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Um estudo da Freedom House, organização sem fins lucrativos que promove os direitos humanos, a democracia e o livre mercado, indicou que a liberdade na internet está em queda pelo oitavo ano consecutivo. De acordo com a entidade, governos de todo mundo estão cada vez mais interessados em controlar a forma como os usuários utilizam a rede.
Segundo Mike Abramowitz, presidente da Freedom House, o estudo mostrou que há uma tendência de uso da internet com o objetivo de fragilizar democracias em vez de derrubar governos autoritários. “Desinformação e propaganda estão contaminado o ambiente digital e autoritários e populistas estão usando a luta contra fake news como pretexto para prender jornalistas e críticos nas redes sociais, muitas vezes utilizando leis que criminalizam o compartilhamento de informações falsas”, disse Abramowitz em uma coletiva.
Dois dos exemplos mais críticos são a Índia e o Sri Lanka, países onde os governos impediram ou limitaram o acesso dos cidadãos à internet durante protestos ou conflitos étnicos. A Rússia é criticada por leis que dificultam o acesso a redes privadas virtuais (VPNs) e exigências de que aplicativos de mensagens aceitem apenas registros de usuários que utilizam seus nomes reais.
Há uma tendência de uso da internet com o objetivo de fragilizar democracias, muitas vezes usando um suposto combate às fake news como justificativa.
Até mesmo democracias liberais consolidadas, como os Estados Unidos, apresentaram queda no índice de liberdade. No caso americano, isso se deve principalmente ao fato de o governo do presidente Donald Trump ter revogado as medidas que garantiam neutralidade de rede no país. Enquanto isso, a União Europeia é elogiada pela aprovação da Regulação Geral de Proteção de Dados (GDPR).
Mas o pior caso continua sendo a China, com um aparato de vigilância e monitoramento de seus cidadãos sem precedentes em todo o mundo. Para a organização, a tendência é de que a repressão à liberdade feita pelo governo chinês continue crescendo nos próximos anos e seja até mesmo copiada por outras nações, como Irã e Egito, muitas vezes utilizando o combate às fake news como justificativa.
Mapa da Freedom House classifica países com verde para livre, amarelo para parcialmente livre e azul para nações sem liberdade
O Brasil é citado apenas duas vezes no estudo, sempre favoravelmente. No primeiro caso, a Freedom House elogiou a iniciativa Comprova da Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo (Abraji) que uniu 24 veículos jornalísticos para combater a desinformação nas redes durante o período eleitoral. A segunda citação fala de forma positiva da Lei de Proteção de Dados Pessoais, sancionada pelo presidente Michel Temer em agosto. Ela deve entrar em vigor em 2020.
O resultado geral, no entanto, continua sendo negativo, com vários governos também tendo utilizado redes de bots ou comentaristas pagos com o objetivo de criar desordem no ambiente online. Você pode conferir o relatório completo, com o título de “Freedom on the Net 2018: The Rise of Digital Authoritarianism” no site da Freedom House. | {
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19th December 2019
Genetic 'clock' predicts lifespan in vertebrates
Using the human genome, researchers have found the 'natural' lifespan of humans is 38, which matches anthropological estimates of lifespan in early modern humans. This new DNA-based method, applied to other vertebrate species, means their lifespans can readily be estimated.
Scientists have created a new model that uses genetic markers to accurately estimate the lifespans of different vertebrate species. The 'lifespan clock' screens 42 selected genes for CpG sites, short pieces of DNA whose density is correlated with lifespan, to predict how long members of a given vertebrate species may live.
The maximum lifespan for a species is difficult to define and can differ greatly between organisms. Previous research has suggested that it is controlled by genes – but so far, no gene variants have been found that account for these differences. To build their model, a team from CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, used reference genomes of 252 vertebrate species with known lifespans to identify 42 genes that may be predictive of lifespan. They found that CpG density in the identified genes was highly predictive of lifespan, including of extinct species.
"Our method for estimating maximum natural lifespan is based on DNA. If a species' genome sequence is known, we can estimate its lifespan," explains the senior author of this study, Dr Ben Mayne, a postdoctoral fellow with CSIRO's Environomics Future Science Platform. "Until now, it has been difficult to estimate lifespan for most wild animals – particularly long-living species of marine mammals and fish."
Using their technique, his team found the maximum lifespan of the bowhead whale is 268 years, which is 57 years longer than previously thought. That means a bowhead whale born today, in the absence of any human or other external threats, could live until the year 2287. They also discovered that woolly mammoths lived for 60 years, and that the recently extinct Pinta Island giant tortoise from the Galapagos lived for 120 years (based on the genome of "Lonesome George", the last surviving member of his species). Neanderthals and Denisovans were calculated to have a maximum lifespan of 37.8 years, similar to modern humans living around the same time.
"Based on DNA, we also estimated a 'natural' lifespan for modern humans of 38 years," says Mayne, writing in The Conversation. "This matches some anthropological estimates for early modern humans. However, humans today may be an exception to this study, as advances in medicine and lifestyle have extended the average lifespan."
"Knowing the lifespan of wild animals is fundamental for wildlife management and conservation," adds Mayne. "For endangered species, lifespan can be used to understand what populations are viable. In industries such as fisheries, lifespan is used in population models to determine catch limits. However, the lifespan of most animals is unknown. Most estimates come from a small number of individuals living in captivity whose ages at death were known. For long-lived species it is difficult to obtain a lifespan, as they may outlive a generation of researchers."
"There are many genes linked to lifespan, but differences in the DNA sequences of those genes doesn't seem to explain differences in lifespan between different species," Mayne adds. "Instead, we think that the density of a special type of DNA change, called DNA methylation, determines maximum natural lifespan in vertebrates. DNA methylation does not change a gene's sequence, but helps control whether and when it is switched on.
"Using the known lifespans of 252 different vertebrate species, we were able to accurately predict lifespan from the density of DNA methylation occurring within 42 different genes. These genes are likely to be good targets for studying aging, which is of huge biomedical and ecological significance."
The research appears this month in the online journal Scientific Reports.
Comments » | {
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A fundamentalist Christian University has apologized for racist policies including a one-time ban on interracial dating that wasn't lifted until nine years ago and its unwillingness to admit black students until 1971.
Bob Jones University founded in 1927 in South Carolina said its rules on race were shaped by culture instead of the Bible, according to a statement posted Thursday on its Web site.
The university, with about 5,000 students, didn't begin admitting black students until nearly 20 years after the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling found public segregated schools were unconstitutional.
"We failed to accurately represent the Lord and to fulfill the commandment to love others as ourselves. For these failures we are profoundly sorry. Though no known antagonism toward minorities or expressions of racism on a personal level have ever been tolerated on our campus, we allowed institutional policies to remain in place that were racially hurtful," the statement said.
The interracial dating ban was lifted in March 2000, not long after the policy became an issue in the Republican presidential primary. Then-candidate George W. Bush was criticized when he spoke at the school during one of his first campaign stops.
Still receiving questions on race
Bob Jones University President Stephen Jones decided to issue the apology because the school still receives questions about its views on race.
The leader of the South Carolina National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said the civil rights group welcomed the statement.
"It's unfortunate it took them this long — particularly a religious, faith-based institution — to realize that we all are human beings and the rights of all people should be respected and honored," said Lonnie Randolph, president of the association's state chapter.
Randolph said that when Jones became president three years ago, he asked the civil rights leader not to hold the decisions made under his father and grandfather against him.
Jones is the great-grandson of the school founder, Bob Jones. He took over for his father, also named Bob Jones, in 2005. | {
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by
XPERO project Research on technology to understand human being [Degrees of freedom]
XPERO’s A.I. is stored in Nao, an autonomous, programmable and medium-sized humanoid robot. This video demonstrates and explains very simple the complexity of the science declared A.I. (artificial intelligence).
4. Degrees of freedom (“…from the data obtained this way, he builds a model that describes what we know as degrees of freedom.”)
A robot explores his environment and learns from his experiences
This is about autonomous robot scholarship by experimentation and gaining insights of the world. The robot has no particular goal but to gain knowledge of as much as possible by forecast and executing experiments in his environment and of course from its knowledge-beginning obtained data. The robot learns relations between its measures and observations.
Degree-Of-Freedom
Conscious that the robot is gifted to move the boxes, it wonders how far it is capable to impulse them. It chooses a box and begins to push it in one command awaiting the box hits a wall. Surprised that the box is out of the blue unmovable, he tries just about it in new directions and succeeds to slide the box down the wall, in anticipation of he reaches a corner.
From the data obtained this way, he builds a model that describes what we know as ‘degrees of freedom’ as shown in the picture
via XPERO read their philosophy
1. Stability
“learns that structures built by placing objects on boxes are stable”
2. Orientation
“learns how the distance and the angle from his orientation to each of the objects change in respect to his movements.”
3. Movability
“using the knowledge from these experiments, he induces the concept of movability”
via xperoROBOTIC channel | {
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rfc:object-comparison
PHP RFC: User-defined object comparison
Version: 1.6
Date: 2018-06-26
Author: Rudi Theunissen [email protected]
RFC by: Adam Harvey Based on previousby: Adam Harvey [email protected]
Proposed PHP version: PHP 7.3
Implementation: https://github.com/php/php-src/pull/3339
Status: Declined
Background
The discussion around user-defined comparison dates back to 2010 when the Comparable RFC was introduced for the first time and later updated in 2015.
Introduction
This RFC builds on the motivation of previous discussions with a new proposal for the ability to override the default behaviour of object comparison that was introduced in PHP 5.
Support in other languages
The problem we are trying to solve
Currently, objects are compared by recursively comparing their properties in the order that they are defined, which includes public, protected, and private properties. Object comparison does not differentiate between equality and ordering, so the same internal function is called for all comparison operators regardless of the context in which they are used. Comparing for equality uses the internal equivalent of == to compare each property, stopping at the first unequal property found. If two objects are not instances of the same class, equality is immediately FALSE. Comparing by natural ordering ( < , > , <= , >= , <=> ) stops and returns at the first unequal property found. If two objects are not instances of the same class, the comparison returns 1 when using <=> , or FALSE otherwise. While this is not necessarily a problem that PHP developers encounter frequently, it is still a logical inconsistency, for example: new stdClass ( ) < new DateTime ( ) ; // false new DateTime ( ) < new stdClass ( ) ; // false new stdClass ( ) > new DateTime ( ) ; // false new DateTime ( ) > new stdClass ( ) ; // false new stdClass ( ) == new DateTime ( ) ; // false new DateTime ( ) == new stdClass ( ) ; // false new stdClass ( ) <=> new DateTime ( ) ; // 1 new DateTime ( ) <=> new stdClass ( ) ; // 1 There are some problems with the existing behaviour: Changing the order of properties might change the relative ordering of an object , because the order in which properties are compared is the order in which they are defined. This is not intuitive and may lead to unintended behaviour that is very hard to trace. This behaviour is , because the order in which properties are compared is the order in which they are defined. This is not intuitive and may lead to unintended behaviour that is very hard to trace. This behaviour is not documented for relative ordering, only equality.
There is no way to use strict comparison between properties . The internal compare function uses the equivalent of == to compare properties, which was more appropriate in PHP 5 than it is now, since PHP has become increasingly type-safe since PHP 7.
Recursively comparing all properties can be unnecessarily expensive . Some classes with many properties may have an identifier or internal value that can be used to determine equality. There is currently no way to leverage this, so the engine has to compare all properties, some of which may also be objects.
Only extensions and internal classes can override comparison, which creates an inconsistency between extensions and what can be achieved in PHP. This RFC would remove that inconsistency, providing better support for extension polyfills and object interaction.
Proposal
This RFC introduces two new magic methods: __compareTo and __equals . These methods can be used to define equality and natural ordering of objects, which will override the default behaviour when compared to other values, including scalars. They are both optional and may be implemented without the other. class Example { /** * Returns: < 0 if $this is less than $other, * > 0 if $this is greater than $other, * == 0 if $this is equal to $other. */ public function __compareTo ( $other ) : int { ... } /** * @returns bool TRUE if $this is equal to $other, FALSE otherwise. */ public function __equals ( $other ) : bool { ... } } Note: Typehints are optional.
__compareTo
When an object is compared in a context that considers natural ordering, such as sort , the __compareTo method is called to determine the object's ordering relative to another value. Objects that do not implement __compareTo will continue to use the existing rules. This method should return a value < 0 if smaller, 0 if equal, and > 0 if greater. A class may explicitly disallow ordering by throwing an exception in __compareTo. An implementor of __compareTo should ensure that: $x -> __compareTo ( $y ) is inversely equivalent to $y -> __compareTo ( $x ) .
$x -> __compareTo ( $y ) should throw an exception if $y -> __compareTo ( $x ) does.
$x -> __compareTo ( $y ) > 0 && $y -> __compareTo ( $z ) > 0 requires that $x -> __compareTo ( $z ) > 0 .
$x -> __compareTo ( $y ) < 0 && $y -> __compareTo ( $z ) < 0 requires that $x -> __compareTo ( $z ) < 0 .
$x -> __compareTo ( $y ) == 0 && $y -> __compareTo ( $z ) == 0 requires that $x -> __compareTo ( $z ) == 0 . While this might seem like a lot of responsibility and complexity, these requirements are easily met if the implementor applies the same logic sensibly and consistently.
__equals
When an object is compared in a context that considers equality, such as in_array , the __equals method is called to determine if the object is equal to another value. It should return TRUE if equal, or FALSE otherwise. Objects that do not implement __equals will continue to use the existing rules, unless __compareTo is defined, in which case equal ordering implies equal value. This aligns with the current rules, where ordering and equality are based on the same logic. This method is therefore only necessary when equal ordering does not imply equal value. An implementor of __equals should ensure that: $x -> __equals ( $y ) is equal to $y -> __equals ( $x ) .
$x -> __equals ( $y ) should throw an exception if $y -> __equals ( $x ) does.
$x -> __equals ( $y ) && $y -> __equals ( $z ) requires that $x -> __equals ( $z ) be TRUE.
Application in combination
Using either or both of these methods covers three common use cases: I want to define equality, but I am not concerned with ordering. (__equals only). I want to define ordering, and equal ordering implies equal value. (__compareTo only). I want to define ordering, but equal ordering does not imply equal value. (__compareTo and __equals). Note: Objects that only implement __compareTo will be equal to any value for which __compareTo returns a value equal to 0, including NULL . This is mostly consistent with existing behaviour: new stdClass ( ) == 1 ; // true, with a warning about integer conversion
Order of Operations
Expression Attempted calling order $a < $b ,
$a > $b ,
$a <= $b ,
$a >= $b ,
$a <=> $b $a->__compareTo($b) ,
$b->__compareTo($a) $a == $b ,
$a != $b $a->__equals($b) ,
$b->__equals($a) ,
$a->__compareTo($b) ,
$b->__compareTo($a)
Changes to Operators
These methods also overload operators: Operator Primary Secondary < __compareTo TRUE if __compareTo returns < 0 > __compareTo TRUE if __compareTo returns > 0 <= __compareTo TRUE if __compareTo returns <= 0 >= __compareTo TRUE if __compareTo returns >= 0 == __equals __compareTo TRUE if __equals is not implemented and __compareTo returns 0 != __equals __compareTo TRUE if __equals is not implemented and __compareTo returns non-zero === No change !== No change
Example Implementation
Let's consider a simple Fraction, with a numerator and a denominator. For the sake of this example, fractions are not simplified and are equal if they have the same numerical value. class Fraction { private $num ; private $den ; public function __construct ( int $num , int $den ) { $this -> num = $den < 0 ? $num * - 1 : $num ; $this -> den = $den < 0 ? $den * - 1 : $den ; // Should guard against 0 here. } /** * @return bool Whether this fraction is equal to $other. */ public function __equals ( $other ) : bool { if ( $other instanceof Fraction ) { return $this -> num * $other -> den == $other -> num * $this -> den ; } return is_numeric ( $other ) && $this -> num == $other * $this -> den ; } /** * @return Natural ordering of this fraction relative to $other. */ public function __compareTo ( $other ) : int { if ( $other instanceof Fraction ) { return $this -> num * $other -> den <=> $other -> num * $this -> den ; } if ( ! is_numeric ( $other ) ) { throw new DomainException ( "Natural ordering relative to non-numeric values is not defined" ) ; } return $this -> num <=> $other * $this -> den ; } } $a = new Fraction ( 5 , 2 ) ; // 2.5 $b = new Fraction ( 10 , 4 ) ; // 2.5 var_dump ( $a == $b , $a < $b ) ; /** * The current behaviour will output: * * bool(false) * bool(true) * * The implementation of this RFC would output: * * bool(true) * bool(false) */ The output is different because the default behaviour will compare the object's properties without knowing that there's a relationship between the numerator and the denominator. The first instance has a numerator of 5, so it will be less than the second, which has a numerator of 10. It will also therefore not be equal, even though both fractions represent the same numeric value. In this example, we support comparing for equality against any other object, regardless of type. This is because all objects can be compared for equality, ie. we can say that an apple does not equal an orange. However, we are throwing an exception if ordering is attempted against a non-numeric value, because the behaviour is undefined: should an apple come before or after an orange? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ We could also return 0 for undefined cases, which would be okay here because we are also defining equality. A return value of 0 would otherwise imply “equals”, so implementations should either throw for undefined behaviour in __compareTo or return 0 alongside __equals . This is not good practice though, and will not be recommended in the documentation, because it may lead to definitions that are not commutative. For example, let's assume that a Fraction throws an exception for undefined natural ordering, and a Decimal returns 0 . $fraction < $decimal will throw an exception, but $decimal > $fraction will be FALSE. In fact, returning 0 in __compareTo for undefined natural ordering leads to all kinds of strange behaviour: new Decimal ( '1.0' ) < new Fraction ( 1 , 1 ) // false new Decimal ( '1.0' ) > new Fraction ( 1 , 1 ) // false new Decimal ( '1.0' ) == new Fraction ( 1 , 1 ) // false new Decimal ( '1.0' ) <=> new Fraction ( 1 , 1 ) // 0 The documentation will therefore suggest that a DomainException be thrown in __compareTo when natural ordering is not defined, and return FALSE in __equals for the same case. The example implementation of Fraction follows this suggestion.
Use Cases
It's safe to say that user-defined objects are not frequently compared in PHP today. This might be because the user can't control the behaviour, or because use cases are not common. Most objects won't concern themselves with comparability and won't implement these methods, but those that do will find a lot of value in the ability to control the behaviour. Cases that benefit from the ability to override comparison behaviour: Number types like decimals, fractions, big integers and fuzzy precision types.
Streams or resources where a buffer or connection should not be considered.
Strict sets that differentiate between "1" and 1 .
Active record entities where the entity's attributes are the only relevant information.
Classes that have relationships between properties to determine a defining value.
Classes that want to disallow comparison entirely to guard against unintended behaviour.
Where equal ordering does not imply equal value, eg. Decimal ( 1.00 ) <=> true ; // 0 .
Where ordering isn't naturally ascending or lexicographical.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should PHP support this at a language level?
There are a few user implementations out there, but there is no way for these to affect the internals of array functions and operators. The only way that we can dictate a standard of behaviour that affects internals is by implementing this at a language level.
Why magic methods instead of interfaces?
This is not an easy decision to make because there are strong cases for both. So in order to make a good decision we have to consider why interfaces exist and what benefits they might have over magic methods for this feature. Interfaces are used for two main reasons: enforcing a contract, and marking. We should use interfaces here if we want to enforce a specific signature for the comparison methods, but marking does not apply. This is because all objects in PHP are already both comparable and equatable. Marking a class as “Comparable” does not add any meaningful information because it would be comparable regardless. However, this might not always be the case: if PHP deprecates the default comparison behaviour in the future, this case falls through because not all objects are comparable anymore. There are other ways to determine whether a class is comparable or equatable, perhaps with a function like is_comparable or an internal interface like Traversable . We don't have interfaces for __get and __set because all objects already support property access. ArrayAccess is a necessary interface because not all objects support array syntax by default. Comparison is already supported by all objects. With this in mind, the only consideration remaining is whether we want to enforce method signatures for comparison methods. Because classes in PHP do not extend a root class, base classes have the freedom to typehint magic methods however they want (as long as they are public and non-static). This is useful because you can restrict comparison to a specific type to guard against unintended behaviour: class Fraction { ... /** * This will fail when attempting to compare to anything other than a Fraction. */ public function __equals ( Fraction $other ) : bool { return $this -> num * $other -> den === $other -> num * $this -> den ; } } Something that has come up in discussion is that “interfaces feel less magical” and that “PHP doesn't need more magic”. It's not my intention to discredit those that share these opinions, but there would technically not be any less magic if we decided to use interfaces instead. There would still be the same effects on internal functions and operators. If instead of “magic methods” we thought of them as “default methods”, it would be equivalent to PHP classes having a root class that has a default implementation of all the magic methods. From this perspective, all objects already implement both __equals and __compareTo , which is similar to Java because all classes automatically have an equals method. PHP already uses magic methods to change default internal behaviour, so using magic methods here would not be something entirely unexpected. Opting for magic methods also removes the possibility of existing classes unintentionally affecting comparability by already having an equals or compareTo method. Method names that start with “__” are reserved, so there is no risk of this if we use magic methods.
Does equality imply equal ordering when ordering is not defined?
If a class does not implement __compareTo but __equals returns TRUE, should that be equivalent to __compareTo returning 0? This comes down to whether we want to isolate equality and ordering, even though the convention is that equal value should imply equal ordering. It might not be intuitive to call __equals for ordering operations like > , < etc. >>> No, equality does not automatically imply equal ordering. When comparing an object in a context that considers natural ordering, it should not consider equality when ordering isn't defined for that object. Consider $a <= $b : what should happen when __equals returns FALSE? The only logical path would be to fall back to the default behaviour. The problem with this approach is that we are mixing contexts, and therefore responsibility. We should use either user-defined behaviour or default internal behaviour, not a mix of both. In this case, where __compareTo is not implemented, $a <= $b should use only the default behaviour and not consider __equals at all.
Does equal ordering imply equality when equality is not defined?
If a class does not implement __equals but __compareTo returns 0, should that be equivalent to __equals returning TRUE? The current behaviour of the internal is_equal_function returns TRUE if the internal compare_function returns 0. PHP therefore does not differentiate between ordering and equality. Currently, the only way to override comparison is by using the internal compare and compare_objects handlers, where the result is used for both equality and ordering. Yes, equal ordering implies equal value, but only if equality is not defined. This aligns with the existing behaviour of objects and extensions. It also makes __equals optional in cases where it might be redundant, for example: class Fraction { ... public function __compareTo ( Fraction $other ) : int { return $this -> num * $other -> den <=> $other -> num * $this -> den ; } }
Are the methods restricted to instances of the same class?
PHP's current definition of equality (when == is called on two objects) require that both objects be instances of the same class. Even if one class extends the other, == will be FALSE unless they are the exact same class. Only internal classes and extensions can currently override this behaviour. For example, GMP does not require the other value to be a GMP number, ie. gmp_init(42) == 42 will be TRUE. This is because the compare object handler allows for an object to be compared to any other type. An advantage of restricting operands to the same class is that equality would be symmetrical and transitive by design, ie. $a == $b must mean that $b == $a , and $a < $b && $b < $c must mean that $a < $c . This decision comes down to power and responsibility vs. restriction and consistency. We can enforce certain rules internally at the cost of flexibility, or we can put more trust in the user to give them more control. No, the methods are not restricted to instances of the same class. It is the implementor's responsibility to consider the definition of equality and ordering against other types. This also removes the inconsistency between internal and user-defined classes by providing a hook to the compare handler.
What happens when you try to order a class that doesn't implement __compareTo?
Ordering an object that doesn't implement __compareTo is most likely unintended, but we don't want to break existing code by failing hard when ordering is not defined. The only viable situation to fail for is when __equals is implemented but __compareTo is not. Ordering objects that don't implement __compareTo will use the existing rules and will not be affected by this patch.
How does <=> behave when __compareTo returns something other than -1, 0 and 1?
Currently, the internal compare_function assigns either -1, 0 or 1 to the result, which is why <=> always evaluates to one of those three. When a class implements __compareTo in such a way that it returns something else, should <=> still normalize to return only -1, 0, and 1 based on the returned value? This is an interesting consideration because calling __compareTo directly will return the raw value, but using the <=> operator will evaluate to the normalized value. This leads to a bigger discussion around operator overloading, which has been a contentuous issue in PHP for a long time. This comes down to whether we should overload the operator, or the behaviour of the operator. For example, is $a < $b shorthand for “is $a less than $b?” (and always evaluate to a boolean), or should $a < $b not have any semantics and be allowed to evaluate to any type? Similarly, does <=> semantically mean “how should $a be ordered relative to $b” and always return -1, 0 or 1, or will we someday want to overload it without restriction? It's worth considering that some operations should be free to be overloaded without restriction. Operators like + , - , * , / , | , & , etc have semantics that perform an action, rather than ask a question. For example, adding two lists together with + , a set union with | , or a matrix multiplication with * all make perfectly clear semantic sense and it should be easy to guess what the operation might do. Comparison operators are different because they are defined by the questions that they ask. If $a < $b has the potential to be a number or an object, it would make reading and understanding code a lot more difficult: < would not mean “less than”, it would just be the left caret operator that means “less than” by default. This RFC is focused on overriding the behaviour behind the operators, not the operators themselves. It's providing the ability to define equality and relative natural ordering, while preserving the semantics of the operators. Operator overloading is an unavoidable side-effect of overriding the behaviour to which the operators are semantically attached to. It would otherwise be very confusing if a class implements __compareTo but doesn't honour it for comparison operators. Operator overloading in the future would introduce methods for each operator, such as __lt and __eq that will be invoked for the operators, but comparison and equality would still honour __compareTo and __equals . This is however entirely hypothetical but demonstrates that the intention here is not to overload the operators. The behaviour of the operator is not equivalent to invoking the method, so <=> will normalize the return value of __compareTo to always be -1, 0 or 1. This is consistent with the current behaviour of <=> so that we do not break backward compatibility for cases that expect exactly -1, 0 or 1.
What happens when __compareTo returns a non-integer?
Non-integers will be converted to int , except for float which will be normalized using the sign function. NULL and FALSE will be treated as 0. This is potentially dangerous because they would both indicate “equal to”. It will therefore be recommended in the documentation that users should specify int as the return type. Objects that can't be converted to an integer will raise a warning and be considered equal to 1.
For a case like $a < $b, is $b considered at all?
Yes. In this case, $a->__compareTo($b) will be attempted first, then $b->__compareTo($a) , and finally the default behaviour of $a.
Is it possible for that $a < $b and $b < $a?
Yes, comparison isn't guaranteed to be symmetrical or transitive. It's up to the implementor to ensure that cases like these do not exist. The engine honours the implementor's logic and does not attempt to make any assertions. Enforcing symmetry and transitivity would require multiple comparisons and assertions per operation, or type restriction. This RFC opts for neither.
What is the behaviour of "$a == $b" when $a implements __compareTo and $b implements __equals?
Order of attempt: $a -> __equals ( $b )
$b -> __equals ( $a )
$a -> __compareTo ( $b )
$b -> __compareTo ( $a ) Because this is comparison in the context of equality, __equals takes precedence over __compareTo even if that means using the secondary operand's implementation. If both $a and $b follow sensible logic (within their domain), $a->__compareTo($b) should return 0 anyway. An inconsistency here indicates a logic error in the implementation of either $a or $b .
Why did Python remove __cmp__ in favour of "Rich Comparisons"?
This came up in discussion as something to consider. We should try to learn from the motivations behind decisions that changed direction in other programming languages so that we don't miss important concerns. This is a relevant case because Python had a __cmp__ magic method that is similar to the proposed __compareTo , but it became apparent that allowing only three cases for the relative order of objects is too limiting. This led to the introduction of "rich comparison" methods in Python 2.1 on top of the existing __cmp__ method. This allowed for classes to overload individual comparison operators without restriction so that projects like NumPy can achieve expressions like these: list ( np. array ( [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 7 ] ) < np. array ( [ 2 , 1 , 6 , 6 ] ) ) # Outputs: [True, False, True, False] The __cmp__ method was removed completely in Python 3 in favour of rich comparison. However, I've come across a discussion between Python core contributors where they question this decision. That's not to say that the decision was a bad one, but it's clearly a difficult problem to solve perfectly. PEP 207 is a good read for more details about the rich comparison methods. How does this apply to the RFC ? There is no perfect solution. Python decided on a direction that suited their needs and philosophy. I don't believe that PHP should blindly follow whatever other languages are doing, so we should consider what feels right for PHP.
Backward Incompatible Changes
None.
Extensions
Extensions that use the compare object handler may be affected by this patch because NULL values (not null pointers) are now passed to the handler. Previously, any object would automatically be considered greater than NULL. The result of the compare handler will now only be used if the handler returned SUCCESS. Returning FAILURE will fall through to the compare_objects handler. Currently, an object comparison will stop at the compare handler if it is defined, regardless of success. Extensions will now have the option of implementing the equals handler if they want to separate ordering from equality.
Effects on Existing Functions
Any functions that use the internal comparison functions will be affected, which includes array functions like sort , array_search and in_array .
Proposed PHP Version(s)
PHP 7.3
Implementation
Vote | {
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Developer 5th Cell has confirmed its upcoming action puzzle video game, Scribblenauts Unlimited, will launch alongside Nintendo’s Wii U on November 18th in North America. There is no release date announced yet for either Europe or Australia. If you pre-order a copy from GameStop, you’ll receive an actual rooster hat. Claim Wii U’s version of the game here. | {
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February 14, 2020 5 min read
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Blenders Pride Reserve Collection presented Entrepreneur India’s 35Under35 2020 list which included some leading names from the field of entrepreneurship and Rajakumari (Svetha Yellapragada Rao) made it to the coveted list.
The daughter of the King of Kings as her avatar name goes, Indian-American rapper Raja Kumari (Shvetha Rao) is a hip-hop royalty who has been shaking the music industry both west and east.
Raja is an avatar, not a character, it's how the talented singer, songwriter, and dancer channelises the Devi (goddess) within her. "I realized it this year, that it happens to me. Because since I was a little girl, when I did classical dance, the first piece I ever learned was Mahishasura Mardini. So I was Devi as a Demon Slayer and I flicked that influences everything," she recalls.
The Eternal Transformation
So right before she gets on the stage, she glosses over and nothing matters to Rajakumari. But when the expression and crown come off, Shvetha worries about everything. "Svetha is just trying to make her parents happy, that's probably the only thing that matters. And when I'm in my full Rajakumari mode, there's nothing that matters more than delivering the message as its intended, like whatever is supposed to happen is what has to happen and there's nothing that stands in the way," she said as her eye twinkles.
Today the world is shook by her performance and nothing is stopping her from curating music that creates a balance between her Indian roots and American upbringing. However, there was a time when 14-year-old Roa wanted to be a doctor and had a full-proof plan for it until she realised music was her ultimate calling. "Hey, I want to be a musician on the rapper." And her parents were like, what is this 'rap crap?'
"It took a lot for them to understand. But I think my father, luckily, decided that if he was gonna raise us in America, we were going to be American but not all the way. I didn't have to have a boyfriend, couldn't wear low cut things or short skirts but the one American thing he let me do was to follow my passion and like, go for it in a real way. And, you know, he didn't he was not always happy about it. But I think he decided that if I was going to do it, that I should be the best at it."
Music is a form of art that is supposed to contribute to society and Raja is a natural storyteller. The track that she creates makes you feel strong and powerful. She brings stories that every soul can relate to.
"I like to talk about things that are universal to all of us. A lot of my songs talk about karma it is a very universal law whether you're Christian, Hindu, Muslim or anything. It is a law that you must do good to others, you know, you must, it's reciprocal," she explains.
The Core of her Belief
She is a firm believer in how one needs to talk for more people to like, react to the music. "My music always has to have some kind of philosophy in it. I think, like when I put on that character, it's thunder, she slays demons. So this music is supposed to make people feel strong. It makes me feel strong. When I'm having really tough days. I listen to music that I create, and I'm like, Oh, yeah, I don't get to cry today because I have to get up and be that crazy person," she opined.
Raja is a brand today and she understands how essential it is to create a business infrastructure. "I learned as an entrepreneur everything has to have its place. Everything needs to move forward. And if you're not making money, it doesn't make any sense. In my business, I try to create an infrastructure. I invest in people that have a lot of potential, whether it's young people working on my website or people styling me or people doing the design work or helping me with T-shirts. There are so many levels of running," she said.
She understands that she just doesn't want to be a singer and often tellsl people we have to be a brand. "You have to understand that music is just one part of what you're giving people. You have to give them opportunities to buy into your culture, which is what you're creating when you have merchandise and lending your brand to different products like, collaborations I've done with like Live Tinted, which is like Deepica Mutyala. You have to keep your brand in the right circle. I have also learned that in my business you have to obviously invest in yourself. You are the only person that will invest in yourself more than anyone else," she puts out.
(This article was first published in the February issue of Entrepreneur Magazine. To subscribe, click here) | {
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I’m watching telly when I notice a bright green blotch appear on the corner of the screen. I assume this is a glitch with the programme and continue to gawp until the advert break. I get up and make a drink, then realise the green blotch has followed me into the kitchen and has been joined by a red one. The blotches are similar to the imprint a lightbulb makes on your vision if you stare at it for too long, so I ignore it.
The blotches multiply until a whole shimmering spectrum of colour zigzags across my field of vision until it completely blinds me. My passivity is replaced by blind panic. Have I been drugged? Am I having a stroke? I ask myself as I feel my way to my local A&E. By the time a doctor sees me, the spectrum has faded, and I can see. The doctor tells me that my vital signs are normal and that I probably had a migraine.
“A migraine? But I don’t have a headache,” I protest. “Not yet,” the doctor replies dismissively. The doctor notices the anxiety creasing my face. “Well, it could just be in your eye,” he says as he ushers me out of the treatment room.
A retinal migraine is a condition that causes brief episodes of blindness or visual disturbances in one eye. The Migraine Trust states that one in seven people suffer from some sort of migraine, but retinal migraines are quite rare, affecting one in every 200 migraine sufferers, and usually occur when blood vessels constrict in the back of the eye. Dr Katy Munro, a GP and headache specialist, suspects that I had a typical migraine with aura rather than a retinal migraine, as when I closed both my eyes, I could still see the shimmering pattern. If I was having a retinal migraine, the pattern would have disappeared when I closed the eye that was having the migraine. “Migraine aura is not dangerous. It’s uncomfortable and it’s quite debilitating and alarming when people get it because sometimes it comes on quite suddenly,” Munro says.
During a true retinal migraine, which produces the kind of patterns I saw, the spasming blood vessels at the back of the retina can lead to visual damage. “Sometimes there’s a kind of stroke that can mimic retinal migraine called amaurosis fugax – which means a fleeting visual disturbance – and that’s micro clots passing through the blood vessels,” Munro explains. “That’s why we would always urge people to go and get checked out by an eye specialist.”
‘I had this kind of arch of light in my right eye again. It looked like the Pink Floyd album ...’ Photograph: Posed by model/PA Media
I’ve experienced three migraines with aura since my visit to A&E and, so far, have not had an accompanying headache. For others, the pretty light show is merely a forewarning for the pain to come.
“I get lovely, sometimes jagged, black-and-white patterns. Sometimes I get rainbow patterns. They are quite attractive to look at, except you know what’s coming,” says Michael Pidd, a former professor at the University of Lancaster. Pidd started having migraines with aura in his late 30s. They began with a disturbance in his visual field followed by a severe headache. There used to be gaps of up to two years between his migraines, but in recent years, Pidd has been having them as frequently as one every 10 days. “The pain has got less over the years; it’s just feeling wretched, feeling low – a bit like feeling hungover but without any of the previous pleasure,” Pidd says. He keeps a diary of his migraines but hasn’t been able to identify their triggers: “These things can just kick in at any time. I wish there was a pattern. I wish it was due to drinking too much or not sleeping, or too much chocolate or whatever, but there’s no pattern and I’ve got about 10 years of records.”
Jane Bedford McLaren, a 40-year-old lawyer from Manchester, had her first migraine with aura while she was studying for A-levels, but experienced no headache. “Everything became pixelated in my right eye. It happened while I was in a lecture,” McLaren says. “I carried on as normal. I was just like: ‘This is curious.’ I think I was more concerned about not making a scene at that point. I sat there and just rode it out.”
McLaren didn’t have another migraine until 2015. “I was at my parents’ house looking at a computer screen when the bottom right-hand corner of my vision was disturbed again – as if it was pixelated.” This time a severe headache followed.
McLaren’s most recent migraine hit her two weeks ago. “I had this kind of arch of light in my right eye again. It looked like the Pink Floyd album [Dark Side of the Moon],” McLaren says. “It was like a thin line of fractured rainbow light. While I was on the train to work it went away, but then I got a really bad headache. That wiped me out for three days.”
Migraines and their auras have been giving the people studying them a massive headache for centuries. Today, scientists are still not sure if the true cause of them is primarily physiological or psychological. This is probably because research into migraines has received the least amount of public funding of any neurological illness in Europe. “Just because there’s no obvious explanation, they’re just not taken that seriously and people are denounced as attention-seekers or lazy or unable to cope. What we’re not getting to grips with as a society is this huge burden of chronic pain,” says Katherine Foxhall, a historian of medicine and the author of Migraine: A History.
When treating retinal migraines, doctors may prescribe painkillers and medications to relax and stop blood vessels constricting. The advice around preventing them, as well as migraines with aura, is mostly concerned with things that you should already be doing, such as not smoking, avoiding caffeine and getting enough sleep. Brains that are susceptible to migraines are more sensitive to change, so maintaining the humdrum of your life is probably advisable, too. “It’s really about keeping your brain in a nice relaxed regular routine as far as possible,” says Munro. “Make sure that you’re having a good routine. If you have a long gap [between meals] then you’re much more likely to irritate your brain and get a migraine.”
The problem I have is that I don’t have an established routine. So, if I do establish one, that will dramatically deviate from my routine of not having a routine, and therefore increase my chances of having a migraine. This is giving me a headache. | {
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Final Tests of Ashes series can often offer an imperfect portal to the future. In 2002-03, England’s consolation victory in Sydney was notable for Michael Vaughan slapping Australia around the SCG, not only announcing himself as an imminent replacement for the increasingly fraying Nasser Hussain, but laying the aggressive blueprint for their 2005 triumph. Vaughan wrote in his autobiography that it was the first time he realised what it would take to beat the Australians. “The next Ashes,” he decided, “would be won on character.”
Australia did the same in England in 2015, puncturing the hosts' euphoric post-Trent Bridge bubble, reminding them that when the ball fails to deviate, they are an ordinary side at best. “It certainly gave us confidence,” said Steve Smith at the SCG on Tuesday. “Just knowing that we could win in foreign conditions. England will be doing their best to get the result this week. We need to everything we can to stop that happening.”
And so, welcome to the start of the 2019 Ashes. Seriously. Since the Second World War, when England win the final Test of an Ashes series, they go on to win the next series eight times out of 12. When Australia do it, they win the next series 10 times out of 12. The fate of the urn may be secure this time, but with the next series less than 18 months away, already there is a feeling of territory being marked for the next, moral victories being sought.
Besides which, all this talk about dead rubbers and meaningless achievements has always seemed faintly ridiculous: the sort of sporting insight you get from someone who is sitting at a keyboard 10,000 miles away when he dispenses it. The cricket played by both sides in Melbourne was hard, skilful and full-blooded, and on a surface that encouraged the exact opposite. The first three days at Sydney are sold out, and tickets for day four have continued to sell steadily even after England went 3-0 down. The battle may be all but over, but the war is eternal.
For Joe Root’s England, victory in Sydney would means vindication. Only partial, of course, but still a recognition that all their toil and trouble - the hours of planning meetings and inane travel and sweltering net sessions and press conferences and listless nights in hotel rooms - has not gone unrewarded. “It would mean a lot to me, certainly,” Root said. “It would give a fairer account of how we’ve gone about this trip.”
There are two general feelings within the England camp. Firstly, that 3-0 is not a fair reflection of the balance between the two teams. And secondly, that Australia are an ordinary side who have been carried on the magnificent shoulders of Smith, without whom they would probably have lost in Brisbane and Melbourne, and struggled to force victory in Perth. It is neither to hyperbolise nor to damn Smith with faint praise to say that he has been as integral to Australia’s victory here as Ian Bell was to England’s in 2013.
Still, if your auntie and all that. And so England must look beyond the counterfactuals and start looking for actual counters. So far they have tried bouncing and boring Smith out, preying on his patience and preying on his ego. Nothing has really worked except lateral movement with the pink ball at Adelaide, when Smith looked as uncomfortable as anyone else. So on a pitch still boasting a decent sheen of grass, even if it will probably be trimmed before the start of the Test, perhaps the key for England is to get Smith in as early as possible, while the ball is still hard and new and zipping off the surface.
Ashes fourth Test in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Ashes fourth Test in pictures Ashes fourth Test in pictures mcg.jpg Over 88,000 people attended the first day's play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures tom-curran.jpg Tom Curran reacts to his near-miss after dismissing David Warner on a no ball. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures chris-woakes.jpg Chris Woakes celebrates taking the wicket of Cameron Bancroft. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures david-warner1.jpg David Warner celebrates reaching his century. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures ashes-1.jpg David Warner celebrates scoring a century against England. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures david-warner.jpg Warner salutes the crowd as he leaves the field having made 103. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures usman-khawaja.jpg Stuart Broad celebrates after dismissing Usman Khawaja. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures steve-smith.jpg Steve Smith took little time to race to his half-century. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures stuart-broad1.jpg Stuart Broad appeals for the wicket of Shaun Marsh on his very first ball. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures stuart-broad.jpg Marsh was saved on review by an umpire's call. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures pictures-of-the-day-3.jpg TOPSHOT - Australia's Steve Smith drops a catch from England batsman Alastair Cook on the second day of the fourth Ashes cricket Test match at the MCG in Melbourne on December 27, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / WILLIAM WEST / --IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE--WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures stuart-broad.jpg Stuart Broad successfully appeals for lbw against Jackson Bird. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures alastair-cook.jpg Alastair Cook registered his highest score of the Ashes tour at the MCG. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures alastair-cook-3.jpg Alaistair Cook celebrates reaching his century on the second day of the fourth Test against Australia. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures josh-hazlewood.jpg Josh Hazlewood celebrates dismissing Joe Root for 61. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures joe-root.jpg Joe Root hooks Josh Hazlewood to Nathan Lyon. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures dawid-malan.jpg Dawid Malan made just 14 before being trapped LBW by Josh Hazlewood. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures jonny-bairstow.jpg Jonny Bairstow is caught behind by Tim Paine off Nathan Lyon. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures moeen-ali.jpg Moeen Ali edges Nathan Lyon to Shaun Marsh for 20. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures pat-cummins.jpg Pat Cummins celebrates dismissing Chris Woakes for 26. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures tom-curran1.jpg Tom Curran is struck by the first ball he faces before getting out four just 4. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures stuart-broad2.jpg Stuart Broad provided strong support for Alastair Cook to help him reach his double century. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures stuart-broad3.jpg Stuart Broad celebrates reaching his half-century. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures steve-smith1.jpg Steve Smith dropped Alastair Cook twice during the first innings. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures alastair-cook.jpg Alastair Cook celebrates reaching his double century on day three of the fourth Test Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures alastair-cook1.jpg The Barmy Army applaud Alastair Cook's double-century at the MCG. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures james-anderson2.jpg Pat Cummins dismissed James Anderson with the first ball of the day to end England's innings. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures alastair-cook2.jpg Alastair Cook was left stranded on 244 after batting for the entire England innings. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures cameron-bancroft.jpg Cameron Bancroft is dismissed by Chris Woakes. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures usman-khawaja1.jpg James Anderson celebrates dismissing Usman Khawaja. Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures james-anderson-joe-root.jpg James Anderson and Joe Root spent the most time looking after the ball Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures james-anderson1.jpg Australian media accused James Anderson of ball tampering during the fourth day of the fourth Test Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures james-anderson.jpg James Anderson will not face any action over the allegations Getty Ashes fourth Test in pictures england-australia.jpg MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 30: Joe Root, captain of England celebrates after dismissing David Warner of Australia during day one of the Fourth Test Match in the 2017/18 Ashes series between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 30, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images) Getty Images Ashes fourth Test in pictures england-australia-2.jpg MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 30: Jonny Bairstow of England celebrates after dismissing Shaun Marsh of Australia with Joe Root and his teammates during day one of the Fourth Test Match in the 2017/18 Ashes series between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 30, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images) Getty Images Ashes fourth Test in pictures england-australia-3.jpg MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 30: Steve Smith of Australia hits the ball to make his century during day one of the Fourth Test Match in the 2017/18 Ashes series between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 30, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) Getty Images Ashes fourth Test in pictures england-australia-4.jpg Australia's captain Steve Smith celebrates scoring his century against England on the final day of the fourth Ashes cricket Test match at the MCG in Melbourne on December 30, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / William WEST / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- (Photo credit should read WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Ashes fourth Test in pictures england-australia-5.jpg MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 30: Steve Smith of Australia (L) and Joe Root of England shake hands after the drawn result during day one of the Fourth Test Match in the 2017/18 Ashes series between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 30, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) Getty Images Ashes fourth Test in pictures england-australia-6.jpg MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 30: England players thank the Barmy Army for their support after the dran result during day one of the Fourth Test Match in the 2017/18 Ashes series between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 30, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) Getty Images Ashes fourth Test in pictures england-australia-7.jpg MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 30: Steve Smith of Australia (R) and Joe Root of England shake hands after the drawn result during day one of the Fourth Test Match in the 2017/18 Ashes series between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 30, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) Getty Images
All the indications are that Mason Crane will make his Test debut on the ground where he made his Sheffield Shield debut for New South Wales last March. His inclusion creates a dilemma, though. If, as expected Moeen Ali is given a rest, the tail with Chris Woakes at No7 and Tom Curran at No8 begins to look awfully frail.
England could then replace Curran with a batsman, either Gary Ballance or Ben Foakes. But given the number of overs England’s seamers have got through this series, it is a strategy with the potential to do crippling damage to James Anderson and Stuart Broad, and even with Root and Dawid Malan filling in, surely Crane cannot be trusted to operate as part of a four-man attack.
The other option is to drop Curran, retain Moeen and play two spinners. Two decades ago it would have been a no-brainer, but the SCG surface is not the spin paradise it once was. It still turns, appreciably so on days four and five, but the spring has declined in recent years, and so when the sun comes out and the outfield quickens it can be a wonderful place to bat. Australia ran up more than 500 here in 2015 and 2017 (either side of a rain-ruined West Indies Test in 2016), while England posted a mammoth 644 in their win here in 2011. England’s holy grail - taking 20 Australian wickets - will not be any easier here than it was elsewhere.
Mason Crane is expected to make his Test debut in Sydney (Getty)
England are not the only team nursing battle scars. Mitchell Starc is still touch and go, despite recovering well from the heel injury that kept him out of the Melbourne Test, while Smith sat out nets on Tuesday with a sore back.
For Smith’s opposite number, Sydney brings back unpleasant memories. It was here that Root was dropped for the first and only time in his England career, a nadir that ultimately ended up being his moment of clarity. He realised he had spent so long trying to shore up his weaknesses that his strengths had been neglected, and the batsman who was recalled in 2014 was far more assured and assertive, a player with a clear identity and method.
“It made a big impact on my career,” he said. “One of the things about international cricket is that once you’ve done it, you never want to do anything else. When you are looking at things from the sidelines, it does give you drive to take your game forward again.”
Four years later, Root will play his first Sydney Test as England’s captain, and yet unless he makes his first substantial score of the series, the full circle of redemption will not quite be complete. And when you are as talented or as hungry as Root is, scores of 51, 67 and 61 do not count as substantial, not in one of the best batting countries in the world. Not when your opposite number has plundered 604 runs at over 150.
Root needs to show he can score a century in Australia (Getty)
The part that gets obscured in the debate over Root’s 50-100 conversion rate - just 13 out of 48 - is how exceptionally good he is at getting to 50 in the first place. Root settles as quickly as any batsman in world cricket, and yet once the hard work is done, the red mist often descends. “I don’t think there’s an exact science to it,” he says. “I don’t think it’s a technical thing, and it’s not necessarily playing on my mind. It’s just when of those where if I get one hundred, I’ll be flying.” | {
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Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery has been suspended four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing substances, the NFL announced Monday.
He will not receive pay and is eligible to play the Bears’ final three games.
“Obviously we’re very disappointed,” coach John Fox said. “I think he’s fairly embarrassed about it, but we’ll support him.”
On Twitter, Jeffery claimed that he took an anti-inflammatory that triggered the positive test.
“As a professional athlete, I have been careful about what I put in my body,” he wrote. “I took a recommended supplement to combat inflammation. Unfortunately this supplement contained an ingredient that was on the NFL’s banned substance list.
“I take full responsibility and I’m deeply upset with myself for not doing the proper research on this supplement. I want to apologize to my family, the Bears organization, my teammates, and Bears fans. I will work hard to earn back the respect and trust of the Bears nation and look forward to being back on the field.”
Before the statement, tight end Zach Miller presumed it was a mistake.
“I don’t see Al doing something like this out of intent to get a leg up or anything like that,” Miller said.” It’s just something that happened now and we’ve got to carry on and see if we can be better with the next four weeks without him and play better when he gets back.”
Fox said the team was made aware of the suspension Monday. His staff told players at Halas Hall when they were split into offensive and defensive groups.
Jeffery — who was voted a captain this year — had to leave the building.
.
“I hope he stays in shape,” Fox said. “He’s done a pretty good job of that in the past. I think he understands how he’s got to go about it. I’m fairly confident he will.”
Jeffery had 40 catches for 630 yards and one touchdown this season. He will lose about $3.4 million.
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An international team of scientists has discovered how an important natural antibiotic called dermcidin, produced by our skin when we sweat, is a highly efficient tool to fight tuberculosis germs and other dangerous bugs.
Their results could contribute to the development of new antibiotics that control multi-resistant bacteria.
Scientists have uncovered the atomic structure of the compound, enabling them to pinpoint for the first time what makes dermcidin such an efficient weapon in the battle against dangerous bugs.
Although about 1700 types of these natural antibiotics are known to exist, scientists did not until now have a detailed understanding of how they work.
The study, carried out by researchers from the University of Edinburgh and from Goettingen, Tuebingen and Strasbourg, is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Sweat spreads highly efficient antibiotics on to our skin, which protect us from dangerous bugs. If our skin becomes injured by a small cut, a scratch, or the sting of a mosquito, antibiotic agents secreted in sweat glands, such as dermcidin, rapidly and efficiently kill invaders.
These natural substances, known as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), are more effective in the long term than traditional antibiotics, because germs are not capable of quickly developing resistance against them.
The antimicrobials can attack the bugs' Achilles' heel – their cell wall, which cannot be modified quickly to resist attack. Because of this, AMPs have great potential to form a new generation of antibiotics.
Scientists have known for some time that dermcidin is activated in salty, slightly acidic sweat. The molecule then forms tiny channels perforating the cell membrane of bugs, which are stabilised by charged particles of zinc present in sweat. As a consequence, water and charged particles flow uncontrollably across the membrane, eventually killing the harmful microbes.
Through a combination of techniques, scientists were able to determine the atomic structure of the molecular channel. They found that it is unusually long, permeable and adaptable, and so represents a new class of membrane protein.
The team also discovered that dermcidin can adapt to extremely variable types of membrane. Scientists say this could explain why active dermcidin is such an efficient broad-spectrum antibiotic, able to fend off bacteria and fungi at the same time.
The compound is active against many well-known pathogens such as tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, or Staphylococcus aureus. Multi-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, in particular, have become an increasing threat for hospital patients. They are insensitive towards conventional antibiotics and so are difficult to treat. Staphylococcus aureus infections can lead to life-threatening diseases such as sepsis and pneumonia. The international team of scientists hopes that their results can contribute to the development of a new class of antibiotics that is able to attack such dangerous germs.
Dr Ulrich Zachariae of the University of Edinburgh's School of Physics, who took part in the study, said: "Antibiotics are not only available on prescription. Our own bodies produce efficient substances to fend off bacteria, fungi and viruses. Now that we know in detail how these natural antibiotics work, we can use this to help develop infection-fighting drugs that are more effective than conventional antibiotics."
Explore further Scientists strike blow in superbugs struggle | {
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Dois anos depois, os detalhes perderam suas nuances e a lembrança que ficou é: “Vem cá, esse não é aquele caseiro que recebeu um dinheiro? Aquela história não fi cou mal explicada?”
Dois anos depois, os detalhes perderam suas nuances e a lembrança que ficou é: “Vem cá, esse não é aquele caseiro que recebeu um dinheiro? Aquela história não fi cou mal explicada?” FOTO: ORLANDO BRITO
Francenildo dos Santos Costa era caseiro, tinha 24 anos, quatro bermudas, três calças jeans, cinco camisetas, três camisas, cinco cuecas, três pares de meia, dois pares de tênis, um sapato e um salário de 370 reais quando tudo começou, em março de 2006.
Com quadra de tênis, campinho de futebol, piscina e churrasqueira, a casa de que tomava conta desde 1999 era grande, mas discreta. Ficava no final de uma rua sem saída, num pequeno largo formado por cinco casas. Era bege, tinha dois andares e câmeras de segurança no telhado. Sua particularidade eram dois grandes portões de chapa de ferro, brancos, um na frente e outro atrás. O terreno dava fundos para uma via expressa, de modo que um carro poderia deixar a casa sem ser visto. Francenildo e a mulher, Noelma, moravam numa edícula nos fundos do terreno.
Em 2003, o proprietário da casa, o advogado Luiz Antonio Guerra, decidiu alugá-la e entrou em contato com um corretor chamado João Gustavo Abreu Coutinho. João Gustavo trazia clientes para visitar o imóvel, Francenildo abria a porta e ajudava a mostrar as dependências. Com o tempo, os dois ficaram próximos, camaradas.
Um dia, o corretor apareceu com um homem de meia-idade, rechonchudo e simpático, de cabelos ralos e um bigode largo que lhe caía feito um circunflexo sobre a boca. Chamava-se Vladimir Poleto. Vinha de Ribeirão Preto, no interior paulista, e falava em nome de um grupo de amigos que procuravam uma boa casa na capital federal. Depois de percorrer o jardim, avaliar a piscina, medir a sala e ver os quartos, pareceu satisfeito. Abriu a porta do carro e, antes de dizer ao motorista Francisco das Chagas que partisse, avisou ao corretor que entraria em contato.
