lords were a pretty conservative society for people in the far future and all that time standing still does not tend to help the Doctor.
SCARVES: Yeah, absolutely – seconding Michelle’s point here – I think this episode ties in to the “We’re billions of years beyond your petty human obsession with gender and its associated stereotypes.”/ “But you still call yourselves Time Lords?” scene. In that scene, Bill undercuts the Doctors’ idealistic boast that the Time Lords are a post gender society, and in this episode, the reality of who the first Doctor was undercuts his claims about who he used to be.
TIBERE: If the First Doctor represents the past within the narrative, it’s arguable that Bill and Clara point towards that “all-girl future” the Master mentioned in “The Doctor Falls.”
SCRIBBLES: And that future is represented by more than just girl, I think, here. Though that’s a massive section of the subtext of this episode, the text also creates a very interesting arc for the First Doctor loosely tied to that. A Doctor looking for good and finding how to be the new series Doctor, and what that means. My favorite scene of the episode was when Bradley’s Doctor was confronted with the typical big boasting title speech the Doctor gets all the time nowadays, and has done since the Virgin New Adventures, and responds with fear. As far as great moments go, that’s rivaled only by the similarly great scene when Bill asks him why he left Gallifrey for me, which is a lot of the payoff on that.
SCARVES: That scene is beautifully tied into the story’s overall message about the importance of kindness: the “hate is always foolish…and love, is always wise” line from Capaldi’s final speech works perfectly a callback to the scene where the Doctor says he left Gallifrey to understand why good persists in a universe when hatred seemed to him, pre leaving gallifrey, more rational and practical (some of the most spot on first Doctor writing in a multi Doctor story ever, that scene – it gets his voice perfectly). His hypothesis was proven wrong: love and kindness are rational and wise choices. That’s absolutely beautiful.
TIBERE: I love the fact that his regeneration is set to a revamped version of “Vale”- it’s a really smart way to convey that evolution. And it makes sense within the context of the show’s history – I think it’s fair to say Patrick Troughton’s performance is the one that solidified a great number of the elements that came to define the Doctor within the pop culture narrative. That’s not a dig against Hartnell – he’s brilliant! But the consolidation of the mythical figure of the trans-temporal adventurer didn’t appear until later: and “Twice Upon a Time” rewrites that accidental course of events into a purposeful, character-driven evolution.
SCRIBBLES: It’s sort of trying to find a bridge in the Doctor’s whole arc, I think. To the new series, to modern progressive values, and to the massive, unmissable, immortal pop culture icon the Doctor never could have anticipated becoming. Tying that to the idea of the “Doctor of War” as how the Doctor can be good was surprisingly affecting. The Doctor is the Doctor most of all when he wanders out from the War and everybody lives. No wonder Villengard shows up in this. Seven, Eight, Nine, the War Doctor, they together are the bridging tissue, that whole massive wilderness period. A time where Doctor Who stepped back and reassessed what it can be. Here, we have that extended to the very beginning, as the answer to a question the first Doctor never quite asked originally, but makes sense to add on to who he is. “The long way round” would never work as a last line for the first Doctor originally, because there was no future to build to. But with all the history having happened now, nothing could be better.
TIBERE: I think that question, or at least something like it, was there somewhere in the subtext of the original era, and understood by the people who wrote and performed it – but the nature of the show, at the time, this sort of mad vortex of adventures, of crazy whirlwind of random fun, didn’t really create the best space to ask it. Having the oh so self-reflective Moffat era go back to one of the more elusive Doctors as a final beat works delightfully well. ISpeaking of re-writing unintentional coincidences into a deliberate narrative, there’s also the Captain turning out to be a Lethbridge-Stewart (which one exactly, that’s a tricky question, considering some complicated matters of intellectual property seem to be involved) asking the First Doctor to look after his family. Which provides some interesting closure on series 8 as well, with the Doctor fully accepting his role as part of War, and getting the salute he made to the Brigadier reciprocated by one of his ancestors. Which made me cry, by the way. The Captain really is well-integrated within the narrative, I thought – it’s a very abstract narrative about the lost of an identity, of a mythos, so tying it to the very concrete death of a real-world man with children and family, in the middle of one of the biggest human wastes in history allows for some much needed gravity and extra emotional punch.
MICHELLE: I have a little bit of a theory about the plot of this episode as it relates to the Captain. I wonder if the real reason for the timeline error is because of the Lethbridge-Stewart connection. The reveal implies that after regeneration the Doctor subconsciously sought him out, and the need to make the first connection of the Doctor is part of the real reason for the timeline error – it can’t be a coincidence that he specifically is drawn out of time because of the whirlpool. It is important though that we are made to care for him independently of this. His offer of self-sacrifice for Bill ties him to Twelve and he can almost sense that despite his genuine love and care for his wife and sons, he believes they can better cope with his loss than the Doctor can with Bill’s. He’s probably not far wrong. There’s also that lovely bit about hope in isolation just making you afraid (you might even say it’s a terrible thing on the scaffold). To be honest, I think he likely dies during the war anyway (it’s only 1914) but just to have had that moment of unique human connection he wouldn’t have is what makes it all worthwhile, regardless.
SCRIBBLES: I like how a lot of the episode doesn’t care who his identity is, massive as it is. The Doctor’s comment to the first Doctor about how everybody’s important to somebody made me very happy. And it’s also a nice little moment for Twelve himself, given how his biggest screw-up all came from telling Courtney Woods she’s not special. The Captain’s scene talking to german Toby Whithouse at the beginning was a fantastic way to introduce those stakes.
TIBERE: As Phil Sandifer pointed out, the episode is basically a giant case for not killing Toby Whithouse. I’m not sure everyone will be convinced, but I appreciate the effort. Seriously, though, that beat builds nicely on the themes “The Eaters of Light” touched on – how one of the Doctor’s greatest powers is to allow for communication between people, for dialogue to take place. Really, none of these characters want to kill the other, but the miscommunications and xenophobia inherent to nationalistic wars nearly end them.
MICHELLE: But how else are we meant to stop his version of V for Vendetta? (Oh god, why.) Ha, it’s an interesting extra-diegetic reading of the episode but I very much doubt that it was intended by Moffat in that way. In any case, anyone who knows me knows and I hope respects that I would absolutely still shoot his weaseIly arse (well, head), so I’m forced to stick to the diegetic reading here. I do like the point made about miscommunication, it’s a very Moffat trope but it’s never come up in quite this way, where two people are trying to communicate the same thing to each other but can’t understand because neither speaks the other’s language (TARDIS translation circuits usually rule that out). On that note, Testimony’s timeline error is one last bit of Moffat playing about with miscommunication caused by ‘glitchy tech’.
SCRIBBLES: There’s a nice thing with the whole Captain’s death as a connection to the Doctor’s going on. It’s not exactly a subtle parallel, but it does add a lot of gravitas to them in a way regeneration itself can’t. We know the Doctor is going on. But we don’t know if the Captain will. Connecting the stakes of his life to the decisions of the Doctors of whether to go on makes them mean something. He’s the emotional core here. His life decides whether the Doctor lives. It reminds me a lot of the other idea Russell T Davies originally had for what became “The End of Time.” Instead of a big throwdown with the Master, he also considered a small story about the Tenth Doctor dying to save a family of aliens alone on a ship. Going small reaps rewards here. I can’t say the decision to save the Captain hits quite as hard as saving Wilf from a glass box, Mark Gatiss is a very talented actor but no Bernard Cribbins, but his role in this episode is crucial to making it all fall in place, with the little jab of continuity to give it a bit of extra emotional kick.
SCARVES: I like that this story weaves the four arcs of the main characters together so neatly – they’re all, in their own ways, confronted with death and responding in different ways, or in the case of the two Doctors, responding in the same ways for different reasons. With regards to the Captain, Kudos to Mark Gatiss here – his acting in the scene where he discusses his fear of death with Bill (directly paralleled with Twelve and One discussing One’s fear of going through regeneration for the first time) is utterly outstanding, as is his confrontation with Whithouse’s German soldier in the crater scene.
TIBERE: So that leaves us with Bill and Clara. Also, Nardole and his glass nipples. Which was an image I didn’t need.
SCRIBBLES: You totally did.
TIBERE: I have enough kinks to fill a library, but that one’s not part of them.
MICHELLE: The best thing that can be said of Nardy’s Nips is that they’re not Kylo Ren’s. But as a character I never really quite got, Nardole’s role here is as the last connection to River. Which is why his suggestion of ‘Don’t die, because if you do, the whole universe might just go cold.’ sounds like such a deliberate echo of her speech at the end of “Forest of the Dead” – it’s not a coincidence, this is the story that reveals the true depth of meaning to ‘if he ever, for one moment, accepts it’: it means he accepts his own death, and that means nobody else is saved. No more days when the wind stands fair and the Doctor comes to call; that everybody lives.
TIBERE: Clara’s framing within the story is a little bit over-the-top, with her angelic halo and all that, but I do enjoy what she brings, in a way – the Doctor’s transgressions and privileges caused a rift within the show, causing him to lose his memories, and at the end of his journey, that rift his healed, right in time for him to start his next life. His original sin, so to speak, disappears and allows him to start afresh and with a full, entire life.
MICHELLE: I thought the halo was at least partially because Jenna was CGI’d in? But yeah, it has a certain effect, was perhaps OTT. But, not to be too gay, but she kinda is. Okay, that was quite gay, but I am a huge lesbian. Occupational hazard.
TIBERE: I mean, yes, that too, that’s an useful way to camouflage the dodgy effects, but they didn’t have to make her so angelic. It’s a little Talalay bonus.
SCRIBBLES: I’ll be honest, the halo was a bit too much for me. It took me out of the episode a bit. Whereas some of the other direction here is beautifully subtle. She mentioned on Tumblr, for example, that the use of a gold palette was to tie in to regeneration imagery. It also ties very well to her work on series 9, which had a lovely gold palette throughout “Heaven Sent” and “Hell Bent.” The halo, meanwhile, combined with the production necessities of green screen, was a bit too much.
TIBERE: Oh, I can see why. It’s unsubtle as all fuck. I kind of love it for it, though. Speaking of direction, though – that looked absolutely gorgeous. I still might end up picking “The Doctor Falls” as Talalay’s finest work, but this is pretty damn close. I don’t want to fall into listing all the really great moments of visual storytelling in this – but the bit within the Testimony’s ship, whose very design purposefully echoes both the Confession Dial in “Heaven Sent” and the castle from the beginning of “The Witch’s Familiar” …
SCRIBBLES: I think my favorite part visually was how in the Testimony ship, the lighting cast massive shadows of the two Doctors up against the wall, inflating their legendary status side by side.
SCARVES: That was yet another of Rachel Talalay’s utterly perfect shots on Doctor Who.
TIBERE: Well, he beat me to it. Exactly that. The legend bigger than the men – and also some nice Plato-like echoes, with the Myth of the Cave, shadows as illusions, projections of the reality that don’t tell you the truth of the things, the truth within the man. Within the Doctor, in that case.
MICHELLE: If we move back from the direction, because it’s a conversation I can’t really contribute a lot to apart from saying most things that weren’t the CGI looked quite delightful. I really like how the episode does so much with Clara despite so little screentime and material. Saying the Doctor forgetting her was offensive is Clara Oswald encapsulated in a single line (at least as far as it’s possible to do) – it’s exactly the kind of joke she would make with Twelve, but it’s also her demonstrating how strong her grip on the Doctor Who narrative and her place in it that she cannot be permanently erased. Which is perfect considering that before she disappeared from it she too became a Master of the Land of Fiction and thus symbolises the programme’s future. That is why in the era of ‘we’re all stories in the end’, the narrative punished him for trying to erase hers by only letting him know the plot – her return lifted that, because she has her own power over fiction (it’s this power that protects Bill’s memory from being erased in “The Pilot” as well as she’s unknowingly invoked). She’s the female Doctor that arrived early. This also completes the critique of Donna Noble’s memory erasure that “Hell Bent” began – the Doctor’s memories are restored without harm to either him or Clara; and in the episode which implies our memories are the largest part of who we are; I have to ask: is the Donna we see during “The End of Time” really Donna Noble? In my opinion, no. No offence but fuck you, RTD.
SCARVES: “She’s The female Doctor that arrived early” – there’s a nice idea in that, actually, that Clara is this story’s version of the Watcher from “Logopolis”.
TIBERE: Which I guess leaves us to tackle the topic of the testimony and of Bill’s sort-of-duplicate-who-kind-of-is-her-but-that-is-not-the-point (hi, Osgood, you have company now I see!)?
SCRIBBLES: It should have been obvious this wasn’t the “real” Bill when she didn’t know where she put her girlfriend. Gay is too strong.
MICHELLE: As I demonstrated earlier.
