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While Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- won’t arrive until December, fans eagerly anticipating that release in North America can now get their hands on a trial version of the upcoming fighter courtesy of PlayStation Network.
However, there are a few restrictions. First off, you need to be a PlayStation Plus subscriber to access this demo. Additionally, it is only available for PlayStation 4–sorry late adopters.
Similar to the previous Japanese demo, only Sol Badguy and Ky Kiske will be available in the arcade (set to beginner difficulty) and tutorial modes. This allows for some rudimentary training, but expect a wider array of options when the full game launches next month.
Also like the Japanese version, this demo will be playable for a limited time. Starting today, users will be able to get their Guilty Gear fix for two weeks, with the trial period coming to an end on December 9.
Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- will launch for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 in Japan on December 4, and a North American release will follow on December 16.
Source: PlayStation Network | {
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• Israels kritik av det svenska Palestinaerkännandet får nu skarpt mothugg av utrikesminister Margot Wallström (S).
• ”En retorik som gått över alla gränser”, säger hon i en stor DN-intervju.
• Wallström kritiserar också Israel för en förödmjukande och ”oerhört aggressiv” politik gentemot palestinierna. | {
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Now that Ethereum has launched and is rapidly nearing its Homestead phase, over the last few months we at the Ethereum Foundation have finally had the chance to have some breathing room and plan our strategies with a more long-term view. From a development perspective, we have now started in earnest the development of Serenity, the next large overhaul of the Ethereum protocol that will include powerful software abstraction features, the Casper consensus algorithm and hopefully some basic scaffolding that will allow for the development of scalability features over time with minimal disruption. POC1 has been released, and POC2 will likely be released in about one month. In parallel to this, Martin Becze is actively exploring options for optimizing the EVM using WebAssembly, and several groups are working on implementing various forms of advanced cryptography on top of the EVM today.</p>
As exciting as this work is, however, there are also substantial amount of equally important, even if somewhat less glamorous, work that needs to be done on the backend of the backend, in the Ethereum Foundation itself, in order to make sure that the organization can survive and ideally prosper long enough to implement the full extent of the Ethereum vision.</p>
At the time of the last major update of this kind, the Foundation’s primary challenges were organizational and financial. Expenses were very high, peaking at over 400,000 EUR per month being spent on a combination of development, communications, administration and security audits. The ecosystem was rapidly blossoming, with a number of Ethereum-based companies either uncloaking themselves after months of quiet development or newly entering the scene - a saving grace for the Foundation, as it no longer needed to sponsor development of every layer of the ecosystem itself, but nevertheless a transition that needed to be managed, so as to make sure that all of the relevant stakeholders continue to be included in the development process. Administrative inefficiencies, including a total of six entities in four jurisdictions, compounded our problems, and at times it seemed as though there was too much to handle.
It was at this point that we, under the leadership of our new executive director Ming Chan, began a process of streamlining our operations on multiple fronts, so as to prepare the Foundation for its longer-term future.</p>
End of one era, end of one set of challenges, start of an new era, start of another set...
On the non-administrative front, perhaps the main highlight has been our efforts at increased transparency of the research and development process, the major initiatives on that front being the increased emphasis on using our gitter channels for discussion rather than Skype, as well as the EIP process for protocol upgrades; both have been highly successful with a large portion of discussion happening on those channels and many EIPs being made and discussed. We are also actively looking at the status of our other forms of internal and external communication and media, including forums, documentation and tutorials, and are actively welcoming community feedback regarding the best way to improve them.
The largest challenge of them all, however, was clearly financial. Open source projects are often known for being underfunded, sometimes with very unfortunate results, and although the unique nature of public cryptoeconomic blockchains has and may continue to provide opportunities that are simply not available in most other circumstances, the problem remains, and we decided that before we are comfortable looking for ways to get more money we should first aim to be more efficient with the money that we already have. Hence, it is here that the largest gains in the past four months have been made, and with very positive results.
On the development side, we made the decision to take a more focused approach and primarily target the core Ethereum software and specifically the Go client. This still includes much of the original Ethereum development plan, including light clients (which are well underway), a mobile wallet and Mist, and we continue to support C++ and Python to a smaller extent with particular emphasis on the development tools (Solidity and Mix), but other aspects of the ecosystem we are leaving to the wider community; as awesome as the idea behind Whisper is, it is currently getting zero Foundation support - though we are actively looking for partnerships and other mechanisms that will help get some of these additions developed. Our communications has been greatly streamlined, and now consists of a smaller team of individuals who are part-time but more widely distributed around the world.
Some of the largest gains are in administrative costs. Over the past four months, we have started a process of consolidating the legal entities through which Ethereum development is financed by the Foundation; out of the six entities that we have had across Europe through 2015, three have now been essentially decommissioned and will soon begin the process of shutting down. We have also moved out of the house that we had rented when we expected to have a very large number of developers working full-time in Zug, and are now based in a smaller location in the center of town that will save us an employee’s salary worth of monthly rent and utilities; we have also closed our physical office in London and are actively exploring options for cutting rental costs in Berlin. With Ming present much of the time in Switzerland, we now have to rely much less on outside contractors for our needs there, allowing us to save even further.
Somebody else’s electricity bill now...
All in all, the Foundation’s monthly expenditures have now been reduced by over half from our 2015 peak of over 400,000 EUR per month, and currently stand at a monthly sum of about 175,000 EUR (~188,000 USD). This roughly consists of:
22,000 EUR per month for C++ development (down by ~75%)
65,000 EUR per month for Go development (down by ~10%)
5,000 EUR per month for Python development (down by ~50%)
13,000 EUR per month for IT, hosting, maintaining build servers, release coordination, etc (down by ~35% with more cuts likely coming soon)
6,000 EUR per month for communications (down by ~85%)
20,000 EUR per month for research (roughly unchanged)
40,000 EUR per month for top-level administrative and executive staff, accounting, office management, legal and other expenses (down by ~50% with more cuts likely coming soon)
The Foundation’s current assets include roughly 2,250,000 ETH, 500 BTC and $100,000 in fiat currencies, giving us roughly one year of runway from this point assuming that both the ether price and our budgeting preferences remain unchanged. Some salaries are being paid in ether; alongside this, we now also have an ongoing agreement with Bitcoin Suisse to convert the Foundation’s ether into fiat at the rate of 5,000 CHF per day in order to secure ongoing liquidity (alongside ~$650,000 worth of private sales to individuals and businesses). These numbers reflect actual Foundation holdings; almost all ether from the genesis premine and the developer purchase program has by now been distributed to its rightful owners.
Over the next few months we expect optimizations and cost savings to continue, and as our overhead reduces we will begin once again ramping up our efforts on several fronts. We are soon adding Lisa Cheng to our team part-time for communications, and will also begin carefully increasing our expenditures on research efforts in order to speed up the development of Serenity. At the same time, we are actively exploring various kinds of strategies in order to increase the Foundation’s runway. Given the very large level of interest in Ethereum that we have seen in North America, Europe and particularly Asia, we are confident that we will be able to figure out an approach that ensures that development will continue not just past Serenity, but also to a massively scalable Ethereum 2.0 and beyond. | {
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Today we came together with several hundred of people from different countries to demonstrate for freedom of movement and against the EU-Turkey-Deal. The demonstration was organized by an alliance of refugees from Moria and local solidarity initiatives. Today we demonstrated not only on Lesvos but all over Europe and showed our solidarity with each other and everyone struggeling against Europes deadly borders.
One year has passed since the deal came into effect, one year of people suffering its consequences here on Lesvos.
Since the deal Turkey is assumed to be a „safe country“ and people can be and are continously sent back to Turkey instead of getting asylum in Europe. Of course we all know that turkey is not safe at all. In the past we already wrote about how false the assumption of Turkey as a „safe country“ is. Refugees in Turkey face long imprisonment in so called „removal-centers“ without access to a fair asylum procedure, legal support, medical care or decent living conditions. Instead of getting protection refugees are deported back to their homecountries, where most of them have to face war and persecution.
One year has passed since the implementation of the deal, one year of people being stuck on the island. one year of people suffering the horrible living conditions in the hot-spots. One year of detention, deportation, violence, hopelessness.
It is clear that the deal has to be stopped. Today we were fighting against this deal, against the suffering the EU-borders cause here on Lesvos and everywhere else in Europe and beyond. We will continue fighting here for freedom of movement, for open borders and for the right of everyone to live. | {
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain
Satellites are more likely to be at risk from high-speed solar wind than a major geomagnetic storm according to a new UK-US study published this week in the Journal Space Weather.
Researchers investigating the space weather risks to orbiting satellites calculated electron radiation levels within the Van Allen radiation belts. This ring-doughnut-shaped zone wraps around the Earth, trapping charged particles. Geostationary orbit lies inside the Van Allen radiation belts
The study, which analysed years of satellite data, found that electron radiation levels at geostationary orbit could remain exceptionally high for 5 days or more, even after the solar wind speed had died down. As a result, electronic components on satellites could charge up to dangerously high levels and become damaged.
Professor Richard Horne, lead author of the study, said: "Until now we thought that the biggest risk to orbiting satellites was geomagnetic storms. Our study constructed a realistic worst-case event by looking at space weather events caused by high-speed solar wind flowing away from the Sun and striking the Earth. We were surprised to discover just how high electron radiation levels can go."
This new research is particularly interesting to the satellite industry. Professor Horne continues, "Fast solar wind is more dangerous to satellites because the geomagnetic field extends beyond geostationary orbit and electron radiation levels are increased all the way round the orbit – in a major geomagnetic storm the field is distorted and radiation levels peak closer to the Earth.
"Electronic components on satellites are usually protected from electrostatic charges by encasing them in metal shielding. You would have to use about 2.5 mm of aluminium to reduce charging to safe levels – much more than is used at present. There are well over 450 satellites in geostationary orbit and so in a realistic worst case we would expect many satellites to report malfunctions and a strong likelihood of service outage and total satellite loss".
Dr. Nigel Meredith, a co-author on the study said: "A few years ago, we calculated electron radiation levels for a 1 in 150 year space weather event using statistical methods. This study uses a totally different approach but gets a very similar result and confirms that the risk of damage is real."
The solar wind is a stream of particles and magnetic field flowing away from the Sun. It flows around the Earth's magnetic field and excites so-called 'chorus' plasma waves near geostationary orbit. Chorus waves accelerate electrons and form the Van Allen radiation belts. The chorus waves also travel along the geomagnetic field to the Polar Regions where they are detected on the ground at Halley Research Station, Antarctica.
Explore further Researchers discover effect of rare solar wind on Earth's radiation belts
More information: Richard B. Horne et al. Realistic worst case for a severe space weather event driven by a fast solar wind stream, Space Weather (2018). Richard B. Horne et al. Realistic worst case for a severe space weather event driven by a fast solar wind stream,(2018). DOI: 10.1029/2018SW001948 | {
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We all know and love Bungie and understand their potential. They have created great games in the past and I will forever be thankful. If we go over and analyze the marketing and announcements of Halo: Reach, it's very simple. At E3 2009, they released a teaser trailer. At the Video Game Awards, they released a world premiere trailer. And then all in 2010, they dropped ViDoc after ViDoc and new trailers that showed off the story and multi-player all the way up to it's release in September. If we look at Destiny so far, we never received a teaser trailer. In fact, the first thing they released was a ViDoc. The reason for a ViDoc is to inform the public of the indepth creation of the game with some new info. They used a ViDoc as a reveal which is very different. The next trailer they released was the PS4 Announcement trailer. As of then, they never showed a trailer that went solo. I don't think I can call the ViDoc a trailer, and they used the PS4 announcement as a backing for their first trailer. For me, this is all quite strange. Once GDC came around, they released a character development video that was actually really great. Still, I don't think I can call it a trailer. And most recent, they released a CG/Live Action trailer that was made for the media. Of course adding a famous actor, that just so happens, was in my favorite television show of all time, really boosted the trailer and made it quite popular. Some of this makes a lot of sense, but some does not. At E3, they will be going straight to gameplay, showing off Destiny and how amazing it is. I have thought about all of this a lot lately and for the past several months. Many of you know Destiny was leaked, and I was thinking Bungie was using the accidental leaks as type of Teaser for the public. Or maybe Activision has had a big piece of the marketing and is having Bungie release info very differently for some weird reason. Once game devs start releasing stuff you can assume when the game launch will be. Like Halo: Reach. We all knew September 2010 right after they released the teaser. But for Destiny, we are all still not sure. With the idea of gameplay at E3, we could assume it could release this year. But no other game dev in their right mind would release a game the same year they announced it. So then we think it would release early 2014, but Bungie has never released a game early in the year and has always likes to do it in Sept of any year. So, the speculation continues. In my honest opinion, at E3, if Bungie shows an actually playable demo of Destiny, Destiny will release this year. If they only release a gameplay trailer, it will most likely release early 2014, even though that's very strange for Bungie. And I ask you, my fellow community, has anyone else been thinking about this?
Post History Loading, please wait. This may take some time... Revision Date Edited Edited By Subject Link Category Flags Subject Body | {
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If you’ve ever had to work late at the office, alone, with coffee that refuses to exit the mug, then you’re almost definitely going to love One Late Night.
Seriously, this might be the best thing you’ve ever watched, because it literally has all of that. What else does it have? How about keys in toilets, battery scavenge hunts, and spinning computer chairs! Watch me showcase my ineptitude for computers in this moderately freaky indie horror game, after the jump.
One Late Night is a short horror game that follows a graphic designer who stays late at the office with an evil ghost lady. I lasted about twenty minutes, if you include the time I spent fumbling around with the controls. If you don’t count that, then I lasted roughly three minutes. You should definitely play this and see how long you last, because I’m positive it’ll be longer than my little adventure.
If you’d like to play One Late Night, you can download it here. | {
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Interessant an dem Fall ist, dass im Vorfeld der EuGH-Generalanwalt Campos Sánchez-Bordona argumentierte, dass die Nutzung des Bildes aus verschiedenen Gründen rechtens sei, wie Leonhard Dobusch im April auf Netzpolitik.org erläuterte. Das Bild war auf der Webseite eines Reisemagazins online gestellt worden ohne Angabe zum Namen des Fotografen und zu den Rechten. Die Schülerin hatte zwar nicht gefragt, ob sie das Bild verwenden darf, aber einen Link zum Originalbild gesetzt.
Außerdem erklärte Sánchez-Bordona in seinem Schlussantrag:
„Das Einstellen einer Schularbeit, die eine allen Internetnutzern frei und kostenlos zugängliche Fotografie enthält, ohne Gewinnerzielungsabsicht und unter Angabe der Quelle auf der Internetseite einer Schule stellt kein öffentliches Zugänglichmachen […] dar, wenn dieses Bild bereits ohne Hinweis auf Nutzungsbeschränkungen auf dem Internetportal eines Reisemagazins veröffentlicht war.“
Dieser Argumentation ist der EuGH nicht gefolgt, sondern entschied, dass die Nutzung eines Fotos, das schon online steht, auch ohne kommerzielle Absicht eine Urheberrechtsverletzung darstellt. Der Fotograf Dirk Renhoff ist zufrieden – er kann seine Bilder weiterhin exklusiv verwerten.
Das Gericht macht einen Unterschied zwischen Embedding – also dem Einbetten von fremden Inhalten –, das erlaubt ist, wenn der Urheber den Inhalt selbst hochgeladen hat, und dem Hochladen auf den eigenen Server.
Till Kreutzer von iRights.info erklärt im Interview bei Deutschlandfunk den Unterschied so:
„Man kann sich das so vorstellen: Jemand lädt ein Werk auf einen Server und das wird dann auf einer Website angezeigt, nehmen wir mal an, es ist ein Text. Wenn sich den Text dann jemand anderes holt sozusagen und den bei sich dann auf die Webseite stellt, gab es vorher eine Kopie des Textes und jetzt gibt es zwei Kopien des Textes. So ist das bei dem Runter- und Wiederhochladen. Beim Verlinken gibt es aber nur eine Kopie des Textes. Youtube-Video, der klassische Fall: Jemand lädt ein Video bei Youtube hoch, jemand anderes embedded das in seine eigene Webseite, wenn das jemand anklickt, dann sieht das zwar aus, wie seine eigene Webseite, es liegt aber immer noch auf dem Youtube-Server. Das heißt, es gibt nicht eine zweite Kopie dieses Werkes.“
Leonhard Dobusch kommentiert die Entscheidung bei Netzpolitik:
„Es bleibt damit beim bestehenden Rechtsregime, wonach grundsätzlich keine Nutzung ohne Zustimmung der Rechteinhaber im Einzelfall möglich ist, sofern es nicht unter eine Ausnahme wie das Zitatrecht oder Satire fällt. Eine solche Rechteklärung ist in vielen Situationen – so auch in diesem Fall – unrealistisch, weil mit großen Kosten verbunden, ohne dass dadurch den Rechteinhabern relevante Einnahmen zukommen würden.“
Seiner Ansicht nach – das führt er in den Kommentaren des Netzpolitik-Artikels aus – sollten solche Bagatellfälle, bei denen eine quasi-private Nutzung und keine Gewinnabzielungsabsicht vorliegt, per Schranke und gegebenenfalls gegen Zahlung einer Pauschalvergütung erlaubt sein. Das wäre im Sinne einer Bagatell- und Remixschranke für die sich Dobusch schon seit langem als Mitinitiator von „Recht auf Remix“ einsetzt.
Disclosure: Sowohl Till Kreutzer als auch Valie Djordjevic von iRights.info haben die Kampagne „Recht auf Remix“ unterstützt. Till Kreutzer hat auf der Webseite des Remix-Museums einige wichtige Rechtsfälle aufgearbeitet und kuratiert und Valie Djordjevic hat das Buch „Generation Remix“ gemeinsam mit Leonhard Dobusch herausgegeben. | {
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Owen Hargreaves struggled with injury during his time at Old Trafford
Owen Hargreaves has launched a bid to prove his fitness - by posting daily exercise videos on YouTube external-link .
The 30-year-old midfielder is currently without a club after being released by Manchester United in May.
Hargreaves was plagued by injuries during his four years at Old Trafford, making only 39 appearances after signing from Bayern Munich for £17m.
He impressed United after being one of England's strongest performers at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
The Canadian-born midfielder won four German titles and a Champions League winners' medal at Bayern Munich. | {
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Transdev's contract to run a third of Melbourne's city buses is not being extended by the Andrews government in the wake of the company's chronically poor performance.
Unlike Metro Trains and Yarra Trams, who had their franchise agreements extended for seven years in 2017, Transdev’s $1.7 billion, seven-year contract signed in 2013 will not be rolled over for an extra three years.
Public Transport Minister Melissa Horne will announce on Saturday that Transdev’s contract to run 47 bus routes including several Smart Bus routes will wind up in 2021.
A Transdev bus in Lonsdale Street. Credit:Daniel Pockett
The company, which has only once met its contractual punctuality target in five years, will be granted an extra six months to January 2021 before the contract likely goes out to tender. | {
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Cairo Map
At least eight people were wounded in an explosion near a top court building in central Cairo today, security sources said.
They said the blast occurred in front of the main gate of the building, which houses the office of the prosecutor general. Of the wounded, six were policemen and two were civilians.
The public prosecutor was inside the building at the time of the blast, they sources added, and had since left to inspect the scene of the attack.
While most of the worst attacks in Egypt have hit the Sinai Peninsula, a remote but strategic region bordering Gaza that is a hotbed of Islamist militants, smaller blasts have become increasingly common in Cairo and other cities.
Last Thursday there were four bomb attacks in Cairo. One person was killed and two were wounded in one of the attacks outside a restaurant in the residential Imbaba district of the capital, the Interior Ministry said.
© Thomson Reuters 2015 | {
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We asked Nightdive Studios about what's new with Doom 64, and whether the Unmaker is a better weapon than the BFG9000.
When Bethesda's Pete Hines popped up on a Nintendo Direct last year to announce a re-release of Midway's Doom 64, an often overlooked entry in the Doom franchise, it came as a pretty big surprise. As we've seen more of id's Doom Eternal in the months since, the reasoning behind bringing back Doom 64 has become much clearer. After all, Doom 64 isn't just riding the wave of hype that Doom Eternal has generated.
Midway more-or-less designed Doom 64 as a sequel to Doom 2. It picks up the story from there and, rather than stick close to the presentation of id's originals, Doom 64's levels are typically much darker and its ambient soundtrack is more foreboding. Doom 64 took the series in that direction long before Doom 3 came about, and we'll also get to see that atmosphere and story expanded upon in a brand new chapter made for the port.
Since it was only ever officially released for the Nintendo 64 in 1997, plenty of folks are going to be experiencing Doom 64 for the first time later this month. While Bethesda's recent releases of Doom and Doom 2 launched with some issues, there's good reason to trust that Doom 64 is getting top-tier treatment from the port's developers at Nightdive Studios.
You may know Nightdive as the team behind the upcoming System Shock remake, but the studio has also released a few faithful ports of classic first-person shooters including Turok, Forsaken, and Blood. These have all been powered by the KEX engine, which has its roots in work that Nightdive's lead engine developer Samuel Villareal did years ago on an unofficial PC port of Doom 64. With Nightdive's work on the new Bethesda-approved port, Villareal's work is coming full circle.
Villareal and other Nightdive developers shared some info with USgamer on the new content that's coming to the Doom 64 port, from control options to technical improvements. Nightdive also weighed in on whether the Unmaker, Doom 64's super-powerful laser weapon, is a better gun than the BFG9000—and at PAX East 2020, id's Marty Stratton gave his own thoughts on the debate while giving a hint of what's coming in Doom Eternal.
USgamer: Doom 64 first made its way off of the Nintendo 64 by way of some unofficial ports, including your own: Doom 64 EX. What are some of the most notable advancements this official port has over previous efforts?
Samuel Villarreal, lead engine (KEX) developer: There were many subtle things that were missed when I initially reverse engineered the game, such as enemies being able to trigger the dart traps in Even Simpler. Enemies having different falling physics compared to the player's. Delays in scripted events being one-frame shorter—the split door in Breakdown is a good example of that—and [the] slightly different line-of-sight logic. Getting those right also made it possible for the demos to sync up, which was something that I struggled with for years, so now users will be able to use the 'RunHecticDemo' password [a code used to watch a successful playthrough of Doom 64's hidden level Hectic]. In addition to this, the game is also capable of supporting frame rates for monitors beyond 60Hz, meaning you can choose to run the game at 120 FPS or even above 1000 FPS. Everything is now interpolated to run as silky smooth as possible.
Additionally, the way sprites are rendered is now more true to how the original game rendered them, so no more seeing the bottom of sprites being clipped by the floor or explosion sprites being partially clipped by walls. I've even employed a technique that was suggested by John Carmack in his release notes when the source code to Doom was released back in 1997. These things are pretty subtle but I am definitely proud of it.
Doom fans are more likely to have a good understanding of the original Doom engine or subsequent versions of id Tech, but Midway used a heavily modified version for Doom 64. Does it have any features, intended for the N64 or otherwise, that you find particularly interesting?
SV: There wasn't anything that really pushed the hardware per se, but the N64 was definitely capable of rendering more geometry versus previous ports. So Doom 64 was able to showcase more complex layouts in levels, and then there's the colored lighting and macro scripting system that was introduced that changed the way Doom played and looked. I also think, with Quake being out at the time and all, Doom 64 tried to do a lot with the lighting to at least keep up with Quake in some shape or form, so walls had gradient shading to simulate lights. Some enemies were also slightly changed to be either more aggressive or dangerous.
Fully upgraded, the Unmaker quickly dispatches Hell Knights and Barons. | Nightdive/Bethesda
Were there any notable bugs in Doom 64 that have been fixed for this release, or perhaps some unintended tricks that have been carried forward?
SV: Not much, surprisingly. A lot of the bugs were carry-overs from the [Midway-developed] Jaguar port of Doom and PSX Doom. However, there were a few bugs that were addressed in Doom 64, such as a check to prevent spechits overflow and checks to prevent Lost Souls from getting ejected out of the level when Pain Elementals explode. There were also some changes to the collision system that resulted in new bugs such as getting caught in 90-degree corners. These collision changes also prevent the speed boost trick when running up along northern angled walls.
Doom 64 has been discussed a lot in the lead-up to Doom Eternal, especially by Eternal's co-director Hugo Martin. Can you talk about any connections Doom fans should keep an eye out for in either game?
James Haley, senior developer: On our end, persistent players will have the opportunity to unlock a new chapter in the Doomguy's saga, taking place shortly after [Doom 64's] original campaign concludes. The Mother Demon you defeated in that outing had a sister, and since you've been messing up Hell non-stop, she tries to get rid of you by sending you away. If you can make your way back and take revenge, you’ll be rewarded with a bit of lore that fans of both series, new and classic, should enjoy.
In playtesting, how have players felt the difficulty of Doom 64 stands up to other classic Doom releases? Do mouse and keyboard or modern controllers make it feel easier?
Leo Mikkola, quality assurance lead: It very much feels like Doom—with some key differences in level design when comparing to the older games. I don't think the game necessarily becomes easier with modernized controls for keyboard and mouse—it becomes more accessible. The learning curve is lower compared to the Nintendo 64 version though, as movement feels more fluid overall and there's a distinct reduction of input lag in our version, which makes the game feel more fair.
With video of Doom 64 running on N64, you often have a hard time seeing anything. | Nightdive/Bethesda
Have any notable tweaks been made to the controls or gameplay, and if so, are any of them able to be toggled on or off?
Edward Richardson, multiplayer developer: Some little things here and there, such as an Autorun toggle, and the automap can be navigated with the [Switch] touchscreen or [PS4] touchpad. Otherwise, the keyboard and mouse controls will feel very familiar to classic Doom players on PC, and also on Xbox if you hook up a keyboard and mouse.
The original game was quite dark, so while we haven't permanently changed the lighting—that would be sacrilege—there's a couple of new brightness settings that change the overall brightness and the environment brightness which will help make the game far easier to see on modern displays. There's also an option to change the blood color between red and the lesser-known green from the original Japanese release.
JH: Optional motion control support on the Switch and PlayStation 4 is my favorite addition. Using it to fine tune your aim gives a sense of really being there in the moment.
What's the better gun, Doom 64's Unmaker or the BFG9000?
JH: Going to give my vote to the Unmaker, so long as you get all the Demon Keys to power it up. Its ability to stunlock even the big bosses is great.
LM: For me, it's the BFG9000. While I really do appreciate the Unmaker, nothing can beat a well-timed BFG9000 shot annihilating the horde of enemies standing between you and the exit.
ER: The Unmaker can become an overwhelming beast once it's fully unlocked, however, the BFG9000 is just more fun to use, personally. Though that may just be the years of playing around the BFG's weird behavior talking.
SV: 3D lasers are cool. That blew my mind back in the day.
Marty Stratton, co-director and executive producer on Doom Eternal: Both are awesome, and [this is] hopefully not a spoiler, but you'll get to decide for yourself in Doom Eternal, because they're both in there. You get to unlock the Unmaker if you complete all the Slayer Gates, and those are badass combat encounters.
Doom 64 will release alongside Doom Eternal on March 20, 2020 for the PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. It's a pre-order bonus for Doom Eternal, but it will also be available as a separate $4.99 purchase.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. | {
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St George Illawarra Canterbury Cup NSW coach Mat Head has named his preliminary final team to play the Newtown Jets at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Kogarah on Sunday, September 22.
The grand final qualifying fixture will kick-off at 3:05pm and will be telecast live on Channel Nine. | {
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Craps table for virtual gaming There are many exciting games in the world. With the advent of the Internet in our lives, most of the… | {
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Prenez note que cet article publié en 2018 pourrait contenir des informations qui ne sont plus à jour.
L'Alberta a annoncé mardi que la province suspend toutes les importations de vins venant de la Colombie-Britannique, haussant le ton dans la bataille que se livrent les deux provinces à propos de l'expansion du pipeline Trans Mountain.
Un texte de Stéphanie Rousseau et Charlotte Dumoulin
La Colombie-Britannique a annoncé la semaine dernière qu’elle envisage des restrictions pour transport de bitume sur son territoire, un geste vu par l'Alberta comme une action contre l’expansion prévue du pipeline Trans Mountain de Kinder Morgan.
« L'industrie du vin est très importante pour la Colombie-Britannique », a déclaré Rachel Notley lors d'une conférence de presse. « Ce n'est pas aussi important que l'industrie de l'énergie en Alberta et au Canada, mais c’est important. »
En 2017, l'Alberta a importé environ 17,2 millions de bouteilles de vin de Colombie-Britannique, a précisé Mme Notley, ce qui représente 70 millions de dollars par année.
Agrandir l’image (Nouvelle fenêtre) Les vignes du See Ya Later Ranch dans l'Okanagan Photo : Radio-Canada / Philippe Moulier
La Commission des alcools et des jeux de l’Alberta va aussi « intensifier l'application de la loi sur les ventes directes aux consommateurs », a ajouté la première ministre.
Nous encourageons les Albertains à choisir une bière artisanale de l'Alberta. Rachel Notley, première ministre de l'Alberta
Mme Notley avait déjà annoncé la semaine dernière que l'Alberta suspendait les pourparlers avec la Colombie-Britannique sur la vente d'électricité, qui rapporte jusqu'à 500 millions de dollars par année dans les coffres de la province côtière.
En Colombie-Britannique, le gouvernement minoritaire néo-démocrate de John Horgan, qui a besoin du Parti vert pour gouverner, ne veut pas donner son aval immédiatement à l'accroissement de la capacité de l'oléoduc Trans Mountain, qui achemine déjà du pétrole lourd de l'Alberta vers le port de Vancouver.
Le gouvernement souhaite d'abord examiner l'efficacité des mesures d'intervention et de décontamination en cas de déversement.
En soirée mardi, John Horgan a exhorté l'Alberta à revenir sur sa décision. « Si l'Alberta n'est pas d'accord, elle peut présenter ses arguments dans un endroit approprié, soit une cour de justice, a-t-il déclaré en affirmant haut et fort qu'il défendra les producteurs de vin de la Colombie-Britannique.
Nous répondrons aux actions commerciales injustes annoncées aujourd'hui John Horgan, premier ministre de la Colombie-Britannique
Agrandir l’image (Nouvelle fenêtre) Des vignes du vignoble Blasted Church dans l'Okanagan Photo : Radio-Canada / Philippe Moulier
« Une guerre commerciale »
Sylvain Charlebois, professeur en politique agroalimentaire à l'Université Dalhousie, à Halifax, estime que le conflit entre l'Alberta et la Colombie-Britannique vient de franchir une étape marquante. Il parle d'une guerre commerciale.
« J'ai l'impression que l'intention première de l'Alberta, c'est d'envoyer un signal clair, comme quoi elle n'est pas prête à tolérer le geste que pose le gouvernement de la Colombie-Britannique », explique Sylvain Charlebois.
M. Charlebois ne prévoit pas de graves conséquences sur l'industrie viticole britanno-colombienne à court terme, mais, selon lui, l'Alberta pourrait encore aller plus loin avec cet embargo et viser ensuite les produits maraîchers et l'industrie du saumon de la Colombie-Britannique.
La constitutionnalité du geste de la Colombie-Britannique mise en doute
La première ministre albertaine a déjà estimé que le blocage du gouvernement de la Colombie-Britannique dans le dossier de l'oléoduc Trans Mountain constitue une tentative inconstitutionnelle pour contourner le feu vert donné par Ottawa.
Les libéraux de Justin Trudeau ont approuvé le projet en novembre 2016, en imposant des dizaines de conditions au promoteur, Kinder Morgan. L'expansion de l'oléoduc Trans Mountain permettrait de tripler la capacité du réseau, qui passerait de 300 000 à 890 000 barils par jour de pétrole lourd acheminé jusqu'au port de Vancouver, à Burnaby. | {
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Editor's note: John Avlon is a CNN contributor and senior political columnist for Newsweek and The Daily Beast. He is co-editor of the new book "Deadline Artists: America's Greatest Newspaper Columns."
(CNN) -- The debates this presidential primary season have been less like Lincoln-Douglas than former heavyweight champ Buster Douglas -- punch-drunk pugilism, providing entertainment and some great upsets along the way.
But for all the excitement of the fights, there is a civic cost to the radioactive rhetoric that gets thrown out to excite the conservative crowds.
It's not just that the most irresponsible candidates can play to the base and get a boost in the polls, while more sober-minded candidates like Jon Huntsman fail to get attention. The real damage is to the process of running for president itself. Because when low blows get rewarded, the incentive to try to emulate Lincoln -- holding yourself to a higher standard -- is diminished. And one barometer of this atmospheric shift is in the increasingly overheated rhetoric by candidates attacking the current president. This serial disrespect ends up unintentionally diminishing the office of president itself.
Look, I know that politics is a full-contact sport: Elbows get thrown and egos get bruised. But ask yourself if Ronald Reagan ever called Jimmy Carter a socialist or a communist on the stump. Sure, there were deep philosophical and policy disagreements between them, and Carter was called a failed president many times. But there was a lingering respect for the office that retained an essential bit of dignity. It was only the far-right fringe who indulged in the kind of rhetoric we now hear routinely from presidential candidates.
For example, Newt Gingrich gained steam early in the primary process by accusing President Obama of having a "Kenyan anti-Colonial mindset," and invoking the specter of a "Obama's secular socialist machine." As a highly compensated historian, Newt should have known better than to say that Obama is the "most radical president in American history." But then accuracy -- or even aiming in the general vicinity of the truth -- isn't the point.
Rick Santorum raised eyebrows this past weekend for saying Obama wants to impose a "phony theology" on America. Santorum has since tried to clarify that he was not trying to raise doubts about the president's religion and I'll take him at his word. Likewise, when Santorum compares GOP primary voters to members of the "greatest generation" called to act against the rise of Nazi Germany, I'll assume that Santorum isn't intentionally comparing the president to Hitler.
But a month ago, when a Santorum supporter accused Obama of being "an avowed Muslim" who "constantly says that our Constitution is passé" and "has no legal right to be calling himself president" -- Santorum did nothing to correct her.
Instead, he told CNN: "I don't feel it's my obligation every time someone says something I don't agree with to contradict them."
But I think standing up for the truth in the face of unhinged hate is part of a potential president's job. So did John McCain.
Four years ago, at the height of the general election, when a supporter called then-candidate Obama an "Arab," McCain corrected her. He said, "No, ma'am. He's a decent family man ... (a) citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues." That's the voice of a loyal opposition, putting patriotism above partisanship.
Even the sober-minded Mitt Romney has gotten into the hyper-partisan pandering game lately. Maybe he's trying to compensate for a lack of enthusiasm on the far-right with red meat rhetoric, but the effect is desperate.
For example, when Mitt was barnstorming through Florida, a standard part of his stump speech was this: "Sometimes I think we have a president who doesn't understand America." This line was straight out of the "Alien in the White House" playbook, a riff that reinforced the worst impulses of some in the audience, as one woman at a Romney rally named Katheryn Sarka eagerly reaffirmed when I asked her what she thought of the line: "Obama doesn't understand America. He follows George Soros. Obama is against our Constitution and our democracy."
After his big Nevada win, this line of Mitt's scripted victory speech stood out: "President Obama demonizes and denigrates almost every sector of our economy." Romney knows this isn't true, but he's been convinced that it works and he seems to be willing to say whatever it takes to make the sale.
Here's what's most troubling about this trend: It doesn't seem remarkable anymore. For the candidates and many in the press, it is just the new normal, the cost of doing business. The overheated rhetoric simply reflects the conversation that's been going on at the grassroots for a long time.
