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It’s been a long time since the Calgary Flames have had a goaltender they can confidently call their number one.
After Miikka Kiprusoff retired in 2013, a strenuous search for his replacement between the pipes began. Jonas Hiller, Joni Ortio, Karri Ramo, Brian Elliott, and Chad Johnson were among the goalies given the opportunity, but all failed to permanently grab the reins.
Enter Mike Smith.
The 35-year-old was brought in to be the undisputed starting net minder, and he’s already proving to be the real deal.
“He’s been unbelievable for us so far, huge for us,” said Flames forward Michael Frolik in a CTV News article. “We’ve got to clean up and not give up too many shots, but it’s nice to know we have a really solid goaltender back there who will stop a lot of pucks.”
Related: Coyotes Trade Mike Smith to Flames
The Key Numbers
Although it’s only been three games, Smith’s 1.68 goals-against average (GAA) and .957 save percentage has come against the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, and Anaheim Ducks, with the Oilers and Jets both finishing in the top ten in scoring last season.
The veteran completes a well-rounded roster that, with the off-season addition of defenseman Travis Hamonic, boasts arguably the best defensive corps in the NHL.
In their two most recent trips to the post-season in 2014-15 and 2016-17, the Flames finished ranked 14 of 16 and 15 of 16 respectively in goals-against per game. Not exactly the recipe for a deep playoff run.
Although Smith’s playoff experience is limited, he proved he has the tools to perform at a high level, deep in the playoffs.
In the 2011-12 season, he took the Arizona (Phoenix) Coyotes all the way to the conference finals, where they came up just short of the Stanley Cup Final, falling to the Los Angeles Kings.
Throughout that playoff run, Smith was nearly unbeatable. In 16 games, he boasted a 1.99 GAA to go along with a .944 save percentage, knocking out the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators in the process.
Even though he was playing behind one of the more solid Coyotes blue lines to date, including Keith Yandle, Derek Morris, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Michal Rozsival, he’ll have an even more concrete unit in front of him in Calgary.
Battle in the Desert
Other than the 2011-12 season, he was left out to dry for the entirety of his Coyotes tenure. In his last five seasons with the club, they ranked in the bottom half of the league in goals-against each year. Not because of poor goaltending, but because of an immense amount of shots allowed.
In that same time span, the Coyotes finished in the bottom ten in the league for shots allowed per game, including a 29 out of 30 ranking in 2016-17.
After continually facing a high volume of shots year after year in Arizona, Smith now joins a team that has finished in the top half of the league in shots allowed per game for the last four seasons, a change that is sure to only make him better.
In the 2016-17 season, Smith faced a whopping 1,819 shots with the Coyotes, posting a 2.92 GAA and .914 save percentage. In comparison, the Flames’ goaltender at the time, Brian Elliot, faced only 1338 shots and posted a slightly better GAA of 2.55, but a worse save percentage of .910.
When facing nearly 500 more shots than Elliott, it’s expected he would have a higher GAA. But the save percentage is what speaks volumes.
With the potential of facing up to 500 less shots this season, the new Flames net minder could be on track for a career year. If he were to achieve that feat, he and his new club will be in for a special season.
“I was told by a very smart guy who has won a lot of games that I can have the best penalty kill meeting, I can have the best practice the day before the game, and I can have the best power play meeting, but if my goalie is no good, you’re not going to win,” said Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan in a Calgary Herald article. “Smitty coming in is going to be a workhorse for us. I watched him play in big games, and he thrives in those things.”
Outside of the Pipes
Not only is Smith going to be a major upgrade between the pipes, he’s also going to have an impact on the offensive front.
He’s well-known for his ability to play the puck, and is arguably the best goalie in the NHL at doing so.
Having a goalie that can handle the puck the way he can opens up a whole new playbook for the Flames. It will allow for more threatening transitions, especially with the likes of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, and offer many different looks, making it harder on opposing defenses to try and control.
His ability will make it harder for other teams on the forecheck, forcing them to dump the puck into certain areas, which Flames defenders will be able to key in on.
Related: The Calgary Flames Sixth Defenseman
“Our transition game is going to change a lot, where he can move it up and then we’re going the other way on the rush right away,” said Flames goaltending coach Jordan Sigalet in a Calgary Herald article. “He always says that a lot of guys get the wrong message when he’s with a team that now they think they don’t have to come back for the puck because he’s going to move it up. But he says it’s the opposite. He wants our guys coming back. It gives him more options. Sometimes, he can suck in the forecheck that way and open up our forwards up front.”
With the addition of Smith, as well as Hamonic and even Jagr, the Flames have completed the puzzle that is their roster.
They have all the pieces needed to make a deep playoff run, and barring multiple long-term injuries, they will do just that. |
So let’s get the lede out of the way: John Scott scored a hockey goal with his hockey stick by shooting the hockey puck past an unscreened goaltender - a good goaltender, no less - into the hockey net.
It was his third NHL goal (the second one involved the type of crazy bounce you’d expect) after six in the AHL and seven in 126 NCAA games, so y’know ... this is noteworthy.
So how does a 6-foot-8 pure fighter with almost twice as many penalty minutes as games played come to score a goal, let alone one against a pretty decent Washington Capitals team with some pretty decent defensemen on the ice?
Well, there are a few reasons, including the fact he played some legitimately good hockey.
****
The NHL.com video at the bottom of this post has a few more angles if you can’t believe this really happened, and need more proof.
The puck starts from the bench-side boards, with Joel Ward passing the puck through a forechecker to Brooks Orpik in front of the Caps net. It’s a bit of a broken play, as his partner John Carlson is nowhere to be found. But that shouldn’t be an issue.
The puck is moved to Orpik.
Evgeny Kuznetsov sees this, and fans out to take the pass. The Sharks’ Adam Burish starts to read that, and wants to stay overtop of him while Andrew Desjardins backchecks.
But as you can see, he’s more than a step behind, so Kuznetsov opens up for the pass, and receives it.
Or more accurately, tries to receive it. Instead it's an “Oh man, whoops” from Kuznetsov. I don’t know if the puck bounces or not, but either way, it goes on through to Sharks defenseman Brent Burns, who wastes 0.0 seconds getting the puck up to Burish. Seriously, he one-times it.
This systems post isn’t really even about a system as much as it is about the play Burish made to make this incredible goal happen.
Look at Burish see Scott in the middle and angle the puck with his skate into his linemate's lane. I believe a soccer announcer would call this a “cheeky touch.”
(Courtesy: Comcast Sportsnet)
And there goes John Scott, sort of.
Orpik’s biggest problem (at the top of the GIF below) is that once the pass is missed and returned to Burish, he sees that, and pivots to face an attack from the near side, thinking Burish may corral it. It was a completely fine thought to have, but look at the terrible position his unfortunate pivot puts him in to defend.
(Courtesy: Comcast Sportsnet)
Burish’s clever skate pass left Scott with the puck and “speed,” while Orpik is just stopping and just starting to back up.
Here’s the thing: it’s really, really weird he doesn’t just get into Scott, and influence his shot, no?
Well, no. It looks weird at first glance, but if you can see, just as he pivots, Desjardins (No. 10) is filling in the lane on the other side of him, and it seems like his body angle limits him from seeing Carlson coming to help him and make it a 2-on-2.
I think it’s possible that he saw Carlson, but he definitely didn’t know if he was defending an even-man rush or a 2-on-1.
That thought process would explain why he seems to be taking the cross-crease pass away. I mean, with all due respect, it’s John Scott, so he’s probably more worried about giving up some back-door tap-in than the clean shot on Braden Holtby.
In the end, Scott was on the defensive side of the puck, picked it up with speed through the neutral zone, and made a great shot to score. A lot had to go right for it to happen, but hey, sometimes NFL linebackers score touchdowns. This stuff happens.
If you can’t believe it ever did (even the goal scorer himself looks surprised above), have one last look. It’s a great play by Burish, and a nice snipe from Scott.
(Courtesy: NHL.com) |
The Revisionist Ride of Paul Revere
Sarah Palin is a fraud with charisma — and enough political support to effectively hold the Republican Party hostage. She is ridiculous and dangerous in equal measure.
Palin is certain about everything and knows about nothing. The only true facts are those she recognizes; other facts, when cited to contradict her private truth, are deemed politically motivated. History books are nothing more than weapons used by her enemies in their incessant attacks, their pitiful attempts to play “gotcha.”
In her view, she does not make mistakes. Therefore, it may surprise you to learn, this is who Paul Revere was:
“He who warned the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms, by ringing those bells, and making sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be secure and we were going to be free.”
Utter, complete nonsense. The purpose of Revere’s midnight ride was to warn townspeople and patriot leaders that British troops were approaching. He didn’t ring any bells or fire any warning shots; the prearranged signal involved hanging lanterns in the steeple of the Old North Church, one if the redcoats were approaching by land and two if by sea.
Palin gave her fanciful account Thursday after touring Boston’s historic North End. “We saw where Paul Revere hung out as a teenager, which was something new to learn,” she told reporters — neglecting to add, I guess, that she didn’t bother to read any of the brochures.
It was comical and weird, like a lot of Palin’s antics, but so what? Anybody can have a momentary lapse and say something dumb in front of a television camera. You laugh it off and move on.
Unless you’re Sarah Palin. She appeared on “Fox News Sunday,” and Chris Wallace asked the obvious question: “You realize that you messed up about Paul Revere, don’t you?” He must have expected her to be charmingly self-deprecating. Instead, to Wallace’s evident surprise, she insisted that her ridiculous account was correct.
Palin seized on a lesser-known incident during Revere’s ride, when he was captured and briefly held by several British soldiers. He bluffed his way out of his predicament by boasting that 500 well-armed militiamen were up ahead, ready for battle.
“Part of his ride was to warn the British that, ‘We’re already there,’ that, ‘Hey, you’re not going to succeed. You’re not going to take American arms. You are not going to beat our own well-armed persons, individual, private militia that we have.’ “
Wallace smiled as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.
“I didn’t mess up about Paul Revere,” Palin said. “I know my American history.”
Yes, you did. And no, you don’t.
Anyone who believes that Revere rang bells and fired warning shots simply isn’t going to know — until after the fact — about the encounter with the British soldiers. And in any event, Revere didn’t set out “to warn the British” — he was warning colonists about the British. And he wasn’t making some kind of Second Amendment statement about “American arms” because there was no Second Amendment. And …
Yes, I’m belaboring the obvious. But I’m doing so because the incident says so much about Palin’s arrogant disregard for objective fact. It’s never about the truth. It’s always about Sarah.
She told Fox that she was the victim of a “gotcha type of question.” But there is no indication, from video of the encounter, that she was asked specifically about Paul Revere. Her peroration came amid a general recounting of her visit to Boston.
The gaffe is understandable — well, almost understandable. But she doubled down with a claim of persecution and a bald-faced lie. That is what we ignore at our peril.
This is a small, unimportant matter. But Palin demands to be seen as a big, important person in the nation’s political life. Her party is so afraid of her that the putative front-runner for the presidential nomination, Mitt Romney, won’t even call her out for stealing thunder from his campaign kickoff by just happening to be in the neighborhood, complete with the attendant media circus.
The woman, like Lord Byron, is “mad, bad, and dangerous to know.” I’d shout it throughout the land, if I could find my horse and my bells.
Eugene Robinson’s e-mail address is eugenerobinson(at)washpost.com. |
(WSB photo from March 2016, looking east from west of 30th SW)
Back in February, we brought you first word of King County’s plan to build a sidewalk and replace road panels along the south side of SW Roxbury between 28th and 30th SW (right side of our file photo above). Today, the county is saying the work will start in “late May,” and will go like this:
·Work scheduled from late May-July, if weather cooperates ·Area is SW Roxbury Street between 28th Avenue SW and 30th Avenue SW ·One lane of road will be closed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., each day ·Flaggers will direct two-way vehicle traffic ·Pedestrians will be detoured ·Roxhill Elementary bus loading areas will be moved to west edge of the school property ·Businesses along this section of SW Roxbury Street will remain open and access provided at all times. Access points will be provided for the gas station, the auto parts store/latte stand and auto repair shop.
Our February report has more details on that; the county also has sent out this mailer: |
“We’re excited to announce this new agreement and continue our partnership with the Mallards,” said Wild Assistant General Manager Brent Flahr. “Quad City offers a great organization that will provide our players an excellent opportunity to continue their development.”
Under the affiliation agreement, the Mallards will serve as a resource for the development efforts and personnel needs of both the Iowa and Minnesota Wild. The agreement allows for Wild prospects to be assigned to the Mallards for developmental purposes throughout the season. Minnesota’s primary development affiliate is the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League (AHL). Quad City served as a CHL affiliate for the Wild in 2013-14 and were a secondary ECHL affiliate in 2014-15. Minnesota’s primary ECHL affiliate last season was the Alaska Aces.
“We’re very excited about not only extending our affiliation agreement with the Minnesota and Iowa Wild but also serving as the Wild’s exclusive ECHL affiliate,” said Mallards President Bob McNamara. “Continuing our affiliation will give the fans of the Quad Cities the chance to watch some very exciting Wild prospects at the iWireless Center and give our players a great opportunity to take the next step in their careers.”
About the Quad City Mallards |
Billions of dollars are said to be missing in the 1MDB scandal, nearly $700 million of which was deposited into Najib's bank account alone
Singapore's central bank on Tuesday said it was kicking out Switzerland's BSI Bank, which has been linked to a global money-laundering scandal that has embroiled neighbouring Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak.
In the toughest legal action so far in the crisis rocking Malaysian state fund 1MDB, Switzerland also disclosed it had launched criminal proceedings against the parent firm BSI SA for "deficiencies" in its internal organisation.
“BSI Bank is the worst case of control lapses and gross misconduct that we have seen in the Singapore financial sector," Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), said in a statement.
MAS said it had asked state prosecutors to investigate six senior executives of BSI Bank for possible criminal offences and fined it Sg$ 13.3 million ($9.6 million) for 41 breaches of Singapore's laws against money laundering.
Among those facing investigation is former chief executive Hans Peter Brunner.
Two Singaporean executives of the bank are already facing criminal proceedings in the city-state, which is Southeast Asia's financial hub and hosts more than 200 banks.
BSI has been operating as a merchant bank in Singapore since November 2005, offering private banking services to wealthy individuals.
The last time Singapore stripped a merchant bank of its status was in 1984, when the local branch of Jardine Fleming was shut down for "serious lapses" in its advisory work.
Najib, who founded 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in 2009, has battled allegations that billions were looted from the investment vehicle in a vast campaign of fraud and embezzlement stretching from the Middle East to the Caymans.
- Denials -
The fund, which ran up more than $11 billion in debt in a series of much-questioned investments, has steadfastly denied money was stolen or that it was in financial trouble.
Najib also faced questions after the Wall Street Journal revealed $681 million in transfers to his personal bank accounts.
But since the scandal erupted last year, Najib has weathered the allegations by curbing scrutiny by authorities, purging officials demanding accountability, and stifling media reporting.
He insists the $681 million was a gift from the Saudi royal family, most of which he returned. A Saudi official in April said that was true, but only after weeks of silence that cast doubt on the claim.
In a series of more recent reports, however, the newspaper said Malaysian investigation documents indicated more than $1 billion in 1MDB-linked money had been funnelled to Najib.
Najib and 1MDB vehemently deny that claim.
Najib has faced calls to resign but has tightened his grip on the ruling party and thwarted domestic investigations. His position is not seen as under imminent threat.
Singapore's MAS said it was "working closely" with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), which has already approved the sale of the BSI parent firm to another Swiss-based bank, EFG International.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said Tuesday that it had opened criminal proceedings against BSI SA "based on information revealed by the criminal proceedings in the 1MDB case".
In Singapore, former BSI Bank relationship manager Yak Yew Chee is undergoing a criminal investigation for his dealings with a unit of 1MDB. His bank deposits have been frozen.
Separately, former BSI Bank wealth planner Yeo Jiawei, also a Singaporean, faces seven charges including forgery, money laundering, cheating and perverting the course of justice. He is in police custody and scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. |
“‘When I saw how pretty she was, I wanted to have sex with her,’ he said, but claims he was too drunk.”
Her consent, or lack of it, doesn’t seem to have played any role in his considerations. This is because the Qur’an teaches that Infidel women can be lawfully taken for sexual use (cf. its allowance for a man to take “captives of the right hand,” 4:3, 4:24, 23:1-6, 33:50, 70:30). The Qur’an says: “O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.” (33:59) The implication there is that if women do not cover themselves adequately with their outer garments, they may be abused, and that such abuse would be justified.
“Migrant who raped and killed EU official’s daughter cries as he tells court that drowning her ‘destroyed’ HIS life and that he dragged her into a river to ‘wash her blood from me,'” by Allan Hall, MailOnline, September 12, 2017: |
With Father's Day approaching, it's nice to know we helped out one of the good guys.
Mesa resident Troy Guelich, 43, turned to Call 12 For Action after the Department of Economic Security failed to erase the balance due on his child-support account.
The divorced father of two daughters was laid off in 2009. Before that, he had always paid his child-support payments in full and on time.
But that was tough to do while he was out of work for nearly a year.
The Department of Economic Security took over Guelich's child-support payments from the court because they were paying him unemployment benefits. But the DES decreased his child-support payments for three of those months.
When Guelich found a new job, he caught up, paying the outstanding amount in full.
Shortly after that, Guelich started receiving notices from the DES claiming he was delinquent on his account.
Then, he found out through the courts and the DES website that he had actually overpaid by thousands of dollars.
He brought it to the attention of the DES, but Guelich claims no one listened.
However, within three weeks of Call 12 For Action's involvement, Troy got his nearly $3,000 balance erased.
DES sent us this statement:
DES works with all noncustodial parents to assist them in meeting their obligations to their children. Mr. Guelich is no exception.
It's important to understand that Arizona has two child-support systems: DES and the local clerks of court (non-DES). Cases managed by the local courts do not have the same accounting requirements as DES. When cases from the local court apply for DES services after years of being managed by the local courts, DES relies on current court orders, signed by judges and the parties to the case, to establish the child support debt. The parties to a child support case have the opportunity to challenge their child support debt and to present payment information in court. DES enforces the court's ordered child support.
That doesn't answer the question as to why Guelich's case was mishandled. Although he loves his daughters and will continue to provide for them, Guelich is still angry. He says he was treated like a deadbeat dad when he is far from that. |
The Soviet Union spent millions planting its icons in the West. Lenin devised a plan to use sculpture to propagate communism. Now, 100 years after the Bolshevik revolution, his plan has been realised in Britain—free of charge. On July 15th a Soviet-era statue of Friedrich Engels was installed in Manchester, where the Marxist thinker lived and wrote about the condition of the proletariat. Phil Collins, an artist, brought the concrete Engels—in two parts, cut at the waist—from Ukraine, where it had been toppled and dumped along with other Soviet monuments after Russia’s military aggression in 2015. It testifies to the new vitality of socialism in the West (though revolutionary statues are under fire elsewhere—see article). For tips on where it leads, Russia and Ukraine are good places to dig. |
The hangover from the 1995 sovereignty referendum was not pretty for Montreal. Half a year after a vote that brought Canada to within a sliver of possible breakup, Quebec’s biggest city was left badly shredded.
Its 11% unemployment rate was the highest in urban North America. Residential real estate prices were falling. The vacancy rate for downtown office towers topped 20%. Companies like Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. continued their slow head-office exodus. One Toronto property broker trying to drum up business ran ads in Montreal newspapers that read: “When the road leads you away from Montreal to Toronto, we’ll be at the other end to make you feel right at home.”
There were larger pan-Canadian consequences too, of course. Amid the constitutional crisis, lenders demanded higher interest rates to hold Canada’s debt. That November the dollar fell a cent and a half as post-referendum optimism vanished amid a realization that Canada’s unity problem remained unsolved.
Today, nine years of Liberal Party rule have restored a certain level of stability to the city and to the province as the federalist party wooed private enterprise and buried unity disagreements with Ottawa. But as Quebecers get set to vote again Sept. 4, the corporate world is bracing for change.
There is a lot of worry that the climate for reinvestment won’t be the same
“It’s the first time in my life that I sense from the business community a concern this large about the result of an election and the aftermath,” said Yves-Thomas Dorval, head of the Conseil du Patronat, Quebec’s largest business lobby. “There is a lot of worry that the climate for reinvestment won’t be the same.”
Association representatives like Mr. Dorval, 55, are non-partisan. They can’t take a position for or against a specific political party.
But other business leaders are articulating privately what trade groups won’t — that the election of the sovereigntist Parti Québécois would bring political instability at the very time the world economy is slowing and when Quebec and Canada can least afford it.
[np-related]
A PQ victory in 2012 probably wouldn’t lead to the kind of mass corporate decamping that occurred in the late 1970s after then PQ premier René Lévesque took power, experts say. A more likely scenario would see companies, especially global multinationals with operations in several countries, maintain their presence in Quebec but reduce their investment.
Says Mr. Dorval: “You won’t have the desire to invest in an unstable place. That’s the reality.”
The PQ is leading in the latest Léger Marketing poll with 33% of voting intentions, five percentage points ahead of the Liberals and six points clear of François Legault’s upstart Coalition Avenir Québec. From the moment it takes office, the sovereigntist party is vowing to repatriate to Quebec a series of federally controlled powers over things like employment insurance. It is counting on fights. The thinking is that every time Ottawa says no strengthens the argument for separation.
“Quebecers will judge for themselves Ottawa’s response to our demands,” said PQ finance critic Nicolas Marceau, an economist who teaches at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
The party is also the most interventionist of the three. It would mandate provincial pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec to protect Quebec companies from takeovers, politicizing an institution that has remained staunchly independent under chief executive Michael Sabia.
“We’re not talking about the PQ putting its hands in the Caisse. That’s out of the question,” Mr. Marceau said. “There has to be a distance between the government and the Caisse that lets the Caisse take its decisions based on business considerations. But at the same time, we can give it certain orientations to favour economic decisions which we think would be completely legitimate.”
How seriously Premier Jean Charest’s Liberals are taking the threat of a PQ government was made abundantly clear before the campaign started.
Raymond Bachand, the finance minister, uncharacteristically waded into the private markets by vowing to use all means necessary to block a takeover by U.S. home improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos. of local champion Rona Inc. Many observers believe Mr. Bachand’s move was pure political strategy — a way for the Liberals to connect with Quebecers who are instinctively nationalist and claim some of that ground as their own.
It remains to be seen whether the Liberals would maintain that interventionist stance if returned to power. But one thing is certain: Their opponents are even bigger meddlers, vowing to shield Quebec’s corporate jewels like Astral Media Inc. from being bought and the resulting head-office loss than might entail.
That’s great for all the local suppliers and lawyers and accountants whose livelihood feeds from the money flowing out from corporate Quebec’s headquarters. But it’s a bad outlook for investors looking to make money from a change of control.
“As soon as you start intervening in the fluidity of the market, there is a discount” that gets applied on the company being traded, said Adrien Pouliot, president of Montreal investment firm Draco Capital. “There is a general chill.”
Quebecers have a higher tolerance for government intervention than other Canadians, Mr. Pouliot says. He gives the example of the Quebec Stock Savings Plan, a scheme created by former PQ premier Jacques Parizeau that offered investors generous tax breaks if they put money in new public share offerings for Quebec-based companies. He benefitted from the plan as his company was able to raise more money than it otherwise would have.
The government in Quebec is so involved in the economy that eventually almost everybody gets something
“The government in Quebec is so involved in the economy that eventually almost everybody gets something,” Mr. Pouliot said. “It’s a system that’s very difficult to break.”
Quebec’s small and medium-sized businesses, which make up 50% of gross domestic product and represent the heart of many communities, are equally apprehensive about the future. Dealing with an 8% tax on profits, double the rest of Canada, and payroll taxes that are 45% higher on average than in other provinces, their hurdles to expansion are immense.
“[We] don’t have a climate where you’re encouraging people to grow their business,” said Martine Hébert of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. “I go see members in Quebec. They’re telling me ‘I made the choice to stay small because the more I grow, the more problems I get.’ ”
Using the Caisse to shield Quebec companies is a bad strategy, says Martin Coiteux, an economist at Montreal’s HEC business school. First, it presumes that a foreign takeover is automatically a bad thing when in fact a new owner might innovate and create jobs. Second, it’s using pensioner money, not public money, to pursue the government’s agenda.
“It’s like we’re back 20, 30, maybe 40 years ago,” Mr. Coiteux said in an interview. “It projects to the outer world the image of a Quebec which is resolutely looking at its own past.”
There was a time when the Quebec government used the Caisse more actively. If that kind of economic nationalism had produced clear improvements in the lives of ordinary Quebecers, it might be worth pursuing. Trouble is, Mr. Coiteux says, it hasn’t.
“What happened is that the gap between the richest province and our own economy has increased. And provinces such as New Brunswick are catching up. So something is going on. And nobody is really questioning the overall strategy. [It’s] more economic nationalism for no other purpose than to perpetuate a winning speech at election time.”
In theory, the average Quebecer wouldn’t get huffy in the least about the PQ’s plan to repatriate employment insurance. And the party still might find it a tough slog to build support for outright separation.
But the mood among the Quebec electorate now is unpredictable, Mr. Coiteux says. It can get massively behind a cause, as the NDP’s crushing victory in Quebec and this past spring’s student protests demonstrated. It also has little love for the Harper Conservatives.
The argument is that anything can happen in these volatile conditions.
“Given the polls that we’ve seen so far, I don’t think that anybody is really betting on the re-election of the Liberals,” Mr. Coiteux said. “[Quebecers] are dividing their votes. They’re splitting their votes across various parties. And the PQ might strike a win just because of the divisions between the others.” |
An Atlanta judge has granted Gucci Mane credit for nearly a year of time served in a gun possession charge stemming from a September arrest last year according to TMZ.
Gucci Mane was sentenced to serve 39 months at a hearing in August after reaching a plea deal on the weapons charges, avoiding a potential decade-long sentence in the process. Despite his being arrested in September 2013, Mane’s sentence was scheduled to begin at the time of the sentencing hearing itself. As a result of the latest court ruling, the eleven months Gucci served between September and his sentencing hearing last month will now be subtracted from the 39 month punishment. TMZ reports that Gucci is now slated for release in December of 2016.
As a part of the plea deal executed in August, Gucci Mane’s lawyer requested the rapper to be entered into a drug rehabilitation program and to be held on the West Coast, away from his hometown affiliates. “He understands he has some work ahead of him and his goal is to bring resolution to this case and get back to performing,” Gucci Mane’s lawyer, Drew Findling, said according to Rolling Stone. “He doesn’t want anything to distract him. He wants to do anything to get back to the work place and the work place is the stage.”
In September of last year, Gucci Mane was arrested after police found the 34-year old rapper with a 45-caliber pistol and eight bullets. At the time of his arrest, Mane was already serving probation for a previous felony charge.
Gucci Mane released his I Am Trap mixtape on August 31. HipHopDX gave the release three out of five stars, noting, “the best moments on I Am Trap would sound like welcome additions to his most critically acclaimed tapes, like Trap Back, Writing’s On The Wall, or The Cold War mixtape trilogy. With a guest spot from Wale on one of the tape’s standout tracks, ‘Used To It,’ Gucci states in the chorus ‘Imma keep doin’ what I’ve been doing.’ Looks like Guwop will be releasing much more ‘free Gucci’ in the foreseeable future.”
RELATED: Gucci Mane “I Am Trap” Release Date, Cover Art, Tracklist, Download & Mixtape Stream |
Santa Barbara County officials confirmed Monday afternoon that an estimated 10-foot-long shark was seen early Sunday morning offshore of Goleta Beach, the county’s most popular park.
According to Herman Parker, county community services director, a fisherman working the waters off of Goleta Beach spotted the shark “swimming out to sea” and subsequently reported it to authorities at the Santa Barbara Harbor. Upon learning of the sighting, harbor officials contacted the county, and, by the early afternoon, “swim at your own risk” warning signs had been posted at the beach.
As per county policy, the signs will remain up for at least 72 hours, after which time, as long as there are no additional sightings, they will be removed.
The Goleta encounter comes on the heels of multiple shark sightings in Santa Barbara and Carpinteria. |
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A DIRTY tenant turned his home into a rubbish tip by cramming it with more than 1000 burger and Kentucky Fried Chicken cartons.
Landlord Chris Dowling couldn't believe his eyes, or nose, when confronted with the squalor the man had left behind.
The mountain of burger cartons, bags and other rubbish in the living room of the £100,000 flat was so huge that Chris struggled to force his way through it.
More McDonald's and KFC cartons were piled high around the bed.
It's thought the tenant had eaten his way through £5000 worth of fast-food.
And when Chris made it to the bathroom, he found that the tenant had left a giant heap of cigarette ends on the sink.
Chris, 57, said: "In 15 years of running properties I've never come across anything like this - and we see all sorts.
"The tenant had also been smoking without opening windows and there were nicotine stains dripping from the walls.
"It smelled like a giant ashtray. I can't imagine how anyone can live like that."
Chris's tenant, a mechanic, moved into the flat in Slough, Berkshire, in 2005 and always paid his £450-a-month rent.
His filthy lifestyle was exposed when bailiffs turned up at the flat to chase him for unpaid council tax. They alerted Chris, who went to inspect the flat but found the locks had been changed.
He wrote to the tenant telling him to get out and spoke to him on the phone last week.
Chris said: "He told me he had quit the flat. I told him the council were after him and he said he would sort that out."
Chris had to hire specialist cleaners who took a full vanload of rubbish from the studio flat. He has also had to pay to have the property redecorated.
But he insisted: "It hasn't put me off renting places out. I'll just take the hit."
Don Gorske, of Wisconsin, says he has eaten 23,000 of Big Macs burgers in 36 years. He has also kept every receipt. |
One striking aspect of the Trump Phenomenon is that his opponents impute to him many politically incorrect views that he hasn’t actually said. For example, Trump is widely assumed to be critical of affirmative action, but he actually favors it. When Justice Scalia offered the “mismatch” argument against affirmative action in college admissions last year, Trump criticized Scalia in the same terms as everybody else did.
What seems to be happening is that Trump has increasingly come to be seen as a sort of archetypal figure notorious for enjoying the freedom to tell the blunt truth without being fired. So much BS has piled up in our culture that our collective guilty consciences have enlarged Trump in the media imagination into a sort of all-purpose subversive truth-teller of Hatefacts.
Everybody else is terrified of being Watsoned out of a job for letting slip an Occamite explanation, but Trump can’t be fired because he’s the one who says “You’re fired.” Or something. (We’re dealing with archetypal logic here, so don’t expect tight causality.)
The classic fictional version of awkward honesty is the little child in “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) wrote elegant pseudo-folk tales like The Ugly Duckling that are often confused with the genuine fairy tales collected and selected by the Grimm Brothers from multiple sources. One difference is that the real folk tales tend to be just plain strange — the Old, Weird Europe incarnate — while Andersen’s fairy tales make sense to modern adults. Indeed, Andersen’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes” sounds like proto-Orwell.
After I wrote that I thought: Let’s check to see if George Orwell himself noticed the connection. And, yup, it turns out that in 1943, two years before publishing Animal Farm, Orwell adapted “The Emperor’s New Clothes” for the BBC. The recording probably no longer exists — Orwell had it put on acetate disk, but lamented later that the disks were likely trashed — but the script at least is in a box in the Orwell papers archive.
Here’s a translation of the original (i.e., not the Orwell version):
The Emperor’s New Clothes
A translation of Hans Christian Andersen’s “Keiserens nye Klæder” by Jean Hersholt. Many years ago there was an Emperor so exceedingly fond of new clothes that he spent all his money on being well dressed. … Every day many strangers came to town, and among them one day came two swindlers. They let it be known they were weavers, and they said they could weave the most magnificent fabrics imaginable. Not only were their colors and patterns uncommonly fine, but clothes made of this cloth had a wonderful way of becoming invisible to anyone who was unfit for his office, or who was unusually stupid.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
“Those would be just the clothes for me,” thought the Emperor. “If I wore them I would be able to discover which men in my empire are unfit for their posts. And I could tell the wise men from the fools.
Most people are afraid of being fired and those who aren’t (e.g., tenured professors) are afraid of being called stupid.
Yes, I certainly must get some of the stuff woven for me right away.” He paid the two swindlers a large sum of money to start work at once. They set up two looms and pretended to weave, though there was nothing on the looms. All the finest silk and the purest gold thread which they demanded went into their traveling bags, while they worked the empty looms far into the night. “I’d like to know how those weavers are getting on with the cloth,” the Emperor thought, but he felt slightly uncomfortable when he remembered that those who were unfit for their position would not be able to see the fabric. It couldn’t have been that he doubted himself, yet he thought he’d rather send someone else to see how things were going. The whole town knew about the cloth’s peculiar power, and all were impatient to find out how stupid their neighbors were. “I’ll send my honest old minister to the weavers,” the Emperor decided. “He’ll be the best one to tell me how the material looks, for he’s a sensible man and no one does his duty better.” So the honest old minister went to the room where the two swindlers sat working away at their empty looms. “Heaven help me,” he thought as his eyes flew wide open, “I can’t see anything at all”. But he did not say so. Both the swindlers begged him to be so kind as to come near to approve the excellent pattern, the beautiful colors. They pointed to the empty looms, and the poor old minister stared as hard as he dared. He couldn’t see anything, because there was nothing to see. “Heaven have mercy,” he thought. “Can it be that I’m a fool? I’d have never guessed it, and not a soul must know. Am I unfit to be the minister? It would never do to let on that I can’t see the cloth.” … The Emperor presently sent another trustworthy official to see how the work progressed and how soon it would be ready. The same thing happened to him that had happened to the minister. He looked and he looked, but as there was nothing to see in the looms he couldn’t see anything. “Isn’t it a beautiful piece of goods?” the swindlers asked him, as they displayed and described their imaginary pattern. “I know I’m not stupid,” the man thought, “so it must be that I’m unworthy of my good office. That’s strange. I mustn’t let anyone find it out, though.” So he praised the material he did not see. … All the town was talking of this splendid cloth, and the Emperor wanted to see it for himself while it was still in the looms. Attended by a band of chosen men, among whom were his two old trusted officials-the ones who had been to the weavers-he set out to see the two swindlers. He found them weaving with might and main, but without a thread in their looms. “Magnificent,” said the two officials already duped. “Just look, Your Majesty, what colors! What a design!” They pointed to the empty looms, each supposing that the others could see the stuff. “What’s this?” thought the Emperor. “I can’t see anything. This is terrible! Am I a fool? Am I unfit to be the Emperor? What a thing to happen to me of all people! – Oh! It’s very pretty,” he said. “It has my highest approval.” And he nodded approbation at the empty loom. Nothing could make him say that he couldn’t see anything. His whole retinue stared and stared. One saw no more than another, but they all joined the Emperor in exclaiming, “Oh! It’s very pretty,” and they advised him to wear clothes made of this wonderful cloth especially for the great procession he was soon to lead. … So off went the Emperor in procession under his splendid canopy. Everyone in the streets and the windows said, “Oh, how fine are the Emperor’s new clothes! Don’t they fit him to perfection? And see his long train!” Nobody would confess that he couldn’t see anything, for that would prove him either unfit for his position, or a fool. No costume the Emperor had worn before was ever such a complete success. “But he hasn’t got anything on,” a little child said. “Did you ever hear such innocent prattle?” said its father. And one person whispered to another what the child had said, “He hasn’t anything on. A child says he hasn’t anything on.” “But he hasn’t got anything on!” the whole town cried out at last. The Emperor shivered, for he suspected they were right. But he thought, “This procession has got to go on.” So he walked more proudly than ever, as his noblemen held high the train that wasn’t there at all.
Interestingly, Andersen leaves open at the end the possibility that the Emperor can bluff it out. In cartoon versions, in my half-century old recollection, the Emperor walking on is presented as pure humiliation for him. But Andersen’s ending is indeterminate, with the possibility left open that the power structure just might be able to fake their way past the skepticism.
The dissident anthropologists Lionel Tiger and Robin Fox (who, despite their children’s lit names, are real people) point out that the psychology of the town coming to believe the child is implausible: 99% of the time the crowd would viciously denounce the little child as particularly stupid and unworthy of his job as a little child.
But what if he were an … unusual child? What if the child had such an adamantine ego that nobody could hush him up? What if he were Little Donnie Trump? |
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Nawaz Sharif has survived one court ruling but now faces a fresh investigation
The leak of 11 million documents held by the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca identified links between many political and business leaders around the world and offshore companies and accounts. Among them was the Pakistani prime minister's family.
The Pakistani Supreme Court has now ordered an investigation into their affairs by a joint team of civil and military investigation agencies, as the BBC's M Ilyas Khan explains.
What did the Panama Papers reveal?
The leaks in April 2016 revealed that three of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's children owned offshore companies and assets not shown on his family's wealth statement.
The companies identified so far include three British Virgin Islands-based companies Nescoll Ltd, Nielsen Enterprises Ltd and Hangon Property Holdings Ltd, incorporated in 1993, 1994 and 2007 respectively.
These companies have been used to channel funds to acquire foreign assets, including some apartments along Park Lane in London's Mayfair area.
The insinuation that the companies were meant to hide or launder ill-gotten wealth or to avoid taxes called his credentials into question.
Image copyright AFP Image caption The Panama revelations led to protests around the world - and, here in Iceland, the resignation of the prime minister
What does Mr Sharif say?
Mr Sharif and his family have denied wrongdoing. In November, they told the Supreme Court that their London property was bought through investments in companies owned by the Qatari ruling family.
The prime minister has called the leaks the work of people "targeting me and my family for their political aims". In an address to the nation on 5 April 2016, he said those "who use ill-gotten wealth don't keep assets in their own names".
Initially, however, the leaks appeared to trigger panic in the top circles of the ruling PML-N party. The pressure was believed to be the reason behind Mr Sharif's unscheduled departure for London on 13 April 2016 to keep a rare appointment with his doctors.
This week, the sudden emergence of billboards supporting the prime minister and his government in parts of Punjab and Sindh provinces was seen by many as an attempt to whip up public support in case of an adverse ruling by the Supreme Court.