O negócio foi fechado no dia seguinte. Vladimir Poleto praticamente dobrou o salário do casal de empregados: “Agora você vai ganhar 700 reais e tua mulher também.” Francenildo se alegrou, e não teve problema em concordar – “Claro, é o senhor que está me pagando” – quando Poleto estabeleceu as novas regras: “O que acontecer aqui, você não conta a ninguém, principalmente ao dono da casa.”
Logo veio a mudança. “Encostou um caminhão grande e foi descarregando cama. Só tinha cama e mais um sofá, geladeira, televisão e um aparelho de som”, lembra Francenildo. “A mulher até comentou: ‘Oxe, só tem cama?'” Mobiliaram os quartos e deixaram as salas quase nuas. Compraram uma mesa de sinuca.
A casa ficava vazia boa parte do tempo. Seu uso era restrito a festas, duas por semana, que varavam a noite. Francisco das Chagas, o motorista, trazia as convidadas. O caseiro preparava a carne, acendia a churrasqueira e gelava a cerveja. Volta e meia Poleto lhe acenava com um espeto na mão: “Fica aqui, come uma carninha, toma uma cervejinha…” Era um sujeito simpático.
Aos poucos, Francenildo foi conhecendo o grupo, liderado pelo advogado Rogério Buratti. Eram todos homens de Ribeirão, onde haviam se conhecido durante as duas administrações do Partido dos Trabalhadores. Alguns mexiam com máquinas lotéricas, outros ocupavam cargos públicos. Havia um funcionário da Caixa e um homem de formação mais modesta, secretário de ministro, além de convidados ocasionais, como um homem baixo, calvo e bom de sinuca.
Poleto havia feito uma boa escolha. A casa atendia às necessidades do grupo, era afastada. “Só tem a casa ali do lado”, comentou com um amigo. “É de uma jornalista.” “Pô… Jornalista?”, reagiu o outro.
Na segunda semana, avisaram Francenildo: “Olha, o chefão quer conhecer a casa.” Providenciou-se salaminho, latinhas do energético Red Bull e vinho. Arrumaram a mesa da cozinha, deixaram uns salgadinhos, guardanapos de papel e duas taças de cabeça para baixo. Naquela vez não haveria churrasqueira. “Vai ser discreto”, disseram antes de partir. Pediram ao caseiro que não saísse da edícula.
Por volta das oito da noite, ouviu-se o mecanismo do portão. O carro estacionou no pátio interno sob a luz de holofotes regulados por sensor eletrônico. No quarto escuro, Francenildo e Noelma ergueram a cabeça e, como hipopótamos, deixaram apenas os olhos acima da linha d’água do peitoril. A porta do carro se abriu. “Aquele é o ministro da Fazenda”, cochichou Francenildo.
Nos oito meses seguintes, Francenildo levou uma vida tranqüila. No fim do ano, foi a Teresina visitar a mãe. Lá, viu na televisão um rosto que não conhecia, o do bicheiro Carlos Cachoeira, e ouviu a palavra “bingo”, que não lhe dizia grande coisa. Dois dias depois, recebeu um telefonema de Vladimir Poleto: era preciso acertar as contas porque a casa seria desocupada imediatamente. “Nessa coisa de dinheiro eles nunca me deixaram pra trás”, contaria dois anos depois. Tomou um ônibus, atravessou o único trecho do país que conhecia e recebeu o que lhe era devido. Ajudou o ex-patrão a fazer a mudança e nunca mais o viu.
Francenildo retomou seu trabalho. Vieram outros locatários e a vida seguiu até que, no segundo semestre de 2005, a casa perdeu novamente o inquilino, e, como permanecesse desocupada, Luiz Antonio Guerra passou Francenildo de caseiro a diarista.
Com o dinheiro da rescisão, ele pensou, pensou, tomou coragem e comprou uma passagem de avião para Teresina. Ia tentar resolver a maior questão de sua vida: encontrar o pai e pedir-lhe que o reconhecesse como filho. Ficou no Piauí quinze dias e, ao voltar, se sentiu “meio alegre”. Para um rapaz fechado, de fala baixa e voz triste, era muita coisa.
A ENTREVISTA
A poucos quilômetros da casa, no Congresso, começava a entrar nos eixos a engrenagem que o moeria. A Comissão Parlamentar de Inquérito que investigava a atividade dos bingos acabava de chegar ao nome de Vladimir Poleto e Rogério Buratti. No dia 26 de janeiro de 2006, Francenildo acompanhou pela televisão o depoimento de Antonio Palocci à CPI. Num ambiente de cordialidade, o ministro respondeu a todas as perguntas. “Vossa Excelência não esteve nenhuma vez na casa que ele [Poleto] alugou no Lago Sul?”, perguntou o senador Garibaldi Alves, do PMDB. “Não, não estive nenhuma vez”, respondeu Palocci.
Poucos dias depois, no início de fevereiro, o advogado Rogério Buratti procurou o Ministério Público de São Paulo para reiterar com novos dados a acusação de que Palocci recebera propina de 50 mil reais por mês de uma empresa de Ribeirão Preto, na época em que era prefeito da cidade. Os dois haviam se desentendido por razões que extrapolavam os negócios e a política. A oposição afiou os dentes e mirou em Palocci, o homem a ser derrubado, o esteio da estabilidade econômica, o herdeiro presumido de Lula.
Na mesma semana, depois de meses sangrando por conta de escândalos vários, o presidente Lula ultrapassara os adversários nas pesquisas sobre a eleição presidencial de outubro. PFL e PSDB precisavam reagir. Dizia-se que a casa do Lago Sul era freqüentada por gente de negócios heterodoxos e hábitos mundanos. Se fosse possível confirmar a presença de Palocci ali, estaria provado que ele mentira à Comissão. Ouviram falar de um motorista que trabalhara para Vladimir Poleto.
No dia 8 de março, um senhor de rosto grave e gasto abriu a 61ª sessão da CPI dos Bingos: “Sou um homem humilde, motorista desempregado. Peço desculpas se não puder me expressar direito. Sou homem de poucos estudos, mas estou à disposição dos senhores para responder a qualquer pergunta.” Era Francisco das Chagas.
Na casa, Francenildo foi alertado pelo patrão, Luiz Antonio Guerra: “Olha, o motorista está lá na CPI. O próximo vai ser você.” O caseiro correu até um rádio. Francisco das Chagas contava aos parlamentares que garotas de programa iam à casa e afirmava ter visto o ministro Palocci lá – “mas não para festas”. Com trinta minutos de sessão, Garibaldi Alves perguntou: “Na casa havia duas empregadas e dizem que um caseiro, companheiro de uma delas. É isso?” Francisco das Chagas confirmou: “Isso mesmo, um caseiro.” E nada mais foi dito sobre Francenildo.
Era uma quinta-feira, 9 de março, o início de tudo.
Francenildo, ou Nildo, como é chamado, nasceu em 1981, na capital do Piauí. Chegou a Brasília catorze anos depois, levado pela mãe, Benta. Tinha a vaga impressão de que o pai era o dono de uma pequena empresa de ônibus de Teresina. Aos dez anos adoeceu e, sem dinheiro para comprar remédio, pediu a um amigo que o levasse até o homem que diziam ser seu pai. Entrou na garagem, pôs-se diante do proprietário e explicou o que fazia ali. Eurípedes Soares da Silva, um cinqüentão, ouviu o menino e negou a paternidade. Francenildo insistiu e o homem acabou lhe dando o equivalente a 80 reais. “Some daqui”, mandou.
Em Brasília, Francenildo arranjou serviço num bar-mercearia. Tinha 15 anos, trabalhava das seis da manhã às onze da noite. Ao sair do emprego, em 1998, deixou 800 reais com o patrão, por não ter onde guardá-los. Foi para uma chácara fazer trabalho de roça e conheceu Noelma, que se encantou pelo rapaz esguio, magro e tímido, de nariz afilado e braços longos feito galhos finos. Nesse período, seu tio lhe pediu emprestada a poupança da mercearia – “Preciso comprar um terreno em Luziânia” – e ele cedeu. Tinha uma dívida com o irmão de sua mãe, que pagara a passagem para tirá-lo de Teresina.
Noelma e Francenildo tiveram um filho, Thiago, e a vida apertou. Foi preciso ligar para o tio e pedir que adiantasse 200 reais da dívida para o enxoval do menino. Ouviu: “Como é que você quer o dinheiro, se nem sabe se o filho é teu?” Só recuperou uma parte do que emprestara. “Eu tinha consideração pelo meu tio, que me trouxe daquele lugar velho, daquela vida velha que eu tinha”, contou. “Eu vivia jogado na casa de um e de outro. Meus irmãos têm pai, então têm café-da-manhã, almoço e janta. Eu não.” Não deu sorte com os homens da família, mas teve um bom padrasto: “Ele nunca bateu em mim.”
Na manhã seguinte ao depoimento de Francisco das Chagas, Francenildo abriu o Correio Braziliense e leu:
A partir do depoimento do motorista, a CPI decidiu procurar uma das empregadas da casa do Lago Sul, chamada Neuma [sic], e seu marido, ainda não identificado, que trabalhava de caseiro no local. Há informações de que ele teria levado malas de dinheiro a Ribeirão Preto, viajando de carro, junto com Poleto.
Francisco das Chagas não falara em malas de dinheiro na CPI, mas, de alguma forma, a falsa notícia chegara ao jornal. Malas, dinheiro e poder – Francenildo ficou com medo: “Quem estava sendo acusado podia vir me pegar.” A campainha tocaria às dez da manhã. Ele deu uma espiada – eram três homens de terno. Ele os atendeu pelo interfone: “Qual é seu nome”, perguntaram. “Raimundo”, ele mentiu. “Você conhece o caseiro que trabalhou na época do Poleto?” “Não.” Pediram que viesse ao portão. Eram policiais federais a serviço do Congresso e queriam ver sua identidade. Disse que era diarista, não andava com documentos. Os homens foram embora.
Francenildo começou a correr na memória as pessoas que conhecia. Precisava de ajuda, e o patrão, Guerra, estava viajando. Parou no nome de João Gustavo Coutinho, o corretor que trouxera Poleto à casa. Devia ter influência e sempre o tratara bem. Desde que o escândalo estourara, João Gustavo lhe dizia, rindo: “Dá pra ganhar um dinheirinho bom com essa história. Uns 30 mil reais, quem sabe? Pra você comprar uma casinha.” (João Gustavo nega ter mencionado dinheiro.)
Francenildo ligou: “Gustavo, preciso de ajuda para encarar os homens.” O corretor pediu uma hora. Quando ligou de volta, disse: “Já falei com uma pessoa de confiança. Amanhã, às dez e meia, passo aí pra te pegar e a gente vai se encontrar com ele no Gilberto Salomão.” Francenildo conhecia o lugar. Era o centro comercial onde ficava a agência da Caixa em que tinha conta.
No fim de tarde, o telefone tocou no gabinete do senador Antero Paes de Barros, do PSDB. Do outro lado da linha, alguém informava que o caseiro fora encontrado e queria falar.
Às oito da manhã do dia seguinte, uma sexta-feira, João Gustavo disse a Francenildo que se abaixasse no banco de trás do carro. O caseiro saiu escondido pelo portão dos fundos, para escapar de policiais que porventura estivessem à espreita. Estacionaram em frente à padaria Lago Sul, no Gilberto Salomão. Cinco minutos depois, um homem barbado, calvo, de uns 60 anos, “fumador de cigarro”, como lembraria o caseiro, caminhou na direção deles.
Era Enéas de Alencastro Neto, assessor de Teotônio Vilela Filho, senador tucano de Alagoas. “Você é o caseiro de quem o motorista falou?” “Sou.” Desconfiado, pediu que Francenildo descrevesse o que vira na casa. Convenceu-se e lhe disse: “Rapaz, sabe quem você é? Você é o homem mais importante do mundo. Vai virar celebridade. Vai derrubar o homem mais poderoso depois do Lula.” Como Francenildo estivesse de bermudas, Alencastro disse que o levaria até a casa para vestir uma calça, pois iriam ao Congresso Nacional. Abriu a porta de um jipinho Mitsubishi, pôs o caseiro para dentro e partiu, deixando João Gustavo para trás.
Chegaram ao Senado por volta de nove e meia. Francenildo foi conduzido por corredores, escadas e salões até uma sala de espera, onde esperou sozinho durante uns vintes minutos.
Foi levado enfim à sala do tucano Antero Paes de Barros, de quem jamais ouvira falar. O senador estava sentado: “E aí, você é o caseiro da mansão lá? Você vai ficar muito famoso. Quer dar a entrevista?” Francenildo disse que estava com medo e precisava de ajuda, mas preferia não falar com a imprensa. “Não dá pra falar sem ser com eles?”, perguntou. Paes de Barros fez que não: “Não te protege. Vou arranjar um jornalista de confiança.” O senador garante que Francenildo quis falar: “Foi decisão dele.”
Paes de Barros e os assessores começaram a discutir. Qual jornalista chamar? “Esse não é confiável, aquele outro também não.” Os nomes eram levantados e imediatamente derrubados. Sentado num sofá, Francenildo ouvia sem nada compreender. Imaginava que, ao dizerem “confiável” ou “não confiável”, referiam-se à proteção dele próprio. “Andrei Meireles!”, exclamou por fim o senador, lembrando-se do jornalista da revista Época em Brasília.
“Andrei, vem aqui que eu tenho uma coisa boa pra você”, disse Paes de Barros, por telefone. Meireles estava no dentista, de boca aberta. Pediu que o senador adiantasse o assunto. “Você sabe que não é assim que funciona”, ouviu em resposta, “mas vem que é uma bomba.” O jornalista insistiu. “Não!”, irritou-se Paes de Barros. Desejou um bom fim de semana a Meireles e desligou.
“Então pensei na Rosinha, que cobria a CPI do Banestado”, diria dois anos depois o agora ex-senador, no terraço de um hotel em Brasília. Referia-se à repórter Rosa Costa, do Estado de S. Paulo. Ele foi direto ao assunto: “Ô Rosinha querida, como é que você está? Tem uma matéria para você soltar.”
Levaram Francenildo de volta à sala de espera. Em silêncio, ele esperou com Enéas de Alencastro durante quase uma hora até que Rosa Costa chegasse. Ela perguntou: “Você quer fazer a matéria?” Em busca de um último conselho, ele olhou para Alencastro e recebeu um sinal afirmativo. Virou-se para a jornalista e assentiu com a cabeça.
Rosa Costa precisava de provas de que estava mesmo com o caseiro da notória casa do Lago Sul. Foram juntos até a casa para que ele buscasse a carteira de trabalho. Com a confirmação, seguiram para a sucursal do Estado, onde foi feita a entrevista.
Já eram três e meia da tarde quando ela lhe fez a primeira pergunta: “Quantas vezes o ministro Antonio Palocci foi à casa?” Cinqüenta minutos depois, saíram. Pararam no Giraffas, uma cadeia de fast-food, onde Francenildo pediu o lanche mais barato. “Eu estava com uma fome danada. E você sabe como é pobre: depois que passa a hora de comer, não come mais nada.” Um fotógrafo do jornal tirou duas fotos do entrevistado, uma diante da casa do Lago Sul, a outra em frente de uma placa que avisava: “Perigo – Altamente inflamável”.
Palocci soube da entrevista e telefonou duas vezes a Sandro Vaia, diretor de redação do Estado, para pedir cautela e se dizer vítima de manobras de adversários. Vaia adiou por dois dias a publicação da entrevista, para que a repórter pudesse checar detalhes.
“Você quer ir para um hotel?”, perguntou Rosa Costa ao caseiro. “O jornal se dispõe a pagar a hospedagem até que a matéria saia.” Francenildo interpretou a oferta de duas maneiras: preocupação com ele ou, então, conforme disse, “medo de eu dar a mesma entrevista em outra imprensa”. Ele recusou o oferecimento, refugiou-se numa chácara e só voltou à cidade na segunda de manhã. Rosa Costa avisou que a entrevista seria finalmente publicada no dia seguinte.
No dia em que ficou famoso – 14 de março de 2006 – Francenildo acordou às seis da manhã. Ligou a televisão e ouviu: Um caseiro afirmou em entrevista ao Estadão que o ministro Palocci freqüentava a casa. E soube que estava intimado a comparecer à CPI dali a dois dias.
Às sete e meia, chegou à casa do Lago Sul. Cortava a grama quando a secretária do proprietário veio chamá-lo: “Chegou um carro de imprensa.” Era a RedeTV! Em seguida, vieram Record, Globo e SBT. A campainha tocava sem parar. Francenildo viu fotógrafos e cinegrafistas da Globo encostarem escadas na fachada da casa vizinha, onde morava a jornalista de quem ouvira falar. Subiam no telhado para filmá-lo e fotografá-lo.
Escondeu-se dentro da casa. Meia hora depois, Luiz Antonio Guerra lhe disse: “Você não pode ficar aqui, não vão te deixar em paz.” Pela segunda vez em menos de uma semana, alguém o deitou no banco de trás de um carro para que pudesse sair fugido da casa.
Guerra o deixou no Gilberto Salomão para que tomasse um ônibus, mas, quando chegou a condução, ele decidiu não entrar. Perambulou, desnorteado, pelo centro comercial. Era, naquele momento, o homem mais procurado do país. “Eu solto no Gilberto, sem noção nenhuma. A única coisa que me passava pela cabeça era que eu tinha que achar uma roupa boa pra ir na CPI. Eu via todo mundo depondo de terno. Pensei no vexame, em alguém dizer ‘Dá um terno aí pro rapaz…'”
À beira do desespero, ligou para João Gustavo: “Vocês disseram que iam me ajudar. E agora isso.” O corretor estava com clientes. Disse ao caseiro que o esperasse na mesma padaria de quatro dias antes. Francenildo comprou uma quentinha e comeu no estacionamento. João Gustavo chegou às 13h30 e abriu a porta do passageiro: “Estou tentando ligar para um primo meu que é advogado. Ele vai pegar o teu caso e não vai cobrar nada.”
O ADVOGADO
Wlicio Chaveiro Nascimento tem um rosto divertido. Lembra o personagem Wallace, do desenho animado Wallace & Gromit. Costeleta grisalha, sorriso largo, lábio inferior meio caído para fora e fumante contumaz. Seu pai, Analício, gostava muito da letra W. Batizou o filho juntando-a ao final do próprio nome – “E eu tenho penado a vida inteira.”
Wlicio, ou Ulício, como o chamam, tinha 36 anos em março de 2006. Fazia um pouco de tudo: “Eu gosto de negócios…” Fundou a Câmara de Comércio Brasil-República Democrática do Congo – CINBRACONGO – da qual ainda é presidente, na esperança de vender 500 mil coturnos para o Exército congolês. Não deu certo. No seu segundo dia em Kinshasa, foi detido por tirar fotografias turísticas na beira do rio Congo. Aparentemente, ao fundo divisava-se* uma instalação militar. Foi cercado por soldados que exigiam 200 dólares por cabeça. Num francês macarrônico, acabou comprando o batalhão inteiro por 50. Não vendeu um coturno sequer.
Advogado, Wlicio atendia os clientes numa sala na sobreloja do hotel onde morava. Sua especialidade eram divórcios e contratos de locação. Não lia jornais, não acompanhava política nem se interessava pelos escândalos da República. Na tarde em que Francenildo era procurado por toda a imprensa, Wlicio estava no fórum de Inhumas, em Goiás, quando o celular tocou. Era João Gustavo, amigo de adolescência que tratava por “primo” e a quem prestava ajuda legal. “Primo, estou precisando de um favor teu”, disse-lhe o corretor. “Tenho um amigo que precisa de um advogado, mas não tem dinheiro. Você topa?” Wlicio respondeu que sim. “Mas olha, tem imprensa. Tudo bem?” Wlicio perguntou qual era o problema. “Quando você chegar aqui eu te conto”, disse João Gustavo. O advogado falou que o procuraria no dia seguinte. “Não”, cortou o corretor, “tem que ser hoje. Vem para cá.”
No final da tarde, Wlicio tomou a estrada. Meia hora depois, o celular tocou. “Aqui é a CBN. O senhor confirma o que seu cliente disse ao Estado de S. Paulo?” “Hein?”, balbuciou Wlicio. “O que ele vai dizer na CPI?” Sem muito a acrescentar, repetiu: “Hein?”, e achou melhor fingir que a ligação caíra. O celular voltou a tocar. Folha, Estadão, Veja e Globo, todos com a mesma pergunta: “Seu cliente confirmará tudo na CPI?” Wlicio não sabia quem era o “seu cliente” e muito menos de que CPI estavam falando. Telefonou então a João Gustavo, que havia passado seu número aos jornalistas. “Que porra é essa? O que esse cara fez pra todo esse povo estar atrás dele?” O amigo riu: “Vem pra cá que eu te digo.”
Wlicio chegou à casa de João Gustavo por volta das nove da noite. Francenildo estava assustado. Apertou sem força a mão do advogado, abaixou os olhos e, com um fiapo de voz, começou a contar a história. João Gustavo falou da entrevista ao Estadão. Wlicio pediu silêncio e disse: “Antes de qualquer coisa, eu quero ver essa matéria.” Foi para um canto, leu, releu e, ao terminar, virou para Francenildo e só conseguiu dizer: “Moooooço…”
A primeira página do jornal trazia a foto de Francenildo na frente da casa e a manchete: Caseiro desmente Palocci e revela partilha de dinheiro em mansão.
A entrevista não diferia, na substância, do que o motorista Francisco das Chagas dissera à CPI. A novidade estava no peso da palavra escrita, nas ênfases. Francenildo falou de garotas de programa, de maços de dinheiro e da presença de Palocci, não duas ou três vezes, como afirmara o motorista, mas “umas dez ou vinte”, embora jamais nas festas. “Mas ele disse que nunca foi à casa”, argumentou a repórter. “Ele está mentindo”, contrapôs o caseiro, taxativo.
Pior: ao decidir esclarecer o que Francisco não dissera à CPI e que tanto o assustara – a ida a Ribeirão com malas de dinheiro – , Francenildo acabara corrigindo o que não precisava de correção. A Ribeirão não fora, mas ao estacionamento do Ministério da Fazenda, sim. Ali, segundo disse ao Estadão, viu Francisco das Chagas entregar um envelope ao secretário particular de Palocci, Ademirson Ariosvaldo da Silva. Haveria dinheiro dentro.
Wlicio se aproximou de Francenildo: “Você tem noção do que fez? Tem noção do que está envolvido?” O advogado apontava trechos da entrevista e ia perguntando: teve isso? E isso, teve? E teve até isso aqui? Atordoado, “em transe”, como lembra Wlicio, o caseiro respondia que sim. “Olha, juridicamente isso não vai dar em nada. Mas, politicamente, é uma bomba. Se prepara porque você acabou de entrar numa guerra.”
A oposição não podia desejar presente melhor: um caseiro nordestino e imigrante que desmontava com palavras simples a versão do ministro mais poderoso de um governo presidido igualmente por um imigrante nordestino. “É um Davi capaz de enfrentar vários Golias”, peroraria o oposicionista Arthur Virgílio, falando, como de hábito, para os autos.
Wlicio virou-se para João Gustavo e perguntou: “Gustavo, por que você não me trouxe esse rapaz antes da entrevista? Se ele tivesse sido orientado, é provável que a coisa não tivesse explodido.” Era uma boa pergunta. Se não tivesse falado ao Estadão, ou se tivesse sido lacônico como Francisco das Chagas na CPI, é provável que Francenildo fosse logo deixado de lado. A diferença entre o benfazejo anonimato de um e a brutal notoriedade do outro se explica, em boa parte, pela existência, no caso de Francenildo, de João Gustavo Coutinho e Enéas de Alencastro.
Naquela noite, o caseiro chegou em casa “cansado, cansado”. Ligou para a mãe, no Piauí, para dizer que estava tudo bem. Ela atendeu aos soluços. O filho tinha aparecido em todos telejornais noturnos. Sua avó, de 70 anos, tinha ouvido alguém na rua comentar “Esse filho da Benta só volta pra cá enterrado”, e desmaiou. O caseiro conseguiu dormir já de madrugada.
“Quarta, quinta e sexta vão ficar pra sempre na minha memória”, diz Francenildo. Às dez da manhã, chegou ao Metropolitan, o hotel onde Wlicio morava e tinha escritório. Percebeu que a vida não era mais a mesma. Todos sabiam quem era ele.
Wlicio se deu conta de que o caso não cabia na sua sala de trabalho. Seu cliente era reconhecido por toda parte, dezenas de jornalistas insistiam em entrevistá-lo. Procurou um parente, Elson Crisóstomo, também advogado, mas com escritório bem estabelecido. “Isso é briga de cachorro grande, me ajuda”, pediu-lhe. Precisava de espaço físico e de conselhos; o parente cedeu um escritório maior, no qual poderia receber a imprensa. Wlicio marcou uma entrevista coletiva para as seis da tarde.
No pequeno largo sem saída, na casa vizinha à do escândalo, uma nova peça da moenda que vitimaria Francenildo e derrubaria Antonio Palocci fez clique. Um jardineiro olhou a foto de Francenildo, estampada na primeira página de todos os jornais, e comentou com as empregadas: “Agora ele está famoso, justo no dia em que a gente ia lá comprar o lote da minha irmã.”
Na mesa do café-da-manhã, a dona da casa escutou. Era Helena Chagas, chefe da sucursal do Globo em Brasília. A jornalista perguntou se o homem da foto era mesmo o caseiro do vizinho, e se era verdade que ele pretendia comprar um terreno. Era.
“Olha, essa história já ficou para trás”, disse Helena Chagas, num fim de tarde de julho passado, em sua sala no prédio da Radiobrás. Seus dedos tremiam. Ela tentava controlá-los dobrando e desdobrando interminavelmente o canto de uma folha de papel. Ao ouvir que seu interlocutor estava apurando a história há um ano e que, a essa altura, imaginava conhecer bem Francenildo, ela perguntou: “Conhece mesmo? Conhece direito?”
Por quê? Desconfia dele? “Desconfiar, não”, ela disse. “Tenho curiosidade. Não sei se aquela história do dinheiro ficou bem explicada. De toda maneira, eu já disse tudo. No dia em que saiu a entrevista dele no Estadão, deixei uma equipe do Globo entrar na minha casa para fotografar. Numa dessas, meu jardineiro deve ter dito a um repórter qualquer que conhecia o caseiro e que ele estava querendo comprar uma casa. No Globo, mandei fazer a matéria. Dizia algo do tipo ‘Colegas do caseiro afirmam que ele vai comprar uma casa’. Mandei para o Rio, e eles não quiseram dar. É decisão editorial do jornal, não faço reparos.” O Globo não publicou a matéria por considerar que era um relato inconsistente, que irresponsavelmente dava curso a rumores de pessoas não identificadas.
No início daquela tarde, Helena Chagas foi ao Congresso Nacional e, no café do Senado, encontrou o senador Tião Viana, do PT do Acre. “Eu disse para o Tião: ‘Olha, parece que tem uma informação de que o rapaz recebeu um dinheiro, e a gente está indo atrás disso. Você sabe de alguma coisa?’ Era troca de chumbo: você dá informação para receber informação. Servia até para confirmar o que até ali não passava de boato. Imagina, eu tinha sido furada na minha própria rua! Eu queria tomar a frente dessa história. Não fiz nada errado.” Devido ao episódio, semanas depois Helena Chagas teve de sair do Globo.
Tião Viana vinha atuando como porta-voz informal de Palocci, que estava em Londres. Conversara por telefone com o ministro e declarara à imprensa que Francenildo havia mentido na entrevista: Palocci nunca estivera na tal casa. Por meio de Helena Chagas, o governo recebia a primeira boa notícia desde que o caso explodira: o caseiro tinha dinheiro. Interrogado, Viana diria à polícia, posteriormente, que não se lembrava se realmente mencionara a Palocci a conversa com Helena Chagas, mas completou: “O fato de eu não me lembrar não significa que não discuti o tema do caseiro com o ministro Palocci.”
A ABORDAGEM
No escritório emprestado, Wlicio e Francenildo tentavam antecipar as perguntas da coletiva quando foram interrompidos. Um conhecido cujo nome, dois anos depois, Wlicio não quer revelar, vinha trazer um recado. O conhecido se apresentou como intermediário do dono de um restaurante onde, no passado, dirigentes do PT costumavam se reunir, Lula inclusive. O dono do restaurante mandava avisar: “O pessoal está querendo uma conversa. Nada objetivo. Querem só trocar umas idéias.”
O subtexto era claro: “Eu tinha que negar na entrevista coletiva tudo o que contei para a Rosa”, relembra Francenildo. “Vocês têm de ouvir”, insistiu o conhecido. Wlicio o autorizou a saber o que o tal dono de restaurante de fato queria e, ao vê-lo ir embora, ligou imediatamente para João Gustavo. “O negócio é esse. O que você acha?” Antes da resposta, João Gustavo desligou. O advogado tentou telefonar de novo, em vão. Acabou por desistir, pois precisava ir à sede da Polícia Federal, pegar a intimação de depoimento à CPI. Deixou o caseiro sozinho ali, no escritório.
Passados uns minutos, tocou o celular de Francenildo. Era João Gustavo: “Preciso falar urgente com você”, disse, e marcaram um encontro nas imediações. Francenildo foi a pé. Quando chegou, viu que o corretor estava acompanhado de Enéas de Alencastro, o assessor tucano que o levara ao Congresso. Não perderam tempo com bom-dia ou boa-tarde. “Você já recebeu a proposta?”, perguntou João Gustavo. “Não pega de jeito nenhum, você vai complicar teu futuro, mais na frente vão te desmascarar.” Francenildo garantiu que não recebera nem aceitaria proposta nenhuma. Antes de se despedirem, o corretor lhe disse que não comentasse com ninguém a conversa que acabavam de ter. O caseiro não contou nem a seu advogado – Wlicio só saberia dela muito tempo depois. Francenildo voltou devagar e cabisbaixo para o escritório. “Foi o pior momento”, lembra. “Era um pessoal querendo me comprar pra eu mentir de um lado, pra mentir do outro, achando que eu era uma prostituta.”
Reencontrou-se com Wlicio às três da tarde. A proposta, se proposta havia, surgiria às cinco, uma hora antes da coletiva. O tempo não passava: “Chegava as dez da noite, mas não chegava as cinco, que era a hora esperada.” Sobre a combinação com seu advogado, Francenildo conta: “O Wlicio deixou claro que a decisão era minha. Mas ele recomendou que eu não pegasse. Ele disse assim: ‘Eu até posso explicar se aparecer algum dinheiro na minha conta, mas e você?'” Minutos depois do horário marcado, tocou o telefone. Era o intermediário, avisando que eles queriam tomar um café.
Nesse ponto, a versão dos dois diverge. Segundo Wlicio, ele pediu a seu parente, o dono do escritório, que desse a resposta. Este pegou o telefone e cortou o assunto de chofre: “Não tem café, nem almoço, nem janta.” Wlicio garante que a abordagem foi encerrada sem que se falasse em valores.
Em casa, sozinho, Francenildo lembrou diferente: “Eles falaram em um milhão de reais, mais uma casa, para eu negar tudo. O Wlicio me disse assim: ‘O conhecido falou em um milhão de reais. O dinheiro é bom: você arranja a tua vida e eu fico com a metade. Mas o dinheiro também é ruim: você vai ter que mentir e vai correr perigo. No teu lugar, eu não aceitaria.'”
João Gustavo Coutinho também confirma a sondagem. “Eu me lembro muito bem”, disse em abril deste ano, dirigindo um Toyota Triton novo e bem cuidado. “O Wlicio me telefonou dizendo que um povo ligado ao PT queria oferecer dinheiro. Senti que ele estava em dúvida. Liguei para o Nildo e pedi para ele me encontrar no Gilberto Salomão. Lá eu disse a ele: ‘Eu tentei te ajudar e agora você vai mentir?'”
Mas por que, além de não chamar Wlicio para a conversa, João Gustavo levou consigo Enéas de Alencastro, o assessor dos tucanos? Sem graça, ele disse que não se dava muito bem com o “primo” Wlicio. Desconversou, não soube se explicar.
Foi a segunda vez em que se mostrou evasivo. Na primeira, assegurou que, ao receber o primeiro telefonema de Francenildo – na quinta-feira, 9 de março –, levou-o imediatamente a Wlicio. Não tinha qualquer dúvida: “Ele precisava de um advogado.” Somente depois de muito rodar de Toyota e de ouvir uma cronologia detalhada daqueles dias de 2006, ele admitiu: sim, era verdade, quatro dias antes de apresentar o caseiro ao amigo advogado, ele o levou a Enéas de Alencastro. Confundira-se, já havia passado tanto tempo. E deu uma nova explicação: “Achei mais importante ele se proteger, ter o amparo do Estado. Liguei então para o Enéas e pedi ajuda. O Enéas me disse que podia proteger o Francenildo no Senado, através da imprensa.”
Alguém que conhece por dentro o funcionamento do poder político e econômico de Brasília afirma não acreditar em articulações partidárias para comprar depoimentos. No máximo, pessoas ou grupos periféricos ao poder podem agir por conta própria, para mais tarde cobrar favores. Por outro lado, entregar testemunhas letais que tenham serventia aos interesses da situação ou da oposição traz dividendos políticos, a serem resgatados em momento oportuno. Mas dinheiro vivo, não. Dinheiro vivo é coisa de aloprados, *e mesmo estes preferem comprar documentos a pessoas*.
Às seis da tarde, cerca de trinta jornalistas se espremeram para ouvir Francenildo. O caseiro confirmou tudo o que havia dito ao Estadão. Às 20h05, o jornalista Ricardo Noblat publicou em seu blog:
O caseiro não é homem de medir as palavras. Conta com uma sinceridade espantosa tudo que viu na mansão e não foge às perguntas. Os jornalistas apertaram o caseiro para ver se ele caía em contradição – não caiu. Para ver se ele vacilava – não vacilou.
Por volta da mesma hora, em mais um giro da mó, o coordenador-geral de fiscalização da Receita Federal pediu a um subordinado que descobrisse o CPF, o endereço residencial e a data de nascimento de Francenildo dos Santos Costa.
Clique. O último daquela quarta-feira.
A CPI
Na manhã seguinte, quinta-feira, 16 de março, Wlicio chegou à casa de Francenildo às sete e meia da manhã. Deu uma olhada na roupa que ele escolhera para se apresentar à CPI – camisa pólo, jeans e sapato – e recomendou que tirasse o boné porque “não dava credibilidade”. A caminho do escritório, rezaram juntos em voz alta, “porque tudo isso era muito novo para a gente”. Chegaram ao Senado por volta das nove e meia. Um funcionário pediu a Francenildo que lhe entregasse os documentos – CPF e carteira de identidade – para poder qualificá-lo como depoente.
Pouco antes, às 9h09, o técnico da Receita Federal Nilton Cruvinel havia acessado o CPF de Francenildo dos Santos Costa. Obedecia a uma ordem superior que, como uma bola empurrada do alto de uma escadaria, descera a cadeia hierárquica quicando de degrau em degrau até cair no seu colo. Passou a informação a seu chefe, que fez uma consulta mais ampla. Abriu um “Dossiê Integrado/Pessoa Física” do caseiro, com dados sobre CPMF e o banco que recolhia o tributo, a Caixa Econômica Federal. Anotou as informações e as repassou ao coordenador-geral de fiscalização que, na véspera, instruíra um subordinado a investigar Francenildo.
No Congresso, numa sala reservada, o senador Efraim Morais, do PFL, presidente da CPI dos Bingos, perguntava ao caseiro se preferia que a sessão fosse aberta ou fechada. “Aberta”, respondeu Francenildo. Todos os senadores da oposição lhe entregaram cartões pessoais: “Se precisar de alguma coisa, é só ligar…” *Garçons trouxeram uns salgadinhos “mixurucas”, segundo Francenildo.* Eduardo Suplicy foi o único parlamentar governista que falou com ele: “Vem cá, meu filho, você não está mesmo recebendo dinheiro de ninguém pra vir aqui falar mal do ministro Palocci?” Ao contrário de seus colegas de partido, Suplicy fora o único que votara a favor da convocação do rapaz. Seu voto havia desempatado a questão, contra o interesse do governo.
Às 11h30, finalmente, Francenildo e Wlicio entraram na sala da CPI. Na primeira fila, Arthur Virgílio e Antonio Carlos Magalhães. Na segunda, a bancada do governo: Tião Viana, Ideli Salvatti e Wellington Salgado, cujos cabelos lembram o de Maria Bethânia.
Tião Viana pediu a palavra: “Temos hoje a CPI dos Bingos tendo como audiência ouvir o senhor… me foge o nome agora…” – consultou papéis – “… o senhor Francenildo dos Santos Costa.” Avisou que entrara com um mandado de segurança no Supremo Tribunal Federal para impedi-lo de falar, sob a alegação de “brutal desvio de finalidade”, visto que o caseiro nada teria a dizer sobre bingos. A presença de Francenildo ali era uma manobra da oposição para invadir a vida pessoal de um ministro. E, de forma algo confusa, concluiu: “Na hora que eu me sentir conivente com a destruição de qualquer indivíduo segundo o que lhe diz respeito puramente, eu deixo de ter condição de olhar com autonomia e liberdade para qualquer indivíduo.”
A dois metros de Francenildo, Arthur Virgílio, do PSDB, pegou o microfone e pronunciou: “Não posso mais empenhar solidariedade política ao ministro Antonio Palocci. Não era para ele estar aqui sendo julgado pelo senhor Francenildo. Ele rebaixou seu papel!”
Heloísa Helena pediu a palavra. “Primeiro, quero dizer, senhor Francelino, da minha admiração pela sua coragem, meu filho.” E, sempre tratando Francenildo por Francelino, prosseguiu falando de si mesma: “Sei dos preconceitos. Quando uma mulher entra na política, dizem que é prostituta ou lésbica.” Wlicio e Francenildo concordaram com a cabeça.
Vinte e sete minutos depois de iniciada a sessão, ouviu-se pela primeira vez a voz de Francenildo, em resposta a uma pergunta da senadora: “Eu só quero saber o seguinte: você confirma tudo o que disse?”
“Confirmo.”
Quatro minutos depois: “O senhor recebeu algum dinheiro para dar esse depoimento?”
“Não.”
Agripino Maia, do PFL, *olhou nos olhos do caseiro e sussurrou*: “Francenildo, meu conterrâneo, você é um brasileiro típico. Você é a quem o presidente Lula se refere. Você comparece vestido modestamente, com uma camisa discreta, uma calcinha surrada, um sapato modesto, mas o seu olhar é firme e sua palavra, decidida” – até o momento, duas palavras: confirmo e não. E numa exortação súbita, que chegou a assustar a platéia: “Diga tudo, Francenildo! Diga tudo! Não esconda nada!”
É a vez do senador Pedro Simon, que se dirigiu a Francenildo sem condescendência ou descaso: “O destino é isso. De repente, você é colocado numa posição na qual você pode ser uma pessoa da maior importância para o Brasil. Mas você tem que dizer a verdade.”
Afastando uma mecha de cabelo, o senador Wellington Salgado se indignou: “Esse cidadão que eu nunca vi, ele nem sabe o jogo em que ele está entrando. Isso aqui parece mitologia grega, onde os deuses brincam com os mortais. O senador Simon disse que, se o cidadão falar, o ministro cai. O que esse… como é?…” – remexeu papéis – “… esse Francenildo disser, eu vou escutar, mas quero também escutar o ministro.”
Flávio Arns, senador do PT, começou *bem, chamando* Francenildo de Francenildo, mas durou pouco: “Lino, destruir a reputação de pessoas com declarações infundadas é uma questão muito séria. É preciso fazer uma reflexão muito profunda sobre a ética da comunicação.” Wlicio e Francenildo concordaram com a cabeça.
Duas horas e quinze minutos depois de abertos os trabalhos, o relator da CPI enfim deu início à oitiva. O depoente se apresentou: “Bom, eu sou um caseiro, o homem lá é um ministro, então é a minha palavra contra a dele.” Mostrando o celular, prosseguiu: “Se eu tivesse esse celular na época, tinha tirado fotografia. O meu arrependimento só foi esse. É tudo o que eu tinha a declarar. Eu sou Francenildo dos Santos Costa.”
Às 14h30, a senadora Ideli Salvatti interrompeu a sessão para avisar: acabava de receber a liminar do STF, que acatara o mandado de Tião Viana. Perplexo, Pedro Simon perguntou: “Quem impetrou o mandado foi o PT?” Ao ouvir a resposta, cochichou: “Quem diria, quem diria…” Francenildo ficou três horas sentado diante dos senadores. Falou apenas 41 minutos.
Efraim Morais leu ao microfone a liminar em que o ministro Cezar Peluso, do Supremo, aceitara a tese de desvio de finalidade: a entrevista ao Estadão demonstrava ser o caseiro uma “pessoa simples que se propõe a fazer afirmações constrangedoras sobre a vida íntima de pessoas ligadas ao governo”. De resto, Francenildo não poderia compreender a natureza do dinheiro que circulava dentro da casa: “É o que se presume à condição cultural e ao próprio trabalho que a testemunha desempenharia no local apontado.” O presidente da CPI exclamou: “Vou solicitar à Polícia Federal que dê garantia de vida ao senhor Francenildo!”, e três homens se postaram atrás do caseiro.
Arthur Virgílio apoiou Efraim Morais: “É essencial que o senhor exija garantia de vida ao senhor Francenildo Costa, que eu imagino potencialmente ameaçado porque seu depoimento causou celeuma. Pedirei a demissão de Antonio Palocci, que não tem mais condições de ser ministro porque temeu as palavras de um jovem que mal podia balbuciar suas frases.”
Ideli Salvatti agora berrava. A oposição espetava dedos fotogênicos no ar e Tião Viana, sereno, garantia: “Não feri o manto constitucional.”
Enquanto um cordão de policiais retirava Francenildo da sala, ouviu-se a última manifestação do dia. Era o senador governista Magno Malta, aproveitando as câmeras ainda ligadas: “Quero deixar claro que não fui contra a vinda do senhor… do senhor…” E esticando a cabeça para ler a plaquinha diante da cadeira agora vazia: “… do senhor Francenildo dos Santos Costa.”
A sessão terminava como havia começado, com um senador que não se dera ao trabalho de guardar o nome da testemunha interrogada. Francenildo se lembraria do que sentiu naqueles momentos: ninguém sabia quem ele era, e ninguém se importava.
Num café de Brasília, comendo uma pamonha, um jovem assessor parlamentar do quadro técnico do Congresso, de nível superior, concursado, explica a natureza de seu trabalho e como funciona uma CPI. “Quando sou chamado para assessorar um senador, abro mão da minha posição funcional e viro partidário: sou do Tião Viana, sou do Arthur Virgílio. Quem faz a CPI são funcionários como eu. Chamamos gente do Banco Central, da Receita, formamos uma força tarefa e damos a linha mestra. As perguntas são entregues aos senadores na véspera, à noite. Repassamos com eles as questões, dizemos por onde seguir e por onde não entrar. Eles não têm tempo para investigar e, francamente, nem sempre têm capacidade. Fazemos o trabalho sujo. Quando a Justiça permite, passamos dias analisando extratos, e aí damos de cara, por exemplo, com um gasto de 20 mil reais numa joalheria. O bom assessor não hesita: liga para a mulher do suspeito e pergunta se ela ganhou uma jóia. Ah, não? Ah, ele é um safado? Ah, a senhora quer acabar com ele? Então acabe com ele aqui, com a gente.”
Qual era o objetivo da CPI dos Bingos? “Conseguir o maior número de baixas no governo. A linha mestra era atacar o Palocci e achar um elo entre ele e os bingos. Conseguimos. De bingo mesmo, investigamos muito pouco. Só no final, para constar. Nós é que direcionamos as perguntas para o motorista. Antes do depoimento, a gente sentou com ele e perguntou o que ele sabia. Ele nos falou que existia um caseiro. Então dissemos aos senadores que perguntassem sobre o caseiro. E foi assim que o Francenildo entrou na história.”
O petista Tião Viana sabia disso. “Ele era o grande personagem daquela CPI. Nada não passava por ele”, diz o assessor. Havia fundamento no mandado de segurança que impetrou, ainda que os argumentos do STF tivessem sido mais de classe do que de mérito. Francenildo fora mesmo convocado apenas para prejudicar Palocci.
Naquela quinta-feira, na sala da CPI, os únicos que não sabiam disso eram o próprio caseiro e seu advogado. Ambos ignoravam também que, na mesma tarde, o secretário da Receita Federal, Jorge Rachid, recebia o CPF de Francenildo. E que no Palácio do Planalto, às 17h30, numa reunião para discutir a situação dos bancos estatais, o presidente Lula se reunia com sete integrantes do governo, entre os quais os ministros Antonio Palocci e o presidente da Caixa Econômica Federal, Jorge Mattoso.
Mattoso saiu tenso do Planalto. Em vez de ir para casa, como parecia planejado, disse ao seu motorista que voltasse à Caixa.
A QUEBRA
Ao deixar o Senado, Francenildo e Wlicio foram levados à sede da Polícia Federal, aonde chegaram por volta das quatro da tarde. Pegaram o elevador e entraram na sala do delegado Wilson Damázio, diretor da Coordenação-Geral de Defesa Institucional. Logo apareceram outros policiais.
Diante da dupla, o grupo se pôs a discutir pormenores da inclusão de Francenildo no “programa” – o Programa de Proteção ao Depoente Especial. Wlicio não compreendia, e Francenildo menos ainda. “A verdade é que nós estávamos perdidos”, disse Wlicio. “A gente estava à margem de tudo o que estava sendo discutido. Ninguém nos informou como era o programa. Quando chegamos lá, eles já haviam tomado a decisão.”
Um agente perguntou a Francenildo: “É só você que quer proteção, ou também a tua família?” “Minha e de meu filho”, ele respondeu. “Então vamos lá na tua casa pra você pegar umas roupas e perguntar se a tua mulher quer entrar no programa.”
Wlicio avisou que às cinco horas deveriam estar no escritório, pois haveria uma entrevista coletiva, sobre a decisão do Supremo. “Não”, disse-lhe o policial. “Depois que entra no programa, não pode mais falar com ninguém.” A entrevista teria de ser cancelada. “Nildo, você vai em casa, pega uma roupa e a gente se fala mais tarde”, disse.
Em São Sebastião, cidade-satélite onde Francenildo estava morando, Noelma viu os policiais chegarem. Não quis participar do programa e brigou com o marido. Não compreendia por que a casa estava ocupada por agentes que vasculhavam cada cômodo, abriam a geladeira, olhavam dentro do guarda-roupa. O marido não soube explicar.
Apenas juntou uma muda de roupas, beijou o filho e foi levado embora.
De volta à Polícia Federal, quase oito da noite, o delegado Damázio disse ao caseiro que precisava dos documentos dele. Francenildo entregou o CPF e a carteira de identidade. “Tudo”, insistiu Damázio, e recebeu de Francenildo o cartão do banco. Um escrivão pegou os documentos, atravessou duas salas sem fechar as portas atrás de si e, à vista de Francenildo, tirou xerox de tudo. “Celular e chaves também”, disse Damázio. Ele esvaziou os bolsos.
Enquanto esperava que a papelada ficasse pronta, ouviu o toque de um celular na outra sala. Era o seu, reconhecia pelo tom característico. “Meu telefone está tocando.” “Não é o teu”, respondeu um agente. Mas era, sim: *Wlicio estava ligando*.
Ele contaria depois: “Tentei insistentemente, mas ninguém atendia. Lembro até hoje. Pus a mão na cabeça e disse: ‘Puta que o pariu! Nem no Congo eu fiz tanta cagada! Como é que eu estou defendendo uma pessoa contra o governo e deixo ela na mão do governo?'” Jornalistas telefonavam e Wlicio lhes dizia que perdera contato com o cliente.
Informaram a Francenildo que ele tinha direito a um único telefonema. Foi para a mãe que ele ligou, no Piauí. Trouxeram então papéis para que assinasse.
Às dez da noite, o delegado Damázio telefonou a Wlicio: “Doutor, que história é essa de dizer para a imprensa que a PF seqüestrou o seu cliente?” “Doutor, eu não usei o verbo ‘seqüestrar’. A minha reclamação é que, desde as cinco da tarde, estou tentando falar com ele e não consigo.” Damázio respondeu: “Você pode falar com ele quando quiser, mas agora o telefone dele é o da Polícia Federal, o endereço dele é o da Polícia Federal.” Ao assinar os papéis, Francenildo abdicara do direito de ir e vir e passara a ser tutelado pela PF. Eram as normas do programa. “Está tudo bem, Nildo?”, perguntou Wlicio. Ouviu um titubeante “Está, está”.
Eram 22h40 quando Francenildo entrou num carro com motorista e dois agentes. Passaram-lhe as regras: “Você está sendo levado para uma casa. Você vai dividir o quarto com alguém. Não vai fazer perguntas a ele, nem ele a você.” O carro pegou uma estrada e deixou a cidade para trás. Chovia forte.
Poucas horas antes, o presidente da Caixa Econômica Federal Jorge Mattoso saíra no meio da reunião no Palácio do Planalto e voltara ao soturno prédio redondo que abriga a sede do banco. Subiu até o 21º andar, entrou em seu gabinete e chamou Ricardo Schumann, consultor da presidência. Segundo Schumann declarou à Polícia Federal, Mattoso lhe passou verbalmente o número do CPF de Francenildo e disse: “Veja o que ele tem na Caixa.”
Era um pedido insólito. Quando há suspeita em relação à movimentação de um correntista, o canal institucional da Caixa a ser acionado é a Superintendência de Controle Interno, que, por sua vez, se descobrir razão sólida para aprofundar a averiguação, acionará o Conselho de Controle de Atividades Financeiras, Coaf, agência ligada ao Ministério da Fazenda cuja atribuição é exatamente investigar movimentações atípicas de dinheiro. Mattoso confirmou à polícia que pediu a impressão dos extratos do caseiro, e não usou os canais de praxe, “tendo em vista o adiantado da hora”.
Já Schumann afirmou à Polícia Federal que, por desconhecer as atribuições do Coaf, não considerou estranha a ordem, até porque, segundo disse, “consultor faz de cafezinho a Boeing”. Estava a minutos de acrescentar um novo item à sua ampla gama de atribuições: a quebra ilegal de sigilo bancário.
Como é característico das burocracias, a ordem foi passada adiante, adiante e mais adiante. Schumann ligou para uma funcionária, pediu-lhe que viesse à sua sala – não queria falar por telefone. Perguntou se ela chefiava alguém de confiança que tivesse acesso à senha do sistema de consulta a extratos. Explicou que se tratava de assunto sigiloso, para fins de comunicação ao Coaf. A funcionária anotou o nome e o CPF de Francenildo, tomou o elevador e entregou as informações a um subordinado que, do seu laptop, gerou o primeiro extrato do caseiro, no qual foi impresso, automaticamente, o horário da consulta: 20h56min06s.
O extrato registrava que Francenildo dos Santos Costa, com renda declarada de 510 reais por mês, recebera, a partir de 6 de janeiro daquele ano, três depósitos mensais, nos seguintes valores sucessivos: 10 mil reais, 9 990 reais e 5 mil reais. O último baixara na conta em 6 de março, dois dias antes de o motorista Francisco das Chagas depor à CPI. Clique. A moenda acabava de ser azeitada, e pôs-se a moer.
As câmeras de segurança gravaram imagens de Jorge Mattoso deixando o prédio da CEF às 20h58, dois minutos depois da violação. Schumann permaneceu ali mais um pouco. Nos dez minutos seguintes, foram impressos outros dois extratos, às 20h58 e às 21h06. Ele os recebeu da funcionária, colocou-os num envelope pardo com o timbre da Caixa, e foi embora. Eram 21h19, *treze* minutos depois da impressão do último extrato.
Quando o presidente da Caixa apareceu no estacionamento, o motorista saiu do carro e abriu a porta. Mattoso lhe fez sinal e disse que não, iria no carro de seu assessor de imprensa. O motorista deveria segui-lo. Os dois carros pararam no La Torreta, um pequeno restaurante espanhol com sofás brancos capitonês. À mesa, Mattoso sentou-se com um assessor jurídico e outro de imprensa. Entre 21h15 e 21h30, conversou por telefone com Antonio Palocci – “Eram assuntos pendentes”, explicaria posteriormente o ministro à Polícia Federal.
Ricardo Schumann chegou ao La Torreta pouco depois e entregou o envelope a seu chefe. Jorge Mattoso o abriu, conferiu as folhas, devolveu-as ao envelope, terminou o jantar e partiu. Saiu do restaurante com ar contrariado, conforme seu motorista. Usualmente boa-praça e falante, estava calado e assim ficou. Deu apenas o destino: a casa do ministro Antonio Palocci, um trajeto que *o motorista* só havia feito uma vez desde que Mattoso tomara posse na Caixa. Eram onze horas da noite.
Palocci abriu a porta e Mattoso lhe entregou o envelope. Não falaram mais de dez minutos. Em depoimento à Polícia Federal, Palocci disse que Mattoso precisava conversar sobre a instalação de agências da Caixa no Japão e nos Estados Unidos. Trocaram idéias e, ao cabo, Mattoso lhe mostrou os extratos. Eram da conta do caseiro, disse-lhe, e, como revelavam indícios de movimentação atípica, teriam sido impressos para efeito de comunicação ao Coaf. Palocci assentiu, deixou o envelope sobre uma escrivaninha, e, ao levar Mattoso até a porta, pediu que seguisse adiante com os trâmites legais cabíveis. (Mattoso não quis ser entrevistado para esta reportagem.)
O ministro voltou para a sala, onde estavam duas pessoas: Marcelo Netto, seu assessor de imprensa, e Daniel Goldberg, secretário de Direito Econômico do Ministério da Justiça. À PF, Goldberg relatou que, na conversa que se seguiu, passaram a avaliar mecanismos de investigação para descobrir a origem “da grana levada pelo caseiro para comprar a casinha”. Como era tarde, combinaram que se reencontrariam na manhã seguinte, ali mesmo. A conversa terminou pouco antes da meia-noite.
