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United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Iran on Monday led calls by non-aligned nations for Israel to give up its nuclear weapons as a major conference got underway on advancing prospects for a nuclear-free world. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif addressed the conference on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ahead of a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry on the landmark nuclear deal reached this month. Zarif insisted that the 120-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is demanding that "Israel, the only one in the region that has neither joined the NPT nor declared its intention to do so, (...) renounce possession of nuclear weapons." Israel is considered a nuclear-armed state although it has never acknowledged its status and has refused to join the NPT, a treaty that imposes obligations on signatories. Israel is sending an observer to the month-long NPT conference for the first time in 20 years. Zarif said non-aligned nations are also seeking "as a matter of high priority" to set up a nuclear-free-weapons zone in the Middle East. The planned zone was agreed at the previous conference in 2010, but there was no action on the proposal. - Back to the Cold War - The 190 signatories of the NPT opened a month-long conference to review progress over the past five years in reducing the nuclear threat with much of the focus centered on the fate of US and Russian stockpiles. UN chief Ban Ki-moon implicitly criticized the United States and Russia for failing to advance nuclear disarmament, a setback he said marked a return to a Cold War mindset. In a speech delivered by his deputy Jan Eliasson, Ban said a nuclear-free world was the "historic imperative of our time." "I am deeply concerned that over the last five years this process seems to have stalled," the UN leader said. The secretary-general complained that instead of stepping up nuclear disarmament "there has been a dangerous return to Cold War mentalities." Since it entered into force in 1970, the world has seen a drastic cut in warheads, but UN officials have raised alarm over the failure to move toward deeper cuts. Story continues The United States and Russia have made little headway in reducing stockpiles since 2011, and the crisis over Ukraine is stoking distrust, dimming prospects for future cooperation. The NPT is seen as a grand bargain between five nuclear powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- and non-nuclear states which agreed to give up atomic weapon ambitions in exchange for disarmament pledges. Ban said the action plans agreed at the last conference must be implemented, or the NPT "could risk fading in relevance."	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Coming out! It is a scary time for every person of the LGBTQIA+ community and every one of us has to go through it, and we usually don’t come out once but multiple times. We come out to our friends, parents, family, peers and colleagues. As we get older it becomes easier, and generally not even needed. Now I feel that I don’t have to come out to people and that if they have a problem, it’s theirs and not mine. But it wasn’t always like that. And I, just like everyone had a tough time coming to terms with my sexuality. It was when I was about 14 when I started to notice guys. I was in denial for so long. I was okay with gay people. I always knew that my uncles were gay and I was completely fine. It was just something I wasn’t. Or so I thought at the time. When I was 15 and in year 10, there was a boy in the year above me. A senior who I would always stare at and admire how beautiful he was. But no! I wasn’t gay! That just wasn’t me. I remember thinking how being gay was for other people, but not me. But after months of being in denial, one day I completed my usually routine and finished art class, I walked from H block and stared at the guy, but I finally admitted to myself. “Brett! Admit it! You’re gay! You’re a big fat flamer and you like penis!” I felt as though a massive weight had been lifted! How I Came Out Of The Closet Now that I had admitted it to myself, I needed to talk about it. Back when I was in high school, there weren’t a whole lot of options as to where you could meet other gay teenagers. But one place that was popular to chat was on the website of a local radio station, so I hopped on there and started chatting. It was an open chat so I was anonymous. “Any gay guys?” I typed and waited. Someone responded and we went to a private chat. He seemed nice and we had things that we had in common, so we decided to exchange numbers. He said he would call me, so I disconnected from the computer and ran to my room to await his call. I was so scared, nervous and excited. I had butterflies and it felt like it had been hours, but in fact it was only a few moments. He rang and we talked into the early hours of the morning. We talked over the phone for about 2 weeks until he suggested we meet. I agreed but was so scared. We arranged to meet in a public space. (I wasn’t stupid. This was the early days of the internet, but I still knew not to meet a total stranger somewhere private) We met and wow! I had never done anything like that before. It was one of the most exciting but scary things I had ever done. I was so nervous that I took a backpack with every CD I owned. It weighed a tonne! But, after that initial meet, we had gotten to know each other more and we became good friends. The next person I came out to was an actual family member. I went to lunch with her and I said I wanted to buy some designer clothing and black nail polish (I was going through a wannabe Goth stage. How tragic). She asked why and said people might think I was gay. I said maybe I was. My gosh, I just did it. It felt like an eternity for her to answer, and she replied with love and kindness. I slowly came out to friends after that and was met with support and kindness. But the big one was my parents! I remember it so clearly. I was in my room one morning and my mum came in to just have a chat. We ended up on the subject of my internet friend, (as far as she knew, he was a friend of a friend) and she said she thought he might have a crush on my uncle. I said probably, and then she asked if I had a crush on my friend. I said I did and she started to cry. Not exactly the reaction I had hoped for. She said she was just hoping I would marry a nice girl who would give her grandchildren and they could go shopping and my brother would marry some skank that just wanted sex and money. Her words, not mine. After the initial shock things were fine I thought, and it took her many years to come to terms with it. I’m honestly not sure if she is 100%. As for my father, well we’ve never had the talk, and never will. It’s just an unspoken thing that has just been accepted. He and my mother have had discussions about it, she’s told me. He loves me and just wants me to be happy, and that’s all that matters. We don’t need to have a big coming out moment. I was met by full support from my brother. That felt good. I have been very lucky with my coming out story. I have had very little negativity, and what little I have, have been from unimportant people. I’ve had friends who have had horrendous coming outs. They’ve been bashed, kicked out of home and abandoned by their family. So I am definitely very lucky that I have had such an easy coming out. But, it is still mine and I have had my own difficulties, the main one being the response from my mother. In every other way we are close, it hurts but we are getting better. Coming out is hard for every single person and not an easy thing to do but we just have to support each other. If we don’t get that from our families, we make our own, whether it be from blood, or friends. But either way, we need to surround ourselves with love, support and positivity. It does get better! Author: Brett is a consultant from Oh Zone Adult Lifestyle Centres Stephen is a cis-gendered gay male who spends far too much time with his two cats and eating tim tams. A self-identified sex-positive advocate he cares deeply about gender equality, disabilities, sexual education and social issues. Opinionated and bold he isn’t afraid to speak his mind and say what others won’t. With a yearning for knowledge and experience in all things relating to sex, he is a prolific writer that has developed the content for a myriad of informative Sexual Health and Wellness websites. Stephen’s articles and writings tends to focus on social issues, sexual education, queer issues and all things fetish and absurd. He comes qualified with the completion of a double Bachelor degree in Social Sciences and literature, and a Masters in Education. www.adultsmart.com.au Share this: Reddit Twitter Print Pinterest Facebook Tumblr LinkedIn Like this: Like Loading...	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
WESTFIELD, Mass (WWLP) – A 19-year-old man was held without the right to bail on a murder charge in connection with the death of a 17-year-old whose body was found in Stanley Park Thursday night. Hampden County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Jim Leydon told 22News, 19-year-old Vadym Misiruk of Westfield is being charged with murder for his alleged involvement in the homicide of 17-year-old Nazar Tkach of Southwick. Misiruk entered a not guilty plea in Westfield District Court Friday morning is scheduled to be in court again on October 4. MUGSHOT: Vadym Misiruk (Photo: Hampden County District Attorney’s Office) The victim’s body was discovered around 3:30 p.m Thursday in the park, located at 400 Western Ave., near the Kensington Ave. entrance. The area was blocked off for most of the day and evening but has since reopened. RELATED: Body found at Stanley Park in Westfield, police investigating as homicide (Photo: Hampden County District Attorney’s Office) View court documents regarding Westfield murder suspect Vadym Misiruk’s criminal past. Westfield murder suspect Latest News:	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
This is a tutorial where you’ll learn how to work with predicates and relationships in Core Data. It is written by iOS Tutorial Team member Cesare Rocchi, a UX designer and developer specializing in web and mobile applications. Good news – by popular request, we now have a 4th part to our Core Data tutorial […] This is a tutorial where you’ll learn how to work with predicates and relationships in Core Data. It is written by iOS Tutorial Team member Cesare Rocchi, a UX designer and developer specializing in web and mobile applications. Good news – by popular request, we now have a 4th part to our Core Data tutorial series! :] In the first part of the series, you learned how to visually build a data model and show it in a table view. In the second part of the series, you saw how to import data from an existing database to populate an application with information. The third part of the series, you learned how to use NSFetchedResultsController to retrieve data from the object graph. Now in Part 4, you’ll learn how to deal with predicates and relationships. You’ll start by modifying the project to allow editing objects. Then you’ll introduce relationships into the project and learn how to build specific queries by using NSPredicate. If you’re already familiar with the basics of Core Data but just want to learn more about relationships and predicates, don’t worry you can still follow along. Just take a few moment to look over the starter project first. The starter project will be the finished project as it stood at the end of Part 3 of the series. You can grab it here. Now let’s continue our lovely relationship with Core Data! Getting Started: Editing, Not Just for Writers As a reminder, we left off in part 3 with a simple Core Data app that shows a list of banks that have failed in the US. A bit too long of a list for comfort! :] However, the list was read-only – no editing! So before we go any further, let’s add editing into the app. This will make the app more functional, all while teaching you about relations and predicates in Core Data. More precisely, you’ll introduce the functionality to add a bank to the list and to edit banks already stored in the database. Then you’ll make it possible to search the list for banks that meet certain criteria. If you just downloaded the project, extract the ZIP file to a location of your choice. Open the project in Xcode. To start with a clean slate, you’ll get rid of the procedure that imports the sqlite database. This way, our list of banks will be empty and we can add new ones with our soon-to-come editing capabilities. So go to FBCDAppDelegate.m, go to persistentStoreCoordinator and delete the following code. if (![[NSFileManager defaultManager] fileExistsAtPath:[storeURL path]]) { NSURL preloadURL = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:[[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"CoreDataTutorial2" ofType:@"sqlite"]]; NSError err = nil; if (![[NSFileManager defaultManager] copyItemAtURL:preloadURL toURL:storeURL error:&err]) { NSLog(@"Oops, could copy preloaded data"); } } In the same file, go to application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions: and delete the following: NSManagedObjectContext context = [self managedObjectContext]; FailedBankInfo failedBankInfo = [NSEntityDescription insertNewObjectForEntityForName:@"FailedBankInfo" inManagedObjectContext:context]; failedBankInfo.name = @"Test Bank"; failedBankInfo.city = @"Testville"; failedBankInfo.state = @"Testland"; FailedBankDetails failedBankDetails = [NSEntityDescription insertNewObjectForEntityForName:@"FailedBankDetails" inManagedObjectContext:context]; failedBankDetails.closeDate = [NSDate date]; failedBankDetails.updateDate = [NSDate date]; failedBankDetails.zip = [NSNumber numberWithInt:12345]; failedBankDetails.info = failedBankInfo; failedBankInfo.details = failedBankDetails; NSError error; if (![context save:&error]) { NSLog(@"Whoops, couldn't save: %@", [error localizedDescription]); } // Test listing all FailedBankInfos from the store NSFetchRequest fetchRequest = [[NSFetchRequest alloc] init]; NSEntityDescription entity = [NSEntityDescription entityForName:@"FailedBankInfo" inManagedObjectContext:context]; [fetchRequest setEntity:entity]; NSArray fetchedObjects = [context executeFetchRequest:fetchRequest error:&error]; for (FailedBankInfo info in fetchedObjects) { NSLog(@"Name: %@", info.name); FailedBankDetails details = info.details; NSLog(@"Zip: %@", details.zip); } And with those few clicks and keystrokes, the project is clean! It no longer imports any data from a batch procedure or inserts data when the application is launched. Build and run, and you should see an empty table view, as follows: Now you can set about making it possible for users to add data as they see fit. Now add two buttons to FBCDMasterViewController. One will be used to add a new bank, and the other will show the search view. In FBCDMasterViewController.m, add the following code to the bottom of viewDidLoad. self.navigationItem.leftBarButtonItem = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemAdd target:self action:@selector(addBank)]; self.navigationItem.rightBarButtonItem = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemSearch target:self action:@selector(showSearch)]; Let’s focus on addBank first. Add the method to the end of FBCDMasterViewController.m (but before the final @end): -(void)addBank { FailedBankInfo failedBankInfo = (FailedBankInfo )[NSEntityDescription insertNewObjectForEntityForName:@"FailedBankInfo" inManagedObjectContext:managedObjectContext]; failedBankInfo.name = @"Test Bank"; failedBankInfo.city = @"Testville"; failedBankInfo.state = @"Testland"; FailedBankDetails failedBankDetails = [NSEntityDescription insertNewObjectForEntityForName:@"FailedBankDetails" inManagedObjectContext:managedObjectContext]; failedBankDetails.closeDate = [NSDate date]; failedBankDetails.updateDate = [NSDate date]; failedBankDetails.zip = [NSNumber numberWithInt:123]; failedBankDetails.info = failedBankInfo; failedBankInfo.details = failedBankDetails; NSError error = nil; if (![managedObjectContext save:&error]) { NSLog(@"Error in adding a new bank %@, %@", error, [error userInfo]); abort(); } } The above code is pretty similar to the code you deleted before. You create an instance of FailedBankInfo and you populate the properties with values. One of the properties is an instance of FailedBankDetails, which you set as the “details” property. Finally, you save the context to make sure the insertion is committed to the database. If you run the application now, you should notice that the table view gets updated correctly with the new instance without requiring a call to reloadData. How come? This is due to the these functions, both inherited from previous versions of the project: controller:didChangeObject:atIndexPath:forChangeType:newIndexPath: This takes care of four possible changes to the table view: insertions, deletions, updates and moves. controllerWillChangeContent: This simply “alerts” the controller of upcoming changes via the fetched results controller. Deleting Banks Now that you’ve got the ability to add a bank, let’s add deletion as well! You can enable that by adding the swipe-to-delete functionality, built-in to table views. You just need to add two methods. The first new method simply indicates which cells in the table are editable. You can either add the following code below tableView:cellForRowAtIndexPath:, or you can uncomment the pre-existing commented-out block of code for the method: -(BOOL)tableView:(UITableView )tableView canEditRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath )indexPath { return YES; } The second new method, also to be added to FBCDMasterViewController.m, is tableView:commitEditingStyle:forRowAtIndexPath:. Again, there is a commented-out section of code for this, but instead of using it, replace that code with the following: -(void)tableView:(UITableView )tableView commitEditingStyle:(UITableViewCellEditingStyle)editingStyle forRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath )indexPath { if (editingStyle == UITableViewCellEditingStyleDelete) { [managedObjectContext deleteObject:[self.fetchedResultsController objectAtIndexPath:indexPath]]; NSError error = nil; if (![managedObjectContext save:&error]) { NSLog(@"Unresolved error %@, %@", error, [error userInfo]); abort(); } } } As before, there’s no need to refresh the table view! It’s all handled by the fetched results controller, which notifies the controller that changes have occured. Build and run, add a few banks, and swipe one of the cells to show the delete button. Tap the button, and you’ll see the record deleted and the table view refreshed! Editing Banks At this point, new banks are added using “static” content. Now you’ll incorporate the ability to edit the details of a bank. To handle this, you’ll build a new view controller. Right-click on the project root and select New File/Cocoa Touch/Objective-C Class. Name the controller SMBankDetailViewController and make it a subclass of UIViewController. Also make sure that a XIB is generated. Now open SMBankDetailViewController.xib to add a few components. The view will be pushed by a view controller, so you might want to visualize the space taken by a navigation bar. With the view selected, tap the fourth icon in the inspector (the right sidebar) and set the top bar to “Navigation Bar.” Then drag four text fields and two labels to the view, and lay them out as in the following screenshot: You might want to edit the placeholder text of the input fields so it’s clear what’s what – you can use the above screenshot as a reference. Later on in this tutorial, you’ll set the tags on the labels as well. While you’re at it, add a date picker component. This will be displayed when necessary via code to edit dates. For the moment, place the picker outside of the visible area of the view. The Y of the picker should be set to 420. With the picker selected, switch to the Size Inspector tab on the right sidebar and set its position as follows: Now it’s time to write some code to display the new view. In SMBankDetailViewController.h, add the following import statements below the existing #import line: #import "FailedBankInfo.h" #import "FailedBankDetails.h" Then add the following properties and methods before the final @end: @property (nonatomic, strong) FailedBankInfo bankInfo; @property (nonatomic, weak) IBOutlet UITextField nameField; @property (nonatomic, weak) IBOutlet UITextField cityField; @property (nonatomic, weak) IBOutlet UITextField zipField; @property (nonatomic, weak) IBOutlet UITextField stateField; @property (nonatomic, weak) IBOutlet UILabel tagsLabel; @property (nonatomic, weak) IBOutlet UILabel dateLabel; @property (nonatomic, weak) IBOutlet UIDatePicker datePicker; -(id)initWithBankInfo:(FailedBankInfo ) info; Next, in SMBankDetailViewController.xib, hook up each outlet you defined with its corresponding component. You can do this by selecting the File’s Owner (which is the SMBankDetailViewController class), switching to the Connections Inspector in the right sidebar, and dragging from each outlet to the relevant control on the view. At the top of SMBankDetailViewController.m, right below the @implementation line, synthesize all the properties as follows: @synthesize bankInfo = _bankInfo; @synthesize nameField; @synthesize cityField; @synthesize zipField; @synthesize stateField; @synthesize tagsLabel; @synthesize dateLabel; @synthesize datePicker; Also add two private methods to the class continuation above the @implementation line, as follows: @interface SMBankDetailViewController () -(void)hidePicker; -(void)showPicker; @end initWithBankInfo: is pretty simple: it assigns an instance of info to the view controller. Add it below the existing initWithNibName:bundle: method implementation: -(id)initWithBankInfo:(FailedBankInfo )info { if (self = [super init]) { _bankInfo = info; } return self; } Then add the following to the end of viewDidLoad to set a few parameters like the title, the right navigation item and a few gesture recognizers: self.title = self.bankInfo.name; // 1 - setting the right button self.navigationItem.rightBarButtonItem = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemSave target:self action:@selector(saveBankInfo)]; // 2 - setting interaction on date label self.dateLabel.userInteractionEnabled = YES; UITapGestureRecognizer dateTapRecognizer = [[UITapGestureRecognizer alloc] initWithTarget:self action:@selector(dateTapped)]; [self.dateLabel addGestureRecognizer:dateTapRecognizer]; // 3 - set date picker handler [datePicker addTarget:self action:@selector(dateHasChanged:) forControlEvents:UIControlEventValueChanged]; In section 1, the right button on the navigation bar triggers a save action. The operation in this case is easy: set the values of the bank info as the values specified in the components, and save the context. Add the code for it to the end of the file (but before the final @end): -(void)saveBankInfo { self.bankInfo.name = self.nameField.text; self.bankInfo.city = self.cityField.text; self.bankInfo.details.zip = [NSNumber numberWithInt:[self.zipField.text intValue]]; self.bankInfo.state = self.stateField.text; NSError error; if ([self.bankInfo.managedObjectContext hasChanges] && ![self.bankInfo.managedObjectContext save:&error]) { NSLog(@"Unresolved error %@, %@", error, [error userInfo]); abort(); } [self.navigationController popViewControllerAnimated:YES]; } The second tap detector (in section 2 above) calls the method showPicker. Add it to the end of the file: -(void)dateTapped { [self showPicker]; } The third selector (section 3) changes the value of the date label according to the selected value in the date picker. Add the necessary code again to the end of the file: -(void)dateHasChanged:(id)sender { NSDateFormatter formatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init]; [formatter setDateStyle:NSDateFormatterMediumStyle]; self.dateLabel.text = [formatter stringFromDate:self.datePicker.date]; } viewWillAppear: sets the values of the text fields and labels according to the instance of bank info associated with the controller. Add the following code below viewDidLoad: -(void)viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated { [super viewWillAppear:animated]; // setting values of fields self.nameField.text = self.bankInfo.name; self.cityField.text = self.bankInfo.city; self.zipField.text = [self.bankInfo.details.zip stringValue]; self.stateField.text = self.bankInfo.state; NSDateFormatter formatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init]; [formatter setDateStyle:NSDateFormatterMediumStyle]; self.dateLabel.text = [formatter stringFromDate:self.bankInfo.details.closeDate]; } Finally, you’re left with the implementation of the two private methods. Add the code for those to the end of the file: -(void)showPicker { [self.zipField resignFirstResponder]; [self.nameField resignFirstResponder]; [self.stateField resignFirstResponder]; [self.cityField resignFirstResponder]; [UIView beginAnimations:@"SlideInPicker" context:nil]; [UIView setAnimationDuration:0.5]; self.datePicker.transform = CGAffineTransformMakeTranslation(0, -216); [UIView commitAnimations]; } -(void)hidePicker { [UIView beginAnimations:@"SlideOutPicker" context:nil]; [UIView setAnimationDuration:0.5]; self.datePicker.transform = CGAffineTransformMakeTranslation(0, 216); [UIView commitAnimations]; } The above code shows or hides the date picker, as necessary. Before showing the date picker, the first responder for all text fields is resigned, thus effectively dismissing the keyboard if it was visible. To test your new view, you need to push it onto the navigation stack when a cell is tapped. In FBCDMasterViewController.m, add the following import statement at the top: #import "SMBankDetailViewController.h" Then replace the existing placeholder for tableView:didSelectRowAtIndexPath: with the following: -(void)tableView:(UITableView )tableView didSelectRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath )indexPath { FailedBankInfo info = [_fetchedResultsController objectAtIndexPath:indexPath]; SMBankDetailViewController detailViewController = [[SMBankDetailViewController alloc] initWithBankInfo:info]; [self.navigationController pushViewController:detailViewController animated:YES]; } Now you’re ready to see the first big change to your app! Run the app and create a few instances of banks. Each bank record is editable, including the close date. To save data, hit the save button; to discard changes, just tap the back button. Notice that the date picker and the keyboard never obstruct each other. Changes are reflected in the list of banks with no need to refresh the table view. Pretty cool, huh? Relationships, But Not the Dating Kind In database terminology, a relationship is a “connection” between two entities. It’s often translated into everyday language using the verbs to have or to belong. Think of the classic example of employees and departments – an employee is said to belong to a department, and a department has employees. In database modeling, relationships can be of three types: one-to-one, one-to-many and many-to-many. This property is usually referred to as cardinality. In the example from the previous section, there is already a relation modeled in Core Data: the one between FailedBankInfo and FailedBankDetails. This is a one-to-one relationship: each info object can have exactly one details object associated with it and vice versa. The graphical view stresses this point by connecting the two entities with one single arrow line. In other words, these two only have eyes for each other. :] Whenever you define a relationship, you have to specify the following: Name: This is just a string identifying the name of the relation. Destination entity: This is the target or the destination class of the relation. For example, the relationship that goes from an employee to the department can be called “department.” In this case, the employee is called the source and the department is the destination. Cardinality: The answer to the question: Is the destination a single object or not? If yes, the relation is of type to-one, otherwise it is a to-many. Assuming that in your scenario an employee can belong to just one department, the “department” relation is a to-one. Inverse relationship: The definition of the inverse function. It is pretty rare to find a domain where this is not needed. It is also a sort of logical necessity: if an employee belongs to a department, it means that that department has employees. An inverse relation just switches the “direction” of the original relation. In your example, a department can have more than one employee, so this is a to-many relation. As a general rule, a one-to-many relation has a many-to-one inverse. In case you want to define a many-to-many relationship, you simply define one relation as to-many and its inverse as a to-many as well. Make sure you define an inverse for each relationship, since Core Data exploits this information to check the consistency of the object graph whenever a change is made. Delete rule: This defines the behavior of the application when the source object of a relationship is deleted. For the delete rule in #5 above, there are four possible values: Nullify is the simplest option. For example, if you delete a department, the “department” value of each employee previously belonging to that department is set to null. Nobody is fired :] No action means that, when you delete a department there is no change to the “department” value of each employee. They just keep thinking they have not been fired :] Cascade may have side effects, so you should use it carefully. If you select cascade as the delete rule, then when you delete the source object it also deletes the destination object(s). So, if you’re shutting down a department but want to keep the employees, you should not use cascade. Such a rule is appropriate only if you want to close a department and fire all of its employees as well. In this case it is enough to set the delete rule for department to cascade and delete that department record. Deny, on the other hand, prevents accidental deletions. If you’ve set deny as the delete rule, before you can delete a department you have to make sure all its employee instances have been deleted or associated with another department. Delete rules have to be specified for both sides of a relationship, from employee to department and vice versa. Each domain implements its own business logic, so there is no general recipe for setting delete rules. Just remember to pay attention when using the cascade rule, since it could result in unexpected consequences. For example, if both department -> employee (to-many) and employee -> department (to-one) are set to cascade, the deletion of a user triggers the deletion of a department which in turn fires back the deletion of all its employees! It is likely you don’t want that. In this particular case, the deletion rule for employee -> department should be set to nullify. Note: Even though you access a relationship via dot syntax, as if it were a property, it isn’t: instead it corresponds to an actual query in the database. To maximize the performance of your application, remember this when you devise your data model and try to use relationships only if necessary. Adding a Many-to-Many Relationship Now you’re going to extend your data model by adding a new entity, connected to the info object with a many-to-many relationship. In a real-world scenario, you probably wouldn’t model data this way. You’re doing it in this tutorial only to cover a complex situation with predicates (see below). The first step is to add a new entity. Open FailedBankCD.xcdatamodeld and add a new entity named “Tag.” Then add a single attribute to it, “name” (1). Then add a relationship, named “bankdetails,” whose destination is FailedBankDetails (2) and set its type to to-many (3). The delete rule is the default, nullify (4). This means that if a tag is deleted, the “linked” detail objects are not deleted but simply lose a tag. To define its inverse, select FailedBankDetails (1), add a new relationship called “tags” with Tag as the destination, and set the inverse to bankdetails (2). As above, this is a to-many relationship (3) with a delete rule of nullify. You should end up with the following graphical model, where FailedBankDetails acts as a sort of bridge between FailedBankInfo and Tag. With all three entities selected, open the Editor menu item and choose “Create NSManagedObject Subclass…” Then select your project folder as the save destination. Select “Replace” when asked to overwrite the definition of the previous classes. A new class, named Tag, will pop up in your project tree. Note: Sometimes, (quite often, in fact :p) Xcode will mess up the code generation and add a second instance of existing Core Data entities to the project tree. If this happens to you, select one set of instances and delete them, but choose to remove references rather than to trash the files. There’s actually only one set of physical files – so if you trash them, the other set of links might not work either. At this point, you have changed the Core Data model, so your app will not be compatible with the old model on your device. There is a way around this with Core Data migrations, but that is a topic for another tutorial ;] For now, just delete the app off your device/simulator to get rid of any old files. The next step is to build a view to create/edit tags associated with an instance of FailedBankDetails. Tag, You’re It! This new view controller will facilitate the creation of new tags and associating them to a bank details object. Create a new class that extends UITableViewController and name it SMTagListViewController by right-clicking the root of the project and selecting New File…\iOS\Cocoa Touch\Objective-C class. Remember to check the box to create the accompanying XIB file. Replace the contents of SMTagListViewController.h with the following: #import <UIKit/UIKit.h> #import "FailedBankDetails.h" #import "Tag.h" @interface SMTagListViewController : UITableViewController <UIAlertViewDelegate> @property (nonatomic, strong) FailedBankDetails bankDetails; @property (nonatomic, strong) NSMutableSet pickedTags; @property (nonatomic, strong) NSFetchedResultsController fetchedResultsController; -(id)initWithBankDetails:(FailedBankDetails )details; @end You import two needed classes, mark the view controller as implementing the UIAlertViewDelegate, and you add three properties: the bank details that refer to the previous screen, a set to collect the picked tags for the current details, and a results controller to fetch the whole list of tags. Finally, you add a method to initialize the component with an instance of details. At the top of SMTagListViewController.m (below the @implementation line), synthesize the properties and implement initWithBankDetails: @synthesize bankDetails = _bankDetails; @synthesize pickedTags; @synthesize fetchedResultsController = _fetchedResultsController; -(id)initWithBankDetails:(FailedBankDetails )details { if (self = [super init]) { _bankDetails = details; } return self; } The fetched results controller is defined to load all the instances of tags from the context. Add the code for it as follows to the end of the file (but before the final @end): -(NSFetchedResultsController )fetchedResultsController { if (_fetchedResultsController != nil) { return _fetchedResultsController; } NSFetchRequest fetchRequest = [[NSFetchRequest alloc] init]; NSEntityDescription entity = [NSEntityDescription entityForName:@"Tag" inManagedObjectContext:self.bankDetails.managedObjectContext]; [fetchRequest setEntity:entity]; NSSortDescriptor sortDescriptor = [[NSSortDescriptor alloc] initWithKey:@"name" ascending:NO]; NSArray sortDescriptors = [NSArray arrayWithObjects:sortDescriptor, nil]; [fetchRequest setSortDescriptors:sortDescriptors]; NSFetchedResultsController aFetchedResultsController = [[NSFetchedResultsController alloc] initWithFetchRequest:fetchRequest managedObjectContext:self.bankDetails.managedObjectContext sectionNameKeyPath:nil cacheName:nil]; self.fetchedResultsController = aFetchedResultsController; NSError error = nil; if (![self.fetchedResultsController performFetch:&error]) { NSLog(@"Core data error %@, %@", error, [error userInfo]); abort(); } return _fetchedResultsController; } The above is pretty similar to previously defined fetched results controllers – it’s just for a different entity. Replace the existing viewDidLoad with the following: -(void)viewDidLoad { [super viewDidLoad]; self.pickedTags = [[NSMutableSet alloc] init]; // Retrieve all tags NSError error; if (![self.fetchedResultsController performFetch:&error]) { NSLog(@"Error in tag retrieval %@, %@", error, [error userInfo]); abort(); } // Each tag attached to the details is included in the array NSSet tags = self.bankDetails.tags; for (Tag tag in tags) { [pickedTags addObject:tag]; } // setting up add button self.navigationItem.rightBarButtonItem = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemAdd target:self action:@selector(addTag)]; } Here you run a fetch operation and populate the set of pickedTags that are attached to the instance of bankDetails. You need this to show a tag as picked (by means of a tick) in the table view. You also set up a navigation item to add new tags. Add the following below viewDidLoad: -(void)viewWillDisappear:(BOOL)animated { [super viewWillDisappear:animated]; self.bankDetails.tags = pickedTags; NSError error = nil; if (![self.bankDetails.managedObjectContext save:&error]) { NSLog(@"Error in saving tags %@, %@", error, [error userInfo]); abort(); } } When the view is closed, you save the set of picked tags by setting the tags property of bankDetails. Now add the following code to the end of the file: -(void)addTag { UIAlertView newTagAlert = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"New tag" message:@"Insert new tag name" delegate:self cancelButtonTitle:@"Cancel" otherButtonTitles:@"Save", nil]; newTagAlert.alertViewStyle = UIAlertViewStylePlainTextInput; [newTagAlert show]; } To add a new tag, you use an alert view with an input text field. The code above will display an alert asking the user to insert a new tag: To handle all actions for the alert view, add the following delegate method to the end of SMTagListViewController.m: -(void)alertView:(UIAlertView )alertView clickedButtonAtIndex:(NSInteger)buttonIndex { if (buttonIndex == 0) { NSLog(@"cancel"); } else { NSString tagName = [[alertView textFieldAtIndex:0] text]; Tag tag = [NSEntityDescription insertNewObjectForEntityForName:@"Tag" inManagedObjectContext:self.bankDetails.managedObjectContext]; tag.name = tagName; NSError error = nil; if (![tag.managedObjectContext save:&error]) { NSLog(@"Core data error %@, %@", error, [error userInfo]); abort(); } [self.fetchedResultsController performFetch:&error]; [self.tableView reloadData]; } } You ignore a tap on the cancel button whereas you save the new tag if “OK” is tapped. In such a case, instead of implementing the change protocols to the table, you fetch the result again and reload the table view for the sake of simplicity. Next replace the placeholders for numberOfSectionsInTableView and tableView:numberOfRowsInSection with the following: -(NSInteger)numberOfSectionsInTableView:(UITableView )tableView { return 1; } -(NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView )tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section { id <NSFetchedResultsSectionInfo> sectionInfo = [[self.fetchedResultsController sections] objectAtIndex:section]; return [sectionInfo numberOfObjects]; } This is pretty straightforward – there is only one section, and the number of rows is calculated according to the results controller. Next, modify tableView:cellForRowAtIndexPath: as follows: -(UITableViewCell )tableView:(UITableView )tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath )indexPath { static NSString CellIdentifier = @"TagCell"; UITableViewCell cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier]; if (cell == nil) { cell = [[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleDefault reuseIdentifier:CellIdentifier]; } cell.accessoryType = UITableViewCellAccessoryNone; Tag tag = (Tag )[self.fetchedResultsController objectAtIndexPath:indexPath]; if ([pickedTags containsObject:tag]) { cell.accessoryType = UITableViewCellAccessoryCheckmark; } cell.textLabel.text = tag.name; return cell; } This shows a checkmark if a tag belongs to the pickedTags set. Finally, replace tableView:didSelectRowAtIndexPath with the following: -(void)tableView:(UITableView )tableView didSelectRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath )indexPath { Tag tag = (Tag )[self.fetchedResultsController objectAtIndexPath:indexPath]; UITableViewCell * cell = [self.tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath]; [cell setSelected:NO animated:YES]; if ([pickedTags containsObject:tag]) { [pickedTags removeObject:tag]; cell.accessoryType = UITableViewCellAccessoryNone; } else { [pickedTags addObject:tag]; cell.accessoryType = UITableViewCellAccessoryCheckmark; } } This makes it so that when a cell is tapped, the corresponding tag is added to or removed from the set, and the cell updated accordingly. Tagging Like a Fool Take a deep breath – you’re almost there! :] Make the following modifications to SMBankDetailViewController.m: // Add import at top of file #import "SMTagListViewController.h" // Add the following to the end of viewDidLoad // 4 - setting interaction on tag label self.tagsLabel.userInteractionEnabled = YES; UITapGestureRecognizer tagsTapRecognizer = [[UITapGestureRecognizer alloc] initWithTarget:self action:@selector(tagsTapped)]; [self.tagsLabel addGestureRecognizer:tagsTapRecognizer]; This adds a tap gesture recognizer so that you can get a callback when the user taps the tags label on the edit view. Next implement this callback: -(void)tagsTapped { SMTagListViewController tagPicker = [[SMTagListViewController alloc] initWithBankDetails:self.bankInfo.details]; [self.navigationController pushViewController:tagPicker animated:YES]; } So when the tags label gets tapped, we present the SMTagListViewController we just made. viewWillAppear: needs to be tweaked a bit to display tags correctly. At the bottom of the method implementation, add this code: NSSet tags = self.bankInfo.details.tags; NSMutableArray tagNamesArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithCapacity:tags.count]; for (Tag tag in tags) { [tagNamesArray addObject:tag.name]; } self.tagsLabel.text = [tagNamesArray componentsJoinedByString:@","]; This just makes a string of all of our tags separated by commas so we can display it. As a final touch, make the label backgrounds gray to show their tappable area. Add this to the end of viewDidLoad: self.tagsLabel.backgroundColor = self.dateLabel.backgroundColor = [UIColor lightGrayColor]; You’re done! Build and run your application and test it. Try the following: Add a new bank record. Tap it. Change its values. Tap the tags label (will be empty the first time). Add the tags you like. Tap a few to associate them to the details object. Tap the back button to verify that the details are correctly updated. Note: At this point, if haven’t deleted the previous instance of your app as mentioned earlier, you might have a crash when you try to run it, with an error message saying, “The model used to open the store is incompatible with the one used to create the store.” This happens because you changed the Core Data model since you last ran the app. You would need to delete the existing instance of the app on the simulator (or the device) and then compile and run your project. Everything should work fine at that point. Predicates: Having It Your Way So far you have always fetched all the objects. Rather greedy, aren’t you? :] But what if you don’t want everything? What if you want a subset, such as: All the banks whose names contain a given string. All the banks closed on a given date. All the banks whose zip codes end with a specific digit or string of digits. All the banks closed after a given date. All the banks with at least one tag. These are just a few examples of the rich variety of queries that can be made to a database. And you can create even more complex queries by using AND/OR logical operators. Well there’s good news – you can easily do this in Core Data with something magical called a “predicate!” A predicate is an operator whose job it is to return true or false. Whenever you have a list of objects that you want to filter, you can apply a predicate to the list. This will apply the predicate condition (in other words, “filter criteria”) to each one. It will return a subset (possibly empty) of the original list, with only the objects that matched the condition. NSPredator… erm I mean NSPredicate! In Objective-C, predicates are implemented via the NSPredicate class. There is a wide range of operators that can be used with NSPredicate. Operators are special keywords that allow defining a predicate. Each predicate has a format defined as a string. The following, for example, defines a predicate that checks for the condition “has name equal to,” where someName is a string variable containing the name to check for: NSPredicate pred = [NSPredicate predicateWithFormat:@"name == %@", someName]; The basic Objective-C code to use a predicate has the following format: ... NSFetchRequest fetchRequest = ... ; NSPredicate pred = ...; [fetchRequest setPredicate:pred]; ... Here is a non-exhaustive list of predicate operators (a complete list is available here): CONTAINS: to query for strings that contain substrings. ==: equality operator. BEGINSWITH: a pre-made regular expression that looks for matches at the beginning of a string. MATCHES: regular expression-like search. ENDSWITH: opposite of BEGINSWITH. <, >: less than and greater than. In the case of strings, it’s also possible to specify case-sensitivity. By default BEGINSWITH and the like are case sensitive. If you are not interested in the case, you can use the [c] key to specify a case-insensitive search. For example, the following looks for a string beginning with the value contained in “someName,” regardless of the case: pred = [NSPredicate predicateWithFormat:@"name BEGINSWITH[c] %@", someName]; So if “someName” contained the value “cat,” it would match both “catatonic” and “catacombs.” Wow, those are rather dark words! I suppose it would also match words like “caterpillar” and “catnap,” for those of you with sunnier dispositions. :] Integrating Predicates With the App Now you’re going to build a new view controller that lets the user run searches on the database of banks. Create a new file using the Objective-C class template. This new class will be called SMSearchViewController and will extend UIViewController. And remember to create a XIB file to match the class. Replace the contents of SMSearchViewController.h with the following: #import <UIKit/UIKit.h> #import "FailedBankInfo.h" @interface SMSearchViewController : UIViewController<UITableViewDelegate, UITableViewDataSource,NSFetchedResultsControllerDelegate, UISearchBarDelegate> @property (nonatomic,strong) NSManagedObjectContext* managedObjectContext; @property (nonatomic,retain) NSFetchedResultsController fetchedResultsController; @property (nonatomic, strong) IBOutlet UISearchBar searchBar; @property (nonatomic, strong) IBOutlet UITableView tView; @property (nonatomic, strong) UILabel noResultsLabel; -(IBAction)closeSearch; @end Here you give the view controller references to a context to run the searches, a search bar, a table view and their respective protocols. Switch to SMSearchViewController.xib and add a toolbar, a table view and a search bar, and link them to the respective outlets you defined above. The final screen should look something like this: Switch to SMSearchViewController.m to synthesize the properties and define a helper method you’ll implement later: @interface SMSearchViewController () -(void)configureCell:(UITableViewCell )cell atIndexPath:(NSIndexPath )indexPath; @end @implementation SMSearchViewController @synthesize managedObjectContext; @synthesize fetchedResultsController = _fetchedResultsController; @synthesize searchBar,tView; @synthesize noResultsLabel; Add the code for closeSearch, which simply dismisses the view controller, to the end of the file: -(IBAction)closeSearch { [self dismissModalViewControllerAnimated:YES]; } In viewDidLoad, assign the delegate to the table and the search bar, and initialize the noResultsLabel: -(void)viewDidLoad { [super viewDidLoad]; self.searchBar.delegate = self; self.tView.delegate = self; self.tView.dataSource = self; noResultsLabel = [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(20, 90, 200, 30)]; [self.view addSubview:noResultsLabel]; noResultsLabel.text = @"No Results"; [noResultsLabel setHidden:YES]; } When the view appears, display the keyboard: -(void)viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated { [super viewWillAppear:animated]; [self.searchBar becomeFirstResponder]; } Once the user taps “Search” on the keyboard (after typing in a search value, of course), you run a fetch and show the results on the table view, or display the “No results” label. Add the following method to the end of the file to do that: -(void)searchBarSearchButtonClicked:(UISearchBar )searchBar { NSError error; if (![[self fetchedResultsController] performFetch:&error]) { NSLog(@"Error in search %@, %@", error, [error userInfo]); } else { [self.tView reloadData]; [self.searchBar resignFirstResponder]; [noResultsLabel setHidden:_fetchedResultsController.fetchedObjects.count > 0]; } } The table view dataSource methods are pretty intuitive and fairly routine. You just display the cell as in the master view controller. -(NSInteger)numberOfSectionsInTableView:(UITableView )tableView { return 1; } -(NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView )tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section { id sectionInfo = [[_fetchedResultsController sections] objectAtIndex:section]; return [sectionInfo numberOfObjects]; } -(void)configureCell:(UITableViewCell )cell atIndexPath:(NSIndexPath )indexPath { FailedBankInfo info = [_fetchedResultsController objectAtIndexPath:indexPath]; cell.textLabel.text = info.name; cell.detailTextLabel.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@, %@", info.city, info.state]; } -(UITableViewCell )tableView:(UITableView )tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath )indexPath { static NSString CellIdentifier = @"Cell"; UITableViewCell cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier]; if (!cell) { cell = [[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleSubtitle reuseIdentifier:CellIdentifier]; } [self configureCell:cell atIndexPath:indexPath]; return cell; } Now you’re left with the core functionality for the view: the fetched results controller with a predicate. Add the following code to the end of the file: -(NSFetchedResultsController )fetchedResultsController { // Create fetch request NSFetchRequest fetchRequest = [[NSFetchRequest alloc] init]; NSEntityDescription entity = [NSEntityDescription entityForName:@"FailedBankInfo" inManagedObjectContext:managedObjectContext]; [fetchRequest setEntity:entity]; NSSortDescriptor sort = [[NSSortDescriptor alloc] initWithKey:@"details.closeDate" ascending:NO]; [fetchRequest setSortDescriptors:[NSArray arrayWithObject:sort]]; [fetchRequest setFetchBatchSize:20]; // Create predicate NSPredicate pred = [NSPredicate predicateWithFormat:@"name CONTAINS %@", self.searchBar.text]; [fetchRequest setPredicate:pred]; // Create fetched results controller NSFetchedResultsController theFetchedResultsController = [[NSFetchedResultsController alloc] initWithFetchRequest:fetchRequest managedObjectContext:managedObjectContext sectionNameKeyPath:nil cacheName:nil]; // better to not use cache self.fetchedResultsController = theFetchedResultsController; _fetchedResultsController.delegate = self; return _fetchedResultsController; } The first part is pretty similar to what you’ve already seen: you create a request, specify an entity, and assign a batch size to it. Then you get to choose which predicate to play with. The code above uses CONTAINS. You assign the predicate to the fetch request and then create and return a fetched results controller, as usual. The final step is, of course, to implement the search functionality in the main view :] Switch to FBCDMasterViewController.m and add the following code: // Add at the top of the file under the imports section #import "SMSearchViewController.h" // Add at the bottom of the file before @end -(void)showSearch { SMSearchViewController searchViewController = [[SMSearchViewController alloc] init]; searchViewController.managedObjectContext = managedObjectContext; [self.navigationController presentModalViewController:searchViewController animated:YES]; } Time to test your code again! Compile and run the application, and look for banks whose names start with the string typed into the search bar. Remember that by default the CONTAINS operator is case-sensitive. Here’s an example of this version of the app in action: Pretty powerful stuff! More Fun with Predicates If you want to search for a name that matches the search term exactly, then modify the predicate creation line as follows: NSPredicate pred = [NSPredicate predicateWithFormat:@"name == %@", self.searchBar.text]; Want to try something a bit more complicated? Remember that your data objects aren’t alone: they have relationships. You can define a predicate referring to a value accessed via a relationship. For example, the following looks for zip codes ending with whatever the user types into the search box. NSPredicate pred = [NSPredicate predicateWithFormat: @"details.zip ENDSWITH %@", self.searchBar.text]; Note that you can access relationships using dot notation – much like Objective-C properties. In this example, you’re checking the zip property of the bank details. Not complicated enough? How about checking for banks closed after a given date? Maybe you want to see how many have closed since the beginning of the year. NSDateFormatter dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init]; [dateFormatter setDateFormat:@"yyyy-MM-dd"]; NSDate date = [dateFormatter dateFromString:self.searchBar.text]; NSPredicate pred = [NSPredicate predicateWithFormat: @"details.closeDate > %@", date]; Here you build a date from the input string, and use the > operator. You can even exploit a “chain” of objects going down to the tag level. For example, if you want to retrieve banks that have more than one tag, you can use the @count operator, which works on properties modeled as a set. NSPredicate pred = [NSPredicate predicateWithFormat: @"details.tags.@count > 0"]; As mentioned before, you can use AND/OR logical operators to combine filter criteria. Let’s assume the user will provide two values split by a colon (:). For example, to look for a bank by name and city, he types in “bank:testville”. That can be handled as follows: NSArray queryArray; if ([self.searchBar.text rangeOfString:@":"].location != NSNotFound) { queryArray = [self.searchBar.text componentsSeparatedByString:@":"]; } NSPredicate *pred = [NSPredicate predicateWithFormat:@"(name CONTAINS[c] %@) AND (city CONTAINS[c] %@)", [queryArray objectAtIndex:0], [queryArray objectAtIndex:1]]; First you create an array with the two values by splitting the search string into two. Then you build a predicate using the two separate values and the AND logical operator. The above predicate can be translated as: “look for the banks whose names contain the string x and whose city names contain the string y.” The final source code archive for this tutorial contains a put a constant called SEARCH_TYPE, which ranges from 1 to 11 and allows you to experiment with different operators for predicates. Check it out in the download link below! Where To Go From Here? Here is a sample project with all of the code from this tutorial so far. I hope you’re feeling more like a wizard when it comes to relations and predicates. Want to experiment some more? Instead of “chaining” predicates in a string, you might want to explore the convenient classes NSCompoundPredicate and NSComparisonPredicate. These allow you to achieve the same results in code. If you have any questions or comments about this tutorial or relationships/predicates in general, please join the forum discussion below! This is a post by iOS Tutorial Team member Cesare Rocchi, a UX designer and developer specializing in web and mobile applications. You can also find me on Google+	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
３月６日、米下院の共和党議員らは、低所得者向け医療費補助制度の拡張などを含む医療保険制度改革法（オバマケア）を廃止する法案を発表した。写真は政府へ提出する保険申請書。ミシシッピー州ジャクソンのオバマケア支持者の結集会で２０１３年１０月撮影（２０１７年ロイター／Jonathan Backman）［ワシントン６日ロイター］ - 米下院の共和党議員らは６日、低所得者向け医療費補助制度の拡張などを含む医療保険制度改革法（オバマケア）を廃止する法案を発表した。トランプ米大統領や共和党議員らはオバマケアの撤廃と代替案との入れ替えについて繰り返し言及してきた。同法案が連邦議会を通過するのに十分な支持を得ているかどうかは現時点で不明。次は上下院の委員会で検討される。同法案によると、オバマケアで拡張した医療費補助制度への登録を２０２０年１月１日に凍結する。同制度拡張を実施した州では、１９年末まで保険購入者の登録を認め、政府からの補助金を受け取ることができるが、法案通過後は補助金が制限される見通し。オバマケアでは補助金に所得制限があったが、同法案では代わりに年齢に応じた税還付制度を導入する予定。高所得者層には上限を設けるという。同法案ではオバマケアが課した税金のほとんどを１８年１月に廃止するほか、保険購入を強いられている個人や事業者に対するペナルティを即時撤廃する見通し。ただ事業主が支払う健康保険における税控除については上限を設けないとしている。米下院歳入委員会のケビン・ブレイディ委員長は声明で「同法案は米国民が米政府から活力を取り戻すきっかけになる」との見方を示した。米民主党はオバマケアの撤廃により米国の医療保険制度全体が大混乱に陥るリスクを警告。オバマケアは約２０００万人の無保険者を医療保険に加入させた。	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