The prime minister has not yet commented on the Supreme Court's decision, but his top aides have called it a victory for the ruling party, which had proposed a judiciary-led investigation at the start.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Supporters of Nawaz Sharif welcomed the court's decision not to remove him from office
How did the Supreme Court ruling come about?
The ruling came at the end of a year-long process in which the court examined thousands of pages of evidence and heard lengthy arguments by lawyers from both sides.
The Panama Papers leaks came at a time when Mr Sharif's government was still recovering from the 2014 siege of Islamabad by opposition politician Imran Khan which kept the federal capital paralysed for four months.
Back then it was believed that some elements in the security establishment were backing the protests to prevent Mr Sharif from taking domestic and foreign policy initiatives independently of the military.
With the Panama leaks hitting the headlines, the government again come under pressure from Mr Khan and smaller groups who demanded his resignation and threatened another lockdown of Islamabad.
They filed petitions at the Supreme Court for the prime minister to be disqualified.
After initially rejecting the petitions on the grounds that they were based more on hearsay than facts, the Supreme Court constituted a five-member bench in October 2016 to start hearings in the case.
Image copyright AP Image caption Opposition politician Imran Khan wants Mr Sharif to resign
What did the Supreme Court say and what happens next?
In its ruling the court stopped short of removing Mr Sharif from public office. Instead, it has ordered investigators drawn from civilian investigation agencies and military intelligence services to examine the money trail, look at records where available and obtain testimony from key players.
The team - in front of whom the prime minister and his children have been ordered to appear - will submit its report to the court in two months' time.
Critics believe two months is too short for the team to conduct an investigation that takes in Pakistan, the UAE, Qatar and the UK, not to mention Panama. They also point out that two judges out of five, including the chief justice of Pakistan, suggested that the prime minister be disqualified.
Many opposition leaders, including former President Asif Zardari and Imran Khan, have suggested the prime minister should resign as a fair investigation is not possible if he remains in power.
Has the episode weakened Mr Sharif?
Speculation that a ruling in the case could put Mr Sharif in immediate trouble and bring forward elections due in 2018 has eased for now.
But the verdict has not eased the air of acrimony that has marred Pakistani politics since 2014.
The fact that the court has not cleared the prime minister's name and has directed him to appear before investigators will be used by the opposition to chip away at his legitimacy and personal integrity.
Allegations of corruption have chased Mr Sharif since the 1980s. And much of what the Panama Papers have revealed now was the subject of a federal inquiry in the mid-1990s.
Mr Sharif ordered that inquiry closed when he came into power in 1997, calling it "politically motivated". But this time he and his family have had to acknowledge they used offshore companies to acquire foreign assets.
The petitioners, meanwhile, led by Mr Khan, have not fared much better. They will continue to be taunted by the prime minister's camp that they entertained politically motivated charges that they could not prove in court.
As of now, the air of acrimony is likely to continue and even worsen when the investigators begin their work. And all this is happening at a time when the government has lost much of its territory to the military and elections are approaching. |
Not to be confused with dwarf star
In astronomy, the term "compact star" (or "compact object") refers collectively to white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. It would grow to include exotic stars if such hypothetical dense bodies are confirmed.
Most compact stars are the endpoints of stellar evolution, and thus often referred to as stellar remnants, the form of the remnant depending primarily on the mass of the star when it formed. All of these objects have a high mass relative to their radius, giving them a very high density. The term compact star is often used when the exact nature of the star is not known, but evidence suggests that it is very massive and has a small radius, thus implying one of the above-mentioned categories. A compact star that is not a black hole may be called a degenerate star.
Formation [ edit ]
The usual endpoint of stellar evolution is the formation of a compact star.
Most stars will eventually come to a point in their evolution when the outward radiation pressure from the nuclear fusions in its interior can no longer resist the ever-present gravitational forces. When this happens, the star collapses under its own weight and undergoes the process of stellar death. For most stars, this will result in the formation of a very dense and compact stellar remnant, also known as a compact star.
Compact stars have no internal energy production, but will—with the exception of black holes—usually radiate for millions of years with excess heat left from the collapse itself.[1]
According to the most recent understanding, compact stars could also form during the phase separations of the early Universe following the Big Bang.[citation needed] Primordial origins of known compact objects have not been determined with certainty.
Lifetime [ edit ]
Although compact stars may radiate, and thus cool off and lose energy, they do not depend on high temperatures to maintain their structure, as ordinary stars do. Barring external disturbances and proton decay, they can persist virtually forever. Black holes are however generally believed to finally evaporate from Hawking radiation after trillions of years. According to our current standard models of physical cosmology, all stars will eventually evolve into cool and dark compact stars, by the time the Universe enters the so-called degenerate era in a very distant future.
The somewhat wider definition of compact objects often includes smaller solid objects such as planets, asteroids, and comets. There is a remarkable variety of stars and other clumps of hot matter, but all matter in the Universe must eventually end as some form of compact stellar or substellar object, according to the theory of thermodynamics.
White dwarfs [ edit ]
The Eskimo Nebula is illuminated by the white dwarf at its center.
The stars called white or degenerate dwarfs are made up mainly of degenerate matter; typically carbon and oxygen nuclei in a sea of degenerate electrons. White dwarfs arise from the cores of main-sequence stars and are therefore very hot when they are formed. As they cool they will redden and dim until they eventually become dark black dwarfs. White dwarfs were observed in the 19th century, but the extremely high densities and pressures they contain were not explained until the 1920s.
The equation of state for degenerate matter is "soft", meaning that adding more mass will result in a smaller object. Continuing to add mass to what is now a white dwarf, the object shrinks and the central density becomes even larger, with higher degenerate-electron energies. The star's radius has now shrunk to only a few thousand kilometers, and the mass is approaching the theoretical upper limit of the mass of a white dwarf, the Chandrasekhar limit, about 1.4 times the mass of the Sun ( M ☉ ).
If we were to take matter from the center of our white dwarf and slowly start to compress it, we would first see electrons forced to combine with nuclei, changing their protons to neutrons by inverse beta decay. The equilibrium would shift towards heavier, neutron-richer nuclei that are not stable at everyday densities. As the density increases, these nuclei become still larger and less well-bound. At a critical density of about 4×1014 kg/m3), called the neutron drip line, the atomic nucleus would tend to fall apart into protons and neutrons. Eventually we would reach a point where the matter is on the order of the density (c. 2×1017 kg/m3) of an atomic nucleus. At this point the matter is chiefly free neutrons, with a small amount of protons and electrons.
Neutron stars [ edit ]
In certain binary stars containing a white dwarf, mass is transferred from the companion star onto the white dwarf, eventually pushing it over the Chandrasekhar limit. Electrons react with protons to form neutrons and thus no longer supply the necessary pressure to resist gravity, causing the star to collapse. If the center of the star is composed mostly of carbon and oxygen then such a gravitational collapse will ignite runaway fusion of the carbon and oxygen, resulting in a Type Ia supernova that entirely blows apart the star before the collapse can become irreversible. If the center is composed mostly of magnesium or heavier elements, the collapse continues.[2][3][4] As the density further increases, the remaining electrons react with the protons to form more neutrons. The collapse continues until (at higher density) the neutrons become degenerate. A new equilibrium is possible after the star shrinks by three orders of magnitude, to a radius between 10 and 20 km. This is a neutron star.
Although the first neutron star was not observed until 1967 when the first radio pulsar was discovered, neutron stars were proposed by Baade and Zwicky in 1933, only one year after the neutron was discovered in 1932. They realized that because neutron stars are so dense, the collapse of an ordinary star to a neutron star would liberate a large amount of gravitational potential energy, providing a possible explanation for supernovae.[5][6][7] This is the explanation for supernovae of types Ib, Ic, and II. Such supernovae occur when the iron core of a massive star exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit and collapses to a neutron star.
Like electrons, neutrons are fermions. They therefore provide neutron degeneracy pressure to support a neutron star against collapse. In addition, repulsive neutron-neutron interactions[citation needed] provide additional pressure. Like the Chandrasekhar limit for white dwarfs, there is a limiting mass for neutron stars: the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit, where these forces are no longer sufficient to hold up the star. As the forces in dense hadronic matter are not well understood, this limit is not known exactly but is thought to be between 2 and 3 M ☉ . If more mass accretes onto a neutron star, eventually this mass limit will be reached. What happens next is not completely clear.
Black holes [ edit ]
A simulated black hole of ten solar masses, at a distance of 600km.
As more mass is accumulated, equilibrium against gravitational collapse reaches its breaking point. The star's pressure is insufficient to counterbalance gravity and a catastrophic gravitational collapse occurs in milliseconds. The escape velocity at the surface, already at least 1/3 light speed, quickly reaches the velocity of light. No energy nor matter can escape: a black hole has formed. All light will be trapped within an event horizon, and so a black hole appears truly black, except for the possibility of Hawking radiation. It is presumed that the collapse will continue.
In the classical theory of general relativity, a gravitational singularity occupying no more than a point will form. There may be a new halt of the catastrophic gravitational collapse at a size comparable to the Planck length, but at these lengths there is no known theory of gravity to predict what will happen. Adding any extra mass to the black hole will cause the radius of the event horizon to increase linearly with the mass of the central singularity. This will induce certain changes in the properties of the black hole, such as reducing the tidal stress near the event horizon, and reducing the gravitational field strength at the horizon. However, there will not be any further qualitative changes in the structure associated with any mass increase.
Alternative black hole models [ edit ]
Exotic stars [ edit ]
An exotic star is a hypothetical compact star composed of something other than electrons, protons, and neutrons balanced against gravitational collapse by degeneracy pressure or other quantum properties. These include strange stars (composed of strange matter) and the more speculative preon stars (composed of preons).
Exotic stars are hypothetical, but observations released by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory on April 10, 2002 detected two candidate strange stars, designated RX J1856.5-3754 and 3C58, which had previously been thought to be neutron stars. Based on the known laws of physics, the former appeared much smaller and the latter much colder than they should, suggesting that they are composed of material denser than neutronium. However, these observations are met with skepticism by researchers who say the results were not conclusive.[citation needed]
Quark stars and strange stars [ edit ]
If neutrons are squeezed enough at a high temperature, they will decompose into their component quarks, forming what is known as a quark matter. In this case, the star will shrink further and become denser, but instead of a total collapse into a black hole, it is possible, that the star may stabilize itself and survive in this state indefinitely, as long as no extra mass is added. It has, to some extent, become a very large nucleon. A-type star in this hypothetical state is called a quark star or more specifically a strange star. The pulsars RX J1856.5-3754 and 3C58 have been suggested as possible quark stars. Most neutron stars are thought to hold a core of quark matter, but it has proven hard to determine observationally.
Preon stars [ edit ]
A preon star is a proposed type of compact star made of preons, a group of hypothetical subatomic particles. Preon stars would be expected to have huge densities, exceeding 1023 kilogram per cubic meter – intermediate between quark stars and black holes. Preon stars could originate from supernova explosions or the Big Bang; however, current observations from particle accelerators speak against the existence of preons.[citation needed]
Q stars [ edit ]
Q stars are hypothetical compact, heavier neutron stars with an exotic state of matter where particle numbers are preserved with radii less than 1.5 times the corresponding Schwarzschild radius. Q stars are also called "gray holes".
Electroweak stars [ edit ]
An electroweak star is a theoretical type of exotic star, whereby the gravitational collapse of the star is prevented by radiation pressure resulting from electroweak burning, that is, the energy released by conversion of quarks to leptons through the electroweak force. This process occurs in a volume at the star's core approximately the size of an apple, containing about two Earth masses.[9]
Boson star [ edit ]
A boson star is a hypothetical astronomical object that is formed out of particles called bosons (conventional stars are formed out of fermions). For this type of star to exist, there must be a stable type of boson with repulsive self-interaction. As of 2016 there is no significant evidence that such a star exists. However, it may become possible to detect them by the gravitational radiation emitted by a pair of co-orbiting boson stars.[10][11]
Compact relativistic objects and the generalized uncertainty principle [ edit ]
Based on the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP), proposed by some approaches to quantum gravity such as string theory and doubly special relativity, the effect of GUP on the thermodynamic properties of compact stars with two different components has been studied, recently.[12] Tawfik et al. noted that the existence of quantum gravity correction tends to resist the collapse of stars if the GUP parameter is taking values between Planck scale and electroweak scale. Comparing with other approaches, it was found that the radii of compact stars should be smaller and increasing energy decreases the radii of the compact stars.
References [ edit ] |
When Wolfenstein: The New Order released in 2014, it was just another shooting game. A bloody excellent shooting game, yes, but in terms of its reception in the greater, non-gaming world: a non-event.
Fast forward to 2017, and Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is attracting a fair bit more attention than its predecessor did pre-release—especially off the back of last week's "Make America Nazi-Free Again" trailer. It's doing so because, at a time when racist intolerance and bigotry is alarmingly foregrounded in American life, "embracing an anti-Nazi stance" can, in some quarters—unaccountably, scarily—appear quite brave.
Bethesda's Pete Hines made his company's vehemently anti-Nazi stance explicit last week, while also adding that Wolfenstein 2's depiction of a United States ruled by a fascist regime is a "pure coincidence". But it's still a timely game, disturbingly enough, and I sat down with its creative director Jens Matthies to talk about this stuff, as well as a bunch more.
JENS MATTHIES Jens is the creative director of Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, as well as its predecessor The New Order. He's also a co-founder of Machine Games.
PC Gamer: You might not have the figures on hand, but a lot of Nazis die in this game. How many roughly? Can you give us a figure?
Jens Matthies: I can probably give you a figure but I have to think about that.
[Jens picks up his phone and, after a minute of complete silence, continues.]
I would say, close to a thousand. That’s what I think. That’s a little bit speculative, but in the neighbourhood of one thousand. Let me revise that: I mean about a thousand personal kills, but then there are a few thousand impersonal kills as well.
I’m happy with that figure. When The New Order came out it wasn’t such a big deal that you were mowing down Nazis in a video game en masse. But in 2017 it is. Pete Hines even addressed it directly last week. What’s your personal response to Wolfenstein suddenly being a cathartic and timely game, given the current political environment?
JM: Well, it is quite a coincidence because that’s actually the theme of the game: catharsis, in terms of the narrative. While I don’t think it’s ever a good thing to have Nazis marching anywhere in the real world, if a feeling of catharsis is what you’re after, then this game is for you.
Nazis have come to be a kind of generic comic evil in games, in the same vein as zombies. Until recently we’ve felt so remote from that history that we can just mindlessly kill them. But I was wondering, speculatively, if you were to make a third instalment, would you address the depiction of Nazis or go about the narrative any differently?
JM: No. We feel very strongly about the stories that we’re telling. This game is painted on a very grand canvas: it’s over the top and it’s bombastic and it’s pulpy. But it’s also... we never wanted to undermine or make light of what Nazi ideology is actually about. So even though we’re sort of representing it in this larger-than-life canvas, it’s not a cartoon in that sense.
We feel like that’s something we established with the first game and continue in this game. If we get the privilege of making the third entry in the trilogy, that’s what we’d continue to do. If you’re all the time worrying about the world and what other people are thinking and saying, then you stop being a good creative.
The tone is pulpy, but one of the things that elevated The New Order, and made it easier to engage with, is the fact that the characters had humanity about them—particularly, surprisingly, BJ. Are there any film makers that inspire MachineGames?
JM: Oh yeah. That’s always what we’re going for, that juxtaposition of things that are very over the top with things that are incredibly intimate and domestic and normal. And we love those authentic feeling relationships—that’s what we want the game to be about. Examples of that are the original RoboCop, which has that vibe. More than anything else, I think that’s an inspiration to me personally because seeing that as a kid was a formative experience. There are other examples: District 9 straddles that line as well, maybe Guardians of the Galaxy, though that’s extremely humorous in a way that we’re not really. Our humor is a lot darker, but it’s still on that spectrum. And of course some Tarantino movies are like that too.
One of the interesting things about Wolfenstein is that it’s marketed as this heavy duty cathartic shooting game, but it’s actually quite tough. It’s a really challenging game.
JM: Of course it is, depending on your difficulty settings. I mean, if you just want to experience the story you can just dial down the difficulty and more or less walk through it. But it’s always more fun, we feel, especially in a game with real old school merits, if it’s a real challenge. It also leads to players needing to think creatively, in ways that many games don’t allow you to do nowadays. If you run into a challenge that’s tricky to overcome, that means you need to re-examine the situation. Maybe if I try it in this order, and use these weapons, and maybe even sneak for a bit and then do this… this is the kind of game where you have a lot of those tools and options, and the combat areas are open to a lot of exploration and approaches. You can observe and figure them out, and most have a certain logic to them. So in order to encourage that kind of gameplay it has to be a little hard, and you have to die a few times just to probe the problem and figure it out.
I’m put in mind of Hotline Miami—you have to figure out a wise sequence, it has a puzzle dynamic.
JM: Yeah, and if that’s not for you you can turn down the difficulty and be more straightforward in your approach. But for the standard experience, you want that cerebral dimension of it, where it’s not just about going through the paces but actually figuring the problem out.
You’re using a new engine, and it seems to me it’d take a lot of effort to basically create the game afresh.
JM: Oh yeah. Oooh yeah.
But you’ve still retained the feel of the weaponry. There’s a certain quality that has carried over.
JM: We were extremely happy with what we accomplished in The New Order. We felt that was a good, really strong feeling of Wolfenstein. So for sure we wanted to preserve that, but also kick it up to the next level. We really wanted to get back to having a full body model, because in New Order you were basically a disembodied arm / gun / first-person model. So if you look down you have no legs. But in this game it’s a full body model, which in itself is incredibly much more work, but we have a dedicated team who is super passionate about the first-person experience.
Were there any overarching philosophies regarding the shooting approach? Obviously it feels different to anything else, but in subtle ways. What were the guiding values?
JM: It’s interesting because I don’t think I’ve ever put words to it before, but we always wanted to be just, I guess, meatier, and just fucking… more heavy metal than anything else. So our stated goal was that we wanted to reach the level where this was the best first-person experience you can have in terms of combat and movement. I’m very happy with how it came out because it’s very noticeable that if you play The New Colossus for a few hours and then you start playing something else, everything feels a lot different. So yeah, I think we’re evolving with what we did with The New Order to a new level.
Do you think it helps your gunplay that multiplayer isn’t a factor? Could it work in multiplayer?
JM: I’m sure it could, but I’m sure there would be problems as well. But for sure, having everyone focused on the same problem is what historically has always resulted in our best work. So that’s always what we’ve tried to do and that’s why we don’t do multiplayer. But I think if we did do multiplayer, I’m sure we could get to something of that same level.
I like that The New Colossus feels like a filmic sequel—it’s not about just adding stuff, like so many game sequels are, it’s a new story. Has there been any desire to do stuff like that, add an open world, add more stuff?
JM: I don’t know, we constantly think about stuff that we want to do and I wouldn’t at all be opposed to doing different formats. But of course, we have this… I wouldn’t say that we have this story that we want to tell—we do of course—but it’s more than that. We have an experience that we want to create. We always envisioned it as a trilogy, and so if we get to do one more, if the game does well enough to motivate that, then I can guarantee that it will be a worthy sequel. How that shapes out and what its form is, we’d have to see.
What’s your relationship with the first Wolfenstein 3D? Do you resort to it as a primary, kind of bibilcal text? Or have things moved on so much that it barely factors in?
JM: No way, to us that’s the foundation with our approach to Wolfenstein. It’s not biblical in the sense that we’re being literalist about it, but the ethos that propelled and created Wolfenstein 3D is what we’re literal about. Analysing what went on there, this was id Software coming into their own, having broken away from wherever they were before and barely in their teens, sitting in some apartment somewhere making these things that no one else is making. That people don’t even think is possible. That’s what they’re doing and they’re just forcing their totally unrestricted creativity into that project, and that’s what we wanted to go for: if we think it’s a cool idea and it belongs in the game, it goes into the game. We don’t try to censor ourselves and say “would that really fit with blah blah”. That doesn’t mean we don’t want to make it credible in the game world, we care about that stuff, but we don’t put any boundaries on ourselves. So that’s what we’re trying to carry on. |
Abu Dhabi: reasons to visit now
Motor racing, contemporary art fairs, sailing, beaches and winter sun... There has never been a better time to visit the cultural capital of the UAE. By Laura Fowler
One result of the Arab Spring is that the UAE has become a more popular Middle-East destination than ever, with its capital, Abu Dhabi, gaining a reputation as a hub of culture, sport and leisure.
Among other highlights in coming months: the F1 Grand Prix and Volvo Ocean Race are swinging by on their world tours, Norman Foster has designed a futuristic pavilion for Abu Dhabi Art as well as a stylish shopping mall, Frank Gehry is working on the world's third Guggenheim and there's even a new Louvre planned for completion in the next couple of years. There are also beaches and an astonishing number of big hotel openings taking place this year and next - plus winter sun, less than seven hours away. |
Here are my instructions for creating a FreeNAS Jail with Serviio 1.1 running inside it. This uses no FreeNAS plugins whatsoever and takes full advantage of all the power that comes with having a FreeBSD core running at the heart of FreeNAS 8.3.
Install a plugin Jail as per the instructions available on the FreeNAS wiki here and start the Jail running. Create a user on your FreeNAS for yourself, e.g. MYUSER Enable SSH on your FreeNAS and SSH into your FreeNAS install using your client of choice. Execute the following commands: SU root jexec 1 csh mkdir /home adduser When prompted by adduser follow the instructions on-screen to create a user that matches the user you created in Step 2. Make sure that the Uid matches the user you created in Step 2. If you are not sure what the Uid number is then look it up in the FreeNAS control panel. Here’s the example: Username: MYUSER
Full name: MYUSER
Uid (Leave empty for default): 1111
Login group [MYUSER]:
Login group is MYUSER. Invite MYUSER into other groups? []: wheel
Login class [default]:
Shell (sh csh tcsh nologin) [sh]: csh
Home directory [/home/MYUSER]:
Home directory permissions (Leave empty for default):
Use password-based authentication? [yes]:
Use an empty password? (yes/no) [no]:
Use a random password? (yes/no) [no]:
Enter password:
Enter password again:
Lock out the account after creation? [no]:Username : MYUSER
Password : *****
Full Name : MYUSER
Uid : 1111
Class :
Groups : MYUSER wheel
Home : /home/MYUSER
Home Mode :
Shell : /bin/csh
Locked : no
OK? (yes/no): yes
adduser: INFO: Successfully added (MYUSER) to the user database.
Add another user? (yes/no): no
Goodbye! Now we need to leave the jail and create a bridge between the FreeNAS internals and the jail. So logout of your SSH client and then turn off the jail in FreeNAS control panel. Then navigate to Services -> Plugins -> Management -> Mount Points and add a new mount point. Map a directory you can access regularly through FreeNAS as the directory /home/MYUSER within the jail. Turn the jail back on and restart your FreeNAS. SSH into your FreeNAS install using your client of choice. Execute the following commands [NB: This section will take some time to complete so set aside a couple of hours]: SU root jexec 1 csh portsnap fetch extract update Update 02 February 2013 To ensure that you have the new pkg program installed run: pkg -v If you don’t get a response of 1.0.7 or higher then run: cd /usr/ports/ports-mgmt/pkg/ && make install clean cd /usr/ports/ports-mgmt/portmaster/ && make install clean
Be sure to use the appropriate options for your system. If you’re not sure, check all the boxes.
echo ‘WITH_PKGNG=yes’ >> /etc/make.conf rehash pkg2ng portmaster -G editors/nano rehash cd /usr/ports/multimedia/ffmpeg1 make config Set the options so that they match the information shown in the Serviio wiki for building ffmpeg. This is complicated so follow the screenshots below: press ok cd /usr/ports/graphics/frei0r/ make config check Enable MMX CPU instructions then press ok portmaster -G multimedia/ffmpeg1 portmaster -G net/serviio nano /etc/hosts and add line [replacing Jailed with the name of your jail from the FreeNAS control panel]:
127.0.0.1 Jailed nano /etc/rc.conf and add lines:
serviio_enable=”YES”
serviio_args=”-Dserviio.remoteHost=192.168.0.100″ service serviio start You’re done. Serviio will now start-up on every boot. Login to it remotely and set up the directories you need as necessary! I heartily recommend using ServiiDroid for Android which is available here. |
Miami police shut down roads, sealed off an area and cleared the site near an art show after security dogs reacted to a suspicious crate on Saturday morning.
But when police opened the crate outside the Art Miami tent at the Art Basel festival, they found it contained a “punk” style picture of Hillary Clinton, with pink hair, an eyebrow piercing and a studded jacket covered with pins and buttons.
Police ran the artwork through the X-ray scanners and it was deemed free from any suspicious material, the Miami Herald reported.
Fair director Nick Korniloff said that the two dogs reacted to the crate during a pre-show check shortly after 8 a.m., prompting organizers to clear the site. Both the Art Miami tent and a tent for Context, connected by a tunnel, were closed off. The package was then searched and the painting of the former Democratic presidential candidate was found inside. ... “We had to err on the side of caution,” Korniloff said. Both tents eventually reopened around 10 a.m. The painting — titled “Punk Hillary” — had been shipped with a similar portrait of President Donald Trump (called “Trump Pimp”), depicting him in a zebra-printed hat with a gold dollar-sign chain around his neck. The Trump portrait had already been removed from the crate before the security check. The false alarm delayed the opening of the tent located at One Herald Plaza for dozens of people, including event staff and attendees. After police blocked off a section of Biscayne Boulevard with their cruisers and caution tape, many lingering outside were blocked from entering the area. As a gray sky threatened rain on those waiting outside, joggers and other passersby were told to cross to the north side of 15th Street around the blocked-off area Saturday morning. Miami-Dade Transit also redirected its routes, temporarily closing the Arsht Performing Arts Center Metrobus terminal.
Gallery owner Ken Hashimoto said police still don't know why the police dogs hit on the gaudy portrait.
“They have no idea,” he said. “My thought is a Republican bomb dog.” |
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I’m going to channel my inner @alanbleiweiss and rant for a minute about some things I saw over the last few days in the SEO world. I also want to apologize for any spelling mistakes from the start, as my right arm is in a cast and I’m typing this entirely left-handed until I can find an intern. (If you’re curious as to how I broke my arm, it was with a softball. there’s a video here. )
There’s been lots of SEO chatter lately about a recent SEL post called More Proof Google Counts Press Release Links. and I want to address a couple of issues that came up both in this thread and on Twitter.
First point: what works for one small made-up keyword may not scale or be indicative of search as a whole. Scientists see this in the real world when they notice that Newton’s laws don’t really work at the subatomic level. In SEO algorithms, we have the same phenomenon – and it’s covered in depth by many computer science classes. (Note: I have a computer science degree and used to be a software engineer, but I haven’t studied too much in the information retrieval field. There’s more in depth and profound techniques than the examples I am about to provide.)
A long time ago the Google algorithm was probably just a couple of orders more complex than an SQL statement that says something like “Select * from sites where content like ‘%term’ order by pagerank desc.”
It’s not that simple anymore. Most people think of the algorithm like a static equation. Something like Pagerank + KeywordInTitle – ExactMatchDomain – Penguin – Panda + linkDiversity-Loadtime. I’m pretty sure it’s not.
When I think of the Google Algorithm, (especially with things like Panda and Penguin) I instantly think of a neural network where the algorithm is fed a training set of data and it builds connections to constantly learn and improve what good results are. I’ll refrain from talking more about neural nets because that’s not my main point.
I also want to talk about the branch of information retrieval within computer science. Most of the basic theories (on which, the more complicated ones are built) in IR talk about dynamic weighting based on the corpus. (Corpus, being latin for body and referring here to all of the sites that Google could possible return for a query.)
Here’s an example that talks about one such theory (which uses’s everybody’s favorite @mattcutts over-reaction from 2 years ago: inverse document frequency)
Basically, what this says is that if every document in the result set has the same term on it, that term becomes less important. That makes sense. The real learning here though, is that the weighting of terms is dynamic based on the result set. If term weights can be dynamic for each result set, why can’t anchor text, links, page speed, social signals, or whatever other crazy thing is correlated to rankings? They Can Be!
So let’s look at the made up keyword example. In the case of a made up term, the corpus is very very small. In the SEL example, it’s also very very small.
Now, in this instance, what should Google do? It has pages that contain that word, but they don’t have any traditionally heavily weighted ranking signals. Rather than return no results, the ranking factor weights are changed and the page is returned. That one link actually helps when there’s no other factors to consider. get it?
Think of it as kind of a breadth first search for ranking factors. Given a tree of all factors Google knows about, it first looks at the main ones. If they aren’t present, it goes further down the tree to the less important ones and keeps traversing the tree until it finds something it can use to sort the documents.
It’s like choosing a car. First you decide SUV or Car. Then Brand, Then manual or automatic. Then maybe the color, and finally it’s down to the interface of the radio. But what if the entire car lot only had Red Automatic SUVs? That radio interface would be a LOT more important now wouldn’t it? Google is doing the same thing.
OK, point number 2. Still with me?
We need to stop analyzing every word @mattcutts says like it’s some lost scripture and start paying attention to the meaning of what he says. In this example, Matt was right. Press releases aren’t helping your site – because your site is probably going after keywords that exist on other sites, and since there’s other sites that means the press release link factor is so far down the tree of factors that it’s probably not being used.
Remember when Matt said that Page Speed was a “all else being equal we’ll return the faster site” type of factor? That fits perfectly with the tree and dynamic weights I just talked about.
Instead of looking at the big picture, the meaning, and the reasoning behind what Matt says, we get too caught up on the literal definitions. It’s the equivalent of thinking David and Goliath is a story about how there are giants in the world rather than a story about how man’s use of technology helps him overcome challenges and sets him apart from beasts. We keep taking the wrong message because we’re too literal.
That’s all I want to say. Feel free to leave feedback in the comments. |
Last week, ICICI bank started blocking UPI transactions from the @ybl virtual payment address (VPA) that is used by the PhonePe app from Flipkart, powered by Yes Bank. This of course runs contrary to the whole idea behind the UPI - it's supposed to be an interoperable layer that works between all banks, allowing for easy digital payments. Having banks block legitimate VPAs undermines the concept, and what's worse, ICICI did not offer any substantiative statement about the block either.
This might finally have been resolved, with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) having asked both ICICI and Yes Bank to take steps to open transactions again. As we had speculated, the move to block @ybl VPAs does appear to have been related to Flipkart's implementation of UPI payments, which tried to funnel all users to sign up to PhonePe, instead of allowing customers to use any VPA. In the app, it was possible to enter your own VPA, but that was only through a non-intuitive process that involved multiple menus; while using PhonePe was easily done on the first screen itself. This was definitely problematic, but ICICI's decision to block all @ybl VPAs was even more of an issue; the former is opportunistic, but the latter entirely undermines the UPI.
The NPCI's statement addresses this, and stresses on interoperability. In it's statement, the NPCI says that ICICI Bank has been advised to open UPI transactions immediately, and that it has advised Yes Bank to adhere to "merchant on-boarding guidelines meticulously" - a key phrase to take note of.
How UPI Works - the Apps, Charges, and Everything Else You Should Know
On Friday, people started complaining about not being able to use their ICICI accounts with PhonePe, and that's when the payments company's founder Sameer Nigam tweeted about what was going on. We independently verified this, by trying to use our ICICI accounts on PhonePe - the transactions were denied. ICICI was not, however, stopping UPI transactions on other VPAs; we tested it with the BHIM app and it worked just fine.
At the time, ICICI issued a statement mentioning security related concerns, an restrictive practices. However, it had not gone into any details. Now too, it stresses on interoperability, and not merchant on-boarding, as mentioned by the NPCI, but it is easy to read between the lines.
Here's ICICI's statement in full: "A certain non-banking application is following a restrictive practice of allowing only users of its own UPI handle to make payments on its App. This is a clear violation of UPI guidelines which mandate interoperability, wherein users enjoy the freedom to choose any UPI handle to make payments."
"NPCI has assured us in writing that this will get corrected very soon and the concerned App will allow interoperability. As soon as this is corrected, ICICI Bank will start allowing UPI transactions to resume on this App."
More about the ICICI-PhonePe block in this week's episode of Orbital, which you can subscribe to via iTunes or RSS, or just hit the play button below. |
It was less than six months ago that Dallas owner Jerry Jones put himself on notice as GM of the Cowboys, saying he would have fired himself. Well, based on the early returns from this year's NFL draft, Jones once again has cause for self-dismissal.
The Cowboys were the only team to earn a failing grade for their performance in the draft, an effort that included a trade down and the subsequent selection of a player they could have gotten rounds later.
For the most part, the NFC performed well, led by teams such as San Francisco, Minnesota, Atlanta and, yes, Tampa Bay.
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Here's an early assessment of how the NFC teams fared:
[Related: AFC draft grades]
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys
Picks: C Travis Frederick, TE Gavin Escobar, WR Terrance Williams, FS J.J. Wilcox, CB B.W. Webb, RB Joseph Randle, OLB DeVonte Holloman.
Analysis: Last year, the Cowboys received a B after an aggressive move up the board to get cornerback Morris Claiborne. This year they traded down, and the grade bottomed out with it. Three of their first four picks are guys who might not play significantly this year. The consensus around the league is that Frederick was a reach. Escobar was a fine pick, but then Williams and Wilcox are two guys who might not play for two years. Considering the Cowboys have Miles Austin, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten, Williams was an unnecessary luxury (particularly after the Escobar pick). Wilcox can be an in-the-box safety, but he’s so woefully inexperienced that it’s going to take awhile.
Grade: F
New York Giants
Picks: OT Justin Pugh, DT Johnathan Hankins, DE Damontre Moore, QB Ryan Nassib, S Cooper Taylor, G Eric Herman, RB Michael Cox.
Story continues
Analysis: Syracuse fans who love Pugh and Nassib are probably going to be up-in-arms with me, but don’t take this grade the wrong way. It’s a perfectly acceptable draft by a team that understands where it is. The Giants addressed some important needs, but didn’t exactly get anyone spectacular with this draft. Pugh is a really nice offensive tackle, but clearly a step down from some of the top guys in this draft. Same goes for Hankins and Moore, who figure to be good rotation players, if not starters some day (the Giants are very good at picking defensive linemen). Nassib is the interesting pick because so many people thought he was worthy of a second-round selection. Like so many quarterbacks, the Giants could develop him for a year or two and then flip him for a higher pick.
Grade: C+
[More: Secrecy helped the Bills land QB E.J. Manuel]
Philadelphia Eagles
Picks: OT Lane Johnson, TE Zach Ertz, DT Bennie Logan, QB Matt Barkley, SS Earl Wolff, DE Joe Kruger, CB Jordan Poyer, DE David King.
Analysis: The start of this draft was much stronger than the end of it. Johnson comes in as a starter to immediately help an offensive line that was a mess last season because of injury and inexperience. Ertz is a great weapon in the mold of Jason Witten who will pair with Brent Celek to provide the Eagles with ample opportunity for an explosive two-tight end set. The combo of Ertz, Celek, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy and Michael Vick could be really fun in Chip Kelly’s offense. Where things went sideways was in the middle of the draft with Logan, who is an underachiever, and Barkley, who was overrated and not altogether necessary. The fact that Philly traded up to get Barkley when it already had second-year passer Nick Foles is perplexing.
Grade: B
Washington Redskins
Picks: CB David Amerson, TE Jordan Reed, SS Phillip Thomas, RB Chris Thompson, DE Brandon Jenkins, SS Bacarri Rambo, RB Jawan Jamison.
Analysis: This grade gets a pretty good boost from the fact that the Redskins used their first-round pick as part of the deal to get Robert Griffin III. That’s the excellent, but sort of unseen, part to this draft. As for the picks the Redskins made this year, they are pretty questionable. Amerson is a guy who suffers from DeAngelo Hall Disease, which is the inordinate tendency to get beat deep despite having good speed. Reed is very athletic, but is a bit of reach in the third round (most people projected him in the fourth or even the fifth). The one nugget pick in this group might be Thomas, who is a pretty good hitter and might provide some presence on defense.
Grade: B+
NFC NORTH
Chicago Bears
Picks: OT Kyle Long, ILB Jon Bostic, OLB Khaseem Greene, OT Jordan Mills, OLB Cornelius Washington, WR Marquess Wilson.
Analysis: There are vastly different opinions on Long, who is far more athletic than he plays. The problem is that Long took awhile to get back to football after a dalliance with baseball. Where some people see a guy who is stiff, others see a guy who is learning to react and project that once he gets it, he could even become a left tackle. Likewise, some people don’t see Bostic as very athletic, while others see him as way more explosive and talented than more highly regarded players such as Manti Te’o. The bottom line is the Bears got a couple of guys who figure to start right away and could be, at the least, steady players for a long time.
Grade: C+
Detroit Lions
Picks: DE Ezekiel Ansah, CB Darius Slay, G Larry Warford, DE Devin Taylor, P Sam Martin, WR Corey Fuller, RB Theo Riddick, TE Michael Williams, LB Brandon Hepburn.
Analysis: Three years from now, this grade has the best chance to look completely foolish because of Ansah. He is likely to either be an amazing pro or a complete bust because of his limited background in the game. He has basically played only one year and didn’t grow up with the game in Africa. Aside from Ansah, the Lions came into this draft with a lot of serious needs, including both defensive end spots and left tackle. With little ability to work a trade, the Lions at least got Ansah and picked up solid values in Slay and Warford. The other guy to pay close attention to is Taylor, who has extraordinary size.
Grade: B
[More: Complete 2013 NFL draft breakdown]
Green Bay Packers
Picks: DE Datone Jones, RB Eddie Lacy, OT David Bakhtiari, C J.C. Tretter, RB Johnathan Franklin, CB Micah Hyde, DE Josh Boyd, LB Nate Palmer, WR C.J. Johnson, WR Kevin Dorsey, LB Sam Barrington.
Analysis: Packers fans are going to rave about the steal the team got in Lacy at the end of the second round. OK, maybe. But there’s some pretty good money to be bet on Lacy being a guy with little or no long-term future because he’s so beaten up. In fact, Franklin could end up being the better player in a couple of year. Jones is an interesting player who some people feel is going to be a great pass rusher. Maybe, but he also could get stuck playing inside too much as a 3-4 end. One GM said he thought Jones would struggle to get more than four sacks a year, which seemed really odd to say. The real key to this draft could be the two offensive linemen Green Bay picked up in round 4 (Bakhtiari and Tretter). Both are classic Ted Thompson picks.
