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scaling_mia_the_pile_00_OpenWebText2

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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption If you are the "responsible" friend You're gonna have a bad time	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Donald Trump pushes an aggressive "America First" policy on trade US President Donald Trump on Saturday complained that the US is "subsidizing" the military of Middle East ally Saudi Arabia, as well as Japan and South Korea. The comment, at a West Virginia rally for local candidates of his Republican Party, follows similar jibes at European members of the NATO alliance. "When you have wealthy countries like Saudi Arabia, like Japan, like South Korea, why are we subsidizing their military?" asked Trump, who pushes an aggressive "America First" policy on trade. "They'll pay us. The problem is nobody ever asks." He added that he had spoken to Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Saturday to make the same point. Saudi Arabia and Japan are major buyers of US-made weaponry, and the US provides intelligence and aerial refueling support to a Saudi-led coalition fighting rebels in Yemen. Japan and South Korea host tens of thousands of American troops. Trump said the United States pays "about 60 percent" of South Korea's military. Last year he suggested Seoul should pay for the $1.0-billion THAAD anti-missile system that the US has deployed on South Korean territory. Trump has long complained that European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization do not pay enough for their own defense, singling out Germany for particular criticism.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Thursday said that New York's stay-at-home measures, including closing businesses and schools, will remain in place through at least May 15. The continued shutdown will be done in coordination with other northeast states. Washington, D.C., and the city of Los Angeles have also extended their stay-at-home orders through May 15. The governor's decision to extend the shut-down period, two weeks before the current order was to expire, stoked questions about whether the administration needs to consider a rolling reopening of geographic areas, especially upstate communities where the pandemic has not been as fierce as it has in the New York City region. "The cure can't really be worse than the disease here," said Nick Langworthy, chairman of the state Republican Party. "Obviously, he has the numbers in front of him and is privy to much more information than I. The thing that concerns me the most here … there seems to be a real concern that May 15 is a long way off." Langworthy said Cuomo, if he has not been doing so, should consult more with local officials and consider a phased-in approach. In early March, Cuomo had rebuffed New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's call for a "shelter-in-place" order in the five boroughs. Cuomo asserted that as governor only he had the authority to issue that order, and that he would not consider imposing a shutdown in one area of the state and not others. "I am somewhat worried that we’re treating New York with a one-size-fits-all approach," Langworthy said. "Obviously, we have to put our concerns where the large problems lie. ... You wonder what the longer term ramification will be … you wonder if it could be something of a more phased-in approach. What I see is a lack of willingness to have a tiered approach to different areas of the state … and I think that should really be considered." The governor has stressed that he wants to restart the economies of at least seven northeast states, including New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, in a coordinated plan that will prevent a rapid resurgence of the virus. He said that effort will require federal intervention for a massive testing and medical treatment plan. The rate of hospitalizations from COVID-19, including those on ventilators and in intensive care units, is continuing to decline in New York, Cuomo said Thursday. Coronavirus live updates: Former Siena player dies, Albany police officer tests positive The data cited by the governor at his daily briefing indicates New York may have crossed the apex of the pandemic several days ago, although deaths remain high, with the state reporting 606 fatalities associated with the infectious disease on Wednesday. "You still have 2,000 people every day who ... are walking into a hospital for the first time (with COVID-19) or who are being diagnosed with COVID-19 for the first time," Cuomo said. "We don't know how many people have been infected or are getting infected. We only know how many people walk into a hospital or get tested in a nursing home." The governor pledged to issue more detailed information on Thursday regarding fatalities in nursing homes. Interactive map of the coronavirus across in New York On Wednesday night, Cuomo signed an executive order requiring anyone more than 2-years-old, and who is able, to wear a mask or cloth face covering in situations where social distancing is not possible. The order goes into effect at 8 p.m. on Friday. There will be no penalty for violations. "The masks work," Cuomo said, adding that face coverings will also be required for those using public and for-hire transportation, including buses and trains. "I'm fully aware of the opposition to wearing a mask. ... I understand that people do not like it, some people do not like it ... and it is a government overreach. By the way, some people think the close-down order was a government overreach." Cuomo pointed to the high rate of deaths and he offered to show the bodies to skeptics who believe the pandemic is a hoax or government conspiracy. "Six hundred people died yesterday and that's a reality we deal with every day," he said. "I'm asking New Yorkers to wear a mask. ... If you have the virus, you can infect other people. ... I also understand what 600 deaths means, I understand the toll on the health care system. Asking New Yorkers to wear a mask, at this time, is more than reasonable." How to make your own face mask to stop the spread of coronavirus Moments later, Cuomo clarified: "Remember, it's not a mask ... it can be fashionable." He added the state is working with local governments to help provide face coverings to anyone who cannot afford one. Looking ahead, the rate of infection — how many people are infected by an individual carrying the disease — will be the key to reopening the economy. He said that in New York today, when averaged out, an infected person is transmitting the disease to less than one person, but if that number returns to 1.2, that would be enough to spark an increase in hospitalizations. "If you go to 1.2 (people) again you're going to have a problem. So you see how narrow the window is," he said. "If one person basically infects one more person the rate of spread is stable. When you have one person infects two people or more ... that's fire through dry grass. This is what we have to control as we start to reopen the economy." Cuomo urged New Yorkers to continue being vigilant about social distancing, washing hands, wearing masks, using hand sanitizer and taking steps to minimize the spread.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A former Foreign Service officer whose resignation took effect this week tore into President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE on Friday evening, labeling his administration cruel and incompetent. “What’s different is kind of the naked unapologetic cruelty. That’s the first thing. The second thing is, you know, the sheer managerial incompetence of this administration. The rollout of the Muslim ban, that executive order, was disastrous,” Chuck Park said on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360.” ADVERTISEMENT Park, who wrote a blistering op-ed this week about his time in the government under Trump, joined the Foreign Service in 2010 under former President Obama. He wrote this week that he could no longer be part of what he called the “Complacent State.” “The past three years have felt like the house is on fire,” he said Friday. “And not only is it on fire, but there is a man purposely lighting more fires.” “There is a slow buildup, and maybe I’ll call it moral distress, with each successive kind of tweet or action. I mean, it started with the Muslim ban, the executive order in January 2017. And then defending white nationalists after Charlottesville. It was family separation. It was revelations about squalid detention centers.” Park also said he was frustrated by what he suggested was an erratic foreign policy in which prepared platforms would be reversed by Trump’s tweets. “As an example, a cable will contain talking points for the day, let’s say on trade, and I am tasked with memorizing those talking points and finding meetings with senior foreign officials and delivering dutifully those talking points,” he said. “And it is happening to me that, in a meeting with a foreign official, kind of mid-sentence, that official that I’m talking to will pick up their cell phone and point to a tweet from the president that directly contradicts what I’m saying in person.” The Foreign Service falls under the State Department, which has seen its diplomatic corps around the world thinned, particularly among its top tier with 30 ambassadorships remaining vacant, according to the American Foreign Service Association.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
NRA Rewrites Fairy Tales, Puts Guns in the Hands of Classic Characters National Rifle Association rewrites children’s stories in the name of safety. -- The National Rifle Association has added a new twist to classic fairy tales: arming protagonists with guns. NRA Family, the group's family-oriented website, has so far published updates to two classic tales, the most recent one last week: "Hansel and Gretel (Have Guns).” The pro-gun group said the revised stories show what would have happened if those fairy tale characters had weapons. But the revisionist take on some of well-known children's favorites, which appear online, are drawing complaints from gun-control advocacy groups that call the altered tales a disturbingly depraved marketing campaign. "The NRA continues to stoop to new lows in the hopes of shoving guns into America's youngest hands," Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said today. "It must now advertise deadly weapons to kids by perverting childhood classics with no regard whatsoever for the real life carnage happening every day. To be frank, it's pathetic." The NRA said the stories, written by Amelia Hamilton, whom the NRA calls a “conservative blogger” and “lifelong writer and patriot,” are part of an effort to promote responsible firearm use by children. The accident prevention program it oversees has helped teach more than 28 million kids about how to stay safe if they find a gun, according to the NRA's website. "Most of us probably grew up having fairy tales read to us as we drifted off to sleep,” the NRA said in an editor’s note announcing the series earlier this year. “But how many times have you thought back and realized just how, well, grim some of them are?" The NRA released a new version of the Brothers Grimm "Hansel and Gretel" last week after publishing an update to "Little Red Riding Hood" in January. At no point in either story do the protagonists fire their weapons at the fictional villains, but guns are portrayed as key to keeping them safe. In the NRA's version of "Hansel and Gretel," the pair are shown hunting for deer and other wildlife when they discover an evil witch's house. They then proceed to free a pair of boys held captive by her, guns at the ready. "The hinges gave a groan and the sound of the witch's snoring stopped," one passage reads. "Gretel got her rifle ready, but lowered it again when the snoring resumed." A witch kidnaps the siblings in the original version, though they ultimately flee and live happily ever after, with no guns in sight. An unarmed young girl and her grandmother similarly escape the belly of the Big Bad Wolf in the Brothers Grimm version of "Little Red Riding Hood.” In the update to "Little Red Riding Hood," however, there is a series of gun-toting events. One passage gives the showdown with the Big Bad Wolf a new twist. "Those big ears heard the unmistakable sound of a shotgun's safety being clicked off," the NRA version reads. "Those big eyes looked down and saw that grandma had a scattergun aimed right at him." Grandma is able to hold the wolf at gunpoint while Little Red Riding Hood ties up the beast before a huntsman takes away the animal. "As they slowly began to feel calm, Red got her grandmother chicken soup and a cup of tea," according to the NRA tale. "They sat in companionable silence, happy in the security that comes with knowing they could defend themselves."	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The lawyer for Auckland whaling protester Peter Bethune, on trial in Tokyo and facing up to 15 years in prison if found guilty, says is confident he will not be convicted of the charge of assault against a Japanese whaler. Bethune's trial in Tokyo District Court is scheduled to finish on Monday after three days. A verdict is expected in late June. The member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is being tried on five criminal charges, three related to boarding the Japanese whaling fleet's security vessel in the Southern Ocean on February 15. He has conceded four of the charges but has contested an assault charge over allegedly hurling a bottle containing butyric acid, or rancid butter, on to the Shonan Maru 2 and injuring a crew member on February 11, as the protesters tried to disrupt the whaling activities. He boarded the Shonan Maru 2 and presented its captain with a letter seeking $3 million in replacement costs for the trimaran Ady Gil. He captained the trimaran before it sank after a collision with the Shonan Maru cut off its bow the month before. In court today, Japanese whaler Takashi Kominami, 24, said he suffered facial chemical burns from the butyric acid bottle thrown by Bethune. "I'm angry," Mr Kominami said. "I think he doesn't feel remorse at all. I call for severe punishment so that he feels remorse." He said that he had seen Bethune holding a launcher and thought the New Zealander fired the projectile that hurt him, although he did not actually see him launch the bottle. But one of Bethune's lawyers, Dan Harris, said the evidence was clear that the bottle was not thrown at anyone in particular. "It was thrown at the ship to try and get these people off the deck because it smells so badly, and it hit a part of the ship, and if it did hit anyone, it's only because of bad luck ... some may have blown on people," Mr Harris told Radio New Zealand. "My understanding is it's [the trial] gone pretty well, and that's why I'm pretty confident that this charge is not going to be taken very seriously by the court in terms of believing that anyone was badly injured, because nobody was." During his testimony on Monday, Bethune will argue that what he did was not illegal, and raise the issue of whaling. Mr Harris did not expect repercussions over the legal action Australia will take next week to stop Japan whaling in the southern ocean. "Our hope, and our belief is that this is a legal proceeding, not a political proceeding. Japanese judges tend to be very well educated in law, they tend to be very legalistic, and that is how we're hoping they rule," he said. However, it could attract more extreme nationalist protests outside the court on Monday. Speaking to the Kyodo newsagency while in his Tokyo detention prison, Bethune asked the Japanese not to think of him as a terrorist, and has said he may not continue his anti-whaling work. "I have nothing against Japanese people. Don't think of me as a terrorist." Asked whether he would stay with Sea Shepherd, which he joined last July, he said: "I don't know. It's almost a year now with no income." All of the crew aboard the US-based group's vessels worked as volunteers and did not get paid, he said. Mr Bethune, an engineer and conservationist, said the "eco-terrorist" label "sits very uncomfortably with me". He mortgaged his house, sold all his shares in a high-tech startup firm he founded, and took on heavy debt to build the Earthrace, which was repainted and renamed the Ady Gil, for a record circumnavigation of the world as a bio-fuel speedboat in June 2008.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A file photo of Sharath N with his mother. BENGALURU: A 19-year-old son of an income tax officer, who was kidnapped on September 12 near his house in Kengeri, was found dead on Friday. The police have arrested six persons, including the victim's friend Vishal, in connection with the death. The body of Sharath N, son of Niranjan Kumar, was found near Ramohalli lake on the outskirts of the city. The kidnappers had reportedly strangled him to death and dumped his body in a tank on the same night he was kidnapped. Sharath had gone missing on the night of September 12 and could not be reached on his phone. The abductors, in a WhatsApp video sent to the teen's parents, got the boy to convey their demand for a ransom of Rs 50 lakh. In the video message, the boy had added that the abductors looked like terrorists and may also harm his sister. The kidnappers allegedly killed Sharath fearing that releasing him might land them in trouble. The police have recovered a car used by the kidnappers and added that investigation is under way. Read this story in Bengali In Video: Karnataka: Income Tax officer's son murdered, cops arrest five	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Covid 19 is not a great leveller. Covid 19 does not hit the poor and rich alike. There will of course be exceptions but the rich can largely escape Covid 19. Ordinary people have to face Covid 19 daily. Ordinary working people. People who work as your carers, your postal workers, your delivery people, your store clerks, your construction workers, your electricians, your frontline medical staff. They did not sign up to go to war. They are not trained to fight a war. They are not paid to be brave. You do not survive the Trump plague by being strong or brave or by “fortitude and strength of character” as Downing Street is telling the world. You survive it by a combination of luck and good medical care. Being young and fit is not a guarantee of survival. The consequences of the Trump plague are not the same for rich or poor. If you are in a tiny flat with two children and an aggressive partner your life is not the same as someone with an acre of land that they can go out to walk on, not worrying about the need for social isolation. Emily Maitilis brutal exposure of the Covid 19 myths really did hit home. Those who have been on the front line right now, bus drivers, shelf stackers, nurses, care home workers, hospital staff and shopkeepers are disproportionately the lower paid members of our workforce. They are more likely to catch the disease because they are more exposed. Those who live in tower blocks and small flats will find the lockdown tougher. Those in manual jobs will be unable to work from home. This is a health issue with huge ramifications for social welfare, and it’s a welfare issue with huge ramifications for public health. Watch the video	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Brazilian has resurrected his career with two strong seasons at Williams, but is likely to face competition for the drive for 2017. But although accepting there are no guarantees about what will happen, he has made it clear that remaining at Williams would be a great option for him. “I am happy to work with this amazing team and I guess they are happy to work with me,” explained Massa. “But we need to wait next year on how it is going to be, and what I decide is the next step. “If I stay with Williams, which is a fantastic team, or if I go to another team, or stop? I don't know. When you don't have the picture in front of you, it is hard to answer. But for sure I want to carry on.” Rules shake up Massa's determination to stay with Williams also comes amid the prospect of a rules shake-up for 2017 that could mix things up at the front of the grid. “If one team invests something, or does a better job than the others, they will be a lot quicker and a lot of stronger,” he said. “But also it could maybe compact the grid. “But for sure there needs to be a big change, even in the engine, to make things a bit easier for everyone.” Additional reporting by Valentin Khorounzhiy	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
going to the Gym, lol im such a fitness freak! goes to use tanning bed 2,048 shares	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Ex-convict and former mayor Joseph Ganim is declaring victory in the Democratic primary in Bridgeport. Ganim is attempting a political comeback after serving seven years in prison on a 2003 corruption conviction. With official results still pending Ganim told supporters Wednesday night that he had defeated incumbent Mayor Bill Finch. The two men are expected to face off again in the November election to decide who will lead Connecticut's biggest city. Ganim was sentenced to prison for steering city contracts in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in expensive wine, custom clothes, cash and home improvements when he was mayor. He has the support of the police union, which has clashed with Finch over staffing levels. Finch has led Bridgeport since 2007 and touted recent development projects on the campaign trail.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Gerardo Morales y Evo Morales Nuevamente, la relación entre Bolivia y la Argentina se vio atravesada por el trato que reciben los ciudadanos bolivianos en nuestro país y viceversa, con un foco muy marcado en las cuestiones de salud. En este caso, quien hizo pública su queja fue el gobernador de Jujuy, Gerardo Morales, que escribió una dura carta al presidente Evo Morales por lo sucedido con un argentino en Oruro. "Los últimos acontecimientos ocurridos en suelo boliviano, me llevan a rechazar su actitud y la de su Gobierno para con el Pueblo Argentino, frente a la manera injusta y deshumanizada en el trato particularmente con respecto a la atención de la Salud, de mis comprovincianos y compatriotas", comenzó. Y luego contó el caso de Manuel Vilca, accidentado el 8 de diciembre en Oruro y atendido en un hospital de allí por sumas exorbitantes: "fue internado en un Hospital Público de Oruro durante 5 días y le cobraron la suma de 22.000 pesos Bolivianos que al cambio del mes de diciembre corresponden a la suma de 121.312 pesos argentinos. Luego fue derivado a una Clínica de Cochabamba, donde junto a su familia y amigos tuvieron que pagar la suma de 7.000 dólares estadounidenses. Para continuar con el tratamiento y la operación, pretendían cobrarle 10.000 dólares más". "Frente a esa situación de trato inhumano y de falta de reciprocidad e igualdad para con el trato que nosotros brindamos a los hermanos Bolivianos, tomamos la decisión de repatriar a Manuel para continuar con el tratamiento en Jujuy, Argentina. ¿Pero sabe qué Presidente? Desde el Gobierno de la Provincia tuvimos que pagar la suma de 2.000 dólares más porque si no, no lo dejaban salir de Bolivia", completó Morales, dando cuenta de su indignación. Macri junto a su par boliviano, Evo Morales (Télam) Aquí fue cuando el mandatario resaltó la postura de la Argentina en general y de Jujuy en particular para los bolivianos: "Actualmente cuenta con una de las poblaciones de inmigrantes más numerosas en nuestro país. Efectivamente, no solo recibimos al pueblo boliviano, sino que le damos cobijo, suelo, tierra, trabajo, educación, salud, en definitiva: VIDA. De eso se trata señor Presidente: de la VIDA, que Ud. y su Gobierno no llegan a comprender ni alcanzan a dimensionar". Para no centrarse solamente en el caso de Manuel, Morales prosiguió: "Este es uno de los miles de casos de maltrato y de falta de la mínima reciprocidad entre su gobierno y nuestro Pueblo. Muchos argentinos tienen que pagar sumas importantes y deambular por nuestros consulados y Embajada para poder cancelar deudas que sus compatriotas bolivianos en argentina nunca abonan, porque son atendidos gratuitamente en este generoso país". "¿Qué banderas levanta y defiende Ud. en nombre del Movimiento al Socialismo, en nombre de la Justicia Social, que no tengan como prioridad la defensa de la Vida y los derechos Humanos?", le cuestionó Morales al presidente de Bolivia. Y completó: "Su actitud y la de su Gobierno para con los ciudadanos argentinos es repudiable. Son Ud. y su Gobierno muy contradictorios.Me da mucha indignación la injusticia, Sr. Presidente. Y a Ud. le tendría que dar mucha vergüenza".	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A British jihadi who hid extremist instruction manuals in James Bond-style cufflinks has been jailed for eight years. Samata Ullah has been described by police as a "very dangerous individual" after he created online instructions on how to build explosives and avoid detection by the authorities. NETANYAHU BLASTS TERROR FUNDING AS HAMAS TRIES TO SOFTEN IMAGE The 34-year-old from Cardiff, the capital of Wales, downloaded those instructions, along with extremist material, onto USB sticks disguised as cufflinks. When police raided his home in October last year, they found 60 cufflink USB sticks around his bedroom. Ullah admitted five terror offences, including membership of the Islamic State terror group, as well being involved in terrorist training and preparation for terrorist acts. He was given an extended sentence of eight years in jail, plus another five years of probation. Read more from SkyNews.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
「SKUNKLOCK（スカンクロック）」は、スカンクのように強烈な臭いで自転車を守るU字ロック。一度浴びると服も靴も廃棄処分になるほど臭いガスを放出する。強烈な臭い自転車を守るU字ロック「SKUNKLOCK（スカンクロック）」ある意味、弱めの化学兵器？ロックの切断に必要な時間はわずか30秒周りの人が気づいて通報しても警察や本人が現場に来るころには、泥棒は逃げたあと自転車泥棒が狙うU字部分にはガスが！ U字部分を切断しようとすると、ガスが噴出たまらず逃げ出す、自転車泥棒周囲の人からはしばらく、「おまえ、臭いぞ」と言われ続けることに…。この「SUKUNK」という文字にも防犯効果が！「SKUNK」の文字が、誇らしげ？新商品のヒントは、動物にあるのかも？スカンクの分泌液を嗅がれたことはあるだろうか？筆者は一度、米国の高速道路でスカンクの死がいの上を走行し、タイヤを廃棄処分にしたことがある。帰宅後、クルマから強烈な臭いが発せられていることに気づき、確認のためにタイヤに触ったのだが、その手からは1週間以上臭いがとれなかった。また、その手で触ったクルマのハンドルやシートベルトは、すべて交換する破目になった。スカンクはこのように強烈な臭いで身を守っている。その原理を自転車用ロックに適用したのが「SKUNKLOCK（スカンクロック）」。自転車泥棒を臭いで撃退するU字ロックだ。U字ロックは、広く使われている自転車用の盗難防止装置だが、プロの自転車泥棒の手にかかれば30秒とかからずに破壊されてしまう。彼らはバッテリー式のアングルグラインダーを常に持ち歩いており、めぼしい獲物を見つけたら、ロックのU字部分を切断してしまうのだ。「スカンクロック」のルックスや構造は、市販のU字ロックとほとんど一緒だ。だが自転車泥棒が切断のターゲットとするU字部分には、ガスが仕込まれている。このガスは完全に密封されているので、通常であれば外部に漏れることはない。だが自転車泥棒がアングルグラインダーでU字部分の表面を一定以上削ると、密閉容器が破壊されてガスが噴出し、自転車泥棒を直撃するという仕組みだ。その臭いは強烈で、実験でこのガスを浴びた人のほとんどは、激しく嘔吐したそうだ。スカンクロックの表面には、大きく「SKUNKLOCK」とロゴがプリントされている。さすがにこれは、ちょっと恥ずかしい。たとえば日本で、「スカンクロック」と書かれたU字ロックを取り付けた自転車が駐輪していたらどうだろう？多くの人は何かのジョークだと勘違いし、笑ってしまうのではないか？だが開発者は、このロゴ自体が、今後自転車泥棒よけの効果を持つようになると主張する。米国では、盗難された自転車はブラックマーケットで、1台平均40ドル程度で取引されているという。だが、「スカンクロック」から噴出されるガスを浴びた場合、泥棒が着用していた服や靴、そしてアングルグラインダーにその臭いが染み付き、洗っても取れず、すべて廃棄処分になってしまうそうだ。その金額は、40ドル以上になってしまう。これでは自転車を売って40ドルを手に入れても意味がない。このため自転車泥棒は、「SKUNKLOCK」という文字を見ただけで盗難をあきらめるようになるという。現在米国では年間150万台の自転車が盗難されているが、「スカンクロック」が普及することで、その数が減少することを開発者は望んでいる。開発者のDaniel Idzkowskiさんは現在、「SKUNKLOCK（スカンクロック）」の市販化を目指しクラウドファンディングサイトIndiegogoで出資者募集のキャンペーンを実施中。本稿執筆時点では、99ドルの出資で「Super Early Bird」版を入手可能だ。入手に必要な金額はキャンペーンが進むにつれて上昇し、終了後の市販価格は160ドル程度になる予定。出荷は2017年6月頃とされている。	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclaimer for more info. We recently took the plunge into the robot vacuum world and ended up getting the Xiaomi Roborock S5. Today’s article goes through the basic setup of getting the robot vacuum working with Home Assistant including: Controlling the vacuum from the Home Assistant frontend Start cleaning a room from the Home Assistant frontend Start cleaning a room using the Google Assistant There are a few steps that are Android specific, so if you’re an iOS user you’ll need access to an Android device to follow this guide. If you’re on the fence about which robot vacuum to get check out this great Reddit thread. We ultimately went with the Roborock because of the great reviews of its vacuuming ability as well as the relatively cheap price compared to some of the other high-end robotic vacuums. Getting Your Token In order to add your vacuum to Home Assistant, you need to know the IP address of the vacuum as well as a token the Mi Home app uses to communicate with your vacuum. If you’re like me, immediately you opened your new vacuum once it showed up on your door and hooked it up to your phone. That’s all fine and dandy, but we actually need an older version of the Android Mi Home app to get the token for Home Assistant. To get your token: Download and install version 5.4.54 of the Mi Home app Open the app, log into your account and start a clean using the app Let the clean run for a while Open up the “Files” app (or another file explorer) and open the “SmartHome/logs/Plug_Devicemanager” directory and look for the latest log file Search for “token” in the file. You should see something like this: SmartHome 1117262:[DEBUG]-03-22 21:03:54.759 processResult in result={"code":0,"message":"ok","result":{"list":[{"did":"117786058", “token”:”1234567890aebcdef09876543210fedc”, … Once you’ve got the token, I’d recommend setting a static IP address for your vacuum through your router. You can add the vacuum to Home Assistant by adding the vacuum platform to your configuration. vacuum: - platform: xiaomi_miio host: 192.168.1.12 token: !secret xiaomi_miio_vacuum_token 1 2 3 4 vacuum : - platform : xiaomi_miio host : 192.168.1.12 token : !secret xiaomi_miio_vacuum_token Reboot Home Assistant and you’ll see the vacuum in your frontend, you’ll be able to start, stop, pause, clean and change fan speed. Now that you have the token, feel free to update the Mi Home app back to the latest version on the Google Play Store. Zoned Cleanup Using Home Assistant One of the great features of the Roborock S5 is the ability to clean specific zones. We will get coordinates for all the rooms and hallways in your house and set up Home Assistant to trigger cleaning them by sending a command to the robot vacuum. Note: One very annoying habit of the Roborock is it likes to re-draw the map every once in a while. Particularly if you do the default “Clean” rather than “Zoned Clean”. So after you have your map complete, only use “Zoned Clean” going forward so that your map and coordinates stay consistent. Make Your Map First, make sure your robot has a complete map of your house. For this, I started a regular cleaning cycle while the robot was docked and let it draw a brand new map. Afterward, you should have a complete map of your house. Next, we’re going to need another Android app to actually get the coordinates of the rooms. Download the FloleVac app from the Google Play store. Log into your Xiaomi account in the app and connect to your robot. Launch the app and do the following: Go to the “Map” section of the app and you should see the map that was created with by your vacuum Tap “Zoned Cleanup” Put the border around the room you want to clean Long press the “Cleanup” icon in the bottom right. Instead of actually starting a clean, it copies the coordinates onto your clipboard. Continue for all the rooms you want to enable Below you can see me drawing the rectangle around my dining room before copying the coordinates. Setting Up Zoned Cleaning with Scripts and Automation Now that we have room coordinates recorded we can set up Home Assistant to clean per room. The below flowchart shows how the configuration is set up. There are essentially two entry points to the “dispatch” script (the green box) which chooses the correct room to clean. First, we need to create a Home Assistant script per room (the blue boxes in the above diagram) to call the vacuum service to clean the coordinates for that room. Below is my example vacuum_kitchen script which calls the vacuum.send_command service with the coordinates to clean. If it’s easier for you to follow using a git repository, check out my Home Assistant configuration on GitHub. --- vacuum_kitchen: alias: "Vacuum Kitchen" sequence: - service: vacuum.send_command data: entity_id: vacuum.xiaomi_vacuum_cleaner command: app_zoned_clean params: [[12435,32906,16785,37456,2]] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 --- vacuum _ kitchen : alias : "Vacuum Kitchen" sequence : - service : vacuum.send_command data : entity _ id : vacuum.xiaomi_vacuum_cleaner command : app_zoned_clean params : [[12435 , 32906 , 16785 , 37456 , 2 ] ] Once you have all the scripts setup per room, we can create a “Vacuum Dispatch” script. This will take a parameter “room” and then call the appropriate room script to start vacuuming. You’ll need to adjust to all the rooms you have. You’ll notice the script compares the room variable to several different naming variations of the same room. This is so that someone using Google Assistant doesn’t have to match the script name exactly, several different phrases can map to the same room. --- vacuum_dispatch: alias: "Vacuum Dispatch" sequence: - service: script.turn_on data_template: entity_id: >- {% if room\|lower in ("office", "the office") %} script.vacuum_office {% elif room\|lower in ("entryway", "the entryway") %} script.vacuum_entryway {% elif room\|lower in ("living room", "the living room", "den", "the den") %} script.vacuum_living_room {% elif room\|lower in ("dining room", "the dining room") %} script.vacuum_dining_room {% elif room\|lower in ("guest room", "the guest room", "guest bedroom", "the guest bedroom") %} script.vacuum_guest_bedroom {% elif room\|lower in ("nursery", "the nursery", "baby room", "the baby room") %} script.vacuum_nursery {% elif room\|lower in ("master bedroom", "the master bedroom", "master", "the master") %} script.vacuum_master_bedroom {% elif room\|lower in ("master bathroom", "the master bathroom", "master bath", "the master bath") %} script.vacuum_master_bathroom {% elif room\|lower in ("laundry", "the laundry", "laundry room", "the laundry room") %} script.vacuum_laundry_room {% elif room\|lower in ("kitchen", "the kitchen") %} script.vacuum_kitchen {% elif room\|lower in ("hallways", "the hallways", "hallway", "the hallway", "walkways", "the walkways") %} script.vacuum_hallways {% endif %} 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 --- vacuum _ dispatch : alias : "Vacuum Dispatch" sequence : - service : script.turn_on data _ template : entity _ id : > - { % if room \| lower in ( "office" , "the office" ) % } script . vacuum _ office { % elif room \| lower in ( "entryway" , "the entryway" ) % } script . vacuum _ entryway { % elif room \| lower in ( "living room" , "the living room" , "den" , "the den" ) % } script . vacuum _ living _ room { % elif room \| lower in ( "dining room" , "the dining room" ) % } script . vacuum _ dining _ room { % elif room \| lower in ( "guest room" , "the guest room" , "guest bedroom" , "the guest bedroom" ) % } script . vacuum _ guest _ bedroom { % elif room \| lower in ( "nursery" , "the nursery" , "baby room" , "the baby room" ) % } script . vacuum _ nursery { % elif room \| lower in ( "master bedroom" , "the master bedroom" , "master" , "the master" ) % } script . vacuum _ master _ bedroom { % elif room \| lower in ( "master bathroom" , "the master bathroom" , "master bath" , "the master bath" ) % } script . vacuum _ master _ bathroom { % elif room \| lower in ( "laundry" , "the laundry" , "laundry room" , "the laundry room" ) % } script . vacuum _ laundry _ room { % elif room \| lower in ( "kitchen" , "the kitchen" ) % } script . vacuum _ kitchen { % elif room \| lower in ( "hallways" , "the hallways" , "hallway" , "the hallway" , "walkways" , "the walkways" ) % } script . vacuum _ hallways { % endif % } Next, we want to add an input select component to Home Assistant so we can choose a room from the front end UI. --- vacuum_room: name: Choose a room to clean options: - Select Input - Office - Entryway - Living Room - Dining Room - Guest Room - Nursery - Master Bedroom - Master Bathroom - Laundry Room - Kitchen - Hallways initial: Select Input 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 --- vacuum _ room : name : Choose a room to clean options : - Select Input - Office - Entryway - Living Room - Dining Room - Guest Room - Nursery - Master Bedroom - Master Bathroom - Laundry Room - Kitchen - Hallways initial : Select Input Which results in a drop-down menu on your frontend. Finally, we need to create an automation to trigger the “dispatch” script whenever the drop-down menu changed. The following automation checks for a change to the input select and then calls the dispatch script with the chosen room. --- alias: Start Cleaning Room trigger: - platform: state entity_id: input_select.vacuum_room from: 'Select Input' action: - service: script.vacuum_dispatch data_template: room: "{{ trigger.to_state.state }}" - service: input_select.select_option entity_id: input_select.vacuum_room data_template: option: "Select Input" 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 --- alias : Start Cleaning Room trigger : - platform : state entity _ id : input_select.vacuum_room from : 'Select Input' action : - service : script.vacuum_dispatch data _ template : room : " { { trigger . to _ state . state } } " - service: input_select.select_option entity_id: input_select.vacuum_room data_template: option: " Select Input" Restart Home Assistant after adding all the YAML to your configuration. You should now be able to trigger zoned cleanup from the Home Assistant frontend. Check out my Home Assistant configuration to see how I organized the configuration files. Using Google Assistant Next, let’s hook our robot up to Google Assistant so that we can use any Google Home device or Android phones to start cleaning a room. To do so, you’ll need to be able to call a webhook, which means your Home Assistant instance must be accessible from the internet. By far, the easiest way to do this is using Nabu Casa. If you haven’t already, give the Nabu Casa 30 day trial a shot to see if it makes sense for you. First off, go to your Home Assistant “Configuration” page and click on “Integrations” in Home Assistant and enable the IFTTT Webhook integration. Next, go the “Configuration” page and click on “Home Assistant Cloud” and scroll down to the “Webhooks” section. Create the IFTTT Webhook and copy the Public URL. Next, go to IFTTT and create a new applet. For the “This” portion of the applet choose “Google Assistant” and “Say a phrase with a text ingredient”. The text ingredient in our case will be the room to clean. Set your phrases and the response you want Google Assistant to say back to you. For the “That” section you’ll want to issue a webhook. For the URL use the URL you copied from the instructions above. You’ll want to use a POST method and application/json Content Type. In the body, we’ll essentially call the vacuum_dispath script with the room variable set to the TextField which was spoken to the assistant in the trigger. Finally, we need to add an automation to Home Assistant to actually call the script. Add the following to your automation configurations. --- alias: IFTTT Start Cleaning Room trigger: - platform: event event_type: ifttt_webhook_received event_data: action: call_service condition: condition: template value_template: "{{ trigger.event.data.service == 'script.vacuum_dispatch' }}" action: service_template: '{{ trigger.event.data.service }}' data_template: room: '{{ trigger.event.data.room }}' 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 --- alias : IFTTT Start Cleaning Room trigger : - platform : event event _ type : ifttt_webhook_received event _ data : action : call_service condition : condition : template value _ template : " { { trigger . event . data . service == 'script.vacuum_dispatch' } } " action : service _ template : ' { { trigger . event . data . service } } ' data_template: room: ' { { trigger . event . data . room } } ' Here you can see the automation is triggered on the IFTTT webhook. We use a condition to ensure that the webook was meant for this automation. Finally, we call the vacuum_dispatch script with whatever room was spoken. This uses the same dispatch script that was called earlier through the user interface. That’s it! Restart Home Assistant and try cleaning a room! Next Steps Thanks for reading my tutorial on setting up zoned cleaning with the Roborock S5 and zoned cleanup. If you’re still on the fence about the vacuum, I definitely recommend it. Getting the initial token can be a pain (especially if you’re an iOS user) but once you’ve figured that out, it integrates great with Home Assistant. If you’re looking for more information on the Roborock with Home Assistant there is a great thread in the Home Assistant forums where people show off their automations, alternative firmware, custom user interfaces and other getting started tips. Finally, make sure you subscribe to the mailing list and social media to hear the latest from Self Hosted Home! If you’re interested in other products I’ve included in my smart home check out the My Setup page.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A pocos meses de ocurrido el hecho, Fontán ya había sido señalado como el autor de tirar la bengala y había sido imputado y detenido. Sin embargo, al poco tiempo fue liberado por la Sala III de la Cámara Penal de La Plata por considerar que no estaba acreditado fehacientemente que la bengala arrojada hubiera causado la muerte de Ramírez.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Sye Ten Bruggencate is one of Eric Hovind’s flunkies who has been trolling Matt Dillahunty wanting a debate. Sye essentially has leeched onto the presuppositionist argument and keeps repeating it over and over again and thinks this makes him a star (apparently Eric Hovind thinks the same, but that’s a reeeeeeeally low bar). Matt Dillahunty eventually took the time to emotionlessly obliterate the troll: At the risk of sounding like a sadist, like a guy who enjoys watching somebody clearly outclassed get destroyed, I kind of want this debate to happen now.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Ready to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine? In the Midwest, the midterm elections came down to voters like Precious Crawley. Crawley works two jobs in Milwaukee—one as a McDonald’s cashier for $7.50—and struggles to provide for her three children and pay her medical bills. Like a lot of her neighbors, Crawley didn’t vote in 2016; she felt ignored by politicians from both parties and as if her vote wouldn’t matter. Ad Policy But Crawley did vote this year, and with the little spare time she had, joined hundreds of canvassers with the Fight for $15 to knock on doors and urge other people in her Milwaukee neighborhood to vote too. Her motivation was not about a particular candidate, but about making clear that her neighborhood matters and that it cannot be ignored by the next governor of Wisconsin. Crawley is part of a surge of working-class voters across the Midwest—in cities like Detroit, Flint, Chicago, and Milwaukee—who rejected eight years of attacks on working families and their unions by governors including Scott Walker in Wisconsin and Bruce Rauner in Illinois. These voters want a $15 minimum wage, the chance to join a union no matter where they work, and quality, affordable health care. “The one thing that politicians do care about is where their votes are coming from,” Crawley told me ahead of Election Day. “Unless people in my neighborhood vote in big numbers, no one is ever going to care what we think, or pay attention to the problems that matter to us.” Over the past year, canvassers from Service Employees International Union (SEIU) local unions and the Fight for $15 movement knocked on more than 1 million doors to talk to voters in Milwaukee, Detroit, and Flint. We heard repeatedly that what black, white, and brown working people in these cities care about is making health care more affordable and raising wages so their neighborhoods can make progress. And, they want politicians to hear their concerns and actually improve the lives of working people, rather than blame problems on immigrants, black people, and the poorest communities. When we talked about which candidates for governor to support on Election Day, the choice for many wasn’t difficult. Democratic candidates like Tony Evers and Gretchen Whitmer who supported a $15 minimum wage and expanding health care for all were easy to pick over Republicans like Scott Walker or Bill Schuette, whose policies have cut pay and threatened health care for hardworking Midwesterners. Current Issue View our current issue Precious Crawley and tens of thousands of other voters of color in Milwaukee were ultimately the path to victory for Tony Evers this week—as were voters of color in Detroit and Flint for Gretchen Whitmer, and in Chicago for Illinois Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker. Now newly elected Democratic governors need to make it their number-one job to fight alongside the overworked and underpaid working people who voted them into office. Their mandate is to govern with working people and their issues at the center of their agenda so we can build the kind of prosperity that includes Midwestern families from every ZIP Code. The most effective way of doing that is giving every worker the opportunity to join together in a union no matter where they work, so that people across the Midwest can have a real shot at a better life, no matter where they are from or what color they are.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Modern states last an average of 60 years. After that, they collapse or transform fundamentally, through war or constitutional crisis. As we celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, this means that our beloved country is pushing its historical luck. We can rightly applaud our (relative) longevity and success, but we should not presume that Canada will easily survive this century – or that if it should, its borders and constitutional makeup will be recognizable to the Canadian of 2017. And we can be sure that in order to survive this century with flying colours, we Canadians will have to be extremely strategic and prudent in the moves we make. What could cause the loss of the Canadian state in the next several decades? Three things. First, should Quebec ever secede (far from impossible, contrary to received wisdom in certain quarters), Canada would collapse into multiple blocs. With the largest province excised from the federation, and with no territorial continuity remaining between east and west, it would be hard to imagine a group of leaders who could re-stitch this continent-sized country according to its erstwhile constitutional understandings. Second, the growing pressure for reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples, including through various species of constitutional or “nation to nation” accommodations, while extremely compelling in moral terms, could before long put the country into some vexing strategic pickles. It is by no means manifest that the “pas à deux” compact originally struck by the Fathers of Confederation would survive the “pas à trois” or “pas à cent” logic commended by a full and proper reconciliation among nations. Nor is it clear that such a Canada of highly variable geometry, were it acceptable to the original two founding nations (formally understood), would even be governable. Third, war. It is coming. Perhaps not in the next year or two, but certainly over the course of this century. That our country was essentially exempt from war on Canadian territory for the entirety of the last century was historically exceptional. Every other continent, and nearly every other country, has suffered some description of terrible bloodshed on its territory over the last hundred-plus years. And in many cases, defeat in war led to irreversible transformations of states once perhaps fancied enduring. What’s to be done for Canada to survive and succeed over the next 150 years? Two things, at least. First, we will need to both be bigger and think bigger. We have two “new” borders this century – one with Russia in the north, where the Arctic ice is fast melting, and one to the west with a China that is returning to the strategic and economic vocation enjoyed by its dynastic predecessors before the Opium Wars that preceded Canadian Confederation. Precious few countries have defended or properly managed a huge international border without a population to “populate” it. This means that while this century may not see southern-border-style settlements along our northern border, Canada’s northern population will have to be far larger than it is today. The same may be true of our western population. In short, the vision of Canada at 100 million people by century’s end is not merely about policy fetish, but indeed about the strategic survival of the country. A “bigger” Canada, in the most meaningful sense, must also mean a Canadian mindset or mentality that, stripped of its colonial complexes or instincts, increasingly sees itself as “term-setting” in international and human affairs. We will no longer see ourselves as “helpful fixers” but as leaders in planning, developing and, at the coal face, delivering the political, business and legal frameworks for real solutions to the world’s major challenges. Second, we will have to be extremely flexible – in our thinking and in our governance. Rigidity, dogma and excessive political piety will be the death of us. Instead, we must set about maximizing not only bilingualism in the country, but indeed multilingualism, in foreign and indigenous tongues alike. All our jurists must know both the common and civil law systems, easily incorporating Indigenous understandings over time. And our political, business and intellectual leaders must be cultured in the sciences, social sciences and humanities without artificial isolation, just as they must learn to break bread with, negotiate, teach and also learn from not only the democrats who look like us today, but indeed the non-democrats who will, for better or worse, be in the global majority tomorrow. Irvin Studin is editor-in-chief and publisher of Global Brief Magazine and president of the Institute for 21st Century Questions. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Read more about:	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Oil supply from the United States, Russia and other non-OPEC countries is expected to drop sharply next year — possibly the steepest decline since the Soviet Union collapsed — because of low prices, the International Energy Agency forecast Friday. In its latest monthly report, the IEA says non-OPEC production is expected to drop nearly half a million barrels to 57.7 million barrels a day. It said that would be the largest annual drop since 1992, when non-OPEC supply shrank 1 million barrels after the USSR fell apart. Amid booming U.S. production and high OPEC output, the benchmark price of oil plunged from over $100 last year to about $45 this week. Global oil demand has also grown, but not enough to absorb the high supply. The agency forecast global oil demand would growth this year to a five-year high of 1.7 million barrels a day, before dropping to 1.4 million next year. The low price is particularly hurting U.S. production, with the decline in output speeding up over the summer, the IEA said. Russian and North Sea supply is also forecast to shrink. The report said OPEC supply remains higher than last year and well above the group’s own production targets. There have been only slight declines in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Angola, which edged down OPEC’s daily crude supply by 220,000 barrels in August to 31.6 million barrels a day. So despite the IEA’s forecast for a drop in production in places like the U.S. next year, experts say it is unlikely that prices will rebound any time soon. Analysts at Goldman Sachs slashed their forecasts for the U.S. benchmark price of oil for next year — to $45 a barrel from $57. “The oil market is even more oversupplied than we had expected and we now forecast this surplus to persist in 2016,” the analysts wrote in a note to clients on Friday.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Memorial Day weekend is now behind us – an important pause to remember and reflect on those who gave their lives for the freedoms and rights that we all enjoy. It also means the “summer” season has begun. The fishing rodeo season is in full swing. For those not initiated, these are free youth fishing events held around the state by civic organizations and partners for the enjoyment of children and families. The sites are usually well stocked with fish and it is great fun with a little bit of a competitive edge tossed in for the kids, with prizes and trophies. Gather up your kids – or perhaps a group of neighborhood kids – and head out to one of these fun events near you. Don’t forget there are some free fishing days coming up June 2, June 9 and July 4. If you can think of someone you might like to introduce to fishing, this is a great opportunity for someone to try the sport without buying a license. Weekly Fishing Conditions Forecast Summary: May 30-June 5 Anglers will continue to experience wet conditions for most of the upcoming week. Bay temperatures are hovering near the 70 degree mark and will slowly rise this week due to warm air temperatures and longer daylight hours. The recent algal bloom known as a “mahogany tide” on the middle part of the western shore continues to cause some reduced water clarity and poor oxygen conditions below depths of 15 to 20 feet. However, other portions of the main bay and tidal rivers have much better oxygen conditions. There will be above average tidal currents Friday through Tuesday as a result of the full moon May 29. For the full weekly fishing conditions summary and more detailed and up-to-date fishing conditions in your area of the bay, be sure to check out Click Before You Cast. Also check out the new Bay Bottom Habitat Mapper that shows bottom type, fishing reefs, popular fishing areas, recent oyster planting sites and submerged aquatic vegetation. The depth/navigation charts backdrop allows you to see their relationship with nearby channel edges, points, humps, flats or other key contour features. Upper Chesapeake Bay It is no secret that the upper bay has been receiving a lot of runoff from the Susquehanna River and western shore rivers like the Patapsco. Generally speaking, the Susquehanna Flats area has water clarity issues making for poor fishing, and the western side of the bay is also showing stained water. The eastern side of the bay is a bit clearer and the trolling action tends to be better. The Triple Buoys and the Love Point channel edges have been poplar locations to troll a mixed spread of medium-sized bucktails, spoons and umbrella rigs. Chumming has been more popular in the stained waters on the western side of the bay at some of the 7 and 9-foot knolls, Belvidere Shoals and Podickory Point. At Podickory, the 25-foot channel edges are a sweet spot on a flood tide. Allowing baits to sink to the back of the chum slick and rest on the bottom tends to catch the largest fish. There is plenty of striped bass action in the vicinity of the Bay Bridge this week. Jigging around the bridge piers and rock piles to suspended fish has been good, while soft plastics and bucktails have been popular baits. The sewer pipe just north of the bridge on the eastern side has been a popular place to troll or set up a chum slick. Middle Bay Water temperatures in the middle bay are hovering around 70 degrees and the fishing for striped bass is about as good as it gets. Trolling, jigging and chumming are all excellent ways to catch striped bass. Trolling has been good along the major shipping channel edges from the Bay Bridge south past Bloody Point, Buoy 83 to the CP Buoy. Most are trolling a mix of medium-sized bucktails dressed with sassy shads in chartreuse and darker colors in tandem or behind umbrella rigs. Spoons can also be effective and some anglers are mixing in a few large parachutes in their trolling spreads, in the hope of intercepting a large striped bass. The western side of the shipping channel – from Thomas Point south past Chesapeake Beach to Calvert Cliffs – has also been a popular place to troll. Jigging has been a very popular way to catch striped bass along the same channel edges others are trolling. Many are using relatively light jig heads with skirted soft plastics in 6 to 8-inch lengths. There is a wide opinion on colors, and pink and purple often come up in the conversation. Chumming and chunking has been a successful way to get striped bass to come to you. Perhaps one of the most popular places to set up is the 35-foot outside edge of Hacketts Bar. Allowing baits to sink to the bottom at the back of the chum slick tends to account for the largest striped bass. The outside edge of the Hill has been a good place to chum and there have also been good reports coming from the Diamonds. The shallow water fishery for striped bass continues to provide fun light tackle topwater action in numerous areas of the bay and tidal rivers. The rocks at Poplar Island have been great to cast poppers in the early morning and late evening hours. As the mornings wear on, many are finding casting swimshads is another great way to catch fish. There are too many places to count along bay shores and tidal rivers where shallow water striped bass can be found feeding. Most of these fish tend to be in the 18 to 19-inch range, but they offer a lot of fun on light tackle.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Buffalo Sabres announced Wednesday night that the team has re-signed forward Cody Hodgson to a long-term multi-year contract extension. The 23-year-old Hodgson came into training camp as a restricted free agent. Hodgson broke the news to Sabres fans via a Vine video on the team's official Twitter account earlier this evening. “We are extremely excited to have signed Cody to a long-term deal,” Regier said. “We feel he is going to be an important piece of our organization’s success in the future and look forward to watching him develop as a player.” Hodgson (6'0", 194 lbs., 2/18/90) appeared in all 48 games in 2012-13, finishing second among all Sabres skaters with 15 goals and 34 points. In parts of four NHL seasons, the Toronto, Ontario native has appeared in 139 games between the Sabres and Vancouver Canucks, tallying 77 points (35+42).	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and fellow member of “the Squad” Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., vowed Saturday to contribute to a fund that is raising bail money for the 36 counterprotesters arrested at the “Straight Pride Parade" in Boston. Nine of the counterprotesters arrested have been charged with assaulting police officers, the Boston Herald reported. Ocasio-Cortez and Pressley both tweeted out a link to a crowdsourcing page called The Solidarity Against Hate Legal Defense Fund, which has raised nearly $25,000 to pay bail and other legal fees of those arrested while protesting the march. AOC SLAMS 'STRAIGHT PRIDE' PARADE IN BOSTON; EVENT ENDS WITH POLICE INJURIES, DOZENS OF ARRESTS: REPORT “One way to support the local LGBTQ community impacted by Boston’s white supremacist parade?” Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter, sharing a link to the fund. “Contribute to the Bail Fund for the activists who put themselves on the line protecting the Boston community.” Ocasio-Cortez retweeted Pressley’s initial tweet about the fund. Pressley slammed the “Straight Pride” event as an “#LGBT hate march” and asked followers to join her in making a contribution to the fund. About 200 people marched in the “Straight Pride Parade” in downtown Boston on Saturday to celebrate traditional families and defend heterosexuality, the Boston Globe reported. Members of Super Happy Fun America, the group that organized the parade, were reportedly outnumbered along the parade route by thousands of protesters gathered behind police barricades near City Hall who criticized the event as homophobic. At least some of the counterprotesters were identified as Antifa, the controversial far-left group. “We’re covered in black so when we attack these guys we can’t be prosecuted,” Jon Crowley, a self-identified Antifa member, told the Boston Herald while at Saturday’s parade. He added that he believes violence is the only way deal with the “Straight Pride” marchers, saying: “They are fascists, 100%. How else are you going to get them to shut up?” A Massachusetts state senator, Dean Tran, who represents Fitchburg, Mass., tweeted Monday that “It is time, federal, state, and local to make it illegal to cover your faces in public events and demonstrations. A danger to public safety and our police officers. No one or group is above the law.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Solidarity Against Hate Legal Defense Fund was set up on the crowdsourcing site FundRazr by Lucy Parsons Center, a nonprofit independent bookstore and community center in Boston. The page raised nearly $25,000, exceeding its initial $15,000 goal to pay for possible legal fees. The excess will go to Mass Bail Fund and Boston GLASS. Fox News’ Gerren Gaynor contributed to this report.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The 2013 season continues to be a magical one for Magic Mike. MLS on Thursday announced that Chicago Fire forward Mike Magee was voted the 2013 Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player and will receive his award in a formal presentation in Kansas City, site of MLS Cup 2013. The 29-year-old enjoyed by far the best season of his career, scoring 21 goals, good for second in the league as well as a personal best. A midseason trade from the LA Galaxy to his hometown Chicago Fire only added to his hot streak -- after bagging six goals with the defending MLS Cup champs, he netted 15 in 22 games with the Fire. Magee's weighted vote total (98.81) beat out two established international goalscorers -- his former Galaxy teammate Robbie Keane (58.56) and Montreal top scorer Marco Di Vaio (35.42). He becomes only the second player to win the award from a team that didn't make the postseason after Dwayne De Rosario in 2011. Player (Club) % of Club Votes % of Media Votes % of Player Votes Weighted Total Mike Magee (CHI) 34.69 37.33 26.79 98.81 Robbie Keane (LA) 22.45 24 12.11 58.56 Marco Di Vaio (MTL) 14.29 10.67 10.46 35.42 Tim Cahill (NY) 12.25 12 6.42 30.67 ALL-TIME MLS MVPs 2013: Mike Magee – Chicago Fire 2012: Chris Wondolowski – San Jose Earthquakes 2011: Dwayne De Rosario – D.C. United 2010: David Ferreira – FC Dallas 2009: Landon Donovan – LA Galaxy 2008: Guillermo Barros Schelotto – Columbus Crew 2007: Luciano Emilio – D.C. United 2006: Christian Gómez – D.C. United 2005: Taylor Twellman – New England Revolution 2004: Amado Guevara – MetroStars 2003: Preki – Kansas City Wizards 2002: Carlos Ruiz – LA Galaxy 2001: Alex Pineda Chacón – Miami Fusion 2000: Tony Meola – Kansas City Wizards 1999: Jason Kreis – Dallas Burn 1998: Marco Etcheverry – D.C. United 1997: Preki – Kansas City Wizards 1996: Carlos Valderrama – Tampa Bay Mutiny	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
What is Feed The Beast? Feed the Beast, also known as FTB, originated as a custom challenge map for Minecraft that made heavy use of many mods. It played very similar to a type of map known as Sky Block, where the player is started in a void world with only a small platform, and must overcome a series of challenges. Because FTB included tech mods, it was possible to use the various custom blocks and items to keep track of the challenges and the player's progress, as well as automatically give awards after each challenge was met. The map was then adapted to allow multiple players to compete against each other in a race to complete the objectives. This version gained large popularity after being live-streamed on Twitch.TV with Direwolf20 vs Mattabase, both very well known users of the mods included in the map. As the map was released to the public, it became apparent that it was very difficult to distribute the map file, mods, and configuration settings to those interested in playing it. At some point a decision was made to combine all of the mods into an easily distributable pack, as well as create a launcher that would stream-line installation. The map went through various iterations, including the bedrock map - known for the challenge and reward structure made of bedrock. However most players that refer to the FTB map, truly mean the pyramid map, known for its large basalt pyramid that included various rooms that listed a set of items the player had to create in order to solve each challenge. That version was then updated to a harder version, known as FTB Insanity, which took many players 50 to even over 100 hours of play time to fully complete. The modpacks are centered around mods built on the Minecraft Forge platform. They initially focused on mods of a technical theme, such as IndustrialCraft 2, BuildCraft, and RedPower 2. However, it then expanded to other genres, such as magic mods like Thaumcraft and Mystcraft. The initial modpack was released as a beta in November 2012. It stayed in beta status for some time because of the necessity for mod authors to update their mods to Minecraft version 1.4, where everything became server based. This process proved a long road for a few of the mods that were core to the pack. Other versions of the FTB Modpacks were created, including FTB Lite, which slimmed down the list of mods to assist new users learn the ins and outs without being overwhelmed. A Magic World pack, which focused on mods of a magical nature, was also released. Many modpacks have since been released, and have been updated to the 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, and 1.8 versions of Minecraft. All of the modpacks featured on the FTB Launcher can be found on the Modpacks page. Mods included in the FTB modpacks can be found in the Mods Category. The launcher was released as alpha during a livestream by Slowpoke101. The number of downloads quickly overwhelmed the server, leaving many users frustrated. After resolving the server issues, a beta version was released. A website, feed-the-beast.com, soon followed. The main features of the launcher are: Automatically downloading a list of FTB modpacks and approved 3rd party modpacks. Automatically downloading all mod installation files and creation of the Minecraft instance. Full distribution support from all developers of the mods included in the modpacks. A planned set of config files, assigning unique ids to all mod blocks, items, dimensions, creatures, enchantments, and liquids, preventing overlaps that cause Minecraft to crash and were the frequent bane of users trying to manually install mods. Automatically downloading featured maps, such as the Feed the Beast challenge maps. Supports downloading of pre-configured server instances, making it very easy for admins to host the mods on a server. Now that you know a little bit about Feed the Beast, head over to the Getting Started page to learn how to install the launcher, choose a modpack, and begin playing!	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A British policeman put his colleagues on alert as he investigated a “suspicious bright light” — only to find it was the moon, an in-house magazine for the police reported Wednesday. Police magazine reported that the hapless officer only realised his blunder after warning his fellow constables in Worcestershire, central England, that he might require back-up. ADVERTISEMENT The magazine’s Dogberry column revealed: “While single-crewed on night duty in Worcestershire a PC called up his sergeant letting him know that he was going up into the Clent Hills to investigate a ‘suspicious bright light’ that he could see shining from the other side of the hills. “The call was for safety reasons as he might need back-up once he found the source. “Twenty minutes later the PC called his sergeant back to reassure him that everything was ok and that he had found the source of the light. “This diligent PC had in fact discovered the moon.” While the gaffe was once known only to the unnamed policeman’s colleagues in the Worcestershire force, it has now been revealed to all 132,000 police rank-and-file officers in England and Wales who receive the magazine.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Die Lohnunterschiede zwischen den Geschlechtern sind regional sehr verschieden. Wo die Männer besonders viel verdienen, gibt es Gründe. Die Lohnlücke zwischen Männern und Frauen ist einer Studie zufolge regional sehr unterschiedlich. Im Landkreis Dingolfing-Landau in Niederbayern etwa verdient ein Mann im Durchschnitt 38 Prozent mehr als eine Frau – im brandenburgischen Cottbus dagegen verdient eine Frau im Durchschnitt 17 Prozent mehr als ein Mann, wie die derzeit laufende Studie des Instituts für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB) laut Bericht der „Welt“ ergab. Die Experten des IAB werten derzeit Daten der Bundesagentur für Arbeit aus dem Jahr 2016 aus, ihre Studie soll laut Bericht im Herbst veröffentlicht werden. Sie zogen erste Schlussfolgerungen: „Wo die Männer weniger verdienen, besteht tendenziell ein Pay Gap zugunsten der Frauen“, sagte Michaela Fuchs vom IAB Sachsen-Anhalt-Thüringen der „Welt“. „Wo Männer mehr verdienen, sehen wir eher einen Pay Gap zugunsten der Männer.“ Es scheine so zu sein, dass die Verfügbarkeit bestimmter Jobs für Männer in einer Region entscheidend dafür ist, wie die Lohnlücke dort ausfalle. Mehr zum Thema 1/ Besonders hoch ist die Gehaltslücke zugunsten der Männer etwa auch in Regionen wie Ingolstadt (36,9 Prozent), Böblingen (35,9 Prozent), Bodenseekreis (33,6 Prozent) und Erlangen (32,4 Prozent). „Das alles sind Regionen, die auf bestimmte Bereiche spezialisiert sind“, sagte Fuchs der Zeitung. Dort säßen bestimmte Unternehmen – in Ingolstadt etwa Audi, in Erlangen Siemens. Diese spezielle Arbeitsplatz-Struktur scheine Männern mehr zugutezukommen als Frauen. Erst vergangene Woche hatte eine Studie des Fahrdiensts Uber gezeigt, dass es auch dort eine Eiinkommens-Lücke von rund sieben Prozent gibt – obwohl der Algorithmus die Fahrer nicht nach Geschlecht bezahlt. Grund sei, dass Männer schneller Erfahrung erwerben, zu unbeliebteren Zeiten arbeiten und schneller fahren, so dass sie mehr Fahrten pro Stunde schaffen..	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