James S. Brady Briefing Room 1:57 P.M. EDT MR. SPICER: Good afternoon. Matt, you had a phenomenal story today. (Laughter.) Get that joke? If you didn’t, look it up. A little delayed reaction to that. (Laughter.) Before I get into the events of today, there’s a few items I wanted to update you on, things that have happened since our last briefing yesterday. The President spoke with Prime Minister al-Abadi of Iraq to thank him for his productive visit and meeting on March 20th. A readout of that call should have been issued after the pool last night. Yesterday, he also notified Congress that the national emergency declared Executive Order 13694 regarding malicious cyber-enabled attacks will continue beyond April 1st, 2017. As you all know, this notification is required by statute in order to extend the national emergency that the past administration declared. The President believes that the significant cyber-enabled activities continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to our national security and economic prosperity, and therefore he has determined that it was necessary to continue this national emergency. Last night, a federal judge in Hawaii put an indefinite hold on the President’s executive order that was issued on national security. The Department of Justice is reviewing the ruling and is considering the best way to defend the President’s lawful and necessary order. This ruling is just the latest step that will allow the administration to appeal. Just a week ago, the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia upheld the President’s order on the merits. The White House firmly believes that this order is lawful and necessary, and will ultimately be allowed to move forward. This morning, we announced that the President will host President Xi of China at Mar-a-Lago on April 6th and 7th. The President looks forward to meeting with President Xi and exchanging views on each other’s respective priorities and to chart a way forward on a bilateral relationship between our two nations. They will discuss the issues of mutual concern, including North Korea, trade, and regional security. Now, on to some of the events of today. This morning, the President had a meeting with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin. The Secretary, along with the National Economic Council and the rest of the President’s team of experts have been meeting with and hearing from stakeholders on all sides of the tax reform debate. Tax reform has been a centerpiece of the President’s economic agenda from the beginning of his campaign. The team is weighing the best option to develop a plan that will provide significant middle-class tax relief and make American businesses more competitive. Enacting the first significant tax reform since the 1980s is going to be a serious undertaking. And we are at the first stages of this process, beginning to engage with members of Congress, policy groups, business leaders, industry, constituents from around the country, and other stakeholders. Tax reform has been a part of the political discussion for years, and, accordingly, lots of people have a lot of ideas about it. We intend to hear from them. He and his team will continue to meet with those who support and oppose the various policy options, as they all are still on the table, because the President is committed to delivering results that the American people and American businesses will be able to see and feel in their paychecks. On the Hill this morning, the President was glad that the nominations of his Secretary of Agriculture-designate Governor Sonny Perdue and Secretary of Labor-designate advanced out of committee. Although he was disappointed to see that Democratic senators who had previously expressed their support for Alex Acosta, the Labor Secretary-designee, nonetheless, while they had previously supported him, seem to have stuck to a party-line vote. The President looks forward to having them officially on the team and in the Cabinet as soon as possible. Also this morning, the Department of Commerce and First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) announced that AT&T will build the first nationwide [wireless] broadband, a network dedicated to America’s first responders. This step was part of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations on improving the ability of our police, fire, and emergency medical personnel to communicate seamlessly across jurisdictions, which is critical to their missions. It’s also a sign of the incredible ability of public-private partnerships to drive innovation and solve some of our biggest problems while also creating jobs and growing the economy. Back to the schedule, this afternoon the President hosted a legislative affairs lunch on opioid and drug abuse. The lunch was an opportunity to discuss the goals and agenda of the President’s Commission on Combatting Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, which he established yesterday. The commission, which is going to be chaired by new Jersey Governor Chris Christie, is the next step in the President’s promise to the American people that he would take real action to keep drugs from pouring into our country and corrupting our communities. Under Governor Christie’s leadership, and working closely with the White House Office of American Innovation, the commission will bring together leaders on both sides of the aisle to find the best ways to treat and protect the American people from this epidemic. Many members in attendance at the lunch played a key part in passing the bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, also known as CARA, the first major federal addiction legislation in 40 years, which authorized over $181 million to fight the opioid epidemic. Part of the mission of the President’s commission will be to ensure that those funds are spent efficiently and effectively. Too many lives are at stake to risk wasting any money on this effort. Moving on, later this afternoon the President will welcome Prime Minister Rasmussen of Denmark for a working visit. We’ll have a readout on their bilateral meeting for you at its conclusion. A couple follow-ups from yesterday: I know Hunter asked about the House and the Senate passage disapproving of the Federal Communications [Commission’s] regulations on privacy rules from last year. So let me just expand on that a little and get to your question. The White House supports Congress using its authority under the Congressional Review Act to roll back last year’s FCC rules on broadband regulation. The previous administration, in an attempt to treat Internet service providers differently than edge providers, such as Google and Facebook, reclassified them as common carriers — much like a hotel or another retail outlet — and opened the door to an unfair regulatory framework. This will allow all service providers to be treated fairly and consumer protection and privacy concerns to be reviewed on an equal playing field. The President pledged to reverse this type of federal overreach in which bureaucrats in Washington take the interests of one group of companies over the interests of others, picking winners and losers. The President has signed more legislation under the Congressional Review Act, ending job-killing rules and regulations than all previous Presidents combined already, and he will continue to fight Washington red tape that stifles American innovation, job creation and economic growth. Jeff was here yesterday, Roberta is here now — but following up on Jeff’s question, he asked about the administration’s position on the Paris climate treaty. We are currently reviewing issues related to the agreement, and expect to have a decision by the time of the G7 Summit, late May-ish, if not sooner. Before I take your questions, I wanted to speak quickly about Judge Gorsuch again and the process behind his nomination and confirmation. From the beginning, I think the President has been clear and 100 percent transparent about his choices, if he had been elected, who he would choose from. As a matter of fact, I’d say that the level of transparency is probably unprecedented in modern times, at least. During the campaign, he gave the American people a list of 21 judges which he would pick his choice for the Supreme Court from. The American people sent him to the White House to nominate one of those judges — and he did it. Prior to the President making his final decision, the White House spoke with 29 senators — more than half of whom were from the Democrat side of the aisle, including every Democrat member of the Senate Judiciary Committee — to seek their advice and consent on the nomination. The consensus was that the President’s pick should be a respected mainstream judge. As I’ve laid out many times before, from unanimous consent of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to the extraordinarily low rate of majority opinions accompanied by dissent, Judge Gorsuch is the definition of a mainstream, respected judge. He has offered the Senate plenty of material to vouch for that. Since his nomination, Judge Gorsuch met with nearly 80 senators. In response to requests from the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Gorsuch provided the following: over 70 pages of written answers about his personal records in response to 299 questions for the record by Democrats on the committee, the most in recent history, which he submitted within six days of receiving the questions; over 75,000 pages of documents, including speeches, case briefs, opinions, and written work going back as far as college; and over 180,000 pages of email and paper records related to the judge’s time at the Department of Justice In fact, the Department of Justice provided access to many documents that would normally be guarded by various privileges, in a historically unprecedented move in the spirit of cooperation with Senate Democrats. And the judge sat for three rounds and nearly 20 hours of questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee, during which he was asked nearly 1,200 questions, almost twice as many as Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, or Ginsburg. The White House and the judge did all of this in the hopes that Senate Democrats, many of whom already had announced their intent to filibuster Judge Gorsuch’s nomination, would look beyond their political game and see for themselves how eminently qualified he is to sit on the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, it looks more and more like Senate Democrats would rather do all that they did in reading and questioning for nothing more than for political theater. Finally, before I take your questions, a letter was transmitted just recently to the ranking member and chairman of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees that said, “In the ordinary course of business, national security staff discovered documents that we believe are in response to your March 15, 2017 letter to the intelligence community seeking ‘documents necessary to determine whether information collected on U.S. persons was mishandled and leaked.'” We have and will invite the Senate and House ranking members and Chairman up to the White House to view that material in accordance with their schedule. With that, I’d be glad to take a few of your questions. Cheryl. Q Thanks, Sean. I’m trying to gauge the probability of a government shutdown at the end of April. Are your directions to the Capitol Hill to hold firm on the spending cuts that the President wants, or to try to wheel and deal and get a bill that can keep the government open? MR. SPICER: I don’t know that they’re mutually exclusive. I think we want — Q You wouldn’t want pushback on Capitol Hill from some — MR. SPICER: There generally is. But I think that we want both. I think we want to maintain some of the spending priorities as well as some of the reductions in the 2017 budget. We want to do so responsibly and do so within the priorities that the President has laid out. I think his funding requests and priorities are laid out in the budget that Director Mulvaney detailed and sent up for the remainder of 2017. There are some key things in that, and I think that it is going to begin a conversation that we will continue to have with the House and Senate. But I don’t think both of those goals are mutually exclusive. Obviously, we don’t want the government to shut down, but we want to make sure that we’re funding the priorities of the government. John Decker. Q Thanks a lot, Sean. I wanted to ask about some news that the President made today with a tweet that he put out on Twitter. He seemed to be picking a fight with the Freedom Caucus; and the Freedom Caucus, as you know, has 30 members. Does the President realize how important this caucus is, this coalition is, in terms of passing a replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act and passing the rest of his legislative agenda? MR. SPICER: Well, of course he understands that the goal of all legislation is get to a majority in the House, majority in the Senate. But at the end of the day, he recognizes that he has a bold and robust agenda that he is trying to enact that he ran on and told the American people that he would do when he was President, and he’s going to get the votes from wherever he can. Q Can he pass that agenda without the help of the Freedom Caucus? MR. SPICER: Well, there’s two questions. One is, I mean, mathematically, yes. But secondly, I think that there’s a few members of the Freedom Caucus, both prior to last Friday’s vote and since then, who have expressed a willingness to want to work with him rather than necessarily as a bloc. And I think that there continues to be some promising signs with that. So again, I think part of is, is that I think if people are more concerned with voting as a bloc than in what’s in the best interests of their constituents and the American people, he’s hoping that people will see the bigger picture, the goals that we outlined, and sometimes not let the really good be the enemy of the perfect. Q He seemed to imply in that tweet that he would be in favor of primary-ing some individuals in the Freedom Caucus who oppose his agenda. Is that correct? Did I read that correctly? MR. SPICER: I’m going to say — I’m going to let the tweet speak for itself. For those of you who think — or just for your understanding, it would be improper of me to discuss the election or defeat of any candidate from this podium. Matt. Q Thanks, Sean. Two questions, if you don’t mind. MR. SPICER: I want phenomenal questions from you. Q That’s what I’ll give you. (Laughter.) First, we know now — MR. SPICER: You get it? Q No, I got it. (Laughter.) So two White House officials, according to New York Times reporting, provided Representative Nunes with the information that he spoke about last week. And according to the Times, the senior director for intelligence on the NSC, who was hired by Michael Flynn, started going through these documents after the President’s tweet — the wiretapping tweet. So I’m wondering if the White House thinks it’s appropriate for national security officials to be conducting what’s basically a political task, which is trying to find information that then validates something the President said. MR. SPICER: So I read the report, and respectfully I think your questions assumes that the reporting is correct. Q It does. MR. SPICER: And so I would just suggest to you that the letter that was submitted earlier to the ranking — the chairman and the ranking members of the two committees — two intelligence committees on the Hill, the reason that the White House has asked them to come up is to view that information. And again, I don’t want to get in front of that. As I’ve said before, we are not as obsessed with the process as much as the substance. And I think that our goal is to make sure that the ranking members of both committees, as well as the chairman, see the information that — the materials that are important to this, and then worry about the outcome at the end of this. Q And then on a different topic, with Ms. Walsh’s departure today, are you expecting any more staffing shakeups in the West Wing? MR. SPICER: No. Catherine. Q Sean, are you saying that The New York Times reporting today is not correct on whoever was — MR. SPICER: I’m saying that in order to comment on that story, would be to validate certain things that I am not at liberty to do. Q For days you haven’t been able to tell us who he met with, what the circumstances were. MR. SPICER: And I understand that. And again, and I think that there is an assumption, as I’ve said before, we cannot condone that — in the same way that you protect sources when I call you and say you’ve got 18 anonymous sources, and you go, well, I can’t reveal my sources; Chairman Nunes in conducting an investigation and a review has an opportunity to have his sources. Our view was — is that the smart move was to make all the materials available to the chairman and the ranking member of the relevant committees. And I understand the obsession with the process piece, but we are focused on the substance of it. And I think the goal is to make sure that people have the substance that are looking into this that we have asked to look into this — Q So the White House did make materials available already? MR. SPICER: No, no, we have sent a letter within the past few hours to both of those committees informing them that we wanted to make that available to them. Q And what kind of message do you think this sends to people watching this? Does it — MR. SPICER: I think it sends a message that we want them to look into this, that I think that — as we have maintained from all along, that I think there’s a belief that the President has maintained that there was surveillance that occurred during the 2016 election that was improper, and that we want people to look into this and take the appropriate legal responsible steps to both understand it and then address it. Major. Q I want to read to you something you said here at the podium on March 23rd when you were originally asked if the White House might have had any role in providing information to Chairman Nunes. You first said it didn’t make any sense to you, and you went to say — and I’m quoting you here: “I don’t know why he” — Chairman Nunes — “would brief the Speaker and then come down here to brief us on something that we would have briefed him on. It doesn’t seem to make a ton of sense. So I’m not aware of it, but it doesn’t really pass the smell test.” There is now reporting — which I can’t tell if you’re disputing or not — that identifies two people within this White House as the sources of this information. So I’m just trying to put these things together, where you said it “doesn’t pass the smell test” on March 23rd. Now there’s reporting that suggests that it is within the White House, that they were the sources of this. I’m just trying to put those two things together. MR. SPICER: All right, so number one, the first quote that you’re reading, if you actually go back, I was responding to — I was very clear that I said, “Based on what Chairman Nunes has said” — the following doesn’t make sense. Q Okay, so within that — MR. SPICER: But that’s an important part. Q — I’m gathering that you’ve learned something new since then, so please tell us what you’ve learned. MR. SPICER: Right, and again — no, no, no, because again, Major, I’ve commented on this both yesterday and today, that your obsession with who talked to whom and when is not the answer here. It should be the substance. In the same way that when you guys print a story with 18 anonymous sources, your obsession is the substance, it seems now that you continue to look at from a backwards prism, which is, “What happened? Who drove in what gate? Who did they meet with? What were they wearing that day?” as opposed to, “What’s the underlying substance of this? Did something happen in the 2016 election? Did leaks occur?” We are not going to engage actively in that kind of leaking that has been a problem. In fact, if you look at Obama’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense that is out there, Evelyn Farkas, she made it clear that it was their goal to spread this information around, that they went around and did this. And she said, “That’s why there are so many leaks.” They have admitted on the record that this was their goal — to leak stuff. And they literally — she said on the record “Trump’s team.” There are serious questions out there about what happened and why and who did it. And I think that’s really where our focus is in making sure that that information gets out. Q But can’t the process, from your vantage point, validate the importance of the substance? MR. SPICER: Well, I think there’s a review that we’ve asked for probably — Q And you’ve told us that you’re willing to look into and ask questions about the process and provide us answers. That’s all I’m trying to — MR. SPICER: No, no, no — no, don’t — please don’t put words in my mouth. I never said I would provide you answers. I said we would look into it. The responsible thing for us to do is to provide the individuals and the committees who are doing the review the materials that they’re looking for — or some of them. We don’t know how many — what they’re exactly looking for, what they’ve seen, and what they haven’t. Our goal is to be as forthright as possible. They asked the intelligence communities and others in a March letter for information. We are willing to provide them with the information that we have — the materials that we have come across. And I think that is an important step. Again, it is not — our obligation is to make sure the review is done both in the House and the Senate as we asked for a few weeks ago, not to make sure that we illegally leak out information to you. Q And when you say “we have information,” are you disputing the reports in the New York Times? MR. SPICER: I’m not commenting on the reports, Major. I just got asked the same question. Q But you’re saying “we.” So I’m just trying to find out, they’re naming some people that work for the NSC, who work at this White House — MR. SPICER: No, no, no, I’m saying — no, “we” meaning the White House, is not going to start confirming — Q — who have been named now publicly for the first time. MR. SPICER: I get it. We are not going to start commenting on one-off anonymous sources that publications publish. Q If it were wrong, would you tell us? MR. SPICER: I’m not going to get into it. As I’ve just said, I get it. How many times you can ask the same question? Hunter. Q Thank you, Sean. I have two questions. The first, President Trump is pushing for a major tax cut, increases in defense and infrastructure spending, and the border wall. Does he think this agenda has to be deficit-neutral, or is he open to plans that might initially add to the debt? MR. SPICER: Well, I think when it comes to tax reform, he’s got three underlying goals. One is tax simplification, two is to lower the rates, and three is to grow jobs and the economy. And I think part of it is, is that if you look at it dynamically, as the plan develops — and again, as I mentioned earlier, we’re not there yet; we are beginning that process of engaging with stakeholders. As the plan develops and there’s a cost put on it, that’s going to be a decision that gets looked at as well as what are the economic growth and job-creation aspects to it. So to answer that question without knowing what the full scope of it is, is looking at something and answering it in a vacuum. Q And then, just to clarify one thing with the New York Times story, I know you won’t identify Congressman Nunes as “sources,” but isn’t it abundantly clear that at least some White House officials had to be involved in him getting information here because they would need to help them access the complex? MR. SPICER: I cannot get into who those individuals were. Q Right, but it was someone at the White House, right? MR. SPICER: Well, again, it’s — again, if I start going down the path of confirming and denying one thing, that we’re going down a very slippery slope. I’ve made our position very clear on that. Jessica. Q Thank you, Sean. Thank you for announcing the visit of the Chinese President. I have a couple of questions about that visit, if you’d entertain me. Can you talk about the location and how it was chosen for this visit? MR. SPICER: There is, as you can imagine, on any trip, no matter who the foreign leader is, there’s a lot of discussion that goes back and forth between the White House, the State Department and the equivalents of the other head of governments, their appropriate counterparts. And those are the kind of things that go back and forth in terms of how long, the activities, what will be discussed. Every single thing is discussed on both sides. And so that was a long and ongoing negotiation with the government of China and with their representatives lasting several weeks now. Q So how did you arrive at Mar-a-Lago as opposed to the White House? MR. SPICER: I’m not going to get into the back and forth. I would just suggest to you that both sides discussed various locations and topics and agendas and length, et cetera, and aspects to the trip. And this is what we’ve arrived at. Q So what is the goal for the White House to accomplish during the visit? MR. SPICER: Well, I think there’s a few things. One is, I think this is an opportunity for President Trump to develop a relationship in person with President Xi. He’s spoken to him on the phone a few times. But we have big problems, and — I mean, everything from the South China Sea, to trade, to North Korea. There are big issues of national and economic security that need to get addressed, and I think there’s going to be a lot on the table when it comes to that over the two days that they will talk. Q And lastly, the Chinese are expecting the White House to provide some sort of framework for the relationship to be viewed for. Are you prepared for that? And can you talk a little bit about what that framework might be? MR. SPICER: Can you expand on that a little? Q Kind of put a floor under the relationship, looking for how to view the relationship. Obviously, you had the rebalance and the pivot in the prior administration. Is there a tagline or a vision for U.S.-China relations that you will roll out during this visit? MR. SPICER: We’ll see. I’m not — if you have any hashtags, let me know. But I think right now we’re not worried so much about slogans as much as progress. There’s a lot of big things that we need to accomplish with China, and I think that we will work on them. Kristen. Q Thanks, Sean. Did the President direct anyone in this White House or in his national security team to try to find information or intelligence to back up his assertion about wiretapping? MR. SPICER: I don’t — I’m not aware of anything directly. I’d have to look into that in terms of — again, there’s two sides to this. One is the information side, and two is the policy and the activities and the legal piece of what happened. And I don’t — those are big buckets, if you will. Q So it’s possible. MR. SPICER: I’m not going to comment on it. Q And one more. Don’t sort of the daily questions about this make it necessary to have some type of outside independent investigation to lift any lingering cloud that there may be? MR. SPICER: No. Q Why? MR. SPICER: I think you have two committees looking into this. The FBI has been looking into this, as they mentioned at the hearing. I mean, how many do you want? I understand that you may not have — Q Do you think the House intelligence investigation is still valid given all of these questions? MR. SPICER: How is it not valid? I’m asking — Q There are all these questions about where Devin Nunes got his information from, was it politically motivated to lift that cloud. Would it not be smart to have an outside independent investigation? MR. SPICER: No — well, again, I think you got the FBI, probably other intelligence committees that looked — 17 of them issued a report earlier in terms of involvement in the 2016 election. And then you’ve got two congressional committees looking into it. So I’m not really sure the exact need. I think that people are doing — I understand sometimes there’s a need for you guys to have more information and more sources. I think this is being done in a responsible way where people are being discussed — what they know at an appropriate classification level and information is being shared. Q Can you just quickly talk about the timing of inviting the leaders of this investigation to the White House now? Is it because of this report? Why not do that initially? MR. SPICER: I think a couple things. One is, they asked — they tasked the various committees in mid-March to — or the agencies, rather, to provide information. We felt we had information that was relevant, and I think there was some — there’s a desire to make sure that both sides of the aisle who are looking into this, as well as both chambers, had that information. Anita. Q Eric Trump gave an interview a few days ago to Forbes Magazine in which he said that he would update his father regularly, perhaps quarterly, on the business, including giving profitability reports. So I had two questions about that. One is, have they spoken about the business since January? And two, how does this not violate what the President set out as the protocols for how he would deal with the business? MR. SPICER: Well, two things. I don’t know if they’ve spoken. It’s not — this may be a question better directed to the Trump organization. But secondly, I think everything that he’s done is in accordance with what the Counsel’s Office and the ethics folks — Q Just following up, I believe he said the he wasn’t going to talk to his children, his sons, about the business. So how is that — Q Again, I think everything that is being done in terms of reports or updates is being done in a consultation with the Counsel’s Office. So I think that’s — Justin. Q I have two things I want to ask. The first is just to follow up on Major and ask about the substance. It’s sort of unclear what you guys are telling the chairman and the ranking members you have. Is it information that would validate the President’s claims about surveillance during the 2016 campaign? Or is it information about their broader Russia investigation? I’m trying to — MR. SPICER: Again, I’m not here to share that. That’s why we’ve invited them up to view it in a classified setting, in an appropriate setting. It’s not to be shared with people that don’t have the appropriate clearances and access to — Q But you’re not intending to imply that this is the information that Chairman Nunes has been talking about. MR. SPICER: No, what I’m suggesting is that there has been information that has been — material that has been made come to light, and that we want to make sure that the people who are conducting the review have that information, have access to it. Q And then, Westinghouse Center filed for bankruptcy yesterday. I’m wondering if that’s prompted national security concerns in the administration, and if there is any effort within the administration to sort of help them navigate this bankruptcy, considering that the — MR. SPICER: I’ll have to check on that. I think there’s obviously a couple departments that would be interested in that. Steve. Q Sean, I just want to ask you to elaborate more on what you have so far told us. You said that in the ordinary course of business, the national security staff discovered documents. Can you explain how these documents were uncovered? What does it mean “in the course of business”? MR. SPICER: I don’t think — no, I’m not. That’s why we’ve invited them up into a classified setting, is for them to see these materials and understand it. This is not the setting that is appropriate to discuss that. Q So who in the national security staff, then, uncovered the documents? MR. SPICER: Good question. That is not — again, as I’ve mentioned multiple times, we’re not here to go through the process. Our job is to get to the substance of this and to make sure that the people who have the appropriate access and authority to look into this matter, and then take appropriate steps. Q Are you in a position right now to deny or rule out the possibility that members of the national security staff have already informed the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee? MR. SPICER: I’m not going to get into any further details on this. I would just suggest to you — again, if I can go back for a second to something that the Obama administration’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense noted very clearly on the record, that they were engaged in an effort to spread information about Trump officials that had come up in intelligence. That’s not — that is several networks. Evelyn Farkas made that proclamation about what was going on during the Obama administration regarding the Trump team. So that is something that they made very clear on the record. John. Q A couple of things, Sean. First of all, on the Freedom Caucus, in response to the President’s tweet, Congressman Amash of Michigan responded on camera, saying, most people don’t like to be bullied — in response to the President — also saying that sending out such tweets is constructive in the 5th grade and it may allow a child to get his way, but that’s not how government works. Could you take a moment to respond to Congressman Amash? Was the President trying to bully the Freedom Caucus? MR. SPICER: No. I think this is consistent with everything that he has said since Friday of last week. And I think that he is looking for members on both sides of the aisle, who want to be constructive, to achieve the goal of a patient-centered healthcare system. That’s it, plain and simple. And I think that his comments and his tweets speak for themselves with respect to how he feels and why. Q Following on that, is this a divide-and-conquer strategy? MR. SPICER: No, it’s a math strategy, which is to get to 216 and pass an effort, and continue to move the agenda forward. Q And then if I could, following on what Major said, you’ve accused people in this room several times of being more interested in the process than actually in substance of things. But when information is discovered by the Intelligence Committee Chairman in the House, at the White House, that is potentially exculpatory to what the President has tweeted out, and it’s reported that one of the people who was involved in uncovering that information is a White House staff member who was kept in his position over the request of the National Security Advisor by the political leadership here at the White House, does the process not then take on some relevance? MR. SPICER: Well, the process in the sense that we are — as I’ve noted, we have invited the chairman and the ranking members who are looking into this and reviewing the matter up here. That doesn’t mean that we allow uncleared members from the media to come in and look at it. That means — Q I’m not asking that question. MR. SPICER: No, you are. You said — Q No, I’m not asking that question. MR. SPICER: But I think it is, because — Q That’s not what I asked. What I asked was, when you have that connection of dots all the way along, does the process, the prominence of this information not become relevant to the overall investigation? MR. SPICER: It’s for the people who are conducting the review to decide that, not for the people in this room to decide it. It is up to the people who are cleared to look at that information and that material, to look at it and make their evaluations. And I think they are conducting their review. You’ve seen very clearly, both on the House side and then starting today on the Senate side, them looking into this matter. That is the appropriate venue, forum, and personnel to be reviewing it, plain and simple. Q Sean, a quick follow up on that. MR. SPICER: Zeke. Q You mentioned a couple of times — MR. SPICER: Zeke. Q Thank you. Has the President already been briefed on this information — MR. SPICER: I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you. Q Has the President been briefed on this information that you’re now inviting the congressional committee chairs to come in and view? And when was he briefed on it? MR. SPICER: I will look into that. I’m not entirely sure when or what the status of that is, but I can follow up on that. Q So then why would you brief — why would the White House brief congressional — MR. SPICER: I understand the question. Like I said, I will look into whether or not — where that stands. Blake. Q Sean, thanks. A couple on taxes. The timeline here had been healthcare first, tax reform second. There was a Fox poll out, released yesterday, that said 73 percent of Americans want tax reform to happen this year. With healthcare now at least being on hold, is healthcare the number-one priority for this administration — is tax reform the number-one priority for this administration at this point, or is healthcare still kind of taking up some of the oxygen? MR. SPICER: Well, I don’t know that it’s taking up oxygen. I think there’s plenty of oxygen for both to go on. I think the President would still like to see it done. But I think there’s no reason that we can’t — I mean, if you look at the timeline for tax reform, you’re talking several months, and so I think the process is beginning on that, and I think you can have a dual-track strategy. It’s not an either/or proposition. Q And you described what was going on with the meeting today as the first phase. Can you lay out to us what is somewhat entailed with that first phase? Is the President being given detailed strategies? Or is it broad principles? What is involved in this first phase? MR. SPICER: I think it’s a little of both. They’re talking about the process that they intend to partake — how this is going to lay out, who they’re engaging with, how they’re going to begin that process, and then some of the guiding principles in making sure that any updates that he has or any principles that he wants to suggest are incorporated into that plan as they begin to meet with stakeholders. But part of this is to level-set with him as to what they intend to do and how they intend to do it. Q And you just mentioned a dual track between healthcare and tax reform, but then there’s also infrastructure hanging out there. So can all of those go together? MR. SPICER: Lots of tracks. I mean, again, remember they’re not all the same people; some of them overlap, some of them don’t. But I think part of this is, is that you got to remember that some things can happen sooner than others because of the legislative calendar. Some things are going to take longer because of both the legislative calendar and because of the number of individuals involved and the complexity of the situation. But there’s a lot of things that can be moving at once because of how they’ll play out. John Gizzi. Q Thank you, Sean. Turning to the foreign front, yesterday, Vladimir Kara-Murza, the twice-poisoned Russian dissident and vice-chairman of the Open Russia Movement, testified before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, backing continued sanctions against Russia. He also called on Secretary of State Tillerson to meet with Russian civil society members –in other words, anti-Putin dissidents like himself — when he makes his trip to Moscow next month. Mr. Kara-Murza also said he was meeting with many members of Congress of both parties, but he would be very happy to meet with any administration officials. Are there any plans for the President or anyone in the White House to meet with Mr. Kara-Murza? And will Mr. Tillerson meet with the Russian civil society? MR. SPICER: I would suggest to you — I’m not aware of anything. Both the National Security Council, as well as the State Department are probably more appropriate for you to address that to. Alexis. Q Sean, can I ask a question — but before I do, get some clarification on the answer that you gave to Hunter and to Major? I thought it was just yesterday that you said that when you were asked who cleared in Chairman Nunes, that you had asked some preliminary questions and not gotten answers, and that you would continue to ask. MR. SPICER: Yeah. Q So my question today is, you know the answers to that and you are saying you will not answer that question today? Or you don’t know? MR. SPICER: No, no, that’s not — right. So what I’m saying to you is, is that the decision that has been made is to bring in all the relevant individuals that are reviewing the situation and make them available; that getting into sources and process is not the proper way to conduct this review. And we want the people who are conducting it to understand more fully the materials — not necessarily who came in what time and whatever. Q So you’re — just to clarify again, you asked the questions? You were not given answers? MR. SPICER: No, no, that’s — I’m just saying that — Q You said yesterday you asked that — wait, let me finish. You said yesterday that you asked, you didn’t get the answers. And so what you’re telling us today is you are never going to get the answer — you, yourself — you are never going to get the answer to who cleared in Chairman Nunes? MR. SPICER: What I’m saying is, is that the decision was made — it’s supposed to focus on the process, to focus on the substance, and that the decision was made — Q You’re not answering my question. MR. SPICER: I let you ask the question, so let me answer it, please. And the answer that I’m giving you is that the decision was made internally to focus on the individuals who are doing the review, both Republicans and the Democrats, House and Senate, and have them come in and look at the materials. That’s what the focus should be, Alexis. Kaitlan. Q Wait, wait, wait, here’s my bigger question. The President has expressed his affirmation, his support for the finding that Russia interfered with the 2016 election. That is the centerpiece of the investigation at the FBI and the Senate Intelligence Committee. My question is — can you update us, what is the President doing now in the administration to respond to Director Comey’s testimony that that interference is not just election-year-based but continuing? MR. SPICER: You’re talking about the executive order, is that correct? Q I just asked, can you update what is the administration doing to prevent that, to — MR. SPICER: So okay — Q — to respond to that preliminary finding already, that we already know, that it is continuing? MR. SPICER: Well, so the executive order that the President signed that continues the national emergency deals with looking into malicious attempts and cyber attempts to come into the United States. That’s what the executive order that he signed was. Q That’s the sum total of the response so far? MR. SPICER: Well, I’m not going to get into what’s being done behind the scenes in terms of the intelligence and law enforcement community. But the bottom line is that there was an emergency declared with respect to challenges that the United States faces from a variety of actors outside the United States to come in and use cyber techniques to hack the United States. The national emergency will continue under the President to address the threats that we face from abroad and from a variety of places. April. Q Sean? Q Wait, no. I was just going to — Q Sean? MR. SPICER: April. Q Yes, Sean. MR. SPICER: We’ll get to you. (Laughter.) Q He called on someone else? I’m sorry. Go ahead, and then come back to me. MR. SPICER: Okay, I’ll do Kaitlan and then April. I’m sorry. Q She can go first, but I’ll just go after her. MR. SPICER: Okay. (Laughter.) Q Okay, thank you, Kaitlan. So, Sean, what is the ultimate goal of the leaders coming in to get this information? And will it be information that Nunes received plus? Or will it just be basically a synopsis of a synopsis of what Nunes received? MR. SPICER: Well, it’s going to be the materials that are relevant to the discussion in the area that they’re reviewing. And that’s up to them to decide the relevancy of that. I think we have, from the National Security Committee, has gone into — come upon some materials that they want to share with them. It’s up to them to make a decision about the relevance of those documents and what they would lead them to believe. But there’s two issues here. One, April, is what do they see, and then what do they want to see in addition to that or as a result of those materials. Right? So, in other words, they may see things and say, hey, this is interesting, I wonder if there’s a pattern; this is interesting, I want to see more. Or they may come to a conclusion right away. But that’s part of the idea of — to the first part of your question — in sharing information with them is to allow the members of both of the committees on a bipartisan basis to come in to review materials that we think are relevant to the issues that the President talked about with respect to surveillance, the masking — unmasking of individuals, the handling of it, et cetera, et cetera. And then it’s up to those members to decide what to do with that information, how to explore that more in depth. Q So, ultimately, in their questioning, they could actually wind up reviewing what Nunes received, possibly? If they do, even ask different questions, just sitting in the intelligence meetings like the President does — if he decides to give more he’ll give more? MR. SPICER: It depends. I think that’s possible. I don’t want to prejudge what they ask and what comes in response to it. It also has to do with what documents we have. They may go down a particular trail and have to follow up with an agency and say, we saw this, can we see a follow-up on that. As you saw from many reports the NSA has been asked to provide documentation to the House. My understanding from the reports is that that was ongoing. And maybe some of the materials that they see prompt them to ask additional questions. But that’s part of providing it to them. It’s an ongoing review. And what we want is for them to see these materials and come to conclusions, or need more information to come to conclusions. But this is part of that review process. Q Are they allowed to — the type of briefing, with their ranking and who they are — no matter if they may be head of the Intel Committee, are some of these other members allowed to see the same things that he sees? Even though they are not head of — I mean, are they allowed to see that? MR. SPICER: My understanding would be that they would. Q Okay. And lastly, Sean, do you know who allowed him to come in? MR. SPICER: No. Q You don’t know? MR. SPICER: No. Kaitlan. Q I have two questions for you. One is did anyone in the White House ever raise the possibility of a Cabinet position or a top intelligence post later on in the administration for Devin Nunes? MR. SPICER: Not that I’m aware. Q And secondly, will the President hold a press conference so he can answer questions on the surveillance claims and all these intelligence revelations himself? MR. SPICER: I’m not good enough? Q Not that you’re not good enough, but he’s the one who made the claims. You didn’t make the claims, he made the claims. MR. SPICER: I will convey your request to him. I know that as I’ve said before, we’ll see. I’m sure that at some point — he enjoyed the last one so much — Q Tomorrow? MR. SPICER: Is that what you’d like, tomorrow? Q That works. MR. SPICER: Does that work for you? (Laughter.) Okay, well, let me see what I can come up with. Cecilia. Q I just want to clarify, do you believe — from what you know about these materials, do they validate the President’s wiretapped claim? MR. SPICER: I don’t know. I have not seen the materials. It is members of the National Security Committee who have come across these documents that want to make them available to the members who are leading the review. Q And why not just be more forthcoming about this entire process of who let Nunes in? If this was enough — if the President of the United States could tweet this claim about wiretapping, doesn’t the American public have a right to know more? MR. SPICER: Yes, they do. And I think that’s why we’re going through a process. And I say this respectfully — I understand that you want all the process answers — what day did they come in, what were they wearing, what door did they come in. The relevant questions are about the substance of this. And it’s interesting — I don’t get the same thing when I see these unpublished stories with anonymous sources. You don’t ever tell me who your sources were, who — Q Because you’re — MR. SPICER: Glenn, I’m actually asking Cecilia’s question — if you could be as polite as not to interrupt her. Q I’m sorry. MR. SPICER: Thank you. Do you accept his apology? Q One hundred percent. (Laughter.) MR. SPICER: That’s very — Q In fact, I will cede the floor to Glenn. MR. SPICER: Thank you. That’s not how it works, though. But I would argue that you guys have — when you write a story, and you call and say, I have four anonymous sources that say whatever, and I say, okay, well, who are the sources and where are they coming — you go, sorry, I’m not revealing anything to you, but the substance that I’m asking you to respond to — well, when the shoe is on the other foot you’re all about the process. The bottom line is that there are two congressional committees that are conducting reviews of this situation, and those committees are looking at the relevant information and talking to the relevant people. To your point about the process, we have made individuals available and encouraged individuals to testify or to meet with or to discuss that have been approached. So I think that what we are doing is frankly — and I know you probably disagree, but I think we are doing the responsible thing by making sure that documents and materials are shown to people with the appropriate classifications in the appropriate settings, and that the people that the different committees would like to discuss these matters with are made available to them. I think that’s the responsible way of handling this. Q Sean, thank you very much. I have two questions, one on Venezuela and another one on climate policy. With respect to Venezuela, because today the Supreme Court of Venezuela said they would take — try to take over the Congress powers and the opposition said a coup is underway. Do you consider there is a coup underway in Venezuela, and what can we expect the United States to do? And the other question is on climate change, because President Obama signed also the bilateral climate deals with Brazil, China and India. And what do you have to those? MR. SPICER: Well, on the first one, respectfully, I would send you to the — I would refer you to the State Department. The only Supreme Court I’m really focused on right now is ours and getting Judge Neil Gorsuch confirmed by the Senate. So I’d be glad — I think the State Department is more of an appropriate venue to discuss the activities over there. And second, I think when it comes to things like the Paris treaty, as I mentioned at the outset, that is being — Q Those are separate — MR. SPICER: I understand, but I think that there are things that we will have updates for on all of these things as we move forward. Right now, I’ve got nothing on that subject. Yes. Q Thank you, Sean. The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that the Trump administration is proposing more modest changes to NAFTA. Like, for example, they’re leaving the arbitration panel that deals with trade disputes in place, et cetera, et cetera. Is the White House backing away from some of the more sweeping changes to NAFTA that the President proposed during the campaign? MR. SPICER: I would just argue that Robert Lighthizer isn’t even nominated yet. That is not a statement of administration policy at this point. There is nothing in those documents that we are confirming — or in that report, rather, that we are confirming. That is not a statement of administration policy. That is not an accurate assessment of where we are at this time. And I think our goal is to get Robert Lighthizer appointed as the next ambassador and U.S. Trade Representative, and then when we have that we will have plenty of updates on where we go with respect to NAFTA and the rest of our trade agreement. With that, I’m going to say goodbye. I will see you tomorrow. Thank you — oh, I’m sorry, I promised two days in a row. Q Thank you. I’ve got one on foreign policy and one on domestic policy. First one is, many Republicans were very critical about how President Obama had handled the Iranian Green Revolution about six years ago. So my question is, if mass protests across Russia develop into a movement, is this something that — what does the administration feel its role should be regarding that? MR. SPICER: I’m not going to — that’s a hypothetical question to talk about what would happen and if — Q No, it’s not — MR. SPICER: I know, but when it comes to protests we obviously encourage, as we did last Sunday, the peaceful protest — the government of Russia to allow the peaceful protest of individuals throughout their country. We obviously support the people to have a voice in every government throughout the world. Q And on the subject of partisanship and obstructionism, whose responsibility does the President feel it is to put an end to partisanship? And who needs to be reaching out to whom collectively? MR. SPICER: I think it’s a two-way street. I think part of it is that we — the President and the First Lady extended an invitation the other night for everyone to come. I think we were excited to see a third of Senate Democrats come. I wish we had seen more. There’s an opportunity I think to engage in a discussion about some of the issues and come together. But I would argue that when you look at this fight on Gorsuch, there are — I don’t disagree with the fact that if you’re a Democrat you probably don’t necessarily agree with some of the rulings and some of the philosophies of Judge Gorsuch. I get that. But at the end of the day, they have always agreed — in fact, in most cases, the filibuster has never been the norm. It hasn’t. And it is odd to see that these individuals who have — it’s one thing to vote no; it’s one thing to say that we don’t agree. But to now turn to filibustering or threatening to filibuster Senate — unbelievably qualified people, and there is nobody that I’m aware of, even on the left, that is suggesting that Judge Gorsuch isn’t qualified to serve as a Supreme Court justice. Republicans in the past have allowed Democrat Presidents to have their nominees voted on up or down, and for the most part, when you go back to President Obama, President Clinton, they have been — Republicans have joined with Democrats to allow people who are qualified to go onto the Court. And to see this new precedent be formed by Leader Schumer is disappointing because this is a huge, huge crack. I think there was a column — one of the papers today I think — you are really fundamentally changing how the Senate is going to operate by doing this. And I think that’s an important — they can disagree with him philosophically, I get that. But when you have an election you can assume that a Republican President is going to choose Republicans for appointments and for federal judgeships, and the Democrats will do the same with their time in office. But it was Obama’s nominees that got through, all with Republican support. And it’s difficult to understand why when you’ve got someone as eminently qualified as Gorsuch, that this is the state that they want to drive. And I think it further sets a partisan divide in our country when we can’t allow people who are qualified and universally so to get on the bench. Q Should it not be done from the President’s side to try to — MR. SPICER: I think so, sure. But I think it’s a two-way street. I would ask you what is — I remember a few years ago there was all this talk about, from the get-go, of Obama — Democrats [sic] made hay about how they wanted to see him as a one-term President. I’ve seen a similar tactic from Democrats now about how they want to defeat him, they want to stop his agenda, and there’s no sense of them wanting to work with this President. So at some point, I think we have shown a willingness to bring them together. It’s amazing how many senators, when you talk to them over the course of the last almost 70 days, have said, you know, I’ve been to the White House more in the last 70 days of a Trump administration than I was during eight years of an Obama administration. And I think that that speaks to the President’s desire to bring people together and to find common ground on areas of mutual agreement where we can move the country forward. Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow. END 2:37 P.M. EDT	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
