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In unexpected statements Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has questioned the methodology behind Dutch investigators who produced what the West considers the authoritative report on the tragic shoot down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 while flying over war-torn eastern Ukraine. He criticized that the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) seems "to be concentrated on trying to pin it on the Russians".
The Malaysian leader told reporters at the Japanese Foreign Correspondents Club (FCCJ) in Tokyo on Thursday “They are accusing Russia but where is the evidence?” Mahathir said his country accepted that a "Russian-made missile" shot down its civilian airliner, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board, but that "You need strong evidence to show it was fired by the Russians."
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (left) shakes hands with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Friday. Image source: AFP
He ultimately questioned the objectivity of the investigators in what major regional media described as a "jaw dropping speech".
Australia's prime state run news service ABC News noted the Malaysian PM's speech has sent shock waves through the region as it questioned everything Australia's own leaders have said. "From the very beginning we see too much politics in it," Mahathir said in reference to the official Dutch-led investigation.
A total of 38 Australians were killed in the Boeing-777 shoot down and crash, and the majority were Dutch nationals. The ABC report summarized of the "bombshell" charges leveled by PM Mahathir:
“Based on these findings, the only conclusion we can reasonably now draw is that Russia was directly involved in the downing of MH17,” Australia’s then-prime minister and foreign minister Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop said in a joint statement. “The Russian Federation must be held to account for its conduct in the downing of MH17 over eastern Ukraine, which resulted in the tragic deaths of 298 passengers and crew, including 38 people who called Australia home.” But in a bombshell speech to the Japanese Foreign Correspondents Club (JFCC) on Thursday, Dr Mahathir was having none of it, accusing those who blamed Russia of scapegoating the nation for “political” reasons.
The Malaysian PM further went so far as to point to Ukrainian pro-government forces as being prime suspects: “It could be by the rebels in Ukraine; it could be Ukrainian government because they too have the same missile,” he said.
Interestingly, this has been Russia's position all along, which has already led some international media sources to suggest of the deeply contrarian Friday speech, "Dr Mahathir is known to enjoy a good conspiracy theory."
Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014 – amid heavy fighting in Ukraine's civil war.
Mahathir further slammed the decision to exclude Malaysian investigators from the black box examination: “We may not have the expertise but we can buy the expertise. For some reason, Malaysia was not allowed to check the black box to see what happened,” he said.
“We don’t know why we are excluded from the examination but from the very beginning, we see too much politics in it and the idea was to find out how this happened but seems to be concentrated on trying to pin it to the Russians.”
The Malaysian PM's headline grabbing comments were made in English in response to a reporter's question:
He concluded that, “This is not a neutral kind of examination” — again questioning the basis on which suspicions of pro-Kiev forces appeared to have been superficially ruled out from the start.
“I don’t think a very highly disciplined party is responsible for launching the missile,” he added, according to Australia's ABC.
MH17 reconstruction, via Reuters
Russia has also rejected the conclusions of the European JIT report, saying the missile that struck the civilian airliner was manufactured in the Soviet Union in 1986, and was part of the Ukrainian army arsenal at the time of the shoot down. | {
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The City regulator is investigating whether traders at Lloyds Banking Group manipulated the price of government bonds, in a sign that the authorities are continuing to seek out rigging of key markets.
Following a series of fines across the industry for rigging interest rates and foreign exchange markets, the Financial Conduct Authority has been asking Lloyds for information about trading in gilts.
The FCA is seeking information about whether Lloyds traders may have tried to bolster profits by driving down the prices of gilts during official auctions or inflating their price when selling them to investors, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The government continues to own nearly 10% of Lloyds following its bailout in 2008, when £20bn of taxpayers’ money was used to buy shares. The initial shareholding was 43% and the government is aiming to sell off its remaining shares in the coming months, partly through an offer to retail investors.
The FCA, which has recently been accused of going soft on the City after dropping an review into banking culture, declined to comment. Lloyds also said it would not comment on speculation.
The bank has previously been fined for manipulating markets. In June 2014, it suspended seven people after being hit with a £226m punishment from regulators in the UK and the US over Libor rigging. Its penalty included the first censure for manipulating prices to deliberately reduce the fees it paid to the Bank of England for emergency funding during the 2008 banking crisis. This involved changing so-called “repo rates”, which had the effect of cutting fees paid for a liquidity scheme.
The scale of fines to hit the industry since the 2008 crisis has been highlighted by the Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, who has cited figures showing that about $150bn (£96bn) worth of fines have been imposed on major global banks since the bailouts. These have deprived the real economy of $3tn of credit, he said. The largest fines have been for rigging foreign exchange and Libor markets.
It was not clear precisely what period of trading by Lloyds employees the FCA has been concentrating on but the WSJ said it was not part of an industry-wide investigation.
The US is also investigating manipulation of its bond market and there have been reports that had also extended to London.
Fines levied by the FCA are handed to the Treasury after the government introduced changes in response to the public outcry that followed the fines imposed on Barclays for Libor rigging in June 2012.
This was the first major fine and was followed by a wave of other penalties for market manipulation. Barclays has also been fined for failing to prevent the rigging of gold while a former Credit Suisse trader was found to have artificially ramped up the price of a £1.2bn holding in gilts. | {
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my summer santa got me a Dr. Who jigsaw puzzle of the Tardis exploding, painted in the style of good ol' Vincent Van Gogh.
once this sucker is back in one piece, I'm gonna find a way to mount it on my wall. thanks again for the great gift! | {
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12/23/18 8:45 AM PT -- TMZ has obtained exclusive footage of the arrest.
TMZ.com
J.D. Madison -- best known as Thomas Ravenel's buddy on "Southern Charm" -- got arrested for allegedly writing a bad check ... TMZ has learned.
Madison was picked up by cops Saturday in Charleston County, SC after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He's been booked on a check violation charge and is still being held ... we're waiting on more details.
It's been a rough few months, legally speaking, for both J.D. and Thomas. Madison was reportedly accused of sexual assault in August by a woman who claims he slipped a drug in her drink and raped her. She filed a police report about the alleged 2017 incident.
And, as we reported ... Ravenel was arrested in South Carolina in September for assault and battery after he too was accused of trying to rape a woman.
We reached out to Madison ... no word back, so far. | {
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Okay, guys, Bruce Jenner speculation has officially become Too Much™ now that there are rumors of a Jenner/Kardashian E! network reality show documenting Bruce's transition from male to female. This is peak bullshit capacity, folks. We have jumped the fucking shark, and that shark is the size of Jaws. We're going to need a bigger boat.
Despite the fact the Gossip Cop seems to give this a 7o% chance of being real, I'm throwing another flag down on the play. The gossip website is apparently drawing this from the ridiculous Us Weekly claim that Jenner has given the tabloid "a major sitdown interview." Uh huh, yeah, and I'll believe that when Bruce actually gives an interview to someone reliable (New York Times? Washington Post?), or, you know, does so in an on-camera interview (or reaches out to me directly, for that matter. Bruce, please have your people call my people, I'm looking for a quote about three words long. Something like, "fuck this noise" or "total bullshit, people" would work). In the mean time, y'all reporting on it are still doing it wrong.
Why do I not believe it? Well, first because I don't believe Jenner is transitioning, and even if I did, it's none of our fucking business. But, since you asked so nicely, I especially do not believe it because unlike his various family members, Bruce has never really hogged the spotlight. Or even really sought it out. His various appearances on the Kardashian Fun Times Variety Hour are not the type of foundations one would need to suggest that Jenner is interested in being the center of attention. Sure, he's there, and sure, he's technically the "patriarch," but anyone who thinks the show is about him hasn't paid any attention to the Kardashians at all (you lucky bastards, by the way, very jealous, much envy, wow). Hard to take centerstage anyway when you married (and divorced, but still sort of sometimes hang out with) Kris Jenner and have a bunch of family members like the Jenners/Kardashians (Jendashians?), with which to compete.
What it really boils down to is this: when asked directly, Bruce has denied the rumors. When TMZ asked him about the trachea shave, he said, "I just didn't really like my trachea." Plenty of cisgender men get plastic surgery. More than I think a lot of people want to think about or wish to admit. Is it so fucking hard to believe that a rich white dude whose current source of income is based on being famous and living in Famousland, USA might be interested in the same sorts of cosmetic surgeries available to many others in his social group? Is it really that farfetched? More farfetched than the idea that Bruce just keeps lying to us about "her" gender identity (because if Bruce really is transgender, then Bruce's pronoun wouldn't be he, him, or his anyway, something the tabloids always seem to conveniently forget)?
Is Jenner testing the boundaries of gender expression? Absolutely, he is. He's doing things which are clearly at odds with his athletic manly-man image our society wants to hold up above all other images. Yet, embracing a more so-called feminine gender presentation or even expression doesn't make one transgender. Having a gender identity which is distinct from the gender you were assigned at birth is what makes one transgender. It can mean that your gender identity is simply more complicated than your assignment (genderqueer individuals), it can mean you are totally binary and reject your assignment in the strongest possible terms. But there are plenty of cisgender men (usually gay, but not always, and that's an intersection with homophobic stereotypes) who manage a feminine gender expression without having a gender identity which is in disagreement with their assignment at birth. They're still men.
Bruce Jenner has told us he is a man. He has not told us anything different. He has had explanations for his cosmetic surgeries. He is just as free as the rest of us to experiment with gender presentation and expression. None of this, not any single piece of it, individually, nor combined, is evidence of transgender status. And it's none of our business. I hate even having to write about it. And as you can see, I take it about as seriously as it deserves.
Now, kindly shut the fuck up about Bruce Jenner.
Image via Getty. | {
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Michelle Obama just gave her final public remarks.
The first lady got emotional as she spoke about her efforts to change the national conversation surrounding higher education while hosting 50 school counselors at the White House on Friday. (RELATED: Everyone Is Talking About The Dress Michelle Obama Wore To The Kennedy Center)
“We had one goal in mind: we wanted to make higher education cool,” Obama said. “We wanted to change the conversation around what it means and what it takes to get into college. If we are always shining the light on athletes and celebrities — and those are the only achievements we celebrate — then why would kids see college as a priority? We decided to flip the script and shine a big light on higher education.”
“We are very proud of everything this administration has done to make college more affordable,” she continued.
“We made it easier to apply for financial aid. We created a college score card to help students chose the right school. All together we made — in this administration — the largest investment in higher education since the G.I. bill.”
[dcquiz] “More young people than ever before are going to college.” (RELATED: Michelle Obama: It Was ‘Painful’ To Watch The Presidential Election This Year)
“As I end my time in the White House, I can think of no better message to send to young people. To all young people in this room, know that this country belongs to you. To all of you. From every background and walk of life. If you or your parents are immigrants, know that you are part of a proud American tradition — the infusion of new cultures. That has made us the greatest country on earth. If your family doesn’t have much money, plenty of folks including game and my husband. We started out with very little. But with a lot of hard work and a good education, anything is possible — even becoming president. That’s what the American dream is all about.”
Michelle Obama: “With a lot of hard work and a good education, anything is possible – even becoming president” https://t.co/v3TheNla5L — Azizi Othman (@AziziOthmanMY) January 6, 2017
“Diversity is not a threat to who we are. It makes us who we are. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you don’t matter because you do and you have a right to be exactly who you are.”
“Being your first lady has been the greatest honor of my life, and I hope I made you proud.”
Celebrities like Usher, Kelly Rowland, University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and rapper Wale were all in attendance.
“All these folks are here because they’re using their star power to influence young people.” (RELATED: The Obamas Thank Troops In Final Visit To Hawaii Base) | {
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QAMIŞLO
The martyrs’ families, dozens of tribal, religious, female and political organizations and parities working in North Syria, the head of the Future Syria Party Ibrahim al-Qaftan and the members and administrators of the party in al-Swaida city attended the opening of the center.
The opening ceremony started with holding a minute of silence. Then, the head of the Future Syria Party Ibrahim al-Qaftan delivered a speech as he welcomed the attendees and guests in Kurdish, Arabic and Syriac.
Al-Qaftan said, “I am glad for the opening of this office, but gladness would not be completed except when the office would provide its people with services. The Future Syria Party has taken it upon itself to reunite the society so that I congratulate the residents of Qamişlo city on the opening of this office.”
Al-Qaftan noted, “Actually, something has struck me in this activity which is the participation of our mothers, the martyr’s mothers. Those sacrificed their sons and daughters for the sake of this revolution. We are living now safely and peacefully by virtue of the martyrs.”
Al-Qaftan also thanked the guests came from al-Swaida saying, “We thank our comrades who came from al-Swaida, and we offer them condolences for their martyrs.”
Samir Azzam delivered a speech on behalf of the delegation came from al-Swaida, “We congratulate the opening of the Future Syria Party’s office in Qamişlo city, and we wish them success in their work.”
Azzam said, “Al-Swiada has said its word since the beginning of the Syrian revolution, “Religion for God, homeland for all.” We want a new Syria, and the Future Syria Party is the Mother Syria Party. Furthermore, we wish a hopeful future for everybody.”
After the speeches ended, the congratulating telegrams sent by the female and political parties in the Syrian entry have been read.
In the end, the office was opened by Feiroz Youssef, the mother of the martyr Sariya, Amousha Deham, the mother of the martyr Shervan and Zeinab Yehya Ibrahim who is the mother of the martyr Orhan.
D.H
ANHA | {
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(CNN) When bullets started flying at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City , David Lax pushed his way past one of the shooters to escape.
Lax was in the JC Kosher Supermarket on Tuesday when a heavily armed man and woman stormed in, killing three people before engaging in an hours-long standoff with police.
"The way they came in, they came to kill, to shoot," Lax, who runs an appliance repair shop in the neighborhood, told CNN on Friday.
Lax said he initially hid in the salad bar area and saw the male shooter, wearing a black raincoat, pass by him. When he stood up, the female shooter carrying a "long gun" was facing him.
"The second she starts pivoting herself, I just went right in and push back her arm and just run right out of the store," Lax said.
He said the woman fired her weapon at him as he ran out of the store. Surveillance footage captured the moment the shooters opened fire as they walk inside the market. A man, who NBC News has identified as Lax, runs out the store and across the street. He said he was lucky because he ran in front of a car that seconds later pulled away from the store.
"I didn't look right or left, I just ran for my life," he said.
Attack was an act of terrorism, officials say
Authorities are not yet sure why the shooters, David N. Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, attacked the store, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. But it is being investigated as an act of terrorism with "a hate-crime bias slant."
"We believe the suspects held views that reflected hatred of the Jewish people, as well as a hatred of law enforcement," Grewal said, citing evidence and witness interviews.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said Friday it was important to call out anti-Semitism.
"We've always had a diverse community and I think people need to realize that if anti-Semitism can exist in a place that's accustomed to diversity, it can really exist anywhere," Fulop told CNN's "New Day."
"And every day and every moment that you don't call it out, you're wasting an opportunity to bring attention to it because there's less eyes focused on it."
Both shooters expressed an interest in the Black Hebrew Israelites movement, though neither appear to have formal links to the movement, Grewal said. Some members of the movement have expressed anti-Semitic sentiments in the past.
"Our community has been terrorized once again by violent anti-Semitism," Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement. "From Pittsburgh to Poway , and now to Jersey City, the disease that is anti-Semitism has clearly spread to epidemic proportions."
"But we will not be defeated, we will not stand down, we will not be intimidated," Greenblatt said.
Investigators are checking a note found in a stolen U-Haul truck that the killers drove to the market -- a note that contained both anti-Semitic and anti-police writing, a law enforcement source told CNN. Posts with similar sentiments also have been found on social media linked to the shooters, the source said.
The FBI has also issued a notice to law enforcement in the region "requesting assistance locating a vehicle associated with" Anderson.
Investigators are looking for a white 2001 Ford van, with New Jersey license plate B40-JSD.
Surveillance video shows the shooters approaching the store.
Deadly attack began at a cemetery
Authorities have said that the attack began near a city cemetery where the shooters killed Jersey City Police Detective Joseph Seals.
He was trying to stop the shooters when he was killed, police have said.
A bystander called 911 to report Seals' body at the cemetery at 12:38 p.m., authorities said. But by that time, the shooters had already driven the stolen U-Haul to the market and began their attack.
Police arrived at the supermarket around 20 minutes after the attack began, starting a long shootout that left two police officers injured.
The shooters were armed with an AR-15-style rifle, a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, a 9 mm Ruger semiautomatic pistol and a 9 mm Glock 17 pistol, with a pipe bomb and a .22 caliber Ruger pistol with a homemade silencer found in the U-Haul, Grewal said. If not for the actions of the police, they could have done more harm, Grewal said.
Around 3:25 p.m., an armored vehicle broke into the supermarket's entryway, and law enforcement soon found the bodies of the three victims and two attackers inside the store, Grewal said.
The three people in the market were Mindy Ferencz, 31, the store's co-owner; Moshe Deutsch, 24, a customer; and Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, 49, a store employee.
Store owner was next door as his wife died
Two of the four victims were laid to rest Wednesday night.
In Jersey City, crowds of men in black hats surrounded Ferencz's casket in the Jersey City neighborhood of Greenville at the site of a synagogue under construction. Hundreds of women, separated from the men as per Orthodox Jewish tradition, were standing in the bitter cold sobbing.
Ferencz owned the store with her husband, who was next door at the small synagogue at the time of the attack, according to Yossi Steinmetz who was there as well.
When shots broke out, her husband desperately tried to call her and tell her to lock the doors to take cover, Steinmetz said. She didn't answer.
At Deutsch's Brooklyn funeral, mourners spoke in Hebrew through tears as at least a dozen NYPD counterterrorism officers and nearly 100 "Shomrim" members — Hebrew for guardians — stood watch.
Deutsch and Ferencz both had ties to the Jewish community in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
"This is just an atrocity. Of course, we accept everything, but this is more than we can handle," Deutsch's cousin, also named Moshe Deutsch, told CNN. "The question is, is it a sign of hatred? Is it a sign that we are not safe in New York anymore?" | {
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Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx expressed frustration over what she believed were excessive charges against Jussie Smollett. But it seems she was also convinced that 36-year-old actor was guilty of lying to police.
On Monday, Foxx's office released internal text messages and emails pertaining to the Smollett case, in which he was accused of orchestrated his own hate crime attack in late January. The documents obtained the Chicago Tribune include a text conversation between Foxx and First Assistant Joseph Magats. The messages were sent on March 8, shortly before authorities announced Smollett's 16-count indictment.
"Sooo…...I’m recused, but when people accuse us of overcharging cases...16 counts on a class 4 (felony) becomes exhibit A," she wrote.
After Magats agreed that the indictment could be viewed as "excessive," Foxx underscored her concerns by comparing Smollett's indictment to R. Kelly's sexual abuse case.
"Pedophile with 4 victims 10 counts. Washed up celeb who lied to cops, 16 (counts)," she wrote. "… Just because we can charge something doesn’t mean we should ... It's not who we want to be."
You can see screenshots of the text conversation, posted by TMZ, here. The publication also posted a response from Foxx. "After the indictment became public, I reached out to Joe to discuss reviewing office policies to assure consistencies in our charging and our use of appropriate charging authority," the statement, which was given by a spokeswoman, reads. "I was elected to bring criminal justice reform and that includes intentionality, consistency, and discretion. I will continue to uphold these guiding principals."
Here, Foxx opines to a staffer that the 16 felony counts against Jussie Smollett were "overcharging" when the indictment for the "washed up actor" was compared to R. Kelly "a pedo with 4 victims." pic.twitter.com/3Nlx51FdZl — Andy Grimm (@agrimm34) April 17, 2019
Smollett was slapped with 16 counts of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report about an alleged assault that occurred Jan. 29 in Chicago. The Empire star told authorities he had been attacked by two masked white men who shouted racist, homophobic slurs and a reference to Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. Law enforcement began investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, but after conducting a number of interviews and reviewing phone records, bank statements, and surveillance video, authorities concluded Smollett had lied about the attack.
"And why? The stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary. So he concocted a story about being attacked," Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said during a February press conference.
Despite investigators' conclusion, the Illinois state attorney's office ultimately dropped all charges against Smollett. But that doesn't mean he's completely in the clear. Earlier this month, it was confirmed that the City of Chicago filed a lawsuit against the actor over costs associated with the hate crime investigation. Officials claims that because of the probe, the city had to pay officers a total of $130,106.15 in overtime. The city is demanding a reimbursement; Smollett's attorney insists the actor will not pay.
In other Smollett-related the news, the actor was reportedly cut from the Broadway revival of Take Me Out. Sources told the Daily Mail Smollett had been tapped to play the main character Darren Lemming, and had read for the part just hours before he reported the alleged attack to police.
"Everything was set to go and the producers were planning to announce that Jussie and Zachary Quinto were starring in the play last month," an insider told the publication. "Everyone was so supportive after the attack and then suddenly, everything shifted." | {
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Posted 18 March 2016 - 09:57 PM
Browsing Reddit today I found this thread https://www.reddit.c...urney_for_3999/
GameStop had a misprint in their flyer for Pokken Tournament $39.99. It's a Spring Deals flyer and not a weekly ad. It's viewable on their site, but they fixed the pricing. I found a physical copy of the flyer in store and asked if I could have it, then took it to Target for the PM.
If you're interested in the cards or 3DS Pokemon games, Target is also doing b2g1 on all Pokemon cards and 3DS games until tomorrow (when they are also handing out free things for a limited time.)
If you can't get a hold of a physical flyer, here's a pic you can try:
http://imgur.com/L1L3Qbq
Thanks to /u/nellymac87 on Reddit | {
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Ryan Lawrence of Philly Voice spoke to an unnamed team official , who suggested that the team may try prospect Scott Kingery at another position with Cesar Hernandez currently manning second base at the major league level:
Early in the 2017 season, I wrote about how the Philadelphia Phillies' strong organizational second base depth was a nice problem to have. However, with the team in the midst of one of the worst months of May in franchise history, the Phillies might not be in a position to have "nice problems."
But has the Phillies’ brass at least discussed trying Kingery out at other positions? We asked recently and the answer is encouraging: they have talked about it and are probably planning on it at some point in 2017. “We don’t want the same thing to happen to happen to him that’s happening to Hoskins,” said one Phillies official, referring to Triple-A first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who is also crushing minor league pitching through the season’s first two months.
Lawrence's full piece is definitely worth a read, but the gist is that it suggests that while Kingery's natural position will always be second base, the organization would benefit from him being able to play other positions on the diamond. That doesn't mean he won't end up playing second base in the long run, but Hernandez has been the team's best hitter over the last calendar year, so finding a way to have both him and Kingery in the lineup in 2018 may be the most beneficial scenario for the team.
While it's not immediately clear what position(s) the Phillies would have Kingery try, it doesn't seem like they have much to lose in trying this. While general manager Matt Klentak showed confidence in Maikel Franco before today's game, he's having an extremely disappointing 2017 season and doesn't seem to be the lock to be a long-term starter for the team like he once did. And while the team has strong outfielding depth at the upper levels of their minor league system, Kingery having the ability to play in the outfield would give the team even more optionality (pardon the Chip Kelly reference). Lawrence did note that Kingery played shortstop in high school, though it seems less than likely the organization will spend much (if any) time examining him at shortstop with top prospect J.P. Crawford at Triple-A.
Trending: Matt Klentak suggests that Phillies won't send Maikel Franco to Triple-A
Kingery, who the Phillies selected in the second round of the 2015 MLB Draft, is slashing .316/.392/.668 with 16 home runs, 30 RBIs and 12 stolen bases for Double-A Reading in 2017. While he's unlikely to hold onto his current lead for the most home runs at any level of the minor leagues, the fact that he's had a power explosion to begin the 2017 season makes him an even more exciting prospect. This comes after the 23-year-old impressed in 21 Spring Training at-bats, hitting .286 with two home runs and four walks.
Hernandez, who posted a 4.4 WAR (per FanGraphs) in 2016, got off to a strong start in 2017, as he hit .323 with four home runs in April. While his average has dipped below .250 in May, Hernandez fields his position well, just turned 27 and is under team control through 2020. The Phillies reportedly were willing to listen to trade offers for Hernandez this past offseason, but did so with a 'very steep' asking price.
Trading Hernandez this summer or in the offseason remains a possibility, but when you consider that he and Kingery have both had strong 2017 seasons, it makes sense that the Phillies are intrigued by the idea of both of them playing together in 2018 and beyond. | {
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Children suffering in war have become tools for the West, with Nikki Haley stating that Russia’s hands are “covered in their blood” in Syria. However, the US seems to not mind “collateral damage” in the wars it’s backing.
READ MORE: 3yrs of civilian deaths in Yemen don’t hold US & allies back from selling arms to Saudis – Amnesty
Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting following an alleged chemical attack in Syria, the US ambassador said that “the Russian regime, whose hands are all covered in the blood of Syrian children, cannot be ashamed by pictures of its victims – we’ve tried that before.”
Read more
It’s a common tale to come out of Washington and the US media, in an apparent attempt to gain support for American foreign policy when it comes to Russia and Syria – in particular, a new military intervention. However, US officials and media appear to be focused on some war victims, while turning a blind eye on victims of campaigns the American military took part in, be it in Syria’s Raqqa or Iraq’s Mosul. In his infamous comment on CBS, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said civilian deaths in the war against terrorism are merely a “fact of life.”
In addition, America seems to ignore the plight of children in Yemen, many of whom are on the brink of famine. Instead, Washington continues to assist the Saudi-led coalition in its bombing campaign. And it wasn't long ago that US President Donald Trump touted America’s billion-dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia.
Then there’s Afghanistan, where the US has for years been responsible for deaths and injuries of innocent civilians – including children. Their stories have been left untold in the mainstream media. Some of the relatives of those killed by American troops have been trying to fight for justice, but the most they can usually get is a formal apology.
READ MORE: Justice or revenge: Relatives demand punishment after US troops shoot dead Afghan father & 2 sons
One can only wonder if the US administration itself can be “ashamed” of the daily victims of wars it started or facilitated – all the while using children to justify new invasions and bombing.
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday summoned the Indian high commissioner and sought explanation over no reply from India in response to the dossier shared by Pakistan in connection to the Pulwama attack, ARY News reported.
Sources told ARY News that Pakistan insisted upon India to submit reply to eight of the questions put up by Pakistan over Pulwama attack. Pakistan also sought a reply from India to elucidate about the spokesperson of a proscribed terror outfit that the neighboring country believed was behind the attack.
The FO reiterated to the Indian high commissioner to provide actionable evidence and assured cooperation in this regard, sources said.
Read: Any misadventure to meet a befitting response; Pakistan tells India
Earlier during a press conference, Foreign Office spokesperson Dr. Muhammad Faisal said Pakistan had handed over further questions to the India High Commissioner on the Pulwama dossier.
“We hope India will answer these questions soon,” he said.
On April 7, the Foreign Office, after receiving credible intelligence reports that India was one again plotting military aggression against Pakistan, had summoned India’s deputy high commissioner and warned that any misadventure would meet a befitting response.
Pakistan would retaliate and give befitting response to any misadventure, the Indian envoy was told.
The warning came after the statement of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in which he had said “Pakistan has reliable intelligence that India is hatching a new plot and may resort to military aggression against Pakistan between April 16-20.”
Comments
comments | {
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الشيخ ابن عثيمين: الجهاد مشروع مع القدرة
Вопрос: Каково ваше мнение о том, кто отправился на джихад в Боснию и Герциговину? Поясните пожалуйста, да воздаст вам Аллах добром.
Ответ: Я считаю, что сейчас не нужно отправляться туда, потому что Аллах, Могущественный и Величественный, узаконил джихад тогда, когда есть сила. И то, что мы знаем из новостей — и Аллах лучше знает — что сейчас в этом вопросе (джихада в Босние) есть неясность в том, что касается силы. Они действительно держались (там раньше), но мы не знаем до сих пор каково там положение. И если прояснится и станет понятным, что там джихад, тогда мы скажем: «Отправляйтесь (туда)», — потому что в этом будет благо. Этот вопрос научный, и мы не можем сейчас сказать людям: «Отправляйтесь (туда)».
Сл. «Лика аль-баб аль-мафтух», 10а. | {
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Flickr Open / Getty Images Old paint peeling from wall
Lead exposure may be on the decline, but it’s still taking its toll on children’s performance in school.
Legal requirements to remove lead from gasoline, paint and other common products have led to decreases in lead exposure. But remnants of the metal remain, according to the latest study, and this legacy may be enough to affect children’s cognitive functions.
Lead poisoning is still a concern for American families, especially those living in urban areas where older housing materials remain sources of potential exposure. A nine-year study of over 367,000 Detroit children published in the American Chemical Society’s journal Environmental Science & Technology shows that blood levels of lead fluctuate with the seasons among kids, primarily due to dust they breath that is contaminated with lead.
While the primary sources of lead have been eliminated, the researchers report that cities still retain a “legacy” of the contamination in discarded water pipes or paint, and contaminated particles that are swept up from soil and into the air are causing an rise in blood lead levels in kids by anywhere from 11% to 14% during July through September as compared to January.
(MORE: Experts Say Current Lead Poisoning Levels Are Set Too High)
Continued exposure to lead can have detrimental effects on children’s development, according to a separate study published in the American Journal of Public Health. Researchers reported that early childhood lead exposure was linked to low performance in math, science and reading in elementary and junior high students—even at exposure levels lower than the federal limit. “Despite a dramatic decline in blood lead concentrations, childhood lead poisoning continues to be the most important and preventable environmental problem among children and contributes significantly to the burden of childhood diseases,” the authors write.
In the study, the scientists studied blood lead levels in 21,281 kids who had been tested before age six between 1990 and 2008. They then compared these levels to their math, science and reading scores on the Michigan Education Assessment Program tests from 2008-2010. They found that high blood levels before age six was associated with low academic performance in grades 3, 5 and 8.
“In reality, there is no well-documented threshold for acceptable levels of lead in the body, and our research shows that in amounts as small as 2-5 micrograms per deciliter, children had significant cognitive impairment,” said study author Michael Elliott, a professor of biostatistics at the School of Public Health and a research professor at the Institute for Social Research, in a statement.
Recognizing the growing body of evidence linking lead exposure to behavioral and physical problems, in addition to cognitive impairments, in May 2012 the Centers for Disease Control adjusted the threshold for lead poisoning from 10 micrograms of lead per dL of blood to 5 mcirogm/dL or higher.
(MORE: Eating a Regular Breakfast May Help Reduce Lead Poisoning)
Both studies address the need for protecting children from lead exposure, and the higher risk for children living in cities. “As public health resources dwindle in cities and states, the focus on preventing and eliminating childhood lead poisoning is placed low on the public health and education agenda. This becomes increasingly problematic as a significant number of properties in heavily lead-polluted cities have been poorly maintained because of the national housing crisis,” the authors of the academic performance study write.
Understanding that children continue to be exposed to potentially harmful levels of lead, despite its elimination from its most common sources, should add a sense of urgency to continued efforts to address lead as a public health issue, and better focus intervention efforts to limit exposure. | {
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A Câmara dos Deputados aprovou na noite desta quarta-feira (10) em primeiro turno, por 379 votos a 131, o texto-base da proposta de emenda à Constituição (PEC) de reforma da Previdência, que altera as regras de aposentadoria. Para concluir a votação, os parlamentares ainda precisam analisar emendas e destaques apresentados pelos partidos para tentar alterar pontos específicos da proposta.
Considerada uma das principais apostas da equipe econômica para sanear as contas públicas, a proposta de reforma da Previdência estabelece, entre outros pontos:
Imposição de idade mínima para os trabalhadores se aposentarem: 65 anos para homens e 62 anos para mulheres;
Tempo mínimo de contribuição previdenciária passará a ser de 15 anos para as mulheres e 20 anos para os homens;
Regras de transição para quem já está no mercado de trabalho.
Após a aprovação do texto-base, os deputados votaram um único destaque, rejeitado (veja detalhes mais abaixo). Em seguida, o presidente da Câmara, Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), encerrou a sessão, que será retomada na manhã desta quinta (11).
Durante a sessão, Maia fez um discurso defendendo a reforma e as instituições democráticas.
"As soluções dos problemas da pobreza, dos problemas dos brasileiros que vivem abaixo da linha da pobreza, dos problemas de milhões de desempregados passam pela política. E não haverá investimento privado, mesmo com reforma tributária, mesmo com reforma previdenciária, se nós não tivermos uma democracia forte. Investidor de longo prazo não investe em país que ataca as instituições."
O resultado da votação do texto-base desta quarta superou as expectativas dos próprios governistas. Até domingo (7), o ministro da Casa Civil, Onyx Lorenzoni, estimava que a proposta receberia cerca de 330 votos.
Contribuíram para o resultado os votos de deputados de partidos de oposição, como PSB e PDT, que tinham fechado questão contra a reforma da Previdência. No PSB, dos 32 deputados da bancada, 11 votaram a favor da reforma. No PDT, oito dos 27 deputados votaram pela aprovação do texto.
Obstrução
Antes de conseguir aprovar o texto-base, os deputados favoráveis à reforma tiveram que analisar no plenário requerimentos regimentais de obstrução apresentados pelos partidos contrários às mudanças nas regras previdenciárias.
O objetivo dos oposicionistas com o uso do chamado "kit obstrução" era atrasar o máximo possível a votação. Porém, todos os requerimentos de obstrução foram rejeitados pela maioria dos deputados ao longo desta quarta-feira.
Por um placar de 334 votos a 29, os defensores da reforma derrubaram um pedido do PSOL que solicitava a retirada de pauta da proposta. Com a rejeição, ficaram prejudicados outros requerimentos que pediam o adiamento da votação.
A oposição fez outra tentativa para atrasar os trabalhos ao pedir que o texto fosse analisado de forma fatiada, votando cada artigo separadamente.
Para contornar a situação, deputados favoráveis à PEC da Previdência usaram uma manobra regimental e apresentaram seis requerimentos que tratavam de procedimentos de votação.
Nessa situação, quando há mais de cinco pedidos no mesmo sentido, o regimento interno da Câmara determina que o presidente da Casa consulte o plenário sobre o procedimento em uma única votação. O plenário acabou rejeitando a votação parcelada por 299 votos a 43, e duas abstenções.
Em seguida, os parlamentares derrubaram em bloco a admissibilidade dos destaques simples, que são as sugestões apresentadas por deputados individualmente. Assim, eles partiram diretamente para a análise dos destaques de bancada.
Embates no plenário
Durante a sessão, parlamentares pró-reforma e oposicionistas travaram uma série de embates sobre as mudanças nas regras previdenciárias.
Parlamentares da oposição afirmaram que a economia prevista com a reforma é injusta e feita em cima dos que ganham menos.
Eles também criticaram a liberação de emendas parlamentares por parte do governo, dizendo que isso faz parte da negociação de votos a favor das mudanças nas regras previdenciárias.
“O governo teve seis meses para tentar convencer o Congresso, o povo brasileiro de que essa reforma combateria privilégios e seria boa para a economia, mas só conseguiu convencer parte dos parlamentares liberando R$ 40 milhões extras em emendas para acabar com a vida do povo trabalhador”, disse deputada Sâmia Bomfim (PSOL-SP).
Parlamentares pró-reforma, por outro lado, repetiram que o texto combate privilégios e que é necessário para cobrir o rombo da Previdência. Eles também refutaram as falas de que a liberação de emendas foi feita em troca de votos.
“Estão aqui parlamentares pensando no Brasil e nas próximas gerações, em detrimento de uma minoria que será derrotada, que só pensa no populismo, em se dar bem, em manter privilégios para corporações e nas eleições do ano que vem”, disse o líder do Cidadania, Daniel Coelho (PE).
“Por que esta reforma vai passar hoje? A esquerda diz que é porque o governo comprou a todos nós. [...]. O governo Bolsonaro acelerou o pagamento de emendas de parlamentares ao orçamento da União nos últimos meses. Em maio, foram quase R$ 600 milhões. O partido que mais se beneficiou não foi o PSL. Foi o PT. A bancada do PT foi a que mais recebeu recursos. Sabe quanto? 69 milhões. Será que Bolsonaro está querendo comprar o PT? Não. Porque Bolsonaro não compra ninguém, e muito menos compraria quem quebrou esta nação, quem quebrou o Brasil”, disse o líder do PSC, Otoni de Paula (RJ).
1 de 2 Oposição e governistas agitam faixas e bandeiras na Câmara antes da votação da reforma da Previdência — Foto: Luis Macedo/Câmara dos Deputados Oposição e governistas agitam faixas e bandeiras na Câmara antes da votação da reforma da Previdência — Foto: Luis Macedo/Câmara dos Deputados
Cartazes e bandeiras
Além dos embates verbais, os parlamentares protagonizaram um confronto visual no plenário, com cartazes, camisas e bandeiras.
Deputados do PDT, por exemplo, subiram à tribuna com cartazes com os dizeres: “Eu não voto contra professoras (es)”. Integrantes do PCdoB usaram camisas com a inscrição: “Não à reforma”; e cartazes com a frase “Reforma injusta”. Parlamentares do PT, do PSOL e do PSB utilizaram recursos visuais semelhantes.
Deputados governistas empunharam bandeirinhas do Brasil e cartazes que diziam que as “únicas reformas que o PT apoiou” foram as do tríplex do Guarujá (SP) e do sítio de Atibaia, em uma referência a processos e acusações que pesam contra o ex-presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
2 de 2 O presidente da Câmara, Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), chora após ser aplaudido em plenário durante votação da reforma da Previdência — Foto: Luis Macedo/Câmara dos Deputados O presidente da Câmara, Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), chora após ser aplaudido em plenário durante votação da reforma da Previdência — Foto: Luis Macedo/Câmara dos Deputados
Lágrimas de Maia
Em um momento da sessão, antes da votação do texto-base, o presidente da Câmara, Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), chorou.
O deputado foi às lágrimas quando o líder do PSL, delegado Waldir (GO), pediu aos apoiadores da reforma uma salva de palmas a Maia por seu empenho e condução na análise da PEC.
Vários deputados presentes ao plenário atenderam ao pedido e prestaram a homenagem ao deputado do DEM.
Antes do anúncio do resultado, Rodrigo Maia deixou a mesa e foi à tribuna para discursar. Ele fez a defesa da reforma.
