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The state Supreme Court decided Wednesday that California will remain intact geographically, at least for now, while it decides whether the voters can consider a proposal to divide the Golden State into three new states.
The three-state initiative, Proposition 9, had gathered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Nine days after opponents filed suit, the court issued a unanimous order removing the measure from the ballot and ordering further legal arguments on whether it should be placed on another ballot in 2020 or struck down altogether.
The court said it usually allows ballot measures to go to the voters before considering constitutional challenges. But in this case, the six justices said, “significant questions regarding the proposition’s validity” and the “potential harm” of allowing a public vote before those questions are resolved “outweighs the potential harm in delaying the proposition to a future election.”
Those questions include whether California voters’ broad authority to enact laws by initiative, established in 1911, includes the power to break up the state, and in the process abolish its Constitution and existing laws, to be replaced by lawmaking bodies in three future states.
The narrower legal issue is whether Prop. 9, drafted as a change in the laws that define California’s boundaries, would actually amount to a “revision” of the state Constitution. That cannot be done by initiative, but instead requires approval by two-thirds of both houses of the Legislature to be placed on the ballot.
“We believe it is clear that a ballot initiative may not revise the Constitution by making changes in the basic framework of government,” said Carlyle Hall, a lawyer for opponents who sued to take Prop. 9 off the ballot. “And there can be no greater change in our framework of government than the total abolition of our existing Constitution.”
Howard Penn, executive director of the Planning and Conservation League, lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, said Prop. 9 would have caused “chaos in our public services including safeguarding our environment ... all to satisfy the whims of one billionaire.”
The billionaire is Bay Area venture capitalist Tim Draper, who drafted Prop. 9, qualified it for the ballot and has represented himself without a lawyer in the court proceedings. Draper argued that California has become ungovernable — its taxes too high, its schools and public services in disrepair, its 39 million-plus residents far too numerous to be represented democratically by 120 elected legislators.
He reacted indignantly to the court order.
“Apparently, the insiders are in cahoots and the establishment doesn’t want to find out how many people don’t like the way California is being governed,” Draper said in a statement. He said the six justices “probably would have lost their jobs” under the three-state plan.
“The whole point of the (state’s) initiative process,” he added, “was to be set up as a protection from a government that was no longer representing its people. Now that protection has been corrupted.”
Prop. 9 proposed creating three new states: Southern California, running from San Diego and Orange County north past Fresno to Madera County; California, from Los Angeles along the coast to Monterey; and Northern California, covering all areas from Santa Cruz north to the Oregon border.
If the measure appears on a future ballot and a majority of voters statewide approve it, the state would forward the plan to Congress, which would have the last word. Establishing three states in place of one would also authorize the election of four additional U.S. senators. California’s current 55 electoral votes for president, reliably Democratic in recent decades, would be divided among the new states, and the contours of the proposed Southern California state suggest that it could swing Republican.
California lawmakers, meanwhile, would apportion current state funds and facilities among the new states.
Draper had proposed in 2014 to divide California into six states, but was unable to collect the 585,000-plus signatures needed for a measure to amend the state Constitution. By drafting Prop. 9 as a recasting of state laws, he needed only 385,880 signatures to make the ballot. He submitted more than 402,000 valid signatures in April.
The measure was challenged in a lawsuit July 9 by opponents led by the Planning and Conservation League, which said it feared the environmental consequences of discarding current state laws and constitutional protections. They contended Prop. 9 is, at the very least, a constitutional revision that could not be enacted by voter initiative.
The court has considered similar arguments on other issues in the past. In 1990, it overturned a provision of a prosecution-sponsored initiative, approved by the voters, that would have barred California courts from interpreting criminal defendants’ rights more broadly than the U.S. Supreme Court. The state justices said it would have required “far-reaching changes in the nature of our government plan.”
The lawsuit challenging Prop. 9 said it “would not simply ‘revise,’ but would abolish the existing state Constitution” and all state laws.
Draper put it differently. Prop. 9, he told the court in a filing last week, would result in “nullification of the California Constitution, not its ‘revision.’”
Legal groups representing low-income Californians also argued that the three new states, while relatively equal in population, would be financially unequal — the new Northern California would have far more revenue available from income, sales and property taxes, and less need for spending on public assistance, than the other two new states.
“California’s state government now equalizes these disparities based on need, not geography,” Bob Wolfe, attorney for Public Counsel and the Western Center on Law and Poverty, told the court. “Once the state is divided, such a needs-based allocation no longer would be possible.”
The court’s order leaves 11 propositions on the Nov. 6 ballot. After Prop. 8, a proposed regulation of kidney dialysis clinics, the next on the ballot will be Prop. 10, which would expand local government authority to enact rent control.
The case is Planning and Conservation League vs. Padilla, S249859.
Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @BobEgelko | {
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A recent decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal analyzed whether an Ontario court has the jurisdiction to make decisions regarding child support, spousal support, and equalization of net family property after a foreign court has granted a divorce.
The Facts
The Court of Appeal referred to the facts of this case as “unusual”, and they warrant a thorough review.
The father, an engineer, is a Canadian citizen who has resided in Mississauga since approximately 2005. All of his assets, property and sources of income are in Canada. The mother resides in Tai’an City, China where she works as an office clerk. She has never been to Canada.
The parties were married in China in August 2006, and had a daughter in February 2007. The daughter has resided with her mother in China for her whole life. For most of the marriage, the father lived in Canada and the mother lived in China. They separated in late 2007/early 2008.
The mother brought a divorce application in an Ontario court in March 2009, seeking divorce, spousal support, child support, custody of the daughter, and equalization of net family property.
The father brought a divorce application in China, seeking a divorce, custody of the daughter, and equalization of net family property. In the interim, the mother sought a motion for temporary child support in the amount of $825. The father brought a motion, heard by Justice Baltman, seeking to have the Ontario court proceedings halted so the matter could continue in China. The mother sought to have her application heard in Ontario.
Justice Baltman’s Decision: Support Proceedings in Ontario Should be Halted
On the father’s motion to halt proceedings, Justice Baltman noted the short length of the marriage, found that the crucial issue was child support, and concluded that, logically, child support should be decided in the same jurisdiction as custody and access. Therefore, she held that China was the more appropriate forum for the proceedings, and the hearing in Ontario should be halted. Justice Baltman wished to ensure that any child support order made in China could be enforced against the father and his assets here in Canada and ordered that “the husband…be held to his undertaking to this court to abide by Chinese court orders”.
The Chinese Family Court
The proceedings continued in China, where the Chinese family court granted the divorce, awarded custody of the daughter to the mother, and granted sole ownership of real property purchased in China pre-marriage to the mother.
The Chinese court was unable to reach a decision on support and equalization, since the mother had not been given full financial disclosure prior to the divorce and custody decision. The Chinese court directed that if the parties could not reach an agreement on these issues, an application could be brought in Canada to finalize matters.
The father appealed the Chinese family court decision in China. The Chinese appellate court decided that Chinese system was not the best forum in which to decide the remaining issues since all the father’s assets and properties were in Canada. The father applied again for a retrial, and his application was dismissed on the same basis (that all relevant property and assets were in Canada).
The mother subsequently brought a motion to the Ontario Superior Court requesting that the proceedings here be reinstated because the father had failed to make full financial disclosure and had therefore breached the original trial judge’s order.
The Ontario court ordered the issues to be divided so that the preliminary issue of jurisdiction could be decided first. If the court concluded that it had jurisdiction, a trial could then be held to decide the outstanding issues of spousal support, child support, and equalization.
The Jurisdiction Decision
The original trial judge held that the Ontario Superior Court did have the necessary jurisdiction to hear a claim for relief under the Divorce Act, despite the fact that the divorce had been granted in China.
In coming to this decision, the judge distinguished the case from Okmyansky v. Okmyansky, a landmark decision on foreign divorce, and one in which the court reached the opposite conclusion (that an Ontario court could not make decisions about support where a divorce had been granted outside of Canada).
The judge provided a number of reasons why the facts in this case were sufficiently different from those in Okmyanski, such that the court could assume jurisdiction to hear the respondent’s application for support and equalization, despite the fact that the divorce was granted in China:
The mother had commenced her proceedings in Ontario before the father commenced his proceeding in China, and long before the Chinese court granted the divorce;
The Ontario court had halted the mother’s application, on conditions that the father subsequently breached;
The father obtained his foreign divorce in a proceeding that misled the Chinese court by making a false declaration about his income, which prevented that court from being able to determine the issue of support;
The Chinese court explicitly declined to exercise its jurisdiction over outstanding economic issues, including support and division of property, and explicitly left those issues for a Canadian court to determine;
Without the Ontario court assuming jurisdiction over the issues of support and equalization of property, the mother will be left without any forum in which to pursue her claims.
The father appealed the finding of jurisdiction.
The Court of Appeal
On appeal, the father conceded that the Ontario court system did have jurisdiction to decide on outstanding issues of net family property, but wanted a decision on the following issues:
Does an Ontario court have jurisdiction to hear and determine corollary relief (i.e- child or spousal support) under the Divorce Act following a valid divorce in another jurisdiction?
Does an Ontario court have jurisdiction under the Family Law Act to determine the issue of child support following a valid foreign divorce?
The Divorce Act
The Court of Appeal acknowledged that the unique facts in this case were significantly different than those in Okmyansky. Specifically, here, the mother’s application for relief in Ontario predated the Chinese divorce application. In Okmyansky, the application for relief in Ontario was not commenced until after the foreign divorce was issued. However, Okmyansky is clear and unequivocal authority that an Ontario court does not have jurisdiction to hear and determine a claim for corollary relief under the Divorce Act once a foreign divorce has been granted. The original trial judge erred in attempting to distinguish the facts in this matter from that case, nothing in the unique circumstance of this case provides jurisdiction where a statute (i.e.- the Divorce Act) does not do so.
Ultimately, an Ontario court does not have jurisdiction to make a decision about child or spousal support if a divorce has been granted in another jurisdiction.
The Family Law Act
Unlike the issue of corollary relief under the Divorce Act, there was no disagreement here between the parties about the issue of equalization of net family property under the Family Law Act. The law is also clear that an Ontario court can do so, notwithstanding a foreign divorce.
An outstanding question, however, was the issue of child support under the Family Law Act in light of the foreign divorce.
The Court of Appeal recognized that there is a line of caselaw that holds that where a provincial court has issued a divorce, but not addressed the issue of child support, the courts in another province have jurisdiction to order child support under their provincial legislation. For instance, in Pageau v. Szabo, the judge stated that a court acting under provincial statute would be unable to deal with the issue of child support if:
The divorce court (i.e. the court granting the divorce) has granted child support, no matter how limited in time or amount;
The divorce court, after considering the issue of support, has refused to grant it;
The divorce court has reserved its right to make subsequent decisions on support.
However, where the divorce court has not dealt with the issue of child support in any of the above three ways, then there is room for a court acting under provincial law to make a support decision.
The Court of Appeal found that this line of cases is equivalent to a situation in which a foreign court grants a valid divorce but does not deal with child support, such as here, where the divorce was dealt with by Chinese family court, and that court specifically indicated that support issues would be better addressed in Canada.
The Court of Appeal concluded that Ontario courts have jurisdiction to award child support under s. 33 of the Family Law Act, and there is nothing in the legislation that restricts this authority in situations where a foreign divorce has been granted. Relying on the Family Law Act where a remedy is not available under the Divorce Act is not problematic; rather, the two statutes operate in harmony to ensure that a remedy for child support is always available.
The Court of Appeal ultimately held that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has jurisdiction under the Family Law Act to make decisions on child support and equalization.
If you have questions about divorce or separation, particularly complex asset division cases, or matters involving foreign jurisdictions or assets in other countries, contact Windsor divorce lawyer Jason P. Howie, online or at 519.973.1500. | {
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Curvy Lennox Luxe always wanted to try a black cock. This is her chance, and she doesn't hesitate. | {
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Pia Adelsteen fra DF har valgt at politianmelde en opringning fra stationens fiktive nyhedsvært Kirsten Kirsten Birgit Schiøtz Kretz Hørsholm.
Radio24syv er blevet meldt til politiet, skriver DR.
Overfor TV 2 bekræfter Pia Adelsteen, medlem af Folketinget for Dansk Folkeparti (DF), at hun har politianmeldt radiostationen.
Det sker efter en opringning fra satireprogrammet Den Korte Radioavis 1. april, hvor den fiktive vært Kirsten Birgit Schiøtz Kretz Hørsholm udgav sig for at være politibetjent.
Værten fortalte Adelsteen, at en lastbil var kørt ind gennem bodegaen A’porta i Mariager, som ejes af Pia Adelsteen og hendes mand, Kim Christiansen, der også er transportordfører for partiet, og at en person var død. Radio 24 syv har undskyldt og beklaget - men Pia Adelsteen har altså valgt at anmelde episoden til politiet.
- Jeg har været dybt rystet efter den opringning. Det kan godt være, jeg var naiv, men det er ikke noget, nogen bør udsættes for, siger Pia Adelsteen til TV 2.
Hun oplyser til TV 2, at hun er blevet afhørt kort af politiet over telefonen.
Jørgen Ramskov, chefredaktør på Radio 24 syv, har ingen kommentarer.
- Vi har undskyldt og beklaget. Hvad Pia Adelsteen gør, kan vi ikke bestemme. Men vi undskylder gerne igen, siger Jørgen Ramskov til TV 2. | {
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Here at VRChat, we’re all pretty big n̶e̶r̶d̶s̶ enthusiasts about the latest VR hardware to hit the market. Aside from keeping track of the general landscape of VR development in the interest of potential VRChat support, we also enjoy trying out the latest hardware and seeing how it pushes the boundaries of the industry. The past few months have been no slouch in offering new tech for us to try out, and June is no different!
The Valve Index, set for release in late June, is a VR set from Valve that offers some interesting new tech in the headset, controllers, and tracking system. The Index HMD itself has some very compelling advances, as do the new Valve Base Stations. The Index Controllers, however, offer an entirely new form-factor and sensor setup that enables high-fidelity finger tracking and control schemes.
If you watched our last Dev Stream two weeks ago, we had a section regarding supporting the Index Controllers in a future release. That time is now upon us! We will support Valve Index Controllers with finger movement in VRChat 2019.2.3, the next major release on our roadmap. This release is currently in Open Beta, which you can participate in by joining our Discord and checking out #open-beta-info. Check out the full patch notes here.
So how’s this going to work?
The Valve Index Controllers contain capacitive sensors for the pinky, ring, and middle fingers. They also contain capacitive sensors on the trigger for the index finger, and sensors on the face of the controller to sense when your thumb is “down”. Finally, they contain a “squeeze” sensor to detect squeezing of the controller.
At all times, your fingers on your avatar in VRChat will track to your fingers’ states on the Index Controller. Although the tracking isn’t exact, the closed or open state of the finger will allow for finger movement on your avatar, improving immersion.
Set your Default Bindings!
We will be publishing a new Default controller binding for VRChat once 2019.2.3 is in Open Beta. You must ensure that you are using this new default binding, otherwise your Index Controllers will not work. Although there are many Community-created “compatibility” bindings available, none of them are set up to use the inputs we have available.
Currently, the bindings are called “VRChat bindings for Index Controller” with the description “Official VRChat bindings for Valve Index Controller. Supports finger tracking and gesture toggle. Requires VRChat 2019.2.3 or later”. We have set these as the default bindings, and are waiting for Steam to propagate these settings out. You may have to scroll down the Community list a bit to find them.
Keep in mind that you can configure your own bindings completely using SteamVR Control Bindings. The old bindings that the Community has created will no longer work, but you can create new bindings and share them using our new default as a base. We’ve got some more details on this in our documentation and further in the blog below.
What about Gesture Overrides?
If you’re not familiar with Overrides, you can create animations for your avatar that play when you trigger a gesture. This was originally intended to allow custom hand poses when you performed hand shapes on the controller. However, our Community quickly discovered that this could be used to animate anything on the avatar, triggered by a gesture.
Although the Gesture Override system was never intended for this use, we have seen a lot of interesting cases for it. That being said, we do eventually plan on replacing the Gesture Override system with something that has more control, customizability, and expandability. For now, however, it served as an interesting bump in the road for Index Controller support.
Gesture Toggle
To support both full finger-posing at all times and simultaneously allow gesture-matching to trigger Gesture Overrides, we implemented the Gesture Toggle button. If you press in your left thumbstick on your Valve Index Controller, you will swap Gesture Toggle modes, and an icon will appear on your UI at the bottom left.
When Gesture Toggle is enabled, VRChat will attempt to match your current finger pose against the standard VRChat hand poses. Any applied Gesture Overrides will play. However, your hand pose will not change even if you’ve defined an override for your hand position.
This behavior differs from other controllers that use psuedo-hand poses (like the Oculus Touch). The reasoning here is that if you’ve got full finger-tracking fidelity, replacing the hand pose would be off-putting and potentially confusing. For example, if you performed the “Finger Gun” hand pose on the Valve Index Controller and gesture matched to an animation that caused a closed fist, you’d now have a difference between your real-life hand state and your avatar’s hand state. Although this is something you can “get used to” on other controllers, it is especially jarring on the Valve Index Controllers, so we simply ignore the Override’s hand pose.
When you have Gesture Toggle disabled, VRChat will not attempt to gesture-match. Your Gesture Overrides will never play.
When Gesture Toggle is on, thumbs up shows starry eyes!
If you disable Gesture Toggle while holding a Gesture Override, that Override will continue animating until you enable Gesture Toggle once again.
Object Interaction
Grabbing objects (like a Disc in Battle Discs) is done by squeezing the grip. Releasing the grip will drop the object. Playing games like Battle Discs can feel more immersive and natural with the Valve Index Controllers. The grip strength required can be adjusted in SteamVR Controller Bindings, along with many other settings.
Controller Mappings
We’ve been working hard on our documentation in various places. In particular, we’ve created a brand-new page to cover the functionality of the Valve Index Controllers. Once the release is Live, it will be available under the Controls category in our documentation.
In the meantime, here’s an image illustrating the bindings for the Valve Index Controllers.
You can always customize these bindings via the SteamVR Controller Bindings menu, but we have a few tips for you if you plan on doing so:
In SteamVR mapping, Left Gesture Toggle and Right Gesture Toggle are the same action.
Be careful when re-assigning “thumb-touch” button Touch events. VRChat checks for touch events on every button the thumb can touch to know if the thumb is bent. If a “thumb-touch” button is not assigned for the same touch events, VRChat cannot tell that the thumb has been bent, and will not track properly.
Jump , Mic Toggle , and Left / Right Gesture Toggle are hard input bindings to the application.
Going Forward
As mentioned before (and as is the case with many VRChat systems), this is a first-pass implementation. As we observe user interaction with the new Valve Index Controllers, we’ll tune the default bindings and adjust behavior as needed. As usual, if you have feedback, please let us know on our Canny.
We’re excited to see avatars in VRChat enjoy full finger movement while using the Index Controllers. The Gesture Toggle system is only available for the Valve Index Controllers at this time. We are going to enable Gesture Toggle and the finger-pose functionality on other controllers like the Oculus Touch in an upcoming release. We’re also looking into enabling a portion of the functionality for Vive Wands and Windows Mixed Reality controllers, but they present some design and implementation difficulties. We’ll keep you up to date.
Thanks for reading, and we hope you enjoy your new-found dexterity with Valve Index Controllers in VRChat. | {
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Bundle up — and don’t rob anyone!
That’s what a Missouri police department is begging people to do as a polar vortex creeps up on the area.
“So… we are asking a favor (at least for three days); can you keep the criminalling to a minimum?” the Warrensburg Police Department quipped on Facebook Monday. “It is REALLY cold out… do yourself (and us) a favor… stay inside. Be nice to each other.”
The cops suggested people watch reruns of the TLC reality show “Say Yes to the Dress,” joking, that they “hear from the firefighters that it’s a really good show.”
Their post, shared over 3,000 times, prompted responses from hundreds of users.
“What if we criminal out of town?” joked Kyle Hookey II.
Kayla Johnson pointed out that “This is the kind of weather for planning criminal activity, not executing said activity. Duh.”
A blast of arctic air will roll through the Warrensburg region Tuesday with temperatures dropping below zero overnight, Fox 4 reported. By Wednesday wind chills will make it feel more like minus 20 to minus 30 degrees. | {
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To the guy that tricked me into getting dollar shave club with his referral link on reddit.
Get over 50 fonts, text formatting, optional watermarks and NO adverts! Get your free account now!
impulse signs up for Dollar Shave Club - Get confirmation email, it's November
Check out all our blank memes | {
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A healthy Credit and favourable Credit score probably tops the list of all those people who are planning to apply for a loan in the near future. And if you think that it is only a list of default and delayed payments on loans that can truly hurt your credit score then you are seriously mistaken. No doubt defaults, bad loans and delayed credit card payments reflect poorly on the credit score but your not-so-good spending habits might be contributing more than their share to a bad credit score. Let us help you unearth those spending errors.
No parity between Income and expenditure
This one is a simple math and is big on logic too. If you have 100 do not spend 200….not even 100. Try and limit the spend to some 50 odd bucks, if possible. Spending beyond the means of income is one sure shot way of falling into a debt trap gradually and without realising. To avoid this kind of reckless spending behaviour, start recording your daily expenditure to understand your spending habits and pattern. Trim down your expenses in the expenditure statement to derive a budget and stick to it month on month.
No savings
Your credit score not only weighs your credit status but also savings. Now if you choose to get your credit report made from any of the credit agencies or online tools, they would take into account your past payment history, financial track record, credit cards held and savings. Healthy savings can really pump up your credit score tremendously. So spend keeping in view your savings not your desires and wants.
Online payments are great
When you pay for your credit card, rentals, electricity bills and such other utility bills online, you tend to leave a digital footprint and record which is traceable. Such transactions help in building a credible financial history and favourable track record. There is a record of regular and on-time payments that can raise your credit score.
Back to back loan applications
Fishing for loans is a common practice. Whenever a loan is needed, borrowers tend to fill in multiple loan applications at various lending agencies. The aim is either to get familiar with various options available or to simply go for the first one that gets accepted! Whatever be the case, important point here is that this practice seriously hurts your credit score especially when the hunt has been on for quite some time i.e over a month or so. The best course is to read the loan documents to understand the terms and conditions and then finally apply for the once that you have shortlisted according to your requirement.
Blind use of Credit Card
Almost all experts agree that you should not use your credit card to its complete credit limit. Always leave buffer and limit the use to about 30-40% of the credit limit. If you have number of cards then spend some amount on all instead of one, if required. Just remember not to pick a new card just to divide the expenditure to maintain this 30-40% threshold on your credit cards.
Credit cards matter
Credit cards can actually help you plan and manage your finances really effectively. Look for cards that carry rewards and benefits that you are most likely to use. You would be surprised how much money can be saved through a well thought credit card. Always compare the late payment penalty and interest charges on the credit cards you are looking to pick. High interest charges can mount up your debts in no time.
Arriving and improving your credit Score
Now that we have discussed how certain spending errors tend to hurt your credit score, let us look at how Letzbank can help you arrive and improve your credit score. Our credit score tool is free and available to anyone who wishes to know his or her credit score before applying for the loan. If the score is less than favourable, then do refer to our free guide on how to improve the credit score. Apart from these tools, we also give facility of e-document locker, tax filing and various loan options right under one roof!
: | {
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Architecture has been grappling with its own #MeToo moment since the reports of sexual harassment allegations against Richard Meier broke. The responses have varied, ranging from statements condemning sexual harassment and promoting workplace reform to the creation of a “shitty architecture men” list. The conversation also underscores existing challenges within architecture: the field is almost completely white, overwhelmingly male, and shrinking.
But so far, most responses have addressed symptoms rather than structural issues. We need to talk about how architecture’s crisis is deeply rooted in its culture. If architecture is to be saved—from the Richard Meiers to the unpaid internships—we must expand how architecture is evaluated and rethink how it is taught.
Expand the Terms of Architectural Value
Our definition of good architecture is woefully myopic and outdated, beginning with the cult of personality. A list of important architecture is analogous to a list of individuals or acronyms synonymous with individuals. The dominant narrative (think the Pritzker Prize) recognizes design excellence as an individual rather than office-wide achievement. And though important scholarship is deepening our understanding of the canon by recognizing the contribution of overlooked women like Anne Tyng or Charlotte Perriand, the office-wide effort, fundamental to architecture, remains unseen.
The production of the design—from the labor practices to the contributions of team members—should be considered when evaluating architecture. We should be asking: How is the office structured? Is the office environment oppressive? Is there pay equity? These questions are as fundamental to architectural quality as a building’s relationship to its surroundings or the detailing of a corner. This will help to debunk the sole creator myth, recognize the profession’s collective nature, and establish the importance of the practice of architecture. In this light, Meier’s projects would be rightly seen as bad architecture. Well-rounded criticism will expand the realm of architectural value beyond its narrow-minded focus on the building to examine and celebrate architectural practice.
As architects, our offices are the only environments we can completely design, implement, and control. So it is maddening that they are so often toxic and inhumane. In response to the allegations against Meier, the Pritzker Foundation reaffirmed his 1984 award, stating: “We do not comment on the personal lives of our laureates.” This is ridiculous. Meier did not harass in his personal life; he harassed in his professional life. It is scandalous to valorize architecture made in such an environment.
Change Architectural Education to Change Practice
Design studio, which is based on a master/apprentice relationship, is a unique and valuable form of pedagogy. But its unequal power dynamic is too often exacerbated by the harmful and inappropriate behavior of some studio instructors, an ill-defined student/teacher boundary, and an acceptance of hostile and aggressive crits.
Studio sets expectations for the kinds of workplaces and mentor relationships that young architects will seek or accept. Painfully, against this backdrop, the allegations against Meier are not shocking. They are just over the line of what many students and young architects have learned to put up with.
Studio also establishes overwork as a cornerstone of architectural excellence, reproducing the belief that good design is never done. Saying yes to another parti, model, or rendering forces us to say no to meals, sleep, and social life.
We also learn that, trapped in a service industry, we should expect to be underpaid (or unpaid) and under-appreciated. School-taught expectations shape our decisions to work at offices despite the overwork, underpay, and toxic environments (not to mention our student debt!). Many offices rely on and enforce this culture of overwork to offset the cost of uncompensated competitions, low fees, accelerated schedules, or scope changes. Poorly compensated labor props up many firms, allowing them to win critical acclaim while operating sham businesses and undercutting the industry as a whole.
Pedagogy should project the ideals of practice, not reflect its worst tendencies. Universities should temper the always-yes culture and advocate for boundaries. They should establish guidelines for studio organization, schedules, workloads, deliverables, and time-management in concert with students. They should also clarify the codes of the student/teacher relationship and teach students that their time is valuable and that architecture can be done without lopsided power dynamics and overwork. If we learned in such a setting, why would we go to offices that pay little, expect us to work nonstop, and serve abusive, ego-driven individuals? Firms built on unpaid or underpaid labor would be rightly seen as pariahs regardless of their designs’ originality, not celebrated as they are now.
The professional practice track should also be strengthened. A sequence of courses in this vein could teach real-world responsibilities and reinvest in architecture as a circumscribed discipline, fostering scholarship around the history and theory of architectural practice. Leading professionals from various types of offices could speak about the nuts and bolts of running their practices. Students could learn to creatively and effectively run an office, as well as to design. Imagine if we learned the profession and studied the typologies and history of offices in order to think critically and innovatively about practice. Only then could we say that school truly advances the future of architecture.
Rebuild Architecture’s Credibility
On top of our internal structural issues, architects’ expertise and authority is eroding and our necessity is being questioned. In our desire to limit liability, we have ceded responsibility to other parties: architects of record, consultants, engineers, contractors, and owner’s representatives—shrinking our professionalism. Yet we trumpet architecture’s ability to address social and global challenges: the future of work, housing, urbanization, climate change. To credibly take on these issues, we need to tend to our discipline from the bottom up, starting with expanding architectural value and repairing education.
Our problems are not intractable and there are a few downsides. But without change, architecture is undergoing a brain drain. The #MeToo reckoning adds urgency to the profession’s troubling trajectory. With its abysmal diversity and the discipline’s shameful state, it’s hard to see why anyone would want to be an architect. And yet we do. Those of us who love architecture—its history, worldview, and optimism—must refuse to say yes to its unhealthy and degrading demands. Architecture has never been more important to the world’s realities. But to meaningfully contribute and fully realize the #MeToo moment, we must rebuild architecture from the ground up.
Miles Fujiki is a young architect working in New York City. | {
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The Hill on Wednesday reported that the FBI years ago had investigated officials in the Russian nuclear industry engaging in bribery and kickbacks.
President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday morning: "Uranium deal to Russia, with Clinton help and Obama Administration knowledge, is the biggest story that Fake Media doesn't want to follow!"
The Senate Judiciary Committee recently opened an investigation into the matter.
President Donald Trump, resurfacing a campaign-trail attack, on Thursday morning tweeted about a bombshell report that the FBI investigated a bribery scandal involving the Russian nuclear industry and the Clintons.
"Uranium deal to Russia, with Clinton help and Obama Administration knowledge, is the biggest story that Fake Media doesn't want to follow!" Trump tweeted.
Trump also tweeted a quote from "Fox & Friends" on Thursday morning that Russia "sent millions to Clinton Foundation."
John Solomon and Alison Spann at The Hill reported Wednesday that the FBI investigated Russian nuclear industry officials engaging in bribery and kickbacks before the Hillary Clinton-led State Department and Obama administration approved a 2010 deal giving Russia control of much of the US's uranium. The Senate Judiciary Committee opened a fresh inquiry into the matter, its Republican chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley, said Wednesday.
Trump's own dealings with Russia remain under constant examination in the media. The FBI's special counsel, Robert Mueller, as well as the House and Senate intelligence committees are examining Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether any Trump associates played a role.
During the campaign, Trump claimed that the deal for uranium, an important element needed for both nuclear power and weapons, had enriched the Clinton family because people with interest in the deal had donated to the Clintons' charity, the Clinton Foundation. Clinton has said, however, that she was not personally involved in vetting the deal.
"The Russians were compromising American contractors in the nuclear industry with kickbacks and extortion threats, all of which raised legitimate national security concerns," a person who worked on the case told The Hill. "And none of that evidence got aired before the Obama administration made those decisions."
In another report, Solomon and Spann cited an American businessman who said the Obama administration blocked him from testifying to Congress about "conversations and transactions he witnessed related to the Russian nuclear industry's efforts to win favor with Bill and Hillary Clinton and influence Obama administration decisions."
Hillary Clinton, then the US secretary of state, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after presenting him with a “reset” button in Geneva in 2009. AP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini, Pool
The investigation was conducted under the leadership of Mueller, then the director of the FBI.
The investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia have loomed over his presidency since its early days. It has continually expanded and now includes possible obstruction of justice by Trump and one of his sons as well as the role social media played in Russia's push to influence the 2016 election.
Trump's highlight of the report fits with a trend of his promoting coverage favorable to him or critical of his key opponents, including Clinton.
Solomon has written articles in the past defending the Trump administration and the former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was fired after misrepresenting his connections to Russian agents in a conversation with Vice President Mike Pence. | {
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When 10-year-old Holly Salmon was diagnosed with severe autism the effect on her family was dramatic.
It pulled the family apart – dad Rob and mum Jo split up and after a three-and-a-half year break are they back together, having worked to rebuild their family and their lives.
The moving story of the Salmon family is proof of just how difficult family life can be when autism goes undiagnosed.
Jo, 39, from Caerphilly, admits her family went through “dark times” when her daughter Holly, now 14, was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome some four years ago.
“It was like a grieving process. The worst thing for me was worrying that she could never love me as much as I loved her,” said Jo.
The strain of the diagnosis saw Rob, 46, leave after feeling he could not cope.
“He could not get his head around the diagnosis. He really struggled to understand Holly and her condition,” said Jo.
The mum-of-two first noticed symptoms such as obsessive behaviour when Holly was a baby.
“She had a milk bottle and she always had to hold it with her fingers covering certain letters, which I thought was odd,” said Jo.
“She was a very unsettled baby and she used to cry all the time, but I did not realise it was autism,” she added.
Jo also observed her daughter had sensory issues from a young age when she was unable to wear certain fabrics.
“Holly feels sensations acutely and some clothes are painful for her to wear. At one stage, she could only wear one T-shirt and one pair of joggers and we had to buy her five identical sets. School uniform was a nightmare,” added Jo.
Her daughter also struggled with the social side of school.
“Like many children with autism, she is shy and introverted and she was bullied at school for being different. She was vulnerable and could not even tell me about it, because she found it difficult to talk about her feelings. She became a shell of a person and had to miss three months of school.”
The diagnosis came late for Holly, after a specialist told the family there was nothing wrong with the six-year-old and described her as a “manipulative drama queen.”
“I was absolutely furious that my daughter had been denied the help she so evidently needed,” said Jo, who was prompted to research the condition herself following the visit.
She had compared Holly’s behaviour to her brother Ben, who is a year younger than his sister.
“Ben could always play with other children, but if Holly met someone new, she would always have to ask me what to say to them,” said Jo.
When Holly was finally diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in 2009, her mum wished she could turn back the clock.
“When I had the diagnosis in my hands, I wished that she was just naughty,” said Jo.
Holly said: “When my mum told me I had autism, I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to have a disability, or to know what was wrong with me.”
But four years on, Holly and her family are doing well.
“Rob and I split up for three-and-a-half years, but we remained good friends and now we’re giving it another chance. The family unit is much happier with him around,” said Jo.
She added she now has a better understanding of Holly’s condition.
“Initially, I knew she experienced emotions differently and I was worried she could not love us, but now I realise she loves us unconditionally, even though her thought processes are different,” said Jo.
With the help of a special educational needs coordinator, Holly, who is now in Year 8, is thriving at school and hopes to become a make-up artist for hit TV show Doctor Who.
“Between the ages of seven and nine, I thought she would never let me get a brush through her hair, but now she wants to be a make-up artist,” said Jo.
“A few years ago, I thought she would never be able to sit her GCSEs. It just goes to show with the right support, children with autism can achieve anything.”
She added: “Holly does have some very dark days, but she also has some very bright days and I am so proud of her.
“I would love to be in her head for a day, but no longer than that. It is a brilliant mind, but a very tormented mind.”
Holly said: “I would really like for people to know that even though kids like me have autism, we are human, we’re not weird and we’re not freaks. We’re just different. I think being different and thinking differently is cool.”
Jo and Holly work hard to promote awareness of autism and this week, launched Wales’ first Autism Heroes Awards to coincide with World Autism Awareness Day.
* To find out more, visit www.autismheroesawards.co.uk | {
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Feb 13, 2018
The clash between Israel and Iran in the Syrian arena Feb. 10 has sparked fears of an escalation into all-out war, and rightly so. The risk of thousands of precision missiles fired at Israel resulting in thousands of casualties and devastating the Israeli economy is prompting decision-makers in Jerusalem to step on the brakes. The regime in Tehran also has good reasons to exercise caution: War with Israel would play into the hands of US President Donald Trump and the Republican camp, both seeking to undo the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran. Its end would result in renewed sanctions on Iran, dealing a severe blow to millions of Iranians.
When neither side has a rational interest in escalation, one can assume each will make every effort to avoid one. However, the same cannot be said when a group of self-appointed warriors of God holds sway over political decisions. Enlightened states hospitalize or incarcerate people who undermine national strategic interests for the sake of “sanctifying God’s name.” The State of Israel, on the other hand, caters to a fundamentalist group willing to sacrifice its sons and daughters for a piece of land. The Jews call them “martyrs," and for Muslims they’re “shahids,” an Arabic word that also means martyr. Jewish rabbis promise their dead a life in Paradise. Muslim clerics add a bonus: 72 virgins awaiting the shahids in Paradise.
On Feb. 5, Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal of the West Bank settlement Har Bracha was murdered in a terror attack outside Ariel, another settlement. Eliezer Melamed, the rabbi of Har Bracha and founder of the rabbinical seminar located on the outskirts of the Palestinian city of Nablus, delivered a eulogy at his graveside. “Recently, Rabbi Itamar and his wife Miriam spoke about the possibility that one of them would be killed for the sanctification of God’s name, and agreed that they were prepared to courageously rise to the challenge,” Melamed said. This spiritual leader of a significant religious Zionist group, a community rabbi whose salary is paid by Israeli taxpayers, consoled the mourners by saying, “Blessed is one who merits dying for the mitzvah [godly command] of settling the Land of Israel.”
Ordinary people watching four children accompany their father to his grave see a human tragedy. For some, the murder of an Israeli citizen by an Arab is further proof that there’s no partner for peace. For others, it shows that the time has come to vacate the Israeli settlements. Melamed and his disciples view the death of a friend or relative at the hands of a terrorist as the realization of a divine mission. “The best revenge is to keep building, to build another neighborhood and another neighborhood, and to turn Har Bracha into a city,” Melamed exhorted the mourners.
The young widow also wishes to endow her husband’s murder with metaphysical significance by turning her sorrow into a tool with which to dig the foundations of additional settlement homes. "We trust you that in this case, as well, you will help us provide the real answer, which is the expansion and construction of Har Bracha," Miriam Ben-Gal told Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who came to pay a condolence call. The mother of four small children who will grow up fatherless in a hostile neighborhood explained to her visitor, “Our grip on this land is critical.” Quite right. Every settlement outpost is critical in the settlers’ struggle to scuttle prospects of a diplomatic agreement with the Palestinians. | {
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In early March, in the parking garage of a Bangalore office building, I hopped onto the back of an Ather 450, a slick electric two-wheeler with lime accents and a molded white body.
I grabbed the shoulders of the unfortunate Ather Energy staff member tasked with showing off the scooter’s acceleration, torque, and handling, all without pitching a foreign journalist onto the pavement.
The young man accelerated down the parking structure, likely nearing the 450’s promised specs of 0 to 40 kilometers (25 miles) per hour in 3.9 seconds. He spun up several more floors before looping back down to our starting level, accelerating into the final stretch, and braking a few feet short of the awaiting publicist.
“I’ll take it,” I announced.
Ather, a six-year-old Indian startup that has raised around 4.8 billion rupees ($70 million), began taking pre-orders for its scooters last summer.
It's among a handful of companies now working to expand India’s nascent electric-vehicle industry, by delivering products designed for the particular quirks of the nation’s transportation system. Two-wheelers make up nearly 80% of the traffic on India’s roads, and relatively few people own their own vehicles otherwise, getting around instead with bicycles, trains, buses, auto rickshaws, and ride-hailing services.
Producing small and public electric vehicles provides the clearest path for India to cut the emissions, air pollution, and petroleum imports associated with its fast growing automotive industry, argued a report last year by NITI Aayog, a government think tank. With the right technologies, strategies and policies, it could also present as an opportunity to build a domestic industry that could compete globally in producing the next generation of clean buses, as well as two- and three-wheelers, it added.
India’s transportation emissions are set to soar in the coming decades as the nation's expanding economy enables more than two hundred million additional people to buy vehicles. A huge portion of those first purchases will be two-wheelers, many of which could be on the roads for more than a decade, says Venkat Viswanathan, an assistant professor focused on batteries and electric vehicles at Carnegie Mellon University. So it’s crucial at this point for companies to deliver attractive electric alternatives for this emerging class of vehicle owners, he says.
Money and policy
As it stands, the electric-vehicle market in India is tiny, measured in the low thousands annually for new cars and the mid tens of thousands for two-wheelers. That represents barely a ripple in a nation of 1.3 billion people and more than 200 million registered vehicles.
But momentum has begun to build, at least behind electric-scooters sales, which more than doubled last year—driven, in part, by evolving federal efforts. In 2017, the government announced that all new vehicles would need to be electric by 2030. It subsequently stepped that back to 30%, amid criticism from the auto industry, but that was enough to get the industry thinking about EV strategies.
“The government has been pushing this in a big way,” says Tarun Mehta, chief executive of Ather. “So suppliers have gotten the memo that electrification is going to happen, and nobody wants to miss out.”
