text
stringlengths 14
100k
| meta
dict |
|---|---|
Liverpool Football Club has released the following statement in response to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee's decision regarding Luis Suarez.
Ian Ayre, chief executive officer, said: "Liverpool Football Club will wait until we have seen and had time to review the FIFA Disciplinary Committee report before making any further comment." | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
During Wednesday’s presidential debate, 2020 presidential candidate former HUD Secretary and former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro (D) stated that his government healthcare plan would cover abortion.
Moderator Lester Holt asked, “All of you on stage support a woman’s right to an abortion. You all support some version of a government healthcare option. Would your plan cover abortion, Mr. Secretary?”
Castro answered, “Yes, it would. I don’t believe only in reproductive freedom, I believe in reproductive justice. And what that means is that just because a woman, or let’s also not forget someone in the trans community, a trans female, is poor, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have the right to exercise that right to choose. And so, I absolutely would cover the right to have an abortion.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Story highlights Syria beats China in World Cup qualifier
China's first home World Cup loss since 2011
Syria's first win of Asian qualifying round three
(CNN) Their goal is to "put a smile on Syrian faces."
The country has been ravaged by a five-year civil war, but its footballers are doing their best to inspire hope.
The "Qasioun Eagles" kickstarted their bid to qualify for the World Cup for the first time with a surprise victory away to China on Thursday.
Mahmoud Al-Mawas' second-half goal secured a 1-0 victory in Xi'an -- Syria's first win of round three in Asian qualifying for the 2018 tournament in Russia.
The 23-year-old latched onto Ahmad Al Salih's pass to round the goalkeeper and roll the ball into an empty net nine minutes after the interval, as China slipped to its first World Cup qualifying defeat on home soil since 2011. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
She's the teenage activist who campaigned for girls' education in Pakistan, and was shot by the Taliban.
She's also a Nobel Prize winner, and now Malala Yousafzai has had an asteroid named after her.
In terms of honours - it doesn't get much bigger than that - physically, at least: the rock is a full four kilometres wide.
Situated in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, it orbits the sun every five-and-a-half years.
The unusual honour comes courtesy of NASA's Amy Mainzer, who discovered the rock, previously known as 316201, in 2010.
Under International Astronomical Union rules, Mainzer had the right to name the asteroid, and decided to honour 17-year-old Malala.
Writing on the Malala Fund Blog, Mainzer said she wanted the move to serve as an inspiration to young women.
"We desperately need the brainpower of all smart people to solve some of humanity's most difficult problems, and we can't afford to reject half the populations."
In October 2012 Malala was shot as she boarded a school bus in the Swat Valley, Pakistan. She had risen to prominence after appearing in a BBC documentary about life under the Pakistani Taliban who controlled the area, and were stifling women's rights and education.
After emergency medical treatment in the UK, she became a worldwide sensation, speaking in front of the UN and elsewhere about the right to education. She was co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts.
The asteroid is described as being "printer toner" black, and whilst Malala may never get to see it, it's rather nice to know it's up there.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Rep. Duncan Hunter Duncan HunterDCCC reserves new ad buys in competitive districts, adds new members to 'Red to Blue' program Wife of former Rep. Duncan Hunter sentenced to 8 months of home confinement Harris endorses Democrat in tight California House race MORE’s (R-Calif.) wife pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring to misuse campaign funds.
Margaret Hunter, who had worked on numerous campaigns for her husband, had previously filed a not guilty plea after the couple was accused of using more than $250,000 in campaign funding for personal trips and expenses. However, she withdrew that plea and pleaded guilty to a single count Thursday.
She could face up to five years in prison and will stand for trial Sept. 17, according to The Associated Press. Her husband's trial is set for Sept. 10.
ADVERTISEMENT
An attorney for Duncan Hunter has said his wife’s guilty plea will not impact his case. The congressman previously said that the matter was resolved after he repaid $60,000 to his campaign last year.
“We are aware of Mrs. Hunter scheduling a hearing to change her plea,” Gregory Vega told The San Diego Union-Tribune Wednesday after news emerged that Margaret Hunter would change her plea. “At this time, that does not change anything regarding Congressman Hunter. There are still significant motions that need to be litigated, specifically the speech or debate clause of the U.S. Constitution.”
Duncan Hunter previously blamed his wife for any campaign finance misconduct and said charges against him were politically motivated. The California Republican was stripped of his committee assignments last year after the accusations first surfaced, and the House Ethics Committee renewed its investigation into him in May.
Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, who failed to unseat Hunter in 2018 and is challenging him again in 2020, hailed the news of Margaret Hunter’s plea Thursday morning.
“We simply can no longer afford the costs of Hunter’s corruption in CA50; not while our district faces economic turmoil, deadly brush fires, and badly needed infrastructure upgrades along the I-15 corridor. We deserve more than a congressman who is quite literally useless in Congress using taxpayer dollars to pay his legal fees,” he said in a statement.
Updated: 3:45 p.m. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
ST. LOUIS • With so many port-a-potties downtown, it’s unclear why a homeless man chose one in the 100 block of North Seventh Street to live in.
Employees across the street at the Wainwright State Office Building said he’d been there on and off for weeks, at least since October. He left an impression. They said he would yell sometimes or play music on a radio.
Holly Humfeld tried to help get him into a shelter, but it didn’t work.
“It was horrifying to me,” she said. “I couldn’t imagine somebody being reduced to living in a port-a-potty. What horrifies me even worse is that it’s downtown, in a metropolis. I don’t understand how this can be.”
On Wednesday, somebody noticed that the door to the gray and teal port-a-potty was cracked open. Police arrived on the scene around lunchtime and found the man dead, while at least one group of employees in a nearby office building celebrated the holidays with a feast of roast beef and turkey.
Their attention was drawn to the window, where they watched officials work the scene below. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The Lennon Bros Circus, which features lions, monkeys and camels, has rolled into a northern New South Wales city where animal circuses have been banned.
The Lismore City Council passed a motion in 2009 banning circuses that used exotic animals, but the order could only be applied to council-owned land.
The Lennon Bros Circus is being staged at the Lismore Showground, which is privately owned.
Showground trust president John Gibson said the event was legal and brought much-needed revenue to the organisation.
"Circuses are not banned in New South Wales," he said.
"In every community, there are all sorts of ideas and people have got various views on things that happen.
"Until the New South Wales Government does something about it, we're a trust and we've got to try to keep the thing afloat for all people in Lismore, not just the animal rights people.
"Without people coming and participating at the grounds, we'd go broke."
Activists and animal handlers have their say
Protesters gathered outside the Lismore Showground when the Lennon Bros Circus set up. ( ABC North Coast: Samantha Turnbull )
About 20 animal rights activists staged a protest at the showground on the first night of the circus's five-day stay in Lismore.
Organiser Kashina Crabbe said word spread among Lismore's vegan community when the circus first began advertising in the city.
"Circuses can't really provide adequate care for animals, especially exotic animals," Ms Crabbe said.
"We want to push the industry into not using animals to get people to go to the circus."
Circus manager Jay Lennon said the three lions, rhesus macaque monkeys, camels and ponies in their care were well looked after.
"We have a full-time animal groomer with the show," he said.
"And if they're sick, we have a specialist vet that flies into wherever we are."
Animal handler Rod Levy has worked with the circus for 10 years and said he loved the animals "like his own children".
He said they were never on the road for more than three hours at a time, and the animals were the first ones off the trucks when they arrived at their destinations.
"The animal yards and shelters go up before we hook up our power or tend to ourselves," he said.
"The animals come first, everything else is second to the animals.
"I'm with them from five o'clock in the morning until 10 o'clock at night … I just love them, it's a bond."
Lennon Bros Circus animal handler Rod Levy with one of the circus's lions. ( ABC North Coast: Samantha Turnbull )
Mr Lennon said the 121-year-old circus toured around Australia all year round, but rarely encountered protesters.
He said Lismore had developed a reputation for its activism.
"We've found Lismore is very … let's say there are a lot of vegan groups and animal care places around," Mr Lennon said.
"It's unfortunate they won't come and contact us and talk to us about our animal treatment.
"I'd invite them around to have a look and to see how we care for them and maintain everything."
Mr Lennon said even if it were illegal to keep exotic animals, the circus's lions would not survive in the wild.
"They're born and bred into captivity in Australia, it's the same as a zoo," he said.
"You can't just take these animals and set them free; they don't know how to hunt they don't know how to kill.
"They can't look after themselves because it's been done for them their whole lives; it was the same with their parents and their parents before them.
"The circus hasn't brought in a wild animal from overseas for more than 50 years."
Lennon Bros Circus manager Jay Lennon was born into the circus life. ( ABC North Coast: Samantha Turnbull )
The Lennon Bros and Stardust circuses are the only remaining circuses in Australia that feature exotic animals.
Mr Lennon said they were sister organisations that worked together to breed their animals.
He said he saw their work as important to the survival of several species.
"One day that's all you're going to see — lions in a zoo or circus — look what's happening in Africa with people shooting them," Mr Lennon said.
"We want animals to live a long and healthy life.
"Our lions are 14 years old; in the wild they'd be dead.
"I'm so passionate about the animals, they're important to society … cats and dogs weren't domestic to start, and it's the same with the lions — they're our pets." | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
We spent the past year eating our way across the city to rank the best restaurants in Kansas City.
This list runs the gamut from expensive to cheap, and from fine dining to flip-flop casual.
The best new restaurant, Fox and Pearl, is recognized as our restaurant of the year while Antler Room is number one overall.
How we made the list:
We ate the plates. Our editors visited more than two hundred and fifty Kansas City restaurants over the past year to pick the top forty. We do not announce our presence and always pay for our food.
We focus on food. We aim to recognize extraordinary food, whatever the format of the restaurant. Service and atmosphere are important, but food is king. We also consider the value of the meal: After you pay the bill, do you walk away feeling pleased, maybe even grateful?
We judge each restaurant on its own merits. Just as great movies come in many genres, so do restaurants. We seek to recognize the best spots from the toniest areas of town and working class neighborhoods. We seek to recognize unique cuisines over very good steakhouses.
We love to see a chef’s perspective. Plenty of successful restaurants are bastions of consistency and tradition. In our rankings, we admit a preference for chef-driven restaurants that showcase personal touches.
1. T h e Ant l er Ro o m
2506 Holmes St., KCMO. | Expensive.
The cauliflower with miso and sunflower seed hummus only lasted three days before chef Nick Goellner took it off. It was good, but Goellner didn’t like the look of it — and so it had to go.
That’s how Goellner runs the kitchen inside The Antler Room, his small, mid-century chic Midtown restaurant. Goellner is governed only by his own whims and obsessions, a trademark he might have picked up from the big-name restaurants he’s worked at, including Allegretti in New York, the Michelin-starred Boulevard in San Francisco and the renowned Noma in Copenhagen.
Goellner is tall and bespectacled, carrying himself with the air of a bookish grad student. His menu shifts with moods as much as seasons. For a large portion of 2019, Goellner drew inspiration from Japanese cuisine. A recent pilgrimage back to Japan resulted in Antler Room’s popular Izakaya pop-up dinners, where the restaurant transformed into a late-night eatery dishing up chicken gyoza, shishito peppers with umeboshi mayo and fried duck wings with garlic honey. This winter, Antler Room’s menu shifts to South African influences: Goellner and his team were inspired to explore spicy curries and stews that combined piri piri and warm spices like nutmeg and cloves after a dinner featuring Stellenbosch Vineyards.
Goellner’s globetrotting menu is delivered in small plate format — there are no entrees — via his warm and refreshingly casual clubhouse. Instead of white tablecloths and candles, the restaurant has a long bar, pale wood accents and as much natural lighting as possible.
Leslie Newsam Goellner, Antler Room’s front-of-house manager and wine director, will sometimes relay an anecdote about the restaurant’s namesake: It’s a nod to The Antlers Club, a rowdy Prohibition-era West Bottoms saloon where anything went. How fitting, then, that Kansas City’s best restaurant is one where the chef makes whatever he wants. NG
2. C o rv i no Su p p er Cl ub & T asting R o o m
1830 Walnut St., KCMO. | Very expensive.
A two-for-one restaurant might sound gimmicky, but at the happening Corvino Supper Club & Tasting Room in the Crossroads, you really can choose your own adventure and be fully confident that the outcome will not just satisfy you but give you something to talk about for months to come. There are just eighteen seats in the slender Tasting Room, and with the charcoal walls, black tables and dramatic spotlighting, dining here feels like an event. On the other side of the wall is the seventy-seat Supper Club, where guests order a la carte and live local music goes late.
For a new-school tasting menu, the ten-plus course experience in the Tasting Room unfolds with joy and pops with creativity. Chef and co-owner Michael Corvino takes diners on a slow journey through textures and flavors you’d never expect. I marveled at a slightly sweet ricotta soft-serve with peeled heirloom tomatoes and purple basil buds, a dish of buckwheat dumplings with imperial gold caviar, an intoxicating paw-paw puree over luscious goat milk sherbet and wine pairings that play to the palate thanks to sommelier, front-of-house manager and co-owner Christina Corvino. NG
3. F o x and P e arl
2143 Summit St., KCMO. | Moderate.
Vaughn Good has been composing a meaty love letter to the lower Midwest for some time. It started with Hank Charcuterie in Lawrence, the butcher shop-turned-restaurant that kept bringing Kansas Citians across the border for a taste of his foie gras pork sausage. Good got the feeling he’d fare better if he relocated, and this summer, Fox and Pearl (his daughters’ middle names) opened in a historic building in the Westside neighborhood. The centerpiece of this stylish restaurant is the wood-fired hearth in the dining room from which heavy plates of smoked goat chorizo, whole grilled trout and braised short rib flow like Shakespearean sonnets.
If you want to know what modern Kansas City dining looks like, this is it — which is why it’s our 2019 Restaurant of the Year. NG
4. The R e s t au r a n t a t 1 90 0
1900 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Mission Woods. | Expensive.
You go to The Restaurant at 1900 because the food is good. All of it, every dish, every time. It’s on a level of extra that you can’t appreciate unless you know the labor that goes into it — and every ingredient gets reverential treatment. Take, for example, the lobster pop tart, one of the few menu items that has stayed on since 1900 opened in April 2018. Chef Linda Duerr receives live lobsters, steams them and breaks them down before portioning them into buttery short pastry, a perfect envelope for the clean lobster and braised leek, all of which is offset by bright tomatoes, fresh dill and a cloud-like VSOP whipped cream. It’s this sure-footed confidence that makes 1900 a staple. Although the restaurant is set in a mixed-use building that was once H.D. Lee Jeans headquarters (today, there are offices and corporate meeting spaces) the dining room is sumptuous and comfortable. NG
5. F r e s h w a ter
3711 S.W. Trafficway, KCMO. | Expensive.
If there’s an award for best comeback story, it goes to chef Calvin Davis. His promising first restaurant, Freshwater, was open for three months in 2017 before a fatal drunk driving accident destroyed the dining room. A year later, Davis was back in his original Midtown location with its small, sunny dining room and rich nine-seat wood bar, his vision clearer than ever. Freshwater has always been hyper-local, with as many components made in-house as possible, but with the restaurant’s rise from the ashes, Davis is taking the opportunity to challenge himself. (Recently, he’s been delving into cheese-making; the Freshwater ricotta, delicately swaddled in scarpinocc pasta, is chef’s kiss-worthy). If you can round up at least three friends, reserve the chef’s table inside Freshwater’s kitchen, where one hundred and fifty dollars per person will get you twelve courses with wine pairings. Freshwater’s menu changes frequently — there are one or two new dishes every week — but the chef’s table dinners are different every night. NG
6. F arina
1901 Baltimore Ave., KCMO. | Expensive.
For over two decades, Michael Smith has been one of Kansas City’s top chefs. Instead of retiring into cookbook-writing, Smith has embarked on a new enterprise. Earlier this year, he shuttered his long-running namesake restaurant in the Crossroads and opened Farina next door, a modern Italian fine dining concept with a sleek and polished interior — compliments of local firm Helix Architecture and Design — set in handsome slate and gray tones. There are plenty of house-cured meats and generously portioned entrees to choose from, and the small raw bar highlights delicate Mediterranean flavors. If it’s a red sauce experience you’re after, know that Farina is the polar opposite. Noodles here are elegant. The usually humble cacio e pepe is elevated with a rich combination of pecorino, Parmesan and crescenza cheeses, and I swooned over the candy wrapper-shaped caramelle pasta. Order more pasta than you think you need — you’ll have no trouble finishing. NG
7. P o r t Fonda
4141 Pennsylvania Ave., KCMO. | Moderate.
High-end Mexican cuisine is a tough sell in a town where amazing salsas come free for the squeezing and dollar tacos can rock your world. How does a restaurateur justify a seventeen dollar sampler of guac and salsas? Well, chef Patrick Ryan’s lively Westport spot pulls it off. The evening mood at Port Fonda is set with thumping bass and club lighting, and the flavors are loud enough to roll along. Among the musts are the Mayan pumpkin seed dip sikil pak, the assortment of snacks made with fresh masa and the pozole verde made with plump hominy and pork shoulder marinated in earthy green chiles. Also dig into the assortment of Oaxacan dishes, including a tlayuda built on a crust of blue corn masa and chicken roasted over wood then bathed in a yellow mole made from guajillo, ancho and morita. The margs are always on point, and the impressive mezcal selection is a draw on its own. MC
8. Vietnam Cafe
522 Campbell St., KCMO. | Inexpensive.
Great pho is all about the broth, and the best broth in town takes a full day to make. Staff at Columbus Park’s Vietnam Cafe (the location by KU Med has different ownership and recipes) spend twenty-four hours boiling down both beef and chicken bones to layer up flavors in their curative noodle soup. Tear up some cilantro and basil, squirt in a little Sriracha, and spoon into world-class pho. Vietnam Cafe’s signature soup is some of the best I’ve had, and I’ve been to a few of this nation’s best-loved Vietnamese restaurants. Vietnam Cafe’s broth is made by the owner from a recipe that’s been passed down over the twenty-odd years this bustling Columbus Park bowl-ing alley has been in biz. There are other items on the menu, too, and you should explore them — as sides to your pho. The fried sweet potato is a favorite, and the rich curries are great on chilly days. MC
9. St o ck Hill
4800 Main St., KCMO. | Expensive.
We’re not wanting for good steaks in this town, but it’s hard to find a selection equal to that at Stock Hill on the South Plaza. There are nine cuts to choose from: two thirty-day dry-aged and five forty-five-day wet-aged, all from Woodbury Farms in Quenemo, Kansas, plus two Wagyu options — a KC strip and a ribeye from Durham Ranch in Pittsburg, Texas. The dry-aged steaks have a nutty profile, and we could wax poetic for pages about how sublimely tender the Akaushi ribeye is and how you don’t really need the porcini rub or the house-made chimichurri sauce but you should add them anyway. Dine like Gatsby at Stock Hill’s stately dining room, perch at the polished marble horseshoe bar, or sip a glass of Kansas City punch on one of the emerald green velvet couches. This is a restaurant designed to impress, whether you’re dropping in for a happy hour cocktail (and the triple-cooked fries) or sitting down for a decadent steak dinner. NG
10. B o b Wa sabi K i tc hen
1726 W. 39th St., KCMO. | Moderate.
“Fresh seafood” in landlocked Kansas City doesn’t have to be an oxymoron — at least, not if you’re dining at Bob Wasabi Kitchen. South Korea-born Bob Shin began his career as a New York City fishmonger in the eighties and worked in California restaurants during the bento box craze of the nineties before settling in Kansas City and opening the sushi restaurant he’d always dreamed of with his family in 2015. Shin leverages his considerable expertise when it comes to sourcing and selecting premium seafood, which he has delivered from Seattle Fish Co. (their Kansas City warehouse receives fresh shipments twice daily). A mere forty-eight hours earlier, the fish in the case at Shin’s chef’s counter might have been Finding Nemo. You’ll appreciate that as you feast on Shin’s deft and generous sashimi or the show-stopping rainbow roll (with hamachi, maguro and salmon). If it’s available, don’t skip the pearl-pink toro — tuna belly that melts in your mouth like warm butter. NG
11. Novel
1927 McGee St., KCMO. | Expensive.
In April 2018, chef-owner Ryan Brazeal and pastry chef-owner Jessica Armstrong moved their lauded five-year-old Novel restaurant from a historic shirtwaist house on the Westside to a sparkling new build in the Crossroads. Relocating had long been a dream for the couple, and their new space is spacious and bold. A tile mosaic of a woodland scene (designed by Kansas City artist Peregrine Honig) serves as the backdrop for a horseshoe-shaped white marble bar, and a customized kitchen means that Brazeal and Armstrong have plenty of elbow room to carry out the forward-thinking, detailed dishes they’ve become known for. (I’d blush to say out loud the things I’d do for Brazeal’s rabbit pie, with its perfect blend of woodsy rabbit sausage and Burgundy snails tucked into flaky pastry.) There’s a whole homemade pasta section on the menu, too — something the old Novel’s tiny kitchen made impossible. And Armstrong’s desserts are among the finest in the city: If it’s available, don’t miss the matcha tiramisu. NG
12. Rye
10551 Mission Road, Leawood. | Moderate.
Kansas City is the place where the Midwest meets the south and west, and Rye is pretty much the perfect manifestation of our foodways. Colby and Megan Garrelts have won a pile of Beard nods and written two cookbooks based on their upscale take on regional cuisine. Rye is the rare place that can manage both elegant pork rinds and cold-smoked salmon. You can’t really go wrong following your heart on this menu, be it to hush puppies or a kale salad. The barbecue sandwiches and over-the-top Southern desserts like banana cream pie earn special notice as dishes you want to make sure out-of-town guests remember the city by. MC
13. Café P ro ve n ce
3936 W. 69th Terrace, Prairie Village. | Expensive.
Stepping into the tidy, tiny Café Provence, with its dozen or so white-clothed tables, feels like stepping through a wormhole and dropping into Paris during La Belle Epoque. It doesn’t hurt that the Quillec family running this alluring spot has French in their blood: Co-owner Patrick hails from Brittany. Ten years ago, Patrick’s son Philip took over as executive chef for his father, and today, Patrick’s septuagenarian brother Daniel works in the kitchen alongside Philip. Philip’s sister Natalie and his aunt Daniele manage the dining room. The restaurant bustles with warm family energy, and you can catch snippets of their exchanges in perfect French. The menu here is classic French with some modern flair. After fifteen years, regulars count on staples like the Burgundy snails drowned in a glorious garlic butter, but you’ll also find a generous rack of lamb accompanied by a fragrant chimichurri sauce. Desserts are courtesy of pastry chef Amy Beeman, whose refined creations confidently walk the line between classic and modern — like a show-stopping cranberry curd and white chocolate tart. NG
14. P o t Pie
904 Westport Road, KCMO. | Moderate.
Since it opened on the edge of Westport in 2003, PotPie has been one of Kansas City’s most reliable spots for homestyle comfort food. It’s known, of course, for its rich, hen-sized potpies — it’s in the name — and those haven’t changed in the sixteen years the restaurant has been open, nor has much else. That’s the point: This is a snug, forty-seat room with a small and well-worn bar where you can still get a glass of good wine for six dollars and where the longtime staff still presents the bill on a hand-written baby-blue guest check. Victor Swerdlove, who has worked at PotPie almost since its debut, purchased the business from owners Sarah and John Williams two years ago, and his biggest move was bringing in his friend Brian Aaron (formerly the executive chef at Tannin Wine Bar & Kitchen) to run the kitchen. Aaron is loyal to PotPie’s traditions, but the twice-daily menu change for lunch and dinner gives him the opportunity to make small adjustments and introduce brilliant new dishes like a pan-fried chicken confit. Aaron has also introduced the occasional wine dinner into PotPie’s repertoire. NG
15. Affäre
1911 Main St., KCMO. | Expensive.
German cuisine most likely provokes thoughts of size-of-your-head Bavarian pretzels, steins of Hefeweizen and stacked sausages on plates. Chef and co-owner Martin Heuser from Bonn, Germany, keeps it upscale at the Crossroads’ Affäre with seasonally rotating menus and a new wine bar run by his wife, sommelier Katrin. If you’ve got a hankering for meaty German cuisine, Affäre has a steady lineup of schnitzel and house-made bratwurst, all of which have seasonally fitting flavors and sauces — a nice bath for a side of doughy butter spatzle. Keep an eye on the seafood options, too. The Risotto vom Tintenfisch, a fresh and creamy smoked octopus risotto with bites of scallops and shrimp and topped with a squid ink net, made me forget for a moment that I was landlocked in Missouri. NB
16. ABC Cafe
10001 W. 87th St., Overland Park. | Inexpensive.
In cities with large Chinese populations, the best dim sum comes off carts in large, loud and chaotic dining halls where you’ll often find four generations of family passing around a basket of steamed dumplings. Around these parts, you go to this tiny, no-frills Overland Park restaurant. ABC is a place of tough choices. Do you want to grab a seat next to strangers at the large communal table or wait in a long line to get a private table? (Share!) Do you really need that wonton soup before the platters of meat and dumplings show up? (Yes!) Is the beef shank pancake wrap the server suggests better than the sticky rice? (Yes!) Do you really need that hulking platter of chow fun noodles? (Yes again!) Come here when you’re feeling game for anything, and answer in the affirmative as many times as you can. You’ll find yourself with a wonderful meal and a memorable experience. MC
17. Bluestem
900 Westport Road, KCMO. | Very expensive.
Chef Colby and pastry chef Megan Garrelts are Kansas City’s elder statesmen of fine dining. Their lauded restaurant Bluestem celebrated its fifteen-year anniversary in March, and although the Garreltses have both graduated from back-of-house positions to restaurateur-status (they also own two Rye locations, one in Leawood and one on the Country Club Plaza), this power couple still pays special attention to their first child. You can see Colby’s influence in the young Joshua Walker, who has been Bluestem’s chef de cuisine since 2017. The two of them work collaboratively with every seasonal menu shift. Walker’s artful plating can be appreciated in Bluestem’s tasting menus, where over three, five or ten courses, guests can enjoy a range of luxurious dishes. On a recent trip, I enjoyed a gorgeous bowl of earthy borscht — something I thought I hated — with toasted granola and meringue before falling irrevocably in love with the most delicate butternut squash and ricotta-stuffed cappelletti. Despite the semi-casual setting — there are no starched tablecloths in the dining room, but there are cozy tufted booths set against an exposed brick wall — Bluestem’s pricing is still very much in special occasion territory. Which means you should spring for the wine pairing while you’re celebrating: Wine director and general manager Taylor Tantillo’s finds are spot on. NG
18. Westport Cafe and Bar
419 Westport Road, KCMO. | Moderate.
When French-born chefs and restaurateurs Kevin Mouhot and Romain Monnoyeur took over Westport Cafe and Bar in 2016, they were taking over an institution. WCB had been serving tried-and-true French classics like mussels, frites and escargot since 2010. As far as anyone was concerned, the formula worked well in the romantic bistro, with its charming antique tin ceiling and black-and-white checkered tile floor. But Monnoyeur, whose resume includes Monaco’s Ducasse and Caillebotte in Paris, assumed the role of executive chef at WCB and opted to overhaul the menu. His approach is an innovative twist on French cuisine accented by international influences, and it distinguishes WCB as a true dining destination. The steak tartare is plated with pickled daikon, Asian pear and dots of avocado-wasabi sauce. There are roasted lamb chops with buttery gnocchi and a pomegranate pico de gallo. When in doubt, go for the chef’s special — that’s where Monnoyeur gets artsy. With no small amount of longing, I still recall a spring dish of Alaskan halibut with pale strips of shaved asparagus and a tangy kimchi puree. Another noteworthy fixture is WCB’s longtime bar manager, Bronson Kistler, who has been with the restaurant since it opened. Sidle up to the bar and leave him in charge of your evening — you won’t regret it.
With no small amount of longing, I still recall a spring dish of Alaskan halibut with pale strips of shaved asparagus and a tangy kimchi puree. Another noteworthy fixture is WCB’s longtime bar manager, Bronson Kistler, who has been with the restaurant since it opened. Sidle up to the bar and leave him in charge of your evening — you won’t regret it. NG
19. Story
3931 W. 69th Terrace, Prairie Village. | Expensive.
The dining room at eight-year-old Story in Prairie Village is spacious, with neutral gray and silver tones, crisp white tablecloths and wine glasses at every place setting. It feels immensely proper, a vibe that belies the playful and interesting menu that chef and co-owner Carl Thorne-Thomsen offers. I can’t remember having better octopus than the version at Story: grilled with care and so tender, cut into easy pieces that you can drag through the silky golden yolk of a perfectly poached egg like a leaf floating on tranquil water. Just as worthwhile is the Wednesday night fried chicken dinner. For nineteen dollars, you’ll get four pieces of buttermilk-soaked, crispy white and dark meat, all fork-and-knife ready (Thorne-Thomsen removes the bones when he breaks down the chicken) and served with a scrumptious Parmesan-black pepper gravy. NG
20. Carniceria y Tortilleria San Antonio
830 Kansas Ave., KCK. | Inexpensive.
There are many, many great street tacos in KCK. But after trying dozens of recommendations, I’m of the opinion that the deshebrada at Carniceria y Tortilleria San Antonio are the finest in the metro area. This little market-slash-tortilleria-slash-taqueria has a butcher counter in the back and pinatas by the coolers. But the large line that forms snakes up to the taco counter, where you order five or six smallish tacos to eat on the sturdy log furniture that looks like it was salvaged from the set of Ponderosa. All the tacos here are good, but the one that stands above all others to me is the simple shredded beef known as deshebrada. Splashed with green or orange salsa from the little bar in front of the meat-loaded griddle, these piles of soft, lightly seasoned beef on super-fresh tortillas are tacos in their purest, most elemental form. MC
21. The Savoy at 21c
219 W. Ninth St., KCMO. | Expensive.
It would be easy for The Savoy to stumble on its own coolness. The landmark hotel and restaurant closed in 2014 and was resurrected in 2017 by the 21c hotel chain, which specializes in urban hip. The century-old building got a sleek remodel, with a fine art museum featuring works by sculptors Sofie Muller and Lucy Sparrow installed throughout the space: It’s something like a cosmopolitan wonderland for the jet-set crowd. Joe West (Kusshi and Stock Hill Grill) was tapped as executive chef for the restaurant, and he gives classic French dishes a flamboyant flair. His beef cheek burgundy, served with compressed plumcots and cherry gel, is — according to the menu — “just like watching Julia Child as a kid,” and the description for his excellent steak tartare includes a quote from Seinfeld‘s Kramer. It’s a good fit for this stylish space, which takes great pleasure in blending the old and the new. NG
22. The Distrikt Biskuit House
9103 E. 39th St., KCMO. | Inexpensive.
What’s in a biscuit? At its most basic, there’s flour, salt, butter and milk. If you’re chef Guroux Khalifah, there’s quite a bit more: the foundation for a restaurant. The Distrikt Biskuit House opened inside the Adam’s Mark Hotel by the stadiums a year ago, and devotees of Khalifah’s biscuit-forward menu have no problem making the trek for his Distrikt Biskuit Sandwich. That’s where you’ll find a hunky piece of buttermilk-brined chicken fried with a gloriously crunchy crust, a fried egg and cheese served between Khalifah’s impossibly buttery, gravity-defying biscuits. It’s a true gut-buster, and we mean that as an absolute compliment. There’s more to enjoy here (Distrikt Biskuit House serves breakfast and lunch), so come hungry. And often. NG
23. The Rieger
1924 Main St., KCMO. | Expensive.
If you sit at the end of the chef’s counter in front of the kitchen at The Rieger, you’ll be able to spot a slogan painted in cursive over the expo station, facing the line: “Beautiful food for the people.” This is chef Howard Hanna’s mantra, one he’s stuck to since opening Rieger in 2010. But at Rieger — named for the historic hotel building erected in 1915 in the Crossroads, which the restaurant calls home — beautiful food doesn’t mean fussy. Hanna’s dishes are layered and thoughtful. He’s known for writing novella-length menu notes for his staff with every change, delving into the local farms he’s sourced the flora and fauna from. But his dishes are also rustic and familiar. The handmade pastas are always winners — the mafaldine with local mushrooms and Pecorino is exceptional — and there would be riots if Hanna’s beloved pork soup, with its toasted blanket layer of Gruyere, ever left the menu. NG
24. Shio Ramen Shop
3605 Broadway Blvd., Midtown, KCMO. | Inexpensive.
Sit at the three-seat bar at the tiny Shio Ramen Shop in Midtown and one of the first things you’ll notice is the behemoth metal contraption behind the counter taking up considerable space that, in any other restaurant, would have been prime spirit storage. This is chef-owner Patrick Curtis’ prized Yamoto noodle machine, which he employs daily to produce his impossibly bouncy, chewy ramen noodles. These wavy angel hairs go into a number of rich broths and are topped with a pretty arrangement of vegetables and protein. On a chilly winter day (or on a day when you are particularly hungover), go for Shio’s Shoyu bowl, where Chinese and Japanese soy sauces marry to make a robust broth that is only amplified by thick cuts of pork belly and a fragile, translucent egg. The only thing better might be the Kaho Soi-men, offered on Wednesday nights, where Shio’s pale noodles curl around a sweet and spicy coconut curry broth with zippy pickled cabbage and chunks of confit chicken tenderloin. NG
25. Queen Sweets & Bakery
4107 N. Cherry St., North Kansas City. | Inexpensive.
Queen Sweets & Bakery started with dessert, and you’ll still find a case of honey-soaked baklava and date-stuffed maamoul. But the savory meats are the main draw to the Bataineh family’s humble restaurant, tucked behind a hookah cafe and a tattoo parlor in a North Kansas City strip mall. Lamb is featured prominently on the menu, and the braised lamb shank is a showstopper. But if you want a perfect introduction to the food — the Batainehs come from Jordan, a peaceful land-locked Middle Eastern nation — opt for the Big Mashawi plate. The Instagram-famous family-size platter comes with six skewers of grilled lamb and chicken, sliced beef, Kafta shish kabobs and chicken shawarma, all topped with allspice berries and plated with grilled vegetables and fragrant saffron rice. The Big Mashawi also comes with a side of silky smooth hummus and pitas for dipping. If you’ve got a party of four, consider adding more hummus or opting for the appetizer combo, which comes with lightly fried falafel, smoky baba ghanoush and an herb-heavy salad. MC
26. Jarocho
719 Kansas Ave., KCK. Moderate.
For the uninitiated, Jarocho can be confusing. The Kansas City, Kansas, restaurant seems ultra-casual — it has the look of a folksy seaside eatery you might find in, say, the coastal city of Veracruz, Mexico, where chef-owner Carlos Falcon was born and raised — but the dishes (and their prices) lean into upscale dining. Falcon focuses on seafood that pays homage to his childhood in Veracruz, with items like heaping goblets of fresh ceviche (there are six options to choose from), freshwater prawns sauteed in garlic sauce and crispy fried charales (teeny smelt fish) tossed with Tajin and lime. You’ll want to get the whole fried fish — pompano, if they have it — from which you can build your own decadent fish tacos. Falcon also pulls inspiration from his wife and business partner Sayaka Gushi Falcon’s Japanese heritage with a customized, reservation-only six-course Omakase dinner that highlights exotic ingredients (sea urchin, anyone?) and Falcon’s adventurous cooking. NG
27. Chai Shai
651 E. 59th St., KCMO. | Moderate.
This small, dark-walled Pakistani restaurant on the quiet corner of Holmes and 59th streets in Brookside started out as a little factory for samosas: the lightly fried, savory pastries popular across the Indian subcontinent. After hearing from eager customers, the mother-son duo behind Chai Shai eventually gave in and pivoted into a full-scale restaurant operation. The small and simple digs belie the original intention to use the space for prep work. From the kitchen emerge delightfully homespun dishes like pakora curry and lamb korma that dance with layers of earthy spice from a blend of cumin, cardamom and mace. On a warm day, the patio and a mango shake are highly recommended. MC
28. Jax Fish House
4814 Roanoke Parkway, KCMO. | Moderate.
Sustainably sourced Colorado seafood chain Jax Fish House planted seed in the Country Club Plaza in 2014, and chef Bryan Sparks runs the kitchen. Date night at Jax doesn’t mean a candlelit dinner with saxophone tunes softly playing overhead. The restaurant always has that city bustle vibe — especially on Mondays, thanks to its all-day happy hour. Assets like the humming oval bar, friendly staff, open kitchen and blue walls decorated with mounted fish feel so comfortable you might just crave the standby fish and chips. Or you might try something a little more deluxe, like the Asian-style grilled moonfish over forbidden rice, bok choy and string beans or a big ole plate of crab legs and oysters. NB
29. Sobahn
7800 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Overland Park. | Moderate.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4JRKsVlTUh/
Sobahn has plenty of seats, but somehow this family-run Korean restaurant on a Shawnee Mission Parkway strip mall always seems intimate. The walls are a soothing butter yellow decorated with Korean paintings and tapestries, and the handsome tables are fashioned from heavy dark wood — a sturdy altar for the fine plates that come out of Sobahn’s kitchen. Chances are one of your servers will be sisters Sharon or Susan Kwon, who own the restaurant with their mother and head chef, Suzanna Kwon. For the last decade, the Kwon family has been serving up traditional Korean dishes like bibimbap — a satisfying bowl of bulgogi (thin, grilled strips of marinated beef), bright vegetables and rice — and addictive japchae, where warm, translucent rice noodles tangle with sliced mushrooms and chunks of beef. NG