Like a frog in a slowly boiling pot of water, we don't realize that the heat is killing us until it is too late -- except that the casualty here is the quality of our civic debate and the bonds that are bigger than partisan politics.
It's naïve to think it will stop when Mr. Obama is no longer president, whether that is in one year or five. Because the next Republican president will inherit the political atmosphere that's been created and find that it is almost impossible to unite the nation absent a crisis. Some Democratic activists will no doubt take a tactical page from recent conservative successes. This cycle of incitement -- where extremes inflame and empower each other -- will make our politics more of an ideological bloodsport and less about actually solving problems.
Perspective is the thing we have least of in our politics these days. But perspective is what the presidency is all about -- rising above divisions and distractions to make long-term decisions in the national interest. By pouring gasoline on an already inflammatory political environment, the GOP presidential candidates not only diminish themselves, they diminish the process of running for president, and make it less likely that they would succeed in uniting the nation if they actually won the office.
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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of John Avlon. | {
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It could rightfully be said that logs are one of the most underestimated and underutilized tools at a freelance php developer’s disposal. Despite the wealth of information they can offer, it is not uncommon for logs to be the last place a developer looks when trying to resolve a problem.
In truth, PHP log files should in many cases be the first place to look for clues when problems occur. Often, the information they contain could significantly reduce the amount of time spent pulling out your hair trying to track down a gnarly bug.
But perhaps even more importantly, with a bit of creativity and forethought, your logs files can be leveraged to serve as a valuable source of usage information and analytics. Creative use of log files can help answer questions such as: What browsers are most commonly being used to visit my site? What’s the average response time from my server? What was the percentage of requests to the site root? How has usage changed since we deployed the latest updates? And much, much more.
This article provides a number of tips on how to configure your log files, as well as how to process the information that they contain, in order to maximize the benefit that they provide.
Although this article focuses technically on logging for PHP developers, much of the information presented herein is fairly technology agnostic and is relevant to other languages and technology stacks as well.
Note: This article presumes basic familiarity with the Unix shell. For those lacking this knowledge, an Appendix is provided that introduces some of the commands needed for accessing and reading log files on a Unix system.
Our PHP Log File Example Project
As an example project for discussion purposes in this article, we will take Symfony Standard as a working project and we’ll set it up on Debian 7 Wheezy with rsyslogd , nginx , and PHP-FPM .
composer create-project symfony/framework-standard-edition my "2.6.*"
This quickly gives us a working test project with a nice UI.
Tips for Configuring Your Log Files
Here are some pointers on how to configure your log files to help maximize their value.
Error Log Confguration
Error logs represent the most basic form of logging; i.e., capturing additional information and detail when problems occur. So, in an ideal world, you would want there to be no errors and for your error logs to be empty. But when problems do occur (as they invariably do), your error logs should be one of the first stops you make on your debugging trail.
Error logs are typically quite easy to configure.
For one thing, all error and crash messages can be logged in the error log in exactly the same format in which they would otherwise be presented to a user. With some simple configuration, the end user will never need to see those ugly error traces on your site, while devops will be still able to monitor the system and review these error messages in all their gory detail. Here’s how to setup this kind of logging in PHP:
log_errors = On error_reporting = E_ALL error_log = /path/to/my/error/log
Another two lines that are important to include in a log file for a live site, to preclude gory levels of error detail from being to presented to users, are:
display_errors = Off display_startup_errors = Off
System Log ( syslog ) Confguration
There are many generally compatible implementations of the syslog daemon in the open source world including:
syslogd and sysklogd – most often seen on BSD family systems, CentOS, Mac OS X, and others
and – most often seen on BSD family systems, CentOS, Mac OS X, and others syslog-ng – default for modern Gentoo and SuSE builds
– default for modern Gentoo and SuSE builds rsyslogd – widely used on the Debian and Fedora families of operating systems
(Note: In this article, we’ll be using rsyslogd for our examples.)
The basic syslog configuration is generally adequate for capturing your log messages in a system-wide log file (normally /var/log/syslog ; might also be /var/log/messages or /var/log/system.log depending on the distro you’re using).
The system log provides several log facilities, eight of which ( LOG_LOCAL0 through LOG_LOCAL7 ) are reserved for user-deployed projects. Here, for example, is how you might setup LOG_LOCAL0 to write to 4 separate log files, based on logging level (i.e., error, warning, info, debug):
# /etc/rsyslog.d/my.conf local0.err /var/log/my/err.log local0.warning /var/log/my/warning.log local0.info -/var/log/my/info.log local0.debug -/var/log/my/debug.log
Now, whenever you write a log message to LOG_LOCAL0 facility, the error messages will go to /var/log/my/err.log , warning messages will go to /var/log/my/warning.log , and so on. Note, though, that the syslog daemon filters messages for each file based on the rule of “this level and higher”. So, in the example above, all error messages will appear in all four configured files, warning messages will appear in all but the error log, info messages will appear in the info and debug logs, and debug messages will only go to debug.log .
One additional important note; The - signs before the info and debug level files in the above configuration file example indicate that writes to those files should be perfomed asynchronously (since these operations are non-blocking). This is typically fine (and even recommended in most situations) for info and debug logs, but it’s best to have writes to the error log (and most prpobably the warning log as well) be synchronous.
In order to shut down a less important level of logging (e.g., on a production server), you may simply redirect related messages to /dev/null (i.e., to nowhere):
local0.debug /dev/null # -/var/log/my/debug.log
One specific customization that is useful, especially to support some of the PHP log file parsing we’ll be discussing later in this article, is to use tab as the delimiter character in log messages. This can easily be done by adding the following file in /etc/rsyslog.d :
# /etc/rsyslog.d/fixtab.conf $EscapeControlCharactersOnReceive off
And finally, don’t forget to restart the syslog daemon after you make any configuration changes in order for them to take effect:
service rsyslog restart
Server Log Confguration
Unlike application logs and error logs that you can write to, server logs are exclusively written to by the corresponding server daemons (e.g., web server, database server, etc.) on each request. The only “control” you have over these logs is to the extent that the server allows you to configure its logging functionality. Though there can be a lot to sift through in these files, they are often the only way to get a clear sense of what’s going on “under the hood” with your server.
Let’s deploy our Symfony Standard example application on nginx environment with MySQL storage backend. Here’s the nginx host config we will be using:
server { server_name my.log-sandbox; root /var/www/my/web; location / { # try to serve file directly, fallback to app.php try_files $uri /app.php$is_args$args; } # DEV # This rule should only be placed on your development environment # In production, don't include this and don't deploy app_dev.php or config.php location ~ ^/(app_dev|config)\.php(/|$) { fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php5-fpm.sock; fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.*)$; include fastcgi_params; fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name; fastcgi_param HTTPS off; } # PROD location ~ ^/app\.php(/|$) { fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php5-fpm.sock; fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.*)$; include fastcgi_params; fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name; fastcgi_param HTTPS off; # Prevents URIs that include the front controller. This will 404: # http://domain.tld/app.php/some-path # Remove the internal directive to allow URIs like this internal; } error_log /var/log/nginx/my_error.log; access_log /var/log/nginx/my_access.log; }
With regard to the last two directives above: access_log represents the general requests log, while error_log is for errors, and, as with application error logs, it’s worth setting up extra monitoring to be alerted to problems so you can react quickly.
Note: This is an intentionally oversimplified nginx config file that is provided for example purposes only. It pays almost no attention to security and performance and shouldn’t be used as-is in any “real” environment.
This is what we get in /var/log/nginx/my_access.log after typing http://my.log-sandbox/app_dev.php/ in browser and hitting Enter .
192.168.56.1 - - [26/Apr/2015:16:13:28 +0300] "GET /app_dev.php/ HTTP/1.1" 200 6715 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_10_3) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/42.0.2311.90 Safari/537.36" 192.168.56.1 - - [26/Apr/2015:16:13:28 +0300] "GET /bundles/framework/css/body.css HTTP/1.1" 200 6657 "http://my.log-sandbox/app_dev.php/" "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_10_3) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/42.0.2311.90 Safari/537.36" 192.168.56.1 - - [26/Apr/2015:16:13:28 +0300] "GET /bundles/framework/css/structure.css HTTP/1.1" 200 1191 "http://my.log-sandbox/app_dev.php/" "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_10_3) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/42.0.2311.90 Safari/537.36" 192.168.56.1 - - [26/Apr/2015:16:13:28 +0300] "GET /bundles/acmedemo/css/demo.css HTTP/1.1" 200 2204 "http://my.log-sandbox/app_dev.php/" "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_10_3) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/42.0.2311.90 Safari/537.36" 192.168.56.1 - - [26/Apr/2015:16:13:28 +0300] "GET /bundles/acmedemo/images/welcome-quick-tour.gif HTTP/1.1" 200 4770 "http://my.log-sandbox/app_dev.php/" "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_10_3) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/42.0.2311.90 Safari/537.36" 192.168.56.1 - - [26/Apr/2015:16:13:28 +0300] "GET /bundles/acmedemo/images/welcome-demo.gif HTTP/1.1" 200 4053 "http://my.log-sandbox/app_dev.php/" "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_10_3) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/42.0.2311.90 Safari/537.36" 192.168.56.1 - - [26/Apr/2015:16:13:28 +0300] "GET /bundles/acmedemo/images/welcome-configure.gif HTTP/1.1" 200 3530 "http://my.log-sandbox/app_dev.php/" "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_10_3) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/42.0.2311.90 Safari/537.36" 192.168.56.1 - - [26/Apr/2015:16:13:28 +0300] "GET /favicon.ico HTTP/1.1" 200 6518 "http://my.log-sandbox/app_dev.php/" "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_10_3) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/42.0.2311.90 Safari/537.36" 192.168.56.1 - - [26/Apr/2015:16:13:30 +0300] "GET /app_dev.php/_wdt/e50d73 HTTP/1.1" 200 13265 "http://my.log-sandbox/app_dev.php/" "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_10_3) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/42.0.2311.90 Safari/537.36"
This shows that, for serving one page, the browser actually performs 9 HTTP calls. 7 of those, however, are requests to static content, which are plain and lightweight. However, they still take network resources and this is what can be optimized by using various sprites and minification techniques.
While those optimisations are to be discussed in another article, what’s relavant here is that we can log requests to static contents separately by using another location directive for them:
location ~ \.(jpg|jpeg|gif|png|ico|css|zip|tgz|gz|rar|bz2|pdf|txt|tar|wav|bmp|rtf|js)$ { access_log /var/log/nginx/my_access-static.log; }
Remember that nginx location performs simple regular expression matching, so you can include as many static contents extensions as you expect to dispatch on your site.
Parsing such logs is no different than parsing application logs.
Other Logs Worth Mentioning
Two other PHP logs worth mentioning are the debug log and data storage log.
The Debug Log
Another convenient thing about nginx logs is the debug log. We can turn it on by replacing the error_log line of the config with the following (requires that the nginx debug module be installed):
error_log /var/log/nginx/my_error.log debug;
The same setting applies for Apache or whatever other webserver you use.
And incidentally, debug logs are not related to error logs, even though they are configured in the error_log directive.
Although the debug log can indeed be verbose (a single nginx request, for example, generated 127KB of log data!), it can still be very useful. Wading through a log file may be cumbersome and tedious, but it can often quickly provide clues and information that greatly help accelerate the debugging process.
In particular, the debug log can really help with debugging nginx configurations, especially the most complicated parts, like location matching and rewrite chains.
Of course, debug logs should never be enabled in a production environment. The amount of space they use also and the amount of information that they store means a lot of I/O load on your server, which can degrade the whole system’s performance significantly.
Data Storage Logs
Another type of server log (useful for debugging) is data storage logs. In MySQL, you can turn them on by adding these lines:
[mysqld] general_log = 1 general_log_file = /var/log/mysql/query.log
These logs simply contain a list of queries run by the system while serving database requests in chronological order, which can be helpful for various debugging and tracing needs. However, they should not stay enabled on production systems, since they will generate extra unnecessary I/O load, which affects performance.
Writing to Your Log Files
PHP itself provides functions for opening, writing to, and closing log files ( openlog() , syslog() , and closelog() , respectively).
There are also numerous logging libraries for the PHP developer, such as Monolog (popular among Symfony and Laravel users), as well as various framework-specific implementations, such as the logging capabilities incorporated into CakePHP. Generally, libraries like Monolog not only wrap syslog() calls, but also allow using other backend functionality and tools.
Here’s a simple example of how to write to the log:
<?php openlog(uniqid(), LOG_ODELAY, LOG_LOCAL0); syslog(LOG_INFO, 'It works!');
Our call here to openlog :
configures PHP to prepend a unique identifier to each system log message within the script’s lifetime
sets it to delay opening the syslog connection until the first syslog() call has occurred
call has occurred sets LOG_LOCAL0 as the default logging facility
Here’s what the contents of the log file would look like after running the above code:
# cat /var/log/my/info.log Mar 2 00:23:29 log-sandbox 54f39161a2e55: It works!
Maximizing the Value of Your PHP Log Files
Now that we’re all good with theory and basics, let’s see how much we can get from logs making as few changes as possible to our sample Symfony Standard project.
First, let’s create the scripts src/log-begin.php (to properly open and configure our logs) and src/log-end.php (to log information about successful completion). Note that, for simplicity, we’ll just write all messages to the info log.
# src/log-begin.php <?php define('START_TIME', microtime(true)); openlog(uniqid(), LOG_ODELAY, LOG_LOCAL0); syslog(LOG_INFO, 'BEGIN'); syslog(LOG_INFO, "URI\t{$_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']}"); $browserHash = substr(md5($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT']), 0, 7); syslog(LOG_INFO, "CLIENT\t{$_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']}\t{$browserHash}"); <br /> # src/log-end.php <?php syslog(LOG_INFO, "DISPATCH TIME\t" . round(microtime(true) - START_TIME, 2)); syslog(LOG_INFO, 'END');
And let’s require these scripts in app.php :
<?php require_once(dirname(__DIR__) . '/src/log-begin.php'); syslog(LOG_INFO, "MODE\tPROD"); # original app.php contents require_once(dirname(__DIR__) . '/src/log-end.php');
For the development environment, we want to require these scripts in app_dev.php as well. The code to do so would be the same as above, except we would set the MODE to DEV rather than PROD .
We also want to track what controllers are being invoked, so let’s add one more line in Acme\DemoBundle\EventListener\ControllerListener , right at the beginning of the ControllerListener::onKernelController() method:
syslog(LOG_INFO, "CONTROLLER\t" . get_class($event->getController()[0]));
Note that these changes total a mere 15 extra lines of code, but can collectively yield a wealth of information.
Analyzing the Data in Your Log Files
For starters, let’s see how many HTTP requests are required to serve each page load.
Here’s the info in the logs for one request, based on the way we’ve configured our logging:
Mar 3 12:04:20 log-sandbox 54f58724b1ccc: BEGIN Mar 3 12:04:20 log-sandbox 54f58724b1ccc: URI /app_dev.php/ Mar 3 12:04:20 log-sandbox 54f58724b1ccc: CLIENT 192.168.56.1 1b101cd Mar 3 12:04:20 log-sandbox 54f58724b1ccc: MODE DEV Mar 3 12:04:23 log-sandbox 54f58724b1ccc: CONTROLLER Acme\DemoBundle\Controller\WelcomeController Mar 3 12:04:25 log-sandbox 54f58724b1ccc: DISPATCH TIME 4.51 Mar 3 12:04:25 log-sandbox 54f58724b1ccc: END Mar 3 12:04:25 log-sandbox 54f5872967dea: BEGIN Mar 3 12:04:25 log-sandbox 54f5872967dea: URI /app_dev.php/_wdt/59b8b6 Mar 3 12:04:25 log-sandbox 54f5872967dea: CLIENT 192.168.56.1 1b101cd Mar 3 12:04:25 log-sandbox 54f5872967dea: MODE DEV Mar 3 12:04:28 log-sandbox 54f5872967dea: CONTROLLER Symfony\Bundle\WebProfilerBundle\Controller\ProfilerController Mar 3 12:04:29 log-sandbox 54f5872967dea: DISPATCH TIME 4.17 Mar 3 12:04:29 log-sandbox 54f5872967dea: END
So now we know that each page load is actually served with two HTTP requests.
Actually there are two points worth mentioning here. First, the two requests per page load is for using Symfony in dev mode (which I have done throughout this article). You can identify dev mode calls by searching for /app-dev.php/ URL chunks. Second, let’s say each page load is served with two subsequent requests to the Symfony app. As we saw earlier in the nginx access logs, there are actually more HTTP calls, some of which are for static content.
OK, now let’s surf a bit on the demo site (to build up the data in the log files) and let’s see what else we can learn from these logs.
How many requests were served in total since the beginning of the logfile?
# grep -c BEGIN info.log 10
Did any of them fail (did the script shut down without reaching the end)?
# grep -c END info.log 10
We see that the number of BEGIN and END records match, so this tells us that all of the calls were successful. (If the PHP script had not completed successfully, it would not have reached execution of the src/log-end.php script.)
What was the percentage of requests to the site root?
# `grep -cE "\s/app_dev.php/$" info.log` 2
This tells us that there were 2 page loads of the site root. Since we previously learned that (a) there are 2 requests to the app per page load and (b) there were a total of 10 HTTP requests, the percentage of requests to the site root was 40% (i.e., 2x2/10).
Which controller class is responsible for serving requests to site root?
# grep -E "\s/$|\s/app_dev.php/$" info.log | head -n1 Mar 3 12:04:20 log-sandbox 54f58724b1ccc: URI /app_dev.php/ # grep 54f58724b1ccc info.log | grep CONTROLLER Mar 3 12:04:23 log-sandbox 54f58724b1ccc: CONTROLLER Acme\DemoBundle\Controller\WelcomeController
Here we used the unique ID of a request to check all log messages related to that single request. We thereby were able to determine that the controller class responsible for serving requests to site root is Acme\DemoBundle\Controller\WelcomeController .
Which clients with IPs of subnet 192.168.0.0/16 have accessed the site?
# grep CLIENT info.log | cut -d":" -f4 | cut -f2 | sort | uniq 192.168.56.1
As expected in this simple test case, only my host computer has accessed the site. This is of course a very simplistic example, but the capability that it demonstrates (of being able to analyse the sources of the traffic to your site) is obviously quite powerful and important.
How much of the traffic to my site has been from FireFox?
Having 1b101cd as the hash of my Firefox User-Agent, I can answer this question as follows:
# grep -c 1b101cd info.log 8 # grep -c CLIENT info.log 10
Answer: 80% (i.e., 8/10)
What is the percentage of requests that yielded a slow response?
For purposes of this example, we’ll define “slow” as taking more than 5 seconds to provide a response. Accordingly:
# grep "DISPATCH TIME" info.log | grep -cE "\s[0-9]{2,}\.|\s[5-9]\." 2
Answer: 20% (i.e., 2/10)
Did anyone ever supply GET parameters?
# grep URI info.log | grep \?
No, Symfony standard uses only URL slugs, so this also tells us here that no one has attempted to hack the site.
These are just a handful of relatively rudimentary examples of the ways in which logs files can be creatively leveraged to yield valuable usage information and even basic analytics.
Other Things to Keep in Mind
Keeping Things Secure
Another heads-up is for security. You might think that logging requests is a good idea, in most cases it indeed is. However, it’s important to be extremely careful about removing any potentially sensitive user information before storing it in the log.
Fighting Log File Bloat
Since log files are text files to which you always append information, they are constantly growing. Since this is a well-known issue, there are some fairly standard approaches to controlling log file growth.
The easiest is to rotate the logs. Rotating logs means:
Periodically replacing the log with a new empty file for further writing
Storing the old file for history
Removing files that have “aged” sufficiently to free up disk space
Making sure the application can write to the logs uniterrupted when these file changes occur
The most common solution for this is logrotate , which ships pre-installed with most *nix distributions. Let’s see a simple configuration file for rotating our logs:
/var/log/my/debug.log /var/log/my/info.log /var/log/my/warning.log /var/log/my/error.log { rotate 7 daily missingok notifempty delaycompress compress sharedscripts postrotate invoke-rc.d rsyslog rotate > /dev/null endscript }
Another, more advanced approach is to make rsyslogd itself write messages into files, dynamically created based on current date and time. This would still require a custom solution for removal of older files, but lets devops manage timeframes for each log file precisely. For our example:
$template DynaLocal0Err, "/var/log/my/error-%$NOW%-%$HOUR%.log" $template DynaLocal0Info, "/var/log/my/info-%$NOW%-%$HOUR%.log" $template DynaLocal0Warning, "/var/log/my/warning-%$NOW%-%$HOUR%.log" $template DynaLocal0Debug, "/var/log/my/debug-%$NOW%-%$HOUR%.log" local1.err -?DynaLocal0Err local1.info -?DynaLocal0Info local1.warning -?DynaLocal0Warning local1.debug -?DynaLocal0Debug
This way, rsyslog will create an individual log file each hour, and there won’t be any need for rotating them and restarting the daemon. Here’s how log files older than 5 days can be removed to accomplish this solution:
find /var/log/my/ -mtime +5 -print0 | xargs -0 rm
Remote Logs
As the project grows, parsing information from logs gets more and more resource hungry. This not only means creating extra server load; it also means creating peak load on the CPU and disk drives at the times when you parse logs, which can degrade server response time for users (or in a worst case can even bring the site down).
To solve this, consider setting up a centralized logging server. All you need for this is another box with UDP port 514 (default) open. To make rsyslogd listen to connections, add the following line to its config file:
$UDPServerRun 514
Having this, setting up the client is then as easy as:
*.* @HOSTNAME:514
(where HOSTNAME is the host name of your remote logging server).
Conclusion
While this article has demonstrated some of the creative ways in which log files can offer way more valuable information than you may have previously imagined, it’s important to emphasize that we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible. The extent, scope, and format of what you can log is almost limitless. This means that – if there’s usage or analytics data you want to extract from your logs – you simply need to log it in a way that will make it easy to subsequently parse and analyze. Moreover, that analysis can often be performed with standard Linux command line tools like grep , sed , or awk .
Indeed, PHP log files are a most powerful tool that can be of tremendous benefit.
Resources
Code on GitHub: https://github.com/isanosyan/toptal-blog-logs-post-example
Appendix: Reading and Manipulating Log Files in the Unix Shell
Here is a brief intro to some of the more common *nix command line tools that you’ll want to be familiar with for reading and manipulating your log files.
cat is perhaps the most simple one. It prints the whole file to the output stream. For example, the following command will print logfile1 to the console: cat logfile1
> character allows user to redirect output, for example into another file. Opens target stream in write mode (which means wiping target contents). Here’s how we replace contents of tmpfile with contents of logfile1 : cat logfile1 > tmpfile
>> redirects output and opens target stream in append mode. Current contents of target file will be preserved, new lines will be added to the bottom. This will append logfile1 contents to tmpfile : cat logfile1 >> tmpfile
grep filters file by some pattern and prints only matching lines. Command below will only print lines of logfile1 containing Bingo message: grep Bingo logfile1
cut prints contents of a single column (by number starting from 1). By default searches for tab characters as delimiters between column. For example, if you have file full of timestamps in format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS , this will allow you to print only years: cut -d"-" -f1 logfile1
head displays only the first lines of a file
tail displays only the last lines of a file
sort sorts lines in the output
uniq filters out duplicate lines
wc counts words (or lines when used with the -l flag)
| (i.e., the “pipe” symbol) supplies output from one command as input to the next. Pipe is very convenient for combining commands. For example, here’s how we can find months of 2014 that occur within a set of timestamps: grep -E "^2014" logfile1 | cut -d"-" -f2 | sort | uniq | {
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Were Neanderthals Religious?
Enlarge this image Martin Meissner/AP Martin Meissner/AP
Imagine this scene: Inside a cave in Spain, a group of people gather around the grave of a toddler. Hearths with lit fires, marked by 30 horns of animals including bison and red deer, surround the grave. A rhinoceros skull is nearby.
At a conference this fall, archaeologist Enrique Baquedano and his colleagues described this scene as a probable funeral ritual held 40,000 years ago by Neanderthals.
That announcement contains a mix of both hard data — the child's bones and the animal horns and skull — and informed speculation suggesting that these data point to a community funeral ritual.
The archaeologists' scenario relates closely to questions I have been thinking about: Did the Neanderthals practice religion? How would we know it, if they did?
Let's approach these questions by placing Neanderthals in evolutionary context. It's now clear that Neanderthals are our cousins, not our direct ancestors or early members of our own species Homo sapiens. Known formally as Homo neandertalensis, Neanderthals lived in Europe and Asia, overlapping in certain places at certain time periods with Homo sapiens — and almost certainly interbreeding with them (with us!) on occasion.
Even though populations of Neanderthals vanished around 40,000 years ago, genes of Neanderthals do live on today, tucked into the bodies of some of us and potentially affecting our health.
For much of the time since their initial discovery in the 19th century, Neanderthals have been cast as enduring symbols of dumb, brutish cave people. We know better now, though.
Neanderthals built complex structures, captured birds to ornament themselves with feathers, and successfully hunted mammoth and other formidable megafauna with tools.
But does any of the evidence suggest that they were religious? It's notably tricky to infer religious behavior from material culture, as I've written about here before regarding Gobekli Tepe, a possible 11,000-year-old modern-human temple.
We do see hints of ceremonial responses to the dead at Neanderthal sites other than the Spanish cave. At Teshik-Tash in Uzbekistan, a Neanderthal child was buried and encircled by goat horns. At Regourdou in France, bear bones, plus a slab of rock topped by tools and another bear bone, were placed at a Neanderthal body positioned at the bottom of a depression. Bear bones in an adjacent room at Regourdou suggest to some archaeologists that bear meat might have been consumed there as a funeral rite.
Skeptics like archaeologist Rob Gargett point out both formally and informally that natural (or taphonomic) explanations may suffice to explain some of these occurrences: In other words, it may not be Neanderthal agency that we're seeing at all.
Looking at the evidence collectively, though, I think at least this conservative conclusion is warranted: Some Neanderthals buried their dead with purpose and care.
Next comes our central question: Did Neanderthals engage in some way with the supernatural or the sacred?
Caution is required here. The bones and artifacts, after all, don't clue us in to the meaning-making that went on in Neanderthal groups, and we can't just overlay present customs onto the past.
Perhaps the Neanderthals simply wanted to bury their companions' bodies in order to protect themselves from predators, or disease, or both.
But, then, why mark the burials as elaborately as the Neanderthals have done in some places?
Maybe the symbolic marking was the Neanderthals' way of showing respect and care for people they had known and loved in their lives.
Either or both of these explanations may be wholly adequate to explain the evidence.
Yet, I wonder.
Given their intelligence, it seems to me likely that the Neanderthals contemplated, in some way, the mysteries of life. Wouldn't they have wondered not only about unexpected and surprising weather events and sky events but also what happens when our lives comes to an end? If they thought about these questions, did they do so with awe, dread or reverence?
More relevantly for a scientific analysis is this question: Did they come together in groups to evoke gods, spirits or ancestors to help themselves make sense of the world?
I emailed anthropologist and Neanderthal expert John Hawks at the University of Wisconsin to ask for his thoughts about Neanderthals and religion.
His response, in part, was this:
"Religion, as many people recognize it, is built from highly detailed symbolic narratives. If we separate that out, though, and look only at the material manifestations that an archaeologist might find, there is really very little in most religious traditions that is different from what Neanderthals do. "So I don't think it is at all improbable that the Neanderthals had a humanlike religious capacity. But to be honest, I think this is not what many Americans or Europeans would recognize as religion."
Hawks' basic idea fits with my own: Religion is best understood across cultures and time periods as practice rather than only belief. Some religions, of course, feature sacred texts in which a set of beliefs is set forth. In these cases, what you believe about a god or other sacred forces may really matter. In many human societies past and present, though, no text exists, just everyday life — appeasing gods or spirits, honoring the ancestors — that is shot through with a sense of the sacred or the supernatural.
It's within this context that the case for Neanderthal religion — for ritual practices steeped in connecting to the sacred world — is most convincingly made.
It's no accident that I'm writing about this topic in December. It's a month that, for many people, includes sacred holiday celebrations. Even for those of us who aren't religious, it's a time of the year packed with meaning-making through social gatherings and rituals.
How fascinating it is to take seriously the idea that the deep roots of human meaning-making ritual, and even of religiosity, may go as far back as the time of the Neanderthals.
Barbara J. King is an anthropology professor emerita at the College of William and Mary. She often writes about the cognition, emotion and welfare of animals, and about biological anthropology, human evolution and gender issues. Barbara's most recent book on animals is titled How Animals Grieve, and her forthcoming book, Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat, will be published in March. You can keep up with what she is thinking on Twitter: @bjkingape | {
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Shovel Knight, Hyper Light Drifter, Children of Morta
Starr Mazer came out of the gate with an impressive roster of artists working on its soundtrack. Despite having a huge list of talent to pull from, developer Imagos Softworks has added another composer sure to pull on some nostalgia strings. Vince DiCola, composer of the 1986 Transformers movie soundtrack, has joined the team of contributors.
Over the past couple weeks, Starr Mazer has also announced crossover projects with other high profile Kickstarter titles. The inclusion of Children of Morta, Hyper Light Drifter, and Shovel Knight has been known, but the video above collects the interactions together, along with the announced voice cast. Paradise Lost: First Contact has also announced a crossover, though it is not featured in the video.
Below, a new trailer has been cut together, and it features the scene that made people interested in the point-and-click/shmup mashup in the first place. Yes, I want to jump off a ledge and have my remote-controlled spaceship catch me on the way down. | {
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Coach Justin Langer has declared open season on batting spots in Australia’s Test side, sharpening the focus on those playing in the JLT Sheffield Shield in the coming weeks.
Round Two of the Shield started on Thursday and a handful of batting contenders put in good performances, while some incumbents failed to fire.
Take a closer look at which batsmen made impressive strides and which bowlers impressed in Thursday’s action.
Who fired
Ball dominated bat around the country, but there were a handful of Test contenders who bucked the trend and put up some good numbers.
Former Test opener Joe Burns posted 64 in Queensland’s innings of 231, the right-hander fighting hard after the Bulls were reduced to 3-29 early on and then 4-70. Burns shared a crucial 63-run partnership with allrounder Jack Wildermuth (38) before both men were undone by wrong’uns from spinner Lloyd Pope. As Australia seek to end their tendency to collapse with the bat, the fact Burns held firm today would not have gone unnoticed.
Burns boost Test hopes with fighting 66
The same goes for NSW left-hander Kurtis Patterson, who scored 63 batting at No.3 in his side’s total of 159. On an MCG pitch that was doing plenty, Patterson survived 147 deliveries when only one other Blues batsman – teenager Jack Edwards – was at the crease for more than 50 balls. One of only a handful of batsmen to average more than 45 in the Shield in recent years, Patterson was already in the frame for higher honours.
Former Test No.3 Alex Doolan, meanwhile, continued his magnificent start to the season, scoring 76 amid a top-order collapse from Tasmania in Perth. Doolan posted a superb century in a low-scoring game at the Gabba last week, an innings that received glowing praise from his skipper George Bailey and Tigers quick Jackson Bird. And he stood form again as the Tigers were reduced to 4-72 before he edged a full ball from David Moody straight to second slip. Tasmania had managed just 124 by the time Doolan was dismissed for 76, underlining how much he defied the trend of the opening few sessions at the WACA.
Patterson defies early Blues collapse with defiant 63
The only other Tasmanian batsman to fire was former Test wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade, who continued his red-hot Shield form with an unbeaten 66 in his side’s total of 226. The 30-year-old has all but given up on a Test recall, but his recent first-class form is hard to ignore; since being dropped from Australia’s ODI side, the left-hander averages 76.55 in Shield cricket and could be an option as a specialist batsman in the Test side if that form continues.
It was a frustrating finish to the day for Victorian skipper Peter Handscomb at the MCG, who showed good signs in posting 48 after the Vics had been reduced to 2-6 early in their innings. The 13-Test batsman looked assured in rebuilding his side’s innings, but he missed a golden chance to post a big score on Friday when he was dismissed just before stumps, edging a cut shot to slip off leg-spinner Daniel Fallins.
Shaun Marsh only batted for 18 minutes before stumps, but there was just enough time for this... #SheffieldShield pic.twitter.com/TJSihlNyCR
While Handscomb will watch Friday’s play from the stands, opener Marcus Harris will resume on 51no and could put his name forward with a big hundred on a pitch that’s proved difficult for batting.
Another looking to push on in Friday's play will be Shaun Marsh. The Test incumbent came in for a tricky 18-minute session before stumps at the WACA Ground and creamed a trademark cover drive along the turf for a boundary and reached stumps unbeaten on 10.
Who misfired
Incumbents in Australia’s Test squad in the UAE, Matthew Renshaw and Marnus Labuschagne were unable to add weight to their case, the pair dismissed for three in Adelaide.
Both batsmen were undone by paceman Joe Mennie; Renshaw played an expansive drive and was bowled, while Labuschagne edged a wide out-swinger straight to slip.
Renshaw and Labuschagne fall early in Adelaide
And a word on the bowlers …
With Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon all expected to be fit for the first Test, the major Shield focus at the moment is on Australia’s batsmen rather than the bowlers.
But Chris Tremain continues to put his name forward should injury or form hit one of the big three quicks, with the right-armer taking 5-47 as NSW were bowled out for just 159 at the MCG. The leading Shield wicket-taker over the past two seasons, Tremain has started this campaign with 14 wickets at an average of just 13.14, adding to an already impressive resume. An unlucky omission for the Test tour of the UAE, the NSW-born quick is doing everything right to get his hands on a Baggy Green this summer.
Tremain continues hot form with five wickets
And teenage leg-spinner Lloyd Pope continues to live up to the hype, the flame-haired leg-spinner picking up his maiden five-wicket haul with figures of 7-87 against Queensland. Pope is one of the most exciting cricketers in the country and proved why on Thursday, with three beautiful wrong’uns the highlights of his haul. He’s at long odds to unseat Lyon in the Test side anytime soon, but he’s certainly a player to keep an eye on.
Watch all seven of Lloyd Pope’s wickets
Another rising star to watch for down the line is Western Australia's Cameron Green. The 19-year-old burst onto the scene with five wickets on debut at the back end of the 2016-17 season, and one-upped that feat with 6-30 against Tasmania yesterday. He becomes the first ever Western Australian quick to have two Shield five-wicket hauls while still a teenager. | {
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“A system that was designed to be more fair didn’t seem to be that way because we had people with very similar uses of the temple, and very similar means, paying very dissimilar amounts,” said Emanu-El’s executive director, David Goldman. Mr. Goldman said the sense of transparency, fairness and stability returned when madatory dues were restored. However, he acknowledged, “I can’t believe anyone thinks that x years from now, a dues model is the wave of the future — it doesn’t seem like a very modern concept, and we discuss alternative structures all the time.” But most of the congregations that have moved to voluntary pledging say it has been a success. On average, according to the UJA-Federation report, they have reported a 4 percent growth in both members and revenues, even as many congregations are declining on both fronts.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, which represents 862 Reform congregations, said voluntary pledging is appealing not just for financial reasons, but also because it can shift the way synagogues are perceived.
“The bond that holds the Jewish people to one another is not primarily and fundamentally a financial arrangement, and when we suggest that it might be, it undermines everything we stand for,” he said.
He also noted that with an increasing number of interfaith families joining Reform congregations, mandatory dues had become harder to explain.
“If you come from a church background, the idea that there’s a dues bill that comes in the mail, telling you what your obligation is to a faith community — it’s very odd, and off-putting, and it doesn’t agree with core religious teachings,” he said.