During a radio interview with Glenn Beck on Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) dodged a question about whether he will be able to support Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee. “This is a choice every voter is going to have to make,” Cruz said when asked whether he will back Trump. The Texas senator noted that the Republican convention isn’t until July and that the general election is not until November. “We’ll see what happens,” he said. “We need to watch and see what the candidates say and do.” Cruz placed some of the blame for Trump’s rise on the media, lamenting the amount of “free air time” the real estate mogul received. “There’s no doubt we need to think hard about what is the role of a handful of network executives,” Cruz said.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The last New Zealand Army troops who took part in the Vietnam War flew home 47 years ago this month to a country that for the first time failed to put out a welcome-back mat for soldiers who had fought, killed and died in a foreign war. The bitterly controversial conflict divided the nation and Vietnam veterans flew in at dead of night, were told to take off their uniforms and advised not to tell people where they had been. The last group of 17 soldiers to leave Vietnam on December 19, 1972 ended the most shameful chapter of New Zealand's eight-and-a-half-year military commitment to the war. David Barber Two Cambodian boy soldiers trained by NZ and US troops in Vietnam, nicknamed "Trash Can" and "Herman" by their American instructors. They are wearing cast-off US fatigue uniforms. They were members of a training team that had secretly trained Cambodian boy soldiers as young as nine, 10 and 11 until the government ordered a halt after I revealed it four months earlier when reporting for the now defunct New Zealand Press Association. The New Zealanders were working with a squad of 120 American army instructors established to help Cambodia, which was under increasing attack from the communist Khmer Rouge and the North Vietnamese Army. They had put about 2000 Cambodian recruits through a 12-week training course since the previous March. Although the legal minimum age for service in the Cambodian army was 18, American instructors told me that about 100 recruits in the 500-strong battalion then being trained were under 15. Supplied NZPA correspondent David Barber's US Department of Defense Certificate of Identity. Barber was NZPA's South-east Asia correspondent in 1970-73. Medical orderlies said many had not reached puberty. Instructors said some were 10 and 11 and they had trained boys of nine. It was known that some were drafted from orphanages and one American told me: "The kids make good trainees. They are keener than most of the others because they think it's a game." A sergeant said it "breaks me up" when they go on night manoeuvres at the end of the training – "… you know, they're still afraid of the dark". The Americans had no illusions about the potential fate of the trainees when they went home to face a battle-hardened enemy. One said he had heard that two of the four battalions he helped train were wiped out within two weeks. New Zealand was a reluctant partner in the training course at Dong Ba Thin, near Cam Ranh Bay. The last combat troops were withdrawn on December 9, 1971 after infantrymen had served with Australians in the Anzac base camp at Nui Dat for more than six years. As Washington's allies withdrew, the US pressured them to help Vietnam's increasingly beleaguered neighbour Cambodia. "Trash Can" with rifle at the ready. I stumbled upon the boy soldiers on a routine walk around the camp, struck by their size and the cast-off US steel helmets and fatigue uniforms, with rolled-up trousers and jackets down to their knees, that threatened to swallow them. Defence officials had not disclosed their presence to the government and the hapless Defence Minister Allan McCready, who was shielded from the youngsters when he visited Dong Ba Thin, denied my story when it was published. Even after being corrected, he claimed that the number trained by New Zealanders was insignificant – "about 10". Staff photographer Forty-six "boy soldiers" were sent home after Prime Minister Jack Marshall's Cabinet ordered training of under-age Cambodians to stop. Strangely, the truth was still being denied 38 years later in the Ministry of Culture and Heritage's official history of New Zealand's involvement in Vietnam. War historian Ian McGibbon said only that "some were younger than 16". But he admitted that 46 "boy soldiers" were sent home after Prime Minister Jack Marshall's Cabinet ordered training of under-age Cambodians to stop. McGibbon claimed my story was "much to the team's anger" and reported "dire threats" to my well-being should I return to Dong Ba Thin. The team's leader, Major John Daniell, however, had been clearly unhappy with the situation and told me frankly at the time: "If I could have stopped you seeing this, I would have done. I haven't been able to tell my wife in letters home about it." . Norman Kirk ordered an end to all New Zealand involvement in Indo-China within three days of taking power after the November 1972 election. The team was withdrawn after Labour leader Norman Kirk ordered an end to all New Zealand involvement in Indo-China within three days of taking power after the November election. It concluded New Zealand's longest and most controversial military engagement of the 20th century, begun in June 1964 when Keith Holyoake's National government sent a group of non-combatant army engineers. McGibbon claimed that the morale of New Zealand troops had remained "consistently high" and were aware that "their welfare was being adequately cared for" throughout. In writing his 2010 account, however, he did not talk to any of the New Zealand Press Association correspondents who reported the war from 1965 to 1975. In this correspondent's experience, the government maintained throughout at best a parsimonious and half-hearted commitment of support for the troops it sent. On every visit I made between January 1970 and December 1972, the most senior officers never failed to brief me in detail on complaints that went well beyond the expected whinges of troops at war. Alone among the allies, the New Zealanders paid income tax and this was still a bitter issue with vets in 2008 when Helen Clark's government made a long-overdue acknowledgement to the more than 3000 New Zealanders who served in Vietnam, and honoured the 37 who died and 187 wounded. "The Crown extends to New Zealand Vietnam veterans and their families an apology for the manner in which their loyal service in the name of New Zealand was not recognised in the way it should have been…" Clark told Parliament in May 2008 before the vets' first welcome-home parade through the streets of Wellington. They had been denied a cost of living increase awarded to fellow defence personnel and all other public servants at home. They had their overseas allowances cut by 43 per cent in May 1971 after an irrelevant devaluation of the Vietnamese piaster and this was repeated for a handful of officers and men remaining at the end of 1972. Senior officers told me that penny-pinching cost-cutting forced Kiwi troops to beg, borrow or steal from the lavishly-equipped Americans everything from basics like pumps, generators and vehicles to comforts such as water coolers, refrigerators and movies. "We've become the biggest bludgers of the Vietnam War," one soldier told me. "We've had to." David Barber covered the Vietnam War as the New Zealand Press Association's South-east Asia correspondent in 1970-73.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
He’s the Captain now. But perhaps not for long. A new profile from Esquire claims Chris Evans will step away from his role as Captain America after his contract is up following the “Infinity War” movies. So in perhaps one of his last acts as Cap, the actor is taking on the Trump administration and its extremist supporters. In the interview, Evans reflects on Donald Trump’s presidency, saying he feels “rage” and “fury.” Recently, Evans has gotten in arguments on Twitter with former KKK leader David Duke, and just this week gave his opinion on Rep. Steve King’s recent tweet about “somebody else’s babies,” which is seen by many as a white nationalist sentiment. I don't even know where to begin. This man has no place in politics. Shameful. I truly hope that someday you learn to choose love over fear https://t.co/zwTLvKR4Gt — Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) March 12, 2017 Apparently “advisors” have warned Evans that speaking out on politics is “risky” given the high profile of his on-screen persona, but like a true Captain America, the actor refuses to remain silent. Why? He wouldn’t be able to look in the mirror. “Look, I’m in a business where you’ve got to sell tickets,” he says. “But, my God, I would not be able to look at myself in the mirror if I felt strongly about something and didn’t speak up. I think it’s about how you speak up. We’re allowed to disagree. If I state my case and people don’t want to go see my movies as a result, I’m okay with that.” Even with his strong views, Evans explains that though some may believe that it’s “time to yell,” he has the opposite approach. “It’s time for calm. Because not everyone who voted for Trump is going to be some horrible bigot. There are a lot of people in that middle; those are the people you can’t lose your credibility with. If you’re trying to change minds, by spewing too much rhetoric you can easily become white noise.” Evans’ approach can be seen in his argument with David Duke. Even when faced with ignorance, the actor preached love: I don't hate them. That's YOUR method. I love. Try it. It's stronger than hate. It unites us. I promise it's in you under the anger and fear https://t.co/RGnH4rrblq — Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) February 13, 2017 Whatever Evans’ future is with Marvel, he’ll always be Captain America to us.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
CEDAR RAPIDS — The latest United Way ALICE report has found that more than one-third of Iowa’s households are unable to afford the state’s cost of living. Released Tuesday, United Way’s 2018 ALICE — Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed — report states that 457,044 Iowa households, or 37 percent of the state’s total, are unable to meet basic needs. That marks a considerable increase from 31 percent of households in 2016. The report, presented by sponsor Alliant Energy, spotlights those who work at low-paying jobs, have little to no savings and are considered one emergency away from falling into poverty. About 12 percent of Iowa’s households live below the Federal Poverty Level and an additional 25 percent — while considered above the poverty threshold — are unable to cover basic expenses like housing, food, transportation and health and child care. “This really shows that many, many more people than that are struggling, even if they’re hard working. It’s not people who just don’t want to work, it’s people that are working hard trying to make the best of their lives every day,” Shane Orr, with United Way of Muscatine and United Ways of Iowa’s Board Chair, said in a Tuesday media call. “The fact that these numbers go up is an indicator to me that despite the low unemployment and all of that, it’s still a big issue in the community and a big issue that seems to be getting worse.” Stephanie Hoopes, lead researcher for the ALICE report, said the report helps show that it’s not only those living below the Federal Poverty Level that are struggling to make ends meet. “If you only look at those federal measures you would have a much different view of financial hardship,” said Hoopes. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT In Linn County, approximately 20 percent of the county’s 89,173 households fell below the ALICE threshold in 2016. Another 10 percent were under the poverty line. Of Johnson County’s 57,217 households in 2016, 18 percent fell below the ALICE mark and another 20 percent were under the poverty line. Both counties saw the number of households in the ALICE threshold and under the poverty line increase from 2014-2016, according to the report. It’s a trend seen across the state, said Leah Rodenberg, with Alliant Energy Foundation, the ALICE report’s presenting sponsor. “As a provider of energy services to Iowans, we know many of our customers struggle with their basic household budgets. This data will provide a greater understanding of the struggles of hard working families in each of our 99 counties and the conditions that define their financial hardships,” she said. The 2018 ALICE report also found the statewide cost of a family budget increased by 41 percent from 2010 to 2016 — to more than $56,000 for a family of four. That’s more than four times as much as the national rate of inflation, which was about 9 percent, over that span. Meanwhile, two-thirds of Iowa’s jobs pay less than $20 an hour. “We see this cost of living increasing, faster than inflation and faster than wages,” Hoopes said. But while state and local lawmakers have clashed over Iowa’s minimum wage rules, with the state last year pre-empting local rules and re-establishing $7.25 an hour as the statewide rule, Hoopes said employee pay is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to helping those in financial hardship. “We also know from looking at ALICE that that alone would not make the difference,” Hoopes said. “While increasing wages is certainly an important thing to discuss, we hope that doesn’t eclipse all the other work that needs to be done to make a difference for these families.” Other areas that stakeholders, service providers and policymakers need to consider include shifting populations as millennials become a more prominent part of the workforce and baby boomers enter retirement; instability in the market through economic disruptions or natural disasters; and growing inequality in health care — as medicine advances, it becomes more and more expensive. “Sadly there is no single solution to fix the challenges so many in Iowa face. These challenges are complex and interwoven,” Orr said. l Comments: (319) 398-8309; [email protected]	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); }); Speaking on television this week, Henryk Zielinski, editor-in-chief of the Catholic weekly Idziemy, caused an uproar with his controversial statement suggesting that the truth for Jews is whatever they feel is beneficial for them.Jews have “a completely different system of values, a different concept of truth,” Zielinski said. “For us, the truth corresponds to facts. For the Jew, truth means something that conforms to his understanding of what’s beneficial. If a Jew is religious, then truth means something God wants.”Representatives of Polish Jews complained to the state watchdog on media over a public broadcaster’s airing of an interview with a priest who said Jews have a unique understanding of the concept of truth.He made the comment on Feb. 24 during an interview with TVP, according to the complaint that the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland filed on Monday with Poland’s National Council of Radio and Television.For non-religious Jews, “the truth is subjective or whatever serves Israel’s interests,” he added. Zielinski cited the Haggadah — a text read by Jews at the Passover Seder, which contains the story of the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. “Often these stories have nothing to do with facts,” noted the Catholic priest.The interviewer, Michał Karnowski, did not contest Zielinski’s assertions, according to the complaint.Zielinski’s remarks violated the National Council of Radio and Television principles for content on public media, including its ban on ideas that “incite to hatred or discriminate on the grounds of race, disability, gender, religion or nationality,” the Jewish union wrote in its complaint.The interview with Zielinski comes amid an increase in anti-Semitic rhetoric following a row between Poland and Israel, as well as with international Jewish groups, on a law passed in Poland last month that limits rhetoric on the Holocaust.The law criminalizes blaming Poland for the Nazis’ crimes. Its opponents said it would complicate research and impede free speech on the genocide, in which thousands of Poles are believed to have betrayed Jews to Nazis. Thousands of Poles also rescued Jews from the Holocaust.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Înalta Curte de Casație și Justiție (ÎCCJ) a apreciat că între comisionul de 5% pretins de Constantin Niță și contractul încheiat de Primăria Iași cu firma UTI există "o strânsă legătură", potrivit motivării sentinței prin care fostul ministru al Energiei a fost condamnat, în primă instanță, la patru ani de închisoare cu executare pentru trafic de influență. 6639384a-7713-402e-bf88-1d9167ce9053 "Practic, între pretinderea comisionului de 5% de către inculpatul Niță Constantin și încheierea contractului de consultanță (...) există o strânsă legătură. Fără pretinderea de către inculpat a comisionului de 5% din valoarea contractului dintre UTI Grup și Primăria Municipiului Iași, încheierea contractului de consultanță cu firma Kerom nu s-ar fi realizat, nu ar fi avut vreo justificare, în condițiile în care din nicio probă administrată nu rezultă că cei de la UTI Grup ar fi desfășurat până la acel moment vreo relație comercială cu firma Kerom, că i-ar fi cunoscut pe reprezentanții acesteia sau ar fi existat vreun interes al celor de la UTI legat de obiectul de activitate al acestei firme în vederea unor oportunități de afaceri", se arată în motivare. În legătură cu suma de 30.000 de euro care ar fi fost primită de Constantin Niță de la omul de afaceri Tiberiu Urdăreanu în incinta unui hotel, în contul aceluiași procentaj de 5% din valoarea contractului, instanța a apreciat, pe baza coroborării probelor administrate, că faptul s-a consumat, deși inculpatul nu a recunoscut. "Practic, lipsa unei probe directe cu privire la această faptă nu este de natură să excludă existența ei, explicându-se prin aceea că infracțiunile de corupție săvârșite de persoane cu funcții importante în stat (în speță inculpatul era deputat, dar și ministru al Energiei) nu sunt, de regulă, comise în prezența mai multor persoane, ci în condiții de maximă clandestinitate, fapt ce exclude de plano existența unor probe relevante, incriminatoare pentru autorul infracțiunii de corupție", se indică în motivare. Conform aceleiași surse, Constantin Niță nu a negat că s-a întâlnit cu Urdăreanu la restaurant, dar a susținut că scopul discuției nu era primirea unei sume de bani, ci era legat de posibilitatea ca firma omului de afaceri să instaleze la Ministerul Energiei un sistem video și de alarmă pentru casieri. Susținerea a fost considerată de instanță neverosimilă și nu a putut fi probată de inculpat. "În opinia instanței, nu se justifică de ce o problemă administrativă, ce ținea de competența unui departament din cadrul ministerului și care trebuia să urmeze o anumită procedură privind achiziționarea respectivei instalații, a fost tratată la restaurant și nu la sediul ministerului, de către însuși ministrul Economiei. Mai mult, se constată că martorului denunțător, cu ocazia audierii de către instanța de judecată, în condiții de contradictorialitate și oralitate, inculpatul nu i-a adresat nicio întrebare cu privire la acest aspect (...) și nici în cursul urmăririi penale nu a prezentat o astfel de apărare", se mai menționează în motivarea condamnării. Constantin Niță a fost condamnat de ÎCCJ, pe 26 mai, la patru de ani închisoare cu executare pentru săvârșirea infracțiunii de trafic de influență, într-un dosar în care este acuzat de DNA că ar fi primit bani de la omul de afaceri Tiberiu Urdăreanu, decizia nefiind definitivă. Instanța a mai decis confiscarea de la Constantin Niță a sumei de 303.000 lei, fiind menținut sechestrul asigurător. Constantin Niță a fost trimis în judecată de DNA pentru trafic de influență, el fiind acuzat că, în cursul anului 2013, i-a solicitat omului de afaceri Tiberiu Urdăreanu un comision de 5% din valoarea unui contract încheiat de firma acestuia, UTI, cu Primăria Iași. Potrivit DNA, Constantin Niță ar fi intermediat o întâlnire între Tiberiu Urdăreanu și fostul primar Gheorghe Nichita, în schimbul unui comision de 5% din valoarea contractului. Banii din comision urmau să îi fie remiși lui Niță în două forme — parțial în numerar și parțial printr-un contract de consultanță fictiv, încheiat cu o persoană de încredere din anturajul fostului ministru. ''În consecință, la data de 21 iulie 2013, Niță Constantin a primit 30.000 euro de la omul de afaceri, în incinta unui restaurant libanez, dintr-un hotel din București. De asemenea, la solicitarea lui Niță Constantin, a fost contactată persoana de încredere a acestuia, care a propus încheierea unui contract de consultanță cu o anumită firmă, la prețul de 5.000 euro + TVA/lună, care a și fost semnat la data de 2 mai 2013. În baza acestui contract fictiv (serviciile facturate nefiind, în fapt, prestate de firmă), reprezentanții omului de afaceri au remis firmei indicate de Niță Constantin, prin intermediul acestui mecanism, suma totală de 303.118 lei, în tranșe lunare, în perioada mai 2013 — iunie 2014'', mai spun procurorii. Conform DNA, Niță a primit două tranșe, de 30.000 euro, respectiv 303.118 lei, bani folosiți, în mare parte, pentru diverse cheltuieli ale partidului din care făcea parte. AGERPRES/(AS — autor: George Onea, editor: Claudia Stănescu, editor online: Simona Aruștei)	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
آنچه باید درباره تاتو ابرو، تاتو لب و تاتو چشم و خط چشم بدانید	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The new Metallica album is finally on its way. Fans had been waiting eight years for the proper follow-up to 2008’s Death Magnetic. Then Thursday afternoon, after countless teases and tips, we were finally hit with a new song, and a release date to go with it. Hardwired…To Self-Destruct, and it’s due Nov. 18. How will it stack up against the band’s legendary catalog? Now that Metallica owns the masters to its old recordings, they’ve started to re-issue that back catalog in deluxe, remastered, rarity-filled glory. Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning have already been re-released, and more could be on the horizon. So these days, new tunes and the classics are very much a part of the Metallica discussion. We want to hear from you -- what’s the best Metallica album? Metallica's 'Black Album': Happy 25th Birthday, Here's What You Have in Common with Shania Twain Only proper studio albums here; we chose not to include their live albums, the Garage Inc. covers album, or Lulu, Metallica’s 2011 collaboration with Lou Reed. Once you’ve voted head over and listen to “Hardwired,” the lead single off Metallica’s new album.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A política pública de titulação dos territórios quilombolas sofreu corte de 80% no orçamento destinado a desapropriações, quando comparado ao ano passado. O corte orçamentário é indicativo de que o racismo persiste. Passados 484 anos do início da escravidão negra, outros 128 anos da sua abolição formal e inconclusa e, ainda, outros 28 anos da promulgação da Constituição que finalmente reconheceu aos quilombolas direitos às suas terras, o povo negro ainda terá de lutar muito para conquistar direitos básicos. O ano de 2009 foi o primeiro em que houve alguma verba destinada a desapropriações, com R$ 5 milhões. Até o ano de 2012 o orçamento cresceu e chegou a pouco mais de R$ 51 milhões. Em 2013 o orçamento começou a encolher, passando a R$ 47 milhões, diminuindo para R$ 30 milhões em 2014, R$ 25 milhões em 2015 e, em 2016, irrisórios R$ 5 milhões. O corte inviabiliza a efetivação do direito à terra previsto no artigo 68 do ADCT da Constituição, e as 37 comunidades quilombolas do Paraná, bem como os demais 2.611 quilombos brasileiros, terão de esperar ainda mais tempo para terem seu direito à terra garantido. Desde 2003, quando foi editado o Decreto Federal 4.887/03, dando início à política de titulação dos territórios, apenas 30 comunidades em todo o Brasil foram tituladas, nenhuma no Paraná. Seguindo esse ritmo, o Estado demorará 970 anos para titular todos os quilombos do Brasil. A ineficácia estatal é inaceitável, principalmente tratando-se de comunidades que ainda sofrem com as consequências dos quase quatro séculos de escravidão. Nacionalmente, 36 territórios quilombolas estão na fase final do processo de titulação, o que deveria levar a desapropriar cerca de 800 imóveis em favor dos quilombolas. A estimativa do Incra para o pagamento das indenizações é de R$ 425 milhões. Assim, com um orçamento de apenas R$ 5 milhões em 2016, que corresponde a 1,17% da demanda existente, os conflitos pela terra podem aumentar. De um lado, milhares de quilombolas, em comunidades espalhadas por 24 estados da Federação, continuarão a viver com muitas dificuldades e sem acesso a um direito. Por outro, proprietários de terras que incidam nos territórios quilombolas não têm perspectivas de quando serão indenizados. A solução dos problemas fundiários no Brasil depende de empenho do Estado e da sociedade como um todo para enfrentar quatro séculos de racismo e concentração fundiária. A principal causa da morosidade do Estado é a dura, injustificável e racista oposição de boa parte do agronegócio e do senhoriato ruralista decadente à efetivação do direito quilombola, pois estes não aceitam que o Estado invista tempo e recursos em quilombos, ao passo que se beneficiam, desde a época das capitanias hereditárias, de bilhões em recursos públicos e da exploração do trabalho da população negra. Não haverá justiça ou democracia enquanto 1% dos proprietários de terras detiver 49% de toda a terra agriculturável no Brasil, como apontou o último censo do IBGE. O povo negro é protagonista, pois construiu e ainda constrói com força, risos, suor e lágrimas boa parte da identidade cultural, da economia e da democracia do Brasil. Quilombolas querem terra para viver a seu modo, com dignidade, liberdade e alimentos saudáveis. *Fernando G. V. Prioste, mestrando em Direito Socioambiental e Sustentabilidade pela PUC-PR, é advogado popular na organização de direitos humanos Terra de Direitos.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
SEPANG - Valentino Rossi analizza la seconda giornata di test ufficiali in Malesia. Il pilota della Yamaha è soddisfatto del 'passo gara' e del comportamento della M1 con le gomme 'finite'. C'è ancora invece da lavorare sul giro secco con le morbide e sul deficit di velocità di punta, lamentato dal numero 46 per tutta la scorsa stagione. "La seconda giornata è stata migliore della prima perché abbiamo lavorato molto sulla moto nuova", spiega Rossi. "Come è ovvio c'è bisogno di esperienza, ma abbiamo provato diversi elementi e il grip è già migliorato". Sono stato piuttosto veloce, soprattutto il 'passo gara' è stato buono. Però, come al solito, tanti piloti vanno fortissimo e anche le altre moto sono migliorate. Quindi dobbiamo continuare a lavorare". Come vedi Jorge Lorenzo nella nuova veste di 'coach'? "E' in grande forma, simpaticissimo e tranquillo. Sembra che quando si smetta di correre si migliori molto come carattere: spero di fare così anch'io un giorno... (scherza n.d.r.). Mi piace parlare con Lorenzo perché esprime sempre commenti interessanti, per questo averlo con noi è importante. Sì, oggi mi ha fatto da coach, mi ha suggerito anche alcune traiettorie. Mi fa strano girarmi e vederlo vestito 'normale' mentre io sono con la tuta. Lo vedo concentrato, interessato e molto coinvolto". Valentino Rossi e Jorge Lorenzo Qual è dunque il bilancio di questa seconda giornata? "Positivo, più positivo di ieri direi. In classifica sono solo decimo. Niente di che. Ma sono contento perché oggi abbiamo lavorato sempre e solo con la moto nuova. Abbiamo imparato un sacco di cose e mi trovo bene, soprattutto con le gomme molto usate. Penso però che ancora non riusciamo a sfruttare tutto il potenziale". Hai provato a fare il 'time attack'? "Devo dire che il mio tempo migliore l'ho segnato con la media, quindi non in condizioni di reale 'time attack'. Il problema è che con la soft non mi sto trovando benissimo...". Tanti piloti dicono questo. "Tanti? Bene. Per me a destra è un po' troppo morbida. Però con le gomme 'finite' abbiamo migliorato tanto, la moto scivola meno: questo è l'aspetto positivo". E sul dritto come va la moto 2020? "Abbiamo fatto uno step in avanti. Il problema è che l'hanno fatto anche gli altri...". Di quello che hai provato cosa ti è piaciuto di più? "I miglioramenti sul grip in accelerazione e in frenata. Abbiamo trovato due o tre cose buone. Però non vi dico cosa... (ride n.d.r.)". Sei rimasto stupito dalle performance di Dani Pedrosa con la KTM? "L'ho visto questa mattina ed era velocissimo. Mi sono detto: 'Cazzo va davvero forte!'. Perchè non immaginare un ritorno sia di Lorenzo che di Pedrosa? Sono anche più giovani di me... E' bello vedere il loro piacere di guidare. A Dani forse la pressione del campionato e tutti i vari impegni correlati pesano, ma scendere in pista gli dà ancora gusto". Domenica sera in Serie A è in programma il derby di Milano, un pronostico? "Mi dispiace molto non essere a San Siro. Secondo me sarà un bel derby. L'Inter ultimamente sta giocando molto bene e potrebbe essere favorita. Il Milano però con l'arrivo di Ibrahimović è migliorato. E poi il derby è una partita a sé, come si dice. Quindi direi un 50 e 50 per la vittoria".	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The earliest turtles evolved up to 300 million years ago, branching off from a group of reptiles more closely related to crocodiles and birds than to lizards and snakes. Lots of turtle species have come and gone since then, including some spectacular ones like the car-sized "coal turtle" or the Koopa-like Meiolania damelipi. But today's turtles face an unusually widespread danger, with about 40% of Earth's 335 known species listed as either vulnerable or threatened or endangered with extinction. They're largely under siege from humans, yet unlike King Koopa, they didn't bring this on themselves — and they're up against more than just a few plumbers and princesses. Poaching for food and the international pet trade are two of turtles' biggest threats, especially for high-demand species like the American bog turtle or the Roti Island snake-necked turtle. Habitat loss is another problem, since many turtle and tortoise species depend on specific ecological niches. Land turtles are also often killed by vehicles on roads, while sea turtles face a litany of risks such as oil spills, boat strikes and fishing gear. Slow growth and reproduction rates can make it even harder to overcome these hurdles. In light of all this, May 23 is World Turtle Day, an annual holiday founded in 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue to raise awareness of turtles' troubles. According to ATR co-founder Susan Tellem, the holiday is meant to generally boost interest in turtles while also specifically reducing ecological pressure from the pet trade. "World Turtle Day was started to increase respect and knowledge for the world's oldest creatures," she says in a press release. "These gentle animals have been around for about 200 million years, yet they are rapidly disappearing as a result of the exotic food industry, habitat destruction, global warming and the cruel pet trade." The ultimate goal, she adds, "is to stop the illegal trade in turtles and tortoises around the world." That's a daunting task, but ATR knows slow and steady wins the race. The group rescues "abandoned or lost" turtles on an individual basis, having helped more than 3,000 since its inception in 1990. The idea of World Turtle Day is to expand this effort globally, spreading the notion of turtles as wildlife rather than pets. And in that spirit, here are some amazing turtle photos, plus a few tips on helping these ancient animals in your local ecosystem: The hawksbill sea turtle has been hunted for its beautiful shell. (Photo: Rich Carey/Shutterstock) Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) Range: Tropical oceans worldwide Status: Critically endangered Threats: Bycatch in fishing gear, boat strikes, oil spills, disturbance of eggs in nest An Indian narrowheaded softshell turtle. (Photo: Krishna Kumar Mishra [CC BY 3.0]/Wikimedia Commons) Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle (Chitra indica) Range: India, Nepal, Bangladesh Status: Endangered Threats: Habitat loss, hunting (for food, materials and folk medicines) A baby bog turtle found in northern New Jersey. (Photo: Rosie Walunas [public domain]/USFWS/Flickr) Bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) Range: Eastern U.S. Status: Critically endangered Threats: Habitat loss, pet trade, invasive plants A snakeneck turtle. (Photo: reggie35 [CC BY-SA 2.0]/Flickr) Eastern long-necked turtle (Chelodina longicollis) Range: Australia Status: Least concern Threats: Road mortality, pet trade Diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin). (Photo: Jay Ondreicka/Shutterstock) Diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) Range: Eastern U.S., Gulf Coast Status: Lower risk/Near threatened Threats: Habitat loss, hunting for food, bycatch in crab traps, pet trade, roads And old male wood turtle. (Photo: Richard Bonnett [CC BY 2.0]/Flickr) Wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) Range: Northeast U.S., southeast Canada Status: Endangered Threats: Habitat loss, pet trade, roads, farming accidents Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) Range: Southeast U.S. Status: Vulnerable Threats: Habitat loss, hunting for food, pet trade, road Alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii). (Photo: Ryan M. Bolton/Shutterstock) Alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) Range: Southern U.S. Status: Vulnerable Threats: Habitat loss, hunting for food, pet trade, bycatch in fishing gear A Kemp's Ridley sea turtle returns to the water after laying a clutch of eggs on the beach at Padre Island. (Photo: JB Manning/Shutterstock) Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) Range: Western Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico Status: Critically endangered Threats: Bycatch in fishing gear, boat strikes, oil spills, disturbance of eggs in nest A Midland painted turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata) basks on a log at Pinery Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. (Photo: Brian Lasenby/Shutterstock) Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) Range: Canada, U.S., Mexico Status: Least concern Threats: Habitat loss, pet trade, roads. Yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) Range: Amazon River Basin Status: Vulnerable Threats: Pet trade, hunting for food, collection of eggs for food Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) swims to the surface to breath air with remora fish. (Photo: Hans Gert Broeder/Shutterstock) Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) Range: Tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide Status: Endangered Threats: Bycatch in fishing gear, boat strikes, oil spills, disturbance of eggs in nest If you'd like to pitch in this World Turtle Day, here are five tips from American Tortoise Rescue (ATR differentiates between turtles and tortoises, but for simplicity they're all called turtles here.) Check out the group's website for more ways to get involved.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Archbishop of Canterbury says fund managers are not doing enough to press for change The archbishop of Canterbury has criticised the investment industry for inaction over the climate crisis and called on fund managers to push companies to reduce their impact on the environment. Justin Welby said fund managers had “not sufficiently stepped up to the plate” to use their ownership of companies to press for change. He said investors should tell firms to help meet targets set by the Paris climate agreement. Welby said: “The situation we find ourselves in has rightly been called a climate emergency. We know it’s unquestionable that investors acting together can influence outcomes on everything, including climate change. “It is in investors’ power to help avert the disastrous consequences – ethical and financial – of failing to achieve the Paris goals.” Welby’s words are his most direct criticism of the fund management industry over the climate emergency. He has argued before that concern over global heating would shake up investment and has encouraged investors to drive change. He made his latest comments in support of a Global Ethical Finance Initiative summit next month in Edinburgh on how to make finance work better for people and the planet. Welby said: “Money is not morally neutral – it can do harm and it can do good. At the very least it is the responsibility of investors to take account of environmental, social and governance factors in their investment decisions and in their stewardship of their assets.” Oil companies, miners, airlines and carmakers are among companies facing increasing criticism over their responsibility for carbon emissions that contribute to global heating. The biggest companies in the US recently conceded they should take responsibility for the environment, worker welfare and ethical dealing as well as making money. The archbishop said funds that track indexes such as the FTSE 100 rather than picking individual shares needed to exert more pressure on companies over the climate crisis. Sign up to the daily Business Today email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk Welby said: “Passive investment … may be the right investment solution for many, but passive stewardship is the answer for no one. All investors can make a difference by engaging and voting determinably in support of the Paris agreement.” BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset management company, has defended its lack of action on the climate emergency by saying most of its funds invest in indexes. BlackRock has lost an estimated $90bn (£73bn) over the past decade by ignoring the financial risk of investing in fossil fuel companies, a report said last month. The archbishop, a former oil industry executive, has said the Church of England was late in switching its own investments away from companies that damage the climate. In its latest move the church voted last year to withdraw investment from companies that do not meet the terms of the Paris agreement by 2023.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Canadian country crooner George Canyon wants to sing from the Conservative party song sheet as a member of Parliament. Canyon, an award-winning singer who has sold more than 300,000 albums, announced Friday that he is seeking the Tory nomination in the new federal riding of Bow River in southern Alberta. He made the announcement on a radio station in High River, the community devastated in June by torrential rain and floods. Canyon helped out during the relief campaign following the disaster. Story continues below advertisement "My wife and I were working alongside all of these volunteers, people being completely giving of themselves – strangers – and I saw that empathy and that service and I said to my wife, 'You know, I really feel that I need to serve more."' Canyon, who lives on a ranch outside the town, said there is no one single political issue that is driving him to throw his cowboy hat into the ring. He said he just wants to ensure that the largely rural area that includes cattle ranches, grain farms, and oil and gas rigs continues to grow and prosper. Canyon, 43, said he doesn't plan to give up his music career and may record a campaign song called "Stand Your Ground." When he sings at concerts he connects with people, he said, and that wouldn't change if he won the Tory nomination or a seat in the Commons and found himself on the political stage. "When I put on a show, we're having a big visit," he said. "I feel I could really represent them by wearing their hearts on my sleeve." Canyon said the date for the Conservative nomination meeting for the new riding has not been set yet and he doesn't know who he will be running against. The sprawling riding includes the communities of Fort Macleod, Claresholm and Brooks and brushes up against the eastern outskirts of Calgary. Story continues below advertisement It does not include the town of High River. The area encompasses parts of the existing ridings of Macleod, which was represented by Conservative Ted Menzies before he retired a few months ago, and Crowfoot, which is represented by Kevin Sorenson, minister of state for finance. Voters in those ridings have a long history of electing Conservative or conservative-minded candidates. In the last two elections, Menzies won more than 77 per cent of the vote, Sorenson more than 83 per cent. Canyon said he will kick off his campaign this weekend, guitar in hand.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