A number of companies have begun manufacturing electric cars, two-wheelers, or rickshaws for the Indian market or announced plans to do so, including China’s BYD, South Korea’s Hyundai, Japan’s Suzuki, and domestic automakers Ashok Leyland, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Tata Motors. Additional electric two-wheelers startups have also emerged, including Okinawa Scooters, 22Motors, and Orxa Energies.
Crucially, the government more recently backed its targets with substantial funds and stricter policies. In early March, officials announced plans to provide nearly $1.5 billion in subsidies for purchases of EVs and hybrids with advanced batteries (lithium-ion, not lead-acid), weighted toward public buses, three-wheeled vehicles for hire, and personal two-wheelers.
The initiative, which also earmarks funds for public charging infrastructure, doesn’t apply to higher-end cars.
Ather Energy
Pay as you go
In the parking lot behind Sun Mobility’s headquarters in eastern Bangalore, on the edge of city’s sprawling technology district, a driver pulls an orange-and-black rickshaw up to the company’s “quick interchange station,” a squat stand of lithium-ion battery lockers.
After he swipes a key fob with loaded credits, a little black door pops open, allowing him to pull out a fresh battery with a green handle and return a nearly empty one. The man inserts the new battery into the open slot under his seat, repeats the process for his second battery, and pulls off in a fully charged rickshaw, all in less than two minutes.
Sun Mobility was cofounded in 2017 by Chetan Maini, a pioneer of electric vehicles in India. In 1994, he formed Reva Electric Car Company, which Mahindra & Mahindra ultimately acquired nine years ago.
But his early experience in the industry convinced him that the US model of selling high-priced electric sedans is not the way to kick-start the EV market in India, given the price sensitivity of average Indian consumers—and the premium on lithium-ion-powered vehicles in the nation. A standard battery pack could easily double the cost of an auto rickshaw, he says. | {
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80 SHARES Facebook Twitter Linkedin Reddit
I had the chance to give the keynote at the Silicon Valley Virtual Reality Conference where I provide some historical context for virtual reality tracing the evolution of communications mediums in order to contextualize my elemental theory of presence. It traces the history of the science and philosophy, and shows how VR is providing a direct experience of how much of our reality is subjectively constructed with our entire bodies. Hopefully this talk will help contextualize where we’ve been and where we’re going with VR, as well as a holistic framework to doing experiential design.
LISTEN TO THE VOICES OF VR PODCAST
Here’s the video of the talk:
Support Voices of VR
Music: Fatality & Summer Trip | {
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The final four is upon us!
TV's Top Couple is down to the wire, and we're just two rounds away from declaring a winner. In this round, we have some old favorites and a couple of newbies, and it's going to be truly fascinating to see who ends up on top.
In the first round, Outlander's Claire and Jamie will face off against last year's runner ups, Magnus and Alec from Shadowhunters. Then, in the second round, Teen Wolf's Stiles and Lydia (who finally, finally became official this past season) will battle foreigners Isak and Even, from the Norwegian show Skam, which has somehow knocked out several major Top Couple players, including The Vampire Diaries' Stefan and Caroline (the 2015 winners), and last year's winners, The 100's Clarke and Lexa.
Now, for those of you who have definitely heard of Outlander, Shadowhunters, and Teen Wolf, but aren't familiar with the Norwegian television market, let us explain a bit about what this show is. | {
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The two companies aren't revealing specifics or launch dates for the first Zeiss-equipped phones in the HMD era.
However, it seems likely that HMD will bet on camera quality as a selling point as it moves to higher-end phones and expands sales to countries like the US. A rumored upcoming model, possibly called the Nokia 9, is believed to pack the dual rear cameras you see on many recent smartphones -- a Nokia brand photographer even posted a video that corroborated the leaks. While that specific device might not use Zeiss tech, HMD could clearly use the help as it steps up competition with camera-centric mobile rivals like Apple and Huawei. | {
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Testimonials
Best explanation of Catholicism I have ever found. Dave Faiella I was extremely disappointed when I came to the end of this series. I wanted it to keep going on and on and literally could not stop listening. As a convert from Catholicism many years ago I have never heard such a clear, fair and scholarly explanation of the basic doctrines. Now if Dr. Sproul would only provide a similar course on Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, etc. Please do so Dr. Sproul! It would be such a blessing.
You must know what the Bible actually says... Bob, U.S., Michigan An excellent resource for everyone that claims to adhere to a faith in the God of the Bible. For that to be true, of course, one has to be willing to take God at his word and resist the temptation to falsely interpret the Gospel in light of his (or her) own bias,' sensibilities, and/or cultural traditions. Unfortunately, way too many people that make claim to the title "Christian" do so without ever really understanding what the Bible actually says.
A good starting point Rob I heard this on Renewing Your Mind. I was impressed with how Dr. Sproul presented his lectures. They were insightful and respectful (not at all offensive). Even so, I have also heard some well rounded Scholars be just as critical on the Reformed tradition; presenting a compelling case for the Catholic Church. I suggest that perhaps Ligonier produce another series that has R.C debating a scholar who champions the Catholic side. If done respectfully it would be a good resource:)
Valuable Insight Scott Davis After 24 years of attending Roman Catholic church I found too much practice that did not mesh with Scripture and have since moved on to a biblical church. This teaching series provides profoundly valuable insight as to why the rifts exist between the Roman church and biblical (sola scriptura) Christianity. After 12 years of Catholic education I had no idea about most of the material Dr. Sproul discusses. I doubt the majority of Catholics do either. I highly recomend this lecture series.
Fantastic summary of what divides us Kristoffer Popovitch An absolute wonderful summary of what divides Biblical Christianity from Rome. Dr Sproul masterfully explains what Rome truly teaches. I think this series is brilliant and a must for all those who wish to know more about the wolves in sheeps clothing. I have listened to the series more than 10 times; each time gaining a better understanding of why it was I left Roman Catholicism!!
Has this product helped you? Share a Testimony | {
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Carl and Angel Larsen live in St. Cloud, Minnesota. They are an openly Christian couple who operate Telescope Media Group, a video production company. Their website proclaims: "Telescope Media Group exists to glorify God through top-quality media production. As much as it depends on us, we aim to make God look more like He really is through our lives, business, and actions. We want to magnify Christ like a telescope."
Carl and Angel Larsen
They want to expand into making wedding videos and movies. In keeping with their mission statement, they want to glorify God by focusing only on God-pleasing marriages. Since God defines homosexual acts as sinful in the Bible, these relationships cannot be God-pleasing. The Larsens should have the freedom to choose their clients in a way that fulfills their business plan. (Note: The Larsens are making no attempts to get homosexual relationships banned or force their religious views on others.)
Minnesota disagrees and is using the power of the state to persecute the Larsens and other Christians.
Minnesota's Democrat attorney general, Keith Ellison, has interpreted the state's Human Rights Act to mandate that the Larsens also make films celebrating homosexual same-sex "marriages." Penalties include payment of a civil penalty to the state, triple compensatory damages, punitive damages of up to $25,000, a criminal penalty of up to $1,000, and even up to 90 days in jail. No exemptions for religious freedom.
The Larsens sued Minnesota in federal court for this violation of their constitutional rights. Minnesota eagerly accepted the legal challenge.
Court records reveal the zeal Minnesota has used to force homosexual "weddings" on the citizenry — even setting up sting operations against Christians. "It has even employed 'testers' to target noncompliant businesses, and it has already pursued a successful enforcement action against a wedding vendor who refused to rent a venue for a same-sex wedding [sic]." (The large Somali Muslim community has not been targeted by Ellison to date. Ellison is a Muslim.)
Minnesota won the first round. Minneapolis U.S. district judge John Tunheim (appointed by Clinton) ruled against the Larsens.
The Larsens won round two. On appeal, a three-judge panel on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Larsens. Judges David Stras (Trump appointee) and Bobby E. Shepherd (W. Bush appointee) ruled for the Larsens; Judge Jane Kelly (Obama appointee) ruled against the Larsens.
Rather than accept this loss, or appealing to the Supreme Court, A.G. Keith Ellison has filed a new case in federal court against the Larsens. This begins to look like lawfare, with Ellison using the massive resources of a state government to force a small business to either surrender or be bankrupted with legal costs. The Alliance Defending Freedom is representing the Larsens to help reduce the massive legal costs.
Notice that every Democrat-appointed judge ruled to create a constitutional compulsion to force video artists to create content they do not believe in, while every Republican-appointed judge ruled in favor of religious freedom. (The Constitution is silent on sexual orientation.)
The Larsens' case offers insight with respect to the positions taken by the national political parties.
The current Minnesota government is hostile to religious freedom for Christians and freedom in general.
Numerous Republican-led states filed court briefs in support of the Larsens. Numerous states with Democrat governments filed court briefs supporting Minnesota.
Did Minnesotans realize they were electing an attorney general who would spend tax dollars seeking out and targeting Christian businesses who did not want to participate in homosexual "weddings"?
If Minnesota's government can force a Christian couple to participate in homosexual ceremonies against their will, can it force pastors to perform the homosexual "weddings"? This is a grave danger to religious freedom.
Scot Wolf is the author of The Bible and Constitution Made America Great By Providing Freedom and Liberty to Citizens, available in hardcover at Amazon.com and at www.RestoretheFoundation.com, or as a Nook or Kindle eBook. | {
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REPRESS NOW AVAILABLE!
This is the soundtrack to the story about the greatest film that never was.
Jodorowsky’s Dune tells the tale of cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s unsuccessful attempt to adapt Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel, Dune, to the big screen. Composer Kurt Stenzel gives life to a retro-futuristic universe as fantastic as Jodorowsky’s own vision for his Dune–a film whose A-list cast would have included Salvador Dalí, Orson Welles, and Mick Jagger in starring roles and music by psychedelic prog-rockers Pink Floyd.
Building upon director Frank Pavich’s idea for a score with a “Tangerine Dream-type feel,” Stenzel lays out a cosmic arsenal of analog synthesizers that would make any collector green at the gills: among other gems are a rare Moog Source, CZ-101s, and a Roland Juno 6, as well as unorthodox instruments like a toy Concertmate organ and a Nintendo DS. “I also played guitar and did vocals,” says Stenzel, “some chanting… and some screaming, which comes naturally to me.” The score also features narration by Jodorowsky himself. As Stenzel notes, “Jodo’s voice is actually the soundtrack’s main musical instrument–listening to him was almost like hypnosis, like going to the guru every night.”
This highly-anticipated soundtrack LP was sequenced and mixed by Stenzel with the listener in mind and flows through a “four-sides” LP approach. “I wanted it to play like the records I grew up with, where every side was a journey.” | {
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In the tradition of the Clintonometer and the Trump Apocalypse Watch, the Impeach-O-Meter will be a wildly subjective and speculative daily estimate of the likelihood that Donald Trump leaves office before his term ends, whether by being impeached (and convicted) or by resigning under threat of same.
Is Donald Trump going to get impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate for being a corrupt, Russia-colluding butthead?
Here are some of the factors currently weighing toward a likelihood of impeachment:
And here are some of the factors currently weighing against a likelihood of impeachment:
One of the aforementioned Republicans is libertarian renegade Justin Amash of Michigan and the other is Carlos Curbelo of Florida, who is from a district that Hillary Clinton won by a wide margin in 2016. Neither are indicative of mainstream GOP thinking.
Trump’s approval rating among Republican voters is still in the 80s. House Republicans, who at the moment would have to supply at least 23 of the votes required for impeachment, still love Trump so much that—if you can recall the ancient pre-history of two weeks ago—they passed his insanely unpopular health care bill for basically no other reason than that he wanted them to.
The well-regarded Cook Political Report still currently projects 234 seats as solidly, likely, or leaning Republican in the 2018 race. (You need 218 for a majority.)
There has still not yet been any evidence made public that anyone associated with Trump or his campaign communicated with any Russian operative about that country’s effort to sabotage Hillary Clinton’s campaign. (Or that any other form of inappropriate coordination—say, accepting laundered Russian funds as campaign contributions—took place.)
The math and the evidence don’t add up, at this point, to a more-than-likely chance of removal from office. (Sorry, many Slate readers.) But there’s also something that feels unsustainable about the pace at which the president keeps committing giant gaffes—even those, such as giving top-secret Israeli intelligence to the Russian foreign minister, that aren’t directly related to the collusion investigation. There’s also enough financial intrigue in Trump’s past that it would not be surprising if Mueller (or a state attorney general, or U.S. attorney) dug up something that we don’t yet know about that’s either clearly illegal or which the majority of Americans find to be obviously disqualifying. We’ll set our initial Trump Impeach-O-Meter, then, at a significant but still cautious 30 percent. | {
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Enter to Win a Free 686 x Coors Light Sixer Jacket & LED Neon Sign!
This contest has ended.
Because every day spent outdoors deserves a cold celebration. The Sixer helps you take the good times with you, fully stocked for wherever adventure awaits. Cheers!
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Celebrate Responsibly®. Official Licensed Product. © 2018 Coors Brewing Co. Golden, CO. | {
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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is calling for national security advisor Michael Flynn to be suspended and for his intelligence clearance to be revoked until U.S. officials fully review his contacts with Russia’s ambassador.
“The President and his National Security Advisor have given the Russians the impression that whatever they do, they are not to worry, because the Trump White House will not stand against their aggression,” Pelosi said in a statement on Saturday.
“General Flynn should be suspended and have his intelligence clearance revoked until the facts are known about his secret contacts with the Russians," she said.
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Pelosi’s comments came two days after The Washington Post reported that Flynn privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with the country’s ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. The conversations, which happened in the month before Trump took office, have reportedly been part of an FBI review of intercepted communications.
While the communications are still being examined by the FBI, officials told the Post there was not yet any evidence that Flynn explicitly promised Kislyak that the Trump administration would review or consider lifting sanctions put in place by former President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaGOP senator blocks Schumer resolution aimed at Biden probe as tensions run high D-Day for Trump: September 29 Obama says making a voting plan is part of 'how to quarantine successfully' MORE in December.
Pelosi also called on the FBI to further investigation Trump’s relationship with the Kremlin, and urged Congress to launch an “outside commission” to examine the ties.
“President Trump’s kowtowing to Vladimir Putin is endangering our national security and emboldening a dangerous tyrant,” Pelosi said. “What do the Russians have on President Trump that he would flirt with lifting sanctions and weakening NATO?”
The top Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday called on Trump to remove Flynn from his role, if the national security advisor did, in fact, discuss sanctions with Kislyak.
"This action would be deeply troubling under any circumstances, but considering Russia’s effort to tip the election toward President Trump, the General’s actions are disqualifying,” Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement.
“If he did so, and then he and other Administration officials misled the American people, his conduct would be all the more pernicious, and he should no longer serve in this Administration or any other,” House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff Adam Bennett SchiffOvernight Defense: House to vote on military justice bill spurred by Vanessa Guillén death | Biden courts veterans after Trump's military controversies Intelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings Democrats, advocates seethe over Florida voting rights ruling MORE (D-Calif.) said. | {
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by: James Zalucky
ATHEIST has a history that is both triumphant and frustrating. Triumphant due to their glorious artistic feats and enormous influence. Frustrating due to their all-too-short run as technical death metal visionaries. Aside from various early demos, their catalog consists of three genre-defining classics: the raw, blistering debut, Piece of Time; the brilliant, essential masterpiece, Unquestionable Presence; and of course the mind-blowing jazz-metal of Elements. They only went on a few tours, and lost founding bassist Roger Patterson relatively early in their career. Misunderstood in their own time, ATHEIST has since become a favorite for many fans who never had the chance to see them in their original form. However, in 2006, Kelly Shaefer and Steve Flynn reformed the band for a few shows and soon enough, they began work on a new album.
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So here it is: Jupiter.
Chug…Chug…Chug: Second to Sun starts out riding on a fast drum beat, with a slow palm-muted chug every few beats, alternated by dissonant guitar screeches (if you don't know what I mean, listen to 43% Burnt by DILLINGER and you'll catch on real quick). I was a little surprised at first, and from what I saw on a few forums, many listeners where outright alarmed. Now I know what you're thinking- but give it a chance. Besides, if you don't like chugging- then I guess you don't like Enthralled by Essence do you? Of course you do. Anyway, after listening to the song, it seems ATHEIST is still ATHEIST, but with a higher amplitude and a few new elements thrown in. The song contains plenty of ATHEIST trademarks and immediately reveals Shaefer's intentions: to make a very heavy, updated ATHEIST record. The record contains plenty of sudden breaks and time changes, keeping with ATHEIST's progressive foundations. Listening to Steve Flynn's drumming remains a privilege all its own, and Shaefer's slightly- aged voice retains the same unmistakable grit that defined the high-end of the band's sound.
Highlights include the symbol-laden gallop in the middle of Fraudulent Cloth, a song clearly written about the child molestation scandal in the Catholic Church; and then there is the enormously heavy INCANTATION-style riff in Live, and Live Again. The song has a nasty drum break in the middle which is then joined by a snarling vocal burst, all leading into a storm of riffs played by newcomers Chris Baker and Jonathan Thompson. Faux King Christ sounds like a cross between the jazzy tones of Elements with the sheer power of Piece of Time and fits comfortably with their best material (it has a cowbell in it!) My other favorite arrives at the end with the blistering, Third Person. It lunges towards a modernization, but when you listen to it, you know you're listening to ATHEIST and you know it kicks ass.
I'm happy about this new record, but as I listened, there were a few things that bothered me. More than anything- the production. I like a record to sound good, but I'm sure a lot of fans would agree that part of ATHEIST's appeal is the dark, dungeon-like sound of their original records. Much like on the early DEATH records, this instantly gave ATHEIST that raw, lo-fi effect which gives off that perfect death metal atmosphere. The polished sound of Jupiter lacks this atmosphere and almost sounds too contemporary for its own good. In other words: the record plays like an ATHEIST record, but doesn't sound like an ATHEIST record. This leads me to the second point. Usually, I like the guitars to be louder than anything else. In fact, if the guitars are buried in the bottom of the mix, I'll probably hate the record…a lot. But this is ATHEIST– and much of their greatness comes from their powerful rhythm section, particularly the innovative bass work of Roger Patterson and Tony Choy after him. On Jupiter, the bass is still audible and gives the album its robust, full sound (no, its not like Justice, don't worry), but is still buried beneath the mass of guitars. Considering they had to have guitarist Jonathan Thompson record the bass, its not altogether surprising, but it's still disappointing. (There are a few exceptions of course, like the excellent bass parts on Third Person.) Finally, some songs are more memorable than others, making the album slightly uneven. I wouldn't say the album is a chore to get through; at 8 songs, the band wisely avoided that. But it can be easy to get lost in all the spiraling riffs and tempo changes.
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However, I'm very confident that Jupiter is just the beginning of a new phase of creativity for the band, and am excited for what they will come up with in the future. I hope they tour extensively and finally give younger audiences a chance to see them perform. I also hope they pick up a solid full-time bassist. (Songs like Unholy War need to be done right!) I'm sure there will be a wide range of opinions about this record, ranging from outright worship to complete dismissal and hatred…with all the Last.fm mudslinging that comes with it. However, even with my own nitpicking, I would recommend Jupiter to any fan of ATHEIST or anyone that simply appreciates good technical death metal.
Favorite Tracks: Second to Sun, Live and Live Again, Faux King Christ, and Third Person.
7 out of 10 | {
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Most of us tend to focus on falling in love and use the feeling of love to determine the duration of a relationship. Falling in love is easy to do, almost effortless, but losing that loving feeling is not that hard to do, either.
Of course, when a relationship is new, it is fun and enjoyable courting or being courted. In the beginning, we are constantly thinking about the new person in our life, and wanting to spend all of our time together and share new experiences together. We want to show how we feel by getting cards or flowers or just sending a cute text message.
Feelings, however, can be fleeting. No one seems to want to talk about how those loving feelings can fade, that it takes work to keep the love alive, and that choosing to stay in love is a choice we all must make.
Who we love is as much of a choice as it is a feeling. Staying in love takes a commitment. After the rosy glow of the new relationship wears off, we have to make a decision: Do we want to love this person and commit to a relationship together, or are we going to let this person go?
Once we have made the decision that we have found the person we want to be with and commit to, the work begins. A big part of that work is making many other choices.
It is a choice to see the good in our partner every day, rather than focusing on the negative things that bother us. We have to accept them and love them as they are. If we go into a relationship thinking we can change someone, we are setting our relationship and ourselves up to fail. We all have flaws and quirks and are weird in some ways. Accepting those differences is part of love.
We can choose to ignore the petty, irritating small things our partner may do. If our partner forgets to take out the garbage, or leaves the cap off the toothpaste, we can talk about it with them, but we also can accept that this just might be forgetful, and choose to move on. Trying to change our partner into us is one of the biggest relationship mistakes we can make.
When we are unhappy with how things are in our relationship, it is easy to overfocus on what we are not getting from the relationship. Instead, a healthier response is to see what we could be doing for our partner, rather than focusing on what they are not doing for us. We should always try to be supportive of our partner, because we cannot expect anything from our partner that we are not willing to give ourselves.
Another important choice we can make is to choose to remember the reasons why we committed to this person. Our relationship will not always be pleasant and there will be times for serious discussions and disagreement. There will be trying times and even bad times that we will need to work through together. The key to surviving these times is to remember to be respectful, acknowledge our commitment, and work through whatever is at hand together. During these times it really helps to remind ourselves of why we chose to love them in the first place.
Love is all about choices. We choose to see the good, ignore the petty, look for what we could do for our partner, and remember why we love our partner. Choosing to put in the effort to do these things is what love looks like, and with that work comes the wonderful reward of staying in love.
Happy couple photo available from Shutterstock
Love is a Choice More than a Feeling | {
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Ukraine: Interim leader Turchynov stresses "European choice" Published duration 24 February 2014
media caption Oleksandr Turchynov: "This fight gave us unity and strength of a modern political nation"
Ukraine's new interim President Oleksandr Turchynov has said the country will focus on closer integration with the EU.
Mr Turchynov was appointed following the dismissal of President Viktor Yanukovych by MPs on Saturday.
Mr Yanukovych's rejection of an EU-Ukraine trade pact triggered the protests that toppled him.
Russia, which had backed Mr Yanukovych, has recalled its ambassador to Ukraine for consultations.
Earlier Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the opposition "had in effect seized power in Kiev, refused to disarm and continued to place its bets on violence".
The US has said parliament's actions were legitimate and has warned Russia against military intervention.
Mr Turchynov, a close ally of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, gave a televised address late on Sunday, hours after his appointment as interim president.
He vowed to set up a "government of the people", and said: "We have to return to the family of European countries."
He added: "We are ready for a dialogue with Russia... on a new, fair, equal and neighbourly basis, acknowledging and taking into account Ukraine's European choice."
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has announced she is visiting Kiev on Monday to discuss EU support "for a lasting solution to the political crisis and measures to stabilise the economic situation".
Mr Turchynov said MPs had until Tuesday to form a new unity government.
'Modern country'
Thousands of opposition supporters remain in Kiev's Independence Square, heeding opposition calls not to disperse.
image copyright Getty Images image caption Anti-Yanukovych protesters say they want Ukraine to move closer towards the EU
image copyright Getty Images image caption People have been lighting candles in memory of protesters killed in clashes with police
image copyright Reuters image caption Tymoshenko met the US ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, and EU envoy Jan Tombinski on Sunday
The health ministry says 88 people, mostly anti-Yanukovych protesters, are now known to have been killed in clashes that took place earlier this week.
In an address on Saturday , Mr Yanukovych refused to stand down. He is last thought to have been in the eastern city of Kharkiv after travelling there late on Friday night.
Media reports have quoted Ukrainian officials as saying he was stopped by border police while attempting to flee to Russia.
MPs from Mr Yanukovych's Party of Regions now appear to be disowning him, having issued a statement criticising him to Interfax-Ukraine.
media caption Ukrainians in Kiev appear broadly optimistic about the future
Meanwhile Ms Tymoshenko, who was freed from detention on Saturday, has ruled out becoming prime minister again.
Her release was one of the conditions of the EU-Ukraine trade pact that Mr Yanukovych rejected last year.
Former world champion boxer Vitaly Klitschko suggested to the BBC that he may make a bid for the presidency in elections scheduled for 25 May.
"I want to make Ukraine a modern European country," he said. "If I can do that through the president's position, I will do my best."
media caption Unverified CCTV appeared to show Viktor Yanukovych fleeing his Kiev residence
In other decisions on Sunday:
Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara and Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk were dismissed
Arrest warrants were issued for former Incomes Minister Oleksandr Klimenko and former Prosecutor-General Viktor Pshonka
Parliament lowered the official status of the Russian language by cancelling a law brought in by Mr Yanukovych
Parliament also voted to seize Mr Yanukovych's luxury estate near Kiev, which protesters entered on Saturday
Financial support
Also on Sunday, US National Security Adviser Susan Rice warned Russia it would be a "grave mistake" to intervene militarily.
Russia and the US have been on opposite sides during the Ukraine crisis, with the US, along with the EU, backing the opposition.
Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was reported to have called Ms Tymoshenko and urged her to work for unity.
Mrs Merkel also called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday to discuss the crisis; both agreed that the country's "territorial integrity must be safeguarded", her spokesman said.
There has been a fear that the crisis may exacerbate divisions between the Russian-leaning east of the country and the more pro-EU west.
Germany is trying to act as a broker in the conflict and to assuage Russian fears that it will be threatened if Ukraine moves closer to the European Union, the BBC's Stephen Evans reports from Berlin.
Some German government MPs have called for swift financial aid to Ukraine, possibly involving the International Monetary Fund, our correspondent reports.
Moscow recently agreed to provide $15bn (£9bn; 11bn euros) to support the Ukrainian government. If Russia withdrew that offer, the debate in Berlin is whether the European Union could replace the Russian money and how that might affect relations with Moscow, he adds.
Earlier, a US official said US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew had discussed Ukraine with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Sydney.
Mr Siluanov reportedly left open the question of whether Russia will pay the next instalment of financial help for Ukraine, worth $2bn. | {
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Hitting out at the Indian government, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has buried Nehru's India.
"Narendra Modi has buried Nehru's India," Qureshi said at a press conference after chairing a high-level committee meeting over Kashmir after India moved to abrogate provisions of Article 370.
Qureshi added that the Indian policy revolves around "Doval doctrine".
This was the first meeting of the 'Kashmir committee', which was formed by Pakistan PM Imran Khan on August 6, a day after India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into two Union territories.
Saying that the committee represented all institutions of Pakistan, Qureshi said, "The resolution that the Parliament passed in its joint session was kept in view in today's meeting of the Kashmir committee. We showed unity from the Parliament. The same unity has been symbolic in today's meeting."
Qureshi added that the committee members also discussed the roadmap over the issue on how to take this forward.
This came a day after the closed-door consultations on Kashmir by the UNSC ended without any outcome or statement from the powerful 15-nation UN organ, dealing a huge snub to Pakistan and its all-weather ally China to internationalise the issue, which an overwhelming majority stressed is a bilateral matter between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Quereshi, however, claimed that result of the meeting was a big success for Pakistan. He said Friday's meeting was historic as the Kashmir issue was discussed after at least 50 years.
Also at the presser, Pakistan's ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor said, "Kashmir is a nuclear flash point and the world needs to look into Indian Defence Minister's remarks about use of nuclear weapons."
Earlier on Friday, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said India may see a major shift in its policy of using nuclear weapons. | {
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Sutton Place Vancouver’s $500,000 Valentines Day
It looks like the marketing team for the Sutton Place in Vancouver took note of The Hazelton’s Valentine’s Day extravagant package from last year. While this is more than likely just a marketing ploy for links and brand buzz I applaud them. It’s so ludicrous that it will get attention, hell even I cannot resist writing about it. I’m a marketer by trade so this kind of news always tickles my fancy bone and I’m going to be more interested in hype this drums up online.
@luxuryinbc @HazeltonTO We did something similar about 10 years ago, but this year is much more luxurious! — Sutton Place Hotels (@SuttonPlaceHtl) February 3, 2014
Editor’s Note: They quickly let me know that they indeed doing this long before The Hazelton
This package includes door-to-door limo service, a night in the Presidential Suite, a bottle of Dom Pérignon and hors d’oeuvres upon arrival. You also get a 6-course candlelit dinner with paired premium wines prepared by a private chef in a private dining room. In the morning a champagne breakfast in bed in which you can wear your personalized monogrammed Frette terry robes. Spend the day by taking a private helicopter tour of the city, a private $100,000 Holt Renfrew shopping spree as well as a new personalized Maserati. To top it all off you get
$50,000 worth of diamonds and fine jewelry, weekly couple’s massages for the year and weekly fresh flower delivery for the year.
While I don’t mean to sound like such a snob, I wouldn’t put The Sutton Place as a luxury hotel that can compete with the other options available in Vancouver. I took at look at the severely outdated images of the La Grande Résidence room and for that kind of money, I would hope the room has been updated in the recent years. They don’t have a Presidential Suite listed on their website so I assumed this is the room they meant.
So on one hand someone in their PR department is on point but if you’re going to be offering luxury at this level, perhaps at least look the part? If anyone from the company reads this just send me an email and I’ll, for free, send over the Luxury Branded photographer and sort you folks out with beautiful new photos and video.
For those that want to buy this package you can inquire online here or give Elaine Drever a call at 604.730.6655. | {
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Your best guess is that the landscape is as inhospitable as it gets: An irregular range of sharp boulders and loose rubble piles strewn among jagged crevasses and deep troughs of dust. But then again, it's just a guess because no one's ever actually seen this landscape up close. Now imagine that you need to send a robot across that landscape, from a perch at the lip of a steep crater to the edge of an ice-encrusted hole 1,000 meters away. And imagine that gravity is a tiny fraction of what we have on Earth. And you can't communicate with the robot because it's 50 million miles away and circling to the far side of Mars. What would that robot need to look like?
A cube, quite possibly
Meet Hedgehog, who could become our guide to exploring the small bodies such as asteroids and comets whirling about the solar system. Designed by Stanford's Marco Pavone, assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics, and Ben Hockman, graduate student in mechanical engineering, this space rover has no wheels for rolling, no arms for grabbing and no legs for stepping. It's just a single overgrown die with the ability to hop and tumble itself across the unknown terrain of asteroids, comets and small moons. And while Hedgehog is not yet part of any planned space missions, the rover's research team recently cleared a significant hurdle along the way to turning their block robot into a space-exploration dynamo.
One small hop for rovers
The twin challenges of extreme environments and low levels of gravity make landing on and exploring small bodies exceptionally difficult, Pavone says. And while there have been a few spacecraft that have made contact with asteroids and comets, such as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hayabusa mission and the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission, they have had only partial success. At best, such probes have been confined to the spot where they landed. "None of them have actually provided extensive exploration of the small body," Pavone says. "That's what we're after."
The Hedgehog project is part of a collaboration between researchers at Stanford, MIT and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and is funded by the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. Program executive Jason Derleth says NIAC seeks "to 'change the possible' in aerospace" by advancing projects that are both innovative and credible.
Hedgehog strikes just that balance, he says. "By turning a disadvantage for mobility [low gravity] into a requirement for mobility, the proposed rover would be able to do things on small bodies that are simply impossible right now – and yet, Dr. Pavone's proposed rover utilizes almost no new technologies, just uses existing technologies in a new, creative way."
A ride on the vomit comet
How Pavone and Hockman solved the riddle of low-gravity mobility is a story of creativity within constraints. In a microgravity environment, the type of wheeled or tracked rovers used to explore the surface of Mars would almost certainly fail. In environments where you would weigh as much as a paperclip and if you jumped hard enough you would never come back, wheels and treads would struggle to gain traction, and one little unforeseen jostle could easily tip a rover over to flail helplessly on its back. Instead of rolling along, Hedgehog exploits the fact that objects aren't so firmly anchored to the ground by hopping. Three internal flywheels are housed within a cube with corners that are beefed-up to absorb the shock of landing. Those flywheels move the cube through a process of internal actuation. By spinning and abruptly braking, the flywheels achieve varying amounts of torque, enabling the cube to controllably hop when it needs to cover distance, like a gymnast somersaulting across a mat. In the event that Hedgehog gets buried in a sandy sinkhole, it can even perform a "tornado" maneuver that corkscrews upward to escape.
At least, those were the researchers' theories of how Hedgehog would maneuver in microgravity environments. While some creative lab designs can approximate a microgravity analog here on Earth, Hockman says, such test beds all have one key flaw: Much like a marionette puppet, they require suspending the rover by a complex system of pulleys and counterweights to effectively offload gravity. To see how an untethered Hedgehog might actually perform in low-gravity contexts, in June 2015 the researchers took it for a ride on the "Vomit Comet," a NASA aircraft that swoops up and down in deep parabolas to provide a near-weightless environment.
Over a four-day period, the aircraft created 200 intervals of near-zero-gravity conditions. During each 20-second interval the researchers put Hedgehog through its paces. They tested different hopping and twisting moves on a variety of surfaces that a rover might encounter on an asteroid. "It was an opportunity to see Hedgehog perform a hop or any other maneuver as it would on an asteroid or comet, no strings attached," Hockman says, adding, "We were quite pleased with how it performed. We're still analyzing all the data, but even just seeing Hedgehog hop in the direction we commanded it to hop is reassuring. We've successfully demonstrated a whole new paradigm of mobility in microgravity."
The goal of autonomy
Now that the researchers have successfully proven that Hedgehog can reliably execute individual maneuvers, they must string together a series of hops and gyrations to enable the rover to move purposefully and independent of human control. "We're talking about environments that are so extreme, so far away, that either you have an autonomous robot or you just don't go there," Pavone says.
In concert with their colleagues at JPL, Pavone and Hockman are focused on developing the sensing and intelligence capabilities to enable Hedgehog to ascertain its present location and calculate what internal gyrations of its flywheels would be necessary to propel it to a desired location. "Autonomy requires a brain, which tells the robot where it is, where it needs to go and how to get there," Hockman says. "At Stanford, we're developing the navigation algorithms that allow Hedgehog to move intelligently, assuming we know its location. JPL is tackling the complementary problem: Given we have a plan and some sensing instruments, how does Hedgehog determine where it is?"
"It's pretty exciting, the types of missions and science return that this little cube enables," Hockman says. For instance, successful exploration of asteroids or even Phobos, the larger of Mars' two moons that is scarcely a dozen miles in diameter, could enable a strategic stepping-stone to a manned mission to the red planet. On a deeper level, Pavone says, the ability to gather and analyze the chemical and physical properties of asteroids and comets can give us a better understanding of the evolution of our solar system and the potential for extraterrestrial life.
"I hope we will see this rover fly in space, and sooner than expected," says NIAC's Derleth. "It is conceivable that Dr. Pavone's spacecraft could fly as a secondary payload on another mission, potentially exploring targets as interesting and important as Phobos and Deimos, the moons of Mars that may someday be human outposts in our journey to explore the solar system. These tiny rovers might be the first visitors, scouting out good locations and determining if there are any usable resources, while simultaneously helping us further scientific knowledge of how the solar system formed."
Hedgehog's successful hops and flips are another step down that path, but much remains to be done before it will be ready to strike out on its own.
"We're trying to increase the technological maturity of this platform and use the lessons learned from it to address other problems in the space-exploration domain," Pavone says. "Our mission is to infuse autonomy in space platforms, and enable them to do extreme stuff that has never been done before – stuff that no one has even dared to think about." | {
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If you read tech sites outside of this one, there is a chance you read the rumor from earlier in the week from industry player Eldar Murtazin, which suggested that Google is going to kill off its Nexus program some time in 2015 and replace it with its Google Play Edition line, though that name may change by the time this all unfolds. Clearly, we ignored the hell out of this rumor. Because well, it’s just a giant one-line rumor on Twitter with nothing to back it. To add to the plot, though, Murtazin returned shortly after the Lenovo-Motorola deal was announced to suggest that Lenovo will make one of the last Nexus devices ever.
So what do we think? Seeing as 2014 just started, Google just released the Nexus 5 (a device that helped carry LG’s last quarter), and all sorts of new Google Play Edition devices are available, I couldn’t tell you. My initial reaction is to not worry about it at this point.
I’ll say this – Murtazin has been right in the past, but he’s also been wrong countless times. For example, a week ago he said that the Galaxy S5 would be announced at a press event on February 23 and then backtracked hours later, with a “Samsung now doesn’t know what to do because of my leak” quote. Really? Anyways, back to this Nexus thing.
Is Google going to kill off the Nexus program? It certainly doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. The Nexus 7 continues to be a device that Google is keen on investing in. We often talk about Google’s lack of advertising, yet that device could be seen in TV ads regularly for months after it was released. But beyond that device, Google seems to be proud of its Nexus line as a way for it to show exactly how it thinks Android should be represented at an insanely affordable price. Name another device that gives you the truest sense of Google’s latest version of Android. There isn’t one that doesn’t have “Nexus” in the name. They used the Nexus 5 to show off a new launcher, new dialer, and a handful of other features that were exclusives.
Which leads me into the next point – don’t you think Google needs hardware to introduce new versions of Android on? Unless they decide to pick an OEM to release a GPE device with the newest version of Android, they won’t have any should the Nexus line be killed off. So maybe that could be the play that Murtazin is talking about? GPE devices as they stand now are overpriced models of previously released Android hardware that can’t possibly be selling well. If you partner with an OEM to introduce new builds of Android on, then maybe you have a reason to kill off the Nexus line and to give customers a reason to look at a Google Play Edition.
Again, we’re talking speculation and rumor right now. Google just sold Motorola, they may want Nest to build hardware for them, and a renewed friendship with Samsung could mean drastic changes that could affect all of Android. For now, though, just enjoy your Nexus or Moto X or G2 or Galaxy. 2014 has barely begun.
Oh, and about Lenovo getting a crack at a Nexus device – does anyone care? I don’t. | {
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EDITOR’S NOTE: On Oct. 2, NJ Cannabis Insider hosts its fall live event at the Garden State Expo Center, featuring leaders in the medical marijuana and legal cannabis industries. Tickets are limited.
Those hoping to have their marijuana convictions cleared will have to keep waiting.
The state Senate did not vote on Gov. Phil Murphy’s changes to its expungement legislation on Thursday but instead introduced a new bill of its own.
Senators Sandra Cunningham, D-Hudson, and Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex, along with Senate President Stephen Sweeney announced Thursday afternoon they had introduced new legislation to expand expungement. It proposes reforms to expungement eligibility and procedures for clearing marijuana and other qualified offenses.
Sweeney said Thursday afternoon the bill would head straight to the floor the next time the Senate convenes for a vote, rather than going through committee. That’s because it’s largely the same bill, aside from removing just a few words the governor suggested.
“We are offering a comprehensive expungement plan that builds on the proposal offered by Governor Murphy so that we can make reforms that will produce more fairness in the criminal justice system,” Sweeney said in a statement.
“I want to commend the Governor for the constructive ideas he incorporated into his conditional veto. We are improving on his plan to make sure the expungement program is more expansive and covers more people.”
The new bill would establish “clean slate” expungement, keeping with the governor’s recommendations to render certain convictions inaccessible after a 10-year period. It also would overhaul the application process to make all expungements more accessible.
Those currently paying off fines would also be eligible, and the collections would be transferred to the State Treasurer, according to the announcement.
Murphy conditionally vetoed the original bill seeking to revamp the state’s outdated and cumbersome process in late August. Both houses of the legislature voted to pass it in June.
Sweeney said in the announcement the move was not a rejection of the governor’s proposed changes, and that the Senate would welcome most of the changes introduced in the conditional veto.
The conditional veto called to establish an electronic filing system to streamline processing of expungements and $15 million to expand the workforce needed to process expungement petitions before the automated system can begin. Another aspect of it called for sealing charges related to small amounts of marijuana, hashish and paraphernalia possession.
He said discussions with Murphy would continue as they seek to reach a full agreement that hopefully includes the Senate’s revisions.
A spokesman for the governor declined to comment on the new legislation.
The Senate had expressed disappointment with the governor’s conditional veto.
“We really thought we had given the governor a good expungement bill,” Sweeney said Thursday.
Their issue centered around just a few words added by the governor they believed would limit the number of people eligible for expungement, he said. That’s the same criticism the original bill’s sponsor, Cunningham, lodged at the governor’s proposals late last month.