Churches depend heavily on voluntary contributions collected at worship services. But Judaism forbids the handling of money on the Sabbath, so synagogues do not seek donations during worship, and must find other ways to pay clergy and staff salaries and fund their buildings and programs. | {
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Like a mirror image of Elvis Presley's life, this poem written by the King of Rock 'n' Roll starts with promise and then ends in sudden, unforeseen tragedy.
The handwritten poem -- which is part of the massive Elvis auction going on at gottahaverockandroll.com -- is called "Ode to a Robin," and was sometimes recited by Elvis on stage and at one point was used as the answering machine message at his home. | {
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Article content
The University of Ottawa’s law faculty is set to offer its first seminar course in animal rights this fall.
All 12 spaces in the optional course are already full, said Justine Perron, who will be co-teaching the course with lawyer Nicholas Jobidon.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or University of Ottawa's legal beagles can now take a course in animal rights Back to video
Perron, who founded the Animal Protection Association at the university while she was a student there, said she got interested in animal rights after seeing videos of the treatment of animals in the food and entertainment industries.
“After seeing the reality of the situation I couldn’t live without questioning those practices that I was encouraging every day without even noticing.”
One way to create change is to tackle these issues at the legal level, she said. “I hope more lawyers will have the knowledge in that sphere of law and be more interested in that cause.”
Perron, who graduated from the University of Ottawa in June and is now studying for the Quebec bar exam, plans to broadly examine the civil code and the Criminal Code. Each student in the class will choose a subject — topics will likely range from raising animals for food and fur to animals used for research and entertainment — and do presentations and write research papers on these subjects. | {
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Seawall Blvd, the final road touching Gulf of Mexico in Galveston, Texas. Galveston is the last town if you continue driving on the highway 45S from Houston. This small island is popular among tourists and others who want some time off from Houston. After covering almost the entire eastern US, it was our first time in the South. We visited the area in summer 2016. We chose to visit Galveston because of two reasons.
This was the farthest we could go in that direction It has Schlitterbahn Waterpark with the world's tallest water coaster
Houston, one of the largest cities in the US has a lot to offer but a small island called Galveston was a pleasant surprise for us. It was calm and scenic. Many of the beautiful places were owned by private owners, but Seawall Blvd itself had many sites worth exploring with access to beaches, shore-drive, Ferris wheel (amusement park) and water park. Following are some photos around Galveston.
Along the Seawall Blvd: While driving on the Seawall Blvd, you either look at beautiful houses facing Gulf of Mexico on one side or the Ocean on the opposite side; both the views are stunning. The area has lots of hangout places and people can be seen enjoying different activities.
Schlitterbahn Water Park: The water park located in Galveston has many activities to offer including the world's tallest water coaster. Unfortunately I don't have much photos from the park as it was difficult to take photos while submerged in the water. The place was fantastic and full of excitement.
Historic Pleasure Pier: Pleasure Pier was also located on the Seawall Blvd with a Ferris wheel on the ocean edge. We spent most of the day in water park so couldn't get a chance to go to the Pleasure Pier, but I can imagine the thrill of freely falling from top of the Ferris wheel right into the ocean.
Around the Island: After we were done from the water park, we drove around Galveston chasing dead ends and meeting beachfronts. The view was magnificent. We also got a chance to see some high rise flood-proof houses (a rare sight for us).
Beach Areas: In the evening, we walked and relaxed while watching birds flying around the beach. I also tried some high exposure night time photos of the on-road traffic.
This photo blog is the first part of a blog series based on our trip in Texas in 2016. More to come....!!
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Workflows Over Robots
Workflows are the engine of every business that deals with physical goods: from distribution to wholesale, retail to manufacturing. They drive the operating budget – people, facilities, machines. They drive the value of the business. Our solutions go beyond traditional automation and focus on continually maximizing human and robot performance in the workflow to enhance your flexibility, productivity, and achieve a sustained competitive advantage. | {
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Bernie Sanders Declares He Will Remain In Presidential Race
After not addressing news media or supporters on Tuesday night, Sen. Bernie Sanders offered a presidential campaign update on Wednesday afternoon. He plans to stay in the race.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Bernie Sanders is pressing on. The Democratic presidential candidate conceded today that he did not have a great showing after six more states voted on Tuesday.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BERNIE SANDERS: Last night obviously was not a good night for our campaign from a delegate point of view.
CHANG: So Bernie Sanders is even further behind former Vice President Joe Biden in the delegate count. And joining us now from Burlington, Vt., where Sanders spoke today, is NPR political correspondent Scott Detrow.
Hey, Scott.
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Hey, Ailsa.
CHANG: All right. So what more did Sanders say today?
DETROW: This was the first we had heard from Bernie Sanders since last night's results. He did not speak at all last night, which was pretty surprising. He was defiant. He said even though he's been losing states lately, he is winning the ideological debate and the generational debate, as he put it, arguing that the progressive policies that he's pushing for are popular with voters and have become central to the Democratic Party's platform. He did concede something pretty big, though, and that is he is losing the electability argument, as he put it.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SANDERS: How many people our campaign has spoken to who have said - and I quote - "I like what your campaign stands for, I agree with what your campaign stands for, but I'm going to vote for Joe Biden because I think Joe is the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump," end of quote. We have heard that statement all over this country.
DETROW: And, Ailsa, this is something that we hear from voter after voter after voter. It is a very real trend in this primary.
CHANG: Right. So, I mean, did Sanders even talk about how he might regain the delegate lead or even how he can win this electability argument?
DETROW: You know, this has been a campaign of wild momentum swings. Just two weeks ago, it was Joe Biden who was really on the ropes and facing an uphill climb. So Sanders and his campaign are really hoping that Sunday night's debate, a one-on-one debate, just him and Joe Biden, nobody else, could provide another momentum swing. But there were a lot of moments today where listening to him speak, it sounded like this might be less about trying to win the nomination and more about a long quest that Bernie Sanders has been on to push the Democratic Party to the left. Here's what he said about that.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SANDERS: Today I say to the Democratic establishment, in order to win in the future, you need to win the voters who represent the future of our country, and you must speak to the issues of concern to them.
DETROW: And as Sanders went through a long list of questions he said he'll have for Joe Biden this weekend, it was less about attacks on Joe Biden's record and more about the big-picture policy Sanders has been talking about for years now. So that was an interesting tonal shift that we heard from Sanders today.
CHANG: Yeah. Well, about who's buying into that big picture, I mean, remind us real quick about who did and did not vote for him yesterday and what that might tell us about who his campaign is really drawing in at this point.
DETROW: Sanders had a really tough night last night. In Michigan, the state that was really the most important state on the ballot last night in terms of delegates and also just the political conversation, this is a state that Bernie Sanders won in a shocking upset in 2016, he lost every single county. He lost black voters, white voters. And the share of voters under 30, which he did well in, was kind of flat and less than it was in 2016. So there's a clear trend line here if you look at what happened yesterday and what happened the week before on Super Tuesday of big chunks of the Democratic Party just coalescing around Joe Biden right now.
CHANG: Well, he's going to keep on campaigning, it sounds like. So what's next?
DETROW: It's really uncertain, and that's not anything having to do with Bernie Sanders. It has to do with the coronavirus. He canceled a rally yesterday, as did Joe Biden. It's not clear when rallies will resume. The Sanders campaign had said they've been talking to local health officials before each event, but more and more states are really shutting down public gatherings. That debate that he's really looking forward to, that is going to take place without a studio audience, without the big press filing rooms as well in order to try and keep this virus under control.
CHANG: All right. That is NPR's Scott Detrow, who is in Burlington, Vt., on the latest in the Democratic presidential race.
Thank you so much, Scott.
DETROW: Sure thing.
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The Tampa Bay Rays gathered in front of their dugout and posed for a celebratory team picture they’re hoping will not be the last they take this postseason.
Hunter Renfroe hit a grand slam and the top-seeded Rays won a postseason series for the first time in 12 years, overpowering the young Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 Wednesday to finish a two-game sweep of their wild-card matchup.
And with a roster featuring just a handful of players who have posted impressive resumes so far, the AL East champs believe they’re nowhere near finished.
“We’ve been confident since Day One. So if we put the our heads down and just do what we’ve been doing and prepare like we’ve been preparing, the sky’s the limit,” winning pitcher Tyler Glasnow said.
Said manager Kevin Cash: “We have very good players first and foremost.”
“I understand the back of the baseball card stuff and some of our guys are not as established,” he said. “What we do have, what makes it formidable is that the entire roster is used to help us win games. We do that consistently during the season and are definitely going to do it in the postseason.”
Renfroe launched the first playoff grand slam in franchise history during a six-run second inning. Glasnow kept Tampa Bay ahead from there, allowing two runs – on a pair of homers by Danny Jansen – in six innings.
Mike Zunino hit a two-run homer off Blue Jays ace Hyun Jin Ryu during Tampa Bay’s big inning. Manuel Margot and Randy Arozarena also drove in runs as the Rays advanced to the AL Division series against either the New York Yankees or Cleveland Indians.
The next round starts Monday at Petco Park in San Diego. Renfroe is plenty familiar with the stadium – he hit 85 home runs in the previous three years for the Padres before being traded to the Rays last December.
“The opportunity in front of us is where you want to be,” Cash said.
The Rays celebrated with some hugs and handshakes after the final out.
Glasnow, who walked one and struck out eight before a small gathering of family and friends who were allowed to attend the series at Tropicana Field.
Ryu was rocked for a season-high seven runs in 1 2/3 innings, the lefty’s shortest outing of the season for the wild-card Blue Jays.
It was a disappointing finish for Toronto, which overcame a slow start to make a surprising run to its first playoff berth since 2016 with a roster featuring 19 players without previous major league playoff experience, including Cavan Biggio, Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
“Great season. I’m proud of my kids to make it to this point,” second-year Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said.
“It’s obvious that the Rays are a pretty good team, that’s why they’re picked to go to the World Series,” he said. “In this series, we didn’t hit. We only scored three runs. That’s not enough to beat that team.”
The Rays, who won the opener 3-1 with a nice mix of pitching, defense and timely hitting, had dropped five consecutive multigame postseason series dating to the 2008 World Series.
A year ago, they beat Oakland in the AL wild-card game before losing to Houston in the division round – a five-game setback that nevertheless heightened team expectations heading into this season.
Ryu signed with the Blue Jays in free agency last winter after being an All-Star with the Los Angeles Dodgers and finishing second in NL Cy Young Award balloting in 2019.
The 33-year-old lefty had the AL’s fourth-best ERA this season. And, his career mark of .295 is third-best behind Clayton Kershaw (2.43) and Jacob deGrom (2.61) among active pitchers with at least 700 innings pitched.
Ryu’s impressive credentials meant nothing Wednesday.
The Rays began the first inning with three straight hits and scored their first run on Manuel Margot’s one-out single. Ryu escaped a bases-loaded jam by striking out Willy Adames, however his outing got worse the next inning.
After Zunino’s homer made it 3-0, Tampa Bay loaded the bases again on a double, walk and shortstop Bo Bichette’s second error of the day.
Renfroe, obtained from San Diego in an offseason trade that sent Tommy Pham to the Padres, hit his grand slam into the left field seats to extend the lead to 7-0.
“They were getting hits off all my pitches. I don’t think they were necessarily sitting on one or something like that,” Ryu said through a translator. “I just didn’t have a good game.”
“We have a lot to be proud of, we really do,” Jansen said. “We knocked on the door and next year we’re going to be ready to go through it.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: 1B Rowdy Tellez, who had a pinch-hit single in Game 1 Tuesday, remained out of the starting lineup. He was placed on the 10-day IL on Sept. 9 with a right knee sprain and missed the rest of the regular season.
Rays: INF Yandy Diaz (right hamstring strain) started at third base, his first game since Aug. 31.
UP NEXT
The Rays will play in the AL division round for the sixth time in franchise history, with all of the appearances coming since 2008.
—
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports | {
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You can help Ribbitribbitt get his dream EQII playground.
On the official EverQuest II Forums a player posted a sad plea:
My 6 yr old son has cancer and was recently given 6 - 12 weeks to live.
He has a frog that he likes to run around Tenebrous Tangle Island on; however, it is sparse and he has requested to add trees, fences, stairs, animals and all kinds of other items to make his island fun and exciting.
Are there any decorators out there that would be willing to assist in adding these items (and any others their imagination poses) to help me make the island even more fun for him. I don't know how much I'll be able to accomplish on my own while still providing him quality time to enjoy it.
The EQ2 community has rallied around Ribbitribbitt. A guild has been created and players of all types are grinding status to get him a Tier 3 guild hall by Saturday. Players have donated decorations and even status houses to give him his choice of playgrounds.
Hellzelves tells us "On Saturday we will get together to decorate everything and finish up the crafting at 4 eastern/1 pacific. End game raiders will be taking all comers for duelbets for the cause."
If you would like to help, please check out this thread on the official forums, or contact guk.sylestia, guk.ubring or guk.myranda in game. | {
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Alan Kertz, Core Gameplay Designer on Battlefield 3, has recently released a list of balance changes that DICE developers have been experimenting with. This is in hopes to provide insight to the millions of Battlefield fans as to what types of things the dev team is working on in hopes to gather proper feedback before any more patches are released. Bugs and glitches have been intentionally left out of this list.
Kertz puts it best: “Rather than waiting until we launch these updates for feedback, today I would like to give you, the Community, a peak into the Balance testing that we are doing here at DICE.”
DICE also updated the PS3 version of Battlefield 3 earlier this morning through a recent patch. You can check out the list of changes here.
Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments after reading this list!
Vehicles:
Increased the locking distance for Jets when locking on laser designated targets.
Increased the damage the MBT’s primary weapon does to other main battle tanks.
AA Missiles should no longer kill the pilot instead of the vehicle.
Tank rounds will now instantly destroy Jets, Attack Helicopters, and Scout Helicopters.
Using flares too early will no longer distract missiles fired at long range. The missile must be approaching the vehicle in order to reliably be distracted by flares.
Attack Helicopter Guided Rockets will now only track ground targets, as originally intended.
Reduced the direct damage done by helicopter gunners vs armor.
Slightly increased the blast radius of the rounds fired by helicopter gunners vs infantry.
Vehicle weapons should now suppress correctly.
Increased the direct hit damage of the APFSDS rounds for the IFVs.
Miniguns and Helicopter Gunners now more quickly destroy parked cars.
Weapons:
Significantly increased the damage of Laser Guided Top Attack missiles.
Javelin missiles fired without laser targeting now do more damage to the side and rear of MBTs.
Slightly reduced the repair speed of the repair tool.
Fixed a problem when locking on to two nearby targets, the locking should no longer jump rapidly between multiple targets.
Reduced the total number of RPG and SMAW missiles carried from 5 to 4.
Slightly reduced the locking time of all weapons vs Laser Designated targets.
Slightly reduced the effective blast radius of the RPG and SMAW projectiles against infantry.
Reduced the recoil of the SKS rifle and slightly increased its power at close range.
Semiautomatic sniper rifles, Assault Rifles, and LMGs now have more consistent damage over long range.
Increased the close range damage maximum range of 9x39mm ammo.
Soldiers:
Increased the spawn protection time from 1sec to 2sec. The protection will still be immediately canceled as soon as the player moves or shoots.
Spawn protection will no longer be canceled by the player looking around.
Slightly increased the speed at which a player can shoot again after sprinting.
If you haven’t yet, check out the complete list of Back to Karkand Weapons and Attachments. | {
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And continuing with the Super God Hand Friends - The Brand Of Punishment
At this point im looking at it and im like, this is almost barely SBFP …but fuck it :D
Also Berserk is coming back this summer so …..HYPE ! | {
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Vous n’avez peut-être jamais entendu parler des Jarawas, l’un des derniers peuples afro-asiatiques des îles Andaman, en Inde. Isolés sur leur bout de paradis, ils vivent en parfaite autosuffisance alimentaire et ne puisent dans l’environnement que le strict nécessaire pour vivre. Mais la pression de la modernité se faire lourde et les Jarawas sont aujourd’hui la proie des touristes, des braconniers et des safaris humains…
Les Jarawas sont des chasseurs-cueilleurs semi-nomades qui ont vécus en isolement total pendant des dizaines de milliers d’années. Leur origine remonterait aux premières migrations humaines parties d’Afrique il y a environ 60.000 ou 70.000 ans. Pratiquement disparus, les Jarawas ne sont plus que 420 aujourd’hui et vivent en autosuffisance alimentaire en petits groupes d’une cinquantaine d’individus dans des chaddhas – leurs maisons. On les considère comme des pygmées ayant une physionomie unique, nettement distincte de celles des peuples asiatiques qui les entourent. Avec une peau très foncée et des cheveux noirs crépus, ils sont d’origine proche des Bochimans du désert du Kalahari (Afrique australe).
Leur alimentation se constituent notamment de cochons sauvages et de tortues en liberté qu’ils chassent avec des arcs et des flèches, ainsi que de crabes et de poissons, tels que des pangas et des anguilles, qu’ils pèchent dans les récifs coralliens sans jamais puiser plus qu’ils aient besoin. Mais l’essentiel de leur nourriture est constituée de fruits, de racines, de tubercules et de miel. Une étude réalisée sur leur santé a d’ailleurs révélé que leur « statut nutritionnel » était « optimal » selon nos critères occidentaux. De plus, ils partagent une connaissance approfondie sur plus de 150 plantes et de 350 espèces d’animaux. Autant dire que les Jarawas représentent une richesse culturelle exceptionnelle à l’heure pour l’humanité fait face aux conséquences de son incapacité à vivre de manière équilibrée avec l’environnement.
« Les Jarawas des îles Andaman jouissent des richesses de la nature. Leurs forêts leur apportent bien plus que ce dont ils ont besoin. » témoigne Anvita Abbi, professeur de linguistique à l’université de Jawaharlal Nehru. Véritable exception sur terre, leur hostilité envers le monde extérieur les a préservés par miracle jusqu’ici, même si quasiment personne n’a pu étudier leur culture et leur langue. Loin des clichés véhiculés par leurs voisins indiens qui croient que les Jarawas sont des sauvages cannibales, le plus ancien peuple du monde porte des valeurs humaines singulières qu’il est impossible de juger sans approche anthropologique rigoureuse.
Une plongée aux enfers
Aujourd’hui, la situation a changé pour les Jarawas. Plusieurs centaines de milliers de colons indiens vivent maintenant sur les îles Andaman, dépassant largement en nombre les tribus indigènes. En 1998, les Jarawas sont entrés en contact avec les Indiens pour la première fois. Depuis, leur situation s’est considérablement dégradée : des femmes ont été enlevées et violées, des touristes viennent leur échanger de la nourriture contre des « prestations », ils ont été exposés à des maladies contre lesquelles ils n’étaient pas immunisés et une dépendance vis-à-vis du monde extérieur a commencé à se créer. Leur mode a vie a ainsi considérablement changé. Les individus ont commencé à porter des vêtements et à utiliser des outils et objets modernes donnés par des gardes forestiers ou des touristes.
En 1990, les autorités locales ont annoncé un projet à long terme visant à installer les Jarawas dans deux villages dont l’économie serait basée sur la pêche et où les Jarawas pourraient pratiquer leurs sports, à savoir la chasse et la collecte. Suite à l’opposition du peuple Jarawa lui même et à une campagne de grande envergure menée par Survival et d’autres organisations indiennes, le projet de réinstallation a été abandonné. En 2004, les autorités ont donc annoncé une nouvelle politique radicale : les Jarawas seraient autorisés à déterminer leur propre avenir, et l’intervention du monde extérieur dans leur vie serait maintenue au stricte minimum. Ce fut un énorme succès pour cette campagne indienne et internationale. Malheureusement, sur le terrain, ce ne fut pas si simple…
« Votre monde est mauvais pour nous, on ne l’aime pas. Il y a trop de gens, trop de bruit, pas de paix, on n’aime pas ça. On ne veut plus avoir d’interaction et être trop proche de votre monde. On veut rester comme on est. Ici, c’est chez nous, c’est là que l’on veut vivre. », explique Abé, un des chasseurs Jarawas, à Alexandre Dereims et Claire Beilvert, un journaliste et une photographe de presse française qui ont réussi à les rencontrer avec leur entière autorisation.
Des safaris humains au braconnage
Aujourd’hui, les Jarawas sont également victimes de safaris humains, organisés par les agences de voyage locales indiennes qui se déroulent le long de l’Andaman Truck Road, une route construite illégalement et qui traverse leur territoire. Des dizaines de véhicules remplis de touristes l’empruntent quotidiennement avec la complicité des autorités locales pour prendre des Jarawas en photographie, bien que cela soit interdit de pénétrer sur leurs terres sous peine de prison.
Une autre grande menace à laquelle ils doivent faire face est le braconnage. En effet, tous les jours, des dizaines de braconniers pénètrent illégalement sur leurs terres et chassent en toute impunité les espèces jusqu’ici régulées par les Jarawas. Une pratique non seulement dangereuse pour la communauté, mais également un prélèvement illégal sur leur stock de nourriture dont ils dépendent pour vivre.
« Il y a des braconniers qui viennent avec des armes pour nous tirer dessus. Ils viennent pour nous voler. Ils cherchent à nous faire peur. Ils veulent nous acheter des cochons sauvages. Ils posent des pièges à cochons. Ils tuent tous nos cochons. Parfois, ils nous donnent un peu d’argent ou des habits. C’est comme ça qu’ils pillent notre gibier. Avant, on ne mangeait que des cochons. Mais il n’y en a presque plus. On a été obligé de chasser les daims pour manger. On ne sait plus quoi faire. On s’assoit et on réfléchit à tout ça. On y pense tout le temps. », a révélé Outa, un autre membre du peuple Jarawa.
La nourriture commence ainsi à se faire plus rare et certains braconniers forcent même des chasseurs Jarawas à travailler pour leur compte, avec, estiment certains observateurs, la complicité de certains gardes forestiers de l’AAJVS, l’organisation gouvernementale en charge de la protection des Jarawas.
« Les braconniers nous donnent du tabac et ils veulent nous apprendre à chiquer. Ce n’est pas bon pour nous. Ils nous donnent de l’alcool. On n’en veut pas non plus. Mais ils essayent quand même de nous faire boire. On n’en veut pas, c’est mauvais. Mais ils essayent de nous influencer. C’est comme ça dans votre monde. » témoigne un autre Jarawa.
Malgré tout, si on en croit les associations qui tentent de les protéger, les Jarawas vivent surtout heureux et libres, sans croyances, ni peurs, sans chef, ni hiérarchie. Ils vivent simplement de ce que la nature leur donne localement, au jour le jour, et ne chassent que ce dont ils ont besoin. Ils respectent leur environnement, ils vivent en bonne intelligence, sans violence ni haine et sont pacifiques et solidaires. Une exception sur terre qu’il convient de préserver.
Mais à cause de l’assimilation forcée organisée par les colons indiens avec la complicité des gardes forestiers et les activités des braconniers, sans parler du tourisme, les Jarawas n’auront peut-être bientôt plus d’autre choix que de sortir de leur territoire ancestral, poussés par la faim, la violence et la dégradation de leur situation de vie, vers les villes. La chronique d’une disparition annoncée si les îles Andaman (devenues l’équivalent des Seychelles ou des Maldives auprès de la nouvelle classe moyenne indienne) restent impunément exploitées.
Pour empêcher l’extinction du plus vieux peuple d’Asie, Alexandre Dereims et Claire Beilvert ont lancé une pétition en ligne pour forcer le gouvernement indien a faire respecter l’ordonnance de la cour suprême indienne de 2013 de fermer l’Andaman Truck Road. Ils demandent également à ce que le territoire des Jarawas soit sanctuarisé et que l’AAJVS communique régulièrement sur la situation des Jarawas.
Sources : Organic the Jarawa, Survival France
Article gratuit, rédigé de manière 100% indépendante, sans subvention ni partenaires privés. Soutenez-nous aujourd’hui par un petit café ☕ | {
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Body in Bristol canal is Will Appleby Published duration 22 June 2011
image caption A Facebook group set up to help find Mr Appleby has more than 5,000 followers
A body found in a canal in Bristol is that of missing student Will Appleby, the Avon coroner has confirmed.
Mr Appleby, 19, was a student at the University of the West of England, and was last seen in the Motion club, on Avon Street, on 12 June.
A post-mortem examination into Mr Appleby's death could not establish a cause and further tests are planned.
An inquest into his death is expected to be opened and adjourned on Wednesday.
Police were originally alerted after he failed to catch a bus home to Ulverston in Cumbria. | {
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DETROIT -- Subaru is recalling more than 660,000 cars and SUVs, including more than 105,000 in Canada, because the brake lines can rust and leak fluid, and that can mean it will take longer to stop the vehicles.
For about half the vehicles, it's the second recall for the same problem.
Affected are 2005 through 2009 Legacy and Outback, the 2008 through 2014 Impreza and the 2009 through 2013 Forester.
A posting on the Transport Canada website said 105,649 vehicles are being recalled in Canada.
"For the units that are affected the owners will be notified and directed to their local dealer to inspect and or correct as required," a spokesman for Subaru Canada said in an email.
In the U.S., the recall covers vehicles sold or registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C., where salt is used to clear roads in the winter.
The company says in documents posted Thursday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that salty water can splash onto the brake lines through a gap in the fuel tank protector, causing rust. If they leak fluid, it could take longer to stop the car and increase the risk of a crash.
Dealers will inspect the lines and replace them if leaks are found. They'll also apply anti-corrosion wax.
No crashes or injuries have been reported due to the problem, and Subaru is taking the action as a precaution, spokesman Michael McHale said in an email.
About 274,000 Legacy and Outback vehicles were recalled for the same problem in March of last year. The safety agency says additional areas have to be rust-proofed in those cars.
-- With files from The Canadian Press | {
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I heard rumors that Starlight is going to be an alicorn princess in the last ep. of season 7. I’m not sure what i’m feeling towards this but I think the transformation is way too fast unlike Twilight who has to go through a few seasons to become princess.
But anyway here’s a fanart! OwO
Starlight Glimmer (c) Hasbro / fyre-flye | {
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Mehr Geld für Manager des Landes OÖ
Die Gehälter von Managern in oö. Unternehmen, die dem Land ganz oder mehrheitlich gehören, sind mit dem Lohn des Landeshauptmanns, 239.000 Euro brutto jährlich, begrenzt. Diese Obergrenze soll noch heuer aufgehoben werden.
Landeshauptmann-Stellvertreter Michael Strugl (ÖVP) bestätigte einen Bericht in den „Oberösterreichischen Nachrichten“ (Dienstag-Ausgabe). Der Wegfall dieser seit 18 Jahren bestehenden Obergrenze wurde schon länger auch in den Medien diskutiert und nun auch bestätigt.
Landtagsbeschluss ist nicht notwendig
Noch vor Jahresende wollen ÖVP und FPÖ in der Landesregierung per Verordnung den Landeshauptmann-Deckel aufheben. Ein Landtagsbeschluss ist nicht notwendig. In bestehende Verträge werde nicht eingegriffen, die Bezugsgrenze soll nur „in begrenzten Ausnahmefällen“ überschritten werden, wurde Strugl zitiert. Betreffen könnte das den Spitalsträger des Landes, die Energie AG und die Hypo Oberösterreich.
Man müsse sich so aufstellen, dass man zumindest im Österreich-Vergleich mithalten könne, wenn man die besten Leute für wichtige Positionen haben will, sagte LH Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP). Wenn man internationale Experten wolle, reiche die derzeitige Gehaltsobergrenze nicht aus, sagte FPÖ-Klubobmann Herwig Mahr der Zeitung.
SPÖ: „Verantwortungslos gegenüber Steuerzahler“
SPÖ-Klubchef Christian Makor kritisierte das Vorhaben als verantwortungslos gegenüber dem Steuerzahler, vor allem weil gleichzeitig der Gehaltsabschluss des Bundes für Landesmitarbeiter aus Spargründen nicht übernommen wurde. Er spricht von „Luxusmanagergehältern im öffentlichen Dienst, nur um einen speziellen Mann zu holen“. Damit sei die künftige Gesundheitsholding gemeint, unter deren Dach der Spitalsbetreiber gespag und die Landesanteile des Kepler-Universitätsklinikums verschränkt werden sollen. Für die Holding soll ein Topmanager gefunden werden.
Durch Inflationsanpassung in den Firmen, aber Nulllohnrunden in der Politik sowie Sachbezüge und Leistungen für die Pensionsvorsorge lägen die Managergehälter in einigen Landesfirmen zwar jetzt schon über dem Salär des Landeshauptmanns, aber klar unter jenen in privaten und anderen öffentlichen Unternehmen, hieß es in dem Artikel.
Vorstandsgehälter
Die Energie AG etwa habe im Geschäftsjahr 2016/17 laut Geschäftsbericht rund 829.000 Euro für drei Vorstandsmitglieder ausgegeben. Bei der etwas kleineren Tiwag in Tirol waren es knapp 1,1 Millionen für drei Manager. Beim börsennotierten größeren Verbund liege man noch deutlich höher. Bei der gespag seien zuletzt rund 415.000 Euro für zwei Vorstandsmitglieder bezahlt worden. Laut einem älteren Rechnungshof-Bericht liege die gespag etwa zehn Prozent unter dem Mittelwert im öffentlichen Gesundheitssektor. Rechne man Private und Orden dazu, wäre der Abstand um einiges größer. | {
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A 71-year-old man is accused of pointing a long gun at a group of youth who were reportedly playing tag near his St. Paul home last weekend.
The males and females, who ranged from 11 to 15, didn’t realize the weapon — which police said was manufactured to look like a real hunting rifle — was a BB gun and they were so frightened they ran away, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday, which charges Robin Lee Frits with two counts of terroristic threats.
After police arrested Frits on Saturday at 7:50 p.m., he told them, “So they can terrorize the neighborhood, but I’m going to jail,” the complaint said.
Police responded to a gun-pointing incident in the Payne-Phalen area and were told Frits became upset by the noise the young people were making in the alley behind his home and garage.
He yelled at them several times, “It’s time to go!,” the complaint said.
The youth ignored him and continued running around, chasing each other, and laughing and yelling in the alley on Hawthorne Avenue, a couple of blocks from Arcade Street. They ran away after Frits pointed a long gun at them, “racked” it and repeated his order to leave, the complaint said.
The young people reported the same man yelled at them in the past for playing in the alley and when they walked to school in the morning. Their residences back up to the alley where Frits’ garage is.
After police arrested Frits, he reported at least 10 kids were running through yards, the alley and at the end of his driveway.
He said they were “yelling, screaming and fighting” and “this commotion had continued for three hours,” according to the complaint. Frits said he was next to his garage when a youth asked what he was looking at and started “bad-mouthing” him, which is when he told them to leave, but they did not.
“Frits said in his ‘stupidity’ he went in his garage, picked up his long BB gun, came out the service door into his backyard, and held the BB gun in the air,” the complaint continued. He said he did not point the BB gun or make threats with it. | {
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Audible has released a John Malkovich-narrated audio book of Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions. In the meta-fiction novel, Vonnegut’s reoccurring sci-fi writer character Kilgore Trout meets with car salesman Dwayne Hoover, who believes Trout’s work to be non-fiction. The work alleges that its reader is the only human with free will (i.e. not a robot), and Hoover — who’s going mad — takes the message to heart, allowing his newfound solipsism to fuel his violent impulses.“Breakfast of Champions is just about the best script an actor could wish for, and it was a real treat to perform,” said Malkovich. “I hope Vonnegut fans have as much fun listening to this challenging and funny American classic as I had recording it, and I believe those new to the book will discover it’s just as fresh and relevant as it was forty years ago.”
It’s a good year for Vonnegut fans, as Unstuck in Time , Bob Weide’s documentary about the writer (nearly 30-years in the works), is finally back in full-swing production with an expected release later this year.
You can listen to a sample of Malkovich’s narration here, and watch behind-the scenes-footage of the recording below: | {
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Story highlights A court ruling could change the way we all use the Web
Net neutrality rules were designed to give equal access to the internet
Giving service providers freedom means they could play favorites with sites
Fees imposed on sites could be passed along to their users
How would you like to have to pay a fee to be able to stream YouTube videos at full speed? What if you liked downloading music from, say, Last.fm or Soundcloud, but those sites suddenly became infinitely slower than bigger sites like Amazon or iTunes?
Those are the kind of major changes to the Internet some folks are envisioning after a federal court ruling this week on what's come to be called "net neutrality."
This stuff can get really confusing, with all the government jargon, Internet lingo and competing arguments mixed up in it.
But it's also really important and could rework the Web as we know it -- like allowing the hypothetical situations above become realities.
Here's a breakdown of what this week's ruling could mean to you.
What is "net neutrality?"
Generally speaking, when folks talk about neutrality, they're referring to the ideas that led to a set of rules the Federal Communications Commission approved in 2010. The point of the rules was to keep the companies that hold the keys to the Web from playing favorites.
The "open Internet" rules prevent Internet service providers from blocking or "unreasonably discriminating" against any legal website or other piece of online content.
The philosophy behind it all, preached vociferously by Web activists, is that, in 2014, Internet access is a human right. Denying access, even in part, or giving preferential treatment to one user over another, violates that right, they say.
What happened this week?
federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the FCC doesn't have the right to enforce those rules. The court said that the government is tasked with overseeing crucial utilities like telephone service and electricity, but that the Internet isn't considered to be one of those utilities under current law.
The decision harks back to statements and decisions made by the FCC and other government agencies in the early 2000s, when molasses-slow dial-up connections were the norm and Web access wasn't nearly as common or, some would say, necessary as it is today.
The FCC has suggested it will appeal the ruling.
So what?
Everybody who accesses the Internet does so through an Internet service provider. And these providers have been pushing for the ability to dole out that access to us on their own terms.
What does that mean? For one, companies like Verizon, who sued the FCC over the rules, would be able to pick and choose who gets the best access.
So, for example, they might start charging big fees for websites to get in the "fast lane." Those fees presumably would be no problem for the Web's monster moneymakers but tougher to take for the little guys.
Then, all of a sudden, you're starting to get two Internets -- a quick, smooth highway for the major players and a slow, bumpy trail for everybody else.
The providers could also just blatantly play favorites. So imagine AT&T, a major provider, making traffic quicker on the websites of smartphone companies that use its mobile service and slower on the sites of phone makers who don't. We're not saying they'd do that, of course. But, theoretically, they could.
Has this ever actually happened?
In 2007, Comcast started blocking some peer-to-peer networks -- the kind customers use to transfer data-heavy files like entire movies and the like.
The FCC ordered them to stop. Comcast sued the FCC. An appeals court ultimately sided with the FCC, but by that time, the backlash had been enough for Comcast to quit on its own (after paying $16 million to settle a lawsuit, that is).
For what its worth, the Web's major service providers put out statements Tuesday saying they don't have plans to change anything based on the court's decision. Of course, it would probably be bad business to make a multimillion-dollar move before the case has played itself all the way out to the Supreme Court, which is where this one might ultimately be decided.
What's the argument against the rules?
The service providers and their supporters essentially say this is a free-enterprise issue. They say they provide a service and, therefore, should be able to decide how to deliver it and how they charge customers for it.
When the FCC approved net neutrality on a 3-2 party-line vote, Commissioner Robert McDowell, one of two Republicans who opposed it, called the vote a "radical step."
"Nothing is broken in the Internet-access market that needs fixing," he said at the time.
Randal Milch, a Verizon executive vice president, said in a statement that Tuesday's ruling "struck down rules that limited the ability of broadband providers to offer new and innovative services to their customers."