If you are looking for animal and plant cell you’ve come to the right place. We have 19 images about animal and plant cell including images, pictures, photos, wallpapers, and more. In these page, we also have variety of images available. Such as png, jpg, animated gifs, pic art, logo, black and white, transparent, etc. Continue reading →	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
European League of Legends team Unicorns of Love and gaming chair company NEEDforSEAT have announced an extension of their partnership. [perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The EU League of Legends team has provided advertising for NEEDforSEAT, who created special themed chairs with Unicorns of Love colors and branding.[/perfectpullquote] First established in 2016, the agreement saw the Berlin-based team provide advertising for NEEDforSEAT, while the gaming chair maker created special themed chairs with Unicorns of Love colors and branding. The partnership has now been extended by a full year. The deal also specifically includes the MAXNOMIC line of gaming and office chairs, which are among the most widespread in the competitive gaming world. Jos Mallant, CEO for Unicorns of Love, offered a statement on the move: “The gaming chairs by MAXNOMIC® are incredibly comfortable and perfectly suited for prolonged, ergonomic sitting – with these chairs, we’re ideally equipped for the next competitions.” The partnership was brokered by Lagardère Sports and Entertainment, a sports and entertainment subsidiary of Lagardère Group. Lagardère is a multinational media conglomerate based in Paris, and Lagardère’s sports division is the exclusive marketing agency for the Unicorns of Love franchise. [perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The partnership was brokered by Lagardère Sports and Entertainment, a sports and entertainment subsidiary of Lagardère Group.[/perfectpullquote] Thomas Ottl, Manager of Esports for Lagardère Sports, gave a brief statement on the continued partnership: “This is a partnership that really works. We are happy to continue to have such a loyal partner on board in MAXNOMIC® and look forward to our ongoing cooperation in the future.” Unicorns of Love has steadily risen through the ranks of League of Legends teams since its founding in 2013, and now stands as one of the game’s most recognizable brands. The team has also achieved great success, both domestically in the European League Championship Series, and internationally in such competitions as the Intel Extreme Masters tournaments. In spite of its strong presence, Unicorns of Love is also among a number of European franchises with an uncertain future, after League of Legends developer Riot Games announced that franchising would be coming to the North American LCS and Chinese regions, but not to Europe. Riot’s long-term plans for the European region will presumably be revealed later this year, though it certainly behooves the developer to maintain the strong following they’ve cultivated throughout the continent.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A protest movement in Hungary over corruption and an increasingly pro-Russian leadership broke out this week, raising questions about whether the former communist nation is on the verge of becoming the next Ukraine. Hungary is more stable than Ukraine, which has been besieged by sectarian conflict for months, and seems less likely to fall into violent conflict, but growing anti-government demonstrations could become another battleground between Europe and Russia. The wave of Hungarian protests is focused on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s increasingly pro-Russian governance. Many shouted “Europe, Europe!” at Monday’s “Public Outrage Day” protest and one protester told AFP demonstrators "don’t want Orban to take us towards Putin and Russia.” Others chanted for Orban to resign. The chants and gripes with Orban are eerily similar to those Ukraine's Euromaidan protesters lodged against former President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled the country in late February after four months of violent protests over his decision to sign a $15 billion investment deal with Russia and reject a popular bid to move closer to Europe economically. The decision mobilized pro-European Ukrainians and saw a new pro-Western transitional government come to power after Yanukovych was ousted. That largely divided Ukrainians along the line of being either pro-Russian or pro-Western. Some Ukrainians, many of whom are ethnic Russians and live in the heavily Russian east, sought to distance themselves from the pro-Western government. Russia annexed Crimea, a southern Ukraine region with close ties to Russia, arguing it was protecting Russians living there. No shots were fired there, but that wasn't the case in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian rebels took up arms and declared a separatist state. The U.S. and EU accuse Russia of supplying the rebels and directly invading on their behalf. While Hungary was never as close to Russia as Ukraine, an astounding 72 percent of Hungarians said in 2010 most Hungarians are worse off than they were under communist rule when they were intrinsically linked to Russia and the rest of the Eastern Bloc. Like Yanukovych, Orban did not initially seek to deepen ties with Russia early in his tenure as prime minister. In fact, the former anti-communist was intent on moving toward Europe, but he’s since turned toward Russia for economic deals and policy inspiration. Hungary is part of the European Union, but it hasn’t yet adopted the euro, which has maintained a distance between it and the rest of the Eurozone. Photo: Reuters/Bernadett Szabo Orban and the Hungarian parliament, of which Orban’s Fidesz party has a majority two-thirds control, passed a law earlier this month that would allow for a Russian gas pipeline that bypasses Ukraine for Hungary. The EU is starkly opposed. He also signed a $12.5 billion euro deal with Russia to upgrade a nuclear facility in Hungary. The gas deal means Russian giant Gazprom would have an effective monopoly over Hungarian gas, but Orban argues that it will secure Hungarian gas in the future, particularly in light of the Ukrainian crisis. “Small countries benefit from having a role in pipeline transit and for many of these countries, this is cost-free,” Andrej Nosko, a Budapest energy analyst told the Financial Times, but “it all adds up to a more pro-Russian policy than expected, which is worrying.” Critics say both deals solidify Hungary’s energy dependence on Russia and the nuclear plant deal, which was taken out with a loan from Russia, increases Hungary’s already high debt. Those criticisms are similar to those levied on Yanukovych in the wake of his decision to sign his $15 billion investment deal with Russia. Until recently, Orban’s government was largely opposed to Western sanctions on Russia over the Ukrainian crisis, arguing they would hurt the entire global economy. That stirred up objections among European officials, which prompted him to back off. A series of laws and policies that helped suppress political dissent and put pressure on democratic watchdogs have garnered Orban considerable criticism from his European counterparts as well. The U.S. is keeping a keen eye on Orban too. That was made clear when the U.S. put travel bans on six high-level Hungarian officials for corruption. U.S. Charge d’Affaires Andre Goodfriend openly said the alleged corruption was the result of a weakening democracy in Hungary and the ban was a warning from Washington. Despite Western condemnation of Orban’s shift toward authoritarianism, Orban isn't afraid to say he admires Russia's, Turkey's and China’s economic and political systems, which he described as “not Western, not liberal, not liberal democracies, maybe not even democracies, and yet making nations successful,” in a speech in July. He went on to advocate for “parting ways with Western European dogmas [and] making ourselves independent from them.” Orban has been involved in Hungarian politics since it became a democratic nation in 1989 and his Fidesz party remains immensely popular with voters. Fidesz has had a two-thirds majority in parliament for four years and will continue to for another four. Like many other post-Soviet and communist nations, Hungary sits on the seam of East and West. With both sides tugging at that seam, Hungary is bound to be a flashpoint for future tensions. Unlike Yanukovych, Orban showed he would bow to public sentiment if need be when he backed off his Internet tax proposal after protests earlier this month.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Chelsea Manning, whose 35-year prison sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama during his final days in office, has remained an outspoken activist. \| Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for OUT Magazine Chelsea Manning files for U.S. Senate run Chelsea Manning, a transgender woman who was convicted in 2013 of leaking thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks, has filed paperwork to run for the U.S. Senate in Maryland. Manning, whose 35-year prison sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama during his final days in office, has remained an outspoken activist on intelligence and transgender-rights issues. Her case remains deeply controversial, particularly among conservatives, who criticized Obama's decision. Manning would be a primary challenger to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Cardin has served two terms in the Senate and served two decades in the House. He won reelection in 2012 by just over 30 points. POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. President Donald Trump has called Manning an "ungrateful traitor." On Sunday, Manning officially announced her campaign with an ad featuring scenes of Manning in Maryland interspersed with images of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville and protesters clashing with police. "We need to stop expecting that our systems will somehow fix themselves," she said. "We need to actually take the reins of power from them."	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Duration: 9min 36sec Views: 15 490 Submitted: 3 years ago Submitted by: Description: Stunning hot babe is going to the bathroom where pink toy is. She gets on the counter and rides it wild.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Share this article on LinkedIn Email French constructor ORECA has promised that the new Rebellion R13 privateer LMP1 World Endurance Championship contender will be very different from its previous prototype designs. ORECA technical director David Floury revealed on the announcement of the continuation of its relationship with Rebellion Racing that little save for the monocoque will be carried over from its successful 07 LMP2 design. "The concept will be very different from everything we have produced so far," he told Autosport. "The monocoque is the same, but most of the parts will be very different from the LMP2." He explained that the compressed timescale for the new car, which will be raced in the 2018/19 WEC superseason by a roster of drivers including Andre Lotterer, Neel Jani and Bruno Senna, meant it was not possible to "develop, build and homologate a completely new monocoque". The ORECA 07 monocoque has its roots in the tub around which the Rebellion R-One LMP1 was built for the 2014 season, which means it is suitable for a class that has a 100kg lower minimum weight limit than LMP2 (pictured below). Dallara, on the other hand, has built a new monocoque for the BR Engineering BR1 design rather than using the tub from its P217 LMP2 contender. The design of the R13 is nearing completion, according to Floury. "The project started in September, so we only have seven months for design and production," he said. "The design phase is almost complete; some elements are already being built by suppliers. "Every time we get involved in such a tight schedule, I think we should never do that again in the future. "Rebellion was desperate to participate in LMP1 - and we love such challenges!" The new car, which Floury confirmed will be powered by the 4.5-litre normally-aspirated Gibson GL458 engine, is unlikely to hit the track until a few days before the official pre-season WEC test at Paul Ricard at the beginning of April. The Rebellion R13 is scheduled to be unveiled at the Geneva motor show at the start of next month.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
While Saturday's Tax March may not have convinced President Trump to release his returns, the post-election pressure continues with another nationwide rally coming up this weekend, this one in support of public funding for science. And in the days leading up to that, members of congress will be returning to their districts for the start of a two-week recess, during which many of them will likely face blowback from constituents. Below, check out our round-up of town halls, workers' rallies, resistance sing-alongs, ass-kicking workshops and more. Pay Your Fair Share, Goldman Sachs! On Tax Day, a group of activists will convene at Goldman Sachs to demand that the bank pay its fair share in taxes. Organized by Resist Here, Government Sachs, and New York Communities For Change, the event will, according to organizers, raise awareness about Goldman Sachs's role in destroying jobs, evicting families, and profiting from incarceration. FREE, Tuesday, April 18th, 6 p.m. \| Goldman Sachs 200 West Street, Manhattan Make Your Voice Heard—District-Wide Town Hall Last month, we spoke with some constituents of Rep. Dan Donovan, the city's only GOP Congressman, who were furious at the congressman's continued refusal to hold a town hall. This week, advocates with Fight Back Bay Ridge plan to take matters into their own hands by inviting the congressman to his own town hall—an invitation, we're told, he's refused. Whether Donovan joins or not, residents of Staten Island and South Brooklyn are encouraged to come out for discussions of education, environmental sustainability, equality, health care, housing and immigration. FREE, Wednesday, April 19th, 7 p.m. \| Bay Ridge Manor 476 76th Street, Brooklyn Queens March Against Gentrification The Queens Anti-Gentrification Project will be marching to Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer's office to demand that he oppose three current proposals that, according to the project, represent an assault on the neighborhood's longterm residents: the BQX street car, the development of Sunnyside Yards, and the rezoning of Long Island City. Instead, the activists will call on the councilmember to support a city-wide rent freeze and moratorium on upzonings, and for his unconditional opposition to the privatization of the New York City Housing Authority. The group has circulated a petition with more detail about their demands. FREE, Thursday April 20th, 6 p.m. \| 46th Street & Queens Boulevard, Sunnyside Rise Up With Tom Cat Workers: Fight ICE's Anti-Immigrant Audit Brandworkers, a non-profit advocacy group for retail and food employees, is organizing on behalf of local restaurant workers who feel threatened by the administration's growing deportation effort. On Friday, the group will stand in solidarity with employees of Tom Cat, a Long Island City bakery that, according to Brandworkers, is "not safeguarding workers' rights, and setting a bad precedent for how companies should respond to anti-immigrant actions across the country." FREE, Friday, April 21st, 6 a.m. \| 4502 23rd Street 2nd Floor, Long Island City Back In The USSR—Live Karaoke For the Resistance In the third installment of Live Karaoke for the Resistance, the Occasionalist band will take Littlefield with a medley of scream-along worthy tunes from the Talking Heads, Violent Femmes, Cee Lo Green and more. All proceeds will benefit 350.org, the Immigration Defense Project, and the Safe Passage Project. See the full setlist here. $10 advanced, $12 day of, Friday, April 21st, 7:30 p.m. \| Littlefield, 622 Degraw Street, Brooklyn Feminist Self-Defense Workshop According to a UN World's Women Report, one in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives. In the hopes of combating this disturbing trend, and in observance of Sexual Assault Prevention Month, the Young Feminists & Allies organization will be offering a free self-defense workshop in midtown. Hosting the event is Rachel Piazza, a martial artist experienced in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a pioneer in the field of feminist self-defense. FREE with registration, Friday, April 21st, 6:30 p.m. \| Recreational Center 54, 348 East 54th Street, Manhattan March For Science Anyone can Fucking Love Science on Facebook, but it takes a true enthusiast to take that appreciation to the streets. Saturday's highly-anticipated march will bring together scientists and advocates for publicly funded science in a show of solidarity that organizers hope will "feel more like a parade" than a protest. If previous science-based rallies are any indication, expect a whole lot of adorably nerdy signage. RSVP here to join a marching group. FREE, Saturday, April 22nd, 10:30 a.m. \| Central Park West at 62nd Street Close Rikers Rally At City Hall One year after the #CloseRikers campaign launched on the steps of City Hall, the prison reform group will return to lower Manhattan to continue to demand elected officials reduce incarceration in New York City. They'll take a moment to celebrate some recent victories—like the mayor's recent support for shutting down Rikers—but, as the organizers note, "the work is far from done." FREE, Monday, April 24th, 10:30 a.m. \| New York City Hall, 43 Park Row	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A government facility in Piketon, Ohio produced enriched uranium between 1954 and 2001 for both energy and weapons-grade purposes. Several years ago, the Department of Energy (DOE) and a third-party contractor, Fluor-BWXT, began decommissioning the plant. But now a new set of "hands" is being brought in to speed up the work. Well, not hands exactly, but a radiation sensor and a pair of flexible tracks. A small pipe-crawling robot named RadPiper will be unleashed in 15 of the 75 miles of pipes that were once used to make enriched uranium through a gaseous diffusion process According to a press release from Carnegie Mellon, each one-foot segment of pipe needs to have radiation measurements taken to rule out any potentially hazardous amounts of uranium-235 still left over in the pipes. If RadPiper discovers a hazardous section of pipe, it has to be removed and decontaminated. Clean sections of piping can remain in place and will be demolished with the rest of the building. Fluor-BWXT has already decommissioned one of the three process warehouses on the Ohio site, which contain 75 miles of piping all together. The first process warehouse demolition took the company three years to finish, not least because humans (wearing protective gear) had to measure each foot-long segment of the pipes for elevated levels of uranium-235 from the outside of the pipes. The humans took 1.4 million measurements to thoroughly assess the first process warehouse. RadPiper should expedite the process significantly and cut down on potentially harmful exposure to humans. Another benefit: RadPiper's measurements are more accurate since they will be taken from inside the pipes. The university is seeking a patent for the sensor on top of RadPiper, which uses a sodium iodide sensor to count gamma rays and two disc-shaped blinders that prevent the sensor from measuring radiation beyond the one-foot section of pipe that the bot is measuring. RadPiper was funded by $1.4 million from the DOE, which worked closely with Carnegie Mellon University and Fluor-BWXT to build a prototype and test it on a quick-turnaround schedule. Now, the DOE expects that RadPiper will save labor costs by an eight-to-one ratio. "DOE officials estimate the robots could save tens of millions of dollars in completing the characterization of uranium deposits at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, and save perhaps $50 million at a similar uranium enrichment plant in Paducah, Kentucky," Carnegie Mellon wrote. RadPiper and a second robot of the same name will be able to crawl through 30- and 42-inch-diameter pipes to take its measurements. In some sections of the piping, humans will still be required to take measurements from outside the pipes. But this little robot is equipped with a fisheye lens and a lidar sensor to take corners and identify obstructions in the pipe ahead. "After completing a run of pipe, the robot automatically returns to its launch point," Carnegie Mellon said.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
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Back on January 29th, the UFC released a whole slew of fighters between their heavyweight and lightweight divisions. It looked, for the moment, as though the lighter weightclasses had been spared. It doesn't look that way now. While not an official announcement, the UFCFIGHTERSiNFO Twitter account, which monitors the UFC.com website and it's roster, has delivered the news that a few names from the lighter weight classes have been removed from the UFC's database. That usually only means one thing. The biggest of those names is Scott Jorgensen, who sent out a Tweet just last week declaring his free agency. It looks like the UFC doesn't plan on being part of that bidding process. Free agent — Scott jorgensen (@Scottjorgensen) February 5, 2016 Jorgensen's UFC run has been less than stellar after a strong stint as a WEC mainstay. While he started out 2-0 after the UFC transplanted the bantamweight division, he's gone on a 2-8 run since/ Most of those losses have been to top ranked competition, but his most recent defeat at the hands of Alejandro Perez was especially ugly, as Jorgensen went down with a leg injury early, and tried to battle through the pain before the referee finally stopped the fight. At just 33 years old and just hitting the end of his prime, it seems likely that Jorgensen could keep his career going for a few more years, but it's difficult to imagine him getting back to the UFC. Also apparently on his way out is another longtime bantamweight veteran, George Roop. This will be the end of Roop's second UFC stint, having fought as a lightweight for the promotion back in 2008-2009. He came back over as a featherweight in the WEC and put up a 4-6 record over the last 5 years with the promotion. Most recently he suffered back to back losses against Rob Font and Takeya Mizugaki. He's sitting in just about the same place as Jorgensen right now. A year older, at 34, but with a relatively similar amount of experience and a similar record. I wouldn't be shocked if he keeps fighting, but it'd be a bit of a surprise if he was back in the Octagon down the road. Otherwise, it looks like the UFC has also let go of "The Korean Bulldozer" Yui Chul Nam. Yui Chul went 1-2 for the UFC with all his fights going to split decision. Even at 34 and with a solid 9-year career already behind him, he could probably get a couple regional wins and be a callup for the UFC's next card in Asia.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Alabama has done a wonderful thing in outlawing abortion. I want to commend her legislature and her governor for doing the right thing, and every thoughtful Christian should be humming under their breath: “in Birmingham they love the governor, we all did what we could do.” There will be many occasions in the months to come to write more about this issue and the pending showdown it represents, but I wanted to say just one thing about all of it at the outset. In 1973, the Roe decision was a federal power move, calculated to pressure the states. Unfortunately, all the states went along with this ghoulish decision, including those states which would have continued to outlaw abortion if it had been left up to them. They were willing to outlaw abortion, but were not willing to fight with the federal government over their right to outlaw abortion. But thanks to a generation of pro-life activism, the issue has been kept alive (unlike millions of children), and it appears that a number of states are now showing a willing to have that fight. What the Georgia heartbeat bill does, and what Alabama has just now done, is calculated to reverse the pressure. Instead of the feds pressuring the states, we are seeing the states pressuring the feds. The Supreme Court needs to be dealing with a host of incoming lawsuits, and these lawsuits need to be emanating from numerous states that are showing themselves to be intransigent on this issue. The more states the better. Stop deferring to Roe. It is no more settled law than the Dred Scott case is.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Israeli military on Saturday located a cross-border attack tunnel from southern Lebanon into Israeli territory that it says was dug by the Hezbollah terror group. It was the second tunnel that the Israel Defense Forces has fully exposed — precisely located, drilled into, and began preparing for destruction — since the start of its operation to find and destroy such underground passages. The army has also identified a third tunnel, which it says extends from the Lebanese village of Ramyeh, but has yet to take the aforementioned steps. The fresh tunnel discovered Saturday, whose location has been kept secret for security reasons, has been fitted with explosives in order to ensure that it cannot be used by the Iran-backed Hezbollah, army spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told reporters. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up According to the spokesman, excavation of the tunnel was being conducted until recently. “It’s a fresh tunnel,” he said. The military did not offer additional details regarding the size of the tunnel. Conricus said the tunnel discovered Saturday, like the others identified by Israel thus far, was “not yet operational and does not yet pose an imminent threat to the surrounding Israeli communities.” Saturday saw heavy rain and dense fog throughout Israel, turning the ground along the border where soldiers are operating to a thick mud. According to IDF officials, the inclement weather is making the army’s search efforts more difficult, but they are nevertheless continuing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the military for finding the new tunnel. “Methodically and determinedly, we are destroying Hezbollah’s tunnel weapon. This action is just beginning and will require cool heads and patience. We will continue working until its end,” he said in a statement. The military said it believes the tunnels were meant to be used by Hezbollah as a surprise component of an opening salvo in a future war, to allow “entire battalions” into Israel, alongside a mass infiltration of operatives above-ground and the launching of rockets, missiles, and mortar shells at northern Israel. The Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Northern Shield, a concentrated effort to uncover and destroy border-crossing Hezbollah attack tunnels, on Tuesday. That day, troops uncovered their first tunnel, which originated inside the Lebanese village of Kafr Kila and penetrated Israeli territory south of the town of Metulla. In addition, the military identified a second tunnel, which it said entered Israeli territory near the town of Zarit, across from the Lebanese village of Ramyeh. The IDF struggled to enter the tunnel, despite knowing its approximate location, and called on the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL and the Lebanese military to destroy the tunnel on the Lebanese side of the border. As in the tunnel near Metulla, on Saturday the military said it had fully exposed the third tunnel at its undisclosed location. Conricus said the new tunnel was located along the Blue Line — the armistice line that acts as a de facto border between Israel and Lebanon — it was “where we expected to find it.” The spokesperson reiterated the military’s position that it held Lebanon and UNIFIL responsible for failing to prevent Hezbollah from digging such tunnels, in what Israel says is a violation of UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War and required all armed groups besides the Lebanese military from operating south of the country’s Litani River. “We expect the international community and UNIFIL to take action,” Conricus said. The spokesperson also discussed an incident earlier in the day along the Israeli-Lebanese border, in which Israel said three suspected Hezbollah members approached Israeli territory in an apparent effort to interfere with Israel’s tunnel-busting efforts. Near the Lebanese village of Meiss al-Jabal, across from the Israeli town of Yiftah, the Israeli military had deployed a number of sensors along the border. Conricus said the sensors were deployed past Israel’s border fence but still on the Israeli side of the Blue Line and thus within Israeli territory. “According to our understanding, three Hezbollah terrorists tried to use the adverse weather conditions to destroy or take the sensors that we deployed,” he said. “Forces responded with fire. The terrorists fled, and they did not succeed in taking the sensors.” Lebanon’s official NNA news agency said Israeli forces fired shots in the air after they were surprised because of heavy fog by a routine Lebanese army patrol. A senior Israeli official on Thursday said the tunnels discovered inside Israel were large enough to be used by “entire battalions” to enter Israeli territory in order to “carry out killing sprees and kidnappings and to capture Israeli towns and villages.” The number of tunnels the IDF believes the Lebanese terror group has dug into Israel, as well as other information connected to the army’s tunnel-busting operation, cannot be published by order of the military censor. Israeli officials have indicated that the IDF may operate within Lebanese territory if necessary to destroy the tunnels. An IDF incursion into Lebanon could spark a major confrontation with Hezbollah, which bills itself as a defender of Lebanon against Israeli aggression. Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Some services are theoretically safe. For instance, Apple's iMessage is designed in such a way that even Apple can't obtain the keys and crack codes. That sets up a potential conflict, however: what happens if Chinese courts order these services to fork over keys that they can't possibly deliver? While the odds of that happening aren't high (especially as the companies bring a lot of money to the country), they're high enough that they could make some tech giants uncomfortable. No matter what, there are some firms that now have to sacrifice your privacy if they want to continue operating in the world's most populous nation. [Image credit: Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images]	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