Era a hora em que Francenildo se aproximava do abrigo que lhe reservava o Programa de Proteção à Testemunha. O carro da Polícia Federal entrou por uma estrada de terra batida. A noite era funda e chovia sem parar. Temeroso, o caseiro tentava se localizar, caso precisasse fugir, mas não enxergava nada. Quando chegaram, finalmente, viu uma lâmpada nua na frente do portão. Outra iluminava a fachada do prédio de dois andares que alojava os agentes da polícia. Francenildo divisou um barraco e intuiu que era para lá que o levariam. Estava certo.
“Andei uns 70 metros embaixo de uma chuva danada, com um homem de capa que tinha um bafo de pinga horrível. Quase pedi um gole”, lembra. O guarda bateu na porta do barraco e um “protegido” abriu. “Ele estava vendo televisão. Olhei em volta, tinha dois colchõezinhos e uns gatos. Sei que era perto da meia-noite porque estava passando o Jornal da Globo.”
A porta se fechou atrás de Francenildo. A passos lentos, hesitantes, *ele* foi até o meio da sala e esperou alguma reação do homem. Nada, o *protegido* mantinha os olhos na televisão. “Como eu só tinha comido os salgadinhos da CPI , perguntei: ‘Tem comida aí?'” “Tem um resto na geladeira”, o outro respondeu. Na cozinha, encontrou tudo sujo: fogão, panelas, pratos. Achou uma lata de sardinhas e uns ovos. Limpou a frigideira, acendeu o fogo e fritou sardinha com ovo.
Da sala, o protegido gritou: “Você acabou de aparecer aqui no jornal. Deve passar também na Record.” Francenildo se aproximou enquanto o homem trocava de canal. Não demorou muito: “O caseiro Francenildo dos Santos Costa disse que o ministro Palocci…”
O homem se virou e, curioso, cravou os olhos em Francenildo. Era um moreno gordo, de uns 20 e tantos anos. Apresentou-se: traficante no Ceará, havia denunciado comparsas, a mulher fora assassinada e ele fugira para se proteger. Relatou assaltos e assassinatos que cometera. Estava abrigado na casa já fazia quatro meses. “É bom, tem até caminhada de manhã cedinho.”
Francenildo perguntou onde poderia dormir. “Tem um colchão aí. Cama não tem não.” O caseiro notou um vão de 10 centímetros entre o chão e a porta: “Dormir em chão que não conheço, no meio do mato, não durmo, não.” Usou duas caixas como base, pôs uma tábua por cima, jogou o colchonete e fechou os olhos. “Quando o sono batia, eu me sentava. Tinha medo de dormir, não queria sonhar. Passei a noite deitando e sentando, deitando e sentando.”
Às seis da manhã, tomou um banho gelado para ficar de pé. Enquanto a água caía e o bandido roncava, pensou: “Não matei, não tenho que estar aqui. Vou embora.” Disse a um guarda que queria voltar para casa. Ficou sabendo que, para sair do programa, era preciso voltar a Brasília e passar pela burocracia. Chegou três horas depois à sede da PF. Seu advogado o esperava. “Quando vi o Wlicio, pensei que era Deus”, disse. “Acho que quem fica preso dez, quinze anos, deve sentir isso quando revê pela primeira vez um conhecido.”
A burocracia demorou até o meio-dia. Às três e meia, depois de almoçarem juntos, Wlicio deixou Francenildo em casa e voltou para o escritório. Tinha trabalho acumulado a despachar. Sentou-se na escrivaninha às seis da tarde. Meia hora depois, o telefone tocou: “Ô Wlicio, vem cá, que dinheiro é esse na conta do teu cliente?” Era o jornalista Andrei Meireles, da Época.
No governo, as horas que antecederam o telefonema de Meireles foram frenéticas. Pela manhã, Daniel Goldberg, do Ministério da Justiça, retornou à casa de Palocci. Vinha acompanhado de Cláudio Alencar, chefe de gabinete do ministro Márcio Thomaz Bastos, da Justiça, que estava em Rondônia. Palocci disse aos dois que telefonara para Helena Chagas, do Globo, para saber se era verdade que o jornal estava fazendo uma matéria sobre o dinheiro suspeito do caseiro. Helena Chagas confirmara a informação. Do ponto de vista * legal*, o telefonema de Helena Chagas – citado por Palocci no inquérito policial – era decisivo: significava que o ministro podia falar com seus assessores sobre o dinheiro de Francenildo sem trazer à baila os extratos que Jorge Mattoso lhe entregara na véspera, pois eram eles, justamente, a prova da quebra ilícita do sigilo bancário.
Palocci negou à Polícia Federal ter mostrado os extratos a quem quer que fosse. Negou também ter dado a ordem para a quebra de sigilo. Nenhuma das pessoas investigadas o contradisse, e Mattoso declarou expressamente à PF que foi dele, Mattoso, a iniciativa de consultar os registros bancários do caseiro.
“Nunca dei ordem para a quebra. Pedi, sim, que tentassem explorar a possibilidade da Polícia Federal investigar a origem daquele dinheiro, que àquela altura parecia suspeita”, contou Palocci no final de setembro. Goldberg e Alencar se mostraram céticos. O caminho mais correto seria acionar o Coaf, o que implicava a desvantagem do tempo – o órgão seguia um rito investigatório cuidadoso, lento, e havia pressa. Ainda assim, os dois assessores de Márcio Thomaz Bastos disseram a Palocci que iriam à sede da PF para tentar descobrir alguma alternativa a ser explorada. Deixaram a casa do ministro por volta de uma da tarde.
Na Polícia Federal, Goldberg e Alencar se reuniram com o mais alto funcionário disponível, o diretor-executivo Zulmar Pimentel, um delegado amazonense de 54 anos conhecido pelos nomes exuberantes com que batizava as grandes operações da PF: Anaconda, Cavalo de Tróia, Curupira, Narciso. Pimentel ouviu o caso e não demorou a responder: “Não se instaura um processo sem suporte técnico, em especial se baseado em boatos.” Decerto, havia mais do que boatos. Existiam os extratos – mas estes não podiam ser exibidos.
Na mesma tarde o presidente do Coaf, Antonio Rodrigues, recebeu um telefonema do Ministério da Fazenda. O chefe de gabinete do ministro queria falar com ele pessoalmente. Encontraram-se às 17h30, no prédio da Fazenda. Rodrigues ouviu que “estava na imprensa a informação de que o caseiro havia recebido dinheiro.” Respondeu que nada sabia e esclareceu que “o Coaf não faz investigação aleatória”. A reunião não durou mais de dez minutos.
De volta ao Coaf, teve o cuidado de fazer uma rápida consulta para saber se havia chegado alguma comunicação sobre Francenildo. Nada. Vasculhou a imprensa e só encontrou notícias sobre o depoimento do caseiro à CPI. Diferentemente do que lhe dissera o chefe de gabinete de Palocci, a informação de que “o caseiro recebera dinheiro” ainda não “estava na imprensa”. Estaria dentro de alguns minutos.
Goldberg e Alencar retornaram à casa de Palocci por volta das seis da tarde. O ministro estava com Marcelo Netto, seu assessor de imprensa. Informaram Palocci sobre a posição da PF. Haviam inclusive ligado para Márcio Thomaz Bastos, que diria um mês mais tarde: “Não participei da quebra de sigilo, nem meus assessores. Eu estava em Rondônia. Não fui informado da quebra, mas sim de um pedido de Palocci para que fosse investigada a suspeita de que o caseiro havia recebido dinheiro para prestar depoimento.”
A polícia e o Coaf haviam fechado as portas. Restava a imprensa. A Polícia Federal quebrou o sigilo telefônico de Marcelo Netto. Minutos antes de Wlicio receber o telefonema de Andrei Meireles, ele ligou para órgãos de imprensa e, em especial, várias vezes para a Época.
O PAI
“Eu senti como se fosse uma facada”, diz Wlicio. “O Andrei começou a ler depósito por depósito, 10 mil num mês, quase 10 mil no outro, 5 mil no seguinte. E eu ali, feito um babaca, sem saber o que dizer. Porra, eu tinha pegado o caso de graça e agora isso? O cara tava levando grana?” Meireles listava, Wlicio ia anotando num bloquinho: CEF, ag. 0674, Lago Sul; 02/01 saldo: R$ 224. 06/01: dep 10.000,00… Extrato: 20h58min21s. O repórter da Época conseguia agora, finalmente, pular à frente de uma história que poucos dias antes lhe caíra no colo e ele deixara escapar porque estava no dentista.
“Andrei, eu não tenho idéia do que é isso. Mas uma coisa eu te garanto: se tiver sacanagem, eu vou ser o primeiro a pôr a boca no trombone.” Wlicio desligou o telefone e enterrou o rosto nas mãos. “Puta que o pariu! Depois de tanta aventura, depois do Congo, onde é que eu fui me meter…” Já imaginava o que todos diriam: ou era idiota, por não saber de nada, ou era *bandido*, por participar da maracutaia. “Liguei para o Nildo já metendo o pé na goela: ‘Que caralho de dinheiro é esse na tua conta, meu irmão? Eu não estou te cobrando nada e você me apronta uma dessas?'”
“Quando o telefone tocou e eu ouvi a voz do Wlicio, foi duro”, lembra Francenildo. “Era voz de briga, os termos eram feios. Pensei: ‘Agora a minha vida acabou. Quem estava do meu lado vai embora.'”
E então explicou.
Cinco meses antes, havia tomado um avião e viajara a Teresina com uma coisa na cabeça: falar com o pai e pedir para ser registrado como filho. “Por quê?”, perguntou Wlicio. “Ué, porque eu tenho um pai!”, respondeu espantado *o caseiro*.
Ao chegar lá, esperou uns dias e, num domingo, foi à garagem de ônibus da empresa Soares. Sabia, por amigos, que o homem com quem queria falar costumava passar os domingos trabalhando. A sala dele estava aberta e Francenildo entrou. Um senhor atarracado levantou a cabeça: “É reclamação?” Francenildo ficou um instante parado antes de dizer: “Não está me reconhecendo, não?” O homem não compreendeu. Houve um silêncio. “Sou o filho da Benta, sou teu filho, o Francenildo.” O pai se levantou. Era um homem já na casa dos 70 anos, de semblante duro e rosto pedregoso. “O que você veio fazer aqui?”, perguntou. O filho respondeu: “Você sabe o que eu vim fazer aqui.”
Eurípedes Soares da Silva começou a gritar. “Ele grita até com o vento”, conta o filho. Saiu porta afora e ficou dando voltas no pátio, até finalmente voltar à sala e perguntar. “Você quer uma ajuda?” “Eu quero um registro”, respondeu Francenildo. Ameaçou-o com uma ação de paternidade e saiu.
Dois dias depois, recebeu o recado de que o pai queria conversar. Encontraram-se na beira de um posto de gasolina. Eurípedes lhe propôs que aceitasse um dinheiro para “dar um jeito na vida” e que voltasse dali a um ano. Era o tempo de que precisava para acertar a vida familiar. Tinha esposa e filhos, o assunto era delicado. Ao longo de dois outros encontros, discutiram cifras – Francenildo chegou a pedir cem mil reais – e chegaram a um acordo: o pai lhe daria 30 mil reais. A cada dia 5 do mês, depositaria 5 mil na conta do filho, até completar o valor. Adiantou 10 mil em dinheiro. No escritório, entregou os maços – “Me pediu pra contar” – e levou Francenildo à Caixa, para fazerem o depósito. Depois foram almoçar juntos.
“Vê só”, concluiu Francenildo, “eu com oito anos tinha ido lá no pai, ele me deu um dinheirinho e me mandou embora. Depois, bem mais tarde, voltei lá, insisti, quis entender ele e que ele me entendesse, aí conversamos, ele me levou para almoçar e chegou a me dar a mão, fiquei sentindo uma coisa boa de que eu tinha pai. Eu estava feliz porque ele disse: ‘No dia que você voltar aqui no Piauí, na casa da tua mãe, você vem aqui na garagem, vem me visitar.’ Isso me deixou meio alegre. A única coisa que ele pediu foi para eu não falar do dinheiro antes dele acertar com a família.”
Wlicio ouviu a explicação. No pé da mesma página em que anotara as informações de Andrei Meireles, escreveu: Expresso Soares. Teresina. Eurípedes Soares. (86) 3249-21… “Você tem os extratos?”, perguntou. Sim, tinha.
E então Wlicio teve o estalo, a iluminação: “Você tirou o extrato ontem na PF?”, perguntou. “Não”, respondeu o caseiro “Você autorizou alguém a tirar o extrato pra você?” Ao ouvir outra negativa, o coração disparou: “Separa todos os depósitos que eu vou te buscar. Acho que acabamos de ser salvos pelo gongo.”
Pela primeira vez, a moenda começava a moer em outra direção.
Wlicio telefonou a Andrei Meireles, contou o que acabara de ouvir e deu o telefone de Eurípedes. “Você podia confirmar tudo e não publicar a história”, pediu. “É coisa pessoal, ninguém vai levar em conta, só vão falar que ele tem dinheiro e vai ficar ruim pra ele.” Antes de desligar, passou uma informação relevante: “Eu disse que não foi o Nildo que tirou o extrato.”
Francenildo, aflito, correu para comprar um cartão e ligar para o pai em Teresina. Tentou três vezes. Na quarta, conseguiu. “Alô?” Era a voz surpreendentemente suave do pai. “Eurípedes” – nunca teve liberdade de chamá-lo de pai –, “descobriram o dinheiro na minha conta e vão procurar você”, disse. Sem saber direito quem eram eles, e no que o filho estava envolvido, Eurípedes respondeu: “Deixa eles ligarem.” Foi a última vez que Francenildo conversou com o pai.
Andrei Meireles falou com Eurípedes Soares, que confirmou os depósitos, mas negou a paternidade. Às 18h45, sem qualquer aviso prévio, a revista Época inaugurava às pressas o seu primeiro blog. Meireles assinava o primeiro post:
Extratos revelam depósitos para caseiro – O caseiro Francenildo dos Santos Costa, que ganhou fama ao aparecer na CPI dos Bingos esta semana acusando o ministro Antonio Palocci de freqüentar a “casa do lobby”, montada por lobistas de Ribeirão Preto, pode ser um trabalhador humilde, como foi descrito diversas vezes, mas está longe de passar por dificuldades financeiras…
A notícia não fazia menção à origem dos extratos.
Vinte e cinco minutos depois de a notícia entrar na internet, Jorge Mattoso entregou uma cópia xerox dos extratos de Francenildo à Superintendência de Controle Interno da Caixa, para que fosse remetida ao Coaf. “Saiu numa revista, é preciso comunicar aos órgãos competentes”, disse ao funcionário que recebeu as cópias. Palocci destruiria os originais num triturador depois de ter certeza de que a comunicação chegara ao Coaf.
Era o início da operação para dar amparo legal à quebra de sigilo.
O telefone de Wlicio “parecia que estava com febre”. Toda a imprensa queria saber de onde surgira tanto dinheiro. Eram imensas as desconfianças sobre a “teoria do filho bastardo”, como alguns jornalistas começaram a se referir à relação entre Eurípedes Soares e Francenildo. O advogado achou melhor convocar uma coletiva para aquela mesma noite, às 21 horas, no hotel em que morava. Saiu para buscar seu cliente em São Sebastião.
Francenildo estava abalado, sabia que tinha rompido o trato com o pai. Para piorar, a caminho do hotel, soube um pouco mais da gravidade da situação: “Era tudo o que eles queriam”, ouviu do advogado.
“Foi nessa hora que o Nildo entregou os pontos”, contou Wlicio. “Ele começou a chorar, um choro convulsivo. Disse que não ia se perdoar se a avó morresse. Ela entrava em estado de choque toda vez que ele aparecia na televisão. Dei a mão para ele e pela segunda vez nós começamos a rezar dentro do carro. Fechei o vidro pra não atrapalhar. Dessa vez, era uma reza aos berros, a gente rezava e chorava, chorava e rezava.” De mãos erguidas, triscando o teto, pediam aos soluços: “*Senhor*, nos ajude a saber o que dizer, como dizer e quando dizer.”
Chegaram ao hotel uma hora antes da coletiva e subiram para o terraço. Francenildo olhava em volta e só encontrava olhares de desconfiança. “Ninguém acredita em mim, minha avó está passando mal, e até o Lula falou ontem que eu era um simples caseiro”, pensou. (Não há registro de que Lula tenha dito essa frase.) “Foi quando eu senti que não tinha valor. Tive vontade de largar tudo. Pensei em duas coisas: fazer eu mesmo, com uma faca ou uma corda, ou me atirar embaixo de um carro. Aí pensei no Thiago. Eu cresci sem pai e não ia fazer a mesma coisa com ele. O menino me salvou.”
Às nove horas da noite, com toda a imprensa diante deles, Wlicio começou a falar: “Não vamos responder a nada antes de explicar a origem do dinheiro.” Deu os esclarecimentos, mostrando recibo por recibo. Francenildo se mantinha calado, olhos inchados. “Está o.k.? Está claro?”, quis saber Wlicio. “Então, antes de abrir, eu tenho uma pergunta para vocês: gostaria de saber quem retirou o extrato do meu cliente, já que às 20h58min21s ele se encontrava em poder da Polícia Federal, no Programa de Proteção à Testemunha.”
Cabeças começaram a se mexer. Bloquinhos foram freneticamente folheados, à cata de uma página nova. Falava-se alto, ninguém mais se entendia. Do meio da confusão, alguém gritou: “Você está acusando a Polícia Federal de ter violado o sigilo bancário do seu cliente?” “Não”, respondeu Wlicio. “Estou apenas dizendo que ele não retirou esse extrato. E que, portanto, o sigilo dele foi violado.”
A entrevista terminou perto das 22 horas. Acompanhados por um segurança do hotel, os dois foram em direção ao elevador. Rosa Costa, a jornalista do Estadão, e outros dois repórteres que haviam sido * corretos* ao longo daqueles dias entraram com eles. Quando a porta se fechava, Andrei Meireles tentou entrar. Wlicio se virou para o segurança e disse: “Esse não.”
Em pé, encostado na janela aberta de sua sala para não empestear o ambiente com os cigarros que fuma sem parar, Wlicio pergunta: “Você imagina o que teria acontecido se o Francenildo não tivesse saído do programa de proteção? A notícia da Época saiu na sexta. Seria, no mínimo, um fim de semana inteiro sem explicação. Sexta, sábado, domingo, segunda. 1 a 0, 2 a 0, 3 a 0, 4 a 0 para o Palocci. Quatro dias é muita coisa. Para explicar tudo depois, seria bem mais difícil. Por isso eles cometeram o erro: pressa. Se tivessem esperado até segunda, não haveria crime algum. A Caixa teria informado o Banco Central sobre a movimentação atípica na conta do Francenildo, o BC teria repassado a informação para o Coaf, que por sua vez teria expedido um ofício para a PF pedindo a quebra de sigilo. Foi soberba. Eles não quiseram esperar um fim de semana, e talvez não contassem que ele fosse deixar tão cedo o programa. Na cabeça de quem fez isso, o Francenildo estava incomunicável, sob a tutela da PF.”
Em junho passado, o senador Efraim Morais, que presidira a já extinta CPI dos Bingos, recordou: “O rapaz estava com medo. Eu pedi proteção da polícia. Não havia risco iminente, mas aquilo era uma bomba. Agora, não me lembro de ter requisitado a inclusão dele no programa de proteção.” Mas requisitou. Naquele 16 de março de 2006, um ofício assinado por Morais foi expedido ao diretor-geral da Polícia Federal, pedindo “proteção do referido depoente e seus familiares”, com menção explícita à lei que rege o Programa de Proteção à Testemunha.
A sala do delegado Wilson Damázio é ampla e está repleta de diplomas. Nas paredes, há também placas do FBI e de outras agências americanas de combate ao crime com as quais ele estabeleceu laços ao longo da carreira. Numa foto o delegado sorri ao lado do presidente Lula. *Damázio* é grande, *cordato* e volumoso. Aparenta 50 e poucos anos e tem um rosto redondo, adornado por um bigodinho fino que saiu de moda há décadas.
Ele se sentou na cadeira de espaldar alto e abriu a conversa: “Então você veio falar do caseiro? Antes da gente começar, me diz uma coisa: aquela história do dinheiro que apareceu na conta dele ficou muito mal explicada, não?” Ao ouvir que a própria Polícia Federal inocentara Francenildo, Damázio assentiu: “Ah, então está resolvido. É que não acompanhei as diligências. Vamos lá. O que você quer saber?”
O programa de proteção foi criado para salvaguardar a vida de pessoas em situação-limite. Fazia sentido incluir Francenildo num programa tão extremo? Damázio se reclina no encosto da poltrona e pondera antes de falar: “Isso cabe à CPI responder. Veja, ele estava derrubando o sucessor direto do Lula, alguém podia achar que de fato havia algum risco.” A frase sai sem convicção, e ele percebe. Dobra-se para a frente, apóia os cotovelos pesados na mesa, espalma as mãos na testa e fecha os olhos. Então fala, com palavras escolhidamente burocráticas: “Não quero que você ponha palavras na minha boca. Então deixa eu dizer: ‘Na qualidade de autoridade administrativa responsável pela execução da medida assecuratória da testemunha, não me compete avaliar se seria o caso de incluir a pessoa no programa.'” Abre os braços, espalma as mãos nas extremidades da mesa e olha para seu interlocutor: “Compreendeu?”
Um funcionário do Congresso que trabalhou em inúmeras CPIs garante que nunca viu ninguém sair de nenhuma sessão sob o peso de uma ameaça de morte. “Afinal, o sujeito já falou o que tinha pra falar.”
Ao tentar sugerir ao país que o homem que comprometera Antonio Palocci corria risco de vida, a oposição, com histrionice e jogo de cena, acabou por jogar Francenildo num programa que, ironicamente, só servia aos interesses do governo.
A PRESSÃO
Nos dias seguintes à divulgação dos extratos, aumentou a pressão sobre Palocci e Francenildo. De um lado, havia o crime da quebra de sigilo; de outro, a origem do dinheiro mandado por um pai que não se dizia pai. “Eu ligava, e ninguém me atendia”, recorda-se Wlicio, “ninguém mais confiava em mim.” Só recebeu um telefonema de apoio: o jurista Miguel Reale Júnior, de São Paulo, ligou para empenhar solidariedade e colocar-se à disposição.
Na segunda-feira, 20 de março, o telefone tocou de novo. Dessa vez era um jornalista: “A Polícia Federal acaba de indiciar o Francenildo por lavagem de dinheiro. Você tem alguma coisa a dizer?”
A comunicação feita ao Coaf havia seguido o seu curso – mas numa velocidade espantosa. “O banco aciona o Coaf, o Coaf investiga, e comunica à Polícia Federal, que pede à Justiça a quebra de sigilo”, conta um especialista do mercado financeiro versado na matéria. “Esse processo geralmente leva de sessenta a noventa dias. Dependendo do interesse político, pode ser encurtado para dois meses.” A comunicação da Caixa levou menos de 24 horas para cumprir esse percurso. O Coaf sustenta no inquérito policial que existem exceções a esses prazos; de fato, este é um deles.
Na CPI, membros do governo também exigiram a quebra de sigilo de Francenildo. Tião Viana declarou: “Quero pedir tudo: cartão de crédito, poupança e conta corrente. De janeiro para cá*!*” “Vai arrombar a porta aberta?”, revidou o senador Antonio Carlos Magalhães, de bate-pronto. Wlicio, ao ser informado do pedido de Tião Viana, mandou avisar: “Eles querem abrir o sigilo que já foi quebrado ilegalmente? O Francenildo autoriza.”
Na internet começaram a circular imagens de Francenildo com sacos de dinheiro na mão. Um blog publicou: O caseiro sem caráter, que na infância via todos os coleguinhas pronunciarem o nome do pai, um dia disse: ‘Chega, não quero mais ser bastardo!’ E arranjou um suposto pai para comprar seu silêncio. O Jornal do Brasil on-line expôs o seu histórico de crédito: Nome sujo no SPC. Contas pendentes na C&A (410 reais), na Rival Calçados (114 reais), no Ponto Frio (63 reais), na financeira Losango (108 reais).
Em São Paulo, dois assessores do PT foram à Polícia Federal para dizer que um homem chamado Edson Tavares da Silva garantia ter recebido uma proposta de Francenildo: se ele dissesse que Palocci freqüentava a casa, os dois dividiriam um bom dinheiro. A polícia intimou o homem, que se contradisse durante o interrogatório. A revista Carta Capital mandou um repórter ao Piauí, para investigar a origem do dinheiro do pai de Francenildo.
Os repórteres não o largavam. Descobriram onde morava. Conversaram com vizinhos, mostraram a fachada de sua casa, disseram quanto pagava de aluguel. “Um dia eu fui até o mercadinho e ouvi alguém dizer: ‘Esse cabra está com muito dinheiro na conta, era o caseiro do Palocci.'” Francenildo começou a ter medo de ser assaltado no próprio bairro ou, pior, “que pegassem o meu menino”. A mulher, Noelma, foi à delegacia pedir ajuda e ouviu do delegado que ele não podia fazer nada, mas sugeria que deixassem o lote, pelo menos até que a poeira baixasse: “Porque esse negócio é perigoso.” Acabaram se mudando. Noelma deixou de falar com o marido.
Seis dias depois de ter seu sigilo exposto na imprensa, Francenildo foi intimado a depor na Polícia Federal. Conheceu então o delegado responsável pela investigação dos dois fatos: quebra de sigilo e indícios de dinheiro suspeito na conta. Chamava-se Rodrigo Carneiro, era jovem, ponderado e técnico. Fazia pouco tempo que estava na PF e esse era o seu primeiro grande caso.
“Quero saber em que condição o meu cliente vai ser ouvido aqui hoje”, perguntou-lhe Wlicio: “Na de vítima ou de acusado?” O delegado respondeu: “Nem de vítima, nem de acusado, mas de investigado.” “O que é a mesma coisa que indiciado. Só muda a palavra”, replicou Wlicio. “Qual o crime?” O delegado se ajeitou na cadeira e, meio sem graça, respondeu: “Lavagem de dinheiro.” O advogado desabafou: “Procede. A mãe dele é lavadeira.”
Carneiro foi preciso no cumprimento do dever. Havia a denúncia do Coaf e a investigação era um imperativo funcional. Ao longo do processo, pediria à Justiça autorização para quebrar o sigilo bancário de Francenildo – mais uma vez, agora legalmente.
Ainda que Carneiro não demonstrasse nada, Wlicio intuiu que o delegado achava a denúncia absurda. No Código Penal, lavagem de dinheiro pressupõe crimes antecedentes de “tráfico de drogas, contrabando de armas, extorsão mediante seqüestro, crime contra o sistema financeiro ou a administração pública e terrorismo.” E o delegado tinha diante de si um caseiro desempregado, com 25 mil reais na conta.
Ao fim do depoimento, Carneiro sugeriu que os dois saíssem pelos fundos, para evitar o constrangimento da imprensa. Wlicio balançou a cabeça: “Não. Nós vamos sair pela porta da frente. Se estamos sendo indiciados por lavagem de dinheiro, é preciso dizer alguma coisa.” Diante da multidão de repórteres, Francenildo disse: “Eu peço àqueles que quebraram o meu sigilo bancário que quebrem também o meu sigilo eleitoral. Aí vão ver que um simples caseiro votou no operário, que agora está lá em cima.”
Ao tentar furar o bloqueio de câmeras e microfones, Francenildo perdeu um sapato. Descalço de um pé, entrou no carro a tempo de ainda ouvir uma última pergunta: “Você não acha que vender tua paternidade é um ato imoral?”
No Congresso, a senadora Ideli Salvatti acusou Francenildo de visitar gabinetes da oposição. Insinuava que “esse rapaz” provavelmente estivera ali muitas vezes – e não apenas uma –, decerto para pedir dinheiro; exigia, portanto, que lhe fossem entregues as fitas das câmeras de segurança do Senado. Uma reunião na Corregedoria foi convocada para apurar a denúncia. Mais uma vez, Wlicio e Francenildo se viam diante dos senadores. O corregedor, senador Romeu Tuma, não atendeu ao pedido de Salvatti, mas contou: “Fui lá na sala de controle e revi as fitas. A acusação era infundada. O rapaz só tinha vindo uma vez ao Senado, no dia em que o levaram no gabinete do Antero.”
Foram dois dias de acareação. Além de Francenildo, convocaram o corretor João Gustavo Coutinho e Enéas de Alencastro, o assessor parlamentar que trouxera o caseiro para o Senado. Houve manifestações de solidariedade -“Acho que temos que ter a coragem de votar por unanimidade uma comenda a vossa senhoria, que é, sim, o verdadeiro cidadão brasileiro”, propôs Antero Paes de Barros – e promessas: “Nós devemos verificar a possibilidade de conseguir a casa própria e um emprego definitivo para ele”, sugeriu Pedro Simon.
No dia 27 de março, onze dias depois da quebra do sigilo bancário de Francenildo e duas semanas depois da entrevista ao Estadão, Antonio Palocci pediu demissão do cargo de ministro.
Francenildo foi convidado a dar entrevista no Fantástico e nos programas de Jô Soares, Ratinho, José Luiz Datena e Roberto Cabrini. Não foi a nenhum. Wlicio só aceitou um convite, feito por Miguel Reale Júnior, o advogado que lhe telefonara quando todos pensavam que Francenildo fosse venal. Tratava-se de um ato de desagravo na seção paulista da Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil. O evento teve até convite e nome de batismo: “Você está indignado?” Encimada por uma epígrafe de Soljenítsin, a convocatória avisava: “Com a presença do caseiro Francenildo Costa.”
De manhã bem cedo, meio contra a vontade, Francenildo embarcou com Wlicio. Em Congonhas, foram recepcionados por uma alcatéia de advogados. De olho nos fotógrafos, um procurador, “um cabra que falava assim meio cuspindo”, não desgrudava do braço de Francenildo. Seguia-o até mesmo no banheiro. Enquanto fazia xixi, o homem ligava do celular para uma jornalista: “Olha, estamos saindo do aeroporto.”
Foram até a OAB numa comitiva de três carros. De tão apertado, um dos advogados praticamente sentou no colo do caseiro. Entraram num auditório repleto e subiram no palco, onde ocuparam uma mesa composta pela alta cúpula do direito bandeirante – do presidente da OAB-SP, Luiz Flávio Borges D’Urso, a seu antecessor, Rubens Approbato Machado, entre vários outros dignitários. Havia também deputados de oposição, entre os quais Zulaiê Cobra, do PSDB.
Começaram os discursos, que, num crescendo irresistível, evoluíram do langoroso “Esse modesto homem que não sabe o que é cidadania nos deu uma aula de cidadania” ao estrepitoso “Fora, Lula! Fora, Lula!”, puxado por Zulaiê Cobra. Ergueu-se uma faixa que pedia o impeachment do presidente. A platéia ficou de pé e explodiu em urros: “Fora, Lula! Fora, Lula! Fora, Lula!”
Os advogados haviam agendado uma fieira de entrevistas em São Paulo, mas Wlicio e Francenildo se recusaram. O retorno a Brasília estava marcado para as sete da noite, e eles o adiantaram em duas horas. Foi a primeira e única vez que Francenildo esteve em São Paulo. “O aeroporto de lá é bonito”, diz.
Menos de trinta dias depois de instaurado o inquérito policial, o delegado Rodrigo Carneiro entregou à 10ª Vara da Justiça Federal um relatório em que listava os crimes de prevaricação, denunciação caluniosa, quebra de sigilo funcional e quebra de sigilo bancário. Acusados de pelo menos um desses crimes, foram indiciados Antonio Palocci Filho, Jorge Eduardo Levi Mattoso e Marcelo Amorim Netto.
O inquérito eximia Francenildo de qualquer crime. O delegado diria: “Fiquei inteiramente convencido da inocência dele.”
“Olha, tem uma coisa que ainda não ficou clara nessa história: quem quebrou o sigilo do caseiro?” A pergunta foi feita no último andar de um hotel em Brasília, em junho passado, por Antero Paes de Barros. Barba por fazer, olhos cansados, o ex-senador parece à deriva, um homem longe do poder. Ao ouvir uma das conclusões do inquérito policial – que o sigilo foi quebrado na Caixa –, Paes de Barros meneou a cabeça: “Nada. O sigilo do caseiro foi quebrado no Senado. Foi ali que começou. Não posso dizer que foi o Tião Viana que quebrou, porque provavelmente não foi. Mas pode escrever: quem levou a bomba para o Palocci foi ele. Foi Tião Viana quem estimulou o governo a quebrar o sigilo.”
O assessor parlamentar que trabalhou na CPI auxiliando a oposição faz uma afirmação semelhante: “A gente falava para os assessores do PT – eles também têm os deles, claro: ‘Esse chefe de vocês, hein? Quebrou o sigilo do caseiro…’ E eles riam. Todo mundo sabia que Tião Viana era o mentor da quebra. Tenho uma convicção forte disso, mas é claro que não dá para provar.” (Tião Viana não quis ser entrevistado.)
O relatório final do delegado Rodrigo Carneiro é claro quanto aos acontecimentos daquelas semanas de março. Mas ele não resolve um mistério: como Jorge Mattoso obteve o CPF de Francenildo e como soube que ele tinha conta na Caixa? O inquérito esclarece que, às 9h09 do dia 16 de março – *duas horas antes de Francenildo entregar seu CPF ao funcionário da CPI, e doze horas antes da quebra do seu sigilo bancário* –, os dados fiscais e tributários de Francenildo *dos Santos Costa* foram acessados pela Receita Federal. Esses dados não informavam se ele tinha dinheiro, mas revelavam algo mais importante, sem o que não se chegaria à sua conta: quanto pagava de CPMF e qual banco recolhia o tributo. O delegado Carneiro colheu depoimentos de todos os funcionários envolvidos no acesso, inclusive o do secretário da Receita, Jorge Rachid. Não conseguiu provar que houve motivação política nesse acesso.
“Se eu escrever que existe uma forte probabilidade de o CPF ter chegado a Mattoso através da quebra de sigilo fiscal na Receita, isso lhe soaria estranho?” A pergunta é feita a um agente federal que acompanhou de perto a investigação criminal. Ele sorri e, depois de uma pausa, responde calmamente: “Não.”
Por sua vez, o advogado de defesa de Antonio Palocci, José Roberto Batochio, disse “achar muito estranho” o fato de o sigilo ter sido quebrado meia hora depois de Francenildo haver entregue o cartão da Caixa ao delegado Damázio, da Polícia Federal.
A CLÁUSULA
Francenildo digitou uma vez. Errou. Digitou outra. Errou de novo. Na terceira tentativa, o terminal engoliu seu cartão. É provável que as pessoas em volta não tenham reparado, mas não era esse o sentimento dele. Acostumado a ser reconhecido na rua, supôs que todas eram testemunhas, de olhos fitos nele. Sem jeito, entrou na agência da Caixa e explicou o ocorrido. O funcionário lhe indicou uma fila. Francenildo entrou nela, esperou, mostrou documentos, provou quem era, foi encaminhado de guichê em guichê, esperou sentado e finalmente recebeu um novo cartão. Consultou seu saldo – mil e poucos reais – e foi embora, não sem pensar no que acabara de lhe acontecer: “Eu demoro quase três horas pra conseguir ver a minha conta e eles, quando quiseram, conseguiram na mesma hora.”
Era o dia 10 de setembro do ano passado, e, pela primeira vez desde a quebra de seu sigilo, Francenildo voltava à agência da CEF no Centro Comercial Gilberto Salomão. “Peguei um desgosto da Caixa e fiquei muito tempo sem ir lá”, disse. No ano e meio que se passou desde a entrevista ao Estado de S. Paulo, sua vida mudou bastante. O dinheiro do pai se foi. Ele comprou um lote para a mãe em Nazária, na periferia de Teresina, e gastou o resto: “Gastei pra me esconder, gastei pra fugir e pra me manter depois que perdi o emprego.”
Wlicio entrou com uma ação contra a Caixa, no valor de 50 mil salários mínimos (17 milhões de reais), e outra contra a Época, de 4,2 milhões de reais, quantia calculada com base na tiragem da edição que trouxe a reportagem sobre o dinheiro do pai de Francenildo. Em 4 de agosto passado, em audiência frente a um juiz, a Caixa fez uma contraproposta de 35 mil reais, 0.2% do valor da ação. A revista Época não compareceu.
Wlicio e Francenildo fizeram um acordo pelo qual toda indenização será dividida meio a meio. “Um processo desses pode se arrastar por dez anos”, diz Wlicio. “Muito honestamente, 35 mil reais é quase uma piada de mau gosto. Para mim é mau negócio. Mas eu tenho que pensar no Francenildo. Na situação em que ele está, 35 mil reais fazem diferença, e no caso eu não ficaria com a metade. É ele quem tem que decidir.”
Na frente do advogado, Francenildo hesitou. “O problema é a tal cláusula…” A cláusula em questão faz parte do acordo proposto pela Caixa. Se Francenildo aceitá-lo, terá de assinar um documento no qual o banco se isenta de qualquer culpa. Na prática, Francenildo estará declarando publicamente que seu sigilo não foi quebrado. “Eu quero conhecer a justiça”, ele diz. “Depois que ela trabalhar, então eu posso aceitar 35 mil reais. Eu esperei até hoje, espero mais um pouco. Eu quero que a Caixa cometa um crime. Aí, sim.” Com um sorriso nos olhos, acrescenta: “E quando sair a indenização, nem precisa dar o número da conta, eles já têm.”
Como é da sorte dos anônimos, os detalhes que dizem respeito a Francenildo foram perdendo suas nuances, até desaparecerem na indistinção. Esta reportagem foi apurada ao longo de um ano. Durante esse tempo, boa parte das pessoas entrevistadas se lembrava apenas vagamente do caso. Sabiam que envolvia Palocci e um caseiro. E se lembravam do dinheiro na conta de Francenildo. Muitas pessoas iniciaram a conversa com a pergunta: “É sobre aquele caseiro que recebeu dinheiro?”
Em 25 de fevereiro de 2008, dois anos depois de entregue o relatório final do delegado Rodrigo Carneiro, o procurador-geral da República, Antonio Fernando Souza, eliminou três artigos propostos pelo inquérito e denunciou Antonio Palocci por violação de sigilo funcional; Mattoso, por violação de sigilo funcional e bancário; e Netto, por quebra de sigilo bancário. O processo corre em segredo de justiça no Supremo Tribunal Federal. A pena máxima de dois anos prescreve em 2010. Caso sejam julgados culpados e recebam a pena mínima de seis meses, o delito já estará prescrito.
Francenildo ainda é reconhecido na rua. Há dois meses, ele e Wlicio foram a um restaurante. Na saída, Francenildo passou pelo banheiro e voltou de lá meio sem graça. Tentou sorrir, mas não era bem um sorriso. “O que foi?”, perguntou Wlicio. Ele respondeu: “Um senhor me reconheceu no espelho. Me disse: ‘Você não é o caseiro que derrubou o Palocci?'” Francenildo desviou o olhar e completou: “Eu queria que algum dia alguém dissesse assim pra mim: ‘Você não é o caseiro que quebraram o sigilo, que expuseram a vida e que nunca mais conseguiu falar com o pai?'”
* * *
Antonio Palocci elegeu-se deputado federal em 2006 e é presidente da Comissão de Reforma Tributária da Câmara.
Antero Paes de Barros perdeu as eleições para governador do Mato Grosso. Ele tem um blog e dá consultoria a prefeituras do PSDB.
Um ano depois de levar Francenildo ao Senado, Enéas de Alencastro foi detido pela Polícia Federal na operação Gautama e indiciado por formação de quadrilha, peculato e corrupção passiva.
João Gustavo Coutinho continua a exercer a profissão de corretor em Brasília.
Helena Chagas dirige o jornalismo da TV Pública.
A jornalista Rosa Costa permanece no Estadão. De vez em quando, ela telefona a Francenildo para saber como ele está.
A revista Época publicou a reportagem sobre Francenildo na edição de número 409. A edição 410 trouxe um encarte com 11 páginas de publicidade da Caixa Econômica Federal, o equivalente à soma de todos os anúncios da CEF publicados nas outras revistas semanais no período de março a julho de 2006.
Wlicio Chaveiro Nascimento segue advogando e fazendo negócios. Atualmente, tenta trazer para o Brasil um método dinamarquês de construção de lajes chamado BubbleDeck. Não descarta voltar ao Congo.
Quando o caso completou um ano, um empresário de São Paulo (que não quer ter seu nome divulgado) leu uma reportagem que contava a situação de Francenildo. Procurou Wlicio e se dispôs a pagar os estudos do rapaz. Francenildo faz o supletivo à noite e limpa piscinas dois dias por semana. Não acha emprego fixo* em Brasília desde 2006.
*Alterações em relação à edição impressa | {
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This week’s disturbing (but not surprising) revelation that a CNN foreign affairs reporter coordinated with Hillary Clinton’s State Department to launch an attack against Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has resulted in a swift rebuke from the Republican presidential candidate’s office. “The liberal media has taken their Clinton sycophancy to a new low,” the statement reads. “CNN needs to address this bias and lack of journalistic integrity.”
Based on previous CNN scandals detrimental to the GOP, Breitbart News has been calling for the Republican Party to cancel the upcoming presidential debate hosted by CNN. Echoing those calls, Paul’s office adds, “This email revelation should give Republicans pause as to their coverage and possibility of fair treatment towards Sen. Paul during the next debate.”
Here is the full statement:
The liberal media has taken their Clinton sycophancy to a new low. CNN needs to address this bias and lack of journalistic integrity. This email revelation should give Republicans pause as to their coverage and possibility of fair treatment towards Sen. Paul during the next debate. All eyes will be on CNN’s response to their employee colluding with Hillary Clinton in order to attack a prominent U.S. senator on their dime.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC | {
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First: I do NOT ask for last name or email and this is not about your "legal" name, just the name you use and prefer!Once that's said: Hello all! This is an informal, unscientific survey looking to collect some data on how trans people can name themselves. This is intended purely for fun and the aggregated results will be shared openly. If we get any responses, I'll even break it down by the year people chose their names, as I'd love for us to be able to see "popular names for their year" similar to how cis people get to look at popular birth name charts. There's only one section with 10 questions and it should be quick to fill out, and I'd much appreciate it if you would!I don't want to attach peoples emails publicly to these results, if you want to see the analyses I post of the aggregate responses, they will be shared on my Twitter. I will release these analyses after responses start to trail off. Results will only be released in aggregate, but as a heads up, as the survey creator and analyzer I will be able to see line by line results. I hope to release results after at most a month and likely much sooner, though anything is possible! You can find my Twitter here: https://twitter.com/l1quidcryst4l "Who are you to be asking this anyway?" That's a good question I'm not sure how to answer! I'm a lesbian trans woman. The best place to find more about me is probably on my Twitter above!"How can I trust you with this info?" Also a good question! The answer is, you can't really! If you're worried, don't respond. That said, I do not ask for last name or email precisely for that reason. For what it's worth, I pledge I will not be releasing the full corpus of data publicly, only aggregate results, and will only share your stories from the second-to-last question if you mark "Yes" on the last question! But in the end, if you're worried the data you would submit is sensitive: please don't submit!Please only complete this survey if you are transgender. | {
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Image: Julia Sieppi / Yle
The Oulu police department said in a statement Monday that officers had detained two Iraqi men in connection with manslaughter and robbery committed in Kajaani’s Otanmäki district, some 37 kilometres from the town centre. Yle Kajaani has reported that both men are asylum seekers.
Police suspect the men of having a hand in the death of a 52 year-old local who was found dead in Otanmäki Sunday morning. Police also believe that the man was robbed and are investigating manslaughter and robbery offences.
Image: Katja Oittinen / Yle
Another resident aged 41 was robbed in the early hours of Sunday morning on Uunimiehentie in Otanmäki. His mobile phone was taken from him during a violent encounter, police said.
The detainees are the main suspects in both incidents. According to Detective Chief Inspector Jarkko Maksniemi the arrests took place peacefully.
Investigators will interview roughly a dozen parties to the crimes as well as witnesses and will also conduct forensic tests. Maksniemi said that officers are not at liberty to disclose the course of events related to the crimes or possible motives.
They are asking members of the public with any information about the incidents to contact the Kajaani police station’s customer service line on 02 9541 6520 or on its crime hotline at 02 9541 6673. Emails may also be sent to [email protected].
Edit: This article was updated at 18.02 to correct the suspected offence from murder to manslaughter. | {
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Sorry to tell you, but size does matter.
I like most things in my life big. I love nothing more than a giant cup of tea, oversize sweaters, and big personalities. But I've never been into huge penises.
When I started hooking up with guys, I found that many of them cared way more about their penis size than I did. Unless it was something that needed to be in a textbook or compelled me to call their doctor, I didn't think much of it. I've been with penises of all shapes, sizes, and colors and — call me crazy — I've been more interested in what else is going on with the human I am writhing on top of than how he stacks up to a ballpark frank.
I was scared of sexual intercourse early on (I'd been assaulted, on top of that), so I was mercifully spared by losing my virginity to a man with what could be called a micro-penis. It was great sex, which is better than I can say for most of my friends' first times. In fact, it was like wading into the water slowly. I don't feel like I missed out on anything at all.
Not every experience was so great. And that's because I have since learned (through some painful sex and subsequent ob-gyn visits) that I have what my doctor playfully calls a "cute cervix." Which basically means that it would be harder for me to take a giant dick on, if we're frank.
Sex should never be painful, unless you and your partner are into that. This is 2016 and there are plenty of things around to make sex between any two consenting people satisfying. But people can be like puzzle pieces: some things just fit together more easily.
People love to gossip about penis size. Men constantly exit-interview me, expecting the size of their genitals would be the first thing I'd rave about after sex. I'm a sucker for getting brunch with girlfriends, and hearing about the people they've been with and the weird or sexy things they did. But we rarely talk about it when it actually hurts. Not to mention, some men with large penises are blissfully unaware (due to centuries of reinforcement) that their big dicks don't always make them good in bed. Saying something hurts can be a difficult thing to do. You're sitting there feeling like you have a javelin scraping your pelvis. Should you say something, suck it up, or fake an orgasm just to get it over with?
To be fair, there are probably times I should have just spoken up when sex was painful. It would have been fine because I'm generally only sexually attracted to nice people, but I was a lot younger and a lot less informed than I am now. But there is still a part of me that, in the heat of the moment, when a guy is dirty talking me or makes mention to how well-endowed he is, I get nervous. Like, how big is it that you feel you need to bring it up? Is this a warning?
Hence my preference for smaller penises. It's just easier on me and my cute cervix to be with a guy without a footlong dong.
Follow Kristin on Twitter.
Kristin Salaky Kristin is a freelance writer and social media editor.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io | {
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GET to know us #4: Mark
To give you a little insight into the GET Protocol team, we are introducing ourselves in a series of blogs. Read about what we do, both at work and in our personal lives, and why we believe the GET Protocol is going to take over the world. Here’s number 4: Mark!
What’s your name, age and job title?
Hey I’m Mark! I recently turned 25 and I enjoy taking long walks on the beach. I’m the DevOps guy responsible for our infrastructure and I help out with the back-end. Recently though, it seems like I’m also becoming the office IT-guy who fixes the printer.
How long have you been at the GET Protocol foundation?
I joined the team as the 6th member in 2017 as a back-end developer, right when we moved to our second office, a squatted school building. Later I found out that 3 people I know had lived there before as well.
What do you do exactly?
I’m responsible for our infrastructure and most of our tooling, like our ci-pipelines, self-hosted gitlab, etcetera. I also help out with writing the back-end code when I have time.
How do you describe what you do here to your friends or family?
I usually tell them I make sure people can actually see our websites on their computers. I also tell them I completely destroy Sander at table tennis everyday. I haven’t won once, but they don’t know that!
What do you do when you are not at the office?
Probably annoying the neighbors with my “musical talents”. I play and compose for piano / accordion and guitar, produce electronic music with Ableton and I’m a huge (modular)synthesizer freak. But recently I took a break from producing music to start an affair with a Nintendo Switch, absolutely loving the new Zelda!
What do you think Kasper’s secret for his productivity is?
I’m pretty sure he takes some inspiration from The Wolf of Wall Street. He seems to quote the movie quite often and I’m not sure yet if that is a good or bad thing.
Where do you see GET in three years?
On a screen (…as it’s digital…get it?). And of course I look forward to seeing GET used at ALL the festivals and concerts i go to!! | {
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Pupils, teachers and parents seem less than convinced by measure prohibiting use in primary, junior and middle schools
This article is more than 2 years old
This article is more than 2 years old
The French government is to ban students from using mobile phones in the country’s primary, junior and middle schools.
Children will be allowed to bring their phones to school, but not allowed to get them out at any time until they leave, even during breaks.
A proposed ban was included in Emmanuel Macron’s successful presidential election campaign this year.
Jean-Michel Blanquer, the French education minister, said the measure would come into effect from the start of the next school year in September 2018. It will apply to all pupils from the time they start school at age of six – up to about 15 when they start secondary school.
Blanquer said some education establishments already prohibited pupils from using their mobiles.
“Sometimes you need a mobile for teaching reasons … for urgent situations, but their use has to be somehow controlled,” he told RTL radio.
The minister said the ban was also a “public health message to families”, adding: “It’s good that children are not too often, or even at all, in front of a screen before the age of seven.”
The French headteachers’ union was skeptical that the ban could be enforced.
“This new announcement from the [education] ministry leaves us dubious because we’re having trouble understanding what is the real issue here. In general, we’re used to them being logical and pragmatic about things, and here, we can’t find the logic or the pragmatism in the announcements,” said Philippe Vincent, the union’s deputy general secretary.
Outside one middle school in the centre of Paris, pupils asked about the measure seemed unimpressed. “I don’t understand how it will work. Who will take the phones, where will they put them … how will we get them back?” said one 13-year-old boy.
At another school, Mathilde, 12, said: “It’s ridiculous. At my school, we don’t use them in class or during recess, so what’s the problem? If anyone’s caught using one in the toilets or at lunchtime, the phones are confiscated immediately and the person is given detention.”
Parents seemed uncertain too. “It’s probably a good idea when the kids are in school, but they can’t ban them bringing them to school,” said Sabine. “My daughter goes to school and comes home on her own, and at this time of year it’s dark so early, so I want her to have a phone with her. It’s reassuring.”
She added: “But rather than a ban, wouldn’t it be better to install a signal blocker in schools?”
Blanquer has already suggested schools could install lockers for phones, though many city centre schools have little room for them.
“Are we going to transform a school into a giant locker?” said Vincent. “I’ve done a little calculation myself: 5,300 state schools with an average 500 pupils each, that makes around 3 million lockers.”
Parents’ organisations say any ban would pose a significant logistical problem.
“How is the school going to stock them? And how are they going to make sure they’re given back to the owner at the end of school?” Gérard Pommier, head of the Federation of Parents in State Schools.
Education officials are now studying how the mobile ban can be put into effect.
“In ministerial meetings, we leave our phones in lockers before going in. It seems to me that this as doable for any human group, including a class,” Blanquer said in September.
The minister has also supported the introduction of school uniforms, but has said he is opposed to the measure being obligatory throughout the country.
He has also announced that each school must set up a choir before January 2019. Le Parisien newspaper said the government had set aside €20m for the measure. Government officials said joining the choir would be voluntary and a “complement to obligatory music lessons” that exist already
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Imagine you pay thousands of dollars to attend one of the world’s best public universities. You come in with the reasonable expectation that the university will do everything in its power to make you employable once you graduate – including hiring faculty who understand the industry you’re about to enter and can prepare you for the professional world.
If you are a student studying finance, though, UCLA might be a risky investment.
UCLA’s math department recently announced it will not retain any current lecturers in the financial actuarial mathematics program to improve the curriculum and reflect the growing role of data science in the field. The department will replace these lecturers with professors who are tenured or on track to be tenured.
Actuaries compile and analyze statistics to calculate insurance risks and premiums. All current lecturers in this program are distinguished professionals who work as actuaries, while none of the ladder faculty are actuarial-certified.
This move is bound to make it much more difficult for students pursuing actuarial careers to get jobs and internships. The current lecturers bring their variety of experiences from the industry into the classroom, which helps students understand the responsibilities of a professional actuary. Replacing these professionals will sever contact with people who work in the industry.
Students in the FAM program attest to lecturers’ help outside of class in preparing for the job market.
“I think they definitely helped bring a sense of real-world applications of concepts, especially with their projects,” said Sanjay Pitchai, a fourth-year FAM student.
These projects were particularly helpful to students because they challenged them to apply in-class concepts.
“The projects were quite sandboxlike, in the sense that you were given topics that were very wide and open to interpretation, which allowed students to think and act as professionals in the real world would,” Pitchai said.
Taking away this valuable real-world exposure and replacing it with more theoretical knowledge does little to help students. What matters most when applying for jobs is your previous experience in the field. Since current lecturers work at renowned firms or for the government, they are poised to help students obtain jobs by putting in a good word for them and providing them with networking tips.
Pitchai said he is still in contact with a few of the professors who have taught him in the past, but added younger students will miss out altogether on the invaluable opportunity to interact with them.
Saumya Ananthanarayan, a second-year FAM student, has not yet taken any upper division FAM classes. She said she is anxious about how different her experience will be compared to those of previous students.
“These lecturers had decades of experience working as actuaries and could help students understand this field well beyond the scope of typical professors,” she said.
Sadly, the math department’s decision comes at a time when students in other finance-oriented departments – economics, accounting or statistics – already lack professional help. Many students who want to pursue careers in finance find a discernible knowledge gap between class materials and what they are expected to know in job and internship interviews. On-campus clubs are forced to fill in the gaps for students. Ideally, such clubs should work hand in hand with departments, but are instead forced to take on the combined role of club, class and networking coach.
Shatakshi Mohan, a second-year statistics major, is the president of one such club called Bruin Investment and Trading, which teaches its members about financial analysis. Mohan feels that concepts taught in classes are not enough to make students employable.
“The pace of UCLA’s academics is far too slow compared to that of the investment banking industry,” Mohan said. “There are a lot of things that I’ve had to teach myself or learn with the guidance of external resources that I would not have stumbled upon if I stuck to concepts taught in class.”