Grade: B
Minnesota Vikings
Picks: DT Sharrif Floyd, CB Xavier Rhodes, WR Cordarrelle Patterson, OLB Gerald Hodges, P Jeff Locke, G Jeff Baca, OLB Michael Mauti, G Travis Bond, DT Everett Dawkins.
Analysis: If you like aggressive drafting, this is it at it’s finest. Through the process of two trades (giving up Percy Harvin in March and then giving up four picks on Thursday), the Vikings ended up with three first-round picks. They used them on three great examples of the "falling value" concept. Starting with Floyd, who was projected as a possible top-four pick, all three were guys who have star ability to go with some factor that drags them down the draft board. If the Vikings hit on two of the three, they could have two superstars. If they hit on all three, they have the makings of a title team. If they hit on only one, somebody is probably going to get fired. Also, picking a punter in the fifth round when you have Chris Kluwe around is a bit odd.
Grade: A-
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons
Picks: CB Desmond Trufant, CB Robert Alford, DE Malliciah Goodman, TE Levine Toilolo, DE Stansly Maponga, DB Kemal Ishmael, SS Zeke Motta, QB Sean Renfree.
Analysis: If GM Thomas Dimitroff is one thing above all else, it’s realistic. He saw how the Falcons' defense got torched in the playoffs and dumped his aging cornerbacks and defensive end. He then used four of his top five picks on critical positions. He traded up to get Trufant, followed that with another corner and then picked up two defensive ends with projectable pass-rush ability. He also made a nice move to get Toilolo, who probably would have been a second-round pick next year if he had returned to Stanford. Instead, Toilolo, who has excellent athletic ability but not a lot of experience, will get to watch Tony Gonzalez. Hopefully, Toilolo will be inspired.
Grade: A-
Carolina Panthers
Picks: DT Star Lotulelei, DT Kawann Short, G Edmund Kugbila, ILB A.J. Klein, RB Kenjon Barner.
Analysis: Given my own size and shape, I should probably like this draft a whole lot more than I do. If you like big men and trench warfare, this is your prototype draft. Really, if you know new Panthers GM Dave Gettleman and his background from with the Giants, this makes perfect sense. It’s not sexy, but it’s functional and necessary. There are still concerns long-term about health maintenance for Lotulelei, but he’s a big-time space-eater. Combine him with Short, and the Panthers will have no problems getting MLB Luke Kuechly free to run all over the field and make tackles. The Panthers' run defense, which has been awful the last two seasons, is now at least respectable. Finally, Barner could be really interesting in open offensive sets.
Grade: C+
[More: Winners, losers from 2013 NFL draft]
New Orleans Saints
Picks: SS Kenny Vaccaro, OT Terron Armstead, DT John Jenkins, WR Kenny Stills, DE Rufus Johnson.
Analysis: Vaccaro was clearly the best safety available in a strong group for that position (three went in the first round and another went with the top pick of the second round). Vaccaro has a certain confidence and edginess that coach Sean Payton loves. More importantly, he can play either strong, free or even cornerback in a pinch. Armstead walks in as a likely starter on a team that historically has gotten by with lesser offensive tackles. Likewise, Jenkins is a likely starter in New Orleans’ new 3-4 defense and is a terrific space eater … as long as he doesn't eat his way out of the league.
Grade: B+
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Picks: CB Johnthan Banks, QB Mike Glennon, DT Akeem Spence, DE William Gholston, DE Steven Means, RB Mike James.
Analysis: Much of this grade depends upon how you view the Darrelle Revis trade. If you think it’s a good risk, you give the Buccaneers high marks. If you think it was a bad risk, you probably give them a C, at best. My opinion is pretty obvious, and I give Tampa Bay a bit more credit for taking Banks to add even more to a secondary that has to deal with some talented offenses in the NFC South. While Glennon is a questionable pick in the third round, Spence and Gholston have an immediate chance to play right away because of the free-agent departures of Roy Miller and Michael Bennett.
Grade: A-
NFC WEST
Arizona Cardinals
Picks: G Jonathan Cooper, ILB Kevin Minter, CB Tyrann Mathieu, DE Alex Okafor, G Earl Watford, RB Stepfan Taylor, WR Ryan Swope, RB Andre Ellington, TE D.C. Jefferson.
Analysis: No matter what happens with Mathieu – and all outcomes are on the table – this is probably going to end up being a strong draft because of Cooper and Minter. Cooper is an extraordinary guard, the rare type that is worth not only taking in the first round, but in the top 10. You’re talking about a potential all-time great at that position. As for Minter, he’s a very good player who will likely start from Day 1. Moreover, Minter and CB Patrick Peterson are part of the plan to get the most out of Mathieu, an extremely talented and sadly undisciplined player. If that weren’t enough, the beauty of this draft could be in the combination of Okafor, Taylor and Swope, who all have a chance to be serious contributors.
Grade: A
St. Louis Rams
Picks: WR Tavon Austin, ILB Alec Ogletree, FS T.J. McDonald, WR Stedman Bailey, C Barrett Jones, CB Brandon McGee, RB Zac Stacy.
Analysis: It’s very unusual for such a small wide receiver (Austin is all of 5-foot-8) to go in the top 10 of a draft, but the Rams were selecting as much for need as for value. St. Louis jumped eight spots to get the speedy Austin, who has a chance to turn the Rams into the second coming of the Greatest Show on Turf. Yeah, I said it, but that’s what Jeff Fisher and Les Snead are obviously building. That said, it wouldn’t be a Fisher draft if there weren’t a problem child in the group. Ogletree is that guy who fell all the way to No. 30 despite top-10 athletic ability. Then again, if Ogletree gets too far out of line, Fisher can have Jones put him in his place. Jones is one tough dude.
Grade: B
San Francisco 49ers
Picks: FS Eric Reid, DE Cornellius Carradine, TE Vance McDonald, OLB Corey Lemonier, WR Quinton Patton, RB Marcus Lattimore, DE Quinton Dial, OLB Nick Moody, QB B.J. Daniels, OT Carter Bykowski, DB Marcus Cooper.
Analysis: The 49ers came into this draft with four pretty obvious needs: Safety, defensive end/line, second tight end and the eventual replacement for Frank Gore. Check, check, check and check. Sure, Reid, Carradine, McDonald and Lattimore might not all hit in the long run, but the 49ers got four strong candidates. The 49ers showed aggression by trading up for Reid, a guy who coach Jim Harbaugh tried to recruit to Stanford, and still got Carradine, a guy who some people thought San Francisco was going to take in the first round. Lattimore is the truly intriguing prospect as he tries to come back from a horrific knee injury. If he returns to form, the 49ers might have nabbed the best back in the draft.
Grade: A+
[More: Who were the best players not selected in the 2013 NFL draft?]
Seattle Seahawks
Picks: RB Christine Michael, DT Jordan Hill, WR Chris Harper, DT Jesse Williams, CB Tharold Simon, TE Luke Wilson, RB Spencer Ware, G Ryan Seymour, LB Ty Powell, DT Jared Smith, OT Michael Bowie.
Analysis: As with Tampa Bay and Darrelle Revis, a lot of this grade depends on how people perceive WR Percy Harvin, who Seattle got in a trade that included its first-round pick. Harvin is a serious talent who can also be a serious malcontent. If the Seahawks get three good years out of Harvin, it will be a great trade. Even two good years might be enough. As for the rest, GM John Schneider did his usual work of finding good value along the way, particularly with guys like Michael, who has a nice blend of speed and power, and Williams, who was predicted to go much higher by some.
Grade: B
NFL.com on the Giants' draft class:
More NFL draft coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
• New Cardinals DB Tyrann Mathieu continues to raise red flags
• Eagles nab Matt Barkley early on Day 3
• Watch: Is Manti Te'o a good fit for the Chargers? |
When Edgar Rice Burroughs first published Tarzan of the Apes back in 1912 film adaptations would have probably been the farthest thing from his mind, but one hundred years later movies are still being made about his most popular creation – only the likes of Dracula, Godzilla and Sherlock Holmes are in Tarzan’s league when it comes to filmographies – and many notable actors have appeared in his films.
In 1918 Elmo Lincoln was the first to play the iconic ape man, but it was in 1932 – when MGM released Tarzan the Ape Man with Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan – that Tarzan became a true box office star. Over the past year I’ve been reviewing Tarzan movies for this site – a labour of love if ever there was one – and I welcome all fans of the character to journey across time, as we look back at the cinematic tales of Tarzan the Ape Man. Click on the links or posters below to check out all my reviews of the world’s most cinematic ape man.
In Tarzan the Ape Man Jane visits her father in Africa as they hunt for the mythical elephant graveyard, when Tarzan enters the mix things get ugly. Johnny Weissmuller begins his long run as the titular ape man.
In Tarzan and His Mate another safari to the Elephant’s Graveyard finds Tarzan and Jane at odds with her English friends. Jane’s naked underwater swim makes this a fan favorite.
In Tarzan Escapes Jane’s cousins show up to take her back to civilization. Tarzan is not too keen on the idea. Hi-jinks ensue. They do get the really sweet tree-house in this outing.
In Tarzan’s Revenge a group of rich Americans come to Africa to get some animals for their zoo, gold medalist Eleanor Holm must fend off an idiot fiancé and an evil sultan until Tarzan eventually shows up.
In Tarzan Finds a Son! Jane and Tarzan adopt a baby that survived a plane crash, when relatives come looking for the kid five years later things get a bit tense.
In Tarzan’s Secret Treasure it’s not ivory that the villains of this entry are after this time out, now its gold they want and Boy’s innocence could spell disaster. Can Tarzan save Jane and Boy from white man’s insatiable greed?
In Tarzan’s New York Adventure we meet a group of unscrupulous circus people who kidnap Boy and take him to New York City to make him work the Big Top. Jane and Tarzan track them down through this new concrete jungle.
In Tarzan Triumphs Nazis invade the Lost City of Palandria, and only Tarzan and Boy can thwart their evil plans to enslave and exploit the populace. Cheeta’s Hitler impression a stand-out moment for the series.
In Tarzan’s Desert Mystery our favorite Lord of the Jungle brings Boy along on a mercy mission that takes them into dangerous lands, facing off against Nazi spies, dinosaurs, and giant spiders.
In Tarzan and the Amazons white intruders find a hidden city full of Amazons, Tarzan and Boy fight over whether to help these idiots or just call it a bad day and go home.
In Tarzan and the Leopard Woman the Ape Man and Boy must do battle with a leopard cult, and rescue some pretty school teachers from their evil clutches.
In Tarzan and the Huntress white invaders cross into Tarzan’s territory to hunt for animals to replenish a great animal shortage that zoos have been facing since the war ended.
In Tarzan and the Mermaids a girl flees from her people to escape being forced into a marriage with a conman posing as a god. Tarzan and Jane step into help foil this evil plot. This would be Johnny Weissmuller last outing as Tarzan.
In Tarzan’s Magic Fountain a missing aviatrix walks out of the jungle after being missing for twenty years and hasn’t aged a day. Tarzan must help her keep the secret of her youth. This is the first Lex Barker Tarzan.
In Tarzan and the Slave Girl members of a lost civilization are raiding African villages for women and only Tarzan can stop them. Meanwhile Jane gets into a nasty cat-fight with a girl hot for Tarzan’s jungle action.
In Tarzan’s Peril the Ape Man must stop a notorious slaver and gunrunner from arming an evil African warlord. Dorothy Dandridge and a man-eating plan provide great entertainment.
In Tarzan’s Savage Fury Jane and Tarzan are duped by a pair of criminals, one posing as his cousin Oliver Greystoke, all in the hopes of finding the Waziri and their fabled diamonds.
In Tarzan and the She-Devil ivory hunters enslave friends of Tarzan and try and kidnap Jane. The Lord of the Apes tries to stop this but spends most his time captured. This was Lex Barker’s last outing as Tarzan.
In Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle we find two hunters, posing as photographers, who actually plan to slaughter countless animals for their fat, hides, and tusks and only Tarzan stands in their way. Gordon Scott begins his run as Tarzan.
In Tarzan and the Lost Safari Tarzan must escort a group of plane crash survivors through hostile jungle while dealing with a possible traitor in their midst. Tarzan seen for the first time in glorious colour.
In Tarzan and the Trappers we find poor Tarzan caught up in “The Most Dangerous Game” in this failed attempt at Tarzan television series.
In Tarzan’s Fight for Life the jungle man must prevent an evil witch doctor from turning the jungle into a warzone between science and superstition. This was the final feature for producer Sol Lesser.
In Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure a group of bad men have murdered their way to find a diamond mine and only Tarzan the Lord of the Jungle can stop them. Watch out for a pre-James Bond Sean Connery as one of the villains.
In Tarzan the Magnificent Tarzan must bring in a wanted killer while being hunted by the man’s villainous family. John Carradine gives an excellent turn as the evil patriarch of this rotten group. Also the last Gordon Scott Tarzan.
In Tarzan Goes to India we find Tarzan hired to stop a herd of elephants from being drowned by a hydroelectric dam project in India. Can the ape and a rogue elephant save the day? Jock Mahoney dons the loin cloth for the first time.
In Tarzan’s Three Challenges Tarzan must guide “The Chosen One” through the jungles of Thailand while being hunted by the evil Khan. Woody Strode does double duty as the dead Khan and his evil brother. Jock Mahoney’s last Tarzan film.
In Tarzan and the Valley of Gold Tarzan must rescue a small boy from nefarious villains who want to get the location to a lost city of gold from the poor kid. Mike Henry picks up the Tarzan torch after Jock Mahoney’s departure.
In Tarzan and the Great River Tarzan heads into the jungles of Brazil to track down the evil Jaguar Death Cult. He teams up with annoying boy sidekick and a hot blonde doctor.
In Tarzan and the Jungle Boy Tarzan must locate a boy who has been lost in the jungle for six years while also trying to referee two heirs to a jungle throne. This would be Mike Henry’s last outing as Tarzan.
In this Jane centric version of Tarzan the Ape Man we find Bo Derek cavorting naked with the apes while beefcake Miles O’Keefe says nothing as Tarzan. Richard Harris, who portrays Jane’s father, was most likely paid in Scotch.
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes is a serious and realistic attempt of the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs tale of a man raised by apes and the girl he fell in love with.
In Tarzan and the Lost City we have Tarzan returning to Africa to help some old friends prevent villainous white men from discovering the lost city of Opar. As this postpones his wedding to Jane things get ugly.
Disney’s Tarzan is an animated version that pits Tarzan against a cruel hunter and a few misplaced Phil Collins songs. It gets even more things wrong from the book but still manages to be an excellent Tarzan flick.
In The Legend of Tarzan a reluctant John Clayton returns to Africa to stop a group of mercenaries from enslaving the population of the Congo. Director David Yates removes much of the pulp adventure aspect of the Burroughs’ books but at least Jane is given more to do this time out.
It is truly astonishing that we had about one Tarzan film a year for about four decades, and now with the David Yates The Legend of Tarzan we have almost a hundred years of Tarzan movies. That’s impressive by anyone’s standards. I do hope you have enjoyed my lighthearted trip through the cinematic history of the world’s most famous jungle adventurer, and please join me for any further adventures of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. |
Image: Shutterstock
Brian Krebs is a popular reporter on the cybersecurity beat. He regularly exposes cybercriminals and their tactics, and consequently is regularly a target of their ire. Last month, he wrote about an online attack-for-hire service that resulted in the arrest of the two proprietors. In the aftermath, his site was taken down by a massive DDoS attack.
In many ways, this is nothing new. Distributed denial-of-service attacks are a family of attacks that cause websites and other internet-connected systems to crash by overloading them with traffic. The "distributed" part means that other insecure computers on the internet—sometimes in the millions—are recruited to a botnet to unwittingly participate in the attack. The tactics are decades old; DDoS attacks are perpetrated by lone hackers trying to be annoying, criminals trying to extort money, and governments testing their tactics. There are defenses, and there are companies that offer DDoS mitigation services for hire.
Basically, it's a size vs. size game. If the attackers can cobble together a fire hose of data bigger than the defender's capability to cope with, they win. If the defenders can increase their capability in the face of attack, they win.
What was new about the Krebs attack was both the massive scale and the particular devices the attackers recruited. Instead of using traditional computers for their botnet, they used CCTV cameras, digital video recorders, home routers, and other embedded computers attached to the internet as part of the Internet of Things.
Much has been written about how the IoT is wildly insecure. In fact, the software used to attack Krebs was simple and amateurish. What this attack demonstrates is that the economics of the IoT mean that it will remain insecure unless government steps in to fix the problem. This is a market failure that can't get fixed on its own.
The IoT will remain insecure unless government steps in and fixes the problem.
Our computers and smartphones are as secure as they are because there are teams of security engineers working on the problem. Companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google spend a lot of time testing their code before it's released, and quickly patch vulnerabilities when they're discovered. Those companies can support such teams because those companies make a huge amount of money, either directly or indirectly, from their software—and, in part, compete on its security. This isn't true of embedded systems like digital video recorders or home routers. Those systems are sold at a much lower margin, and are often built by offshore third parties. The companies involved simply don't have the expertise to make them secure.
Even worse, most of these devices don't have any way to be patched. Even though the source code to the botnet that attacked Krebs has been made public, we can't update the affected devices. Microsoft delivers security patches to your computer once a month. Apple does it just as regularly, but not on a fixed schedule. But the only way for you to update the firmware in your home router is to throw it away and buy a new one.
The security of our computers and phones also comes from the fact that we replace them regularly. We buy new laptops every few years. We get new phones even more frequently. This isn't true for all of the embedded IoT systems. They last for years, even decades. We might buy a new DVR every five or ten years. We replace our refrigerator every 25 years. We replace our thermostat approximately never. Already the banking industry is dealing with the security problems of Windows 95 embedded in ATMs. This same problem is going to occur all over the Internet of Things.
The market can't fix this because neither the buyer nor the seller cares. Think of all the CCTV cameras and DVRs used in the attack against Brian Krebs. The owners of those devices don't care. Their devices were cheap to buy, they still work, and they don't even know Brian. The sellers of those devices don't care: they're now selling newer and better models, and the original buyers only cared about price and features. There is no market solution because the insecurity is what economists call an externality: it's an effect of the purchasing decision that affects other people. Think of it kind of like invisible pollution.
What this all means is that the IoT will remain insecure unless government steps in and fixes the problem. When we have market failures, government is the only solution. The government could impose security regulations on IoT manufacturers, forcing them to make their devices secure even though their customers don't care. They could impose liabilities on manufacturers, allowing people like Brian Krebs to sue them. Any of these would raise the cost of insecurity and give companies incentives to spend money making their devices secure.
Of course, this would only be a domestic solution to an international problem. The internet is global, and attackers can just as easily build a botnet out of IoT devices from Asia as from the United States. Long term, we need to build an internet that is resilient against attacks like this. But that's a long time coming. In the meantime, you can expect more attacks that leverage insecure IoT devices. |
Google's video-sharing unit accused of playing copycat
By Lee Min-hyung
"One sows and another reaps" seems to be a perfect match for YouTube's long-term business tactics.
The U.S.-based video streaming giant unveiled last month its plan to start Super Chat, a platform where creators and the company share profits raised from fans who watch live videos from YouTube "stars."
The arrival of the new revenue stream reflects the ever-growing influence of talented online posters, with multi-channel networks ― such as YouTube ― growing in size and importance as a core venue for advertisers and other business operators in almost all industries.
But the YouTube business model is not the first of its kind, looking almost identical to AfreecaTV's "star balloon" system.
The Seoul-based live video streaming site adopted the platform in November 2007, allowing users to buy balloon items, which cost 110 won (10 cents) apiece. Fans of AfreecaTV hosts then send the balloons to their favorite broadcasting jockeys ― BJs as they are called here ― via a live chat. In return for the monetary support, BJs communicate with their supporters in real-time by reading out their IDs and having brief talks with them via video.
On average, AfreecaTV gets 40 percent of its revenue from the balloons, with BJs pocketing the rest. YouTube has yet to make public its specific profit-sharing portion for Super Chat.
"For YouTube, the decision (to adopt the similar business model) must have been an unavoidable choice to diversify its revenues. We do not view this as a serious threat," an AfreecaTV spokesman said.
"YouTube is not the first firm to copy such a business model as our star balloons. There have been so many late movers in our industry but almost all of them failed to make enough of an impact and stopped their businesses."
The top priority for those who want to start their own live video channels is a platform where the so-called "gift ecosystem" between users and creators is deeply-rooted, according to the official.
"In this context, we believe Super Chat will not be a serious threat to our decade-long ecosystem, at least in the Korean market," he said. "For example, Kakao failed to draw enough response with its live video streaming service, Kakao TV, falling short of extending its mobile influence."
Kakao is the operator of the nation's most popular messenger app Kakao Talk and No. 2 web portal Daum.
Level playground?
Although AfreecaTV shows confidence that it will beat YouTube, the latter has a track record of having dethroned a Korean powerhouse in the video market to hold a dominant 80 percent share in the online video-sharing industry here.
In 2004, Pandora TV, the Seoul-based online broadcasting firm, started the video-sharing business for the first time in the world. The following year, YouTube was founded and began to steal the limelight from Pandora TV.
Pandora TV founding CEO Peter Kim attributed its downfall to a weak social environment where the government did not encourage fair and transparent competition.
"It is not a matter of who copied what," he said. "Much more important is to keep the No. 1 title in any given industry. For startups or venture firms in Korea, it is extremely tough to compete with global IT giants."
"One underlying reason behind this is the unfair competition landscape in Korea, as the government does not adopt the same regulation standards toward local companies and their overseas counterparts," he said.
"Under the current legal structures, Korean companies will continue to fall prey to overseas business titans. The playground is not level and does not favor us. All firms should be treated equally under local restrictions regardless of the locations of their headquarters."
The remarks reflect that renowned IT firms ― including Apple, Google or YouTube ― have generated billions of won in profits each year here, but the Korean government has failed to collect enough taxes from their business operations, due to a different taxation system imposed on multinational firms.
This is in contrast to hard-line protectionist policies from the Chinese government, which has in recent years imposed strict regulations on Western IT titans. This has resulted in creating such influential Chinese firms and services as Baidu and TenCent's WeChat. |
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Microsoft is making a special exception in the way it retires Windows XP in China, and will continue offering security support for the OS to users in the nation.
To do so, the U.S. software giant is partnering with China’s leading Internet security vendors, Microsoft said in a Sunday posting on its official account with Sina Weibo, a top social networking site in the country.
Outside of China, Microsoft is dropping support of Windows XP on April 8, meaning that users of the OS will no longer receive security patches meant to fix vulnerabilities in the software.
To stay protected, Microsoft has urged users of the old OS to upgrade their PCs to the latest version of Windows. In markets such as the U.S., Windows XP is gradually being phased out by PC users. But in China, the software remains one of the top operating systems.
Among China’s Internet users, about 57 percent rely on Windows XP systems to go online, according to analytics site CNZZ.com. The OS can still be found in use at Internet cafes, businesses and schools.
A major reason why the 12-year-old OS is so popular in China is because it has been widely pirated. For years, Microsoft has tried repeatedly to convince consumers and businesses in the nation to buy official copies, pointing to the rampant security vulnerabilities found in bootleg versions. But the operating system’s high price has been one factor that’s turned potential buyers away.
The retiring of Windows XP, however, is giving China’s security vendors a chance to fill the void with their own security products. Among the Chinese security vendors helping Microsoft provide support to the OS is Tencent, one of China’s largest Internet firms.
It’s unclear how the protection will be delivered, but the security support may not even matter to most Windows XP users in the country.
In its Sunday post, Microsoft noted that 70 percent of China’s Windows XP users had in the last 13 years never chosen to install the company’s security updates. |
Sixteen years ago, David Bohnett founded GeoCities, a homepage-hosting website which presaged today’s blogs and social networks. Now his Baroda Ventures is backing Fabulis, a recently launched social network for gay men.
Jason Goldberg, Fabulis’s cofounder and CEO, told me that Bohnett recently agreed to invest $250,000 in Fabulis, bringing the New York-based company’s seed funding to $825,000.
Bohnett, an openly gay entrepreneur like Goldberg, has been an active venture investor since he sold GeoCities to Yahoo in 1999 for $3.6 billion. (Yahoo shut down GeoCities a year ago, after failing to capitalize on its early lead in giving ordinary Web users an online presence.) He got interested in Fabulis after using the site, according to Goldberg.
Fabulis is betting heavily on its virtual currency of “bits” as a business model. It’s currently running travel-related contests for trips to Fire Island, a popular summer destination outside New York City, and Atlantis Cruises, a gay cruise line.
Originally, Goldberg said he thought users would use bits for messaging, with users setting their own price in bits for access to their inbox. But he rapidly realized that wasn’t working, because “Facebook messaging is free.”
Instead, he’s running a massive popularity contest, where users vote each other up and bits, which sell for 1,500 a dollar and up, supercharge those votes. Prizes are awarded to people who enter a particular contest, but you can’t quite buy your way to the top. Instead, you need to make friends who then use their bits to give their votes more weight. Some are spending hundreds of dollars on bits, according to Goldberg.
Fabulis has given away $30,000 in prizes so far, Goldberg said, and users’ total spending has exceeded that amount. It’s also offering bits to users who sign up for marketing offers from advertisers like American Airlines.
Those dual revenue sources may help distinguish it from competitors like GayCities, a more established startup which recently relaunched its gay travel directory as a social network and may prove to be Fabulis’s most direct competition.
“If you can get paid on both ends, that’s a very good business,” said Goldberg. |
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Authorities said a Virginia Beach man is being kicked out of the country after his mother was convicted of creating a fake family.
It’s been a dramatic fall for Natallia Liapina. A year ago, the woman from Belarus was married to a doctor, living in Virginia Beach with her teenage son.
She landed a job as a Russian teacher at Tallwood High School, where her colleagues adored her.But then came the prosecutors. They said all this was a hoax, an elaborate fraud to get Natallia a green card.
Previous: Man fighting deportation due to accusations of marriage fraud against family
Prosecutors said Natallia’s husband, Armando, was actually in love with Natallia’s oldest son. The two men carried on a romantic relationship, the prosecutors said. And to please Danil, prosecutors claimed Armando agreed to marry Danil’s mother so she could live in America.
Natallia and her sons deny all of this.
Danil said there was no romantic relationship with Armando. He was already married to an American woman named Victoria. And Ivan, Natallia’s youngest, said this was a real family.
No one who worked with Natallia at Tallwood believes any part of the government’s case. Teachers stepped forward to tell NewsChannel 3 Natallia was not only a good teacher, but a good person.
“It’s so upsetting because it is the opposite of who she is. They are telling her that you are dishonest in all that you did here, and she was the epitome of honesty and integrity in everything that she did,” says one of the teachers.
All of this happened, Ivan says, because his sister-in-law got jealous. Danil and Victoria split up. According to court records and interviews, when Victoria found out there was another woman, she went to the authorities and declared the marriage a fraud. She essentially turned herself in, and said her marriage to Danil was fake.
Danil told us that even after his wife reported him, they got back together and remarried. But that didn’t end the investigation. In fact, it broadened to include Natallia. Danil’s family says jailhouse phone calls between Danil and Victoria reveal a real marriage.
The dozens of calls show they fought, a lot, about money mostly. They talked about sex. And Victoria revealed she was angry Danil had left her for someone else.
None of this was allowed in court. According to court testimony, Victoria helped prosecutors after they promised not to charge her. She would not agree to an interview for this story. Prosecutors said there were at least three other Americans involved in this conspiracy, but no one else was arrested.
In the end, these teachers say the school system has lost an excellent instructor to a prosecution that, in their eyes, was way off the mark. They are hoping Natallia can appeal and one day return to teaching.
“It’s unfair because I know all my family, including me, including Vanya, including Danil, worked hard in this country,” says Natallia.
As for Ivan, whom his mother calls Vanya, he worries he’ll be forced from the country. The government says if his mother’s immigration paperwork is fake, then his isn’t valid either.
The Liapin family has set up a fund to pay for an appeal.
Facebook page for the Liapin Family Defense Fund
Statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, on why none of the four accused Americans were prosecuted in this case:
“Over the past five years, the Eastern District of Virginia has charged more than 120 people with marriage fraud, including both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals. Decisions on whether to bring charges in a criminal case are guided by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Principles of Federal Prosecution. While we do not disclose the reasons why a person associated with a case may not be charged, these principles state that we must consider the evidence at hand, the person’s culpability in connection with the offense, their previous criminal activity, and their willingness to cooperate, among several other factors.”
I’d also point you to what we stated in our sentencing position paper for Mr. Lyapin:
Danil Lyapin tried no less than four times with fraudulent marriages to get permanent residence in the United States. Mr. Lyapin deliberately broke down his spouses through repeated mental attacks which from time to time had a physical component. During these “green-card” marriages, Mr. Lyapin continued to date other women and carry on other relationships that further caused mental damage to some of his “wives” and girlfriends. One of these relationships was with Armando Figueroa. Mr. Lyapin and Mr. Figueroa, who was several decades his elder, carried on a romantic relationship for a period of years to allow Mr. Lyapin to use Mr. Figueroa resources to bank roll his lifestyle. Mr. Figueroa bought Mr. Lyapin cars and a restaurant. Still, as the evidence showed, this was not enough. Mr. Lyapin caused Mr. Figueroa to marry the defendant Ms. Liapina so she could also obtain a green-card. Ms. Liapina never had a bonafide marriage with Mr. Figueroa. Mr. Lyapin admitted to agents that Mr. Figueroa only married his mother as a favor to Mr. Lyapin.
The defendant’s conduct during the investigation far exceeded most of the other approximately 120 offenders the government has prosecuted over the past five years. This defendant was the only one to enter into three distinct marriage frauds. This defendant was particularly hard on his spouses and his girlfriends who were smart enough not to marry him. This defendant made fraudulent filings and set up at least fraudulent marriage with his mother.
Statement from Danil Lyapin’s wife, Victoria, (Natallia Liapina’s daughter-in-law), in declining to participate in this story:
I think it is highly inappropriate to air any story concerning me and my life, you know nothing about me and my life. However I respect freedom of speech do whatever you chose, those who know me and care for me know what the truth is, those who don’t, I’m unconcerned what they think they know about me. Until they have walked a mile in my shoes they cannot begin to know anything about me and my life. Do what you feel is best. I have certainly in my life, in every aspect of it.
Written by Mike Mather, WTKR. |
Beer Reps Unite!
This story is for all of my brothers in craft beer arms, the road warriors who are out and about in their patches of turf spreading the word of the craft beer gospel.
I bet many of theses guys and girls, maybe all of them, at some stage have walked into a local bottle-o with a fresh new product they are very excited about, and before they can run through their pitch, the manager says “Is it in Dan’s?”…instant deflation.
I have heard this story so many times before, but in talking to a few friends still in the business, it got me thinking about the issue from both sides, and compelled me to write this article. I know that in writing this, I may frustrate and piss of a few people, but it may also open up some good debate on the topic, which I think is good for the beer community.
Before I go on, I am writing this from an Australian point of view, talking about the Australian beer market. I am sure that some of my readers involved in the business in the Northern Hemisphere will have similar challenges, but I don’t have any real knowledge of your market conditions and don’t have any insights to share. However, if you read this and have similar stories to tell, please shoot me an email, leave a comment, or hit me up on Twitter…I would love to hear from you.
The issue that I want to talk about it Big vs Small, David vs Goliath, and the attitudes of some (not all) in the business of letting the big guy win, instead of finding another way to compete with him. History is littered with accounts of the little guys finding a way to succeed…in the NBA today, we have Steph Curry, who won the MVP of the league last year at just 6” 3’, the smallest player to do so in 10+ years. What about a challenger brand such as Uber taking on the decades old tradition of Taxi transport services, or back in the day when Napster forced an archaic music industry to change it’s ways. These little guys have taken it up the big fella and won, which isn’t easy and there will be more losers than winners…but for the few that are strong and give a big “F##k you” to the man, victory is sweet!
Where am I going with all of this, you say? Well the liquor industry in this country is dominated in the off premise world (bottle-o’s, take away’s, retail outlets…not bars) by two of the country’s largest corporations…Woolworths and Wesfarmers (Coles). Yep, those guys that run departments stores, petrol stations, hardware stores, banking & insurance services and supermarkets filled to the brim with their own private label products also control 60%+ of the off premise liquor market between them.
Look I am not here to bash the big guys, I am sure that they make their shareholders very happy, and obviously run a very good business model. What I am here to do is to challenge the mindset of the other guys, the small independent guys battling against the Goliaths to make an honest living. The bottle shop Manager who, when presented with a new beer from one of the independent breweries, is very quick to ask THAT question “Is it in <insert large liquor store name here>?”. Not only do they ask that question, the answer is usually the determinate of the decisions to give the new product a run…and not the quality of the product, or the potential interest their customers may have in it.
In this situation, if the answer to the above question is a “yes”, they can turn quite negative and start to complain about the help the big guys get with discounts and how they always undercut the little guys prices, how the small guy can never win, and how we may as well just be dead. Well okay, that’s going a little bit too far, but it is fair to say that this conversation is shut down fairly quickly if the answer to that poignant question is a yes.
For the brewery, this is a really delicate balancing act. The larger chains have a big footprint in the market, and the brutal truth is that if you have aspirations as a brewery of being a national brand, at some stage you probably need to get into the mix with them. However, the smaller local bottle shops are where the real engagement between brand and consumer, facilitated by the staff, happens. Somewhere there is a balance between the two, ranging in the small guy and driving distribution in the big guy,
I understand that the local Bottleshop Managers don’t really care about the aspirations of a small brewery, at the end of the day they have their own business to keep afloat, which is only fair, but do the aspirations of both have to be mutually exclusive? I get it, the little guys don’t want to play the price war, and small businesses that run on skinny margins can’t afford to take risks with new products if they are going to see their customers head up the road to buy it next time it’s on special. But is that what really happens? I would like to challenge the mindset of the small business owner here and open up the conversation about working together, small brewery and small business, to take on the big guys.
Now, I am going to let you in on some secrets of the trade (that probably aren’t that secret) that I was exposed to in my previous working life. There are actually some other things that consumers take into consideration when making a purchase decisions, and it’s not just the price
Convenience
Humans are inherently lazy, this writer included. I am forever thinking of easier ways to do things & faster ways to get stuff done, it means I have more time to myself! Sometimes the plans I come up with take longer to come to fruition than actually doing the task, but I love challenging myself to find a better way!
Think about it…do I want to stop in at my local on the way home on a Friday night and pick up that six pack of craft beer at normal price, or do I want to drive 10 minutes out of my way and save $2 on that same six pack?
You are damn right that I will go to my local, it will cost me more than 2 bucks to make the detour! Plus, if I go to the local I will have my strides off, sitting on the couch in my undies, ready for Friday night footy 20 minutes earlier than if I went to the the big box option! Remember, its 10 minutes both ways, and you probably will have to navigate a busy car park and stand in line as well!
We love places that are close to home, where we can park easily, and get in and out with our purchases quickly!
Tips for making it more convenient for your customers
We are Lazy! Play up to that and make sure that everything you do in store is about convenience! Clear pricing, neat displays, products in the right places etc. Use social media to your advantage. When are we thinking about our beer purchases for the night (all day I hear some say!)? Around the mid-afternoon, when we hit that slump and slurp a cup of dodgy instant coffee while checking out Facebook. Tell us that you are open, tell us that you are convenient and tell us about something new in store. Shit…tell us that we can jump the line if we show you your post on our phone, if that’s what it takes! Help us! Be active, be eager to help, share your knowledge of the products, make us appreciate your help and we will be back.
Availability & Range
You know what pisses me off the most…when I go to the big box and can get a great range of beer, but then decide to support the local guy in the scenario above and find a fridge full of me-too lagers, some uninteresting international premium beers and a few token craft beers.
What about adding a few items that are a little different…the cool stuff like the local brews, or the beers that scream out “try me, I’m different!” If you want me to stop shopping at the big guy, you have to give me a compelling reason to switch.
The Tips
You don’t have to stock all and sundry, but at least have something that is a little bit different. Take small, calculated, risks with the new products…just trial it. One carton of a new brew won’t break the bank…we all know that if you sell two six packs out of it, you will have covered your cost! Talk to your customers that might be interested in that small independent brewery’s new product and ask them what they think. Give them one of those samples that your beer rep will be only too happy to supply, and ask them for their feedback. If they feel part of the decision, that drives loyalty, and they may even spread the word! Tell people about the new and different stuff you have…either via social media, face to face, or on external signage. Break through the clutter and stand out from the crowd. Keep an eye on stock…consumers hate it when their favourite beer at their local is in stock one week, and then not the next. Keep an eye on best before dates too…no one likes buying an out of date beer.
Staff
I love it when I walk into my local and can have a chat with the guy behind the counter, and he actually knows what he is talking about! There is nothing worse than asking for assistance and getting a blank look, or a generic “the beer is over there” response from the person behind the counter. Or, even worse, you get some young kid who is more interested in hooking up with a girl on Tinder, or posting their latest “bored at work” selfie on Snapchat.
When I walk into the bottle-o, I want to be treated like a local, be engaged with, maybe have a conversation about what my choices are, and feel good about my purchase decisions. To facilitate this, you must have good, knowledgeable staff that are enthusiastic and helpful.
The Tips
Sounds stupid, but get good staff! Train your staff, make sure they know what’s going on. That beer rep that you just told to shove his new product where the sun don’t shine, he is probably a wealth of knowledge and only too willing to help. Ask him to help train your staff…he will only ask for a regular pallet display in return, but hey, give and take! Get your friends to mystery shop your store to find out what’s really going on. Ban staff phones at the counter! Get your staff out from behind the counter to have conversations at the point of purchase. If they are really good, they may even help drive the sales of full margin products!
So there you have it, my gripe, and some tips to help open the conversation with the naysayers that are only too quick to roll over and play dead when the big boys flex their pricing muscles. If you are reading this and work in a bottle shop, next time you have a beer rep come in to your store that represents one of the companies that don’t have massive budgets, at least give them the time to explain their new product and what it might provide your customers, instead of leading with “Is it Dan’s?”.