In most professions, performing a task dozens of times before you get it right is not something to brag about. Film-making is not like most professions. For the upcoming release The Mummy, Tom Cruise insisted on filming an action sequence 64 times in a zero-gravity environment just to make it as realistic as possible. When we typically discuss scenes or shots that require numerous takes, however, it’s usually about directors instead of actors. Stanley Kubrick was famous for it, and reportedly made Cruise walk through a door 90 times while filming Eyes Wide Shut. David Fincher has earned a similar reputation, claiming in a recent survey to have once used up to 107 takes to get a shot right. It sounds like a nightmare for the cast and crew, who are operating purely on faith in their director, but actors continue to flock to such film-makers because their methods seem to work. Kubrick famously never made a bad film, and Fincher hasn’t yet. Here are the most famous scenes that took a mysteriously high number of takes to get right. Decide for yourself if they were worth it. The Shining – the ‘shine’ scene Perhaps mimicking the obsessive nature of his protagonist, Kubrick shot every scene in The Shining multiple times. The famous sequence in which Shelley Duvall waves Jack Nicholson off with a bat while he advances on her? They filmed it 127 times. Kubrick shot 60 takes of a wordless scene in which the camera simply pushes in on Scatman Crothers in his room, eventually prompting the 70-year-old actor to break down in tears. Most fascinating is the pantry scene in which Crothers’s character discusses his ability to “shine” with young Danny. It’s a fairly straightforward scene of dialogue, yet Kubrick required 148 takes to get it right. Unsurprisingly, the boy who played Danny never acted in films again. Spider-Man – the tray catch These days, comic-book movies rely almost entirely on CGI, but when Sam Raimi was making the first Spider-Man, he used practical effects as much as possible. In this regard, there was no more important scene than the one in which Peter Parker first discovers his powers. It had to feel real. In the high school cafeteria, Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane slips and her tray goes flying up in the air. Tobey Maguire catches her in one arm, then uses the other to catch her tray and each item of food, all without a single spill. Without the use of CGI, it took 156 takes to perfect, but it gives the film a realism that the most advanced visual effects in the world can’t replicate. The Usual Suspects – the lineup Sometimes, multiple takes result in a scene you could never have expected. For this film’s famous police lineup sequence, in which a group of thieves meet each other and plan a heist, director Bryan Singer wanted a serious, dangerous tone, but the actors were having too good a time in each other’s company. Numerous takes were spoiled by corpsing, another was interrupted by comically timed flatulence. In the end, Singer reversed course and used one of the sillier takes in the final cut. It worked perfectly. The scene is now an iconic depiction of camaraderie among thieves, unintentionally reinforcing Kevin Spacey’s voiceover that accompanies it: “You don’t put guys like that into a room together.” Oldboy – the fight scene Comparatively, the famous fight scene in Chan-wook Park’s twisty gangster movie wasn’t shot that many times. It only took 18 takes. But considering just what transpires in the long tracking shot, it must have felt like a lifetime. Choi Min-sik, playing a man who has been imprisoned for decades and is now seeking revenge on his captor, encounters 25 armed men in a narrow hallway. In a single four-minute shot, he takes them all out with only a hammer, suffering endless punches, kicks, and even a knife to the back in the process. In the context of the story, it’s depicted as a miraculous act of physicality. Filming it 18 times may have been an even more impressive achievement. City Lights – the flower scene Charlie Chaplin was a perfectionist when it came to physical comedy. Often stumbling and bumbling on-screen as the Tramp, Chaplin’s movements were actually precise and rehearsed to perfection. He brought the same dedication and precision to his less physically demanding scenes. In The Gold Rush, he filmed the sequence of him eating a shoe 63 times. It wasn’t real footwear, of course, but rather a prop made out of licorice, and Chaplin had to be rushed to the hospital after consuming so much sugar. Anything for his art. But the shoe sequence was a walk in the park compared to another scene in which a beautiful young girl offers him a flower. The simple closeup of her speaking the line, “Flower, sir?” was shot 340 times. It’s a particularly astounding number considering City Lights was a silent film. Dragon Lord – the hacky sack Jackie Chan’s dedication and physicality over the course of his long career is unmatched. Photograph: Adrian Wyld/AP Legend has it that a scene in this early Jackie Chan film required 2,900 takes. The famous “shuttlecock sequence”, which depicts a sporting match of a game that’s a cross between soccer and hack sack, is composed of dozens of shots, unlike other sequences on this list. According to cinematic lore, one shot alone, in which Chan makes a miraculous, game-winning kick, took hundreds of attempts. Chan’s dedication and physicality over the course of his long career are unmatched. It earned him a Lifetime Achievement Oscar earlier this year, but something tells me this record – 2,900 takes for a single scene – might be more meaningful. Tom Cruise, eat your heart out.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
STONE HARBOR, N.J. -- Cameron York and Bobby Brink are a big part of the future of the Philadelphia Flyers, but the next stop on their journey to the NHL is at the college level. York, a defenseman chosen with the No. 14 pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, will play at the University of Michigan. Brink, a forward selected in the second round (No. 34), is headed for the University of Denver. York, who had 65 points (14 goals, 51 assists), a single-season record for a defenseman with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team, wants to prove his defensive game is close to the equal of his offensive play. At 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, he'll need to add muscle, but do so in such a way that it doesn't affect his mobility and speed. "Physically I'm not the biggest guy, but I want to get in the weight room as much as I can and gain as much weight as possible so I can be defensively even better," he said. "Try to bulk up as much as I can to play against the big, strong guys in the League. … In this day and age, size doesn't matter as much. But you need to be able to handle big, heavy guys. Hopefully I'm around 180 (pounds) by the end of the summer and we'll go from there." Flyers development coach Nick Schultz said he didn't know much about York beyond the big numbers he had with the NTDP but was impressed by what he saw during development camp in June. "He's pretty smooth," Schultz said. "He looks smooth, good player. He looks like a pretty special player. … He's pretty good defensively as well. He's got a great stick, good player. Just a matter of watching his game, picking up little things that can help him in any way you can." Video: York describes emotions, reaction after Flyers pick York said he liked a lot of the things he heard from working with Schultz and development coach Kjell Samuelsson, each a former NHL defenseman. "Just trying to take everything in like a sponge, learn as much as I can," York said. "If I take away one or two things from here that's a positive. Just trying to take away as much as I can." Brink (5-8, 159) has similar goals to York as far as adding size and strength during the offseason and into his first college season. "Just keep working on putting on some weight, get stronger, keep working on getting faster," he said. "College does that, develops players like that really well." Brink's size wasn't a factor last season with Sioux City of the United States Hockey League; he was second in the league with 35 goals, and his average of 1.58 points per game was best among USHL players who played more than 25 games. "Our scouts certainly talked about his competitive nature," Flyers development coach John Riley said. "He can shoot a puck, he's very coachable, he's worked hard. … He's a competitive little guy, he skates hard, he can shoot a puck. His numbers are impressive." Now it's up to York and Brink to continue to put impressive numbers on and off the ice. "We talk with all these guys about their general growth as people and hockey players," Riley said. "Just try to help them get better in all areas of the game, help them become better 200-foot players." --- Listen: New episode of NHL Draft Class presented by adidas	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
La imagen que obsesiona a Brasil desde hace meses, la del expresidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva entrando en la cárcel, está un poco más próxima. El líder izquierdista sufrió este miércoles un durísimo revés judicial después de que tres magistrados de un Tribunal de Porto Alegre no solo ratificasen por unanimidad su condena por un delito de corrupción sino que incluso aumentasen la pena de 9 a 12 años de prisión. Lula tendrá muy difícil llegar a las elecciones presidenciales del próximo octubre, para las que era el candidato favorito, y queda bajo la amenaza de ir a la cárcel en las próximas semanas. Los mercados reaccionaron con euforia a la decisión judicial y la Bolsa de São Paulo se disparó. Mientras, el Partido de los Trabajadores (PT) anunció en una nota que Lula sigue siendo su candidato y denunció que su condena es una maniobra "golpista" de los mismos sectores políticos, judiciales y mediáticos que el año pasado impulsaron la destitución de la anterior presidenta, Dilma Rousseff. Miles del militantes del PT se manifestaron en el centro de São Paulo, la mayor ciudad del país, en un acto en el que compareció el propio Lula para insistir en que no desistirá de su candidatura a la presidencia. Casi todo el mundo en Brasil, incluidos los seguidores de Lula, contaba con una derrota judicial del expresidente en Porto Alegre, pero el desenlace fue más allá de lo esperado. Los miembros del tribunal de apelación fueron unánimes y acabaron incluso endureciendo la sentencia emitida el pasado julio por el juez Sérgio Moro, cabeza visible de la mayor investigación por corrupción en el país y a quien Lula siempre ha atribuido intenciones políticas. La sentencia también implica que Lula, a quien todas las encuestas sitúan con una amplia ventaja para las elecciones de octubre, quede declarado inelegible. El líder del PT puede presentar un recurso para aplazar la ejecución de las penas ante el mismo tribunal que le ha condenado. Se trata de una solicitud de explicación de la sentencia y los tres magistrados ya han anunciado que, tras ese trámite, pedirán que la pena se ejecute de inmediato. A Lula le quedaría entonces la última bala, pedir el amparo del Tribunal Supremo. Los magistrados avalaron los argumentos del juez Moro para concluir que Lula recibió un apartamento triplex en una playa del litoral de São Paulo como un soborno de la constuctora OAS, beneficiaria de contratos de la petrolera pública Petrobras. Los jueces rechazaron las alegaciones de la defensa de que ni Lula ni su familia llegaron nunca a ocupar la vivienda y que de hecho no existe ningún documento que pruebe que el expresidente es su propietario. Pero los magistrados replicaron que hay numerosas pruebas de que el inmueble estaba reservado para la familia de Lula y que incluso se realizaron obras de reforma en él para adaptarlo a las solicitudes de sus futuros ocupantes. El tribunal, como antes había hecho Moro, dio también toda la credibilidad a la confesión premiada del expresidente de la constructora OAS Leo Pinheiro, quien desveló el acuerdo para regalar el apartamento a Lula. "La OAS fue el testaferro del verdadero titular del inmueble [Lula]", sentenció el magistrado João Pedro Gebran Neto, quien también consideró que existen "pruebas más allá de lo razonable de que el presidente fue uno de los principales artífices, sino el principal" del sistema de corrupción creado a través de los contratos de la Petrobras. Ese sistema, según los jueces, implicaba el pago de sobornos para financiar al PT y hacer favores personales a algunos de sus dirigentes. Otro de los jueces, Lenadro Paulsen, argumentó que Lula estaba perfectamente al tanto de los acuerdos para el pago de comisiones ilegales por parte de las contratistas de la petrolera. Tanto los magistrados como la fiscalía insistieron en negar que el proceso tenga un carácter político, como vienen denunciando Lula y sus seguidores. "No juzgamos al hombre o al personaje, reconocido estadista, si no a quien cometió delito", señaló Gebran Neto, quien, no obstante, insistió en que los crímenes son más graves por el hecho de que fuesen cometidos por una persona que fue presidente de la República, ya que eso supone una "desestabilización del orden democrático". El fiscal, Mauricio Gotardo, criticó también duramente la campaña del PT para denunciar el juicio contra Lula, con protestas públicas que se han repetido en los dos últimos días en Porto Alegre. El representante del ministerio público denunció que el PT creó una "tropa de choque" que usó prácticas "próximas al delito de coacción" con el único propósito de "perpetuar un proyecto político personal". La larguísima sesión del tribunal, de más de seis horas, fue retransmitida por televisión e Internet a un país expectante ante una decisión crucial para su futuro político. Esa sensación se trasladó a las calles de algunas ciudades, comenzando por Porto Alegre, donde miles de militantes del PT habían empezado a llegar el lunes para defender a su líder. Mientras el tribunal leía la sentencia, Lula acudía a sus orígenes, al local del Sindicato de Metalúrgicos de São Paulo, donde comenzó a fraguar su liderazgo. Su futuro parece cada vez más incierto, pero la víspera ya había avisado: “Solo una cosa me va a sacar de hacer lo que estoy haciendo: el día que me muera”.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
New Delhi: Congress President Rahul Gandhi during an interaction with the eminent academicians at Siri Fort Auditorium, in New Delhi, Saturday, Sep 22, 2018. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav) New Delhi: Congress President Rahul Gandhi during an interaction with the eminent academicians at Siri Fort Auditorium, in New Delhi, Saturday, Sep 22, 2018. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav) Interacting with academics and teachers from across the country, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that institutions such as the Supreme Court and Election Commission were being systematically captured by the RSS as they have realised that they cannot win elections repeatedly. Saying that India cannot be run on one single idea, Rahul said the autonomy of educational institutions and freedom of teachers would be restored if the Congress returns to power at the Centre. The Indian teaching system, he said, should be allowed to have its own voice and express its own opinion. Rahul also spoke against contractual system of appointment of teachers, arguing there would be no harmony in the classroom if the teachers are not given a vision of their future. He favoured allocation of 6 per cent of GDP to education and backed the public education system. “I am not saying that there is no space for private institutions. There has to be space for private institutions but the guiding light, the foundation, the superstructure has to be the public education system,” he said. Attacking the present dispensation, he said teachers are feeling pressured because an ideology is being imposed on them. “There are two visions of India. Our vision of India is that India is the people who live in it India is all of us. So for our vision, the only way to understand India is to talk to India…The RSS vision of India and Amit Shah has said it. He said ‘yeh sone ki chidiya hain’…meaning it is a product. For them India is a product and the product has to be monetised. It has to be utilised and they will decide who is going to utilise and monetise the product. That is the RSS,” he said. He said the RSS has understood that they cannot win the electoral battle again and again. “So now what they are doing …what they are saying is that elections will come and elections will go…let us capture all of India’s institutions…That is what is going on and that is why you are feeling pressured. Because the educational institutions, the Supreme Court, the Election Commission all these are systematically being captured,” he said. “The idea is there should be no institution that does not have the tentacles of the RSS inside,” he said, adding that he heard RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat saying some time ago that “we are going to organise the whole nation.” 📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
YouTube has banned the official channel of The Daily Mail, one of the United Kingdom’s longest-running tabloid newspapers. Users navigating to the newspaper’s official YouTube page as of Saturday evening (EST) are greeted by a page informing them that the account has been suspended for violating “community guidelines.” The newspaper, founded in 1896, is a frequent target of the British left for its conservative positions. The paper backed the campaign for Brexit in 2016. Links to previous videos from the official Daily Mail account are no longer operational, instead directing users to blank videos featuring an “account terminated” message. Military dad surprises his son with Down’s syndrome after being away for months https://t.co/UOLbm6JP1I pic.twitter.com/4JTUBmUPzW — Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) August 2, 2016 Virgin Trains, the rail line run by Richard Branson, attempted to withdraw the Daily Mail from their onboard shops due to alleged “concern over their editorial positions,” it was reported this January. The decision was later reversed, with Branson saying the company should not “must not be seen to be censoring what our customers read and influencing their freedom of choice.” We have reached out to YouTube’s parent company, Google, for comment. UPDATE: The account was restored – with no explanation offered – early on Sunday morning London-time. Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter, Gab.ai and add him on Facebook. Email tips and suggestions to [email protected].	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Every major Internet service provider (ISP) in the UK has introduced a filter that will block ‘adult content’. This is not just pornography but anything deemed unsuitable for under 18s, including websites about alcohol, smoking and politics. What gets blocked varies from ISP to ISP and lots of sites get blocked by mistake. Although ISP filters are not on by default, they are targeted at whole homes, meaning adults and children have the same filtering. They also often provide broad and misleading categories like “social media” that block blogs. Mobile operators still have default-on filters still make it dificult to switch filters off. And nobody is very clear that filters are imperfect, won't help with problems like bullying, can get in the way of everyday activities and will not provide genuine safety. In short, they are being oversold. Open Rights Group believes that parents shouldn’t be guilt-tripped into switching filters on. On this website, you can find out more about why filters are bad for the Internet, what to do if your website is blocked and how you can help keep your children safe online. This was a crowd-sourced project and we’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who donated. We’d also like to thank internet service provider Andrews & Arnold Ltd for sponsoring this film and supporting ORG’s project to check for blocked websites: blocked.org.uk	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Salem, Ore. - Opening statements took place Wednesday in a $40 million medical malpractice trial in Oregon state court over claims that a doctor’s delay in performing an emergency Cesarean section caused a child to be born with permanent brain damage. The parents of 7-year-old Maverick Ramseyer sued Dr. Denis Dalisky in 2011 alleging that his failure to order a C-section quickly enough after Ramseyer’s heart rate dropped to dangerously low levels resulted in him developing cerebral palsy, which an attorney for Elizabeth and Derrick Ramseyer told jurors would require a lifetime of costly medical care. "It's never going to get better," said Kenneth Suggs of Janet Jenner & Suggs LLC while detailing the extent of Maverick’s brain damage to the jury, according to a Courtroom View Network webcast of the proceedings. Elizabeth Ramseyer was two-weeks overdue in December 2007, when she was admitted to Silverton Hospital, according to the Ramseyers' complaint. Suggs told jurors Dalisky ordered the use of dangerously high levels of childbirth induction drugs and did so mostly from his home while directing hospital nurses over the phone. Ramseyer was instructed to push before she was sufficiently dilated, which caused Maverick to go into distress and his heart rate to repeatedly dip below normal, Suggs told the jury. Dalisky finally ordered a C-section when the heart rate dropped to a dangerously low rate for nearly 8-minutes. By then Maverick had inhaled fecal material and been deprived of oxygen for long enough to cause brain damage, according to Suggs. Suggs argued that both the decision to manage Ramseyer’s birth remotely and to not immediately order a C-section based on the information relayed to Dalisky fell below the standard of care. "What would a reasonable doctor do?" Suggs asked the jury. "A reasonable doctor now would come see the patient. A reasonable doctor would evaluate the patient. And a reasonable doctor would deliver the baby because you have no idea how long this is going to go." Suggs told the jury that while $40 million in damages may seem high, that amount is necessary to adequately provide decades of medical care for a child with severe neurological disabilities. Cerebral palsy affects muscle coordination and emotional development, and Suggs said Maverick will require a range of expensive therapies and equipment like braces for years to come. "We're going to ask you to award enough money so that those things can be afforded after he becomes 18," Suggs said. "The parents have no stake in this. It's all for Maverick." Representing Dalisky, John Hart of Hart Wagner LLP told jurors that his client acted properly during a delivery with unexpected complications, and that the extent of Maverick’s disabilities can’t be fully determined until he is older. Hart argued that periodic dips in a baby’s heart rate like those experienced by Maverick, known as variable decelerations, are common when labor is induced with drugs, and that they don’t always indicate a baby is in distress. "They are so common that we could go to any hospital in Oregon right now and see variable decelerations," Hart said. Dalisky promptly ordered a C-section as soon as he had information showing Maverick was in distress, according to Hart, who told the jury that doing so any earlier would have posed a risk to the mother. Hart disputed the Ramseyers’ claims that Maverick needs lifelong care, describing him as a normal 7-year-old who participates in taekwondo and plays soccer. He also called into question the credibility of expert witnesses retained by the plaintiffs who had never physically examined Maverick. "We're shocked that now all these doctors who have never seen Maverick are going to come in and explain why he needs lifelong care." The trial before Judge Vance day is expected to last up to two weeks. Attorneys for the parties did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CVN late Wednesday evening. The Ramseyers are represented by Kenneth M. Suggs of Janet Jenner & Suggs LLC and by Laura Kalur of Kalur Law. Dalisky is represented by John E. Hart of Hart Wagner LLP. The case is Ramseyer v. Dalisky, case number 11C22122, in Marion County Circuit Court.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Brent Faiyaz is having a big year with his flawless hook on GoldLink's "Crew" and work with Sonder, and now the Maryland native is building on that momentum with his debut album Sonder Son. The project features 13 tracks and will highlight the singer's undeniable vocals. He's currently on tour with Sonder, with upcoming stops in Chicago, Seattle, and Los Angeles. Check out the full tracklist for Sonder Son below. The project is due out Oct. 13 via Lost Kids. Artwork by Pvtso 1. "Home" 2. "Gang Over Luv" 3. "Burn One (Interlude)" 4. "First World Problems / Nobody Carez" 5. "Missin Out" 6. "Stay Down" 7. "L.A." 8. "Talk 2 U" 9. "Make Luv" 10. "Sonder Son (Interlude)" 11. "So Far Gone / Fast Life Bluez" 12. "Needed" 13. "All I Want”	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
To have your child hear you you need to have their attention. In order to have their attention you need to be in control of as many of their senses as possible, sight being the most powerful. When we want to be certain that our children are paying attention and listening, we have them stop what they are doing and look at our faces (look into my eyes) as we speak. That gives them time to detach from the activity they are currently in and guarantees that there is no excuse for not hearing what is being said to them. Also having them repeat things back at help to ingrain what you are saying. Remember, when they do the same thing over and over, despite being told not to. They aren't failing to listen, they are likely to be testing that your rules are always consistent.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Dan-Bunkering har ifølge sagens oplysninger skaffet jetbrændstof til et russisk firma, som ifølge russiske myndigheder har forsynet Ruslands kampfly i Syrien. Kampfly, der gennem flere år har fløjet bombetogter til støtte for den syriske præsident Bashar al-Assad. Handler med jetbrændstof til anvendelse i Syrien er ulovlige for europæiske virksomheder. EU’s regeringschefer vedtog nemlig i 2014 sanktioner, der forbød at sælge, levere eller overføre jetbrændstof til brug i Syrien. Sanktioner, der blev indført for at forhindre Bashar al-Assads angreb på civilbefolkningen i Syrien. Dan-Bunkering er hverken sigtet eller tiltalt i USA eller i Danmark. Og i en mail til DR den 1. april skriver virksomheden, at "Dan-Bunkering ikke (er) genstand for juridiske undersøgelser hverken i Danmark eller i andre lande." Dan-Bunkering afviser, at firmaet har handlet i strid med EU’s regler, men Dan-Bunkering har ikke svaret DR på, om virksomheden har været involveret i leverancer af jetbrændstof, der er endt i Syrien.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
On this glacier walk and south coast sightseeing tour you will go on a safe and easy walk on crampons up onto the ice field of Solheimajokull glacier. The drive from Reykjavik takes about two hours and takes you past Eyjafjallajokull volcano who famously erupted in 2010 disrupting air traffic all over Europe. The glacier walk will take place on Solheimajokull which is an outlet glacier from Myrdalsjokull glacier. You will be given cramptons on your shoes upon arrival which makes the glacier walk easy and safe. Experienced guides will will go over the safety procedures with you and teach you how to use the equipment used in the tour. On the way back to Reykjavik stops will be made at two of the most scenic waterfalls in Iceland. the powering Skogarfoss waterfall and the picturesque Seljalandfoss where you can walk behind it.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Getty Images On Tuesday, Patriots safety Nate Ebner announced that he would be taking time off from football this offseason in order to train with the U.S. rugby sevens team with an eye on making the team that will compete in the Summer Olympics in Rio this August. It’s the first time that rugby sevens will be an Olympic event and Ebner said on a conference call that the possibility of pursuing “your first passion” at that level was too much for him to pass up. Ebner didn’t play football until his junior year at Ohio State because of his rugby pursuits and said that coach Bill Belichick understands that passion, although there was still some uneasiness involved in asking for the time off. “Yeah, of course. I’m going to miss a few things that I don’t want to but at the end of the day it’s a really big opportunity for me,” Ebner said. “When it comes to my personal life it’s something that I don’t want to regret not trying to do, and I don’t know that if I didn’t try it that it wouldn’t have been something that I would’ve strongly regretted. At the end of the day I’m kind of living with no regrets and it’s something that was important to me and that’s really all that it took to think about for me to kind of make that decision.” If Ebner makes the team — he says he’s “absolutely not guaranteed a spot” — he’ll rejoin the Patriots in mid-August. While he’ll be missing time until then, Ebner thinks the rugby training will “help me with everything I do from the standpoint of tackling, conditioning” during his absence and it’s hard to imagine he’ll be in anything but top condition after several months of training for the highest level of competition.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
In what may have been a technical glitch or a clever joke, Apple’s digital voice assistant Siri referred to CNN host Chris Cuomo as Fredo — the weak-minded Corleone brother from The Godfather movies — on Tuesday before the anomaly was apparently fixed. Apple users began noticing the glitch Tuesday afternoon when they asked the question, “Siri, how old is Chris Cuomo?” Siri responded by saying that “Fredo Cuomo is 49 years old.” The display also referred to the CNN host as “Fredo Cuomo.” Asked Siri how old Chris Cuomo is… I'm dying. pic.twitter.com/IJDdEYL8pK — Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) August 13, 2019 Videos of users testing their Apple devices quickly sprung up, confirming the Siri glitch was widespread. By Tuesday evening, the mistake was apparently fixed and Siri was referring the Chris Cuomo by his correct name. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chris Cuomo was caught on video Sunday berating a man at bar who had called him “Fredo.” Cuomo launched into a profane diatribe, accusing the man of using a racial epithet against Italians. “Fredo is from The Godfather, he was a weak brother,” the CNN anchor said. “Any of you Italian? Are you Italian? It’s a fucking insult to your people. It’s an insult to your fucking people. It’s like the n-word for us. Is that a cool fucking thing?” The clip quickly went viral and even elicited a reaction from President Donald Trump, who wrote, “I thought Chris was Fredo also.” I thought Chris was Fredo also. The truth hurts. Totally lost it! Low ratings @CNN https://t.co/yBpGjt4N1T — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2019 The president’s 2020 campaign also began selling “Fredo Unhinged” T-shirts on Tuesday. Get your commemorative #FredoCuomo Unhinged shirt today! We only have a limited supply of the shirt, which was inspired by the epic & historic viral video of @CNN's @ChrisCuomo meltdown!https://t.co/Iv8jqnIDIk — Brad Parscale (@parscale) August 13, 2019 CNN spokesman Matt Dornic defended Cuomo, saying on Twitter: “Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup. We completely support him. Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup. We completely support him. — Matt Dornic (@mdornic) August 13, 2019 Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at [email protected]	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