“If expungement is a good step toward responsible citizenship, then we should be broadening the opportunity for people to expunge their records, rejoin the work force and be fully accepted in society,” she said in a statement. “Expanding the eligibility for expungement will allow more people to remove that stigma and break down the barriers preventing them from reaching their full potential. That is a principle I know has motivated the Governor.”
She said that the legislative process is not being delayed. The Senate pushed the vote Thursday pushed because Democrats did not have enough members present to get it passed, Sweeney said.
Some social justice advocates praised the auto-expungement process Murphy’s veto brought to the bill. But they also say those suffering the consequences of minor marijuana convictions cannot continue to wait for relief.
Police have arrested nearly 1 million people in New Jersey on marijuana charges since 1990, according to the state judiciary, making the state’s marijuana arrest rate one of the highest in the nation. They aren’t helped by the fact that the state’s current expungement processes is one of the most burdensome in the country, as reported earlier this year by NJ Advance Media.
Bill Caruso, a cannabis industry attorney and founding member of the social justice group New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform, said the earlier Thursday he saw the expungement bill as “a step forward” to reform, but essentially “a task force and a punt down the road” rather than a sweeping social justice reform.
He said there were still questions about automatic expungement after the governor’s conditional veto, including how the state will pay for it and how small municipalities that keep records different will handle them. The bill would not put a stop to new marijuana arrests, something advocates have criticized.
“I think it moreover shines a light that without addressing the underlying criminality associated cannabis, we’re really not addressing anything," Caruso said.
Amanda Hoover can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters. | {
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I love how the Zannas Adventurers Guild will accept all kinds of agents. Of course they do! This is an organization that is largely controlled and funded by orcs! Quite a departure from the expected, even while the expected still exists.
Gender? Sure looked like a female in the thumbnail. But no breasts? Of course not--she's a reptile! That did nothing to stop Dungeons and Dragons from giving their female Dragonborn race breasts and launching all sorts of internet controversy and speculation about their origins, nature and by extension, the nature of dragons!
Her crest, and the varied number of races of Draaki reminds me of the Silurians and Sea Devils from "Doctor Who". They are quite variable in configuration! Whereas, for example, light and dark elves have few differences beyond skin color, the draaki have tails-or not- between races. And other differences as well, such a crests and or not, or skull configuration.
Then again, loranor have tails, yet can breed with humans, resulting in more humanoid cat girls! Pumori has a tail, and werewolves have tails--part of the time! So how important is an appendage in such a world for classification?
Fantasy and naturalism combined can bring out the geek in many a fan. LoL
I have to wonder about the fate of the varied draaki in the modern era? Given that they seem to already be in trouble, what with so many varied species and scattered presence on the planet and low numbers--probably most faced extinction? | {
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Calgary city council has voted to suspend its public arts policy until there is a review on how better to engage the public in light of the widespread criticism of the Bowfort Towers art installation.
READ MORE: Calgary city councillor Druh Farrell ‘tired of defending’ public art policy
The vote was unanimous Wednesday afternoon. Councillors Sean Chu and Shane Keating managed to convince their colleagues something was wrong with the program and it needed to be reviewed following reaction to the Bowfort Towers and the “Travelling Light,” the so-called blue ring, that have cost taxpayers $1 million.
Keating has said he’d like to see a process where artists who compete will provide a scale drawing or video and the public can have a say on what they think works best.
“Public art is not to one person’s taste but it has to be acceptable to the vast majority — not so much as want they want on their front lawn but it’s something they will accept — and they will say, ‘it’s not me but I can live with it and it enhances the neighbourhood.'”
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READ MORE: ‘Not my favourite thing in the world’: Nenshi after seeing Bowfort Towers
Chu has been a big detractor of the program and pushed for the review.
“I would like to see a policy that takes into account current economic conditions and limits spending accordingly,” he said. “A policy that involves citizen input and a policy that ensures taxpayers feel respected and listened too.”
READ MORE: Calgary Public Art Board member defends Bowfort Towers as ‘wonderful addition’
Even long-time supporters such as Druh Farrell agreed with the review.
“We have some really remarkable public art. We also have chosen a time and a place and a particular style of art that is really irritating to people.”
She worries about the future of the public arts program if the controversies aren’t dealt with.
“We won’t be able to afford another mistake like this. We’ll lose the program.”
Mayor Naheed Nenshi says it’s tough to explain why there’s so much criticism of the public arts policy.
“I think the vast majority of times we do get it right but when we get it wrong, we do have the capability of getting it spectacularly wrong,” he said. “I hope that the tweak of the policy helps us fix the stuff we get right but also prevents us from doing stuff wrong.”
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While there is a suspension on the city contracting out for any new art projects, there are 54 projects already underway that won’t be impacted.
Related News Nenshi and 8 Calgary councillors to ask for public art policy freeze | {
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As members of the Minnesota Peace Project, we believe that the Iran nuclear agreement — or, officially, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — is a significant step forward in ensuring that Iran’s nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful and that Iran will not seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons. We are pleased that U.S. Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, along with U.S. Reps. Keith Ellison, Betty McCollum and Tim Walz, have said they will vote for the agreement, and we urge the other members of our Minnesota congressional delegation to follow suit.
The JCPOA is exacting, comprehensive and replete with safeguards that guarantee its execution. Key features making it worthy of congressional support include:
1) Uranium enrichment by Iran is strictly regulated for at least 15 years, and a 97 percent reduction in the country’s existing enriched uranium stockpile is required. All centrifuges and related infrastructure will be monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during the 15 years.
2) Iran must remove the core of its nuclear reactor at Arak and redesign it to render the production of weapons-grade plutonium impossible. For 15 years, it cannot build heavy water reactors.
3) The U.N. Security Council will restrict Iranian arms sales for five years and ballistic missile development for eight.
4) Verification entails the most intrusive and rigorous inspections regime ever devised. International inspectors will have timely access to any perceived suspicious site, including investigation of all existing military installations. In addition, the IAEA will monitor Iran’s centrifuge production facilities and entire nuclear supply chain for 20 years and its uranium mining for 25 years.
5) Iran will receive relief from multilateral and national nuclear-related sanctions only after confirmation of its compliance with agreement terms. In a “reciprocal step-by-step process,” the IAEA must first verify that Iran has completed rollback of specified element in its nuclear program before the U.N. Security Council and U.S., respectively, suspend their nuclear-related sanctions. With limited exceptions, the U.S. ban on trade with Iran will remain in force.
6) A detailed dispute-resolution process outlines steps for negotiating differences between parties. The U.N. Security Council has final authority in such matters, as well as in lifting or reinstating sanctions approved in previous resolutions. Permanent members of the Security Council can also unilaterally decide to reimpose their own sanctions.
Many knowledgeable and prominent individuals are publicly supporting the agreement, including:
• Twenty-nine top U.S. physicists, who have signed a letter praising technical features of the accord, which they characterize as ‘innovative’ and “stringent.”
• A bipartisan group of more than 50 retired military leaders, senior foreign-policy officials, ambassadors and leading national security experts, who have released a statement supporting the agreement framework — including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, national security advisers Brent Scowcroft, Sandy Berger and Zbigniew Brzezinski, retired Adm. William Fallon, and recent Senate Committee Chairs Dick Lugar, Carl Levin and Nancy Kassebaum.
• More than 50 senior members of Israel’s defense establishment who, in an open letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dated Aug. 3, stated that it is in Israel’s best interests to support implementation of the agreement, initiate steps toward reaching a two-state solution and establish a moderate Sunni-Western axis to combat extremist forces. Signers included former Shin Bet chiefs Amy Ayalon and Carmi Gillon, former Knesset member Roman Bronfman and former police chief Assaf Heffetz.
• Leaders of more than 90 nations, including the six Arab states of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the 15 member states of the U.N. Security Council.
While the JCPOA is not perfect — as most supporters, including our senators, attest — we see no better alternative. Most if not all opponents are against any agreement with Iran. We see cautious reason for optimism. The JCPOA, though specific to the Iran nuclear program, bodes well for multilateral settlement of other Middle East conflicts. World leaders have created a cooperative stepwise framework for enforcing an agreement diplomatically and, only if necessary, militarily.
Barry B. Cohen, James V. Roth, Linda Thomson and Catherine Murphy are members of the Minnesota Peace Project. | {
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Former FBI Director James Comey James Brien ComeyDemocrats fear Russia interference could spoil bid to retake Senate Book: FBI sex crimes investigator helped trigger October 2016 public probe of Clinton emails Trump jabs at FBI director over testimony on Russia, antifa MORE said Sunday that because of the partial government shutdown, "innocent people are now paying the price for another lie" from 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.
"FBI families will spend Christmas without a paycheck. This president promised Mexico would pay for the wall but innocent people are now paying the price for another lie. Our thoughts are with hardworking public servants and their families," Comey wrote in a tweet.
FBI families will spend Christmas without a paycheck. This president promised Mexico would pay for the wall but innocent people are now paying the price for another lie. Our thoughts are with hardworking public servants and their families. — James Comey (@Comey) December 23, 2018
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Trump pledged while campaigning for president that Mexico would fund the wall.
Incoming White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Sunday acknowledged that the Department of Homeland Security can't force Mexico to pay for the wall.
"Technically, you and I both know that it cannot work exactly like that. ... Department of Homeland Security can’t actually spend money from Mexico. We have to get it from Treasury," Mulvaney said on ABC's "This Week."
The federal government entered a partial shutdown on Saturday after lawmakers were unable to reach an agreement over Trump's demand for $5 billion in funding for a wall along the southern border. | {
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Negotiations in Congress over the fate of the nearly 700,000 unauthorized immigrants who are losing their deportation protections and work permits as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program ends are beginning to seem like an oddity of physics.
The closed-door talks among a handful of senators (led by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ)) haven’t fallen apart — yet. But they’re moving at an impossibly slow rate. After months of discussion, no one has yet put forward a bipartisan bill or even a framework, so it’s difficult to see how they’re still moving forward.
Meanwhile, in public, the stances that the White House, Republican congressional leaders, and Democrats have taken appear irreconcilable. And Trump’s own statements have been all over the map.
Democrats are doing nothing for DACA - just interested in politics. DACA activists and Hispanics will go hard against Dems, will start “falling in love” with Republicans and their President! We are about RESULTS. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
Congress has twice asked the White House what its hard-and-fast demands are on a DACA deal, and on both occasions — in October and again on Friday — the White House’s response has been a wish list constituting a comprehensive crackdown on legal and unauthorized immigration. Last week, two Republican senators accused Democrats of being unwilling to make even moderate concessions on border security.
The public disagreements about policy are to some extent a mirage. On Monday, two House members offered up yet another bipartisan DACA bill — the fifth, by Vox reporter Tara Golshan’s count, that offers some vehicle to help DREAMers. If the DACA negotiations fall apart, it’s more likely to be because of disagreements about the idea of a compromise itself, or process disputes, than over the policy specifics. (And yes, that includes “the wall.”)
That said, there are a lot of ways the talks could break down — which means, in Congress, they probably will.
Here are seven things, ranked by likelihood, that could kill a DACA deal.
1) Republicans decide they don’t want it badly enough
At a certain point, someone is going to need to produce, in public, an actual policy framework that could provide the basis of a DACA deal. There will need to be something that Congress can vote on and the president can sign.
And since Republicans can’t pass anything without Democratic votes in the Senate (they have 51 votes, and need 60 to overcome a filibuster) coming out only with DACA proposals that no Democrat would sign on to is tantamount to saying that they don’t actually care about a DACA fix all that much.
But it’s still not clear that either the White House or Republican congressional leadership is interested in cutting a bipartisan deal.
In December, the Senate’s bipartisan working group asked White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to tell them what the administration would need in a DACA deal for the president to sign it.
Late last week, they ostensibly got their reply: The White House sent the exact same document it had released in October, outlining an immigration “framework” that posited an overhaul of asylum laws, stepped-up interior enforcement, and a broad crackdown on legal immigration on the scale of the Trump-endorsed RAISE Act. Alongside it was a document outlining a “vision” for Trump’s border wall: 700 miles, at a cost of $18 billion.
Of course, the entire reason the senators asked Kelly for the White House’s demands in December was that they hadn’t taken the October wish list seriously. So the White House was essentially — as Breitbart correctly pointed out — thumbing its nose at the idea of a bipartisan DACA deal.
But what made the White House’s response particularly weird was that on Thursday, staff members had met with Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans — including Graham and Flake — and struck a preliminary “deal” on DACA that they would show to Democrats as early as Tuesday.
The bottom line appears to be that the White House hasn’t decided it does want a deal, and pushed staff to adhere to the party line. Neither have congressional Republicans: In the House, a group of relatively conservative Republicans has started their own set of DACA “discussions,” which is unlikely to result in a bill that can get Democratic votes or pass the Senate.
While it’s unfair to compare the majority party to the minority party on this, it’s worth noting that Democrats, especially in the Senate, appear to be deferring to the working group and prepared to support whatever comes out of it.
That doesn’t mean that the Republicans who do care about making a deal — or those who just want to avoid getting blamed when hundreds of DACA recipients a day start losing their protections when the program’s official sunset date hits in March — won’t ultimately prevail. It just means a lack of Republican will is the biggest threat right now.
2) Disagreement over attaching a DACA deal to a must-pass bill
Republican congressional leadership is pretty adamant that a DACA deal shouldn’t be attached to a government spending bill, like, for example, the one they need to pass by January 19 to keep the government open.
Democrats in Congress are equally adamant that a standalone immigration bill that would legalize some unauthorized immigrants will never pass Congress — especially the House, where it would be subject to the unspoken “Hastert Rule” that bills can only be brought to the floor with the support of a majority of the Republican caucus.
Depending on how the next two weeks shake out, this impasse could lead either party to walk away from DACA talks. If Republicans try to punt the January 19 deadline with another two-week continuing resolution (as they did twice in December), Democrats might refuse to go along — at which point, Republicans could pull out of the DACA talks by saying Democrats “poisoned the well.”
Alternatively, if Republicans simply refuse to attach a DACA deal to a spending package, Democrats could stop trying to work with them on DACA, since they wouldn’t want to negotiate on a bill that would never pass anyway.
This is a classic “each side blames the other” situation. Republicans would complain that Democrats simply weren’t willing to go through the legislative process the right way; Democrats would retort that they couldn’t guarantee a bill would even go to the floor if it wasn’t attached to a “must-pass” bill; Republicans would point to McConnell’s promise to bring a standalone immigration bill to the floor in January; Democrats would counter with the promises Republicans made to get Susan Collins’s vote on the tax bill, then broke within the week.
The only reason this isn’t the most likely obstacle to a DACA deal is that the deal would have to make it to the “agreed-upon policy framework” level first, and, per point 1, it’s not clear they want to go that far.
3) Negotiators can’t agree on anything they can call a limit on “chain migration”
For the most part, the policy on a DACA deal is the easy part. The biggest obstacle, policy-wise, is how to satisfy the demand President Donald Trump has begun to express regularly that any deal on DACA “end chain migration.”
The demand is hard to satisfy partly because it’s not clear what exactly the Trump administration is asking for — the president’s sloppy use of “chain migration” implicates all family-based immigration, and the proposal he’s endorsed to “end” it, the RAISE Act, would slash legal immigration to the United States in half.
It’s also a demand that’s emerged as important only in the past few weeks (months into the DACA negotiations), and one that can’t be solved just by throwing money at the problem, which is Congress’s preferred way to address specific legislative demands.
But to get a bill the president will sign, negotiators have to take the demand seriously.
Senators appear to be interpreting the “chain migration” demand to mean that the people who are legalized under the deal — DACA recipients and those who would have qualified for the program — will be restricted in their ability to sponsor their relatives for legal immigration to the US.
There’s some disagreement about whether these restrictions would apply when the legalized immigrants were green card holders — who are already restricted in sponsoring family members — or after they were citizens. (There are concerns, and not just from Democrats, that a bill that discriminated against citizens in family sponsorship wouldn’t survive a court challenge.)
But in practice, this probably wouldn’t do a ton to restrict long-term immigration to the US: Many people who would be legalized under any DACA fix have siblings who are US-born, who will be able to sponsor their parents for citizenship when they turn 21 years old.
But there’s also some discussion of a more aggressive move to curb “chain migration,” targeting family visas for adult children and siblings of US citizens. These are already the lowest priorities in the immigration system, and most applicants have to wait years to get approved, but they’re also the most likely to create “chains.”
If Republicans want to eliminate those categories entirely (depending on how they want to do it), Democrats — especially those members who represent Asian-American communities — may well refuse. It’s something they might be willing to do in exchange for legalizing most or all of the 11 million unauthorized immigrants currently in the US, but not for only the DREAMers — a population who, after all, Republicans claim they want to find a solution for as well.
4) A diversity visa lottery dustup
Eliminating the diversity visa, a program in which immigrants from countries that don’t send many immigrants to the US are selected by lottery and subsequently screened, is another demand the president has lit upon in recent weeks as a DACA condition — particularly since an attack in New York City by someone who came to the US on this type of visa. But it’s easier to see Democrats agreeing to go along with it, depending on what’s erected in its place.
Democrats probably won’t agree to get rid of the visa lottery if those visas are simply eliminated, to result in less legal immigration overall. They might be willing to agree to reallocate the 50,000 visas issued a year by the lottery to other categories of immigrants — including, possibly, as a way to allow immigrants currently in the US on Temporary Protected Status (who can’t get green cards) to stay permanently, instead of lobbying the government to keep renewing TPS. And they could support a deal that would eliminate the “lottery” component of the diversity visa but allocate those visas to underrepresented countries by other means.
It’s possible that changes to the diversity visa won’t even end up in the final deal. It would be a complicated fix, and some members of both parties are wary of using the DACA deal to make unrelated changes to legal immigration. It’s not clear, meanwhile, whether anyone is insisting on diversity visa reform as the condition for their support — except for, possibly, the White House itself.
5) That darn wall
Every time it looks like DACA talks are hitting a snag, there’s temptation to blame the wall. That happened again last week: Reports characterized the White House’s requests to Congress as a “demand” of $18 billion in wall funding in exchange for a DACA deal, or as holding DREAMers “hostage” to get money for the wall.
But the Democratic aide who told Politico that the White House’s border vision was “far beyond the bounds of what any Democrat or Republican has been discussing” was correct. It’s not clear that Republicans in Congress are willing to spend $18 billion on a wall, much less that they’d demand it as a condition on DACA.
For that matter, it’s not even clear that the White House is making it a demand. The document was sent to Congress in response to a request from senators for the White House to articulate what it actually needed in a deal — but it was sent alongside the exact same “framework” the White House issued in October, which wasn’t taken as a serious starting point in negotiations at the time. And one of the people who first reported on the existence of the document, the Wall Street Journal’s Laura Meckler, specified that it was “not clear Trump [was] demanding [the] whole thing” in a DACA deal.
To the extent that the $18 billion document throws a wrench in DACA negotiations, it’s because it illustrates the first problem above: It’s not clear the White House is interested in making a deal that involves getting anything less than its entire immigration wish list.
Within Congress, the two parties seem much closer to each other than either does to the White House.
The numbers floated by two Republican senators, North Carolina’s Thom Tillis and Oklahoma’s James Lankford, on Thursday were much more modest: $1.6 billion to build 76 miles of border barriers. (Tillis and Lankford claimed even that wasn’t acceptable to Democrats, and that they’ve walked away from the Senate working group because of Democrats’ border demands — but other reports indicate that Tillis and Lankford were basically kicked out of the group, so it’s not clear whether they are characterizing that correctly.)
If the White House’s actual demands match Tillis and Lankford’s — or if it can be talked into demanding something closer to theirs — the hardest part will be the messaging: Trump will have to be able to claim it is a border wall, while Democrats claim it isn’t.
But given that the White House has been known to claim, when convenient, that any physical barrier on the border is a “wall,” this doesn’t seem that difficult. It’s still very hard to imagine that Democrats will pass on the opportunity to allow hundreds of thousands, or more, unauthorized immigrants to become citizens, if the alternative is splitting a linguistic hair over what exactly the meaning of “wall” is.
6) Republicans decide they want some new enforcement trade-off
So far in negotiations, Republican leadership has been unwilling to make any public distinctions between what they really need and what they’d like to have. So it’s possible that McConnell, or Ryan, or Trump could decide that some other immigration enforcement measure is a condition for their vote. Restrictions on asylum claims? Interior enforcement? Increasing mandatory minimums for illegal reentry? There are lots of options; it’s just not clear that any of them is all that important.
7) The actual part of a DACA deal dealing with DACA recipients
Past immigration debates have focused on the minutiae of how unauthorized immigrants would be able to apply for legal status, how many of them would be eligible, and what their ultimate status would be. This immigration debate really has not — perhaps because the entire reason to make a DACA deal would be to address the fact that an overwhelming majority of Americans think DREAMers should have legal status.
Members of Congress appear to be in agreement that they want to strike a balance between two DACA legalization bills already proposed:
1) The DREAM Act, co-sponsored by Democrats and a few Republicans
2) The SUCCEED Act, backed by more conservative Republicans
Those two bills aren’t all that far apart to begin with: They differ mostly in how long people would be in provisional status before being eligible to apply for green cards, and the SUCCEED Act has stricter eligibility requirements in some regards.
Any hybrid of the two would almost certainly allow more immigrants to legalize than were protected over DACA: It would apply not only to people who have DACA now or had it in the past, but also to those who would have qualified, or who are currently too young but would have qualified once they turned 15.
The only politician who’s expressed opinions about who should be legalized and how is Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who told a reporter Tuesday that she didn’t think children should be eligible for legalization — a strange position, since most politicians are sympathetic to the idea of “DACA kids.” But Nielsen doesn’t even appear to be in the room for negotiations. And the president, who continues to promise excellent “results” for DACA recipients, is probably not going to pore over the legalization details of a bill sitting on his desk. | {
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But Dizzy...! By FEuJenny07 Watch
361 Favourites 101 Comments 6K Views
"Pinkie?! How many times do I have to tell you to not follow me during my secret chaotic expeditions!"
"But Dizzy, you forgot the goodbye-smoochie!"
Okay, this was ENTIRELY colored with a mouse. Not a large, comfortable one, but one of those tiny pads on portable computers. And with an utterly slow Photoshop, which froze for two-three minutes after each operation. Never again.
It would have turned out much better if I had my tablet =n=
Discord, Pinkie (c) Hasbro
IMAGE DETAILS Image size 2443x2019px 2.7 MB Show More
Published : Dec 14, 2012 | {
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Ian Holloway has returned to QPR for a second spell as manager.
The 53-year-old, who also made more than 150 appearances as a player at Loftus Road, has agreed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the west London club.
He replaces Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who was sacked last week with Rangers lying 17th in the Championship.
Holloway told .qpr.co.uk: "I feel honoured, privileged and proud. It's a huge moment for me and I am delighted to be back here.
"I feel this is the right time for me. I feel like I'm back home now and I can't wait to get started.
"I care deeply for this football club and I want to help Les (Ferdinand), (chief executive) Lee (Hoos) and our wonderful owners create something we can all be proud of.
"Does anyone know this club better than me? Probably not. Has it changed much? Maybe. But I know what it means to everyone out there.
"People would die for this club - and I want our players to show that in their performance, and our fans to show them that they care about the players as much as I will do as their manager.
"My job is to try and help this squad improve and create an environment that the players can succeed in, especially at Loftus Road, where the fans love to see players express themselves.
Holloway previously managed the club between 2001 to 2006 (Getty)
"I want to try and galvanise this squad and make my owners smile. Hopefully this is the start of something here."
Rangers were also linked with Birmingham boss Gary Rowett and former Tottenham chief Tim Sherwood, who has since become director of football at Swindon.
Instead they turned to Holloway, who spent five years in charge of Rangers during a turbulent spell when they went into administration and were relegated to League One.
He remains a popular figure at the club after guiding them to the play-off final in 2003 and to promotion back to the Championship the following year.
Holloway left in 2006 and has since led Blackpool and Crystal Palace to promotion to the Premier League.
But he has been out of management since a disappointing spell in charge at Millwall was brought to an end in March 2015. | {
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Premier Dwight Ball guaranteed a review of official symbols such as the provincial coat of arms last weekend, as had been promoted by Torngat Mountains MHA Randy Edmunds.
The resolution was brought forward because the provincial coat of arms is considered outdated, as it depicts a 17-century understanding of what Europeans thought the Beothuk wore and how they looked.
Beyond that, there is an elk on top of the coat of arms, an animal that isn’t native to the province.
While the depiction is historically inaccurate in retrospect, the coat of arms, which was created in 1638 but dropped soon after, was officially reintroduced in the 1920s after the Imperial War Graves Commission sought a coat of arms to use to memorialize Newfoundland’s contributions to the First World War in France.
The Telegram took to the streets to see how people felt about changing the coat of arms. What do you think? Take our poll below.
[email protected]
— “It is kind of antiquated so it’s probably due for an update, especially if the representations of Indigenous people are not accurate. Definitely time for a change.” — Adrian House, St. John’s
“We move on together as one people, regardless of the colour of our skin, or our heritage, or where we immigrated from. … We can put it in the books of history, but we cannot put it as an emblem for today.” — Tumisang Mabula, South Africa
“When it comes to the depiction of the people in it, I guess I’d … leave it up to the closest descendants of those people and see how they feel about it. … It’s not really up to me. Maybe if you wanted to talk about how Scottish people were depicted, I’d have more of an opinion. I’m not afraid of change. It’s not like we’re going to burn all the old ones and pretend it never existed. It’s just a part of history.” — Ian Gillies, St. John’s
“They should have something that reflects Newfoundland culture (while) considering aboriginal people. They don’t need to separate aboriginal from (Newfoundland). (Aboriginal people) are an important part of the culture, but they should add the actual Newfoundland culture.” — Hamed Abubaker, Sudan | {
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Internally displaced persons from Luhansk continued to inform the SMM about troubling humanitarian conditions in the city. The SMM visited a Ukrainian Border Guard encampment, one kilometre from the Russian border, and saw evidence that it had been shelled. The SMM saw evidence consistent with an artillery attack in two high-rise blocks and a local hospital in Donetsk city. It also observed an unsuccessful attempt to remove the tent town in Kyiv’s Maidan square.
Over the past four days the SMM spoke to around two dozen internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Luhansk. They claimed – interviewed by the SMM separately from each other – that the city was without electricity, water and a mobile connection, and was being shelled practically non-stop from 4am to 2am. According to them, almost all shops, including pharmacies, were closed and people were running out of supplies. Drinking water and bread were almost impossible to buy, and tap water was un-purified. The IDPs also reported that people were burying bodies in gardens, since funeral service no longer operated. Public transport was not functioning and only a few ambulance teams were still working. In these interlocutors’ assessments, only people who were looking after bedridden relatives, or those without money, wished to stay in the city.
On 6 August the SMM visited a Ukrainian Border Guard encampment located less than one km from the Russian border, in the vicinity of Krasnyi Derkul village (54km north-east of Luhansk), which reportedly came under artillery fire in the night between 5 and 6 August, and early in the same morning on 6 August. The SMM saw smouldering forest and shrapnel fragments around the area, where the Border Guard unit had built underground shelters, and four shell craters in an open field on the edge of the camp. The SMM monitors with a military background assessed - based on the trajectories - that 122mm and 152mm cannons had been used.
Two senior officials from Luhansk City Administration and from SBU corroborated an account given to the SMM that the mayor of Luhansk had been detained in Shchastya (23km north of Luhansk) by members of the voluntary Aidar Battalion, fighting with the Ukrainian army against the 'LPR'.
The shelling of Donetsk continued. The SMM visited two high-rise residential buildings and a local hospital in the city centre, showing damage consistent with the use of artillery projectiles; and saw traumatised and crying civilians and medical staff (see SMM Report evening of 7 August). The scene was photographed by SMM. The team later saw the corpse of a middle-aged man in the city’s morgue, with trauma injuries to the upper chest consistent with those earlier described by a doctor at the scene.
The situation in Kharkiv, Dnepropetrovsk, Kherson, Odessa, and Ivano-Frankivsk was calm.
The deputy head of Prypruttya village’s council (20km east of Chernivtsi) told the SMM that removal of the roadblocks on 25-28 July in the area had taken place thanks to dialogue with regional and district military authorities and the Governor, who promised that nobody from the village would be drafted into the Ukrainian Army in the near future. However, the village’s council deputy head said, villagers did not trust this reassurance, and protests could resume if new draft notices from the Military Commissariat were issued. According to him, in Prypruttya, 177 people have received mobilisation orders, but most were working abroad.
In Chernivtsi the SMM observed a rally of some 15 people, holding six Ukrainian flags and one Right Sector flag, and banners with the text ‘Russia – sponsor of murderers’ in front of a local branch of the Russia-owned ‘Sberbank Rossii’. The activists demanded the withdrawal of licenses of Russian banks in the Chernivtsi region and painted the front windows of the bank white. Ten policemen at the scene remained passive.
The SMM observed a group of five women, members of local NGOs, gathered in front of the local branch of ‘Sberbank Rossii’ in Lviv – the women taped a poster on the windows of the bank with the inscription: ‘Support for RuSSia’s repressed women’, and attached a long string of women’s underwear held together by tape. According to them, Russian men fighting in the east of Ukraine would be more eager to return home if their wives or partners looked alluring. Twenty journalists and seven policemen were present during the action, which passed off peacefully.
The SMM in Kyiv witnessed an attempt to remove barricades from the Maidan of Independence square by men wearing vests resembling those of municipal workers. They were assisted by men in military uniforms with badges identifying them as ‘K2’ (Battalion Kyiv 2 under the Ministry of Internal Affairs). Maidan inhabitants tried to prevent it initially by verbal discussion and later by setting rows of tyres on fire and throwing Molotov cocktails. The SMM saw that three Maidan tents were burning. The workers, assisted by the men in military uniforms, subsequently left the scene.
After several hours, the SMM saw that the Maidan activists were rebuilding barricades. Workers meanwhile explained to the SMM that they represented a private company contracted by the city to clean up Kreshchatyk street and the Maidan square. They said they expected, however, that this had been agreed with the Maidan activists. The latter, at a press conference attended by the SMM, blamed authorities for using the methods of Victor Yanukovych and his government. The SMM monitored the scene until evening and observed a heavy police presence with no further incidents.
A director of a real estate agency in Kyiv told the SMM that many landlords in the capital city did not want to rent their apartments to internally displaced persons from Donbas for economic reasons and differences in mentality, while displaced persons from Crimea are not facing such problems. The interlocutor said that internally displaced persons from Donbas were now living with their relatives or friends, or in temporary IDP camps and other premises not appropriately equipped for the winter conditions. | {
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On a street in east London lies the Pet Shop Boys’ studio; a pile of rubbish is dumped outside. One room is full of synthesizers; the other has mid-century modern furniture and art by Scott King depicting tower blocks amid Technicolor waves. Here, Neil Tennant is talking about Brexit. “I think everything comes down to social media really, and social media promotes emotional illogicality in all its forms: racism, prejudice and of course nationalism.”
He warms to his theme. “Any multinational empire is going to have an irritating bureaucracy – it’s just a fact. Why is it better for that to be a lot of supposed nation states? When I was at North London Poly in the early 70s, I wrote a defence of the Austro-Hungarian empire. I still think I was right. Stability is very easy to find boring, but afterwards you can appreciate it. I like Joseph Roth, who was a Jewish writer who wrote The Radetzky March, and in his books he sees the Habsburg monarchy as the defenders of all the minorities, including the Jewish minority …”
Listening to this well-read and confidently expressed view, it might seem surprising to think that Tennant has devoted his life to writing not academic papers or newspaper columns but pop songs – but the proof is a slim volume on the table. Titled One Hundred Lyrics and a Poem, the book’s minimal white jacket encases his life’s work: songs about sex and politics, love and despair, a whole panorama of British life. “Really quite often, a publisher says, ‘Let’s get Neil Tennant to write his autobiography’ and it’s quite nice that they do,” its author muses. “I’m not convinced my life’s been interesting enough. This is my autobiography.”
One Hundred Lyrics and a Poem collects the Pet Shop Boys songs Tennant thought looked best written down (so no Heart, Love etc or Shopping), with his introductory essay and commentary. There are the words to huge hits such as It’s a Sin; and obscure b-sides such as The Ghost of Myself, in which Tennant remembers living with a girlfriend in the late 70s, before he came to terms with being gay. He has written songs his whole life, first as a teenage hippy in his native Newcastle, then as a Pet Shop Boy. “I remember as a boy hearing Strawberry Fields Forever and also reading John Lennon’s explanation that he wanted it to be like a conversation, and that had a very powerful impact on me,” he says. “And I remember reading an interview with Frank Sinatra where he said you should phrase lyrics like a conversation. I’ve always tried to do that. Someone who you might not think of as the world’s best lyricist is Madonna, but she always gets the emphasis on the right syllable.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Neil Tennant (right) and Chris Lowe in 1986, the year before It’s a Sin kicked off the Pet Shop Boys’ ‘imperial period’. Photograph: Mike Prior/Getty Images
He met Chris Lowe, then an architecture student, in an electrical shop on London’s King’s Road in 1981, a year before he started as news editor on the pop magazine Smash Hits. He and Lowe wanted Pet Shop Boys songs to have the raw excitement of the electro, hi-NRG and hip-hop coming out of New York, a city then as scary as it was inspiring: “Every time you left New York in the early 80s you thought, ‘Wow, survived another trip’.” Their lyrics, however, were distinctly English: sometimes direct, even banal (“I always thought banality was a particular talent”), but more often funny and perceptive, with a far wider perspective than most pop songs.
On one level their first No 1 hit West End Girls was about the seedy glamour of a night out in London, but Tennant also slid in a reference to Edmund Wilson’s To the Finland Station, a history of socialism from the French revolution to Lenin’s arrival in St Petersburg. As if slightly embarrassed by this erudition – the Pet Shop Boys were always militantly pop (modern, glamorous, artificial) as opposed to rock (raw, traditional, authentic) – they never used to print their lyrics on their album sleeves. “We probably had some ideological point about it that we lost interest in,” says Tennant. “I wonder if we thought it was rock or something. You see that whole thing went away … because rock lost.” He hoots with laughter.
Tennant’s sharpest lyrics still resonate today. When the Conservative party conference unveiled its slogan Opportunity last month, wits immediately tweeted: “I’ve got the brains, you’ve got the looks/Let’s make lots of money” – the chorus to their song Opportunities, which satirised the Tory zeal for enterprise. “That was a classic early Thatcherite notion,” Tennant says, adding that it was the puckish Lowe who came up with the line “Let’s make lots of money”.
In 1987, It’s a Sin, a disco blockbuster about Catholic guilt, got to No 1 in 11 countries and kicked off what he famously called Pet Shop Boys’ “imperial period”, the stage where a group can do no wrong. Though Tennant’s commentary in the book makes the subject matter of some songs more explicit, the Pet Shop Boys’ sexuality was somewhat coded at the time – obvious to those in the know (they posed in full leather gear on the cover of Smash Hits) but destined to go over the head of most teen pop fans. So was the sin in question homosexuality? “I think it just meant sex,” says Tennant. “When you’re an adolescent boy at a Catholic school you’re taught that sex, apart from reasons of procreation, is a sin. Going out and getting pissed with your friends is a sin.”
Then there was Rent, recently the subject of a tweeted inquiry by Pet Shop Boys fan Cardi B as to what the words are about. “We were trying to write provocative lyrics,” Tennant says. “You’d hear someone in a gay club say, ‘Oh, he’s rent’. It’s nostalgie de la boue, nostalgia of the gutter. We both like the pathos of streetlife.” Rather than a rent boy however, Tennant imagines the subject of the song to be the mistress of a powerful politician, kept in an apartment on New York’s Upper East Side. “I never know quite what it’s about, really. But I always quite like that in pop songs.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Pet Shop Boys on stage at the Montreux rock festival in 1986. Photograph: David Redfern/Redferns
Some of Pet Shop Boys’ most moving songs were Tennant’s response to the Aids crisis. “When I decided I was gay was pretty much when Aids came in, so you were paranoid,” he says. Then, “this friend of mine from Newcastle, my closest friend in some ways, suddenly goes down with HIV. And that was when Suburbia was in the top 10.” Tennant spent a good deal of his imperial period in the Aids ward of St Mary’s Hospital in London, “watching [my] friend waste away”. Christopher Dowell, who died in 1989, is commemorated in three songs including Being Boring, a devastatingly sad memorial to their friendship.
It’s something he thinks about still. “I had a very strong group of friends as an adolescent, many of whom I still know – we’ve got a new song which looks back at that,” Tennant says. “It was a very intense part of my life and it sort of ended with the Aids crisis, with so many friends who died, so I will probably never get over that. I don’t mean in a traumatised way, just that it’s always there in my history. It’s part of who I am.”
Tennant finally came out to Attitude magazine in 1994. Does he wish, like Olly Alexander and Troye Sivan today, he had written unabashedly gay songs filled with male pronouns? “In the 80s and the 90s, for that matter, it was such a big deal, being gay,” he says. (In 1987, a British Social Attitudes poll found that 75% of the general public thought homosexuality was “always” or “mostly” wrong; the following year the Thatcher government brought in section 28, which prevented it being “promoted” in schools.) “You knew your audience had a lot of women or girls in it, so you wanted to include everyone. I still sort of think that when I’m writing, to be honest. Also I don’t write about my life in the direct way that most, if not all, artists do nowadays. Sometimes I think, ‘Where’s the art, where’s the poetry in all of this?’ Lily Allen can write these amazingly and actually quite funny direct slag-offs of people and stuff like that. That’s just not who I am, I’m afraid. It isn’t anything to do with pronouns, it’s to do with poetry really.” He laughs.
It’s also the reason why, for all the Pet Shop Boys songs commenting on society and politics (including three about Tony Blair), they have never written a direct protest song. “I wouldn’t write a song called Second Referendum Now, even though I think there should be one,” Tennant says. “We have written a song called Give Stupidity a Chance which is a satire. It’s close to a protest song, but it’s also funny.” Pop music’s strength, he believes, lies not in making a party political point but in summing up the atmosphere of the time – as the Specials managed with Ghost Town. “When that came out in the middle of the Toxteth riots era, everything about it was a political statement, but it wasn’t putting forward a political programme.”
What about just writing a straightforward love song? Tennant is surprised when I suggest that they have become more infrequent on Pet Shop Boys albums. “Maybe there’s been less to write about, I’m afraid.” He pauses, slightly embarrassed. “Not totally. Actually on das neu album is a major love song.”
Would he ever avoid writing about anything too intimate? “Sex or something? No, one has to think of the person that’s the subject, so you’ve got to bear their feelings in mind.” He says he has the “slightly cold and dispassionate” ability to be having an argument with a lover and realise that an accusation like “You only tell me you love me when you’re drunk” will make a good title for a song.
He has never had writer’s block, never considered stopping writing. The closest Pet Shop Boys have ever come to splitting up was in 1999, when the concert promoter Harvey Goldsmith went bankrupt while they were on tour. “We were playing to half-empty arenas, losing a fortune. It came to a head one night at Sheffield Arena. I said to Chris, ‘Why don’t we just pack it in?’ And Chris didn’t answer. So we started talking about something else.” Their forthcoming album will be their 15th, not counting live and compilation albums, and will include a song inspired by the refugee crisis, and another about Berlin, the city where they go to write and – occasionally on a Sunday afternoon – to dance at Berghain, the legendary techno club.
Tennant became famous at 31; he’s now 64. The single poem in the book contemplates his mortality; three songs were inspired by funerals. “People fall away, you know,” he says. “This year we’ve had quite a few friends, all of them quite a bit younger than me, die.” I ask about the death of George Michael, a pop peer nine years Tennant’s junior. “I felt sad and almost angry because it seemed like such a waste. He was so young and also I think he was on a path it would have been possible to reverse. But he was very stubborn, George.”
