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Haym Salomon (also Solomon; April 7, 1740 – January 6, 1785) was a Polish-born American Jewish businessman and political financial broker who immigrated to New York City from Poland during the period of the American Revolution. He helped convert the French loans into ready cash by selling bills of exchange for Robert Morris, the Superintendent of Finance. In this way he aided the Continental Army and was possibly, along with Morris, the prime financier of the American side during the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain.[1]
Early life and education [ edit ]
Haym Salomon (anglicized from Chaim Salomon) was born in Leszno (Lissa), Poland in 1740 to a Sephardic Jewish family descended from Spanish and Portuguese Jews who migrated to the Jewish communities of Poland as a result of Ferdinand and Isabella's expulsion of the Jews in 1492 and remained there for many generations. Although most Jews in Central and Eastern Europe spoke Yiddish (Judeo-German), some have claimed that because Salomon left Poland while still young, he could not read and write Yiddish. In his youth, he studied Hebrew.[2] During his travels in Western Europe, he acquired a knowledge of finance and fluency in several other languages, such as German.[3] He returned to Poland in 1770 but left for England two years later in the wake of the Polish partition. In 1775, he immigrated to New York City, where he established himself as a financial broker for merchants engaged in overseas trade.[4][5]
Revolutionary activity [ edit ]
Haym Salomon commemorative stamp (1975)
Sympathizing with the Patriot cause, Salomon joined the New York branch of the Sons of Liberty. In September 1776, he was arrested as a spy. The British pardoned him, but only after requiring him to spend 18 months on a British boat as an interpreter for Hessian soldiers – German troops employed by the British. Salomon used his position to help prisoners of the British escape and encouraged the Hessians to desert the war effort. In 1778 Salomon was arrested again and sentenced to death. Again, he managed to escape, making his way with his family to the rebel capital in Philadelphia.[6]
Financing of the American Revolutionary War [ edit ]
Once resettled, Salomon resumed his activities as a broker. He became the agent to the French consul as well as the paymaster for the French forces in North America. In 1781, he began working extensively with Robert Morris, the newly appointed Superintendent for Finance for the Thirteen Colonies.[7]
From the period of 1781–84, records show Salomon's fundraising and personal lending helped provide over $650,000 (approximately $18,035,722.16 in 2018 dollars [8]) in financing to George Washington in his war effort. His most meaningful financial contribution, however, came immediately prior to the final revolutionary war battle at Yorktown.[9]
In August 1781, the Continental Army had trapped Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis in the Virginian coastal town of Yorktown. George Washington and the main army and Count de Rochambeau with his French army decided to march from the Hudson Highlands to Yorktown and deliver the final blow. But Washington's war chest was completely empty, as was that of Congress. Without food, uniforms and supplies, Washington's troops were close to mutiny.[9] Washington determined that he needed at least $20,000 to finance the campaign. When Morris told him there were no funds and no credit available, Washington gave him a simple but eloquent order: "Send for Haym Salomon". Salomon raised $20,000, through the sale of bills of exchange. With that contribution, Washington conducted the Yorktown campaign, which proved to be the final battle of the Revolution.[5]
Salomon brokered the sale of a majority of the war aid from France and the Dutch Republic, selling bills of exchange to American merchants. Salomon also personally supported various members of the Continental Congress during their stay in Philadelphia, including James Madison and James Wilson. He requested below-market interest rates, and he never asked for repayment.[10]
Salomon is believed to have granted outright bequests to men that he thought were unsung heroes of the revolution who had become impoverished during the war. One example is Bodo Otto, a senior surgeon in the continental army. Otto joined the army at the age of 65 and served for the entire war. Among other things, he established the hospital at Valley Forge, where he often used his own funds to purchase medical supplies. Due to Salomon's bequest, Otto was able to rebuild his medical practice in Reading, Pennsylvania at war's end.
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the Revolutionary War but not the financial problems of the newly established nation. America's war debt to France was never properly repaid, which was part of the cascade of events leading to the French Revolution.
Jewish community [ edit ]
Pennsylvania Historical Marker, 44 N 4th Street, Philadelphia (July 2014)
Salomon was involved in Jewish community affairs, being a member of Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, and in 1782 made the largest individual donation toward the construction of its main building. In 1783, Salomon was among the prominent Jews involved in the successful effort to have the Pennsylvania Council of Censors remove the religious test oath required for office-holding under the State Constitution. These test laws were originally written to disenfranchise the Quaker majority (Quakers objected to taking oaths at all), but many were caught up in this anti-democratic ploy. It was Salomon's old friend Robert Morris who actually introduced legislation to end the test laws in Pennsylvania. In 1784, Salomon answered anti-Semitic slander in the press by stating: "I am a Jew; it is my own nation; I do not despair that we shall obtain every other privilege that we aspire to enjoy along with our fellow-citizens."
Death [ edit ]
The financier died suddenly and in poverty on January 8, 1785, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after contracting tuberculosis in prison. Due to the failure of governments and private lenders to repay the debt incurred by the war, his family was left penniless at his death at age 44.[9] The hundreds of thousands of dollars of Continental debt Salomon bought with his own fortune were worth only about 10 cents on the dollar when he died.
His obituary in the Independent Gazetteer read, "Thursday, last, expired, after a lingering illness, Mr. Haym Salomon, an eminent broker of this city, was a native of Poland, and of the Hebrew nation. He was remarkable for his skill and integrity in his profession, and for his generous and humane deportment. His remains were yesterday deposited in the burial ground of the synagogue of this city."
Legacy [ edit ]
The grave-site of Haym Salomon, Mikveh Israel Cemetery is located in the 800-block of Spruce Street in Philadelphia. Though unmarked, there are two plaque memorials. The east wall has a marble tablet that was installed by his great-grandson, William Salomon, and a granite memorial is set inside the cemetery gate. In 1980, the Haym Salomon Lodge #663 of the fraternal organization B'rith Sholom sponsored a memorial in the Mikveh Israel Cemetery on the north side of Spruce Street between 8th and 9th Streets in Philadelphia. A blue ribbon panel and committee, including Robert S. Whitman, Sidney Bruskin and Marvin Abrams, all lodge past presidents; and Philadelphia, PA residents, arranged for the renovation of the walls and walkways of the cemetery. They then arranged for and oversaw the installation of a large, engraved memorial marker of Barre Granite just inside the cemetery gates, inscribed "An American Patriot". A memorial bronze marker with an American flag was installed by Robert S. Whitman, marking the dedicated space for the American patriot.[11]
Commemoration [ edit ]
There is a legend that during the design process of the Great Seal, Washington asked what compensation Salomon wanted in return for his financial contributions to the American Revolutionary War. He replied that "he wanted nothing for himself but that he wanted something for his people". While there is no evidence, there is a theory that the 13 stars representing the colonies on the seal were arranged in the shape of the Star of David in commemoration of Solomon's contributions.[12] This appears to have little basis in fact, however, although it is oft-repeated.[13]
When Morris was appointed Superintendent of Finance, he turned to Salomon for help in raising the money needed to carry on the war and later to save the emerging nation from financial collapse. Salomon advanced direct loans to the government and also gave generously of his own resources to pay the salaries of government officials and army officers. With frequent entries of "I sent for Haym Salomon", Morris' diary for the years 1781–84 records some 75 transactions between the two men.
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ] |
Donald Trump supporter Omarosa appeared on MSNBC tonight and engaged in a lot of excuse-making for the violence at Trump’s rallies, literally saying, “You get what’s coming to you.”
Chris Matthews repeatedly confronted her and Omarosa said Trump can’t be responsible for every person who engages in violence at his events.
She did, however, say, “You have a right to get into a closed, private event, and you get what’s coming to you. I do not condone violence, but if you go into an environment where you’re interrupting 13, 14 times, you do expect a hug or kumbaya?”
Matthews pointed out he’s egged it on a few times. Omarosa’s actual, real response was, “He’s a New Yorker, what do you want him to say?… He’s not gonna be pushed around, Chris.”
She complained that no one has covered protesters at Democrats’ rallies. Daily Mail reporter Francesca Chambers said there has been no violence at any Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders rallies.
Omarosa condescendingly told her, “Okay, thank you, Francesca, for that insight.”
Matthews said, “No, I think it’s called reporting.”
Watch above, via MSNBC.
[image via screengrab]
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Struggling steelmaker Arrium to be boosted by new import duties imposed on cheap Chinese steel
Updated
Import duties will be imposed on "unfairly priced" Chinese steel products by the Federal Government in a bid to help embattled South Australian steelmaker Arrium remain competitive.
Key points: Import duties now apply to two types of steel products from China
Duties are up to 53 per cent of the export price, and are intended to help Arrium
Australian Workers Union says the move will not help Whyalla
Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said duties of between 37 per cent and 53 per cent of the export price would apply to "rod in coil", and between 11 per cent and 30 per cent on reinforcing bar.
The move is intended to drive down oversupply of Chinese steel, and is based on recommendations by the Anti-Dumping Commission.
Pressure has been mounting on the Government to tighten anti-dumping measures as a result of the plight of Arrium.
The company is in voluntary administration with debts of $4 billion, and workers at the company's Whyalla steelworks are facing an uncertain future.
"Obviously we have relatively high production costs and China has relatively low production costs, and they have been potentially unfairly pricing their steel in Australia because of extra support from their Government," Mr Pyne said.
"This obviously assists Arrium who are producers of these kinds of goods.
"The Australian Government is working to sustain the local steel industry, while acting within World Trade Organisation rules."
Mr Pyne said the duties would apply as of April 22.
The Government said the exact duty would depend on the exporter, and "there would be an additional duty should the export price fall below a specified floor price".
The Australian Workers Union (AWU) said the measures would help parts of Arrium's business but did not go far enough.
"It's certainly not the fix for Whyalla," national secretary Scott McDine said.
"We need to boost local steel procurement for Government infrastructure projects up to 90 per cent... and we need to see co-investment in steelworks like Whyalla so we can upgrade them."
South Australian acting branch secretary Peter Lamps said Whyalla was mainly in the business of producing steel products other than those targeted by the new measures.
"Whyalla mainly produces structural steel and rail products," he said.
"That is just as much under stress, as far as the dumping of overseas products is concerned, as reo rod and bar."
SA Government offers free legal advice to Whyalla contractors
The Federal Government said Australia currently has 44 anti-dumping measures in place that apply to 12 steel products from 14 countries.
The union said the new duties do not breach Australia's obligations under its free trade agreement with China.
South Australian Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis visited Whyalla on Friday to meet with contractors receiving free legal advice from the State Government.
Debts to Arrium's suppliers have been frozen and it is not clear when they will be paid.
"We're also offering accounting services and consultation with the administrator to make sure they all get access to the appropriate financial advice," Mr Koutsantonis said.
Mr Koutsantonis said a 10-month high in iron ore prices would do little to help Arrium in the short term.
Topics: steel, industry, federal-government, unions, tax, trade, whyalla-5600, sa
First posted |
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (CNN/Screenshot)
The office of Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, a Republican and evangelical Christian, on Sunday deleted a tweet many saw as offensive and insensitive that was sent out shortly after the deadly attack on a gay nightclub in Florida.
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows,” read the Bible verse Patrick sent out on his official Twitter account a few hours after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history that left at least 50 dead.
His office was not immediately available for comment but has told local media, including the Dallas Morning News, that the tweet had been scheduled for release well before the shooting. The office, which regularly sends out a Bible verse on Sundays, has since deleted it and replaced with another passage, they said.
But the deleted tweet from a politician who has condemned same-sex marriage and fought against LGBT rights still raised the ire of those who accused Patrick of blaming the victims.
“You are a disgrace to your state in this time of national sorrow. You should resign,” prominent LGBT activist George Takei wrote on Twitter.
The Texas Democratic Party called on Patrick to apologize immediately.
“Make this right. We are better than this,” it said in a statement.
Patrick is currently out of the country and has not yet made comment to media about the tweet.
The new verse sent on his account reads: “The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; He is their stronghold in time of trouble.”
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Nick Zieminski) |
All of you frequent fliers out there, you know the drill. Take off your shoes, because of Richard Reid, the "shoe bomber." Remove your hair gel from your backpack because of the bombers who targeted Heathrow using liquid hydrogen peroxide. When you get on a plane, you must also, from now on, be prepared to remove any blankets from your lap before landing -- too bad if you're asleep! -- because of the Christmas Day underwear bomber.
When someone invents a way to hide explosive powder inside a toothbrush case, prepare to remove your toothbrush. And while you're at it, throw a pinch of salt over your left shoulder as you board the plane. But never, at any moment, imagine that the rigamarole of airport security is guaranteed to make you safer -- for no one knows which of these measures, if any, is actually necessary.
Worse, no one has any financial or political incentive to find out. The fact is, since the hurried and heavily politicized creation of the Department of Homeland Security and its junior partner, the Transportation Security Administration, neither their priorities nor their spending patterns has been subject to serious scrutiny. They have never been forced to make hard choices. On the contrary, both have been encouraged by their congressional funders to spend money in reaction to every perceived new threat, real or otherwise: Thus full-body scanners, unacceptable as recently as last summer, will now be rushed into use. In just a few years -- under a Republican administration and mostly Republican Congresses -- these institutions thus grew into vast, unruly bureaucracies, some of whose activities bear only a distant relationship to public safety.
So customary has it become to repeat old, familiar lists of ludicrous public projects that readers who cannot bear to read the litany one more time might want to skip to the next paragraph. For yes, it is true: Having started with 13 employees in January 2002, the TSA now employs 60,000, and in the process of its expansion the organization found it had money for all kinds of extras. As I wrote in 2005, some $350,000 of its $6 billion budget once was spent on a gym; $500,000 was spent on artwork and silk plants, and untold millions are annually spent in overhiring, since determining when there will be long security lines at an airport has never been the sort of thing at which the federal government excels.
As for the DHS, its 2010 budget came in at $55 billion, some of which (according to the economist Veronique de Rugy, writing in 2006) will invariably be spent on things like the $63,000 decontamination unit in rural Washington, where no one was trained to use it, more biochemical suits for Grand Forks, N.D., than the town has police officers to wear them and $557,400 worth of rescue and communications equipment for some 1,500 residents of the town of North Pole, Alaska. Not to mention what is spent on the "needs" of the constituents of other important members of Congress.
It is not actually DHS or TSA employees who are at fault for these kinds of decisions. From the very beginning, security experts and even the agencies' own inspectors general have pointed to the absurdity of TSA and DHS spending patterns, many of which are driven by the latest scare story (I wish I'd been at the celebratory New Year's Eve party undoubtedly thrown by the manufacturers of those full-body scanners). And from the very beginning, Congress has fought back against critics, repeatedly allocating funds to unnecessary local projects, reacting to sensational news stories, spending money in ways that suit its members and then declaring itself shocked -- shocked! -- to discover that our multibillion-dollar homeland security apparatus was unable to stop a clearly disturbed Nigerian from boarding a Detroit-bound plane.
Imagine if the TSA's vast budget were dedicated to the creation of a cutting-edge computer network that could have made security officers in Amsterdam instantly aware of the warning from the Detroit bombing suspect's father. Imagine that, instead of relying on full-body X-ray scanners or long-haul flight-blanket deprivation, we had highly paid and trained consular officers in places such as Nigeria. Even then security would not be perfect (and I'm not sure that airborne terrorism is even the worst thing we have to worry about). But it would make sense to have a smaller, less expensive and less wasteful system. It would make sense to have a system based on real risks and priorities, instead of the stories featured on cable news. It would make sense to fight the next battle, for once, instead of the last one. "Sense," though, is not the criterion by which public money is spent in this country -- and hasn't been for a long time.
[email protected] |
The Prison Industrial Complex
Only the most vile, degenerate and immoral person could feel good about the practice of for profit institutionalized slavery which dominated the southern economy for 300 years. What is even more unacceptable is that people who knew better, presumably Christian people with a conscience did little or nothing while evil was triumphing.
Today, America is witnessing the rebirth of institutionalized slavery within its borders and it is indeed a predominantly racist practice with Latinos and Blacks comprising the bulk of the new slaves. And we are also witnessing racist rates of incarceration within our juvenile justice system. This outrageous practice should be decried by every media outlet in the country, but this problem is all but ignored by the mainstream media (MSM). Why? Because the MSM is making money off of this unholy practice.
A Growing Customer Base
There are over two million inmates in American prisons, or one in 743 people. Communist China, which has five times the population of the United States, has 500,000 less inmates. The United States has only 5% of the world’s population, but has 25% of the world’s prison population.
In 1972, the U.S. had less than 300,000 inmates. By 1990, the incarceration rate had skyrocketed to one million and by today, the rate has more than doubled again. Again, I ask why? Because there is very big monied interests behind the growth industry of privatized prisons.
According to Charles Campbell, author of The Intolerable Hulks (2001), the privatization of the prisons movement has its origins in the Revolutionary War period. England began to put undesirables and prisoners in prison ships. The U.S. fully embraced the use of private prisons during the Reconstruction Period (1865-1876) in the south, following the Civil War. Plantation owners and business owners needed “free” replacements to compensate for the loss of their previous slave laborers. In 1868, convict leases were awarded to private business interests in order to bolster their labor workforce and the practice continued until the early 20th century.
Today, this practice has been taken over by private corporate interests who are increasingly taking over our prison system and this unholy practice is no less exploitative than the slave labor abuses of the past and as in all forms of slavery, it is being fueled by profit.
Prison for Profit
The Corrections Corporation of America is the largest private prison operator in the United States. The CCA procured its first private prison in, ironically, 1984.
Did you know that in many states, privatized prisons are guaranteed 90% occupancy rates by the government?
According to the California Prison Focus “The private contracting of prisoners for work fosters incentives to lock people up. Prisons depend on this income. Corporate stockholders who make money off prisoners’ work lobby for longer sentences, in order to expand their workforce. The system feeds itself,” says a study by the Progressive Labor Party, which accuses the prison industry of being “an imitation of Nazi Germany with respect to forced slave labor and concentration camps.”
The Impetus Behind the Prison Industrial Complex
According to public analysis from the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), the largest holder in Corrections Corporation of America is Vanguard Group Incorporated. Vanguard is a major player in controlling several media giants. Vanguard is the third largest holder in Viacom and AOL Time Warner. Vanguard is also the third largest holder in the GEO Group. The GEO group, second only in size to the CCA with regard to privatized prisons as it controls over 100 correctional facilities in the US, UK, Australia and South Africa. In addition to CCA’s unwarranted control over the media, the number-one holder of both Viacom and Time Warner is a company called Blackrock. Blackrock is the second largest holder in CCA, and the sixth largest holder in the GEO Group in this never-ending incestuous relationship.
The conclusion is inescapable. The people who control privatized prisons in the United States are also heavily vested in the media. This is why you don’t hear about the Prison Industrial Complex in the media and the installation of institutionalized slavery in our privatized prisons goes largely unreported in the media.
Vanguard Windsor II Investment Fund owns CCA. However, CCA is a minute part of the Vanguard Windsor II Funds. Vanguard Windsor is also invested in corporate giants like JP Morgan, IBM Pfizer and Conoco. This accounts for the Wall Street backing of privatized prisons and the subsequent lobbying for longer and stricter prison sentences which fuels this growth industry.
This makes the privatized prison industry a Wall Street backed growth opportunity.
Increasingly, the victims of this corrupt prison system are the youth of America.
Need A Job? Go to Prison, They’re Hiring
The Prison Industrial Complex is an impressive growth industry which is fueled by its Wall Street investors and leads to greatly overcrowded and inhumane prisons.
According to the Left Business Observer, the highly privatized federal prison industry produces “100% of all military helmets, ammunition belts, bullet-proof vests, ID tags, shirts, pants, tents, bags, and canteens. Thus, we see a partial marriage between private prisons and our government’s wars of occupation. Namely, prison slave labor is being used to produce the weapons and supplies of war.
America has found and antidote to the loss of manufacturing through the various free trade agreements (i.e. NAFTA, CAFTA). Unfortunately, prison slave labor is the solution. The Left Business Observer identifies private corporate interests benefiting from prison slave labor which includes the manufacturing of “93% of all paints and paintbrushes; 92% of stove assembly; 46% of body armor; 36% of home appliances; 30% of headphones/microphones/speakers; and 21% of office furniture.”
Go to School and End Up In Prison
There are almost 75,000 juveniles in prison and the rates are skyrocketing because of a phenomenon that is now being referred to as the school to prison pipeline in which schools are increasingly refusing to deal with even minor discipline issues and are placing juveniles in police custody.
In 2010, there were 5,574 school-based arrests of juveniles in the Chicago Public School. The juvenile arrests accounted for about one of every five juvenile arrests in the entire city of Chicago for all of 2010. The incarceration rates for Chicago’s juveniles are in line with most other metropolitan areas in the country. There is also a general trend of disproportionate rates of minority contact within the juvenile justice system, Black youth accounted for 74% of school-based arrests, and 22.5% of youth arrested were Latino. The enrollment of Chicago schools in was 45% Black and 41% Latino. These high arrest rates for so many of our minority youth, create potential slave laborers for the Prison Industrial Complex. Once a child is adjudicated in the justice system, society usually witnesses a straight line right to prison. These precious children are having their futures robbed from them before they can even get started. What are they being arrested for? The number one reason is fighting on school grounds.
As a child, I had fights on school grounds, but nobody tried to send me to prison. The number two reason why children end up in the justice system is for possessing small amounts of marijuana.
As a former mental health counselor, I am all too familiar with the devastation brought on by use of drugs. However, marijuana is not one of these drugs. If legalizing marijuana runs against everything you believe in, how about decriminalizing. In other words, we still make the drug illegal but nobody goes to prison for simple possession.
The federal authorities, controlled by the corporations will never allow such a common sense, liberalized approach to drug enforcement. The feds even arrest medical marijuana dispensers and users. Why? Because Wall Street wants prisoners to fill its increasingly privatized and for-profit prison system. This is the major reason why America has 25% of the world’s prison population.
Our minority youth, in the inner cities, are being conditioned by the system that going to prison is part of the life experience. And with extremely high recidivism rates, prison slave labor will never have any shortage of participants.
The Prison Industrial Complex and their lobbyists are responsible for zero tolerance policies, mandatory sentencing and the three strikes life sentencing that is so prominent in many of our states and unless we identify these abuses and stop them, it is only going to get worse.
These events are culminating to establish was has been dubbed as the School to Prison Pipeline
Increasingly, the youth of America are the main participants and as a result slavery has reared its ugly head in the modern era and it is racist and exploits many of our youth for profit. And that is the topic of Part two of the Prison Industrial Complex.
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Three people were injured when a tractor-trailer rolled over after a collision with a car at the intersection of Route 125 and Route 155 in Epping on Wednesday.
Advertisement 3 injured when tractor-trailer, car collide in Epping Driver of car flown to Boston hospital Share Shares Copy Link Copy
Three people were injured when a tractor-trailer rolled over after a collision with a car at the intersection of Route 125 and Route 155 in Epping on Wednesday.Click to watch News 9's coverage.Police said the tractor-trailer and a car collided about 6:50 a.m. The driver of the car, Elisa Smith, 43, suffered a serious head injury and was flown to a Boston hospital.Smith's 17-year-old daughter was a passenger in the car, and she was taken to Exeter Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. The driver of the tractor-trailer, Miguel Adames, 54, also had non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Exeter Hospital.Neighbor Emily Adams has been friends for about five years with the driver and her daughter. Adams said she and her two sons were getting ready for the day when they heard a terrible sound."We just heard a big huge crash and we knew something had happened, and we looked out and we heard the police and the ambulance and saw the lights," she said.State police said it appears that the mother, who was driving, might have misjudged how much space she had."They basically pulled into the path of the tractor-trailer unit that you see here on the roadway traveling northbound," Sgt. Steve Cooper said. "A lot of credit is given to the operator of the tractor-trailer unit, who observed the vehicle in front of and him took evasive action."The tractor-trailer rolled over, spilling part of its load of trash and creating a nightmare for drivers during the morning commute. The position of the truck also created problems for those in charge of cleaning up the mess."Where the tractor is, it's all really soft mud, so we're going to have a hard time with placement of the trucks to get it out," said Donald Gagnon of Rochester Truck.State police said neither driver was impaired, and speed did not appear to be a factor in the crash.Get the WMUR app12967056 |
Ivory Coast sent hit squads to Ghana to kill followers of former strongman Laurent Gbagbo and paid Liberian mercenaries not to stage cross-border attacks for Gbagbo, a UN report said.
The Ghana government told United Nations sanctions experts they had "foiled" at least two missions this year by Ivory Coast agents to kill or abduct Gbagbo associates, said the report obtained by AFP on Sunday.
"The Ghanaian authorities claimed to have foiled at least two such missions in early 2013," said the report.
At least one former Gbagbo supporter, who had returned to Ivory Coast, "had been abducted and had disappeared," it added.
Payments were made to Liberian mercenaries and Ivory Coast militia commanders in a bid to head off attacks aimed at destabilising President Alassane Ouattara's government.
The report to the Security Council, by experts who monitor UN sanctions against Liberia, cast new light on efforts by Ouattara's government to blunt the threat from Gbagbo, whose refusal to concede defeat in a 2010 presidential election sparked unrest in which thousands died.
Gbagbo is now at the International Criminal Court in The Hague facing charges of crimes against humanity. But several cross-border attacks were staged from Liberia in 2012 and the UN mission in Ivory Coast has said several times that new incidents are possible.
The Ghanaian government told the UN experts in July that its neighbour had been sending Ivorian agents intending to assassinate or kidnap militant pro-Gbagbo refugees.
The experts said they had been unable to "independently verify" the claims.
But they met several former Gbagbo ministers in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, who said they wanted to return "but were afraid that they would be killed if they succeeded."
Gbagbo refused to accept the result of the presidential election in late 2010. At least 3,000 people died in five months of unrest before he was captured in an operation backed by UN and French forces.
Ivory Coast was gripped by civil war for much of the previous two decades. Ouattara has embarked on reconciliation efforts but has been urged to move faster and to clamp down on corruption.
Government payments
The UN experts said they had "gathered substantive information" concerning payments made from May this year by the Ivory Coast government to "key Liberian mercenaries."
Two of the mercenary leaders were identified as Isaac Chegbo, who is also known as "Bob Marley" and Augustine "Bush Dog" Vleyee.
Money was paid for "collecting information from these individuals and discouraging them from conducting cross-border attacks," said the report.
It said the payments were made by the Ivory Coast interior ministry's bureau of operational intelligence.
The mercenaries told the UN sanctions experts they were taken to Abidjan to receive money. One said he was given $8,000 but others said they got as little as $2,000.
"Several of the mercenaries who had received such payments complained that they had been promised substantially more money," the report said.
The mercenaries "alleged that additional financing had been misappropriated by Ivorian officials" and the Liberian intermediary.
The UN report said that while attacks had diminished this year, the payments were not a "sustainable" way of keeping the lid on tensions in the country.
It also said Ivory Coast had failed to tell Liberian counterparts about the payments or other moves to sway Gbabgo followers in Liberia.
An Ivory Coast mission accompanied by a UN official from Abidjan that went to a refugee camp in Liberia in May was briefly detained by Liberian authorities who had not been warned in advance, said the report. |
About
Veteran actor well known for his partnership with director Spike Lee and for appearing in films like The Usual Suspects and King of New York. His performance as drug lord Gus Fring on Breaking Bad earned him the Best Supporting Actor Award from the 2012 Critic's Choice Television Awards, and a 2012 Emmy nomination. He plays Pastor Ramon Cruz in Netflix's The Get Down and Jorge in the Maze Runner films.
Before Fame
He played a slave child when he was eight - it was his fist exposure to the entertainment industry.
Trivia
He was a guest star in the NBC cult sitcom Community as the half-brother of Chevy Chase's character Pierce Hawthorne.
Family Life
He married Joy McManigal in 1995. He has four daughters named Syrlucia, Kale Lyn, Shayne Lyra, and Ruby Esposito.
Associated With
He acted alongside Nicole Kidman in the 2010 film Rabbit Hole. |
JPMorgan Chase books $3.3 billion profit
While some of its peers spent part of 2009 in the red, JPMorgan Chase managed to stay profitable.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- JPMorgan Chase showed it was close to making a full recovery from last year's crisis after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly profits of $3.3 billion Friday.
The New York City-based banking giant also revealed that compensation expenses climbed 18% during the year to $26.9 billion, much of which is expected to doled out in the form of bonuses.
Kicking off the fourth quarter earnings season for the nation's top banks, the company said it turned a tidy profit during the final three months of 2009, earning 74 cents on a per share basis.
That was much better than Wall Street was anticipating. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a profit of $2.46 billion for the quarter, or 61 cents a share.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) fell more than 1% in midday trading though as revenue numbers fell short of expectations.
"Though these results showed improvement, we acknowledge that they fell short of both an adequate return on capital and the firm's earnings potential," JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement.
Still, 2009 proved to be a stellar year for the bank, as profits more than doubled to $11.73 billion, besting consensus estimates.
One of the biggest drivers of its results in the quarter was the company's investment banking business, which earned $1.9 billion, largely helped by robust debt and stock underwriting fees.
"Earnings in the investment bank were better than we were expecting," Collins Stewart analyst William Tanona wrote in a note to clients Friday.
Executives at the company however, were reluctant to declare that the worst was behind them.
Mike Cavanagh, JPMorgan Chase's chief financial officer, noted that there were still areas of weakness within the company's mortgage portfolio. He also reiterated previous forecasts that its credit card division would likely lose $1 billion a quarter during the first half of 2010.
"We need to wait and see how the economy evolves," he said.
It was clear though that JPMorgan was taking no chances, especially with millions of Americans still out of work. During the quarter, the bank said it added an additional $1.9 billion to its consumer loan loss reserve.
Dimon said that the lack of clarity about the direction of the economy was also playing a big part in keeping the bank from boosting its dividend back to pre-crisis levels. JPMorgan slashed its dividend last year by 87% and currently pays one of just 5 cents a quarter.
JPMorgan Chase is the first of several big banks and Wall Street firms to report its fourth-quarter results. Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500), Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) and Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) are all slated to release their fourth-quarter and full year numbers next week.
JPMorgan Chase is widely believed to be among the strongest banks in this group though, and its healthy profits could lead to more criticism of the financial services industry.
On Thursday, the industry faced one of its harshest attacks yet after the White House proposed a new tax Thursday on big banks that it said helped to contribute to the financial crisis.
Dimon said Friday that he was not opposed to the concept given the financial services industry's role in the current economic mess. But he quickly rejected the notion that banks such as his should be held responsible for the problems in other industries such as the automotive business.
"I don't understand why we should have to pay for that," he said.
There is also the ongoing backlash among politicians and taxpayers about the size of bonuses doled out by financial firms that benefited from government bailouts.
JPMorgan, which accepted $25 billion in taxpayer aid last fall, revealed Friday that more than a third of its compensation expenses went towards its Wall Street employees.
The company said it spent $9.33 billion to compensate workers in its investment banking division, an increase of $1.6 billion from a year ago. That figure includes salaries as well as money set aside for bonuses.
Divided among the nearly 25,000 individuals in this business, the average annual compensation per employee was nearly $380,000. |
Title: Study on Clinician and Researcher Perspectives on Self-Injury
Directed by: Alexander Chapman, PhD
Assistant Professor
Simon Fraser University
Department of Psychology
RCB5246, 8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6
PH 778-782-6932, FAX 778-782-3427
http://www.sfu.ca/psyc/faculty/chapman
http://www.dbtvancouver.com/
Location: Online questionnaire. Link provided after initial email communication.
Description: I am currently conducting a study examining clinician and researcher perspectives on self-injury. Specifically, I am interested in examining the factors which may prevent an individual from engaging in self-injury over a period of days, weeks or months. I am also interested in how clinicians conceptualize self-injury, and what kinds of treatment strategies they use to address this behaviour. As a clinician, you have an important role to play in understanding barriers to self-injury, and I would welcome your participation in this study.
Commitment: Participants will be asked to fill out a brief set of online questionnaires which ask about your clinical training and education, background and experience dealing with self-injury, and how clients you have seen have been able to refrain from engaging in self-injury. These questionnaires should take no more than 30 minutes of your time. Participation is voluntary and confidential. |
Harold Perrineau, Tom Everett Scott and DJ Qualls have been announced as key cast members in SyFy’s ensemble zombie series, “Z Nation,” which will debut a 13-episode season this fall.
Other stars in the action-horror show from The Asylum, the production company behind “Sharknado,” include Michael Welch (“Twilight”) and Kellita Smith (“The Bernie Mac Show”).
See video: ‘Family Feud’ Contestant Thinks Zombies Are Black
“Z Nation” takes place three years after a virus has turned the country into a zombie wasteland, and follows a team tasked with transporting the only known human to have resisted the virus to a lab in hopes of creating a vaccine. Although the antibodies he carries are the world’s last hope for survival, he hides a dark secret that threatens them all.
Perrineau will play Hammond, the leader of the group headed west; Scott portrays Garnett, Hammond’s second-in-command; and Qualls plays the role of Citizen Z, a computer hacker who joins the team and helps them navigate the zombie-infested terrain. Welch and Smith are Mack and Addy, respectively, two disparate wanderers drawn to the team — and to each other — by a shared goal: survival.
Also read: Paramount Delays ‘Friday the 13th’ 8 Months for ‘Scouts vs. Zombies’
Karl Schaefer (“Eureka”) serves as executive producer and showrunner. John Hyams will direct the pilot. |
Former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband strongly urged Israel Sunday to lift its sea blockade of Gaza. Miliband, who is the current favorite to head Britain's recently defeated Labor Party, was interviewed on British television.
Israel's three-year blockade of Gaza is counterproductive to all parties concerned. That is the view of leading British politician David Miliband. "Resolution 1860, the U.N. resolution that brought the Gaza war to an end which I actually co-authored 18 months ago in New York, says very clearly that the arms trafficking into Gaza has to stop but the blockade has to stop and that is absolutely basic," he said.
Interviewed by the BBC, the former Foreign Secretary said the blockade has in effect marginalized Gaza. And he added, it has represented a stain on policy right across the Middle East for a very long time. "It has been a disaster for the people involved, obviously those many killed and injured, it has also been a disaster for Israel. I think there have been a series of deadly and self-defeating actions by successive Israeli governments in respect of Gaza. There cannot be a Palestinian state and therefore cannot be peace for Israel and rest of Middle East with Gaza isolated with people unable to get in basic commodities, unable to rebuild their lives," he said.
Miliband also expressed his frustration that the long stalled peace process has not moved forward. He wants to see more energy put back into the process. "What is corroding any confidence at all among Palestinians and Israelis that they are going to be able to find a way to live together is the absence of a serious political process to negotiate the terms of a Palestinian state. There are these so called proximity talks, that means they are not even sitting in the same room - the Palestinians and the Israelis, and unless that is jump started, if not by the parties then by outside parties, the Americans, the U.N. with E.U. support, then I am afraid this is not going to get resolved," he said.
The Israeli ambassador to the United States said on American television that his country will reject an international proposal to investigate the deadly raid on the Gaza flotilla that left nine dead on a Turkish ship. |
Cava Grill Coming to Silver Spring
The popular fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant plans to open on Fenton Street
By Andrew Metcalf
The Cava Mezze Grill location at Westfield Montgomery in Bethesda opened last year Via Cava Mezze Grill website
Cava Grill is bringing its Mediterranean pita wraps and salads to Silver Spring in early 2016.
The new Cava Grill concept will open at 8515 Fenton St. in Silver Spring's downtown, according to a press release. The location will feature an open-kitchen layout and stone-fired ovens. It also will serve seasonal soups, beer and wine.
Cava, which got its start as a full-service restaurant in Rockville, later found regional popularity with its fast-casual Greek concept Cava Grill. The concept is known for its pitas, rice bowls and salads that are served Chipotle-style with a variety of ingredients such as falafel, grilled chicken, lamb meatballs, vegetables and sauces including tzatziki, hummus and spicy harissa.
Cava Grill currently has eight locations, including restaurants on Bethesda Row, in Westfield Montgomery mall and in Gaithersburg's Kentlands neighborhood.
Cava's owners-Ted Xenohristos, Ike Grigoropoulos and Dmitiri Moshovitis-grew up in Montgomery County and came up with the idea for the Cava Rockville restaurant while working at Bethesda restaurants.
In April, the company announced it had raised $16 million in funding and would use the money to finance a West Coast expansion of Cava Grill. |
There is nothing wrong with national-level education yardsticks. We’ve had them for decades: the SAT, Advanced Placement tests, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, etc. What is wrong is imposing one standard on everyone, which ignores that all children are unique and no standards-setters omniscient. But that is exactly what Washington is doing with the Common Core.
First, it is necessary to establish that the Core is largely being imposed by the feds. It is not, as Core supporters insist, “state-led” and “voluntary.”
The Core was created by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, but these groups do not represent states. Legislators do, and while people vote for governors, doubtless few, if any, have ever done so based on what they expect a candidate might do in the powerless NGA.
Next, the impetus behind Core adoption in most states was federal action. To compete for a part of the $4.35-billion Race to the Top purse, states de facto had to adopt the Core. Indeed, Race to the Top required state leaders to promise to adopt the Core before the final version had even been published!
Cementing adoption, the Obama administration gave only two options for states to get waivers from the hated, illogical, No Child Left Behind Act: adopt the Core, or have a state university system certify state standards as “college- and career-ready.”
Topping it all off, the U.S. Department of Education selected and funded two consortia to create national tests to go with the Core.
On the too-rare occasion when advocates have acknowledged the federal force behind the Core, they have typically implied that the Obama administration acted against their intent that adoption be purely up to states. But in “Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S. Students Get a World-Class Education” - a report published before Barack Obama became president — the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers implored Washington to offer “a range of tiered incentives,” including funding and regulatory relief, to move states onto national standards. The call was eventually reiterated on the Core’s website, then removed.
Despite advocates’ incessant protestations, the facts are clear: Common Core was federally pushed, just as they requested. This top-down imposition is a huge problem for two fundamental reasons.
The first is that all children are unique. They learn different things at different rates, and have myriad talents and goals. Yet Common Core, by its very nature, moves all kids largely in lock-step, processing them like soulless widgets. That’s likely a major reason there is no meaningful empirical evidence that national standards produce better outcomes, and education experts across the spectrum have dismissed the Core.
The second basic problem is that no one is omniscient. As the raging debate over the quality of the Core painfully illustrates, even if there could be a one, best standard for all kids, we don’t know what it is. But with a monopoly, no alternative standards will be able to compete, and better ways of doing things won’t be revealed.
So is the Common Core a bad idea? Absolutely. It is a federally coerced, one-size-fits-all regime that ignores basic, human reality. |
Here's the thing about Mike Huckabee: just when you start to think he might be a reasonably decent guy (at least compared to the rest of the Republican presidential field), he reminds you of what an absolute asshole he really is.
The latest example: he thinks President Obama's decision to give up defending unconstitutional discrimination in the Defense of Marriage Act will "destroy" the Obama presidency. CBS:
In an interview with CBS News political consultant John Dickerson, Huckabee said the decision could "destroy" President Obama, though not marriage itself. "It may destroy him [Obama], may destroy his credibility, may destroy his campaign and candidacy and ultimately his term in office," Huckabee said.
And why does Huckabee think it will destroy Obama?
"He himself didn't take this position when he ran for president. I think if he had, he wouldn't be president," Huckabee said.
Except that's Bullshit. With a capital B. President Obama opposed DOMA throughout the campaign and supported its repeal.
Huckabee's dickishness doesn't stop with distorting Obama's record, however. Not even close. Get a load of this crap:
In his new book, "A Simple Government," the ordained minister writes that traditional families - those grounded in a marriage between a man and a woman - promote economic stability. "[Marriage] is the foundational form of government," Huckabee told CBS News.
Marriage is the foundational form of government? What the hell does that even mean? Was the American revolution fought over high divorce rates? Was the Egyptian revolution the result of too much casual dating?
And even if we took Huckabee seriously and we accepted that marriage really is the foundational form of government, then what does it say that every single American president has served alongside a male vice president? If same-sex marriage is so bad, then why hasn't he ever complained about same-sex government? |
Some Republicans will say anything to see the Affordable Care Act fail. The best defense is the truth.
Now I’ve heard everything. Well, probably not, when it comes to myths the GOP invents about Obamacare. But this one’s a doozy.
On the May 29 edition of The Last Word, I saw Tea Party Republicans leading citizens at a town hall meeting to believe that the IRS will get to make decisions about whether or not they receive healthcare coverage or treatment. I’m paraphrasing, but the gist was, “If they don’t like your politics or your religion, they won’t let you get care!”
Here’s the clip:
It’s so preposterous it’s hardly worth mentioning. But the trouble is, there are plenty of people who will believe it. That’s why it’s so important to get the facts out there.
The only involvement the IRS has in Obamacare is enforcing the penalty imposed on people who choose not to buy health insurance, if they can afford it. Oh, and by the way, the maximum penalty is about $800 per year. Right now, I pay $1,200 a month as a self-employed person with type 2 diabetes. So if someone chooses not to buy insurance and pays the penalty instead, they’re getting a deal. Because they still get to go to the emergency room and get care when they absolutely need it. People like me help pay for that.
Getting more people coverage is one of the reasons premiums will go down for countless Americans starting in 2014. We won’t be paying for as many other people’s care. States that accept Medicaid expansion will reduce even more of the burden on people who buy insurance. I’m looking at you, Michigan, among others.
Another myth that’s been spreading like wildfire, thanks in large part to Tea Party Republicans, is that premiums will go up because of Obamacare. That’s simply not the case. I’ve estimated my premiums will drop by nearly 40 percent once I’m no longer penalized for being a woman with type 2 diabetes who is self-employed — all black marks against me under the current system. Premiums are not set by Obamacare or the federal government. Premiums are set by insurance companies. In an open marketplace where insurers must now compete in state or federal healthcare exchanges, they must set market-friendly rates or suffer the consequences. Consumers get to choose the coverage that fits their needs and budget. This article from The New Republic by the always-excellent Jonathan Cohn explains it beautifully.
Look, I get it. Obamacare is a complicated law and there’s a lot to know. But it’s worth learning about — and it’s certainly worth getting the facts out there so the Republicans can’t succeed in what seems to be a plan to sabotage Obamacare through a strategy of misinformation and fear. First, there were death panels and now, the myth that the IRS will be pulling the plug if they don’t like you. I know you’re not that gullible. Let’s make sure everyone else isn’t, either.
There’s more to come. On the one hand, there’s sure to be continued attacks from Obamacare’s opponents. Having lost 37 attempts at repealing the law, they’ll apparently stop at nothing to see the law fail. On the other hand, as Obamacare implementation continues, there’s more and more evidence that it works. We just have to make sure the facts speak louder than the misinformation. Surely a good law that helps millions of Americans can stand up to a pack of lies.
I’ll be writing a lot about Obamacare here in the months to come, sharing new proof of its benefits that are being revealed with increasing frequency as implementation continues. I’ll also be providing facts to disprove any ridiculous lies being spread. So stay tuned and pass on the truth.
Questions are welcome in the comments section if there are topics you’d like to see covered in future posts. In the meantime, this site on health reform from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is a great resource for independent facts.
[Photo credit: Chris Savage | Eclectablog] |
Country music stars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw have expanded their progressive campaign within the traditionally conservative medium by voicing support for gun control in the newest issue of Billboard Magazine.
The pair, who have been married for two decades and are promoting their first dual album, "The Rest of Our Lives," are forcefully expressing their shared political beliefs in the process.
Speaking to Billboard, McGraw says that while he enjoys hunting, he believes that using "common sense" means supporting gun control.
"Look, I’m a bird hunter -- I love to wing shoot. However, there is some common sense that’s necessary when it comes to gun control," McGraw told the magazine.
He then took aim at gun rights activists. "They want to make it about the Second Amendment every time it’s brought up," McGraw added. "It’s not about the Second Amendment."
Faith Hill quickly joined in and appeared to claim that stricter gun control laws could have prevented the mass shooting in Las Vegas. "In reference to the tragedy in Las Vegas," Hill opined, “we knew a lot of people there. The doctors that saw the wounded, they saw wounds like you’d see in war. That’s not right."
And, of course, as many celebrities are wont to do in the wake of a national tragedy, they spoke out against the National Rifle Association. "Military weapons should not be in the hands of civilians," Hill said. "It’s everyone’s responsibility, including the government and the National Rifle Association, to tell the truth. We all want a safe country."
By now, it's clear that Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock deftly navigated existing weapons restrictions in order to acquire an arsenal of weapons, including military grade guns with "bump stocks" that allowed them to shoot like automatic rifles. In the case of last week's church shooting in Texas, the government — not the NRA — failed to use common sense in enforcing its own laws, and allowed Devin Kelley to purchase guns even though he had been convicted of domestic violence.
But McGraw and Hill have become the progressive conscience of the country music world. They've long since declared their allegiance with the Democratic Party, first supporting President Barack Obama and then 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.They even held a Nashville fundraiser for Clinton, raising thousands for the failed Democrat with a private country music concert. |
For the first time in 25 years, staff at the Smithsonian's National Zoo are making preparations for the highly anticipated birth of an endangered Bornean orangutan. With a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan (SSP), the 19-year-old parents to be, female Batang and male Kyle, bred in January. On Feb. 2, a common human pregnancy test confirmed that Batang had successfully conceived. Earlier today, the Zoo announced Batang's pregnancy through a broadcast via Facebook Live of her ultrasound; it will continue to provide weekly updates on Batang through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #OrangutanStory.
Zoo veterinarians have conducted bi-weekly ultrasounds since Feb. 2 and are encouraged that the ultrasounds have shown fetal growth and development, heightening hopes that Batang will give birth for the first time. They are cautiously optimistic that she will deliver a healthy baby around mid-September. However, just like any animal pregnancy, there is a possibility that miscarriage, stillbirth or a complication could occur.
All of our perseverance and planning paid off when we confirmed Batang's pregnancy, said Meredith Bastian, curator of primates and member of the Orangutan SSP Steering Committee. Watching her fetus develop over the past few months has been incredibly exciting, and we're making every effort to ensure our efforts come to fruition.
For the past three years, keepers have been acclimating Batang to the experiences of motherhood and training her to care for an infant. Building upon behaviors Batang has learned through routine training sessions, keepers presented her with a plush, bean-shaped pillow and an orangutan stuffed animal to simulate a baby. Keepers trained her to hold the fake baby upright, carry it around the enclosure and return the pillow baby to keepers through a specially designed baby box when asked. Should animal care staff need to evaluate a real orangutan baby's health, this training would help staff retrieve the infant in a way that is safe and not stressful for the animals. Batang has also been trained to use a breast pump for milk collection in the event she is unable to successfully nurse.