Bottom line -- could it cost me money?
It's possible.
If providers start charging a premium to websites for services, you can bet those sites will turn around and pass the cost on to their customers.
Netflix, whose movie streaming is one of the Internet's biggest bandwidth hogs, already took a ding to its stock price after the court ruled. The presumption by some investors was that providers are most likely to charge more to sites like Netflix that use so much data.
For fee-based services like Netflix, it's hard to imagine monthly fees not increasing if their cost of doing business increases. And while it's obviously all still speculation, it's possible that currently free services like Google-owned YouTube -- which already offers paid subscriptions -- could adopt adopt more pay models to make up the difference.
What's next?
The ruling wasn't a complete blasting of the FCC's position. In fact, it said the body still has the right to make rules for the Web, so the commission could possibly try again with a new set of rules.
Congress could settle the issue once and for all with a new, clearly worded law. And there's always the Supreme Court if the FCC does, in fact, decide to appeal. | {
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday threw its weight behind efforts to clean up Delhi's air, agreeing to explore various options including banning diesel cars from the Capital's roads and stopping trucks from passing through the city to tackle the growing menace of pollution.'Lone women drivers may be exempted from odd-even formula'A bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice R Banumathi expressed shock over the high pollution level in the city and directed the Centre and state government to bury their differences and prepare a mutually agreeable common minimum programme to tackle the crisis. The bench said pollution inside the court room had also gone up to 10 times the normal level.The bench said it was time to dust off the old reports of the Bhure Lal committee, which suggested measures to curb pollution, and implement its recommendations. Referring to Delhi government's odd-even formula, the bench said this alone could not solve the problem and multi-pronged action was needed.No problem, says Chief Justice on Kejriwal's odd-even car formula"There can't be a single solution of the problem. There has to be multi-pronged approach. All authorities including the Centre and state government should sit together along with environmental experts. There should be brainstorming session and they should come out with a solution," the bench said.The order comes amid spiralling pollution and could nudge the authorities in the city and at the Centre to work out an anti-pollution scheme which has wider acceptability and which they would be constrained to enforce."We want you to suggest short-, medium- and long-term measures to handle the situation. You must tell us the permanent solution. This is a very serious issue. Delhi is earning a bad name for being termed the most polluted city in the world. It is embarrassing for us also when foreign dignitaries point out the deteriorating air quality of the capital," the bench said.Keen on good air quality, authorities eye Delhi’s odd-even number driving modelSenior advocate Harish Salve, who is assisting the court as amicus curie, told the bench that diesel vehicles should be banned or there should be limitation on registration of diesel cars in Delhi as they are more polluting. He said the government should dis-incentivize diesel cars by scrapping subsidies on diesel. He said pollution level inside the court room had doubled in the last year.Agreeing with Salve's contention, the bench said it would examine banning of diesel cars if it could help in controlling pollution. "Definite action plan must be there for handling the situation. It will happen if you provide a platform for authorities, NGOs and experts to sit together and discuss the issue and prepare a common minimum acceptable plan to defuse the crisis. I don't think authorities are even discussing the issue," it said.The bench said trucks should not be allowed to use Delhi roads as transit route for going to other states. "Why should trucks be allowed at all to pass through Delhi even after paying tax if it is not meant for Delhi?" it asked. The court had earlier imposed environment compensation charge on trucks passing through Delhi and heavy trucks were directed to pay Rs 1,300 and light commercial vehicles Rs 700, in addition to the toll for entering the city.TOI poll - 53% say Delhi's odd-even car plan is a bad ideaThe bench directed the governments to come prepared with definite action plan on December 15 when it will explore various options to tackle the crisis.Around 23% of commercial vehicles and 40-60% of heavy trucks entering Delhi are not destined for the capital. According to a study conducted by Centre for Science and Environment, commercial vehicles entering Delhi account for close to 30% of the total particulate load and 22% of the total nitrogen oxide load from the transport sector.READ THIS STORY IN MALAYALAM | {
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By Niall McCusker
The last few minutes were lively, a pair of goals put a shiny veneer on what otherwise had been a terrible game. Until that point Diego Valeri’s excellent strike had been a lone beacon of quality in a swelling sea of, to use a nice word, mediocrity. Some might prefer a shorter and more alliterative end to that sentence.*
In the 87th minute two rare events combined to give Portland their second goal. First Darlington Nagbe took on opponents in their box instead of on the halfway line and second he laid it back to a defensive midfielder who was making a late run. The Timbers could use more of both those things.
In the first half nothing happened except two red cards, up to Valeri’s goal the second half was much the same. Portland are no longer a ball holding team, but not winning a single 5 minute increment (MLS stats page divides it up like that) of possession in the second half when numbers were even was taking it a little too far. Kansas looked like getting an equalizer until the home team finally broke out with their late goals.
Not pretty, as is usually the case between Portland and Kansas, but a vital three points.
Here are the individual ratings:
Jake Gleeson 7: It was not quite a Kwarasey 2015 lawn-chair type game for Portland’s keeper but Kansas did not overly trouble him, hitting their best chances over (Zusi) and wide (Peterson). But he still had to be alert to keep out a header from an unmarked Diego Rubio with ten minutes remaining and make a late kick-save from Ike Opara to preserve his clean-sheet.
Alvas Powell (off in 71′) 7: The Jamaican defender was having a nice game before having to come out with twenty minutes left. He had a couple of strong runs forward early in the second half, one of which was interrupted by a yellow card foul from Espinoza. He made a nice tackle on the dangerous Saad Adbul-Salaam just before coming out. Those sliding tackles in his own box look dangerous, but he always times them well.
Jermaine Taylor 7: He does a generally dependable job at center back for defensive ‘jack of all trades’. He doesn’t get sucked in, finds a man to mark and does the basics right. He had a nice block on Dwyer in the last minute after Okugo had tried and failed to steal the ball from the front.
Amobi Okugo 6.5: He was part of a defense that kept a clean sheet and cut out a lot of crosses. However, he is too ready to commit to ball winning, which if you don’t succeed is a dangerous trait for a center back. A tendency to be pro-active and want to step out to cut out passes and shots is good, but only if you get it right.
Vytautas Andriuskevicius 7: If you have a ten syllable name you should make people use all of it. “Just Vytas” is letting Taylor Twellman and co. off the hook way too easy. In limited minutes the magnificently monikered Lithuanian has thus far looked like a tidy footballer. But 180 minutes in four days is a lot to ask from a player who has just been on vacation. He had a few errant passes in his own half that didn’t look great and was a little too eager to dive into challenges. The jury is still out on his defensive solidity, but he did swing in a cross that led to Valeri’s goal. For the statistics minded, OPTA recorded that it was an ‘unsuccessful open play cross’, for people who watch the game it looked like a dangerous cross. That red line in the ‘box score’ is so judgmentally definitive in a sport delightfully full of gray areas.
Diego Chara (red card in 12′) 2: If Baldrick from Blackadder was a football pundit instead of an idiotic minion (what’s the difference I hear you cry) he would normally describe Diego Chara in terms like – ‘as sneaky as sneaky fox who has just been appointed Professor of Sneak at Oxford University’. We all have our off days.
Jack Jewsbury 7.5: In Chara’s absence the veteran had to step up and he did so very well. Kansas had a chance to press their advantage when they were a man up for thirty minutes, but they showed a severe lack of ambition in this period. Portland deserve some credit as well, marshaled by Jewsbury, they got into a nice compact shape that tacticians call the ‘come at me bro’ formation. Kansas, much like every bar room warrior, chose not to do that with any real menace. Maybe threw a couple damp beer coasters and some stale popcorn.
A nicely timed run into the box to deliver the ‘coup de grâce’ earned him a log slice.
Diego Valeri (off in 86′) 7.5: He wears the captain’s armband well, when your most skilled player is also your hardest worker others can’t help being inspired. His goal was well struck, but his bravery in bringing Portland back to even numbers might have been more important.
No doubt he saw Mustivar’s steam-train run from the corner of his eye, he didn’t hesitate for a second and perhaps might even have anticipated the chance to get the referee to reach for his back pocket again. He might have done a little more to help Portland hold onto the ball though.
Darlington Nagbe 8: After Chara’s early dismissal he had to drop in deep beside Jewsbury and did a very nice job. Most Portland player’s passing maps in this game (of only 28% possession) looked like a 5 year old drank an entire bottle of ketchup (the good stuff with plenty of e-numbers) and then got loose with a random group of crayons. Nagbe’s was its normal accurate green self.
He has five assists this year, four of which came after penetration into his opponent’s box. Let’s see him in there a little more often.
Fanendo Adi 7: Apparently Caleb Porter had told him he was giving him some help up front to prevent him from getting ‘gang-banged’. I would provide a link for that quote but I’m much too scared to google anything even close. The help didn’t last long as McInerney had to retreat into midfield when Chara got sent-off.
He kept plowing his lonely, isolated furrow in the manner of a hard-working peasant in an early van Gogh and reaped rewards at the end. A powerful run on the right set the stage for Jewsbury’s goal and he took his own at the second attempt soon afterward.
John Seamus McInerney (off in 79′) 6.5: If Vytas should use his full name then so should ‘Jack’, great Irish middle names that rhyme with famous are not just for St. Patrick’s day. He did some decent work after dropping back, but an earlier readjustment with an actual midfielder might have been an idea.
Substitutes:
Taylor Peay (on in 71′) 6: Abdul-Salaam had switched to the left wing by the time he entered the game, Peay kept him fairly quiet but had a couple of unadvised passes around his own box.
Ned Grabavoy (on in 79′) 6: He could have been on a little earlier as Portland needed someone to put their foot on the ball and calm it down. But he managed some good work and was involved in both late goals.
Lucas Melano (on in 86′): Not on long enough for a rating, but on just long enough to know his price tag will not continue to buy him starts if he doesn’t produce consistently.
* the alliterative word would be shit. | {
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A transgender violinist will perform at Carnegie Hall in New York next week, following a successful crowdfunding campaign
Tona Brown, a violinist and mezzo-soprano, will be the first openly trans woman of colour to ever play the iconic venue next Wednesday, after raising nearly $4000 on IndieGoGo.
She told Huffington Post: “The concert is called ‘From Stonewall to Carnegie Hall’ because we want to educate people about the plight of LGBT Americans, from 1969 to the present, through music and speech.
I have dreamed of performing at Carnegie Hall since I was 14 years old, when I was attending the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia.”
“It was there at the Governor’s School, that I realized that if I practiced, and studied with the best, one day I could perform at Carnegie Hall.
“My first reaction to the news that our proposal was approved by Carnegie Hall was amazement… I couldn’t believe that we got a yes!
“I started tearing up while telling my friends, because I thought of all the great artists who have crossed that stage.
“Many of them had enormous obstacles to overcome, like I do as a transgender person of colour in America.”
According to GLAAD, Brown has had an accomplished career, starring as La Principessa in the opera Suor Angelica, performing the National Anthem for Barack Obama, and landing a recurring role in yet-to-be-announced Netflix series City Lightz.
Watch Brown perform Amazing Grace below:
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Abstract Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound widely used in manufacturing plastic products. Recent epidemiological studies suggest BPA exposure is positively associated with the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), however the mechanisms underlying this link remain unclear. Human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) is a hormone synthesized and secreted by the pancreatic β-cells. Misfolding of hIAPP into toxic oligomers and mature fibrils can disrupt cell membrane and lead to β-cell death, which is regarded as one of the causative factors of T2DM. To test whether there are any connections between BPA exposure and hIAPP misfolding, we investigated the effects of BPA on hIAPP aggregation using thioflavin-T based fluorescence, transmission electronic microscopy, circular dichroism, dynamic light scattering, size-exclusion chromatography,fluorescence-dye leakage assay in an artificial micelle system and the generation of reactive oxygen species in INS-1 cells. We demonstrated that BPA not only dose-dependently promotes the aggregation of hIAPP and enhances the membrane disruption effects of hIAPP, but also promotes the extent of hIAPP aggregation related oxidative stress. Taken together, our results suggest that BPA exposure increased T2DM risk may involve the exacerbated toxic aggregation of hIAPP.
Citation: Gong H, Zhang X, Cheng B, Sun Y, Li C, Li T, et al. (2013) Bisphenol A Accelerates Toxic Amyloid Formation of Human Islet Amyloid Polypeptide: A Possible Link between Bisphenol A Exposure and Type 2 Diabetes. PLoS ONE 8(1): e54198. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054198 Editor: Angel Nadal, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Spain Received: October 9, 2012; Accepted: December 11, 2012; Published: January 23, 2013 Copyright: © 2013 Gong et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2009BC918304 & 2012CB524901 to LZ), the Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81222043, 30970607, 81172971 to KH; and Nos. 81100687 & 31271370 to LZ), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NECT10-0623 to LZ & NECT11-0170 to KH). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Introduction Diabetes is a panepidemic endocrine disease, with approximately 285 million diagnosed patients worldwide [1]. Non insulin dependent diabetes or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) accounts for more than 90% of diagnosed diabetes [2]. An important causative factor of T2DM is the misfolding of human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP), which is a 37-residue peptide synthesized and secreted by the pancreatic β-cells (Fig. 1A; [3]). Despite the important physiological functions including glycemic control and regulation of certain hormones [4], hIAPP has a high intrinsic propensity to misfold into toxic oligomers and linear fibrils [5]. During this transition, natively unstructured hIAPP monomers first form β-structure rich oligomers, which further assemble into mature linear fibrils through lateral growth and elongation [6]. The cytotoxicity of hIAPP is generally attributed to the membrane permeabilization ability of hIAPP oligomers and mature fibrils, which cause apoptosis and eventually the onset of diabetes [7]–[10]. Therefore, preventing the formation of toxic hIAPP amyloid has been viewed as a plausible therapeutic approach for T2DM [11]. PPT PowerPoint slide
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larger image TIFF original image Download: Figure 1. Structures of hIAPP and BPA. (A) Primary sequence of hIAPP with a disulfide bridge between Cys-2 and Cys-7. (B) Chemical structure of bisphenol A. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054198.g001 Bisphenol A (BPA; Fig. 1B) is a compound widely used in polycarbonate, epoxy resins and other polymer materials for manufacturing plastic utensils. The leach of BPA from plastic products is considered an important environmental issue [12]. Humans are exposed to BPA primarily through oral and inhalation routes [13]. BPA exposure is associated with multiple diseases, such as diseases of the reproductive system, nervous system and sexual dysfunction [14]–[16], as well as increased risk of cancer and heart disease [17], [18]. Although the exact molecular mechanisms of BPA toxicity remain unclear, official policies have been enacted or are being considered in many countries to reduce the BPA exposure worldwide [19]. Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that a concentration dependent correlation exists between BPA exposure and the occurrence of diabetes. BPA levels have been found significantly higher in both diagnosed diabetic and borderline diabetic patients than those of non-diabetic subjects [20]. A strong association between high urinary levels of BPA and diabetes has been identified by studying 3400 residents in China that a 37% increase in the incidence of T2DM being observed in subjects with urinary BPA concentration above 1.43 ng/ml compared with the reference concentration (≤0.47 ng/ml) [21]. In a clinic investigation with 1455 adults, the risk of diabetes in the highest BPA concentration group was 2.43 times higher compared with those in the lowest concentration group [22]. Additionally, severe metabolic disorders of glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance, hallmarkers of T2DM that are directly correlated with impaired pancreatic β-cell function, have been also observed in normal mice exposed to BPA [23], [24]. It is well recognized that environmental factors, including multiple metal ions, polyphenols, fatty acids and certain natural products of small molecule size, can affect the toxic misfolding of hIAPP and may cause diabetes [25]–[29]. We thus hypothesize that BPA exposure may associate with diabetes through promoting the toxic aggregation of hIAPP. To test this hypothesis, the effects of BPA on hIAPP aggregation were investigated in this work.
Materials and Methods Materials Synthetic hIAPP (1–37) was obtained from Genscript Inc. (Piscataway, NJ, USA). Bisphenol A was obtained from Aladdin-reagent (Shanghai, China). Carboxyfluorescein, thioflavin-T (ThT), 2-Oleoyl-1-palmitoyl-sn-glycerol-3-phospho-rac (1-glycerol) sodium salt (POPG) and hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, USA). INS-1 cells were obtained from the China Center for Type Culture Collection (CCTCC). All other chemicals were of the highest grade available. hIAPP sample preparation For all experiments, hIAPP was freshly dissolved in HFIP and vigorously sonicated for 2 min to homogenize the sample. After a short-spin, the solution was diluted to desired concentration in 25 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) containing 50 mM NaCl, and a final HFIP concentration of 1%. Freshly prepared BPA stock solution was then immediately added to desired concentrations,thoroughly mixed and ready for further analysis. The whole preparation process is strictly limited to 5 min. Far-UV circular dichroism (CD) and data analysis CD spectra were obtained with a JASCO-810 spectropolarimeter at 25°C under a constant flow of N 2 . Freshly dissolved hIAPP was diluted to a final concentration of 15 µM,. Spectra were obtained from 260 to 190 nm with a 2 nm bandwidth, 1 s response time, 50 nm/min scanning speed and a 1 mm pathlength. Each sample was measured at least three times and the spectra were averaged to give the final result. Spectra of PBS buffer containing corresponding concentrations of BPA were measured as the baselines. The final spectra were obtained by subtracting corresponding baseline spectrum from sample spectrum, which were further converted to mean residue ellipticity [θ] and were analyzed with the software CDPro using the CONTINLL algorithm as previously described [30]. Amyloid formation and thioflavin-T (ThT) fluorescence assays Freshly prepared hIAPP solution (15 µM) was incubated at 25°C for amyloid formation in the presence of different molar ratios of BPA. ThT fluorescence assays were preformed on a Hitachi FL-2700 fluorometer to detect the formation of amyloid at designated time points. The final assay solution contains 25 mM PBS (pH 7.4), 50 mM NaCl and 20 µM thioflavin-T [27]. ThT fluorescence was recorded at 482 nm with an excitation wavelength of 450 nm. PBS buffer containing different concentrations of BPA were measured as the controls. All of the experiments were performed at least three times, and the lag times were calculated as we previously described [31]. Transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) The TEM was performed as previously described [32]. Briefly, 5 µl of sample was applied onto a 300-mesh Formvar-carbon coated copper grid. Excess solvent was removed carefully and stained by dropwise addition of 1% freshly prepared uranyl formate followed by air drying. Images were observed under a transmission microscope (Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan) operating at an accelerating voltage of 100 kV. Dye leakage assays POPG was dissolved in chloroform at a concentration of 10 mg/mL. Chloroform was then removed under a stream of N 2 , and samples were dried under vacuum to remove residual chloroform. Multilamellar vesicles were made by mixing dry POPG films with 25 mM PBS (pH 7.4) containing 40 mM carboxyfluorescein. PD-10 columns (Sangon, Shanghai, China) were then used to remove nonencapsulated carboxyfluorescein as previously described [33]. POPG vesicles containing carboxyfluorescein were diluted in 25 mM PBS (pH 7.4) for florescence measurements. hIAPP stock solution was added to POPG vesicles at a final concentration of 1 µM immediately before measurement. The samples were excited at a wavelength of 493 nm, and the emission was detected at 518 nm. The fluorescence signal was recorded for 90 s, POPG vesicles alone were tested as the baseline and the signals of POPG vesicles treated with 0.2% (v/v) Triton X-100 (for complete membrane leakage) were used as the positive control. All measurements were repeated at least three times. Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) The SEC analysis was performed on a Tosoh TSK GW2000 column (Tokyo, Japan). hIAPP was freshly prepared to a final concentration of 30 µM,mixed with different amounts of BPA, and were immediately injected into a Hitachi L-2000 HPLC system, and the column was eluted with a 20% acetonitrile containing 0.003% TFA at a flow rate of 0.3 ml/min as previously described [34]. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis Dynamic light scattering was performed by using a zeta pals potential analyzer (Brookhaven Instruments, New York, USA). 30 µM hIAPP was measured in a 200 µl cuvette incubated at 37°C with a scattering angle of 90°. The starting time for the very first sample scan was marked as time zero. All of the samples were scanned for three times (4 min/scan) and the mean particle size was recorded and analyzed by the multimodal size distribution (MSD) software. MTT cell toxicity assay Pancreatic INS-1 cells were cultured in 1640 medium containing 10% FBS, 1% sodiumpyruvat, 1% penicillin-streptomycin solution and 50 µM β-mecaptoethanol. And cells were plated in 96-well plates at a density of 5×104 cells/well and incubated at 37°C in 5% CO 2 atmosphere for 24 h. The medium was then replaced with fresh medium containing hIAPP (5 µM) and varied amounts of BPA for 24 h further incubation. Cells treated with BPA or PBS were used as the controls. For MTT assay, cells were co-incubated with 10 µl MTT (5 mg/ml) per well for 4 h. 100 µl formazan buffer was then added to each well and the absorbance was measured at 570 nm [35]. Synergistic effects were analyzed by calculating coefficient of drug interaction (CDI) [36]. Measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) INS-1 cells were seeded into 6-well plates and treated with or without 10 µM hIAPP and different ratios of BPA for 12 h. The harvested cells were washed by PBS and incubated in 1640 medium containing 10 µM carboxy-H 2 DCFDA (Beyotime, Shanghai, China) for 20 min at 37°C. The cells were then washed twice with PBS and the levels of ROS were detected by a flow cytometer (Beckman, USA) with an excitation wavelength of 485 nm and an emission wavelength of 530 nm [37]. Statistical analysis The Kruskal-Wallis test and the Mann-Whitney test were used to evaluate statistical significance. All results were expressed as the mean ± SD. Difference was considered statistically significant at P<0.05.
Discussion hIAPP has a strong tendency to form toxic oligomers and fibrils that lead to pancreatic β-cell apoptosis and eventually the onset of T2DM [47]. It is clear from our results that BPA promotes hIAPP aggregation in a dose-dependent manner, which is supported by the significantly accelerated aggregation lag time as well as the enhanced fluorescence intensity that reflects the orderly β-structures formed (Fig. 3B). CD data further confirms the accelerated transition of hIAPP from unordered structure to β-structure in the presence of BPA (Fig. S2). The helical intermediates are thought to play a role in hIAPP aggregation [48], [49], the transition from helix to β-sheet structure may cause the reduction of helical structures as what we observed (Fig. S2). It is well established that the toxic hIAPP oligomers can disrupt the islet β-cell membrane and lead to permeabilization. In MTT study, we observed the cytotoxicity of hIAPP on INS-1 cells rose sharply with the addition of BPA (Fig. 7). The observed strong cytotoxicity by BPA alone also agree with previous studies which suggested BPA itself also disrupt the cell function through stimulating the estrogen-receptor and several other apoptosis-related pathways [50]–[53]. It is interesting to note that the increased toxic effect of hIAPP in combination with BPA was only observed at high BPA to hIAPP ratios but not at the lower ratios. The CDI was calculated to explore the potential BPA and hIAPP interaction, and it was found that the two compounds showed a synergistic exacerbation of cototoxicity especially at high molar ratios of BPA. Further analysis was conducted to distinguish the direct molecular toxic effects of BPA on live cells from its interaction with hIAPP. Dye leakage assays were performed to monitor exclusively the membrane disruption property of hIAPP in the presence of BPA. The hIAPP oligomers have been proven to bind and penetrate membranes more efficiently than monomers and are regarded as an important causative factor to β-cell death [47]. Serious dye leakage was observed in the hIAPP group and was dose-dependently enhanced in the presence of BPA (Fig. 8). It is interesting to note that no evident hIAPP aggregation was identified within a short incubation time at a low concentration (1 µM) as suggested by the ThT and CD results (data not shown), whereas hIAPP at this concentration immediately caused significant membrane disruption in dye leakage assays. This may be explained by a recent report that hIAPP form oligomers much faster in the presence of membrane structures [54]. These data suggested that BPA significantly increases the ability of hIAPP to disrupt membranes. Oxidative stress induced cytotoxicity was another mechanism underlying amyloid-related β-cell apoptosis besides direct membrane disruption. Amyloid formation has been reported to associate with ROS generation [46]. hIAPP oligomers may form pores on membrane and lead to permeabilization of lipid bilayers [55]. The generalized increase in membrane permeability results in intracellular calcium elevation which disrupts mitochondrial function and finally increases ROS generation [56], [57]. In this study, ROS accumulation is also observed in INS-1 cells treated with hIAPP. The ROS levels rose significantly in the presence of BPA and hIAPP, while BPA by itself has little effect on ROS levels (Fig. 8B), suggesting BPA has a synergistic effect on the ROS production related to hIAPP amyloid formation. A summary of possible molecular scheme is provided for the toxic effects of BPA on the formation of hIAPP amyloid which further result in cell damage (Fig. 9). PPT PowerPoint slide
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larger image TIFF original image Download: Figure 9. A schematic representation of hIAPP aggregation pathway. BPA may promote the oligomerization of hIAPP and form pores on membrane which disrupt the membrane and cause the leakage of cellular contents, moreover, permeabilization of lipid bilayers may cause the elevation of intracellular calcium levels and lead to the generation of ROS. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054198.g009 The influence on human health of BPA exposure is regarded as an accumulative process because of its widespread penetration in daily life [58]. The BPA tolerable intake has been set as 50 µg/kg/day [58], but adverse effects at lower BPA concentrations in animal studies have been demonstrated, which may lead to the requirement of a new risk assessment for BPA [59]. BPA concentrations in human blood (serum and plasma) are in the range of 0.3–4.4 ng/ml (1.3–19.4 nM) in developed countries [13]. In contrast, physiological circulating concentrations of hIAPP are below 10 pM in fasted non-diabetic people and rise up to over 20 pM after a meal [60], suggesting the physiological ratio of BPA to hIAPP may actually be much higher than those used in the present study. Moreover, since BPA exposure is a continuous and accumulative process, it is logical to expect long-term BPA exposure may be accompanied with accelerated hIAPP amyloid formation and β-cell apoptosis, and eventually a higher risk of T2DM. In a recent report, BPA at near physiological concentration also showed direct toxicity [61]. Due to the detection sensitivity limitation of existing biophysical technologies, in the present study, we tested the interaction between hIAPP and BPA at much higher concentrations in vitro. Therefore the system we used may be considered as a model that simulates physiological interactions at accelerating rates. Future biophysical study with novel experimental methods which can tackle hIAPP and BPA interaction at physiological conditions will be important. In summary, our data provide the evidence that BPA exposure concentration-dependently accelerates the toxic amyloid formation, exacerbates the toxic membrane disruption of hIAPP and promotes the levels of toxic ROS generated by hIAPP in vitro. Our study suggest that in addition to direct biological effect, long-term BPA exposure may also have adverse effects on hIAPP amyloid formation that eventually contribute to the onset of T2DM. The results may provide a new angle on how BPA exposure influences the risk of diabetes from hIAPP aggregation related pathogenesis. Moreover, since BPA also possess other important biological effects including estrogen-like function, it will be interesting to explore the effect of BPA exposure on physiological functions of hIAPP, for example, hIAPP secretion and hIAPP related insulin resistance. In addition to hIAPP, a great variety of amyloidogenic proteins such as amyloid β peptide and α-synuclein, are known to form extracellular amyloid deposits that induce human diseases including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease [62]. It will be of future interest to study how BPA exposure may affect the misfolding of those amyloidogenic proteins.
Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to the Huazhong University of Science and Technology Analytical and Testing Center for support. The authors wish to thank Dr. Mitchell Sullivan (University of Queensland) and Mr. Justus Grave (Univeristy of Marburg) for help with the editing. The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their insightful scientific suggestions.
Author Contributions Conceived and designed the experiments: HG LZ KH. Performed the experiments: HG XZ BC YS CL TL. Analyzed the data: HG LZ KH. Wrote the paper: HG LZ KH. | {
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Today, we'll have a brief introduction to Blender's new rendering engine - Cycles. This tutorial will cover modeling a small and easy still life scene, setting up different types of materials used in cycles and then finally lighting and rendering the scene.
Step 1
First we'll create a simple scene, starting with the tea set. Delete all default objects in a new file, press Shift+A and add a Cylinder. With the cylinder selected, in the Tool shelf's (press T if it is hidden) command panel, reduce the number of vertices to 16.
Step 2
Press 3 on the Numpad to get into the side view. Toggle off the perspective view with the 5 key on the numpad. Select the cylinder and press TAB to enter into Edit mode. Press Z to enter wireframe mode so that we can select and edit the vertices behind, Press B to drag select the bottom vertices and then Press S and scale them down.
Step 3
Press Ctrl+R to add edge loops. Move the mouse wheel up to increase the loops to three and Left click to confirm.
Step 4
With all the new loops selected, press S to scale them. Select the loops individually with Alt+Right Click and scale them to create a nice cup shape. Select the whole mesh with the A key and then press S, and then Z to scale them down along the Z axis.
Step 5
Select the top center vertex and press Del to delete it.
Step 6
Select all vertices with A key and then press E to extrude them, press the ESC key or right click to confirm the position of the new vertices. Press S and scale them down. Move the selected new vertices upward, to give thickness to the cup.
Step 7
Press B to drag select the bottom row of vertices, and then Press E to extrude them just a little bit to create a small base. Select all vertices with A key, Press W and select "Shade Smooth" to give it smooth shading.
Step 8
Click on the Modifiers icon and add a "Subdivision Surface" Modifier.
Press the edit mode preview button.
Step 9
Add edge loops to give nice creasing on the top edges and bottom. The cup is ready so Press TAB to get out of edit mode.
Step 10
Now lets create the Teapot. Press Shift+A and add a Cylinder, reduce its vertices to 16.
Step 11
Press TAB to enter into Edit mode. Scale the bottom row of vertices, Add more edge loops and tweak them to create a nice shape.
Step 12
Add a Subsurf Modifier, select all the vertices and press W and select "Shade Smooth".
Step 13
Select the top center vertex and delete it.
Step 14
Select the top most edge loop with Alt+Right click. Press E to extrude and Right click (or hit ESC) to confirm the position. Press E again to extrude the selected loop and then Right click again to leave the new vertices in the same position. With the new loop selected, press S and scale them down to form the base of the lid.
Step 15
Using the same extrude and scale method, we create the lid. Here the lid is modeled in a way that it is a part of the same mesh. First extrude the loop, then scale it to shape, then repeat this process until you reach the desired shape. To close the mesh, select the last loop and press Alt+M and then select "At Center". This will merge all the vertices in the center.
Finally, Tweak the loops to get a nice shape. You can add more loops if you wish.
Step 16
Select the two front faces and extrude out the spout. Add an edge loop at the base to give some crease, and adjust the loops to give it a round shape.
Delete the closed faces and then Extrude the loops and scale them down to give it thickness and a bevel.
Step 17
Similarly select the two faces right behind the spout and extrude out the handle. Adjust the edges to create a nice round shape. The teapot is complete, so Press TAB to exit edit mode.
Step 18
Similarly create a jar from another Cylinder. Add edge loops, scale them and rotate where ever necessary.
Extrude the whole mesh inside to give it some thickness, and then adjust and move the top inside loop.
Step 19
Add more edge loops near the neck. And then select the faces and extrude out the handle as shown. Finally tweak the over all mesh to give it a nice shape. The jar is now ready, so press Tab to exit edit mode.
Step 20
Press Shift A and add a Plane to create a base on which the objects will be kept.
Select the plane and press TAB to enter into Edit mode. Select all vertices with the A key, and press E to extrude so that we can have some height.
Step 21
Scale the objects so that they are proportionate to each other. and finally place them accordingly.
Step 22
Select the cup (with right click) and press Shift+D to make a duplicate.
Step 23
Now we'll add the room. Press Shift A to add a Cube and Scale it with the S key and place it accordingly.
Step 24
Press Shift+A and add a Camera. Place and rotate it so you can have a good close up view of the objects.
Split the 3D view into three. Move the mouse over to the corner and drag when the cursor changes.
In any of the 3d views Press 0 on the numpad to enter the camera view.
Step 25
Now we get into cycles! But before we start, lets hide the room. This way we can light up the scene just with the background world. So select the room (cube) and press H to hide it.
In the top menu bar, Select "Cycles" from the Render Engine drop down list.
In the header of a 3D view, select "Viewport Shading" to "Rendered". You will notice that the view port is now giving almost a realtime rendered feedback. you can rotate, zoom-in, zoom-out or move objects around and you will get realtime feedback. We can do this to any 3D view but here we will do it for the camera view.
Step 26
In the main Render panel, you can choose whether cycles should use CPU or GPU. Also down in the Integrator panel, you can increase the samples to get better results, both in final rendered images or in the 3D preview. If you enter 0 samples for preview, the 3D view will go on calculating samples to infinity until you change the viewport to shaded or wireframe.
Step 27
Now we will add materials to the objects. First select the jar, and press the Materials button in the Properties window, and click on "New". You will notice that the usual panels are replaced with new ones when you select Cycles as the render engine.
Name the Material - "Jar" or "Glass". In the surface select "Glass BSDF". This will assign a glass material to the jar. You can select any color but right now I will leave it at white to have a clean glass material.
Step 28
Add a Sphere. Scale it and place it accordingly and add a new material. Select "Glossy BSDF" in the surface panel, this will create a mirror like glossy material (you can select any color.) The Roughness value determines the sharpness of the reflections. Higher values will make the reflections blurry. A value of 0.00 will make it 100% mirror like reflective.
Step 29
Now we will add a ceramic like material to the tea set. We will have to make it with a combination of glossy and diffuse materials. To add two materials, we select "Mix Shader" in the Surface drop down list. So go ahead and select the tea pot and add a new material and select Mix Shader in the surface type. Name this material "ceramic".
Select "Diffuse" for one shader type and "Glossy" for other. The Fac value determines the percentage of the mix. A value of 1.0 means that the second shader (here glossy) will have 100% effect and the first shader will effect 0%. 0.500 will mix 50% of both shaders. Here we want a combination of 10% glossy shader and 90% of diffuse, so the value is set to 0.10
Reduce the "Roughness" to 0.00 under glossy shader settings.
Step 30
Now select the cup and in the materials panel, click on the icon and choose the ceramic material we already created. Do this for all the cups - select the object and then assign the material from the list.
Step 31
Select the base cube (table) and add a new material and name it "wood". Select "Mix Shader" in the Surface type. Assign one as Diffuse and other shader to Glossy. Set Factor value to 0.300 (30% for glossy and 70% for diffuse). In the Glossy shader, set the "Roughness" to 0.150. This will make the reflections blury.
In the diffuse shader, click on the button next to Color and select "Image Texture".
Press the "Open" button and browse to your favorite wood texture. I used the "Dull Wood" texture found near the bottom of this page on http://mayang.com/textures/
To map the image properly, click on the Vector button and select "Generated" from the list.
Step 32
Now let us add more realistic sky lighting. Click on the "World" button in the Properties panel and click on "Use Nodes" or you can add a new material to the world.
Step 33
Click on the button on the side of the color box and choose "Sky Texture".
Click and drag the lightball to set the direction of sun light. Also play with the Turbidity value.
Step 34
Now we will light the scene for indoors. Press Alt+H to unhide the room. In the camera view everything will be blacked out as there is no lighting inside the room, so press Z in the 3D view to switch it back to 3d Shaded view.
Step 35
Add a plane inside the room, add a Material to it and name it "Lightyellow". In the surface type select "Emission" and choose a yellow-orange color
You can add another plane and set it to Emission and choose a different color for this new light.
Step 36
To make the scene a bit more interesting, we will place the objects near a window. So add Edge loops and then delete a face for the window.
Place the window near the wall, and Extrude the edge of the window to give some depth.