The FAM program was looked to as a model for an effective pre-professional finance program. It was the only industry-specific finance course at UCLA taught by members of the private sector or government – a stark contrast to the generalized and largely theoretical economics and statistics courses that other students interested in finance take. At a time when the other departments should have been learning from the FAM program, the FAM program is instead moving in the opposite direction.
UCLA certainly provides career readiness programs for students interested in finance. A case in point is the Sharpe Fellows Internship Program, which allows students to network with investment bankers.
However, most investment banks now recruit for junior year internships in the spring of sophomore year, and the Sharpe Fellows Internship Program starts in the fall of students’ junior year. Getting a good junior year internship often results in a job offer from the same firm, and since the program starts after the recruiting cycle for most investment banks, it is not very useful to students.
Making students employable involves more than just teaching them course material. It means adjusting programs based on changing industry needs and allowing more experienced professors to tinker with class curricula based on their understanding of the professional landscape.
The FAM program offered that sort of pre-professional education. After the math department’s decision, though, it’ll become just another theoretical program that churns out thousands of underprepared finance graduates. | {
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Jonathan Mensah will not play for Ghana against the United States. Chris Ricco/BackpagePix
Ghana will be without the Columbus Crew SC pair of Harrison Afful and Jonathan Mensah for Saturday's friendly against the United States in Connecticut, after they were recalled by their club.
Afful captained Ghana and Mensah started the 1-0 defeat to Mexico on Wednesday, but flew back to their club on Thursday morning in time for Saturday's Major League Soccer meeting against Atlanta United.
Another Columbus player, Mohammed Abu, has been allowed to stay on for the match.
With the friendly against the U.S. falling outside the regular FIFA international window, Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah was powerless to prevent the players from leaving.
In their absence, Appiah could start Rashid Sumalia at right-back, with Jerry Akaminko likely to get the nod to partner John Boye in the centre of defence. | {
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„Es wurde festgestellt, dass ich 1,24 Promille habe“, erzählt A. Er wurde deshalb auf Anweisung der Amtsärztin ins Otto-Wagner-Spital gebracht.
Alexander Stimmler, Anwalt des Güssinger-Eigentümers Andrej K., sagt zu dem Vorfall: „Mein Mandant ist regelmäßig im Coburg, er ist mit dem Geschäftsführer befreundet. Und auch Herr Gudenus soll oft dort sein. Die beiden kennen einander vom Sehen. Das war kein geschäftlicher Termin, kein willentliches Treffen. Herr K. war schon dort, als Herr Gudenus hingekommen ist. Es war nur eine kurze Begrüßung.“ Gudenus war für eine Stellungnahme nicht zu erreichen.
SOKO Ibiza
Mehrere Medien wunderten sich jedenfalls darüber, warum Herbert A. in der Auseinandersetzung ausgerechnet jenen Beamten nannte, der bei der Razzia bei Gudenus dabei war. Dieser Kriminalist hat zugleich in der Causa Güssinger die Anzeige der bulgarischen Investorengruppe aufgenommen, für die A. tätig ist.
Gudenus war zunächst für keine Stellungnahme erreichbar und antwortete weder auf Anfragen per Mail noch per Telefon. Später postete er aber auf Facebook zu dem Bericht, dass er offenbar den Herrn "Herbert" zumindest jetzt kennt: | {
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CBN.com - Audrey Meisner: “We had the kind of marriage that people would look at and go, ‘Okay, I want a marriage like that when I grow up.’”
Bob Meisner: “We loved doing life together. We loved our children. We loved everything that we did.”
Audrey: “We were leaders of the church. We were leaders in our whole city.”
Bob and Audrey Meisner met in Bible College.
Bob: “We’d talk about everything - all the time - just sharing our lives and dreams and hopes together. I was completely enthralled by her.”
Audrey: “I felt so safe with Bob because he loved God. I felt like I could be with him forever.”
They married, started a family, and dove into ministry work. They had big dreams for the future.
Bob: “With our desire to be world changers, what you’ve got to do is work.”
Audrey: “We were pastoring a church and also working for my mom and dad in their TV ministry.”
Bob: “I had no idea how hard it would be.”
A few months into the marriage, Audrey realized that Bob’s communication style was completely different.
Audrey: “He could easily confront me if something was wrong. So I made a vow in my heart, 'I am going to do everything possible so that he will never yell at me again.’ And I became the ultimate performer and the ultimate pleaser.”
By now, the Meisners were hosting their own television program. The hard work of ministry took a toll on Audrey, who was afraid to speak up.
Audrey: “The busyness got so tiring and so exhausting. I remember stuffing down those feelings, because I knew Bob loved the church. I could never tell him how I really felt.”
This continued for years, and then a family friend from church began spending more time with the Meisners.
Bob: “He was extremely energetic and playful and liked to be with our kids.”
Audrey: “He was fun. He was young. He reminded me of being a kid again.”
Bob: “He didn’t have a family, so it was very natural at the beginning, and we’d invite him to be on holidays with us.”
But this new family friend began giving more attention to Audrey.
Audrey: “He would overly flirt with me—‘You’re so beautiful. I want to find someone in this world that could even be as half as amazing as you.’ Something in my heart gravitated towards that and I thought, ‘That’s what I need.’”
Over time, their relationship grew closer.
Audrey: “I knew something had changed in my heart when I knew he was coming over and I wanted to look really good when he got there. And I felt like I was in control. I felt that I could have a relationship with a young guy in the church and just help him out.”
Bob: “I had no reason to doubt her love for me. We were still, you know, extremely intimate with each other, loving with each other, so I thought everything was fine.”
But Audrey’s desire for the other man grew stronger.
Audrey: “Our shoulders would bump or his hands would touch mine, and I’d start to notice my reaction to that. I was like, ‘Oh, that felt good - you know, that he touched me.’ I really told myself, ‘I can have it all. This relationship won’t really affect the rest of my life.’ I began to notice myself lying so that I could be alone with him. I just dove in and said, ‘You know what, I’ve gone this far anyway, I’m just going to do this.’ And that’s when it became sexual. Our relationship became sexual.”
The affair continued for three weeks.
Audrey: “I just lied to the people I love the most in order to get away with this guy and be inappropriate sexually and have an affair. This is not me.”
Audrey realized she couldn’t continue living the double life and ended the affair. Now she had to tell her husband of 17 years, what she had done.
Audrey: “I was scared out of my mind. I was shaking. If it came down to a choice of who I would choose, there was never a question in my mind. I wanted my husband and my kids. I haven’t confronted him for 17 years of little things, and now I’m going to tell him the most betraying message I could ever imagine. I sat very close to him and whispered in his ear and said, I’ve done something extremely inappropriate. I saw just extreme rage and hatred come into his eyes.”
Bob: “This wasn’t just a little mistake. This wasn’t just a little ‘oops’ or a hiccup. I wanted to punch holes in walls, slam doors, you know… express some anger or rage!”
Audrey: “I felt so much shame for what I did and so much deep regret.”
Bob: “All I wanted to do was get her fixed. ‘She’s the problem. She had the affair.’ Every happy memory of 17 years of marriage was gone. My head was screaming with words, ‘She doesn’t love you. She’s never loved you. Your marriage has been a farce.’”
Bob called a marriage counselor who had been a guest on their television program. The couple flew to Phoenix the next day to meet with him.
Bob: “Well, he starts with me and begins to rip me up one side and down the other. And he said, ‘Bob, you’re spiritually lazy.’ I got, you know, daily Christian television. I’m pastoring a church. I’m a father. I’m a counselor. I’ve got all these activities going on and you call me ‘spiritually lazy.’”
Audrey: “And he says, ‘Audrey, anyone who does what you just did does not respect your husband. I want you to get alone with God and ask Him the moment you started disrespecting him.’”
Bob: “He says, ‘Bob, what’s done is done. What I need to know is whether or not you will become the man of God that you need to be to keep your family together. Before you go to bed, you will get on your knees and you will pray with each other.’ I can’t remember the last time we had prayed with each other. The only words that we could get out were, ‘God, we need you.’ And we cried and we cried.”
Audrey: “Every part of our relationship had to come to a new level of transparency. All of a sudden there was no room for any secrets.”
But one big secret was yet to be revealed. A few months later they received news from the doctor. Audrey was pregnant.”
Bob: “I had had a vasectomy. So I knew, you know, that it wasn’t me. He must have seen the fear all over our faces. Because he immediately followed that statement with a question: ‘Do you want to continue the pregnancy?’ And I immediately answered, ‘Yes, without a doubt.’”
Audrey: “I was scared out of my mind. And yet that was the first moment I felt strength from Bob.”
Bob: “Before, everything inside of me wanted to punish her. Now I recognized that she’s carrying a baby. And that she needed my help. This baby’s going to need parents. I want to be that dad.”
Bob and Audrey resigned from their positions, moved to Phoenix, and told their children what was going on.
Bob: “We knew that it was a bi-racial situation, and that our children needed to know.”
Audrey: “I was so scared my kids would be messed up. Because I’m one of those moms—I love my kids more than life itself.”
Bob: ‘They walked in seeing a Mom and Dad sitting on the floor crying. I spoke to them how I loved their Mom. And that we’re a family and we belong together. And that I’m not going anywhere. With her held in my arms and covered, I looked at them and I said, ‘You’re going to have a baby brother.’”
Five months later, Bob and Audrey rushed to the delivery room.
It was one of the most beautiful days of my life. This little boy was nothing but a gift, an absolute gift. When our son was born, I gave him my name, Robert; middle name, Theodore, and then Meisner. Because I don’t want my son to ever question one day in his life whose boy he is. Theodore means ‘divine gift.’”
Ten years later, Bob and Audrey’s marriage is stronger than ever.
Audrey: “Our relationship became dynamic, like it had never been before. Because now I’m being honest and he’s being honest.”
Bob: “There needed to be a transparency and a vulnerability to be willing to be known by the other person. And so this was new territory for us.”
Audrey: “If we can get through the fears that keep you from communicating and the fears that keep you, you know, in this—in this dysfunctional dance, and really start having a relationship with no secrets, there is nothing more fun than that.
Audrey continues, “Our little Robert is our nutcake. He’s so much fun, so full of personality--never a dull moment. And those three older kids love him with every part of their being. If you see them all together, there’s so much laughter.”
Bob: “For the extent that I have experienced His love and His grace, I’m the most thankful person you’ll ever meet.”
Audrey: “I don’t get what I deserve because of what He did. He paid this high price to really take my sin and to really take my shame. And because He lives inside of me, I don’t get what I deserve, I get what He deserves. That’s amazing love.” | {
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Professor Claude Bernard and Dr Steven Petratos
(Medical Xpress) -- The progression of the debilitating disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS) could be slowed or even halted by blocking a protein that contributes to nerve damage, according to a new study.
In research published today in the journal Brain, scientists from the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories (MISCL), the University of Toronto, Yale and the University of Western Australia, have demonstrated the key role played by the collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP-2) in the development of MS.
Led by MISCLs Dr Steven Petratos, also of RMIT University, and Professor Claude Bernard, the research team found that a modified version of CRMP-2 is present in active MS lesions, which indicate damage to the nervous system, in a laboratory model of MS.
The modified CRMP-2 interacts with another protein to cause nerve fibre damage that can result in numbness, blindness, difficulties with speech and motor skills, and cognitive impairments in sufferers.
When either the modified CRMP-2 or the interaction between the two proteins was blocked, using a method already approved in both the US and Australia, the progression of the disease was halted.
Director of MISCL, Professor Richard Boyd said the discovery could lead to new treatments for MS.
Blocking the same protein in people with MS could provide a handbrake to the progression of the disease, Professor Boyd said.
Dr Petratos said the method used to block the protein was approved for the treatment of other disease conditions by both the US Food and Drug Administration and Australias Therapeutic Goods Administration.
This should mean that clinical trials once they start will be fast tracked as the form of administration has already been approved, Dr Petratos said.
MS Australia estimates that the disease affects more than 20,000 people in Australia, and up to 2.5 million worldwide. The disease tends to strike early in adulthood, with women three times more likely than men to be diagnosed. The total cost to the Australian community of the disease is estimated at $1 billion annually.
The research received major funding from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society of the United States of America and partial funding from MS Research Australia.
Explore further National search for proteins that cause MS | {
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DALLAS, TX - May 26, 2017 - Results released today from an N of One: Autism Research Foundation supported clinical trial in boys with autism may represent one of the most dramatic advances in autism yet. The findings offer both a new view of what autism is and the possibility of the first drug to treat its core symptoms.
The encouraging results from the double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that tested the 100-year-old drug, suramin, conducted by Dr. Robert Naviaux at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine appear today in the medical journal Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology. In the trial, 10 boys ages 5-14 years were given either a single dose of the drug suramin or a placebo. Improvements were seen in all three core features of autism: language, social interactions, and restricted or repetitive behaviors across multiple diagnostics in multiple tests. Notably ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule) scores, the gold standard for autism diagnosis and one of the trial's primary outcome measures, improved 1.6 points, a statistically significant finding (p<0.003) and did not change in the control group. Parents of children in the treatment group reported significant novel language and behavioral improvements with two of the five children in the treatment group reportedly speaking the first sentences of their lives 1-2 weeks after their single dose.
The findings support the core thesis of N of One: Autism Research Foundation that the most promising breakthroughs in autism lie beyond genetics where research has traditionally focused. This is the second time in a row that an N of One supported clinical trial at a major research center has generated positive results.
The trial was designed by Dr. Naviaux and tests his novel theory that a normal biochemical process he calls the Cell Danger Response (CDR) can get stuck early in childhood, or even prenatally, and when this happens the outward result can be autism. Naviaux further hypothesized that a class of drugs called antipurinergics could normalize the CDR and thereby treat both the underlying biochemical and outward behavioral symptoms of autism.
Using suramin, an antipurinergic drug, Naviaux previously demonstrated that he could reverse the autism-like symptoms of two different autism mouse models. (see: N of One's summary of previous mouse work for further information). Following the successful mouse studies, the next step was to test suramin's safety in children with autism in this most recent trial. "We were looking primarily at safety and tolerability in the first suramin study, but the results were promising and could be a game-changer for autism if confirmed in larger studies." said Dr. Robert Naviaux, the trial's principal investigator.
While additional research is needed to repeat and expand the study, the study may mark an inflection point in how autism is viewed and what types of research gets funded in the future. If proven correct, Dr. Naviaux's theory suggests that at the core of autism is a treatable metabolic syndrome with the potential for improvement for those with the condition - a dramatic departure from the conventional view of autism as a fixed, primarily genetically-driven condition.
Additional materials including a detailed Q&A with Dr. Naviaux about the trial, his theories, and his research are available at http://www. NofOne. org
"The potential implications of this work can simply not be overstated. With all the usual caveats of it being a small study and needing to be replicated, it is promising and hopeful work for a community of affected families that have been given few answers by medicine." Says John Rodakis, N of One: Autism Research Foundation's Founder and President.
N of One Scientific Advisor and autism researcher, Dr. Andy Zimmerman, a clinical professor of pediatrics and neurology at the UMass Memorial Medical Center who was not involved with the study adds: "I think the most important thing about the Naviaux study is the theoretical basis on which it was conceived, even more than the great results they got from treatment with suramin. The clinical trial was well-designed and carefully carried out, just as the science behind it. The study is a masterpiece of scientific reasoning and a substantial contribution to the field of autism."
The Little Non-Profit That Could
N of One: Autism Research Foundation was founded only three years ago by a father and former medical venture capitalist, John Rodakis, who was frustrated with the direction of autism research and lack of progress. N of One takes an early-stage venture capital like approach to autism medical research by using its modest funds to help seed potential breakthroughs. "Our hope is that our successes in small trials will attract attention and additional funding for promising research like Dr. Naviaux's that we feel is being overlooked." said Rodakis. Despite Dr. Naviaux's significant and promising early results with suramin in mice, the traditional large funders did not support this recent human trial. "We are now two-for-two in funding unconventional research that the major funders did not support," adds Rodakis referring to results from the first trial N of One supported: a small double-blind placebo controlled trial at Massachusetts General Hospital and Johns Hopkins that demonstrated that a compound found in broccoli called sulforaphane was effective at reducing some symptoms of autism. Based on the success of that small trial, a larger sulforaphane study is now underway funded by the Department of Defense.
"John Rodakis' work as founder of the N of One Foundation has created world-class results in an amazingly short period of time." Says Dr. Robert Naviaux about N of One. "Dedicated to finding the most promising emerging research about autism, N of One has supported blue-ribbon science with a potential to make meaningful changes in the lives of children and families with autism. John has a talent for finding and supporting pioneering researchers and novel research approaches. We are grateful for having N of One as a supporter of our recent suramin trial." Naviaux adds.
For the past several decades, the emphasis in autism research has been on understanding the genetics of the condition. Since its inception, N of One has advocated for a more diversified research approach. N of One's position is that while genetics likely play a role in predisposing an individual to autism, genetic's role in determining who does and does not develop autism has been over-estimated. This narrow focus has come at the expense of funding for other highly promising areas of research such as cell metabolism, immune function, and the microbiome that could lead to treatments. Said Rodakis. "We genuinely believe that we could be years ahead of where we are in autism research had the handful of institutions that fund virtually all autism research in this country taken a different approach to research. Hopefully this study marks a turning point."
Rodakis says. "I'm an autism parent, working with other autism parents on behalf of autism parents. We are not giving up or going away and believe these latest results continue to validate our thesis that we need to be looking beyond genetics in order to make significant headway," said Rodakis. N of One has additional research projects planned for this year including additional work with Dr. Naviaux.
###
About N of One: Autism Research Foundation:
N of One: Autism Research Foundation, based in Dallas TX, was founded in 2014, with a mission to facilitate and sponsor breakthrough autism medical research. N of One emphasizes research that looks beyond the conventional view of autism as a fixed, primarily genetically-driven disorder of the brain. N of One is dedicated to supporting and funding highly diversified autism research that includes the role of cell metabolism, immune function and the microbiome in autism. Founder, John Rodakis, a Harvard MBA with a background in molecular biology, is a parent of an autistic child who was frustrated with the pace and direction of autism research. N of One: Autism Research Foundation has been an advocate of Dr. Naviaux's research for years and was an early sponsor of the suramin clinical trial.
http://www. NofOne. org
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Media Contact for N of One:
Autism Research Foundation
[email protected]
972-866-4905 (media only) | {
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Mass deportations effectively deter the violent El Salvadoran MS-13 gang from expanding across the United States, an investigation finds.
Research conducted by the State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation found that mass deportations of illegal aliens, which took place in the 1990s and 2000s, helped deter the expansion of the MS-13 gang across the U.S.
The report reveals:
In the 1990s and through the 2000s, law enforcement sought to counter MS-13’s growing influence by enlisting U.S. immigration authorities to deport tens of thousands of immigrants who had been convicted of crimes in the United States [emphasis added]. The strategy proved a stopgap solution. While it initially diminished MS-13 in California, it exported the gang’s culture to Central America, where deep poverty and corruptible law enforcement agencies allowed the gang to flourish [emphasis added].
The study also notes that mass immigration to the U.S. — where more than 60 million immigrants have arrived since 1965 — helped the MS-13 gang grow in membership and size, now spanning across 40 states with more than 10,000 members.
“Migration, both within the United States and from Central America to the United States, contributed to the gang’s spread through the 1990s and 2000s,” the report states. “MS-13 established beachheads in Texas, Charlotte, N.C., Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Long Island, and Massachusetts. Numerous cliques are now entrenched in these strongholds, fed by the recruitment of teens and young men.”
Other deterrents of the MS-13 gang exists. The research found that cooperation between the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and local law enforcement agencies — the opposite of sanctuary city laws — aid in arresting, prosecuting, and deporting violent MS-13 gang members.
“Visible MS-13 activity in New Jersey has waned considerably in the past three years, the result of aggressive prosecutions at the state and federal levels and a close partnership with ICE,” the report notes. “Dozens of MS-13 members now sit in prison for crimes that include racketeering, conspiracy, and murder.”
Most recently, six MS-13 gang members — four of whom are illegal aliens — were accused of butchering to death a 17-year-old Massachusetts boy. One of those MS-13 gang members successfully convinced an immigration judge that he was not affiliated with the gang. | {
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Smartphone-collected Big Data has the potential to transform the way we can understand and predict weather systems. Five months ago, we at OpenSignal (a project to map global cell phone signal coverage) launched an app called WeatherSignal to collect atmospheric data from smartphones. WeatherSignal works by repurposing the sensors that already exist in Android devices in order to build a live map of atmospheric readings.
The most recent Galaxy phone, the S4, contains a barometer, hygrometer (humidity), ambient thermometer and lightmeter – all of which is important data for meteorology. While the S4 is the most advanced phone in terms of sensors, valuable readings can be gathered from many other phones as well. The prospect of a granular network of millions of inter-connected weather stations is an exciting one for meteorology.
We are often asked how we can trust the data, as mobile phones are often indoors or in pockets. The answer to this is twofold. First, we can combine sensor readings (if light reading is sub x then phone is not outdoors, for instance) and second, given appropriate volume we can arrive at valid averages – an answer that gets to the heart of what Big Data really means.
The philosophy of Big Data is that insights can be drawn from a large volume of ‘dirty’ (or ‘noisy’) data, rather than simply relying on a small number of precise observations – a subject covered in detail by Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth Cukier in their recent book ‘Big Data’. One good example of the success of the ‘Big Data’ approach can be seen in Google’s Flu Trends which uses Google searches to track the spread of flu outbreaks worldwide. Despite the inevitable noise, the sheer volume of Google search data meant that flu outbreaks could now be successfully identified and tracked in near real-time. In comparison, relying on Doctors to report flu cases as they were observed resulted in a comparative lag of up two weeks in the identification of outbreaks. Despite this, however, the system is not perfect. Flu Trends recently majorly overestimated an epidemic in the US – possibly because increased media coverage led to an increase in false positive searches for flu symptoms. It is also important to remember that Big Data when used on its own can only provide probabilistic insights based on correlation.
The true benefit of Big Data is that it drives correlative insights, which are achieved through the comparison of independent datasets. It is this that buttresses the Big Data philosophy of ‘more data is better data’; you do not necessarily know what use the data you are collecting will have until you can investigate and compare it with other datasets.
One good example of this is the experiment which ultimately led to our creating WeatherSignal. We had been collecting readings of battery temperature from our connection-toolkit app called OpenSignal. On investigation, we identified a historical correlation between averaged smartphone battery temperatures and the ambient temperature readings made by dedicated weather stations.
Working from this starting point we published a paper in conjunction with the Royal Meteorological Society of the Netherlands that developed an algorithmic approach to converting battery temperature readings to ambient temperature. We use this approach to create averaged ambient temperature readings from phones that don’t contain an external thermometer; a result which would never have been possible if we hadn’t collected battery temperature readings and compared them to historic atmospheric data.
The ‘Big Data’ approach has already begun to be incorporated into weather nowcasting, and the Flu Trends disease example provides an excellent allegory for where it can initially prove most useful. The UK Met Office has started making use of various non-traditional sources to track the spread of snowfall, including geo-located tweets mentioning snow. It is instructive here to think of snowfall as an ‘outbreak’, a (relatively) unpredictable high-impact event that can be better-managed through more immediate and granular data. Such is the nature of these high-impact events that having more data, however dirty, is especially useful for helping to limit consequences through more effective immediate decision-making. Initially we believe that the WeatherSignal data will be most useful for ‘outbreak’ type events, using pressure readings for short-term storm forecasting and surface temperature readings to determine the spread of snowfall.
The next step lies in proving empirically that smartphone data has an important role to play in the future of weather forecasting. We are currently looking for more academic partners to come forward and make use of our data and already have an exciting group of collaborators lined up. We are working with Birmingham University Climate Lab (BUCL) to prove that crowdsourced smartphone sensor readings can be useful in studying urban climate. BUCL have established a dense network of weather stations and temperature sensors in their city, which will be used to test the crowdsourced readings from the WeatherSignal network.
We have also begun to supply pressure readings to the University of Washington to help prove their use in atmospheric modelling, and have announced plans to share our data with the Met office. The benefits that a crowdsourced approach can bring to the science of meteorology are only just becoming apparent, but the winds of change are blowing. | {
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The environment minister, Greg Hunt, has set out his vision to reverse the precipitous decline in the number of Australian species, pledging to end the loss of native mammal species by 2020.
Hunt admitted Australia has a legacy of “clear and significant failures” in protecting its wildlife, citing the fact that the country has the worst rate of mammal extinctions in the world, with 29 species perishing in the past 200 years.
“I have set a goal of ending the loss of mammal species by 2020,” Hunt said in a speech in Melbourne on Wednesday.
“What’s more, I want to see improvements in at least 20 of those species between now and then. Our flora and fauna are part of what makes us Australian. I don’t want the extinction of species such as the numbat, the quokka, the bilby, on our collective consciences.”
To achieve that goal the government will wage war on the feral cat population, which has been cited by scientists as a leading threat to Australian native species. There are about 20m feral cats in Australia, which are understood to slaughter an astonishing 75m birds and ground-dwelling mammals every day.
Hunt said a “potential game-changer”, a new bait called Curiosity, would be developed to suppress feral cat numbers in key areas, with the animals targeted for complete eradication on Christmas Island.
Hunt promised further federal government intervention to protect species in Kakadu, Norfolk Island and Raine Island in the Great Barrier Reef, known for its sea turtle population.
Another $3.3m will be spent protecting the Tasmanian devil, while Hunt indicated a new initiative to help the endangered Leadbeater’s possum, which is Victoria’s faunal emblem but is under severe threat following the Black Saturday fires and, environmentalists say, irresponsible logging of habitat.
The $525m Green Army, a Coalition creation that deploys groups of young people to revegetate areas and tackle weeds, was cited by Hunt as an avenue for protecting threatened species, although the first round of Green Army projects contains few specific references to combating feral cats and other pests.
Hunt said legislation had “clearly failed” to arrest the decline in threatened species, pointing out that the national list of endangered mammals, birds, fish and reptiles contained 1,749 species and “grows year by year”.
“I know too well that legislation alone is not the solution,” he said. “It can provide a framework and a guide, but too often we become complacent and expect the laws to provide the solution. As our track record on the environment shows, that has provided only limited success.
“Good policy and change is driven by the community. The environment is no different. My aim as minister is to inspire people to join me on this journey, to refocus the way we manage our environment and to help the community engage at their local level.
“It is only then that we will see a real difference and it is one that no legislator will ever achieve by law alone.”
Hunt defended the government’s plan to devolve environmental approvals to the states, stating that the move has already resulted in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia adopting higher environmental standards to meet federal criteria before the handover, as well as providing millions of dollars in potential economic benefits.
The environment minister stressed that he had addressed concerns raised by the auditor general in June that the environment department was understaffed and “passive” when enforcing regulations. The number of compliance staff had been tripled, Hunt said.
Hunt admitted the Great Barrier Reef was under pressure but said he was proud that a plan to dump dredged spoil into the reef’s marine park had now been averted, after he initially approved it late last year. “If I achieve nothing else, I will be satisfied with that,” he said.
Jess Abrahams, a healthy ecosystems campaigner at the Australian Conservation Foundation, said he was encouraged by much of Hunt’s plan.
“The ambition of protecting mammals by 2020 is great and the ambitions of the threatened species commissioner to keep all endangered species in the wild for the next 100 years is fantastic,” he said. “It was also good that he acknowledged the legacy of past mistakes.”
But Abrahams said the government needed to do more to protect the habitat of threatened species, saying the recent approval of the huge Carmichael mine in Queensland would imperil the home of the endangered black-throated finch.
“The minister talks about the mine as if it’s a barren landscape but he won’t acknowledge it’s the home of a threatened species,” he said. “If he can’t use his power to protect threatened species, who can?
“I don’t see the government doing what’s required to deliver. The cat baiting is great, but species will continue to decline if the government allows their habitat to be destroyed and dollars aren’t provided to implement the threatened species plans.” | {
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President Trump gave coach Bill Belicheck and his New England Patriots players an exclusive tour of the White House residence this week.
In a post on Twitter, Trump said it was “his honor” to give the team its “first tour of the WH residence.”
The tweet included a video that showed Patriot players touring the residence. It also featured video of the public ceremony outside the White House.
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The Patriots have been frequent White House visitors, as they have won five Super Bowls since 2001 and have been feted at ceremonies by Presidents Trump, Obama and George W. Bush.
Trump seemed to relish in the Patriots’ win earlier this year, which he likened to his victory over Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonHillicon Valley: FBI chief says Russia is trying to interfere in election to undermine Biden | Treasury Dept. sanctions Iranian government-backed hackers The Hill's Campaign Report: Arizona shifts towards Biden | Biden prepares for drive-in town hall | New Biden ad targets Latino voters FBI chief says Russia is trying to interfere in election to undermine Biden MORE in last year’s election.
The Patriots fell behind by more than three touchdowns in the game, and Trump noted that the “pundits” didn’t think they could get it done.
“The pundits, boy they’re wrong a lot aren’t they,” Trump said. | {
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While the famous Antarctic "ozone hole" is finally beginning to heal, 30 years after it was first discovered, scientists have just identified a new threat to its recovery.
A study, just out Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, suggests that a common industrial chemical called dichloromethane - which has the power to destroy ozone - has doubled in the atmosphere over the last 10 years. And if its concentrations keep growing, scientists say, it could delay the Antarctic ozone layer's return to normal by up to 30 years.
"We've known that dichloromethane has been increasing in the atmosphere - however, there's not been a concerted effort to assess what the impact of those increases could be for the ozone layer, and in particular for ozone recovery," said the new study's lead author Ryan Hossaini, an atmospheric chemist and research fellow at Lancaster University in the UK.
The new paper is one of the first to investigate and conclude that the chemical could have a substantial influence on the hole's ability to heal.
"The analysis seems quite sound, and the results are concerning," said Susan Solomon, an expert in atmospheric science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was not involved with the research, in an email to The Washington Post.
She added that the findings "should be a wake up call that we need to work harder on understanding and controlling chemicals that damage the ozone layer."
The discovery of the ozone hole in the mid-1980s - a large-scale deterioration of ozone occurring mainly over Antarctica - sparked huge international concern, particularly for residents of the Southern Hemisphere, because ozone is the gas that protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Since then, the hole's recovery is almost entirely attributable to a landmark 1987 international agreement known as the Montreal Protocol, which spurred major global efforts to cut down on the emission of ozone-depleting chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs.
But while CFCs were almost certainly the major cause behind the hole, they're not the only chemicals capable of destroying ozone in the atmosphere.
Dichloromethane, an industrial solvent used in a variety of applications including paint strippers and adhesives, is another ozone-depleting substance, and it's not regulated under the terms of the Montreal Protocol.
This is largely because its life span in the atmosphere is short - just a few months - and its effect on ozone is modest compared to the influence of CFCs, Hossaini said.
And in the 1980s, its presence in the atmosphere was significantly lower than it is today.
In recent years, though, concentrations have been rapidly growing - in fact, atmospheric monitoring efforts suggest that its levels doubled between 2004 and 2014.
The reasons for the increased abundance remain unclear, although the authors note that dichloromethane is commonly used in the production of hydrofluorocarbons, the chemicals now used as replacements for CFCs.
The new study investigates the chemical's potential to disrupt the recovery of the ozone hole using a chemical model comparing three different scenarios.
One scenario assumes that dichloromethane levels continue to increase at the rate they were growing, on average, between 2004 and 2014.
The second assumes that its levels grow at the rate observed between 2012 and 2014 alone - a rate that's much faster than the decadal average, but also much less realistic for the long term.
A third scenario assumes that dichloromethane concentrations stop growing at all after the year 2016.
The study finds that rising dichloromethane levels do have the potential to significantly delay the ozone hole's recovery.
Currently, most experts believe the ozone layer should return to its pre-1980 condition some time around mid-century - and the model used in the new study supports this idea, suggesting that with no continued dichloromethane growth, the hole will return to normal by the year 2065.
However, if the chemical continues to increase at the rate observed over the last decade, the model suggests that this recovery could be delayed by up to 30 years.
The second scenario, which assumes extreme increases in dichloromethane in the coming decades, indicates that the hole would still be recovering into the next century.
The future growth of atmospheric dichloromethane levels is still very uncertain, Hossaini cautioned. But the study suggests that continued efforts to monitor the ozone hole's recovery - and predict its end date - should be closely accounting for its influence.
And some scientists feel that conversations about its potential regulation may be warranted in the future.
"I think that this paper certainly promotes the need to have a conversation about whether to include it in the Montreal Protocol," said Ross Salawitch, an expert in physics and atmospheric sciences at the University of Maryland, who was not involved with the new study.
Such negotiations could prove tricky - Salawitch pointed out that dichloromethane generally has a better chance of making it into the stratosphere when it's released from the tropics than when it's released from locations at higher latitudes, which could lead to discussions about whether it should be regulated differently in different places, and whether that's fair.
In any case, he said, his personal opinion is that the chemical probably should be regulated in some way.
"I view this paper as being very positive for sounding the alarm," he said.
2017 © The Washington Post
This article was originally published by The Washington Post. | {
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Twitter is exploding with people calling for president-elect Donald Trump to be assassinated.
The Republican real-estate billionaire beat Hillary Clinton handily to become the next president of the United States, but that hasn’t stopped lots of people calling for somebody to murder him. (SLIDESHOW: Meet The Blonde Bombshell Golfer Supporting Donald Trump For President)
my mom is talking about assassinate donald trump. watch out guy my white suburban mother is coming for you — duck (@DuckFanAccount) November 9, 2016
Trump ain’t president ’til inauguration day lmao you guys still have time to assassinate BOTH Trump and Pence. — aaeoius (@kazzandrabalona) November 9, 2016
if trump gets assassinated then y’all are gonna have michael pence and he is possibly even worse. so u need to assassinate both of them — molly (@protectisak) November 9, 2016
Can someone please assassinate Donald Trump before January???? — rubi (@xoxbea_) November 9, 2016
so which one of you greasy headed depressed white gonna take one for the team & assassinate trump? pls — tell yr counsellor (@SawatdeeSiam) November 9, 2016
*Waiting on someone to assassinate donald trump* pic.twitter.com/56iSkf9LFp — El Chapo Jr (@Savage_Lifestyl) November 9, 2016
I just pray that the first nigga who tries to assassinate Donald Trump don’t miss — Greg (@BankRolllGreg) November 9, 2016
If trump wins he will be killed. Believe that. Someone will assassinate him. More chapters for the history books I guess — dannia (@OVONavyy) November 9, 2016
when y’all gonna assassinate trump? — spooky gio (@gio_estra) November 9, 2016
if someone wants to take one for the team and assassinate trump make sure to get pence’s ass as well — deceased (@tyweIIick) November 9, 2016
The Secret Service has a history of investigating threats against the people they protect when the threats originate on Twitter. The Secret Service has not made any public statement since Trump won about whether new threats on Twitter will be investigated.
Trump has already won 289 electoral votes. There is a chance he could rack up an even bigger win because Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire all still too close to call.
Follow David on Twitter and Facebook | {
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Oregon is on the brink of ending the legal protection for parents who rely on faith healing instead of seeking medical care for their children.
On a 25-5 vote, the state Senate on Monday joined the House in passing a measure that was sparked by the heavily publicized deaths of children whose families belong to an Oregon City church, the Followers of Christ.
The Senate added a provision that would make House Bill 2721 take effect immediately after it is signed into law. It now returns to the House, which is expected to quickly send it on to the governor.
Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Hillsboro, said the measure ensures that "all children and all families are treated equally under the law."
However, Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton, expressed the concern that it could subject some people to overly harsh punishment and the measure should have been considered by the budget committee since it could increase prison costs.
The legislative action comes as an Oregon City couple is standing trial this week for not seeking medical care for an 18-month-daughter with a serious eye problem that had left her nearly blind.
Under current law, spiritual treatment can be used as a defense against some charges. The bill would eliminate those defenses and parents choosing faith healing over medical treatment for a child who dies could face tough mandatory sentences.
-Jeff Mapes
| {
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Dave Kallmann
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Were it not for time spent together in Nashville, the Milwaukee Admirals who stepped onto the ice Tuesday for the start of training camp would have needed name tags.
With a new coach and more new players than usual, they comprise a hockey team that bears little resemblance to the one that missed the American Hockey League playoffs in April.
But that's OK.
“It’s a fresh start,” said defenseman Alex Carrier, who with two seasons behind him is one of the Milwaukee's more established players.
“Last year we didn’t have the result that we wanted, so to have a fresh start this year with a new staff, new guys in the locker room, I think it’s good. New era. New people. New energy.”
Team-building – and rebuilding – is a way of life in a development league. Players shuttle to Milwaukee from the parent Nashville Predators and back all season.
Still, the only exhibition game is scheduled for Saturday at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the opener for Oct. 6 at Texas, where new coach Karl Taylor spent the past four seasons as an assistant.
RELATED: Family, balance and 'fun to watch' hockey are all priorities for the new Admirals coach
Just 10 of the 28 players on the roster at the start of camp Tuesday could call Milwaukee their primary team last season.
“You know a lot of these guys that were up in training camp in Nashville,” defenseman Jarred Tinordi, one of the newcomers, said after practice Tuesday. “For a lot of guys … hockey’s a weird world in that you know a guy from some obscure reason or you know a buddy who knows this guy. You connect pretty quickly.”
Gone are two-year captain Trevor Smith and alternate captains Bobby Butler and Harry Zolnierczyk, all of whom start this season elsewhere in the league. Veteran Frederick Gaudreau, a two-way player last season, is in Nashville. They were four of the team’s top five scorers.
Popular starting goaltender Anders Lindback is back in his native Sweden. Brandon Bollig, a late-season acquisition, remains a free agent.
Replacing them are the typical mix of newcomers who were in college or juniors, or played overseas, as well as veterans with AHL and NHL experience. This group of first-year Admirals is just about 50% larger than last year's.
Left wing Connor Brickley played 44 NHL games with the Florida Panthers last season. Tinordi, who signed as a free agent, is with his fifth team since his 2012-’13 AHL debut, and he also has played in 63 NHL games. Goaltender Tom McCollum, acquired in a trade, has been in the league for nine seasons, mostly with Grand Rapids.
Taylor, 47, was hired in June to be the Admirals’ 21st head coach after Dean Evason left to become an assistant with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.
Since his arrival, Taylor has stressed the importance of a strong leadership group in the locker room, which may be particularly important with all the turnover. There’s no formula to establishing one.
“If you can just be patient it usually is evident who rises up in different situations,” he said. “So as a staff, we’re watching everything they’re doing, we’re evaluating everyone.
“We’re watching everything they do and how they act, how they order food, how they treat a waitress, how they treat anyone in the normal day-to-day business. Also how they play.
“Are they willing to confront a teammate who needs help? Can they challenge someone? Are they comfortable getting out of their own comfort zone? And will they deliver the message the staff wants when it’s needed, even if it’s uncomfortable for them? Those are the things you’re looking for.”
Carrier pointed to center Tyler Gaudet, who arrived from Tucson during the second half of last season, as one player likely to emerge as a leader and Tinordi as another. They had been teammates with the Roadrunners, and Tinordi was an alternate captain there in 2016-’17.
“It’s just kind of natural,” Tinordi said. “You’ll see guys kind of gravitate into that role, guys who’ve done it on other teams or guys who’ve done that in the past whether it’s juniors or college or wherever it was. Those roles kind of evolve in the room.
“That’s what kind of brings a team together, sooner rather than later. You have some older guys that kind of take charge and help move the young guys along or guys that haven’t really been in this situation or it’s new for them, it kind of helps move things along a little quicker.”
Training camp roster
(No., name, 2017-’18 team)
FORWARDS
16 Connor Brickley, Florida (NHL)
10 Tyler Gaudet, Milwaukee (AHL), Tucson (AHL)
23 Jeremy Gregoire, Laval (AHL)
18 Tanner Jeannot, Moose Jaw (WHL)
19 Justin Kirkland, Milwaukee (AHL)
21 Matt Lane, Worchester (ECHL)
- Darby Llewellyn, Atlanta (ECHL)
82 Zach Magwood, Barrie (OHL)
2 Tyler Moy, Milwaukee (AHL)
24 Mathieu Olivier, Sherbrooke (QMJHL)
17 Alex Overhardt, Portland (WHL)
95 Carl Persson, Karlskona (SweE)
41 Emil Pettersson, Milwaukee (AHL)
90 Anthony Richard, Milwaukee (AHL)
13 Yakov Trenin, Milwaukee (AHL)
- Branden Troock, Hartford (AHL)
DEFENSEMEN
58 Frederic Allard, Milwaukee (AHL), Norfolk (ECHL)
55 Alex Carrier, Milwaukee (AHL)
6 Brian Cooper, San Diego (AHL)
46 Matt Donovan, V. Frolunda (SweE)
5 Jack Dougherty, Milwaukee (AHL)
57 Joonas Lyytinen Milwaukee (AHL), Norfolk (ECHL), Atlanta (ECHL)
78 Filip Pyrochta, Liberec (CzeE), Benatky (CzeD)
- Jack Stander, Canisius (NCAA)
28 Jarred Tinordi, Wilkes-Barre (AHL)
GOALTENDERS
1 Troy Grosenick, Milwaukee (AHL), San Jose (AHL)
33 Thomas McCollum, Grand Rapids (AHL)
34 Miroslav Svoboda, Plzen (CzeE) | {
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It’s always heartwarming to see people getting what they’ve dreamed about after working really hard to achieve it. In a video that has recently gone viral, two drivers for the ride-sharing firm Grab were overwhelmed by happiness after finding out that they had won Umrah pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
In the video, the two drivers, identified as Tri Mulyanto and Supriyono, were smoking their cigarettes when a Grab employee went up to them while recording the video, initially asking whether they knew about some of the company’s internal programs. The employee then asked them if they knew about Grab’s Umrah program for drivers, before handing them both a piece of paper.
The moment they unfolded the pieces of paper, the video became one of the most powerful tear-jerkers we’ve ever seen:
Tmn w pas ngasitau bapaknya ini menang hadiah program umroh…. Monangeeesss😭 pic.twitter.com/8zRLmzIody — yaㅡkūlt (@nigirisushki) February 11, 2019
“This was my friend when he told the drivers that they won an Umroh program… I want to cry”
Tri and Supriyono cried immediately upon opening the papers and then went on performed a sujud (prostration to God) on the floor, saying prayers for gratefulness. The papers read, “Congratulations, you’re going for Umrah”.
Iya, kemaren sempet poto neh. Bapaknya hepi banget 😁 pic.twitter.com/lwPP8bIh0G — ciciprut ꦕꦶꦕꦶꦥꦿꦸꦠ꧀ (@enciprut) February 12, 2019
“They also took a picture yesterday, they look so happy”
Grab’s PR manager, Andre Sebastian, confirmed that Tri and Supriyono are their driver partners in the Central Java capital of Semarang.
“Pak Tri and Pak Supriyono, our GrabBike drivers in Semarang, were chosen to depart for Umrah as part of the next batch in March,” Andre said yesterday, as quoted by Kompas.
https://twitter.com/GrabID/status/1095161611411611649
“I also got goosebumps watching this. Congratulations, Pak. Fortunes always come to the people who fight #ImpianUmrahItuDekat”
Both Tri and Supriyono won an all-expense-paid Umrah program for Grab drivers, called #ImpianUmrahItuDekat (The Umrah dream is near), held three times a year. For the program, 200 drivers in seven cities are chosen based on their performance, and apparently Tri and Supriyono are among those who have exceeded the company’s expectations.
“GrabBike drivers with the best performance, such as low cancellation rates and achieving a lot of good reviews from their customers, have a bigger chance of winning the Umrah program,” Andre said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said a group of 200 Grab drivers are sent to Umrah by the company once every three years. This is a factual error and we have corrected the article to say that a total of 200 Grab drivers are sent to Umrah by the company for the program.
Grove: Coconuts Brand Studio
Fast. Funny. Digital. We produce creativity that delights and influences customers. Join forces with us to slay buzzwords, rise above the noise, and sow the seeds of something great. | {
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Aaron "AZR" Ward reflects on recent LAN results and details specific in-game issues and 100 Thieves' ambitions going into 2020.
100 Thieves are likely to end 2019 at No.7 in the world rankings, six places up from their ranking of 13th at the end of 2018, after enjoying their best year yet, despite some ups and downs along the way.
The Australian team reached the playoffs stages of both Majors and, upon joining 100 Thieves, made their first-ever appearance in a Big Event final, at IEM Beijing, before losing out to Astralis. They were unable to capitalise on that momentum, however, as they crashed out of the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals in the last round of the group stage after losing to eventual runners-up fnatic.
100 Thieves have ambitions to start securing trophies in the coming year
But despite his team going out with a whimper, AZR still believes that the year was mostly positive and that the time has come to raise the bar and start challenging for trophies.
"I think in 2019 we had a really good year," he told HLTV.org in Odense. "We had some decent placings at the Majors and we even came close to finishing at the top. Leading into 2020 I would like for us to be achieving trophies, that would be the main goal for sure.
"We're sort of breaching top five at the moment, we're sitting fifth in the world rankings [Editor's Note: the team have since slipped down to seventh], so we're pretty happy with that but we want to keep pushing further, and I think the trophies are the next step and that's what we want to start bringing home."
After the defeat to Astralis in the Beijing final - which, according to AZR, the players used as a lesson about the importance of minimizing mistakes in the game -, 100 Thieves had a ten-day bootcamp leading up to the Pro League Finals. Confidence was running high as the team traveled to Odense, so the early exit came as a letdown to the players, especially to the in-game leader, who missed out on the opportunity to play in front of his girlfriend at the tournament's main arena.
"We were obviously quite confident, we had a pretty good bootcamp too, so that helped a lot," AZR said. "I would have liked us to be in the top four. Getting pushed out 7th-8th was quite a disappointing result.
"Also, my girlfriend is from Denmark and her family was going to be here too, so it was a little bit of a disappointment not to be on stage for them."
Prior to the elimination match against fnatic, 100 Thieves had been sent to the group's lower bracket by Evil Geniuses, who were kryptonite for the Australians all year long. The last six matches between the two teams ended in defeat for AZR's side, something that he hopes will change next year.
"For us as a team playing against EG - they're a great team, nothing to take away from them - but I think there's a mental block in our team when we play against them," AZR explains. "We don't seem as confident and don't seem as loud energy-wise versus them. I think we're not playing against them at our full capacity and that's something we need to look at for ourselves because we don't seem as strong against them.
"I've tried this in the past against other teams, where we try to be as loud as possible to begin with, just so we're not going into the game cold. It's easier said than done, you can say. Against them, we have always just had a rough time, so we've got to figure that shit out ourselves and hopefully, leading into next year, we'll have some stuff to do with our new mental coach. He'll have stuff to say, for sure, so we'll implement that and, hopefully, we can get over that hurdle.
"We haven't met the new mental coach yet, so it will be interesting to see what he's like and getting to know him at the beginning of next year." | {
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The devastated mother of a 13-year-old fatally struck by a trucker driving with a license suspended multiple times demanded justice for her son Kevin at his wake Wednesday.
“I don’t want this to ever happen again,” a teary-eyed Margarita Flores, 33, told The Post at the Ortiz Funeral Home in Brooklyn, where Kevin’s body lay in an open ivory casket.
“I don’t want another child, another kid to die like this. And I’m going to fight for that.”
Kevin was pedaling his bicycle last Friday evening when he was fatally struck by Philip Monfoletto, who was driving a Mack oil truck.
“I wish this for nobody,” said Margarita, who is pregnant and due in June.
“One part of me is gone with him. He’s never going to see his little brother or sister. It’s terrible.”
The tragic boy’s loved ones were angry that Monfoletto faces only misdemeanor charges.
“It’s disgusting, disgusting,” fumed Meserete Davis, 37, whose daughter Madison, 12, was a classmate of Kevin.
“As a mother and someone who grew up in that neighborhood and knows those streets, I’m just horrified this could happen,” Davis added. | {
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OK! So, there are constant questions on various different platforms as to which form of a wrestler is better, Face or Heel? Well the answer is somewhat... convoluted. In all honesty, there's one universal answer I give to everyone, It depends. But for the sake of everyone's sanity, I will attempt to break it down. Keep in mind that THESE ARE JUST LIKE, MY OPINIONS, MAN. It's all subjective. So, here we go......
JOBBERS
Being the second character you see in the game, people have a lot of love for Heartless La Belle. Sadly though, she quickly gets outclassed by the early Pros. Her saving grace though, is her Moneyman ability in her Face form, and Student of the Game ability in her Heel form. So we'll just chock this one up to a tie because both abilities are insanely useful, depending on what you're trying to use her for.
WINNER: TIE
A very strong early tank, Kimberly "The Red" is the only female Heavyweight in the game. When it comes to her face or heel turn though, I'd go Heel. Her Trash Talk ability in her face form may be helpful for keeping the attention of bosses while you can go ham on them with your damage dealers, but Sadist in her heel form keeps her healthy throughout the match.
WINNER: HEEL
Seeing as how I haven't found a legitimate use for Foresight yet, I'd say that her Face form is a little lackluster. Hold Your Horses is so useful in so many different scenarios, it's hard to pass up. Go Heel on this one.
WINNER: HEEL
With Berzerker Fury being so new, I haven't had a lot of time to get into it and see what it's about. That being said, it requires our boy Antonio to get dangerously low on HP for it to be effective. Finish Him on the other hand, has finished so many fights for me that it has become invaluable. You'll see me go with Finish Him 9 times out of 10. Face!
WINNER: FACE
PROS
Take a look at Bad-Ass Santa Claus over here. You can go either way on this one. Although, Crowd Slayer makes me lean a little more towards the Face side. But hey, if you're looking for a big tanky grandpa, Heel would be a good option too.
WINNER: TIE
When it comes to Dark Marten, stay with what gave him his name and go Heel. Healing Prevention and Resist Fire? Really? Gimme Sadist anyday.
WINNER: HEEL
Even though C-C-C-C-COMBO BUMP can be tempting, don't be blinded by the sexual attractiveness of blasting through enemies getting stronger each time. Sadist + Thick Skin keeps old Hirad plenty healthy. But if you wanna build glass cannon, who am I to stop you? I'm not your mother.
WINNER: FACE
With the release on 1.8, Crate Breaker got a big rework, and made Face Kurt just as good as Heel Kurt. His Face form with Endurance keeps him in the game. Hypeman + Crowd Slayer in his Heel form gives this maniac everything he needs to put a hurtin' on well...basically everyone. (updated 9/2/18)
WINNER: TIE
Either way, you're getting Student of the Game, which is what most people use her for. Grinding out the XP can be a little tedious. Go Face and get Hold Your Horses to save your squishy teammates that you're trying to level from getting squashed by your opponent's active abilities. Also useful for increasing the count on the bombs in special matches.
WINNER: FACE
If you ask Dr. Die, all you need is Sarah. Fill your team up with her if you can. All Sarah, all the time. And I have to agree with him here. Sarah is one of the all-around best Pros there is. Her Piercer movement type and high damage in conjunction with her awesome abilities make her a top notch choice. That being said, I'd probably lean more towards Heel just for Finish Him, but you really can't go wrong. Face has Underdog to help you deal with heavies.
WINNER: TIE
The Ripper is one of those wrestlers that seems to get lost in the shuffle quite a bit. But Holy Moly her Face form will lock down Healers with Healing Prevention and keep her alive with Thick Skin. All while having Healing herself. Throw Ripper in to a team of healers and watch them cry as they are rendered useless.
WINNER: FACE
SUPERSTARS
Ok, here's where you kinda have to take what you can get. Seeing as how you draft Superstars at 3-Stars, already Face or Heel.
Ahh, Coffin Nail, my bae. Again, 1.8 update to Crate Breaker changes the whole game for my beloved Henry. You do get Hypeman and Piercer movement, along with Breaker makes anyone with Damage Reduction his bi#%^.Plus, all that together makes it really easy to max hype another wrestler for a giant bloodbath. Resist Fire is good for some Special Matches, and Sadist & Finish Him in his Heel form make this a very difficult decision for me. Honestly, I wanna say maybe Face Henry surpassed Heel Henry on the usefulness factor, but Heel Henry will always be bae, and for that reason I can't really choose one over the other. jk i totally can (updated 9/2/18)
WINNER: TIE (kinda but not really)
Catcher vs. Taunt? Easy decision in my mind. All of Mike's other skills are the same. I mean, both are good for big beefy boys to get in there and push people around. But Face Mike will save your team the humiliation of getting spiked into the canvas by an Aerial attack. Melon Mike all the way.
WINNER: FACE
It's like they took all of the decent abilities in the game, and put them on one guy. Icebreaker is one of the most well-rounded Superstars in the game, and can find a place on almost any team. Slingshot and Hypeman make him a great partner, and Combo Bump and Crowd Slayer are punishing to the opponents. This is probably why Icebreaker is used HEAVILY in PvP. Whichever one you draft, thank your lucky stars. Your journey to the top just got a lot easier.
WINNER: TIE
Welp, FINALLY I get around to adding Cat to this post. Let's see...I gotta say that I'm right down the middle on this one. Honestly, it depends what your needs are. Face Cat is a really good support Superstar with Healer and Count Down, but Heel Cat can dish out the damage and help your team stay away from all the devastating Charge attacks with Intimidator. I must say though, Heel Cat's Berzerker Fury only works well given the right circumstances, and if you survive the initial onslaught with as little HP as possible to get the most out of it. I'd probably just play it safe and go Face. Either way, you're gonna be launching Luchas and Aerial guys (and girls) all over the place. FEAR THE TRIPLE JUMP!
WINNER: FACE
Well, I hope that this was informative and helpful for you guys. Check out BillBaBR's opinions on our resident Criminals and/or Peace Officers in the Law & Disorder post! Look for the next edition sometime in the next few days.
xD Mavrick086 (talk) 02:44, June 26, 2018 (UTC) | {
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The Note: Trump's DACA tweet storm confounding, illuminating Washington has grown to expect occasional presidential tweet-storms by now.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The TAKE with Rick Klein
Washington has grown to expect occasional presidential tweet storms by now.
Yet even by the new standards set by President Donald Trump, his post-Easter rants on immigration stand out. That’s not just for the curious timing or bizarre staging (hello, Easter Bunny), but for the utter disconnect between the president’s pronouncements, actual facts, and what it all means for policy in the end.
The president is demonstrably wrong on almost every major detail he’s harping on. Democrats couldn’t kill DACA if they wanted – and they don’t – because Trump himself ordered it ended, and then opposed the bipartisan solution that drew the most Senate support to keep it in place.