30. El Pollo Rey
901 Kansas Ave., KCK. | Inexpensive.
El Pollo Rey’s menu is just three lines long. This busy restaurant on the Kansas Avenue strip of KCK only sells chicken, which comes by the whole, half or wing. The birds are scrunched together on a wood-fired grill and given a slow, smokey char. Then, the pollo is plated with rice, beans and warm corn tortillas. On the side come a Ziplock baggie of onions and a little styrofoam cup filled with a red salsa blended down to pulp. The Chicken King’s smoky, blacked birds fall apart with the poke of a fork, which has won the restaurant an enthusiastic local following. Be warned that you might be waiting for a seat on weekends. MC
31. Grünauer
101 W. 22nd St., KCMO. | Expensive.
What was life like for a minor Hapsburg of the late empire? This we cannot know. However, we have some idea thanks to this palatial Austrian-German dining room in the Crossroads’ Freight House. The wood-roofed Grünauer feels like a chalet perched on some sheer Alpine cliff, and it delivers refined versions of hearty fare like wild mushroom strudel and Bauernwurst. The sausage sampler is highly recommended, as is the Schweinebraten — pork loin and shoulder roasted until achingly tender and plated with bread dumplings and red cabbage. Grünauer’s drink menu features some very fine German beers like Weihenstephaner Vitus (a dark wheat beer packed with fun and funky esters) and delightful but rarely seen Central European wines like Blaufränkisch. MC
32. Niecie’s Restaurant
6441 Troost Ave., KCMO. | Inexpensive.
There’s so much great soul food in KC that it’s hard for a lot of folks to pick a favorite. With apologies to King’s Table (5932 Prospect Ave.) and PeachTree Cafe’Teria (2128 E. 12th St.), our pick is this gem on Troost, where you’ll find warm service and a full day’s menu (open 5:30 am–8 pm) prepared with care. Dishes like grilled wings are made to order (accordingly, the menu warns the wait could be forty minutes), and pair well with satisfying sides like candied yams, cornbread dressing and homestyle mac and cheese. Breakfast is also a great time to visit, especially for the chicken and waffle that features three wings in a delicate batter. MC
33. Baramee Thai Bistro
1810 Baltimore Ave., KCMO | Moderate.
If you’re looking for a cure — to your cold, allergies, hangover or ennui — go for the tom kha soup at Baramee Thai Bistro. When you taste the coconut broth infused with lemongrass, kaffir leaves, fresh chili and galangal (a citrusy root similar to ginger), you are tasting joy. And the flavor explosion doesn’t stop there. This menu is packed with plenty of the Thai classics you’re used to (plus a few that might surprise you), and we’re happy to report that, should you be craving a spicy seafood pad Thai with a side of crispy spring rolls, Baramee will satisfy. NG
34. Caffetteria
25 On The Mall, Prairie Village. | Moderate.
Caffetteria is a cafeteria like an Escalade is a truck — sure, you could grab a chia seed pudding out of the cold case at Jo Marie Scaglia’s ultra-stylish four-thousand-square-foot space in Prairie Village. But you’d do better to get a piping-hot pie out of the Marra Forni pizza oven or one of the salads laden with fresh produce and topped with house-made dressings. Caffetteria is open for avocado toast in the morning, and its diverse array of open seating means you could happily gather friends here for wine or draft kombucha in the evening. MC
35. The Campground
1531 Genessee St., KCMO. | Moderate.
Is it a cocktail bar, or is it a restaurant? The beauty of this dark-walled, rustically decorated Stockyards District gem is that you can’t really tell, even (especially?) when you’re two fernets deep and tucking into the delicate but decadent Parisian gnocchi topped with shiitake oyster mushrooms and truffle nage. The Campground is one of the city’s more romantic spots, and the food menu is small but serious, focused on seasonal vegetables and well-chosen farm cheeses. If you’re looking for a new school version of the classic KC strip steak invented at Golden Ox across the street, it’s here, served on a sword skewer over a bed of white truffle pomme purre and an ultra-bright chimichurri. The s’mores-inspired dessert is justifiably famous, a super moist brownie cradled in a crust of crushed graham crackers and topped with a fluffy tuft of toasted marshmallow. MC
36. Sichuan Dynasty
7206 W. 119th St., Overland Park. | Inexpensive.
It’ll take some practice to properly pronounce “xiao long bao,” but if you’ve encountered these cult-favorite dumplings, you know it’s worth trying. Chinese soup dumplings (XLB is an acceptable Anglo abbreviation) are filled with hot soup broth and must be nibbled open and sipped dry. You’ll find them and a lot of other authentic Sichuan dishes at this unassuming strip mall restaurant in Overland Park. Sichuan food comes from southwestern China and tends to feature lots of meat and blast-zone spice levels, frequently from its namesake peppercorn, which numbs the tongue and mouth. If you’re here and can handle some spice, you’ll be tickled (literally) by the ma po tofu and the dry hot pot chicken. MC
37. Osteria Il Centro
5101 Main St., KCMO. | Expensive.
Osteria Il Centro opened in 1995, and thankfully not much has changed in the twenty-four years it’s been open. The space is still intimate, with butcher paper covering the dining room tables, attentive service staff and a dependable menu proffering Italian-American favorites like fried calamari, chicken marsala and a sumptuous osso bucco tortellacci. And calling all oenophiles: Osteria Il Centro also boasts an impressive wine list at approachable prices — something it doesn’t get enough credit for. NG
38. Fannie’s West African Cuisine
4105 Troost Ave., KCMO. | Moderate.
It’s quite possible you’ll enter this no-frills West African restaurant on Troost having never consumed cassava and leave having sampled the whole plant, root to leaf. Cassava is one of the stars of West African cuisine, and you’ll find it in many forms throughout the menu at the year-old Fannie’s, from a starchy ball of fufu (the word is onomatopoeia for the sound of digging and mashing the root) to the earthy green leaves stewed with chicken to make a singular entree. Both cassava dishes are deeply satisfying, as is a rich and spicy peanut butter soup. Give yourself plenty of time to explore the menu and linger over your meal. MC
39. Q39 South
11051 Antioch Road, Overland Park. | Moderate.
Truth be told, if we’re just judging brisket or ribs, there are a couple of places we prefer to Q39. But when it comes to a complete restaurant experience, we give the nod to Culinary Institute of America-trained chef Rob Magee. Magee breaks every rule of the old school barbecue business, cooking hot and fast so he can have fresh meat available at any hour of the day and plating competition-style to the chagrin of maximalists who prefer their brisket stacked up high and coddled in white bread. Sides like a deliriously decadent brisket poutine, with white-cheddar curds and gravy made from that very same brisket, often steal the show. The Overland Park location tends to run reasonable wait times, has spot-on service and makes a mean Manhattan with large cubes. It’s a great restaurant by any standard; it just happens to serve barbecue. MC
40. 801 Chophouse
11616 Ash St., Leawood. | Very expensive.
For most, dinner at 801 Chophouse in Leawood (or Power & Light) is a special occasion splurge. The restaurants, part of a small chain based in Iowa, are adorned with gleaming cherry wood bars and sleek leather booths adorned with white linens and silver service. The moment you enter, a skilled waitstaff delivers an above-and-beyond experience. But 801 is more than showy — it’s a fine dining experience built off wet-aged USDA Prime beef. Appetizers such as carpaccio, which features thinly sliced tenderloin with fried capers, arugula and dusted Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, introduce a lineup of entrees that stars a twenty-four-ounce Delmonico. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Last summer, soon after the Brexit referendum, Great Britain found herself with a new Prime Minister, Theresa May. Ostensibly voted to power by her Conservative peers with the primary task of leading the country out of the European Union. Even before the Brexit negotiations had started, however, May set out to do something else.
In one of her first acts, the Prime Minister asked for an independent review into how employment practises need to change in order to keep pace with modern business models. The Prime Minister commissioned Matthew Taylor, the Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Arts, to lead the review. Taylor previously headed the No 10 policy unit under the then Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair.
In recent years, there have been considerable changes in global employment, as many traditional jobs rapidly become obsolete due to dramatic advances in technology. Meanwhile, freelancing and flexible work is becoming more common. The number of self-employed people, approximately 4.8 million in the UK, is at a record high and around one in five British workers now have so-called “non-standard work arrangements”.
In his forthcoming review, Taylor will look at ways to ensure that the regulatory framework surrounding employment is keeping pace with changes in the labour market and the economy. He will also examine how flexibility can be maintained, while also supporting job security and workplace rights.
The review will be published in the summer of 2017, but as Taylor emphasises, the analysis and debate has already begun. Recently, he even launched a country-wide evidence gathering tour to hear the discourse related to the UK’s labour market.
Matthew Taylor, why do you think the review on employment is so high on the Prime Minister’s list of priorities?
“There’s probably three reasons. The first is that she wanted to show a change of direction. This government is not going to be as unquestionably pro-free market as the previous government and there’s a stronger strand of kind of a paternalistic conservatism. I think it’s an indication of that.
Secondly, it’s a reflection of a change in the zeitgeist. It started around the time of the credit crunch in 2008 and after that. There’s a view that the government can’t go on subsidising low pay. It actually needs to raise pay so you get the conservative government raising the minimum wage and talking about the living wage. You also get the proliferation of new forms of employment and a growing awareness of the low-quality work. Ten years ago, I’m sure the public would have said that people shirking work is the big problem. Now, you probably find more people saying the big problem is that we’ve got too many terrible, poorly paid, insecure jobs.
Then, the third force is the technology, which is changing work in a whole number of ways, the growth of freelancing in particular. There’s a sense that employment regulations and tax regulations are out of step with the things that technology makes possible.”
How can the government respond to the changing world of work? What kind of tools do they have?
“I think that government has three main tools. It has the traditional regulation and tax policy. It’s clear that one of the reasons for the growth of self-employment is that we have a tax system which incentivises people to call themselves self-employed or incentivises companies to describe people as self-employed rather than employing them. Secondly, the government has the power of mobilising the stakeholders: employers, businesses, trade unions and other organisations. Thirdly, there is the power of public opinion and the energising of consumers and citizens in pursuit of a different model.
I’m determined that in my review it will not simply be about rules and regulations. It will be about saying that we seem to have reached a new point where people feel that the decency at work is an important issue. This is a good thing, but the government on its own can’t guarantee decency at work. This is going to require commitment from managers, workers, citizens and consumers. If the companies that clearly don’t treat the people decently carry on selling their products, and their bad reputation doesn’t seem to have any impact on their profitability, then we can’t complain about the outcome.”
Should the basic income model be considered?
“I’m a great supporter of basic income, but I don’t think it’s directly relevant to the review. I think basic income is a broader policy which relates to working incentives and some broad questions about what we think is going to happen to the labour market over the next 30 years. The arguments that I hope to highlight in my report will potentially contribute to the conversation about basic income.”
How can it be guaranteed that there will be enough work for ordinary people?
“I don’t think you can ever guarantee that. On the one hand, there are going to be major changes in the labour market and we need to have policies which recognise the changes. Conversely, I don’t think we should succumb to what I sometimes call “lump of labour fallacy” which is that just because jobs are lost in one area we would end up with structural unemployment.
There are two ways to evidence that. If you walk down a high street, yes, it’s true there will be fewer retail outlets because people now buy many things online, but on the other hand, there will be nail bars, health spas, coffee shops… On a personal level, some of those changes seem regrettable, I would rather have a fish monger than a nail bar. On the other hand some of those things are positive: I rather have a coffee shop than a betting shop.
The other important point to remember is that you could probably employ another million people in care work, looking after older people and children. It would improve the quality of peoples’ life dramatically. There’s no shortage of work that needs to be done, but we have to find out a way to pay for those things.
I’m more worried about how our economy works. One of the things I’ve come to think about a lot more is the resilience of our tax base. I thought it would be all about worker versus boss and exploitation. That is an important issue, but equally important is the question of tax. We have a tax system where the tax base is being eroded and where we are intensifying the wrong outcomes. We need to think more creatively about how to make a tax system that is fit for the 21st Century. Technology can create extraordinary new possibilities. For here, you’ve got the possibility, for example, of much more effective systems of collecting tax.”
Should education be more flexible as well?
The model we have is crazy: we cram all of our education into the first quarter, or even the first third of our lives.
“Personally I think so. The model we have is crazy: we cram all of our education into the first quarter of our lives. It’s really important that we learn throughout life and we ought to make sure that people in education experience work, and people in work get the opportunity to continue education.
One of the things we do need to think about is progression. Clearly one of the big problems for employees, agency workers and some contractors is that they are not getting an opportunity to develop in work. Something I want to think about is how could we create a stronger possibility to give people opportunities to develop and progress in their work. Everyone at work should feel there’s a chance of being able to get ahead.”
Employment is becoming more flexible and more people are now self-employed. Is there a risk of working conditions changing for the worse?
“It’s such a subjective thing. Is it better or worse to work in a call centre or a coal mine? In some ways a call centre is obviously better because it’s safer, there are no emergencies or people killed by mine collapses. That sounds a lot better. That said, it’s probably not as well paid as mining was paid. Likewise, is there the same kind of collective pride? Probably not.
The question is do we, as a society, believe that the dignity of work matters?
The question is do we, as a society, believe that the dignity of work matters? Should we care about not just people having work, but people having decent work? Work that they can enjoy, work that has got wide opportunities. There is a growing feeling in society that people should have decency at work. My review can add to the momentum in that sense. We all have a responsibility to ensure people have decency at work.”
How do you see the role of trade unions in the future?
“An important area for us to look at is how we encourage a better collective voice for workers and for contractors. Even if you are classified as self-employed, you should have a voice, you should, as a group, be able to talk to your managers, to make your case. You should have rights.
The problem is that even in traditional employment in the private sector not many people exercise those rights. How could we encourage a collective voice? I think it improves productivity to let workers talk about their experiences, to express their views, to be engaged. Part of that responsibility does lie with trade unions themselves. The best trade unions have an attitude in which they want to engage the employees. It’s not about conflict at work, it’s about partnership at work. Some of our trade unions create the impression that it’s all about industrial conflict, it’s all about left-wing politics. That alienates people. There’s a challenge to trade unions to demonstrate that they are there for ordinary people. It’s in everyone’s interest that a company is well run.”
Do you think there will be new kinds of trade unions for self-employed people?
“There’s a strong opportunity for unions to provide support, services and guidance for freelance and agency workers. However, if they are going to do that they need to modernise trade unions. It needs to feel more suited to modern workers and their lives and expectations. There is an emergence of unions or associations which are for freelance workers in this country and of course in America it is very big. There’s a lot that could be done in relation to the representation of a collective voice.”
We have already seen political turbulence caused by changes in employment. One could even argue that Brexit happened partly due to that.
“Brexit has got more to do with the overall nature of the economy and it was due to geography in the sense that Britain is a very uneven country. London does much better than the rest of the country. It’s also partly to do with political disenchantment, living standards and migration. I’m sure that the quality of work and how people get treated at work is part of it, but I wouldn’t exaggerate that as a factor here.”
If I gather all this together: changing employment is not going to be all doom and gloom. What are the benefits for the ordinary people?
If you can do the work, make the contribution and be your own boss, for many people that’s a liberation.
“As long as we get the right framework and people are not being exploited, I think flexible work is a great thing. I also think it’s a great thing if it’s increasingly possible for people to work for themselves. I’m in favour of self-employment, I’m in favour of flexibility at work as long as we make sure it’s not exploitative and that it’s not having detrimental effects on the capacity to raise taxes to pay for services. If you can do the work, make the contribution and be your own boss, for many people that’s a liberation.” | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Introduces self to a girl for the first time walks away in embarrasment once she gives him her name
1,623 shares | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
On Tuesday (10/9), Maxis had its first live broadcast streamed to fans of The Sims and SimCity. They made announcements regarding The Sims 3 Seasons and SimCity. Best of all Maxis showed viewers both games in action; streaming live gameplay.
The live broadcast became a bit excessive; lasting well over an hour. Between all the fillers and supposed unscripted interruptions Maxis made some interesting announcements about SimCity and The Sims 3 Seasons.
In favor of keeping you interested this article breaks down some of the most interesting (opinion) aspects of the broadcast, broken down into five key points per game.
The Sims 3 Seasons:
5. Diving Board: I always wondered where the diving board went as it was a major part of creating pools. The diving board is back! In the Sims 3 Seasons diving is a skill that you can build and this time around your Sims can perform diving tricks. Cannonball! Skinny Sims will barely create a splash and fat Sims can make ginormous splashes.
4. Blueprint Mode: This mode is new to The Sims franchise. New users will find it especially helpful for its ease and advanced users may enjoy quickly moving on to the live mode. Blueprint mode includes prebuilt, fully furnished room that can be placed instantly on a lot or in a house. No more fussing around perfecting your Sims home when all you want to do is see your Sims lives unfold.
3. Festivals: The Sims 3 Seasons includes a new way to play, with festivals. The festivals change with the seasons and therefore differ from each other. Your Sim can get their face painted at the Summer Festival, participate in an eating contest, get in a snowball fight at the Winter Festival, and run a kissing booth. Win festival tickets for prizes/awards that are not available in normal build/buy mode. To name a few, a face painting booth and face paints.
2. Weather: The Sims 3 Seasons will have the most realistic weather simulation of any game in the franchise. Check the weather forecast, watch the weather unfold, and wait for the results. In the summer the sun may blare giving your Sims a beautiful tan or burning them to a crisp. In the fall trees will change colors, leaves will fall, and your Sims will rake them into piles. Your Sims will even have the opportunity to WooHoo hidden in the leaves. Winter brings blizzards, calling for a wardrobe change. Adorn your Sims with beanies, snowboard gear, and umbrellas.
1. Aliens: Why Aliens got slipped into the Sims 3 Seasons I'm not sure. Despite the mystery Aliens are coming back and better than ever. Use an alien's telepathic abilities to scan your neighbors brains and find out if they're good or evil. Boost your own energy and deplete others, abduct Sims from their backyards, and see your male (or female) Sim come back with a pregnant belly. Alien Sims will have their own vehicles/UFO's to cause chaos in a busy park and take a trip into outer space.
Relax in the the Ice Lounge with The Sims 3 Seasons Limited Edition.
SimCity:
1. GlassBox Engine: Simply put GlassBox is the technology of SimCity. It allows for SimCity gamers to take advantage of many of the features in the game including moving buildings, establishing industries, and manipulating the elements. Influence your Sims, manage your cities, and see what happens in real time (no charts or numbers).
4. Transportation: The modes of transportation in SimCity are endless. Bring in Sims to your city via train, boat, bus, and planes. Build a bus station, create routes, and place bus stops around your city. Build an international airport to help your city and neighboring cities increase their population and bring in revenue.
3. Individually Mod Buildings: Maxis gave an excellent example of building modules using a hospital. Add more patient rooms and ambulance bays to accommodate a disease-ridden population. Hospitals, fire stations, and universities are a few buildings that you will be able to mod. As your city become successful more building modules will be available.
2. Multiplayer Capabilities: In SimCity your city will be a part of a larger region. You can control multiple cities in the region alone or you can team up with friends. Each city will affect the entire region so players can share services (fire, education, etc), send gifts to each other, and collaborate with one another (international airports, space shuttles, etc). If you want to go with another approach you can build a darker city with pollution, waste, and disease. Play bad and you may frustrate neighbors affecting them with your cities maladies.
1. Deserted Cities: So what happens if you're playing SimCity multiplayer and a player from a neighboring city just stops? You can take it over! That deserted city can now be yours. Take it over, fix it up (or destroy it), and watch what happens.
There are some amazing things happening with SimCity and The Sims 3 Seasons. This article has only grazed the surface. To watch the Maxis Live Broadcast visit Origin and get more details from Maxis.
The Sims 3 Seasons is available this November and SimCity releases February 2013. Stay tuned to NoobFeed for further updates, previews, and reviews.
Megan Bethke, NoobFeed.
Twitter | Facebook | Email | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
A fast food franchise has announced its first Houston location, and French fry fans are going to flip.
#GetFried, which bills itself as America's first "specialty French-fry cafe," has announced the sale of its first Houston franchise.
RELATED: 15 of the healthiest fast-food menu items
There is a similar concept in Houston's Third Ward called The French Fry House which offers up loaded fries and other fried delights. Warning, the shop's Instagram is not for those who are trying to carb count.
House of Fries, off Antoine, has burgers and fries and is even up early for breakfast at 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday.
A chain called French Fry Heaven had locations in Sugar Land and in the Woodlands but neither lasted very long.
The #GetFried brand will debut a kiosk at the end of December at Deerbrook Mall, run by entrepreneur Shahid Mahmood. The Pakistan native with nearly 30 years of entrepreneurial experience.
The quick-serve eatery specializes in a variety of fry-based dishes topped with everything from traditional cheddar to truffle oil, savory gravy or pulled pork.
Now Playing:
Fry choices include hand-cut thin fries, coated straight cut fries, seasoned waffle fries, curly fries and sweet potato fries. They also serve sliders with fries as a "bun" of sorts and chicken fingers.
RELATED: 20 fast food menu items that have been discontinued
According to the company, they have sold 23 franchises and are currently focused on domestic expansion in college towns and major tourist-friendly cities like Las Vegas, Miami and New York City.
In addition to Houston, the hashtag-loving fry company will also expand to Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Santa Clara, California, and Cairo, Egypt.
Craig Hlavaty is a reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com. He's an intolerable native Texan with too much ink in his skin and too much brisket stuck in his teeth. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Contrary to our expectations, the slaying of nine members of a Mormon community living in Northern Mexico at the hands of Mexican cartel gunmen seems to have already dropped out of the news cycle, perhaps because it’s already become clear that neither the US nor Mexico is planning to hold the attackers accountable.
Senior Mexican security officials who are obviously worried about more bad press insist that the attack was a case of mistaken identity. But keep in mind, these are the same people who initially told the world that federal police just happened to stumble upon the son of El Chapo in Culiacan (denying that his arrest had been the target of an organized operation).
Security Minister Alfonso Durazo, whose name has been in the press frequently in the aftermath of the attack, said earlier this week that the gunmen may have attacked the women because they suspected they were members of a rival gang during a period of intense turf wars.
As tensions on America’s southern border rise, Joel Skousen predicts that America’s dirty partnership with the Mexican drug cartels will ensure their longevity.
In this incident, however, there could be serious consequences to believing the wrong thing. There are many other American-Mexican Mormons living in the area, part of a community that has been growing in the area since the 1940s. And apparently almost none of them believe the government’s theory that the attack was an accident.
“It was no accident. It was deliberate,” said Loretta Miller, 53, the mother-in-law of the victim Rhonita Miller and grandmother of her four dead children. “We just don’t know why our family was targeted.” – Wall Street Journal
The victims, who were buried on Thursday, included three women and six children, some newborn babies. They were traveling in a caravan of three vans when suspected cartel gunmen rained down a hail of gunfire.
Eight other children survived the attacks, many with serious gunshot wounds.
100s of community members attended the service for one of the murdered mothers and her two young sons on Thursday, forming a long line at the funeral parlor in the mountains of Mexico’s Sonora state. The eulogies for Dawna Ray Langford caused many the audience to tear up.
The Wall Street Journal reports –
Many hugged each other tightly. Sons, a daughter, her parents and other relatives, many in tears, eulogized Ms. Langford, who had 13 children and two grandchildren. “She never once made a selfish decision,” said Crystal Langford, her daughter, in tears. “It was always for her kids and her family.”
“She was a fighter,” said Karen Woolley, her mother, as she remembered the day she gave birth to Ms. Langford.
Services for another six victims – four children and two mothers – were being held here, but their remains will be taken back for burial at Colonia LeBarón, a community formed decades ago by a dissident faction of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Services for the other six victims will be held during the coming days. Some of the speakers, particularly relatives of the deceased, angrily called on all Mexicans to resist the cartels.
Members of the community lived peacefully alongside the cartel for years, passing through cartel checkpoints has become a fact of life for many. But some of the children who survived the massacre described how Christina Marie Langford, one of the three mothers killed, jumped out of the car with her hands up, but was shot down anyway.
Whatever happened that day, many of the residents of La Mora and Colonia LaBaron, the villages where the community lives, are contemplating moving back to the US.
President Trump declares war on the Mexican drug cartels.
By the way, our Everything Must Go Emergency Sale is now live! Get 50% off DNA Force Plus at the Infowars Store now!
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Around three years ago I set up GenderGP, an advice service for gender-questioning patients. It seemed that there were many people thirsty for knowledge, and interest quickly snowballed, with requests for care quick to follow. Patients came to me with desperate tales of their situation and their struggles to get any information, let alone medical treatment.
They spoke about their situation in terms of “life and death”: many were desperately in need of help. So I researched information from any source I could get my hands on. I then combined the best practice approach of the international centres of excellence with everything I had learned in my 25 years as a GP working with male and female hormones in order to put together a package of care.
My approach was seemingly not the norm in the UK. In fact, in 2016, a Women and Equalities Committee report on Transgender Equality concluded that “trans people encounter significant problems in using general NHS services, due to the attitude of some clinicians and other staff who lack knowledge and understanding – and in some cases are prejudiced. The NHS is failing to ensure zero tolerance of transphobic behaviour.”
My work was initially with transgender adults but, in their deep desire to help their gender-questioning children, families were quick to follow. By operating within this somewhat controversial area of medicine, I quickly gained a reputation. Media attention soon followed, along with an investigation by the GMC instigated by colleagues working within the NHS.
I have been very open about my individualised approach to the treatment of transgender patients, irrespective of age, and my firm belief that they should be able to access the support and medication they need in a timely and supportive manner, and where possible via their GP. In line with self-identification of gender, I firmly advocate informed consent and individualised care.
This has attracted a certain amount of media interest. So I was not surprised to receive an invitation to appear on Genderquake, part of Channel 4’s series of programmes which are described as an opportunity “to encourage and to enlighten public discussion about sexuality and gender identity”.
My initial response was entirely positive. There is an overwhelming need for informed debate round the topic of society’s approach to transgender people and how we can better support this marginalised group. As a medical professional who has had firsthand experience of meeting and treating more members of the transgender community than most in my position, I was keen to add my voice to the mix.
Transgender Day of Visibility: Trans people share their stories
This changed rather abruptly after I dug a little deeper. I spoke to a GP registrar and LGBT+ advocate (Dr Adrian Harrop) who had also been contacted by Channel 4, as well as a number of friends, fellow trans advocates and members of the trans community. The overwhelming opinion was that this had the potential to be yet another orchestrated engineered battle between trans people and those who essentially deny their very existence.
The time for debate around the existence and validity of trans people is over. Society and our collective understanding has moved on. Trans people exist. Those continuing to deny this fundamental truth are, for the most part, members of an extremist and fanatical fringe who seem to seek out a platform to express their hatred and exclusionary views of trans people.
The conversation must now move on to address how we can better serve the needs and interests of trans people as a society. For the medical profession, the big question must be how we can best support and help these people – who can be among the most marginalised and disenfranchised individuals living in this country – in their social and medical transitions.
We need a debate based on fact, involving expert comment from well-informed medical professionals, parents, voluntary groups, transgender individuals; those whose focus is on a better outcome for members of the transgender community – rather than a debate in which people have to fight to justify their existence.
The narrative needs to change and this can only happen through informed debate which promotes education and understanding. We need to shut down the hysteria and sensationalism in which there are accusations of schoolyard sex changes, and where parents supporting their gender-questioning children are accused of child abuse.
We need to change the fact that doctors can feel this is an area of medicine so specialised that they cannot even assist their patient under the direct supervision of a gender specialist. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Pour lutter contre les violences sexuelles sur les campus, une fédération étudiante veut bannir les relations sexuelles entre professeurs et étudiants qui ont un lien d’autorité.
C’est l’une des recommandations contenues dans le mémoire de l’Union étudiante du Québec (UEQ), qui représente 72 000 étudiants universitaires, transmis à la ministre de l’Enseignement supérieur, Hélène David, dans le cadre des consultations sur les violences sexuelles.
L’UEQ recommande que les relations sexuelles entre professeurs et étudiants «soient explicitement proscrites et punies en cas de lien d’autorité direct», en excluant toutefois les relations qui se sont développées avant l’existence de ce lien d’autorité.
Les étudiants ont beau être «majeurs et vaccinés», le lien d’autorité peut «vicier le consentement», affirme son président, Nicolas Lavallée.
«Il y a un problème d’agressions provenant de toutes sortes de situations et on veut adresser le problème», ajoute-t-il, affirmant vouloir «aller un peu plus loin» en mettant de l’avant cette mesure.
Ce n’est pas la première fois que ce type de règlement est évoqué dans le réseau universitaire québécois. En février 2015, après que l’Université Harvard ait interdit les relations sexuelles et amoureuses entre professeurs et étudiants du premier cycle, environ 80 professeurs de cégeps et d’universités ont réclamé une telle mesure dans une lettre ouverte publiée dans Le Devoir.
Scepticisme chez les profs
Cette proposition est toutefois reçue avec scepticisme à la Fédération québécoise des professeurs d’université. «Comment ça fonctionne? Qui punit ou fait l’enquête? Théoriquement, l’idée est intéressante, mais en pratique, elle est difficile à implanter», affirme son président, Jean-Marie Lafortune. «L’idée de pénaliser des comportements n’est jamais aussi intéressante que celle d’éduquer et de sensibiliser», ajoute-t-il.
Martine Delvaux, professeure à l’UQAM et co-organisatrice en 2014 d’un colloque consacré aux rapports amoureux entre professeurs et étudiantes, se réjouie plutôt que ce débat refasse surface. «Je ne sais pas si c’est le meilleur moyen, mais il faut y réfléchir et ouvrir cette question-là», affirme-t-elle.
Plusieurs professionnels – médecins, avocats ou psychologues – sont encadrés par un code déontologique ou éthique qui leur interdit d’avoir de telles relations avec leurs clients ou patients, rappelle-t-elle.
Or aucune règle de ce type n’existe pour les professeurs d’universités ou de cégep. «Il faut penser à un code de déontologie», affirme Mme Delvaux, rappelant qu’il s’agit d’un problème bien réel pour plusieurs étudiantes.
Sexe interdit entre profs et étudiants : l’exemple de Harvard
Quand ? Février 2015
Quoi ? La prestigieuse université américaine Harvard décide d’interdire les relations sexuelles et amoureuses entre tous les professeurs et les étudiants au baccalauréat de la Faculté des arts et sciences, de même qu’aux cycles supérieurs lorsque les professeurs enseignent, dirigent des travaux ou évaluent des étudiants.
Pourquoi ? Cette décision est survenue après que les autorités américaines aient dévoilé une liste de 55 établissements d’enseignement supérieur faisant l’objet d’une enquête concernant la manière de gérer des plaintes pour harcèlement ou violence sexuelle. L’Université Havard faisait partie de cette liste.
Qui d’autres? L’université de Yale et celle du Connecticut ont aussi un règlement semblable depuis quelques années. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
2019 Official r/OrlandoMagic Demographics Survey
The survey is now closed. Thanks for participating! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
To a nation of jailers:
A notable demand that is made upon the citizens of the United States of America is that of jury duty. Although many despise, hate and avoid it, there is a general sense that the task is necessary. We believe a society is only just if everyone shares in the apportionment of guilt.
To this demand of jury duty, I would like to add another, and in the same spirit. I propose that all citizens of the United States of America should serve a brief sentence of incarceration in our maximum-security penitentiaries. This service, which would occur for each person once in a decade, would help ensure that the quality of life within our prisons is sufficient for the keeping of human beings.
Once all you citizens of the United States are passing in and out of prison on a regular basis, will the conditions there not seem singularly urgent?
The new population of inmates would not be separated from the general population. They would be like any others, and treated like any others. The length of incarceration would be randomly determined, anywhere from three to 90 days. Crucially, you would not be told in advance how long you would have to be there.
And of course, while you are in prison serving your incarceration duty, your behavior will have to be perfect. If you were to fight with another inmate or rebuke a guard, your time might be extended, and that would go for everyone: peons, aristocrats, elected officials. All elected and appointed officials, judges, federal, state servants, members of the military, would participate in incarceration duty. There would be no putting it off.
Just think, if everyone in the United States were to become, within a 10-year period, familiar with what it is like to be incarcerated, is there any question that the quality of our prisons would improve? It also follows that the skill and understanding of our juries might grow apace, as they would now know to what they were condemning those they condemn.
I understand that people have lives to live, and pressing things that must be done. You consider my proposal and you think to yourself that however nice this sounds, however right it is, you just don’t have the time. But it is my humble belief that our jails and prisons are already full of people who have lives to live, people who have things that must be done. We must homogenize and justify our culture, and everyone must be availed of the opportunities that now only a subsection of our society enjoys. By that I mean: a visit to prison, and a set of coveralls.
I wonder, once all you citizens of the United States are passing in and out of prison on a regular basis, will the conditions there not seem singularly urgent? Just picture congressmen, priests, stock traders, truck drivers, people of every faith, color, description, all for once sharing in something.
Shall we not bring this unspeakably filthy laundry out into the open air?
Jesse Ball is a fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. In 2017, he was named one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists.
Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The Vanderhall Edison2 electric auto-cycle promises to deliver loads of zero-emission driving fun, all wrapped up in a striking package.
The electric vehicle revolution can't happen fast enough, as far as I'm concerned. The sooner we can get cleaner transport options on the road, the better, and it's going to take all types of electric vehicles, from semis to trains to pickup trucks to small city cars and beyond.
Although many of us would likely choose a much more practical, and cheaper, electric vehicle as a daily runabout, such as an e-bike or light electric vehicle, most of the offerings on the market right now are for standard-sized cars that are heavy, costly (there aren't that many used EVs available yet), and frankly, kind of boring. However, there are some alternatives popping up from small auto shops and electric vehicle startups, such as the latest model from Vanderhall Motor Works. The company currently hand-builds several different models of gas-powered 3-wheeled vehicles in its Utah shop, but the Edison2 promises to deliver the same exciting open-air driving experience as the others, except in a higher-torque electric format.
© Vanderhall
The Edison2 is built on an aluminum mono frame and wrapped in an ABS composite body, and features dual electric AC induction motors paired with a 30 kWh lithium-ion battery pack to deliver high-torque performance to the wheels. The 0-60 time is said to be 4 seconds, with a top speed of 100+ mph, and the driving range per charge is estimated to be about 200 miles. This two-seater, which has an open canopy, weighs in at 1400 pounds and can carry up to 500 pounds of total weight, including the passengers.
Looks like fun, eh? If money was no object, I'd probably choose the Morgan EV3 over the Edison2, simply for the nostalgia factor (it's a Morgan!), but there's a lot to like about the Vanderhall 3-wheeler, including its lighter weight, longer driving range, and quicker acceleration, not to mention the fact that it's most likely half the price or less as the Morgan EV3 will be when it's available.
The Edison2 is probably anything but practical for those with kids, pets, long commutes, or living in rainy or cold climates. But then again, so is a motorcycle for the most part, and this 3-wheeled auto-cycle actually seats two, and considering that there are plenty of people who wouldn't think twice about spending $35k on a sportscar, I'd rather see more of these electric roadsters on the road than gas-powered muscle cars and diesel trucks any day of the week. If you've got $35,000 to drop on a new road toy, and you want to go electric, a $250 deposit will put you on the reservation list for an Edison2 at Vanderhall Motor Works. Production of the vehicle is expected to begin mid-2018. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Former Corpus Christi doctor Jaime Sandoval back in Nueces County Jail
A former Corpus Christi doctor is back in Nueces County Jail after a short trip to Houston.
But the trip wasn't for fun.
Jaime Sandoval, 64, was awaiting extradition from Harris County Jail for for three warrants for suspicion of sexual assault.
Related: Fugitive doctor Jaime Sandoval accused of assaulting patients arrested in El Salvador
Those warrants stemmed from allegations that he sexually assaulted patients when he was licensed to practice medicine in his office on Sante Fe Street.
His medical license was suspended last year by the Texas Medical Board for "engaging in a pattern of inappropriate conduct with five female patients in which he violated sexual boundaries."
In May, the Nueces County Sheriff's Office and the Corpus Christi Police Department asked for the public's help in finding Sandoval, who has ties to Peru.
The sheriff's office then asked for the assistance of the U.S. Marshals-led Gulf Coast Violent Offender and Fugitive Task Force, according to a news release.
Related: Suspended Corpus Christi doctor Jaime Sandoval wanted on warrants in sexual assault cases
Authorities received a tip that led them to San Salvador, El Salvador. U.S Marshals coordinated with authorities in El Salvador, and Sandoval was arrested May 16.
He was taken to Houston, where he was processed into the Harris County Jail. On Tuesday, Sandoval was processed into the Nueces County Jail.
Sandoval is also accused of intoxication assault. In that incident, which took place last September, Sandoval allegedly collided with a Nueces County prosecutor's car.
Sandoval testified he has no memory of the incident and had taken prescribed medication that may cause memory loss.