"Nosso sistema previdenciário coloca o Brasil numa realidade muito dura. Para cada um idoso abaixo da linha de pobreza, nós temos cinco crianças, e essas reformas vêm no intuito de reduzir as desigualdades e esse, eu tenho certeza, que é o objetivo de todos os deputados presentes que votaram a favor e os que votaram contra", declarou.
Ele também agradeceu aos líderes partidários. "Nós só chegamos aqui por isso, porque muitas vezes os nossos líderes são desrespeitados, às vezes na imprensa, criticados de forma equivocada, mas são esses líderes que estão fazendo as mudanças no Brasil, junto com deputados e junto com as deputadas", disse.
Emendas e destaques
O destaque rejeitado nesta noite pretendia mudar as regras previstas para professores na reforma. Apresentado pelo PL, propunha para professores da rede pública de ensino a aposentadoria com 55 anos de idade e 30 de contribuição para homens, e com 50 anos de idade e 25 anos de contribuição para mulheres.
A mudança foi rejeitada, mesmo com maioria de votos favoráveis ao destaque. O placar foi de 265 votos a favor e 184 contra. Mas, por se tratar de PEC, eram necessários pelo menos 308 votos para a aprovação.
Entre as emendas que serão apreciadas pelos deputados há uma que flexibiliza as regras de aposentadoria para uma série de carreiras policiais. A emenda, que obteve o apoio do PSL – partido do presidente Jair Bolsonaro – foi apresentada pela bancada do Podemos.
A proposta que será analisada pela Câmara – que atende a pedido do próprio presidente da República – cria uma nova regra para a aposentadoria de policiais federais, rodoviários federais, ferroviários federais, legislativos e policiais civis do Distrito Federal, além de agentes penitenciários e socioeducativos.
Há também na lista de destaques uma proposta apoiada pela bancada feminina da Câmara que pede alterações no cálculo do valor da aposentadoria das trabalhadoras do sexo feminino. O texto prevê que as mulheres possam se aposentar com 15 anos de contribuição recebendo 60% do valor do benefício integral.
Outro destaque que será apreciado pelo plenário, de autoria da bancada do PL, propõe critérios diferentes dos que o governo sugeriu para a concessão de aposentadoria para professores que atuem no ensino público da União, dos estados e dos municípios.
Tramitação
Por se tratar de uma proposta de emenda à Constituição (PEC), é necessário que o texto da reforma da Previdência seja aprovado, em dois turnos, na Câmara e no Senado com votação qualificada, ou seja, com os votos de, pelo menos, 60% dos parlamentares de cada uma das casas legislativas. A expectativa é de que a votação em segundo turno ocorra ainda nesta semana.
Plenário se reúne para votar proposta de emenda à Constituição da reforma da Previdência
Na Câmara, para o texto ir adiante, era preciso que, no mínimo, 308 dos 513 deputados votassem a favor da PEC. Ao final da análise dos destaques, a Casa terá que analisar novamente o texto, para que, enfim, possa ser submetido à apreciação dos senadores.
O Senado começará a analisar a reforma previdenciária no retorno do recesso parlamentar de julho, que terá início no dia 18.
Policiais fecham porta de anexo da Câmara dos Deputados após protesto
Manifestantes
Enquanto os deputados discutiam na tarde desta quarta a proposta de reforma da Previdência, um grupo de manifestantes protestava contra a PEC do lado de fora do prédio do Legislativo. Segundo a Polícia Militar do Distrito Federal, 300 pessoas participaram do protesto.
Logo no início da manifestação, foi registrado um princípio de tumulto, que foi contido por policiais legislativos. Após o incidente, policiais militares e legislativos bloquearam o acesso ao Anexo II da Câmara, uma das principais portas de entrada do prédio da Casa.
Com as portas cerradas, PMs formaram uma barreira humana na entrada do prédio. A confusão aumentou quando policiais legislativos usaram spray de pimenta para conter o grupo que protestava contra a reforma previdenciária.
Mesmo com a barreira policial, os manifestantes continuaram o ato do lado de fora. Em nota, a Câmara dos Deputados informou que "devido a uma tentativa de invasão, a portaria do edifício do Anexo II da Câmara dos Deputados foi fechada". | {
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L et's face it: We're all hurting. Food prices have risen across the board by more than 5 percent over the last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a May 2008 report—milk hikes (13 percent) are rivaling those of gasoline, and cheese and eggs are up 12 and 30 percent respectively. Even cereals and baked goods have risen 8.9 percent since last year. The result? Most of us are looking for ways to stretch our food budget.
Hope is at hand. While no one's expecting prices to drop in the near future, there are many easy ways to trim food expenses without feeling the pinch or sacrificing on flavor. Take a tip from us when planning your weekly food budget: We will tell you how to shop and cook smart, so that you can continue to enjoy delicious—but inexpensive—meals.
Here, 35 simple ways to eat well with less. | {
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tries to bring back misunderstood d-bag As a memorial to his iraq war hero brother, pictured here
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Milton vilar en stund på väg runt Nydalasjön en solig söndagseftermiddag.
Milton taking a rest as we went around Nydalasjön a sunny Sunday afternoon. | {
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It’s a little late, but good news: I have the week 1 Game Scripts!
Regular readers know all about Game Scripts, but you can learn more about them here. Essentially, Game Scripts is the term I’ve used to represent the average margin of lead or deficit over the course of every second of a game.
In week 1, three won in week 1 despite having a negative Game Script: the Dolphins trailed by 1 point, on average, throughout the game against Washington, Dallas had a -2.7 Game Script against the Giants, and the Chargers came back from a 21-3 deficit to win, which produced a -4.8 Game Script.
Below are the results of every game from week 1.
Team H/R Opp Boxscore PF PA Margin Game Script Pass Run Pass Ratio Opp Pass Opp Run Opp Pass Ratio Titans @ Buccaneers Boxscore 42 14 28 23.4 18 32 36% 37 26 58.7% Bengals @ Raiders Boxscore 33 13 20 16.9 34 31 52.3% 45 16 73.8% Chiefs @ Texans Boxscore 27 20 7 13.5 35 32 52.2% 52 21 71.2% Bills Colts Boxscore 27 14 13 11.3 19 36 34.5% 51 17 75% Patriots Steelers Boxscore 28 21 7 7.9 34 24 58.6% 41 25 62.1% Jets Browns Boxscore 31 10 21 6.5 24 36 40% 35 28 55.6% 49ers Vikings Boxscore 20 3 17 5.3 27 39 40.9% 37 17 68.5% Falcons Eagles Boxscore 26 24 2 5.2 35 35 50% 52 16 76.5% Cardinals Saints Boxscore 31 19 12 4.4 32 25 56.1% 50 20 71.4% Panthers @ Jaguars Boxscore 20 9 11 4 33 35 48.5% 45 21 68.2% Packers @ Bears Boxscore 31 23 8 1.8 23 30 43.4% 38 33 53.5% Broncos Ravens Boxscore 19 13 6 1.8 44 25 63.8% 34 23 59.6% Rams Seahawks Boxscore 34 31 3 1 29 26 52.7% 47 32 59.5% Dolphins @ Redskins Boxscore 17 10 7 -1 37 18 67.3% 32 37 46.4% Cowboys Giants Boxscore 27 26 1 -2.7 45 23 66.2% 37 24 60.7% Chargers Lions Boxscore 33 28 5 -4.8 44 30 59.5% 31 16 66%
The Chiefs/Texans game is a great example of why we need to use Game Scripts: sometimes, the points differential just isn’t that informative. Kansas City dominated that game, posting the third best Game Script of the week, but came away with just a 7-point win.
Unsurprisingly, the Bills and Jets stood out as really run-heavy in week 1. But a team you might not have expected to be very run-heavy was… Green Bay. Don’t be fooled by the 8-point win: this was a very even game. The numbers are somewhat skewed by Aaron Rodgers having 8 carries — and also by Rodgers being so freakin’ efficient, as he averaged 10.83 ANY/A — but Rodgers had 23 pass attempts, while non-Rodgers players had 22 carries.
Miami continued the team’s pass-happy ways: no winning team posted as high a pass ratio in week 1 as the Dolphins. Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Washington was the only losing team that passed on fewer than half of the team’s plays.
There has been a lot of lip service paid to how the Saints and Eagles would be run-heavy this year, but that didn’t play out in week 1. The Saints had a Game Script of -4.4 yet threw the ball 50 times! The Eagles were at -5.2 and threw it 52 times! Both teams have invested money at the running back position and let top passing targets move on in the off-season, but in week 1, neither team seemed focused on establishing the run. | {
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Intrare în chilia lui Dionisie Torcătoru
Chiliile săpate în stâncă, de langă biserica din Aluniş
Casa din Pârscov
Aşezarea rupestră Agaton
Bunicul povestitor
Ştefan Canurschi
E o dimineaţă rece de iarnă şi noi urcăm prin pădure ca doi drumeţi rătăciţi într-un basm. El păşeşte ferm, înaintea mea, deschizându-mi cu avânt calea. Îmi arată copacii abia treziţi din somn şi-mi povesteşte despre ei ca despre nişte semeni de-ai noştri. Stejarii, fagii, mestecenii sunt prietenii lui de-o viaţă, printre ei şi-a petrecut anii copilăriei. Pare să cunoască secretele oricărui arbore, să le ştie vârsta numai după foşnetul frunzelor, cunoaşte ca în palmă fiecare cotlon al acestor ţinuturi. Aici, în munţii Buzăului, prin pădurile astea pline de istorie şi mistere halucinante, îi plăcea să cutreiere în copilărie, din zori până la asfinţit, la fel cum o face şi acum. "Aici mă simt eu cel mai aproape de Dumnezeu. Că nu degeaba locul se cheamă Poarta lui Dumnezeu. Sunt munţii cu cele mai multe mistere din România. Chilii rupestre săpate în stânci, comori de aur şi chihlimbar, schelete de uriaşi, dispariţii de oameni, zone cu iradieri energetice maxime sau cu cerul cel mai senin. Îţi dai seama ce înseamnă pentru un copil să trăiască printre asemenea locuri şi poveşti? Aşa am copilărit eu, prin munţii ăştia, unde timpul stă în loc. De când mă ştiu, aud parcă o voce care mă cheamă mereu aici. Din păcate, am pierdut tot miezul vieţii încercând, aproape 40 de ani, să fac altceva, să-mi fac viaţa altfel, undeva, departe de locurile astea, de acasă. Au fost 40 de ani în care am suferit de foarte mult dor şi de o frică chinuitoare că o să închid ochii şi n-o să mai apuc să mă întorc. Din fericire, m-am trezit la timp. M-am întors acasă, în casa părintească, pe care nu am vândut-o în ciuda nenumăratelor sfaturi din partea rudelor. M-am întors acasă cu totul şi am întinerit."Îl cheamă Ştefan Canurschi, are 63 de ani, sprâncenele stufoase şi o barbă lungă şi albă ca omătul. Oamenii locului îi spun dom' Făniţă şi îl privesc cu respect, dar şi cu o oarecare mirare, ştiind că a renunţat la viaţa de la oraş, doar pentru obiceiul de a hălădui toată ziua prin pădurile neumblate ale Buzăului. Vânjos ca un urs, cu privirea pătrunzătoare şi puţin cam aspră, cu felul lui neaoş de a spune ceea ce simte sau gândeşte, stârneşte uneori nedumerire sau poate chiar teamă. Pentru cine are însă răbdare să-l cunoască, este pâinea lui Dumnezeu. Din păcate, trădările şi dezamăgirile s-au cam ţinut lanţ în viaţa lui, iar asta l-a cam înstrăinat de lume. "Totuşi, eu zic că Dumnezeu nu degeaba mi-a dat şi asemenea momente în viaţă. Toate decepţiile astea s-au adunat în mine şi, până la urmă, şi ele m-au convins să mă întorc acasă. Aici n-are cine să mă mai dezamăgească."S-a născut în satul buzoian Pârscov, un loc special, dacă ne gândim că aici a venit pe lume şi a trăit marele scriitor Vasile Voiculescu. Dom Făniţă a copilărit chiar în casa asta, în care trăieşte şi acum. O casă trainică, ca un mic conac, cu o verandă frumoasă şi un brad uriaş în mijlocul curţii. "Bradul ăsta nu prea mi-a fost drag", îmi zice încruntat. "Era deja mare când eu eram copil. Acum, să tot aibă o sută de ani. Se spune că nu e bine să ţii în curte un singur brad, că o să plângă după fraţii lui şi îţi aduce necazuri. Părinţii mei au murit tineri, iar sora mea s-a prăpădit şi ea, sărăcuţa, bolnavă de cancer. Atunci am pus toate astea şi pe seama bradului, am zis că de la el se trag toate nenorocirile astea. De câte ori veneam pe aici, mă gândeam să tai bradul. Acum, însă, după ce m-am întors acasă, m-am împăcat cu el. Din cei mai mari duşmani, suntem cei mai buni prieteni. Îl strâng mereu în braţe, îl rog să mă lase să-mi iau energie de la el. Până ce şi vuietul ăla sinistru pe care-l face noaptea, la fiecare adiere de vânt, şi ăla mi-a devenit drag."Omul care i-a marcat cel mai mult copilăria a fost bunicul lui, unul din cei mai vestiţi negustori de ţuică din sudul ţării, care aproviziona restaurantele selecte din Bucureşti. De la el a aflat primele poveşti despre munţii Buzăului, el a fost cel care i-a aprins dragostea pentru locurile astea magice. Primele drumeţii cu el le-a făcut, aşa a văzut primele chilii săpate în stâncă de mâna omului, la Dionisie Torcătorul, la Schitul Fundătura, Peştera lui Iosif, Schitul Agaton sau biserica de la Aluniş. "Ţin minte că îl bombardam pe bunicu încontinuu cu întrebări, cum au reuşit oamenii să sape ditamai stânca, de ce trăiau acolo, ce reprezentau desenele scrijelite pe pereţi, ce mâncau, nu le era frică? Şi cred că şi azi tot aceleaşi întrebări i le-aş pune. Îmi aduc aminte că cel mai mult mi-a plăcut la Dionisie Torcătorul, o stâncă uriaşă, la care urci vreo patru metri pe o scară de lemn şi intri într-o încăpere unde se spune că ar fi trăit vreme de 30 de ani, acum şapte veacuri, sihastrul Dionisie Torcătorul. Am fost fascinat de povestea asta. De atunci am fost de zeci de ori acolo, stăteam cu orele în cămăruţa aia şi priveam prin cele două ferestre cum se întinde sub mine poiana Cozanei. Era o joacă, ziceam că sunt ostaş dac şi că stăteam de strajă, pentru că locul acela e chiar strategic, de-acolo poţi vedea toată imensitatea văii."Un alt loc care l-a fermecat de când avea vreo şapte ani, a fost biserica săpată în stâncă la Aluniş, unul din cele mai vechi lăcaşuri creştine din ţară. Legenda locului spune că biserica ar fi fost făcută de doi ciobani, Vlad şi Simion, după ce unul din ei a auzit în somn un glas care îl îndemna să sape în stâncă, pentru că va găsi acolo icoana Sfintei Fecioare Maria. Apoi, după aflarea ei, s-au hotărât să sape mai departe o biserică, cerând ajutorul sătenilor. "Îmi aduc aminte că am fost într-o duminică dimineaţa, când se slujea Sfânta Liturghie, şi era curtea bisericii plină de localnici îmbrăcaţi în costume populare. Imaginea asta n-o pot uita niciodată, parcă e dintr-un vis."Tot cu bunicul lui a văzut prima oară şi Grunjul de la Mânzăleşti, numit şi Muntele de Sare, pe care s-a căţărat când avea zece ani. Sau Babele de la Ulmet, nişte trovanţi uriaşi, unii cilindrici sau sferici, suspendaţi în poziţii ciudate, despre care se spune şi astăzi că sunt pietre vii şi că au puteri tămăduitoare. De la bunicu a auzit prima dată poveşti despre comori "juruite", cum ar fi cele de deasupra fostului schit Găvanele, unde nişte localnici au văzut flăcări jucând pe comori, şi, nefiind pricepuţi să vadă asemenea semne, s-au pus pe săpat, iar în timp ce săpau, au simţit cu toţii cum îşi pierd minţile, fiind găsiţi după mai mult timp departe de locul acela, nemaiştiind nici cum îi cheamă. Apoi, tot bunicu i-a spus şi povestea cu Ţara Luanei, care demult cuprindea toată zona asta a munţilor Buzăului, unde un rege cu puteri extraordinare, venit parcă din văzduh, şi-a ridicat o cetate, luminând-o şi ziua, şi noaptea, cu un soare aidoma celui de pe cer. Apoi a adunat cei mai viteji ostaşi netemători de moarte, ştiind şi secretul unor izvoare cu apă vie, care îi vindeca miraculos pe tinerii răniţi în lupte. Vestea bogăţiei acestui ţinut se răspândise departe, în lume, şi mulţi duşmani au încercat să o doboare. Până la urmă, o armată de războinici numeroşi ca iarba, îmbrăcaţi în zale de fier, au dat năvală în care de foc, pârjolind mândra cetate din temelii şi doborând soarele. "E povestea care îmi plăcea cel mai mult", îmi zice Ştefan. "Îl scoteam din răbdări pe bunică-meu, îi ceream să mi-o spună de câteva ori pe zi. De fiecare dată era parcă altfel, era ca un film, cu replici, cu descrieri minuţioase, totul era extrem de vizual. Mult mai vizual decât un film 3D pe care îl văd copiii astăzi! Păi da, pentru că la mine era un film viu, pe care mi-l imaginam eu singur. Bunicul meu era un personaj minunat. Trecea de la o poveste la alta, cu un talent uimitor. Iar amestecul ăsta între legendă şi adevăr, între basm şi relatări istorice reale, făcea să dispară linia care le deosebea. Pentru mine erau toate la fel de reale, mă emoţionau la fel de mult. Uite, de exemplu, în povestea Luanei se spune despre apa tămăduitoare care vindeca rănile soldaţilor, şi se ştie că în zona satului Fişici există izvoare minerale care au făcut cândva din satul ăsta o perlă a turismului balneo-climateric. Sau tot în Ţara Luanei se povesteşte de soarele acela care dădea lumina cea mai puternică, or se ştie că în zona asta cerul are uneori o intensitate atât de mare a luminii, că nimeni nu poate explica de ce."În anii care au urmat, Ştefan a început să meargă singur în călătorii. Avea 11, 12 ani, era destul de mare, iar iniţierea o făcuse deja cu bunicul. Citea tot ce se putea despre munţii Buzăului, iar în vacanţe, zi de zi, bătea potecile munţilor, rătăcea prin păduri neumblate, căuta locuri despre care ştia din relatările bunicului, vorbea cu oamenii de prin părţile locului, se împrietenea cu alţi copii cu care făcea adesea "schimb de poveşti". De dimineaţa până seara, pleca de acasă singur sau cu unul sau doi prieteni, fără ca părinţii să ştie. Lua autobuzul din Pârscov şi mergea vreo 15 kilometri, până la Scăieni, cel mai vechi sat din Buzău, crezând că mai poate găsi acolo schelete de uriaşi. Sau mergea mai departe, lângă Colţi, ca să caute chihlimbar pe stânci sau pe albia râurilor. Sau la Nucu, să se mai joace în chilia din stâncă a lui Dionisie Torcătorul. Nimic nu rămânea neumblat de el, niciun petic ascuns de pădure, niciun sat din frumoasa şi enigmatica Ţară a Luanei. "Au fost cei mai frumoşi ani ai vieţii mele. Bunicul începuse să mai îmbătrânească, şi acum îi povesteam eu despre ce descopeream prin călătoriile mele. Ţin minte că îl vedeam în fiecare seară citind dintr-o carte scrisă în caractere chirilice. O citea într-un colţ al curţii, parcă puţin ferit de ochii lumii. Mai târziu, aveam să aflu că era o carte despre leacuri din plante, cum nimeni nu mai avea. Citea din ea mai ales vara, în luna august, când chema toţi nepoţii la el şi ne trimitea la cules de buruieni. Fiecare avea de adus ceva anume, mie îmi zicea să-i aduc un sac mare de brusture, altul aducea pătlagină, altul frunze de nuc, şi tot aşa, conform reţetei din carte. Punea apoi la fiert un butoi mare cu apă sulfuroasă, adusă de la Fişici, după care amesteca în butoi toate plantele aduse de noi. La sfârşit, lua o pătură cu gaură la mijloc şi se băga în butoi, lăsându-şi doar capul afară prin gaură. Nu ştiu cum rezista în apa aia clocotită, dar făcea baia asta toată luna august, câte o jumătate de oră pe zi. An de an, până la 91 de ani, când, într-o iarnă urâtă, a murit, ironia sorţii, dintr-o simplă gripă. Era în 1973, anul în care m-am hotărât să plec de acasă, să-mi caut rostul în altă parte. M-am rupt greu, extrem de greu. Am trăit 40 de ani la Ploieşti. M-am căsătorit, am lucrat în proiectare, iar după '90, am fost cameraman la o televiziune din Ploieşti. Am o fată de 30 de ani, ba chiar şi un nepoţel. Cam asta e. Uite ce cuvinte puţine despre 40 de ani din viaţă! Şi în toţi anii ăştia, am fost mereu cu gândul la locurile copilăriei. Mergeam în vacanţe, citeam tot ce apărea despre misterele din munţii Buzăului, cărţi, articole de ziar, ba chiar am făcut şi eu nişte reportaje pentru televiziune. Dar nimic din toate astea nu mă putea vindeca de dorul de acasă. Era ceva care mă măcina, şi tot timpul îmi ziceam că într-o zi o voi face, mă voi întoarce definitiv acasă. Şi iată-mă, şi îi mulţumesc lui Dumnezeu pentru asta!"Urcăm mai departe prin pădurea de pe Dealul Măgurii. Povesteşte mult, pe nerăsuflate, bucurându-se ca un copil de drumeţia asta a noastră. De când s-a întors acasă, aproape zilnic face o asemenea plimbare. Uneori ia autobuzul şi merge mai departe, la fel ca în copilărie, luând apoi la pas toate satele acelea aruncate printre munţi. "Mă gândesc aproape cu invidie la strămoşii noştri. Trăiau cumpătat şi aveau răgaz să se roage sau, pur şi simplu, să şadă pe prispă şi să se gândească. Aşa de frumoasă e viaţa asta, aşa cum ne-o oferă Dumnezeu, şi noi ne pierdem în tot felul de lucruri mărunte..."Undeva, într-o poieniţă, vedem o cruce mare din piatră. Răsare aşa, nitam-nisam, cam cât statura unui om, în locul ăsta pustiu. "Sunt plini munţii Buzăului de cruci şi troiţe din astea. Pe asta au ridicat-o cioplitorii în piatră de jos, din Măgura, acum vreo sută de ani. Se zice că cele mai multe din ele au fost puse ca să alunge strigoii, că erau pline locurile astea de duhuri rele. Ţin minte că era mai departe de-aici o cruce mare şi frumoasă, am văzut-o şi eu, îi zicea Crucea lui Stelian. Zice că era un negustor bogat, Stelian, care a fost omorât de nişte tâlhari în locul ăla pustiu. Şi după aia, toţi cei care treceau pe-acolo se plângeau că s-au întâlnit cu strigoii, ba unii chiar s-au smintit. Şi până n-au pus oamenii crucea, nu s-a liniştit locul. Chiar sunt curios dacă mai e acolo, că au început să dispară până ce şi crucile astea din piatră! Oricum, altele nu mai are cine să facă. În Măgura, cândva satul cu cei mai vestiţi cioplitori în piatră, astăzi nu mai găseşti niciunul."De trei ani, de când s-a întors definitiv pe meleaguri natale, a avut timp să revadă toate locurile pe care le ştia din copilărie. Din păcate, niciunul nu mai seamănă cu ce-a fost. A mers din nou la minunatele aşezări rupestre şi i-a venit să plângă văzând gunoaiele din jurul lor, pereţii toţi scrijeliţi de turiştii golani, ori scara de la Dionisie Torcătorul, ruptă şi căzută în râpă. A mers la Aluniş şi a găsit bisericuţa arsă, luase foc de curând şi avea pereţii înnegriţi de fum, iar în locul acelei imagini de vis cu localnicii din curte, îmbrăcaţi în costume populare, astăzi nu mai era decât un loc pustiu. A mers şi la Găvanele şi a văzut frumuseţe de biserică din lemn, părăsită şi lăsată acolo, în pustiu, la cheremul oricui. A făcut o plimbare la Scăieni, cel mai vechi sat din munţii Buzăului, şi n-a mai găsit decât vreo 25 de case locuite, restul fiind părăsite, în paragină, pentru că tinerii au plecat şi nu se mai întorc niciodată. La fel şi la Nucu, Aluniş, sate aproape pustii, cu pământul pârloagă. A mers şi la Fişici, cândva o frumuseţe de staţiune balneo-climaterică, unde veneau turişti din toată ţara şi chiar din străinătate, şi în loc să vadă satul plin de oameni şi veselie mare, a găsit un loc posomorât, cu clădirile fostului complex turistic în ruină şi izvorul tămăduitor curgând în zadar. Apoi, a căutat păduri pe care le ştia, prin care s-a zbenguit în copilărie, dar nu le-a mai găsit, aflând de la puţinii localnici care mai erau prin zonă că au fost defrişate de o firmă din China, că a fost un adevărat măcel. Aproape nimic nu mai e cum a fost, de parcă tot ce-a trăit el cândva n-a fost decât un vis frumos. "Peste tot văd un alt decor, şi asta mă întristează, pentru că văd cum se duce o lume şi eu rămân tot mai singur în lumea asta a mea. Nici cât negru sub unghie nu-mi pare rău că am ales să mă întorc acasă, ba dimpotrivă, mă simt un om fericit. Dar două frici am avut de când mă ştiu. Una era să nu mor în altă parte decât acasă, aici, la Pârscov. Şi a doua, să nu ajung să n-am ce povesti nepoţilor mei.Se pare că sunt rezolvate amândouă, o să mor aici, aşa cum mi-am dorit, şi am ce povesti lui Vlăduţ, nepoţelului meu, la fel cum îmi povestea şi mie bunicul. A apărut însă o altă teamă care mă încearcă: o să-l mai intereseze pe el poveştile mele? O să mai intereseze pe cineva toate poveştile astea?"A lăsat totul şi s-a întors acasă, împreună cu soţia lui. Femeia i-a înţeles întotdeauna poezia din suflet şi a fost alături de el. Trăiesc amândoi din pensii modeste, dar nu sunt deloc nefericiţi. Din puţinul lor se gospodăresc foarte bine, ba chiar le ajunge şi pentru cei şase căţei şi cele cinci pisici care s-au pripăşit la ei în ogradă. În unele dimineţi, Ştefan îşi face gimnastica în curte, îmbrăţişează bătrânul brad, mănâncă ceva, şi-apoi pleacă la drum. Undeva pe-aici, prin munţii ăştia mereu misterioşi. | {
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The Townsend Building in Dover, Del., which houses the state’s Division of Corporations. (Photo credit: Google Maps)
From the Federal Election Commission’s suggestion that it might finally begin scrutinizing donations to super PACs from mystery limited liability companies (LLCs) to the revelations in the Panama Papers, LLCs are very in right now. The leak of the Panama Papers reportedly shows the use of offshore shell companies to hide cash by many high-profile foreign figures, from highly-paid soccer star Lionel Messi to the prime minister of Iceland, but the lack of Americans implicated in the investigations has raised eyebrows in the international community. We’d all like to believe that it’s because most Americans are law-abiding folks, but there might be another answer: Americans don’t need offshore companies in tiny island nations to hide their money. America has Delaware.
Delaware is home to more than a million corporations, meaning it has more corporations than actual human residents. In 2012, The New York Times reported that a single building in Wilmington was the legal address of over 285,000 separate businesses. About 65 percent of Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware. Many companies choose to incorporate there because of the “business-friendly” climate and extensive body of corporate law, or because Delaware has much lower corporate taxes than most states. The New York Times says incorporating in Delaware “has enabled corporations to reduce the taxes paid to other states by an estimated $9.5 billion.” But it also happens to be one of the easiest places in the world to set up an anonymous company, making it a great place to establish an LLC to do business that you don’t want anyone to know about or you don’t want to be easily connected to.
Setting up a company in Delaware is extremely quick, easy and inexpensive. Openness advocates like the Financial Transparency Coalition point out that a person needs to provide more personal information to register for a library card than to register an LLC in Delaware. We encountered this problem when we looked into some of the LLCs making donations to super PACs: Two LLCs that made big donations to the super PAC supporting Carly Fiorina, for example, are registered only to Harvard Business Services, with no further identifying information available on public documents. Harvard Business Services charges $50 to list itself as the registered agent, which makes it impossible to find the real owners. In Delaware, that’s perfectly legal.
The New York Times quotes the chief executive of a registration agent — a company that registers companies — as saying Delaware has “the most secret companies in the world and the easiest to form.” A senior researcher at the Tax Justice Network quoted in its piece concurs, calling Delaware “the biggest single source of anonymous corporations in the world.”
There have been efforts to change this system, both federally and at the state level. In 2014, two laws were passed in Delaware that required companies registered in the state to provide the name of someone who knows who the legal owners are, but the legal owners can still be another anonymous company, and the information would only be available via subpoena. The legislation didn’t require any information to be collected or made public about the “real” owners, often called the “beneficial owners.” Global Financial Integrity described the bills as “window-dressing,” saying they would “do nothing” to reveal more about who owns anonymous companies. Former Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, D, tried repeatedly to pass a bill requiring states to simply ask for the name of the person establishing the corporation, but the effort failed every time.
Delaware’s government doesn’t appreciate critics using terms like “race to the bottom”: It has a “myths and facts” page on its website, where it claims that “Delaware has done more than most states to ensure proper transparency” and points out that “Delaware and the majority of states do require disclosure of the names of the natural persons who serve as directors.” (It doesn’t point out that this “natural person” can be someone at a company like Harvard Business Services.)
One reason Delaware has resisted any change to this system: It’s a huge part of the state’s income. According to The New York Times, taxes and fees from these absentee businesses accounted for a quarter of the state’s budget in 2011. In 2015, the Delaware’s secretary of state retained the huge lobbying firm Peck Madigan Jones to lobby on “legislation impacting corporate formation process” and “issues relating to beneficial ownership,” priced at $50,000 per quarter. The state also retained Peck Madigan Jones to lobby on beneficial ownership in 2009; the firm has been retained by the state since 2009 to lobby both the House and Senate on other issues, too, paying as much as $90,000 a quarter.
Even though it’s the easiest place to set up an anonymous LLC, Delaware isn’t the only state whose laws allow corporate anonymity. Several states — like New Mexico, Wyoming and Nevada — don’t require public disclosure of a company’s owners, though they may compel the release of more information through subpoena. And even if these states don’t provide complete legal protection through anonymity from lawsuits or federal investigation (though they can make it significantly more difficult for law enforcement), they can make it impossible for the public to look into who’s behind corporations. That matters a lot when those LLCs are, for example, making big donations to super PACs. As long as any U.S. state has rules this lax, it affects the entire country — just look at how many impossible-to-trace LLCs we found donating to super PACs, contributions that the public will never know the true source of. | {
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I knew these monthly approval ratings would come in handy one day.
What you see below is a graph of our monthly approval ratings for the now former GM of the Kansas City Chiefs, Scott Pioli.
We ran an approval poll in Pioli's first month on the job through the last month. This graph is the result and ... well, it kinda tells the whole story, doesn't it?
(Click to view it larger ... credit goes to Clay Wendler for creating the graph)
Several things jump out at me.
1. Pioli's status was never really questioned in the first two years.
Even during that miserable 4-12 2009 season, his numbers were staying (mostly) above 70 percent. The 2010 season was a playoff season, the draft picks looked good ... the numbers were through the roof.
In fact, think about this craziness: In December 2010, 1,850 people voted in the poll.
NINE voters did not approve. Not percent. Voters.
That's just ... wow.
Then again, that's about the time Jamaal Charles signed his extension. So, not all bad.
2. Expectations caught up to him
There were two big declines -- the one before the 2011 season and the one before the 2012 season.
The reason? Expectations.
Coming off the 2010 season, we all thought the Chiefs were going to be good in 2011. Nope. They weren't. Even then, heading into the 2012 season, plenty of people had the Chiefs and Broncos battling it out for the AFC West title. Nah. How about two wins instead?
The fan reaction is one thing when everyone expects you to be bad. But when you put high expectations into the fold ... you better be good.
3. The last three months of the Pioli era truly were the worst. It was time.
What stands out to you?
***
The complete history of Scott Pioli approval ratings (click the link for full results): | {
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The 2020 Rock USA Music Festival, which will take place at Ford Festival Park in Oshkosh on July 16 to 18, lineup has just been announced through social media, and the Slipknot, Rob Zombie and Limp Bizkit are the headliners.
The 10th anniversary of the festival lineup also includes Halestorm, Bad Wolves, Steel Panther, The Pretty Reckless, From Ashes To New, HELLYEAH, Anthrax, Attila, Wage War, and many more.
“So excited to be playing Rock USA Festival this year with all our buds,” Halestorm said.
All tickets will go on sale during the 72-hours sale on Wednesday, January 29, at 4 p.m. CT.
You can find the full lineup below.
The first day of the festival, July 16:
Limp Bizkit
Halestorm
Chevelle
Avatar
Fever 333
Wage War
We Came As Romans
Stick To Your Guns
I See Stars
Bones UK
Saul
Smile Empty Soul
Bad Omens
Stitched Up Heart
Joyous Wolf
September Mourning
The second day of the festival, July 17:
Rob Zombie
Ice Cube
The Pretty Reckless
HELLYEAH
Hollywood Undead
The Glorious Sons
Knocked Loose
Attila
Escape The Fate
Otherwise
Carnifex
Through Fire
BRKN LOVE
Royal Bliss
The Cold Stares
The third and the last day of the festival, July 18:
Slipknot
Papa Roach
Anthrax
Steel Panther
Of Mice & Men
Bad Wolves
All That Remains
Memphis May Fire
Emmure
Insane Clown Posse
Crobot
Cherry Bombs
He Is Legend
Islander
Tense Machine
Click here for more info. | {
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US District Court Judge Marvin J. Garbis wrote the tweets were “shocking” in an order that fully suspended the ban.
Pool / Getty Images
President Trump surprised the nation on the morning of July 26 when he announced on Twitter he was banning transgender people from serving "in any capacity" in the military. He wrote that the armed forces "cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."
The tweets alarmed transgender troops around the country, who'd been blindsided by the news, and the tweets themselves quickly became central to several lawsuits. The troops argued Trump's tweets, and his memorandum to the Pentagon one month later, violated their constitutional rights to due process and failed to follow proper rulemaking procedures. A federal judge in Washington, DC, agreed with the troops in October, halting most of Trump's ban. Then on Tuesday, another federal judge in a parallel lawsuit in Maryland halted Trump's policy completely. US District Court Judge Marvin J. Garbis took particular aim at Trump's tweets in a 53-page ruling.
He started by screen-grabbing them. US District Court
Then Judge Garbis said the tweets weren't based on a policy review and aren’t motivated by a concern for a stronger military or in a national interest. US District Court
"President Trump’s tweets did not emerge from a policy review, nor did the Presidential Memorandum identify any policymaking process or evidence demonstrating that the revocation of transgender rights was necessary for any legitimate national interest," the judge wrote. "Based on the circumstances surrounding the President’s announcement and the departure from normal procedure, the Court agrees with the D.C. Court that there is sufficient support for Plaintiffs’ claims that 'the decision to exclude transgender individuals was not driven by genuine concerns regarding military efficacy.'"
The judge also affirmed allegations that the tweets may be "shocking." US District Court
"An unexpected announcement by the President and Commander in Chief of the United States via Twitter that 'the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military' certainly can be considered shocking under the circumstances," the decision continued.
Media reports from the summer also said Trump's tweets surprised US generals.
The judge went on to say Trump’s tweets didn’t show the president reviewed the issue with military officials. US District Court | {
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Idiosyncrasies with istreams.
A lot has been written and the vice and virtues of the C++ iostreams library.
While working on Argh, my little C++11 argument parsing library, I ran across some somewhat surprising idiosyncrasies and a few interesting lessons.
Argh uses std::istringstream s to allow the user to convert or lexical-cast command line argument strings into the desired target types (thus supporting all primitive types and any other types with operator >> ). In doing so, some of its std::istringstream uses are less-than typical. I will not delve too deeply about Argh and its philosophy here. You are welcome to read more about it here.
C++11 Breaking Changes
It is well known how much effort the standardization committee puts into keeping C++ backward compatible and to avoid breaking changes. So I was a bit surprised at what happens when extraction fails i.e., streaming an incompatible string into a type, e.g. hello into an int .
In pre-C++11 the streamed to value is left unmodified.
However, since C++11 if extraction fails, zero is written to value.
TL;DR If you need the original value in case of failure, store it on the side.
Bad Streams
To indicate that an argument is not present, std::istringstream can also be used as an “optional” (or Maybe). A bad stream supports bool operator!() for checking validity. So if an argument does not exist, the stream will be bad and should not be streamed from (or if you do, the streaming will fail).
Unfortunately, there is no way to construct a bad stream, so it is impossible to do this:
std :: istringstream parser :: operator ()( std :: string const & name ) { if ( name . empty ()) return std :: istringstream ( ... set failbit ...); // ERROR: No such ctor // ... }
The only way to create a bad stream is to create a variable and set it to bad:
std :: istringstream parser :: bad_stream () const { std :: istringstream bad ; bad . setstate ( std :: ios_base :: failbit ); return bad ; }
This is both verbose and prevents the mandated RVO and instead relies on NRVO which isn’t.
TL;DR It would be nice to have a constructor that can construct a bad stream.
Move Semantics
Note that the return type of both parser::operator() and bad_stream() above is std::istringstream . However, std::istringstream does not have a copy constructor, it only has a move constructor.
When returning an object of type std::istringstream it is in fact either moved or copy-elision will take place. The fact that copy elision can happen here also means that return std::move(istr); is a pessimization since it will force a call to the move ctor even when complete elision could have taken place.
TL;DR Beware of return std::move(xxx); it is very often (almost always?) a pessimization.