Step 37
In the top view, drag all the objects including the camera near the window.
Step 38
In the camera 3D viewport, switch back to rendered view and preview the result. Scale down the inside yellow light plane, and delete the blue light plane.
Step 39
In the Renders Panel, reduce the dimensions of the image to 50%. Set the Render Samples up to 200 or 500 so that the final output is more clear and less noisy. You can also set the Preview samples to 0 and see at how many samples the render looks fine, and then set the render samples to that number. Indoor scenes need more samples than outdoor scenes.
Step 40
Finally Press "F12" or hit the image in the render panel to render the image. Press "F3" to save the image. | {
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You may have heard about the O’Bannon trial. Ed O’Bannon v. the NCAA In a case where the O’Bannon team is claiming that the NCAA is wrongfully profiting off of the images and likenesses of student-athletes with the athletes seeing none of the profit.
The NCAA is arguing — quite unsuccessfully in court — that the athletes are compensated in ways of scholarships that things like cost of tuition, room and board, food and other benefits given to college athletes.
However, while the NCAA is floundering in court to prove their point, the University of Florida set a good example of the definition of student-athlete.
On Friday, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive released the names of the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll and 55 student-athletes at the University of Florida were recognized.
To make the honor role, athletes need to meet four criteria.
1) Have a GPA of 3.00 for either the preceding academic year or have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or above at the nominating institution;
2) Be on scholarship, a letter-winner.
3) Have completed 24 semester hours of non-remedial credit at the nominating institution; and
4) Have been a member of the varsity team for the sport’s entire NCAA Championship segment.
The 55 players that were added to the list on Friday gave Florida an astonishing 239 student-athletes to earn academic honors in the calendar year (53 on fall list; 59 winter, 72 on spring and 55 on the First-Year Honor Roll.)
Included on the list of 55 freshmen were seven football players — Caleb Brantley, Jarrad Davis, Vernon Hargreaves III, Antonio Riles, Jordan Sherit, Johnny Townsend and Nick Washington.
A complete list of all 55 student-athletes can be found here. | {
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Jamie said: GSO, GeoCorp and Venture each get their own Fabricators & Scrappers and all of their blocks will be craftable and scrappable.
Each corporation only requires one Fabricator to craft their full range of blocks. The ability to craft higher grade blocks is determined by licence grade.
You can give orders to your Fabricator for what to craft and it will call for the required ingredients from any connected Silos to complete the recipe.
Fabricators now consume inputs one by one instead of waiting them all before starting. Click to expand...
Jamie said: Creating and adding to conveyor loops is significantly improved.
Blocks no longer belong in holding beams (this includes conveyors) at all. Fabricators spit blocks onto the floor, Scrappers take from the floor.
There are new conveyor blocks for passing resources around corners. The alternator is being promoted from EXP. The UI graphics that show conveyor connections and passing directions are being improved. Click to expand...
Jamie said: Several crafting blocks get new models to suit their new functionality. Crafting blocks feature new UI Menus, many of which will help suggest possible uses for different items. Special hat and colour blocks are not craftable or scrappable, neither will Experimental blocks. Scrap Magnets receive improvements to the physics code to make them more usable. Click to expand...
So that means the GeoCorp fabricator & scrapper will look like goliaths? And Venture ones will look like miniature GSO fabs?And that silo thing looks good. Since the bigger silos will accept blocks from any side, then at least they should work like the old silos before 0.5.12, that means they won't be sorted. But it's up to the devs.I forgot that the SCU acts as a block silo. And thanks for the UI thing.Thank devs for the new crafting block models. and thank them for the UI stuff related to crafting. Also, thank them for the improved Scrap Magnets. No more conveyor blocks breaking and probably no more Megatons eating half of the Tech after a misfire... | {
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Last updated on .From the section Golf
Woods's best result this year was when he tied for 17th at the Masters in April
Tiger Woods says it is taking longer than expected to regain his best form.
The former world number one and 14-time major winner has dropped to 266th in the rankings following back surgery and changes to his swing.
This year Woods, 39, has also missed the cut in successive majors - the US Open and The Open - for the first time.
"I didn't think it would take this long, but I thought I would have my short game, which I didn't at the beginning of the year," Woods said.
"Is it fun going through this? No, it's hard. I'm not scoring. Rounds that should be 70s are turning into 74s - if not worse."
The American, who has not won a major since 2008, has missed the cut in three of his eight starts this year and his best result came when he finished tied for 17th at the US Masters.
Woods will host this week's US PGA National at the par-71 Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.
Great Britain's Justin Rose will also be in action at the event where he is the defending champion. | {
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Researchers say that references to planets and constellations in the Odyssey describe a solar eclipse that occurred in 1178 B.C., nearly three centuries before Homer is believed to have written the story. If correct, the finding would suggest that the ancient poet had a surprisingly detailed knowledge of astronomy.
The Odyssey, commonly dated to near 800 B.C., describes the 10-year voyage of the Greek general Odysseus to his home on the island of Ithaca after the fall of Troy in approximately 1200 B.C. Toward the end of the story, a seer named Theoclymenus prophecies the death of a group of suitors competing for the affection of Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, who is believed to be dead. Theoclymenus delivers his prophecy as the suitors are sitting down for their noontime meal. He foresees them entering Hades and ends his speech with the statement, "The Sun has been obliterated from the sky, and an unlucky darkness invades the world." Odysseus dispatches the suitors not long thereafter.
Greek scholars Plutarch and Heraclitus advanced the idea that Theoclymenus's speech was a poetic description of an eclipse. They cited references in the story that the day of the prophecy was a new moon, which would be true of an eclipse. In the 1920s researchers speculated that Homer might have had a real eclipse in mind, after calculating that a total solar eclipse (in which the moon blocks out the sun) would have been visible on April 16, 1178 B.C. over the Ionian Islands, where Homer's poem was set. The idea languished, however, because the first writings on Greek astronomy did not come until centuries later.
Inspired by an incorrect reference to Homer's alleged eclipse in an astronomy textbook, biophysicists Constantino Baikouzis and Marcelo Magnasco, both at the Rockefeller University, pored over the Odyssey for additional clues. Sailing back to Ithaca on a raft, Odysseus navigates by monitoring the constellations Pleiades and Bootes, which share the sky twice a year in March and September. The morning he arrives in Ithaca, Venus rises in the sky before dawn, which happens on about one third of new moons. But the crucial clue came from a reference to the god Hermes flying west to the island of Ogygia. The researchers propose the god's voyage actually refers to the planet Mercury, which hangs low in the sky and reverses course from west to east every 116 days.
Baikouzis and Magnasco used commercial astronomical software to scan all 1,684 new moons between the years 1250 and 1125 B.C. for dates that matched those conditions. "Even though each event happens individually often, the pattern doesn't repeat that often," Magnasco says—only once every 2,000 years, he and Baikouzis report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. And one of those matches is April 16, 1178 B.C. Magnasco says that he had a hunch about Hermes, known as Mercury to the Romans, after coming across the idea that the Greeks used the stories of the gods as mnemonic devices to remember astronomical events. Taking Mercury out of the mix leaves 15 matching dates in the 135-year search period, he adds.
According to Magnasco, the references imply that Homer chose to set the slaying of the suitors on the day of the eclipse. (He notes that he has "no clue" whether similar events to those described in the Odyssey actually occurred on that day.) | {
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Ryu Seung Ryong, who plays the role of the sinister Cho Hak Ju in Netflix’s “Kingdom,” spoke about the highly anticipated second season of the drama, which, reports say, will go into production this month.
On his reaction to the conclusion of Season 1 of the series, the actor said, “I wondered, ‘Why is it ending here?’ But Season 1 was a process of introducing the world and the story.” Ryu Seung Ryong gave a hint of his thoughts upon seeing the script for Season 2, saying, “In Season 2, I think a lot of things are going to be withdrawn. I saw the script, and I was worried about how they were going to handle everything in the end.”
He added, “The story also develops very quickly, and I read all the way through the script for Episode 4 in a flash. Characters other than the main cast seen in Season 1 will likely play a bigger role in Season 2.”
In the series, Ryu Seung Ryong’s Cho Hak Ju is an endlessly power hungry and ruthless character. “I tried to give my character a heavy aura of horror with minimal [physical] movements,” said Ryu Seung Ryong. “And the characters around Cho Hak Ju did a good job in portraying just how scary Cho Hak Ju really is. It was a big help.”
“Cho Hak Ju smashing a chief scholar’s head into a table, when they are symbols of nobility in a Confucian society, was a crucial moment that showed the level of power that Cho Hak Ju holds.”
Ryu Seung Ryong continued, “He’s the non-zombie, human presence in the show that instills horror in viewers. He is a person that is keeping the king chained like a dog and giving him food, as if he is rearing him. Even so, he is not one bit shaken. Those kinds of actions are what’s horrifying. His obsession with power to the point of being almost reckless was fresh to me.”
The actor also hinted at big things happening for actress Kim Hye Jun, who plays the role of his daughter and the queen of Joseon, in Season 2 of “Kingdom.”
Specifically, he addressed criticisms aimed toward the actress and her acting ability, saying, “When filming, as a fellow actor, all you can do is try to create a comfortable atmosphere so someone can do their best to portray a character in the way that they want. If you try to do more, it can become a distraction. Please see Season 1 as the growing pains of an as-yet foolish young queen. There is a part in Season 2 where her hidden potential really takes flight. All one can do is work hard while hoping controversy dies down as the story unfolds.”
Source (1) (2) | {
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A search engine has been launched that funds eco-friendly projects using the money made from your pressing internet queries.
When you enter your question into a search bar, advertisers pay to make their content appear first, based on the keywords in your phrase. Every year, this earns companies like Google somewhere between €30 to €50 per user. In 2019, this advertising revenue contributed to Google’s over €140 billion in profits, according to Statista.
Your search engine could be doing more. Unsplash
New search engine, Rapusia, claims that half of the money it makes from advertising such as this will be donated to “social and eco-solidarity projects”. The other 50 per cent pays for the marketing and operational costs associated with running the company.
Rapusia was created by the Tennis World Foundation, an organisation that uses sport to reach children in need in South Africa, Mauritius, Tanzania and Italy. Founders Federico Coppini, Alessandro Di Pietrantonio and Davide Botticelli wanted to create a green alternative to more commonly used search engines like Google.
How does an eco search engine work?
Every search you do on Rapusia earns you a heart, which represents the money set aside from advertising income to be donated. Once you have accumulated enough hearts, you can then choose which projects you want to back and hearts are converted back into money. The amount donated depends on how many searches are carried out and which charities its users choose to back.
Projects currently being funded include Tennis World Foundation’s own efforts to empower disadvantaged children, safe water access for communities in Malawi and protection for the wellbeing of stray animals in Europe.
Repusia represents the money generated by your searches using hearts. Unsplash
Unlike other commonly used search engines, each query is private. That means that Rapusia doesn’t store data about what you are looking up or pass it on to the companies that advertise with them. A browser extension anonymously manages the number of hearts you have collected whilst protecting you from advertising tracking, it says on its website. The organisation also publishes a monthly financial report showing which projects have been helped, in an attempt to ensure transparency.
Greening your search history
Every time you hit enter on Google, it uses enough electricity to power a 60 watt light bulb for 17 seconds, research from the companyfound in 2009. While that doesn’t sound like a lot, the internet giant processes an average of 40,000 search queries every second.
Ecosia
A number of eco-conscious search engines have popped up over the last few years offering the chance to offset this energy consumption by doing some environmental good. Tools like GiveWater, Lilo and Ekoru let users redirect money made through advertising to charities and organisations that are helping the planet through green and socially responsible action.
Ecosia, one of the most widely used of these alternatives, uses its profit to plant trees. At the time of writing, it claims that over 92 million trees have been planted thanks to its users’ online search habits. Efforts to reduce carbon emissions through renewable energy mean that the company is now removing 1kg of CO2 from the air with every search, making the operation of the search engine carbon negative.
The power of your searches could be far more than just keeping you informed about environmental issues. If it were as big as Google, Ecosia says, it could absorb 15 per cent of all global CO2 emissions or the equivalent of total vehicle emissions worldwide. | {
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We roll on with our ‘Adopt a Team’ series by taking a closer look at a Tampa Bay Lightning squad which needs to avoid taking this current window for winning for granted, and an Ottawa Senators team that hasn’t had their record reflect their level of play so far.
We also discuss the best and worst defensive pairings in the league, which teams are most likely to make a splash trade, and eventually unload on the Justin Abdelkader extension near the end of the show.
You can listen to every episode of this podcast on iTunes, Soundcloud, or stream it from our website. Make sure to not only subscribe so that you don’t miss out on any new shows, but also leave us a nice review (if you think we’ve earned it!)
Please also consider chipping in to help support the show. A handful of you have done so already, and we greatly appreciate it. We’d love to be able to improve our equipment and cover some of the housekeeping costs associated with running this podcast.
Thanks for listening! | {
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Japanese police are investigating a possible human trafficking ring after arresting 11 Chinese construction workers over visa violations and finding that 46 other labourers appear to have fled.
About 60 Chinese labourers arrived in September and were dispatched to the island of Hokkaido from a company near Tokyo to build a giant solar power plant, according to Japanese reports.
Some of those detained by Japanese authorities have said they were “deceived” by an intermediary about the work involved in Japan.
Authorities were alerted to the case when a Chinese man died on Nov 26 after he was taken to a local clinic by four other workers, according to a statement posted Tuesday by the Chinese consulate in Sapporo.
Those four men have since gone missing.
On the same day as the death, police arrested 11 Chinese people aged 27 to 62, finding two were without passports with the remaining nine allegedly having overstayed their visas.
The Chinese workers reportedly lived in housing roughly 11 miles away, and entered Japan through the port of Nagasaki or by plane in Tokyo, and were brought to the plant by a staffing agency.
Japanese authorities are looking specifically into whether the employer knew the Chinese workers lacked proper documentation. | {
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For some of you (particularly, our U.K. readers) this will probably not come as a surprise, but the “City of London” is not actually “London.” In fact, as the great Internet explainer C.G.P. Grey reveals, the City of London is sort of its own thing within what we normally call London today. How this came to pass involves a little explaining about parliamentary democracy, history, and military construction, but it’s imparted in just under five minutes.
Now go and impress your friends with your uncompromising knowledge of historical trivia.
(via Laughing Squid)
Relevant to your interests
Have a tip we should know? [email protected] | {
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These are the same people who shot MIT guard this evening, hijacked a car.
One suspect now on foot.
Spruce & Lincoln streets. Plain clothes officers being asked to maintain perimeter.
Wider perimeter being set up - out to Mt. Auburn Street.
Expanding perimeter to 3 blocks from 98 Spruce.
Bomb squad on the way.
Officers asked to turn off all cell phones.
Bomb squad asking which of multiple locations they need to deploy.
Package on the ground on Mt. Auburn street.
Another location already has a robot being sent in.
Request for description of the person at large.
One suspect being taken to hospital.
Watertown officer down.
2 suspects, 1 in custody, 1 possibly on the ground and being held until arrest(?) (One officer has requested clarification)
All officers asked to switch channel.
Watertown asking for assistance at 11 Appleton Street - may or may not be related.
The officer down in Watertown is being brought to hospital now.
Trying to get confirmation that 2nd suspect is the right suspect.
Just warned to watch for booby traps as officers head into the area to check yards.
Reporting now that they may not have caught the 2nd suspect.
Call for investigators at Mt. Auburn and Dexter to yellow-tape a 2 block area.
All unnecessary cruisers being moved down the street to open up the road to make room for movement. Too many cars are now blocking the street.
Media is now getting in the way, asked to get off the street, move to perimeter.
20 more officers have arrived.
Asking for description of escaped suspect...
Dividing into quadrants to search.
Code black called at Mt. Auburn hospital in Watertown. I looked it up - at Mt. Auburn, that means bomb scare.
Sweep is continuing. It's slow and methodical, so don't expect much in the way of rapid updates.
Live Stream:
http://www1.whdh.com/...
Suspects used "long guns" not handguns.
Sweep still going....
I must say, the calm, professional, methodical way this is being handled is very impressive.
Description just put out of a white male considered extremely armed and dangerous.
General notice just given to all officers to be looking for "extremely" armed and dangerous suspect with some clothing description.
Another live stream: http://www.necn.com/...
Police scanner feed has gone offline.
Foot pursuit in progress. Expanding perimeter
Sending SWAT to aid in pursuit
Trying to confirm the pursuit.
Now reporting no foot pursuit.
"Let's make sure we're not chasing ghosts, here." Admonition just came over the scanner.
K-9 unit is going to check a location with an open door
Asking for a school bus to evacuate some of the people from nearby homes due to "the devices"
Bus is more to keep people warm, while they're being kept out of their houses.
Suspect wearing charcoal gray hoodie, they didn't see his pants. Dark, fluffy curly hair.
Doubling up the posts at the perimeter
More sweep assignments being made.
Police expecting to gain advantage when daylight returns.
Going to try to move "devices" asking for bear(?) [hard to hear]
Apparently it's a bearcat armored vehicle. They want shelter for all the people in the area before they move the device.
Arsenal and Dexter streets.
Another location (100 Talcott) has motion sensors going off. A team is staging there.
Arsenal and Dexter is the "device" location. Bearcat is on the way. They were having trouble getting the original one there, due to clogged streets, but found another one with a better route.
Open door on another street (Adams), which is in the opposite direction from Talcott.
Trying to determine what weapons have been found so far. Sounds like only the explosives, which means the long guns are still missing.
Sending investigators to another address.
DoD k9 being requested
fire department ready to help out
DoD K9 could be EoD K9. Hard to hear.
Police going to a location, told to not use radios there.
Box with wires found.
Sounds like a vehicle that's en route is getting amusing directions from GPS. It's hard to tell exactly, due to the sound cutting out.
Asking sweep teams to call in locations as they complete them.
K9 en route to open door.
Bearcat still en route
Checking out a car near one of the buildings.
Person with backpack spotted in another location.
Now checking area with backpack wearer.
Barriers being brought in via DPW truck.
1st suspect had a bomb on his chest, which detonated after he was arrested (perhaps that was the code black at Mt. Auburn hospital?)
Second suspect may also have one.
Warning officers to be careful if they find the second suspect.
Tactical commanders at the staging area are being brought in for briefing.
Bus still hasn't arrived for residents.
Trying to get someone to close the bike paths that go through the neighborhood. Commuters have started heading to the city.
Officer approaching suspect: "Get down on your knees, sir."
Dispatch now asking for location of officer who said that.
Not a person of interest.
A suspicious package has been reported in the area of 500 Memorial Drive (near MIT). People asked to remain out of the area.
I don't know if it's related, but 3 officers are reported injured at the command post.
Bus is almost in place, then evacuation begins.
Hard to tell if Mem Drive alert was canceled, or if they're sending a bomb sniffing dog.
Mall has been opened for evacuees to use ... once they're evacuated.
MIT package not a problem.
Doing a roll call ...
Industrial Park at 480 Arsenal is inside the perimeter, so not allowed. If you know folks who work there (Verizon, etc., tell them to stay home).
Bus FINALLY arrived, people have boarded, being taken to another location. Another bus is available if needed later.
Sky is starting to lighten up, it'll be light out soon.
Determining whether residents can be allowed to go to work.
Report of male with heavy backpack on bike
Work ok for those on streets that have been cleared.
Personnel on fixed posts are to remain there until relieved, regardless of when shift would normally change.
Hospital press conference - does not say there was an explosive device on suspect who had been brought there. Suspect died of cardiac arrest. This was the suspect arrested 4-ish hours ago after the shootout/hand grenade event. (getting a great understanding of how news reports can be so jumbled and incorrect)
More sweeps in progress...
Calling for a negotiator...
School closings being announced in Boston.
MIT is closed today (not a surprise)
If you know people in Boston and vicinity, tell them to check for school closings here: http://boston.cbslocal.com/...
All MBTA (public transit - subway and bus) service closed.
Police asking if MBTA service is actually closed. Not confirmed.
Confirmation: All MBTA trains (subway and commuter rail) are suspended.
No word about buses.
With the sun coming up, things are ramping up
FBI "in the grid" and they're tightening up the perimeter.
Asking people in Watertown and 6 surrounding towns to STAY INDOORS. Do not answer door (except for police) and do not congregate outside.
Noises reported at a house.
Bringing additional arms to the officers staffing the perimeter.
Fog rolled in.
Report of someone trying to hitchhike.
It's been odd to hear how many homes have doors standing wide open - not really something you'd expect in the city, especially in early spring.
Sounds like prepping for a concerted effort....
A unit just reported a suspect in custody - the guy who was trying to flag down a cab - in a Boston cab. Requesting a bomb squad to check the car.
Note: above is not known to be a suspect, but one of the people called about by passers-by.
Lots of locations and lots of people being called in. Arrests and investigations into any of them do not mean they've found the second bomber.
A car has been stopped on Comm. Ave.
Well, it looks like no one's actually reading this, and there are other diaries covering the search, so I'm going to call it a night. | {
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This week, many media outlets, both cannabis and mainstream, are reporting that West Virginia has become the 29th medical marijuana state.
They are wrong. West Virginia has become the 5th pharmaceuticalized cannabinoid state.
Sorry, if a patient can’t grow cannabis and smoke actual marijuana, it’s not a “medical marijuana state.” West Virginia’s law allows no smoking and no edibles, just non-smokable oils and tinctures.
I understand the allure of calling West Virginia the 29th medical marijuana state. It makes it seem like our movement is overwhelming the entire country. That helps to frame marijuana reform as inevitable and support for it as ubiquitous.
But come on now.
Calling Oregon and West Virginia both “medical marijuana states” is like including Picasso and George W. Bush in a list of “World’s Greatest Painters.” Patients in Oregon can grow six cannabis plants and possess a pound and a half of marijuana. That will still get you prison time in West Virginia, patient or not.
Putting all 29 of these states into the same category is also obscuring the trajectory of medical marijuana away from whole plant healing and into the ledger of GW Pharmaceuticals.
It also gives a false sense of popularity when we see polls saying 93 percent of the country supports medical marijuana. Ask if they support their neighbor growing a half-dozen cannabis plants and smoking marijuana next door because a doctor said it’s good for his anxiety, and I doubt you get 93 percent support.
The reality is that West Virginia is just the latest state to prove the Box Canyon Theory I first presented at a HIGH TIMES Medical Cannabis Cup in 2010.
The theory, which I first articulated based on comments made by former NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre, states that so long as the fight for marijuana reform concentrates solely on medical use, the need to identify whose marijuana use is medical and whose use is still worthy of punishment will result in marijuana becoming no different than a pharmaceutical.
It’s a political box canyon where medical marijuana becomes stripped of everything that associates it with non-medical use. In the end, it means laws where growing cannabis and smoking marijuana are more strongly separated from medicine and reviled as something only potheads do to get high.
The proof? Start with California in 1996, which passed medical marijuana where only a doctor determines who qualifies and patients can grow as much of their own cannabis as they need and they can smoke marijuana.
Next you get Oregon, Washington and Alaska in 1998, which decide that doctors in California are letting too many potheads use medical marijuana to get high. They pass medical checklist marijuana that establishes that doctors can only certify that a patient meets acceptable criteria on a pre-determined list of conditions. They decide Californians are growing too much cannabis, because it’s getting to potheads who are smoking it to get high, so they set specific plant count limits. But patients can still grow their own and smoke marijuana.
Medical checklist marijuana continues through the 2000s, but the laws begin whittling down the number of plants patients could grow, from six or seven to just two or three, because still, too much of that medicine is getting to potheads who use it to get high. But patients can still grow their own and smoke marijuana.
Then, comes Arizona in 2010, the first to become a pharmaceuticalized marijuana state.
They decided that only patients living in the far-flung desert need to grow their own cannabis plants, because patients in the city can just shop for marijuana at the pharmacy… I mean, dispensary. Potheads in the city would just use medical marijuana laws to grow cannabis to smoke marijuana and get high. Arizona established 25-mile radius halos around dispensaries, and if you live within them (as 97 percent of Arizona’s population does), you cannot grow cannabis. But patients can still smoke marijuana.
Then in 2014, Minnesota becomes the first pharmaceuticalized cannabinoid state. No patients can grow cannabis plants or possess marijuana, because that’s something only potheads do to get high. They can go to a dispensary and buy a cannabinoid oil, pill or vape cartridge, like any other real (non-smoked) medicine.
Also in 2014, Utah began the wave of CBD oil states, pharmaceuticalizing cannabis with scant to near non-existent levels of THC. After all, THC is the chemical in marijuana that’s psychoactive; only potheads who want to get high need that.
Since 2014, culminating with West Virginia this week, all five medical marijuana laws passed legislatively do not allow growing cannabis or smoking marijuana. Since 2010, all 12 medical marijuana laws that have passed legislatively forbid home cannabis cultivation, and none of the four that passed as initiatives explicitly allow all patients to grow. There hasn’t been a medical marijuana law since Michigan in 2008.
Still, congratulations to West Virginia.
Their law is better than nothing, and thousands of serious sick and disabled people will find great relief in their pharmaceuticalized cannabinoid preparations.
Just don’t tell me it’s a medical marijuana state. From now on, patients that want to grow cannabis and smoke marijuana for medicinal benefits are going to have to ally with us potheads who smoke marijuana to get high and help pass legalization. | {
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Bertrand Russell is the Pope
The story goes that Bertrand Russell, in a lecture on logic, mentioned that in the sense of material implication, a false proposition implies any proposition.
A student raised his hand and said "In that case, given that 1 = 0, prove that you are the Pope."
Russell immediately replied, "Add 1 to both sides of the equation: then we have 2 = 1. The set containing just me and the Pope has 2 members. But 2 = 1, so it has only 1 member; therefore, I am the Pope." | {
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At what point…if any…should we as a nation say that we don’t want or can’t afford to just keep getting larger?
Tom Foreman | BIO
AC360° Correspondent
Reporter's Note: New polls show public concern is growing about our immigration policy. Just like my string of letters to the White House is growing day by day.
Dear Mr. President,
I’ve been watching the whole growing debate over the immigration issue, and listening to your AG threatening to sue Arizona, and on and on and on. And a basic question has occurred to me: No matter where you stand on the issue, no matter how you feel about the struggles of other people in other places who might want to come here, what number of Americans do you think is the right number?
At what point…if any…should we as a nation say that we don’t want or can’t afford to just keep getting larger? And trust me, yes, I understand this is a tough question loaded with political dynamite.
But I ask this because even if we had no immigration whatsoever, I’m pretty sure we’re producing enough babies each year to assure our survival as a nation far into the future. Whenever we accept a new family into our fold from someplace afar, we are also accepting their descendents. In terms of sheer math, you can see how that starts eating up the chairs at the local cinema on Saturday night. And making our cities more sprawling. And our roads more crowded. And our pollution greater. And our consumption of resources more intense. And I don’t even want to talk about how hard it could be to get your call through in one of those radio contests if this continues.
I’m not trying to be xenophobic or wreck on the dreams of those who might hope for a better future here. I recognize that my family came as immigrants many years ago and we benefited from America’s immigration laws at the time. But I also recognize that we once offered free land to homesteaders. And times change.
So I wonder how many new arrivals any nation can afford to admit before it starts bending under the weight. I have no doubt that many of these folks bring ambition, a strong work ethic, and a commitment to building a better America. (Just as I am sure that some don’t. But frankly that’s true of a lot of us who are already here.) Still, the question remains: How much is too much?
My father saw the population of this country more than double in his lifetime. I don’t know what to think about the idea that by the time our daughters are our age, another hundred million or more people could be living in this country. I honestly don’t know what that might mean. Maybe it would be great. But I suspect it could offer challenges beyond anything we might imagine.
Let me know your thoughts. I’m around and, as always, my phone is close at hand.
Regards,
Tom | {
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The leaflet was commissioned by the government and included detailed instructions for people married to children covering all spheres of life, including intimacy. However, it has caused an outrage among the Swedish public, who found that it normalized such behavior instead of preventing it.
The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare has withdrawn an information brochure targeted at "new arrivals" moving to the Nordic country while married to children after it caused an uproar among politicians and ordinary Swedes alike, Swedish national broadcaster SVT reported.
The contested brochure "Information for you [who are] married to a child" starts by stressing that marrying persons under the age of 18 is prohibited in Sweden and outlining the reasons why. A separate section specifies that having sex with someone under the age of 15 is a crime, regardless of whether it happens within wedlock or not.
"Since children under the age of 15 have an absolute right to protection from sexual acts, it is improper for you to live together if the child is under 15," the brochure said.
The publication of the brochure in general and its wording in particular sparked furious criticism in Sweden.
"Its biggest shortcoming is that it fails to mention the word ‘prison,' rather it gives some advice and tips on how to respond if you have a relationship our marriage laws forbid," the leader of the Conservatives' parliamentary group Tobias Billström said.
READ MORE: New Swedish Books Enlighten Preschoolers About Islamic Clothing, Polygamy
"Facepalm. Unacceptable permissiveness. The brochure must be withdrawn without delay. Child marriage should be completely forbidden," Liberal leader Jan Björklund tweeted.
Man tar sig för pannan. Oacceptabel flathet. Foldern måste dras tillbaka utan dröjsmål. Barnäktenskap ska vara totalförbjudet. pic.twitter.com/qo02ykq23N — Jan Björklund (@bjorklundjan) 29 марта 2018 г.
"You Liberals love multiculturalism, but when its consequences become apparent you will be shocked. You're more than legally naive! The society you created is a disaster! Shame on you," user Olof Dissident tweeted.
Journalist Sakine Madon called the language of the brochure "soft" and the illustrations "insensitive," finding it more suitable for leaflets about one's first day of school, national broadcaster SVT reported.
Sweden Democrats party leader Jimmie Åkesson was infuriated by the leaflet, which, he claimed, "normalized" child marriage, demanding that the persons responsible for publishing it step down.
"This is utterly crazy. I'm getting furious when I see this. Especially when you read the content and find that there isn't really any condemnation of childmarriage. On the contrary, this brochure legitimizes adults marrying children," Åkesson said in a video, calling the situation "totally unacceptable" and urging those responsible for it to resign.
Perhaps somewhat ironically, Swedish Minister for Children, the Elderly and Gender Equality Lena Hallengren also expressed her discontent.
"There should never be any doubt over what exactly laws and values apply in Sweden. Concluding a child marriage is not permitted. This cannot be compromised, and the information on it must be crystal clear," Lena Hallengren tweeted.
READ MORE: Swedish Brochure Teaches Migrants How to Have Sex, Avoid Authorities
On Thursday afternoon, the brochure was removed from the website of the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, citing "strong reactions." Petra Rinman, the head of the knowledge center for unaccompanied refugee children, pledged to revise the material.
"Sweden does not permit those who are under 18 to enter into marriage in the country. According to current legislation, however, the general rule is that marriage which is legal according to the law of the country in which it was carried out should be recognized in Sweden. New legislation is currently being prepared by the government," National Board of Health and Welfare legal head Pär Ödman stated.
A 2016 survey by the Migration board numbered at least 132 cases of child marriage as a result of the 2015 migrant crisis. Furthermore, a large number of cases were suspected to have gone under the radar due to discrepancies of age assessment and more refugees arriving to the Scandinavian nation.
READ MORE: 'Pedophile's Paradise': Sweden Softens Punishment for Serial Child Molesters
In late 2017, a report commissioned by the Swedish government proposed ways to make it more difficult for child marriages from abroad to be recognized in Sweden. Last week, however, Sweden's red-green government, supported by the Left party, voted against a total ban on child marriages in Sweden, which all the opposition parties backed. Following the public outrage, the government parties claimed that a total ban would contradict EU nations that allow the marriage of 16-years-olds, such as Spain and Austria, violating the right of free movement. | {
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Manchester City defender Mathias Bossaerts has joined Belgian side K.V Oostende on a three-year deal.
The Belgian Pro League outfit announced the news on their official Twitter account on Thursday evening.
Twitter: Welkom @BossaertsM ! RT om hem welkom te heten ! https://t.co/09diOJM9T6 (@kvoostende)
Bossaerts is out of contract in the summer and has failed to make the desired impact during his three years in Manchester.
The 19-year-old had previously been compared to City skipper Vincent Kompany and was has been playing in the Elite Development Squad at the Etihad Stadium for the last two seasons.
However, his failure to break into the first-team picture and being overtaken by Tosin Adarabioyo in the pecking order of the U21 squad has seen Bossaerts return to Belgium.
The centre-back joined City from Anderlecht in 2012 at the age of 16 but has failed to make an appearance for the first team in a competitive fixture. | {
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CALGARY — In a historic moment for tall women everywhere, Susan Kettleman was recognized for something outside of her height earlier today.
“I assumed I was being asked into my boss’s office to grab something from a tall shelf but it turns out they were actually complimenting me on my work,” stated a flustered Kettleman following the momentous event.
Known as “Tall Susan” in the office, despite being the only Susan who works there, Kettleman has a storied history of her height overshadowing her accomplishments; starting as early as 13 when in her middle school yearbook she was remembered as “tall,” “really tall,” and “sooo tall.” This, regardless of the fact that she was the class treasurer and the lead in the school play.
“I’m just really thrilled that they were able to look past my stature and see that I’ve been working really hard,” noted Kettleman who, at her University graduation, was not congratulated for her Deans list grades but rather her “WNBA potential.” Again, this despite having never played basketball.
The significance of the event cannot be overstated, especially in light of the fact that Kettleman left her last job because her boss refused to acknowledge her efforts and referred to her, not by name, but as, “Our in-house Lebron.”
“I think this is a huge win, not only for me, but for any woman has who been constantly berated about her promising career in professional volleyball,” stated an emotional Kettleman.
To congratulate Kettleman on her work, her colleagues all chipped in to buy her a gift card to Mr. Big and Tall. | {
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Marchers walk up Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol to support statehood for the District of Columbia on April 15, 2016, in Washington, D.C. Amid a new push for statehood, D.C. confronts a wall of opposition in Republican-led Congress. (Aaron Davis/TWP)
A divided House of Representatives dealt a blow to the District’s attempt at self-government Wednesday by voting to nullify a D.C. ballot measure that allowed the city to spend local tax dollars without congressional approval.
The House voted 240 to 179 to strike down the 2013 ballot measure, saying the District overstepped its legal authority — and the U.S. Constitution — by trying to excise Congress from the city’s budget process.
Two Democrats, Reps. Jim Costa (Calif.) and Brad Ashford (Neb.), sided with Republicans to pass the bill, which also forbids the city to take any future action that alters its relationship with Congress. President Obama has threatened to veto the bill.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said the bill was needed because “the D.C. government is running fast and loose with the Constitution,” which grants Congress authority over the nation’s capital. “The current D.C. government needs to be reined in,” Ryan wrote in a statement. “We will not allow Congress and the Constitution to be undermined.”
The vote brought months of simmering tensions between District leaders and Congress’s Republican majority to a boil on the House floor — and brought relations between Congress and its host city to perhaps their lowest point in recent years.
The District’s nonvoting House member, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, led Democrats in blasting Republicans as “despots” and “hypocrites” and accused them of running the nation’s capital as a “plantation” where 700,000 residents live without the power to decide their own matters.
At issue is a ballot measure — approved overwhelmingly by D.C. voters — that said the city has a right to spend its own tax dollars as it wishes, much the way the 50 states do.
The measure, which had the backing of a D.C. Superior Court judge, allowed the District to spend its $13 billion budget — comprised mostly of local revenue — without first submitting it to Congress as part of the federal budget.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, led the floor fight for the bill and said it was rooted in the Constitution.