Related: Corpus Christi doctor suspended for 'violating sexual boundaries'
He is being held for three warrants for suspicion of sexual assault and a warrant for suspicion of intoxicated assault causing serious bodily injury. He is not eligible for bail, according to jail officials. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Berlin, 09.o4.2018. „Wir dürfen uns durch das mediengerechte Dauerlächeln der Verteidigungsministerin Ursula von der Leyen nicht täuschen lassen. Hier handelt es sich um ein leicht durchschaubares Ablenkungsmanöver einer gescheiterten Politikerin, die ihren Laden nicht im Griff hat.“ Das erklärte der AfD-Bundestagsabgeordnete Jens Kestner, Mitglied im Verteidigungsausschuss des Deutschen Bundestages, heute in Berlin. Fakt sei vielmehr, so Kestner weiter: „Unsere Bundeswehr befindet sich im schlechtesten Gesamt- zustand, den wir je seit ihrer Gründung hatten.“
Als „positiv, aber gleichzeitig auch alarmierend“, wertete der niedersächsische AfD-Politiker, dass nach dem letzten Bericht des Wehrbeauftragten des Deutschen Bundestages, der die katastrophalen Mängelverhältnisse in der deutschen Armee unmissverständlich hervorhob, sich nun auch kritische Stimmen aus der aktiven Truppe selbst zu Wort melden. Dabei verwies Kestner auf die jüngsten Stellungnahmen von Generalleutnant Frank Leidenberger und Kapitän zur See Jörg-Michael Horn.
Aus einem von Leidenberger am vergangenen Donnerstag auf der Internetseite der Landstreitkräfte veröffentlichen Thesenpapier geht hervor, dass es im Deutschen Heer inzwischen grundsätzliche Zweifel am Beschaffungssystem der Bundeswehr gibt. In dem Papier heißt es u.a., dass die etablierten Verfahren bei Planung, Beschaffung und Haushaltsvollzug zu langsam seien. Bei den Beschaffungsprojekten würde nahezu jedes der genannten Kriterien verfehlt. Fazit: Diese gravierenden Mängel würden Deutschlands Sicherheit gefährden.
Ähnlich kritisch äußerte sich Kapitän zur See Jörg-Michael Horn beim öffentlichen Zeremoniell anlässlich des Führungswechsels im 2. Fregattengeschwader. Horn übte als scheidender Kommandeur schonungslose Kritik am Zustand der Bundeswehr und an seiner Dienstherrin. Bezüglich der Einsatzfähigkeit seines Geschwaders stellte er fest, dass es in materieller Hinsicht „für die wichtige Aufgabe im Rahmen der Landes- und Bündnisverteidigung später als fünf nach zwölf“ sei und das gelte „auch personell“. Und in Richtung Berlin sagte Horn: „Wir sind aufgerufen, unseren berechtigten militärischen Forderungen Nachdruck zu verleihen und den politisch-parlamentarischen Bereich zu überzeugen, dass wir in den Auslandeinsätzen eben nicht weitermachen können wie bisher!“ | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
1. Dave Grohl
News broke this week that David Bowie refused the offer to work with Dave Grohl, making him one of the few musicians ever not to have collaborated with the Foo Fighters’ leader. To be fair, nothing has emerged featuring Grohl performing with Father Abraham and the Smurfs, either, though we’ve heard rumours there’s a bootleg on the internet of the Foos performing The Smurf Song with Father Abraham at the Amsterdam Paradiso, but without any actual smurfs on stage. Grohl approached Bowie two years ago, asking him to sing on a piece of music for a film. Bowie’s response: “David, I watched the movie and I got to be honest, it’s not my thing … I’m not made for these times. So thanks, but I think I’m gonna sit this one out.” Grohl replied, and received a response from Bowie: “Alright, well that’s settled, then. Now fuck off.” Perhaps Bowie was worried that him plus a hard rock guitarist might have resulted in Tin Machine 3.
(Since publication of this article, many of you have alerted me to the fact that Grohl and Bowie did in fact work together on Heathen and at Bowie’s 50th birthday concert. I am going to listen to The Smurf Song on repeat all weekend as penance. Apologies.)
2. Coldplay
You want your hero to appear on one of your songs. The natural thing to do is to send them a recording and then wait. Your preferred response would be an email a couple of hours later with a vocal already recorded and attached. Failing that, you’d settle for a note saying: “Schedule’s busy, but let’s try to find some studio time.” You could probably understand silence – after all, heroes are busy people. What you might want least of all would be for said hero to respond: “It’s not a very good song, is it?” Which of those do you think happened when Coldplay approached Bowie?
3. Scottish independence
The Brit awards are famed as a platform for hard-hitting political campaigns. Remember that time in 2004 when Liberty X used winning best British single to call for a thorough investigation of HMRC’s complicity in allowing major corporations to minimise their tax burden? But Bowie’s words at the 2014 ceremony still came as a shock. First, there was the fact that he wasn’t speaking them, delegating that task to Kate Moss – you don’t think Bowie would have contemplated turning up to anything so vulgar as the Brits, do you? Then there was the content of them. Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, consider yourself rejected. “Scotland, stay with us,” intoned Moss. And, lo, Scotland did indeed vote to stay part of the UK.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bowie performing Rebel Rebel on Dutch TV in 1974. Photograph: Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns
4. A knighthood
Bowie had already turned down a CBE in 2000 – “I seriously don’t know what it’s for,” he said – but Buckingham Palace doesn’t give up easily, what with the Queen being a huge fan of Bowie’s early-70s albums (she went off him a bit with Station to Station, but loves Low and “Heroes”). And so, in 2003, Bowie was offered a knighthood for having made “a major contribution to British life”. Again, he said no: “I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that. It’s not what I spent my life working for.” Imagine how Chris Martin would have felt if that was how Bowie had rejected the Coldplay song.
5. A Danny Boyle musical
Like all good and sensible musicians, Bowie was prone to saying no to requests to use his music. You have to, if you don’t want to see Life on Mars being used on confectionary ads, or The Jean Genie advertising Gap, or Always Crashing in the Same Car soundtracking Top Gear. But what if someone who is respected in their own field comes to you, saying they want to make a movie about you? Maybe a hugely well-regarded film-maker like Danny Boyle, who has a script by the equally well-regarded Frank Cottrell Boyce. You still say no. Boyle said Bowie’s rejection left him “in grief”.
6. Doctor Who
Peter Capaldi said last autumn that he wanted David Bowie to be a guest star in Doctor Who. He had no chance. Doctor Who composer Murray Gold told Den of Geek in 2013 of his encounter with Bowie at an ice cream stall: “I said, ‘I write music for Doctor Who,’ and he said, ‘I’m not doing it.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ and he said, ‘They want me to do it.’ I don’t know what it means, to this day, but that’s what he said. I don’t know in what capacity, as an actor or as a musician.”
7. Flight of the Conchords
The New Zealand comedy-music duo were longtime Bowie fans, having written the song Bowie in Space years ago, and when they began their own series for US TV, they wrote an episode in which they were to be visited in a dream by Bowie. And who better to play Bowie than Bowie? Through intermediaries, they approached him. As the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement wrote in the Spinoff: “The someone we knew talked to the someone they knew’s friend of someone who represented him and possibly approached him about it. And he (or quite possibly merely a representative) said that he’d just done Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s Extras and didn’t want to do another thing acting as a version of him. He’d rather just continue being the actual him. Fair enough, so would we. We wouldn’t be meeting our hero. Through the disappointment I was extremely relieved. As exciting as it is to meet your hero, the relief of not having to meet them is another, quite different and pleasant feeling.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bowie on the Reality tour in New York, 2003. Photograph: Kathy Willens/AP
8. Red Hot Chili Peppers
The world’s premiere funk-metal band with socks on their penises revealed earlier this year that they had repeatedly asked David Bowie to produce them. “In the beginning we would call him, and he would say no, respectfully,” singer Anthony Kiedis said. “Then, later, we would write long emails explaining everything, and why it was time for us to really get our ships on and he always respectfully declined.” He said no “two or three times” Kiedis said, though Brian Eno has turned down the group eight times. Fellas, take a hint.
9. A Bond film
Bowie was a man with a firm appreciation of his own talents, and while he doubtless would have been able to bring suitable villainy to the role of Max Zorin in A View to a Kill – a role eventually taken by Christopher Walken – it was the downsides that turned him off. Not the prospect of acting opposite Roger Moore, who was 57 and distinctly unactionlike by the time the film was released, but the idea of whether it was the best use of his time. “I didn’t want to spend five months watching my stunt double fall off cliffs,” he said.
10. Puss in Boots
Bowie, famously, learned a great deal from Lindsay Kemp – the dancer, mime artist and choreographer. He studied with Kemp in the 1960s “I taught him to express and communicate through his body,” says Kemp. “I taught him to dance. I taught him the importance of the look – makeup, costume, general stagecraft, performance technique. I gave him books to read and pictures to look at. We talked about kabuki, avant gardists, the world of the music hall, which we were both attracted to.” They worked together on many projects, but some didn’t come together. As Kemp told the Guardian earlier this year: “One Christmas, I asked him to play Puss in Boots in Musselburgh. His agent came back and said that £10 a week wasn’t really enough – could I get it up to £15? Management said no, we couldn’t. What Musselburgh missed!” | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Ellen Pao, current interim CEO of Reddit and former partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, lost her gender discrimination lawsuit against her previous employer late last week. The jury found in Kleiner’s favor in all four claims she brought against the firm.
That said, Pao’s case was never meant to just litigate the specific things she endured as a woman in the male-dominated world of tech. In exposing them this way, Pao may have become that world’s Anita Hill. Her testimony about sexism in the workplace may not have brought down her target in court, but it may spark cultural change.
The discrimination she described was less the butt slaps and sexual overtures of Hill’s era, which she spoke of at the confirmation hearing for now-Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. This wasn’t about men outright telling women to keep out of the annals of power in a blatantly sexist manner. It was about the more subtle, even unconscious barriers working women face today.
Pao spoke openly about how she sought to shine a spotlight on the bias that pervaded her workplace and, in turn, the supposed meritocracy of the industry. She told the jury that the firm “was not going to change unless I pushed it” and she didn’t want to “let women be at risk and treated unfairly.” When asked by a juror why she didn’t opt to go through mediation instead of the trial, she responded, “I wanted an open courtroom where I could tell my story.”
What Pao described at Kleiner Perkins was a culture of different standards for men and women who worked at the firm. She says that women were asked to do the “office housework” of taking meeting notes. Much was made of her inability to “own the room” during meetings, getting criticized for not speaking up enough, but then was also being penalized for trying too hard to get ahead by demanding credit and jockeying for the right position. She says she was taking out of the running for a board position because she was on maternity leave and was told she had to “be one of the boys” to get ahead—and then the boys excluded the girls from things like client ski trips. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Electoral Commission said on Wednesday its representatives had visited Nigel Farage’s The Brexit Party to look at the systems the party has in place after criticism about some of the anti-EU party’s funding.
“Yesterday, Commission representatives attended The Brexit Party to take a closer look at the systems the party has in place to receive funds,” it said in a statement.
“Our review of the systems in operation by The Brexit Party is ongoing. This will inform our regulatory work following the European Parliamentary elections and any recommendations we make to the party,” it said.
Farage has accused the Electoral Commission of “interfering in the electoral process” and of acting “in bad faith”. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Leaders of at least 65 countries attending the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York City this week committed to increasing their efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Unfortunately, the promises are far too modest to achieve what they need to, and the world’s largest emitters — including the United States — offered little to nothing. Even as the advocacy of children such as Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and those involved in last week’s global protests inspire people about the future, the anemic actions by the adults in the room Monday offered a cold bucket of reality. The world’s leaders are not doing enough to save us from ourselves.
How serious is this? Deadly serious. The world already endures life-threatening effects of global warming through larger and more powerful storms, droughts and flooding. Species are under threat — including humans, who are being displaced by severe weather and killing droughts. Glaciers and the polar ice caps are melting faster than anticipated, and thawing tundra in the Arctic may be fueling a feedback loop that could release unfathomable amounts of heat-trapping methane currently locked under ice into the atmosphere.
The Trump administration can’t be bothered, of course, because the president sees global climate devastation as an acceptable byproduct of his embrace of the oil and gas industry, and his ill-conceived and ill-advised drive to make the U.S. the world’s dominant supplier of fossil fuels. Doing so is like turning to arsenic as an antidote to hemlock.
A smart and resourceful businessman-turned-president would see that investing in the past misses the growth of the future. The U.S. could position itself to be the world’s leader in the fast-growing renewable energy sector. Instead, the president is building a buggy whip factory and taunting a 16-year-old — Greta — on Twitter. Noting her impassioned plea for global action (“people are suffering, people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing”), Trump replied with the mocking tweet, “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” Once again, our president is not a global political leader, but a schoolyard bully.
Unfortunately, the world doesn’t have time for climate denial by Trump and dithering by other world leaders. As we pointed out in our recent three-part series on climate change, the world is drifting steadily toward a climate catastrophe. It’s no longer an abstract threat; it is here, and it’s growing.
Last week, the Climate Action Tracker released an assessment of the current emission-reduction promises, predicting that these efforts could hold the rise in global temperatures to 3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. That’s far above the 2 degrees Celsius limit that climate experts say we need to stay under to avoid the worst effects of global warming, and further away still than the preferred 1.5 degrees Celsius target (we’re at about 1 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels). If current practices go unchecked, the consortium of scientists warned, we’ll pass 1.5 degrees around 2035 and hit 2 degrees around 2053, with 3.2 degrees likely by 2100.
On Monday, at least 16 small nations pledged to reduce carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050, and others upped their donation to the green Climate Fund to help smaller countries with the transition, but those efforts won’t budge the needle. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid lip service to the problem — “We must accept that if we have to overcome a serious challenge like climate change, then what we are doing at the moment is just not enough” — but made no commitment to end coal use in his country even as he pledged continued increases in renewable energy production capacity.
How do we counter that? How do we humans avoid fouling our nest so badly we can no longer live in it? Through tough, transformative and concerted action. It will be expensive, yes, but there is no other option. Wildfires are expensive. Coastal flooding from rising seas is expensive. We’re already getting the bills. Experts say that 2017 was the nation’s most expensive year for damage from natural disasters with $306 billion in losses, and the tally from 2018 has yet to be calculated. We must do better.
Industries, responding to the clear market signals, are making changes to reduce carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions, and many consumers try to take steps to lessen their personal climate footprints. But that’s not enough when nearly half of global greenhouse gas emissions comes from burning fossil fuels to create heat, generate electricity and power factories, with 23% more coming from transportation. This will require significant and aggressive high-level government policies and actions. Instead, as we saw at the United Nations on Monday, we get baby steps.
As one of the protest memes puts it, “You know it’s time for change when children act like leaders and leaders act like children.” We all have to demand more of our governments, from Washington to Beijing to Brussels to New Delhi, and hold recalcitrant leaders accountable. Our very existence could hang in the balance. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
As far as I can tell, there was no publicity surrounding this. Sanchez and Barwin just showed up at Temple, according to a couple folks on Twitter, and tried to cheer people up. Not surprisingly, Sanchez came bearing comfort food:
More pics after the jump. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
With great pleasure I present you the new album by New Zealand band Ounce. The five piece with their fuzzy sound delivers a great record with their very own sound.
‘OZ’ is filled with motorik, garage, fuzz and psychedelic rock making it one hell of a groovy album.
THe album was made possible with 1:12 records. Buy yourself a copy at their bandcamp or Flying Out Record store.
Favorite track: Dead Mirror
Check them and more ate Fuzzy Sun’s psych list.
https://www.facebook.com/ouncebandnz/ | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is willing to hold military exercises with China but not longtime ally the United States, Chinese media quoted him Monday as saying on the eve of a state visit.
Duterte heads to Beijing on Tuesday for a four-day trip that appears set to cement his dramatic foreign policy tilt away from United States, which he has railed against for criticising his deadly war on crime.
"It's only China (that) can help us," China's state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Duterte as saying in an interview ahead of his visit.
Duterte also told Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television he was willing to hold joint military exercises with China and Russia.
"Yes, I will. I have given enough time for the Americans to play with the Filipino soldiers," Duterte said when asked if he was open to war games with those two nations, as he reiterated he would no longer hold any more with the United States.
"This will be the last. It has been programmed. I do not want my soldiers to be humiliated," Duterte said, in reference to one set of war games in the Philippines that ended last week.
Duterte has sought to reshape his nation's foreign relations since taking office on June 30 by pivoting towards China and Russia while moving away from the United States, the Philippines' former colonial ruler and mutual defence ally.
Duterte has repeatedly expressed anger over American criticism of his war on crime, which has claimed more than 3,700 lives and raised fears of mass extrajudicial killings.
He has branded US President Barack Obama a "son of a whore" and told him to "go to hell".
But, signalling his shift to China is also for pragmatic reasons, Duterte has repeatedly ridiculed the United States for what he sees as its weakening economic and military influence around the world.
In the Xinhua interview Duterte again thanked China for not criticising the crime crackdown as he held out the Philippines' hand for soft loans and other forms of financial help.
Story continues
- 'China never criticises' -
"China never criticises. They help us quietly," Duterte said, according to Xinhua.
Duterte is bringing an entourage of hundreds of businessmen with him to Beijing, and Philippine media have said deals worth billions of dollars are expected to be announced during the trip.
Asked if he would seek to buy military equipment from China during his visit, Duterte told Phoenix Television: "Yes, but not really in (large) numbers."
Duterte said he would also need small, fast attack boats from China to fight "terrorism".
"If China does not help us in this endeavour, we will have a hard time fighting terrorism," he said without elaborating, according to Phoenix Television.
Bilateral relations worsened under Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino, who tried to challenge China's expansionism in the South China Sea.
China claims nearly all of the strategically vital sea, even waters approaching the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations, and has in recent years built artificial islands in the disputed areas that are capable of hosting military bases.
To counter China, Aquino allowed a much greater American military presence in the Philippines and started joint patrols in the sea with US forces.
He also filed a legal case at a UN-backed tribunal, which ruled in July that China's claims to most of the sea had no legal basis. Beijing refused to accept the ruling.
Duterte has said he does not want to use the verdict to pressure China. In recent weeks he has also cancelled the joint sea patrols with the United States and said he may cancel a pact that allows a greater US military presence in the Philippines. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Happy holidays, everyone! I hope that the end of 2014 finds you all well. Jenn and I have been tremendously busy doing work for our new company, Twogether Studios. For the last year we’ve been developing a new RPG called Phoenix: Dawn Command. We’re going to be launching a Kickstarter for Phoenix early in 2015, and I’ll be posting much more about it over the next few months. If you want to make certain you’re in the loop, go to the Twogether Studios site and get on the Mailing List! I’m very excited about Phoenix, and I look forward to discussing it in more detail. You can get a little taste of it by checking out my recent interview on the Tome Show’s Gamer to Gamer podcast.
But before I dive into Phoenix, I wanted to round out the year with one more Eberron Q&A. Currently, I don’t have any news on Eberron support in 5E D&D, but I am confident that there will be news in 2015, and I will definitely post it here. But today I’m going to deal with a subject that people have been asking about for a long time… the undersea civilizations of Eberron. As always, bear in mind that everything I post here is entirely unofficial and may contradict canon information: this is what I do in my home game, nothing more. With that said…
Are there any aquatic races other than the sahuagin that see non-hostile contact with land-dwellers? I may be doing a pulp game that’s heavier on the Sea Stuff™ than expected, and I imagine the political scene is just as busy below the waves as it is above. Especially curious about kuo-toa and aquatic elves, but anything you have helps.
I don’t believe that any of the aquatic races besides the sahuagin have been mentioned in canon Eberron sources. But I did come up with other ideas when I was developing the world, and I suppose I can mention those briefly. In my original draft I asserted that the two primary undersea races were the sahuagin and the merfolk, with a smaller but critical role for aquatic elves.
In this model, the sahuagin are a largely monolithic culture: a widespread ancient empire older than even Aereni civilization. In this you could see the Deep Ones of H.P. Lovecraft as a model; they worship a deity that others fear (the Devourer), and they have an ancient and sophisticated civilization that is almost entirely unknown to the people of the surface world. While I refer to this as an “empire”, my thought is that its borders have been stable for thousands of year; it’s not an especially aggressive power. With that said, if I was to bring in kuo-toa or locathah, one of the first places I’d be likely to put them is as subject states within the Sahuagin empire.
Now, how’s this work if you want savage or uncivilized sahuagin raiders? Well, while the sahuagin empire might be widespread, there’s always room for barbarians who’ve never embraced it. Furthermore, there’s a lot of room for Lords of Dust / Cult of the Dragon Below action among the sahuagin. Note that per City of Stormreach the sahuagin colonized Stormreach long before humans did, but pulled back after a terrible ancient force corrupted the settlement. You can easily introduce savage bands of sahuagin barbarians (literally) who revere the Overlords of the First Age and seek to restore their dominion.
Let’s move on to the Aquatic Elves. My thought here was that around ten thousand years ago, there was a movement among a number of Aereni lines to colonize the ocean around Aerenal. The original aquatic elves were created through mystical rituals, though they are a self-sustaining race. Thus, there is a significant undersea region around Aerenal that is under Aereni dominion. In my original model the populace was largely comprised of sahuagin, but you could add any other aquatic races you wanted; the main point is that these races adhere to Aereni culture, revering the Undying Court. My assertion was that there remained a long-standing bitter enmity between the Sahuagin Empire and the Aereni Territories. The power of the Undying Court makes it nearly impossible for the sahuagin to reclaim the region… but as that power is geographically limited, the elves can’t extend their dominion further. Thus you have the malenti, sahuagin mystically altered to appear to be aquatic elves; these are covert operatives used in acts of espionage and covert aggression within the Aereni Territories.
The rest of the ocean is dominated by the Merfolk. Where the sahuagin have a vast, monolithic and ancient culture, I’ve always considered the merfolk to be as diverse as humanity and less bound to a single ancient tradition. Thus my original model had multiple merfolk territories and a range of cultures.
In my model, the Sahuagin Empire was concentrated in the Thunder Sea, the region between Khorvaire and Xen’drik; thus you would deal with the sahuagin if you were going from Khorvaire to Xen’drik, and with the merfolk if you were going from Khorvaire to Sarlona. The merfolk are also the dominant race in Lhazaar waters. With that said, the merfolk of the western coast are quite different from those of the eastern coast.
Say you wanted to present sahuagin as a viable character option. Would you have any brief roleplaying tips, suggested classes, and what gods they might worship? As mentioned about, when I look to a literary analogy for the Imperial sahuagin, I think of the Deep Ones of H.P. Lovecraft. Their god is the Devourer, the embodiment of the destructive power of nature; you see the Devourer’s hand in the tempest and the storm. He is a grim patron who strengthens the faithful through harsh trials; but survive and you will be the shark amongst the prey. So one part of the Deep One analogy is that their god is a harsh and fearful deity who most people fear. The second is the fact that they are both wise and intelligent; per the 3.5 SRD, a typical sahuagin has an Intelligence of 14 and a Wisdom of 13. In my opinion they have an ancient culture, and have their own traditions of arcane and divine magic. So when it comes to classes, any combination of fighter, cleric and wizard make sense. As they have an affinity both for sharks and for hunting, ranger is another logical choice. From a racial perspective, their only weakness is Charisma… so I don’t see a lot of sahuagin bards or sorcerers. Looking to roleplaying tips, one start is to look at places the sahuagin are mentioned in canon. Their religion is discussed in City of Stormreach… The doctrine of this sect holds that it was the Devourer alone who defeated the fiends of the first age, and that the force of this battle raised the lands above the sea. The faithful are taught to embrace the fury of nature, preparing for the time when the Devourer will scour the earth and draw all back beneath the waves. A critical point is the description of the relationship between the sahuagin priests and human followers of the sect…
These priests consider humans to be flawed cousins, stripped of scale and weak of lung, but they pity these humans and consider it an act of charity to help them find the right path. The key points here is that these Imperial sahuagin who regularly interest with the humans of Stormreach approach them with an attitude of condescension and pity. Compare a typical human to a typical sahuagin. Per the SRD, a sahuagin is superior in every ability score save Charisma; they are smarter, faster and stronger than their human counterparts. The sahuagin has significant natural armor (+5 natural AC bonus) and natural weapons… and again, an average 14 Strength and 14 Intelligence. By comparison, humans are weak, slow-witted and woefully unfit for battle. Add to this the idea that the Sahuagin have a remarkable and ancient culture under the waves that humans know nothing about (because your poor little lungs are too weak to endure it… while by contrast, a typical sahuagin can at least survive for 6 hours on land without magical assistance). So personally, if I was playing an Imperial sahuagin character I’d emphasize the intelligence and ancient culture of the sahuagin and be somewhat arrogant and condescending to my soft-skinned, slow-witted mud-cousins… but that’s me. Now, two more things you might want to consider. City of Stormreach also notes that “The holy texts speak of devouring the strength of fallen foes…” While this is a metaphor, I have always intended that certain significant sahuagin rituals involve the literal consumption of a thing to gain its strength. My idea of both the malenti and the four-armed sahuagin warriors is that these are accomplished through mystical rituals of devouring… that you become a malenti by consuming an aquatic elf.
With that said, following the model I outlined above, there’s two other paths for sahuagin characters. You could be a sahuagin from the Aereni Territories, who has fully embraced Elven culture and is a loyal servant of the Undying Court. Or you could be a savage sahuagin from beyond the Empire; this would be somewhat analogous to playing an orc cultist of the Dragon Below from the Shadow Marches.
Would you be sympathetic to a little more HPL in allowing “half-sahuagin” (or even half-aquatic elves, come to think of it) to emerge from humans who may or may not know of their ancestry a la “Shadow Over Innsmouth”?
Certainly. I think the most logical path for this would be the malenti. By core rules, malenti are sahuagin that are physically indistinguishable from aquatic elves. It seems reasonable to me to suggest that the offspring of a human and a malenti could produce a creature that appears to be a normal half-elf, but who develops sahuagin traits over time… eventually becoming a full sahuagin. I think you could easily place a village like Innsmouth along the southern coast of Breland.
If you fashion Sahuagin culture as imperial, have you ever given thought or description to the Emperor or Empress? Are they ruled by a singular monarch or a dynasty of imperial mutant families?
Personally, I see it as a dynasty with nobles reigning over different provinces. Incorporating the mutants into this is a very logical step; the four-armed sahuagin could be a particular noble bloodline, with other families having similarly distinctive traits that have simply never been seen by surface-dwellers.
And how many of the themes of Eberron do you think are able to be translated into an under-sea environment? Would you put submarines similar to airships under the sea or have things similar to lightning rails on ocean floors? Could there be aquatic versions of the warforged?
Some of these things already exist. Submersible elemental vessels have appeared in a number of sources, from Grasp of the Emerald Claw to my novel The Fading Dream. Warforged are capable of operating underwater, and The Fading Dream has a Cyran aquatic construct still patrolling the waters around the Mournland.
Looking to the lightning rail, I’m not sure whether you’re asking if humans have created such a thing, or if it might already be in use by aquatic nations. Addressing the first point, I don’t see such a thing happening any time soon… in part because the ocean floor is inhabited, and I don’t see the Sahuagin being keen on Orien running a rail through their homeland. As the Sahuagin are an ancient and sophisticated culture, they should have their own answers to long-distance transportation and communication, but these could take many forms. They could have harnessed or bred special creatures to assist in transportation… or they may have come up with their own techniques for binding water elementals. As it’s not something that was picked up in canon Eberron, it’s not something I ever explored in great detail.
Are there any long lost civilizations, perhaps currently unheard of in Khorvaire, whose remains are underwater? Apart from giants from Xen’drik, that is.
There certainly could be. In the conversion notes for Lords of Madness I suggest that the aboleths were a civilization that existed during the Age of Demons, so you could easily have ancient aboleth ruins holding remnants of powerful magic… essentially, the undersea equivalent of Ashtakala and the Demon Wastes. Aside from that, this could be an interesting path to take with one of the other aquatic races, such as the Kuo-Toa. Perhaps the Kuo-Toa were once even more widespread and powerful than the Sahuagin, until SOMETHING devastated their civilization; now they are savages and subjects of the other races, and their ancient cities are haunted ruins. If you want to get really crazy, you could have undersea explorers discover a region below the sea that is clearly analogous to the Mournland, suggesting that the ancient Kuo-Toa civilization triggered (and was destroyed by) their own Mourning millennia ago.
Eberron has a lot of interesting features on the maps of its *surface* continents. What sort of variation in environment do you think there would be across the seas and oceans of Eberron?
For a start I’d look to all of the interesting ocean environments that exist in our world, such as the Mariana Trench, the Sargasso Sea and the Great Barrier Reef. From there, I’d consider the fact that there are manifest zones below water as well as on the surface, and manifest zones can create both exotic regions and areas that would lend themselves to colonization or adventure. A manifest zone to Fernia could give you fire underwater, while a manifest zone to Lamannia could be a source of unusually massive sea creatures or dramatic growth of vegetation; I could see a Lamannia zone at the heart of an especially dramatic Sargasso region. Zones to Thelanis would produce regions like the Twilight Desmesne in the Eldeen Reaches, with aquatic fey and water spirits. And so on. Beyond this you could have any number of regions affected by the actions of the ocean inhabitants… such as the idea of a Kuo-Toa Mournland.
How do the Inspired feel about the merfolk or do they even realize they’re there?
I think the existence of a quori client state among the merfolk is a great idea. With that said, I wouldn’t actually connect them directly to the Inspired. The point of quori subversion is to work from within and create a structure within the target culture that supports their rule. So if they conquered Khorvaire, they wouldn’t actually try to impose Riedran culture on it; instead, they’d do something like instigate a brutal civil war that devastates the existing order and then have their own (secretly Inspired) saviors rise up to fix it. That’s how they came to rule Riedra to begin with – the Inspired brought the Sundering to an end. If this sounds like the Last War is a quori plot, it would make a lot of sense; the question is who they would use as puppets in Khorvaire.
So in other words, I think a merfolk-quori state makes perfect sense, but I’d have them be merfolk “guided by the Voice of the Ocean” or something like that… and it would take someone familiar with the Quori to say “Hey, they’re using psionics… I think they’re Inspired!”
That’s all for now. Happy New Year to you all, and I’ll be back in 2015 to talk about Phoenix: Dawn Command! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
In my recent post “A/B Testing for Dummies”, I mentioned about deciding on metrics based on our goals then measuring the impact the change in the design of the webpage brings on those metrics. Srinivas Kadiyala – a colleague in testing field – posted a good comment asking for further explanation on this metrics part. Therefore, we will have a look at webpage design/testing metrics in this post.
As I mentioned in the post, the results of changing the design of a webpage can be either positive or negative. Also, our mission is to find out whether this change brings positive results or negative results. Therefore, metrics are always a good way to know where we are standing and also where we are heading to. In our case and with A/B Testing, those metrics are related to the performance of the webpage. Examples of those metrics are:
Number of pages per visit.
Bounce rate.
Time on site.
Returning visitors.
New visitors.
Bounce Rate: the percentage of visitors who enter the site and “bounce” (leave the site) rather than continue viewing other pages within the same site.
The above metrics and others will help us to determine whether the change we will bring to the design of the webpage is positive or negative and therefore if we should go with this change or look for a better change to the design.
All the best…
* Reference: Common KPIs and metrics for analyzing website performance, www.ironpaper.com. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The number of parents forced to represent themselves before the family courts jumped by 20,000 last year following the withdrawal of legal aid for almost all family cases, official figures obtained by The Independent show.
The increase means that for the first time more than half of parents - 58 per cent - went into court without a lawyer fighting their case in 2013/14. Many were mothers from poor backgrounds.
In the previous year, before legal aid changes came in, just 43 per cent of parents before the family courts were not represented by lawyers.
Download the new Independent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines
The Government argued that cutting legal aid to family law would mean parents solved their disputes through mediation rather than battling in court. But in fact, the new figures show there was an annual increase in the number of parents resorting to the courts for child contact and residency battles after legal aid was withdrawn for most private family law issues in April 2013.
Family courts in England and Wales dealt with 19,140 more unrepresented parents in 2013/14 compared to the previous year, according to data released by the Ministry of Justice following a freedom of information request by the divorce service Lawyer Supported Mediation.
The situation has led to courtroom delays and serious concerns about access to justice. Shadow Justice Minister, Sadiq Khan said: “The government were warned three years ago that their cuts to legal aid would lead to chaos in the courts. As is often the case with this government its women and the vulnerable bearing the brunt of the changes.
“Not only does it cost the system more money when people turn up in court without a lawyer as the whole process is much slower, but the experience for those concerned can be traumatic and harrowing. Given these are people looking to secure contact with their children, this makes this data all the more troubling.
“This Government’s actions are seeing access to justice becoming the preserve of the rich and all their talk of increased use of mediation being the saviour have turned to dust”
More than half of the rise in the number of unrepresented parents was made up of women, since low-income mothers bore the brunt of the cuts to legal aid.
The increase means that for the first time mothers made up more than half - 53 per cent - of parents without lawyers attending court to contest child arrangements. The situation is so dire that more mothers appeared at court in 2013/14 without a lawyer than with one.
Marc Lopatin, founder of Lawyer Supported Mediation, said: “Legal aid remains available for mediation and it’s extremely effective at helping parents reach agreement. The biggest challenge is getting more parents to explore it. This won’t happen unless the Ministry of Justice uses legal aid to bring lawyers and mediators together. At present, it’s driving them apart.”
Jerry Karlin, chair of the shared parenting charity Families Need Fathers said: “It is staggering that so many parents are effectively being left to fend for themselves. We urgently need to develop affordable and compelling services that strive to keep parents from the courtroom.”
A MoJ spokesperson said: “We've increased mediation funding as it's often more successful, less expensive and less stressful than going to court. In some cases - such as where domestic violence is involved - court clearly is the only answer and we've made sure legal aid remains available here.
“There have always been a significant number of people representing themselves in court - as happened in about half of all private family law cases the year before we introduced these changes - and we have improved the information available to help them. The court can instruct a person to pay for the other party where they are able to do so.” | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Happy Friday Friends!!!
Gosh, I feel like this week has flown by. Have you? It’s crazy how time flies during the lead up to Christmas. I know it’s a couple of months away but it will go quick and before we know it the big guy will be visiting. I plan on starting preparations early this year unlike previous years where I’m shopping the day before for presents! We’re having guests over this year. My mother and father in law so I want to make it very special for them and the boys.
Anyway, I’m soon to start on some Christmas projects once I’m done with a couple of projects for my guest bedroom!
We moved in to the house we are living in ten months ago (you can view the home tour here) and I’m slowly decorating and buying furniture for it. It’s a lot larger than what we’re used to. It’s a rental so there are a lot of limitations when it comes to the changes I can make but hey, one can work with a rental, you just need imagination and a love for accessorizing your rooms. Best way to decorate when you can’t change wall colors or add permanent changes to the home is to add pretty decorative items, wall hangings and even change light fixtures and curtains.
Since my in laws are coming to visit I want to make the best bedroom inviting and warm for them to enjoy a couple of weeks of winter with us. They are coming from Australia and it will be Summer over there so it’s going to be a HUGE change in weather for them. I don’t have much in the room. It’s bare really. I recently gave some boring lamps a makeover to add as little features to the room and I also changed up some Ikea Stools to use as temporary side tables while I hunt for the perfect tables to go into the room.
In order to bring the room together a little more I’m putting lots of pretty accessories in the room to brighten it, give it texture and get a pretty color palette going.
I decided I wanted to make some cute DIY Air Dry Clay Jewellery Bowls for the room as I want my mother in law and other female guests to have a safe place to put their jewellery when they visit our home. I think this is a very welcoming and thoughtful little item to have in any guest bedroom. It also adds an instant pop of colour.
The best thing about this little project is how easy it is to make and it’s a lot of fun too!
To recreate these DIY Air Dry Clay Jewellery Bowls you will need:
Materials
Air dry clay
3 x Bowls (of assorted sizes and shapes if you wish)
Watercolour paints and guache (colors of your choice. I used yellow and blue watercolour paints and gold guache paint. You can use all guache or all watercolours. Up to you on the look you are going for)
Fine grit sand paper
Craft glue/modge podge or a gloss finish paint
Instructions
1. Roll your air dry clay with a rolling pin to the thickness you desire your jewellery bowls to be. I wanted them thin so I rolled the clay pretty thin.
2. Once you have rolled out the clay, place your bowls upside down on to the clay and press down firmly to cut the bowls shape into the clay.
3. Place your bowls back upright and begin to press the clay circles you have just cut into the base of the bowl following the shape of the bowl. I didn’t want mine to be perfect, I wanted them to be a little distorted so I played around a little.
4. Once you have repeated step 3 on all three bowls, leave to dry as per the recommended drying time on the packaging of your air dry clay. I left mine to dry for two days but it was ready after 24 hours.
5. Remove your clay bowls gently out of your other bowls and begin to sand back your bowls to give them a nice texture and finish. I warn you this gets messy so I suggest you do this step outside and wear clothes you don’t mind getting messy.
6. Once you have sanded your bowls back inside, dust them off really well and wipe them down with a dry cloth.
7. Start to paint each with your desired colours. For the yellow watercolour bowl I used the watercolour paints fairly thick because I wanted a vibrant yellow. The blue bowl I added extra water to get it a little lighter. I added a mix of dark and light blue and roughly blended them in together. I then wiped the inside with a dry cloth to remove excess paint to give it a bit of texture. The gold guache paint I used on its own without water.
8. Allow paint to dry.
9. Give your bowls one coat of gloss by using craft glue, modge podge or whatever other gloss medium you have at home.
Love this post? Save it for later or share it with your friends by pinning it to one of your boards!
I’m pretty happy with how they turned out and was happy with how easy the whole project was to make.
Now I can tell my mother in law where to put all of her jewellery and I know she will love the little handmade touch. I’m going to try and make a couple of more things for the guest bedroom before my in-laws arrive but only available time will tell!