TIBERE: “Short story: I totally pulled.” Best. Line. Ever. But yeah – much like Twelve’s, Bill’s arc was pretty much closed by the last story, and that’s more of a tribute to who she was and to what she brought to the show. It’s certainly a great way to inject femininity and queerness into a story that could have been a bit of an angsty sausage fest otherwise, so I shan’t complain. The plot mechanics surrounding her return are messy, to say the least, and the episode does probably a bit too much twisting and turning to justify her appearance (to the point where I wonder whether having her in her puddle form wouldn’t have been a simpler, better solution, but eh!).
SCRIBBLES: She didn’t need to be in this story, but the Doctor needed her in it. So the messiness is forgivable. This story really wouldn’t work without having Bill to comment on the Doctor. As for the mechanics of her return, I think they mostly hold up okay. Bill’s original ending is a transhumanist triumph, and the idea that another version of her might also have been extracted from the ending of “The Doctor Falls” is pretty sound.
TIBERE: She manages to transcend and cheat death twice. Lesbian Plot Armor.
SCRIBBLES: Cheating death twice. That’s sort of this whole episode all over, isn’t it? I think the only real shortcoming with Bill’s return here is it’s a bit murky what she knows at any given moment. Her motivation is ambiguous. Clearly she doesn’t initially realize she’s part of Testimony, but she has that realization over time. Is she just a sleeper agent that gets that knowledge after the hug? Does she know all along but lie really well? I think clarity there would have helped, even if I’m not entirely sure how it could be done. Also, on a shallower critical note, I would have liked to see her happy ending with Heather, as I’m sure would many fans. LGBT fairy tale telly at Christmas on BBC One would have been marvelous.
TIBERE: I mean, that’s really what the aesthetics of Who should be, going forwards, and it’s sometimes frustrating that the Moffat era, who has clearly heralded this direction, doesn’t go all in. Still, it’s a story that’s more about thematic closure than new bold directions – an epilogue, not a prologue.
MICHELLE: As the only LBPQ woman present (well, the only woman present in general) I don’t feel that either Heather or Bill in her puddle form; or lesbian hydrology to use a cunning linguistic terms (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist); would have worked in this episode. We need to look at what Testimony is for why. My good friend James Blanchard pointed out the duality of the big bad of the Moffat era being the Silence and the utopian society of the far future being called Testimony – the Silence want our trauma silenced. What then, does Testimony want? The truth of our trauma and our pain so that it can be used to improve the future. How does this relate to Bill? I’ll get back to that. If Clara’s role in the Capaldi era is to alongside Missy be a harbinger of the female Doctor, what is Bill’s? To question sacred cows, to be the lynchpin between the Doctor’s world and ours – she’s a sci-fi fan. Bill is us, trying to question and improve narratives. In other words, she is the era’s representative of material social progress (a concept which should be familiar to anyone who has read TARDIS Eruditorum). She’s here to progress the show, which is only appropriate for a character who is a black, working class woman and a lesbian – four class categories in need of material social progress. This is also explicitly Testimony’s goal in-universe. Free from the constraints of her body and her mortality (of which her puddle form would only be free of one), Bill is now the ultimate agent of material social progress and immediately sets to work on the show – turning the wound of losing Hartnell into a narrative of material social progress, and healing the Doctor’s psychic wounds by returning Clara, preparing him to become a woman. Speaking of Clara, there’s a bookend to Deep Breath where this time instead of her who can’t see the Doctor, it’s him who now can’t see Bill. To drive the point home, the ‘here standing in front of you’ line is quoted almost verbatim. To crib from Will Shaw, his unusual coldness towards her at this point within the narrative is where it becomes necessary for Twelve to die – he’s exhausted his potential for material social progress.
3) Vale Duodecem: a regeneration story, Memories, Kindness, and thematic closure
TIBERE: One of the great originalities of “Twice Upon a Time” is that it’s a script where the regeneration has already happened. We’re just suspended in time, waiting for it to happen – it’s even seeping into the look and aesthetics of the episode, as Scribbles pointed out when he quoted Rachel Talalay’s points about the golden colours of the cinematography. That’s a really interesting change of pace – really, the big regeneration speech that closes the episode is not about concluding character development; it’s above all prescriptive, it’s a manual of Doctoring 101 passed to the next Doctor and to the viewers. That’s an important point, really – by stating out loud the principles that determine what makes the Doctor who they are, the writers are giving the possibility for the viewers to adhere to these principles and join the Time Lord in spirit, if nothing else. Which is very much in line after the way “Extremis” played with the idea of the Doctor earlier this year.
SCRIBBLES: I suppose, in a way, that’s what every modern regeneration story has been. We know the end is coming, but we are suspended in a moment of grace, waiting for it. Only “The Parting of the Ways” doesn’t signpost it early on. The rest are about suspense awaiting the inevitable change and trying to make a final statement on an incarnation within that moment of breath. “Twice Upon a Time” is just weird in that it’s already come after that statement in the series 10 finale, and in that it’s more up-front about the liminal space it is.
SCARVES: In spite of the fact that the big, definitive statement on who Twelve is did happen in “The Doctor Falls”, this episode is also an important extension of his character arc. I think Steven Moffat said in the post episode “Doctor Who fan show” that he felt it would have been wrong for Twelve to just immediately regenerate having made a final stand for a good cause, when he made that stand thinking it would bring about the end of his life. And I think, as Twelve has been an incarnation who is incredibly tired of the continuing struggle of his life – see his “I’m sick of losing people” in “The Girl Who Died”, his “Why can’t I just lose?” scene in “Heaven Sent”, and his repeated attempts to sacrifice his life in series 10 (“Oxygen” and “The Eaters of Light” in particular stand out, also “The Lie of the Land”). He even calls his regeneration a “clerical error” in “Before the Flood”. All Doctors have moments where they are self sacrificial, or put their lives on the line, but with Twelve, there’s long been a sense that he doesn’t want to keep going after living longer than most Time Lords can or should. This episode makes that aspect of his characterisation explicit in the “a life this long is a battlefield” speech, and gives him a reason to keep going – well, multiple reasons, actually – it gives him back some of the things he lost over the course of this regeneration, lets him see the same fears in his original incarnation, lets him see that sometimes, people are just kind – the apparent villains, aren’t actually villains, there’s a good Dalek in the universe, and one day, soldiers stopped fighting and started singing. And it reminds him that he still cares – that he doesn’t want to let the universe fall apart without him.
MICHELLE: One my favourite things about the episode is the comparison drawn between this and “The End of Time” as regeneration stories. It’s almost a mirror image of the latter (though, fittingly for the coda to S10 reflection is not quite symmetrical), starting with going small-scale in helping a small group of people, the story TEoT rejected being. It then proceeds to reject almost all of its emotional beats despite superficial similarities – ‘Look at you. Not remotely important.’/’Everybody’s important to somebody.’ Finally, while we have the parallel of Ten and and Twelve not wanting to regenerate everything about the context is different. Unlike Ten who vainly clings to himself, Twelve is just so exhausted by loss that he just doesn’t want to go on any more. This is why the battlefield metaphor is so apt here; because it’s exactly what the Doctor who was born in the aftermath of Trenzalore would think. He’s literally bathed in survivor’s guilt, and the arc of the Doctor from “Deep Breath” is about that guilt slowly drowning him as more and more is poured on top. The victory he won in “The Doctor Falls” isn’t good enough for him, he knows it may only be a stay of execution. Saving everyone is what a he thinks a Good Man would do, and he cannot. Capaldi is just beyond magnificent in the final 20 minutes, it’s incredible to see the rawness of that pain fully revealed (I don’t know about the Testimony, but he certainly shattered me). He didn’t have a choice not to regenerate in “The Time of the Doctor” because regeneration was what would save the people. Here, he’s already made his sacrifice and is very reluctantly pulled back from the brink when he doesn’t want to be. Nobody’s immediate safety is compromised by him dying, so feels like he’s finally earned the right to just wants to give up. Honestly, I’m finding this incredibly difficult to write, but I relate so deeply to that urge. It’s probably why the Doctor in being left in an empty embrace after being hugged by Bill and Nardole and is such an strikingly affecting image, one of the most poignant individual shots in the entire history of the show for me: I’m hoping we can all relate to that feeling of being alone and missing people who helped us through things because for whatever reason they’re lost to us. Our memories might help us to an extent, but they’re still not really here. Bill can heal the wound in Doctor Who’s narrative by restoring the Doctor’s memories of Clara, but she can’t heal him. She, Clara and Nardole (and River and Missy and everyone else) are still gone; and he is alone. Except…not quite. There’s one last person (and yes, person is the right word) who is yet to have her say. The companion that will not and cannot ever leave; and with a wheezing, groaning sound she brings hope It is only fitting that as the Sacred Feminine of Doctor Who, the TARDIS is what gives the Doctor the final push over the edge to regenerate, and ultimately to become a woman. She knows the fairytale must continue, and she delivers one instruction to make it happen: ‘Physician, heal thyself.’
TIBERE: One of the most interesting elements of Moffat’s writing, I feel, is that his love of kindness extends to his characters. He said about reversing the end of the Time War in “Day of the Doctor” that he really wanted to give the Doctor a gift for their fiftieth birthday; and that’s very much the same here. A last hurrah, to quote “Mummy on the Orient-Express” (and really, this idea of impending finality is very, very much a defining feature of the Capaldi era, so I guess it’s not that awkward all things considered) – a last chance for Twelve to have fun and be validated, and for Capaldi to shine and have fun with the role. I can’t get disliking this episode, honestly – it’s just too fluffy and too full of good will from all parties involved. See for instance Nardole’s arrival at the end of the episode, just in time to replicate the “… cuddles” scene from “Oxygen”…
SCRIBBLES: Cuddling must feel very awkward with glass nipples.
TIBERE: …(of course, lovely parallel to have Twelve end his first episode by saying he’s not a hugger only for him to leave on a hug) – it’s really nothing more than a bit of fanservice, but damn, it’s so damn adorable. Including at the extra-diegetic level, with Matt Lucas’ own jokes about Nardy’s invisible hair finding their way into the script; an observation that can also be made of Capaldi’s final speech including lines he came up with in interviews, about children being the only ones who can hear the Doctor’s name.
SCRIBBLES: It seems weird to say about a magnificent departing Doctor and the end of my favorite writer, but the end of this episode made me very, very happy. It was so sweet and upbeat for an ending, looking forward to the future. I think Doctor Who has always been at its best when channeling a sense of wonder, and I think that entire ending sequence found that magic. Jodie is set up to live in a world of wonder, and I am utterly hooked.
SCARVES: I’m very much in the “Twelve’s final speech was beautiful and perfect” camp – I loved that it felt like the Doctor’s stream of consciousness, rather than just a beautifully crafted speech, very much in keeping with the rawness and desperation of the “just be kind” speech in “The Doctor Falls”. Rachel Talalay uses lighting on that TARDIS set incredibly: the first long shot of Thirteen post regeneration was utterly gorgeous. And Jodie had me hooked with that smile, two words, and her glorious northern accent. So yeah, the last ten minutes minutes just left me feeling wonderfully warm and whole.
MICHELLE: It’s very interesting to me how Twelve’s last lines before his regeneration – ‘One more lifetime never hurt anyone. Well, except me‘ – positions it as an act of self sacrifice – the only way Twelve is able to accept it and continue on. Yeah, Twelve’s final speech is just magnificent, it’s a beautiful stream of consciousness…thing. Certain curmudgeons are saying it’s notable that gifsets exclude the ‘detour about the Doctor’s name’ (do they?) but if they do, it’s wrong – it’s Peter and Steven beautifully paying off their debts to each other and it’s very much in tune with the rest of the speech. It’s Moffat is summing up his ethos and acknowledging his debts – to Dicks and Cornell and with the final line to RTD (a deliberate but different echo). rubbishrobots on Tumblr wrote that ‘Doctor…I let you go.’ is so very poignant a goodbye for a pairing who both had the job they’d always wanted more than anything else but recognised they had to go now or they’d never leave. It’s also much kinder to the incoming Doctor and showrunner than ‘I don’t want to go.’ (Yeah, I still kinda hate TEoT, sue me.) As for Jodie’s first appearance, I adore Talalay’s decision to make the result of the regeneration a dramatic reveal, which results in some spectacular shots. That shot in of the control room in Thirteen’s eyes before the focus on her angelic face is just…majestic. If she never returns it’ll be a disgrace. Whatever doubts I might have about Chibnall (and I have a fair few), there’s been much discussion about how to acknowledge the Doctor being a woman now, and in ‘Oh, brilliant.’ he’s picked the best way possible to do that. Despite the similarities to previous post-regeneration crashes I love that this time she actually falls out of the TARDIS, it creates a different dynamic for 11×01. Jodie is of course so magnetic and funny, and I relate to the TARDIS in that I am experiencing multiple operations failures on account of her. The use of The Doctor’s Theme, the leitmotif for all the post-2005 Doctors is not only perfectly haunting and eerie but on a meta level functions as the ultimate musical ‘fuck you’ to those who still won’t accept her. Or at least it tries to but fails because half the audience failed to pay attention to exactly when it was used in 2005/6 or have never listened to the soundtrack and therefore think it’s Rose’s theme. Oh well, it’s the thought that counts.