For the uninformed, Sanzaru Games is the development studio who took over the Sly Cooper franchise from Sucker Punch, releasing Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time earlier this year. Not much has been heard about the company since February, but thanks to Superannuation spotting a job posting (and we found another), that shows they’re hiring for a Core Systems/Graphics Engineer and a Game Engineer. As well, on LinkedIn, the company posts that they’re “looking for new recruits,” with game designer and gameplay engineer positions open as of yesterday. For that Core Systems/Graphics Engineer position, the job asks for “PS3, Vita or DX9+ GPU and CPU experience”, as well as talking about PlayStation Edge experience – tools only developed for the PS3. Meanwhile, the Game Engineer has a different description, which we’ve placed below: Sanzaru Games seeks a talented and ambitious programmer to expand our development team as we start multiple new projects. While our cross-platform engine handles the low-level animation, rendering and resource access on PS4, PS3, PC, XBox360, Wii, Vita & 3DS the game programmer is responsible for implementing game logic, UI control, physics, animation control and general entity management in cross-platform C++. What makes these job listings really interesting is that Sanzaru Games may not actually exist anymore. Their website, Sanzaru.com, doesn’t load, their phone number doesn’t work (when we called, it said “The number you have dialed is not a working number”), their Facebook and Twitter pages haven’t been touched in months, emails bounce and most of their staff was reportedly laid off back in November. There are also multiple employees whose LinkedIn profiles show them taking positions elsewhere between November and this April. That means that Sanzaru is either no longer around, or are working on a PS3/Vita title and a multiplatform game engine. We certainly hope it’s the latter.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Search for “[language] database tutorial”. Out of the top 5 results, how many of them show how to use safe practices (preferably placeholders, but safe quoting functions are OK, too) at the earliest available opportunity? I award a score of 5 points for the first result, 4 for the second, and so on. A perfect score would be 15. If the first INSERT or SELECT statement has simple static data, I give it a pass and find the first statement that’s filling in data from variables. Haskell: 15 Python: 12 Perl: 11 Ruby: 11 Node.js: 4 PHP: 4 There are some caveats with the judging of this data:	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Alberto Fernandez, en la cabecera de la mesa, con empresarios y sindicalistas Alberto Fernández avanzó ayer con la estrategia que busca y debe superar la frontera interna para el tratamiento de la crisis. Fue la primera entrega, parcial, para graficar la idea del sustento empresarial y sindical que pretende para cumplir los compromisos de la deuda en base al ajuste fiscal y una reanimación previa de la economía. Llegó después de un paso celebrado por los mercados: la ley de múltiples emergencias. La aprobación de la megaley perfila su primer tramo de gestión y es al mismo tiempo un mensaje político a Washington, en la línea de desalentar recelos alimentados por la anterior experiencia kirchnerista y algunos resabios ideológicos. Pero ocurre que Washington –siempre y más allá de las rústicas reacciones de la administración Trump- lee los gestos de manera global. Atiende los mensajes explícitos en economía y también las señales de posicionamiento internacional. Este último es un punto central, que ha sido tocado –en dos rubros sensibles- por la ministra de Seguridad, Sabina Frederic. Primero, sus definiciones sobre la clasificación de Hezbollah como organización terrorista, revisadas por ella misma una vez corregida por la Cancillería. Y ahora, su descalificación del peritaje de Gendarmería Nacional que concluyó en que el fiscal Alberto Nisman fue asesinado. Los movimientos de la ministra, al menos los referidos, no generan precisamente satisfacción a Alberto Fernández y su entorno. Alguna interpretación señala que, en rigor, ese tipo de errores no forzados constituyen para sus autores costos prematuros que no pueden ser adjudicados a maniobras internas. El problema puede tener origen individual, aunque es difícil considerarlo exclusivamente como una una cuestión personal. Sabina Fréderic, ministra de Seguridad, suma declaraciones polémicas. De todos modos, a nadie escapa que en algún punto deben ser corregidos. Y que esa corrección puede involucrar al Gobierno y no únicamente al funcionario involucrado. Es la gestión, no un unipersonal. El ejemplo referido a Hezbollah ha sido elocuente y podrían serlo también los dichos sobre el peritaje de Gendarmería en el caso de la muerte de Nisman. Apenas 48 hora después de asumir como canciller, Felipe Solá salió a asegurar que el nuevo gobierno no modificaría el criterio asumido apenas cinco meses antes por la gestión de Mauricio Macri al poner en marcha el Registro de Personas y Entidades vinculadas con actividades de terrorismo. Ese listado incluyó a Hezbollah. De hecho, se trató de la voz oficial en materia de relaciones exteriores descalificando lo insinuado por Frederic al sostener que el tema de Hezbollah era una cuestión de la OTAN y que Argentina se estaba “comprando” un problema. Todo, en medio de los primeros pasos del equipo de Alberto Fernández. Por supuesto, antes de asumir formalmente, el Presidente y su canciller habían recibido señales de Estados Unidos. Y también de Israel: la delegación de menor nivel al esperado para los actos formales de asunción de Fernández fue atribuida a aquella señal de Frederic. La ministra buscó cerrar ese capítulo personalmente hace apenas unos días, con redefinición pragmática de su posición en esta materia. Es llamativo entonces que se haya pronunciado como lo hizo ahora sobre el caso de la muerte del fiscal. Sobre todo, y esto explicaría cierta sorpresa o malestar, si se considera un problema doble: el efecto externo y también local. Frederic dijo que sería revisado el peritaje realizado por Gendarmería. Afirmó que eso sería hecho “en colaboración” con la Justicia. Y que antes debería esperarse “un tiempito”, porque primero debe concretarse el cambio de jefes de la fuerza. Traducido: la colaboración dependería de la voluntad de la fuerza y a su vez, la decisión dependería de la adecuación de la jefatura al criterio político de la nueva gestión. Desde la Justicia, ya dejaron trascender el rechazo a lo dicho: enfatizaron que en cualquier caso, hacer o rehacer un peritaje es una decisión judicial, no de la fuerza de seguridad, y que Gendarmería en todo caso actúa como “auxiliar”. El fiscal Alberto Nisman (Martín Rosenzveig) Las palabras de la funcionaria tuvieron así rápida lectura y respuesta en la Justicia, porque sugiere un error grave en términos de legalidad, además de funcionalidad. Y es probable que también tenga registro en el plano diplomático, no necesariamente público, según advierten conocedores de ese ambiente. La señal asoma contradictoria con los gestos centrales del Gobierno hacia Estados Unidos, además del FMI y representantes de inversores que jugaron millones en papeles argentinos. Ayer mismo, aunque con apuro y cierta falta de negociación previa, Alberto Fernández buscó dar un primer paso hacia el armado de un pacto social, para la coyuntura de precios y salarios, y un Consejo Económico Social, que debería trabajar en temas de mediano plazo, al menos, y que incluye en las tratativas un entendimiento con Roberto Lavagna como estrella. Es también una puesta para expresar respaldo y consenso a la idea de recomponer la economía para renegociar la deuda con plazos largos y quita. Estuvieron representantes de la UIA y de la CGT. Fue notoria la falta de las organizaciones del campo. Y quedó un interrogante sobre la amplitud política a futuro. Algunas de los objetivos planteados en esta cita deberían tener expresión legislativa, empezando por la creación del referido Consejo. El documento elaborado para el encuentro se apoyó en los títulos de emergencia y solidaridad. Y fueron también expresivos, hacia adentro y hacia afuera, algunos conceptos que buscaron equilibrio: se habla de tener en cuenta los costos y también los recursos, el objetivo de la “estabilización macroeconómica y social”, el reordenamiento fiscal y monetario, y un plan que sea a la vez equitativo y sustentable. Son palabras que cobran cuerpo con el registro de la megaley de emergencia que acaba de asegurarse el Gobierno. Se ha dicho: las primeras reacciones externas estarían exponiendo que ponderan el plan inicial como un ajuste de coyuntura para garantizar solvencia fiscal con mayor presión tributaria y revisión del sistema previsional. Es el umbral de una compleja negociación externa. Y no dejaría mucho margen para complicaciones domésticas.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Last updated on: September 03, 2014 21:27 IST To reverse the brain drain of the past few decades and to bring back scientific talent, the Narendra Modi government has initiated talks with many eminent non-resident Indian scientists, who left the country to pursue research overseas. The Ministry of Science and Technology has approached about a dozen well-known scientists from across the world in an effort to bring them back to various departments under the ministry, said Jitendra Singh, minister of state (independent charge) for science and technology. According to Singh, the government is trying to facilitate and create a conducive environment along with social infrastructure to attract the scientists who had left the country many years ago for various reasons. These scientists, mostly coming back through different government fellowships, will be inducted in various reputed institutions and departments, including the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bose Institute and many other research centres, mainly those funded by the government. According to K Vijay Raghavan, secretary (additional charge) to Department of Science and Technology, the department has constituted two different re-entry fellowships -- Ramalingaswami and Ramanujan fellowships -- under which scientists are coming back and taking up projects in India. The ministry plans to float more such fellowship going forward and create a conducive environment to hold back such talent on a permanent basis, Singh added. A senior official from the Ministry of Earth Sciences said most scientists who have been shown interest in coming to work in India are from reputed universities and many of them have shown interest in participating in projects run by India Meteorological Department. Most of them want to work in India on a temporary basis, the official clarified. DST is also in talks with various domestic as well as multinational pharmaceutical companies to partner for research in the area of drug discovery. “We are trying to involve the industry at two levels. One, we are in talks with some companies on projects where they can take care of the funding part. “Secondly, there are also companies which have their own research and development wings. “So, we are discussing if we can collaborate with them and take the research forward,” said Singh. He added that government institutions, which were so far focused on researching on India-centric diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and vaccines, are now looking at lifestyle diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular and cancer. Singh was speaking at a function of his ministry to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with All India Institute of Medical Sciences to partner for furtherance of cancer research. Image: Narendra Modi signing the visitors' book during his visit at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Photograph: Press Information Bureau The image is used for representational purpose only	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Get on Reddit with multiple devices Links are blue and can't remember what you've already clicked 132 shares	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Ahoy-hoy! This week we’ve got a few nice fixes lined up for y’all: the abs_n op in MoarVM now correctly turns -0e0 into 0e0 (Zoffix Znet) closing an async socket now can’t cause the VM to crash. (jnthn) fix a numeric overflow that could prevent a full collection from occurring (dogbert17) on windows, MoarVM now correctly accepts unicode command line arguments and environment variables (thanks, nanis!) the string repeat op will no longer cause the VM to panic if GC kicks in at just the right moment (samcv++, dogbert17++, and jnthn++) smart matching char ranges against char ranges now works (MasterDuke17, Zoffix++) a whole bunch of data races were fixed in precompilation-related code in rakudo (jnthn++) smart matching a Str against a Numeric now no longer throws an exception if the Str can’t be coerced to a Numeric (Zoffix++) the iterator used for implementing the rotor method used to violate the iterator protocol by pulling more values out after IterationEnd had been signalled, leading to strange exception messages (Zoffix++) rational numbers used to normalize inconsistently between printing out and getting the numerator and denominator pulled out of ’em (Zoffix++) a whole lot of useless coercions from int to num happened during even compiling the empty program in perl6. that number has been drastically reduced by MasterDuke17++ lizmat++ made Int.WHICH a bunch faster, which should make object hashes with Int keys in them faster, too. I drafted a little op for MoarVM that’ll let you grab some statistics about the inner state of MoarVM. I’m intending to give info that might be interesting to have in a monitoring tool, for example if you’re running a server or web app. I’d love to hear some feedback on what pieces of data you might be interested in! Ecosystem, Docs, and Bloggage That’s it for now! Tune in again next week for more 🙂	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The People’s Republic of China’s relationship with South Africa has deepened significantly in recent years, as shown by a raft of economic and political proclamations. The year 2014 was dubbed “the year of South Africa in China”. It was followed last year by the “Year of China in South Africa”. Now South Africa has been upgraded to China’s lofty “Strategic Comprehensive Partner”. And the governing African National Congress (ANC) has made no bones about how it feels. Its 2015 National General Council discussion document identifies a new “Cold War” in which “the exemplary role of the collective leadership of the Communist Party of China in this regard should be a guiding lodestar of our own struggle.” Such statements have left observers wondering whether the ANC-led government is making a geopolitical turn toward China. Such sentiments have been emboldened by bureaucratic obfuscation that’s prevented the Dalai Lama from visiting South Africa on three different occasions and the Chinese government funding an ANC training school. China’s economic relationship with South Africa has added further fuel to the fire. China has been South Africa’s largest trading partner since 2010, with a total trade volume of R270 billion in 2013. The announcement during the China-Africa summit that China will be committing a further R90 billion to South Africa, will only confirm sceptics’ fears of growing subjugation. Knowing which side your bread is buttered Reactions to China’s engagement tend to overlook one important fact. While, at least ideologically, the South African government may be thumbing its nose at traditional western partners, economically, multiple international engagement is the order of the day. Europe and the US continue to be significant trading partners. Foreign direct investment from these regions far surpasses what comes in from China. In fact, India is the only BRICS country – Brazil, Russia, India and China – in the top five sources of foreign direct investment in South Africa. Additionally, the US, UK and Germany are still the top overseas visitors to the country. Those of an economically pragmatic bent may be scratching their heads as to why the South African government needs to engage with China at the expense of engagements with western partners. This is, in fact, by no means the case. South Africa may be taking sides at an ideological level. But at the level of international economic engagement, it is business as usual. In an instance of what Patrick Bond refers to as the “talk left, walk right” approach, the South African government uses the language of anti-Western imperial hegemony while simultaneously being deeply engaged in the logic of global markets. In fact, when it comes to international political economy, no one “talks left and walks right” more than the Chinese themselves. The country’s integration into the global market system, the rise of a consumer-orientated middle class, and its outward-bound commodity forays to support both domestic and international consumption make China a dominant player in global capitalism. Significantly its currency, the renminbi, has just been accepted by the IMF as a world currency. China’s engagement in Africa is an extension of this process, a fact which many in the Euro-American world, and even Africa, seem unable to digest. Nothing highlights this more clearly than the recent announcement of the Chinese-driven Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The new bank includes most major global players, including South Africa. Notable absentees are Japan and the US. It has eclipsed the BRICS New Development Bank, presenting itself as a champion of the global South. South African and Chinese aspirations have much in common if we look at China from the perspective of a formidable global market player, rather than simply as an authoritarian single-party state. Both are deeply integrated within global markets while at the same time being engaged in domestic ideologies which are inherently antagonistic to these markets. In this respect, they are part of a broader post- Cold War economic pragamatism in which domestic and even foreign policies – be they left, right or centre – are subordinate to the market imperative. Ross Anthony, Director of the Centre for Chinese Studies, Stellenbosch University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Pentagon wants $33 billion in additional funding to pay for the war in Afghanistan this year and train the Afghan military, but members of Congress want to make sure they’re not writing a blank check. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared before Senate appropriators to defend the war supplemental, which is on top of the $708 billion baseline budget submitted to Congress in February. Most of the war supplemental – a separate account used to pay for war costs – will pay for Afghanistan operations. Of that, $2.6 billion is to train the Afghan national security force, seen as a long-term endeavor that Congress worries could become a burden over time. When can US forces leave? “The question is, how long is that going to have to continue to the point where we can kind of say we’ve done our thing,” asked Sen. George Voinovich (R) of Ohio. “Five years, ten years, 15 years?” That question is atop many lawmakers minds as they consider what the Obama administration has said from the start will take years to accomplish. The Iraq security forces, now nearly 665,000 strong, took at least six years to build. But Iraq had more resources, and American trainers were already working within a culture in which a formal military existed under Sadaam Hussein. Afghanistan’s modern history has never had a formal military structure, and there are even fewer resources in Afghanistan to support one. Despite contributions from NATO countries, that still leaves the US holding much of the bag when it comes to training the Afghan indigenous force. While President Obama has pledged to begin removing American troops from Afghanistan in 2011, the training mission will likely continue long after that. “We are in this intense phase that will be several years,” Ms. Clinton said in answer to Mr. Voinovich’s question. “Obviously, I don’t know that either of us could put a timeline on it. What we’re trying to do simultaneously is clear territory from the Taliban, be able to work more closely with the Afghan army, and at the same time create more capacity.” Although NATO allies contribute to the training effort – Germany, for example, the third largest contributor of forces to Afghanistan, is almost uniquely charged with training operations in the north – the US will shoulder much of the burden for the long-term. US commanders concerned about Afghan forces “I know many of you have concerns about the Afghan security forces,” Mr. Gates said in his opening statement. “I share those concerns, as do our military commanders.” Gates noted that the Afghan army has made “real progress” over the last year, and that many Afghan soldiers are making enormous sacrifices for their country. But Gates emphasized that the US can get out of Afghanistan faster if the training piece of the mission is done right, and that will likely take time. And while much praise goes to the Afghan army, the police force – seen as widely corrupt – will be a much harder fix. “As you consider this request, I would emphasize that successfully accomplishing the training mission represents both our exit strategy and the key for long-term stability in Afghanistan,” Gates said. But as a reminder of the cost of training indigenous militaries, the $33 billion funding request includes $1 billion still needed to strengthen Iraqi security forces, a force many consider to be all but fully trained as the US prepares to remove all its combat forces by August. Gates said the money will help to “ensure that the Iraqis are fully prepared to assume internal security responsibilities.”	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
In the early 1990s, there was a famous Reebok t-shirt with the simple slogan: "Sport is an art." Nice idea, but is it true? Can sport - which, by definition, is practical (score runs, take wickets) and competitive (beat the other guy) - belong to the same sphere as painting, literature and music? The debate is not helped by the fact that sport and the arts are usually portrayed as antagonistic opposites - athletes v aesthetes, hearties v arties, jocks v thespians. From school to adult life, it is often (wrongly) assumed that there is little overlap between artistic creators and sporting competitors. (Writers, in fact, are often just as fiercely competitive as sportsmen.) And yet no one (well, almost no one) disputes that sport can be beautiful. Last month, I tried to describe the aesthetic pleasure of watching David Gower bat - or just seeing him stand languidly and unhurriedly at the crease. When we watch Sachin Tendulkar turn his wrists at the very last moment, flicking the blade of the bat towards the on side just as the ball arrives under his eyes, we have experienced something beautiful: not just poise and grace but also concision and completeness. Nothing can be added or taken away from that Tendulkar flick that would not diminish the shot. Within its own terms, it cannot be improved upon. A couple of years ago I watched Arsenal play Barcelona. The game finished a draw, but it was the spectacle rather than the result that left the deepest impression on me. Judged in terms of pure beauty - the physical grace of the players, the inventiveness of their movement - the match was surely the equal of any artistic or cultural event taking place in London that evening. Only someone with his eyes closed could pretend that the match had been defined completely in terms of goals scored and points bagged. Occasionally I still hear arts-lovers complain that all sport is dull or anti-aesthetic. They are watching the wrong stuff. Anyone who loves ballet must surely recognise Roger Federer as one of their own. Again, elegance is matched by economy: the Federer effect is created not only by what he does but by what he avoids doing. There are no false brush strokes, no unnecessary chords, no superfluous sentences. There is no straining for effect, nothing is artificially tacked on. There is another parallel between sport and the arts. In each sphere, the greats often have golden, productive spells late in their careers - periods when the insecurities have faded, when the urgent confusions that follow from deep ambition have receded. In his essay "Late Style", the academic Edward Said described how "age confers a spirit of reconciliation and serenity on late works". Yes, the artist may have been at the peak of his powers in his middle or "High" phase. But there is something even more moving about the final creative outpouring. (If you take only one thing from this article, listen, as I am doing now, to Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs - true Late Style.) Said was writing about the arts, but the same principle applies to sport. The discerning fan will know the feeling of having watched a great player near the end of his career play sport on a higher level - without the fear and frantic-ness of his younger, restless days. We saw Late Federer in the Wimbledon final this summer, conjuring victory despite being outplayed for most of the first two sets. Late Zidane, too, seemed to grasp the whole football pitch before he made even the simplest pass. There was greatness in the small things - especially the small things. But being beautiful does not make something an art. Many things are beautiful that cannot be classified as art. In The Principles of Art, the English philosopher RG Collingwood (no relation) set out to define the difference between an art and a craft. A skilled worker in a furniture workshop might be highly skilled - and might derive deep satisfaction from his work - but he is not an artist. He is a craftsman. A carpenter assembles bits of wood according to a plan for a table and, usually, the more exact the plan the better the table. In contrast, art (according to Collingwood) demands a separation of means and ends. There must be an act of alchemy, the emergence of a creative vision. A poet "converts emotions into poems". Unlike the assembly of a table, the final poem is more than - and different from - the sum of its parts. "A great sportsmen, very occasionally, does something that transcends the activity of scoring a goal or making a shot. He taps into a deep instinct that he cannot quite understand" Where does this leave sport? I would say sport usually has more in common with craft than art. The batsman practising in the nets over many years is honing his craft. He is searching for a technique that is reliable, consistent, resilient and robust. And if one bit breaks or becomes damaged, he hopes the rest of his game will function adequately while he makes running repairs. The job of a good craftsman is to create a finished article that can be repaired without the whole thing always needing a structural refit. But sport is not limited to being a craft. A great sportsmen, very occasionally, does something that transcends the activity of scoring a goal or making a shot. He taps into a deep instinct that he cannot quite understand, let alone articulate. But I suspect this artistic strand can only be achieved by accident. If I was a coach, I would be worried if my star batsman said, "Today I am going to bat beautifully." Far better that he tried to bat as simply and naturally as possible - and the beauty happened along the way, as a happy but unintentional by-product. Sport, I think, can momentarily touch the arts. But it cannot permanently belong as one. But sports certainly fulfil some artistic roles. In the classical world, the arts had a defined religious purpose. For the Greeks, watching a play was a communal act of piety, a form of shared worship. Modern sport achieves something similar. What do we feel when we walk among the masses to a vast sports stadium? We are part of the crowd, we share a purpose and sense of hope with the thousands around us - we belong to a broader congregation. That religious language follows naturally. The art critic Robert Hughes famously wrote that train stations were the cathedrals of the industrial age. To update Hughes: sports stadiums are the cathedrals of the post-industrial age. Above all, sport provides us with timeless stories. It reveals, in dramatic ways, essential elements of the human condition. A few years ago, speaking at a BBC debate called "Sport v the Arts", the classical scholar Edith Hall made this startling claim: "Sport has only two narratives - either you win or you lose - how boring!" The truth could not be more different. A moment's reflection reveals that within the overarching narrative of victory or defeat (there are also draws and ties, Edith), there are countless twists and subplots - often far more interesting and affecting than the headline-grabbing result. Sometimes you have to look more carefully to see the real story. Sport can be experienced at many different levels. Just like the arts.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The fight against the Trans-Pacific Partnership isn't over. The fight against the Trans-Pacific Partnership isn't over. In a major victory for President Obama, negotiators for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership announced Monday that an agreement has been reached after eight years of talks. If approved by those nations, the agreement will lower trade barriers and commercial regulations for 40 percent of the world's nations. While the president and other backers say the deal, the largest since the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed in 1993, will be a boon to American workers, a large percentage of Democrats in Congress, labor unions and some environmental organizations, say calling TPP a "free trade" deal is propaganda that conceals harmful elements. Key provisions relate to investment, including intellectual property rights. And while Obama has said TPP is the most progressive trade agreement in history, Michigan Rep. Sander Levin, the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, says otherwise. Among its flaws, he says, are restrictions on low-cost medicines in developing nations, unfair competition from the Japanese auto industry and an extension of a system of arbitration outside normal legal channels that gives special status to corporations that feel they have been unfairly treated by the nations that sign the TPP. In a statement Monday, Obama said: When more than 95 percent of our potential customers live outside our borders, we can’t let countries like China write the rules of the global economy. We should write those rules, opening new markets to American products while setting high standards for protecting workers and preserving our environment. [...] This partnership levels the playing field for our farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers by eliminating more than 18,000 taxes that various countries put on our products. It includes the strongest commitments on labor and the environment of any trade agreement in history, and those commitments are enforceable, unlike in past agreements. It promotes a free and open Internet. It strengthens our strategic relationships with our partners and allies in a region that will be vital to the 21st century. It’s an agreement that puts American workers first and will help middle-class families get ahead. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has a different view. Soon after the deal was announced, he said he would oppose it. You can read what he had to say below the fold. And you can join in petitioning your representatives in Congress to reject the TPP.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Donald Trump Donald John TrumpObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE faces an unforgiving electoral map as he seeks to win the White House. Yet there is a plausible path to victory for the businessman over likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonWhat Senate Republicans have said about election-year Supreme Court vacancies Bipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death Trump carries on with rally, unaware of Ginsburg's death MORE, if he is able to repair his image among key voting blocs such as Hispanics. ADVERTISEMENT Trump’s net favorability rating among Hispanics in a poll from Latino Decisions last month was negative 78 points. He was viewed unfavorably by 87 percent of Latinos and favorably by just 9 percent. If those figures held until November, Trump would likely need to win around 65 percent of the white vote to prevail. The only election in recent times when any nominee pulled off such a feat was in 1984, when President Ronald Reagan won in a landslide. Here are the states, all won by President Obama in 2012, that Trump would have to target as he seeks to scramble the electoral map and secure the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. The top targets: Ohio (18 electoral votes) and Virginia (13 electoral votes) Ohio, the perennial battleground state, could be fertile ground for Trump. His skepticism of free trade deals could resonate in a state where manufacturing jobs have fallen by around 300,000 since the early 1990s. Other indicators give Trump hope as well. Only 3 percent of all Buckeye State voters in the 2012 election were Hispanic, according to exit polls. Obama won the state by just 2 percentage points, even with high turnout among black voters. Throughout the Republican primary process, Trump has consistently performed much better among voters who do not have college degrees. Ohio ranks 37th in the nation in terms of bachelor’s degrees per capita: 26.6 percent of Ohioan adults over 25 hold that qualification, according to the latest figures from the Census Bureau. Virginia, though not so industrial a state, has several parallels with Ohio. The Hispanic vote-share in 2012 was modest, at 5 percent, and Obama won the state only narrowly, by 3 points. Two factors, however, could make Virginia a slightly heavier lift for Trump: The Commonwealth ranks seventh in the nation for bachelor’s degrees, and African-Americans accounted for 20 percent of the votes cast there in 2012, a higher share of the vote than any other state on this list. The game changers: Pennsylvania (20 electoral votes), Michigan (16 electoral votes) and Wisconsin (10 electoral votes) Victory in any two of these three states would give Trump a real chance of taking the White House. They are at the heart of his claim that he can expand the electoral map. But it will be no easy task. No Republican has won Pennsylvania or Michigan since 1988, nor has the GOP candidate carried Wisconsin since 1984. Pennsylvania and Michigan will, along with Ohio, be the focus of Trump’s hopes in the Rust Belt. He will hope to spur white working-class turnout to heights not seen in many years. But, even if that happens, will it be enough? Obama won Michigan by 10 points in 2012. Clinton led Trump by 15 points in Pennsylvania in an NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist College poll last month. In Wisconsin, Democratic and organized-labor roots run deep. Whites accounted for a higher share of the 2012 vote there than in most battleground states, at 86 percent. But Romney won those voters only narrowly, 51 to 48 percent. Obama won the state overall by a comfortable 6 points. The big one: Florida (29 electoral votes) If Trump doesn’t make the inroads he wants in the industrial Midwest, a Sunshine State victory could keep the business mogul on track. The biggest obstacle is simple: 17 percent of voters in Florida in 2012 were Hispanic, and that figure is likely to rise in 2016. At one time, the GOP could hope to compete effectively among Hispanics in Florida, in part because Cuban exiles strongly supported the party. But young Hispanics in the state have been moving toward the Democrats. Obama carried Hispanics 60 to 39 percent there in 2012, according to exit polls. If Trump were able to rehabilitate his image with Hispanics, there would be reasons for optimism. Obama won the state by just 1 point in 2012. Florida’s status as a favored home for retirees from Trump’s native New York could also help him. On Wednesday, Florida Democratic strategist Steve Schale warned his party colleagues not to take a win over Trump in the state for granted, drawing parallels between the businessman and Gov. Rick Scott (R), who is currently in his second term. The small white hopes: Iowa (Six electoral votes) and New Hampshire (Four electoral votes) If the election is tight, these states could prove vital, and their lack of diversity could play to Trump’s advantage. Whites cast 93 percent of the total votes in 2012 in both states. And, while the businessman lost the GOP caucuses in Iowa to Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzSenate Republicans face tough decision on replacing Ginsburg Cruz: Trump should nominate a Supreme Court justice next week Renewed focus on Trump's Supreme Court list after Ginsburg's death MORE, he won resoundingly in the New Hampshire primary. On the downside for Trump, Clinton has famously deep political roots in New Hampshire — though Iowa has proven to be more difficult territory for her. Obama carried both states by 6 points in 2012. A Republican has won each state just once in the last four presidential elections: President George W. Bush won Iowa in 2004 and New Hampshire in 2000. The outside bets: Colorado (Nine electoral votes) and Nevada (Six electoral votes) In Nevada, 19 percent of the votes cast came from Hispanics in 2012, and Obama won the state by 5 points. The Hispanic vote-share in Colorado was slightly lower, at 14 percent, but Obama won 3 in every 4 of those votes. Further complicating the picture for Trump in Colorado, the state ranks third in the nation for college degrees, which are held by 38 percent of the adult population. If Trump wins either of these states, he will be on course for a landslide. More likely, he will have to find a way to win without them.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Napthine government struck an 11th hour $2.5 million settlement with developers over former planning minister Matthew Guy's botched handling of rezoning on Phillip Island in 2011. Key points: Labor has used Parliament to table documents from the previous Coalition government Labor has used Parliament to table documents from the previous Coalition government The controversial move is seen as setting a dangerous precedent as documents from previous governments are considered off-limits The controversial move is seen as setting a dangerous precedent as documents from previous governments are considered off-limits The unconventional move reveals the Napthine government struck a multi-million-dollar settlement with developers over the rezoning on Phillip Island Just months before the November state election, in a highly unconventional tactic, the Andrews Government has used Parliament to table documents from the previous Coalition government to attack Mr Guy, now the Opposition Leader. Documents from previous governments are usually considered off limits. In 2011, Mr Guy rezoned land on Phillip Island, at Ventnor, only to backflip a month later after public outcry, with the land owners suing the minister and the state over the backflip. Among those protesting the rezoning, which was linked to some Liberal Party members, was teen star Miley Cyrus who famously tweeted her disgust at the development proposals. Among the 80,000 pages of documents tabled in state Parliament on Monday, are details of a settlement struck on the eve of a court case that could have seen ministers and the former premier Ted Baillieu cross examined. Documents show that the government in 2013 settled for $2.5 million to plaintiff Carley Nicholls who was buying the land to develop. The settlement also included a deal between Ms Nicholls and the property vendors. The $2.5 million settlement does not include legal costs which are understood to be at least $750,000 for the government. Labor 'throwing mud' Labor's decision to use Parliament to access documents from a former government is seen as dangerous precedent in some circles, and gives an insight into how the state election campaign may be fought. Deputy Premier James Merlino, who has not read the documents, told reporters the public had a right to know about Mr Guy's behaviour in government and the "dodgy deal". "Victorians have a right to know about what went on with the Ventnor scandal," he said. On Monday morning, Mr Guy said he was focused on preventing crime in Victoria, adding that he was not worried about what the documents may reveal. "The Labor Government is focused on throwing mud on political opponents. How does that solve our crime rate? How does that make people's life easier?" Mr Guy said. The Opposition have attacked Labor over the last year over the so-called rorts for votes scandal, after the ombudsman found Labor had misused $388,000 of taxpayer funds to campaign for votes in 2014. Labor has repaid that money but the Opposition has also called on it to reimburse the taxpayer for the hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills incurred trying to fight the ombudsman in the courts. The fraud and extortion squad are currently investigating the case. Parliament resumes on Tuesday for the penultimate session before the election, and Labor will use the document dump to attack Mr Guy.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
2020 Campus Elections Thank you for participating in the 2020 campus elections! The voting period has now ended. Results have been posted to the elections archive. Please visit this page in Fall Quarter 2020 for information about the 2021 campus elections.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Oregonian file photo Don't Edit Coming as a surprise to no one here, Portland was named the No. 1 city for beer drinkers in America. Duh. The financial technology company Smart Asset, which tracks trends in various industries, considered five factors in its rankings, including the number of breweries, breweries per 100,000 residents, bars per 10,000 residents, the average number of beers per brewery and the average price of beer. Portland inexplicably ranked seventh in Smart Asset's 2017 list, which named Asheville, North Carolina, as the top dog. Asheville slipped to No. 2 this year. Two other Oregon cities made the ranking of the Top 25, with Bend coming in at No. 5 and Eugene landing at No. 15. And two other West Coast cities made the list: Seattle at No. 8 and San Francisco at No. 14. Here are the top 10: Don't Edit No. 10: Fort Collins, Colorado Don't Edit Don't Edit New Belgium Brewing, opened in 1991, is one of the oldest and most recognizable breweries coming out of the vibrant Fort Collins beer scene. Don't Edit Don't Edit No. 9: Pittsburgh Don't Edit Don't Edit The winter version of the Pittsburgh Beerfest will be held Feb. 22-23, 2019, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Don't Edit No. 8: Seattle Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Smart Asset says Seattle, Portland's smaller sibling in the beer world, has 63 breweries, including Reuben's Brews, Fremont Brewing, Holy Mountain Brewing, Dirty Couch Brewing, Floodland Brewing, Urban Family Brewing and Empty Couch Brewing. Don't Edit No. 7: Denver Don't Edit Don't Edit Denver, the home to the prestigious Great American Beer Festival every year, boasts 77 breweries, according to Smart Asset. Don't Edit No. 6: Duluth, Minnesota Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit This Instagram picture looks about right when we picture the Minnesota beer scene. And here is what Smart Asset said about Duluth's: "If you're a beer-drinker who places a lot of your beer drinking happiness on hitting up as many brewpubs as possible, Duluth may not be for you. This city has a respectable 10 breweries, or 11.62 per 100,000 residents. But Duluth secures its top-10 spot due to its affordability. Duluth ranks second for the average cost of a beer." Don't Edit No. 5: Bend Don't Edit Don't Edit Bend's beer industry shows no signs of slowing, and Smart Asset said it claimed No. 5 because of the large number of breweries it has relative to the population, with 22 breweries per 100,000 residents. Bend, along with Portland, is a main tourism magnet for its beer scene. Don't Edit Don't Edit No. 4: Cincinnati Don't Edit Don't Edit Cincinnati holds onto the No. 4 spot it earned in 2017, with Rhinegeist Brewery, which makes beer and cider, among the 25 breweries Smart Asset counts. The analysis gave high marks to Cincinnati because of the variety of beers it offers, with the average brewery producing nearly 100 different beers. Don't Edit No.3: Portland, Maine Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit The "other" Portland also apparently features fine brews and beautiful days. It has only 18 breweries, Smart Asset says, though with a much smaller population, that's just under 27 breweries per 100,000 residents (compared with 10.3 per 100,000 for our Portland). One other leg up on Beervana: The average price of a pint in the East Coast Portland is $4, compared with $5 here. Don't Edit No. 2: Asheville, North Carolina Don't Edit Don't Edit Portland may have its BrewBarge and BrewCycle, but Asheville has taken an old school bus and converted it to its Asheville Brews Cruise, where you can go "Cruisin' For a Brewsin'." It's like a little mini version of the McMenamins Kennedy School. Seriously, how cute is that? Anyhow, Smart Asset touts Asheville for having 26 breweries for a population of 92,000. That gives it the highest density of breweries per resident, at more than 28 breweries per 100,000 people. Don't Edit No. 1: Portland Don't Edit Don't Edit Mark Graves/Staff Don't Edit The Oregon Brewers Festival in Southwest Portland is the most popular event in America's best city for beer drinkers. Smart Asset says Portland has 67 breweries, though such counts vary. The Oregon Brewers Guild puts that number at 77. Here is what Smart Asset had to say about Portland: The City of Roses is also fond of hops and malted barley, according to our analysis. Portland is awash in beer, ranking in the top 10 for both breweries per 100,000 residents and bars per 10,000 residents. Most notably, Portland has 67 breweries, which equals about 10.34 breweries per 100,000 residents. With such craft brew variety in the city, even the pickiest beer connoisseur should find something suited to his or her palette. Don't Edit More beer coverage: Cascade Brewing at 20: How Portland's sour-beer house became the gold standard 11 winter ales from Oregon breweries now on your grocer's shelves Holiday Ale Festival begins 5-day run in Pioneer Courthouse Square Eugene v. Corvallis: Who wins the Civil War Battle of the Breweries? Portland Brewing latest of city's first-generation brewpubs to close How Oregon's pFriem rose to new status as nation's top midsize brewery 10 old-school Portland brewpubs that launched the city's beer scene -- 503-221-8488	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
C'est un sondage commandé par la mairie de Paris. Un sondage majoritairement favorable au maintien de la piétonisation des voies sur berges mais qui montre une fracture entre les générations. 62 % des moins de 35 ans y sont favorables . En revanche 60 % des plus de 60 ans sont contre. EXCLUSIF - France Bleu Paris : 55 % des Parisiens pour le maintien de la piétonisation des voies sur berges Un sondage qui doit donner du baume au coeur à Anne Hidalgo entre le fiasco Vélib' ou ce mercredi l'affaire streeteo. Un sondage commandé par la mairie de Paris que vous dévoile France Bleu Paris alors que vendredi doit paraître au bulletin municipal le nouvel arrêté pour "maintenir la piétonnisation" des voies sur berges qui doit prendre en compte les recommandations émises par le tribunal administratif, qui avait annulé le 21 février cette décision phare de la maire de Paris. 55 % pour, 45% contre Pour 55 % des personnes interrogées, il faut maintenir la piétonisation et la fermeture des voies sur berges à la circulation automobile. Logiquement, 45% sont eux favorables à la réouverture de cet axe aux voitures. Un écart d'opinions entre les générations Toujours selon ce sondage 62 % des moins de 35 ans y sont favorables . En revanche 60 % des plus de 60 ans sont contre. Ecart également géographique entre les habitants du Nord-Est de Paris , favorables à 58% et ceux de l'ouest de la capitale opposés à 52 %. Autre enseignement, il y a également une fracture entre les nouveaux arrivants (ancienneté de moins de 5 ans) qui sont à 83 % pour le maintien de la fermeture à la circulation automobile et les plus anciens habitants (plus de 15 ans dans la capitale) contre à 52%. Sondage réalisé entre le 2 et 8 mars auprès de 1000 personnes constituant un échantillon représentatif de la population parisienne âgée de 18 ans et plus selon la méthode des quotas.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Queensryche + Vanishing Point + Elm Street The Prince Bandroom, Melbourne October 14th, 2016 Reviewed by Rod Whitfield Photography by Sofie Marsden A few weeks ago, I wrote a memoir for HEAVY Magazine of my first ever live music experience, Dio at Festival Hall, 30 years to the day [ http://bit.ly/29NxTNj ]. Entering the Prince Bandroom last night just, as Elm Street were starting their set, I thought I had stepped through a time-warp regarding the band’s sound and presentation. This feeling was heightened by the punters who had shown up to with their cut-off denim jackets festooned with Iron Maiden and Motorhead patches, just as I had worn as a 15-year-old way back on that cold night in the mid-’80’s. Elm Street was up first with their blistering, traditional thrash metal. Thrash isn’t the perfect choice to open up the night for a band like Queensryche and therefore didn’t elicit much of a positive reaction from the growing crowd. However, and understandably so, because they were ring-in’s because Teramaze had to pull out due to their drummer’s leg injury which required surgery. If it were a thrash night, Elm Street would have knocked the crowd’s socks off with their almost cliche riffs and antics. Vanishing Point came on next and seriously lifted the vibe with their grand and soaring take on the power metal sub-genre. Just back from the Power-Prog Festival in the USA, it is easy to see why Vanishing Point are one of Australia’s favourite power metal exports and have been for years and years. Decades even. Their songs are joyous, catchy, skilfully played, full of energy, with subtle symphonic touches and beautifully sung by Silvio Massaro. Twenty plus years in this harsh industry we call the “music biz” does not seem to have blunted the passion, creativity and enthusiasm of this band one single iota. They still appear to be having an absolute ball up there, especially long-time guitarist Chris Porcianko who laid out his slick riffs, licks, blistering leads along with towering vocal harmonies with effortless ease. And, supporting Seattle’s greatest musical export, why wouldn’t you be enthusiastic! I’ve been a massive fan of Queensryche since the time I saw Dio, but I had never experienced their live show; this night was another rite of musical passage moment for me. The band have gone through some serious turmoil in the last five years with lineup changes, including a change in the all-important frontman position, lawsuits, physical altercations, bickering over the use of the band name and so forth. However, if this night was anything to go by, they have seriously put those times behind them and gotten on with the business of creating great music and putting on barnstorming live shows, as this gig was immense. Focusing mainly on songs of the band’s career between and inclusive of 1986’s “Rage for Order” and “Promised Land” (1994), plus a tune each from the band’s debut and early, self-titled EP. There was also the subtle inclusion of a couple of tracks from the new, Geoff Tate-free era, where new frontman Todd La Torre has bravely and boldly stepped up to fill the great man’s shoes. And step up he has, to the point where a potentially daunting, almost impossible transition is now seamless. La Torre’s voice and presence are magnificent. He handles the breathtaking operatic highs with consummate ease and professionalism and puts his subtle spin on Tate’s illustrious vocal histrionics while maintaining the key vibe, sound and core of his delivery. He injects his charisma, energy and personality into the role to make it his own. The setlist was superb, the only thing I would have asked for was the stupendous Spreading the Disease from the all-time classic “Operation: Mindcrime” opus. It is a beautiful thing to see a band like this, who have been around for decades, revived, vibrant and putting on a muscular, energy-packed show. The zealously devoted audience packed-out The Prince Bandroom and were very enjoyable rowdy. May we see Queensryche again soon! [vc_row][vc_column][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1476488630886-b8d5cdeb-61c7-7″ include=”39042,39043,39044,39045,39046,39047,39048,39049,39050,39051,39052,39053,39054,39055,39056,39057,39058,39059,39060,39061,39062,39063,39064,39065,39066,39067″][/vc_column][/vc_row]	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
“Thor: Ragnarok” director Taika Waititi’s latest movie “Jojo Rabbit” is a World War II-set satire in which he cast himself as Adolf Hitler. But the film is also “a love letter to mothers, especially solo mothers,” he explained after its world-premiere screening Sunday night at the Toronto International Film Festival. Out Oct. 18, the Fox Searchlight title centers on a young German boy (newcomer Roman Griffin Davis) who discovers a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) hiding in his home. Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant and Alfie Allen are among the cast. For the record: The original version of this article identified the author of “Caging Skies,” the source material for “Jojo Rabbit,” as Christina Leunens. She is Christine Leunens. “I grew up with a single mom,” Waititi told the audience, who gave lengthy applause for Davis and McKenzie. “I didn’t realize until I had my own children that she would’ve done anything for me, and she did.” Johansson plays the mother of the young boy. "[Her] character, for me, is the most important element in the entire film, and probably the only grounded character,” he added. “She’s a clown, but she’s trying to save her kid.” Waititi thanked his mother while introducing the film because it was because of her that he first encountered the source material. She was reading Christine Leunens’ book “Caging Skies” and enthusiastically recommended it to him. “The way she described it, I thought, ‘What a great film idea!’ Then I read the book, and it is an incredible, very good book, but it wasn’t exactly like my mom described it,” he said to the audience’s laughter. Waititi then wrote a script that’s closer to his mother’s version of the book, and added in humor via the boy’s imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler. “Growing up, I’ve often fantasized about father figures and wanting that kind of presence in my life,” he said. “I think it’s no different for a boy growing up with a solo mother in Germany: ‘I want a dad, but also my idol is this buffoon.’ “It’s essentially the core of a young boy who has been indoctrinated and has to understand and befriend [someone],” added the writer-director. “The idea was kind of like having a monster in the attic, but it’s just a human.” To portray that human, McKenzie (who delivered a breakout performance in the indie “Leave No Trace”) had initially done quite a bit of research and reflection, but Waititi instructed her to forget it all and watch movies like “Heathers” and “Mean Girls” instead. The actress explained this strategy: “She had a life before this disgusting tragedy happened to her, and I think it was important to present her as a figure of hope, and that she is a strong, brave, very staunch girl.” As for a Nazi officer indoctrinating the Hitler youth, Rockwell explained his method for getting into character. “I thought, if Bill Murray was a disillusioned Nazi, that’s how I was gonna play it,” he joked. “I think Taika liked that idea!” Waititi acknowledged that he did, and joked, “But sadly, Bill was unavailable.”	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
TWIGGS COUNTY, Ga. -- A couple from Macon, Ga., said their 15-year-old son suffers from seizures almost every day.Suzeanna and Matthew Brill lost custody of their son after giving him marijuana - not medical cannabis, which is legal in Georgia - as treatment.Matthew Brill said his stepson suffered from several seizures a day and said one time he had a seizure in his sleep and ended up covered in vomit. The couple said their son had a service dog to help him cope."We look at our child in a ball in the middle of the floor, unable to anything, but their entire body is convulsing and tensed up and you have to pick your child up carry them to your vehicle because you live 45 minutes away from help. I hope no parent ever has to do that," Suzeanna Brill told WGXA.The couple said they tried several medications prescribed by doctors and cannabis oil, but none of it worked."'Let's up it. Let's up it again.' He is still having seizures. 'Let's up it again...' Boom, grand mal seizure," Suzeanna Brill said.They finally turned to marijuana."I smoke it first. I know where it comes from, I know my people. Made sure the bag was good, packed the bowl in my bowl, which I know ain't been anywhere else, and I set it on the table and told him that it was his decision. I did not tell him he had to or not," Matthew Brill told WMAZ.The Brills said their son began smoking several times a day and went 71 days without having a single seizure."Nothing else was working. I can't have my kid dying because no one wants to listen," Suzeanna Brill said.But then the couple was arrested by Twiggs County Sheriff's deputies and Georgia's Division of Family and Children Services took custody of the boy."They showed up at my house demanding that I quit abusing my son. I wasn't abusing him, I was taking care of him," Suzeanna Brill said."I understand the parents are apparently trying to do what they think may be the right thing. But the fact is, as of today, marijuana is not legal in the state of Georgia," Twiggs County Sheriff Darren Mitchum said.The Brills are facing reckless conduct charges. Even still, they said they would do it again to protect their child.They haven't seen their son since April 20. His status will depend on the outcome of the couple's hearing on June 14.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
How Big Is Pluto? New Horizons Settles Decades-Long Debate Charon’s newly-discovered system of chasms, larger than the Grand Canyon on Earth, rotates out of view in New Horizons’ sharpest image yet of the Texas-sized moon. It’s trailed by a large equatorial impact crater that is ringed by bright rays of ejected material. In this latest image, the dark north polar region is displaying new and intriguing patterns. This image was taken on July 12 from a distance of 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers). Pluto’s bright, mysterious “heart” is rotating into view, ready for its close-up on close approach, in this image taken by New Horizons on July 12 from a distance of 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers). It is the target of the highest-resolution images that will be taken during the spacecraft’s closest approach to Pluto on July 14. The intriguing “bulls-eye” feature at right is rotating out of view, and will not be seen in greater detail. NASA’s New Horizons mission has answered one of the most basic questions about Pluto—its size. Mission scientists have found Pluto to be 1,473 miles (2,370 kilometers) in diameter, somewhat larger than many prior estimates. Images acquired with the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were used to make this determination. This result confirms what was already suspected: Pluto is larger than all other known solar system objects beyond the orbit of Neptune. “The size of Pluto has been debated since its discovery in 1930. We are excited to finally lay this question to rest,” said mission scientist Bill McKinnon, Washington University, St. Louis. Pluto’s newly estimated size means that its density is slightly lower than previously thought, and the fraction of ice in its interior is slightly higher. Also, the lowest layer of Pluto’s atmosphere, called the troposphere, is shallower than previously believed. Measuring Pluto’s size has been a decades-long challenge due to complicating factors from its atmosphere. Its largest moon Charon lacks a substantial atmosphere, and its diameter was easier to determine using ground-based telescopes. New Horizons observations of Charon confirm previous estimates of 751 miles (1208 km) kilometers) across LORRI has also zoomed in on two of Pluto’s smaller moons, Nix and Hydra. “We knew from the time we designed our flyby that we would only be able to study the small moons in detail for just a few days before closest approach,” said New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado. “Now, deep inside Pluto’s sphere of influence, that time has come.” The approximate sizes of Pluto’s moons Nix and Hydra compared to Denver, Colorado. While Nix and Hydra are illustrated as circles in this diagram, mission scientists anticipate that future observations by New Horizons will show that they are irregular in shape. Nix and Hydra were discovered using the Hubble Space Telescope in 2005. Even to Hubble, they appeared as points of light, and that’s how they looked to New Horizons until the final week of its approach to Pluto. Now, the latest LORRI images show the two diminutive satellites not as pinpoints, but as moons seen well enough to measure their sizes. Nix is estimated to be about 20 miles (about 35 kilometers) across, while Hydra is roughly 30 miles (roughly 45 kilometers) across. These sizes lead mission scientists to conclude that their surfaces are quite bright, possibly due to the presence of ice. What about Pluto’s two smallest moons, Kerberos and Styx? Smaller and fainter than Nix and Hydra, they are harder to measure. Mission scientists should be able to determine their sizes with observations New Horizons will make during the flyby and will transmit to Earth at a later date.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