As Tesla transitions out of a year full of Model 3 “production hell” and “delivery hell,” a new question has emerged: how many more customers are there for the car? This question was repeated a number of times during a call with industry analysts on January 30th where Tesla discussed its full financial results for 2018. Tesla still hasn’t started production of the $35,000 version of the Model 3 originally promised in 2016, and some on Wall Street are worried that the company has tapped out demand for the higher-priced versions of the car in the United States — especially as other automakers are warning of a rough 2019 as car sales cool worldwide. It would be a stark turnaround in the story of Tesla, considering the company spent most of 2018 proving it could make enough cars to satisfy hundreds of thousands of preorders. “Tesla has now shifted from a production story to a demand story,” Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives wrote this week. There is clearly “heavy lifting ahead,” he said. Musk says demand for Model 3 is “insanely high.” Tesla CEO Elon Musk dismissed the issue of demand a number of times on that call. “The demand for Model 3 is insanely high. The inhibitor is affordability,” he said. “It’s just, like, people literally don’t have the money to buy the car. It’s got nothing to do with desire. They just don’t have enough money in the bank account. If the car can be made more affordable, they will... the demand is extraordinary.” So, according to Musk, the problem in the US is pricing. When that’s addressed, the demand will be there, just like it was when Tesla sold about 140,000 higher-priced Model 3s in 2018 during the first full year of production. But it’s still not clear when that pricing will change. Musk admitted on the call that Tesla still hasn’t figured out how to make a Model 3 it can sell for a profit at that $35,000 price point. Until it does, the Model 3 still costs thousands — in some cases, tens of thousands — of dollars more than the originally advertised base price. Have information about Tesla or Elon Musk? Email the author at [email protected], or use SecureDrop or Signal to securely send messages and files to The Verge without revealing your identity. Tesla dropped the price of the current cheapest version of the Model 3 to $42,900 last week after lowering it by $2,000 in January. But the car still starts at about $6,000 more than the current average selling price in the US, which was $37,149 in January, according to Kelley Blue Book. Depending on certain options (like Autopilot or all-wheel drive), the Model 3 can cost as much as $70,000. In fact, a tricked-out Model 3 can become so expensive that Tesla recently removed the base versions of the Model S and Model X to avoid overlap, Musk said. Unless there are further price cuts, the Model 3 is only going to get more expensive because Tesla’s cars are no longer eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles. When the $35,000 Model 3 finally does arrive, which Tesla’s website says is still “4 to 6 months” away, there might only be a few months of overlap with any federal tax credit at all. The $35,000 Model 3 has been “4-6 months” away for months That’s because the automaker passed a crucial threshold last summer when it sold its 200,000th car in the US, which caused the federal tax credit to be cut in half to $3,750 on January 1st of this year. The credit drops again on July 1st to $1,875, and it will expire completely at the end of the year. State incentives can knock as much as $2,500 off the cost of the car, but $32,500 would be a long way off from the original dream of an under-$30,000 price tag after the federal tax credit. And that’s giving analysts pause. “Despite management’s focus on expanding supply, we believe that pent up demand for the higher priced variants in the US has largely been exhausted,” Cowen’s Jeffrey Osborne wrote in a note this month. “[G]rowth rates domestically appear to be rapidly decelerating,” he added. Reports of low sales figures in January and cuts to the company’s delivery team during recent layoffs have only added to that worry. This is why, in the short term, Tesla will “need to rely on these higher priced variants in Europe and China to offset” a dip in sales Stateside, according to Osborne. (Tesla says it does not break out sales by country or region and would not comment on the reported January sales figures. It described the report about the cuts to the delivery team as “not accurate” in a statement, adding that call center employees at the location in question are still scheduling deliveries. Musk also said offering leases on the Model 3 — something it doesn’t currently do — would be another way to boost demand, but added he’s hesitant because it could make the company’s financials look worse.) Tesla’s best chance for keeping demand high is to move to new markets like Europe and China Both of those new markets for the Model 3 represent huge opportunities for Tesla in building on the car’s momentum. China is the largest EV market in the world, and Europe is on par with the US. Musk said on the call that he believes success in these new markets could someday lift Tesla sales “something on the order of” 700,000 to 800,000 Model 3s per year in a strong economy.” In a recession, he estimated, that could slip to about 500,000. It’s not clear what the road to those kinds of global sales figures looks like, though. Tesla can’t yet make that many cars in a year, let alone that many Model 3s. The company only expects to sell between 360,000 and 400,000 cars worldwide in 2019, with around 100,000 being Model S and Model X, according to estimates the company released this month. Related Tesla will live and die by the Gigafactory Tesla’s manufacturing capacity at its Fremont, California factory is also nearly tapped out. The company’s operation there was already “bursting at the seams” when the company started making Model 3s in a tent in the parking lot last summer. Tesla broke ground on a Gigafactory in China last month where it plans to make more Model 3s (specifically for that region), but production won’t start until the end of 2019 at the earliest. Musk said on the January 30th call that the Shanghai factory is the “biggest variable for getting to 500k plus [Model 3s] a year.” Tesla’s best guess is it will be able to make 7,000 Model 3s per week by the end of the year, which means the company will spend most of 2019 making Model 3s at or near its current pace of production. Meanwhile, Tesla hasn’t provided concrete information about the number of reservations it’s taken so far in China and Europe. In response to a question from Goldman Sachs earlier this month, Musk said there’s “absolutely” more demand beyond the reported 20,000 orders already placed in Europe and the “single digit thousands” in China. He also said Tesla isn’t concerned about demand in Europe or China right now, and that the company is currently focused on hammering out the basic logistics of getting Model 3s to both places. But there are barriers in both markets. Tesla has had some trouble with early deliveries in Europe, and, in the case of China, Musk said Tesla is racing to deliver Model 3s before the trade war sparks any new tariffs. Pricing is already a challenge there for non-Chinese automakers, and likely will be until Tesla gets the Shanghai Gigafactory up and running. The company has already been tinkering with pricing and options there as a result. The Model 3 could be huge in China — but that might not be the case until the Shanghai Gigafactory is built Eventually, Tesla will have to care about demand for Model 3 sales in those markets because sustaining sales of the car is key to keeping the company out of the red. Tesla lost $1 billion across 2018, but it turned a profit in the final two quarters, thanks in part to the Model 3 reaching unprecedented levels of popularity for the company. In its first full year of production, Tesla delivered around 140,000 Model 3s, which is 40,000 more than the Model S and X combined and almost as many cars as it delivered in all of 2016 and 2017. The Model 3 outsold a number of premium vehicles from the world’s biggest automakers, like the BMW X3 SUV or the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. One key to that success was the pent-up demand for the Model 3 that came from taking hundreds of thousands of reservations for the car over the past few years. This meant sales were almost directly tied to how fast the company could make (and ship) the cars. As many as about 450,000 people had placed preorders for the car, so the more Tesla made, the more sales it could claim. (This is why there was so much focus on the Model 3’s production “ramp” throughout 2018.) That changed heading into the second half of 2018. Tesla stopped taking reservations in the US. Instead, it allowed direct orders to come in in an effort to move more of the higher-priced versions of the Model 3 that the company has been making. This flipped the script: the company is now making a lot of the more expensive Model 3s, so it needs to keep finding buyers in the short term, which is why it’s turning to Europe and China. If Tesla can get the $35,000 Model 3 into production, there is likely more demand waiting, as Musk said. But it’s unclear how many of those 450,000 reservation holders remain. Tesla said last October that “less than 20 percent” of reservations holders have asked for a refund, but it hasn’t provided an updated number. It’s still not clear how many unfilled Model 3 reservations remain Musk and outgoing Tesla chief financial officer Deepak Ahuja also curiously dismissed the reservations on that January 30th call, too. “Reservations are not relevant for us. We are really focused on orders,” Ahuja said, before backpedaling a bit. “Now, we do have a large reservations backlog still, which tells us that a lot of customers are still waiting for those cars. But I don’t think it’s appropriate to share the reservations number.” There could be plenty of new customers for a $35,000 Model 3 once it arrives, even without the federal tax credit, but car sales are slowing around the world after years of growth. Automakers are warning investors that 2019 could be a bad year for their bottom line because of this, especially because China’s car market is seeing its first decline in decades. If Tesla is going to keep growing its business on the back of the Model 3, then the company will have to do the same thing it’s always done: prove its competitors wrong.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Beautiful Pink And White Cherry Blossoms When talking with my Milanese friend recently, she was describing her afternoon of sitting in the park. Hanami, she said, evoking the Japanese concept of picknicking under cherry trees to describe exactly what she meant. I got it. That the Japanese have a specific word devoted to describing this celebration of flower viewing is indicative of their reverence for the process: one that's centuries old, and one that's steeped in history. And, with cherry blossoms blooming everywhere from Milan to Japan to Boston, it's only fitting that a closer look be taken at the background behind the bloom. While it is widely believed that cherry blossoms originated somewhere in Eurasia -- Himalayas, scholars speculate -- cherry blossoms immigrated to Japan some time several thousand years ago and spread throughout the country before the prehistoric age. Now, more than 300 varieties of the sakura -- or cherry blossom -- trees exist in Japan due to centuries of hybridization. Early records show that celebrating the sakura became popular during the Heian Period (794 to 1185), when emperors and members of the Imperial Palace began hosting feasts under the blooming branches of the tree. The celebrations made their way down through the samurai to the common people, and the parties became very popular with all members and classes of Japanese society. Centuries later, the tree remains a sacred important cultural symbol in the country, and the traditions largely unchanged. It cannot be overstated that in Japan, the sakura is serious business -- even government business. Each year, the blossom forecast is analyzed, predicted and released to the public by the Japan Meteorological Agency. But why are the blossoms so significant? Symbolism runs the gamut, but is all technically related to the blossoms' relatively short lifespan of two weeks. Here are some examples: 1. Fighting men of Japan -- samurai, soldiers, etc. -- for whom early death was a hallmark of their profession are known to have celebrated the sakura for symbols of a life that was short and powerful 2. They are called as representation of a woman's beauty: blossoming for a small amount of time before retreating 3. As the Japanese school year begins in April, a time of heavy blooming in mainland Japan, the blossoms are often seen as a sign of beginning a new stage of life Today, the first cherry blossom trees begin to bloom in early February, on the subtropical Japanese island of Okinawa, where both my friend and I grew up. Thousands of people fill parks to meet and picnic under trees throughout the day and into the night, and lanterns are often hung to illuminate the trees at night. The bloom moves north, and the trees are celebrated in full in mainland Japan.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Not sure if you've been keeping up, but Elizabeth Warren has thrown her tomahawk into the ring for president. The last of the faux-hicans is going hard left to unseat the Donald. She's proving this with her latest tax proposal. A "wealth tax" on rich folks' net worths. I kid you not: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has proposed a “wealth tax” on some of the richest Americans. The new tax from Warren, who recently announced her bid to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020, would only apply to Americans with more than $50 million in assets. Her Twitter announcement on Thursday came hours after an economist who advises her told CNBC he believed the proposal would soon be made official. The Post reported that Warren has been advised by Saez and Gabriel Zucman, left-leaning economists affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley, on a deal that would levy a 2 percent wealth tax on Americans with $50 million-plus in assets. For Americans with assets above $1 billion, that tax rate would increase to 3 percent. Lizzie didn't stop there either. This might be the first time I've seen someone try to pass off jealousy as a tax policy. At least publicly. Warren and her commie ilk are trying to make rich people less rich. "It doesn't matter if this tax is moral or even legal. Danny Snyder has a yacht and the rest of us don't. It's just not fair!" Welcome to the future of the left. Keep in mind also, this money they're taxing has already been taxed before. Sacajawea here expects them to pay more just because their greenbacks are sitting there. If those rich folk aren't making money to replace the money they're bleeding, pretty soon they're not going to be rich anymore. Which is the idea. Be advised, these commie douchenuggets will not stop until all of your money is theirs. It won't be long before they're not just picking the pockets of the rich, but yours too. Don't say I didn't try to warn you. Speaking of Fauxcahontas: NOT SUBSCRIBED TO THE PODCAST? FIX THAT! IT’S COMPLETELY FREE ON BOTH ITUNES HERE AND SOUNDCLOUD HERE.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
As I learn more about the shooter, even through my anger, I can feel compassion for him. How? Why? Because he’s a screwed up kid who had a shitty life who clearly never had the love he needed to be nurtured and whole. And who, in that void, filled his life with destructive things. So let’s talk about white culture … and how it throws children away. Let’s talk about how heterosexual marriages of one man and one woman aren’t some utopian panacea of ideal parenting. Let’s talk about the lack of family counseling, the lack of human knowledge and understanding of human psychology, the lack of healthy communication and relationship development. I’ve asked myself, “who am I angry with?” And it’s us. I’m mad at us. I’m angry that in 2015, with all that we know and all that we have — the vast resources available to us as a country — we still can’t get our shit together to have a better society than we do. And I’m angry with people who don’t get it, people who don’t understand, who can’t see the big picture, and who return to their self-protective ego defenses of denying, defending, deflecting, minimizing and rationalizing in matters such as these. If you don’t understand racism — don’t act like it doesn’t exist. If you don’t understand human psychology – don’t act like it doesn’t exist. If you don’t understand why we’re so upset “this time” — you haven’t been paying attention to the cumulative effect of all the other times. As mothers, we are sick to death of these acts of violence. And this mother refuses to raise her children in this type of unhealthy society. Christy Caine, head admin and primary commenter/responder on the Unfundamentalist Christians Facebook page, is a writer, advocate, and mom of boys. She is interested in justice, compassion, and where the worlds of faith and politics collide. She blogs at Leap of Fate, and is currently writing a spiritual memoir.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Brooklyn Nets officially have a three headed monster on their roster. The trio of D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwddie, and Caris LeVert is the best 3 guard group of any team in the NBA. All 3 players have all star potential (With Dlo being the only actual all star), and hopefully Dinwiddie and LeVert make at least one all star team in their careers. D’Angelo Russell is the leader of the trio, as he is averaging 20.5 ppg and 6.8 apg on 43.6% shooting from the field. Russell mans his own group in the Nets rotation because of his ball dominant play, and he is also the most talented player out of the trio of guards. Spencer Dinwiddie may just be the most important player on the Nets roster, as he is averaging 17.2 ppg and 5.0 apg on 46% shooting from the field. The Nets went into a funk when Dinwiddie got hurt, as their second unit went in the tank. Dinwiddie is one of the best sixth men in the entire NBA, and should finish in the top 3 for 6th Man of the Year award. Dinwiddie probably would have won the award (still has a chance but a very small one) if he had not missed 4 weeks of action due to a thumb injury. Lastly, Caris LeVert is the most unique out of the trio and is averaging 14.9 ppg and 4.0 rbg on 43.6% shooting from the field. LeVert was well on his way to an all star appearance before he suffered a freakish leg injury on November 12th in Minnesota. LeVert carried the Nets early in the season, and is now trying to work his way back to that dominant early season play. The Nets are a very dangerous team when all 3 players are healthy. Russell, Dinwiddie, and LeVert are all healthy for the first time since LeVert went down, and the results have shown. Over the past 2 games the Nets are averaging 120 ppg thanks to the three headed monster. On Monday night the Nets blew out the Mavericks, and the trio were main reasons why. D’Angelo finished with a double double (13 points 11 assists), Dinwiddie scored 16 points, and LeVert led the group with 18 points. Then on Wednesday night the Nets once again got an offensive explosions thanks to the three headed monster. Dinwiddie led the group with 28 points, D’Angelo dropped 25, and LeVert chipped in 14. Coach Kenny Atkinson has successfully figured out how to mend the three guards with rotations that put D’Angelo with Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen, while Dinwiddie and LeVert man the second group with DeMarre Carroll. Russell still sees time with both Dinwiddie and LeVert, and has played well with both of them these past 2 games. The best part of having all 3 players healthy is that Kenny can play the hot hand at the end of the game. Atkinson will most likely play 2 of out the 3, and he has the flexibility to get creative at the end of games. Dinwiddie can play with Russell (like last night), or Dinwiddie can play with LeVert, or Russell could play with LeVert. The three headed monster will feed off each other, and strive each other to get better. All in all, the Nets have a 3 headed monster on their hands and they should be feared in the East because of it. #WeGoHard	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Contents Today Sky+TH000 vs Moon+Lyn is coming! List of the games tomorrow. All results of the WCG Xi’an 2019 First Day.(Spoiler) Highlight of the WCG Xi’an 2019 First Day.(Spoiler) Sky+TH000 vs Moon+Lyn is coming! In the opening ceremony, Sky, TH000, Moon and Lyn will give us a 2v2 show match. The opening will start at 20:00 and the match will start at 20:30 local time (UTC+8). Regardless of the result, as long as Sky and Moon will be playing on the stage, it is enough and great for the Warcraft III fans. Remember to stay with your caster and watch the game! List of the games tomorrow. The tournament will continue tomorrow! And after these games, we will have decided the Top 4, and they will advance to the Semi Final and play with Bo3, single elimination. All results of the WCG Xi’an 2019 First Day.(Spoiler) Htrt gave up the tournament. Therefore, all of his results were written as 0:2. And here is the current scoreboard after the first day games. The player will get 3 points from a win and 0 point from a loss. Credit to War3station Highlight of the WCG Xi’an 2019 First Day.(Spoiler) WCG always brings us a lot of upsets, even Moon, Lyn, TH000, Happy also lost to their challengers sometimes. Moon lost to Lawliet! Since patch 1.30, Lawliet rarely beat Moon in the big tournament, especially in the important and crucial games. But not this time! In WCG 2019, Lawliet has beat Moon for twice. In the WCG 2019 APAC Finals, Lawliet also defeated Moon and win the Finals. The bad news is we couldn’t watch the whole series, because the stream was disconnected. Anyway, Lawliet beat Moon with resulting 2-1. Infi lost to Hawk with resulting 1-2. It’s a very big and very close series, you have to watch it. Three of the games were so close! Especially in game 2 and game 3, both first heroes were above level 6! In the third game on Amazonia, Hawk went for expansion in the mid game. After that, Infi didn’t go for counter expansion but he went for a push. After a long big fight, Infi succeeded to knock down Hawk’s expansion. The last fight was started beside the level 9 Rock Golem’s camp. It’s was also a very long time. With a mistake, Infi’s MK didn’t leave the front line far enough, and Hawk caught the chance, and killed the MK. Soon, Hawk Archmage and MK reached level 6, and Infi’s Archmage also got killed by the big grey MK. At last, Infi called out GG and Hawk won the series with 1-2. TH000 vs Hawk, Panda second vs MK second. From the games of Infi vs Hawk and the first game, TH000 knew that Hawk would go for expansion. Therefore, in game 2 and game 3, TH000 went for Panda second. Especially in game 3, TH000 always went for multitask, base run, which made Hawk couldn’t follow and lost many Peasants and resources. With the economic advantage, TH000 beat Hawk at last and won the series with resulting 2-1. Stay with us, and we will bring you the Warcraft III NEWS! Facebook Twitter YouTube Reddit Discord Channel	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Although they have become a popular staple at children’s parties, inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous and are associated with a 15-fold increase in the number of injuries from 1995 to 2010, according to a study published in a scientific journal. Writing in the journal Pediatrics, a group of researchers examined records from the federal National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, operated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. They looked at patients 17 years old and younger who were treated for injuries from inflatable bounce houses from 1990 to 2010. “The number and rate of pediatric inflatable bouncer–related injuries have increased rapidly in recent years,” they wrote. “This increase, along with similarities to trampoline-related injuries, underscores the need for guidelines for safer bouncer usage and improvements in bouncer design to prevent these injuries among children.” The study was co-authored by Meghan C. Thompson, Thiphalak Chounthirath, Dr. Huiyun Xiang and Dr. Gary A. Smith. All are affiliated with the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Smith is the director. Overall, an estimated 64,657 were treated 1990 to 2010, the researchers found. The numbers suggest 31 children a day in 2010 were treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains and cuts from injuries in bounce-house accidents. That is the equivalent of one injured child every 46 minutes, they said. Part of the problem is that the bounce houses have become increasingly more popular for parties and that means the number of injuries from children bouncing off of walls, floors and one another has risen. There were fewer than 1,000 injuries in 1995 but almost 11,000 by 2010. “From 1995 to 2010, there was a statistically significant 15-fold increase in the number and rate of these injuries, with an average annual rate of 5.28 injuries per 100,000 U.S. children,” the authors said in the abstract of their findings. “The increase was more rapid during recent years, with the annual injury number and rate more than doubling between 2008 and 2010.” Bounce houses can be rented for home or recreation center use. According to the findings, 43.7% of the injuries occurred at a recreation facility while 37.5% took place at a home. A majority of injured patients, 54.6%, were male and the average age was 7.5 years old. ALSO: Human error led to gas explosion at strip club NASA has unprecedented view of Mars dust storm Powerball’s $425-million jackpot already has a winner: States	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) said he cannot possibly keep track of all of the ethics issues in the Trump administration, so he does not even bother to try to fulfill his constitutional oversight duty as a member of Congress. He told CNN’s New Day on Friday that he pays “very little attention to” White House personnel issues. Brooks was asked by host Alisyn Camerota whether embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt should be fired over his myriad ethics scandals, but said he has “no judgment on that one.” “There are so many personnel matters involved with the executive branch, I can’t possibly keep track of them all,” Brooks explained. “I’m doing my best to make sure I understand public policy well enough to be able to cast good votes for our country. That’s where my focus in. These personnel matters, I pay very little attention to.” Watch: Of course, while Brooks is correct that he has shown little interest in oversight since Trump took office, he had a different view during the Obama years. In 2011, he co-sponsored a resolution of no-confidence in then-Attorney General Eric Holder. Two years later, he did the same thing again. In 2014, he cheered the resignation of Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki as a “good first step.” And in a 2015 tribute to the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, he opined: “The actions against the rule of law by President Obama, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch, top officials in the IRS, and others, remind us that to maintain a free Republic, we must remain vigilant in our fight against tyranny.” Brooks’ lack of concern with Pruitt’s apparent misuse of taxpayer dollars — reportedly circumventing the White House to provide pay increases to top staffers and using his security detail for vacations to Disneyland and the Rose Bowl — is also ironic, given that he is a member of the Congressional Balanced Budget Amendment Conference, has railed against excess government spending, and boasts of his ranking with the Alabama Taxpayers’ Defense Fund. In his unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate last year, Brooks ironically claimed: “Big-moneyed lobbyists and special interest groups peddle influence with corrupt elected officials. Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have refused to play their nefarious games. As your next Senator, I will fight to ‘Drain the Swamp’ by standing up to the corruption and powerful special interests who bribe, bully, and threaten elected officials into doing their bidding.”	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
At least five Tyson workers from meat processing plants in Georgia and Iowa have died of COVID-19, as hundreds of workers in the industry fall ill. Tyson still does not offer paid sick leave, instead offering short-term disability for those being treated for COVID-19, which allows workers to earn 60% of their pay. "We continue working diligently to protect our team members at facilities across the country by taking worker temperatures, requiring protective face coverings and conducting additional cleaning and sanitizing," said Tyson representative Liz Croston. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. At least five Tyson workers across two states have died of COVID-19. Hundreds more workers in the meat industry have fallen ill in the coronavirus pandemic. But, while Tyson has shifted some policies, it still does not offer workers paid sick leave. On Thursday, Tyson confirmed that two employees at its plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa, had died. The plant has been closed since April 6. Tyson employees from the plant make up 148 of 166 coronavirus cases in the county. Last week, three workers at a Tyson plant in Camille, Georgia, died of COVID-19. Hundreds of other workers in the meat processing industry have fallen ill in recent weeks across the country. "We continue working diligently to protect our team members at facilities across the country by taking worker temperatures, requiring protective face coverings and conducting additional cleaning and sanitizing," Tyson representative Liz Croston said in a statement to Business Insider on Thursday. "We're implementing social distancing measures, such as installing workstation dividers, spreading out work stations where possible, and providing more breakroom space," Croston continued. Workers will be sent home if their temperature is over 100.4, Croston said. Croston did not clarify if workers will be paid for the shift if they are found to have a fever but said that the waiting period for short-term disability will be waived for those being treated by a doctor for COVID-19 or symptoms of COVID-19. Tyson does not offer paid sick leave for workers In this April 9, 2020 file photo employees and family members protest outside a Smithfield Foods processing plant in Sioux Falls, S.D. Stephen Groves/AP While Tyson has adjusted some workers' policies, it still does not offer paid sick leave for workers. Tyson has said that, during the pandemic, no punitive measures will be taken if workers do not show up for work, and the five-day waiting period for short term disability has been waived. Short-term disability only makes up 60% of typical pay. The lack of paid sick leave sparked backlash throughout the food industry, as the coronavirus spread across the US. Fast-food chains such as McDonald's were criticized due to the fact that hundreds of thousands of workers did not have paid sick leave. In recent weeks, many major fast-food chains have changed their sick leave policies and encouraged franchisees to do the same. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the meat industry has been struggling with supply chain issues. Companies have been forced to shut down plants as workers have caught the coronavirus, and the loss of traditional customers have left farmers with a glut of excess animals. "The closure of this facility, combined with a growing list of other protein plants that have shuttered across our industry, is pushing our country perilously close to the edge in terms of our meat supply," Smithfield CEO Kenneth Sullivan said in a statement after the company closed a major pork plant on Sunday. He added: "It is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not running."	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
MONDAY, APR 20, 2020 Not everything that can be measured is worth quantifying, and not everything worth quantifying can be measured. And in the middle of a pandemic that’s claimed tens of thousands of lives, there’s a considerable amount of data that currently falls into the latter category. Demographic characteristics such as population density, racial/ethnic composition, income and age (which can be viewed with COVID-19 statistics on Social Explorer), may provide a roadmap for determining where the coronavirus may be emerging in the United States and where it may be receding. Other data, however, will have to be developed for the pandemic to be successfully curbed over the long term. COVID-19 Data Across the United States. Click here to explore further. Data that reveal broad trends are useful, of course – confirmed cases, hospitalizations, intensive care unit bed utilization, ventilator shortages, and deaths all provide rough outlines of the size of the problem. Those figures, however, are only broad trends that don’t fully define the full scope of the pandemic’s toll. Unfortunately, much of the scientific and public health data that would be extremely useful can’t be quantified yet and may never be available. Researchers, for example, may find themselves trying to hit moving targets when it comes to calculating a transmission rate (known as the R0, or average number of people who are infected by carriers of the virus); determining a precise latency period for people to move from uninfected to asymptomatic to infected with symptoms; or accurately calculate the percentage of the population that’s immune from the virus (assuming immunity exists). From a public health standpoint, it’s difficult to calculate the lethality of the virus, absent a massive testing program. Because of the lack of testing, there’s no doubt that thousands of people have died around the planet from unrecorded complications of the virus since the outbreak began late last year in China. But even when invasive nasal swab tests are available, studies have shown they provide false negative results about 30 percent of the time. Such false negatives also plague immunologists working to develop an antibody-response test that would determine if a person’s immune system has been exposed to the coronavirus. From a political point of view, data also aren’t available that would indicate infected people’s exposure to other people and pinpoint routes of infection. Typically, such data in the form of “contact tracing” could be used to identify and isolate potential carriers in a pandemic. Several states and cities have begun labor-intensive efforts to trace carriers, but decades of disinvestment in public health make it an uphill battle. And while such data may be available via individual cell phones, credit cards, and facial recognition surveillance, it’s far from clear that Americans would be willing to surrender even more privacy to a government that a clear majority believes has run roughshod over individual freedoms – even in the face of a deadly pandemic. At this early stage, data needed to resolve the crisis aren’t available, and it’s important to recognize that some data may never be available. The challenge for researchers, public health officials, and political leaders will be to synthesize existing, high-quality data (such as demographic and hospital admissions figures) with emerging data to develop medical, economic, and political solutions to a crisis that’s playing out quite differently in places across the United States. Author: Frank Bass	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Nigerian imam who saved Christians from Muslim gunmen By Dooshima Abu BBC Pidgin, Plateau state Published duration 30 June 2018 image caption Christians say they would have died had it not been for the bravery of the Muslim cleric (centre) When an imam in Nigeria saw hundreds of desperate, frightened families running into his village last Saturday, he decided to risk his life to save theirs. They were fleeing from a neighbouring village - a mainly Christian community. They say they came under attack at about 15:00 (14:00 GMT) from about 300 well-armed men - suspected cattle herders, who are mostly Muslims - who started shooting sporadically and burning down their homes. Some of those who managed to escape ran towards the mainly Muslim neighbourhood nearby where the imam lived, arriving over the next hour. The cleric immediately came to their aid, hiding in total 262 men, women and children in his home and mosque. "I first took the women to my personal house to hide them. Then I took the men to the mosque," the imam told BBC Pidgin. We have blurred the faces of the imam and the villages, for their own safety. image copyright AFP image caption Hundreds have been killed in attacks across Plateau state - including the parents of this young girl who herself was injured and is now cared for by her aunt This was the latest wave of violence to hit Nigeria's central region where farming communities and nomadic cattle herders often clash - usually over access to land and grazing rights. The region is prone to religious tension - herders are ethnic Fulani and mostly Muslim, while the farmers are mostly Christian from the Berom ethnic group. Hundred of people have been killed in 2018, and the tit-for-tat violence has been ongoing for several years. A report from 2016 suggested Nigeria's pastoral conflict was the cause of more deaths that year than Boko Haram Had the imam not intervened, the death toll may have been much higher, as the armed men stormed into the mainly Muslim village in pursuit of those who had fled the mainly Christian village nearby. image copyright AFP image caption This man's relatives were killed in the attack by Fulani herdsmen One of the villagers described the panicked scenes, saying: "First they attacked a village before us so we ran to the security post. "But then they started firing towards the security post so we all ran away - even the security personnel." When the attackers heard that the villagers had fled towards the mosque, they demanded that the imam bring out those he was hiding. But the defenceless imam refused to comply - and also refused to allow them entry to the mosque. He began to plead with the herdsmen, who were threatening to burn down the mosque and his house. He then prostrated himself on the floor in front of the armed men. Along with some others in the Muslim community, he began to cry and wail, asking them to leave. And to their amazement the herdsmen did go - but then set two nearby churches on fire. More on Nigeria's Fulani-farmer conflict The imam later told the BBC that he wanted to help because more than 40 years ago, the Christians in the area had allowed the Muslims to build the mosque. They had freely given over the land to the Muslim community, he said. "Since we have been living together with the Beroms, we have not experienced an ugly incident like the attack on Saturday," another Muslim leader told the BBC. Those whose lives were saved by the imam expressed their gratitude and relief. "Ever since they took us into the mosque, not once did they ask us to leave, not even for them to pray," said the local chief. "They provided dinner and lunch for us and we are grateful." The villagers stayed with the imam for five days - and have since moved to a camp for displaced people. More than 2,000 people are now living there, and others are living with relatives and friends. Those who fled to the mosque cannot return to their village, as there is no security presence there and their homes have been destroyed. One local Fulani leader told the BBC: "A number of the Fulanis who carried out this attack are foreigners. "When we try to stop them at the mosque, some of them beat up one of the elders." When I visited the village it was completely deserted. I saw a church that had been attacked - all the chairs had been broken and the pastor's house set alight. He died in the fire. image copyright AFP image caption The community church was targeted by attackers The authorities say five rural communities were targeted last Saturday - in an operation that lasted more than five hours. But locals dispute the official figures, saying 11 communities were attacked. "They killed four of my children," a 70-year-old man told the BBC, in tears. "And now I do not have anyone to give me food". The attackers first looted the houses and shops before setting them ablaze. Not even their livestock were spared. Witnesses say the attackers chanted "Allahu Akbar" as they raided the buildings. image copyright AFP image caption This building which housed chickens was among those torched - the animals' charred remains are visible Security forces did not intervene until around 20:00 (19:00GMT), when operatives from the military task force Safe Haven arrived to evacuate those affected - mostly women and children. Force spokesman Adamu Umar said several attacks had been coordinated to take place simultaneously - this, he said, made it difficult for officers to suppress. A curfew has now been imposed in three parts of Plateau state following the violence. Pointing to a mass grave, one resident cried as he described the devastation to his village. "In this community alone 83 persons died," he said, "see how they are buried". "We were born here. Where do they want us to run to?"	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Description: Dirty brunette babe's got her eyes on a mattress that's on sale and she is planning on buying it. Watch Tina Kay testing the hell out of that mattress by jumping up and down on a hard dick.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