Training increases the likelihood that orangutan mothers will care for their infants said Becky Malinsky, assistant curator of primates.This training is especially important for a first time mother, like Batang. It is our goal for the infant to be raised by her mother, learning how to be an orangutan from Batang and the other orangutans at the zoo.
In the event that Batang is unable or unwilling to care for her infant, keepers are training females Bonnie and Iris to act as surrogate mothers. They receive similar training to Batang, but with a slight twist: keepers ask them to bring the pillow baby and present it to the keepers for bottle feedings. Batang is also trained to present the infant for bottle feedings if she is unable to nurse. As a last resort, keepers will prepare a nursery in the event it is necessary for them to hand-raise the baby with the goal of returning the infant to its mother or surrogate as soon as possible.
Native to Indonesia, orangutans live in the tropical rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. For the past seven decades, humans have cleared land that was originally orangutan territory in order to meet the growing demand for palm oil products, fast-growing pulp wood and food crops leaving orangutans in competition with one another for space, food and mates. Scientists estimate that in the past 75 years, the number of wild orangutans has decreased by 80 percent. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the Bornean orangutan as endangered and the Sumatran orangutan as critically endangered.
Visitors can see the Zoo's six orangutans daily at the Great Ape House and the Think Tank. At the Great Ape House, visitors can meet a great ape keeper to learn about the fascinating world of apes at 11:30 a.m. daily. At Think Tank, staff and interpretive volunteers perform daily demonstrations and lead discussions on research in cognitive science, highlighting current and ongoing National Zoo studies at 1:30 p.m. Visitors can also see the orangutans traveling on the O-Line on warm-weather days in the late morning and early afternoon.
Download photo set |
Japan and North Korea on Monday began a new round of official talks to normalize diplomatic relations in Stockholm, Sweden.
The three-day talks followed the previous round held in late March in Beijing. As with the Beijing session, the Japanese delegation is led by Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, and Song Il Ho, Pyongyang’s ambassador for normalizing relations with Japan.
“Japan has imposed various sanctions on North Korea in cooperation with the international community,” Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday at a speech at Chuo University in Tokyo.
“Considering North Korea’s current difficult circumstances, we have achieved some positive results, and those pressures led to a resumption of official talks,” Kishida said.
Kishida also said that Japan will consider lifting some sanctions on North Korea in phases depending on whether Pyongyang shows concrete efforts to solve the long-standing issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents in late 1970s and early 80s.
In previous sessions, the Japanese delegation has demanded that North Korea launch a fresh investigation into the fate of those abducted Japanese nationals. Pyongyang on the other hand, maintains its stand that the abduction issue has already been resolved.
In August 2008, the two nations agreed to complete a re-investigation into the Japanese abductees in North Korea, But then prime minister Yasuo Fukuda abruptly resigned. Negotiations on the abduction issue have stalled and no action has taken since then.
“Other than Japan, North Korea has a strained relationship with other nations such as South Korea and the US,” Hideshi Takesada, an expert on regional security at Takushoku University in Tokyo, told NK News on Monday. “So it must be serious enough to respond to Japan’s demand this time.”
“By holding negotiations with Japan, Pyongyang is also trying to make President Park Geun-hye’s administration feel unpleasant intentionally,” Takesada pointed out.
Lee Young-hwa, an expert on Korea and an economics professor at Kansai University in Osaka, disagreed with Takesada’s views.
Lee said North Korea has improved relations with China, which soured following the execution of Jang Song Thaek last December, damaging Japan’s improving ties with Pyongyang.
“Japan-North Korea negotiations will stall sooner or later,” said Lee, who is a third-generation ethnic Korean resident of Japan.
In Stockholm, Pyongyang is expected to call on the Japanese government to block the sale of the Tokyo headquarters building of Chongryon, the main pro-North Korea organization in Japan.
The Tokyo High Court recently dismissed the appeal filed by Chongryon against the sale of the building and land to Marunaka Holdings, a property investment company based in Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture in western Japan.
“Pyongyang will bring up this thorny issue at negotiating table to kill negotiations,” Lee also said.
Takesada took a different view by saying “the sale of Chongryon’s headquarters is not something which will cause Pyongyang to kill negotiations with Japan.”
Picture: Abhimanyu, Flickr Creative Commons |
It turns out that alt+tabbing doesn't turn off your webcam.
Not content to let Ilyes "Stephano" Satouri take the award for livestreaming gaffe of the month, a League of Legends player has been caught masturbating during a live match.
Andrew "Slooshi" Pham was livestreaming one of his rounds earlier today, when he decided to alt-tab, watch some porn and entertain a brief visit from Rosie Palm and her five daughters. Unfortunately, he forgot to turn off the livestreaming program he was using to capture his game. The program captured both the on-screen action - "Shower and Massage with hot beauty Asian Kina Kai" courtesy of SoapyMassage.com - and 17-year-old Slooshi's, uh, appreciation of the video.
Rather than curl up into a ball and wish for death, Slooshi seems to be taking the gaffe in his stride. Once he got a grip on the situation, he changed the banner of his streaming site to read "Got caught fapping AMA" and has even joked that his impromptu genital fondling was a legitimate "tactic."
Slooshi isn't the first victim of accidental livestreaming. Last month, small time DOTA streamer, Zyori, became infamous when he failed to turn off his streaming program before wandering around semi-naked. Viewers were treated to the sight of Zyori, naked from the waist down, scratching his scrotum and spending a minute appreciating its scent.
More recently, professional StarCraft 2 player, Illyes "Stephano" Satouri, was suspended from play for a month following a series of off-color jokes about child abuse he made during a game he assumed was private.
Source: Twitch.Tv |
Electing Democrat Hillary Clinton president will lead to a “very harsh climate” for the press in which the First Amendment “will be very significantly eroded,” contends WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange.
“What kind of press climate is going to exist afterwards, especially if Hillary Clinton is elected?” he asked in a radio interview with Sean Hannity.
“It will be perceived to be a validation of that hysteria, and so the press afterwards will be cracked down upon and online publishers and people on social media, you know, it will lead to a very harsh climate where the First Amendment will be very significantly eroded,” Assange said.
Hear the interview:
Assange made news days ago when he was erroneously reported to have called Clinton a “demon” in an interview with the New York Times.
He immediately set the record straight, blasting both the Times and Clinton.
On Twitter, he posted, “What we were drawing attention [to] is the amazing transformation that Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party are by becoming the national security party and the national security candidate by whipping up a neo-McCarthyist hysteria about Russia.
It’s crazy Uncle Joe in his own words! New book has dozens of QR codes for an evening of laugh-out-loud gaffes — don’t miss “Biden Time”
“Any serious analyst understands that China and the U.S. are the only real games in town. China has ten times the population of Russia, seven times the GDP. Russia has the GDP of Italy. It’s interesting in that it makes provocative statements and so on. It’s interesting, and of course in its own neck of the woods – countries between Russia and China, the Caucasus and so on—of course Russia is very significant for them, but in the world stage Russia is a bit player.
“That attempted re-framing by Hillary Clinton to declare media organizations that are publishing material that shows illicit behavior in the DNC to fix the election for her as somehow us being Russian agents, similar criticism has emerged from people connected to her campaign against the Intercept, where Glenn Greenwald works,” he said.
“Her campaign has effectively, and maybe even directly, called Donald Trump, the opposition leader in this case, a Russian agent. … Jill Stein, the Greens Party candidate, effectively the 4th candidate in terms of numbers – has also been called a Russian agent,” he continued.
“This is a neo-McCarthyist hysteria. What kind of press environment is this going to lead to, post-election? The American liberal press, in falling over themselves to defend Hillary Clinton, are erecting a demon that’s going [to] put nooses around everyone’s necks when she wins the election which she is almost certainly going to do.”
What do YOU think? What do you think Assange has on Hillary? Sound off in today’s WND poll.
On Hannity’s radio show, he continued the conversation, charging Clinton and her campaign are “trying to whip up a neo-McCarthyist hysteria.”
He explained: “The Democrats are always speaking about how terrible McCarthyism was, and it was in many ways. But at least the USSR actually existed then and there were actually Russian-influence campaigns which were serious. What we’re seeing now is Hillary Clinton and her campaign trying to whip up a neo-McCarthyist hysteria.”
He said she charges that anyone critical of her or who opposes her is in league with Russia.
“She claims Donald Trump is effectively an agent of the Russians. That WikiLeaks is an agent of the Russians. And where her campaign has also implied that Jill Stein, the Greens’ leader, is a Russian agent. And the Intercept, which is an American publication, are effectively Russian agents.”
He said the campaign’s objective is to chill free speech to protect her if she wins in November.
WND reported WikiLeaks already has had a significant role in the presidential election.
It has released Democratic Party emails resulting in the resignation of top party officials and documents related to Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, and promises an “October surprise” of information that could damage Clinton’s White House bid.
Earlier, he ridiculed the claims that DNC documents leaked were provided by Russian agents.
There was “no evidence” of that, he said.
It’s crazy Uncle Joe in his own words! New book has dozens of QR codes for an evening of laugh-out-loud gaffes — don’t miss “Biden Time” |
Enlarge Image Tyler Lizenby/CNET
Philips Hue's app-enabled, color-changing light bulbs were among the very first smart-home gadgets to sync with Alexa, Amazon's popular voice-activated, virtual assistant. Pair the two up, and you'll be able to turn lights on and off or dim them up and down using simple voice commands. The only problem? Alexa can't do color changes -- which is, you know, kind of a big part of the whole Philips Hue pitch.
Today, that's changing. Kind of.
As part of a whirlwind day that saw Alexa make her debut in the UK and Germany, along with the arrival of a second-gen Amazon Echo Dot mini-speaker that costs just $50, Amazon also unveiled new Alexa controls that allow her to trigger preset smart home scenes for Alexa-compatible gadgets. And, once again, Philips Hue is one of the first to jump on board.
That means that in addition to turning lights on and off and dimming them up and down, you can now tell Alexa to turn on your Philips Hue lighting scenes, even ones that change the colors of your bulbs. For instance, if you make a "sunrise" scene that turns the bulbs in your bedroom orange and red and sets them to fade up to full brightness over 30 minutes, you could trigger that scene by saying, "Alexa, turn on scene sunrise."
Still, it's odd that you can't tell Alexa to change your Hue lights to specific colors. Color-changes aren't a native skill for the virtual assistant, but the Alexa-compatible Hue competitor Lifx found a way around that shortcoming long ago. The trick? An additional Alexa skill for color changes. Enable it, and you can ask Alexa to "tell Lifx" to change a bulb to a specific color. Philips still offers nothing of the sort for Alexa -- though it does offer voice-activated color changes by way of Alexa's chief frenemy, Siri.
All of that said, Alexa scene controls are a nice step forward for the Alexa/Hue duo and a relatively simple way for users to get their voice control and color-change fixes in one fell swoop. Here's hoping for more as Alexa continues to get smarter and better connected. |
(Lula Marques/AGPT)
SÃO PAULO - O relator da reforma política na comissão especial da Câmara dos Deputados, deputado Vicente Cândido (PT-SP), deve incluir em seu relatório um artigo que, se aprovado, impedirá a partir da eleição de 2018 a prisão de candidatos até oito meses antes da eleição. As informações são do jornal "O Estado de S. Paulo".
Sem alarde, a proposta, que já ganhou o apelido de “emenda Lula”, alteraria o Artigo 236 do Código Eleitoral, que proíbe a prisão 15 dias antes do pleito.
Ao jornal, Vicente Cândido afirmou que a nova regra beneficia o ex-presidente petista, condenado nesta semana pelo juiz Sérgio Moro a 9 meses e meio de prisão, e que foi pensada para “blindar” não só ele, mas políticos investigados. “Lula também, como qualquer outro. É nossa arma contra esse período de judicialização da política", afirmou.
Para alterar o prazo que impede a prisão, o deputado criou a figura da habilitação prévia da candidatura. O político terá entre 1 e 28 de fevereiro do ano da eleição para solicitar o certificado à Justiça, que poderá concedê-lo até 30 de abril. Após obter o certificado, o candidato ganha uma espécie de salvo-conduto que o impediria de ser preso daquele momento até 48 horas depois do pleito. A exceção continua sendo a prisão em flagrante. A reforma política será votada no dia 3 de agosto pela comissão da Câmara e, para valer em 2018, precisa ser aprovada pelo Congresso até setembro.
A proposta gerou reações de políticos. A senadora Ana Amélia (PP-RS) escreveu em sua página noTwitter: "quando a sociedade exige uma reforma política moralizadora, é inaceitável e provocadora a manobra para livrar Lula e outros políticos da inelegibilidade nas eleições de 2018”.
Ao jornal O Globo, o deputado Espiridião Amin afirmou: "essa proposta não tem cabimento. Daqui a pouco a candidatura vai ser um passe livre para bandido. É uma ideia infeliz, a famosa proposta indecente. Não fui consultado e vou votar contra. É apenas uma tentativa de blindar bandido para se candidatar". |
With all the changes taking place at Roush Fenway Racing for the 2015 season, it appears veteran crew chief Jimmy Fennig may be in his final year calling shots on the pit box.
Currently serving as crew chief for Carl Edwards — who will move on to Joe Gibbs Racing next season — Fennig indicated he would likely take a behind-the-scenes role with the team once the season comes to a conclusion.
Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway, Fennig told FOXSports.com he will have to wait and see what team owner Jack Roush has in store for him next year, but added that he will most likely not be atop the pit box after the 2014 season.
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Saying it would ultimately be his decision when to walk away, Fennig indicated he would most likely work with the research-and-development arm of Roush Fenway Racing.
Jack Roush said of Fennig’s future: "We don’t have a plan yet," Jack Roush said of Fennig’s future. "We haven’t heard definitively from Jimmy what his plans are, but he may be thinking about retirement. We’re just not sure."
Trevor Bayne is making his move to a full-time ride in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2015 and does not yet have a crew chief in place, so that is a possible spot for Fennig if he decides to continue working in a crew chief role.
One of the longest tenured crew chiefs in the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage, Fennig has been calling the shots atop the pit box since getting his start in 1986 with Mark Martin.
Over the next 28 years, he would go on to work with the likes of Bobby Allison, Dick Trickle, Hut Stricklin, Jimmy Spencer, again with Martin, Kurt Busch, Kenny Wallace, Jamie McMurray, David Ragan, Matt Kenseth, and has spent the last two seasons calling the shots for Carl Edwards.
Edwards said Friday that he did not know what Fennig’s plans were at the end of the season.
Fennig’s most successful season came while working with Mark Martin in 1998, scoring seven wins, 22 top fives and 26 top 10s. Working with Kurt Busch in 2004, Fennig scored his lone NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. |
Trump Blasts Floundering Democrats Over Fake Russian Story
Key Democratic officials are now warning their base not to expect evidence of Trump-Russia collusion in the 2016 election.
This comes after months of Democratic leaders and the Fake News media of hyping up the conspiracy that Russia hacked the election.
Today Donald Trump blasted Democrats over the fake Russian story.
The Democrats made up and pushed the Russian story as an excuse for running a terrible campaign. Big advantage in Electoral College & lost! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 20, 2017
Sorry Democrats – There is no evidence to support your conspiracies.
James Clapper and others stated that there is no evidence Potus colluded with Russia. This story is FAKE NEWS and everyone knows it! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 20, 2017
The real story is the leaking of classified documents.
The real story that Congress, the FBI and all others should be looking into is the leaking of Classified information. Must find leaker now! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 20, 2017 |
Crates of monastery stones and statue of the King of Seville arrive in Miami. St. Bernard de Clairvaux was dismantled and shipped from Spain by William Randolph Hearst. (Photo: Bettmann/Corbis)
We had been driving through what felt like one continuous Miami strip mall for almost an hour. Our GPS promised that in a few short minutes we would reach the destination we had traveled some thousand miles to find: a Spanish monastery, from the 12th century, once inhabited by a bevy of monks, moved stone by stone across the ocean, now set in the middle of a swamp-jungle. As we passed each pawn shop, shuttered record store, and strip mall-based high school, it became increasingly plausible that perhaps the guidebooks, Wikipedia, and Catherine Zeta Jones’ jarringly kinky scene from Rock of Ages had somewhat oversold whatever we were about to experience.
When the GPS told us to turn left, our earlier suspicions were confirmed. The side streets did not really offer an escape from the strip mall, but merely extended it in all directions.
Then, suddenly, on the right, a break in the uniform storefronts. A little further on, a small sign announcing the Ancient Spanish Monastery.
At the back of the parking lot, a wrought iron gate blocked off a graceful 16th century gate just wide enough for a small truck. Mary and Bernard of Clairvaux looked down lovingly from delicate niches on either side of the gate, their gazes falling on a cluster of cats that had found shade next to the plastered support posts. It was the quintessential Southern Mediterranean/Under the Tuscan Sun vibe, except, in the background, giant tropical plants, complete with dangling vines. The trees loomed over a church, courtyard and dining hall built in the middle of nowhere in Spain almost nine centuries before. From the gate, we could see bright flowers splayed against the pitted stone, a little worse for the wear after 900 years of use, a trip across the Atlantic ocean, several fires, and a quarter-century sabbatical in the damp crates of a Bronx warehouse from the 1920s to the 1950s.
The exterior of St Bernard de Clairvaux, Miami. (Photo: Jorge Elías/flickr)
This was Medieval America—one of several dozen centuries-old buildings imported to the U.S. in the early 20th century. They lie scattered around the country, a hidden patchwork of mostly-illegal monasteries and mansions whose history has been largely forgotten. In reporting this story, Atlas Obscura dug into both scholarly and journalistic texts, and spent time on both coasts, to understand how and why a handful of the country’s most famous families spent small fortunes helping themselves to whole European buildings. The story that emerged is part caper, part mystery, and part tragedy: American robber barons snuck ancient stones out of the war-torn countryside in the dead of night, Europeans fretted over how their familiar landmarks were rapidly disappearing, and U.S. cities spent decades of the 20th century fighting over what to do with tens of thousands of displaced medieval remnants.
How to Steal a Monastery
There are two Americans to thank for the strange fact of a 12th century Spanish monastery’s existence only a few miles from Miami Beach: notorious plutocrat William Randolph Hearst, and his art dealer, Arthur Byne. Together, these two men thwarted Spanish authorities, angry townspeople, and all common sense to drag not one, but two monasteries to the shores of America.
In December 1926, the New York Times printed a brief article on Hearst’s importation of St. Bernard de Clairvaux, stone-by-stone, from Segovia, Spain. William Randolph Hearst was no stranger to the Times—a newspaper magnate, short-lived Congressman for New York, and perpetual tabloid fixture for his high profile romantic affairs and fights with fellow tycoons, Hearst had a proclivity for spending money in the most ostentatious, self-congratulatory ways. A regular Times reader of the era would not be surprised to hear that Hearst had imported an entire medieval building.
The Map of Medieval America: From Florida to California, the U.S. has a whole village worth of medieval buildings hiding in plain view. Here are 20 of them, in whole and in parts, mostly open to the public as museums (or parts of museums). But this map barely scrapes the surface of the stories behind these structures, which have endured arduous journeys to their current resting places.
The complexity of that achievement was given scant space. The journalist covering the purchase included only a brief note on the obstacles Hearst faced in dismantling and moving a monastery out of Spain: “Twice during the work of removing the cloister, the villagers, banding together, drove the workingmen away on the ground that foreigners were robbing the community of its greatest treasure.” The article went on to assure readers that “the cloister will be the only precious work of art allowed to leave Spain for a law passed two months ago prohibits further exportation of works of art and ruins.”
Yet just five years later, 11 ships filled with the pieces of a second Spanish monastery bought by Hearst docked in San Francisco Bay, in spite of the new laws. Who let this happen? And why were Americans buying, shipping and reconstructing medieval European buildings in the first place?
The answer to both of these questions was, at least in part, Arthur Byne. In 1930, Byne, a renowned American dealer of Spanish art, stumbled upon the monastery of Santa Maria de Óvila, nestled in a small valley created by a bend in the River Tagus in central Spain. Byne had developed something of a complicated reputation in the country since arriving there 20 years earlier. In 1910, Byne undertook his first trip through Spain to photograph and catalog the nation’s medieval monuments. He soon earned the trust of the Spanish government and its art community and became a leading expert on Spain’s cultural heritage, even receiving recognition from the king in 1927. But at the same time, Byne was leveraging these relationships to build a bustling business in the antiquities trade, exporting furniture, fireplaces, ceilings, statues, and other Spanish treasures to his American clients. “My only role in life is taking down old works of art, conserving them to the best of my ability and shipping them to America,” Byne reflected in a 1934 letter to Julia Morgan, an architect colleague back in California.
The monastery, a home to Cistercian monks beginning in 1180, had a typically medieval monastery plan, with a series of buildings constructed around a cloister with arcaded walkways. The church sat on the north side of the cloister, while the monks’ wing attached to the east side, which included the sacristy, the library, the chapter house and probably a common room for the monks. On the south wing opposite the church stood the refectory, kitchen, pantry, and a calefactorium (warming room). The bodega, a utilitarian building containing a long subterranean vault for wine storage, made up the monastery’s west side.
Upon encountering the site, Byne knew he had an ideal buyer in William Randolph Hearst. Hearst had a reputation as an unpredictable, but prolific, art collector; as one of his dealers assessed in a very backhanded compliment, “nobody I have known showed simultaneously such a voracious desire to acquire and so little discrimination in doing it.” Hearst also had a particular interest in Spain. He once wrote in a letter to his mother that Spain was “a tired, worn out monarchy” prime for exploitation by foreign elites. He declared, “[we] will burst through the Pyrenees into Spain, and ravage the country. How does that strike you?”
William Randolph Hearst, c. 1906. (Photo: Library of Congress)
However, Hearst also had a specific goal in mind for Santa Maria de Óvila. It would be part of a 61-bedroom “medieval castle” in the California wilderness, called Wyntoon Castle. Hearst was less interested in historical preservation, and his design included a swimming pool constructed from Santa Maria de Óvila’s 150-foot-long chapel with a diving board installed on the site of the former altar. The choir at the north end of the church would serve as a women’s dressing room, and the chapel’s apse would be scattered with two or three feet of sand, creating a “beach” for sunbathing. After a series of exchanges with Byne, Hearst approved the purchase of the entire monastery.
From the moment Hearst agreed to shell out the cash—around $300,000 in total—Byne realized he was facing a number of challenges in moving a monastery, stone by stone, across the Atlantic Ocean to a California forest. Luckily, American money worked wonders on a weak Spanish government.
The first, and perhaps most pressing issue, was that taking a monastery out of Spain violated a host of Spanish cultural preservation laws, many of which the Spanish government had generated in the wake of Byne’s previous antiquities-purchasing binges. “It is forbidden to ship a single antique stone from Spain today—even the size of a baseball,” Byne himself admitted. Thus, Byne took extreme precautions in keeping his project quiet. Two of Hearst’s architectural consultants, Walter T. Steilberg and Julia Morgan corresponded about the “need for secrecy in this matter.” “I am not trusting, in this talkative country, to the discretion of any typist, and shall send all of my reports in pencil…” wrote Steilberg.
One of the ways Byne convinced the Spanish government to turn a blind eye to his pillaging was by convincing the Spanish Ministry of Labor that his project was a “partial solution to the serious problem of unemployment.” In the midst of a serious Spanish economic depression, Byne hired more than 100 local townspeople to dismantle the monastery. The disassembling process went quickly, thanks to the neat construction of the site—Byne described the monastery as “a joy to take down.”
The dismantled cloister of the Monastery of Ovila, 1930s, said by Byne to be a “joy to take down”. (Photo: Public Domain/WikiCommons)
But moving the many heavy stones presented a more imposing challenge. Byne needed to transport the stones across the countryside to the port, about 100 miles away. However, there were no paved roads in this part of the country, nor did it have accessible railroad networks. Undeterred, Byne found the remains of a trench railway from Paris, a leftover relic of World War I, when Allied forces needed to deliver supplies to soldiers in the trenches. The railways were less expensive to build and could be easily moved and reconstructed, allowing Byne to quickly lay down tracks in Spain. The simple, makeshift rail lines previously used to deliver critical ammunition, food, and medicine to trench-bound Allied soldiers were now being used to move metal push carts filled with ancient stones through a Spanish valley.
But building a railway to transport one rich man’s illegal purchase was not enough. Byne’s workers also needed to get the stones across the River Tagus, which ran alongside the site. Hearst’s architects, in cooperation with the local workers, developed a pulley system that used the current of the riverto pull a raft filled with stones connected to a series of cables: It took the workers thousands of trips, over the course of six months, to get the stones across the 100-foot-wide river.
The instability of the Spanish government provided a final challenge for Byne and Hearst. When Byne began removing the monastery in early 1931, Spain had a largely ineffective monarchy and a sluggish economy. This helped Byne convince the government that monastery exportation was a boon to the Spanish economy—creating jobs and bringing in some much needed revenue. But it also meant that the government might collapse any day, and could be replaced with a new government less willing to ignore Byne and Hearst’s antics. In a March 1931 letter, Steilberg relayed:
Mr. Byne is very anxious to just remove from the site all the carved or moulded members, as he fears interference by the authorities at any time. We presented the entire matter to the national art commission and they were entirely agreeable to him taking this forgotten and shameful neglected and abused group of buildings; but it is quite possible that some of the politicians, in an effort to discredit those in power, may bring pressure to bear through the press that would halt the work at once.”
A month later, in April 1931, Byne’s fears were realized as the Spanish king fled the country, and an anti-monarchist regime came to power. But, luckily for the Americans, the Second Spanish Republic was about as effective as its predecessor when it came to protecting cultural heritage sites. Byne declared that the revolutionary Spanish government “(has) more important problems than to bother about than the demolition of an old ruin.” Time magazine later reported, “[Byne’s] workers nailed the red flag of revolution to the church they were illegally tearing down and went right on working.”
By the time the stone-laden ships arrived in the San Francisco harbor in 1931, Hearst and Byne faced a challenge even more imposing than angry townspeople and interloping Spanish bureaucrats: the Great Depression. As the stock market crashed, Hearst’s net worth plummeted and his desire for a personal medieval castle with a chapel swimming pool began to seem like a pipe dream. Estimates for the cost of completing the castle came in at around $50,000,000 and Hearst’s financial advisors finally convinced him that he could not afford to take on this expense. After all of Byne’s effort and ingenuity, Santa Maria de Óvila was retired to a warehouse, then dumped in a San Francisco park.
Why Buy A Monastery
The idea to buy a medieval building, dismantle it, ship it across an ocean, store it, and then rebuild it in a new location was not just a lavish fantasy formed in Hearst’s money-addled brain and turned into reality by an army of fearful yes-men. An English antiquarian noted somewhat darkly to the Manchester Guardian in 1926 that “there [seemed] to be a craze in the United States at the moment for this sort of thing.”
He was right. Significant portions of at least 20 medieval buildings made their way across the Atlantic, almost all between 1914 and 1934. As a result of this veritable industry, medieval structures now reside or resided in major cities across the country (New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, and Miami), as well as in regional centers (Richmond, VA; Toledo, OH; and Milwaukee; WI), and even in the middle of nowhere (Vina, CA).
American billionaires like Hearst and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. played a significant part in this trade, but they weren’t the only ones involved. Many wealthy folks seemed to consider the purchase of a medieval building a reasonable personal expense.
Segovia, Spain, where the St. Bernard de Clairvaux was originally located. The city walls date from the 8th century. (Photo: Carlos Delgado/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 3.0)
The buildings were not that expensive, at least for an early 20th century American magnate. Even slightly less-rich people could afford them: An American diplomat and his heiress wife purchased a medieval English manor house and brought it to Virginia. The daughter of a railroad magnate had a Gothic chapel moved from France to her estate in Long Island, where she installed it next to a (now destroyed) Renaissance castle that she had acquired earlier. Most of the structures were little more than ruins after the Wars of Religion of the 16th century and the nationalization of religious institutions at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. Governments in the 19th century had given the buildings to local, private owners for a song.
More difficult for the prospective medieval building owner was the politics. To facilitate the legally ambiguous trade, Hearst had Byne, John D. Rockefeller had George Grey Barnard, Virginia business people used Henry G. Moore. Stealing a monastery was all about networking.
But, speaking more broadly, the desire for such properties was probably rooted in the American interest in the European past. At the beginning of the 20th century, American elites began incorporating elements of medieval architecture into everything from universities to churches to department stores. By the time that Hearst, Rockefeller, and the others started importing medieval buildings, Americans had been collecting medieval art and sculpture in earnest for about 40 years. Americans wanted anything that could be labeled “medieval”: the sturdy, stark lines of the 11th century Romanesque or the effusive ornament of the early 16th century flamboyant Gothic, it didn’t matter.
Nowadays, the dominant cultural expression of the Middle Ages seems to be the sex and violence of Game of Thrones. But at the turn of the century, Americans thought of the era as a time of serenity; piety; and ideal, harmonious communities. Medieval Europe had not yet suffered the traumas of industry, and medieval objects became a way to demonstrate that the capitalism of the early 20th century had its genteel side. In the case of the 15th century Tudor manor house Agecroft Hall, the effect was supposed to be actually transformative. One pamphleteer writing about the arrival of the hall in Virginia claimed rapturously that “England [was] literally being brought to America.” She did not mean that America was claiming a part of England, she meant that part of the U.S. had been turned into a medieval English agricultural estate—an improvement.
Any coherence that the medieval buildings bought by Americans might have had in the 1920s and 1930s disappeared almost as soon as the buildings arrived in America. The Depression shifted financial priorities away from moving buildings across oceans and the fad for all things medieval had faded by World War II. The Medieval American buildings might have been acquired for similar reasons but soon after their arrival in the U.S., they began wildly disparate journeys.
What Happens When Your Building Arrives in America
A lot could go wrong even once a medieval building finally made it to America. Geopolitics, the global economy, and public health regulations all had unexpected consequences. And, of course, there never seemed to be enough money.
Even the buildings that would become The Cloisters, that venerable model of American medievalism, faced some challenges on this side of the pond. George Grey Barnard, an American sculptor and antiquities dealer who was deeply in debt and living in France, began in 1906 to acquire large portions of four monasteries: Sant-Miquel-de-Cuixà, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Trie-en-Bigorre, and what he thought was Bonnefont-en-Comminges. He planned to sell the buildings to wealthy individuals and institutions from New York to L.A., but plan after plan fell through. By 1913, he had few prospects and was quickly running out of time, as laws forbidding the export of French monuments would come into effect on January 1, 1914. He threw the cloisters on boats as swiftly as he could—the authorities, who knew what he was doing, tried to stop him—and got the stones out in the nick of time.
George Grey Barnard, sculptor and medieval art dealer, in 1908. (Photo: Public Domain/WikiCommons)
In early 1914, these cloisters arrived in New York, and Barnard decided that he would keep them for the immediate future, creating an installation on some undeveloped land in Upper Manhattan. This predecessor to today’s Cloisters proved immensely popular, with papers heralding it as the Gothic jewel of New York’s cultural institutions.
By the mid-1920s, however, Barnard needed money, badly. He quietly let it be known that his cloisters, and the land they were on, were collectively for sale. Barnard’s agent approached John D. Rockefeller, Jr., on March 25, 1925, and offered everything for $1 million. Barnard had bought art for Rockefeller in the past, and the two had previously discussed the creation of a great museum of medieval objects. Now, with the fate of New York’s premier medieval exhibit uncertain, Barnard stressed to Rockefeller the importance of keeping his cloisters in the city if at all possible. With stronger antiquities laws in place, it could prove tricky for Rockefeller to simply go buy a new set of medieval buildings in France.
Rockefeller, a brutal negotiator, indicated his interest to Barnard’s dealer and then ceased contact with them for several weeks. Rockefeller then wrote to The Metropolitan Museum of Art with an offer to buy the cloisters for the museum, eventually settling on a donation of $500,000 to buy the buildings and an additional $300,000 to maintain them. A decade earlier, The Met had promised to buy Sant-Miquel-de-Cuixà from Barnard, but backed out. This time, the sale went through, and Barnard agreed to sell his cloisters to The Met for $650,000, a sum much lower than the million-dollar offers he had entertained in 1915 and 1922. By 1933, the cloisters were moved to Fort Tryon Park and were newly combined and augmented into the complex that is The Cloisters today.
Saint-Michel-de-Cuixa, late 1800s, prior to parts of it being dismantled and shipped to New York, where is makes up part of The Cloisters. (Photo: Bibliothèque de Toulouse/flickr)
Another Spanish monastery acquired with Hearst money veered even further off course. Before Hearst bought Santa Maria de Óvila in 1930, he had purchased another Spanish monastery: Saint Bernard de Clairvaux from Segovia, Spain. St. Bernard de Clairvaux charted a curious course from Spain to Miami by way of New York.
Byne got St. Bernard de Clairvaux out the same way he moved Santa Maria de Óvila, but this trip proved much easier. He built 40 miles of road through the mountainous Spanish countryside, hired more than 100 men and ox-cart teams to stomp down his newly laid roads, and constructed a 20-mile narrow-gauge railroad. Spain’s cultural preservation laws hadn’t been enacted yet, so Byne didn’t have to worry about interference from the authorities; he just slipped cash into the waiting hands of the dockworkers. In about a year’s time the monastery had been blueprinted, dismantled, packed into 10,571 crates and shipped to a Bronx warehouse, where it arrived in 1926.
Then the monastery landed in the crossfire of an international public health scare. Byne’s workers packaged the pieces of monastery stone with hay to cushion the blocks during the long journey across the Atlantic—standard practice, particularly when trafficking fragile goods out of a rural region. But in 1924, the United States experienced its seventh outbreak of the unfortunately named and highly contagious “hoof and mouth disease.” Past outbreaks of the virus had devastated American agriculture, as swine, sheep, and cattle broke out in the gruesome mouth and hoof blisters characteristic of the ailment. A 1914 epidemic of hoof and mouth disease spread across the eastern and midwestern United States, forcing farmers to slaughter 200,000 diseased animals at an appraised value of almost $6 million. The USDA believed that the disease had come from overseas, as both Europe and Latin America had experienced epidemics.
When Spain experienced another eruption in 1925, the USDA was not taking any chances. American authorities figured the odds were good that the hay used to pack Hearst’s crates had been exposed to animals in Europe and demanded the quarantine of all 10,571 crates. Within a few days, government workers burned every scrap of the packaging hay in an attempt to protect America’s cows from yet another round of a foreign plague.
When the stones finally made it to the Bronx warehouse, Hearst realized he had yet another administrative catastrophe on his hands—the workers repacked the stones without returning them to their original wooden crates. The crates had departed from Spain with an identifying number and a compass direction on each crate, so that the 10,571 pieces of monastery could be reconstructed.
Now that blueprint was completely, irrevocably gone. Hearst was the overwhelmed owner of what Time magazine christened “the biggest jigsaw puzzle in history.”
St. Bernard de Clairvaux languished in the warehouse for almost 30 years while Hearst plotted his next steps. Putting the monastery back together would require both money and motivation, and by the 1930s, Hearst was running out of both. Now in possession of multiple piecemeal medieval monasteries he had neither the plans nor the resources to rebuild, Hearst began to seek someone—anyone—to take this giant stone burden off his hands. Beginning in 1937, Hearst started liquidating his massive art collection, as the New York Times morbidly noted, “in anticipation for his death.” (Hearst’s death wouldn’t come for another 14 years.) Hearst tasked his art dealers with the work of pawning an art collection that had cost him a cool $40 million (not adjusted for inflation), and included such eccentricities as dozens of full suits of armor, an Egyptian mummy, a pair of Benjamin Franklin’s glasses, and of course, full fledged medieval monasteries. But while the suits of armor flew off the shelves (in many cases almost literally, as some of the Hearst artifact fire sales were held at department stores), a Spanish monastery in 10,000-plus pieces was a much harder sell.
The cloisters at St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church, Miami, as they look today. (Photo: Public Domain/WikiCommons)
But in 1952, St. Bernard de Clairvaux finally found its buyers. William Edgemon and Raymond Moss, two businessmen from Cincinnati, purchased the cloisters and shipped the crates down the east coast to Port Everglades, at a cost of $60,000. After retrieving the crates from the Florida docks, Edgemon and Moss transported the stones to North Miami Beach; they hired an expert stonemason who spent the next 19 months re-erecting the monastery at a cost of nearly $1.5 million—later assessments would say that the stonemason got the gigantic puzzle “about 90% right.”
The choice of Miami as the location had its own peculiar logic, somewhat tied to the new popularity of central air conditioning. Reasoning that people might eventually get bored of the beach—or, at the very least, that it might occasionally rain—enterprising businessmen opened new tourist attractions, including amusement parks, aquariums and a wax museum around the city. The Ohio entrepreneurs banked on the monastery being beautiful and novel enough (“STEP BACK IN TIME 800 YEARS!”) to draw in some of Miami’s sunburned masses, and thus invested heavily in its reconstruction. (Similar reasoning would bring another medieval monastery to the Bahamas, too.)
The monastery never took off in the way the entrepreneurs hoped. Tourism in Miami began a downward slide in the early 1960s (due to, among other things, unseasonably cool temperatures and growing concern about drugs) and the monastery’s trickle of guests proved insufficient to recoup its enormous start up costs. In 1964, the cloister was saved from demolition when a philanthropist donated $400,000 and gave the property to the local Episcopal diocese. The Episcopalians continued to operate the site as a local attraction, but eliminated the admission fee and outfitted the locale to be a more suitable place for church services. They brought in carpets, found a new altar among Hearst’s still-for-sale possessions, and set up a church day care. The site’s new chaplain told the New York Times in 1964: “We feel we are redeeming this beautiful edifice. It has fallen very far from grace. After centuries of consecration by the prayers of the faithful, it is ignominious for it to be classified as a ‘giant jigsaw puzzle.’”
Miami of the 1950s, and future home to St. Bernard de Clairvaux. (Photo: Florida Memory/flickr)
If the tale of Hearst’s first monastery seemed complicated, his second monastery would prove no easier to unload. In the case of St. Bernard de Clairvaux, Hearst owned the Bronx warehouse, meaning that having the stones sit around wasn’t costing him much. But in San Francisco, Hearst needed to rent 28,000 square feet of warehouse space to house the crates containing Santa Maria de Óvila. With the onset of the Depression, and Hearst at real risk of bankruptcy, the tycoon could no longer afford to hemorrhage money in this manner.
Hearst’s agents began to look for a buyer, but as a Time journalist critically assessed, “(there) was probably not a sane man in the country who would have paid a reasonable price for it in 1939.”
After it became clear to Hearst that he was not going to make any money selling this monastery, he decided to try giving the stones away. In 1941, he proposed donating the stones to the City of San Francisco with the provision that the City would use them to reconstruct the original monastery buildings, and that these would form the main attraction of a Museum of Medieval Arts to be operated by the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. De Young administrators and city officials were enthusiastic; the Museum’s director Walter Heil wrote in a letter to Hearst that this was the most thrilling news he had received in his tenure in office. In anticipation for the move, Hearst took the stones out of the warehouse and had the crates placed in Golden Gate Park.
But like all previous plans for the stones, this dream too would prove short-lived. With the outbreak of World War II, municipal planning ground to a halt as government agencies refocused on defense and military operations. Directing energy to building a giant medieval museum also seemed somewhat tone-deaf when the nation was in the middle of a violent international entanglement. One museum board member recalled a heartfelt plea to the city “to reassemble the monastery’s stones at a dire point in the war when courage born of faith—any faith—could be reborn and flower in the lyrically soaring arches of a resurrected Santa Maria de Óvila.” Unfortunately, just three months after Pearl Harbor, Americans were not apt to see parallels between the courage of wartime valor and the “courage” of rebuilding a European cultural site.
Monastery stones in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. (Photo: Binksternet/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 3.0)
Any last hope for the museum went (literally) up in smoke, after a series of fires damaged the unattended monastery stones. Between 1941 and 1959, no fewer than five inflagrations tore through the stones. Arson was heavily suspected (though never officially proven), and employees of the museum speculated the fires were related to a vocal faction of San Franciscans who did not want any construction in Golden Gate Park. This was a depressing time for Hearst’s architect, Steilberg, who was still hoping for a grand medieval structure. As Time would later note, “a kind of fatalistic lethargy seems to have settled on the California project.”
The ruins remained in Golden Gate Park until the end of the 20th century, as most people initially involved in the project either passed away or lost interest. The stones became weathered and overgrown with grass and weeds, morphing into the landscape of the park. Among their many new purposes, the stones served as a playground for children, a canvas for graffiti artists, and a site of “meditation and love” for San Francisco’s druid community.
Europeans to American Medieval Building Buyers: Drop Dead
From riots in Spain to scathing op-eds in English papers, Europeans did not let their medieval buildings sail quietly to America. In the face of energetic opposition, it is shocking how successful Americans were at taking these pieces of cultural heritage. Of course, it was sometimes legal for them to do so—barely legal, but often technically legal. England’s series of Ancient Monuments Protection Acts had not defined “ancient” in such a way that encompassed Agecroft Hall and Warwick Priory, Spain did not move to forbid the export of cultural heritage until after Byne had bought his first monastery, and George Grey Barnard famously finished putting his cloisters—The Cloisters—on boats just two days before France’s cultural heritage laws came into effect. However, to understand how Americans kept taking buildings and how Europeans made sense of these thefts, we need to look beyond the formal laws to the complicated and often tragic histories of the medieval buildings themselves.
Often, it came down to one critical question: How much of a building do you need to own to say that you own a building?
For something like the late Gothic chapel from the Chateau d’Herbéville, now at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the answer might be fairly simple. The nobles Jean Bayer de Boppart and his wife, Iseberg decided they wanted one of these private chapels that were all the rage, they hired skilled craftsmen to append it to their family home, and up it went. When antiquities dealer G. T. Demotte came across the building after World War I, he removed the walls, roof, interior stone and wooden elements of the chapel from the rest of the structure—by then mostly ruins—and could market the thing as a late Gothic chapel.
The St. Joan of Arc Chapel, Milwaukee, originally built in the Rhône River Valley in France. (Photo: Emma Stodder)
Something like the monastery of Sant-Miquel-de-Cuixà is a little more complicated. Physically, it’s a mass of different constructions, assembled over time. To a 9th century foundation, the monks added a church in the 10th century that was then refurbished, then consecrated, then overshadowed by a larger church built a few years later, all of it ultimately bolstered by many additional structures in the 11th century that helped to get more foot traffic going past the monastery in the form of pilgrims who donated and spent their way from their homelands as they traveled to Saint James of Compostela. In other places, building programs extended centuries further, into the 1400s. Americans were especially interested in Gothic and Romanesque stone—when Byne took his monasteries out of Spain, he just left the post-1200 material in ruins and in situ.
As far as Hearst was concerned, he owned Santa Maria de Óvila after his years of toil and millions of dollars spent, all culminating in the monastery’s relocation to America. In spite of the building’s epic journey, many in Spain do not realize that it ever left. The remaining buildings were rebuilt on their original site decades later, yielding the extreme oddity of a medieval monastery that is apparently now in two places at once.
While these layered and often confusing histories have today resulted in an alarming metaphysical conundrum, they were very convenient for American buyers in the early 20th century. Plus, from their perspective, they weren’t stealing history—they were doing the structures a favor. Time and war had left many of Europe’s “treasures” in sad shape. In England, religious institutions like that housed at Warwick Priory were dissolved under Henry VIII in the mid-16th century. Practically, that meant that the buildings were stripped of their furnishings and their inhabitants were released from their vows and sent away. In France, the Revolution led in 1790 to the dissolution of all religious orders and the nationalization of all Church property, with devastating consequences for the buildings and their communities (as well as for historians, since many, many archives were destroyed as a result).
What wasn’t destroyed, the state sold to private owners, usually for extremely low sums. One element of The Cloisters was, after 1792, used as a stable, a jail, a weapons foundry, a private residence, a garrison, and a hotel warehouse before locals dismantled the structure to make room for another hotel.
Americans and Europeans both hurled these long histories at one another when, on the one hand, staking a claim to medieval buildings and, on the other, repudiating American theft of cultural heritage. When the U.S. media reported on medieval acquisitions, they often revered American tycoons as heroic preservationists of the past. A 1936 New York Times editorial on The Cloisters praised the “patient [sic] genius” of George Grey Barnard and the “discerning and generous genius” of John D. Rockefeller Jr. in bringing the medieval sites to New York City. Both the media and the buyers of the monasteries were eager to draw connections between American and European history. “Mr. Rockefeller has helped to pay one great debt of our age to the Middle Ages by choosing to repair the Cathedral of Rheims,” opined the Times.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr., c. 1915. (Photo: Library of Congress)
World War II further cemented Americans’ belief that what Europeans had labeled “kidnapping” and “acts of thievery” actually represented actions for the good of humanity. When the Nelson Gallery of Art and Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, acquired a 13th-century French cloister in 1943, one curator declared its removal from Europe as “a splendid thing,” since now “we have [the elements] in this country where they are safe.”
The European side was just as entrenched. Perhaps the most brutal fight occurred over the purchase of a monastery and a great manor house by Virginians. The back-and-forth, waged through the press of each country, reached comically great heights.
In the summer of 1925, England was up in arms about the impending destruction of Warwick Priory, a group of formerly monastic buildings in the north. A meeting of the House of Commons on the subject exploded, but no political salvation could be found. The city of Warwick came up with ingenious solutions, all of which failed. It offered the buildings free of charge to the bishop of Coventry, but he refused to live so far from his flock. Undeterred, the city tried to turn the old monastery into public housing, but plans quickly fell through.
Then, on September 25, the papers reported the shocking news that Warwick Priory had been sold—to an unnamed American. The building, once visited by Queen Elizabeth I herself, would be transported to the U.S.
Virginia House, from the dismantled Warwick Priory, Warwickshire, England, c. 1929. (Photo: Library of Congress)
At first, news was scarce. Details only emerged a week later, when the AP cleared up “mysterious reports” by identifying the purchasers as Alexander and Virginia Weddell of Richmond, Virginia. They had bought the buildings to recreate another Warwickshire monument: Sulgrave Manor, English home of George Washington’s ancestors. Facing a barrage of criticism that they were stealing a vital piece of English history, the new owners went on the attack, giving interviews far and wide to make the case that they were the best caretakers for the property.
The Weddells developed two now-familiar rhetorical strategies. They immediately pointed out that they were doing Europe a favor by rescuing and restoring neglected treasures. Everything inside the buildings, even the stairs, had already been stripped and re-installed in an English factory. Adding insult to injury, the sale had been publicly announced and no one else had bothered to cough up the money. Alexander Weddell claimed he had never schemed to get his hands on an English home, he just happened upon the announcement when reading the newspaper his sandwich had been wrapped in.