4) Final Thoughts
SCRIBBLES: As an end to an era, it’s far less self-conscious than “The End of Time.” This episode is a small and delicate thing. Hell, one big breeze and the veneer of plot would fall down. How far that works for people is, I think, a very personal question. This is, above all, character first, a series of intimate vignettes musing on the same thing. For me, I think, it put a big smile on my face, as a comforting breath between bigger things. But that’ll be different for everyone. It’s not an episode that really benefits from the massive scrutiny that is inevitably to be placed on it. It’s an episode that benefits from watching with loved ones on Christmas day, knowing a great series of Doctor Who finished earlier this year, and that the future is in safe hands.
SCARVES: I loved this episode. I loved the decision to go with a small scale regeneration story (something RTD considered doing before “The End of Time“, before instead going full epic). The core story, of the first Doctor being terrified of the “Doctor of War” he seems to have become, before recognising the true nature of that phrase, and his future self, was lovely. A “Doctor of War” isn’t a great and terrible warrior, they’re someone who heals and helps people trapped in conflict – like the volunteers who go to warzones not to fight, but to help wounded soldiers and endangered civilians. As a result, setting the story during the WW1 Christmas truce and, to have the Testimony not be villains with an evil plan tied in perfectly with this theme. “The Doctor of War” is not a warrior, the Testimony don’t have an evil plan for the Doctor to stop, and World War One can be a site of peace, just for a day. That this is all the backdrop for the first Doctor to realise his future isn’t as bad as he thinks it will be, and for the Twelfth Doctor to accept one more lifetime won’t hurt, is utterly beautiful. I’ll miss the Capaldi era: it’s given me so much, but this felt like the right way for it to end. Steven Moffat, Peter Capaldi, and all the other cast and crew have earned the right to leave here knowing that they’ve done a great job. I can’t wait to see what Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker will bring us next.
MICHELLE: I just find it so thematically rich and worthwhile and love it as a result. I am delighted that Moffat was able to give us an episode that so completely encapsulated the arc of Twelve. I also appreciated that he recognised that he was working in space where a Doctor Who story should not really exist (twice!) and therefore kept it light on plot through doing a character piece, one of his most underrated skills and playing up the episode’s liminal nature. My first watch was an interesting one, because I watched it around a family member I cannot show my emotions around and therefore most of the painful bits barely registered with me. This was good in a way, because it meant my reaction to it was all about Jodie and falling in love with her. The second watch on my own though, that was a very painful experience. Doctor Who, and most specifically Steven Moffat’s stories and era have been a refuge from everything in my life for the past 12 and a half years, and to deal with that passing is actually incredibly difficult. I’m also going to miss Murray Gold and his wonderful compositions (I hope they don’t completely disappear, especially if Blair Mowat is his successor) that have been able to touch my soul for the same period of time, and really appreciated his greatest hits reel. As for Peter and Bill, I would gladly have them around forever and this is a magnificent showcase of why. I want to thank them all for everything they were to me. The new era is something I’m approaching with a lot of trepidation, but none of that is down to Jodie, who I’m already completely sold on. To be honest, whatever happens with Chibnall, whether he manages to gain my trust and acceptance or not, at least I’m able to say that ‘the Doctor is a trans lesbian, like me’ and not really have anything to contradict me, and honestly, that’s just a joy in itself.
TIBERE: Really, it was a bit weird to watch – after the utter joy that was “The Doctor Falls”, to come back to these characters and this story, with so much time between the two … I think a lot of the reproaches we made to the episode can be summed up by stating there’s a sort of awkwardness at the heart of this story – the Doctor isn’t good at goodbyes, and somehow that extends to the writers that tend to him. But that’s something that can change with time, and rewatches, and nostalgia, I think – watching the episode as being an integral part of series ten and not a wintery coda, when some time has passed and we are truly able to look at this era of the show with perspective, drawing conclusions and making big statements, might make it flow considerably better. That’s definitely what happened with “Time of the Doctor”, for instance. As it stands, “Twice Upon a Time” is a pretty damn flawed episode of television, but being an episode of television is secondary to its true purpose as a greatest hits reel for Mackie, Capaldi, Talalay and Murray Gold, whose departure is all but confirmed, and who has offered us a true medley of all his contributions to the show (the fact his tenure as composer basically begins and ends on “The Doctor’s Theme” is really lovely, too), and as a warm homage to a time of the show that has now officially gone. Makes sense, really, when it continues from a story that told us all to “keep warm” … The Moffat era obviously means a huge lot to me, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to let it go straight away, but I have faith in Whittaker and Chibnall. Let’s hope for a bright future – and, to quote the First Doctor, a merry Christmas to all of you at home! | {
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How To Make a Sample App with the 6D platform
Welcome to the 6D platform. One of the primary features of the 6D Reality Platform is Persistence — meaning that content left by a user in a location is retrievable across app sessions and devices.
We put together this step-by-step guide to help those new to 6D get familiar with the process and required components for relocalization and persistence capabilities on our platform.
In this tutorial, we will make a sample app with a standard Unity sphere that persists in a certain location — demonstrating 6D’s relocalization and persistence capabilities.
We will go through setting up the project first, then we will create a simple AR app where we can place the sphere into the world. Lastly, we will add in functionality from the 6D platform that will enable persistence across app sessions.
Set Up the Project
Before you start, please download the 6D SDK unity package from the 6D Developer Dashboard (https://dashboard.6d.ai/)
Please note, the following information is key to building your project.
The project will not build successfully otherwise.
Open Unity and start a new project. Make sure Template is set to 3D.
2. After creating the project, go to File > Build Settings, select iOS as your platform, and click the Switch Platform button.
3. Still within the Build Settings window, click the Player Settings button. This will bring up a list of options within the Inspector window on the right. Several options within the Inspector must be adjusted.
4. In the ‘Rendering’ section, uncheck the Auto Graphics API option. Use the Graphics APIs parameter to add OpenGLES3 using the plus icon, and then delete Metal using the minus icon. The result should look like this:
5. In the ‘Configuration’ section, find Camera Usage Description and Location Usage Description. We cannot leave these blank, so type something into both of the corresponding text fields. The result should look like this:
6. Also in the ‘Configuration’ section, select the Allow ‘unsafe’ Code option. The result should look like this:
7. Go to Assets > Import Package > Custom Package and find where you saved the 6D SDK .unitypackage we downloaded earlier. Make sure all components are selected, then click the Import button.
8. Remove the Main Camera and Directional Light objects from the Hierarchy.
9. Finally, go into the Assets/6D SDK/Prefabs directory and drag the AR Background prefab and the AR Scene prefab to the GameObject Hierarchy.
You now have the necessary files and prefabs for a new project using the 6D SDK. Your screen should look similar to the image below:
Make a UI
A UI is necessary for buttons and icons, so let’s create one! Begin by creating a new Canvas GameObject [GameObject>UI>Canvas], and name it AR Debug UI.
Select the AR Debug UI object, go to the Inspector, and in the ‘Canvas Scaler’ section change the UI Scale Mode to Scale with Screen Size. In that same section, change the Reference Resolution to 2436 by 1125 (this is the resolution of the iphone X). Also in that same section, change the Screen Match Mode to Shrink. Add a Canvas Renderer component. [Add Component button > Rendering > Canvas Renderer]
Add in App Functionality
Now that we have our bare bone project and UI, we can begin constructing a functional app. We will start with a simple app that allows the user to spawn an object into the world by tapping on the screen. We will need two scripts for this functionality, and we have one of them already.
A game controller script, which allows us to actually place and save a sphere in the real world. We will create this script first. An SDK controller script which interacts with the 6D API. We already have this script in the bare bone project, it is included in the AR Scene prefab.
Part I: Placing an Object into the AR Scene
First, we need to create the object that we will have the user spawn. In this example, we will use a simple sphere prefab:
a) Create a sphere in the scene. [GameObject>3DObject>Sphere]
b) Drag the sphere object from the scene and drop it into the prefab folder.
c) Now delete the sphere that is in the scene.
d) Click on the prefab sphere you made. In the ‘Transform’ section of the inspector, change the sphere’s Scale to 0.2 for all axes. Next, we need to create a script that will handle placing the object.
Create an empty object [GameObject>Empty] and call it GameController. Select the GameController object, and add a new script as a component. [Add Component button > New Script]. Name the new script GameController. The new script GameController.cs will automatically be saved to the Assets folder of your project. Open GameController.cs in your favorite text editor and paste this code:
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.EventSystems; public class GameController : MonoBehaviour { public Camera ARCamera; public GameObject ballReference; private List<GameObject> balls; void Start()
{
balls = new List<GameObject>();
} void Update()
{
if (Input.touchCount > 0)
{
Touch touch = Input.GetTouch(0);
LaunchBall(touch);
}
} void LaunchBall(Touch touch)
{
if (EventSystem.current.currentSelectedGameObject == null &&
touch.phase == TouchPhase.Began)
{
Vector3 position = new Vector3(Input.mousePosition.x, Input.mousePosition.y, .5f);
position = ARCamera.ScreenToWorldPoint(position);
GameObject ball = Instantiate(ballReference, position, ballReference.transform.rotation);
balls.Add(ball);
}
}
}
6. After adding this code and saving, go back to the Unity Engine, and select the GameController object. In the Inspector, you will notice that some new values are available for the GameController script: Ball Reference and AR Camera. Drag the sphere from the prefab folder into the empty field next to Ball Reference.
7. Drag the ARCamera from our scene into the the empty field next to AR Camera.
You should have something like this:
8. Save this project and build it. Instructions on building a 6D application can be found here.
9. If your build was successful, you should now have a simple app that places a sphere half a meter in front of you if you tap the screen. Great! We learned how to place an object in AR.
The next step is to add in some persistence via the 6D SDK.
Part II: Implement Object Persistence
Now, let’s persist this content across sessions. We will need to modify the GameController script, and we will also need to add a script called FileControl. The file control script allows us to save and load the actual data of the spheres location in the world in a csv file.