Interestingly, when a GitHub user wanted Argh to support GCC 4.9, it turned out that the move ctor is missing which caused the code to not build.
The workaround, contributed by the diligent @ChaosCabbage was to create a proxy class around std::istringstream which does have a copy ctor:
stringstream_proxy ( const stringstream_proxy & other ) : stream_ ( other . stream_ . str ()) // copy string { stream_ . setstate ( other . stream_ . rdstate ()); // copy state }
This workaround only kicks in for GCC < 5.
Conveniently, this actually works because we did not explicitly specify that we want to move the stream, but we allow to compiler to either: elide, move or copy the stream. On gcc <5 it will choose the copy-ctor of our proxy, on more conformant library implementations and compilers it will move the stream or completely elide the call.
Summary
Beware of little stream surprises, don’t let them bug you.
Learn to embrace the little surprises in life. Keep notes of what you did and maybe blog about it.
If you want to learn more about Argh, find it here. If you find it useful, do drop me a note - I assure you, it’ll make my day. Pull requests will be gladly accepted.
If you found this post helpful, or you have more thoughts on this subject, please leave a message in the comments, Twitter or Reddit. You can also follow me on Twitter.
Credit: banner :: giphy | {
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I found a very nice webhosting, to be honest it's a regular price so no discounts for shibes, but at least they accept Dogecoin, your ... | {
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Normally HM Passport Office receives 5.7million applications for new or renewed passports every year. Yet so far between 1 January and 31 May the agency processed 3.3million applications – 350,000 more than usual. The applications for March and May were the highest recorded for 12 years. | {
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — joined by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), left rear, and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) — walks up to reporters following a closed-door strategy session Tuesday on Capitol Hill. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
President Trump wants Congress to add defense funding and money for a new wall along the Mexican border in a near-term spending bill intended to keep the government open past April 28, but Capitol Hill Republicans signaled they will reject the idea to avoid a shutdown as well as the deep cuts that the new spending would require.
Trump’s request, outlined in conversations with White House officials and in a memo from budget director Mick Mulvaney, calls for $33 billion in new defense and border spending — and $18 billion in cuts to other priorities, such as medical research and jobs programs.
But it appeared that few on the Hill shared the White House’s appetite to flirt with a government shutdown over the border wall, which Democrats have pledged to oppose and which even some conservative Republicans object to on fiscal grounds.
Several senior Republicans said Tuesday that Trump’s wall request is not likely to be included in the stopgap budget plan, which would merely authorize current spending levels to continue past April 28 — but instead will be considered during separate negotiations later this year to add new spending to the current budget.
“Congress will decide what they want and what they don’t want,” said Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), one of a half-dozen Republicans engaged in spending negotiations to reject the request. “I don’t think we need a shutdown argument, period. I don’t know any rational person who wants a shutdown.”
(Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Just days after the defeat of the American Health Care Act, the disagreement could set up yet another showdown between Hill Republicans and the White House as Trump attempts to take immediate action on some of his more controversial campaign pledges.
John Czwartacki, spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget, said Tuesday that the defense funding cannot wait and the requested cuts were an attempt to maintain fiscal responsibility alongside Trump’s pledge to dramatically increase military resources.
“The request for these resources is required to protect our citizens from America’s enemies and to fight terrorism overseas before it comes to our shores,” Czwartacki said. “We must also be mindful of our $20 trillion national debt crisis and how we spend every tax dollar.”
The White House had already asked to jump-start spending this year — including $30 billion for defense generally, in addition to $3 billion for border security, half of which would begin construction for the wall — but Mulvaney’s effort to force the issue in the near-term bill was new.
Also new were the detailed spending cuts intended to offset the defense spending, including more than $7 billion from labor, health and education programs. Many of the cuts would be aimed at key priorities for Democrats, such as money for global reproductive health education, but they also take aim at more broadly popular agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Mulvaney also outlined $3 billion in trims to education programs, including Pell grants for low-income college students, and $1.2 billion in cuts to NIH research programs.
A partial government shutdown would begin April 29 if Congress doesn’t pass the short-term spending bill. Democrats did not rule out some increases to war-related military spending, but they have signaled they will not support the White House’s proposed spending cuts or the money for the border wall. Their support is necessary in the Senate, where the spending bill needs 60 votes and Republicans control just 52 seats.
“They are asking for something that is going to be deeply damaging,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wa.) “We’re going to fight back with everything we have.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other senators avoided making any direct commitment on whether the border wall would be included in the upcoming spending bill.
“Democrats and Republicans . . . are working together on this, and we fully anticipate getting an outcome prior to the end of April,” McConnell said.
In addition, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) told reporters Tuesday that he expects that there will be a bipartisan spending bill and that a vote to fund the wall would happen in a separate, supplemental bill sometime later this year.
“I would suspect the border wall is in the supplemental,” Blunt said.
[Trump’s path forward only gets tougher after health-care fiasco]
[Senate Democrats prepare for spring battle over border wall]
Democrats also scoffed at the idea that the White House would ask Congress to cut widely supported domestic programs to pay for the wall despite Trump’s campaign pledge to make Mexico pay.
“Cutting cancer research, slashing affordable housing and programs to protect the environment, and making middle-class taxpayers pay for a wall that Mexico was supposed to pay for?” said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “These may be the Trump administration priorities, but they aren’t the priorities of the American people.”
Republicans in Congress had generally hoped to avoid any serious conflict over the must-pass spending bill and leave the bigger budget battle for later this year. GOP Senate leaders in particular had planned to speed through the spending votes quickly after confirming Judge Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.
The White House proposal would almost certainly derail those plans. Even those who like the defense spending increases weren’t interested in forcing a shutdown fight now.
“Ultimately I’m not sure that’s the direction the Appropriations Committee is going to move,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said. “In the end, the Congress is responsible for spending the money.”
Some Republicans played down the conflict as a normal part of a negotiation over spending priorities. It is common for White House budget officials to send Congress a list of proposed cuts to offset new spending priorities. But rarely do the cuts target popular programs such as medical research at the National Institutes of Health in exchange.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) told reporters Tuesday that Congress had just voted the previous year to increase funding for NIH and other research. Cornyn said the difference of priorities was to be expected, but he gave no suggestion that Trump’s spending requests would be entertained.
“I think they’re becoming very aware of how hard the legislative process is,” Cornyn said. “I look at it as a conversation.”
Because of a transcription error, an earlier version mistakenly attributed a quote by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
Read more at PowerPost | {
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In 2009, a revolutionary website launched that allowed anyone to create a campaign to raise funds. So long as someone believed in the project, they could pitch in on the promise of receiving a finished product later down the line, for better or worse. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?
Kickstarter was a master stroke idea for its creators and launched the crowdfunded genre of sales marketing into mainstream. It heralded a new field of marketing, spawning multiple competitors devoted to cashing in on the success.
What does Kickstarter have in common with ICOs?
You may not realize it, but by creating a utility token you are, in fact, running a crowdfunding campaign. You are selling the idea of your product to future consumers. If they believe in your project enough, they will send money to you toward the goal of a working product and the ability to gain the tokens required to use it before the general populace.
See what I meant by sounding familiar?
With that knowledge, we can crack open this pearl of wisdom that’s been laid before us and really dig into the lessons we have learned over the years of crowdfunding successes and failures. Kickstarter’s case studies are so wide and varied that we are not focusing on a specific Kickstarter project. We will be focusing on the best practices learned from the crowdfunding revolution as a whole to squeeze as much as we can into this one article.
Know Your Audience
Contrary to popular strategies in the ICO space, when marketing a utility ICO, you should not be marketing to investors. Instead, you should be targeting and marketing to future clients or users of the product. A large number of “cryptocurrency investors” will, more often than not, be there only for short term gain with no actual care for your products asides from how much money it makes them.
These people buy in at ICO and immediately sell on exchanges.
These aren’t the brand advocates you want to fill your fanbase with.
You want people who will use your future platform or service as they will become your most zealous supporters. Focus your efforts on retaining these people’s interest to your project and others will be drawn to your success.
On any non-technical document, limit the use of jargon only to where strictly necessary and limit it to the field your token relates to. It may be hard to imagine for us crypto veterans, but most of your clients will not have an idea on how your blockchain project differs from their traditional server-based programs. It’s your job to help them see the advantages your system brings. Heavy use of crypto slang can make them feel alienated and turn them away from your project.
So called “cult followings” in particular are invaluable to a project. They spread news of your platform by word of mouth, are more likely to share news and updates from your team, will participate further in community events, and generally tend to be a lot more forgiving when things don’t go exactly as planned.
Have a Clear Goal
When pioneering an ICO, developing a whitepaper, budget plan, and a roadmap with a specific end goal in mind should be your first steps. Have these documents ready and easily accessible. As tempting as it may be to add bells and whistles to your platform, you should keep one question in mind before adding features to your initial launch.
“Is this going to inhibit us from launching the product within budget and on schedule?”
This question will force you to take a larger view of your project.
Is this feature going to inhibit us from launching on time?
Will this feasibly cost more to develop than we have alloted?
These are all questions that must be asked before any extra features not originally planned are put into the production schedule.
This is also known as an MVP (minimum viable product) approach and it is prevalent in the software industries, but it is just as applicable in most ICOs.
If any feature negatively impacts the original platform or schedule,it should be taken down in a detailed note and filed away for the future. Set your customer’s expectations. Saving an idea for later down the road turns what could have been a delay announcement into an update with more features.
Have Something to Show
Too many platforms issue a promise of product without showing a prototype or the development behind it.
Without showing a clear picture of where the project stands and how it is being developed, potential investors will be more likely to second guess your product’s viability in the market. Blind faith takes you only so far. Shedding some light on where you are at in the program will give not only clarity, but peace of mind to your future clients and knowledge that their ICO money is not going to waste.
This should be an ongoing process. Consider it “investor relations” like you would in a publicly traded company.
Market Your ICO Heavily
The best success stories from Kickstarter never once relied on just the traction they could get from the native site. They launched campaigns, published press releases, stepped forward to the parties interested in that field and spoke to them, and leveraged social media to create buzz and attract clientele that would normally have been beyond their limited reach.
There are a ton of different methods to market effectively, but the most important thing is to give yourself enough time to get the momentum going before the ICO.
You should be marketing as much as possible; growing your community before asking for money.
To develop interest in your ICO, you can run advertising campaigns, attend events, develop partnerships, create press releases, write organic content, reach out to investment groups, and much more.
Keep Your Investors Informed
Here comes the fun part. You have your crowdfunding secured. You have a product update schedule. Your team is hitting goal after goal and are well on your way to seeing the dream that started as an ICO become a reality.
You can finally relax a little, right?
Wrong.
Now, more than ever, is when you need to be speaking to your clientele and assuring them their voices are being heard.
You need to have a community team available 24/7 to answer questions, take in feature suggestions, and engage with your audience. The crypto world never sleeps.
Also, you need to publish frequent updates and run events meeting investors and clients alike, keeping them occupied while your team works hard on your product’s release.
Cryptocurrency investors can be a skittish bunch, so you have to step up and prove you’re good to your word. Disappearing at any point could stain your image, and spell disaster for your company.
Any update, no matter how small, will be received better than no update at all.
Keep your community engaged and active
Keep your community connected and engaged with your brand. Veterans of Kickstarter know that social media sharing is ubiquitous to their campaign’s success. Facebook, Telegram, Twitter, Instagram, all of these have one very large element in common: they give ways for clients to connect with your brand.
Consumer engagement through social media has grown to become the second fastest way of company influence to spread among the public. The first always being the power of word-of-mouth. Keeping up with each and every avenue may sound like a challenge, but, with the right strategies in place, it will pay off exponentially for your growth and engagement.
You could hire 5 or 6 people to handle all of this in house. Another route is hiring a community team like Ngaged.io. With this option you free up your time, resources, and efforts that can be focused elsewhere. Having a helpful group of 24/7 community managers will let your community know that their questions can be answered at any time and they can stick around for a friendly chat.
During events, having a team like Ngaged can help keep everything organized and fun. This lets you run your event without having to be constantly glued to your phone or computer while dramatically increasing the quality of your community. With Ngaged.io, you know you’re getting crypto-savvy community managers invested in your company’s success.
Though these lessons are broad, it’s important to keep them in mind going forward. We are not starting from scratch when it comes to marketing this revolution. With a wealth of case studies and a little time and planning, we can condense and focus our efforts to truly change the world.
Thank you for joining us today! If you want a few ideas to kickstart your own marketing brainstorm, take a look at our other articles featuring a satire of superbowl commercials and using babies to sell water.
If this article has been helpful for you, hit that Follow button to get updated as soon as our latest news and articles are published. You can also catch us at https://ngaged.io and at our Twitter handle @Ngaged_io. See you next time!
About the author: When not writing down his knowledge for others, Derek spends his time helping build up successful, disruptive technology companies. He has assisted with building companies in 3d printer manufacturing, crypto trading, blockchain training, and consumer portfolio tracking softwares. Now, Derek brings his expertise to the ICO space with lessons and ramblings for any willing to listen. | {
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One in a series of occasional articles on how the building boom is changing life in Boston.
One by one, Boston is losing its dive bars.
There’s a hole in the ground on West Broadway in Southie where the Cornerstone Pub once stood, the bar and its lottery-ticket vending machine razed to make way for 49 LEED-certified condos.
A few blocks away, on A Street, Bob Desimone, the owner of the Williams Tavern, is still pouring beer for his regulars, but not for much longer. At 69, he’s retiring and a developer is seeking approval to replace the one-story brick building with The Residences at One Hundred A.
Across West Broadway, The Quiet Man Pub is now Stephi’s in Southie and a Starbucks, cheap bottles of beer having given way to skinny mochas and Thai lettuce wraps.
Look around the city at the glossy new buildings and companies and it’s easy to see what’s knocking over the worn bar stools: rising rents, land values, and changing tastes and demographics.
It’s also easy to see what’s being lost: a place where neighborhood folks can feel comfortable just being themselves, where they can meet casually — without worrying about drinking and driving and parking — and without having to spend an hour’s take-home pay for a glass of beer.
There’s no definitive tally of Boston’s dive bar die-off, but here’s what is known: Between 2011, when writer Luke O’Neil published “Boston’s Best Dive Bars,” and last month, when two obsessed readers completed a crawl of almost all the bars listed, about 20 of the 70 or so Boston dives closed.
Southie resident Scott Coffey at the Shamrock Pub. Lane Turner/Globe Staff/Globe Staff
“Sometimes I’d be on Yelp looking at the reviews but by the time we got to the place it was too late,” said one of the bar-centric anthropologists, Robert Buckley, 36, a project manager for a restaurant design firm.
“The outward pressure is building,” said Jonathan Martin, a consultant who helps restaurants find space and negotiate leases. “Costs are going up, and revenues aren’t keeping pace.”
In neighborhoods where real estate is hot, such as South Boston and the Fenway, restaurants are paying in excess of $50 per square foot per year in rent — a 75 percent increase from five years ago, said Martin, a managing director with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, a commercial real estate advisory firm.
That’s just one cost, among many, that are hard for dive bar owners to make up, he said. “You can’t charge $22 for a plate of wings.”
As longtime owners age along with their bars and turning a profit gets harder, there’s an incentive to liquidate a lucrative asset while real estate is booming, said Kristen Scanlon, an attorney who specializes in liquor licensing and permitting.
The going rate for a liquor license is about $400,000, up from as low as $250,000 in 2011, she said, and $200,000 about 10 years ago.
In Brighton, Hogan’s Run on Lincoln Street, where the clientele had a reputation for being “rough around the edges,” has turned into the Lincoln Bar & Grill. Wednesday evenings are now Trivia Night.
The old Penalty Box across from the TD Garden is gone, too. Now it’s the Causeway Restaurant & Bar. And perhaps nothing offers a more distilled view of changing Boston than the contrasting Yelp reviews.
“I came in here before the BeanPot,” a Penalty Box reviewer named Marcus D. wrote in 2011, a couple of years before the place closed. “There were about four old men in here, one sleeping loudly at the end of the bar.”
His rating: five stars.
But when Lauren C. of Boston reviewed the restaurant that replaced the Penalty Box, she appreciated something different: “The bartender poured and had ready a glass of water with a lemon on side,” she wrote in her five-star review of the Causeway.
What, exactly, qualifies as a dive bar, anyway? O’Neil defines it as “a series of contradictions. It’s usually an objectively bad bar in terms of service, product, and décor, but it’s also the best bar you know. It’s a place where you might recognize all the regulars, but one where you can . . . blend into the scenery.”
The admittedly negative connotation of the term “dive bar” notwithstanding, the city feels such bars (and other small businesses) are important and actively works to keep them in business, said John Barros , Boston’s chief of economic development.
The city can help a bar find a new home, he said. It can also educate an owner about transferring a liquor license, and, when neccessary, talk to the existing landlord about giving a bar more time to move.
Sometimes of course, it’s the owners themselves who want out.
After more than 30 years of running the Quencher, on I Street in South Boston, the co-owners said their time had come.
“To be honest with you,” said Bobby Sances, a retired Boston firefighter, “I just kind of hit a wall.”
“It was just time to move on, you know,” said Joe Nee, a retired firefighter.
Nee was asked about what happened to his regulars. “They find their way somewhere,” he said.
They’re drinking nearby at the L Street Tavern, he said, and at Touchie’s Shamrock Pub and Tom English’s Cottage.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, the vibe at Tom English’s Cottage was decidedly old school. A jokey sign behind the bar listed the “Bartender’s phone rates” for customers:
“Not here” = $1. “On the way home” = $2. “Just left” = $3. “Haven’t seen them all day” = $4. “Who?” = $5.
As he sat at the bar making his way through an $18 bucket of six Bud Lights, George Harris, 58, a Teamster from Southie, bemoaned the world changing around him.
“Everyday,” he said sadly, “something else is gone.”
In Food & Dining:
• Dining Out: After 10 years, Sorellina still seduces with style and skill
• At A Mano in Salem, ‘by hand’ is more than just an Italian name
• When roasting chicken, the details make the difference
• Cheese biscuits: Best straight out of the oven?
Beth Teitell can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @bethteitell. | {
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The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Republican state lawmakers and upheld their actions during December’s lame-duck session of the state Legislature.
The lame-duck session passed a number of laws limiting the power of then Gov.-elect Tony Evers and Attorney General-elect Josh Kaul. It also placed limits on early voting in Wisconsin.
The court ruled 4-3 in favor of the GOP on Friday morning, dismissing an argument that the session was called unconstitutionally.
The plaintiffs in the case, the League of Women Voters, argued the state constitution doesn't ascribe the power to call an extraordinary session of the Legislature to lawmakers, thereby making the December session and all actions therein unconstitutional and invalid.
The court’s majority opinion, written by conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley, rejected that.
"The Wisconsin Constitution itself affords the Legislature absolute discretion to determine the rules of its own proceedings," Bradley wrote.
The court’s liberal justices — Ann Walsh Bradley, Shirley Abrahamson, and Rebecca Dallet — offered a dissenting opinion.
"In order to uphold the constitutionality of the December 2018 extraordinary session, the majority opinion subverts the plain text of Article IV, Section 11 of the Wisconsin Constitution," Dallet wrote in the dissent. "The Legislature's ability to determine the rules of its proceedings pursuant to Article IV, Section 8 does not swallow up the meeting requirements of Article IV, Section 11 or allow it to wield unbridled power."
The court currently has a 4-3 conservative majority. That will move to 5-2 when Justice-elect Brian Hagedorn is sworn in in January.
As the state Supreme Court is the highest judicial power in Wisconsin, the lawsuit ends here.
Evers was quick to decry the decision on Friday morning.
"Today’s decision is disappointing and, unfortunately, all too predictable," Evers said. "It is based on a desired political outcome, not the plain meaning and text of the constitution."
Chris Carson, the president of the League of Women Voters of the United States, said the court's action "undermines the will of Wisconsin voters."
"The Wisconsin State Legislature's actions defied the democratic process, which is a major blow to our democracy as a whole," Carson said.
GOP leaders, meanwhile, defended their actions.
"The Court upheld a previously non-controversial legislative practice used by both parties for decades to enact some of the most important laws in the state," said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau. "This lawsuit, pursued by special interests and Governor Evers, has led to an unnecessary waste of taxpayer resources."
One other case challenging the lame-duck session remains before the state Supreme Court.
The court has yet to hear arguments in that case, which argues the laws passed during the session violate the state constitution’s separation of powers guarantee by unfairly limiting the authority of the executive branch.
Two federal cases are also pending.
One of those relates to limiting early voting and changes to Wisconsin’s voter ID law passed during the lame-duck session. The other says the session violates the U.S. Constitution’s Guarantee Clause, which guarantees every state the right to a representative, republican form of government.
As those cases move forward, the vast majority of the lame-duck laws have been allowed to go into effect. The only exceptions are the limits on early voting, changes to some voter ID procedures, and a requirement that state agencies allow a public comment period on some public guidance documents. Those elements remain blocked by courts.
Editor's note: This story was updated with original reporting from WPR and will continue to be updated. | {
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"If I was going back to jail anyway, I might as well go find these niggas I'd been having problems with," he remembers. He'd decided to go after some old friends that had been sending threats his way, even if that meant killing them before they got to him. Those plans were railroaded when a cop noticed him storming around Atlanta's Moreland Avenue, eventually tranquilizing him for being armed and unwilling to cooperate. That was the last strike needed to send Guwop to prison for three years.
On a September day in 2013, Gucci Mane looked around his studio, The Brick Factory, and noticed that he had more firearms than friends. At that time, he was completely strung out on codeine and so alarmingly paranoid that no one wanted to be around him—even his now-fiancé, Keyshia Ka'oir.
Since it's been finalized have you gone back to read it or is it the type of experience that you don't want to revisit? I read it a couple of times since I wrote it. When I got the hard cover made, I wanted to experience it like the average reader reading it for the first time. Even when I read it now, it's weird; it's gives me a crazy feeling. It kind of gives me goosebumps because it's scary. I went through a lot and every time I read it I remember all those feelings. I can remember. That's why I say it was a real trying time.
Noisey: A lot of artists have said that it took their whole life to write their debut albums. Would you say that writing your first book is comparable to that theory? Gucci Mane: Yeah it is some parallels. When I made my first real album, which was Trap House, this reminded me of that because like, it's more to come. When I was making Trap House it was to let people know, 'This how I'm coming," and I'm coming with something else after that. With this book, I look at it like I want people to get something from this and say, "I can't wait 'til he do another one." This is talking about my origin, telling about my grandparents. I couldn't write that book right now. That was a time of me telling my story while in a place where it's just me and four walls.
After reading his memoir, learning more details about the 37-year-old's life story, and considering his sophisticated wordplay, it's no shock that Mr. Zone 6 would make the leap to expressing himself in longform when given the chance to slow down. But as he describes in the book's prologue, he needed an outside force to initiate that deceleration. Before he began his sentence, Gucci admitted that he was on an assured quick route to destruction, by his own doing or another's. He wrote a series of memoirs during his bid about his origins in Bessemer, Alabama, how he got his first big look as an artist, and the legacy he's still building. Those reflections became his autobiography. It's the type of story you usually get when an artist isn't in high demand anymore but Gucci is currently experiencing more commercial success than he's ever had, without a ceiling in clear sight.
The Gucci from that fateful day—who'd go on to serve nearly three years in prison before getting released in May of 2016—is not the one on the other end of the line during a recent conversation. At the beginning of our exchange, he is quick to thank me for calling. The less-congested and well-put-together Guwop that's been on screens over the past year sounds equally refreshed on the phone. He talks at length about a variety of subjects: his trips to Daytona Beach during his early hustling days, bumping Project Pat as a teenager, meeting Zaytoven before he ever thought about taking rap seriously, and more. "I appreciate you and wish you well on all you got goin'," is how he parted ways with me.
This scene, which reads like a drugged out crime thriller on A&E, is how the prologue of The Autobiography of Gucci Mane begins. The rapper's memoir, written with Neil Martinez-Belkin , is a thorough look into the experiences that molded one of rap's most polarizing figures in recent memory. It's out September 19 under publishing house Simon & Schuster.
There was a part where you talked about artists not always taking to Zaytoven's production style because it wasn't popular in the city. Do you remember specific times of people not realizing what he was onto? Atlanta loved "So Icy." They embraced it from the day it came out but once it kind of went nationwide, some people liked it, some people didn't. I still remember when it debuted on 106 & Park, way back when. You know how after the video is over and they asked the crowd about the song? Everybody in the crowd said they didn't like it. They were like "We don't like it," or "It sounds funny." That was the response. I was so happy that my video was on 106 & Park but for the whole nation to hear that feedback, they didn't understand it. It still went on to do great things but a lot of people didn't understand what we was doing back then. But I was doing so many mixtapes, we made them respect it.
You also touch on how your "Black Tee" track launched your career once Bun B and Killer Mike agreed to hop on the remix. If you can remember, how much did that encourage you to keep pushing as a young artist? It was amazing. I remember like it was yesterday 'cause it was Killer Mike and Bun B at the same time so I respected both of them. I liked Killer Mike but I was a huge—if Project Pat is my favorite artist then UGK got to be my favorite group. So to actually meet Bun B and he say he'll get on it, that was big! Somebody whose music I appreciate and who I respect as a person was down to do a song with me. Once I did the remix, Atlanta took to it instantly. Soon as I did the song I was pressing up CDs and putting it in the clubs the same night. The response was immediate. It was like damn, he got Bun, Killer Mike, and Scrappy? How did he pull that off? I was unsigned, still selling dope everyday at that time. So it was big for me to pull that off.
At one point in the book you talk about how Memphis rappers really influenced you in your younger years, specifically Project Pat. You mentioned being able to connect with his music on every level but as a listener, it seems like you picked up some stylistic things from him as well. When he first came out, his style was really unorthodox too. It's the timing too. When I was hustling and I was trapping, Project Pat was super hot at the time. Life to me is just a bunch of time capsules. During those years of 18-23, that was my soundtrack to me hustling. I remember being in the car, playing Pat. We used to hustle all year and go to Daytona spring break. We'd drive down there, bring the cars down there. And I remember that's what we was playing riding up and down the strip, Ghetty Green and Layin da Smack Down. His career parallels mine; a lot of rappers respect me to this day because they be saying, "Man, I was listening to you when I was in college. I was in high school." That was their soundtrack and it's crazy. That's why I understand the fascination with me. I understand how people love my music because it's a part of those years of their life.
What was it about Zay that really stuck out to you? Was it that his sound was so weird?
It's kind of destiny. God put us on the same path at the same time. Both of us was like 18, just getting out of high school. He was going to barber school and making beats. I'm selling dope and somebody I went to school with had a little artist and they was going to Zay and they needed help financing his first CD. When they brought me to Zay, we just hit it off. One day he told me, "Won't you try to rap?" That's why he's so important to me. He would say I shouldn't say it, but I owe my career to Zay because he opened the doors to the studio for me and if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have took it so serious. He was the one saying, "You the dopest one out of everybody that come to my house." It got to point of him telling me he didn't want money from me. He just wanted me to record everyday. He would say, "You gon' be the reason I blow up." You gotta think, he got a million people coming to the studio and they just brought me to do the paper stuff. He had never heard me rap before. "You rap to this point, then you make a chorus," he'd say. "You stack your vocals." Of course I had my own pizazz and my own charm but he gave me the structure. That's why I'm so loyal to him.
It seems like you took the model that Zay took with you as far as really believing and investing in someone. Because if you look now, there's not many Atlanta artists that can't be traced back to you at their beginnings.
That's another thing I gotta give Zay credit for. I got that strategy from him because when I used to go to his studio, that's how I know Yung LA, Yung Ralph, and Bankroll Fresh. Zay had those guys in his studio when they were like 17 or 18. It got the point where I'd be like, "Damn, why every time I come over here you got different people here?" He'd say, "I don't even charge those young dudes. They so hard." That's his whole mentality; they so hard that he just like creating with them. He thought they made his beats harder. He'd rather give them the beat than sell it to such-and-such because they gon' snap on it. I would vibe with them. I was doing stuff with Bankroll Fresh when he was 17 years old. Nobody knew him. It was all because of Zay. So I started thinking like, if somebody dope, just work with them. That started to be my strategy. All I gotta do is think that they got talent. If I feel like they got talent then I feel like we could collaborate and make something that's dope. It's not like I'm saying I'm gonna help their career. I know I'm hard and everybody say you dope so let's go in the studio and see what come out of it.
Do you have a specified community or group that you hope this book ends up in the hands of?
Not at all. You just gotta jump out there. It might not be cool to write a book to some people but to those people, my job is not to change the way they're thinking. My job is to express myself creatively and doing what I feel is dope. I would love for everybody to enjoy, to get it, and get something out of it. But to each its own. You can't concern yourself with who it's gonna touch. If it's good enough, it's gonna touch who it needs to touch.
Lawrence Burney is a staff writer at Noisey. Follow him on Twitter. | {
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“Do you have any idea what a cup of coffee cost in my day?”
Thus goes one of the standard curmudgeonly refrains against the culture of premium coffee that rose out of the 1990s, turning coffee from something cheap and simple to a gourmet beverage. And while you may yearn for the days when coffee was a nickel a cup, it’s clear that they’re not going to return any time soon.
But while the rise of Starbucks (SBUX) may seem like the biggest shift in the coffee economy since Bill Clinton took office, depending on one’s perspective, it’s dwarfed by Vietnam’s entry into the coffee market in 1994. It won’t surprise many people to know that Brazil is the leading producer of coffee in the world. But did you know that Vietnam’s number two with a bullet? The Southeast Asian nation, despite only being in the game for two decades, is producing 450 million more pounds of coffee a year than Ivory Coast (the number three producer in the world) and more than six times as much coffee as Colombia, a country known for its coffee.
If you weren’t aware that a significant portion of the coffee you drink was coming from Vietnam, don’t sweat it. Unless you’re a commodities trader, it’s entirely possible that this wasn’t on your radar. However, it does raise a pretty interesting question: why does your cup of coffee cost what it does?
Arabica vs. Robusta
There are two main varietals of coffee bean, and knowing the different between the two is essential to understanding the basic economics of coffee trading.
Arabica beans come from the coffea arabica plant. Arabica beans are generally held in much higher regard than other varietals, offering more flavor and better body. Robusta beans, from the coffea caephora plant, are typically viewed as being of inferior quality. However, robusta beans have a number of characteristics that make them attractive to coffee growers. The plants are hardier and less susceptible to pests and diseases, like the dreaded coffee leaf rust to which arabica plants are particularly vulnerable. They can also grow at lower altitudes and warmer temperatures.
And growing robusta beans isn’t without certain benefits for coffee drinkers, too. Robusta beans have 40-50 percent more caffeine than arabica beans, and the beans are more bitter, which can appeal to certain palettes. Top quality robusta seeds are used exclusively for Italian espresso because they produce a full-bodied taste and a better head of foam.
However, in the end, global tastes trend towards the arabica. Global coffee production is about 75 percent arabica, and robusta beans are most often used as a part of blends.
Coffee Producers
As stated above, the dominant coffee producing country in the world is Brazil. And by a pretty sizeable margin. With production reaching 5.6 billion pounds a year, it’s at nearly double the next biggest producer (Vietnam), and more than the next four biggest producers in the world (Vietnam, Ivory Coast, Indonesia, and Ethiopia) combined. Brazil’s crop is primarily arabica, and the country has long been the dominant coffee producer. While Vietnam’s rise has been rapid and recent, Brazil’s always been there at the top.
However, Vietnam’s rapid expansion of its coffee industry has resulted in a change in the coffee-producing landscape. Vietnam has actually been producing coffee since it was introduced by the French in 1857, but production was interrupted by the Vietnam War. Its resurrection in the mid-1990s (coffee production in Vietnam tripled between 1995 and 1999) was driven by the production of robusta beans.
Coffee remains a commodities market with many players, though. There are 22 counties producing more than 100 million pounds of coffee a year.
Different Markets for Specialty Coffee
One might wonder how, with so much coffee out there and so many different countries producing it, it can still wind up costing $5 a cup at Starbucks. Well, for starters, the fancy lattes at Starbucks are getting a pretty substantial mark-up over the price of their ingredients. But the coffee market is also more complicated than simply supply and demand.
Different countries and varietals are all coveted to different degrees by different coffee drinkers. The island of Jamaica may only produce 4 million pounds of coffee a year, but for those in the know, Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is some of the most highly prized coffee in the world. The gourmet coffee market is fundamentally different than the market at the whole, and that drives a fundamentally different market. Starbucks, for instance, purchases all of its coffee beans outside normal commodities exchanges, signing multi-year deals with growers that pay as much as twice what coffee is priced at on the open market. This is consistent with the specialty coffee market where beans are distinguished by quality and region. Coffee from Java, Kona, or Colombia can be sold at prices much higher than blends incorporating lower-quality beans from a variety of locations.
DISCLOSURE: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of equities.com. Readers should not consider statements made by the author as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. To read our full disclosure, please go to: http://www.equities.com/disclaimer. | {
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When it comes to lasagna I am like Garfield, I can easily devour the entire thing single-handedly and will give the angry stare to anyone who approaches me during this process. Joking aside though, I love lasagna, and I mean, who doesn’t? It’s the perfect comfort food, and served with a nice side salad (or any other compatible side-dish) it can be eaten during the weekdays or as a festive dish. Making a vegan lasagna is not hard at all either. You can use normal lasagna noodles/plates/sheets. Just make sure that they are egg-free (if you want to be strict).
If you have your own vegan bolognese recipe, good for you! Then you only need to prepare the bechamel sauce, assemble and bake. Now, for those of you who don’t have a vegan bolognese recipe in hand, I can really recommend this one I do here. You can serve this with pasta as well, but I especially like it in lasagna. The “meaty” base comes from chickpeas which are mashed gently with a potato-stomp. Chickpeas are a great way to increase your intake of fibre, calcium, iron, phosphate, magnesium, zinc and vitamin K.
Prepare your vegan lasagna
Rinse the chickpeas, save the chickpea water (also known as aquafaba) it’s great for baking and works as an egg-replacer, then mash them gently with a potato-stomp or a fork.
Set the chickpeas aside, and continue with dicing the onion and garlic. Bring out a large saucepan and heat up the olive oil and start to saute the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes until the onion is soft and starts to be a little bit translucent.
Add the chickpea mash and continue to saute for another 3 minutes before adding the crushed tomatoes. Bring the sauce to a boil, lower the heat and add the spices, liquid aminos, nutritional yeast and let simmer for about 20 minutes.
While the sauce is simmering, preheat the oven to 220 °C / 430 °F / Gas Mark 7, and bring out a small saucepan. It’s time to start preparing the bechamel sauce.
Start out by melting the butter and then add the flour while you whisk the mixture, creating a somewhat smooth dough. Continue to whisk while you pour in the soy milk and whisk until the flour and butter mixture is dissolved. Add the spices and continue to stir. After a while, the sauce will thicken and once it’s a little bit looser than you want it, remove it from the heat, as it will stiffen a little bit when it cools off.
Now that you have your chickpea filling and bechamel sauce ready it is high time for you to start assembling your vegan lasagna. Start out by taking out your oven safe form. Add a little bit of bechamel sauce to the bottom of the form and then place some lasagna noodles on top. I found a brand that makes sheets that fits my form precisely, otherwise, you can just break them up so that you cover the area of the form. Add some chickpea filling and then top it off with more bechamel sauce. Lay out another layer of lasagna noodles and repeat this process for as many layers as you want. I made two layers. When you’re finished you add the last bit of bechamel sauce you have to the top layer and sprinkle some (optional) vegan cheese on top. Bake the lasagna in the oven for about 20 minutes.
Serve the vegan lasagna with some salad on the side! | {
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NEW YORK — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) removed a Guatemalan citizen Wednesday who was wanted in his home country on charges of homicide.
Rigoberto Gonzalez-Aragon, 66, was returned to Guatemala City, via an ICE Air Operations charter flight, and transferred to the custody of Guatemalan law enforcement authorities.
On March 9, ERO New York received a lead from the ICE Assistant Attaché for Removals in Guatemala that Gonzalez-Aragon was wanted for homicide and residing in the New York metropolitan area. On June 8, ERO deportation officers arrested Gonzalez-Aragon in Spring Valley, New York, for immigration violations. He had previously entered the country unlawfully at an unknown date and time. He had been in ICE custody since his June arrest. In September, he was ordered removed by an immigration judge, paving the way for his deportation.
Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 1,700 foreign fugitives from the United States who were sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. In fiscal year 2016, ICE conducted 240,255 removals nationwide. Ninety-two percent of individuals removed from the interior of the United States had previously been convicted of a criminal offense.
ICE is focused on removing public safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens and gang members, as well as individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws, including those who illegally re-entered the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges. | {
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Friday, April 24, 2015
Americans use firearms to protect themselves and their families many times each day, all across the nation. But did you know that in many episodes of armed self-defense, no shots are ever fired?