Second, the Weddells explained, with the help of the American media, how Warwick Priory would fit in as well in Virginia as in Warwickshire. Papers on both sides of the Atlantic fixated on the fate of the priory for more than a year, from the first shipment of material from England to the U.S. on November 28, 1926, to breathless reports that the Weddells’ new home was nearing completion on May 8, 1927.
Each report brought with it new details, many of which strained credulity. The New York Times wrote that Virginia Weddell herself was a descendant of George Washington’s family in an article titled “American Buys Warwick Priory As Shrine Here to Washington.” Another paper speculated that Warwick Priory would yield 6,000 to 10,000 tons of brick and stone for the replica from the exact same quarry that had supplied material for Washington’s ancestral home. The Boston Globe’s long profile detailed the centuries of close friendship enjoyed by the Washingtons and the owners of Warwick Priory before the colonists came to America.
The interior of Virginia House, 1929. (Photo: Library of Congress)
Virginia Weddell herself waded into the fantasy of Warwick Priory as not just an English building, but a proto-American one. She reminisced about how the ships sailing with the building materials followed the same trail that the colonists had taken when they came to Virginia, where they built English-style houses of their own. “True, those brave pioneers started from Blackwell, near London; but their little ships, the Sarah Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery, passed Old Point Comfort, as will my ship; and the Priory is to be unloaded at a point not far removed from the landing place of Captain John Smith.”
While all of this glorification of a new, medieval monument to George Washington was going on, a new scandal was brewing in Britain. On January 25, 1926, the chairman of the Manchester Art Gallery Committee told a meeting of the Ancient Monuments Society that he had received a letter from an American correspondent. The letter asked if it was true that the great manor Agecroft Hall had been purchased and would be dismantled and shipped to America.
It was Warwick Priory all over again. The society’s secretary, John Swarbrick, immediately went to see the purported seller of the house, who confirmed that the rumors were true: A Mr. T.C. Jackson Jr., of Elizabeth, New Jersey, had purchased the hall and it would be moved to New Jersey imminently. Swarbrick warned in an interview that there was a craze for medieval buildings in the U.S., that the same people involved in Warwick Priory were responsible for the sale of Agecroft Hall, and that more purchases of the kind were underway.
Agecroft Hall, in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo: Fopseh/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 3.0)
Swarbrick was wrong about almost everything, though it was true that the architect Henry G. Moore participated in both purchases. Moore had found the building for Richmond businessman T. C. Williams, Jr., who wanted it for his Virginia—not New Jersey—estate. Williams was enthusiastic not so much about the (non-existent) colonial connections, but about the opportunity to recreate a pre-industrial haven along the lines of the medieval English village. There would be no skyscrapers, no intensity of urban industrial life, nothing but idyllic communities and authentically “Old English” country homes—the aesthetic apparently being a critical component of both the lifestyle and the values it implied.
Two great houses pillaged by Americans in less than six months was too many for the English. In 1926, the Manchester Guardian ran several dozen editorials and letters to the editor decrying the sale and removal of Agecroft Hall. One editorial called for stronger laws to protect British landmarks, calling it “a national loss”: “Warwick Priory is gone. Agecroft Hall is going. No building of decent age and character is safe from the danger of kidnapping.” Another editorial labeled the sale “a raid.” The sale of Agecroft Hall and Warwick Priory even prompted the House of Lords to debate a law forbidding the export of English cultural heritage (opponents weren’t comfortable telling people what they could do with their private property), though the Ancient Monument Protection Act was not strengthened until 1931.
The Elizabethan knot garden at Agecroft Hall. (Photo: Fopseh/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 3.0)
In spite of all this rancor, the kinds of arguments that the Weddells and Williams made seem to have struck a chord. Agecroft Hall, like Warwick Priory, had been in sad shape when it was purchased by an American. The Industrial Revolution left the hall uninhabitable. Coal pits surrounded the house; a freight railway skirted the buildings. One British writer turned his criticism of the sale inward, calling filthy, despoiled Agecroft Hall “too reproachful a jewel to leave in that ruined landscape.”
Medieval Buildings Home to Roost
Americans did, for the most part, make good on their promises to preserve these sites. By the 21st century, almost all of the medieval buildings brought to America had ended up in museums—some in well-endowed East Coast institutions with entire wings dedicated to medieval art and devoted to “transporting guests back in time to the Middle Ages,” others in small Midwestern galleries, with a handful of medieval pieces thanks to a local bigwig’s fleeting interest in the period. A few, like the Hearst buildings in California and Miami, are slightly more accessible, but are still framed by exhibitions and have a museum-y look-but-don’t-touch air about them for most visitors. The uniformity of the sites today stands in stark contrast to the variety of uses envisioned by those who brought medieval buildings to the U.S., or the experiences of the buildings throughout the 20th century: They were or might have been tourist traps, chapels, swimming pools, museums, private residences, or piles of rubble in warehouses and in parks.
By the late 20th and early 21st centuries, many different communities had become deeply invested in the medieval buildings that by then littered the American landscape. The effect of the historical bricolage sometimes borders on the surreal. Agecroft Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 because it reflected the “social and aesthetic ideals of upper-class Virginians in the 1920s,” not so much because of its medieval heritage. The final nomination form noted that it was “unaltered” and in its “original site;” its period “1900-” and significance fell under the “agriculture” and “community planning” categories.
Photograph of the central yard surrounded by the cloisters of the St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church, Miami. (Photo: Rolf Müller/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 3.0)
There were occasional calls for repatriation of the sites mentioned here to Europe, but the medieval European buildings eventually became too entangled in America to be so easily returned. In 1940, Spanish dictator Francisco Franco demanded the return of the monasteries that Hearst, in his words, stole, but nothing was done. More recent and sustained calls for repatriation of The Cloisters buildings to France faced criticism from no less than the eminent social theorist Jean Baudrillard, who used the medieval buildings in America as a case in his Simulacra and Simulation. Baudrillard thought that by this point “demuseumification [was] nothing but another spiral in artificiality”; The Cloisters were already artificial, returning Sant-Miquel-de-Cuixà to its original site would be even more so “a total simulacrum.” Leaving the cloister in New York “in its simulated environment … fooled no one,” while moving it was a “supplementary subterfuge,” a “retrospective hallucination.”
The retroactive reality Baudrillard described did not come to pass. The buildings continue to have vibrant and multiple lives within American communities today. At two sites that we visited, Ancient Spanish Monastery in Miami, and the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina, California, extensive preservation efforts were matched with a variety of contemporary roles. In these transposed places, community members meet, families pray, and people hold weddings, funerals, and, of course, yoga classes.
In the 1970s, the stones of Santa Maria de Óvila, at long last, caught a break. A Cistercian monk named Thomas X. Davis heard about the remains of the monastery and became interested in bringing them to his abbey, about three hours north of San Francisco in the small town of Vina, California. His timing overlapped fortuitously with the research of Dr. Margaret Burke, an art historian who received funding from the Hearst Foundation to study the stones. Burke began categorizing the stones, determining what part of the monastery they would have originally belonged to, and, in 1984, offered the city a comprehensive report of each stone, its condition, and whether it could be preserved. Meanwhile, the monks continued requesting that the city take their proposal seriously. After extensive discussions between the monks, the De Young Museum, and the city, the museum’s trustees agreed to relinquish control of the stones in 1992. Two years later, the stones began their journey to Vina—but even this short trip had its hurdles. Father Davis reported that on several occasions, individuals who opposed the stones leaving San Francisco pushed the stones off their pallets during the night, leaving workers to reload the trucks in the morning.
View from within the 800-year-old chapter house brought from Santa Maria de Óvila, now at the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina CA. (Photo: Frank Schulenburg/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 3.0)
Though the monks took the majority of the stones to Vina, some remnants stayed behind in Golden Gate Park. Debates about what constituted an “appropriate use” for the leftover stones continued into the 21st century. A 2001 investigation into the stones in SF Weekly noted that though most of the materials had gone to Vina, there had been an “odd truce” negotiated among the park, the De Young museum, and the monastery regarding the remaining abbey stones. For nearly 50 years, the gardeners of Golden Gate Park had access to their own private quarry of ancient limestone, which they could use whenever the park needed new retaining walls or landscape decoration. For instance, some of the stones became part of a decorative rock wall at the Strybing Arboretum library. “We think the wall that we constructed outside the library is the most sensitive use yet,” said Scott Medbury, a park employee. What one art historian labeled “the worst act of desecration of a medieval monument during the last half-century,” the city lauded as a practical and thoughtful use for the materials that had sat abandoned for the majority of the 20th century.
So what to make of the current state of these medieval buildings-as-museums? Certainly, good preservation practices will ensure a long life for the aged stones. But there is also a sense in which the medieval buildings have been deadened by their modern lives as display pieces. Old material given life through new use, called spolia, is, after all, very medieval. The altar at Sant-Miquel-de-Cuixà, the very heart of the religious life of the monastery, was itself made of part of a Roman column. Reuse did not erase the old meaning, it augmented the new one, though of course that column did not mean the same thing to a medieval person as to a Roman, nor is a modern library wall the same thing as a medieval one. Even now, many San Franciscans share memories of crawling over the medieval stones in their park as children, of the blocks as meeting places and landmarks. On the other hand, maybe the distinction between the museumified version of these places and their “freer” state is not so different, since New Yorkers are equally eager to describe their memories of childhood trips to The Cloisters.
But even in Vina, at a monastery that exudes austerity and age, traces of 2015 slip through. The monks, concerned about the challenges of recruiting young men to the brotherhood, have taken to Instagram (@monksofvina), where they update their followers on paintings in progress, their 3:30 a.m. prayer meetings, and the status of the harvest. Common hashtags include #monks, #cistercian, #monastic, and #monkslife. In Miami, too, the medieval buildings live modern lives. The site’s cloistered halls have become the backdrop for such pop culture gems as the spectacular flop of a 2011 Charlie’s Angels TV reboot, a scene in the 2012 film Rock of Ages in which Catherine Zeta Jones sings “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” and Rick Ross’s music video for “Ten Jesus Pieces.”
But for every Victoria’s Secret catalog photo shoot, the Miami monastery also sees a steady flow of more ordinary life events—the monastery receives 50,000 visitors a year, and hosts 200 weddings annually. People are free to wander throughout the monastery when it isn’t being used for pilates or baptisms. The medieval history of the site isn’t absent from these events, though; it’s often omnipresent: one woman at the monastery enthusiastically told us that she had had three of her children baptized at the monastery because she was so impressed with the site’s history and the effort to move it from Spain to America. In typical Miami fashion, the conspicuous and the commonplace often careen wildly into one another—the priest of the monastery’s Episcopalian congregation mentioned that in the first wedding he officiated at the monastery he noticed a familiar-looking bridesmaid—Britney Spears. It’s hard to imagine a more American fate for these medieval stones.
Medieval America received funding from History in Action, an American Historical Association/Andrew W. Mellon Foundation initiative at Columbia University. |
Arya Stark from Game of Thrones Ygritte from Game of Thrones Margaery Tyrell from Game of Thrones Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones Melisandre from Game of Thrones Jesse and Walter White from Breaking Bad Hector Salamanca and the Cousins from Breaking Bad Skyler White from Breaking Bad Gus Fring from Breaking Bad Tortuga from Breaking Bad Hank Schrader from Breaking Bad Mike Ehrmantraut from Breaking Bad Tywin Lannister from Game of Thrones The Hound from Game of Thrones Hodor and Bran Stark from Game of Thrones Todd Alquist from Breaking Bad Don Draper from Mad Men Joan from Mad Men Roger Sterling from Mad Men Stringer Bell from The Wire Brother Mouzone from The Wire Omar Little from The Wire Chris Partlow and Snoop from The Wire Clay Morrow from Sons of Anarchy Saul Goodman and Huell from Breaking Bad Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy Gemma from Sons of Anarchy Cosima Niehaus, Alison Hendrix, Beth Childs, Helena, and Katja Obinger from Orphan Black Trevor, Franklin and Michael from Grand Theft Auto V
It only takes him half an hour.
Each workday Adrien Noterdaem posts another popular character from pop culture – TV shows like Breaking Bad and The Wire, video games like Grand Theft Auto V – rendered in the style of everyone's favorite family from Springfield to his "Draw the Simpsons" Tumblr. It's a feat that’s possible largely because he's learned to turn out the illustrations at such a rapid clip.
"The idea was to do everything quickly, no time to waste," Noterdaem said in an email to WIRED. "It takes me around 30 minutes for one. I try not to spend more time. It's like an exercise, a goal I give to myself."
Noterdaem, who works by day as a creative director for the digital marketing agency Emakina in Brussels, has been a fan of Matt Groening's animated show for nearly 25 years, ever since he watched French-dubbed versions of the show as a kid. He's created around 120 Simpsons-esque images since April, and he recently gained notoriety with his series of Breaking Bad characters around the time of the series finale. "I didn't know at first that this stuff [would] have so much buzz around it," said the artist, who Simpsonized himself before ever taking on a pop culture figure.
Noterdaem, who made several new Simpsonized drawings for WIRED of our favorite female Game of Thrones characters (above) said he doesn't have a particular goal in mind with his character-a-day project, but he will continue to do it "as long as I enjoy it."
"I don't have a hidden agenda," he said. "Maybe I should have one. I don't know. If Matt Groening calls me, I definitely won't think long before taking a plane to L.A."
Images courtesy Adrien Noterdaem |
Long-term military curfews a human rights violation, says former ECHR judge
Bahadır Özgür - ISTANBUL
Long-term military curfews constitute a violation of the European Convention of Human Rights, former European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judge Rıza Türmen has told daily Radikal, amid continued curfews in a number of towns in southeastern Turkey.Türmen, who is also currently an İzmir deputy for the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP), said long-term curfews constituted a “violation of state responsibility” and the ECHR would likely find Turkey guilty and rule for an interlocutory injunction of curfews.He listed the state’s responsibilities as being to not kill its citizens deliberately, to take necessary precautions when its citizens’ lives are in danger, to conduct efficient investigations when its citizens’ right to life is violated, and to avoid inhumane treatment as principles that have been violated over the past months.“Those people’s right to life is threatened because they cannot leave their houses. They cannot go to hospital, access water, etc.,” Türmen said.“The state fails to cater for these needs, despite its responsibility to do so,” he added, pointing out that unidentified security personnel who commit crimes in the region are not subject to investigations.In response to a question on the legal basis of military curfews, Türmen said declaring martial law or a state of emergency was necessary in order to enforce long-term curfews, but this has not been done in Turkey.Under current circumstances, state-appointed local governors’ mandates are used as the legal basis for curfews in southeastern towns.“Governors have no democratic mandate during mass violations of human rights,” Türmen said, adding that asserting such an authority violated both the ECHR and Turkey’s constitution.Türmen also warned that the European Convention of Human Rights was likely to find Turkey guilty over its current practices in southeastern districts and rule for an interlocutory injunction of curfews, which Turkey would be forced to immediately comply with.“If Turkey decides to disobey an ECHR order, the court would ask the European Commission to apply pressure. This would put Turkey in a difficult situation in the international arena,” he said.The CHP deputy also cautioned against lifting the immunities of Kurdish problem-focused Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, arguing that this would further polarize Turkish society and worsen the situation.The Justice Ministry is set to prepare a report for the ECHR on the situation in southeastern towns where clashes between the security forces and outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants continue to rage under military curfews.Diyarbakır Bar Association lawyer Muhammed Neşet Girasun and Batman Bar Association lawyer Erkan Şenses have applied to the ECHR on behalf of Ömer Elçi, resident of the southeastern town of Cizre, to end operations and lift the curfew, which has been in effect since Dec. 14, 2015.Ankara Bar Association lawyer Oya Aydın has also applied to the ECHR on behalf of six people in Cizre and in the Sur district in the center of the southeastern city Diyarbakır.Aydın demanded the lifting of the curfew announced by the Şırnak Governor’s Office on Dec. 14, 2015, and the ECHR demanded a response from Turkey before Jan. 8.The ECHR asked three particular questions to Ankara over the issue: The legal basis for the curfews; whether the needs of locals living in curfew-hit towns are met, including health services; and whether the state can provide a safe exit route to locals if they demand to leave areas under curfew. |
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump met in the last week in his office at Trump Tower with three Indian business partners who are building a Trump-branded luxury apartment complex south of Mumbai, raising new questions about how he will separate his business dealings from the work of the government once he is in the White House.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Trump described the meeting as a courtesy call by the three Indian real estate executives, who flew from India to congratulate Mr. Trump on his election victory. In a picture posted on Twitter, all four men are smiling and giving a thumbs-up.
“It was not a formal meeting of any kind,” Breanna Butler, a spokeswoman for the Trump Organization, said when asked about the meeting on Saturday.
One of the businessmen, Sagar Chordia, posted photographs on Facebook on Wednesday showing that he also met with Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump. Mr. Trump’s children are helping to run his businesses as they play a part in the presidential transition. |
[Note: Social counts reset to zero on this post.]
Several weeks ago I posted a call for stories about children who have been diagnosed with ADHD ( Hyperactivity Disorder) and have been homeschooled, unschooled, or "free schooled." I received 28 such stories and subjected them to a qualitative analysis.
My analysis of these stories suggests that (1) most ADHD-diagnosed kids do fine without drugs if they are not in a conventional school; (2) the ADHD characteristics don't vanish when the kids leave conventional school, but the characteristics are no longer as big a problem as they were before; and (3) ADHD-diagnosed kids seem to do especially well when they are allowed to take charge of their own . In what follows I will elaborate upon and support each of these conclusions primarily with quotations from the stories. But, first, here are some numbers concerning whom the stories were about and who wrote them.
Of the 28 stories:
- 19 were about boys and 9 were about girls.
- 26 were written by a parent of the ADHD-diagnosed child; the other two were written, respectively, by the diagnosed person himself (who is now a 24-year-old man) and by an older sister of the diagnosed person.
- 24 were about children who were diagnosed with ADHD through a formal clinical procedure; the other 4 were about children who were labeled by medical or school officials as "ADHD" but whose , while agreeing that the child showed the full set of ADHD characteristics, chose not to proceed with formal diagnosis.
-21 were about children who started their education in a conventional school (at least through part of kindergarten) and then left conventional schooling; the other 7 were about children who had never attended a conventional school.
-21 described their nonconventional schooling as "homeschooling," 5 described theirs as "unschooling," and 2 described theirs as "alternative schooling" (one was described as a small private school in a home, "similar to homeschooling," and the other as "loosely based on Sudbury Valley").
And now, here are the three conclusions, along with some of the quotations that led to each conclusion.
Conclusion 1: Most children who had been medicated for ADHD while in conventional schooling were taken off of the drugs when removed from conventional schooling, and those who were never in conventional schooling were never medicated.
Research studies have regularly revealed that most children who attend a conventional school and are diagnosed with ADHD take stimulant drugs ( reuptake inhibitors) as treatment.[1] That is not true of this sample of ADHD-labeled children outside of conventional school. Of the 28 children in this sample, 13 were never medicated (these were mostly children who were never in a conventional school or who were removed from conventional school very shortly after the diagnosis), 9 were medicated for at least part of the time that they had been in a conventional school but were removed from after removal from school, and only 6 (21% of the full sample) were being medicated at the time the story was written.
Of the six who were medicated at the time the story was written, one was on Strattera (a non-stimulant norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor), one had just started his first day of homeschooling and was taking Vyvance (a stimulant), and the remaining four were still on stimulants even though they had been homeschooled for a year or more.
Here is a sample of comments made concerning children who had been removed from conventional school and taken off of stimulants. (Each bulleted comment concerns a different child. The numbers in parentheses refer to the story number in my notes):
• (#13): "We decided [when he was in 3rd grade in public school] to switch from Strattera to Adderall. We tried various doses but weren't getting what we needed, so we tried Vyvanse and Concerta at various doses. They just weren't working for him. There seemed to be a short-term improvement, or at least a perceived improvement but it really didn't fix the problem. In all this, his anxiety was paralyzing, so, of course, we ended up on Prozac. ... As parents, it was exactly where we didn't want to be, having a drugged kid just to keep him in school. ... he was being pulled from class daily for being disruptive--making noises, interrupting teachers, asking to leave. He and his special ed. teacher were in constant battle. After a particularly ugly IEP (in January, 2009) we pulled the plug. We finished the year with homeschooling and he made more progress in 3 months than he had made in 3 years of traditional public school. We continued with the meds for another month or so but discontinued them from that point on."
• (#23): "My little brother was put on ADD medication at the age of 7, because he was not able to focus well in school or in his martial arts classes. I saw his immediately dull when they put him on the drugs, but he was much better able to function in organized learning settings. When he was 15, though, he took himself off of the meds, and only then did he realize, and begin to vocalize, that he had been having paranoid delusions for years as a result of the medications. As a 10 year old, he was terrified during every shower b/c he thought terrorists were poisoning the water. My brother wasn't so disruptive on the medications, but he never excelled in school until his last two years of high school, when he attended a private school that was loosely based on Sudbury Valley. Now, he is a fantastic musician, is attending college, and has never had any more problems with delusions or . He hates the drugs he was put on and has a lot of lingering about it to this day."
• (#7) "At age 8 ½ we decided to try Adderall, because he was struggling with and learning... He developed severe at age 10 [while on Adderall]. He was placed on a few more drugs. Each drug seemed to make him better for a few months, and then worse. When a drug caused a side effect, he would be given another one to combat the side effect. ... He developed a B12 deficit because of the Adderall. This gave him obsessive- , and we had to give him B12 injections. ... Then [after altering his and removing toxins from his ] we weaned him off of the Adderall. There was no difference in his focus or activity at that point. He was/is fine. We continue to homeschool him. ... It was just the best thing we could have done for our child. He is now 16 and planning to go to college."
• (#22) "By 4th grade (this time a private school w/ an advanced curriculum) her 7 teachers WANTED her tested. We tried Ritalin for a few months, but it only resulted in a daytime compliant zombie that wanted to work even harder at night to pursue her knowledge. By spring they asked for a conference, refunded our deposit for the coming year .... They agreed she was a classroom mgmt problem, because she could do anything but listen." [The story goes on to describe the success of homeschooling, without drugs, and the fact that she has been accepted to a four-year college.]
• (#1) "And now that we are homeschooling (and he is thriving academically, socially, and behaviorally), medication is no longer a subject of consideration. We are excited about homeschooing--it has changed our lives for the better; we have our son back."
• (#2 concerning a boy who had been on various drugs in 3rd & 4th grades in public school after a previous period of homeschooling without drugs): "We pulled him out of school and went back to homeschooling. I took him off the meds to get a baseline on his behavior Things improved for him so quickly that I never restarted Rx medications."
• (#14) "As a child, around age 5, I was diagnosed with ADHD. I was put on Ritalin and continued on the drug until the age of 11. After coming off the drug my parents noted that I was less angry and generally happier with what was going on around me, as well as less prone to tantrums. At the end of 5th grade my parents made the to homeschool me. I was homeschooled from grades 6 to 10 [without drugs] and during that time I pulled ahead in my math work and got A's on all of my tests. I was able to study how I wanted to, fidget when I wanted to. . .. Then [beginning with grade 11] I was returned to school [for some but not all courses]. ... I was [then] put back on a new form of Ritalin. We tried it for a month, and I went into a severe depression from the effects. After a month I was pulled back off it and that was the end of talks about drugs for the condition. ... I am now 24, married, and expecting a child. I went to college after my senior year ... and joined the Guard. I have noticed in the course of my life that I am calmer for the most part now. I still have urges, ... not what I consider bad urges, but urges to say what is on my mind and to express an opinion whenever I can. ... Overall, I am happy. I my life, my wife and my family."
In contrast to these quotations, those who have kept their child on a stimulant after starting homeschooling report the drug to be very helpful. Here are the three most positive pro-drug comments:
• (#6) "We tried Concerta, but he went crazy. Eventually we tried Strattera (a non-stimulant ADHD medication, a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) and it helped so much. He now has that second to think about what he's going to do and he makes better choices. No more temper tantrums, throwing things, hitting, or reckless behavior."
• (#10) "Off meds she is inattentive, argumentative, and unpleasant to be with. On meds she is productive, fun, and kind. She does have the side effect of suppression, so we have to get creative to get enough calories into her. That is easily accommodated, though, and we have been happy with her progress both socially and academically in the three years that we have homeschooled."
• (#27) "Once the drug [Focalin XR-a stimulant] kicked in, everything changed. He not only grasped concepts, he remembered them. He flew through three years of math in six months. He will start high school in the fall, with over 20 hours of high school credit, and honors level high school science under his belt [from his homeschooling years]. He is becoming the brilliant kid I only saw in flashes before the drugs."
Conclusion 2: The children's behavior, moods, and learning generally improved when they stopped conventional schooling, not because their ADHD characteristics vanished but because they were now in a situation where they could learn to deal with those characteristics.
Only two or three of the respondents reported that the ADHD-like behavior disappeared when the child was removed from conventional school. The great majority said or implied that such characteristics remained but were no longer such a big problem, primarily because, out of school, the child could be active and self-directed without being disruptive and had opportunities to learn how to cope with his or her personality characteristics. Here are some relevant quotations.
• (#16) "He learns fine as long as he is moving. I have the feeling that in a formal mass education setting, the focus would still be on getting him to sit still. As it is, he would be entering 8th grade in the local school, but he's doing sophomore/junior level work and even has some AP credits. He's teaching himself German and Latin because he wants to. I have no desire to squelch his joy of learning just to get him to sit still! ... He's well adjusted socially and behaves appropriately. However, when he's with other kids with ADHD, we notice they sort of snowball each other's behaviors."
• (#17). "She is a terrific free-range learner. She is sometimes afraid that she is 'behind' and will find websites and books describing what she should know and just devour them. She was reading on an 8th grade level at 3rd grade 3 years ago, so she's reading somewhere on a high school level now. ... Her behavior is normally excellent. Sometimes she has outbursts of exuberance that can be both inconsiderate and difficult to stop, like running through the house shouting late a night."
• (#18). "I think the real advantage of homeschooling has been in the development of my son's social skills. He is a thoroughly nice person, both kind and empathetic. I just don't see how he could have learned to as well at a school where he was being made to feel that he was unacceptable all day."
• (#12, about a boy who at age 5 was diagnosed with ADHD, Dysfunction, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder and who began homeschooling shortly after that): "Today [at nearly age 16] he is an articulate, and confident young man. He takes no medication ... has no odd behaviors ... and impresses every adult he meets. ... His learning style is nothing that could ever be harnessed in the classroom. He almost intuits how to fix everything from cars to air conditioners to ..." (This writer goes on to describe how her son is preparing himself for a through apprenticeships in the trades and at an antique store, in ways that would not have been possible in school.)
• (#13) "His anxiety is gone [since leaving public school and starting homeschooling]. As far as schooling goes, he definitely has a hard time completing his work. He is indeed easily distracted. ... He's still impulsive and demanding but we can handle it much better than the school could and we're all less for it. He takes some classes through local groups and museums and still has a hard time attending to the teachers, but he manages now that it isn't an all-day everyday prospect."
• (#20) "As I mentioned, my son's friendships are always volatile. While he loves being with them, his tendency to 'lose it' or be 'hyper' often gets him into scrapes and he will quite often fall out with them. Being out of school has allowed him to walk away when this happens, to come home, reflect on the situation, talk about it and to not engage in the downward spiral of anger and resentment through being with them all day every day. He is learning about life, about life skills and, most importantly, how to be a happy and fulfilled adult."
• (#24) "... her public schools years of K-3 were mostly disastrous.. . . In response to repeated encouragement by the resource teacher, when she was in third grade we took her to a psychologist and came home with a diagnosis of ADHD and a prescription for Metadate. We tried it for about a week, and the testing results did show a noticeable improvement in areas such as short-term (from 0/10 to 5/10 on one test, for example). Nevertheless, we couldn't bring ourselves to continue the meds: she was awake until very late at night, had a glazed look in her eyes, developed a small rash on her thighs, etc. ... Instead we started her for fourth grade in a small private alternative school for grades K-7/8. It has about 14 or 15 kids and is like a big home-schooled family. ... Getting her out of public school was the best decision we could have made. ... And as for us as parents: before we bailed out for the world of alternative schooling, we felt like we were raising not a child, but rather a set of problems in need of a set of solutions. No more."
• (#28). "We started homeschooling in kindergarten. It was a disaster. Sitting down for 10 minutes a day for a lesson was like pulling teeth. She would weep and cry that she hated school. ‘Do you hate stories?' No. ‘Do you hate games?' No. ‘What do you hate?' Sitting DOWNNNNN! (Wail). I persevered through kindergarten, but with nothing to show for progress after a year of trying. For 1st grade I modified my style a little and let her do things like play Legos, doodle, or ‘sew' while we read. It helped a little. ... By 2nd grade I had given up. ... She was not learning to read. .... Then one day I walked in and she was reading The Chronicles of Narnia. It had just clicked, at around age 8. ... She still misspells atrociously. And her behavior in groups can still be very wild--she is so excitable and dramatic and sometimes scares other children a little. ... As I've gotten to know her better, I find it more and more odd that we label these children the ‘learning disabled.' She does naturally the things other children find so hard--word problems in math, seeing large complex solutions to problems, being a creative problem solver, having a unique perspective on a book she read. The things that are hard to TEACH. And she struggles with the things that are so easily remedied.... calculators and spell-check anyone?"
Conclusion 3: Many of these children seem to have a very high need for self-direction in education, and many "hyper focus" on tasks that interest them.
A staff member who works at one of the Sudbury model schools emailed me this interesting comment about kids who had been diagnosed with ADHD before coming to that school:
"The ADHD label is applied to two very different sorts of kids. One type really has "Attention Surfeit Disorder." Most of these get deeply involved in exactly what they want to do... They do their thing--with other kids when it overlaps with other kids' interests, and without other kids when they are caught up in something that other kids aren't interested in. They get labeled ADD not because they can't attend but because they have no coping mechanisms for enforced boredom..... The other type are simply physically active to the point of being problematic when quiet is called for. These kids may get themselves ejected from JC [Judicial Committee] or the School Meeting when they can't control themselves, and generally have long records for Running and Roughhousing and for Disturbingly Noisy activities. A combination of not calling unduly for quiet (most of these kids can be outside running and roughhousing to their hearts' content most of the time without bugging anyone) and a fair and reasonable JC that helps these kids discern time and place makes this problem less for us and gives the kids a sense of justice and time and place that informs them and lets them develop the ability to shift gears when quiet and serene are called for."
In the sample of stories I received, many of the kids seem to fall clearly into the first category. They seem to be kids who have an even greater need for self-direction in education than do typical kids. (If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know my view that all normal kids learn better in settings where they are in control of their education than in settings where someone else is in control.) In this regard, it is not surprising that the few kids in this sample who were still on ADHD medications during homeschooling seemed to be primarily those whose homeschooling was structured by the parent and modeled after the education one would receive in a conventional school.
A number of the quotations that I have already presented allude to the ADHD-labeled child's need to control his or her own learning. Here are a few more:
• (#3) "She chooses her own subjects and learning material daily. ... She learns much better if she can follow an interest and then hyper focus on it. She may pick something different, and seemingly unrelated, every day, and then tie that randomness into a major project that she will work on for a month."
• (#5) "It seems to be a matter of interest. If he is into something he will be focused and attentive for long stretches, if not he gets antsy. As an example, at our local homeschool conference a robotics club had a booth and had a robot there. My son would have stayed there asking questions about the robot for the rest of the afternoon if I had not moved him along."
• (#19) "We've been unschooling for several years now. He is 11 .... He is energetic and rambunctious at times, but often finds an interest that holds his attention for hours on end. The only time he fits the ADHD diagnosis is when he is bored or uninterested in something. Or he will be particularly rambunctious after sitting for long periods of time (whether he was engaged or bored while sitting still doesn't matter)."
• (#20) "After a while [of parent-directed homeschooling] it became impossible for him to learn. His anxiety increased to a level that we were forced to allow him to take anti-anxiety drugs, which he did for a few months.... I then stumbled on self-directed learning/unschooling and have not looked back! ... It all made perfect sense. My son makes choices about what he wants to learn, he makes his own decisions about when and how he will learn it, he has learnt to define his own boundaries and takes responsibility for his own learning. If he is interested in something, we facilitate and provide resources, links, take him to places that supply the stuff he needs. He has taken a huge interest in music technology. ... He has produced some amazing music, he has found out about a variety of things he is interested in, he has self-defined interests which avoid institutions. . . . He is , and he knows what choices to follow more than we do. Never would I have believed last year, when everything was so bleak and , that a year on, everything would be looking so rosy, and so absolutely fascinating as we follow just what it means to give your child the freedom to be themselves."
• (#22) "Our homeschooling started out with a curriculum program that she hated following. She would just want to read all of the history book . . . The piecemeal, parsing out of knowledge that is "curriculum" always galled her. We started unschooling and everything fell into place. .... The "problem" is that she loves knowledge, wants to go at her own pace (fast), ignoring some subjects while pursuing others, and delving into specialized interests no one else her age has."
• (#21) "We began unschooling about four years ago. ... Today she's 14.5 years old... She is creative, responsible, fun to be around. She has no trouble reading and is skilled at using math in her everyday life. ...She has no signs of the problems the school district saw in her when she was 9 years old. // She was in a large, chaotic class with several children who required one-on-one aids, the district was in the first year of implementing Everyday Math (which I called Everyday Crying) and the books they were giving the children to read, IMO, were boring. Tests made her and she was overloaded sensorily by the noise and smells at the school, especially in the cafeteria. // Since she's been home she's just bloomed. People who know her find it hard to believe that anyone ever questioned her or ability to focus. She's smarter and more responsible than many adults I know."
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Before concluding, I should say that this is obviously just a preliminary study. It is, however, as far as I can tell, the only study that anyone has conducted to date concerning ADHD-diagnosed children's abilities to learn, and to cope without drugs, outside of the conventional school environment. My hope is that this preliminary study will draw the attention of the research community so that more formal, large-scale studies will be conducted. As a culture we are so used to thinking of school as the normative environment for children that we rarely even think about the possibility of children learning and developing well outside of that environment. I am very to those who responded to my call for stories and took the time to write out, so clearly, the experiences of their ADHD-labeled son or daughter.
--------------------------------
Notes
[1] See, for example, Mayes et al (2009), Medicating Children: ADHD and Pediatric Mental (Harvard University Press).
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For more on children's natural ways of learning, see Free to Learn. Also, join me on Facebook and see alternativestoschooling.com. |
The White House’s national security adviser resigned Monday night and President Trump tapped retired Lt. Gen. Joseph Keith Kellogg Jr. to serve as acting adviser in his place, in the first major shakeup of the still-young administration.
Michael Flynn, the ousted adviser, admitted that he misled Vice President Mike Pence on the contents of phone calls Mr. Flynn placed to the Russian ambassador, in which they apparently discussed sanctions.
At the time, though he was working for the Trump transition team, Mr. Flynn was a private citizen, and such communications to hash out government policy are illegal.
SEE ALSO: Text of Michael Flynn’s resignation letter from national security advisor post
“Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the vice president-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the president and the vice president, and they have accepted my apology,” Mr. Flynn said in a resignation letter released by the White House.
Top officials, apparently relying on Mr. Flynn’s account of the conversation, issued a public denial of reports that he had discussed the sanctions imposed on the Kremlin by the outgoing Obama administration over Moscow’s efforts to influence the U.S. election in Mr. Trump’s favor.
But Mr. Flynn later told White House officials the issue of sanctions may have come up. That revelation left the position of Mr. Flynn, a retired lieutenant general, untenable.
SEE ALSO: Trump says the ‘real story’ of Flynn’s downfall is ‘illegal leaks’ out of D.C.
Democrats said Mr. Flynn had to go, but said it doesn’t end the questions swirling around the Trump team over its promises to the regime in Moscow.
“These alleged contacts and any others the Trump campaign may have had with the Kremlin are the subject of the House Intelligence Committee’s ongoing investigation,” said Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on that panel.
“Moreover, the Trump administration has yet to be forthcoming about who was aware of Flynn’s conversations with the ambassador and whether he was acting on the instructions of the President or any other officials, or with their knowledge,” he said.
The Justice Department had warned the White House weeks ago of the conversations and the discrepancy between the public statements and the reality of Mr. Flynn’s behavior, according to the Associated Press.
As the reports piled up, Democrats on Capitol Hill had demanded Mr. Flynn be suspended from his security clearance and fired for his actions.
Mr. Flynn, who was fired from his job as chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency by President Obama in 2014, had been a supporter of Mr. Trump’s during the campaign. He even spoke at the Republican National Convention last summer.
After Mr. Trump’s victory in November, Mr. Flynn was one of the first personnel announcements Mr. Trump made, tapping his booster to be national security adviser.
But over the last few days the White House had given conflicting signals about his job. One senior adviser said Monday afternoon that the president maintained “full confidence” in Mr. Flynn, while another said the president was trying to figure out what to do.
Mr. Flynn is the second person on Mr. Trump’s national security team to bow out already.
Last month Monica Crowley, a GOP foreign policy expert who had previously served as online opinion editor for The Washington Times and as commentator for Fox News,announced she would forgo a senior strategist’s position with Mr. Flynn after accusations by CNN and Politico that she plagiarized some of her work.
In his resignation letter Mr. Flynn said he held “numerous” calls with foreign ministers and ambassadors during the transition period after the election but before the inauguration. He said those kinds of communications “are standard practice.”
He also left with a parting thanks to Mr. Trump, saying the president in three weeks “has reoriented American foreign policy in fundamental ways to restore America’s leadership position in the world.”
According to CNN, retired Gen. David Petraeus will be “coming in” Tuesday to discuss the position. Retired Gen. Kellogg also is a candidate for the permanent post, CNN reported. |
According to the highest-rated definition on Urban Dictionary, "Spursy" means: "To consistently and inevitably fail to live up to expectations. To bottle it."
As has happened on so many occasions, that happened again last season when Mauricio Pochettino's side crumbled under the pressure of their unexpected title push and fell behind their old rivals Arsenal at the last in what felt like an inevitable collapse. Pochettino admitted he wanted to "kill" his players.
But something very special is happening at White Hart Lane: Spurs aren't very Spursy at all. Actually, on current form, they are the best team in the league. Could Pochettino be on the cusp of an era of success? There are remarkable similarities with a previous Premier League great...
Spurs could be the new (old) Man Utd
Pochettino has assembled a balanced squad of players, instilled a winning group mentality and sprinkled a little star dust over it. It's a team Sir Alex Ferguson would be proud of and you only need to look at the individual components to see how Pochettino has followed a blueprint for success.
Spurs have, as Man Utd had: |
Brief: Apparently, Open Source alternatives to Microsoft Office is not good enough for Brazil and thus they are reverting to proprietary Microsoft Office and other Microsoft tools.
The latest trend in Europe and developing countries was to ditch proprietary Microsoft Office and adopt an Open Source solution such as OpenOffice or LibreOffice. The move was more concerned with cost saving than for the love of Open Source. Whatever may be the reason, at least several government organizations have started to look beyond Microsoft.
But perhaps the euphoria died for some of them. Brazil that had opted for an open source policy is now reverting to Microsoft in an attempt to “generate cost efficiencies and standardize the IT applications portfolio across departments”, reported ZDNet.
Yes, you read that right. Brazil is opting for Microsoft for ‘cost efficiency’. It’s actually a deal with Microsoft that will allow the Brazilian government to buy Microsoft product licenses as per their requirement in the next 12 months, at a previously negotiated price.
And it’s not just Microsoft Office that they are getting. The deal includes Windows 10 and Windows Server (huh!!).
With this massive deal, Brazil departs from their Open Source policy put in place in the year 2003. The idea behind the open source switch was to reduce licensing costs and allow local IT companies to develop products for the government but apparent ‘lack of skills and interest’ led to the demise of this policy as the government struggled to get quality software.
Not just Brazil
It’s not just Brazil that is going back into the arms of Microsoft. Remember Italian region Emilia-Romagna switching to OpenOffice? Well, they are also going back to Microsoft Office, though, it’s not specified to be Microsoft but a proprietary cloud-based solution.
The open source move was already criticized by some of our readers and I had my suspicion as well. OpenOffice has not been in active development mode for last few years. In fact, OpenOffice has started indicating that it might be discontinued.
LibreOffice would have been the better choice here to replace MS Office. But the governments being the government, opted for the wrong Open Source solution. I do believe that had they opted for LibreOffice, things would have been better, specially considering that LibreOffice has worked a lot on its cloud solution.
These are not good news for us Open Source enthusiasts but I am rooting for the further success of LibreOffice so that it becomes the de facto alternative to MS Office and a ‘better one’ than that. |
United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said the old question was whether the sport would make it in America.
"If you'd said to me 20 years ago to bet your kids' college tuition on the growth of the game, on professional soccer, I wouldn't have said yes," Gulati said.
Those days, he told an audience of nearly 360 people, are over.
"Now, most of you in the room have kids who played, or kids who still play, or you played the game when you were a child," he said.
Gulati discussed topics ranging from the growth of the game in America to women's soccer salaries during a Jacksonville Sports Council Speaker Series luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront on Wednesday afternoon.
The third-term U.S. Soccer president also fielded questions from the audience that touched on several hot topics in American soccer.
� Of approximately 60 men's professional teams in the U.S., he said the number of teams that are "cash positive" can be counted on "maybe two hands and one foot."
� He said that "demand is insufficient" for women's professional soccer salaries to increase without more fan support.
� Though encouraging would-be NFL or NBA stars to pursue soccer at an early age could help the U.S. team, Gulati said effects may be limited because of the increased athleticism among today's elite foreign players: "They're cornerbacks, but with skill at their feet."
� He expressed some skepticism about proposals to implement European-style promotion and relegation, saying the ensuing legal battles "would eventually end up with nine people in robes in Washington."
Though soccer hasn't reached the NFL or Major League Baseball level in the United States, Gulati said it's making an impact.
"In a country with 320 million people, you don't have to be the NFL to be relevant," he said.
Gulati formerly worked as deputy commissioner of Major League Soccer. He also serves as a senior lecturer in the Columbia University economics department.
His speech marked one highlight in a busy 10-day span for Jacksonville soccer.
Also Wednesday, the United States men's national team departed training camp in Jacksonville for a complex journey to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where they will play a Friday World Cup qualifier in the capital of Kingstown.
The team is set to return Saturday, then train for two more days before Tuesday's match against Trinidad and Tobago at EverBank Field.
Gulati expressed some concern with the estimated ticket sales of 16,000 thus far, well below the regional record crowds in the city for games in 2012 and 2014.
"We're not going to have the sort of attendance we had for the Nigeria game, for the Scotland game," he said. "It's a little bit of a concern, but hopefully it'll pick up in the next few days."
Still, he's optimistic about the city's future as a destination for U.S. Soccer.
"We'll be back in Jacksonville, I can assure you of that," Gulati said. |
For students who graduated in May and June with student loan debt, an important letter is coming soon: the dreaded student loan repayment notice.
For federal student loans, and most private student loans, borrowers have a six month grace period before they have to start making payments. About six weeks before the first payment is due, borrowers will receive a notice from their student loan servicer that highlights the loan balance, repayment plan, repayment amount, and other terms of the loan.
But before you make any choices - some which could seriously harm your financial future - make sure you understand what to do and what your options are.
You Don't Have To Use The Standard Repayment Plan
First, it's important to remember that you don't have to use the standard repayment plan. When you initially get the student loan repayment notice, your lender will default you into the standard plan. This plan is based on equal payments over 10 years. However, this can be challenging for recent college graduates, who may not be making much in their first job.
FinAid.org has a great breakdown of the different repayment plan options for graduates, so make sure you see if a graduate plan or other repayment plan makes more sense for your financial situation.
See If You Qualify For Student Loan Forgiveness
Next , see if you qualify for any type of student loan forgiveness program. Over one-third of student loan borrowers are estimated to qualify for some type of student loan forgiveness, and this can be a great way to lower your student loan burden.
If you do qualify for a program, you need to contact your student loan servicer to see what documents are required to prove eligibility. Many forgiveness options require several years of service after graduation, and your lender will require that you make the minimum payments on your student loan debt while this happens.
Use Backdoor Student Loan Forgiveness Plans
If you don't qualify for regular student loan forgiveness programs, you can see if you qualify for these "secret" student loan forgiveness programs. These aren't true student loan forgiveness programs, but are actually student loan repayment plans that have student loan forgiveness at the end if there is any remaining balance.
If you are struggling to make payments on any of the standard student loan repayment plans, these special plans may work for you. They are typically based on your income (which you have to verify each year to remain eligible), and after a certain period of repayments, you loan balance is forgiven. It's important to note that your repayment plan can last up to 20 years or more, and any balance forgiven is considered taxable income.
What Not To Do
Now that you know your options, here are some important things not to do:
1. Don't go back to school unless you have a really valid reason to do so. Most college graduates shouldn't go straight to graduate school for a variety of reasons - and escaping making student loan payments is one of those reasons.
2. Don't skip making payments because you can't afford it. By not making payments, you will ruin your credit score, which will impact your financial future for years. Having a poor credit score can prevent you from buying a car, buying a house, renting an apartment, even getting a job. With all of the repayment possibilities listed above, simply change your repayment plan to something that works before skipping a payment. |
“With 500+ changes to Google’s search algorithm per year, it can be easy for an SEO marketer to go crazy trying to keep up with all the changes!”
So, in order to prevent a wave of marketers going to the loony bin (although it may be too late for some), I have compiled a guide of the most important SEO factors to keep in mind that if followed, will help reduce the fatigue and stress of those SEO professionals who think they have to know every detail of every algorithm change that has ever happened.
Instead, let’s look at the big picture of how your Search Rankings Are Influenced.
The following statement is the big picture summary:
It’s how you make sure that your content is the best possible content on the Internet for the words that you care about. Source: www.ama.org
When you understand the big picture of SEO, then many of the details become easier and/or unnecessary. Instead of trying to ‘keyword stuff’ the page with the right ‘buyer’ phrases that have been strategically placed to achieve the optimal keyword density, you think more in terms of writing content that will give the searcher exactly what they were looking for in the first place.
Search Engines have evolved and the idea behind intent cannot be ignored. Metrics such as bounce rate, click thru rate, time on site, pages viewed, site authority and latent semantic indexing all play a part in influencing Search Engines to rank a website or not.
In a nutshell, search engines have gotten smarter and they know if your content meets user expectations. Gone are the days of having a crappy ‘keyword stuffed’ webpage that doesn’t provide valuable content rank high in Google.
Search Engine Trends that Can’t Be Ignored
With that in mind, let’s look at some trends that are staring us in the face in 2016.