Open GameController.cs, and replace the code you have with this:
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.EventSystems;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;
using SixDegrees; public class GameController : MonoBehaviour
{ #if UNITY_IOS
[DllImport("__Internal")]
public static extern void GetAPIKey(StringBuilder apiKey, int bufferSize);
#else
public static void GetAPIKey(StringBuilder apiKey, int bufferSize) { }
#endif
public Camera ARCamera; public GameObject ballReference; public FileControl fileControl; public SDKController sdkController; private List<GameObject> balls; private static string apiKey = ""; private string filename; void Start()
{
balls = new List<GameObject>();
sdkController.OnSaveSucceededEvent += SaveCSV;
sdkController.OnLoadSucceededEvent += RetrieveFile;
} void Update()
{
if (Input.touchCount > 0)
{
Touch touch = Input.GetTouch(0);
LaunchBall(touch);
}
} void LaunchBall(Touch touch)
{
if (EventSystem.current.currentSelectedGameObject == null &&
touch.phase == TouchPhase.Began)
{
Vector3 position = new Vector3(Input.mousePosition.x, Input.mousePosition.y, .5f);
position = ARCamera.ScreenToWorldPoint(position);
GameObject ball = Instantiate(ballReference, position, ballReference.transform.rotation);
balls.Add(ball);
}
} private void GetFilename()
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(apiKey))
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(32);
GetAPIKey(sb, 32);
apiKey = sb.ToString();
} if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(apiKey))
{
Debug.Log("API Key cannot be found");
filename = "";
} if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(SDPlugin.LocationID))
{
Debug.Log("Location ID is missing");
filename = "";
} filename = apiKey + "-" + SDPlugin.LocationID;
} public void SaveCSV()
{
GetFilename();
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(filename))
{
Debug.Log("Error evaluating the filename, will not save content CSV");
return;
}
string filePath = GetPath();
StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter(filePath);
writer.WriteLine(balls.Count);
for (int i = 0; i < balls.Count; i++)
{
writer.WriteLine(balls[i].transform.position.x + "," + balls[i].transform.position.y + "," + balls[i].transform.position.z);
}
writer.Flush();
writer.Close();
StartCoroutine(fileControl.UploadFileCoroutine(filename));
} public void ReadTextFile(string csv)
{
StringReader reader = new StringReader(csv);
string line = reader.ReadLine();
int ballCount = int.Parse(line);
for (int i = 0; i < ballCount; i++)
{
line = reader.ReadLine();
string[] parts = line.Split(',');
Vector3 ballPosition = new Vector3();
ballPosition.x = float.Parse(parts[0]);
ballPosition.y = float.Parse(parts[1]);
ballPosition.z = float.Parse(parts[2]);
GameObject ball = Instantiate(ballReference, ballPosition, ballReference.transform.rotation);
balls.Add(ball);
}
reader.Close();
} public string GetPath()
{
return Application.persistentDataPath + "/" + SDPlugin.LocationID + ".csv";
} public void RetrieveFile()
{
GetFilename();
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(filename))
{
Debug.Log("Error evaluating the filename, will not load content CSV");
return;
}
StartCoroutine(fileControl.GetTextCoroutine(filename));
}
}
Create the FileControl Script
You might see some errors pop up, but that’s because we don’t have a FileControl object or script yet. Similar to what we did with the GameController script, we are going to create the FileControl script:
Create an empty object [GameObject>Empty] and call it FileControl. Select the FileControl object, and add a new script as a component. [Add Component button > New Script]. Name the new script FileControl. The new script FileControl.cs will automatically be saved to the Assets folder of your project. Open FileControl.cs in your favorite text editor and paste this code:
using System.Collections;
using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.Networking; public class FileControl : MonoBehaviour
{ public string downloadURL = " https://persistence-demo.api.6d.ai/?action=get&file= "; public string uploadURL = " https://persistence-demo.api.6d.ai/?action=post&file= "; public GameController gameController;
{
string fullDownloadURL = downloadURL + locID + ".csv";
UnityWebRequest www = UnityWebRequest.Get(fullDownloadURL);
yield return public IEnumerator GetTextCoroutine(string locID)string fullDownloadURL = downloadURL + locID + ".csv";UnityWebRequest www = UnityWebRequest.Get(fullDownloadURL);yield return www.SendWebRequest();
{
Debug.Log(
}
else
{
string csv =
gameController.ReadTextFile(csv);
}
yield return null;
} if ( www.isNetworkError || www.isHttpError Debug.Log( www.error );elsestring csv = www.downloadHandler.text gameController.ReadTextFile(csv);yield return null; public IEnumerator UploadFileCoroutine(string filename)
{
string localFileName = gameController.GetPath();
string fullUploadURL = uploadURL + filename + ".csv";
WWW localFile = new WWW("file:///" + localFileName);
yield return localFile; if (localFile.error == null)
{
Debug.Log("Loaded file successfully");
}
else
{
Debug.Log("Open file error: " + localFile.error);
yield break;
} WWWForm postForm = new WWWForm();
postForm.AddBinaryData("Datafile", localFile.bytes, localFileName, "text/plain");
WWW upload = new WWW(fullUploadURL, postForm);
yield return upload;
if (upload.error == null)
{
Debug.Log("upload done :" + upload.text);
}
else
{
Debug.Log("Error during upload: " + upload.error);
}
yield return null;
}
}
Configure the Scene
Now that the FileControl object and script are created, we can configure the scene:
Select the FileControl object in the Hierarchy. In the Inspector, find the empty field next to Game Controller and drag your GameController object into it. Select the GameController object in the Hierarchy. In the Inspector, find the empty field next to File Control and drag your FileControl object into it. Find the empty field next to SDK Controller, and drag the AR Scene object into it. We also need to create a small script that will verify your 6D SDK API key. Using your favorite text editor, create a file named GetAPI.mm in your Assets/plugins/ios folder with the following text:
extern "C" {
void GetAPIKey(char* apiKey, int bufferSize)
{
NSString* plistFile = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"SixDegreesSDK" ofType:@"plist"];
if (plistFile)
{
NSDictionary *plistDict = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile:plistFile];
if (plistDict)
{
id dictApiKey = [plistDict valueForKey:@"SIXDEGREES_API_KEY"];
if (dictApiKey && [dictApiKey isKindOfClass:[NSString class]])
{
strcpy(apiKey, [dictApiKey UTF8String]);
}
}
}
}
}
Save and Load Buttons
We need buttons to enable a user to save their session, and load up the map/content from a previous session:
First we need to add two child buttons to AR Debug UI. Right click on the AR Debug UI object, and select UI > Button. Rename the button ‘Save Button’. Repeat this procedure to create a ‘Load Button’. Resize and position the buttons. Click on a button, and within the ‘Rect Transform’ section of the Inspector make the width 200, and height 100. Within that same section, change the Pos X and Pos Y values to whatever you prefer. For this example, we will place the Save Button at -250x, and -150y, and the Load Button at -250x, and -350y. Now we need to make sure the buttons do something. Select the Save Button object, and within the Inspector find the On Click () parameter within the ‘Button(Script)’ section. Click the plus button to add an OnClick() callback for the Save Button. Drag the AR Scene object from the Hierarchy into the empty field. Change the function from No Function to SDKController > Save (). Repeat steps 4–6 for the Load Button, but make sure to change the function from No Function to SDKController > Load () instead. Finally, we need to make sure the buttons have the proper text on them. Expand the Save Button object in the Hierarchy, and click on the Text object. In the ‘Text(Script)’ section of the Inspector, type a suitable label for the save button. Repeat step 8 for the Load Button object.
You should have something that looks like this:
Build the App
You can now save the project and build the app! The walkthrough for building a 6D application can be found here. Once the app is built, it should have the following capabilities:
The user can place spheres into the world with a tap on the screen. Clicking on the save button will save the map and the position of those spheres. The app will ‘remember’ the location of the spheres across sessions. Try closing the app and opening it again. Once re-opened, press the Load button. It may take a few seconds, but your app should recognize the environment, relocalize, and spawn the spheres from your last app session in the place that you left them.
Congrats! You have successfully built an app where objects can be placed into the AR scene with basic persistence.
Please post on the developer Slack with any questions and comments. We are looking forward to seeing what you build. | {
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The Bengaluru Police on Monday busted a syndicate which had illegally sent at least 32 children to the United States over the last few years.
After simultaneous raids across the City, the police arrested 16 people. The accused had created ‘fake parents’ for these children and got documents prepared for procuring passport and visa.
Uday Pratap Singh (44), a resident of Jayamahal, is suspected to be the kingpin of the racket. More arrests are expected shortly in Bengaluru and elsewhere across the country. The police have decided to contact the US Consulate in Chennai and officials in the US to ascertain the whereabouts of the 32 children. The police suspect existence of such syndicates in many major cities in India.
Though the exact motive of the syndicate is still not clear, preliminary inquiry has indicated that the arrested and their absconding associates collected hefty sums from Indians illegally over-staying in the US and translocated their children living in India to the US. The syndicate charged Rs 25 lakh to send one child to the US. The police are verifying bank details to unearth more information. People from Gujarat and Punjab overstaying in the US are said to have paid the syndicate to get their children over.
Singh had admitted that the syndicate had sent 32 children to the US and that the children were united with their parents in the US. “We are not ready to buy Singh’s theory. He might have sent the children as part of trafficking for human organs.
There could also be a few cases of illegal adoptions. The truth will come out during the probe,” said ACP (East) P Harishekharan, who headed the Special Investigation Team.
Meanwhile, US Consulate General officials in Chennai said they were coordinating with the investigation team. Though, the authorities refused to disclose the details exchanged with the Bengaluru Police, officials said.
“We are closely looking into all the allegations. Since, it is under investigation, we cannot reveal anything at this point of time,” the officials added.
DH News Service | {
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| {
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This is a nuts-and-bolts, idiosyncratic discussion of something that I can’t prove that I’m factually right on. So I realize this is going to sound like a tabs vs. spaces debate.
But hear me out.
Last September someone opened a ticket (#25473) to complain that the docs didn’t agree with themselves on whether a URL name should be ‘author-detail’ or ‘author_detail’.
Given the community (e.g., django-social-auth, wagtail) has generally used underscores, this should have been a simple ticket conclusion: “make them all underscores” because that’s what we as a community do.
Instead aaugustin made an offhand comment and somehow this had more weight than the entire community standard, and so it was assigned, fixed, and merged into the master branch.
Oh, but actually it wasn’t, because Django itself is still using the underscore separator pattern in django.contrib.auth because changing them would break other packages. In fact, the project maintainers even said so in the ticket.
This was the wrong decision. For the following reasons,
It was a well-accepted community standard that was seemingly changed on a whim without much conversation or weighing of the consequences. The reason given for the change was purely in service of doing a mass find and replace of the same type. That is, they won’t conflict with template or FBV names. A gain for sure, but refactoring the name of a URL isn’t a very common exercise. (Also, won’t there be times where the names clash with the actual URLs?) However, scanning for hyphens vs underscores in templates is a very common problem. Looking for hyphenated URL names among all the CSS gets very hard to parse visually, and this forces you to have to parse it visually.
I’d advocate that anyone in the community wondering if they should change. IMO, don’t bother. This is one docs example I will be ignoring, and you should too. | {
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Derrick Rose lost interest in re-signing with the New York Knicks and may not have wanted to serve as a mentor to 19-year-old French guard Frank Ntilikina, agent B.J. Armstrong told the New York Post.
“Did we miss something?,” Armstrong told the Post. “Is there something going [on] in New York we didn’t see? We all would agree they are on a different timeline than Derrick — a young team with great young talent there and trying to build something for the future. They’re not on the same timeline as players who are a little older and experienced."
“You’re a mentor when you no longer can play,” he added. “This league you get paid to perform. You don’t get paid to be a mentor."
New York never offered the veteran's minimum to try and get Rose to return. Rose signed with the Cavaliers for the veteran minimum for one year, $2.1 million last week. Once he decided to leave for Cleveland, the Knicks signed Ramon Sessions to the veteran's minimum to mentor Ntilikina.
• Which Team Should Trade for Kyrie Irving?
Rumors have been swirling that Cavaliers star guard Kyrie Irving requested a trade and mentioned the Knicks as a possible destination.
Rose is coming off a season in which he averaged 18.0 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds. | {
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One Tacoma man is literally trying to frighten package thieves away from his porch.
RELATED: ‘Rambo Nanny’ thwarts Everett package thief
“I’d get a notice from Amazon or whatever saying that I had a package on my front porch, get home and notice the package was gone. I’d review my surveillance and watch somebody running away with it,” Jaireme Barrow told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson.
After that happened a handful of times, Barrow decided to do something about it.
“I wanted to come up with a solution that was safe, because I don’t want to hurt anybody, but scary,” Barrow said. “Number one, I wanted them to drop whatever they were stealing from me. And then two, to think twice about ever stepping on someone’s front porch again.”
The solution Barrow came up with is called The Blank Box. It’s a blank shotgun shell linked to a fake package rigged to go off anytime someone picks it up.
“It’s kind of like a grenade,” Barrow said. Albeit, a really safe grenade. “Anytime you move it up and you try to pick it up, it goes off. What it does is it basically pulls the firing pin out, releasing the pin into the 12 gauge blank.”
With his surveillance cameras, Barrow captures would-be robbers approaching his door and attempting to make off with the dummy package. Then the shotgun shell goes off, sending them sprinting and often stumbling away.
“Obviously I still don’t want anybody to get hurt,” he said. “You walk through my gate, you ignore my ‘No Trespassing’ sign, then you ignore the note on top of the box, then you kind of get what you have coming to you.”
Scaring package thieves
In order to make sure delivery drivers don’t inadvertently set off The Blank Box, Barrow leaves a note instructing people not to move anything on his porch.
Barrow said he has accidentally set the device off on himself before. “It gives you a brief startle and you laugh and that’s about it,” he said. But if you don’t know it’s coming, if you are committing a crime on another person’s property, you are much more liable to be spooked.
“The way I see it, it’s just like any other alarm system. It’s loud noise to deter theft, just like a car alarm or a house alarm. This just happens to be a 12 gauge blank.”
Barrow hopes the device scares thieves into leaving his house alone. He also hopes it makes them quit going after other people’s homes as well.
“With the videos being all over the internet, I’m hoping a little bit of public shaming will help make them choose a different career path,” he said. “It’d be nice to know that what you buy and spend your hard-earned money on is going to be at your door waiting for you.” | {
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Stretching across five terraced houses and using more than 15,000 bulbs, this is the Frozen-inspired Christmas lights display which drew a crowd so large for the switch on police had to close the road.
The display, inspired by the Disney smash-hit movie was set up by father-of-five Andy McNab, who installed the lights outside his home in Dagenham, Essex.
It took the 47-year-old a month to put up the display, which boast of 15,000 bulbs and stretches across the row of houses.
Scroll down for video
The Frozen themed display, set up by Andy McNab outside his home in Dagenham in Essex which stretches across five houses
It took Mr McNab a month to set up the display and install the lights which boasts more than 15,000 bulbs
An aerial shot of the row of houses in Dagenham showing the Christmas lights display taken by the Metropolitan Police helicopter
But despite the lights paying tribute to the film, which tells the story of Princess Elsa, Mr McNab admits he has never actually seen the highly successful and popular children's movie.