Here are five cases just this year in which armed citizens silently used their guns successfully:
A 23-year-old man found himself staring down the wrong end of a gun barrel after his attempt to burglarize a Clarksville, Tenn., home went awry. The homeowner was awoken early Sunday morning by an alarm being activated inside his garage, and when he went downstairs to investigate, he heard someone in the garage. Speaking through the door, the culprit claimed to be a homeless man who just needed a place to spend the night. Noticing that some of his property had been stuffed into the intruder’s pocket, the resident held the burglar at gunpoint until the authorities could arrive. Upon further investigation, it became apparent that the criminal had broken a back window to gain entrance to the garage, had tried to enter the main residence through the insulation in the ceiling, and when that failed, had started using a crowbar to pry his way through the door. He now faces an aggravated burglary charge. (The Leaf Chronicle, Clarksville, Tenn., 1/27/15)
Jeff Preach was at home in Castaic, Calif., when a man knocked at his front door. Preach answered the door and had a brief conversation with the man before the stranger punched him in the face, went inside the house and attempted to rob him. Preach tackled the intruder with the help of his friend Larry Bensell. Once Bensell had the criminal under control, Preach went to another part of the home and retrieved a shotgun. Preach proceeded to hold the thief at gunpoint until police could arrive. (KABC, Los Angeles, Calif. 1/05/15)
A man who was high on meth attempted to carjack three different vehicles in Clay County, Ind., before being stopped by a right-to-carry permit holder. First, the meth user attempted to gain access to a woman’s car, after which she used a cellphone to alert police. When this failed, the carjacker attempted to enter a vehicle holding three children. The criminal then stuck his hand through the passenger’s window of a third vehicle and attempted to unlock the door. The passenger sitting in the car, a right-to-carry permit holder, responded by retrieving a gun and leveling it at the carjacker, prompting the criminal to flee. Police later captured the meth user at a nearby hotel. (The Brazil Times, Brazil, Ind. 2/09/15)
An intoxicated man entered the Debi’s Filling Station restaurant in Okmulgee, Okla., drew a knife and confronted a customer. Another customer, a right-to-carry permit holder, took note of the threatening act, drew a gun and told the knife-wielding criminal “[p]ut your knife away. I have a gun.” The aggressor fled the restaurant, but was captured just outside the door. Following the incident, restaurant employee Dayna Rucker told a local media outlet, “In this situation, the good guy had the gun and helped diffuse the situation.” (KOTV, Tulsa, Okla. 2/18/15)
84-year-old Doug Jandebeur was walking to his vehicle parked outside his business in Tulsa, Okla., when a man approached him from behind, punched him, and robbed him at gunpoint. After taking Jandebeur’s wallet, the criminal then turned his attention to Jandebeur’s business, where the elderly man’s wife was located. In describing to a local media outlet how he reacted to the threat, Jandebeur stated, “I pulled out my automatic and was getting ready to ventilate him.” Upon seeing the firearm, the armed robber fled the scene. As for Jandebeur’s opinion on the Right-to-Carry, he told reporters, “Anybody who doesn’t arm themselves is asking for trouble.” (KOTV, Tulsa, Okla. 3/18/15) | {
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One of the big ways that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been adopted as a mainstream use case has been in the retail industry. While there are still only a select group of companies that are setup to accept digital assets, big names are helping to spread the word. OpenNode has commented on these situations by saying that the cost of Bitcoin acceptance could be offset with a 1% fee for their use. The new Shopify Lightning Network plugin targets merchants, helping them to find potential solutions for monetization and scalability.
The platform is simple, providing support for eCommerce with new payment infrastructure APIs for developers, and the company offers fast payment processing limits, resulting in instant settlements. Optimally, the goal is that this plugin will help with more widespread acceptance and adoption of Bitcoin across multiple merchants, which means more retail investors will enter the space too.
Another benefit is that “merchants love Shopify,” as Shopify’s CEO Tobi Lütke says. The platform has a welcoming environment that lets anyone sell at any time and takes on much of the factors that contribute to the functioning of a retail business in general. In the first quarter of last year, the company say a 68% year over year increase.
The plugin is specifically for merchants on Shopify, which can be integrated by going to the Settings tab of the merchant OpenNode dashboard. There is a guide already available to make the plugin run correctly. With so many merchants already accepting Bitcoin on the website, this is an opportunity to join the trend.
OpenNode believes that Bitcoin should be available to everyone, since it is the latest global “hard” money. Rather than allowing consumers to simply sit around and hold their funds, spending their holding will help to stir up the market. Bitcoin has the benefit of being used as a medium of exchange and store of value, but it also is a settlement system that is highly secure. The Lightning Network has helped with the scaling concerns but have not sacrificed security in the process. Buyers do not have to worry about charge-backs or low fees because of the Lightning Network and OpenNode.
Now, all of these benefits are helpful if the plugin does what it says it will do. However, after the plugin was announced in a post on Reddit, it looks like there is no access to the Hosted Payment SDK, which basically means that there’s no new payment integrations that Shopify plans to accept.
Further comments have yet to be posted about the attempts to implement the OpenNode plugin on Reddit. Neither Shopify nor OpenNode has commented on the implementation on Twitter or has even officially announced it. So far, Ethereum World News has been the leading publication to release this information. | {
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Abid Naseer was initially released by a UK court for lack of evidence but was subsequently arrested on a US warrant.
NEW YORK: Spies working for Britain's MI5 intelligence agency donned wigs and makeup Tuesday to testify against a Pakistani al Qaeda suspect on trial in New York for allegedly plotting to blow up a British shopping center.
Three surveillance officers, identified only as 1661, 1488 and 1498, detailed how they followed the defendant, Abid Naseer, in March and April 2009 in the cities of Manchester and Liverpool in northern England.
The two men and one woman wore heavy black and dark-brown wigs and partially shielded their eyes behind spectacles. The men also wore beards.
The agents said they followed the defendant, code-named "small panel," as part of Operation Pathway as he visited a shopping center in Manchester, allegedly the target of the plot, a mosque and other locations.
US government prosecutors say Naseer helped al Qaeda plan an attack on the Manchester shopping center as part of coordinated attacks targeting the New York subway and a Danish newspaper.
They called it one of the most serious terror plots since the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Naseer, however, has denied the charges. He faces life in prison if convicted.
The surveillance officers said they followed the defendant in the company of two other men, code-named Happy Skater and Glass Pendant.
The trial in a US federal court in Brooklyn allowed the defendant, who is representing himself in court, to cross-examine the first spy, who wore a John Lennon-style dark brown wig and thin-rimmed spectacles.
Crucially to the government's case, the officer said he had never seen the defendant in the company of a woman. The defense argues that Naseer was embarked on a quest to get married and not carry out the attack.
Naseer was extradited from Britain in 2013 and is charged with conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction, commit murder abroad and supporting al Qaeda, among other charges.
He was first arrested in 2009 in Britain with 11 other men suspected of preparing an attack against the Manchester mall.
They were released without charge, but Naseer was arrested for a second time in July 2010 at the request of Brooklyn prosecutors, who accused him of participating in the plot to attack the New York subway in 2009. | {
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British Columbia's third-place Green Party released a plan to offer free daycare for working parents – a policy that nips at the heels of the Opposition New Democrats, who are putting forward a much less generous plan as their marquee platform plank.
The Green Party has traditionally trailed far behind the province's two main parties, but even though the Greens have just one MLA, the NDP have found themselves taking aim at the governing Liberals but also fending off a challenge from the left.
The pressure may be increased this time around, as the Greens mount a traditional bus tour for the first time and contract their own polling company.
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NDP Leader John Horgan refused to discuss the Green Party – or barely mention it by name – on Wednesday, the second day of his pre-writ campaign tour. Instead, he preferred to change the subject.
"My case to voters is that we need to change the government, and the best way to do that is to support the B.C. NDP," Mr. Horgan said in Vancouver-Point Grey. "I am talking to Greens. I am talking to Liberals. I am talking to New Democrats."
He suggested he was not concerned about what other parties do.
The Green plan announced Wednesday includes free daycare for working parents with children under three and up to 25 hours of free early childhood education per week for three- and four-year-olds. The entire program would cost $4-billion over four years.
The NDP's plan, in contrast, includes a $10-a-day daycare program.
The Greens have long been seen as a potential spoiler for the NDP, as the Conservatives have been for the Liberals, though it's difficult to measure the precise impact. While Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver was elected to the legislature in 2013, the party's share of the popular vote has steadily declined since a high of 12 per cent in 2001.
Meanwhile, on the right, the B.C. Conservatives – which like the BC Liberals have no formal connection to their federal counterpart – have virtually disappeared and have no leader.
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Although Mr. Weaver has criticized the Liberals, he was, on Wednesday, dismissive of the New Democrats.
"The BC NDP have had 16 years to inspire British Columbians to get behind them. They have failed every time," he said in an interview, referring to the NDP's defeat in the 2001 election – the last year they held power – and elections since then."[The NDP] are campaigning by being better than the BC Liberals, but being better than the worst is not good," said Mr. Weaver, suggesting the NDP has been evasive on policy details such as the specifics of their $10-per-day daycare, which the party has said it will explain in due course.
On one key environmental issue, the Greens are going further than the NDP. They propose to scrap the Site C hydroelectric dam, now under construction, while Mr. Horgan has said he will have the project reviewed by the B.C. Utilities Commission to help decide what to do with the controversial project.
David Moscrop, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia, said the Greens could end up harvesting protest votes from voters at odds with either the Liberals under Christy Clark or the New Democrats under Mr. Horgan.
Although Mr. Weaver has spoken of winning many seats, Mr. Moscrop said he will be curious about whether the Greens focus on a few winnable seats despite Mr. Weaver's rhetoric.
"Watch their resources," he said. "Where do we see Andrew Weaver. Where do we see money and resources?"
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Hamish Telford, a political scientist at the University of the Fraser Valley, said the Greens' shift toward a more robust campaign is a "hugely important" development.
Mr. Telford said Mr. Weaver has made good use of his presence in the legislature, establishing a presence in B.C. political discourse that is new for the party and could work to its advantage, especially in the televised campaign debates in which the Greens are set to have a place. He added that the Greens could also end up taking votes from disaffected BC Liberals. | {
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Gianluigi Buffon stopt er aan het einde van dit seizoen mee. Dat vertelde de 39-jarige keeper aan het Italiaanse Sky Sports.
"Dit is mijn laatste seizoen en ik sta achter de keuze die ik maak", zei Buffon. "Het zal niet veel veranderen aan alles wat ik tot nu toe heb bereikt als ik nog een jaar of twee jaar doorga."
Beste keeper
Eerder deze week werd Buffon nog uitgeroepen tot beste keeper van de wereld. Hij begon zijn loopbaan bij Parma, maar speelt sinds 2001 voor Juventus.
Het hoogtepunt uit zijn imposante loopbaan was de wereldtitel die hij in 2006 veroverde met het Italiaanse team. | {
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In the 1940s and 50s, more than 100 young boys at the Fernald School in Waltham, Mass., were invited to participate in what they were told was a special “science club.” Fernald School was a residential institution, originally known as the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded. By 1949, the children living there were just as often wards of the state, had physical differences or else had been inaccurately classified as intellectually disabled. Those children, all vulnerable in their own way, were given shiny incentives to join the science club: trips to the beach, extra milk at dinner, group outings to baseball games.
“They enjoy it greatly,” wrote the school’s clinical director and superintendent in soothing letters to parents and guardians. The only thing the adults needed to consent to, the letter added, was to allow the boys to eat a special diet rich in vitamins, and to submit to an occasional blood test. The boys drank their milk, ate their special oatmeal, and quietly allowed their blood to be drawn, the clinical director standing watchfully by.
The truth wasn’t revealed until 1993, when a librarian at Fernald discovered an old ledger book, which contained the alarming outlines of a partnership between Quaker Oats and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The two organizations were testing how quickly nutrients moved through the body—by feeding the boys irradiated milk and oatmeal.
The librarian’s discovery sparked a series of stories in the Boston Globe, a congressional inquiry and worldwide media attention and outrage. In 1998, Quaker Oats and MIT settled a class action lawsuit from the survivors of the experiment for $1.85 million—and maintained, pointing to a 1994 study, that none of the boys had suffered lasting harm.
It wasn’t quite that simple, of course, and the effects were both complex and long-lasting. The Fernald School experiments were another wound, another open and infected place on the American body politic where conspiracism can get in.
Conspiracy theories have always been common in American life, and right now, a dizzying cyclone of influences—a president obsessed with fake news and the “deep state,” a disempowered American left torn apart with years of arguments about whether Russia put him in office, the continued growth and creation of new internet-backed conspiracy theories like Pizzagate and QAnon—is helping a fresh wave of conspiracy obsession engulf America. As a country, we’re prone to conspiracy theories. Right now, we can’t stop discussing their presence and ill effects and how many of them just might be true.
Yet, all too often, the roots of what makes conspiracy theories so strong and durable in American life are forgotten, the overgrown and unruly places in the garden that allow the weeds to thrive. In order to understand conspiracism’s roots in the United States, it’s useful to look back, to remember incidents like the Fernald School experiments, the FBI’s harassment of civil rights groups, and even bizarre government experiments like MKUltra and the Stargate Project (respectively: a broad CIA program looking at the possibilities of mind control, and a secret military program investigating whether psychic abilities could be used in warfare).
To understand conspiracy theories in America, in other words, we have to read about the plots both real and imagined, to understand the places where suspicion meets reality, as well as the dark ways those two things twist around each other. Here are a few of the many excellent books that help us do that:
Real Enemies by Kathryn Olmsted
Olmsted’s book is an exploration of American conspiracy theories from World War I to 9/11, and it’s the finest exploration of the ways that an opaque government creates a suspicious citizenry, time and again. While we should be wary of fringe conspiracy theories, she writes, “Americans should be most skeptical of official theorists, because the most dangerous conspiracies and conspiracy theories flow from the center of American government, not the margins of society.”
United States of Paranoia by Jesse Walker
Walker tackles the deepest and oldest conspiratorial roots of America—the Puritans fretting about Satan’s minions gathering around them, as well as hordes of Native people they believed might well be controlled by a gigantic Superchief—as well as modern conspiracy theories. It’s a sprawling project that he makes light work of, and it’s enjoyably weird too, with detours into things like the strange and nearly forgotten story of Mike Warnke, a speaker on the Christian evangelical circuit who claimed to be a reformed member of a secret, vast Luciferian organization that, in turn, answered to the Illuminati. Warnke commanded adoring audiences before—perhaps not surprisingly—suffering a very public debunking and downfall.
Occult America by Mitch Horowitz
Horowitz, an expert on esoteric belief systems and the ways they wend through American history, delves into the “secret mystic history of our nation,” as his subheading puts it. While it’s not a book about true conspiracy theories, it’s extraordinarily helpful for understanding them, by looking at the routes through which alternative or “fringe” ideas can reach the mainstream. Even better, he encourages us to consider that phenomenon from a sympathetic and humane perspective, rather than a sneering one. And that’s a good thing, too, because what we might consider fringe has had a large footprint in America for a very long time, from the homespun revivalist mysticism that grew out of the Burned Over District in the mid-1800s to the New Age movement that was born in the 1970s and is now a firmly established part of the culture.
Suspicious Minds by Rob Brotherton
Brotherton is an academic psychologist and science writer, but one with a deep, evident, and abiding delight in alternative beliefs and weird events, which makes Suspicious Minds both an illuminating and satisfying read. The book weaves together conspiracy highlights from both the U.S. and the UK with the psychological concepts that help explain why we’re so drawn to conspiracy theories themselves. He’s someone who can colorfully untangle concepts like projection and proportionality bias (the assumption that major events have equally major causes), without the book ever feeling even slightly dry.
Fortress Russia by Ilya Yablokov
When skilfully deployed by the powerful, conspiracy theories can be politically valuable. In the hands of a canny leader, they unite the public against a common enemy, they distract from internal unrest or corruption, and they create a justification for the leader to remain in power and take more and more control. Donald Trump is not that kind of leader, and his deployment of conspiracy theories—birtherism, ghoulishly accusing his opponents of inflating the number of deaths during Hurricane Maria—has been truly hamfisted. For an understanding of how conspiracy theorizing works successfully in the hands of someone in his position, read Yablokov’s gripping book. Among other things, the book adeptly charts the rise of Putin and his intersection with American leaders, and his repeated deployment of anti-Western conspiracy theories. For anyone hoping to understand global politics, the particular mess Americans find ourselves in, or the particular accusations levied by both Russian and American leaders against each other, it’s an invaluable read. | {
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Whether you’ve lived in Arlington your whole life or just for a few years, there’s probably something around town that has made you wonder. The Arlington Advocate’s new Wicked Local podcast, A-Town, seeks to answer those questions.
We all know the story; there was an opportunity for the Red Line to extend from Cambridge into Arlington and Lexington along what is now the Minuteman Bikeway. What you might not know is why the Red Line didn’t come to Arlington. We sat down with local historian Richard Duffy to parse truth from fiction. Plus, what would Arlington look like today if the Red Line had extended here?
Do you have a question you want us to answer? Fill out the survey and your question might get featured on an upcoming episode: https://bit.ly/2qmMGZN
You can find more episodes of A-Town by visiting arlington.wickedlocal.com/topics/a-town or by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2JGhkpB | {
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The ad features cuts of Delgado in 2018 campaigning for the seat interspersed with darkened videos of the candidate rapping about sex, using the n-word and critiquing white supremacy. Delgado's critics — including his Republican incumbent, Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.) — have repeatedly brought up his decade-old past as a hip-hop artist to argue that he is not the best person to represent this predominantly white, Upstate district.
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The racial overtones of the ad were not lost on viewers.
And the NRCC was unapologetic about what it was putting before voters. “SoundCloud rapper Antonio Delgado faces his own anti-American lyrics in new NRCC TV ad in NY-19,” Jesse Hunt, national press secretary for the NRCC, tweeted.
Democrats seized on the uproar over the ad.
“Blatant racism in 2018 by the @NRCC,” tweeted the Democratic National Committee’s deputy communications director, Sabrina Singh.
And DNC Vice Chair Michael Blake told the Fix:
Republicans' racist attack ads failed to work in 2017, and they will fail again in 2018. Democrats like Antonio Delgado are going to be elected to Congress because they are talking about the issues that matter most to people, from jobs to health care, from education to affordable housing, while Republicans are resorting to dog-whistle politics.
But Hunt said the Democrats brought this on themselves, telling the Fix:
“If Democrats are upset about Antonio Delgado’s own rap lyrics being used in ads then they shouldn’t have nominated him."
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In July, Faso told the New York Times that Delgado's lyrics are “inconsistent with the views of the people of the 19th District and America. . . . It’s his responsibility as a candidate to answer for the controversial views he expressed in his lyrics and whether he continues to hold these views today.”
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Gerald Benjamin, director of the Benjamin Center at State University of New York at New Paltz, told the Times that the criticism of Delgado was “about culture and commonality with the district and its values” and added that “People like us, people in rural New York, we are not people who respond to this part of American culture."
The challenge for the GOP is one of credibility along with consistency. There isn't much of a track record of the Republican establishment challenging the leader of its party to face his own past, which includes making sexually suggestive comments, appearing in pornographic magazines and films, and using racially charged language. To some, it seems that if the GOP believed that using this type of language disqualified one from moving to Washington to enter public service, this same standard would conclude that President Trump should vacate the Oval Office.
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But that logic doesn't really apply in our current political climate. The NRCC knows its base — and those voters are firmly behind Trump. And it would be no surprise if those voters found the vulgar language disqualifying for Delgado, a young black fan of hip-hop, even though they find it so endearing and attractive coming from Trump, who campaigned against political correctness and promising to return America to the time that caused his supporters less “cultural anxiety."
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A larger challenge for the GOP is that this ad seems to be the latest example that the party of Lincoln has little interest in improving its standing with black voters. The district, which Trump won by six percentage points over Clinton in 2016, is overwhelmingly white. But its minority population is not insignificant. According to Census Reporter, 4 percent of the district is black, 2 percent is Asian and 8 percent is Latino. Voters in all of these ethnic groups tend to vote against the GOP, and in a race this tight, every vote maters. According to the September Monmouth University poll, 45 percent of potential voters back Delgado while 43 percent of potential voters back Faso. Nine percent are undecided. | {
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Even as the financial system collapsed last year, and millions of investors lost billions of dollars, one unlikely investor was racking up historic profits: John Paulson, a hedge-fund manager in New York.
His firm made $20 billion between 2007 and early 2009 by betting against the housing market and big financial companies. Mr. Paulson's personal cut would amount to nearly $4 billion, or more than $10 million a day. That was more than the 2007 earnings of J.K. Rowling, Oprah Winfrey and Tiger Woods combined.
How did he do it? Believing that a housing-market collapse was coming, Mr. Paulson spent over $1 billion in 2006 to buy insurance on what he then saw as risky mortgage investments. When the housing market cracked and the mortgages tumbled, the value of Mr. Paulson's insurance soared. One of his funds rose more than 500% that year. Then in 2008, he shorted financial shares, or wagered that they would fall in price, profiting again when these companies collapsed.
And are there any investing skills that average investors can learn from his success? Yes. There are no guarantees, of course, but the success of Mr. Paulson and a few other underdog investors lends encouragement to individuals trying to compete with Wall Street's pros.
Here are eight investing lessons of Mr. Paulson's $20 billion gamble, the greatest trade in financial history: | {
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At first glance, the recent missile attacks on Syria as a response to Assad’s forces once again using chemical weapons seemed to be another attempt to use an expensive firework display to intimidate a repeat offender to conform. Over 100 missiles fired from ships and aircraft at three confirmed targets with speculation that other facilities were also hit. US President Donald Trump described the strikes as a strong deterrent against the production and use of chemical weapons and UK Prime Minister Theresa May claimed that degrading the regime’s chemical weapons capacity would help alleviate further humanitarian suffering. However, considering that the Syrian regime had the best part of a week to prepare for the attack and that US Defence Secretary James Mattis describe it as a “one-time shot” it’s difficult to see how such actions will deter the now serial offender. So, what were they really trying to achieve?
The decision to take military action was made after the permanent members of the UN Security Council failed to come to an agreement on how to respond to the chemical attacks. Simply put, Russia vetoed any resolution put forward by the US, UK and France, and vice versa. And this is what the decision to fire missiles into Syria is really about, a deterioration of the relationship between Russia and the West. Over the past decade, relations have become increasingly hostile. As a starting point, the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008 is often cited, though in reality there were many warning signs prior to this, going back to Kosovo in 1999. Since then Russia has annexed Crimea from Ukraine, propped up and saved the regime in Syria, worked to undermine European cooperation, launched countless cyber attacks against Western countries, committed multiple assassinations and assassination attempts in foreign countries; including the recent Salisbury nerve agent attack in the UK, and been accused of tampering in the 2016 US Presidential elections. But Russia’s actions aren’t without provocation. Since the end of the Cold War, Western foreign policy has ensured that the foundations for the future relationship with the new Russia were built on sand. At the forefront of every Russian strategist’s mind has been the expansion of Nato into what was previously the USSR’s sphere of influence. The result is that Russia feels cornered along its European border. This has been compounded by the suggestion of Nato developing missile defence systems in Eastern Europe that Russia sees as an attempt to undermine its own defence systems. This is all in addition to what Russia sees as the US and its closest allies habit of mounting military operations aimed at regime change. Taken together, from the Russian perspective there is a genuine mistrust of Western intentions.
In response to Russia’s actions, NATO has re-deployed forces along its eastern border with multinational battalions being stationed in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and a battalion of 4,000 American troops with heavy armour being deployed in Poland. However, these forces are more symbolic than an actual deterrent. They are there to reassure Nato’s Eastern members and act as a tripwire. In addition, the West has been routinely applying sanctions against Russia. These contributed to the Russian economy slipping into recession and financial crisis. This occurred at the same time as a drop in oil price that combined resulted in the Russian currency plummeting and saw massive capital flight. Due to sanctions on financial services the government was forced to use its foreign currency reserves to relieve the economy. Sanctions and the drop in the value of the ruble also saw inflation forcing the central bank to raise interest rates. As a result, the sanctions have been credited by some for reducing Russian activity in Ukraine. Despite these setbacks, the Russian economy has now returned to growth and the sanctions appear to have done little to damage the popularity of the Russian government at home or dissuaded it from continuing to aggressively push its agenda abroad. Since sanctions were first applied, Russia has been accused of influencing both the Brexit vote and US Presidential elections; both of which resulted in outcomes that the Kremlin would consider favourable, and has helped stock disunity within the EU and between Europe and the US. This in addition to Russia’s now lengthy and expensive involvement in Syria.
However, in the wake of the nerve agent attacks in the UK and the chemical attacks in Syria, the West seems to have found a renewed enthusiasm for countering this aggression. Despite President Trump’s vocal admiration for President Putin, the US, along with European leaders condemned the attacks in the UK. What followed was the largest expulsion of Russian diplomats from the West since the Cold War. This was in spite of strained tensions between the UK and the rest of the EU over Brexit negotiations and the desire of many states in Europe to relieve tensions with Russia; in particular, Germany.
The missile attacks against Syria were a further attempt by the West to demonstrate unity in opposing what is perceived as Russian aggression against its interests. Along with the US; the UK and France also provided military assets that participated in the strikes. The actions of these states also received the verbal support of NATO as a whole; though perhaps begrudgingly. German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced her support for the attack, but Germany did not participate.
From the face version of events the purpose of the missile strike was to show a response to Syria’s use of Chemical weapons, but beneath the surface, this was a demonstration to Russia. It was to show that West stood united against what it perceives as broader Russian aggression and support of a regime that uses chemical weapons. It was to make clear that despite the fact that an Assad victory in Syria is a foregone conclusion, Russia would not be able to solely dictate the terms of peace and that the West would have influence over the shape of post-war Syria, even if it means prolonging the conflict.
Finally, these strikes could be seen as a live fire field test of yet untested technologies; the results of which will be studied and put into scenarios for the next decade. The Russian S-400 missile system has been deployed in Syria since 2015; is considered the most advanced anti-air system currently available and was designed to counter stealth fighters such as the American F-35. While there were no reports of a direct confrontation between Russian and Western forces, both sides would have been collecting data about the others capacity to counter their forces.
Considering what this missile attack achieved from the stated intention of Western leaders, the end result can only be described as not much. To believe that a repeat offender such as Assad is going to be deterred in the longer term by such strikes would be to ignore recent history, where similar smaller actions achieved no such results. However, within broader geopolitics this action by Western power demonstrates a stark reality – a new Cold War is already well underway. | {
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Millions of low-paid workers are applauding California’s new minimum wage law, which will boost the state’s current $10-per-hour minimum to $15 an hour by 2022.
But scores of other employees who are now earning $11 or $12 an hour won’t be happy to see less skilled workers being bumped up closer to their pay scale.
“They will expect to get increases as well, and justifiably so,” said Paul Little, president and CEO of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce. “This goes beyond the minimum wage. If you are making $12 an hour now, you’ll expect to make more than that. It’s called wage compression.”
If those employees don’t receive pay increases there will be little motivation for them to stay in their current retail positions, for example, or strive to become entry-level managers, Little said.
The Center for Labor Research at UC Berkeley looked into how many minimum-wage workers would be bumped up and how many others would get raises, too, and came up with the following totals: 1.9 million in Los Angeles County, 605,000 in Orange County, 339,000 in Riverside County and 331,000 in San Bernardino County.
The center estimates that statewide 5.6 million workers who either make minimum wage or more than that will see their pay rise as a result of the new law.
Yossi Kviatkovsky, owner of The Rack, a Woodland Hills restaurant/sports bar that employs 46 workers, is already grappling with that issue.
“My workers are already demanding it,” he said. “When California’s minimum wage was at $8 an hour and it was bumped to $10, all of my employees who were making $10 an hour immediately demanded an increase, and I complied with their wishes. This is an issue of pride for them.”
Pride may be involved. But economically, it runs far deeper.
“When you add in workers’ comp and other increased insurance costs, that $10 an hour will really be more in the neighborhood of $12 to $12.50 an hour,” Kviatkovsky said. “This will have a devastating effect for restaurants and it will be reflected in the future prices of food. You won’t get a Happy Meal or hamburger for $5 anymore … it’s impossible.”
Kviatkovsky said he is already burdened with a variety of other expenses. He cited a new health requirement as an example.
“Now I’m required to pay each employee for three days of mandatory sick leave whether they are sick or not,” he said. “So let’s say I have 50 employees, just to round it off. If I give each one of them three days off, that’s 150 days a year. Multiply that by eight hours and that comes to 1,200 hours times $10, and that’s $12,000 a year out of pocket. How much do I have to raise prices just to pay for that?”
Economist Christopher Thornberg, a founding partner with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles, agreed that employees who are currently making slightly more than California’s minimum wage will have to get pay hikes as the state’s minimum wage rises.
“Absolutely,” he said. “And this is a two-to-one whammy. If it costs you an extra $200,000 to pay for the increased pay for minimum wage workers, when the other employees are figured in the cost will actually be $400,000.”
Ironically, the very people who the pay hikes are intended to benefit will suffer, according to Thornberg.
“The real effect will be felt by low-income workers,” he said. “Employers will start hiring more seniors and get rid of entry-level people. They’re going to say, ‘If I have to pay more money I want experienced people.’ They just won’t hire someone without experience.”
Little agreed.
“I think what will happen is what we’ve seen happening in other places,” he said. “Some businesses will raise their prices to offset their increased labor costs. But in most cases they will have to reduce costs in other ways — by cutting hours or by having fewer employees.”
Not everyone buys into that argument. An April 1 blog post on the Economic Policy Institute’s web page supports California’s tiered minimum wage pay hikes.
“Moving beyond the timidity of most recent minimum wage hikes is exactly what is needed if we are to undo decades of falling wages and deteriorating living standards for the lowest-paid third of America’s workforce,” the post said. “Simply put, a bold effort is needed to make up for the lost decades in which the minimum wage was simply eroded by inflation or was increased only modestly.”
Staff Writer Liam Truchard contributed to this story. | {
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The filming of a much-talked about party election broadcast with a disorientated man in his pyjamas drew the attention of concerned police.
It has emerged that officers called at the Ulster Unionist headquarters in Belfast last week after receiving a report from a worried onlooker about the welfare of the bleary-eyed man.
He was actually an actor who took the lead role in the UUP's pre-poll film, which aired on Wednesday evening.
The premise of the broadcast was that the dressing gown-clad man had just woken from a 15-year sleep and stumbled into UUP HQ at the junction of the Holywood Road and Belmont Road in east Belfast to be informed how the political landscape had changed while he was unconscious.
UUP leader Mike Nesbitt said: "Whoever phoned the police is obviously a good neighbour and citizen."
He described the broadcast as "Marmite" because people loved or hated hit.
"I have had more reaction than we have had to any election broadcast," Mr Nesbitt added.
"It is a bit Marmite. I would say it is four or five to one positive. We set out to provoke a reaction because we are very conscious that apathy could be the winner, and we have succeeded."
A PSNI spokeswoman said: "On the afternoon of January 25, police received a report of concern for the safety of a man on the Holywood Road. Police attended and confirmed that there was nothing untoward."
Belfast Telegraph | {
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday said it had become fashionable for activists in the country to talk about human rights violations in militancy-hit Jammu & Kashmir and other troubled spots while glossing over the other side of the story. It also asked why filmmakers portrayed only alleged excesses committed by security forces in J&K.
“Why is it that only one-sided view is presented? Why is it fashionable to talk about human rights violation and neglect other aspects,” a bench of Justices Vikramajit Sen and C Nagappan said while hearing documentary filmmaker Pankaj Butalia’s petition challenging the Censor Board’s decision not to certify his film on Kashmir ‘The Texture of Losses’ for public screening.Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the filmmaker, submitted that the film portrayed the anguish of people who had lost their parents, siblings and children in Kashmir but the Censor Board had unnecessarily asked to cut some scenes including a portion in which a woman says, “I beg Allah... that this kind of India be damned”.The bench said such portrayal of the state’s situation was one-sided which could at best be only an activist’s point of view. “It is an activist’s point of view when only one side of the story is highlighted and the other side of the story is neglected. Don’t ignore one aspect and exalt the other,” it said.“The whole debate is on what basis you portray one side of the story and not portray the other point of view on the issue. You cannot have one-sided approach. That is what has been the approach of activists,” the court said. Butalia withdrew his petition saying he would approach the Delhi High Court to challenge the Censor Board’s decision. | {
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To those familiar with Rockstar and the studio's ability to deliver interesting narratives swimming in massive, compelling, completely open settings, it may come as a surprise to learn that Grand Theft Auto 5 started not so much with a story, as it did a literary technique.
More interesting is that in creating their new game, one starring three equally central protagonists, the developers feel they've stumbled upon a paradigm shift in video game narrative. That the game's unusual plot device might inspire metaphysical discussion is perhaps a happy accident. But the game's impetus wasn't.
Fresh off its work on Grand Theft Auto 4's post-release episodes and the completion of Red Dead Redemption, the team felt the need to try something different, said Rockstar's Dan Houser.
"We'd made, suddenly, a lot of these high-definition types of games with single heroes and we wanted to do something different for this game," Houser told Polygon. "We really wanted to push ourselves and keep the audience guessing and do something they weren't going to expect."
So the team set a goal for itself: To create a game with not one protagonist, but three. Three characters who would equally share the spotlight of the last Grand Theft Auto of this console generation. In so doing, Houser believes the game delivers a new way to tell stories, creating something that is uniquely a video game narrative.
The Power of Three
In Grand Theft Auto 5, players will take on the roles of a retired bank robber, his former partner in crime and a young repo man. While players can switch whenever they want between the three characters, who go about their lives when not being controlled, the game's central story does require spending time in each man's shoes.
In our time playing through some of the game's major missions, we discovered that character hot-swapping not only allows a player to examine a moment from multiple angles, but also allows a player to fine-tune their experience.
But it wasn't always that way. Initially, Houser said, the three-protagonist plot was just a new way to tell a story. The decision to create this braided plot, Houser said, was in part inspired by the way in which some of the follow-up episodes for Grand Theft Auto 4 so neatly crossed over with the game's main plot.
"Even though they were fairly small, we felt there was a lot of potential in doing that and pushing that further," Houser said. "So it really began as a sort of story device, to have these three stories that crossed over a lot more."
But as the developers explored the concept of a single story fashioned by three interwoven plots, Houser said they realized that the plot device could become a major component of how the game played as well.
The end result was missions that had a better sense of flow and removed the interactive chaff inherent in most video games
They realized that by allowing players to switch between the three characters during a mission, they not only ceded more control over to the player, they breathed new life into what could become monotonous gameplay elements. Tired of shooting down the bad guys as they stream into a room? Switch to the character piloting the helicopter. Tired of flying? Pop over to the character set up as a sniper.
The end result was missions that had a better sense of flow and removed the interactive chaff inherent in most video games.
"So there was this idea that our mission was to make the action a lot more condensed in an interesting way," Houser said. "It could also provide these sort of spectacular movements where you're seeing a fun piece of action from two different perspectives."
As the team worked to meld the story's plot with this switching mechanic, they stumbled across a third benefit to this emerging idea: That players would be able to switch to any of the three characters at any time during the game, not just in the thick of a gunfight or during a mission.
"This isn't anything to do with the story or the narrative, but does tell the wider story of these people because they're all living their own lives," Houser said. "Any moment you could go and see what they're up to and it relates to what point you're up to in the real story. You just get a real feeling for them as existing outside of you controlling them, so that just kind of added this great ambient storytelling quality and fun to it.
"You jump across and Trevor's doing something crazy. Michael's stuck in some kind of existential hell hole of his own making, and Franklin is getting into his trouble."
Houser believes this third ability, being able to pop into the lightly scripted everyday lives of any of the game's protagonists at any time, is something unique to interactive media and video games.
"It was sort of a non-narrative storytelling technique that you could only use in games," he said. "It was obviously cinematic in tone but was a unique to games feature. You find what they're doing and then you carry on with what they're doing or take them off where you want to take them. It felt really magical when you see them all living their lives like this and it gave a lot of opportunities for fun."
A Day in the Life
The everyday lives of Grand Theft Auto 5's chief anti-heroes are not fully realized. Michael doesn't have a full life he's living when you're not controlling him, nor does Franklin or Trevor. Instead the game uses a bit of trickery to create the illusion that they do, and that's probably for the best.
When a player jumps into the life of one of the characters, they're often up to something, not simply staring at a wall in a bedroom save point. The player drops into a tableau that can sometimes be compelling, sometimes not so much, but is often designed to offer a bit of subtle insight into that character's life and personality.
"It's a life he's living, that you're not involved in," Houser said. "As the storyline is progressed through the narrative, that life he's living will change."
Because players can choose to switch between the three at will, when not in the thick of a major plot point or mission, the team was careful not to load up these everyday life moments with key plot points.
"You'll miss lots if you don't pop over to [a character] from time to time," Houser said. "You'll miss lots of the stuff they are potentially getting up to, but you won't miss key plot points. It will be little details about what their lives are like, based on what you've done in the plot. You'll miss those obviously if you move the plot past where those are no longer relevant, and just the sheer number of things you can see them get up to, you'll miss them if you don't keep going to have a look for them."
Early on, the team decided not to create cinematic cutscenes for these switches because they didn't want to slow the game down.
"It's a life he's living, that you're not involved in"
"You just kind of get to them and you just see what they're up to and carry on. It may be that they are being chased by police, so you've got to deal with that situation; it may be that Michael is arguing with his wife and the argument's sort of ending as you get to him," Houser said. "So we wanted to keep it flowing. We didn't want it to stop and give you, 'Here's a big story recap,' because we thought that was going to sort of gum the game up."
The hope is that players will be able to quickly slip in and out of the lives of the three characters and get a sense of how things are going for them effortlessly.
"The whole point is to just set the scene and move on with them," he said. "So they all have their own timetable as to how they're living, when they're sleeping, what are they going to be doing. And that changes as the game progresses, and where they're doing these things changes."
The decision to put the uninhabited protagonists in motion came about as a way to solve a problem created by having three mains, Houser said. Having static characters you jump into would have been incredibly boring, so they solved for that.
"As is often the case with game development, you only solve the problems that you come across," he said. "So you never would have thought of this until you realize, 'We've got to make this interesting every time you come to these.' And then you try to make it as fun and as visually exciting as possible. So it got more and more complex as you move on. But, it started off with just a simple timetable and then it turned into these mini-scenes you flow into and then some of them had action attached to it."
The metaphysics of GTA 5
It turns out that creating three characters with disparate lives and stories to tell, while keeping them all, individually, the unique center of their lives and the story, isn't as easy as it sounds. There's even a bit of metaphysics involved.
"I suppose we think of it as, each character sees themselves as being the star of their own movie of their life," Houser said. "Everybody thinks they're the star of their own movie at some level, don't they, in existence? So to each character, they are very much the star of their experience. We really wanted to focus on each of them having their own sense of progression, their own adventure, but where they're also so interwoven that it doesn't break apart in the same way as say, the episodes from GTA 4 plus the two mission packs breaks apart into three very clear stories with small points of crossover.
"In this, they're much more tightly interwoven to the point where they almost become the same thing, but, to any one of them, at any one moment, they should always feel like they're not someone else's supporting character; it's their life, it's their adventure."
So if the characters, as seen through the filter of their own perception, are each the star of the game, what's the reality, I ask Houser. Who is actually the star?