He adds that while they didn’t know each other well, their relationship spanned three decades. “I first met him in 1982. I interviewed him and Andrew [Ridgley] for Smash Hits and then the last time we saw him it was exactly 30 year later, at the Olympic closing ceremony. We were in these Portakabin-y dressing rooms and the person next to us is playing music unbelievably loudly. I said to our tour manager: ‘Can you go and ask him to turn that down, please?’ And suddenly the door flings open and George, who we hadn’t seen since he’d been in jail, comes in and says: ‘Did you just tell me to turn my music down?’ I said: ‘Yes, I did.’ And he says: ‘Give me a hug.’ And then he went back to his dressing room, put his stereo on and played West End Girls – loudly.”
The front door opens. It’s Lowe. “You know there’s all this rubbish outside? You’re going to have to phone the council.”
“I’m going to, actually,” says Tennant.
“It’s turning into a public … tip!” says Lowe, aghast.
“Actually, a fire risk!”
“Rats, the whole lot!”
It’s time to go. “He’s good at talking, isn’t he,” says Lowe, “especially about himself! Did you ask him about Brexit?”
• One Hundred Lyrics and a Poem by Neil Tennant (Faber, £14.99) is published on 1 November. To order a copy for £12.89, go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min. p&p of £1.99. | {
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Note: You’ll want to pull our most recent cooler review to get an updated table with all performance metrics, though individual reviews are good for non-performance discussion.
Liquid is only half of the argument, but it’s an important half. We’ll soon be rounding-up several of the high-end air coolers available on the market, and before jumping into that, we’re going to lay the groundwork with a round-up of our liquid cooler reviews for the year. This guide looks at the best closed-loop liquid coolers (“AIOs”) for 2017, but also includes a few of the worst – the leak-prone and the weak-fanned.
Buy the Corsair H115i here or EVGA CLC 280 here.
Find our EVGA CLC 280 review here.
You might call this an award for the best “out-of-the-box” thermals. For this one, we’re ignoring the noise argument and just looking at a baseline of raw thermal performance when maxed-out. Both the Corsair H115i and EVGA CLC 280 rank within margin of error from one another, functionally tying for the top of the chart. These are 280mm solutions, which we think provide an ideal mix of compatibility and noise-to-thermal performance, when min-maxed for each metric. In most cases, 280mm coolers are an extra $10-$20 over their 240mm counterparts, and the additional thermal headroom means that fans can be slowed down in turn, achieving similar thermal performance to 240 solutions, but with lower noise levels. As for the highest raw performance, though, the Corsair and EVGA 280mm solutions both take half of the crown.
Each unit uses an Asetek Gen5 pump, with the two tying for price at $110 on sale this week, or typically around $130. Regardless of the sale prices, EVGA and Corsair seem to constantly match one another, so the choice will primarily come down to what you think of the pump block design. Internally, they’re mostly the same; in this case, it’s the outside that counts. Both units have RGB LEDs behind the logo plates, and both have their own software solution that you can hook into.
Best Noise-to-Performance: NZXT Kraken X62
Buy the NZXT Kraken X62 here.
Find our NZXT Kraken X62 review here.
Strictly looking at out-of-the-box fan configurations, because aftermarket fans would basically equalize all of these, the crown for peak noise-normalized performance thus far goes to the NZXT Kraken X62. We haven’t tested as many coolers with this newer method, but so far, the stack-up of popular coolers puts NZXT’s RGB-happy cooler up top.
The Kraken X62 also happens to be one of the most expensive coolers on the market, and is sometimes difficult to get ahold of outside of the NZXT store. Fortunately, other nearby coolers, including 360mm units, can compete in price and performance with the Kraken X62.
Most Serviceable: Enermax Liqtech TR4 360
Buy the Enermax Liqtech TR4 360 here.
Find the Enermax Liqtech TR4 review here.
This next award is for “Most Serviceable,” and is assigned for being the easiest cooler to take apart and maintain over a long service life. Enermax was first to market with an actually good liquid cooler for Threadripper, one which we found highly competitive in noise-normalized performance, but also trivial to dismantle and maintain. The company nearly deserves its own award category for being brave enough to invest in a small market segment, because it’s paying off when considering the performance uplift granted by a full-coverage coldplate. The Liqtech TR4 outstrips Asetek performance significantly, and opening the unit reveals more of why: The cooler spans its microfins nearly across the entire area of the coldplate, leveraging the native surface area of Threadripper for cooling benefit.
But the serviceability of the cooler gives it an important award. In our tear-down, we show how easy it would be to maintain the Liqtech TR4 in the future. Permeation will be less of a concern, as easy-access ports make refilling a non-issue, if it’s ever used beyond the 4-5-year mark. Block design and assembly are also surprisingly high-quality, making the Liqtech units the only coolers we’re strongly recommending for Threadripper, outside of the Noctua air NH-U14S.
Most Modular: Alphacool Eisbaer 420
Buy the Alphacool Eisbaer 420 here.
For Most Modular, we have the Alphacool Eisbaer 420. This is an odd unit, admittedly, and that’s for a few reasons: Thermally, the Eisbaer performs worse than many of its smaller, cheaper peers, which is entirely due to its stock Eiswind fans. The fans are noise-focused and limited in performance, leaving us wanting. Replacing the fans helps a bit, though you can potentially become bottlenecked on the pump with a radiator this large.
Still, the unit can hook into pre-filled Alphacool blocks, like the Eiswolf that we previously reviewed, and give users what amounts to a cheaper, semi-open loop. The market is small for this setup, as venturing into modular quick disconnect territory does quickly near open loop markets, but there is a market for it. The Eiswolf blocks can cool reference GTX 10 series cards, have an integrated pump to help ensure that the 420’s pump doesn’t limit performance, and are also pre-filled. We weren’t big fans of the quick disconnect valves, but they get the job done – just be careful to unscrew the correct end of the valve and read the instructions thoroughly. In terms of modularity, short of going with an EK Fluid Gaming beginner’s open loop kit, the Alphacool options provide full copper solutions worth considering for niche markets. We do recommend replacing the fans, though.
Best Noise Levels: EK Predator 280 XLC (RIP)
This Best Noise Levels award goes to a cooler that’s been retired, sadly, and has been replaced with other lines. We give this one to EK for the EK Predator 280 XLC cooler, which managed to remain operable and within temperature spec at just 600RPM, while putting out a 29.2dBA noise level – that’s just 3dBA over our noise floor. Temperatures were around 49C delta T over ambient for this cooler – so nearing 70C, if you factor-in ambient, and remaining completely operable under a full AVX workload, but also completely silent. At this noise level, the cooler remains less audible than other system noise generators, like power supply, GPU, and case fans.
We were also impressed with EK’s quick disconnect system, at first, as they are easily the best of their kind when it comes to ease-of-use and security. The Predator unit’s stock fans permit lower operating noise levels, greater range of customization, and competitive stock thermals.
Unfortunately, the cooler had good reason to be terminated: Just one scroll through the Newegg user reviews reveals nearly 70% negative reviews, all of which point toward leaks in the loop. We still want to call attention to the fan and cooler design for its silence, largely in hopes that one of the other CLC makers can replicate the acoustic performance without also replicating the destroy-everything performance.
Best Overall Value: EVGA CLC 240
Buy the EVGA CLC 240 here.
Read the EVGA CLC 240 review here.
The next award, “Best Overall Value,” was originally expected to go to the Cooler Master Master Liquid 280, but we never got to test it. The cooler’s fan screws have a tolerance of 50.46 to 50.65mm, and because Cooler Master routes its radiator tubes right behind the screwhole, and additionally does not have a stopper pad (like every other cooler on the market), the 50.65mm screw punctured the tube. Fortunately, no damage was caused to the test system, and looking at user reviews online, it appears we weren’t alone in this problem. This is a matter of zero-tolerance and zero redundancies or safeties provided by the radiator. Of the dozens of units we’ve worked with, this is the only one to ever have this problem.
Let’s give the award to something more deserving.
The Best Overall Value presently goes to the EVGA CLC 240 cooler, which was bitterly embattled with the Corsair H100iV2. Looking at overall performance versus the price, including noise-normalized 40dBA performance and flat-out performance, the EVGA CLC 240 slightly outperforms the H100iV2 at 40dBA, and manages otherwise similar performance. The point of differentiation is that, presently and generally speaking, EVGA has held onto a slight price lead over Corsair. The coolers both bounce between $85 and $110, with EVGA a couple bucks cheaper right now.
The trouble with value liquid coolers, as always, is that you rapidly enter territory where an air cooler might be cheaper and equivalent in all key performance metrics.
Dumbest Trend: Bad Fans
The worst trend across nearly all liquid coolers is that of bad fans. The cooler companies have to cut corners somewhere to better compete with air. For Cooler Master, that’s radiator design, resulting in catastrophic failure. EK did the same with its Predator cooler, unfortunately. The wiser companies cut back on fans, but produced reliable, non-leaking products that have proven safe to use and of high performance potential – they’re just limited by fans, in many instances. We’d like to see better fans used in the future, though that will spike the price at least a few dollars at each form factor.
That’s all for this round-up. More to come soon.
Editorial, Testing: Steve Burke
Video: Andrew Coleman | {
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The NFL announced Wednesday the preseason opponents for all 32 teams—specific dates and kickoff times are still TBD—and the Seahawks will begin preseason play by hosting the Indianapolis Colts at CenturyLink Field.
That game against the Colts will take place during the second week of August, so sometime between August 9 and August 11 (the Sounders play at CenturyLink Field on Sunday, August 12). Seattle will then hit the road for its next two preseason games, playing at the Los Angeles Chargers and at the Minnesota Vikings. The Seahawks will then finish their preseason with a home game against the Oakland Raiders, the 13th consecutive Week 4 exhibition matchup between those two teams due to their close geographical proximity to each other. All preseason games can be seen on Q13 FOX.
Because the Seahawks are scheduled to play the AFC West and NFC North during the 2018 regular season, they will play the Vikings, Raiders and Chargers both in the preseason and regular season this year. Seattle's trip to Minnesota will be its first since the Vikings opened U.S. Bank Stadium in 2016, and they will play the Chargers in their temporary home, the StubHub Center, for the second straight preseason.
The regular season schedule has not yet been announced, though it is traditionally released sometime before the draft, so that should be coming later this month. While the dates of games are still to be determined, the Seahawks' 2018 opponents are already set. In addition to their usual slate of NFC West games, the Seahawks will host Green Bay, Minnesota, Dallas, Kansas City and the Los Angeles Chargers, and play road games in Chicago, Detroit, Carolina, Denver and London (against Oakland).
Single-game ticket information for preseason and regular season games will be announced following the regular season schedule announcement.
Seattle Seahawks 2018 Preseason Schedule | {
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Postmodernism, in a vague sense, attempted to break down the structures and narratives of modernity. The movement took on art, film, literature, architecture and nearly every other form of culture in the western world. The so-called ‘Pictures’ generation, a group of artists in the late 1970s and early 1980s, were no exception to this trend. Their method of deconstruction was to simply take photographs of the photographs they perceived to embody the grand narratives of modernity. In doing this they ‘re-appropriated’ these photographs, changing their initial meaning. Through this method, a photograph of the wife of a depression era Alabama share-cropper, was re-appropriated as a feminist critique by prominent, ‘Pictures’ generation artist Sherrie Levine in 1981. While the image did not change, the meaning was transformed.
In a typically postmodern way, this re-appropriation of a depression era photograph, challenged notions of originality, authorship and intellectual property. In essence, it raised the question of who owns a photograph of a photograph. Obviously there is something more to the photograph than just the physical object; as such there is undeniably some abstract intellectual quality related to the photo which would exist in reproductions. However the question is, who owns this abstract quality and can it even be owned? This of course raises the question of whether the original photographer owns their own photo. After all, the photograph is of a real subject who surely owns their own image.
This notion of re-appropration can be seen in the work of Scottish artist Katie Paterson. After graduating from Edinburgh College of Art, Paterson started working on her project, Campo del Cielo, Field of the Sky. The art project took an iron meteorite from Argentina, melted it down, and then recast it, in its original shape. This subtly transformed the meteorite into a piece of art. Again, the real subject is transformed into art through the appropriation by the artist; however, in the case of the ‘Pictures generation,’ this is taken a step further when the subject itself is a photograph of a subject. However, in each case the ‘owner’ of the art is the appropriator. This would suggest that the value in art is related to the creative process rather than the material reality.
This abstract notion of ownership goes even further: the Indian-born British contemporary artist, Anish Kapoor claims ownership over a whole colour. Vantablack, supposedly the darkest shade of black ever created, is legally owned by Kapoor who prevents others from using it. Vantablack, developed by British company Nanosystems is the extreme logical conclusion of notions of intellectual property and thus should maybe lead us to question them. | {
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Neocore Games Redeem
Please log in with your Steam account!
( You have to set your profile to Public when you redeem the code. After that you can go back to private once again. ) | {
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Bad Rats Show 2016 Gaming Rig
As I have been granted special early access to Bad Rats Show, I was able to design a custom built gaming PC built specifically for Bad Rats Show®. Before I get started, I want to make clear that this build is intended for those die-hard fans who are willing to pay top dollar for the best Ratting™ experience and is not meant for phonies who only pretend to enjoy the Bad Rats® franchise. Without further ado, I present the Lean Mean Rat'n Machine®:
To kick things off, I've decided to focus on what got us into Bad Rat'n® in the first place; stunning visuals. Bad® Rats® has always been about pushing the boundaries between polar opposites. From the insightful questions about our own morality, asking profound questions such as: what is good or Bad®, all the way down to what can be considered real or rendered. Bad Rats: The Rat's Revenge® was the first video game of it's genre, or any genre for that matter, to introduce graphics so "real" that players were often left confused when they were taken out of their, what has been coined as: "RatLand®." Although, many were put off by the thought of being able to transcend dimensions through their monitors, the brave and courageous of us endured and experienced Bad® Rats® to it's full potential. Now, after seven years, Invent4® has done it again. Taking a step, or four, across the boundaries of space and time, they have successfully created a computer simulation so accurate to our own universe that the two can hardly be distinguished. The creators at Invent4® have crafted the Bad® Rats® universe from the earliest moments of life.
Now how can YOU run this universe on Ultra settings to enjoy every last atom of Bad Rats®? Thats what the parts list is for.
You will first need: 6x HP F1R08A NVIDIA Tesla k40 12GB Modules ~ $78,000
And: 2x NVIDIA Quadro m6000 24GB Graphics Cards ~$10,000
Why all the graphics cards? Simple, most of the computing power required to run Bad Rats® Show® is actually not visual effects or graphics, but rather the processing of the advanced AI that is bult into the game. Generally, the AI calcualtions in the industrial version of Bad® Rats® Show® are much more complicated and demanding, but in the consumer version they are simplified to conform to energy laws in most of the U.S. The Quadro graphics processing units are to translate the extremely complicated hyper-binary code that the B®a®d® R®a®t®s® universe is built with into a simplified language that can be transcoded to our primitive displays.
Next up on the list: 1x HP 595727-B21 Intel Xeon X5650 6-Core CPU ~$113,000
You may think a processing unit would be the most important part of the Bad® Rats® experience, but the truth might surprise you. In fact, its only required to assist your computer through the first steps while the AI supplies and transgenetically magnifies the macron cells of Invent4®'s processing houses in the Bad® Rats® universe to your computer's DVD drive. Once DirectX 42 has been installed, your computer won't even require a CPU anymore! The effects of the universe last Forever®.
Before you think about hooking up everything and booting up your copy of Bad® Rats® Show®, don't forget to hook up your power supply! Support is limited at the moment and there is only one power supply capable of supplying and connecting to the Bad® Rats® Matrikz®. At a measly $49,000,000, the highest bidder will receive unrestricted access to the Hoover Dam's entire power supply for 3 months! Get bidding!
The list is done! Coming to a grand total of ~$50,000,000, a price sure to filter the unworthy from the player base, the entire Rat® Machine® is complete. You may be wondering about all the other parts... Don't worry, Invent4® has ensured that the Bad® Rats® universe will automatically generate all missing components from within the Matrikz®. Leaving you with a clean, easy Rat'n® experience.
-Scooby, Rat Enthusiast | {
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How free is your free CRM?
Sure, you’ve got free-will, but using it to choose free CRM software may not be the best business decision you’ll ever make.
“Why?” I hear you say, “What’s wrong with free CRM software?”
If you value your business, if you value your clients, and if you value the integral security of your data, free CRM software might not do anything to increase that value. In fact, it might just have the opposite effect – Ouch!
But let’s start at the beginning.
Perhaps you want to choose a new, first-time CRM for your business. Or, perhaps you’re planning on migrating from an existing sales software and you’ve decided you’d like to save some money in the process.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to save money. But saving money on one of the most valuable components of your whole sales process – your CRM software – could be your downfall. It’s like buying cheap tires for your car when you really need them, they might just let you down. Disastrously.
What are the issues with a free CRM?
One of the big problems with free CRM software is that it might promise the sun, moon and stars, but you soon realise that the really helpful features – and usually the essential features – cost a little or even a lot extra.
Also, with free CRM software you can find yourself and your business, relying on software where even the security of your data might be at risk; you have no control over the look and feel of the interface; the integrations which you need to manage your customers’ experience don’t exist, or are too expensive; and customer support is non-existent. Hardly ideal for running a successful business.
Without backup and support to help you onboard your new free CRM system, you might just lose the enthusiasm of your sales team before they even get to use the new tools. Losing the confidence and participation of your sales team at this early stage can prove very costly in the long run through lost sales opportunities.
You get what you pay for
A free CRM system may sound like a great way to save money, but trust us, it’s not.
As we told you earlier, CRM is vital for the careful nurturing of your leads and customers. It’s also a vital component of how your sales teams interact and communicate with those customers. Plus, it offers you great insights and analysis of where your business is getting stuck, sales team performance levels, and future sales predictions.
Can you really trust an inferior product with so much responsibility? We didn’t think so.
What you get with a FREE CRM:
No reliability
Lack of mobility
Limited features and integrations
Non-existent customer service and support
Poor ease-of-use
Concerns about data security
Poor contacts management
Limited if any customisation
Secret pricing
No scalability
What you get with a Paid-For CRM:
Reliability – If technology is not your thing, it’s best to leave all the background stuff to the professionals. The best sales CRM software providers will keep your software up-and-running at all times, invisibly, and in the background. You don’t need programming skills, or any advanced knowledge to enjoy the benefits of a great CRM. What’s more, should any technological issue arise you can be sure that your interests are being served by a highly qualified, and dedicated technical support team.
Mobility – This is one of the great qualities of a paid-for CRM, the ability to go anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection, and take your complete office with you. Carry all the information you need in your pocket, ready to access when you need it, where you need it. Many free CRM packages don’t offer this functionality, and if they do it can be patchy at best. Be aware.
Features and integrations – You’re probably not going to get a champagne cooler as standard in a regular family car, in the same way, free CRM software probably won’t offer you everything you need to guide your customers effortlessly through your sales pipeline. Sometimes, with a free CRM all you’re really getting is the basics, and sometimes nothing more than a glorified address book.
Customer service and support – This is that one feature of a paid-for CRM that you need to sit up and really take notice of. With free sales software if you encounter a problem – technical, or just to get some answers – we’ve got news for you; you’re On Your Own!
When you choose a paid-for sales CRM – especially a quality CRM like Teamgate – you have the peace-of-mind of knowing that you’re never alone. The Teamgate customer experience team are on hand to help you through any issues or concerns you might have. You’re not alone.
Ease of use – An easy to learn and use CRM is bound to engage your sales teams a lot easier, and a lot quicker. Onboarding your salespeople to a new CRM is vital, the quicker that can happen, the better it is for everyone – especially your profits. Plus, navigating around your CRM dashboard is so easy and offers you instant insights into the health of your sales process at any given point in time.
Data security – Quality CRM providers have the sensitivity and security of your data as a core priority. With a trusted CRM you can have the personal peace-of-mind knowing that your data is constantly backed up, and stored in multiple high-security remote data centres. Plus, any downtime – should it occur – will be kept to an absolute minimum to reduce any inconvenience to your business.
Contacts management – When it comes to managing your contacts the system you use should be neat, organised, functional, searchable, and easy to interact with. Free CRMs don’t offer this kind of functionality. In fact, most free CRM software is little more than a basic address book. A quality CRM should allow you to easily manage your contacts database and all the information that goes with it, from one central location, and without fuss. Your contacts are the people you deal with on a day-to-day basis and are the main component of your sales process, they should be treated with that respect.
Customisation – Being able to customise various fields in your CRM can greatly help the way you organise your whole sales process. Each stage of the sales process can be broken down into further segments which suit your needs. Your contacts can be assigned various ‘tags’ making them easier to search, or easier to group into categories. The more customisation available with a quality CRM, the easier it will be for sales teams to organise their sales data even better; files can be hidden, or shared among various sales team members creating greater continuity in the sales process.
Secret pricing – With ‘free’ CRM software the costs are usually hidden. While the basic software may be free, the tools, features and other add-ons you really need for functionality come with hidden pricing. With quality CRM software, you should know what you’re paying for from the outset. Many of the best paid-for CRMs come with multiple price plans, designed to suit various sized businesses, and varying budgets.
Scalability – One of the big questions for a small business or startup when choosing a CRM, is whether the CRM is fully scalable? A CRM that needs to be replaced, or is no longer functional after the business has reached a certain size, is a waste of time, and money. A quality CRM like Teamgate comes in a variety of formats and price-ranges, each one designed to take a growing business to the next level. The CRM is constantly evolving, with a continuous supply of new features and integrations, designed to make your CRM as sophisticated or as simple as you need it to be, now and in the years to come.
They’re right, there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch
Free is always tempting. But in the back of our mind, we know that we should be cautious. That’s especially true when choosing free CRM software.
The purpose of a CRM is to help your sales team, and your sales process to flow as smoothly as it was designed to do. Anything that upsets that flow of sales is bad for your business health.
A free CRM could be very bad for your business health, and the bad news is that there’s no easy cure.
The fact is simple, if you want quality you have to pay. If you want support, and the features to grow your business you have to pay. If you want the power of insights and analysis to help your business forecasting, you have to pay. If you want to nurture your customers with every interaction, you have to pay.
But think of it as money wisely invested in your growth. Take your time, find the CRM that’s right for you, ask a lot of questions, and most of all don’t rush into any hasty decisions. Free CRM software might sound like a bargain, but you can be sure it’ll cost you dearly in the long run.
As they say, choose in haste, worry at leisure. | {
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Inilah 4 Keuntungan Menggunakan Jasa Anti Rayap Malang – Setiap kota di negara ini, pasti tidak luput dari momok rayap ini. Perabotan rumah rusak bahkan habis, tak terkecuali di kota Malang. Masyarakat tentunya membutuhkan cara membasmi raya di rumah mereka.
Caranya bisa dengan membasmi sendiri dengan bahan pembasmi baik buatan atau alami. Alternatif paling efektifnya bisa dengan menggunakan jasa anti rayap malang yang profesional di bidang bisnisnya. Nah, kira-kira apa keuntungan Anda memakai jasa anti rayap Malang? Cermati ulasan kami berikut!
Hemat Tenaga
Tentu membasmi rayap sendiri banyak membuang tenaga. Apalagi jika harus membuat bahan pembasmi rayap sendiri. Belum lagi ketika penyemprotan. Selain cukup ribet, kadang membahayakan perabotan bahkan diri Anda. Nah, dengan memakai jasa anti rayap, Anda tidak perlu lagi khawatir tentan hal tersebut.
Jasa anti rayap yang ditawarkan di sana pengerjaannya efisien dan pastinya juga profesional. Bahkan Anda bisa mendapatakannya dengan biaya murah.
Lebih tuntas Pembasmiannya
Jasa anti rayap Malang yang profesionlal, tidak akan mengecewakan Anda. Alat dan bahan pembasmi yang berkualitas dan ramah lingkungan, membuat masalah raya di rumah kayu atau perobotan rumah Anda terbasmi secara efektif dan maksimal. Rayap tidak akan kembali setelah selesai dibasmi.
Obat pencegah rayap yang disemprotkan pada perabotan rumah Anda sangat menjamin keamanan perabotan Anda dari serangan rayap kembali. Hanya saja Anda perlu mengetahui bahan pembasmi apa yang digunakan penyedia jasa anti rayap gunakan ketika mau memilih jasanya. Usahakan pilih bahan pembasmi yang ramah lingkungan, utamanya yang tidak merusak perabotan rumah Anda.
Alat yang Canggih
Tidak sembarangan membasmi rayap untuk mendapatkan hasil yang maksimal. Pastinya, juga didukung dengan alat yang canggih supaya rayap pada perabotan atau rumah kayu Anda terbasmi secara tuntas.
Bagi Anda yang minim alat pembasmi, maka sangat disarankan menggunakan jasa pembasmi rayap profesional di Malang yang tersedia alat pembasmi rayap yang canggih. Maka dari itu, kemungkinan buruk yang cenderung terjadi bisa diminimalisir bahkan dicegah dengan bantuan jasa pembasmi rayap ini.
Anti Ribet
Jasa anti rayap profesional akan memaksimalkan kerjanya tanpa harus merepotkan dan mengecewakan di kemudian hari. Karena membasmi rayap sendiri pastinya ribet dan menguras tenaga bahkan waktu santai Anda. Mengingat Anda harus mencari dan mempersiapkan bahan anti rayap aman yang tingkat keamanaannya belum Anda ketahui. Ditambah lagi dengan alatnya, penggunaan alat yang kurang canggih bisa jadi akan berakibat fatal.
Maka dari itu, menggunakan jasa pembasmi rayap di Malang yang profesional akan mengantisipasi keribetan Anda untuk membasmi rayap.
Nah, bagi Anda yang menggunakan jasa anti rayap Malang. Empat keuntungan ini pasti akan Anda dapatkan. Tentunya, tanpa mengorbankan tenaga dan waktu Anda. Cukup sediakan budget yang pas dan hubungi penyedia jasanya. Rayap tuntas hingga ke akar-akarnya! | {
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スターバックスもマクドナルドに続いてポケストップになるかもしれない──。redditのPokemon GOサブレディットに、米Starbucksの従業員である友人からの情報だとして、alturrisiと名乗るユーザーがStarbucksと米Nianticの提携について投稿した。
この投稿にあるリンク先は画像アップロードサービスImgurのページで、Starbucksの従業員向けイントラネットのページとみられる画面だ。そこには「Starbucksはポケモンは、12月８日の（Pokemon GOアプリの）アップデートで提携する」と書かれている。
この画像に表示されている提携内容は以下の通り。
全米の主なStarbucksはポケストップかジムになる
プレイヤーへの新メニュー「Pokemon GOフラペチーノ」の提供
別の投稿によると、Pokemon GOフラペチーノはバニラベースでラズベリーシロップとフリーズドライのブラックベリーがトッピングされており、価格は4.95ドル。
このアップデートで新しいポケモンが登場するといううわさもあるが、これらの投稿にはその裏付けはない。
7月に日本でのPokemon GO提供が開始された際は、提携先の日本マクドナルドの従業員向けメールのリークが原因で開始が延期されたといわれている。 | {
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Michael Kruse is a senior staff writer for Politico.
Erick Trickey contributed to this report from Wellesley.
In early 1979, on a community access television program called In Focus, the wife of the new governor of Arkansas was peppered with question after question about all the ways in which she was an untraditional woman.
“The thought occurs to me that you really don’t fit the image that we have created for the governor’s wife in Arkansas,” the host, a self-described “newsman,” said to 32-year-old Hillary Rodham. “You’re not a native, you’ve been educated in liberal Eastern universities, you’re less than 40. You don’t have any children. You don’t use your husband’s name. You practice law. Does it concern you that maybe other people feel that you don’t fit the image that we have created for the governor’s wife in Arkansas?”
She looked through her large, thick-lensed glasses and smiled.
“No,” she began, “because just as I said before … ”
She had made a choice. In 1974, she had moved to Arkansas to be with her boyfriend, Bill Clinton. It was a decision that would dictate so many others, big and small, for decades to come—and here, in this spartan studio, on this rinky-dink show, was one of them. How to respond to this man?
This issue of wifeliness was being put to the first female lawyer at the finest firm in Little Rock. Rodham had been 1 of just 27 women among the 200-plus students in her law school class at Yale. She was one of only three on the staff of 44 attorneys on the Watergate impeachment team. She could have responded to the interviewer by pointing out any of these things. It was the ‘70s: She could have responded with an impassioned lecture about feminism, or chauvinism, or women’s lib. But she didn’t. She responded with an equanimity that must have been a challenge to muster. “That doesn’t bother me, and I hope that doesn’t bother very many people,” she said.
Rodham by then was already hugely accomplished. But it also was true that she had arrived in the governor’s mansion not as a governor but as the governor’s wife. And when she arrived at the White House, 13 years later, it would be in the same way—as the unelected half of a couple, attracting more questions about her role, not only from traditionalists, who queried her all over again, but also from feminists—even some fellow Wellesley grads—who believed she should have gotten there under her own power. “We should not take a second seat to our life partners,” one alum would write, “and Hillary should not be applauded for having reached her position by doing so.”
So here, now, is Hillary Clinton—168 years after the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls in New York, 96 years after women in America gained the right to vote, 37 years after that community-access interview—poised to be elected president. The 45th president of the United States. And the first woman. If the polls are right, she is on the verge of an outcome that would be no less historic than the election of Barack Obama. If she wins on Tuesday, she will be, forever, the woman who shattered the highest, hardest glass ceiling.
If she wins on Tuesday, she will be, forever, the woman who shattered the highest, hardest glass ceiling.
A deep look at her record of her pursuit of power and interviews with people who have known her throughout her adult life suggest that the Hillary Clinton who sits at that cusp—the guarded 69-year-old woman Americans have watched so closely on this year’s campaign trail—is a personality forged through a career-long collision with the constantly shifting set of gender-based expectations people have put on her. To get here, she has done for so many years so many versions of what she did on In Focus: adjust, compromise and concede where necessary, never letting pure ideology interfere with the progress her ambitions required. She has done what she needed to for her husband to win elections, then for her to do the same, making repeated course corrections along the way.
The list is considerable. To help her husband in Arkansas, she started wearing contacts and makeup, changed her clothes and her hair, and (most meaningfully) dropped her maiden name—the one she had vowed as a girl to keep for life. After first emerging on the presidential campaign trail as a groundbreaking near-co-candidate, she realized she could help him win only by settling into a softer, more docile, more universally palatable role. Once in Washington, she stepped up zealously to reform the health care system, and under attack was forced to recede again, to a less partisan and more traditional posture as first lady. When her husband philandered in the Oval Office, humiliating her in the most painful way on the most public stage, she didn’t leave—she stayed. And ever since, every time she has run for office for herself, twice for the Senate, and now twice for the presidency, she generally has been reluctant to embrace an explicit, forceful feminist mantle—not so much a flouting of ideals as an assessment that it might be counterproductive to her ability to win.
There’s no question her inside-the-system strategy, the long life of triangulation and shifting, adjusting her goals and even her persona to maintain access, is what created the path that led to her presidency. It may also be her biggest challenge in governing the American people, who sense in her a person who is neither one thing nor the other. Some see an opportunist, others a pragmatist. She has been labeled too radical and not radical enough, beset by conservatives and liberals alike, sometimes simultaneously. But she has been, always, not a radical or an ideologue, as many of her most vociferous critics have claimed, but a realist, a centrist. And people who know her well, who have been mentors and friends, who have worked with her and for her, say this is precisely why she is where she is. It is the reason, they said in interviews this week, she stands at this threshold.
“She’s obviously had her eyes on this for a long time—she wasn’t just doing it for Bill—and she was preserving her options at every step of the way,” said Kris Olson, who went to Wellesley with her and also to Yale.
“Really,” said Ann Henry, a retired law professor in Fayetteville, Arkansas, who’s been friends with Clinton for more than 40 years, “she is an incrementalist—and it takes a long time to get things changed.”
“You have to make certain accommodations,” said Melanne Verveer, who was chief of staff to the first lady in the Clinton White House, went on to be the first U.S. ambassador for Global Women’s Issues and is currently the executive director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. “And it seems to me that if they don’t go to the essence of who you are and what you believe, then they are accommodations you make to achieve greater goals.”
If she wins next week, after all, she will be President Clinton, not President Rodham. But the title is what will matter.
***
When she wrote to NASA as a teenager asking about training for space flight, she got a letter back that said, “We are not accepting girls as astronauts.” When she ran for student body president in high school, she lost to a boy who told her she was “really stupid if I thought a girl could be elected president,” she wrote in a letter to her youth minister. When she was trying to decide whether to go to law school at Harvard or Yale, she went to a cocktail reception at Harvard, where a professor told her, “We don’t need any more women,” and so she went to Yale.
Her classmates in high school had elected her as the girl “most likely to succeed,” and Alan Schechter, her thesis adviser at Wellesley, had written to Yale that she had “the intellectual ability, personality, and character to make a remarkable contribution to American society”—and the women around her in her early to mid-20s saw in her intoxicating potential. Her fellow students in college believed she could be the first female president. Betsey Wright, a political consultant who worked with her in George McGovern’s presidential campaign in Texas in 1972, thought the same thing. When she told an older lawyer involved in the Watergate work that she wanted to be a trial attorney, he told her she couldn’t be because she wouldn’t “have a wife”—a wife, he explained, to buy the groceries and do the laundry and keep the home. She and some of the other women made a sign with a message and hung it next to the coffee machine. “The women in this office were not hired to make coffee,” it said. “Make it yourself … ”
So the women who knew Rodham at the time were surprised, and chagrined, when she married a man with such heady political plans of his own. “I was thrown at first when she moved to Arkansas to be with Bill,” Jan Piercy, one of her oldest friends, told me recently. Piercy called it “startling.” Wright, too, was dismayed. She told him, not her, according to Carl Bernstein’s biography, A Woman in Charge, that “he shouldn’t do that” because “he could find anybody he wanted to be a politician’s wife”—but women, women looking for standard-bearers, for women who could run for political office themselves, would “never find anybody like her.”
Rodham, though, assured them they shouldn’t worry. She wouldn’t kowtow to expectations of retrograde men. She wouldn’t be a “sacrificial” political wife. She would have her own career. And she would keep her own name.
People noticed. The New York Times did. “A graduate of Yale Law School who plays a mean jazz saxophone, Mr. Clinton,” the newspaper wrote in November 1978 in a brief portrait about the new governor of Arkansas, “is married to an ardent feminist, Hilary Rodham”—mischaracterizing her while also misspelling her name—“who will certainly be the first first lady of Arkansas to keep her maiden name.”
The Arkansas Democrat noticed too. “Despite the fact that she keeps her maiden name,” the newspaper in Little Rock wrote, also misspelling her first name with one l, “the wife of Arkansas’s new governor, Bill Clinton, claims she’s really an old-fashioned girl.” She believed in hard work and the golden rule, she explained, but she stressed: “I need to maintain my interests and my commitments. I need my own identity, too.”
It mattered back at Wellesley. The 1969 class notes in the college’s alumnae magazine in the spring of 1979 made mention of “Hillary Rodham, the first lady of Arkansas—and the nation’s only first lady to have retained her maiden name.”
“I really did not want to mix my professional activities with his political activities,” she explained to the host on In Focus. “I didn’t want anyone ever to think that I was either taking advantage of his position or in some way riding on it, and there aren’t very many ways to persuade people of that.”
Remaining Hillary Rodham, she figured, was one way to do that. But the more trenchant point, to herself and to others, she would write later in her memoir, was clear: “I was still me.”
Until 1982.
Her politically talented husband had lost the governorship in 1980 after a single two-year term—in part because of her, because many people in Arkansas had never been placated by her justifications. She had some decisions to make.
Some of them were cosmetic. She defrizzed and lightened her hair and got rid of her glasses. She hired a fashion consultant. Some of her friends were bothered by the change in her look. “She was going to have to fit into this Barbie Doll model,” said Nancy Wanderer from Wellesley. Others dismissed it as mostly cosmetic.
But there was a bigger compromise in front of her, one that was politically a much bigger deal. “He lost because she hadn’t changed her name,” Ann Henry told me.
“It cost them dearly,” Schechter, her Wellesley thesis adviser, told me last week. “So she learned: You better go along to get along.”
“Rodham, Rodham, Rodham,” said Verveer, describing the crux of the attacks from her husband’s opponents—already in 1978, when he had won, and again in 1980, when he had not. “As though she were a monster from another world.”
Rodham, Rodham, Rodham,” said Verveer, describing the crux of the attacks from her husband’s opponents. “As though she were a monster from another world.”
How much was her identity worth if it meant costing him his political future? Her calculation was concise, as she would phrase it in the memoir: “I decided it was more important for Bill to be Governor than for me to keep my maiden name.” She made her announcement at the same news conference her husband announced he would be running to win back the office.
It worked. Bill Clinton was elected governor again in 1982, and 1984, and 1986, and 1988, and 1990. Bill and Hillary Clinton were a power couple with a rising national profile: a young and successful governor, and his law-partner wife. When he ran for president in 1992, his wife burst forth as a new kind of woman on the national scene. “Not your normal first lady type, right?” said Patti Solis Doyle, a staffer of hers from the campaign. “She was strong. She was opinionated. She was definitely an equal partner.”
Hillary Rodham Clinton triggered all sorts of complicated emotions from the public in the 1992 60 Minutes interview in which she sat next to her husband and defended him in the face of flaring allegations of infidelity. She managed to offend a raft of women by saying snippily that she hadn’t stayed home to bake “cookies” and have “teas.” The campaign began to understand that she was seen as an asset by some, but that there was another, not insignificant group that viewed her as a liability.
“If the wife comes through as being too strong and too intelligent,” former President Richard Nixon told the New York Times, “it makes the husband look like a wimp.”
“While voters genuinely admire Hillary Clinton’s intelligence and tenacity,” Clinton pollsters Stan Greenberg and Celinda Lake wrote in a memo that spring, “they are uncomfortable with these traits in a woman.”
While voters genuinely admire Hillary Clinton’s intelligence and tenacity,” Clinton pollsters Stan Greenberg and Celinda Lake wrote in a memo that spring, “they are uncomfortable with these traits in a woman.”
That summer, the Republicans knew they had a target—not in the president, but in his wife. As the party coalesced around a new euphemism, “family values,” she was pilloried at the Republican National Convention as a “radical,” an anti-family “dowdy feminazi.” One explanation for the attacks? “She would have been … the first professional, independent, working first lady,” Jody Franklin, her chief of staff during that campaign, said in a recent interview. “The country couldn’t wrap its brain around that.”
To anyone who knew her, there was a powerful irony: much of her work as a lawyer, and also her work on the side as the first lady of Arkansas, had centered around the welfare of children and families. And the image of her as some bra-burning feminist couldn’t have been more off-base. Even in college, she had been a moderate at a radical time, a young woman who usually avoided demonstrations in favor of conversations with professors and deans.
As in Arkansas, she had pushed forward—only to have to pull back. She adjusted, and did what had to be done, clapping for her husband, waving to the growing crowds, submitting a chocolate chip cookie recipe to Family Circle magazine. “She was put in a box for the rest of the campaign,” Franklin said.
She hoped it would be different in the White House. “What I hope,” she said, the week before the election, to the author Donnie Radcliffe, “is that each woman, and someday men in that position, will be free to be who they are.”
***
She was not free to be who she was.
It might have been tempting, at least for a moment, for her or for anybody else, to think that the choices she had made to get there, the adjustments and accommodations, the compromises and concessions, finally had paid off. Having weathered the pitfalls of the campaign, she now was moving from Arkansas to the White House. She wanted to be unburdened and unleashed. She wanted to be called Hillary Rodham Clinton, not just Hillary Clinton. She wanted to have an office in the West Wing, the hub of the power, not just the East Wing, the headquarters for the ceremonial duties expected of the president’s spouse. She, on the other hand, wanted to have an active policy-making role in her husband’s administration. She got all those things.
But while polling showed people around the country had a generally “favorable” opinion of her—respondents to the Los Angeles Times in January 1993 pegged that figure at a relatively robust 58 percent—the numbers also suggested they remained deeply uncomfortable with the notion that she would be intimately involved with the government’s most substantive work.