On Monday night, Mr McNab held the big switch on for the display in the Dagenham street, which saw more than 1,500 people turn up.
The crowds were so large that police were even called in to close the road and direct traffic.
The lights are switched on daily as soon as it gets dark and go off around 11pm but Mr McNab says that they 'still get cars turning up at midnight'.
The grandfather was encouraged by family and friends to bring back the annual charity light displays that he created to amuse his children when they were younger - but on a much grander scale.
He said: 'I was just talking, as you do, and people kept saying "why don't you do it" and now that I've got the grandchildren I thought that I might as well.
The display has been inspired by the smash hit Disney movie Frozen, but Mr McNab admits he has never actually seen the highly successful children's film
On Monday night, the display had its official switch on and drew crowds of more than 1,500 people, which meant police had to close the road outside
Mr McNab pictured with his wife Lesley outside their home. The couple usually start planning their Christmas lights displays in August but this year did it all in a month
Mr McNab's family, pictured, urged him to put up the lights after he created annual charity displays when his children were younger
'It was just one of those funny things where I thought it was about time.
'Now we have people turning up with their kids saying that they remember that they used come with their parents.'
But Mr McNab and his wife, Lesley, didn't give themselves much time to get their display up and running.
He admiited: 'In previous years we have started at the end of August or the beginning of September but we first discussed it at Halloween and only had about a month to get it sorted.
The Dagenham display was based on the hit Disney film Frozen, which tells the story of Princess Elsa, pictured
'But it has ended up being the biggest display that we've done yet.'
Mr McNab has been backed by Barking Fire Station as they try to generate cash for the Children's Burns Club at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford. | {
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What Florida police first classified as a murder case actually turned out to be an elaborately planned suicide.
Alan Jay Abrahamson, 72, was found dead with a bullet in his chest near his Palm Beach Gardens home in January. Initially, police thought it was a murder because they did not find a weapon or shell casings, but months later, authorities have announced that wasn’t the case.
Cops believe Abrahamson tried to stage his suicide as a homicide by tying a string to a gun, which was attached to a weather balloon, and then shooting himself before letting go. Investigators believe the gun then floated away from the crime scene.
The balloon could have taken the gun 105,000 feet up and then exploded somewhere out over the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Bahamas, a police report said.
"To be honest with you, it’s just a bizarre situation," clinical psychologist Dr. Raphi Wald told WPEC. "I can honestly say that in my practice, I’ve never had anyone fake a homicide and commit suicide."
Police said surveillance of Abrahamson on the morning of Jan. 25 shows him walking from BallenIsles Country Club near his home. At 6:30 a.m., the sound of a gunshot can be heard.
A $3,000 reward was previously offered for Abrahamson’s killer, but no tips were offered.
Police later found Abrahamson had searched suicide methods online as well.
They also reportedly found receipts and emails for weather balloons, helium tanks and rubber bands on his phone. The same rubber bands were reportedly found near the 72-year-old’s body.
A 2003 plot from "CSI" also depicted a person who tied a gun to a weather balloon to make a suicide look like murder. It is not clear whether Abrahamson was influenced by the show.
Investigators found that Abrahamson had depleted his retirement account and made large payments into his life insurance account before his death, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Police have closed the case and the State Attorney has officially ruled Abrahamson’s death a suicide.
RELATED STORIES
Police Find Mother Falsely Believed She Had Cancer After Family's Murder-Suicide
Police Investigating Billionaire Found Dead With Wife as Murder-Suicide: Report
Father Kills 2 Young Children in Murder-Suicide | {
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The Times of Israel reports: Israeli officials on Sunday praised US President Donald Trump on the American special forces raid in Syria that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling it an “important milestone” in the fight against terrorism.
Trump confirmed earlier that the elusive leader was killed, saying he died “like a dog” in a daring nighttime raid by US special forces deep in northwest Syria. In a televised address from the White House, he said that US forces killed a “large number” of Islamic State fighters during the raid, which culminated in cornering Baghdadi in a tunnel where he set off a suicide vest.
“I wish to congratulate President Trump on the impressive accomplishment that led to the elimination of the head of Daesh, al-Baghdadi,” Netanyahu said an hour later in a video statement while touring the Palmachim air force base, using the Arabic initials for IS.
“This reflects the shared determination of Israel, the US and all the free countries to fight terrorist organizations and terrorist states,” he added.
Read more here. | {
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By DANIEL MARTIN
Last updated at 01:04 17 March 2008
White men could be legally blocked from getting jobs under new anti-discrimination laws being considered by Labour.
Employers would be able to give jobs to women or ethnic minority candidates in preference to other applicants, under the plans unveiled by equalities minister Harriet Harman.
If two candidates were equally qualified for a position, employers would be able to reject the white person or the man in favour of a black person or a woman.
But the plans are due to be criticised by business leaders and last night, even equalities campaigners expressed doubt.
Miss Harman - known as Harriet Harperson for her politically correct views - wants to look at how to bring U.S.-style "positive action" to Britain, saying it is vital to ensure the workforce more accurately reflects the demographic make-up of the population.
She says too many women and people from ethnic minorities are being held back because they cannot break through the "glass ceiling".
The new laws would only come into play where two equally qualified candidates had applied for the same post, allowing the employer to tip the balance in favour of minority candidates.
Businesses would not be compelled to favour the female or black candidate but the law would be changed to ensure they could not be sued for turning down a white man.
The proposals would also allow universities to select more female students in male-dominated subjects such as science.
But equal rights campaigners said the new rules would have a limited effect, and that action should be targeted on equal pay.
Katherine Rake of the Fawcett Society, which campaigns on equal pay, said: "How you would really hold that up in a court of law is not clear and, if it isn't, employers may be reluctant to use it.
"You are probably talking about a handful of cases."
The present law says employers are allowed to say they welcome applications from minority candidates, and they are allowed to promote jobs to specific groups.
Theresa May, Conservative spokesperson for women, said: "One of the real problems facing women today is the gender pay gap.
"If Harriet Harman really wants to help women in the work place she should strengthen the existing laws on equal pay. We have recently put forward proposals to do just that and our proposals would have a real impact on women's lives."
A spokesman for Harriet Harman said: "This is under discussion but no decisions have yet been made."
The changes would be included in the new equalities Bill, which will also give new rights to mothers to breast-feed in public. Golf clubs would have to give female players equal access.
Miss Harman also wants to force companies to conduct "pay audits", reviewing staff salaries to ensure they are not underpaying women.
But she is facing opposition from within the Cabinet on this from ministers who are worried about antagonising business yet further.
Last year Miss Harman called for all-black shortlists in constituencies with high ethnic-minority populations.
She said that unless action was taken, it would take decades for the make-up of the Commons to accurately reflect the make-up of British society.
But the plan immediately came under attack from ethnic minority MPs on the Labour backbenchers - saying black people should be selected on merit. | {
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An Open Letter To App Developers
The smartphone has quickly become our primary interface to the world. The app has become our primary interface to the smartphone. Apps matter. Therefore, app developers matter. Unfortunately, too many apps, too many app developers, likely in pursuit of riches that shall never come, continue to offer copycat apps, apps poorly designed, apps that value ads over users.
I want to help. I know apps, good and bad. I was analyzing the “smartphone wars” back when most tech blogs were still talking Mac vs PC. I have used most major smartphone platforms, at length. This includes Palm and BlackBerry, Windows Phone, iOS and Android, Symbian, Asha and, yes, Meego.
I offer the following rules and declarations in the interest of creating more and better apps for everyone.
The world does not need another weather app. By 2015, at the latest, I expect Windows Phone will garner at least a 20% share of all new smartphone sales. Create apps for this platform. It’s absolutely appropriate to ask me to rate your app. Once. If I choose not to, accept this — and never ask me again. Life is much easier when I can sign in to an app using my Facebook credentials. Never — not ever — should you request anything beyond my Facebook credentials, however. Do not ask to post my purchase of your app to my Facebook page, do not ask for my location unless there is a clear and present and ongoing user benefit. Do not ever ask me, and especially never require me, to tell you my Facebook friends. You have 3 seconds, tops. If I cannot fully immerse myself within the wonder and scope of your app in 3 seconds or less, then your app gets abandoned. Care about your app icon. It really does matter. Apple does not care about you. Apple provides you, for now, with the single greatest platform for monetizing your app. But do not believe they are your partner. They are the world’s largest (tech) company and do not like to share. iWork, iPhoto, Garage Band, Weather, Maps and more are just the start. Should a new app opportunity arise, possibly one you helped create, Apple will not hesitate to move in. Be ready to out-innovate, pivot, or die. We take our smartphones with us everywhere. For many, they are the first thing we see at the start of a new day, the last thing we see before going to sleep. This is a tremendous opportunity. At perhaps no time in human history has a single tool been used so fully throughout the day, everyday, for work and play, by child, teen, adult and senior, all over the world. Take pride in your work. You deserve to be paid. Of the hundreds of apps I have purchased, minimum, I have never once thought that I would rather choose the app with ads over paying $1, sometimes more, for an ad-free app. Even large display smartphones have relatively small screens. Cluttering it up with an ad, ever, is annoying. Worse, it’s a clear intrusion upon my privacy and a waste of time. I never click on a mobile/in-app ad. I can assure you that my time and my privacy are worth far more to me than my ad view is to you. Users deserve a second chance. Apple, especially, should offer an app trial period. Yes, even for a 99 cent app. Should they ever agree, these rules become even more important. Apps must be optimized for the platform and device. Always. Smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop. I subscribe to several web services (e.g. MyNetDiary, New York Times). The smartphone app version may look similar to the website, but must be optimized for the device itself (e.g. iPhone). There are no excuses for failing this. Touch, pinch, swipe. The touch interface is a beautiful thing. Yet, I have absolutely no use for apps, Clear, for example, or Tweetbot, that insist upon a needlessly expansive variety of gestures to access its data and features. This is nothing more than too many fonts on a Word doc. Almost every single app I have purchased over the past 18 months I discovered from a Twitter follower or a Facebook ad. Nowhere else. Not Apple genius. Not Google search. Not any app-focused website. You should know this. Specials are viral. I find out about your app on Twitter, for example, and learn it’s half-priced for today only, I am both extremely likely to buy and to tweet my purchase to others. Apps are like sperm. Only the first survive. If I have a decent grocery list app, say, there is an extremely good chance your far better, newer grocer list app will be irrelevant to me. Similarly, an app not on the ‘home’ screen is likely not long for this world. No advice, merely an acknowledgement. Your work is hard. Hold the line. Google has taught us that other’s information should be accessible, for free. Apple has taught us that hardware, not software, should be paid for. I don’t really know how you can succeed in this environment. But I hope you do. Most of you do great work. You get one chance only to ask if I want to connect with my friends. I should not have to repeat this. Ask once, then accept my ‘no’. I have a lot of friends. I know a lot of people. When you show me people I know or may know or should know and ask me to connect with them via your app, you make me feel nearly as dirty as you are. Never scan my contacts. Never ask to scan my contacts. It is a betrayal. This is why I can’t have LinkedIn on my phone.
As the world goes mobile, connecting everyone and everything, focused, functional and highly usable apps will serve as the entry point to all the world’s data, resources, people and content. The humble app, then, is a rather noble device. Treat it and its users with all due respect.
Godspeed. | {
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This article is more than 3 years old
This article is more than 3 years old
The political fallout from Donald Trump’s phone call with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen continued on Saturday, as critics said the president-elect could be paving the way to an alteration of decades of US foreign policy.
Gaffe or provocation, Donald Trump's Taiwan phone call affects global stability Read more
“This may make for great reality TV,” one Democratic member of the Senate foreign relations committee said, “but it doesn’t make for great leadership in a divided world.”
The senator, Chris Coons of Delaware, said it was “concerning” that Trump’s way of governing might mirror the “shoot-from-the-hip style” in which he campaigned for the White House.
Trump, Coons said, had to decide whether he would continue to “[get] into Twitter fights or take unscheduled calls from foreign leaders in ways that break with decades of precedent”.
The alternative, he said, was for the president-elect to rely “on the advice of career professionals and the state department and make moves in a calculated and thoughtful way”.
Hours after Trump’s call became public knowledge on Friday, the Chinese government issued a complaint.
“We have noticed relevant reports and lodged solemn representation with the relevant side in the United States,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a statement.
“I must point out that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inseparable part of the Chinese territory ... The ‘one China’ principle is the political foundation of China-US relations.”
A spokesman for the Obama administration declined to comment on the complaint.