SANDUSKY, OH - Cedar Point is looking to hire 5,000 "Thrillermakers" to spend the summer at the amusement park. This will be Cedar Point's 149th season when it opens on May 5, 2018. There are two upcoming job fairs taking place at Castaway Bay, located at 2001 Cleveland Road in Sandusky, OH. The first will be Thursday, March 22 from 4pm - 7pm. The second is on Sunday, April 8 from 2pm - 5pm. The 5,000 available summer positions and internships are in numerous departments, including ride operations, food and beverage, guest services, accommodations, games, merchandise, maintenance, office and clerical, parking, security and more. Compensation ranges from $9.25 - $12.50 per hour. CEDAR POINT ANNOUNCES BIG CHANGES FOR 2018 "Hiring managers from all departments will be on hand to answer questions, conduct interviews and extend job offers," said Tony Clark, Cedar Point communications director. Candidates should first apply online at CedarPoint.com/jobs and then attend one of the job fairs. Cedar Point says its employees also receive these perks:	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Here’s some “breaking” news from Saturday, but it’s only now just being reported. Remember when some blue-check journalist thought he was “defending” Rep. Elijah Cummings against President Trump’s “attack” on him and his rodent-infested district by daring Trump to stay in Cummings house just one night? Mr. President, try staying 1 night where Congressman Cummings lives in Charm City and you may not last until morning. The honorable representative from MD’s 7th has served #Baltimore with pride & integrity. He is right to demand justice, at the border & in his House committee — Ben Piven (@benpiven) July 27, 2019 “You may not last until morning” didn’t really come across as a reassurance that Baltimore is a well-run, safe, clean place to live. And who knows, if Trump had stayed the night, the Secret Service might have caught the burglar that broke into Cummings’ home. Breaking: Congressman Elijah Cummings home broken into. Baltimore police investigating @wjz pic.twitter.com/4noh7h0yJB — Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) August 1, 2019 We are just learning about this but it happened Saturday—same day the president started tweeting about Rep. Cummings @wjz — Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) August 1, 2019 That’s an odd tidbit to add. Are you ready for the hot take? Slip on some oven mitts before scrolling down: Donald Trump should be charged with inciting violence against @RepCummings — Fohtohgirl (@fohtohgirl) August 1, 2019 About that: Worth noting that the break-in of Elijah Cummings' home on Saturday morning occurred several hours before President Trump's tweet criticizing Cummings https://t.co/D5cBWhR0bV — Steve Lookner (@lookner) August 1, 2019 Congressman Elijah Cummings’ Baltimore Home Burglarized, Police Say The burglary occurred hours before President Trump tweeted about Cummings according to policehttps://t.co/A5GgbgXmZK — Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) August 1, 2019 The breakin happened before his tweet Einstein. You might want to read the report again. — Time Outdoors (@volleypc) August 1, 2019 It happened before the tweets https://t.co/DUEWtttREg — Joel B. Pollak (@joelpollak) August 1, 2019 That's the dumbest thing I read today! It happen before Trumps tweet. ? You people are so desperate to find anything on Trump! — ???Make It Storm??? (@BirdWatching0) August 1, 2019 Trump said it AFTER the break in… — Ben (@BS33171) August 1, 2019 Right, the burglar traveled forward in time to read Trump's tweets so that he could use them as justification ? Idiot — ?? BUt mUh InPEecHmiNT ? (@k_ovfefe) August 1, 2019 Same time-traveller that hit Joy Reid’s old blog! ?? — Reporting Live From The Swamp (@Magnum_CK) August 1, 2019 You win the award for this week's dumbest comment. Congratulations. — Storm (@iinfidel) August 1, 2019 You probably believe Jussie Smollett also . — Rick (@rjc69mopar) August 1, 2019 This new game of claiming "inciting to violence" is getting out of hand. — Shoot Logic, LLC (@ShootLogic) August 1, 2019 Trump started tweeting negatively about @RepCummings before the garbage tweet and you know it. pic.twitter.com/wGO5gy5kzR — Fohtohgirl (@fohtohgirl) August 1, 2019 Someone looking for the missing billions? — Shadowbanned dagny (@dukeblu85) August 1, 2019 Maybe the burglars were looking for the $16 billion the federal government sent to Cummings’ district in 2018? No one seems to know where it was spent. Oh please- he doesn’t even know if anything was taken – lol. #AttentionWhore — Grateful_Mom (@mom_grateful) August 1, 2019 Maybe if his neighborhood wasn't infested with crime and drugs — Wolf J. Flywheel (@rmcommhub) August 1, 2019 Now he has plausible deniability if someone asks him where certain things went. “Dunno; musta gotten stolen!” — Duke Selden (@DukeSelden) August 1, 2019 I’m sure they just happened to make off with his file cabinets full of all of his financial documents from the last 30 years — Scott S (@scotts_3101) August 1, 2019 Bet all the files and records are missing.. — Goldens Rule (@jamesbranch3) August 1, 2019 This is too funny. It’s Trumps fault. ??????????? — TommyHour?? (@thomashourigan1) August 1, 2019 Funny…someone commits a crime with a gun…Dems blame the gun. Someone breaks into Cummings house…Dems blame Trump. Go figure. — Mitch Blackmore (@jugernautmitch) August 1, 2019 Sounds like Baltimore sucks. — Jozef T'Challomy (@JozefColomy) August 1, 2019 After reviewing the CCTV footage they determined it was a pack of rats — DeeDee (@DeeDee68498255) August 1, 2019 Just an undocumented entry. — Schwalbe:The Me-262 (@MikeTInnes) August 1, 2019 We’re not even going to get into the people saying there’s no way it was a coincidence and that Trump actually had some of his goons break into Cummings’ house for some reason. TDS is really affecting people’s brains. Related:	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
DESCRIPTION: Akino was a normal school girl in till she got taste for BBC. She wants her tight pussy to be destroyed by tall muscular black creampies are so much more pleasurable? You have never seen a hentai like this before. ... Show more Show less	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
I literally gushing over here at the sheer awesomeness of this piece...GUSHING!! Having some serious "love this!" moments right now (will probably have them each time I look at this). I love your drawing like this. Your imagination is so creative. The house's roof looks so real I feel as if I could reach out and touch it. Thank you for sharing this with the rest of us on here.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The beleaguered orca population in Puget Sound near Seattle finally has something to celebrate — one of the females recently delivered a baby. A baby killer whale was spotted in aerial footage that aired on Jan. 10 on local television stations in Seattle, representatives of the Center for Whale Research (CWR), a Washington nonprofit that has monitored the region's orcas since 1976, said in a statement. While watching that footage, a CWR researcher saw a baby orca swimming close by a 31-year-old female known as L77, one of the killer whales in the "L" pod, according to the statement. [Photos: Drone Reveals Killer Whales] Orcas live in small populations; this particular group is known as the southern resident killer whales, and it contains three social groups known as the J, K and L pods. From 2006 through 2011, there were 85 to 89 southern resident whales, but their numbers have steadily declined since then, according to the Marine Mammal Commission (MMC), a federal agency monitoring the conservation of orcas and other marine mammals. On Jan. 11, CWR scientists went out on a boat to investigate the baby sighting, and they confirmed the presence of a new calf at 9:50 a.m. local time, CWR reported. "The calf appeared to be about 3 weeks old and was bouncing around between [other L pod orcas] L25, L41, L77 L85 and L119," according to the statement. As the adult orcas in the group traveled to the northwest, the young newcomer "kept up well," the scientists reported. While the researchers were unable to identify the calf's sex, they were hopeful that future observations would provide more information about the new addition to the pod. Last year, the southern resident population lost a newborn and a 3-year-old female, which reduced their number to 74 — the lowest in 34 years, according to the MMC. After a newborn orca in the J pod died in July, its mother pushed the corpse around for 17 days before finally abandoning the body of its dead baby. And an ailing young whale nicknamed Scarlet, also in the J pod, slowly starved and was presumed dead in September, despite a month-long effort by veterinarians and biologists to save her life. With the arrival of the new calf, now dubbed L124, the population of the southern resident whales returns to 75 individuals. However, the calf faces an uncertain future — about 40 percent of killer whale newborns don't survive past their first year, according to the statement. Orcas: Facts About Killer Whales Image Gallery: Russia's Beautiful Killer Whales In Photos: Response Teams Try to Save Starving Killer Whale Originally published on Live Science.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Billionaire businessman Richard Branson has urged kiwi farmers to swap cows for cannabis. Speaking to New Zealand broadcaster Newshub during a recent trip to the country, Mr Branson said that he sees a significant business opportunity for the country’s dairy farmers in marijuana. "You should legalise it, grow it, tax it, regulate it," he said. "I think that would be wonderful because obviously the amount of dairy cows that New Zealand has is damaging the rivers,” he added. “If you could put some of that land over into growing cannabis would be just as profitable for them, if not more profitable.” According to the website of the country’s police department, cannabis is one of the most widely available illicit drugs in New Zealand. Police say that they are committed to reducing the demand for it and disrupting the supply chain, and that penalties associated with it range from a $NZ500 fine for possession to a 14-year jail term for its supply or manufacture. But Sir Richard is known for his innovative and adventurous approach to business and his support for budding entrepreneurs. And he has also in the past spoken out vocally against the war on drugs. “Communities around the world have been ravaged by decades of a brutal, repressive and completely ineffective war on drugs,” the Virgin founder wrote in a blog post last March. “The consequences of these strategies include soaring violence, overcrowded prisons, and pervasive corruption. Presented as an investment in a better future, the war on drugs has been an epic, costly failure,” he said, adding that “we need a new course of action.” He is a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, a group of international politicians and experts whose aim it is to reduce the harm caused by drugs to people and societies. Cannabis around the world Show all 13 1 /13 Cannabis around the world Cannabis around the world Morocco Farmers destroy cannabis plantations under Moroccan police supervision in the northern Moroccan Larache region, pictured here in 2006 AFP/Getty images Cannabis around the world Colorado Growing business: Cannabis on sale at River Rock Wellness Sam Adams Cannabis around the world Oakland Oaksterdam in Oakland, California, is the world's only university dedicated to the study and cultivation of cannabis Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images Cannabis around the world Seattle A cannabis smoker marks the start of the new law by the Space Needle in Seattle Getty Images Cannabis around the world China Cannabis growing wild in China, where it has been used to treat conditions such as gout and malaria Cannabis around the world Uruguay Uruguay has voted to make the country the first to legalize marijuana AFP/Getty Cannabis around the world Colorado A groundswell of support from the public led to full legalisation in Colorado Getty Images Cannabis around the world Berlin A man smokes licenced medicinal marijuana prior to participating in the annual Hemp Parade, or 'Hanfparade', in support of the legalization of marijuana in Germany on August 7, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. The consumption of cannabis in Germany is legal, though all other aspects, including growing, importing or selling it, are not. However, since the introduction of a new law in 2009, the sale and possession of marijuana for licenced medicinal use is legal. Sean Gallup/Getty Images Cannabis around the world UK The UK latest figures show 2.3 million people used cannabis in the last year AP Cannabis around the world Amsterdam Tourists visiting Amsterdam will not be banned from using the city’s famous cannabis cafes Getty Images Cannabis around the world Merseyside These 25 cannabis plants, seized in Merseyside police, could have generated a turnover of £40,000 a year Cannabis around the world San Francisco April 20, 2012: People smoke marijuana joints at 4:20 p.m. as thousands of marijuana advocates gathered at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California. The event was held on April 20, a date corresponding with a numerical 4/20 code widely known within the cannabis subculture as a symbol for all things marijuana. Reuters Cannabis around the world Spain A cannabis users' association will pay the town of Rasquera more than €600,000 a year for the lease of the land In a separate blog post in April, commenting on the UN General Assembly’s Special Session on drug policy, Sir Richard vowed to redouble efforts to “support societies around the world to positively recalibrate drug policy”.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Dangers Are Real? Whether they pose a true threat to the NAS or not, drones/model airplanes/unmanned aircraft systems have been lambasted by the FAA as of recent. Is the threat high enough to require blanket registration for all model aircraft within the .5 to 55lb weight limit? The FAA thinks so. But the AMA recently debunked their logic by analyzing the 764 "close call" reports by pilots and found only 27 were actually close enough to be called a near-miss. So in the name of this perceived threat, I've compiled a list of very real threats to the National Air Space and humans in general - all of which are registration free. The Semi Automatic Rifle First off, I'm a gun-lover at heart, so don't think for a second this is some sort of anti pew-pew babbling. But in comparison, a 1-pound quadcopter is tame next to a 5.56 carbine. The reality is that federal law enables you to build or buy most semi-automatic long guns in the USA without the need to register them. State and local laws vary, but you get the gist. The Ultralight Aircraft The quintessential go-kart with wings is a cost-effective means of taking to the sky without a pilot's license. In fact, your ultralight doesn't have to meet airworthiness certification standards, nor does it have to even be registered. By law, no training is required to fly one in the national airspace, and the FAA is perfectly fine with that. Maybe they missed the part about 134 fatalities due to ultralight crashes in the past 30 years? Regardless, the FAA considers a 1-lb quadcopter to represent more of a threat to the NAS than an ultralight. Now here's some food for thought: a full-scale ultralight doesn't require registration, a radio controlled ultralight does... The Laser Pointer Green, to be exact. The green laser pointer seems to find it's way into media headlines once a month. They're not eyeball-friendly, and disperse into a 6-10 foot wide beam by the time they hit a flying aircraft's cockpit window at altitude. The result is a temporarily blinded pilot and a federal offense. And unlike a drone sighting, there's no denying you saw a green laser hit your cockpit; it's fair to estimate that 100% of laser sightings are indeed lasers! Yet, somehow, they remain legal. Two Sticks of Butter And last but certainly not least, I give you two sticks of butter. The FAA recently noted that a pair of butter sticks (I'm assuming unsalted) are roughly the minimum weight of a drone that requires registration. But alas! Butter is ultimately responsible for WAY more deaths in the United States than the ubiquitous drone. Butter has been clogging arteries for centuries! The FAA said it best in their UAS Registration Q&A: A registration requirement encourages a culture of accountability and responsibility. That's funny, Doesn't the AMA encouraged the same things? But apparently that's not good enough for the FAA. Now that they've sucked the fun right out of model aviation, it's high time the FAA go's after the true threat to the NAS: Canadian Geese.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Michelle Rowland has outlined Labor's NBN policy which will hopefully undo Australia's broadband fiasco, writes Laurie Patton. LABOR’S COMMUNICATIONS spokesperson, Michelle Rowland, has outlined a very sensible approach to fixing the dud NBN. In fact, should the Coalition retain office it would be well advised to adopt Labor’s plan. As Rowland rightly points out, six years of flawed technology choices have created a delivery disaster and it will be no simple task to return the project to its original vision — fast, reliable and affordable broadband for all Australians. Labor’s NBN policy does much more than presage a move “back to the future”, it boldly tackles the biggest obstacle holding us back — the digital divide. Rowland rightly focuses on the hapless customers stuck with the underperforming fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) version of the so-called multi-technology mix (MTM) model. Adopting FTTN was a foreseeable error given the known state of Telstra’s ageing copper wires. Rowland has correctly identified that there are serious problems with the internal wiring in many homes. It’s not just the run-down copper cabling in the streets that needs to be replaced. Sensibly, Labor has resisted pressure to make bold promises it might not be able to keep. It has clearly learned from Malcolm Turnbull’s biggest mistake. In opposition, Turnbull, responding to pressure from then PM Tony Abbott to “destroy” the NBN, clasped his hands around a bunch of ideas put forward by a few mates, without waiting to run them by the more qualified engineers at NBN Co. Labor will wait and undertake a considered review before making any major moves. Rowland outlined Labor’s NBN policy at an industry conference on Tuesday 9 April. This summary is from her speech: Launch a landmark Digital Inclusion Drive with the aim to increase broadband participation among the over 1 million Australian households not using any internet at home. Direct the establishment of a $125 million program within NBN Co to reduce dropouts and improve speeds for up to 750,000 FTTN households by rectifying identified in-home cabling issues that are degrading performance, at no cost to the end user. Establish an NBN Service Guarantee to set service standards and better safeguard consumers and, in particular, small businesses against excessive periods of NBN downtime. Position for the future by undertaking field trials to assess the costs and feasibility of responsible co-investment in future fibre upgrades. We will also place NBN on the COAG agenda to explore opportunities for partnership and future co-operation. Commence an immediate review of the economics of the NBN to obtain a more informed picture about where we are and the options going forward. We will also review the future funding and capacity requirements of the fixed-wireless network and use this as the basis to have a more honest conversation with the public about options to address congestion challenges. Labor will launch a Digital Inclusion Drive to get more elderly and low-income households connected and take action to fix in-home cabling problems that degrade service quality for up to 750,000 FTTN households. #NBN #auspol https://t.co/FEDFiZ4JJt — Michelle Rowland (@MRowlandMP) April 9, 2019 Much has been written about Australia’s poor showing in global broadband rankings. Likewise, while slow to catch on, mainstream media is now regularly reporting on the manifest problems that need attention. The ACCC, ACMA and the Productivity Commission have all had their say. The simple fact is we really need #BetterBroadband. Whoever wins the upcoming elections will have to deal with arguably the biggest infrastructure bungle in the country’s history. Whoever has that task will need time to repair the damage. What would be really helpful is if we could see all sides of politics adopt a bipartisan approach. Labor has at least provided a sensible set of guidelines to help us achieve that goal. Laurie Patton was CEO/Executive Director of Internet Australia, the peak NFP representing Internet users, from 2014-2017.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The natural soil pump on Mars: Underground gas flows from the cool deeper layers to the warm Sun-heated surface due to thermal creep. At shadowed places on the surface, gas is soaked up into the soil, travels underground, and is pumped up again to the heated surface. Credit: de Beule, et al. ©2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. (Phys.org) —The surface of Mars is full of activity, with dust storms, dust devils, and drifting dunes in constant motion. Scientists suspect that similarly rich activity may exist underneath the surface, even though it has never been seen. Now in a new study, scientists have found that Mars' low-pressure atmosphere and porous soil provide the perfect conditions for the planet's entire surface to act as a giant gas pump, quickly cycling gas and dust particles a few centimeters above and below the soil. No analogue of this type of planet-wide pump exists on Earth. In fact, the scientists think that Mars is the only body in the Solar System on which such large-scale, continuous pumping can naturally occur. If it does indeed occur as theorized, the pumping might serve as a dominant mechanism for transporting water vapor across Mars' surface. The scientists, Caroline de Beule, et al., at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Duisburg, Germany, have published their paper on the surface of Mars as a planetary gas pump in a recent issue of Nature Physics. "The idea of the martian soil acting as a planetary gas pump surprised us indeed," de Beule told Phys.org. "We found this effect by accident when we studied light-induced dust eruptions under microgravity. As we saw eroded particles moving down to the surface again without thermal convection, we concluded that there must be a gas flow into and—even more important—through the soil. "So the greatest significance of our work is the detection of a gas flow which is not only above the martian soil, but through it. Until now, only diffusion has been considered as a transport mechanism of, for example, water vapor through the soil and therefore as an interaction between the regolith and the atmosphere. We showed now that there is a directed transport mechanism that is even more efficient, which leads to a gas flow and can for example drag water vapor along with it." All of this is possible due to Mars' low surface pressure. Although Mars and the Earth have a lot in common, one characteristic of Mars that is different is its very low surface pressure of an average of 6 mbar, which is less than 1% of the surface pressure on Earth. The atmosphere on Mars consists mostly of carbon dioxide, and this surface pressure means that the carbon dioxide molecules have a mean free path (that is, the average distance between successive collisions with each other) of 10 μm. Particles trajectories (a) in experiments above an illuminated dust bed are consistent with those (b) in gas flow simulations. In both cases, gas quickly flows upward in the center illuminated (red) area, and falls downward more slowly on the sides. Credit: de Beule, et al. ©2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. Importantly, the sizes of both the dust particles and the pores in the martian soil are also on the order of 10 μm. Under these conditions—when the mean free path is comparable to particle size and pore size—an effect called thermal creep can occur. When one side of the pore is warmer than the other side, the pore acts as an efficient pump and transports gas from its cold side to its warm side. The scientists think that thermal creep could play a significant role in transporting gas and dust on Mars. In such a scenario, the Sun would heat the top layers of the soil everywhere except in the shadows, where the soil would be cooler. In these shadowed places, gas molecules would be soaked up into pores in the soil. Then the gas molecules would flow through the pores underground and be pumped up and erupt out of a heated part of the surface. To test the possibility of thermal creep occurring at conditions similar to those on Mars, the researchers carried out experiments that involved dropping a basaltic dust sample from the drop tower in Bremen, Germany. The dust is enclosed in a vacuum chamber with 4 mbar air pressure, and its being dropped from the tower greatly reduces the force of gravity in order to simulate the conditions on Mars. While the dust sample is falling, the lid is opened, and the dust is illuminated and heated with a red laser. The laser causes a temperature gradient that pumps the dust particles upward at a velocity of about 10 cm/sec, and then the dust particles move downward at about 1 cm/sec. The trajectories that the scientists observed in these experiments are similar to the scientists' simulated trajectories of gas flow. However, as the scientists calculated, the average particle velocity on Mars would be lower, about 1.6 cm/sec. The lower velocity is due in part to a smaller temperature gradient than in the experiments. Since buried ice exists under the surface of Mars, one of the most intriguing implications of this study is that the thermal creep effect may explain how underground water vapor can be transported up to Mars' surface. Since gas flow due to thermal creep has a higher velocity than other mechanisms previously considered, such as diffusion, thermal creep could be a dominant transport mechanism for water vapor across large parts of the martian soil. Schematic diagram of the drop tower experiment. Basaltic dust is illuminated with a red laser as the entire device falls from the drop tower in Bremen, Germany. Credit: de Beule, et al. ©2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. "Beside implications for the cycle of dust and the cycle of carbon dioxide, the greatest application of our work is a big step in understanding the global cycle of water on Mars—which is of course linked to the other two cycles," de Beule said. "For example, the rate of water vapor transport through the dust surface on Mars determines the timescale of the existence of ice in the subsurface. "Due to the fact that Mars might have been habitable a few billion years ago, the current annual cycle of water vapor reflects the present and past behavior of water and is therefore a key interest concerning possible environments for past life on Mars." The researchers added that there are many other interesting aspects of these results, which they plan to further investigate in the future. "Our future plans are to study the gas flow through porous material, analyzing compositional effects on the efficiency, like the porosity of the dust or the grain sizes," de Beule said. "Finding the right conditions for Mars, the gas flow perhaps might reach even a meter below the surface. In addition, the flow of gas through porous material in a low-pressure environment might not only be considered for Mars, but for example on other bodies in protoplanetary disks, where a porous body is exposed to the light of the sun, and a gas flow through the illuminated surface parts can influence the rotation and trajectory. As can be seen, the list of potential applications is very long, and we are excited to investigate the details of this effect." Explore further Mars: What lies beneath More information: Caroline de Beule, et al. "The martian soil as a planetary gas pump." Nature Physics. DOI: 10.1038/NPHYS2821 Journal information: Nature Physics Caroline de Beule, et al. "The martian soil as a planetary gas pump." © 2013 Phys.org. All rights reserved.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
UPDATE: February 2, 2017. Blastfest has been cancelled. Peopl e close to the festival lay part of the blame on the boycott, which lead to enormous financial pressures being placed on the festival, as well as diminished ticket sales. Every city has a story, and Bergen isn’t the exception. A picturesque coastal town in Norway, Bergen played a big role in the shaping of black metal. This is, after all, where the famous Fanftoft Stave Church erupted into flames in the evening of June 6th, 1992, and whose tabloid, the Bergens Tidende, was instrumental in not only the first arrest of Varg Vikernes, but also in creating a big part of the mythology surrounding the genre. With explosive headlines all over the world about arson, murder and Satanism, Bergen was suddenly not only the setting of the story, but part of the story itself. Since those early days of Norwegian black metal, things have quieted down a lot. The shock created by those young men who proudly stood as an affront to religion, tradition and even music itself, ended long ago. Black metal, as much as its fans would like to believe otherwise, is no longer surrounded by the controversy and fear that once existed. It is merely part of the landscape, with the corpse paints and shrieks that its founders were so proud of, being often used as mere punchlines for otherwise inane journalists and commentators. Its acceptance is such that Metallica’s use of its aesthetics in their video for “ManUnkind,” down to a decapitated pig, did not get any of the shocked reactions that something like this would have created 10 or 15 years ago. Nowadays, when it is not being used in earnest by black metal musicians themselves, corpse paint seems to be the darling of the many pointless Youtube makeup girls, who are happy to teach their tween viewers how to create the same kind of effect. For better or worse, it seems very clear that shocking an audience is now harder than ever. It’s not only that it’s harder to shock people, but also that the things that shock and scandalize them have changed dramatically over the years. Inverted crosses and satanic imagery are so common that they almost go unnoticed. They pack none of the punch that they once did. While this could be the result of society as a whole dropping some its values and losing some of its dogmas, in reality it’s just that society became desensitized to these things. The shrieks, the black clothes, the satanic stuff, are all seen as merely parts of the angsty teen startup kit, and so nobody pays any attention to them. Sure, from time to time the occasional religious nutjob will protest a show, and so-called journalists will trample over each other trying to be the first to publish some clickbait nonsense where they get to mock them, but in reality, Western society does not see itself threatened by the values (or lack thereof) of black metal. Nowadays the only sure way to get yourself a riot, a picket, or even just a lonely protester, is to have someone label you a Nazi or a fascist. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. If they are able to infer something from your artwork or your lyrics, your politics are not left enough, or you are not sufficiently apologetic about your ancestors, you will be given this label. Bands like Moonsorrow, Tyr and Skyforger learned this lesson long ago, when their use of Germanic runes and symbols was seen as sufficient by some ANTIFA groups to seek the cancellation of their shows. Even though no part of their music could be construed as being National Socialist in nature, the fact that they seemed to be too proud of their own countries seemed to have been enough for some ANTIFA agitators. It is no longer the stuck up, Bible-thumping maniac that wants to get shows cancelled; it’s the regressive part of the left that gave up all of its dreams of rebellion and of speaking truth to power, and who are content with trying to homogenize the public discourse. If you step out of what they consider to be acceptable, then they will unleash the hounds. This brings us back to Bergen. Just like 20 years ago the city played a role in the birth of black metal, in 2016 it found itself at the center of what might very well be the death throes of the genre. Now, of course, the music itself, the melodies and the shrieks, will continue to exist. The underlying philosophy of rebellion, however, might soon be forced to disappear. The Anonymous E-mails Peste Noire are an underground black metal band from France that, to the delight of many, had been booked to play at the 2017 edition of Blastfest, in Bergen. Since Peste Noire have been accused many times of being Nazis or right wing extremists, their addition to the festival bothered some people, who did not think they should be given a platform. After Napalm Death decided to pull out of the festival in protest to the inclusion of Peste Noire, French ANTIFA groups then directed their efforts to the sponsors of Blastfest. Facing the prospect of either keeping them on the bill and having no sponsors, and thus no festival, Blastfest decided to drop Peste Noire. Toni Törrönen, the Festival Manager for Blastfest, expressed to me his sadness at what, in his eyes, they had been forced to do. On the one hand, they liked the music of Peste Noire, and were adamantly against any kind of censorship; on the other, however, there was simply no way in which they would have been able to have a festival if they kept them on the bill. “There was an anonymous e-mailer that was contacting our partners, the hotel, the venue, and every single one of the sponsors and partners that appeared on our posters. Every single one of them was contacted with a very long e-mail saying that Peste Noire are extreme right wing and nazis. We were given an ultimatum. Either you have a festival at the venue, or you don’t.” Asked if there had been threats of violence against the festival if Peste Noire was to perform, Törrönen refused to “reveal exactly what was written.” He did say, however, that although in the past Blastfest had occasionally encountered some controversy with the bands it booked, it had never been this “intense.” The intensity that Törrönen was referring to is easy to understand when you consider the visceral hatred that some groups have against Peste Noire. Through a french ANTIFA organization known as “La Horde,” I got in touch with one of the people who were involved in the boycott against them at Blastfest. Under condition of anonymity, Roger (not his real name) explained how thanks to what he labeled an “effective boycott,” Peste Noire had not been able to perform live before. By allowing them to perform at the festival, Blastfest were allowing them to have the kind of platform that, in his view, they should never be allowed to have. “…far right ideology in music can not be treated like the others, the goal is to submit individuals, not emancipation for individuals…” The method that they had taken to accomplish this was simple. He had personally alerted Napalm Death back in April about the presence of Peste Noire, and about their alleged ideology. Then, the festival and its sponsors were informed. “The info was reported,” he said; “easy & simple.” On that point he was right. There are plenty of photos, interviews and assorted material all over the internet that would allow you to discredit Peste Noire. It isn’t hard to put it all together (perhaps filling some blanks with whatever interpretation you want to give) and send it away. Whatever the exact wording was on their e-mails, Roger would not say. Törrönen had been equally cryptic, promising to forward them to me, but never actually doing it. We can safely assume that they were some variation of “Nice festival you’re having, it’d be a shame if people knew you’re sheltering a neo nazi” A “Deeply Troubling” Ideology I reached out to Napalm Death, trying to get their side of the story about what had happened. Through Century Media, their label in Europe, I received a statement from their singer, Barney Greenway that, although had been supposedly released months ago, does not seem to have been posted anywhere. “Contrary to certain opinions sloshing around the internet, neither Napalm Death nor our agents did attempt to force the promoters of Blastfest 2017 to remove a certain band. Had we known they were playing beforehand, we would have declined the initial invitation to play on this occasion. In as much as promoters have the right to book the bands they choose, Napalm Death also has the choice – as other bands do – to decline from sharing platforms with deeply troubling ideologies – i.e. ultra nationalism. Nobody “gets it right” all the time, but we are loathe to bury our heads in the sand. To label outright the band in question as Nazis might be inaccurate, but where the separation is between that and an ideology which aggressively elevates an individual on national identity lines is for other listeners and observers to come to their own conclusions. We did. Thanks for your understanding.” Toni Törrönen seemed to confirm Barney‘s version of events, explaining to me that Napalm Death said that they simply couldn’t perform at the same festival. “They told us that they would not play if Peste Noire played… [So] we let them go.” This, of course, did not stop some media outlets from reporting, without citing a single source, a more combative version of events when news of the cancellation of Napalm Death first broke out. But what is the ideology of Peste Noire? Although nowadays their music seems to stay clear of being openly political, their 2001 demo Aryan Supremacy (featuring Neige, of Alcest, on drums) did not seem to have any qualms in doing so. Even if lyrically they don’t touch politics anymore, their imagery is evocative of neo-nazism itself. The band uses as its logo the symbol of the White Aryan Resistance movement, a neo-nazi organization from the United States formed by Tom Metzger, a former Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan (because nothing says “this is a legitimate political organization” like having “dragon” as part of your title). Also, Famine, the singer and founder of Peste Noire, seems to surround himself with as much Neo Nazi and white nationalist paraphernalia as possible, from Celtic crosses overlapping the French flag, the Totentkopf of the SS, to the Wolfsangel rune (of Third Reich fame) as used by the controversial Azov division in Ukraine. In his rare interviews, Famine does try to dismiss the link between Peste Noire and National Socialism. When he does it though, it comes off more as the ramblings of a lunatic, going against the exact point he seems to believe he is making. In an interview he did with with now-defunct Diabolical Conquest magazine, for example, Famine stated that he is not racist, followed by comments about “black eyed, dark-skinned mongrels” and “cross-bred jewmerican liberalism”: “When, in the past, I used swastikas or other Nazi symbols, it was exactly for the purpose of symbolism: the symbol for the final and decisive battle against all that is prevalent in today’s modern world: the irreversible victory of cross-bred jewmerican liberalism and everything it stands for, i.e. stupidity and the absence of values. Nazism, now more punk than ever, represents the perfect anti-symbol to present-day dominant ideologies (the masochistic human rights movement and cosmopolitan capitalism).” Similarly, in an interview published in his own site, he speaks against “the Trotskyites of the National educaZION,” showing the same kind of subtlety that you can expect from a bleeding hemorrhoid. That is, none at all. This isn’t dogwhistle antisemitism; it’s bullhorn antisemitism. While we might be able to have a debate about whether you can speak against “Jewmericans,” use Nazi symbols, and still not be called a Nazi, it seems to be the kind of discussion where the result doesn’t matter. Now, of course, the kind of idiotic hooliganism shown by Famine seems to be the kind of thing that the Third Reich would have labeled, at best, “Entartete kunst,” “degenerate art,” but it’s hard to see why that should matter. The issue for the critics of Peste Noire is not whether Hitler himself would have been a fan, but rather whether their values are similar to what people would mostly associate with neonazis. The answer, for better or worse, appears to be yes. From his interviews, it seems clear that Famine puts forward a combination of juvenile misanthropy, the edgy 14-year-old-wearing-fingerless-gloves kind of misanthropy, combined with a pseudo-intellectual philosophical racist babble. It’s the kind of thing that will only seem deep if you’re either young, uninformed, or both. It’s not that he is wrong all the time (it’s great to see French people proud of their country, their history and their heritage), but neither is a broken clock. Who Watches the Watchmen? Early in our conversations it became clear that Roger hoped that we would simply publish his information about Peste Noire‘s ideology, without asking any questions. He wasn’t happy when I told him that I wanted more than that, and that we wouldn’t act as his echo chamber. I wanted to know the how and the why. Roger, a Parisian man in his late 30’s working in the music industry, had gotten in touch with me in a rather strange way. After I contacted La Horde, he messaged me both through our site, under a fake name, and then with his real name through Facebook. I pointed this out to him, since even the wording of the messages had been the same on both places, but he pretended not to know anything about it. Until he finally admitted the truth, that La Horde had gotten in touch with him and given him my personal information, he just pretended that stumbling upon our site, and even my own personal Facebook, had been just a coincidence. When he talks about what the ANTIFA accomplished, Roger does not even try to hide how proud he is about getting Blastfest to drop Peste Noire. “I boycott far right ideology in music,” he said; this time that boycott had taken the form of “alerting” the partners of the festival, the hotels, the catering and the restaurants, that they shouldn’t be associated with what Roger called “neo nazis.” According to him, this was “no ANTIFA terror,” it was merely a campaign of sharing information with the right people. When I asked him specifically what he disliked about Peste Noire, the list seemed endless. He pointed, for example, at their use of “weapons and neonazi symbols,” and how, even though they did not share it in most of their songs, their ideology represented a “risk” for “the public order.” It was bizarre to hear an ANTIFA speak about Public Order, and to see him decry violent symbols, considering the obvious links that ANTIFA organizations have with Punks and Anarchists. I pointed this out to him, but he didn’t see any contradiction. When violent symbols, or violent actions, were used by their side, they were the product of the “courageous ANTIFA collectives,” and so they could not be placed on the same level as right wingers and nationalists. The cognitive dissonance that Roger demonstrated then, and which he kept up during all of our conversations, shows precisely why we have to be very careful when we deal with organizations which, like his, have taken it upon themselves to police morality and the “public order.” This isn’t mere whataboutism, it’s not that they are not protesting or boycotting other things, but instead that the things that they defend and justify in their own behavior, are the same that they attack in others. The ridiculous use of weapons in Peste Noire‘s logos, for example, was seen as a terrible, threatening, thing, whereas the use of molotov cocktails, knives, etc., in ANTIFA imagery, was all acceptable. The same could be said of the calls for violence, which ANTIFA will justify and explain away as the “right” kind of violence. The hypocrisy demonstrated by people like Roger, the ANTIFA collective that led to the cancellation of Peste Noire‘s shows, and the regressive sector of the left who jumps at the opportunity to censor others, is hard to overstate. In reality, it is not that they are against violence, discrimination, or hatred. Instead, they are happy to tolerate all of those things, as long as their targets are the kind of people they consider unacceptable. So-called progressive commentators, for example, are happy to promote music about “bashing” fascists, defining “fascism” in as broad a way as possible, but would recoil at the sight of a “Rock Against Communism” t-shirt. Just like Nixon once famously said “if the President does it, then it’s not illegal,” these ANTIFA groups and supporters seem to be constantly saying “if we are the ones doing it, then it’s not intolerance, and it’s not violence.” Killing Music and Killing a Festival “What the ANTIFA are doing is that they are sabotaging Yngve’s livelihood,” said Toni angrily, referring to the situation of Ygnve Christiansen, the singer of Blood Red Throne and the man in charge of Blastfest. “He has everything on the line here. He has his house, his life, his car, everything. Every single thing. This is personal for him.” For a group that lives hiding the identity of their members, ANTIFA do not share the same level of concern for the privacy of their targets. They had posted Yngve‘s personal contact information on ANTIFA websites as soon as the boycott started, and the whole thing had definitely taken a toll on him. People familiar with Yngve told me that the stress was getting to him. It didn’t help that dropping Peste Noire (and then losing Horna, who left in solidarity) had turned the festival into a sort of pariah. They were being portrayed as cowards, people who would not stand by their principles. “People don’t understand what we had to go through,” said Toni. “They just blame us for not standing up for this issue, but we were unable to do it. We cracked under pressure, true, but we wouldn’t have a venue if we had Peste Noire.“ For many observers, sitting comfortably at home, it was easy to lay the blame on the festival, as if there had actually been many choices left to them. True, they could have given a big middle finger to all the catering companies, the hotels, the sponsors, and the venues, but then they’d be left with a very principled festival that could only take place inside their own heads. The criticisms against Blastfest were also affecting ticket sales. People resented the actions of the organizers, and were then less likely to buy a ticket. There were also others who, seeing that Napalm Death, Peste Noire and Horna were now out of the bill, thought that it was only a matter of time before the whole festival went under. Ironically, Blastfest now even has a new investor behind them, but apparently there were many people out there who simply didn’t believe that it would happen at all. There were also other problems, and which had to do with the lessons learned from the boycott. Going through something like this is bound to affect you, and with an organization like Blastfest, with investors and sponsors having an economic stake on the matter, it would be foolish to think that nothing at all would happen. I asked Toni whether, because of this whole ordeal, in the future they’d have to be more careful with the bands they book, perhaps staying away from the most controversial ones. He sounded grim as he said “this is what I’m afraid of. I have to think about the economics, the PR… it’s a bigger picture than being able to book the bands you want.” Toni isn’t alone in this. I share his fear. I’m afraid that situations like what happened at Blastfest will create a kind of chilling effect among promoters and organizers, and who will then lose the incentive to book controversial acts. While in the marketplace of ideas it should be enough to know that there are people interested in hearing you, to be able to justify getting a platform, what the ANTIFA did with Blastfest, and which they have done in the past with writers, musicians, and politicians, is that they want to be the ones controlling who gets to speak. Even though this story is about Anti-fascist groups, it is important to remember that it is not limited to them. The ANTIFAs base their boycotts (including those where they mistakenly call someone a “Nazi”) on the fact that they are offended by whatever ideas are being promoted on the stage. The issue is that once you accept “I’m offended” as a reason to cancel talks, cancel shows, and deny platforms to your opponents, you also have to know that it’s only a matter of time until the same justification is used against your people and your ideas. Heavy metal started as a rebellious art form, the devil’s music; from the onset it spoke truth to power, and it offended everyone. If we say that it is acceptable that a band like Peste Noire is dropped from a festival because we find their idiotic ideology offensive, how can we deny the same rights to the Christians, Jews and Muslims who might take offense to metal’s often anti religious message. During one of our talks, Roger mentioned how revolution was a “national symbol” of France, proudly evoking the guillotine being used against their royalty during the French Revolution. Although in his mind the heroes of the French revolution were similar to his ANTIFA coreligionists, I think that his view is a bit shortsighted. Let us not forget, after all, how the same ideas that had propelled the French Revolution were later used in the fratricidal frenzy of the Reign of Terror, a time when the same people who had marched others to meet “the French razor,” found themselves facing it too. The question is whether these 21st Century revolutionaries, these warriors of the Internet, are willing to continue down that same path, and find their own ideas, in time, fall victims to the same guillotine they advocate for others. We reached out several times to Peste Noire and Horna for comments, but did not receive any responses. Correction: In an earlier version of this article Toni Törrönen had been listed as “PR Manager,” whereas his correct title is “Festival Manager.” The article has been amended to reflect this. Update: Added a video companion piece reflecting on the reaction to this article (Jan 31, 2016) As an ads-free publication, Metal Blast relies exclusively on the support of our readers. If you enjoyed this article, please consider supporting us via Patreon, or make your Christmas shopping via one of our Amazon affiliate links.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Major park project to start in six months Confluence Park renderings. Renderings courtesy of San Antonio River Foundation Confluence Park renderings. Renderings courtesy of San Antonio River Foundation Photo: Renderings Courtesy Of San Anton Photo: Renderings Courtesy Of San Anton Image 1 of / 21 Caption Close Major park project to start in six months 1 / 21 Back to Gallery The San Antonio River Foundation is planning to break ground in six months on an outdoor environmental learning center after receiving a $2.4 million donation from a global resources and petroleum company that is a major player in the Eagle Ford Shale. Confluence Park, which has been in the planning stage for three years, got a critical boost with the donation announced Thursday at a luncheon of the foundation, the private partner of the San Antonio River Authority. Rod Skaufel, president of North American shale for BHP Billiton, said the project presented a “great, great opportunity” for the company to help the community. “This project’s going to happen,” he told about 200 people at the downtown luncheon, as foundation officials discussed the project just northwest of Mission Concepción and Concepción Park. Read more at ExpressNews.com or in Friday’s San Antonio Express-News. [email protected] Twitter: @shuddlestonSA	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Vereitelter Anschlag Von Justus Bender und Albert Schäffer - 21:05 Zahlreiche Gegenstände mit verbotenen Nationalsozialistischen Symbolen hatte die Polizei bei Razzien im Umkreis von Bamberg beschlagnahmt. Bild: dpa Nachdem die Polizei eine rechtsextreme Terrorgruppe ausgehoben hat, ärgert sich der Vorsitzende der Partei „Die Rechte“. Aber nicht, weil unter den Verdächtigen Mitglieder seiner Partei sind. Geduldig hatten die Sicherheitsbehörden gewartet. Seit 2014 waren Ermittler mit der Beobachtung der rechtsextremen Terrorgruppe in Bamberg beschäftigt gewesen – bis am Donnerstag alle bekannten Mitglieder festgenommen wurden. Zuvor hatten die Ermittler über lange Zeit „operative Maßnahmen“ durchgeführt, wie es bei der Polizei heißt. Was das genau meint, wird nicht gesagt, um künftige Ermittlungen nicht zu gefährden. Das Spektrum dürfte aber von klassischen Polizeimethoden bis zur Aufklärung im Internet reichen, das Rechtsextreme in hohem Maße nutzen, um sich zu organisieren. In der vergangenen Woche wurde dann eine Lieferung mit Feuerwerkskörpern, die aus Polen stammte, abgefangen und beschlagnahmt. In dieser Woche folgten Durchsuchungen und Festnahmen; 13 Verdächtige wurden vorläufig in Gewahrsam genommen, drei von ihnen sitzen seither in Untersuchungshaft. Verdächtige sind Mitglieder der Partei „Die Rechte“ Nach den bisherigen Erkenntnissen gehören einige der Verdächtigen der rechtsextremen Partei „Die Rechte“ an – und hier setzt ein zweiter Aufklärungsstrang an. Die Partei wird seit einiger Zeit vom bayerischen Verfassungsschutz beobachtet. Nach dessen Erkenntnissen hat „Die Rechte“ ihre Strukturen in Bayern deutlich ausgebaut; ein Landesverband und Kreisverbände in München, Nürnberg, Bamberg und Rosenheim wurden gegründet. In Kolitzheim im Landkreis Schweinfurt mietete die Partei einen ehemaligen Gasthof als Parteizentrale an. Die Verfassungsschützer rechnen der Partei eine „Solidaritätskundgebung“ zu, die in München für einen der Angeklagten des NSU-Prozesses stattfand. Aus ihrem Umfeld sollen außerdem Demonstranten stammen, die gegen die Eröffnung des Münchner NS-Dokumentationszentrums protestiert hatten. Neonazis und Hooligans im Bamberger Kreisverband der „Rechten“ Die Mitglieder des Kreisverbands Bamberg stammen nach den Beobachtungen des Verfassungsschutzes aus der Neonazi- und Hooliganszene. Ihnen wurde schon vor den Festnahmen ein hohes Aggressionspotential zugeschrieben. Sieben vermummte Rechtsextremisten aus dem Umfeld des Kreisverbands waren aufgefallen, als sie versuchten, die Besucher einer Informationsveranstaltung über Rechtsextremismus einzuschüchtern. Mitglieder des Kreisverbands beteiligten sich zudem an einer Versammlung im fränkischen Hallstadt, die im Anschluss an eine rechtsextreme Kundgebung zum 1. Mai im thüringischen Saalfeld stattfand. Die jetzt Beschuldigten sind in den vergangenen Monaten nicht nur dem Verfassungsschutz, sondern auch der Polizei aufgefallen. Gegen elf von ihnen wird neben Sprengstoffdelikten wegen der Bildung einer kriminellen Vereinigung ermittelt. Mitte Mai kam es nach Angaben der Behörden zu einem massiven Angriff gegen mehrere Personen, die verletzt wurden. Die terroristische Gefahr, die von der Gruppe ausging, zeigt die Menge von Feuerwerksmaterial, das sichergestellt worden ist – insgesamt 16,3 Kilogramm, darunter zwei sogenannte Kugelbomben, deren Zündung in geschlossenen Räumen tödliche Wirkung haben kann. Daneben fanden die Ermittler ein ganzes Arsenal von Waffen, darunter eine scharfe Schusswaffe mit Munition, mehrere nicht scharfe Schusswaffen sowie Hieb-, Stoß- und Stichwaffen. Sprengsätze vermutlich für Balkanzentrum Unklar ist noch, wie konkret die Anschlagspläne der Gruppe waren. Die Ermittler haben den Verdacht, dass Sprengsätze in zwei Bamberger Unterkünfte geworfen werden sollten, um dort Angst und Schrecken zu verbreiten. In Bamberg ist eines der beiden Zentren, das die bayerische Staatsregierung für Asylbewerber unterhält, deren Anträge wenig Aussicht auf Erfolg haben. Im Blickfeld der Polizei ist auch eine Demonstration, mit der Rechtsextreme am 31. Oktober gegen „Asylmissbrauch“ protestierten wollten – sie wurde mittlerweile abgesagt. Auf der Facebookseite des Kreisverbands Bamberg der „Rechten“ war für diese Demonstration geworben worden, zu deren Organisatoren die Bamberger Kreisvorsitzende gehörte. Die Ermittler schließen nicht aus, dass es einen zeitlichen Zusammenhang zwischen der Kundgebung und den geplanten Anschlägen gab. Bundesvorsitzender der Rechten distanziert sich nicht Bei der rechtsextremen Partei „Die Rechte“ sorgt der Bericht über die Verhaftungen ihrer Mitglieder für Unbehagen. Nicht etwa, weil der Fund von Waffen und Sprengstoff zu Betroffenheit führt – sondern, weil die Betreffenden offenbar ihre Pläne nicht vor den Sicherheitsbehörden verbergen konnten. „Da werden seit Ewigkeiten die Grundregeln der Konspiration missachtet“, sagte der Bundesvorsitzende der „Rechten“, Christian Worch, der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung am Freitag. Er selbst sei „wahrscheinlich der Einzige in unserer Partei, der die Schriften des russischen Anarchisten Michail Bakunin gelesen hat, des Großmeisters der Konspiration“. Manche seine Gleichgesinnten würden etwa den Fehler begehen, in vermeintlich „geschlossenen“ Gruppen in dem sozialen Netzwerk Facebook zu kommunizieren, obwohl die Behörden dort Zugriff hätten. Die Frage, ob es denkbar sei, dass Mitglieder seiner Partei sich Sprengstoff und Waffen beschafften, um Anschläge auf Asylbewerberheime zu begehen, beantwortete Worch mit der Aussage: „Denkbar ist alles. Aber man kann den Leuten nicht hinter die Stirn schauen.“ Momentan ist Worch nach eigenen Angaben nicht informiert, welche Mitglieder seiner Partei verhaftet worden sind. Der Landesverband Bayern sei erst im Mai dieses Jahres gegründet worden und habe zwischen 60 und 70 Mitgliedern. Worch distanzierte sich nicht von den Tatverdächtigen. Und auf die Haftbefehle will er ausdrücklich nicht mit der Einleitung eines Parteiausschlussverfahrens gegen die Betreffenden reagieren. Selbst wenn diese als Täter rechtskräftig verurteilt würden, wolle er, Worch, das Urteil dahingehend prüfen, ob die gefundenen Waffen nicht auch der „sinnvollen Selbstverteidigung“ hätten dienen können. Er selbst sei im Besitz mehrerer Schwerter und Dolche aus der Zeit des Mittelalters und habe auch schon einmal eine Schusswaffe besessen. Bei der Bestellung von mehreren Kilogramm Feuerwerkssprengkörpern aus Polen will Worch davon ausgehen, dass diese auch für Silvester hätten genutzt werden können. Hakenkreuzfahnen im Wohnzimmer Auch von der bei der Razzia in Bayern gefundenen Hakenkreuzfahne will Worch sich nicht distanzieren. „Persönlich habe ich damit überhaupt keine Probleme“, sagte er dieser Zeitung. Auf die Frage, welche Rückschlüsse dies auf seine ideologischen Überzeugungen zulasse, sagte Worch, „die Hakenkreuzfahne steht selbstverständlich für die NSDAP“. Ein Bekannter von ihm in Bayern habe eine zwei Meter breite Hakenkreuzfahne in seiner Wohnung hängen. „Die hängt da und stört keinen“, sagte Worch. Was Anschläge auf Asylbewerberheime anbelange, sagte Worch, es habe kürzlich eine „elegante Aktion“ gegeben, als Rechtsextreme ein nicht näher beschriebenes Asylbewerberheim „unter Wasser“ setzten. Damit seien die Täter – strafrechtlich gesehen – kein so hohes Risiko eingegangen wie etwa bei einer Brandstiftung, die mit einer Mindeststrafe von einem Jahr Gefängnis bestraft würde. Mehr zum Thema Neonazis zunehmend in Parteien aktiv Dass gewaltbereite Rechtsextremisten zunehmend in politischen Parteien aktiv werden, ist kein neues Phänomen. Das Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz beobachtet seit Jahren, dass neonazistisch gesinnte Gruppen versuchen, Vereinsverbote mit Parteimitgliedschaften zu umgehen. „Um weitere Verbote zu erschweren, ist die neonazistische Szene bei der Parteiform als Organisierungsmodell fündig geworden“, heißt es im Verfassungsschutzbericht für das Jahr 2014. Rechtsextreme Kleinparteien wie „Die Rechte“ oder „Der III. Weg“ würden „zunehmend von Neonazis als Plattform für ihre Aktivitäten genutzt“. So können etwa Veranstaltungen von Parteien nur unter streng definierten Voraussetzungen verboten werden. Erreichen Kleinparteien mehr als ein Prozent der Stimmen, kommen sie zudem in den Genuss der staatlichen Parteienfinanzierung. Mitglieder der Parteien „Die Rechte“ und „Der III. Weg“ sagten in Gespräche mit dieser Zeitung zudem, sie vermuteten, dass die Bundesregierung nach der Debatte über ein Verbot der NPD vorerst auf Verbotsanträge gegen weitere Parteien verzichten werde. Mitglieder rechtsextremer Kameradschaften führend bei der Partei Die Partei „Die Rechte“ wurde 2012 hauptsächlich von früheren Mitgliedern der rechtsextremen „Deutschen Volksunion“ (DVU) gegründet, die damals mit der NPD fusionierte. Schnell übernahmen bei der „Rechten“ jedoch „Autonome Nationalisten“ und Mitglieder von rechtsextremen Kameradschaften die Führung. Nach Angaben des Verfassungsschutzes hat die Partei zehn Landesverbände und 28 Kreisverbände, in denen rund 500 Mitglieder organisiert sind, welche „die Organisationsform einer politischen Partei lediglich als Mittel zum Zweck für ihren Kampf gegen das System“ sehen. Sollte das Bundesverfassungsgericht die NPD verbieten, gilt „Die Rechte“ als mögliche Ausweichorganisation für Rechtsextreme.