YEREVAN — TUMO Center for Creative Technologies and the European Union launched their partnership to build and operate the EU TUMO Convergence Center for Engineering and Applied Science, a state of the art STEM ecosystem in Yerevan, Armenia. The center will be a hub for research, education and startups geared towards students and young professionals over 18. It will bring together partners, both local and international, to bridge the gap between higher education and industry in Armenia. Its campus will be roughly 15,000 square meters in size, consisting of infrastructure for educational programming, a STEM research laboratory, a conference center, and revenue generating commercial space to ensure the center’s long-term financial sustainability. Additionally, the campus will host the French University in Armenia (UFAR)’s Faculty for Informatics and Applied Mathematics. The EU will provide €23 million to support educational reforms in Armenia, including €10.5 million for the development of STEM standards, while the remaining €12.5 million will go to the new TUMO initiative. A centerpiece of the project is TUMO Labs, a technology education curriculum designed to complement local universities with project-based learning opportunities in cutting edge fields. TUMO Labs will be a logical continuation of the TUMO program that gives young adults professional experience and promotes business development in Armenia. The ceremonial signing and groundbreaking for the center was attended by guests from the European Union, ministries of the Republic of Armenia, the IT sector and local universities. The event kicked off with a video address by EU Commissioner Carlos Moedas. “[The center] captures this imagination that for me is the spirit of Armenia, and I think, is at the heart of the future of the European Union. That’s why we all need to invest in innovation,” said Lawrence Meredith, director of Neighborhood East at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations. “We are thrilled to be creating a world-class STEM ecosystem in Armenia where the next generation of high tech professionals can learn and innovate,” said Pegor Papazian, chief development officer of TUMO. “With support from the European Union, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Armenia, and other partners both local and international, we will bridge a gap between higher education and the rapidly changing needs of the global economy.” After the signing, attendees walked to the site of the future center, where Lawrence Meredith, Pegor Papazian, Piotr Antoni Świtalski, head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, and Arayik Harutyunyan, minister of education for the Republic of Armenia, participated in a a ceremonial groundbreaking.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Depression is a veil, devours all with the coming tide, encompasses the face of affection, a foaming mouth shrouded in obscurity Sadness is a sanctuary, a place to call your own, to pray invisible tears, to kneel in worship of it’s mesmorizing beauty Hate is a median, dwell on it every moment, try not to deviate from it’s slick tendrils or fragrant attraction like that of a wilted orchid Suicide is a delusion, yearn to sleep swathed in it’s affection, a crowning achievement of heroes, the peak of existence Lust is an excommunication, lacerates wounds in a necessitated ego, discovers faults in the underground pattern of veins Joy is a fleeting cloud, disapating in the stratosphere, an overzealous child wrestling for tranquility in the zephyr gales Death is a falling star, wishing with coins tossed in an elaborate fountain, water dripping in rhythm to the tune of desire Time is not stagnant, swaying boughs of a desiduous forest, unconstrained and illusory labyrinth guarded by memories Success is not perceptible, shimmering mirage of fascination, a purple lake, too superficial to wade across the opposite shore Subsistence is not purposeful, procrastinating inevitable means, casting nets of damaged hair in a sea of imperceptable beings Annihilation is not the conclusion, releasing falsehoods like helium kites, a festival of celebrated destruction at my own hand	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
In the summer months, many people can be found camping, paddling and enjoying the unspoiled wilderness of the Yukon. But when they don't clean up after themselves, it can make for a real crappy trip. Stephanie Coombes recently travelled the Yukon River from Whitehorse to Dawson City with her husband and two young sons. She says she's concerned by the amount of garbage and human waste they saw. "I think what we were just surprised about was just how much, well, poop and toilet paper we found at every campsite along the river," she said. "I mean it's gross, it's unsightly but it's also unsanitary." When they pulled their canoe onto shore, Coombes said they were also "shocked" by the number of trees that had been cut down for firewood and "bushcraft attempts" or unfinished shelters. It really changes the experience where everywhere you go, there's evidence of garbage and poop. - Stephanie Coombes She said it was especially challenging as she and her husband were trying to teach their sons about "leave no trace camping" or that "the campsite should be left as if you were never there." "I love the idea that we take our children out and we're showing them how beautiful the Yukon is and how incredible these trips can be," she said. 'For the most part the river is beautiful,' says Stephanie Coombes. (Submitted by Stephanice Coombes ) "It really changes the experience where everywhere you go, there's evidence of garbage and poop." Coombes and her family finished their trip with bits of twine, broken compasses and fishing rods they had picked up. But despite the waste, she said they they still had a good time. "For the most part the river is beautiful," she said. "Mostly it's quite pristine, like there's wonderful camping sites, it's a really great family trip." Coombes said she now hopes others will make an effort to be more responsible campers. Bury your poop, pee in rocky areas Davon Callander, the outreach and communications manager with the Yukon Conservation Society, said there's lots of things campers can do to reduce their impact on the environment. That includes repackaging food to carry less waste and minimizing the impact of fires by building them in designated areas or keeping them small. People should also pitch tents and put sleeping bags down on durable surfaces rather than crushing plants, Callander said, and travel on designated trails or limit damage when walking in the bush. When it comes to going number two, Callender said people should bring a small shovel and bury their poop in a hole about 15 centimetres deep and 60 metres away from water sources. She also advised that people urinate in areas with rocks or gravel, to avoid attracting animals, and bring a bag to seal toilet paper in to bring home to throw away. Finally, Callender said campers should not only leave no waste behind, but also not take nature home with them. "All the parts of the ecosystem, even the trees and rocks are important for the cycle of the natural world."	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Ed Sheeran admitted a previously undisclosed struggle with substance abuse in an interview on the U.K.’s “Jonathan Ross Show” that will air on Saturday, according to E! News. While the singer had admitted to occasionally drinking a bit too much in the past, this is his first admission of problem with substances, which he did not specify. “I think you need to, when you get into the industry, adjust to [fame], and I didn’t adjust because I was constantly working on tour,” he said. “And all the pitfalls that people read about, I just found myself slipping into all of them. Mostly, like, substance abuse. I’d never touched anything. I started slipping into it, and that’s why I took a year off and buggered off.” Before releasing his third album, “Divide,” in March, the singer took a year off that he initially explained as basically giving the public a break from him. “’I just felt like everything I did, I got a very lukewarm reaction by the end of it,” he told The Project. “But you disappear for a year and then people are kind of hungry for it again.” But now he says the break was more of a recovery. “I didn’t really notice it was happening,” he said. “It just started gradually happening, and then some people took me to one side and were like, ‘Calm yourself down.’ It’s all fun to begin with. It all starts off as a party, and then you’re doing it on your own and it’s not, so that was a wake-up call and [I took] a year off.” He says his girlfriend, Cherry Seaborn, was key in helping him get back on track. “We live together now, and I think that was a real help grounding me,” he said. “I was a 25-year-old in the music industry on tour, so I just needed someone to balance me out.” He also said he’s cut back on his drinking. “Often, I’m like, ‘Is it bad that I drink almost every single day?’ And then I look at my friends and most of them do the same. And they’re actually worse than me,” he said. “The first thing Americans say is, ‘There’s a problem, and you need to go to rehab.’ But I don’t wake up and drink. I don’t depend on drink. I just enjoy going out and having fun, being 25 — and I think that’s a normal thing.”	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Denver and Aurora have relied heavily on apartment construction to house their growing populations, but they have also seen a surge in single-family homes converted to rentals since 2007, according to a new study. RentCafe, an apartment search engine, counted 27,300 new apartments and 11,000 new single-family home rentals in Denver between 2007 and 2016. That works out to a 37 percent increase in single-family homes for rent, primarily from conversions, and a 35 percent gain in apartments, primarily from new construction. In Aurora, the number of apartments rose by 7,700, or 25 percent, while the number of single-family home rentals shot up by 4,500, or 38 percent. That pattern in Aurora and Denver is playing out differently than the one seen nationally, where the stock of single-family rentals rose by 31 percent, or 3.6 million units, while the stock of apartments rose by 14 percent, or 3.2 million. “The main trigger for this wave of single-family homes turning into rental homes was the housing crash of the late 2000s,” said the study’s author, Nadia Balint. The crash reduced the share of people who owned and boosted the share who rented. In Denver, 47.1 percent of the population rented and 52.9 percent owned in 2016. In Aurora, 44 percent of the population rented, while 56 percent owned. The crash also allowed investors, from large institutions to retirees looking for extra income, to snap up millions of homes at a discounted price. About 2 percent of the nation’s 15 million single-family rentals are in institutional hands, and 45 percent belong to landlords who own just one property, according to the Urban Institute. With thousands of homes tied up as rentals, metro Denver has faced a chronic shortage of homes for sale. Housing experts are watching to see how landlords respond once home price gains start topping out or reversing. Will those homes come back on the market? Nearly 40 percent of the 268,000 apartments in the larger metro area at the end of 2016 were located in Denver city limits. About 41,000 of the nearly 122,000 single-family homes and condos that were for rent in the metro area were located in Denver, the study found. Despite improving consumer confidence, a survey from Freddie Mac found that about two-thirds of renters viewed leasing as a more affordable option than owning and a similar percentage plan to continue renting for that reason. That would point to a long-term shift in favor of renting.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Miami Heat will dump Josh McRoberts on the Dallas Mavericks to create more room to re-sign James Johnson. Here are NBA Trade Grades for both sides. After agreeing to sign Kelly Olynyk to an unexpected deal worth $50 million over four years, many wondered what that would mean for James Johnson, an unrestricted free agent in the Miami Heat‘s frontcourt who was deserving of a nice payday after a breakout 2016-17 season. However, Heat fans had little to fear from the signing, as it was quickly reported by Ira Winderman of the South Beach Sun Sentinel that the team intended to re-sign Johnson on top of Dion Waiters‘ and Olynyk’s agreed-upon deals. However, the Heat needed to free up enough cap space to do so. In a potential trade with the Dallas Mavericks, there were initial fears that Tyler Johnson‘s backloaded contract could be a prime candidate to be on the move. Fortunately, The Vertical‘s Shams Charania soon reported that Tyler Johnson would not be included in the agreed-upon exchange, with the Heat ready to send Josh McRoberts and a future second round draft pick to Dallas for A.J. Hammons. Mavericks Get PF - Josh McRoberts Future 2nd round pick Heat Get C - A.J. Hammons The question is, which side got the better end of this minor deal (which has yet to be made official)? To sort out how this affects Miami’s free agency and why the Mavs would engage in a salary dump like this, here are NBA Trade Grades for both sides.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Ukraine "ceasefire" may be raging, but don't tell that to the "rebel", "separatists", "pro-Russian terrorists" or whatever it is that the ethnic Russians in east Ukraine are called nowadays, because a few short hours ago even Kiev finally admitted that the insurgency, with or without Russian backing, has finally hit the beach of the Azov Sea, which implicitly means that the only thing that is prevent the formation of a land connection from Russia to Crimea is the city of Mariupol, which as Ukraine reported overnight, it is now massing heavy weapons for what may be the most critical fight of the entire Ukraine civil war to date. From AFP: The Ukrainian authorities acknowledged on Thursday that pro-Russian rebels had extended their control over territory on the eastern border with Russia to the Sea of Azov. The announcement by the National Security and Defence Council follows a lightning offensive across the southeast area launched by the pro-Russian separatists last month. How this looks on a map: So while the Ukraine army is losing key strategic waypoints, the parliament speaker told Fokus magazine that Ukraine needs to regroup, strengthen army, and must open way to NATO membership, something which as Russia has made quite clear, will truly drive the Kremlin over the edge. Meanwhile, for some inexplicable reason, the myth that a "ceasefire" continues is propagated by both Moscow and Kiev...	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A Virginia man allegedly killed himself and his family earlier this week in part because he was upset by the thought of President Barack Obama being re-elected. “He felt that our God-given rights were being taken away,” a family friend identified as “Maggie L.” told The Daily Mail. “He didn’t like where the country was going.” ADVERTISEMENT The friend said Albert Peterson, a defense contractor, had a history of paranoia and was also affected by a favorite uncle’s recent suicide. On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that Peterson, his wife Kathleen and their two sons, Matthew and Christopher, were found dead in their home. According to The Mail, authorities believe Peterson shot his wife and the children before turning the gun on himself. Maggie told the newspaper that his family had a history of mental illness; his father killed himself when Peterson was young, and the death of his mother five years ago, she said, nearly drove him to suicide before Kathleen saved him. But more recently, Maggie said, Peterson was behaving erratically, sending paranoid political emails daily to family and friends. “They were very well off people and they saved a lot of money,” she said about the Petersons. “He couldn’t understand how the government could be so irresponsible and he thought it would be on the backs of his boys.” WJLA-TV reported on Wednesday that friends of the family and classmates of Matthew and Christopher held a vigil to support each other. ADVERTISEMENT “It doesn’t really hit you until you get to school to know that you’re never going to see them at school anymore, or anytime,” said a family friend, Jazmine Mitchell. WJLA’s report from the vigil for the Peterson family, aired Wednesday night, can be seen below. Anyone thinking of taking their life is advised to call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Eurogamer: Arcana Heart 3 is also due out for PS3 and Xbox 360. You've ported it to home console from the arcade. For those who have never heard of it before, how does it differ from your other 2D fighting games? Toshimichi Mori: It's an all-girl characters fighting game. We just wanted to show European people there is a fighting game like this, which is quite unique. Arcana Heart 3 has BlazBlue's online battle system, so the online battle experience is as good as BlazBlue. The matching system is superb. Eurogamer: You're known for your beautiful hand-drawn 2D sprites. How do you create them? Toshimichi Mori: There's quite a long process. First we design the character. Second, we decide which skills they have and their background. Then we do content drawing the pencil drawings for all the movements. Then motion drawing, including 3D models, then hand-drawn animations. After that, colouring. Then we put them into the game. Eurogamer: That must be very expensive as well as time-consuming. Why do you continue to make games this way? Toshimichi Mori: Because we want to make the best-quality 2D fighting games, and this is the way to make them. Eurogamer: Street Fighter IV was 2.5D. Why is your way better? Daisuke Ishiwatari: Arc System Works' fighting games are pretty much designed for anime fans. The anime style fighting game is the one we want to make. 2D drawing is best suited for the time being. Eurogamer: You're known for your unique and varied characters. Where do you draw inspiration from? Daisuke Ishiwatari: There is already a wide variety of characters that have appeared in other fighting games, such as Street Fighter. I want to create something totally different from them. That's why my characters are quite unique, and even strange to some people. This content is hosted on an external platform, which will only display it if you accept targeting cookies. Please enable cookies to view. Manage cookie settings Eurogamer: How do you create your characters? What's the first thing you do? Daisuke Ishiwatari: There are two ways of creating a character for a game. First of all I create the game system. Then I create a character that matches to that game system. Vice versa, some characters are drawn, and then the game system is adjusted. Eurogamer: Are there any characters based on personal experience? Daisuke Ishiwatari: The character called Venom, he uses a billiard cue. I got that idea when I went to play pool with my friends. That's from the real world. Eurogamer: You've created many fighting game characters over the course of a decade. Which are you most proud of? Daisuke Ishiwatari: Every single character I've created is a part of me. Everyone is equal. But if you want to say this is the character that's my favourite of all, then that would be Sol Badguy, because he most matches my personality and sensibilities. He is the real meaning of Guilty Gear. Eurogamer: What ever happened to Guilty Gear? Why did you stop making it? Daisuke Ishiwatari: Guilty Gear got too hardcore for some people, so we wanted to reset the level of entrance. BlazBlue was the answer to it. Also, the generation of Guilty Gear players has become a certain age maybe a little bit too old for playing games. So making that reset brings in a new generation of fighting game players. Then they will be with us for the next few years. Eurogamer: Will there ever be a truly accessible fighting game? Toshimichi Mori: It is impossible to create a fighting game everyone can play. The basic rule of a fighting game is: one wins and one loses. As long as that's the basic rule of a fighting game, there will never be a perfect fighting game that everyone can enjoy. Eurogamer: What about Kinect? Could that help developers create a truly accessible fighting game? Toshimichi Mori: Well, first of all, Japanese houses are quite small, so playing a fighting game with Kinect is difficult. If there's a Kinect fighting game, then a real setting would be quite difficult. It could be a game where the person who performs the first hit will be the winner. The person who hits first will always win. Eurogamer: Why is that? Daisuke Ishiwatari: Motion fighting games could be random, determined by things like which player is faster. That could happen when a Kinect fighting game happens, but that won't be too much fun. The judgement of win or lose cannot be which one is stronger. If that's the point you want to judge, then you should play sports instead of a video game. Eurogamer: Some fighting game fans consider Guilty Gear to be the greatest fighting game ever made. But which one do you consider to be the greatest? Daisuke Ishiwatari: Street Fighter III: Third Strike. It's the nervousness between you and your opponent that gives me joy. You have to guess what the next move is by your opponent. That was the most fun thing about the game. It was so enjoyable.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Uranus in Taurus (May 15th, 2018 – April, 26th, 2026) What Uranus in Taurus brings for each zodiac sign? Uranus is a slow-moving planet, so that his transits are long-lasting. An average, Uranus transits a sign for approximately 7 or 8 years and this will also be the case with this transit in Taurus, which starts on May 15th, 2018, and ends on April 26th, 2026. There will be only two little interruptions of this transit: between November 6th 2018 and March 6th 2019 (with Uranus in Aries) and between July 7th 2025 and November 8th 2025, with Uranus in Gemini. In astrology, the planet Uranus (named after the Latinised version of the Greek god of the sky, Ouranos) is associated with the principles of ingenuity, originality, new and unconventional ideas, discoveries, inventions and revolutions. This planet also governs societies, clubs, and any group based on progressive ideals. Below, you can see how each zodiac sign will be influenced by Uranus’ transit through Taurus. Uranus in Taurus for Aries Uranus is a revolutionary planet and its transit through the second house will make you assume high financial risks. You shouldn’t let your fear keep you from the gains that you could be getting. In the next few years, many Aries will find the courage to take on the money risks that can improve their financial position. During this transit, you may find some unusual ways of making money. Anything is possible! Did you know that in Africa and in some Mediterranean countries there are professional mourners? They are hired to cry at people’s funerals, giving everyone the impression that the deceased was incredibly important and influential. There are even women who make money selling their breast milk: websites like Onlythebreast.com allow women to post an ad online and wait for a response from someone who requires breast milk. This is how such an ad sounds like: „ I am a 25 year old healthy mother. I have an oversupply of fatty rich milk, approximately 150 ounces which I will be selling for $2.50 (two dollars and fifty cents) an ounce also the cost of shipping, if applicable“. So, what is your original idea o making money? Uranus in Taurus for Taurus: When Uranus transits the first house – and this is the case for Taurus, starting 2018 –, this is a time when you are more willing to take personal risks and to break free from the expectations of others. So, Taurus will come up with new ideas, in love and relationships, but also at work. When you present a new idea at work, make your presentation concise, using a simple language. Elsewhere, people get impatient and annoyed. You also should give special attention to the practical details of your idea, you must know how it can be executed and implemented. Uranus in Taurus for Gemini Uranus in the twelfth house is great for those Gemini who need to detach form past negative experiences. In the first place, you need to identify negative people at work, but also home or in any other social context. Then, establish clear boundaries with them; focus on spending less time and energy with them. Then, you have to take a look at yourself. Identify your unhealthy habits and start cutting them cack, one by one. It will not be easy, but it will bring you a great satisfaction. If you don’t believe me, ask, for example, an ex-smoker how he feels after quitting smoking. This is a quote about attachments taken from Bhagavad Gita, the sacred book of the Hindus, to inspire you: „Attachments interfere with a person’s ability to think clearly or rationally. When the person is free from attachments, he becomes equal to attraction and aversion and intelligent“. Uranus in Taurus for Cancer This is also a great change, after a long-term transit. Uranus was in Cancer’s tenth house between March 2011 and April 2018. During this period of seven years and one month, Cancer employees or entrepreneurs refused to identify themselves with their career, they didn’t want to be defined by their job. Like everyone else’s, their job consumed at least one-third of their day, but Cancers considered that what really defines them is what they do in the other part of the day (and we don’t speak about sleeping). From now on, with Uranus entering the eleventh house, professional status and professional development become more important to Cancer. They show more commitment at their job, they are punctual, they respect workplace property and policies, and they even respect office rules regarding such things as dress code or personal phone use. Indeed, a great change, compared with the last seven years! Uranus in Taurus for Leo During the last 7 years, Uranus in Aries invited Leos to travel abroad, to learn a foreign language, to expand horizons. They were many times out of the comfort zone but, on the other hand, it helped them to build confidence. Starting May 15th, 2018, and for the next 8 years, Uranus transits the tenth house. It’s time to be more creative, to have original ideas at work. Try being spontaneous and purposefully participating in activities you normally wouldn’t do! Be willing to take risks and to experience failure! So, you will unleash your creativity – it shouldn’t be so difficult for a Leo, the most dominant, spontaneously creative and extrovert of all the zodiac signs. Uranus in Taurus for Virgo During the last 7 years, Uranus transited Virgo’s eighth astrological house. There, this revolutionary planet brought, from time to time, unexpected financial events for Virgos. Not all these unexpected events were negative, but each of them affected Virgo’s financial situation. It was difficult to make a budget and to stick to it. The idea was to change the way they thought about and handled their money. Now, at the end of this long-term transit, Virgos must already know how to be prepared for almost everything, financially speaking. Best of them already have a solid emergency fund. It helps you a lot to know you have the money there while you are dealing with issues such as a job loss, illness or anything else that might affect your income. Virgo probably also learned that you must always be prepared to change your job. Know your professional value and also build a career back-up plan. With these Uranus lessons already learned, Virgos will have more chances to achieve financial security. Uranus in Taurus for Libra With the revolutionary and unpredictable Uranus entering the eighth house (and staying there for the next eight years), there will be some periods of time with surprise expenses and maybe more Libras than before will also have to budget on an irregular or fluctuating income. There are some things you can do, to make things better. From the beginning, you have to know what your monthly discretionary expenses are. Then, you need to understand that an emergency found is necessary. Without money set aside to smooth the cashless weeks, you run the risk of running up debt. So, consider socking away a certain percentage of your pay check each week or month. But there is also good news from Uranus in the eighth house: as it can bring surprise expenses, it will also bring unexpected income. From time to time, there will be such pleasant surprises for you. Uranus in Taurus for Scorpio During the last seven years, Uranus transited Scorpio’s sixth house – the astrological house of jobs and employments. Many Scorpios had unconventional jobs or, at least, unconventional ideas at work. They were appreciated for their originality and creativity but, on the other hand, it was difficult to introduce new ideas at work, especially when Uranus was moving backward, namely approximately 5 months every year. Sometimes, they pushed things too far or they discovered that having a lot of ideas competing against one another can lead to confusion. From now on, with this planet no more in the sixth house, Scorpio will remain original and creative, but will also be capable to combine tradition and innovation, he/she will know when to come up with new ideas but also when tradition and routine are also very useful at work. And, of course, Uranus entering the seventh house will bring more passion in Scorpios’ relationships – some of them being quite unconventional. Uranus in Taurus for Sagittarius For the next eight years, Uranus transits Taurus (and Sagittarius’ sixth house, making them to make changes to their daily routine. Sagittarius’ attitude about their work changes and their responsibilities also change. Some Sagittarius will change job, they will start working freelance or in some unusual work environment. It becomes very important for them to have a lot of freedom at their job, to follow their own schedule, tending to answer to their own internal rhythms rather than to an official schedule, imposed by a company or a by a boss. Their relationships with employers, bosses and any other authority figures need to be re-evaluated. For example, Sagittarius cannot anymore accept having a bad boss, they fight for their employment rights and they speak up, expressing themselves without fear. Uranus in Taurus for Capricorn There will be more passion and some unconventional approaches, in Capricorns love life, with Uranus transiting the fifth astrological house. They will find new ways to surprise their partner and to make their relationship magically romantic. There will certainly be more romantic vacations, candlelight dinners, original and unexpected text messages, with Capricorn men and women expressing their love. Capricorn hobbies can be out of the ordinary, during this transit. There are a lot of strange hobbies around the world, so that you never have to be surprised. Only few examples: carving egg shells, soap-carving, taphophilia (a love of funerals, cemeteries and the rituals of death) or toy voyaging (there is even a website for that, named ToyVoyagers.com). Uranus in Taurus for Aquarius Uranus is the ruler of Aquarius, so that his influence is really important, for those born under this sign. During the next eight years, Aquarius needs to break his routine, especially at home and in his relationships with family members and relatives. Until now, the routine made the life work for Aquarius men and women and kept them moving when things were hard. But now is time to learn new things, to travel to new places, to listen to new music and to try new hobbies. Uranus in the fourth house also can help Aquarius to solve problems with family members who stress them out. For the beginning, stop trying to change them. Especially if they are older than you, that will simply not happen. You might find that, once you learn to accept them, dealing with them doesn’t seem so hard. And they also start to accept you as you are. Uranus in Taurus for Pisces During the last seven years, Uranus transited Pisces’ second house – astrological house of work, personal finances and possessions. Pisces were inclined to take a few more risks with their finances, obtaining mixed results; sometimes they won large amounts of money, but sometimes they lost. Another tendency during this transit was to find some unusual ways of making money. There are a lot of crazy ideas around the world and some of them were, if not invented at least put to work by Pisces influenced by Uranus. Some mediums, for example, earn money communicating not with dead relatives, but with dead pets. Other people are paid to wear promotional T shirts. Well, when Uranus leaves Pisces’ second house, they forget about these strange ideas and they are interested in more traditional ways to earn money. They will also be more serious and better organized at work. On the other hand, Uranus transiting the third house makes more Pisces attracted to new and unusual ideas and concepts. Music of the Planets: Uranus, the Magician	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