Trump’s call with Tsai was the first publicly reported between a US president or president-elect and a leader of Taiwan since Washington established diplomatic relations with Beijing in 1979.
The US subsequently severed ties with the island, which is viewed by Beijing as a breakaway province.
Trump sought to stem the backlash resulting from the call by noting on Twitter it was the Taiwanese president who had called him. But he was rebuked for the call by foreign policy experts, who raised concerns about his propensity to behave unpredictably.
Christopher Hill, former assistant secretary of state for east Asia and Pacific affairs under George W Bush, said Trump had broken a 40-year tradition in one clear policy related to China.
“Obviously, it was an example of what is all too often happening now with this incoming administration, this tendency to wing it,” Hill told CNN on Friday evening.
He added his concern that Trump’s team would double down on the decision, as opposed to acknowledging the misstep.
“That’s a huge mistake,” Hill said. “And this is not going to be the last of these kind of things. So, things need to get … cleaned up in a hurry in Washington.”
The Connecticut senator Chris Murphy, another Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, criticized Trump in a series of tweets late on Friday.
“Foreign policy consistency is a means, not an end. It’s not sacred. Thus, it’s Trump’s right to shift policy, alliances, strategy,” Murphy wrote.
America’s allies, Murphy said, would “have no clue” what the country stood for if the conversation did not represent a genuine change in foreign policy but simply a temporary deviation at Trump’s behest. The senator further underscored the need for Trump to nominate a secretary of state, “preferably [with] experience”.
In his defense, Trump tweeted: “Interesting how the US sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call.”
His transition team described the conversation in a statement as a discussion “of the close economic, political and security ties that exist between Taiwan and the United States”, in which the president-elect also congratulated Tsai on her election earlier this year.
China lodges complaint with US over Trump's Taiwan phone call Read more
The Taiwanese president characterized the phone call as an “intimate and relaxed conversation” that lasted 10 minutes.
A translation of a statement posted on an official Taiwanese government website said Trump and Tsai broached topics including the domestic economy and national defense, and “allowing the people better lives and a guarantee of security”.
“The two briefly exchanged opinions on the situation in the Asia region,” the statement read.
Kellyanne Conway, a senior Trump aide, pushed back on the notion that Trump did not grasp the implications of taking the phone call.
“He either will disclose or not disclose the full contents of that conversation but he’s well aware of what US policy has been,” she told CNN. | {
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Story highlights Evidence reveals a back channel between News Corp. and the government
James Murdoch says staff members knew he would have "cut out the cancer"
Rupert Murdoch is to appear Wednesday at the inquiry into British media ethics
Both Murdochs deny knowing about the scale of illegal actions at their papers
James Murdoch insisted Tuesday that he knew little about the scale of phone hacking by people working for the News of the World, as he continued his fight to limit the damage the scandal does to him and his family's media empire.
Underlings did not tell him how pervasive it was when he took over News Corp.'s British newspaper publishing arm, he said.
He agreed with a suggestion that the reason was because they knew he would put a stop to it.
"I think that must be it, that I would say, 'Cut out the cancer,' and there was some desire to not do that," he told the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics.
Former Murdoch employees testified earlier that they told him about the problem.
He was testifying before an independent British inquiry into journalistic ethics prompted by phone hacking at the defunct News of the World, once the flagship British Sunday tabloid of News Corp.
JUST WATCHED Murdoch discussed BSkyB deal with PM Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Murdoch discussed BSkyB deal with PM 03:18
JUST WATCHED Explain it to me: UK tabloid scandal Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Explain it to me: UK tabloid scandal 03:36
The scandal has reverberated through the British political establishment, led to dozens of arrests on suspicion of criminal activity and forced News Corp. to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation to the victims of phone hacking.
Tuesday's hearing revealed the depth of the links between the Murdoch family and British politicians, with Murdoch saying he had had drinks with David Cameron at a pub before Cameron became prime minister and dined with him once he was in office.
Leveson Inquiry lawyer Robert Jay pressed Murdoch over the extent of his contact with politicians as the company moved to take full control of satellite broadcaster BSkyB, a bid that collapsed because of the phone-hacking scandal.
Evidence published Tuesday suggests that News Corp. was getting inside information from the government minister with the power to approve or block the acquisition, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Hundreds of pages of e-mails painted a picture of a back channel between Hunt's office and Frederic Michel, a top Murdoch employee.
Michel told Murdoch in January 2011 that he had gotten "absolutely illegal" information about government plans related to the takeover plan, the e-mails show.
Prime Minister Cameron has full confidence in Hunt, his spokesman Craig Oliver told CNN after the Murdoch testimony concluded.
Hunt's portfolio includes the London Olympics, which are now less than 100 days away.
James Murdoch and his father, Rupert Murdoch, have been hammered over the past year about what they knew about phone hacking by people working for them.
Rupert Murdoch is scheduled to appear Wednesday and perhaps Thursday morning at the inquiry.
The younger Murdoch has already been called twice to testify before British lawmakers and resigned from a number of top management positions at British subsidiaries of his father's media empire.
He and his father have always denied knowing about the scale of phone hacking, which police say could have affected thousands of people, ranging from celebrities and politicians to crime victims and war veterans.
James Murdoch said Tuesday that he had no reason to look into illegal eavesdropping by his employees when he took over the company's British newspaper subsidiary in December 2007.
A News of the World reporter and a private investigator had been sent to prison that year for hacking the phones of the staff of Princes William and Harry, but Murdoch said he had been assured that the problem went no further.
"I was not told sufficient information to go and turn over a whole bunch of stones that I was told had already been turned over," he said. "I don't think that, short of knowing they weren't giving me the full picture, I would've been able to know that at the time."
The journalist who went to prison, Clive Goodman, had been saying that phone-hacking went beyond his case, Leveson Inquiry counsel Robert Jay said.
"I was not aware of that," Murdoch replied.
He told the Leveson Inquiry on Tuesday that he did not decide what went into the company's British tabloids, The Sun and the News of the World, relying on his editors to make the decisions.
He was also pressed on his relationship with British politicians, including former Prime Minister Tony Blair and the current leader, Cameron.
He acknowledged meeting with them, but denied having lobbied them improperly about his family's business interests.
And he denied having made a "crass calculation" about how The Sun's endorsement of Cameron's Conservative party before the 2010 elections would affect News Corp.
Dozens of people have been arrested in criminal investigations into phone and e-mail hacking and police bribery, and police asked prosecutors last week to charge at least eight people.
The suspects include at least one journalist and a police officer, the Crown Prosecution Service said, declining to name them.
No charges have been filed, and the Crown Prosecution Service said it did not know when a decision would be made about charges.
The British government set up the Leveson Inquiry, the independent investigation that summoned the Murdochs, in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal. Two parliamentary committees also are looking into media conduct.
James Murdoch, 39, resigned as chairman of British Sky Broadcasting this month, saying, "I am determined that the interests of BSkyB should not be undermined by matters outside the scope of this company."
Rupert Murdoch testified before lawmakers in July alongside his son.
News Corp. shut down its British Sunday tabloid, The News of the World, last summer after public outrage at the scale of illegal eavesdropping its journalists did in search of stories.
The British lawyer representing dozens of alleged News Corp. phone-hacking victims was in New York last week, exploring options for a U.S. case against the company.
Attorney Mark Lewis said he is representing three or four new clients, one of whom is believed to be a U.S. citizen, who say their phones were hacked while they were on U.S. soil.
There are also many other potential new clients, Lewis said.
"As I've been traveling here," he said, "I've been contacted by many people who've had, so they say, similar problems -- not just hacking but maybe being trailed or have fallen out with some American Murdoch News Corp. company and then found themselves, as they would say, at the wrong end of investigations, the wrong end of information gathered." | {
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Na Delegacia de Pronto Atendimento (DPPA), registro de ocorrência inusitada nesta semana. Conforme o relato no boletim efetuado na manhã de quarta-feira, foi verificada uma situação contraditória. Afinal, um morador de rua está com prisão domiciliar decretada pela justiça.
CADASTRO – Numa ação de atendimento a moradores de rua, educador social realizou abordagem à rua D. Pedro II. Na esquina com a rua Barão de Santa Tecla, deparou-se com homem que estava sob marquise. Como é praxe no trabalho de acolhida e cuidado, a abordagem tinha como objetivo o cadastramento do morador de rua. Identificado, ele teria acesso a programas da área de serviço social. Na primeira etapa da trabalho, a abordagem transcorreu normalmente. Porém, foi verificado que o morador de rua não dispunha de documentação.
PRISÃO – Como forma de contribuir para a dignidade cidadã, o educador social conduziu o homem até a DPPA. Inicialmente, o registro seria para informar sobre a perda de documento. Com isso, possibilidade de agilizar a nova documentação. Mas, quando houve a consulta ao sistema da segurança pública, surgiu uma informação surpreendente. Afinal, o morador de rua constava como sentenciado à prisão domiciliar.
ENDEREÇO – No Boletim de Ocorrência, foi informado que, mediante o cadastramento, o homem deixou de ser morador de rua, e estará abrigado. Trata-se de prédio, à rua Santos Dumont, onde receberá acolhimento emergencial, conforme a política de ação social no município. Na DPPA, o registro foi feito às 10h8min de quarta. | {
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The contract for Cyprus’ first integrated casino resort, the only one of its kind in Europe, was signed on Monday in Nicosia between the gaming authority and the Melco Hard Rock consortium and is designed to provide for an investment of €500m, attract an extra 300,000 tourists a year, and to add 4,000 jobs.
The contract was signed at the Filoxenia Conference Centre between the president of the National Gaming Authority and Andy Choy, chief gaming officer, of the consortium of Melco International Development Ltd, Seminole HR Holdings LLC (Melco Hard Rock) and CNS Group (Cyprus Phassouri Zakaki Ltd).
Energy, Commerce and Tourism Minister Yiorkos Lakkotrypis, who addressed the event, touted the fact that the Limassol complex would be the only integrated casino resort in Europe, which will be based in Limassol, and will include four satellite casinos in Nicosia, Larnaca, Famagusta and Paphos.
The main resort will also be the largest casino in Europe, the minister said with 136 gaming tables, 1,200 gaming machines, a luxury hotel with 500 rooms with the capacity for expansion, a conference hall spanning 6,000 square metres that can accommodate audiences of 1,500, and a wellness centre covering 4,000 square metres.
“Total investment is expected to exceed half a billion euros and is estimated to create more than 4,000 jobs during the construction phase and the same number during operation,” Lakkotrypis said.
“This is undoubtedly, a project that will enrich our tourism product, attracting an additional 300,000 tourists annually and contributing significantly to combating seasonality,” he added.
The casino licence allows for the operation of an integrated casino resort in Cyprus for 30 years, as a monopoly for the first 15. Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said earlier this year that the casinos would bring in €100m a year in taxes.
The satellite casino in Nicosia is estimated to be up and running this year, and a temporary casino in Limassol – until the full-blown casino resort is ready. This will likely be located at the current premises of the Monte Caputo nightspot on Amathus Avenue. Construction on the resort – which will include a luxury hotel and theme parks – is expected to be completed by late 2019 or early 2020.
Lakkotrypis said that due to its size and importance, the casino was probably the most important project Cyprus has seen in decades.
He also said it was important that part of the government’s vision was that the casino would operate in a controlled manner so that vulnerable groups would be protected.
The previous government under Demetris Christofias had vowed to never allow a casino for social reasons but the financial crisis in 2013 prompted the current government to see it as a way to attract investment. Lakkotrypis said the age restriction has been set at 21.
“Our goal is the improvement of incoming tourism, increasing arrivals, and average spending per capita, and also to see this contribute to the ongoing efforts to address the problem of seasonality in the Cypriot tourism industry,” he said.
“Our other strategic objective was the creation of new jobs and additional tax revenue, supporting sectors that will be associated with the casino, and attracting further foreign investment.”
The casino operations will be overseen by the six-member National Gaming Authority, set up only five months ago, headed by Christos Mavrellis who said during the signing ceremony that its mission would be among other duties, to make sure the operation did not fall under criminal influence or exploitation.
The body will also make sure the games in the casino are conducted honestly, to make sure the operator complies with the terms of the licence and to monitor any negative social consequences.
“We shall exercise our authority and perform our duties and responsibilities in good faith always aiming at making this ambitious project a success,” he said.
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Last week's announcement that the new iPhone 5 will include a fancy new fingerprint scanning security system was met with a chorus of protests. What if someone lifts my prints and makes a fake finger and unlocks my phone? What if the government snoops on my phone (more than it already does) and steals my fingerprints?? Oh God, what if muggers cut off my thumbs to unlock my phone when they steal it?!? Relax. None of that's going to happen. Here's why.