Those “caravans” coming via Mexico are carrying asylum-seekers – a category of people that has nothing to do with Dreamers, who have been in the U.S. since they were children. None of this has any connection to NAFTA, the border wall, or the Senate’s filibuster rules. There is no “DACA bandwagon.”
It all makes for another presidential episode that’s as confounding as it is illuminating. The president’s point isn’t to make policy; it’s to make noise.
The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks
With Republicans controlling every lever in Washington, plus in many statehouses, too, it is perhaps not surprising the country is wrestling with the limits of the mainstay GOP philosophy that less is more. After all, how low is too low when it comes to taxes? Is there such a thing as a government that’s too small?
Those seem to be some of the key questions facing Oklahoma right now, as nearly 30,000 teachers continue to strike and send up flares about the state of the state’s public schools. Even the Republican governor Mary Fallin argued last year that there are diminishing returns when it comes to shrinking budgets and cutting taxes to attract businesses – specifically now that, as she says, potential employers worry Oklahoma schools are underfunded and failing.
And the teachers in Oklahoma are not walking out in a vacuum. From Kentucky to West Virginia, Arizona and elsewhere, the country seems to be reaching a boiling point when it comes to public education.
Likewise, will the country decide there are appropriate limits on rolling back regulations at the federal level, too? Republican lawmakers may have a hard time squaring that a decision from the Environmental Protection Agency yesterday to relax vehicle emissions standards seems to come in direct conflict with another core Republican value: the importance of states’ rights. Will the feds really tell California it can’t have its own energy standards?
The TIP with Mary Bruce
Once again, the president is stirring the (legislative) pot and spreading untruths on Twitter, and once again Congress is largely ignoring him.
Republican leaders have yet to say a word about Trump's DACA tirade.
Not surprisingly, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and a few Democratic leaders are eager to react.
"The only person the country needs on the “DACA bandwagon” is the president. He’s rejected deal after deal to save the program he unilaterally chose to end," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., tweeted in his own Twitter tirade against the president.
"The only person who’s gaming the DACA program isn’t in a caravan, he’s in the Oval Office," he added.
But even some top Democrats are declining to dignify Trump's comments with a response.
Asked for any response, a spokesperson for Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer said simply: "Nope!"
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY
President Donald Trump meets with three Baltic heads of state to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania’s independence during the United States-Baltic Summit being held at the White House.
The president holds a joint press conference with the Baltic heads of state at 1:35 p.m.
HUD Secretary Ben Carson delivers remarks at “A More Perfect Union” event held at the Newseum at 9 a.m.
The State Department commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Marshall Plan in the afternoon.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross participates in the U.S. Baltic Business Summit hosted by the U.S Chamber of Commerce at 4 p.m.
Gov. John Kasich participates in a fireside chat at New England College in New Hampshire at 5:30 p.m.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I have spent countless hours trying to understand how the president and so many others can share such destructive lies about me." — Jill McCabe, the wife of fired former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, in a Washington Post op-ed.
NEED TO READ
White House, Dems seek EPA answers on Pruitt's rental deal. The White House has launched a formal inquiry into Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt's living situation last year at a Capitol Hill townhouse co-owned by the wife of a top lobbyist. (John Santucci, Benjamin Siegel and Matthew Mosk) https://abcn.ws/2Ip3PcT
Trump, Japanese prime minister to meet at Mar-a-Lago ahead of North Korea summit. President Donald Trump will welcome Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida later this month for a summit meeting, the White House announced Monday. (Jordyn Phelps) https://abcn.ws/2GsTMqm
White House considered as venue for a Trump-Putin meeting. The Trump administration is considering the White House as the setting for a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the White House said Monday. (Jordyn Phelps) https://abcn.ws/2H3XEeA
Trump defends Sinclair as media company takes fire for 'false news' scripts. Videos of local news anchors reading the seemingly same script in a segment decrying "biased and false news" on Sinclair-owned TV stations is raising questions about the media company after the videos attracted attention online. (Meghan Keneally) https://abcn.ws/2GrGo1J
Legal defense fund for Trump aides under scrutiny by congressional Democrats. Democrats on a congressional oversight committee are raising new concerns about a fund set up to help past and present Trump aides pay any legal expenses related to investigations into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election, ABC News has learned. (Katherine Faulders) https://abcn.ws/2GLkPN8
Connecticut Democrat won't seek re-election after criticism of her handling of office harassment. Fighting a wave of calls for her resignation, Rep. Elizabeth Esty, a Connecticut Democrat, announced Monday she won't seek re-election this fall. (John Parkinson and John Verhovek) https://abcn.ws/2pWfJ7e
'Deep concern' over nixing anti-discrimination language from HUD mission statement: Dems. Democrats in Congress are expressing deep concern over proposed changes at the Department of Housing and Urban Development that would see the words “free from discrimination” removed from its mission statement – a move they say would “erase decades worth of progress” in housing anti-discrimination efforts. (Mariam Khan) https://abcn.ws/2q0AZYz
Facing long odds, potential Speaker Ryan challenger sees uptick in fundraising. A Democrat hoping to unseat the most powerful Republican in Congress, House Speaker Paul Ryan, has raised more than $2 million since the beginning of the year, his campaign announced Monday. (John Verhovek) https://abcn.ws/2uGQMBw
Trump EPA moving to relax Obama-era auto fuel efficiency, emissions standards. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is moving to relax fuel efficiency and emissions standards for vehicles manufactured between 2022 and 2025, the agency announced Monday –- something largely applauded by the auto industry, which has argued the standards set by the Obama administration are prohibitively expensive. (Erin Dooley) https://abcn.ws/2J9gj9D
Wife of former FBI deputy director McCabe calls attacks on her family 'false and utterly absurd'. Jill McCabe, an emergency room pediatrician and the wife of former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, has spoken out for the first time since her husband's dismissal, calling attacks on her family "false and utterly absurd." (Kendall Karson) https://abcn.ws/2GSaDmd
Fired FBI deputy director freezes crowdfunding page after it soars past $500K. A crowdfunding campaign to cover legal costs for Andrew McCabe, the former FBI deputy director fired two days before he planned to retire and get a full pension, stopped accepting GoFundMe donations Monday night after soaring past half a million dollars over the weekend, a response McCabe called “overwhelming.” (Cheyenne Haslett) https://abcn.ws/2GpOyrk
AP reports on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein authorizing the Justice Department's special counsel to investigate allegations that President Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, colluded with the Russian government. https://bit.ly/2q08bjx
Bloomberg reports that a former staffer on President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign is seeking to nullify a non-disclosure agreement after suing the campaign over claims of harassment and discrimination, making her the third woman to sue over Trump-related NDA. https://bloom.bg/2pYPhsE
The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest. | {
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Image via freestockphotos
AFTER THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES approved a revised American Health Care Act, several stories scrutinized the legislation and the gender of those officials who developed it.
Fortune noted that the health law “hurts moms, rape survivors, and poor women.” At Vox, in a piece headlined “The AHCA punishes women,” senior health correspondent Julia Belluz noted that female elected officials “tend to prioritize health in their legislation and elevate women’s health issues.” News sites posted a photo taken at a gathering of Republican representatives, held in the Rose Garden after the AHCA passed the House, and CNN pointed out that the only figures clearly visible in the photo are white men. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell added West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito to a committee convened to further advance the AHCA legislation, but only after a few news outlets noted the 13-person committee consisted exclusively of white men.
Those observations, however, come from an industry struggling with gender inequality.
Men are overrepresented in topics most significant to women.
In March, the Women’s Media Center released “The Status of Women in US Media 2017,” its annual report to assess “how a diversity of females fare across all media platforms.” The study found that men outnumber women both in bylines and as sources in stories.
ICYMI: One question that turns courageous journalists into cowards
Men don’t just shape legislation that impacts women’s health, according to Julie Burton, WMC president. They also shape much of the coverage of issues that directly affect women: Male authors represent “over 52 percent of bylined articles and opinion pieces about reproductive rights in the 12 most widely circulated newspapers and wire services,” Burton tells CJR via email. Roughly 37 percent are attributable to female authors, and the remainder appear without bylines.
Sign up for weekly emails from the United States Project
“Men are overrepresented in topics most significant to women,” writes Burton. She adds that men still dominate the media, and remain resistant to sharing power and creating opportunity for women.
Journalism’s gender problem, however, looks a bit different outside male-dominated print and TV news. Online-only news outlets have come much closer to achieving gender balance, and a few journalism fellowships have made strides to better support female journalists.
FOR ITS REPORT, THE WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER analyzed bylines, on-camera anchor and correspondent appearances, and TV producer credits during a three-month period last fall. News operations assessed by the center include broadcast news from the three major networks and PBS, major online news sites including CNN, Fox News, The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast, and 10 of the most widely circulated news dailies—among them, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Daily News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and USA Today.
Men report 78 percent of broadcast news, according to the report. There are few exceptions. (PBS NewsHour’s newsroom employs 59 women to 55 men; female anchors at Cheddar, a live and on-demand video news network, outnumber males four to three.)
Neither male nor female reporters sought out or interviewed female sources in proportion to the general population.
Women fared better in print news, according to the report, but not by much: men produced 62 percent of content. By beat, the greatest gender disparity was in sports journalism, where only 11 percent of reporters were female. While health, education, and lifestyle stories were more likely to be covered by female reporters, just 34 percent of domestic political coverage was attributable to women. Thus far, much of the national health care debate has been covered by political reporters; statistics from the Women’s Media Center would suggest that most coverage of the AHCA and efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act is written by men.
ICYMI: New York Times public editor gives CJR statement on decision to eliminate her position
The WMC assessment is not unique. Every five years since 1995, Global Media Monitoring Project, which is run by a Toronto-based NGO, has collected data about gender in the news. Its most recent study, from 2015, showed that gender disparity in news had barely budged from five years earlier, when just 37 percent of print, television and radio news stories were reported by women.
The same study found a “statistically significant gender difference” between sources cultivated by female and male reporters. In stories reported by female journalists, 29 percent of the sources were women; male reporters interviewed women sources 26 percent of the time. Neither male nor female reporters sought out or interviewed female sources in proportion to the general population.
AS THE NUMBERS OF JOURNALISTS EMPLOYED in and out of newsrooms have declined—and are projected to decline further—some news outlets have supplemented their staffs with freelancers. One might hope that an influx of new contributors could help combat gender disparity in newsrooms. But that comes with a caveat.
“Media outlets are cutting our rates,” says Hazel Becker, chair of the SPJ Freelance Community. Becker is concerned about the economic viability of freelancing as a career choice. Freelance journalists aren’t going to be able to survive, she says, if media companies turn to them for cheap labor because the industry is shrinking.
Linda Steiner, a professor at the Philip Merrill School of Journalism at the University of Maryland, studies the relationships between gender, journalism and newsrooms. For some women, Steiner says, freelance work “fits with home and family responsibilities.”
Women comprise nearly 50 percent of online-only news organization employees, compared to just 38 percent of daily newspaper staffs.
If the demographics of freelance journalists skew female, however, there is little more than anecdotal evidence to support that point. Staff for the American Society of Journalists and Authors, a New York-based association of nonfiction freelance writers and journalists, estimate that 65 percent of the organization’s approximately 1,200 members are female. Meanwhile, the Society of Professional Journalists has roughly 7,000 members, but does not collect data about gender. The most recent survey from the American Society of News Editors did not account for freelancers or other independent journalists.
However, the ASNE survey also included a promising statistic: women comprise nearly 50 percent of online-only news organization employees, compared to just 38 percent of daily newspaper staffs.
TRENDING: Six rare images that capture Trump’s TV addiction
“There is speculation that those [online-only] organizations do a better job recruiting and retaining women,” says Teri Hayt, the executive director of the American Society of News Editors, via email. “But that is all we have on that right now—speculation, no hard data.”
A few online-only news outlets focused on women have attracted funding and support from legacy media companies. The Skimm—a daily weekday news digest with five million active subscribers and funding from 21st Century Fox and The New York Times—was founded in 2012 by Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, both of whom previously worked for NBC. There’s also Mic.com, which receives support from venture capital firms as well as Time Warner Investments. Mic hosts a channel called Slay, which publishes “news, views and ammunition for”—and almost entirely by—“strong women.” Allison Goldberg, group managing director and senior vice president for Time Warner Investments, will reportedly join Mic’s board of directors. Time Warner Investments also funds Bustle, a well-known digital destination for millenial women.
THERE IS ALSO ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE to suggest progress at some of the country’s top journalism fellowships. In recent years, several such efforts—the John S. Knight Fellowships at Stanford University, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, and the Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship Program at the University of Michigan—have tapped women to lead them. This past academic year, the University of Michigan fellowship class counted 12 men and nine women, while the Stanford fellows included seven men and 11 women. Harvard University’s fellowship program was perhaps the most balanced, with 11 men and 12 women.
Sara Catania, Editorial Director of Zocalo Public Square, has written about gender inequality in news. She is also on the program committee that selects journalists for the Stanford University fellowships. Catania sees such leadership changes as “ways to push journalism forward…to affect how journalism is run.”
Perhaps they will. The Stanford fellowship has recently changed “from a mid-career sabbatical model to a format focused on innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership in journalism,” according to its site. One beneficiary of the refocused Stanford University program, Tracie Powell, founded All Digitocracy, a website that tracks how the changing media landscape impacts communities of color. Powell says she founded All Digitocracy “to write stories on issues I didn’t see anywhere else.”
Steiner, the University of Maryland professor, remains concerned that disparities in status, pay and audience size may persist for female journalists. Such disparities, says Steiner, may linger because of a perception that “women are good at certain things, and women things are not as important as men things.”
ICYMI: Interactive graphic shows America’s growing news deserts
Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today
Amy Zipkin is an independent journalist based in New York City. Her byline has appeared in The New York Times, Next Avenue, Newsday, and other publications. | {
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President Donald Trump plans to gut American science. Released today, his full budget proposal for the 2018 fiscal year requests that billions of dollars be slashed from the agencies tasked with funding and conducting research that drives innovation and keeps Americans healthy and safe.
The budget proposal confirms fears that Trump intends to cut nearly $5.8 billion in funding from the National Institutes of Health — about 18 percent of the agency’s total budget. It also cuts hundreds of millions of dollars from infectious disease programs at the CDC, and an additional $841 million from the National Science Foundation, which funds basic scientific research.
Despite looking catastrophic for science, Congress still technically owns the government’s purse, and could shred Trump’s proposal through its own budget process. More environmentally friendly lawmakers have already started recycling it:
Infectious disease research would be slashed by hundreds of millions of dollars
Environmental health programs cut by nearly 28 percent
The CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health is responsible for studying health conditions related to environmental exposures. That includes lead toxicity, radiation poisoning, asthma, respiratory diseases related to air pollution — even the health effects of climate change. But the Trump administration suggests cutting nearly 28 percent of the Center’s funding — a total reduction of $60 million. Of the remaining $157 million, $35 million is earmarked for “lead prevention and safe water activities.”
Research grants at the NIH cut by 21 percent, or $3.7 billion
National Science Foundation cut by 11.2 percent, or $841 million
The National Science Foundation funds basic science research and education. Cutting its budget by 11.2 percent will mean reducing the number of new grants it can fund each year from 8,800 to 8,000 — making competition for funding even stiffer.
Environmental Protection Agency’s budget cut by 31 percent, or $2.6 billion
These cuts include $282 million dollars slashed from EPA science and technology — a 39 percent drop from 2017, and 41 percent from 2016. This money would have funded personnel, travel, lab equipment, and supplies for EPA’s research and development efforts. Apparently the Trump administration doesn’t believe in protecting American jobs when they’re science jobs.
Department of Energy science programs gutted | {
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It seems like someone may have jumped the gun yesterday, because reports of Game of Thrones actor Kristofer Hivju joining the cast of Zack Snyder's Justice League are now being retracted.
Kristofer Hivju has not joined the cast of Warner Bros.' upcoming DC Films adventure Justice League.
As part of their set report yesterday, IGN revealed that the fan-favorite Game of Thrones actor had signed on to portray an ancient Atlantean king, with ties to one of the three Mother Boxes, in the Zack Snyder-directed film, however, they've since retracted the report after being contacted by the studio.
The mix-up seems to have occurred because of some concept art that was spotted on-set featuring Sorry folks,has not joined the cast of' upcoming DC Films adventureAs part of their set report yesterday,revealed that the fan-favoriteactor had signed on to portray an ancient Atlantean king, with ties to one of the three Mother Boxes, in the-directed film, however, they've since retracted the report after being contacted by the studio.The mix-up seems to have occurred because of some concept art that was spotted on-set featuring
Hivju's face or at least someone that looked a lot like him
, which led to a handful of attendees to assume that Hivju had joined the cast. Also, according to
IGN's
In the mean time, Hivju's schedule is already quite packed as he's currently filming Universal Pictures' Fast & Furious 8 and should begin work on the seventh season of HBO's hit fantasy drama Game of Thrones this fall.
So, what do you guys think? Sound off with your thoughts below! 's Jim Vejvoda , the studio even gave him confirmation while on-set and in a follow-up email that the concept art he saw did in fact feature Hivju, which could mean Hivju may have been up for the part at some point, but passed for whatever reason.In the mean time, Hivju's schedule is already quite packed as he's currently filmingand should begin work on the seventh season of's hit fantasy dramathis fall.So, what do you guys think? Sound off with your thoughts below!
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions. | {
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Washington (CNN) The Pentagon has told Congress it estimates that nearly 500 civilians were killed as a result of US military actions in the first year of the Trump administration.
"(The Department of Defense) assesses that there are credible reports of approximately 499 civilians killed and approximately 169 civilians injured during 2017" as a result of military operations in Iraq and Syria targeting ISIS, operations in Afghanistan targeting the Taliban and ISIS, and operations in Yemen against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS, the report said.
The report which provides an estimate of the number of civilian casualties in counterterrorism operations in 2017 also said the Defense Department has "no credible reports" of civilian casualties as a result of US military operations in Somalia or Libya last year.
However, the report adds that "more than 450 reports of civilian casualties from 2017 remained to be assessed," meaning the number of civilian casualties caused by US military operations could go up.
The report covers both US airstrikes as well as ground combat operations.
Read More | {
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Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax on Saturday urged the FBI to look into sexual assault allegations against him, insisting that the encounters with his accusers were "consensual.”
Fairfax, under fire in the midst of a tumultuous week for multiple Virginia politicos, issued a statement asking “impartial investigatory authorities, including the FBI” to look into accusations that he sexually assaulted two women, one in 2000 and the other in 2004.
“This has been a devastating week for my family. It has been an especially devastating time for the great Commonwealth of Virginia,” his statement read.
The Virginia Democrat doubled-down on his claims of innocence, saying that interactions in question were unforced.
IMPEACHMENT AHEAD FOR FAIRFAX IF HE DOESN’T RESIGN BY MONDAY, VIRGINIA DEMOCRAT WARNS
“I say this again without reservation: I did not sexually assault or rape Meredith Watson, Vanessa Tyson or anyone else,” his latest statement asserted. “The one thing I want to make abundantly clear is that in both situations I knew at the time, and I know today, that the interactions were consensual.”
The allegations against Fairfax come as both the governor and the state attorney general are contending with scandals of their own. As with Fairfax, there have been emphatic calls for their resignations, including from leading figures in their own party.
Gov. Ralph Northam came under fire after a picture emerged from his 1984 medical school yearbook, showing two men in blackface and a Ku Klux Klan costume. Northam initially said it was him in the picture, and apologized. But last Saturday he said it actually not a photo of him. In an interview published Saturday by The Washington Post, he said he wants to heal the pain that emerged after the photo surfaced and focus on an agenda of racial equity and reconciliation.
EMBATTLED GOVERNOR, IN FIRST INTERVIEW SINCE BLACKFACE FUROR, SAYS HE WANTS TO FOCUS ON RACIAL EQUITY
Meanwhile, Attorney General Mark Herring has admitted to wearing blackface at a party in the 1980s.
As for Fairfax, the week has brought bombshells of a different sort.
Tyson, a California college professor and the first woman to accuse Fairfax, claimed that he forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2004 at the Democratic National Convention. He called the allegation a political smear.
On Friday night, Watson alleged that she was raped by Fairfax in 2000 while they were both students at Duke University. He called the allegation “demonstrably false.”
Said the lieutenant governor's statement: “As an officer of the court and a former federal prosecutor, I have dedicated my life to the law and due process. Consequently, I call on all appropriate and impartial investigatory authorities, including the FBI to investigate fully and thoroughly the allegations against me by Ms. Watson and Dr. Tyson.”
FAIRFAX ACCUSER NOT PLANNING TO PURSUE CHARGES, SOURCE SAYS; STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS EXPIRES SOON
Fairfax went on to say that spoke to both Tyson and Watson after their “interactions” and that neither woman indicated to him that “our interaction was not consensual or caused her any discomfort.”
“What I have just expressed is the truth,” he said. “I believe and trust that due process will provide the fairness, justice and honesty that is necessary.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
So far, the embattled Virginia politicians have steadfastly resisted calls to leave office.
Fox News’ Matt Richardson contributed to this report. | {
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In an ongoing series, BBC News focuses on aspects of life in countries and cities around the world. What may seem ordinary and familiar to the people who live there, can be surprising to those who do not.
There is a Sunday tradition in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay): during the day, families and couples meet up and socialise on Chowpatty beach.
But when night falls, the action moves to the nearby streets, where row after row of stalls sell takeaway food from all over India.
A hungry Ben Richardson went along to take in the amazing sights, smells - and, of course, tastes. | {
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Učí se často a rád. A pomáhá i dalším, aby se i oni mohli přiučit novým věcem. Jeho projekt Naucmese.cz se stalo takovým českým odbytištěm pro lektory a novou Mekkou pro ty, co prahnou po poznání. Umožňuje lidem setkávat se a podělit se o své know-how (za peníze). A i když se jedná o komerční projekt, svým způsobem je ojedinělý. Jelikož si již našel v Čechách početnou komunitu. I proto ostatně uvízl Adam v pazourech Objevit. Nám totiž nikdo zajímavý neuteče…
Adame, zkus prosím našim čtenářům převyprávět svůj životní příběh. Klidně se rozepiš, místa máme dost, rozhodně tě v tomto ohledu nehodláme omezovat. A sice určitě zmiň, kudy vedly kroky Adama Marčana od narození až po dnešní den. Čím vším si prošel a co jej život naučil a nebo měl naučit? A kdy a kde se Adam vlastně narodil?
Ahoj Michale. Tak já začnu od konce, teda vlastně od začátku :). Narodil jsem se 12. 12. 1987 ve Frýdku-Místku. Kroky vedly vyrůstáním v hájence v Beskydech, několika prožitými roky v Praze ve stylu ráno do práce a večer brambůrky, pivo a seriál, až po poslední tři roky na volné noze a vytvoření Naučmese.cz a uvědomění si, že vlastně vůbec nemusím sedět na jednom místě a můžu svou práci dělat odkudkoli chci.
Učím se zpomalit, být ticho, pozorovat a poslouchat okolí. Cítím se pak mnohem lépe. Kolem nás je totiž tolik distrakcí, že bychom se z toho mohli zbláznit. Třeba pár dní zpět jsem byl v jednom thajském obchodním centru, byl tam takový ten zábavný digitální prostor plný herních automatů pro děti, mašinek a displejů. Každý stroj vydával nějaké hlasité zvuky a vyhrával jinou hudbu, takže se tam křížily stovky různých podnětů (světel, pohybů a zvuků) – procházel jsem kolem, sevřel se mi žaludek a říkal si: páni tohle je třešnička na dortu toho, jak moc jsme se vzdálili od přírody.
Taky se učím o svém egu – o tom, proč mám někdy zapotřebí machrovat, chytračit, jájínkovat a povyšovat se. Loni na jaře jsem dostal velkou lekci: v noci na vesnické pouti, jsem slovně, před několika holkami, rozdrtil verši ego jednomu klukovi. On mi to slovně neuměl vrátit a tak jsem měl posléze několik týdnů v nemocnici na přemýšlení, o tom, proč jsem to měl zapotřebí a co to o mě vlastně vypovídá.
O procesu, kterým jsem prošel za posledních 6 let, jsem vyprávěl na listopadovém TEDxYouth Prague.
Jsi hybnou silou webu Naučmese.cz. Popiš prosím, co to vlastně to Naučmese je. Jak funguje a pro koho je tento web určený a jak má lidem pomáhat. Ať každý pochopí, co vlastně děláš.
Spojujeme lidi, kteří mají nějakou vášeň / dovednost a chtějí ji předávat dále – těm, kteří se to chtějí naučit. Náš web respektive nabídka kurzů je online, jedná se však o „offline“ kurzy – je pro nás velmi důležitý faktor lidského setkání.
Sleduji tak spoustu vzniklých přátelství (dokonce pár vztahů), několik našich lektorů odešlo z práce či výrazně upravilo poměr svých příjmů, jelikož jim pořádání kurzů začalo vydělávat na nájem a více.
V nabídce nyní máme přes 250 aktivních kurzů, hlavně v Praze a Brně. Průměrná cena kurzů je nyní 450 Kč, fungujeme dva roky, za tu dobu evidujeme 6000 přihlášek a obrat na konci letošního ledna přesáhl 2,5 milionu korun, naše provize je 20 procent.
Jo! A máme za sebou první Naučmese Fest a chystáme další, letos rovnou dva: na jaře v Brně a na podzim opět v Praze. Ten loňský byl pro mě něco jako malý zázrak, zažil jsem ten den totální napojení na vesmír
Vzhledem k tomu, že celé Naučmese je o zdokonalování se, o učení se novým věcem, tak určitě je na místě i otázka, jaký máš ty vztah k učení. Vzděláváš se rád? A když už jsme u toho vzdělání, tak jakou školu jsi vystudoval a nebo nedostudoval?
Tak určitě. Vzdělávám se rád. Myslím, že vzdělání je propojeno se zvědavostí a také s potřebností. Když u něčeho cítím, že se mi to v životě bude hodit, nastražím uši a vstřebávám.
Už na střední jsem cítil, že se víc bifluju informace, než abych v nich hledal souvislosti. Mám skvělé rodiče, nikdy mě do ničeho netlačili a tak jsem se mohl v devatenácti svobodně rozhodnout nejít na výšku a najít si práci jako webový designér, což byl jeden z mých koníčků.
Jaký jsi byl vlastně student, Adame? Byl jsi ten pilný šprťák a nebo naopak sígr, který věčně neměl domácí úkoly a chodil do hodin pozdě :-)?
Na základce mé vysvědčení překypovalo trojkami, postupně se to nějak zlepšovalo, až jsem odmaturoval s vyznamenáním (studoval jsem obor Správce počítačové sítě).
Dokázal jsem poslouchat, když mě učitel zaujal a byl pro mě přirozenou autoritou, v opačném případě jsem házel banánové slupky uprostřed hodiny o tabuli :-).
Čteš třeba hodně? Pokud ano, tak jaká kniha z nedávné doby tě nejvíce uchvátila?
Chtěl bych číst více. Nejčastěji čtu blogy. Teď mě hodně baví James Altucher, hodně odpovědí jsem našel v knížce Ticho a z beletrie mě naposled pohltila kniha mé kamarádky Míši: Květinostesk.
Proč si lidé na Naučmese klidně zaplatí pár set za kurz a přitom do školy chodí neradi? Čím to je, že tyhle nízkorozpočtové kurzy jsou tak populární, i když je většinou neodučí lektoři ověnčení tituly?
Nejsou ověnčení tituly, ale vášní ke své dovednosti! Zní to jako žvást, ale není. Stačí si přečíst většinu zpětné vazby ke kurzům. Lidi odchází plní nadšení a nakopnutí. Třeba po Naučmese Festu jsem na sociálních sítích zaznamenal fotky nových mixerů nadšených účastníků kurzu ovozel smoothies Pavla Ovesného :-).
A myslím, že v tom má prsty i to, že si lidé absolutně svobodně vybírají, na jaký kurz půjdou (co se budou učit) a kdy. Navíc se tam potkají s dalšími lidmi, které zajímá stejné téma a cena je natolik přístupná, že těch kurzů můžou dát za měsíc klidně pět šest.
Jak dlouho trvalo, než lidé vůbec zaregistrovali, že u nás je nějaké Naučmese? Jak probíhal prvotní nábor lektorů a nahánění prvních účastníků kurzu?
Prvotní nábor fungoval z řad našich kamarádů a známých. Když jsme spouštěli, měli jsme v nabídce 30 kurzů. To bylo podle mě to podstatné. Myšlenka je krásná, ale bez obsahu jsou to jen slova.
Vyrobit web nám zabralo měsíc. Sehnat 30 lidí, kteří půjdou do něčeho takto nového, vypracovat a vybrousit s nimi jejich kurzy od zelené louky a vše dostat na web zabralo více jak 2 měsíce.
Energii nám však brzy vrátili lidé ve formě virálního šíření. První dny spuštění projektu, jako šílení, sdíleli náš web, stovky retweetů a sdílení na Facebooku, vzápětí přišla reportáž v České televizi a nová vlna lektorů – tedy nový obsah, první uskutečněné termíny kurzů, nadšení a už to jelo :-).
Taky nesmím opomenout, že nám hodně pomohly kontakty, třeba kamarád Tomáš Hajzler, od kterého přišla část naší komunity a máme tak tedy určité společné hodnoty.
Jelikož já si moc nepamatuji začátky Naučmese, mohl by ses s námi podělit, jak fungovalo Naučmese před cca 2 roky a jak funguje nyní? V čem se Naučmese změnilo a nebo naopak zůstalo stejné?
Zautomatizovali jsme spoustu procesů, které jsme předtím dělali ručně. Při 50 přihláškách za měsíc se to dalo, když jich je nyní 600 tak nebýt automatizace procesů (párování plateb, automatické odesílání zpětné vazby, uživatelské účty), tak by nám na hlavě všem zbylo asi dvanáct a půl šedých vlasů
Naopak se Naučmese nezměnilo v tom, že jsme zachovali osobní komunikaci tam, kde dává smysl: s novými lektory ladíme jejich návrhy kurzů, potkáváme se na Čajích o šesté a za dva roky můžu říct, že se vytvořilo nějaké pevné jádro komunity lidí, s kterými máme osobní vztahy – často u některých i přespím v Praze na gauči a podobně :-).
Jaký kurz byl v nabídce Naučmese jako první? Pamatuješ si to vůbec ještě? Přece jenom je to již pár let…
Z těch třiceti kurzů namátkou třeba: Finty pro začínající cestovatele, Připravte si skvělou kávu doma nebo třeba Jak na Android.
Který kurz na Naučmese měl zatím největší úspěch? Které kurzy teď nejvíce frčí na Naučmese?
Nejvíc teď frčí Travelhacking, Punkové podnikání, Najím se a zhubnu, nebo obecně kurzy Karla Novotného, Michelle Losekoot či Dana Gamrota.
Ty sám jsi vedl nějaké kurzy pro Naučmese? Jaký měly ohlas?
Ano, pokud jsem v Česku, tak mám tyto dva kurzy: Digitální nomádství a Podnikání: nejdříve srdce, potom peníze. Až se vrátím na jaře z Asie, chci připravit ještě třetí kurz Jak udělat kurz na Naučmese.cz, kde chci shrnout své zkušenosti: jak z pohledu amatérského lektora, tak zakladatele projektu.
Ohlasy mě příjemně překvapily, přehledně jsou zaznamenány na mém profilu.
Předpokládám, že myšlenka stvořit podobný web tedy pochází z tvé hlavy. A nebo v tom měl prsty někdo jiný? Kdy ses rozhodl, že vznikne nějaké Naučmese? Bylo to spontánní rozhodnutí a nebo tahle myšlenka v tvé hlavě uzrávala nějaký čas a až potom ses rozhodl, že do toho půjdeš?
S myšlenkou za mnou přišel Honza Tinka, můj kamarád z dětství, na konferenci WebExpo v roce 2011. Říkal, že viděl takový koncept v Americe a rád by jej přinesl k nám do Česka. Ani jsem netušil, co to vlastně znamená, kývnul jsem, že mu teda pomůžu udělat ten web a vůbec jsem na začátku nechytal, jak je to vlastně velké a jak moc se to může stát mou smysluplnou náplní života.
Hned týden po WebExpu jsme s Honzou u nás v altánku v Beskydech začali tvořit drátěné modely webu a pak už to jelo.
Jak vlastně vypadal výběr názvu a domény pro Naučmese? Bylo hned jasné, jak se bude projekt jmenovat a nebo se o tom muselo dlouze rokovat? Kdo měl nakonec poslední slovo a kdo onen název vymyslel?
S tímhle jsme měli velkou kliku: Jakub, který to s námi měl na začátku programovat, měl kolegu kreativce, který vymyslel název Naučmese: Nauč se. Nauč mě. Naučmese! Doména byla volná, nám to přišlo super, v kaskádových stylech jsem spíchl za deset minut „logo“, s kterými fungujeme doposud a přesunuli jsme svou pozornost ke shánění obsahu – k lektorům.
Je to tvůj první velký projekt, který jsi musel vybudovat od nuly? A kdo všechno se ještě podílí na chodu Naučmese a jak se tví parťáci k tomuto projektu dostali? Naverboval jsi je někde ty nebo se znáte od dětství, ze školy…?
Ano, takto velký projekt je skutečně mé „poprvé“. Předtím jsem se však ještě podílel na vytvoření (dnes již mrtvé) sociální sítě s knihami BookFan (rozhovor se spoluzakladatelem Michalem Juhasem najdete i na našich stránkách) a necelé tři roky jsem spolupracoval na webech a projektech kolem tématu svobody v práci.
Projekt nedělám z daleka sám: mí parťáci jsou Alžběta, Pepa a Honza. Každý pokrýváme jiný druh činností a snažíme se, abychom přitom mohli využívat svých silných stránek.
Honza si k zrealizování myšlenky našel mě a později se k nám přidal Pepa, programátor a můj kolega z projektu BookFan.
Alžběta nám napsala po třech měsících od spuštění: poslala nám své CV, že hledá práci. Nejdříve jsme se tomu smáli, ale za měsíc, když jsme začali nezvládat příval emailů a požadavků, jsme ji mile rádi přivítali do týmu.
Alžběta začala po roce neodmyslitelně patřit do našeho týmu a tak jsem se rozhodl, po konzultaci s klukama, že ji jednoho krásného odpoledne na lavičce u piva v pražském parku nabídnu podíl ve společnosti Naučmese s.r.o. – věřím totiž, že lidi jsou mnohem angažovanější, když dělají na něčem co jim tak trochu patří a zároveň – život je krátký a jestli budu mít 33% firmy nebo 30% mi nepřijde až tak podstatné. Raději zkusím společně s ostatními vytvořit něco, co nás bude přesahovat a na smrtelné posteli si řeknu: Jo stálo to za to!
Co máš na starosti vlastně ty a co mají na starosti tví parťáci? A když už jsme u toho, tak je můžeš i rovnou trochu představit…
Já se starám o komunikaci s lektory a účastníky: každý den vyřizuji dotazy a požadavky v našem helpdesku, dělám rozhovory s lektory, píšu blog, newslettery a starám se (společně s Honzou) o sociální sítě. Podílím se také na setkáních s naší s komunitou. Jsem tak nejblíž všem těm lidem, o které tady jde především. Také designuji a kóduji nové části webu, což je můj hard-skill z předešlých let.
Pepa programuje nové funkce, nyní hlavně v administrační části, která není na první pohled vidět. Alžběta se stará o výplaty lektorů, storna účastníků a další administrativní činnosti a Honza si rád zaplave v datové analytice, PPC kampaních a marketingu.
Nutno podotknout, že pouze já se věnuji projektu na plný úvazek a mám plat. Ostatní to dělají více méně pořád ve svém volném čase, což se snad, s roustoucími obraty, brzy změní :-).
Říká ti něco GTD (Getting Things Done)? A používáš něco takového? Co ti vlastně nejvíce pomáhá k tomu, abys pracoval efektivně?
Pomáhá m můj 5 let starý MacBook, iPad a aplikace Things – je to sice GTD aplikace, ale hlavně mi slouží k tomu, abych „dostal věci ven z hlavy“ a mohl ji využívat k přemýšlení, ne k uchovávání informací.
Nedávno jsem odpovídal na otázky ohledně nástrojů, které používám na serveru TheSetup.cz.
Jaké největší „průsery“ jste museli doposud řešit? Vím, že jsi zmiňoval kdysi to, že někteří uživatelé nahráli do systému fotky z fotobank, které si nekoupili apod. Jak jste to vyřešili? A co dále vám udělalo čáru přes rozpočet a zkomplikovalo vám situaci?
Největší průser se stal asi pětkrát za celou dobu fungování: účastník někde čekal na kurz a lektor z různých důvodů nedorazil. Vždy jsme pak svolali krizovou schůzku a řešili, jak tohle můžeme systémově podchytit.
U fotek kurzů jsme začali řešit jejich původ, ptáme se lektorů, zda k nim mají patřičné práva. Pokud nemají, pomůžeme jim najít jinou vhodnou fotku s volnou licencí ke komerčnímu užití.
Těch chyb je a bylo spousta. Nejsme v žádném případě perfektní.
Adame, co tě aktuálně živí? A jsi někde třeba zaměstnaný a nebo se věnuješ jen a pouze svému podnikání?
Živí mě Naučmese a mám taky pár svých stálých klientů, kterým se starám už nějaký ten pátek o jejich web.
Pracoval jsi vůbec někdy pro nějakou firmu jako zaměstnanec? A pokud ano, tak co to bylo za firmu a co jsi tam měl na starosti?
Ano, od 19 do 23 let jsem pracoval pro firmu AARON GROUP jako webový designér a HTML kóder. Měli jsme tam supr partu, byla to menší firma s fajn atmoškou.
Podílel jsem se například na návrhu a realizaci webů Českých aerolinií, Letiště Praha či webu Českých drah. Také jsem se tam dostal blíže k návrhu uživatelské rozhraní – rezervačního systému letenek.
Jsi příznivce digitálního nomádství, stejně jako Robert, se kterým jsme dělali rozhovor nedávno. Mohl bys lidem vysvětlit, co si pod tímto pojmem mají představit a co tě na tom tak fascinuje?
Pro mě je to příležitost cestovat a zároveň pokračovat ve své práci odkudkoliv na světě. Tyto řádky tedy zrovna píšu z kavárny ve městě Chiang Mai na severu Thajska :-).
Kouzlo digitálního nomádství spočívá v tom, že často jste v krajinách, kde jsou životní náklady nižší než u nás v Česku. Měsíc života mě tady stojí 15 tisíc, ale mám pocit jako bych u nás žil s kapitálem 50 tisíc na měsíc. Denně si dám několik smoothies, nejlepší kávu ve městě, čtyři jídla venku, nakoupím na trhu, pronajmu kolo či motorku, zajdu si na lekci jógy a tak dále.
Jak vlastně vypadá tvůj pracovní den, když pořád někde cestuješ? Jak třeba řešíš připojení k internetu? Stalo se ti třeba někdy, že jsi odjel do nějakého města a až na místě zjistil, že se prostě nemáš šanci připojit?
Většinou se někde na alespoň 2-3 týdny usadím a dostanu se do rytmu. Pokud cestuji, každý druhý den z místa na místo, pomáhají mi držet se v rytmu návyky: jóga, jídlo, mantra, deník vděčnosti a řešení helpdesku Naučmese, což je to nejdůležitější, co každý den udělám.
Téměř všude je wifi, když nebyla, řešil jsem to mobilním připojením v iPadu a jen jednou se mi stalo, že nebyl signál vůbec – na malinkém ostrůvku v Indonésii, Gili Meno. Předpokládal jsem to, připravil na to ostatní a pak jsem jen vyslal jednoduchý signál „děcka jsem off, postarejte se na pár dní o všechno“.
Do jakých zemí ses již mohl podívat a kde se ti nejvíce líbilo a proč?
Většina Evropy, loni hlavně na 3 měsíce Málaga na jihu Španělska, Maroko a letos Jihovýchodní Asie: Thajsko, Malajsie, Indonésie a za pár dní jedu na měsíc projet od shora dolů Vietnam.
Kdy tě vlastně chytla ona láska pro cestování? Kdy jsi přišel na to, že tě obyčejný život Čechů nebaví a že nechceš žít stále na jednom a tom samém místě?
Rád cestuji od malička a nerad se utápím ve stereotypu (a naopak chápu, že někomu sedí a svědčí), k tomu co teď dělám jsem se dostal přes minimalismus – tím, že nevlastním moc věcí, neudržuju žádný byt ani auto a můj život se dá sbalit do jednoho kufru se mi otevírají možnosti poznat svět a jiné kultury blíže a hlouběji než jen ze sedačky obývacího pokoje či rychlého turistického autobusu.
Kolik času během roku trávíš doma? A kolik času věnuješ ročně svým cestám do dalekých zemí?
V Česku jsem moc rád: jaro, léto, podzim. Nebaví mě moc naše zima, kdy stejně není moc sněhu a ve čtyři je tma.
Pendluji mezi Prahou a Beskydy, kde se mi dostává rovnováhy mezi samotou a sociálními interakcemi. Přírodou a městem.
Využíváš při cestování nabídky z webů jako Cestujlevne.com (s Davidem Eiseltem jsme si o Cestujlevne jsme si povídali loni)? A nebo si vše zařizuješ sám a sám si i vyhledáváš nejvýhodnější letenky, ubytování atd.? A rovnou se také zeptám – hledíš vůbec při svých cestách na peníze a nebo to neřešíš?
Využívám weby jako Booking.com, Skyscanner.com, TripAdvisor.com,… hodně se taky ptám místních a dalších cestovatelů.
Na peníze hledím poměrně hodně – z Naučmese mám měsíční čistý plat 12 500 Kč, což není mnoho. Ale tím, že si nekupuji blbosti, nepotřebuji přepychové ubytování, jím jen čerstvé jídlo, dokážu se zabavit sám (skejt, knížka, jóga), tak ani vlastně víc než 15-17 tisíc měsíčně nepotřebuji.
Vzpomeneš si na nějakou hodně exotickou gastronomickou specialitu, kterou se ti během tvého cestování dostala na stůl a překvapila tě svou chutí?
Nic hodně extra mě nenapadá. Ale jídlo je moje vášeň, rád vařím i ochutnávám. Nějaké thajské jídla jsem dával nedávno tady na blog.
Zvažujete, že Naučmese zkusíte rozjet globálně? A pokud ano, tak do které země chcete expandovat jako první?
Ano, už to řešíme nějakou dobu. Náš web a administrační systém je připraven na duplikaci do jiné země s tím, že zahraniční tým nemusí umět programovat a starat se o vývoj webu – ten budeme dodávat my pomocí aktualizací. Právě se rozjíždí slovenské Naučmesa.sk a bavíme se i o expanzi na Nový Zéland.
Má vůbec Naučmese v Čechách nějakého konkurenta?
Nevím o něm. A kdyby ano, tak je to super – nás by to hecovalo a lidi by měli ještě víc příležitostí alternativně se vzdělávat. Což je to, oč tu běží.
A co z globálního hlediska? Máte ve světě nějakého konkurenta?
Ano, ve světě je toho spousta, hlavně v USA a v Británii. Taky se roztrhl pytel s video kurzy, jedny z nejlepších lze absolvovat na Courseře.
Co s Naučmese plánujete do budoucna?
Chceme dále přirozeně růst, vybudovat komunitní základny i v dalších českých městech, expandovat do dalších zemí, dělat festivaly a zkrátka se tím vším i nadále bavit.
Taky by mě bavilo propojovat se s dalšími projekty z takzvané sdílené ekonomiky.
Celý projekt je financovaný z čí kapsy? Máte třeba k ruce investora? Pokud ne, chodí ti třeba podobné nabídky? A možná by se slušelo rovnou zeptat – potřebuje Naučmese vůbec k tomu, aby rostlo, nějakého investora? Dovedeš si představit, že projekt se rozjede globálně i bez jakékoliv výrazné finanční injekce ze strany nějakého soukromého subjektu?
Projekt je „financován“ jen a jen z naší energie. Nikdy jsme do něj nenalili žádné peníze, které by projekt sám nevydělal. Na začátku jsme měli pouze virální reklamu. Investora jsme nikdy neměli. Nabídky na investici či spolupráci byly a jsou. Uvažujeme spíše nad těmi strategickými spoluprácemi než jen nad čistou finanční investicí.
Věnuješ se ještě nějakým jiným projektům a nebo Naučmese ti zabírá veškerý tvůj čas?
Nyní se věnuji jen Naučmese, tříštění pozornosti jsem si za svůj život užil až až.
Dokáže již v dnešní době Naučmese spolehlivě uživit své zakladatele?
Zatím všechny ne, ale pokud bude pokračovat trend růstu jako doposud, tak si troufám říct, že do roka a do dne už by mohlo.
Kde vlastně sídlí kanceláře Naučmese? A máte již nějaké první zaměstnance nebo zatím na vše stačí externisti a kanceláře nejsou třeba už jenom kvůli tomu, že ty jsi stále někde na cestách?
Nemáme a nikdy jsme neměli kanceláře. Pusť si tento TED talk :-).
Pepa je už rok v Bangkoku, pracuje tam na startupu HotelQuickly, já jsem věčně v luftu, Honza bydlí a pracuje z útulného bytu v Brně a Alžbět je v Praze v Node5, což je její druhá práce a domov.
Kdy si objednáš reklamu na Objevit?
Nikdy jsem si žádnou reklamu neobjednával a ani nevím, jak to funguje … takže se spíš zeptej Honzy, ten je přes tyhlety reklamy
Ještě pár věci by mě zajímalo. Čemu se věnuješ ve svém volném čase? Co tě baví a nemůžeš bez toho žít?
14 let jezdím na skejtu, nijak skvěle, ale je to moje vášeň a médium, přes které se rád sebevyjadřuji. Taky rád fotím zajímavé lidi na ulici, povídám si do hloubky s kamarády nebo jen tak koukám na západ slunce.
Adame, už je to taková tradice. Každý z našich hostů dostává vždy na závěr prostor k tomu, aby vykřičel něco důležitého do světa. A tuto výsadu ti samozřejmě nechci upřít. Takže nyní máš šanci naší české kotlině něco sdělit. Cokoliv. Tak co to bude?
Nekřičte! :))
Ne, vážně, už nic víc nevyndám – myslím, že jsem byl v tomhle rozhovoru zase „chytrý“ na rok dopředu…
Mějte se rádi a užívejte dne! Adam | {
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Peru ex-President Ollanta Humala and wife put in pre-trial detention Published duration 14 July 2017
image copyright Reuters image caption Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, at the Nationalist Party HQ in Lima on Thursday
The former president of Peru, Ollanta Humala, and his wife, Nadine Heredia, have turned themselves in after a judge ordered that they be placed in pre-trial detention.
They face 18 months of detention while money-laundering charges are prepared.
The accusations stem from Brazil's expansive anti-corruption probe, known as Operation Car Wash.
The couple, who co-founded the left-wing Peruvian Nationalist Party, have denied the charges.
Mr Humala tweeted: "This [detention] confirms an abuse of power, which we will face in defence of our rights and the rights of all."
Peru's prosecutor's office made the request on Tuesday, and a judge ruled in its favour on Thursday.
The couple have been under investigation for three years for allegedly accepting money from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to bankroll Mr Humala's election campaigns.
He is also accused of taking money from late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavéz
Prosecutor Germán Juaréz accused Mr Humala of "morally wounding society" by running on a campaign that used "illicit money".
The prosecution also said it feared the pair would flee the country unless they were jailed.
Earlier this year, the same judge, Richard Concepción, ordered the pre-trial detention of another of Peru's former presidents, Alejandro Toledo, over bribery allegations, but he refused to turn himself in. He is now believed to be in the United States.
Mr Humala ruled Peru from 2011 to 2016.
He was an ally of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who this week was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for corruption, also resulting from Operation Car Wash.
The Brazilian investigations have unearthed what is dubbed as the biggest national corruption scandal of all time, leading to allegations against many of the continent's most famous politicians.
Former presidents Ricardo Martinelli, from Panama, and Mauricio Funes, from El Salvador, are among those who have also been accused of benefiting from bribes.
Brazil's current president, Michel Temer, is currently waiting to hear if a bribery case against him will get to the country's Supreme Court. | {
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Justice Minister Mohammed Al-Eissa has denounced international rights groups for attacking the Kingdom’s judiciary, saying laws in this country are based on divine precepts contained in the Holy Qur'an.
“Any attack on the judiciary will be considered an attack on the Kingdom’s sovereignty,” he said recently.
Speaking to American lawyers, legal consultants and academics in Washington, Al-Eissa said many people have misunderstood Islamic laws because they follow biased information and ignore cultural differences. “This is the reason for rights organizations making big mistakes in their reports,” he said.
The minister tried to counter misconceptions about various Shariah punishments such as beheading, cutting off hands and lashing. “These punishments are based on divine religious texts and we cannot change them,” he said.
Al-Eissa emphasized the progress of the Kingdom’s criminal justice system. “At Saudi courts criminal proceedings are undertaken publicly to ensure transparency and fair justice.” He said the application of Islamic laws has reduced crime in the Kingdom.
“Islam is a religion of wisdom that calls for dialogue with other religious faiths and peaceful coexistence with other communities,” the minister said. “If it was not a good religion, it would not have lasted for more than 1,400 years and won millions of followers around the world.”
Referring to capital punishment, he said many other countries have this form of penalty enshrined in their legislation. “The punishment of cutting off hands has been instructed by religions other than Islam." He said the punishment of lashing is only meted out to those convicted of serious crimes related to honor. The Shariah does not approve of cutting off the hands of suspected thieves, he said.
“Islam sympathizes with the victim, not the criminal,” the minister said. | {
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Title
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience | {
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No researcher could read all the papers in their field – but machines are making discoveries in their own right by mining the scientific literature
Computers read between the lines (Image: Robin Lynne Gibson/Getty)
IN MAY last year, a supercomputer in San Jose, California, read 100,000 research papers in 2 hours. It found completely new biology hidden in the data. Called KnIT, the computer is one of a handful of systems pushing back the frontiers of knowledge without human help.
KnIT didn’t read the papers like a scientist – that would have taken a lifetime. Instead, it scanned for information on a protein called p53, and a class of enzymes that can interact with it, called kinases. Also known as “the guardian of the genome”, p53 suppresses tumours in humans. KnIT trawled the literature searching for links that imply undiscovered p53 kinases, which could provide routes to new cancer drugs.
Having analysed papers up until 2003, KnIT identified seven of the nine kinases discovered over the subsequent 10 years. More importantly, it also found what appeared to be two p53 kinases unknown to science. Initial lab tests confirmed the findings, although the team wants to repeat the experiment to be sure.
KnIT is a collaboration between IBM and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. It is the latest step into a weird world where autonomous machines make discoveries that are beyond scientists, simply by rifling more thoroughly through what we already know, and faster than any human can.
In a paper to be presented at the Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining in New York City this week, the researchers say that society is better at generating new information than at analysing what it already has. “This leads to deep inefficiencies in translating research into progress for humanity,” they write. KnIT aims to iron out that inefficiency.
Society is better at generating new information than analysing what it already has
“In general, new p53 kinases are discovered at a rate of one per year,” says Olivier Lichtarge, who leads the work at Baylor. “We hope to greatly accelerate that rate of discovery.”
Studying kinases is important for cancer research, but the Baylor team thinks the approach can extend beyond biomedical studies to all areas of science. And if KnIT’s algorithmic discoveries hold up, they point to a future in which everyone could have a personalised algorithm trawling and making sense of the scientific literature to figure out cures for their ailments, including ones tailored at a genetic level.
Expanding KnIT to other areas of biology or the physical sciences isn’t straightforward. “We could run into big problems when we try and generalise to more proteins and genes,” Lichtarge says. And in subjects like physics, results tend to be presented using equations and graphs rather than words. However, data-mining groups are working to retrieve information from these too.
The idea that new knowledge can be unearthed by finding links between disparate strands of research was first crystallised in 1986 by information scientist Don Swanson at the University of Chicago. He analysed a database of scientific literature manually to deduce that fish oil might be a good treatment for Raynaud’s syndrome, a circulatory disorder, because studies showed that fish oil could reverse certain conditions also seen in Raynaud’s. His hunch turned out to be right.
Modern science has given us a far larger and more intricate haystack than the one Swanson picked through, but machine intelligence is now sorting through it to find new connections.
Ross King of the University of Manchester, UK, has developed a different kind of automated system, Eve, which he claims has already discovered a novel drug against malaria. Rather than extracting new knowledge from the literature, Eve robotically runs lab experiments focused on finding new drugs to treat neglected diseases. King is keeping the discovery secret until the work is published, but will say that the compound is an ingredient in several brands of toothpaste.
The webs of knowledge that computers create in this automated pursuit of discovery are useful to non-scientists, too. Sophia Ananiadou at the University of Manchester works on Facta+, a searchable database which holds huge amounts of information about cancer, based on data mined from the literature. Although it’s designed to help cancer researchers, she says it could be used by the public to learn more about diseases they have been diagnosed with, without having to read scientific papers themselves.
The purpose of data mining can also be flipped. Instead of finding new insights into specialised topics, systems like KnIT can find holes in existing research that need to be plugged.
Natasa Miskov-Zivanov of Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, is working on using similar techniques to build computational models of cells that can be used to test drugs. Normally, models take time to develop, with input from experimental biologists and theorists. But Miskov-Zivanov’s models build themselves quickly and automatically using results in the literature. The models can then be tested by scientists in the lab.
Miskov-Zivanov’s work is funded by the US defence agency DARPA as part of its Big Mechanism project, which aims to find new knowledge hidden in big data. “It takes several years to develop a meaningful model of what’s going on in a cell, but what we’re doing could speed up the process a lot,” she says. That would, in turn, speed up drug testing.
New breakthroughs could come by analysing scientific literature across disciplines – physics on the scale of cells and molecular biology, for instance. “I don’t think we could ever understand this huge, complicated puzzle without automated help,” says King. “There just aren’t enough PhDs in the world to do the experiments.”