Have you ever made clay jewellery bowls? What projects have you made with air dry clay?
*Linking up with Remodelaholic
If you enjoyed reading this post you may also like | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
55 SHARES Facebook Twitter
12.17.2014: See more information on the SoakSoak massive malware outbreak resulting from this vulnerability: RevSlider Vulnerability Leads To Massive WordPress SoakSoak Compromise by Daniel Cid
If you need help cleaning a hacked WordPress website, we released a new guide in 2016 that may help:
Guide to Clean Hacked WordPress
Mika Epstein, Ipstenu, of Dreamhost, notified us today of a serious vulnerability in the WordPress Slider Revolution Premium plugin which was patched silently.
It turns out that the vulnerability was disclosed via some underground forums. ThemePunch confirms that their plugin was patched in version 4.2 for those that purchase the plugin directly from them, and they include an auto-updater which would address the problem. The real issue lies in the way the plugin is wrapped into theme packages. ThemePunch’s approach to disclosing the issue was based on guidance they received.
This a very popular plugin, and appears to be one of the most downloaded slider plugins from Envato’s Marketplace – Code Canyon. It also appears to be bundled in theme packages so be sure to check your theme / plugins.
This is an example of where things go terribly wrong.
In this situation, a very popular plugin developer decided it was best not to disclose to anyone, in return patching silently. Mind you, this vulnerability was already disclosed as a zero day via underground forums, which you would have thought would incentivize a developer to work quickly and disclose even faster. No, instead a different course of action was taken.
Now, the vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild. Yes, the vulnerability is severe enough that the attackers are able to compromise websites through it.
WordPress Slider Revolution Vulnerability
About 2 months ago someone publicly disclosed a serious vulnerability in the Slider Revolution Premium WordPress Plugin that allows a remote attacker to download any file from the server.
The proof of concept shared via underground sites shows how someone can easily download the wp-config.php:
http://victim.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=revslider_show_image&img=../wp-config.php
This is used to steal the database credentials, which then allows you to compromise the website via the database.
This type of vulnerability is known as a Local File Inclusion (LFI) attack. The attacker is able to access, review, download a local file on the server. This, in case you’re wondering is a very serious vulnerability that should have been addressed immediately.
Local File Inclusion (also known as LFI) is the process of including files on a server through the web browser.
UPDATE IMMEDIATELY!!!
Attacks In The Wild
We thought it’d be in our interest to see how active attacks against this vulnerability were. We turned to our WAF logs and found that this vulnerability is being actively attacked in the wild. Today alone, there were 64 different IP addresses trying to trigger this vulnerability on more than 1,000 different websites within our environment.
Here is a snippet of what to look for in your access logs:
194.29.185.106 - - [02/Sep/2014...] "GET /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=revslider_show_image&img=../wp-config.php HTTP/1.1" 403 1082 85.103.12.6 - - [02/Sep/2014...] "GET /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=revslider_show_image&img=../wp-config.php HTTP/1.1" 403 226 91.229.229.201 - - [02/Sep/2014...] "GET /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=revslider_show_image&img=../wp-config.php HTTP/1.1" 403 226 85.103.12.6 - - [02/Sep/2014...] "GET /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=revslider_show_image&img=../wp-config.php HTTP/1.1" 403 1 85.103.12.6 - - [02/Sep/2014...] "GET /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=revslider_show_image&img=../wp-config.php HTTP/1.1" 403 11 94.242.246.23 - - [02/Sep/2014...] "GET /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=revslider_show_image&img=../wp-config.php HTTP/1.1" 403 11 74.120.13.132 - - [02/Sep/2014...] "GET /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=revslider_show_image&img=../wp-config.php HTTP/1.1" 403 11 77.247.181.165 - - [02/Sep/2014...] "GET /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=revslider_show_image&img=../wp-config.php HTTP/1.1" 403 1 37.148.163.38 - - [02/Sep/2014:...] "GET /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=revslider_show_image&img=../wp-config.php HTTP/1.1" 403 7269 37.130.227.133 - - [02/Sep/2014...] "GET /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=revslider_show_image&img=../wp-config.php HTTP/1.1" 403 11
It appears that via our environment, the attack appears to begin on August 09th, growing significantly on Aug 19:
Yes, if you are a client of our Website Firewall you are already being protected via our virtual hardening and patching mechanisms. No, if you leverage the latest WordPress Security utility plugin you are likely not being protected.
Update Now!
If you use the WordPress Slider Revolution Premium plugin, you have to update it immediately! We also wish the developers were more open and had publicized the issue and alerted their customers of the problem beforehand. This type of action is an example of what not to do, especially if you find out about the issue via a Zero Day disclosure.
***Update – 20140903 – Which Versions Affected****
This is a Premium plugin, this means we don’t have insights into the way they structure or release their plugins. We are however reaching out to the development team to confirm the exact date of the patch. There is mention of a patch in February, but because we have no insights into the older version of the plugin it is hard to confirm if it’s related to this or something else.
To illustrate the problem, here is a comment from one of the users of the plugin:
I have this plugin installed on a number of sites but none of the plugins are prompting me to update. In fact they’re all showing different version numbers: 2.03, 2.1.7, 2.3.91, 3.0.5, and 4.1.4 while the latest version on CodeCanyon is 4.5. Any idea why there is no option to update from within the WordPress dashboard? Thanks for bringing this to our attention!
If we hear back from the developers we will update accordingly.
The biggest challenge with this vulnerability is that it appears to be bundled in many theme packages. This means theme shops have paid for a developer license and are releasing the plugin with or making it optional to users. Users may or may not know they have the plugin installed because of this. We are also noticing that while most theme packages have updaters, they don’t update the plugins, only the themes which causes more confusion to the process.
***Update – 20140903 – Affected Themes****
A more comprehensive list of themes packages possibly affected include:
# WordPress IncredibleWP Theme Arbitrary File Download # Vendor Homepage: http://freelancewp.com/wordpress-theme/incredible-wp/ # Google Dork: "Index of" +/wp-content/themes/IncredibleWP/ # WordPress Ultimatum Theme Arbitrary File Download # Vendor Homepage: http://ultimatumtheme.com/ultimatum-themes/s # Google Dork: "Index of" +/wp-content/themes/ultimatum # WordPress Medicate Theme Arbitrary File Download # Vendor Homepage: http://themeforest.net/item/medicate-responsive-medical-and-health-theme/3707916 # Google Dork: "Index of" +/wp-content/themes/medicate/ # WordPress Centum Theme Arbitrary File Download # Vendor Homepage: http://themeforest.net/item/centum-responsive-wordpress-theme/3216603 # Google Dork: "Index of" +/wp-content/themes/Centum/ # WordPress Avada Theme Arbitrary File Download # Vendor Homepage: http://themeforest.net/item/avada-responsive-multipurpose-theme/2833226 # Google Dork: "Index of" +/wp-content/themes/Avada/ # WordPress Striking Theme & E-Commerce Arbitrary File Download # Vendor Homepage: http://themeforest.net/item/striking-multiflex-ecommerce-responsive-wp-theme/128763 # Google Dork: "Index of" +/wp-content/themes/striking_r/ # WordPress Beach Apollo Arbitrary File Download # Vendor Homepage: https://www.authenticthemes.com/theme/apollo/ # Google Dork: "Index of" +/wp-content/themes/beach_apollo/
Released on Exploit-DB September 1st, 2014. The emphasis on possibly is because if you are running the latest version of the theme, you might be ok, you might also not be ok.
It all depends on how the theme packager bundles the plugins and handles the upgrades. That, we can’t and won’t speak to.
If you know of more theme package feel free to let us know and we’ll be happy to update the list to ensure everyone is made aware equally and without prejudice. The emphasis here is to update your plugin, we do not intend to focus on any theme shops, their practice for handling dev licenses or any variation of that.
***Update – 20140903 – ThemePunch Response****
Here is the response from the developers of the plugin, found in the comment thread below:
Hi, The problem was fixed 29 updates back in 4.2 in February. We were told not to make the exploit public by several security companies so that the instructions of how to hack the slider will not appear on the web. You should always keep the slider up to date like any other WordPress component but urgently need to do this when using Version 4.1.4 or below in order to fix the security issue. Please use the included autoupdate feature (we solve issues within hours and update nearly every two weeks if nothing special needs a faster frequency). We are sorry for you guys out there whose slider came bundled with a theme and the theme author did not update the slider. Since you cannot use the included autoupdate function please contact your theme author and inform him about his failure! Best regards, ThemePunch
Here is the changelog from February:
The real issue here appears to be with how theme packages incorporate and subsequently update plugins their themes depend on.
***Update – 20140904 – More themes that might be affected****
These themes include the plugin and might be affected as well:
X Theme (2nd highest selling theme) – http://themeforest.net/item/x-the-theme/5871901 Bridge Theme – http://themeforest.net/item/brooklyn-creative-one-page-multipurpose-theme/6221179 The7 – http://themeforest.net/item/the7-responsive-multipurpose-wordpress-theme/5556590 Total – http://themeforest.net/item/total-responsive-multipurpose-wordpress-theme/6339019 BeTheme – http://themeforest.net/item/betheme-responsive-multipurpose-wordpress-theme/7758048 Inovado – http://themeforest.net/item/inovado-retina-responsive-multipurpose-theme/3810895 Porto – http://themeforest.net/item/metronic-responsive-admin-dashboard-template/4021469 Metronix – http://themeforest.net/item/metronic-responsive-admin-dashboard-template/4021469 Jupiter – http://themeforest.net/item/jupiter-multipurpose-responsive-theme/5177775 Newspaper – http://themeforest.net/item/newspaper/5489609 uDesign – http://themeforest.net/item/udesign-responsive-wordpress-theme/253220
***Update – 20140905 – Envato Release ****
Envato has releases the comprehensive list of the themes affected by this vulnerability.
If you have a hacked WordPress site, we recommend following the steps in our comprehensive guide to dealing ith a hack:
Guide to Clean Hacked WordPress | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
"THIS IS TRULY THE SALE OF A LIFETIME AND WE ARE GENUINELY EXCITED TO HAVE ALL OF YOU JOIN US ...." the posting read. "Those of you who showed up the day of the FBI raid, again, we apologize profusely and hope you agree that it was all WORTH THE WAIT!!!!" | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Il direttore del quotidiano cattolico “Avvenire”, Marco Tarquinio, così commenta la “nascita surrogata” in casa Vendola: “Il triste mercato dell’umano cresce e ha ingressi di destra e di sinistra. Si smetta di chiamarli diritti.”, si rammarica del “linguaggio politicamente corretto usato in particolar modo dai notiziari del servizio pubblico radiotelevisivo. Un fenomeno impressionante di camuffamento della dura realtà della cosificazione di una madre senza nome, senza volto e ridotta a pura esecutrice di un contratto padronale” e specifica che “tutte le madri surrogate ‘acquistate’ da coppie eterosessuali od omosessuali sono povere e senza potere”.
Magari “oggettivazione” o “oggettificazione” andavano meglio di cosificazione, ma lasciamolo decidere all’Accademia della Crusca, il punto è un altro.
In tutto il mondo gruppi diversi e svariate chiese usano interpretazioni religiose per creare argomentazioni contrarie ai diritti umani, in special modo delle donne. La chiesa cattolica, egregio sig. Tarquinio, non solo non fa eccezione ma da tre anni conduce una lotta al “gender” (un criterio di analisi per le relazioni umane) completamente basata sul nulla, folle quanto violenta.
Non ho da eccepire alla frase “tutte le madri surrogate ‘acquistate’ da coppie eterosessuali od omosessuali sono povere e senza potere”, ma lei si è mai chiesto perché lo sono? Vediamo.
La povertà e la mancanza di potere possono essere viste come semplicemente accidentali : queste donne sono – per caso sfortunato – nate nel posto sbagliato, nella famiglia sbagliata e nell’epoca sbagliata. Ci fanno pena, ma cosa abbiamo noi miseri mortali da opporre al fato?
La povertà e la mancanza di potere possono essere viste come disegno divino : il misterioso e perfetto creatore dell’universo ha deciso così, vuoi per ricompensare degnamente la sofferenza di queste donne dopo la loro morte, vuoi per condurle all’illuminazione tramite triboli e travagli, vuoi perché hanno mangiato una mela proibita all’alba dell’umanità e la devono pagare per sempre. Anche qui, i documentari sulle loro disgrazie ci fanno piangere, ma ci consoliamo con la certezza che dio ne sa di sicuro più di noi… e poi cambiamo canale per vedere un po’ di tette-culi-cosce o la partita.
La povertà e la mancanza di potere possono essere viste come colpa : è probabile che queste donne miserabili non si siano impegnate abbastanza, non abbiano “lavorato duro” come avrebbero dovuto fare, abbiano compiuto scelte sbagliate, ecc. Adesso cosa vogliono, che la collettività si faccia carico del loro mantenimento? Dovremmo dar loro i NOSTRI soldi? Ma sapete quanto costa oggi andare a sciare a Courmayeur come autentici villani rifatti (io lo ignoro, ma potete chiedere a Matteo Renzi)?
Com’è ovvio, sig. Tarquinio, lei e io siamo consapevoli che di altro si tratta. Le donne sono i poveri del mondo (circa 80%), sono gli analfabeti del mondo (circa 70%) e sono le principali vittime di violenza ovunque perché sono donne. Cioè, sono stimate inferiori, incomplete, intrinsecamente incapaci e persino malvagie sulla base del loro sesso: costruire una mistica su un dato biologico e farla passare per “natura” o per “volontà di dio” è quanto la sua chiesa e altre hanno fatto per secoli e continuano a fare. In poche parole, il “genere” lo avete creato (anche) voi, perché è IMPOSSIBILE determinare in base al sesso di nascita le capacità, le attitudini e le inclinazioni di un essere umano. Quindi, attribuire a lui o lei dei “ruoli” predeterminati non è naturale, è prescrizione della comunità, precetto religioso e costume sociale.
Sinteticamente, le donne povere e senza potere di cui si acquistano gli uteri come se fossero macchinari sono tali grazie allo stigma posto sul loro genere e devono restare povere e senza potere per mantenere in essere una struttura di potere piramidale. Sulla vetta di quest’ultima banchettano una manciata di uomini – in maggioranza bianchi – che ricavano profitto dal loro sfruttamento lavorativo, emotivo, familiare, sessuale, ma ai livelli intermedi anche il maschio più derelitto può ricavare senso di legittimazione e scampoli di dominio credendo di essere superiore alle donne: infatti, quando queste ultime si ribellano in qualche modo alla faccenda il maschio stressato, disoccupato, in preda a raptus, depresso ecc. ecc. non ha altra scelta che “raddrizzarle” a botte o scannarle in via definitiva.
Non so se quel suo “si smetta di chiamarli diritti” nasconda un’insofferenza al discorso dei diritti umani in sé, ma ora che le ho detto perché in maggioranza le donne sono povere e senza potere le dirò come le si mantiene tali: negando loro il godimento dei loro legittimi diritti umani, quelli che la Dichiarazione di Vienna definisce “universali, indivisibili, interdipendenti e interconnessi”, in nome della cultura, della religione e della tradizione.
CEDAW, Protocollo di Maputo e Convenzione di Belem do Para obbligano infatti gli Stati firmatari a eliminare costumi e pratiche basati sull’idea dell’inferiorità o della superiorità di un sesso rispetto all’altro, riconoscendo che i ruoli stereotipati imposti a donne e uomini legittimano o esasperano la violenza contro le donne – che è sessuale, domestica, politica, economica… che le rende meri corpi esistenti per la soddisfazione degli uomini, in ogni senso. E che devo dirle, sig. Tarquinio, i governi firmano e i firmatari si fanno ritrarre con la penna in mano e i sorrisi smaglianti, ma spesso poi non applicano quel che hanno sottoscritto: principalmente per non disturbare le chiese presenti sul territorio nazionale, beninteso quelle che hanno potere, soldi, influenza sull’opinione pubblica ed è purtroppo il caso della chiesa sua.
In Salvador, per soddisfare la chiesa cattolica, le leggi che impediscono l’interruzione di gravidanza sono così medievali che le donne vanno in galera per gli aborti spontanei. In Paraguay, per soddisfare la chiesa cattolica, una bambina di 11 anni, rimasta incinta dopo uno stupro, è stata costretta a partorire contro la sua volontà. Nelle Filippine, per soddisfare la chiesa cattolica, l’aborto è illegale in ogni caso.
E dove la chiesa cattolica fomenta la convinzione che le persone omosessuali siano “sbagliate”, “confuse”, “malate” e così via, accadono cose spiacevoli come la morte di Paola Barraza (Comayaguela, Honduras – 24 gennaio 2016), attivista transgender per i diritti umani. In precedenza, nell’agosto 2015, Paola era già stata attaccata in prossimità della sede dell’ong in cui lavorava (Asociación LGTB Arcoíris): raggiunta da numerosi colpi di arma da fuoco era rimasta gravemente ferita ma era sopravvissuta. Il 24 gennaio scorso gli assassini hanno bussato direttamente alla porta di casa sua e quando ha aperto le hanno sparato tre volte in testa e due al petto. Nella settimana successiva ancora nessun investigatore si stava occupando del caso.
Paola Barraza è morta perché voleva quel che era già suo e le veniva negato: diritti umani. Innumerevoli donne, ragazze e bambine muoiono, sono vendute e comprate, stuprate e battute e vivono esistenze infernali per la stessa ragione: sono viste come meno-che-umane e i loro diritti sono subordinati ai loro supposti imprescindibili “ruoli” nella famiglia e nella società – guarda caso, sono tutti ruoli di servizio agli uomini.
Allora, sig. Tarquinio, se degli uomini pensano sia loro “diritto” comprare l’utero di una donna la colpa non è del “politicamente corretto”, ma sta un po’ più a monte. Per esempio, qualcuno che con questa colpa ha molto a che fare si affaccia a volte da un balcone, la domenica, per benedire urbi et orbi. Maria G. Di Rienzo | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Out September 18, it’s “a love song ... in a transcendent way,” she says
Björk has announced a new single, “The Gate,” out September 18. It follows the recent news that her new album is “coming soon.” Check out the artwork for “The Gate” below. On a listing page for the vinyl—out September 22 on One Little Indian—Björk writes: “the gate is essentially a love song, but i say ‘love’ in a more transcendent way. vulnicura was about a very personal loss, and i think this new album is about a love that’s even greater. it’s about rediscovering love – but in a spiritual way, for lack of a better word.”
Since releasing 2015’s Vulnicura, Björk has released the Strings version of the record, as well as a live version. Last year, she launched the Björk Digital virtual reality exhibition, which features several VR videos for songs from Vulnicura. She’s since released a career-spanning songbook called 34 Scores for Piano, Organ, Harpsichord and Celeste.
Read Pitchfork’s Sunday Review of Björk’s Homogenic, and revisit our feature, “The Invisible Woman: A Conversation With Björk.”
Watch Björk perform “Declare Independence” on Pitchfork.tv: | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The author of North Carolina’s House Bill 2 has likened LGBT activists to the Taliban and called them a threat to freedom, according to emails obtained by the Charlotte Business Journal.
The publication obtained 152 emails supplied voluntarily by Republican Rep. Dan Bishop, the chief architect of the anti-LGBT law in response to a public records request by the Business Journal, which is seeking to have more released. The emails it did obtain, the subject of a story published Thursday, show Bishop defending the law and often citing his religious beliefs in doing so.
There were several exchanges with constituents, some thanking him for his work in crafting the law, others denouncing him. HB 2, introduced, passed, and signed into law in one day, March 23, nullifies any LGBT-inclusive municipal antidiscrimination ordinances in the state and prevents cities from passing new ones. It also bars transgender people from using the restrooms, locker rooms, and other single-sex facilities that match their gender identity, when those facilities are located in government buildings. The law has brought backlash from businesses, entertainers, and more; it is the subject of a lawsuits by the American Civil Liberties Union and the federal government as well as legislative repeal efforts.
One constituent thanked Bishop and other supporters of HB 2 and urged them to resist pressure to repeal it, the Business Journal reports. The writer implored them not to “cave in to the Politically Correct Taliban! Y’all should have all of the sane states to coordinate and pass these bills on the same day so one state does not have to stand up to these pompous asses alone.” Bishop replied, “I LOVE that idea. Taliban. Love that too. Not giving up. Ever.”
In a response to another constituent who praised HB 2, Bishop asserted, “The LGBT movement jeopardizes freedom.”
Bishop’s religion-based comments include “I don’t fear man. I fear God. So I won’t be backing down” and “I stepped in front of the train quite deliberately, but the beating is every bit as bad as I expected, and then some. I need the Lord’s help and your prayers.”
The emails indicate, though, that not all people of faith support HB 2. Russ Dean, co-pastor of Charlotte’s Park Road Baptist Church — a progressive congregation not affiliated with the anti-LGBT Southern Baptist Convention — denounced the law’s “bigotry” and said it had damaged North Carolina’s reputation. He also objected to the cost of the special session in which it was passed; lawmakers called the session in order to keep an LGBT-inclusive public accommodations ordinance from going into effect in Charlotte. Bishop responded by asserting the state’s legal right to override the actions of city governments.
Meanwhile, Judith Welch Wegner, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, reminded Bishop that she had once taught him, in an email with the subject line “disowning you as a student.” Bishop did not reply, the Business Journal reports, but forwarded the email with the comment “on official email account no less.” | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Magnum photographer Peter van Agtmael recently won the 2012 W. Eugene Smith Grant for Humanistic Photography, one of the top awards for photojournalism. He will receive $30,000 to work on his project “Disco Nights September 11,” which continues the work van Agtmael started with “2nd Tour, Hope I Don’t Die.” The new project explores effects of the wars on people from Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as on refugees in the US, Europe, and especially in other countries in the Middle East. Herein is a review of his first book, “2nd Tour, Hope I Don’t Die,” published on MotherJones.com in 2009. (WARNING: contains some graphic images.)
“This is how I saw America’s wars from January 2006 until December of 2008. I wanted to make pictures that reflected my complex and often contradictory experiences, where the line was continuously blurred between perpetrator and victim, between hero and villain. In time, the labels that had heretofore defined my perceptions of the world became meaningless. If I found any truth in war, I found that in the end everyone has their own truth.” –Peter van Agtmael
Magnum photographer Peter van Agtmael followed the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq as an embedded photojournalist from 2006 to 2008. Sure, his unflinching work captures the brutality, chaos, and carnage of war. But van Agtmael’s photos also deliver the extreme tedium, the moments of tranquility, the humanity, and the utter confusion—in ways that stir those of us here, safely at home.
That’s hard to do. The repetition of images from these wars, year after year, has numbed many of us to the story. Our eyes reflexively glaze over when we see photos of people buried under the camo helmets, packs, guns, and sunglasses.
In his book, 2nd Tour, Hope I Don’t Die, van Agtmael’s photos crack the jaded glaze we’ve all developed. Part of what mezmerizes are the captions and other written parts of the book. Here, van Agtmael connects the reader to the place before/during/after the shutter closed. What led up to a bloodied boy against a wall scowling at the camera? What happened to the soldier in the ER, staring directly through the camera at you, the viewer? It’s this dimension of backstory that makes van Agtmael’s work so exceptional. That, and his commitment to to following the story back to the United States, where it continues.
All photos from Peter van Agtmael’s book, 2nd Tour, Hope I Don’t Die (2009, Photolucida).
Van Agtmael won the prestigious Photolucida Critical Mass Award in 2008 for this work. 2nd Tour, Hope I Don’t Die is the end result of that award. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Gaping teenager dommed and stretched with hands and man-sized pecker
If you have problems with playback upgrade your Flash Player to the latest version.
Thank you! We appreciate your help.
Description: He's been given the chance to enjoy the hole of bare slave boy casper in this session, out in the open with the spanish sun beating down. Duration: 10min 05sec Viewed: 1 748 Added: 11 months ago Categories: Hardcore, 18-19 Twinks, Big Cock
Link to this video Embed code Embed size 400x225 480x270 640x360 960x540 Custom: 510 x 287 Embed size x
Thank you! We appreciate your help. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
1 NC Beer Map | bumper sticker
NOTE: As a backer, you'll have the exclusive opportunity to have your map signed, if you wish. This applies for road maps and posters at all pledge levels.
Less | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
By |
I can remember it vividly: it was the day before my birthday, and I was babysitting at a neighbor’s house. I was 14 at the time, and after an unfortunate scooter accident, I fell, broke my wrist, and landed myself in the hospital. It wasn’t a very traumatic experience, and when I went to the orthopedist he asked what color cast I wanted. I said I didn’t care, but I did have one request that sort of baffled him at first. I asked him if he could cut some extra room around my thumb, so I had more dexterity. I also wanted my fingers to be more exposed as to move them around more. He complied, and asked why this was so, since it was a very unusual wish. I stated emphatically and unequivocally: “Resident Evil 4 comes out next week.”
2005 was that awkward period in the gaming industry (and in my life), the one where a new generation of consoles was on the horizon, and things slowed down as the future loomed bright and mysterious. The Xbox 360 had yet to be formally introduced, and publishers were releasing the last great games of the Gamecube and PS2 era. We were just coming out of one of the greatest holiday seasons ever, with Sly 2, Burnout 3, Katamari Damacy, GTA: San Andreas, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Halo 2, and Half-Life 2 all being released in a four month period at the end of 2004. I don’t think anyone was expecting to have their minds blown so early in the new year, but Resident Evil 4 was something that surprised a lot of people.
The franchise, at that point, has seen a slew of spin-offs and prequels. Resident Evil Zero, Dead Aim, Outbreak, and Outbreak File #2 all weren’t exactly titles that met the quality of previous installments. Expectations were high, and they always are with numbered sequels to gigantic franchises, especially the size of Resident Evil. It had been (and still is) the flagship survival horror series, but I don’t think anyone was ready for how truly transcendent RE4 would be. It’s astonishing to think that God of War came out around then too; RE4 really was at the center of a golden age of video games, and I don’t think we’re bound for too many more of them to come.
Since RE6 is out, I thought it would be a good idea to not spend $60 and instead do a Resident Evil 4 Retrospective. Thankfully, there is an HD rerelease on Xbox Live, and like a lot of HD remasters I went in expecting nothing more than a fun look back at a game I love. I planned on playing for a day, maybe saying “it was better when I played it seven years ago”, and going on with my life. WRONG. Suffice it to say, Resident Evil 4 sucked me into its world, and never let go. I was shocked to see how well it held up over time, and it looked and played like any contemporary game on the market today. But what RE4 does better than anything else is how amazing the atmosphere is. From the second it starts, every single detail is meant to grab you and shake you to your core. There is a certain ambience that hasn’t been surpassed since, and the only thing that comes close to matching it has been Bioshock. Immersion is something that’s really been lacking in a lot of games, and I feel that it can help make a good game turn into a great game.
There is an eerie sense of story that lingers throughout Leon’s adventure, one that gives an impression of events long passed. It creates a mystery that is only alluded to, and every level tells its own version of history of what happened. Doors marked with notes, villagers harpooned into walls, a castle filled with gothic architecture, churches splattered with blood, island strongholds housing the remains of experiments gone wrong; RE4 has that special feel that pushes the player forward narratively, and paints a haunting tale without shoving it down your throat. The music is somber, the level design gets progressively tighter and narrower, and the game makes you question what is around every corner. There is no safe place to hide anywhere, and that inherently creates tension within the gameplay. Every bullet counts, every herb matters. There is an amazing meta-game of resource management at play here, and it’s just another example of how RE4’s gameplay adds to the survival horror genre. It always makes any upcoming danger ever present within our minds.
The biggest difference from other Resident Evil games has been that infamously frustrating camera. It was a staple of the horror genre, to have clunky controls and an unwelcoming camera impede your character. The slower you moved and the harder it was to defend yourself, the scarier it became. Over time, two analog sticks dominated all 3D games, and with this innovation in controller design came an increase in demand for better controls. What RE4 established with its over the shoulder style of shooting was two things: that the older games were no longer a blueprint and were essentially too archaic, and there was a new need to implement more action into the gameplay. It could have backfired on them, but thankfully it gave birth to what is now the norm in terms of third person shooters. Gears, Dead Space, Vanquish, Army of Two, Transformer: War for Cybertron, Uncharted, and others all had RE4 to thank for its shooting mechanics. Even though some of those games aren’t as slow paced, and some rely on a cover system, I don’t think they would have succeeded without there being a precedent for a blockbuster third person shooter. FPS games littered the store shelves, and it took RE4 to really remind people that not all games had to be in first person.
What’s also nice about the shift in the series was the eclusion of outright zombies, and this makes the game feel so liberated from its roots. The enemies are just people, or were people, and they have this irrational horror to them, where they’ll kill their own and are part of a religious cult, and I still have no idea what is exactly going on. I love how the culmination of gameplay, and story, and setting, and atmosphere all come together to make the game scary 100% of the time. Even playing it again made me panic; enemies will crowd around you slowly, and no matter where you are in the campaign they will ALWAYS catch up to you, and this ever present tension of claustrophobia is what makes it so memorable. Memorable like all of the boss battles, the locales, the items, the guns, the cameos, it is all absolutely unforgettable and to this day I know that game like the back of my hand. It’s outstanding to think a game like that holds up so well. It’s suspenseful when it’s quiet, exciting when its action packed, and frightening when you encounter something new, whether it be giant bugs, giant monsters, freakish lake creatures, walking knights in armor, a blind wolverine type guy, a midget with two predators for body guards, or a formless mutant who regenerates limbs and never seems to die. Most games would kill for so many types of enemies, and they all behave in different ways, as to make the combat always interesting and never boring. The simple evolution of the enemies, that they’re heads transform into a whole other creature adds a lot of depth to the game, forcing you to not simply rely on upgrading weapons but changing your strategy on how you approach fights.
From the opening shootout it hooks you, where you don’t know how long it’s going to last, and a crazy man with a potato sack wields a chainsaw at you, so you climb a ladder and kick it down, but there are already people in the house, so you grab the shotgun and jump out the window. That was one hell of a way to start a game, and then the title hits the screen and you know you’re in for some shit. Every facet of this game is as intuitive as jumping to grab coins: shooting axes out of the air, lighting people on fire when they hold a torch, knifing boxes and vases so you don’t waste ammo; these things are ingrained in me, and it’s sad to think most contemporary games on the market lose these distinctive gameplays touches. No need for shoehorned multiplayer (or whatever contrived thing they put in games these days), it’s one of the few single player games that has infinite replay value, and gives you an incentive to go back through it again and again. I must have played through that game a dozen times, it really is that monumental. RE4 is so good it even makes me forget the plot is “save the president’s daughter”, which is the longest running plot for a US president in an artistic medium.
I don’t think there is a better personification of the advancement RE4 made than of the laser sight. With that sole addition, RE4 blows by all of the previous RE games. No more save ribbon nonsense, no more laughable dialogue or Jill sandwiches. The laser sight and precision aiming embody all of the steps forward the franchise was taking. Context sensitive controls, quick time events, an audacious scale, RE4 was quite ahead of its time. It was a genre blending and defying horror game, and it all worked; the game went on to sell millions and receive every award there is to receive. It deserved it all, of course, and RE4 still stands today as a seminal effort by Capcom. An influential game that garnered its significance from spooky yet smart sound design, realistic animations, wild enemies, creative puzzles, and thrills per minute, Resident Evil 4 is a masterpiece, pure and simple.
So many of RE4’s elements came together in such a terrific culmination; the art direction, the graphics, the presentation, the sound, they all were console defining back in 2005, and they still hold up today. Every detail of the levels, every secret path, the way the merchant greeted you, it all stands the test of time, and RE4 reaches a pinnacle of gaming that few other games reach. I’ll never forget the ending credits, which in my mind is still the most haunting and disturbing thing I’ve ever seen in a game. That little story of how the villagers came to become infected, and the old timey presentation, and the music, I cringe at how surreal it all is. And that’s how I feel about RE4, it’s surreal. Why can’t more developers make games like this anymore? Spend the time to craft a wholly satisfying and cohesive product, devoid of petty flaws and only giving cerebral and chilling challenges to the player? I hope we see something like this come again, and if I’m wrong, then I’ll cut off my head.
-Jared | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
We would not have expected ever, to read the word Featuring between Lil Wayne’s name and Jahseh, but we had the surprise earlier tonight to witness the industry’s ways.
Tha Carter V may have been the most heavily anticipated and postponed album of the decade and its release is still uncertain. While fans grew to believe “Tha Carter V” would end up like Detox; a piece of hip-hop history that would never see the light of day. Things have worked out for Tunechi’s fans though when the project was finally set free.
While journalism isn’t about personal opinion but more information oriented, we can’t help but strongly react to this trend which promotes posthumous collaboration, as if there were an afterlife market for artist whom could treat themselves with a collaboration of dead artists.
After “Falling Down”, which is a sumptuous up-tempoed track with Lil Peep and XXXTentation released after the passed away, few artists tried their hands at releasing posthumous collaboration.
As surprisingly as it can sound, Lil Wayne’s song is a thought and uncompromising tribute to the missed artist, a mausoleum for the New Orleans artist to gather and hold a special remembrance to the too early gone talent.
However, what is more intriguing is that Wayne refuses to acknowledge the young rapper. Disturbing, that the Best rapper alive isn’t aware of the hottest ast in the industry, especially one who has been beefing a year before with one of his artists, none other than Drake, on a mainstream level.
What could supposedly explain his position, was the late lyrics to “I’m upset”, which could allegedly tie the Canadian rapper to XXXTentacion’s murder.
Let us know what you think in the comment section down below. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
A $10 Ticket gets you a drink ticket and entry.
A $30 Ticket gets a limited edition t-shirt, entry, and a drink ticket with $15 going to sponsor a youth soccer player in Texas.
Entry at the door will be $15 and we won't have extra shirts to sell, so get your ticket early! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The New York Yankees have built one of baseball's most formidable bullpens, and on Thursday they added one more K.
Reliever Zack Britton announced on Twitter that he's changed the spelling of his first name from Zach to Zack, dropping the "H" for a "K."
Breaking News: I will be going by my legal name "Zack" instead of my stage name "Zach"..... everyone continue to breath normally... #beenlivingalie #birthcertfail — Zack Britton (@zbritton) February 7, 2019
The left-hander reached agreement on a three-year, $39 million deal to stay with the Yankees, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan last month.
Britton, 31, landed in New York last season via a trade with the Baltimore Orioles. He went 1-0 with a 2.88 ERA in 25 innings for the Yankees and finished the season with seven saves and 34 strikeouts over 40⅔ innings in 41 appearances.
Britton began the 2018 season on the disabled list after tearing his right Achilles tendon the previous December. He made his debut on June 12 and appeared in 16 games, going 1-0 with a 3.45 ERA and four saves before being traded by the rebuilding Orioles. He did not allow a run in his last eight Baltimore appearances, surrendering just three hits over eight innings.
In 2016, Britton was exceptional. He was 2-1 with a 0.54 ERA and 47 saves in as many chances. He converted an American League-record 60 consecutive save opportunities from Oct. 1, 2015, to Aug. 21, 2017. Over his eight-year career, all but two months with the Orioles, Britton is 31-22 with a 3.21 ERA and 142 saves.
ESPN's Jeff Passan contributed to this report. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
We all know what it's like to fear that one of our makeup products will break or shatter to pieces. It's even worse when it actually happens and we're left with a broken lip gloss tube or crushed up powders. Sure, the geniuses of the beauty world have been quick to find hacks for these types of disasters, but it's usually not a fun process.
Beauty blogger, Gina Kay, found one way to turn a broken highlighting powder into something else she loves — pizza.
She shared the mini pizza pie on her Instagram account. According to the photo caption, she created her masterpiece using loose shimmer powders and rubbing alcohol. The end result? A shiny pie of pizza with pepperoni included as a topping. Gina even managed to carve the powder into eight individual slices.
Gina also shared a video of what the highlighter looked like once applied, and the glow couldn't be brighter.
In a time where adding illumination to your beauty routine is a must, Gina could have started the next big trend. We've seen rainbow highlighter, thermal highlighter, and now pizza highlighter. We're really curious as to what's next.
Related: Selena Gomez’s 17 BEST Beauty Moments on Instagram | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
For any proof-of-work based cryptocurrency, the halving events are something that is expected to bring some positive price action by reducing supply and increasing the value of the said token. Overall, halvings are highly anticipated events that greatly benefit a cryptocurrency especially in terms of reducing the inflation rate and sustaining the token’s value.
However, this hasn’t been the case with Bitcoin Cash (BCH), one of the most popular forks of Bitcoin. The much-awaited halving has been quite catastrophic for the network security as it looks like miners have fled the scene due to the unprofitability of mining BCH. This has resulted in a massive drop in the cryptocurrency’s hashrate, making the network highly vulnerable to 51% attacks.
As previously reported by The Daily Chain, right after the halving event at block height 630,000, there was a 109-minute time gap between two consecutive blocks. This is ten times the normal block production time of 10 minutes. As a consequence, transactions on the network ground to a halt during that time.
Hashrate plummet
As per data from CoinWarz, the hashrate on the Bitcoin Cash network dropped from 4,200 petahashes per second (PH/s) to as low as 720 PH/s within two days of the halving taking place.
This was the direct consequence of miners giving up on mining BCH due to the unprofitability. The situation is so grave, that if not for some mining pools operating at a loss to maintain the network, the hash rate dedicated to mining BCH would’ve have dropped even further.