"Well without wanting to give away too many spoilers, I suppose answering that question is something you don't even really do until once you finish the game," Houser said. "It's sort of up to the player, I suppose, to figure out what they think. The debate about who you think is the star, or what you think is right, that kind of is what the game's about at some level. I realize I'm being somewhat obtuse, which I'm trying not to be without giving away big spoilers. The game is a story, and hopefully it stands as a story or multiple stories. But one of the things we're trying to get people to think about, I suppose, is who is not better, but less bad of these characters, as you play through their adventures together. That's probably the best way to say it without totally spoiling the game."
"Everybody thinks they're the star of their own movie at some level, don't they, in existence?"
Another integral part of the game is how those three characters interact with one another. Their relationship to one another is "absolutely" important, Houser said.
"Within the story, their relationships with each other and how they view each other is the story," he said. "That's very fun for us to play around with and obviously something we couldn't have done previously without having multiple characters that you could play as and so have a sort of unique relationship with each of them."
Creating that sense that no one is the star, but they all are, while balancing their relationships with one another, required quite a bit of tweaking, Houser said.
When the game does require a shift between characters, usually driven by the story, it's spread out fairly evenly, so players tend to spend equal amounts of time with the three. More complicated was making sure that no one character came across as any particular archetype, like "the bad guy."
"Well, the hope I suppose is that everybody has their own relationship with all three of the characters, likes and dislikes them in different ways," Houser said. "They're not meant to be, this guy's the hero, this guy's the bad guy, this guy's the confused guy. It's meant to be slightly more shades of gray than that, I mean dark gray for all of them, but shades of gray."
While making the game, the team grew concerned that wasn't happening, that maybe one character was slowly becoming the game's anti-hero or the game's bad guy.
"So we moved things around a little bit and toned them down and rejigged them," he said.
During tests of the final game, the developers were happy to see that players came out of the experience with a differing sense of whom they liked most.
"We want them to be different for everybody," Houser said. "Because they all are meant to be in some ways the hero, in some ways the villain, in some ways the anti-hero. We wanted people to be pulled in different directions. To see that people were coming up with different answers to who they like best and different things they liked best about them.
"It should feel as you play through the game that you get pulled towards one of the characters and away from another one, and back again. So we wanted you to feel like you've been pulled and pushed by the characters into believing this or that one's better or worse, or more justified, less justified in his actions or behavior or whatever."
What they didn't want was to take a single character and split him up into three.
"The goal was to try and make something that was different, it was a sort of paradigm shift and there were three protagonists," he said. "We thought we'd pushed it a long way in having one character. But I don't think, us having made it, you can now condense it down and go, 'Well, together they make one character.' No, together they make three."
Once upon a time in a video game
Telling a story through the eyes of three protagonists isn't a completely unique concept. But Houser believes that doing so in a video game delivers something completely unique to the medium and far more complex to achieve than in more static narratives.
"We tailor the story to the mechanics and to the game," he said. "We write the story in order to make what we think will be a component of a really fun, mechanically rich, content-diverse game. I'm sure there are aspects of it that you could certainly pull apart, put in a TV show, a series of movies, or condense it down into a movie or into a book, but you couldn't tell it this way apart from in a video game.
"The relationship that games give you with your protagonist is very powerful. The way they make you bond with a character you are playing as. To make you bond with three people was something very interesting to us about this story."
Delivering that experience was much more challenging than expected, Houser said.
"When we actually dug into it and started trying to make missions like this, they figured out how to do some amazing things, the scripters, but it created plenty of problems, a huge number of challenges," Houser said. "Like, how do you make it interesting and feel like the player was being pulled along in a way that felt like they weren't being tricked by the way we set stuff up? And just bits where we are trying to keep three plots alive at any one time and not confuse the player too much, not overwhelm them with the amount of information. And making sure they are getting revelations at the same time the character's getting them, so it doesn't feel like that they've been kept in the dark too much.
"I definitely feel that the way we got the story flowing this time is the best we've ever had it. As the game starts, it kicks off and you are just dragged along with it and it feels like it can't be stopped, it really pleased me."
Check back Monday at 10 a.m. Eastern for our review of the game. | {
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"Rather than give a detailed proposal about how we're going to raise $3 trillion a year, we'd rather give the American people options," Sanders said. "The truth is, embarrassingly, that on this enormously important issue, there has not been the kind of research and study that we need.You've got think tanks, in many cases funded by the drug companies and the insurance companies, telling us how terribly expensive it's going to be. We have economists looking at it who are coming up with different numbers." | {
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For most horror fans, Halloween is our Christmas. Suddenly, casual fans will want to talk horror films. There is a plethora of horror to be found on television. And, best yet, the Simpsons do their annual Halloween special entitled The Treehouse of Horror.
The Simpsons debuted on as a short on The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987 on the fledgling Fox Network. The series’ first episode aired on December 17, 1989. It became Fox’s first hit, and helped propel the network to an elite network. It was during the second year that the first Treehouse of Horror premiered, and it has taken on a life of its own. All in all, there are now 25 episodes now (which would fit nicely on a DVD set…just saying).
They have also been a staple in my household when I was a kid and I watch them together with my kids today. The Treehouse of Horror episodes embody everything that is good with horror. We all tend to like being scared, but laughing in its face with The Simpsons cast makes it even better. Because of the series, they were interested in reading and discussing the poem The Raven. The series has often parodied classic horror (as well as those forgotten films big in the last 25 years like Bram Stoker’s Dracula) and old Twilight Zone episodes which makes it a perfect for all ages.
All 25 episodes start tomorrow on FXX. Many of them are lore to my children, and I’m excited that to show them what I loved as a child. (Honorable Mention goes out to Cape Feare, the Simpsons episode that parodies Cape Fear with Sideshow Bob and those rakes.)
10 Treehouse of Horror VIII (The HΩmega Man, Fly vs Fly, Easy-Bake Coven)
Parodies: The Ωmega Man, The Fly, The Crucible
Best Segment: Fly vs Fly
Best Quote: But Aquaman, You can not marry a woman without gills. You’re from two different worlds (Sees the nuclear missile coming) Oh I’ve wasted my life. (Comic Book Guy)
9 Treehouse of Horror VI (Attack of the 50 foot Eyesores, Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace, Homer³)
Parodies: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Twilight Zone episode Little Girl Lost
Best Segment: Homer³
Best Quote: Oh, just get it out of here. Not into the kindergarten! (Principal Skinner to morgue worker removing Martin’s body from school)
8 Treehouse of Horror XXIII (The Greatest Story Ever Holed, UNnormal Activity, Bart and Homer’s Excellent Adventure)
Parodies: Paranormal Activity, A Sound of Thunder
Best Segment: The Greatest Story Ever Holed
Best Quote: Oy Carumba (Jewish Bart)
7 Treehouse of Horror XXV (School in Hell, A Clockwork’s Yellow, The Others)
Parodies: A Clockwork Orange, The Others
Best Segment: The Others
Best Quote: Skinnnn-HIM! (Demon Superintendent Chalmers)
6 Treehouse of Horror X (I Know What you Did-iddily-Did, Desperately Seeking Xena, Life’s a Glitch, Then you Die)
Parodies: I Know What you Did Last Summer, Deep Impact (and, strangely 2012)
Best Segment: I know What you Did-iddily-Did
Best Quote: Hey….we just got away with murder! And it was so easy (sees Milhouse in street) you know… I’ve never liked that little wiener Milhouse (turns to run over, Marge stops him) (Homer)
5 Treehouse of Horror XIII (Send in the Clones, The Fright to Keep and Scare Harms, The Island of Dr. Hibbert)
Parodies: Multiplicity, The Island of Dr. Moreau
Best Segment: The Fright to Keep and Scare Harms
Best Quote: Play us some pian-ee. (Homer begins playing Für Elise, and then a bullet ricochets) That’s piano! I said pian-ee! (Homer plays western-style music.) (to Marge) You! Play the cell-ee! (Marge plays a honky-tonk tune.) (to Bart) You! Sing a song about cattle-russlin’. (to Lisa) And you! Sing one about, uh, robbing banks. (Bonney)
4 Treehouse of Horror III (Clown without Pity, King Homer, Dial ‘Z’ for Zombies)
Parodies: Child’s Play, King Kong, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Best Segment: Dial ‘Z’ For Zombies
Best Quote: He was a zombie? (Homer, after shooting Flanders)
3 Treehouse of Horror VII (The Thing and I, The Genesis Tub, Citizen Kang)
Parodies: Twilight Show Episode The Little People, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
Best Segment: The Thing and I
Best Quote: Unshrink you? Well that would require some sort of a Rebigulator which is a concept so ridiculous it makes me want to laugh out loud and chortle… (Little Professor Frink on whether he can return Lisa to her normal size)
2 Treehouse of Terror V (The Shinning, Time and Punishment, Nightmare Cafeteria)
Parodies: The Shining, A Sound of Thunder, Soylent Green
Best Segment: The Shinning
Best Quote: Well, what do you think, Marge? All I need is a title. I was thinking along the lines of… No TV and no beer make Homer something, something. (Homer)
1 Treehouse of Terror I (Bad Dream House, Hungry are the Damned, The Raven)
Parodies: Amityville, Poltergeist, The Raven
Best Segment: Bad Dream House
Best Quote: It chose to destroy itself rather than live with us. You can’t help but feel a little rejected.
What’s your favorite episode? | {
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Dallas Storage Units
Self Storage Tips
Ways to Rent a Moving Truck
Dallas is the ninth largest city in all of the United States and ranks as the third largest in the state of Texas. The city of Dallas is rich in oil and its cotton industry brings in a tremendous amount of revenue and technical expertise from all over the world.Oil and cotton aren't the only industries that are booming in the city of Dallas. It is also known for its self storage industry, which is increasing due to the high influx of immigrants from all parts of the world.Whether you are moving in or out or shifting homes or offices, self storage facilities would help you secure your belongings until you find a permanent place for them. If you want to store cartons and boxes in a storage facility, you can easily drive them to the storage unit. However, if you want to store a boat, car or anything bulky, you would need professional movers.Hiring professional movers can prove to be extremely expensive. Hiring a moving truck would cost you less and serve the same purpose.* Book earlyIt is perhaps the cleverest thing to book your moving truck in advance. The summertime is a particularly busy season, as that is when most people prefer to move in or out. If you wait till the last minute to book a truck, there is a high chance that you might not find one. Various Dallas Self Storage facilities offer the option to move your things. If that is the case, you can pay them extra to do so.* Make sure it's the right sizeBefore you rent a truck, make sure you have measured the dimensions of all the things you wish to move. Failure to do so would result in unnecessary trips back and forth from the storage facility, leading to a colossal waste of time and money.* Check for logisticsThere are various other things that you might require to move your stuff. For various offloading purposes, you might need a dolly or two-wheel carts. Although Dallas Self Storage Units offer these amenities, it is always advisable to make sure you have everything you might need.* Insure your belongingsSince you would be driving the truck, make sure you have all your valuables insured. Even if you get into an accident or are mugged, you will not have to worry about your things. | {
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Dustin Aksland
*****
Originally published in the June 2008 issue
He is the young Justice Department lawyer — thirty-four at the time — who wrote the Bush administration's first decisions on prisoner detention, interrogation, habeas corpus, military commissions, and the Geneva Conventions. He is the man who defined torture as pain equivalent to "death or organ failure," who said that the president could crush the testicles of a child to make his father talk, who picked the lock on Pandora's box and unleashed the demons of Abu Ghraib. He's been accused of war crimes and compared to the Nazi lawyers who justified Hitler. Many good Americans would like to see him fired, shamed, even imprisoned. But in his classroom at Berkeley School of Law, John Yoo is a charming and patient teacher, popular with students and cordial to all. He's wearing an elegant blue suit offset by a shiny silver tie. His face is more like a shield than a face, expressionless and almost perfectly round, but his voice is relaxed and warm. At this moment, he's trying to get his students to define war. "So Judge Tatel says it's not so hard to say what a war is — casualties. What else?"
"Aircraft flying everywhere."
"There were no wars before Kitty Hawk?"
"Ships sailing around."
"So maybe the use of armed forces. But in the 1980s the U.S. bombed Libya. It lasted an hour, less than a hundred people were killed. Would that meet your standard for a war?"
No, the student says.
"How about use of troops? The U.S. sent troops to Somalia, primarily to reduce civilian casualties. Is that a war?"
"I don't think so."
The questions keep coming until the student hits overload. "There are scholars who spend their lives studying this!"
Yoo chuckles. "Unfortunately including myself."
It seems grotesque, doesn't it? To sit in a comfortable classroom as the future lawyers of America clack away on their laptops, parsing definitions with the man whose legal mind turned America into a torturing nation?
Jose Padilla's lawyers certainly think so. "We are talking about the torture of an American citizen in an American prison by American officials," one of them told me, indignation rising fresh in his voice. Padilla is the former Chicago gang member who was arrested in O'Hare Airport in May 2002 as he returned from terrorist training camps in the Middle East with plans — or so the government believed — to explode a "dirty" nuclear bomb in the United States. After he was convicted on more general terrorism-conspiracy charges, his lawyers took the extraordinary step of filing a lawsuit against the junior-level lawyer they saw as the first link in the chain. "Defendant Yoo prepared the Torture Memos," they said, referring to several Justice Department opinions, including a memo that was signed on August 1, 2002, and withdrawn in shame two years later. "He knew the Torture Memos would be transmitted to senior government officials, including officials at the White House and Department of Defense, and would be relied upon by military and intelligence officers in formulating and implementing programs of confinement and interrogation for suspected 'enemy combatants.' "Yoo also wrote the memo that put the "enemy combatant" label on Padilla. As a result, the lawsuit claims, Padilla was held without charges for three years and eight months, completely alone under twenty-four-hour camera surveillance, with his windows blacked out and no clock or radio or TV to help him mark time. Sometimes the lights were left on for days, sometimes he was left in the dark for days, sometimes the cell was extremely hot, sometimes extremely cold. His sleep was constantly interrupted and he was threatened with death and given disorienting drugs and shackled and forced into stress positions for hours at a time. Whenever he was moved, he wore a blindfold and noise-canceling headphones to reinforce his isolation and helplessness. After a few years of this intentional effort to break his will and destroy his mind, Padilla was given to "involuntary twitching and self-inflicted scratch wounds" and his jailers often observed him weeping in his cell, so broken and passive that he had become "like a piece of furniture."
Padilla's claims have not been proven. Some of them, like the accusations of death threats and use of drugs, go beyond even Yoo's liberal interpretation of interrogation laws. But they remind us of what we have done and what we will continue to do. Consider the fight over Michael Mukasey's nomination for attorney general, when Mukasey refused to call waterboarding torture. He said he didn't want to put the CIA officers who made these judgments in the heat of battle "in personal legal jeopardy." It seemed so ridiculous, right out of 1984. The Khmer Rouge used waterboarding. We prosecuted Japanese generals for doing it. But Mukasey was confirmed anyway, and four months later President Bush vetoed a law that banned waterboarding. Consider also that courts and Congress have endorsed many of Yoo's opinions, including the use of military commissions and the extended detention without criminal charges of "enemy combatants" who are American citizens.
And consider this — we still can't even agree on the basic question that Yoo is asking his law class today, which turns out to be not a quibble or a technicality but the very first question that landed on his desk on the afternoon of September 11, 2001:
Is this a war? How can the president respond? Can he use the Army? Will he need congressional approval? Is this a war?
"It's like pornography," one student says. "You know it when you see it."
It's just semantics, says another. "When there's something as powerful as war, we don't want the president to just go ahead."
But why not? Yoo asks.
"Because we like checks and balances and we like the Constitution?"
"So you're worried about one person making mistakes. War is so dangerous, the stakes are so high, you wouldn't want one person making that decision?"
"That's why it's so important to have checks and balances," the student agrees. "Otherwise the president could run wild. Like we have today, with the powers of an unchecked president — I call that running wild."
"So you're worried about errors," Yoo answers, perfectly calm. "That's certainly the case with Iraq. We overestimated the benefits and underestimated the costs."
But now the hour is up and the students gather their papers — and Yoo still keeps shooting out last-minute questions. "Is the president really prone to error more than the other branches? Isn't that also true of Congress? If you require Congress to give preapproval for every conflict, what is the cost? Why didn't Truman ask for a declaration of war in Korea, even though Congress would have given him one?"
These are hard questions. Most of us shrug them off and judge Yoo and Bush through the lens of Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo. But Yoo didn't shrug them off. He put them at the center of his thinking. As a consequence, he is being hauled before Congress in May and will be forever defined by the abuses of the Bush administration.
From his office, he has a million-dollar view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. There are law books everywhere. His screen saver is a picture of his wife. His iPhone screen saver is a picture of his wife too, which helps take the edge off all the hate calls. On the floor, there's a shopping bag from a local hippie institution called Amoeba Music. On the wall, a framed goodbye card from the Department of Justice. "Thank you for your excellent service to America," John Ashcroft wrote. "We are stronger and safer because of you."
He turns out to have lots of unexpected quirks. He's pro-choice. He thinks flag burning is a legitimate form of free speech. He thinks the government is "wasting a lot of resources" in the war on drugs. He thinks the phrase "war on terror" is misleading political rhetoric. He's cowriting an article that makes a conservative case for gay marriage. "Our argument is, the state should just stay out of these things, because it doesn't hurt anybody." And he's definitely alarmed by the more theocratic Republicans. "When Mike Huckabee says he wants to amend the Constitution so that it's consistent with God's law, that scares the bejesus out of me."
We go for a stroll down Telegraph Avenue, and he's a bit disappointed there aren't more tie-dyed renegades. "Usually this is the land time forgot."
"Do you often come here to mock the hippies?"
"I don't come here specifically for that. I try to multitask."
The hippies might be worn out from protesting, he says. Two weeks ago, the Berkeley City Council called the local Marine recruiters "unwelcome intruders" and it turned into a huge controversy, with Republicans threatening to cut millions in city funds and thousands of protesters massing outside City Hall with signs that said "Waterboarding is Torture" and "Take a Stand Agaisnt Torture." "I think the city was nuts," Yoo says. "You can be against the war, but to be against the armed forces? It's crazy."
"People aren't always as coherent as you'd like them to be."
"It shows you what a strange place this is."
"Or how unpopular the war is."
"It's the level of anger that really shocks me," he says.
"I'm surprised that you're surprised," I say.
The anger is often directed at him. Protesters in Guantánamo orange have disrupted his class and dogged him in public forums. I talked to another Berkeley law professor who refuses to attend faculty meetings with him. "Until he atones," he said, "I don't want to be in the same room with him." But Yoo shrugs it all off. He likes living among liberals, he says. "Liberals from the sixties do a great job of creating all the comforts of life — gourmet food, specialty jams, the best environmentally conscious waters."
We stop in at Amoeba Music and he cruises the sci-fi shelves — he's a fan of Ghost in the Shell, the anime that inspired The Matrix. Usually he buys classical music, but his taste in pop runs to anthemic bands like the Who and U2. "Nothing too esoteric. I don't have any fancy tastes in pop music."
He seems very pleased that the entire record store smells like marijuana. "That's what Berkeley smells like!"
At Steve's Korean B.B.Q., Yoo talks about his parents. They were teenagers during the Korean War, a serious pair who both became doctors and moved to the U. S. out of gratitude and a love of democracy. "They saw the United States as saving their country, and I agree with them," he says. "It did save their country. And then it let people in. It was extraordinarily generous. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the generosity of the United States."
He grew up in the elite Main Line area of Philadelphia and went to a prep school where he wore a suit and tie and learned Greek and Latin. He seems to have been a natural-born conservative, attracted even as a teenager to Ronald Reagan's message of anticommunism, low taxes, and small government, values that resonated with the immigrant dream of personal freedom. But he was never angry or righteous about it. "He was completely open and tolerant of everyone," says Gordon Getter, a prep-school classmate. "He had a genuine sense of humor," says Thomas Schwartz, one of his professors at Harvard. "He would argue and people would get mad at him, but he never seemed to take it personally."
He was also exceptionally brilliant, Schwartz says. "These were extraordinary students, and John was a star among them."
As an undergraduate in the history department, Yoo developed a deep interest in presidential power. His senior thesis was about Eisenhower's plan to share nuclear weapons with the other members of NATO. The example of Truman in Korea was never far from his mind — with North Korean troops sweeping south, Truman rushed U. S. troops to war without pausing for a congressional debate and tried to seize the steel companies to guarantee arms production.
But when Yoo arrived at Yale Law School, everyone seemed to agree that Congress was the dominant policymaker and should approve every war. It was the standard liberal position in the wake of Vietnam, but Yoo saw Vietnam through the lens of Korea, imagining how life would have been for his parents under the savage dictatorship of Kim Il Sung. His preference for Truman's lonely fortitude only deepened when he became a clerk for Laurence Silberman, one of the leading champions of the "unitary executive" theory of expansive presidential powers. In free moments around the courthouse, Silberman painted Congress as a flock of tiny men with tiny ropes intent on binding the president down — annoying in peace but dangerous in war.
Over the next few years, Yoo alternated between stints as a professor at Berkeley and jobs in Washington, first with Justice Clarence Thomas and next with Senator Orrin Hatch. Though he disagreed with them on basic issues like abortion and the attempt to remove Clinton from office, he was drawn to their lonely integrity. Hatch was "one of the few guys in the Senate who really would go to the mat on principle," he says. He also picked up another crucial lesson during the Whitewater investigation, when Senate committee members would demand documents and President Clinton refused to provide them, each side insisting that the Constitution supported its position. "But they worked out deals," Yoo says. "The system is almost designed for them to come into conflict, and they work out a deal. So that had a big effect on me."
Back at Berkeley, he started putting it all into a book. As the first chapters hit the legal journals, he became a star on the lecture circuit, a young hotshot with a provocative theory. His basic idea was that the Constitution has tons of rules on how to pass legislation but almost nothing on war. So the president takes action and Congress fights back, an improvisation with one partner leading, and that is the way it was meant to be — the real reason Truman didn't ask Congress for an authorization before going into Korea, the reason Clinton continued to bomb the Serbs in defiance of the War Powers Act, the reason Bush has resisted every attempt by Congress to restrict his war policies.
Yoo's analysis hinges on the Declare War Clause. Most scholars — most people — believe it was intended to give Congress power to decide whether to go to war and that the founders saw this as an essential bulwark against tyranny. Yoo makes a case that it was really meant as a formal recognition of wars already under way, and the founders intended the real bulwark against tyranny to be Congress's power of the purse. "Several times every year, Congress has a chance to vote on funding the Iraq war," he keeps telling me. "It's an amazing power — if 51 percent of them refuse to vote for it, the war is over."
Abraham Lincoln is Yoo's best argument. Congress had already passed a statute laying out an explicit legal procedure for freeing slaves, but Lincoln ignored the law and freed the slaves under his "unilateral executive authority in wartime as commander in chief to take measures necessary to win a war," as Yoo puts it. Lincoln used the same grounds to suspend habeas corpus, a right the Constitution explicitly grants to Congress. If you really believe that Yoo is all wrong and the unitary-executive theory completely false, you kind of have to say Lincoln behaved like a tyrant.
Jonathan Freiman, Jose Padilla's attorney, bristles when I run Yoo's arguments down for him. "The Supreme Court has said every time it's been asked since 9/11, a state of war is not a blank check. The Constitution applies."
But Congress and the Supreme Court also accepted the military commissions and the enemy-combatant designation and even the indefinite detention of an American citizen named Yaser Hamdi, Yoo would say.
Freiman concedes the point. But Hamdi was arrested in a foreign country in the zone of combat, he says. "That's a pretty small category, a battlefield in a foreign country. It's not a category that encompasses Padilla."
But that's exactly the problem. Padilla was arrested a few months after his associates killed three thousand people in New York City. So where is this battlefield?
It's a dangerous question, Freiman says. "The argument that the entire United States has become a battlefield by virtue of those heinous attacks on 9/11 is just an argument to make the Constitution completely optional, an argument to extend presidential power to the level of monarchy — to every inch of life in this country."
For the next two hours, he pounds Yoo from every possible angle: They already had Padilla under arrest and could have held him under charges like conspiracy or levying war. But they wanted to interrogate him and they wanted to use harsh methods, so they just made up their own rules. This was the natural result of rejecting the Geneva Conventions instead of treating Al Qaeda members as ordinary war criminals. "Before 9/11, you're either a criminal or a soldier. What the government said was, We want a third category where the black shade is drawn, where there are no protections whatsoever, where there is no law."
Freiman is particularly passionate when he rips into the torture memo itself. Did I know that the Justice Department was now investigating how it ever came to be written? Did I know that the man who took over Yoo's department withdrew it, calling it "deeply flawed, sloppily reasoned, overbroad, and incautious in asserting extraordinary constitutional authorities on behalf of the president?" What Yoo should have done was look at the Eighth Amendment, which forbids cruel and unusual punishment. He should have considered international treaties against torture and cruelty and civil rights along with a host of domestic laws and statutes. But Yoo wasn't acting as an honest lawyer, he says. As the Padilla lawsuit states, he was "a key member of a small, secretive group of executive officials who exerted tremendous influence over antiterrorism policy and who were known as the 'War Council.' "So he bent the law to justify a course of action he was already determined to take.
Freiman is especially scornful about the "necessity argument," as legal philosophers call it — the idea that the president can take extraordinary actions in an emergency to protect the nation, that the information in Padilla's head was worth cracking it open. "That's the argument that every despotic regime in every corner of the globe has been making for sixty years," he says. "Necessity, national security. The Nazis invoked necessity too. The question is, How do you deal with those threats? Are you bound by human rights, or are you not?"
This is why Freiman filed Padilla's lawsuit against Yoo. To redraw that line, he says, to recover our sense of justice and decency, to salvage the idealism that once shone so bright, America must pass judgment on John Yoo.
So let's go back to that moment in the heat of battle. The way Yoo tells the story, he was sitting at his desk at the Justice Department when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. He had only been working there two months, hired to answer the White House's questions on foreign-policy laws at a time when the biggest legal issue before him was a treaty about polar bears. When the order came to evacuate Washington and people began heading out into the streets, someone from the attorney general's office told him to stick around.
Soon the questions came:
Is this a war?
Do we need to declare war?
Can we scramble planes?
And again: Is this a war?
There was no obvious precedent. Yoo considered the level of violence and the source, thousands of civilians killed in coordinated attacks by a foreign enemy intent on crippling our government. He considered the Civil War, when people asked if it was a war or a rebellion and if Southerners should be treated as traitors or members of a foreign nation. He considered our history of warfare against nonstate groups like Indians and pirates. He considered the level of military response that might be likely, because a military response itself would imply a state of war. He may have considered his friend Barbara Olson, dead on one of the planes. He found himself returning to this thought:
If a nation had done it, would we have any doubt it was a war?
So yes, it was a war. That's the decision he made while the buildings were still burning.
He stayed till two or three in the morning and when he left Justice and crossed the Fourteenth Street Bridge, the Pentagon was still burning. He saw the flames reaching up so high they lit the sky. But he didn't sleep because his phone kept ringing, each call another variation on the theme: Can we use force? What standards would guide the use of force? Is this a war?
Everyone reviewed his war memo. Ashcroft signed off. And Congress passed the Authorization to Use Military Force with only one opposing vote. If this was the first mistake in the war on terror, as many now believe, it was a mistake the nation made together.
The decision on military commissions came next and seemed like a no-brainer, Yoo says. We had always used military commissions in wartime because they were less cumbersome and many civilian laws (like stalking and assault) made no sense in a war context. It also seemed like a good idea to keep the prison camps distant from U. S. soil, both for safety and to insulate them from those same domestic laws.
The Geneva Conventions issue came up in December 2001. In retrospect it may seem obvious that any departure from Geneva was a policy mistake, the first step down the slippery slope, but Yoo points out that President Reagan explicitly refused to extend Geneva rights to terrorists in 1987. There were also technical problems, such as Geneva requirements that POWs be held in barracks instead of prisons, which didn't seem a practical approach to enemies who didn't wear uniforms and deliberately killed civilians, war criminals by definition. The Taliban was a tougher issue because Afghanistan had something closer to regular-army units and had signed the Geneva Conventions, but Yoo argued that Afghanistan was a failed state, so its signature didn't mean anything — which even he admits was pushing it. The point was, they weren't massing orderly brigades to attack the United States. They gave safe haven to terrorists. With Colin Powell pushing back, Bush finally decided to deny Geneva rights to Al Qaeda but to extend them to the Taliban — a necessary improvisation, Yoo says, a recognition that something new had entered the world.
The interrogation question came up only briefly, Yoo insists. In one meeting he attended in the White House Situation Room, someone worried that under Geneva, "we would only be able to ask Osama bin Laden loud questions, and nothing more." But this was all just an academic exercise until late March 2002, when the CIA captured Al Qaeda's chief of operations, a man named Abu Zubaydah. They approached Yoo and said they had solid reasons to believe that Zubaydah knew the names of hundreds of terrorists and the details of attack plans that could include nuclear weapons. On top of that, Zubaydah was an expert in interrogation and how to resist interrogation . If it wasn't exactly the famous "ticking bomb" scenario come to life, where you are certain there is a bomb and certain your captive knows where it is, it was close enough. Yoo insists that nobody ever proposed crossing the line into outright torture and that he personally considers torture repugnant and unjustified under any conditions. But they did believe that this was a strange new kind of war, where the front lines were inside the heads of men like Padilla and Abu Zubaydah. So, what about things like isolation, prolonged interrogation, forced exercise, and limited sleep? Where was the line, exactly?
"How long did it take to come up with an answer?"
"I don't remember."
"Weeks? Months?"
"Probably weeks."
The Eighth Amendment did not apply, Yoo decided. It forbade cruel and unusual punishment, but punishment came only after a criminal conviction. His critics savage him for not considering American laws against coerced confessions and police brutality, but Yoo points out that the memo only applies to noncitizens "outside the United States." They say he should have considered our treaty obligations under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which also forbids "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment," but Yoo believed that treaties were only binding when Congress passed statutes translating them into domestic law, a position recently affirmed by the Supreme Court. That meant the binding law was the antitorture statute Congress passed in 1994 in the wake of the convention, a statute that forbade "severe" physical pain and "prolonged mental harm." So these were the critical questions:
How do you define "severe pain"? How do you define "prolonged mental harm"?
Some say this is where he should have balked. "Torture violates the very premise of the legal system itself, that there is something irreducible and inviolable about every person," says Yoo's fellow Berkeley law professor
Robert H. Cole. "You can't write a memo about it the way you would write about snowmobiling in Yosemite." At the very least, they say, Yoo should have warned of the moral danger the question posed to the essence of America.
Yoo says he shared those concerns. He says he thought he was writing a memo for exceptional cases, for the highly trained specialists of the CIA. "I never thought it would be a good idea for the Army to do it, to put it in the hands of eighteen-year-old kids. But it would be inappropriate if I had that worry and it changed the way I interpreted the law."
So he buckled down to one of the world's most thankless jobs, defining the limits of acceptable pain. He knew it would be easy to draw a vague standard that sounded good and then give the CIA a meaningful wink. But that wouldn't be fair to the officers in the field.
He wanted to draw a clear line.
The problem was, the Justice Department had never prosecuted anyone under the antitorture statute, so there were no judicial opinions to guide him. Dictionaries defined severe as "extreme" and "hard to endure." Yoo studied all the international precedents he could find, including the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Ireland v. the United Kingdom, which found that the use of hoods, continuous loud noise, sleep deprivation, reduced diet, and a stress position called "wall-standing" were all cruel and degrading but not torture.
So where was the line?
He got the crucial phrasing about organ failure and death from a U. S. law concerning health care.
I can't let this pass. "John, you're a very engaging guy. I like you. I can't picture you writing that phrase, 'organ failure or death.'"
"It's the phrase Congress used," he says.
"But health care and interrogation are wildly different subjects."
"That's a fair criticism. But it's still the closest you can get to any definition of that phrase at all."
"But this isn't legal theory anymore. It's going to have a body count."
"It's a difficult issue, I admit. It's the use of violence. It's unpleasant. I don't disagree with that."
"You could have drawn the line in a different place."
"I really tried to distinguish between law and policy," he insists. Despite Yoo's shocking language defining severe pain as "equivalent to" organ failure or death, he points out that the memo clearly defines as torture mock executions, threats of imminent death, and beatings. He also says it's unfair for people to confuse the war crimes of Abu Ghraib with the aggressive interrogations he authorized. His memo also includes a long list of examples of acts that various courts have found to be torture, page after page of severe beatings and electric shocks and even one case where guards shackled a man to a bed, placed a towel over his face, and poured water down his nose — a nearly exact description of waterboarding, "which people ignore because they focus on that one sentence," Yoo says. "So if you read the whole opinion, I don't think of it as a license to do anything you want to."
It's true, the list is there, the cautionary intent clear. I've never seen it mentioned by any of his critics. But so is Yoo's pet theory about the president's unlimited war powers in an emergency, the passage that would, at least in theory, justify crushing testicles: "Congress may no more regulate the President's ability to detain and interrogate enemy combatants than it may regulate his ability to direct troop movements in the field." This is the section that drives people crazy. When the new head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel officially withdrew the memo, he singled it out for its "unusual lack of care and sobriety," its "cursory and one-sided legal arguments." No matter what Lincoln or Truman did, they say, Yoo never should have tried to make presidential lawbreaking legal. But Yoo insists that suicide terrorism in the age of nuclear weapons is precisely the kind of situation he anticipated in his law-school theory, the reason the founders left the president's war powers vague.
"But at the same time," I say, "you know that by writing that opinion, by using those words, you're opening the gates."
"I agree," he answers. "The language is not pleasing, it's not politically savvy -- I didn't see that as my job."
"And you didn't have any moral qualms?"
He looks me right in the eye. "I think there are some moral questions. But the other side of the moral question is the lives you might save. I have a hard time believing any responsible American president would have said, 'No, absolutely not, do not ask him any more questions, give him a lawyer.' I don't think Al Gore would have said that."
But those harsh interrogation techniques migrated straight to Iraq. What about that?
"That was definitely not permitted under the decision-making level I was at," Yoo says. "It was clearly not. The Geneva Conventions fully applied in Iraq."
And the memo he wrote that was made public this spring, which justified harsh interrogation techniques for military interrogators?
That worried him, he says. But it only applied to interrogators of Al Qaeda prisoners in Guantánamo, and Yoo says that he expressed his concerns to officials "at high levels of the Department of Justice, the White House, and the Department of Defense."
Is it possible that partisan loyalty blinded him to the dangers of putting all that power into the hands of a president so reckless and extreme, the worst combination of cowboy machismo with this radical theory of executive power?
"I can see why people have that view, but I just don't think this is the product of people who have this radical worldview."
"But Cheney was primed. He said we would have to go to the dark side."
Yoo doesn't say anything for a moment, then answers in his usual measured tone. "In World War II, we interned people, tens of thousands of citizens. We tried citizens who were enemy spies under military commissions which had no procedures at all. We let the Air Force kill hundreds of thousands of civilians in firebombing runs in Europe. We dropped a nuclear weapon on Japan. Waterboarding we think is torture, but it happened to three people. The scale of magnitude is different."
"But if the war goes on forever, we've created a torture state."
"We've done it three times," he repeats.
"The White House launched an elective war against a country based on false premises."
"They made a mistake."
"But your theory puts the power in the hands of a person who then can invade the wrong country."
"Who can make a mistake. The Constitution can't protect against bad decisions," he insists. "What the framers were really worried about was not that the president would make a mistake, but that the president would become a dictator, and I really don't think Bush has become that."
And looking back? Does he still think it was the right decision?
"I still think I would have done the same -- with Abu Zubaydah. But I didn't want the military to use these methods. My advice was not taken on that."
Yoo left the Justice Department in May of 2003, just after Mission Accomplished, three months before Major General Geoffrey Miller was sent to Iraq to "Gitmoize" Abu Ghraib.
So what is severe pain? We asked John Yoo, and he drew the line for us, and now he is tainted in our eyes, rendered unclean by his contact with the unspeakable. The broken figure of Jose Padilla and the horrors of Abu Ghraib will loom behind him forever. "I got a call from the L.A. Times asking me if he was a war criminal," says his old Harvard professor sadly. "All my friends see him in that light." But if you read the thousands of essays and books and blogs that rage against him, you will find very few that give a satisfactory answer to the question Yoo was asked. How would you define severe pain? If thousands of lives are at stake and time is of the essence? Would you allow sleep manipulation? Heat and cold? Isolation? Hunger? I asked Jose Padilla's lawyer three times. Where would you draw the line, Mr. Freiman? He dodged it twice. The third time he said outright, "I'm not going to draw that line for you. But I'll tell you where I would have looked -- I would have first looked at the Constitution to see what was permissible, then I would have looked at the Geneva Conventions. . . ."
So we still don't have an answer to the question. Some people take comfort in the argument that torture never works. Others say that only an imminent threat to the existence of the nation would justify it. Some say that torture should always be against the law as long as we remember that some laws are meant to be broken, a camp that includes John McCain and Judge Richard Posner in his recent book, Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of National Emergency: "In national emergencies most soldiers and other security personnel are willing to do what the situation demands and leave their legal liabilities to be sorted out later. They live for such emergencies, and are selected for courage."
Was that Yoo's real mistake? Saying it out loud?
I ask him the question nobody in the Bush administration wants to answer. "Is waterboarding torture?"
He doesn't hesitate. "It's on the line. It doesn't cause long-term or permanent pain, but it does cause intense pain. It seems to meet the requirements of the statute in some ways -- but not all. So it seems to me that in very limited circumstances, you can use it."
Is what was done to Jose Padilla morally wrong?
"I really cannot talk about that, however much I would like to, because of the litigation brought by Padilla against me," Yoo says. "But perhaps I can say that the memos only applied to captured Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders held outside the United States. They would not apply to an American citizen or permanent resident alien held anywhere in the world, or to anyone held within the United States."
He has other regrets. "I could have tried to press harder on what the Army should have done," he says. But he won't back down on the rest. He'd write the torture memos the same today, he told me. Alone among Bush administration officials, he does not run from what he has done. He writes editorials and participates in as many as forty public forums a year. In Los Angeles, I even saw him debate a professor of queer theory, an absurd spectacle. "No man is above the law," she said, wanting it to be simple. "This is a question of tragic choices," he answered, insisting it is not.