In an interview, he advised Democrats in the District and elsewhere agitating for statehood to attach the city’s residential neighborhoods to Maryland if they want the same rights as a state.
“D.C. is not a state,” he said. “And statehood is not going to happen on my watch.”
One after another, Republicans cited the specific article, section and clause of the Constitution that grants Congress “exclusive authority” over the workings of the federal district.
No, D.C. doesn’t live off of federal funds, and no, it’s not necessarily Congress’s job to manage our budget. Washingtonian staff writer Benjamin R. Freed dispels some misconceptions about control over the District. (Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)
But Democrats pushed back, saying that times change and Congress needs to adapt to the fact that a district carved from swampland with few residents is now a major metropolis.
“The same Constitution protected slavery and said certain people of color were worth three-fifths . . . ,” said Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.). “Same Constitution. But we changed it. . . . The fact that you exercise your will over an entire city just because you can does not make it right or noble. In fact, if we follow the logic of my friends of the other side, why not take over? Let’s do rezoning. Let’s do emergency preparedness. Let’s run the EMT and the fire department. Let’s take over mental-health services. Why go only halfway? I’m curious. Why is it only the budget?”
Democratic Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) called the bill an exercise in hypocrisy on the part of Republicans. “We’re witnessing the party that proclaims itself to be the champion of local autonomy and less federal involvement in local affairs . . . do exactly the opposite,” he said.
Rep. José E. Serrano (D-N.Y.) said that Republicans “use Washington as the place to manifest their discontent or desire” on social and budget issues they can’t control even in their home states, he said.
Ryan cited “real consequences” to giving D.C. budget freedom. “The D.C. government wants to use revenues to fund abortions in the District. House Republicans will not stand for that,” he said.
Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-Tex.) noted it was as recently as the 1990s when Congress had to bail out the District from financial distress under Mayor Marion Barry.
And Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the author of the bill, said the District wouldn’t have achieved its current financial health without its special reliance on Congress.
“If, indeed, everything is turning up roses, it is indeed the status quo . . . that truly has the authority rested and vested here in this esteemed body” to oversee District finances, he said.
Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University, said he believed that D.C. officials did not have the legal authority to spend their own tax dollars. But the reaction on Capitol Hill marks a new low in the relationship between the District’s Democratic leaders and their Republican overseers in Congress, he said.
“It’s positively toxic,” he said.
In recent weeks, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) had cast the showdown with Congress as a first step toward making the nation’s capital the 51st state. The District has a larger population than Vermont’s or Wyoming’s, and its residents pay more in federal taxes than those in 22 states.
If the House bill becomes law, it “shakes the foundation” of home rule, Norton said. If the Senate passes the bill, it will be the only time since the city won partial home rule in 1973 that Congress has acted to repeal a D.C. law retroactively.
“If you never felt like a despot before, I hope that side of the aisle understands what it feels and looks like now,” Norton said Wednesday, pointing to Republicans on the House floor.
The 51st state: D.C. is about to declare its independence — from Congress]
D.C. mayor calls for vote on D.C. statehood
D.C. prepares for constitutional convention in June
Clinton vows to be a champion for D.C. statehood — Trump, not so much | {
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Slow wage growth, falling retail figures and investment panic have experts giving us a grim warning for Australia’s economic future. So what's going on with our economy?
Government plans to force tens of thousands of new migrants to settle in regional towns will do nothing to stop the population explosion in Australia’s two largest cities.
In fact, it could do more harm than good with a throttling back on immigration leading Sydney and Melbourne to sate its thirst for new workers by emptying regional towns and cities of skilled workers, a leading demographer has said.
Adelaide is most in the firing line. The voracious labour appetite of Sydney and Melbourne was causing a brain drain that was increasingly “sucking in” skilled residents from elsewhere.
Professor of demography at Melbourne University, Peter McDonald, said it wasn’t just Adelaide — Perth and even New Zealand could see more of their population leave for Australia’s two largest metropolises as well as Brisbane.
In March, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said permanent migration would be capped at 160,000 annually while 23,000 skilled migrants per year seeking a pathway to permanent residency will now have to live in regional areas for three years.
That lowers the migration cap down from 190,000. However, in reality, Australia has already hit that target with around 162,000 new residents entering the country last year.
Speaking at the AFR National Infrastructure Summit in Melbourne earlier this month, Prof McDonald said his advice for government would be between 160,000 and 200,000 migrants a year.
A target at the lowest end of that range risked slowing Australia’s economic growth and posing challenges to companies looking for skilled workers.
While Australia’s population was growing, many of those people are also older and so fewer of them are of working age. Australia’s average age has increased by two years, to 37, over the last two decades.
“Behind it all lays labour demand and these days there’s a big emphasis on big cities, so Sydney, Melbourne and, to some extent, Brisbane are advantaged in that regards,” he told news.com.au.
“If international migration is reduced then some of the demand for labour in Sydney and Melbourne will not be met, so if the demand is strong enough they will draw from the rest of Australia and also from New Zealand.”
Despite being outside Australia, New Zealanders don’t need a visa to work here so are an easy source of labour.
“Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are already sucking in labour from the rest of Australia. And in the case of Adelaide, there’s a lot of movement from Adelaide to Melbourne.
“There are skilled people in Adelaide; they are trained in Adelaide at Adelaide’s cost — and then they move to Melbourne.”
Prof McDonald said in the long run it could be detrimental to South Australia’s economy if they can’t hang on to their workers or attract new ones.
SA’S GROWTH WEAKER THAN OTHER STATES
He pointed to South Australia’s relatively weak employment growth figures. Year-on-year, the number of jobs in the state grew by 2.3 per cent, while according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics between 2013 and 2018, South Australia created 4.3 per cent more jobs in the state.
But that’s below the 8.8 per cent Australian average and is far below New South Wales which saw 12.2 per cent employment growth over the same period and Victoria, which was out in front with 14.4 per cent.
Overall SA’s population growth year-on-year is only 0.8 per cent, compared to 1.8 per cent Queensland and 2.2 per cent for Victoria.
In May, SA’s Minister for Skills David Pisoni conceded “more work needed to be done” but said a rise in jobs reflected the still relatively new Government’s “policy shift that is stimulating the South Australian economy, with businesses and employers responding favourably”.
Over the five year period, only WA fared worse in terms of employment growth with fewer jobs in the state. But that was largely due to a single event — the end of the mining boom.
“Perth grew very strongly during the mining boom but as soon as that was over it collapsed and people are moving away in big numbers, and to Melbourne,” Prof McDonald said.
Earlier this month, the Regional Australia Institute, identified food processing and tourism as two employment growth areas in South Australia, with 21 per cent of people in the Barossa engaged in wine making.
Prof McDonald warned pushing people to regional areas wouldn’t stop the growth in major cities, with 41 per cent of Australians already living in Sydney and Melbourne.
“The regions have difficulties, they have key labour shortages and GPs are a classic example. We are producing lots of GPs in Australian universities but we still have trouble getting them into country towns because graduates, just like everyone else, want to be in Sydney and Melbourne.”
Just last week, his observations were echoed by NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet who took a swipe at SA in an attempt to persuade Canberra to give the state government more cash for new road and rail projects.
“No one who comes to Australia goes to Adelaide. They go to Sydney and Melbourne.”
In March, the government said it would splash $2 billion on a high speed rail line from Melbourne to Geelong and commission business cases for similar projects to Albury and Traralgon and others emanating out from Sydney and Melbourne.
But Prof McDonald says new regional rail lines will do little to put the brake on the big cities’ people boom.
“This rail system they’re talking about, which is a good thing, will take 15 to 20 years to build by which time Melbourne’s population will have grown by four times the population in those cities.
“So it’s an issue of scale and a fast train to Bendigo won’t solve population issues.”
But there was no point railing against the brain drain black holes of Sydney and Melbourne — Australia is better off with them, he said.
“Without Sydney and Melbourne, Australia would just be an international backwater.”
[email protected] | {
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Which Wich Superior Sandwiches breaks a few eggs with the introduction of new Eggwiches, at participating locations.
Featuring runny, sunny-side-up eggs, Eggwiches are available in the following three varieties:
Brunchwich: Rotisserie roasted beef and lamb gyro slices, smoked thick-cut bacon, American cheese, fresh tomatoes, house-made Harissa mayo, and a sunny side up egg on a toasted baguette.
Cheeseburgerwich: Sirloin, smoked thick-cut bacon, American cheese, tomatoes, caramelized onions, pickles, toasted sesame seeds, special sauce, and a sunny side up egg on a toasted baguette.
Bánh Mì: A sandwich inspired by the flavors of Vietnam consisting of soy glazed pulled pork, sliced cucumbers, pickled carrots, jalapeños, fresh cilantro, house-made Sriracha mayo, and a sunny side up egg on a toasted baguette.
Exactly how “runny” are Eggwiches? Food reviewer Ian Keiner AKA Peep THIS OUT! decided to put the new Cheeseburgerwich to the test. Ian paid $8.75 for his Cheeseburgerwich.
Will Ian be left with egg on his face? You’ll have to check out his review below to find out for sure.
Image – Which Wich | {
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The INSIDER Summary:
• This barbershop in Michigan encourages kids to read.
• They offer a $2 discount if they read while in the chair.
• They get to keep the discount too!
Fuller Cut, a barbershop in Ypsilanti, Michigan, has a new way to encourage kids to read aloud: A $2 dollar discount on their haircut if they read while in the chair. And the best part? They get to keep that discount.
“Parents love it and the kids…well, they like getting the two dollars back,” Ryan Griffin, the barber responsible for bringing the program to the shop, told the Huffington Post. “We get compliments from teachers all the time, too.”
Griffin, a father of three, has been working at Fuller Cut for over 20 years. When he heard about barbershops in Iowa, Texas, and Ohio giving kids discounts for reading aloud while getting a haircut, he knew he had to bring the idea to his barbershop. He started bringing older books he had laying around his house into the shop with him, and from there, the community took notice.
“And that’s just how it started. It wasn’t anything grand. I just wanted to be responsible. I hope people reading this and feel the same way go to their barbershop or beauty salons and tell them about this program as well,” Griffin said.
“When little kids that don’t really know how to read or what’s going on see an older kid in the chair with a book and then grab a book too, that’s what’s important. Because when a kid thinks it’s cool to read, that’s a gift.”
Fuller Cut now receives donations of reading materials from the community, with older kids bringing in their books once they’ve outgrown them. The shop’s selection of books now numbers between 75 and 100, all with a specific theme to encourage positive thinking in the children among this largely African-American clientele.
“All our books have positive images of African-Americans — whether it’s astronauts, athletes or writers,” Griffin said.
Griffin also tracks the reading progress of the kids who come in. Anybody who doesn’t finish a book in one sitting gets to start where they left off when they come in again. This way, the kids with the most to lose can tell their reading skills are getting better and better in a positive environment.
“If we can get kids to come back to the Fuller Cut as adults in college and they tell us, ‘Because you guys had us read here, it made me want to be a writer or journalist,’” Griffin said, “that’s really the end goal.” | {
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Transcript:
Rat: Sir, I know you've rejected all my character. But how about this one? I call him 'Satch." Man: Satch, huh? Kinda cute is it short for something? Rat: Saturated fat molecule. Man: Security please. Rat: Look, kids! I clog your veins. Rat pitches new characters to McDonald's | {
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France's Nicolas Sarkozy admits Fukushima nuclear gaffe Published duration 13 April 2012
image caption Mr Sarkozy admitted he had not visited Fukushima, adding there had been an exclusion zone around it
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has conceded he did not visit Fukushima on a visit to Japan after last year's tsunami, despite saying he had.
Election rival Francois Hollande had queried Mr Sarkozy's claim that he had been to the stricken nuclear plant.
Mr Sarkozy admitted on Friday that he had not. "I'm not an engineer, I don't need to stick my nose in the situation at Fukushima," he said on I-tele.
The future of France's nuclear power industry has become an election issue.
The Socialists have pledged to reduce France's dependence on nuclear energy for its electricity, from 75% to 50% by 2025.
Mr Sarkozy's centre-right UMP government argues that the nuclear industry is good for the country economically, generating employment and exports along with clean, reliable electricity.
'Pioneer in everything'
Mr Sarkozy had told an election rally in Normandy last Friday that he had visited Fukushima with his then ecology minister, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet.
Mr Hollande, the Socialist presidential candidate, said on Tuesday that he had checked out Mr Sarkozy's statement and that "he never went there".
"It's the first time in the history of the Republic that an outgoing candidate has described a trip he never made," Mr Hollande said. "He'll have been a pioneer in everything. Even on a trip he never took."
Mr Sarkozy acknowledged on I-tele: "I went to Japan with Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, I met the Japanese authorities, I discussed with the [Japanese] prime minister the situation at Fukushima and Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet went there."
He said that he had been making the point that linking what happened at Fukushima to the debate over a nuclear power plant in France was absurd.
"I simply said that at Fukushima what happened was not a nuclear incident - it was a tsunami, with a wave that reached 42 metres in height that demolished the pumping systems that enabled the cooling of the central core, and that to say as a result of Fukushima that you should shut Fessenheim [nuclear plant] in Alsace, that seemed to me to be a particularly remarkable absurdity."
It is not the first such gaffe Mr Sarkozy has made.
In 2009, he posted on Facebook a picture of himself at the Berlin Wall, saying he had chipped away at it with a pickaxe on the day the wall came down. | {
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Bengaluru: Two days after Congress leader DK Shivakumar inaugurated the foundation of a proposed 114-foot statue of Jesus Christ in his constituency Kanakapura, BJP leaders have taken objection to the move, labelling it “appeasement politics”.
Criticising Shivakumar, former Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde said, “Here is the Tihar-returned great man who, for the sake of a position, is seeking to please the Italian woman (referring to Congress president Sonia Gandhi) by setting up a huge Jesus statue, thus displaying his gallantry. It won’t be a surprise if more slaves within the Congress compete with each other to do appeasement politics."
Shivakumar inaugurated the proposed statue on December 25 at Harobele village in Kanakapura, a predominantly Christian locality. The title deed of the 10-acres land was handed over to a trust.
Shivakumar's office claimed the statue, set atop a 13-foot pedestal, will be the tallest Christ monolith in the world.
Responding to Hegde’s comments, Shivakumar said, "These are people who love me. I had visited the place two years ago when they told me about such a proposal. I asked them to hold it as it was government land. I have bought this land with my own money.”
"I have also built hundreds of temples. In my constituency, there are people of all faiths. I respect all of them, believe in communal harmony and secularism," he said.
However, state Revenue Minister R Ashoka said the land is not owned by Shivakumar and is a government 'gomala' land (pasture land for community use).
"It is not Shivakumar's property, it is government gomala land, I don't know in what sense he (Shivakumar) has said he has purchased and given it," said Ashoka. "No one can donate it to any one. I have sought a report from the District Deputy Commissioner of Ramanagara."
Criticising the Congress, Karnataka Rural Development Minister KS Eshwarappa said the opposition party leaders who opposed the construction of a temple for Ram, who was born in India, were ready to fund the construction of a statue of Jesus. However, Eshwarapppa wrongly mentioned that Christ was born in the Vatican, instead of Bethlehem.
"Even Siddaramaiah cannot stop him (Shivakumar) from becoming the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president now," he added.
Shivakumar is considered one of the front-runners for the post of KPCC chief that was vacated by Dinesh Gundu Rao, considered Siddaramaiah's confidant, after the party's rout in the December 5 assembly bypolls.
(With inputs from PTI) | {
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Some Democrats say the party often does a poor messaging job, which helps explain why supposedly popular issues don't always translate into election wins. Particularly frustrating, they say, is Republicans' ability to portray the pre-Obama health care system as far superior to the nation's new health insurance, when in fact many Americans strongly criticized it in 2008. | {
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Sami Shah is an award-winning comedian and best-selling author, and one of Pakistan's most successful comedians. Yes, Pakistan has comedians. In A Beginner's Guide To Pakistan he has traveled to Birmingham - or, to give it its full name, the Islamic Republic of Birmingham - to give Radio 4 a quick guide to the country who have directly and/or indirectly provided the UK with 1.8% of its population: Pakistan.
In this first episode he looks at the country's political history, from its foundations in British-ruled India right up to the present day. It's a litany of coups and assassinations, in the middle of which Sami was grew up, moved away and came home - to a very different Pakistan from the one he left. Which isn't to say that there weren't more coups and/or assassinations.
Written and performed by ... Sami Shah
The Voice of the Guide ... Anita Anand
Producer ... Ed Morrish
A Beginner's Guide To Pakistan is a BBC Radio Comedy production. | {
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highlighted Psalms 92:1-5 ESV
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath. It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; | {
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Jura IMPRESSA C9 Automatic Coffee Machine, Black
Jura IMPRESSA C9 Automatic Coffee Machine, Black Second hand but only ever used for personal use in a single household. The machine works perfectly well and have never had any issues with it. I have a spare water filter and the cappuccino frother is included. Happy to give a demo on collection if required. Only selling as my new kitchen is too small for it. Simple to use one button press cappuccino or espresso. Happy to provide additional pictures, videos, etc on request. | {
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Join our call to prioritise children's well-being
15 year olds in the UK are among the saddest and least satisfied with their lives in Europe. They've been telling us what needs to change, and we must listen.
Email your MP to put children’s well-being at the heart of our national recovery | {
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Dorothy D. DeWitt, once General Counsel of Business Lines and Markets at Coinbase, is now Director of the Division of Market Oversight at the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
DeWitt will oversee the CFTC’s derivatives initiatives and evaluate “new platform-traded products” such as Bitcoin futures, we’ve learned via a press release.
A Future for Bitcoin Futures
Chairman Heath P. Tarbert made the announcement, and stated the following regarding DeWitt’s appointment:
“I am excited Dorothy will soon be joining our team. She brings to the CFTC more than 20 years of private sector experience in the financial services and legal fields. Her strong investment, risk, legal, and compliance background and familiarity with distributed ledger technology, including crypto assets, will be invaluable as the agency looks to develop a holistic approach to regulating 21st century commodities.”
DeWitt will take over the position from Amir Zaidi, who served for over nine years.
DeWitt’s Natural Next Step
Most notable, however, is DeWitt’s experience at Coinbase and how she can apply that to her role at the CFTC. Aside from working at the exchange, DeWitt has over a decade’s worth of knowledge from serving as a portfolio manager for alternative investment funds. These had a focus on derivatives and “swaps.”
This experience will come in handy when dealing with upcoming futures, especially when we consider the fact that Bakkt is launching its platform relatively soon. The position has had the responsibility of overlooking previous futures products like the ones at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange or CBOE.
The new Director has also worked with Citadel Securities, S&P Global, and served as an attorney at Davis Polk & Wardell.
Interest in Bitcoin futures has only grown over the years. We’ll have to see how DeWitt can push that even further.
What do you think about this new appointment? Is DeWitt a proper fit for overlooking Bitcoin futures? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Images are courtesy of Shutterstock. | {
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Amid widespread criticism of Canada’s COVID-19 testing strategy, experts say health agencies should look towards a widely used method to determine who has been infected and who hasn’t: blood tests.
Serological tests, or blood tests, can identify whether a person has been exposed to a particular pathogen, like the new coronavirus, by looking at their immune response, Dawn Bowdish, Canada Research Chair in aging and immunity at McMaster University, said.
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READ MORE: No return to ‘normality’ until coronavirus vaccine is available, Trudeau says
And while the tests can’t detect early infections, they could identify asymptomatic cases or people who had mild infections but were never diagnosed — filling in the gaps to help create a better understanding of Canada’s epidemic, Bowdish said.
“They are absolutely the gold standard for understanding the spread of this infection,” she said.
When the COVID-19 outbreak ends, researchers across the country will look to see how many people were truly infected with the virus to help better plan for the next outbreak. Blood tests “are extremely important” for this modelling, according to Bowdish.
McMaster University, Sinai Health, the University of Toronto and other research labs are all working to develop a blood test that can determine who is immune to COVID-19.
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Private companies, meanwhile, have already created rapid blood tests that can provide results in under 20 minutes. The tests have been approved for use in Europe, Asia and the U.S, but in Canada, they are still “under review.”
[ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ]
READ MORE: Canada may be missing thousands of coronavirus cases, experts say
BTNX Inc., based in Markham, Ont., has already shipped more than 20,000 rapid tests to hospitals in the U.S. and is looking to move another 200,000 to the States and the U.K.
“We are not sure when we will be able to sell in Canada anytime soon,” Mitchell Pittaway, the company’s chief financial officer, told Global News. “We are looking to have production shifted to the U.S., where we are aiming to produce over a half-million tests a week.”
BTNX Inc. said the tests sell for roughly US$10 and use just a drop of blood to determine whether someone has been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
READ MORE: How rapid testing kits could lead to more targeted screenings
Pittaway said the tests could help get Canadians back to work faster, as they could help determine if a person has developed certain antibodies that could protect against reinfection.
“[Health Canada] won’t be issuing, at this point, any approval for serological [tests] like ours until there is greater national strategy,” he said, noting that the company spoke with the federal health agency on Tuesday.
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Health Canada said in a statement that serological testing is being “prioritized for review” by the federal agency but didn’t offer a timeline on when the tests might be available.
“The department is working with the National Microbiology Laboratory to validate testing and research, along with expert advice, so that we can have confidence in the test results,” Health Canada spokesperson Geoffroy Legault-Thivierge said in an email.
He noted the tests aren’t recommended for clinical diagnosis because they don’t test for the actual virus.
“It is envisioned that pilot studies and then larger scale studies will be conducted to investigate the immunity within health care workers and other select populations,” Legault-Thivierge said.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was pressed about serological testing this week and said it’s being looked at “very carefully.”
“We’re still in the early days of reflecting not just on the medical implications but on the societal implications of those tests as well, Trudeau said during his daily briefing Tuesday. “But we are continuing to pursue every avenue as a way of getting us through this.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is using blood tests to find undetected cases, and the FDA is allowing the test kits to be used by health-care professionals.
“Quite soon, we’re going to have to start figuring out ways to get people back to work, and hopefully [these tests] have an implication in that,” he said, noting that 3.1 million Canadians either lost their jobs or had their hours slashed last month due to COVID-19.
READ MORE: How B.C. is ‘bending’ the curve and why there’s hope for Ontario and Quebec
Infection control epidemiologist Colin Furness said there is “no reason” why Canada shouldn’t be using blood testing and that the tests could provide more clues about who is immune to the virus.
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“Our whole acute health-care system has been re-engineered to deal with COVID-19 pandemic. It may just be that we haven’t taken a step back yet to understand the big picture,” he said. “It may just be a little of the tyranny of the urgent.”
Furness said it’s “disappointing” Canada isn’t using its own domestically sourced rapid blood tests but said there are always concerns about new tests and false positives.
“It’s not about ending the outbreak,” he said. “It’s about coming to terms with what we’re actually dealing with the virus and asymptomatic transmission.” | {
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Вчора сталася чергова трагічна смерть при перетині лінії зіткнення в Станиці Луганській.
Починаючи з 1 січня 2019 року, я веду «сумну» статистику, фіксуючи випадки смертей при під час перетину лінії зіткнення. З урахуванням сьогоднішнього випадку, я зафіксував вже 40 смертей цивільних при спробі перетину лінії зіткнення. Кожен із цих випадків має конкретну долю, історію трагедії та родичів і друзів померлих.
Я хотів би поділитися власними думками у формі запитань-відповідей, щоб ви краще розуміли проблему та що необхідно зробити для поліпшення ситуації
Отже, за яких обставин померли ці люди?
З-поміж 40 покійних — 32 людини померло через стан здоров’я, 6 людей загинули в ДТП, що сталося неподалік від КПВВ «Мар'їнка», двоє померли під час наїзду транспортного засобу на вибуховий пристрій у «сірій зоні» між КПВВ «Новотроїцьке» та смт Оленівка, яке перебуває поза контролем Уряду. Тобто 4/5 смертей сталися з природних причин в людей, яким, якщо і варто було кудись виходити з дому, то хіба що до медичних закладів.
Ким були всі ці люди?
35 померлих із 37, чий вік встановлено, були у віці 60—89 років, лише одній людині було 56. Єдиний випадок смерті молодої людини, у віці 31 року, стався під час ДТП, це був водій транспортного засобу. Такі дані свідчать про те, що в абсолютній більшості випадків помирають пенсіонери, а відсутність смертей людей у віці 90 та більше років свідчить не про їхнє міцне здоров'я, а про те, що вони вже навіть і не намагаються перетинати лінію зіткнення та не отримують пенсійних виплат.
Де вони померли?
Найбільше людей померло при перетині лінії зіткнення через Станицю Луганську, таких випадків зафіксовано 14. При перетині через Майорське померло 11 людей, через Мар'їнку — 10 (з них шестеро загинули в ДТП), через Новотроїцьке — 5 (з них двоє загинули від вибухового пристрою). Єдиним коридором, де не було зафіксовано жодної смерті за цей період, є напрямок Маріуполь — Тельманове/Бойківське через Гнутове. Рівно два місяці тому завершили будівництво пішохідної секції мосту біля Станиці Луганської, що суттєво полегшило перетин цієї ділянки для літніх людей. Попри це, вже після відкриття мосту, лишень за два місяці на цьому коридорі сталося три смерті, що вчергове підтверджує кричущу недостатність одного-єдиного пішохідного коридору в Станиці Луганській на всю Луганську область.
Якої статі були покійні?
Це питання на перший погляд може здатися неважливим або ж навіть зайвим. Втім, оскільки гуманітарні організації наголошують на світових критеріях вразливості (які не завжди враховують місцевий контекст) та необхідності більшої уваги одній статі, то людям іншої статі приділяють менше уваги. Я просто надам статистику, висновки робіть самі. З-поміж 32 людей, що померли при перетині лінії зіткнення за станом здоров'я, чоловічої статі було 27 людей, а жіночої — 5.
Ще щось?
Так. З-поміж 40 зафіксованих випадків смерті, 22 зафіксовано на контрольованій Урядом території, 7 — у «сірій зоні» та 11 на неконтрольованій Урядом території. На жаль, в мене нема обґрунтованих підстав вважати, що на неконтрольованій Урядом території смертність вдвічі менша. Ймовірною причиною такої різниці в пропорції є обмеженість у джерелах інформації на неконтрольованій Урядом території, де кількість гуманітарних акторів та ЗМІ доволі обмежена.
Висновки: більшість померлих — пенсіонери літнього віку, а до обтяжливої подорожі на контрольовану Урядом територію їх спонукає відсутність засобів до існування. Найчастіше, люди помирають під час перетину лінії зіткнення через Станицю Луганську (35% від усіх зафіксованих смертей). З-поміж п'яти транспортних коридорів, він є єдиним пішохідним (транспортним засобом перетин не передбачений) та єдиним, який функціонує Луганській області (решта транспортних коридорів — у Донецькій області).
Міст у Станиці Луганській після ремонту
Що можна зробити, щоб зменшити смертність та спростити перетин лінії зіткнення цивільним населенням?
Запровадити для мешканців неконтрольованих Урядом територій процедуру для отримання належних їм пенсійних виплат. Зараз держава фактично примушує цих людей реєструватися та набувати статусу внутрішньо переміщеної особи, якими вони не є.
Змінити частоту відвідання контрольованої Урядом території з одного разу на 60 днів, на один раз на шість місяців. Для пенсіонерів, які бажають виїхати за кордон, держава передбачає можливість отримати пенсію на шість місяців наперед, водночас для мешканців власної території умови значно суворіші.
Зараховувати в якості ідентифікації та відвідання контрольованої Урядом території факт проходження пенсіонером прикордонного контролю з фіксацією у системі прикордонного контролю «ГАРТ-1». Якщо зараз інформації, яка трансформується до бази «АРКАН» про відсутність пенсіонера на контрольованій територій у відповідний проміжок часу достатньо для того, щоб вважати це підставою для припинення пенсійних виплат, за таким самим принципом, цієї інформації має бути достатньо для того, щоб вважати це підтвердженням підстав для продовження пенсійних виплат.
Відновити пасажирське залізничне та автобусне сполучення. Аргументом на користь неможливості такого сполучення була небезпека для подорожуючих через скупчення у разі обстрілів. Натомість, відсутність серйозних інцидентів на транспортних коридорах через лінію зіткнення довело, що за бажання сторони можуть домовлятися та виконувати ці домовленості, а скупчення людей та легкових автомобілів є не менш вразливим при обстрілах.
Відкрити автомобільні та залізничні транспортні коридори, особливо в Луганській області. Держава має відігравати в цьому питанні проактивну роль, якщо вона дійсно зацікавлена в спрощенні умов перетину лінії зіткнення.
Скасувати дозвільну систему, яка є чинником корупції у разі будь-яких проблем з дозволом (сплив термін дії, описка, необхідність змінити інформацію у дозволі), та її існування суперечить логіці та здоровому глузду, оскільки для перетину державного кордону (навіть, через Росію), дозвіл не вимагається.
Встановити адекватні туалети та забезпечити всі КПВВ регулярною роботою медичних співробітників та карети швидкої допомоги. Я наведу лише один приклад. Пенсіонери з неконтрольованих Урядом районів Луганської області вимушені займати чергу та стояти в ній посеред ночі, щоб встигнути якомога швидше пройти всі процедури, отримати належні їм пенсійні виплати та встигнути повернутися додому цього ж дня. А через відсутність нормальних туалетів (навіть платних) у Станиці Луганській ці літні люди часто перед поїздкою нічого не їдять та не п'ють, через що багато хто втрачає свідомість, а деякі люди помирають.
Можливо, хоча б хтось, від кого навіть найменше щось залежить, почує мій голос волаючого в пустелі.
P.S. Я розумію, що смерть кожної людини — особиста трагедія для родичів та друзів, і врахування цих випадків в узагальненій формі ні в якому разі не має на меті знехтувати чиїмось особливим випадком. Навпаки, метою є формування висновків на помилках, через які сталися ці смерті, та можливість створити зауваження та пропозиції, щоб їх виправляти та мінімізовувати ризики повторення в майбутньому.
NB: Ця публікація не представляє позицію якоїсь організації, а є лише особистою позицією автора.
Головне зображення Радіо «Свобода» | {
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Donald Trump has taken several swipes at Amazon since becoming president
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday his administration was looking closely at Amazon.com's bid on a $10 billion cloud contract with the Defence Department after getting complaints from other tech companies.
Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp were selected in April to continue competing for the Pentagon cloud computing services that is part of a broad modernization of Pentagon information technology systems.
The selection left Oracle Corp and IBM Corp out of the competition for the contract for the Defence Department's Joint Enterprise Defence Infrastructure Cloud, or JEDI.
Trump has taken several swipes at Amazon since becoming president, complaining of unfair business practices and that the online retailer does not pay the U.S. Postal Service a fair rate for package delivery.
Amazon did not have an immediate comment.
Trump's criticism stems in part from his oft-expressed dislike of the Washington Post's critical coverage of his administration. Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos privately owns the Washington Post.
Oracle has complained about the contract award process, including expressing concern about the role of a former Amazon employee who worked on the JEDI project until recusing himself, then later left the Defence Department and returned to Amazon Web Services.
Oracle earlier this month lost a lawsuit challenging the contract award. A judge ruled Oracle did not have standing to claim it was wronged by the decision because it did not meet the contract requirements.
Its chief executive, Safra Catz, who was a member of the executive committee of Trump's transition team after he was elected, told reporters in April that she has met with Trump to discuss the contract, telling him commercial customers often use more than one cloud. | {
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A Michigan woman has been arrested on suspicion that she ignited a house fire that killed three people, including two young children. As the Associated... | {
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Mercedes believes rival Red Bull deserved to enjoy a stronger showing at the Austrian Grand Prix, and that its poor performance was bad for Formula 1.
Red Bull endured a torrid time at the Red Bull Ring, as Sebastian Vettel failed to make Q3 and retired with engine-related electrical problems, while Canadian GP winner Daniel Ricciardo could only finish eighth.
Mercedes recorded its sixth one-two finish of the season as Nico Rosberg led home team-mate Lewis Hamilton in Austria, but team chief Toto Wolff said the Silver Arrows took no extra satisfaction from Red Bull producing its worst display of the season at the home race of team owner Dietrich Mateschitz.
"Formula 1 needs controversy and big war, but it's not at all the case that we take extra satisfaction from winning on the Red Bull Ring," Wolff said.
"We must take our hat off to what Red Bull has done around Spielberg - this was an amazing race, the infrastructure is amazing, and everybody says if you look at the crowds it is really an honour to be racing on such a track.
"I must honestly say it's not what should happen on your home race, they deserved a solid and good result, and that [what happened to them] was not good for Formula 1." | {
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An extortion complaint to the RCMP against a vigilante group that lures alleged sexual predators to shame them online has the group admitting they made a major mistake.
Representatives of the Chilliwack Creep Catchers told CTV News they made a deal with a young target to not post a video of his 'catch' in exchange for a donation to a Chilliwack charity.
Andre Bell, who was recording the video when the 19-year-old was confronted outside Cheam Leisure Centre, told CTV he thought he was giving the young man a break.
“This is exactly why I don’t give chances to creeps because things like this happen,” said Andre Bell, a member of the Chilliwack Creep Catchers. “He was a young man with not too greasy chats and I felt bad for him. It was a mistake on my part.”
Bell says the 19-year-old had signalled his intention to meet at 13-year-old girl for a sexual liaison in chats with the group, who disguise themselves as young girls online. CTV News cannot confirm whether the young man did anything wrong.
“I told him the age of the girl, he said he would bring protection, which is condoms, and we met and I caught him,” Bell said.
The video shows Bell giving the young man a talking to, telling him what he did was unacceptable.
“It’s still inappropriate to meet 13-year-old girls,” Bell says in the video. The young man replies, “I understand what I did was wrong. I understand I shouldn’t do it again.”
It looks very similar to the Chilliwack Creep Catchers’ other catches, which include a University of the Fraser Valley instructor placed on administrative leave after he was featured in a video.
But the young man begs for special treatment, another video shows.
“Can we arrange something?” the young man asks.
“I don’t do this for anybody,” replies Bell, “but because you’re young.”
The arrangement they came to, Bell said, was that the young man would go to counselling and would pay $1,500 to a Chilliwack charity. If he didn’t, the video would go online, he said.
An audio recording of a phone call where a creep catcher laid out the arrangement and formed part of an extortion complaint to the Chilliwack RCMP. CTV News later obtained a copy of the recording.
“Fifteen hundred dollars, not at one time,” says someone posing as “Melissa the mediator.”
“You can make your first payment on Monday and then they won’t post your video,” she says.
Nicole Hunter of the Chilliwack Creep Catcher says Melissa is a persona the catchers use online. Texts from “Melissa” also show the pressure to pay.
“They WILL post it if I don’t hear from u and meet u today,” says one text. In another, she says, “Lowest payment for deposit today they would accept for donation would be $200.”
Hunter said unlike other groups, the Chilliwack Creep Catchers don’t accept money for their work.
“We don’t make any money from catching. We don’t even sell merchandise,” she said, adding that she and Bell have regular jobs and do this in their spare time.
The charity the group had in mind was the Ann Davis Transition Society, which helps people suffering from domestic abuse or violence.
But the society’s executive director Patti Macahonic told CTV News there was no way they could accept that money.
“It’s not freely given,” she said.
No money changed hands in the end and the group posted the video of the young man on Monday.
Hunter said they have been contacted by the RCMP and will try to set the matter straight in a visit with officers Wednesday afternoon. She said the group won’t try to levy punishment in that way again.