Currently, Viabtc is responsible for the majority of the hashing power over the past 24 hours. Other popular mining pools have seen massive drops in hashrate with Antpool dropping 70% and Poolin dropping more than 80% of its hashrate. Hardware manufacturer Bitmain operated mining BTC.com is also sustaining losses.
Even Bitcoin.com, one of the most popular mining pools for the BCH community run by BCH proponent Roger Ver, has seen its hashrate drop more than 90%. Looks like even the former Bitcoin evangelist turned Bitcoin Cash promoter, is finding it hard to keep his mining operations going in the wake of such conditions.
Source: BTC.COM
Vulnerable to cheap 51% attacks
The massive dip in hashrate has left BCH unguarded against the threat of a 51% attack, as Zack Voell from Blockstream referred to data from Crypto51 revealing that the costs to execute a one-hour 51% attack on the network had dropped more than 50%.
While the BCH network adjusts its difficulty rate every 24 hours to minimize damages due to dropping hashrates, some crypto commentators believe that this time it won’t be that simple.
at this rate, their diff adjustment is going to take months.
RIP. — Philip De Smedt (@philipdesmedt) April 9, 2020
Bitcoin community scared
One the other hand, data from Fork.lol reveals that Bitcoin’s hashrate has been on the rise and is up more than 30% over the past 48 hours while BCH has been seeing a steady decline. With the Bitcoin halving now just a month away, some members of the crypto community are speculating that a drop in BTC hashrate post halving could be damaging for bitcoin miners especially because unlike BCH, BTC adjusts its difficulty every 14 days.
One such user on Reddit posted: | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
La exitosa serie La Casa de Papel de la plataforma de streaming Netflix, tendrá una quinta temporada, así lo reveló en exclusiva el portal español FormulaTV.
También se anunció que el actor Álvaro Morte, seguirá encabezando el elenco con su papel de «El Profesor», por los momentos ha sido el único confirmado, sin embargo todo indica que no será el único que vuelva a reunirse con la banda.
Esta quinta temporada se tiene previsto que empiece su rodaje a principio del 2020, coincidiendo con el estreno de la cuarta entrega.
Me gusta esto: Me gusta Cargando... | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Once again, protests against the NRA at its annual convention, this time in Dallas, have been pathetic.
Turnout has been "shockingly small." One event had "maybe 100 (people), half of whom were journalists." An actress involved in the protest movement attended — accompanied by allegedly armed security guards, who illegally "chase(d) Texans out of a public park simply because they asked if she uses armed defense."
Topping it all: The press has ignored the long criminal record -- including violence against a small child -- of local anti-NRA organizer Dominique Alexander.
To say that Alexander is prone to hyperbole is akin to saying that water is wet. On April 30, he predicted that "thousands" would protest at the NRA convention. The Los Angeles Times eagerly reported that promise:
Alexander appears to have seriously exaggerated actual results after the protest occurred — and NPR relayed it without challenge:
The Dallas Morning News reported that "A few hundred people attended multiple peaceful protests at Dallas City Hall and at Belo Gardens during the day," and that the "few hundred" represented "both sides of the gun debate."
No one has seemed interested in Dominique Alexander's background except CRTV's Steven Crowder.
Crowder, posing as "Jean-Guy Tremblay," a vociferous Canadian gun-control activist in a wheelchair, went to one of the protests to ask Alexander about items in his criminal record in a series of "This can't be true, can it?" questions.
Here's that video's opening (questions are spliced together from later footage; h/t Moonbattery):
Transcript:
STEVEN CROWDER: You have a record: Stealing a car, leading police on (a) chase, and beating a two-year old girl, causing body injury. Man, what's that, man?
"That" is all true:
"(In 2011) he was arrested for stealing a car." "(In 2012) he was involved in a domestic disturbance that led to a police chase through the streets of Carrollton." "(In 2011) he pled guilty ... to injuring his ex-girlfriend’s 2-year-old child." (He had been arrested on that charge in July 2009.)
There's much more:
He was "convicted of a felony forgery charge in January 2013."
In 2016, "Alexander was charged with theft of property between $2,500 and $30,000 ..."
He was sentenced in 2016 "to two years for violating his probation on multiple occasions. The most recent violation occurred when he left the state not once but twice without telling his probation officer."
Crowder's full video reveals (at the 3:15 mark) that at the 2016 Black Lives Matter rally led by alleged gun-control advocate Alexander where five Dallas cops were slaughtered by Micah Johnson, initial police "confusion about the number of shooters was partly because about 20 protesters wearing protective vests and carrying rifles scattered when the shooting started."
A Google News search on {"Dominique Alexander" Dallas NRA] (typed exactly as indicated between brackets, sorted by date, past week) done at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday returned eight results. Besides the NPR item above, Alexander was described as "executive director of Next Generation Action Network" (twice), "Next Generation president (and/or) founder" (three times), a "Minister," and as "leading a protest Saturday."
Alexander's criminal background was nowhere to be found.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
On Tuesday, a group of 150 to 200 people including Democratic city councilman Mark Squilla gathered in South Philadelphia displaying signs that read “White women’s lives matter,” “We know who you are,” and “We will not allow you to terrorize our neighborhood.” Ostensibly, the rally was meant to protest police inaction following an attack on a group of local women. The reality may have been much uglier than that.
According to Philadelphia ABC outlet WPVI, which covered the rally, demonstrators gathered at Fourth and Wolf Streets in the wake of “what they claim are racial attacks at the hands of four black women who live nearby” to protest the fact that Philadelphia police did not initially file a report on the alleged attacks or arrest the perpetrators. A woman identified as a victim of the attacks in WPVI’s segment says that her assailants yelled “white [expletive] we’re gonna [expletive] you up!” while they “pounded” her inside her home, and a man says that he was attacked on his doorstep by the same women. Both alleged victims declined to provide their names to WPVI and were interviewed with their faces obscured. Philadelphia’s NBC 10 also covered the rally without naming the alleged victims.
[There was a video here]
WPVI’s video makes it clear that the rally was racially charged—one demonstrator is shown saying “white lives matter” into a megaphone while holding a sign that appears to read “Eliminate the thugs.” What’s not clear from the report is that Jack Owens—identified by WPVI as the rally’s organizer—may have a history of virulent racism.
A Facebook profile under the name Jack Owens can be seen on a cached page promoting the event to a group called “Taking Our South Philadelphia Streets Back.” “We will gather on the corner of 4th and wolf to show our solidarity, to show the Police Department that we deserve answers and to show these victims that we care!”, the post reads in part.
Jack Owens’ profile has since been deleted, but a a tipster in South Philadelphia sent screencaps of about a dozen racist Facebook posts that were published by what appears to be the same account between 2009 and 2012. In one, a photo of a gorilla is captioned “Quit comparing me to niggers.” Another captions a photo of an older black woman with “oldest living monkey not in captivity and/or jail dies today at 113.” Several posts refer to “nigger history month.”
“Thank you for calls and texts asking how my sister is. After 4 blacks kicked her door in and attacked her. They had them but let them go,” another post reads, in apparent reference to the alleged attacks that inspired the demonstration.
Mark Squilla, who represents Philadelphia’s First District in City Council, can be seen addressing the crowd by megaphone in WPVI’s video. “We know there were several calls to 911 that day. We’re reviewing those calls. That will be put on record and decided why things went down the way they did,” he can be heard saying. According to WPVI, an internal investigation into the police’s response to the attacks was launched after Squilla “got involved.”
Because the names of the alleged attackers and victims have not been made public, it is difficult to divine the circumstances surrounding the attacks. But the Philadelphian who sent us Jack Owens’ Facebook posts said that there are rumors that run contrary to the demonstrators’ version of events. Making clear that his claims were unconfirmed, the tipster wrote via email:
Supposedly there was an argument between some women wherein a white woman was struck by a black woman. The police were called and determined it was a mutual fight with no real injuries and left the scene without arresting anyone. A small group of white people related to the white woman then organized a “protest” or rally. The rally was purportedly to speak out against violence in their neighborhood - specifically, they say, 4 black women they claim are “terrorizing” their neighborhood... The general gist though is that it was a seemingly small incident (no blood drawn) but the locals wanted an arrest. When the arrest wasn’t forthcoming, it quickly became exaggerated into the neighborhood being “terrorized.” It’s just an unfortunate distortion of what happens in the neighborhood where a very small minority of white people feel inexplicably threatened by their diminishing role of “running” the neighborhood
Representatives of Mark Squilla’s office have not yet returned my request for comment. I’ll update if and when they do. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Motorists’ rising affluence and increasing demand for bigger, more expensive cars is music to the ears of manufacturers | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has again put Germany and the rest of Europe on notice regarding China's controversial telecom giant Huawei, warning they could be cut off from crucial US intelligence sharing over Huawei's 5G networks now being built.
Pompeo issued the ultimatum following a meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Friday, saying the decision on whether to allow Huawei equipment would have severe consequences, according to Reuters. His words came at the start of a five-day European tour: “They [Germany] will take their own sovereign decisions, [but we] will speak to them openly about the risks... and in the case of Huawei the concern is it is not possible to mitigate those anywhere inside of a 5G network,” Pompeo said.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. File photo via RFERL
Germany, alongside the UK and France, has refused to budge amidst the ratcheting pressure from the US over worries that China's intelligence is using its next generation networks as "back door" for aggressive telecommunications eavesdropping.
Pompeo told the news conference further: “(There is) a risk we will have to change our behavior in light of the fact that we can’t permit data on private citizens or data on national security to go across networks that we don’t have confidence (in).”
As we reported previously the Trump administration first notified its Berlin counterparts of the intelligence sharing concerns in early March, when US Ambassador to Germany Richard A. Grenell told Germany’s economics minister in an official letter that the European ally and intelligence partner "wouldn’t be able to keep intelligence and other information sharing at their current level if Germany allowed Huawei or other Chinese vendors to participate in building the country’s 5G network."
It was noted at the time the warning is "likely to cause alarm among German security circles" amid persistent terror threat, largely the result of Merkel's disastrous "Open Door" policies which allowed over 1 million middle eastern immigrants into he country. And yet it appears Germany's national security state establishment has remained unmoved, or at least unable to prevail over Merkel's government.
Meanwhile on Thursday a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman responded to the White House position at a moment Pompeo keeps up the pressure campaign on European allies, saying, the US has not offered proof that Huawei’s products present a security risk.
“We hope that the United States can stop these mistaken actions which are not at all commensurate with their status and position as a big country,” said spokesman Geng Shuang, according to Reuters.
And Huawei, for its part, is reportedly taking steps to block its employees from taking part in technical meetings with American contacts, which has even included sending home American employees that were based at its Chinese headquarters in Shenzen. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Greg Wyshynski and Emily Kaplan detail the NHL players who have struggled to play to expectations so far this year. (2:44)
We're at the part of the NHL season when trends are starting to emerge. Slow starts are no longer excusable; guys have had ample opportunity to find their groove.
For this week's ESPN NHL Power Rankings, we identified a player (or area) on each team that needs to improve.
How we rank: The ESPN hockey editorial staff submits polls ranking teams 1-31, and those results are tabulated to the list featured here. Teams are rated through Tuesday night's games, taking into account overall record, recent success and other factors such as injuries. The previous ranking for each team is its spot in last week's edition.
Previous ranking: 2
The Caps are cruising lately -- playing a great brand of physical hockey, and scoring a ton of goals. One area they can improve? Taking fewer penalties. Even though the penalty kill is in better shape than last season, Washington has 78 minor penalties, second most in the league. And improving there is on just about everyone.
Previous ranking: 5
The defending champs are thriving despite adversity. New forward Jacob De La Rose doesn't necessarily need to step up, but he gets a prime opportunity to do so with Alexander Steen sidelined. De La Rose needs to prove he can thrive as a grinder in Craig Berube's system.
Previous ranking: 1
Things were looking terrific for the Bruins, until this current four-game slide, including a massive blown lead against the Panthers this week. Finding secondary scoring remains a focus. And now, do we have to worry about Boston closing out games, typically a Bruce Cassidy hallmark?
Previous ranking: 3
Oliver Wahlstrom responded quite well to his AHL assignment, with a goal, an assist and eight shots in three games back in Bridgeport. We expect the rookie to step up and start contributing offensively when he gets his NHL call.
Previous ranking: 6
We know this team needs players not named Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl to step up offensively. (James Neal has been admirable as an addition to that tandem). How about Ryan Nugent-Hopkins? He did have a two-goal night against Anaheim, but he has only six points at even strength this season.
Previous ranking: 11
Nathan MacKinnon is back in MVP mode, doing it all while his team is banged up. The new guys are contributing, and even the relatively unknown 22-year-old goaltender, Adam Werner, stood out in emergency relief. We could pick someone who needs to step up, but it would really just be nitpicking.
Previous ranking: 13
Phil Kessel has brought leadership to the locker room, and the team just posted an impressive back-to-back road sweep of the two most recent Cup champs. But Kessel has just three goals in 19 games and hasn't given the power play the boost the Coyotes thought it might receive.
Previous ranking: 19
We've been impressed by the Canadiens' improvements this season, especially on offense, as they're scoring 3.44 goals per game, and the power play, which was a sore spot last season. The Habs have taken a step back defensively, though, and their penalty killing could use a shape-up.
The NHL on ESPN+ Catch 300-plus NHL games streaming live or on replay this season on ESPN+. Click here for the upcoming schedule and to learn how to subscribe.
Previous ranking: 17
So it all seems to be coming together for Joel Quenneville in Florida, as the Panthers are looking as if they should be a playoff team. But Sergei Bobrovsky still isn't playing up to his hefty contract (.881 save percentage, 3.52 goals-against average), and he was chased by the Bruins on Tuesday.
Previous ranking: 10
There's not much to complain about regarding the Canucks, as they're still performing better than expected. Captain Bo Horvat, on the surface, is doing great (good possession numbers, fourth on the team in scoring), but of his 14 points, just six are at even strength.
Previous ranking: 16
The Flames have shuffled the lineup quite a bit after some early-season malaise. A player who doesn't look like his dominant self: Johnny Gaudreau. After finishing last season eighth in the NHL with 99 points, Gaudreau has been inconsistent, including a recent 12-game drought without a goal.
Previous ranking: 21
Philadelphia is finding its groove lately, winning four straight games recently to slide into a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers could use more from $50 million free-agent acquisition Kevin Hayes, who has just seven points in 17 games and his lowest faceoff percentage since 2015-16.
Previous ranking: 14
The Penguins went nearly a month without a power-play goal. They've had unrelenting bad injury luck. They rarely lead early. And yet, they keep finding ways to get points. So we decided to give the Pens a pass this week.
Previous ranking: 4
Most everything is going well offensively for the Predators these days -- like, really well. But we're starting to worry again about Kyle Turris. After scoring seven points in his first nine games (a positive development) he has just one point (a goal) in nine games since.
Previous ranking: 12
Sure, the Leafs left Michael Hutchinson out to dry -- they played terribly in front of the backup goalie, often on the back end of back-to-backs -- leading the team to waive the 29-year-old. The Leafs are in desperate need of a dependable backup. Kasimir Kaskisuo gets the next opportunity.
Previous ranking: 7
Since Oct. 12, Nino Niederreiter has just four points in 13 games. The Canes are expecting more from their middle-six winger, who scored a combined 53 points with the Canes and Wild last season.
Listen to ESPN On Ice Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski take you around the NHL with the latest news, big questions and special guests every episode. Listen here »
Previous ranking: 8
Vegas is in a slump. The Knights have gone 3-4-3 over their past 10. They've relied heavily on Marc-Andre Fleury since the team's first season, but even he hasn't looked quite like himself lately, and backups Malcolm Subban and Oscar Dansk haven't provided much confidence.
Previous ranking: 15
The Lightning seem to be waking up after an early-season slumber, but they still expect more out of their top stars. It's surprising Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov have just five goals each -- or, one more than Kevin Shattenkirk, who was bought out by the Rangers this summer.
Previous ranking: 20
The Jets' blue line was projected to be a problem this season. But their offense shouldn't be struggling like this, too. Captain Blake Wheeler has 10 points in 19 games, on pace for about half of his 91-point total from each of the past two seasons.
Previous ranking: 9
The Sabres are in danger of another collapse after scoring 12 goals in their past seven games, six of them losses. Half of those goals were scored by Jack Eichel or Sam Reinhart. So pretty much everyone else needs to step up offensively (looking at you, Jeff Skinner, with two points in your past seven).
Previous ranking: 18
The Ducks have fallen back to Earth after a surprisingly good start. This team is missing its best defensive pair in Josh Manson and Hampus Lindholm, but the entire defense needs to step up. They've left goalies John Gibson and Ryan Miller high and dry; luckily both have been excellent, or this would look much uglier.
Get the best of ESPN sent to your inbox The ESPN Daily delivers the biggest sports news and moments every weekday. Sign me up! Email:
Previous ranking: 25
The kids are showing up for the Rangers these days, but it has been a disappointing start for one of them: 21-year-old Lias Andersson. He hasn't earned trust with coach David Quinn -- his ice time reflects that, with less than 10 minutes in each of the past three games -- and he has scored just one point in 15 games.
Previous ranking: 22
We're nearing the one-year anniversary of CEO Jim Lites' infamous tirade about the team's two biggest stars. Well, the organization is still frustrated. Coach Jim Montgomery called out the production of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin last week. (Montgomery since apologized to the team, but the emotions were real).
Previous ranking: 26
The Sharks are getting their act together, winning four straight. The return of Radim Simek has helped on defense. But if this team is going anywhere, it needs more from goaltending. Martin Jones has a .887 save percentage through 15 games, with only three of his 13 starts falling into the quality start category.
Previous ranking: 27
Can we ask an entire group to step up? The Blackhawks have a surplus of defensemen they're rotating in and out, but they're still leaky, giving up a league-high 37.1 shots per game. Good thing free-agent signing Robin Lehner has been so steady; he has already had to face 50-plus shots in two of his 10 starts.
Previous ranking: 23
The great regression after going all-in last season has come, and it's not pretty. Plenty of players aren't putting forward their best performance. One of them is Josh Anderson, who has two points in 12 games and hasn't been playing as physically as we're used to seeing.
Previous ranking: 31
Call it the Robby Fabbri effect. The Red Wings have turned things around with three straight wins. This is a prime opportunity for another new addition -- Brendan Perlini -- to get his career back on track. He's scoreless in seven games.
Previous ranking: 24
The Devils hoped P.K. Subban would slot in as their true No. 1 defenseman, a player who would steer the point on the power play. He's not the only Devil underperforming, but it's noticeable that Subban has zero points on the man advantage this season.
Previous ranking: 30
It's hard to pick on the Senators, given what they're working with. There's probably not enough NHL-caliber talent on this roster. There is, however, enough decent personnel for a functioning power play, including young foundational pieces Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk. And that's an area that has been absolutely dreadful, clicking at a 6.5% rate.
Previous ranking: 28
There are plenty of Wild players who need to step up. One under the spotlight is Jason Zucker, who was benched recently and has been called out by coach Bruce Boudreau to do more. Zucker has had some bad defensive lapses. At even strength, he has been on the ice for 10 goals for and 19 goals against.
Previous ranking: 29
The Kings are officially the NHL's bottom-feeders. There are multiple fundamental issues on this roster, but they haven't received what they've wanted from Ilya Kovalchuk, and he's being held out of the lineup as a result. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
During a period of ill health a few years back, as I struggled with depression and addiction, three of the four elements that helped me to recover were straightforward: psychiatry; psychotherapy; and the support of others. The fourth was more mysterious, and I set out on a journey to try to understand it.
In my teenage years, I had developed an aptitude for drinking, as many adolescents do. But it was while working as a music journalist in my 20s that my addictions accelerated. By April 2012, at the age of 27, I was on my knees. I knew that the drink and drugs had to go: the highs were getting harder to achieve; the lows were becoming more dangerous, more self-destructive. I knew my mental and physical health were deteriorating, but I couldn’t seem to stop or cut down. After months of trying to do this alone, I found a rehabilitation programme and set out on a path to sobriety.
I had time on my hands, weekends loomed large and I needed to keep busy. So I started walking, wandering daily on Walthamstow Marshes in north-east London to watch the kestrels, caterpillars and the shaggy old heron. It made me feel safe and secure. Gradually, I realised that my mind needed these walks and I grew to rely on them. The natural world had become a kind of rehab: it soothed my rawness and patched me back together.
An autumnal scene at the Walthamstow Wetlands in north-east London. Photograph: Ray Wise/Getty Images
In those very early sober months, when I was learning to live without the crutches I had used for years, I felt as if I was walking around without skin. The critical inner voices that had contributed to my periods of mental illness had folded me into myself. But on the marshes, I started to look up and outwards. Even though I was usually alone when I walked, I never felt lonely. I was realising that I belonged to a wider family of species, the matrix of life, from the spiders to the lichen and the cormorants to the coots. Nature picked me up by the scruff of my neck, and I rested in her care for a while.
With the kind of urgent desire I had once had for mind-altering substances and music, I was now drawn to trees, birds, flowers and plants . I understood that time in nature softened the voices in my head and stabilised my mood, but I didn’t, at the beginning, understand what was happening to my body, brain and mind. I hadn’t realised that the essence of nature – the geometry, the scents, the sounds, the colours, the textures, the chemical makeup – could have such a life-changing power but, quite quickly, this became apparent.
I began to plant things to watch them grow. One of the first things I noticed was that after gardening, digging my hands deep into the soil, I felt happy, upbeat, less stressed and generally more positive. Reading up on this, I saw that there may be a biological reason for it. One of the species of bacteria found in soil, M vaccae, has been found to affect the brain and increase stress resilience. In 2004, lung cancer patients at the Royal Marsden hospital in Surrey who were given an immunisation containing the bacteria reported feeling happier. As Dr Christopher Lowry, one of the leading neuroscientists in the field, said at the time: “These studies leave us wondering if we should all spend more time playing in the dirt.”
Contact with bacteria in soil has been found to increase resilience to stress. Photograph: Cultura/Charles Gullung/Getty Images/Cultura RF
Our microbiota are healthiest when they are diverse – and a diverse microbiota is influenced positively by an environment filled with organisms, which are found more abundantly outside. We are woven into the land, and wider ecosystems, more than we realise. Crucially, these old friends that we evolved with are able to treat or block chronic inflammation, which can also affect the brain and have a direct impact on mood. Studies have shown that spending just two hours in a forest can significantly lower levels of cytokines – an inflammation biomarker – in the blood, which could be caused by exposure to important organisms.
It is all very well thinking about how more connection with the natural world would make people happier and healthier. But it is all the more pressing given the situation we find ourselves in. How can forest bathing be prescribed when forests are threatened and diminishing across the world? How can people spend more time in green spaces when many of our parks are in decline?
As I fell in love with the trees and the soil, I began to see how endangered much of nature had become, and how these opportunities to commune with other species were slipping through our fingers. Alongside our disconnection from nature is, of course, the fact that the natural world is rapidly vanishing; our time on this Earth is haunted by habitat destruction, species loss and climate breakdown. While revelling in the glory of the rest of nature, I also fell into a state of ecological grief, the name for the psychological response to the nature and climate emergency; a mourning for the communities, wildlife and landscapes that are disappearing and a fear of what is to come. Of course, people in many countries – including Britain’s flooded areas – are already suffering directly from the impact of the climate emergency. Others are experiencing anxiety, worry and dread about an anticipated future of ecological loss.
The more I learned about the benefits a connection to nature can have on our minds, the more it seemed appalling that access to nature is so threatened in some places. The destruction of ancient woodlands across the country; the felling of much-loved street trees in Sheffield and other urban areas; children barely given opportunities to play in woods, fields and parks; the legislation that is failing to protect our rivers, streams and wild places; and the fact that the UK will miss almost all its biodiversity targets that were set a decade ago.
Spending time in restorative natural environments is dependent, partly, on weather, which is in flux. A study of antidepressants by the environmental psychologist Terry Hartig has suggested that colder summers may constrain restorative activities that reduce stress and depressive symptoms. Rates of SSRI prescriptions increased for men and women in an unseasonably cooler July in Sweden. At the other extreme, emerging evidence links potentially dangerous high temperatures to increased mental health problems, illness and suicide.
For those on the frontline of the climate crisis, the mental health impacts of ecological loss are already severe. In Kulusuk, Greenland, where the ice has melted, rates of depression, suicide and alcoholism have risen. In the Nunatsiavut region of Labrador, Canada, residents report feeling stressed, depressed and anxious because of the melted ice and changing weather patterns. It strikes at the very heart of identity. Farmers in the Australian wheat belt, whose farms have blown away in dust storms, have compared losing their farms to a death.
Diversity and richness of birdsong is linked to decreased stress and a quicker recovery of a balanced nervous system. Photograph: Fireglo2/Getty Images/iStockphoto
As Glenn Albrecht, the Australian academic who coined the term “solastalgia”, to describe the distress caused by environmental change, points out, what is disordered isn’t ecological grief, eco-anxiety or global dread but “the world that is causing you to feel that way”. It is a natural response to loss – and it is likely to become more common.
Our relationship with nature, even if it could be restored, isn’t quite as simple as a soothing, serene ramble in the wild. The wild barely exists. So what is the effect of biodiversity loss on our minds, our inner selves, and the collective psyche?
When we walk in the woods, or by a lake, or spend time in a garden or park, evidence suggests that our parasympathetic nervous system is more likely to be activated. This is responsible for the “rest and digest” processes at work inside your body, associated with feelings of contentment, sleep and safety. The sympathetic nervous system’s main function is to stimulate the body’s reaction to stress, and ignore any non-essential business, such as immune function. Ideally, we want a balanced nervous system.
After exposure to nature, our stress-recovery response is faster and more complete when compared with exposure to built environments. This has important consequences for our health at a time when stress-related diseases are on the increase. It also suggests that if we, as a society, are allowing trees to be cut down, or natural spaces in urban areas to be paved over, we are acting in a way that is damaging to public health. We need nature in order to recover from the stresses of life.
Research shows that green space seems to have a buffering effect on the stresses of an urban area
There are many studies that link natural sounds – particularly diversity and richness of bird song – to decreased stress and a quicker recovery of a balanced nervous system. Even people under anaesthetic have been found to produce fewer chemical biomarkers associated with stress – such as amylase in saliva – when played a recording of soft wind or birdsong.
A few years into my research, I had a baby and moved to a town in Hampshire. Near my new home, I found a beautiful, wild cemetery containing ancient ruins, where a majestic beech tree shines batter-yellow in the autumn sun. Rabbits flicker in the long grass, occasionally stopping long enough so I can see the black inkwells of their eyes; goblets of ancient epiphytes decorate the brick walls. When I look closer at the yellow blotches of lichen with my pocket microscope, I see tiny cities made of gold, with depth and dimension and cherry-red microscopic bugs invisible to the naked eye.
The science of awe was first considered by a psychologist called Dacher Keltner at the University of California at Berkeley in a landmark paper published in 2003. Many experiences of awe in the modern world still come from an encounter with nature, despite our disconnection from it. Keltner found that awe increases happiness and lowers stress, perhaps unsurprisingly, but he also discovered just how powerful an experience of awe can be to the body and mind. The lab found that people were more ethical, kind and generous after feeling awe. Why? Perhaps from simply being in a good mood. But using functional MRI to look at the brains of participants, scientists saw that awe reduced activity in the default mode network, the area of the brain associated with a sense of self. It reminded me of a phenomenon I had heard about from recovering addicts: “addiction.fm” or the “washing-machine head”. In other words, the self-centred, negative ruminations that a substance can hush temporarily but, in the long run, will only feed. I visited the cemetery with renewed vim, searching for moments of awe and finding them everywhere.
Around that time, I got postnatal depression and there was a frightening period when nature didn’t touch the sides. I felt nothing in the wild spaces that had previously brought me wonder and succour. But after medical help, I found that taking a walk through the cemetery instead of down a busy, polluted road, made me feel noticeably calmer and lighter. I was drawn to the effulgent green moss, the old, sprawling yews, the buzz of spotting a nuthatch or goldcrest or sparrowhawk.
It turns out that these walks may have been affecting my brain in immediate and significant ways. Researchers in Edinburgh asked a group of people to walk from a busy urban space to a public park, or vice versa. Both groups started with a high stress response. What was interesting was how green space seemed to have a buffering effect on the stresses of the urban area. Those who started in green space and walked into a busy built-up space experienced an increase in alpha brainwaves – the electrical activity of the brain associated with relaxation. Nature seemed to undo the stress of the city, in the moment.
When I started on this journey, I might have said that a relationship or connection with the rest of nature isn’t for everyone; that some people just don’t like the outdoors. But, in fact, research shows that background nature is essential across the population for good mental health. Without access to natural landscapes, rich in biodiversity, our potential for restoration, peace and psychological nourishment is sorely degraded.
If we feel it, we can be galvanised by our ecological grief. We need a new relationship with the Earth, one that positions us not as conquerors, but co-tenants with wildlife and rivers and mountains and trees, respecting and caring for natural spaces because it is the right thing to do – and because we need the rest of nature for our lives and for our sanity.
Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need The Wild by Lucy Jones is published by Allen Lane on 27 February | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
（写真＝Getty Images）
FRB（米連邦準備制度理事会）のバーナンキ前議長は、ビットコインにまつわる幾つかのアイデアには価値があると称賛する一方で、 麻薬の売買やテロの資金調達といった犯罪にビットコインが悪用される懸念を理由に、政府がビットコイン促進に乗り出す可能性を否定した。
FRB議長在任時から懸念表明の一方、可能性も指摘
米デジタルメディア、Quartz（クオーツ）のインタビューに応じたバーナンキ前議長は、ビットコインをテクノロジーという観点では興味深い革命だと認める反面、「価格変動が高いわりに決済法として広範囲に普及していない」と指摘、政府支援の必要性を否定している。
バーナンキ前議長は 2年前、 FRBに所属していた当時も、当時米国で注目を集めだした仮想通貨について否定的な姿勢を明確にしており、中央銀行を介入させない仮想空間で起こりる様々な問題が、将来的には脅威になりかねないことを主張していた。
その一方で、仮想通貨がよりスピーディーで安全、かつ効果的な決済システムだと世間に証明することができれば、「長期的に価値ある革命として認められる可能性はある」とポジティブな面に焦点をあてていた。
IMFも仮想通貨には否定的
こうしたバーナンキ前議長の「反ビットコイン」の考えは、FRB全体の仮想通貨に対する考えを代表するものといえそうで、アラン・ブラインダー前副議長が1995年、｢仮想通貨は法律や監査という点で、将来的にトラブルとなるリスクをはらんでいる｣とコメントしている。
最近ではイエレン議長もバーナンキ前議長の見解を引き継ぎ、仮想通貨の監視は必要だと思われるが、「FRBには仮想通貨を規制や監査する法的あるいは政治的権限はない」と、一線を引いた見方を示している。
また国際通貨基金（IMF）のクリスティーヌ・ラガルド専務理事も「仮想通貨は信用性に著しく欠落している」と異論を唱えるなど、エスタブリッシュメントからの評判はすこぶる悪いのが現状だ。 （ZUU online 編集部）
【関連記事】
・モルスタCEO「ビットコインは単なるブーム。米司法省の規制で終わり」
・「世界MBAランキング」国内1位 東大や京大、慶應ではなく新潟のあの大学
・日本人大富豪ランキング トップ20の顔ぶれはこれだ！
・日経新聞/日経MJから、四季報まで全てネットで閲覧可？その意外な方法とは
・世界が認めた日本車！「最も価値の高い自動車ブランド ベスト10」頂点に輝いたのはあの日本ブランド？ | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
At the economic summit for Republican presidential candidates convened by Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., expressed concern about entrepreneurialism in the United States.
"For the first time in 35 years, we have more businesses dying than we do starting," Rubio said at the June 2, 2015, event.
Is that correct? We took a closer look.
We located a May 2014 report by the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, titled, "Declining Business Dynamism in the United States: A Look at States and Metros."
In that report, coauthors Robert Litan and Ian Hathaway published data that supports Rubio’s claim. Their calculations come from a collection of U.S. Census Bureau data called Business Dynamics Statistics.
"Recent evidence points to a U.S. economy that has steadily become less dynamic over time," they wrote.
They found that the rate of business failures held steady, except for an uptick during the Great Recession -- but they also found that the entry rate of new firms declined by nearly half between 1978 and 2011. "The precipitous drop since 2006 is both noteworthy and disturbing," the authors wrote.
Here’s the kicker from the report: "Business deaths now exceed business births for the first time in the 30-plus-year history of our data," the authors wrote.
Here’s a graph showing the trend line:
Technically, the crossover point occurred in 2008, so it’s not as if this happened in the past year or two. Still, we checked with Litan to make sure Rubio wasn’t twisting the statistic in any way, and Litan responded that Rubio’s claim is accurate.
"It’s true," Litan told PolitiFact, adding, "We haven’t reversed this yet."
As for the causes, the authors of the Brookings report acknowledged being uncertain themselves. However, the report added, "it is clear that these trends fit into a larger narrative of business consolidation occurring in the U.S. economy -- whatever the reason, older and larger businesses are doing better relative to younger and smaller ones."
Our ruling
Rubio said that "for the first time in 35 years, we have more businesses dying than we do starting." The change didn’t happen in the past year or two -- it occurred in 2008 -- but in general, Rubio has accurately cited a statistic from a respected think tank’s report. The co-author of that report said he feels Rubio has stated the claim accurately. We rate Rubio’s claim True. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Someone Peed in Your Gene Pool | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
FOX Lucifer season 4: Tom Ellis teases new series amid network talks - 'We'll find a home!'
FREE now and never miss the top Royal stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top Royal stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.
Tom Ellis has spoken out on Lucifer season 4 just one week after the TV network FOX announced the show’s cancellation, it has been reported. The 39-year-old actor, who plays the lead character in the drama series, dropped the biggest hint that Lucifer would return for a fourth season. Speaking about a conversation he had with American producer Jerry Bruckheimer, 74, Tom explained: “He called me at the weekend and said I just want you to know that I’m as gutted as everyone else. “I really loved watching the show and I’m determined to find a new home for it.” During an appearance on US show KTLA 5, Tom admitted he was shocked when he found out FOX had dropped Lucifer.
He began: “I was in Rome, I had just finished at a friendly convention, which was weird because I had been in a room full of love of people saying how much they loved the show. “Then I got a call saying it was cancelled, the rug had been pulled from under my feet and then 24 hours later it was announced.” “And then this tsunami of love started pouring in from people incredulous about this decision and wondering why, and just sort of saying how much they loved the show." When FOX confirmed the cancelation of Lucifer, fans went into overdrive on social media and now #SaveLucifer and #PickUPLucifer are both trending on Twitter. The medium has demonstrated viewers appreciation of the show Tom explained, saying: “In the past I would have got a call like that, licked my wounds for a few days and then carried on.
FOX Lucifer season 4: Tom Ellis teases new series amid network talks
The best TV shows for 2018 Wed, July 25, 2018 Best TV shows for 2018: Here are the shows we are most looking forward to in 2018. Play slideshow HBO 1 of 54 Westworld, Sky Atlantic
I’m determined to find a new home for it Tom Ellis
“But I think social media now has opened up a platform for people to express how they really feel about shows. “Rather than just facts and figures saying whose watching and how many people are watching. “It’s about how they [fans] feel about what’s in the content.” He added: “Also TV has changed a lot and people find a way to watch a programme they want to watch, where they want to watch and how they want to watch it.” Despite FOX choosing to end Lucifer, Tom said he has no ill feelings towards the company and is grateful to have had the opportunity.
FOX Lucifer is a series that follows the fallen angel by the same name
FOX Tom Ellis plays the lead character in the drama series | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
While the 3-month-old prototype glides over the San Antonio River this winter, the beta version of San Antonio’s new river barge is being constructed in Wisconsin.
The craft will launch this February with several design and engineering adjustments, most of which will not be immediately apparent to the average passenger.
“There’s a lot of discovery in the design process,” Councilman Roberto Treviño (D1) said Wednesday as one of several low-slung River Walk bridges threatened to graze the heads of the standing barge pilots.
The hull will be three to four inches lower and about one foot wider, the electric motor will be quieter, the railing will be sturdier, and several other adjustments will be made to avoid future need for the “splash zone” tape placed at the bow of the prototype. When filled with passengers, designers noticed that the barge was a bit nose-heavy, causing some water to splash inside.
A “splash zone” has been taped off on the prototype barge. Credit: Scott Ball / San Antonio Report
Initial project estimates from the City put $45,000-$60,000 price tags on each barge with a maximum $4 million contract. City Council unanimously approved a $6.5 million contract last month with Wisconsin-based Lake Assault Boats, LLC for 43 barges. That’s about $150,000 per barge.
Well worth it, Treviño said, because the materials and the versatility of the design will last decades.
The cost of the barges and maintenance will eventually be paid for by the leasing fees that the City will collect from the private operator.
Houston-based design firm Metalab won a design competition and a $400,000 contract last year. Rio San Antonio Cruises owns and operates the old barges, most of which were built in 1995 and modeled after the HemisFair design. The City is currently accepting applications from operators. The deadline to apply has been extended to Jan. 20. City Council is expected to consider the contract in March, and the new fleet is slated to be in the water this fall, in time for the city’s Tricentennial celebrations in 2018.
“Every bit of this (design) is being thought out,” said Treviño, who is an architect by trade and led the initial design competition effort with the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
Councilman Roberto Treviño (D1) said the higher-than-expected upfront costs of the new river barge design will pay off in the long run.