Not that anyone is listening. Yoo has become the focus of national anger about every excess in the war on terrorism, and minds are made up. But dismissing him as a monster just means that we don't have to think about why he did what he did. Grant him his good intentions, entertain the possibility that he did it to save lives, recognize the honor in his refusal to hide, and his story becomes a cautionary tale about the incremental steps that can lead a nation to disaster.
Back in his class, the ghosts return. "Let's turn to Hamdi v. Rumsfeld on page 172," he says.
The students open their books.
"Did you all do Mathews in civil procedure? Remember, it was a case about terminating welfare benefits, and it was all a question of balancing different interests. So what is Hamdi's interest?"
"To not be detained -- liberty."
"And what is government's interest?"
"To wage war."
Pages rustle, the sound of leaves blowing across graves.
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Bitfwd 2018 Sydney Blockathon
Over the weekend, NULS was proud to sponsor the biggest blockathon event of the year in Australia: The Sydney blockathon, held at the Michael Crouch Innovation Center at the University of New South Wales. Where 12 teams of 5 competed for a total of $10,000+ in tokens, cash and prizes. NULS team members Omar and Essam, as well as CCC Member and tech guru Moshe, were also in attendance and provided support and guidance to blockathon participants.
Money Makers Presenting
The Bitfwd blockathon is a crypto-epic 72-hour competition which aims to tackle real-world problems by unleashing the potential of blockchain technologies. The event was created especially for cypherpunks, hardcore developers, crypto enthusiasts, and all blockchain pioneers who want to build and create new solutions for the decentralized future. NULS was a co-sponsor of the event alongside Ethereum’s Consensys, NEM, Huobi Australia and others.
Reit Dao presenting
There was an amazing turnout and an extremely diverse group of participants. Ranging from all-girl groups to participants as young as 11 years old! With such a diverse range of participants, came a wealth of knowledge and unique ideas for the blockathon. Two notable projects decided to build on NULS, Reit Dao, equity unlock solution for homeowners, and Money Makers, a crypto lending platform.
CCC Member Moshe also ran a 30-minute workshop introducing NULS, explaining NULS 2.0, as well as how to write and deploy smart contracts. It was the first time that many of the participants had heard of NULS and there were many questions after the workshop. The team spent time responding to individuals and groups. Several developers wanted to know how they could become members of the CCC, and Moshe walked them through the process. Some have already joined our developer room and are discussing how they can contribute.
CCC Member Moshe assisting teams
NULS team members were also in discussion with various project representatives on how we can work together to build a stronger blockchain ecosystem and continue to break down barriers to adoption. Projects included WEB3, Tenzorum, NEM Australia, Lighthouse, Ethereum 2.0 Developers and Loki.
Thank you to Bitfwd for hosting an amazing event from start to finish, all of the participants for your energy and innovative ideas, and all the individuals that came out to support. It was energizing to see so many in attendance, unphased by the current market conditions, and ready to build for us a brighter future!
NULS will continue to support local events, such as blockathon’s and workshops, to spread awareness, provide support to new and existing developers, and strengthen our CCC community. | {
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Researchers at Oxford and Vienna University have shown that Goffin’s cockatoos can make and use tools out of different materials to reach a reward.
Professor Alex Kacelnik from the University of Oxford’s Department of Zoology explains the significance of their findings to the Today programme. | {
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President Trump did not hold back Thursday when asked about Hillary Clinton disparaging women who voted for him.
Clinton said last week white women didn’t stand up to men, ultimately asking the males in their lives who to vote for in the 2016 election. “We do not do well with white men and we don’t do well with married, white women,” Clinton said during a paid speech in India. “And part of that is an identification with the Republican Party, and a sort of ongoing pressure to vote the way that your husband, your boss, your son, whoever, believes you should.”
Trump hit back at those comments at a White House event for millennials Thursday.
Moderator Charlie Kirk asked Trump about tax reform, to which Trump said, “the word ‘crumbs’ is going to be like the word ‘deplorable,’ I think, for Hillary.” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has regularly referred to the bonuses workers received from the tax cuts as “crumbs.”
Kirk noted that Hillary also referred to Trump voters as “irredeemable.” Trump replied, “That’s right. She actually said ‘deplorable and irredeemable.’ Irredeemable is probably worse.”
The audience of young conservatives laughed.
Trump then leveled both barrels at Hillary’s comments toward female Trump voters.
“Well, the one she did last week wasn’t too good either — that the woman goes and asks the husband, the son, and the male boss for approval to vote for Trump,” the president said. “That was not too good. That was not too good.”
Kirk responded, “She found a way to insult both men and women. She said women can’t make decisions on their own, and men are so controlling over women, they don’t allow them to make decisions of their own. Only Hillary could figure out a way to possibly do that.”
The audience laughed and Trump chuckled, “This is not good.”
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A team reporting in PLoS Biology has published the genome of the pea aphid. The hope is the genome will unlock the aphid's "epigenetics": it can form different types - sexual and asexual, winged and wingless - based on environmental factors like temperature or day length, without altering its genes. | {
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Project Gutenberg Australia
a treasure-trove of literature
treasure found hidden with no evidence of ownership
Title: Lukundoo Author: Edward Lucas White * A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook * eBook No.: 0606661h.html Language: English Date first posted: August 2006 Date most recently updated: August 2006 This eBook was produced by: Richard Scott Project Gutenberg of Australia eBooks are created from printed editions which are in the public domain in Australia, unless a copyright notice is included. We do NOT keep any eBooks in compliance with a particular paper edition. Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing this file. This eBook is made available at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg of Australia License which may be viewed online at http://gutenberg.net.au/licence.html To contact Project Gutenberg of Australia go to http://gutenberg.net.au
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Lukundoo
by
Edward Lucas White
"It stands to reason," said Twombly, "that a man must accept of his own eyes, and when eyes and ears agree, there can be no doubt. He has to believe what he has both seen and heard."
"Not always," put in Singleton, softly.
Every man turned toward Singleton. Twombly was standing on hearthrug, his back to the grate, his legs spread out, with his habitual air of dominating the room. Singleton, as usual, was as much as possible effaced in a corner. But when Singleton spoke he said something. We faced him in that flattering spontaneity of expectant silence which invites utterance.
"I was thinking," he said, after an interval, "of something I both saw and heard in Africa."
Now, if there was one thing we had found impossible, it had been to elicit from Singleton anything definite about his African experiences. As with the Alpinist in the story, who could tell only that he went up and came down, the sum of Singleton's revelations had been that he went there and came away. His words now riveted our attention at once. Twombly faded from the hearthrug, but not one of us could ever recall having seen him go. The room readjusted itself, focused on Singleton, and there was some hasty and furtive lighting of fresh cigars. Singleton lit one also, but it went out immediately, and he never relit it.
Chapter I
We were in the Great Forest, exploring for pigmies. Van Rieten had a theory that the dwarfs found by Stanley and others were a mere cross-breed between ordinary negroes and the real pigmies. He hoped to discover a race of men three feet tall at most, or shorter. We had found no trace of any such beings.
Natives were few, game scarce; food, except game, there was none; and the deepest, dankest, drippingest forest all about. We were the only novelty in the country, no native we met had ever seen a white man before, most had never heard of white men. All of a sudden, late one afternoon, there came into our camp an Englishman, and pretty well used up he was, too. We had heard no rumor of him; he had not only heard of us but had made an amazing five-day march to reach us. His guide and two bearers were nearly as done up as he. Even though he was in tatters and had five days' beard on, you could see he was naturally dapper and neat and the sort of man to shave daily. He was small, but wiry. His face was the sort of British face from which emotion has been so carefully banished that a foreigner is apt to think the wearer of the face incapable of any sort of feeling; the kind of face which, if it has any expression at all, expresses principally the resolution to go through the world decorously, without intruding upon or annoying anyone.
His name was Etcham. He introduced himself modestly, and ate with us so deliberately that we should never have suspected, if our bearers had not had it from his bearers, that he had had but three meals in the five days, and those small. After we had lit up he told us why he had come.
"My chief is ve'y seedy," he said between puffs. "He is bound to go out if he keeps this way. I thought perhaps..."
He spoke quietly in a soft, even tone, but I could see little beads of sweat oozing out on his upper lip under his stubby mustache, and there was a tingle of repressed emotion in his tone, a veiled eagerness in his eye, a palpitating inward solicitude in his demeanor that moved me at once. Van Rieten had no sentiment in him; if he was moved he did not show it. But he listened. I was surprised at that. He was just the man to refuse at once. But he listened to Etcham's halting, difficult hints. He even asked questions.
"Who is your chief?"
"Stone," Etcham lisped.
That electrified both of us.
"Ralph Stone?" we ejaculated together.
Etcham nodded.
For some minutes Van Rieten and I were silent. Van Rieten had never seen him, but I had been a classmate of Stone's, and Van Rieten and I had discussed him over many a campfire. We had heard of him two years before, south of Luebo in the Balunda country, which had been ringing with his theatrical strife against a Balunda witch-doctor, ending in the sorcerer's complete discomfiture and the abasement of his tribe before Stone. They had even broken the fetish-man's whistle and given Stone the pieces. It had been like the triumph of Elijah over the prophets of Baal, only more real to the Balunda.
We had thought of Stone as far off, if still in Africa at all, and here he turned up ahead of us and probably forestalling our quest.
Chapter II
Etcham's naming of Stone brought back to us all his tantalizing story, his fascinating parents, their tragic death; the brilliance of his college days; the dazzle of his millions; the promise of his young manhood; his wide notoriety, so nearly real fame; his romantic elopement with the meteoric authoress whose sudden cascade of fiction had made her so great a name so young, whose beauty and charm were so much heralded; the frightful scandal of the breach-of-promise suit that followed; his bride's devotion through it all; their sudden quarrel after it was all over; their divorce; the too much advertised announcement of his approaching marriage to the plaintiff in the breach-of-promise suit; his precipitate remarriage to his divorced bride; their second quarrel and second divorce; his departure from his native land; his advent in the dark continent. The sense of all this rushed over me and I believe Van Rieten felt it, too, as he sat silent.
Then he asked:
"Where is Werner?"
"Dead," said Etcham. "He died before I joined Stone."
"You were not with Stone above Luebo?"
"No," said Etcham, "I joined him at Stanley Falls."
"Who is with him?" Van Rieten asked.
"Only his Zanzibar servants and the bearers," Etcham replied.
"What sort of bearers?" Van Rieten demanded.
"Mang-Battu men," Etcham responded simply.
Now that impressed both Van Rieten and myself greatly. It bore out Stone's reputation as a notable leader of men. For up to that time no one had been able to use Mang-Battu as bearers outside of their own country, or to hold them for long or difficult expeditions.
"Were you long among the Mang-Battu?" was Van Rieten's next question.
"Some weeks," said Etcham. "Stone was interested in them and made up a fair-sized vocabulary of their words and phrases. He had a theory that they are an offshoot of the Balunda and he found much confirmation in their customs."
"What do you live on?" Van Rieten enquired.
"Game, mostly," Etcham lisped.
"How long has Stone been laid up?" Van Rieten next asked.
"More than a month," Etcham answered.
"And you have been hunting for the camp?" Van Rieten exclaimed.
Etcham's face, burnt and flayed as it was, showed a flush.
"I missed some easy shots," he admitted ruefully. "I've not felt ve'y fit myself."
"What's the matter with your chief?" Van Rieten enquired.
"Something like carbuncles," Etcham replied.
"He ought to get over a carbuncle or two," Van Rieten declared.
"They are not carbuncles," Etcham explained. "Nor one or two. He has had dozens, sometimes five at once. If they had been carbuncles he would have been dead long ago. But in some ways they are not so bad, though in others they are worse."
"How do you mean?" Van Rieten queried.
"Well," Etcham hesitated, "they do not seem to inflame so deep nor so wide as carbuncles, nor to be so painful, nor to cause so much fever. But then they seem to be part of a disease that affects his mind. He let me help him dress the first, but the others he has hidden most carefully, from me and from the men. He keeps his tent when they puff up, and will not let me change the dressings or be with him at all."
"Have you plenty of dressings?" Van Rieten asked.
"We have some," said Etcham doubtfully. "But he won't use them; he washes out the dressings and uses them over and over."
"How is he treating the swellings?" Van Rieten enquired.
"He slices them off clean down to flesh level, with his razor."
"What?" Van Rieten shouted.
Etcham made no answer but looked him steadily in the eyes.
"I beg pardon," Van Rieten hastened to say. "You startled me. They can't be carbuncles. He'd have been dead long ago."
"I thought I had said they are not carbuncles," Etcham lisped.
"But the man must be crazy!" Van Rieten exclaimed.
"Just so," said Etcham. "He is beyond my advice or control."
"How many has he treated that way?" Van Rieten demanded.
"Two, to my knowledge," Etcham said.
"Two?" Van Rieten queried.
Etcham flushed again.
"I saw him," he confessed, "through a crack in the hut. I felt impelled to keep a watch on him, as if he was not responsible."
"I should think not," Van Rieten agreed. "And you saw him do that twice?"
"I conjecture," said Etcham, "that he did the like with all the rest."
"How many has he had?" Van Rieten asked.
"Dozens," Etcham lisped.
"Does he eat?" Van Rieten enquired.
"Like a wolf," said Etcham. "More than any two bearers."
"Can he walk?" Van Rieten asked.
"He crawls a bit, groaning," said Etcham simply.
"Little fever, you say," Van Rieten ruminated.
"Enough and too much," Etcham declared.
"Has he been delirious?" Van Rieten asked.
"Only twice," Etcham replied; "once when the first swelling broke, and once later. He would not let anyone come near him then. But we could hear him talking, talking steadily, and it scared the natives.
"Was he talking their patter in delirium?" Van Rieten demanded.
"No," said Etcham, "but he was talking some similar lingo. Hamed Burghash said he was talking Balunda. I know too little Balunda. I do not learn languages readily. Stone learned more Mang-Battu in a week than I could have learned in a year. But I seemed to hear words like Mang-Battu words. Anyhow, the Mang-Battu bearers were scared."
"Scared?" Van Rieten repeated, questioningly.
"So were the Zanzibar men, even Hamed Burghash, and so was I," said Etcham, "only for a different reason. He talked in two voices."
"In two voices," Van Rieten reflected.
"Yes," said Etcham, more excitedly than he had yet spoken. "In two voices, like a conversation. One was his own, one a small, thin, bleaty voice like nothing I ever heard. I seemed to make out, among the sounds the deep voice made, something like Mang-Battu words I knew, as nedru, metababa, and nedo, their terms for 'head,' 'shoulder,' 'thigh,' and perhaps kudra and nekere ('speak' and 'whistle'); and among the noises of the shrill voice matomipa, angunzi, and kamomami ('kill,' 'death,' and 'hate'). Hamed Burghash said he also heard those words. He knew Mang-Battu far better than I."
"What did the bearers say?" Van Rieten asked.
"They said, ', Lukundoo!'" Etcham replied. "I did not know the word; Hamed Burghash said it was Mang-Battu for 'leopard.'"
"It's Mang-Battu for 'witchcraft,'" said Van Rieten.
"I don't wonder they thought so," said Etcham. "It was enough to make one believe in sorcery to listen to those two voices."
"One voice answering the other?" Van Rieten asked perfunctorily.
Etcham's face went gray under his tan.
"Sometimes both at once," he answered huskily.
"Both at once!" Van Rieten ejaculated.
"It sounded that way to the men, too," said Etcham. "And that was not all."
He stopped and looked helplessly at us for a moment.
"Could a man talk and whistle at the same time?" he asked.
"How do you mean?" Van Rieten queried.
"We could hear Stone talking away, his big, deep-cheated baritone rumbling along, and through it all we could hear a high, shrill whistle, the oddest, wheezy sound. You know, no matter how shrilly a grown man may whistle, the note has a different quality from the whistle of a boy or a woman or a little girl. They sound more treble, somehow. Well, if you can imagine the smallest girl who could whistle keeping it up tunelessly right along, that whistle was like that, only even more piercing, and it sounded right through Stone's bass tones."
"And you didn't go to him?" Van Rieten cried.
"He is not given to threats," Etcham disclaimed. "But he had threatened, not volubly, nor like a sick man, but quietly and firmly, that if any man of us (he lumped me in with the men) came near him while he was in his trouble, that man should die. And it was not so much his words as his manner. It was like a monarch commanding respected privacy for a deathbed. One simply could not transgress."
"I see," said Van Rieten shortly.
"He's ve'y seedy," Etcham repeated helplessly. "I thought perhaps...."
His absorbing affection for Stone, his real love for him, shone out through his envelope of conventional training. Worship of Stone was plainly his master passion.
Like many competent men, Van Rieten had a streak of hard selfishness in him. It came to the surface then. He said we carried our lives in our hands from day to day just as genuinely as Stone; that he did not forget the ties of blood and calling between any two explorers, but that there was no sense in imperiling one party for a very problematical benefit to a man probably beyond any help; that it was enough of a task to hunt for one party; that if two were united, providing food would be more than doubly difficult; that the risk of starvation was too great. Deflecting our march seven full days' journey (he complimented Etcham on his marching powers) might ruin our expedition entirely.
Chapter III
Van Rieten had logic on his side and he had a way with him. Etcham sat there apologetic and deferential, like a fourth-form schoolboy before a head master. Van Rieten wound up.
"I am after pigmies, at the risk of my life. After pigmies I go."
"Perhaps, then, these will interest you," said Etcham, very quietly.
He took two objects out of the sidepocket of his blouse, and handed them to Van Rieten. They were round, bigger than big plums, and smaller than small peaches, about the right size to enclose in an average hand. They were black, and at first I did not see what they were.
"Pigmies!" Van Rieten exclaimed. "Pigmies, indeed! Why, they wouldn't be two feet high! Do you mean to claim that these are adult heads?"
"I claim nothing," Etcham answered evenly. "You can see for yourself."
Van Rieten passed one of the heads to me. The sun was just setting and I examined it closely. A dried head it was, perfectly preserved, and the flesh as hard as Argentine jerked beef. A bit of a vertebra stuck out where the muscles of the vanished neck had shriveled into folds. The puny chin was sharp on a projecting jaw, the minute teeth white and even between the retracted lips, the tiny nose was flat, the little forehead retreating, there were inconsiderable clumps of stunted wool on the Lilliputian cranium. There was nothing babyish, childish or youthful about the head; rather it was mature to senility.
"Where did these come from?" Van Rieten enquired.
"I do not know," Etcham replied precisely. "I found them among Stone's effects while rummaging for medicines or drugs or anything that could help me to help him. I do not know where he got them. But I'll swear he did not have them when we entered this district."
"Are you sure?" Van Rieten queried, his eyes big and fixed on Etcham's.
"Ve'y sure," lisped Etcham.
"But how could he have come by them without your knowledge?" Van Rieten demurred.
"Sometimes we were apart ten days at a time hunting," said Etcham. "Stone is not a talking man. He gave me no account of his doings, and Hamed Burghash keeps a still tongue and a tight hold on the men."
"You have examined these heads?" Van Rieten asked.
"Minutely," said Etcham.
Van Rieten took out his notebook. He was a methodical chap. He tore out a leaf, folded it and divided it equally into three pieces. He gave one to me and one to Etcham.
"Just for a test of my impressions," he said, "I want each of us to write separately just what he is most reminded of by these heads. Then I want to compare the writings."
I handed Etcham a pencil and he wrote. Then he handed the pencil back to me and I wrote.
"Read the three," said Van Rieten, handing me his piece.
Van Rieten had written:
"An old Balunda witch-doctor."
Etcham had written:
"An old Mang-Battu fetish-man."
I had written:
"An old Katongo magician."
"There!" Van Rieten exclaimed. "Look at that! There is nothing Wagabi or Batwa or Wambuttu or Wabotu about these heads. Nor anything pigmy either."
"I thought as much," said Etcham.
"And you say he did not have them before?"
"To a certainty he did not," Etcham asserted.
"It is worth following up," said Van Rieten. "I'll go with you. And first of all, I'll do my best to save Stone."
He put out his hand and Etcham clasped it silently. He was grateful all over.
Chapter IV
Nothing but Etcham's fever of solicitude could have taken him in five days over the track. It took him eight days to retrace with full knowledge of it and our party to help. We could not have done it in seven, and Etcham urged us on, in a repressed fury of anxiety, no mere fever of duty to his chief, but a real ardor of devotion, a glow of personal adoration for Stone which blazed under his dry conventional exterior and showed in spite of him.
We found Stone well cared for. Etcham had seen to a good, high thorn zareeba round the camp, the huts were well built, and thatched and Stone's was as good as their resources would permit. Hamed Burghash was not named after two Seyyids for nothing. He had in him the making of a sultan. He had kept the Mang-Battu together, not a man had slipped off, and he had kept them in order. Also he was a deft nurse and a faithful servant.
The two other Zanzibaris had done some creditable hunting. Though all were hungry, the camp was far from starvation.
Stone was on a canvas cot and there was a sort of collapsible camp-stool-table, like a Turkish tabouret, by the cot. It had a water-bottle and some vials on it and Stone's watch, also his razor in its case.
Stone was clean and not emaciated, but he was far gone; not unconscious, but in a daze; past commanding or resisting anyone. He did not seem to see us enter or to know we were there. I should have recognized him anywhere. His boyish dash and grace had vanished utterly, of course. But his head was even more leonine; his hair was still abundant, yellow and wavy; the close, crisped blond beard he had grown during his illness did not alter him. He was big and big-cheated yet. His eyes were dull and he mumbled and babbled mere meaningless syllables, not words.
Etcham helped Van Rieten to uncover him and look him over. He was in good muscle for a man so long bedridden. There were no scars on him except about his knees, shoulders and chest. On each knee and above it he had a full score of roundish cicatrices, and a dozen or more on each shoulder, all in front. Two or three were open wounds and four or five barely healed. He had no fresh swellings, except two, one on each side, on his pectoral muscles, the one on the left being higher up and farther out than the other. They did not look like boils or carbuncles, but as if something blunt and hard were being pushed up through the fairly healthy flesh and skin, not much inflamed.
"I should not lance those," said Van Rieten, and Etcham assented.
They made Stone as comfortable as they could, and just before sunset we looked in at him again. He was lying on his back, and his chest showed big and massive yet, but he lay as if in a stupor. We left Etcham with him and went into the next hut, which Etcham had resigned to us. The jungle noises were no different than anywhere else for months past, and I was soon fast asleep.
Chapter V
Sometime in the pitch dark I found myself awake and listening. I could hear two voices, one Stone's, the other sibilant and wheezy. I knew Stone's voice after all the years that had passed since I heard it last. The other was like nothing I remembered. It had less volume than the wail of a new-born baby, yet there was an insistent carrying power to it, like the shrilling of an insect. As I listened I heard Van Rieten breathing near me in the dark; then he heard me and realized that I was listening, too. Like Etcham I knew little Balunda, but I could make out a word or two. The voices alternated, with intervals of silence between.
Then suddenly both sounded at once and fast. Stone's baritone basso, full as if he were in perfect health, and that incredibly stridulous falsetto, both jabbering at once like the voices of two people quarreling and trying to talk each other down.
"I can't stand this," said Van Rieten. "Let's have a look at him."
He had one of those cylindrical electric night-candles. He fumbled about for it, touched the button and beckoned me to come with him. Outside the hut he motioned me to stand still, and instinctively turned off the light, as if seeing made listening difficult.
Except for a faint glow from the embers of the bearers' fire we were in complete darkness, little starlight struggled through the trees, the river made but a faint murmur. We could hear the two voices together and then suddenly the creaking voice changed into a razor-edged, slicing whistle, indescribably cutting, continuing right through Stone's grumbling torrent of croaking words.
"Good God!" exclaimed Van Rieten.
Abruptly he turned on the light.
We found Etcham utterly asleep, exhausted by his long anxiety and the exertions of his phenomenal march, and relaxed completely now that the load was in a sense shifted from his shoulders to Van Rieten's. Even the light on his face did not wake him.
The whistle had ceased and the two voices now sounded together. Both came from Stone's cot, where the concentrated white ray showed him lying just as we had left him, except that he had tossed his arms above his head and had torn the coverings and bandages from his chest.
The swelling on his right breast had broken. Van Rieten aimed the center line of the light at it and we saw it plainly. From his flesh, grown out of it, there protruded a head, such a head as the dried specimens Etcham had shown us, as if it were a miniature of the head of a Balunda fetish-man. It was black, shining black as the blackest African skin; it rolled the whites of its wicked, wee eyes and showed its microscopic teeth between lips repulsively negroid in their red fullness, even in so diminutive a face. It had crisp, fuzzy wool on its minikin skull, it turned malignantly from side to side and chittered incessantly in that inconceivable falsetto. Stone babbled brokenly against its patter.
Van Rieten turned from Stone and waked Etcham, with some difficulty. When he was awake and saw it all, Etcham stared and said not one word.
"You saw him slice off two swellings?" Van Rieten asked.
Etcham nodded, chokingly.
"Did he bleed much?" Van Rieten demanded.
"Ve'y little," Etcham replied.
"You hold his arms," said Van Rieten to Etcham.
He took up Stone's razor and handed me the light. Stone showed no sign of seeing the light or of knowing we were there. But the little head mewled and screeched at us.
Van Rieten's hand was steady, and the sweep of the razor even and true. Stone bled amazingly little and Van Rieten dressed the wound as if it had been a bruise or scrape.
Stone had stopped talking the instant the excrescent head was severed. Van Rieten did all that could be done for Stone and then fairly grabbed the light from me. Snatching up a gun he scanned the ground by the cot and brought the butt down once and twice, viciously.
We went back to our hut, but I doubt if I slept.
Chapter VI
Next day, near noon, in broad daylight, we heard the two voices from Stone's hut. We found Etcham dropped asleep by his charge. The swelling on the left had broken, and just such another head was there miauling and spluttering. Etcham woke up and the three of us stood there and glared. Stone interjected hoarse vocables into the tinkling gurgle of the portent's utterance.
Van Rieten stepped forward, took up Stone's razor and knelt down by the cot. The atomy of a head squealed a wheezy snarl at him.
Then suddenly Stone spoke English.
"Who are you with my razor?"
Van Rieten started back and stood up.
Stone's eyes were clear now and bright, they roved about the hut.
"The end," he said; "I recognize the end. I seem to see Etcham, as if in life. But Singleton! Ah, Singleton! Ghosts of my boyhood come to watch me pass! And you, strange specter with the black beard and my razor! Aroint ye all!"
"I'm no ghost, Stone," I managed to say. "I'm alive. So are Etcham and Van Rieten. We are here to help you."
"Van Rieten!" he exclaimed. "My work passes on to a better man. Luck go with you, Van Rieten."
Van Rieten went nearer to him.
"Just hold still a moment, old man," he said soothingly. "It will be only one twinge."
"I've held still for many such twinges," Stone answered quite distinctly. "Let me be. Let me die in my own way. The hydra was nothing to this. You can cut off ten, a hundred, a thousand heads, but the curse you can not cut off, or take off. What's soaked into the bone won't come out of the flesh, any more than what's bred there. Don't hack me any more. Promise!"
His voice had all the old commanding tone of his boyhood and it swayed Van Rieten as it always had swayed everybody.
"I promise," said Van Rieten.
Almost as he said the word Stone's eyes filmed again.
Then we three sat about Stone and watched that hideous, gibbering prodigy grow up out of Stone's flesh, till two horrid, spindling little black arms disengaged themselves. The infinitesimal nails were perfect to the barely perceptible moon at the quick, the pink spot on the palm was horridly natural. These arms gesticulated and the right plucked toward Stone's blond beard.
"I can't stand this," Van Rieten exclaimed and took up the razor again.
Instantly Stone's eyes opened, hard and glittering.
"Van Rieten break his word?" he enunciated slowly. "Never!"
"But we must help you," Van Rieten gasped.
"I am past all help and all hurting," said Stone. "This is my hour. This curse is not put on me; it grew out of me, like this horror here. Even now I go."
His eyes closed and we stood helpless, the adherent figure spouting shrill sentences.
In a moment Stone spoke again.
"You speak all tongues?" he asked quickly.
And the mergent minikin replied in sudden English:
"Yea, verily, all that you speak," putting out its microscopic tongue, writhing its lips and wagging its head from side to side. We could see the thready ribs on its exiguous flanks heave as if the thing breathed.
"Has she forgiven me?" Stone asked in a muffled strangle.
"Not while the moss hangs from the cypresses," the head squeaked. "Not while the stars shine on Lake Pontchartrain will she forgive."
And then Stone, all with one motion, wrenched himself over on his side. The next instant he was dead.
When Singleton's voice ceased the room was hushed for a space. We could hear each other breathing. Twombly, the tactless, broke the silence.
"I presume," he said, "you cut off the little minikin and brought it home in alcohol."
Singleton turned on him a stern countenance.
"We buried Stone," he said, "unmutilated as he died."
"But," said the unconscionable Twombly, "the whole thing is incredible."
Singleton stiffened.
"I did not expect you to believe it," he said; "I began by saying that although I heard and saw it, when I look back on it I cannot credit it myself."
THE END
This site is full of FREE ebooks - Project Gutenberg Australia | {
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sacramento Republic FC announced on Tuesday the club had completed arrangements by which defender Mike da Fonte will be sent to MLS club the Colorado Rapids for an undisclosed sum. The center back has signed a two-year contract with the Rapids.
“Based on our club values, we have always supported our players and do our best to provide them opportunities to play at a higher level,” said Republic FC Director of Football Graham Smith. “In this case, Mike da Fonte has been presented with an opportunity to play with an MLS club and we are excited for the opportunity this presents to him and his future by playing with Coach Mastroeni.
“Mike has developed tremendously in this past year under the guidance of Paul [Buckle] and his staff, and that development is seen in the offer to him from Colorado. But, this is an opportunity that also benefits Republic FC by receiving value back that we can use to invest in our roster and continue the development of talent going into the 2017 season.” | {
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you only live once — i asked for a shirley temple but had them put two maraschino cherries in it this time
erry day erry day | {
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He shoots! He scores!
Texas Senator Ted Cruz has never been the senatorial wallflower. It is his willingness to go against the tide of the voices around him and speak commonsense over whatever issues are lingering on the Senate floor that has earned him much of the ire from his colleagues that we heard, as he battled and failed to win the GOP presidential nomination.
After this past weekend’s terrorist attack/mass shooting in Orlando, the usual suspects (Democrats) began the drumbeat for gun control afresh.
This limp-wristed, knee-jerk reaction to every gun tragedy is not without an ultimate goal.
No, it’s not to prevent more gun deaths.
A populace disarmed is a populace in chains. Democrats know this.
On the Senate floor today, Senator Cruz took the Democrats to task.
From Conservative Review:
“This week played out all too predictably.” Cruz said. He blasted Democrats for shifting to gun-control and in particular characterized Senator Chris Murphy’s (F, 8%) filibuster as “a political show on the Senate floor.”
And I have to add, the unwillingness of the Democrats to observe a moment of silence for Orlando’s victims, choosing instead to act as the unwashed mob and shout about their agenda instead shows how low Democrats have sunk. There is a time to talk business, but sometimes, decency dictates you make those small shows of unity.
“This is political distraction; this is political gamesmanship.” Cruz said. “And I think the American people find it ridiculous … this is not a gun-control issue. This is a terrorism issue.” “You don’t defeat terrorism by taking away guns,” he added later, “you defeat terrorism by using guns.”
Well said, Senator.
Democrats, shame on you. | {
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Below are the most recent drone photographs taken of Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, taken March 2019. The images showcase the progress being made at the launch complex for future launch vehicle Ariane 6, scheduled for its maiden flight in 2020. The construction has been ongoing for approximately one and a half years now, and the launch site is foreseen to be completed before the end of 2019.
To see the images in full-resolution, either download them or open them in a new window/tab.
Credit: ESA/CNES/Sentinel | {
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Follow Akron Men's Soccer on Twitter and Facebook Purchase 2017 Men's Soccer Season Tickets Click Here In a wild and crazy Mid-American Conference men's soccer showdown, a golden goal by redshirt junior(Asmeras, Eritrea) in the 91st minute (90:26) lifted 13th-ranked Akron (10-3-1, 2-1-0 MAC) to a 2-1 overtime triumph past Bowling Green (6-7-1, 0-2-1 MAC) on Saturday, Oct. 21, at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.The contest featured a wild finish as the final three minutes of play, including overtime, were highlighted by a goal for each side along with a trio of cards being issued, including a pair of red cards against the Falcons.Kahsay netted the game-winning tally only 26 seconds into overtime off a pair of strong passes into the box from seniors(Liverpool, England) and(Mayfield, Ohio). The goal was the second of the season for Kahsay and marked the third game-winning effort of his career.Bowling Green played the final 2:24 of regulation and overtime two men down after the Falcons were whistled for a pair of red cards resulting from a hard foul near the top of the box on freshman(Lisbon, Portugal) in the 88th minute (87:36).Despite playing a pair of men down, the Falcons garnered the equalizer at the 88:05 mark when a defensive miscue allowed Charlie Maciejwski to collect his second goal of the season off an assist from Alexis Souahy.The Zips finished the evening registering a 21-7 advantage in shots, including an 11-2 edge on shots on goal.Moutinho directed Akron's offensive attack with a game-high six shots, while contributing four shots apiece in reserve action was sophomore(Plantation, Fla.) and Gainford. Bowling Green was led by three strikes from Ebenezer Ackon.Falcons' goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia was impressive in net for Bowling Green pulling in a game-high eight saves, including five in the second half. Redshirt freshman(Seattle, Wash.) made one stop in net for the Zips.The first half proved to be a defensive battle as neither side was able to find the back of the net, despite Akron owning an 8-3 margin in shots.Redshirt junior(Willowick, Ohio) nearly gave the Zips an early 1-0 lead in the 28th minute (27:38) as only a clearance off the line by Ackon for a team save prevented the shot from finding the back of the net.Hinds added a strong scoring chance on a header at the 37:34 mark that was denied by a save from Mwembia.The Zips came out attacking to open the second half as Akron recorded six of the first seven shots on the stanza, including a trio of shots on frame by Gainford, all of which were thwarted by Mwembia saves.With nearly 18 minutes left on the second-half clock, Gainford struck a ball in from the corner that narrowly missed the diving foot of senior(Auckland, New Zealand) inside the three-yard box.The Zips finally capitalized on opportunity in the 78th minute (77:37), when a pair of quick and compact passes from senior(Porto, Portugal) and Gainford resulted in the fourth goal of the season for Hinds, a strike from the middle of the box which found the corner of the net.Akron benefitted from another strong performance in the contest from its defensive line of Moutinho, Shultz, senior(Camas, Wash.) and freshman(Lakewood, Ohio).Akron returns to action on Tuesday, Oct. 24, with the Zips stepping out of conference for a showdown at No. 17 Pittsburgh. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. | {
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Hi, I'm Nikki, the boss lady, and overly bubbly personality heading a mini crafting empire
I'll start with some history....
Once upon a time there was a girl, this girl LOVED people, all things business related, and was crafty as heck. My story started when I wanted to find a really great unique long distance gift for my best friend, living on the other side of the country. I am what my husband calls an expert level shopper, and yet I couldn't find a single thing that expressed what I felt. How could I buy such a generic gift for someone so special? Some of the best gifts tell a story straight from your heart. Money was tight, but with a hammer and a whole lotta love, I made something really cool! This is where my entrepreneur spirit kicked in. I visited every craft store within a 20 mile radius, multiple times a week (yes you read that right).. each time entering the craft stores with a single coupon, buying a single item. After months of doing this (and feeling like a complete idiot running into the same people on the registers) I finally had a pretty formidable stockpile of tools and supplies to make stuff! Life was pretty tough at first, I worked a full time job, managed a household, and stayed up late every night working on growing a business. In 2012, my dreams came true and I was able to quit my day job to pursue my love of creating full time.
Make what you love, love what you make....
It's really amazing to make a living doing something you enjoy so much. I'm forever grateful to my loyal customers, and I hope that this shows in the quality of our products, service, and the level of customer service you receive. We don't just make jewelry and accessories, we make little sentiments that express how you feel. It's amazing how much emotion can be captured in such a small package. We truly hope you cherish your special hand crafted items.
Don't forget....
I'm sharing my visions with you on Etsy, but don't think that's all we can do. Custom work is our specialty, if you have an idea, know we probably have the materials and tools to make it a reality. We love knowing we've made someone's idea come to life.
I consider selling my wares putting little unique pieces of me out there for others to enjoy. I always wanted my life to make some sound, and it seems.. that sound.. is of a hammer hitting metal.
--Nikki :)
--Our Items are hand crafted in our workshop in Indian Orchard, MA-- | {
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MONTREAL – Former Liberal organizer Jacques Corriveau’s conviction on three fraud-related charges marks the end of the criminal cases linked with the federal sponsorship scandal, a Crown prosecutor said Tuesday.
A jury found Corriveau guilty of fraud against the government, forgery and laundering proceeds of crime between 1997 and 2003.
Corriveau, who worked on ex-prime minister Jean Chretien’s Liberal leadership campaigns, was accused of illegally pocketing $6.5 million by using his Pluri Design Canada Inc. firm to defraud Ottawa in contracts awarded during the sponsorship program.
“It’s the last chapter (of the sponsorship scandal),” Crown prosecutor Jacques Dagenais told reporters after the verdict. “The book is closed.”
Dagenais said it was important that Corriveau be judged by a jury.
“As in all the cases involving the sponsorship scandal, and we’re going back to the first charges in 2006, it was important, given that it was a scandal that touched taxpayers, that at the end of the day it was taxpayers who were the judges in this,” he said.
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READ MORE: Criminal case implicating Jacques Corriveau in sponsorship scandal put off
A date is expected to be set Friday for sentencing arguments.
The judge who headed the commission into the sponsorship scandal described Corriveau in his report about 10 years ago as the “central figure” in an elaborate kickback scheme.
Dagenais accused Corriveau during the trial of facilitating sponsorship contracts that went to Groupe Polygone-Expour for the production of various publications and the organization of outdoor shows, while allegedly pocketing millions of dollars for himself between 1997 and 2003.