Social Media Will Continue to Influence Search Results – Social Media is here to stay and the hive mind matters to Google. Whether we like it or not, the content that is being shared throughout Social Media is a key indicator of its importance. According to an article at www.impactbnd.com, 76% of marketers use Social Media to support and boost SEO.
Videos will Become More Prominent in the SERPS – We all know that videos represent some of the most engaging content on the web. From www.quicksprout.com, we learn that videos get 50 times better organic page ranks in Google than pages that have no videos on them. There are many other sources that confirm just how easier it is to rank videos than plain static web pages. In general, videos can create a better experience for the user and create a greater Search Influence.
Mobile Search Influence Continues to Grow – If your website is not Mobile friendly, then there is no use wasting time and money to try to rank higher in the SERPS. Its not going to happen. It is a well known fact that Google has updated their algorithms to give preference to websites that are mobile friendly. The bar has been raised and it is here to stay. Again, this has to do with the user experience. Your audience is no longer using just one device. They are using a combination of devices that include tablets, smartphones, laptops and even watches. In 2015, Google confirmed that over half of all searches are from Mobile Devices. Source: searchengineland.com
Mobile App Optimization Will Pick Up Steam – Does your business have an app? According to Tech Crunch, mobile apps account for 52% of all time spent on online digital media. Since it is obvious that more and more people are using their smart phones for searches, this influence cannot be ignored. Apps take the functionality of a website and offer it to the user in an easier and faster way. More and more businesses will use apps to not only to provide a greater user experience on mobile devices, but also to attract more customers.
Latent Semantic Indexing is a Mega Trend – In the early days of the search engines, keywords were just matched up with pages. This created an easy way to influence search rankings and spam the system without providing quality content. But with Latent Semantic Indexing, the intent behind the query became more understood and the associated web pages were evaluated based on not just a specific keyword phrase, but rather the combined group of associated phrases that would indicate relevance. In other words, if someone searched for ‘cars’, it was also understood that web pages discussing ‘vehicles’ or ‘autos’ would also be seen as relevant. This development actually provides a greater incentive to content creators to provide the best quality content possible without trying to influence the search engines through repetitive text that sounds unnatural.
Local Search Influence Gains Traction – The location of any business is a significant factor in determining the relevancy of search queries. If someone is in Chicago and searching for ‘restaurants’, then no matter how great the content is of other restaurant websites around the country, the ones in the Chicago area will provide more relevance to the search query.
This is a simple example but it highlights the fact that the search engines have evolved to know where you are located and that the search query is a local search query. As a marketer, it is critical to let people know where you are located and what you are offering so your chances of showing up in as many places as possible increases. According to Entrepreneur.com, local SEO is only going to grow stronger.
In summary, each of these 6 trends show one overall large trend: To continue to reward and influence search rankings for websites that have higher quality content that provides the best user experience for a related keyword phrase. Search Engines have finally passed through that awkward phase of puberty and have matured to the point where they can understand what users want and then sift through billions of pages to determine which content is going to best satisfy the user’s curiosity. |
Getty Images
Once upon a time, quarterbacks acquired with a high pick in the draft got several years to figure out how to play in the NFL. For most, that included a year or more of learning without playing.
Now, quarterbacks taken at the top of the draft quickly get thrust into the fray. And if they don’t quickly figure out how to play at the NFL level, they’re quickly cast aside.
From a five-year plan to a three-year plan to what may now be a one-year mandate, the reduced cost of young talent under the rookie wage scale has created, in some cities, an up-or-out mentality, regardless of the magnitude of the pick invested in the quarterback.
Last year, some thought Jets G.M. John Idzik wanted Geno Smith, the 39th overall pick in the draft and second quarterback taken, to start from Week One so that the Jets would know what they have in Smith, in the event they land at the top of round one in the 2014 draft.
The possibility of a high second-round pick being on a one-year arrangement seemed bizarre. But it now appears to be a reality.
Mike Vick, at this point in his career, plays the position (if healthy) better than Smith. Smith’s high-road welcome of Vick to New York could be viewed as a concession of that fact.
Actually, Smith’s words read a bit like he’s relieved.
Maybe the Jets are putting a new twist on the modern NFL. Maybe the rookie quarterback can start for a year, be supplanted by a veteran if the rookie doesn’t instantly become a star, and then reclaim the job after the veteran’s one-year contract expires.
Instead of having the rookie take a seat for a year or more, maybe today’s NFL will from time to time entail a rookie who fails the baptism by fire, takes a year to heal his wounds, and then gives it another try.
Either way, it’s a strange new dynamic in the win-now NFL, where teams truly are constructed on a year-to-year basis — and where young players don’t get as much leeway as they used to when trying to figure out how to thrive. |
Mushroom Leather
Apart from Modern Meadow, a company that grows leather in the lab, another start-up is giving leather makers a run for their money. MycoWorks is using fungi to produce leather substitutes, through a process that’s cheaper and faster.
MycoWorks’ chief technical officer Phil Ross has been collecting and growing mushrooms since the 1980s. He discovered the vast possibilities resulting from manipulating the growing conditions of the mushroom mycelium—the spiderweb-like fibers that extend through soil or decaying matter to gather nutrients. “Fungi are very sensitive; they will change their growth in relationship to how they’re being poked and things like that,” Ross says. “You put it in a cup, it would take the shape of a cup.”
The mushrooms were grown and fed with mostly agricultural waste such as corn cobs and sawdust while altering conditions such as humidity, light exposure, exchange of gases, and temperature in an effort to coax the fungi to grow in different ways, textures, and with varying durability. They even grew the material hard enough to be used as a chair.
The company is currently using Ganoderma lucidum, also known as the reishi mushroom (commonly found in Asian remedies and teas) because it has been proven safe for human skin and consumption. |
I usually make my pick of books for a month mid the month before and you will find more information about the books there. This is my teaser page of things to come. Remember that the further away a release is the less certain is the information, covers can change from week to week and delays are common. This is also a collection of data from public sources like Amazon, Publisher and Author home pages that might contain errors or old information. So you can’t trust this calender like it was written on stone.
I love to get information on future releases for this Calendar. Comment here or email me ove at cybermage.se. Everyone is welcome authors, agents, publishers to.
2010
December 2010
2011
Daring (Kris Longknife 9) by Mike Shepherd (ACE) – probably fall/winter
Darkship Renegade (Darkship Thieves book 2) by Sarah A. Hoyt (Baen) – probably fall/winter
Safehold book 5 by David Weber (Tor) – probably early 2012, he started writing it in Oct 2010
Clan Chronicles: The Reunification Cycle book 1 by Julie E. Czerneda (DAW) – she started writing it in Oct 2010
January 2011
February 2011
March 2011
April 2011
Betrayer (Foreigner book 12) C. J. Cherryh (Daw)
May 2011
Dreadnaught (Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier 1) by Jack Campbell (ACE)
Dead Reckoning (True Blood 11) by Charlaine Harris (Gollancz, Ace)
Embassytown by China Miéville (Tor UK | Del Rey)
Summer 2011
The Unincorporated Woman (The Unincorporated Man 3) by Dani Kollin & Eytan Kollin (Tor)
June 2011
Blue Remembered Earth (Poseidon’s Children Book 1) by Alastair Reynolds (Gollancz)
July 2011
War in Heaven (Veteran book 2) by Gavin G. Smith (Gollancz)
August 2011
Unti (Star Corpsman 1) by William Keith (Eos)
The Departure (Owner Trilogy 1) by Neal Asher (Tor UK) – unconfirmed date
Blight of Mages (prequel to King breaker King maker) by Karen Miller (Orbit)
The Ascendant Stars (Humanity’s Fire 3) by Michael Cobley (Orbit)
The Iron Jackal (Tale of the Kitty Jay 3) by Chris Wooding (Gollancz) – will probably be delayed to october
Pearlant (Light Universe) by M. John Harrison (Gollancz)
September 2011
Dust 514 by Tony Gonzales (Gollancz)
Bitterblue (Seven Kingdoms Trilogy 3) by Kristin Cashore (Gollancz) – will probably be delayed to 2012
October 2011
A Beautiful Friendship (Honorverse YA) by David Weber (Baen?)
The Kingdom of Gods (The Inheritance Trilogy 3) by N. K. Jemisin (Orbit)
2011 winter
Ganymede (Clockwork Century 4) by Cherie Priest (Tor)
2012
Zero Point (Owner Trilogy 2) by Neal Asher (TorUK) august?
A Rising Thunder (Honor Harrington/Torch/Saganami) by David Weber (Baen)
In the Mouth of the Whale (Quiet War Universe) by Paul McAuley (Gollancz)
The Traitor Queen (Traitor Spy Trilogy 3) by Trudi Canavan (Orbit) – Trudi starts writing Oct 2010
Intruder (Foreigner book 13) C. J. Cherryh (Daw) – in the writing Oct 2010
January 2012
In the Mouth of the Whale by Paul McAuley (Gollancz)
August 2012
The Quantum Thief 3 by Hannu Rajaniemi (Gollancz)
September 2012
Ragnarok 3 by John Meany (Gollancz) – delayed from feb 2012 in October 2010
November 2012 |
Beyond the sea
In the northern reaches of Newfoundland, near the town of St. Anthony, is the Fox Point Lighthouse. I’ve never been there, but I know it has one of the most impressive ocean views in the world. If you face perpendicular to the right bit of rocky coastline there and gaze straight across the ocean, your mind’s eye peering well beyond the horizon, you can see all the way to Australia.
What’s really across the ocean from you when you look straight out? It’s not always the place you think.
I’m inspired by a map done a couple of years ago by Eric Odenheimer and some follow-ups by Weiyi Cai and Laris Karklis of the Washington Post. Those maps are colorful, handy guides to countries of equivalent latitude across the oceans. It’s easy to forget, for example, that much of Europe is well north of the United States east coast. But they’re not exactly maps of what’s across the ocean from you, at least not directly across from you. To think of east or west as “straight” across is, perhaps, one of those effects of the map projections we see every day.
The latitude maps got me interested in answering the question more strictly: standing on a given point and facing perpendicular to the coast, if you went straight ahead, never turning, where would you end up? There are two reasons why following a line of latitude won’t answer the question.
1. Coastlines are crooked and wacky.
2. The earth is round.
With that in mind, here are some maps showing the points from which you can “see” each of the continents.
Coastline angle
Coastlines face all different directions, bending and turning constantly. The “East coast” isn’t a straight north-south line facing directly east. Just look at the state where I live, which has coastline facing literally all directions.
Taking “across the ocean” to mean directly across, perpendicular to the coast, then what’s across the ocean depends on where you’re standing! To get a rough idea of what direction the world’s coastlines face, I’m calculating the angle between every pair of adjacent coastal vertices in medium scale Natural Earth data, then placing a point in between them and measuring the view from there based on that angle.
The much-maligned Mercator projection comes in handy here. Those angle calculations were made using projected coordinates because the conformal Mercator projection preserves the thing I’m interested in: local angles!
Straight lines on a round object
The second point is trickier to imagine thanks to common rectangular maps and the way latitude itself is defined. If you can detach the concept of “direction” from the concept of east and west, and look at globes and other map projections, it’s easy enough to picture. The shortest, straightest line on a sphere (let’s call the Earth a sphere even though it technically isn’t) is a great circle arc, not something like a line of latitude.
What we often think of as “straight” is a path following a rhumb line, a line of constant bearing. Wikipedia succinctly describes how such a “straight” line actually turns, in contrast to a great circle.
If one were to drive a car along a great circle one would hold the steering wheel fixed, but to follow a rhumb line one would have to turn the wheel, turning it more sharply as the poles are approached.
A typical classroom demonstration of great circles is to pull a piece of string taut on the surface of a globe between two points, and note how the string arcs across lines of latitude, changing its bearing the whole way. Try this specific case to drive home how the spherical “straight” differs from “straight” as we’ve defined compass directions: find a line of longitude on the globe, then a spot along that line somewhere away from the equator. Bring the globe to your eye and place the string perpendicular to the meridian, in between two latitude lines. Line up your view with the string and you can see that even though it starts out going due east or west, as it continues directly ahead the “straight” east/west parallels curve away from it.
So if we want to know what’s truly straight across the ocean from a given coastline point, we need to see what direction the coast faces at that point, then draw a great circle in that direction and see what it runs into.
As for flat maps, certain map projections provide an accurate view of directions. The azimuthal equidistant projection, for example, preserves correct direction (and distance) from the center point of the map. A straight line from the center of the map is a straight line in real life. Here’s the Newfoundland-to-Australia example from earlier:
Such a map, in the end, is how I’m figuring out beach views: center that projection on each point, then draw a straight line in the correct direction until it hits land.
Conclusion
I’m not entirely certain that I have all the math right, but I think it’s at least close. Even we cartographers sometimes have a shaky grasp of map projections and spherical geometry.
But who has time for correct math? I’ve got to start training for the straight-line swim from the number one beach in my life—30th Street in Ocean City, New Jersey—to Brazil. |
iAcquire has recently blogged about their use of heavy use Ubuntu and open source software across the enterprise. Jeff Nappi, Director, Technology athas recently blogged about their use of heavy use Ubuntu and open source software across the enterprise.
iAcquire specializes in digital marketing services and their fulfillment department has 45 happy Ubuntu users.
The single largest department at iAcquire is our fulfillment team and they currently work every day on dual-head Ubuntu 10.04 LTSP diskless workstations. These diskless workstations are what are known as Fat Clients – the entire operating system is loaded via a compressed disk image over our Gigabit LAN, authentication is done via SSH, and home directories are mounted via NFS. All applications are run locally and are very fast – it is nearly unnoticeable that the machine is running entirely over the network. Behind the scenes we have two powerful servers in a hot-standby configuration that serve these diskless clients.
Jeff cites a number of benefits like no virus threats and hardware failures, easy availability of software and no IT support time and cost.
They use popular Linux applications like Firefox, Thunderbird, Google Chrome, LibreOffice, Pidgin Instant Messenger and Spotify.
They use popular Linux applications like Firefox, Thunderbird, Google Chrome, LibreOffice, Pidgin Instant Messenger and Spotify.
To date we have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in unnecessary costs by choosing Linux and open-source platforms.
They Love Precise Pangolin
Many iAcquire developers are currently using Ubuntu 12.04 on desktops and soon many workstations will be upgraded to Precise.
Several of the iAcquire developers are currently using Ubuntu 12.04 / Precise Pangolin on our desktops – including myself. And we really love it, it’s an extremely good user experience. Unfortunately we’re not yet able to share the awesome experience of Precise with the fulfillment team due to several squirrels (aka bugs) that are preventing us from deploying it. We will be doing more testing over the coming months and plan to share this experience with the rest of the iAcquire team as soon as we can. Thanks to Jeff Nappi
Its a, I will quote some of the parts from the article here. |
Today we arrived at the mine to discover a major river running down the slope. With the intense rain and snow melt on the island, all the water had to go somewhere. When we walked down to the dive staging area we were shocked to discover that we had lost more than 20 feet of waterfront. The dock was close to the ceiling and the benches and staging area were submerging. It was simply not safe to use our walkways and dock.
Not to be discouraged, the skeleton team jumped into action. Volunteers were unable to make it across The Tickle on the ferry, so we were a little short handed. All hands moved tanks, tables and gear and deconstructed the lighting system and rest of the infrastructure. Repairs will need to be made when the water level drops. The water came up six feet through the day. With a hard freeze tonight, we are hoping the inflow subsides.
The rushing water also destroyed visibility for a significant distance. Cas Dobbin and I entered the water in another column and groped through 250 feet of zero-visibility muck. When we finally emerged from the clay colored water, we could see white misty in-feeding seeps further polluting the visibility. We made our way down to 130 feet of depth and spent some time shooting equipment near the pumping station. We found a lot more interesting graffiti and even managed to identify one of the people named on the wall. His friends were assisting at the mine and told us about his prowess playing strongman on their hockey team.
Cas and I were the only ones eager to make a second dive. We worked on a video mission and searched for the best area to lay line the following day. The visibility seemed to be best on the east of our entry, as far away as possible from the in-feeding meltwater. Our dive went well until our decompression stop when Cas tore a mouthpiece and experienced what we call a caustic cocktail. Water leaked into his rebreather and mixed with the carbon dioxide absorbent material, creating an alkaline fluid that can burn the mouth. We were in inches of visibility when he quickly switched off his loop and got on open circuit air. He coughed and I reached out to hold him. The scuba air was the same temperature as the water at 3 degrees, so he became quickly chilled. Rebreathers create an exothermic reaction that gives a diver warm moist air to breathe. Traditional scuba is like inhaling freezing air, chilling the diver more quickly. Cas handled the emergency like a really well practiced explorer and managed through the chill to complete his full decompression obligation.
After the dive, we jumped right into our medical tests and learned many more new things about decompression stress. I’ll leave the details for a future blog, but suffice to say, the medical research being done here is incredibly valuable to the team and to understanding extreme dive profiles. We are grateful for Neal Pollock and Stefanie Martina who have to put in days as long as ours to collect the important data. |
Sen. Ray White, R-Bedford, has endorsed U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas.
"Unlike the other candidates, Ron Paul has been singing the same tune for years – going back to his first term in Congress," said White, a first-term senator for District 9, which includes Bedford and Merrimack. "He has understood and tried to warn us for decades about the economic crisis we now face, and he is the only candidate who understands the gravity of the situation."
White said strict policies that target the "ballooning budget and fiscal irresponsibility" must be made to correct the course the country is on and if that can be done there might be an opportunity for economic recovery.
"Ron Paul's Plan to Restore America is that opportunity. No one else has put forward a plan to dig this nation out of debt and out of trouble in only three years, and only Ron Paul will do it without ransacking the security of seniors, veterans, and the people who have, unfortunately, come to depend on government programs in these tough times.
"The core of an American recovery must be fiscal responsibility from Day 1 of the new administration. And we can trust Ron Paul to deliver."
White, a Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Financial Consultant, specializes in employee benefits and financial planning. He announced late last month that , citing fairness to his family and business and the time committment required of a senator that keeps him away from those things.
District 9 serves White's hometown of Bedford as well as Merrimack, New Boston, Mont Vernon, Lyndeborough and Greenfield.
Other state lawmakers who have endorsed Paul include state Sen. Andy Sanborn, R-Henniker, and Sen. Jim Forsythe, R-Strafford – Paul's state chairmen. |
What can we expect from this new series of Red Dwarf?
It’s a throwback, really, to the series that were made in the mid-90s: the four boys on Red Dwarf. It’s character-based comedy, similar to those middle series that were aired on BBC2.
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Why did you go back to a live studio audience – did you feel that the Back to Earth mini-series in 2009 worked less well without the laughter?
The situation with Back to Earth was that we had to play with the hand we were dealt. That isn’t to denigrate Back to Earth, because there were a lot of great things about it. But it wasn’t necessarily what we’d have chosen if we’d been given any choice.
Originally, the idea was that Dave wanted to celebrate Red Dwarf’s 20th anniversary and the actors were going to be in costume introducing some clips. But it evolved, and I don’t think the people who put the budget together realised how expensive it is to start Red Dwarf up from scratch because, of course, we didn’t have any sets at that point at all.
And so, we were forced to go down a particular path, which meant we couldn’t afford the studio audience. In fact, we couldn’t really afford any sets either. In the end, we had two-and-a-half sets. I mean, people look at Back to Earth and think it looks like the most expensive and sumptuous episode ever. It looks like there was a ton of money thrown at it, but that’s just the brilliance of the direction and the visual effects, I’m afraid.
And it’s not necessarily what’s good for the comedy, because the boys hated doing all that green-screen work. So the day after it was broadcast – and, of course, it was very successful – I said that if we were going to do it again, I’d want a proper set and audience back, please.
Plus, I didn’t want to write 23-minute episodes because Red Dwarf episodes are quite complicated – with 23 minutes you end up having to spread the story over several episodes. I don’t think it’s as satisfying as getting a whole story in one episode. Basically, this time around, all the things I wanted we’ve got.
There’s still an appetite for Red Dwarf – didn’t those 2009 episodes get three million viewers?
Yes, and it was repeated over the Easter weekend. If you aggregate all three shows and add the Making Of documentary, the actual figure you end up with is 11 million. It beat BBC2, which is absolutely unheard of for a non-terrestrial channel, which was just amazing.
Also, lots of Red Dwarf fans didn’t know it was on. Even now, a couple of years later, fans say to me: “What? I’ve never heard of it.” So, that’s very bizarre.
Have there been any approaches by the BBC since then to resurrect it?
I think you can probably guess! Of course, BBC2 is where the whole thing started and obviously we want to get the biggest possible audience we can. But no, the BBC hasn’t approached us.
The last one we did with them was series eight, which got eight million and was the most successful series we’ve ever done. And then we wanted to do a film, which took so long not to get anywhere! We were constantly promised that the money was there, or about to be there, and we were sent to places all over the world from Austria to Australia to look at locations.
I think I did 35 rewrites of the script. I was asked to make the movie look more expensive because, at one point, the budget went up to close to £20 million. Then I was asked to rewrite it again to bring it down so it would only cost £8 million. We should have tried to make something for £3 million and it would probably have got made. But that didn’t happen and neither did the movie.
Then we stepped off the TV merry-go-round and once you’re off, it’s hard to get back on. I totally understand the channel controllers who want to encourage the next generation and who say, “We don’t want you old farts back again, although we enjoyed you while you were here. And quite honestly, we don’t know if the people who used to watch your show will still watch.” But I think Back to Earth proved that the Red Dwarf fanbase is still there.
And bizarrely we’ve got a whole new generation because the show’s been repeated on Dave.
Craig Charles told me he gets young people coming up to him and talking about episodes that were made in the late 80s…
Often before they were born! It’s bizarre. I went on holiday with some friends and they had an eight-year-old son. All he did for the entire holiday was watch Red Dwarf on his dad’s iPhone. I’m on holiday, trying to relax and all I can hear is the flipping Red Dwarf theme tune.
In retrospect, do you think the fact that the movie didn’t get made was probably for the best? When you watch the episodes with the studio audience, it’s almost like the cast can time their gags better. Is it a more natural fit on TV?
I think that’s absolutely right. Once we had the budget for the movie, I wanted to do what the Marx Brothers did, which was to take their scripts on the road to test them out with an audience and then film them. So they knew where the laughs were and then they replicated their performance in front of the audience on film. And I thought that was the clever, smart thing to do because there is an extra energy in front of an audience.
No matter what you say to an actor, you can’t make them truly scared in the way that an audience makes them scared. They know that if they don’t perform on the night, the scene won’t ever work. So they all just raise their game in a way that they find much more difficult if they’re in front of green-screen for 12 hours.
Are the cast always willing to jump back on board?
Absolutely, yes. We have such a good time. It is one of the hardest comedies to make though. I mean, poor Robert Llewellyn [Kryten] – if he were to eat while in costume it would completely mess up his lips. So he chooses not to and has these energy shakes, which he drinks through a straw. So he has the mask, which does terrible things to his eyes and skin. And then he’ll go off and have a curry with Craig in the evenings and says that he’s still managed to put on weight by the end of the shoot. It’s so unfair!
So you’ve got the costumes and the miniatures, some green screen and complex stories thrown in. It’s hard, and everyone accepts that it’s hard. But it’s also great fun.
I know the visual effects have become more sophisticated over the years but, for me, the best scenes are always in the bunkroom, where you see the loneliness of the situation these characters face.
We’ve got back to that core with this series. It’d probably be quite a hard sell these days, though, if you went in and pitched a science-fiction comedy. You’re halfway out the door already. People hate that idea.
Plus it’s just four blokes, no women, no aliens or monsters – and a lot of it’s about loneliness and your life slipping by. No one would buy that. But that’s what we’ve got back to: that feeling of trying to make something of your life when there’s not very much there.
There’s a story where Lister has an accidental love triangle with two female dispensing machines. And it’s a situation where you think, “Oh my god, that probably would happen in that environment, where even the dispensing machines are lonely!”
Do you feel that Red Dwarf is strongest when it looks at these little strategies the characters employ to keep themselves sane?
Yes, but occasionally you can have a big plot. You can do a Tikka to Ride, the one in which it turned out that JFK shot himself. And there’s a big one in this series, in show three. Most of the series is set on Red Dwarf, but that has an expansive interior set. So it’ll be interesting to see the reaction to that.
Finally, can you give me three words that you think sum up this series?
I can give you four. Back. To. Its. Best.
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The new series of Red Dwarf begins on Thursday 4 October on Dave |
It may be time to install some solar panels on your roof to counter that electricity bill that is through the roof. Here is a brief guide to solar panels and solar electricity systems.
How do solar panels work?
Photovoltaic (PV) cells convert sunlight directly into electricity. Today, thousands of people take advantage of this process by using individual solar PV systems to power their homes. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the solar panels used for homes are made up of modules of about 40 solar cells. The average home will need 10 to 20 solar panels.
What are the benefits of solar power?
The U.S. Department of Energy reports that most solar electric systems usually pay for themselves in four to five years. They tend to last up to three decades, and can increase the value of your home. There are also federal and state incentives that come along with solar installations. Find out what kind of tax credits and utility rebates are available in your state.
And then there are the environmental benefits of switching to solar power. Solar electric systems reduce greenhouse gas emission, as well as the dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil.
How do I decide which solar panels to buy?
There are two main types of solar panels: crystalline silicon and thin film. Dan Bedell, the executive vice president of marketing and corporate development at Principal Solar, says to keep in mind that, while thin film panels may be less expensive than silicon-based ones, they usually produce less electricity.
When selecting solar panels, Bedell says that you should pay attention to the price per watt calculation (divide the price of the module by the number of watts it is rated to produce). You should also consider your location, the amount of sunlight your home receives and the average temperatures for your area.
"The best module for Boston might not be the best module for Phoenix," Bedell says.
Other factors to think about when you are picking out a system include your budget, the available space on your roof or in your yard for the solar panels, and the degree to which you want to offset conventional power with solar power.
Can I install the panels myself?
No. Bedell says that installing a solar electricity system is not a do-it-yourself project.
You will need a licensed electrician or certified solar installer. Consult the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) for a list of certified systems installers. Ask any solar energy dealer or installer if he or she handles the tax incentive paperwork.
Your system will require a certain level of maintenance. Review the maintenance instructions in your system manual so you are aware of these requirements.
Make sure to check with your city, county or homeowner association to see if there are any restrictions and whether you need to get permits before you can install the system. Your installer should be able to help you out.
Bedell says that the engineering of the installation is important to the functionality of your system.
"Orienting a very high quality hardware installation in the wrong direction, or in a partially-shaded area will likely result in far worse electricity production than orienting a very low quality hardware installation in the right direction and free of shade," he says. |
The lock screen shows the carrier on top, the time at the bottom and a column of notification icons along the right side. Pulling the screen down reveals a menu -- the further you pull, the more menu items you see. This is accompanied by audible and tactile (haptic) feedback, which lets you "feel" which item you're selecting. Once you've highlighted the right menu item, just release your finger to select it. While difficult to describe, this gesture is extremely intuitive. It forms the basis for all menu interactions in Sailfish OS and allows easy one-handed operation regardless of screen size. The lock screen menu provides access to things like the phone app, camera app and profiles. Pulling the lock screen up lets you peek at detailed notifications, including the signal and battery status -- sliding all the way up unlocks the phone.
Once on the home screen, you'll find a customizable row of four icons at the bottom -- these are your commonly used apps. The empty space above is reserved for a grid of cards that represent each running app. As such, Jolla's using the home screen as a task manager. Sliding the home screen up reveals the launch screen, a traditional grid of app icons. Pulling the launch screen up reveals a menu with a single item that lets you return to the home screen. Launching an app is as simple as tapping an icon. Navigation is gesture-based -- pulling the screen down reveals the app's menu, swiping left to right replaces the back button. There's also a "depth indicator" in the top-left corner of each app that shows how far down the app's rabbit hole you are. Tapping this indicator takes you back up one level (this is useful when swiping back might interfere with other app controls).
Inside an app, "pushing" left from the right edge of the screen lets you peek at your notifications, while sliding all the way to the left brings you back to the home screen. Minimized apps appear as cards on the home screen but are still running in the background (Sailfish OS supports true multitasking). Cards can be customized by developers to display a UI with real-time info and controls. For example, while the card for the contacts app consists of static pictures of your friends, the card for the media player shows track details and includes play / pause and next track controls. Since tapping on a card results in maximizing its app, card controls are gesture based -- pulling right on play / pause and "pushing" left on next track triggers the appropriate action in the media player.
Another unique aspect of Sailfish OS is the ambience concept. Like with other platforms, you can personalize the lock and home screens by selecting an image from the gallery. Jolla takes things a step further by customizing the color of UI elements (including fonts and menus) to match the content of the picture you selected -- not unlike Apple's album display mode in iTunes 11. A blurred and dimmed version of the image even becomes a background overlay for the launcher and the apps. It's completely seamless and it looks great. Overall, we came away reasonably impressed with Sailfish OS, despite experiencing only a fraction of its functionality. Performance was decent considering the N950's relatively modest single-core underpinnings -- then again, MeeGo's no slouch either. Obviously, we'll reserve judgment until we have the opportunity to play with the final product sometime in Q1 2013. |
Gluten-free products are proliferating like mad, and now merit whole aisles in upscale grocery stores. More and more of my friends and acquaintances are dropping gluten out of their diets and saying how much better they feel. They sleep better, feel more energetic and lose weight. They make such a compelling case for gluten-free life that I end up wondering, when I’m bloated and my pants don’t fit, whether I should consider dropping gluten myself.
There are two well-established conditions that require people to avoid gluten. Celiac disease, an immune response to gluten that produces severe inflammation of the small intestine, afflicts about 0.75 percent of the population. A wheat allergy, sometimes called baker’s asthma, affects about 0.4 percent of the population and is usually characterized by symptoms like breathing problems and a runny nose.
But gluten sensitivity in people who don’t have celiac disease or a wheat allergy is fuzzier. Some websites suggest that 18 million people are sensitive to gluten. Most patients complain of stomach problems and gas. Some add in fatigue, brain fog and depressed mood. There are no confirmed tests for the condition. Many people who say they are gluten sensitive never receive a test for celiac disease, wheat allergy or other sensitivities. They cut out gluten and they feel better. This is often the case for people with irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, a condition characterized by stomach pain, bloating, gas and diarrhea or constipation.
In 2011, Jessica Biesiekierski and colleagues at Monash University in Victoria, Australia, confirmed what is now known as non-celiac gluten intolerance in patients with IBS. In a study of 34 patients published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, the authors showed that gluten, added to a previously gluten-free diet, caused gastrointestinal distress and fatigue in 68 percent of patients with irritable bowel syndrome.
But now, in results published May 6 in Gastroenterology, the same group of researchers shows that gluten had no effect in IBS patients who claimed they had non-celiac gluten sensitivity. The results seem to contradict the group’s earlier work. But the science may simply be a bit more complex than previously thought: People with irritable bowel syndrome may indeed feel better on a gluten-free diet — but gluten might not have been the culprit.
The researchers tested three different diets, controlled by handing out frozen meals to the 37 patients, all of whom had irritable bowel syndrome. The study was designed as a cross-over, so all patients got a week on each test diet (high gluten, low gluten or no gluten) with two weeks in between. The end of the study was a three-day repeat, where each patient got three days of gluten and another three days without. While there were some upset stomachs, no symptoms could be directly attributed to the gluten in the patients’ diets. Instead, the results suggested a nocebo effect: If you think your stomach will be upset, you probably will have tummy trouble, no matter what diet you’re on.
Some might say that this study’s results mean that gluten sensitivity in general is “bogus.” But the study authors propose that something else entirely is to blame for gastrointestinal distress in IBS patients. Instead of gluten, look to fermentable short chain carbohydrates, called FODMAPs. These molecules are in wheat, barley and rye, as well as other foods including apples, cabbage and beans.
FODMAPs are always going to cause some trouble. They aren’t absorbed well in the small intestine, and when they hit the large intestine, they get fermented by bacteria. That fermentation process is what gives us bean farts and cabbage gas. But while the burrito bloat will happen to everyone, study coauthor Peter Gibson, a gastroenterologist at Monash University, hypothesizes that people with IBS are more sensitive to the gastrointestinal stretching produced by FODMAPs, resulting in more pain and symptoms. Since cutting out gluten also tends to cut out some FODMAPs, he says, people with IBS may well assume that gluten was the culprit.
In the new study, the test diet was also carefully designed to be low in FODMAPs. Gibson’s laboratory also reported in the Sept. 26 Gastroenterology that 30 IBS patients cut their gastrointestinal symptoms in half when they spent 21 days on a diet low in FODMAPs.
Gibson has written a book promoting a low FODMAP diet, but more research is needed before the next diet craze takes hold. Other studies have shown positive effects of gluten-free diets in IBS patients. Some patients who self-identify as gluten-sensitive could well have other diagnoses that have not been ruled out, including FODMAP sensitivity, sensitivity to fructose or sensitivity to other proteins in wheat.
Maureen Leonard, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, is particularly concerned that a gluten-free diet may not, in fact, be any lower in FODMAPs. “Many foods that are naturally gluten free such as fruits, vegetables and beans are quite high in FODMAPS,” she says. “In patients we see with true gluten sensitivity, gluten or wheat is the culprit causing the gastrointestinal distress.” She also has worries about the patient selection for the new study and the group’s earlier work. The patients were all self-selected as being sensitive to gluten. “Non-celiac gluten sensitivity can be defined as follows: individuals without celiac disease whose symptoms improve on a gluten-free diet after ruling out other conditions,” Leonard says. Because the patients’ symptoms were not necessarily controlled on a gluten-free diet at the start of the study, “the subjects in these studies do not meet these criteria.”
But Reiner Ullrich, an immunologist at Charite University Medicine in Berlin, Germany, says that Gibson lab studies are useful “as pilot studies in need of confirmation. We should consider FODMAP content when examining the gluten-free diet.” But he is also concerned that the studies tested the diets for only a few weeks (at most) at a time. Ullrich would like to see the diets tested for at least eight weeks. “I fear there is no shortcut to establish dietary or drug effect in IBS,” he notes.
And targeting FODMAPs doesn’t mean that gluten sensitivity is off the table. “The story is ongoing,” Gibson says, “we produced a piece of evidence to say that gluten is being overly blamed, but we have patients who we still believe have non-celiac gluten sensitivity.” It’s also important to remember that the study was in people with IBS. Many of the people who give up gluten have never been diagnosed with IBS, and whether they are gluten sensitive or not remains up in the air.
And of course, wheat is made of much more than gluten. Peter Green, a gastroenterologist at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, N.Y., says that while FODMAPs and gluten may indeed play a role, there could be other proteins in wheat that cause discomfort in some patients. “People with IBS are a very heterogeneous population,” he explains. “It’s a complex issue, and this study adds to the confusion.” But Green also notes the most important thing is that patient symptoms are not being ignored. “People are doing research on it,” he says. “We are trying to work it out.” |
After talking about how unlikely it is that the Astros would sign Jose Abreu on the latest podcast we get this tweet from Buster Olney:
Bidding on Cuba defector Jose Abreu is expected to be for a $70 million deal, sources say. White Sox,Astros, Rangers viewed as frontrunners. — Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 16, 2013
Interesting.
Now I will say that we did leave open the small possibility that the Astros would go after Jose Abreu, but we leaned towards the Astros being more efficient with their money this offseason. $70 million is a lot of money and probably takes up a good chunk of Jeff Luhnow's spending money this offseason so I question how serious the Astros really are.
As noted in the MLB Trade Rumors article, Yoenis Cespedes signed for four years at $36MM and Yasiel Puig signed for seven years at $42MM. $70MM is a huge jump from that, but the six years and a $54MM in the article seems like a more reasonable number. While Abreu may have a better bat than Cespedes and Puig he lakes the positional versatility that those other two have so I really have a hard time seeing the Astros spend $70MM on a first basemen unless the scouting department and the analytical department says he can be a Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera or Joey Votto type of hitter. That's a really high bar and a big risk for anyone willing to spend that much money. Even if the deal is 10 years for $70MM I have a hard time seeing the Astros committing to that kind of deal. They do after all have Jon Singleton at AAA.
Either way I think this shows the Astros are serious about spending money this offseason, which is simply awesome. |
NEW DELHI: The
today set aside the
order asking the state government to pay for the reconstruction and repair work of religious structures damaged during the 2002 post-Godhra riots.
A bench comprising Chief Justice
and Justice P C Pant allowed the Gujarat government's appeal challenging the High Court verdict that it should pay for reconstruction and repair works of religious structures damaged during riots.
Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who had represented the state government, said that "our plea has been allowed" and moreover the state government had told the court that it was willing to pay from ex-gratia amount for repair and reconstruction works of various structures, shops and houses which were damaged.
"This scheme (of the government) has been accepted," Mehta said.
The court was hearing an appeal filed by the Gujarat government against an order of the high court directing it to pay compensation to over 500 shrines damaged during the
, triggered after the Godhra incident. |
A not-so-shocking new study out from Pew Research found that Americans – or, more specifically, Millennials – are big whopping hypocrites when it comes to how much they actually care about the environment.
Pew found that three out of four Americans say they’re concerned about the planet, citing a survey last year that found 74 percent agreed that “the country should do whatever it takes to protect the environment."
On top of that, a majority 55 percent recently told Pew they believe the environment should be one of the top issues addressed by President Trump and Congress.
But it turns out that while paying lip service to Mother Earth while pointing an accusatory finger at the government is a political talking point played on repeat, that concern stops at most people's front doors. Pew notes:
Among U.S. adults, 75% say they are particularly concerned about helping the environment as they go about their daily lives, according to a 2016 Pew Research Center survey. But only one-in-five Americans say they make an effort to live in ways that help protect the environment “all the time.”
And if that weren’t shocking enough, check out the age demographic Pew found to be the most environmentally friendly…
Those ages 65 and older are three times as likely as those ages 18 to 29 to say they make this effort all the time (36% vs. 12%). Millennials (currently 18 to 36 years old) are also somewhat less likely than older generations to view themselves as environmentalists, with 32% saying this, versus at least four-in-ten among older generations, the Center found in a 2014 survey.
On top of that, Pew noted that older people are actually more likely that Millennials to say they recycle often, and only 32 percent of all Americans say it bothers them when people throw away things that could have been recycled.
Evidence to back up this study isn't hard to find. Take, for example, the so-called "environmental" protesters who set up camp in North Dakota to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline. After weeks of ranting against the threat oil pipelines pose to local water sources, the massive hoarde vacated the campground, leaving more than 835 dumpsters worth of trash, abandoned cars, and about a dozen live puppies behind. It took $1.1 million and about a month just to clean up the mess before it could seep into the local river.
Similarly, the Women's March on Washington back in January featured thousands of protesters railing against Trump's "anti-environment" agenda. Their signs, along with their water bottles, and miscellanous debris, ended up scattered all over the streets of D.C.
Looks like when it comes to protecting the environment, more Americans would rather chuck money toward fixing “climate change” and force coal miners into joblessness than actually practice what they preach. |
Frankie Edgar has campaigned in the cage and outside of it for another featherweight world title shot for what must feel like forever to him. He was crushed to have gotten passed over again when UFC 189 needed a last-minute replacement to face Conor McGregor after champion Jose Aldo pulled out with a broken rib.
"The Answer" made sure to be on hand to watch UFC 189 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, and also to greet and challenge the new interim champion immediately afterward.
"I do [feel like I’m next in line for a shot]. Actually, I went up to the cage, I told Conor ‘Congrats,’ and why don’t me and him do it before Aldo?" Edgar revealed to Megan Olivi late Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. "Because, who knows how long Aldo is going to take. Let me and him figure this out."
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Edgar is right that it is unknown how long the champion Aldo will be out. However, there’s no telling when McGregor, who has been rumored to have an injured knee for weeks and begins filming a season of TUF as a coach alongside Urijah Faber this week, will be ready to fight again, either.
Unfortunately for Edgar, he may have to wait, or fight on, for some time before getting another chance at a UFC title. Should he get to face McGregor, Edgar is confident he’ll do what Chad Mendes could not.
"I think Chad, it was going his way, he was able to get takedowns," Edgar said in analyzing the UFC 189 main event.
"Credit to Conor, he was able to stay composed. He was able to get back on his feet. Chad seemed to slow down, get tired taking a fight on short notice like that, and Conor capitalized.
"He wasn’t flashy or anything [on the ground]. He was able to, I guess, keep Chad at bay, but he was eating some big shots. I was just impressed how when he did get back to his feet, he was composed."
Edgar believes he can offer more movement and conditioning than Mendes. "I move a little more than Chad," he said.
"I think my takedowns are there like his, and I feel like I got good ground and pound. I don’t really slow down too much, you know?"
Indeed he does not. Edgar doesn’t know if telling the UFC brass he’s ready and deserving of another title fight will make a difference, but he’s positive he’ll be ready if and when it comes.
"Aww man, I feel it’s like beating a dead horse," he said.
"They know what I want and I seem to not get what I want, but my time is going to come." |
Here's Squad, a standalone commercial game from the makers of Battlefield 2 mod Project Reality. In a stark departure from that project, this game is "an online, team-based military themed first-person-shooter where high levels of teamwork and communication are crucial to success". Wait, did I say 'stark departure'? What I meant was 'basically the same deal, only in Unreal Engine 4'.
In Squad, players will form squads of up to nine people—those squads coming together to form teams of up to 50. As the developers put it, "systems honed over years of experience with the Project Reality series draw the focus away from the lone-wolf player and much more on the cooperation with other members".
As with the Battlefield game, Squad will feature large-scale environments, but with a heavier focus on realistic simulation of things like ballistics and damage. There's also a base-building component that puts a heavier focus on coordinated teamwork and leadership. For more information, head over to Squad's Greenlight page. |
The title is specifically about CloudFront and Laravel, but for the most part, this will apply to most web applications behind a reverse-proxy of some sort, be it a CDN, load balancer, or some other proxy type.
What we'll cover here:
What changes when using a reverse-proxy on your application What your application needs to do to get around these issues How to use the TrustedProxy Laravel package to take care of the details for you in a Laravel Application
Applications behind a proxy
For the launch of https://course.shippingdocker.com, I put CloudFront in front of a Laravel application running inside of a Docker container.
I wanted CloudFront for a few reasons:
Primarily, I wanted to make use of AWS's free, auto-renewed SSL certificate. This frees me from paying for an SSL certificate and/or managing something like LetsEncrypt. Secondly, I was planning on using a t2.nano instance on AWS and wanted to save it some CPU cycles from serving static assets. These instances are tiny, and start eating away at its small number of given CPU credits when it hits just 2% of CPU usage. (Having the site be as speedy as possible for those overseas was also part of this decision).
So, imagine this setup - HTTPS connections are made to course.shippingdocker.com . CloudFront receives this HTTPS request, and then forwards it to my site runnning on an EC2 instance (the "origin server"). The EC2 instance is listening on port 80 for HTTP connections.
Since CloudFront won't forward to an IP address, we need to give it a hostname to use. We can use the EC2 instance's public DNS name - I used http://ec2-34-197-131-119.compute-1.amazonaws.com in the case of my server (try it out, that URL will work).
What your application sees
So, CloudFront is receiving an HTTPS request and decrypting it (terminating the SSL connection). It then sends the decrypted HTTP request to my server (the origin server) using the network address ec2-34-197-131-119.compute-1.amazonaws.com .
Laravel only sees that 2nd request, and thus assumes:
It's receiving requests over http:// instead of https:// , and thus will generate URI's with the the http:// scheme, including form submit URLs and redirect locations The domain name used and thus seen by the application is ec2-34-197-131-119.compute-1.amazonaws.com . Laravel will generate URL's with that domain by default.
Proxy Configuration
Most reverse-proxies (e.g. load balancers, CDNs) will add HTTP headers which can be used by your application to determine the correct information to use.
The important headers are:
Host header - even if the proxy reaches your site by an IP address or hostname such as ec2-34-197-131-119.compute-1.amazonaws.com , they can often still forward/set the original hostname in the Host header. In other words, we can tell CloudFront to forward the Host header, so our server sees domain course.shippingdocker.com instead of ec2-34-197-131-119.compute-1.amazonaws.com . X-Forwarded-For - set to the IP address of the original client (e.g. you, sitting in front of your computer), so the application knows the client's IP address. Otherwise it would only see the IP address of CloudFront. X-Forwarded-Proto - the scheme used by the original client ( https or http ) X-Forwarded-Port - the port used by the client to connect (80, 443 or anything else)
There are more, but those are the important ones.
With that information, we can move onto what we need to adjust to fix the situation.
CloudFront
Within CloudFront, we need to set a few things to get Laravel working properly.
There are two main places to make adjustments:
Cookie Whitelist Header Forwarding
Cookies
CloudFront and other CDNs typically strip out cookies, as cookies effect caching. They're effectively used as part of the cache key. If each persons cookie is unique (it will be!), then everyone effectively gets their own cached copy of what could be just one copy. That sucks, but it's a typical case for applications. CDNs most effectively cache static assets which don't have cookies.
Most cookies are used by Javascript libraries (GA and other marketing libraries) and thus don't need to be sent to your server in order for them to function.
However, Laravel needs at least 2 to function as you'd expect, but ideally 3. We need to set CloudFront to forward the following two:
laravel_session (or whatever you name the sessions, as that's configurable within Laravel) - this is what Laravel needs to identifier a user, even if sessions are stored on-server or in something like Redis XSRF-TOKEN - used to protect against cross site request forgery
This one is more optional but recommended:
remember_* - used for the "remember me" function on login. This is typically remember_web but can be other values. Whitelisting cookie names with a wildcard is supported in CloudFront.
Headers
CloudFront will set the X-Forwarded-For header, but will not forward the Host header nor send along the a X-Forwarded-Proto header (to say if the request is http or https ).
Furthermore, CloudFront, for some reason, won't set a X-Forwarded-Proto header, opting instead to use a custom header CloudFront-Forwarded-Proto .
So, we'll have CloudFront forward those two:
The Application (Laravel)
Finally, we need Laravel to use these headers so it can properly generate correct URI's and send redirect responses to the right place.
First and foremost, the easy part is setting the APP_URL environment variable. Set this to the URI you intend to use in the browser ( https://course.shippingdocker.com in my case).
Secondly, we need to tell Laravel to listen for the headers and adjust the application as needed.
The Symfony classes luckily do this for us by allowing us to set a "Trusted Proxy". If a proxy is trusted, Symfony will check for the X-Forwarded-* (and other) headers and adjust as needed.
To help with that, I created the TrustedProxy package.