The competition for the new contract allows the city to respond to needs, he said. “We asked for several things in the previous (barge contract request for proposals) and we didn’t get it.”
The city scrapped proposals in 2015 which didn’t include electric motors and instead split the contracts for design and operation.
“This is a model for how we need to do many other things,” Treviño said of the design competition, adding that it got rid of some bureaucratic “red tape” and allowed for a “platform for discovery.”
City staff and members of the design and manufacturing teams have spent the past three months testing out the prototype to make the beta, well, better.
“I lived on this thing in August,” quipped Scott Key, director of product design for Metalab. Key estimates he spent nearly six hours a day on the barge when it first launched, listening to passenger feedback and looking for modifications.
Metalab Principal Joe Meppelink pointed out several kinks in the design as we floated down the river, from the uncomfortable “ridges” meant to cradle passengers’ legs that will be removed to the bolts on the ground that stick out when the seats are removed.
“It helps that the designer (Metalab team) is still on board,” said John Jacks, interim director of the Center City Development & Operations Department. The engineering and design adjustments for the beta version are made “much easier” when there is more expertise at the table.
So far the barge has hosted a small symphony performance, buskers, and cocktail and beer cruises, and the team is looking forward to more creative programming ideas that could be initiated by the operator or by those looking to charter the crafts for special events.
The local hospitality industry is looking for ways to incorporate new dinner cruises and tours, Jacks said, and other small businesses have reached out with other ideas – yoga classes and pet adoption events among them.
Treviño wants to find an operator and approve a contract that can be “just as flexible, just as modular” as the barge itself, to encourage such creativity. Almost everything on top of the barge can be removed, save for the helm, allowing for several different seating, table, and space arrangements.
About 35 boats can comfortably navigate the River Walk and Museum Reach at a time. The extra barges will be on standby for when repairs or routine maintenance is needed. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Launching your new eBook is an exciting time. When Andy Weir first launched
The Martian
as an eBook in 2011 there was no way he could have predicted just how successful it would end up being. If you are a self-publisher, chances are you are envious of Weir’s success and are wondering how to replicate what he did.
If you are looking for secrets to his success, look no further than his successful novel
The Martian
. Hidden within his captivating book are many lessons that authors can apply for a successful eBook launch. In this post I will discuss six lessons you can learn from
The Martian
to have a wildly successful eBook launch of your own.
1. Prepare Long Before Your Launch
Imagine if Mark Watney and his crew had waited until launch day to begin preparing. Most astronauts spend their entire adult lives preparing for one launch and even then things go wrong. In
The Martian
, Watney and his crew consistently displayed their immense preparation and this preparation ultimately allowed them to all return to earth alive.
Now, launching your eBook is certainly not as daunting a task as navigating deep space, but you should take your pre-launch preparations seriously. Six months before you launch your eBook you should begin planning. Who will your first reader be? Where will your eBook be available for purchase? At what price will you be selling it? Prepare before you launch and you will be much more successful.
2. Take Advantage of Your Resources
When Mark Watney woke up on Mars alone, he had a HAB designed to last 31 days and resources that were not meant to last much longer. With no way to contact earth and deserted on a barren planet, Watney was facing a grim predicament. Instead of complaining about what he did not have, he got to work taking advantage of everything he did have.
Most self-published authors can relate to this feeling. Ok, maybe not exactly, but self-published authors do know a thing or two about making the most of the resources they have. You may not have a massive marketing budget or access to the top experts to help with the development and distribution of your eBook, but just like Andy Weir you can have a successful eBook launch nonetheless.
3. Create A Way To Communicate With The World
One of the early turning points in
The Martian
is when Watney discovers a way to communicate with NASA. Once he is able to get Pathfinder back online, he makes contact with NASA and is able to begin discussing the survival plan with them.
Your ability to communicate is crucial for a successful eBook launch. On earth communication is much easier, so you will not need a Ph.D to figure it out. There is no right or wrong way to communicate with your audience, but a few effective methods are:
Email Newsletter
Personal Blog
Social Media
Podcast
Speaking Engagements
Guest Posting
Old-Fashioned Letters
Networking Events
The bottom line is this: if you can’t find an effective way to communicate with potential buyers
of your eBook, it will be left to die online much like Watney was on Mars. Begin building an audience long before you launch your eBook so you can have interested readers the day you launch.
4. Find People Willing To Help Your Cause
After a failed attempt to send supplies to Watney, NASA was left without another rocket to send into space and not enough time to build one capable of the journey. Luckily NASA was able to find someone to help their cause, the Chinese. With the help of their rocket, the
Taiyang Shen
, NASA was able to get supplies to Watney’s crew and restore hope in a successful return to Earth for Watney.
Unless you have been living on Mars for the past few years, you have most likely heard of influencer marketing and the how partnering with the right influencers can make all the difference. Leveraging influencer marketing for your eBook launch is simple, find individuals with a dedicated audience similar to the readers you are hoping to connect with and ask them to talk about your book.
The influencers you find will be your
Taiyang Shen
, the added help you need to lift off and never look back.
Finding the right influencers
is important, so focus on relevance more than quantity. Begin the process of identifying and engaging with influencers at least 6 months prior to your eBook launch. Doing so will ensure that you have an army of influencers willing to help you get your eBook the early exposure it needs to be a great success.
5. Cut The Dead Weight
When it comes time to leave Mars for good and rendezvous with his crew, Watney is forced to launch into space in a MAV stripped down to the bare essentials. Removing all non-essential weight allows him to reach space in a spacecraft that was never meant to be able to travel that far.
One of the easiest ways to increase your profit when selling eBooks is to reduce your costs. There are a few ways to accomplish this including finding more affordable ways to market your eBook and finding a way to distribute your eBook.
At EditionGuard, we pride ourselves on providing a secure and affordable way for authors and online bookstores to distribute their eBooks online. For as little as $60 per month, you can sell your eBooks with the security of Adobe’s DRM. Get started with our
30 day free trial today
.
6. You Can Accomplish Anything
The Martian
is a captivating novel that proves that anything is possible with enough ingenuity and hard work. If you are a new writer or have doubts about your upcoming eBook launch, keep in mind that you can do anything you set your mind to. Use the lessons we discussed in this blog to improve your chances of a successful eBook launch and be willing to do anything it takes to reach the level of success you desire.
I leave you with one simple question: What will you do this week to prepare for your upcoming eBook launch? Let me know in the comment section below. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Taken from my Facebook Page:
*Long post is long...but please read before commenting*
Good morning everyone kiki emoticon So yesterday I mentioned that I am switching Toothless out for another May Patreon (Toothless will be for June).
So in a nut shell....Im redesigning all the Scouts YET AGAIN 2016 EDITION LOL (long story).
YES...all the scouts will be done (they are already sketched out on paper) YES all of them will be done in this style, so its going to take me a lot longer then when I did the Burlesque versions in 2014. I will share more of the sketches at the end of the month (Venus will be next).
Current style is Sailor Moon Warrior Princess (Xena, Wonder Woman, ect). The Cosmos Version recolor is thanks to my friend AmazonMandy (Who is currently making this). When I showed her Moon, she right away asked if she could do a Cosmos version and I was like...ERMAGERD YAS | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
President Donald Trump has said he wants the Pentagon to organise a military parade.
Here's how other countries do it. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Family violence is a global and pernicious problem. To meet the challenge of this critical issue, grassroots practitioners, academics, mental health professionals and representatives from more than 30 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and two UN agencies held a two-day Symposium in May 1994. The Symposium was initiated by the Baha'i International Community's Office for the Advancement of Women in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) on the occasion of the International Year of the Family, (1994).
Building on a diversity of cultures, professions, experiences and perspectives, participants from China to the Caribbean worked together in an environment of trust and respect. They exchanged points of view and found common ground in a collective commitment to expand their efforts to create violence-free families.
Domestic violence, participants agreed, takes many forms, affects all spheres of society and all aspects of human development. The links between violence in the family and social, structural and political violence are inescapable. Participants explored strategies and raised questions that focused on prevention as well as intervention. What is the best way to raise public awareness about the scope and seriousness of family violence? How does one break the intergenerational spiral and prevent abused children from becoming abused or abusive adults? They explored strategies to help battered wives and daughters develop self-esteem and self-worth, enabling them to expose the historic and powerful myth of their own gender-based worthlessness and to take action on their own behalf.
After two days of workshops and discussions, participants reached a consensus that developing a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach to the challenging task of creating violence-free families was not only a necessity, but an achievable reality. Effective efforts to create violence-free families require a partnership between men and women and the active participation of all social sectors. Strategies for redress and remedies must be designed to include the whole family, because the dynamics of family violence directly affect all its members. That effort must begin, said keynote speaker Dr. Hossain Danesh, Director of the Institute for International Education and Development, in Weinacht, Switzerland, with a new vision of the "family." Whatever its size or composition, he said, that family must be based on "unity, equality and mutual respect rather than power."
This vision requires a range of actions, from the re-examination of values and attitudes to the definition and criminalization of violent behavior. Awareness-raising, intervention and prevention must be simultaneous processes. "Eradicating violence in the family is not a matter of choice or chivalry or grace or good nature," said Marjorie Thorpe, Deputy Director of UNIFEM, in her closing comments. "It is an obligation and a responsibility imposed on us by our humanity and our interdependence."
The following conclusions emerged in consensus from the Symposium:
Family violence must be publicly acknowledged as a problem. Denial, on every level, is one of the greatest obstacles to eradicating family violence. The human need for love and acceptance often prevents victims from speaking out or even admitting that the abuse is taking place. They must be helped to recognize violence when it occurs - to them, or to a sister, brother, aunt, or grandmother - and be provided with the necessary legal and emotional support services. Women and children must be helped to avoid collusion with men in perpetuating violence by remaining silent, excusing violence, blaming themselves, and accepting cultural rationales.
The social and economic costs of family violence are incalculable. According to Alda Facio, Director of the Women, Gender and Justice Programme at the Latin American Crime Prevention Institute in Costa Rica, these costs range from hospitalization for sexually and physically abused infants, children and women, medical treatment for unsafe abortions and sexually transmitted diseases, to legal fees and support for battered-women's shelters, and foster homes for children.
But the price of violence is not only monetary, said Facio. The inestimable cost of lost productivity by damaged individuals unable to function fully, if at all, of lost psychic identities, and even loss of lives must also be considered. "Think of the millions of women who live with violence and the fear of violence. They lose their sense of identity which has been eroded to the point where they accept the contaminated version of reality dictated by their abusers. Think of the women who pay with their lives, either by their own hands or the hands of others."
Family violence is a human development issue. It damages wives, mothers and daughters who are battered, raped, deprived of human dignity and the means to meet their basic needs. It also traumatizes the children living in these homes, where they witness or are subjected routinely to beatings, sexual and verbal abuse, and neglect. Demonstrating and perpetuating the historically unequal power relations between genders, family violence severely impedes the full development and advancement of both men and women; replicating itself in generation after generation, it stunts the growth and development of whole societies. To pursue effective development strategies, agencies and organizations that work with women and children must increase their sensitivity to the issue of violence and make it central to their work.
Family violence is a human rights issue. Deeply rooted in cultural and religious gender bias, it is supported, even institutionalized, by many patriarchal societies. Family violence arises from social and legal systems that "entrust" the care of women and children to men, in fact, granting them unlimited license to dominate, oppress, even "own" them. In societies where women's rights are overtly thwarted, family violence can be a culturally inbred part of upbringing, embedded in the consciousness of all family members as "acceptable" and "normal." Moreover, contrary to conventional wisdom, a gain in status for women often brings an increase, not a decrease, in reported cases of violence as men feel threatened by a loss of power.
"The first step in ending family violence," said Dr. Nahid Toubia, of the Population Council, "is recognizing that certain practices, such as genital mutilation and widow burning, can be sources of cultural pride and serve to maintain the existing social order. "In other cases, she said, people consider wife battering, excessive punishment of children and infanticide of baby girls as "an unpleasant but unavoidable reality."
In many countries, family violence is ignored or condoned in the name of religion, of culture, and of "familism" in which the sanctity of the family unit takes rigid precedence over the safety or sanity of its individual members. At policy-making levels, family violence is often considered a private matter and in many countries, it is not a punishable offense. In some countries, one family member is prohibited by law from denouncing another, even for the most serious and violent acts. And where laws prohibiting family violence do exist, there is often little effort to implement them; in fact, the law is often the last resort for victims of abuse.
Effective use of a human rights framework to create violence-free families will require enforcement of international conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It will also require state interventions that protect women and children from abuse and prevent such violations from occurring. Religious and political leaders? educators and law enforcement officials must be sensitized and mobilized to support new cultural values of mutual respect rather than domination of one gender over the other.
A violent society produces violent families. Just as family violence affects the wider society, a violent society reinforces and even creates a ripe climate for family violence. Institutionalized violence, oppression, and rigidly maintained economic and social inequalities can simultaneously victimize men and turn them into perpetrators of violence against those even more helpless - their wives and children - in a society already built upon male authority and gender bias. In South Africa, for example, Hlengiwe Mkhize, Director of the Children in Violence Project at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, cited evidence from her country that reveals a clear link between state-initiated oppression and domestic violence. The family unit, she said, becomes the focus of accumulated stress and a fertile ground for multiple acts of domestic violence from family torture and murder, to wife battering, sexual molestation, and the daily mental and physical abuse suffered by children growing up in alcoholic and violent families.
Family violence must be addressed by the world community. It is not a private matter, but has become a global pandemic that the international community can neither ignore nor allow to be protected within the privacy of the family. It is an affliction that ravages all regions of the world, all economic and educational strata and all types of families. The family is the primary locus of human socialization and development. If that development process is denied or distorted, the adverse consequences can be irreversible. Behaviors learned in the home are replicated in the wider society. "We in the United Nations system," said Karin Sham Poo, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director for Operations, in her opening statement, "have at last recognized violence in the family as a formidable obstacle to socio-economic development, to say nothing of universal peace and justice."
Communities and governments must be mobilized for action. They must establish networks and hotlines to reduce isolation and provide safety for victims to speak out. Participatory research is an effective way to sensitize communities to the existence of violence, enabling them to develop their own definitions and their own solutions. A working definition of family violence and a simple checklist of symptoms for use by teachers, nurses, parents, therapists and doctors needs to be developed. Governments must enact and implement laws; develop policies, adequate programmes, and assertive protective measures for victims; provide budget allocations; and mount major public awareness campaigns for the purpose of eradicating family violence.
NGOs have a major role to play - and they are already playing it. Symposium participants acknowledged the daunting nature of family violence as a global affliction that requires a global solution. They were also inspired and motivated by the degree of common concern and the number of concrete grassroots strategies already in place - from Kenya to Canada, from model family projects to teen hotlines. Multiplied worldwide, innovative NGO work in training, rehabilitation, or advocacy can have a powerful impact on reducing family violence. To create violence-free families, the broader development community must develop effective strategies that are multi-disciplinary, collaborative and sensitive to the specific cultural and social conditions in which violence occurs.
The media must eliminate stereotyped images of girls and women and portray them in egalitarian relationships with men. The explosion of communications in this century has unleashed a multi-billion dollar violence industry of films, television programmes, magazines and music, which glorify violence. They perpetuate the misperception that domestic violence is provoked, even desired by its victims. Media messages that glorify war or social violence as natural expressions of male potency and reinforce the image of women as helpless and available objects of male sexual drives need to be stopped.
Educational systems need to redesign curricula, texts, sports programmes and other activities to promote gender equality. In one Caribbean community, when a secondary school offered an elective course on child development and parenting, the class was composed of more than 50% boys. Youth-oriented organizations, as well, need to focus on educating boys to develop non-violent attitudes through peer counseling, new forms of conflict-resolution, new symbols and role models of masculinity.
Drawing from the workshop discussions, Symposium participants proposed the following selected set of recommendations:
Research
Gather and analyze new and existing data on types and scope of abuse from victims, hospitals, police reports, and community agencies for use in advocacy and policy-making.
Consolidate and disseminate information on successful intervention models and preventive programmes.
Conduct qualitative participatory research at the community level to assess the nature, frequency and consequences of family violence and help design intervention and prevention strategies.
Education, Training, Advocacy
Provide support and training for front-line child-care givers - families, social workers, and traditional birth attendants (TBAs) - in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of family violence.
Sensitize police, judiciary, policy makers, and religious leaders regarding the mental health, economic and social consequences of family violence and train them in preventive strategies.
Develop gender-sensitive materials, texts, toys, etc. for dissemination in doctors' offices, community and daycare centers, and wherever families are present.
Provide special training for teachers in peer mediation and conflict resolution so that they can teach cooperation in the classroom.
Create public awareness through all forms of media and existing community networks, presenting family violence as a serious problem with serious consequences.
Organize classes for boys and girls to develop an egalitarian approach to parenting and other roles - i.e. sharing of chores and resources; providing opportunities for girls outside the home, including education and job training.
Educate women and children about their rights and facilitate the development of strategies to protect themselves.
Services
Provide intervention and support for victims of family violence, including counseling, shelters, crisis centers, and financial and legal support.
Offer enrichment programmes for families aimed at empowering the most vulnerable members and reinforcing existing family strengths and resources.
Require counseling for abusers, to help them reflect on their own experience and the root causes of their acts, and to learn new ways to build self-esteem and handle rage.
International and National Legislation
Disseminate international conventions and specific relevant sections of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, with simple notations on the use of these documents.
Enact and promote national legislation that criminalizes all forms of domestic violence and provides monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.
Require greater accountability of law enforcement officials, judicial systems, medical and psychiatric facilities, and social services regarding their handling of domestic violence cases. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Unique Ways of Napping in China - exhausted workers even sleep on the rails. On first glance, it looks more like a suicide attempt... | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
"Metal Gear Radio" is not, in any way, affiliated or assosiated with either Konami or Kojima Productions. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Bitcoin is following its strong August with a record high to start September.
The cryptocurrency on Friday crossed $4,800 for the first time. It's up 1.48% near $4,837 a coin as trade grinds higher for the eighth time in the past nine sessions.
The record high to start September follows an eventful August that saw bitcoin split in two and receive a software upgrade.
On August 1, a fork in the cryptocurrency split it into bitcoin and bitcoin cash. Since that day, bitcoin is up about 74% while bitcoin cash has doubled to $600 from its original print of $300.
But that wasn't the only major news in August. Developers introduced a new software called Segregated Witness, or SegWit. "SegWit is a clever solution that essentially increases transaction capacity," Aaron Lasher, the chief marketing officer of Breadwallet, a bitcoin technology company, told Business Insider.
Following the implementation of SegWit, Arthur Hayes, the CEO of BitMEX, a bitcoin derivative exchange, told Business Insider, "With Segwit implemented, I believe $5,000 bitcoin is within striking distance."
But not everyone thinks it's going to get there.
Sheba Jafari, the head of technical strategy at Goldman Sachs, thinks bitcoin is close to a top. In a note to clients, Jafari suggested bitcoin would climb as high as $4,827 before correcting, meaning, in her mind, it's fully valued.
Bitcoin is up 390% this year. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Zeddie Little, a handsome 25-year-old from New York, has become an Internet sensation after he was seen in a photo taken last weekend at the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, S.C., sparking the Ridiculously Photogenic Guy meme.
The photo by Will King has received more than 1.2 million views on Flickr and was the subject of much discussion on Reddit on Tuesday. It has also led to at least eight memes on the website quickmeme.com.
In the photo, Little is seen in his runners attire looking rather handsome with a little facial stubble, beautiful sun-kissed hair and a bright smile.
Charleston City Paper learned of Little's identity through a search of the race results by his bib number. They found that he finished in 242nd place in his division in 47 minutes and 16 seconds.
I didn't think overall the picture was that great, but I knew that he looked good, so I went ahead and uploaded it, King told Charleston City Paper.
A Facebook friend of King's wrote a photo comment stating, I dub this Ridiculously Photogenic Guy, and the photographer then shared the photo on Reddit with the explanation his friend gave, according to the paper.
Related Article: Ridiculously Photogenic Guy Zeddie Little Speaks, To Use Internet Fame For Good
Related Article: Ridiculously Photogenic Guy: Best Viral Memes of Zeddie Little The New Internet Eye Candy [PHOTOS]
Related Article: 'Ridiculously Photogenic Guy' Zeddie Little: 8 Things To Know About Star Of Viral Meme | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Tezos enthusiasts are in over 195 countries
Earlier this year, the Tezos Commons Foundation (TCF) was chartered by a group of Tezos enthusiasts as a US based non-profit organization with the goal of advancing the Tezos protocol and community. TCF acts as an independent participant in the Tezos ecosystem and operates with a team and board of directors based on input from the broader Tezos community.
One of TCF’s chartered directives is to sponsor Tezos meetups. To that end, we have solicited meetup proposals and received more than 60 amazing requests to fund meetups around the world — on every continent.
Our team has developed a tiered framework for meetup funding, evaluated the 60+ proposals, and has selected the first 12 meetup locations.
TCF plans to announce meetup funding on a quarterly basis. Selected meetups will receive reimbursement for their expenses depending on the tier of meetup being approved.
Tier 1 meetups will host up to 35 Tezos enthusiasts with 1 or more speakers from the local community. Location fees, food, beverage and Tezos branded give aways are provided.
Tier 2 meetups will feature a 50–100 person gathering. Food, drink, and venue are provided. This is a more formal gathering with two or more speakers, audio visual and a special guest (VIP if available).
Tier 3 meetups will support more than 100 attendees. Swag will be provided to attendees as well as a professional venue, AV, multiple speakers and Tezos VIPs.
Today, we are announcing the first 12 meetup locations that TCF is sponsoring. These events are targeted to occur during the next 90 days. Our team will be working closely with the local meetup organizers to coordinate successful events in all named locations:
Seattle, Washington — Tier 1 event during July
Munich, Germany — Tier 1 event during July
Cebu City, Philippines — Tier 1 event during July
Boston, Massachusetts — Tier 2 event during July
London, UK — Tier 1 event during August
Denver, Colorado — Tier 1 event during August
Geneva, Switzerland — Tier 2 event during August
Los Angeles, California — Tier 3 event during August
San Juan, Puerto Rico — Tier 1 event during September
San Francisco, California — Tier 2 event during September
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg — Tier 2 event during September
New York City, New York — Tier 3 event during September
In addition to these coming meetups, TCF has funded meetups during the current quarter including events in China and recurring events in Japan. The Japan team will continue to run monthly events in conjunction with TCF.
For other locations that have submitted a meetup request, our team will be working with you to refine your proposals and work to schedule as many as possible for Q4 2018 and beyond. If you would like to submit your city to host a meetup, please fill out our Meetup Request Form. Questions can be directed to [email protected].
If your group was not selected for a TCF funded meetup and you want to have one in the near term, please do not let that dissuade you. Grab a venue, get some speakers and have a Tezos event! It’s the decentralized way, after all. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
"Comisia de la Veneția tratează lucrurile acestea cu o superficialitate care pe mine mă sperie. Efectiv mă sperie. În ceea ce privește opțiunile politice pe care le avem noi în domeniul politicii penale, în domeniul organizării Justiției, cred că filtrele pe care le-am avut și care au funcționat, inclusiv la Curtea Constituțională, au fost suficiente", a mai spus Tăriceanu.
Potrivit raportului, Comisia de la Veneţia formulează următoarele recomandări adresate autorităţilor din România:
- "să reexamineze sistemul de numire/revocare a procurorilor de rang înalt, inclusiv prin revizuirea prevederilor corespunzătoare din Constituţie, în perspectiva oferirii condiţiilor pentru un proces de numire/revocare neutru şi obiectiv, prin menţinerea rolului instituţiilor, precum preşedintele ţării şi Consiliul Superior al Magistraturii (CSM), capabile să echilibreze influenţa ministrului Justiţiei";
- "să elimine ori să definească mai bine prevederile care le permit procurorilor de rang superior să invalideze soluţiile procurorilor pentru situaţiile de nefundamentare";
"Un astfel de document, denumit «opinie preliminară», nu trebuia făcut public, pentru că el presupune că urmează să fie modificat. Nu știu care sunt procedurile prin care se ajunge la opinia preliminară, dar prima remarcă pe care vreau să o fac pe fond (este că - n.r.) acest document este un document care din punct de vedere juridic mi s-a părut extrem de subțire. Este un document politic, este o opinie politică exprimată din partea Comisiei de la Veneția. Nu e normal. Comisia de la Veneția trebuia să analizeze subiectele de ordin juridic, nu opțiunile politice", a declarat Călin Popescu Tăriceanu la RTV, potrivit Mediafax.El a dat ca exemplu referirea Comisiei de la Veneția la secția de anchetare a faptelor procurorilor.Comisia de la Veneţia a prezentat vineri avizul preliminar pe tema proiectelor de amendamente asupra a trei legi din România în domeniul justiţiei, după sesizări de evaluare făcute de preşedintele României şi de Comisia de monitorizare a Adunării Parlamentare a Consiliului Europei. În conformitate cu procedura avizelor preliminare în cazurile urgente, Comisia de la Veneţia a autorizat transmiterea evaluării autorităţilor române. Comisia de la Veneţia urmează să susţină acest aviz, fără modificări, în sesiunea plenară din octombrie.- "să elimine restricţiile propuse asupra libertăţii de exprimare a judecătorilor şi procurorilor". | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The company has special plans for Bellevue, where it plans to bring an estimated 6,500 jobs over the next few years. Amazon is planning on relocating its entire worldwide operations team from Seattle to Bellevue over the next few years. In addition to the new Bellevue tower, Amazon has secured half a dozen leases of planned or currently existing office space in the city, according to the Times.
The reason for Amazon's return to Bellevue -- where founder Jeff Bezos started the company out of his garage in 1994 -- isn't purely nostalgic. After Amazon's plans to build a part of its "HQ2" in New York City fell apart, the company was forced to look at other options, including in its own Washington State. Bellevue hasn't formally been declared HQ2, but will likely absorb at least some of the remaining jobs intended for the scrapped NYC office. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Vejen til en ny socialdemokratisk regering er ikke blevet kortere, efter Radikale Venstre onsdag aften droppede et af forhandlingsmøderne.
»Man løber ikke om hjørner med os.«
Sådan lød det flere gange fra den radikale leder Morten Østergaard, da han onsdag aften holdt et interimistisk pressemøde i Bibliotekshaven bag Christiansborg.
Knap to timer tidligere indkaldte Socialdemokratiet til forhandlinger om klima, hvor Morten Østergaard overraskede ved at blive væk. Radikale Venstre ville ikke være med til at offentliggøre delaftaler undervejs i forhandlingerne.
»Jeg forstår sådan set godt Mette Frederiksens behov for at vise noget fremskridt efter 14 dages forhandlinger. Men jeg er skuffet,« lød det fra Morten Østergaard.
På mødet blev Socialdemokratiet, SF og Enhedslisten enige om at reducere Danmarks CO2-udledning med 70 procent. Det mål bakker Radikale Venstre op om.
Hvorfor bliver I væk fra nogle forhandlinger, når I sådan set er enige?
»Hvis vi ikke ved, om vi kan blive enige om en samlet aftale, ved vi jo ikke, om de enkelte elementer kan blive til noget. Man kan ikke bare bytte fattige børn for CO2-reduktion. Det må og skal være begge dele, der skal være på plads,« lød det fra Morten Østergaard.
Onsdag eftermiddag forhandlede Radikale Venstre alene med Socialdemokratiet. Tirsdag gik det godt, men onsdagens forhandlinger var ifølge Østergaard 'et skridt frem og to tilbage'.
Morten Østergaard ville ikke gå i detaljer med, hvor knasterne er, men lagde ikke skjul på, at økonomi og værdipolitik er noget af det, der skiller.
»Jeg er generelt bekymret for, om der er vilje til at føre en økonomisk politik, der skaber grundlag for det, vi vil. Ikke mindst på velfærdsområdet,« sagde han.
Ifølge B.T.'s politiske kommentator Søs Marie Serup forsøger den radikale leder at tage magten over forhandlingsforløbet.
»Det er en optrapning og en ydmygelse af Mette Frederiksen. Det kan man godt godte sig over, men det koster noget en anden dag at have sat Mette Frederiksen i den situation.«
På den anden side af forhandlingsbordet har Mette Frederiksen en klar interesse i at fremlægge en delaftale, påpeger hun.
»Socialdemokratiet prøver at fremtvinge en situation, hvor der er lagt så mange gode ting på bordet, at det bliver svært at forklare, at man går fra det. Den situation kommer man måske ud af, hvis man insisterer på, at man skal have noget andet på plads først.«
Trods den dramatiske optrapning er det ikke nødvendigvis enden på det hele.
»Der er altid dramatiske øjeblikke i et forhandlingsforløb, hvor selv dem, der sidder med om bordet, er i tvivl om, hvorvidt det lander. Det ved vi også, der var, da Thorning-Schmidt forhandlede i det sorte tårn på Amager,« siger Søs Marie Serup.
Morten Østergaard afviste også, at Radikale Venstre er på vej ud af forhandlingslokalet.
»Nej. Det er vi i hvert fald ikke i vores egen opfattelse. Vi kommer, når vi bliver spurgt,« sagde han.
Medmindre altså, der ligger en delaftale på bordet, må man forstå. Det var ved redaktionens slutning ikke kendt, om forhandlingerne fortsætter fredag. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Kycklingproducenten Guldfågeln i Mörbylånga förbjuds att sälja 52 ton friterade kycklingbitar, så kallade chicken nuggets. Det är Livsmedelverket som stoppar försäljningen.
– Felet var att det var en sjuklig vävnad, köttet var sjukligt förändrat. Enligt lagstiftningen ska sådan vävnad kasseras, säger Christian Berking, veterinär på Livsmedelsverket östra Götaland, till P4 Kalmar.
Det var efter slakten på Guldfågelns anläggning som kycklingarna kontrollerades av Livsmedelsverket. Myndighetens veterinärer ansåg då att bröstmuskulaturen hade sjukliga cellförändringar och man markerade att kycklingbrösten skulle kasseras.
– Resten av kycklingen var godkänd att använda. Men redan då sa företaget att de ansåg att vi inte hade rätt i vår bedömning och att de avsåg att sälja kycklingen, säger Christian Berking till Kvällsposten.
Använde utdömt kött
I ytterligare ett möte med Livsmedelsverket uttryckte Guldfågeln att man planerade att använda kycklingen för att tillverka friterade chicken nuggets och sälja det till konsumenterna.
Guldfågeln har själv sorterat bland de kasserade filéer, utan besiktningspersonal, och avgjort vilka som kunnat användas.
Därför förbjuds företaget att skicka ut de friterade kycklingbitarna på marknaden.
– Man har blandat i det sjuka köttet i friskt kött, det handlar om totalt 52 ton kyckling som man avsåg sälja i form av chicken nuggets, säger Christian Berking.
Är det olagligt, det som Guldfågeln gjort?
– Ja, det är olagligt, det bryter mot EU-förordningens regler. Men vi har inte lagt något vite.
Har du varit med om något liknande?
– Jag har inte sett att någon gjort så här förut. Kanske små företagare, vi har problem med svarta slakterier, men då handlar det om helt obesiktigat kött. Men att stora företag som Guldfågeln och liknande och gör så här har vi inte sett förut, men de säger att de begått ett misstag.
Har en annan bild
Johan Ekerot, vice vd på Guldfågeln, har en annan bild än Livsmedelsverket om vad som skett, och säger att det är en ”fråga om hur man sorterar kött”, men tillägger att man självklart följer myndighetens beslut.
Stämmer det att ni till viss del använt kött som Livsmedelverkets veterinärer dömt ut?
– Nej, det är absolut inte vår uppfattning att så är fallet, det har vi ingen möjlighet att göra då Livsmedelsverket hela tiden är på plats och kontrollerar vår produktion.
Enligt Johan Ekerot har hans företag gjort chicken nuggets av kyckling som sorterats bort då den inte kunde användas som kycklingfilé. Orsaken till att kycklingen ratades handlade inte om sjukdom, utan att bröstfiléerna inte höll måttet när det gäller konsistens och utseende.
– Det här handlar inte om kött som är dåligt hållbarhetsmässigt eller bakteriologiskt, säger han.
Därför behöver inte konsumenterna vara oroliga för att bli sjuka om de äter produkten, enligt Johan Ekerot.
– Produkten nuggets är av prima kvalitet och är helt ofarliga att äta. De ser ut som vanligt, smakar som vanligt och har rätt bakteriologiska och näringsmässiga värden. Det finns ingen som helst risk att äta den.
LÄS MER: Vittne kan ha sett man som dumpade Hildebrands kropp | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
All this illustrates something about this cycle: Republicans don’t need an agenda to win. And it’s a good thing for them, because with barely more than a month to go, they certainly aren’t going to come up with one.
This morning, Karl Rove advised Republicans that “it is not enough for Republicans to remind them of Mr. Obama’s many failings; voters want to know how the GOP would move the country forward.” Here’s the Wall Street Journal from earlier this month: “Especially as Election Day nears and disengaged voters pay attention, Republicans need to show voters what they’re for.” Here’s Ramesh Ponnuru telling Republicans that if they don’t come up with a positive agenda, they could lose like they did in 1998. Here’s Newt Gingrich telling Republicans the same thing. Here’s Erick Erickson agreeing.
AD
AD
Just a few months ago, Republicans were talking about coming up with a Contract With America for 2014, a new document that would explain their forward-thinking governing vision to voters (sure, they didn’t follow through, but their hearts were in the right place). This is something we hear in every midterm election, from both partisans and neutral observers alike. You have to tell Americans what you’re for!
Wrong.
The idea rests on the assumption that to actually win the election, voters must have a clear idea of what you’re for, because only then will they vote for you. But look at recent midterm elections. Every one in the last two decades years was a dramatic victory for one side or the other. Republicans took back Congress in 2010, dealing a stunning blow to Barack Obama. Democrats did the same thing in 2006. Republicans bludgeoned Democrats in 2002, with the aftermath of 9/11 upending the traditional win for the opposition. Four years earlier, Democrats managed the same kind of upset, with the Clinton impeachment debacle turning voters away from the GOP. In none of those cases was the outcome determined by some positive agenda for governing.
AD
AD
All were primarily negative campaigns won for negative reasons. In 2010 and 2006, voters were mad at the president. In 2002 voters were just terrified, and in 1998 they were disgusted with the Republicans.
Ah, you say, but what about the original Contract With America? Wasn’t that inspiring document the surfboard of glory on which Newt Gingrich and the Republicans rode to victory in 1994? No, it wasn’t. Polling before the election showed that few voters had the faintest idea what it was.
It is sometimes said that parties need a “positive agenda” so that they have a template for governing — something around which they can claim a “mandate” once they win. But there’s no reason to believe that’s true, either. The fact is that once a party has control of one or both houses of Congress, it will do whatever it is going to do, regardless of whether it has whatever it is we call a “mandate.” Every election winner acts as though they have one, whether they campaigned on a “positive agenda” or not. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Knows you have a full time job and go to school full time "Why don't you ever do anything around the house??"
629 shares | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The bicycles featured below are those that I find to be beautiful across many fronts. Whether it be their functionality or performance, their custom paint, or the subtle details left behind by their master frame builder, I have a real affinity for bicycles that are shown love. Ever since I was young, I’ve loved all bicycles and look to each discipline without bias or discrimination. Whether a daily commuter or weekend race machine, I find beauty in them all.
If you’ve got photos of your bike and would like them to be featured, feel free to shoot me an email: [email protected]. Be sure to check out the Featured Videos, Product Reviews, and Stories too!