At least make sure they give you some decent samples before you say no to them…you have to be sure that the beer tastes good, don’t you…a six pack should do the trick!
If you think about it, smaller operators and smaller breweries are kind of in this together. You are both trying to survive in a very crowded business world dominated by a few big players, so why not try and help each other out? I am tipping that your local and loyal customers will thank you for it, and may even think twice about jumping in the car to visit the beer supermarket next time. Instead of spending those few extra dollars on petrol to get to the beer supermarket, they will put it in your till!
In doing some research for this article, I contacted a bunch of like minded craft beer lovers around Australia to find out some of their favourite smaller bottle shops that tick all the boxes mentioned above, or are at least taking it up to the big guys. The response was overwhelming, so it seems there are some great smaller businesses out there doing the right thing for the greater good of both the industry and the consumer. I encourage you to seek out these places below if you want great service, great knowledge, great beer and above all, a great shopping experience. Oh yeah, and if you have other places you like to visit, why not leave a comment about them.
Victoria
Carwyn Cellars & Slow Beer
Tasmania
Cool Wine & Crown Cellars
Queensland
Craft, Grand Central Cellars & Archive Beer
New South Wales
Beer Cartel, Camperdown Cellars & Oak Barrel
South Australia
Belair Fine Wines & Parade Cellars
Western Australia
Mane Liquor & International Beer Shop
Thanks for reading my rant this week, it was done so with the best of intentions.
As usual, would love you to follow me on Twitter and Facebook pages, check out my YoutTube channel or Instagram feed, and also sign up for email notifications here….but only if you want to!
If you have any feedback for me, I would love to hear it, please leave me a comment or shoot me an email.
BTW, did you see my review of Willie The Boatman Corn Ale, or check out my 8 Beers I Wish I Had Brewed from last week?
Until Wednesday, when I share my new video beer review format!
Cheers to Great Beer Reps! |
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at the University of Warsaw Library in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Mitt Romney made an unfortunate slip of the tongue during a fundraiser Tuesday, when he mistakenly said "sheik" instead of "Sikh" while commenting on the tragic shooting in Wisconsin.
According to a media pool report, the Republican presidential hopeful used the Arabic term, which typically refers to an elder or religious leader, to discuss Sikhism, a religion that originated in the Punjab region of South Asia.
"I was in Chicago earlier today," Romney said to about 280 supporters at a fundraiser in West Des Moines, Iowa. "We had a moment of silence in honor of the people who lost their lives at that sheik temple. I noted that it was a tragedy for many, many reasons. Among them are the fact that people, the sheik people are among the most peaceable and loving individuals you can imagine, as is their faith. And of course, the person who carried out this heinous act was a person motivated by racial hatred and religious intolerance."
When asked about the comments, Romney spokesman Rick Gorka insisted that the mix-up was a mispronunciation.
"He misspoke," Gorka said, according to the pool report. "He mispronounced similar sounding words. He was clearly referring to the tragedy in Wisconsin."
Earlier Tuesday, Romney offered his condolences to the victims of the tragic shooting that left six worshippers dead over the weekend at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisc. The former governor said the suspected shooter, Wade Michael Page, was "motivated by hate," and called for prayers for the victims. |
CLOSE ALBANY -- New York movie theaters are hoping to rewrite the ending in the push to legalize alcohol sales. Joseph Spector, Albany Bureau
Ari Benmosche, the owner of the Lafayette Theatre in Suffern, Rockland County, discusses an effort to allow for alcohol sales at theaters in New York on Monday, June 12, 2017, near the state Capitol in Albany. (Photo: Joseph Spector, Albany Bureau)
ALBANY - New York movie theaters are hoping to rewrite the ending in their push to legalize alcohol sales.
After the measure was rejected in the state budget in April, theater owners and their legislative allies on Monday renewed their effort to let patrons buy alcohol during the movies.
Supporters billed it as a way to help independent theaters and bring visitors to small downtowns across New York.
"This would create such a huge revenue source for us," said Ari Benmosche, owner of the Lafayette Theatre in Suffern, Rockland County.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the issue one of his priorities for the legislative session that started in January, but the bill wasn't included in the state budget approved by the state Legislature on April 9.
Some lawmakers raised concerns about mixing movies and booze, and so they left the bill on the cutting room floor.
But the National Association of Theater Owners of New York State joined with beer producers, elected officials and business groups on Monday to urge the Legislature to reconsider, saying the bill would be a boon for their theaters and includes safety precautions.
“This legislation, at its core, will support job creation, drive millions of dollars back into New York’s economy, and by promoting and serving local beers, ciders, spirits, and wines, support New York agriculture,” said Joe Masher, the association's president.
The clock is ticking: The legislative session ends June 21 for the year.
Currently, movie theaters can serve alcohol in their lobby if they are a tavern license holder or have a full kitchen.
Cuomo's bill would let theaters apply for a permit to serve alcoholic beverages, regardless of whether they serve food or have tables.
The proposal would allow moviegoers to purchase one drink at a time, and drinks could only be served at PG-13 or R-rated movies.
A similar measure passed the Republican-led Senate last year, but it stalled in the Democratic-controlled Assembly.
The governor is hopeful the measure will get legislative approval, said Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi.
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"It is a common sense issue that we absolutely support," he said.
There has been a push around the nation to let alcohol into the movies — including in New York.
For example, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain opened a theater in Yonkers in 2013, and it sells alcohol because it serves food and has table settings.
The Little Theatre in Rochester also has a cafe that serves alcoholic beverages, but patrons aren't allowed to bring the drinks into the movies.
Read or Share this story: http://on.rocne.ws/2tdGpQ6 |
GTA V Benchmarked Florian Glaser , ✓ Tanja Hinum , Better late than never. Barely 1.5 years after the Last-Gen edition, GTA V is finally released for the PC. We tested it on multiple notebooks, to see if the wait was worth it.
Working For Notebookcheck Are you a techie who knows how to write? Then join our Team! Currently wanted:
German-English-Translator - Details here
Reviews , News , CPU , GPU , Articles , Columns , Other "or" search relation. Accessory , AMD , Android , Apple , ARM , Audio , Bay Trail , Business , Cannon Lake , Charts , Chinese Tech , Chromebook , Coffee Lake , Console , Convertible / 2-in-1 , Cryptocurrency , Cyberlaw , Deal , Desktop , Fail , Gadget , Galaxy Note , Galaxy S , Gamecheck , Gaming , Geforce , Google Nexus / Pixel , How To , Ice Lake , Internet of Things (IoT) , iOS , iPad Pro , iPhone , Kaby Lake , Lakefield , Laptop , Linux / Unix , MacBook , Monitor , MSI , OnePlus Two , Phablet , Review Snippet , Rumor , Ryzen (Zen) , Security , Smart Home , Smartphone , Smartwatch , Software , Storage , Tablet , Thunderbolt , Touchscreen , Ultrabook , Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) , Wearable , Whiskey Lake , Windows , Workstation , XPS Ticker Engine, Benchmarks, and Results For the original German article, see here. GTA V is based on the RAGE engine (not to be confused with the Ego shooter from id Software), which has been tweaked with additional engines like Euphoria (character animation) and Bullet (physics simulation). The end result is a spectacular PC experience which offers convincing textures, shadows, lighting and vegetation at high to max settings. Although now and then objects may appear unclear during fast rides (cars, planes, etc.), this problem of rendering shadows and quality settings exists in almost every Open World game. In a direct comparison to Watch Dogs, GTA V performs better. The lighting is more realistic despite lower hardware requirements.
If you were expecting the PC port of GTA V to be a huge disaster, you can rest easy now. During our benchmarks we almost never encountered serious bugs or crashes. However, we did encounter some issues starting the game on Nvidia laptops. Although the latest GeForce driver, the ForceWare 350.12, was installed, the systems, equipped with Optimus, did not want to start up the Rockstar Social Club, preventing the game from launching. Google contained the answer: open the device manager, disable the Nvidia adapter for a little while, start GTA V and as soon as the Social Club starts, turn on the graphics card. In general, our experience with the game was not smooth. At around 60 GB (~3 hours download with VDSL 50; the shop version includes 7 DVDs!), GTA V sets a new record (negative) for loading times (game start, save games, etc.) and the integrated benchmark only works if both Intro missions have been absolved.
At this path, the user will find a folder named "Benchmarks," which contains recorded measurements. We do not understand why the files have no overall score and "only" note the minimum, average and maximum frames possible in each of the five scenes. We chose to use the results of the last sequence (pass 4). Due to the short runtime, the first four tests (pass 0-3 = panorama shots with day/night change) are not very reliable. The 2-minute final scene with the fighter jet and car chase is more reliable due to it being closer to actual gameplay. We still would not consider the benchmark perfect as the minimum frames fluctuate heavily in pass 4, which is probably due to bugs. Furthermore, the average fps can fluctuate during each test due to the randomly simulated traffic (difference of a few fps).
Reviews , News , CPU , GPU , Articles , Columns , Other "or" search relation. Accessory , AMD , Android , Apple , ARM , Audio , Bay Trail , Business , Cannon Lake , Charts , Chinese Tech , Chromebook , Coffee Lake , Console , Convertible / 2-in-1 , Cryptocurrency , Cyberlaw , Deal , Desktop , Fail , Gadget , Galaxy Note , Galaxy S , Gamecheck , Gaming , Geforce , Google Nexus / Pixel , How To , Ice Lake , Internet of Things (IoT) , iOS , iPad Pro , iPhone , Kaby Lake , Lakefield , Laptop , Linux / Unix , MacBook , Monitor , MSI , OnePlus Two , Phablet , Review Snippet , Rumor , Ryzen (Zen) , Security , Smart Home , Smartphone , Smartwatch , Software , Storage , Tablet , Thunderbolt , Touchscreen , Ultrabook , Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) , Wearable , Whiskey Lake , Windows , Workstation , XPS Ticker If you disregard the somewhat awkward control with a mouse and a keyboard, the PC version of GTA V is technically okay. In no way is it like the stutter disaster which is GTA IV. The hardware requirements are appropriate, with the exception of a few settings. The same cannot be said of many other games, like Assassin's Creed Unity. Most systems will have some graphical errors (for example, the Radeon R9 280X @Ultra) and sadly the graphics menu does not offer descriptions for the options, which we hope will be remedied. Low Settings Medium Settings High Settings Ultra Settings
Back to the benchmark: according to our benchmarks, the game requires at least an Iris Pro 5200 at low settings and a resolution of 1024x768 pixels. Weaker Intel chips, like the successful Core i models, the HD Graphics 3000, 4000 and 4600 are not appropriate to run GTA V (the benchmarks should run at above 40 fps). Middle-class GPUs, starting at the GeForce GT 740M, are suited for normal settings and a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. If you want to run the game at the FHD resolution with high details and 2x MSAA, then you need a high-end graphics card, like the GeForce GTX 960M. Sadly, no notebook GPU can run the game fluidly with max settings and all options turned on. In the Ultra test, even the GeForce GTX 980M suffered at a mere 36 fps. For such high settings, you require cutting-edge desktop hardware (GTX 980 @45 fps). Tip: Asus will provide us with a 4K display shortly, which will help us add some more information to our gaming benchmarks. How interested are you in 4K? Please write to us in the forum below.
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GTA V 3840x2160 High/On (Advanced Graphics Off) AA:FX AF:8x 1920x1080 Highest Settings possible AA:4xMSAA + FX AF:16x 1920x1080 High/On (Advanced Graphics Off) AA:2xMSAA + FX AF:8x 1366x768 Normal/Off AF:4x 1024x768 Lowest Settings possible NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980, 3770K
Desktop-PC 59.4 (min: 16) fps ∼24% 45.4 (min: 18) fps ∼23% 99.3 (min: 18) fps ∼40% 131.8 (min: 14) fps ∼46% 139.7 (min: 9) fps ∼44% AMD Radeon R9 290X, 4790K
Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Tri-X OC 51.8 (min: 22) fps ∼21% 41 (min: 20) fps ∼21% 93 (min: 37) fps ∼38% 149 (min: 6) fps ∼52% 155 (min: 4) fps ∼49% NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504 41.4 (min: 15) fps ∼17% 35.6 (min: 13) fps ∼18% 80.8 (min: 18) fps ∼33% 115.4 (min: 18) fps ∼40% 135 (min: 48) fps ∼43% AMD Radeon R9 280X, 3770K
Desktop-PC 31.9 (min: 8) fps ∼16% 76.3 (min: 22) fps ∼31% 121.9 (min: 46) fps ∼43% 129.5 (min: 21) fps ∼41% NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504 32.4 (min: 12) fps ∼13% 28 (min: 12) fps ∼14% 70.6 (min: 17) fps ∼29% 122.6 (min: 11) fps ∼43% 135.1 (min: 18) fps ∼43% NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504 26.8 (min: 13) fps ∼14% 62.7 (min: 18) fps ∼25% 122.3 (min: 38) fps ∼43% 132.1 (min: 10) fps ∼42% NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504 21.1 (min: 11) fps ∼11% 50.7 (min: 18) fps ∼21% 107.6 (min: 25) fps ∼38% 133.7 (min: 8) fps ∼42% NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M, 4720HQ
Schenker XMG A505 20.4 (min: 8) fps ∼8% 18.1 (min: 4) fps ∼9% 44.1 (min: 14) fps ∼18% 114.4 (min: 26) fps ∼40% 126.1 (min: 25) fps ∼40% NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504 14.6 (min: 8) fps ∼7% 36.4 (min: 14) fps ∼15% 124.8 (min: 18) fps ∼44% 117.1 (min: 19) fps ∼37% NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M, 4340M
Schenker M504 10.9 (min: 4) fps ∼6% 29 (min: 10) fps ∼12% 65.9 (min: 19) fps ∼23% 72.8 (min: 15) fps ∼23% NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M, 4702MQ
Schenker M503 7.3 (min: 1) fps ∼4% 17 (min: 11) fps ∼7% 73.3 (min: 28) fps ∼26% 79.8 (min: 21) fps ∼25% AMD Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop), A10-7850K
A10-7850K Asus A88-XM-PLUS 5.3 (min: 2) fps ∼3% 13 (min: 6) fps ∼5% 47.6 (min: 22) fps ∼17% 54.4 (min: 28) fps ∼17% NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M, 2637M
Acer Aspire M3-581TG 3 fps ∼2% 12 (min: 2) fps ∼5% 44.6 (min: 15) fps ∼16% 52.8 (min: 12) fps ∼17% NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M, 4200M
HP Envy 15-j011sg 3.9 (min: 3) fps ∼2% 10.5 (min: 7) fps ∼4% 44.4 (min: 7) fps ∼16% 58.4 (min: 20) fps ∼19% NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M, 3720QM
Asus N56VM 8.4 (min: 4) fps ∼3% 35.9 (min: 5) fps ∼13% 52.3 (min: 13) fps ∼17% Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200, 4750HQ
Schenker S413 0 fps ∼0% 7.2 (min: 2) fps ∼3% 38.4 (min: 14) fps ∼13% 46.5 (min: 17) fps ∼15% NVIDIA GeForce GT 720M, 4200M
MSI CX61-i572M 4.1 fps ∼2% 8.4 fps ∼3% 39.4 fps ∼14% 49 fps ∼16% Intel HD Graphics 4600, 4700MQ
Schenker W504 5.7 (min: 1) fps ∼2% 29.4 (min: 10) fps ∼10% 33.3 (min: 10) fps ∼11% Intel HD Graphics 3000, 2637M
Acer Aspire M3-581TG 7.5 (min: 4) fps ∼2%
Four of our test models are provided by Schenker Technologies (mysn.de): W504 (Core i7-4700MQ, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 860M, GTX 870M, GTX 880M, GTX 970M, GTX 980M, Win 7)
(Core i7-4700MQ, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 860M, GTX 870M, GTX 880M, GTX 970M, GTX 980M, Win 7) A505 (Core i7-4720HQ, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 960M, Win 8.1)
(Core i7-4720HQ, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 960M, Win 8.1) M504 (Core i5-4340M, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 850M, Win 7)
(Core i5-4340M, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 850M, Win 7) M503 (Core i7-4702MQ, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GT 750M, Win 7) Three of our test models came from Nvidia: HP Envy 15-j011sg (Core i5-4200M, 12 GB DDR3, GeForce GT 740M)
(Core i5-4200M, 12 GB DDR3, GeForce GT 740M) MSI CX61-i572M281BW7 (Core i5-4200M, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GT 720M)
(Core i5-4200M, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GT 720M) Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3-581TG (Core i7-2637M, 4GB DDR3, GeForce GT 640M) Intel added: Schenker S413 (Core i7-4750HQ, 8 GB DDR3, Iris Pro Graphics 5200) The desktop PCs contain CPUs/APUs from Intel and AMD, SSDs from Micron, Intel and Samsung, motherboards from Intel and Asus and graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD. GPU drivers used: Nvidia 350.12, AMD 15.4 Beta, Intel 10.18.10.14.4156
Overview
The first mission of GTA 5 running on a Acer Aspire M3-581TG (Core i7-2637M Dual-Core, GeForce GT 640M) in medium settings. Two slowdowns with laggy input reduced the gaming experience a bit |
LSE foreign academics told they will not be asked to advise UK on Brexit
Leading foreign academics from the LSE acting as expert advisers to the UK government were told they would not be asked to contribute to government work and analysis on Brexit because they are not British nationals.
The news was met with outrage by many academics, while legal experts questioned whether it could be legal under anti-discrimination laws and senior politicians criticised it as bewildering.
“It is utterly baffling that the government is turning down expert, independent advice on Brexit simply because someone is from another country,” said Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrats’ EU spokesman.
“This is yet more evidence of the Conservatives’ alarming embrace of petty chauvinism over rational policymaking.”
Sara Hagemann, an assistant professor at the London School of Economics who specialises in EU policymaking processes, EU treaty matters, the role of national parliaments and the consequences of EU enlargements, said she had been told her services would not be required. Hagemann tweeted on Thursday:
Sara Hagemann (@sarahagemann) UK govt previously sought work& advice from best experts. Just told I & many colleagues no longer qualify as not UKcitizens #Brexit @LSEnews
Asked to clarify whether she was responding to speeches at the Conservative party conference pledging tough new immigration controls, Hagemann, who is Danish, said she had been informed specifically that she would not be contributing to any further government Brexit work.
It is understood up to nine LSE academics specialising in EU affairs have been briefing the Foreign Office on Brexit issues, but the school was informed by a senior FCO official that submissions from non-UK citizens would no longer be accepted.
The staff concerned were then made aware of the instruction in an email from the head of the LSE’s European Institute, Kevin Featherstone, which said the Foreign Office planned to approach academics to contract staff for a Brexit advisory panel – but that those to be contracted “must be UK passport-holders.”
Amber Rudd faces backlash from businesses over foreign workers Read more
One of the group is understood to be a dual national, with citizenship of both the UK and another EU member state.
The Foreign Office was said to be concerned about the risk of sensitive material being exposed as article 50 negotiations over Britain’s exit from the EU – and subsequent talks on its future trade and other relations with the bloc – start to get under way.
The LSE said in statement that the government regularly called on its academics for advice, adding: “We believe our academics, including non-UK nationals, have hugely valuable expertise which will be vital in this time of uncertainty around the UK’s relationship with Europe and the rest of the world. Any changes to security measures are a matter for the UK government.”
The Foreign Office denied non-British nationals had been barred from the work, saying it had been misunderstood. “The FCO regularly works with academic institutions to assist in its policy research and nothing has changed as a result of the referendum,” a spokesman said.
“It has always been the case that anyone working in the FCO may require security clearance depending on the nature and duration of their work. Britain is an outward-looking nation and we will continue to take advice from the best and brightest minds, regardless of nationality.”
LSE interim director Prof Julia Black said in an internal school update memo on the matter that the world-renowned university stood by its academic principles of independence.
“You may have seen reports in the media that the Foreign Office have advised us that they will be issuing tenders to contract for advisory work, but that only UK nationals will be eligible to apply,” she said in the memo, which was posted on Twitter.
“Whilst the Foreign Office has long had a rule restricting the nationality of employees or secondees, the extension of the bar to advisory work seems to be new. However, it is for the Foreign Office to determine what its national security arrangements are, and their legality, not for us.
“We are standing firm to our principles of academic independence and valuing our truly international community of scholars. We will continue to stand by our colleagues and we strongly value the work that you all do.”
Steve Peers, a professor of EU law at the University of Essex who has advised the government, said it should be “perfectly possible to get useful input from some of the best-qualified people in the country” without anything sensitive being revealed.
“I don’t really get the security or sensitivity argument,” he said. “Whatever the reasons, this will come across as hostile, narrow and xenophobic.” He tweeted:
Steve Peers (@StevePeers) One of the best EU political scientists in the country
What kind of know-nothing nativist govt rejects the expertise of all non-citizens? https://t.co/Dm6N0x51Lp
Legal experts questioned whether the FCO could be in breach of UK public procurement law by requiring the work be carried out by British nationals. Albert Sanchez Graells, a senior law lecturer at Bristol university, said it “definitely” would be if the work was in the context of a services contract.
AlbertSánchezGraells (@asanchezgraells) @DavidAllenGreen if this was in context of a services contract, most definitely. I am happy to provide free legal opinion on this @LSEnews
Simon Cox, a migration lawyer at the Open Society Justice Initiative, said it might be possible for the government to legally restrict high-level advisers to British citizens, but added that the way the situation had been handled was “beyond disrespectful, and in a worryingly xenophobic context”.
UK in a Changing Europe, a thinktank on UK-EU relations of which Hagemann is a senior fellow, said it believed there was “a more pressing need than ever before for academic expertise to inform the multitude of difficult decisions to be taken in connection with Brexit” and that it would continue to publish research “whatever the nationality of the author”.
Separately, the Guardian has learned that another EU national – a migration specialist who asked not to be identified – was approached by a private recruitment firm for a Foreign Office post for which she was well qualified, but informed after several conversations that only British citizens would be eligible.
European academics, who make up about 15% of research and teaching staff at British universities, responded with dismay. Jan Eichhorn, a fellow in social policy at Edinburgh university, tweeted: “For the first time this makes me question whether it makes sense to continue working at a UK university as an EU policy-focussed academic.”
The government has come under sustained fire over immigration since the Conservative conference when the home secretary, Amber Rudd, said it was considering requiring companies to declare the proportion of international staff in their workforce.
Ministers were said to want to see lists of companies published and those employers with the highest proportions of foreign staff “named and shamed” for not employing British people when they could.
Rudd, who was forced to defend herself on radio against allegations of xenophobia, also announced a crackdown on overseas students and work visas, and pledged to prevent migrants “taking jobs British people could do”.
Theresa May was also accused after her conference speech of stoking anti-immigrant sentiment in the country by playing to fears about the impact of foreign workers on jobs and wages.
The prime minister said the EU referendum result legitimised a tougher line on immigration and some people did not like to admit that British workers could “find themselves out of work or on lower wages because of low-skilled immigration”. |
September 10, 2011
To All:
I want to thank all of you for your efforts and dedication to Human Rights and Human Kindness, in the past year I have experienced such emotion, joy, sadness and never ending faith. It is because of all of you that I am alive today, as I look at my sister Martina I am marveled by the love she has for me and of course I worry about her and her health, but as she tells me she is the eldest and she will not back down from this fight to save my life and prove to the world that I am innocent of this terrible crime.
As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking languages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy. I can’t even explain the insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see Justice prevail.
I cannot answer all of your letters but I do read them all, I cannot see you all but I can imagine your faces, I cannot hear you speak but your letters take me to the far reaches of the world, I cannot touch you physically but I feel your warmth everyday I exist.
So Thank you and remember I am in a place where execution can only destroy your physical form but because of my faith in God, my family and all of you I have been spiritually free for some time and no matter what happens in the days, weeks to come, this Movement to end the death penalty, to seek true justice, to expose a system that fails to protect the innocent must be accelerated. There are so many more Troy Davis’. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this Unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country.
I can’t wait to Stand with you, no matter if that is in physical or spiritual form, I will one day be announcing,
“I AM TROY DAVIS, and I AM FREE!”
Never Stop Fighting for Justice and We will Win!
Source |
PARIS (Reuters) - A panel created by President Francois Hollande to cut red tape for French business announced 50 measures on Monday aimed at saving billions of euros a year, as his government seeks to revive a struggling economy.
French President Francois Hollande addresses the audience at the National Aeronautic University of Queretaro in Queretaro April 11, 2014. REUTERS/Henry Romero
The measures will untangle a thicket of rules - including, for example, a requirement that bakers inform local police of their holiday plans - which are seen as preventing small and big business from flourishing in France.
The so-called “simplification blitz” is part of Hollande’s wider moves to cut payroll charges on French companies by 30 billion euros ($42 billion) during his mandate. Corporate tax cuts were announced earlier this month.
“We’ve revved up the simplification machine and it’s going to run for the next three years,” said Thierry Mandon, a Socialist lawmaker who co-authored the list of proposals. “This policy aims to save our companies time and money by cutting administrative costs that are excessive or useless.”
French corporate margins are the lowest in the euro zone. Hollande, who is fighting to bring joblessness down from above 10 percent, hopes the measures will stimulate hiring by saving companies billions of euros (dollars), following similar initiatives in Britain and Germany.
The two countries saved companies 1.5 and 2 billion euros per year, respectively, over a decade by lowering paperwork costs by about 25 percent, Mandon told Reuters. The aim is for the French measures to be in place by the end of this year.
SELF-IMPOSED HURDLES
Some measures proposed by Mandon aim to scrap antiquated or arcane rules, such as the one requiring bakers to declare their summer holiday plans.
“That dates back to the 1930s when we were afraid of lacking for bread!” Mandon said.
Others aim to simplify business life by standardising the use of terms - depending on context, there are no fewer than four meanings for the word “day” - or cutting the number of lines on payslips down to six from 25 to 30 currently.
That measure alone would entail reducing the number of agencies in charge of collecting social charges - currently above 200 - to about 20, a massive undertaking which Mandon estimates could take 24 months to complete.
Entrepreneurs will have an easier time registering new companies, while smaller firms will no longer have to submit dozens of documents in duplicate to several administrative centres in order to join a public call for tenders.
“France is a masochistic athlete that sets up hurdles for itself when its competitors are knocking them down,” Guillaume Cairou, head of the Club des Entrepreneurs, said in a statement. “The pileup of regulation is just as intolerable for our companies as it is for foreign investors whose money ends up fleeing our country.”
In a first phase of simplification, the government did away with the Bank of France’s practice of stamping the number “040” on the file of anyone who had a business bankruptcy in the past, making it very difficult for them to regain access to credit.
Now all companies will be covered by a so-called “zero new cost” pledge by which the government vows not to impose extra charges on firms as a result of new rules or laws.
“Any new cost will be offset by a reduction that is at least equivalent to the cost,” said Mandon’s report, which sums up the conclusions of an expert commission.
The measures will also prevent tax authorities from seeking retroactive payments on levies that have been imposed during the year, a major bugbear of companies at a time of frequent changes to tax rules.
Mandon added that the commission aims to propose new simplification measures every six months, with a next batch due in September, until the end of Hollande’s term in 2017. ($1 = 0.7201 Euros) |
The 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded to UK novelist Kazuo Ishiguro.
Born in Japan in 1954, the author's family moved to England when he was five years old.
The writer, "in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world", the Nobel Prize committee said in a statement on Thursday.
He is best known for the dystopian work Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day, a book Ishiguro has said he wrote in just four weeks.
The 62-year-old also writes screenplays.
Ishiguro studied at the University of Kent, receiving an undergraduate degree in English and Philosophy and later receiving a Master's degree from the University of East Anglia in Creative Writing.
His latest book, The Buried Giant, was published in 2015.
Social media users took to Twitter to congratulate Ishiguro on the high acclaim.
"Congrats to Kazuo Ishiguro on the Nobel! REMAINS OF THE DAY was perfect, emotionally, politically, structurally. Makes me burn with envy," tweeted author Raj Balasubramanyam.
"Kazuo Ishiguro! The Nobel committee somewhat begins to redeem itself after last year's blooper," said writer and journalist Abubakar A Ibrahim, in an apparent dig at the 2016 decision to award the prestigious prize to Bob Dylan. |
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Jesse, 26, and Jackson George, 23, pleaded guilty to planning to sell the pygmy marmosets taken from Symbio wildlife park
Two Sydney brothers charged over the theft of three rare miniature monkeys have pleaded guilty to transporting and intending to sell them.
Jackson George, 23, and his brother Jesse, 26, were charged on Sunday with dealing with proceeds of crime after three pygmy marmosets were stolen from the Symbio wildlife park in Helensburgh, south of Sydney, on Friday night.
Acting on a tip-off, police found one monkey after stopping the brothers in a car at the Appin Hotel on Sunday afternoon. Despite attempts by Jesse to hide the four-week old, police seized the animal and charged the brothers.
While both men are not deemed to be responsible for the theft, police have accused Jackson of obtaining the monkey from the alleged thief or thieves and planning to sell it.
Police and zookeepers had been desperate to find the suckling infant after experts warned it was likely to die if it spent more than 24 hours without its mother. A second monkey, 10-month old sister Sofia, was uncovered in the Campbelltown area on Sunday night but Gomez, the father of the two, is still missing.
Baby monkey stolen from NSW zoo found by police Read more
Police opposed Jackson’s bail appeal in Campbelltown court on Monday, saying they believed he had further information about Gomez’s whereabouts.
“He has shown complete contempt for police and their desperate attempts to reunite the animals with their family unit,” prosecutor Peter Robinson told the court. “He has laughed and stated, ‘you have my phone, you’ll work it out’.”
However, police say they have not been able to glean any further information about the missing monkey’s location from Jackson’s phone.
Court documents show Jackson was communicating with a third person, Ryan, who offered to sell the baby monkey to the 23-year-old.
“Ay, check out my monkey”, Ryan said in a text message with a picture of the animal, which was tendered in court.
“That’s mad bro. Wanna sell it bruh?” Jackson responded.
Ryan told Jackson he “paid nothing” for the monkey, but “got it from the zoo last night”.
Later on in the conversation, when Ryan asked how much they could sell the pygmy marmoset for, Jackson suggested “500”.
“But [I] haven’t been offered any in ages bro,” he texted.
There was also evidence from the texts that the pair had been, or planned to be, involved in the selling of a snake and a joey.
Magistrate Clare Farnan said the situation was a rare one for the courts.
“It’s certainly not a common thing to see a proceeds of crime as a pygmy marmoset monkey,” she said.
Farnan sentenced Jesse to a two-year good behaviour bond and fined him $1,500 for being an accomplice to the crime.
Jackson was granted bail until his sentencing on January 10 while a full pre-sentence report was ordered. |
The power-seeking A's have turned their attention to Trumbo, who led the Major Leagues with 47 home runs last season, after missing out on Edwin Encarnacion.
The Oakland Athletics have reached out to free-agent slugger Mark Trumbo, sources told MLB Network insider Jon Heyman on Wednesday.
The Oakland Athletics have reached out to free-agent slugger Mark Trumbo, sources told MLB Network insider Jon Heyman on Wednesday.
The power-seeking A's have turned their attention to Trumbo, who led the Major Leagues with 47 home runs last season, after missing out on Edwin Encarnacion.
Per Heyman, Oakland presented Encarnacion with a $50 million deal before he settled on a three-year, $60 million offer from Cleveland.
• Hot Stove Tracker
Trumbo, a native of Anaheim, Calif., would be a major boost to the A's lineup after setting a career high with 47 home runs with the Orioles in 2016.
The Orioles had a four-year offer on the table for Trumbo earlier this offseason, and though they have since rescinded that offer, they are still reportedly interested in bringing him back.
The Rockies have also been linked to Trumbo, who also set a career high with 108 RBIs and was selected to the American League All-Star team in 2016. |
Just a day before, we did a story on how a law student from Rajasthan fell to her death (we have now deleted it) while trying to click a selfie in Gokarna town of Karnataka. The story is apparently false.
Some of the friends of the victim have come up with a version of events that differ from the story that was put out by many publications including us. They are claiming that she didn't even go to the lighthouse on that particular day.
Source: Facebook
We spoke to one of the victim's friends, Roshni Namboodiry over the phone and here's what she said: "The entire incident has been falsely reported. She was washed away by a tide alongwith some of her friends. The silly story about clicking a selfie is completely false."
According to eyewitnesses and as stated in the First Information Report filed at the Gokarna Police Station of Uttar Kannad District, Pranita was sitting with three friends on rocks by the sea at Kumta Beach at Gokarna when she was swept away by the tide.
She had held on to a rock for support but lost her grip, and was carried away by the current into the sea. Her body was brought back to the shore by local fishermen 40 minutes after the accident and she was declared dead.
Pranita Mehta | Source: Facebook
Contrary to extensive press coverage that followed the accident, in which Pranita's death was incorrectly depicted as a consequence of careless selfie-taking, she did not, in fact, fall to her death off a 30-foot lighthouse. The Post Mortem Report does not cite any injuries which may have resulted from such a fall.
ScoopWhoop received the above information this afternoon from Pranita's friends who were present at the time of the accident and had filed the FIR. We apologise to Pranita's family and friends for hurting their sentiments and maligning her memory by publishing an incorrect account of her death. We also apologise to our readers for relying on other newspapers for this story without verifying their sources.
Through a Reddit post -- PranitaThrowaway, another friend, has posted details about the entire incident online.
Here's the post:
Pranita, who was a student of National Law University, Jodhpur, was visiting Gokarna with four of her friends. They were at Kumta beach, and were sitting on some rocks which were about 10-15 feet above sea, when due to unexpected high tide, 3 of the youngsters, including the deceased, were flown away by a giant wave.
Two of them were brought back to the shore by another wave, but the deceased, whose glasses had come off, continued to struggle as she held on to a rock for support she bravely struggled and tried to swim for 45 mins. Unfortunately, she lost her grip, and was carried towards the deeper end of the sea by the waves.
The friends promptly called the Police as well as the Management of the Hotel they were staying at, and proceeded to seek help from the local residents from a nearby village. However, they could not understand the youngsters’ plea for help, and by the time they did send some help, about forty minutes had already passed and the deceased was out of sight.
She was brought back ashore on a boat by some of the local fishermen, and was pronounced dead by the authorities. Her body was taken for post-mortem and was handed over to her relatives afterwards.
The copy of the FIR and the post mortem report has been removed as per the family member's wishes. |
The FIA has installed the kerbs on the exit of Turns 6 and 7, the two left-handers in the middle of the lap, plus the apex of Turn 8 and Turns 9 and 10, the final two corners.
Baguette kerbs were in place last season at the last two turns, but the spacing between them has been increased to 3.2m for this year after a number of cars suffered damage hitting them in the 2016 event.
But Felipe Massa and Romain Grosjean both lost bodywork in this year's Friday practice after running wide at Turn 9, while Carlos Sainz Jr’s FP2 ended prematurely because of the damage his Toro Rosso sustained after his own off.
“This is not the highest-grip track and with the higher speeds this year, if you have a moment, it is difficult to correct without hitting a kerb or going through the gravel, which a lot of people have experienced today,” said Verstappen.
“The yellow kerbs were definitely a challenge and I think maybe they are not the type of kerbs for Formula 1, the cars just aren’t designed for it.”
Massa said a solution would be “a bit tricky” but was annoyed to suffer damage to his upgraded Williams just by trying to return to the track.
“I damaged my car today, and the kerb is definitely not there to damage the car, it’s there for different reasons,” he said.
“I didn’t damage my car because I was trying to use too much, I damaged [it] because I just went off [and was] coming back.
“It was not great.”
Grosjean, who suffered damage to the floor, said he does not expect the kerbs to be changed this weekend.
He described the design as “pretty aggressive”.
“I got a big hit,” Grosjean said. “We are going to reinforce everything we can to make sure it stays in one piece.”
Sainz’s Toro Rosso teammate Daniil Kvyat claimed the changes had made the kerbs “better” than last year even though he admitted they are “a bit odd compared to other circuits”.
Kvyat’s view was shared by Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who said: “It’s not as bad as it was last year.
“Last year the kerbs were pretty bad – people’s suspension was breaking.”
Additional reporting by Adam Cooper and Lawrence Barretto |
One of Dublin’s last surviving Victorian pubs, Bowe’s on Fleet Street, is facing its biggest change in 160 years under plans for a three-fold expansion of the premises.
A planning application has been made to Dublin City Council to expand the pub at 31 Fleet Street into the ground floor and basement of the neighbouring buildings at 29 and 30 Fleet Street, formerly a branch of bookmakers Ladbrokes.
The former Ladbrokes shop, now vacant, is sandwiched between Bowe’s and Doyles, a large corner pub at 28 Fleet Street/9 College Street. Both pubs are owned by Declan Doyle.
The work would involve breaking through the eastern wall of Bowe’s at ground floor level to interconnect the building with number 29/30. The basement of 29/30, which is currently part of Doyles pub, would become part of the newly expanded Bowe’s, and the access from Doyles to that basement would be closed off.
The applicants are also seeking permission to change the use of the ground floor portion of 29/30 from the current retail and hostel/B&B use to licensed premises use.
The pubs and the former bookmakers were built between 1798 and 1812 on a site which rounds the corner at Fleet Street onto College Street, and are protected structures. A pub was opened at the current Bowe’s premises in 1854 by Christopher McCabe. In the late 1880s it changed into the hands of John O’Connor and in the early part of the last century it became Bowe’s.
Bowe’s has a traditional ornate Victorian pubfront and its interior has Victorian decorative joinery. The “visual character” of the pub will remain intact after the work, according to the application and the snug at the entrance will be unaltered.
The interior of the old Ladbrokes building is primarily 20th century and would be fitted out in a style “sympathetic” to the “historic character” of Bowe’s, the applicants said. Wall panelling and mirrors removed to create the new opening will be reused in the expanded pub.
Bowe’s existing bar counter along its western wall will be left in place and a new bar will be built along the back wall of 29 and 30. A new entrance to the expanded pub will be located at number 29. |
Here’s a take I think readers of MSP will appreciate on the latest round of controversy over the church’s practice of proxy baptism of holocaust victims with no LDS progeny. (That supposedly is one of the criteria that makes a proxy baptism OK: someone has Mormon descendents who want to offer their ancestor is ordinance.) This writer, Stephen Frug, doesn’t think that baptism for the dead matters–and he doesn’t “understand why anyone else does think it matters.”