“We tried to help him and it kicked us in the butt,” she said. | {
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Laura Mandaro
USA TODAY Network
Three bodies were found on Washington's Mount Rainier close to where six hikers disappeared in late May, a park spokeswoman said Tuesday.
A park service helicopter flying over the park on a training exercise spotted the bodies near the head of the 9,000-foot Carbon Glacier. The location, at the foot of a steep, rocky wall, is unstable. The summer heat has made it even more precarious, increasing the potential for falling rocks and ice. Park rangers have not been able to reach or identify the bodies.
"Right now, we're considering options for discovery. The location where they are isn't safe to put anyone in," said Patti Wold, a spokeswoman for Mount Rainier National Park.
The snow-capped Mount Rainier, southeast of Seattle, rises 14,410 feet above sea level. It attracts climbers of all levels, from novices to more experienced alpine climbers who are training to scale taller summits.
In late May, park rangers said they believed six climbers, including two guides, were missing and presumed dead while climbing the steep Liberty Ridge route toward the summit when the weather turned bad. Park rangers found camping and climbing gear 3,000 feet below the ridge. They were believed to have fallen, perhaps victims of an avalanche.
It's the worst accident on Mount Rainier since 1981, when 11 climbers died.
KING-TV in Seattle contributed to this report.
More national news:
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Mike Segar/Reuters
Fox News personality Sean Hannity previously employed President Donald Trump’s embattled personal attorney, Michael Cohen, a court hearing revealed Monday.
U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood ordered the disclosure as she considers Cohen’s legal team’s request to review the documents seized from his office last week to determine which files are protected by attorney-client privilege.
Cohen’s defense attorneys refused to identify the then-anonymous third client — one of three Cohen worked for between 2017 and 2018 — in a court filing submitted earlier Monday, arguing that it was “likely to be embarrassing or detrimental to the client.” The attorneys further argued the court should respect the third client’s request not to be identified in a letter to Wood.
“The third legal client directed Mr. Cohen to not to reveal their identity publicly,” Cohen’s lawyers wrote. “As to the one unnamed legal client, we do not believe that Mr. Cohen should be asked to reveal the name or can permissibly do so,” they added.
Hannity confirmed he has consulted Cohen on legal matters but denied ever having hired him in an official capacity during his Monday afternoon radio show.
“I’ve known Michael a long, long time. Let me be very clear to the media: Michael never represented me in any matter. I never retained him in the traditional sense. I never received an invoice from Michael, but I have occasionally had legal discussions with him,” he said.
The conservative firebrand also stipulated that he never consulted Cohen regarding a legal issue involving “any third party,” apparently pushing back on speculation that he employed Cohen to silence allegations of sexual impropriety.
The authorities have been investigating Cohen for almost a year “for criminal conduct that largely centers on his personal business dealings,” prosecutors said in a court filing last week.
The warrant authorizing the seizure of Cohen’s records indicated prosecutors are specifically investigating potential bank- and wire-fraud allegations, as well as the possibility that Cohen’s admitted $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels violated federal election law. Cohen reportedly orchestrated a similar $1.6 million payment for his second client, RNC fundraiser Elliot Broidy, to a former Playboy model who claimed Broidy impregnated her and then pressured her to get an abortion.
It remains unclear in what capacity Cohen was hired to represent Hannity.
Send a tip to the news team at NR. | {
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Reds 'planning amazing Suarez offer'
Liverpool may be prepared to make Luis Suarez the highest-paid player in the Premier League to keep him at Anfield, according to reports.
• Usher: No room for Reds to slip up
• Pellegrini: Aguero better than Suarez
Brendan Rodgers said on Friday that there was no agreement that Suarez would be allowed to move on should the Reds fail to qualify for the Champions League and suggested negotiations over a contract extension were in the offing.
“We want him to stay and, with his contract running for two-and-a-half years, I am sure there will be something between now and the end of the season to keep him here,” Rodgers said.
The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mirror both reported on Saturday that Liverpool will now seek to offer the Uruguay international a new contract that could be the most lucrative in English football.
Although there is an acceptance that the striker will only agree to a new deal if he is satisfied that the club can match his ambitions, Suarez -- who scored four goals in the 5-1 victory over Norwich City on Wednesday -- has said he plans to stay.
“When I’m happy off the field, you can see it in my performance on the pitch, and the Premier League is the best league out there,” he told Marca this week.
Asked if he would still be at the club at the end of the season, the reported Real Madrid target replied: “Yes, I am happy here and I will continue here.”
He added: “The main thing is that Liverpool finish in the top four. I will help the team achieve that.”
Former Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, now working for the club as a non-executive director, has said he is delighted with the way the forward has performed after watching him at Anfield in midweek.
“I was privileged the other night to watch Luis in full swing,” Dalglish told the Liverpool Echo. “There was some disruption in the summer but I don’t think there was any doubt that when he came back from the ban and started to play football he would give anything other than 100 percent. That’s the type of player he is.
“When he scores he lights the place up. You can see what it means to him. He loves his football and has total respect for the club and the supporters. We’re seeing the very best of the wee man and long may it continue.” | {
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Fresh from his stint playing President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live,” actor Alec Baldwin called for the “overthrow” of the government — by voting.
The “way we implement change in America is through elections,” Baldwin said Sunday evening at an annual fundraising dinner in Manchester for New Hampshire’s Democratic Party. “And in that orderly and formal way, and lawful way, we need to overthrow the government of the United States under Donald Trump.”
“Let’s overthrow the government of Donald Trump peacefully, lawfully and with extreme prejudice. Let’s make America great again, by making Donald Trump a casino operator again,” he added.
Baldwin said Republicans “shrug” at gun violence as they “cash NRA checks” and “spit in the face” of the global community at the mere suggestion of changing America’s outdated energy policies. They offer “neither hope nor solutions to yet another generation of people of color, who seek only a decent seat at the American economic table.” They also believe women are “not entitled to the same constitutional protections that men are.”
After the dinner, Baldwin said that he wakes up every morning still “horrified” that Trump is president, The New Hampshire Union-Leader reported.
“In New York, Donald Trump is not a punch line. He’s not a joke. He is nothing. He went on a TV show for many years and convinced middle America that he was this crack businessman,” he said.
Baldwin spoke at the dinner just hours before the premiere of his new ABC program, “The Alec Baldwin Show.”
Check out the rest of Baldwin’s speech in the video above.
Related...
Stephen Baldwin Can't Find The Funny In Alec Baldwin's 'SNL' Trump Impression
It's Baldwin vs. Baldwin As 'O'Reilly' And 'Trump' Chat Sex Harassment On 'SNL'
Run, Alec, Run
Also on HuffPost
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Rebecca Astrid Savage and Brandon Robert Adams were married Aug. 3 in Mount Hood, Ore. Judge Benjamin N. Souede of the Multnomah County Circuit Court in Portland, Ore., officiated at Mount Hood Organic Farms.
The bride, 42, is a lawyer specializing in business law and franchising. She is in private practice in Portland. She is also a founder of Seriously Delicious, a maker of chocolate bars and confections in Portland. She graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., and received a law degree from the University of Colorado. She is also a founding member of SunLaw, an organization in San Francisco that provides support for women who are in-house lawyers.
She is the daughter of Phyllis K. Savage and R. Scott Savage of Brookfield, Conn. The bride’s father owns and manages commercial real estate in Danbury, Conn. Her mother retired as an assistant general counsel in Danbury for the Union Carbide Corporation, the chemical manufacturer, and is now a ceramic artist whose work was shown in 2016 at the Foothills Art Center in Golden, Colo.
The groom, also 42, is the energy solutions division manager in the Portland office of the North Coast Electric Company, an electrical equipment distributor. He is also a founding member of Oregon Association of Professional Energy Managers, an organization in Portland that provides continuing education to energy industry professionals. He received an associate degree in applied science from Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore. | {
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For rice farmers, ducks have been a viable way to keep their crops healthy -- they destroy weeds, eat bugs and fertilize crops without using harmful chemicals. And now, a Nissan technician might have an alternative when fowl isn't an option. He's testing a robot 'duck' that roams rice paddies, muddying the water to prevent weeds from getting enough sunlight to grow -- it's really a Roomba (and a cute one at that) for watery fields. Although it's a personal project, it's fully realized with GPS, a WiFi connection and solar power to minimize its environmental impact. | {
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Ake Ravi Krishna, Superintendent of Police in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh has been actively involved in the overall development of the Kapatrala village.
Promotion
An awe-inspiring action by an IPS officer, this story is sure to make your day.
Setting an example for everyone, Ake Ravi Krishna, Superintendent of Police in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh has adopted the entire village of Kapatrala.
This comes around the right time for the village that has been reportedly imperilled by a series of faction killings and revenge murders, for which 21 people might face incarceration including life imprisonment, said an article in Financial Express.
The determinant officer decided to act upon the matter and took the first step towards the development of the village.
Starting with getting the district collector to sanction an amount of ₹60 lakh for the construction of rooms in a government school, he has been actively involved in a variety of initiatives including the construction of roads and starting literacy programmes in the village.
Promotion
You may also like: Beyond The Call of Duty: This IPS Officer Performs in Street Plays for an Important Cause
The IPS officer is also on a mission to raise awareness on eye donation amidst the villagers. He had earlier composed a song, encouraging people to donate their eyes after death, which was reported and shared on several social media platform.
Titled ‘Kallanu daanam chey, nee choopunu daanam chey’, meaning ‘donate your eyes, donate your vision’, the song was sung by the officer himself.
Having pledged to donate his organs last year, the IPS officer has since inspired around 1.5 lakh people to register for eye donation and become a great source of inspiration for others.
Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: [email protected], or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
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The year was 1972 and Charles Owens’ reputation as one of the most gifted and versatile young musicians in Los Angeles was growing by the day.
At the time, Owens — who’d already earned attention for his sterling work with drum legend Buddy Rich and Latin-jazz great Mongo Santamaria — was a member of an all-star Anglo-American band led by English blues king John Mayall.
But that didn’t stop former San Diego music iconoclast Frank Zappa from seeking to lure fellow former San Diegan Owens away from Mayall.
“I could have stayed with Mayall and made ‘Grand Theft Auto’ dough!” recalled Owens, who appears in the Oscar-winning film “La La Land” and teaches a weekly jazz performance class at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music.
“But I chose Frank, because his music was much more challenging. We were playing all types of time signatures and it was one of the best musical periods of my life.”
Owens, who grew up in San Diego and counted fellow saxophonist Arthur Blythe as one of his closest friends here, chuckled.
“I got that gig with Frank because he wanted a tenor sax player who also played oboe,” Owens said from his home in Los Angeles. “And I just happened to have studied oboe at SDSU and was playing it in Los Angeles.”
He was recommended to Zappa by yet another former San Diegan, jazz sax luminary Harold Land.
But tenor sax and oboe were just the tip of Owens’ musical arsenal. The demand for him in Los Angeles, New York and beyond stemmed from the fact Owens could perform with equal skill on alto, soprano and baritone saxophones, piccolo, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, oboe, English horn and bassoon.
In addition to his impressive work as a solo artist, his credits include performing on albums by Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye, B.B. King, Dr. John, Terry Callier, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Michael Bublé, Eddie Harris and San Diego’s rollicking Jeannie & Jimmy Cheatham and The Sweet Baby Blues Band.
“I still play with the same enthusiasm I’ve always had,” said Owens, 80, who performs Friday at the all-ages Dizzy’s. He’ll be accompanied by former Miles Davis/Roberta Flack bassist Marshall Hawkins, guitarist Bob Boss and drummer Richard Sellers.
“What makes it fun is that I’m an old guy who can still play. I don’t have any back pain and my knees don’t hurt. Some of my buddies are in wheelchairs — or they’ve passed away from cancer or smoking and drinking too much.
“’I’m blessed. I’m still alive, still have fun playing and each day is a new adventure. I can’t express how happy I am to get up and play. It’s such a joy! So come out to Dizzy’s and see an old dude having a good time with some of his friends.”
Dizzy’s was also where the late San Diego jazz legend Daniel Jackson, Owens’ longtime mentor, regularly performed. As a teenager, Owens played sax in Tommy Wilkins & The House-Rockers, a raucous R&B and rock band that also featured Ted Picou.
Fellow saxophonist Blythe played in the rival band The Blue Notes, and he and Owens would often engage in friendly musical “duels” to try and out-do each other on the bandstand. The two would also perform in the weekly Sunday jam sessions at the Douglas Hotel in downtown San Diego.
While attending SDSU — then known as San Diego State College — in the mid-1950s, Owens would jam with fellow saxophone student Gary LeFebvre during the day. At night, he would play gigs with trumpeter Fro Brigham’s band.
“I met Daniel when I got over to Logan Elementary, and he was like a mentor to all of us. He knew all the chords and I learned ‘Take the “A” Train’ and ‘Tea for Two’ from him. He’d come by my house and he’d play piano and I’d play sax. Then, I’d play piano and he’d play sax.
“Anything I needed to know about any bebop songs, I’d ask Daniel. He was swinging already back then and looked hip. He looked like a jazz musician, even in high school! And Teddy was very encouraging. He helped me learn how to solo and was very patient with me. Sometimes, I’d get so discouraged that I couldn’t play like Charlie Parker, and Ted would say: ‘It doesn’t come overnight.”
Owens spent years teaching at music at UCLA and UC Irvine, and co-founded the Los Angeles Wind College with John Carter, Red Callender and James Newton.
His past students include such noted saxophonists as Kamasi Washington, Azar Lawrence and Kool & The Gang/Gerald Wilson Orchestra veteran Louis Van Taylor.
Are there certain qualities and skills Owens tries to impart in all of his students?
“I want them to be able to read well, increase their range and be aware of who they are playing with,” he replied.
“I have had the privilege of working with people like Azar, who was 18 or 19 when he came to me. He played the music and — after a couple of lessons — I said to him: ‘Man, you ought to just go to New York, because you got it!’ Then, I hooked him up with Elvin Jones.
“Kamasi was going to UCLA when I was still in charge of teaching the saxophone classes there. I wanted him to increase his range a little. There’s always something you can add to someone’s playing. I wanted him to be able to play higher, above F and above regular written notes. I just tweaked his playing a little, because Kamasi was a complete product already. When he rose up to play, you had better get out of the way, because he’d knock you over!”
Owens’ most recent album, “Joy,” came out in 2011. It teams him with pianist Mulgrew Miller, bass great Ron Carter and drummer Lewis Nash.
“It cost me an arm and a leg to record it at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in New Jersey, but I’m elated with how it turned out,” Owens said.
“I want to do as much playing as I can, especially since I’m semi-retired. I stopped most of my teaching to concentrate on improving myself. I’m getting better. I’m still improving and excited about playing.”
Charles Owens on working with …
Frank Zappa: “Frank was brilliant. Anything he wrote out for anybody else he could play on guitar, if you needed to hear your part.”
Marvin Gaye: “He was a blessing. On the last album I did with him (‘Here, My Dear’), he sang everybody’s parts — what he wanted the drummer to play, the bass, the piano, the saxophone. He was special. When it came time to soloing, he didn’t care what you played. At that time, I thought I was Archie Shepp or Albert Ayler and played completely outside solos. Marvin didn’t bat an eye, and he made it all work.”
Buddy Rich: “I was mystified by Buddy’s drum technique. He could play a 9-stroke roll on his snare drum and a 9-stroke roll with his foot on his bass drum. No other drummer in the world could do that! And he was the first white guy I met who wasn’t prejudiced. He was the coolest cat, a genius drummer, and a great psychologist who knew how to inspire people.”
The Charles Owens Quartet, featuring Marshall Hawkins, Bob Boss and Richard Sellers
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Dizzy’s, Arias Hall (behind the Musician’s Association building), 1717 Morena Blvd., Bay Park
Tickets: $20
Phone: (858) 270-7467
Online: dizzysjazz.com
[email protected]
Twitter @georgevarga | {
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By STEWART PATERSON
Political Correspondent
COUNCILS have spent hundreds of millions of pounds on redundancy deals in the last six years.
According to Audit Scotland the bill for 15,000 exit packages across the country has topped £627 million since 2012 .
The Tories have called for councils to keep closer control on finances as the average package was worth £40,000 and the same report found councils have £14.5 billion of debt.
The party believes payments to staff who are being told they are no longer required is “waste”.
Last year, six severance deals a day were agreed by Scotland’s 32 councils, at a cost of £78 million.
Glasgow City Council has seen thousands of staff depart in recent years as the council is forced in to cutbacks with reducing budgets from the Scottish Government.
Separate figures show in the last two years the council has seen 3000 staff leave on a redundancy deal a the council looks to make savings.
The Audit Scotland report stated £79 million in reserves was used last year for general running costs, and that 10 per cent of local authority budgets are spent servicing debt.
The Conservatives think that some of the pay outs are excessive and want them curbed.
Alexander Stewart, local government spokesman, said: “People will be horrified that hundreds of millions of pounds have been used in this way.
“Everyone understands the need for councils to become more efficient and reducing the headcount in certain departments may be a way of doing that.
“But the average payout is £40,000, which means some senior staff will have been getting golden goodbyes to make the eyes water.”
“There’s no point trying to make efficiency savings in one area while millions are being needlessly wasted in another.” | {
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RuPaul has attempted to explained the difference between drag queens and trans people.
The world-famous drag artist was speaking on chat show The Real, ahead of the launch of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 8 in the US on March 7.
Though it has a huge gay following, the show is divisive among parts of the trans activist community who say that they are getting ‘confused’ with drag queens – while some would apparently rather ban drag altogether.
Speaking on The Real, RuPaul said: “Drag is really making fun of identity. We are shapeshifters. We’re like ‘okay, today I’m this, now I’m a cowboy, now I’m this’.
“Transgender people take identity very seriously – their identity is who they are.
“I come from the school of I will do whatever I want to do, at any time, and change – whatever!”
A number of previous contestants on the show have subsequently come out as trans – including model Carmen Carrera.
The drag competition reality show attracted a barrage of criticism criticism from trans activists in 2014, for a segment in which contestants were asked to guess from a photo whether someone was a ‘female or she-male’. The show opted to drop its ‘You’ve Got She-Mail’ catchphrase after the row.
RuPaul has also vented in the past about being banned from using the word “tranny” on the show due to complaints.
The drag star said: They’ve used their victimhood to create a situation… Don’t you dare tell me what I can do or say. It’s just words. You know what? Bitch, you need to get stronger.”
Show judge Michelle Visage later joked with RuPaul about replacing the word with ‘granny’.
She joked: “Did you call me granny girl? That is your new thing, because we can’t say it with a T anymore.”
“We’re just going to say it for everything that’s T-related. I checked the granny in my car…”
RuPaul said: “All the people that I gravitate towards – there’s a certain irreverence. There’s a certain mocking of everything that other people take so seriously.”
The iconic San Francisco bar Trannyshack decided to change its name to T-Shack in 2014, after complaints from transgender activists and people who found the name offensive. | {
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EU chiefs have held "significant" Brexit talks with Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer.
Europe wants assurances Labour will honour Conservative Party commitments.
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson has told Theresa May's critics to "put up, or shut up."
LONDON — The EU is holding private talks with Jeremy Corbyn amid fears Theresa May's government could crumble at any minute, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Sources told the newspaper that there has been a "significant change in tone" in Europe's dealings with Labour amid fears that a collapse of the British government could take Brexit talks back to square one.
The Telegraph said Labour leader Corbyn and shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer have held more than one meeting with Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, and Frans Timmermans, the first vice president of the European Commission.
The EU leaders reportedly want assurances from Corbyn that he will honour the commitments set out by the Conservative Party. These include pledges to continue paying into the EU budget and allowing freedom of movement after Brexit day in March 2019.
Corbyn met with Barnier in July to set out Labour's Brexit vision. At the time, he said Labour was "ready to take up the responsibility for Brexit negotiations" if there was a change in government.
The news emerged after a tumultuous week for Prime Minister May, in which a chaotic party conference speech has laid bare the divisions in her party. Former party chairman Grant Shapps led what looks to be an unsuccessful plot to oust the PM, who was handed a P45 on stage by prankster Simon Brodkin during her conference address on Wednesday.
But Shapps' plan was openly ridiculed by some Tory MPs and May said on Friday that she has the "full support of the cabinet." Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Environment Secretary Michael Gove were among the senior ministers to publically back May.
Ruth Davidson. Jeff J Mitchell / Getty
And on Saturday, the increasingly influential Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson told the party's rebels to "put up, or shut up." Speaking on Radio 4's "Political Thinking" podcast, Davidson said the Conservatives should focus on governing.
"I think if the plotters were serious, they would be led by someone a bit more serious," she said, in a withering remark about Shapps. This was echoed by influential backbench MP Nigel Evans, who told "BBC Breakfast" that Shapps' "sniping" was not helping the party.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, the man seen by many as the favourite to replace May, has also called on Conservative MPs to get behind the prime minister. In a message to an MPs' WhatsApp group, he said it was time to "circle the wagons and turn the fire on Corbyn."
Henry Zeffman, a political reporter at The Times, tweeted Johnson's message: | {
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Blog
Tweeting a Bible Verse Does Not Establish a National Religion
There are some who seem to believe that a senator tweeting Bible verses actually violates the Establishment Clause. (4/20/2020) | {
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So finally – here goes the official post for the Xfce 4.14 release…
Why is the release manager late to the party with his blog post? The explanation is simple: We prioritized sticking to the schedule and getting our releases out to everyone as planned, as our codebase was ready. What was not (entirely) ready was some parts of the website, which were brought up-to-date over the course of last week.
So I’m pleased to give you the official Xfce 4.14 tour, which nicely summarizes many of the nice user-facing changes that we pushed into the release (despite it being planned as feature-less, porting-only).
We’re also working on other aspects of our website, like the screenshot reel on the frontpage, which is mostly up-to-date now, and the screenshots section. If you have more screenshots that you think we – and everyone else – should see, please get in touch via IRC (join #xfce on freenode) or the mailing list and if we like it too, we’ll gladly add it!
What’s next?
Well, obviously Xfce 4.16, for which the planning phase just started. We want to certainly stick closer to our release model (which prescribes a 6-month release cycle) this time and go for roughly a year to get to our next stable release. To some extent the schedule will depend on the outcome of the planning phase, but one thing I’m pretty sure I can announce straight away is that we’re not going for the next technological jump (yet) – so don’t expect Wayland or Gtk4 to play a major part in the coming cycle.
However, what we will need to do is some house-keeping and improving things for ourselves and potential contributors. We are strongly considering to follow freedesktop.org and Gnome in terms of switching to Gitlab (for Git and issues at first). They have done a tremendous job and as someone who recently contributed to one of the Gnome libraries I can say the bar is so much lower than what we currently have with Xfce (read: create bugzilla account, report bug, attach patch, wait patiently…).
In any case, enjoy Xfce 4.14 and join us to make 4.16 a great (and shorter) cycle! | {
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VIDA reports on the state of gender parity in the literary scene.
By Joanna R. Demkiewicz
Photo provided by Amy King
Illustration by Grace Molteni
After almost 4,000 hours of combined labor from almost 60 volunteers, the friendly pie charts that reveal not-friendly truths are (almost) here. At the end of August, VIDA—the non-profit feminist organization that has been calling out the lack of gender parity in the literary industry since 2009—will release their 2016 Count, which will shine a spotlight on magazines and literary journals that offer bylines and coverage with integrity, or not.
Executive board member and poet Amy King has been with VIDA since the beginning, almost ten years ago, when writer Cate Marvin sent an email questioning the state of women in the literary scene to a group of women she respected. Marvin’s email snowballed, and she realized just how dire and disgusting the relationship between publishing and gender truly was. Along with Erin Belieu and Ann Townsend, Marvin launched VIDA and decided to do something about it by surveying major publications and releasing stats that break down bylines and coverage based on gender.
King compiled the bulk of the first VIDA Count and still has the printed out table-of-contents with handwritten notes in her office. “One day they’ll be in a museum, right?” she wrote to me. “Ha!”
For folks who plunge headfirst into wrestling with and combating discrimination in all forms and in many industries, a “ha” is necessary to punctuate just how bleak and complex it all continues to be. The 2010 Count revealed that the New York Review of Books published reviews of 306 books by men, and a paltry 59 by women. With each additional analysis, VIDA has celebrated trends that show publications are valuing more inclusive coverage, but most still have a lot of work to do, and others are subject to a see-saw effect—one year leveling the playing field, the next assembling content with hegemony-colored glasses.
In anticipation of the release of this year’s Count, I spoke with King about VIDA’s progress, dealing with the “but do women submit their work?” question, and the importance of recognizing your own biases.
Joanna Demkiewicz: In 2015, VIDA began considering race, sexuality, and disability in addition to gender when collecting data, and this year y’all added age and education to the Count. What has been the most surprising thing you’ve learned since expanding to include various identifying categories? What has been the most disheartening moment for you?
Amy King: I don’t think many of us were so much surprised by the results as disappointed in the huge omissions of writers across those demographics. On a personal note, I don’t think I realized how quickly language evolves with identity and experience. It’s been a learning experience to be part of the conversations on the VIDA Count committee as the volunteers there discuss what needs to be changed with each survey. [Board of Director member] Ashaki [Jackson] is a brilliant sociologist, and we’ve been incredibly lucky to have true activists weigh in throughout these conversations.
On a sad note, a few folks on social media have complained about the number of options for gender identities on our survey—publicly available on our FAQ page—which I find unsettling. Someone I follow on Twitter this morning surprised me by retweeting a complaint about the questions at a doctor’s office that also offer folks more than two options for gender. I’m not sure why acknowledging others’ gender identities unsettles anyone, but that unsettles me, including the need to publicly complain about it. Why does someone else’s gender identity undo some folks? I think this begs deeper questions, but I imagine this kind of public complaint is somehow rooted in the bias VIDA has always sought to make visible, so I take it as an indication that we’re still doing relevant, necessary work.
On a related note, another disappointment is that the majority of mainstream publications are still going along publishing zero non-binary writers based on the responses we have received to the VIDA survey (also available on our FAQ page).
JD: VIDA began in 2009 when a single email from Cate Marvin snowballed. Obviously social media existed in 2009, but 2017’s social engagement is a bit more malleable and people are using various platforms to communicate more directly with one another. In the same vein as Cate’s email spiraling, has anything specific happened on social media that was helpful to VIDA’s work?
AK: We’ve had a number of public responses to a few of our Reports from the Field [series] that involved some negative reaction, but much of that was overshadowed by folks expressing relief, gratitude and enthusiastic support for that platform. Lynn Melnick, our social media master, says that social media has been brilliant at bringing women together in the fight who may have previously felt isolated.
JD: In the past two years, articles that critique the lack of diversity and inclusivity in publishing have been widely circulated. I’m thinking of Molly Mcardle’s “You Will Be Tokenized” for Brooklyn Magazine; Rachel Deahl’s “Why Publishing Is So White” for Publishers Weekly; Jean Ho’s “Diversity In Book Publishing Isn’t Just About Writers—Marketing Matters, Too” for NPR; and Emily Gould’s “Most Women in Publishing Don’t Have The Luxury of Being Unlikable” for BuzzFeed. These articles examine publishing’s gendered and racial biases, but there are other ways in which the industry marginalizes, fails to consider, and discriminates authors and audiences alike. Do you have any articles on intersectionality that you could recommend?
AK: I asked a few VIDAs to weigh in on your question because of their work on the VIDA Review or their awareness via social media. My immediate answer is that Teen Vogue has been hitting it out of the park and making many slam-dunks since the presidential election, if I may mix my metaphors badly to convey how much I’m cheering them on.
Marcelle Heath, VIDA Review Managing Editor, suggests work from the Compassionate Curating series and the VIDA Looks Ahead: Where We Go From Here series, such as “Intersectionality and Activism in the Literary Landscape Podcast and Panelist Discussion” (featuring Cat Fitzpatrick, Kathi Wolfe, Jennifer Baker, Hafizah Geter, Jyothi Nataranjan, and Sarah Fawn) and “Where Do We Go From Here? Against Hegemony, Toward Integrity: The Dissident Artist’s Struggle” by Candace Williams.
Jessica Reidy, VIDA Review Acquisitions Editor, suggests reading the Bettering American Poetry series interviews. The heart of the series is how writers are making space for marginalized voices. Try the series’ interviews with Jos Charles and Fatimah Asghar.
Sarah Clark, VIDA Review Assistant Editor, suggests “Notes Toward a New Language: On Women Poets and Nourishment” by Cynthia Cruz and the Body of a Poem series in the VIDA Review, especially Raquel Salas Rivera’s essay “La Loca,” which explores their Puerto Rican identity, and how that relates to race, gender, activism, and artistry.
JD: What are some of the most archaic questions you get about your work at VIDA? How do you respond to them—or do you?
AK: Some of those questions are listed on our FAQs and in this piece by Danielle Pafunda, “Why Submissions Numbers Don’t Count,” simply because we grew tired of the redundancy—”But, are women publishing in the same numbers as men?” and “Do women submit as often as men?” For the most part, it is not difficult to understand that many of those archaic questions are really about derailing the now-visible lack of parity (thus legitimizing questions of bias) and, as well, they imply that the work women do is just not relevant or is subpar. The implication that women aren’t submitting work and getting published in sufficient numbers deserving of attention has become a joke at this point. It’s like saying, “We simply aren’t seeing worthwhile work written by women” as if we’re all still domestic goddesses incapable of putting pen to paper, when you don’t need to look far to locate an abundance of excellent writing by women. No volunteer I know falls for those questions anymore because, beyond the reasons stated, they’re also meant to eat up our energy and time, which could be spent on our own writing and supporting other writers.
Of course, there are more rabbit-hole questions that actually do get a bit more complex in terms of interrogating the kinds of subject matter and content that get published and reviewed, but again, those questions are like accounting for the history of why men’s voices are considered authoritarian while women speaking on the same subjects get shoved off into “lifestyle” niches. It’s just not possible to satisfactorily answer ideological questions like those in an email reply or on a social media post. Actually, we should likely add a list of suggested readings on our FAQ page for such questions, as I think some of those come from well meaning folks who simply haven’t taken the time to educate themselves and hope we can tell them why Jonathan Franzen writing about a family in the suburbs is considered a “literary tour-de-force” while someone like Jodi Picoult or Jennifer Weiner, writing on a similar premise, would be reviewed as “chick lit” or “mass market fiction.”
JD: Your website mentions that being a feminist is not a bumper-sticker—I’m paraphrasing, hopefully not too terribly—it requires constant engagement with your own biases and assumptions. How do you achieve this, both personally and professionally?
AK: Personally, I am always learning from working on the VIDA Review. The team there is incredible in terms of the content they solicit, and I feel in awe to be privy to the exchanges that take place throughout the editorial process. I keep learning so much about the various issues addressed but also about the sensitivity necessary to work on the activist content we publish and about how much evolves in terms of social change, political and ideological evolution and, simply put, how to care about others via the language between us. Baldly put, our voices and words shape what it means to be an ever-changing human. Writers—good writers—are always striving to accommodate that evolution, which means going beyond our knowledge and comfort zones and respecting and embracing what people say about themselves.
I never will forget a writer I know posting a couple of years ago about how she will never let go of the correct use of “them/they” just because someone wants to use it instead of a pronoun they don’t identify with. I was floored, not just by how undone and heels-dug-in she was, but by the realization that this was coming from a poet who was not, at minimum, attempting to stretch her certainty about the world to understand why someone might need that respect. She preferred a static law to the human it represented. A poet. So, I guess doing the work I’m doing where I do not know it all and am continuously learning is one way I try to confront my own biases.
Professionally, I’d say I try to be careful with the poems and essays I put into the world, and I get second and third readers who will be honest and say, “This could potentially be offensive” or “Try something else here.” As an educator, to put it succinctly, I try to create inclusive reading lists and foster a classroom of voices, plural. I’m not focused on comfort so much as respect and listening, as my classroom demographics are quite varied. That is, I want all of my students to participate on topics we’re not all experts on, and I do all that I can to make sure conversations evolve through the ideological and political differences in the room. Growth happens because you look and go beyond what you know. It goes without saying that listening to and actually hearing different opinions is not synonymous with being forced to adopt them.
JD: What’s next for VIDA?
We are currently at work organizing a VIDA Review anthology. We have published so much intelligent content on our website that we hope to get a good selection into classrooms and on bedside tables.
As for events, we are sponsoring a Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend event that will be amazing. It’s going to feature Hala Alyan, Alissa Nutting, Alana Massey, Tea Obreht, Camille Rankine, and AERIALISTS. Also, look out for new episodes of VIDA Voices & Views that we’re releasing in the next year, including interviews with Fatimah Asghar, Joy Harjo, and an AWP Exclusive with Joan Naviyuk Kane, Ada Limón, and Alicia Ostriker.
Must-reads from VIDA editors
Add these articles about intersectionality, integrity, and the internet to your reading list.
In the past two years, articles that critique the lack of diversity and inclusivity in publishing have been widely circulated. I’m thinking of Molly Mcardle’s “You Will Be Tokenized” for Brooklyn Magazine; Rachel Deahl’s “Why Publishing Is So White” for Publishers Weekly; Jean Ho’s “Diversity In Book Publishing Isn’t Just About Writers—Marketing Matters, Too” for NPR; and Emily Gould’s “Most Women in Publishing Don’t Have The Luxury of Being Unlikable” for BuzzFeed. These articles examine publishing’s gendered and racial biases, but there are other ways in which the industry marginalizes, fails to consider, and discriminates authors and audiences alike.
I asked VIDA executive board member Amy King to recommend articles that include analyses of other ways publishing fails. I wondered, where are the articles about socio-economic and class-based biases in publishing; or the invisibility of folks with disabilities in publishing; or an analysis of trans folks working in the industry? She and three members of the VIDA team delivered.
But first, a note about VIDA’s dedication to original and inclusive content, from VIDA Review’s Assistant Editor Sarah Clark:
Now that the VIDA Review is coming into its own, we’re actively shifting to courting and cultivating writers from marginalized identities. Part of achieving that goal is building trust, and to that end we strive for cultivation that is as ethical as possible. We’ve been working to solicit more work from trans people, lower-income people, and people with disabilities. And we want to acknowledge the burden of this labor—oppressed writers writing about their oppression—as asking people to dig inside themselves, can be hard. A lot of these essays are still in process because the less privilege someone has, the less time they have to focus on anything but survival, sometimes. This is why we’ve already solicited work we’re not expecting to publish until September or October. I want anyone who writes for us to have flexible deadlines and be able to practice self-care, especially as we cope with the added traumas of this year. This is very emotional work for our editors as well (many who themselves are multiply-marginalized). Even for editors, reading and editing these pieces can take a toll. We’d rather do this work more slowly and responsibly than rush and lose trust from or overburden our writers, editors and readers.We also haven’t wanted to bait anyone into writing essays for the sake of demographic content. That’s why the Body Of A Poem series was left open-ended, and pushed to exist at all as a small step toward letting trans/non-binary people know we’re in this, too.
Amy King: I asked a few VIDAs to weigh in on your question because of their work on the VIDA Review or their awareness via social media. My immediate answer is that Teen Vogue has been hitting it out of the park and making many slam-dunks since the presidential election, if I may mix my metaphors badly to convey how much I’m cheering them on.
Marcelle Heath, VIDA Review Managing Editor, suggests work from the Compassionate Curating series and the VIDA Looks Ahead: Where We Go From Here series, such as “Intersectionality and Activism in the Literary Landscape Podcast and Panelist Discussion” (featuring Cat Fitzpatrick, Kathi Wolfe, Jennifer Baker, Hafizah Geter, Jyothi Nataranjan, and Sarah Fawn) and “Where Do We Go From Here? Against Hegemony, Toward Integrity: The Dissident Artist’s Struggle” by Candace Williams.