TrustToken has released its latest stablecoin, TrueCAD, on May 1. The latest in TrustToken’s line of fiat-backed stablecoins, its value is linked to the Canadian dollar. TrustToken has also created a number of other stablecoins, such as TrueUSD (U.S. dollars), TrueGBP (British pounds) and TrueAUD (Australian dollars); each of these backed at a purported 1:1 ratio with their associated fiat currencies. For now, holders can use these four stablecoins on the TrustToken app, and expect them to be listed on exchanges “over the coming weeks and months.” TrustToken further notes that some of their products are already being traded on top exchanges such as Binance, Huobi, and OKEx. Stablecoins are digital tokens that are backed by either a separate asset like a mineral or currency, or are stabilized by an algorithm. Moreover, stablecoins may take a number of different forms, and do not even necessarily require backing from a tangible asset. TrustToken alludes to this fact in their statement about TrueCAD: “We wanted a simple stablecoin, without the need to trust some company's hidden bank account or special algorithm. [...] Our open source smart contracts ensure a 1:1 parity between TrueCAD and CAD in the accounts.” TrueCAD and TrueAUD are two of four new stablecoins pegged to national currencies that TrueToken announced would release in 2019. Further on the agenda for the year are TrueEUR and TrueHKD, for euro and Hong Kong dollars, respectively. Lawyers recently confirmed in court documents that the Tether stablecoin USDT is not backed 1:1 with U.S. dollars (its reserve asset). In fact, Zoe Phillips of law firm Morgan Lewis said that only three-quarters of Tether reserves had USD backing.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The peregrine falcon, also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head. But for fans of Star Trek Adventures RPG, Peregrine means so much more. It means Andy Peregrine, the writer of Border Dispute (These are the Voyages Mission Compendium), Footfall (Strange New Worlds Mission Compendium), and the sections on Starfleet Intelligence & Section 31 in the Operations Division Supplement. I sat down (me at my computer and him at his hundreds of miles apart) to get to know this elusive bird-of-a-man better. Michael: Hey, Andy. I stretched to write this opening, which begs the question: How much effort did you put into writing for Star Trek Adventures? Andy: To a certain degree the way I usually get work, finding out someone has a cool project and nagging incessantly! Few secrets stay secret very long in the industry so once I found out Modiphius had the license for Star Trek I caught up with Chris Birch at Games Expo and threw my hat in the ring. While I didn’t get to work on the Corebook, they commissioned the first adventure book at much the same time and I was invited to pitch them an idea for that (Border Dispute) which they decided to include. How much creative freedom were you given when you were commissioned to work on the project? Within the confines of the actual commission, I’ve been left pretty much to my own devices. Obviously, this is easier for an adventure. Once the pitch has been accepted you can scurry away and get writing, safe in the knowledge they’ll edit out anything that’s rubbish. Sam and Jim have both been great Line Managers to work with and they trust their writers to deliver what they asked for—and know their Trek. There is a certain back and forth when you deliver your first draft and you move into editing (or ‘Redlines’). But I’d not say that’s really ‘constricting my creative freedom’. It’s essentially fine-tuning what you’ve come up with to fit in with what the other writers have come up with. Most of the time, when you see an editor’s notes you feel glad they spotted an obvious mistake rather than getting annoyed they haven’t ‘recognized your genius’. Hmm. I might have to employ that line of thinking with my wife. Back to the game, what was your favorite part of doing a gaming module for Star Trek Adventures? I generally prefer to write setting material, but adventures give you a lot of opportunities to create places and NPCs which I really enjoy. I’ve been able to work on three books so far. I wrote ‘Border Dispute’ for These are the Voyages because I love Romulans, politics, and espionage. I was able to put my Religion degree to use with the adventure ‘Footfall’ for Strange New Worlds. But I think my favorite project was doing Star Fleet Intelligence and Section 31 for the Operations Division book. I could have just written a whole book on espionage in the Star Trek universe if they’d let me. Of course, once I’d finished and handed in my work, Discovery added a whole new plotline involving Section 31! But then, that’s always the danger with an ongoing license. When did your love for Star Trek first develop? What was your first exposure? I’m going to sound a little older than I am I expect, but when I was little we didn’t have much science fiction on television. We pretty much had just (TOS) Star Trek, Doctor Who and Space 1999 (and Star Wars on video). So I hoovered up everything I could find. Oddly, it wasn’t the characters I loved in Star Trek, but the adventures themselves. Each episode was like traveling with this incredible starship, uncovering the mysteries it came across each week. Watching the series made you feel part of the crew and I was just happy to join them on their journey. Do you play STA on the regular? If so, what is your crew like? What character do you play? Star Trek Adventures is one of the few games I’ve actually played more often than run, which is great. My group played a lot of the early playtest adventures, but they always came with characters. Recently, I joined Sam’s twitch game and had a great time with a Caitian security officer. I got a little addicted to the character creator program and nearly made up a whole crew before settling on that one. Haha! I’ve been there. I have to have an entire ship blow up so that I can start again. What have you noticed about public reaction to the game? What about STA struck a different chord with the public, do you think? It’s very difficult to know, but I’ve helped out on the Modiphius stand at a few cons and from my experience, the response has been really positive. I think a lot of this is down to its adaptability and simplicity. It’s an easy game to create a character and start playing. You can play in whatever era you like with very little modification. I’ve played and very much enjoyed the FASA, Last Unicorn and Decipher versions of Star Trek, but the 2D20 variant is easily my favorite. Speaking of favorites, who is your favorite character in Star Trek? Why? Wow, that is a really tough question. To a certain degree, it depends on which episode I saw most recently! I think Miles O’Brian might just edge it for me. I loved that he was a minor character in Next Generation who moved into DS9. I also really enjoyed Miles and Keiko’s relationship and how they dealt with the difficulties of pursuing careers and marriage amidst all the difficulties of life on the frontier. I do have to put in a good word for Tilly in Discovery—who is awesome—and wish we saw more of Jett Reno. OMG! I thought it was just me. Jett is one of my favorite all-time Star Trek characters now. She is like Dr. McCoy as an engineer! I hope she ends up chief engineer in future episodes. I want more! Oops. Sorry for that outburst, Andy. Go on. I also rather missed seeing Carol Marcus return in Star Trek: Beyond. I’m very much looking forward to Discovery Season 3 and Picard in the New Year. What is your favorite part of the Star Trek canon? (TV, movies, book.) Romulans, and Romulans again. It’s always a disappointment they never seem to get their fair share of storylines. ‘Balance of Terror’ and ‘The Enterprise Incident’ are easily my favorite TOS episodes. ‘Face of the Enemy’ comes a very close second to ‘The Inner Light’ in TNG and ‘In the Pale Moonlight’ in DS9 might be my favorite episode of all. I love espionage and political plots and the Romulans are always at the heart of that. I keep hoping we’ll see them make an appearance in Discovery, fingers crossed. You are quite the Rommie lover, Andy. Who knew? Would you like to explore other storylines in Star Trek Adventures? I also love the Mirror Universe. I’d dive into a book on that in a heartbeat. Which series do you like the best? As to favorite series, it’s hard to really tell. I’d have to say Discovery at the moment, but mainly because it is such a different version of Star Trek. As you might imagine I’d love to see a series following a Star Fleet Intelligence team. What would our readers find you doing if it isn’t writing/playing RPGs? I’m not very exciting so there isn’t much time I’m not gaming! My ‘real job’ is as a lighting technician in the theatre (I’m typing this at the lighting board during the show between cues!). I really love being part of live performance although I’ve very little desire to be on stage. Backstage has always felt more part of the show as we see everything, not just what is happening in front of the audience. Working in theatre means most evenings aren’t free, so I have to schedule gaming quite carefully. But when I can fit it in I also do Aikijutsu and Japanese sword training. I’m not very good, but waving a sword around is pretty cool. Sword skills are good to have just in case you run into some Rommies. Ask Sulu. Last question: If you were a component on a starship, what component would you be? I think that would be quite frustrating as I’d want to leave the ship and join the away missions, so being a tricorder would be pretty sweet. Otherwise, I’d like to be part of the internal sensors so I can see what all the crew are doing (but not in a creepy way) and follow their stories. Not creepy at all, Andy. Though I can’t say that about your love affair with Romulans. I speak for STA fandom when I say “keep those stories coming” and “don’t miss your lighting cues”. We look forward to more of your genius storytelling in years to come! 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A German rapper is the subject of a legal complaint filed by Berlin’s mayor, who has accused him of releasing a video containing anti-gay lyrics, and which incites violence. Bushido, 34, was the subject of the legal complaint by openly gay Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit, who said, as well as containing homophobic language, the song also featured fantasies about murder. The video and lyrics for the song Stress Without Cause targets specific politicians, and shows images of a man igniting a car with a body in the boot, reports Reuters. A spokesman for Mayor Wowereit said the Social Democrat (SDP) had lodged a legal complaint against the rapper for abusive comments, among other things. The rapper, real name Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi has been condemned by many politicians and journalists. Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said the video “crossed the line” and that it was now a legal matter. Pop singer Heino told Bild daily newspaper that Bushido’s “criminal energy” should be halted. Speaking in a television interview, Bushido defended the rap. He said: “I may have overshot the mark a bit but I would not in any way excuse myself here,” he told N-24, saying he was not inciting violence. “If I shoot, then I only do it with words and not with anything else,” he said.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A newly leaked document from Edward Snowden shows that the NSA uses a persons proclivity for pornography to discredit them. The practice is employed against those that the state believes are “radicalizers”. Of course all of the targets are Muslim, and of course they have minute if not nonexistent ties to terrorism. There is nothing particularly new about this practice. J Edgar Hoover used these very same tactics during his decades long reign as FBI director. Buried deep in this article is a disturbing nugget of information. Two of the targets chosen to have their porn collections scrutinized are considered radical extremists because they believe that “the U.S. brought the 9/11 attacks on itself” and that “the U.S perpetrated the 9/11 attack.” One of these individuals is a well know celebrity, while the other merely has had his writing featured in jihadist websites. For simply voicing an opinion that the security state doesn’t like (an opinion that is widely held and accepted outside the United States) they are viewed as a serious threat to national security. There is a concerted effort by the security state to stifle any all discussion of alternative conspiracy theories. Either you believe the official conspiracy theory of 9/11, or you will be discredited and publicly humiliated. The targeting of those who espouse alternative views to official conspiracies theories in and of itself is nothing new either. After the JFK assassination the CIA penned a memo to their “media assets” urging them to discredit anyone who questioned the official conspiracy theory as to how Kennedy was murdered. What is terrifying is that the CIA no longer has to publish secret memos to their media assets. Instead they can simply rely on them to take the stance that questioning 9/11 is obviously “radical” and “extreme.” Gloss it over with the sensationalism of pornography, and most people will either ignore it, or be irritated that the NSA would use ones personal online choice to look at pornography as a weapon. The silver lining of all this is that the truth movement is in fact challenging the power structure of the state. The efforts of individuals to expose the states complicity in 9/11 has obviously had a profound impact on the government. So much so, that they are willing to spend tax dollars trolling a random person’s visits to porn sites, for no other reason than his choice not to believe the official conspiracy theory of 9/11.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Israel's offensive on Gaza has deterred Hamas from new hostilities despite its claims of victory and the front is now at its quietest in 20 years, a senior Israeli military officer said. Vastly lopsided shelling exchanges over eight days killed 170 Palestinians and 6 Israelis before the November 21 truce brokered by Egypt Related Stories: Hamas, which for the first time managed to fire rockets towards Tel Aviv and Jerusalem during the conflict, says it won in the absence of an Israeli ground invasion that might have toppled its Gaza administration. The officer said Hamas should be allowed to save face after failing to inflict more pain on the Jewish state. "Their jubilation was not from victory, it was from their relief at being able to emerge from shelters," said the officer, who could not be identified by name under military regulations. "They took a major blow and they have to patch up their honor," he said. There have been scattered confrontations since, with Israeli troops killing two Palestinians who neared the border fence. The officer said such incidents were rare and lacked the backing of Hamas and other armed Palestinian factions, which he said were now "thoroughly daunted" by Israel and trying to shore up the calm or at least avoid breaching it. "A quiet like we had over the past month hasn't happened in 20 years," the officer said. Harsher than next The officer would not be drawn on how long the calm might hold but threatened heavier bombing in any future offensive. Though Israel killed the Hamas military chief, Ahmed al-Jaabari , in a November 14 air strike, the officer said several other commanders had been spared because non-combatants were nearby. During the fighting, Israeli officials accused terrorists of sheltering in Gaza's Shifa hospital and other civilian sites. In the next round, the officer, said, "I won't fire on Shifa. But I won't be able to keep to sterile strikes like I did in this round. I intend to kill the brigade commanders and battalion commanders wherever they are." Gaza hospitals said at least half of the Palestinian dead in the offensive were civilians. Israel put the number of slain combatants at 120, around two-thirds of the toll. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Canadian man blocked by US Customs after they read his Scruff profile U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers denied a Vancouver man entrance to the States after investigating his phone and scrutinizing his Scruff account. The reason? According to Canada’s Daily XTRA, they suspected he was soliciting sex for money. Related: Scruff Founders Defend App’s Ethnicity Filters — “Personal Preference” Or Casual Racism? André, a 30-year-old set decorator, called the entire experience “humiliating,” which… understatement. (He declined to give his last name for “fear of retaliation” from US Customs.) Officers also allegedly perused his profile on BBRT (a hookup site specializing in bareback sex) and personal emails attached to a Craigslist account. Reportedly, André then requested that the initial interrogation cease and gave up on entering the states. He tried again a month later, this time bringing evidence of employment and deleting every app from his phone. He was denied again, because officers said they found the deletions “suspicious.” Related: So Model Charles-Laurent Marchand’s Scruff Pics Are No Longer Private According to Daily XTRA: There are several websites that offer advice to protect the privacy of your data at the border, but ultimately, if US Customs officers want your data, they will either get it or keep you out of the country. You can limit the risk to your privacy by not traveling with your devices or deleting apps, messages and photos from your devices, and logging out of social media sites before you travel. Scruff CEO Eric Silverberg has plenty to say on the subject: “For Scruff members traveling to a country that may demand access to profiles and social media apps before entry, simply deleting the app and reinstalling upon re-entry is always an option. Scruff synchronizes your profile to the cloud, so after reinstalling you may login to regain access to your messages, favorites, albums, etc. That said, the best defense against unwarranted searches and seizures by the government is to work to elect leaders who share these ideals and values.” h/t: Towleroad	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
IRVING, Texas – As part of Dez Bryant's maturation process, he’s trying to be as politically correct as possible. So he’s not going to lobby to be the Cowboys’ primary punt returner. But there is no doubt that Bryant wants to be back there on a regular basis. “If that’s what coach wants me to do, I’m going to do it,” Bryant said when asked about returning punts. “I love to compete. I want to make a play. If I get an opportunity to make a play, no matter what it is, I’m going to try to do it. I’m going to go 100 percent. “I feel like that’s what I’m supposed to do. That’s what everybody is supposed to do. There’s never a point that, no, I don’t want to do this. I want to do it.” Bryant has always wanted to return punts. It’s owner/general manager Jerry Jones who keeps flip-flopping on the subject. After drafting Bryant, a giddy Jones boasted about how much of an impact No. 88 could make as a punt returner. Bryant backed that up by averaging 14.3 yards on punt returns as a rookie, scoring on two of 15 attempts. But it became an issue to Jones after Bryant suffered a deep thigh bruise on the first punt return of last season. Jones has gone back and forth on the subject since then, but he’s back on board now: “I have no issue with us making business decisions relative to him returning punts,” Jones said recently. In other words, when the Cowboys have a chance for an impact return, it’s in everybody’s best interests for Bryant to be back there. Especially if Bryant can display the ability to make business decisions on the field. That means not always fighting for every inch. It means occasionally stepping out of bounds when there is no room to run instead of letting three players take full-speed shots at him. “I feel like I’m learning a little bit,” said Bryant, who averaged only 6.9 yards per punt return last season, in large part due to poor blocking. “I know there’s times that I should go down. I just feel like it’s my job to try to score every time, every single play, but I’m learning that sometimes just go down.” That might be the best way Bryant can lobby to be the primary punt returner.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
RIO DE JANEIRO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro posted on social media that funding for movies with LGBT+ themes was being suspended, a decision that was published on Wednesday on the country’s official web site. The newly elected conservative who once described himself as a homophobe hinted during a live stream last week that he would change the process for government-funded film projects, saying funding LGBT+ themed screenplays is “throwing money away.” The decision, signed by Brazil’s minister of Citizenship Osmar Terra, suspends about R$ 70 million ($17.42 million) from the government’s grant which would fund some 80 screenplays, including a fraction with LGBT+ themes. “It’s a surreal sensation,” said director Emerson Maranhao about having his work publicly criticized by the president. “I don’t quite believe it yet.” “The first project he called out (during the live stream) was ours, and in such a pejorative and dishonoring way,” he told Thomson Reuters Foundation. Maranhao’s screenplay, “Transversais,” a five part documentary series about the life of five transgender people in northeastern Brazil, applied to receive R$ 400,000 ($99,532). “He is harming 80 projects just to get to ours,” said Maranhao, adding “It’s terrifying.” The suspension is set to last for up to 360 days, during which the government will restructure the committee responsible for allocating the fund’s resources. The committee would then review how state funds are used. Filmmakers affected by the suspension plan legal action to block Bolsonaro’s decision. Besides “Transversais,” Bolsonaro mentioned “Afronte,” a film series about gay black men living in Brazil’s capital, and two other screenplays. Bolsonaro, who took office on a populist campaign targeting the opposition’s corruption and economic ineptitude, told an interviewer in 2013, as a congressman, “I’m a homophobe, yes, and very proud of it, if it is to defend children at school.” Marcus Azevedo, one of the directors of “Afronte,” said he was “disgusted for having a president that is willing to censor cultural projects.” The new president, elected last year, has since taking office also declared that the country should not be known as a gay tourism destination because “we have families.”	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
“Do your job,” she said. “Come forward and show yourself as the mayor you were elected to be.” As she spoke, Mr. de Blasio, who won election largely because of support from black New Yorkers while promising to hold the police accountable, was at Gracie Mansion, miles away. City law seems to preclude the city from firing Officer Pantaleo until the conclusion of the hearing. Given the facts of the case, it’s hard to see his continued employment by the Police Department as anything but an insult to the people of New York. Mr. Garner, who was unarmed and supposedly selling loose cigarettes, which is illegal, died because Officer Pantaleo used a chokehold. The Police Department banned the use of chokeholds in 1993 amid a rise in deaths linked to the maneuver. In searing testimony at the departmental trial this year, the medical examiner said the chokehold triggered an asthma attack that led to Mr. Garner’s death, which he ruled a homicide. A police internal affairs investigator also testified that he recommended disciplinary charges against Officer Pantaleo in 2015. None came until last year. Beyond any violation of departmental rules, Officer Pantaleo’s actions violated good sense and demonstrated the kind of overly aggressive policing that has led to many controversial deaths. He chose to escalate an encounter, involving several officers, with an unarmed man over a minor violation, then used a dangerous and banned maneuver. Video of the episode, viewed by millions, shows the officer with his arm across Mr. Garner’s throat.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Regional banks in North Carolina, Kansas and Georgia were closed by state regulators Friday, bringing the total number of failed banks this year to 40, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said. The 24 branches of Wilmington, N.C.-based Cooperative Bank will reopen Monday as branches of First Bank, which is based in Troy, N.C. Cooperative bank had assets of $970 million and total deposits of approximately $774 million. First Bank will assume all of the failed bank's deposits and agreed to purchase $942 million of its assets. In Kansas, First National Bank of Anthony, which operated 6 branches - including two under the name of First National Bank of Johnson County - will be taken over by Bank of Kansas. Bank of Kansas, which is based in South Hutchinson, acquired all of First National Bank of Anthony's $156.9 million deposits. It also purchased the bulk of the failed bank's $156.9 million worth of assets. Meanwhile, the five branches of Southern Community Bank, which is based in Fayetteville Ga., will become part of United Community Bank of Blairsville. It was the seventh bank to fail in Georgia this year. United Community Bank paid a premium of 1% to acquire all of the of the $307 million deposits held in the failed bank. It also agreed to purchase approximately $364 million of assets. The assets not purchased by the acquiring banks will be retained by the FDIC and sold later. The FDIC said it entered into a "loss-share transaction" with the acquiring banks for a portion of the assets belonging to the failed banks. The arrangement is designed to maximize returns on the assets covered by keeping them in the private sector, the FDIC said. "Under the loss sharing agreement the FDIC will reimburse United Community Bank for losses on Southern Community Bank's loans and foreclosed properties," said Jimmy Tallent, president and chief executive of United Community Banks, in a statement. The total cost of Friday's bank failures to the FDIC is $203 million, bringing the total for this year to $11.53 billion. That compares with $17.6 billion in all of 2008. So far this year, the number of bank failures has already exceeded last year's total of 25, with an average of nearly 7 failures per month. The FDIC expects roughly $70 billion in losses due to the failures of insured institutions over the next 5 years. The FDIC, which is funded primarily by fees paid by banks, insures individual deposits up to $250,000. The amount was increased from $100,000 late last year in response to concerns about the stability of the nation's banks. The Obama Administration unveiled a highly-anticipated new plan to overhaul how banks and other firms are regulated in the hope of preventing another financial collapse. Under the new proposal, the FDIC and other regulators would have more power to take over and unwind troubled financial companies beyond banks. The plan would also, among other things, expand the powers of the Federal Reserve and create a new agency dedicated to consumer protection.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
John Aloisi's men stifled their Melbourne rivals in a battle of defence and attack. Aloisi admitted as much post-game, saying he was impressed by the tactical intricacies of the 0-0 match. Heart's defence was the most fascinating aspect of the derby and was in stark contrast to their approach in last year's round one meeting. In that match, Heart adopted a "full-court press" in defence, testing Victory's ability to play through intense pressure in a new and unfamiliar system. On that occasion, Heart's defensive approach was incredibly successful, with Victory's insistence on playing out at every opportunity causing multiple dangerous turnovers, two of which lead to Heart goals. Heart never allowed their opponents to settle in possession and fully deserved their 2-1 derby win. Heart’s defensive approach from the previous Round 1 derby, where a full court press was used. This approach often forced Victory to pass back to debutant goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas. Photograph: Graphic Since then, Victory's ability to play through a high pressing opponent has improved out of sight, whereas Heart were unable to match their early performance, finishing ninth last season, 17 points and six places behind Melbourne Victory. Victory's stark improvement meant a similar defensive approach this time around would have played into their hands, as their major attacking threat comes when they look to exploit space in behind their opponents. However, one thing they haven't quite mastered consistently is the ability to break down a team who limits such space. Heart's game plan instead centred around preventing Victory from getting in behind their defence. "We had a game plan and the boys did really well defensively; we didn't allow them get in behind us too many times," Aloisi said post-game. The most logical way to prevent a team from getting in behind your defence is to sit back, and Melbourne Heart did just that – setting their defensive block up around half way. The fact that eight out of the top 10 passers in the match were Melbourne Victory players demonstrated Heart's willingness to concede possession. Key to Victory's formation, where the central attackers drop into midfield to create space for the wide forwards to move into midfield to create space for the wide forwards to break into, is the off-the-ball movements of the 'false 9' or 'dual 10' players. But Heart devised a defensive plan which, like Perth's in the 2012-13 elimination final, prevented them from receiving possession in their preferred attacking positions. New recruits Mitch Nichols and James Troisi dropped into midfield, positioning themselves either side of Heart's central midfield duo of Massimo Murdocca and Andrea Migliorini in an attempt to receive the ball in dangerous positions to pick out the runs of the converging wide duo of Connor Pain and Archie Thompson. In order to nullify this, instead of defending in a straight line 4-4-2, Heart's wide midfielders, Mate Dugandzic and David Williams, positioned themselves in advance of their deeper central midfielders which prevented passes into the feet of Troisi and Nichols on either side of Murdocca and Migliorini. And whenever they were able to pick out Troisi and Nichols, Heart were quick to close the ball, breaking up play with tackles and, on occasions, fouls. Unsurprisingly, Williams (6/7), Murdocca (4/5), Migliorini (4/5) and Dugandzic (2/4) topped the tackle charts, as they harried the ball carrier in midfield. This frustrated Victory, who were unable to get into an attacking rhythm. Despite seeing considerably more of the ball, Victory looked vulnerable on the counter attack and Heart created more goal scoring opportunities in the scoreless draw. With this performance, Aloisi again proved that he has the tactical flexibility to frustrate their cross-city rivals. Heart's structure defensive approach and counter-attacking style was the most promising feature of the encounter, but Aloisi and Heart now have to prove they can play at a similar level for the remaining 26 rounds, something they failed to do last season.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
James Brown Brews is contract brand produced at the Brú brewery in Trim. It's produced by the young James Brown from a tried and tested homebrew recipe he developed. His first beer is a chocolate orange stout but don't let the name fool you, this is not a liquid version of a Terry's chocolate orange and perhaps that's a good thing. Beoir Champion Beer of Ireland after beating off over 80 other entries at the Killarney Beer Awards during the Killarney Beer Festival. It also won a bronze medal at the Dublin Beer Cup in February. So how does this multi award winning beer taste? It was recently crowned theafter beating off over 80 other entries at the Killarney Beer Awards during the Killarney Beer Festival. It also won a bronze medal at the Dublin Beer Cup in February. So how does this multi award winning beer taste? It tastes like how an excellent 5% ABV stout should taste. On the nose is chocolate and coffee with a little caramel. No orange though. On tasting, there's a bitter, burnt coffee bean hit and then it smooths a little with some vanilla. There's a long and lingering bitter finish with a mouth coating oily finish. No real orange appears but as I understand it, he's going for subtlety. You would miss it if it wasn't there but it's not the main thing about the beer. Personally, I would prefer it if the beer had a bigger body, as it's just a little on the thin side. That makes for easy drinking though which some people prefer. I would also like it if the orange was a little more pronounced, not too much, just enough that you don't question its existence. A great first beer and fantastic result for the young brewer. The next beer is to be a tart rhubarb IPA and that just sounds like it will be brilliant. With luck, he will be able to open his own brewery in the near future. Hop Adventure so they sent me some to try. The first one is Sorachi Ace, a Japanese hop that is often described as being a little weird. In fact, the hop was developed in the 70s and quietly boxed away for being a bit too odd even for the 70s! I would have thought it would fit right in. O'Hara's are releasing a new series of single hop beers calledso they sent me some to try. The first one is Sorachi Ace, a Japanese hop that is often described as being a little weird. In fact, the hop was developed in the 70s and quietly boxed away for being a bit too odd even for the 70s! I would have thought it would fit right in. Sorachi Ace hops are known for herbal and lemon flavours and aromas and that's exactly what it brings to the first Hop Adventure. A big lemon hit followed by what I can only describe as some sort of lavender perfume. For me, the perfume overpowers and I don't enjoy it. My wife on the other hand loves it. Single hop beers are often hit and miss. There's a reason why most beers use a blend of hops to compliment each other. Some hop strains can be a little too in your face on their own. Citra and Sorachi Ace are two prime examples of hops that are best mixed with something else. That said, I do love single hop beers as a showcase for hops. In some ways, this is better than the Brewdog IPA is dead series because they are keeping the ABV at 5% which means you get all the hop characteristics and none of the big malt body from a 7+ % beer. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with the next release. Mosaic would be a good one I think.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }

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