If the move to Washington and the White House was a window of opportunity, it also brought a new, startling kind of clarity to the limits of what she had achieved. “You’re first lady, you’re there solely by the virtue of your marriage to your husband,” Verveer, her White House chief of staff, said in an interview this week. “That is the criteria.” Americans had voted for Bill for president, not his wife. Nearly 70 percent said she should stay away from Cabinet meetings. The U.S. News & World Report offered a blunt and yet undeniable takeaway: “Most Americans object to Mrs. Clinton’s plans to carve out an unprecedented role for herself.”
The new first lady was caught off guard by the fact that she quickly had to pick decorations and cards for the following Christmas. She was far less interested in this part of her new position. “Let me say,” Lisa Caputo, her press secretary at the time, told me this week, “that the traditional aspects initially, initially, perhaps, were not at the top of the priority list—because she was given a job to be the health care czar. And she rolled up her sleeves and went to work.”
“I want to free women to live according to their own needs and desires,” Clinton said in a speech at Scripps College in California early in her time as first lady. “I want all women to be given the respect they deserve to have for the choices they may make.”
But that’s not how it worked. She was criticized by conservatives and other opponents of government health care for being too independent. Almost simultaneously, though, she was criticized by others—even by women from Wellesley—for not being independent enough.
“I want to free women to live according to their own needs and desires,” Clinton said in a speech early in her time as first lady. “I want all women to be given the respect they deserve to have for the choices they may make.” But that’s not how it worked.
“You look gorgeous, but I worry about the kind of message your highly publicized ‘make-over’ may send to young women,” one of her classmates wrote to her in Wellesley’s alumnae magazine in 1993. “Try to maintain your identity as an independent woman.”
In a letter to the editor in the magazine in 1994, a 1968 graduate and a doctor from Madison, Connecticut, denigrated Clinton as a terrible role model for aspiring young women.
“Hillary’s entire career has been a direct result of the fact that she married Bill,” she said. “Her role in the development and politicization of the president’s proposal for the revision of the health care system of the United States is hers not because of any training, experience, or expertise in the field. She holds this position because she is married to the president.”
She went on: “My major concern is that young Wellesley women not perceive Hillary as a role model for pursuit of independent careers. If she had political or societal aspirations, which I suspect she did, why did she not have the faith in herself and her Wellesley background to follow them? Why did she make the apparently conscious decision that she could only get where she wanted to by riding on her husband’s coattails?”
A 1985 graduate who was a lawyer in Washington concurred, mailing in a similar censure—comparing Clinton, unfavorably, to Madeleine Albright, another Wellesley graduate who then was the United States ambassador to the United Nations and three years away from becoming the first female secretary of state. “Madeleine Korbel Albright,” the woman wrote, “deserves respect because she has built her expertise over several years of being good at what she does. The first lady is good at what she does, too—that is, she is good at being a politician’s wife … ”
In fact, in major national health care reform, Bill Clinton couldn’t have given his wife a more daunting, politically demanding task. And when it faltered, after Republicans had made her a singular subject of their opposition and ire—attacking it as “Hillarycare”—she retreated. She was blamed for the results of the midterm elections of 1994, which were disastrous for Democrats. And she again made the accommodations that were required. She was no longer involved in any efforts to write significant legislation. She all but disappeared from the West Wing. It’s what she had to do, she was told, by the public and by pollsters—just like in Arkansas in 1982—to give her husband a chance at reelection.
She didn’t disappear, and she didn’t turn silent. She used the uncommon platform her position afforded to reach an audience more receptive to her message. Women. Especially overseas.
She went in the spring of 1995 on a tour of South Asia, where she gave speeches on women’s rights. “Women,” she said in India, “have to be responsible for our own lives and our own futures ... ”
That fall, she accepted an invitation to go to China, to attend the fourth United Nations’ World Conference on Women. “I want to push the envelope as far as I can when it comes to women’s rights and human rights,” she told her speechwriter, Lissa Muscatine, Muscatine told biographer Cynthia Levinson.
It was time, she said, to speak up—and she did, in a bold new way. Clinton, not typically known for soaring oratory, delivered in Beijing one of the most resonant lines of any of her many speeches.
“Human rights are women’s rights,” she said, “and women’s rights are human rights.”
It vaulted her once and for all onto an international stage.
Back home, though, she remained angry and frustrated. About the failure of health care. About her diminished participation in that portion of the administration.
“She did substantive work as first lady,” Caputo said, “but she did it within a box with a label of ‘first lady’ attached to it.”
It was “not easy,” Verveer said. “And that’s an understatement.”
On Thanksgiving Day in 1996, a few weeks after her husband’s reelection, she called her best friend Diane Blair, according to Blair’s notes, which are in the archives of the University of Arkansas. She vented. She had returned recently from another trip, to Thailand and Australia, where she had given speeches at schools for girls. “She knows this is important to do, but still frustrated,” Blair wrote in her notes. Blair told Clinton, she said, it was difficult “being a pioneer in an anachronistic role.”
“She has come to the conclusion,” Blair wrote, “that no matter what she does, she is going to piss off some people, so will just continue to be herself and let everyone else make whatever adjustments they have to.”
“She has come to the conclusion,” Blair wrote, “that no matter what she does, she is going to piss off some people, so will just continue to be herself and let everyone else make whatever adjustments they have to.”
Clinton, though, was the one who had made the adjustments. And where had it gotten her? “I know how to compromise,” she told Blair. “I have compromised. I gave up my name, got contact lenses … ”
***
“Now, for the first time,” Clinton said in an interview with Talk magazine, heading into her campaign in New York in 2000 for a seat in the Senate, “I am making my own decisions. I can feel the difference. It is a great relief.”
“It was freeing,” Verveer told me.
Her comments to Talk were candid, and they were optimistic, too—overly so. It was not nearly so simple.
It was complicated because of what her husband had done to her, because of what he had done with Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office, and because she had chosen to stay. She shared her reasons with Talk, pointing to Bill’s difficult childhood without a father and calling him “a very, very good man” and his adultery “a sin of weakness,” not “malice.”
And it was complicated because by then her innately cautious disposition had only been accentuated and intensified by the ways in which she had gotten to this new stage—the adjustments and the accommodations, the compromises and the concessions, and the incredible national ordeal she had faced. In the most personally sordid White House drama in living memory, her husband had committed a humiliating act of adultery, and had been impeached for lying about it. She was living with the residue of the choices she made and the criticisms that followed.
“More than a first lady,” went one of her slogans in an early ad in that campaign, but what was clear quickly after her eight years as a White House spouse is that her obstacles hadn’t vanished. In fact, there were fresh ones now—and they were a byproduct of the older obstacles and the choices she had made to overcome them.
Women had mixed feelings. Older women. Suburban women. Especially women just like her. White. Professional. Baby Boomers. Internal polling, according to Michael Tomasky’s book about the Senate race, Hillary’s Turn, painted a complicated picture. They considered her history and had concluded that she was “smart” but “cold,” “savvy” but “pushy,” “controlling” and “cunning” and “back stabbing.” “Independent” and “self-serving.”
“You get the sense that she doesn’t think like a woman,” one woman told the pollsters. “She thinks like a man.” And they held against her her reactions to his infidelity. “I’m upset at her for not taking a stand,” one woman said. Once again, she was taking fire for not being traditional enough—too manly in her thinking—and for being too traditional, by heeding a wedding vow.
Once again, she was taking fire for not being traditional enough—too manly in her thinking—and for being too traditional, by heeding a wedding vow.
So it was surprising when she won in a landslide, 55 percent to 43 percent—and by 20 percent with women—and the race banked that way, most analysts agreed, because of two things that happened at the first debate. Her first debate ever. The moderator, Tim Russert, asked her aggressively about Lewinsky, and her opponent, Rick Lazio, bolstered a point he was trying to make by walking across the stage, toward her, closer and closer and into her personal space. Both moments, it turned out, made her seem vulnerable, and in a way that changed minds of women who watched.
The ambivalence ebbed and flowed over the years since but never totally went away. “It seems wildly tragic that we know she could have been president if she had just not even married him,” one woman, an unidentified Wellesley grad, told Carl Bernstein for his biography, A Woman in Charge, which came out in 2007—the year Clinton announced she was running for president. It was an echo, though more forgiving, of the letters in the alumnae magazine from 1994. “In fact,” this woman said, “it’s hard to think of a sadder example of a person who couldn’t quite give up the old ideas. Her way of moving toward electoral politics was to marry someone who was going to run.”
Now, though, she had run for herself. But the lesson of vulnerability from 2000 hadn’t stuck. In advance of her first presidential campaign, longtime Clinton pollster Mark Penn cautioned her against running basically as too much of a woman, a recommendation she was plenty ready to follow. She had learned by this point that calling attention to oneself as a woman had a way of creating problems.
“Most voters in essence see the president as the ‘father’ of the country,” Penn wrote in his memo on the subject. “They do not want someone who would be the first mama … ”
It informed one of her stock phrases in her stump speeches: “I am not running because I’m a woman.”
Throughout 2007, Anne Kornblut wrote in her book Notes from the Cracked Ceiling, Clinton talked about gender “in the most inoffensive conceivable way.”
When she gave a speech at Wellesley that year in November, she couldn’t avoid the topic given the location. The campaign passed out T-shirts to students that announced, “I can be president, too.” “In so many ways, this all-women’s college prepared me to compete in the all boys’ club of presidential politics,” Clinton said. “We need to shatter that highest glass ceiling. We can make history.” It came off as staged, stilted and half-hearted.
Only in the following February, after Obama had won the Iowa caucus, after she had ceded to him the territory of a historic candidacy, after Clinton had run as stubbornly strong and stern, did she crack, just a little. She hadn’t lost to Obama only in Iowa—she had come in third, losing to John Edwards, too. She was trailing in polls. And a woman at a cafe in New Hampshire asked her a question. “How do you do it?” Marianne Pernold Young, 64 at the time, asked Clinton. The candidate paused. “It’s not easy,” she said, as her voice wavered and her eyes began to get teary. It was a rare sign of vulnerability—and, as had been the case at the debate in New York, she was rewarded. She won the primary the next day. Women had supported her in a big way. Obama’s win in Iowa had been hailed as historic, even though he was not the first black man to have won a presidential primary—that was Jessie Jackson, in 1988—and here Clinton’s win in New Hampshire was covered as a resuscitation of her horse-race hopes. It was the first time a woman had won a major presidential primary, in any state in this country, ever.
The news media didn’t dwell on that. But neither did she, until the very end.
Her concession speech was different than all of her speeches on the stump. “On a personal note,” she said in June 2008 at the National Building Museum in Washington, “when I was asked what it means to be a woman running for president, I always gave the same answer, that I was proud to be running as a woman, but I was running because I thought I’d be the best president.
“But,” she said.
The crowd cheered.
“But,” she said again.
This was new. The but was new.
“I am a woman,” Clinton said, “and, like millions of women, I know there are still barriers and biases out there, often unconscious. And I want to build an America that respects and embraces the potential of every last one of us. I ran as a daughter who benefited from opportunities my mother never dreamed of. I ran as a mother who worries about my daughter’s future … ”
More cheers.
“As we gather here today in this historic, magnificent building, the 50th woman to leave this Earth is orbiting overhead,” she said, an unconscious nod perhaps to her long-ago letter to NASA. “If we can blast 50 women into space, we will someday launch a woman into the White House.”
And still more cheers.
“Although we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it’s got about 18 million cracks in it,” she said, referring to the number of votes she amassed in the primaries, “and the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope, and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time.”
***
It hasn’t been, of course. “I’m With Her,” reads one of her slogans, but throughout this campaign, on stickers, shirts, signs and hats, she has been called a bitch and a witch and worse. Even back toward the end of the primary season, as she and Donald Trump began to zero in on each other, he was the one to call particular attention to the fact that she is female. “The only thing she’s got is the woman card,” he said in late April after she pledged that half her Cabinet would be women. To which she responded: “Well, if fighting for women’s health care and paid family leave and equal pay is playing the woman card, then deal me in.” Her campaign started selling “Woman Cards.” In the general election, which has turned into a referendum on the treatment of women, Clinton has picked her spots to condemn Trump’s vulgar sexist comments and alleged harassment and assault. At times, though, she has seemed hesitant, still, to speak out about it too much or too loud. It’s “not how she’s running,” Verveer said. “She’s running based on her achievements and who she is—and she happens to be a woman.” Over these past few anxious, angry, vile months, as she’s gotten closer and closer to the Oval Office, Clinton often has relied on this front on highly effective surrogates. The most forceful, most memorable repudiations of her opponent’s lengthy record of crude misogyny have come from Elizabeth Warren and Michelle Obama.
“Take a good look at her,” Nancy Wanderer told her mother about her friend after Hillary Rodham finished her speech at commencement at Wellesley in May 1969, “because she will probably be president of the United States someday.”
Never, though, would Wanderer have predicted her path to this point. Not Wanderer or any of her contemporaries or classmates who thought this was a possible destination for her almost half a century back.
“No,” friend Ann Sentilles said.
“Not at all,” said Kris Olson. “I never would have thought she would’ve gone down to Arkansas.”
Or taken the name of a husband who would go on to become president first.
In conversations, though, with many of them over the past couple weeks, they all agreed: This, in the end, is probably how it had to be. A woman who operated purely as a feminist would have condemned herself to fighting a permanently outside fight. And a woman who never tested the limits of the role she agreed to play—tested it over and over—wouldn’t have built the thick skin and the savvy needed to keep going.
“Those experiences and changes she made to forge a path are so reflective of women of her generation,” said Sally McMillen, a 1966 Wellesley grad who recently retired as a professor of history, and women’s history, at Davidson College in North Carolina. “I have always maintained that our generation was the transition generation for women, pulled by traditions but grabbing for new opportunities as we could—constant compromises and even reinventing ourselves as needed.”
“I think if she hadn’t made some of those compromises along the way, she probably wouldn’t have gotten as far as she has,” said Suzanne Salomon, a classmate who lived in the same dorm on the same hall. “If she hadn’t done some compromising along the way, she wouldn’t be where she is today.”
Practical, pragmatic, ambitious women do what they have to do.”
“It would be hard to find a woman our age who hasn’t done these things to achieve what she’s wanted to achieve,” Sentilles said. “Practical, pragmatic, ambitious women do what they have to do.”
Those who have worked alongside Clinton from Arkansas to Washington and beyond feel the same way.
“A lot of this is timing,” said Caputo, her old White House press secretary. “She’s been a transitional figure in our history. And I think that causes one to have to do a difficult navigation with each twist and turn because you’re paving new ground.”
“You learn to adopt a more practical approach,” Verveer said, “to get done what you want to get done.”
Wanderer, like so many of the women who have known her the longest, has watched her throughout.
“She made her choices, just as we all do,” she said. “No woman’s career is straight.”
She told me she followed along with some annoyance and exasperation as her college classmate made her way through the late ‘70s and the ‘80s and ‘90s, wishing that Clinton hadn’t had to change her look and her name. But she came to understand, she said. “We’ve all tried to figure these things out,” she explained. “How much do we have to change to be acceptable? Can we be fully ourselves?” Over the past decade and a half, she said, ever since Clinton stopped being first lady and started running for the Senate, even though she has remained careful, cautious and even wary, and cresting with this campaign, now closing in on Election Day, Wanderer has observed the self-possessed student she once knew re-emerge. “The old Hillary Rodham,” she said. And last month, Wanderer, who lives in Maine, drove to New Hampshire for a rally. Her friend was introduced to the crowd. They said Clinton. She saw, underneath it all, Rodham. | {
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Information is getting increasingly important in today’s world, so a large emphasis has to be placed on safeguarding it. Business owners, nowadays, cannot afford to lose information related to their businesses. However, this is not a perfect world and disasters can strike any corner of the globe at any moment. This, ultimately, can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and your business might be directly affected by it.
This is why business owners need to educate themselves more on the dangers that loom right around the corner. Stuff like earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and other natural and man-made disasters can cause severe problems for your business.
This is the sole reason as to why data backup is so important nowadays.
What is Data Backup and Recovery?
Data backup refers to a simple process of storing data in another medium that is separated from your main storage. Recovery, on the other hand, refers to the process of recovering lost data due to accident-related or disaster-related problems. This has forced entirely new businesses to emerge that focus on data backup and recovery. Data backup and recovery services come with a lot of benefits, and we are going to name 5 of the most important ones.
1. Reliability
Increased reliability is the most significant benefit when it comes to employing data backup and recovery services. Data backup is done on the internet and it allows you to recover any backed-up files any time you want. Data backup can be done daily, or it can be scheduled weekly monthly or even every few days.
A company can eighter choose to do a full backup, which will make sure that everything is backed up from applications, to even the operating system, or partial backup in which a company selects the folders and files they want to backup.
2. Protects Your Reputation
According to Salvagedata, downtime is inevitable for any business. However, these services can greatly make sure that your business doesn’t get affected by it. As you all would know, a lengthy downtime could result in losing your reputation as a reliable business. So why not avoid that by employing such services?
3. Professional Assistance
If you’ve started thinking about implementing a backup strategy to protect your business from the dangers of our world, then the best way to do it is by employing a data backup and recovery service. As these services operate on the highest level, providing professional assistance to their clients, it’s considered a no brainer move to have them do the backup for you in a professional matter.
4. Perfectly Executed Data Versioning
Data versioning is a very complicated process that must be performed error-free. As data versioning is different to backup, chances are you have no idea what you’re doing on your own. This is why you must hire a data backup service to help you preserve sequential versions of your most essential data.
5. Saves You Time and Money
And the final benefit of hiring data backup and recovery services is that it saves you valuable time and money. Buying data backup media can be expensive for your business. Add to the fact that it needs to be maintained and upgraded every once in a while. This means that you will be spending money, time, and even energy on something that you have relatively little to no experience with. Instead of doing this, why not hire a data backup and recovery service to take the burden off your chest? | {
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December 17, 2008 at 9:32 am | sam | science community, software
This is pretty cool. Check out this chemistry dictionary for Word that contains thousands of chemistry words for the spell checker. That should reduce the little red squiggles all over the documents! Thanks azmanam over at Chemistry-Blog.
I’m using it. It knows what an azepine is!
It’s very easy to install and it doesn’t overwrite your own custom dictionary. The README file is helpful, but I suggest you store the chemistry.dic file here instead of My Documents:
C:\Documents and Settings\USER\Application Data\Microsoft\Proof | {
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ＰＣＲ検査の実施制限
自治体マニュアルで判明
新型コロナウイルスの感染を調べるＰＣＲ検査の窓口となっている「帰国者・接触者相談センター」で、医師が検査の必要性を認めた場合でも、「重症化リスク」などを基準に、検査の実施を制限する運用が行われていることが分かりました。
日本共産党の古谷やすひこ横浜市議の要求に対し、横浜市が提出した資料で判明したもの。資料には「帰国者接触者相談センターにおける新型コロナウイルス感染症（ＣＯＶＩＤ―１９）の対応フロー」などと記されています。マニュアルは市が作成したものですが、厚労省の指示がもとにあるとみられます。資料は２月２８日の日付ですが、市の説明では現在もこのマニュアルに従って運用しているといいます。
「医療機関からの相談」における「対応フロー」では、「医師が総合的に判断した結果、ＣＯＶＩＤ―１９を疑う」とされた場合でも、「特に、以下について確認」として(1)「ＣＯＶＩＤ―１９を強く疑う疫学情報」がある(2)すでに重症化している(3)重症化リスクが高い（高齢者、基礎疾患あり）の三つの条件をあげています。
「市民相談」の場合には、３７・５度以上の発熱や風邪症状が４日以上継続することに加え、陽性者との濃厚接触歴、流行地域への渡航歴や流行地域への渡航歴のある者との濃厚接触歴などの条件が加わり、最終的には健康安全課での「（ＰＣＲ検査）受診の要否の判断」を経ることが必要とされています。
これでは爆発的な感染拡大の危険が強まる中で、熱やせきなどの症状が出ても、市民がＰＣＲ検査にたどり着くのは至難の業です。
古谷市議に寄せられた相談では、医師に診察を受け、インフルエンザではないことが確認され、レントゲン検査で肺炎が認められるとされたのに、「軽症だ」といってＰＣＲ検査を拒否されたケースもあるといいます。
こうした運用基準をあらため、少なくとも医師が必要と判断した場合は、速やかにＰＣＲ検査を受けられるようにするべきです。また、保険適用があるもとで、医師が必要と判断した場合は、「相談センター」を通さず、帰国者・接触者外来での検査を受けられるようにするべきです。 | {
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Is America Finished?
Is America Finished?
Paul Craig Roberts
The refusal of the Democratic Party and the military/security complex to accept the results of the 2016 US presidential election and the misuse of their positions of power to prevent Donald Trump from exercising presidential powers is a revolutionary step, well described by Angelo Codevilla here: https://americanmind.org/essays/our-revolutions-logic/
Americans are now so polarized that they “no longer share basic sympathies and trust, because they no longer regard each other as worthy of equal consideration.” Codevilla blames the progressives and their attitude of moral superiority, but his explanation is independent of who is to blame. I blame both sides. The Constitution and our civil liberties took a major hit from the “conservative” Republican regime of George W. Bush.
The consequence has been to weaponize government for use against the domestic adversary. In other words, unity has departed us. The absence of unity makes it easy for the ruling oligarchy to achieve its material interests at the expense of the welfare of the American people. Indeed, it is amazing to find progressives aligned with the military/security complex to block Trump from normalizing relations with Russia.
The provocations of Russia, which have been ongoing since the Clinton regime, have reached unprecedented levels under the neoconservative regimes of Obama and Trump. The conflict that has been orchestrated is good for the $1,000 billion annual budget of the military/security complex at the cost of maximizing the chance of nuclear war. The demonizations of Russia, Putin, China, and Iran are so extreme as to have convinced Russia and China that Washington intends war.
For Russia, Trump’s withdrawal from the intermediate range missile treaty (INF) confirms that an attack on Russia is being prepared. Intermediate range missiles cannot reach the US. The treaty gave safety to Russia and Europe, which is why Washington’s claim that Russia is violating the treaty is absurd. The only reason for Washington to withdraw from the treaty is to be able to place intermediate range nuclear missiles on Russia’s borders that would substantially increase the likelihood of success of a US first strike against Russia.
This apparently is not clear to the American people, media, and Congress, but it is clear to the Russians.
Mikhail Gorbachev, who negotiated the INF Treaty with President Reagan, stated the war threat succintly: “It looks as if the world is preparing for war.” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/27/mikhail-gorbachev-looks-world-preparing-war-nuclear-threat-re/
It is also very clear to the Russian government. A top official, Andrei Belousov, declared: “Yes, Russia is preparing for war, I have confirmed it. We are preparing to defend our homeland, our territorial integrity, our principles, our values, our people – we are preparing for such a war.” https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1037059/Russia-INF-treaty-world-war-3-Donald-Trump-Vladimir-Putin-Mikhail-Gorbachev-US-violence
Putin himself finally found tough words. A country that attacks Russia will be obliterated, “will die like dogs,” and “go to Hell.”
As demonization of Russia is part of the Democrats’ demonization of Trump—“Putin stooge,” “Putin agent,” or, in the words of former CIA Director John Brennan, “traitor”—the American people are too disunited to take a stand against conflict with Russia that serves the agendas of the military/security complex and the neoconservatives’ ideology of US world hegemony.
As it is impossible for Russia to accept US intermediate range nuclear missiles on Russia’s border, war is close at hand.
China also sees war on the horizon. China’s president has ordered the military to “prepare for war.” https://www.rt.com/news/442625-china-prepares-war-us/
The recklessly irresponsible policy of the US government toward Russia and China is leading to nuclear war.
Perhaps the European governments, Washington’s compliant stooges, will finally wake up and refuse to participate in Washington’s orchestrated conflict. If not, the Doomsday Clock will have to be moved to one second before doom.
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Pilot's audio released: 'Engine flameout'
Show Caption Hide Caption Dramatic video shows plane clip bridge before crash A TransAsia Airways flight crashed into a Taipei river shortly after takeoff Wednesday with 58 passengers on board. Dashcam footage from cars on a bridge beside the river captured the plane going down. Dozens were either killed or missing.
BEIJING — A pilot of the TransAsia Airways Flight 235 said "mayday, mayday, engine flameout" moments before the propjet banked sharply and crashed into a river, Taiwan aviation officials said Thursday as the death toll grew to 31 with 12 people still missing.
Rescue teams resumed the search for the missing, who include the two pilots.
The twin-engine propjet had 58 people aboard, many of them travelers from China, when it banked sharply on its side Wednesday, clipped a highway bridge and careened into the Keelung River. Rescuers in rubber rafts pulled 15 people alive from the wreckage during daylight.
Video images of the plane's final moments in the air captured on car dashboard cameras do not appear to show flames as it turned sharply, with its wings going vertical and clipping a highway bridge before plunging into the Keelung River Wednesday,
Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration said 31 people were confirmed dead, 15 were rescued with injuries and 12 were still missing. It said two people on the ground were hurt. The agency released a bits of audio recordings including the pilot's mayday call.
Taiwanese rescuers used a massive crane to hoist the French-built ATR 72-600 plane from the shallow, murky river after survivors were brought to safety on rubber rafts or scrambled to the river bank on their own. One injured person was reportedly found in a park along the river, Taiwan News reported.
Wu Jun-Hong, a Taipei Fire Department official coordinating the rescue, said he was not "too optimistic" that more survivors would be found.
Dramatic dashcam footage from vehicles on an elevated highway clearly shows the plane's tragic crash. Some Taiwanese paid homage to the pilot, saying he made a desperate, deliberate choice to avoid the additional casualties likely if the plane had hit nearby apartment buildings, high schools and roads.
Taiwan's Liberty Times newspaper quoted online comments thanking and praising the pilot's actions, although aviation authorities could not immediately confirm such an effort took place. The fate of pilot Liao Jianzong, who reportedly had nearly 5,000 hours of flying experience, was not immediately known.
It was the second of TransAsia's ATR 72 to crash in the past year. Last July, a flight crashed in stormy weather while attempting to land on the island of Penghu, killing 48 people and injuring 10. Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration on Wednesday ordered local carriers to ground the nation's 22 ATR 72 planes pending inspections.
More than half of the 53 passengers and five crewmembers aboard Wednesday's flight, en route to the outlying Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands, were from China. Relatives and friends on Kinmen, which is close to China, gathered at the airport to await news.
Raw: Plane Crashes into River in Taiwan A plane from Taiwan with 58 people aboard clipped a bridge shortly after takeoff and careened into a river Wednesday. Early reports say at least 8 people are known dead and at least two dozen were rescued. (Feb. 4)
A Taiwanese family of three survived after Lin Mingwei rescued his wife and son from the river water that flooded the plane, said Hong Kong's Apple Daily. Mingwei, 38, performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Lin Riyao, 2, and massaged his chest.
"I absolutely can't lose him again," Lin said of the boy who spent over 100 days in hospital after a premature birth. The child was in intensive care Wednesday after swallowing river water. His mother, Jiang Yuyin, suffered several bone fractures.
Kinmen County Magistrate Chen Fuhai had a lucky escape when his meetings Wednesday in Taipei forced him to delay travel to a later flight, the Apple Daily reported.
There were also tragedies. Victims included Wang Qinghuo, a mainland Chinese tour guide in his mid-20s, who was returning to his home city of Xiamen to get married Sunday, the Xiamen Daily newspaper reported.
Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed condolences, saying he was "deeply grieved." Wednesday's flight took off from Taipei's downtown Sungshan Airport. TransAsia director Peter Chen said contact with the plane was lost four minutes after takeoff. He said weather conditions were not a factor and the cause of the accident had not been determined.
The plane's black boxes were recovered. Based on a recording of communications between the cockpit and the control tower, the pilot called out "mayday" three times shortly after takeoff, the CAA said.
Thirty-one passengers were tourists from Xiamen, a nearby Chinese coastal city, who were traveling as two tour groups organized by two travel agencies. One of the mainland tour groups was originally booked on a later flight to Kinmen, but changed to the ill-fated flight Wednesday morning, reported Taiwan's state news agency CNA.
After decades of rivalry and tense relations across the Taiwan Straits, Taipei has relaxed restrictions on mainland tourists in recent years, leading to a boom in visitors from China.
Bacon reported from McLean, Va. Contributing: Melanie Eversley, William M. Welch, USA TODAY: Associated Press | {
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Like soft fruit, summer books can be rich and juicy – or dull and disappointing. Why pick from the glut of American teen romances, stories about running away to join the circus, or books by the ubiquitous David Walliams when you could enjoy something with more flavour?
For toddlers, Once Upon a Jungle (Words & Pictures, £12.99), with its vivid animals moving through brilliantly coloured flowers, is stunning; its dreamlike shapes for children aged two and above are inspired by Rousseau. Nikki Dyson’s Flip Flap Dogs (Nosy Crow, £8.99) is beautifully original, taking the idea of mix and match to describe crosses in dog breeding and temperament that would appal Crufts. Lively fun for dog lovers of three-plus.
The Giant Jumperee (Ladybird, £12.99) brings together two titans of children’s books, Julia Donaldson and Helen Oxenbury, in a tale of animals being tricked by their own fears – and by a bold little frog. It’s perfect comedy for reading aloud to children of three-plus, and an instant classic. The sublime Emily Gravett is less gentle despite her exquisitely imaginative illustrations, and any child that’s ever had a hint of bullying will appreciate Old Hat (Two Hoots, £11.99). Harbert has a hat that other creatures deride as “old hat”, and his increasingly desperate attempts to fit in go wrong until, in a wonderful twist, he shows his inborn originality. Neon Leon by Jane Clarke and Britta Teckentrup (Nosy Crow, £11.99) concerns a chameleon who just wants to fit in, changing into a variety of colours before meeting his match. It’s joyously written and illustrated, for readers aged four and older.
Those too young for Pirates of the Caribbean will still enjoy Sunk! (HarperCollins, £12.99) by Rob Biddulph. With rhyming couplets and a rollicking story, its graphic elegance will inspire the over-fives. The Street Beneath My Feet by Charlotte Guillain and Yuval Zommer (Words & Pictures, £14.99) takes readers on a journey to the centre of the earth, layer by layer; it’s imaginatively conceived for budding geologists aged six and up. In the same age group, the late Michael Bond’s hero returns (before the second film) in Paddington’s Finest Hour (HarperCollins, £12.99). Our most endearing fictional immigrant resists a stage hypnotist, redesigns a neighbour’s chairs, and has a run-in with the police.
In Meg Rosoff’s Good Dog McTavish (Barrington Stoke, £6.99), a rescue dog saves the chaotic Peachey family from late dinners, grime and lost keys. Common sense has rarely been so charmingly conveyed to readers of seven up. An enchanting debut is Lorraine Gregory’s Mold and the Poison Plot (OUP, £6.99). Dumped in a dustbin as a baby, big-nosed, big-hearted Mold must save his adoptive mother from execution when she’s accused of poisoning the king. To succeed he’ll need the help of an unlikely friend and a working knowledge of the palace drains. I love this book, as will any sharp-witted reader aged eight or up – it reeks with talent, great jokes and characters.
Tanya Landman’s protagonist Cassia in Beyond the Wall (Walker, £7.99) is a British slave girl raised for her master’s lusts; when she maims him instead, she goes on the run with a bounty on her head and a slick Roman spy by her side. Interweaving elements of Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle of the Ninth, the Carnegie-winning Landman has created her best heroine yet in a historical thriller that never releases its ferocious grip. Elizabeth Wein’s heroine also travels to Scotland, for a last summer in her family’s ancestral home. A prequel to the award-winning Code Name Verity, The Pearl Thief (Bloomsbury, £7.99), set in the 1930s, is a vivid mystery from page one, when posh, fearless Julie is encouraged by her grandfather to shoot a poacher.
Reluctant teen spy Alex Rider makes a welcome return in Never Say Die (Walker, £12.99). In mourning for his housekeeper and mother-substitute Jack, Alex gets a hint she might have survived Scorpia’s vengeance. A heart-in-mouth pursuit of the rich and nasty begins. Anthony Horowitz is overdue for a gong as a writer who, like J K Rowling, has kept the nine-plus crowd reading long after lights out.
Acclaimed for her witty, topical teenage tales, Sophia Bennett has gone back to Victorian times in Following Ophelia (Stripes, £7.99). By day a scullery maid, Mary becomes after hours Persephone, the stunning red-headed muse of a handsome Pre-Raphaelite painter who takes London by storm. How long can she maintain this double life? Virtue battles vice, and sense succumbs to sensibility in a luscious story that readers aged 12 and over will devour. Keren David’s hero River is another deceiver, and The Liar’s Handbook (Barrington Stoke, £6.99) is both funny and suspenseful for 11-plus. His inventive excuses for flunking school are rooted in unhappiness about his absent father – but the truth, based on a true story, is stranger than you might guess.
My favourite young-adult novel for those aged 12-plus is by Sebastien de Castell (author of the superb Greatcoats fantasies). In Spellslinger (Hot Key, £12.99), Kellen’s dilemma is that he seems to have no magic in a world where teenage mages are required to duel. Brave, funny and vulnerable, he discovers that his true problems lie closer to home. With a talking squirrel and a fabulously hard-bitten trickster on his side, his steps into both magic and manhood are told with the conviction of Ursula Le Guin and the dash of Alexandre Dumas. It’s a peach of a summer read.
Amanda Craig’s new novel “The Lie of the Land” is published by Little, Brown | {
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Some 50 percent of air-defense batteries belonging to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad have been destroyed after they fired on Israel Air Force jets in recent months during multiple operations, a senior air-force source said on Wednesday.
The officer was speaking to reporters during an international air conference hosted in Israel, which brought together commanders from 20 foreign air-force establishments to discuss professional and operational matters with the IAF. Participants included the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Poland, Italy, Brazil, Greece and Romania.
“The risks are all around us—whether it is instability in Syria or in Lebanon, where Hezbollah is a forward [Iranian] division, or Hamas, which gets its support from Iran. Iran is all over, offensively trying to operate against Israel, and we have to weigh and asses the risks constantly as we operate against this aggression,” the senior source stated.
He described Syria as having the most heavily guarded airspace in the world, with the highest number of surface-to-air missile batteries of all kinds scanning the skies.
“And we still have to operate in this strategic arena and still hit targets, and maintain the IAF’s air superiority, which is the biggest challenge of the air force,” added the officer.
In recent months, during a number of Israeli airstrikes against aggressive Iranian activity in Syria between February and May, Syrian air-defense systems fired on Israeli jets “hundreds of times,” the source revealed. “In a single mission, they fired over 100 SAMS [surface-to-air missiles],” he said, referring to the May 10 Israeli operation to strike 50 Iranian targets across Syria in retaliation to Iranian rocket fire on the Golan Heights.
“All of the batteries that fired on the IAF were destroyed. All of them. And this policy will continue. We do not destroy batteries that do not fire on us,” said the source.
During the conference on Wednesday, IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin held a joint press appearance with counterparts from Italy and the United Kingdom at Tel Nof air base, south of Tel Aviv.
“This [conference] is a part of our cooperation,” said Norkin. “We share operational knowledge, training knowledge, and we talk about how get air superiority as a means to regional stability.”
Lt. Gen. Enzo Vecciarelli, Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, said holding a dialogue with the IAF was valuable for his personnel. “We appreciate flying together. We enjoy the beauty of your country and the quality of this training machine,” he added.
Air Marshal Stuart Atha, Deputy Commander of Britain’s Royal Air Force, said: “There is no air force with a prouder history than the IAF. This is also an opportunity to celebrate and recognize what we are doing, day to day, as air forces. And, more importantly, to look to the future—at how as air forces we can continue to work together.”
[wpipa id=”94167″]
‘Iran has its owns aspirations as a regional player’
According to the senior IAF source, “the fight to maintain air superiority is ongoing. We take risks to achieve our missions, and sometimes we pay the price. We understand the strategic context in which we live in, and we learn from our mistakes.”
He described the IAF’s missions of policing the region against the Iranian military buildup, and enforcing Israel’s red lines as requiring “complexity, sensitivity, professionalism and determination.”
“This active defense campaign … is something we are doing because we have to be actively defending the State of Israel. It requires us to continually monitor and assess the risks in one of the most dangerous and sensitive places in the world. Why is it so dangerous? Every time you operate, there are operational risks. You can hit stuff you did not want to hit or personnel you did not want to hit. We are only trying to prevent offensive measures that are conducted by Iran.”
The source said it was too soon to know how Iran would respond to recent dramatic events in the Middle East, including the mass Israeli strike on its targets in Syria, America’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and other regional developments, such as election results in Iraq.
“Iran needs to work things out with the world, not just with Israel. We are high on the list, but we are not the only one. Iran has its own aspirations as a regional player. It is expanding its physical forces around the region when its economy is crumbling. Does it make sense? Not to me, but that is its long-range decision,” said the officer.
In confronting Israel directly in Syria, Iran did “not weigh the risks in the right way,” he continued. “I dare say, I think they will change their strategic decisions. It might take six months or a year … everything happening together is pushing Iran back. If I stand in Iran, that’s what I see. I have a feeling they are going to change. The question is: Which way? That, I do not know.”
When operating over Gaza, the IAF has developed singular “tunnel-busting” techniques, the source said, without providing further details.
Meanwhile, the F-35, which entered service in the IAF last year, is proving itself as a game-changing platform in Israel’s ongoing missions.
“The F-35 is really a remarkable platform. … It has many sensors on it which are very important to conducting missions,” said the source, especially in areas with dense air defenses. “The first thing it brings is situational awareness.”
“The challenges around us are keeping the small F-35 squadron on their toes. They have to move fast,” said the source.
Israel has received nine F-35s so far, and is due to receive a total of 50—two squadrons—in the coming years.
“Our operational temp is very high. It is very hard to explain how intense it is, and how unique our air personnel are when they conduct their operations. They need to understand exactly what is going on, and who is shooting at them,” he stated.
Throughout this complex era, Israel and Russia have succeeded in avoiding unintended clashes. “The Russians know very well that the IDF hasn’t come to attack Russia,” said the source.
At the same time, the arrival of advanced Russian radars in the region means that the IAF has to work harder to remain out of sight.
The IAF has learned to fly in “a way, that we won’t be noticed,” he said. These conditions have “actually made us better. … Things have developed much faster than we thought they would have.”
Written by Yaakov Lappin
Related | {
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CONSERVATIVES MARCH IN CLEVELAND AGAINST MEDIA BIAS–
Pat Dooley
1,500 patriots gathered in downtown Cleveland today to rally against media corruption in Cleveland, Ohio.
Conservative favorites Dana Loesch, Michelle Malkin and Sonnie Johnson headlined today’s rally in Cleveland.
— Politomix has terrific photos from the rally and march.
** And Diana Price, a Cleveland Tea Party leader, sent this link for more photos from today.
It was the nation’s first “Occupy the Truth” rally against media bias and #Occupy domestic terrorism.
Michelle Malkin, Andrew Marcus, Jenny Beth Martin, Dana Loesch and Chris Loesch.
The historic march and rally was organized by me and friend Andrew Marcus, director and producer of Hating Breitbart.
TRENDING: LIVE STREAM VIDEO: President Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden in First Presidential Debate 9 PM ET -- 90 Minutes and NO Breaks
Some leftist troll decided to start an argument with Dana Loesch… Big mistake.
After the rally we marched through downtown Cleveland to the Federal Reserve – the building the #Occupiers had planned to bomb before they were arrested.
We also went out to the Cuyahoga National Park Bridge to bring awareness to the terrorist activities of the Democrat-endorsed Occupy movement.
We brought our rally mascot – Stinky Stanley the Occupooper – to the bridge with us.
My niece and her friend Amy made Stinky Stanley for the march and rally this week. Stanley marched downed Superior Avenue with us to the Federal Reserve.
Here’s the banner that we marched down the street with.
We brought the banner with us to the Cuyahoga bridge. | {
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Oklahoma authorities say more marijuana will likely end up in the state after a new law took effect in Colorado legalizing the recreational sales of the drug.
Cimarron County shares a border with Colorado. Sheriff Bob White tells The Oklahoman that his county has seen a steady flow of marijuana coming from Colorado for several years.
The Colorado law that took effect Wednesday allows the sales of marijuana for recreational use for adults 21 and older.