First, a quick rundown of how the tech actually works. When you set up your new iPhone 5, its TouchID fingerprint scanner registers one of your prints and stores that data locally in the phone's secure A7 chip. From that moment onward, if you have TouchID enabled, every time you press your finger against the home button/capacitance scanner the phone matches the current print with the registered version and, if they match, unlocks the phone. What's more, the new iPhone 5 will also reportedly employ RF signals to "see" through the uppermost, dead layers of finger skin and image the living tissue immediately below.
There are a couple of key points there that are worth a little more detail.
First, if your finger is not alive, the scan won't work. That means that cutting off a thumb won't do anything but earn you the nickname "One Thumb Bill" (assuming your name is indeed Bill). Using Silly Putty to steal prints won't work either, since last we checked Silly Putty can't replicate living tissue. In addition, latent prints an evildoer picks up from that mug you just put down might not even contain the correct portion of the print, since the iPhone's scanner only images the very tip of the digit, a part of the finger you don't often use for gripping..
"You use a different part of your finger to touch the iPhone sensor than what you use to touch other things," writes Robert Graham on the Errata Security blog. "That means while hackers may be able to lift your thumbprint from you holding other objects, or from other parts of the phone itself, they probably can't get the tip print needed to do bad things on your iPhone."
Second, the government can't get at your fingerprint. That's partly because the iPhone stores all fingerprint data on its secure chip and only sends a message to websites or apps stating that the two prints match, not actual proof that they do, so there's no outgoing sensitive information (unless you can intercept and spoof the confirmation token sent by the phone). And also partly because if the government really needed your fingerprints, it simply wouldn't be worth the trouble of cracking into your phone. DMVs, passport offices; there are plenty of government agencies that have your thumbprint on file already. And if they don't, they could get it just by following you around town for 10 minutes.
And as Philip Bump explains in The Atlantic:
Your fingerprint...isn't traveling anywhere. Is it possible that the NSA could ask Apple to upload a user's fingerprint from the phone so that it can be transmitted to the agency? Sure. But that likely wouldn't be a request that comes through PRISM; it would probably require a separate warrant. Not impossible, but, given the burden of demonstrating need for a warrant, not as easy as a few keystrokes.
If anything, you should be worried that the scanner's not effective enough security for all of the information that is vulnerable in your phone. "There should always be some concern with new technologies or functionality that has such a large base of users," Joe Schumacher, a consultant for security firm Neohapsis, told CNN. "The fingerprint reader is more of a sales tactic than a strong security enhancement."
A mugger could try to cut off your thumb, sure. But wouldn't it be easier—and less messy—just to force that thumb down on your phone? And honestly, if you're really that worried, why not just disable TouchID altogether? The PIN is still a viable option.
So no, you shouldn't worry about Apple's new fingerprint scanner being a boon to muggers o government spooks. The former's not going to get anywhere cutting thumbs, and the latter's too busy reading your emails to bother with your prints. [Cite World - CNN - ABC News - HuffPo - ZD Net - Image: Suzanne Tucker] | {
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Adán Vez Lira shot dead while he rode his motorcycle in Actopan, Veracruz state
Environmental activist killed in Mexico – the third this year
A prominent environmental activist has been killed in Mexico, the third such death in the country this year.
The UN office of the high commissioner for human rights said Adán Vez Lira was shot on 8 April while he rode his motorcycle in the township of Actopan, in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.
Vez Lira was a longtime supporter and organiser at the La Manchaecological reserve on the sparsely populated stretch of coast north of the state capital.
He was a recognised environmental activist who had played a notable role in several environmental defence causes in Actopan, the office said.
Mourners who posted messages on the reserve’s Facebook page said he also was active in opposing mines and preserving wetlands. The area is noted for its tropical forest and coastal lagoons.
Mexico: defender of monarch butterflies found dead two weeks after he vanished Read more
Vez Lira was at least the third environmentalist killed in Mexico this year. The country’s human rights commission said at least two other activists have been killed in 2020.
In late March, unidentified gunmen killed Isaac Medardo Herrera Avilés, a lawyer and activist who defended a rural tract against development near the Mexican city of Cuernavaca.
His neighbourhood activist group in Jiutepec, in the state of Morelos, posted a statement saying the killers knocked on the door of his home and shot him, before fleeing.
Herrera Avilés had led a fight over at least four years to stop plans to build a housing development on the Los Venados tract, an environmentally sensitive woodland area in Jiutepec, just south of Cuernavaca. The development was halted and the area was supposed to be used as a nature reserve.
The Mexican Centre for Environmental Law reported that 15 land defenders were killed in Mexico in 2019. Morelos was ranked as the third most dangerous state for environmental activists in 2019. | {
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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The launch of what would have been Japan’s first privately developed rocket to reach outer space failed Sunday off Hokkaido after telemetry was lost, forcing it to be aborted, the Hokkaido-based developer said.
Officials from Interstellar Technologies Inc., founded by former Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Horie, said the 10-meter-long Momo rocket was aborted after communications with the rocket’s telemetry system failed about 80 seconds after liftoff. The rocket was launched from the town of Taiki, on the island’s south coast.
The rocket fell into the Pacific Ocean about 8 km offshore after its engine was halted, they said.
The rocket, weighing a little over 1 ton and with a diameter of around 50 cm, was designed to reach an altitude of 100 km — beyond the boundary between the Earth’s atmosphere and space — and descend by parachute into the ocean.
The company aims to use Momo to pave the way for a commercial microsatellite launching service.
To develop a rocket without government funding, the company reduced production costs by making some of the parts on its own and outsourcing other items, such as the semiconductors and screws.
The launch is believed to have cost around ¥50 million, which the company said it collected from its sponsor, digital contents provider DMM.com, and through crowdfunding.
Interstellar Technologies was founded in 2013 and currently has 14 employees.
The rocket was originally intended to be launched on Saturday but was delayed by fog, which pushed back the launch to Sunday.
Several dozen spectators had already arrived at a viewing point about 1.5 km away from the launch site on Saturday morning to monitor the event.
“I hope a successful launch will help revitalize the Hokkaido economy,” Masafumi Fujita, 61, who came from Sapporo to see the launch, said. | {
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Photo: Fertnig/Getty Images
In July 2002, The New York Times Magazine published “What If It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie?,” a cover story by food journalist Gary Taubes arguing that the carbohydrates in our diets, not the fat, were the likely cause of obesity and heart disease. What sounds perfectly reasonable now — essentially a defense of Atkins and Paleo — was at the time akin to heresy. The critical avalanche that followed was swift and relentless, including a Center for Science in the Public Interest newsletter cover accusing Taubes of promulgating “Big Fat Lies,” a Reason magazine takedown headlined, “Big Fat Fake,” and a Newsweek scolding, written by a former friend, titled, “It’s Not the Carbs, Stupid.”
Almost fifteen years later, much of what Taubes was pilloried for writing in 2002 has become conventional wisdom. Michael Pollan has since referred to Taubes as the Alexander Solzhenitsyn of nutrition research, and he’s been asked to lecture at over 60 universities and medical schools worldwide — from the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic to Harvard Law School and Oxford University. Taubes is now widely considered to be one of the most influential authorities in nutrition. With his latest book, The Case Against Sugar, coming out from Knopf in December, we asked him to write about his time in the wilderness. Below, in his own words, Taubes ruminates on bouncing back from professional ridicule.
Here are three issues I have with the concept of vindication, at least of the variety for which I am, regrettably, a candidate.
1. You have to establish the conditions for vindication to be necessary, which means you first have to be publicly shamed or ridiculed, an experience I personally could have lived without.
2. Vindication is not a binary phenomenon; it’s not a yes or no, black or white thing. The people who had publicly insisted you were an idiot are very likely to continue to do so, rather than admit or, perhaps more important, acknowledge to themselves that they might have been wrong. That’s human nature. The best you’ll ever get is some degree of vindication. Never the whole thing.
3. The orthodoxy can always protect itself by accepting your once-heretical ideas as valid, but conveniently forgetting or ignoring the heretic’s role — i.e., yours — in forcing the issue. This is the “we knew it all along” scenario. It wouldn’t be a cliché, if it weren’t so likely to play out. Any heretic should find such an outcome sufficient, but it’s only natural to want credit for one’s contributions, particularly so if they’ve been accompanied by public shaming and credibility is required for you to make a living.
My particular heresy was to author an article in July 2002 that the editors of The New York Times Magazine thought sufficiently controversial to feature on the cover with a memorable if not infamous photo of a porterhouse steak and a pat of butter. The headline was guaranteed to incite the orthodoxy, if not implicitly insult them — “What If It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie?” The article argued that the conventional thinking on nutrition that we’d been living with since the 1970s was likely to be incorrect, that we should be avoiding refined carbohydrates and sugars, not eating low-fat diets, and that maybe it was the infamous Dr. Robert Atkins, of all people, whose advice we should be taking, at least if we are fatter than we prefer, as an ever-increasing number of Americans surely are. To suggest as I did in the very first paragraph that maybe Atkins had been right all along was a surefire method to bring the article maximal publicity, induce the greatest backlash and, whether my editors knew it or not, maximize the book advance that would assuredly follow.
The advance paid for the next four years of my life and so the research and writing of a book, Good Calories, Bad Calories, that (regrettably) would take five years. First, though, I would be publicly shamed. I had expected the article to be controversial; I had no idea quite how much. A 2012 article in the Columbia Journalism Review described the reaction as “a sustained, near-operatic chorus of censure.”
In retrospect, my article had aggrieved two significant constituencies, not just one. By proposing that the nutrition authorities had made inexcusable errors, I had implied that my journalistic colleagues who covered this field had also botched the story, if not missed it entirely. We all like to think we’re good at our jobs. If I was right, they weren’t. Not on this subject. Hence, I couldn’t be right. More human nature.
The Washington Post published a lengthy exposé by a reporter who had spent decades faithfully reporting what the nutrition authorities told her. She claimed that my “key assertions were contradicted by a significant amount of high-quality research,” although my greatest sin, the Post article implied, was that I had confused the public. Better that every authority and journalist agrees on the wrong answer, by this logic, than that one or a few of them actually be right. Reason magazine published a lengthy exposé calling me (or at least my work) a “Big Fat Fake,” authored by a reporter who had written a book faithfully reporting what the experts had told him. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which had been faithfully promoting low-fat diets since the 1970s, published a lengthy exposé accusing me of committing “Big Fat Lies” and Newsweek published a shorter exposé, “It’s Not the Carbs, Stupid,” authored by a friend who had recently published her own book on obesity and had more or less faithfully reported what the experts believed. My friend had considered me one of the best and most astute science journalists in the country, but that changed once I came to different conclusions than she had. Now she accused me of selling out to procure a large book advance. That would be a common accusation.
Since then, I have clearly moved toward vindication. Aspects of my once-heretical arguments have become orthodoxy. Michael Pollan has described me as playing the Alexander Solzhenitsyn role in nutrition for my investigative reporting on the scientific bankruptcy of the low-fat nutritional wisdom. Even the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its dietary guidelines now suggest that the first principle of a healthy diet is not the reduction in fat, as it was from the 1970s through 2002, but in processed and grains and sugar. That has reached “we knew it all along” status. Time, which launched the official institutionalization of the low-fat-is-good-health dogma with a memorable cover article in 1984 (“Cholesterol: The Bad News”) reversed itself with a 2014 cover story ( “Butter Is Back”). Even Jane Brody, the iconic New York Times personal health reporter, who led the journalistic charge for the low-fat diet in the 1970s and 1980s, recently conceded that maybe butter and saturated fats were no worse than the pasta and bread she had suggested in her own best-selling books to be consumed in quantity. I thought I’d never see the day.
While the orthodoxy has yet to embrace Atkins and low-carb, high-fat diets, or ketogenic diets as they’re technically called, as healthful diets, let alone ideal, they’re getting there. Hundreds if not thousands of physicians now preferentially prescribe them to their patients, and the bookstores are overflowing with diet books and cookbooks, promoting variations on these themes. There’s even a yearly international meeting of academic researchers and physicians just to discuss what they consider the somewhat remarkable clinical efficacy of ketogenic diets in treating an ever-increasing spectrum of rare to common disorders. The world has certainly changed. We are making progress.
So have I personally been vindicated? I wouldn’t go that far. Yes, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded me a prestigious three-year grant to follow up my book Good Calories, Bad Calories with one specifically on sugar — The Case Against Sugar, which is coming out shortly. The reviewers so far seem to love it. And I co-founded a not-for-profit organization, the Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI.org), which has had some rocky times lately, but also raised some $30 million to fund research at Harvard, Stanford, the NIH and elsewhere, targeted at resolving the controversies I’ve done my best to inflame.