There's basically just 3 steps with this package:
In the trustedproxy.php config file, set it to trust all proxies (since we don't know the IP address the CloudFront servers forwarding requests, we need to trust all proxies) Add the HTTP Middleware that the package uses to set the trusted proxy setting. All this does is tell the underlying Symfony HTTP Request object to recognize that a proxy is used Tell the trustedproxy.php config file what headers to expect. We can use the the default ones, except for the proto header, which we know is going to use the CloudFront-Forwarded-Proto header
That config file will look like this:
return [ 'proxies' => '*', # Trust all proxies 'headers' => [ \Illuminate\Http\Request::HEADER_FORWARDED => 'FORWARDED', \Illuminate\Http\Request::HEADER_CLIENT_IP => 'X_FORWARDED_FOR', \Illuminate\Http\Request::HEADER_CLIENT_HOST => 'X_FORWARDED_HOST', # \Illuminate\Http\Request::HEADER_CLIENT_PROTO => 'X_FORWARDED_PROTO', \Illuminate\Http\Request::HEADER_CLIENT_PROTO => 'X_FORWARDED_PORT', # 2. Adjust to CloudFront's header \Illuminate\Http\Request::HEADER_CLIENT_PROTO => 'CLOUDFRONT_FORWARDED_PROTO', ] ];
Note that we have the opportunity to set what $_SERVER['HTTP_*'] variables to use for each header-type. We'll change the PROTO header to expect the CloudFront header.
After all of this, the Laravel and underlying Symfony classes will correctly generate URI's and redirect locations! |
Like a modern Henri Becquerel, Washington State University doctoral student Marianne Tarun's discovery came quite by accident. Her simple lab error has uncovered a new way to boost electrical conductivity of a crystal by 40,000 percent, simply by exposing it to light.
Tarun had accidentally left a sample of strontium titanate out on a counter before testing the crystal's conductivity and discovering the phenomenon. Her team suspects that photons knock loose electrons which boost the material's conductivity. Her follow up tests confirmed the effect and found that as little as 10 minutes of light exposure could propagate the effect for days on end.
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Known as persistent photoconductivity, it's nowhere near the level of electrical throughput of what super-conducting materials can achieve. However, it does hold a great deal of practical potential. For one, the effect works at room temperature unlike superconductors which only function at a fraction of a degree from absolute zero.
"The discovery of this effect at room temperature opens up new possibilities for practical devices," said Matthew McCluskey, co-author of the paper and chair of WSU's physics department, in a press statement. "In standard computer memory, information is stored on the surface of a computer chip or hard drive. A device using persistent photoconductivity, however, could store information throughout the entire volume of a crystal." This could eventually lead to massive increases in data capacity and, hopefully, a Krypton-style storage medium. [WSU] |
Overview
In this tutorial, learn to use the Debian package management tools to manage the packages on your Linux system. Learn to:
Install, reinstall, upgrade, and remove Debian binary packages
Find packages containing specific files or libraries, even if the package is not installed
Obtain package information like version, content, dependencies, package integrity, and installation status, even if the package is not installed
This tutorial helps you prepare for Objective 102.4 in Topic 102 of the Linux Professional Institute’s Linux Server Professional (LPIC-1) exam 101. The objective has a weight of 3.
Introducing package management
In the past, many Linux programs were distributed as source code, which a user would build into the required program or set of programs, along with the required man pages, configuration files, and so on. Nowadays, most Linux distributors use prebuilt programs or sets of programs called packages, which ship ready for installation on that distribution. In this tutorial, you learn about package management tools that help you install, update, and remove packages. This tutorial focuses on Advanced Package Tool (Apt), the package management system used by Debian and distributions derived from Debian, such as Ubuntu. Another tutorial in this series, “Learn Linux 101: RPM and YUM package management,” covers the Red Hat package management tools.
About this series This series of tutorials helps you learn Linux system administration tasks. You can also use the material in these tutorials to prepare for the Linux Professional Institute’s LPIC-1: Linux Server Professional Certification exams. See ” Learn Linux, 101: A roadmap for LPIC-1” for a description of and link to each tutorial in this series. The roadmap is in progress and reflects the version 4.0 objectives of the LPIC-1 exams as updated April 15th, 2015. As tutorials are completed, they will be added to the roadmap.
From a user perspective, the basic package management function is provided by commands. As Linux developers have striven to make Linux easier to use, the basic tools have been supplemented by other tools, including GUI tools, which hide some of the complexities of the basic tools from the user. In this tutorial and in “RPM and YUM package management,” I focus on the basic tools, although I mention some of the other tools so you can pursue them further.
Prerequisites
To get the most from the tutorials in this series, you need a basic knowledge of Linux and a working Linux system on which you can practice the commands that are covered in this tutorial. Sometimes different versions of a program format output differently, so your results might not always look exactly like the listings and figures shown here. In particular, much of the output I show is highly dependent on the packages that are already installed on my system. Your own output might be different, although you should be able to recognize the important commonalities. The examples in this tutorial come from a 32-bit Ubuntu 14.04 LTS system.
Installing Debian packages
When you install a Linux system, you typically install a large selection of packages. You can customize the set to the intended use of the system, such as a server, desktop, or developer workstation. And at some time, you will probably need to install new packages for added functionality, update the packages that you have, or even remove packages that you no longer need or that have been made obsolete by newer packages. Let’s look at how you do these tasks, and at some of the related challenges such as finding which package might contain a particular command.
Suppose you want to compile a Fortran program and a colleague tells you to use gfortran command. You might try gfortran –help gfortran --help , or you might try which gfortran whichgfortran or type gfortran typegfortran . But if your system can’t find gfortran , you might see output similar to that shown in Listing 1.
Listing 1. Missing gfortran command ian@attic‑u14:~$ gfortran ‑‑help bash: gfortran: command not found ian@attic‑u14:~$ gfortran ‑‑help The program 'gfortran' is currently not installed. You can install it by typing: sudo apt‑get install gfortran ian@attic‑u14:~$ which gfortran ian@attic‑u14:~$ type gfortran bash: type: gfortran: not found Show more Show more icon
If you did not get the helpful suggestion from the second form of output in Listing 1, you can check back with your colleague to find out which package to install. Otherwise, you can just guess that the gfortran command is in the gfortran package. This is often a good guess, but not always the right one. You’ll see later how to find the right package. In this case, you use the gfortran package, and you install it using the apt-get command with the install option as shown in Listing 2. Note that apt-get determines which extra packages you need to satisfy dependencies and then gives you a list of all the packages that will be installed. At that point, you are prompted to continue. In our example, we respond y to install gfortran and the additional required package, gfortran-4.8, libgfortran-4.8-dev, and libgfortran3.
Listing 2. Installing gfortran using apt-get ian@attic‑u14:~$ sudo apt‑get install gfortran Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done The following extra packages will be installed: gfortran‑4.8 libgfortran‑4.8‑dev libgfortran3 Suggested packages: gfortran‑multilib gfortran‑doc gfortran‑4.8‑multilib gfortran‑4.8‑doc libgfortran3‑dbg The following NEW packages will be installed: gfortran gfortran‑4.8 libgfortran‑4.8‑dev libgfortran3 0 upgraded, 4 newly installed, 0 to remove and 23 not upgraded. Need to get 0 B/5,039 kB of archives. After this operation, 17.6 MB of additional disk space will be used. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y Selecting previously unselected package libgfortran3:i386. (Reading database ... 202395 files and directories currently installed.) Preparing to unpack .../libgfortran3_4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04_i386.deb ... Unpacking libgfortran3:i386 (4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04) ... Selecting previously unselected package libgfortran‑4.8‑dev:i386. Preparing to unpack .../libgfortran‑4.8‑dev_4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04_i386.deb ... Unpacking libgfortran‑4.8‑dev:i386 (4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04) ... Selecting previously unselected package gfortran‑4.8. Preparing to unpack .../gfortran‑4.8_4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04_i386.deb ... Unpacking gfortran‑4.8 (4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04) ... Selecting previously unselected package gfortran. Preparing to unpack .../gfortran_4%3a4.8.2‑1ubuntu6_i386.deb ... Unpacking gfortran (4:4.8.2‑1ubuntu6) ... Processing triggers for man‑db (2.6.7.1‑1ubuntu1) ... Setting up libgfortran3:i386 (4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04) ... Setting up libgfortran‑4.8‑dev:i386 (4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04) ... Setting up gfortran‑4.8 (4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04) ... Setting up gfortran (4:4.8.2‑1ubuntu6) ... update‑alternatives: using /usr/bin/gfortran to provide /usr/bin/f95 (f95) in auto mode Processing triggers for libc‑bin (2.19‑0ubuntu6.6) ... Show more Show more icon
From the output in Listing 2, you see that apt-get has read a package list from somewhere (more on that shortly), built a dependency tree, and determined that gfortran-4.8, libgfortran-4.8-dev, and libgfortran3 are required prerequisites that are not currently installed. You will also notice the suggestion to install several separate packages gfortran-multilib, gfortran-doc, gfortran-4.8-multilib, gfortran-4.8-doc, and libgfortran3-dbg. After some additional summary information, including space usage, you are prompted to continue, and gfortran is installed along with the prerequisite packages. Debian packages usually have an extension of .deb, and you see that the packages are downloaded and unpacked as shown in the lines:
Preparing to unpack .../gfortran‑4.8_4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04_i386.deb ... Unpacking gfortran‑4.8 (4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04) ... Show more Show more icon
Suppose that, instead of installing a package, you want to find out whether the package depends on other packages. You can use the -s (for simulate) option on apt-get . There are several other options with equivalent function, such as --just-print and `–dry-run`. Check the man pages for full details. Listing 3 shows what happens for a simulation of installing the gfortran-doc package.
Listing 3. Simulated or dry-run install of gfortran-doc ian@attic‑u14:~$ sudo apt‑get install ‑s gfortran‑doc Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done The following extra packages will be installed: gfortran‑4.8‑doc The following NEW packages will be installed: gfortran‑4.8‑doc gfortran‑doc 0 upgraded, 2 newly installed, 0 to remove and 23 not upgraded. Inst gfortran‑4.8‑doc (4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04 Ubuntu:14.04/trusty‑updates [all]) Inst gfortran‑doc (4:4.8.2‑1ubuntu6 Ubuntu:14.04/trusty [i386]) Conf gfortran‑4.8‑doc (4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04 Ubuntu:14.04/trusty‑updates [all]) Conf gfortran‑doc (4:4.8.2‑1ubuntu6 Ubuntu:14.04/trusty [i386]) Show more Show more icon
As you see, the gfortran-doc documentation package requires the gfortran-4.8-doc packages. The reverse is not the case. Try it for yourself.
Package locations
In the previous section, you learned how to install a Debian package. But where do the packages come from? How does apt-get know where to download packages from? I mentioned that apt-get reads a package list from somewhere. The starting point for that somewhere is /etc/apt/sources.list. The list tells apt-get where to look for packages, including from a CD-ROM, from your local file system, or over a network using HTTP or FTP. You can add more sources in the /etc/apt/sources.list.d directory.
Listing 4 shows the first few lines of /etc/apt/sources.list on my system. Note that the distribution CD on the first line is commented out (# in position 1). If you need to install several new packages that have not been heavily updated, it is worthwhile to uncomment this and install from your distribution CD or DVD. If you have a broadband network connection or need several updates, it is more efficient to download the additional packages at the latest level from the network sources that follow in /etc/apt/sources.list.
Listing 4. /etc/apt/sources.list ian@attic-u14:~$ cat /etc/apt/sources.list #deb cdrom:[Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS Trusty Tahr - Release i386 (20150218.1)]/ trusty main restricted # See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to # newer versions of the distribution. deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty main restricted deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty main restricted ## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the ## distribution. deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty universe deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-updates main restricted deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-updates-updates main restricted ## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu ## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any ##review or updates from the Ubuntu security team. deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty universe deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty universe deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-updates universe deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-updates universe## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu ## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to ## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in ## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu ## security team. deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty multiverse deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty multiverse deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-updates multiverse deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-updates multiverse Show more Show more icon
Apt-get and similar tools use a local database to determine what packages are installed. They can check installed levels against available levels. To do this, information on available levels is retrieved from the sources that are listed in /etc/apt/sources.list and stored on your local system. You use the command apt-get update apt-getupdate to synchronize the information in your local database with the sources specified in /etc/apt/sources.list. You should do this before installing or updating any package, and always after modifying /etc/apt/sources.list or adding files to /etc/apt/sources.list.d.
Removing Debian packages
If you want to remove a package, you can use the remove option of apt-get . A simulated run is shown in Listing 5.
Listing 5. Simulated removal of gfortran ian@attic‑u14:~$ sudo apt‑get remove ‑s gfortran Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required: gfortran‑4.8 libgfortran‑4.8‑dev libgfortran3 Use 'apt‑get autoremove' to remove them. The following packages will be REMOVED: gfortran 0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 to remove and 23 not upgraded. Remv gfortran 4:4.8.2‑1ubuntu6 Show more Show more icon
Notice that the gfortran-4.8, libgfortran-4.8-dev, and libgfortran3 packages that we installed as a prerequisites for gfortran are not actually removed automatically, although the output tells you they are no longer needed. The autoremove function of apt-get (or the equivalent remove function and the --auto-remove option) removes the requested packages, along with any packages that were installed as dependencies but are no longer required by any installed packages. This can include dependencies installed by packages other than the one or ones you are trying to remove. Listing 6 shows a simulated removal of gfortran and its dependencies. I show how to remove just gfortran, and then use apt-get autoremove apt-getautoremove to clean up the newly orphaned dependencies.
Listing 6. Removing gfortran and dependencies ian@attic‑u14:~$ #Simulate removal of gfortran and dependencies ian@attic‑u14:~$ sudo apt‑get autoremove ‑s gfortran Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done The following packages will be REMOVED: gfortran gfortran‑4.8 libgfortran‑4.8‑dev libgfortran3 0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 4 to remove and 23 not upgraded. Remv gfortran 4:4.8.2‑1ubuntu6Remv gfortran‑4.8 4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04Remv libgfortran‑4.8‑dev 4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04Remv libgfortran3 4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04ian@attic‑u14:~$ #Remove just gfortran ian@attic‑u14:~$ sudo apt‑get remove gfortran Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required: gfortran‑4.8 libgfortran‑4.8‑dev libgfortran3 Use 'apt‑get autoremove' to remove them. The following packages will be REMOVED: gfortran 0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 to remove and 23 not upgraded. After this operation, 33.8 kB disk space will be freed. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y (Reading database ... 202421 files and directories currently installed.) Removing gfortran (4:4.8.2‑1ubuntu6) ... Processing triggers for man‑db (2.6.7.1‑1ubuntu1) ... ian@attic‑u14:~$ #Autoremove unneeded packages ian@attic‑u14:~$ sudo apt‑get autoremove Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done The following packages will be REMOVED: gfortran‑4.8 libgfortran‑4.8‑dev libgfortran3 0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 3 to remove and 23 not upgraded. After this operation, 17.6 MB disk space will be freed. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y (Reading database ... 202416 files and directories currently installed.) Removing gfortran‑4.8 (4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04) ... Removing libgfortran‑4.8‑dev:i386 (4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04) ... Removing libgfortran3:i386 (4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04) ... Processing triggers for man‑db (2.6.7.1‑1ubuntu1) ... Processing triggers for libc‑bin (2.19‑0ubuntu6.6) ... Show more Show more icon
As you see, you use the autoremove function of apt-get without any package name, to remove all unused packages that were installed but are no longer required on your system. You can also use the apt-get purge apt-getpurge option to remove configuration information. See the man page for more information.
Updating Debian packages
If you need to update an individual package, use apt-get with the install option again. Listing 7 shows how to update the already installed ghostscript package on my system. Note that the prerequisite packages ghostscript-x and libgs9 will also be upgraded. Remember to run apt-get update apt-getupdate before updating packages to make sure your local database reflects the latest available updates.
Listing 7. Updating a single package ian@attic‑u14:~$ sudo apt‑get install ghostscript Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done The following extra packages will be installed: ghostscript‑x libgs9 Suggested packages: hpijs The following packages will be upgraded: ghostscript ghostscript‑x libgs9 3 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 20 not upgraded. Need to get 0 B/1,967 kB of archives. After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y (Reading database ... 202535 files and directories currently installed.) Preparing to unpack .../ghostscript_9.10~dfsg‑0ubuntu10.3_i386.deb ... Unpacking ghostscript (9.10~dfsg‑0ubuntu10.3) over (9.10~dfsg‑0ubuntu10.2) ... Preparing to unpack .../ghostscript‑x_9.10~dfsg‑0ubuntu10.3_i386.deb ... Unpacking ghostscript‑x (9.10~dfsg‑0ubuntu10.3) over (9.10~dfsg‑0ubuntu10.2) ... Preparing to unpack .../libgs9_9.10~dfsg‑0ubuntu10.3_i386.deb ... Unpacking libgs9 (9.10~dfsg‑0ubuntu10.3) over (9.10~dfsg‑0ubuntu10.2) ... Processing triggers for man‑db (2.6.7.1‑1ubuntu1) ... Setting up libgs9 (9.10~dfsg‑0ubuntu10.3) ... Setting up ghostscript (9.10~dfsg‑0ubuntu10.3) ... Setting up ghostscript‑x (9.10~dfsg‑0ubuntu10.3) ... Processing triggers for libc‑bin (2.19‑0ubuntu6.6) ... Show more Show more icon
Updating all packages or upgrading to a new distribution
Rather than updating individual packages, you can update all packages on your system using the apt-get upgrade apt-getupgrade command. Similarly, apt-get dist-upgrade apt-getdist-upgrade helps you migrate to a new level of your distribution.
For more information on other capabilities and options for apt-get , see the man page.
APT configuration—the apt.conf file
The man page for apt-get shows that there are many options. If you use the apt-get command a lot and find the default options are not to your liking, you can set new defaults in /etc/apt/apt.conf. A program, apt-config , is available for scripts to interrogate the apt.conf file. See the man pages for apt.conf and apt-config for more information.
Reconfiguring Debian packages
APT includes a capability called debconf, which configures packages after they are installed. Packages that use this capability (and not all do) can be reconfigured after they are installed. The easiest way to do this is to use the dpkg-reconfigure command. For example, the adduser command might create home directories that are readable by all system users. You might not want this for privacy reasons. Similarly, the tzdata package supports changing the time zone using dpkg-reconfigure tzdata dpkg-reconfiguretzdata . You must run dpkg-reconfigure with root authority.
shows the first question that you are asked if you run sudo dpkg-reconfigure tzdata sudodpkg-reconfiguretzdata . Your preset default might not be America; it reflects your own system. Navigate around this text-mode screen using the Tab key and the cursor movement keys.
Figure 1. Using dpkg-reconfigure to reconfigure time zone
You can also use debconf-show to view the current configuration for a package as shown in Listing 8.
Listing 8. Displaying tzdata configuration using debconf-show ian@attic‑u14:~$ sudo debconf‑show tzdata tzdata/Zones/Pacific: tzdata/Zones/Europe: tzdata/Zones/Indian: tzdata/Zones/Australia: tzdata/Areas: America tzdata/Zones/Arctic: tzdata/Zones/Atlantic: tzdata/Zones/Etc: UTC * tzdata/Zones/America: New_York tzdata/Zones/US: tzdata/Zones/Africa: tzdata/Zones/SystemV: tzdata/Zones/Antarctica: tzdata/Zones/Asia: Show more Show more icon
Debian package information
Now let’s look at some tools for getting information about packages. Some of these tools do other things as well, but the focus here is on how to get information.
Package status with dpkg
Another tool that is part of the APT system is the dpkg tool. This is a medium-level package management tool that can install and remove packages and display status information. You can control configuration of dpkg by /etc/dpkg/dpkg.cfg, and you might also have a .dpkg.cfg file in your home directory to provide further configuration.
The dpkg tool uses many files in the /var/lib/dpkg tree in your filesystem. In particular, the file /var/lib/dpkg/status contains status information about packages on your system. Listing 9 shows the use of dpkg -s to display the status of the tzdata package after we updated it and the gfortran package after we removed it. If configuration remains, which it can in some cases, you can use the purge option to purge downloaded package files from the cache and remove configuration information.
Listing 9. Tzdata package status ian@attic‑u14:~$ dpkg ‑s gfortran tzdata dpkg‑query: package 'gfortran' is not installed and no information is available Package: tzdata Status: install ok installed Priority: required Section: libs Installed‑Size: 1538 Maintainer: Ubuntu Developers <ubuntu‑devel‑[email protected]> Architecture: all Multi‑Arch: foreign Version: 2015d‑0ubuntu0.14.04 Replaces: libc0.1, libc0.3, libc6, libc6.1 Provides: tzdata‑jessie Depends: debconf (>= 0.5) | debconf‑2.0 Description: time zone and daylight‑saving time data This package contains data required for the implementation of standard local time for many representative locations around the globe. It is updated periodically to reflect changes made by political bodies to time zone boundaries, UTC offsets, and daylight‑saving rules. Homepage: http://www.iana.org/time‑zones Original‑Maintainer: GNU Libc Maintainers <debian‑[email protected]> Use dpkg ‑‑info (= dpkg‑deb ‑‑info) to examine archive files, and dpkg ‑‑contents (= dpkg‑deb ‑‑contents) to list their contents. Show more Show more icon
Packages and the files in them
You might want to know what is in a package or what package a particular file came from. These are both tasks for dpkg. Listing 10 illustrates the use of dpkg -L to list the files (including directories) installed by the libparted package. For most packages, you can just give the package name and not worry about specifying a particular version. However, some packages might be available in multiple versions, so you might need to specify a more detailed package name when using dpkg to interrogate the package information.
Listing 10. What is in the libparted package? ian@attic‑u14:~$ dpkg ‑L libparted dpkg‑query: package 'libparted' is not installed Use dpkg ‑‑info (= dpkg‑deb ‑‑info) to examine archive files, and dpkg ‑‑contents (= dpkg‑deb ‑‑contents) to list their contents. ian@attic‑u14:~$ dpkg ‑L libparted0debian1 /. /usr /usr/share /usr/share/doc /usr/share/doc/libparted0debian1 /usr/share/doc/libparted0debian1/changelog.Debian.gz /usr/share/doc/libparted0debian1/copyright /usr/share/lintian /usr/share/lintian/overrides /usr/share/lintian/overrides/libparted0debian1 /lib /lib/i386‑linux‑gnu /lib/i386‑linux‑gnu/libparted.so.0.0.1 /lib/i386‑linux‑gnu/libparted.so.0 Show more Show more icon
To find which package contains a specific file, use the -S option of dpkg, as shown in Listing 11. The name of the package is listed on the left.
Listing 11. What package contains a file? ian@attic‑u14:~$ dpkg ‑S /lib/i386‑linux‑gnu/libparted.so.0 libparted0debian1:i386: /lib/i386‑linux‑gnu/libparted.so.0 Show more Show more icon
Sometimes, a file appears like it doesn’t belong to any package. When this occurs, you need to do some extra sleuthing to find where a package comes from. For example, the installation setup step can perform tasks such as creating symbolic links that are not listed as part of the package contents. A relatively recent addition to Linux systems is the alternatives system, which is managed using the update-alternatives command. Alternatives are frequently created for commands such as java , which might be the openJDK, Oracle or IBM version, among other possibilities.
Listing 12 shows how to use the which command to find what is invoked if we try to run java . Then we use the ls command to see what that java command is symbolically linked to. The link to the /etc/alternatives directory is a clue that we are using the alternatives system, so we use the update-alternatives command to find more information. Finally, we use the dpkg -S dpkg-S command to confirm that the java command comes from the openjdk-7-jre-headless. The setup for the alternatives system would have been done by a post-install script that is part of the openjdk-7-jre-headless package.
Listing 12. A more complex use of dpkg -S ian@attic‑u14:~$ which java /usr/bin/java ian@attic‑u14:~$ dpkg ‑S /usr/bin/java dpkg‑query: no path found matching pattern /usr/bin/java ian@attic‑u14:~$ ls ‑l $(which java) lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 22 Jul 24 18:06 /usr/bin/java ‑> /etc/alternatives/java ian@attic‑u14:~$ update‑alternatives ‑‑display java java ‑ auto mode link currently points to /usr/lib/jvm/java‑7‑openjdk‑i386/jre/bin/java /usr/lib/jvm/java‑7‑openjdk‑i386/jre/bin/java ‑ priority 1071 slave java.1.gz: /usr/lib/jvm/java‑7‑openjdk‑i386/jre/man/man1/java.1.gz Current 'best' version is '/usr/lib/jvm/java‑7‑openjdk‑i386/jre/bin/java'. ian@attic‑u14:~$ dpkg ‑S /usr/lib/jvm/java‑7‑openjdk‑i386/jre/bin/java openjdk‑7‑jre‑headless:i386: /usr/lib/jvm/java‑7‑openjdk‑i386/jre/bin/java Show more Show more icon
Using aptitude
Earlier, I mentioned that the status for packages is kept in /var/lib/dpkg/status. I also mentioned that dpkg could do more than just display package information. Now, let’s look at the aptitude command, which provides a text-based full-screen interface (using ncurses) to the APT package management functions. You can install aptitude using apt-get if it is not already installed. You can use aptitude to install or remove packages and to control status flags that indicate whether packages should be kept up-to-date or held in their present state, for example. If you run the aptitude command (as root), you see a screen similar to Aptitude 1.
Figure 2. Running aptitude
Press Enter to expand or collapse the various selections, then use ctrl-t to access the menu bar. Aptitude 2 shows that a new kernel version, 3.16.0.43.34, is available for my system, among other available updates. The ‘i’ in the left column indicates that the current status is to install the package. The Help menu item explains the various options you have, including holding a package at its current level rather than updating it, removing it, or marking it as being automatically installed and thus eligible for automatic removal. Remember the autoremove option of apt-get ? Now you know how to examine or control which packages are eligible for automatic removal. Use the keyboard shortcuts described in the Help or use the Package menu item to change the flags.
Figure 3. Running aptitude and examining package flags
You can use the slash (“/”) key to search for packages. For example, if you wanted to reinstall the gfortran package that we removed earlier, simply type “/gfortran” to search for it. If the search takes you to something else with gfortran in it, such as gfortran-doc, press the n key to advance to the next match. Then use the Package menu to mark the package for installation.
When you are finished, select Actions->Install/remove packages (or press G) to apply your selections to the system. You can also click the quit option if you do not want to apply the changes.
For help at any time, use the menu bar or type “ ? ” (question mark) for help, and then press the Q key to exit the help.
You see that aptitude can help you install or remove individual packages and upgrade all the packages on your system to the latest level.
In addition to aptitude, there are several other interactive package management interfaces for Debian systems, including dselect, synaptic, update-manager, gnome-apt, and wajig. Synaptic is a graphical application for use with the X Window System. shows the synaptic user interface with our old friend, the gfortran package, marked for installation.
Figure 4. Installing gfortran using synaptic
The Apply button installs gfortran and updates any other packages that are scheduled for update. The Reload button refreshes the package lists. If you are accustomed to GUI interfaces, you might find synaptic easier to use than apt-get, dpkg, or dselect.
Similarly, you might find that your system includes update-manager , an X Window System application, specifically tailored to help you keep your system up-to-date. If installed, it is likely to be started automatically on a regular basis, so that you don’t forget to update. shows how Update Manager displays the set of updates that you saw in Aptitude 2. As was the case with aptitude, the updates are classified so that you know which updates are important security updates.
Finding Debian packages
In the final topic on Debian package management, I look at ways to find packages. Usually, apt-get and the other tools discussed here already know about any Debian package you might need from the list of available packages. A command that we haven’t used yet is apt-cache , which is useful for searching package information on your system. apt-cache can search using regular expressions (see “Learn Linux, 101: Search text files using regular expressions” for more information on regular expressions). Suppose you wanted to find the name of the package containing the Linux loader. Listing 13 shows how you can accomplish this.
Listing 13. Searching for the Linux loader with apt-cache ian@attic‑u14:~$ apt‑cache search "linux loader" lilo ‑ LInux LOader ‑ the classic OS boot loader lilo‑doc ‑ LInux LOader ‑ Documentation for the classic OS boot loader Show more Show more icon
You saw earlier that aptitude and synaptic also offer search tools. If you use synaptic, note that you have options on the search menu for searching only package names or package descriptions as well.
If you still can’t find the package, you can find it among the list of packages on the Debian site (see the resources at the right side for a link) or elsewhere on the Internet.
Most of the package tools can tell you a lot more about an installed package than about one that you do not yet have installed, such as the list of files within a package. If you need to find what package contains a program that you do not have installed, there are a few ways:
You can guess what package might contain it and download the package without installing. Once you have the package, you can interrogate it.
You can search the Internet.
You can try the command-not-found capability, which is described under Command not found later in this tutorial.
The apt-get command has a -d option to download a package and not install it. There is also a --print-uris option to show where a package would be downloaded from and what its checksum would be. Current checksums are likely to be SHA256 checksums, so you can check the integrity of the downloaded package using the sha256sum command. Note that the URI and checksum information are not displayed if you have already downloaded the package, so you should get this information before downloading the package.
Suppose you want to know whether the gfortran command is really contained in the gfortran package. Listing 14 shows you how to use apt-get to download the gfortran package without installing it.
Listing 14. Using apt-get for download-only ian@attic‑u14:~$ sudo apt‑get install ‑d gfortran Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done The following extra packages will be installed: gfortran‑4.8 libgfortran‑4.8‑dev libgfortran3 Suggested packages: gfortran‑multilib gfortran‑doc gfortran‑4.8‑multilib gfortran‑4.8‑doc libgfortran3‑dbg The following NEW packages will be installed: gfortran gfortran‑4.8 libgfortran‑4.8‑dev libgfortran3 0 upgraded, 4 newly installed, 0 to remove and 20 not upgraded. Need to get 0 B/5,039 kB of archives. After this operation, 17.6 MB of additional disk space will be used. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y Download complete and in download only mode Show more Show more icon
Once you have the package downloaded, you can use the --info option of dpkg to display the package information, or the --contents option to show what files the package installs. The downloaded file is usually located in /var/cache/apt/archives/. Listing 15 shows how to locate the file you downloaded and find out what binaries it will install (assuming they are installed in a …/bin/… directory).
Listing 15. Using dpkg to list the contents of a .deb ian@attic‑u14:~$ sudo find /var/cache ‑name "gfort*.deb" /var/cache/apt/archives/gfortran_4%3a4.8.2‑1ubuntu6_i386.deb /var/cache/apt/archives/gfortran‑4.8_4.8.4‑2ubuntu1~14.04_i386.deb ian@attic‑u14:~$ sudo dpkg ‑‑contents > /var/cache/apt/archives/gfortran_4%3a4.8.2‑1ubuntu6_i386.deb | > grep "/bin/" drwxr‑xr‑x root/root 0 2014‑04‑07 18:49 ./usr/bin/ lrwxrwxrwx root/root 0 2014‑04‑07 18:49 ./usr/bin/gfortran ‑> gfortran‑4.8 lrwxrwxrwx root/root 0 2014‑04‑07 18:49 ./usr/bin/i686‑linux‑gnu‑gfortran ‑> gfortran‑4.8 Show more Show more icon
If you do find and download a .deb file using something other than apt-get , you can install it using dpkg -i .
If you decide you do not want to install the package you downloaded into the APT archives, you can run apt-get clean apt-getclean to clear out any downloaded package files.
If all else fails, there is another possible source for packages. Suppose you find a program packaged as an RPM rather than a .deb. You can try the alien program, which can convert between package formats. You should read the alien documentation carefully as not all features of all package management systems can be converted to another format by alien. Use what you’ve already learned in this tutorial to help you find the package containing the alien command.
Command not found
Back in Listing 1, you saw a helpful message telling you what package to install to get the gfortran command. How is this done? When the Bash shell searches for a command and does not find it, then the shell searches for a shell function named command_not_found_handle . Listing 16 shows how this is defined on my Ubuntu 14 system.
Listing 16. command_not_found_handle ian@attic-u14:~$ type command_not_found_handle command_not_found_handle is a function command_not_found_handle () { if [ -x /usr/lib/command-not-found ]; then /usr/lib/command-not-found -- "$1"; return $?; else if [ -x /usr/share/command-not-found/command-not-found ]; then /usr/share/command-not-found/command-not-found -- "$1"; return $?; else printf "%s: command not found
" "$1" 1>&2; return 127; fi; fi } Show more Show more icon
If the command_not_found_handle function exists, it is invoked with the original command and original arguments as its arguments, and the function’s exit status becomes the exit status of the shell. If the function is not defined, the shell prints an error message and returns an exit status of 127. The function is usually set in the system /etc/bash.bashrc file. You can see from Listing 16 that the function checks for the existence of /usr/lib/command-not-found and runs it as a Python script if it exists. If it does not exist, perhaps because the command-not-found package that supplies it was removed after the shell session was started, then the function mimics the standard system behavior and returns 127.
PackageKit
No discussion of package installation would be complete without mentioning PackageKit, which is a system designed to be cross platform and to make installing and updating software easier. The intent is to unify all the software graphical tools used in different distributions. PackageKit uses a system activated daemon, which means that the daemon is activated only when needed. PackageKit has versions for Gnome (gnome-packagekit) and KDE (KPackageKit).
There is a lot more to the Debian package management system than covered here. There is also a lot more to Debian than its package management system. See the resources at the right side for additional details and links to other tutorials in this series. |
This email has also been verified by Google DKIM 2048-bit RSA key
Fwd: Jeb
From:[email protected] To: [email protected] Date: 2015-04-21 16:05 Subject: Fwd: Jeb
---------- Forwarded message ---------- She's going to stick to notes a little closer this am, still not perfect in her head. Sent from my iPhone On Apr 21, 2015, at 10:12 AM, Joel Benenson <[email protected]> wrote: Stronger than “I am very concerned….” I will leave commenting on campaign tactics to others. What I have made absolutely clear is that corporate money and secret money have no place in our democracy and we should get rid of it once and for all.” * Yes. If she feels need to address Jeb q directly - would suggest the pivot of "I will leave commentating on campaign tactics to others, but I am very concerned about the dark money in politics and have to get rid of it once and for all." Sent from my iPhone On Apr 21, 2015, at 10:03 AM, Margolis, Jim <[email protected]> wrote: Agree with Robby. Do the hit, but don’t go deep into it. One thing that’s interesting… if they do TV through the Super PAC, during the ‘candidate windows’ they won’t get Lowest Unit Rate. In plain english… they will pay a big premium over candidate rates if that’s how they fund a big part of their TV effort (as reported in the article). I wouldn’t share that, but can’t believe they’d outsource here. * I would be reluctant to be vocal on this one way or another since we don't know what will happen on our side. I would have other people push that he's being bought and paid for. Strategically, anyone who saw what happened with ACT in 2004 would think twice about "outsourcing" the ground game or other parts of a campaign, but I don't think we go there w the press. On Apr 21, 2015, at 9:55 AM, Jennifer Palmieri <[email protected]> wrote: So this is a thing...what do people think about Jeb using the super-pac for broader things? Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: * Let us know if you have any thoughts on this arrangement Jeb is setting up, would be interested in your take ... m.apnews.com/ap/db_268798/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=V99KjLZu Download the official Twitter app here <https://twitter.com/download?ref_src=MailTweet-iOS> Sent from my iPhone The information contained in this communication is intended for the use of the designated recipients named above. If the reader of this communication is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this communication in error, and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify The Associated Press immediately by telephone at +1-212-621-1898 and delete this email. Thank you. [IP_US_DISC] msk dccc60c6d2c3a6438f0cf467d9a4938 This email is intended only for the named addressee. It may contain information that is confidential/private, legally privileged, or copyright-protected, and you should handle it accordingly. If you are not the intended recipient, you do not have legal rights to retain, copy, or distribute this email or its contents, and should promptly delete the email and all electronic copies in your system; do not retain copies in any media. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender promptly. Thank you. -- JP [email protected] For scheduling: [email protected] |
A bill that would have resurrected the bail system in Maryland will not get a vote in the House of Delegates, a top aide to House Speaker Michael E. Busch said late Thursday, after Democratic leaders concluded it would not have enough support to pass.
Alexandra Hughes, Busch’s chief of staff, said the speaker made the decision after Democratic members polled their caucus to see how members would vote.
Allowing the bill to die in the House effectively leaves in place a recent Court of Appeals rules change that greatly limits the use of bail and instructs judges to use the “least onerous” conditions when setting bail for a defendant who is not considered a danger or a flight risk.
Busch’s decision was first reported by the Baltimore Sun.
Progressive advocates and lawmakers tried for years to abolish bail for poor defendants, saying it unfairly discriminates against them and can leave defendants who are not flight risks languishing in jail before trial simply because they lack the money to post bond.
Del. Cheryl Glenn chairs a meeting of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland where lawmakers voted to oppose a pro-bail bill. (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post)
But the Court of Appeals decision was strongly opposed by the bail bond industry, who said it took away judges’ discretion and would mean more criminals on the street and fewer showing up in court for trial.
The industry campaigned against the change on social media and was highly visible in Annapolis during the current legislative session, urging lawmakers to pass a bill sponsored by Sen. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George’s) that would reestablish the option for judges to set bail even for poor defendants.
The bill was approved in the Senate, but it was opposed by the powerful Legislative Black Caucus, one of the largest blocs in the legislature. The Hispanic and Asian caucuses, and the entire Montgomery County delegation, subsequently decided to oppose the bill as well.
“I’m ecstatic,” said Cheryl Glenn, chair of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus, which voted against the bill. “I was very happy to hear it’s not going to the floor.
“This not only sends a message to the leadership in Maryland but to people across the country about what can be accomplished when African American legislators stand together.” |
(Image: CNET/CBS Interactive)
Amazon has disclosed how many government data demands it receives -- finally.
Stephen Schmidt, chief information security officer for Amazon Web Services, broke the company's years of silence in a blog post late Friday.
"Where we need to act publicly to protect customers, we do," said Schmidt. "Amazon never participated in the NSA's PRISM program," he added, despite no evidence to date showing that the company had been forced to hand over data through the clandestine surveillance program.
Despite it being known best for its online retail business, its cloud services power millions of apps, sites, and services around the world. But the news couldn't come soon enough. Amazon is the last major technology company in the Fortune 500 to disclose how many times governments have come knocking on its door, demanding customer and user data.
Amazon, known by insiders for being notoriously secretive, was at no point under a legal obligation to report its numbers, but had faced mounting pressure in the face of transparency reports becoming an industry norm.
Schmidt said the report, which covers the six months starting January 1 and ending May 31, will be released biannually.
By the numbers:
Amazon received 813 subpoenas, of which it fully complied with 66 percent;
Amazon received 35 search warrants, of which it fully complied with just over half;
Out of the other 13 other court orders it received, Amazon fully complied with just four;
Amazon received 132 foreign requests, of which it fully complied with 82 percent;
Amazon complied with the one removal orders (like user data) it received
Amazon disclosed that it had received between zero and 249 national security requests, such as a court order issued by the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
The company could not specifically say whether or not it had received a single classified order.
In the wake of the NSA surveillance scandal, tech companies demanded the right to disclose how many secret data demands they received from the government. The Justice Department eventually relented, allowing those figures to be reported in wide numerical ranges.
The company's second bi-annual report is expected later this year, or early next. |
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The US President Donald Trump signed a bill to speed up the issuance of permits for construction of motorways, bridges and other major construction projects. The bill is part from his 1 trillion USD investment plan to modernize outdated infrastructure in the country. The decree text was not available immediately after signing. Earlier sources have indicated that it repeals a decree by former President Barack Obama imposing rigorous building standards for government-funded projects to reduce the possible impact of external factors such as floods as a result of sea level rise and other climate change effects.
“We will no longer allow our magnificent country’s infrastructure to collapse and destroy”, said Trump at a press conference in Trump Tower. “While we are protecting the environment, we will build brilliant new roads, bridges, railways, waterways, tunnels and highways. We will rebuild our country with American workers, American iron, American aluminum and American steel”, said the US President.
By abolishing Obama’s standards, Trump hopes to speed up infrastructure project procedures.
Separately, a White House spokesman said that the Decree sets a two-year deadline for completing authorization procedures for major infrastructure plans and creates a protocol for a “federal level decision” for major projects.
Trump reminded that for the construction of the 103-storey skyscraper Empire State Building in New York were needed only 11 months, and now permission for major construction projects takes years. |
Pattern for the Valentine Headband
THIS IS A FREE PATTERN
Materials Needed:
Caron Simply Soft Yarn
Harvest Red
Off White
Yarn Needle
I/9 Hook 5.50 MM
Stitches:
ch: Chain
sc: Single Crochet
sc2tog: Single Crochet 2 Together for Decrease
hdc: Half Double Crochet
slst: Slip Stitches
st: Stitches
Guage: 2 Inches = 8 hdc & 6 Rows
Skill Level: Easy
Making the Headband: Using Harvest Red
Baby (17 inch Head Circumference)
ch 52
Join with slst in 1st ch (careful not to twist ch)
Rnd 1: ch 1, hdc in same st, hdc around. Slst in 1st hdc (52)
Rnd 2-8: Repeat Rnd 1 Fasten off at the end of Rnd 8
Child (1-3 years) (19 inch Head Circumference)
ch 59
Join with slst in 1st ch (careful not to twist ch)
Rnd 1: ch 1, hdc in same st, hdc around. Slst in 1st hdc (59)
Rnd 2-9: Repeat Rnd 1 Fasten off at the end of Rnd 9
Child (3-10 years) (21 inch Head Circumference)
ch 66
Join with slst in 1st ch (careful not to twist ch)
Rnd 1: ch 1, hdc in same st, hdc around. Slst in 1st hdc (66)
Rnd 2-10: Repeat Rnd 1 Fasten off at the end of Rnd 10
Adult (Small) (22 inch Head Circumference)
ch 70
Join with slst in 1st ch (careful not to twist ch)
Rnd 1: ch 1, hdc in same st, hdc around. Slst in 1st hdc (70)
Rnd 2-10: Repeat Rnd 1 Fasten off at the end of Rnd 10
Adult (Medium) (23 inch Head Circumference)
ch 74
Join with slst in 1st ch (careful not to twist ch)
Rnd 1: ch 1, hdc in same st, hdc around. Slst in 1st hdc (74)
Rnd 2-10: Repeat Rnd 1 Fasten off at the end of Rnd 10
Adult (Large) (24 inch Head Circumference)
ch 78
Join with slst in 1st ch (careful not to twist ch)
Rnd 1: ch 1, hdc in same st, hdc around. Slst in 1st hdc (78)
Rnd 2-10: Repeat Rnd 1 Fasten off at the end of Rnd 10
Weave in tails.
Note** You will see a line where you joined each row. That is ok. You will cover it with hearts.
Large Heart:
Using Off White
ch 2
Row 1: Make 2 sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 1, turn (2)
Row 2: 2 sc in each st, ch 1, turn (4)
Row 3: 2 sc in 1st st, sc in next 2 st, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn (6)
Row 4: 2 sc in 1st st, sc in next 4 st, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn (8)
Row 5: 2 sc in 1st st, sc in next 6 st, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn (10)
Row 6: 2 sc in 1st st, sc in next 8 st, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn (12)
Row 7: 2 sc in 1st st, sc in next 10 st, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn (14)
Row 8: 2 sc in 1st st, sc in next 12 st, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn (16)
First hump of the heart:
Row 9: sc in next 8 st, ch 1, turn (8)
Row 10: sc2tog, sc in next 4 st, sc2tog, ch 1, turn (6)
Row 11: sc2tog, sc in next 2 st, sc2tog, ch 1, turn (4)
Row 12: sc2tog, sc2tog, ch 1, Fasten off. (2)
Second hump of the heart:
Attach to 9th st of Row 8
Repeat Row 9-12.
Sc all the way around the piece, Fasten off.
Weave in tail.
Medium Heart:
Using Harvest Red
ch 2
Row 1: Make 2 sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 1, turn (2)
Row 2: 2 sc in each st, ch 1, turn (4)
Row 3: 2 sc in 1st st, sc in next 2 st, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn (6)
Row 4: 2 sc in 1st st, sc in next 4 st, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn (8)
Row 5: 2 sc in 1st st, sc in next 6 st, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn (10)
Row 6: 2 sc in 1st st, sc in next 8 st, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn (12)
First hump of the heart:
Row 7: sc in next 6 st, ch 1, turn (6)
Row 8: sc2tog, sc in next 2 st, sc2tog, ch 1, turn (4)
Row 9: sc2tog, sc2tog, ch 1, turn (2)
Second hump of the heart:
Attach to 7th st of Row 6
Repeat Row 7-9.
Sc all the way around the piece, Fasten off.
Weave in tail.
Small Heart:
Using Off White
ch 2
Row 1: Make 2 sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 1, turn (2)
Row 2: 2 sc in each st, ch 1, turn (4)
Row 3: 2 sc in 1st st, sc in next 2 st, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn (6)
Row 4: 2 sc in 1st st, sc in next 4 st, 2 sc in last st, ch 1, turn (8)
First hump of the heart:
Row 5: sc in next 4 st, ch 1, turn (4)
Row 6: sc2tog, sc2tog, ch 1, turn (2)
Second hump of the heart:
Attach to 5th st of Row 4
Repeat Row 5-6.
Sc all the way around the piece, Fasten off.
Weave in tail.
Attachment
Lay the medium heart over the large heart and the small heart over the medium heart. Place the 3 stacked hearts over the slanted line on the headband. Sew only around the small heart to secure the hearts to the headband. Weave in or hide the tails in the headband.
If you want to download this pattern, you can get it from Etsy for just $1.00! |
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We end today’s show with Cody Hall of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. He had two arrest warrants—he had an arrest warrant issued for two misdemeanors of criminal trespass for land defense actions. On Monday, he learned the charges were dropped. I spoke to Cody over the weekend about his arrest.
CODY HALL: In the manner of which I was arrested, was treated like—like I was the Native Osama, with at least 18 state officers that got out of their squad cars when I was arrested on a highway, Highway 1806, going up to Bismarck.
AMY GOODMAN: So, then you were taken to the Morton County jail in Mandan?
CODY HALL: Yeah, yep. Yeah, I was taken there, and I was met with state, you know, police officers dressed in their—you know, in their gear, and then also just really, you know, villainized. You know, just like I said, just—you know, FBI wanted to question me. I invoked my right, you know, silence.
AMY GOODMAN: Have you been targeted since your arrest?
CODY HALL: Yes, yes, I have been targeted. As I look at, you know, side mirrors and rear view mirrors, you know, I have DAPL security in their rented trucks that they drive around with no license plate on them. And so, I like to kind of play a game, and I’ll just drive around a little bit, just to see if that vehicle is tailing me. And sure enough, I get a lot of, you know, vehicles tailing me in the city.
AMY GOODMAN: We also spoke with Cody Hall about his experience inside the Morton County jail, including how he was strip-searched.