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Venezuela crisis: Familiar geopolitical sides take shape The crisis in Venezuela may have reached a new boiling point, but the geopolitical fault lines look familiar MOSCOW -- Russia, China, Iran, Syria and Cuba have come down on one side. The United States, Canada, and countries in Western Europe are on the other. As the crisis in Venezuela reaches a new boiling point — with embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro facing a challenge from opposition leader Juan Guaido — the geopolitical fault lines look familiar. President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued statements Wednesday proclaiming U.S. recognition of Guaido, saying the U.S. would take all diplomatic and economic measures necessary to support a transition to a new government. Canada said it was recognizing Guaido as the interim president, and British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called him "the right person" to take Venezuela forward. But Washington's adversaries are issuing warnings against U.S. intervention. Russian officials have called the move a "coup" orchestrated by the U.S. The U.S. and Russia already are at odds over Syria's civil war, and the Venezuelan crisis has the potential to add further strain. Russian-U.S. ties have sunk to post-Cold War lows over Moscow's support of separatists in Ukraine and allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. "We view the attempt to usurp power in Venezuela as something that contradicts and violates the foundations and principles of international law," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. In a phone call with Maduro, President Vladimir Putin expressed support, noting that "destructive foreign interference tramples on basic norms of the international law," and called for a peaceful dialogue, according to the Kremlin. Venezuela's status as a major oil producer — it has the world's largest underground oil reserves, but crude production continues to crash — means its political instability has deep implications globally. And Russia has taken a special interest. Last month, Russia sent two Tu-160 nuclear-capable bombers to Venezuela for several days in what was seen as a precursor for a possible long-term military presence. Pompeo criticized the move at the time as "two corrupt governments squandering public funds and squelching liberty and freedom while their people suffer. Peskov dismissed the comment as "undiplomatic" and "inappropriate," saying that half of the U.S. military budget "would be enough to feed the whole of Africa." Russia's Foreign Ministry said Thursday the crisis now "has reached a dangerous point" and urged the international community to mediate between the government and the opposition. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev even injected some domestic U.S. politics into the equation, citing the partial government shutdown and the differences between Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "Let's imagine, just for an instant, how the American people would respond, for example, to the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives declaring herself the new president against the backdrop of the budget crisis and government shutdown," Medvedev said on Facebook. "What would be the reaction from the current U.S. president, especially if this move was supported by the leadership of another country, for example, Russia?" Russia frequently decries popular uprisings like the "color revolutions" that have taken place in Ukraine, Georgia and other countries in its former sphere of influence. China's Foreign Ministry also sternly urged against interference by Washington in Venezuela. Beijing's allies, including Iran and Syria, followed suit. China "opposes external intervention in Venezuela," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. "We hope that Venezuela and the United States can respect and treat each other on an equal footing, and deal with their relations based on non-interference in each other's internal affairs." In the last decade, China has given Venezuela $65 billion in loans, cash and investment. Venezuela owes it more than $20 billion. China's only hope of being repaid appears to lie in Venezuela ramping up oil production, although low oil prices and the country's crashing economy appear to bode poorly for such an outcome. The Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft has invested heavily in Venezuela, and its chief executive, Igor Sechin, visited Caracas in November, pressuring the Maduro government to make good on its commitments to his company. Russia, a major oil producer itself, has been buying oil from the state-run Venezuelan company PDVSA, and Sechin reportedly went to Caracas to raise concerns about Venezuela halting oil supplies. Russia is estimated to have poured in at least $17 billion in Venezuela in loans and investment since Maduro's populist predecessor, Hugo Chavez, came to power in 1999. The Economic Development Ministry said Russia has invested around $4 billion in Venezuela, mostly in joint oil projects. Asked if Russia would be willing to grant asylum to Maduro, the Kremlin spokesman Peskov refused to speculate and insisted that Moscow views Maduro as the only legitimate leader. Maduro visited Moscow in early December, seeking political and economic assistance as Venezuela has faced sky-high inflation and food shortages. For Iran, its relationship with Venezuela hinges on their mutual enmity toward the U.S. Chavez traveled to Iran in 2006 and received the country's Islamic Republic Medal, its highest award, from hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called Chavez a "brother and a trench mate." Chavez vowed Venezuela would "stay by Iran at any time and under any condition." Both leaders faced criticism from then-U.S. President George W. Bush and offered their own withering criticism of him. After Maduro took power upon Chavez's death in 2013, Iran has maintained its support of Venezuela. On Thursday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi criticized the U.S. and other countries over meddling in Venezuela. "The Islamic Republic of Iran supports the government and people of Venezuela against any foreign intervention in the internal affairs of Venezuela or any other illegitimate and illegal measure such as a coup d'etat," Ghasemi said. Strong endorsement for the current Venezuelan government also came from Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a message of support: "My brother Maduro! Stay strong, we are by your side." Turkey also has cultivated close economic and political ties with Maduro. During a visit to Venezuela in December, Erdogan blamed U.S. sanctions for the country's economic hardships. Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Turkey, under Erdogan, would "maintain its principled stance against coup attempts." Erdogan himself faced a military coup attempt in 2016. Syria also came to the defense of Maduro's government. Damascus reaffirmed its "full solidarity with the leadership and people of the Venezuelan Republic in preserving the country's sovereignty and foiling the American administration's hostile plans," the Syrian Foreign Ministry said. Cuba's Foreign Ministry said Havana "expresses its unwavering solidarity" with the Maduro government. Cuba has sent its closest ally tens of thousands of workers, from doctors to intelligence officials, and in return has received tens of thousands of barrels a day in heavily subsidized oil. ——— Associated Press writers Christopher Bodeen in Beijing, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
No matter how much you read about how immersive virtual reality is, it's hard to really understand the feeling until you try it. That's part of why HTC is beginning to tour its Vive VR headset around the US, bringing a truck loaded up with demo stations to a number of major cities and events to let gamers and non-gamers alike try it out. San Diego Comic-Con is HTC's first stop, and it's also using the opportunity to show off the latest version of Vive. It's the same version that HTC is now shipping out to developers, and it's been updated to include wireless controllers, rather than the wired ones that HTC showed off in March, when the headset was announced in partnership with Valve. Wireless controllers add another sense of freedom Vive (rhymes with "hive") otherwise hasn't changed much: it's composed of a headset, two controllers, and a pair of laser-emitting trackers. The trackers allow Vive wearers to actually move in a small space throughout their room — a square around 10 feet by 10 feet in size — while exploring virtual space. Only being able to go so far is limiting, but it still opens up some impressive scenarios that you don't get from other VR headsets, like the Oculus Rift, that require you to more or less stay facing one direction. With the wires removed from Vive's controllers, the experience basically goes a small step further toward really making you feel free. The first time you walk up to a ledge and get scared believing that you could actually fall, you'll understand why adding real world movement is so powerful. HTC's demos are about more than gaming. In addition to just letting people experience VR, it wants to give people an understanding of what VR can be used for. One of Vive's demos lets you paint in 3D, quickly giving a pretty fantastical impression of what creating art could be like. Another demo is essentially an interactive short film by Valve that takes place within the Portal universe, showing how VR can be used for storytelling. One of the more interesting suggestions from this demo set is that virtual reality could be used for job training. A basic game puts you in the shoes of a chef; you're not about to learn from it, but it's easy to imagine a more thorough demo throwing you in the middle of a hot, loud, and bustling kitchen. You can find some addition details on Vive's demoes from our initial preview of the headset. My colleagues have already sung the praises of Vive, and I'm happy to add another voice to the choir. Putting the headset on was among of the most fun and engaging experiences I've had in a while, and I think a lot of people — especially people who aren't enthralled by most video games — will be surprised at how much they enjoy even the blocky 3D graphics that you end up staring at. If HTC's truck rolls up near you, find and hour and go see it. The schedule doesn't appear to be online yet, but HTC says it should be driving by Chicago, Kansas City, and Seattle for The International and PAX. See all of the San Diego Comic-Con news right here!	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
I have never been able to put my finger on exactly what it was that I so disliked about Barack Obama. As a former sixties civil rights worker, I should have been attracted to, or at least inspired by, the first black presidential candidate and president, but I never was. Sure, I didn’t care for a number of his policies and the narcissistic showoff stuff (those Greek columns) was a bit overdone, not to mention the obvious lies about his relationship with his mentor Jeremiah Wright and the less obvious prevarications about his relationships with William Ayers and others. But I suspected something more substantive, more significant, was troubling me. And it was finally revealed in Obama’s lengthy 2007 speech to a black audience just made available in its unbowdlerized form by Fox News and the Daily Caller Tuesday night. I had my “aha” moment. Barack Obama is a segregationist. How else do you explain a statement like “We don’t need to build more highways out in the suburbs. We should be investing in minority-owned business, in our neighborhoods”? [emphasis mine] That is not what most of us had in mind when we were involved in the civil rights movement. Naïve us. Our intention was that everyone should get to live wherever they wanted, even those suburbs. They were open to all. Forget ghettoes and barrios. Equality, brother, equality. How did that old Babs Gonzales song go — “We got a New Frontier, a man in the moon, but we ain’t got integration”? Oh well, integration was a nice idea once upon a time, but to Barack Obama in 2007 it was already seriously outdated, if it ever had any value. And why should it? An integrated society is not easily broken off into equally easily manipulated interest groups like African-Americans or Hispanic-Americans. Segregation pays — at the ballot box. It is also one of the fastest and most reliable routes to power. Now I’m not trying to say that Obama is a segregationist like Orville Faubus or even a cheap race hustler like Sharpton. He is something different and obviously more complex and subtle, but in the final analysis he relies on the same reactionary racial estrangement as the other two. Indeed, our president is the reverse of what he appears to be, pretending to bring the races together when he profits by driving them apart. In that sense, he is similar to Yasser Arafat, talking one way to the West and another to his Palestinian brothers. Yes, we all know that almost all politicians engage in such targeted speechmaking, but the lengths to which they go while doing it, the extremity of the differences in what they are saying between audiences, take the measure of the man or woman. In Barack Obama’s case, it’s pretty extreme. In the Hampton University speech, Obama sounds like a character out of Ralph Ellison’s classic Invisible Man, pandering and preaching divisive nonsense about Hurricane Katrina, which he surely knew wasn’t true. Or did he? Actually, he seemed to be making a “separate but equal” argument regarding the treatment of Katrina victims and those of other disasters, itself reminiscent of the days of segregation. But I don’t think he was really doing that either, at least not consciously. Again like one of Ellison’s characters, he was convincing himself of his general righteousness while revving up the crowd telling them lies they clearly wanted to hear. That’s not a hard thing to do, when you think about it. Trouble is — the audience changes and a man could get schizoid. Nevertheless, Obama had at it that night with the singular determination of a demagogue. And he went “off book” to do it. The complaisant media of course chose not to report any of it and relied only on the printed text. That was then and this is now. The Daily Caller has brought back the speech in its entirety, five years after the fact. Listening to it, I had the sense that the world had come full circle within my lifetime. Right was left. Up was down. Segregation was now “progressive” and integration was, well, racist. More proof — if we needed it — that Orwell’s Animal Farm is one of the greatest books ever written.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Six members of Oregon's 2018 signing class enrolled in classes in January to get a jumpstart on their collegiate careers. Over the next few weeks, we'll be reviewing their progress this spring and what they figured to provide the program this fall. Today, we kick off this feature by looking at quarterback Tyler Shough. Recruit Stats: 4-star prospect / 140th best overall prospect / 7th best pro-style quarterback prospect Height/Weight: 6-foot-5 / 202 pounds Spring Game Stats: 5-for-8 for 103 yards and two touchdowns / three rushes for -11 yards Quotable: “(Tyler) is young, but he can sling the rock. That’s what I like about Tyler, he’s not afraid to throw it up." — wide receiver Daewood Davis “Tyler is really talented, really smart. What stands out about him in the offseason is he is a relentless competitor. He’s not afraid to get in there drill to drill, whether it be an agility drill, a ball drill, something involving our fourth quarter program, he doesn’t flinch when he’s challenged. You can coach him hard.” — head coach Mario Cristobal Outlook this fall: Shough was not recruited with the intent he'd start this fall. The starting quarterback job remains Justin Herbert's and that won't change barring unforeseen circumstances. But, Shough has looked good this spring. He had an up-and-down scrimmage in Portland last month, but finished extremely strong in the spring game, hooking up with Davis and Cyrus Habibi-Likio for touchdown passes. Coaches and teammates alike praised him not only for his football skills, but also his mentality and approach. In a perfect world, Shough redshirts and lets Herbert sling the rock during a double-digit win return-to-prominence season for the Ducks. But, if called upon, he's shown the intangibles to be an adequate replacement. Not only does he have undeniable arm talent, but he's an underrated athlete and has already put on muscle since arriving in January. His best football remains in front of him. Sign up for the FREE DuckTerritory.com newsletter and get all your Oregon news sent directly to your e-mail inbox daily. Consider following DuckTerritory on Twitter, as well as our full-time writers Matt Prehm, Erik Skopil and Kevin Wade. If you're not a VIP subscriber to DuckTerritory.com, consider signing up and taking advantage of our FREE trial here.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Zegar zagłady został stworzony przez naukowców skupionych wokół pisma „Bulletin of Atomic Scientists” w 1947 roku. Metaforycznie wskazuje on, jak daleko od zagłady nuklearnej jest ludzkość. Pomiary są aktualizowane co roku. Podczas konferencji 24 stycznia badacze stosunków międzynarodowych pod kątem m.in. zagrożenia nuklearnego poinformowali, że wskazówki powinny zostać na tym samym poziomie, co przed rokiem, gdy zostały przesunięte o kolejne 30 sekund. Oznacza to, że do metaforycznej „północy” brakuje już tylko dwóch minut – podobnie blisko punktu zero ludzkość była zdaniem badaczy w 1953 roku. kiedy to USA i ZSRR w odstępie dziewięciu miesięcy przeprowadziły próby jądrowe. Gra w rosyjską ulotkę Specjaliści z BAS tłumaczą, że ludzkość „jako coś normalnego zaczyna przyjmować bardzo niebezpieczny świat” . – Choć nie ma zmiany w porównaniu do 2018 roku, takie ustawienie powinno być odczytywane nie jako oznaka stabilności, ale jako wyraźne ostrzeżenie dla przywódców i ludzi na całym świecie – przestrzegała Rachel Bronson, która stoi na czele „Bulletin of Atomic Scientists”. – Ta „nowa nienormalność” jest po prostu zbyt niestabilna i niebezpieczna, by mogła zostać zaakceptowana – dodała. Wtórował jej inny prominentny przedstawiciel BAS, były burmistrz Kalifornii Jerry Brown. – Gramy z ludzkością w rosyjską ruletkę – zaznaczył. W raporcie towarzyszącym wydaniu ostrzeżenia podkreślono, że wprawdzie widać pewną poprawę w stosunkach USA z Koreą Północną, ale podziały polityczne na świecie się pogłębiają. Jako kluczowe zagrożenia naukowcy wciąż wymieniają ryzyko użycia broni atomowej, zwiększoną emisję CO2 prowadzącą do zmian klimatu i wojnę dezinformacyjną, która prowadzi do podważania zasad demokracji w niektórych krajach. Złowieszcze tykanie Doomsday Clock, symboliczny zegar odmierzający światowe zagrożenie jądrowe, zaprojektowała w 1947 r. na okładkę "The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" Martyl Langsdorf, żona fizyka pracującego przy Manhattan Project. W ciągu 55 lat zespół naukowców skupionych wokół czasopisma przesuwał wskazówki zegara w zależności od sytuacji międzynarodowej. 1949: 3 minuty do północy – ZSRR detonuje swoją pierwszą bombę atomową – ZSRR detonuje swoją pierwszą bombę atomową 1953: 2 minuty do północy – USA i ZSRR w odstępie dziewięciu miesięcy przeprowadzają próby jądrowe – USA i ZSRR w odstępie dziewięciu miesięcy przeprowadzają próby jądrowe 1963: 12 minut do północy – USA i ZSRR podpisują traktat o częściowym zakazie prób z bronią jądrową – USA i ZSRR podpisują traktat o częściowym zakazie prób z bronią jądrową 1968: 7 minut do północy – Francja i Chiny wchodzą w posiadanie broni jądrowej; wybuch wojny na Bliskim Wschodzie; wojna w Wietnamie; początek światowego wyścigu zbrojeń – Francja i Chiny wchodzą w posiadanie broni jądrowej; wybuch wojny na Bliskim Wschodzie; wojna w Wietnamie; początek światowego wyścigu zbrojeń 1969: 10 minut do północy – Stany Zjednoczone ratyfikują układ o zakazie rozprzestrzeniania broni jądrowej – Stany Zjednoczone ratyfikują układ o zakazie rozprzestrzeniania broni jądrowej 1972: 12 minut do północy – USA i ZSRR podpisują układ w sprawie ograniczenia zbrojeń strategicznych SALT I, układ ABM o ograniczeniu budowy systemów antyrakietowych; postęp w rozmowach o SALT II – USA i ZSRR podpisują układ w sprawie ograniczenia zbrojeń strategicznych SALT I, układ ABM o ograniczeniu budowy systemów antyrakietowych; postęp w rozmowach o SALT II 1974: 9 minut do północy – impas w rozmowach w sprawie układu SALT II; Indie udoskonalają swoją broń jądrową – impas w rozmowach w sprawie układu SALT II; Indie udoskonalają swoją broń jądrową 1981: 4 minuty do północy - główne mocarstwa kontynuują zbrojenia; fala terroryzmu, konflikt w Afganistanie, stan wojenny w Polsce, wojna w Afryce Południowej - główne mocarstwa kontynuują zbrojenia; fala terroryzmu, konflikt w Afganistanie, stan wojenny w Polsce, wojna w Afryce Południowej 1988: 6 minut do północy – USA i ZSRR podpisują układ o likwidacji rakiet średniego i krótkiego zasięgu, poprawiają się stosunki między mocarstwami – USA i ZSRR podpisują układ o likwidacji rakiet średniego i krótkiego zasięgu, poprawiają się stosunki między mocarstwami 1990: 10 minut do północy – demokratyczne zmiany w Europie Wschodniej, obalenie komunizmu, koniec zimnej wojny – demokratyczne zmiany w Europie Wschodniej, obalenie komunizmu, koniec zimnej wojny 1991: 17 minut do północy – USA i ZSRR podpisują układ o redukcji strategicznych zbrojeń ofensywnych START – USA i ZSRR podpisują układ o redukcji strategicznych zbrojeń ofensywnych START 1995: 14 minut do północy – eskalacja zbrojeń, czarnorynkowy handel materiałami rozszczepialnymi w Rosji – eskalacja zbrojeń, czarnorynkowy handel materiałami rozszczepialnymi w Rosji 1998: 9 minut do północy – Indie i Pakistan przeprowadzają próby z bronią jądrową, USA i Rosja nie osiągają porozumienia dotyczącego dalszej redukcji arsenału nuklearnego – Indie i Pakistan przeprowadzają próby z bronią jądrową, USA i Rosja nie osiągają porozumienia dotyczącego dalszej redukcji arsenału nuklearnego 2002: 7 minut do północy - niewielki postęp w redukcji arsenałów nuklearnych; USA wycofuje się z układu ABM: zamachy terrorystyczne, próby zdobycia broni biologicznej i jądrowej przez organizacje terrorystyczne - niewielki postęp w redukcji arsenałów nuklearnych; USA wycofuje się z układu ABM: zamachy terrorystyczne, próby zdobycia broni biologicznej i jądrowej przez organizacje terrorystyczne 2007: 5 minut do północy – Korea Północna testuje broń jądrową, przypuszczalne ambicje nuklearne Iranu, odnowienie nacisku USA na przydatność wojskową broni nuklearnej, porażka we właściwym zabezpieczaniu materiałów nuklearnych, ciągła obecność 26000 sztuk broni nuklearnych w USA i Rosji[3]. Eksperci oceniają, że do zagrożeń dla cywilizacji dochodzi globalne ocieplenie. – Korea Północna testuje broń jądrową, przypuszczalne ambicje nuklearne Iranu, odnowienie nacisku USA na przydatność wojskową broni nuklearnej, porażka we właściwym zabezpieczaniu materiałów nuklearnych, ciągła obecność 26000 sztuk broni nuklearnych w USA i Rosji[3]. Eksperci oceniają, że do zagrożeń dla cywilizacji dochodzi globalne ocieplenie. 2010: 6 minut do północy – Po raz pierwszy prezydent USA mówi o świecie wolnym od broni nuklearnej; światowa współpraca w celu redukcji arsenału broni nuklearnej; przyjęcie zmian mających na celu zmniejszenie emisji gazów cieplarnianych. – Po raz pierwszy prezydent USA mówi o świecie wolnym od broni nuklearnej; światowa współpraca w celu redukcji arsenału broni nuklearnej; przyjęcie zmian mających na celu zmniejszenie emisji gazów cieplarnianych. 2012: 5 minut do północy: Rozprzestrzenianie broni jądrowej oraz brak przeciwdziałania globalnym zmianom klimatu. Rozprzestrzenianie broni jądrowej oraz brak przeciwdziałania globalnym zmianom klimatu. 2015: 3 minuty do północy : Ciąg dalszy braku globalnej kontroli nad zapasami broni jądrowej, a także zwiększenie napięć między Stanami Zjednoczonymi a Rosją w związku z kryzysem ukraińskim[4]. : Ciąg dalszy braku globalnej kontroli nad zapasami broni jądrowej, a także zwiększenie napięć między Stanami Zjednoczonymi a Rosją w związku z kryzysem ukraińskim[4]. 2017: 2,5 minuty do północy : Wzrost zagrożenia bronią atomową (brak postępu w redukcji arsenału jądrowego Stanów Zjednoczonych i Rosji oraz wzrost napięcia w relacjach tych państw, przeprowadzenie podziemnych prób jądrowych przez Koreę Północną, wzrost napięcia pomiędzy Indiami i Pakistanem, a także niepokojące komentarze Donalda Trumpa w czasie kampanii prezydenckiej dotyczące proliferacji broni jądrowej), brak postępów w redukcji emisji gazów cieplarnianych (w tym zbyt mały postęp w rozwoju energetyki jądrowej, a także podważanie naukowego konsensusu w kwestii zmian klimatycznych przez Donalda Trumpa), niekontrolowany rozwój niektórych technologii, w tym możliwe wpływanie Rosji na wyniki wyborów prezydenckich w Stanach Zjednoczonych, wzrost retoryki nacjonalistycznej oraz lekceważenia wiedzy naukowej[5] : Wzrost zagrożenia bronią atomową (brak postępu w redukcji arsenału jądrowego Stanów Zjednoczonych i Rosji oraz wzrost napięcia w relacjach tych państw, przeprowadzenie podziemnych prób jądrowych przez Koreę Północną, wzrost napięcia pomiędzy Indiami i Pakistanem, a także niepokojące komentarze Donalda Trumpa w czasie kampanii prezydenckiej dotyczące proliferacji broni jądrowej), brak postępów w redukcji emisji gazów cieplarnianych (w tym zbyt mały postęp w rozwoju energetyki jądrowej, a także podważanie naukowego konsensusu w kwestii zmian klimatycznych przez Donalda Trumpa), niekontrolowany rozwój niektórych technologii, w tym możliwe wpływanie Rosji na wyniki wyborów prezydenckich w Stanach Zjednoczonych, wzrost retoryki nacjonalistycznej oraz lekceważenia wiedzy naukowej[5] 2018: 2 minuty do północy: Brak stosownych rozwiązań wobec narastającego ryzyka konfliktu nuklearnego i zmian klimatu. Tak jak w roku 1953, zegar jest teraz najbliżej północy. Co zdaniem noblistów jest największym zagrożeniem dla ludzkości? Narkotyki Jeden laureat Nagrody Nobla obawia się, że ludzkość wyginie wskutek masowego stosowania zabójczego narkotyku. Nierówność Tu wina spada znów na politycznych liderów, którzy doprowadzają do polaryzacji świata m.in. pod względem gospodarczym. Tę odpowiedź wskazało 4 proc. badanych, czyli dwóch noblistów. Sztuczna inteligencja Pod tą odpowiedzą z pewnością podpisałby się Elon Musk. 4 proc. badanych noblistów obawia się działania AI. Nieszczerość i zakłamywanie prawdy Zdaniem 6 proc. badanych największym zagrożeniem dla ludzkości są negatywne cechy jej przedstawicieli - kłamliwość i skłonność i fałszowania faktów. Terroryzm i fundamentalizm Trzy wskazania (6 proc.) ma także zagrożenie płynące ze strony radykałów i terrorystów. Jako niebezpieczeństwo ankietowani wskazywali zarówno ideologię, jak i broń, jaką dysponują terroryści. Ignorancja światowych przywódców Tę odpowiedź wskazało trzech noblistów (6 proc. odpowiedzi). Czy wszyscy mieli na myśli konkretne osoby? A może jedną wybraną? Egoizm i brak uczciwości Co ciekawe, również 8 proc. ankietowanych wskazało, że do zagłady przyczynią się sami ludzie poprzez swoje negatywne cechy charakteru. Za najbardziej zgubne dla ludzkości nobliści uznali egoizm i nieszczerość. Pandemie i lekooporność Zdaniem 8 proc. badanych ludzkość może wyniknąć w skutek globalnych epidemii i rozprzestrzeniania się wirusów oraz bakterii, które będą oporne na działanie leków. Podobnego zdania jest Światowa Organizacja Zdrowia. Wojna nuklearna Według 23 proc. wskazań (12 laureatów), największym zagrożeniem dla ludzkości jest wojna nuklearna. W tym kontekście najczęściej wymieniany był północnokoreański reżim i inni "nieobliczalni dyktatorzy". Niszczenie środowiska i związane z tym katastrofy naturalne Zdaniem 18 laureatów Nagrody Nobla (34 proc. wskazań) największym zagrożeniem dla ludzkości są katastrofy naturalne. "Zmiana klimatu, a co za tym idzie braki żywności i świeżej wody dla rosnącej populacji świata są poważnymi problemami, z jakimi przyjdzie się zmierzyć ludzkości" - cytuje ankietowanych THE.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
With their Under-18s having got life at Tottenham's new stadium off to a winning start, it was the turn of the first-team squad to get acquainted with their fresh surroundings as they trained there for the first time on Thursday. Defender Toby Alderweireld took to social media to dub the plush 62,062-seater venue as "special" and "far beyond my expectations" after the session which took place in advance of Sunday's trip to face Premier League title contenders Liverpool at Anfield. Ryan Mason's youngsters beat their Southampton counterparts 3-1 at the first test event to be held at the ground last weekend, while on Saturday a legends team coached by Gary Mabbutt and Clive Allen and featuring the likes of Jurgen Klinsmann, David Ginola and Robbie Keane will take on 'Inter Forever' in front of an increased attendance in N17. All being well, Tottenham will then be awarded the necessary safety certificate which means they can officially open their new stadium with a top-flight fixture against London rivals Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening. Scroll through the gallery above to see how Spurs got on in their new surroundings, and the gallery below for a look back at how the stadium was built...	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
This event is an opportunity to make games, explore new game ideas, and interact with fellow game-lovers in an exciting and relaxed environment. Learn something, teach something, make something, and play something! The event is a community-based effort to increase the total knowledge, experience, and ideas available to community members. Do you know something about games that may interest others? Then volunteer! We want to know what you know! We will also be holding a separate (free) PLAY event to showcase the games made at this event, happening on June 3rd. Stay tuned for details! Register for the Jam now on our GI Eventbrite page! FAQ: Q: How much does this event cost, and how do I pay? A: The total cost per attendee is $15.00 (CAD). After completing the event registration page, you will be asked to submit payment online via the University of Waterloo's Shopify page HERE. Payment is required to confirm your attendance. The costs help us cover event supplies, equipment use, as well as catered lunches for all attendees! Q: Do I have to be qualified to volunteer? A: Not necessarily—we do need people just to help with setup/cleanup/registration/lunch. If you want to do a talk or tutorial, you should have some confidence that you know something that would be useful or interesting. If you say you can do a talk or tutorial I’ll most likely believe you—I’m not interested in stopping any enthusiastic volunteers. Please let us know if you'd like to lend a hand as a mentor, tutorial-giver, skill-haver, setter-upper, or anything else! Q: Do I have to stay the entire time? A: No! We’re going to organize volunteers into shifts. You are, of course, free (and encouraged!) to participate even when not “on duty.” Q: Where can I contact the organizer with any questions? A: The GI Jam organizers can be reached via the email: games.uwaterloo.ca Q: Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event? A: You do not need to bring your printed ticket, but you should bring a piece of ID. Not only do we use it to double-check registrations, we trade you for your ID if/when you borrow our development equipment. Tentative Schedule: Friday (the 26th): 4:30 pm - Doors open / Registration begins. During this time, teams can form, chat, and brainstorm before things kick off. 5:15 pm - Opening remarks 5:30 pm - Tutorials begin (learn about topics such as game design, Unity 101, and Unreal engine). Quiet space is available in designated Jam rooms. 9:30 pm - Doors close Saturday (the 27th): 9:00 am - Doors open 9:30 am - Welcome back, reminder of available help. 12:00 pm - Lunch begins 2:30 pm - Check-in, mentors circulate 5:00 pm - Show & tell (optional: 2 minutes for each team to describe what they’re making) 9:30 pm - Doors close Sunday (the 28th):	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Princeton Restaurant Reviews Princeton Restaurants This page describes my experiences dining at various restaurants in Princeton and the surrounding areas. Written by a food enthusiast who's lived in Princeton for 10+ years. Bon appetit! Here are my personal favorite restaurants in the Princeton area. African Makedas. (338 George Street, New Brunswick; 732.545.5115) Closed. American–New Bakery Bar and Pub For a town with a high-profile university, Princeton has very few places to get a drink. Southern / BBQ The Pig + The Pit. (20 North Main Street, Pennington, NJ 08534) Atlanta chef and restaurateur Calavino Donati (ominvore) teams up with Atlanta singer-songwriter Doria Roberts (vegetarian) to serve up extraordinary Southern and BBQ at this Covid popup in downtown Pennington. Signature dishes include turkey poblano meatloaf with jalapeño tequila gravy and the Urban Reuben sandwich, made pork shoulder. Everything my family and I have devoured has been exceptional, from the pulled pork, brisket, and shrimp and grits to all of the sides. Definitely the best Southern and BBQ in the area, and probably the best vegetarian too! Don't miss out. (20 North Main Street, Pennington, NJ 08534) Atlanta chef and restaurateur Calavino Donati (ominvore) teams up with Atlanta singer-songwriter Doria Roberts (vegetarian) to serve up extraordinary Southern and BBQ at this Covid popup in downtown Pennington. Signature dishes include turkey poblano meatloaf with jalapeño tequila gravy and the Urban Reuben sandwich, made pork shoulder. Everything my family and I have devoured has been exceptional, from the pulled pork, brisket, and shrimp and grits to all of the sides. Definitely the best Southern and BBQ in the area, and probably the best vegetarian too! Don't miss out. Big Pinks BBQ. (483 Union Avenue, Bridgewater, NJ 08807; 908.334.5685) Fans say its the best BBQ in NJ. It's a food truck based in Bridgewater, but sometimes seen at events in Princeton. Highly recommended: pulled chicken, pulled pork, and brisket. Chinese Coffee, Tea, and Juice You can also grab a cup of coffee at Chez Alice, The Little Chef, or Witherspoon's in the Frist campus center. Diner European Farm and Farmers' Market Some terrific local farms, with high-end products. French–New Rat's. (6 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton; 609.584.7800) Founded by J. Seward Johnson Jr. and located in the Grounds For Sculpture. Country French cuisine in a romantic setting, including a views of Giverny-esque gardens. The food is innovative and flavorful, but they seem to have trouble serving it hot. I love the complimentary popovers served between courses. They also offer a fancy Sunday brunch and have an extensive wine and cocktail list. (6 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton; 609.584.7800) Founded by J. Seward Johnson Jr. and located in the Grounds For Sculpture. Country French cuisine in a romantic setting, including a views of Giverny-esque gardens. The food is innovative and flavorful, but they seem to have trouble serving it hot. I love the complimentary popovers served between courses. They also offer a fancy Sunday brunch and have an extensive wine and cocktail list. Kafe Kabul. (6 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton; 609.584.7800) Kafe Kabul is attached to Rat's and serves more casual fare, including an excellent organic burger, homemade fries, and freshly made desserts. Cozy up by the fireplace in the winter. (6 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton; 609.584.7800) Kafe Kabul is attached to Rat's and serves more casual fare, including an excellent organic burger, homemade fries, and freshly made desserts. Cozy up by the fireplace in the winter. Jammin' Crepes. (10 Nassau Street, Princeton; 609.924.5387) Sweet and savory french-style crepes, prepared with locally-sourced, organic ingredients. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so you don't have to wait until the next Farmer's Market to get your fix. The Pass. (88 Kingwood Stockton Road, Rosemont) Closed. The Brother's Moon. (7 West Broad Street, Hopewell) Closed. Lahieres. (5 Witherspoon Street, Princeton) Closed. Cargot Brasserie. (99 University Place, Princeton) Closed. (10 Nassau Street, Princeton; 609.924.5387) Sweet and savory french-style crepes, prepared with locally-sourced, organic ingredients. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so you don't have to wait until the next Farmer's Market to get your fix. Gourmet / Specialty Food Markets Princeton has some outstanding specialty food markets. Greek / Middle Eastern / Afghan Grocery / Supermarket Ice Cream / Desserts Princeton is blessed with several excellent (and always popular) ice cream spots. Indian There is excellent Indian food in surrounding towns, especially Edison. Italian Japanese / Sushi Princeton has a disproportionately large number of sushi joints.You can also find sushi at Soonja's Cafe, Shanghai Park, Wegmans, and Nassau Street Seafood. More Japanese at Banzai and Shogun. Korean Soonja's Cuisine. (244 Alexander Street, Princeton; 609.924.9260) A mixture of Korean, Chinese, Thai, and Japanese entrees. I go for the Korean - the Bi Bim Bop is better than Nassau Street Sushi's. A good spot to go before an evening at McCarter Theater. I recommend the Seafood Gobdol Bi Bim Bop (seafood, scallops, and squid in a hot stone pot). (244 Alexander Street, Princeton; 609.924.9260) A mixture of Korean, Chinese, Thai, and Japanese entrees. I go for the Korean - the Bi Bim Bop is better than Nassau Street Sushi's. A good spot to go before an evening at McCarter Theater. I recommend the Seafood Gobdol Bi Bim Bop (seafood, scallops, and squid in a hot stone pot). Woo Jeon Restaurant. (411 U.S. Route 1, Edison) (411 U.S. Route 1, Edison) Wang Ga. (Route 27, Highland Park) (Route 27, Highland Park) Keum Ho Jung. (Edison, NJ just off of Route 1) Excellent Korean BBQ. Try the pancakes. Fans say it's the best Korean restaurant in the region (possibly including NYC). (Edison, NJ just off of Route 1) Excellent Korean BBQ. Try the pancakes. Fans say it's the best Korean restaurant in the region (possibly including NYC). Kimchi Hana. (South Plainfield, in the Middlesex Mall) Hobin Chicken. (180 Nassau Street, Princeton) Closed. (South Plainfield, in the Middlesex Mall) Nassau Sushi and Tokyo Japanese Restaurant also serve up a number of Korean specialties. Mexican and Spanish Hard to find good Mexican in Princeton. Your best bet is to go to New Brunswick. Pizza Pizza aficionados are blessed with three heavyweight options: Nomad, Osteria Procaccini, and De Lorenzo's. Teresa's and D'Angelo Italian Market also serves excellent pizzetas. Princeton University and IAS Sandwiches and Deli D'Angelo Italian Market also serves up some excellent hoagies. Seafood Blue Point Grill. (258 Nassau Street, Princeton; 609.921.1211) The best seafood in the area and one of my favorite restaurants. Impeccably fresh seafood, cooked to perfection. The grilled fish is simply prepared (usually with capers, lemon, and butter) to highlight the fish. Sides of garlic smashed potatoes and creamed spinach are the perfect accompaniment. Also features a raw oyster bar. My favorites are the Australian Baramundi and George's Banks Lemon Sole. The Day Boat Maine Sea Scallops are also recommended. The menu offers little for non-seafood lovers. Not open for lunch. (258 Nassau Street, Princeton; 609.921.1211) The best seafood in the area and one of my favorite restaurants. Impeccably fresh seafood, cooked to perfection. The grilled fish is simply prepared (usually with capers, lemon, and butter) to highlight the fish. Sides of garlic smashed potatoes and creamed spinach are the perfect accompaniment. Also features a raw oyster bar. My favorites are the Australian Baramundi and George's Banks Lemon Sole. The Day Boat Maine Sea Scallops are also recommended. The menu offers little for non-seafood lovers. Not open for lunch. Nassau Street Seafood and Produce Company. (256 Nassau Street, Princeton; 609.921.0620) Best place to buy fresh seafood. Also fresh produce and Terhune Orchard pies. They serve boxed-lunch fish sandwiches, which are very tasty and inexpensive. You can eat lunch outside at the Blue Point Grill, next door. Calico Grill. (180 Nassau Street, Princeton) Closed. Big Fish Seafood Bistro. (3535 Route 1 South, Princeton) Closed. (256 Nassau Street, Princeton; 609.921.0620) Best place to buy fresh seafood. Also fresh produce and Terhune Orchard pies. They serve boxed-lunch fish sandwiches, which are very tasty and inexpensive. You can eat lunch outside at the Blue Point Grill, next door. Steakhouse and Grill Thai / Malaysian / Vietnamese Wine and Liquor Local liquor licenses are scarce, so most Princeton restaurants are BYO. Restaurant Review Links	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin System's president reprimanded the La Crosse campus' chancellor for inviting porn star Nina Hartley to speak on campus, questioning his judgment and warning him that he may not receive a raise next month. UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow invited Hartley to speak on campus on Nov. 1 during Free Speech Week. He paid the 59-year-old actress $5,000 from his discretionary fund for the 90-minute appearance. Hartley, who has appeared in hundreds of adult films and had a role in "Boogie Nights," told students it's acceptable to enjoy pornography, not enjoy it or be confused by it. She also stressed that pornography is fantasy. "I wouldn't normally go to a barn on a Tuesday morning to have sex on a hay bale. It's my job, and we're professionals," Hartley said, according to the La Crosse Tribune. "It's OK to like porn. It's OK to not like porn. And it's OK to be confused by porn. You are where you are, and you are who you are." Get Breaking News Delivered to Your Inbox Click here to view related media. click to expand CBS affiliate WISC-TV reports that two weeks later, Gow said he was sorry for the media attention Hartley's visit attracted and promised to personally reimburse the school the $5,000. He said he was naive about the possibility that her profession would overwhelm her message. The UW System on Wednesday released a letter that President Ray Cross sent to Gow on Nov. 6 reprimanding him for inviting Hartley to speak. Cross sent the letter a week before Gow apologized. Cross said he was upset that he learned about the visit after it happened through the media. He warned Gow that the visit will affect whether he receives a salary increase next month, when the Board of Regents considers pay adjustments for all system chancellors. He informed Gow that he would launch an audit into his discretionary spending, WISC-TV reports. Cross said the Hartley invitation could jeopardize funding for the entire system. Republican legislators who have long been critical of the system are expected to start work on its next two-year budget as part of the larger state budget this spring. "Therefore, you are being reprimanded for exercising poor judgment and for a lack of responsible oversight with respect to the use of state funds," Cross wrote. Gow told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday that he was trying to promote the system's academic freedom and freedom of expression policy. He said he was looking to invite someone with a "perspective very different from our own and someone who wouldn't be hateful and target groups," he said, and found Hartley through an internet search for college speakers. "She seemed like a person who had a life experience dramatically different than the rest of us," the chancellor said.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
OAKLAND — Kaiser Elementary School and the School of Language dual immersion middle school will close at the end of the school year, the Oakland school board decided at a packed meeting Wednesday despite nearly five hours of pleading, tears and chanting from parents, students, and teachers who opposed the decision. Students and parents feared they would lose the sense of community they had at the schools. Kaiser’s enrollment is less than 300, and is known for being tight-knit and taking a hard stance against bullying. Karen Carney is the grandmother of five Kaiser alumni, one of whom is disabled, who she said well taken care of at the school. She attributes that to the heavy parental involvement and the school’s size. “Everybody knew my granddaughter, everybody knew to look out for her and take care of her, and we never had to worry about her being bullied,” Carney said. Kaiser will merge with Sankofa Elementary, which is about 3 miles away, and the School of Language — or SOL — will merge with Frick Academy, about a mile and a half away. The board also voted Wednesday to expand Melrose Leadership Academy, a K-8 dual immersion school, and invest more money into the under-enrolled Fruitvale Elementary School, in the hopes that more families in that neighborhood will choose to send their children there. The mergers were pieces of the recently-approved Citywide Plan, which found the district could close or consolidate up to 24 of its more than 80 schools and still serve its roughly 37,000 students. Its plan is to redirect funds to remaining schools to improve their quality. The board voted on pieces of the plan individually, approving two unanimously, but splitting 5-2 on the Kaiser/Sankofa merger. Some opponents accused the district of pitting higher-income families, who send their children to Kaiser Elementary in the North Oakland hills, against low-income families in the so-called flatlands neighborhood served by Sankofa Academy. Opponents from Kaiser Elementary said the school’s diversity matches the district’s demographics and its academic program is successful. They instead urged the board to consider expanding their campus. The school draws students from throughout the city. “By merging these schools, you are losing what is special to each individual group, by closing them you are destroying communities that took years to build,” said Kaiser graduate Olive Moxon. Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell said each of the merged and expanded schools in this round of closings would get priority funding in the district’s 2020-21 budget to ensure they have the support they need to succeed. “We will talk about what our priorities are,” she said. “We will need to think about the investments we need to make for the next school year.” Johnson-Trammell warned that the district is expecting to lose students who may not want to stay after their schools are closed, but said by creating stronger merged schools the district may be able to attract new students who are moving into Oakland neighborhoods. The schools will plan their “redesigns” this year and will merge in 2020-21 with a goal of first getting the school communities to work together to support the new school and then moving toward improving academic achievement, she said. “We’re realistically talking about what we can point to for the first year or two years,” she said. “In Oakland, we’re in a very competitive environment, and there’s going to have to be that same level of support just around improvement.” The board first considered a plan proposed by board member Jody London, who represents North Oakland where all three schools are located, to close both the Kaiser and Sankofa elementary schools and merge them onto the closed Santa Fe Elementary campus. That failed in a 2-5 vote after most board members and dozens of members of the public pleaded to allow Sankofa — which has been under-resourced for years — to remain on its campus. In Wednesday’s 5-2 vote, the school board also agreed to consider reopening the closed Santa Fe Elementary campus as part of the next round of school closures, consolidations and expansions. Board members Roseann Torres and Shanthi Gonzales voting against the Kaiser-Sankofa merger, saying they didn’t think the district should be forcing Kaiser parents and teachers to move after they have clearly said they don’t want to and may not go along with the merger. “I think there’s a way to do this so we could be successful, but we don’t have buy-in to do this,” Gonzales said. “Without buy-in from teachers and very little buy-in from parents, I don’t think it’s going to work and I think it’s a little irresponsible.” Sankofa parents and teachers have said they would be happy to merge with anyone, as long as they could stay on their campuses and receive adequate resources to improve their school. But a group of Kaiser teachers said they would refuse to participate in the redesign process and one vowed to continue the fight after the vote. Some parents threatened to file lawsuits or to initiate recall campaigns against board members. In other issues, the board also agreed on its response to a scathing Alameda County Civil grand jury report that alleged the district has a “broken administrative culture” that has led to “millions wasted every year.” The board’s response partially disagreed with the broken culture allegation, saying “the district is working to improve its culture” by focusing on “organizational wellness” training to “build a culture that values divergent perspectives, creative problem-solving and mutual accountability.” The board is also working to create a whistleblower policy by the end of the school year “to improve the district’s culture and address concerns regarding nepotism and financial distress.” The board also approved budget revisions that showed the district has more money in reserves than it projected in June. Gonzales and some members of the public questioned why some of this money has not been returned to schools to restore cuts that were made when the district thought it was in more serious fiscal distress.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
For much of the past two years, Israel stood sphinx-like on the sidelines of Syria’s civil war. Did it want Bashar al-Assad’s regime toppled? Did it favour military intervention to help opposition forces? And what did it think of the increasing visibility of Islamist groups in Syria? It was difficult to guess. In recent weeks, however, Israel has moved from relative inaction to a deepening involvement in Syrian affairs. It launched two air strikes on Syrian positions last month. At the same time, it fomented claims that Damascus had used chemical weapons, in what looked suspiciously like a bid to corner Washington into direct intervention. Recently, based on renewed accusations of the use of the nerve agent sarin by Syria, the US said it would start giving military aid directly to the opposition. With suspicions of Israeli meddling growing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was finally forced to deny as “nonsense” evidence that Israeli forces are operating secretly over the border. Nonetheless, the aura of inscrutability has hardly lifted, stoked by a series of leaks from Israeli officials. Their statements have tacked wildly between threats to oust Assad one moment and denials that Israel has any interest in his departure the next. Is Israel sending out contradictory signals to sow confusion, or is it simply confused itself? The answer can be deduced in the unappealing outcomes before Israel whoever emerges triumphant. Israel stands to lose strategically if either Assad or the opposition wins decisively. Better the devil you know Assad, and his father Hafez before him, ensured that the so-called separation of forces line between Syria and Israel, after the latter occupied the Golan Heights in 1967, remained the quietest of all Israel’s borders. A taste of what might happen should the Syrian regime fall was provided in 2011 when more than 1000 Palestinians massed in the no man’s land next to the Golan, while Assad’s attention was directed to repressing popular demonstrations elsewhere. At least 100 Palestinians crossed into the Heights, with one even reaching Tel Aviv. In recent days, after intensified fighting between the rebels and the Syrian army over Quneitra, a town next to the only crossing between Israel and Syria, United Nations peacekeepers from Austria started pulling out due to the dangers. Briefly, the opposition forces captured Quneitra, offering a reminder that any void there would likely suck in Palestinian militants and jihadists keen to settle scores with Israel. That point was underlined by one Israeli official, who told the London Times: “Better the devil we know than the demons we can only imagine if Syria falls into chaos, and the extremists from across the Arab world gain a foothold there.” For that reason, the Israeli military is reported to considering two responses familiar from Lebanon: invading to establish a security zone on the other side of the demarcation line, or covertly training and arming Syrian proxies inside the same area. Neither approach turned out well for Israel in Lebanon, but there are indications ― despite Netanyahu’s denial ― that Israel is already pursuing the second track. According to the New York Times, Israel is working with Syrian villagers not allied to Assad or the opposition and offering “humanitarian aid” and “maintaining intense intelligence activity”. In an interview with the Argentinian media last month, Assad accused Israel of having gone further, “directly supporting” opposition groups inside Syria with “logistical support”, intelligence on potential targets and plans for attacking them. The threat of a strong Assad If the future looks bleak for Israel with Assad gone, it looks no brighter if he entrenches his rule. A strong Assad means Syria will continue to play a pivotal role in maintaining a military front opposed to Israeli hegemony in the Middle East. That in turn means a strong Iran and a strong Hezbollah, the Shia militia in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s formidable record in guerrilla warfare is the main reason Israel no longer occupies south Lebanon. Similarly, Hezbollah’s arsenal of rockets is a genuine restraint on greater Israeli aggression towards not only Lebanon but Syria and Iran too. Israel’s air strikes in early May appear to have targeted shipments through Syria of more sophisticated weaponry for Hizbullah, probably supplied by Iran. Longer range missiles and anti-aircraft systems are seen as “game-changing” by Israel precisely because they would further limit its room for offensive manoeuvres. Israel will be equally stymied if Assad stays in power and upgrades his anti-aircraft defences with the S-300 system promised by Russia. Either way, Israel’s much vaunted ambition to engineer an attack on Iran to prevent what it claims is Tehran’s goal of developing a nuclear bomb ― joining Israel in the club of Middle Eastern nuclear-armed states ― would probably come at too high a price to be feasible. So what does Israel consider in its interests if neither Assad’s survival nor his removal is appealing? According to some well-placed Israeli commentators, the best Israel can hope for is that Assad holds on but only just. That would keep the regime in place, or boxed into its heartland, but sapped of the energy to concern itself with anything other than immediate matters of survival. It would be unable to offer help to Hezbollah, isolating the militia in Lebanon and cutting off its supply line to Iran. In closed-door discussions, analyst Ben Caspit has noted, the Israeli army has put forward as its “optimal scenario” Syria breaking up into three separate states, with Assad confined to an Alawite canton in Damascus and along the coast. A long war of attrition between Assad and the opposition has added benefits for Israel after the decision by Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, to draft thousands of fighters to assist the Syrian army. Protracted losses could deplete Hezbollah’s ranks and morale, while fighting is likely to spill over from Syria into Lebanon, tying up the militia on multiple fronts. But there is a risk here too. If Hezbollah performs well, as it did in defeating the rebels this month at the town of Qusayr, its position in Lebanon could be strengthened rather than weakened. And in that situation Assad’s debt to Hezbollah would only deepen. Such calculations are doubtless exercising Israeli military minds. The greatest danger of all is that yet more parties get drawn in, turning the conflict into a regional one. That would be the likely outcome if Israel chooses to increase its interference, or if the US comes good with recent threats to increase military aid to the opposition or impose a no-fly zone over parts or all of Syria. Either way, Israel might see the transformation of Syria in to a new mini-cold war theatre as advantageous. However, the Israeli sphinx is not offering any answers quite yet. [Reprinted from Jonathan-Cook.net. Jonathan Cook has won the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His latest books are Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East (Pluto Press) and Disappearing Palestine: Israel’s Experiments in Human Despair (Zed Books).]	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Hi everyone, my name is Alena Prokharchyk, part of the engineering team here at Rancher, and still loving working on container infrastructure. A few months ago I wrote an article introducing Docker load balancing in Rancher. Today, I want to focus on how we’ve built a brand new service discovery capability into Rancher, as well as how we’ve integrated it with load balancing. If you’re not familiar with service discovery, it is a networking capability that allows groups of devices (or in our case containers) to be identified with a common name, and discovered by other services on the network. In Rancher we enable this using our container network and DNS management services. We have also integrated it with our Load Balancer solution to making it simple to deploy services based off Docker images, define how they can discover one another, and allow load balancing to route traffic to specific services. In today’s post I’m going to walk through this new feature and give you an overview of how to get started using it. So lets start simple, and build a use case from my previous post on using the load balancer in front of an nginx server - but this time we are going to run both nginx and our load balancer as services within Rancher. Creating services in Rancher We’ve updated our UI to make it easy to understand when you’re working with services, and when you are working with infrastructure like individual containers and hosts. In our top nav, you’ll notice a Services tab, clicking on that will take you to a services page, where you can create your first \“Project.\” A Project is a group of services representing your deployment, and the domain in which service discovery works: Now let’s add our nginx service. Creating a service is very similar to starting a single container, we specify the docker image we want to pull from DockerHub, I’m using nginx:v1.9, and then define the number of containers we want to create. In this case I’m using scale=3, but we can always adjust this number later. Finally hit create, and it will be added to our project page. Next, click on the \“Add Balancer\” button on the project page to add a Load Balancer service: Configure this service to specify your source/target ports, but instead of pointing it to a container, as we did last time, we’re going to point it to a service this time, so select \“nginx\” from the \“Target\” list. This will configure the LB service to balance all the instances of our nginx service, wherever they run. Once our services are defined, its time to start them. From the project page, click on the menu icon and select \“Start Services\” this will trigger container creation for both services, and our service discovery functionality will the traffic is forwarded from our load balancer to the nginx service, and balanced across nginx containers: Scaling up nginx service The beauty of combining container networking with service discovery and load balancing is that as your application grows, and you need more containers to support it, you can scale up the services easily. Let’s walk through this. Start by clicking on \“Edit Service\” from the menu icon in our nginx service: As soon as we save this new service configuration, four additional containers will be launched. These will automatically be registered with the Load Balancer, and traffic will be distributed automatically. As always, you can call these triggers from our API as well as the UI. ### Scaling up the Load Balancer service This same type of scaling also works with our Load Balancer service. If we look back at our stand alone Load Balancer, in order to create more instances, we had to manually add additional hosts to it. With services its so much simpler - simply scale up the LB service, and Rancher will automatically match the scale by starting more instances on the hosts picked by our internal allocator. Our \“Scale Up\” button is another way to easily change the scale from within the UI: Load Balancing across services I think service load balancing is going to have a significant impact on how our users upgrade services. With this in mind, we designed our load balancer to be able to scale any number of different services. Using our nginx example, we would create a new service in our project, this time running the latest version of nginx v1.9.1 and called \“nginix-latest\“. Once we have created that service, we can go to our load balancer and add an additional service link to \“nginx-latest\“: Now we’ve balanced traffic across two services. This allows us to do a/b testing, and when we’re ready we can either remove the original nginx from the load balancer, or simply stop the service. Our UI shows how traffic is now being distributed across both services: ### Discovery between services without a load balancer. The new Rancher serrvice discovery capability can be deployed between services as well. In the below screenshot, you can see I’ve set up a multi-tier application, and am in the process of upgrading my app server. Service connections can be made or updated at any time from the service configuration screen. How does this relate to Docker Compose? As always, we design our container infrastructure services to align with Docker and the management tools they are creating. We think Docker compose is a fantastic way to deploy application, so we allow you to directly create services from docker compose files using our prototype Rancher-Compose CLI, or you can export any services you create in Rancher as a Docker Compose file. For service discovery, that means we use compose \“links\” to define service relationships. We also create a \“rancher-compose.yml\” that specifies all of the service discovery information we create outside of Docker Compose. By clicking on the \“script\” icon at the top of any project you can see both yml files: When can you change load balancer targets? A set of target services can be changed for the load balancer service at any point. There are no requirements on the state of the LB or target service. If, for example, you’ve added the link from LB to the new service when it wasn’t fully activated yet - the containers were still deploying - the new containers will get registered in the LB as soon as they start. Load Balancer configuration As before, health checks and stickiness policies are still supported in Load Balancer services, and work just the same way as in stand alone Rancher Load Balancer. Any health check rules that you create will now apply to all services’ instances that are being balanced, as well as the policies. More fun stuff coming soon In the next couple weeks we’ll be introducing how we are using host and container tags, affinity policies, docker labels, and health checks to deploy services exactly how we want them, and ensure they are robust. We’ll aslo be talking about load balancing alancing traffic between external services’ IPs and http routing by domain/host name. If you’d like to see all of this working, please join our next meetup where we’ll be demonstrating service discovery, load balancing and more. Alena Prokharchyk If you have any questions or feedback, please contact me on twitter: @lemonjet https://github.com/alena1108 ####	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