Mark Woodward, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, says Oklahoma will likely see more marijuana because of the law change in Colorado. He says the state saw a boost in marijuana activity after Colorado legalized medical marijuana in 2010. | {
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Where there is discovery in an app, there is paid discovery. Google helped you choose between links, then sold ads that promote a few. Facebook helped you choose between pieces of content, then sold ads that promote a few. And eventually, as Uber helps you choose between restaurants, it will sell ads that promote a few. It could become the marketing platform through which the physical world vies for your attention.
We got our first glimpse of this future last week when I reported that Uber Eats was offering restaurants in India bonus visibility in a Specials section if they’d offer discounts on meal bundles to Uber’s customers. Knock some rupees off the price of a sandwich, fries and a drink, and a restaurant wins itself some enhanced discoverability. Whether a chef wants to boost orders during slow hours, get rid of surplus food, preference high-margin items or just score new customers, there are plenty of reasons to pay Uber — even if currently only indirectly through discounts instead of a direct ad buy.
But now Uber’s senior director and head of Eats product Stephen Chau has confirmed to me the company’s intentions to become an ad company. “There’s a bunch of different ways we can work with restaurants over time. If we have all the restaurants on the marketplace and we give them tools to help them grow, then this will be a very efficient marketplace. They’re going to be spending those ad dollars somewhere,” Chau tells me. “One of the things we’ve been experimenting with is allowing retailers to create promotions themselves and show them within the product.”
This conversation emerged from TechCrunch spotting Uber’s latest effort to influence where people choose to eat. To be worthy of ad dollars, Uber has to build leverage over restaurants by accruing sway over how people decide between restaurants. And with Uber confidentially filing to go public last week, it needs to prep new revenue streams. So it’s created what’s effectively “Uber Eats Pool.”
Gaining leverage with Eats Pool
In response to our inquiry, Uber confirmed it’s now testing in some markets a system designed to batch to a single restaurant multiple orders from different customers nearby each other. That way, a single delivery driver can pick up all the orders at once and then speedily distribute them to neighbors or co-workers. Uber must incentivize customers who are close to each other to pick the same restaurant in rapid succession, so it offers a discount.
“$2 off your order — share a courier with a nearby order,” the promotion announces atop the Uber Eats home screen above a carousel of restaurants where you can grab the discount. It’s equipped with a countdown timer to when it will refresh the list of restaurants that follows users on an eatery’s order page. This triggers a sense of urgency to hurriedly buy through Uber Eats (and not check competitors), but also to ensure orders come in close enough together that the first one cooked won’t have to wait long for the last before they’re all scooped up for delivery.
Some customers actually play the Uber Eats Pool discounts like a game they can beat, waiting through several rounds of the timer until they spot one of their favorite restaurants, Chau says with a laugh. For now, passengers don’t ride alongside food orders, though that’s certainly a possibility in the future. And if Uber Eats can batch your order into a Pool with other customers, it will retroactively give you the discount.
“It’s similar to what we did with Uber Pool,” Chau tells me. “Generally people are coming in with an intent to eat but there are many, many options available to them. We’re giving you a discount on the food delivery by using machine learning to understand these are some restaurants it might make sense to order from. When multiple people order from the same restaurant, delivery drivers can pick up multiple people’s food.”
Therein lies the leverage. As Stratechery’s Ben Thompson writes about aggregation theory, internet companies are gaining great influence by becoming marketplaces that connect customers with suppliers when previously customers preemptively chose a particular supplier. These platforms not only gain enormous amounts of data on customer preferences, but they also hold the power to point customers to certain suppliers that are willing to play ball.
Uber builds a toll bridge
With all the data, the platforms know just who to show the ads to for a maximum conversion rate. And over time, as the aggregator’s perks lure in more customers, it can pit suppliers against each other to further drop their prices or pay more for ads. Spotify used its own playlists to control which songs became popular, and the artists and record labels became beholden to cutting it sweeter deals to stay visible. Amazon looks like the best place to shop because it makes merchants fiercely fight to offer the lowest prices and best customer experience. With Uber Eats Pool, Uber is flexing its ability to influence where you eat, training you to trust where it points you when businesses eventually pay directly to be ranked higher in its app.
“Eats proves the power and potential of the Uber platform, showing how our logistics expertise can create the easiest way to eat,” Chau tells me. “We partner with a wide selection of restaurants and bring our trademark speed and coverage to the food delivery experience. This feature shows how leveraging the Uber network allows us to offer people even more affordable dining options.” That quote is even more telling than at first glance. It’s the logistic network that accrues the power and creates leverage over the supplier to benefit customers with the lowest prices.
“We can see on Eats how much more business they’re bringing in and how much is incremental new business. Eventually we’ll be able to do very precise targeting. ‘People who haven’t tried my restaurant before, let’s give them a discount,'” Chau tells us. Restaurants are asking him how to grow delivery as a percentage of their orders. “We can see the types of food people are ordering right now but also what they’re searching or are not able to order [because that cuisine isn’t available nearby]. We’re working with them to create new options to fill that gap. They’re able to get much more utilization of their fixed assets and iterate on these concepts much faster than they’re used to.”
Uber demonstrated the data science it could dangle over restaurants with its review of Uber Eats 2018 trends it published this morning. It predicts clean eating, plant-based foods, smoothie bowls, milk alternatives, fermented items like kimchi and Instagrammably dark “goth food” will rise in popularity next year. Meanwhile, now-tired social media bait “rainbow-colored foods,” Brussels sprouts and seaweed are on the decline.
It becomes easy to imagine restaurants running Uber Eats software for tracking order trends and predicting spikes to better manage food and staffing resources, with a baked-in option to buy ads or give deeper discounts to get seen by more hungry people. Chau concludes, “Restaurants can think of Uber Eats as a platform that gives them this intelligence.” | {
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What can you do with a monster truck tire and a rich imagination? Build a kick-ass tricycle, of course.
We can’t all build our very own sports car, or make a Batmobile replica out of scratch, but a good idea and some technical skills go along way, and this monster tricycle is the perfect example. Making great use of a giant tire, some European managed to build an old-school, with a modern twist.
Judging by the video footage below, riding the monster tricycle requires great leg muscles, and I don’t even want to imagine what would happen if anyone were to ride it down hill, but it’s a great way to get noticed and become an Youtube sensation. | {
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We are tired of our Government figuring out how to best monopolize the cannabis industry before legalizing it. We are angry that our governor is against the legalization of the flower (smoking of the plant) which makes up the vast majority of the market.
We are fighting for full recreational use of cannabis for consumers over the age of 21.
We are fighting for registration fees to be reasonable so small businesses can exist in the industry and not just multi million dollar names.
New York has promised its constituents legal cannabis for several years to no avail. Enough is enough and we want it now.
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DYING NAVIGATING THE BLACK MARKET. Through cartridges, cannabis laced with harmful and heavier elements, death by gangs, and death or imprisonment by law enforcement. Law enforcement should be concerned with other problems and not anyone trying to smoke a joint in the comfort in their own homes.
Sign this petition, share this message, and put an end to 70+ years of this criminal action New York has taken against such a harmless plant.
We vote, and if Governor Cuomo doesn’t do what the people want, we will not vote him back in come re-election time. We will vote someone in who will do what we’ve been asking for since Governor Cuomo came into office. | {
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Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said Friday morning that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is definitely getting inside President Trump’s head with her recent remarks, such as saying the president threw a “temper tantrum” and that she prays for Trump because she’s concerned about his well-being.
Appearing on Fox News’ America’s Newsroom, the Fox News Sunday host was asked what he thought about the “ongoing feud,” a feud that’s featured the president sharing a deceptively edited video Thursday night (which he got from Fox Business Network) of Pelosi “stammering” through a press conference.
“I have to say, I’m not sure who was trolling whom,” Wallace responded to Fox anchor Sandra Smith. “I think they both were trying to get under each other’s skin.”
The veteran journalist went on to note that Pelosi has been successful in driving the president nuts, referencing the recent presser in which Trump brought up several senior aides to attest to his calm demeanor.
“There’s no question that Nancy Pelosi when she starts talking about ‘I pray for the president’ and ‘perhaps his family should have an intervention’ was trying to get at the president,” Wallace said. “And clearly she succeeded to some degree in getting under his skin, when yesterday at that press conference he called on, what, about four or five members of his administration to confirm the fact that he didn’t have a temper tantrum, didn’t lose his temper when he ended the meeting on infrastructure on Wednesday.”
Wallace, however, made sure to give the president his due credit, saying that Trump “gives as good as he gets” by pointing out that the president called Pelosi “Crazy Nancy” and claimed the speaker is “losing it.”
“You know, look, as a political reporter in this town it’s all very entertaining but as an American what it means is that nothing gets done,” Wallace added. “That has to be concerning whether it’s infrastructure—there are a whole lot of things that just have to get done.”
Following Wallace’s segment on Friday, the president stood by his attacks on Pelosi, suggesting to reporters that he tweeted out the manipulated video of Pelosi to “help the country” while claiming he only “responded in kind” because she “made horrible statements” about him. | {
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Masami Hirosaka shows off his skills
RC car enthusiast Masami Hirosaka shows off his parallel parking skills. And he doesn’t use the wall as leverage. Awesome!
[Via Japan Probe] | {
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Watts has made it simple for you to quickly and easily identify Lead Free products and part numbers. We use a comprehensive set of identifiers to make compliance easier and help eliminate mistakes.
Look for LEAD FREE on labels, boxes and tags, and/or LF markings on the body of many of our Lead Free products.
The LF prefix will also appear as part of our part numbers when a standard version is also offered.
Example
Traditional Product: 25AUB-Z3
Lead Free* Product: LF25AUB-Z3
*The wetted surface of our Lead Free products contacted by consumable water contains less than 0.25% of lead by weight. | {
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Victims fleeced by Bernard Madoff's investment scheme may be forgiven for being wary of a something-for-nothing offer. But through Saturday, a New York City restaurant is offering them the real thing: a free three-course meal.
Bernard Madoff arrives at U.S. Federal Court on March 12, 2009, in New York City.
Poached halibut, braised pork osso buco and even grilled filet mignon -- nothing on the menu is off limits. All a person has to do is show proof of victimization, and Nino's 208 will provide a free, elegant meal at the upscale Italian restaurant.
Nino Selimaj, owner of the restaurant located a mere four blocks from where Madoff ran his fraudulent investment firm, said he decided to offer this special because he knows what it's like to lose all your money.
"Whatever is on the menu is available to victims of Madoff's scandal ... because I have sympathy for these people," he said. "I was in a similar situation in 2000. I lost all my money in [the] stock market. Losing your life savings is not easy. ...
"No matter how much money you have, if you have $100 million and you lose $100 million, you are completely broke."
His offer is especially surprising because his business has been affected by the economy as well. "In seven of my restaurants my business is off 15 to 35 percent," he said. Watch people who lost millions enjoy meals »
Rick Miller and his wife, Ellen, were among those drawn to Nino's 208 by the offer. He said they lost "personally about $10 million and our family about $40 [million]."
Selimaj was said he was delighted the Millers took advantage of the special: "I don't have cash to give them but at least a meal will put a little smile to their faces."
Nino's 208 head chef Merlin Tlapa, agreed. "That's what it's about, just making people happy and helping them to forget about what's going on."
Miller said he read about the special on The New York Times' Web site and decided he could use a great Italian meal, especially since it was free.
The Millers said they used to have lavish dinners about once a week, but they don't know if they will be able to do that again anytime soon.
"We used to travel a few times a year, take vacations, and now that just doesn't seem like a possibility," Ellen Miller said. "... Couple that with the way the economy is going, each of our businesses are also on the downside. The income coming in last year wasn't where it was even without Madoff."
Her father, she said, was the one "who first introduced us to the whole Madoff program. My father, my brothers, my uncles, my aunts -- everyone has been devastated by this."
"After Madoff, we are essentially where we started 30 years ago," said her husband. The Millers had expected to virtually retire in two to three years, but now they say they will be working for at least the next 20 to 30 years.
"We are good for the four to six months and I don't really know what's going to happen after that," Rick Miller said.
He said they received monthly statements from Madoff, and they thoroughly rechecked the monthly numbers and the annual total. "We were led to believe that this was legitimate and in truth it was a hoax," he said.
The Miller's son, Josh, said he had lost $2.5 million in the scheme. "If I really got stuck in a jam, I would [have been] able to get myself out. Now that's gone and the reality of working just as hard or harder is just as real and just that much more serious."
Josh Miller said he is concerned for his parents' well-being, but he plans to take this time to look forward to the future. "It's an opportunity to rebuild and move forward and do it better and do it smarter. And I plan to do that."
His father agreed, saying, "We are hardworking and diligent survivors and this will become an experience that life teaches you, that we will benefit from and grow stronger from it."
Nino's 208 manager Benny Gocaj promises that Madoff victims like the Millers will find a brief escape from their worries when they come in.
"Every single customer, when they come for the first time, they leave happy," he said.
All About Bernard Madoff | {
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TORONTO -- A 79-year-old Toronto woman taken to court over her refusal to fill out the mandatory census declared she had no regrets Wednesday despite being found guilty of violating the Statistics Act.
Janet Churnin was handed a conditional discharge -- which means she will have no permanent criminal record after she completes her sentence of 50 hours of community service within a year.
Churnin will remain on probation until her community service is complete, but the former social worker said she thought she received "a fair judgement."
"I'm glad I managed to get my point across and I do feel sort of satisfied with the decision," the soft-spoken senior said outside court. "I did break the law, but I think I had every reason to and I suppose (the judge) is right. There's always consequences to your actions."
Churnin, who had faced the possibility of a $500 fine and/or three months in jail, also admitted she was relieved at her sentence.
"I thought (the judge) was going to be a lot harder on me to tell the absolute truth," she said. "I do volunteer service anyway so it's no hardship to do community service."
At the core of Churnin's refusal to fill out the 2011 short-form census were concerns over U.S. arms maker Lockheed Martin's role in the data collection process.
After reading a newspaper article about the corporation's software being used by Statistics Canada, Churnin worried there was a chance information on Canadians could be accessed by Lockheed Martin, or even the American government if the corporation was forced to turn over the data under the U.S. Patriot Act.
Churnin, a self-described pacifist, also wanted in no way to support Lockheed Martin, or to be associated with the defence company in any way.
A third factor in her refusal was a desire to protest the federal government's scrapping of the long-form census, which was replaced with a voluntary national household survey.
Churnin's lawyer had argued at trial that her Charter rights were violated by being required to answer the short-form census because Statistics Canada didn't do enough to address her concerns about Lockheed Martin.
The judge presiding over the case disagreed with those arguments Wednesday and found Churnin had no lawful excuse for not participating in the census.
"Ms Churnin is not being required to express anything to Lockheed Martin, nor can the provision of census information be viewed as an expression of support for Lockheed Martin," Cathy Mocha said while delivering her ruling.
"The fact that it may be remotely possible for someone to obtain the information doesn't alter the expectation of privacy here. This danger is present any time any computer is used to store information."
The head of census operations at Statistics Canada testified at Churnin's trial that Lockheed Martin had no access to the agency's data operation centre or its census response database.
But Churnin's lawyer had suggested there was a possibility Lockheed Martin could have built a "back door" into its software, which could potentially put the Canadian data at risk.
The Crown had countered that Canadians can't refuse to comply with legitimate government obligations simply on the basis of moral disapproval or speculative security fears.
In deciding on a sentence, Mocha said she tried to balance Churnin's moral stand with the court's obligation to deter others from breaking the law.
"I appreciate your personal views with regards to peace initiatives, but there are other ways to accomplish those peace initiatives without violating the law," Mocha told Churnin.
"One of the things the government requires is basic information about its citizens so it can effectively implement public policy. It does this through the census."
The outcome of Churnin's case was markedly different from that of an 89-year-old peace activist who also refused to fill out the 2011 census.
In that case, Audrey Tobias was found not guilty in October by a Toronto judge who soundly criticized the government for trying to prosecute someone who was a "model citizen." | {
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You can view some samples of our work: | {
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Image caption Globally, solar energy enjoyed the "strongest growth" within the clean energy sector during 2010
China remains the world's leading investor in low-carbon energy technology, a global study has shown.
The table, published by the US Pew Environment Group, showed that the Chinese invested $54.4bn (£34.1bn) in 2010, up from $39.1bn in 2009.
While the US saw investment increase by 51% to $34bn, it still slipped from 2nd to 3rd in the ranking, behind Germany's $41.2bn.
However, the UK slipped outside the top 10 as investment fell by 70% in 2010.
Globally, the sector - which does not include nuclear power - attracted $243bn of investment, a 30% increase from 2009 and a whopping 630% rise since 2004.
The authors also said that 40 gigawatts (GW) of wind and 17GW of solar energy were installed during 2010, taking the global clean power capacity to 388GW.
The report Who's Winning the Clean Energy Race, using data compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, examined the clean energy sector's investment and technological trends in the G20 leading economies.
"Looking at global trends, the solar sector experiences the strongest growth among the various technologies," observed Michael Liebreich, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
"Declining prices and generous government support in key countries helped the solar sector achieve 40% of total clean energy investment in 2010," he added.
Clean energy investment top 10 (Source: Pew Environment Group; Bloomberg) Action call on low-carbon future
The report outlined that as well as attracting the most investment, China was also the world's leading producer of wind turbines and solar energy units.
The authors also pointed out that the country in 2009 overtook the US as the nation with the most installed clean energy capacity.
In terms of year-on-year growth, Argentina topped the rankings as it saw investment grow by 568% in 2010 compared with 2009.
Regionally, Europe remained the largest recipient of investment, attracting $94.4bn of investment. Asia/Oceania was the second most attractive region for investors, securing $82.2bn.
Explaining the UK's slip in the rankings, Mr Liebreich suggested that it was a result of "policy uncertainty during a substantial part of the year".
In May, the UK general election resulted in a coalition government involving the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. However, the deal was only struck after five days of intensive negotiations.
"With a new government in the UK, investors appear to be waiting on the sidelines until there is more certainty in the market," suggested Phyllis Cuttino, director of Pew's Clean Energy Program.
"Our research consistently demonstrates that strong policies attracts investments," she added.
"Nations like China, Germany and India, which all saw increases, were attractive to financiers because they have national policies that create long-term certainty for investors."
Looking ahead to this year, Mr Liebreich said that he expected to see a slowing in the growth rate of investment in clean energy, yet he did expect to see a marked increased in generation capacity.
"Another thing worth watching is new technologies coming through," he told reporters.
"There was a surge in venture and private equity investment during 2005-08; and those companies have been under the radar because of the (economic) crisis. But you are now starting to see companies that have survived the difficult years... establish some commercial scale in their activities."
He concluded by saying that there had been a number of "black swans rocking the energy sector", such as the unrest in Middle Eastern nations and the aftermath of the Magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan.
"These things do change the landscape for clean energy," Mr Leibreich said.
"It is hard to recall the last time that clean energy caused a catastrophe of any magnitude. As thoughts about risk pervades policymakers' and investors' thinking, you are likely to see another strand of support for the clean energy industry." | {
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Miami (AFP) - A DNA analysis of 2,000-year-old teeth unearthed from an Italian graveyard has offered hard evidence that malaria existed during the Roman Empire, researchers said Monday.
The findings are based on mitochondrial DNA -- genetic material inherited from one's mother -- extracted from teeth belonging to 58 adults and 10 children at three imperial-period Italian cemeteries, their report in the journal Current Biology said.
Two of the adults in the cemeteries, which date to the 1st and 3rd centuries, were found to have genomic evidence of malaria.
Specifically, it was the kind that today causes disease from the parasite Plasmodium falciparum.
"There is extensive written evidence describing fevers that sound like malaria in ancient Greece and Rome, but the specific malaria species responsible is unknown," said Stephanie Marciniak of Pennsylvania State University.
"Our data confirm that the species was likely Plasmodium falciparum, and that it affected people in different ecological and cultural environments."
Malaria currently kills nearly 450,000 people every year, the majority of them children under the age of five.
Researchers still do not know much about malaria in the Roman Empire, including whether it was a native disease or sporadically imported.
The first DNA evidence of malaria in ancient Rome was detected in 2001 in the skeleton of a child estimated to be 1,500 years old.
The latest study suggests malaria was more widespread than previously known.
"Malaria was likely a significant historical pathogen that caused widespread death in ancient Rome," said study author Hendrik Poinar, director of McMaster's University Ancient DNA Centre. | {
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MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list for 2020 is live, led by an 18-year-old with an 80-grade hit tool. But what about the rest of the list? Who made the cut from your favorite team? Here’s a team-by-team look at every organization’s representatives on this year’s list: (Editor's note: Prospect
MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list for 2020 is live, led by an 18-year-old with an 80-grade hit tool.
But what about the rest of the list? Who made the cut from your favorite team? Here’s a team-by-team look at every organization’s representatives on this year’s list:
(Editor's note: Prospect Points are determined by assigning a numerical value to each spot in the Top 100, giving 100 points to No. 1, 99 points to No. 2, and so on. A team's total is calculated by adding the values assigned to each of its Top 100 prospects.)
AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
Blue Jays (3)
8. Nate Pearson, RHP (ETA: 2020)
75. Jordan Groshans, SS/3B (2022)
98. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP (2021)
While the graduations of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette (MLB Pipeline’s respective Nos. 1 and 11 prospects in 2019) have drastically impacted the Blue Jays’ representation on this year’s Top 100 compared to last year, when they had a franchise-record five Top 100 prospects, they still managed to place a prospect inside the top 10 for a third straight year. The Blue Jays have also opened each of the past four seasons with at least three Top 100 prospects, though their 122 Prospect Points this year is the organization’s lowest total in that span.
Orioles (4)
4. Adley Rutschman, C (ETA: 2021)
36. Grayson Rodriguez, RHP (2021)
69. DL Hall, LHP (2021)
94. Ryan Mountcastle, 1B/OF (2020)
The number of Top 100 prospects in a system isn’t the only way to evaluate organizational growth, but it’s safe to say the Orioles are headed in the right direction. Last year’s placement of three on the list was the most the organization had since we moved to a Top 100 list in 2012, and one more has been added in '20, headlined by last year’s No. 1 overall pick in Rutschman, who is the kind of player that can transform a system.
Rays (6)
1. Wander Franco, SS (ETA: 2021)
15. Brendan McKay, LHP/DH (2020)
45. Vidal Brujan, 2B/SS (2020)
72. Xavier Edwards, 2B/SS (2022)
90. Shane Baz, RHP (2022)
91. Brent Honeywell, RHP (2020)
The Rays have more Top 100 prospects than any other team this year, ending San Diego’s two-year reign as the best-represented team on the list. It’s the third time since MLB Pipeline expanded its rankings from 50 to 100 in 2012 that the Rays have placed six players on the list, and they’ve now done so twice in the last three years. This year’s Rays group is headlined by Wander Franco, MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect, but also features three players ranked inside the top 50, including two in the top 15. The Rays rank fifth among all teams with 292 Prospect Points, and although that total is down compared to the previous two years, it’s still above the organization’s Prospect Points average from 2012-19 (245).
Red Sox (1)
77. Tristan Casas, 1B (ETA: 2022)
Boston's farm system heavily contributed to the 2018 World Series championship, providing plenty of homegrown talent including Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, not to mention trade fodder to acquire Craig Kimbrel and Chris Sale. Boston is now in the process of replenishing its young talent, with some promising players in the lowest levels of the system but only one Top 100 Prospect for the second straight year.
Yankees (3)
54. Jasson Dominguez, OF (ETA: 2024)
88. Clarke Schmidt, RHP (2020)
92. Deivi Garcia, RHP (2020)
Homegrown talent has helped fuel back-to-back 100-win seasons for the Yankees, though promotions and trades have thinned out their farm system somewhat since MLB Pipeline ranked it as baseball's second-best three years ago. Dominguez has an immense ceiling and is drawing athletic comparisons to Bo Jackson and Mickey Mantle before making his pro debut, while Schmidt and Garcia could bolster the big league rotation in 2020.
AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
Indians (2)
42. Nolan Jones, 3B (ETA: 2020)
96. Tyler Freeman, SS (2021)
The Indians' system is the strongest it has been since the start of last decade, when Michael Brantley, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Kipnis, Corey Kluber, Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana were working their way toward Cleveland. They may boast just two current Top 100 prospects in Jones and Freeman, but the Indians have several talented teenagers (catcher Bo Naylor, outfielder George Valera, right-hander Daniel Espino and more) who could crack the list in the near future.
Royals (3)
10. Bobby Witt Jr., SS (ETA: 2022)
59. Brady Singer, RHP (2020)
61. Daniel Lynch, LHP (2021)
The Royals did not have a Top 100 prospect for two straight years (2017-18) before 2018 first-round Draft pick Brady Singer joined the mix ahead of ’19. They have three this year, the club’s highest total since 2015 (5), and they’re all products of the Royals’ past two Drafts. Bobby Witt Jr., the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 Draft, gives the Royals some star power up top, helping to place them in the top-half among all 30 teams in Prospect Points (13th, 173). That growth on the farm reflects Kanas City’s strong rebuilding effort in recent years, and it would not be surprising if the system continued to grow in 2020.
Tigers (4)
7. Casey Mize, RHP (ETA: 2020)
24. Matt Manning, RHP (2020)
31. Riley Greene, OF (2022)
46. Tarik Skubal, LHP (2021)
Though they’ve now placed four players in the Top 100 in two of the past three years (2018, '20), the Tigers have never been better represented on the list than they are this year, with all four prospects ranking inside the top 50. That highly ranked group translates to 296 Prospect Points for Detroit, smashing the organization’s previous high-water mark in 2008 (185) as well as their 2018 total (174). Mize and Manning, the club’s respective first-round picks in 2018 and '16, headline a deep crop of Tigers pitching prospects who could reach the Majors in 2020.
Twins (5)
9. Royce Lewis, SS (ETA: 2020)
32. Alex Kirilloff, OF/1B (2020)
81. Trevor Larnach, OF (2020)
83. Brusdar Graterol, RHP (2020)
86. Jordan Balazovic, RHP (2021)
Given their market size, the Twins feel they must rely on a continuously strong farm system feeding the big league team. And they’ve done a good job of it, landing in the top 10 in six of the 10 farm system rankings MLB Pipeline has done since the start of the 2015 season. Entering 2020, they once again have a strong farm system, with five Top 100 players and with some depth in terms of players who could step into that conversation during the season.
White Sox (4)
3. Luis Robert, OF (ETA: 2020)
16. Andrew Vaughn, 1B (2021)
20. Michael Kopech, RHP (2020)
40. Nick Madrigal, 2B (2020)
The White Sox have one of the most top-heavy systems in the game, with four Top 100 prospects -- their fewest since they fully committed to rebuilding after the 2016 season -- but not much depth. That said, Robert, Vaughn and Madrigal are the best trio of position prospects anywhere, and Kopech showcased arguably the best pure stuff in the Minors before he had Tommy John surgery.
AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
A’s (3)
12. Jesus Luzardo, LHP (ETA: 2020)
33. Sean Murphy, C (2020)
60. A.J. Puk, LHP (2020)
The A’s have used their farm system a lot to build winning teams the last couple of seasons, though it’s been more through trades than promotions. Even with that being the case, all three of the organization’s Top 100 prospects contributed to the 2019 playoff team and should make major impacts as parts of the Opening Day roster in 2020.
Angels (2)
6. Jo Adell, OF (ETA: 2020)
79. Brandon Marsh, OF (2020)
This is a farm system that definitely needs an up arrow next to its name, and that’s not just because top prospect Jo Adell has company in the Top 100 (though the Adell-Marsh outfield tandem should excite Angels fans). There’s a ton of upside in this system, and while that comes with some risk, even some moderate steps forward, particularly from the toolsy position players, would vault Los Angeles into the top half of farm systems in baseball.
Astros (1)
19. Forrest Whitley, RHP (ETA: 2020)
After going all in to win the last three years, resulting in a 2017 World Series triumph, two pennants and an MLB-best 311 victories, the Astros have a strong big league club and one of the game's thinnest systems. They've graduated Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker to Houston and dealt a combined eight Top 100 prospects to acquire Justin Verlander, since-departed Gerrit Cole and Zack Greinke, leaving the enigmatic but talented Whitley as their lone current Top 100 representative -- their fewest since MLB Pipeline expanded its list from 50 to 100 in 2012.
Mariners (5)
11. Jarred Kelenic, OF (ETA: 2021)
18. Julio Rodriguez, OF (2022)
38. Logan Gilbert, RHP (2020)
56. Evan White, 1B (2020)
100. George Kirby, RHP (2021)
The rebuilding of the Mariners' system has been fun to watch, as general manager Jerry Dipoto has traded for -- instead of sent away -- prospects to add depth. And they’ve held on to the guys they’ve done a fantastic job of scouting and signing from the amateur landscape. Four of the organization’s five Top 100 prospects are homegrown, and the Kelenic-Rodriguez combo is as good as any outfield prospect tandem in the game.
Rangers (2)
55. Josh Jung, 3B (ETA: 2021)
74. Sam Huff, C (2021)
Injuries and development setbacks have prevented the Rangers' farm system from contributing much while the team has endured three straight losing seasons. The organization still has plenty of high-ceiling prospects, exemplified by the slugging and strong-armed Huff, though it may have signaled a more moderate approach by taking Jung and his polished bat with the eighth overall pick last June.
NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
Braves (5)
13. Cristian Pache, OF (ETA: 2020)
26. Drew Waters, OF (2020)
37. Ian Anderson, RHP (2020)
52. Kyle Wright, RHP (2020)
70. Shea Langeliers, C (2022)
The outfield duo at the top, Pache and Waters, is the only one that might be able to do battle with the Mariners' Kelenic-Rodriguez pairing, not only giving the Braves two more super young and toolsy outfielders coming up behind Ronald Acuña Jr., but giving them two who could be ready to contribute this season. Even with graduations, trades and some relatively lackluster performances, there’s still a lot of pitching depth in this system, with a lot of the talent pooling up at the highest level.
Marlins (5)
22. Sixto Sanchez, RHP (ETA: 2020)
28. JJ Bleday, OF (2021)
66. Jazz Chisholm, SS (2021)
80. Jesus Sanchez, OF (2020)
85. Edward Cabrera, RHP (2021)
Since a group led by Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter bought the Marlins in September 2017 and fully embraced the rebuilding process, the farm system has improved from arguably the game's worst to No. 4 in MLB Pipeline's most recent system rankings in August. Their five Top 100 prospects are their most since they tied for the lead with six in 2013, and four of them were acquired last year: both Sanchezes and Chisholm in three separate trades, and Bleday with the No. 4 overall pick in the Draft.
Mets (4)
62. Ronny Mauricio, SS (ETA: 2022)
63. Francisco Alvarez, C (2023)
84. Andres Gimenez, SS (2020)
93. Brett Baty, 3B (2022)
The Mets have as many Top 100 prospects this year as they did in the previous three combined, but they’re 21st in terms of Prospect Points (102) because all of their representatives rank outside of the top 60. The good news is that none of those players are any older than 21, and as a result they all have to the potential to rank much higher on the Top 100 a year from now, especially Mauricio, Alvarez and Baty.
Nationals (2)
21. Carter Kieboom, SS/2B (ETA: 2020)
97. Luis Garcia, SS/2B (2021)
Washington’s had at least two Top 100 prospects on nine consecutive preseason lists dating back to 2012, and this year is the sixth straight in which the organization has placed a player inside the top 25. They’re 22nd among all 30 teams with 84 Prospect Points, the club’s lowest total since 2014.
Phillies (3)
30. Alec Bohm, 3B/1B (ETA: 2020)
34. Spencer Howard, RHP (2020)
87. Bryson Stott, SS (2022)
The Phillies' system has been thinned out a bit, with players graduating to the big leagues and/or being dealt to help the big league team out. The addition of Bohm, who reached Double-A in his first full season and then raked in the Arizona Fall League, in the 2018 Draft and Stott from last year’s Draft helps considerably, as does the big step forward by Howard to give them a legitimate top pitching prospect.
NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL
Brewers (0)
While the Brewers are the only team without a Top 100 representative this year, they did have several prospects receive consideration: Brice Turang, Mario Feliciano and Tristen Lutz. They placed five prospects in the Top 100 in back-to-back years (2016-17), but they have combined for four in the past three years. That trend reflects the team’s desire to elongate their competitive window by trading prospects for big leaguers, and they have a slew of young players who could be firmly in the Top 100 conversation by this time next year.
Cardinals (3)
17. Dylan Carlson, OF (ETA: 2020)
47. Nolan Gorman, 3B (2022)
58. Matthew Liberatore, LHP (2022)
Gorman is the Cardinals’ only Top 100 holdover from last year, when he ranked No. 61 overall, though Liberatore made last year’s list as a member of the Rays (No. 55) before joining St. Louis in an offseason trade. One the top breakout players in the Minors last season, Carlson now ranks among the best prospects in the game after he totaled 26 homers and 20 steals as a 20-year-old last season between Double- and Triple-A. Overall, the Cardinals have placed at least two prospects in the Top 100 in five straight years and all but once since 2012.
Cubs (4)
51. Nico Hoerner, SS (ETA: 2020)
68. Brailyn Marquez, LHP (2021)
78. Brennen Davis, OF (2022)
95. Miguel Amaya, C (2021)
The Cubs' ability to churn out quality position prospects resulted in a long-awaited World Series title, but their inability to develop pitchers has hurt their chances of adding another championship. Though Marquez is a potential frontline starter, Hoerner, Davis and Amaya testify that the system is still deeper in bats than arms.
Pirates (3)
39. Mitch Keller, RHP (ETA: 2020)
41. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B (2020)
64. Oneil Cruz, SS (2021)
It’s not the super-deep system it once was, as some prospects were traded away when the Pirates were trying to contend, and many others graduated off the list. Keller will do the same once he throws two innings at the start of the 2020 season and Hayes should be ready to contribute this year as well if there’s a need at third. Cruz continues to be one of the most fascinating -- and hard to figure out -- prospects in the game, but one who has the chance to be a true impact player if it all comes together.
Reds (2)
48. Nick Lodolo, LHP (ETA: 2021)
53. Hunter Greene, RHP (2022)
It always hurts when your top prospect goes down with Tommy John surgery, but Greene will be back soon enough, and rest assured, he won’t be outworked on his path to recovery. In the meantime, the Reds added Lodolo in the 2019 Draft, giving them an advanced college lefty who should move quickly. The rest of the system has thinned out a bit with graduations to the big leagues and some trades. A healthy season from 2018 first-round Draft pick Jonathan India would be a help.
NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
D-backs (5)
43. Kristian Robinson, OF (ETA: 2022)
49. Alek Thomas, OF (2022)
76. Daulton Varsho, C (2020)
82. Geraldo Perdomo, SS/2B (2022)
89. Corbin Carroll, OF (2023)
One of eight teams with five players on the 2020 Top 100, the D-backs’ system improved exponentially last year as they infused their farm with young, impact prospects via a strong Draft and some shrewd trades. Their Top 100 total this year matches the club’s combined total from the previous three years, and it can be argued that no club is in a better position to have more Top 100 prospects in 2021 than Arizona. They have the fewest Prospect Points (166) among teams with five Top 100 prospects this year, although that mark is also the D-backs’ second-highest PP total since 2013.
Dodgers (5)
2. Gavin Lux, SS/2B (ETA: 2020)
23. Dustin May, RHP (2020)
44. Jeter Downs, SS (2021)
67. Josiah Gray, RHP (2020)
73. Keibert Ruiz, C (2021)
No team combines winning in the Majors and developing impact talent in the Minors better than the Dodgers. Lux and May are their latest National League Rookie of the Year candidates and cracked last October's playoff roster just three years after being drafted out of high school. Downs, Gray and Ruiz should contribute in Los Angeles in the near future as well.
Giants (5)
14. Joey Bart, C (ETA: 2020)
35. Marco Luciano, SS (2022)
65. Heliot Ramos, OF (2021)
71. Hunter Bishop, OF (2022)
99. Seth Corry, LHP (2022)
The Giants are coming off their worst three-year stretch since 1983-85, but there's hope for the future because their system is stronger than it has been in a decade. Bart and Luciano are their most talented farmhands since Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner, and their five Top 100 prospects eclipse their previous high of two since we expanded the list starting in 2012.
Padres (5)
5. MacKenzie Gore, LHP (ETA: 2020)
25. CJ Abrams, SS (2022)
27. Luis Patino, RHP (2021)
50. Luis Campusano, C (2021)
57. Taylor Trammell, OF (2021)
The Padres established a new MLB Pipeline record last year with their 10 Top 100 prospects and 574 Prospect Points and also led the way in both categories (7 and 423, respectively) in 2018. But their two-year run as the best-represented team on the Top 100 now has come to an end, as the club is one of eight teams this year to place five players in the Top 100. The Padres still have the most Prospect Points (341), thanks largely to the presence of No. 5 prospect MacKenzie Gore, not to mention the fact that each of their five Top 100 prospects rank inside the top 60 spots. However, it’s also the lowest top Prospect Points total since MLB Pipeline expanded its rankings from 50 to 100 in 2012.
Rockies (1)
29. Brendan Rodgers, 2B/SS (ETA: 2020)
A healthy Rodgers in 2019 likely graduates from prospect rankings, but his shoulder injury, which will delay his 2020 debut, keeps him here and gives the Rockies their lone Top 100 representative. They do have three of our Top 10 first-base prospects, with 2019 first-round Draft pick Michael Toglia leading the Colorado trio there, and '18 first-rounder Ryan Rolison could climb back onto the Top 100 during the 2020 season. | {
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau equated the procurement of prostitutes as one way his government can “stand up for Canadian jobs,” in a Wednesday Question Period exchange with the Official Opposition Conservatives.
In response to a question from Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel about a report that the embattled Quebec contractor SNC-Lavalin paid $30,000 (CND) to entertain Muammar Gaddafi’s son with prostitutes, Trudeau appeared to not only confirm the story; he also tried to exonerate the company.
Rempel was quizzing Trudeau in the House of Commons about the unfolding scandal that threatens to take down the Trudeau government. Former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould says she was instructed by numerous high-ranking officials in the Prime Minister’s Office to block the prosecution against Quebec mega-contractor SNC-Lavalin on fraud charges. (RELATED: Calls For Trudeau’s Resignation Made After Explosive Testimony From Former AG)
Referring to the “$30,000 worth of Canadian prostitutes that were given to Muammar Gaddafi’s son,” Rempel noted “this is the so-called victimless crime that our quote ‘feminist’ prime minister is moving mountains to cover up. When did the prime minister learn that SNC-Lavalin paid for prostitutes for Muammar Gaddafi’s son?”
Trudeau answered, “Every step of the way, we will stand up for Canadians workers, we will stand up for Canadian jobs right across this country and we will do so in a way that is consistent with our values …” (RELATED: Trudeau Principal Secretary Gerald Butts Resigns In Wake Of Judicial Scandal)
Rempel told The Daily Caller on Friday that she was shocked at Trudeau’s response to her question.
“He needs to resign,” she said. “He’s a disgusting failure that no longer has the moral authority to govern. He needs to go.”
If SNC-Lavalin is convicted on fraud charges, it will automatically make the company ineligible to apply for lucrative federal government building contracts for at least 10 years.
On Friday, Trudeau again shuffled his cabinet in order to replace the vacancy left by Wilson-Raybould, who resigned as Veterans Affairs minister after having lost the attorney general portfolio.
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Open this photo in gallery 'There are a range of estimates, but I would say that it is safe to assume that it could be between 30 per cent of the population that acquire COVID-19 and 70 per cent of the population,' Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, seen here, said in Ottawa. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Between 30 per cent and 70 per cent of Canadians could become infected with the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19, federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said Wednesday, but that number will depend on the scope and scale of the response to combat transmission.
The COVID-19 outbreak is a “national emergency and crisis," Ms. Hajdu told the House of Commons health committee, but public health officials say they won’t prohibit mass gatherings until the virus spreads more widely.
“There are a range of estimates, but I would say that it is safe to assume that it could be between 30 per cent of the population that acquire COVID-19 and 70 per cent of the population,” she said.
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While most will recover, she said Canadians must work together to protect seniors, people with underlying conditions and other vulnerable groups.