The point is, a non-Mormon should no more believe that the Mormon baptism of the dead does anything (save please those among the living involved in it) than I believe that my son’s frequent announcement that he and I are both Buzz Lightyear does anything. Personally I think that they’re pretty equivalent — save that my son, of course, is three years old, and therefore the fact that he speaks like a child, thinks like a child and understands like a child is perfectly appropriate…. To object to the Mormon baptism of the dead is ultimately to subscribe to a small slice of Mormon doctrine, namely, that part that says the baptism of the dead actually has some effect (if only to offer souls in the afterlife an option). Those of us who are not Mormons should be able to recognize that this Mormon belief like all the others is simply false: that the baptism of the dead does nothing. Who cares what games others play?
Stephen characterizes the nature of the insult done to the “recipients” of proxy baptism, as one of disrespect. And certainly I think it is disrespectful. But I think it’s more than that. It’s also profound condescension and religious chauvinism.
Don’t know about anyone else, but I got in a conversation about this on Facebook, with a friend who is also an atheist Jew. She was outraged, and I pretty much understood her outrage. I explained as well as I could the doctrine behind proxy baptism, adding,
I can’t defend this. I can only explain how Mormons see it. I just wish Mormons were more willing to see how it appears to others. This to me is a perfect example of religion making real empathy and kindness all but impossible. Mormons are so caught up in their doctrinal imperatives that in some ways they simply *CANNOT CARE* as they should about what this means to the people they honestly believe they are helping.
To reconcile somewhat what Stephen writes and what I myself feel, I think he’s right that
To the extent that anything’s disrespectful, it’s not the posthumous baptism, which is a mere instantiation of a larger phenomenon, it’s that Mormon doctrine is disrespectful. And not just Mormon doctrine: any non-universalist religious belief that requires adherence for salvation is basically disrespectful of the entire rest of humanity.
The Mormon doctrine IS disrespectful. The Mormon doctrine is what makes Mormons fundamentally incapable of realizing their stated goal of showing genuine respect for other faiths, because the doctrine ultimately wins out in any contest Mormons envision: “OK,” they think, “we won’t perform proxy baptisms for these people now; we’ll wait and do it after the second coming. Because we know it has to be done someday, because we know that EVERYONE must be baptized into God’s one and only true church.”
So yeah, ultimately, proxy baptism does nothing for the one baptized by proxy because it’s clear enough that the whole “you can’t get into heaven unless you have this and that preparatory ordinance and learn the secret handshakes and passwords” business is nonsense. But it does something to the minds and spirits of those who advocate and practice it: it makes them less empathetic, compassionate, and kind, which are supposed to the be the highest ideals of christianity, and what we’re really here to learn. |
An Athens court on Wednesday acquitted anarchist Costas Sakkas, 30, over charges of violating his restricted-residence order. Sakkas, who is accused of being a member of the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire urban guerilla group, was arrested on Tuesday.
Police said that Sakkas had spent the night at a house in Neo Psychico, northern Athens, where he was arrested, effectively violating an order that restricted him to spending the night at his family's residence in Piraeus.
Sakkas had been arrested on December 4, 2010, outside an apartment in Nea Smyrni, southern Athens, where arms were being hidden.
He was granted conditional release in July after going on hunger strike to protest the fact that he was being held in detention for two-and-a-half years, when the maximum period for pretrial custody was 18 months.
He denies being a member of Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire. |
A new working paper authored by the UC Berkeley economist Jesse Rothstein builds on that research, in part by zeroing in on one of those five factors: schools. The idea that school quality would be an important element for intergenerational mobility—essentially a child’s likelihood that they will one day outearn their parents—seems intuitive: Leaders regularly stress that the best way to rise up the income ladder is to go to school, where one can learn the skills they need to succeed in a competitive, global economy. “In the 21st century, the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education,” Barack Obama declared in his 2010 State of the Union address. Improving “skills and schools” is a benchmark of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan’s poverty-fighting agenda.
Indeed, this bipartisan education-and-poverty consensus has guided research and political efforts for decades. Broadly speaking, the idea is that if more kids graduate from high school, and achieve higher scores on standardized tests, then more young people are likely to go to college, and, in turn, land jobs that can secure them spots in the middle class.
Rothstein’s new work complicates this narrative. Using data from several national surveys, Rothstein sought to scrutinize Chetty’s team’s work—looking to further test their hypothesis that the quality of a child’s education has a significant impact on her ability to advance out of the social class into which she was born.
Rothstein, however, found little evidence to support that premise. Instead, he found that differences in local labor markets—for example, how similar industries can vary across different communities—and marriage patterns, such as higher concentrations of single-parent households, seemed to make much more of a difference than school quality. He concludes that factors like higher minimum wages, the presence and strength of labor unions, and clear career pathways within local industries are likely to play more important roles in facilitating a poor child’s ability to rise up the economic ladder when they reach adulthood.*
For Rothstein, there’s no reason to assume that improving schools will be necessary or sufficient for improving someone’s economic prospects. “We can’t educate people out of this problem,” he says.
His work, like Chetty’s, is not causal—meaning Rothstein is not able to identify exactly what explains the underlying variation in his economic model. Nevertheless, his work helps to provide researchers and policymakers with a new set of background facts to investigate, and signals that perhaps they should be reconsidering some of their existing ideas. (Both Raj Chetty and his co-author Nathaniel Hendren declined to comment for this story.)
Jose Vilson, a New York City math teacher, says educators have known for years that out-of-school factors like access to food and healthcare are usually bigger determinants for societal success than in-school factors. He adds that while he tries his best to adhere to his various professional duties and expectations, he also recognizes that “maybe not everyone agrees on what it means to be successful” in life. |
Name: Batman
Age: Three months old
Gender: Male
Kind: Netherland Dwarf, Polish Rabbit
Home: Steinkjer, Norway
T his Batman! What makes him so special is that he listens to his name, and he is very fond of me and come to me once he sees me. He is a very special young rabbit who learns incredibly fast!
Batman was born on December 30, 2014 with two other siblings, this trio was a very special trio. Batman was the greatest of them all, he was the first who came out of the nest after he opened his eyes. Batman has always been a little explorer and he loves to explore new things. He and the other two siblings weaned themselves and started to drink water and follow their mother and pester her.
When Batman was one month old, I took him with me out in the snow and he got to run and enjoy himself. I lay on the ground to take some pictures of him where he ran and enjoyed himself. As soon as I got down, he came at full speed towards me and jumped on my stomach and wanted to have cuddles, and then I lay on my stomach and photographed him. He often came up to my face and sniffed me and licked my cheek and shoulder. When he wanted to play, he ran a little away and came running towards me again and jumped on my back and lay down there. We are often out when it is sunny, so then he lays down to relax in the sun on my back!
He answers to his name almost always, and pays attention and comes when I call him. He is a very attention-seeking rabbit who will not say "no thanks" to cuddle! He is my gold baby and I love him with all my heart.
All his photos are copyright ©Elise Mari Holm Aanes.
View more images of Batman!
Talk about Batman in Pet Talk! |
Peru Football Federation (FPF) president Edwin Oviedo has said there is no danger of the national team losing their World Cup spot.
Oviedo's reassurance comes after newspaper Libero reported that Peru's place could be in jeopardy following a bill presented by congresswoman Paloma Noceda that would see the FPF lose its autonomy.
Libero said Noceda's proposal would see the Institute of Sport control the federation, but any government intervention could see Peru excluded by FIFA.
Peru reached their first World Cup for 36 years by beating New Zealand 2-0 on aggregate in a play-off earlier this month.
And Oviedo told Peruvian radio station RPP that they would be playing in Russia.
¡Buen Día!
"TODOS CON PERÚ", hinchas alzaron su voz de protesta contra el proyecto que podría dejarnos sin Mundial, fujimorismo dio marcha atrás ➡https://t.co/1yKzLnjvP4 pic.twitter.com/FkahDjuZVd — Libero.pe (@liberope) November 22, 2017
He said: "Congress listened to our suggestions in order not to take this risk.
"We at the FPF are calm. It's impossible that we risk Peru's participation. Our national team will be in Russia 2018."
Noceda, the president of Peru's Education, Youth and Sport Commission, also sought to dispel fears that the bill would put Peru in danger.
She said it only states that the Peruvian Institute of Sport, affiliated to the Ministry of Education, can oversee the federation as the current law stipulates but cannot control it.
Speaking to the EFE news agency, she said: "It would not endanger, in any way, the World Cup participation.
"We are happy to have qualified for the World Cup. It's been three decades that we have waited for this.
"Everyone celebrated because of it and my bill has nothing to do with football. It's only directed at matters regarding sport centres."
However, if Peru were to be excluded, it would open up the door for another nation to take their place, with FIFA rules saying the governing body's "organising committee can, in particular, decide to replace the association in question with another association."
The highest-ranked side to have missed out on the World Cup are 10th-placed Chile, who finished sixth in their South American qualifying round behind Peru on goal difference.
Italy, who failed to reach a World Cup for the first time since 1958 after losing a playoff to Sweden, are ranked 14th.
Under FIFA regulations only 13 European teams can play at a World Cup and that quota is already filled.
In the 1992 European Championship, Denmark -- who went on to win the event -- qualified only after Yugoslavia, who had finished top of them in their group, were disqualified.
That could mean New Zealand, as Peru's beaten playoff opponents, stepping up to take their place in the event of expulsion.
Meanwhile, Oviedo said the federation was working on extending the contract of national coach Ricardo Gareca, a reported target for several other federations.
Gareca, who has been in charge since February 2015, is out of contract after the World Cup.
"The aim of the FPF is to offer him a contract extension for the next [2022 World Cup] qualifiers," Oviedo said.
"It will happen before the World Cup, that is our desire, but it will depend on what he wants."
Adriana Garcia is a Valencia-based football writer who covers La Liga for ESPN FC. |
The PlayStation Network outage has had a silver lining for Sony's sales.
Having your customer's data stolen through a cyberattack, and subsequently bringing down your proprietary gaming network for almost a month is never a good thing. But Sony tried to make good with gamers by offering four older titles for free through its Welcome Back Program and may have accidentally hit upon a new way to increase game sales. Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR), a market research firm, released a report that claims sales of Sony titles such as Infamous 2 and Little Big Planet 2 actually increased due to offering the original games for free. The report recommends other publishers experiment with offering older games in its catalog for free, especially when a new sequel is on the shelves.
"While the Welcome Back program was designed to rekindle the activity and consumer trust of PlayStation Network users, the data suggests it may have highlighted a new profitable sequence for video game," EEDAR's report read.
By offering games for free, the increased awareness, excitement and purchasing intent for a franchise more than makes up for any decreased sales profits, as EEDAR's data proves:
When broken down mathematically, the results make a sound financial argument. If a game that once sold 2 million units in the market is currently available digitally and physically, it is likely producing gross receipts of about $500,000 a month. Assuming that gross receipts reduce to $0 during a 30 day period where a title is free (-$500,000), as long as the free offering boost sales of the next iteration by 8,500 units (at $59 ASP), then it would produce a net/net benefit to the publisher. EEDAR believes that the publicity generated from the free offering, in addition to new consumers being introduced to the series, would make the 8,500 unit mark easily achievable.
There are a few downsides, though. Games which have a strong narrative element, such as the Mass Effect series, often see huge spikes in sales of previous titles for gamers that want to "catch up" with the story. Offering narrative games for free may not offset the potential profits. The other problem is that physical retailers - as opposed to digital marketplaces - will likely frown on offering product for free that they can typically charge rental or used prices.
Unlike movies, there is no clear sequence of sales for games and the industry could seriously use one. "For instance, a movie is first released in theatres where it generates the most revenue, then moves to the Pay-Per-View market, followed by the rental market and lastly, broadcast for free on network television," the EEDAR report points out. "Within the video game industry, however, these sequences typically occur simultaneously with games being available physically, digitally and for rental concurrently and rarely made available for free."
The plan that EEDAR recommends sounds similar to the free-to-play revolution going on in MMOs right now. Exposure to more content often loosens the purse strings more than a $60 paywall.
While it certainly seems counter-intuitive to offer product for free, I'm sure that gamers would welcome playing older games without emptying their wallets. |
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L.A. Confidential arrived in theaters on this day in 1997. The 50s-set potboiler received almost unprecedented universal acclaim, and if you were of a certain age then, it very likely introduced you to film noir.
Film noir was a genre that, like the Western, used to be the most popular style of film for the early movie studios but fell out of favor by the 60s. Like Westerns, film noir was frequently considered a lower class of cinema in comparison to the sweeping adaptations of epic popular fiction. And the immense regard that many of the older films now have, most of that came later as film criticism grew to become more respected and international film embraced the shadowy works of detective fiction.
Film noir itself was an important genre for legitimizing cinema as an artform — the use of shadows for terror, the seductive placement of limbs, glances, and the way someone smoked a cigarette substituted for dialogue. The Hayes Production Code made it harder to convey sex, but film noir coded it by using characters that work just outside the respectability of the police force, but instead are hired in private to unravel mysteries that the people hiring would also like to keep private and out of the police dossiers and headlines. And that distance from societal order opened up narratives to include other perceived lessers: gamblers, alcoholics, burlesque dancers, prostitutes, and desperate men and women. As such, the femme fatale was born to counterpart the brooding and mysterious private detective. Acclaimed film director Jean-Luc Godard famously began his career as a film critic writing for France’s Cahiers du cinema, where he frequently championed this post-WWII cinematic movement for portraying a level of unease and disbelief that the rest of popular cinema was avoiding. Godard famously quipped that all you need to make a movie is a gun and a girl. And that’s partly what made noir so popular at movie studios: it was cheap to make and it could create a movie star out of an actor/actress who was on contract.
Film criticism also shifted in the 40s and 50s to include more artful analysis of movies (suggestion: read some of the early 1940s film criticism from novelist James Agee when he started at Time in 1942; Agee was hugely influential to our big American critics of the 60s onward—like the Cahiers writers, and Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert.) Agee himself was excited by noir and pulp films, and he often fought to include them in Time which boosted their profile in intellectual circles and was extremely formative for elevating many genres decades later, such as horror. Agee also later went on to write the seminal, noir-inspired Night of the Hunter script that attacked the potential for hypocrisy in religion. Attacking convention and the open embrace of the status quo is precisely what intrigued Agee. That and the camera angles and use of lighting that conveyed much more than good vs. evil in it’s heightened black and white status. |
The number of Americans using public transportation rose to the highest level in more than 5 decades, as higher gas prices caused commuters to turn in their cars in favor of buses and subways.
There were 10.7 billion trips taken on public transit in 2008, a 4 percent increase over 2007, according to the American Public Transportation Association.
“Now, more than ever, the value of public transportation is evident, and the public has clearly demonstrated that they want and need more public transit services,” said APTA President William W. Millar.
What is particularly surprising, is the fact that after gas prices dropped back below a national average of $2 a gallon, the the new riders didn’t fall back to their old habits.
“You would normally have expected with lower gas prices, a declining economy and rapidly growing unemployment that transit ridership would have been down,” said William W. Millar, the transportation association’s president. “It appears that many of those people, once they tried public transit, found that it suited their needs.”
Advocates hope to use the recent upsurge in public transport to push for federal funding beyond the $8.4 billion in stimulus money set aside for transit.
“These are investments that pay off for decades and decades to come,” Millar said.
Ridership was up on all modes of public transportation in 2008.
Subways saw an increase of 3.5 percent, while buses gained by 3.9 percent and commuter rail ridership enjoyed a jump of 4.7 percent in 2008.
The survey also found that bus ridership in areas with a population under 100,000 rose 9.3 percent. Those areas routinely have to wait an hour for their scheduled bus to arrive, which shows a dedication of the riders to use public transport.
As public transport increased by 4 percent compared to the year before, Americans also took many fewer trips by car, according to the Department of Transportation. |
Sooner or later, climate change will consume our economy. If we are wise, we will let this happen sooner, and make massive preemptive investments into green energy and sustainable infrastructure; this will cost a lot up front, but it will mitigate even greater costs down the road. More likely, we’ll kick the can down the road, and then we’ll find ourselves paying for disaster relief, mass migrations, civil unrest, plague, famine, and everything else that comes with global warming. One way or the other, we’ll pay. Estimates vary, but the more plausible ones hover around a third of GDP.
In developing countries experiencing significant economic growth, this will be manageable. In developed countries that have already made big investments in infrastructure and green energy, this will be manageable. But in the United States, where growth will probably slow and where our investments are low, this is going to hit our economy hard.
Couple this with so many other trends of late capitalism — outsourcing, inequality, wage stagnation — and the prospects for your average American over the next fifty years look pretty grim. Liberalism will have no answer for this. It will offer the same useless panaceas it always has — vocational training, targeted tax cuts, business subsidies, and so on – but it will offer them to generations who’ve only seen their living standards fall and their futures disappear.
Did I mention mass migration?
A discredited ruling ideology, declining standards of living, the memory of lived prosperity and absolute despair for the future: this is as toxic a society as you can imagine. Now add to that waves of immigrants fleeing the storms and heat waves of South and Central America; an increasingly violent, militarized border, paired with an increasingly aggressive ICE; the continued decline of white Americans into a national minority; and a wealthy elite, controlling the most powerful propaganda apparatus in history, desperate to find a scapegoat for the country’s ongoing deterioration.
This is fascism’s pincer: economic pathology on one side, ethnonationalism on the other, and a middle class driven by radical resentment. You can already see the first glimmer of this in the polo shirt neoconfederates who spilled blood in Charlottesville — a frustrated, revanchist mob of white suburbanites who see in their falling monuments the end of their power and prestige. Their rage is already scary enough, but it is only going to get worse.
There is only one way out of this: redistribute to the rest of society the vast wealth hoarded by our (largely white, first-world) ruling class. Redistribute the wealth, guarantee everyone a decent standard of living with all of the necessities that entails, and you can undercut the tribal wars for survival and domination that capitalism constantly threatens to inflame. Redistribute the wealth — particularly to the developing world — and maybe you can buy some time in the fight against climate change, or even soften the blow when it eventually hits.
You are not going to solve all of society’s problems by redistributing the wealth. Racism will still be with us. The political and cultural legacy of white supremacy will still be with us. Our planet will still be poisoned and depleted from centuries of industrialized destruction. Fifty years from now, the Left will still have plenty of work to do — but if we try to fight these battles when we’re caught in fascism’s pincer, our chances for survival are slim. |
Word in China is out about blockchain technology, as the government made clear in an Informatization Strategy published in December of 2016. The strategy states, "The internet, cloud computing, large data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain … will drive the evolution of everything - digital, network and intelligent services will be everywhere."
It was an official endorsement for the new digital age and a big boost for blockchain technology.
In a country with $5.5 trillion in digital payments last year (50 times the U.S.), blockchain is now a buzzword among the titans of industry. And in the race to participate, Chinese banks, builders, suppliers and retailers are pumping out blockchain solutions.
Survival of the Fittest
Even with millions of dollars, many of these new blockchains may not make it very far. In a recent WeChat post, Antshares executive Erik Zhang stated that 90 percent of the enterprise blockchains we are seeing are doomed to fail. Without an open-source code that anyone can build upon, Zhang argues, private solutions will not see the network effect of a healthy ledger.
The big question for China, however, is whether a country known for its centralized authority, and a penchant for all things made-in-China, will allow an open-source, global standard solution sit on its internet. With Bitcoin, Ethereum and Hyperledger vying for dominance, there are big names within China making moves into the space.
A few of these big names include:
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) - The PBOC is reportedly close to the release of a government-backed digital RMB currency, which would put China at the frontier of digital currency adoption. And there are whispers within China that Shenzhen will be ground zero for the new digital economy. In September, Bloomberg reported that PBOC Vice Governor Fan Yifei wrote: "[T]he conditions are ripe for digital currencies, which can reduce operating costs, increase efficiency and enable a wide range of new applications." This would pave the way for blockchain startups in China to move forward in digital banking, finance, record-keeping, supply chains, IoT, AI and more.
Wanxiang Blockchain Labs - Working with Ethereum, Wanxiang is the largest blockchain development backer in China. After purchasing 500,000 ETH tokens last year, they pledged $30 billion for the development of a smart city in Hangzhou. They offer open-source platforms for anyone to build upon, and launched an accelerator fund for developers, intending to put money into promising projects and integrate digital apps into China's 21st-century cities.
At a recent Fintech Summit in Hangzhou, Dr. Xiao Feng, GM of Wanxiang Blockchain Labs, said, "The first generation of internet technology has brought great changes to society. In China great companies like Alibaba, Tencent and Ant Financial have emerged. The blockchain represents the second generation of the internet," adding that big changes will come with artificial intelligence, encryption, decentralization, finance and the transfer of value.
Wanda Group - Wanda Group is the world's largest private property developer, with its own hotels, theme parks, shopping malls, AMC Theatres, media companies and department stores.
In 2016 Wanda joined Hyperledger, intending to build smart apps for its businesses. Five months later, Wanda announced its blockchain platform Polaris for smart supply chains, pharmaceutical management, finance and invoicing. Now the company is working with China's Ministry of Industry and Information to draft domestic blockchain standards and a Chinese blockchain white paper.
And Wanda insists Polaris will be an open-source blockchain for all. When announcing Polaris at the Shanghai Hyperledger Hackathon in March, Ji Zhoudong, GM of Wanda Feifan Technology Research Center, said, "Wanda attaches great importance to being open source, the core of which is to foster progress through community, openness, collaboration and sharing."
Alibaba - Alibaba took a small step onto the blockchain in March, when it teamed up with PwC to build a pilot platform to prevent counterfeit foods. Food fraud is a big issue in China, as are fraudulent goods across Alibaba's many online platforms. If the pilot is successful, blockchain tracking may be applied to all goods on Alibaba's supply chain.
Alibaba's financial arm, Ant Financial, is also embracing blockchain technology, as CEO Eric Jing recently told CNBC . According to Jing, "[T]hese technologies will be used … to bring more, a high level of security," also saying that in the future, artificial intelligence and blockchain will be "deeply" integrated into Ant Financial's business.
ICBC - The largest and most valuable bank in the world, ICBC is adapting quickly to the fintech revolution. Speaking at a conference in March 2017, ICBC's Huiman Yi said, "We place great importance on the research of advanced technology and the cultivation of technical talents. We have established seven innovation labs in ICBC's head office for artificial intelligence, cloud computing, blockchain, bioidentification, big data and internet finance." And according to Yi, a blockchain-based financial trading system is coming to the public soon.
Other Chinese companies making moves onto the blockchain include:
Foxconn - The producer of Apple's iPhones (for supply chain finance)
JD.com - A leading online retailer (for consumer finance applications)
Juzhen Financials - Banking and finance (to bring distributed tech to financial markets)
Zhongnan Construction - A property conglomerate (for trading agricultural products)
CreditEase - Microfinance and wealth advisors (as a supply chain tool for businesses)
Shanghai Insurance Exchange - An insurance trading platform (for securing trades)
Qtum - To bring decentralized applications to China
Antshares - For decentralized registration and issuing, transactions, settlements and blockchain-based digital payments
Who Will Rule the Kingdom?
Just before Ethereum's Devcon2 in Shanghai, Vitalik Buterin tweeted , "Chinese ethereum community full steam ahead." Since then, blockchain tech has taken Chinese industries by storm.
With so many new blockchain solutions, it's hard to keep an eye on the developments in China. Things are moving fast, and it's great to see such energy devoted to the technology. As word continues to spread, expect to see more Chinese blockchains entering the fray, until we see leaders emerge, and then consolidation. In the meantime, grab a noodle bowl and watch it all unfold and marvel at the swiftness of China's blockchain invasion. |
At least 35 Yemeni soldiers were killed and more than 60 others wounded in a major attack Saturday on forces allied to a Saudi-led military campaign.
Though no group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, extremists from the so-called "Islamic State" have claimed responsibility for most attacks in recent months mainly targeting security forces.
The explosion happened near a military camp in the northeastern part area of Al-Sawlaban near the city's international airport as a crowd of soldiers gathered to pick up their salaries, an official told the German news agency DPA on condition of anonymity.
Aden, the provisional capital of Yemen's Saudi-backed government, is at the center of a civil war with the Iran-allied Houthi rebels.
Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen's civil war in March 2015 to fight the government's foes in the Iran-allied Houthi movement but has failed to dislodge the group from the capital, Sanaa, despite thousands of airstrikes. About 10,000 people have been killed in the ongoing conflict.
Watch video 00:55 Share Yemen: crippled by hunger and war Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2RgvB Yemen: crippled by hunger and war
jbh/sms (AFP, dpa, Reuters) |
Essendon has made one change for its match against Richmond in the Dreamtime at the ‘G clash on Saturday night.
Tom Bellchambers replaces Matthew Leuenberger, who has been left out of the side because of illness.
The Bombers will be looking to record their third straight win after victories over Geelong and West Coast in the last fortnight.
Richmond v Essendon
Saturday May 27
7:25pm
MCG
In: Tom Bellchambers
Out: Matthew Leuenberger (illness)
B: Matt Dea, Michael Hurley, Mark Baguley
HB: James Kelly, Michael Hartley, David Myers
C: Orazio Fantasia, Zach Merrett, David Zaharakis
HF: James Stewart, Cale Hooker, Travis Colyer
F: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, Joe Daniher, Darcy Parish
R: Tom Bellchambers, Dyson Heppell, Jobe Watson
I: Andrew McGrath, Brendon Goddard, Josh Green, Conor McKenna
E: Jackson Merrett, Craig Bird, Heath Hocking
Ahead of Saturday's match a The Long Walk's 'We Walk Together' event will be held at Federation Square from 1pm. The Long Walk will depart for the MCG at 4:15pm. |
For most of 25 years, the Timberwolves lacked talent, luck and organizational savvy. The team mascot should not have been named Crunch. The team mascot should have been named Ibid.
This year the Timberwolves look like failures once again. They are 12-28. They have lost their past eight games. The have the second-worst record in the Western Conference. The only team with a worse record, the Lakers, has openly dedicated the season not to building or winning, but to honoring Kobe Bryant at any cost.
This appears to be another bad team slouching through another bad season in front of remarkably small crowds at Target Center. But this is not a typical bad Timberwolves team.
This team has talent. This team has benefited from luck. This team’s roster is the result of organizational intelligence.
Talent? Andrew Wiggins is one of the league’s best and most promising young players. Karl-Anthony Towns is the best of a strong crop of rookies. Ricky Rubio is a valuable player. Zach LaVine is one of the league’s most gifted athletes. Shabazz Muhammad is one of the best bench scorers in the league. Nemanja Bjelica is 6-10 and can shoot and pass.
Luck? Landing the top pick in the draft lottery is always a matter of good fortune.
Sam Mitchell is running an offense that doesn’t emphasize the three-pointer, a killer in the NBA these days.
Organizational intelligence? The roster contains excellent young talent, depth and veteran leadership. The trade of Kevin Love for Andrew Wiggins was ideal. And the Wolves didn’t need to sacrifice future assets to put this team together.
In most ways, the Timberwolves are better positioned to win now than they ever have been, and yet they are playing as poorly as any team in the NBA over the last month, even as poorly as some franchises that aren’t attempting to win.
The Wolves have demonstrated a lack of offensive structure, an inability to run and an inability to make intelligent plays down the stretch, despite the presence of skilled and talented players.
The Wolves have failed to incorporate the three-point shot into their offense, especially the three-pointer from the corner, the cornerstone of the modern NBA offense.
The problems do not seem to be rooted in attitude. Rubio, Wiggins, Towns and LaVine, the team’s most important players, offer effort.
LaVine did recently note that Sam Mitchell’s hard coaching has at times seemed to him ‘‘unfair.’’ That might have been the most telling quote of the season.
Mitchell was an admirable player. He won the NBA Coach of the Year award with Toronto. I thought he was worth a look as a head coach for this group. We have had a good, long, look.
Mitchell has had his chance. He has coached a talented young team for 40 games. He has produced 12 victories and no sense of progress for a team that should be defined by progress.
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor promised to give General Manager Milt Newton and Mitchell a year to prove they should keep their jobs. Newton helped build a talented roster and can’t be fairly judged until he conducts a draft or two and delves into free agency on his own. Mitchell’s situation is different. He is coaching players who are much more important to the organization than he is. If there are any signs that he is not the right person to develop Wiggins, Towns, LaVine and Muhammad, he needs to go.
If this was going to be a season spent evaluating an interim coach, there is an in-season solution that may benefit the organization in many ways. Taylor could hire Kevin McHale as Interim Coach Part II.
McHale is a gifted offensive coach. He would increase the Wolves’ pace of play, which should benefit an athletic roster. He would reinvigorate a fan base that rapidly lost interest in what was supposed to be an entertaining team. And if he proved to not be the right fit for this team, the Wolves could conduct their expected coaching search this summer having vetted two coaches worthy of consideration instead of just one.
Jim Souhan’s podcast can be heard at MalePatternPodcasts.com. On Twitter: @SouhanStrib. [email protected] |
Thanks for checking out part 5 of 6 of the Maximizing your LGBT Outreach with a Solid Plan. This has been such a great series of posts to write for you. Many of you have taken the time to write to me and express how this has helped you and I really appreciate that. In this post we are going to answer the question, What steps will I take to start building relationships?
This is a really fun topic for me as I am always connecting with new people and matchmaking those I know would be a good fit for one another. The excitement for this topic may be partially due to my position as an executive director of an LGBT chamber of commerce for 3+ years. In that capacity it was my job to be a connector and to be a builder of relationships. I learned a great deal about business in that position and I have a few tips to share here.
The most important thing I am going to say here is – You have to view your relationship building approach from a strategic lens. Most of us in business have heard of the “Know, Like and Trust Factor,” but have you ever given thought to how people come to know, like or trust you? Below I’m going to provide some tips and advice for becoming that person.
How can you expect people to know who you are if you aren’t out networking? Networking is the name of the game in business. But you have to have a vision and a purpose when you are networking. Going to an event and being a wallflower, talking with people you already know and not actively searching for new people to connect with isn’t going to expand your reach and build your database of connections.
So how do you change this? You need to step outside of your comfort zone. Yes, it can be scary. But to grow your skills and grow your business, you just have to do it. Find a wing-man or wing-woman who is good at networking and ask them to attend an event with you. Observe what they are doing and then jump in. You may feel anxious, but remember the person you are walking up to could be feeling the exact same way you are, regardless of how well polished or confident they may seem.
So, how do you get people to like you? This is a question some people have been asking themselves since the dawn of time. I’m here to tell you there are simple ways to help you accomplish this. In a business setting the number one thing I find that works amazingly well to getting people to like you is by focusing on what you can do for others and not what others can do for you.
Being that pushy person who is handing out hundreds of business cards at an event without having a real meaningful conversation is a surefire way for peoplenot to like you. Or at the very least not return your calls or e-mails when you reach out. Focusing on how you can be of value to someone else makes you a resource. Being a resource and a connector can serve you well in business. I am always making introductions and connecting people I think will be a good match together. It doesn’t cost me more than a few minutes of my time to make the introduction and if they are a good match, they will remember I’m the one who connected them. That leaves a positive image of me in their minds.
Trust is a big one. People need to feel like they can trust you. Have you ever been to an event where you can immediately find the gossip in the crowd? Yep – thatperson. Don’t be him/her. Business associates and colleagues need to feel like they can trust you, but you need to demonstrate that they can. Remember actions speak louder than words. You can do this by not talking badly about your competition, past clients, past relationships, etc. The last thing you want is for people to think you are the engine in the rumor mill. If you talk like that to them, how do they know you aren’t talking about them to others?
On any given day sensitive information comes my way. I’ve opened my lines of communication and trust with people because they understand that telling me something means that I’m not going to repeat it. Simple as that. It may seem like pretty common sense but you’d be surprised at how many Negative Nancy’s there are out there talking badly about those in the community around them. Make note of how you talk to other people and what you say. If you find yourself going down the gossip trail, make a conscious note of it and try better next time. Over time you’ll find more people confiding in you for being the person they feel they can trust.
So, now that you have some basic tips to get you started – let’s think about what strategies you can use in your outreach to the LGBT community. Ask yourself some of these questions – Will you place an ad in the local LGBT media? Will you attend a big gala in your area? Will you volunteer for a local LGBT non-profit organization? To build quality relationships and your reputation you need to be active. You could be volunteering, putting an ad in the local LGBT media and attending a big gala, all in one shot. Most gala’s have program books and volunteer committees. These are 3 good ways to get your name and face out there. Becoming a regular for any particular group in your area is a good start. Be consistent and be regular. Showing up to one thing every 3 months doesn’t keep you top of mind for anyone. Find ways to have your name always in front of the people you want to do business with.
Let’s take it to the next level – go grab a piece of paper or open up a Word document. Now, make yourself a list. Write down these 3 steps.
Step 1: Write down a date two weeks from now. Next to it – make a list of ways you can get more involved. Such as; talking with current LGBT clients and finding out why they do business with you. Learn what makes you unique. Now use that new found information and determine where the best use of your time is. Get involved in the community through a business organization, a non-profit that correlates to your field of work, or even by becoming a mentor to an LGBT college student. Research the different ways you can become involved.
Step 2: Write down a date one month from now. Next to it – make a list of the specific organizations you previously researched that you have decided you want to be involved in. Whether it’s the local LGBT chamber, pride center, professionals group, etc. Do some additional research, narrow down the organization that best suits your needs and reach out to the main contact at each organization and schedule a meeting.
Step 3: Write down a date 6 weeks from now. Next to it – make a list of ways you can market your business to the LGBT community. Can you develop a marketing piece, a brochure or postcard of your products/services that is specific to the new organization you are involved in? Can you create a new website positioning yourself as the go to person to do business with? For example, if you are a lesbian realtor – you could get the domain name of “YourLesbianRealtor.com.” Be creative – there are a lot of opportunities for you. The key here is to be specific and focused.
Combine the 3 steps outlined above with the previous work you have done in building your strategic LGBT outreach plan and you are well on your way to success and recognition in your community.
Looking for the other parts of this series? Catch up on them here. |
What seems clear, analysts said, is that while Japanese were sympathetic to putting the relationship on a more equal footing, they shied away from more fundamental changes, in a country that still views Washington as a largely benign protector.
“The Japanese public was not willing to follow Hatoyama down this path of Futenma and changing the alliance,” said Izuru Makihara, a professor of politics at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, referring to the American base, United States Marine Air Station Futenma. “The consensus is that Japan needs the United States, with China and North Korea nearby.”
Mr. Hatoyama’s sudden departure left his Democratic Party scrambling to find a new leader to restore a sense of direction for a party that had swept into power with high hopes last summer in a landslide. The party’s control of Parliament’s Lower House ensures it will hold on to power despite the resignation.
Party members gathered behind closed doors to select candidates for an internal party vote on Friday that will elect Mr. Hatoyama’s successor. The finance minister, Naoto Kan, 63, a former leader of the Democratic Party, emerged as an early frontrunner.
As the party moves to choose Japan’s sixth prime minister in four years, many in Japan see Mr. Hatoyama as having frittered away his party’s historic electoral mandate on the seemingly minor issue of relocating a single American military installation.
In truth, his government faltered on a host of issues, including scandals over political financing; an inability to deliver on other campaign promises like eliminating highway tolls; and the party’s failure to focus on pocketbook issues affecting voters, like unemployment or Japan’s anemic growth rates.
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Still, Mr. Hatoyama’s handling of the base issue seemed to crystallize all that went wrong with his short-lived government, including what many Japanese saw as its fatal flaw: his own indecisiveness. The prime minister seemed to waffle between appeasing Washington and assuring Okinawans that he would honor his campaign vows.
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During last summer’s election campaign, Mr. Hatoyama pledged to end Japan’s dependence on the United States, and improve ties with China and the rest of Asia. His fall is a blow to China, which had hoped to expand its influence in Japan.
The centerpiece of Mr. Hatoyama’s push was a pledge to move the Futenma base and its noisy helicopters off Okinawa. But Mr. Hatoyama ran into fierce resistance from the Obama administration. Eager to establish that the United States was not retreating from Asia, it refused to back down from a 2006 agreement to relocate the base to a less populated part of the island.
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During a visit to Japan last October, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates made it clear he had no intention of reopening negotiations.
Public opinion turned against Mr. Hatoyama’s handling of Japan’s crucial relationship with Washington. His government’s approval ratings plummeted from more than 70 percent in September to the high teens in recent weeks.
In the end, the lack of support, and what Mr. Hatoyama called his belated recognition of the importance of the Marines as a deterrent, forced him to accept most of the 2006 agreement. He resigned a week later, as he appeared to be a heavy liability for the Democrats facing parliamentary elections on July 11.
Analysts say that the public did not reject all aspects of Mr. Hatoyama’s agenda. His calls for building a more equal relationship with the United States resonated in Japan, which has grown weary of its junior status in the alliance.
“Hatoyama tapped into the feeling of many Japanese that it is time to rethink their nation’s place in a changing world,” said Takashi Kawakami, a professor who specializes in security issues at Takushoku University in Tokyo. “But wanting to be treated as an equal by Washington is not the same as wanting to be independent of Washington.”
A curious aspect to Mr. Hatoyama’s fall is that for decades the United States has sought to loosen the Liberal Democratic Party’s hold on the country. But the two governments that succeeded in doing so — one in 1993-94, and the current one — simply could not pull the levers of power, leaving American officials deeply frustrated.
Once a new leader is in place, “I do think there will be a desire to exhibit a different kind of management from the outset,” said a senior administration official, who spoke on condition on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
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Analysts said there were lessons in Mr. Hatoyama’s fall for the Obama administration. Sheila A. Smith, a senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said American officials did not initially show enough patience with the new government. “There was responsibility on both sides,” she said.
One immediate upshot of Mr. Hatoyama’s failure will most likely be that his successor will avoid making big changes in foreign policy, in favor of focusing on domestic issues.
“Hatoyama self-destructed on Futenma,” said Mr. Kawakami of Takushoku University. “His successor is not going to want to touch that issue.” |
thumb|150px|link=Aladdin is a 1992 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, and is based on the Arab folktale of Aladdin and the magic lamp from One Thousand and One Nights.