CODY HALL: As I exited out of the vehicles and entered Morton County, I came up an elevator, and as the elevator opened up, I was met with state police. And then, you know, of course, Morton County people were there to book people, but—and then, from there, started the process of the booking, and then, again, you know, went into a private room, where they ask you to, you know, get naked. You know, they had my arms. They, you know, kind of like extend your arms out. And you’re fully naked. And they have you, you know, lift up your genitals and bend over, you know, cough. And so, it’s really one of those tactics that they try to break down your mentalness of everyday life, because not every day do you wake up and say, “Hey, I’m going to get, you know, naked and have somebody search me today,” you know? That’s a private—you know, that’s a private feeling for you, when you get naked, so…
AMY GOODMAN: And four days later, when you were finally released—they hadn’t allowed you to go out on bail or bond for those four days—you came before a judge in the orange jumpsuit?
CODY HALL: Yes, yes, I sat in the court office in my orange jumpsuit, locked, you know, still handcuffed, exited out of the courtroom. And as I left the courtroom, there were 20 or so state police all in their bullet-proof vests, everything just looking, you know, like—you know, like they’re going into action of some sort. And then they literally had a line from the courtroom to the door that connects you to the county jail. And my mother walked out with me. And as we got to the door, they were opening the door up. And as I looked behind me, my mother and I, all of the cops then proceeded to kind of swarm.
AMY GOODMAN: That was water protector Cody Hall of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The charges were dropped against him. Special thanks to Denis Moynihan, Hany Massoud, Laura Gottesdiener and John Hamilton. |
Virtual reality has breathed new life into motion controllers, from the simple (Leap Motion) to the baroque (the omnidirectional treadmill.) 3DRudder, though, is surprisingly practical. It's a round-bottomed board that tracks your feet, translating their motion into gaming controls by mapping four different methods of control onto button presses or joystick swivels. Think of it as a cross between a skateboard and a sewing machine pedal, or a very advanced Wii Balance Board.
We're not sure how much setup goes into the 3DRudder, although supposedly all it needs is a USB port and driver. But at CES Unveiled, we got a taste of how it controls — not with a game, but with a 3D design program. Once you sit down and rest your feet on it, the board calibrates within a few seconds. Sliding it forward and backwards zooms you in and out, turning rotates you horizontally, and twisting your feet — a motion a little bit like pedaling a bicycle — rotates you up and down; though we didn't get to try it, you can also move from side to side, and you can map custom controls onto the axes.
When everything goes right, it's surprisingly intuitive
When everything goes right, the board is remarkably responsive, precise, and intuitive. It feels a bit like driving a car, with fine-grained control over how fast and how far you move. If you've only used it for a few minutes, as we did, it won't all go right, though. I wasn't quite sure how much pressure to put on it, accidentally pushing down too hard to control it well. When I rested, I clearly kept my feet tilted a little too much, because the scene would rotate slightly; I imagine I'd have to either figure out how to tread more lightly or just take my feet off. It's probably theoretically possible to stand on it, but it seems unlikely to work well, not to mention quite uncomfortable.
The 3DRudder controller is midway through an Indiegogo campaign, with a projected shipping date of May. A limited number of early bird specials will get you a board for $110, but the standard price is $130. |
We first learned about the Dell Inspiron Duo a few weeks ago and were rather intrigued by the convertible ultra-portable device. It has the distinction of being half netbook and half tablet, making it a compelling choice for those not yet ready to go all touch.
The device is made possible by a unique mechanism that flips the screen, transforming the device from a netbook into a tablet. The 10-inch touchscreen makes it one of the bigger tablets on the market, while its dual-core 1.5GHz Intel Atom processor is a first among tablets, although netbooks have had them for some time.
In addition to what we already knew, today we learned that the device includes a 320GB 7200RPM hard drive. It's a bit strange that Dell has opted for a physical drive over a solid state one, but we can be thankful that it's 7200RPM instead of 5400RPM.
The Dell Inspiron Duo is available now directly from Dell for $550. If you pick one up, please let us know your thoughts on the device. |
New Delhi: Rejecting criticism about Rahul Gandhi's leadership, Congress leader AK Antony today said he was not responsible for the party's Lok Sabha poll debacle and exuded optimism that it will revive under Sonia Gandhi and Rahul.
Antony, who headed a committee that probed the reasons for the party's poll debacle and submitted its report to Sonia Gandhi yesterday, dismissed reports that there was a question mark on the leadership of Rahul after the elections and that the committee has suggested something like that.
"This is all speculation. Nothing. Absolutely wrong. Those who are spreading this kind of rumours want to weaken the party. Such things are being spread by mischievous people, who want to weaken the party," he told reporters on the sidelines of the flag hoisting ceremony at AICC headquarters.
Antony said the "reasons for the Congress defeat were something else".
However, he did not elaborate as to what conclusions the panel has arrived at for the worst-ever defeat of Congress in the 2014 general elections.
Sonia and Rahul did not take questions from the media and left after wishing 'Happy Independence Day' to all.
Antony insisted that it was Sonia Gandhi and Rahul, who toured throughout the country and addressed rallies in the run-up to the polls.
At the outset, he said the panel chaired by him submitted the report to Sonia yesterday but refused to divulge details.
All the four members of the panel Antony, Mukul Wasnik, RC Khuntia and Avinash Pandey had met the Congress President and submitted the voluminous report.
"I do not want to go into details. I will not reveal the details. I do not want to say anything about the content of the report," was his brief response to questions like whether his panel has faulted the communication strategy of the party or blamed the way media reported during Lok Sabha polls.
"We are confident; like we did in 1977, we will overcome this difficult phase as well. Congress will overcome this. We will be able to regain the loss, strengthen our party, strengthen our mass base again. We will revive under leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul," Antony said.
Asked about murmurs of dissent within the party over leadership, the party veteran, who had proposed anointment of Rahul as Vice President during Congress Chintan Shivir in Jaipur last year, said such leaders should instead do something to ensure that the party regains lost ground.
"They must do something to regain the ground. That we are confident of. We are 100 per cent confident of regaining lost ground," he said.
Apart from giving a condensed over-all report on the Congress' poor show nationwide, the report has also focused on specific states incorporating discussions held with their leaders on the reasons for the defeat and the recommendations of the panel, sources said.
With the Assembly polls in four states approaching, the report would help the leadership take remedial steps at the earliest to stem the rot.
Antony said during discussions with leaders from various states, it came out that only Sonia and Rahul campaigned. The veteran leader suggested that the party did not work at other levels as strongly as was required.
Asked whether there will be changes in the party set up since he has already submitted the report citing reasons for the defeat, Antony said this is for the Congress President to decide.
On speculation of a larger role for Priyanka Gandhi in the party, Antony said, "There is already a clarification from Priyankaji. I will not add anything."
Priyanka had last week dismissed speculation surrounding her as "conjecture" and "baseless rumours".
Sources indicated that instead of being critical of the leadership, the report talks about the alleged "manipulation of media coverage by the BJP, the lacunae in Congress campaign vis-a-vis the blitzkrieg of Narendra Modi's election campaign and organisational weaknesses" of the party.
Antony downplayed his earlier remarks that proximity to minority communities had led people to doubt the party's secularism, saying it was "Kerala specific" remark made in a particular speech in a context.
Party general secretary Mukul Wasnik said the panel talked to around 500 leaders from various states before finalising its report after a comprehensive discussion.
He said nobody raised questions about the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul.
The four-member panel was set up a fortnight after the results were out on May 16, which had come as a huge shock for the party.
The panel had begun the review exercise in June starting from Delhi, where all its seven Lok Sabha candidates including Union Ministers Kapil Sibal, Ajay Maken and Krishna Tirath had lost the polls.
The panel had also met the PCC chiefs, CLP leaders and other party functionaries from various states during the exercise.
The Congress had got its lowest tally of 44 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha in the general elections held in April-May this year.
PTI
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Hundreds of cities around the world now offer bike sharing systems, but if you're with a friend, why use two bikes when one could do the job?
That bike is the Duovelo, a conceptual sort of tandem, electric bicycle. The advantage of a second seat is obvious. It's one vehicle to transport multiple people, and hitching bikes together in a pedal-powered train could be a fun way to take a longer trip with family or friends.
Charles Bombardier About A mechanical engineer and a member of the family whose aerospace and transportation company builds trains, planes, and more, Bombardier's at his best when he ignores pesky things like budgets, timelines, and contemporary physics. Since 2013, he's run a blog cataloging more than 200 concepts, each a fantastic, farfetched new way for people to travel through land, air, water, and space. His ideas are out there, but it's Bombardier's sort of creative thinking that keeps us moving forward.
A cross between a BMX and a fat bike, the Duovelo uses a sliding mechanism to reveal a second seat for a passenger. The extra rider can hold onto a handlebar located between the seats, and rest his feet on lateral foot pegs.
This version of the concept doesn't include extra pedals, but it would be interesting to develop a folding pedaling system for the passenger.
An electric motor would assist the driver during his ride, with a charge indicator (visible even in daylight) on the crankset. You could ditch the e-power for a lighter ride, though it means more work for whoever's doing the pedaling.
The Duovelo itself holds two people (it's right there in the name) but could be connected with another of its kind to seat four, or even more. Imagine going on a bike ride with all your friends at the same time—on the same bike!
This original idea for this concept comes from Jimmy Bilodeau, who submitted it through my Imaginactive website. Adolfo Esquivel, a Montreal-based freelance designer, created the renderings for the Duovelo. |
In the Electoral College White Votes Matter More
Lara Merling and Dean Baker
For the second time in the last five elections we are seeing a situation where the candidate who came in second in the popular vote ends up in the White House. This is of course due to the Electoral College.
As just about everyone knows, the Electoral College can lead to this result since it follows a winner take all rule (with the exception of Nebraska and Maine). A candidate gets all the electoral votes of a state whether they win it by one vote or one million. In this election, Secretary Clinton ran up huge majorities in California and New York, but her large margins meant nothing in the Electoral College.
In addition to the problem of this winner take all logic, there is also the issue that people in large states are explicitly underrepresented in the Electoral College. While votes are roughly proportionately distributed, since even the smallest states are guaranteed three votes, the people in these states end up being over-represented in the Electoral College. For example, in Wyoming, there is an electoral vote for every 195,000 residents, in North Dakota there is one for every 252,000, and in Rhode Island one for every 264,000. On the other hand, in California there is an electoral vote for every 711,000 residents, in Florida one for every 699,000, and in Texas one for every 723,000.
The states that are overrepresented in the Electoral College also happen to be less diverse than the country as a whole. Wyoming is 84 percent white, North Dakota is 86 percent white, and Rhode Island is 74 percent white, while in California only 38 percent of the population is white, in Florida 55 percent, and in Texas 43 percent. White people tend to live in states where their vote counts more, and minorities in places where it counts less. This means that the Electoral College not only can produce results that conflict with a majority vote, but it is biased in a way that amplifies the votes of white people and reduces the voice of minorities.
The figure illustrates the gap in Electoral College representation for minority voters. Based on the weight of each vote in each state and given the fact that most minority voters reside in states where each person’s vote counts less in the Electoral College, the result is minority voters are grossly underrepresented. African American votes on average have a weight that is 95 percent as much as white votes, Hispanic votes are on average 91 percent, and Asian American votes, 93 percent as much of a white vote. In the Electoral College, white votes matter more.
Addendum
It is worth noting that there is a fix to this problem which does not require a constitutional amendment or even action by Congress. The organization, National Popular Vote, has been pushing states to pass legislation whereby their electoral votes will go to the winner of the national popular vote. This switch does not happen until states representing a majority of electoral votes have passed the same legislation. At that point, the winner of the popular vote will automatically be the winner of the electoral vote. |
Let’s face it, most modern liveries are boring, unimaginative and poorly executed. Gone are sleek lines to match the cars shape, instead replaced with bodged jobs, littered in sponsorship logos. Just look at the Sauber for example, black, white and red all work together and they still managed to make it look terrible.
Click below for some fantastic concept F1 liveries, adding proof to the argument that F1 fans can design better liveries than these supposed ‘designers’.
McLaren – Jezson
With McLaren no longer the Mercedes works team, it’s time for them to ditch the chrome. Jezson has made this sweet looking black and red McLaren livery.
Ferrari – mantovani
There’s not really a lot Ferrari can do but they could still do something a little bit more interesting. Bruno Mantovani has done this design which features an Italian flag flash down the side, Ferrari put an Italian flag on last years car to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italy, but they stuck it on the rear wing like an after thought and it looked completely stupid.
Lotus – maximilian
Ah, the black and gold Lotus. Retro liveries are all the rage these days but rather then copying the Lotus from the eighties, how about doing something more original? Maximilian has done this original Lotus design using the black and gold colour scheme.
Sauber – sam3110
The new Sauber sucks. It’s terrible. They added black to make it less boring and they managed to make it look even worse. This design from sam3110 looks much more slick.
Toro Rosso – Jezson
With Toro Rosso being the Red Bull B-team, why not advertise another one of the companies energy drinks? Jezson has created this brilliant ‘Sugar Free’ Toro Rosso livery. You’d certinaly be able to tell the teams apart then.
Williams – Azhar
This retro Williams livery by Azhar is done in the style of the 1992 Williams Renault… and it looks pretty damn good.
Marussia – purplejohn
Finally purplejohn has mocked up this Marussia livery, featuring the colours of the Russian flag. So it may look a bit Team America but it’d certainly stand out on the grid.
Which concept livery would you most like to see used in F1? |
The UK government has once again bared its anti-technology teeth in public, leaning especially heavily on messaging platform WhatsApp for its use of end-to-end encryption security tech, and calling it out for enabling criminals to communicate in secret.
Reuters reported yesterday that UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd had called out end-to-end encryption services “like WhatsApp”, claiming they are being used by paedophiles and other criminals and pressurizing the companies to stop enabling such people from operating outside the law.
“I do not accept it is right that companies should allow them and other criminals to operate beyond the reach of law enforcement. We must require the industry to move faster and more aggressively. They have the resources and there must be greater urgency,” Rudd reportedly added.
Earlier this week she also admitted she doesn’t really understand e2e encryption.
Asked about her understanding of the technology at the Conservative Party conference, Rudd came out with this gem: “I don’t need to understand how encryption works to understand how it’s helping the criminals. I will engage with the security services to find the best way to combat that.”
She also complained about being ridiculed by the tech industry for not understanding the technologies she’s seeking to regulate. Whilst apparently doubling down on the ignorance that has attracted said mockery.
This of course led to more mockery…
Paedophiles are also using roads, planes, supermarkets, pubs, lettuces and Terry's Chocolate Oranges, so we're getting rid of them, too. https://t.co/VncItwvpnb — Owen Jones🌹 (@OwenJones84) October 3, 2017
You can see the problem with this strategy. Unless you’re the UK government, evidently.
But what exactly is Rudd trying to get WhatsApp to do? The company has repeatedly pointed out it can’t hand over decrypted message content because e2e crypto means it doesn’t hold the keys to decrypt and access the content.
Which is exactly the point of e2e encryption, and also explains why it’s better for data security.
The Facebook-owned company reportedly rejected a government demand it come up with technical solutions to enable intelligence agencies to access e2e encrypted WhatsApp messages this summer (per a Sky News report).
And an e2e encryption system with a backdoor wouldn’t be an e2e encryption system, as Rudd apparently can’t understand. (She wrote some other confusing words on that topic this summer.)
Meanwhile Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg has tried to sell governments on the notion that access to its — doubtless high resolution — metadata should be enough for their counterterrorism/crime-fighting needs.
(Note for Rudd: U.S. intelligence agencies have previously said they kill people based on metadata, so Sandberg probably has a point. But maybe you don’t fully grasp what metadata is either?)
Yesterday Reuters also quoted UK security minister Ben Wallace, whose brief covers counterterrorism and comms data legislation, bashing on services that use e2e encryption for preventing security services from tracking and catching criminals because “we can’t get into these communications”.
Wallace also reportedly had this to say: “There are other ways I can’t talk about which we think they can help us more without necessarily entering into end-to-end encryption. So we think they can do more.”
What “other ways” is the government thinking of? A backdoor into an e2e encrypted messaging platform given any other name would still be, er, a backdoor. Unless you’re just getting your hands on an unlocked device and reading the plain text messages that way. (Which is of course one possible workaround for security services to access e2e encrypted comms.)
We asked WhatsApp (and Facebook) for comment on the government’s latest attacks on its messaging platform. Neither replied.
But when politicians seem intent on ignoring how your technology works while simultaneously asking your technologists to make the tech do what they want (which also happens to be: Destroy the security promise that your service is founded on) you can’t really blame them for not wanting to engage in conversation on this topic.
Security researcher and former Facebook staffer Alec Muffett, who worked on deploying e2e crypto for its ‘Secret Conversations’ feature, did have this to say when we asked for this thoughts: “If the Snowden affair has taught us anything it’s that government will internally redefine any distasteful term such as ‘backdoor’ so that it arguably does not apply to what they wish to achieve. I strongly suspect that state officials themselves do not have technical or specific plans, so much as a set of ‘desired outcomes’ which they will pressure the communications providers to deliver. For the rest of us, any ‘feature’ which breaks the promise that is implicit in the name of ‘end-to-end encryption’ is rightly called a ‘backdoor’ and should be resisted.”
Amen to that.
Meanwhile rumors suggest Rudd is gearing up for a potential leadership fight, if/when current UK PM Theresa May is finally unseated by the Brexit mess she has managed to exacerbate.
So Rudd’s views on e2e crypto — and her apparent willingness to continue to misunderstand how technologies work — should worry us all.
At this week’s party conference she unveiled plans to tighten the law around watching terrorist content online, with proposals to increase the maximum jail term for repeat viewing such content online or via a streaming service to up to 15 years.
So the current political trajectory in the UK is for greater control and regulation of the Internet. At the same time as the government is pushing hard to undermine the security of online data.
Again, that should worry us all — not least because other governments are watching the UK’s example, and some appear to be taking inspiration to make their own moves against encryption.
If Rudd wasn’t enough, another Tory leadership contender in waiting — current foreign secretary Boris Johnson — appears to have an even more butterfingered grasp of digital infrastructure than she does (at least Rudd has taken a lot of meetings with tech firms lately, albeit without necessarily learning a great deal).
Also speaking at the Conservative Party conference this week, Johnson reportedly suggested the UK could diverge from the EU’s data protection standards, post-Brexit — i.e. should he become the next UK PM.
Boris Johnson: Britain "would want to do things differently to
the EU in certain areas, such as data" – UK to diverge from GDPR post Brexit? — Rory Cellan-Jones (@ruskin147) October 3, 2017
Where on Earth has Johnson got the idea that the UK would want to do things different in the area of “data”? What can he be thinking to go out on such a strange limb?
His comments come despite the UK’s data protection watchdog sweating hard to inform UK businesses they do indeed need to comply with the incoming GDPR — and will need to continue to comply even after the country leaves the bloc (because, you know, complying with required standards is oil in the engine of trade).
And despite UK digital minister Matt Hancock stating multiple times the government is aiming to essentially mirror EU data protection regulations — precisely to ensure there is no cliff edge as far as data flows are concerned.
If the UK does not meet EU data protection standards once it leaves the bloc, UK businesses and startups will face being instantly cut off from selling into European markets.
The UK will also likely need to negotiate its own data transfer agreement with the US which has its own data agreement with the EU. So could be cut off from the US market too if they can’t get some quick agreement in place (vs mirroring EU DP regs probably making some kind of UK-US Privacy-Shield copy-paste job quicker and easier to pull off.)
Apparently none of the complexities of international data regulation have arrived beneath Johnson’s blonde mop. Expect that grand landing in some very far-flung future.
Instead we find only a vague grasp on “data” — tightly coupled with a telling political stiffness for “doing things differently”.
I don't think he's quite got the hang of international data regulation. Perhaps he could borrow this from Amber once she's done with it? pic.twitter.com/uRCuoy6Ozy — Rupert Goodwins (@rupertg) October 3, 2017
And when button-pushing politicians have such a childish grasp on technology at the same time as powerful technologists are demonstrably failing to factor politics into their platforms we should all be rightly and highly concerned about the resulting societal outcomes. |
Already daydreaming about warm, outdoor barbecues and picnics? If so, one thing you’re probably leaving out of your happy vision is the inevitable return of blood-thirsty mosquitoes that crash those otherwise relaxing outdoor events. Luckily, this year, researchers have your back, as Science first reported.
In a high-tech experiment to recreate your bite risks while chilling on your patio, researchers at New Mexico State University tested out 11 common types of mosquito repellent to find the most effective ones. The results: skip the citronella candles and ditch herb-laced bracelets—they didn’t work at keeping away mosquitoes. Instead, stick with DEET-containing products, metofluthrin-blowing clip-on fans, and sprays containing oil of lemon eucalyptus. The results appear in the Journal of Insect Science.
To test out the products, the researchers set up a three-chamber cage of mosquitoes in a wind tunnel, gently blowing at 2 meters/second. Here's how the experiment works: A pack of hungry Ae. aegypti mosquitoes (50 to 125) enters into the middle compartment and can fly to either side—upwind or down. Next, the researchers place some delicious human “bait” one meter upwind of the cage. (The researchers made sure that volunteers didn’t bathe in the 15 hours prior so that the mosquitoes could get a good whiff.) After a little time, the researchers seal off the chambers and tally up how the mosquitoes distribute—toward the bait or not.
In a positive control, 88.8 percent stalked the chamber closest to the bait. In a negative control with no bait, only 17 percent roamed the upwind chamber.
Next, the researchers tried out 11 different types of mosquito repellant on the bait. The products included bracelets, wearable devices, sprays, and citronella candles. The most effective products were, in order of rank:
The OFF! Clip-on, which is a wearable device that spews a fog of metofluthrin insecticide. Only 27 percent of mosquitoes were in the upwind chamber, about a 70 percent reduction in mosquito attraction.
Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus, a spray of oil of lemon eucalyptus. Only 29.6 percent of the mosquitoes were in the upwind chamber.
Ben’s Tick & Insect Repellent, a spray-on containing 98 percent DEET. Only 33.7 percent of mosquitoes were in the upwind chamber, a reduction of around 60 percent.
The personal sonic mosquito repellent, citronella candle, herbal sprays, and bracelets did virtually nothing.
The authors are hopeful that the information can better inform consumers about how to best protect against bites. “At a time where vector-borne diseases like Zika are a real threat, the most egregious danger to the consumer is the false comfort that some repellents give them protection against Ae. aegypti when they actually offer none,” the authors conclude.
Journal of Insect Science , 2017. DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iew117 (About DOIs). |
Sunderland were terrible. Their defending was appalling all game, most obviously on Everton’s third goal. Who the hell is marking Romelu Lukaku here?
For the first two goals of Lukaku’s hat trick, both headers at the far post, he was also given far too much space. Sunderland have one point from four games, sit in 19th place, defend like a Sunday League side, and are a prime candidate to be relegated.
But with that throat clearing out of the way, maybe Everton are going to put in a real challenge for the Champions League spots? After an extremely disappointing 2015-16 season that saw Everton finish 11th, manager Ronald Koemen was lured away from Southampton. Koemen and the Everton board splashed in the transfer market, spending a seemingly absurd £25 million for Crystal Palace winger Yannick Bolasie, as well as signing former Swansea center back Ashley Williams, Aston Villa midfielder Idrissa Gueye, and Fulham keeper Maarten Steklenburg. All this, and more, was financed by selling John Stones to Manchester City.
Against Sunderland, all four of these new signees started. But even though Everton were clearly the better side, they couldn’t find the back of the net in the first 45 minutes. Rather than wait and hope something would happen, Koemen made it happen by replacing Ross Barkley with Gerard Deulofeu.
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Deulofeu was immediately the most dangerous man on the field. In the 60th minute he led a counterattack that ended with Gueye picking out Lukaku at the far post. Eight minutes later Bolasie crossed to Lukaku for his second, and three minutes after that Sunderland’s shambolic defending led to the goal seen above.
Everton have won three of their first four games, with the fourth a draw with Tottenham. It wasn’t the most stellar of competition, but still, they have 10 points and sit tied for second, with the demolishing of a League Two side in the League Cup on their resumé too.
Last year’s disastrous campaign means no European distractions, and the growth of Deulofeu and addition of Bolasie has made for a more dynamic attack. Steklenburg has only conceded two goals, Williams is a solid defender to replace Stones (or back-up Ramiro Funes Mori), and Gueye has perhaps been Everton’s player of the season, shielding the back four effectively.
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Of course, Everton haven’t qualified for the Champions League in 13 seasons, and have even only qualified for the Europa League once in the last seven. But with Leicester (and to a lesser extent) Southampton’s success last season, and a number of the bigger clubs integrating new managers and implementing new systems while trying to remain competitive in four different competitions, who’s to say Everton isn’t capable of a surprise finish? |
This game was eerily similar in the way that it ended, minus the helmet catch, that it almost seemed like you were watching a replay of the Super Bowl from 2007. Brady led the Patriots to a late touchdown to put them up 20-17 with only 1:36 remaining on the clock. "I'd rather be down three with a minute thirty (left) than up by four with a minute-thirty with Tom Brady, with their offense on the field." Giants quarterback Eli Manning said. "You like those opportunities to go win the game."
The game was a back and forth battle all day long, with not much in the way of offensive playmaking to be seen for most of the day as it was only 10-3 entering the fourth quarter. That's when things started to get exciting. The Patriots had started their drive in the third quarter, and finished it with a 5 yard TD pass to Aaron Hernandez to tie the game at 10 less than a minute into the final period. New England then got the ball back and took the lead on a 45 yard Gostkowski field goal.
The fourth quarter made up for all of the rest of this game. The Giants then go on a drive of their own that climaxed with a 10 yard TD pass to Mario Manningham. Brady took it back, and then leda final charge down the field, and celebrated as they thought they were up for good as Brady threw to TE Rob Gronkowski on three straight plays before falling down in the end zone with a 20-17 lead.
The final drive did have some similarities to the Super Bowl winning drive. Manning threw another heave down the middle of the field, and it was again caught for a 28 yard gainer by another guy wearing #85. This time it wasn't "Helmet Catch" hero David Tyree, it was big TE Jake Ballard who was thought to be only good for blocking. After a pass interference call in the end zone on Patriots corner Sergio Brown that gave the Giants the ball at the 1 yard line. It took them three plays, but on the third he hit Ballard again for the winning score with just 15 ticks left on the clock.
The Giants players were feeling a bit euphoric back in the locker room as the lifted up coach Tom Coughlin on their shoulders. "We got a little carried away,' Justin Tuck said about it afterwards. "Considering how good that team is and what they've done here in the last 20 games, it was a big win, and to win it in the fashion that we won it, it brings back memories."
The Giants can't get too caught up in the feeling because they have to travel to the west coast this week to play, who some pundits think, the second best team in the NFC right now, the San Francisco 49ers. They've also got a daunting schedule left after that game as well as they will face off against Philadelphia, New Orleans, Green Bay and then Dallas again, with the Saints and Cowboys being road games.
The Patriots while suffering they're second straight defeat are still in pretty good position. "We've got half a season to go," Brady said. "We'll see what our team's made of this week." As they are sitting in a three way tie for first place at 5-3 with the Bills and Jets, they arepreparing toface a stiff test this week as they travel to New York to face the Jets. Theschedule eases up for the most part as their most challenging game will be at Philly in late November, then a Buffalo rematch on New Year's Day. If they can find a way to beat the Jets, the division is theirs for the taking. |
We all have those days when we feel like we're worthless,useless human beings.Trust me,I've been there too.For whatever reason,at some point we feel sad.So I decided to share with you guys some things I usually do to cheer me up (with extra details,links and more).Let's get into it.Yes,that's right.It might sound ridiculous,but watching some cute beings be dumb or tricky really helps.Since I'm assuming you're sad and have no nerve to search for some videos,here are my favorite:Just click it.It'll be worth it,I promise.Hope these cheer you up :)They make such a good impact on your mood.Here are some links,even though I don't know your current situation.I couldn't find more links for general quotes because it all depends in what you're going through.If you're sad over a break up Click Here If you're sad over your grades : Click here If you're sad over bullies : Click here If you're sad over your own thoughts : Click Here I really hope it helped something. :)Jokes always make the day better.So why not enjoy a good laugh with those pages I found just so you could be happy? At least smile for me,so I can be glad I spent hours looking.+funny videos such as pranks,challenges and more.To make this party funner,make sure you're either home alone or you close your bedroom with a lock.Go grab some food (whether it's healthy or not),turn the music on,and just start dancing and singing around! It sounds cheesy but it really helps you get distracted from the sadness.If you don't want to dance/sing you can:-build a fort-watch a movie-play games online (Such as Cards Against Humanity -etc.Last but not the least,open up about it (keeping the anonymity).I love those pages where you can write anonymously and get advice:Also you could write to me,you know.My email is [email protected] you for reading this! I hope you feel better now.: if you know someone who's feeling sad and empty,please send this blogpost to help them.Comment down below if I helped or not,and if you want me to do more of these.See you tomorrow,xo |
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says he'll reconsider the ban on beer at sports stadiums ahead of the 2018 World Cup.
Putin was questioned about the ban Thursday when he and FIFA president Sepp Blatter met with fans in St. Petersburg as part of commemorations of the 100th birthday of the Russian soccer federation.
As president, Putin signed a 2005 law banning beer and beer advertisements at sports venues.
He told the fan who asked about lifting the ban that "when the decision was made about stadiums, it came from the best of intentions. OK, we'll return to it again and think about it."
Blatter noted that beer is popular among fans, saying "beer is like a part of life. Can you imagine holding a championship in Germany without beer?"
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press |
A spreading corruption crisis has slammed economic confidence in Turkey, sending the nation's currency to a record low and stocks plunging.
The lira hit an all-time low against the dollar Friday. The key index for stocks on Turkey's main exchange, the Borsa Istanbul National 100, has slumped 6.2% this week and is down more than 18% this year.
Related: Latest on Turkey's corruption probe
A wide-ranging probe into corrupt practices has damaged the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and continues to spook investors.
The crisis intensified this week as three ministers stood down and one, Urbanization and Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar, called on the country's leader to follow suit.
The ministers resigned Wednesday after their sons were detained in a roundup that included the head of a public bank, several bureaucrats and high-profile businessmen.
The detentions came after a two-year investigation by the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office into allegations of corruption, including money laundering, gold smuggling and bribery.
Prime Minister Erdogan reshuffled his cabinet, but the moves failed to restore investor confidence in the Turkish economy.
On Friday, the Turkish military said it would stay out of the crisis. In a statement posted on its website, the country's armed forces said it "does not want to, in any way, be a part of political discussions."
It's more pain for an economy that has suffered significant bouts of market turbulence in 2013.
Anti-government protests sparked a sharp sell off in Turkish stocks in June, as demonstrators accused Erdogan of creeping authoritarianism and demanded his resignation. |
OTTAWA – A fresh batch of Canadian military trainers is about to deploy to eastern Europe, and the outgoing commander says his soldiers took a lot of their own notes in addition to handing out assignments to Ukrainian troops.
Lt.-Col. Jason Guiney, who is about to end his five-month stint, says even though their training bases are 1,200 kilometres away from the fighting in the breakaway eastern regions, his troops have learned a lot about the nature of the conflict.
“It’s a very big wake-up call for us as an institution,” Guiney said Thursday in a telephone interview from Lviv, located in western Ukraine.
In dealing with Ukrainian troops, he said, they’ve had an up-close look at how Moscow-backed separatists have mixed high-tech Russian weaponry, cyberattacks, propaganda, conventional warfare and insurgency warfare into a toxic, deadly campaign.
READ MORE: Canada asked to help train new Ukrainian cops
“There’s a lot of very modern Russian equipment in there,” Guiney said, referring to armoured vehicles that have the ability to deflect anti-tank rockets.
“We’ve learned about how Ukrainians are deploying methods to defeat that.”
The speed and sophistication of the conflict, which began with Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014, has startled many western military planners who’ve come to describe what’s happening the country as hybrid warfare.
“We’ve learned they’ve experienced cyberattacks; electronic warfare, like radio jamming; heavy use of drones, like UAVs, which are used for precision artillery strikes,” he said.
Following more than a decade of guerilla warfighting in Afghanistan, he added, the Ukraine experience is making an impression and “forces us to get back to our basics and take a hard look at our own doctrine.”
The mission, which is slated to go until March 2017, has allowed ordinary Canadian soldiers “and even senior (non-commissioned officers) to take this experience back to Canada with them.”
The first rotation of Canadians, from Garrison Petawawa, Ont., will slowly be replaced by a fresh batch of troops from CFB Valcartier, Que.
READ MORE: Over 9,000 people killed in 21 months of Ukraine fighting
Up to 200 Canadian trainers are teaching regular Ukrainian army units infantry combat skills, battlefield medical treatment and how to defuse and dispose of roadside bombs. Separately, a contingent of military police is working in Kyiv mentoring counterparts there.
Because of the unconventional nature of the conflict, Guiney said the military has taken steps to protect the identities of its trainers. National Defence was criticized last year for imposing restrictions on media photographs and video of troops departing for Ukraine.
Such restrictions are not unheard of. For instance, the military does not allow pilots and ground crew involved in airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to be seen or interviewed on camera – only the commander.
Similarly, there were restrictions during the Afghan war on reporting the identities and operations of special forces soldiers.
The directive for Ukraine – imposed even though it is not a war-time scenario – is meant to prevent retaliation in both the real and online world, Guiney said. |
Image copyright Thinkstock
A man in Edmonton was allowed to board a flight after a pipe bomb found in his bag was confiscated by airport security, it appears.
A security guard at Edmonton International Airport even tried to hand the bomb back to the passenger, CBC News reports.
The passenger in question, 18-year-old Skylar Vincent Murphy, was on his way to Mexico when the explosive device was found by airport security in his bag. A guard was reportedly caught on camera passing the bomb back to Murphy after inspecting his carry-on luggage. Apparently the teenager refused to take it back even when told he could keep it.
The bomb was said to be 15cm long and filled with gunpowder. The teenager claimed to have forgotten it was in the bag after making it with a friend for fun some months before.
He subsequently pleaded guilty and was fined 100 Canadian dollars.
According to the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, several officers involved have been suspended. Canada's Federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt told CBC News it was "unacceptable" that someone found in possession of a bomb was allowed to continue with his journey.
Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter. |
People who stay physically and mentally healthy in middle age may help avert the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, but not the underlying cause of the disease changes itself, according to research published in Neurology.
Prashanthi Vemuri, PhD, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues found that of the participants who had 14 years of education or more who were carriers of the APOE4 gene — which is linked to Alzheimer’s and affects about 20% of the population — those who kept mentally active in middle age had lower levels of amyloid plaque buildup in the brain compared with those who did not keep mentally active in middle age.
“Recent studies have shown conflicting results about the value of physical and mental activity related to the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, and we noticed that levels of education differed in those studies,” said Dr Vemuri in a statement. “When we looked specifically at the level of lifetime learning, we found that carriers of the APOE4 gene who had higher education and continued to learn through middle age had [less] amyloid deposition on imaging when compared to those who did not continue with intellectual activity in middle age.”
To investigate the effect of various characteristics on Alzheimer’s disease biomarker trajectories, the researchers evaluated 393 participants without dementia (70 years and older) from the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging using longitudinal imaging data (brain b-amyloid load via Pittsburgh compound B PET and neurodegeneration via 18fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET and structural MRI).
Of the 393 participants, 340 were clinically normal and 53 had mild cognitive impairment. The participants were grouped into high levels of education (≥14 years) and low levels of education (<14 years).
Using MRI and PET scans, the researchers searched for biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease. They also evaluated weekly intellectual and physical activity in middle age with questionnaires.
For the entire group of participants as a whole, the researchers found that education, occupation, and mental and physical activity in middle age appeared to have little to no effect on the rates of amyloid plaque buildup. However, for carriers of the APOE4 gene, those with high education who continued stimulating their minds in middle age had less amyloid plaque deposition in the brain than those with high education who did not continue mental stimulation in middle age. |
[Episode 03 “Honky Tonk Woman”]
First let us pay attention to the assassination scene. This scene needed to several things well:
Depict Jet and Spike tracking down a bounty competently, if not impressively. Depict the bounty as an unsavory character, establishing therefore that Jet and Spike play for the side of the angels. Introduce the ‘real’ bounty of the episode, and depict them as more unsavory than the original bounty.
It accomplished all three very well, while interlacing with Faye Valentine’s adventures in failure in space. Humor is very much an element of this scene: it’s used as a tool of misdirection, making the remorseless violence that followed more shocking in effect. We know the violence is remorseless, because the ringleader of the assassination was dancing in the midst of the gunfire, reveling in it as if moved by the music.
All the diners save for Jet and Spike were mowed down by gunfire. Then something really interesting happens:
The “good guys” take a hostage. They seize the mother from her children (Twinkle Maria Murdock). This is a case of lowlifes turning on each other and it’s delicious. The Universal Environmental Protection Society is a family of terrorists who killed a guy, and everyone around him on a matter of principle. Spike and Jet took Maria as compensation for the guy she had killed. As it turns out, she’s the bigger bounty anyway.
Spike and Jet are not ‘morally outraged’ at the massacre they witnessed. They were too busy trying to make money. Lupin III is pretty much a lowlife, and characters from Nagai Go works are monsters, but it’s worth remarking on the utter callousness towards human life we are presented with. The sympathetic Spike Spiegel in the first episode is almost radically different from the person here. It’s like we now see the ruthless Spike who took on Asimov in “Asteroid Blues” along with the carefree, careless Spike who wasted his time chasing Hakim in “Stray Dog Strut.”
Is this inconsistency? Is it complexity? In any case, the Spike Spiegel who deals with these terrorists acts with haughtiness, with arrogance. But it’s not the kind that is founded on some kind of morals (perhaps), but rather it’s as if he’s invoking a fuzzy concept of class among criminals. He acts as if these terrorists were utterly beneath him. I think it’s cool stuff, also because this family of terrorist is mostly a bunch of retards.
But they’ve been an efficiently deadly bunch of retards. This brings me to how it contrasts with that which it remembers love for: The Army of the 12 Monkeys.
I truly adore this film. I must’ve seen it like 8 or more times, at least thrice in the theaters when it came out. This synopsis of the film compels me to link it with Cowboy Bebop:
An unknown and lethal virus has wiped out five billion people in 1996. Only 1% of the population has survived by the year 2035, and is forced to live underground. A convict (James Cole) reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to 1996 to gather information about the origin of the epidemic (who he’s told was spread by a mysterious “Army of the Twelve Monkeys”) and locate the virus before it mutates so that scientists can study it. Unfortunately Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990, six years earlier than expected, and is arrested and locked up in a mental institution, where he meets Dr. Kathryn Railly, a psychiatrist, and Jeffrey Goines, the insane son of a famous scientist and virus expert.
In “Gateway Shuffle,” there is this virus called Monkey Business that, well, turns people into monkeys. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but there is something inherently humorous with the very idea of it. The reversal in Cowboy Bebop of the 12 Monkeys film is how ruthless the UEPS are. These characters are actual terrorists who kill people and want to turn them into monkeys. The Army of the 12 Monkeys was pretty much an organization reputed to have caused the end of the world as it was known, but in actuality their biggest act was to set zoo animals free in the middle of Baltimore (or was it Philadelphia?).
It is consistent, I think with how Cowboy Bebop did Desperado, wherein Asimov was an authentic criminal as opposed to a romanticized revenge-seeking hero in the form of El Mariachi. The UEPS are a far less complicated and nuanced set of ‘characters’ than the ‘Army’ but they are in turn more comically evil. Again I must say that it is never my intention to suggest that one version is better than another (personally I prefer the cruel irony in the film the same way I am nuts over Brad Pitt’s performance as the leader of the Army). The straightforward evil represented by Maria makes her ideal to be rendered as a comical villain as victim, as if within the tradition of Wile E. Coyote from Looney Tunes, to Spike Spiegel’s Road Runner.
But I’m letting myself get carried away. Both stories feature a threatening organization of malcontents humorously: one execution with black irony, the other with something akin to cruel slapstick. What this session really wanted to show is a battle in a hyperspace gate, to get the Foxtail and Swordfish into action, against one of the great Itano Circuses nearing the end of the millennium.
…which brilliantly serves as an expository piece of world building. The ‘ghosts’ of the missiles escape the hyperspace gate, scaring the piss out of Faye. Jet disses her for not remembering anything from high school science: Matter trapped in hyperspace may at times be visible in real space, but can never interact with matter in it.
Maria and the rest of the UEPS are stuck in hyperspace, the vial of the Monkey Business virus cleverly reverse-pickpocketed by Spike to Maria now surely to turn all of them into monkeys. The bad guys get what’s coming to them and yet the Bebop Cowboys end the session without their bounty.
“All that work for nothing… Oh, don’t look so down. We’ll make money next time.” Faye says this, and marks her informal inclusion in the group. She also said she was headed to the shower, which was totally a sexual flag of some kind. We are sure of this because Spike just had to call her on showering on their ship without their permission, then Cowboy Bebop slapped him with its cock-blocking chastisement. This show cracks me up. |
The Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt began on September 14, 1901, when Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States upon the assassination and death of President William McKinley, and ended on March 4, 1909. Roosevelt had been the Vice President of the United States for only 194 days when he succeeded to the presidency. A Republican, he ran for and won a full four-year term as president in 1904, easily defeating Democratic nominee Alton B. Parker. After the Republican victory in the 1908 presidential election, Roosevelt was succeeded by his protégé and chosen successor, William Howard Taft.
A Progressive reformer, Roosevelt earned a reputation as a "trust buster" through his regulatory reforms and anti-trust prosecutions. His presidency saw the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act, which established the Food and Drug Administration to regulate food safety, and the Hepburn Act, which increased the regulatory power of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Roosevelt took care, however, to show that he did not disagree with trusts and capitalism in principle, but was only against monopolistic practices. His "Square Deal" included regulation of railroad rates and pure foods and drugs; he saw it as a fair deal for both the average citizen and the businessmen. Sympathetic to both business and labor, Roosevelt avoided labor strife, most notably negotiating a settlement to the great Coal Strike of 1902. His great love was nature and he vigorously promoted the conservation movement, emphasizing efficient use of natural resources. He dramatically expanded the system of national parks and national forests. After 1906, he moved to the left, attacking big business and anti-labor decisions of the courts.
In foreign affairs, Roosevelt sought to uphold the Monroe Doctrine and establish the United States as a strong naval power. He inherited the colonial empire acquired in the Spanish–American War; while he ended the U.S. military presence in Cuba, he committed to a long-term occupation of the Philippines. Much of his foreign policy focused on the threats posed by Japan in the Pacific Ocean and Germany in the Caribbean Sea. Seeking to avoid the presence of European empires in the Western Hemisphere, Roosevelt mediated the Venezuela Crisis and declared the Roosevelt Corollary, in which the U.S. promised to uphold legitimate European claims on Latin American countries. Roosevelt also mediated the Russo-Japanese War, for which he won the Nobel Prize. He pursued closer relations with Great Britain, allowing for the beginning of the construction of the Panama Canal, which increased U.S. security and trade opportunities.
Historian Thomas Bailey, who generally disagreed with Roosevelt's policies, nevertheless concluded, "Roosevelt was a great personality, a great activist, a great preacher of the moralities, a great controversialist, a great showman. He dominated his era as he dominated conversations...the masses loved him; he proved to be a great popular idol and a great vote getter."[1] His image stands alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln on Mount Rushmore. Although Roosevelt has been criticized by some for his perceived imperialist stance, he is often ranked by historians among the top-five greatest U.S. Presidents of all time.[2][3]
Accession [ edit ]
Roosevelt's Inauguration
Roosevelt served as assistant secretary of the navy and governor of New York before winning election as William McKinley's running mate in the 1900 presidential election. Roosevelt became president following the assassination of McKinley by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York; Czolgosz shot McKinley on September 6, 1901, and McKinley died on September 14. Roosevelt was sworn into office on the day of McKinley's death at the Ansley Wilcox House in Buffalo. John R. Hazel, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of New York, administered the oath of office.[4] Being just a few weeks short of his 43rd birthday, Roosevelt became the youngest president in U.S. history, a distinction he still retains.[5]
When asked whether he was ready to take the oath, Roosevelt answered,[6]
I will take the oath. And in this hour of deep and terrible national bereavement, I wish to state that it shall be my aim to continue, absolutely without variance, the policy of President McKinley, for the peace and honor of our beloved country.
Roosevelt would later state that he came into office without any particular domestic policy goals. He broadly adhered to most Republican positions on economic issues, with the partial exception of the protective tariff. Roosevelt had stronger views on the particulars of his foreign policy, as he wanted the United States to assert itself as a great power in international relations.
Administration [ edit ]
Cabinet [ edit ]
Anxious to ensure a smooth transition, Roosevelt convinced the members of McKinley's cabinet, most notably Secretary of State John Hay and Secretary of the Treasury Lyman J. Gage, to remain in office after McKinley's death.[8] Another holdover from McKinley's cabinet, Secretary of War Elihu Root, had been a Roosevelt confidante for years, and he continued to serve as President Roosevelt's close ally.[9] Attorney General Philander C. Knox, who McKinley had appointed in early 1901, also emerged as a powerful force within the Roosevelt administration.[10] McKinley's personal secretary, George B. Cortelyou, remained in place under Roosevelt. Once Congress began its session in December 1901, Roosevelt replaced Gage with L. M. Shaw and appointed Henry C. Payne as Postmaster General, earning the approval of powerful Senators William B. Allison and John Coit Spooner.[12] He also replaced his former boss, Secretary of the Navy John D. Long, with Congressman William H. Moody.[a] In 1903, Roosevelt named Cortelyou as the first head of the Department of Commerce and Labor, and William Loeb Jr. became Roosevelt's secretary.
Root returned to the private sector in 1904 and was replaced by William Howard Taft, who had previously served as the governor-general of the Philippines.[15] Knox accepted appointment to the Senate in 1904, and was replaced by William Moody, who in turn was succeeded as attorney general by Charles Joseph Bonaparte in 2906. After Hay's death in 1905, Roosevelt convinced Root to return to the Cabinet as secretary of state, and Root remained in office until the final days of Roosevelt's tenure.[16] In 1907, Roosevelt replaced Shaw with Cortelyou, while James R. Garfield became the new secretary of the interior.