But defence lawyers said the testimony of key witnesses, including former Polygone president Luc Lemay, was unreliable and that the evidence failed to prove the contracts were awarded or renewed based on Corriveau’s influence.
They argued that while Corriveau may have held sway with prominent members of the Liberal party, the Crown had failed to prove he used his position to secure any contracts.
Corriveau did not take the stand at the trial, which began in mid-September.
Corriveau also faced a charge of falsifying documents, which the Crown said included fake bills that were used to receive payment for services that were never rendered.
In his final instructions, Quebec Superior Court Justice Jean-Francois Buffoni told the jury that, in order to convict Corriveau, they would have to conclude he was not only influential but that he deliberately wielded his influence to secure some $6.5 million in “advantages and benefits” for himself.
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The events took place during the sponsorship program, which was intended to increase the federal government’s presence in Quebec after the No side’s slim victory in the 1995 sovereignty referendum.
The Gomery Commission, which looked into the program, found that firms were winning contracts based on donations to the federal Liberals, with little work being done.
Corriveau testified in 2005 at the inquiry and maintained his innocence throughout.
Justice John Gomery made it clear, however, he was unconvinced, and his report laid much of the blame for the scandal on Corriveau.
“Jacques Corriveau was the central figure in an elaborate kickback scheme by which he enriched himself personally and provided funds and benefits to the (Quebec wing of the Liberal party),” Gomery wrote. Tweet This
Corriveau, who was considered one of the highest-ranking federal Liberals in Quebec at one time, was charged in late 2013 after an 11-year investigation.
The RCMP alleged at the time that some of the money taken in by Corriveau ended up in the coffers of the Liberal Party of Canada while the rest went directly to the accused himself. | {
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Sep 18, 2018 at 09:56 // News
Guest Author Author
Recently, there appears allegation upon the trading volume of OKEx, a world-leading digital asset exchange. However, the allegation itself is invalid for the difficulty to collect the accurate data of trading volume as a person or even media outlets, let alone exchanges like OKEx with futures trading and API transaction.
What’s more, there is an important fact need to be mentioned. It is reported that OKEx has launched a program named Happy Friday, a bonus distribution campaign that to give away 50% of its trading fee to OKB (OKEx platform token) holders weekly. The program has distributed approximately $5 million last week. If OKEx has washed trade grossly to reach the volume which currently listed on CMC, meantime the weekly bonus remained $5 million; the exchange will need to pay most of the bonus to users with its own money, then why would OKEx make fake volume? That does not make any sense.
The Happy Friday campaign mentioned above is a program launched by OKEx to distribute 50% of weekly transaction fee as BTC bonus every Friday to users holding OKB. The amount is based on the percentage of OKB the user holds. Since launched, the Happy Friday campaign became popular among OK users worldwide, and the mega bonus pool has once reached up to 2,000 BTC.
OKEX, as one of the top crypto exchanges by volume, 24H trading volume reached $872 million on CoinMarketCap (14th, Sep.), and $5.07 billion on AICoin (14th, Sep.), the most popular website about crypto information in China. The former lists only token-trading while AICoin records the total volume including futures trading.
Taking the data on CoinMarketCap as basic volume and 0.02%, the lowest rate as standard (which is hardly possible), therefore, the daily trading fee is $174,550, while the amount of weekly bonus pool would be $610,925 (of only token-trading), which will all be distributed to OKB holders.
The data showed is based on the lowest rate of trading fee enjoyed by the highest-level member, and the trading volume exclude futures trading, which is the majority revenue source of OKEx. According to AICoin, the total trading volume in the past 24H is $5.07 billion, so the 24H futures trading volume would be $4,197,248,301. Assuming the trading fee rate is still 0.02%, then the daily trading fee is $839,450, and the amount of weekly bonus pool would be $2,938,075, which would all distributed to OKB holders as well.
According to the data calculated above, users can get over 1,200 BTC each week from the OKEx Happy Friday campaign. At the same time, the eligibility is even easy to meet that you just need to hold no less than 100 OKB to enjoy mega bonus.
As to OKB, it is a global utility token issued by OK Blockchain Foundation to connect prospective digital asset projects to OKEx users as well as professional investors, creating an OKEx ecosystem that helps to advance the development of blockchain technology and the digital asset industry.
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Disclaimer. This article is paid and provided by a third-party source and should not be viewed as an endorsement by CoinIdol. Readers should do their own research before investing funds in any company. CoinIdol shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
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This is the Batmobile from the current slate of DCEU films, complete with tiny cannons and a scowling Batman minifig. For the most part it's a pretty normal Lego set where you follow the instructions and snap it together with your hands. But maybe it was a little too normal: I still had to rely on a paper manual for help, as there are no instructions in the app. Maybe I'm a little spoiled at this point by products like Kamigami and Labo, but one of the advantages of making something app connected is the ability to have interactive diagrams that animate where to place each piece and even allow you to rotate the image for a better look. I often found myself double and triple checking each diagram in the manual, trying to locate where each new piece goes and still sometimes getting it wrong. I even had to disassemble entire sections to fix mistakes. (Luckily the set also comes with a brick separator.)
Even with this irritation, I found myself impressed by all the mechanical bits as I connected the Bluetooth hub, motors and wheels. The educational benefits become really apparent at this point. I enjoyed flipping it over to watch the gears turn and I think kids will get a kick out of it too, especially because it's something they've built with their own hands. But there were still a lot of things to be less wowed by: The set seems to include a lot of custom, nonstandard Lego parts, which tend to increase the cost of the kit (and they're just sort of ugly). Some of the parts just won't stay put, especially the little bat-shaped symbols, which pop off whenever I pick it up. And one of the wheels also has a propensity to fall off too no matter how tightly I think I've attached it. As a Lego set it's merely OK.
The real magic is supposed to come once you've connected it to the app, but that too is also just an "OK" experience. The app doesn't really have any explicit instructions on how to get the Batmobile connected. I pushed the button on the top of the hub to start the syncing process but it kept timing out without actually connecting. After several minutes of fighting with both the app and manual offering no help, I restarted Bluetooth on my phone and closed and reopened the app several times to eventually get it working. It's not really something impatient kids who've just spent over an hour putting this thing together should have to deal with.
Another potential sticking point is that the hub requires six AAA batteries to function, instead of using a rechargeable lithium battery like many other STEM-oriented products. Maybe this was done to keep the cost of the product down but at the expense of user experience: I have many memories as a child of always searching for batteries and begging my parents to buy more. Even once I managed to find six, it turned out that some of them didn't have enough of a charge, making my first run with Batman's sweet ride a bit of a sluggish one. (There's a battery indicator buried in the app under a submenu.) Once I swapped out the low battery, the motors became far more responsive.
You have two options for controlling the Batmobile in the app: One which uses sliders and one which uses arrow buttons, but I couldn't tell much difference beyond that. Both have extra buttons which make the Batmobile do little tricks like a little hop on its rear wheels, or turn in a sort of "guard" mode. Interestingly enough, the right and left wheelset have separate controls, much like a more traditional remote-control car. Any kid more accustomed to a joystick is going to have a bit of a learning curve. Admittedly it's not too bad, I managed to steer the vehicle around the desks in the Engadget office without bumping into a single chair, and had it doing some nifty spins in the middle of the carpet pretty quickly.
The app won't have any coding modes until later this year, which diminishes its educational value once you're done assembling it. A common criticism of Lego's licensed sets is that they limit folks to only building the one thing that's pictured on the box, but anyone who's ever played with kids knows that's not necessarily true; children will rearrange pieces and build entirely new and crazy things with them. But the intricacy of the drivetrain and the lack of programming features really do feel like constraints on what you can do once you're tired of driving with the Batmobile. Instead, you can pick up a Lego Boost set for $150 with instructions for five models included. But kids are also welcome to rearrange and write code for their creations to their heart's content. For its $100 price tag, the Lego Batmobile just doesn't have a lot to offer right now. | {
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The upcoming Rugby League World Cup received a huge hit of publicity when Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita turned their backs on the Kiwis and Kangaroos respectively to play for Tonga.
Public opinion was divided with critics slamming the circumstances surrounding the decisions, while others applauded their choice to play for the tier-two nation.
When Fifita told his father he would be representing Tonga at the World Cup, he was brought to tears.
It's a massive shot in the arm for Tongan Rugby League, but there is more good news to come for the small island nation.
Former NRL star Brent Kite is leading the charge to create an academy to nurture young Tongan sporting talent, which will provide the knowledge, skills and pathways to help the next generation of stars to realise their sporting dreams.
Jason Taumololo's (L) switch from New Zealand to Tonga for the Rugby League World Cup was a boost for the sport in the island nation. ( AAP / SNPA: Ross Setford )
Sione's Academy and Pathways is the brainchild of former Manly player and "Mr Tonga" Sione Finefuiaki.
The 37-year-old has been sitting on his dream for about seven years but is now actively taking steps to make it into reality.
"It's all about helping our communities and helping our young kids get on the right path to wherever they want to be," he said.
"Sport is only 10 per cent of your life, the other 90 per cent is before and after," he said.
"We want to give all the young Tongan kids the skills and knowledge to be able to make the most of their career before, during and after sport, so when they finish their career they have something to fall into."
Currently Kite, Finefeuiaki and the team are in Tonga meeting with members of parliament and discussing ways to work together to realise the initiative.
Team focusing on skills on and off the field
They are in discussions to hopefully secure land to build a physical academy in which they can implement programs and support for young athletes.
NRL stars like Brent Kite (L) and Andrew Fifita (C) are right behind the push for a physical academy space to help young talent. ( Facebook: Sione's Academy and Pathways )
They are also providing sporting clinics at schools to import some of the wisdom the men have learnt throughout their careers in the sporting industry.
Kite, who is also on the board of the NRL's Pacifica Strategy, says while the initiative is in its infancy, it has been getting backed by some big names.
"We have the likes of John Hopoate and Andrew Fifita endorsing the academy. A lot of these guys want to help they just need to know how," Kite says.
"Firstly we are targeting the health and wellbeing aspects, the long goal will be to provide facilities around not just the sports, but education also.
"We are just using our profile and the traction we have in sport to tell everyone this is who we are and what we are trying to do. We will let the Tongan people know we are bringing something to them."
Finefeuiaki finding his voice
For Finefeuiaki, who was first scouted to the Roosters by Rugby League Immortal Arthur Beetson in the year 2000, the difficulties of being a teenager from the Islands acclimatising to the fast-paced life of the city can be daunting.
Sione Finefeuiaki is driven to share his rugby league and life knowledge with young Tongans. ( Facebook: Sione's Academy and Pathways )
"The toughest part for me was my confidence with talking. I never knew what to say when, and what words to use, how to start a conversation and how can I answer people in a proper way," he said.
"I know kids that leave Tonga and join schools or clubs and they are so shy and can't speak properly and it is so easy for them to fall in with the wrong people.
"They have talent, have been picked up by someone, been thrown into the deep end and put into school or a club without even giving them the basics of what they need before they get there, and that's what we are going to do is prepare them as best we can before they go anywhere."
At present the non-for-profit team have been drawing up plans for infrastructure to see what kind of finance they would need to come up with.
The idea is to meet with all the Tongan players in the National Rugby League in the new year and discuss the goals of the academy, and ways they could possibly help financially.
"We want to possibly get some of these current athletes to contribute by way of their management fees, but that is not going to be easy," Kite says.
"I have sat down with a couple of prominent players and everyone has the same passion for the island nations and they want to help but they don't know how. So that will be a key to getting some revenue into the academy."
Finefeuiaki, who believes he did not realise his potential after playing just the one match at NRL level, says the sole reason he wants to follow his dream is to avoid similar situations for the new batch of Tongan sporting stars.
"All I want is for the next generation of young kids to do better than what I did. That's the whole purpose of why I started this," he said. | {
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It is hard to know whether we should celebrate these figures or if they should give us cause to pause. An uncomfortable truth is that even with the best teachers, not all of these people will go on to finish their courses. And it is unfair, even cruel, to encourage people to enter into higher education if they do not have the proficiency, or the capacity, to achieve decent grades. This problem is so serious, yet so rarely addressed, that it has taken the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption to step in. The anti-corruption body released a report on the risks associated with the international student industry in April this year. It warned that "there is no simple solution that will effectively eliminate the gap between the capabilities of students and the academic demands of the universities". If this gap was not eliminated, ICAC warned, then corruption and exploitation would ensue in the form of widespread cheating, plagiarism, falsified documents, ghost-writing and diluted academic standards. As the Herald has detailed in a number of reports over the past year or so, this has well and truly come to pass. And with too many people attending university and the potential for corruption is on the rise, one of the saddest developments in higher education today is the decline of the humanities. Enrolments in the arts have been dwindling for decades. And for those who do graduate from the Arts, many lack proper training in primary research, expository writing or formal logic.
The decline in student numbers in the Arts is perhaps not surprising, when you consider the median house price in Sydney is approaching $1 million, which reinforces the need for a degree to dispense a marketable (read money making) skill. Apart from being marinated in ideology, Arts students are also drowned for three years in jargon-heavy theory with negligible application whatsoever to real life. A glance at a leading literature conference (an event where researchers come to meet) gives a ready sense of what today's students have to put up with. At the Australasian Association of Literature Convention, to be held this year at the University of Wollongong, conference titles such as "Networks of Normality: Rethinking (Anti) Normativity in Contemporary Critical Theory" were grist for the mill. Other sessions have titles such as "Non/fictive Bodies: Fleshing out Absence/Drawing Presence". To the "uneducated" person this is not just nonsense, this is badly written nonsense which perhaps underscores the rising disconnect between some avenues of academia and the rest of us. If we find it difficult to face up to the reality that our university system is letting its students down, perhaps it is because many of us have a nostalgic and romantic perception of the experience of "higher education". Some may wistfully imagine the sandstone spires at Trinity College, with bright-eyed youngsters spending hours on the lawns or in their teachers' offices discussing their tutorial topics and latest grand theories.
But this dream bears little resemblance with the modern-day reality. Rather, a university campus is more likely to have a Starbucks than a sandstone spire. Teachers are too overloaded with administrative tasks to have much time for their students. And students themselves are too busy scrambling to pay the rent than to think about current events or new ideas. Nor is the experience leisurely. Five years ago, research led by Helen Stallman of the University of Queensland found Australian university students suffered mental distress that were at rates five times higher than the general population. The most common complaint from the 6000 students screened, was that they were under financial strain. The universities have been reckless in pursuing their new "business model". There should be a clear obligation to their students to ensure their degrees are fit for purpose and they shouldn't profit from misleading students into pursuing worthless degrees. The risks involved in opening up the universities to almost anyone who wants to attend, and then coupling that with easy to access loans from the government, are only now starting to be realised. Many students simply do not finish their degree and end up saddled with debt. Those who do finish are often met with the depressing reality that they are just one of thousands in a growing marketplace glut.
Universities need to start taking some responsibility for the wellbeing of their students, their success, and future employment prospects. They also need to have accountability – some skin in the game – when it comes to students' ability to repay their higher education loans. If they do not, then the smartest children of the next generation will simply decide not to attend. Claire Lehmann is a graduate student in psychology and freelance writer. | {
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A far-left MSNBC host accused conservatives of being “in favor of risking nuclear war” because “it will only kill Democrats and minorities,” subsequently walking back her suggestion after a strong public backlash.
Joy Reid lobbed the accusation directly at the National Review‘s David French, who, according to far-left outlets Newsweek and Rawstory, wrote an article telling people “not to worry about a potential nuclear strike because they live in America’s suburbs and countryside.”
“An article published Monday in the National Review reassures readers that nuclear war—and North Korea’s arsenal—shouldn’t cause them concern because a nuclear strike will mostly vaporize those in major cities while suburbanites will come out largely unscathed,” wrote Newsweek, which went on to note Trump voters do not live in major cities and re thus unlikely to die in a nuclear attack.
Reid, never one to pass up an opportunity to accuse conservatives of being racist, suggested the apparent drive by conservatives to provoke a nuclear war with North Korea is a concerted plot to kill Democrats and minorities in major cities.
“The magazine in question is the once-august National Review,” she tweeted. “We have truly entered the age of insanity when the conservative argument in favor of risking nuclear war is, ‘don’t worry, it will only kill Democrats and minorities.’ Shame on you, @DavidAFrench.”
“First, you have to understand that the odds are overwhelming that you’ll survive an initial blast. Nuclear weapons are devastating, but it’s a Hollywood myth that any individual strike will vaporize an entire American city, much less the suburbs and countryside,” French wrote in his article – the very quote cited by Reid as “proof” French and other conservatives want to cause a nuclear war to kill minorities and Democrats, who more often than not congregate in major urban areas.
French responded directly to Reid’s accusations on Twitter, accusing her of smearing him and making up things he never said.
Earlier tonight @JoyAnnReid smeared me. She made things up. She claimed I said things I never said and never would say. Can she really believe I’m ok with nuclear war if it kills Democrats and minorities? https://t.co/O0wybIRX9i — David French (@DavidAFrench) January 18, 2018
“Perhaps she’ll actually read my post, realize her mistake, and apologize. If she does, I’m happy to forgive her and move on.,” he added in a post for National Review. “Until then, MSNBC should know that one of its hosts is making things up. It’s a smear, pure and simple. There is no excuse.”
Reid’s tweet has since been removed following a strong public backlash,; she subsequently re-tweeted a full retraction of her previous comments, claiming her previous take on French’s article was “off track”
Taking back my take on this take – the @rawstory writeup doesn't reflect @DavidAFrench's intent and I think @Aunty__Em would probably agree. David and I disagree on almost everything, but my take on this was off track. https://t.co/YARwfhRNRE — Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) January 18, 2018
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today! | {
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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spend day at home 5 facebook posts an hour about lady gaga | {
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Article content
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck Mexico last September cracked open a 13th century Aztec pyramid and revealed an even older temple within.
Archeologists discovered the ruins of the temple using radar technology when they were surveying the damage caused to the Teopanzolco pyramid, found 70 kilometres south of Mexico City.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Earthquake rips open 13th century Mexican pyramid to reveal even older temple inside Back to video
The pyramid was heavily damaged in the earthquake, which flattened Mexico City and resulted in the deaths of more than 200 people, according to archeologist Barbara Konieczna. It caused parts of the pyramid to sink and lean in a different direction. It suffered “considered rearrangement of the core of its structure.”
Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
“In spite of what the earthquake meant, it is necessary to be thankful that for this natural phenomenon appeared this important structure that changes the dating of the archaeological site,” said Konieczna in a news release from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History. | {
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Expert -
For this generous donation, we offer a generous prize….got a roleplaying, larping or MMO character past or present, that you'd like to immortalise? Send us their details, and we'll work them into the story, either as an extra or a featured character. It's the next best thing to being there yourself! (Dwarves, gnomes, elves and human characters only. Our makeup costs will probably only stretch to one Orc) You'll also be engraved into the wall of heroes, will receive a signed photo of the cast, and we'll send you a copy of the full first season on DVD.
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Meet Pee Pee – A Chow Chow Shar Pei Shiba Inu Mix Dog For Adoption in Everett Washington, Near Seattle
There is a $150 adoption/rehoming fee. Supplies and vet records will be included.
Pee Pee is like a rare jewel from the Orient! She is an exquisite designer dog bred in China – a delightful mix of Shiba Inu, Chinese Shar-Pei and Chow Chow. You can easily see all three dog breeds in her beautiful face.
Pee Pee is only 2 years old. She is very healthy. She has a thick, double coat that is fawn colored with accents of red. She has perky, Shiba Inu ears, and just the slightest hint of wrinkles from the Shar Pei side of the family.
Pee Pee is already very well trained and obedient. She loves to be with her humans, but is also quite happy to entertain herself in the back yard, sniffing around, playing with her toys, and generally doing “dog stuff”.
Pee Pee’s owners are faced with a very distressing and difficult situation. They have to relocate, and are not able to bring Pee Pee along with them. They love her dearly, and want the very best for their precious girl.
Pee Pee’s owners would love to see her in an active family where she will be cherished. She loves to go places with you, and is good in the car. She is also leash trained and very much loves to go for walks. Above all, her owners want her to be placed in a home where she will receive the attention, care, nutrition and unconditional love she needs and very much deserves – a family who will keep her safe, happy and healthy for the rest of her life.
Pee Pee is good with other dogs, but is not a good choice for homes with cats, as she likes to chase them. She would be a good choice for a family with older, respectful children. Pee Pee will need to be placed in a home with a securely fenced back yard, preferably with homeowners. She will be rehomed with all her supplies and vet records.
If you would like to offer Pee Pee a loving home, please fill out our online meeting request form. Once received and reviewed, Pee Pee’s owners will contact you to make arrangements to meet.
All About Pee Pee – Chinese Designer Dog For Adoption in Everett WA Near Seattle
Location: EVERETT, WA, 98208
Type of Pet: Dog
Breed: chow/shar-pei/sheba inu
Age: 2 yrs
Color/Coat Type: tan & white double coat medium length
Size: 43 pounds
Health Issues: no
Behavior Issues: no
Personality
PeePee is a very well behaved sweet dog. She’s very easy going but a little independent at times. Really likes the back yard either sniffing all the smells or playing with her toys. Always ready to take a walk ,go to the dog park or just go for a ride in the car. She can be a little reluctant to take a bath. Once we get her in the tub she is fine.
Food and Diet
Pee Pee is currently on Hills Science Diet
Kirkland chicken & rice formula/lamb & rice formula 1/2 can in evening
Reason For Rehoming
We are going to relocate and dogs are not allowed. Also we think she needs someone or a family that is more active than us.
How to Adopt Pee Pee
If you would like to consider offering Pee Pee a loving, forever home, please fill out our Request To Meet A Pet form here:
https://pet-net.net/adopt-a-pet/
Once received, we will contact you to discuss your request and set up a mutually convenient time to meet Pee Pee and their owner in their home.
Pee Pee is a 2 year old healthy female Shar-Pei Chinese Wrinkle Dog Chow Chow Shiba Inu mix for adoption in Everett WA near Seattle and close to West Lake Stevens West Lake Stevens Marysville Mukilteo Snohomish Mill Creek North Marysville Martha Lake North Creek Alderwood Manor Lynnwood Monroe Mountlake Terrace Edmonds Esperance Bothell Everett Junction Lowell Delta Junction Cavalero Corner Darlington Edgewater Fobes Hill Casino Corner Priest Point West Lake Stevens Intercity Marysville Shaker Church Mukilteo Mission Beach Nelsons Corner Tulalip Bay WA Washington. Adopt this healthy Chinese designer dog today. | {
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday referenced the controversy surrounding photos a Russian photographer took during a White House meeting with President Trump that was closed to the American press.
Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted a video Thursday of Lavrov meeting with the secretary general of the Council of Europe in which the men seem to joke about the photo op and the reports that Trump revealed highly classified intelligence to Lavrov during their recent Oval Office meeting.
The Council of Europe's Thorbjorn Jagland asked in the clip, "These pictures won't cause any problems for you?"
"Depends on what kind of secrets you pass on to me," Lavrov responded.
The remark was met with laughter by the assembled diplomats.
ADVERTISEMENT
Last week, Trump met with Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office. The meeting was closed to U.S. press, but photos of the meeting were later posted on Twitter by members of the Russian press, enraging many in the American media and at the White House.
An administration official said last week that the White House was misled about the true role of the Russian photographer, according to a Washington Post report.
White House officials told the publication they were not expecting to see the photos of the meeting posted online by the state-owned Russian news agency Tass. | {
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ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio on Tuesday said next year’s budget must account for their key demands, including a minimum income for the poor and unemployed, or it would not win the support of his group in parliament.
Slideshow ( 2 images )
The government, made up of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League party, must present its first budget and economic targets this week. They later are voted on in parliament.
According to a statement, Di Maio told 5-Star ministers in a meeting that budget goals “will not get 5-Star votes” if they did not include its flagship campaign pledges of a minimum income, to slightly lower retirement age, and reimbursements for savers defrauded by banks.
The bond market had been boosted during the day by signs that the coalition was heading toward a compromise to keep next year’s deficit target below 2 percent of gross domestic product.
The leaders of the parties in Italy’s government, the far-right League and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, have been promising since forming their coalition in June to spend more and tax less, unnerving markets as well as authorities in Brussels.
Both parties are seeking tax cuts and higher welfare spending to spur the economy, but the central bank is concerned that a spike in the deficit could put Italy’s debt mountain on an unsustainable course.
“The idea to remain below the psychological threshold of 2 percent is prevailing,” a government source said after a budget meeting late Monday at Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s office.
Another source said that during the encounter, Economy Minister Giovanni Tria, an academic who does not belong to either of the ruling parties, repeated his call for a 2019 deficit target of 1.6 percent, while 5-Star and League ministers pushed for a figure above 2 percent.
“We could continue to cut healthcare and services ... or we could do a little bit of investment in deficit and, by investing, spur growth and repay our debt,” Di Maio said during the recording of a TV interview.
The minimum income - a 780 euro ($920) monthly payout to those who qualify - would start being disbursed in mid-March while low-income pensioners would see a boost from January, Di Maio said.
Italy has the biggest debt pile in the euro zone in terms of GDP after Greece and the fear that its government could foster uncontrolled spending has unnerved markets, causing a sharp rise in interest rates over the summer months.
Signs that the coalition looked ready to compromise over the budget helped Italy’s 10-year bond yield fall to 2.89 percent, shrinking the spread over benchmark German Bund yields to around 232 bps, from around 245 bps late on Monday.
Conte flew to New York on Tuesday to attend the U.N. General Assembly and is due to return in time for a cabinet meeting expected on Sept. 27 to sign off on the budget goals.
($1 = 0.8498 euro) | {
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this is my first try the spirits had to help and u will have to see how well it worked
this is my first try the spirits had to help and u will have to see how well it worked | {
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The coaches of Serbia and Switzerland only want to talk about football, not about an entrenched political dispute casting a shadow over their teams' World Cup showdown in Russia.
Tensions have been building in Serbia before the Group E match Friday in Kaliningrad. Not between Swiss and Serbian fans, but between Albanian and Serbian supporters.
That is because several players in the Swiss squad have Kosovo Albanian roots, including midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri who was born in Kosovo, the former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008. Serbia doesn't recognize Kosovo's independence and relations between the two countries remain tense.
Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic didn't want to discuss the issue Thursday.
When a reporter asked Petkovic him how he would discuss it with his players, he sidestepped the question.
"We will tell them we had a great match against Brazil. That's not enough; we have to play better against Serbia," Petkovic said through an interpreter. Switzerland held Brazil to a 1-1 draw in their opening match, while Serbia beat Costa Rica 1-0 to top the group after one round.
Serbia coach Mladen Krstajic was equally reluctant to be drawn into the debate.
"I'm not into politics," he said, also speaking through an interpreter. "We have our goals. We're here for sports to represent our country in the best possible way and we're not at all interested in anything else."
Shaqiri makes no secret at his pride for his heritage at the World Cup. At training Thursday, he wore football boots with Kosovo's flag on his right heel and the Swiss flag on his left.
Midfielder Valon Behrami grew up in what is now Kosovo, moving to Switzerland with his family in 1990 amid rising tensions between ethnic Albanians and Serbs. He has the flags of Switzerland and Kosovo tattooed on his left arm.
Such displays have angered some Serbian fans, who often wear T-shirts bearing the map of Kosovo with the Serbian flag on it.
The reaction of some Serbian players has also been sharp.
"If they are such great patriots, why don't they play for their own countries instead of Switzerland?" Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic asked recently.
____
Associated Press writer Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia contributed to this report. | {
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One of the big issues currently at the forefront of the demands from consumers pushing the #GamerGate revolt is that the people who gate-keep information for the publishers should have publicly available disclosure policies and an easily identifiable code of ethics in place. In this regard, whenever something that seems shady or comes across as a potential conflict of interest, readers have a clear understanding of what’s going on and what lines may have been crossed. IGN has heard the pleas of the many and they will concede to this request.
Over on the Kotaku in Action sub-Reddit, a concerned reader wrote to IGN using their contact forum on the site. According to the poster, he wrote…
“I'm curious if maybe we can start a dialogue about ethics at some point in the future. I want to point to The Escapists Magazine, who weeks ago continued to allow discussion about GamerGate, albeit under heavy moderation, and after reading and engaging with the community agreed they've failed on some ethical points, apologized, and then reformed their Code of Ethics. Not only did this effect The Escapist, but all sites under Defy Media's umbrella. This is all really GamerGate wants.
“I've tried to look all over the IGN site to see if you guys have a Code of Ethics posted, and I'm not seeing one, even going to the Site Map. Maybe I'm missing it, so if I am could you please point me towards it? If you guys don't have one posted, what are your honest thoughts about that? Would you consider formulating one and making it visible?”
The levelheaded, down-to-Earth letter actually managed to strike a nerve in IGN’s higher-ups. In fact, the letter itself managed to get a reply from IGN’s publisher, Tal Blevins. He’s been with the company since the very early goings and has transitioned up the ladder to prominence.
Blevins replied in an e-mail message, stating…
“Like you surmised, we do have and follow an internal ethics policy, but it is not currently public. We do list items such as our re-review policy, IGN Deals standards and practices, an explanation of how we review games, etc., but we don't have a centralized place for our overall standards and practices at the moment.
“However, this is good timing on your part as this is a subject we've been talking about internally for a bit and we're already in the process of updating IGN with a permanent, public outline of our standards and practices, so look for that soon.”
This is a great time to be a discerning consumer. You’ll now have a way to determine what the ethics and disclosure policies are of certain websites. This is a very good thing and a very pro-consumer move by major gaming websites.
The Escapist, Destructoid and now IGN are making it clear that they want to wholly reshape how people view their sites and regain reader trust.
Blevins finished off his e-mail, writing…
“Thanks again for checking in and know that ethics and professionalism is something that we take very seriously at IGN. We all have a passion for the subjects we cover -- from movies to television, comics to games -- but we also understand the significance of our responsibility to IGN's readers, so we hope that comes across in our coverage.”
Beautiful.
And just for the sake of clarity and confirmation, I reached out to Blevins to ensure that the letter was legitimate and that IGN really was following through with the new protocol for public policy regarding ethics and disclosure. Here’s what Blevins had to say.
Now it’s just a matter of keeping an eye out for when these policies get put into play. It’ll also be up to readers to keep an eye on things and make sure that the websites maintain adherence to those policies.
No matter how #GamerGate is portrayed in the media, it is having real-world effects on the way websites will operate in the future. Score a win for ethics in journalism. | {
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Jessy Edwards
Taking a Lyft home the other day I got not only a ride but also some financial advice from my driver, Bah: “Buy TRON now, it’s going to go crazy, get lots of it. Trust me, I was just calling my cousin about it.”
The next day I’d bought up large. Cryptocurrency is exploding, no one knows what’s next and there’s no authority on the matter so we’re all taking advice from hype, Instagram, friends and rideshares. What the fuck is going on?
I first got into cryptocurrency about a month ago after a Tinder beau suggested I was sleeping on the investment and a guy at a conference told me his brother bought him a $300 Bitcoin for his 21st birthday. It’s now worth upwards of $10,000 (as of Wednesday January 31 at 6:40 p.m. EST). I jumped in with a $1,000 investment in LiteCoin and Ethereum and doubled my money in a week. I had absolutely no idea what it was or how it worked.
But I liked it, obviously. Knowing what a blockchain was wasn’t going to help me make money, I felt. Investing was as much a game of luck as gambling. Sometimes the less you know, the more rationally you act. Instead I’d take my advice from the chatter around me and hope for the best.
So when one friend told me they thought LiteCoin’s peak was $300 I sold at $300. They’ve turned out to be right, so far. When another told me it was a good day to sell Bitcoin she was right, if only I hadn’t bought so high in the first place. And when my Lyft driver says it’s time to jump into TRON, I jump.
There’s got to be something wrong with me — I’m the basic bitch of cryptocurrency. CoinBase is my pumpkin spice latte. Ethereum is my Ugg boots. But I don’t think I’m alone.
Interest in cryptocurrency is booming — if it’s reached me that means it’s thoroughly mainstream. A survey conducted late last year by Blockchain Capital found 30 percent of millennials would rather own $1,000 Bitcoin than $1,000 government bonds. Almost half (43 percent) of millennial men would rather have the cryptocurrency. Why are millennials feeling cryptocurrency so hard?
It might be something to do with another of the study’s findings: 27 percent of millennials think Bitcoin is more trustworthy than big banks. After a series of financial crashes that have illustrated just how consistently dirty and corrupt the banking industry can be, it’s no wonder almost a third of millennials feel this way. We’re coming of age with Ryan Gosling telling us that bankers purposefully fucked the global economy and Margot Robbie naked in a bath breaking down exactly how they did it. “The mania has caught the zeitgeist of dissatisfaction that is currently sweeping the world,” MoneyWeek columnist Dominic Frisby notes.
I had my money in managed funds for a moment but I didn’t really know what my broker was investing in. Part property, part energy, part bonds. That means nothing to me — I was probably invested in fracking and orangutan-murder and had no idea.* We want control and transparency. We want our investments to pair with our values. We want to stick it to the man. And we want to make shitloads of money, fast.
So far, that’s what’s happening, give or take. I made $1,500 in a week on a couple of cryptocurrencies and I’ve lost on Bitcoin, which has basically gone steadily downhill since I bought it. Plus I’ve started to educate myself on what’s going on in the market. Now I know a little about the blockchain and mining and crypto regulation. If that’s all I gain from this little experiment, so be it, at least I haven’t lined the pockets of some slimy Wall Street banker.
But Frisby and others also warn that the “hordes” of inexperienced investors flooding the market won’t have a clue what to do when the crypto bull becomes a bear. “When liquidity dries up and the tide goes out, that’s the point at which you realise who has been swimming naked.” And that’s me right now — out here in my birthday suit with my wallet open. I just hope I’ll be able to get to shore before someone steals my clothes.
By the way, TRON lost half its value the week after I bought it. Thanks a lot, Bah.
*Mining Bitcoin is disgustingly bad in terms of energy consumption. Some estimate running the Bitcoin network uses up as much energy yearly as a medium-sized country. | {
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Les portefeuilles des trois adresses Bitcoin utilisées pendant la cyberattaque ont été vidés ce matin. Le montant récolté, 140.000 dollars, correspond à l'ensemble des rançons payées par les victimes pour récupérer leurs données.
Après le chiffrement des données par WannaCry, les victimes étaient invitées à payer une rançon pour les récupérer.
Les responsables de WannaCry mettent la main sur leur butin. L'argent extorqué grâce à la cyberattaque dormait depuis le 12 mai sur trois portefeuilles en ligne. Le montant en bitcoins, équivalent à 140.000 dollars, a été déplacé ce matin, laissant ces portefeuilles vides. L'opération était inattendue selon Quartz. Les forces de l'ordre suivent en effet de près les mouvements de fonds effectués depuis les adresses bitcoin associées aux hackers.
Une partie des rançons avait été déplacée fin juillet, selon la société britannique Elliptic, qui trace les différentes opérations liées à ces comptes. L'alerte concernant les derniers mouvements de fonds, plus importants, a été lancée sur Twitter.
Le sort réservé à cet argent reste à ce jour inconnu. «Nous pensons qu'une partie de ces fonds a été convertie en Monero, une cryptomonnaie centrée sur le respect de la vie privée. Nous continuons à travailler avec les forces de l'ordre pour les aider à déterminer l'identité des détenteurs de ces fonds» explique Elliptic au Figaro. La manœuvre aurait pour objectif de semer les forces de l'ordre et de compliquer leur enquête. «Il semblerait plutôt que l'argent ait été réparti vers d'autres comptes, plus nombreux. La blockchain, qui permet de suivre les transactions effectuées, rend le blanchiment complexe et risqué. Les hackers cherchent probablement un moyen d'y parvenir malgré tout», indique Edouard Viot, analyste chez Stormshied, une entreprise de cybersécurité.
Le montant en bitcoins détenu sur les trois portefeuilles liés à WannaCry, selon la société britannique Ellipse.
Un objectif davantage politique que financier
La cyberattaque WannaCry aura été d'une ampleur sans précédent. En tout, plus de 300.000 ordinateurs ont été infectés dans 150 pays, dont ceux d'hôpitaux britanniques ou du constructeur automobile Renault. Une fois leurs données chiffrées par un virus, les victimes étaient sommées de verser une rançon équivalente à 300 dollars en bitcoins, pour récupérer les informations dérobées.
Le montant récolté est faible au regard du nombre d'ordinateurs infectés. Les experts s'accordent à dire que l'objectif d'une telle opération était davantage politique que financier. L'attribution de cette opération n'est pas encore définitive. Fin mai, de nouvelles pistes pointaient vers la Corée du Nord. L'entreprise de sécurité informatique Symantec avait alors affirmé disposer de nouveaux éléments pour confirmer l'implication du groupe de hackers nord-coréens Lazarus dans la cyberattaque WannaCry. | {
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You probably know actor Danny Trejo as the bare-chested, blade-wielding Machete, or one of the more gruff passengers aboard the inmate-filled plane in Con Air. He is famous for his menacing snarls, violent character portrayals and all-leather attire. But now, he’s turned his furrowed brow to a new venture: tacos.
Located in Los Angeles's Miracle Mile neighborhood, Trejo’s Tacos has signage bearing its proprietor's angry face. But the food will be friendly—especially to vegans. Designed by L.A. chef Daniel Mattern, the menu features house-made salsas, organic chopped kale salads, mung bean tortillas and vegan tacos stuffed with things like fried avocado and black pepper tofu inspired by chef Yottam Ottolenghi’s spicy dish. (Of course, the restaurant will also offer non-vegan items like fried chicken tacos and shrimp tostadas.) The menu isn’t the restaurant’s only virtue. After service is over, any leftover food will be donated to a local homeless shelter.
The restaurant will be the latest addition to Trejo’s collection of food projects, which include Cerveca (his downtown L.A.–brewed beer) and his own coffee blend roasted in Pasadena. He’s not stopping there, either. Expect to see a line of ice cream sandwiches from the actor, as well as another Trejo’s Taco outpost in Hollywood. | {
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Since our opening in the summer of 2000, we have created a Japanese sushi & izakaya menu with traditional ingredients presented in a contemporary style that has thrilled guests.