The Merchant is the Genie
This is the most widely accepted version of the theory. It describes how the Merchant from the first scene is actually the genie in human form. This makes sense because Robin Williams voices both characters and the Merchant has the same lamp as the genie. Another variation of this same theory says the man made the entire story up just to sell the lamp.
Post-Apocalyptic Aladdin
In one scene of Disney's Aladdin, Genie calls Al's clothes "so last century". Genie was trapped in the lamp for 10,000 years, so there is no way he could have known about the fashion trends which could have happened whilst he was in the lamp. This means the latest Genie could have been trapped in the lamp during the third century. If he spent 10,000 years in the lamp, it is then at least 10,300 AD when he gets out.
Aladdin takes place in the future, or more exact, a post-apocalyptic world where only Arabic (and some Greek) survived. Its been so long that the name "Arabia" has been corrupted into "Agrabah". The Islamic religion has atrophied to the point where there are no mosques, Imams or prayer mats, but people still give praise to Allah in moments of happiness. Amazing technological marvels left behind by the previous civilization, like flying carpets or genetically engineered parrots which can comprehend human speech instead of just mimicking it, are taken for granted by locals or considered “magic”. The Genie proves this by making impressions of ancient, long-dead celebrities such as Groucho Marx and Jack Nicholson.
In addition to this, in the Aladdin genesis video game there is a modern-day stop sign buried in the sand, as well as a number of bones and skeletons. (http://youtu.be/bfLyK_msMTY?t=9m17s)
Arguments Against This Theory
Because Genie is a genie, he is an omnipotent being with a different perception on time and reality, similar to a time lord from Doctor Who. Genie did not have to be alive back then to have infinite knowledge of a certain culture - rather, he is just making a quick joke. Some may argue "well why would he do that if Aladdin wouldn't get the jokes?" Leading theorists argue that Aladdin wouldn't have understood the jokes the Genie was referencing, but after 8000 years Aladdin would not even know who Groucho Marx was. Agrabah, magic and the Islamic religion could just as easily have evolved over thousands of years, instead of devolving. Lastly, Genie says "indoor plumbing is going to be huge", using future tense and showing that he knows what will happen in the future.
As the video game is not directly canon, it may not be that much of a support for this theory. |
(CNN) — Bangkok is no stranger to the Michelin Guide halo -- in fact, visiting chefs touting their overseas star credentials are a regular sight in culinary establishments across the city.
Now it finally has a Michelin Guide of its own.
On December 6, 2017, the Bangkok culinary landscape became brighter overnight -- 20 stars brighter to be exact -- with Michelin accolades dished out to 17 establishments.
Among them is Jay Fai (named after the chef-owner of the street food shophouse restaurant who presides over her open kitchen wearing signature oversized goggles) who was awarded one Michelin star.
The highest accolade was two stars, which went to three establishments -- the progressive Indian restaurant Gaggan, whose inclusion in any best-of Bangkok dining list should come as no surprise to anyone, Le Normandie which opened at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Bangkok in 1958, and Mezzaluna at Lebua Hotel.
Already renowned as a street food destination, Bangkok -- the seventh Asian territory to be rated by Michelin -- has now risen up the culinary ranks to join the likes of Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong/Macau -- even if the Tourism Authority of Thailand did have to dangle a reported 144 million Thai baht ($4.4 million) partnership to get them there.
Related content 40 great dishes you can get in Shanghai
"Michelin Guide elevates everything"
Le Normandie was one of only three establishments to be awarded two stars at Michelin Guide Bangkok 2018. Le Normandie
The winners of Michelin Guide Bangkok 2018 were announced in a gala dinner at Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok.
Following in the footsteps of Singapore, who was the first country globally to do so, the awards ceremony was complemented with a gala dinner open to the public.
Those who weren't lucky enough to be invited to the Bangkok event had to shell out 20,000 Thai baht ($614) per ticket, which included a six-course gala dinner prepared in part by three chefs from overseas Michelin-starred restaurants.
Chef Chan Yan Tak from the three-starred Lung King Heen at Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, Thierry Marx from the two-starred Sur Mesure at Mandarin Oriental Paris, and Henrik Yde Andersen of one-starred Kiin Kiin in Copenhagen, the latter who "conceptualized" Siam Kempinski's Sra Bua restaurant, all took part.
Other guest chefs included Thaninthorn Chantrawan of Chim by Siam Wisdom, Yannis J. Janssens of L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Bangkok , Chayawee Sutcharitchan of Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin and Bee Satongun of Paste, each of which went on to receive one Michelin star.
The arrival of the Red Guide is considered a positive for the city by restaurateurs and chefs.
"The Michelin Guide elevates everything in one day," said Gaggan's chef Gaggan Anand, who earlier this year announced plans to close his restaurant in 2020 to focus on new projects.
"It changes Bangkok from the street food capital to the gourmet capital of the world."
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Melting pot of flavors
Chef David Thompson's Nahm at Como Metropolitan Bangkok received one star. Nahm
A variety of cuisines were represented on the night, including Thai, French, Indian, European, Japanese, German and American.
"Locals are having street food for lunch and fine dining for dinner, and depending on the mood you have a wide choice of cuisines," said chef Thomas Sühring, one half of the duo behind contemporary German restaurant Sühring. "It is with this culinary scene that Bangkok is becoming one that can compete with other great cities in Asia."
Over 15 years ago, Nahm at the Halkin Hotel in London put Thai food on the Michelin map when it was awarded one star not long after it opened in 2001.
The original Nahm has since closed, but proving the star-worthiness of its food, chef David Thompson's second -- and now only -- Nahm at Como Metropolitan Bangkok, was also awarded one Michelin star.
Thai restaurants with Michelin stars are still a bit of a rare breed -- Kin Khao in San Francisco comes to mind, as does Kiin Kiin in Copenhagen.
Considering the country's tourism board partnership with the Michelin Guide, it's perhaps not surprising that Thai food was well represented, with seven of the total 17 Michelin-starred restaurants serving Thai cuisine.
"I'm very pleased that Thai cuisine is represented in the guide, because if you talk about flavors, Thai food has flavors," says chef Norbert Kostner, the former executive chef and later culinary director at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok where for nearly 40 years he helped shaped the fine dining scene of the Thai capital.
Perfectly timed with the arrival of the Michelin Guide, local food has been a core tourism product identified by the Thai tourist board for 2018.
"The Michelin Guide will be a boon for the Michelin star and Gourmand Bib winners, especially for Thai restaurants, as it will provide foreign visitors to Thailand with a trusted resource of recommendations," said Thanaruek "Eh" Laoraowirodge, owner of Supanniga Eating Room, whose three branches in Bangkok plus a dinner cruise serves some of his grandmother's traditional Thai recipes (amongst other things he also co-owner of Somtum Der , whose New York outpost was awarded one Michelin star in 2016.)
Stars on the streets
Bangkok street food vendor Jay Fai was awarded one Michelin star. Jay Fai
If the Michelin stars are categorized as "very good in its category" (one star), "excellence worthy of a detour" (two stars), and "exceptionally worth a long journey" (three stars), then surely there are plenty of street vendors across the city worthy of a two star -- just ask any of the hungry locals who drive across town for their favorite food cart or hole-in-the-wall joint.
A total of 28 street food stalls were included in the Michelin Guide 2018, but only one made it to the Michelin star list -- the one-starred Jay Fai.
The remaining were listed in the Bib Gourmand list, which included a total of 35 restaurants noted for their good value for money with a quality menu not exceeding 1,000 Thai baht ($31). This included Guay Tiew Kua Gai Suanmali, Baannai and Soul Food Mahanakorn
Taste of success
For the winners, the Michelin stars may be the start of a bittersweet journey.
Earlier in the year, chef André Chiang made headlines when he said he wanted to "give back" Restaurant André 's two Michelin stars in Singapore, following a trickle of chefs over the years who have asked to be dropped out of the guide for reasons ranging from the cost, both creative and financial, to maintain the prestige.
Other winners take the accolade with a pinch of salt.
"I am judged for everything I do. But my food is the same on December 5, December 6, or December 7," says Anand, whose restaurant has already topped rival guide Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list three years in a row from 2015-2017.
Any awards, culinary or not, are not without its naysayers, but in the end the diner always wins.
"There's a lot of competition in Bangkok already, but the Michelin Guide will bring it up a bit more, which is good," says Kostner.
The long term Thai resident adds that, when compared to other awards including Asia's 50 Best Restaurants and BK Top Tables , Michelin Guide has the most prestige, but he suspects that coming up with this year's selection would have been a difficult task for the inspectors.
So will Thailand follow in the footsteps of Japan and China, countries with Michelin Guides covering two different territories?
The tourism board has been dropping hints that "other major destinations" may be covered by the guide in following years, but some have their doubts whether other Thai cities are ready for the Red Guide.
"At the moment we believe that the dining scenes in other cities are not strong and developed enough, such as Chiang Mai and Phuket which are considered too much as tourist destinations," says Mathias Sühring.
"However it's just a question of time -- Bangkok has changed so much in only 10 years that anything is possible for the other big cities in Thailand."
Two stars
Gaggan (progressive Indian)
Le Normandie (French)
Mezzaluna (European)
One star
Chim by Siam Wisdom (Thai)
Bo.lan (Thai)
Saneh Jaan (Thai)
Sra Bua by KiinKiin (Thai)
Jay Fai (Thai)
Ginza Sushi ichi (Japanese sushi)
Sühring (contemporary German)
L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon (contemporary French)
J'AIME by Jean Michel Lorrain (contemporary French)
Elements (contemporary French)
Savelberg (contemporary French)
Paste (Thai)
Nahm (Thai) |
by Larry Lee
UNDATED (WSAU) - Fifteen people have been arrested in central and eastern Wisconsin after a coordinated effort to crack down on child sex trafficking. Another Wausau man was arrested for trying to solicit an adult prostitute.
The arrests were made as part of Operation Black Veil II, and involved Marathon, Shawano, and Outagamie county sheriff’s departments, and police from Wausau, Shawano, and Oshkosh between last Wednesday and Saturday.
Marathon County Sheriff Scott Parks says the operation targeted online predators who solicit children for sexually explicit conduct by using online advertising in places like Craigs List. “It’s not necessarily just Craig’s List, actually, it’s just a number of different sites and various computer access that is conducted and the efforts are made to locate individuals who are preying on our children.”
Parks says this type of operation shows there are still many people who would take advantage of children, which makes him both frustrated and sad. “It’s actually frustrating and sad at the same time. Frustrating about the fact that there are these persons out there. It’s the third time that the operation has been run, but yet we still see a number of people that are involved with these type of activities. Sad, because once again, it’s up to parents and law enforcement to protect our children with the onus on both of us.”
The Sheriff says this is another example of how important it is for parents to watch what their children are doing on the Internet to help keep them safe. “It’s up to parents to monitor what their children are involved in, their Internet access and the persons that they are basically conversing with online, because there are a lot of predators out there who would like to prey on these people.”
21-year-old Pravong Colin Thongdara was arrested by Wausau Police and charged with child enticement and use of a computer to facilitate a sex crime. 39-year-old Brian A. Uttecht was arrested by Wausau Police and charged with soliciting for an adult prostitute. 23-year-old Shayd C. Mitchell was arrested by Wausau Police and charged with child enticement and use of a computer to facilitate a sex crime.
Marathon County deputies arrested 28-year-old Robert L. Spreeman, who is charged with child enticement and using a computer to facilitate a sex crime.
Outagamie County deputies arrested 18-year-old Maynard M. Dakota and have referred him for charges of child enticement and using a computer to facilitate a sex crime.
34-year-old Richard E. Denty was arrested by Shawano city and county law enforcement. He’s been charged with using a computer to facilitate a sex crime.Oshkosh Police apprehended 42-year-old Michael A. Fischer. He’s charged with child enticement and using a computer to facilitate a sex crime.
Nine of the arrests were in Door County. 50-year-old Frederick Fischer, 28-year-old Albert D. Ruleford, 48-year-old Randal A. Bunkelman from Allouez, 34-year-old Victor V. Iakimenko from Bellevue, 38-year-old Aaron D. Dobberfuhl from Bellevue, 38-year-old Jason S. Gehrke of Bellevue, 36-year-old Bryan J. Bathke from Ashwaubenon, 30-year-old Daniel R. Roggow from Bellevue, and 38-year-old James E. McHugh from Ashwaubenon all face similar charges. Bunkelman and Dobberfuhl also have charges of exposing their genitals to a child.
ARREST LIST:
21-year-old Pravong Colin Thongdara was arrested by Wausau Police and charged with child enticement and use of a computer to facilitate a sex crime. 39-year-old Brian A. Uttecht was arrested by Wausau Police and charged with soliciting for an adult prostitute. 23-year-old Shayd C. Mitchell was arrested by Wausau Police and charged with child enticement and use of a computer to facilitate a sex crime.
Marathon County deputies arrested 28-year-old Robert L. Spreeman, who is charged with child enticement and using a computer to facilitate a sex crime.
Outagamie County deputies arrested 18-year-old Maynard M. Dakota and have referred him for charges of child enticement and using a computer to facilitate a sex crime.
34-year-old Richard E. Denty was arrested by Shawano city and county law enforcement. He’s been charged with using a computer to facilitate a sex crime.Oshkosh Police apprehended 42-year-old Michael A. Fischer. He’s charged with child enticement and using a computer to facilitate a sex crime.
Nine of the arrests were in Door County. 50-year-old Frederick Fischer, 28-year-old Albert D. Ruleford, 48-year-old Randal A. Bunkelman from Allouez, 34-year-old Victor V. Iakimenko from Bellevue, 38-year-old Aaron D. Dobberfuhl from Bellevue, 38-year-old Jason S. Gehrke of Bellevue, 36-year-old Bryan J. Bathke from Ashwaubenon, 30-year-old Daniel R. Roggow from Bellevue, and 38-year-old James E. McHugh from Ashwaubenon all face similar charges. Bunkelman and Dobberfuhl also have charges of exposing their genitals to a child.
(The attached PDF has the Marathon County Sheriff's Department press release and the booking photos of all 16 suspects.) |
If there's one surefire way to add a sense of importance and artistic integrity to your band, it's to name your band after something you read in a book. Here are ten bands who took their names from literary works.
1. Steely Dan
One of my favorite things to do to classic rock fans is to explain where the name "Steely Dan" actually comes from. "Steely Dan" is a reference to William S. Burroughs' 1959 novel Naked Lunch, a book I'll admit to reading but not actually understanding. In Naked Lunch, "Steely Dan III from Yokohama" is a steam-powered dildo, which is not really something that comes to mind when listening to "Reelin' In The Years."
2. The Feelies
New Jersey jangle-pop band the Feelies took its name from Aldous Huxley's dystopian classic Brave New World, where "feelies" are movies that manipulate all of the senses, including touch. They're basically extreme versions of 3D movies.
3. The Doors
Just like the Feelies, the Doors also took its name from the work of writer Aldous Huxley, though the name actually originated with writer William Blake. Huxley's novel The Doors of Perception took its name from a quote in Blake's poem "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell."
4. Josef K
Though "Josef K" would imply the name of a solo artist, Josef K was actually an underappreciated post-punk band from Scotland during the late '70s and early '80s. The band's name comes from the main character of Franz Kafka's The Trial, whose last name is never revealed.
5. Gregor Samsa
Another band to take its name from the work of Franz Kafka is Virginia post-rock outfit Gregor Samsa, named for the protagonist in Kafka's The Metamorphosis, about a man who inexplicably turns into a beetle.
6. Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse may write intense and occasionally aggressive music, but the band's name often sounds like something a cute twee pop band would adopt. The term "modest mouse" actually derives from a Virginia Woolf passage from "The Mark On the Wall," about "modest, mouse-coloured people, who believe genuinely that they dislike to hear their own praises."
7. The Magnetic Fields
The music of indie pop band the Magnetic Fields may not delve into surrealism, but the band's name comes from the 1920 novel Les Champs Magnetiques, or The Magnetic Fields, written by Andre Breton and Philippe Soupault, which is considered to be the first work of surrealism in literature.
8. The Velvet Underground
"The Velvet Underground" has always been one of my favorite band names, but the band members didn't come up with the name themselves. The Velvet Underground is actually the title of a non-fiction book about bizarre sexual practices in the United States, published in 1963. This wasn't the only time the band would reference a sex-themed novel: the song "Venus is Furs" is named after a novel about sadomasochism.
9. The Fall
Though Mark E. Smith is generally considered to be the leader of the Fall, he wasn't responsible for the band's name. "The Fall" originated with original bassist Tony Friel, who took the name from Albert Camus' philosophical novel The Fall.
10. Burzum
Though countless metal bands have taken their names from the work of J.R.R. Tolkien (including Amon Amarth and Gorgoroth), the most notorious is Varg Vikernes' Burzum, whose name is taken from the Black Speech word for "darkness," as is revealed in The Lord of the Rings.
I know there are more, so what other bands have done this? Let us know in the comments section! |
Video
It is one of the world's most popular websites - a source of information on many things. But there is one area where Wikipedia - the online encyclopaedia - is severely lacking. That is entries about, and by, women.
It's something the organisation is trying to tackle and today they've teamed up with the BBC's 100 Women season to do something about it. Nuala McGovern has spent the day at a very special event.
What is 100 women?
BBC 100 Women names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year. We create documentaries, features and interviews about their lives, giving more space for stories that put women at the centre.
Other stories you might like:
Live updates:Women take over Wikipedia
How I got rich beating men at their own game
Who is on the BBC's 100 Women 2016 list? |
When I first saw someone tweet this across the timeline, I was sure it was a joke. I mean, why do we need to make Santa Claus gay? What purpose does this serve? Well, OK, I’m not that naive. There seems to be a concerted effort by mass media to push extremely mature content onto our children, often in the name of tolerance and/or diversity. Personally, I have no problems with people involved in homosexual behavior. I’m also in an interracial relationship myself, so I obviously have no qualms there, either. But what is wrong with a company who thinks pushing a gay Santa Claus onto children is a good idea?
This is simply insane. It might be the best example of our deteriorating society that I’ve seen so far this year.
IT’S SANTA FOR F*CK’S SAKE! WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?
I just can’t get over this…
A new picture book will depict Santa as a gay man in an interracial relationship, publisher Harper Design confirmed Tuesday. The book, Santa’s Husband, goes on sale Oct. 10 and tells the story of a black Santa Claus and his white husband who both live in the North Pole. Santa’s spouse frequently fills in for his husband at malls, according to a description of the book Harper Design provided to TIME. Daniel Kibblesmith, who is a staff writer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and co-author of How to Win at Everything, penned the parody children’s book after tweeting in December that he would only tell his future child Santa was black. “If they see a white one, we’ll say ‘That’s his husband,’” Kibblesmith wrote… Harper Design said the book is meant for all ages.
Like hell it is. I’m incensed, so I can only imagine what the more religious and/or conservative among us must be thinking. Yes, I know it’s not Jesus, although feminists recently “aborted” him as well, so yea. We’re clearly headed in the right cultural direction. I can only imagine what these amazing talents will think of next? Perhaps a transgendered Easter Bunny?
Maybe I shouldn’t give them any ideas. |
CNET Smart Home Guide From connected light bulbs, to plant sensors, to smart locks, and beyond, smart home tech is growing and evolving rapidly. Here you'll find the latest product reviews, news, and how-tos to help you connect your surroundings to the internet in the smartest way possible. Read More
I'm on a mission, and that mission is to save on my power bill. I've already done the obvious stuff, like replace lightbulbs -- especially the 500W halogens floodlights I have outdoors -- with low-power LEDs, and I'm being more careful as to how I use heating and cooling. But along with making big changes, I've also been looking at just how much power all the random stuff I have plugged in uses.
A while back, I looked at how much power smartphone chargers consumed when there wasn't a smartphone attached to them. Now let's look at how much power it takes to charge a smartphone for a year.
Also: Best cheap phones: $300 (or much less) buys a great iPhone
Now, the proper way to do this test would be to measure the power consumption over a year. Well, I want results quicker than that, so I'd have to do shorter periods of real-world testing and extrapolate out the results, which shouldn't be a problem.
So, here's what I did rather than keep detailed charging note for a year, or find how much power it took just to charge the battery from 0 percent to 100 percent, and try to fudge that into some real-world figure. I replicated what most people do and put my smartphone on to charge overnight and measured the nightly power consumption.
Also: The first Android phone was an ugly thing, and I loved it CNET
I chose this method for two reasons:
It's a usage pattern that matches how many people use their device
It is more real-world, since when the device is on charge overnight, not only is power being used to charge the battery, but also to run the device (remember, your device is doing stuff in the background like checking email), so this goes beyond just measuring the power used to charge the battery
Power consumption was measured using a WattsUp? PRO power meter.
My test subject was the iPhone 6 Plus, which had the biggest battery that Apple offered at the time of my test. I'm also a pretty heavy user, and this meant that going all day was sometimes tricky (the things I do for you). This means that my results are going to be at the high-end, and that more restrained smartphone users are going to have a smaller power bill.
So here's what I found.
Also: 17 ways to recycle or sell your smartphone TechRepublic
During an overnight charge, the iPhone consumed an average of 19.2 Wh.
According to figures published by the US Energy Information Administration for July 2018 (the latest figures currently avaialble), the average cost per kWh in the US was $0.13.
Remember that 1 kWh equals 1,000 Wh.
So, take our average of 19.2 Wh per day, multiplying that by 365 days, we get 7 kWh, which works out at $0.91 a year.
So if you guess under a dollar, well done.
Previous and related coverage:
Want a new iPhone or Android smartphone? Here's how to sell or trade
The new Samsung Galaxy Note 9 was just announced and we expect three new iPhones and two Google Pixel phones to launch soon. Now is the time to consider selling your current one before market prices drop or plan to participate in a trade-in program.
10 best smartphones of 2018
he major smartphone launch season is upon us and one of the first out of the gates is the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, immediately taking over the top spot in our list of best smartphones.
Best Wearable Tech for 2018 CNET
Our editors hand-picked these products based on our tests and reviews. If you use our links to buy, we may get a commission.
The best tablets for 2018: Our top picks TechRepublic
Tablet sales may be declining, but there are still plenty of viable use cases and many models to choose from. Here's our pick of the best.
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According to myths, the Ancients discovered a botanical species; a kind of reed that was capable of resonating a sound frequency when touched. The Ancients harvested these reeds and created a meditative and spiritual garden.
Quite by accident, the Ancients also discovered a symbiotic creature to the reeds; which they named the Pentapuss. The Pentapuss has the same form and biological structure as the reeds, and fed off the soundwaves made by the reeds. In doing so, their movements amongst the reeds nurtured the growth of the reeds to maturity.
So opens the first chapter of The {Lost} Garden of Sundarya Lahari, which is also the name of the first part of Xineohp Guisse’s interactive environment, located at LEA13, and part of the 6th round of Artist In Residence installations for the first half of 2014. The story goes on:
The Ancients built BioPods and BioSpheres; to nurture these reeds and the young, juvenile pentapussies. They built contemplative Elemental pods at the Chamber of the Ancients, to observe these creatures and plants. They built a music chamber, where they can physically interact with the reeds……
In time, the garden grew to become a beautiful space – to contemplate and be as one with the beings that surrounds them.
As you might expect, given the story, this is a place where you’ll need to have sound on – though not media enabled – in order to fully experience this city-like garden with its tall structures and musical chambers. The music, produced by Xineohp plucking the strings of a cello, can initially sound random and tonal (and at times faintly memorable of a guzheng); however, when walking through the interactive chamber, it is possible to produce something more melodic and soothing.
This is only the first chapter in what promises to be an unfolding story (and environment) which will be added to each month. As such, it is doubtless one you’ll want to return to as it progresses. I know I will.
Oh, and don’t forget to pick up a copy of the book at the arrival chamber.
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BOSTON — They’ve been there every step of the way for Clarke MacArthur.
From tying his skates as a kid growing up in Lloydminster, Alta., to driving him to the rink early on Saturday mornings and sending him off to play Bantam AAA as a 15-year-old in Edmonton, they’ve enjoyed his highlights and they’ve been there to lean on during what has been a tough couple of years for the Ottawa Senators’ winger.
Maybe that was why being at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday for a playoff game against the Boston Bruins was so special for parents Dean and Deb MacArthur because, after everything Clarke has been through with wife Jessica and their young family, everybody was fortunate they were there to witness Clarke’s first National Hockey League goal since April 19, 2015.
Sitting with Dion Phaneuf’s parents, Paul and Amber, and Cody Ceci’s family, MacArthur’s family members joined in an exchange of high-fives after MacArthur scored the Senators’ first goal of the game they would eventually win 4-3 in overtime.
“That was a great goal. We were very excited,” Dean MacArthur said Saturday night, before he and Deb made the trek back to Lloydminster on Sunday. “We were holding (tears) back for sure. We were just happy. He said to Deb and I the other day, ‘I need to see if I can score now.’ ”
The past two years haven’t been easy on the MacArthurs. Clarke worked all summer to get back to playing, but received another concussion during training camp. After he failed a baseline test in January, it was decided that he wouldn’t play at all this season.
“It’s a big relief for Deb and I (to see Clarke playing),” Dean MacArthur added. “He’s always been a battler and he’s always wanted to play this game as long as he could. There have been ups and downs for the last (18 months), but, when he failed his baseline test in January, he was devastated.
“He said, ‘Maybe I can’t get back.’ And I said, ‘You know what? Let’s just take a break here, think about things,’ and then his health started to come around. When he wanted to play before the end of the year, ‘I told him, ‘You’re a battler and it would be really great if you could play, but it will be a big disappointment if you can’t.’ That’s the risk he wanted to take, but, if you don’t take risks in this world, you’ll never find out where you’re at.”
Let’s face it, Clarke MacArthur could have walked away after doctors told him in January that he wasn’t going to play this season. Nobody would have faulted him if he decided retirement was his best option.
“He was always very skilled guy with a lot of heart and passion for this game,” Dean MacArthur said. “If you don’t have those two things, the passion and the drive, you’ll never make it. It doesn’t matter how good you are. There’s lots of guys with better skills than him who were first-round picks that don’t finish the journey because they don’t have that real passion for the game.
“If you’re not willing to give up everything to play the game and take some risks and some chances, you’ll never accomplish what you want. You’ll get sidetracked. It’s been a journey and it’s been tough on Jessica and his kids — the not knowing — but I think he’s fine, I really do as far as his physical well-being.”
Just before Clarke returned to the Senators’ lineup for the first time since Oct. 14, 2015, for an April 4 home game against the Detroit Red Wings, he called his parents at 4 p.m. ET to let them know he’d been told to come to the rink to take part in the warmup, and suddenly there he was back on the ice.
“When they interviewed him on TV on the first night, after the first game, oh God, Deb and I were in tears,” Dean said. “Not only would he come back, but can he survive? Those were always questions in our own mind. We never doubted him for a minute.”
Of course, the MacArthurs questioned, just like everybody else did, whether their son would ever get another chance to pull on that No. 16 Senators jersey again.
“We wondered in January after the baseline test,” Dean said. “We thought, you know what, maybe this is going to be over and maybe this journey is done now and we’ll turn to the next chapter.
“Deb was always really good at motivating him and saying, ‘You’re not going to be happy unless you’re flying with hair on fire at Mach 1, so don’t give up yet and see what happens with your health.’ We never pushed him. We knew he had the drive in him. When he went and took those three weeks in Florida (in January), he said, ‘Dad, I just can’t retire. I just can’t not play the game again.’ ”
Focus just on playing now
All Clarke MacArthur wants to do now is focus on playing.
The emotions of the first game back and the first goal are out of the way for the Senators’ winger, so he hopes he can be a regular contributor.
“Emotionally it’s tough because you get so amped up when things happen,” he said Sunday in Boston. “It can drain you. I was able to get back, and that was great, and I was able to get a goal in a big win we had.
“For me, the emotions will calm down now. Now, you want to use the energy you have on the ice.”
[email protected]
Twitter: @sungarrioch |
Every word conceals a story, a secret history. Behind the syllables we use every day lurk countless forgotten tales. “If you know the origin of a word”, the 6th Century scholar Isidore of Seville insisted, “everything can be more clearly comprehended”. While most words slip into currency inconspicuously and without leaving traceable trails of their journeys, there is an elite class of verbal inventions whose exact dates of initial utterance have indeed been carefully recorded.
Some of these words are the one-off brainchildren of individuals who have long faded into the fog of history. Others are the concoctions of cultural pioneers who deliberately set out to shape the way future generations think and speak. In every instance what is remarkable is how the unlocking of a word’s biography helps us unlock both the biography of the individual who coined it as well as the age in which he or she lived. What follows are eight intriguing coinages that have altered the way we think about, see, hear, discover, and exist in the world around us:
Twitter
Social media would certainly be a less cheerful place without Twitter’s chirpy logo: that powder-blue profile of a floating bird forever frozen in mid warble. But who first had the phonic imagination to fashion an onomatopoetic compromise between the language of feathers and the language of men? ‘Twitter’ (or ‘twiterith’ as it was initially crafted in the second half of the 14th century), first trilled from the quill of Geoffrey Chaucer in his translation of Consolation of Philosophyby the 6th Century philosopher Boethius. Predating both ‘chirp’ and ‘warble’ by a century, ‘twitter’ is one of over 2,200 words for which the Medieval poet is credited with having inked an inaugural usage. That it’s the same author who wrote the poem The Parlement of Foules seems entirely appropriate.
Serendipity
Before 1754, if someone had wanted to express ‘the fortuitous discovery of something by chance’, he or she would have had to dip his or her nib more than a few times to eke out the full slog of such a cumbersome sentiment. Then presto, on Tuesday 28 January, the English writer Horace Walpole, while composing a letter, gifted to the world that rather peppy prance of syllables: ‘serendipity’. Walpole said he based his lyrical invention on a Persian fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip, whose protagonists, he insisted, “were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity”. That Walpole misremembered the actual gist of the tale (in fact the princes fail to find what they were looking for despite painstaking attempts) hardly matters; ‘serendipity’ is here to stay – a happy accident indeed. It’s not Walpole’s only quirky coinage. ‘Betweenity’, a word far more charming than its better-known synonym, ‘intermediateness’, deserves the same affection that its sibiling ‘serendipity’ has enjoyed.
Panorama
Some words seem to vibrate with the very spirit of the meaning they denote. “Panorama” is one of these; its very rhythm seems in harmony with the wide, mountain-top vistas, boundless horizons, and unblinkered breadth of vision for which it stands. That the word (which literally means ‘all-seeing’) should have entered the world’s lexicon around 1789, a year synonymous with the collapse of that notorious cultural enclosure, Paris’s prison-fortress the Bastille, seems entirely appropriate to panorama’s emancipating vibe. How ironic, then, to discover that the word was initially attached to an entirely confined experience: a cylindrical painting that imprisons its audience – an indoor visual contraption devised by the Irish artist Robert Barker.
Visualise
It’s hard to believe that no one had ever ‘visualised’ anything before 1817, but that’s the year the Romantic poet and critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge coined the word in his philosophical confession Biographia Literaria (a full century before the word ‘envision’ was minted). In retrospect it seems fitting that a writer whose mind’s eye was haunted by such phantasmic visions as the spectral ship in his poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and by the “flashing eyes” and “floating hair” that unsettle the ending of his prophetic lyric Kubla Khan, should be the one to give a name to the seeing of the unseeable. Tortured throughout his life by both material and immaterial substances alike, Coleridge is unsurprisingly responsible for introducing into English other words for describing the darker aspects of experience, such as ‘psychosomatic’ and ‘pessimism’.
Intellectualise
Coleridge is frequently given credit too for devising a related verb: to ‘intellectualise’, meaning to transform a physical object into a property of the mind. While he certainly deserves credit for coining a term that suggests the very opposite – the underused ‘thingify’ (which means to turn a thought into an object) – in fact ‘intellectualise’ probably belongs to an obscure contemporary and inspiration of the Romantic poet: a mysterious 18th-Century traveller known by the curious nickname ‘Walking Stewart’ for his celebrated feat of having wandered over a greater portion of the known world than anyone before him. In his decades of rambling over India, Africa and Europe, Stewart developed an eccentric philosophy that centred on the notion that mind and body were in constant flux between a world that is ceaselessly intellectualised and a spirit that is endlessly thingified.
Bureaucracy
The hobo narrator of Harry McClintock’s 1928 song Big Rock Candy Mountain dreams of reaching a carefree paradise where “they hung the jerk who invented work”. While history may not remember the name of that particular “jerk”, we do know who the identity of the French economist who invented a word for something almost as tiresome”: ‘bureaucracy’. In 1818, Jean Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay tethered the French word for desk (bureau) to the Greek suffix that means ‘the power of’ (-cracy) and gave a name to the red tape that was beginning to strangle society. Having coined a word for the governmental processes that impose tedious rules on individual behaviour, Gournay might seem the last person we’d expect to give birth to a term that means “let people do as they think best”: laissez-faire.
Photograph
Strange to think that some of the most seemingly stable names we attach to the objects around us were embraced only gradually and by a process of elimination. The English astronomer and inventor Sir John Herschel’s proposal of the word ‘photograph’ in 1839 had to see off rival coinages before becoming fixed permanently in the world’s vocabulary. Had history taken another path, your gran might be admonishing you for not sending enough ‘sun-prints’ or ‘photogenes’. One competitor, heliograph, which predated ‘photograph’ by a generation, gave Herschel’s suggestion a serious run for its money.
Muggle
Men, needless to say, are not, as a gender, uniquely skilled at coining compelling words, however uncelebrated female neologists have been. With their contributions to culture frequently marginalised, is there any wonder that we find that the Oxford English Dictionary attributes to female writers the first usage of such words as ‘outsider’ (to Jane Austen in 1800) and ‘angst’ (imported from German by George Eliot in 1849). In our own age, it has once again fallen to a female novelist to define who is endowed with the powers of the initiated and those left wanting of wizardry ways. J K Rowling’s coining of ‘muggle’ in her 1997 book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to describe mortals bereft of supernatural skill, reminds of the perennial magic of words – those who have it and those who don’t.
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(Adds details from court records in paragraphs 2-5)
By Tom Hals
Jan 17 (Reuters) - Specialty chemicals maker Freedom Industries Inc filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday, eight days after a leak from one of the company's storage tanks contaminated drinking water for hundreds of thousands of West Virginia residents.
A chemical used to process coal spilled into the Elk River in Charleston last week, prompting the state's governor to declare a state of emergency and ban the use of drinking water. More than 200 people have visited emergency rooms with nausea.
As a result of the leak, vendors have demanded Freedom pay in cash, draining the company of financing and prompting it to seek bankruptcy, according to documents filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Charleston, West Virginia.
"Likewise, the defense of the numerous suits filed against the debtor will exhaust the debtor's liquidity," Freedom said in a court filing. The bankruptcy filing will put a stay on more than 20 lawsuits filed against the company over the spill.
The company filed an emergency motion seeking court authority to borrow an initial $4 million from WV Funding LLC.
The company estimated it had up to $10 million in both assets and liabilities, according to the filings.
The case is In re Freedom Industries Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of West Virginia, No. 14-20017 (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by David Gregorio and Jonathan Oatis)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. |
An open letter to the new Work and Pensions Secretary.
Anthony Painter Blocked Unblock Follow Following Mar 19, 2016
Dear Stephen,
Congratulations on your appointment. You have the most important job in the Government after the Chancellor. In your hands is the future of work and the basic relationship between the state and us citizens. In a time of anticipated change in our economy, society and the state institutions that relate to these, you are in a pivotal role.
Too often on the Conservative side of politics, changes are made that display a failure to understand or empathise with the lives that people actually lead. This is often interpreted as cruelty but that is wrong in my view. It’s more often a lack of direct experience. That is not a handicap you have. You understand how poverty can be a struggle; how despair can set in but also how, with the right support, things can be turned around. That insight is your most powerful weapon as you seek to address serious flaws in the policies of the department you inherit.
Let’s be generous to your predecessor. I don’t doubt that his reforms were embarked upon with the most compassionate of intentions. But he’s left a mess.
He tried to simplify welfare but made it even more complex and bureaucratic. He saw work as the pathway out of poverty but then created a capricious system of conditionality and sanctions, the impact of which has yet to be fully understood. When we do have the full analysis at our disposal – beyond the simple measure of the employment rate – the impacts will be fairly shocking (foodbanks are the tip of the iceberg). Officials will tell you that the Universal Credit is working. Pilots almost always do. But it really isn’t- it is a costly mistake that is very little improvement on an already highly flawed and perverse tax credits system. Nowhere is the bureaucracy more intrusive, arbitrary and error-prone than in support for those who are disabled. These ‘errors’ cause misery and even cost lives. That can’t be right in any decent and compassionate society.
The big mistake your predecessor made was in designing a state bureaucracy around the small minority of people who abuse the system. That’s why we’ve ended up with this complex, unjust and costly nightmare.
I really hope you use the next few months to take a pause and then a big step back on the entire direction of these policies. The Prime Minister and your colleague at the Ministry of Justice have done so with prisons policy. Your colleague, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is introducing a much higher minimum wage and the apprenticeship levy. These are all radical and encouraging policy initiatives. So there is space to chart a different course. Yes, welfare policy has supported higher employment. No, this is not sufficient in and of itself- families need stability, the ability to improve their skills and networks, and a sense of agency and control over their lives too. The current system too often undermines these wider policy goals.
You wouldn’t expect me to finish any letter to a Secretary of State for Work and Pensions without mentioning Basic Income. I hope you find some time to glance at the idea (our work at the RSA on this is summarised in a short blog). I know it may seem a little far out but it’s doable. If you really want a compassionate and simple system then Basic Income warrants some serious consideration. There’s still more work to do on putting together an implementable system but that can be done in the form of a major pilot – ‘experimental government’ as it’s called. Canada, the Netherlands and Finland are all looking at this.
I honestly believe that Basic Income is entirely compatible with Conservative principles – it supports work, provides support to families, and helps improve social mobility more than any other comparable system. It is invested in responsible freedom. It may seem counter-intuitive but it is worth giving some thought. Many great Conservative social reformers from Peel to MacMillan to one or two of your colleagues have done the counter-intuitive to meet the needs of the time. The future of work and social support needs a similar effort.
Good luck with it all. You have a chance to make history. Don’t throw that chance away on perpetuating the current failing system.