This article appeared in print under the headline “Automated discovery” | {
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Brand Armscor Caliber 45 Auto Model Bullet Weight 230 Grain Bullet Type Full Metal Jacket Reloadable Yes Case Type Brass Rounds Per Box 250 Loose Rounds Per Box Boxes Per Case Muzzle Energy 792 ft lbs Muzzle Velocity 368 fps
Armscor Small Arms Ammunition line is one of the largest and most comprehensive in Southeast Asia. The Company offers a wide selection of competitively priced ammunition and components with sales spread throughout the world. Armscor, an ISO 9001 Certified Company, complies with the SAAMI, CIP and other military or customer desired standards or requirements. Armscor cartridges and components are widely used by the police, military, gun hobbyist, combat shooters and other shooting enthusiast due to its high quality, precise and dependable performance.
This highly regarded ammunition is competitively priced and made of quality components. This ammunition is new production, non-corrosive, in boxer primed, reloadable brass cases. | {
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THE FILM
A professional wrestler takes a job in a group home for youth offenders after accidentally killing an opponent in the ring. When a masked killer begins slaughtering the residents, a no holds barred battle for survival breaks out.
Masked Mutilator is a wrestling themed slasher film that was shot in 1994 but wasn't completed until 2019. The film was directed by Brick Bronsky, who horror fans will know from Class of Nuke 'Em High 2 and 3, and it stars wrestlers too. The film is clearly a labor of love that couldn't be completely realized because of budget constraints, but that doesn't stop the film from being fun. Sure, the film is predictable as hell and the effects could have been better, but you can't fault the film for trying. Having a wrestler as the killer was definitely an inspired idea back then and it works. I will admit that I was hoping for more over the top wrestling kills but what we get here definitely gets the job done. This film isn't for everyone as many will find it boring or cringey but for those with an open mind, Masked Mutilator is worth at least one watch.
THE PICTURE AND THE SOUND
After filming finished in 1994, the developed film reels, and other assets, sat in the producer's basement until 2018 and the results are pretty damn good. The film was shot on 16mm so there is a lot of grain which takes away from finer details. This, however, does not make the picture look bad. Everything else here is really nice. Colors, skin tones, and blacks, especially the blacks, are all on point.
The sound, in the form of an English DTS-HD MA 2.0 track, does a decent enough job of giving us what we need. Dialogue, for the most, is clear. There are times when times sound a bit muffled but nothing too terrible. The thing that irritated me the most about the sound is the really crappy sound effects used. I get that they were only added in the last year but man do they sound terrible. The punches, kicks, and bashing people's heads into things all sound the same. With the technology we have now, you can find all types of sound effects all over the place. It just reeks of laziness on the part of the sound editor.
THE PACKAGING
THE FEATURES
You See Me Sweatin’? (6m 45s, HD) Interview with actor Tom Taylor
Slice the Pretty Boy (6m 30s, HD) Interview with actor and FX artist Paul Sutt
Scissors, Tape, and Paste (7m 34s, HD) Interview with co-writer/co-executive producer Ed Polgardy
Don’t Believe That Folks (5m 47s, HD) Interview with co-writer/executive producer Dale Schneck
Audition Tapes (5m 7s, SD, 1.33:1)
RIP Gene
“Mean” Gene Okerlund Interviews Tom Taylor (3m 3s, HD)
Audio Commentary with Dale Schneck, Tom Taylor, Paul Sutt, Steve Mittman, and Jim “The Tank” Dorsey
Considering the history of this film, it is kind of surprising that Severin was able to get any interviews outside of the executive producer Dale Schneck. That being said, the interviews are pretty good with the standout being the one with Schneck. This is due to Schneck having the most history with the film. Each of the interviews contain behind the scenes footage shot during production so that is a major plus for me. The audition tapes are also really good and it is always good to see “Mean’ Gene even if it is only for a few minutes.
THE CONCLUSION
THE FILM6 THE PICTURE7 THE SOUND6 THE PACKAGING7 THE FEATURES7 Summary I doubt that Mad Mutilator would have made much of a dent had it been finished back in the 90s like it was supposed to. I believe that there had to have been some divine intervention when it came to the release of this film because audiences nowadays are a lot more accepting today then they were 20-plus years ago. The film is a fun time and the blu-ray is a great way to experience it. 7 Overall Score
THE SCREENSHOTS
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원본보기
[뉴스엔 황혜진 기자]가수 성민이 첫 솔로 앨범을 발매한다.슈퍼주니어 소속사 SJ레이블 측은 11월 4일 뉴스엔에 "성민이 현재 첫 솔로 앨범을 준비하고 있다. 11월 중 발표 예정이며, 피지컬 앨범의 형태로 발매할 계획이다"고 밝혔다.성민은 슈퍼주니어 멤버로 데뷔했지만 현재 팀 활동에서 배제된 상태다. 팬 연합은 성민이 과거 슈퍼주니어 해외 투어 도중 독단적으로 결혼을 진행하고, 연애와 결혼 과정에서 팬들을 기만했다며 그의 활동 배제를 요구했다.이에 슈퍼주니어 측은 지난 6월 3일 "팀 활동에 참여하지 않는 성민은 향후 별도의 개인 활동으로 인사드릴 계획"이라고 입장을 발표했다.뉴스엔 황혜진 blossom@기사제보 및 보도자료 [email protected]ⓒ 뉴스엔. 무단전재 & 재배포 금지 | {
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Authorities in Burundi have announced the discovery of more than 6,000 bodies in six mass graves.
The findings in Karusi province are the largest since the government launched a nationwide excavation in January.
More:
Pierre Claver Ndayicariye, chairman of the country's truth and reconciliation commission, told journalists on Friday that the remains of 6,032 victims, as well as thousands of bullets, were recovered. Clothes, glasses and rosaries were used to identify some of the victims.
Referring to a 1972 massacre which is believed to have targeted people from the Hutu ethnic group, Ndayicariye said families of the victims were able to "break the silence" that was imposed 48 years ago.
The country has suffered colonial occupation, civil war and decades of intermittent massacres.
The government-run commission was set up in 2014 to investigate atrocities from 1885, when foreigners arrived in Burundi, until 2008, when a stalled peace deal to end the civil war was fully implemented.
So far it has mapped over 4,000 mass graves across the country and identified more than 142,000 victims of violence.
Burundi's population is divided between the Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups. Its civil war, which killed 300,000 people before it ended in 2005, had ethnic overtones.
The commission's mandate does not cover most of the rule of current President Pierre Nkurunziza, who took office in 2005.
In 2015, Nkurunziza's campaign for a third term plunged the country into violence and led to an enduring political crisis.
In 2018, he surprised observers when he announced he would not seek another term in office, despite a new constitution adopted by referendum allowing him to do so.
The United Nations has warned that human rights abuses may increase again before elections scheduled for May. | {
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Plymouth gang jailed for torturing man over £100 drug debt Published duration 9 November 2018
image copyright Devon and Cornwall Police image caption The judge described the attack by Darryl Clough, Andrew Moore and Marcus Hart as "unrelenting violence".
A gang who kidnapped and tortured man over a £100 drug debt have been jailed.
The three men, from Plymouth, broke Glenn Mullen's nose and snapped his fingers, before throwing him in a river, Exeter Crown Court heard.
They were caught after putting online a video of the attack, which features one gang member dancing to a pop song as Mr Mullen begged for mercy.
Mr Justice Dingemans said they subjected Mr Mullen to "unrelenting violence", in the attack in March.
Darryl Clough, 28, Marcus Hart, 25, and Andrew Moore, 37, kidnapped Mr Mullen from Plymouth city centre and drove him onto Dartmoor in a taxi, the court heard.
All three had denied false imprisonment and two pleaded not guilty to causing actual bodily harm, but the jury found them guilty.
Clough ordered Hart to break the victim's fingers in a taxi driven by Moore, the court heard.
Mr Mullen can be heard in the video screaming in pain, while Hart dances to pop song "All That She Wants" by Ace of Base, the jury was told.
'Intimidate and terrify'
Clough admitted in court the attack was related to a £100 debt.
"We wanted to teach him a lesson after he stole the money," he said. "We pushed him in the river."
Mr Justice Dingemans said: "He must have been taken against his will and told he was going to be taken up to the moor and left for dead or killed.
"The torture and humiliation was deliberately designed to intimidate and terrify him."
Clough was sentenced to eight years in prison after admitting causing actual bodily harm and being found guilty of false imprisonment.
Moore and Hart were found guilty of both offences by a jury, and were was jailed for six and six-and-a-half years respectively.
Related Topics Plymouth
Drug use | {
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Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Sunday suggested that Pope Francis had been touting the same “free market” principles opposing the “welfare state” that the Republican Party has been pushing for years.
Late last year, Ryan, who is Catholic, was asked how the pope’s criticism of capitalism squared with the Republican Party’s message. Paul had argued that the pope didn’t really understand the U.S. economy because the “guy is from Argentina, they haven’t had real capitalism in Argentina.”
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During an interview on Sunday, ABC host George Stephanopolous asked the Wisconsin Republican if he had been “a little too flip” in criticizing the pope.
“No, not at all,” Ryan insisted. “They have crony capitalism in Argentina, where you have exploitation. That is not the free market, that’s crony capitalism. We’re starting to see some crony capitalism here in America.”
He added that the pope was inviting Catholics to propose solutions for dealing with the poor, “stop isolating the poor.”
“And if you look at his comments very closely, he always talks about the welfare mentality,” Ryan added. “He always talks about the welfare mentality and how we have to avoid creating a welfare state. Bring the poor in and create upward mobility and free enterprise that gives opportunity to everybody, no matter who they are and where they are in life in America. That’s what we’re for.”
“You don’t think he’d endorse your budget, do you?” Stephanopoulos pressed.
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“Of course not, he’s a pope!” Ryan replied. “Popes don’t endorse budgets. Popes say let’s have a conversation about how to fix the broken status quo, how to bring the poor in, how to not have a welfare state, and how to produce upward mobility. Popes don’t endorse actual legislative changes or budgets like that.”
Watch this video from ABC’s This Week, broadcast Feb. 2, 2014. | {
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Zimbabwean Ron Thomson has been named and shamed by the Campaign To Ban Trophy Hunting (CBTH) team this week after he candidly admitted that he had slaughtered 5 000 elephants in a 50-year hunting career.
The shocking claim has drawn widespread condemnation from conservationists and the world’s media. But Thomson – who told The Independent he has spent his life as a game ranger in African national parks – has refused to back down from his contentious boasting.
The Ron Thomson hitlist
According to his website, he has racked up a kill-list that would make a nuclear apocalypse blush. He’s targeted all of the “Big Five” animals which reside in South Africa but has mainly focused on the extermination of elephants. Ron Thomson says he has killed:
5 000 elephants
800 buffaloes
60 lions
50 hippos
40 leopards
Speaking to the publication earlier this week, Thomson expressed no remorse whatsoever for his actions. He trotted out the classic line that hunters are only there “to help manage population sizes”, but that’s really not going to fly when creatures like elephants are edging towards “endangered” status.
According to CBTH, the elephant population has plummeted from about 1.3 million in the 1980s to around 400,000 today – a staggering drop of nearly 70%. Does that bother Zimbabwe’s latest public enemy? Of course not…
“I didn’t have any sentiment. I’m totally unrepentant, a hundred – ten thousand – times over for any of the hunting I’ve done because that’s not the problem. The problem is we’ve got a bunch of so-called experts from the West telling us what to do. I’m a trained university ecologist – I must surely know something about this.” Ron Thomson
No, trophy hunting does not “help conservation”
Thomson also went on to say that he is frustrated by the narrative conservationists are using. He ignored CBTH’s figures, declaring that the African Elephant is “nowhere near extinct”. The hunter also wished he “could grab people by the shoulders and shake them” to enforce his viewpoint.
That feeling will be mutual with many people, Ron. His insistence that he’s doing the right is sure to fall on deaf ears, especially when industry professionals have outright dismissed the merits of trophy hunting.
“Pro-hunting groups claim that trophy hunting encourages wildlife conservation. However, an exhaustive review by a US Congressional Committee found that trophy hunting was directly responsible for population declines of big cats, particularly lions, and that trophy hunting and poaching is currently outpacing the reproductive rate of elephants.” Campaign To Ban Trophy Hunting
South Africa’s shameful trophy hunting stats
Sadly, South Africa can’t really claim the moral high ground over people like Ron Thomson. There’s plenty of blood on the hands of certain authorities in this country, who allow dubious hunting practices to happen unchallenged.
Canned hunting is thriving in Mzansi, with an estimated 200 establishments up and running within our borders. These resorts effectively keep wild animals in captivity, allowing hunters to make an easy killing. South Africa is also in the top three countries which export hunting trophies. | {
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PINE VALLEY, CA — Raw video footage has surfaced showing the horrific killing of an innocent man at the hands of Border Patrol Agents.Alex Martin’s family is suing the US Government after the video made clear that he burned to death in an eruption caused by the agents, according to reports.The incident occurred when Alex got lost on the highway on his way back home.It was late at night and with low visibility, Alex accidentally got onto the wrong offramp, heading the opposite direction on the highway.When agents noticed his car on the wrong side of the rode, they started tailing him and trying to force him to the side of the road.The agents were driving in an unmarked vehicle, according to reports.One can only imagine the fear Alex felt, lost and alone on a dark highway as a menacing vehicle began chasing him.Alex was eventually forced to the side of the road, at which point several agents ran up to his vehicle and began shouting at him — likely making him think he was being mugged.Within seconds, one of the agents bashed in Alex’s window and they began shooting him with a Taser gun.After the high-voltage connects, Alex’s car can be seen exploding inside.Engulfed in flames, Alex’s body was burned alive, as the agents are seen in the video simply watched him perish.The family’s attorney states that the agents were “all in plain clothes and unmarked vehicles,” which is why Alex did not stop when they chased him.The agents, furthermore, “never identified themselves by the display of badges or even the simple statement, ‘Border Patrol,” said the attorney.The agents’ cars had large fire extinguishers inside them, but “not one of these agents ever tried to spray any of the fire extinguisher solution on that car,” the attorney added.“This was a senseless act in a senseless way for somebody who had violated no law and who lost their life needlessly.: | {
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Former Arsenal midfielder heads back to the Premier League‘West Ham is looking to be a very, very big club in the future’
West Ham have announced the signing of the Barcelona midfielder Alex Song on a season-long loan.
The 26-year-old Cameroon international struggled to hold down a regular place at Camp Nou after a move from Arsenal in 2012 and returns to the Premier League with the Hammers – who paraded their new addition to fans before their match with Southampton.
Clubs throughout Europe were put on alert when it emerged Song would be allowed to leave Barcelona – with West Ham having won the race to take him to Upton Park on a temporary basis despite reported interest from Napoli and Galatasaray.
Song revealed it was a conversation with the West Ham manager, Sam Allardyce, that led to his decision to move to east London and he is targeting European qualification.
“When I spoke to the manager, he gave me very good advice,” he told whufc.com.
“I had a very good chat with him and that’s why I am coming here. We have to do better than last season. I think the club has very good ambition and I hope we can maybe catch the European positions, because that would be very good for the club.
“West Ham is looking to be a very, very big club in the future. The club has a great project and it is a very big project with very big ambition.
“I think it’s great for the fans that the club wants to be one of the biggest in England. That’s why I chose to come here. I always said that if I was to leave [Barcelona] one day I would return to the Premier League.
“It was a very hard decision when you have options of a lot of clubs who are playing in the Champions League, but at the end of the day I chose West Ham because I wanted to come to the Premier League.”
Song, who won one Primera Division title during his spell in Spain, is likely to be West Ham’s final summer signing – taking the total of new recruits to eight.
Carl Jenkinson has also joined on loan while Aaron Cresswell, Cheikhou Kouyaté, Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho, Diego Poyet and Mauro Zárate have been signed on permanent deals.
Allardyce had said he hoped to complete one more deal before Monday’s transfer deadline and, with the acquisition of Song, it would be seen as a surprise if any other new faces came in.
Song was sent off in Cameroon’s 4-0 World Cup defeat to Croatia in his last competitive game and could make his debut in the Premier League trip to Hull after the international break, following in the footsteps of his cousin Rigobert Song, who turned out for the Hammers between 2000 and 2002.
Although Allardyce also insisted he did not foresee anyone leaving, bringing in Song leaves doubts over the future of Mohamed Diamé, who has been heavily linked with a move to QPR. | {
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Citation: Chittka A, Chittka L (2010) Epigenetics of Royalty. PLoS Biol 8(11): e1000532. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000532 Published: November 2, 2010 Copyright: © 2010 Chittka, Chittka. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Imagine—you've just been born, and your future looks bleak. After an all-too brief infancy when you'll be cared for and fed, you'll be forced into child labour, cleaning a dark and crowded home and caring for your many siblings. You'll be subsequently put on guard duty to defend your home against vicious intruders. If you survive, you'll spend the rest of your days searching for tiny bits of food from ephemeral sources, mostly not for yourself, but for the communal pantry. Weekends? Holidays? Forget it. Within a few weeks, you'll have worked yourself to death. Moreover, you will never have known love. Your sister, on the other hand, will begin her career by first murdering her competitors, then sleeping around in grand style. During a string of orgies with thousands of participants, she will fornicate with up to 20 males, who are (literally!) ready to die for the privilege. Upon her return home from such debauchery, she will be treated royally; indeed, for the rest of her life she will be surrounded by loyal staff who will feed, clean her, and cater to her every need. If she should ever have to leave home (which happens rarely) she will be accompanied by thousands of subordinates who will do their best to find a suitable new home. Your sister will live 20 times longer than you and will one day be the proud mother of hundreds of thousands of offspring, while you'll have died a spinster. Unfair? You bet! But then you're just a worker honeybee. As for your sister, it's good to be queen.
Making Two Fates From One Genome While royalty is typically heritable in humans and in some social insects [1],[2], this is not so in honeybees. The honeybee queen and workers might be genetically identical but what seals their respective fates is that queen larvae get fed a special diet—royal jelly—in large quantities and over extended periods [3]. This richly nutritious substance's chemical composition is only partially understood and is produced by glands in the mouths of young nurse bees. All larvae are initially fed with royal jelly, although worker larvae are soon weaned and switched to a diet of pollen and nectar, whereas queen larvae are bathed in royal jelly throughout their larval development and feed on it into adulthood. This differential rearing procedure results in striking morphological, behavioural, and physiological differences between these different castes (Figure 1, Table 1). Queens live for years, produce up to 2,000 eggs on a summer day, and never visit flowers (or engage in any activity resembling “work”), while the sterile workers typically live only for weeks, during which they engage in a series of specialisations from cleaning comb cells, tending brood, constructing wax combs, guarding the hive entrance, and, finally, foraging for various commodities such as nectar, pollen, water, and resin [4]. PPT PowerPoint slide
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larger image TIFF original image Download: Figure 1. A honeybee queen surrounded by her retinue. There are numerous behavioural, physiological, and anatomical differences between queens (which can lay up to 2,000 eggs per day) and sterile workers, even though they are identical at the genetic level. Upon emergence from the pupae, new queens engage in a series of duels with rival queens. The single survivor will leave the hive for 1–5 mating flights, during which she visits sharply delineated leks—congregation areas used solely for mating that might be several kilometres from the hive, where hundreds of drones typically await. Queens will mate with an average of 12 drones, who die shortly afterwards since the explosive ejaculation ruptures the everted genitals. A mated queen then returns to her native hive; egg laying begins shortly afterwards, and she will typically not leave the colony again unless a new queen is raised in the subsequent year, in which case the old queen leaves the hive with a large swarm of workers to relocate to a new home. Specialised workers who form the queen's retinue feed the queen and constantly groom and lick her, in the process picking up queen mandibular pheromone, which suppresses ovary development in workers [24]. Image: Helga Heilmann, BeeGroup Würzburg. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000532.g001 PPT PowerPoint slide
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larger image TIFF original image Download: Table 1. Overview of differences between queen and workers honeybees. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000532.t001 The observation that different organisms can be generated from identical genomes means that differential gene expression moulds different outcomes from the same genetic material. Honeybees are unique, as different life forms can be entirely induced by diet. The availability of their genome sequence [5] also makes them a unique system to study how environmental stimuli regulate gene expression. Indeed, more than a fifth of the total number of honeybee genes (10,157) are differentially expressed in the brains of queens and workers [5],[6]. A string of recent studies focuses on a particular type of gene regulation—the epigenetic control of gene expression in the remarkable diphenism between queen and worker honeybees [7],[8]. Epigenetics, here, refers to “the structural adaptation of chromosomal regions so as to register, signal, or perpetuate altered activity states” [9], in other words, a departure from the more traditional definition that referred to the heritability of such changes, or their retention through cell divisions. Changes of chromatin structure affecting transcription are achieved mainly through histone modifications and DNA methylation, where methyl groups are covalently bound to cytosine. This typically happens at CpG-sites, where a cytosine nucleotide occurs next to a guanine nucleotide on the same DNA strand. DNA methylation is traditionally thought to attenuate gene expression [10],[11]. The chromatin structure defined by DNA methylation and histone modifications is reversible and allows for adjustment of transcriptional output to changing environmental conditions or signals.
Royal Jelly—The Ultimate in Diet Evolution Since reproductive function is repressed in workers but not queens, it seems possible that DNA methylation results in repression of gene expression in workers. DNA methylation requires the enzyme DNA methyltranferase DNMT3. It was recently shown that silencing DNMT3 expression in newly hatched honeybee larvae mimics the effect of royal jelly, namely, the larvae destined to become workers develop into queens with fully developed ovaries [10]. This was a direct demonstration that royal jelly provides the external information interpreted by the developing larva to create and maintain the epigenetic state necessary to generate a queen. In addition to vitamins, lipids, and amino acids, royal jelly also contains a family of proteins called Major Royal Jelly Proteins, which are thought to be crucial in reproductive maturation [12]. Intriguingly, one of the components of royal jelly is phenyl butyrate, a known histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor [13]. Histone deacetylases catalyse the removal of acetyl groups from histones, which may allow for chromatin to become more compacted, so repressing transcription [14]. These enzymes have been shown to act in concert with DNA methyltransferases [11]. However, workers are not just a reproductively repressed form of queens. Workers have a highly differentiated behavioural repertoire, including behavioural routines and cognitive feats which are not displayed by queens [3],[15], and, indeed, many genes are significantly up-regulated in the brains of workers compared to queens [6]. This poses the question of how specificity is generated using epigenetic marks in gene regulation.
The Honeybee Epigenomes In this issue of PLoS Biology, Lyko et al. report entire methylomes of the brains of honeybee queens and workers in order to obtain a more complete picture of the transcriptional programmes governed by differential DNA methylation [13]. Lyko et al. discovered that most of the DNA methylation in the honeybee genome occurs on CpG dinucleotides in the coding exons of 5,854 genes and only rarely in non-coding, intronic regions (see also [16]). The honeybee genome contains over 10 million CpG sites; only 70,000 cytosines are methylated [13]. In agreement with other studies, methylation of CpGs is common in sections of DNA where CpGs are less ubiquitous, whereas CpG-rich stretches of DNA (so called CpG islands, which are often found in promoter regions of genes) tend not to be methylated [7]. Interestingly, the methylated genes are predominantly not the ones that are specific to Apis, but those that are conserved across species, and indeed across phyla [13],[16]. These genes are ubiquitously expressed in many tissues and appear to be involved in basic metabolic processes, whose activities are essential for survival and cannot be switched off entirely. It appears that fine-tuning of the expression levels of these genes in the brain can contribute to dramatic differences in phenotype, although it would be interesting to also explore the methylation patterns in other parts of the body. With respect to reproductive caste differentiation, methylation patterns of over 550 genes differed between queens and workers [13]. Several of these have been shown to be involved in brain development or activity in other species, and, indeed, there are profound differences between the brains of queens and worker honeybees, both in terms of adult anatomy and development [17],[18]. Again, these genes are never “switched off” in either caste. Instead, they are expressed at low to moderate levels, but differentially between castes, strengthening the point that subtle regulation of the metabolic pathways and differentiation genes leading to higher growth rates in queen bees eventually affects reproductive capacity and different behavioural patterns found between the queen and worker bees.
DNA Methylation and Alternative Splicing Intriguingly, the authors also found a strong correlation between methylation patterns and splicing sites, including those that can generate alternative exons. This correlation was then investigated in more depth on a selected gene to show that two different splice variants are generated at different levels in queens and workers. Both queens and workers show similar levels of expression of a common long variant of the gene, despite the fact that the gene is heavily methylated in workers but not queens. However, only the queens generate significantly more of the short isoform. The difference in the abundance of the short isoform produced correlates with the differential methylation of CpGs in queens and workers found in the region involved in producing the additional exon in the short isoform; regions near splice sites were conspicuously differently methylated between queens and workers. However, the molecular mechanisms by which this happens are as yet unclear. The observation that the long isoform is produced at comparable levels in both workers and queens despite heavy methylation in the former is matched by recent observations in humans where high levels of gene body methylation can also occur in highly expressed genes [19]. Thus, DNA methylation does not necessarily mediate gene repression, and this raises the question of whether it is not the overall extent of methylation that matters for transcription levels, but instead the particular spatial pattern in the methylation landscape [20], plus various contextual factors [14]. The intriguing observation of non-random distribution of methylated CpGs found near differentially spliced exons in brain DNA underscores the importance of these modifications in generating diversity of gene products from the same template, ultimately leading to functionally different physiological/behavioural outputs [21].
Conclusion and Open Questions A key observation that emerges from Lyko et al.'s seminal study [13], and other recent work [22], is that relatively moderate changes in expression of individual genes might act synergistically over many genes to achieve very different physiological, morphological, and behavioural end results. The subtle and sustained nature of input seems to be instrumental in maintaining the cellular activity that is necessary for the production of particular phenotypes. It remains, however, entirely unclear how DNA methyltranferase can “know” which of the ca. 10 million CpGs in the honeybee genome [13] to mark with methyl “tags” [23]. The DNMTs themselves have little specificity for marking particular stretches of DNA and histones. Thus, an intricate interplay between the DNA/histone modifying machinery (the chromatin modifiers) and cellular components with DNA recognition specificity must recruit the chromatin modifying enzymes to the right places at the right times according to signals received by cells. It is also interesting to contemplate why, in some model systems such as Drosophila, complex and entirely functional life forms can be generated and maintained largely without the aid of DNA methylation, emphasising that in the absence of some epigenetic modifiers, “traditional” gene regulation can be adapted to perform the functions orphaned by the loss of the phylogenetically ancient epigenetic machinery. Finally, there is the important question of who decides whether an egg is a queen-to-be or a common worker, and how this decision is made. Workers construct especially large “queen cups” out of wax throughout the season, but they often remain empty. New queens are reared when the old queen dies, or in preparation for colony fission [3]. Eggs are often laid by the queen directly into the cups, in which case she presumably has made a decision that this particular egg should be raised into a queen. However, workers also move eggs from regular worker cells into these queen cups, and queen larvae and pupae are frequently destroyed by workers [4]. Thus, workers can substantially interfere with royal destiny, and this raises the question of whether there is some nepotism involved. While caste differentiation into queens and workers is largely mediated by nutrition in honeybees, there appears to be a genetic influence as well [1]. Because of the promiscuous habits of the queen, a honeybee hive typically contains multiple subfamilies of workers each fathered by a different drone, and some subfamilies can be substantially overrepresented in queen production, presumably mediated by preferential treatment of certain larvae and selective abortion of others. This adds a level of complexity to the interplay between genomic and environmental factors: the provisioning of epigenetic factors via larval nutrition might in turn be controlled by genetic factors that control provisioning behaviour. | {
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Political Stability and Foreign Direct Investment
Haksoon Kim
Abstract The paper investigates the relationship among the foreign direct investment (FDI) and political stability by investigating the country-level FDI flows, FDI inward performance and political stability measures. Countries with high political rights have higher FDI outflows. Also, countries with high level of corruption of government and low level of democracy have higher FDI inflows. The results are consistent with the argument of that political factors are important in explaining FDI flows. We also find that FDI inward performance has consistently positive relationships with the level of corruption of government, while negative relationships with the political rights, when key variables from factor analysis are included. | {
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Foram roubadas granadas de mão ofensivas e munições de calibre 9 milímetros dos Paióis Nacionais de Tancos. O incidente foi detectado ao final da tarde de quarta-feira.
O desaparecimento foi detectado durante uma patrulha de rotina, refere fonte do Exército.
Em comunicado, o Exército confirma que foi detectada “a violação dos perímetros de segurança dos Paióis Nacionais de Tancos e o arrombamento de dois ‘paiolins’”.
Um dos paióis foi arrombado e dali foi roubado um número indeterminado de granadas – que o Exército estima em perto de uma centena.
A Polícia Judiciária deslocou-se para o local e o incidente já foi comunicado ao Ministério Público.
“O Chefe de Estado-Maior do Exército, General Rovisco Duarte, informou SExa o Ministro da Defesa que acompanha o desenrolar das investigações”, refere ainda o comunicado.
"Estamos a averiguar detalhadamente a quantidade e tipo de material exactos que faltam. Neste momento, detectamos a ausência de granadas de mão ofensivas e de munições de calibre 9 mm. Ainda não estamos a divulgar a quantidade, pelo simples facto de que quando o Exército divulgar quer ter a certeza de que está a divulgar factos", afirma o tenente-coronel Vicente Pereira, porta-voz do Exército.
Já o tenente-coronel António Mota, da Associação de Oficiais das Forças Armadas, diz que o problema poderá estar na falta de efectivos. "Na globalidade, as Forças Armadas estão com um problema complicado nos efectivos. Eu espero que, por via desse problema, não tenha sido de alguma forma aliviada a segurança de apoio aos armamentos".
[Notícia actualizada às 15h08] | {
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"Lucy", a female koala sits in an enclosure at the South West WIRES branch awaiting release pending an all clear from the vet. She was found dazed on the side of a busy road in Campbelltown. Credit:Cole Bennetts While koalas are hard to find in the earmarked zone itself, development of the site will almost certainly put paid to wildlife moving between the two rivers without carefully designed and maintained wildlife corridors. Senior Planning staff met environment groups this week to discuss concerns. These include how rezoning could get the nod even before the council's draft "Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management" – open to the public for input in May and June last year – has been approved by the government. 'Totemic' "The fact you can rezone without the koala plan is a serious weakness in the planning system across this whole region," Jeff Angel, director of the Total Environment Centre said.
"You should finish an effective management plan and get development to adjust to it, not make the plan adjust to some developer's ambition," Mr Angel said, adding the issue was "totemic of the pressures Sydney's koalas and other native species are going to be under" as the city expands. Ricardo Lonza, founder of a Facebook group dedicated to saving wildife and bushland of Campbelltown, surveys the treetops of St. Helens park for koalas. Credit:Cole Bennetts A spokeswoman for Planning said the relevant planning policy doesn't require a koala plan of management when rezoning land. Even so, the department has asked the council "to undertake further work" on the draft koala plan to address issues already raised by the Office of Environment and Heritage. "The majority of the existing vegetation on the site will be retained as open space, and a biodiversity corridor has been identified through the site and will be in council ownership," the spokeswoman said. A koala crossing sign stands in front of a new housing development backing directly onto the Cumberland Plain Woodland corridor, a core koala habitat. Credit:Cole Bennetts
"This will connect the protected vegetation within the site with the Noorumba Reserve in the north and the Beulah Biobanking area in the south. The biodiversity corridor will also enable fauna, including koalas, to move through the site." Jim Baldwin, director of Campbelltown city development, said the council accepted the area is a "koala movement corridor". While there have been few sightings of koalas within the Mt Gilead area itself – much of which has been cleared for cattle farming – reported fatalities included along nearby Appin Road from car strikes point to their presence. Wilton and Greater Macarthur priority growth areas. "The rezoning proposal is supported by a biocertification application, which is a state government-supported process that incorporates the use of conservation measures and outlines the proposed wildlife corridors across the site," Mr Baldwin said. "If a threatened species is located on site during development works at the Mt Gilead site, this would trigger a stop work protocol, and the proponent would be required to contact OEH for further instruction on how to proceed."
Ricardo Lonza, a wildlife rescuer who runs the Help Save the Wildlife and Bushlands in Campbelltown Facebook page, has picked up as many as three koalas killed or disoriented along Appin Road in a single night. "Development should be done properly, so we don't have to wipe out the koalas to build homes," he said, adding that as many as 2000 houses may go up after the Gilead rezoning. "We're very lucky to have the koalas, we should be doing more to protect and save their disease-free numbers," Mr Lonza said.
Koala disease Mark Krockenberger, an associate professor specialising in Australian wildlife diseases at Sydney University, said the Campbelltown region represented a "little island of no chlamydia" among koalas in the state.
Chlamydia is typically painful for the animals, "dramatically" reducing fertility, and shortens their increasingly painful lives, he said. Some areas had seen a big jump in koala chlamydia, including in previously rapidly growing populations such as near Gunnedah. The proportion of animals with the disease there had gone from 10 per cent in 2008 to roughly two-thirds now. An increase in stress, perhaps from big heatwaves that have scorched the region several times since 2009, may have made the animals more susceptible to the disease, Professor Krockenberger said. Loading The Planning spokeswoman said biodiversity issues including impacts on koalas were "a fundamental part of planning for vibrant and sustainable new communities".
"There are examples across NSW where new housing developments and koalas have successfully co-existed, such as Port Macquarie," she said. | {
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Xabi Alonso has admitted that his penalty during Liverpool’s famous 2005 Champions League final comeback was the first time he’d taken one in his career.
The Reds were 3-0 down at half time to AC Milan before Steve Gerrard and Vladimir Smicer pulled it back to 3-2 when the Liverpool captain was brought down in the area by Gennaro Gattuso.
Alonso took the resulting spot kick and missed, before following up the rebound into the roof of the net to draw Liverpool level to complete the memorable comeback.
But the Bayern Munich midfielder has revealed that he was chosen as penalty taker in the pre-match meeting after usual taker Gerrard lost the responsibility because of a missed spot kick against Tottenham in the Premier League.
And with other candidate Harry Kewell off the pitch, the duty feel on Alonso, who had never carried out the task in his professional career before.
“I remember most of the things during the game and after but before I don’t remember doing anything special to prepare for it,” he told The Anfield Wrap.
“The last game in the Premier League, Stevie missed a penalty against Tottenham so Rafa said in the pre-match talk that in the case of a penalty it will be Xabi or Harry Kewell.
“Harry was not on the pitch so I was the one. It was my first professional penalty. I’d never taken one at Sociedad so it was my first one. I knew it was a big responsibility, come on, but I wasn’t nervous!
“The story would have been different if I hadn’t have scored the rebound then maybe we wouldn’t be talking here now. The mystique [about missing first] makes it all the better!”
While Alonso found the miss made the moment all-the-more memorable, his manager Rafael Benitez clearly disagreed and refused to allow the 35-year-old to take one in the shootout, through fear he may miss again.
“When Rafa was deciding the penalty takers he asked me, I said yes but asked which one [and he said] no, you’re not taking! I got it, I got it. It’s football history, everyone has heard about it. Everyone will remember that final.”
That was Alonso’s first of two Champions League titles – and three finals – having later completed La Decima with Real Madrid. But it is his performance in that 2005 final which adhered him so much to the Anfield faithful in what was his first season at the club.
He formed a formidable partnership with Gerrard during his time at Liverpool but admitted while his captain was a world class player – and in Alonso’ “top five” players he’s played with – he did admit that there is a noticeable difference between English players and foreigners coming to the Premier League.
Alonso said that to understand football, you need to appreciate that you only have a good game if you make everyone else have one.
Alonso scored the rebound after Dida saved his initial penalty (Getty)
“That is probably the biggest issue about the English game,” he added. “You need to be a great player and great at striking the ball, of course, but it’s also about your head and being able to understand the game, especially for a midfielder.
“That’s what I think in my position and that’s something that I did in my years at Real Sociedad, at Liverpool, in Madrid and here at Bayern.
“That’s why I understand football. I don’t want to just play well, I want the players around me to play better and that’s when I feel that I have done my job.”
Alonso this month announced that he would retire from football at the end of the season, despite showing no signs of slowing up and still performing at the top of his game.
At 35 years old, Alonso will be involved in yet another Champions League quarter final next month – this time against former club Real Madrid – but he admitted he would rather keep his future in his own hands and depart the professional scene while still at his peak.
“That’s one thing that I’ve always wanted, to make my own decisions and not to be pushed,” he said.
“That has happened in my career and I wanted to leave football, not football to leave me.
“I wanted to enjoy it as much as I could and to leave it a little bit earlier than too late. I wanted to leave at the peak and hopefully I will leave at the peak with Bayern.” | {
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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So Listen, uh I was wonderin' Can I ha yo numba? | {
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Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, on Monday said that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) either needs to make changes or step down from his role leading the Republican caucus.
“We need either a change in direction from this speaker, or we need a new speaker,” Amash said at a town hall in Michigan, according to CNN.
Members of the Freedom Caucus helped oust former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), and are known for their hard-line stances. They opposed the House leadership’s bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, contributing to the legislation’s failure. However, leadership’s inability to whip enough support for the bill’s passage has not led to a flood of calls for Ryan to step aside. The chair of the House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), said at the end of March that there had not been discussions about replacing Ryan as speaker.
Amash also criticized President Donald Trump and Ryan for giving Republicans talking points to use during the House recess.
“When we go home for the weekend, they give us a set of talking points. They say ‘here are your talking points,'” he said at the town hall, per CNN. “That’s not the way you’re supposed to represent a community.” | {
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We are still shipping! However, order processing may take longer than usual and we cannot guarantee same day shipments due to staffing safety guidelines. Please see all COVID-19 FAQ on our homepage. Thank you for your support! ❤ Dismiss | {
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My cars gps automatically turns my radio down to give me directions Right as the good part came on
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A British officer in the 44th regiment, who had occasion, when in Paris, to pass one of the bridges across the Seine, had his boots, which had been previously well polished, dirtied by a poodle Dog rubbing against them. He in consequence went to a man who was stationed on the bridge, and had them cleaned. The same circumstance having occurred more than once, his curiosity was excited, and he watched the Dog. He saw him roll himself in the mud of the river, and then watch for a person with well polished boots, against which he contrived to rub himself. Finding that the shoeblack was the owner of the Dog, he taxed him with the artifice; and, after a little hesitation, he confessed that he had taught the Dog the trick in order to procure customers for himself. The officer being much struck with the Dog’s sagacity, purchased him at a high price, and brought him to England. He kept him tied up in London for some time, and then released him. The dog remained with him a day or two, and then made his escape. A fortnight afterwards he was found with his former master, pursuing his old trade on the bridge. | {
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The Southern Poverty Law Center says it’s reached a settlement over what critics say is a modern day debtors’ prison. Alexander City and its police chief were accused of unjustly jailing residents who were too poor to pay fines or court fees. One hundred and ninety people were imprisoned for non-payment over a two year period. The alleged practice resulted in a federal class action lawsuit. The U.S. District Court in Montgomery approved the settlement which will pay each plaintiff five hundred dollars for each day of unlawful imprisonment. There will be a hearing in August to finalize the deal. | {
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IRREGULAR PULSARS Two pulsars discovered by the Arecibo Observatory (shown) spend most of their time not pulsing, suggesting a large population of undiscovered pulsars in the Milky Way. | {
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Shaquille O’Neal will be playing basketball, one on one, against Hakeem Olajuwon in a pay-per-view promotion Saturday night near the boardwalk of Atlantic City, N.J. No, you cannot call in to vote on whether they should wear swimsuits.
Nick Van Exel of the Lakers also will be there, for a little-guy contest against Kenny Anderson, as will a couple of raw NBA rookies, Joe Smith against the teen-aged Kevin Garnett, who isn’t old enough to go into the Trump Taj Mahal to see the showgirls.
How serious is this?
Oh, not terribly, although frankly I can’t find a thing wrong with it. This is no different from golf’s Skins Game, or paid-admission tennis exhibitions between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, or other cute stuff, so who cares how serious it is? If it sounds like fun, watch it. If it doesn’t, don’t.
O’Neal had a wild week in Los Angeles, wrapping up his starring role last Saturday as a rap-singing genie in the Disney film “Kazaam,” talking hoops with President Clinton at a benefit in Orange County and sealing his deal with a candy bar bearing his likeness, called Mr. Big.
For a 23-year-old, he’s doing pretty well.
Basketball camps open soon, so Shaq will go back to his goal of winning a championship, which he has never done, in college or professionally. He and Olajuwon went hand to spine last season in the NBA finals, won by the Houston Rockets over the Orlando Magic, at which point a friendly rivalry with Olajuwon began to bloom.
Next came newspaper ads and TV spots, with the two centers sharing a bicycle built for two.
Then came this one-on-one game, which confuses some people, seeing as how Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson were once denied permission to stage the same act.
The NBA now says OK. Noted sportscasters Chick Hearn, Billy Packer and Bill Walton will even provide commentary. (If anyone says “analysis,” tell them to get real.)
And somewhere along the way, Patrick Ewing stopped being one of the two best centers in basketball.
Shaq is asked, “Is Olajuwon the best center you’ve played?”
He replies, “Of course! By far.”
By far? Hmmm.
“He’s a good player, a classy player,” Shaq says of Hakeem. “He doesn’t cry or complain.”
Olajuwon, who apparently aggravated a sore back Thursday and put the event in jeopardy, was to be examined by doctors this morning.
In any case, O’Neal swears he is taking the match-up seriously. Someone wonders how he feels about all the pessimism.
“Define pessimism,” he says.
Oh, shooting 10 two-minute rounds of hoops worth $100,000 each, insisting that the outcome really matters. . . .
“I’m very serious about this,” Shaq says. “I would do this if it was for $100,000 or for a quarter of a million dollars or for a quarter. I would still play.”
Hearn, a willing foil, leans over to O’Neal like, oh, Hank Kingsley to Larry Sanders.
Chick: “Shaq, I believe you really mean that.”
Shaq: “Thanks, man.”
Everybody is obviously having fun with this, although everybody is obviously getting paid for this. The thing is, one-on-one competitions, once frowned upon by the league, might now become regular attractions.
Leonard Armato, agent for both players and promoter of the event, sells it well, saying, “This is not a trash sport. This is not wheelbarrow racing.”
There are pages and pages of rules. There’s a 12-second shot clock. There are two-point, three-point, even six-point shots. There will be one minute between rounds and a halftime after five. In any round that ends in a tie--same as a Skins Game--the money carries over.
O’Neal says one on one is new to him. But after a lifetime of being triple-teamed, he can’t wait.
“It’s just us. No [Nick] Andersons, no [Penny] Hardaways, no [Rudy] Tomjanovich, no Brian Hill,” O’Neal says, recalling the cast from the NBA finals.
And, maybe dunkmaster Shaq can even shoot a basketball?
Shaq: “I don’t know, man. I’m going for the better percentage shot. I’m a mathematician.” | {
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Juventus held Barcelona to a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp to win 3-0 on aggregate and reach the last four of the Champions League for the 12th time in their history.
The visitors were resolute in defence as they held off Barcelona's frontline who huffed and puffed all game long in search of a breakthrough.
Luis Enrique's enjoyed their fair share of chances but it wasn't to be their night, with the Italians deserved winners.
Here's five things we learned...
Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Marc-Andre Ter Stegen – 6 out of 10 Up to the task on the few occasions Juventus called him into action, but on the whole had little to contend with. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Sergi Roberto – 6 out of 10 Attacked with purpose down Barcelona’s right but could not repeat his heroics of the last round. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Gerard Pique – 6 out of 10 Did well to deny Cuadrado in the first quarter of an hour, but will have hoped to have made a more telling contribution at the other end. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Samuel Umtiti – 6 out of 10 Another Barca defender who largely coped with what he was tasked to do, but his side’s problems lay up front. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Jordi Alba – 5 out of 10 Should have connected and scored after Messi’s beautiful lofted pass early on. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Ivan Rakitic – 5 out of 10 An underwhelming display, with no notable moments of invention on a night when Barca needed his vision and creativity. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Sergio Busquets – 6 out of 10 Did the simple stuff in the centre of the park, as you might expect, but it would take more than that to break down the Juventus defence. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Andres Iniesta – 6 out of 10 Showed the most of any Barca midfielder, but that’s not saying much. A devilish first half cross was one of the few to get the better of Chiellini. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Lionel Messi – 6 out of 10 A few neat touches, but we’ve come to expect so much more. Unusually wasteful in front of goal, the best player in the world had a night to forget. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Luis Suarez – 5 out of 10 Uncharacteristically quiet. Chiellini successfully shackled his old foe. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Neymar – 8 out of 10 Barcelona’s best performer, the player most likely to make things happen, but appeared to let his frustration with the officials get the better of him at times. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Gianluigi Buffon – 6 out of 10 Lucky not to be punished by Messi when he failed to collect a corner. Otherwise, was his usual dependable self. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Dani Alves – 7 out of 10 His defensive capabilities were doubted in his final days at the Nou Camp, but showed he can still be relied upon here. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Leonardo Bonucci – 9 out of 10 Chiellini’s equal. Put himself between almost every Barcelona effort and his goal. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Giorgio Chiellini – 9 out of 10 There is perhaps no other current defender you would want in your side when protecting a three goal lead at the Nou Camp. Predictably excellent. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Alex Sandro – 6 out of 10 Weakest member of Juventus’ stubborn backline, but still a creditable display. Owes Khedira after the midfielder bailed him out of a failed attempt to nutmeg Suarez. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Sami Khedira – 7 out of 10 Good defensively, but made the wrong decision while in possession on several occasions when his team were countering. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Miralem Pjanic – 9 out of 10 Hardly put a foot wrong throughout. Known for his creativity, but put a shift in when his side needed him here. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Juan Cuadrado – 7 out of 10 Full of running and energy, posed a constant threat down Juventus’ right, but his team-mates failed to make enough use of him. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Paulo Dybala – 6 out of 10 Did not sparkle like in the first leg but did not have to. Contributed to his side’s dogged rearguard effort. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Mario Mandzukic – 6 out of 10 Has adapted well to his new left-midfield role, chipping in defensively when required. Barcelona 0 Juventus 0 player ratings Gonzalo Higuain – 6 out of 10 Had the chance to steal an unlikely lead for the visitors on the half volley early on but fired high.
Lightning doesn't strike twice
Just as on the eve of his team’s 6-1 comeback against Paris Saint-Germain, Luis Enrique was talking with an impressively assured matter-of-factness about how another “miracle” could rather logically take place ahead of his side’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Juventus. But on this occasion, it wasn't to be. Barcelona huffed and puffed but they were unable to break down an Italian defence that was far more assured and composed than PSG's. The home side certainly had their chances, with Messi missing a number of close range efforts, but they were unable to recreate the magic that saw them through against PSG last month. Unfortunately for Enrique, lightning doesn't strike twice.
Messi receives treatment after his clash with Pjanic (Getty)
No love lost between Alves and his former team-mates
The former Barcelona man had said before the game that he would never be able to return to the Camp Nou, despite spending eight years with the club. "The ego of certain people means I can never return to Barcelona," Dani Alves said. "Their egos are huge and they'll never recognise or admit to what they made me feel." Understandably, then, the 33-year-old was in no mood for pleasantries tonight. He was physical and combative, holding back few punches, and hounded his old team-mates all game long. Putting in a number of crucial challenges and interceptions, Alves was a valuable asset to the visitors. Barcelona's loss is Juventus' gain.
Alves enjoyed a solid evening in defence (Getty)
Neymar the redeemer? Not this time
Neymar delivered one of his finest performances in a Barcelona shirt last month to guide the side to a historic comeback against PSG. The Brazilian was quite simply magical, injecting a sense of dynamism, creativity and urgency into Barca's side as they overturned a foul-goal deficit. Alas, it wasn't to be this time round. Neymar certainly proved to be a nuisance tonight, asking testing questions of the Juventus defence in and around their box, but he lacked that clinical edge to his game. Frustration also appeared to get the better of him at times, too. An unnecessary and unprovoked challenge on Pjanic saw him pick up a yellow card which would have ruled him out of Barcelona's first-leg semi-final had they got there. Against the likes of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, the task at hand was always going to represent a significant set-up from PSG. Neymar the redeemer? Not this time.
Juventus sold as a rock
Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini were quite simply sublime. Dogged, pugnacious and intelligent, the central pairing commanded the Juventus backline all game long. Against such strength and experience, it's no wonder Suarez and co. struggled to find a way through. If it wasn't Bonucci with the last-ditch sliding tackle, it was Chiellini with an all-important interception. Their positioning tonight was equally impressive, confirming their status as the best in the business at penalty box defending. The introduction of Andrea Barzagli, coming on for Dybala with 15 minutes to go, tightened things up at the back for Juventus and firmly closed the door to Barcelona's front men.
Chiellini played a crucial role tonight (Getty)
Dybala enjoys mixed evening | {
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Theater owners are incensed that Sony Pictures Entertainment has insisted in public statements that they are the major reason the studio canceled the release of “The Interview.”
Exhibitors believe that they are being made the scapegoat for the cancellation when many of them only wanted the film’s premiere to be delayed or modified, three theater industry executives tell Variety.
After hackers threatened theaters that screened “The Interview” and moviegoers who bought tickets to the film while evoking the memory of 9/11, Sony said in a statement last week that the majority of exhibitors cancelled their bookings. That characterization has been disputed in exhibition circles. The exhibition executives said that several chains asked only to delay playing the movie until the authorities could discover who was behind the message or had apprehended the criminals who hacked the studio.
Authorities have since said that North Korea is behind the hackings as punishment for Sony backing “The Interview,” which centers on a plot to kill the country’s leader Kim Jong-un.
In an interview with CNN on Friday, Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton said, “The only decision that we have made with respect to release of the film was not to release it on Christmas Day in theaters, after the theater owners declined to show it…Without theaters, we could not release it in the theaters on Christmas Day. We had no choice.”
His remarks came after President Barack Obama said Sony had made a “mistake” in pulling the film because it emboldened the North Korean hackers who have tormented the studio for weeks. Lynton said Sony still hopes to release the film.
Following his interview on CNN, Lynton reached out the heads of major theater chains such as Carmike, Regal and AMC by phone to say that he had not meant to imply they were wholly responsible for the film being pulled and that he understood their safety concerns. Those conversations were civil on both sides, according to individuals with knowledge.
His words may not have done enough to assuage feelings across the exhibition industry. Among the repercussions being weighed are that some exhibitors will refuse to pay Sony the film terms they once did or will decline to guarantee the same screen counts for its lower profile films. They may also be more lax when it comes to promoting Sony films on their websites or in their theaters with posters and other materials. These potential measures have yet to be communicated to Sony.
Sony Pictures still hopes to release “The Interview” by the end of 2014, but the comedy will likely forgo a theatrical release, according to a source close to studio.
Instead, the film will be made available through a patchwork of electronic sell through, video on demand and other home entertainment platforms, the source said. There may be some road blocks. No major distributor has signed on yet and some have expressed concerns that they will be targeted by the hackers who have terrorized Sony for weeks if they carry the picture.
Even if the film secures enough distribution platforms, it may have difficulty recouping the roughly $75 million the studio spent to make and market the picture.
There will also be ruffled feathers to smooth over with theater owners, particularly those that dispute Sony’s claims that their refusal to show the picture led the studio to pull the film. Some theater chains, including Canadian chain Cineplex, suggested opening the film in limited release in a few key markets over the holidays in order to gauge if threats were real. Others, such as Carmike, were careful to say in public statements that they were delaying the release.
Instead of postponing the release or doing a limited rollout, Sony said Wednesday that it had no further release plans for the film — a position it has since modified.
A spokesman for Sony declined to comment. | {
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Not really, and certainly not financially. But apparently we’ve hit a point where My Work Here Is Done.
Let me explain. Ever since I was introduced to Boatmurdered, which is an epic LP (Let’s Play) for Dwarf Fortress, I’ve wanted to create a game that could inspire something similar. To me, Boatmurdered is one of the best things on the internet in terms of humorous content (except maybe this or this).
Boatmurdered?
Why is Boatmurdered so awesome, and what does it represent to me? Well, it starts of slow, pretty much explaining the basics of the game in a slightly-funny way, and seeing the setup of your fortress. But then you have all these further entries in which the players get into a progressively worse situation, and write about it with utter hilarity. Each player has their own style of writing and playing, and so the fortress winds up being this heaping pile of conflicting designs that is part deathtrap and part psychological-horror-movie for its denizens.
None of that was done intentionally by the players, it’s important to note — they were all playing their best, near as I can tell. They were a victim of a combination of the complexity/randomness of the game, their own mistakes, and their own conflicting goals that they set for themselves.
This isn’t a game with a story in a classic sense — it’s not a handcrafted emotional story like Final Fantasy 6 or Silent Hill 2, two of my favorite games. Rather, this is a game where the story emerges dynamically as each game progresses, and the story is always different. There’s enough complexity there that the opportunities for crazy one-of-a-kind things to happen are abundant, and this causes a very unique story to arise in the minds of the players.
For me, ever since I read Boatmurdered it has been a personal goal of mine to create a game in which a story like that would unfold in the minds of players. And then, just as importantly, to have someone funny document their experiences like happened with Boatmurdered. That goal has now been met. :)
The Biscuit Federation
What starts off as basically explaining the game in a funny fashion turns into a funny war story. Not only is this explanation by TotalBiscuit, the #1 PC gaming critic on Youtube, but the whole thing is freaking animated Julian GD. Holy frick! I still have plenty of other career goals, but for me this was a really major one, and it’s been met in a really dramatic fashion! It’s in two parts:
Side Note: Hey, Where Have I Been Lately, Anyway?
You may notice that the date on the second video here is June 17th, so I’m two months late to the party. I knew that the first video had gone up on June 3rd, and really loved it. But somehow the fact that the second part escaped my notice until literally yesterday. I had kind of given up on the second part ever happening (thinking it might be like the tragically cut-short LP of AI War done by Rock Paper Shotgun — which is also hilarious and something I’m honored led to an ongoing joke at their site about Quinn “not having enough iron”).
Anyway. I had been waiting until the Biscuit Federation was complete before I posted about it, and I didn’t realize until now that that was the case. So hence the delay.
But Seriously, Where Have I Been?
If you just follow TLF and not our other games, then you may notice my conspicuous absence lately. I had planned on getting the upcoming expansion for that out a lot sooner than is actually happening, among other things, but that hasn’t been the way events actually unfolded. TLF is in a really good state, so for the most part I’ve been letting it be for the time being.
In the meantime, I spent the bulk of my time porting our entire back catalog of games to Linux, because I’ve been meaning to do that for years and finally felt like I had the time. That process took me surprisingly longer than I expected, but now AI War, Tidalis, Valley 1 and 2, and Skyward Collapse are all Linux games in addition to the Windows and OSX support that they already had. Bionic Dues and TLF already supported Linux, so I was surprised by how long it took to get the other games straightened out, but such is life I suppose.