Located in the heart of Belltown, and as one of Seattle’s top sushi destinations, we offer an extensive array of appetizers, izakaya, sushi, and dessert options to satisfy any palate. To pair with your meal, we also include a large selection of beer, wine, liquor and non-alcoholic beverages. | {
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wow i share the same ones in my pretty socks.. thinking of a snake under my bed as i sleep having it come up coil around me as i sleep touching and molesting my socks getting in position to strangle me and squeeze me for its meal.. this is REALLY amazing and LOVE LOVE LOVE her socks | {
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“Let’s talk about the broken VA medical system, and traumatic brain injuries, and PTSD. But let’s also talk about homelessness, and unemployment, and mental health, and, yes, racial inequality,” the 29-year-old wrote, making special note that it was Veterans Day.
“Let’s talk about how we can do better, to make their lives easier,” he continued. “Let’s use our platforms, and take this day, to talk about how we can be louder than all of this silence — and quieter than all of this noise.”
Curry made clear what he considers “noise,” including pointing out a recent social-media kerfuffle involving President Trump.
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“I remember when I woke up on the morning that (I still can’t believe I’m saying these words) the President tweeted at me,” Curry said, referring to a Sept. 23 tweet, in which Trump withdrew Curry’s invitation to a White House ceremony to celebrate the Warriors’ championship.
Curry reiterated it felt “surreal” to be singled out by the president but said it helped inform his encounter with Michael, whom he met at Curry’s wife Ayesha’s restaurant opening.
“[Michael] happened to have served in Afghanistan — and he told me about how much he had been through, both physically and mentally, just in trying to transition back into society, and into his daily life. He offered some advice to me, about how I could help to raise awareness about some of the serious issues that veterans are going through — for example, with the Veterans Affairs medical system, and how its administration is broken. And he educated me on demographics — telling me about how less than 1 percent of the population today serves in the military, which makes it a real struggle for veterans, as a political constituency, to get the representation that they need,” Curry wrote. “How come those issues never seem to be a trending topic?”
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Curry continued:
“We hear all the time on TV and social media about ‘supporting our troops.’ But it’s not just about saluting them or thanking them for their service at the airport — and it’s definitely not just about how we observe the national anthem. Michael told me that our veterans need real action. They need real help with medical services, and access to jobs, and readjusting to society. “At almost every turn our conversation took, Michael found some common ground: from talking about how he’s a Warriors fan (good, good, I like it), to — way more importantly — pointing out how most of the issues that military vets face at home are actually the same as the issues faced by a lot of America. Homelessness, unemployment, mental health and, yes, racial inequality — those are the issues that our vets are facing. These are mostly universal issues, which are being felt in every town in America.”
Curry tweeted a link to his essay that quickly began to go viral. While some of the replies to his tweet have been critical, the overwhelming majority appear positive, including several replies from self-identified veterans.
This is the first time Curry has penned an essay for The Players’ Tribune, and he has become increasingly comfortable voicing his opinion since his encounter with Trump. In late September, Curry defended his and other athletes’ right to use their platforms to a reporter who asked him whether his wealth made his opinion on social issues less pertinent.
“I’ve heard a lot of backlash . . . about how much money we make and ‘what are we complaining about?’ and ‘we’re in a bubble; we don’t have the same struggles and stresses of life [compared] to other people,’ ” Curry said (via ESPN). “And, obviously, I come from a privileged background with my dad playing in the NBA. I’m not denying that, but the majority of the NBA players come from the same backgrounds and socioeconomic situations that these criticisms are coming from.
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“It gets lost. We have families. We’ve got people around us that are going through the same thing. How that all kind of takes shape is ridiculous to me — trying to minimize what we’re talking about because we have money. That doesn’t make any difference to us. And hopefully with that money, we can do a lot of good with it. We still have family and people that we are connected to, that we feel what real life is like.” | {
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Why the Hype?
Global Marijuana Markets are growing super fast. Worldwide spending on Cannabis topped $12 Billion in 2018 and the total is projected to increase to $31.3 Billion by 2022. A compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.7%. With this type of impressive growth, it's no wonder that more and more people are interested in investing in the Cannabis Industry.
In the very near future marijuana will be declassified as a scheduled 1 drug and this is very important for U.S. Legislation. We believe this will happen within less than 2 years. Then you will see a real "Green Gold Rush". This is still a ground floor opportunity. Don't sit on the sidelines and watch people creating wealth, when you can be a part of the wealth that can and will be made. | {
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Covid-19 has dominated 2020. It has been the top priority for almost every nation across the globe, and while dealing with the pandemic, many governments have also had to tackle national natural disasters and severe weather incidents.
In the first half of 2020, the world experienced many major natural disasters. And Asia has experienced at least ten of them in the first six months. The continent has faced everything from earthquakes, floods, landslides, volcanoes, typhoons, bushfires, all while dealing with the pandemic.
This year really has kept governments on edge, waiting for what is to come next. And this is a key point – What will come next? And are governments prepared for all eventualities? Have they planned for what would happen if a natural disaster were to occur? And how would they deal with a severe weather event while also dealing with the ongoing global pandemic?
Major Natural Disasters that Occurred in the first 5 months of 2020 in Asia
Bushfires, Australia
At the end of 2019 and early 2020, the bushfires in Australia spread quickly across the country. A state of emergency was declared in Queensland and New South Wales in November 2019, and slowly all the other states followed as the fires continued to spread.
The Australian bushfires are considered one of the biggest natural disasters of the year. The extent of damage ranged from an estimated 18 million hectares burned, over 9000 buildings and homes destroyed, and 400 deaths directly or indirectly.
Flash Floods, Indonesia
Flash floods occurred throughout the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and its metropolitan area on the early hours of 1 January 2020, due to the overnight rain which experienced nearly 400 millimetres (15 in) of rainwater, causing the Ciliwung and Cisadane rivers to overflow. At least 66 people have been killed, and 60,000 displaced in the worst flooding in the area since 2007.
Volcano Eruption, Philippines
The second most active volcano in the Philippines, Taal Volcano erupted in January 2020. On 12th January. As a result, a large amount of ash dust was emitted and forced authorities to evacuate over 8,000 people close by and 3,00,000 people overall.
Cyclone Amphan, Bangladesh-India
Cyclone Amphan is classified as one of the most powerful, deadly tropical cyclones to ever impact Bangladesh and India. It was categorized as a category 5 hurricane and the havoc it wreaked was devastating. It caused landfalls, heavy rains and lightning causing major destruction and killing 12 people.
Forest Fires, Uttarakhand – India
In May, a forest fire that lasted for days caused Uttarakhand to burn. What may have started as a small fire has managed to engulf 51 hectares of forest land. 2 deaths and several others have been injured.
Assam Floods, India
Many parts of Assam have experienced heavy rains and as a result, have been negatively affected in the form of floods. 128 villages, 5 districts and many more have been affected.
Disaster and Emergency Management Agencies release figures showing the true extent of the cost of severe weather
As Governments throughout Asia release the figures relating to severe weather and natural disasters, it is evident how costly these events are in terms of lives, homes, economy and infrastructure.
China
Natural disasters continue to hit China, and the country lost 271 lives during the first half of 2020, an official report showed. Some 19,000 houses were destroyed and 785,000 houses damaged during the last six months across mainland China, causing an economic loss of $11.5 billion, Global Times quoted a report by the Ministry of Emergency Management.
Last month’s heavy floods in eight provinces and regions of southern and eastern China affected more than a million people. The June 8 floods affected at least 1.76 million people, with 120,000 evacuated, nine dying and five missing, according to the Centre of Disaster Reduction in China.
Indonesia
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) released numbers this week, they recorded 2,059 natural disasters that struck Indonesia during the period from January to September 20, with the number of deaths reaching 282.
Indonesia was hit by 771 incidents of floods, 534 whirlwinds, and 377 landslides. The natural disasters had affected and displaced a total of 4.2 million people, claimed 282 lives, and rendered 25 people missing while causing injuries to 427 others.
Furthermore, natural disasters damaged 30,655 homes and 1,419 public facilities. The country also recorded a total of 302 forest and land fires as well as five volcanic eruptions.
Governments Urge For Better Response to Severe Weather and Natural Disasters
Governments are quickly realising the need to act now to prevent, or rather, manage the events that they already know could happen at any time. This week saw governments in Asia review emergency planning and funding strategies as well as call on their technology institutes to work on preventing future disasters.
Australia
The Royal Commission in Australia, heard this week that more frequent natural disasters in Australia will become ‘a major strategic problem in its own right’. The commission is in its final week of hearings and is due to deliver its final report to the federal government on 28 October.
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) was called in to help the bushfire response this summer, and have been integrated into health and police departments as part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Peter Jennings, the executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told the Royal Commission on Tuesday this week that the ADF would not be able to continue support with its actual defence responsibility without additional funding.
Peter Jennings added that more frequent and more severe national disasters, exacerbated by the climate crisis, would become “a major strategic problem in its own right”. And that the Pacific region, and south-east Asia, would be “the epicentre of natural disaster risk going forward”.
One of the initiatives that the Australian government is using to help with crises is a public warning system. In combination with Australia’s major telecommunications companies, the Everbridge Public Warning solution will be used to power Emergency Alert Australia, providing population-wide alerting to help reach the country’s over 25 million residents and approximately 9 million annual visitors.
Anyone in an area where a sudden, critical event occurs such as fire, extreme weather or a terror attack, residents and visitors to Australia will receive location-based SMS notifications on their mobile phones, in addition to smartphone mobile app notifications and fixed-line voice alerts, among other modes of communication.
India
Also, this week, speaking at the Indian Institute of Technology, on Tuesday 22nd of September, Prime Minister Modi, India urged the IIT to use this experience in helping the state governments of the Northeastern region to tackle the various natural and other disasters which have been having a negative impact on the development prospects of the region.
He called for the IIT to form a centre for disaster management and risk reduction for the region. The Prime Minister said “The North East is full of possibilities. But it has problems of floods, earthquakes, life slam hand industrial disasters also, and the governments have to spend their time tackling these.”
The Missing Puzzle Piece: An Integrated CEM Platform
Many governments and national, regional and state authorities rely on multiple, separate systems for their critical event management (CEM).
According to world experts in Critical Event Management – Everbridge, these silos can spell redundancies in information and processes, data contradictions, and, in worst-case scenarios, greater loss of life and damages.
Without an integrated CEM platform, command centres and security teams can’t respond as quickly and as thoroughly as situation warrants, which in turn negatively affects budgets, stakeholder confidence, and employee and customer trust.
With an integrated CEM platform, however, rapid, consolidated responses are more easily coordinated. Emergency response teams and command centres receive threat alerts ahead of time, so they can identify, assess, and locate the risks, affected assets, and appropriate responders.
A CEM platform can also automate communications and by using a public warning system, action plans, and SOPs, so your teams have immediate access to information and can act at lightning speed. Later, analytics pinpoint where bottlenecks and delays surfaced and where they might be avoided in the future.
As the pandemic looms over the world for the foreseeable future, planning responses to severe weather events will continue in tandem with coronavirus risk management. And, as natural disasters are occurring more frequently throughout the region – it’s more important than ever for governments to evaluate the processes, systems, tools, and platforms they have to respond to critical events.
APAC CEM WEBINAR: BUSINESS CONTINUITY DURING SEVERE WEATHER
September 30, 2020 | 9AM IST | 11:30AM SG/HKT | 1:30PM AEST
REGISTER TODAY
Download Everbridge’s Whitepaper: MANAGING SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS DURING OTHER CRISES | {
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Daniel Cohn-Bendit, ancien eurodéputé d’Europe Ecologie-Les Verts, et Christophe Caresche, député socialiste, ont tous deux annoncé leur soutien à Emmanuel Macron, dimanche 26 février.
Fils et petit-fils de parlementaires socialistes, lui-même député de 2002 à 2007, le conseiller départemental PS marseillais Christophe Masse a annoncé au Monde, lundi 27 février, qu’il soutiendra Emmanuel Macron à la présidentielle. Ex-député socialiste et candidats aux législatives de 2017, Christophe Masse, membre d’une famille historique du PS prend le risque de diviser la gauche dans une circonscription visée par le Front national (FN).
« Je prends mes responsabilités, explique au Monde M. Masse, 53 ans. Ma ligne, c’est la social-démocratie et je ne peux pas faire la campagne de Benoît Hamon, qui, depuis sa victoire, n’a effectué aucun geste envers notre courant au sein du PS. Je n’adhère pas à son programme, à sa vision de l’entreprise, ni à ses avis sur la sécurité, l’immigration, la famille… » Durant la primaire, Christophe Masse avait été en première ligne dans les Bouches-du-Rhône pour soutenir Manuel Valls.
Depuis, il a renoué contact avec le maire de Lyon, Gérard Collomb, qu’il a connu au sein du pôle réformateur du PS. C’est par le biais de ce dernier qu’il s’est rapproché des équipes d’Emmanuel Macron. « Mon ralliement les intéresse, car j’ai un certain poids à Marseille, estime le conseiller des Bouches-du-Rhône, notamment dans les trois arrondissements où je suis élu depuis plus de vingt ans. Mais cela ne me donne aucune certitude concernant une investiture d’En marche ! pour les législatives. Je suivrai la procédure, comme les autres. »
Cohn-Bendit vote pour « la personne la mieux placée »
A l’image de M. Masse, plusieurs autres parlementaires socialistes du département ont décidé de ne pas s’investir dans la campagne de Benoît Hamon. La sénatrice Samia Ghali, qui, après avoir évoqué un possible ralliement à Emmanuel Macron, explique désormais qu’elle « restera en retrait pendant la présidentielle », ou le député Jean-David Ciot, premier secrétaire fédéral, qui a annoncé, durant un conseil fédéral, qu’il ferait de même, provoquant la colère de certains de ses camarades.
Le chef d’En Marche ! peut également compter sur deux nouveaux soutiens, qui se sont déclarés durant le week-end. Le premier s’appelle Daniel Cohn-Bendit, ancien eurodéputé d’Europe Ecologie-Les Verts (EELV). Le second, Christophe Caresche, chef de file des députés réformistes au PS.
Daniel Cohn-Bendit était l’invité, dimanche 26 février, de l’émission « Questions politiques » (France Inter, Le Monde, France Télévisions). Il a déclaré qu’« au jour d’aujourd’hui », il voterait pour Emmanuel Macron à l’élection présidentielle, « le mieux placé » pour battre largement Marine Le Pen. M. Cohn-Bendit votera en avril pour la première fois à une élection présidentielle française, après sa naturalisation en 2015.
« Qui peut aujourd’hui le mieux battre Marine Le Pen au 2e tour ? Si c’est François Fillon qui est au 2e tour, la gauche ira très difficilement voter ; si c’est Benoît Hamon, la droite n’ira pas voter, donc si vous voulez vraiment nous éviter Marine Le Pen, Emmanuel Macron au jour d’aujourd’hui est le mieux placé », a-t-il argué.
« Ce que j’espère, c’est que le candidat sera devant Marine Le Pen » dès le premier tour, a aussi déclaré M. Cohn-Bendit. « Je ne vote pas idéologiquement, je vote pour la personne la mieux placée et la faire gagner à 70 %-30 %, je vote contre Marine Le Pen », a-t-il martelé. M. Cohn-Bendit a par ailleurs salué l’alliance entre le candidat d’EELV, Yannick Jadot, et Benoît Hamon, le candidat du PS.
Une « décision pas facile à prendre », pour Christophe Caresche
Christophe Caresche, député de Paris et chef de file des réformateurs au Parti socialiste, a également apporté son soutien au candidat d’En Marche ! dans une interview au Journal du dimanche. M. Caresche reproche au candidat socialiste, Benoît Hamon, de « constituer une sorte de Podemos ou de Labour version Corbyn, à la française », qui « amène le PS à se radicaliser, à se déporter vers une gauche “mouvementiste” et protestataire, qui ne sera pas en capacité d’assumer les responsabilités du pouvoir ».
« A titre personnel, ma décision est prise : le moment est venu de soutenir Emmanuel Macron », annonce M. Caresche. Selon lui, l’ancien ministre « offre la possibilité de créer une nouvelle force, cohérente » et « rassemble déjà des responsables issus de formations politiques opposées mais qui, au fond, pensent la même chose : il faut relancer l’Europe et faire du redressement économique une priorité ». « Pour un homme de gauche, Emmanuel Macron est la seule solution permettant de contrer efficacement Marine Le Pen au deuxième tour de la présidentielle », fait-il également valoir.
Interrogé par France 3 sur la décision de M. Caresche, le patron du Parti socialiste, Jean-Christophe Cambadélis, a déclaré que c’était « une mauvaise chose pour lui-même et la candidate qu’il soutient dans son arrondissement, Myriam El Khomri », pour les législatives. « C’est une mauvaise chose pour le Parti socialiste, évidemment », a-t-il ajouté.
« Je ne suis pas sûr que ce soit une bonne chose pour Emmanuel Macron », car « il a décidé de gagner au centre droit. Il n’a pas envie, pas besoin que la gauche vienne faire une OPA sur sa candidature, ça ferait fuir ses électeurs », a reproché M. Cambadélis.
Selon M. Caresche, « c’est une décision qui n’est pas facile à prendre : je dois tout au PS, à commencer par ma carrière politique. Mais il faut prendre acte aujourd’hui du fait que nos chemins se séparent ». Il n’est pas candidat à un nouveau mandat aux législatives de juin et s’est montré évasif sur la possibilité, pour d’autres élus de l’aile droite du PS, de le suivre derrière le candidat d’En Marche !. | {
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If you choose to pay for membership, you'll be able to see your matches' activity report, like in the image below. It shows how likely they are to send the first message, how long it usually takes them to reply and the last time they were active. You'll also see read receipts when the other person has already seen your messages. That way, you won't have to waste time waiting for responses that'll never come. Finally, you'll get 6,000 "Beans" to spend on the service's various features, such as the ability to see you and your matches' mutual friends. All those perks don't come cheap, though. At $35 a month, you likely have to enjoy CMB's offerings the most to choose it over more affordable options. | {
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A year after the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine and other institutions identified 14 individuals previously unknown to have had the disease in a Sierra Leone village that was an Ebola hot spot.
These individuals had antibodies to the virus, suggesting they had been infected at one time. Yet 12 of these individuals said they had had no symptoms during the time of active transmission in the village.
The research confirms previous suspicions that the Ebola virus does not uniformly cause severe disease, and that people may be infected without showing signs of illness, said Gene Richardson, MD, a former fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at Stanford who is now a PhD candidate in anthropology at the university. The findings also suggest that the epidemic was more widespread than previously believed. Based on the results of the study, the researchers calculated the prevalence of minimally symptomatic infection to be 25 percent.
"The study corroborates previous evidence that Ebola is like most other viruses in that it causes a spectrum of manifestations, including minimally symptomatic infection," Richardson said. "It provides important evidence on that front. It also means a significant portion of transmission events may have gone undetected during the outbreak. This shows there was a lot more human-to-human transmission than we thought."
The study will be published online Nov. 15 in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. The study also will be presented Nov. 14 at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's annual meeting in Atlanta. Richardson is lead author of the study, and Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, a Harvard professor and director of Partners In Health, is the senior author.
Testing individuals
The research was done in the rural village of Sukudu in Sierra Leone, a country where Richardson and his colleagues cared for hundreds of patients in Ebola treatment units managed by Partners In Health.
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The village, with about 900 residents, had been one of three major hot spots in the Kono District, in the eastern part of the country, during the heat of the Ebola crisis between November 2014 and February 2015. There were 34 reported cases of Ebola in the village, including 28 deaths.
More than 28,000 cases of Ebola infection were reported in Africa during the epidemic, the largest and longest in history. More than 11,000 people are estimated to have died because of the disease.
In the aftermath, Richardson and his colleagues decided to go back to the village to try to determine whether the Ebola infection could be minimally symptomatic, as previous studies have suggested. He worked with a local physician and two community health workers in gathering data for the study, a process that was approved by the local village chief.
They used a test known as the ELISA assay, a technique that can detect the presence of an antibody. They first made sure the test was accurate by comparing results from 30 Ebola survivors in Sukudu with those of 132 people in other villages where the virus had not been reported.
Richardson said the test proved to be a reasonable measure of viral antibodies. The researchers then recruited 187 men, women and children from Sukudu who had likely been exposed to Ebola, either because they were living in the same household or had shared a public toilet with a person confirmed to have had the disease.
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Of these, 14 were found to be carrying antibodies to Ebola, suggesting they had been infected at some point, though they had not been included in the original count. Twelve of them said they had had no symptoms of the disease, which typically causes fever, unexplained bleeding, headache, muscle pain, rash, vomiting, diarrhea, breathing problems and difficulty swallowing. Two recalled having had a fever at the time of the outbreak, the scientists reported.
Public health efforts not entirely effective
In combining the initial reports of 34 infections with the 14 newly identified cases, the researchers calculated the prevalence of minimally symptomatic infection in the village to have been 25 percent.
Richardson said it is unknown if an asymptomatic individual is capable of transmitting the virus. Because these individuals did not have an active case of the disease, "They were not passing it along in the usual way, through vomiting or diarrhea," he said. "It's unclear if they can pass it along it sexually."
The virus has been shown to hide out for months in semen, even after symptoms have subsided, with some published cases of survivors transmitting the virus through sexual contact.
Richardson said the study indicates that public health efforts to prevent infection and contain the virus during the epidemic were not entirely effective.
"It reminds us that we need to do a much, much better job in future epidemics," Richardson said.
He and his colleagues are now working in other villages in Sierra Leone where public health surveillance was poor during the epidemic, testing and interviewing individuals to get a better handle on the true number of people affected during the crisis.
"We expect to find a lot more undocumented survivors, so we can begin to answer the question of what was the true burden of disease," he said. | {
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Fox’s upcoming The X-Files revival will bring back quite a few beloved figures from the old days, including series creator Chris Carter and stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. But one who won’t return is Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan.
Although Gilligan was a writer and executive producer on The X-Files before Walter White was even a twinkle in his eye, he confirms he won’t be involved with the new episodes. Find out why the X-Files Vince Gilligan return isn’t happening after the jump.
The X-Files was Gilligan’s first big break, which means it’s partly to thank for the existence of Breaking Bad. So it’s ironic that Breaking Bad‘s very success is indirectly to blame for Gilligan’s inability to do more X-Files. Gilligan explained on Reddit:
Unfortunately I won’t be writing for the reboot, because my work on Better Call Saul will keep me from doing that. I’m very sad to miss out, because I would love to have a hand in The X-Files reboot. The X-Files was my second favorite job ever, a close second to Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, and I’d love to be a part of it. Rest assured, I will be watching it as a fan. I can’t wait to see it.
Gilligan started writing for The X-Files in late Season 2, and stayed on through the ninth and final season. In the same Reddit thread, he gushes about his time on the show:
I had so many favorite X-Files episodes, it’s hard to narrow it down to just one. If you held my feet to the fire, I’d probably say “Bad Blood.” But really, as an experience, my favorite writing moment on The X-Files was probably writing “Je Souhaite” episode. That’s the one with the genie. That’s because that’s the first episode I got to direct as well as write. And it was really a wonderful turning point in my career and it was a great deal of fun to boot.
While Gilligan won’t be back for the X-Files revival, writer-producers Glen Morgan and James Wong will join Carter behind the camera. Besides Mulder and Scully, returning characters include Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) and Smoking Man (William B. Davis). The six-episodes limited series shoots this summer for release in 2016. | {
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The actor Om Puri, who has died aged 66 from a heart attack, exuded a reassuring warmth and gravitas over a long career divided largely between Bollywood and Hollywood. His Hindi hits included the political comedy Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), the Macbeth-inspired drama Maqbool (2003), the action romp Singh Is Kinng (2008) and the thrillers Don (2006) and Don 2 (2011). Appearances in two Mike Nichols films – he shared a scene with Jack Nicholson in Wolf (1994) and starred with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts in Charlie Wilson’s War (2007), in which he was very wry as President Zia-ul-Haq – were among the US roles that followed his brief English-language debut in Gandhi (1982). He credited his more prominent part in Roland Joffe’s City of Joy (1992), where he was a struggling farmer who befriends a doctor (Patrick Swayze) in Calcutta, with increasing his opportunities in Britain and the US.
It is for his performances in two low-budget British films about immigration and assimilation, however, that he will be most fondly remembered by UK audiences. East Is East (1999) explored the tensions between George (Puri), a Pakistani patriarch, and the family he is raising with his English wife (Linda Bassett) in Salford at the start of the 1970s. The picture was marketed as a Full Monty-style comedy about poor but happy northerners. Despite featuring gross-out humour (a frisky Dalmatian and a rubber vagina made an appearance alongside gags about bodily fluids), it took a darker turn when bumbling, well-meaning George descended into domestic violence. If East Is East felt at times like two different films welded together, it was the Bafta-nominated Puri who gave it weight and consistency. He reprised his role in a disappointing sequel, West Is West (2010), in which George returns to Pakistan with his youngest son.
Two years before East Is East, he had been impressive as another immigrant father in My Son the Fanatic (1997), written by Hanif Kureishi. He played Parvez, a Pakistani taxi driver whose open and progressive attitude towards racial integration in Britain places him at loggerheads with his son, a budding Islamic fundamentalist. The friction between them is exacerbated by Parvez’s affection for a local prostitute (Rachel Griffiths).
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Om Puri and Helen Mirren in The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014). Photograph: Allstar/Disney/Sportsphoto
Puri was born in Ambala, in the northern Indian state of Haryana, the youngest of seven children of an army officer and his wife; three of his siblings died at a young age. He joined the theatre group Punjab Kala Manch while at college. “When I was doing these social plays, I felt [they were] giving words to my feelings,” he said. He insisted throughout his career on the social value of his work. “It is my first preference to do films with social significance. Art cinema has given me credibility and status as an actor, but commercial cinema has given me a comfortable living.”
He received scholarships to attend the National School of Drama and the Film and Television Institute of India, then both based in Delhi. He made his film debut in 1976 in Ghashiram Kotwal and received acclaim for Aakrosh (1980) in which he was Bhiku, a mute murder suspect whose silence through the picture is broken by a blood-curdling scream in its final minutes. “Om had lived Bhiku’s story by the time this scene was shot and empathised with him completely,” said the film’s director, Govind Nihalani. “I just told him I did not want his expression to be either neutral or over-emotional and then left it to him. I don’t know what he did to build himself up, but Om’s screams touched me like they did each viewer.” Puri was proud of the film, and of Arohan (1983), in which he played a victimised farmer; he was named best actor in the Indian National Film awards for the latter.
His commercial breakthrough came in the tough drama Ardh Satya (1983), in which he was a conscientious young cop confronting Indian corruption. The film won him a second National Film award as well as the best actor prize at the Karlovy Vary film festival. He also appeared in its 1984 follow-up, Party.
Puri was seen by British television audiences in ITV’s The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and in the Channel 4 adaptation of Zadie Smith’s White Teeth (2002). He played a Hindi professor who interviews a great Urdu poet in Ismail Merchant’s In Custody (1994). His English-language films included the Michael Douglas/Val Kilmer adventure The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), Michael Winterbottom’s futuristic thriller Code 46 (2003), Mira Nair’s terrorism drama The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012) and The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014), a feelgood comedy-drama about competing restaurants in a French town, starring Helen Mirren and produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey.
After being appointed honorary OBE in 2005 for services to British cinema, Puri claimed the work dried up from this country. “I thought that was a golden handshake, that we [have] had enough of you – here is your prize, now get lost!” In recent times, he mourned the paucity of complex parts in Indian cinema such as those in Aakrosh and Arohan. “There are hardly any such roles left,” he said. Asked if he hoped one of his forthcoming movies would put him back on the map, he replied: “I have not gone anywhere from the map. I am very much here.”
He had a number of films awaiting release, including Viceroy’s House, Gurinder Chadha’s drama about the last days of the Raj, in which he co-starred with Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson and Michael Gambon. The film is due for release in March.
He is survived by Ishaan, his son from his second marriage, to Nandita, which ended in 2013.
• Om Puri, actor, born 18 October 1950; died 6 January 2017 | {
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Image caption German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble: "The talks were lengthy, quite difficult and intense"
European Union (EU) finance ministers have agreed an outline plan on how to rescue troubled banks - without leaving taxpayers to face the bill.
The banks' creditors and shareholders will take the first hits, followed by savers with deposits of more than 100,000 euros (£85,000).
If that is not enough, government help will be called upon and taxpayers will be among the last to shoulder losses.
EU taxpayers have had to pay for a series of bank rescues in recent years.
Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the outline deal marked a big change in the way that troubled banks are bailed out.
"If a bank gets in trouble we will now, throughout Europe, have one set of rules on who pays the bill," he said.
"The financial sector itself will now to a very, very large extent become responsible for dealing with its own problems."
The next step is for EU governments to negotiate over the legislation with the European parliament.
'The new rule'
The global financial crisis coupled with the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone has hit the region's banking sector severely.
Countries from across the EU - such as Cyprus, Spain and Ireland - have pumped tens of billions of euros in to try and prop up their ailing banks over the past few years.
This establishes 'bail-ins' as the new rule Michael Noonan, Finance Minister, Ireland
In each case, the national government had to foot the bill for rescuing its banks, leading to market fears that the losses at the banks may be more than the government could absorb.
The problem was compounded by the fact that most eurozone governments rely on their own banks to lend them the money they need.
However, things changed earlier this year after Cyprus was asked to raise money through a levy on all Cypriot bank deposits - including those below 100,000 euros - as a condition for securing a loan package worth 10bn euros (£8.4bn; $13bn) from its EU partners and the International Monetary Fund.
But that proposal caused panic in financial markets and was quickly withdrawn.
On Thursday Ireland's Finance Minister Michael Noonan, who chaired the latest talks, said that the new plan aimed to establish clarity on who paid to rescue ailing banks.
"Our aim is to have a common approach throughout Europe so our taxpayers no longer have to shoulder the burden," he said.
"This establishes 'bail-ins' as the new rule," he added, referring to a term used to describe losses being shouldered by a bank and its stakeholders instead of "bailouts" which use public funds.
Earlier this month, ministers agreed guidelines on how the eurozone's emergency bailout fund can inject money directly into struggling banks.
The fund will be able to inject a total of 60bn euros into troubled lenders but the bank's national government, and its lenders and depositors, will still have to share the burden of any rescue. | {
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PISCATAWAY -- The home bench cleared and the crowd went bonkers, and for just a moment on Saturday afternoon inside the Rutgers Athletic Center, it felt the way March is supposed to feel in a college basketball arena.
It felt like it does in Lexington, or in Chapel Hill, or -- and this last one is especially relevant for the Scarlet Knights now -- in Evanston, Ill., during this most wonderful time of year. It was a mix of emotion and excitement and hope for what is coming around the corner, even if the home team has a country mile to travel before it makes that turn.
Still: You can see the corner, at least, for this basketball program. The Scarlet Knights stunned an Illinois team with NCAA Tournament hopes on a late Deshawn Freeman 3-pointer, and no, this 62-59 win alone isn't enough to believe meaningful March basketball is coming again to the RAC.
But the overall season?
That has to give any long-suffering Rutgers fan hope that the arrow is pointing up, because the foundation first-year head coach Steve Pikiell set in 2016-17 is worth celebrating.
"If this place is rocking right now and we finished 14th in the conference, I can only imagine what it would be like if we were right in the middle of the mix," senior center C.J. Gettys said. "That would be something to see."
Gettys knows because he did see it. He watched in unfold on TV last week, when Northwestern stunned Michigan on a last-second heave and layup to wrap up* its first NCAA Tournament bid in school history.
* We'll add the asterisk for any Northwestern graduate who won't believe that the Wildcats are in the field until his or her alma mater shows up in a bracket on Selection Sunday. Hey, no one wants to jinx this thing.
If Northwestern can steal an at-large bid after 77 unsuccessful attempts, then Rutgers can do the same after its own 26-year (and counting) drought. That was the message that Northwestern head coach Chris Collins himself delivered to the Scarlet Knights after a Feb. 18 game between the two teams.
"He brought us to the side and said, 'Keep listening to Coach Pikiell, keep fighting, because you're in the same situation that we were in two years ago,'" guard Corey Sanders said. "That was great words from him. We're going to keep fighting and hopefully we'll be that team next year."
Not to stick a pin in the balloon, but ... the Scarlet Knights aren't going to be that team next year unless something remarkable happens this summer. A team doesn't go from 14-17 overall and 3-15 in the Big Ten in one season and then reach the tournament the next.
This is going to take time. This is going to take more victories on the recruiting trail for Pikiell. Rutgers has taken the step from bad to respectable before, and that step is far easier than the leap from respectable to a Selection Sunday party in Piscataway.
But this team is completely unrecognizable from a season ago when it gave up 110 points in triple overtime against this same Illinois team, and when 30-point blowouts were far more likely than the gut-wrenching three- and four- and six-point losses.
A year ago, with the game tied on the final play, there is little doubt that Sanders would have driven to the hoop and forced a wild shot. This time, he passed to an open Freeman, and while the power forward had only made five 3-pointers all season, he had the confidence to hoist one with a victory in sight.
"I'm proud of how far we've come," Pikiell said. "We're not the most talented team in the league, so we've come a long way in chemistry, we've come a long way in team defense, we've come a long way in rebounding."
Pikiell will have this entire roster back for next season with the exception of Gettys, a stopgap front court player who became a fan favorite. He will need to replace his center, continue to develop promising young wing players like Issa Thiam and find anybody who can shoot the @%#*! basketball.
The most important wins and losses will take place in the high school gymnasiums and living rooms now. Can Pikiell convince the next level of recruit to buy into what he was building? Given the history in Piscataway, you are forgiven if you wait and see before answering that one.
At least his team gave everyone a glimpse of what this time of year might feel like if this program does turn that corner. Because, if the RAC can rock like that for the 14th place team in the Big Ten, imagine how it might feel in a March moment that matters.
Steve Politi may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find Steve on Facebook. | {
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They’ve had a good run, but it’s time to start making the switch: after 60 years, halogen light bulbs will be replaced with their more efficient counterpart, LEDs.
The ban didn’t come out of the blue — it’s the final stage of a European Union directive (EC 244/2009), which aims to progressively ban less efficient energy light sources, improving energy efficiency and cutting carbon emissions across the EU. It started in 2009 with the banning of traditional incandescent light bulbs and will now ultimately expand to include halogen lightbulbs as well.
Simply put, halogen light bulbs cost a bit less than LEDs, but they consume much more energy and have a shorter lifespan. Although there is significant variance between different bulbs, on average, LEDs consume five times less energy than halogen bulbs. In the long run, this will save consumers a lot of money: Philips, one of the largest producers, estimates that consumer savings of up to £112 ($144) a year from the switchover. The EU has a similar estimate:
“Switching from an average halogen lamp to an energy efficient LED will already save approximately 115 Euros (£103) over the LED’s lifetime of up to 20 years, and pay-back its cost within a year,” the EU says.
In terms of emissions, it’s estimated that the shift will prevent a whopping 15 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year — which is the rough equivalent of Portugal’s total emissions, for instance.
Halogen vs LED Halogen light bulbs work are essentially an incandescent lamp, consisting of a tungsten filament surrounded by a mixture of inert gas and a small amount of a halogen such as iodine or bromine. Thanks to this setup, halogen bulbs can be used at a higher temperature than a standard gas-filled lamp, producing more light than conventional incandescent bulbs. But even halogen bulbs, which were innovative in their own right, don’t hold a candle Ito LEDs in terms of lifespan and energy consumption. The average lifespan of a halogen light bulb is 2 years, whereas the average LED will last from 15 to 20 years.
For halogen light bulb producers, the lights won’t go out at once, though. Instead, they will gradually dim. Remaining stocks can still be sold, and some lamps (like capsules and low-voltage incandescents) are exempt from the ban, but for the vast majority of halogen bulbs, the ban will commence starting the 1st of September.
Also, consumers don’t need to worry — there is no obligation to change light bulbs immediately, as the law only affects producers, not consumers. Also, according to estimates, stocks will continue to last for quite a while, so if for some reason you prefer halogen bulbs, there’s no need to stockpile them just yet. | {
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Week 2 (at ATL) and 5 (NYJ) were pass-heavy, when adjusted for game script. Week 1 (TB) and 3 (DET) were more run-heavy than is typical for a Pederson offense. A significant proportion of 2019’s run-heavy tilt is due to the sublime Green Bay game at Lambeau when Doug passed the ball 24.2% less than what would have been expected, given the game script. This game was, by far, the most run-heavy of his head coaching career. There was reasoning behind this anomaly: Mike Pettine chose to keep his defensive personnel in dime and nickel versus the Eagles two tight end sets, allowing Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert to run block against relatively light boxes. As Jason Kelce pithily explained to Sheil Kapadia, the objective in the game was to put the defense in a bind: “Everything’s just trying to get honest numbers out of them.”
Had Pettine loaded the box with base personnel, you can be sure that the Eagles would have been pass-heavy, particularly with Goedert and Ertz on the field. Removing the unusual circumstances of the Green Bay game, the Eagles -0.5% Pass Heavy Index would rank 17th in the league. Their current league rank, in terms of pass-run ratio, is at least partly an artifact of the game-theoretical nature of Doug Pederson’s offense, which is predicated on running versus light boxes and passing versus heavy boxes.
Per the NFL ScrapR box score app created by The Athletic’s Ben Baldwin, this tactic paid huge dividends. The Eagles at Green Bay had both a higher success rate and expected points added (EPA) per play in the running game, compared with the passing game. | {
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Ivanka Trump will attend a summit on the economic empowerment of women in Germany, according to a report.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel invited Trump to the W20 summit during her visit to Washington, D.C., a senior White House official told The Associated Press.
Merkel reportedly met with Trump during the German leader's White House visit. Trump helped to set up a gathering between German and American business leaders.
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The summit is a women-focused program that includes 20 countries and will be held in Berlin in April.
The first daughter is planning to study successful apprenticeship programs at the summit, according to the report.
The White House recently confirmed that Trump will have an office in the West Wing, though she will not have an official title or receive any kind of salary.
In her new office, she will provide advice to President Trump on a sweeping array of topics, her attorney told Politico earlier this month. | {
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