Yours,
Anthony |
CINCINNATI — When Jimmy Harston erected a massive “HELL IS REAL” sign alongside Interstate-71 over 25 years ago, his intentions were to warn every passerby of eternal doom.
Ohio soccer supporters interpreted it differently.
The “HELL IS REAL Derby” seemed a perfect name for Columbus Crew SC and FC Cincinnati: playful and innocent. The two teams playing 110 miles apart were more like siblings than real, legitimate rivals. After all, they play in different leagues and therefore would likely never play each other.
Until Wednesday.
FC Cincinnati was created in August 2015 with the promise of offering “first-class” soccer to Cincinnati, a city where any previous soccer teams failed, semi-professional or not.
But after the United Soccer League side drew more than 14,000 fans to its first match in a league that averaged less than 3,400, Cincinnati had to be taken with at least some seriousness.
Matthew Long is just one example of a former Columbus season-ticket holder who either felt ostracized or tired of the four-hour round trips to home games. When FC Cincinnati was announced, he signed up for season tickets immediately. Once matches arrived, he called the atmospheres incomparable.
“You were just blown away,” Long said of his first match in Nippert. “The physical environment is such a close one, you never had that at Crew Stadium. … We play in the Taj Mahal of USL. You have to recognize that.”
Columbus couldn’t ignore the fact that, by the end of the 2016 season, Cincinnati already had a higher league average attendance (and still does).
And that’s what made Wednesday night’s inaugural “HELL IS REAL Derby” authentic.
The beauty of cup soccer is that anything can happen in one game - Cincinnati manager Alan Koch
Had the teams played in Columbus in 2016 in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Crew SC would’ve played the match at a local college soccer stadium, likely with reserves. That never happened — FC Cincinnati lost in the preceding round.
So when Cincinnati beat its league rival Louisville City FC last month to earn hosting rights with Columbus, FC Cincinnati took a typical fourth-round cup match and made it into the biggest soccer game in city history.
Eyeing a spot as one of Major League Soccer’s next expansion locations, Cincinnati saw the opportunity as a rough draft for a potential future league fixture. Special shirts and scarves were made, ambitious marketing strategies were rolled out and the club, while not officially recognizing the supporters’ rivalry name, mysteriously began adding fire emojis to social media posts.
Strong side, weak result
All of this made Columbus uncomfortable, and probably, annoyed.
SCOTT FRENCH The anti-Galaxy: How LAFC is uniting the disenfranchised masses
Had Crew SC played almost anyone else, the match’s importance would’ve been low, if not irrelevant altogether. That’s the U.S. Open Cup, a 100-plus-year-old knockout tournament which parallels England’s FA Cup -- except that the U.S. version gets very little coverage.
Even the Seattle Sounders treated their cup clash with rival Portland Timbers FC as secondary. Nine players from the S2 USL side were called up for first team action in a stadium capacity of only 4,000.
Columbus wasn’t so lucky. Instead, in an effort to quell its southern noisy neighbors, Crew SC manager Gregg Berhalter deployed an almost full-strength roster, starting roughly eight regulars. He wanted to send a message, which ultimately backfired.
Before 30,160 spectators at Nippert Stadium on Wednesday night, FC Cincinnati upset Columbus Crew SC 1-0, playing to an attendance 10,000 higher than the previous fourth-round record. The impressive crowd wouldn’t fit in Columbus’ Mapfre Stadium, and came within 1,000 people of the first-tier side’s all-time highest home attendance.
“The beauty of cup soccer is that anything can happen in one game,” Cincinnati manager Alan Koch said.
And it did. FC Cincinnati’s triumphant win over its intrastate rival didn’t secure MLS expansion, but it showed the seriousness the city has toward soccer that, at least currently, is more fanatical than Columbus’ league-worst average attendance (13,050).
Brett Hansbauer / FC Cincinnati
Barring a few banners stretched across the upper deck bleachers, Nippert Stadium was packed with blue and orange, pinning the away supporters into a corner of the ground.
The Bailey, FC Cincinnati’s main supporters section, released all its best tricks, from blue and orange smoke meant to resemble fire in pre-match festivities, to unveiling a massive “HELL IS REAL” banner after full time, as Crew SC supporters stood shocked nearby. A few away fans were so frustrated that some were allegedly escorted from the stadium after jawing at players and their manager.
The aftermath
After the match, Crew SC players refused to call it a rivalry. Goalkeeper Brad Stuver, who watched Djiby Fall’s 64th-minute looping header drop near his left post, simply said it was a good attendance for a midweek match.
Embedded video for 'HELL IS REAL,' and so is FC Cincinnati's threat to Columbus
Crew midfielder Wil Trapp, who was eating a steak salad during his interview, dropped a piece of meat from his mouth when he was reminded that his team, which for two decades dominated the Ohio soccer landscape, was just unraveled by a second-tier side which didn’t exist two years before.
Berhalter, who fully admitted his better team couldn’t splinter Cincinnati’s backline, praised the atmosphere. “This is what makes soccer special,” he said.
And the upset is what makes the HELL IS REAL Derby, well, real.
When Djiby scored in front of The Bailey, he trotted to the corner, fell to the turf and wept. Meanwhile, The Bailey replicated scenes from a great derby match anywhere in the world. Rather than simply celebrating the goal, supporters openly celebrated scoring against Columbus. Fans in blue and orange turned toward the petrified yellow-and-black patch, pointing fingers and mocking the big brother club that, for the first time, finally looked small.
Smoke filled the air and the stadium shook, with arms flowing like waves as supporters relished the biggest moment in their club’s short history. For a team created from scratch with a cringe-worthy advertisement, nothing was artificial about the celebrations. There was a sense of belonging that could be mistaken for an organic fandom passed down through generations. FC Cincinnati’s pride in its fans, and the the supporters’ pride in their club, was pure, passionate love — with or without MLS approval.
STEVE DAVIS Energy around new markets leaves MLS' old guard playing catch up
In a competition discredited for pairing cup fixtures based on geographical proximity, FC Cincinnati offered an experience that would have been entirely different had the match not conveniently occurred between the two clubs and in Cincinnati.
The Seattle-Portland rivalry might be the most coveted in American soccer, but this week showed two Midwestern clubs could have just as much fun.
The difference, though, is, even if only for one night, Columbus and Cincinnati cemented that the HELL IS REAL Derby was more real than any pre-match speculation ever suggested.
There’s no guarantee the fixture will ever happen again. Cincinnati, at least for now, is still in the USL. On Monday night, the club revealed new stadium plans, a last-ditch move to get an MLS team in the city. The match two days later proved if that happened, there’s certainly genuine interest.
Sadly for Harston, moving forward, his sign will recall not so much a spiritual tent revival as a smoke-and-soccer spectacle that would’ve made Mick Jagger smile. Maybe that’s for the benefit of everyone. |
“I think Democrats don’t know how to deal with this level of racial animus,” said Derrick Johnson, the newly elected president of the NAACP, the country’s oldest civil rights organization. “They may object to it, but they don’t know how to react effectively,” he added.
And Democrats don’t want any part of it. When it comes to the culture war, most Democrats would rather fight Republicans on policy than on Trump’s racially fraught ground. But some black and Latino leaders are warning Democrats that the current approach — talking around race rather than confronting it head-on — is further demoralizing people of color, who are usually loyal Democratic voters but did not turn out in 2016 at the level they did in 2012.
Trump’s formidable fusion of white identity politics and economic populism — a combination that has powered politicians throughout American history, from Andrew Jackson to William Jennings Bryan — shows early signs of dominating Republican messaging in 2018.
Republicans across the country are increasingly following the president’s lead and picking fights over Confederate monuments, NFL player protests, Muslims, undocumented immigrants, and preaching law and order — opting to rally the party’s mostly white base more brazenly than the subtle racist dog whistles of the past.
Read more
Donald Trump’s “culture war” army is growing.
Republicans across the country are increasingly following the president’s lead and picking fights over Confederate monuments, NFL player protests, Muslims, undocumented immigrants, and preaching law and order — opting to rally the party’s mostly white base more brazenly than the subtle racist dog whistles of the past.
Trump’s formidable fusion of white identity politics and economic populism — a combination that has powered politicians throughout American history, from Andrew Jackson to William Jennings Bryan — shows early signs of dominating Republican messaging in 2018.
And Democrats don’t want any part of it. When it comes to the culture war, most Democrats would rather fight Republicans on policy than on Trump’s racially fraught ground. But some black and Latino leaders are warning Democrats that the current approach — talking around race rather than confronting it head-on — is further demoralizing people of color, who are usually loyal Democratic voters but did not turn out in 2016 at the level they did in 2012.
“I think Democrats don’t know how to deal with this level of racial animus,” said Derrick Johnson, the newly elected president of the NAACP, the country’s oldest civil rights organization. “They may object to it, but they don’t know how to react effectively,” he added.
But party insiders say there’s at least one strategic reason Democrats aren’t engaging with Trump on race.
“You have to understand, there are just a ton of white people in this country.”
“You have to understand, there are just a ton of white people in this country,” one Democratic Party official explained to VICE News recently, a point several Democratic strategists echoed when asked why they choose policy over going to war on culture issues. Democrats are instead relying on the belief that good policy is more important to people of color than debates over things like monuments and player protests of police violence.
Fear of racial politics
But race is now shaping the political parties in a way it hasn’t for a generation. Pew Research Center has been asking people since 1994 whether discrimination is the “main reason many blacks cannot get ahead.” The partisan gap on that question went from 13 points in 1994 to 19 points in 2009, to 50 points in the summer of 2017.
Yet, most Democratic leaders say they support NFL players’ right to protest but shy away from forcefully embracing their cause to end police violence. A bill from Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey to remove the Confederate monuments in the Capitol — including one of Confederate President Jefferson Davis — has only four co-sponsors out of 48 Senate Democrats and has had little public push from leadership. And the party’s much-promoted “Better Deal” agenda makes no mention of immigration or the criminal justice system.
READ: The fight over Confederate statues could make or break Democrats
Democratic leaders have largely stayed away from talking about race since Republicans took over the South following the civil rights movement. The exceptions have usually been when Democratic politicians wanted to shed their “pro-black stance,” as they were urged to do in the influential 1970 best-seller “The Real Majority,” by two Democratic political analysts.
But Trump may be making that strategy untenable. In today’s political climate, policy proposals often don’t break through in the same way some of the cultural fights do — just ask Hillary Clinton. While Trump dominates the political conversation by speaking to white anxiety, Democrats are doing little to speak to the anxiety among people of color.
“I don’t see any advantage in getting involved in the American flag stuff, period.”
Democrats’ relative silence is also partly calculated. Most Democratic leaders believe they just can’t win if they further alienate the white working class and see them as an indispensable part of the New Deal coalition. The “Better Deal” slogan is meant to invoke just that.
Working class whites
According to the latest U.S. Census figures, 61.3 percent of the population is white. About half of Democratic voters in last year’s election were white. That is quickly changing, however, since the majority of babies born the last several years are non-white, according to recent estimates by the Census Bureau.
“I don’t see any advantage in getting involved in the American flag stuff, period,” Doug Sosnik, a former counselor to Bill Clinton whose strategy memos carry a lot of weight among the political establishment, told VICE News of the NFL player protests. “That’s a cul de sac that you can never get out of.”
Or as former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon recently told the American Prospect: “I want them to talk about racism every day. If the Left is focused on race and identity, and we go with economic nationalism, we can crush the Democrats.”
But many black and Latino leaders believe that Democrats’ can no longer count on people of color if the party continues to focus most of its energy on winning back white voters.
“We are ceding this anxious ground to Trump and the Bannons of the world,” said pollster Cornell Belcher, the author of “A Black Man in the White House.” Belcher, who is black, added that “when Trump stands in front of his audiences and says, ‘I’m going to give you back your country,’ he is having a conversation about race. Democrats’ response to that is that ‘I’m going to raise the minimum wage.’ It’s disconnected.”
Chuck Rocha, founder of Solidarity Strategies, which specializes in outreach to the Latino community, agreed that the Democrats are not motivating people of color, especially the young. “We haven’t seen Democrats yet take a stance that would motivate the 25-year-old Latino kid in East Texas who sees Trump making him out to be a member of the MS-13 gang when he was born and raised here,” said Rocha, who has also worked on several presidential campaigns, including Sen. Bernie Sanders’.
Trumpism in Virginia
That dynamic has been especially present in the Virginia governor race, to be decided Tuesday. Republican nominee Ed Gillespie is a quintessential establishment Republican whose resume includes chair of the RNC and counselor to President George W. Bush. But he’s recast himself in this race as a Trumpian culture warrior promising to preserve Confederate monuments, sending mailers emblazoned with “You’d never take a knee, so take a stand on Election Day” alongside a kneeling football player, and warning that his opponent, Democrat Ralph Northam, will “let dangerous illegal immigrants back on the street” like members of the Central American gang MS-13.
And while Gillespie’s tactics have gotten some tut-tutting from the media, he has also surged in the polls with the shift in strategy, starting at down 13 points at the beginning of October and rising to just 5 down at the end, according to two polls conducted by Washington Post-Schar School. Polls released late last week have the race within the margin of error. While Gillespie has kept Trump the man at arms length, Bannon told The New York Times this week that “I think the big lesson for Tuesday is that, in Gillespie’s case, Trumpism without Trump can show the way forward.”
READ: Confederate monuments are all over states that weren’t in the Confederacy
Northam has responded by trying to win back the white voters Gillespie is riling by talking about policy or moderating his stance on these cultural issues. In the closing weeks of the campaign, Northam argued he’d be tougher on MS-13 than Gillespie and shifted his position on monuments from vowing to take them down to saying he wouldn’t “meddle” with localities about them.
But as Northam tries to win back white voters, there’s increasing evidence that his support among people of color is slipping, or at least is unenthusiastic. A private poll from mid-October by the immigration advocacy group America’s Voice found that Northam’s support among black and Latino voters was lower than expected, according to a report by the Washington Post.
Latino Victory Fund (LVF), a progressive political action committee focused on the Latino community, saw that poll and took the culture war into their own hands. The group produced an ad called “American Nightmare,” which shows a white man in a pickup with a Gillespie bumper sticker and Confederate flag chasing down children of color. “In the past, immigrants have been scapegoats in political attack ads, and now we are pushing back hard,” said Cristóbal Alex, the group’s president. “We are portraying the true-life anxiety of immigrants and Latinos and their families.”
Gillespie said the ad portraying his supporters as racist shows that Northam “disdains us,” and newspaper editorial boards including the Washington Post — which endorsed Northam — called the ad “vile.” (LVF took down the ad after the attack in New York City last week where a man used a car to run down and kill eight people). Afterward, Northam said it wasn’t the sort of ad he would have run and also promised to sign a bill that would ban sanctuary cities.
If Gillespie wins Tuesday, Democrats expect Republicans to replicate his culture war campaign across the country in 2018.
Facebook, television, and radio will then be wall-to-wall pictures and videos of black football players kneeling during the national anthem, sanctuary cities full of MS-13 gang members, and Robert E. Lee visages coming down.
And even if he loses, it’s possible that will happen anyway. The Republicans running for governor in New Jersey and Senate in Alabama are already using similar tactics. In the New Jersey gubernatorial race, Republican nominee Kim Guadagno is desperately trying to gain ground by running an ad with anxiety-inducing tones and pictures of an MS-13 gang member, with the warning that the Democrat Phil Murphy “doesn’t have our backs. He has theirs.”
In the Alabama Senate contest to go to a vote in December, Republican nominee Roy Moore — the former chief justice of the state supreme court — said two weeks ago that kneeling during the national anthem “is against the law” (it’s not) and defended Confederate statues, saying, “Monuments don’t create hate; people do.”
His Democratic opponent Doug Jones, a former U.S. Attorney who prosecuted high-profile cases against the Ku Klux Klan, has tried to ignore the culture stuff and focus on “kitchen table issues.” Asked about the level of racism in the country on the liberal podcast “Pod Save America,” Jones demurred: “I’m not going to throw stones at who is causing that rise [of racism].”
Calling out “deplorables”
Like in Virginia, this effort to appeal to white voters also has potentially stifled enthusiasm for Jones among people of color, even though his resume is right out of a John Grisham novel. The newly elected mayor of Birmingham, Randall Woodfin, recently told the New York Times that people in his city are largely supportive of Jones but that his “issue is motivating them to come out and vote for him.”
Many Democrats point out, however, that Hillary Clinton did call out racism in her speech on the alt-right and then again, less eloquently, when she called half of Trump supporters “deplorable.” And she lost, if you hadn’t heard.
“If we think one speech or one comment is going to change this scapegoating racial narrative then we are fooling ourselves,” said Heather McGhee, the president of the progressive think tank Demos who is also working with Belcher on crafting an alternative message for Democrats.
Some veterans of the Clinton campaign agree. “No Democrat should hesitate to call out the Republicans for their shameless race-baiting,” Brian Fallon, Clinton’s campaign press secretary, told VICE News. “But if people are only hearing about how bigoted and racist and awful your opponent is, it doesn’t necessarily help you make the case for yourself,” he added.
What seems clear is that the culture war is likely here to stay, whether Democrats engage or not. No less a figure than Barack Obama recently called the debate over symbols of the Confederacy a “distraction” while campaigning with Northam in October.
But the NAACP’s Johnson disagreed.
“The Confederacy and those individuals who participated was a treasonous act, and we should treat them as such,” he said.
“Symbols matter.” |
PACKS of playing cards featuring the victims of cold case murders will be given to South Australian prisoners in the hope it prompts new leads to solve the crimes.
The American-derived playing card strategy will be coupled with letters asking for help of all people in the corrections community and advice telling criminals they may be eligible for immunity from prosecution, reduced sentences and monetary rewards for vital information.
The bold move is the latest strategy in the South Australian Police Operation Persist to solve cold case homicides and Major Crime Investigation Branch head, Detective Superintendent Des Bray says focuses on the state’s large criminal community.
“It’s not honest mums and dads and pillars of society who kill people ... it’s prisoners in our jails,’’ Det Supt Bray said.
media_camera Some of the playing cards, which feature unsolved murders, which will be given to prisoners. media_camera Some of the playing cards, which feature unsolved murders, which will be given to prisoners.
“We want to make contact with a massive section of our community who have information about these crimes.
“This is a bold initiative and a first for South Australia. However, there is evidence that targeting people in custody for information has proved to be an extremely successful strategy in solving murders and very serious crimes.
“This strategy seeks to harness the information in the criminal community to help resolve cases that have remained a mystery for up to 50 years.’’
Police worked with the Department of Correctional Service and the Commissioner for Victims’ Rights on the strategy and families of all victims featured on the cards have given their written approval.
Det Supt Bray said there will be a second release of playing cards featuring other victims from the 119 unsolved murder cases in the state.
Correctional Services head David Brown said prison staff had been included in development and training for the strategy and the prison system fully supported the move.
Families of victims have also supported the move, Commissioner for Victims’ Rights, Michael O’Connell said.
media_camera Some of the playing cards that prisoners in SA jails will receive, in the hope that it will prompt them to help with unsolved murders. Picture Roy van der Vegt
“They want to see the person responsible for the death of their loved one apprehended, prosecuted, found guilty and adequately punished,’’ he said.
“When a homicide remains unsolved, victims’ families suffer emotional and psychological stress and challenges. It is of some assistance to know that the police and correctional services are committed to investigating unsolved homicides, thus alleviating the burden on the victims’ families.’’
Suzie Ratcliffe — the sister of Joanne Ratcliffe, 11, who, along with Kirste Gordon, 4, was abducted from Adelaide Oval in 1973 and who have their images on a playing card — supported the strategy.
“The more avenues for the flow of information that are tried, the better,’’ she said.
“Families touched by such grief would be grateful for anything that can help solve these crimes.’’
Ms Ratcliffe has joined with other families of missing persons from around Australia to form the Leave A Light On Foundation which aims to raise awareness of cold case missing persons crimes. Launch events for the foundation will be held at Norwood Oval on October 21 and in Melbourne and people are encouraged to leave a porch light on that night to acknowledge the grief families of missing persons live with. |
_ ** Editor’s note: ** Today’s guest blog is from Dave Allston, an Ottawa writer and researcher. Dave is a history buff who runs a service called House Story Co. , providing research about old homes and businesses in the Kitchissippi area. He also recently launched The Kitchissippi Museum , the blog where this post originally appeared. _ [
](https://www.flickr.com/photos/rdb466/4554549631) _ The Bagelshop, Wellington St., Ottawa by Ross Dunn, on Flickr _ ** The Ottawa Bagelshop on Wellington Street is a Wellington Village institution. ** Growing up in the area (on Gilchrist Avenue), this was one of my family’s main shopping spots during the 1980s, when Wellington West was not at all what it is today. I particularly remember Sunday mornings, when it was the only place that would be open east of Westboro and west of Holland Avenue. It was perfect for a kid who wanted to get a newspaper to view the hockey statistics and scores from Saturday night’s games (the newspaper used to be the only way to do this, pre-internet!), or when my parents wanted hot bagels for Sunday breakfast. The Bagelshop was (and still is) the place to go.
It opened in April of 1984 when Vince Piazza opened the shop selling “Montreal style bagels” after learning the trade at his brother-in-law’s St. Viateur Street store in Montreal. It was in 1996 that the shop expanded to the neighbouring building, which previously had been the Ottawa Church of God and (along with the Peace Finders Gift Shop inside the front lobby). The two buildings had actually been completely separate before, and the renovation connected the two buildings, making it appear as one complete structure.
So the eerie past life of the Bagelshop resides in this “new” part of the Bagelshop (the restaurant portion). You might be surprised to know that for 45 years, this building was a funeral home!
** The Radmore Stewart Funeral Home opened in 1930 in the main floor of a large home built in 1922. ** It was around this time that the way funerals were organized changed. Prior to the 1920s, it was common practice that when a family member passed away, the post-death care, funeral and wake services were all performed within the family home. It wasn’t until after WWI, when the process of embalming was popularized for soldiers being returned home for burial, that the bodies of the recently deceased were moved into funeral homes shortly after death.
George Radmore Stewart saw a need for a funeral home in the west end, and opened his small business in a converted house at what was then 1323 Wellington Street.
The photo below shows the building as it was in 1943. If you take a good look from across the street, you can still see the loft windows looking quite the same.
The original Radmore Stewart Funeral Home as it looked from 1930 until 1947
Aerial photo May 1933
The aerial photo above shows Wellington Street between Ross (at left) and Grange (at right) from May 1933. The funeral home is at the corner of Grange, and you can see the original addition as well (now the Strawberry Blonde bakery), which was an auto garage at the time. The main Bagelshop building would later be built in the adjoining vacant space, and the next building to the west is the Gastropub building (built 1923). Across the street, where the Parma Ravioli now exists is a big “V” which was likely a large-sized advertising billboard.
[
](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oqTZq6f4qew/VL8cvEwM55I/AAAAAAAAALo/yPDVEvLH5aY/s1600/Citizen%2B1943-05-22%2Bphoto%2Bcrop%2B24perc.jpg) A view of the family reception room in the original funeral home
[
](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XTQ5pijT8WE/VL8d0S6kCfI/AAAAAAAAAL0/ULGTDcyVlqQ/s1600/Citizen%2B1944-04-01%2Bonline%2Bphoto%2Bcrop.jpg) The original funeral home chapel 1930-1947. (My apologies on the quality of some of these photos, they are taken from old photocopies and/or newspapers. I did the best I could with them).
Ottawa Journal, February 10, 1940
A vintage ad from the Ottawa Journal promotes the range of affordability a Radmore Stewart funeral could offer. “$48 and less” sounds like quite a bargain, though I can’t imagine what a less-than-$48 funeral would have gotten you!
For 17 years, the Radmore Stewart parlor operated in the small converted home (one of the sons and his wife even resided upstairs), before demand led to the construction of a new chapel addition, which opened in the summer of 1947.
The new Radmore Stewart chapel, on July 18th, 1947 (D00658 Sproul Collection - City of Ottawa Archives)
A view of the interior of the Radmore Stewart chapel in 1947.
Radmore Stewart closed in late 1975 or early 1976. The location briefly became a Lebanese community centre, before the Sahara Dining Lounge opened in 1978. The restaurant did not last long, and it was taken over by the Church of God by 1981. Meanwhile, next door at 1321 Wellington (the Bagelshop store portion) was built in 1945, and opened in April of that year as the new location of Armand Cloutier's local gift and variety shop (specializing in greeting cards, school textbooks and even radio repairs), having moved from 1244 Wellington (where Nectar Tea is now located). This shop would become a landmark of its own in West Wellington, remaining as Cloutier's until 1980. It briefly became the Wellington Travel Agency and Home Fashion Centre, before the Bagelshop opened in 1984.
And now you know the unique past life of part of the Bagelshop building! |
Updated at 1.20pm
A THREE HOUR train strike led to significant problems across the country’s travel network this morning.
Irish Rail is not currently reporting any delays to evening services.
The stoppage ended at 9am, but commuters face another day of headaches if a dispute between drivers and management isn’t resolved.
Drivers have served notice on the company that they will carry out the same action – striking between 6am and 9am on a Friday – two weeks from today on 6 November.
The strike
All rail services – DART, Commuter and Intercity – were affected by the rush-hour strike, which began at 6am after late-night talks between Irish Rail management, Siptu and the NBRU failed to resolve the dispute over drivers’ claims for compensation for past productivity measures.
Bus Éireann provided some additional capacity and Dublin Bus sent its full fleet out.
Traffic volumes were up significantly on most routes however. Problems in Dublin city were compounded by a number of crashes, including one on the south quays. The city-bound bore of the Port Tunnel was also closed for a period due to a broken-down truck.
Heavier than usual traffic on and around the quays in Dublin as train strike begins. pic.twitter.com/rc8Q1vMKXk — Daragh Brophy (@DaraghBroph) October 23, 2015 Source: Daragh Brophy /Twitter
Refund arrangements
Online customers who were booked to travel during the hours of disruption can use their tickets on any of the following services and no surcharge will apply, Irish Rail says.
Friday 23rd October, at a later time.
Saturday 24th October, at any time.
Or they may submit their ticket for a full refund.
Updated service information is available on www.irishrail.ie. |
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have turned back the clock on mature muscle tissue, coaxing it back to an earlier stem cell stage to form new muscle. Moreover, they showed in mice that the newly reprogrammed muscle stem cells could be used to help repair damaged tissue.
The achievement, described in the Sept. 23 issue of the journal Chemistry & Biology, "opens the door to the development of new treatments to combat the degeneration of muscle associated with muscular dystrophy or aging," said study principal investigator Irina Conboy, UC Berkeley assistant professor of bioengineering.
Skeletal muscle tissue is composed of elongated bundles of myofibers, which are individual muscle cells (myoblasts) that have fused together. This fusion of individual cells is considered the final step of skeletal muscle differentiation.
"Muscle formation has been seen as a one-way trip, going from stem cells to myoblasts to muscle fiber, but we were able to get a multi-nucleated muscle fiber to reverse course and separate into individual myoblasts," said Conboy, who is also a member of the Berkeley Stem Cell Center and an investigator with the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3). "For many years now, people have wanted to do this, and we accomplished that by exposing the tissue to small molecule inhibitor chemicals rather than altering the cell's genome."
Not all stem cells are created equal
Current research on treatments based upon pluripotent cells -- the type of stem cell that can turn into any type of adult cell -- have been challenging. Pluripotent cells can either come from embryonic tissue, a source of controversy, or from adult, differentiated cells that have been coaxed to de-differentiate into an embryonic-like state. This latter technique produces induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) through the delivery of specific genes that reprogram the adult cells to revert back to a pluripotent stem cell state.
Pluripotent stem cells can divide almost indefinitely, and if not driven toward a particular organ type, the cells quickly form teratomas, or tumors containing a combination of immature malformed tissues -- a serious downside of the use of iPS cell tansplantation as a potential treatment.
"The biggest challenge with both embryonic stem cells or iPS cells is that even a single undifferentiated pluripotent cell can multiply in vivo and give rise to tumors," said study lead author Preeti Paliwal, a UC Berkeley post-doctoral researcher in bioengineering. "Importantly, reprogrammed muscle stem-progenitor cells do not form tumors when transplanted into muscle in vivo."
Unlike pluripotent stem cells, which can differentiate into any type of adult cell, adult organ-specific stem cells have a set destiny. Muscle progenitor cells are fated to become muscle tissue, liver progenitor cells can only become liver tissue, and so on.
"In addition, it is difficult to differentiate these embryonic-like cells into functional adult tissue, such as blood, brain or muscles," said Paliwal. "So rather than going back to a pluripotent stage, we focused on the progenitor cell stage, in which cells are already committed to forming skeletal muscle and can both divide and grow in culture. Progenitor cells also differentiate into muscle fibers in vitro and in vivo when injected into injured leg muscle."
Using molecular signals to rewind the clock
Muscle progenitor cells are normally situated alongside mature myofibers, which is why they are also called satellite cells. These cells lay dormant until called into action to repair and build new muscle tissue that has been injured or worn out. This happens regularly as we go about our daily lives, and muscle builders know this cycle when they tear old muscle fibers and build new tissue by lifting weights.
However, that process of repair gets worn out in people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic condition in which muscles degenerate because of a defective structural protein and the subsequent exhaustion of muscle stem cells.
To get a multi-nucleated muscle fiber to reverse course and separate into individual myoblasts, the researchers exposed the differentiated muscle tissue to tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors, giving the signal to mature cells to start dividing again.
"Exposing the myofibers to this tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor transmits signals for cell division, but that can be too dramatic a change for them," said Paliwal. "These cells had already fused together into one big structure, sharing one cytoplasm and one cytoskeleton. If you simply tell them to divide, many of them start dying. You confuse them."
To solve this, the researchers also used an inhibitor of apoptosis, or cell death. "We basically brainwashed the cells to go into the cell cycle, to divide and also not die in the process," said Paliwal.
Conboy noted that the use of molecular inhibitors to de-differentiate mature tissue is a sought-after application in the stem cell field.
"These tiny chemicals go inside the cell and change the way the cell behaves without changing its genome," she said. "The inhibitors were only used for 48 hours, enough time for the fused myofibers to split into individual cells, and then they were washed away. The cells can proceed to live and die as normal, so there is no risk of them dividing uncontrollably to become tumors."
Newly reprogrammed cells get glowing review
To prove unequivocally that the myoblasts they produced were de-differentiated from mature muscle tissue rather than activated from the few satellite cells that accompany myofibers, the researchers genetically labeled the fused myofibers with a protein that emits green fluorescent light. The researchers then knew that the myoblasts that glowed green could have only come from the differentiated myofiber.
To test the viability of the newly regenerated myobasts, the researchers first cultured them in the lab to show that they could grow, multiply and fuse normally into new myofibers. The researchers then injected the de-differentiated myoblasts into live mice with damaged muscles.
"After two to three weeks, we checked the muscle and saw new muscle fibers that glowed green, proving that the progenitor cells we derived from mature muscle tissue contributed to muscle repair in vivo in mice," said Paliwal.
The researchers say the next steps include testing the process on human muscle tissue and screening for other molecular compounds that could help de-differentiate mature tissue.
"This approach won't work for all degenerative diseases," said Conboy. "It might work for some diseases or conditions where we can start with differentiated tissue, such as neurons or liver cells. But patients with type I diabetes, for instance, lack the pancreatic beta-islet cells to produce insulin, so there is no functional differentiated tissue to start with. Our approach is not a replacement for pluripotent cells, but it's an additional tool in the arsenal of stem cell therapies."
The National Institutes of Health and the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine helped support this work. |
When most people think about sexual orientation, they think about the straight/bi/gay spectrum (if you can call it a spectrum) — that is, whom you’re attracted to. But as has been previously pointed out in this space, there’s more to sexual orientation than that.
For example, another, less discussed facet of sexual orientation is the target of sexual attraction: Is the person attracted to others, to themselves, or to both? When someone is “sexually aroused by the idea or fantasy of being the erotic target,” it’s known as an erotic-target identity inversion, or ETII, and that’s the subject of a new paper in Psychological Science, not yet online, by Kevin Hsu and J. Michael Bailey, both of Northwestern University.
As Hsu and Bailey point out, researchers don’t know much about ETIIs, and in fact only two types have really found their way into the literature. The most widely cited is autogynephilia, which describes situations in which natal males are “sexually aroused by the thought or image of being a woman,” and sometimes transition. There’s also apotemnophilia, “an ETII in which men find it sexually arousing to be an amputee.” As the authors point out, men with ETIIs can also be attracted to external subjects of their attraction — apotemnophiles, for example, have the tendency “to report both sexual attraction to amputees and sexual arousal by the thought or image of themselves as an amputee.” (I’d be remiss to not point out that autogynephilia is explosively controversial in the transgender community — see the middle section of my review essay on Alice Dreger’s Galileo’s Middle Finger to read about a witch hunt that almost ensnared Bailey as a result of a book he wrote that touched on autogynpehilia, for example, or the many critiques of the concept that have been written by trans and cis commentators alike, or this defense of it from a sex researcher who is herself a trans woman.)
As Hsu and Bailey note, “Besides autogynephilia and apotemnophilia, no other putative ETII has received much empirical study.” One candidate, they realized, might be an ETII associated with pedophilia — that is, situations in which pedophiles might be attracted to the idea of themselves as a child. After all, there had been some case reports hinting at this.
So the researchers recruited a group of pedophilic and hebephilic (attracted to early adolescents) men by placing advertisements on two websites where pedophiles congregate to trade strategies on not acting on their urges, and then asked them some survey questions. “Participants reported whether they have ever imagined being a child or having a child’s body,” Hsu and Bailey write, “and if so, the degree to which they were sexually aroused by doing so.” Those who said they were aroused by this fantasy were also asked about the gender and age of the imaginary child in question. The participants were also asked how often they dress as children, and whether they had “ever considered the possibility that they would be better off as a child and whether they had ever considered hormones or surgery to make themselves look more like a child.” Finally, they were asked some open-ended questions “about the precise nature of their fantasies and experiences” to allow for the collection of some qualitative data as well.
Here’s the key finding:
Autopedophilia was common among pedohebephilic participants: 233 (49.1%) reported feeling at least mildly sexually aroused when they imagine being a child or having a child’s body. The average degree of general autopedophilia among the participants was 4.40 (SD = 4.05). The distribution of general autopedophilia was bimodal, with over half the participants scoring either 0 (33.6%) or 10 (21.0%). Thus, a substantial minority of our sample was intensely autopedophilic.
In other words, based on this one sample, at least, it appears quite common for pedophiles to be aroused at the thoughts of themselves as a child. And, as is the case with other ETIIs, there was also often a match between external and internal targets of attraction: that is, among the pedophiles who were attracted to thoughts of themselves as a girl, 100 percent were also attracted, externally, to girls or to both genders. For those aroused by thinking of themselves as a boy, just 15.5 percent were attracted to girls, with the rest attracted to boys or both. Finally, the researchers found only minor rates of dressing as children among the autopedophiles: Just 13.2 percent had done so.
This is the first attempt to figure out the prevalence of autopedophilia, so it raises more questions than it answers. But Hsu and Bailey’s work does mark an important step forward in understanding what motivates and arouses pedophiles. As society shifts toward the approach of working with pedophiles to get them to not act on their urges, rather than endlessly punishing and ostracizing them, this kind of knowledge can only help. |
Runaway real estate speculation has been filling global capitals with vacant homes, creating artificial shortages in the world’s most sought after cities. The “shortage” has made local home owners wealthy overnight, but it comes at the cost of turning lively cities into empty shells. The city of Paris has decided it’s had enough, and implemented a tax in 2015. They didn’t quite get the results they wanted, so they’re now tripling the tax to 60%.
Paris’ Empty Home Problem
Paris has been trying to deal with vacant property owners for some time. Despite warnings that the city will have to take action, the number of vacant homes is growing. There’s now 107,000 vacant homes, representing 7.5% of all residential dwellings in the city according to France’s INSEE. Deputy Mayor Ian Brossat told Le Monde that 40,000 of those vacant homes aren’t even connected to the electrical grid.
Local developers have argued that more new construction is the solution. However Brossat argues “In a city as dense as Paris, where it is very difficult to build, controlling the occupancy of housing is strategic.” It appears the city believes they have 107,000 reasons more construction is not the solution.
Vacant Home Count
Total number of vacant homes, as reported by local governments.
Paris’ Vacant Tax Increase
Paris implemented a tax recently, but it didn’t quite produce the desired outcome. Starting in 2015 the city elected to tax vacant homes the equivalent of 20% of the fair market value of rent. On January 30 this year, they decided to triple that amount to 60%. The idea isn’t to punish those fortunate enough to own a second (or twelfth) home. They’re trying to discourage speculation and promote a healthy rental market.
Vacancy As A Percentage
Percent of homes vacant as a percentage of total homes as counted by local governments.
Empty Homes Across The World
Paris’ 107,000 empty homes might seem like a lot, but it’s becoming strangely normal around the world. New York City had a whopping 318,831 vacant units in 2015. It’s a hot topic in Sydney, where 118,499 vacant units were counted in 2013. Heck, London considers it a critical issue, and they “only” have 22,000 empty homes. There’s a massive numbers of vacant homes across the globe, but only Paris has decided to take aggressive action to tackle it.
Growing populations have barely put a dent in the vacant homes in global real estate capitals. The amount of speculation has been scaling with demand, which is a curious paradox. This signifies an issue that’s more complex than just a basic supply and demand problem.
Is the Paris’ tax going too far, or not enough? Tweet us your thoughts. Over the next few weeks we’ll be exploring the issue of vacancies around the world. Want to keep up to date? Like us on Facebook for the next post right in your feed. |
These powerful little girls aren't f*cking around.
For the latest ad campaign from t-shirt company FCKH8, the brand enlisted five girls between the ages of 6 and 13 to spread the word about issues regarding gender, race and sexuality.
One by one, these princess costume-clad girls address pay inequality, gender expectations and sexual assault with unexpected frankness. The clip features cursing aplenty ("Fuck that sexist shit!") amidst statistics about the pay gap, rape and violence against women.
See also: A Storied Glossary of Iconic LGBT Flags and Symbols
Editor's note: The video below, of course, features NSFW language. And kids cursing up a storm.