Coronavirus guide: The latest news on COVID-19 and the toll it’s taking around the world
I think I may have the new coronavirus. What should I do?
Calls for limits on public gatherings intensified Wednesday amid news a Sudbury man who attended a major Toronto conference held by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada tested positive for COVID-19. Unlike every other case identified in Ontario to this point, officials don’t know how or when the man became infected, but believe it was at the conference, meaning someone there was likely spreading the virus.
“What we are saying is that each case, it’s a case-by-case basis. It will depend on the kinds of risks in your community. It will depend on the number of cases in your community,” Ms. Hajdu told reporters Wednesday.
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said the province had no immediate plans to bring in tougher measures, such as banning large gatherings, closing schools or putting students returning from travel in isolation – at least until cases that cannot be linked to international travel or visitors emerge.
“We’re not at that stage yet,” Ms. Elliott said. “… We’re watching this very, very closely.”
David Fisman, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, said waiting to act before more cases pop up could put Canada in a situation similar to Italy, where the number of infections and deaths have spiralled out of control and forced the government to lock down the entire country.
Dr. Fisman said evidence shows countries that have adopted policies to keep people apart have been able to control the COVID-19 spread, while others, such as Iran, Italy and China, have faced massive outbreaks because of inaction.
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“We have seen this play out,” Dr. Fisman said in an e-mail. “I am not sure why we need to reinvent the wheel.”
British epidemiologist Roy Anderson and colleagues wrote a commentary in the Lancet journal last week that highlighted how Singapore and Hong Kong, which both experienced the SARS epidemic in 2003, have done well this time despite their proximity and connections to mainland China.
Part of it comes down to swift action and clear messaging from authorities, Dr. Anderson said – but also to the fact that in both locations, people voluntarily and quickly changed their behaviour. He added that while governments must take the lead, “how individuals react to this is going to be more important. All of us have got to [keep our distance] … to try to flatten this epidemic.”
Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s Provincial Health Officer, said officials there are not ruling out anything, such as the cancellation of Easter church services or a delayed return to school after March break. It will all depend on what happens in the province in the next few weeks, she said.
“It’s not easy to say across the board everything should be cancelled because we want to continue with life as well,” Dr. Henry said.
Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, on Wednesday recommended all those who travel outside of Canada to limit their attendance at large public gatherings upon their return, and to self-monitor for symptoms. She said older people and people with underlying health conditions should think about the risks associated with mass gatherings, stopping short of advising against them.
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The number of COVID-19 cases has increased dramatically in Canada in recent days, reaching more than 100 as of Wednesday. Those include the first cases on Vancouver Island and in New Brunswick.
Hamilton health officials said an oncologist tested positive for the virus after returning from a trip to Hawaii. The physician saw patients on the afternoon of March 9 at the Juravinski Cancer Centre before going to the emergency department to be tested. The hospital said public health officials are trying to contact all patients who were seen by the doctor.
The news that a man who attended the massive PDAC conference tested positive for the virus sent alarm bells across the country. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and several political and business leaders were at the conference. Health officials say attendees should monitor themselves for symptoms for the next two weeks.
Ontario Energy Minister Greg Rickford confirmed Wednesday the man’s entire office in Sudbury has shut down. Laurentian University also announced it is immediately suspending all in-person classes and will hold them online for the foreseeable future.
Janine McCready, an infectious diseases physician at Toronto’s Michael Garron Hospital, said the man’s case is concerning because officials have no idea how many others were potentially exposed.
Mr. Ford said Wednesday the province had put $100-million aside for the health system to deal with COVID-19.
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“We have a plan for every scenario,” said Mr. Ford, who is scheduled to meet his fellow premiers in Ottawa on Thursday and Friday. “As I think we all agree … this isn’t a time for politics. This is a time that we stick together as a province, we stick together as a country.”
Health Minister Patty Hajdu says the World Health Organization's declaration of a global COVID-19 pandemic doesn't change Canada's approach to fighting the virus. She says Canada has been preparing for the worst case scenario, and it will stay on its current course. The Canadian Press
With reports from Kristy Kirkup, Jeff Gray, Ivan Semeniuk, Joe Friesen and Andrea Woo
Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today. | {
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While Popeyes is having a week likely enviable to all other providers of fast or fast-adjacent food, the general vibe surrounding Jimmy John's is noticeably nowhere near as inspired. In fact, despite the age of the photo that's circulating of Jimmy John's founder James John Liautaud, it's hard to imagine a worse or more sudden turn of events for a company perhaps most known for providing arguably passable takes on handheld food items.
Indeed, a photo that's already been highlighted by PETA via a blog post earlier this year regained some traction this week thanks to some timely tweets:
The arguably just-as-troubling fact that people still eat at Jimmy John's aside, the photo—which does indeed depict a dead elephant—has given rise to boycott calls.
At any rate, PETA broke it down a bit further back in April.
"Boycotting Jimmy John's is a great way to take a stand against hunting, and other sandwich shops make it easy with their delicious, animal-friendly options," a PETA rep suggested, noting that the practice of killing elephants and whatnot is merely the "violent pastime" of Liautaud types.
But for real, people were actively eating at Jimmy John's all this time? | {
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Men too can be victims of a bad marriage! Sympathy and the benefit of doubt is not something that’s granted to these men who allege being on the wrong side of Section 498A, which according to them doesn’t give much room for any explanations once they’re slapped with dowry harassment. Could this actually have contributed to the high number of married men who take their own lives? According to the recent National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, the number of married men committing suicide is actually higher than that of married women. While, women ending their lives due to marital harassment, is well played out in the media, and by several NGO voices, the marginally higher number of married men who have taken their lives is seldom heard. The NCRB report has it that 70.8% of the suicide victims are married males while 66.6% are married females. Hyderabad Times meets with some of these harassed husbands to hear their side of the story ...
Navin*, an engineer, who had been working in the US, was picked up from the Shamshabad airport last year on his return to the city. He was then taken to the Women’s Crime Cell. He got a bail, but the nightmare is far from over. He is charged under Section 498A and has been fighting for the custody of his six-and-a-half-year-old daughter for the past one-and-a-half-year now.
It was in 2007 that Navin got married and took his wife to the US. “We were very happy. Our daughter was born within a year. She completed us. We had a honeymoon period of three years,” says Navin.
Ask him what went wrong then, and he takes a pause before saying, “Recession hit and I my job became my priority, after which came my daughter and then my wife. Gradually, we began having arguments as I wasn’t able to spend much time with her. Then, on impulse, I told her ‘Don’t bother me and go back to India’. I realised the next day that I had made a mistake and told her to forget everything and go back to being like earlier. But she was adamant to leave. So I let her. The day she left with my daughter, I didn’t even have the courage to drop them off to the airport. I knew I was losing my daughter and I was shattered. It’s then that I thought of ending my life… Had it not been for my mother, who flew down immediately to be with me, I wouldn’t have been alive.”
Arguments apart, Navin did not in his wildest nightmare think that his wife would press charges of dowry harassment and domestic violence on him. “She had hit me with a pan once, but I never ran to cops saying my wife beat me. These charges are false. She has been brainwashed and has been explained the power of Section 498A and that’s what she has filed against me. But, what affected me the most is that she also accused my family and they were arrested… I began blaming myself for everything that happened.”
Men are looked upon as the abuser, never as the abused
This ‘blame thyself’ is essentially what triggers suicidal tendencies in men, says Sudhakar*. “The National Crime Record Bureau shows that more and more married men are committing suicide. I can tell you that the numbers will be much higher because there are many who never speak up about the abuse and the trauma they go through in a marriage. Our society does not give men the liberty of being called the ‘abused’. We are always looked upon as the ‘abuser’. And herein lies the problem. When a woman walks into a police station accusing her man of domestic violence, it’s very easy to accept that the woman has been wronged. Nobody would believe if a man said the same,” explains Sudhakar.
I lost my job because of the charges pressed against me
Thirty-year-old Sudhakar was looking for a homely girl when he met Nandita. It was a match arranged by his parents. Before tying the knot in May last year, Sudhakar and Nandita dated each other for seven months and everything looked ‘made in heaven’ till the day of the wedding. “Just when the ceremony was over, I got to know that Nandita was not from my caste or religion, whereas my family and I were made to believe that they were. I kept shut. My dad is a heart patient and I didn’t want to disclose this to him. Later that night, Nandita told me herself that she didn’t belong to my religion. I was still patient. It was okay. But eventually, she walked out of the house with her father, taking away all the jewellery that we had gifted her in marriage. I tried to call her back home, but she didn’t budge. This continued till June. Then, in October, she lodged a complaint with the police saying I am impotent and that my family and I have harassed her. She pressed charges under Section 498A, 420 and 506. It was I who was cheated into marriage, and not the other way round. But my family and I were picked up on a Friday and kept behind bars for two days. I was shattered. She is demanding `1 crore for settlement and a divorce. The trauma didn’t end there. In November, when I went back to work, I was told I am no longer employed since I was embroiled in a ‘498A case’. Since
November last year, I have been jobless. All I do is make innumerable rounds of the police station as they keep calling me. Sometimes, I feel like ending it all… Was marriage a sin I committed? Did I make a mistake?” asks Sudhakar.
Men in age group 24-40 most harassed
It’s not surprising then that the number of married committing suicide is on the rise. And to raise awareness for the same in the city, members of the Save Indian Family Group (Hyderabad Chapter) have been trying to reach out to people.
According to the NCRB report, social and economic causes have led most of the males to commit suicides, whereas emotional and personal causes have mainly driven females to end their lives. “I am not surprised at all,” says a member of the Save Indian Family Group (Hyderabad) that helps in reaching out to married men in distress. “We get at least five calls from men every week telling us how their marriage is not working out and how traumatised they are, owing to which they feel like ending their lives. These are men mostly in the age group of 24-40; sometimes, even 50.”
Among those who came to our office to meet us was Kishan*, who had been married for 13 years before he was thrown out of his house in the year 2007 and accused under Section 498A. He keeps silent while Navin tells us, “He has two grown-up children, but doesn’t know anything about them. And you know what? He would have been the vice president of a company, but in the background check, they found out that he has a harassment case on him, and so they rejected him. He is also jobless.”
It is not a ‘manly’ thing to ask for help
We ask Dr Sona Kakkar, who specializes in marital therapy, if she has seen more married men walking in to her clinic with marriage problems. “Yes, there has been a considerable increase in the number of married men coming in the past year or so. They have similar issues of incompatibility, just like women do. The difference is — women usually speak out and seek help, whereas men keep bottling things up because they think it’s not a ‘manly’ thing to ask for help. And hence, men are more prone to taking drastic steps when they feel nothing in their life is going right. Marriage is a big thing in our society and when that fails, it affects men as much as it affects women. In fact, reports suggest that men try their best to keep their wives happy, because they think that’s the way to a happy life, but when their efforts are met with criticism or no appreciation, they feel rejected. That’s when incompatibility issues arise and they don’t know who to talk to. I have had many married men come to me with such problems. I think married men committing suicides is a neglected area — there is a need to address this!”
(*Names have been changed on request) | {
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Distributed titles: Curated releases and exclusive color-ways from other great soundtrack labels from around the world.
Gamer's Edition is proud to present a very special limited vinyl pressing of the soundtrack to ConcernedApe's hit indie farming game, Stardew Valley.
Also composed by ConcernedApe, the music in the game ranges across the seasons, from rich lush melodies to beautiful glassy synth pieces.
Mastered for vinyl with care at KMJ Studios, this two-disc edition includes music from each season in the game across each side. The high-quality gatefold jacket features all-new artwork by Kari Fry.
Second Pressing is one double dual-striped vinyl
This first pressing is on double tri-striped vinyl and is limited to 600 copies worldwide. (NOTE: FIRST EDITION IS SOLD OUT) | {
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A new hope for those suffering from cancer has recently surfaced. Scientists at Harvard University have developed an implant that may have just become the front runner in the long list of possible cancer treatments.
The miniature disk, only 8.5 millimeters in diameter, is filled with tumor-specific antigens and is placed under the skin in an attempt to reprogram the immune system. This reprogramming helps the body’s defenses recognize the cancer cells, which aren’t normally recognized as foreign. This allows the immune system T cells a chance to then find and eliminate tumor cells.
Unlike other vaccines that also focus on creating an immune attack, this treatment does not need to remove cells in order to reprogram them. This allows a much larger number of cells to survive, increasing effectiveness significantly.
Furthermore, this new treatment only targets the tumor cells. This means that unlike chemotherapy, there is no damage done to healthy tissue. Imagine a treatment that doesn’t leave the patient sick and looking like they could die right then and there. Instead, patients would be comfortable while being treated. Also, many of the researchers are hoping that because no healthy tissue is damaged, the chances of relapse will reduce drastically.
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“They even told me they’re watching me on the cameras for my entire shift, just to let me know they have eyes everywhere,” the woman said, adding that the situation has left her feeling intimidated. She also believes they were sending a message to other employees who could possibly testify against the boss. | {
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The Republican rout in the Battle of Indianapolis provides us with a snapshot of the correlation of forces in the culture wars.
Faced with a corporate-secularist firestorm, Gov. Mike Pence said Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act would not protect Christian bakers or florists who refuse their services to same-sex weddings. And the white flag went up again.
Politics follows culture. And the cultural revolution of the ’60s is triumphant. Traditional Christianity, driven out of schools and the public square, is being whipped back into the churches and told to stay there.
America has gone over to the revolution.
Looking back, the sweep of the capitulation becomes stark.
First came the plea of atheists not to have their children forced to participate in prayers at school. Fair enough. Americans do not believe in compelling people to do as they disbelieve.
Then followed the demand that no child be exposed to prayers or religious books, including the Bible, nor have any day or week set aside as a holiday if connected to Christianity.
Out went Christmas and Easter. In came winter break and spring break. Coaches of high school teams were ordered to dispense with prayers before games. The coaches complied.
No matter what the majority wanted, the minority prevailed, thanks to a Supreme Court whose dictates were never challenged by democratically elected presidents or Congresses, nor ever defied by a Christian majority.
In the sexual revolution there came first the plea that abortion in extreme cases be decriminalized, then legalized, then subsidized, then declared a right. From crime to constitutional right in two decades!
Under Obamacare, Christian businesses must dispense abortion-inducing morning-after pills to employees.
On gay rights, first came the demand that a bar in Greenwich Village patronized by homosexuals be left alone by the cops.
Next came the demand that homosexuality be decriminalized and then that this, too, be declared a constitutional right. And so it went.
Soon, same-sex marriages will likely be declared a right hidden in the Constitution and entitled to all the privileges and benefits accorded traditional marriages. Next, those who refuse to provide services to same-sex weddings will become the criminals.
Thus does biblical truth become bigotry in Obama’s America.
And the process has been steadily proceeding for generations.
First comes a call for tolerance for those who believe and behave differently. Then comes a plea for acceptance. Next comes a demand for codifying in law a right to engage in actions formerly regarded as debased or criminal. Finally comes a demand to punish any and all who persist in their public conduct or their private business in defying the new moral order.
And so it goes with revolutions. On the assumption of power, revolutionaries become more intolerant than those they dispossessed.
The French Revolution was many times more terrible than the Bourbon monarchy. The Russian Revolution made the Romanovs look benign. Fidel Castro’s criminality exceeded anything dreamt of by Fulgencio Batista.
Looking back, one appreciates why we hear so often, “This isn’t the country I grew up in.” For it isn’t.
But how did this moral-cultural revolution succeed so easily?
How was it that the Greatest Generation that won World War II let itself be intimidated by and dictated to by nine old men with lifetime tenure who had been elected by no one?
How did this happen in a republic where minority rights exist but the majority rules? Why did Middle America meekly comply and not resist?
By the mid-’50s and early ’60s, black folks were engaged in civil disobedience, refusing to move to the back of the bus, sitting at segregated lunch counters, getting clubbed by cops, and marching for equal access to schools, hotels, motels and voting booths.
And across the South there was resistance to the civil rights revolution: Southern manifestos, governors standing in schoolhouse doors, federal marshals and federal troops called out.
Whatever side of the civil rights revolution one was on, folks on both sides fought for what they believed in.
Amazing. The old segregationists who, morally speaking, held a pair of deuces resisted. But a Christian majority that had the Faith that created Western civilization behind it rolled over and played dead.
Christians watched paralyzed as their country was taken from them.
What explains the rout in Indianapolis? The GOP simply cannot stand up to media denunciations as intolerant bigots, especially if the corporations upon which they depend threaten economic reprisals.
With the Democratic Party irretrievably lost, and the Republican Party moving to neutrality in the culture wars, traditionalists should probably take comfort in the counsel, “Put not your trust in princes.”
When that father and daughter at Memories Pizza in Walkerton, Ind., said their religious beliefs forbade them from catering a same-sex wedding, they were subjected to a hailstorm of hate, but were also showered with $840,000 from folks who admired their moral courage.
Religious folks who do not believe in collaborating with what they think is wrong should go forth and do likewise.
Courage as well as cowardice is contagious.
Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of the new book “The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon Rose From Defeat to Create the New Majority.”
Copyright 2015 Creators.com. | {
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One of the pillars of Car and Driver—and Sports Cars Illustrated, which was our name from our founding in 1955 until 1961—has always been recording objective performance data for a wide variety of automobiles. This tradition began in 1955, and our approach progressively became increasingly scientific as manufacturers became ever more adept at wringing performance from their wares.
It’s worth a note that in the fast-and-loose ’60s, carmakers regularly sent magazines “ringers” that were far quicker than what someone could buy off a showroom floor, and these same companies also often vastly underreported output figures. One of the most egregious cases of this practice involved a certain 421-cubic-inch 1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 that appeared in our March 1965 issue. Capable of demolishing the zero-to-60-mph measure in a blazing 3.9 seconds, that particular Catalina, we openly revealed, had been “properly set up” by famed tuner Royal Pontiac.
Massive V-8s began to give way to turbocharged muscle in the ’70s, and the 5.4-second zero-to-60 time put down by the mighty 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS454 was tied by the 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo. The trend continued in the ’80s, and the ’90s were all about the supercar. But it’s after the turn of the century when things got real—or rather unreal—with every single car on our list of cars from 2010 to present day bursting from zero to 60 mph before the second hand ticks three times. It’s hard to imagine that cars will continue to get quicker at the same pace we’ve witnessed over the decades, but we’re eagerly awaiting the first car that breaks the mile-a-minute barrier in less than two seconds. You know it’s coming—we’re already at 2.2 seconds with the Porsche 918 Spyder. Here, find the quickest cars we tested in each decade, starting with the 1950s and continuing through today. Enjoy!
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KARACHI: The nation is observing 47th death anniversary of Shaheed Sawar Muhammad Hussain with fervor and solemnity across the country.
The brave son of Pakistan Sawar Muhammad Hussain was born in Gujar Khan, Punjab, on November 18, 1949 and joined Pakistan Army as a driver on September 3, 1966 at the age of 17.
He was hit in the chest by a burst of machine-gun fire and embraced martyrdom on 10 December 1971 in Shakargarh.
It is pertinent to mention here that Sawar Muhammad Hussain had the distinction of being the first sepoy to be awarded with Pakistan’s top military honor Nishan-E- Haider, for his gallantry, velour and unmatched sacrifice.
The nation, on August 20, had observed the 47th death anniversary of Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas Shaheed.
This brave son of Pakistan was born on 17 February 1951 in Karachi. He belonged to famous Minhas clan of Rajputs.
His childhood fascination with aircrafts and aviation led him to what he truly was destined for. Minhas embraced his true passion after school and earned a degree in Military history and Aviation history from the University of Karachi.
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Border Terrier
Il Border Terrier è il cane più piccolo della famiglia dei Terrieri. Per anni è stato selezionato come animale per la caccia di tassi, lontre, roditori e volpi. Ad oggi è molto diffuso in Gran Bretagna e riscuote discreto successo anche nel resto dell’Europa.
Origini
Il Border Terrier ha origine nella regione Borde, a nord dell’Inghilterra nel 1800. Già a partire dal XIX secolo questa razza veniva selezionata per la caccia sotterranea. C’è chi sostiene che il Border Terrier derivi dall’incrocio tra il Dandie Dimmont e il Bedington terrier. Questa razza fu dimenticata per molto tempo fino a quando all’inizio del 900, anche attraverso la presentazione in un’esposizione canina, fu riscoperta, rivalutata e le venne nuovamente restituito un importante valore.
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Carattere
Nonostante la taglia piccola il Border Terrier è un cane molto pratico e affidabile sul lavoro; ha un aspetto e un carattere molto simpatico e vivace, è un ottimo cane da compagnia, si affeziona rapidamente al proprio padrone dal quale apprende tutto in maniera semplice e rapida. La sua intelligenza lo rende un ottimo cane sia per la compagnia che per la caccia di piccola selvaggina.
E un animale che si addestra con facilità e dotato di grande elasticità ed agilità, questo lo rende particolarmente adatto per le gare sportive. Ha un indole docile e paziente, adora i bambini e socializza con i cani velocemente, anche con altri animali.
Caratteristiche
Taglia: Piccola
Altezza: 22-25 cm per i maschi / 22-25 cm per le femmine
Peso: 5.9-7.1 kg per i maschi / 5.1-6.4 kg per le femmine
Aspetto
Il Border Terrier è essenzialmente un cane lavoro, vivace e allo stesso tempo sportivo. Anche se il cane è di taglia piccola ha un corpo forte e tonico, con una costruzione resistente e dall’aspetto rustico e tenace. Ha la testa come quella di una lontra, con il cranio moderatamente largo, lo stop leggermente pronunciato e il tartufo di colore nero (anche se a volte si trova anche di color fegato). Il muso del cane è robusto e corto con i denti con una chiusura a forbice. Gli occhi del cane sono di colore scuro che gli donano un’espressione sveglia e attenta. Le orecchie del cane sono piccole e a forma di V, ricadenti in avanti e aderenti sulle guance. Il collo è di lunghezza media. Gli arti anteriori sono diritti con un’ossatura non eccessivamente pesante. Gli arti posteriori sono vigorosi e con i piedi piccoli con i cuscinetti spessi. La coda è corta, più grossa alla radice, inserita alta e portata gaiamente. Il pelo del cane è duro e compatto con un sottopelo fitto. Il mantello del cane può essere di colore rosso, brizzolato e tan, grano o blu e tan.
Stile di vita
A differenza degli altri terrier, il Border Terrier si contraddistingue per un’estrema dolcezza e affettuosità nei confronti del proprio padrone al quale riserva attenzioni e coccole particolari ed esclusive. È un cane adatto anche a padroni inesperti, poiché è molto ubbidiente e non necessita di controllo, tanto che può essere apprezzato anche come baby sitter, non combina guai, è costantemente vigile e capisce con rapidità i comandi che gli vengono impartiti.
Ama stare all’aperto a correre, giocare o cacciare. E’ un cane molto resistente che difficilmente si ammala, ma che ama stare al calduccio e mal sopporta le basse temperature, è quindi raccomandato farlo dormire in casa o in luogo riparato e caldo, soprattutto durante le stagioni più rigide. Si adatta bene come cane da appartamento ma ha bisogno di lunghe passeggiate quotidiane.
Prezzo Border Terrier
Il prezzo di un cucciolo di Border Terrier va dagli 800 € ai 1000 € circa.
Ti consigliamo di chiamare i canili e associazioni Noprofit vicino a te. Troverai sicuramente adulti maschi o femmine ma anche tanti cuccioli che stanno aspettando solo te.
Stai per adottare un cucciolo ? Hai bisogno di un consiglio?
Contatta gratuitamente gli educatori di Dogalize: sono a tua disposizione gratuitamente via chat
Se invece devi scegliere il nome, ecco una lista di nomi di cani e i suggerimento per scegliere scegliere il nome più adatto.
Scopri le caratteristiche e carattere delle altre razze di cani in base alla taglia
Cani Piccolissimi
Cani piccoli e cani di piccola taglia
Cani taglia media
Cani taglia grande
Cani Grandi | {
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GQ editor Dylan Jones tells the Today programme Corbyn’s aides didn’t understand that Jezza “would have to be presentable and couldn’t just turn up in his anorak” and that they “pushed him around like a grandpa”. Jones says the younger GQ staff who attended the shoot went in as fans and came out underwhelmed. Never meet your heroes…
Read extracts here… | {
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With the rise of globalisation we live in a seemingly post-modernist world with a high degree of individualism. Within this individualised atmosphere the political elements have followed suit, becoming more focused on single issues that have a global perspective rather than on particular party ideologies that encompass a particular range of ideals. Thus the political party, which has generally encompassed some form of ideology, has become an obsolete form of political expression for the voter, with social movements being able to co-opt peoples political attitudes much more succinctly as they focus on particular issues. The first reason for this phenomenon is that political parties have failed to modernise in a way that still attracts voters. Instead of focusing on the issues that may actually matter to voters, there is either an attachment to a particular ideology or an attempt to reach the ‘centre-ground’, which means that many important issues that have a global affect are ignored as they are seen as too controversial and thus get in the way of attracting the median voter. As a result, social movements, with their focus on one particular issue, fit the mould of what voters believe in a lot more than the political party. This further goes along with the individualised, liquid world in which we live in, where political movements that focus on one issue that has global consequences are more popular than the party political. However, many recent political movements that operate as political parties or in political parties are beginning to have more of a single issue focus. The rise of UKIP and the Green Party in the United Kingdom and the Tea Party in the United States have gained large and surprising support, as these movements operate in a political system that is dominated by two political parties. Thus we see that social movements focusing on a single issue has changed the face of political parties as they have become more of a protest movement that focuses on single issues. The popularity of these new parties also shows in an individualised world that political parties will most likely have to reform themselves and focus on particular issues that make a bastion of certain voters, rather staying as the broad churches they have always been.
The role of the political party and its assigned ideology has begun to become significantly diminished. With the advent of globalisation and thus either the internationalisation or localisation of many political issues, political parties operating at the national level do not have the relevance they did 20 or 30 years ago. Furthermore, the rise of modern globalisation has created a highly individualised society, where political party platforms lose out to single issues that have a global impact, such as global warming, immigration or free trade. This is of course an aspect of the ‘liquid modernity’ in which Bauman claims we currently live in. As Bauman notes, “much of the power to act effectively that was previously available to the modern state is now moving away to the politically uncontrolled global space”[1] demonstrating that the political has become an element of the global, thus removing from the power of national party politics and as previously mentioned this increasing globalisation of politics has led to an individualisation in how many people see political issues. This has been noted in the rise of social media, where individuals can simply sign onto a petition or cause with the click of a mouse, thus individualising politics and making it about single issues that one person may care about and another may not. It’s also those individuals that help create or even decide policy outside of any party machine, thus making the party obsolete. Further, particular social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook have allowed politicians to create a certain personal character and to remove themselves from overly attaching to a certain political party. As Adonis states in his article in the New Statesman, “For the politician, there no longer has to be an intermediary – whether that is a political party machine or a newspaper or a broadcaster – and the opportunities for stamping out diversity are reduced. Conversely, voters can and do connect with politicians and decision-makers, as well as with each other, as never before”[2] showing that social media has allowed politicians to actually engage directly with their citizenry thus further taking politics down to an individual level where single issues can be voiced to politicians outside any respective party political structure. Finally, the power of political parties continues to become more obsolete as a result of their failure to modernise in a way that still attracts voters. When we look at the mid-nineties, when many Western political parties were moving towards the so-called centre-ground, as with Tony Blair’s New Labour and Bill Clinton’s Third Way, we see the beginning of the end for ideological politics and instead a watering down of policies to favour the average voter (an arbitrary concept at best). These policies have seemingly furthered the voter apathy being seen in Western democracies. A report by the Smith Institute notes that “Labour lost nearly five million votes since 1997”[3] and Cakmak states in his article “The US, the world’s leading democracy ranks 140th in voter turnout among democratically elected governments”[4] both show this increasing voter apathy that is occurring. This seems to be attributed to the fact that many major political parties, particularly in the two party systems of the US and the UK, are continually chasing the centre-ground, thus losing their core voter base who are more focused on particular issues such as global warming and immigration. This then leaves a gap in party politics that is now being filled by social movements, who are able to co-opt political support away from parties as they focus on single issues at either the global or local level, where mainstream political parties are failing to focus, instead keeping their policies in the eye of supposed ‘centre-ground’. Overall, the political party as a construct of post-war politics is seemingly dead, and in its place, are social media-based social movements that focus on single issues, thus furthering this individualisation of politics and turning the apathetic voter into someone who cares not for party politics but more for global issues that have a genuine impact on the world.
The increasing political void that political parties are leaving as they fail to focus on local or global agendas and become increasingly centralised, losing their core voters, has begun to be filled with the rising, newer social movements. Unlike rigid party structures, social movements are fluid and are able to suit individuals particular beliefs and needs, thus suiting our individualised, ‘liquid modernity’. This point of individulisation is pointed out by Frank and Fuentes, stating “Social movements display much variety and changeability, but have in common individual mobilisation through a sense of morality and (in)justice and social power through social mobilisation against deprivation and for survival and identity”[5] showing that the movements can focus their selves at the global level while suiting individuals. It also makes a point on the fluidity of social movements, showing that they can display different ideas to different people. The fluidity of these movements can be further seen in historical contexts. When we look at American politics, seen traditionally as a two-party system, much of the major social reform of the last century, such as Civil Rights, Women’s Suffrage and the decriminalisation of homosexuality have come off the back of major social movements. As Ganz noted in his paper, “The work of successful social reform in the U.S. has been initiated by social movement organizations that make claims, mobilize participation, and develop leaders. They make claims in moral terms, often linking their claims to broader moral narratives”[6]. This demonstrates one type of fluidity that social movements use to gain support, this being moral fluidity. They were able to gain supporters by representing the morality of their group/cause in a different way to different groups of people. Then there is the recent rise for social movements as a major international political alternative to parties. This can be significantly attributed to the rise of social media, the same force that has made party politics more redundant and allowed for the independence of politicians from the party machine. The ability for social media to get around government control of other media outlets and connect people globally means that social movements are able to gain supporters all over the globe. The influence of social media in social movements has been noted in the Arab Spring where, as stated by Tusa, “computer-mediated communication creates a space between the public and private spheres that was clearly little understood by the authorities in these case studies. Technology allowed people to share not simply information about how and when to protest, but more importantly, to share images and videos that contributed to a different interpretation of events than that which the authorities themselves wished”[7]. This shows that social movements ability to use social media as a tool to gain support is successful in gaining social movements international political support. This is where, as noted before, political parties fail as social movements are able to modernise by using new technologies to gain support. Occupy Wall Street is another example of this ability, where protests and news of the movement were put on Twitter and Facebook. These movements were also able to gain support by simply having a presence on social media, as people could become involved by simply signing a petition online. Thus support comes at the click of a button, rather than a party membership. Overall, the ability for social movements to use new technologies and consistently make their message fluid allows to always gain some form of support. With the redundancy of the political party and the internationalisation of political issues, social movements are going to continue to evolve and maintain political support. However, as a result of the popularity of these new social movements and their ability to co-opt support away from traditional political parties, new political parties are becoming something of a hybrid between these parties and social movements, adopting aspects of a protest movement combined with traditional party structures. With this adaptation, it seems the future of party politics are these smaller, less traditional parties.
Now that the difference between social movements and political parties has been noted, it seems that political parties are dead in the water. However recent developments seem to have shown that political parties are transforming their selves into some form of hybrid between the social movement and the traditional political party. There has been a rise in protest movements becoming politically legitimate, such as UKIP or the Tea Party. These new political movements generally concentrate on one or two specific issues, such as the EU and constitutional government respectively, yet are intrinsically involved in party politics. UKIP itself are a good example of this phenomenon, where they seem to blur the line between protest movement and political party. Heath notes in his article that “Like other parties of its kind, it is patriotic and anti-immigration, but unlike them it doesn’t indulge in endless banker-bashing, big business bating or tirades against free trade”[8] showing that while it displays the characteristics of a protest movement it also has genuine policies that aren’t seen in social movements. This then gives it credibility, which is being seen in its larger uptake of votes, with some seeing it as the new third party of British politics. The Tea Party is a similar example, however instead of being a new party it has become a major force in the Republican Party and has challenged the party leadership by running their candidates against other Republicans. An article by Paul Kane states that “More than half of Senate Republicans facing re-election next year face potentially viable tea party challenges — a historically large threat to the GOP establishment that could, once again, kill the party’s chances of taking back control of the chamber”[9] showing the extent to which the Tea Party has taken control of the Republican Party, which shows political legitimacy while at the same time maintaining elements of a social movement with their particular focus on healthcare and the Constitution. It seems then that the future of party politics is going in this direction. Political parties will become smaller and more focused on particular issues, while at the same time representing a certain part of the voting public and keeping party structures in place. Tim Montgomerie has made this point in his idea that British politics should move away from broad church parties towards smaller, more representative parties. He states in his article that “At the heart of my design for a new political system for Britain is a recognition that the old division between Right and Left may no longer be the most important one”[10] showing that the current ideological constructs politics operates in may become redundant and traditional party politics with them. This new political construct would further go along with the liquid, individual world that exists as individuals gain a clearer choice of what policies they’re voting for, rather than voting for an outdated ideology. Thus the future of party politics seems to be a mishmash of the social movement with the political party.
The difference between the social movement and the political party is clear. While the party still confines itself to outdated ideologies and has a failure to modernise in an evolving political system, the social movement is fluid and attractive to individuals on a global scale. With a world that is becoming more globalised and policies taking an international character, people aren’t interested in party manifestoes that combine different ideas from a broad church, and are instead focused on particular issues that have a global impact, such as immigration or global warming. However, the future of party politics seems to be the hybridization of these two political constructs. Parties like UKIP or the Green Party have that focus on single issues like social movements while maintaining party structures and relying on a specific voting base. Thus it seems that politics will focus on smaller political parties (like mentioned by Montgomerie) that focus on a particular element of the electorate and bring forward issues relating to that electorate, combining the single issue focus of social movements with the party structures of political parties.
[1] Bauman, Z (2013). Liquid Times. Cambridge: Polity. p2-3.
[2] Adonis, A. (2012). A cautious welcome to the new iDemocracy . Available: http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/politics/2012/11/cautious-welcome-new-idemocracy. Last accessed 12th Apr 2014.
[3] Hunter, P (2011). Winning Back the 5 Million. London: Smith Institute. p7.
[4] Cakmak, C. (2014). The Role Of The Political Party In The United States: Is The Party Becoming Obsolete?. Available: http://www.turkishweekly.net/article/98/the-role-of-the-political-party-in-the-united-states-is-the-party-becoming-obsolete.html. Last accessed 12th Apr 2014.
[5] Frank, A. & Fuentes, M. (1987). Nine Theses on Social Movements. Economic & Political Weekly. 22 (35), p1503-1507.
[6] Ganz, M. (2006). “Left Behind” [Online]. The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations Working Paper No. 34 Cambridge. Available at: http://www.ksghauser.harvard.edu/PDF_XLS/workingpapers/workingpaper_34.pdf
[7] Tusa, F. (2013). How Social Media Can Shape a Protest Movement: The Cases of Egypt in 2011 and Iran in 2009 . Available: http://www.arabmediasociety.com/?article=816. Last accessed 13th Apr 2014.
[8] Heath, A. (2013). Nigel Farage’s biggest problem is Ukip doesn’t do details . Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/10071380/Nigel-Farages-biggest-problem-is-Ukip-doesnt-do-details.html. Last accessed 15th Apr 2014.
[9] Kane, P. (2011). Tea party threat again hangs over Republicans’ efforts to take Senate. Available: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/tea-party-threat-again-hangs-over-republicans-efforts-to-retake-senate/2013/12/10/8cdf470c-61d6-11e3-8beb-3f9a9942850f_story.html. Last accessed 15th Apr 2014.
[10] Montgomerie, T. (2013). Borgen Britain: let’s redraw the political map. Available: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/article3948772.ece. Last accessed 13th Apr 2014. | {
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About The Author His interest for web development started back when he opened a website for the first time as a child and asked himself why it was so slow. Through his career he … More about Jeremias Menichelli …
Writing Asynchronous Tasks In Modern JavaScript
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In this article, we are going to explore the evolution of JavaScript around asynchronous execution in the past era and how it changed the way we write and read code. We will start with the beginnings of web development, and go all the way to modern asynchronous pattern examples.
JavaScript has two main characteristics as a programming language, both important to understand how our code will work. First is its synchronous nature, which means the code will run line after line, almost as you read it, and secondly that it is single-threaded, only one command is being executed at any time.
As the language evolved, new artifacts appeared in the scene to allow asynchronous execution; developers tried different approaches while solving more complicated algorithms and data flows, which led to the emergence of new interfaces and patterns around them.
Synchronous Execution And The Observer Pattern
As mentioned in the introduction, JavaScript runs the code you write line by line, most of the time. Even in its first years, the language had exceptions to this rule, though they were a few and you might know them already: HTTP Requests, DOM events and time intervals.
const button = document.querySelector('button'); // observe for user interaction button.addEventListener('click', function(e) { console.log('user click just happened!'); })
If we add an event listener, for example the click of an element and the user triggers this interaction, the JavaScript engine will queue a task for the event listener callback but will continue executing what is present in its current stack. After it’s done with the calls present there, it will now run the listener’s callback.
This behavior is similar to what happens with network requests and timers, which were the first artifacts to access to asynchronous execution for web developers.
Though these were exceptions of common synchronous execution in JavaScript, it’s crucial to understand that the language is still single-threaded and though it can queue taks, run them asynchronously and then go back to the main thread, it can only execute one piece of code at a time.
For example, let’s check out a network request.
var request = new XMLHttpRequest(); request.open('GET', '//some.api.at/server', true); // observe for server response request.onreadystatechange = function() { if (request.readyState === 4 && request.status === 200) { console.log(request.responseText); } } request.send();
When the server comes back, a task for the method assigned to onreadystatechange is queued (code execution continues in the main thread).
Note: Explaining how JavaScript engines queue tasks and handle execution threads is a complex topic to cover and probably deserves an article of its own. Still, I recommend watching “What The Heck Is The Event Loop Anyway?” by Phillip Roberts to help you get a better understanding.
In each case mentioned, we are responding to an external event. A certain interval of time reached, a user action or a server response. We weren’t able to create an asynchronous task per se, we always observed occurrences happening outside of our reach.
This is why code shaped this way is called the Observer Pattern, which is better represented by the addEventListener interface in this case. Soon event emitters libraries or frameworks exposing this pattern flourished.
Node.js And Event Emitters
A good example is Node.js which page describes itself as “an asynchronous event-driven JavaScript runtime”, so event emitters and callback were first-class citizens. It even had an EventEmitter constructor already implemented.
const EventEmitter = require('events'); const emitter = new EventEmitter(); // respond to events emitter.on('greeting', (message) => console.log(message)); // send events emitter.emit('greeting', 'Hi there!');
This was not only the to-go approach for asynchronous execution but a core pattern and convention of its ecosystem. Node.js opened a new era of writing JavaScript in a different environment — even outside the web. As a consequence, other asynchronous situations were possible, like creating new directories or writing files.
const { mkdir, writeFile } = require('fs'); const styles = 'body { background: #ffdead; }'; mkdir('./assets/', (error) => { if (!error) { writeFile('assets/main.css', styles, 'utf-8', (error) => { if (!error) console.log('stylesheet created'); }) } })
You might notice that callbacks receive an error as a first argument, if a response data is expected, it goes as a second argument. This was called Error-first Callback Pattern, which became a convention that authors and contributors adopted for their own packages and libraries.
Promises And The Endless Callback Chain
As web development faced more complex problems to solve, the need for better asynchronous artifacts appeared. If we look at the last code snippet, we can see a repeated callback chaining which doesn’t scale well as the number tasks increase.
For example, let’s add only two more steps, file reading and styles preprocessing.
const { mkdir, writeFile, readFile } = require('fs'); const less = require('less') readFile('./main.less', 'utf-8', (error, data) => { if (error) throw error less.render(data, (lessError, output) => { if (lessError) throw lessError mkdir('./assets/', (dirError) => { if (dirError) throw dirError writeFile('assets/main.css', output.css, 'utf-8', (writeError) => { if (writeError) throw writeError console.log('stylesheet created'); }) }) }) })
We can see how as the program we are writing gets more complex the code becomes harder to follow for the human eye due to multiple callback chaining and repeated error handling.