Jessica Reidy, VIDA Review Acquisitions Editor, suggests reading the Bettering American Poetry series interviews. The heart of the series is how writers are making space for marginalized voices. Try the series’ interviews with Jos Charles and Fatimah Asghar.
Sarah Clark, VIDA Review Assistant Editor, suggests “Notes Toward a New Language: On Women Poets and Nourishment” by Cynthia Cruz and the Body of a Poem series in the VIDA Review, especially Raquel Salas Rivera’s essay “La Loca,” which explores their Puerto Rican identity, and how that relates to race, gender, activism, and artistry.
Joanna R. Demkiewicz is a co-founder and the editorial director of The Riveter. She works as a book publicist for Milkweed Editions. Find her on Instagram @yannademkiewicz and Twitter @yanna_dem.
Grace Molteni is a Midwest born and raised designer, illustrator, and self-proclaimed bibliophile, currently calling Chicago home. She believes strongly in a “beer first, always, and only” rule, and is forever seeking the perfect dumpling. For more musings, work, or just to say hey check her out on Instagram. | {
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Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
WASHINGTON — Congress has approved a resolution condemning white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other hate groups following a white-nationalist rally in Virginia that descended into deadly violence.
The resolution recognizes Heather Heyer, who was killed Aug. 12, and 19 other people who were injured after a car allegedly driven by a neo-Nazi slammed into a crowd of demonstrators protesting the rally in Charlottesville. It describes Heyer's death as a "domestic terrorist attack" and acknowledges two Virginia state troopers who died in a helicopter crash while monitoring the protests.
Six senators from both parties, led by both of Virginia's Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, introduced the measure, which the Senate approved unanimously Monday night. The House approved the joint resolution Tuesday by unanimous consent.
Related: White Nationalists Warn They Will Return to Charlottesville
The measure, which now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature, urges the Trump administration to speak out against hate groups that espouse racism, extremism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and white supremacy. It also calls on the Justice Department and other federal agencies to "use all resources available" to improve data collection on hate crimes and "address the growing prevalence of those hate groups in the United States."
Alt-right protesters at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville on Aug. 11. Samuel Corum / Getty Images
Trump has been criticized for his response following the violent white-nationalist rally in Charlottesville over the city's planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Trump asserted that there were good people on "both sides" of the rally and bemoaned rising efforts to remove Confederate monuments as an attack on America's "history and culture."
The joint resolution was supported by a range of civil rights groups, including the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Anti-Defamation League and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. | {
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Four men are facing charges after a string of alleged robberies in cities west of Toronto.
Halton Regional Police say three alleged incidents took place late Saturday night and early Sunday morning in Milton and Burlington.
They allege the men visited a grocery store and two gas stations, threatening staff with weapons each time and demanding cash.
Police say the men were arrested moments after the third alleged incident.
The men range in age from 18 to 20 and live in the Greater Toronto Area.
They’re all facing multiple charges including three counts each of robbery.
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Lawrence Krauss is a famous atheist and liberal crusader — and, in certain whisper networks, a well-known problem. With women coming forward alleging sexual harassment, will his “skeptic” fanbase believe the evidence?
When Melody Hensley first met Lawrence Krauss, she was a 29-year-old makeup artist at a department store, and he was one of her intellectual idols. She ran an atheist website in her spare time and had just started volunteering for the Center for Inquiry (CFI), a nonprofit group committed to promoting science and reason above faith. She was hoping to build a career in the burgeoning “skeptics” movement, and Krauss was one of its brightest luminaries. At a CFI event in November 2006, Krauss asked Hensley for her card, and later, as she was leaving, asked her if she was “of age.” She brushed off the odd question, excited to meet a star skeptic. When he later emailed to invite her to dinner, she accepted. “I didn’t care if he flirted with me, I just wanted to be around somebody important, and I also wanted to get a job in this field,” Hensley told BuzzFeed News. “I thought I could handle myself.” They made a plan to eat in the restaurant at the Washington, DC, hotel where Krauss was staying, Hensley recalled. But first he asked her to come up to his room while he wrapped up some work. He seemed in no rush to leave, she said, ordering a cheese plate and later champagne, despite her suggestion that they go down to dinner. Then, Hensley said, Krauss made a comment about her eye makeup, and got very close to her face. Suddenly, he lifted her by the arms and pushed her onto the bed beneath him, forcibly kissing her and trying to pull down the crotch of her tights. Hensley said she struggled to push him off. When he pulled out a condom, Hensley said, she got out from under him, said “I have to go,” and rushed out of the room.
“It was definitely predatory,” she said. “I didn’t want that to happen. It wasn’t consensual.”
Krauss told BuzzFeed News that what happened with Hensley in the hotel room was consensual. In that room, “we mutually decided, in a polite discussion in fact, that taking it any further would not be appropriate,” he told BuzzFeed News by email. But Hensley said that is untrue. “It was definitely predatory,” she said. “I didn’t want that to happen. It wasn’t consensual.” Later that night, Hensley told her boyfriend, now husband, that Krauss had made her feel uncomfortable, her husband confirmed to BuzzFeed News. Years later, she told him — as well as several employees at CFI — the full story. BuzzFeed News has learned that the incident with Hensley is one of many wide-ranging allegations of Krauss’s inappropriate behavior over the last decade — including groping women, ogling and making sexist jokes to undergrads, and telling an employee at Arizona State University, where he is a tenured professor, that he was going to buy her birth control so she didn’t inconvenience him with maternity leave. In response to complaints, two institutions — Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario — have quietly restricted him from their campuses. Our reporting is based on official university documents, emails, and interviews with more than 50 people. Many of his accusers have requested anonymity, fearing professional or legal retaliation from Krauss, or online abuse from men in the movement who have smeared women for speaking out about other skeptics. A few allegations about Krauss made their way onto skeptic blogs, but were quickly taken down in fear of legal action. So for years, these stories have stayed inside whisper networks in skepticism and physics.
In lengthy emails to BuzzFeed News, Krauss denied all of the accusations against him, calling them “false and misleading defamatory allegations.” When asked why multiple women, over more than a decade, have separately accused him of misconduct, he said the answer was “obvious”: It’s because his provocative ideas have made him famous. “It is common knowledge that celebrity attracts all forms of negative attention from many different angles,” Krauss said in a December email. “There is no pattern of discontent revealed here that suggests any other explanation.”
Carolyn Kaster / AP Lawrence Krauss, left, watches as Robert Rosner, chairman of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, right, moves the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock to two minutes to midnight on Jan. 25, 2018.
Mark Duncan / Associated Press Krauss, shown in his office at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Dec. 8, 1997.
Krauss’s rise to prominence began during the 15 years he spent on the physics faculty at Case Western Reserve University. That’s where he wrote The Physics of Star Trek, a 1995 best seller that put him on the map as a science popularizer.
In 2007, Nora (her middle name) was an undergraduate at Case Western Reserve who looked up to Krauss. But when she tried to talk to him about the difficulty of being one of the only female physics majors, she said he teased her about all the guys who must be asking her out on dates, which she found patronizing. And when she tried to interview him for a student publication, he closed the door to his office, answered her questions with jokes, and invited her to dinner, which she found entirely inappropriate. She wrote about these experiences in the campus newspaper: “There was even one particular creep of a professor who once told me he thought differently of me compared to other students and asked me to dinner: a situation so disturbing that it left me upset for weeks afterward.”
“I raised concern that in a situation like this, if it doesn’t get reported, then there’s the potential for future victims later.”
Nora didn’t mention Krauss by name. But the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Cyrus Taylor, guessed who it was based on rumors about an earlier incident between Krauss and an undergraduate. The dean sought Nora out and encouraged her to make a complaint, which she did. (BuzzFeed News has seen emails between Nora and the university administration describing the incidents in question.) “I raised concern that in a situation like this, if it doesn’t get reported, then there’s the potential for future victims later,” Taylor told BuzzFeed News. He also wrote a letter to the school paper urging all students to report harassment. Later, the university’s associate vice president for student affairs wrote to Nora, informing her that Krauss had been told that, “This type of behavior could constitute sexual harassment in violation of the university’s sexual harassment policy.” “Dr. Krauss expressed regret about having a negative impact on you,” the letter stated, adding that Krauss had used the incident “as an opportunity to reflect and improve on his future interactions with students.” Krauss, who acknowledged the existence of the complaint, told BuzzFeed News he was “shocked” because there had been “no inappropriate interaction” and Nora continued to email him afterward. The school told Nora that Krauss was prohibited from making contact with her as long as she remained a student, and that he had to get approval before setting foot on campus again. (Krauss was permitted to return for a colloquium in 2009.) But by the time these sanctions had been put in place, Krauss had moved to Arizona State to lead a new initiative to study the origins of the universe, life, and social systems. When he left, he wrote an email to his Case Western Reserve colleagues stating that, “The opportunities being offered at ASU are simply too great to turn down at this stage in my career.” Krauss frequently travels for lectures and speaking gigs, typically on atheism or cosmology, his field of study. In October of 2009, a little over a year after Case Western Reserve barred Krauss from campus, he went to Waterloo, Ontario, to be a guest speaker at the Quantum to Cosmos Festival at the Perimeter Institute. During the event, a sexual harassment complaint was filed with the administration against him, the institute confirmed. “In 2012, as part of a formal review of its internal policies, the institute made a decision that he would not be invited to return,” a spokesperson for the Perimeter Institute told BuzzFeed News by email. BuzzFeed News does not know the identity of the complainant, and the institute would not provide further details about the incident due to privacy concerns. Krauss disputed Perimeter’s statement. “As I have been invited back numerous times by colleagues there in the interim, empirical evidence suggests otherwise,” Krauss said by email. “If there had been any such formal complaint and investigation and decision, I would have heard about it, or been asked to participate in it.”
After Krauss left Case Western Reserve, his career continued to climb. He launched the Origins Project at Arizona State, which aimed to engage the public with science events featuring celebrated public intellectuals, like the Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker and the filmmaker Werner Herzog. But Krauss’s reputation took a hit in April 2011, after he publicly defended Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier who was convicted of soliciting prostitution from an underage girl and spent 13 months in a Florida jail. Epstein was one of the Origins Project’s major donors. But Krauss told the Daily Beast his support of the financier was based purely on the facts: “As a scientist I always judge things on empirical evidence and he always has women ages 19 to 23 around him, but I’ve never seen anything else, so as a scientist, my presumption is that whatever the problems were I would believe him over other people.”
“Krauss’ statement is extremely disturbing and makes scientists look like ignorant, biased fools who will twist data to suit their own needs.”
On her Skepchick blog, Watson slammed Krauss for not acknowledging his obvious bias — and thus violating a core value of skepticism. “Krauss’ statement is extremely disturbing and makes scientists look like ignorant, biased fools who will twist data to suit their own needs,” she wrote. “I remain skeptical, and I support a man whose character I believe I know,” Krauss responded in the post’s comments. “If you want to condemn me for that, so be it.” The dust-up was part of a broader discussion among feminist skeptics about what they saw as the misogyny of some of the old guard. In June 2011, Watson posted a YouTube video mentioning her experiences with men in the movement. In the resulting furor, Watson was publicly mocked by Dawkins and received a torrent of online abuse. Over the next couple of years, she posted a sample of the abusive comments she received on her blog. With these issues dividing skeptics, Hensley, by then executive director of CFI’s Washington DC branch, organized a new conference called “Women in Secularism,” which debuted in May of 2012. It was a space to celebrate the history and accomplishments of secular women, Hensley said, “but also to give a platform so that we could talk about the issues and problems we were facing.” In now-deleted comments on CFI’s blog post announcing the event, some skeptics argued that the movement didn’t have a problem with women, and that the event would amount to “man bashing.” On one panel, Jen McCreight, then a biology PhD student, spoke out about the whisper network. Before going to her first big atheist meeting, she said, “unsolicited I got many emails from different individuals basically warning me which male speakers not to interact with as a young woman.” She didn’t name names. But in August of 2013, with accusations swirling about sexual harassment by several other prominent atheists, McCreight pointed the finger at Krauss. On her Blag Hag blog, she described the experiences of two unnamed women. One was Hensley. The other asked BuzzFeed News to refer to her by her first initial, A. A. was an undergraduate who had first met Krauss in 2008 at the annual American Atheists Convention through her work as a student atheist activist. Three years later, when she and other students walked into the bar at the same meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, A. recalled, Krauss pulled over a chair for her and started running his hand up her leg under the table. “I kind of shifted away,” A. said. “He put his hand on again. I crossed my legs. He put his hand on again. And eventually I had to like physically turn my entire body.” A. was shocked, but didn’t want to make a scene, she said. “The last thing I need to do is, you know, yell at Lawrence and then have to deal with any potential fallout.” Krauss denied A.’s account, and said that it was A. who had come on to him, inviting him to join her in the hotel’s hot tub. Robin Elisabeth Cornwell, a friend of Krauss’s and then executive director of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, was also there, and backed his account. A. denied mentioning the hot tub or flirting with Krauss. Benjamin Wurst, one of her student companions, told BuzzFeed News that, as they left the bar, A. told him Krauss had put his hand on her. Some CFI staff, too, were concerned about Krauss’s behavior, and it was a point of contention when the organization’s leaders were considering whether to invite him as a featured speaker on a cruise to the Galápagos Islands. He was by then an honorary member of the organization’s board of directors. “I really don’t want Krauss on this trip,” Patricia Beauchamp, CFI’s business and finance manager, emailed CFI’s then-president, Ronald Lindsay, on March 11, 2013. “His behavior on past trips has been offensive to many and this is a very expensive and small vessel.” She was referring to a 2011 CFI cruise of the Greek Islands. Krauss had reportedly propositioned a woman to join him and a female companion for sex in their cabin. (Both Krauss and his companion on the cruise, now his wife, told BuzzFeed News that the incident did not happen.) Lindsay’s response to Beauchamp’s email focused on the bottom line: “Is it your position that Krauss will keep us from selling cabins? If so, you need to say so expressly, and you also need to give me some evidence. If Krauss is not invited, this will be a major issue, so i need facts, not speculation.” Beauchamp noted the “report of unwanted sexual attention given to one guest.” She concluded, “This is not the kind of person I think should represent us on a cruise.” Beauchamp declined to comment for this story. Lindsay told BuzzFeed News that, after Beauchamp’s email, he discussed the incident with the passenger in question. “I did call the guest and she substantially confirmed what Ms. Beauchamp had said. I apologized on behalf of the organization,” Lindsay said by email. He also said he discussed the incident with Krauss, who denied it. Krauss was invited on the cruise. Hensley had by then started talking about the incident in the Washington, DC, hotel room, telling several CFI colleagues, including Lindsay. He said he told her she “probably” could file a complaint. Lindsay no longer leads CFI, which has since merged with the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. Dawkins did not respond to requests for comment, and the organization’s current leadership stated that it “follows its policies and procedures regarding complaints of improper behavior, and will continue to do so, to further its goal of ensuring the safety and well-being of attendees, guests, volunteers, and employees at its events.” After Krauss left a comment on McCreight’s blog denying her allegations, she took the post down. “Well, Famous Skeptic is vaguely threatening to sue me,” McCreight wrote the day after her initial post was published. “Since Famous Skeptic is rich and I am poor, and since my two sources are too terrified to openly speak out,” she said, “I have removed the part of my previous post that refers to him so I don’t go bankrupt with legal fees.” McCreight declined to be interviewed for this article. A second blog post published at about the same time by another young skeptic, Ed Cara, which described the allegation about the 2011 cruise, was also quickly taken offline.
Jay Laprete / AP Krauss, standing, speaks to the Ohio State Board of Education Standards Committee during a panel discussion in 2002.
The allegations were purged from the web, but after a visit to Melbourne, Australia, in November 2016, Krauss was accused of sexual harassment once again.
The incident happened at a dinner held at the Melbourne Zoo as part of the Australian skeptics national convention, where Krauss was a featured speaker. Shortly before the conference, said Melanie Thomson, a microbiologist from Melbourne and another invited speaker, she was warned about Krauss’s reputation by Michael Brown, an astronomer at Monash University in Melbourne. “So I was like a watchdog, making sure that nothing untoward happened,” Thomson told BuzzFeed News in November. With conference delegates chatting over drinks, one of her friends asked Krauss for a selfie. As the woman held out her phone to take the picture, Thomson said she saw Krauss reach over her friend’s shoulder and grab her right breast. “As soon as she reacted, which was instantaneously, she bodychecked him and then she spun around,” Thomson said. Two other attendees told BuzzFeed News that they also witnessed the incident. “I saw him reach for her breast,” Michael Marshall, a speaker at the meeting, told BuzzFeed News. “I saw her react.”
“I saw him reach for her breast,” Marshall told BuzzFeed News. “I saw her react.”
“I witnessed Lawrence Krauss reach and touch the victim’s breast,” Jo Alabaster, another speaker, told BuzzFeed News by email. The photograph in question shows Krauss’s hand in motion in front of the woman's shoulder. BuzzFeed News attempted to reach the woman in the photograph, but she did not respond. Others at the conference said the woman mentioned the incident to them, and the selfie was passed around at a party she attended the next evening. She did not complain to the meeting’s organizers. In July of 2017, Thomson filed formal complaints about the incident with Arizona State University, and with two schools where Krauss had visiting appointments: the Australian National University in Canberra and the New College of the Humanities in London. Krauss denied that he groped the woman. “I often put my hand up in front of a camera if there is a flash, as I specifically request selfies not to include flashes, so that I don’t end up with a series [of] bright spots in front of my eyes for the next half hour,” he told BuzzFeed News by email. The New College of the Humanities did not investigate the complaint; the other two schools did. In an email, Arizona State informed Thomson that it “did not find a violation of university policy.” And the Australian National University wrote to her noting that the photo, by itself, did not prove physical contact, and that officials could not reach the woman, whose identity was not disclosed in the complaint. “Based on the material available to the University, we do not have sufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations,” ANU’s letter said. But that’s not how Krauss described the schools’ findings. He told BuzzFeed News that “both Universities independently concluded that the report was unsubstantiated and fabricated with malicious intent.” Both schools rejected this characterization. “ASU did not find the complaint ‘fabricated with malicious intent,’ and did not make any such statement,” Arizona State told BuzzFeed News. “The characterisation by Professor Krauss that The Australian National University (ANU) found the complaint to be ‘unsubstantiated and fabricated with malicious intent’ is false,” ANU said. On Nov. 3, after the ANU complaint was closed, Krauss resigned his position there, citing unrelated personal reasons.
Leah Millis / Reuters Krauss at a press conference for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on January 25, 2018.
When defending himself against various allegations, Krauss repeatedly invoked his affiliations with universities and other professional organizations. “I treat people I interact with with respect, and I work hard to support and mentor students, colleagues, and members of the general public, and this is supported by the institutions of which I am a part,” Krauss wrote in one email. “I do not sexually harass people.” But four former employees of Arizona State’s Origins Project told BuzzFeed News that Krauss’s workplace behavior was sometimes offensive, calling him a “sexist” and a “womanizer.” At a dinner event at the school’s University Club in October 2015, for instance, a 19-year-old undergraduate said she was left feeling acutely uncomfortable when he looked at her from head to toe, smirked, and told her he liked the short jumper she was wearing. Two eyewitnesses confirmed her account. In April 2016, an Origins staffer angrily posted on Facebook about how Krauss “suggested that I should dress up like a hula girl while advertising for an event.” Another employee was so upset by his behavior that she started keeping a written record of offensive incidents. “Said he understood why people didn't like to hire women of child bearing age because it isn’t fair to have to pay maternity benefit,” she wrote in one entry. “Said he’s going to buy me birth control so I don't get pregnant and inconvenience him. Asked if I was planning to get pregnant.” The women said they did not report any of these incidents to the university, and Krauss said that no one had ever complained to him. “Our team works in a transparent environment of candor and trust, where people can thrive and discuss all issues openly and frankly with mutual respect as part of a safe supportive team,” Krauss said by email. In December, after BuzzFeed News contacted him about allegations of sexual harassment, Krauss tweeted a link to an article that argued the #MeToo movement was morphing into a “Warlock Hunt.” A month after that, he tweeted a story about French women denouncing #MeToo, writing, “I find their statement brave and thought-provoking, representing free-thought and skepticism at its best.”
This is an interesting and thought-provoking piece by @ClaireBerlinski Worth reading! https://t.co/LZy0a0q3N2
Speaking out against a popular movement can provoke vicious reactions, but I find their statement brave and thought… https://t.co/toxOHG16R8
The rise of online movements such as #MeToo has increasingly divided the skeptics into two camps: those who campaign for social justice and those who rail against identity politics. Several women — and men — interviewed by BuzzFeed News said they have stopped attending skeptic events because of this hostility.
“I’ve just become so disappointed and disillusioned with a group of people who I thought at one point were exemplars of clear thinking, of openness to new evidence, and maybe most importantly, being curious,” philosopher Phil Torres told BuzzFeed News. “This movement has tragically failed to live up to its own very high moral and epistemic standards.” What’s particularly infuriating, said Lydia Allan, the former cohost of the Dogma Debate podcast, is when male skeptics ask how they could draw more women into their circles. “I don’t know, maybe not put your hands all over us? That might work,” she said sarcastically. “How about you believe us when we tell you that shit happens to us?” After Hensley told her employers at CFI about what happened with Krauss, she became more vocal on Twitter about other examples of harassment in the skeptic community. A flood of abusive tweets and memes followed, including rape and death threats referring to her as a triggered snowflake. “I got so mentally ill that it literally came down to, it’s this or my life,” Hensley said. By 2015, nine years after she met Krauss in the hotel room, Hensley could no longer handle the sexism in the movement, she said, and she quit her job at CFI. She now spends most of her time at home and tries to avoid going online. She’s disappointed and angry, she said, at the skeptics’ refusal to believe not only her claims about Krauss, but other women in secularism about the misogyny they’ve faced. Skeptics “believe that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. But these weren’t extraordinary claims,” Hensley said. “These things happen to women all the time.”● | {
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Some of the most renowned personalities of the crypto verse, Justin Sun and CZ met. Sun is the Chief Executive Officer of the content streaming and delivery network based on the blockchain technology, TRON Foundation. Changpeng Zhao (CZ) of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume. Moreover, they met at the United Nations Developer Programme (UNDP).
Justin Sun, the Co-founder of the TRON Foundation took to Twitter to describe the meeting. “Such an honor to be at the heart of the United Nations and witness the innovations of @binance and @tronfoundation. These #blockchain innovations support the @UNDP, facilitate reaching sustainable development goals, and contribute to global awareness around charity. $TRX #TRON”
Such an honor to be at the heart of the United Nations and witness the innovations of @binance and @tronfoundation. These #blockchain innovations support the @UNDP, facilitate reaching sustainable development goals, and contribute to global awareness around charity. $TRX #TRON pic.twitter.com/9VIgkgGTN6 — Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) October 24, 2018
More about the Blockchain Charity Foundation (BCF)
Binance created the Blockchain Charity Foundation (BCF) as the Charity Wing of the crypto exchange. Moreover, It is also supported by the TRON Foundation.
Furthermore, with the support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in the Asia Pacific region, the Blockchain Charity Foundation will use the blockchain technology to bring some social good.
Furthermore, about the foundation, Justin Sun, CEO of TRON stated, “TRON Foundation is looking forward to collaborating with BCF to contribute to SDG achievement with industry leaders worldwide.”
Helen Hai, Head of Blockchain Charity Foundation stated about it. “We firmly believe that blockchain technology will bring transformative solutions to social problems. Also, it will help bridge the UN Sustainable Development Goals funding gap in fast and innovative ways. Furthermore, working with UNDP, our aim is to eradicate poverty and empower and bring prosperity to millions who are living in poverty.”
“We believe that blockchain is a technology that can have a huge impact in the developing world in numerous ways,” said Haoliang Xu. Moreover, Xu is the Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations. He is also the Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific at the UNDP. | {
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Our 100% satisfaction guarantee ensures that every item you purchase meets your high standards – or you can return it for a replacement or refund. All returns/exchanges must be submitted within 120 days of the date we ship out your order. Visit out Returns & Exchanges FAQ page for details.
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David sez, "Last week you featured a story on Nottingham Hackspace being made homeless, and needing to raise funds to move. Thanks in no small part to Boing Boing, we made it! We've now got the keys for the new Nottingham Hackspace, and will be moving in at the weekend. *Huge* thanks to you, your readers and everyone who donated. As we settle in, we'll be sure to keep the Nottinghack blog up to date." | {
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An Article by Rick Walker from www.dieselcrew.com
“Whether you are grappling with or without the gi, grip strength is a huge asset for Brazilian jiu-jitsu, submission grappling and mixed martial arts (MMA). This article from Dieselcrew focuses on developing grip strength in a law-enforcement and corrections context, but is still great information for those of us focusing on coming to grips with our opponents on the mat.”
Stephan Kesting
Most of the time, the hands are the first thing to come in contact with someone else. Chances are, if you are in law enforcement or corrections, your hands are used every day. The strength of you hands, wrists, and forearms can either ensure a successful restraint or put you in severe danger if they are your weak link. This article will approach grip from a different view point. Instead of a training routine on how to close grippers, pinch plates, or lift the Inch Dumbbell, I will attempt to explain functional grip training for life or death situations.
Law Enforcement/Corrections
Apprehending, restraining, and detaining a subject. This is the core of your profession. You have to “lay hands” on someone almost every day. In the field of corrections, chances are it IS everyday. Most of the time the subject is going to go quietly. You will have no problems and after 8-10 hours, you can punch out, and head home. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
When someone makes the decision to fight back, strong hands are going to make all the difference. The ability to grasp and control a subject’s arm will give you the upper hand and protect you from hand strikes and/or striking or stabbing weapons. If you lack the ability to hang onto a fighting subject, you will put yourself and those around you in danger.
When faced with a subject who has made the decision to fight, you are often limited on what to do. Of course, the main objective is to get the subject onto the ground and restrained as quickly as possible. Hand, wrist, and forearm strength will enable you to grab and control the subject, regardless of how you get a hold of them. If all you can grasp is a jacket or shirt, chances are you will still have the subject down in minimum time if your hands are up to the task. You will also be able to apply leg, arm, or neck locks efficiently that the subject will be unable to break.
Strong hands also enable you to restrain the subject quickly. You will be able to control the subject’s arms or legs, which will enable you to apply restraints quickly and safely. Never, ever underestimate the ability to grab an arm and control it quickly. Also, grasping a hand or a wrist and having the ability to apply extreme force, will often calm a subject down for fear of more pain.
Strengthening the Weak Links
Many people will read this article and think repping out on a hand gripper or doing forearm curls is going to do it. Wrong. First we have to look at the weak links, or what type of strength is needed for combat situations. I will start with the most important and work my way down.
Wrist Strength
You can have the strongest hands on the planet, if your wrists are weak, you will fail. People don’t stand still. A fighting subject is going to be flailing around, moving violently and quickly. You may have the hand strength to hold on, but one twist and your weak wrists will let you down.
There are a number of ways to strengthen the wrists and contrary to popular belief, doing barbell wrist curls are not top priority. Remember, we are going for brute, frightening strength here, not muscle size or muscle pump. There are many small forearmed men that could snap your wrist like a twig! Size doesn’t equal strength.
Perhaps the best of the best when it comes to wrist strength is the plate wrist curl. To do this exercise, you take a weight plate, such as a 25 pounder. Grasp the plate with your fingers on the backside, straight, and your thumb hooked over the side facing you. If you have a large hand, make sure to keep the fingers out of the hole in the plate as this makes it easier. Now, while sitting on a bench or chair, rest your arm on your leg with your hand and plate hanging over your knee.
Curl the plate up and twist your wrist so your pinky goes towards your face.
Lower slow and repeat. Make sure to come all the way up and go all the way down. Once you can get 5 sets of 6 reps, it is time to add weight. Do so by clamping smaller plates onto the outermost edge of the plate you are using. A good plate wrist curl is a 25 pounder. An outstanding plate wrist curl is a 35. If you can handle a 35 pounder in a strict plate wrist curl, there will be very few men who will have stronger wrists, regardless of size. As you will soon experience, this exercise not only works the wrist and forearms, but hits the fingers and thumbs extremely hard as well. The fingers will toughen up from forcing them to remain straight in order to curl the plate. Basically, this is an all around great exercise.
There is another way to do this exercise that takes it to a whole new level. Use a 2×4 cut to a length larger then an Olympic 45 pound plate. Drive a 60-penny nail into the end of the board. For some added protection from slivers, wrap some duct tape around the end of the board that you will be grasping. Now, put a small plate on the nail, grasp the other end, and perform the plate curl as described above. On a long board, a 5-pound plate is impressive. Using 10 or more pounds will have you close to plate curling a 45!
The second best wrist strengthener is levering. Levering can take many forms. Normally, when one thinks of levering, they think of sledgehammers. Grasp a sledgehammer by the bottom of the handle (if you are just starting out-use a 6-pound hammer) hold the hammer out to your side with the hammerhead up and your arm straight.
Now, while keeping the arm straight and level, lower the hammerhead down to your forehead, and then back up.
A good strict hammer lever is a 10-12 pounder. Some freaks can lever hammers that weight 30+ pounds! This exercise is going to wreck your entire arm from the shoulder down!
You can also do this by holding the hammer out in front of you or straight out behind you, and then levering it up and down.
Another must is to lever the hammer by choking up on it and levering it side to side.
Add a special twist to the hammer lever by using pvc pipe. I use a 2” diameter piece of pipe, and clamp a plate to the end of it via 2 screw clamps. On the other end, I place a third screw clamp. This clamp holds on a 2.5” piece that I use as the “handle”.
I then lever it side to side.
This not only hits the wrists, it works the hand and thumb extremely hard as well.
The final exercise I do is the reverse curl. Now, I don’t do it like a bodybuilder! I use a 2” thick bar, or axle, and go as heavy as possible. This works a variety if wrist and arm structures. It also serves as rehab as you are working the extensors of the wrist, and thus balancing your hand strength. Using the axle bar will hit the hands and thumbs as well.
Thumb Strength
Unfortunately, many people work their hands via hand grippers or holding heavy barbells or dumbbells. This is a great way to strengthen the fingers, but the thumbs are forgotten. You may have fingers of steel, if your thumb is weak, you wont be able to grasp and hold onto a fleeing subject. Plus, a strong thumb can be used to pierce a subject’s pressure points and render them helpless.
I believe that the best way to work the thumbs for combat is to do thick bar work. Arms and legs are thick. When you grasp a body part, chances are there will be a large gap between your fingers and thumb. This means, both parts must be strong to make the chain strong. But, there is another spin on thick bar work that many over look. A regular steel thick bar has no give. The soft tissue of arms and legs gives a little as you squeeze it before you hit bone. To train this, get some foam, or the “puss pad” that people Velcro around the bar when doing squats. Wrap this around the middle of a barbell and now you have a thick bar that gives, much like and arm or a leg. With this, you can do 1-arm deadlifts, tosses from hand-to-hand, snatches, clean and presses, and 1-arm rows. You can even do 2-arm stuff if you get 2 of them. Most athletic companies sell these little wonders for $10 or less. Also, cut one in half and put them on the handles of dumbbells for even more fun. Here is an example of a steel thick bar, and a foam thick bar.
The foam bar in use. You have to squeeze hard to pick it up, just like controlling an arm or leg. I do clean and presses with this, as well as snatches and tosses from hand to hand.
The second exercise that is great for the thumbs is the run-of-the-mill spring clamp. Go to any Home Depot or Lowe’s and you can find the little spring clamps. Get a couple so you have different sizes.
Grasp the spring clamp so one handle is on your index and middle finger and the other handle is on your thumb. Now squeeze. At first you might not be able to move the clamp. If this is the case, use you other hand to cheat it shut, then fight it like hell with one hand. Another great way to train the spring clamp is to squeeze it shut using the index and middle fingers, and thumbs, of each hand and then have some one else grasp the other end and try to pry your hands open.
There are some other ways to train the thumb as mentioned above if you want to spend some money to buy equipment. A great piece of thumb equipment I have is The Squeezer© from www.weightlifterswarehoue.com. It works on the same premise as the spring clamp except I can constantly strive to micro-load weights, which allows me to track my progress a little better then with spring clamps alone.
A third way to train the thumbs is to pinch objects. I do not personally think that this translates over to combat as much as the above exercises so I would limit the time spent pinching. However, if you need a little boost in thumb strength, or you are getting bored with your routine, you can start pinching objects. 4x4s, weight plates, chunks of steel, dumbbells, stones, etc. Almost anything that is heavy and awkward can be pinched. Do holds for time, clean and presses, snatches, rows, or farmers walks.
Keep in mind that you can never have thumbs that are too strong! The chain is as strong as the weakest link. Have no weakest links!
Hand/Finger Strength
Your fingers need to be like steel cables if you are in the combat profession. Weak fingers will cause you to let go as soon as the going gets rough! However, there are a number of ways to strengthen the hands and fingers to match the strength of your thumbs and wrists.
The first exercise is one many people know. Just get you run of the mill hand gripper from one of the many suppliers on the net. But, instead of setting the gripper, you are going to do full range movements.
Do not set the gripper. Just grab it, position it in your hand, and then let the working hand to the work. This will work your hand in the open to closed position, which is very important for combat strength.
Another great exercise for the fingers is the curl-up. Simply take a loaded barbell or dumbbell, grasp it so it is just supported by your finger tips, then, using on your fingers, curl the weight up into your hand and squeeze for a 3 count.
Individual finger lifts are also tremendous finger strengtheners. You can lift weights with individual fingers by using chains, or by grasping the bar. A way I like to do it is bodyweight hangs. I can incorporate abdominal work in this way as well.
The next exercise I am going to give you is one that I believe is a necessity when it comes to combat strength. My good friend John Wood explained this exercise to me. This guy is a hand strength genius. When he talks, people listen.
Buy yourself an army duffle, or a sturdy canvas type material bag. Fill it with sand, or in my case, dry concrete. So you have something like this.
It can be any size or shape. This particular one weighs a little more then 80-pounds and I use it for single hand exercises. I plan on building a bigger one this fall for double hand exercises.
Now, you can either grasp the bag by the loose material, or, if the bag is stuffed full, put an old jacket on the bag and grasp it. Then you just go to work. You can hoist it, throw it overhead, pick it up and slam it into a wall, move it from side to side, anything you want!
The important part is, it will simulate grabbing someone by their clothes or coat, and then maneuvering them at your will. This will hammer the entire hand! It may hurt your finger tips at first, and even lift up your nails a bit. Ignore it and get used to it. If you have to grab a fleeing inmate or suspect and put them to the ground, you will need this strength.
On a final note, you can do things like jamming your hand into sand or rice, fingertip push-ups, or even rock climbing activities to train your fingers and hands. Mix it up, have fun, and STAY INTENSE!
I hope I have opened your eyes to the importance of hand and arm strength when it comes to combat situations. Doing the exercises listed above will improve your gun accuracy, knife or baton handling skills, as well as your hand to hand combat. If you are someone who deals with the scum of the earth, hand strength is not only recommended, it is a necessity to do your job successfully and to make sure you are safe. If you are someone involved in martial arts, training your grip will take your game to the next level and have you throwing opponents around like yesterdays newspaper.
Regardless of your profession or your hobbies, doing the above workouts will make your hands combat ready. How you incorporate the above exercises is up to you.
Be safe. Be ready.
Rick Walker is a grip-strength enthusiast and writes for www.dieselcrew.com
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