For the Oakland Raiders (5-2) to close out their extended road trip with a win, they'll need a thorough scouting report on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3). This article will provide a rundown on Tampa Bay's offense, defense and special teams. The Raiders will use a report similar to this one to create an air-tight game plan. Here's the low down on the Buccaneers heading into Week 8. The Oakland Raiders take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8. Want the latest news on the matchup sent straight to your inbox? – Sign up for our FREE Raiders newsletter now! Offense The Buccaneers have a hot-and-cold offense that averages 365.3 yards per game (12th in NFL). Although they blew out the San Francisco 49ers last weekend, they have mustered just one touchdown in two separate losses this season. The play of sophomoric quarterback Jameis Winston is a big reason why this unit fluctuates so much. He has thrown 12 touchdowns (tied-9th most), but he has also thrown nine interceptions (tied-3rd most). On top of his wild arm, Winston has also fumbled four times and lost two. He has one of the NFL's most dominant physically dominant pass-catchers in his arsenal, though, as third-year wideout Mike Evans stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 231 pounds. With Doug Martin hurt, Jacquizz Rodgers has emerged as a decent threat at the running back position with over 100 yards rushing in each of the past two weeks. If the Raiders can get some pressure on Winston and force him to make some hurried decisions, they will have some opportunities to take the ball away. Defensive end/linebacker Khalil Mack will need to be disruptive. Cornerbacks David Amerson and Sean Smith will need some help from safety Reggie Nelson when it comes to covering Evans. Defense Tampa Bay's defense is halfway decent with an average of 350.7 yards allowed per game (13th in NFL). The biggest difference-maker the Buccaneers have is defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who leads the team with three sacks and has 15 quarterback hurries, per Pro Football Focus. Rookie defensive end Noah Spence is also a decent pass-rusher and is coming off his best performance of the season. The Buccaneers are weak at linebacker, but they have an interesting mix of talent in the defensive backfield. Veteran cornerback Brent Grimes is a proven playmaker with an interception and seven defended passes this season. Opposite him, rookie cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III is coming along with a couple of defended passes of his own. The Raiders have matchups all over the field on offense. Their offensive line should be able to handle Tampa Bay's pass-rush, the Buccaneers cornerbacks can't handle both Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, and Oakland's running backs should have plenty of room to attack underneath. Special teams The Buccaneers have a shaky kicker in second-round rookie Roberto Aguayo, who has missed five of his 11 field-goal attempts and one extra-point attempt so far this season. Punter Bryan Anger is a more solid specialist, as he's averaging a healthy 46.3 yards per punt and has dropped 13 of his 30 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line in 2016. Tampa Bay's return specialists are nothing special. They lack a decent kick returner, and Adam Humphries longest punt return of the season is only 25 yards. Oakland's coverage units should be able to dominate this aspect of the game.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Aug 27th, 2013 \| Viewing \| Comments WHEN: 11:15am EST, August 3rd, 2013 WHERE: In my apartment in Portland, ME FORMAT: Blu-Ray on a Vizio 47″ LCD HDTV COMPANY: None PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STATE: Followed viewing with The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III. SEQUELS: Neither The Lost World: Jurassic Park not Jurassic Park III live up to the franchise’s original installment. Painfully tedious and unmistakably dumb respectively, they each represent a different flavor of failure. But, taking each for what it is, I hold up Jurassic Park III as the better film. Lost World has better production values, JP III has a bearable running time (only 93 minutes!), but much can be placed on their leads. Doctors Alan Grant and Ian Malcolm are both iconic memorable characters, but just as only one of them knows how to face a Rex, only one of them works in a lead role. Ian may have the flair, but Grant is the hero. HOW MALCOLM FAILS AS A LEAD: The Lost World: Jurassic Park has many problems. Its plot is muddled and disjointed. It spends valuable exposition time visiting Hammond, Lex, and Tim, who will not factor into the greater plot. The new characters it introduces are one-dimensional, even compared to those in Jurassic Park. This being the case, it is easy not to place any of the blame on Ian Malcolm. After all, he was a lot of fun in the original, and we all love Jeff Goldblum (rightfully so). Yet, our chaotician friend is a major contributing factor to the film’s failings. Our first clue is that he spends his introductory shot yawning. Malcolm doesn’t want to do anything. That might seem like an unfair statement, but think about it. He doesn’t want to go to the island, and only agrees once he’s told that his girlfriend is there, and probably in danger. Thanks, Hammond. Still a dick, four years later. He packs up his Winnebago, snarkily protesting the whole while, and halfheartedly tells his daughter not to tag along. Once on the island, he looks around a little, finds Julianne Moore, and then spends several scenes on the phone, calling for a glorified taxi to take him and his stowaway daughter home. At this point, we wish we could leave the island too. Foiled by his inability to speak Spanish (something he probably should have thought of before going to Costa Rica). After this, most actions he takes could best be described as jogging to a place so that he can make snide comments as things happen nearby. For the last chunk of the movie, he helps Julianne Moore lure the T-Rex away from the giant stadium built to hold it and back to the boat it had recently escaped from. I suppose she needed moral support. I’m not sure. The point is, through the entirety of The Lost World: Jurassic Park, the protagonist, the strongest link back to the original film, does almost nothing. He stands around and makes comments. Then jogs places and makes more comments. The result is that it’s hard to give two shits about him. HOW GRANT SUCCEEDS AS A LEAD: Jurassic Park III also has many problems. Thanks to fewer and fewer puppets, the visuals look cheaper. The plot is laughable. The Spinosaurus is outright ridiculous. Seeing as the movie is a bit of a joke, it’s easy to overlook how successful Sam Neill is in the driver’s seat. Right off the bat, Grant is identified as “the dinosaur man.” We know why he’s in this movie. Like Malcolm, Grant doesn’t want to return to an island full of dinosaurs. William H. Macy knocks him out and brings him to Isla Sorna, but the moment his feet hit the ground, he’s taking action and has objectives. He wants to find out who hit him. He wants to get the expedition back on the plane. He wants to stop Téa Leoni from making noise with a megaphone. He suggests William H. Macy not hold his own wife for ransom. Wait. No. I’m thinking of Fargo. That’s all in his first minute on the island. From there on, he’s constantly taking action, revising his plans whenever they’re thwarted by dinosaurs, and generally kicking ass. Jurassic Park III is a straight action adventure flick, stripped of all the pretensions of the first two films, and Sam Neill plays his part perfectly to fit into that structure. He commits so fully to his role that it helps you ignore the ridiculousness surrounding him. Sure, the Raptor-nose-flute is a thing that makes sense, and isn’t totally stupid. We connect with him, and want him to succeed. He’s honest, invested, and sure, occasionally a little over the top. Watching Jurassic Park III is like eating a big bowl of popcorn, but it sure beats the stale loaf of dino-bread that is The Lost World. WHERE THE LOST WORLD WENT WRONG: So how did The Lost World: Jurassic Park mess things up? Jeff Goldblum is a good actor, and Ian Malcolm is a fun character. What went wrong? Well, it all has to do with the role he plays in the film: sayer of snarky things. Look at him, getting ready to make some snark. Up until The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Malcolm’s role in the franchise, both books and film, had been that of commentator. In Jurassic Park he had been Crichton’s mouthpiece, observing the action and giving a philosophical take on it. In fact, he spent most of the novel lying in bed, pumped full of morphine, waxing poetic about how humans are incapable of destroying the planet, just themselves. In Jurassic Park he spent his time warning everyone about how people are destroying the planet (also, flirting a bunch). In both cases he’s just lightly philosophizing from the sidelines. When he was resurrected for The Lost World, one might have assumed that he would take the lead role, but again, he took a back seat. It was a new character, Dr. Richard Levine, who took the reins in that novel. Again, Malcolm stuck to the side, this time waxing poetic about theories of extinction. And, truth be told, it again worked quite well. So, along comes The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Jeff Goldblum is the returning star, so he needs to get top billing, and people with top billing don’t just stand by the sidelines. As such, there is no Dr. Levine to carry the action, just Dr. Malcolm, and it’s clear the movie doesn’t know what to do with him. He’s just kind of there. The result is that he’s trapped between worlds. The movie doesn’t give him any real tasks to accomplish or objectives to fulfill, but at the same time, he’s too busy running from place to place to have time to enter into any philosophical discussions (or even flirt). He’s a lead who doesn’t lead, because he was never meant to. He was designed for commentary. WE COULD HAVE SEEN IT COMING: An action film needs a protagonist you can get behind. Someone who will take charge and guide the audience through the film. Along the way, supporting characters flesh out the world. In Jurassic Park, Grant, and to a lesser degree Sattler, took on the role of protagonist. Either one could have very nicely led a further cinematic effort. But there are some characters who simply aren’t designed to lead the action. Malcolm is one of these, so are Hammond, Gennaro, Arnold, etc. They are, for the most part, spectators observing the action. It’s no coincidence that these two spend the second half of the movie hanging out in an unfinished basement. It’s not a comment on the actors. No one would deny that Samuel L. Jackson could carry an action movie. He’s motherfucking made for it. But would Ray Arnold make a good lead? Probably not; he’s there to explain how the computer works, and die while trying to turn the power back on. He just wasn’t written to lead a dinosaur exposition, and neither was Malcolm. Crichton knew this, and despite bringing Malcolm back in The Lost World, kept him out of the action. I love you, Ian Malcolm, but I’m sorry, we’d better leave the Spinosaur-wrangling to Grant. And his scary action eyes.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A federal judge in New Jersey this week denied GameStop's motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against the company alleging that GameStop violated the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act by selling used games that did not include single-use downloadable content, according to documents obtained by Polygon. United States District Judge Robert B. Kugler's opinion summarizes the lawsuit, which was filed by three GameStop customers who "believed that their pre-owned video games would include all of the content of a new video game" and characterized the DLC is an "integral feature" of the games. The plaintiffs further allege that GameStop "induced" them to purchase used games with statements like “our used game trade program creates value for customers” and providing receipts that showed the savings they received by purchasing used games. Two of the plaintiffs further allege that, by buying the $15 DLC, they spent more — a total of $60, rather than the $59.95 price of a new retail copy with the online passes included — than they would have spent purchasing a new retail copy of the games. Among the several allegations leveled against GameStop, the plaintiffs allege that GameStop was "aware of material information, that DLC was not included with the purchase of pre-owned games, but did not reveal this fact to Plaintiffs" and, combined with GameStop's claims about creating value and the savings printed on receipts, the plaintiffs have "plausibly sated a knowing omission" on GameStop's behalf. Electronic Arts included one-time use codes to access features like multiplayer, beginning in 2009. Publishers like THQ, Ubisoft and Warner Bros. followed suit. Because those codes came only with new copies of the games and expired after use, those who purchased used copies of the games would also have to purchase their own online passes. In May 2013, EA announced that it would no longer require online passes in its games. We've reached out to GameStop for comment on the lawsuit and will update this article with more information as we receive it.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
One of my favorite artists of all time, going back decades, is Mose Allison. Turns out Mose wrote a song about Donald J. Trump decades before the intellectual and political blight actually arrived. Mose always was way ahead of his time. Trump is a loudmouth, say anything, to anyone, at any time, that, first, makes him feel good, and, second, that might help himself. In short, the ultimate clinically narcissistic jackhole. I doubt even Mose Allison figured how much his words might one day describe a blight on the American citizenry, if not humanity. Like in the form of Donald J. Trump. But, here it is in it’s total prescient glory: Sittin here and yakkin right in my face You comin’ on exactly like you own the place You know if silence was golden You couldn’t raise a dime Because your mind is on vacation and your mouth is workin’ overtime You quotin’ figures and droppin’ names You tellin’ stories and playing games You’re overlaughin’ when things ain’t funny You tryin’ to sound like the big money You know if talk was criminal You’d lead a life of crime Because your mind is on vacation and your mouth is workin’ overtime You know that life is short Talk is cheap Don’t be makin’ promises that you can’t keep You don’t like this little song I’m singin’ Just grin and bear it All I can say is if the shoe fits wear it If you must keep talkin Please try to make it rhyme Because your mind is on vacation and your mouth is workin’ overtime. So, sentient voters can vote their own conscience, and should. I can only hope they don’t do so in a manner that leads to the election of the Trumphstag. Seriously, Americans are smarter than that, right? Right??	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
De partij blijft razendsnel groeien, maar wat de TPO-journalist betreft is het eigenlijk al einde oefening voor Thierry Baudet en co. Chris Aalberts — die ik aanvankelijk drie keer niks vond maar die ik wel degelijk steeds meer begin te waarderen, al was het maar omdat hij ongelooflijk stug is en gewoon doorgaat waar hij mee bezig is, wat anderen daar ook van mogen denken — heeft een redelijk bizar artikel geschreven voor TPO waarin hij uitlegt dat Forum voor Democratie eigenlijk zo goed als dood is. Je zou denken dat dit nogal meevalt, gezien de enorme groei van de partij en diens jongerenorganisatie, maar Chris weet het zeker: FVD gaat op termijn Artikel50 achterna. Het eerste probleem is dat leden denken invloed te hebben maar dat in de praktijk juist niet hebben. Dat gebrek aan erkenning levert ruzie op en maakt dat goede mensen weglopen… Het tweede probleem is dat netwerken centraal staan en dat daarmee alles persoonlijk is. Als je iets niet mag zeggen, geen functie krijgt of ergens op aangesproken wordt, is dat persoonlijk… Het derde probleem is dat talent wordt weggegooid. Als je niet in het straatje van Baudet valt, mag je wel lid worden maar je krijgt nooit een rol van betekenis… Het vierde probleem is dat inhoudelijke vernieuwing uitblijft. De visie van FvD is die van Baudet en dat is lekker voorspelbaar, maar de publieke opinie kan ook omslaan en daar kan FvD met deze rigide structuur niet op inspelen… Als je dit zo leest zou je zweren dat FVD momenteel 25 zetels heeft in het parlement, maar dat recente peilingen aangeven dat dit er bij de volgende verkiezing nog maar een stuk of 8 worden. Natuurlijk is niets minder waar. FVD blijft doorgroeien. De partij staat zo rond de 15 zetels in de peilingen terwijl ze er op dit moment slechts twee heeft. Dat is een ongelooflijk resultaat. Partijen als PvdD, ChristenUnie en SGP proberen dat al jaren voor elkaar te krijgen. FVD doet het. En dat deden de rechtsconservatieven en rechtsliberalen in recordtempo. Het is dus nogal merkwaardig dat Aalberts voorspelt dat het niets wordt met FVD. Het tegendeel is waar. Het is juist een partij met een enorm potentieel.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Written by Jared Zaugg, CNN Frankfurt, Germany It may sound a bit cliché but Ferrari is perhaps the most emotional example of form following function. In addition to the fact that the Maranello, Italy-based manufacturer is the most successful marque in the history of Formula 1 racing, it's both the sum of its parts and the individual details incorporated into each car that make Ferrari the greatest sporting automobile of them all. The blistering speed, the handling, the agility, and that sound from its engine -- famously referred to as the "soundtrack" -- are legendary. Yet so too is the design that incorporates state-of-the-art technologies and traditional craftsmanship into a form whose lines, regardless of the model, is a standard of the bella figura. Somehow the result is at once modern and classical, purposeful and stylish. It's an effect that is easily recognizable but difficult to define and that's precisely what helps give Ferrari its universal allure. Testament to the skill of the company's engineers and designers, it's the continuous combination of extreme performance, timeless beauty and personal workmanship that elevates Ferrari. And today it's no different. Flavio Manzoni is head designer of Ferrari and is responsible for many impressive models but perhaps none more so than the ground-breaking supercar La Ferrari. As the man who decides what will make the world gasp, Manzoni is a visionary. At this year's IAA Frankfurt Motorshow, recognized as the most prestigious of them all, Manzoni has unveiled the highly anticipated 488 Spider. This retractable hardtop convertible (a solution pioneered by Ferrari for mid-rear engined sports cars) is said to be, not surprisingly, the most potent, innovative and aerodynamically efficient Spider ever built by Maranello. Boasting 660 horsepower and capable of going from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in three seconds and reaching speeds in excess of 200 mph (325 km/h), it's more car than anyone could ever hope to use. Not only that, but prospective buyers can make this limited production sports car -- and any new Ferrari for that matter -- even more special by having it customized to personal specification. Despite the demands on his time, Manzoni spends an hour personally explaining to me what inspired his new 488 Spider and does so in the private chamber of the Ferrari Tailor Made Atelier. Just like a bespoke suit from Savile Row, clients can have their car "fitted" through the Tailor Made program. From colors, fabrics, materials and finishes, there are innumerable options to choose from and all are presented in mood board-like format in the quiet, enclosed room in which we sit. Adorning the walls and organized in cabinets and drawers -- much like a traditional tailor, swatches are grouped in various harmonies suggesting a dizzying array of possibilities. Overwhelmed by the selection of just leather (different hides, grains, weights and colors), not to mention carpeting (cashmere or lambswool, long or shorn), let alone the type of thread (and there are many), I asked Manzoni if there is such a thing as too much choice. Almost surprised but with a pleasant smile, he replies that there are skilled advisors appointed to assist clients if they desire. Apparently, however, the two older suited gentlemen at a table in the corner busily looking through books of material need no such advisor. These customers, I'm told, seem to know exactly what they want. Nevertheless, I have been assured that there have been customers that have simply brought in pictures of their homes as a reference of taste and assigned the task of selecting to a Tailor Made adviser. In our world of mass-production, where products -- regardless of cost or purpose -- seem to lack the touch of the craftsman, it's somehow warmly reassuring to know that one of the most modern and technologically advanced cars on earth is still underscored by values of art and tradition and can be customized in old world fashion. Before I leave I ask Manzoni why anyone should choose a Ferrari over a competitor's similarly powered or priced supercar. Again somewhat surprised but with a kind beam, he responds matter-of-factly, "Because it is a Ferrari."	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Drag queens are being brought into taxpayer-funded nursery schools so that children as young as two can learn about transgender issues. The cross-dressers are reading nursery rhymes and singing specially adapted songs ‘to teach children about LGBT tolerance’. Nursery bosses say the sessions are needed so that children can ‘see people who defy rigid gender restrictions’ and grow up to combat hate crime. They want to target two and three-year-olds to influence them early, as they say at this age children have not yet developed any discriminatory ‘isms’. The ‘performances’ are the brainchild of Thomas Canham, a Bristol University law graduate and part-time cross-dresser who dismisses traditional notions of masculinity as ‘meaningless’. Drag queens at DQST include Donna La Mode, who wears a ginger wig and is described as ‘the Fairy Queen of the drag world’, and ‘hyperactive’ Aida But critics last night said the sessions could ‘blind impressionable children of two and three to one of the most basic facts of human existence’. Leading child psychotherapist Dilys Daws, co-author of the book Finding Your Way With Your Baby, feared they could sow the seeds of confusion in young children about their own sexual identity, with long-term consequences. She said: ‘There’s this idea that’s sweeping the country that being transgender is an “ordinary situation”. It’s getting so much publicity that it’s getting children thinking that they might be transgender, when it otherwise wouldn’t have occurred to them. The aim of Drag Queen Story Times is, according to its website 'we aim to capture the imagination and fun of the gender fluidity of childhood while giving children a glamorous, positive unabashedly queer role model' 'But it’s perfectly normal for most young children to think about being the opposite sex. It’s probably because they are identifying with a parent or sibling.’ Norman Wells, director of the Family Education Trust, said: ‘One of the most disturbing things about the transgender agenda is the way that it tries to distort our perception of reality and deny something as fundamental as the distinction between male and female.’ Mr Canham’s organisation Drag Queen Story Time (DQST) is holding sessions at seven nurseries run by the London Early Years Foundation over the winter. If deemed successful, they will be rolled out across all the nursery’s 37 sites. The chain receives taxpayer cash as many of its children qualify for Government-funded childcare. Besides reading to the children, sessions so far have included a ‘Halloween drag disco’, face painting and ‘high tea’. Drag queens at DQST include Donna La Mode, who wears a ginger wig and is described as ‘the Fairy Queen of the drag world’, and ‘hyperactive’ Aida. Mr Canham, 26, started his organisation earlier this year after reading about a similar outfit in the US. He said: ‘Once you think about the idea – which is essentially drag queens reading stories to children – it all makes perfect sense. 'Ultimately, they are performers, they’re larger than life! It’s exactly what children want.’ Just last week we revealed how the NHS is planning on training up hundreds of HPs as transgender 'champions' He said he wanted to create a ‘safe space’ where adults or children would not be criticised for ‘wearing a dress’. His drag queens had ‘complete control’ over their performances, he added. ‘They can include, for example, drag queen references within songs. So if you’re doing something like Wheels On The Bus, you can sing, “The skirt on the drag queen goes swish, swish, swish.” ‘The parents love it, and the children love it too – especially when you’ve got a six-year-old boy there in a princess dress which he isn’t allowed to wear at home because his dad doesn’t like it.’ His drag queens also had ‘a library with books which focus on LGBT rights, feminist fairy tales and trans-rights issues,’ said Mr Canham, the son of a British Army soldier. ‘On trans-themes, we’ve got a book called Introducing Teddy where the teddy realises she’s a girl teddy, not a boy teddy, and is worried her owner won’t like her any more. It’s a cute book,’ he said. In August, the BBC got a class to ditch everything that defined boys as boys and girls as girls - including separate loos He said most venues ‘give us free reign’ but noted that London Early Years Foundation ‘have requested we focus on books they already have at their nurseries’. June O’Sullivan, chief executive of LEYF, said: ‘By providing spaces in which children are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions, it allows them to imagine the world in which people can present [themselves] as they wish.’ She told BBC London radio it was good to expose very young children to men who dress as women, ‘because children are very open until about three’. ‘At three they begin to absorb all the “isms” that adults have developed very effectively,’ she explained. Both Mr Canham and Ms O’Sullivan said the storytelling sessions were also a way of getting parents to realise transvestites and transsexuals were ‘people just like you’. Greg Stewart Lane, manager of the chain’s Soho nursery in Central London, which hosted the first event on Halloween, said they were motivated by a recent increase in the number of hate crimes in England and Wales. Reported hate crimes rose 29 per cent in the last year, Home Office figures show, although only one in six was considered serious enough for a suspect to be charged.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
(BIVN) – Shan Tsutsui announced that he will be resigning as Lieutenant Governor, and will be returning to Maui where he will join a communications and research firm. Tsutsui said his resignation is effective January 31, 2018. Tsutsui will now serve as a Senior Vice-President for Strategies 360, described in a media release as a public affairs, strategic communications and research firm with offices in Hawaii, 11 other Western states and Washington D.C. The outgoing Lieutenant Governor had this statement: “With a grateful, yet heavy heart I am announcing today that I will be resigning as the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Hawaii, effective January 31, 2018. Over the past 15 years, it has been my honor and privilege to have served the people of Hawaii, first as a State Senator from Maui and Senate President, and currently as your Lieutenant Governor. Throughout that time, I have always been mindful of the tremendous responsibility that comes with public office. I have greatly appreciated the trust and confidence that was bestowed upon me and have done my best to build a better Hawaii through collaboration and hard work, while honoring our shared core values of honesty, integrity and respect. As Senate President, I was fortunate to draw upon my many years in the Senate and the relationships that I had established to exhibit a collaborative style of leadership, and I did my best to ensure that all Senators were respected and heard. As your Lieutenant Governor, I have continued to work cooperatively with leaders in the public and private sectors, as well as members of the public, with that same level of respect and attention. During this time, I am proud to have established the Resources for Enrichment, Athletics, Culture and Health (R.E.A.C.H.) initiative to support after-school programs for middle and intermediate public school students. As a father, I was especially concerned with ensuring that middle school students engage in positive activities and relationships during hours when many are left unsupervised because their parents are working. Since 2013, R.E.A.C.H. has invested approximately $2.75M in more than 40 public middle and intermediate schools, including charter schools, statewide, reaching thousands of students. Funds have helped to provide robotics programs; hula, ukulele, music and other dance lessons; basketball, soccer, wrestling and other sports; cooking, fishing, art, and hydroponics; and many other clubs and programs. Participating students have shown improved attendance, attitude, behavior and even grades. Additionally, I was excited to have taken the reigns of the Farm to School Initiative, which we have developed into the “‘Aina Pono: Hawai‘i’s Farm to Cafeteria Initiative,” to increase the purchase and consumption of local food in our school cafeterias. With an enthusiastic team of advisors and ‘doers,’ along with support from the Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, private partners such as The Kohala Center, and many other generous donors, a burgeoning pilot project was launched to infuse local foods and flavors into our school menus, while providing healthier options for our keiki. As the project continues to grow and expand throughout the State, the effects will have a lasting impact on our keiki, the agriculture industry, and the state’s procurement processes. Throughout my time in office, it has been an absolute pleasure to have had the opportunity to meet so many talented and inspiring individuals. I have witnessed firsthand the many hardworking families who fight traffic in their daily commutes, while holding down multiple jobs to provide a better life for their keiki; the bright, dedicated students who not only excel in Hawaii but can also compete with their counterparts nationally; and the small businesses and farms using innovative and entrepreneurial ideas to revitalize family businesses. You have all inspired me and helped to make me a better person and leader. I will cherish these experiences and lessons and carry them with me throughout my life. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the people of Hawaii for the opportunity to have served you all these years. Truly, I have been blessed with the support of so many individuals, family and friends. I especially thank my incredible family—my wife, children, parents and extended ohana for their tremendous love, support and many sacrifices over the years. I would like to thank Governor Ige for the privilege of serving in his Administration. To Neil and Nancy, Lyndelle and I thank you for your friendship and kindness and the love you have shared with our daughters. I also send my aloha to my former colleagues in the Legislature and the tens of thousands of public employees throughout the State for their hard work and dedication to the people of Hawaii. Finally, a big mahalo to my staff and security for your unwavering devotion and enduring commitment to the office and to helping me best serve the people of the State. Your hard work did not go unnoticed, and I will be forever grateful to each of you. In his remarks commemorating the 75th Pearl Harbor anniversary, President Barack Obama noted, ‘we cannot choose the history that we inherit. But we can choose what lessons to draw from it, and use those lessons to chart our own futures.’ Accordingly, it’s my hope that we will continue to acknowledge the rich history of our State, and remain grateful for the contributions and sacrifices of generations past; that we will explore new ways to invest in our residents, businesses, and communities to make them more sustainable, competitive, and economically robust. And as I leave public service, I look forward to continuing to be a part of Hawaii’s future and helping to forge a new path that honors our shared beliefs and my continued commitment to improving the lives of the people of Hawaii.”	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
“Rather than look to conquer new ground in the run-up to the 2019 hustings, we expect Prime Minister Narendra Modi to focus on cementing the success of his reforms and infrastructure projects already started,” said Sanyal. (Source: Express Photo) “Rather than look to conquer new ground in the run-up to the 2019 hustings, we expect Prime Minister Narendra Modi to focus on cementing the success of his reforms and infrastructure projects already started,” said Sanyal. (Source: Express Photo) The Modi government is unlikely to undertake any major reform in the remainder of its term but may channel its energy to publicise achievements and emerge more people-friendly with lower taxes, says a report. “Rather than look to conquer new ground in the run-up to the 2019 hustings, we expect Prime Minister Narendra Modi to focus on cementing the success of his reforms and infrastructure projects already started. More focus will be on administrative initiatives and not new legislative reforms on the macroeconomic front,” Barclays India chief economist Siddhartha Sanyal said in a weekend note. “Notwithstanding his aggressive reforms since 2014, we believe Modi will be selective in picking his battles and deploying his political capital ahead of the 2019 polls. A likely absence of near-term benefits will likely remain a constraining factor against launching new reforms in the run-up to the polls. “Closer to the polls, Modi might consider deploying his political capital more to boost BJP’s ‘nationalist’ credentials rather than its ‘reformist’ image”, argues Sanyal. If at all he does indeed accelerate reforms over the next 18 months, those will purely be based on the success or failure of such initiatives over the medium term, he notes. At best, he may attempt to complete the aborted reforms like land and labour laws amendment, but will not push it hard, given the limited immediate benefits likely from them. “Therefore, ahead of the 2019 hustings, we expect Modi’s policy initiatives to evolve around three ‘C’s — combating corruption; completing existing policy priorities (resolving NPAs, fine-tuning GST, completing infra projects etc; and communication to highlight how his various initiatives are helping the common man, especially in rural areas,” Saynal says. A communication blitzkrieg may focus on the benefits of the government policies for the common man (low inflation, anti-corruption efforts, direct benefit transfer, stronger infrastructure like electricity, roads, irrigation etc). Having achieved some success on the anti-graft drive (over Rs 4,313 crore black money have been unearthed since May 2014), Modi may play up this again, says the report. “Strong anti-corruption rhetoric is likely to stay at the core of Modi’s policy framework, especially given the rich political dividend the BJP has enjoyed from the banknotes ban. There is a possibility of stricter political funding rules, a crackdown on benami properties and progress towards greater disclosure of overseas assets of citizens,” Sanyal says. “Modi will keep the rhetoric against corruption, including stricter norms of funding political parties, high-pitched ahead of the polls,” says the report. On the macro front, he is unlikely to attempt any new ambitious legislative reforms until H1 of 2019 and is likely to focus on improving the delivery of government services and ease of business, he says. 📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines For all the latest Business News, download Indian Express App.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
ISLAMABAD: The US has been pushing Pakistan for permission to establish bases in Balochistan for intelligence operations against bordering Iran , according to a media report on Monday.The "outburst in America for Balochistan", including a resolution introduced in the US Congress seeking the recognition of the Baloch people's right to self-determination , is part of the move to set up intelligence bases close to the Iranian border, an Pakistani unnamed official was quoted as saying by ' The Express Tribune' newspaper.The official indicated that the Congressional hearing and resolution were part of "pressure tactics" ."They (Americans) want to use our soil against Iran, which we can never allow" , the official said.Two officials from security agencies and one from diplomatic circles confirmed to the daily that American diplomats and military leaders had requested permission for their agents to operate near the Iranian border in Balochistan . The revelation came days after a bill was moved in the US house of representatives , blaming Pakistani security agencies for abductions and extra-judicial killings in Balochistan and calling for the recognition of the right to self-determination . It also followed a trilateral summit in Islamabad of the Presidents of Afghanistan , Iran and Pakistan.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
What nicer than a observing a jaw-dropping youthful doll do ass-fuck? Louise likes ass-fuck and to end up it, we have now this vid of her taking a manmeat pouch deep inwards her arse. Louise offers our manmeat a rail and takes it deep in her cock-squeezing brown-eye.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Latest: Puerto Rico says aid en route to Venezuela Puerto Rico's government says 3,600 pounds (1,633 kilograms) worth of donated supplies are en route to Venezuela as part of a humanitarian aid mission CARACAS, Venezuela -- The latest on Venezuela's political crisis (all times local): 8:05 p.m. Puerto Rico's government says 3,600 pounds (1,633 kilograms) worth of donated supplies are en route to Venezuela as part of a humanitarian aid mission. Officials said earlier Thursday that they had sent the supplies to the South American country. Puerto Rico Secretary of State Luis Rivera Marin said in an updated statement that a plane carrying the supplies left the U.S. territory on Wednesday but has not yet delivered them. It is unclear where the plane and supplies are currently located. Rivera said: "(It's) an extremely complex route that is being protected to ensure the safety of those transporting the supplies as well as those receiving them." Officials have said the humanitarian aid is not part of the $20 million in aid pledged by the United States. Venezuelan community leader Sonia Cosme told The Associated Press that the supplies including medication to help treat diabetes, blood pressure, asthma and seizures. There also are items for children including diapers, formula, milk, oral serums and protein drinks. ——— 7:20 p.m. The Venezuelan foreign ministry is saying that its websites have been hacked in several countries. "We have decided to stop publishing online content until cybersecurity has been restored," read a message posted by the ministry on Twitter. The Venezuelan government admitted problems in at least Argentina and Mexico. The home page of the Venezuelan embassy in Washington appeared to be down for several hours on Thursday. ——— 5:15 p.m. The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes "humanitarian aid should never be used as a political pawn." U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday that humanitarian assistance should be based on needs and "carried out in accordance with the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence." He said humanitarian assistance always "needs to be independent of political, military and other objectives." Dujarric said in the current standoff in Venezuela, "it becomes even more clear that serious political negotiations between the parties are necessary for the sake of the people of Venezuela." He said "as a general principle, the secretary-general has been supportive of international efforts to try to bring a solution to the current crisis in Venezuela." ——— 6:20 p.m. U.S. special envoy for Venezuela Elliot Abrams wants to see Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro leave the country as he cedes power to a transitional government. Abrams tells reporters in Washington that the U.S. does not favor a specific country for Maduro to go to but notes that the embattled Venezuelan has "friends" in Cuba and Russia. He also said Thursday that other countries that he would not name have offered to take in Maduro if he gives up power. Abrams says the U.S. has revoked visas for unnamed members of the Venezuelan Constituent Assembly as it seeks to continue pressing Maduro to cede power to opposition-controlled National Assembly leader Juan Guaido. The U.S. has recognized Guaido as the interim president. ——— 4:15 p.m. The home page of the Venezuelan embassy in Washington appeared to be down amid increasing tensions between the United States and the South American nation. The site http://eeuu.embajada.gob.ve showed an error message on Thursday and was inaccessible to the public. President Nicolas Maduro has ordered all Venezuelan diplomats home from the United States and said it is closing its embassy. The Associated Press asked the Venezuelan mission to the Organization of American States about the malfunction without receiving an immediate response. The mission includes the only diplomatic staff currently present in the U.S. capital. Watchdog groups say the dominant internet provider in Venezuela, state-run CANTV, has blocked access to social media sites at least four times since opposition leader Juan Guaido pledged to serve as interim president of the country on Jan. 23. ——— 3:45 p.m. Trucks carrying U.S. humanitarian aid headed to crisis-wracked Venezuela have arrived at the Colombia border. On Thursday semi-trailers loaded with boxed emergency food and medicine rolled into the town of Cucuta, which is just across the river from Venezuela. Venezuela's opposition leaders requested the shipments and vowed to bring them inside the troubled nation despite objections from embattled President Nicolas Maduro. The focus of Venezuela's political fight now hinges on whether Maduro will allow the aid to pass. Opposition leader Juan Guaido said the aid is necessary in a country racked by shortages of basic goods. Maduro denies a humanitarian crisis exists and says Venezuela is not a country of beggars. The Venezuelan military has barricaded a bridge between the two nations in an apparent attempt to block the aid. ——— 1 p.m. Puerto Rico's government says it has sent humanitarian aid to Venezuela for the first time via a plane loaded with 3,600 pounds (1,633 kilograms) worth of supplies that included medication, food and items for children. A spokeswoman for Puerto Rico's Secretary of State said Thursday that the humanitarian aid is not part of the $20 million in aid pledged by the United States. Ana Santos Pico told The Associated Press that she could not provide additional information such as what kind of plane was used for Wednesday's mission and who owns it. Santos said: "It's a complicated mission, and we cannot provide more details. We need to maintain strict confidentiality." Venezuelan community leader Sonia Cosme told the AP that the medication sent to Venezuela is to help treat diabetes, blood pressure, asthma and seizures. The items for children include diapers, formula, milk, oral serums and protein drinks. The food items were mostly cereals. No further details were available, including where the plane landed. Cosme said: "Humanitarian aid has to be done with a very low profile. They persecute those who send it and those who receive it." Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello announced on Jan. 31 that his administration would be collecting donations as part of an upcoming government-led humanitarian mission. ——— 12:55 p.m. A spokesman for the International Monetary Fund says the executive board of the body will delay a planned meeting to determine whether Venezuela has met its obligation to share periodic information. There was no original date set for the meeting. Opposition leader Juan Guaido pledged on Jan. 23 to serve as interim president of Venezuela and has been recognized by many countries in the Americas and Europe. The IMF has not recognized Guaido. IMF spokesperson Jerry Rice said Thursday: "Countries are still establishing position in terms of recognition. The process is ongoing." He would not say whether the IMF has had any contacts with Venezuelan authorities or the interim government. The IMF's No. 2 official David Lipton called Venezuela's economic crisis an "unprecedented economic storm" that will require generous international support. ——— 12:29 p.m. The Vatican says Pope Francis is willing to see if Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido would agree to Vatican intervention to help relaunch talks with embattled President Nicholas Maduro to try to end the country's political standoff. Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti issued a statement Thursday after Francis told reporters that he would consider Maduro's request for Vatican involvement but that the "preliminary condition" for any external mediation was that both sides requested it. Gisotti said: "The Holy Father has always reserved the possibility, and therefore still reserves the possibility, of verifying the will of both sides to see if the conditions exist to take this step." Guaido, who has declared himself interim president, has made clear that any offers of dialogue must start with negotiating the terms of Maduro's exit. ——— 12:15 p.m. A top European Union official is calling for free and transparent presidential elections in Venezuela to bring a peaceful solution to the country's crisis. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini spoke Thursday in Uruguay's capital at the inaugural meeting of an "International Contact Group." The group is meeting amid tensions after Venezuela opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido declared himself interim president and said he was seeking to oust President Nicolas Maduro following a 2018 election that many countries as a sham. Mogherini says the group holds different views on what led to Venezuela's crisis and doesn't seek to impose a solution. However, she says the countries share the same objective of seeing the country's crisis peacefully resolved without violence and a foreign intervention. Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez is leading the meeting attended by leaders of 14 countries, including Spain, Italy, Portugal and Sweden. ——— 11:50 a.m. A Venezuelan man whose wife has advanced breast cancer is urging President Nicolas Maduro to accept humanitarian aid. Luis Escobar made his plea at the border bridge connecting Colombia and Venezuela where aid is expected to arrive. In tears, he described how his wife was unable to get treatment in Venezuela and that by the time they were able to see a doctor in Colombia, her illness had significantly progressed. Escobar says that he doesn't want other Venezuelans to suffer his wife's dire fate. Humanitarian aid from the United States has arrived in Colombia and is en route to the country's border with Venezuela. Maduro has refused to accept the aid, and the military has blocked the bridge where the supplies are expected to arrive.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A terrorist bombing in Saudi Arabia has raised fresh concerns about airline security after the bomber detonated an explosive device concealed in his anal cavity. The terrorist, a wanted militant from al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsular (AQAP), pretended to renounce terrorism and repent in order to get close to Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Saudi Arabia's deputy interior minister who leads the kingdom's counter-terrorism campaign. In the attack on August 28, the bomber obliterated himself but the prince survived shaken but unharmed. AQAP claimed credit for the attack in an internet statement but was coy about the method, declaring: "No one will be able to know the type of this device or the way it was detonated." But United States private sector intelligence group Stratfor said the terrorist adopted the novel tactic of concealing an improvised explosive device (IED) in his anal cavity. This is a technique more often used by drug mules. Australian Strategic Policy Institute national security policy director Dr Carl Ungerer said this was still a bomb but one delivered by a different method. "It does pose real issues for airline security if the bomb is inside the person," he said. "That's why perhaps there is now going to be a real push for these scanning type machines." Stratfor said it was unknown how the Saudi terrorist detonated the bomb, although it appeared to have been by some sort of remote control as protruding wires would have been detected by security searches. It said he had been in custody for some 30 hours before meeting the prince, supposedly to renounce terrorism and repent, and the device had likely been in place the entire time. Stratfor said the principal limitation was the modest quantity of explosive able to be employed, making the technique most useful for assassination. "One other concern about such a device is that it would likely have a catastrophic result if employed on an aircraft, especially if it were removed from the bomber's body and placed in a strategic location on board the aircraft," it said. Stratfor said aviation authorities had already enhanced security following earlier terror threats. In 2001 a man on a US Airlines flight was caught trying to set off an IED concealed in his shoe. Passengers on many routes must now remove shoes and subject them to X-ray screening. In 2006 British authorities thwarted a plot to smuggle liquid explosive aboard trans-Atlantic airliners. There are now limits on quantities of liquids passengers can take aboard international flights.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Mexican gray wolves were completely eradicated from the wild by the late 1970’s, primarily because of conflicts with livestock. In 1998, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, led by Jamie Rappaport Clark (now president of Defenders of Wildlife), released 11 Mexican gray wolves back into the wilds of Arizona. Although their numbers have grown slowly, their future remains uncertain because of compromised genetics and human intolerance. Since the initial reintroduction, Defenders has worked side-by-side with wolf country ranchers and wildlife managers to help reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock, and to develop more effective ways to address losses when they do occur. By working together to solve these problems, we have found promising tools, management strategies and compensation mechanisms that can significantly help. The partnerships that have emerged around this collaborative work have resulted in improved trust and communication...and unexpected friendships. While we don’t agree on everything, one thing we do agree on is that collaborative problem-solving is helpful and that more must be done to support long-term solutions that allow people and wildlife to coexist. Hans Stuart/FWS For the first 12 years of reintroduction, Defenders managed a livestock compensation program which sought to achieve tolerance for wolves by paying fair market value for confirmed wolf-caused livestock losses. This put us in direct contact with ranchers affected by wolves and we soon came to understand that it would be more effective to work with ranchers to prevent depredations from occurring in the first place. Our first “coexistence” project in the Southwest began 18 years ago with a quiet agreement between Defenders and a wolf-country rancher to share the responsibility of a range-rider to more closely monitor livestock and wolves and gather better information about why calves were missing in a newly wolf-occupied area, and to intervene non-injuriously if wolves were pursuing cattle. As a result, the rancher experienced fewer losses and the overall tension and anger around wolf-presence at his ranch diminished. Today, coexistence partnerships like that very first project are helping ranchers share the landscape with wolves and other wildlife by supporting range-riders to improve monitoring of livestock and wolves, and to experiment with the use of innovative tools and management strategies to reduce the conflicts that can occur between wildlife in their natural habitats and agricultural activities. Our projects involve range-riders and their rancher hosts communicating and coordinating directly with federal, state and tribal agency managers and field technicians, integrating conflict avoidance measures into grazing management, encouraging ranchers to share their experiences with each other about what works, what doesn’t and why; and supporting other entities like the diverse stakeholder Mexican Wolf-Livestock Council, with the development, implementation, fundraising, and outreach for a coexistence program that supports presence-based incentives, compensation and conflict-avoidance. Jim Clark/FWS While there is no tool or management strategy that will be effective in every situation, we work in partnership with ranchers and agency managers to evaluate conflict situations and to identify what is most likely to work best in each situation and to share costs to implement potential solutions. We also sponsor ranchers and range-riders to visit ranches in other areas to learn new ways to successfully reduce conflicts. There are many potential solutions. Some ranchers are finding it helpful to reduce calving season to a few months, and to plan for it to occur after elk calving season so that an abundant natural food source is available to the wolves and their new-born pups, prior to domestic calves being on the summer range. Others have experienced benefits of winter calving, which allows for calves to be large and healthy when brought onto the forest for summer grazing. Reducing attractants, such as carcasses of livestock that die from other causes, can minimize the presence of predators around calving pasture and reduce losses. Also, training livestock to retain their instinctual defense behavior (e.g. herding together, “mothering-up” with their calves, and confidently standing their ground in the presence of predators) can be an effective tool. Livestock guardian dogs have long been used by ranchers and herders to protect livestock from predators across the globe and could also be helpful in Mexican wolf country. Erecting barriers, such as fencing, fladry and penning to create secure permanent and temporary pastures can also help minimize or prevent depredations. Using scare devices and tactics, such as radio-activated alarms, automated strobe lighting, air-dancers, cracker shells and rubber bullets, diversionary feeding, and alternate pastures have each been effective in various situations. There are numerous other tools and techniques that could be helpful, but the most valuable tool is the human brain and a willingness to apply it toward problem-solving. To this end we support range-riders – the increased human presence around livestock serves as a deterrent to wolves, but by observing wolf-livestock interactions with a problem-solving mindset, range-riders help to troubleshoot conflicts and implement solutions most appropriate to their circumstances. Russ Talmo/Defenders of Wildlife Because this approach of sharing the responsibility for a wolf-livestock problem has resulted in improved communication, trust and tolerance for occasional depredations, today we are supporting multiple partnerships with ranchers, tribes and state and federal resource managers that provide the tools, training and field support to implement tools and management strategies to reduce conflicts. Our experience has us convinced that helping people in rural communities find ways to live with wolves is a prerequisite for successful recovery and we stand ready to work with current and new partners to scale-up coexistence projects to achieve that success. Current cooperating parties include: the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Wildlife Services, White Mountain Apache Tribe’s Game and Fish and Range Departments and tribal livestock associations, Mexican Wolf-Livestock Council, California Wolf Center, Arizona Livestock Loss Board, New Mexico Department of Agriculture, Arizona Department of Agriculture, Farm Services Agency, in addition to the dozens of range-riders and host ranchers involved in these projects. Wolf Conservation Center To assist tribal partners with managing for a Mexican gray wolf population, we recently co-sponsored a Tribal Youth Wolf Conservation Program with the White Mountain Apache Tribe, which hired six young tribal members to work with the tribe’s wolf project field team to gain hands-on experience in wolf monitoring and management, including measures to reduce conflicts with livestock. We are helping to expand the internship to a year-round program. We also assisted the tribe’s Range Department with its new Wolf-Livestock Conflict Specialist to work with tribal livestock associations to improve monitoring of wolves and livestock and to take steps to reduce conflicts. We are also supporting similar initiatives with Mexican partners, including hosting ranchers to attend workshops focused on livestock management strategies to reduce predator conflicts and sponsoring young Mexican biologists for field internships in the U.S. to gain hands-on experience with wolf management and conflict-avoidance measures, to help as they work to re-establish a population of Mexican gray wolves in the mountains of Chihuahua, MX. As the wild wolf population grows and wolves establish territories in new areas, the demand for these types of partnership projects will only increase. Successful wolf recovery will require significant expansion of conflict avoidance planning, project coordination and implementation of tools and strategies. Defenders is excited to be a part of it all, from the very first moment as our future CEO released Mexican gray wolves back into the wild, to today’s diverse on-the-ground projects that are helping to find the long-lasting solutions necessary for the survival and recovery of Mexican gray wolves.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Code Violation System Yamiche Alcindor is on the team of Times reporters looking into the aftermath of the fire. On Wednesday, I set off to find out more about Oakland’s fire inspection codes, which have become a major focus since the fire. Topping the list of people to contact was Zac Unger, vice president of Local 55, the Oakland firefighters union, who had told several news outlets that the Fire Department had suffered from mismanagement. After playing phone tag for part of the morning, Mr. Unger spoke with me for about half an hour and laid out what he said were years of problems in the department. Specifically, Mr. Unger said he had complained regularly to city officials, telling them that the city does not have enough fire inspectors and that its Fire Department lacks proper resources. Mr. Unger also said he had openly criticized Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed for going several years without having a fire marshal to oversee whether the city was inspecting the proper number of buildings and potentially hazardous spaces. “I said specifically the mismanagement of the Fire Department is going to lead to a tragedy and you need to do something about it now, and I am heartbroken to have been proven right and to have all of these people dead,” Mr. Unger said. Still, it is too early to say if city officials could have done more to prevent the fire. Officials have not said how many times fire inspectors visited the Ghost Ship to check for fire hazards, or if city code inspectors ever flagged the building as being used for something other than its zoned purpose. (I am awaiting a response from the fire chief and other city officials.) Sgt. Barry Donelan, the president of the Oakland Police Officers’ Association, said it was “ridiculous” to expect police officers responding to emergencies to also determine if the buildings they enter have dangerous living conditions. “My guys are trying to get out there and protect our community,” he said. “They are going to do their duties. But you can’t be effective in arrests and imposing building codes. That’s ludicrous.”	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