I also took that opportunity to do some other housekeeping with general business stuff, some tweaks and bugs in older tiles, and so forth.
And then lastly, I’ve also been trying to keep ahead of Keith and the artists (Blue and Cath), who are working on Spectral Empire, our upcoming hex-based 4X. That’s not launching until April 2015, so there’s quite a way to go on it, but that’s what the rest of the staff is primarily focusing on now, and so I’ve been needing to hold up my end.
They all already finished their work on the new TLF expansion for the most part, so all that remains is for me to carve out time in my own schedule to resume working on that and the other planned free enhancements to the base game. Now that all the porting work and other business housekeeping work is done, all the portion of my time that was devoted to that can now be redirected back to TLF. Mostly that is going to kick off next week, but from here on out I’m going to be dividing my attention between TLF and SE. Thanks for your patience in the meantime! | {
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The marijuana shops evoked health and homeopathic care, with names like Dana Point Safe Harbor Collective, Belmont Shore Natural Care, Alternative Herbal Care and Costa Mesa Patients Assn.
Nine dispensaries in all, they appeared to be run by different owners around Orange and Los Angeles counties, little different than any of the hundreds of dispensaries that have popped up in the last five years.
But they were secretly owned and operated by a 56-year-old convicted drug dealer from San Clemente, who used the stores to make millions.
Federal drug agents say John Melvin Walker, who was arrested in October, was one of the biggest players they have prosecuted in Southern California’s medical marijuana trade. They could recall only one similar case, a man who used the proceeds of his seven dispensaries to buy land in Costa Rica.
On Monday, Walker is expected to appear at the U.S. Courthouse in Santa Ana to plead guilty to two felony counts: conspiracy to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and tax evasion. He must forfeit more than $25 million in assets, cash and business interests -- including his Tuscan manor high above the Pacific in San Clemente, two homes in Long Beach and four mobile homes in Mammoth -- and possibly pay $4.3 million in tax restitution.
He faces 10 years to life in prison, but prosecutors say sentencing guidelines call for 21 years to 27 years.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department started the investigation with the help of federal agents.
They took the case to the U.S. attorney because federal penalties are more severe and federal law is clear -- all marijuana possession is illegal -- avoiding the ambiguity of California’s medical cannabis laws, which do not directly address whether commercial sales of pot are legal.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Christine Bautista said it was common for “drug-traffickers like [Walker] to hide behind the facade of medical marijuana laws and compassionate care, to make millions of dollars and conceal their identities as the true owners/operators of a string of marijuana stores.”
She didn’t know of any other cases involving so many stores.
“It appeared from evidence that he ran a tight ship,” she said. “He instituted regular procedures at all nine shops. He regularly visited to observe. He required managers to report midday and end-of-day figures to him to show cash on hand.”
At the Dana Point shop, detectives found spreadsheets showing sales over 10 months totaled $3.17 million, with $2.47 million cash on hand, according to an affidavit.
When Orange County sheriff’s detectives first conducted searches of properties owned by Walker and his cohorts, they were staggered by the cash. At a Walker rental in Long Beach, they found $390,160.00 in four grocery bags in his garage, along with a shotgun, a Beretta handgun and a Chinese AK-47 with a bayonet. At a house in San Clemente, they found stacks of bills stuffed in furniture, in an Igloo cooler and on an ironing board, totaling about $700,000.
In February 2012, 14 people, including Walker -- also known as “Pops” -- were indicted on 14 counts and arrested.
The indictment alleged that Walker failed to report any income from the shops to the IRS and that he told his bookkeeper “to destroy all records pertaining to income generated at the marijuana dispensaries shortly after they were generated and not to create records that fully identified Walker’s connection to the marijuana dispensaries.”
According to his plea agreement, he might have to forfeit his properties, $535,291 in currency and give up any benefits he got from a $700,000 loan he made to a Charles Westlund and Silent Strippers LLC, and whatever interests he had in six businesses.
Walker’s attorney, Kate T. Corrigan, said Walker is a “devoted family man, a very active parent” to young children. She declined to say how many.
“He is completely devastated that he is going to be separated from his children, and they’ll be separated from him,” Corrigan said. “They’re going to be growing up fatherless.”
--
[email protected] | {
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Dansk astronaut nægtet indrejse i atmosfæren
På grund af manglende tilknytning til planeten Jorden har den intergalaktiske styrelse for opholdstilladelse og immigration (ISO) nægtet den danske astronaut Andreas Mogensen at vende tilbage.
Kun få dage efter sin opsendelse i rummet oplever den danske astronaut Andreas Mogensen sit første mareridt. Han har nemlig fået afslag på indrejse i atmosfæren efter sin mission, hvor han i otte dage skal lave raketvidenskab på Den Internationale Rumstation (ISS).
Begrundelsen på afslaget er, at Andreas Mogensens tilknytning til planeten Jorden er utilstrækkelig. Det bekræfter fuldmægtig Tasha Yar fra den intergalaktiske styrelse for opholdstilladelse og integration (ISO).
“Andreas Mogensen har kun opholdt sig på planeten Jorden i den periode af sit liv, han allerede har levet, og det er ikke nok til automatisk at få indrejsetilladelse,” udtaler hun.
ISS bør tilbyde asyl
Tasha Yar mener, at ISS bør give den danske astronaut asyl.
“Han har en meget stærk tilknytning til rumstationen, i og med, at hans krop i disse dage befinder sig netop der. Desuden følges han til stationen med en person, der bliver der i længere tid, så der er ingen grund til, at Andreas Mogensen absolut skal tilbage,” siger hun og tilføjer, at han selvfølgelig også kan vælge at drive formålsløst rundt i rummet, til han måske støder på en venligtsindet planet, hvis krav om indrejse- og opholdstilladelse er mindre strenge end Jordens.
Ingen hjælp fra Danmark
I Danmark afviser Udlændingestyrelsen at hjælpe Andreas Mogensen.
“Vi udtaler os normalt ikke om enkeltsager, men den her sag er stærkt utroværdig. Andreas Mogensen hævder at være rejst gennem Mexico, USA, Canada, Frankrig, Libyen, Egypten, Sudan og Etiopien, men det kan slet ikke lade sig gøre på så kort tid. Desuden kan han ikke fremvise gyldigt visum til nogle af landene. I det hele taget er rejsemønstret så usædvanligt, at vi ikke kan udfylde vores formularer korrekt, og derfor kan vi ikke oprette en sag, som vi kan tage stilling til,” beklager Anders Holmblad fra Udlændingestyrelsen og slutter:
“I øvrigt hævder Andreas Mogensen, at han er astronaut. Det ville han næppe være, hvis han oprigtigt havde ønsket at leve og arbejde i Danmark. Jeg gætter på, at han i virkeligheden er terrorist.” | {
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The new Edge came sliding through my letterbox today. I was about to cut it up and reassemble it into a huge paper effigy of myself, like I always do, but then something caught my eye. An interview with Interplay’s president, Eric Caen? Ooh. What does he have to say?
Some quite heartening things about Fallout Online, as it turns out.
In short, there are 90 people at Interplay currently developing Fallout Online, and both the game and its beta are both scheduled for 2012. Caen says that “Even in January 2009, you were already able to move across the world,” so it sounds like the game’s a ways into development. He also says that the team are planning on amassing one MILLION subscribers, which strikes me as a pretty meaningless number.
On the subject of what Interplay are actually doing with Fallout Online, Caen is naturally pretty cagey, but the few things he does say have been published on the Edge site. To whit:
I think [Bethesda] miss a lot of the humour. Our Fallout MMOG will be extremely funny. At the same time, an MMOG must be a lot deeper than a standalone game… you can shoot, but it’s a very small portion of the game. The game itself is about reconstructing the world.
He also says Fallout Online will be unique in its approach to communication systems, and goes on to joke about Trolls receiving SMS messages from one another in World of Warcraft. So, by the sounds of things there’ll be some kind of player courier network, or fighting over radio stations. Reconstructing the world, and communication systems providing a unique challenge? Colour me very curious indeed.
If the idea of waiting more than a year doesn’t faze you, you can sign up for a place in Fallout Online’s beta on the official site. | {
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From Linus Torvalds <> Date Fri, 3 Aug 2018 09:37:35 -0700 Subject Re: LVM snapshot broke between 4.14 and 4.16 [ Dammit. I haven't had to shout and curse at people for a while, but
this is ABSOLUTELY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE UNIVERSE WHEN IT
COMES TO SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT ]
On Fri, Aug 3, 2018 at 6:31 AM Zdenek Kabelac <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> IMHO (as the author of fixing lvm2 patch) user should not be upgrading kernels
> and keep running older lvm2 user-land tool (and there are very good reasons
> for this).
Yeah, HELL NO!
Guess what? You're wrong. YOU ARE MISSING THE #1 KERNEL RULE.
We do not regress, and we do not regress exactly because your are 100% wrong.
And the reason you state for your opinion is in fact exactly *WHY* you
are wrong.
Your "good reasons" are pure and utter garbage.
The whole point of "we do not regress" is so that people can upgrade
the kernel and never have to worry about it.
> Kernel had a bug which has been fixed
That is *ENTIRELY* immaterial.
Guys, whether something was buggy or not DOES NOT MATTER.
Why?
Bugs happen. That's a fact of life. Arguing that "we had to break
something because we were fixing a bug" is completely insane. We fix
tens of bugs every single day, thinking that "fixing a bug" means that
we can break something is simply NOT TRUE.
So bugs simply aren't even relevant to the discussion. They happen,
they get found, they get fixed, and it has nothing to do with "we
break users".
Because the only thing that matters IS THE USER.
How hard is that to understand?
Anybody who uses "but it was buggy" as an argument is entirely missing
the point. As far as the USER was concerned, it wasn't buggy - it
worked for him/her.
Maybe it worked *because* the user had taken the bug into account,
maybe it worked because the user didn't notice - again, it doesn't
matter. It worked for the user.
Breaking a user workflow for a "bug" is absolutely the WORST reason
for breakage you can imagine.
It's basically saying "I took something that worked, and I broke it,
but now it's better". Do you not see how f*cking insane that statement
is?
And without users, your program is not a program, it's a pointless
piece of code that you might as well throw away.
Seriously. This is *why* the #1 rule for kernel development is "we
don't break users". Because "I fixed a bug" is absolutely NOT AN
ARGUMENT if that bug fix broke a user setup. You actually introduced a
MUCH BIGGER bug by "fixing" something that the user clearly didn't
even care about.
And dammit, we upgrade the kernel ALL THE TIME without upgrading any
other programs at all. It is absolutely required, because flag-days
and dependencies are horribly bad.
And it is also required simply because I as a kernel developer do not
upgrade random other tools that I don't even care about as I develop
the kernel, and I want any of my users to feel safe doing the same
time.
So no. Your rule is COMPLETELY wrong. If you cannot upgrade a kernel
without upgrading some other random binary, then we have a problem.
Linus
| {
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Wow - Google just decided to drop a [small] bomb on us this morning, a la the Google Play Edition Moto G, available immediately on the US Play Store website.
The 8GB model will cost the same $179 that it does at 3rd party retailers for the Motorola version, and the 16GB edition is a mere $20 more, at $199. We definitely didn't see that one coming today!
The device features the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core processor, quad-band HSPA+ connectivity, and 4.5" 720p display as it was originally unveiled with. The only difference, of course, is that it is running 100% stock Android 4.4, not that Motorola's own software strays too far from that experience to begin with. Head over to Google Play to grab one now.
Google Play | {
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Series: practices
January 7, 2014 - 09:35:45 AM
It all started with a JavaScript error…
Uncaught SyntaxError : Unexpected token ILLEGAL
I was trying to catch up on my RSS items, but nothing was rendering on the page.
I dumped some debugging info and opened an issue on GitHub. I found a workaround, but it involved marking all my stories as read. No time to look into this issue now.
February 24, 2014 - 02:17:58 PM
Several other users have reported experiencing the same bug. A potential fix that involved removing unprintable characters ( .gsub(/[^[:print:]]/, '') ) was proposed but didn’t seem to completely address the issue.
March 27, 2014 - 10:00:15 PM
A comment on the [still unresolved] bug triggered an email notification from GitHub earlier this morning. I had some time to look into it after work.
I went back to my original bug report and tried to create a minimal test case that would reproduce the bug. I opened up the Chrome Dev console and started pasting in chunks of the large string I was trying to parse.
Using a primitive form of git bisect , I tried the first half of the string to see if the error happened again. Nope. I halved the remaining part of the string. I repeated until I had it narrowed down to a few characters.
The string in question was “QNk8n”. Nothing jumps out as being extraordinary about that string.
I pasted it into an irb session and found the likely culprit:
irb ( main ): 001 : 0 > "QNk8n \U +FFE2 \U +FFA8"
Some weird unicode characters were being tacked onto the end!
Googling for “unicode 2028 javascript” led me to a really excellent blog post explaining that JSON is not a true subset of JavaScript.
The long and short of it: u+2028 and u+2029 are valid JSON but not valid JavaScript. My app was trying to parse the JSON representation of the RSS articles into JavaScript (via backbone.js) to be rendered.
I wrote a failing test and then fixed the bug (confession: my first bug fix passed the test but created another, whoops).
Pushed. Deployed. Did a little dance.
March 30, 2014 - 06:56:19 PM
I wanted to get this fix upstream. In addition to wanting to give back, I didn’t want to have to implement this “hack” in my own app.
Next up the chain was feedjira — the gem I was using to parse RSS feeds. Ultimately, this code probably belonged in loofah — an HTML sanitization gem used by feedjira , but that library seemed to be dormant.
After a brief discussion with maintainer Jon Allured, we both agreed to try to get the fixes into loofah . If we couldn’t, we would patch it in feedjira .
April 6, 2014 - 06:00:01 PM
Finally got around to opening an issue with loofah . I proposed that we add code to deal with the Evil JSON Characters as part of loofah ’s sanitization process.
Project maintainer Mike Dalessio said this fix would be well received and pointed me toward the relevant sections of the codebase.
April 12, 2014 - 06:04:22 PM
Deep dive into the loofah codebase to add a new “scrubber”!
The loofah architecture was interesting; the scrubbers are basically parsers that operate on nokogiri nodes. You can make a top-down or a bottom-up parser and you can control when you break out of the tree as you walk the nodes.
With Mike’s initial direction guiding me, I got a working implementation and opened a pull request.
April 21, 2014 - 06:20:36 PM
A friendly ping to Mike and my PR gets merged.
May 9, 2014 - 06:49:54 PM
loofah version 2.0.0 is released (which includes my fix) and pushed to RubyGems.
Now that the fix has been applied upstream, we now have to update gem versions downstream.
May 13, 2014 - 04:19:17 PM
I open a new PR in feedjira to update the loofah version.
The PR is merged and feedjira version 1.3.0 is released.
May 14, 2014 - 11:44:35 AM
I can bump the versions of feedjira and loofah used in Stringer and I can finally replace the patch with scrub!(:unprintable) .
Victory!
So five months later, my two line of code bug fix has made it all the way upstream and then back again! It may not seem like much, but this is the magic of open source. | {
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The federal judge who halted President Donald Trump's travel ban was wrong in stating that no one from the seven countries targeted in Trump's order has been arrested for extremism in the United States since the 2001 terrorist attacks.
As AP reports,
Just last October, an Iraqi refugee living in Texas pleaded guilty to attempting to provide support to the Islamic State group, accused of taking tactical training and wanting to blow himself up in an act of martyrdom. In November, a Somali refugee injured 11 in a car-and-knife attack at Ohio State University, and he surely would have been arrested had he not been killed by an officer.
The judge, James Robart, was correct in his larger point that the deadliest and most high-profile terrorist attacks on U.S. soil since 9/11 — like the Boston Marathon bombings and the shootings in Orlando, Florida, and San Bernardino, California — were committed either by U.S. citizens or by people from countries other than the seven majority-Muslim nations named in Trump's order.
But he went a step too far at a hearing in Seattle on Friday.
He asked a Justice Department lawyer how many arrests of foreign nationals from the countries have occurred since 9/11. When the lawyer said she didn't know, Robart answered his own question: "Let me tell, you, the answer to that is none, as best I can tell. You're here arguing on behalf of someone that says we have to protect the United States from these individuals coming from these countries and there's no support for that."
Charles Kurzman, a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, says his research shows no Americans have been killed in the U.S. at the hands of people from the seven countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen — since Sept. 11. But it's not quite right to say no one from those nations has been arrested or accused in an extremist-related plot while living in the U.S.
In addition to the cases from last fall, for instance, two men from Iraq were arrested in Kentucky in 2011 and convicted on charges that they plotted to send money and weapons to al-Qaida. They were never accused, though, of plotting attacks on the U.S. Last week, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway wrongly cited their case as a "Bowling Green massacre," which never happened. All told, Kurzman said, 23 percent of Muslim Americans involved with extremist plots since Sept. 11 had family backgrounds from the seven countries.
Those darn 'alternative facts' are such trouble... or is it racist when the liberal judiciary is fact-checked? | {
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Alabama’s Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Roy Moore, who was a leading voice in the anti-Obama birther movement, made a campaign stop on Sunday at a predominantly Black church in Birmingham, where he worshipped with the congregation for the entire service, WBRC-TV reported.
READ MORE: Roy Moore’s Child Molester Allegations Are Disgusting, But Don’t Forget He’s A Racist, Too
Bishop Jim Lowe, of Guiding Light Church, thanked Moore for accepting his invitation and applauded the former judge for his conservative values, including his 2003 fighting to keep a Ten Commandments monument posted at a state building. “The law said he should remove them. He said, ‘no, this is the word of God.’ He wouldn’t support same-sex marriage. The law says support it. He said, ‘but the law of God is supreme.’ He’s on a cross. He’s being crucified now,” Lowe said.
Roy Moore just made his only public appearance for wknd–at a predominately-black church in Birmingham. Spoke for 5 mins. No political talk. One woman, a congregant who characterized congregation as mostly DEM, told me: "We were shocked," tho noting everyone is a child of God. pic.twitter.com/kGxpsBfXKE — Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) December 3, 2017
Moore spoke briefly, explaining to the congregation that he couldn’t “talk about politics or anything,” but thanked them for their support. With the Dec. 12 special election just one week away, the candidate is trying to get every vote possible in the suddenly tight race. Several women have accused Moore of having sexual contact with them as teenagers (one of them just 14) when he was in his 30s. The scandal allowed his Democratic rival Doug Jones to suddenly become competitive. Analysts say that Jones could win if he gets the support of Republicans who are disgusted by Moore and if Jones could inspire African Americans to vote for him in large numbers.
READ MORE: Will Alabama’s Black Voters Turnout For Crucial Senate Race?
At the end of the service, Moore shook hands with members of the congregation but had little to say to reporters. He did, however, comment that he agreed with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who stated that morning on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that Alabama voters will decided weather Moore gets elected. When the scandal broke, McConnell joined the chorus calling on the embattled candidate to drop out of the race.
SOURCE: WBRC-TV
SEE ALSO:
Roy Moore’s Campaign Borrows A Page From Trump’s Anti-Media Playbook
Will More Advertisers Follow Keurig And Realtor.com’s Lead In Protesting Hannity’s Roy Moore Coverage? | {
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about using a fold-down ironing board as a dinner table and a board across sawhorses as a desk?
Oh, yeahlies, just lies.
Besides, anyone who has ever done much real studying or writing at a desk knows that a board laid across sawhorses wont cut it. It wouldnt be stable enough for writing.
A board across two stacks of bricks might do for a desk (though I can think of better ways to fake a desk from cheap materials), and the same structure doubled or tripled will make a typical poor student bookshelf. But a board across sawhorses wont make a usable desk.
As for the ironing board tablemaybe they didnt know what an ironing board was for, since their servants did all the ironing for them. Nahit was just another blatant, ridiculous lie.
If you are going to iron your clothes on a surface with a cloth cover, the last thing you would want to risk would be the sort of drips and stains that eating could cause on that surface. Ironing boards have cloth covers, and it would not be easy to get food stains out of a cloth cover. You cant just wipe that clean the way you would wipe a wooden or plastic table top clean!
Her fantasy version of how you people live when we are too poor to purchase the sort of furnishings more affluent people have is so unlikely that it just reeks of falsehoodand, even worse, of condescension.
And now she admits they have not struggled financially, which is essentially admitting that the whole starving newlywed students story was just so much made-up BS.
I teach college English. One thing I warn my students to avoid is making up hypothetical examples to illustrate or support their points. I tell them that if they really know their topic, they will usually have real examples to use, and if they dont know the topic well enough to have real examples, then they run the risk of creating hypothetical examples that wont ring true to people who do know the subject well. That happens because there will always be little details that someone who doesnt really know the topic will inevitably screw up.
Thats not a 100% rule, since a writer who really does know a topic can create hypothetical examples that will ring true, but its at least a 99% rule for any but the most experienced and skillful writers.
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The Federal Government’s mandatory internet service provider (ISP) level filter is still on the agenda, according to the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.
Gillard said the government had “worked through” with ISPs on a system that would meet its stated policy objectives while not slowing internet speeds.
“We obviously want people to have faster internet speeds because this is the transformative technology of the future and that’s why we’re building the National Broadband Network,” she said.
“But we’ve been working with internet service providers to try and make sure that we’re not slowing speeds. People want fast internet, but we are dealing with content that is really repulsive and illegal content.”
The issue of slower internet speeds was highlighted in the results of Enex TestLab’s test pilot into mandatory ISP-level content filtering.
Gillard said the government was persisting with the filter in order to gain consistency in its classification regime across different media.
“There’s a pretty simple concept here; there are some things that we do not allow to be shown in our cinemas or on our TV screens because they’re grossly offensive and wrong, and we don’t want those things percolating throughout our society through the internet,” she said.
However, it is understood that legislation supporting the filtering project may not hit parliament until mid-2013 in time for the next election.
The timing is due to a postponement of the legislation to allow for a review of the Refused Classification category of content — which the filter is intended to block — was carried out by the Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O’Connor, for the consideration of federal and state attorneys-general.
The attorneys-general were slated to meet in November 2010 to confirm the review then consider the scope of methodology of the review in March this year, with recommendations to be presented back to the attorneys-general in early 2012.
“It may then take [the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General] a number of meetings before it reaches consensus on any recommendations from the review,” read the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy briefing documents on the timing of the filter.
“This suggests legislation for mandatory filtering may not be able to be introduced into parliament before the middle of 2013.”
The decision to push ahead with the filter also comes despite the Coalition and the Greens confirming plans to block legislation associated with the controversial project when it does finally hit parliament.
Follow Tim Lohman on Twitter: @tlohman
Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAu | {
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At the heart of a controversy that may cost Brigham Young University its police department is a simple question: When can an officer look at a report from another agency?
Investigators are allowed to read the records from other departments only when it is for a legitimate law enforcement purpose.
But one BYU lieutenant was under the cloud of a criminal investigation for two years for his record searches after leaders from other Utah County law enforcement agencies questioned his actions.
So what did he actually search?
Surrounding this unprecedented case has been intense secrecy — from BYU, police investigators and from the courts itself.
This week, The Salt Lake Tribune received public records that, for the first time, show what Lt. Aaron Rhoades had actually been typing into the database during the two-year period in question.
Rhoades looked at thousands of records from other agencies and often focused his searches specifically on sex crimes, according to logs released Thursday by the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
The logs show Rhoades searched specifically for sex offenses 50 times, sometimes perusing a half dozen or so police reports from agencies around the county in a single day. He also made hundreds of searches for individual names and then looked at related reports.
Those names are blacked out in the 81-page report because of privacy concerns, according to a letter from a Utah County civil attorney.
Rhoades did search for other things in the database. He typed in terms like “bicycle,” “cell phone” and “safe” — and once he did several searches for a combination of the words “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” — but all of those searches combined are still less than the number of times he specifically looked for sex offenses.
State authorities believe Rhoades accessed these private reports from Orem police, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and Provo police from August 2014 through May 2016. They say Rhoades took information and shared it with BYU’s Dean of Students Office, the Title IX Office and the Honor Code Office.
Article continues below
If true, it could be a violation of Utah law.
Rhoades’ attorney disputes that allegation. Derek Williams said in a statement Friday that his client was looking at sex assault reports to understand the trends and occurrences in nearby areas. He taught a women’s self-defense class on campus, Williams said, and used the information from those police reports to assist in classroom instruction.
Williams asserts that Rhoades never downloaded or disseminated those reports or shared confidential information in his classes — though the logs show that Rhoades did print about 30 reports in that two-year time frame.
“Lt. Rhoades always strived to remain knowledgeable and informed about criminal activity occurring in the areas surrounding the campus and students he worked to protect," Williams said, “and this was his responsibility for much of his career.”
Rhoades retired from the BYU Police Department last fall, according to his attorney, and later gave up his police certification after the regulating agency began its own investigation into his records sharing. He had been a police officer in Utah for 34 years, according to state authorities.
BYU officials declined to comment for this story, referring questions about Rhoades’ search history to his lawyer. A BYU spokeswoman has previously said that there are times when BYUPD communicates with the Dean of Students Office on suicide threats or other public safety incidents, and said the police department must report on-campus sexual assault to the Title IX Office.
The Tribune obtained BYU documents in 2016 that in one case showed Rhoades accessed the database to collect information from a Provo police report for an Honor Code investigation of an alleged sexual assault victim.
According to the documents, an Honor Code investigator contacted Rhoades in 2015 asking him for information in the rape case. The lieutenant looked at the records that same day, and relayed intimate, nonpublic details about the case back to the investigator.
BYU is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its Honor Code is a set of administrative rules that forbids alcohol and coffee, restricts contact between male and female students, imposes a strict dress code and bans expressions of romantic affection between people of the same gender.
State authorities began investigating BYU police and Rhoades’ records access in 2016 amid reports from BYU students who said they were investigated by the Honor Code Office after reporting sexual assaults.
The investigation was closed after the Utah attorney general’s office decided not to prosecute Rhoades for any crimes. State officials have remained tight-lipped about their investigation and have blocked The Tribune’s records request seeking information about what they found after a Utah judge issued a secrecy order nearly three years ago at the request of prosecutors.
That secrecy order remains in place. The Tribune is awaiting a judge’s decision on whether the newspaper can intervene and ask for the records to be unsealed.
State officials have fought with BYU over how they have handled investigations into Rhoades’ actions.
In March, the state announced that it intends to decertify the entire BYU police force for violations, including failure to do an internal investigation involving misuse of protected police records and failing to respond to subpoenas issued as state regulators were investigating Rhoades. BYU has appealed the decision, calling it an “extreme and unprecedented action” that is “factually and legally baseless.” | {
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In an interview with Joel Suss, editor of the British Politics and Policy blog, Ha-Joon Chang discusses his new book, Economics: The User’s Guide, and the need for a pluralist approach to economics. He recently gave a public lecture at the LSE, the video of which can be seen here.
In a recent article, you wrote: “the economy is too important to be left to professional economists, and that includes me.” Can you elaborate on what you mean?
I don’t mean to suggest that expertise is unimportant. You can’t run a sophisticated modern economy on Maoist lines, that says that anyone can do anything therefore we don’t need experts. No, I don’t believe in that. Experts are crucial; there are a lot of technical things that only experts can know. However, if you want to have a meaningful democracy expertise should be harnessed by the general will, by the general public. Unless the general public is informed by basic economic theory and by key economic facts, they’re going to make wrong decisions. Members of the general public have a duty to educate themselves in economics to an extent so that they make enlightened decisions. Then the details can be sorted out by the experts. We have instead created a system where self-appointed experts basically run the show and democracies become a kind of rubber stamp because people don’t understand what’s going on and they don’t want to understand what’s going on.
People have strong opinions on all sorts of things – gay marriage, Iraq, abortion, global warming – without having any qualifications to make informed judgments. I don’t have a degree in international relations but I have a view on Afghanistan. How come everyone thinks that economics is too difficult, too technical? People make strong judgments on the basis of having some basic knowledge about international politics or some climate science, they are not making this judgment based on sophisticated expert knowledge, and that’s all I’m asking when it comes to economic matters as well.
Unfortunately we economists have been very successful in convincing people that what we do is very difficult and that people won’t understand it even if we explained it to them. There has also been a lot of political interest in keeping economics away from democratic debate, keeping it away from the general public by making people believe that it is very difficult. There is therefore a lack of a real debate except yes, monetary policy should be run by the Bank of England or the Federal Reserve Board, or utility regulation can be done by some special committee. After a while you realise that there’s no substance to democracy because all of the important decisions have been farmed out to these expert groups. That’s what needs to change.
Should monetary policy not be completely independent of politics? Should voters have a role to play?
Not that it has been hugely effective, but at least in the US the Chair of the Federal Reserve Board has to sit in front of a Congressional Committee and get grilled once every 6 months. On the other hand, the European Central Bank has no accountability whatsoever. They are totally free from democracy. That’s what needs changing. Perhaps we should elect the members of the board of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. Why not? I’m not necessarily advocating the election of board members but there needs to be some kind of democratic accountability in these expert groups. There needs to be some balance; you don’t want things to be decided purely on political convenience without any kind of technical competence or expert opinion. On the other hand, experts are not pure technocrats. They have their views. Central bankers may not be overtly political; they may not be a member of some political party but they represent a particular worldview. They are usually people from the financial community and, without meaning to be biased, tend to look at the world through a specific lens. There needs to be some kind of counter to that. If you are uncomfortable with having people without any economics background then at least ask the trade unions or citizen groups or something to recommend an economist who can sit in there who can represent other interests. At the moment it is full of people either from the financial industry or purely from academic backgrounds, so monetary policy gets decided in a very particular way.
You’re also critical of how mainstream economic thought dominates academia…
I sometimes liken the economics profession to the Catholic clergy in the Middle Ages. Unless you knew Latin you couldn’t even read the Bible because the Pope refused to let the Bible be translated into the local languages. You had to either learn Latin or take their word for it. Economics has become completely inaccessible to many people so we need to change this in the way that some of the religious reforms back then tried to do. In those days, religious reformers promoted the translation of the Bible into local languages and the reading of Bible by common people. They emphasised the authority of the Bible rather than what the Vatican says is in the Bible. They, if you like, democratised the religion. Something similar to that is necessary now once again. This is not to say that we don’t need academic economists; those people are necessary. But it has to be related to what’s going on in the real world. Unfortunately a lot of my academic colleagues not only do not work on the real world, but are not even interested in the real world.
What kind of heterodox or alternative streams of economic thought would you like to see in the mainstream?
I don’t like the term heterodox because it’s relative. It already assumes that there is an orthodox position and everything else is heterodox. What is heterodox can change all the time. In the 1950s Milton Friedman was heterodox. My position is that we need a pluralist approach where no theory is superior to any other theory. In my new book I explain that there are at least 9 major schools of economics, possibly another half dozen if you include some minor schools or split bigger schools into sub-schools and so on. There are many different economic theories and they all have something to contribute. They have their weaknesses and strengths because they all make certain assumptions about ethics and politics. They all have different theories about how economies develop, different visions of what an ideal society looks like and so on. People should be exposed to as broad a range of theories as possible in order to have a more sophisticated view of the world. By looking at many theories you get to see the world in a more complicated way.
I want teach my readers how to think not what to think. What conclusion they draw is up to them; I’m simply giving the necessary tools in terms of different theories and historical background and facts as they stand today so that they can make a more informed decision. One great example that you can use here is Singapore. If you read only The Economist or the Wall Street Journal you will only hear about the country’s free trade policy and welcoming attitude to foreign investors. You will never be told that 90 per cent of the land is owned by the government, 85 per cent of housing is provided by government owned housing corporation, and a staggering 22 per cent of GDP is produced by state owned enterprise when the equivalent ratio on average worldwide is around 9 per cent. Singapore combines the features of extreme capitalism and extreme socialism, so what is it? There’s no single economic theory that can explain Singapore. Reality is very complex, therefore I’m encouraging my readers to look at the different theories and try to apply different theories in different contexts.
What are the wider implications of a dominant economics worldview which posits individuals as rational actors, as agents acting in their own self-interest and systematically weighing costs and benefits? Some people argue that the logic of the market has, as a result, become embedded in our daily, personal interactions.
Yes, that’s right. Of course it would be silly to deny that we at least try to be rational. There are rationalist aspects in what we do. Human beings are at least partly motivated by selfish interest. But this very narrow view of human nature has actually created a kind of poor society in the sense of everything being reduced to monetary value. Now people are asking why we need subjects like anthropology or history of art or sociology when all we need is making money. That makes for a very poor society. You are seeing arguments that we should commercialise the BBC so that they can make more things that people can watch without realising that the BBC is the envy worldwide for its ability to produce very high quality cultural programmes. So that kind of worldview has made societies very poor in terms of cultural diversity and things like that. But more importantly it’s created this society where being bad, if you like, is considered something good or even being clever. You are actually a sucker if you don’t cheat. Once you begin to understand the world in this very narrow, impoverished way then you will create a society which is actually very inefficient. Then you will have to say well everyone’s out to cheat and promote their own self-interest so we have to monitor everyone all the time, and then who’s going to monitor the monitors? We have to hire monitors who can monitor the monitors and so on and so on. Society becomes very inefficient not to speak of being very unpleasant.
Note: This article gives the views of the interviewee, and not the position of the British Politics and Policy blog, nor of the London School of Economics. Please read our comments policy before posting.
About the Interviewee
Ha-Joon Chang – University of Cambridge
Dr Ha-Joon Chang has been teaching economics at the Faculty of Economics and the Development Studies programme at the University of Cambridge since 1990. Economics: The User’s Guide was published in April 2014, and Chang is also the author of Kicking Away the Ladder, Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade, and 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism. | {
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At the 2014 NAMM Show, there were more new analog synths than we have ever seen at the show. There were new analogs from companies like Korg, Moog and Elektron; there were a lot of interesting new synths from smaller companies; and there were several all-in-one Eurorack synth modules.
Here’s a roundup of the full-fledged analog synthesizers introduced at the 2014 NAMM Show:
Let us know if there were other new analogs that belong on the list. And let us know what you think of the latest crop of analog gear for synthesists! | {
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The New Democratic Party has announced Mumilaaq Qaqqaq will be its candidate in Nunavut in the upcoming federal election.
In an event held at the pavilion in Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park, Qaqqaq zeroed in on three campaign priorities: youth, housing and implementing the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Peoples.
Qaqqaq, 25, says the NDP offered her the ability to be herself in the campaign, though being a candidate wasn't part of her plan before this.
"It wasn't in the plan to be in this position, and I think that can be really powerful, because it is a fresh perspective," she said. "It's an opportunity that came my way and I took it."
She says she wants to be a leader to youth, which she called the largest demographic in the territory.
Qaqqaq has spoken for youth before when she sat in the seat for Nunavut's member of Parliament in the House of Commons during a mock parliament on International Women's Day in 2017.
The Daughters of the Vote program was organized by Equal Voice to encourage women to participate in politics.
Qaqqaq was one of 30 young women chosen to give a speech that day. She spoke about how hard it is for Inuit to face suicide alone.
CBC Northbeat's Juanita Taylor will speak to every candidate aiming to represent one of the territories in the Oct. 21 election. Watch her conversation with Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, the NDP candidate for Nunavut. 3:47
Recognizing diversity in Nunavut
Qaqqaq is originally from Baker Lake, but now lives in Iqaluit.
Before she began campaigning, she was working as an Inuit employment officer with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
She has also worked as a wellness program specialist with the government of Nunavut and with Northern Youth Abroad.
Mumilaaq Qaqqaq's campaign launch event was held in the pavilion of the Sylvia Grinnell territorial park. (Sara Frizzell/CBC)
"Through my previous jobs, I feel that I have a really good grasp on understanding that there is big diversity, although we do often face the same issues," she said.
"Some [solutions] are going to make more sense in one side of the territory than the other."
The NDP platform promises to put the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into Canadian law.
NDP MP Romeo Saganash introduced a private member's bill that would have ensured federal laws are in harmony with UNDRIP. It passed in the House of Commons, but did not become law before the election.
For Qaqqaq, making UNDRIP law in Canada would recognize the unique culture and distinct challenges Nunavummiut face.
"That's the right to self-determination, that right to have schools and culture centres that makes sense for us," she said.
The Green Party candidate for Nunavut is Douglas Roy. The election is on Oct. 21. | {
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Political scientists Matthew Grossmann and David Hopkins think the Democratic and Republican parties really are different, and in a series of papers, they're trying to prove it.
In "Policymaking in Red and Blue," Grossmann and Hopkins state their conclusion plainly: "the Republican Party is dominated by ideologues who are committed to small-government principles, while Democrats represent a coalition of social groups seeking public policies that favor their particular interests."
Policymaking has a liberal bias
Let's pause here. The word "ideologue" is a technical term within political science but an insult within American politics. There is nothing wrong with approaching politics ideologically — and that's particularly true when you compare it to the major alternatives, which are approaching it transactionally or as a pure partisan. Nevertheless, if I keep writing this piece using the word ideologue it will sound like I'm just insulting Republicans over and over again. From here on out I'm going to use the less precise, but also less loaded, "philosopher."
BOehner: "We ought to be judged on how many laws we repeal."
So let's restate: Democrats are more focused on making policy to appease their various interest groups and Republicans are more focused on proving their commitment to the small-government philosophy that unites their base.
As Speaker John Boehner put it when he was asked about the slow pace of lawmaking in his House, "we should not be judged on how many new laws we create. We ought to be judged on how many laws we repeal."
I came to Grossmann and Hopkins' papers skeptically. Most efforts to outline the differences between the two parties end up being reasons that the author prefers one party to the other, or prove to be descriptions of the parties right now that will change as soon as the White House flips. But Grossmann and Hopkins have amassed some impressive evidence.
1) There are more conservatives than liberals but more Democrats than Republicans
This is an old finding in American politics, but a powerful one. More Americans consistently identify as conservative than liberal. At the same time more Americans consistently identify as Democrats than as Republicans.
On its face, this presents a puzzle: how can conservatism be the more popular ideology even as the Democrats are the more popular party?
Grossmann and Hopkins disagree. They see this not as a puzzle about American politics but as an explanation for why it works the way it does. They note that 73 percent of Republican voters say they're conservative but only 42 percent of Democratic voters say they're liberal. And they note that while voters tend to agree with Republicans on the philosophical questions in American politics (should government be smaller?) they tend to agree with Democrats on the policy questions in American politics (like should Social Security be smaller?).
73 percent of Republican voters say they're conservative but only 42 percent of Democratic voters say they're liberal
The Republican Party, in other words, has a very good reason to base itself around philosophical conservatism, while the Democratic Party has a very good reason to base itself around policy deliverables. And so the Republican Party bases itself around philosophical conservatism and the Democratic Party bases itself around policy deliverables.
The question, of course, is how to test this: what would you ask Democrats and Republicans to test whether one side was there for the philosophy and the other side was there for the policy? Luckily, pollsters have more or less solved this problem.
2) Republicans prefer purity, Democrats prefer compromise
Since at least 2007, the Pew Research Center has asked Democrats and Republicans whether they prefer politicians who stick to their principles or politicians who compromise. This is a clever way of testing voters' interest in passing policy, as the American political system famously requires compromise to get anything done.
The chart above shows the results: Democrats consistently prefer politicians who compromise and Republicans consistently prefer politicians who stick to their principles.
"Republicans have been consistent in their elevation of principle over moderation, regardless of which party is in power"
What's remarkable is that held true even when Republicans controlled the White House. "Though they voiced strong disapproval of Bush, Democrats still expressed a preference for compromise in government — a tendency that has carried over to the Obama era," write Grossmann and Hopkins. "Republicans have been consistent in their elevation of principle over moderation, regardless of which party is in power."
That is...extraordinary. Even when a Republican president was facing a Democratic Congress, Republicans did not choose the answer that would have helped their president get more done. And even when a Republican president was facing a Democratic Congress, Democrats did not choose the answer that would have stiffened their party's spine against passing Bush's bills. I would have bet money against surveys showing this kind of stability between Democratic and Republican administrations. This is a difference between the two parties that runs deep.
3) Democrats are under more pressure from interest groups to pass policy
Another difference between the Democratic and Republican parties is that Democrats answer to more interest groups than Republicans.
Grossmann and Hopkins assemble studies showing that Democratic delegates at both national and state conventions report more organization memberships than Republican delegates, suggesting that Democratic conventions are the site of more organized interest group activity than Republican conventions. They also note a study showing that more interest groups make endorsements in Democratic primaries than in Republican primaries.
The graphic above is perhaps the most persuasive evidence of the density of the Democratic interest-group ecosystem: it connects interest groups that endorsed more than one of the same candidate or bill in the 2001-2002 Congress and the 2002 midterm election. So, if the AFL-CIO and the Sierra Club both endorsed Senator Mary Landrieu for reelection and they also both endorsed No Child Left Behind, they get a line. The more shared endorsements between two groups, the thicker the line connecting them; the more total connections any individual group has to other groups, the larger the circle they get.
there are more organized groups asking Democrats for policy than asking Republicans for policy
You can see the results. The ecosystem of interest groups making endorsements on the Democratic side is both larger and more interconnected than on the Republican side; there are more organized groups asking Democrats for policy than asking Republicans for policy.
But Democratic interest groups aren't just more numerous; they're also more persistent. "The Democratic Party contains strong links between its electoral and legislative coalitions...The diverse groups that come together to support the same candidates also ally when it comes to passing bills in Congress," write Grossmann and Hopkins. "The Republican Party lacks similar ties between its electoral and legislative coalitions, mostly because few of its groups regularly join coalitions to support or oppose legislation."
Which isn't to say that the Republican Party doesn't have plenty of interest groups demanding its fealty: the National Rifle Association, the Chamber of Commerce, and National Right to Life all hold enormous sway. Indeed, the relative paucity of interest groups on the right might make the ones that do exist stronger, as Republicans have fewer opportunities to play them off each other. But these numbers help explain why Democratic elected officials feel more pressure to deliver new laws than Republicans.
4) Policymaking has a liberal bias
Democratic presidents talk more about policy, propose more specific policy ideas, and pass more significant pieces of legislation. The numbers are stark. Since 1945, Democratic presidents have put forward 39 percent more policy proposals than Republican presidents, and 62 percent more domestic policy proposals.
"There is a good reason for this asymmetry," write Grossmann and Hopkins. "Democrats and liberals are more likely to focus on policymaking because any change that occurs is much more likely to be liberal than conservative. New policies usually expand the scope of government responsibility, funding, or regulation. There are occasional conservative policy successes as well, but they are less frequent and are usually accompanied by expansion of government responsibility in other areas."
The chart above codes significant policy changes by whether they expand or contract the "scope of government regulation, funding, or responsibility." Policy changes turned out to be more than three times as likely to expand the scope of government than to contract it. This is often true even when Republicans are signing the laws.
President George W. Bush is a good example. He passed a series of tax cuts which conservatives mostly liked. But his other major domestic accomplishments — No Child Left Behind and Medicare Part D — sharply expanded the role of the federal government in education and health care, and today they're used as evidence that Bush wasn't really a conservative president.
The cleanest way to shrink the size of government is to repeal laws and regulations. But it doesn't happen very often. In the American political system, Grossmann says, "it's hard to pass anything, but it's particularly hard to repeal a law that already exists." Systematic analyses show it's rare for laws to be repealed wholesale. "That creates perpetual disappointment among the Republican base," Grossmann continues. "They correctly perceive that their party does not succeed in enacting their professed ideology."
As such, gridlock is often the best small-government conservatives can hope for. And so they're more comfortable with it than Democrats.
The parties act differently because they are different
This data only takes you so far. "Conservatism" is more than just a preference for small government. Democrats are only somewhat more likely to introduce new legislation than Republicans. As Grossmann told me in an interview, "these are differences in degrees that are based on a difference in kind between the party coalitions."
But they're a reminder that American politics is fundamentally rational. Republicans are uncompromising because compromise tends to expand the scope of government. Democrats are willing to make deep concessions because policy moves in a generally liberal direction. Republicans have a clearer message about government because their message about government is fundamentally popular. Democrats talk more about policy because what they have to say about policy is fundamentally popular.
Republicans are uncompromising because compromise tends to expand the scope of government
The data also explains why Democratic and Republicans have so much trouble understanding each other. Democrats tend to project their preference for policymaking onto the Republican Party — and then respond with anger and confusion when Republicans don't seem interested in making a deal. Republicans tend to assume the Democratic Party is more ideological than it is, and so see various policy initiatives as part of an ideological effort to remake America along more socialistic lines.
My main objection to Grossmann and Hopkins' argument is that the relationship between the coalition and "the party" isn't unidirectional. Politicians can change the minds of voters just as surely as voters can change the minds of politicians. What counts as "liberal" has a lot to do with what various influential liberals end up embracing; consider, for example, the way the individual mandate went from something liberals loathed to something they supported over the last 15 years.
It's also worth remembering that these are relative differences between the two parties. Republicans have their policy wonks. Democrats have their ideologues. This data shows the parties are different — not that they never overlap.
Still, there's much that this data does illuminate. I've often heard liberals wonder why there's no Democratic analogue to the Tea Party. I've often heard conservatives complain that their party doesn't spend enough time coming up with serious policy solutions for issues like health care. And, to be sure, there are some liberals trying to popularize Tea Party-like tactics and some conservatives trying to come up with sweeping new health reforms. But it's hard for these initiatives to succeed. There's a tendency to imagine the parties as mirror images of each other, and so to believe they can easily follow the other's strategies. But they can't. The parties are good at different things because they really are different. | {
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Mayor Garcetti today appointed Peter Marx as the city's first Chief Innovation Technology Officer. A key part of Mayor Garcetti's back to basics agenda, Marx will oversee the implementation of new tools and technologies across L.A. city government better solve problems for residents and make City Hall work more efficiently and effectively. In addition, he will partner with L.A.'s growing tech industry to deploy innovative technology and promote local job creation.
Among his first projects will be improving MyLA311 for one stop customer service; revamping the City's scores of web sites to make them more useful and user-friendly; and capitalize on sharing and analyzing data to upgrade performance throughout City government in the same way LAPD's COMPSTAT system has been used to drive down crime.
"Incredibly talented, a force in the tech community, and an L.A. native to boot, Peter was my top choice from a very strong pool of applicants," said Mayor Garcetti. "I'm thrilled to have him on the team and look forward to working with him to better serve Angelenos and foster the already strong tech ecosystem here in the City of Angels. Harnessing technology is critical to the future of our economy and improving city services."
"I'm looking forward to working with the Mayor to take the city of the future further into the future," said Peter Marx
Before joining the Mayor's Office, Marx served as the Vice President of Business Development at Qualcomm Labs, Inc., commercializing a variety of emerging technologies. Previously, Marx was the Vice President of the Technology and Digital Studio at Mattel, Inc. where the company received a Webby award, the highest award for excellence in online content. Marx managed Analog Protocol, a media-technology consultancy; served as the Chief Technology Officer for Vivendi-Universal Games and Vice President of Emerging Technologies for Universal Studios; and held engineering and producer positions at Electronic Arts. Early in his career, he served as an engineer on a variety of telemedicine, digital video, radiological imaging, and biomedicine applications for UCLA and 3M Company.
This appointment is the latest in Mayor Garcetti's efforts to reform and reorganize City Hall to make it more efficient and effective in serving the people of Los Angeles. Garcetti cut the number of Deputy Mayors from a dozen to four, focused on the key areas of City Services, Budget and Innovation, Homeland Security and Public Safety, and Economic Development.
Within the Mayor's Office, he appointed the city's first Chief Sustainability Officer in addition to a dedicated point person for immigration affairs, veterans, and the entertainment industry. Upon taking office, he required every department head to reapply for his or her job. Last week, he appointed a new General Manager for the Department of Water and Power and is bringing new leadership to the Fire, Harbor, Transportation, and Cultural Affairs departments. | {
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Fugitive accidentally dials 911, officers take him to jail
LYONS, N.Y. (AP) — A fugitive who’s wanted in North Carolina accidentally dialed 911 while he was in upstate New York, and he’s now behind bars.
WHEC-TV in Rochester reports that deputies from the Wayne County Sheriff’s office arrested 53-year-old Jesse Graham on Friday night in Lyons, a town east of Rochester.
Graham reportedly is wanted in Mooresville, North Carolina, on several unspecified charges.
He’s being held in the Wayne County Jail awaiting to be transferred to North Carolina. | {
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By the end of Week 12 we may be one step closer to resolving the logjam in the NFL's AFC West.
Coming into Sunday, three teams are within one game of first place, with the second place Kansas City Chiefs (7-3) and third place Denver Broncos (7-3) neck and neck trailing the Oakland Raiders by one game. The winner of the Sunday Night Football game between the Chiefs and the Broncos moves a step closer to the top of the AFC West and a playoff berth.
The Chiefs are coming off a disappointing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last weekend in which they could not get their offense going despite facing a mediocre Tampa defense. Generating offense has been an issue all year for the 20th ranked offense, according to Football Outsiders. The loss of Jamaal Charles has hurt KC’s running game, and while Spencer Ware has stepped in to fill the role with some success, averaging 4.9 yards per carry, the consistency has not been there for all four quarters.
The Kansas City passing game is not doing the offense any favors so far this season either. Alex Smith is having an efficient season, throwing for 220.3 yard per game and nine touchdowns to only four interceptions, but his unwillingness to throw the ball down field makes it difficult for the run game to get going. Coming into this season, Smith had thrown the ball between 21-30 yards down the field only 2.5 percent of the time over the past three seasons, placing him last in the league. This year, he seems even less inclined to move the ball vertically and that is making it difficult for the offense to keep defenses honest.
Where the offense struggles, the defense picks up the slack and then some. The 11th ranked Chiefs defense is 8th against the pass in terms of Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA), a stat which measures the effectiveness of a defense with regards to how it limits points and yards situationally, adjusted for down, distance, score, and time. Led by NFL interceptions leader Marcus Peters and All-Pro safety Eric Berry, the Chiefs are opportunistic and aggressive in the secondary.
Berry is at his most dangerous when he can make a play on the ball and take it the other way. He scored from 42 yards out against the Carolina Panthers earlier this year in one of the season’s best plays. When asked about the play, Berry told reporters it’s just something he learned when he was younger.
“Just playing outside, playing football in the front yard, back yard, just trying moves that you see on TV," Berry told ESPN when asked where he honed his running skills. “At the end of the day, it’s still that sport we grew up playing and just going out there and having fun and understanding what’s going on and letting your instincts take control. I think [playing quarterback in high school] definitely had a lot to do with it but as far as just playing in the front yard with my brothers and my friends back at home goes a long way as well.”
KC is especially proficient in forcing turnovers. The team leads the NFL in interceptions (13) and fumbles recovered (10), resulting in the league’s best turnover differential of +13. If the Chiefs can force turnovers, and limit their own, the game could tip in their favor.
Like Kansas City, Denver is a very strong defensive team and a poor offensive team, but Denver is the extreme in both directions. The offense is 26th in the NFL and struggles both to run the ball and move it through the air. Trevor Siemian is running an NFL offense for the first time, and the second-year quarterback has had his fair share of ups and downs this season. In all, his 213.3 yards per game, seven interceptions, and 85.0 QB rating make it difficult on the Denver running attack that averages only 3.7 yards per carry.
Meanwhile on defense, Denver is Football Outsider’s second ranked unit on the strength of an overwhelming pass rush. The team allows only 194.3 yards per game passing and has forced 10 interceptions and limited opposing quarterbacks to a 71.0 Quarterback Rating.
The engine that makes the Denver pass rush go is All-Pro Von Miller. Miller is part of the matchup to watch Sunday, as he lines up against KC'a offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz. Coming into this season, Schwartz was Pro Football Focus’s 4th ranked available offensive lineman in free agency, and he has been even better since moving from Cleveland to Denver. When he faced off against Miller last season, Schwartz limited Miller to only three quarterback pressures.
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Miller is having another exceptional season, ranked fourth in the NFL in both sacks (9.5) and pressures (21). Pro Football Focus ranks him as the 4th best edge rusher this season, and he’ll be giving Schwartz fits all night if they have to match up one on one.
Both offenses are going to have issues moving the ball, but the difference (and differencemaker this week) is KC’s ability to take care of the ball. Alex Smith may not move the ball, but he will also not turn it over. Siemian, on the other hand, is more prone to mistakes and is more likely to make the game changing turnover. Look for a very close contest that KC pulls out in the end. | {
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FOTO: DIVULGAÇÃO
O Flamengo monitora o mercado de transferência, com o intuito de reforçar o elenco para o restante da temporada. Se antes o sistema defensivo era visto como prioridade, agora a preferência é por contratar um atacante de referência. Jorge Jesus indicou o colombiano Duván Zapata, destaque da Colômbia na Copa América deste ano. A informação é do site Globoesporte.com.
Duván Zapata, que atua pelo Atalanta, da Itália, é apontado pelo treinador Jorge Jesus como o atacante que contém todas as características desejadas. Isso porque, o novo comandante rubro-negro deseja um centroavante que: seja acostumado a fazer gols e que seja uma referência na frente, mas ao mesmo tempo tenha mobilidade e explosão.
Embora o atacante tenha virado alvo do Flamengo, o seu valor de mercado pode atrapalhar qualquer investida. De acordo com o site Transfermarkt, Zapata é avaliado em torno de 40 milhões de euros – cerca de R$ 170 milhões, o que inviabiliza o negócio. O jogador é destaque da Colômbia na Copa América, com dois gols em três jogos e sendo um dos artilheiros da competição.
Jorge Jesus deseja contar com um jogador para o ataque e vê o setor como prioridade na lista de reforços. O treinador apresentou alguns nomes para os dirigentes rubro-negros, dois para cada posição. Grande maioria dos atletas listados atuam no exterior, embora alguns sejam brasileiros e outros não. O comandante não está intransigente, pois entende que o momento financeiro do Flamengo é bom, mas não sobra dinheiro.