Promises, Wrappers And Chain Patterns
Promises didn’t receive much attention when they were first announced as the new addition to the JavaScript language, they aren’t a new concept as other languages had similar implementations decades before. Truth is, they turned out to change a lot the semantics and structure of most of the projects I worked on since its appearance.
Promises not only introduced a built-in solution for developers to write asynchronous code but also opened a new stage in web development serving as the construction base of later new features of the web spec like fetch .
Migrating a method from a callback approach to a promise-based one became more and more usual in projects (such as libraries and browsers), and even Node.js started slowly migrating to them.
Let’s, for example, wrap Node’s readFile method:
const { readFile } = require('fs'); const asyncReadFile = (path, options) => { return new Promise((resolve, reject) => { readFile(path, options, (error, data) => { if (error) reject(error); else resolve(data); }) }); }
Here we obscure the callback by executing inside a Promise constructor, calling resolve when the method result is successful, and reject when the error object is defined.
When a method returns a Promise object we can follow its successful resolution by passing a function to then , its argument is the value which the promise was resolved, in this case, data .
If an error was thrown during the method the catch function will be called, if present.
Note: If you need to understand more in-depth how Promises work, I recommend Jake Archibald’s “JavaScript Promises: An Introduction” article which he wrote on Google’s web development blog.
Now we can use these new methods and avoid callback chains.
asyncRead('./main.less', 'utf-8') .then(data => console.log('file content', data)) .catch(error => console.error('something went wrong', error))
Having a native way to create asynchronous tasks and a clear interface to follow up its possible results enabled the industry to move out of the Observer Pattern. Promise-based ones seemed to solve the unreadable and prone-to-error code.
As a better syntax highlighting or clearer error messages help while coding, a code that is easier to reason becomes more predictable for the developer reading it, with a better picture of the execution path the easier to catch a possible pitfall.
Promises adoption was so global in the community that Node.js rapidly release built-in versions of its I/O methods to return Promise objects like importing them file operations from fs.promises .
It even provided a promisify util to wrap any function which followed the Error-first Callback Pattern and transform it into a Promise-based one.
But do Promises help in all cases?
Let’s re-imagine our style preprocessing task written with Promises.
const { mkdir, writeFile, readFile } = require('fs').promises; const less = require('less') readFile('./main.less', 'utf-8') .then(less.render) .then(result => mkdir('./assets') .then(() => writeFile('assets/main.css', result.css, 'utf-8')) ) .catch(error => console.error(error))
There is a clear reduction of redundancy in the code, especially around the error handling as we now rely on catch , but Promises somehow failed to deliver a clear code indentation that directly relates to the concatenation of actions.
This is actually achieved on the first then statement after readFile is called. What happens after these lines is the need to create a new scope where we can first make the directory, to later write the result in a file. This causes a break into the indentation rhythm, not making it easy to determinate the instructions sequence at first glance.
A way to solve this is to pre-baked a custom method that handles this and allows the correct concatenation of the method, but we would be introducing one more depth of complexity to a code that already seems to have what it needs to achieve the task we want.
Note: Take in count this is an example program, and we are in control around some of the methods and they all follow an industry convention, but that’s not always the case. With more complex concatenations or the introduction of a library with a different shape, our code style can easily break.
Gladly, the JavaScript community learned again from other language syntaxes and added a notation that helps a lot around these cases where asynchronous tasks concatenation is not as pleasant or straight-forward to read as synchronous code is.
Async And Await
A Promise is defined as an unresolved value at execution time, and creating an instance of a Promise is an explicit call of this artifact.
const { mkdir, writeFile, readFile } = require('fs').promises; const less = require('less') readFile('./main.less', 'utf-8') .then(less.render) .then(result => mkdir('./assets') .then(() => { writeFile('assets/main.css', result.css, 'utf-8') })) .catch(error => console.error(error))
Inside an async method, we can use the await reserved word to determinate the resolution of a Promise before continuing its execution.
Let’s revisit or code snippet using this syntax.
const { mkdir, writeFile, readFile } = require('fs').promises; const less = require('less') async function processLess() { const content = await readFile('./main.less', 'utf-8') const result = await less.render(content) await mkdir('./assets') await writeFile('assets/main.css', result.css, 'utf-8') } processLess()
Note: Notice that we needed to move all our code to a method because we can’t use await outside the scope of an async function today.
Every time an async method finds an await statement, it will stop executing until the proceeding value or promise gets resolved.
There’s a clear consequence of using async/await notation, despite its asynchronous execution, the code looks as if it was synchronous, which is something we developers are more used to see and reason around.
What about error handling? For it, we use statements that have been present for a long time in the language, try and catch .
const { mkdir, writeFile, readFile } = require('fs').promises; const less = require('less'); async function processLess() { try { const content = await readFile('./main.less', 'utf-8') const result = await less.render(content) await mkdir('./assets') await writeFile('assets/main.css', result.css, 'utf-8') } catch(e) { console.error(e) } } processLess()
We rest assured any error thrown in the process will be handled by the code inside the catch statement. We have a centric place that takes care of error handling, but now we have a code that is easier to read and follow.
Having consequent actions that returned value doesn’t need to be stored in variables like mkdir that don’t break the code rhythm; there’s also no need to create a new scope to access the value of result in a later step.
It’s safe to say Promises were a fundamental artifact introduced in the language, necessary to enable async/await notation in JavaScript, which you can use on both modern browsers and latest versions of Node.js.
Note: Recently in JSConf, Ryan Dahl, creator and first contributor of Node, regretted not sticking to Promises on its early development mostly because the goal of Node was to create event-driven servers and file management which the Observer pattern served better for.
Conclusion
The introduction of Promises into the web development world came to change the way we queue actions in our code and changed how we reason about our code execution and how we author libraries and packages.
But moving away from chains of callback is harder to solve, I think that having to pass a method to then didn’t help us to move away from the train of thought after years of being accustomed to the Observer Pattern and approaches adopted by major vendors in the community like Node.js.
As Nolan Lawson says in his excellent article about wrong uses in Promise concatenations, old callback habits die hard! He later explains how to escape some of these pitfalls.
I believe Promises were needed as a middle step to allow a natural way to generate asynchronous tasks but didn’t help us much to move forward on better code patterns, sometimes you actually need a more adaptable and improved language syntax.
We still don’t know how the ECMAScript spec will look in years as we are always extending the JavaScript governance outside the web and try to solve more complicated puzzles.
It’s hard to say now what exactly we will need from the language for some of these puzzles to turn into simpler programs, but I’m happy with how the web and JavaScript itself are moving things, trying to adapt to challenges and new environments. I feel right now JavaScript is a more asynchronous friendly place than when I started writing code in a browser over a decade ago.
Further Reading | {
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A South Korean soldier went on a deadly shooting rampage, as he felt humiliated and insulted by his comrade-in-arms who drew mock cartoons of him as SpongeBob SquarePants, military investigators have said.
In June, the 22-year-old sergeant identified only by his surname, Yim, shot dead five fellow soldiers at a guard-post near the North Korean border and wounded another seven before fleeing into a forest.
He was captured after a botched suicide attempt at the end of a two-day manhunt.
Announcing the results of a three-week investigation into the shooting, military authorities said that the sergeant was bullied at school and continued to be the target of mock and derision also after he joined the army.
The last straw that tipped him over the edge was seeing drawings fellow officers made of him on the back of his unit's border patrol log, where he was depicted as a series of goofy cartoon characters, including SpongeBob SquarePants from the famous US animated series.
"Our investigation found that he reminisced about the stress he suffered due to being ignored and mocked by senior officials and fellow soldiers after joining the Army," said the head of the Army's Military Police, Brig. Gen. Seon Jong-chul.
Seon said that soldiers saw the drawings "as a small joke" but triggered in Yim flashbacks of when he was taunted at school and caused him great distress.
"Yim thought he could not live well even after being discharged from the Army. He thus thought of killing all of his fellow soldiers and then killing himself," Seon explained.
Army officials also disclosed the content of the sergeant's suicide letter.
"In my situation, anybody might have felt that it was much more painful to live than to die. I am to blame for much, but they are also to blame for some," the note read, The Korea Herald reported.
"Children may harass dogs, may kill insects or worms without any guilty feelings. But they don't really understand how much pain their actions bring."
All able-bodied South Korean men are required to serve in the army as the country face constant threats from North Korea. Yim was enlisted in 2012 and was only three months away from being discharged.
Defence Ministry officials said military prosecutors were planning to indict Yim. Six members of his unit who allegedly bullied him are facing disciplinary punishment. | {
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With each passing year, the boundary between man and machine gets slimmer. Bionic ears have become commonplace, motorized prosthetics allow wounded soldiers to care for themselves, and electronic eyes are just over the horizon.
Neuroscientists have almost jacked rodents into the matrix: They have used electrodes to read signals from individual mouse brain cells as the critters wandered through a virtual maze. Monkeys can feed themselves with robot arms wired directly into their brains. Here are ten clips of inventions that unite nerves with electronic circuits.
10. Monkey Feeding Itself with a Robot Arm
9. Guys Playing Pong with Brain Waves
8. Cockroach Pilots a Robot
7. Blob of Goo by iRobot
6. Mouse Wanders through a Video Game Maze While Scientists Read its Nerve Signals
5. Brain Control of a Humanoid Robot
4. Berkeley Scientists fly a Wired-Up Beetle Like it's a Remote Control Airplane
3. Brainport Lets People See with Their Tongues
2. Roundup of Cyborg Insects
1. Dean Kamen's Luke Arm
Image: Flickr/Daquella manera
See Also: | {
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Municipal polls were delayed four times since 2011 uprising due to logistics, administrative and political hurdles.
Tunisia’s Ennahdha Movement has scooped the largest share of the vote in the country’s first free municipal elections since the removal of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his government in 2011, according to reports on state-run TV.
The Ennahdha party reportedly won an estimated 27.5 percent of votes in Sunday’s ballot, ahead of the Nidaa Tounes party, which came second with an estimated 22.5 percent.
In total, more than 57,000 candidates – half of them women and young people – ran for office in Tunisia’s 350 municipalities.
Official results are expected to be announced by May 9.
Analysts predict that the Ennahdha Movement and Nidaa Tounes, Tunisia’s two political heavyweights, will come out on top in nearly every district.
Low turnout
Overall turnout for the election is predicted to have been low, with Tunisia’s High Election Commission saying just 21 percent of registered participants had cast their vote by 3pm local time (14:00 GMT).
Polls closed at 6pm local time (17:00 GMT).
Prior to the vote, Tunisian President Caid Essebsi had called for a “massive turnout”.
“This Sunday will not be like other days. For the first time, the Tunisian people are called to participate in municipal elections, something that seems simple but it is very important,” Essebsi said on Saturday.
Local government law change
Tunisia’s parliament adopted a new law on local authorities on May 1, only a few days before the municipal elections.
“The local government code is a major law. This is perhaps the most important law passed after the constitution. This will completely change the development model in Tunisia. It’s the decentralisation process,” Minister of Local Communities and Environment Riadh Mouakher said earlier this month.
The former law – which dates back to 1973 – recognised neither their administrative nor financial independence.
While Tunisia has voted in parliamentary and presidential elections since 2011, municipal polls have been delayed four times due to logistic, administrative and political hurdles.
The municipal elections, enshrined in the new constitution and one of the demands of the 2011 revolution, mark the first tangible step of decentralisation since the end of Ben Ali’s rule.
Further elections ahead
But interest in the poll among Tunisians appears to have remained muted as struggles with corruption and poverty continue.
The country was hit by a wave of protests at the start of the year over a new austerity budget introduced by the government.
Some 60,000 police and military personnel were mobilised for the polls in a country still under a state of emergency after a string of deadly attacks three years ago.
Sunday’s vote will be followed by legislative and presidential elections in 2019. | {
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Housing affordability in Canada's most expensive market — Vancouver — is at "crisis levels," according to a new study, which says the re-acceleration of home prices, along with higher interest rates, are "slamming" ownership costs again.
The cost of buying a home in Vancouver reached its highest levels on record in the first quarter of this year, according to the RBC Housing Affordability Measures study released on Tuesday.
Vancouver residents would need nearly 88 per cent of their household income to buy a home, while Toronto residents would need more than 74 per cent of their income to cover the cost, the study said.
That compares with the Canadian average of about 48 per cent of household income and less than 44 per cent in other major cities like Montreal and Calgary.
"Affordability is a major issue in two of Canada's largest markets. It's at crisis levels in Vancouver and poses a tremendous challenge for many Toronto-area buyers despite improving in the past two quarters," said Robert Hogue, senior economist at RBC Economic Research, in the report.
The No. 1 issue is really supply, and nobody is dealing with it. In fact, it's getting worse. - Benjamin Tal
"Because they apply from coast to coast, higher interest rates pressured affordability in all markets across Canada. In Vancouver, though, a re-acceleration of home prices in the past three quarters amplified the effect," he added.
"These factors returned affordability to a sharply deteriorating track after a short period of reprieve in late-2016 and early-2017."
Despite a series of measures introduced by regulators and the government over the past two years in an attempt to rein in property prices in Vancouver, the benchmark price for a home in Greater Vancouver rose to a record $1,094,000 in May, even as sales fell 35 per cent from a year ago, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada has raised interest rates three times since July last year and is widely expected to raise rates again at its policy meeting next week Wednesday.
'Not enough supply'
Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist at CIBC Capital Markets said that while measures from regulators and the government such as higher interest rates will slow down the economy in the short term and stabilize prices, it will not fix the long term problem.
"The main issue facing Vancouver and Toronto is supply. There is simply not enough supply, while demand is rising due to demographics," Tal said.
"The issue is that, yes, it is a crisis now, [but] it will be even more significant, and a more severe crisis in the future."
Tal describes unaffordable markets in Toronto and Vancouver as "just the beginning" unless the government change policies to allow more supply in the market.
"The focus on all kinds of things like foreign investment and stuff. All those things are good, but they impact things only at the margin," Tal said. "The No. 1 issue is really supply, and nobody is dealing with it. In fact, it's getting worse."
He said even in a recession, which will slow home price appreciation, is more a buying opportunity, rather than an event that could change the track of these markets.
"The long term issue is supply. We have to release land much more quickly. We have to make it much easier for builders to build in terms of red tape. We have to release more land in the green field," Tal said.
He added that there are many other things that can be done, such as creating a rental solution for the housing market in order to relieve some of the pressure on prices.
"We have to allow for a rental market," he said. "At this point, in terms of rental control, we don't have much of a supply, because there is no purpose-built. Not just condos, but purpose-built apartments — so we need to change the way that we think about the rental solution."
Purpose-built apartments are buildings solely designed for renters as opposed to condominiums, which could be owned or rented out.
Average monthly rents in Toronto grew almost 11 per cent in the first quarter from a year ago to $2,206, according to real estate consulting firm Urbanation. | {
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A little project I've ben working on for the past couple of weeks.Each states score is the sum of the highest ranks anyone in the state finished with in each event,Results ( D=Diversity=Number of different people who got the highest rank in any event)1: California- 81 (D=7)2: Ohio - 158 (D=4)3: Massachusetts - 169 (D=5)4: Maryland - 174 (D=7)5: Michigan - 237 (D=5)6: Virginia - 266 (D=3)7: Minnesota - 288 (D=4)8: South Carolina - 348 (D=3)9: Indiana - 399 (D=1)10: Texas - 423 (D=4)11: New York - 474 (D=5)12: Pennsylvania - 522 (D=5)13: New Jersey - 532 (8=D)14: Kentucky - 533 (D=1)15: Colorado - 545 (D=2)16: Washington - 633 (D=2)17: Connecticut - 655 (D=5)18: Arizona - 714 (D=1)19: Florida - 757 (D=6)20: North Carolina - 837 (D=6)21: Idaho - 886 (D=3)22 Georgia - 942 (D=7)23: Iowa - 1002 (D=3)24: Tennessee - 1153 (D=2)25: Illinois - 1157 (D=4)26: Wisconsin - 1201 (D=2)27: New Hampshire - 1448 (D=1)28: Arkansas - 1697 (D=1)29: New Mexico - 1743 (D=1)30: Kansas - 1767 (D=1)31: Rhode Island - 1855 (D=2)32: Maine - 2028 (D=1)33: West Virginia - 2063 (D=1)34: Wyoming - 2113 (D=1)35: Vermont -2274 (D=1)36: Nebraska - 2300 (D=1)37: Mississippi - 2407 (D=1)The following states are tied for 37th and had no competitors at Nationals36: Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana,Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, OklahomaOregon, South Dakota, UtahAnd the spreadsheet I made: | {
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I don't always eat cheeseburgers but when I do, I will puke it up on the carpett
1,415 shares | {
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Armed police officers enter the Houses of Parliament in London after gunfire was reported nearby.
Injured people are assisted after an incident on Westminster Bridge in London.
A “marauding” terrorist struck the heart of London on Wednesday, killing three people — including a cop — in a rampage outside Parliament that ended when he was gunned down by police.
Prime Minister Theresa May called the attack, which injured at least 40 more people on the one-year anniversary of the Brussels suicide bombings, “sick and depraved.”
“The location of this attack was no accident,” she said outside her 10 Downing St. office Wednesday evening.
“The terrorist chose to strike at the heart of our capital city, where people of all nationalities, religions and cultures come together to celebrate the values of liberty, democracy and freedom of speech.”
Authorities believe the unidentified attacker was operating alone and was inspired by “Islamist-related terrorism,” said Mark Rowley, the head of counter-terrorism at the Metropolitan Police.
The slaughter in the shadow of Big Ben, which police called a “marauding terrorist attack,” began around 2:40 p.m. local time, when the killer used a gray Hyundai i40 to plow into more than a dozen pedestrians on the Westminster Bridge.
“I heard a wheel definitely hit a curb, quite a loud crunch noise. I looked up and saw a car clearly hitting people as it came towards me,” pedestrian Rob Lyon, 34, told the Guardian.
“I instinctively jumped off the pavement. I could see people being hit. And then the car just carried on up the bridge and I just looked around and was really in shock.”
Officials said three people were killed on the bridge, including a woman who was found under the wheel of a double-decker bus.
As pedestrians fled for their lives, the attacker continued driving, crashing his car into a railing outside the Palace of Westminster, where the House of Commons was in session.
The black-clad killer, who was armed with two knives, then got out and ran through gates leading to the Parliament complex.
He fatally stabbed unarmed officer Keith Palmer, 48 — and was gunned down by police as he targeted another cop.
“The policeman fell over on the ground and it was quite horrible to watch and then having done that, he disengaged and ran toward the House of Commons entrance used by MPs [members of Parliament] and got about 20 meters or so when two plain-clothed guys with guns shot him,” described Daily Mail reporter Quentin Letts, who watched the carnage from his office in the Parliament building.
Foreign Minister Tobias Ellwood sprang into action and gave Palmer CPR, but ultimately couldn’t save him.
“He was someone who left for work today expecting to return home at the end of his shift and he had every right to expect that would happen,” police boss Rowley said.
The House of Commons session was immediately suspended, and the complex was put on lockdown as May was whisked away in a car to her office, where she was briefed on the attack throughout the afternoon, according to the Guardian.
Police and ambulances descended on the busy area of central London, and by the end of the day, authorities said at least 40 people had been injured, including two who were standing by the railing outside Parliament.
The bridge was a scene of carnage and chaos, with photos showing shocked and bloodied survivors lying on the ground as bystanders jumped in to help.
“I thought it was a road accident,” witness Steve Voake, 55, told NBC News. “There was lots of panic and confusion. Then I saw a shoe on the ground. I saw one body on one side of the road and one body face down in the water with blood all around it.”
Among the injured were three teenage schoolchildren visiting from France and three cops who had just attended a commendation ceremony, officials said.
One woman believed to have fallen from the bridge was pulled out of the River Thames with serious injuries, while another man was found on a lower platform surrounded by blood.
“A female member of the public was recovered from the water near Westminster Bridge,” a spokesman for the Port of London Authority said. “She is alive but undergoing urgent medical treatment on a nearby pier.”
Colleen Anderson, a junior doctor at St. Thomas Hospital, said the injuries she saw ranged from “minor” to “catastrophic.” One man, a police officer in his 30s, suffered a head wound, she said.
Two Romanians and a couple of South Korean tourists also were among the injured, according to reports.
Rowley called it “a day we’ve planned for but hoped would never happen.”
“Sadly it’s now a reality,” he said.
The White House said President Trump called May to show his support and “offer his condolences” for the terror attack.
“[Trump] pledged the full cooperation and support of the United States Government in responding to the attack and bringing those responsible to justice,” a White House statement said.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said, “We stand together in the face of those who seek to harm us and destroy our way of life. We always have, and we always will. Londoners will never be cowed by terrorism.”
May said Parliament would “meet as normal” on Thursday morning.
“We will come together as normal,” she said. “And Londoners — and others from around the world who have come here to visit this great city — will get up and go about their day as normal.”
“Never giving in to terror,” she added. “And never allowing the voices of hate and evil to drive us apart.”
The terror attack is the deadliest in London since 2005, when four suicide bombers detonated explosives on subway trains and a double-decker bus, killing 52 people and injuring 700.
Exactly one year ago Wednesday, suicide bombers in Brussels staged coordinated attacks that left 32 people dead, including the three attackers.
With Post wires | {
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A report published by the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA), the number migrant-perpetrated sexual offences – defined as sexual assaults, rapes and the sexual abuse of children – had increased by 500% between 2013 and 2016.
The report is one which is published annually under the heading of Criminality in the Context of Migration (Kriminalität im Kontext von Zuwanderung), records crimes committed by asylum seekers, refugees and illegal immigrants. This definition covers the vast majority of the nearly 2 million migrants that the Merkel regime has imported over the last few years.
The latest edition of this report, published at the end of April, shows that migrants committed an average of 9 sexual offences every single day in Germany last year. That is a 102% increase on the previous year’s figures.
The largest increase from 2015 to 2016 came from an influx of Iranian Zuwanderung (asylum seekers, refugees and illegal immigrants), who committed 329.7% more sexual crimes. This group was followed closely by Syrians who committed 318.7% more sex crimes than the previous year.
Afghanistan (up 259.3%); Iraq (up 222.7%); Pakistan (up 70.3%); Algeria (up 100%); and Morocco (up 115.7%) were the other primary countries of origins of the biggest culprits in sexual crime cases.
To put these figures in context, that means that migrants committed 3,404 sexual crimes in 2016. Considering Germany has a rape rate of 9 per 100,000 inhabitants, this means that – with the figures loosely extrapolated – migrants are committing just under 50% of all rapes in the country, despite being less than 5% of the overall population.
Figures such as these are a damning indictment of the Merkel regime’s open-door policy. It demonstrates that far from enriching German society with their so-called vibrant cultures, these migrants have made Germany less safe and less prosperous. | {
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Posted by Admin | March 21, 2017 | RPG, Strategy.
TORRENT – FREE DOWNLOAD – CRACKED
Game Overview
A miniature Universe coming to life Experience a living, breathing tabletop video game that invites the player into a miniature universe full of small adventures, Norse mythology and challenges that require real time strategical decisions Fresh and innovative combat system Wartile is not a…
WARTILE
RPG ,Strategy ,Early Access.
Playwood Project
Playwood Project
17 Mar, 2017
DOWNLOAD LINKS
WARTILEbr
P2P
3.82 GB
TORRENT LINK
WARTILE.Torrent
System Requirement
Minimum:
OS: Windows 7 or newer
Processor: Intel dual Core i5 or better
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GTX 560 or Radeon HD 6870
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 6 GB available space
Recommended:
OS: Windows 7 or newer
Processor: Quad Core Processor
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GTX 1050 or RX 460
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 10 MB available space
Screenshots | {
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We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you continue to use this site you are happy with it. | {
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Thomas C. Zambito
[email protected]
The state Public Service Commission is holding hearings this month that will likely decide the future of nuclear power in New York
Workers from two struggling upstate nuclear power plants packed a state hearing on the future of nuclear power in New York Tuesday, sporting t-shirts urging state officials to save their jobs.
“When Upstate Nuclear Runs, NY Wins,” the shirts read.
They were countered by anti-nuclear activists who pushed for the shutdown of Indian Point and upstate power plants so the state can begin its transition to renewable energy source like wind and solar power.
“Work with us to plan this just transition,” anti-nuclear activist Manna Jo Greene, the environmental director for the Beacon-based Clearwater, urged workers who crowded an Albany-area hearing held by the state Public Service Commission. “The handwriting is on the wall.”
The hearing was one of 22 being held across the state this month as the Public Service Commission weighs Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to establish clean energy standards so the state can continue reducing its carbon emissions.
Cuomo wants the state to rely on renewable energy sources for 50 percent of its electricity by 2030. While he’s advocated Indian Point’s shutdown, he’s pushing for the commission to offer financial incentives that would aid three upstate nuclear power plants – two in Oswego and a third near Rochester.
The owners of the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant in Scriba say they will shut the plant’s doors in January 2017 and lay off half of the plant’s 600 workers.
Cuomo’s proposal envisions keeping the upstate nuclear plants open to act as a “bridge” until the state is able to rely on renewable energy sources for its electricity.
Several anti-nuclear speakers cast Cuomo’s effort to save the upstate plants as a “bailout” that shouldn’t be borne by ratepayers.
“Right now the nuclear industry, even though it’s over 50 years old still is unable to support itself,” said Susan Shapiro, a Rockland County attorney who works with the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition. “It’s received more bailouts from the federal government than any other industry and it continues to receive bailouts from taxpayers.”
The Cuomo Administration says the financial incentives for the upstate plants as well as new renewable energy sources would have a less-than-one percent impact on electricity bills – about $1 per month for a residential customer – in the coming years. Among the incentives would be zero carbon emission credits for the nuclear power plants.
Among those testifying at Tuesday hearing at Colonie Town Hall was Gary Toth, a member of a central New York coalition called “Upstate Energy Jobs,” which is working to keep the upstate nuclear plants open. Toth said the upstate nuclear power plants provide some 24,000 jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in payroll.
“Nuclear generation is essential to New York as our only answer to a low cost, reliable, carbon free electrical production that would reduce carbon pollution in our atmosphere by 50 percent in the year 2030,” Toth said.
The Public Service Commission is scheduled to hold a vote on Cuomo’s proposals next month. | {
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Designer Dustin Curtis was so disgusted with the American Airlines Web site that he redesigned it, and posted the results as an open letter to the company . Guess what? One of AA’s designers responded with a long defense about why better design dies a slow death at places like AA.
As Curtis wrote: “If I was running a company with the distinction and history of American Airlines, I would be embarrassed–no ashamed–to have a Web site with a customer experience as terrible as the one you have now…Your Web site is abusive to your customers, it is limiting your revenue possibilities, and it is permanently destroying the brand and image of your company in the mind of every visitor.” But it just took him a couple hours, starting with the original design, to produce a cleaner concept. Here, a before and after (check out the links for the full design):
Why doesn’t such an obviously better design win out, at a place like AA? Here’s what a one Mr. X, an experienced and, according to Curtis, quite competent UX designer, had to say for the company’s feeble effort:
I saw your blog post titled “Dear AmericanAirlines,” and I thought I’d
drop a line. Sorry for the length of this email, but let me sum up the
gist of what I’ve written below: You’re right. You’re so very right.
And yet…
The problem with the design of AA.com, however, lies less in our
competency (or lack thereof, as you pointed out in your post) and more
with the culture and processes employed here at American Airlines | {
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Pro-Palestinian rally organizers are apologizing for the violence seen last Friday at Calgary's City Hall.
Hundreds attended the protest to call for a ceasefire and condemn the current attacks in Gaza but it turned ugly when Israel supporters came to stage a protest of their own.
"We completely denounce that and want to make sure our message goes out to the people who were hurt in that that we apologize," said Saima Jamal with Justice for Palestinians.
Organizers of a pro-Palestinian rally at Calgary's City Hall are denouncing the violence seen last week. (CBC)
The Calgary Jewish Federation (CJF) say the violent outbursts were assaults, and today condemned the violence.
"It was a very scary and disgusting scene," said CJF member Judy Shapiro, who was at the rally as an observer. "Nobody on the streets of Calgary should be beat up for their opinions."
While she was not involved in the altercation, she says one young man has a concussion, a young woman was punched in the face and another young man has a broken nose.
She said they were there because they feel strongly about supporting Israel — even though emotions are running high from the latest conflict in Gaza.
Shapiro says it is also about freedom of speech.
"It goes two ways. Everybody has that right," she said.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi said in a statement that "what makes this country work is the fact we can live together and disagree on things respectfully."
While Calgary police have not laid any charges, Nenshi says they will investigate any allegation of physical violence and press appropriate charges if supported by evidence.
'Communication drop' around policing rally
Rally organizers say it was only a very small handful of protesters who let their anger get the best of them after days of seeing horrible images come out of Gaza, such as four young boys killed on a beach.
Jamal hopes the clash with Israeli protesters won't take away from the rally's message. She would like to see the Canadian government do more to stop the deaths of Palestinian people.
"I want to focus on the thousands of Calgarians that we have mobilized to come from every background possible that are coming together to call in one voice to stop the bombing of Gaza and Israel," she said.
Jamal says they did contact Calgary police before the rally. Police eventually showed up, but only after the fights.
Police spokeperson Kevin Brookwell says they should have been there.
"We were in communication with both groups," he said. "We anticipated we were going to have police presence there right at the start.... There was a communication drop and we didn't have anybody at the site, but officers close by."
Both Palestinian and Israeli supporters have already contacted police ahead of another rally planned this Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. MT.
Police say this time they will be there in full force from the beginning. There will also be 50 volunteer marshals on hand to keep the peace.
Organizers hope that presence won't be needed and they encourage Israel supporters to attend.
"We want you to come again and hold hands with us," she said.
"If we cannot as Calgarians come together peacefully, how are we going to bring peace over there?" | {
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Net neutrality: 'Dead people' signing FCC consultation Published duration 26 May 2017
image copyright Getty Images
A campaign group has complained to the US Federal Communications Commission over its refusal to erase fake comments from a consultation on net neutrality.
Fight for the Future's complaint is signed by 14 people who say their details were used without permission to file anti-net neutrality views.
The campaign group says that some of the comments were posted using the names and details of dead people.
The FCC has voted two-to-one to reverse net neutrality laws enacted in 2015.
The vote was the first stage in the process of repealing the legislation designed to force internet service providers to treat all data traffic as equal.
Americans now have until the middle of August to comment on the proposals.
'Questionable comments'
Almost 2.8 million comments have been filed on the FCC's plans since the consultation opened at the end of April.
Last week it was reported that hundreds of thousands of comments supporting the proposals had been posted by bots.
After the FCC vote on 18 May, chairman Ajit Pai told reporters there was "a tension between having an open process where it's easy to comment and preventing questionable comments from being filed", but that the regulator "erred on the side of openness".
But Fight for the Future claims that many of the suspected spam comments have been posted using genuine details that have been stolen.
media caption Net neutrality: What does it mean?
In their letter to the FCC, the group has called for an investigation into the fake comments, and for the regulator to notify all those whose details have been used to post them.
"Whoever is behind this stole our names and addresses, publicly exposed our private information without our permission, and used our identities to file a political statement we did not sign on to," the letter reads.
"It cannot be the case that the FCC moves forward on such a major public debate without properly investigating this known attack."
'More names'
Fight for the Future says it has heard from "hundreds" of people who have found comments posted in their names, in favour of revoking net neutrality.
The group's campaign director, Evan Greer, told Motherboard it would add more names to the letter as it verified their claims.
"This letter was something we put together quickly with people who were furious that their personal information had been used and wanted to do something immediately."
The FCC has not yet responded to a BBC request for comment.
Earlier this month, the FCC said it had been targeted by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that led to downtime for the comments system.
This followed a television appearance by comedian John Oliver in which he urged people to post comments against the proposals on the FCC's website. | {
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Join us on Sunday, July 19th to learn more about and enter the citywide #NotSoSmallChange Instagram Contest running through Aug 19. We’ll have maps, food/drinks, door prizes, special guests, etc. www.ChangePgh.com #NotSoSmallChange Contest Prizes:
$300 – Top vision/photo prize
$200 – Best Idea Captured
$100 – Most Liked/Discussed Photo
$$ – More Prizes tba
Details:
Take your best Instagram pictures that capture buildings, lots and other spaces that you think could be turned into something better for the neighborhood or city. Tell us how those hidden treasures might shine best. Your entries must include:
1. The location of the photo
2. #NotSoSmallChange hashtag
3. A description/vision of what you think the building, lot or space could be transformed into. Be creative! How do I enter?
Come to the Kickoff event! You’ll learn more, have your questions answered, and sign a photo release.
Here is a sample photo:
Entries are due by August 19th at 11:59PM EDT | {
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Von Philipp Selldorf, Köln
Der Moment, als das Telefon klingelte, war "ein cooler Moment", sagt Simon Terodde, 30. Auf dieses Telefonat hatte er gewartet, seine Frau übrigens auch, und so gab Terodde dem Anrufer bald die Antwort, die er einst in einem anderen coolen Moment seiner Frau gegeben hatte: "Ja, ich will", lautete die Antwort, die Armin Veh sehr zufriedenstellte. Kaum acht Tage war Veh Sportdirektor des 1. FC Köln - und schon hatte er einen diplomgeprüften Torjäger an Land gezogen.
13 Monate später hat keiner der Beteiligten das Ja-Wort bereut, weder der Sportchef noch der Torjäger und schon gar nicht Laura Terodde, die froh ist, nach anderthalb Jahren im schwäbischen Ausland wieder in der rheinischen Heimat zu sein.
Als Terodde vor 13 Monaten aus Stuttgart nach Köln wechselte, schien das eine clevere Idee zu sein. Es sah aus, als hätte der Verein sechs Monate vor dem Abstieg aus der Bundesliga bereits den Aufstieg organisiert. Nun nähert sich die Theorie auf geradem Weg der Verwirklichung. Während der FC mit dem Spiel bei Union Berlin auf dem Aufstiegsplatz zwei in die Restsaison einsteigt, hat Terodde dank phänomenaler 22 Treffer seinen Ruf als erstklassiger Zweitliga-Torjäger, erworben auf den Zwischenstationen Union Berlin, Bochum und VfB Stuttgart, mit zig Ausrufezeichen bestätigt. Sein persönliches Saisonziel hat er bereits übertroffen.
Im Sommer hatte er sich vorgenommen, die Wegmarke 100 zu vollenden, Ende September schon feierte er auf der Bielefelder Alm mit seinen Zweitligatoren Nummer 100 & 101 das Jubiläum. Inzwischen hat er fast alle hinter sich gelassen: Bruno Labbadia, Marius Ebbers, Daniel Jurgeleit, Theo Gries - lediglich Sven Demandt liegt in der ewigen Schützenliste der zweite Liga noch vor ihm, elf Tore fehlen Terodde zum finalen Überholvorgang.
Für die FC-Fans steht außer Frage, dass ihr Top-Stürmer das spätestens bis Aschermittwoch schaffen wird: "Ich habe die Messlatte sicherlich sehr hoch gelegt", sagt Terodde mit einem Lächeln.
Dass er mal ein potentieller Rekordhalter werden könnte, hat er damals natürlich nicht ahnen können, als er in seinem Heimatort Rhede im westlichen Münsterland vierjährig dem SV Krechting beitrat. Bald durfte er zwar unter der Aufsicht des Trainers Terodde Senior eine Meisterschaft feiern, aber da gehörte er noch der zweiten F-Jugend-Mannschaft an.
Der Vater hat ihn nicht nur vorübergehend trainiert und ständig unterstützt, sondern Jahre später nach dem Wechsel in der U 15 des MSV Duisburg oft auch hin und her chauffiert. "Ein enormer Schritt", sei das damals gewesen, erzählt Terodde: Dreimal die Woche Training, in der B- und A-Jugend viermal, parallel die Schule, am Wochenende die Spiele. Realschule, Fachoberschulreife, drei Jahre Ausbildung als Industriemechaniker, "das war eine anstrengende Zeit. Um fünf Uhr aus dem Haus, Frühschicht von sechs bis zwei, dann stand der Fahrdienst vor der Tür. Wir sind nach Essen gefahren, um ein paar andere aufzugabeln, von Essen nach Duisburg und abends die gleiche Tour zurück. Ich war der Erste, der abgeholt und der Letzte, der wieder zurückgebracht wurde. Abends kam ich oft erst um zehn nach Hause", sagt er.
Vor Messi und Salah Mit seinen 22 Saisontreffern in der zweiten Bundesliga ist der Kölner Simon Terodde derzeit erfolgreicher als alle aktuell führenden Torjäger aus den fünf Spitzenligen in Europa: Bundesliga 1 Luka Jovic (Eintracht Frankfurt) 13 2 Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern) 12 Paco Alcácer (Borussia Dortmund) 12 Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund) 12 Premier League England 1 Mohamed Salah (FC Liverpool) 16 2 Pierre-E. Aubameyang (FC Arsenal) 15 3 Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) 14 Primera Division Spanien 1 Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) 19 2 Luis Suárez (FC Barcelona) 15 3 Cristhian Stuani (FC Girona) 12 Serie A Italien 1 Fabio Quagliarella (Sampd. Genua) 16 2 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus Turin) 15 Duván Zapata (Atalanta Bergamo) 15 Ligue 1 Frankreich 1 Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain) 18 2 Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain) 16 3 Nicolas Pepé (OSC Lille) 15
Sein Pech: Der Fahrdienstleiter stammte aus seiner Heimatgegend. Bis er den erhofften Profivertrag bekam, hat er lernen müssen zu verzichten: "Wenn bei uns auf dem Dorf die Partys stattfanden, konnte ich nicht einsteigen. Und in meiner Clique, in unserem Kegelklub, da finden schon gute Feten statt." Seufzt da jemand der entgangenen Jugend hinterher? "Es hat sich ja gelohnt im Nachhinein", sagt Terodde.
Seit der D-Jugend widmet sich Terodde dem Toreschießen, bis heute ist es für ihn eine erfüllende Aufgabe: "Die Freude, ein Tor zu schießen, wird nie zur Gewohnheit", findet er. Als Teenager war er kein Anhänger von Dortmund oder Schalke, sondern Fan von Giovane Elber und, ganz besonders, von Roy Makaay. Dessen Spiel glänzte nicht durch grandiose Dribblings, sondern durch Momente erhabener Schlichtheit, und das sind auch die Momente, die Terodde besonders genießt: Für ihn seien die schönsten Tore jene, "wo man nur aus einem Meter den Ball über die Linie schieben und nichts machen muss". Darin zeigt sich für ihn die Kunst des Spezialisten, zugleich erfüllt er so seine Verpflichtung als wandelnde Tormaschine: "Wenn du davon lebst, Tore zu machen, ist es wichtig zuzuschlagen, dann muss man im richtigen Moment da sein. Den Bewegungsvorsprung hat man irgendwann im Blut."
Ein Merkmal seiner ertragreichen Mittelstürmer-Karriere besteht darin, dass sie sich bisher vorwiegend auf der Nebenbühne abspielte. 111 Toren in der zweiten Liga stehen lediglich sieben in der ersten gegenüber. Er weiß, dass mancher Experte meint, sein Jagdrevier sei auf die zweite Liga beschränkt. Und er weiß vermutlich auch, dass die komplexen Bemühungen des FC um die Reaktivierung des bundesligaerprobten Kollegen Anthony Modeste die Debatte um seine Erstligatauglichkeit vorantreibt. Aber erstens weist er höflich darauf hin, dass der FC erst mal den Aufstieg schaffen muss. Zweitens ist er überzeugt, dass sein jahrelang trainierter Instinkt auch in der ersten Liga funktioniert, nachdem er jahrelang in verschiedenen Vereinen und unter verschiedenen Trainern als Torjäger funktioniert hat: "Es ist nicht mein Ziel, irgendjemandem irgendetwas zu beweisen oder den großen Angriff zu starten", sagt Simon Terodde. Er wird das wohl noch öfter versichern müssen. | {
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