An app a day… Isn’t the current way For years on end, apps have been the crystal cornerstone in the smartphone stable. Largely beginning with Apple’s App Store from the iPod Touch of all things, the small sized staples known as mobile apps have been downloaded billions and billions of times. Chances are also quite high that, if one were to examine a random person’s device, there would be a whole host of small software staples used on a daily basis, be it Twitter, Instagram, or even Ingress. According to a new report however, things have significantly changed, as Apps are no longer the explosive growth engines they once were. This might not come as a surprise given that it has almost been a year since research showed the average US smartphone doesn’t download even a single app per month. The new statement about the state of the industry comes courtesy of Nomura Research, which culled data from SensorTower. This piece will seek to briefly summarize the situation, but more importantly, to examine just why such a stark contrast to years gone by has taken pace. Noting the numbers In considering the case for declining app downloads, the first figure to feature comes from data dealing with devices in the USA: As the title of the graph indicates, downloads in the US have dropped 20% year-on-year. Looking at the data specifically however, there is an interesting trend at play: Instances of Facebook app downloads have dropped to the point where they are now eclipsed by Snapchat. On the other hand, Facebook Messenger, while also dropping significantly, is higher than both. Given the news that Facebook now plans to make Messenger mandatory for messaging, it can be expected that the figure will either (1) spike or else (2) drop even further with users being angry at the prospect of needing a separate app just to text their friends. Aside from Snapchat, Uber and Airbnb are the only other apps to see an increase YoY, which serves to indicate the growing trend of crowd-sourced services. While those living in major cities might question the logic of using a service like Uber given the prevalence of taxis and the tremendous amount of traffic (“who has a car in NYC?”), it’s important to remember that those in rural areas may otherwise have to wait 30+ minutes for such a luxury, thus making Uber a much more practical part of their lives. Still, the take away here is likely that the majority of apps listed are in download decline for the simple fact that they are so common. Facebook’s days of astronomically explosive new user growth are arguably over given that with billions of people already using it, it’s somewhat safe to suggest those that don’t use it now probably won’t be doing so in the future, either. The second piece of data, the above table, reinforces this trend with more specific numbers to go on. Now let’s consider the global situation: Here things look less lethargic, though there is still some modest decline in downloads to speak of. Whatsapp, Messenger, and Facebook are all seeing decreases while Snapchat, Instagram, and Uber continue to climb. Cause for concern: Android developers Since the beginning of the modern smartphone era, users have been devouring apps. And yet, even the once mighty – Angry Birds and Farmville – have become relics of the past, something that Rovio and Zynga no doubt lament. Even on an overall picture, ever since its inception, Android users have been shown to spend less on app purchases. This was once a product of a simply lackluster lineup, but in the years since Android first debuted, it has more or less caught up to iOS, at least with respect to phone software. Because Android has always allowed side-loading, that is to say manually installing Apps via sources other than the official Play Store or other pre-installed vendor portal, this made it much easier to pirate the files. With Apple on the other hand, the devices would need to be jailbroken which would prevent them from syncing with iTunes and invalidate warranty service. As the data is platform agnostic however, it suggests that even among Apple customers, downloads are down. Perhaps this makes sense given that, so too, are iPhone sales down – for the first time ever no less. Of course, given that more people with iOS devices spend money on the apps or respective services, this means Android developers area facing a much more difficult dilemma. It can take multiple magnitudes of money to make a massive media monster and with less revenue coming in, the initial outlay becomes that much more fractured to finance. In an almost ironic sense, the “old school” more simplistic software that graced Android in the early days has been made less important thanks to the super powered SoCs in hardware these days. Yet at the same time, the costs to make such good looking games are significantly larger, which means developers must feel confident they will be collecting on their investment. App-athy One possible for decreased downloads is the simple fact that the freemium business model has destroyed any semblance of sustainability. Traditionally, apps cost money and therefore developers see an immediate influx of cash when a customer pays $2 to download their game. On the other hand, with a free game that uses IAP, the customer pays nothing up front. There is absolutely no reason for them to keep the game or play it ever as no financial outlay took place. Were customers to actually pay for these products however, there would be a burden of quality or quantity to substantiate their investment, and it would possibly follow they might be more apt to act on an app. The freemium model allows companies to make far greater caches of cash in the long term, but that ultimately depends on having long term users, something that Nintendo likely is quickly realizing is a major headache: its Miitomo social network has floundered despite what was a very successful release. Another possibility is that apps, specifically games, will never ultimately rival a home console experience. While this is not to demean the efforts of top notch game developers and their software, suffice to say it’s unlikely Metal Gear Solid V would ever see a release on a smartphone, and even less likely any smartphone developer would – or could – ever make something of that nature. There is also a major problem in terms of over-crowding. While console games have had clones and the likes, there are untold scores of duplicate apps on mobile markets. In fact, just doing a quick search for Twitter yields a positive plethora of different apps, all serving to complete the same basic function, just in a slightly modified way. Flappy Bird is another great example, as within days of the product being pulled, there were clones up the wazoo. Even Google got in on the action with the Android Lollipop and Marshmallow hidden Easter Eggs. The mighty have fallen As mentioned earlier in the piece, it shouldn’t be a big surprise to see that some of the most mainstream and mainstay apps have lost their mojo in the US. Even when considering something like Facebook, a platform that could technically stand to increase its users indefinitely, there is more than one way to access the site. Sure the app is convenient, yet it also sucks down data and battery life in ways that navigating via a browser wouldn’t. Likewise it, along with Whatsapp and others, require access to obscene amounts of data and platform services on the Android OS, privacy invasions that some simply are not comfortable with. In fact, with Google now granting granular permission for apps, it seemingly makes the potential problem even more pertinent: It’s easy to just click “Ok” when installing something from the Play Store and ignoring the litany of permission listings. With Marshmallow however, each of them can pop up individually however, making the user see how intrusive things really are. Perhaps the larger story here is simply that nothing lasts forever. Smartphone sales have died down from their explosive boom a few years ago, and as a result companies like BlackBerry and HTC are constantly feeling the heat. So too, would it follow, that apathy towards apps would come into play, as there are so many clones and rehashed ideas – most of which are totally free – that people start to lose interest. Looking Forward For those individuals looking to get into software development, or at least amateur app arrangement, the news contained within this piece doesn’t exactly bode well for the future. Given that the days of explosive growth in the USA seem to be mere perks of the past, one might be forgiven for feeling a bit disheartened. Still, looking at the numbers, and considering that even for Facebook, growth is still growth even if it’s not as gigantic as before. Likewise, video games have never been the medium of entertainment for a majority of the population, yet companies like Nintendo and Sony have done more than all right with home consoles. There is still money to be made here, but it’s just not as sure fire and seemingly guaranteed as it might have been some years back. As with anything, the key is doing something new, better, unique, or different from the rest of the pack, and then waiting that someone finally notices the hard work and the product takes off. Wrap up The app marketplace has always been a tricky beast. Many people will download something only to either never use it period, or else test it for a few minutes and either delete it, refund it (on Android at least) or else leave it to sit forever. Staples like Facebook and such have always been above and beyond that aspect of behavior simply because they are more integrated in the daily functioning of people’s every day doings. And yet. Here is a study that seems to indicate even the most hallowed ground of apps are on the decline. What do you think? Do you still download apps regularly?	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Pluto lost its status as a planet because of the discovery of Eris, another Kuiper Belt object that was slightly larger. But now Pluto has put Eris back in its place. Astronomers were long uncomfortable with Pluto as a planet, because its small size and eccentric orbit didn't make it a good match for the four rocky inner planets and the four outer gas giants. Still, the issue was pretty much ignored until the discovery of another, slightly larger object out in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune forced the issue. This new object, named Eris, was a couple hundred miles in diameter larger than Pluto. If Pluto was a planet, then logic demanded that Eris was as well. This wasn't a good solution for astronomers, as there was every chance other large Kuiper Belt objects would be discovered, and there needed to be some definition of a planet more elegant than simply giving it to anything that happens to be bigger than Pluto. Astronomers were finally forced to define the term "planet", with Pluto and Eris relegated to the new status of dwarf planet. But the entire controversy was mostly the result of measurements that said Eris was bigger than Pluto. Now, it looks like that isn't the case. Recent observations of Eris by Chilean telescopes have provided the most accurate measurements yet for Eris's size, and it turns out Eris's radius is "almost certainly" smaller than 1,170 kilometers, and it's possible the final calculations will push that upper limit down another 50 or 60 kilometers. G/O Media may get a commission Subscribe and Get Your First Bag Free Promo Code AtlasCoffeeDay20 Why does that matter? Well, Pluto's radius is 1,172 kilometers. Yes, by perhaps as little as two kilometers, Pluto is slightly bigger than Eris after all. That means it's the biggest dwarf planet in the solar system, and once again it's the ninth biggest object orbiting the Sun. To be fair, Eris still has it beat in terms of mass, which is about 125% that of Pluto. This means Eris is unusually but not impossibly dense. So, is it time for Pluto to reapply for planet status? Honestly, two kilometers isn't much of a difference, and even if it was known a couple years ago that Pluto was slightly bigger than Eris, it probably still would have been demoted to dwarf planet. But I'm betting Pluto fans can take some satisfaction in the fact that Pluto really can be considered the ninth planet again with no other icy rocks around to get in the way...at least until something even bigger than either Pluto or Eris is discovered out there, that is. [Sky and Telescope; images are of Pluto and Eris and their respective moons.]	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Productive people focus on solutions, not problems. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkpublic/4149894841/ LinkedIn Influencer Dr. Travis Bradberry published this post originally on LinkedIn. TalentSmart has tested more than a million people and found that the upper echelons of top performance are filled with people who are high in emotional intelligence (90% of top performers, to be exact). The hallmark of emotional intelligence is self-control — a skill that unleashes massive productivity by keeping you focused and on track. Unfortunately, self-control is a difficult skill to rely on. Self-control is so fleeting for most people that when Martin Seligman and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania surveyed two million people and asked them to rank order their strengths in 24 different skills, self-control ended up in the very bottom slot. And when your self-control leaves something to be desired, so does your productivity. When it comes to self-control, it is so easy to focus on your failures that your successes tend to pale in comparison. And why shouldn't they? Self-control is an effort that's intended to help achieve a goal. Failing to control yourself is just that — a failure. If you're trying to avoid digging into that bag of chips after dinner because you want to lose a few pounds and you succeed Monday and Tuesday nights only to succumb to temptation on Wednesday by eating four servings' worth of the empty calories, your failure outweighs your success. You've taken two steps forward and four steps back. Since self-control is something we could all use a little help with, I went back to the data to uncover the kinds of things that emotionally intelligent people do to keep themselves productive and in control. They consciously apply these 12 behaviors because they know they work. Some are obvious, others counter-intuitive, but all will help you minimize those pesky failures to boost your productivity. They forgive themselves. A vicious cycle of failing to control oneself followed by feeling intense self-hatred and disgust is common in attempts at self-control. These emotions typically lead to over-indulging in the offending behavior. When you slip up, it is critical that you forgive yourself and move on. Don't ignore how the mistake makes you feel; just don't wallow in it. Instead, shift your attention to what you're going to do to improve yourself in the future. Failure can erode your self-confidence and make it hard to believe you'll achieve a better outcome in the future. Most of the time, failure results from taking risks and trying to achieve something that isn't easy. Emotionally intelligent people know that success lies in their ability to rise in the face of failure, and they can't do this when they're living in the past. Anything worth achieving is going to require you to take some risks, and you can't allow failure to stop you from believing in your ability to succeed. When you live in the past, that is exactly what happens, and your past becomes your present, preventing you from moving forward. They don't say yes unless they really want to. Research conducted at the University of California in San Francisco shows that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression, all of which erode self-control. Saying no is indeed a major self-control challenge for many people. "No" is a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield. When it's time to say no, emotionally intelligent people avoid phrases like "I don't think I can" or "I'm not certain." Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them. Just remind yourself that saying no is an act of self-control now that will increase your future self-control by preventing the negative effects of over commitment. They don't seek perfection. Emotionally intelligent people won't set perfection as their target because they know it doesn't exist. Human beings, by our very nature, are fallible. When perfection is your goal, you're always left with a nagging sense of failure that makes you want to give up or reduce your effort. You end up spending your time lamenting what you failed to accomplish and what you should have done differently instead of moving forward excited about what you've achieved and what you will accomplish in the future. They focus on solutions. Where you focus your attention determines your emotional state. When you fixate on the problems that you're facing, you create and prolong negative emotions which hinder self-control. When you focus on the actions you'll take to better yourself and your circumstances, you create a sense of personal efficacy that produces positive emotions and improves performance. Emotionally intelligent people won't dwell on problems because they know they're most effective when they focus on solutions. They avoid asking "what if?" "What if?" statements throw fuel on the fire of stress and worry, which are detrimental to self-control. Things can go in a million different directions, and the more time you spend worrying about the possibilities, the less time you'll spend taking action and staying productive (staying productive also happens to calm you down and keep you focused). Productive people know that asking "what if? will only take them to a place they don't want — or need — to go. Of course, scenario planning is a necessary and effective strategic planning technique. The key distinction here is to recognize the difference between worry and strategic thinking. Just thinking a positive thought can help you stay focused. aigle_dore/Flickr They stay positive. Positive thoughts help you exercise self-control by focusing your brain's attention onto the rewards you will receive for your effort. You have to give your wandering brain a little help by consciously selecting something positive to think about. Any positive thought will do to refocus your attention. When things are going well, and your mood is good, self-control is relatively easy. When things are going poorly, and your mind is flooded with negative thoughts, self-control is a challenge. In these moments, think about your day and identify one positive thing that happened, or will happen, no matter how small. If you can't think of something from the current day, reflect on the past and look to the future. The point here is that you must have something positive that you're ready to shift your attention to when your thoughts turn negative, so that you don't lose focus. They eat. File this one in the counter-intuitive category, especially if you're having trouble controlling your eating. Your brain burns heavily into your stores of glucose when attempting to exert self-control. If your blood sugar is low, you are far more likely to succumb to destructive impulses. Sugary foods spike your sugar levels quickly and leave you drained and vulnerable to impulsive behavior shortly thereafter. Eating something that provides a slow burn for your body, such as whole grain rice or meat, will give you a longer window of self-control. So, if you're having trouble keeping yourself out of the company candy bin when you're hungry, make sure you eat something else if you want to have a fighting chance. They sleep. I've beaten this one to death over the years and can't say enough about the importance of sleep to increasing your emotional intelligence and maintaining your focus and self-control. When you sleep, your brain literally recharges, shuffling through the day's memories and storing or discarding them (which causes dreams), so that you wake up alert and clear-headed. Your self-control, attention, and memory are all reduced when you don't get enough — or the right kind — of sleep. Sleep deprivation raises stress hormone levels on its own, even without a stressor present, which are a major productivity killer. Being busy often makes you feel as if you must sacrifice sleep to stay productive, but sleep deprivation diminishes your productivity so much throughout the day that you're better off sleeping. When you're tired, your brain's ability to absorb glucose is greatly diminished. This makes it difficult to control the impulses that derail your focus. What's more, without enough sleep you are more likely to crave sugary snacks to compensate for low glucose levels. So, if you're trying to exert self-control over your eating, getting a good night's sleep — every night — is one of the best moves you can make. They exercise. Getting your body moving for as little as 10 minutes releases GABA, a neurotransmitter that makes your brain feel soothed and keeps you in control of your impulses. If you're having trouble resisting the impulse to walk over to the office next door to let somebody have it, just keep on walking. You should have the impulse under control by the time you get back. They meditate. Meditation actually trains your brain to become a self-control machine. Even simple techniques like mindfulness, which involves taking as little as five minutes a day to focus on nothing more than your breathing and your senses, improves your self-awareness and your brain's ability to resist destructive impulses. Buddhist monks appear calm and in control for a reason. Give it a try. Successful people ride through the waves of temptation. Cameron Spencer / Getty Images They ride the wave. Desire and distraction have the tendency to ebb and flow like the tide. When the impulse you need to control is strong, waiting out this wave of desire is usually enough to keep yourself in control. When you feel as if you must give in, the rule of thumb here is to wait at least 10 minutes before succumbing to temptation. You'll often find that the great wave of desire is now little more than a ripple that you have the power to step right over. They squash negative self-talk. A big final step in exercising self-control involves stopping negative self-talk in its tracks. The more you ruminate on negative thoughts, the more power you give them. Most of our negative thoughts are just that — thoughts, not facts. When you find yourself believing the negative and pessimistic things your inner voice says, it's time to stop and write them down. Literally stop what you're doing and write down what you're thinking. Once you've taken a moment to slow down the negative momentum of your thoughts, you will be more rational and clear-headed in evaluating their veracity. You can bet that your statements aren't true any time you use words like "never," "worst," "ever," etc. If your statements still look like facts once they're on paper, take them to a friend or colleague you trust and see if he or she agrees with you. Then the truth will surely come out. When it feels like something always or never happens, this is just your brain's natural threat tendency inflating the perceived frequency or severity of an event. Identifying and labeling your thoughts as thoughts by separating them from the facts will help you escape the cycle of negativity and move toward a positive new outlook. Putting these strategies to work The important thing to remember is you have to give these strategies the opportunity to work. This means recognizing the moments where you are struggling with self-control and, rather than giving in to impulse, taking a look at these strategies and giving them a go before you give in. Dr. Travis Bradberry is the award-winning co-author of the #1 bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0, and the cofounder of TalentSmart, the world's leading provider of emotional intelligence tests, emotional intelligence training, and emotional intelligence certification, serving more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies. His bestselling books have been translated into 25 languages and are available in more than 150 countries. Dr. Bradberry has written for, or been covered by, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Harvard Business Review. More from Dr. Travis Bradberry:	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
ILOCOS NORTE – Boluntaryong sumuko sa estasyon ng pulisya ng Piddig, Ilocos Norte ang 30 taong gulang na construction worker na si Jennifer Corpuz Sabado ng umaga. Si Corpuz ang suspek sa pananaga sa kanyang kapwa construction worker at kabarangay na si Jun Bartolome ng Barangay Cabaroan, Piddig, Ilocos Norte. Batay sa imbestigasyon, nasa isang inuman ang dalawa sa Barangay Cabaroan gabi nitong Biyernes nang mangyari ang insidente. Kwento ng biktima, nakikipag-usap siya sa isang kamag-anak nang bigla na lamang tinaga ni Corpuz ang likod nito. “Kine-claim ng biktima, kauupo lamang niya at nakikipag-usap sa certain Den Guillermo nang bigla siyang may naramdaman na masakit sa kanyang likod, kinapa niya ito, at nang lumingon siya, nakita niya itong suspek na si 'Dianong' na tumakbo hawak hawak ang isang itak," paliwanag ni SPO2 Carlos Juan, imbestigador ng Piddig Police Station. Aminado naman ang suspek na tinaga niya si Bartolome. Nagawa lamang daw niya ito dahil sa inis at sakit ng loob na inagawan siya ng grupo ng biktima ng kakantahin sana niya sa videoke. “Nangyari ‘yun, minsan lang na kinanta ng isa sa mga kasama namin, hindi ako umimik. ‘Yung sumunod, doon na ako nainis, dalawang beses na nangyari. Inagaw nila, kinanta lamang ang napili kong kanta," sabi ng suspek. Nagtataka naman ang biktima kung bakit nagawa siyang tagain ng suspek. Wala naman daw siyang kasalanan o atraso sa kanya. Hindi rin umano niya inagawan ng kanta si Corpuz. Si Bartolome pa nga umano ang nagsabing kantahin na lamang ang mga napili niyang kanta sa videoke. "Naglagay ng kanta para kantahin daw namin kasi baka hindi niya na raw mahintay. Kantahin mo na, sabi ng pinsan ko. 'Hindi na, kantahin niyo na lang,' sabi niya dahil nahihilo raw ito, hanggang sa nagpaalam sa akin nauuwi na siya. Mabilis lang kasi malapit lang ang bahay nila. Mga 15 minutes lang siguro, bumalik siya, at doon, tinaga na lang ako," ani Bartolome. Hindi raw mapapatawad ni Bartolome si Corpuz na kanyang sasampahan ng kaso.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A team of researchers from universities in London and Rome have published a paper in which they claim that many of the world's top VPN providers leak IPv6 traffic. TorrentFreak has spoken to several companies highlighted in the report and today we publish their responses. As Internet users seek to bypass censorship, boost privacy and achieve a level of anonymity, VPN services have stepped in with commercial solutions to assist with these aims. The uptake among consumers has been impressive. Reviews of VPN services are commonplace and usually base their ratings on price and speed. At TorrentFreak we examine many services annually, but with a focus on privacy issues instead. Now a team of researchers from universities in London and Rome have published a paper titled A Glance through the VPN Looking Glass: IPv6 Leakage and DNS Hijacking in Commercial VPN clients. (pdf) after investigating 14 popular services on the market today. “Our findings confirm the criticality of the current situation: many of these providers leak all, or a critical part of the user traffic in mildly adversarial environments. The reasons for these failings are diverse, not least the poorly defined, poorly explored nature of VPN usage, requirements and threat models,” the researchers write. While noting that all providers are able to successfully send data through an encrypted tunnel, the paper claims that problems arise during the second stage of the VPN client’s operation: traffic redirection. “The problem stems from the fact that routing tables are a resource that is concurrently managed by the operating system, which is unaware of the security requirements of the VPN client,” the researchers write. This means that changes to the routing table (whether they are malicious or accidental) could result in traffic circumventing the VPN tunnel and leaking to other interfaces. IPv6 VPN Traffic Leakage “The vulnerability is driven by the fact that, whereas all VPN clients manipulate the IPv4 routing table, they tend to ignore the IPv6 routing table. No rules are added to redirect IPv6 traffic into the tunnel. This can result in all IPv6 traffic bypassing the VPN’s virtual interface,” the researchers explain. As illustrated by the chart above, the paper claims that all desktop clients (except for those provided by Private Internet Access, Mullvad and VyprVPN) leaked “the entirety” of IPv6 traffic, while all providers except Astrill were vulnerable to IPv6 DNS hijacking attacks. The paper was covered yesterday by The Register with the scary-sounding title “VPNs are so insecure you might as well wear a KICK ME sign” but without any input from the providers in question. We decided to contact a few of them for their take on the paper. PureVPN told TF that they “take the security of our customers very seriously and thus, a dedicated team has been assigned to look into the matter.” Other providers had already received advanced notice of the paper. “At least for AirVPN the paper is outdated,” AirVPN told TorrentFreak. “We think that the researchers, who kindly sent the paper to us many months in advance and were warned about that, had no time to fix [the paper] before publication. There is nothing to worry about for AirVPN.” “Current topology allows us to have the same IP address for VPN DNS server and VPN gateway, solving the vulnerability at its roots, months before the publication of the paper.” TorGuard also knew of the whitepaper and have been working to address the issues it raises. The company adds that while The Register’s “the sky is falling” coverage of yesterday is “deceptive”, the study does illustrate the need for providers to stay vigilant. Specifically, TorGuard says that it has launched a new IPv6 leak prevention feature on Windows, Mac and Linux. “Today we have released a new feature that will address this issue by giving users the option of capturing ALL IPv6 traffic and forcing it through the OpenVPN tunnel. During our testing this method proved highly effective in blocking potential IPv6 leaks, even in circumstances when these services were active or in use on the client’s machine,” the company reports. On the DNS hijacking issue, TorGuard provides the following detail. “It is important to note that the potential for this exploit only exists (in theory) if you are connected to a compromised WiFi network in which the attacker has gained full control of the router. If that is the case, DNS hijacking is only the beginning of one’s worries,” TorGuard notes. “During our own testing of TorGuard’s OpenVPN app, we were unable to reproduce this when using private DNS servers because any DNS queries can only be accessed from within the tunnel itself.” Noting that they released IPv6 Leak Protection in October 2013, leading VPN provider Private Internet Access told TorrentFreak that they feel the paper is lacking. “While the article purported to be an unbiased and intricate look into the security offered by consumer VPN services, it was greatly flawed since the inputs or observations made by the researchers were inaccurate,” PIA said. “While a scientific theory or scientific test can be proven by a logical formula or algorithm, if the observed or collected data is incorrect, the conclusion will be in error as well.” PIA criticizes the report on a number of fronts, including incorrect claims about its DNS resolver. “Contrary to the report, we have our own private DNS daemon running on the Choopa network. Additionally, the DNS server that is reported, while it is a real DNS resolver, is not the actual DNS that your system will use when connected to the VPN,” the company explains. “Your DNS requests are handled by a local DNS resolver running on the VPN gateway you are connected to. This can be easily verified through a site like ipleak.net. Additionally… we do not allow our DNS servers to report IPv6 (AAAA records) results. We’re very serious about security and privacy.” Finally, in a comprehensive response (now published here) in which it notes that its Windows client is safe, PIA commends the researchers for documenting the DNS hijacking method but criticizes how it was presented to the VPN community. “The DNS Hijacking that the author describes [..] is something that has recently been brought to light by these researchers and we commend them on their discovery. Proper reporting routines would have been great, however. Shamefully, this is improper security disclosure,” PIA adds. While non-IPv6 users have nothing to fear, all users looking for a simple fix can disable IPv6 by following instructions for Windows, Linux and Mac.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Each week, experts from each team in the ACC will nominate someone from the team they cover for the 247Sports Offensive Player of the Week feature. We'll rank those and also compare to the player of the week selections handed down from the ACC office. Here's the top players as recognized by the ACC: QUARTERBACK – TaQuon Marshall, Georgia Tech, Sr., Hamilton, Ga. Marshall led Georgia Tech to scores on each of its first seven possessions of the game before being removed with more than four minutes to go in the third quarter of a 66-31 win at Louisville • Rushed for a season-high 175 yards and two touchdowns • Led a Yellow Jacket attack that amassed 542 yards on the ground, the third-highest single-game rushing total in school history and Georgia Tech’s most ever in a conference game • Has now engineered 14-straight scoring drives – the final series against Clemson on Sept. 22, six straight series to open the game vs. Bowling Green on Sept. 29 (all touchdowns) and seven straight series (six touchdowns, one field goal) to open the game at Louisville. RUNNING BACK – Qadree Ollison, Pitt, Sr., RB, Niagara Falls, N.Y. Ollison was Pitt’s driving force on offense, rushing for a season-high 192 yards with a touchdown on 24 carries (8.0 average) in the Panthers’ 44-37 overtime victory over Syracuse • After Pitt fell into a 14-0 first-quarter hole, Ollison seized momentum for the Panthers by ripping off a 69-yard touchdown run • With Pitt trailing 37-34 late in the fourth quarter, Ollison was the workhorse on the game-tying field goal drive, grinding out 39 of the 48 yards covered • Ollison’s 192 rushing yards are the third most by an ACC player in a game this season. CO-RECEIVER – Kelvin Harmon, NC State, Jr., WR, Palmyra, Fla. Harmon now ranks fourth in school history with nine career 100-yard receiving games after making nine catches for 128 yards in the Wolfpack’s 28-23 win over Boston College • Had a 34-yard touchdown reception while playing 70 snaps • Ranks first in the ACC (eighth in the FBS) with 106.8 receiving yards per game • Among his nine catches on Saturday, two resulted in third-down conversions, one came on fourth down and another was the 34-yard touchdown. CO-RECEIVER – Damon Hazelton, Virginia Tech, So., WR, Baltimore, Md. Hazelton had 12 receptions for 131 yards, including a three-yard touchdown catch vs. No. 6 Notre Dame on Saturday night • Has now caught a touchdown in five consecutive games, tying Isiah Ford’s program record • Hazelton’s 12 catches tied his career high set versus Toledo in 2016, when he played as a freshman at Ball State • The 12 catches night also tied for the second-most by an ACC player in a game this season • Hazelton’s three 100-yard receiving games on the season are tied for the most in the ACC. OFFENSIVE LINEMAN – Parker Braun, Georgia Tech, Jr., LG, Hallsville, Texas Braun was the top performer on an offensive line that paved the way for Georgia Tech to rush for 542 yards – the third-highest total in school history and its most ever in a conference game – in a 66-31 win at Louisville • Took 15 defenders to the ground despite playing only three quarters • Helped Georgia Tech average 8.3 yards per rush and record only one negative yardage play in the game. SPECIALIST – D.J. Matthews, Florida State, So., PR, Jacksonville, Fla. Matthews returned four punts for 145 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown for his first career punt return score in Saturday’s 28-27 loss at No. 16 Miami • His punt return yardage ranks as the third-highest single-game total in FSU history • Matthews now holds the No. 3 and 4 spots on that list after a 138-yard game last season • Punt return touchdown was FSU’s first since 2016 • His 145 punt return yards are one shy of the most in a game for any player this season, while his 212 punt return yards and 35.3 punt return yards per game this season lead the country. ROOKIE – Lyn-J Dixon, Clemson, Fr., RB, Butler, Ga. Dixon gained a career-high 163 rushing yards on 10 carries in Saturday’s 63-3 win over Wake Forest, including rushing touchdowns of 65 and 52 yards • Helped Clemson post three rushers of 125-plus yards in a single game for the first time in program history. Now here's the top ACC offensive players of the week as selected and ranked by 247Sports:	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Food safety concerns were fenced off quickly after officials reported Canada's 19th case of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, three weeks ago. No part of the cow reached any food system. The cow came from the same farm — and so might have contracted BSE the same way — as a case found in 2010. And the latest cow was born in 2009, before any changes resulting from the investigation of the 2010 case. This early information from the ongoing investigation may reassure North American consumers. It's still business-as-usual in a now-booming industry. But something strategically important has been lost. Fast-growing export markets Canada fought hard to capture have escaped. Borders in six countries slammed shut once again: Korea, Taiwan, Peru, Belarus and, finally, China — cruellest of all, given how hard Canada works to promote trade there. Indonesia also blocked non-edible products (carcass parts rendered for other uses.) Could be worse? "Everyone's pretty calm," said John Masswohl, the director of government relations for the Canadian Cattlemen's Association. "We're not happy, but it could have happened at a worse time," he said. Disruptions faced by some exporters are not on the same scale as a decade ago. BSE cost the Canadian beef industry — and the parts of Canada's economy that rely on it — billions. Producers and processors bailed or went bankrupt. Others dramatically downsized. Today, those who hung in enjoy record-high prices, with demand up and the supply of cattle tight worldwide. This new demand means Canadian exporters market the premium virtues of grain-fed beef and negotiate for the highest possible price. A decade ago, producers struggled to dump volumes as the country that still buys nearly 70 per cent of Canada's beef, the U.S., blocked imports until the initial BSE storm passed. Government and industry officials never want to weather that again. The hard lesson learned when a dominant buyer shuts you down is that market diversification is necessary. How painful, then, to lose the newer, hotter markets last month. Asian market hopes Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz told the Commons agriculture committee last November the government's mix of trade negotiations, marketing missions and on-the-ground outreach were paying off in Asia. "If everyone in the middle class in China had a bacon cheese burger and a beer once a month, we couldn't supply it as a country. That's the size and scope of what's going to be required," he said. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, here speaking at the 2013 Canada Beef Inc. forum in Calgary, has travelled to promote Canadian beef in key Asian markets like China. (Bill Graveland/Canadian Press) On beef in particular, he said, "It's always been the second- and third-tier cuts that we've had a problem moving. A lot of it was just going as trim to the U.S. to be ground into hamburger." "Now a lot of that's being diverted to the Pacific Rim — Korea, Japan, China and so on — for hot pot," the minister said, explaining that AA beef in Asian dishes commands more than plain old ground beef. "It's made a difference of a couple of hundred dollars an animal. It's keeping everybody else honest when they're bidding on our animals," said Ritz. Losing the "delicate market" in China is disappointing, Cattlemen's spokesman Masswohl said. Producers were "all set for expansion," and now they don't know how long they'll be out of the game. Chinese trade relations are "relationship-based," Masswohl said. Beef producers have hired their own marketers to work alongside government trade officials across China. Ritz's department says the government "remains engaged with Chinese government officials." In the meantime, Canada's competitors have an edge. 'Sensitive commodity' Canada's free-trade agreement with Korea came into force on Jan. 1, but a border closure based on food safety is not subject to dispute settlement under that deal, said trade lawyer Greg Kanargelidis. "You are allowed to pass laws to protect plant and human health," said the partner with Blakes International Trade Group, "but you have to show that they are truly necessary." Think Korea's safety protocol is trade restriction in disguise? Then you have to go to the World Trade Organization. Prime Minister Stephen Harper hosted Korean President Park Geun-hye last fall as they celebrated a comprehensive trade deal between the two countries. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press) It's a lengthy and costly process, but Canada's done it before, leading up to the 2012 deal that reopened trade last time. "Beef is a sensitive commodity for Korea," said Kanargelidis. Delays favour domestic industries. "That's what it's all about." Canada's deal includes a 15-year phasing out of beef tariffs that's "longer than what I've seen in other agreements," Kanargelidis said. "It's definitely a special case." Masswohl remembers the 18th case of BSE emerging when Canada and Korea were at the table in 2011. "We did ask the question, 'what about next time?'" he said, adding they were assured a protocol would be followed and customs clearance would resume. "In another month, we may start to wonder: was our faith in Korea misplaced?" Low-impact dispute? Despite promising growth, all six countries together amounted to less than five per cent of Canada's total beef exports last year. But when countries continue to accept American beef, despite the highly integrated North American industry, it raises questions of unjust trade discrimination, Kanargelidis said. "We've been through this before. To have it come off and come back on again is unfortunate, but not surprising," he said. Masswohl remains relatively optimistic, saying it's "way too premature" to think about a multi-year trade dispute. "I would never say any market is unimportant," he said. But other customers are available now. "There is no indication there are any concerns related to U.S. market access," Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's spokesman wrote to CBC News this week.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Chinese spies have been using LinkedIn to seek out potential new American recruits with access to government or commercial secrets, it has been reported. Academics, ex government officials and diplomats are among the most sought after by Chinese intelligence agents, who pretend to be corporate headhunters to make initial contact, reports suggest. A former Danish Foreign Ministry official, who received LinkedIn messages from someone at an apparent Chinese headhunting firm who requested a meeting in Beijing, was instead greeted by three middle-aged men offering 'great access to the Chinese system' for his research, The New York Times reports. Academics, government officials and diplomats are among the most sought after by Chinese intelligence agents, who pretend to be corporate headhunters to make initial contact, according to reports 'The Chinese want to build these options with political, academic and business elites,' said Jonas Parello-Plesner, the Danish official who reported the apparent recruiting attempt initiated over LinkedIn. 'A lot of this thrives in the gray zone or the spectrum between influence-seeking and interference or classical espionage,' he added. The strategy has proved effective in the past. In 2018, Kevin Mallory, a former employee of the C.I.A. and Defense Intelligence Agency, was recruited by Chinese agents. A fluent Mandarin speaker, Mallory was struggling financially when he was contacted via a LinkedIn message in February 2017 by a Chinese national posing as a headhunter, according to court records and trial evidence. The individual, using the name Richard Yang, arranged a telephone call between Mallory and a man claiming to work at a Shanghai think tank. In May 2017, five months after the official left his government job and just after he made a trip to China, someone called Robinson Zhang reached out via LinkedIn. Zhang's LinkedIn profile featured the Hong Kong skyline and he identified himself as a public relations manager for a company called R&C Capital During two subsequent trips to Shanghai, Mallory agreed to sell U.S. defense secrets - sent over a special cellular device he was given. He was found guilty of espionage charges in 2018. In another instance, a former Obama foreign policy official detailed his encounter with what appeared to be Chinese spies trying to recruit him. In May 2017, five months after the official left his government job and just after he made a trip to China, someone called Robinson Zhang reached out via LinkedIn. Zhang's LinkedIn profile featured the Hong Kong skyline and he identified himself as a public relations manager for a company called R&C Capital. 'I'm quite impressed by your CV and think you may be right for some opportunities, which are all well paid,' Zhang wrote in a private message to the ex-Obama staffer. Despite the site for R&C Capital addressed as No. 68 Mody Road in Hong Kong, no company by that name exists there and the staffer did not meet the apparent recruiter. Intelligence agencies in the United States, the UK, Germany and France have issued warnings about foreign agents approaching thousands of users on the site. LinkedIn spokeswoman Nicole Leverich said the company proactively finds and removes fake accounts. 'We enforce our policies, which are very clear: The creation of a fake account or fraudulent activity with an intent to mislead or lie to our members is a violation of our terms of service,' she said, CNBC reported. This is not the first time Chinese intelligence activities have been reported in the media. Intelligence agencies in the United States, the UK, Germany and France have issued warnings about foreign agents approaching thousands of users on the site William Evanina, the U.S. counter-intelligence chief, said in an interview last year that intelligence and law enforcement officials have warned LinkedIn about China's 'super aggressive' efforts on the site. He said the Chinese campaign includes contacting thousands of LinkedIn members at a time, but he declined to say how many fake accounts that U.S. intelligence had discovered, or how many Americans may have been contacted and how much success China has had in the recruitment drive. Evanina said LinkedIn should look at copying the response of Twitter, Google and Facebook, which have all purged fake accounts allegedly linked to Iranian and Russian intelligence agencies. 'I recently saw that Twitter is cancelling, I don't know, millions of fake accounts, and our request would be maybe LinkedIn could go ahead and be part of that,' said Evanina, who heads the U.S. National Counter-Intelligence and Security Center. LinkedIn says it has 575 million users in more than 200 counties and territories, including more than 150 million U.S. members. In 2018, LinkedIn's head of trust and safety, Paul Rockwell, confirmed the company had been talking to U.S. law enforcement agencies about Chinese espionage efforts. 'We are doing everything we can to identify and stop this activity,' Rockwell told Reuters. 'We've never waited for requests to act and actively identify bad actors and remove bad accounts using information we uncover and intelligence from a variety of sources including government agencies.'	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Today we are going to talk about the most stable and reliable cryptocurrencies in 2019. So, let’s start from the most iconic one. Bitcoin. The main advantages of Bitcoin are the effect of network benefits and proven security. Both of these advantages are almost insurmountable. In addition, Bitcoin is much more affordable — more exchanges, more vendors, more software, and more liquidity. Ethereum. Thanks to Ethereum, we are able to see alternative uses for ICO. For example, the project of financing the municipal formation of Japan or the economic recovery of the village of Nishiavakura. So far, Ethereum remains the fastest growing blockchain platform with positive indicators of growth in market share among altcoins. Ripple. One of the most promising cryptocurrency today ranks second in terms of all financial indicators after Bitcoin. The capitalization of Ripple is $2 billion. To add, all operations of exchange, purchase or sale of cryptocurrency are recorded on the wallets of participants, and without any commission. LiteCoin. In the cryptoworld LiteCoin is referred to as the “silver Bitcoin.” LiteCoin is four times faster than Bitcoin. It can generate blocks in 2.5 minutes and the mining algorithm of this cryptocurrency is easier to run on graphics processors. Who knows, maybe with such outperforming indicators they might begin to call it “golden Bitcoin”. NEO. It is important to note that NEO cryptocurrency is called as Chinese Ethereum. The structure of the work of NEO is very similar to that of Ether. However, the main difference is that the NEO system has improved blockchain platform to provide opportunities for the activities of digital institutions, and there is also good support for the majority of programming languages. Although, it’s up to you which one to choose and work with, but don’t forget the main rule of any crypto trader “Invest only the money you can afford to lose”.