Press corps [ edit ]
Building on McKinley's effective use of the press, Roosevelt made the White House the center of news every day, providing interviews and photo opportunities. Noticing the White House reporters huddled outside in the rain one day, he gave them their own room inside, effectively inventing the presidential press briefing.[18] The grateful press, with unprecedented access to the White House, rewarded Roosevelt with ample coverage, rendered the more possible by Roosevelt's practice of screening out reporters he didn't like.[18]
Judicial appointments [ edit ]
Roosevelt appointed three associate justices of the Supreme Court.[19] Roosevelt's first appointment, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. had served as chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court since 1899 and had earned notoriety within legal circles for his moral skepticism and deference to elected officials. Confirmed in December 1902, Holmes served on the Supreme Court until 1932.[20] Roosevelt's second appointment, former Secretary of State William R. Day, became a reliable vote for Roosevelt's anti-trust prosecutions and remained on the court from 1903 to 1922.[21] In 1906, after considering Democratic appellate judge Horace Harmon Lurton for a Supreme Court vacancy, Roosevelt instead appointed Attorney General William Moody.[22] Moody served on the court until health problems forced his retirement in 1910.
Roosevelt also appointed 71 other federal judges: 18 to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 53 to the United States district courts.
Domestic policy [ edit ]
Progressivism [ edit ]
Determined to create what he called a "Square Deal" between business and labor, Roosevelt pushed several pieces of progressive legislation through Congress. Progressivism was among the most powerful political forces of the day, and Roosevelt was its most articulate spokesperson. Progressivism had dual aspects. First, progressivism promoted use of science, engineering, technology, and social sciences to address the nation's problems, and identify ways to eliminate waste and inefficiency and promote modernization.[23] Those promoting progressivism also campaigned against corruption among political machines, labor unions, and trusts of new, large corporations, which emerged at the turn of the century.[24] In describing Roosevelt's priorities and characteristics as president, historian G. Warren Chessman noted Roosevelt's
insistence upon the public responsibility of large corporations; publicity as a first remedy for trusts; regulation of railroad rates; mediation of the conflict of capital and labor; conservation of natural resources; and protection of the less fortunate members of society.[25]
Trust busting and regulation [ edit ]
In the late-nineteenth century, several large businesses, including Standard Oil, had either bought their rivals or had established business arrangements that effectively stifled competition. Many companies followed the model of Standard Oil, which organized itself as a trust in which several component corporations were controlled by one board of directors. While Congress had passed the 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act to provide some federal regulation of trusts, the Supreme Court had limited the power of the act in the case of United States v. E. C. Knight Co..[26] By 1902, the 100 largest corporations held control of 40 percent of industrial capital in the United States. Roosevelt did not oppose all trusts, but sought to regulate trusts that he believed harmed the public, which he labeled as "bad trusts."
First term [ edit ]
Upon taking office, Roosevelt proposed federal regulations of trusts. As the states had not prevented the growth of what he viewed as harmful trusts, Roosevelt advocated the creation of Cabinet department designed to regulate corporations engaged in interstate commerce. He also favored amending the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, which had failed to prevent the consolidation of railroads. In February 1902, the Justice Department announced that it would file an antitrust suit against the Northern Securities Company, a railroad holding company that had been formed in 1901 by J. P. Morgan, James J. Hill, and E. H. Harriman. As the Justice Department lacked an anti-trust division, Attorney General Knox, a former corporate lawyer, personally led the suit. While the case was working its way through court, Knox filed another case against the "Beef Trust," which had become unpopular due to rising meat prices. Combined with his earlier rhetoric, the suits signaled Roosevelt's resolve to strengthen the federal regulation of trusts.
After the 1902 elections, Roosevelt called for a ban on railroad rebates to large industrial concerns, as well as for the creation of a Bureau of Corporations to study and report on monopolistic practices.[32] To pass his anti-trust package through Congress, Roosevelt appealed directly to the people, casting the legislation as a blow against the malevolent power of Standard Oil. Roosevelt's campaign proved successful, and he won congressional approval of the creation of the Department of Commerce and Labor, which included the Bureau of Corporations.[33] The Bureau of Corporations was designed to monitor and report on anti-competitive practices; Roosevelt believed that large companies would be less likely to engage in anti-competitive practices if such practices were publicized. At Knox's request, Congress also authorized the creation of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. Roosevelt also won passage of the Elkins Act, which restricted the granting of railroad rebates.
In March 1904, the Supreme Court ruled for the government in the case of Northern Securities Co. v. United States. According to historian Michael McGerr, the case represented the federal government's first victorious prosecution of a "single, tightly integrated interstate corporation."[35] The following year, the administration won another major victory in Swift and Company v. United States, which broke up the Beef Trust. The evidence at trial demonstrated that, prior to 1902, the "Big Six" leading meatpackers had engaged in a conspiracy to fix prices and divide the market for livestock and meat in their quest for higher prices and higher profits. They blacklisted competitors who failed to go along, used false bids, and accepted rebates from the railroads. After they were hit with federal injunctions in 1902, the Big Six had merged into one company, allowing them to continue to control the trade internally. Speaking for the unanimous court, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. held that interstate commerce included actions that were part of the chain where the chain was clearly interstate in character. In this case, the chain ran from farm to retail store and crossed many state lines.[36]
Second term [ edit ]
Following his re-election, Roosevelt sought to quickly enact a bold legislative agenda, focusing especially on legislation that would build upon the regulatory accomplishments of his first term. Events during his first term had convinced Roosevelt that legislation enacting additional federal regulation of interstate commerce was necessary, as the states were incapable of regulating large trusts that operated across state lines and the overworked Department of Justice was unable to provide an adequate check on monopolistic practices through anti-trust cases alone. Roused by reports in McClure's Magazine, many Americans joined Roosevelt in calling for an enhancement to the Elkins Act, which had done relatively little to restrict the granting of railroad rebates.[38] Roosevelt also sought to strengthen the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which had been created in 1887 to regulate railroads. Roosevelt's call for regulatory legislation, published in his 1905 message to Congress, encountered strong opposition from business interests and conservative congressmen.[39]
When Congress reconvened in late 1905, Roosevelt asked Senator Jonathan P. Dolliver of Iowa to introduce a bill that would incorporate Roosevelt's railroad regulatory proposals, and set about mobilizing public and congressional support for the bill. The bill was also taken up in the House, where it became known as the Hepburn Bill, named after Congressman William Peters Hepburn.[40] While the bill passed the House with relative ease, the Senate, dominated by conservative Republicans like Nelson Aldrich, posed a greater challenge.[41] Seeking to defeat reform efforts, Aldrich arranged it so that Democrat Benjamin Tillman, a Southern senator who Roosevelt despised, was left in charge of the bill. Because railroad regulation was widely popular, opponents of the Hepburn Bill focused on the role of courts in reviewing the ICC's rate-setting. Roosevelt and progressives wanted to limit judicial review to issues of procedural fairness, while conservatives favored "broad review" that would allow judges to determine whether the rates themselves were fair.
After Roosevelt and Tillman were unable to assemble a bipartisan majority behind a bill that restricted judicial review, Roosevelt accepted an amendment written by Senator Allison that contained vague language allowing for court review of the ICC's rate-setting power. With the inclusion of the Allison amendment, the Senate passed the Hepburn Bill in a 71-to-3 vote. After both houses of Congress passed a uniform law, Roosevelt signed the Hepburn Act into law on June 29, 1906. In addition to rate-setting, the Hepburn Act also granted the ICC regulatory power over pipeline fees, storage contracts, and several other aspects of railroad operations.[45] Though some conservatives believed that the Allison amendment had granted broad review powers to the courts, a subsequent Supreme Court case limited judicial power to review the ICC's rate-setting powers.
In response to public clamor largely arising from the popularity of Upton Sinclair's novel, The Jungle, Roosevelt also pushed Congress to enact food safety regulations. Opposition to a meat inspection bill was strongest in the House, due to the presence of conservative Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon and allies of the meatpacking industry. Roosevelt and Cannon agreed to a compromise bill that became the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. Congress simultaneously passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, which received strong support in both the House and the Senate. Collectively, the laws provided for the labeling of foods and drugs and the inspection of livestock, and mandated sanitary conditions at meatpacking plants.[48]
Seeking to bolster anti-trust regulations, Roosevelt and his allies introduced a bill to enhance the Sherman Act in 1908, but it was defeated in Congress. In the aftermath of a series of scandals involving major insurance companies, Roosevelt sought to establish a National Bureau of Insurance to provide federal regulation, but this proposal was also defeated.[50] Roosevelt continued to launch anti-trust suits in his second term, and a suit against Standard Oil in 1906 would lead to that company's break-up in 1911.[51] In addition to the anti-trust suits and major regulatory reform efforts, the Roosevelt administration also won the cooperation of many large trusts, who consented to regulation by the Bureau of Corporations. Among the companies that voluntarily agreed to regulation was U.S. Steel, which avoided an antitrust suit by allowing the Bureau of Corporations to investigate its operations.[53]
Conservation [ edit ]
A political cartoon describing Roosevelt as "a practical forester"
Roosevelt was a prominent conservationist, putting the issue high on the national agenda.[54] Roosevelt's conservation efforts were aimed not just at environment protection, but also at ensuring that society as a whole, rather than just select individuals or companies, benefited from the country's natural resources.[55] His key adviser and subordinate on environmental matters was Gifford Pinchot, the head of the Bureau of Forestry. Roosevelt increased Pinchot's power over environmental issues by transferring control over national forests from the Department of the Interior to the Bureau of Forestry, which was part of the Agriculture Department. Pinchot's agency was renamed to the United States Forest Service, and Pinchot presided over the implementation of assertive conservationist policies in national forests.
Roosevelt encouraged the Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902, which promoted federal construction of dams to irrigate small farms and placed 230 million acres (360,000 mi² or 930,000 km²) under federal protection. In 1906, Congress passed the Antiquities Act, granting the president the power to create national monuments in federal lands. Roosevelt set aside more federal land, national parks, and nature preserves than all of his predecessors combined.[57][58] Roosevelt established the Inland Waterways Commission to coordinate construction of water projects for both conservation and transportation purposes, and in 1908 he hosted the Conference of Governors to boost support for conservation.[b] After the conference, Roosevelt established the National Conservation Commission to take an inventory of the nation's natural resources.[60]
Roosevelt's policies faced opposition from both environmental activists like John Muir and opponents of conservation like Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado.[61] While Muir, the founder of the Sierra Club, wanted nature preserved for the sake of pure beauty, Roosevelt subscribed to Pinchot's formulation, "to make the forest produce the largest amount of whatever crop or service will be most useful, and keep on producing it for generation after generation of men and trees." [62] Teller and other opponents of conservation, meanwhile, believed that conservation would prevent the economic development of the West and feared the centralization of power in Washington. The backlash to Roosevelt's ambitious policies prevented further conservation efforts in the final years of Roosevelt's presidency and would later contribute to the Pinchot–Ballinger controversy during the Taft administration.[63]
Labor relations [ edit ]
"The Washington Schoolmaster," An editorial cartoon about the Coal strike of 1902, by Charles Lederer
Roosevelt was generally reluctant to involve himself in labor-management disputes, but he believed that presidential intervention was justified when such disputes threatened the public interest.[64] Labor union membership had doubled in the five years preceding Roosevelt's inauguration, and at the time of his accession, Roosevelt saw labor unrest as the greatest potential threat facing the nation. Yet he also sympathized with many laborers due to the harsh conditions that many faced.[65] Resisting the more extensive reforms proposed by labor leaders such as Samuel Gompers of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), Roosevelt established the open shop as the official policy civil service employees.[66]
In 1899, the United Mine Workers (UMW) had expanded its influence from bituminous coal mines to anthracite coal mines. The UMW organized an anthracite coal strike in May 1902, seeking an eight-hour day and pay increases. Hoping to reach a negotiated solution with the help of Mark Hanna's National Civic Federation, UMW president John Mitchell prevented bituminous coal miners from launching a sympathy strike. The mine owners, who wanted to crush the UMW, refused to negotiate, and the strike continued. In the ensuing months, the price of coal increased from five dollars per ton to above fifteen dollars per ton. Seeking to help the two parties arrive at a solution, Roosevelt hosted the UMW leaders and mine operators at the White House in October 1902, but the mine owners refused to negotiate. Through the efforts of Roosevelt, Root, and J.P. Morgan, the mine operators agreed to the establishment of a presidential commission to propose a solution to the strike. In March 1903, the commission mandated pay increases and a reduction in the work day from ten hours to nine hours. At the insistence of the mine owners, the UMW was not granted official recognition as the representative of the miners.[67]
Roosevelt refrained from major interventions in labor disputes after 1902, but state and federal courts increasingly became involved, issuing injunctions to prevent labor actions.[68] Tensions were particularly high in Colorado, where the Western Federation of Miners led a series of strikes that became part of a struggle known as the Colorado Labor Wars. Roosevelt did not intervene in the Colorado Labor Wars, but Governor James Hamilton Peabody dispatched the Colorado National Guard to crush the strikes. In 1905, radical union leaders like Mary Harris Jones and Eugene V. Debs established the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), which criticized the conciliatory policies of the AFL.[69]
Civil rights [ edit ]
Although Roosevelt did some work improving race relations, he, like most leaders of the Progressive Era, lacked initiative on most racial issues. Booker T. Washington, the most important black leader of the day, was the first African American to be invited to dinner at the White House, dining there on October 16, 1901.[70] Washington, who had emerged as an important adviser to Republican politicians in the 1890s, favored accommodation with the Jim Crow laws that instituted racial segregation.[71] News of the dinner reached the press two days later, and public outcry from whites was so strong, especially from the Southern states, that Roosevelt never repeated the experiment.[70] Nonetheless, Roosevelt continued to consult Washington regarding appointments and shunned the "lily-white" Southern Republicans who favored excluding blacks from office.[citation needed]
After the dinner with Washington, Roosevelt continued to speak out against lynchings, but did little to advance the cause of African-American civil rights.[72] In 1906, he approved the dishonorable discharges of three companies of black soldiers who all refused his direct order to testify regarding their actions during a violent episode in Brownsville, Texas, known as the Brownsville Raid. Roosevelt was widely criticized by contemporary newspapers for the discharges, and Senator Joseph B. Foraker won passage of a congressional resolution directing the administration to turn over all documents related to the case.[73] The controversy hung over the remainder of his presidency, although the Senate eventually concluded that the dismissals had been justified.[74]
Panic of 1907 [ edit ]
In 1907, Roosevelt faced the greatest domestic economic crisis since the Panic of 1893. The U.S. stock market entered a slump in early 1907, and many in the financial markets blamed Roosevelt's regulatory policies for the decline in stock prices.[75] Lacking a strong central central banking system, the government was unable to coordinate response to the economic downturn. The slump reached a full-blown panic in October 1907, when two investors failed to take over United Copper. Working with Secretary of the Treasury Cortelyou, financier J.P. Morgan organized a group of businessmen to avert a crash by pledging their own money. Roosevelt aided Morgan's intervention by allowing U.S. Steel to acquire the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company despite anti-trust concerns, and by authorizing Cortelyou to raise bonds and commit federal funds to the banks.[77] Roosevelt's reputation in Wall Street fell to new lows following the panic, but the president remained broadly popular.[78] In the aftermath of the panic, most congressional leaders agreed on the need to reform the nation's financial system. With the support of Roosevelt, Senator Aldrich introduced a bill to allow National Banks to issue emergency currency, but his proposal was defeated by Democrats and progressive Republicans who believed that it was overly favorable to Wall Street. Congress instead passed the Aldrich–Vreeland Act, which created the National Monetary Commission to study the nation's banking system; the commission's recommendations would later form the basis of the Federal Reserve System.
Tariffs [ edit ]
Many Republicans viewed the tariff as the key plank of their economic policy in the aftermath of the Panic of 1893. The tariff protected domestic manufacturing against foreign competition, and was also a major source of government funding, constituting over one-third of federal revenue in 1901. McKinley had been a committed protectionist, and the Dingley Tariff of 1897 represented a major increase in tariff rates. McKinley also negotiated bilateral reciprocity treaties with France, Argentina, and other countries in an attempt to expand foreign trade while still keeping overall tariff rates high. Unlike McKinley and other nineteenth-century Republican presidents, Roosevelt had never been a strong advocate of the protective tariff, nor did he place a high emphasis on tariffs in general. When Roosevelt took office, McKinley's reciprocity treaties were pending before the Senate, and many assumed that they would be ratified despite the opposition of Aldrich and other conservatives. After conferring with Aldrich, Roosevelt decided not to push Senate ratification of the treaties in order to avoid an intra-party conflict. He did, however, successfully pressure Congress to ratify reciprocal tariff treaties with the Philippines and, after overcoming domestic sugar interests, with Cuba.
The issue of the tariff lay dormant throughout Roosevelt's first term, but it continued to be an important campaign topic for both parties. Proponents of tariff reduction asked Roosevelt to call a special session of Congress to address the issue in early 1905, but Roosevelt was only willing to issue a cautious endorsement of a cut in tariff rates, and no further action was taken on the tariff during Roosevelt's tenure. In the first decade of the 20th century, the country experienced a period of sustained inflation for the first time since the early 1870s, and Democrats and other free trade advocates blamed rising prices on high tariff rates. Tariff reduction became an increasingly important national issue, and Congress would pass a major tariff law in 1909, shortly after Roosevelt left office.
Radical shift, 1907–09 [ edit ]
In his waning days in office, Roosevelt proposed numerous reforms
Growing popular outrage at corporate scandals, along with reporting of journalists like Lincoln Steffens and Ida Tarbell, contributed to a split in the Republican Party between conservatives like Aldrich and progressives like Albert B. Cummins and Robert M. La Follette. Roosevelt did not fully embrace the left wing of his party, but he adopted many of their proposals. In his last two years in office, Roosevelt abandoned his cautious approach toward big business, lambasting his conservative critics and calling on Congress to enact a series of radical new laws.[91] Roosevelt sought to replace the 19th-century laissez-faire economic environment with a new economic model which included a larger regulatory role for the federal government. He believed that 19th-century entrepreneurs had risked their fortunes on innovations and new businesses, and that these capitalists had been rightly rewarded. By contrast, he believed that 20th-century capitalists risked little but nonetheless reaped huge and unjust, economic rewards. Without a redistribution of wealth away from the upper class, Roosevelt feared that the country would turn to radicalism or fall to revolution.[92]
In January 1908, Roosevelt sent a special message to Congress, calling for the restoration of an employer's liability law, which had recently been struck down by the Supreme Court due to its application to intrastate corporations.[93] He also called for a national incorporation law (all corporations had state charters, which varied greatly state by state), a federal income tax and inheritance tax (both targeted at the rich), limits on the use of court injunctions against labor unions during strikes (injunctions were a powerful weapon that mostly helped business), an eight-hour work day for federal employees, a postal savings system (to provide competition for local banks), and legislation barring corporations from contributing to political campaigns.[94]
Roosevelt's increasingly radical stance proved popular in the Midwest and Pacific Coast, and among farmers, teachers, clergymen, clerical workers and some proprietors, but appeared as divisive and unnecessary to eastern Republicans, corporate executives, lawyers, party workers, and many members of Congress.[96] Populist Democrats such as William Jennings Bryan expressed admiration for Roosevelt's message, and one Southern newspaper called for Roosevelt to run as a Democrat in 1908, with Bryan as his running mate.[97] Despite the public support offered by Democratic congressional leaders like John Sharp Williams, Roosevelt never seriously considered leaving the Republican Party during his presidency. Roosevelt's move to the left was supported by some congressional Republicans and many in the public, but conservative Republicans such as Senator Nelson Aldrich and Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon remained in control of Congress.[99] These Republican leaders blocked the more ambitious aspects of Roosevelt's agenda,[100] though Roosevelt won passage of a new Federal Employers Liability Act and other laws, such as a restriction of child labor in Washington, D.C.[99]
States admitted [ edit ]
One new state, Oklahoma, was admitted to the Union while Roosevelt was in office. Oklahoma, which was formed out of Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory, became the 46th state on November 16, 1907. Congress had established the Indian Territory after several Native American tribes had been relocated to the area following the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Congress had created Oklahoma Territory in 1890 out of a portion of Indian Territory, opening up the region to settlement by whites.[101] Native American leaders in the Indian Territory sought to create the State of Sequoyah, but their efforts were defeated in Congress. At Roosevelt's suggestion, Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory were combined to form one state under the Oklahoma Enabling Act. The act also contained provisions encouraging New Mexico Territory and Arizona Territory to begin the process of gaining admission as states.[citation needed]
Foreign policy [ edit ]
Great power politics [ edit ]
Victory in the Spanish–American War had made the United States a power in both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and Roosevelt was determined to continue the expansion of U.S. influence. Reflecting this view, Roosevelt stated in 1905, "We have become a great nation, forced by the face of its greatness into relations with the other nations of the earth, and we must behave as beseems a people with such responsibilities." Roosevelt believed that the United States had a duty to uphold a balance of power in international relations and seek to reduce tensions among the great powers. He was also adamant in upholding the Monroe Doctrine, the American policy of opposing European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. Roosevelt viewed the German Empire as the biggest potential threat to the United States, and he feared that the Germans would attempt to establish a base in the Caribbean Sea. Given this fear, Roosevelt pursued closer relations with Britain, a rival of Germany, and responded skeptically to German Kaiser Wilhelm II's efforts to curry favor with the United States. Roosevelt also attempted to expand U.S. influence in East Asia and the Pacific, where the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire exercised considerable authority. One important aspect of Roosevelt's strategy in East Asia was the Open Door Policy, which called for keeping China open to trade from all countries.
Aftermath of the Spanish–American War [ edit ]
The United States and its colonial possessions when Roosevelt entered office
Philippines [ edit ]
Roosevelt inherited a country torn by debate over the territories acquired in the Spanish–American War. Roosevelt believed that Cuba should be quickly granted independence and that Puerto Rico should remain a semi-autonomous possession under the terms of the Foraker Act. He wanted U.S. forces to remain in the Philippines to establish a stable, democratic government, even in the face of an insurrection led by Emilio Aguinaldo. Roosevelt feared that a quick U.S. withdrawal would lead to instability in the Philippines or an intervention by a major power such as Germany or Japan.[107]
The Filipino insurrection largely ended with the capture of Miguel Malvar in 1902.[108] In remote Southern areas, the Muslim Moros resisted American rule in an ongoing conflict known as the Moro Rebellion,[109] but elsewhere the insurgents came to accept American rule. Roosevelt continued the McKinley policies of removing the Catholic friars (with compensation to the Pope), upgrading the infrastructure, introducing public health programs, and launching a program of economic and social modernization. The enthusiasm shown in 1898-99 for colonies cooled off, and Roosevelt saw the islands as "our heel of Achilles." He told Taft in 1907, "I should be glad to see the islands made independent, with perhaps some kind of international guarantee for the preservation of order, or with some warning on our part that if they did not keep order we would have to interfere again."[110] By then the president and his foreign policy advisers turned away from Asian issues to concentrate on Latin America, and Roosevelt redirected Philippine policy to prepare the islands to become the first Western colony in Asia to achieve self-government.[111] Though most Filipino leaders favored independence, some minority groups, especially the Chinese who controlled much of local business, wanted to stay under American rule indefinitely.[112]
The Philippines was a major target for the progressive reformers. A report to Secretary of War Taft provided a summary of what the American civil administration had achieved. It included, in addition to the rapid building of a public school system based on English teaching:
steel and concrete wharves at the newly renovated Port of Manila; dredging the River Pasig,; streamlining of the Insular Government; accurate, intelligible accounting; the construction of a telegraph and cable communications network; the establishment of a postal savings bank; large-scale road-and bridge-building; impartial and incorrupt policing; well-financed civil engineering; the conservation of old Spanish architecture; large public parks; a bidding process for the right to build railways; Corporation law; and a coastal and geological survey.[113]
Cuba [ edit ]
While the Philippines would remain under U.S. control until 1946, Cuba gained independence in 1902.[114] The Platt Amendment, passed during the final year of McKinley's tenure, made Cuba a de facto protectorate of the United States.[115] Roosevelt won congressional approval for a reciprocity agreement with Cuba in December 1902, thereby lowering tariffs on trade between the two countries.[116] In 1906, an insurrection erupted against Cuban President Tomás Estrada Palma due to the latter's alleged electoral fraud. Both Estrada Palma and his liberal opponents called for an intervention by the U.S., but Roosevelt was reluctant to intervene.[117] When Estrada Palma and his Cabinet resigned, Secretary of War Taft declared that the U.S. would intervene under the terms of the Platt Amendment, beginning the Second Occupation of Cuba.[118] U.S. forces restored peace to the island, and the occupation ceased shortly before the end of Roosevelt's presidency.[119]
Puerto Rico [ edit ]
Puerto Rico had been something of an afterthought during the Spanish–American War, but it assumed importance due to its strategic position in the Caribbean Sea. The island provided an ideal naval base for defense of the Panama Canal, and it also served as an economic and political link to the rest of Latin America. Prevailing racist attitudes made Puerto Rican statehood unlikely, so the U.S. carved out a new political status for the island. The Foraker Act and subsequent Supreme Court cases established Puerto Rico as the first unincorporated territory, meaning that the United States Constitution would not fully apply to Puerto Rico. Though the U.S. imposed tariffs on most Puerto Rican imports, it also invested in the island's infrastructure and education system. Nationalist sentiment remained strong on the island and Puerto Ricans continued to primarily speak Spanish rather than English.[120]
Military reforms [ edit ]
A political cartoonists' commentary on Roosevelt's "big stick" policy
Roosevelt placed an emphasis on expanding and reforming the United States military. The United States Army, with 39,000 men in 1890, was the smallest and least powerful army of any major power in the late 19th century. By contrast, France's army consisted of 542,000 soldiers.[122] The Spanish–American War had been fought mostly by temporary volunteers and state national guard units, and it demonstrated that more effective control over the department and bureaus was necessary.[123] Roosevelt gave strong support to the reforms proposed by Secretary of War Elihu Root, who wanted a uniformed chief of staff as general manager and a European-style general staff for planning. Overcoming opposition from General Nelson A. Miles, the Commanding General of the United States Army, Root succeeded in enlarging West Point and establishing the U.S. Army War College as well as the general staff. Root also changed the procedures for promotions, organized schools for the special branches of the service, devised the principle of rotating officers from staff to line,[124] and increased the Army's connections to the National Guard.
Upon taking office, Roosevelt made naval expansion a priority, and his tenure saw an increase in the number of ships, officers, and enlisted men in the Navy. With the publication of The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783 in 1890, Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan had been immediately hailed as an outstanding naval theorist by the leaders of Europe. Roosevelt paid very close attention to Mahan's emphasis that only a nation with a powerful fleet could dominate the world's oceans, exert its diplomacy to the fullest, and defend its own borders.[126][127] By 1904, the United States had the fifth largest navy in the world, and by 1907, it had the third largest. Roosevelt sent what he dubbed the "Great White Fleet" around the globe in 1908–1909 to make sure all the naval powers understood the United States was now a major player. Though Roosevelt's fleet did not match the overall strength of the British fleet, it became the dominant naval force in the Western Hemisphere.[128][129][130]
Rapprochement with Great Britain [ edit ]
Varying claims in Southeast Alaska before arbitration in 1903.
The Great Rapprochement between Britain and the United States had begun with British support of the United States during the Spanish–American War, and it continued as Britain withdrew its fleet from the Caribbean in favor of focusing on the rising German naval threat. Roosevelt sought a continuation of close relations with Britain in order to ensure peaceful, shared hegemony over the Western hemisphere. With the British acceptance of the Monroe Doctrine and American acceptance of the British control of Canada, only two potential major issues remained between the U.S. and Britain: the Alaska boundary dispute and construction of a canal across Central America. Under McKinley, Secretary of State Hay had negotiated the Hay–Pauncefote Treaty, in which the British consented to U.S. construction of the canal. Roosevelt won Senate ratification of the treaty in December 1901.[132]
The boundary between Alaska and Canada had become an issue in the late 1890s due to the Klondike Gold Rush, as American and Canadian prospectors in Yukon and Alaska competed for gold claims. A treaty on the border between Alaska and Canada had been reached by Britain and Russia in the 1825 Treaty of Saint Petersburg, and the United States had assumed Russian claims on the region through the 1867 Alaska Purchase. The United States argued that the treaty had given Alaska sovereignty over disputed territories which included the gold rush boom towns of Dyea and Skagway. The Venezuela Crisis briefly threatened to disrupt peaceful negotiations over the border, but conciliatory actions by the British during the crisis helped defuse any possibility of broader hostilities. In January 1903, the U.S. and Britain reached the Hay–Herbert Treaty, which would empower a six-member tribunal, composed of American, British, and Canadian delegates, to set the border between Alaska and Canada. With the help of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Roosevelt won the Senate's consent to the Hay–Herbert Treaty in February 1903. The tribunal consisted of three American delegates, two Canadian delegates, and Lord Alverstone, the lone delegate from Britain itself. Alverstone joined with the three American delegates in accepting most American claims, and the tribunal announced its decision in October 1903. The outcome of the tribunal strengthened relations between the United States and Britain, though many Canadians were outraged by the tribunal's decision.
Venezuela Crisis and Roosevelt Corollary [ edit ]
In December 1902, an Anglo-German blockade of Venezuela began an incident known as the Venezuelan Crisis. The blockade originated due to money owed by Venezuela to European creditors. Both powers assured the U.S. that they were not interested in conquering Venezuela, and Roosevelt sympathized with the European creditors, but he became suspicious that Germany would demand territorial indemnification from Venezuela. Roosevelt and Hay feared that even an allegedly temporary occupation could lead to a permanent German military presence in the Western Hemisphere. As the blockade began, Roosevelt mobilized the U.S. fleet under the command of Admiral George Dewey.[137] Roosevelt threatened to destroy the German fleet unless the Germans agreed to arbitration regarding the Venezuelan debt, and Germany chose arbitration rather than war.[138] Through American arbitration, Venezuela reached a settlement with Germany and Britain in February 1903.
Though Roosevelt would not tolerate European territorial ambitions in Latin America, he also believed that Latin American countries should pay the debts they owed to European credits.[140] In late 1904, Roosevelt announced his Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. It stated that the U.S. would intervene in the finances of unstable Caribbean and Central American countries if they defaulted on their debts to European creditors and, in effect, guarantee their debts, making it unnecessary for European powers to intervene to collect unpaid debts. Roosevelt's pronouncement was especially meant as a warning to Germany, and had the result of promoting peace in the region, as the Germans decided to not intervene directly in Venezuela and in other countries.[141]
A crisis in the Dominican Republic became the first test case for the Roosevelt Corollary. Deeply in debt, the nation struggled to repay its European creditors. Fearing another intervention by Germany and Britain, Roosevelt reached an agreement with Dominican President Carlos Felipe Morales to take temporary control of the Dominican economy, much as the U.S. had done on a permanent basis in Puerto Rico. The U.S. took control of the Dominican customs house, brought in economists such as Jacob Hollander to restructure the economy, and ensured a steady flow of revenue to the Dominican Republic's foreign creditors. The intervention stabilized the political and economic situation in the Dominican Republic, and the U.S. role on the island would serve as a model for Taft's dollar diplomacy in the years after Roosevelt left office.[142]
Panama Canal [ edit ]
Roosevelt regarded the Panama Canal as one of his greatest achievements
Roosevelt at the controls of a steam shovel excavating Culebra Cut for the Panama Canal, 1906
Roosevelt sought the creation of a canal through Central America which would link the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Most members of Congress preferred that the canal cross through Nicaragua, which was eager to reach an agreement, but Roosevelt preferred the isthmus of Panama, under the loose control of Colombia. Colombia had been engulfed in a civil war since 1898, and a previous attempt to build a canal across Panama had failed under the leadership of Ferdinand de Lesseps. A presidential commission appointed by McKinley had recommended the construction of the canal across Nicaragua, but it noted that a canal across Panama could prove less expensive and might be completed more quickly.[143] Roosevelt and most of his advisers favored the Panama Canal, as they believed that war with a European power, possibly Germany, could soon break out over the Monroe Doctrine and the U.S. fleet would remain divided between the two oceans until the canal was completed.[144] After a long debate, Congress passed the Spooner Act of 1902, which granted Roosevelt $170 million to build the Panama Canal.[145] Following the passage of the Spooner Act, the Roosevelt administration began negotiations with the Colombian government regarding the construction of a canal through Panama.[144]
The U.S. and Colombia signed the Hay–Herrán Treaty in January 1903, granting the U.S. a lease across the isthmus of Panama.[144] The Colombian Senate refused to ratify the treaty, and attached amendments calling for more money from the U.S. and greater Colombian control over the canal zone.[146] Panamanian rebel leaders, long eager to break off from Colombia, appealed to the United States for military aid.[147] Roosevelt saw the leader of Columbia, José Manuel Marroquín, as a corrupt and irresponsible autocrat, and he believed that the Colombians had acted in bad faith by reaching and then rejecting the treaty. After an insurrection broke out in Panama, Roosevelt dispatched the USS Nashville to prevent the Colombian government from landing soldiers in Panama, and Colombia was unable to re-establish control over the province.[149] Shortly after Panama declared its independence in November 1903, the U.S. recognized Panama as an independent nation and began negotiations regarding construction of the canal. According to Roosevelt biographer Edmund Morris, most other Latin American nations welcomed the prospect of the new canal in hopes of increased economic activity, but anti-imperialists in the U.S. raged against Roosevelt's aid to the Panamanian separatists.[150]
Secretary of State Hay and French diplomat Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla, who represented the Panamanian government, quickly negotiated the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty. Signed on November 18, 1903, it established the Panama Canal Zone—over which the United States would exercise sovereignty—and insured the construction of an Atlantic to Pacific ship canal across the Isthmus of Panama. Panama sold the Canal Zone (consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending five miles (8.0 km) on each side of the centerline) to the United States for $10 million and a steadily increasing yearly sum.[151] In February 1904, Roosevelt won Senate ratification of the treaty in a 66-to-14 vote.[152] The Isthmian Canal Commission, supervised by Secretary of War Taft, was established to govern the zone and oversee the construction of the canal.[153] Roosevelt appointed George Whitefield Davis as the first governor of the Panama Canal Zone and John Findley Wallace as the Chief Engineer of the canal project. When Wallace resigned in 1905, Roosevelt appointed John Frank Stevens, who built a railroad in the canal zone and initiated the construction of a lock canal. Stevens was replaced in 1907 by George Washington Goethals, who saw construction through to its completion.[155] Roosevelt traveled to Panama in November 1906 to inspect progress on the canal, becoming the first sitting president to travel outside of the United States.[156]
East Asia [ edit ]
Russo-Japanese War [ edit ]
Russia had occupied the Chinese region of Manchuria in the aftermath of the 1900 Boxer Rebellion, and the United States, Japan, and Britain all sought the end of its military presence in the region. Russia agreed to withdrawal its forces in 1902, but it reneged on this promise and sought to expand its influence in Manchuria to the detriment of the other powers. Roosevelt was unwilling to consider using the military to intervene in the far-flung region, but Japan prepared for war against Russia in order to remove it from Manchuria. When the Russo-Japanese War broke out in February 1904, Roosevelt sympathized with the Japanese but sought to act as a mediator in the conflict. He hoped to uphold the Open Door policy in China and prevent either country from emerging as the dominant power in East Asia. Throughout 1904, both Japan and Russia expected to win the war, but the Japanese gained a decisive advantage after capturing the Russian naval base at Port Arthur in January 1905. In mid-1905, Roosevelt persuaded the parties to meet in a peace conference in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, starting on August 5. His persistent and effective mediation led to the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth on September 5, ending the war. For his efforts, Roosevelt was awarded the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize.[161] The Treaty of Portsmouth resulted in the removal of Russian troops from Manchuria, and it gave Japan control of Korea and the southern half of Sakhalin Island.
Relations with Japan [ edit ]
Roosevelt saw Japan as the rising power in Asia, in terms of military strength and economic modernization. He viewed Korea as a backward nation and did not object to Japan's attempt to gain control over Korea. With the withdrawal of the American legation from Seoul and the refusal of the Secretary of State to receive a Korean protest mission, the Americans signaled they would not intervene militarily to stop Japan's planned takeover of Korea.[163] In mid-1905, Taft and Japanese Prime Minister Katsura Tarō jointly produced the Taft–Katsura agreement. During the discussion, Japan stated that it had no interest in the Philippines, while the U.S. stated that it considered Korea to be part of the Japanese sphere of influence.[164]
Vituperative anti-Japanese sentiment among Americans, especially on the West Coast, soured relations during the latter half of Roosevelt's term.[165] In 1906, the San Francisco Board of Education caused a diplomatic incident by ordering the segregation of all schoolchildren in the city.[166] The Roosevelt administration did not want to anger Japan by passing legislation to bar Japanese immigration to the U.S., as had previously been done for Chinese immigration. Instead the two countries, led by Secretary of State Elihu Root and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Tadasu, reached the informal Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907. The agreement banned emigration of Japanese laborers to the U.S. and Hawaii, while also ending the segregation order of the San Francisco School Board, which had humiliated and angered the Japanese. The agreements remained in effect until the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924, in which Congress forbade all immigration from Japan.[167][168] Despite the agreement, tensions with Japan would continue to simmer due to the treatment of Japanese immigrants by local governments in the United States. Roosevelt never feared imminent war with the Japanese during his tenure, but the friction with Japan encouraged further naval build-up and an increased focus on the security of the American position in the Pacific.[169]
Algeciras Conference [ edit ]
In 1906, at the request of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Roosevelt convinced France to attend the Algeciras Conference as part of an effort to resolve the First Moroccan Crisis. After signing the Entente Cordiale with Britain, France had sought to assert its dominance over Morocco, and a crisis had begun after Germany protested this move. By asking Roosevelt to convene an international conference on Morocco, Kaiser Wilhelm II sought to test the new Anglo-British alliance, check French expansion, and potentially draw the United States into an alliance against France and Britain. Senator Augustus Octavius Bacon protested U.S. involvement in European affairs, but Secretary of State Root and administration allies like Senator Lodge helped defeat Bacon's resolution condemning U.S. participation in the Algeciras Conference. The conference was held in the city of Algeciras, Spain, and 13 nations attended. The key issue was control of the police forces in the Moroccan cities, and Germany, with a weak diplomatic delegation, found itself in a decided minority. Hoping to avoid an expansion of German power in North Africa, Roosevelt secretly supported France, and he cooperated closely with the French ambassador. An agreement among the powers, reached on April 7, 1906, slightly reduced French influence by reaffirming the independence of the Sultan of Morocco and the economic independence and freedom of operations of all European powers within the country. Germany gained nothing of importance but was mollified and stopped threatening war.[172]
Elections [ edit ]
Election of 1904 [ edit ]
1904 electoral college results
Before and during his presidency, Roosevelt built up a strong following within the Republican Party, but his re-nomination in 1904 was far from certain at the end of 1901. Many expected Senator Mark Hanna, a confidante of former President McKinley, to win the party's 1904 presidential nomination.[174] Support for Hanna was especially strong among conservative businessmen who opposed many of Roosevelt's policies,[175] though Hanna lacked his own national organization, and even in his home state he was opposed by influential Senator Joseph Foraker. Hanna and another prominent party leader, Matthew Quay of Pennsylvania, both died in 1904. Other potential rivals for the 1904 Republican presidential nomination, including Leslie Shaw and Charles W. Fairbanks, failed to galvanize support for their candidacies. At the 1904 Republican National Convention, Roosevelt secured his own nomination, but his preferred vice-presidential running mate, Robert R. Hitt, was not nominated. Senator Fairbanks, a favorite of conservatives, gained the vice-presidential nomination.
The Democratic Party's presidential nominee in 1904 was Alton B. Parker, the chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals. Democratic leaders hoped that Parker, whose political positions were largely unknown, would be able unify the populist followers of William Jennings Bryan with the conservative supporters of former President Grover Cleveland. Parker was unable to unite the party, and many Democrats supported Roosevelt.[179] Democrats alleged that the Republican campaign extorted large contributions from corporations, but these allegations had little impact on the election. As Parker moved his party in a conservative direction, Republicans performed well among progressives and centrists. Roosevelt won 56% of the popular vote while Parker received 38% of the popular; Roosevelt also won the electoral vote 336 to 140. Roosevelt's victory made him first president to be elected to a full term of his own after having succeeded to the presidency upon the death of a predecessor. His popular vote margin of 18.8% was the largest margin in U.S. history until the 1920 presidential election. On election night, as it became clear that he had won in a landslide, Roosevelt pledged not to run for a third term.
Election of 1908 and transition [ edit ]
Republican William Howard Taft defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the 1908 election
Roosevelt had mixed feelings about a third term, as he enjoyed being president and was still relatively youthful, but felt that a limited number of terms provided a check against dictatorship. Roosevelt ultimately decided to stick to his 1904 pledge not to run for a third term, and he threw his support behind a successor so as to avoid a potential pro-Roosevelt delegate stampede at the 1908 Republican National Convention. Roosevelt personally favored Secretary of State Elihu Root, but Root's ill health made him an unsuitable candidate. New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes loomed as potentially strong candidate and shared Roosevelt's progressivism, but Roosevelt disliked him and considered him to be too independent. Instead, Roosevelt settled on his Secretary of War, William Howard Taft, who had ably served under Presidents Harrison, McKinley, and Roosevelt in various positions. Roosevelt and Taft had been friends since 1890, and Taft had consistently supported President Roosevelt's policies. Many conservatives wanted to re-take leadership of the party from the progressive Roosevelt. Senator Joseph Foraker, who like Taft was from Ohio, briefly emerged as the main conservative candidate for the GOP nomination.[186] However, Taft defeated Foraker's attempt to win control of the Ohio Republican Party, and entered the convention as the strong favorite over Foraker, Hughes, and Senator Philander Knox.[187]
At the 1908 Republican convention, many chanted for "four years more" of a Roosevelt presidency, but Taft won the nomination after Roosevelt's close friend, Henry Cabot Lodge, made it clear that Roosevelt was not interested in a third term. In a speech accepting the Republican nomination, Taft promised to continue the policies of Roosevelt, but as the campaign progressed he minimized his reliance on Roosevelt, and did not ask the president to publicly campaign for him.[189] The Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan, who had been the party's presidential candidate in 1896 and 1900. Bryan, a populist Democrat widely regarded as a strong speaker, thought that Taft was a weak candidate and hoped that the public would tire of the Republican leadership the country had experienced since the 1896 election.[190] The platforms of the two parties differed little: both called for anti-trust actions, railroad and labor regulations, and a revision of the tariff.[191] As election day approached, it became clear that Taft would retain the loyalty of Republican voters and win a wide victory over Bryan, who had failed to find a winning issue on which to campaign. Taft won 321 of the 483 electoral votes and 51.6% of the popular vote. Republicans also retained control of both houses of Congress. Roosevelt regarded the victory of his chosen successor as a vindication of his policies and presidency.[192] As he left office, Roosevelt was widely regarded as the most powerful and influential president since Abraham Lincoln.[193] Taft's decision to retain few members of Roosevelt's Cabinet alienated Roosevelt, although Roosevelt continued support his successor throughout the transition period.[194]
Historical reputation [ edit ]
Roosevelt in Pennsylvania on 26 October 1914
Roosevelt was popular as he left office, and he remained a major world figure until his death in 1919. His own contemporaries viewed his presidency as influential; former Senator William E. Chandler wrote in January 1909 that Roosevelt "changed the course of American politics. We can never go back to where we were under Hanna." After his death, Roosevelt was overshadowed by other figures, but the interest of historians and the American public in Roosevelt was reinvigorated after World War II. Historian John Morton Blum's 1954 book, The Republican Roosevelt, advanced the thesis that Roosevelt had been the first truly modern president, and many historians have argued that Roosevelt's presidency served as a model to subsequent presidents.
Historian Lewis L. Gould summarizes the consensus view of historians, stating that Roosevelt was "a strong, effective executive whose policies foreshadowed the welfare state." Gould also writes, "if Roosevelt fell short of the first rank of president, he qualified for that ambivalent rating of 'near great,' conferred upon him in the polls that historians take with each other. A 2018 poll of the American Political Science Association ranked Roosevelt as the fourth greatest president in history, after George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.[198]
Roosevelt is a hero to modern liberals for his proposals in 1907–12 that presaged the modern welfare state of the New Deal Era, and put the environment on the national agenda. Conservatives admire his "big stick" diplomacy and commitment to military values. Dalton says, "Today he is heralded as the architect of the modern presidency, as a world leader who boldly reshaped the office to meet the needs of the new century and redefined America's place in the world." However, the New Left has criticized him for his interventionist and imperialist approach to nations he considered "uncivilized". Conservatives reject his vision of the welfare state and emphasis on the superiority of government over private action.[200][201]
Notes [ edit ]
^ Roosevelt had served under Long as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1897 to 1898. ^ The Conference of Governors was the first time in United States history that the governors of the various states assembled as a group.
References [ edit ]
Works cited [ edit ] |
The holidays are about giving, and my Santa went above and beyond the call of duty. My dogs are a big and furry part of my life and it breaks my heart that there are good dogs out there without homes, warm beds and nightly cuddles. I do as much as I can, but it never feels like enough. Santa sent a local animal charity $100 which will go SO far in helping the great people there save animals that would otherwise be homeless.
There are many of us who wish we could save them all. Thanks, Santa, for giving a few more animals a shot at their forever homes. Next time I'm there dropping off donations, I'll give one of the dogs a good belly scratch for you. |
When one fiasco settles down, another begins for United Airlines — or so it seems.
On Sunday evening, a video surfaced on social media showing a man being dragged from a United plane because his trip was overbooked. This comes just weeks after United stopped two female teenagers from boarding its plane because they were wearing "form-fitting" leggings. However, they were traveling as "representatives" of the company, a United spokesperson later argued.
"Denied boarding is usually handled with a whole lot more maturity," former United Airlines parent United Continental Holdings' (UAL) Chief Executive Gordon Bethune told CNBC in an interview Monday, referring to the forced removal of the male passenger.
"[United] tries to do a professional job, but not everybody on the plane is professional," thereby creating a "scene" on Sunday evening that carried over onto social media, Bethune added. "This immature reaction disturbs us all."
The former Continental CEO, who serves on the boards of Honeywell, Sprint and formerly on Prudential Financial, said he thinks United's current chief executive, Oscar Munoz, should issue an apology for Sunday's incident and for the passengers who had to endure it. "I'm sure there will be reconciliation ... some effort to show they care about passengers," Bethune said.
"I'm sure there will be a lot of discussion [at United] about how to handle this in the future."
Shortly after Bethune's interview on CNBC, United CEO Munoz issued a statement, saying: "This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United. I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers. Our team is moving with a sense of urgency to work with the authorities and conduct our own detailed review of what happened."
But for many airlines, incidents like Sunday's come as no surprise, one social media and brand expert said.
"The thing about airlines is they have a low happiness level to begin with," Andy Swan, the founder of social media monitor LikeFolio, told CNBC in an interview on Monday. Swan said he's not sure United ever "bounces back" from public relations nightmares like this — because it's really "nothing new."