September 22, 2013 Bishop Bikes: Frank’s Road Bike
September 9, 2013 Sizemore Off Piste
August 26, 2013 Breadwinner Cycles – Holeshot Cyclocross
August 23, 2013 Dan Chabanov’s Stripped CAAD10
August 16, 2013 Firefly Titanium Road Bike Featuring Busyman Bicycles | N + 1
July 11, 2013 Mosaic XT-1 Cross by Above Category
July 3, 2013 Vandeyk Rapha Continental
June 30, 2013 Viner Pista Track
June 17, 2013 VR2: Carbon Fiber Track Bike With 3D Printed Lugs
May 29, 2013 Cycles d’Autremont Randonneur
May 14, 2013 Tommasini Sintesi by Mobius Cycle
May 2, 2013 REW10 Works Singlespeed Cyclocross
April 24, 2013 Custom Surly Pugsley
April 5, 2013 Colnago Master Piu
March 27, 2013 Masi Gran Criterium
March 19, 2013 Colnago Super Pista Track Bike
March 6, 2013 Gianni Motta Track Bike
February 24, 2013 NAHBS 2013: MOOTS IMBA Train Maintenance Bike
February 24, 2013 NAHBS 2013: English Cycles TT
February 23, 2013 Ground Up Speed Shop BMX & Track Bike
February 20, 2013 Fast Boy Cycles: The Ultimate Tight Ass
February 18, 2013 Mobius Cycle: GT National Team
January 25, 2013 Baum Cycles GTB Featuring Busyman Bicycles
January 22, 2013 1987 Steve Potts Mountain Bike
January 18, 2013 Ahearne Rohloff Commuter Bicycle
December 29, 2012 My Surly Neck Romancer
December 12, 2012 Custom Surly Neck Romancer by Blue Lug
December 4, 2012 Rosko Cyclocross
November 27, 2012 Stainless Steel Firefly Road Bike
November 21, 2012 Burlington Burner by Fast Boy Cycles
November 8, 2012 Vandeyk Purple Blast Road Bike
November 5, 2012 Cycling WMD: The Mutandem Tall Bike
October 16, 2012 1950s Gitane Track Bike
October 9, 2012 Custom Cinelli Gazetta
October 5, 2012 JP’s Fly Montaña
October 3, 2012 THE HUMAN BIKE BY JAN GUNNEWEG | WOODEN BICYCLE
October 1, 2012 CUSTOM SURLY NECK ROMANCER
September 26, 2012 MOOTS VAMOOTS TITANIUM ROAD BIKE
September 25, 2012 SURLY KARATE MONKEY SINGLESPEED MTB
September 23, 2012 MAP BICYCLES 700C RANDONNEUR
September 13, 2012 THE BIKERIST: CINELLI SUPERCORSA
September 7, 2012 INBICLA “CRUSTED” BY VITOR MACHADO
August 30, 2012 SANTA CRUZ V10 FULL SUSPENSION FAT BIKE
August 28, 2012 AHEARNE CYCLES STAINLESS ROAD BIKE
August 23, 2012 BUDNITZ BICYCLES NO. 2 TITANIUM
August 17, 2012 Vanilla Cycles Cream Road Bike
August 16, 2012 Zieleman Type Special Track Bike
August 1, 2012 1963 Bianchi Campione d’Italia Touring Bike
July 30, 2012 Death Spray Custom Splinter Camoflage
July 29, 2012 Mosaic Steel Cyclocross Bike
July 24, 2012 Black Cat Bicycles: Singlespeed 29er Mountain Bike
July 23, 2012 The Aston Martin One-77 built by Factor Bikes
July 13, 2012 Somec Super Corsa Track Bike
July 10, 2012 Affinity Kissena Track Bike
July 3, 2012 Pink Ritte Bosberg
June 27, 2012 1990 Pinarello Antelao Mountain Bike
June 21, 2012 MERLIN TITANIUM TRACK BIKE
June 18, 2012 FEATHER CYCLES CYCLOCROSS BIKE
June 12, 2012 INDEPENDENT FABRICATION: CROWN JEWEL
June 11, 2012 FAST BOY CYCLES FIXED PORTEUR BIKE
June 7, 2012 1988 HUTCH HPV SUPERBIKE BMX
June 6, 2012 ROSSIN MATRIX MARBLE PAINT ROAD BIKE
June 5, 2012 1911 PEUGEOT
May 30, 2012 BAUM CYCLES CUBANO | ABOVE CATEGORY CYCLING
May 25, 2012 1930S WATSONIAN & 1948 HUMBER
May 23, 2012 Pereira Cycles JBR Singlespeed 29er
May 22, 2012 Tracko: Yamaguchi Pursuit
May 17, 2012 Custom Rohloff Surly Cross Check Check
May 16, 2012 1989 Kestrel MXZ Mountain Bike
May 11, 2012 Signal Cycles Raty Ning’s City Bike
May 10, 2012 1925 Dürkopp Bicycle
May 10, 2012 Colnago Super Pista
May 8, 2012 Soma Saga: Bare
May 4, 2012 Ahearne Cycles 26″ Touring Bike
May 2, 2012 1966 Cilo Road Bike
April 30, 2012 Civia Bryant Belt Drive Alfine Commuter Bike
April 26, 2012 BME X-9 Nighthawk
April 23, 2012 Cycles d’Autremont: Oregon Manifest Porteur
April 22, 2012 Budd Bike Works: 69er Mountain Bike
April 19, 2012 Victor Bike by Christophe Robillard
April 13, 2012 1978 Moser Champion: World Champion Stripes
April 11, 2012 Pelizzoli Corsa GP
April 9, 2012 Ritte Racing Bikes
April 4, 2012 Steelman Cycles Road Bike
March 30, 2012 Specialized Turbo
March 30, 2012 Hunt’s Raleigh Portage 650b Touring Bike
March 26, 2012 Vanilla Bicycles Road Bike
March 21, 2012 Independent Fabrication: SSR MAX Special Edition
March 19, 2012 Atherton Racing GT Fury
March 13, 2012 Signal Cycles Ashley Mixte
March 3, 2012 1910s Hurtu Bicycle
February 29, 2012 1974 Masi Gran Criterium MC64 #10
February 24, 2012 Kish SS MTB
February 10, 2012 Lotus Super Pro Aero – Gold
February 6, 2012 Gan Well Pro NJS Track Bike – take 2
February 3, 2012 1981 Lotus Super Pro Aero
January 31, 2012 De Rosa Protos
January 31, 2012 Old Spokes Home: 1899 Stearns Chainless Restoration
January 17, 2012 Cervelo P5
January 16, 2012
January 6, 2012 Pegoretti Responsorium
December 1, 2011 LandShark: Dirt Shark Mountain Bike
November 30 2011 Detroit Bicycle Company: Madison Street Bike
November 22, 2011 Firefly: MonsterCross
November 1, 2011 Amaro Bikes: Lollobrigida Dune Scorcher
October 10, 2011 Firefly | Embrocation Ti Cyclocross Bike
September 26, 2011 Hubert Horacio d’Autremont: Oregon Manifest
September 15, 2011 1936 Monarch Silverking
August 14, 2011 PG Bikes Blacktrail E-Bike
August 7, 2011 Brian’s 2011 Soma Double Cross
July, 28 2011 Nicolai Argon Road Bike
July 25, 2011 Moots Expedition Touring Bike
July 22, 2011 Brian’s 2004 Bianchi San Lorenzo
July 19, 2011 Beautiful Mixte by Hunt Manley
July 10, 2011: Firefly Ti Commuter
June 30, 2011-1988 Peugeot CPX 200
June 25, 2011 Sunrise Cycles SS 26″ / 700c
June 25, 2011 More CRB
May 16, 2011 Firefly Bicycles Livestrong XCr
May 15, 2011 Brian’s 2005 BMC Team Elite 01
April 19, 2011 Lee’s stainless lugged Ahearne Road Bike
March 24, 2011 1983 Cinelli Golden Black
February 13, 2011 1952 Bianchi Zaffiro Restoration
February 2, 2011 Guillaume Borrot: Ganolo
January 20, 2011 Brian’s Van Dessel Country Road Bob in Winter Mode
Winter Mode 2
January 18, 2011 Zombie Nation Cannondale
January 18, 2011 Chris’s 1963 Raleigh Carlton
January 12, 2011 Serotta Ottrott
January 4, 2011 Bob Kleiber’s Pinarello Surprise
January 3, 2011 Brian’s Gan Well Pro
January 3, 2011 Singletracks: 1995 Yeti
December 2, 2010 Hunt’s Vivalo Special
December 1, 2010 Hunt’s Horror Bike
November 28, 2010 Hunt’s Map of Burlington 3-speed Fixed
NAHBS 2013: ENGLISH CYCLES TT | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
It's time to subscribe and see everything
Nationalism has responded to the prospect of DUP-Tory rule by raising two points. The first is how can the British government exercise “rigorous impartiality on behalf of all the people&rdquo[...] | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Kevin Daley, Daily Caller, November 15, 2016
Anti-Trump protesters in Portland, Ore. attacked a vehicle driven by a young woman who claimed she was attempting to pass on a road blocked by demonstrators due to a personal emergency.
{snip}
Protesters claim the altercation began when a motorist attempted to circumvent a Trump protest due to a personal emergency.
{snip}
Demonstrators then claimed she attempted to run over one of the protesters with her car.
“I can’t agree with them,” the reporter covering the protests said. “I was out here, and someone jumped in front of her car while she was slowly trying to drive away.” A bystander then attempted to intervene so the vehicle could pass. He in turn was pushed and shoved by protesters. At one point during the dispute, a demonstrator slammed and shattered the woman’s windshield.
{snip} | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Just a couple weeks ago 1500 blockchain entrepreneurs, experts, investors, and enthusiasts gathered in Singapore at BlockShow Asia, Cointelegraph’s second Blockchain event of the year.
During the event 67 speakers from 20 different countries shared their insights and ideas, and attendees from a variety of backgrounds --from Blockchain to business to finance -- met to discuss topics ranging from practical application of Blockchain technology to new ICOs launching right at the event.
What is BlockShow?
BlockShow is an international event powered by Cointelegraph and centered around innovation in Blockchain technology. The event is more than just a conference -- it’s a meeting place, a chance to discover new projects, and an opportunity to showcase your ideas in front of an active and interested audience.
BlockShow brings together entrepreneurs, experts, investors, and enthusiasts searching for exciting new projects and potential partners, as well as exclusive industry announcements and insights.
BlockShow has held two events so far -- the first in Munich this past Spring, and the second just last month in Singapore.
What is BlockShow Asia?
BlockShow Asia is the second BlockShow event so far. It took place Nov. 29-30, 2017 in Singapore.
The event included ICOscar (a competition for new Blockchain startups sponsored by WAVES and Crypto Bazar), Hypethon (a chance for 12 select ICOs to jumpstart their funding, sponsored by CryptoFriends and esports.com), and a place for businesses to show their new products, acquire feedback on various new solutions, and share their thoughts and ideas, both on stage and in informal meetings.
Keynote speaker Yuan Li from Achain ?presented a detailed explanation of where forking may evolve in the future, comparing Blockchain to Darwinian theory © #blockshow #blockshowasia #cointelegraph #Achain pic.twitter.com/oi2c2zrwjb — BlockShow (@blockshow2017) December 11, 2017
Why Singapore?
Singapore is one of the biggest financial hubs in the world. Both on at the government and private levels the city-state has recently shown serious interest in the Blockchain industry.
One of the events attendees, Simon Dixon, CEO and co-founder of BnkToTheFuture.com, shared his thoughts about the event and the location choice, stating:
“Well you couldn’t have picked a better place in Asia! Singapore is awesome! There is a really great attendance here. Seems like the right diversity of both investors and entrepreneurs and people who are new to the sector. You know we are going through rapid growth at the moment, the prices are at record highs so that’s attracting a lot of people and you’ve done a very good job of putting them all together in Singapore.”
BlockShow Asia highlights
12 new ICOs launched at BlockShow that have collected over $40 mln so far
12 Blockchain startup pitches made during ICOscar (Blockchain startup competition sponsored by WAVES and Crypto Bazar). The ICOscar winner was electrify.asia, a product designed to be the first retail electricity marketplace in Southeast Asia that runs on the Blockchain. They will receive a $20,000 prize and full assistance from WAVES in launching their own ICO.
23 sponsors
over 1000 meetings held
Some pictures from BlockShow Asia have just arrived, where founder of $Waves Platform Alexander Ivanov attended “Addressing the Biggest Issues of the ICO economy” discussion panel. Take a look.#WavesPlatform #Blockchain #cryptocurrency #RideOnWaves #blockshow pic.twitter.com/MKLwnBTdtj — wavesplatform (@wavesplatform) December 8, 2017
BlockShow brings together a healthy combination of seasoned Blockchain entrepreneurs and investors along with newcomers to the crypto space. Reflecting on the diversity of the event, Joshua Lavin, Senior Analyst at ii5 Hong Kong, told Cointelegraph:
“It’s really clear that there is a lot of excitement in the room. In the last year it’s been really terrific to go to conferences and just see more and different types of people starting to get into the crypto space and into the Blockchain world. Having a huge conference like this is really a great way to interact with that and to meet a lot of new fun people.”
For the event Cointelegraph gathered its most brilliant articles of all time, exclusive materials on the latest trends, and crypto-industry statistics in a special glossy edition. A series of interviews with fascinating guests of Blockshow is being published on our site and Youtube channel in order to give you idea of the crypto trends discussed at the venue, and the overall atmosphere reigning there.
Daniel Finn of Smartmesh, one of the ICOs that launched during BlockShow Asia (and raised 36,000 ETH there!), commented on the overall atmosphere of the event saying,
“It was very exciting to be here. The energy is great. Everyone’s been really interested in both the whole community in general as well as our projects, so it’s been very exciting.”
Considering the success of both BlockShow Europe and Asia this year, the creators of BlockShow aim to hold another series of meetups in Bangkok, Seoul, Tokyo, Australia, and Europe in the near future.
BlockShow Europe is currently planned for May 2018. Given the thousands of attendees at the past two events this year, the organizers are expecting even more demand for coming events. So stay tuned for more details and be sure to book your tickets in advance. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Anybody who has delved deep enough into Anime knows one thing is certain: drifting is only possible with a Eurobeat soundtrack. Ever since Takumi drifted his way into the hearts of anime fans in 1998 with Initial D, this rule has been something of a constant, spawning many imitations and parodies.
The creators of the Drifters anime, airing this season, knew this rule going into production. Director Kenichi Suzuki admitted that “I wanted to [Drifters] to have a Eurobeat soundtrack, but we had to contact nearly a dozen Eurobeat artists to build up a playlist, and crafting Eurobeat perfection takes a lot longer than whatever we paid Hayato Matsuo to crap out in the meantime for the broadcasts”.
Suzuki promised that the Blu-Ray release of Drifters, which is being handled by NBCU Japan, will include the originally planned Eurobeat Soundtrack.
“Look at Initial D, it’s a boring cartoon about a dull kid and his stupid friends who spend more time panicking about girls and puberty than they do racing, but the second the Eurobeat starts playing the show is a classic,” anime fan Kyouhei Ishimura told Anime Maru. “Drifters has been a pretty mediocre show with gore just for the sake of gore so far, but with a Eurobeat soundtrack it’ll probably be the sixth 10/10 I’ve given this year.”
Share this: Facebook
Reddit
Twitter
Email
| {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- The Cuban government said Monday that it plans to study ways to allow residents of the island nation to travel abroad as tourists, suggesting it will ease the bureaucratic hurdles and outright restrictions that prevent many residents from leaving.
The plan was included in 313 guidelines approved by the 6th Communist Party Congress last month. The list became public when it was published for the first time Monday.
The congress agreed to "study a policy that will allow Cubans resident in the country to travel abroad as tourists," according to the document.
The guidelines do not include further details about the possible policy change.
Currently, Cubans are not officially prohibited from traveling abroad for tourism, but a series of requirements prevents them from simply buying a plane ticket and leaving.
Cubans must obtain an exit visa from the government, known as a "white letter," which costs $150.
In order to acquire the visa, a resident of the country they want to visit must write a letter of invitation and register it with the Cuban Embassy, paying up to $200.
Once the paperwork is in order, the Cuban government still has the right to deny an exit visa, as it has done with many dissidents. Medical professionals are only allowed to leave Cuba to work for the government abroad.
There has been speculation since 2008 that Cuba would eliminate the exit visa and the letter of invitation as part of President Raul Castro's pledge to do away with unnecessary restrictions. That year, Castro lifted prohibitions on Cubans staying in hotels and buying mobile phones.
The bureaucratic hurdles to traveling abroad are some of the most criticized in the country.
From CNN's Shasta Darlington | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Sunday morning, a group of fed-up service workers descended on the house of Kevin Rose, professional asshole. They unfurled two banners, one read “Kevin Rose Parasite,” given that he makes an obscene amount of money to fund people to create nothing, leeching off our actual work, and another banner read “Ima Snip Snip yr Ballz,” a reference to Kevin’s televised “joke” about cutting off women’s breasts with scissors. About ten minutes into the demonstration, Kevin arrived with a couple of his bros, and the group got a chance to confront exemplars of the latest round of tech misogyny. A video will follow shortly.
Kevin Rose: Leech
We are here to tell you about Kevin Rose, an employee of Google. At a glance, he might appear to be any other hipster techie walking down the street, but there is something deeper and far more sinister at play below his well-manicured hair. But first, we have to give you some background.
Behind every gentrifying hipster techie there is a tech company. In the beginning, each of the tech giants was nothing more than a startup, and behind every startup there is always a venture capitalist. Ram Shriram once invested in a startup called Google, the love-child of Sergey Brin and Larry Page, two Stanford students with a search algorithm for the internet. This venture capitalist gambled on the Google startup in 1999 and now he is on the board of a company currently worth around 400 billion dollars. Without venture capitalists like Shriram, there would never have been a Google.
As a way of honoring the system that brought them their wealth, Brin and Page created Google Ventures, the venture capital wing of the corporation. The employees of Google Ventures select startups and existing companies to either fund or acquire. Many of these investments are located in the Bay Area and the employees of these newly funded or acquired startups have moved to San Francisco and parts of Oakland.
It has now come to the point where even Diet Coke advertisements are referencing the influx of techies and their startups. With venture capital in their pockets, these wealthy professionals with few attachments are able to pay hyper inflated rents and property prices, displacing long time residents and increasing the cost of living. Tech-workers on average earn four times the wages of a normal service worker.
Venture capitalists enable these tech-workers by funding their startups. With the success of each startup, more and more ambitious tech-workers flock to the city and displace underemployed service workers to the cities at the far reaches of the BART line. These workers must then commute back to San Francisco or Oakland every morning, in most cases to perform menial tasks for the entitled scum who drove them out in the first place.
Which brings us back to Kevin Rose, founder of Digg.com and current venture partner at Google Ventures. He has already helped Google acquire Nextdoor.com and invested his own money in Foursquare, hoping to cash out when a giant buys it. We are here today because a few of the thousands low-paid, underemployed service workers got fed up with Kevin Rose treating them like the shit one scrapes from their boot, not even worthy of eye contact or the basic pleasantries generally taken for granted in our culture.
Recognizing that Kevin Rose is not just another techie asshole, but rather a meta-leech funding and profiting off the gentrification of San Francisco, we chose to bring the class war to his doorstep on our own terms. Rather than be subservient and do his bidding in exchange for the currency we need to commute home and back, we are here today in uncompromising solidarity with every person forced out of the city by the insane hyper-gentrification created through the tireless efforts of people like Kevin Rose.
Kevin Rose: Serial Entrepreneur
Kevin lives in an expensive duplex atop Potrero Hill. His address is 2004 19th Street in San Fracisco.
Kevin calls himself a ‘serial entrepreneur’ and is very proud of his business accomplishments. In 2004 he helped establish Digg.com, a website that ranked news stories according to number of reader “diggs”. From this, he created a spinoff video podcast called Diggnation, a show he hosted for six years that is widely considered to be the first clear articulation of the current tech-bro culture.
For example, in 2008, Kevin and his cohost began sermonizing on when it would be appropriate for a man to hit a woman. It was determined that if a woman kicked a man in the balls, it was okay to punch her “tit.” Kevin took it all a step further when he connected the expression tit-for-tat to their discussion and then announced, while making a cutting motion, “it hurts them, it does too – or take a scissors to the tit.” His comment was met with widespread criticism and Kevin became the poster boy for tech-misogyny, even after he apologized by saying, “obviously, violence against women is serious and something we don’t advocate in any way.”
Eventually the world forgot all about Kevin Rose and Digg and Diggnation. Around that time, Kevin and some of his bros started a company called Milk. This company in turn created an app called Oink. This app allowed anyone to take out their smart-phone and see a map of every nearby restaurant, café, and bar with ratings of specific items at each establishment. In essence, Oink allowed people to consume more according to their own specific tastes and needs, allowing them to browse prices and rank establishments.
Oink meant to capitalize on the way people tend to listen to the recommendations of friends by convincing them to use an ad-laden platform, rather than go out together or discuss favorite restaurants in conversation. Through mechanisms like Oink, Yelp, and Foursquare, people can now drive down business in establishments that no longer serve their luxurious needs by mobbing them with unfavorable reviews and rankings.
And then one day in March 2012, it was announced that Kevin and half of the Milk team were to become Google employees. The Oink app was terminated and Kevin briefly worked at Google+ before moving on to Google Ventures. Based on the various startups that he has funded through Google Ventures or on his own, we can see more disturbing evidence of Kevin’s technological derangement.
Nextdoor.com is a website that helps alienated urban and suburban home-dwellers learn about their neighbors and network their private surveillance feeds together. Like some of Kevin’s other investments, Nextdoor allows residents who use the website to gang up on anyone they do not like (or who does not have a Nextdoor account) and hound them into compliance or eviction. It allows the alienated to connect with others like them who would rather electronically complain than speak to an offline neighbor in real life. Nextdoor.com is a major new platform for the snitch-world, a bubble machine for people who never learned social skills. And it is something Kevin Rose and Google think is a really good idea.
But let’s take another one of Kevin’s investments, the popular app Foursquare. A previous manifestation of it, Dodgeball, was bought by Google in 2005 but then terminated in 2009. That year, the creators of Dodgeball started their new Foursquare app and by 2012 they had collected over 45 millions users. The app allows disconnected and alienated smartphone users to check-in to restaurants, hotels, and bars and in the process alert other Foursquare users of their location. In the world of this app, people can become the “mayor” of an establishment based on how often they check-in and how many “badges” they earn.
After performing fellatio on Foursquare for ten ridiculous pages in his book Smart Cities, Anthony M. Townsend writes, “the city of Foursquare might look like a lattice, but is it becoming an elaborate tree traced by hidden algorithms? Instead of urging us to explore on our own, will it guide us down a predetermined path based on what we might buy?” The answers to his questions are an undeniable yes. Foursquare gathers isolated and unimaginative people and gives them a way to connect without having to think beyond a glance at the food rankings on their smartphones. The system through which Foursquare enables people to connect is called the capitalist system and thus Foursquare will always connect people as consumers, customers, and tippers. It was designed to do this and nothing else.
Kevin Rose: OK Glass, Now Take Over The World!
Unfortunate people like Kevin Rose have never known a world without capitalism and in their ignorance they only know how to fortify it. Everything they do helps to extend the suicidal reign of this world system that renders all life into a commodity and replaces real life with digital distractions that lead people into narcosis, gluttony, and sociopathic greed. Kevin Rose and his employers at Google represent one part of a larger structure that keeps people enslaved to this single economic system that is literally killing the planet and decreasing the chances of continued life.
Tech entrepreneurship is not a harmless or benevolent force. The industry is built directly on the exploitation of millions of faceless people in the global south who are driven off their land and forced to do the dangerous and thankless work of extracting (at great ecological cost) the precious metals and other raw materials that enable the tech world to exist. Once the technology has been shoved down our throats through merciless advertising campaigns, mandatory cell phone upgrades, and jobs requiring instant connectivity of smartphones, we find ourselves tied to their world.
Unlike us, this beast has a head that can be targeted. Kevin Rose and other venture capitalists like him literally design and implement this entire exploitive system. They do it because they are drunk on their own power, caught up in a sense of importance bestowed upon them by the type of wealth most of us will never interact with. Kevin Rose will rise and fall with the elites of the dominant order. While we struggle to be included in the trickle-down of wealth through dehumanizing menial labor, these techies, entrepreneurs, and capitalists take over the world. Knowing that at the vanguard of this tech invasion are people like Kevin Rose only increases our desire to completely stop the current insanity.
Taken as a whole, Kevin Rose invests in startups that perpetuate the process of alienation under the guise of social technology. It is, admittedly, genius: create the technological conditions of alienation that drive people to desperately consume technological products that claim to combat the alienation produced by contemporary technological society. Tech is now about creating and selling the new indispensable commodity that everyone must have in order to be less bored, less lost, less ridden with anxiety. We want no part of this disgusting and creepy game being played by a bunch power deranged man-children.
To this end, we now make our first clear demand of Google. We demand that Google give three billion dollars to an anarchist organization of our choosing. This money will then be used to create autonomous, anti-capitalist, and anti-racist communities throughout the Bay Area and Northern California. In these communities, whether in San Francisco or in the woods, no one will ever have to pay rent and housing will be free. With this three billion from Google, we will solve the housing crisis in the Bay Area and prove to the world that an anarchist world is not only possible but in fact irrepressible. If given the chance, most humans will pursue a course towards increased freedom and greater liberty. As it stands, only people like Kevin Rose are given the opportunity to reshape their world, and look at what they do with those opportunities.
We know that your security advisors are taking our analysis seriously, so if you are confident that your system is the best, it would be wise to give us three billion to see if we fail. Our wager is that you are scared of the viable alternative we would create. If you are not scared, contact us at our WordPress website. Send us a message and we can go from there. Otherwise, get ready for a revolution neither you nor we can control, a revolution that will spread to all of the poor, exploited, and degraded members of this new tech-society and be directed towards you for your bad decisions and irresponsible activities. We advise you to take us seriously.
For a world without bosses, rulers, or cops! Down with the Empire, up with the Spring!
-The Counterforce
PS: The following devices and programs were used in this action: Microsoft Word (for Mac) MacBook Samsung Nexus (powered by Google) Gmail Youtube Electrical Socket | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Il vous reste 75% de l'article à consulter... Créez votre compte et accédez gratuitement à 3 articles par mois Je crée mon compte Déjà abonné ? Se connecter
Baptisé « Francothèque », le futur centre mettra à la disposition des visiteurs une large collection de livres et supports multimédias, permettant de découvrir la diversité culturelle des pays de la francophonie. Le centre accueillera également divers événements, clubs de discussions et conférences avec des intervenants francophones. « Ces rencontres permettront de créer un réel échange culturel entre les différents publics », a expliqué au Courrier de Russie Anastasia Dyatlovskaya,
Konstantin Barko | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
NBC News anchor Lester Holt may have been duped by North Korea propagandists. While doing a report on a ski facility that was doubling as an Olympic training facility just outside of Pyongyang earlier this week, Holt was pleased to share with viewers how well he and his crew had been treated during the visit.
An @NBCNews exclusive: “We have been treated with respect here.” @lesterholtnbc is just a few hours outside the capital of Pyongyang with a rare look inside North Korea pic.twitter.com/xTZM6QcLEy — TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 22, 2018
Viewers, like President Trump's nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, noticed something that Holt apparently hadn't.
pro tip for @LesterHoltNBC: when everyone is wearing matching jackets it is a staged event. https://t.co/TqQPrTJiKJ — Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) January 22, 2018
The Masikryong ski resort is not usually so crowded. It is an expensive propaganda tool that is beyond the reach of ordinary citizens, South Korean officials insist.
But the luxury resort — complete with snow-covered slopes, hotels, restaurants and shops — wasn’t always lauded by visitors as a “world class” vacation destination. “The idea of joint training could be used as a propaganda tool to rationalize how far-sighted Kim Jong Un was in making what was actually an anachronistic decision to build the ski resort at a time when ordinary citizens are starving to death," Kim Sung-han, a former South Korean vice foreign minister, told Reuters on Sunday. (Fox News)
Even more embarrassing for Holt is that his own network reported last year on how the resort relies on child labor.
"But for dozens of miles, we weave in and out of of the mass ranks of Kim Jong Un's snow clearers. Some of them appeared to be aged as young as 11 or 12. Others were teenagers," NBC reported at the time.
Still, Holt defended his trip Thursday as a valuable experience.
“I absolutely think the trip was worth it,” he told the Associated Press. “We talk about this place, we hear the bellicose language from its leader and we hear the reaction from our country. It’s important to get on the ground. You go to a place like North Korea with your eyes wide open.”
North Korea and South Korea will be sending a joint delegation to the Pyeongchang Olympics next month in South Korea. It is a positive move, but one that should be met with skepticism, according to former CIA employees.
In the meantime, Holt's critics have asked him to think again about how "respectful" North Korea is, considering how they treated Otto Warmbier, the young man who was brutally treated by the regime after stealing a poster. He later died from his injuries. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
AAN, January 8, 2011
A new study has shed light on the massive surge in post-war birth defects in Fallujah, Iraq, showing for the first time that an epidemic of reproductive abnormalities has likely been caused by the presence of metals in the environment, potentially from the residues of munitions used by American armed forces on the city in 2004. A team of four researchers: environmental toxicologist Mozhgan Savabieasfahani of Ann Arbor, Samira Alaani of Fallujah General Hospital, Mohammad Tafash of Al-Anbar University in Fallujah, and geneticist Paola Manduca of the University of Genoa in Italy, conducted the study, which has drawn international attention from outlets such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Al Jazeera, and The Guardian newspaper of London. The results were recently published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and show a major rise in chronic, devastating birth defects of the neural, cardiac, and skeletal variety at a rate about 11 times higher than originally estimated. A total of 547 births in Fallujah General Hospital showed that 15% of babies born in May had massive birth defects, compared to the world average of 2-3%, according to the study, and the rates rose sharply in the first half of 2010. The study, which surveyed a total of 55 families with seriously deformed newborn babies in May through August through a questionnaire to delve deeper into the causes, shows that metals are potential sources of contamination causing the defects, especially in pregnant mothers within the city, and concludes that they "could be due to environmental contaminants which are known components of modern weaponry." Washington has officially denied the claims of the study, however. Dr. Savabieasfahani, who graduated from New York University with a PhD in environmental and reproductive toxicology and did post-doctoral work at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, added that the rates appear to be increasing to even higher levels, although it's hard to tell for certain because of a lack of additional work research. The study called for an urgent examination of metals in the city and a comprehensive review of its recent reproductive history. Savabieasfahani said she is worried that the problem will continue to grow and lead to widespread misery when taking into account all aspects of the problems it creates, including emotionally and financially, on families, along with other health problems. "People who live in Fallujah and who are in this study are actually more privileged because they have access to hospitals," she said. "If this kind of devastation is seen in people with means and privileges then how is it affecting the poor and those with no access to health care? "I'm afraid of the masses of Iraqi people suffering a lot more and the extent of the problem is not yet known." Savabieasfahani contacted the hospital after watching a story about the subject on the BBC and began to conduct the study with the help of her three colleagues independently. She believes that the findings are especially important because it provides another voice alongside a forthcoming study from the World Health Organization (WHO). "What is important to know is that the World Health Organization has been called upon to do studies but their credibility has been questioned in the past because they have suppressed information about depleted uranium specifically," she said. "No matter what they do in the future should be under question in my opinion." Depleted uranium is a radioactive substance that is difficult to dispose of and has been used to make military shells harder in order to increase their ability to penetrate surfaces. Savabieasfahani is hoping that other scientists across the country and internationally will invest their time in researching the birth defects epidemic and other similar topics in order to provide more viewpoints and find answers to help people of war-torn nations. She is well known in Ann Arbor for her activism with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israeli products as a means to help stop Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and assaults on the Gaza Strip during which Israel has been accused of war crimes by Amnesty International for using similar weapons to those used in Iraq. White phosphorus, a banned weapon used in Gaza, was also used in Fallujah, although the study didn't point the finger specifically at the deadly substance for birth defects. White phosphorus has been known to cause horrific injuries to civilians, however. Depleted uranium has been found in the systems of Palestinian victims as well. As a result of the Fallujah study, Savabieasfahani hopes that more independent research will done so that the official source of the health problems can be identified and help can be administered to the devastated population of the area. She said that surgeries to correct similar problems in the United States can cost about $70,000, but many of the defects in Iraq are life-threatening and beyond fixing. A clean-up would likely be the best option, although the sources and locations of the contaminants must be found first. The Italian researcher in the study, Manduca, agreed with Savabieasfahani in comments made about the study via e-mail to The Arab American News. "As to people (and movements, including the veterans from these wars), the first response (should be) to ask for further information about the components of weapons utilized (the equivalent to ask for the map of mined fields, a request legitimized by the international laws for the protection of populations)," Manduca said. "In addition, (they should) ask international bodies that have have the tools and money, like WHO, the United Nations Environment Program, (human rights commissions and other organizations), to investigate with transparent modalities, protocols, and selections of scientific teams. "As to independent scientists, the first response should be to investigate further, ask for funding to do so, and mostly to do it." Savabieasfahani hopes that others will join her or be inspired to pursue their own research the subject and other similar topics. She can be reached at [email protected] .
Four Polygamous Families with Congenital Birth Defects from Fallujah, Iraq
| {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Join hundreds of area residents and art enthusiasts at this year's annual Open Studios weekend. On November 2nd and 3rd the Waltham Mills Artists Association (WMAA) will open their doors to the public. Visitors to this free event will have the opportunity to meet more than eighty participating artists and view a wide selection of their work. Hours will run from 12 – 6 pm on Saturday, November 2nd and 12 – 5 pm on Sunday, November 3rd. WMAA, occupying two adjacent buildings at 144 Moody Street, is one of Greater Boston's oldest artists' communities. Lincoln Studios, another artists' community a short walk from the WMAA at 289 Moody Street, will also be welcoming visitors. WMAA artists work in a wide range of media, including sculpture, glass, drawing, printmaking, painting, textiles, photography, woodworking, film and video, and much more. Artists from Metalwerx, a non-profit school and community studio for jewelry making and the metal arts located in Waltham, will be exhibiting at Open Studios in Building #4, the Ira B. Gordon Center for the Arts. WMAA's neighbor, the Charles River Museum of Industry, will be opening their doors for free to the public during the Open Studios hours – something for everyone! Waltham Mills is easily accessible by public transportation and the Charles River bike path, and is close to many of Waltham's best restaurants and shops along Moody Street. Free Parking is available at RTN Credit Union (600 Main St., Waltham) during Open Studios hours. (A list of artists, parking information and directions can be found at www.wmaastudios.org). Come for a unique experience and with your holiday gift list in mind!
| {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ODNI News Release No. 37-19
Nov. 6, 2019
IARPA Launches “BETTER” Program to
Improve Information Extraction for Analysts
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) within ODNI today announced the launch of the Better Extraction from Text Towards Enhanced Retrieval (BETTER) program. BETTER is a multi-year research effort that aims to develop a capability to provide personalized information extraction from text to an individual analyst across multiple languages and topics.
“One may liken the capability the BETTER program will produce to a document recommender system that works across languages,” said IARPA Program Manager Carl Rubino.
The program will focus on complex information extraction tasks to address fine-grained knowledge discovery. Researchers will apply complex semantic features to information retrieval and document relevancy ranking, informed by user feedback in a multilingual scenario. Performer teams will use deep learning methods to improve knowledge discovery based on a relatively small language sample and user feedback.
“The system we envision will exploit various levels of information extraction to improve cross-lingual information retrieval across large unstructured, multilingual document sets using novel methods to enhance the user’s experience for both document triage and discovery,” said Rubino. “To stimulate competitive methods, we will score the performer teams against a baseline model the test and evaluation team developed. Because machine learning solutions are preferred, foreign language expertise is disallowed, except during the human-in-the-loop evaluation where performer teams will learn how to optimize their document ranking strategies.”
Through a competitive Broad Agency Announcement process, IARPA awarded BETTER research contracts to teams led by Raytheon BBN, Johns Hopkins University, Brown University, and University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute. MITRE and the National Institute for Standards and Technology will assess information extraction and retrieval capabilities for up to five languages per performer as part of the test and evaluation team.
IARPA invests in high-risk, high-payoff research programs to tackle some of the most difficult challenges of the agencies and disciplines in the Intelligence Community. Additional information on IARPA and its research may be found on www.iarpa.gov.
### | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Last month, a team of CAS archaeology faculty and students tested out their latest research tool: a remote-controlled hexacopter. The small six-rotor flying tool, equipped with a camera, will be used in Turkey this summer to survey dig sites.
Beginning this May, the hexacopter will be used in Turkey by the Central Lydia Archaeological Survey, a Boston University archaeological project under the co-direction of Christopher Roosevelt, associate professor of archaeology, and Christina Luke, senior lecturer in archaeology. There, it will be used for high-resolution aerial photography relating to the documentation of known archaeological sites, the discovery of previously unknown sites, and the monitoring and documentation of ongoing illicit looting and destruction of cultural heritage.
Watch the video of the copter’s maiden voyage.
The GPS-capabilities of the hexacopter will enable the efficient collection of oblique and vertical images for photogrammetric production of three-dimensional surface models (or Digital Elevation Models – DEMs). Accordingly, it will be able to record high-resolution three-dimensional characteristics of sites of all sizes in a fraction of the time required using traditional, ground-based surveying methods, saving not only time, but huge amounts of effort and, of course, money, in the process. Not only will these accurate surface models allow analysis and visualization opportunities, but also they will preserve accurate digital models of sites and monuments for posterity, an important prospect in all areas of the world witnessing the destruction of cultural heritage resulting from looting, development, and war.
The system is a Cinestar 6 hexacopter produced by Freefly Systems and incorporating flight, navigation, and GPS controls designed by MikroKopter, a German company specializing in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The system was partially pre-assembled and sold to BU by Quadrocopter, LLC. in Montana. CAS Archaeology students handled the final assembly and trained themselves to fly it using less expensive, "toy-like" quadrotors and a computer-based flight simulator.
Aerial photography in archaeology has a century-long history, yet it has always involved relatively expensive use of manned airplanes or unwieldy and unpredictable use of balloons or kites. The factors that make this UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) new and particularly suitable to archaeological applications include the stability the six rotors give the aerial platform, the ability to enable "First Person View" (FPV) imagery (where a radio downlink allows those of us on the ground to see what the camera sees in real time so as to easily frame shots), and its programmable missions, enabled by its GPS. At present, we've mounted a Panasonic Lumix GH2 digital SLR camera on the Cinestar 6 for oblique and vertical aerial photography and video. Its payload of around 4 lbs, however, will allow us to experiment with other light-weight sensors, leveraging recent developments in the archaeological applications of multispectral remote sensing.
Explore further Seeing beneath the soil to uncover the past | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Pitbull Time Of Our Lives
Pitbull with “Time Of Our Lives” is track no. 4 from "Globalization". "Time of Our Lives" features Ne-Yo.
Due to licensing restrictions, we can't show you the lyrics 😞 | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy said he is considering a run for U.S. Senate next year in a Monday Facebook post.
In recent weeks, pro-Kennedy groups have encouraged the 38-year-old congressman to challenge Sen. Ed Markey in a Democratic primary. "I hear the folks who say I should wait my turn, but with due respect – I'm not sure this is a moment for waiting," Kennedy said in the post.