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Well everyone, here it is!!!! My official interview with Micky Dolenz! Please just ignore the lip licking… I tend to try and eat my face off when I’m nervous! And boy, was I nervous! The video is in THREE parts because we talked for 30 minutes!!!!! Enjoy! PART ONE OF MY CHAT WITH MICKY!!!! PART TWO OF MY CHAT WITH MICKY!!!! PART THREE OF MY CHAT WITH MICKY!!!!	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Two powerful social media campaigns, called #AdiosStarbucks and #AdiosProductosGringos, ensued, sweeping social media and encouraging people to boycott the coffee chain. Starbucks quickly issued a statement in response to the protests, reinforcing its commitment to Mexico. “We have been open for business in Mexico since 2002, and have since opened almost 600 stores in 60 cities across the country, which together employ over 7,000 Mexican partners who proudly wear the green apron,” then-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said in a statement. “Coffee is what unites our common heritage, and as I told Alberto Torrado, the leader of our partnership with Alsea in Mexico, we stand ready to help and support our Mexican customers, partners and their families as they navigate what impact proposed trade sanctions, immigration restrictions and taxes might have on their business and their trust of Americans,” Schultz said, adding, “But we will continue to invest in this critically important market all the same.” Schultz’s comments, combined with his promise to hire 10,000 refugees, then sparked boycotts from Trump supporters in the United States (which backfired spectacularly). However, his statements helped quell the boycotts against Starbucks in Mexico, according to comments from Alsea spokesman Mario Paez. “For a few days, we saw an impact in Starbucks’ sales in Mexico due to the context,” Alsea spokesman Mario Paez told Bloomberg last week. “It was quickly offset by the company informing on the link it has to our country, its relationship with Alsea, which is a 100 percent Mexican company and its connection to the community.” A Starbucks spokesperson told HuffPost: “Starbucks Mexico is wholly owned and operated by Alsea. Per their own comments, it is business as usual in Mexico, and any initial impact was quickly offset in the days to follow.” The HuffPost Lifestyle newsletter will make you happier and healthier, one email at a time. Sign up here.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Babies as young as 5 months can distinguish an upbeat tune, such as "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, from a lineup of gloomy tunes. Researchers displayed an emotionally-neutral face for the baby while sad music played. When the baby looked away from the face, the music stopped and a new sad song would start. When the happier "Ode to Joy" played, the babies stared at the face three to four seconds longer, suggesting they were interested in the shift. By 9 months old, babies can do the opposite, picking out the sorrowful sound of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony from a pack of happy pieces. The finding is another example of how babies make sense of the world long before they can talk, said Brigham Young University psychology professor and study author Ross Flom. "One of the first things babies understand communicatively is emotion, so for them the melody is the message," Flom said. "Our study showed that by nine months, babies are categorizing songs as happy or sad the same way that preschoolers and adults do." The results of the musical study will be published in the upcoming issue of the journal Infant Behavior and Development. So what makes a happy song? BYU music professor Susan Kenney, who was not involved with the study, noted some of the technical differences between the happy and sad songs the babies heard. "The happy songs were all in major keys with fairly short phrases or motives that repeated," Kenney said. "The tempo and melodic rhythms were faster than any of the sad selections, and the melodies had a general upward direction. Four of the sad songs were in minor keys and all had a slower beat and long melodic rhythms. For an infant to notice those differences is fascinating."	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Before detectives found it inside a car in Colorado, before a St. Petersburg surveillance camera captured it hanging from Christie New's neck hours before she was gravely wounded, before it was salvaged from the bottom of the ocean, police believe the medallion was part of a treasure bound for Spain in 1622. Except the galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha sank off the Florida Keys, trapping its crew and cargo on the sea floor. There, the ship sat for centuries until it was discovered in 1985 by treasure hunters. Now, 396 years later, that medallion has become a key piece of evidence in the unsolved death of the 43-year-old mother. The Spanish coin has also become a mystery unto itself. • • • New, the youngest of five children, came of age in Chambersburg, a small town on the Pennsylvania side of the Maryland border. She loved animals and had a passion for rescuing them, especially dogs, cats, a potbelly pig and even possums, her sister Deanna New told the Tampa Bay Times in March. Horses, though, were closest to Christie New's heart. She was an equestrian, competing in hunter/jumper competitions throughout the southeastern U.S., the sister said, and she owned a horse in Ocala. As an adult, Christie New made her way to Florida, splitting her time between Key West and Morgantown, N.C. She spent her last days in St. Petersburg. New was found March 1 in Lake Maggiore Park by a St. Petersburg park worker. Her moans caught his attention. He dialed 911. She was pronounced dead six days later, on March 7. Now, in new court records filed in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court, detectives reveal new information about her final hours, how she died and the direction the investigation into her death has taken. • • • The night of Feb. 28, New was staying with a man named Adam Welch in room 156 at the Knights Inn St. Petersburg Tropicana, 2595 54th Ave. N. Welch told investigators that the last time he saw New, she was with a man from room 160. That man had tattoos all over his face. Hours later, at about 3:30 a.m. on March 1, Welch said he received a notification on his cell phone that someone tried to use his debit card at an ATM about six miles from the Knights Inn. Investigators pulled the surveillance video from that ATM. They saw Christie New using the machine, her distinctive medallion around her neck. She was found about eight hours later, in the park, mortally wounded. The cause of death, according to the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's Office: a gunshot wound to the head. • • • Motel records revealed a woman named Monica Fulse had booked room 160 the night of Feb. 28. She was in a relationship with a man named Joseph Nieves Deleon, 29. When detectives plugged that name into the Florida's Department of Correction's website, what popped up was a photo of a man who's face was covered in tattoos. He had been arrested in Marion County in 2010 for molesting a child. He was convicted and sentenced to more than six years in prison. He was released in May 2017 as a registered sex offender, Florida records show. Corrections records show he has 26 tattoos total. The St. Petersburg detectives investigating New's death said they realized Deleon was a suspect in the armed robbery of a 7-Eleven that took place at an undisclosed time. That robbery was being investigated by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF agents had already obtained an arrest warrant for Deleon and a search warrant for his car, a red 2003 Chevrolet Impala registered to Fulse. St. Petersburg detectives and an ATF agent decided to arrest Deleon together. They flew to Fort Collins, Colo., on May 8, and found Deleon and Fulse. Investigators asked Deleon what happened to New back on March 1. Deleon said he took her to an ATM and then dropped her off somewhere else — but not the Knights Inn, he specified. When investigators searched the Impala, they said they found New's medallion. Deleon said she gave him the Spanish coin to pay for narcotics. Deleon was arrested on the federal warrant and brought back to Pinellas on June 19, when he was booked into the county jail. He remains there, held on the federal warrant. • • • The Nuestra Señora de Atocha set sail from Havana, Cuba on Sept. 4, 1622, according to the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West. The most heavily armed vessel of the 28 ship flota, it sailed last to prevent an attack from the rear. Bound for Spain, the Atocha carried treasures of the New World, including 24 tons of silver bars plus gold, indigo and tobacco. Its manifest also included silver coins. Just hours after the flota embarked, it was overtaken by a hurricane. Eight ships sank, including the Atocha. Its treasure remained hidden until 1985, when the Fisher family discovered it in the Florida straits. Now it is the main attraction at their museum. Coins found aboard the Atocha are valued at between several hundred dollars and tens of thousands of dollars, depending on their condition. Whether New's coin is authentic is another mystery. Police believe it is. They said it was in a gold setting and featured a three-masted schooner, according to court records. Detectives think it's worth about $10,000. Dealers at the Mel Fisher's Treasure Stores in Key West said that description didn't sound like an authentic Atocha coin. They said it could be a coin minted from salvaged materials aboard the galleon, but then it may not be worth the $10,000 cited in court records. The store has no record of selling New a coin. Police records do not say how New came to possess the coin. Her family did not return calls for comment last week. • • • Deleon does not face any charges in connection with New's death. Detectives asked a judge to grant a warrant that would allow police to obtain and test a DNA sample from Deleon so that it can be matched to DNA found on New's clothing. A judge obliged, granting the detective's request on Aug. 9. The next day, they took a sample of Deleon's DNA. The warrant does not reveal the result of that test. The Times asked if Deleon is a suspect in New's death. Police said they could not discuss any suspects in this case. Times senior news researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Contact Josh Solomon at (813) 909-4613 or [email protected]. Follow @ByJoshSolomon.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Interesting research: “Don’t Skype & Type! Acoustic Eavesdropping in Voice-Over-IP“: Abstract: Acoustic emanations of computer keyboards represent a serious privacy issue. As demonstrated in prior work, spectral and temporal properties of keystroke sounds might reveal what a user is typing. However, previous attacks assumed relatively strong adversary models that are not very practical in many real-world settings. Such strong models assume: (i) adversary’s physical proximity to the victim, (ii) precise profiling of the victim’s typing style and keyboard, and/or (iii) significant amount of victim’s typed information (and its corresponding sounds) available to the adversary. In this paper, we investigate a new and practical keyboard acoustic eavesdropping attack, called Skype & Type (S&T), which is based on Voice-over-IP (VoIP). S&T relaxes prior strong adversary assumptions. Our work is motivated by the simple observation that people often engage in secondary activities (including typing) while participating in VoIP calls. VoIP software can acquire acoustic emanations of pressed keystrokes (which might include passwords and other sensitive information) and transmit them to others involved in the call. In fact, we show that very popular VoIP software (Skype) conveys enough audio information to reconstruct the victim’s input keystrokes typed on the remote keyboard. In particular, our results demonstrate that, given some knowledge on the victim’s typing style and the keyboard, the attacker attains top-5 accuracy of 91:7% in guessing a random key pressed by the victim. (The accuracy goes down to still alarming 41:89% if the attacker is oblivious to both the typing style and the keyboard). Finally, we provide evidence that Skype & Type attack is robust to various VoIP issues (e.g., Internet bandwidth fluctuations and presence of voice over keystrokes), thus confirming feasibility of this attack.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Evangelical Radio personality Kevin Swanson recently ignited an internet firestorm when he claimed that the Disney movie Frozen had a pro-gay agenda. He cited evidence listed on Decentfilms.com and policymic.com, including: Elsa was “born different” from other people. She has a special gift, or possibly a curse. This hints at the Lady Gaga song “Born this way.” Elsa’s difference is an occasion for fear and secrecy. She sings a song about not being a good girl anymore and letting it go after society rejects her. While Anna has romantic longings, Elsa is uninterested in boys. At the end of the movie, Elsa’s snow creation puts on a tiara (cross dressing! Yikes! Oaken the shopkeeper waves hello to his family, and in the tub, there is a man and no woman. He may be gay. Nicely played, Kevin Swanson. You turned a tale of acceptance and love into an agenda to make children gay. And I’m not going to stand for that. I am about to explain how VeggieTales has a pro-gay agenda. In the Veggietales film Are You My Neighbor, there are a number of pro-gay themes and moments. Jimmy and Jerry Gourd, though not explicitly stated, were definitely “born different” from the other vegetables. If vegetables can be born, that is. vegetables Though it seems obvious, Jimmy and Jerry are both males who have some kind of relationship with each other and are considered strange. Though it is stated elsewhere that they are brothers, I don’t think this is mentioned in the movie. Both talk in high-pitched (though not precisely “gay-sounding”) voices. Everyone else on the USS Applepie is afraid of them. They sing a song with these EXACT lyrics: God makes lots of people in all colors shapes and sizes; He loves them very much and what we need to realize is, that calling people names because they’re different is wrong, Instead we need to look on them in love and sing this song, I can be your friend (la la la)… Yes, Kevin Swanson, you’ve been called out by your own team. You keep calling gays “homosexuals,” which, at least to them, is an unkind name. And to your concern that you didn’t mean it that way, whether you have racist intentions or not when you use the N word, it’s still name calling to them and not loving your neighbor as yourself. Ah, trying to get people to love their neighbors as themselves, even if they’re different. That evil radical liberal agenda. More than that, Veggietales has the nerve to tell kids that they should befriend people who are different than they are! While, again, same-sex-attracted people are not specifically named in the song, it could be argued that they are implied (because, well, they’re different). It only gets more disturbing from here: I can be your friend I can be your friend Anyday, in any weather We can be friends and play together Playing with people who are different? Isn’t that what got The Fox and the Hound in such big trouble, because two animals who were different wanted to “play together” and people wouldn’t let them? Is “We can be friends and play together” a euphemism for something else? Horrors. And that’s only one of the movies in the Veggietales franchise! Swanson worries about bestiality in Frozen because the obviously straight Kristoff is jokingly said to have a “thing with the reindeer / That’s a little outside of nature’s laws!” It’s cute that Swanson is concerned about that, but seriously! Veggietales has an ongoing inter-order romance between Larry the Cucumber and Petunia Rhubarb. You know, order, as in Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species. Petunia is a rhubarb, from Order Caryophyllales, and Larry is a cucumber from Order Cucurbitales. To be clear, humans are in Order Primates Class Mammalia. Other orders in class Mammalia include horses, foxes, pandas, and whales. Yes, whales. Veggietales sees absolutely no problem whatsoever with this inter-order relationship. They treat it not only as normative, but as positive. And then you’ve got King George and the Ducky which is an obvious spoof off of David and Bathsheba, but get this: Bathsheba is a rubber ducky. Yes, it’s messed-up that King George has a whole harem – I mean, closet – full of rubber duckies, but at the end of the story, he gives Junior Asparagus his ducky back. And Junior’s relationship with the ducky is considered okay. Of course, Are You My Neighbor is still the biggest pro-gay Veggietales movie of them all. The worst part? Veggietales doesn’t teach that “people who are different” need to change to be accepted. On the contrary, one of Jimmy and Jerry’s “differences,” their chronic eating, ends up being what saves the entire ship. That’s right, Kevin Swanson. Not only does Veggietales teach that being different is okay, they teach that these “differences” can be positive. Watch the video for more awesome moments that could be construed as pro-gay. But hey, at least Jimmy and Jerry were both gourds. — Disclaimer: I have not spoken about these ideas with Big Idea, Phil Vischer, or whoever is making Veggietales nowadays. This post almost certainly reflects the opposite of their beliefs or opinions. The thoughts and opinions in this post are mine and mine alone. About David M Schell I am a doubter and a believer. I have a Master's in Divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, but because faith grows and changes, I don't necessarily stand by everything I've ever written, so if you see something troubling further back, please ask! Read More. Like this: Like Loading...	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
It turns out that the NFL Players Association doesn't hate the Chargers after all. This morning comes the news that the NFL and NFLPA have come to an agreement on the new trade deadline (Week 8, instead of Week 6) and the new IR rule. The new, now-in-place, rule about Injured-Reserve is pretty cut and dry. Teams are now allowed to bring back one player from Injured-Reserve each season. I also read something else when it was being discussed about the player being allowed to practice for a few weeks before taking an active roster spot, which is par for the course. How does this rule adjustment affect the San Diego Chargers? Well, it allows the team to put WR Vincent Brown on IR to start the season instead of taking up a roster spot without being able to contribute for the first 6 weeks or so. Now, the Chargers coaching staff can keep 5 WRs, put Vincent Brown on IR, and use the spot that might've been used on a 6th WR for some other position. This is a big, big win for both the team and Brown. Brown no longer has to worry about possibly missing an entire year because the team has too many needs elsewhere on the roster, and the team no longer has to worry about weakening another part of the team on the hope that Brown can return. Imagine, if Ryan Mathews is back before Week 3 (and it's looking like he will be), and Vincent Brown comes back healthy half-way through the season without having to take up a roster spot in the meantime, those two very major preseason injuries will have a relatively minor affect on the season. Editor's Note: Further investigation shows that only players put on IR on or after September 4th are eligible to come off. This means, with roster cuts tomorrow, that the team will still need to keep a roster spot open for Brown (for a few days) if they want to give him a chance to return later in the season.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Like many of you, we here at the DFB are pretty big fans of the souvenir popcorn buckets that pop up all around Disney World and Disneyland, often commemorating classic or even new attractions (like the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train bucket) or promoting the latest Disney film (such as the Cinderella Coach bucket which made an appearance when the live-action Cinderella film was released). Disney just provided a glimpse of a new souvenir popcorn bucket on the way “later this year” to Disney’s Animal Kingdom: the Light-Up Lotus Popcorn Bucket. This unique bucket will light up, turning it into a luminary. Though no release date was given for the new bucket, it certainly seems as though it is made to complement the upcoming Rivers of Light evening spectacular, slated to debut this spring. After all, we know that lanterns will play a huge part in the show, and some of the concept art for the spectacular features lotus blossoms as a major centerpiece element. Needless to say, we can’t wait for Rivers of Light to hit the Animal Kingdom scene! But let’s not forget another major celebration still taking place, which is Disneyland Resort’s Diamond Celebration! Disney also revealed a slightly updated look for the popular Mickey Popcorn Balloon Anniversary Buckets. At a quick glance, they look almost identical to the original version; however, if you look closely you’ll notice that this second edition now has the Disneyland banner appearing underneath Mickey’s face. While we have to wait for the Lotus Popcorn Bucket in WDW, the updated Mickey Balloon Buckets are available on the west coast now. Be sure to keep an eye out, collectors! We’ll be doing the same 🙂 … Do you collect souvenir popcorn buckets during your Disney park adventures? Please let us know with a comment!	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
“We’re saying no to all of that. I don’t care if you’re taking my guns or the next generation’s guns - we’re not doing it. We’re not going to play along with this,” said Van Cleave. “It’s a war on people like me and other law-abiding gun owners and we’re tired of this stuff.”	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
British citizens who apply for or renew their passport will be automatically registered on the national identity card database under regulations to be approved by MPs in the next few weeks. The decision to press ahead with the main elements of the national identity card scheme follows a review by the home secretary, Alan Johnson, of the £4.9bn project. Although Johnson said the cards would not be compulsory, critics say the passport measures amount to an attempt to introduce the system by the backdoor. Johnson said he had halted plans to introduce compulsory identity cards for airline pilots and 30,000 other "critical workers" at Manchester and London City airports this autumn in the face of threats of legal action. Longer term plans to extend compulsory ID cards to other transport industries, such as the railways, as a condition of employment have also been scrapped. But two batches of draft regulations to be approved by MPs tomorrow and next week are expected to include powers to make the passport a "designated document" under the national identity card scheme. This means that anyone applying for or renewing their passport from 2011 will have their details automatically added to the national identity databases. The regulations also include powers to levy a fine of up to £1,000 on those who fail to tell the authorities of a change of address or amend other key personal details such as a change of name within three months. Johnson said he wanted to see the introduction of identity cards accelerated for foreign nationals resident in Britain and for young "early adopters" for whom they would act as a useful proof of age. This trial is to be extended from Manchester to other parts of the north-west. The home secretary is also looking at the possibility of waiving the £30 fee for those over 75 who want a voluntary identity card. "There will be significant benefits to individuals from holding an identity card, which will become the most convenient, secure and affordable way of asserting identity in everyday life," said Johnson. "Identity cards will also be valid for travel throughout Europe in place of a British passport." The home secretary emphasised his personal commitment to a voluntary scheme, saying it should be a personal choice for British citizens just as it is now to obtain a passport. He also denied that there were any significant public spending savings to be made by cancelling the project saying: "This scheme pays for itself. If you cancel all you will get is diddly squat." This is a reference to the self-financing nature of the project under which it is to be paid for through increased charges for passports and the £60 cost of a biometric identity card. The only way for ID card critics to avoid being included on the national identity card databases will be not to apply or renew their passport – and so not to leave the country. As about 80% of the population currently hold a passport, the Identity and Passport Service believe that take-up of the voluntary scheme would be high. Critics argue that at that point a political decision could be made about whether it should become compulsory for the rest of the population. Isabella Sankey, director of policy at the human rights group Liberty, said the home secretary needed to be clear as to whether entry onto the national identity register was going to continue to be automatic when applying for a passport. "If so, the identity scheme will be compulsory in practice. However you spin it, big ears, four legs and a long trunk still make an elephant," she said. "And this white elephant would be as costly to privacy and race equality as to our purses." Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, said the decision to drop the compulsory airport trials was symbolic of a government in chaos. "They have spent millions on the scheme so far – the home secretary thinks it has been a waste and wants to scrap it, but the prime minister won't let him. So we end up with an absurd fudge instead," he said. Guy Herbert of the No2ID campaign said the pressing ahead with making the passport a "designated document" made a nonsense of the home secretary's assertion that the scheme was not compulsory. "It is not compulsory as long as you don't want to leave the country," he said. He said that the announcements made by Johnson were part of the Home Office's continuing strategy to defend the scheme against cancellation by stretching it out further and further and by aligning it ever closer with the passport system.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
5927 shares Share Tweet Pin Yummly Email My family loves KFC Coleslaw, so much that they refused to eat any other coleslaw recipe I suggest. That got me thinking, maybe I should try making a copycat recipe for KFC coleslaw myself? I’ve tried quite a few different types of coleslaw in my day, but this particular coleslaw recipe turned out perfectly! It’s a great dish to bring to a family get-together or a potluck. This infamous slaw recipe is one you’ll make more than just once! KFC Coleslaw Recipe The results, at first taste were pretty close to KFC’s, but there seemed to be an overwhelming fresh cabbage flavor right after making it. However, after this sat in the refrigerator for several hours, the cabbage had time to soak up the flavor of the dressing, and that did it! Just like KFC! Tips for making KFC Coleslaw: Use a food processor to make quick work of creating the slaw. If you insist on using Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise, be sure to reduce the sugar by half. I cannot guarantee your results as I have not made it with Miracle Whip. No buttermilk? Add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to 1/4 cup of milk to replace the buttermilk. This recipe uses white vinegar. However, many have commented that when working at KFC back in the day, tarragon vinegar was used. Substituting tarragon for the white is absolutely acceptable. Allow the finished coleslaw to sit for at least 4 hours to allow the flavors to soak into the cabbage. Eating it too soon will result in a heavy cabbage flavor. RELATED: Looking for another delicious side dish? Try this Hidden Spinach Guacamole. Packed with a whole serving of vegetables, this guacamole is sure to please your guests! FIND THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE BELOW Ingredients you’ll need for the coleslaw recipe For the dressing 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup buttermilk 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper For the slaw 1 head of cabbage 1 medium carrot (about 1/4 cup) 2 tablespoons minced onion Helpful Kitchen Tools Food processor – you don’t have to use a food processor, you could use a knife. However, a food processor cuts things uniformly and takes a fraction of the time than hand slicing. Chefs knife – every kitchen should have a good, sharp knife! Cutting board – be sure to have multiple cutting boards in your kitchen. You should have a wood cutting board for fruits, vegetables, herbs, and bread. A plastic cutting board is best for raw meats. Large bowl – This recipe makes a lot of coleslaw, so you’ll want to use one of your big party bowls! How to Make KFC Coleslaw Chop cabbage into chunks and run through your food processor, or chop finely. It’s up to you to decide the size you’d like your cabbage to be. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a large bowl, whisk well. Combine cabbage, carrots, and onion and toss well. Pour dressing over the slaw and turn to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving to allow the cabbage to soak up the marinade. Overnight is best. If you’re looking for more food processor recipes try these! Pair this KFC coleslaw recipe with one of these delicious fried chicken recipes: This post was originally published on this blog on June 27, 2010. KFC Coleslaw recipe This KFC coleslaw copycat recipe is delicious! You won't be able to tell the difference. This coleslaw recipe is the perfect gathering or potluck dish! 4.97 from 27 votes Print Pin Recipe Servings: 12 20 mins Calories: 112 Author: Amanda Formaro Ingredients DRESSING: 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup buttermilk 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper SLAW: 2 pounds cabbage (medium head) 2 ounces carrot about 1/4 cup, or one medium carrot 2 tablespoons minced onion Instructions Chop cabbage into chunks and run through your food processor, or chop fine. It's up to you to decide the size you'd like your cabbage to be. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a large bowl, whisk well. Combine cabbage, carrots, and onion and toss well. Pour dressing over the slaw and turn to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving to allow the cabbage to soak up the marinade. Overnight is best. Nutrition Serving: 1 portion \| Calories: 112 cal \| Carbohydrates: 11 g \| Protein: 1 g \| Fat: 7 g \| Saturated Fat: 1 g \| Cholesterol: 4 mg \| Sodium: 180 mg \| Potassium: 160 mg \| Fiber: 2 g \| Sugar: 9 g \| Vitamin A: 885 IU \| Vitamin C: 29.3 mg \| Calcium: 44 mg \| Iron: 0.4 mg Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later! Follow on Pinterest @AmandaFormaro or tag #AmandasCookin	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
I hate heels…I hate heels with the fire of a thousand hells. Everytime I wear heels this happens First 5 minutes: Ok…it’s cool … you’re cool … oh my god you look freakin amazing! First 10 minutes: Who said heels are hard to walk in? I got this. I goooot this. First 30 minutes: Wait..what’s that prick of pain at my toe? It can’t be… First 45 minutes: Please Lord, please let there be a chair somewhere near. First 50 minutes: Whyyyy did I do this to myself! The paaain! It buuuurns! First 1 hour: Screw this I’m going bare foot.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Italians may no longer have to promise fidelity in their wedding vows if a new bill to remove the clause from marriage contracts is approved. Some politicians are pushing for the amendment to Italy's Civil Code because it no longer represents marriage in the modern day, they say. “It’s the legacy of an outdated and antiquated vision of marriage, family and the duties and rights between spouses," said Senator Laura Cantini, one of those behind the amendment. To support their case, senators cited a previous ruling from Italy’s top court, which made it illegal for judges to place the blame for separation "on the mere failure to observe the duty of fidelity". The ruling meant that partners now have to prove the infidelity led to an irreconcilable breakdown of the marriage. The new bill was proposed to Italy’s Senate last year and is now being considered by its Judiciary Committee. "Until not long ago, only the fidelity of the woman was sufficient to guarantee the 'legitimacy' of children," it states. It also argues that there should be no place in law for legislation against sex, saying fidelity should be thought of in terms of “trust and respect”. The clause on fidelity was omitted from Italy’s Civil Unions bill, passed earlier in the year, provoking a furious backlash from the Lesbian Gay Bisxeual and Transgender (LGTB) community who felt the bill did not give them complete parity with heterosexual couples. According to one 2015 poll, 45 per cent of Italians have cheated on their partners, one of the highest European scores, along with France and Germany.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The world has gone wild for Disney’s animated film Frozen, and one of the best ways to experience that Frozen fever right in your own home is through some movie-inspired snacking. There are countless ideas for marvelous Frozen-style treats online, so we’ve sifted through them and settled on a few of the ones we think Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Sven, and the rest would love most. Whether you’re throwing a Frozen party or just want to munch on some Disney-themed snacks, these 12 options will delight friends, family, and Frozen fans of all ages. 1. These White Chocolate Banana Cake Snowballs from Nibbles and Feasts perfectly capture the film’s sweet character. The treat consists of freshly baked, buttery banana cake smothered in melted white chocolate and sprinkled with sweet, light coconut “snow” flakes. 2. Nobody who’s watched Frozen can get enough of the movie’s lovably comical snowman, Olaf. Now, you can serve up Olaf-inspired snacks in your own home with Bubbly Nature Creations’s Olaf Snowman Donuts. “The hardest part is making the heads which I suggest making a day or two ahead of time,” she notes. Store the heads in an airtight container until you use them, and delight in these adorable creations with friends and family. 3. Life Made Simple Bakes calls these Popcorn Snowballs “crunchy, gooey and sweet — perfect for any occasion!” The flavors of the snack are enhanced with the addition of a bit of vanilla extract and salt, resulting in a wonderful sweet-and-salty treat that everyone will adore. Whether you’re serving them at a Frozen-themed party, handing them out during the holidays, or simply enjoying a batch on your own as you sit down to view the film for a hundredth time, these snowballs will disappear in no time — and not because they’ve melted. 4. You’ll be greeted by dazzling splashes of color as you cut into Baked By Rachel’s Frozen-Inspired Surprise Watercolor Layer Cake. The blue, purple, and frosty white interior layers are reminiscent of the film’s chilly color palette, while the buttercream-frosted exterior is decked out with vibrant blue and purple sprinkles. 5. These Snowflake Sugar Cookies from Cake and Allie are just the perfect accoutrement to your Frozen-themed fun — and nearly too pretty to eat (though we don’t think that’ll be a problem)! The recipe takes a steady hand but it’s well worth the effort, resulting in buttery cookies in a gorgeous snowflake design, all topped with cool blue royal icing. 6. These Frosty White-Chocolate Dipped Oreos from Up Country Olio offer up blissful bites of indulgence. The chocolate dip is dyed to a beautiful light blue then ornamented with a snowflake transfer design (think of it as a temporary tattoo for your food) for a final touch. 7.“These little delicate snowflakes look like something Elsa would approve of,” writes The Chic Site. Her Frosted Vanilla Snowflake Cupcakes consist of a delicate, moist vanilla base and a blue-tinted vanilla cream cheese icing. Top them off with snowflake sprinkles inspired by the wintry kingdom of Arendelle. The recipe yields 12 cupcakes. 8. You’ve got to see these Disney-inspired Icy Blue Dessert Trifles for yourself. “Don’t the colors remind you so much of Elsa?” asks Mom Endeavors. These beautiful and frosty creations are the result of 4 easy ingredients: blue Jell-O (or other gelatin product), blueberry marshmallows, whipped cream, and blue and white nonparael candy balls, which can typically be found in the baking section of your grocery store. It takes 2 hours to complete, and yields 8 servings. 9. These White Chocolate Peanut Butter Snowflake from Gluesticks Blog snacks are as easy as they are drool-worthy. Simply sandwich some peanut butter between snowflake-shaped Ritz crackers, then smother the mix in a creamy white chocolate mixture. Top it off with some sugary blue sprinkles for a crunchy sweet-and-salty delight. 10. Mix up some icy Frozen-Style Party Punch using this recipe from A Night Owl Blog. The blue hue alone is enough to send a chill down your spine! It’s a tasty, citrusy treat perfect for holiday and birthday gatherings of all kinds. Get extra creative by plopping some ice cream “snow drifts” on top. 11. “With just a few ingredients you can have this whipped up for you and your family to enjoy while watching Frozen!” exclaims Pink Cake Plate, marveling at her Sweet and Salty Confetti Popcorn dish. Simply pop up some popcorn, melt in some blue and white candy melts — available in the baking section at your local grocery store or craft retailer — then top it all of with blue and white “confetti” sprinkles for a whimsical Disney treat, making the ideal finger food for family movie night. 12. “If you’ve got a Disney’s Frozen fan at home, try making this super easy and fun snack,” suggests Hip2Save. You’ll transport yourself to Arendelle with each bite of these sweet, melt-in-your-mouth Muddy Buddy Snacks. Dig in, but fair warning: You may not be able to stop! More from Life Cheat Sheet:	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Un carico di oltre 50 chilogrammi di eroina è stato scoperto e sequestrato all'interno di un camion, proveniente probabilmente dall'Iran e sbarcato al porto di Trieste. Immagine d'archivio. KEYSTONE/APA/ZOLLAMT LINZ WELS sda-ats Questo contenuto è stato pubblicato il 20 luglio 2018 - 13:22 (Keystone-ATS) Un carico di oltre 50 chilogrammi di eroina è stato scoperto e sequestrato all'interno di un camion, proveniente probabilmente dall'Iran e sbarcato al porto di Trieste. L'operazione è stata svolta dal Gruppo operativo antidroga della Guardia di Finanza. Il sequestro rientra nell'ambito di una direttiva su maggiori controlli sugli arrivi di merce al Porto, disposti da alcuni mesi dalla Procura della repubblica triestina. Oggi è previsto l'interrogatorio dell'autista del Tir, sottoposto a fermo. Questo articolo è stato importato automaticamente dal vecchio sito in quello nuovo. In caso di problemi nella visualizzazione, vi preghiamo di scusarci e di indicarci il problema al seguente indirizzo: [email protected]	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Choking on dead fish isn’t the way you want to expire, but here are the Mets, down to their last breath because of such reckless action. For all the grit and resiliency the Mets have shown in 2019, they needed perfection and a prayer on this final homestand. The perfection part eluded them with an 8-4 loss to the Marlins on Monday. The Mets’ tragic number in the NL wild-card race fell to two because of Washington’s victory over Philadelphia. The Mets have six games remaining and trail Milwaukee by five for the second wild card. Fangraphs placed the Mets’ postseason odds at 0.3 percent following the loss. “Nothing is impossible for us,” Amed Rosario said. “The emotions are so high in this clubhouse that we still think we could make something happen.” All equations placing the Mets into serious wild-card contention in this final week counted on them sweeping these 101-loss Marlins in four games. But Steven Matz produced one of his ugliest starts of the season, and the Marlins tacked on two runs in the seventh, when reliever Brad Brach was late covering first base on a grounder to Pete Alonso. The play was originally ruled an out on Harold Ramirez, but the Marlins won a challenge overturning the call, and the runners were placed by the umpires as such that two scored. “I kind of slowed up a little to catch [Alonso’s throw], and when I looked up, Ramirez was there,” Brach said, noting that he should have spun and thrown home immediately, but didn’t because he believed the inning was over with the out call. Rosario had answered Jorge Alfaro’s grand slam in the sixth with his own bases-loaded blast in the inning that pulled the Mets within 6-4 and resurrected the small crowd, announced at 21,189. But the Mets went quietly in the late innings in losing for the second time in three games. The Mets had swept the Marlins in four games in their last visit to Citi Field, in early August. That destruction came during a 15-1 stretch that transformed a lost Mets season into a meaningful September. In a big spot, Matz wilted. He lasted five-plus innings and surrendered six earned runs on nine hits with three strikeouts. It followed a disastrous start in Colorado last week in which Matz allowed seven runs over four innings. Part of manager Mickey Callaway’s rationale for flipping Matz and Marcus Stroman in the rotation was to allow his lefty the comfort of pitching at home, where he had pitched to a 1.94 ERA this season. Stroman pitched Sunday in Cincinnati instead and allowed two earned runs over 4 ²/₃ innings before leaving with an upset stomach. Alfaro’s grand slam in the sixth, his second homer of the night, buried the Mets in a 6-0 hole as Matz crouched in disgust before being removed from the game. “I wanted to keep us in a position where we could win, give the guys a chance,” Matz said. “And with this year, we’ve always got a chance, but that was really a big blow.” Juan Lagares singled to load the bases in the bottom of the inning after Michael Conforto walked. Rosario then smashed his second grand slam of the season. The rally began with Todd Frazier’s single against lefty Caleb Smith. Matz had induced double plays in the previous two innings to escape, after Miguel Rojas’ two-out RBI single in the third gave the Marlins a 2-0 lead. Once the Mets are officially eliminated from the postseason, they will be left to play for personal milestones. Jacob deGrom, who is scheduled to pitch Wednesday, could be the front runner to win a second straight NL Cy Young award. There is also Alonso, who needs two homers to tie Aaron Judge’s rookie record of 52. Alonso is already the first rookie in MLB history with 50 homers and 30 doubles in the same season. “We need to make another run at it,” Callaway said. “Never give up. I think that’s all this team knows how to do.”	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
ALBANY — What chutzpah! An $18 million tuition subsidy devised by Gov. Paterson as a political gift to the city’s Orthodox Jewish community has emerged as an 11th-hour sticking point in budget talks, The Post has learned. The unprecedented expansion of the state’s Tuition Assistance Program – derisively dubbed “Rabbi TAP” by frustrated budget negotiators — guarantees grants of up to $5,000 a year to at least 3,660 students at a few dozen rabbinical schools in the city and suburbs. Paterson slipped the program into his 2010-11 spending plan while he was planning to run for election and desperately courting political support from the Orthodox. The controversy comes at a time when he’s demanding massive cuts to public colleges and universities. The Assembly is seeking to kill the program, sources said. That has sparked a clash with Senate Finance Chairman Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn), who calls the subsidy a “must have.” “Obviously, it’s totally inappropriate to advance a significant new program, when we’re cutting SUNY, when we’re cutting CUNY, when we’re cutting community colleges,” said Assembly Higher Education Chairwoman Deborah Glick (D-Manhattan). Students at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Manhattan, a non-religious private school, would also be eligible for TAP, thanks to tortured legislative language used in an attempt to ensure it passes constitutional muster. Paterson spokesman Morgan Hook said the program was intended to “create parity” in aid for rabbinical students. [email protected]	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Disgraced Democratic congresswoman — and media darling — Katie Hill delivered her final floor speech today: Rep. Katie Hill, in farewell speech, says when photos first came out, she could barely get out of bed. "I’ve went to the darkest places that a mind can go," she added. "But I made it through because the people who loved me most dragged me back into the light." — Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) October 31, 2019 "I am leaving now because of a double standard," she continues. "I'm leaving because of a misogynistic culture that gleefully consumed my naked pictures." Adds today is the first time she's left her apartment. — Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) October 31, 2019 "I'm leaving but we have men who have been credibly accused of intentional acts of sexual violence who remains in board rooms, on the Supreme Court, in this very body and in the Oval Office." — Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) October 31, 2019 Here’s some video, if you can stomach it: Katie Hill unloads: "I am leaving now because of a double standard. I am leaving because I no longer want to be used as a bargaining chip." pic.twitter.com/oi5iN57FYr — David Mack (@davidmackau) October 31, 2019 Hill notes she's resigning but Trump "who brags about his sexual predation…sits in the highest office in the land." "Today as my final act I voted to move forward with the impeachment of Donald Trump on behalf of the women of America." pic.twitter.com/qUKN0ep6AG — David Mack (@davidmackau) October 31, 2019 So stunning and brave! Or just utterly shameless. If she didn't do it, why is she leaving? https://t.co/LG9cU9CjGZ — ?Grim Creature? (@jtLOL) October 31, 2019 She's resigning from Congress because of something she didn't do. They're actually trying to sell this. https://t.co/eHESd37c8w — ?Grim Creature? (@jtLOL) October 31, 2019 That’s not why she’s leaving and the media acting like she’s some kind of victim is a malpractice of journalism… Like most of the time… https://t.co/wK5qFfQ0w5 — Malak Kobbe (@Malak_Kobbe) October 31, 2019 I used to blame everyone else for things I did wrong and vow revenge on my enemies, but then I grew the hell up. — Nathan Wurtzel (@NathanWurtzel) October 31, 2019 I'm sorry, but I was alive in the 90s and saw this act with Bill Clinton and everything he denied turned out to be true and 20 years later even most Democrats grudgingly admit it. Pull someone else's leg. — Nathan Wurtzel (@NathanWurtzel) October 31, 2019	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Find carnival rides boring? Ever wondered what it’s like to whirl around in circles at 300 mph? Well “Farmhouse” and “AZN” from the Discovery Channel’s “Street Outlaws” have. RELATED: Watch the moment an Uber driver blows a tire, hits a curb and goes airborne — right into a busy gas station! The street racing duo visited their engine genius friend, the “Mad Scientist,” to test out his “Redneck Centrifuge.” The contraption is actually just an office chair with two nitrous bottles attached to it, but it becomes so much more when the bottles are uncorked. Nitrous is often used to give some race cars a little extra horsepower, so you can imagine what it might do to a measly chair. “AZN” decided to give it a try. The chair and “AZN” were sent spinning at an incredibly fast speed, even lifting off of the ground for a few seconds. Luckily, “Farmhouse” and “Mad Scientist” thought ahead and strapped the chair down before sending “AZN” on his extreme ride. While he wasn’t seriously injured, the G forces he experienced did leave him sore for a few weeks and with some bruises. We’re glad he’s okay, but we wouldn’t be too upset if he decided to take the chair for another spin if it means we get to see another crazy video like this! RELATED: His wife may think he’s crazy, but when the TV stops working this guy knows just the trick to fix it	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Nariyuki: Papakatsu Girls!! The Animation xoay quanh hai nữ học sinh Chihiro và Eri đang ngồi nói chuyện trong một cửa hàng sau giờ học. Chihiro kể lể bạn trai của mình yếu sinh lý đến mức không làm cho cô ấy ra một lần. Cô ấy nhiều khi còn muốn nghỉ làm tình mà chuyển sang thủ dâm vì nó có thể thỏa mãn nhu cầu của mình. Ngay lập tức Eri đề nghị Chihiro nhập hội cùng mình. Hội đó vừa được sướng vừa được tiền, nơi tập hợp của những ông chú giàu có với hàng khối gia tài kếch xù. Vì không muốn phản bội lại bạn trai nên Chihiro chỉ hứa đi xem thôi để khai sáng đầu óc. Không ngờ đến nơi thì cô mới được tận mắt chứng kiến làm tình tuyệt vời đến như vậy. Nghe theo bản năng mách bảo, cô liền đồng ý tham gia. Kể từ đó, cả hai người đều đến đây để thỏa mãn nhu cầu của mình mỗi ngày. Số tập Nariyuki: Papakatsu Girls!! The Animation: ? Tiếp theo: Megane no Megami	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus support the next-generation of HD voice services for even clearer calls, according to a new report. The technology is called Enhanced Voice Services (EVS), but you’ll only be able to use it on certain carriers. Apple introduced us to HD voice services, which takes advantage of LTE networks to enhance call quality, with iPhone 6 in 2014. But now some carriers offer an even greater alternative. EVS is a “superwideband” audio coding standard offering up to 20 kHz audio bandwidth. That’s a huge increase over the 7 kHz bandwidth offered by HD voice. EVS is also more robust than its predecessors, which should mean fewer dropped calls. According to Engadget Japan, which interviewed the president of local carrier KDDI, the iPhone 8 is Apple’s first device to support this technology. “This iPhone supports EVS,” said Takashi Tanaka, machine translated. “This is what Dokomo called before as VoLTE+, but once you become accustomed to this, you can not return to the 3G sound quality. The coding of VoLTE’s speech was even better.” EE in the U.K. appears to be the only carrier marketing the new technology with a service it calls Enhanced HD Voice. For now, only those with an iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus can take advantage of it, which suggests rival smartphones don’t have the technology yet. U.S. carriers have been offering EVS for a while now, so you should be able to take advantage of this soon if you just upgraded to one of Apple’s latest handsets. However, as things stand, it’s not a feature Apple or its carrier partners are talking about. Via: Makotakara	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Just a few months after we brought Minecraft to Nintendo Switch, we're double-dipping with the big N to bring the game to the New Nintendo 3DS series. Whatever next, an N64 port? Get on it, Jens! We want to stress that the game is only on the New Nintendo 3DS series, and we've used all the technical might of the dual-screened wonder machine to give you world sizes of 2016x2016 and 128 blocks high! Multiplayer won't be available at launch but we'll have more to share on the feature later. This edition's closest equivalent is 0.15.4 of Minecraft: Pocket Edition, and we'll be continuing to update from there! That dual screen setup helps make crafting easier than ever, with quicker access to your inventory and a handy map on the touch screen, perfect for charting out your worlds. Take a scroll through some screenshots below:	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
If you don't feel up to soldering your own shield... I'll do one for you. This reward is for assembly / soldering of _one_ RADiuS shield. The shield will come assembled, fully tested, and with the pins protected in foam. ( my wife told me to add this reward ) ;-) Less	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A big thank you from the team and an exclusive wallpaper. Any help is greatly appreciated! Less	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
When EA halted real-money transactions in Star Wars: Battlefront II last month , the company said it was a temporary move that would be reversed "at a later date... only after we've made changes to the game." Now, an EA executive suggests that later date for the return of microtransactions may never come. "Over time we'll address how we will want to bring the [microtransactions] either into the game or not and what form we will decide to bring it into," EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said in remarks to NASDAQ's investor conference earlier this week. That "or not" is the first public indication that the in-game purchases, which were heavily integrated into the game's progression system at first , might never come back. "Clearly we are very focused on listening to the consumer and understanding what the consumer wants and that's evolving constantly," Jorgensen said. "But we're working on improving the progression system. We turned the [microtransactions] off as an opportunity to work on the progression system inside the game. We're continuing to update that... "It's been a great learning experience for us," he continued. "We consider ourselves a learning organization, and if we're not learning we're failing in some way." Battlefront II's microtransaction decisions come amid a backlash against the idea of randomized "loot boxes" in games. Regulators in Belgium and politicians in Hawaii have been looking at the practice as a form of gambling that should be restricted for children or banned entirely. Hawaii State Representative Chris Lee has continued his push against loot boxes, encouraging a letter-writing campaign to get legislators in other states on board with the issue. While EA has yet to respond directly to press questions since the microtransaction controversy erupted, Jorgensen recently addressed the issue at another investor conference, saying that cosmetic items in the game could have violated Star Wars' carefully curated canon . "Darth Vader in white probably doesn't make sense compared to Darth Vader in black," he said. "Not to mention you probably don't want Darth Vader in pink—no offense to pink, but I don't think that's right in the canon."	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
update 22/4 : H πλατφόρμα λειτουργεί ξανά ενώ ο CEO της έδωσε σήμερα στην δημοσιότητα της λεπτομέρειες από τα γεγονότα που οδήγησαν στην απώλεια 315 Bitcoin καθώς και χιλιάδων ether coin και litecoin που η αξία τους υπολογίζεται σε εκατοντάδες χιλιάδες δολάρια. Όπως αναφέρει ο Erik Voorhees υπαίτιος για την παραβίαση των συστημάτων τους ήταν ο ίδιος ο υπεύθυνος για την ασφάλεια τους στην εταιρεία ο οποίος ήδη διώκεται αν και έχει διαφύγει στις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες. Και σαν μην έφτανε η αρχική κλοπή του των 315 Bitcoin στην συνέχεια μεταπούλησε και τα κλειδιά ασφαλείας σε άλλους hacker που με την σειρά τους παραβίασαν τα συστήματα της εταιρείας και έκλεψαν και αυτοί δεκάδες ψηφιακά νομίσματα από τα hot wallet της. Ολόκληρη το χρονικό της απάτης μπορείτε να το διαβάσετε εδώ όπως περιγράφετε από τον CEO της εταιρείας Erik Voorhees H δημοφιλής πλατφόρμα ανταλλαγής ψηφιακών νομισμάτων ShapeShift σε ανακοίνωση της έκανε γνωστό ότι οι server τους παραβιάστηκαν από hacker με αποτέλεσμα να χάσουν όσα ψηφιακά νομίσματα είχαν στα hot wallet τους χωρίς όμως όπως αναφέρουν να χαθούν τα ψηφιακά νομίσματα των πελατών τους. Η πλατφόρμα αυτή την στιγμή είναι εκτός λειτουργίας ενώ όπως αναφέρουν θα παραμείνει για όσο διάστημα χρειαστεί ώστε να μπορέσουν ξανά να προσφέρουν ένα ασφαλές περιβάλλον συναλλαγών. Hello everyone, We wanted to provide a quick update on our status. Yesterday afternoon, we noticed several pieces of evidence indicating our server infrastructure was compromised and threatened. We made the decision to scrap that infrastructure, and rebuild in a wholly new and safe environment. This is what we are currently engaged in. While we hate having the service offline, it was the safer path. By design, ShapeShift doesn’t hold customer balances, so even in the case of a security breach, there is no customer money at risk.However, a portion of our own hot wallet inventory funds were taken, but nothing that will interfere with operations once our new environment is online. This is also by design. We’ve built customer protection into our platform – hacks may be inevitable, but customer losses should not be. Not a cent of customer funds was lost, nor could they have been. For those few customers who had a pending order processing with us when we went offline, we’ll get those funds returned to you within 24 hours. Customer support link is below. Existing in Bitcoinland is a pioneering struggle against many threats and challenges. We’ll use the opportunity to build even bigger, better, and more resilient infrastructure. We’ve been inspired by the immense growth ShapeShift has seen over the past several months, and will get this beast back online ASAP. Kind regards, -Erik Voorhees CEO ShapeShift.io Direct link to customer support while site is down: https://shapeshift.zendesk.com/hc/en-us	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Hungary reverses stand on Romaniaʼs OECD accession MTI – Econews Hungary reversed its stand on Romaniaʼs accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) at the weekend, after assurance from the head of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) that the status of an ethnic Hungarian school in Târgu Mureș would be resolved. Prospective members may only join the OECD if they have the unanimous support of all members. Two weeks ago, Hungary declined to support Romaniaʼs application for membership at a meeting of the OECDʼs decision-making body because of the suspension of the operation of the Hungarian-language Catholic secondary school in Târgu Mureș (Marosvásárhely), a city with a large ethnic Hungarian population. PSD leader Liviu Dragnea promised the situation would be resolved in a telephone conversation with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó confirmed on Saturday. Hungary now supports Romaniaʼs accession to the OECD, he added. On Monday, Szijjártó said his Romanian counterpart, Teodor Meleșcanu, had called to thank the Hungarian government for supporting its application for membership in the OECD.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }

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