This is likely the reason why United Continental's stock hardly reacted negatively to Sunday's debacle, with shares actually up about 1 percent by Monday afternoon, Swan added.
As he monitored social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to see how the public was responding to the video of a passenger being dragged, Swan said: "You see very negative reactions, lots of negative tweets about the brand. But the thing to remember is on airlines' [stock] it almost never matters."
Unless it's a real safety issue that blows up — like when the roof tore off a Southwest Airlines (LUV) plane in 2011 — most companies don't see changes in consumer purchasing behavior based on these types of events, Swan told CNBC. And that's what Wall Street is concerned about — ticket sales and seats filled.
At the end of the day, bad brand image or not, many people are going to continue to buy their airline tickets based on metrics like the lowest price or the best arrival time, social media expert Swan said. It's not like Chipotle (CMG), for example, which has to fight to win back customers after its E. coli fiasco.
"Tomorrow we'll be talking about something else," Swan laughed.
CORRECTION: This story's headline has been updated to say a United passenger was being immature, according to former Continental CEO Bethune's interview on CNBC.
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FBI Continues To Foil Its Own Devised Terrorist Plots
from the sarcastic-golf-clap dept
Adel Daoud, 18, was arrested following a months-long FBI undercover investigation. He was taken into custody after he parked a Jeep Cherokee in front of the bar Friday night and walked into a nearby alley where he tried to detonate the device, court documents allege.
The bomb, which was inert and had been constructed by FBI technicians, didn't explode, according to federal authorities.
It seems there's a new pattern showing itself every time I read a news report in which the FBI proudly announces it foiled a terrorist plot. That pattern goes something like this: hear that a huge explosion was averted and lives were saved, find out the plotter was an American citizen, find out he was under investigation by the FBI for several years, and then finally find out that it was the FBI that egged on the suspect and built his "bomb" for him. In other words, the only way these things could become less impressive is if the FBI actually decided to quit finding these loner folks to urge into violence and just built their own physical straw man to parade in front of the cameras.This whole game of pretend law enforcement showed up at my doorstep this weekend, when the FBI announced yet another arrest of a potential terrorist , this time an 18 year old suburbanite whom the FBI (you guessed it) encouraged to try to bomb a downtown bar in Chicago.Oddly, the article notes that Daoud allegedly gave the FBI more than two dozen high profile Chicago targets to 'splode, but decided eventually on this unnamed bar instead, perhaps because they had, like, totally taken his fake ID that one time. Actually, I just made that up because I can't think of a single reason why a supposed terrorist would settle on a drinkery as their target.Now, it is true that Daoud professed his wish to participate in jihad. It is true that he attempted to set off this pseudo bomb. He does indeed sound like a disturbed kid that needs to be dealt with in some fashion. But would he have participated in any of this without the urging of the FBI?Perhaps more importantly, is foiling their own plots the best use of law enforcement in Chicago, a city that appears to be engaged in a concerted effort to have the most murders ever in a calendar year?
Filed Under: chicago, entrapment, fbi, terrorism, terrorist plots |
So I wake up this morning and as I am pilfering through the morning news I read a story on the NYTimes about how the Strauss-Kahn case is “on the verge of collapse.” Now, when the allegations came out against Strauss-Kahn I was shocked at the media’s response to the case. There were minimal stories on the background of the accuser, on what she was doing that day, on who she hung out with or the things she liked to do. She was taken seriously as someone who was REPORTING A CRIME, her credibility was not undermined by journalists “uncovering” facts about her sexuality, her situation or things of that nature.
As the media ran out of things to write about, with Strauss-Kahn awaiting his trial and the accuser silent, the NYTimes began to look into her background, and profiled her as what Jezebel termed a “Noble Savage” – a “good victim”. Now, as we can all probably remember, the NYTimes happens to have a HORRENDOUS track record when it comes to reporting on victims of rape, so perhaps type-castingStrauss-Kahn’s accuser was their attempt to showcase their journalistic abilities, which resulted in a weird stereotypical portrait of a noble immigrant.
Well folks, it seems this morning things have just got a lot worse. The crux of the article is in this paragraph, “Although forensic tests found unambiguous evidence of a sexual encounter between Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a French politician, and the woman, prosecutors now do not believe much of what the accuser has told them about the circumstances or about herself.”
So. Even though Strauss-Kahn fled the scene, even though numerous other victims are coming out and taking a stand against him, and EVEN THOUGH THERE IS FORENSIC EVIDENCE TO PROVE AN ENCOUNTER HAPPENED, now the accuser is discredited because apparently the accuser did not tell officials that she was involved with an incarcerated man. And there is more; the prosecution just got a hold of the taped conversations. Conversations where she ASKS HIM IF SHE SHOULD PRESS CHARGES – where she weighed the pros and cons of pressing charges. Wow, apparently that is enough to mar her reputation as a noble victim. Also, apparently there are “inconsistencies” about how the accuser describes her own FGM experiences. These “revelations” in my mind are laughable, however I know that this morning many people will read this article and for the first time believe that Strauss-Kahn might actually be innocent.
The thing is, the story about her attack hasn’t changed. And even if it had that shouldn’t discredit her. The fact that the NYTimes is yet again publishing alarmist calls about a rape case isn’t particularly surprising. The fact that their story unquestioningly takes the tactics that are being used to discredit people who bravely report and accuse rapists is sad, it is unjust, and it is not surprising that even police officers who admit their rape on tape are not charged. Even if the accuser was running a drug-ring out of her basement, that should not affect her being taken seriously as a victim of sexual assault.
There should not be such a thing as good victims and bad victims. All victims, all women and men, should be taken seriously when they take the difficult step of reporting sexual assault. Until we stop type-casting women, until we stop assuming that WOMEN are the case of rape and not the RAPISTS WHO RAPE THEM, and until news sources like the New York Times are held accountable for the damage that they cause every time a story like this passes an editor’s desk, we will have to keep marching as sluts, hand in hand.
**Slutwalk is coming to NYC on August 20th, 2011** |
One thing I am certain about in Washington, D.C., these days. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and its director James Comey, and the intelligence agencies, are no longer to be believed, as if they ever were.
The House Intelligence Committee, chaired by an establishment Republican, and as might regrettably be expected the self-serving and two faced establishment Republican Senator John McCain, along with Democrats bent on bringing down the Trump presidency, have demanded that the commander in chief cough up evidence by today that he and others on his staffs, both before and after the inauguration, were wiretapped by the Obama administration.
This ultimatum, coming from a congressional committee, senators and representatives which have known for a long time of the illegal and unconstitutional actions of the National Security Agency (NSA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), but covered it up, is despicable.
The bottom line is that the truth concerning these wiretaps will never be forthcoming from either the FBI, Comey, or the heads of congressional intelligence committees or the intelligence committees themselves. It will take someone in the Trump administration taking charge and “delving in with a no holds barred vengeance” with a loyal staff, perhaps Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Sessions should not and cannot recuse himself from this endeavor. Heads will need to roll!
We at Freedom Watch will also play a role through our lawsuits against the NSA, CIA, and DIA to get to the truth and seek justice, but it's high time that an uncorrupted forceful government investigation take place. Our current government outside of the White House, infested with Obama and Clinton loyalists and establishment Republicans who want to see President Trump irreparably damaged so they can run their presidential candidate against him in 2020, cannot be trusted.
They have broken away from representing the American people and now are simply in practice a “secret government” that has effectively taken over the nation for their own nefarious ends. And these ends are potentially fatal to the republic.
Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch, is known for his strong public interest advocacy in furtherance of ethics in government and individual freedoms and liberties. To read more of his reports, Go Here Now. |
poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201709/3816/1155968404_5574215224001_5574193639001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Group linked to Bannon runs tough ad against Sen. Strange before Alabama runoff
An outside group linked to Steve Bannon is venturing into the closely watched Alabama special election with a hard-hitting commercial that goes after Republican incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, as well as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Bannon’s nemesis.
The spot , from the pro-Trump organization Great America Alliance, describes Strange as a “big time lobbyist” who was “appointed by the swamp” and is “in the pocket of Mitch McConnell.”
Story Continued Below
“It’s time to drain the swamp,” the ad says. “Take your voice to Washington, and vote for someone to represent you. On Sept. 26, don’t let the swamp take over Alabama.”
The ad also features a clip of former Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley saying that he consulted with McConnell before appointing Strange to the Senate seat, which was vacated when Jeff Sessions became attorney general.
With just two weeks until the GOP runoff, Bannon has declared his support for Roy Moore, the former Alabama Supreme court chief justice, who is running as an insurgent. By backing Moore, Bannon is going up against McConnell, who is boosting Strange and has directed millions of dollars toward his campaign.
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President Donald Trump endorsed Strange last month. But he has been conspicuously silent about the race since the first round of voting on Aug. 15, when Moore finished ahead of Strange. The White House has been noncommittal on what, if anything, the president will do in support of Strange before the runoff.
The Alabama race is the first front in what Bannon has described as a broader battle against McConnell that is expected to play out in Republican primaries across the country. The bomb-throwing former Trump chief strategist has expressed an interest in supporting primary challengers to McConnell-backed incumbents in several states, including Arizona, Nevada, and Tennessee.
Bannon has taken early steps to turn Great America Alliance into an apparatus that could be used to take on incumbents. Last week, he installed his political adviser, Andrew Surabian, at the group.
Great America Alliance also plans to begin airing a pro-Moore digital advertisement that says the former judge “isn’t the D.C. swamp’s choice, but he is Alabama’s choice.”
A spokesperson for the group declined to say how much was being spent to run the commercials. Great America Alliance is also expected to air TV ads and is planning a pro-Moore bus tour in Alabama leading up to the runoff.
The winner of the late-September runoff will face off in a Dec. 12 general election against the Democratic candidate, former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones. Recent polls have shown Moore with a substantial lead in the runoff. |
The thing that always bothered me about “Day In The Life” sections is that they always seemed so planned and scripted. Like the camera guy comes in and “wakes the skater up”, they visit a couple cool spots, “accidentally” bump into all their homies, crack a beer and fade to black. So naturally (stupidly) for this segment, we did the total opposite and came in with absolutely no preparation or really any idea of what we should be shooting. I figured we’d spend a couple of hours and hang out – whatever Alex is doing that day, we would do it with him, whether that’s grabbing a coffee, listening to music or holding his groceries. Here’s just a small glimpse of time we spent over at his place in Brooklyn. |
Miss, why haven't you got any clothes on? Curvy school teacher, 26, swaps red pen for saucy knickers to moonlight as plus-size lingerie model by night
Teaches psychology and dance by day
Models underwear for full-figured women by night
Launching search for the next Curvy Kate model
By day, Laura Butler teaches A-level students psychology and dance. But by night, she embarks on her other career as full-figured lingerie model.
The 26-year-old blonde was plucked from obscurity in 2009 after winning underwear firm Curvy Kate's first ever 'Star in a Bra' competition and after finishing her day educating students, she strips off to her to to reveal her shapely curves.
And outgoing Laura, from Kingshurst, West Midlands, isn't embarrassed about her second career and says all her friends, family and pupils are behind her.
Scroll down for video
Model teacher: Laura Butler shows off her curves as the face of underwear firm Curvy Kate while carrying on her career teaching A-level students
Let's hear it for the curves: Laura is proud of her womanly figure and likes to show it off whenever she can
She said: 'It was around this time five years ago that I began modelling for Curvy Kate. This was a few years previous to me wanting to be a teacher.
'I had never wanted to teach so never thought modelling would get in the way. Fortunately, it hasn't - despite my students knowing.'
And now Laura is keen for other wannabe models to follow in her footsteps and is helping launch Birmingham's next Curvy Kate 'Star in a Bra' in a contest.
Like butter wouldn't melt: Teacher Laura shows off a more subdued side on a skiing holiday
She said: 'I think people should enter because everyone should do something extraordinary in their life and this ticks all the boxes. I should know as I have ticked them!
'I am not a shy girl, so confidence was never something I was lacking. But 'Star In A Bra' seemed to cement that confidence and it really shines through now in all I do.'
The annual competition to find full-figure models has proved a massive hit, with thousands applying each year.
Hannah Houston, marketing and PR manager for Curvy Kate - which offers D-K cup bras for more voluptuous women - said: 'We truly believe our customers should model our lingerie as these are the girls who will be buying it.
'Our model search is here to prove how gorgeous a shapely figure looks in lingerie.
'Every single one of the girls bring their own spark and personality to the brand and our customers can see exactly how our lingerie would look on a shape similar to theirs.'
Buxom babe: Teacher Laura perches on the end of a bathtub as she shows off her figure
But while it's worked out well for Laura, the same cannot be said for former Harrow School art teacher Joanne Salley, who learned a hard lesson when revealing photos of her taken by a colleague went viral on the internet.
She said the pictures were taken for a bit of fun but ended up almost ruining her life when they were published in 2011.
VIDEO Excuse me Miss! Laura Butler could prove to be a distracting teacher… |
Now that Helen Hitler Thomas has been forcibly retired, more video of the interview miraculously has become available for viewing:
Here’s the “appalling” transcript:
Q: Any advice for these young people over here for starting out in the press corps? Thomas: Go for it. You’ll never be unhappy. You’ll always keep people informed, you’ll always keep learning. The greatest thing of the profession is you’ll never stop learning. Q: Today they are covering the Jewish Heritage Month. Thomas: … and meet the President. A: Any comments on Israel? We’re asking everyone today, any comments on.. Thomas: Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine. Q: Oooh. Any better comments? Thomas: Remember, these people are occupied, and it’s their land. It’s not German and it’s not Poland. Q: So where should they go, what should they do? Thomas: They can go home. Q: Where is home? Thomas: Poland. Germany. Q: So you are saying Jews should go back to Poland? Thomas: And America and everywhere else. Why push people out who have lived their for centuries? See? Q: Now, are you familiar with the history of that region and what took place? Thomas: Very much. I’m of Arab background. {It goes on for a little while with friendly banter about languages they both speak with words I can not even begin to spell.} Q: Thank you. Thomas: All the best to you (directed at the Jewish students). Go for it- go for journalism, you’ll never regret it.
Clearly, this woman is evil beyond words. The way she smiled at those Jewish kids while giving them friendly advice to enter careers in journalism so they can have fulfilling lives of learning and accomplishment when secretly, I have been assured by liberals and others, what she really wants is to transport them back to the gas ovens of the Holocaust (for the morons- see the update).
You guys got played. And by this jackass, running around doing Mexican impressions in his spare time. Does anyone still want to try to pretend she was suggesting people be time-warped back to Auschwitz? Or that her pleasantly offering advice to Jewish students was horrifying anti-Semitism at work? Anyone?
On the upside, no one is talking about the unpleasantness with the flotilla anymore.
*** Update ***
For the folks with comprehension problems, the sarcasm employed regarding her chatting with the students is directed at the foolish notion she was implying folks should head off to the ovens, not to deflect from what I have repeatedly stated were her idiotic and obnoxious remarks. There seems to be some desire in every one of these pile-ons to turn stupid remarks by someone into something altogether unforgivable. I’m reminded of the time I spent days arguing that no, Republican Bill Bennett wasn’t actually suggesting that all black babies be aborted in order to lower the crime rate.
Grow up. What Thomas said was stupid enough. She’s lost her job. There is no reason to pretend she was implying people should be sent off to Nazi Germany or Poland and be exterminated. Quit making things up and impugning those who aren’t into playing your games. I think (again, as I have stated repeatedly), the state of Israel and her citizens have every right to exist. I don’t think, however, that criticism of policies of the state of Israel are somehow verboten. |
Train traffic is again moving this morning after a 13-car derailment near Peers, west of Edmonton early Sunday morning.
Patrick Waldron, a spokesperson for CN Rail, said the train derailed around 1 a.m. MT Sunday near Peers in Yellowhead County, about 180 kilometres west of Edmonton.
Waldron said the 137-car train was en route from Prince George to Edmonton when it derailed.
One of the derailed cars is a dangerous goods tanker carrying sulphur dioxide. The other 12 cars were loaded with lumber.
The dangerous goods car is upright and not leaking, said Waldron, who added there are no environmental concerns or threats to the public at this time.
Fire officials from Yellowhead County have been in touch with CN and have assessed the crash site, but firefighters were not needed.
CN Rail crews are on the scene.
The cause of the derailment remains under investigation; however, the Transportation Safety Board said it will not be sending investigators.
Nearby residents first thoughts were of Gainford
Sunday's incident occurred along the same tracks as the 13-car derailment near Gainford only two weeks ago. The two derailments occurred about 90 kilometres apart.
The TSB is still investigating the cause of that crash, which forced about 100 people from their homes for several days while crews worked to put out flames on two cars containing liquefied petroleum gas.
Theresa Lytle, who works in Peers, told CBC’s Laura Osman her first reaction to the derailment was bafflement.
“Really? So soon after the one at Gainford?” she said.
Lytle said she was relieved to realize the derailed cars were primarily lumber, unlike the petroleum gas and crude oil that complicated the situation in Gainford.
But she did say the derailment gave her pause for how the community would have been impacted should the incident have been more serious.
“I was kind of wondering with the one at Gainford if it would happen here, with the houses being so close to the railroad.”
Resident Erville Lennon echoed Lytle’s concerns, saying his first thought was concern for the people and environment near the derailment.
“You wonder what’s going on: are they maintaining their tracks or not maintaining their tracks for that to happen that quickly?”
Yellowhead County Mayor Gerald Soroka said Sunday's derailment did not impact his faith in CN. (Doug Steele/CBC)
Yellowhead County Mayor Gerald Soroka said he’s aware the community got off relatively easy.
“We only had a few issues arise from it," he said. "There was no loss of life, we didn’t have to shut down any major highways, we didn’t have to have our fire departments involved in this – so there were some benefits.”
And while he said the crash will likely spur CN to look more closely into their operations and day-to-day maintenance, he said he’s not too worried about future trains crossing through the county.
“I do put a lot of trust and faith in CN,” he said. “I feel they’ve done a very good job keeping the train on the rails. I believe it’s always going to be a concern but hopefully it doesn’t ever happen – a derailment such as the one that happened in Quebec, for instance.”
Call to action
Greenpeace spokesman Mike Hudema spoke out Sunday afternoon about the recent string of derailments.
"This is another derailment that we're dealing with in a province that has already seen its fair share of derailments in the recent months. There really is a lot that we need to be doing to improve rail safety that is not being done."
Hudema suggested Ottawa conduct an independent review of petrochemical transportation across the country. He said the public should also be told about the dangers associated with hazardous materials moving through their communities.
"It's time that the federal government actually steps up and does its job." |
By Rick Newman and Emma Peters
Bernie Sanders is far behind Hillary Clinton in the polls, but the liberal curmudgeon is tied with Clinton in one interesting contest: the number of Google (GOOGL) employees donating to the campaign. Each candidate has received money from 26 Googlers, according to the latest federal fundraising records.
The 2016 presidential election is still 16 months away, but the fundraising push is in high gear, given that the winner may need $1 billion or more to win the White House. Candidates and groups supporting them are likely to spend the most money ever in a presidential campaign, partly because the Faustian innovation known as super PACs allows rich donors to give unlimited amounts to groups affiliated with candidates they support.
Two super PACs supporting Jeb Bush, the presumed Republican front-runner, have raised a whopping $108 million so far, according to the Bush campaign. They could pull in several multiples of that by Election Day. Super PACs supporting Hillary Clinton, Bush’s Democratic counterpart, have raised just $24 million so far, though Clinton’s campaign proper has outraised Bush's by more than 4 to 1.
Yahoo Finance is closely following the money pouring into the 2016 campaign, and we analyzed newly released data to see which companies are aligned with which candidates. (Our full methodology is at the end of this story.) Not surprisingly, Bush and Clinton are pulling down millions from deep corporate connections. But we found a few unexpected things as well. While it’s no secret that Jeb Bush is Wall Street's preferred candidate, for instance, Hillary Clinton more than makes up for that with thousands of donations from attorneys at powerful law firms.
Many analysts consider ultraconservative Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas a fringe candidate, yet his campaign ranked second in the amount of money raised through the first half of 2015. And the iconoclastic Sanders—a self-described socialist—has a respectable amount of support from pockets of corporate America, with donations coming from employees of Google, Microsoft (MSFT), Wells Fargo (WFC), United Airlines (UAL) and other firms.
We researched the top sources of money for the 7 candidates whose campaigns raised more than $5 million during the first six months of the year. Donor records list contributions by individual, not by company. But they require contributors to declare their employer, if they have one, which allowed us to see which organizations have the most employees donating to a particular candidate. Here's what we found:
Hillary Clinton (Democrat). Total raised: $47.5 million. Jeb Bush has the richest super PAC, but Clinton grabbed far more cash from donors giving directly to a campaign. Law firms were Clinton’s biggest donors. Florida-based litigation firm Morgan & Morgan had the most givers, with 155 different attorneys and other employees donating to Clinton. Powerhouse firms Debevoise & Plimpton and Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld came next, with 49 and 48 donors, respectively. Clinton’s fourth-biggest source of funds was L.A. talent firm Creative Artists Agency, with 47 donors—indicating her strong foothold in Hollywood. Rounding out the top 5: Morgan Stanley (MS), with 44 employees giving to Clinton’s campaign.
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Ted Cruz (Republican), $14.1 million. Cruz’s biggest source of funds so far is Texas-based Woodforest National Bank, whose CEO, Robert Marling, is a big Republican donor and Cruz backer. Other firms with employees donating to Cruz include mining firm Jennmar and the U.S. Postal Service. One surprise in Cruz’s records is the light showing by Goldman Sachs (GS), which only had three employees who donated to Cruz. The candidate’s wife, Heidi, is a high-ranking Goldman exec on unpaid leave for the duration of Cruz's campaign, which was expected to draw a meaty chunk of Goldman money but so far hasn’t.
Bernie Sanders (Democrat), $13.7 million. The left coast likes the leftist Sanders, with Google (26 donors) and Microsoft (15 donors) being his top sources of corporate money. Wells Fargo and United Airlines each had 8 workers donating to Sanders, while Princeton University had 5.
Jeb Bush (Republican), $11.4 million. Bush ranked fourth in money donated directly to the campaign, but he didn’t declare his candidacy until mid-June, so his $11.4 million haul represented only about two weeks of fundraising. Bush’s biggest source of funds is Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs, with 55 donors, followed by investing firm Neuberger Berman, with 23 donors. Tenet Healthcare (THC)—where Bush was a director from 2007 through 2014—is Bush’s third-biggest source of money, with 13 donors.
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*Introductory pricing schedule for 12 month: $0.99/month plus tax for first 3 months, $5.99/month for months 4 - 6, $10.99/month for months 7 - 9, $13.99/month for months 10 - 12. Standard All Access Digital rate of $16.99/month begins after first year.
*Introductory pricing schedule for 12 month: $0.99/month plus tax for first 3 months, $5.99/month for months 4 - 6, $10.99/month for months 7 - 9, $13.99/month for months 10 - 12. Standard All Access Digital rate of $16.99/month begins after first year.
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The Omaha man was driving near Sherbrook Street and Notre Dame Avenue when his 2012 Ford Focus got hung up on a snowbank. A van pulled up, and three people got out and said they could push the car out.
Winnipeg police say a Nebraska man got stuck in the snow last Saturday morning in the inner city and then had his car stolen when three seemingly kind-hearted Winnipeggers stopped by to help.
Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 7/1/2014 (1875 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 7/1/2014 (1875 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Call them wolves in Samaritans' clothing.
Winnipeg police say a Nebraska man got stuck in the snow last Saturday morning in the inner city and then had his car stolen when three seemingly kind-hearted Winnipeggers stopped by to help.
The Omaha man was driving near Sherbrook Street and Notre Dame Avenue when his 2012 Ford Focus got hung up on a snowbank. A van pulled up, and three people got out and said they could push the car out.
Their intentions were less than honourable.
"The keys were in the ignition. A male got into the car and when it was freed, he drove off," said Const. Jason Michalyshen, a spokesman for the Winnipeg Police Service.
Two females then jumped in the van and sped off, leaving the man stranded in the bitter cold.
Michalyshen said the car was recovered Monday in a Windsor Park shopping mall lot, but sustained damage and was towed to a Manitoba Public Insurance compound.
The American visitor, who has relatives in Manitoba, has since returned home.
No arrests have been made. Investigators are checking footage from surveillance cameras near where the vehicle was stolen and also where it was dumped by the car thief.
Christine Fisher, whose business is near the lot where the car was dumped, contacted police about the abandoned Focus. She was later told by an officer about the scam to rip off the car.
"These thugs make me embarrassed to be a Winnipegger," said Fisher. "I'm sure this man will think Winnipeg is a horrible place."
The story was just one of many over the last few weeks where a warm vehicle was a hot item for car thieves.
In fact, of the 166 vehicles stolen in the city in December, 52 were taken when the vehicle was running with the keys in the ignition. Another 34 vehicles were stolen after the keys were lifted (or misplaced) in public areas, and 15 vehicles were swiped when owners left spare keys in the vehicle. Another 65 vehicles were stolen in Winnipeg under different circumstances.
Though starting the car and letting it warm up is a common practice during this chilly winter, police remind residents to never leave their vehicles unattended while running or just with the keys in the ignition, for any period of time.
Police are also looking at how many of the 166 pilfered vehicles were used in other criminal acts.
While he couldn't say definitively, Michalyshen said one was used to facilitate a break-in to another vehicle, two were intentionally set on fire after being stolen and another was involved in a gas-and-dash from a service station.
While stealing a car is a crime, the larger and more pressing concern is what car thieves do with the vehicle once they get their mitts on it.
"That is the concern. It's not just the vehicle being stolen... In a lot of different cases, as soon as these vehicles are stolen, (thieves) will use those vehicles to become involved in other criminal acts," said Michalyshen. "Having a stolen vehicle, for some of these individuals, it almost feels like a bit of a force field — no one's going to identify them... and they will drive these vehicles erratically, put other people at risk; they'll put officers at risk."
— with files from James Turner
[email protected] |
AMG
Since adding more cool to anmachine is a very difficult task, you should not be surprised it took 9 months to design the new bike. Similarly to how long it takes for a new human being to be conceived and born, the Vilner AMG Diavel needed an immense amount of careful planning and revising the details until the modifying process could begin.The only thing which sustained a high degree of re-working was the tail of the bike, now slimmer and sporting a more aggressive stance.White was used for the frame and several other bodywork parts: the contrast enhances the mean nature of the Diavel as the visual effect puts more of the complex shapes on display.New air ducts have been crafted, and they received black leather straps with contrasting white stitching, all in perfect harmony with the white swingarm covers and headlight trim. And since the rear end was changed, Vilner also reworked the suspension covers for the fork.The AMG wheels, exhaust and the luxurious Alcantara embossed seat were left untouched, as there was nothing more one could do to make them better.It looks like the owner of this Ducati Diavel AMG (#350, by the way) was not entirely happy with the degree of uniqueness of his ride. We totally understand the guy, but after these final Vilner touches the bike simply cannot get any more exclusive and singular. |
We all make mistakes and most of us feel bad about our screw ups, miscalculations, and forays down the wrong rabbit holes. It turns out being wrong some of the time is the price we pay for having powerful cognitive abilities.
Photo by nighthawk7.
Human thought process is driven almost entirely by inductive reasoning. We don't search for the answer or solution that is most absolutely correct in a given situation, we search for and provide the answer that has the highest probability of being correct. This leads to us being right most of the time—we're the experts in the animal kingdom at "guessing" with a very high probability of being right—but inevitably leads to us being wrong some of the time. Kathryn Schulz, the author of Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error is intent on changing the way people view mistakes and embracing that errors are just part of the package when dealing with the brilliance of the human mind.
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So how can embracing error help boost workplace productivity? Once you acknowledge that people can't have a perfect record and that mistakes will happen you can start focusing on how to minimize the impact of mistakes and if there are external factors leading to the errors that are made. When you abandon the stance that the mistake-maker is flawed and embrace the stance that mistakes are part of human cognition and everyone will make them, you can focus on productivity instead of scapegoating the mistake makers. Where can we see this mentality in action? She writes:
The aviation industry has turned itself into what is arguably the safest high-stakes industry in the world by cultivating a productive obsession with error. Aviation personnel are encouraged and in some cases even required to report mistakes, because the industry recognizes that a culture of shame doesn't discourage error. It merely discourages people from acknowledging and learning from their mistakes. Cockpits are equipped with multiple backup systems - from copilots to autopilots to automated warnings to emergency checklists - to compensate for the most probable sources of human error. And those mistakes that do occur are exhaustively investigated in an effort to prevent them in the future.
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While you may not work in an industry where your "Oops!" moments result in the fiery deaths of hundreds of passengers you can still benefit from adopting a mindset that accepts mistakes will happen and focuses instead on mitigating them and looking at the environment to solve the mistake instead of punishing yourself or others. Check out the full article at the link below for a much longer and fascinating look at Kathryn Shultz's research. Have your own experiences at a company that has adopted a more progressive stance about mistakes and how to mend them? Let's hear about it in the comments.
The Bright Side of Wrong [The Boston Globe] |
Jon Stewart showed considerable restraint this week when he welcomed Melody Barnes, President Obama’s chief of domestic policy, on The Daily Show and she spoke about the administration’s education reforms in a way that revealed how out of touch the White House is on the subject.
Stewart asked Barnes, who is leaving her post as director of Obama’s Domestic Policy Council at the end of the year, what she was most proud of. She singled out the administration’s education policies, both K-12 and higher education, though Stewart steered the converation to the former.
When Barnes said that “we are turning schools around” and that the multi-billion-dollar Race to the Top competition is a paradigm shift away from the “cookie cutter approach” to education than the prescriptive No Child Left Behind, Stewart was clearly not buying it.
Said Stewart:
“The biggest complaint I hear from teachers, and by teachers I mean my mom... A) Why did you wear that shirt? and B) the teaching to the test. This idea that this Race to the Top, No Child Left Behind, these benchmarks that have been given from Washington have caused schools to focus entirely on whatever benchmark or requirement they need to get funding, and it has removed from education the, I guess what you’d call it, the educating.”
The crowd laughs. It’s clear Stewart isn’t a Race to the Top fan.
Barnes, noting that her mother was a teacher too, quickly responds:
“That’s what we’re trying to turn around. No Child Left Behind had that cookie cutter one-size-fits-all approach to education. And instead what we’ve done through Race to the Top, and most recently because Congress wouldn’t move on reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act and turning it around, we’ve used our flexibility in the executive branch to say, ‘You’ve got some relief if you are going to put in place some smart reforms from those mandates from No Child Left Behind so there’s more flexiblity, there’s more innovation, there’s more creativity so teachers can in fact teach.”
At that point, Stewart might have lowered a hammer on her if she had been, say, Jim Cramer, the former hedge fund manager turned television personality who Stewart took apart in 2009 for Cramer’s financial commentary while the economy was melting down.
After all, Race to the Top — a competition that has states vie for federal funds by promising to implement reforms championed by the Education Department — does, in fact, extend NCLB’s obsession with standardized testing. How? By requiring that teacher evaluation be in part measured by the scores students get on these exams. There is no concrete evidence that any of the Race to the Top reforms actually improve student achievement, but when has education policy paid attention to research?
But Stewart lets Barnes off easy, perhaps recognizing there was no point in a frontal assault. Instead, he said:
“So your feedback... The feedback I’m getting is that Race to the Top has intensified the issue, not alleviated it, but I guess the people I talk to don’t work in the White House.”
Barnes proceeded to chastize him as if she were a kindergarten teacher talking to a 5-year-old. She said, “Now, now, now.”
He let her persist in defending Race to the Top, saying that in states that have won money in the competition, teachers and principals and parents and community leaders have all come together to “focus on plans to help reform education.”
I’m not sure to what states she was referring, as the initial rounds of Race to the Top money included nothing about parent or teacher involvement in reform plans, and many public school teachers are strongly opposed to linking their evaluations to student test scores.
Stewart tried yet again, saying, “I’ve always found with education that individuals are the ones that make the enormous difference. And the more that you are able to empower a great teacher, a great principal, a great superintendent, that can make enormous diferences. How do we empower the individuals to have the authority and responsibility to make those changes and not tie them to arbitrary objective realities or goals?”
And they kept talking until, apparently, Stewart realized it was hopeless.
He suggested that schools raise money by renting out rooms at night: “Brothels.”
Barnes said the only thing that made much sense: “Not the brothel plan.”
The takeaway? Administration officials either are oblivious to the opposition to their education policies — which is significant enough that the host of a news satire television show knows about it — or they are willfully ignoring it.
Either way, we’ve got a problem.
Follow The Answer Sheet every day by bookmarking http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet. And for admissions advice, college news and links to campus papers, please check out our Higher Education page. Bookmark it! |
"Anorak" redirects here. For other uses, see Anorak (disambiguation)
parkas An Inuit family wearing traditional Caribou
A parka or anorak is a type of coat with a hood, often lined with fur or faux fur. The Caribou Inuit invented this kind of garment, originally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid Arctic. Some Inuit anoraks require regular coating with fish oil to retain their water resistance.
The words anorak and parka have been used interchangeably, but they are somewhat different garments. Strictly speaking, an anorak is a waterproof, hooded, pull-over jacket without a front opening, and sometimes drawstrings at the waist and cuffs, and a parka is a hip-length cold-weather coat, typically stuffed with down or very warm synthetic fiber, and with a fur-lined hood.
Etymology [ edit ]
The word anorak comes from the Greenlandic (Kalaallisut) word annoraaq. It did not appear in English until 1924; an early definition is "a beaded item worn by Greenland women or brides in the 1930s". In the early 1950s it was made from nylon, but changed to poplin by 1959, when it was featured in Vogue magazine as a fashion item. In 1984, The Observer used the term to refer to the type of people who wore it and subsequently, in the United Kingdom, it is sometimes used as a mildly derogatory term.[1]
The word parka is derived from the Nenets language.[2] In the Aleutian Islands the word simply means "animal skin".[3] It first entered the English written record in a 1625 work by Samuel Purchas.
The Inuit who speak Inuktitut use parkas and have various terms related to them as follows:
Inuktitut terminology[4] English Inuktitut syllabics Roman Inuktitut IPA woman's parka ᐊᕐᓇᐅᑎ irnauti [iʁ.na.u.ˈti] parka tail ᓂᖏᒻᓇᖅᑐᖅ ningimnaqtuq [ni.ŋim.naq.ˈtuq] parka hood ᐊᒪᐅᑦ amaut [a.ma.ˈut] parka decoration ᑰᑦᓯᓂᕈᑎ kuutsinaruti [kuːt.si.na.ʁu.ˈti] parka material ᐊᑎᒋᑦᓴᖅ atigitsaq [a.ti.ɣit.ˈsaq] parka button ᓇᑦᑐᕋᖅ naturaq [nat.tu.ˈʁaq] parka belt ᑕᑦᓯ tatsi [tat.ˈsi]
Amauti [ edit ]
The amauti (also amaut or amautik, plural amautiit)[5] is the parka worn by Inuit women of the eastern area of Northern Canada.[6] Up until about two years of age, the child nestles against the mother's back in the amaut, the built-in baby pouch just below the hood. The pouch is large and comfortable for the baby. The mother can bring the child from back to front for breastfeeding or for eliminatory functions without exposure to the elements.[6] This traditional eastern Arctic Inuit parka, designed to keep the child warm and safe from frostbite, wind and cold, also helps to develop bonding between mother and child.[7]
N-3B ("scrub snorkel" or "snorkel") parka [ edit ]
A civilian snorkel parka manufactured in the 1980s by Lord Anthony.
The original snorkel parka (USAF N-3B parka, which is 3/4 length and has a full, attached hood; the similar N-2B parka is waist-length and has an attached split hood) was developed in the United States during the early 1950s for military use, mainly for flight crews stationed in extremely cold areas. It was designed for use in areas with temperatures as low as −60 °F (−51 °C). Originally made with a sage green DuPont flight silk nylon outer and lining it was padded with a wool blanket type material until the mid-1970s when the padding was changed to polyester wadding making the jacket both lighter and warmer. The outer shell material also was changed to a sage green cotton-nylon blend, with respective percentages 80–20, 65–35, and 50–50 being used at various times.
It gained the common name of "snorkel parka" because the hood can be zipped right up leaving only a small tunnel (or snorkel) for the wearer to look out of. This is particularly effective in very cold, windy weather although it has the added liabilities of seriously limiting the field of vision and hearing. Earlier Vietnam-era hoods had genuine fur ruffs; later versions used synthetic furs. Original manufacturers of this parka for the government included Skyline, Southern Athletic, Lancer, Greenbrier, Workroom For Designers, Alpha, and Avirex.
The basic N-3B parka design was copied and sold to the civilian market by many manufacturers with varying degrees of quality and faithfulness to the original government specifications. Surplus military parkas are often available for relatively low prices online and in surplus stores; they compare quite favorably with civilian extreme-cold parkas of all types due to their robust construction, designed for combat conditions, and warmth.
The 1970s–1980s civilian version of the parka was made in many colors – navy blue, green, brown, black, maroon, grey, royal blue, sky blue and bright orange. Most had an orange diamond quilted nylon lining, although a very small number did have alternative colored linings such as yellow, pale blue, and green. While still manufacturing parkas to the military standard, Alpha Industries have more recently[when?] adopted the orange lining and a slimmer fit when producing their VF59 model parka which is now more popular than the military version.
In the late 1980s the snorkel parka came to be associated in the UK with trainspotters, who would supposedly wear them, giving birth to the slang term there anorak.
In Europe the snorkel parka started to regain popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Fishtail parka [ edit ]
M-51 fishtail parka. This was a favorite among the mod subculture
The fishtail parka was first used by the United States Army in 1950 during the Korean War. Following the end of the Second World War the US army recognized the need for a new cold weather combat system, resulting in four main styles of fishtail parka: the EX-48, M-48, M-51 and the M-65. The M stands for military, and the number is the year it was standardized. The EX-48 model was the first prototype or "experimental" precursor to all of them. The M-48 then being the first actual production model fishtail parka after the pattern being standardized on December 24, 1948.
The name fishtail comes from the fish tail extension at the back that could be folded up between the legs, much like a Knochensack, and fixed using snap connectors to add wind-proofing. The fishtail was fixed at the front for warmth or folded away at the back to improve freedom of movement when needed.
The EX-48 parka is distinctive as it has a left sleeve pocket and is made of thin poplin, only the later production M-48 parkas are made of the heavier sateen canvas type cotton. The EX-48 also has a thin fibre glass based liner that is very light and warm, the M-48 has a thicker wool pile liner with an integral hood liner made of wool. Both are distinguishable from any other type of parka by having the sleeve pocket. This was dropped for the M-51 onward. The fur ruff on the hood is also fixed to the shell of an EX-48/M-48 and is of wolf, coyote or often wolverine. The M-48 parka was costly to produce and therefore only in production for around one year. The pockets were wool lined both inside and out. The cuffs had two buttons for securing tightly around a wearer's wrist. The later more mass-produced M-51 parka had just the one cuff button. The liner had a built in chest pocket which again was unique to the M-48 parka.
The next revision was the M-51, made because the M48 was so good and of such high quality it was just too expensive to mass-produce.
The outer hood of the M-51 Fishtail Parka is integral to the parka shell, an added hood liner as well as a button in main liner make the M-51 a versatile 3 piece parka. The idea behind this 3 part system was to enable a more customisable parka that allowed for easier cleaning of the shell as the hood fur was on the detachable hood liner, not fixed to the shell as in the M-48. It also allowed for both liners to be buttoned in or our depending on the temperature and hence warmth required. It was also cheaper than the M-48 to mass-produce The early M-51 was made of heavy sateen cotton, the same material as the M-48. Later revisions of the M-51 were poplin based. The later liners were also revised from the "heavy when wet" wool pile to a lighter woolen loop or frieze wool design that dried easier and were far lighter. The frieze liners were constructed of mohair and were designed using a double loop system which repelled cold weather.
The M-65 fishtail parka has a detachable hood and was the last revision. It features a removable quilted liner made of light nylon / polyester batting which are modern synthetic materials. The M-65 fishtail parka first came into production in 1968. These parkas featured synthetic fur on the hoods after an outcry from the fur lobby. As a result, only hoods for these parkas made in 1972 and for one year later have real fur.
Designed primarily for combat arms forces such as infantry, they are to be worn over other layers of clothing; alone, the fishtail parka is insufficient to protect against "dry cold" conditions (i.e. below about -10 °C). As such all fishtail parkas are big as they were designed to be worn over battle dress and other layers.
In the 1960s UK, the fishtail parka became a symbol of the mod subculture. Because of their practicality, cheapness and availability from military surplus shops, the parka was seen as the ideal garment for fending off the elements and protecting smarter clothes underneath from grease and dirt when on the mod's vehicle of choice, the scooter. Its place in popular culture was assured by newspaper pictures of parka-clad mods during the Bank Holiday riots of the 1960s.
Cagoule [ edit ]
A cagoule is the British English term for a lightweight, weatherproof anorak or parka, usually unlined and sometimes knee-length.[8] A cagoule could be rolled up into a very compact package and carried in a bag or pocket. It was invented by Noel Bibby of Peter Storm Ltd. in the early 1960s.[9] It may have a full-zippered front opening, or pull over the head like an original anorak and close with snaps or a short zipper, has an integral hood, and elasticated or drawstring cuffs. In some versions, when rolled up, the hood doubles as a bag into which the rest of the coat is pushed. It became very popular in the United Kingdom during the 1970s.
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ] |
Urban beekeepers in New York City no longer have to keep the honey of their labors a secret. The city's health board voted Tuesday to overturn a longtime ban on beekeeping within city limits.
Previously, the city's health code had placed honeybees in the same category as about 100 other creatures deemed too hazardous to be kept in town, including ferrets and poisonous snakes. Bees do sting, after all, and their venom can be dangerous to some people with severe allergies.
Yet, over the years, the ban was both little-known and lightly enforced. Some New Yorkers have secretly tended hives on rooftops and gardens for years in either defiance or ignorance of the regulations. [Click here to read the Monitor's article on urban beekeeping – City bees are all the buzz – which was published before the ban was lifted.]
And lately, bees have picked up political cache among a growing number of green-minded folk interested in seeing organic agriculture return to big American cities. The movement to end the ban picked up after Michelle Obama had a hive installed on the South Lawn of the White House.
"The bees are a great way to start that conversation," said David Vigil, a coordinator at the urban agriculture group East New York Farms!, which conducts seminars on beekeeping and has two hives at its youth garden in Brooklyn.
A hive can produce as much as 100 pounds of honey per year, he said, and the bees are useful for pollinating all sorts of crops.
"There are very few instances of people being stung," he added. Honeybees "are naturally defensive, but they are not aggressive at all."
People interested in starting a bee colony will need to register their hives with the city, but no license will be required. Health officials said the register will mostly be used to help resolve any complaints that may arise.
Previously, the city had investigated a few dozen complaints a year about illegal hives, and issued fines to some violators as high as $2,000.
The city lifted the ban for only one type of bee, the honey-producing Apis mellifera. Wasps, hornets, and other types of stinging insects are still banned.
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To read more about gardening, see the Monitor's main gardening page and our lively gardening blog, Diggin' It. Both of these have new URLs, so we hope you'll bookmark them and return. Want to be notified when there's something new in our gardening section? Sign up for our RSS feed. |
President Trump on Friday said Republicans should just repeal ObamaCare and replace it later if they are unable to agree on healthcare legislation.
In doing so, he appeared to offer support for an idea that conservative lawmakers, including Sen. Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulThe Hill's Morning Report — Emergency declaration to test GOP loyalty to Trump The Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump escalates fight with NY Times The 10 GOP senators who may break with Trump on emergency MORE (R-Ky.), have floated in recent days.
If Republican Senators are unable to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately REPEAL, and then REPLACE at a later date! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2017
The call for action comes days after GOP Senate leadership postponed a procedural vote on their healthcare overhaul in the face of sinking support.
The conservatives say their repeal now and replace later plan is a way to make sure the GOP keeps its promise to repeal the law before worrying about the harder task of replacement. It's likely a nonstarter with moderate Republicans, however, who fear it would leave too many without coverage.
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) on Friday sent a letter to the president calling for the same strategy of passing repeal first and replacement later, if Republicans cannot reach a deal by July 10.
Paul has also proposed the idea of passing repeal first and then separately working on replacement, and praised Trump's suggestion.
I have spoken to @realDonaldTrump & Senate leadership about this and agree. Let's keep our word to repeal then work on replacing right away. — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 30, 2017
Paul and Sasse are frustrated that Senate Republicans are struggling to move forward with healthcare reform legislation at the moment.
But more moderate senators already rejected this strategy early this year, saying that the public needs to know what the replacement is at the same time repeal passes.
Updated at 9:32 a.m. Tristan Lejeune contributed. |
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GUANTANAMO, Cuba, Nov 16 (acn) The participants to the 1st National Scientific Event Reflecting on the Ideals of the Cuban leader said on Thursday in Guantanamo that the best tribute to Fidel Castro's life is to study his thinking and follow his teachings.
The scientific program began on Thursday with a conference by Dr. Rafael Cervantes Martinez, Director of the Department of Marxism and History of the Ministry of Higher Education (MES) who spoke on the influence of the Marxist-Leninist ideology in the actions of the leader of the Revolution.
Cervantes Martinez said at the 1st National Scientific Event on the thinking of Fidel Castro in Contemporary Times, that one must lead a country with intelligence to face a power like the United States for so long.
He added that Fidel Castro enriched Marxism-Leninism, developing and assuming the history that ended under the premise in continuing a doctrine without betraying his principles.
Cervantes Martinez pointed out that the leader of the Revolution constitutes a permanent summary of the best of culture and universal science, as a gifted being with a profound dialectic character in the understanding of society and capable of forming an ideological and political unity of the Cuban nation.
A special panel on the importance of the revolutionary and political thinking of Fidel Castro was carried out during the first day of sessions with the participation of PhD's Eugenio Suarez Perez, Elvis Rodriguez Rodriguez and Jose Antonio Rodriguez Ben.
During the event, the panelists highlighted the confluence between Fidel and Raul Castro and their affinity in the need to guarantee unity in the construction of a political model chosen by the Cuban people.
Thursday's program included symposiums with issues like the fundamental thinking in the ideology of the Cuban Revolution in addition to the influence of National Hero Jose Marti, Heroic Guerrilla Ernesto Che Guevara and the Marxism-Leninism in the actions of Fidel Castro.
Sponsored by the 1st National Scientific Event, among other institutions, MES, the Jose Marti Cultural Society, the Cuban Pedagogical Association and the Honorific School for the Study of the Thinking and Work of Fidel Castro and the Afro-Caribbean Studies of the University of Guantanamo. |
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