Kennedy comes from one of the most storied families in American politics. He is the grandson of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and a grand-nephew of both President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Ted Kennedy. He has been in the House of Representatives since 2013, and delivered the official Democratic response to President Trump's State of the Union address in 2018.
Get Breaking News Delivered to Your Inbox
Markey has been in Congress since 1976 and a member of the Senate since 2013. He has been a leader on energy and environmental policy during his time in Congress and served on the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming from 2007 to 2011.
Markey, who will be 74 on Election Day, has repeatedly said that he will run for reelection. He has already been endorsed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.
In an op-ed in Commonwealth Magazine, supporters of Kennedy said their desire for him to be a U.S. Senator has nothing to do with Markey.
The four authors of the piece, who have also organized a petition for a Kennedy Senate bid, wrote, "We launched this effort not because we are anti-Markey, but because we strongly believe in Congressman Kennedy and his vision for America."
When news first broke about Kennedy's potential run, the League of Conservation Voters endorsed Markey, calling him "one of the leading voices in the U.S. Senate for climate action." | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
You can hardly find a person today who hasn’t heard of blockchain with its promise of security, immutability and transparency. Decentralised, distributed and tokenised networks are now top of mind for nearly every business leader. We can see businesses, and even entire governments, investing in blockchain initiatives. As more and more decentralised apps are entering the market, we decided to take a closer look at what it takes to create a UX design for blockchain and how to do it right.
“Business leaders need to be thinking about and they should be worried about and they should be getting excited about the fact that the internet is entering a second era, and they need to transform their businesses around that”, says Don Tapscott, the Founder of Blockchain Research Institute.
Committed advocates of blockchain technology, some of whom joined the game back in 2008, don’t find distributed ledgers extraordinary or mysterious. They completely understand decentralisation’s potential and know how it can be put to work for businesses.
However, there are still many who have only heard the buzzwords like distributed ledger, tokens and smart contracts, and have a very vague understanding of blockchain as a practical solution. Naturally, they can’t trust a technology that they don’t understand. As blockchain aficionados are in the minority, businesses should be cautious when introducing blockchain into their clients’ everyday experience.
“A successful blockchain application returns a validated chaincode. A successful UX in a blockchain application makes it seamless for someone to start using the application, regardless of the technology behind it.” — Vanessa Colina.
Designing for trust
To make the most out of decentralisation, UX design for blockchain should focus on the spheres where this technology can create the biggest value, such as facilitating purchasing flow or improving transparency and security of legal contracts. That is what we highlight to our clients: new technology itself won’t help you attract more customers unless you offer them a new level of efficiency or experience they can’t find elsewhere.
The basic principles of UX design for blockchain focus on the concept of ‘designing for trust’. This concept makes sense as the technology is still new to many industries and there aren’t many examples of its practical adoption by businesses. IBM’s article offers a simple yet extensive overview of the design principles for blockchain.
As there is plenty of information available on blockchain’s theoretical approaches and general design principles, we decided to focus on some practical stuff instead. In this article, we’ll share our experience of creating a user experience for our internal blockchain-based employee loyalty rewards app.
How the design workshop looks like
User testing, prototyping and MVP
We recently decided to run a blockchain-based project to support our internal employee rewards programme. The project included desktop and mobile applications, where employees earn tokens for their social and charitable activities. The app works as a blockchain-based rewards system and allows employees to vote for their colleagues.
As we already had an internal employee recognition programme that rewarded outstanding performance at work, we decided to make this one socially oriented, to help us improve communication and promote social consciousness among ELEKS staff. We also aimed to boost our staff’s interest in blockchain. It was crucial to create a simple and intuitive interface as its users would all have different technical backgrounds.
We conducted a few surveys which helped us to understand what kind of rewards our staff expected, so as not to disappoint them with unnecessary rewards. In addition to coffee and sweet treats, there were some interesting suggestions like having lunch with the CEO or earning some extra days off.
As the audience was very diverse, we decided to use the JTBD approach for this project, so the job story looked like: “When someone has helped me, and I want it to get recognised by others so that it can be rewarded”.
Based on our survey results, we created a job map (see below) and made a number of useful findings:
We need to create an easy way to add a story. People would like to have an opportunity to share their own opinions on the stories of others. Both sides need to be rewarded, as this is a kind of cyclic activity.
The job map
We took map outcomes and created our first prototype and conducted usability testing. As expected, these sessions helped us spot unclear moments in the user flow. After the prototype had been adjusted according to these insights it was ready for MVP development, followed by continuous improvement to cover user needs and requirements.
The best practices for building a blockchain-based UX
While creating an interface that is suitable for a diverse audience, we followed the blockchain design best practice, and this allowed us to reach our goal: populate the technology among ELEKS’ employees and promote social consciousness inside the company.
Ensure consistency . Especially when developing a new experience, we need to ensure consistency to make users feel comfortable when interacting with our product.
. Especially when developing a new experience, we need to ensure consistency to make users feel comfortable when interacting with our product. Add gamification . Gamification won’t fit into a serious enterprise blockchain-based financial application using cryptocurrencies or smart contracts, but for our needs, it suited perfectly.
. Gamification won’t fit into a serious enterprise blockchain-based financial application using cryptocurrencies or smart contracts, but for our needs, it suited perfectly. Mind the irreversibility . There is no way you can revert or cancel a transaction when using blockchain, and so it is essential to make sure your users are aware of blockchain irreversibility.
. There is no way you can revert or cancel a transaction when using blockchain, and so it is essential to make sure your users are aware of blockchain irreversibility. Guide your users . The balance between assisting your users and making them feel stupid may be more fragile than you think; however, gentle guidance can help users reach their goals from the outset and prevent them from making mistakes down the line.
. The balance between assisting your users and making them feel stupid may be more fragile than you think; however, gentle guidance can help users reach their goals from the outset and prevent them from making mistakes down the line. Encourage feedback. When you offer a new experience, you will most likely lack approved patterns of users’ behaviour, so create a place for users’ propositions or complaints.
ELEKS Coin iOS app
Several critical blockchain features and how you can use them
The app we’ve described above was developed for non-commercial use; however, developing commercial products with blockchain, using smart contracts or crypto-wallets, is a whole different story. Here are the key blockchain features you need to consider to create a positive experience with your product:
Security
From the very first interaction with your product, your users need to be assured that blockchain will keep their data protected. You will need to keep this in mind when designing your product, as very often the data that users provide to decentralised apps is sensitive, such as legal documents or other personal information. An average user probably won’t be able to verify that information is stored in blockchain and therefore is secured. You can make your users feel safer by using messages that confirm their security during important steps.
Speed
The average blockchain transaction takes much longer than it does on a centralised network: one-second transactions can become one-minute transactions. As your audience won’t be used to this, they’ll need to be kept in the loop at each step, showing them the transaction’s progress and providing constant feedback on its status.
Hashes
Personal blockchain keys or the document hashes are very long. Sometimes we need to shorten them, but more often than not users operate with the whole number. Give them an opportunity (and don’t forget to tell them about it) to copy the whole hash in the easiest way possible.
Personal keys
People are used to having the option of recovering their passwords when lost or forgotten. The time taken to reset a forgotten password can vary, but it’s always possible. Blockchain disrupts this UX pattern completely. It’s vital that you make sure that your on-boarding process informs people about blockchain’s distinct constraint. Your users need to know that losing a personal key is a serious issue.
Let’s sum things up
Decentralisation introduces many opportunities, but also increases a user’s responsibility, especially in terms of irreversibility or losing a personal key. Having said that, we expect users to get to grips with the advantages and security of blockchain in the long-term.
Despite all the new features, limitations and constraints, blockchain user experience is still a user experience, so there is no need to reinvent the wheel. The majority of well-known design principles and patterns are still relevant and applicable.
“While you craft a user experience for blockchain, the design is not the only thing that matters,” says Mariya Hrabovska, User Experience Designer at ELEKS. “Outstanding results are possible only in close cooperation within a cross-functional team. Designers shouldn’t be afraid to tap into chain code, peers or a distributed ledger.”
The more you get engaged in the development process from the very start, the easier it is for you to deal with a new technology’s constraints and the better experience you can offer to your end users as a result.
Are you looking for a way to implement blockchain as a practical solution for your users? Start smoothly with our whitepaper covering the risks and rewards of blockchain adoption.
If you are struggling with the challenges of blockchain-based user experience, the ELEKS Product Design team will be happy to give you a hand. Get in touch! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
It’s what this system, characterized by a strong area of high pressure aloft — often referred to as a heat dome — will do to the Arctic that has some scientists increasingly concerned.
Norway, Sweden and Finland will experience unusually high temperatures through the weekend, as a potentially record strong area of high pressure in the mid-levels of the atmosphere sets up over the region, blocking any cold fronts or other storm systems from moving into the area, like a traffic light in the sky.
AD
AD
Temperatures in parts of Scandinavia will reach into the 90s or higher, on the heels of an intense heat wave in 2018 that led to an outbreak of damaging wildfires.
Bergen, Norway, already set an all-time record high Friday with a temperature of 91 degrees (32.8 Celsius).
Accelerating Arctic ice melt
So far this year, Arctic sea ice extent has hovered at record lows during the melt season. Weather patterns favorable for increased melt have predominated in this region, and an unusually mild summer has also increased melting of the Greenland ice sheet. Unlike with sea ice melt, runoff from the Greenland ice sheet increases sea levels, since it adds new water to the oceans.
AD
If the entire ice sheet were to melt, it would raise global average sea levels by 23 feet.
Ruth Mottram, a researcher with the Danish Meteorological Institute, tells The Washington Post that as the high-pressure area, also referred to as a “blocking ridge,” sets up over Greenland, it could promote a widespread and significant melt event like the one in 2012. During that summer, nearly all of the ice sheet experienced melting, including the highest elevations that rarely exceed 32 degrees.
AD
“Assuming this comes off (and it seems likely) we would expect a very large melt event over the ice sheet,” Mottram said via email. “This was a very similar situation to 2012 where melt reached all the way up to Summit station. As you have probably seen the Arctic sea ice is already at record low for the time of year so clearly we may be looking at a situation where both Arctic sea ice and Greenland ice sheet have record losses even over and above 2012 — though we won’t know for sure until after the event.”
Zack Labe, a climate researcher at the University of California at Irvine who focuses on Arctic climate change, says the upcoming Arctic heat wave could have major ramifications and may push sea ice to another record low at the end of the melt season.
AD
“This appears to be a very significant event for the Arctic,” he says.
AD
“A massive upper-level ridge will position itself across the North Atlantic and eventually Greenland in the next few days. This negative North Atlantic Oscillation-like pattern will be associated with well above average temperatures in Greenland. In fact, simulations from the MARv3.9 model suggest this may be the largest surface melt event of the summer,” Labe said, referring to a computer model projection of surface ice melt in Greenland.
"Whether or not we set a new record low this year, the timing and extent of open water on the Pacific side of the Arctic has been unprecedented in our satellite record. This is already having significant impacts to coastal communities in Alaska and marine ecosystems,” Labe said.
AD
Elsewhere in the Arctic, this summer has been similarly extreme.
Alaska had its warmest June on record, and more than 2 million acres have gone up in flames across the state as a result of a long stretch of above-average temperatures.
Arctic-wide, an unusual spate of wildfires is burning, affecting vast stretches of Siberia, as well. Smoke from these fires is circling the globe, tracked via satellite imagery. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Luckily there is a whole literature of books available for parents and parents-to-be in which experienced mothers and fathers or, better still, professionals, discuss new models and techniques to bring up children. Just some examples of best-sellers in this genre are “Simplicity : Using the extraordinary power of less to raise calmer, happier, and more secure kids” by consultants Kim John Payne and Lisa M. Rose. Or what to think of “Scream-free parenting: The revolutionary approach to raising your kids by keeping your cool” by Hal Edward Runkel. Undoubtedly there are many useful insights in these books that can address people’s’ real anxieties and make them become better parents.
As an evolutionary minded psychologist, and a father, it always struck me that parenting should be one of the things that we humans are naturally good at. I am the descendant of many generations of individuals, men and women, who have all done a reasonably job at parenting, otherwise I would simply not be here writing this blog. Maybe this explains why I never once read a self-help parenting book. It is true though that our way of parenting has probably changed quite a bit since our ancestors moved out of Africa. Our ancestors did not have to bring up their children in large and crowded cities, with many strangers abound, lots of traffic, material possessions, and vast differences in wealth between families.
Yet it interesting to find out more about how families in traditional societies raise their children because such societies are the ones in which humans lived in for generations and this may have resulted in particular parenting styles. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of research out there as most developmental psychologists (including theorists such as Piaget, Kohlberg and ) have tended to study children in WEIRD-cultures (western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic).
Recently I came across the new book by the renowned evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond, titled “The world until yesterday” in which he devotes an entire chapter to parenting in the “Stone Age.” This is based on his own personal observations doing field work in New Guinea and a handful of studies by ethnographers of parenting in tribes like the !Kung San in the Kalahari Desert, the Hadza in Tanzania, the Piraha in the Amazonian Rainforest and the Inuit in Alaska.
A consistent observation among the anthropologists studying these children is how confident, competent, and autonomous they are despite -- or perhaps because of -- their lack of material possessions and access to technology.
Looking at what parenting tips can be gleaned from these tribal societies some of them are not very practical. For instance, mothers in traditional societies nurse their children until they are of the age of 3 which basically means that the mother should be near the child at all times in case they get hungry. This is not something that could or even should be implemented in an industrialized state.
Other parenting practices may run into moral problems such as the permissive attitudes towards under age that many of these societies have. Nevertheless there are parenting methods from traditional societies which could be given some serious thought by parents and education consultants. Here are 5 Best Practices of Parenting Stone Age Style. I refer to Diamond’s book for more detail.
1. and Moving Around:
There are no strollers or push chairs in traditional societies. From birth children are carried around in cradleboards or slings facing forward so that they see the world in exactly the way their mums and dads are seeing it. This greatly helps parents in socializing their children at an early age. In terms of sharing knowledge this is a much better practice than a stroller in which the baby does not see much at all except their primary care-giver. Until they are weaned, children from traditional societies also sleep with their parents often in the same bed. In this regard, it is perhaps not surprising that our children are so to sleep in a separate bedroom.
2. Stop Crying:
In traditional societies when children are crying they are immediately looked after by their parents. When an infant cries it usually indicates that something is the matter and hence parents respond. Yet, for some reason, in Western societies the norm has emerged that parents should not immediately respond when a child is crying. For instance, a study in Germany shows that when an infant cries it is ignored one in three times. It is considered to be good for the self-reliance of these children. Yet there is no evidence at all that caring after crying turns children into dependent and emotionally damaged adults.
3. Taboos:
Physical punishment is taboo in most traditional societies. From a very young age children are regarded as having the same rights as adults and should be treated in the same way, getting the same respect. In one society an anthropologist saw that there were many individuals with burn injuries which they usually picked up as children playing too close to the fire. The adults would not punish them for this. Children had to find out for themselves what is dangerous or safe. There are differences between hunter-gatherer and farming societies in punishment of children. The latter are more punitive towards their children no doubt because the consequences are graver if they do not comply with the rules. For example, cattle might run away if a child does not close the fence.
4. Communal Parenting:
From when they are only a few hours old, babies are looked after by various adults in traditional societies. Research finds that in the first hour they are passed around as many as 8 times between different individuals. Communal parenting, or allo-parenting, is very much the norm in traditional societies where all adults in the bad feel some responsibility for the child. It is something we have lost in our modern societies and as strangers we do not usually play a role in raising children other than our own. Nevertheless it is important to consider the benefits. Research in western societies finds that children of single parent families greatly benefit from having other adults around, even when it is someone they meet only weekly such as a sports or music teacher.
5. Multi-age Play Groups:
In traditional societies there are only a handful children growing up at the same time, and they usually differ in age. Due to the intensive nursing practices there are no children of the same age within one family and twin pairs are absent. This means that children always play in groups with a mix of younger and older children much like the traditional village school. In such multi-age groups the young children can learn essential skills from the older children and the older children get much experience with parenting skills. Playing in mixed age groups is natural for children but in our society we tend to put children in same age groups both at school and in leisure and sports clubs which hinders their .
These are 5 Best Stone Age Parenting Tips. No doubt some reader of this blog will get a luminous idea to turn this all into a Self Help Parenting-the-Stone Age-Way book. I will certainly get myself a copy.
Diamond, J. (2012). The world until yesterday; What can we learn from traditional societies? Penguin books. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
You may also notice that some of the dragons have their mouth open, ready to take a bite out of ya! It is incredibly hacky. When the mouth is open, a red rectangle and white triangles are drawn onto the skin texture, and then the whole head is duplicated, turned upside down and moved and shrunk, to form the lower jaw. This is one of the things that only work because I abandoned the live animation to just deal with single image exports.
The Skin
Compared to how much you really pay attention to it in the end, a lot of time and care was taken to make the skin textures as good as possible. I'm quite proud, honestly. I mean, I never actually exported the textures before now, so this is genuine pride in my past self.
The textures are generated on a pixel-by-pixel level according to some functions. Some functions are the same for all dragons, and then there are ten different types. But on top of this, the way the different colours play together, as well as a range of other variables, create way more than ten types of skin.
So let's take a look at some skins:
Each skin texture is made from three colours. The primary colour, an alteration thereof, and the secondary colour. The primary colour and its alteration are used to create the base texture. Then the secondary colour, which is often different both in hue and brightness, is overlaid according to one of 10 colouring schemes. The two above colouring schemes use Perlin noise to create a pattern, one of them with stretched Perlin noise. If you notice that the left part of the texture is brighter, it's because that's the part that's applied to the dragon's head.
Ornamentations
Now, with a body, head and skin, we are ready to make the worms into, well, dragons. This is done by adding a range of features to line up with their body.
Some dragons have a spiky spine, having a consistent saw-tooth pattern all the way down their back. These extra models are painted in with another texture made with the same method as the one above, just with less definition and more pale colours.
But it is not just the spiky spine. The very same system can create, er, fins of whatever sort they are, at any direction along the dragon's body. Here we see one which has a horizontal fin close to their tail. The fins have a lot of variables relating to their width, placement, height, and the shape in which they taper off.
But what dragons really are known for is their horns! Their shape is always conical, I have not implemented multi-pronged horns. However, they have a high variety of sizes, positions, colours and shapes. Are they long and straight, or do they curl, perhaps? No two dragon horns are the same - apart from, of course, the two atop the same dragon's head.
But what dragons really really are known for is their wings! Of course, what else could it be. These also, and I am sorry to repeat myself, sport a variety of shapes and sizes. They are generally triangular in shape, but actually consist of five segments:
This is just a sample shape. All nine points have fully variable positions in all three dimensions. Even just their rotation is quite complicated. They are rotated, so as to say, to be somewhere between perpendicular to the body or more streamlined along the dragon's length. Sometimes, like in the example above, they are raised, and at other times are only horizontal. They can be wide or long, big or small. You get the idea at this point, I'm sure.
Posture
As mentioned, originally the dragons actually snaked their way across the screen in a sine-wave motion, but really, this makes for boring pictures. Instead I opted for a posture described by a row of variables:
x, y and z rotations describing the angle of the "camera". While x describes how close to the camera, y is up and down and z is left and right if looking at the dragon head-on. The camera can be rotated along all three axes, though mostly y.
y and z speed. The speed describes the distance in a given dimension between two segments of the snake's body (automatically seperated by x). The y-speed then describes if the snake's body (and only somewhat head) is angled up or down, and the x-speed if it is angled left or right.
y and z acceleration. Similar to speed, the acceleration describes a motion along the body. For instance, a snake which is curved from left to right would have positive z-speed and negative z-acceleration.
y and z circling. Instead of constantly increasing like acceleration, the circling describes a sine-wave motion.
These four sets of variables together describe some quite complex positionings of the dragon's body. It creates a lot of failures though, where the body is stretched much too far (for instance when both speed and acceleration are highly positive or negative and the camera is angled to emphasize this). A script checks if the dragon is within the export region, and if not, discards the dragon. It is said that three out of four dragons lose their life this way.
Applications
So, why did I spend such a lot of time generating dragons? Part of it is because it's cool, y'know. I'm drawing some inspiration from Spore, of course, and the easiest type of creature to generate has to be a snake, or well, a serpentine dragon.
But I also kept alluding to wanting these 160x160 pixel renders rather than the full model. This is because I wanted to use them for this:
Pretty WIP, this card art.
This might look quite similar to
This game would see you design your own cards for a Hearthstone-like game, and then have AI battle each other and evolve strategies and metagames. Your task is then to balance the cards as the AI finds more and more abusive strategies. But all of this is a story for another day. The point is that you might need thousands of pieces of card art - the cheapest alternative was a decent dragon generator and then taking background art from
As TCGTycoon is on indefinite hiatus, this is the current resting place for the dragon generator. RIP in peace. So, why did I spend such a lot of time generating dragons? Part of it is because it's cool, y'know. I'm drawing some inspiration from Spore, of course, and the easiest type of creature to generate has to be a snake, or well, a serpentine dragon.But I also kept alluding to wanting these 160x160 pixel renders rather than the full model. This is because I wanted to use them for this:This might look quite similar to PokeHearth , and that's because it is. I realised it was a waste of time to spend so long making a game using trademarked Pokémon. Specifically, these dragons were used for the evolution of PokeHearth into the TCGTycoon.This game would see you design your own cards for a Hearthstone-like game, and then have AI battle each other and evolve strategies and metagames. Your task is then to balance the cards as the AI finds more and more abusive strategies. But all of this is a story for another day. The point is that you might need thousands of pieces of card art - the cheapest alternative was a decent dragon generator and then taking background art from Convolutional Art As TCGTycoon is on indefinite hiatus, this is the current resting place for the dragon generator. RIP in peace.
The stars aligned and at some point I decided to generate some dragons.Sure, sometimes they end up looking a bit dopey, but there can be no doubt that these dragons are pretty diverse and unique. Some of them even are expressive! This post will look over the multitude of overlapping systems that in totality create these sneks.The dragons are in theory fully 3D modelled, but at some point the project stopped caring about the live animations. Basically, originally the dragon consisted of a spine moving in a zig-zag pattern, which tapered off in width towards the end. Imagine a rope going in an S pattern. This means the original dragons looked something like such:Just without the head, that is. Even here this is a bit of diversity in the length and width of the body, though I did not spend much time on this, since other types of diversity are, er, more noticeable.The head, however, is quite a lot more complicated. There are variables controlling the width and height of each five segments of the head. In total, it's not really something you notice too much, though the hope is it makes up part of the dragon's "personality". Also related to the head are, well, the eyes. These have a unique position, size, colour and, er, eyelids. I tinkered with these for days and I still am not satisfied with either diversity or homogeneity.Instead of just doing normal patterns, one can create stripes by reeeally stretching one of the coordinates in the Perlin noise. On top of this, a gradient from front to back is also added in, meaning that the top one is fully striped at the tail, while the bottom one is not striped at all at the tail.Talking about gradients, you might also get a dragon which has a ring around its belly. How adorable. This pattern is part of a series of three, where, respectively, the head, the tail or a part in the middle of the body are coloured in. To make it more natural and/or interesting, Perlin noise is added to create an interpolation.Here we see the another pattern, as noted, where only the head is coloured in. You may also notice the strange, pale line along the top. This is the white belly of the snake. This texture belongs to this dragon, where you are lucky enough to actually see its underbelly: | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Google is pushing out August’s Android security update to Nexus devices today and has done so by already publishing both factory image and OTA .zip files. They also provided the typical security bulletin as well.
As of right now, we have Android 6.0.1 files for the Pixel C (MXC89L), Nexus 6P (MTC20F), Nexus 5X (MTC20F), Nexus 5 (MOB30Y), Nexus 6 (MMB30R,MOB30W), Nexus 7 2013 (MOB30X, MMB30S), Nexus 9 (MOB30W), and Nexus Player (MOB30W).
You can grab each image or OTA file at the links below. For instructions on how to flash a factory image, here you go. For instructions on how to flash an OTA .zip file, here you go.
Links: Factory Images | OTA Files | Security Bulletin | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
A local councillor for Oxford has described the city as “tourist hell” in the summer months.
Mary Clarkson, a Labour councillor and Lord Mayor, took to twitter to complain about the behaviour of tourists who descend upon the famous city in the summer months.
Before heading to the Edinburgh Festival last weekend she wrote: “Some of us are coming up for a brief respite from the tourist hell of our own small city of Oxford.”
She then became involved in an exchange with one of her followers who stated that Edinburgh was just as busy during August. Clarkson, the representative for Marston, responded with: “Oxford is pretty much impossible between June-October. Cycle lanes all full of illegally parked tourist coaches and pavements blocked.
“At least we try to be considerate visitors when we go to busy places and avoid behaviour which we hate in Oxford's tourists.”
Seven million visitors pile into Oxford’s cobbled streets each year, attracted by the prestigious university which was established in the 12th century. It is the seventh most visited city in the UK by overseas tourists and tourism generates £780 million of revenue for the city.
Her comments come after a summer of anti-tourism protests in European hotspots such as Barcelona and Venice.
Speaking to MailOnline, Clarkson explained that she was not opposed to tourists but to the way they are managed in Oxford. “We've have huge numbers of language schools who trade off the name of Oxford University and they all start at 9am or 9.30am in the morning, which is when people need to be in work. People feel at their wits' end when 30 students get onto a bus with a £20 note,” she said.
“Better coach parking arrangements, advising groups to walk in single file and ensuring that tour guides don't block entrances to places like the Covered Market when talking to groups would make life so much better for other people. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosí.- Visiblemente molesto, el presidente Andrés Manuel exigió a un grupo de ciudadanos de este municipio que le permitirán entra a su hotel para poder descansar.
En un video que fue difundido en Twitter por En Primera Plana, el mandatario encaró a un grupo de trabajadores de la Dirección de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado (DAPA) que estaban en huelga reclamando sus derechos laborales.
“No voy a tratar nada más, la única cosa que quiero es que por favor se retire porque no merezco este trato donde voy a descansar, se metan a la fuerza esto es indebido completamente, democracia es orden, es orden democrático y todos merecemos respeto, aunque se tengan necesidades, aunque tenga necesidades siempre hay que respetar”.
Anoche el presidente pernoctó en Ciudad Valles, luego de realizar un recorrido por los municipios de Cerritos y Río Verde de esta entidad, y al llegar a su hotel se topó con un grupo de manifestantes.
Acompañado solo por su personal de la Ayudantía, el presidente calificó dicha manifestación como una provocación.
“No no no no hay ‘discúlpenme usted’ o sea no me gusta la demagogia me gusta decir las cosas como son, éste es un acto de provocación y no se preocupen yo aquí me quedo no tengo guardaespalda y nadie les va a reprimir porque no estamos en el régimen de antes, ahora libertad y hay democracia”, dijo el mandatario a uno de los manifestantes quien primero intentó explicar sus problemas y luego le ofreció una disculpa.
El presidente pidió respeto a su autoridad, "porque si hay una autoridad legítimamente nombrada por el pueblo soy yo, no soy un usurpador; entonces y ahora sí el presidente municipal está tomando una decisión, ¿porque tienen que hacerme esto a mi?”.
| {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Wear these Giant ears and find the dream jars on your adventure.
Wear these Giant ears and find the dream jars on your adventure.
This item is not currently for sale.
Please enable Javascript to use all the features on this site.
Check Remember my choice and click in the dialog box above to join games faster in the future! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
A new nefarious text message has been discovered that has the power to completely crash iPhones, even those running the latest version of iOS 10.
Instead of using infected links or weird text like previous iMessage hacks, this new one allows attackers to disable a person’s Messages app by simply sending a large contact file. When iPhone users tap on the file, it’s so big and complicated that it overloads the CPU and crashes the app.
Watch the hack in action:
iPhone and iPad users on iOS 8 to iOS 10.2.1 are vulnerable to the attack. The worst part of the hack is that it’s impossible to fix unless you know exactly what to do. Rebooting your iPhone or quitting the Messages app won’t resolve the problem.
The new iMessage hack was created by Vincedes, who also developed a solution to fix iPhones that have been attacked.
Obviously, it’s a pretty dick move to send your friend a contact file that makes it impossible for them to text. But if you are that type of friend, here’s how to execute the hack and fix it.
1 – Download the contact file here.
2 – Upload it to iCloud Drive or Dropbox.
3 – Share the file by sending it to your victim via iMessage.
4 – Wait for the victim to tap on it and their Message app will freeze.
5 – Fix the app by visiting this link. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Matt Lindland has quite a resume: Olympic silver medalist, long-time UFC contender, subject of a feature film documentary, co-leader of one of MMA's legendary fight camps, Republican nominee for State Representative...and now, accused marijuana thief.
The Willamette (OR) Week has the story: | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned trans fat this week in a move hailed as major step forward in the fight against heart disease. But the move may have some unfortunate environmental consequences. The increased demand for palm oil—the leading replacement for trans fat—will likely lead to deforestation as wooded areas in the tropics are cleared to make way for palm oil plantations.
“It’s the single greatest immediate threat to tropical forests and wildlife,” said David Wilcove, Princeton University professor of public affairs and ecology and evolutionary biology, about palm oil. “It is the leading cause of deforestation and has been for a number of years.”
When the trans fat ban takes effect in three years, experts say that palm oil will be the clear alternative for food producers. In 2006, the FDA enacted a rule that manufacturers label trans fat on food products—and palm oil imports the United States jumped by 60%. The number will be much larger this time around, experts say.
“The labeling rule gives us a pretty clear indication that actually banning trans fats is going to further increase U.S. imports of palm oil,” said Jeff Conant, who leads the international forests program at the Friends of the Earth environmental group.
But with the new demand for palm oil also comes an opportunity to advocate for creating better regulations for the product, Conant said. Many manufacturers already prohibit their suppliers from cutting down new forest and instead ask that they rely on land that was already cleared. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil develops these standards and monitors the production of palm oil. Conant says the FDA rule provides the perfect opportunity to encode standards like these into law.
“Until now we’ve been saying avoid products that use palm oil but now that’s not really possible,” he said. “Now that we have mandatory rules for eliminating trans fat from our diets, we need mandatory rules to protect rain forests.”
Get our Space Newsletter. Sign up to receive the week's news in space. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Now Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.
Write to Justin Worland at [email protected]. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Bubbles ((Becky's Hope Horse Rescue / Facebook))
An old gray horse headed for slaughter in Mexico recently orchestrated his escape by slipping into a pack of mini donkeys being rescued by a Frisco-based nonprofit, the group's president said.
Staff members of Becky's Hope Horse Rescue were down at a "kill lot" to rescue several donkeys, which is part of their mission to save abused, neglected or abandoned livestock. Bubbles, the horse, walked right up to their trailer as they tried to load the donkeys, according to a Facebook post from the nonprofit published Dec. 16.
"He was intent that this was his ride out of there," the post said. "We stood there staring as this old guy with crumbled ears from frostbite waited patiently for the group of mini donkeys to catch up so he could jump on the "freedom trailer" out of there."
Sue Chapman, president of Becky's Hope Horse Rescue, told KTVT-TV (Channel 11) that she firmly believes Bubbles thought they wouldn't notice if he mixed in with the donkeys they'd intended to rescue on their most recent trip.
"He's like, 'I'm just one of them,'" Chapman said. "Got on the trailer with them, stood there like 'You don't see me,' and kept his head kind of down."
Bubbles disregarded the commands of the staff at the "kill lot" as he trotted through the gates, according to the Facebook post.
More than 5,000 people have "reacted" to the post and it's been shared nearly 700 times.
Champan and a volunteer, who said she just couldn't bear to leave Bubbles, paid $450 so they could take him back to the nonprofit's pastures in North Texas, Channel 11 reports.
As news spread of Bubble's successful escape, so did donations.
Becky's Hope Horse Rescue has received at least $5,000 since the Facebook post went viral. The organization has been able to use some of the funds to rescue two other horses, Chapman told the station.
"I've never had that happen," she said. "People from all over the world are sending $5 from Japan, $5 from Germany, $15 from England the other day." | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Malaysians might have hoped for a young new challenger to contest the coming parliamentary election and take on the 64-year-old scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has held office for eight years.
Instead, the main challenger in the polls, due by August, is a 92-year-old former prime minister who retired more than a decade ago, the combative Mahathir Mohamad.
While both men will almost certainly put on a dramatic no-holds-barred political show, neither the contest, nor the result, is likely to reverse the once-promising economy's steady slip-slide off the world's center stage.
In the opening acts of his performance, Mahathir is taking time-heals-all-wounds to a whole new level. First, he has made up with financier George Soros, whom he once blamed for crashing his country's economy in 1997. Now, the 92-year-old firebrand is joining forces with Anwar Ibrahim, a one-time deputy he fired and jailed.
Goading these three to join forces after two decades is a shared revulsion for Najib. The prime minister, for his part, is fighting back with all the means his office puts at his disposal, which is quite a lot. Many Malaysians -- median age around 28 -- can only look on in amazement and, most likely, disappointment.
Ephemeral miracle
When populist Mahathir took office in 1981, Malaysia was literally a tropical backwater. He morphed it into a tiger economy, and Kuala Lumpur into a financial hub with one of Asia's most impressive skylines. In 1998, the Petronas Twin Towers opened as the tallest buildings in the world, and resource-rich Malaysia seemed a standard-bearer for development and investment potential.
Then, Malaysia spit the bit. The 1997 Asian financial crisis proved its miracle economy was more facade than reality. Rampant cronyism within the United Malays National Organisation, which has held power for six decades, left the economy top-heavy with debt and financial markets vulnerable to capital flight.
As currency speculators pounced, Mahathir fought back. He pegged the currency, clamped down on the media, imposed capital controls and denounced traders. Mahathir singled out Soros, whom he called a "moron," as the face of a cabal of Jewish financiers taking down a Muslim-majority economy. When Deputy Premier Anwar criticized those policies, he was arrested on vague bribery and sodomy charges.
Malaysia is still dealing with the fallout from that period. Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea strengthened banking systems, liberalized capital accounts and leveled playing fields for foreign investors. Mahathir went the other way, walling off the economy from outside forces in ways that undermined competitiveness. Rather than dismantle affirmative-action policies that, since 1971, give the ethnic Malay majority first crack at public jobs, business contracts and education, Malaysia went further with race-based quotas.
Mahathir left the prime minister's office in 2003, but his post-crisis policy mix and years of drift cement Malaysia's trajectory toward today's middle-income-trap status.
In March 2009, Najib took the premiership talking big about raising Malaysia's game. It seemed an ideal political bookmark: The son of the 1970s-era prime minister -- Abdul Razak Hussein -- who devised Malaysia's productivity-killing race quotas would scrap them. Instead, Najib doubled down on economic apartheid.
Najib created a new state fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd, that turned the nation into something of a joke in financial circles. It sparked money-laundering investigations from Singapore to Zurich to Washington, after money was allegedly used for purposes as remote from Malaysia as financing the Leonardo DiCaprio film "The Wolf of Wall Street." Since the tale went global in 2015, Malaysia's ranking in the World Economic Forum's competitiveness index fell five places to 23rd from 18th.
The scope of the scandal brought Mahathir back into the fray. On Jan. 7, the opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition named Mahathir its standard-bearer and Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, wife of Mahathir's former rival Anwar Ibrahim, as deputy. Seventy-year-old Anwar Ibrahim himself is in jail, but angling for a royal pardon that would enable him to succeed Mahathir in due course.
Long shot
But why do Malaysians think a nonagenarian who helped create such an inward-looking model might turn things around? Or as Malaysia Today put it in a recent headline: "Why is Kleptocrat Mahathir Screaming About Kleptocracy?" It is worrisome, too, that the election discourse is generating no concrete ideas to tame inflation, boost wages, increase opportunities for Chinese and Indian minorities or address the problems of an aging population.
Optimists say the end justifies the means. Malaysia has effectively been a one-party state for decades, empowering UMNO to gerrymander voting districts, close ranks around a stable of corporate champions and perfect a massive patronage machine. That hold on power explains why an educated and sophisticated nation of 31 million people ended up with two contenders battling over who is less corrupt.
Mahathir could be the only politician with the clout and tenacity to oust Najib. It is a long shot. Aside from the machine behind Teflon Najib, Malaysia is awash in clannish loyalties among regions and creeds. One of the attack lines against Mahathir, for example, is that he is not a sufficiently devout Muslim. Mahathir retorts that Najib's 2018 budget shamelessly doles out "sweets" in districts facing the closest election contests.
The good news: Even if Mahathir fails to wrest the premiership from Najib's hands, his blistering attacks are shining a spotlight on UMNO's complacency and dysfunction. It is a much-needed wake-up call as Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam vie for the share of foreign direct investment not racing to China.
The bad news: Mahathir is hardly an ideal change agent to drag closed, risk-averse Malaysia Inc. into an increasingly dynamic global economy. Malaysia must reduce the stifling role of government, shift toward high-value-added production, increase innovation and halt a brain drain caused by Chinese and Indian talent fleeing to Singapore and Hong Kong. And yet this election is more about two political titans brawling over who is less shady than finding a new way forward.
Time is not on Malaysia's side. Entertaining for sure, Mahathir vs. Najib probably will not end a 20-year drama and will exact a high cost on the economic future. Reversing course requires fresh thinking and an abrupt change in policy priorities -- both in short supply this election season.
William Pesek is a Tokyo-based journalist and author of "Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan's Lost Decades." He has written for Bloomberg and Barron's. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.