Além da Copa América, Duván Zapata é destaque também do Atalanta. Na temporada 2018/2019, o jogador entrou em campo 48 vezes e marcou 28 gols. Pelo Campeonato Italiano, o atacante balançou as redes em 23 oportunidades tendo jogado 37 partidas. Zapata ficou de fora de apenas um confronto pela competição. | {
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Authorities in Stillwater say a 21-year-old man has died after being shot at a house party near the Oklahoma State University campus.Stillwater police say they received a call shortly after midnight Sunday from several OSU students who were at a party where Alexander Vierling had been shot in the head. Police say witnesses indicated the shooting occurred as a guest at the party was handling a pistol they believed was a toy.The Tulsa World reports Vierling was transported to Stillwater Medical Center and was later transferred to an Oklahoma City hospital, where he died after being taken off life support.Police Capt. Randy Dickerson says the shooting remains under investigation, and police have not released any information about the alleged shooter. No arrests have been made.
Authorities in Stillwater say a 21-year-old man has died after being shot at a house party near the Oklahoma State University campus.
Stillwater police say they received a call shortly after midnight Sunday from several OSU students who were at a party where Alexander Vierling had been shot in the head. Police say witnesses indicated the shooting occurred as a guest at the party was handling a pistol they believed was a toy.
The Tulsa World reports Vierling was transported to Stillwater Medical Center and was later transferred to an Oklahoma City hospital, where he died after being taken off life support.
Police Capt. Randy Dickerson says the shooting remains under investigation, and police have not released any information about the alleged shooter. No arrests have been made. | {
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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Saturday conducted searches at nine locations in Tamil Nadu in connection with an alleged Rs 900 million bank loan fraud money laundering case, officials said.
Searches are being conducted at Virudhunagar, Madurai and Coimbatore in connection with its probe involving Ms Inshumathi Refineries Pvt Ltd (which is based in Virudhunagar district of the state), they said, adding a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been filed.
The company is managed by R Shenbagan and others. Residential and business premises linked to him are being raided, officials said.
"IRPL was enjoying cash credit facilities, Letter of Credit (LOC) facilities and term loan from State Bank of India's overseas branch in Chennai.
"It had availed a total of 46 LOCs from the SBI which were issued against bogus firms/fake invoices for a value of around Rs 873.6 million which was devolved on the bank later due to insufficient funds in their account and also diverted the business proceeds which resulted into a pecuniary loss of around Rs 90o million to SBI," the ED said in its complaint.
The ED has filed its PMLA case against the firm based on a CBI FIR and charge sheet against R Shenbagan and others. | {
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This World Cup has been exciting on many counts. Some of the best strikers of the ball played some of the most adventurous shots. Swing and reverse swing came back into action, while spinners who bowled slower in the air and attacked, succeeded. But it was really aggressive captaincy that added a whole new dimension and zing.
The fact that the bat dictated terms over the ball a little too much was the only grouse. As the tournament progressed, a template emerged that almost guaranteed a result in your favour: keep wickets in hand while the two new balls still have their shine, without thinking too much about the scoring rate, and expect to score close to 200 in the last 20 overs. During commentary Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out an important facet of play between the 41st and 50th overs. He said that you didn't have to be an extraordinary hitter to score at ten runs per over at the back end, and only an extraordinary death bowler could restrict the opposition for less than ten per over.
That's a bit unfair, isn't it? If it's a contest between the skills of two individuals, the dice must not be loaded too much in favour of one. While the five-fielders-inside-the-circle rule has ensured that singles aren't readily available in the middle overs, it has become a liability in the last ten overs. For a layman, an extra fielder inside the circle might not seem to make a huge difference, but a cricketer knows that it has the potential to add at least one boundary per over if the batting team has wickets in hand.
Another trend that emerged this season was the tendency for teams to go into wicket-preservation mode, at least till the 30th over.
Can something be done about these imbalances? Well, I'll throw up a few ideas for you to chew on.
Start with one new ball; introduce the second in the 26th over
There's a lot of debate about the two new balls - one from each end. It's said that spinners are hard done by because the ball never gets old enough for them to work with comfortably. However, the numbers ever since this rule was introduced reflect otherwise, for good spinners have continued to thrive.
Spinners pre- and post ODI rule changes Period Matches Average Econ rate Strike rate Spinners since rule change (Oct 2011) 449 35.59 4.78 44.6 Spinners before rule change 450 34.24 4.64 44.2
In this World Cup Daniel Vettori, R Ashwin and Imran Tahir not only made their presence felt but also helped their teams win crucial matches. Obviously gripping a slightly newish ball isn't an issue.
I'd like to make my slightly radical suggestion. How about starting with only one new ball and using it till the 25th over and introducing the second new ball in the 26th over? Imagine a middle-order batsman happily milking the middle overs, asked to face the opposition's best fast bowler with a brand new ball. Say Suresh Raina or Glenn Maxwell is up against Mitchell Starc or Dale Steyn bowling with a new ball. There won't be a dull moment, for the captain would immediately introduce a slip or two and the newness of the ball would ensure that bouncers travel faster too. The middle overs won't be the easiest overs to bat in anymore, and that will add a whole new dimension to the game.
Change the Powerplay overs around
The first set of ten overs has also confirmed that teams have started relatively slowly - unless they have a Brendon McCullum at the top. Teams can be allowed slow starts, provided the duration of the Powerplay is brought down from ten to eight overs. The earlier we lift the field restrictions, the sooner we'll see spinners in action, and since there's another new ball due in the 26th over, it's important to introduce the spinners as early as possible.
Let the second Powerplay be increased to seven overs from five. It should also be made mandatory to take it from the 26th over to the 32nd. Though we call it a "batting Powerplay" and it's the prerogative of the batting team, teams rarely opt to take it before the 36th over. During the World Cup the batting Powerplay was taken 21 times out of 90-plus innings before the 36th over mark, but never before the 30th over. The idea behind delaying the batting Powerplay is to increase the span of the slog overs from 10 to 15, and that's why most teams play hide-and-seek till the 35th. But if you move it around a little, teams will be forced to play a different brand of cricket. The middle overs won't be dull for two reasons - a new ball and field restrictions.
Up, up and away: Glenn Maxwell hoists the ball over the on side Getty Images
Six outside the circle in the last ten
While there's debate about that extra fielder inside the circle, I'm of the opinion that it's a good move for the first 80% of the game. As mentioned earlier, an added fielder in the circle has meant that easy singles aren't available in the middle overs, but it is a huge issue in the back ten.
I suggest allowing as many as six outside the circle in the last ten overs. In any case, it's almost impossible to stop the likes of AB de Villiers and Maxwell, and giving them an extra open space in the deep has made the contest extremely lopsided. By allowing six fielders in the deep for the last 60 balls you'll automatically put extra pressure on the batsman to clear the fence, for chip shots over the infield won't be enough and mistimed shots would mean losing your wicket. Also, that might force the batting team to change their strategy of waiting for the last ten overs to cut loose. They might want to take extra risks in the middle overs, when there are only four outside the circle. Currently there's little risk and a lot of reward in the last ten overs. Change that balance.
Increase the quota per bowler
The endeavour of organising a cricket match should be to allow the highest quality of cricket to be played over the longest duration. While the new rule of having an extra fielder inside the circle has pruned the role of bits-and-pieces cricketers, it still continues to be the bane of 50-overs cricket. Since most games are high-scoring events, the choice is always to have a part-timer who can do a little bit of both - ideally a batsman who can bowl a bit. Also, you need seven batsmen to last 50 overs.
This is not a suggestion that has not been made before, but how about increasing the quota of overs for every bowler from ten to 12? That way the majority of the overs will be bowled by the best four bowlers, and that will automatically ensure a higher quality of cricket. Or whoever gets a wicket gets an extra over to bowl - up to a maximum of three extra overs. That way a bowler who's in form will get more overs on the day, and that can only be a good thing.
This World Cup has reignited the spark for 50-overs cricket and if we can restore the balance between bat and ball a bit more, it will only get better. | {
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OTTAWA - Ottawa Senators ( @Senators ) general manager Pierre Dorion announced today that head coach Guy Boucher has been relieved of his duties and Marc Crawford has been named interim head coach, effective immediately.
"I want to thank Guy for his three years of service. He is a good person and has been an excellent representative of the Senators. At this point, however, we need a different set of coaching and leadership skills to guide our team through this rebuild," said general manager Pierre Dorion. "In the interim, Marc will bring a different perspective along with a wealth of head coaching experience."
In tandem with an evaluation of our current coaching staff, we will conduct a search for a new head coach following the season. We will be looking for a coach who excels as:
A teacher who will focus on the development and growth of each player on the team;
A listener who encourages feedback from players and the coaching staff;
A communicator who lets every team member know where they stand and what is expected;
A tactician who brings structure and game planning that will enhance our rebuild.
Crawford, a 58-year-old Stanley Cup winning coach, is in his third season as a member of the Senators coaching staff in 2018-19. With 18 seasons of National Hockey League coaching experience, he has served as an NHL head coach for 1,151 games.
Marc and his wife, Helene, reside in Cornwall, Ont., and have two children, Dylan and Kaitlin.
Visit the Senators website: www.ottawasenators.com
Engage with the Senators on Twitter: @Senators
Like the Senators on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ottawasenators
Follow the Senators on Instagram: senators
- end - | {
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Photo: Maya Robinson
At the end of November, eerily adept cybercriminals hacked into Sony’s computer systems, paralyzed their operations, and tapped into a trove of hypersensitive internal information. After the attack (evidently over Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s North Korean satire The Interview), a steady flow of revelations — including top employees’ salaries, nasty Hollywood hardball emails, and illicit movie downloads — trickled into news reports and file-sharing sites for almost a month. After Sony canceled The Interview’s theatrical release, the thieves, dubbed Guardians of Peace, said the leaks would stop, but only if the movie stayed away from any and all screens. Despite this promise, tens of thousands of already-leaked documents continued to yield fruit, and Sony decided to release the film anyway. Here’s a list of everything that was revealed and generated by the 2014 hacks.
The Source
On December 17, U.S. government officials indicated that North Korea did appear to have been “centrally involved” in the Sony hack. The next day, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest called the hack a “serious national security matter,” and the Washington Post reported that public attribution of the attack would come the following week. On December 19, however, the FBI concluded North Korea was definitely behind the attack. A war of words has since escalated, with North Korea denying involvement in the hacks and threatening the White House and Pentagon should the U.S. levy any punishments.
On December 29, Politico and Deadline reported about a cybersecurity firm’s independent research that led some to believe the hack could have come from a laid-off Sony staffer and at least five of their co-conspirators, rather than North Korea. The FBI, however, stood by its conclusion: “The Government of North Korea is responsible for the theft and destruction of data on the network of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Attribution to North Korea is based on intelligence from the FBI, the U.S. intelligence community, DHS, foreign partners and the private sector,” a spokeswoman said. “There is no credible information to indicate that any other individual is responsible for this cyber incident.” Deadline added that a group called Lizard Squad, which was responsible for a separate video-game hack, allegedly gave members of Guardians of Peace log-in information that would have helped the GOP hackers enter and cripple Sony’s systems. The cybersecurity firm in question, Norse, concluded that their six pinpointed-but-still-unidentified hackers worked out of the U.S., Canada, Thailand, and Singapore.
A Rush to Distribute
Only a few days after Sony’s sweeping cancellation, the studio’s lawyer David Boies said in multiple interviews that although The Interview didn’t yet have a viable platform, Sony wanted people to see it. “Sony has been fighting to get this picture distributed. It will be distributed,” he said on Meet the Press. “How it’s going to be distributed, I don’t think anybody knows quite yet. But it’s going to be distributed.” On December 22, Art House Convergence, which represents many indie theaters, created an online petition asking Sony to let its ilk screen The Interview, according to Variety. Offers to unspool the contentious film also made their way to the Capitol: THR reported that California Democratic representative Brad Sherman wrote a letter to Lynton underlining the value of freedom of speech and asking for The Interview to be screened in the U.S. Capitol facilities. Offscreen, a local New York City theater made plans to stage a live reading of The Interview’s script on December 27.
Soon, though, Sony got a Christmas gift: Not long after celebrities, critics, and even President Obama reacted negatively to Sony nixing The Interview, the studio was able to un-cancel the movie Tuesday, scheduling screenings at several independent theaters for Christmas Day. It also debuted the same day on video on demand. (Here’s the full list of those theaters, our review, and how much money the movie made at the box office upon release.)
Clipping Twitter’s Wings
Sony Pictures Entertainment threatened Twitter with legal action because users were tweeting the studio’s leaked emails. Boies wrote, according to Variety, that if “stolen information continues to be disseminated by Twitter in any manner,” Sony will “hold Twitter responsible for any damage or loss arising from such use or dissemination by Twitter.” The move comes on the heels of a Reddit moratorium (read below), as well as an aggressive legal campaign to stifle the press’s reporting on Sony’s leaked information.
The Next Bond
In an email to a former Columbia Pictures honcho, Sony co-chair Amy Pascal wrote she thought Idris Elba should be the next James Bond, the Daily Beast reported.
The Anti-Social Network
Business Insider reported that leaked emails show Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg tried to stop The Social Network in its tracks, but Sony execs didn’t let up. “I said to Zuckerberg when he tried to stop The Social Network, ‘No one wants their sophomore year in college examined or portrayed,’” Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton wrote to another exec in May 2014.
A Spreading Fear
As news of Sony’s hack-related woes continued to spread, other studios and distributors took precautions: New Regency and Fox ducked out of their own North Korea–themed project, a feature titled Pyongyang that had Gore Verbinski and Steve Carell attached, and Paramount put the kibosh on theaters planning to screen Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s Kim Jong-il satire Team America in The Interview’s stead.
Behemoth Losses
Variety reported that Sony could lose up to $75 million over The Interview’s terror-induced snuff job. Insurance will reportedly cover an undisclosed portion of the production and promotion costs, but not the whole amount.
MPAA + Mississippi State Attorney General = Google Trouble
Outside of the movies and its stars, the Sony hacks also revealed emails that reportedly detail a slew of sketchy anti-piracy projects between figures in Hollywood. In a blog post, Kent Walker, Google’s SVP and general counsel, wrote off the Motion Picture Association of America’s alleged attempt to bring back the Stop Online Piracy Act — a failed piece of legislation that would have led to censorship across the web by requiring search engines to strip out links to piracy sites, among other things — through non-legislative means. Walker added that the MPAA has had its guns pointed at Google since the internet titan helped quash SOPA, in the name of keeping the internet censor-free, almost three years ago.
Cancellations
After receiving threats referencing 9/11, Sony quickly gave its blessing to theater owners who don’t want to screen the controversial comedy The Interview. Carmike Cinemas and California’s ArcLight Cinemas were the first to jump ship on December 16. On December 17, the nation’s main theater chains announced they would not screen the film. In short order, Sony canceled the entire U.S. theatrical release. After initial reports hinted at the possibility of a VOD release, those plans were also nullified.
Obama’s Rec
In an interview with ABC News on December 17, a seemingly unfazed President Obama tried to quash moviegoers’ fears ahead of the holiday season. “The cyber attack is very serious. We’re investigating it, we’re taking it seriously,” he said. “We’ll be vigilant; if we see something we think is serious and credible, then we’ll alert the public. But for now, my recommendation would be that people go to the movies.”
File-Sharing Crackdown
After more than three weeks of hack-attack fallout, Sony began successfully cutting off the trafficking of its stolen goods on social sites, such as Reddit. The subreddit SonyGOP, used to disseminate and discuss leaked studio data, was shut down, and users who continued to violate the American Digital Millennium Copyright Act were blocked. The progress comes on the heels of Sony’s recent legal campaign to suppress its leaks.
The Threats
On December 16, the Sony hackers sent out their most dire message yet, referencing the 9/11 attacks:
Warning We will clearly show it to you at the very time and places “The Interview” be shown, including the premiere, how bitter fate those who seek fun in terror should be doomed to.
Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made.
The world will be full of fear.
Remember the 11th of September 2001.
We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time.
(If your house is nearby, you’d better leave.)
Whatever comes in the coming days is called by the greed of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
All the world will denounce the SONY.
After reviewing the threat, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying it is “still analyzing the credibility of these statements,” but that “at this time there is no credible intelligence to indicate an active plot against movie theaters within the United States.”
Wait, How Much?
With the aid of Sony’s emails, Bloomberg uncovered a $7 billion financing pitch received by the entertainment giant, purportedly from a group linked to Middle Eastern princes. The unidentified investors were trying to negotiate a deal to commit $6 billion to debt and equity financing and to buy $1 billion in Sony stock. Because of anonymity concerns and a failure to settle on terms, however, the pitch was reportedly nixed.
The Grinches Who Stole Sony’s Christmas
Less than ten days before Christmas, the hackers revealed the holiday “gift” they’d been promising in the form of Michael Lynton’s emails. Deadline reported that the Sony Pictures co-chairman and CEO’s messages (of which there are thousands) have so far revealed some of the studio’s PR strategy. This included directions to avoid commenting on the prosecution of two American tourists held by the North Korean government.
Class-Action Lawsuits
Soon after the The Interview first premiered, Sony became embroiled in two class-action lawsuits: In the first, two former employees claimed the studio did not work hard enough to spare their private information from the hackers. In the second, a former Spider-Man 2 staffer alleged similar violations while also underlining the risks inherent in releasing The Interview. “Sony moved forward with the film, knowing that by doing so, it created an unreasonable risk for Plaintiffs and Class Members,” read the latter filing. Between the two suits, the plaintiffs are reportedly hoping to nail Sony for violating the California Data Breach Act, Constitutional Invasion of Privacy, the California Confidentially of Medical Information Act, and the Virginia law on security breaches, as well as for exercising negligence. A third lawsuit claiming negligence came after Sony cancelled the theatrical release of The Interview; ultimately, this suit mirrored the others, saying the studio was most concerned with exercising damage control over its compromised assets, while it should have given employees more immediate notice and protection after the November breach.
Merry Christmas, Kim Jong-un
BuzzFeed published alleged Sony exec emails debating the merits of a certain assassination scene from The Interview, as well as the film’s release in general. Most notably, a South Korea–based exec posed the question: “Do you think there will be a possibility that Kim Jun Eun may launch missles [sic] to our office if we release it?” Evidently, many of Sony and Columbia Pictures’ execs were aware of the threats of an incensed North Korea. One exec reportedly called the film’s initial October release date “unnecessarily antagonistic” because of its proximity to a North Korean holiday. The correspondences also ultimately detail how the studio arrived at the movie’s “Christmas gift” release date.
A Fire in the Hole
Warning: Spoilers for The Interview ahead. Not long after emails detailing Sony’s concerns with a particularly gory and controversial death scene surfaced, Gawker posted a version of the clip in question on its site. In the scene, an actor playing Kim Jong-un is engulfed in a fireball and then explodes in a dramatic display of slow-motion special effects. The footage was complemented by more exec emails discussing the amount of gore that was permissible for such a scene.
Lots of Personal Data (Understatement)
In a letter to its employees, Sony conceded that a glut of personal information — including names, addresses, social security numbers, driver’s licenses, passport numbers, bank information, credit-card data, usernames, passwords, compensation numbers, and health info — was compromised. The studio added that it’s currently giving employees (and their dependents) 12 months of identity-protection services gratis. The letter, which was made available mid-December, can be read in full here. Sony also extended the offer to writers and directors (in the WGAW and DGA) who had worked for the studio in the past.
Yeezus Productions
Kanye West’s creative assistant reached out to Sony earlier this year because the rapper wants to pitch a feature film. “I supervise all of Kanye’s film and media projects, and we have a major film project coming up that involves both cinematic and technological innovation,” wrote the assistant, according to emails obtained by the Daily Beast. Unfortunately, no other details are yet available, but West reportedly makes a cameo in The Interview and will appear in a BIG reenactment.
Say My Name … Cut
Mathew Knowles wanted Sony to make a biopic of Destiny’s Child, the Daily Beast reported. Emails from late 2013 showed that Sony execs were enthusiastic about the opportunity, but unsure of whether the movie would be coming too soon. (Don’t be upset, though: Lifetime will have something on the girls and Bey regardless in 2015.)
The Underrated Brilliance of Channing Tatum’s Email Writing
In a move of sheer excitement, Channing Tatum wrote to a handful of his 22 Jump Street compatriots — in an email revealed by Gawker — that he was over the moon to see how well the buddy-cop comedy sequel did upon its weekend opening. He wrote, “WE GOT CATE BLANCHETT WIT DIS BOX OFFICE BITCHES!!!!!!!!” and then unleashed one of the longest gloating laughs in email history. So many Hs, so many As.
Spectre S.O.S.
The producers of the James Bond films have announced that an early script of Spectre, due out late next year, was among Sony’s plundered material. Variety reported that the script might appear in an early “Christmas gift”-timed document dump, while producers are underlining the fact that the screenplay is protected by copyright laws.
Time-Out?
Despite many claims that the studio’s computer systems are in excellent order, The Times of London reported mid-December that several agencies filming with Sony Pictures have suspended their shoots because problems have left the studio unable to process payments. A Sony spokesman quickly refuted this claim, saying productions had not been halted.
Animated Trouble
Sony tried to create a Pixar-style “brain trust” of filmmakers at the top of its animation arm, according to emails obtained by Variety. Studio honchos Amy Pascal and Michael Lynton had eyes on Lego team Phil Lord and Chris Miller; however, because of Sony Pictures Animation’s reputation and lack of allure, the recruitment did not go as planned, and the emails reveal a studio out of touch with the animated and special-effects industries at large.
Gender Pay Disparities
According to the Daily Beast, a round of Amy Pascal emails revealed that Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams received less back-end compensation for American Hustle than the film’s male stars did, earning only seven “points” to Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, and Bradley Cooper’s nine.
Clooney’s Own Citizen Kane
In an ironic twist, more hacked emails revealed George Clooney crowing about how great his movie about the News Corp. phone-hacking scandal will be. “How much fun are we gonna have?” Clooney told Pascal. “The stakes are higher than Citizen Kane. … Everything will be double-sourced, so come on with your lawsuits, fuckers.”
Ghostbusters Rumors
Like everyone else on the internet, Sony executives soon began dream-casting their own perfect lineups for Paul Feig’s all-women Ghostbusters. In October, Pascal emailed Ivan Reitman to tell him the studio was aiming for Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, Melissa McCarthy, and Lizzy Caplan, all of whom had reportedly expressed interest. Weeks later, the studio’s legal department debated whether or not to sue Bill Murray to make him appear in the film. Warning: Potential spoilers for Ghostbusters ahead. Other leaked Sony emails — these from Feig — revealed very specific plot and character details: The film is a reboot, not a sequel; Peter Dinklage could play the movie’s villain, a convicted murderer-turned-ghost; and Cecily Strong could play a frenemy working with the U.S. government.
Hitler Jokes
A leaked email revealed Scott Rudin getting in a pretty decent burn on David Fincher. After Angelina Jolie told Rudin and Pascal that she was considering Fincher for her Cleopatra film, even though “he may be difficult,” Rudin responded, “‘May be difficult?!?!’ Like Hitler ‘may be anti-Semitic!!!’”
Snowden Games
Sony owns the rights to Glenn Greenwald’s Edward Snowden book, but executives in the company are wary of making it because of competition from Oliver Stone’s Snowden biopic, with Joseph Gordon Levitt as the NSA whistle-blower. Even so, they don’t think the Stone film will be any good: “I loved the first act … but it just never kicks into a higher gear,” SPE Motion Picture Group president Doug Belgrad said in a leaked email. “And I worry that the world will have very mixed feelings about him. At 50 [million], the movie has to be great and totally satisfying.”
Boba Fett in Star Wars?
Like everyone else, Sony executives are in the dark about Disney’s upcoming Star Wars films. However, insider emails revealed the rumors going around the upper echelons of Hollywood about the project, most notably, that one of the stand-alone Star Wars films directed by Gareth Edwards and Josh Trank might be about Boba Fett.
Drake Might Return to Acting
According to an email from Spike Lee’s agent, the former Jimmy Brooks may appear in Lee’s School Daze Too, a sequel to the director’s 1988 film. Drake would star as a character named “Pe*Nis” alongside Kevin Hart.
More Sorkin Drama
In a blistering email, Pascal slammed much of Sony’s upcoming slate, including multiple films by Aaron Sorkin, and Cameron Crowe’s Bradley Cooper–Emma Stone film. “Cameron never changed anything [about the script],” she said, “People don’t like people in movies who flirt with married people, or married people who flirt.” Sorkin, she said, cost the studio a lot of money with his “insane fee” because he is “broke” and “just wants to get paid.”
Apatow Angry
How do you make friendly Hollywood dad Judd Apatow mad? As Pascal found out, the answer is: Schedule one of his good buddy Adam Sandler’s films to open on the same day as his next movie. “Why did you move your movie into my date?” Apatow asked her over email. “I never put my movies on Sandler’s dates. Never. He hadn’t either. We all respect each other. We don’t try to hurt each other.”
Will Ferrell as Donald Sterling?
Deadspin reported that Sony executives knocked around the idea of remaking the 1986 Danny DeVito comedy Ruthless People with Will Ferrell as a Donald Sterling–type owner kidnapped a week before the Super Bowl. It’s unclear how far discussions around the project advanced.
Obama’s “Favorite” Movies
In a series of alleged Amy Pascal–Scott Rudin emails — these released by BuzzFeed — the two try to guess what President Obama’s favorite movies are. Guesses included Django Unchained, 12 Years a Slave, and Ride Along, among others.
Bye-Bye Budget
The next James Bond movie, Spectre, could end up being one of the most expensive films ever made, CNNMoney reported. The site unearthed internal MGM-Sony memos that said the current budget “sits in the mid $300Ms,” and revealed a handful of potential character and plot details.
No Exploding Face, Please
Warning: Spoilers for The Interview ahead. At the end of September, Sony Corp. CEO Kazuo Hirai emailed concerns about The Interview to Amy Pascal, saying he didn’t want the exploding face of Kim Jong-un to be shown to international audiences, according to Bloomberg. Pascal and other Stateside Sony execs pushed co-director Seth Rogen to tone down the gore in his dark comedy, the messages revealed, and Hirai ultimately approved the final call on the pivotal scenes.
Spider-Man Crossover
In Amy Pascal’s emails, the details of which were revealed by The Wall Street Journal, she discussed new plans for Sony’s Spidey. One email reportedly referenced a Marvel-produced trilogy, and another let loose that the comics giant wanted Spider-Man in its third Captain America movie. One of the Journal’s sources said that Marvel eventually pulled out and that Sony is now going forward with its own plan. A part of said plan is an animated comedy for the superhero; it would be produced by 22 Jump Street’s Chris Miller and Phil Lord. The Daily Beast added there also might be a female Spidey movie and Avengers-like Spider-Man superhero extravaganza project in the works.
The Steve Jobs Meltdown
Information about Aaron Sorkin’s Steve Jobs film was released early December in the form of some acerbic emails. Gawker posted a string of correspondences, between Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal and producer Scott Rudin, that purportedly details how Sony lost control of the project. The exchanges the site posted reveal almost a year’s worth of incensed Hollywood hardball (including some Angelina Jolie–bashing and Michael Fassbender–penis–appreciating). Even David Fincher got in on the fun with an Adam Driver slam. Ars Technica got its hands on another portion of the exchanges that had Sorkin lobbying for Tom Cruise to try on the lead role.
Monetary Demands
For the first few weeks, it was unknown what the hackers wanted from Sony. Mashable, however, tracked down an extortion email sent to top studio execs three days before the attack. It read:
We’ve got great damage by Sony Pictures.
The compensation for it, monetary compensation we want.
Pay the damage, or Sony Pictures will be bombarded as a whole.
You know us very well.
We never wait long.
You’d better behave wisely.
From God’sApstls
As Mashable pointed out, it has not been possible to confirm that the letter from God’sApstls was wholly related to the ensuing Guardians of Peace hack. This tweet/email made things a little more confusing.
Celebrity Aliases
Fusion was able to track down a folder labeled “publicity bibles,” which included cast and crew contact directories for recently released Sony films. The files blew the cover on the secret aliases some of the studio’s movie stars use to do normal-people things. Fusion shared the alter egos of Tom Hanks (“Harry Lauder,” “Johnny Madrid”), Jessica Alba (“Cash Money”), and Natalie Portman (“Lauren Brown”), among others.
Top-Secret Profitability
Among the thousands of documents floating around, THR found top-secret letters that note details about production spending and ultimate profitability on some of last year’s films. A slew of projects, including This Is the End ($50 million), Grown Ups 2 ($48 million), Captain Phillips ($39 million), and American Hustle ($27 million), will end up in profit, among others.
Don’t Forget About TV
Reporters at Mashable reviewed a number of documents — some having to do with Sony’s television arm. They found that Sony’s three-year Seinfeld syndication deal for local affiliate stations will earn the company at least $18.5 million. Pilot scripts for the 2014 TV season were also leaked — one of the juiciest was for Vince Gilligan’s Battle Creek. Deadline added that Sony’s TV arm has been peeved at its film counterpart for some time because a string of unilateral feature decisions has continually affected the entire company. The move to greenlight and push The Interview was the latest dust-up.
A Problem With Adam Sandler Movies
Gawker sorted through a text file called “Sony_2012_Comments” and learned that people at the studio don’t like that they make so many Adam Sandler movies. (Since 2008, Sony has released six.) “There is a general ‘blah-ness’ to the films we produce,” complained one employee. “Althought [sic] we manage to produce an innovative film once in awhile, Social Network, Moneyball, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, we continue to be saddled with the mundane, formulaic Adam Sandler films.” The Daily Beast uncovered more emails that reveal some of the reasons why the actor might have ultimately shifted from Sony to Netflix — among them: a $200 million Candyland pitch and financial drama on the set of Hotel Transylvania 2.
James Franco and Seth Rogen’s Payday
Adding to a breach that exposed salaries at Deloitte Touche and a top Sony exec’s credit card number, the hackers released The Interview’s budget. According to the documents, it took roughly $44 million to make the movie, with Seth Rogen receiving $8.4 million-plus and James Franco $6.5 million. The documents also catalogued the compensation rates and social security numbers for other celebrities tied to the studio, including Sylvester Stallone and Judd Apatow. | {
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Hopefully, there will be someone at Monday's annual meeting of NRL coaches brave enough to break from the conservative, regimented, no-risk mould of power football practised in 2014.
The most telling statistic on this year's season is the minor and major premiers had the lowest offload rates in the NRL, that is, the least desire to keep the ball alive. Minor premiers and 2013 champions, the Roosters, were ranked equal 15th in offloads in the competition season, with major premiers, the Rabbitohs 14th.
Bish, bash: The Rabbitohs are premiers through sheer force rather than skill. Credit:Getty Images
In other words, the "hit it up, don't pass, drop to your knees in the tackle and play the ball quickly, repeat on the next tackle" brand of football prevailed. Size helps. Big is better in the NRL with the three heaviest teams – Rabbitohs, Roosters and Bulldogs – all lasting the longest in 2014.
Rugby league has returned to the 1998 post Super League model where Wayne Bennett's Broncos did not pass the ball in their own half. The strategy was simply to use the big wingers, Wendell Sailor and Lote Tuqiri, to charge the ball forward from dummy half, with the big props following suit. Shane Webcke was the premium front rower of his era, yet rarely passed the ball. The Broncos simply rolled the ball forward to the forty, kicked to the corners and then waited for an error from the opposition. | {
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External investors are looking forward to the removal of several business-phobic regulations that serve only to be used as a lever to extract bribes.
Mumbai: The business community is looking towards the next five years with hope and expectation. The assurance of political stability in India caused by the victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, coupled with geopolitical tailwinds, opens the door for around $1 trillion of external investment into India during his second term, not just from the United States or West Europe, but from West Asia and East Asia. Within the former zone, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in particular are eager to strengthen their economic base in India, which has historically been close to the region, and has become more so because of the rising network of daily flights that operates between GCC airports and different parts of India. The Prime Minister has established close personal and working relationships with lead players within the GCC, including the royals leading the UAE and Saudi Arabia. In East Asia, both sides of the Taiwan Straits are looking to India as an investment destination. What they and other external investors expect from Modi 2.0 is a welcoming and stable policy environment. Hence they are closely watching as the Central government unveils policy initiatives in the period before the Union Budget gets presented and a clear idea of the direction and components of economic policy is revealed. Also under the scanner will be the manner in which the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) deals with the obstacles created to growth by numerous growth-stifling policies of previous governments. Although the education system remains a work in progress despite efforts at change made by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, the superb overall quality of the young in India has meant in practice that a period of retraining—at levels of remuneration that are low by global standards—of individual recruits that lasts between 6 to 18 months is sufficient to ensure good performance by them in allocated tasks. Overseas investors looking towards India are also heartened by the emphasis placed on infrastructure development. As important as the jobs directly generated by such expenditure is the cascading effect of job creation in multiple sectors and rise in productivity because of the impact of better transport and other physical assets. Both in the case of the US as well as China, a paradigm shift in the range and quality of infrastructure preceded the period of steady progress towards the status of emerging as the top global leaders in the economic sphere.
REMOVING THE FEAR FACTOR
External investors are looking forward to the removal of several business-phobic UPA-era regulations still carried forward that serve only to be used as a lever to extract bribe. Such a move would be in line with the declared objectives of Prime Minister Modi. The advantage facing the Central government is that what is needed is less new policy than it is doing away with several toxic policies formulated in the past. Modi has several times underlined the need to do away with laws and attendant regulations that give power to a miscellany of officials to insert themselves at will into the functioning of enterprises to threaten their closure or prosecution. Many such interventions are not motivated by genuine issues of corporate governance or the public interest, but are simply a lever to extract bribes through coercion. Rather than follow the global norm of using financial penalties as the preferred method of dealing with most mismatches between a particular company’s practices and the relevant regulations, in India the emphasis has been on prosecution, including, in many cases, the option of jail time. This is the case even in the plethora of matters concerning the GST, where even the option of bail in cases where the authorities allege under-payment of GST has been taken away. Were every official both competent as well as honest, such provisions may be workable without much disruption. However, in a situation where corruption amongst administrative personnel is still present, the possibility of an official taking recourse to penal provisions without just cause may not be absent. In the context of the harsh tax and regulatory regime put in place by Sibal-Chidambaram during 2004-14, the ubiquity of GST and the complexities which remain may result in lapses in compliance that do not have mala fide motives. However, this need not prevent penal action by the authorities, who are sometimes prone to using a “one size fits all” approach towards enforcement. The power of summary arrest vested in the official machinery has created what may be termed the “Sibal-Chidambaram Fear Factor” within swathes of investors and entrepreneurs that has a dampening effect on new investment. In the case of alleged GST defaults, as in other routine cases of an economic nature, the view of external investors is that a warning should be the first option, only sometimes accompanied by a financial penalty. A fresh deliberate and avoidable delay in the payment of GST should be followed by more severe financial penalties. Only those within the GST system who are serially and grossly delinquent should be subjected to the full rigours of the criminal law in India. By giving the power to impose loss of liberty or property to thousands of officials against hundreds of thousands of individual businesspersons, several investors are likely to prefer to locate in countries with less draconian compliance mechanisms. The banking system is an example of the manner in which highly coercive regulations may be indiscriminately used. There is a universe of difference separating the wilful defaulter from an honest entrepreneur, who is unable to repay because of unexpected and adverse market conditions. The two should not be put on the same scale of retribution, else genuine investors will hesitate to build new projects or expand existing projects for fear that business conditions may change but they may still be held criminally responsible. Risk is inherent in business, as are losses. During the UPA period, banks were telephonically ordered to give “ever greening” loans to businesses that were clearly bankrupt. While such transactions need to be identified and punished, others where the circumstances were less clear need to be looked at differently. Investigating agencies need to use a sniper’s rifle to shoot down the few Big Fish whose conduct is genuinely and massively criminal, rather than adopt a machine gun “spray of bullets” approach, where every businessperson in the vicinity gets “gunned down” i.e. falls into the criminal procedure quicksand. Of course, misuse of authority by officials for corrupt purposes needs to be met with summary and condign punishment, so as to weed out the bad apples from the basket of senior officials. Investors are welcoming reports that the Prime Minister has ordered his entire team to identify and dismiss corrupt officials, as well as those who are indolent and incompetent.
Several intending international investors are heartened by the growth-friendly reputation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and are hopeful that the PMO will soon utilise the electoral expression of confidence by the people of India in the Prime Minister to ensure a regulatory environment in which it is no longer “as easy as cake” for an official to send a businessperson to jail merely on the basis of suspicions or unproven allegations of misconduct. Unfortunately, such has been the situation put in place during 2004-14, the Chidambaram-Sibal years. There are indeed those businesspersons who have been successful in corrupting senior level policymakers and gaining windfall profits as a result, and the Big Fish among them in particular need to be made an example of as a warning to others. However, this is not the same as continuing a UPA-era policy matrix that makes the investor constantly worry if an error by his accountant (or the enmity of a politician or an official to whom he has refused a bribe) places him on a conveyor towards penal servitude. Removing the “Sibal-Chidambaram Fear Factor” (of arbitrary coercive, condign action) among investors both foreign and domestic would significantly boost the attractiveness of India as a global investment destination for companies eager to tap into the abundant human resources of the country.
PENAL ACTION AGAINST MEGA DEPREDATORS
Around 80% of the losses caused to the national exchequer from corruption comes from less than 1% of depredators. However, by diverting attention to tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands, several of whom may not be wilful depredators, but fall into financial difficulties because of market conditions, most of the time spent by agencies on their investigations gets expended on those other than the Big Fish, thereby enabling several Big Fish to escape. A former Union Finance Minister was expert in using complicit officials, bankers, stock exchange players and others to generate substantial sums of insider and illegal profit from colourable stock market and currency operations. Such methods are akin to match-fixing in cricket, but unlike in the case of at least a few instances of the latter, foreign exchange-fixing or insider manipulation of stock prices did not attract any serious penalty. Reports of the complicity of office-holders even in regulatory authorities such as SEBI need to be investigated. A former finance minister created a punitive policy matrix that seemed on the surface to be harsh on wrongdoing, but which had hidden “backdoors” through which he and his associates siphoned off billions of dollars in profit. Thus far, neither the former minister nor his easily identifiable official favourites and other associates have been seriously questioned, in the rare cases where they have been questioned at all, except on matters that relate to trifling sums of money rather than the billions of dollars they scammed through their control over important institutions. Those involved in stock exchange, foreign exchange and currency manipulations have largely escaped scrutiny, much less punishment. As have several big names involved in (as the Prime Minister said, often telephonically) making banks hand over additional tranches of money to businesses that were clearly bankrupt in all but name. A like situation prevailed with regard to the widespread under-invoicing of exports and over-invoicing of imports that take place on a daily basis in India. A few university students proficient in commerce and mathematics could, with ease, identify the approximate extent of leakage of moneys through finding out the difference between prices received and paid for various commodities in comparison to (those received by or paid to) corresponding sellers and buyers in third countries. However, there is faith within the global investment community in the integrity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has emerged unscathed from the numerous attacks made on him by political rivals during the 2019 Lok Sabha campaign. It is, therefore, anticipated that the Central government will very soon ensure that those responsible for billion dollar evasions in external trade or other manipulations will finally be held accountable, no matter what their status or reach within the bureaucracy. Prime Minister Modi has clearly achieved mastery of knowledge about how the governance system in India works at the Central level. The decks are, therefore, clear for decisive penal action on big depredators that is needed to give confidence to investors that it is the market and not crony contacts that will decide the success or failure of a billion dollar business. Recent actions against some high-profile UPA-era ministers indicate that the process of VVIP accountability may finally be getting under way
DUAL CITIZENSHIP
Among the immediate positive steps taken by Modi 2.0 has been the speedy manner in which the government moved through changes in declared policy to re-assure those within the country and outside who were apprehensive that the English language (and its attendant advantages) would get downgraded. Across all sections of the country barring some language purists, the global advantages of fluency in English are recognised, hence the mushrooming of private schools in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, to which even economically disadvantaged parents seek to enrol their children. In leading countries across the world (such as Germany or Japan), emphasis is being given in the 21st century at an early stage of schooling to the learning of English, widespread knowledge of which is among the few advantages that India has over China. Chief Minister Adityanath in UP has followed this global norm in his state, showing great foresight in initiating a policy of making English accessible to school students from a young age. Investors further suggest that a possible innovation would be the granting of dual citizenship to nationals of specified countries. Such a privilege is available to citizens in several democracies, and Modi giving that right to select foreign nationals (especially those of Indian origin), who are citizens of a friendly country such as the US or the UK, would be an expression of confidence in their fealty to the stability and progress of not merely their adopted but also the native land of their forbears.
LOWER RATES BOOST REVENUE
Given the colonial mindset still prevalent within the administrative machinery, it is no surprise that coercion is given much more emphasis than persuasion in order to ensure compliance. In matters of policy, there is the stick and there is the carrot. Given the population of the country and the often ramshackle administrative structures present in many locations, there are limits to the effectiveness of the stick. In particular, when wielded by a corrupt official, the stick may often belabour the honest, but unlucky while sparing the crooked. The Sibal-Chidambaram era of harsher and harsher penalties for a growing number of perceived offenses saw a multiplication of reliance on the stick. In India, a much wider band of activities has come under the ambit of criminal law, including in many instances imprisonment, than is the case in other major democracies. The laws and practices regarding income-tax are an example. During the UPA period, even the weak safeguards against bureaucratic misuse got diluted. As during the colonial period, it was assumed by the machinery of government that the average citizen was a crook rather than honest. Certainly the proportion of the population that pays direct taxes is still unrealistically low. Over the past five years, there has been an intensive effort by North Block to raise the number of taxpayers, mainly through the use of the stick, While this has had some success, much more progress would ensue were tax slabs to undergo substantial revision rather than remain much the same in real terms as they were since the 1996-97 Union Budget got presented. Looking at some of the GST rates, which are the most variegated and complex in the world, it seems that some in North Block believe that India’s citizens should follow the example of Anna Hazare and Vinoba Bhave and reduce their physical wants to a minimum. Elements of what is commonly accepted elsewhere (and by the growing and aspiring middle class within India) as a tolerable lifestyle have been taxed as luxuries, despite the fact that such industries generate employment and revenue in much the same way as the others do. Or that few millennials wish to follow the frugal example set by Mahatma Gandhi, an example cast aside by his successors in favour of luxurious lifestyles in the Lutyens Zone as soon as the British left. In the 21st century, when a citizen is bombarded daily with images from across the world, the elements of what is regarded as constituting a reasonable lifestyle have changed substantially since the era of the Mahatma, or even the 1970s period of tax rates of 97.25%. Hyper-high GST rates on presumed “luxuries” imply a policy matrix that is opposed to a steady improvement in the lifestyles of citizens and represents an effort to make such a process as financially painful as possible. After the reform having being kept in the waiting room for more than a decade, the rollout of GST has been a signature achievement of Modi 1.0. However, a lower level of rates would assist far more than “Arrest at Sight” provisions in ensuring wider and willing compliance, thereby fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s command to keep the GST “good and simple.
Apart from looking for a substantial rise in the income limits for direct tax slabs (so as to promote higher consumption), investors are also looking to the PMO and the Ministry of Finance for lowering corporate taxes. In the US, such a policy (which has been initiated by President Donald J. Trump) has resulted in more than a trillion dollars of corporate reserves returning to the US for investment in that country by its corporates. High corporate tax rates result in company managements shifting profits to overseas subsidiaries through adjustments in payments and receipts. Lower rates, together with further ease of compliance through additional rationalisation of GST would assist in unleashing the animal spirits needed to break the present cycle of lower investment. In this context, domestic investors are taking heart from recent decisions of the Reserve Bank of India, whose current leadership seems to be abandoning the institution’s unfortunate tradition of looking towards the City of London and Wall Street while formulating its policies, rather than to the needs of those residing near the various Mahatma Gandhi Margs across towns and cities in India. Successive RBI Governors have done their utmost to handicap domestic industry through high interest rates, to cheers from global financial firms eager to cash in on such rates, and it is after a long time that growth of jobs in India is being given precedence in Mint Road over the profits of financial entities headquartered in New York and London. Given that the domestic market in India is important to external investors, this recent change in stance by the RBI will be a helpful factor in attracting a minimum of $200 billion of annual external investment into India over the next five years. This will be in addition to the extra investment raised from domestic sources as a consequence of a Modi-fied approach towards the economy.
MONEY MUST CREATE JOBS
Among the numerous ways in which the interests of those holding foreign currency have been given much greater priority than those unfortunates holding only rupees is the welcome that has for long been jointly extended by Mint Road and North Block to “Money making money”, as distinct from the money making goods and services. It is extraordinary that funds that flow into India only to get the risk-free arbitrage advantage of higher interest rates (and which flow out at the slightest sign of volatility) have been pampered by both fiscal as well as monetary authorities over investors who are willing to put their money into jobs and services through investing in infrastructure and other physical assets. While a dollar-denominated deposit can be removed in less than a second from a bank in India, a bridge, airport or highway cannot. Using the various means that are open to them through laws and regulations crafted by politicians and officials belonging to the “Swiss Club” i.e., those with undeclared assets abroad, those involved in “Money making money” operations can and do usually conceal their identities. The same anonymity could be extended to those investing in sectors where money creates goods and services. This could apply both to external investors as well as to domestic. If a job-creating unit is set up, such investment needs to be made more welcome by the regulatory system than mere “Money making money”. Even where domestic investors are concerned, disclosure or anonymity schemes could be evolved that incentivise individuals with large hoards of cash (including in banks) to not hoard but invest the same in sectors that are productive and which generate jobs. Substantial private investment is at present wary of making investments as a consequence of (a) fear of the consequences of discovery, combined with (b) the immense range of punitive options available to officials who are not always honest. They need to be encouraged to invest, as relying on expenditure by government will not be enough to meet the job deficit. What is needed is to unlock for productive investment the immense hoards of liquidity that successive sweeps by the investigating authorities have yet to uncover, often because of the connivance of corrupt officials. Deng Xiaoping said that it did not matter whether a cat was black or white, as long as it caught mice. India needs a lot of cats, no matter their colour, to catch the many mice scurrying around stunting the economy. In the Sibal-Chidambaram system, every shopkeeper was sought to be converted into a police officer, recording details of those who spent money on items stocked within the shop. The consequence has been that several shopping malls are empty on most days, except for those who go there for their morning or evening walk. An increase in the velocity of circulation of cash will lead to taxes getting collected with each circuit made, hence the obsession with catching them at the initial stage itself should not be retained at the P. Chidambaram (PC or Police Constable) level, which puts a dampener on overall demand. As for supply, the ability to generate a greater flow of goods and services should not be hostage to the whims of officials but should be given an environment to be plentiful. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his ministers and officials to make India the most welcoming location in the world for start-ups, and this is a command that needs to be accomplished at the earliest.
ANNUAL POTENTIAL: $200 BILLION
Now that Modi has won a second five-year term, that too in such a spectacular fashion, deep reservoirs of money are looking to India as a destination for investment, but strategies will need to be worked out to attract them away from alternative locations. These strategies, which may sometimes be specific to country or industry, have to be within an overall policy geared towards generating investment that accepts that a Vinoba Bhave lifestyle is not what the youth of India are looking for. Moves such as the introduction of Interest Free Banking would be helpful in the banking system attracting funds. Kuala Lumpur has profited immensely from the Interest Free Banking system, as have New York, Frankfurt and London, and it is time for Lucknow, Hyderabad and Kochi to follow. In the case of China, which for India is among the most important potential sources of investment, an advantage that India has is the excellent relationship that has been built up between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This could be leveraged in order to secure investment from China to help offset the trade deficit between the two countries. In addition, there are companies from several countries that are looking to shift from China, both because of the trade war with the US and the mounting cost of skilled labour in that country, and India could be a preferred destination for several of them. Home Minister Amit Shah has shown his skill in ensuring that the Prime Minister’s image be leveraged in order to secure a repeat victory for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. The Groups of Ministers in which Shah is present will hopefully turn their attention towards ensuring that an annual target of $200 billion of external investment into India gets met. This would be besides domestic investment from those who have held off because of the overhang of the Sibal-Chidambaram years and the fear this has engendered of some officials using the multiplying thicket of rules and penalties to extort bribes. Such (domestic) investment would not be a small number, but would cross $500 billion during the term of Modi 2.0. There is money in India, enough to power double digit growth, but much of this is either not being used or is flowing to overseas destinations through both banking as well as non-banking channels.
MODI STANDARD: DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH
Prime Minister Modi has shown immense skill in balancing relations between Beijing and Washington, or between Tehran and Riyadh. This is fortunate, as in different ways, there is need for a close relationship with both the global superpowers, the US and China. What is needed to place the economy on a sustainable double digit growth trajectory is a matrix of 21st century policy initiatives that combine the external with the internal; the financial with security imperatives; the use of soft power and an occasional display of hard power. After his overwhelming victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the formulation and execution of a conceptually and administratively integrated policy for double digit growth is the challenge facing Modi 2.0, a challenge that those who know Narendra Damodardas Modi are confident will be met with ease by the Prime Minister. | {
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As cycling’s popularity has increased, there has been a cultural shift away from fun and experiences towards a macho world of speed and Strava
I came across an interesting film the other day. It was linked from Sidetracked, a beautiful, outdoors lifestyle-y type magazine. The kind you buy in a bookshop rather than a newsagent, full of long-form journalism and photo essays, not product reviews and top 10 lists.
The video was of one woman, Lael Wilcox, talking about her experience cycling the Arizona Trail. She was racing, trying to get the best time, but on her own in a self-supported attempt.
It stood out because it was the first time I’ve found myself getting excited by cycling for a while. Something about the braveness of it, the risk, the crazy, epic mental-ness. Watch: it’s short and wonderful.
I’ve always liked cycling. Over the years, some of my favourite moments have been spent on a bike: going the distance, getting lost, finding myself in unexpected and beautiful places.
Cycling can be so adventurous. I always found something ramshackle and joyful in it. It’s a quick way to get about, but one where you feel entirely part of the environment you’re travelling through. You’re fast enough to see stuff, to not get bored of the same view and to get places, but slow enough to chat to anyone you’re with, to stop and say hi to people, to admire what’s around you.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fast Forward – Lael Wilcox takes on the Arizona Trail.
A couple of things have spoilt it for me.
One is, I hope, temporary: having children. It’s not to say I can’t cycle now I’m a dad, it’s just that either I have to take time away from my family to do it or take them with me. The latter is is great but doesn’t lend itself to the exciting and unplanned types of adventure I used to enjoy. But as they get older I’m looking forward to silly and slightly reckless trips en famille.
The second is, probably, more permanent: a shift in the culture. Cycling in the UK has changed massively in the past few years. Mostly for the better. Cycling as a mode of transport has really taken off in London, if not in all other places. It’s amazing. The infrastructure is improving beyond recognition. It’s incredible to see that cycling has become a normal, unquestioned part of so many people’s lives.
Unfortunately, the other side of cycling seems to have been ruined. Ten years ago I would have been proud to describe myself as a cyclist, still a slightly odd, marginal thing to do.
It was a world of peculiar achievement, of anoraks and curly cheese sandwiches eaten on forgotten B-road laybys. It was a world of Sheldon Brown, and tales of Sustrans cycle paths.
You could be a serious cyclist and go out in denim shorts, stop for a spliff and a thermos of tea on the top of Ditchling Beacon, try cycling to Southampton on a three-speed Pashley. All these things were fine, and fun, and if you talked to other cyclists about them there would be moments of recognition and joy at shared love and shared experience.
All the touring I’ve done, all the cyclists I’ve met, we never used to talk about pro cycling. Chatting about gear was about other stuff, slow and beautiful stuff, the comfort of steel, Brooks saddles (when they still cost £40). The physicality was an important part of it – these people were wiry, fit, slow climbers in low gears, capable of heroic achievements on rusting bikes, carrying too much camping gear, stashing too much wine for the evening’s pitch. Physicality but without explicit competition.
Sure, the road cyclists were there, but they were just one subculture of several which got along well with each other.
Now it’s different. Road cycling has become the orthodoxy. Tedious, competitive, sports cycling has taken over. Cycling has become the new golf. It’s what men of a certain age, men with money and power, chat about after meetings.
The focus has moved to sportives, to carbon fibre frames, to Rapha Sky-branded kits, to gels, training techniques, times, pace and cadence. The aspiration is no longer to get lost, to enjoy and to explore: the aspiration is to do stages of the Tour, watch races, spend more money, own the best stuff, be the quickest. And it bores the shit out of me.
So pervasive is this trend that it seems to be sucking the life out of other parts of cycling. It’s hard to find the hippies and the explorers any more. It’s all about the competition and the conformity.
A classic south London ride (over Crystal Palace, out to Oxted) has become a miserable slog of unsmiling, un-nodding pink and black Lycra-clad sports cyclists. There’s no bonhomie or camaraderie, just wrap-around glasses and steely determination to overtake.
And the chat is about bikes and times, Strava segments, with the same fervour dull men use to talk about football teams. People are less and less likely to talk about experiences, the things the’ve seen, the places they’ve been, the fun and epic hardship they’ve experienced. They’re less and less likely to talk about the joy of cycling. Again, it bores the shit out of me.
This sounds like a reactionary rant, and that’s because it is. I should be able to just let these people get on with it and live and let live, or even just take joy in the fact that there are so many more people who love cycling in any way they like.
But I can’t, and I have my reasons. First, I don’t like being looked down on. I don’t like being characterised as less of a cyclist because I can’t be arsed with sportives and would rather get lost than go hard.
Second, I think it pollutes the rest of the culture. This pernicious strand of macho sport orthodoxy is creeping into all parts of cycling. It’s starting to be the norm. Bike shops are geared towards it, bike blogs are geared towards it, conversations around cycling are geared towards it. You mention you like cycling, now that comes with an expectation that you are a certain type of person; alpha male, serious, competitive, buyer of bikes, regurgitator of facts.
Moreover, I worry that this fake professionalisation in leisure cycling hides the joy from people who might otherwise have got involved.
Third, it’s just another example of something lovely, free and non-corporate being turned into a mega industry. And that makes me sad. Can’t we have some things which don’t get packaged up, branded and marketed? Isn’t there any part of life where I can experience a freedom from corporatism without have my experience re-packaged and sold back to me?
Anyway back to Lael Wilcox. It is beautiful to see someone cycling competitively, cycling seriously, but with the passion for adventure, for challenge, for experience which has been lost from so many other parts of the culture.
It’s hard not to feel jealous of her hardship, of her joy, of the challenge she’s facing. She inspires me to think about cycling in the old way again.
There’s something adventurous, and crazy, and silly about what she’s doing. I would hope that some of her spirit comes back into cycling, some of the madness, some of the diversity, and while I hope that the road cyclists stick around, I also hope they become less the dominant force in cycling, and more just one voice amongst many others. | {
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