But vindication is clearly in the eyes of the beholder. In the course of the research for Good Calories, Bad Calories, I concluded that one bedrock assumption about obesity, held widely by everyone, and even by me when I wrote my infamous 2002 article — “excess calories, after all, are what causes us to gain weight” — is indeed not only wrong, but almost incomprehensibly naïve, if not meaningless. As such, I’ve been arguing since 2007 that to insist that obesity is caused by consuming too many calories is as inane as it would be to say that poverty, for instance, is caused by earning too little money. It confuses a description with an explanation and is another profoundly inexcusable error. This goes after the fundamental paradigm of our understanding of obesity and so the most critical health issues of our time. And it implies that the research community has committed an error in judgment and consequences of a magnitude that may have no precedent.
Does the relevant medical-research community and the journalists who cover it think I’m right? In other words, would those who bought into the orthodoxy, circa 2002, now agree that I’ve been vindicated? Not even close. That thinking might have been captured best by a recent Amazon review of Good Calories, Bad Calories: “Another bad book written by an uneducated reporter! Zero stars! wrong wrong wrong! THIS IS WHY UNQUALIFIED, UNEDUCATED PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE WRITING ABOUT NUTRITION!” Clearly, vindication is relative. | {
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Editor's note for Sept. 27, 2015: If you are looking for viewing details on the rare supermoon lunar eclipse of Sept. 27-28, 2015, please visit our complete coverage page: Supermoon Lunar Eclipse 2015: Full 'Blood Moon' Coverage .
A total eclipse of the moon tonight is expected to delight skywatchers across the United States and much of the world.
It will be the last total lunar eclipse until 2010.
The easy-to-watch event will play out in several stages as Earth's shadow blocks sunlight from shining on the moon. Weather permitting, the eclipse will be visible from all locations in the United States, according to NASA. Along the Oregon and northern California coasts, the moon will rise during the early stages of the eclipse, however.
When to watch
Eclipses occur only at full moon when the sun, Earth and moon are in a perfect line. Because the moon's orbit around Earth is not perfectly aligned with the plane of Earth's orbit around the sun, eclipses do not occur at every full moon.
The moon will enter Earth's umbral shadow (the full shadow) at 8:43 p.m. ET (that's 7:43 p.m. Central, 6:43 p.m. Mountain and 5:43 p.m. Pacific) on Wednesday, Feb. 20. It will appear as though an ever-larger bite is being taken out of the moon.
Some 78 minutes later, the moon will slip into full eclipse. About 51 minutes later, a bright scallop will appear as the moon starts emerging. It will be completely out of the umbral shadow at 9:09 p.m. Pacific time, which is 12:09 a.m. ET on Thursday morning.
For Europe and Africa, the eclipse is a predawn Thursday event, with the moon starting entry to the umbral shadow at 1:43 Greenwich (or Universal) Time.
What you'll see
Look for the moon to possibly turn red during the total portion of the eclipse. "The exact color that the moon appears depends on the amount of dust and clouds in the atmosphere," according to a NASA statement. "If there are extra particles in the atmosphere, from say a recent volcanic eruption, the moon will appear a darker shade of red."
The redness occurs because while the moon is in total shadow, some light from the sun passes through Earth's atmosphere and is bent toward the moon. The effect is to cast all the planet's sunrises and sunsets on the moon.
Christopher Columbus famously used a blood-red eclipse in 1504 to frighten natives on Jamaica into feeding his crew.
The planet Saturn and the bright star Regulus will form a broad triangle with the moon's ruddy disk, according to Joe Rao, SPACE.com's Skywatching Columnist.
You don't need any special equipment to watch a lunar eclipse. Comfortable chairs and warm clothing are good ideas. A telescope will bring out interesting details of the lunar surface, and even a small telescope will reveal Saturn's stunning rings. | {
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education
Updated: Feb 25, 2016 17:58 IST
The Madhya mik Shiksha Parishad (UP Board) has directed students appearing for high school and intermediate examinations not to put any religious signs or numbers like Om’ and ‘786’ on any part of the answer sheet.
Students violating the directive could be debarred from the examination, the order said. The move is aimed at keeping the religion of the examinees a secret from the examiners.
The board has also directed the examination superintendents to ensure that the examinees did not carry mobile phones and other electronic gadgets which could assist them in copying.
The examinees have been asked to carry original registration card of Class 9 and Class 11 issued to them at the time of taking admission to Class 10 and 12.
Read more: Bihar to go high-tech to curb cheating in exams
The parishad has also warned the examinees against misbehaviour with examination superintendents and other officials during and post the examination. Any examinee found flouting the directives could be debarred from the current year examination or permanently, the order said.
District inspector of schools Mohammad Ibrahim said, “A foolproof strategy to conduct the examinations peacefully and in a fair manner has been prepared and requirement of district officials for conducting the examination has also be submitted to the district magistrate. 238 examination centres were created in the district, out of which 13 were marked as sensitive.”
About 1.31 lakh examinees would appear in the examination this year from 114 aided and 113 self-financed college centres.
Eleven centres have been created at government colleges, Ibrahim added. | {
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The Mokattam Misdemeanour Court in Egypt today sentenced Zyad el-Elaimy, a human rights lawyer, former MP and one of the leaders of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, to one year in prison and a fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds (around US$1,270) for “spreading false news with an intent to spread panic among the people and disturbing public peace” during a TV interview with the BBC in 2017. Responding to the news, Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:
He has now been sentenced to a year in prison for daring to give a TV interview to BBC Arabic, in which he spoke about the practices of politically motivated imprisonment, enforced disappearance and torture in Egypt Philip Luther
“Zyad el-Elaimy has been unlawfully detained since June last year, when he was arrested in relation to his peaceful political activities. He has now been sentenced to a year in prison for daring to give a TV interview to BBC Arabic, in which he spoke about the practices of politically motivated imprisonment, enforced disappearance and torture in Egypt.
We call on the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Zyad and to drop all charges against him Philip Luther
“The unfounded charges of which Zyad has been convicted stem solely from the peaceful expression of his opinion and his peaceful political activities, demonstrating the Egyptian authorities’ total intolerance of dissent. It is outrageous that he has been punished with a year’s imprisonment simply for speaking to the media.
“We call on the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Zyad and to drop all charges against him. He is a prisoner of conscience, who has been swept up in Egypt’s ruthless purge of critics and opponents.”
Background:
Zyad el-Elaimy has appealed against the sentence and the date of 7 April has been set for the appeal hearing. He remains in pre-trial detention pending investigations in another case, known as the “Hope case”, where he is accused, along with other politicians, of unfounded “terrorism”-related offences in retaliation for their attempt to found an electoral alliance for the 2020 parliamentary elections. | {
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Gameplay
Added animal ragdolling when shot or hit by vehicles.
Stopped NPCs shooting cars that are too close to them.
Police NPCs will now flee from burning cars.
AI will now burst fire when using automatic weapons.
Replaced the toy factory with a military base.
Added 10 new challenges, accessed in the same way as Time Trials
Added 2 new vehicles, the Westmoreland Tank and the Army 4×4.
Added 2 new weapons, the bazooka and the minigun.
Audio
Improved bullet impact sounds for vehicles, buildings and people.
UI
Moved ‘Game’ to top of Options menu
Bugs
Fixed issue where weapon fire rate would temporarily increase when turning quickly.
Fixed issue where NPCs would continue attacking the player after death.
Fixed issue where the camera wouldn’t orientate itself properly at the beginning of time trials while playing in Follow Camera mode.
Fixed issue where NPC speech bubble would persist after the vehicle they were in had been destroyed.
Fixed issue where the ‘Return to Vehicle’ countdown would display in time trials, even if the player was dead.
Fixed issue where player would surrender while standing still and aiming.
Fixed issue where the police car icon wouldn’t disappear from the minimap if stolen from a police roadblock.
Fixed issue where the player could make phone calls during challenges and races.
Fixed issue where the ‘back’ UI button would overlap with the weapon panel.
Fixed issues with UI icons when playing on 21:9 monitors. | {
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(Bloomberg) --
German listed companies will be asked to suspend dividend payments to qualify for assistance designed to ease the impact of the coronavirus crisis.
The government will be able to set conditions on dividends as part of an aid program involving loans and guarantees from state bank KfW and the goal is that credit does not end up being disbursed to shareholders, an Economy Ministry spokesman said at a regular news conference in Berlin. He confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report. The KfW declined to comment.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government on Friday secured final parliamentary approval for a package of measures totaling more than 750 billion euros ($827 billion) to address the economic fallout from the virus. On top of that, the KfW has 500 billion euros available to boost the liquidity of companies struggling with a collapse in demand.
As the impact of the virus spreads, companies across Europe are coming under increased pressure to defer dividend payments to preserve cash. Regulators such as the European Central Bank have already pushed banks to hold off on such payouts to increase their resilience.
Germany’s Commerzbank AG, in which the government holds a stake of 15.6% -- a legacy of the financial crisis -- said Monday it won’t propose a 2019 dividend due to the ECB’s recommendation.
Germany is in line with neighbor France in insisting firms asking for aid forgo dividend payments. All companies that have delayed tax liabilities will have to reimburse the state and pay penalties if they proceed with dividends, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said. Any big corporations that flaunt the call to stop payouts will also cease to be eligible for 300 billion euros of loan guarantees.
Emergency Contributions
The German policy on dividends was evident in a 1.8 billion-euro credit line for TUI AG announced March 27. “One of the conditions of the KfW loan is that TUI de facto waives dividend payments for the term of the credit line,” the tourism company said in a statement.
Story continues
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is among German firms to have said they will suspend their dividends, along with the likes of battery maker Varta AG and car rental company Sixt SE. Lufthansa has also said it’s talking to KfW about a loan.
Germany will also demand cuts in wages and bonuses for senior managers of companies that apply for financial aid, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said at the weekend.
“It’s important to me that management boards and senior executives contribute in emergencies, especially with respect to bonus payments,” Altmaier said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.
(Updates with background on dividends from fifth paragraph)
For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P. | {
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A quick turnaround for the Mets became even quicker when their departure from Miami late Wednesday was delayed by random postgame drug tests.
A quick turnaround for the Mets became even quicker when their departure from Miami late Wednesday was delayed by random postgame drug tests.
The logistics were a hassle to begin with: a 6 p.m. start Wednesday in South Florida, followed by a plane ride to Queens and a 1 p.m. home opener Thursday.
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After the drug tests — which are overseen by an independent third party, in accordance with MLB and the MLBPA’s joint drug agreement — the Mets didn’t leave Marlins Park until about 11 p.m., players said.
The Mets finally arrived at Citi Field at about 3 a.m., according to a half-dozen players who expressed frustration with the extra wait. They reported back to the ballpark at about 10 a.m., and the coaching staff ended up canceling batting practice Thursday because of the short night.
Then the Mets sleepwalked through a 4-0 loss to the Nationals. Fourteen of their 27 outs were strikeouts.
“I don’t think I can speak on their behalf, but I can only imagine they were kind of tired,” said Noah Syndergaard, who flew earlier Wednesday because he was the next day’s starting pitcher. “I don’t think we were in a proper situation to win a ballgame based on the rest of the guys’ sleep and travel.”
Brandon Nimmo, one of the players’ union representatives for the team, said the Mets took part in three rounds of drug tests during the three-game series against the Marlins. He called the last one, postgame on a getaway day, “abnormal.”
“We were like, well, that really tops things off,” Nimmo said. “[Mets players were] definitely upset about it. It’s random and you gotta do what you gotta do. It’s just part of the game. It was unfortunate. It’s bad timing. It made a short night even shorter — especially for the home opener. But it’s part of baseball. You just have to roll with the punches.”
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Home teams pick the start times for games. The Marlins didn’t do the Mets any favors by moving the game up by only an hour from a usual first pitch, but the Mets still picked an early-afternoon start time for their first home game, as most openers in franchise history have been.
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After the Mets swept the Marlins, it was time for drug tests. First baseman Dominic Smith didn’t hear nature’s call.
“After the game, sometimes you have to wait for guys if they just don’t have to pee,” Nimmo said, laughing. “We ended up waiting for Dom until 11 o’clock. We’ve all been there. It’s hard. Us playing the game an hour early didn’t even matter.”
Smith confirmed: “Yep. They had to wait for me to pee. The bus was at 10:05. I got done peeing at 10:45. But, I mean, I got us out of BP today, so some people were happy about that. I can let you know that.”
Smith, one of only two players tested Wednesday night, said he initially didn’t provide a satisfactory quantity, so he started chugging water. After fulfilling his duties, he ended up using the bathroom three times on the way to the airport and five times on the flight to New York, he said.
Manager Mickey Callaway downplayed the unusual travel schedule, noting that the players could power through on short sleep and catch up on the off day Friday.
Nimmo and his teammates were consistent in not using the travel and urine test delay as an excuse. But they acknowledged it didn’t help, either.
“We all tried to get ready as best we could,” Nimmo said. “It’s just the way the game goes.” | {
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