Of course, the advertisement is just that: an ad for a for-profit company owned by corporate branding firm Synergy Media. The shirts and sweatshirts in FCKH8's "Anti-Sexism" collection range in price from $14.99 to $36.99, and $5.00 of each purchase will go toward "kick-ass charities" that have yet to be determined.
Luke Montgomery, a spokesperson from FCKH8, tells Mashable that customers will vote on a list of charities narrowed down from Facebook suggestions on Nov. 30. Montgomery says that FCKH8 has sold more than 200,000 t-shirts since opening in 2010.
Predictably, not everyone is a fan of FCKH8's advertisement. Some have criticized it for profiting from feminist messages and slogans, referencing its controversial campaign linked to protests in Ferguson, Missouri.
In September, the brand released a video featuring children from Ferguson wearing the company's "Anti-Racism" shirts. In a similar vein to FCKH8's latest campaign, $5.00 from each purchase were donated to four anti-racism organizations.
The campaign prompted criticism for aiming to make a profit from the Ferguson protests, most notably in a Colorlines blog post on the subject.
"Everything, it seems, can distilled, packaged, bought and sold — including racism," Colorlines' Aura Bogado wrote.
FCKH8 responded with its own blog post, asking for an apology, and a promise to donate funds from the sales to Colorlines' publisher, which it declined.
According to FCKH8's website, the company has since donated $1,047 in profits to Crossroads Anti-Racism Organizing and Training, $1,000 to the Mike Brown Memorial Fund, $1,000 to the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and $1,000 the NAACP.
Remember that FCKH8 is the same company that made a profit off Ferguson by selling Ferguson t-shirts. Now they want to profit off feminism. — Anne Thériault (@anne_theriault) October 22, 2014
Why create a video full of cursing kids? http://t.co/9x5p7fJR7C Answer: "http://t.co/Mmywp4HKGu is a for-profit T-shirt company..." — John Sexton (@verumserum) October 22, 2014
Hey, at least the kids are f*cking cute.
UPDATE Friday, Oct. 24, 9:17 a.m. ET FCKH8's advertisement was reinstated to YouTube on Thursday after the video hosting platform pulled it on Wednesday at about 2:30 p.m. ET.
Though we originally reported that the video was pulled from Vimeo as well, Mashable has since learned from a Vimeo spokesperson that the video was removed due to an error and was promptly reuploaded to the website.
"It seems like this censorship ... is because of user complaints about kids saying fuck," Montgomery told Mashable via email. "The video does not violate any user guidelines and with all the sexist content on both sites that is allowed to stay up, as well as content that uses this simple four-letter word, we are surprised that they chose to censor it. This censorship gets to the exact point that the girls in the video are making ... that society finds it more offensive for a girl to say fuck than they do the fact that 1 out 5 women are sexually assaulted and raped."
YouTube has not yet responded to our request for comment. |
Hubballi: A barber trimming the hair of a person in Haveri district stopped his job midway and shooed the customer away after learning he is a dalit. The incident took place in Ranebennur's Itagi village recently. Ranebennur is about 300km northwest of Bengaluru.The customer was visiting a family in Itagi, and the barber came to know his caste during a chat. Immediately, the barber asked him to leave his place. The customer had his hair partially cut by then. He travelled to the nearest town, Harihar, about an hour's drive, to get the job completed.This is not unusual in Itagi, which has seen fractious ties between dalits and hairdressers. After a skirmish in the 1990s, village barbers don't give dalits a haircut.The customer brought this incident to the notice of a friend, also a dalit, and the latter alerted zonal police seeking action against the barber. A dalit organization, too, raised the issue of ill-treatment with police and the social welfare department.A team of tahsildar, social welfare officers and police personnel visited the village and held a meeting to resolve the issue, but to no avail. The Itagi hairdressers refused to blink and said they will not welcome dalits.After the incident, all the five salons in the village have downed their shutters. To preempt further trouble, a police contingent has been stationed in the village.Prakash Pujar, a dalit leader, told TOI the trouble started 20 years in the village with 70 dalit families. Vasanth HC, a police sub-inspector from Halageri station, said resolution efforts will continue.Ranebennur tahsildar Ramamurthy said barbers should make no distinction on the basis of caste or religion. "We held the meeting with barbers in the presence of villagers, including dalits. We will hold a second meeting in the next couple of days. If they continue to remain adamant, then we will file a case against them for trying to cause disturbance in society," he said. |
The Government Can Be Transparent About International Negotiations... If It's Unhappy With Them
from the tpp-vs.-wcit dept
Join me and make a difference. 303,000,000 Americans have just been offered access to the notoriously secret ITU WCIT documents. Just join ITAC, the State Department International Telecommunications Advisory Committee, and enjoy access. “It takes a simple email with a request to be placed on the ITAC listserv, based on some material interest in a given topic,” Paul Najarian of State writes. Simply send an email to join [email protected] and you automatically have access to ITAC.
First, we welcome all interested stakeholders to participate in our WCIT preparatory process and help the U.S. Government form positions in advance of the conference. We solicit this input and feedback through the United States International Telecommunications Advisory Committee (ITAC). I believe that the ITAC process is critically important in helping the U.S. Government convene the type of open, public, and necessary consultations from all stakeholders that helps strengthen our positions in advance of the WCIT. The ITAC has advised the Department of State on U.S. participation in international telecommunications treaty organizations such as the International Telecommunication Union for decades and has, accordingly, been critical in the preparation of prior U.S. positions for meetings of international treaty organizations, developing and coordinating proposed contributions to international meetings and submitting them to the Department of State for consideration. For the WCIT, the ITAC will continue to serve this critical role. Therefore, we welcome any person and any and all organizations, whether corporate or non-profit, to participate in the ITAC if they would like to assist with the WCIT preparatory process.
Second, all WCIT preparatory documents – including revisions of the TD-62 compilations of Member States proposals, the final report of the Council Working Group, and Member State proposals – have been and will continue to be made available to interested ITAC member. It is imperative that we ensure full consideration of a WCIT proposal’s impact on economic growth, the Internet’s openness, and the world at large and this is best done through the adoption of open and transparent processes that allow for wide consultation. Thus, we will continue to share these WCIT documents with stakeholder so that they can provide more informed views and help us develop positions that reflect the input of the diverse range of interests in the United States.
Starting this week, I will proactively communicate our positions on participation and document availability to underscore the US Government’s commitment to transparency.
We've been covering two big stories lately: the ongoing negotiations over the TPP agreement (Trans Pacific Partnership) as well the upcoming fight to change key internet governance issues via the UN's ITU (International Telecommunications Union) as part of WCIT (the World Conference on International Telecommunications). Of course, there's an interesting contrast about these two discussions. Both have been hit with accusations of government bureaucrats keeping things way, way too secret. The ITU has been notoriously secret , despite claims of opening up (which generally involve releasing redacted versions of documents which have already been widely leaked in un-redacted form much earlier). Then we have the USTR, claiming unprecedented transparency , even as the USTR seems to think that "transparency" means getting people to testify about a document they're not supposed to have seen.Of course, part of the USTR's claims about "transparency" are that it has a variety of ITACs (Industry Trade Advisory Committees) who have more or less full access to the negotiating positions of the US -- which the publicCongress do not . That those ITACs are limited to just a few industries -- often the legacy industries seeking greater protectionism, and not the up and coming innovators who are more important for economic growth. Basically, these ITACs are locked up providing a clearly protectionist attitude towards copyright.The TPP process has its own ITACs as well -- though, in that context, it means an "International Telecommunications Advisory Committee." More or less the same thing.Except there's one major difference. Whereas the ITACs having to do with TPP have been quite secretive, the flipside is happening with the ITACs related to the WCIT fight. And it'sdriving the transparency. There are lots of reasons to be concerned by the ITU WCIT process, but the US government is making it easy for the public to participate So, basically, anyone can join the ITAC concerning WCIT. That's quite different than with TPP, certainly. Oh, and then there's this bit of transparency, straight from the State Department. The following is an email from Terry Kramer, the US Ambassador and head of the US delegation dealing with WCIT:Okay, just to translate, if that's a bit dry: when it comes to WCIT, where the US finds itself on the defensive, suddenly it's a lover of openness and transparency. The State Department readily invites anyone to join an ITAC and promises to quickly reveal all relevant documents it receives. Furthermore, it knows that sharing the documents will lead to "more informed views."In other words, all of the things that the USTR refuses to do with TPP -- and which it claims are effectively impossible in an international agreement. Of course, the reality seems to suggest that when the US is in control (as with TPP), then it seeks to hoard and limit info, preferring secrecy to openness and transparency. Yet, when it's not, as with the ITU process, suddenly government officials are magically in love with openness and transparency. Incases, it's willing to let anyone join an ITAC and is willing to share whatever documents it can provide.All of this really highlights the dishonesty of the USTR in all of this. While, yes, the negotiation process between these two issues are somewhat different, there's no reason that the USTR can't take after the State Department in terms of transparency concerning an international negotiation. It just chooses not to do so, because then experts and the public might stand up and point out why the TPP is dangerous.
Filed Under: copyright, international agreements, internet governance, itu, tpp, transparency |
President Trump reported hundreds of millions of dollars in income Friday in financial disclosure forms that shed more light on his vast business holdings.
At his golf courses alone, Trump reported $288 million in income in the past year. That includes $19.8 million from his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he has spent some weekends as president.
The numbers were reported in a 98-page disclosure form signed by Trump this week and made public by the Office of Government Ethics. The report covers January 2016 through April 15, 2017.
Trump reported $37.2 million in income in the past year from Mar-a-Lago, the private Florida resort where Trump hosted the president of China and ordered missile strikes against Syria. The club has doubled its membership fee in the past year.
The Mar-a-Lago income figure was $7.4 million higher than on his previous financial disclosure filing, in May 2016.
Trump reported $19.7 million in income through mid-April at his luxury Washington hotel, which has been a center of concerns about conflict of interest because of the possibility that foreign governments can curry favor with the president by booking rooms there. The hotel opened in September.
The president reported up to $7 million in book royalties, including $1 million to $5 million from his book "Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America." He reported nearly $11 million from the Miss Universe pageant and an $84,000 pension from the Screen Actors Guild.
All told, Trump brought in approximately $600 million to $650 million in employment assets and income -- or maybe more. The documents make it impossible to calculate precise totals. Officeholders are allowed to disclose figures in ranges, some of which are open ended. For example, his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland is listed as having a value of "over $50 million."
Related: Read the full disclosure report
Trump has said that he sold all his stock holdings in June 2016 to avoid conflicts of interest. He later said he did so because it was improper to own stocks "when I'm making deals for this country that maybe will affect one company positively and one company negatively."
The form released Friday appeared to confirm that he had sold those stock holdings. It did include income from capital gains and dividends, presumably before the stock sales.
The document makes reference to a sizable loan, between $5 million and $25 million, from UBS Real Estate Investments. The loan had an interest rate of 6.18%. Trump refinanced it with Ladder Capital at a much lower rate of 4.05%.
Overall, Trump reported liabilities of at least $311 million -- mortgages and loans. But the number could be much higher because he was required only to report a range in value for each loan.
Of the 16 loans he reported, five were worth more than $50 million each; one is worth between $25 million and $50 million; and seven were worth between $5 million and $25 million apiece. Another three loans combined were worth less than $1 million.
The form reflects the president's investments, other assets, income, retirement accounts and other holdings.
It is different from a federal tax return, which Trump has refused to make public and which would reveal much more about his business and financial dealings, including foreign business ties, both direct and indirect.
Federal law did not require Trump to file a new financial disclosure until next year, said Ken Gross, a Washington lawyer who has advised business executives and political appointees on finances and ethics.
"It's particularly important that he made the voluntary filing in view of the fact we don't have tax returns," Gross said.
The White House said in a statement that Trump "welcomed the opportunity" to file the form "voluntarily."
Norman Eisen, a Brookings Institution visiting fellow and former ethics lawyer for President Barack Obama, said the document is missing a great deal of valuable information.
"We still don't know the extent or sources of foreign emoluments, the identity of all his investors, partners and financial actors involved in his businesses, the purchasers, including possibly foreign ones of his condos and other properties," Eisen said.
Eisen is chairman of an organization involved in two lawsuits against Trump over foreign payments to his businesses, which the plaintiffs say violate a constitutional clause prohibiting the president from accepting foreign gifts, or emoluments.
Trump last released information about his finances in May 2016, as a candidate. It showed Trump was worth at least $1 billion.
Trump refused to sell his business holdings as president, as experts in government ethics urged him to do. Instead, he transferred them into a trust in his name. Any business profits will ultimately accrue to him when he leaves office.
-- CNNMoney's Matt Egan, Julia Horowitz, Jeanne Sahadi, Mike Tarson and Jackie Wattles, and CNN data journalists David Heath and Aaron Kessler, contributed to this report. |
UN Security Council coordinates resolution on Boeing crash in Ukraine
11:32 21/07/2014
UN, July 21 (RAPSI) – The UN Security Council completed work on a draft resolution regarding the crash of the Malaysian Boeing airliner in eastern Ukraine. The vote on the resolution has been set for 3 pm (11 pm MSK) today, diplomats told journalists.
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that Russia had submitted a draft resolution demanding an objective international investigation of the accident. The other draft was proposed by Australia.
Churkin told journalists before the meeting that Russia insisted on including a provision on an unbiased international investigation of the crash under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The Australian ambassador to the UN, who presented the initial draft, Gary Quinlan, declined to comment.
A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed near the city of Donetsk on July 17. All 298 people on board, including 85 children and 15 crew members, were killed.
Kiev immediately put the blame on the independence supporters, who responded by saying that they don’t have the military technology to hit a target flying this high. |
MIES IS MORE (amended)
(above) Lafayette Park row-housing, Detroit, designed by Mies van der Rohe.
Is this what Mies van der Rohe meant by his remark, “Less is more”?
A minimal architecture enables a maximum variety of living within.
The spare and relatively neutral frame that such an architecture places around space not only allows without conflict all manner of furniture, bric-a-brac, appliances, artworks, as well as human activities to exist within it, but actively invites them in order to relieve its own plainness and sameness. Heavily ornamented or aggressively shaped walls, floors and ceilings defining spaces demand not only attention but also respect for what they express in themselves. If they are not respected, by juxtaposing against them aggressively different things, then the result will be aesthetically uneasy and perhaps unpleasant, depending on one’s tolerance of or taste for conflict.
The neutrality of modern architecture such as that of Mies, Rietveld, Le Corbusier, and later works by Gropius, Breuer, and Bunshaft was argued as its great virtue because it did not (or so the argument goes) impose aesthetic values on an open, free, democratic society. Many modernist architects were, in fact, socialists, or flrted with democratic-socialist ideals, who placed on the exterior, public space of architecture an emphasis on the broader social good over individual self-expression and other forms of self-interest. This was a position challenged by post-modernist architects who proposed designs more in keeping with capitalist, free-market ideals of ‘anything goes,’ juxtaposing—collaging—widely and sometimes wildly disparate things. In this way, the aesthetic sensibilities of our time evolved.
But in the days when Mies designed the row-housing for Detroit’s Lafayette Park middle-class housing development, architectural neutrality still seemed to hold the promise of great social freedom. Seeing this series of recent interior photographs in identical units in this development, is convincing testimony that at least here the promise was kept.
LW
The photos below were made by photographer Corine Vermeulen (corinevermeulen.com):
The photos above appear in a recent New York Times article, authored by Danielle Aubert, Lana Cavar, Natasha Chandani (placementpublication.org):
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/living-with-mies/ |
Nakia Cockatoo tackles Dean Gore from behind during the Crows-Cats clash
THE MATCH Review Panel's firm stance on concussion will be put to the test on Monday afternoon, with Geelong's Nakia Cockatoo at risk of a three-match ban for a dangerous tackle.
Cockatoo came from behind and latched on to Adelaide midfielder Dean Gore as the Crow was jumping to receive a handball on Sunday, then drove him into the ground.
Gore's head made significant impact with the ground, leaving him with concussion and in doubt for Adelaide's final JLT Community Series match against the Brisbane Lions on March 11.
There is a case to clear Cockatoo, who has an existing bad record, but he could equally be slapped with a significant ban in one of the more difficult dangerous tackle cases for the MRP to assess.
While there weren't the 'two actions' or 'lift' the MRP typically looks for in a dangerous tackle, there are other triggers for a player to be found guilty of this offence.
The MRP can also charge a player for a dangerous tackle if:
The tackle is of an inherently dangerous kind, such as a spear tackle.
The player is in a vulnerable position (ie arms pinned) with little opportunity to protect himself.
A player is slung, driven or rotated into the ground with excessive force.
The MRP might find that the circumstances in this case were outside Cockatoo's control and he was preparing to make a textbook tackle when Gore unexpectedly left the ground.
But a case could equally be made placing Cockatoo's tackle in one of the above categories.
It was made when Gore was in "a vulnerable position", having just leapt off the ground, and Gore was arguably "driven" into the ground with "excessive" force.
The Panel would then be left to grade the charge, with medium impact sidelining Cockatoo for one match and high impact resulting in a two-match sanction.
The standard impact grading for offences that leave opponents with concussion is high impact, leaving Cockatoo with a base sanction of three matches reduced to two with an early guilty plea.
That would then be increased to three matches because of the 20-year-old's bad record, left over from a two-match sanction in the pre-season last year.
For Cockatoo there are only two outcomes. Either be cleared, or miss matches against Fremantle, North Melbourne and Melbourne to open the season. The latter is more likely.
Sydney star Lance Franklin has an obvious defence for his high bump on Greater Western Sydney draftee Tim Taranto.
The star forward was propelled into Taranto by a bump from trailing opponent Shane Mumford, an act that would convince the MRP that he had no control of the circumstances.
There's no knowing what Franklin would have done without Mumford in the picture, but the bump from behind clears him of all responsibility.
Port Adelaide ruckman Paddy Ryder has no such defence, and he faces a nervous wait for Monday afternoon's findings after landing what looked to be a high bump on Richmond midfielder Anthony Miles.
WATCH: Will MRP look at Paddy whack?
Miles was tucked hard against the boundary line on Sunday and kicking when Ryder chose to bump.
In this case there was no more than low impact, but Ryder could still find himself charged and paying out a $1000 fine for rough conduct. |
Five years separates two stories involving the same characters; one prevalent in this country, another not so well known. They are tales that go some way towards explaining why Barcelona were so forceful in their attempt to sign Philippe Coutinho but ultimately, why their attempt will prove not to be quite forceful enough.
It was in July 2012 when Pep Segura, then the technical manager at Liverpool’s academy, ended his three-year association at the club after previously being told by Liverpool’s owner, John W. Henry, he had earned a promotion.
Before Brendan Rodgers became Liverpool’s manager, Henry and Segura held a three-hour meeting and it was concluded that Segura would become Liverpool’s new sporting director, filling the administrative space left behind by Damien Comolli’s sacking a few months earlier.
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Shape Created with Sketch. Liverpool vs Hoffenheim player ratings Show all 11 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Liverpool vs Hoffenheim player ratings 1/11 Simon Mignolet - 6 out of 10 Not his most commanding of displays in between the sticks. Could have done more for Hoffenheim's first goal and nearly conceded after a hairy moment under the high ball. 2/11 Trent Alexander-Arnold - 7 Another magical night for the youngster who thrilled with his confidence going forward down the flank. Possibly a bit eager in some of his challenges but a mature and rounded display nonetheless. 3/11 Dejan Lovren - 6 Beaten in the air for Hoffenheim's second. Could have been much tighter and disciplined in his defensive performance. Getty 4/11 Joel Matip - 6 Suffered from the same issues as his partner. Not totally in control but still got the job done. 5/11 Alberto Moreno - 6 Threatening on the front foot and assured on the back. Some of his deliveries were found wanting, though. 6/11 Georginio Wijnaldum - 6 Missed a number of clear-cut chances and got caught in possession here and there. Still, linked up with his teammates and kept the Liverpool midfield unit ticking over. Getty 7/11 Jordan Henderson - 7 Showed his captain's credentials to set up Firmino for Liverpool's fourth. Happy to do the dirty work as the men in front added the finishing touches. 8/11 Sadio Mane - 8 Explosive from the off. His pace and energy proved too much for the visitors, while his passing and vision was influential in a number of Liverpool's goals. 9/11 Emre Can - 8 A fine evening for him, too. Took his goals very well and was a constant presence in Hoffenheim's final third. 10/11 Mohamed Salah - 7 Lively all game long in his pressing and movement. Provided Liverpool with a constant source of deliveries and threatened from his position on the flank. Even snatched a goal too. 11/11 Roberto Firmino - 9 A fantastic performance from the Brazilian. Made all the right passes and his movement was exceptional. Assertive on the ball and was eventually rewarded with a well-taken goal in the second half. 1/11 Simon Mignolet - 6 out of 10 Not his most commanding of displays in between the sticks. Could have done more for Hoffenheim's first goal and nearly conceded after a hairy moment under the high ball. 2/11 Trent Alexander-Arnold - 7 Another magical night for the youngster who thrilled with his confidence going forward down the flank. Possibly a bit eager in some of his challenges but a mature and rounded display nonetheless. 3/11 Dejan Lovren - 6 Beaten in the air for Hoffenheim's second. Could have been much tighter and disciplined in his defensive performance. Getty 4/11 Joel Matip - 6 Suffered from the same issues as his partner. Not totally in control but still got the job done. 5/11 Alberto Moreno - 6 Threatening on the front foot and assured on the back. Some of his deliveries were found wanting, though. 6/11 Georginio Wijnaldum - 6 Missed a number of clear-cut chances and got caught in possession here and there. Still, linked up with his teammates and kept the Liverpool midfield unit ticking over. Getty 7/11 Jordan Henderson - 7 Showed his captain's credentials to set up Firmino for Liverpool's fourth. Happy to do the dirty work as the men in front added the finishing touches. 8/11 Sadio Mane - 8 Explosive from the off. His pace and energy proved too much for the visitors, while his passing and vision was influential in a number of Liverpool's goals. 9/11 Emre Can - 8 A fine evening for him, too. Took his goals very well and was a constant presence in Hoffenheim's final third. 10/11 Mohamed Salah - 7 Lively all game long in his pressing and movement. Provided Liverpool with a constant source of deliveries and threatened from his position on the flank. Even snatched a goal too. 11/11 Roberto Firmino - 9 A fantastic performance from the Brazilian. Made all the right passes and his movement was exceptional. Assertive on the ball and was eventually rewarded with a well-taken goal in the second half.
Rodgers, though, had other ideas, insisting his own appointment would not involve another tier of management above him. For Segura – a decent man, and someone respected inside Liverpool particularly for his contribution towards the development of Raheem Sterling – there was reasonable embarrassment when he arrived at Melwood for the start of pre-season training only to find out then there would be no place for him in the new set-up.
Despite his efforts to contact Henry about his proposed fresh responsibilities, the line of communication had gone stone cold since Rodgers’s arrival. Though he expected that plans had changed, Segura was upset and angry that he had found out this way and so, on that July morning, rather than driving to the academy in Kirkby as he had been told to by Rodgers, he resigned on the spot – though the announcement of his departure was made a month later.
Those who knew Segura best from his time at Liverpool describe him as a professional and so, his hurt was understandable considering he had been treated without the necessary level of respect. Sources in Catalonia, meanwhile, say Segura has a long memory. Now Barcelona’s general manager having returned to the club where he built his coaching reputation, and as the person overseeing player recruitment, it is told he has viewed the signing of Coutinho as a personal mission.
While Coutinho is seen as a long-term successor for the fading Andrés Iniesta, the whiplash of his own departure from Liverpool still stings and it is said he would like nothing better than to expose Fenway Sports Group’s collective stance over Coutinho’s future as total mush.
It was a small but significant detail when Fenway released a “definitive” statement earlier this month, outlining that Coutinho would not be sold, this was not a statement released by Liverpool FC but by its ownership group, a statement, indeed, that was not signed off by any person in particular as they often are when something important is announced
Hour-by-hour, day-to-day, week-to-week, Henry does not have much involvement in the decision-making processes at the club and instead, key issues are dealt with by Jürgen Klopp, Michael Edwards, Liverpool’s sporting director, and Mike Gordon, Fenway’s president.
Henry only intervenes when he really needs to and this was one of his calls. Before Coutinho had submitted his transfer request, Henry knew that his scan, taken on Tuesday August 8, for mysterious back strain had returned without obvious signs of injury. He knew as well that two days later a 3pm meeting involving Edwards and Coutinho’s representatives had not gone well at all. Any owner of a well-run football club should also be informed and be able to imagine what might follow when a star player signs a new five year-contract – as Coutinho did in January – but proceeds to only agree a short-term lease on his home, especially when it has already been reported that Barcelona are interested in him.
Those that have dealt with Henry regularly know how he is capable of brain lapses, instances where he has appeared completely engrossed on a subject one moment and unreachable the next. Particularly relating to Liverpool matters, perhaps living on the other side of an ocean while running a business empire where Anfield forms only a part of his thoughts contributes towards the way he approaches things. Perhaps, indeed, this is why Segura found himself isolated very quickly from what seemed a position of promise.
Henry’s distance from Merseyside has not helped in the past because he has not been around to cast judgements for himself. He has instead relied on the opinions of his appointments, which have been bad ones too often – meaning that he has only acted when it has been too late, contributing towards a generally negative impression of his and Fenway’s intentions.
Having decided that Coutinho would stay, he could not afford to back down particularly when the transfer market did not map out exactly the way Liverpool or its febrile supporter base would have wanted in terms of incomings. Fenway have been determined to change Liverpool’s reputation and by not relenting to Coutinho’s wishes, for the time being at least, it sends a message to their own players as well as rivals that this is not a selling club.
Any other outcome would have been received as deception and from then on, it is hard to see how any of the messages coming out of Liverpool would ever be trusted again.
Keep up to date with all the latest news with expert comment and analysis from our award-winning writers |
For other people named Luis Gonzalez, see Luis Gonzalez (disambiguation)
Luis Emilio Gonzalez (born September 3, 1967), nicknamed "Gonzo",[1] is an American former baseball outfielder who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven teams. Gonzalez spent his best years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and was one of the most popular players in the organization's history. His game-winning hit in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series against New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera clinched the Diamondbacks' first and only World Series championship to date. Gonzalez was a five-time All-Star and won a Silver Slugger Award in 2001. After retiring from baseball in 2008, Gonzalez joined the Diamondbacks' front office in 2009 as a special assistant to the president. The following year, the team retired his uniform number #20, making him the first player so honored by the Diamondbacks.
Early years [ edit ]
Gonzalez grew up in the West Tampa neighborhood of Tampa, Florida in a Cuban-American household. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1985 along with childhood friend Tino Martinez.[2] After high school, he attended the University of South Alabama, where he earned Baseball America's All-Freshman Second Team honors. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the fourth round of the 1988 amateur draft. Gonzalez played American Legion Baseball for Post 248. Other Post 248 alumni include Lou Piniella, Tony La Russa, Tino Martinez and Gary Sheffield.
Professional career [ edit ]
Houston Astros (1990–1995) [ edit ]
Gonzalez made his major league debut on September 4, 1990. He finished the rest of the 1990 season with 4 hits (2 doubles). The year of 1991 became the first full season of Gonzalez's career. During 1991, he batted .254 with 13 home runs and 69 RBI. In 1992, he batted .243 with 10 home runs and 55 RBI. In 1993, he batted .300 with 15 home runs, 72 RBI, and an NL leading 10 sacrifice flies. In 1994, he batted .273 with 8 homers and 67 RBI. His 1995 season began with a .258 batting average, 6 homers and 35 RBI.
Chicago Cubs (1995–1996) [ edit ]
Gonzalez along with Scott Servais were traded to the Chicago Cubs for Rick Wilkins. Gonzalez finished the 1995 season with the Cubs by batting .290 with 7 homers and 34 RBI. Overall in 1995, Gonzalez had a .276 average, 13 homers and 69 RBI combined while he played with the Astros and Cubs. In 1996, Gonzalez batted .271 with 15 homers and 79 RBI.
Second stint with the Houston Astros (1997) [ edit ]
Gonzalez signed a one-year deal to return to the Astros in 1997. During 1997, he batted .258 with 10 homers and 68 RBI.
Detroit Tigers (1998) [ edit ]
Gonzalez signed a one-year deal for the Tigers in 1998. In 1998, he batted .267 with 23 homers and 71 RBI.
Arizona Diamondbacks (1999–2006) [ edit ]
In 1999, Gonzalez was traded to the Diamondbacks for Karim García. Gonzalez began to become a star during his tenure with Arizona. He helped the Diamondbacks into title contention immediately, hitting a career-best .336 in 1999, leading the NL in hits with 206 and helping them win the National League's western division that season before the team fell to the New York Mets in a divisional playoff series. He was selected to his first All-Star Team in 1999. In 2000, the Diamondbacks came in third place in their division. He also blasted 31 home runs and cracked 192 hits.
In 2001, Gonzalez astonished many when he hit 57 home runs, his personal best for one season and almost twice as many as he hit in any other season. The total is the third most in National League history for a left-handed batter (behind Barry Bonds's record 73, which also came in 2001, and Ryan Howard, who hit 58 in 2006). Gonzalez was selected to his second All-Star Team and finished second in the National League in hits with 198. Gonzalez also won the Home Run Derby that year.
The Diamondbacks reached the World Series that year and faced off against the New York Yankees, who featured Gonzalez's childhood friend Tino Martinez starting at 1st base.[2] In the climactic moment, Gonzalez came to the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning of game 7, with the score even at 2-2, the bases loaded and 1 out. The Yankee pitcher was Mariano Rivera, one of the game's most feared closers with an especially good record in the postseason (Rivera had never blown a save chance in a World Series before, or since). Gonzalez swung at Rivera's 0-1 pitch and hit the game-winning bloop single into left field that sealed the first franchise World Series title for Arizona.
He was also selected to All-Star Teams in 2002 and 2003. During the 2002 season, Gonzalez received publicity as a piece of gum chewed by Gonzalez during a spring training game was sold for $10,000 on April 15, 2002.[3] The buyer was Curt Mueller, owner of Mueller Sports Medicine Inc., manufacturer of the gum, Quench.[4]
On May 22, 2004, Gonzalez got his 2,000th career hit in a game against the Florida Marlins, though his season ended early when he had Tommy John surgery in August.[5] In 2005, he was selected to his fifth All-Star Team. On April 18, 2006, he got his 500th career double, becoming the 20th player in Major League history to hit 500 doubles and 300 home runs. On May 13, 2006,[6] he passed Babe Ruth for 38th place all-time for the most doubles hit in league history.
On June 15, 2006, The Arizona Republic printed an interview by columnist E. J. Montini with Diamondback managing general partner Ken Kendrick. In the interview, Kendrick mentioned whispers of alleged steroid use by Gonzalez; in the interview Kendrick never directly accused Gonzalez of using performance-enhancing drugs.[7] The interview came 8 days after Diamondback relief pitcher Jason Grimsley was released by the team after the team learned that federal agents had searched his home looking for evidence that he was a distributor of human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing drugs. On June 16, 2006 an angry Gonzalez called a press conference to deny that he had ever used steroids.[8]
Los Angeles Dodgers (2007) [ edit ]
Luis Gonzalez as a Dodger.
On September 14, 2006, the Diamondbacks announced that they would not pick up the team option of $10 million to re-sign Gonzalez after the 2006 season.[9] On December 7, Gonzalez signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers for $7 million for the 2007 season.[10]
Gonzalez hit his first home run as a Dodger on Sunday, April 8, 2007 versus Barry Zito of the San Francisco Giants. He hit two home runs in that game. In his only season with the Dodgers, he was productive offensively, but struggled defensively. Many times throughout the season, he would be taken out late in the game due to his bad defense. Towards the end of the season, he was benched in favor of Matt Kemp, a top Dodger prospect at the time. He was upset about it and publicly said he was not interested in returning to the Dodgers before the season was even over. He hit .278 with 15 home runs and 68 RBI in 2007.
Florida Marlins (2008) [ edit ]
Gonzalez with the Marlins in 2008.
On February 7, 2008, he signed with the Florida Marlins. The deal was reportedly worth $2 million for 1 season.[11] Gonzalez played in 136 games for the Marlins in 2008, batting .261.
Retirement [ edit ]
Luis Gonzalez's number 20 was retired by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010.
Gonzalez announced his retirement on August 29, 2009 and joined the Diamondbacks front office as a special assistant to the president.[12] In 2010, the Diamondbacks further announced that Gonzalez would be the first Diamondbacks player to have his number, #20, retired on August 7.[13]
Other activities [ edit ]
With businessman and entrepreneur Anthony Conti, Gonzalez has founded IsTalking, LLC, a Phoenix-based company that develops new social networking Web sites exclusively for college students. The company launched a new social network with Arizona State University called ASUIsTalking.com.[14] He has also formed a partnership with the ASU Alumni Association to be the exclusive online social-network for its 250,000 members.
Gonzalez has served as a color commentator on ESPN Radio's broadcasts of National League Division Series games in recent years, and also worked on Fox Sports' television broadcast of the 2006 National League Championship Series.
Gonzalez formerly owned and operated a restaurant called Gonzo's, located in oldtown/downtown Gilbert, Arizona. It then changed name several times, and as of March 2007, it is called "The Grain Belt". The restaurant closed in 2009. In 2012, Postinos opened its 3rd Arizona location in its place. Gonzalez is a prominent member of the U.S.Republican Party. As a resident of Arizona, he wrote a letter of endorsement for Arizona's Junior Senator, Jon Kyl, who won his bid for re-election in 2006.[15] He also endorsed Arizona's other Senator, 2008 GOP Presidential Nominee John McCain, over former congressman J.D. Hayworth in 2010.[16] Gonzalez was also the Celebrity face for a cornfield maze in Queen Creek, Arizona for the Schnepf Farms' annual Celebrity Maze. Gonzalez is the first local celebrity featured. Oprah Winfrey, Larry King and Jay Leno were featured in the past.[17]
Gonzalez currently serves as a member of the board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro League players through financial and medical hardships.
The Diamondbacks built a Little League ballfield in his honor at Tempe Beach Park in Tempe, Arizona.
Gonzalez was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame on July 9, 2011 at the MLB All-Star Fan Fest in Phoenix.
Personal life [ edit ]
Gonzalez and his family (which includes wife Christine and triplets Megan, Jacob and Alyssa) are residents of Scottsdale, Arizona.[citation needed] Jacob was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 2017 MLB draft.[18]
See also [ edit ] |
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, left, is pictured at a rally in Annandale, Va. on July 14, 2016. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, right, is pictured at a campaign event in New York, N.Y. on July 16, 2016. (Melina Mara/Washington Post — Chris Goodney/Bloomberg)
The nation’s largest LGBT rights organization is calling on the next president to lead a bold effort across the federal government to strengthen protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a Washington-based advocacy group, is preparing to release a report after the election urging more than 70 specific policy changes that would ban LGBT discrimination in federal programs and show a government-wide commitment to diversity in gender identification and sexual orientation.
“Over the past 8 years, the Obama administration has worked to systematically dismantle this discriminatory infrastructure of federal inequality that has plagued the LGBTQ community since this country’s founding,” an 18-page executive summary obtained by The Post stated.
“However, in the wake of years of tremendous federal progress, the LGBTQ community finds itself at yet another crossroads. There is still so much left undone.”
[In Pennsylvania, Trump’s call for radical change is cheered and feared]
HRC, which endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Jan. 19, outlined dozens of recommendations Clinton is likely to weigh if she becomes president. Clinton has made LGBT issues a pillar of her campaign and has said she would work to appoint Supreme Court justices who support the 2015 high court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.
The future of LGBT policy will be much less clear if Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump wins the White House on Tuesday. Trump has said publicly on numerous occasions since 2000 that he supports “traditional marriage.” In January, just before the Iowa caucuses, he criticized the Supreme Court’s decision and said he would “strongly consider” appointing judges to overrule it if he is elected president.
“I don’t like the way they ruled,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News. “I disagree with the Supreme Court from the standpoint that it should be a states’ rights issue and that’s the way it should have been ruled on … If I’m elected, I would be very strong in putting certain judges on the bench that I think maybe could change things.”
Among its proposals, HRC urges the next president to appoint the first openly LGBT cabinet secretary and to add more LGBT individuals to the ranks of judges, executive officials and ambassadors.
“It is essential that federal judiciary and executive offices reflect the diversity of the country,” the group stated.
[With bombshells, FBI wades into corrosive presidential race]
The policy recommendations were close to comprehensive, and ranged from ending the prohibition on military enlistment and deployment for people with HIV, to ensuring transgender veterans have access to gender transition procedures, to strengthening safeguards for LGBT refugees, to creating a federal definition of bullying under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
HRC also urged the Federal Trade Commission under the next administration to prohibit the practice of “conversion therapy” as fraudulent and take action against individuals and organizations that offer it. Conversion therapy is the scientifically discredited practice of treating individuals with the goal of ending their attraction to people of the same sex, and is widely criticized by gay rights advocates.
In January, Clinton promised to end the practice of “conversion therapy” on minors if elected, support transgender people serving in the military and back legislation to include discrimination against LGBT people in the Civil Rights Act. |
Thousands gather in protest as parliament votes to pass new austerity measures in 2013 budget
Greek MPs passed a budget for 2013 on Sunday night that paves the way for the country to receive further financial aid. It was passed with a comfortable majority, unlike the narrow margin secured on last week's vote on an austerity package and labour reforms.
The legislation imposes deep spending cuts on the country's battered economy, as international lenders demand further austerity in return for assistance. Antonis Samaras's ruling coalition won the vote just four days after the multi-year, €13.5bn (£10.8bn) austerity package.
Thousands of people had gathered outside the Greek parliament in Syntagma Square, Athens, to urge MPs to vote down the budget. Leading the protest march were flag-waving trade unionists with the communist-aligned Pame party followed by private and public sector workers.
The protesters' chants included "Out, out, out with the IMF" and "Hands off workers' rights".
There was drama inside the chamber where opposition MP Stathis Panagoulis, of the leftwing Syriza party, warned that Greece faced "civil war", and that politicians risked being "lynched" and "murdered" as a result of the austerity measures.
The budget includes hefty cuts in pensions and public sector wages, agreed through torturous negotiation with Greece's "Troika" of lenders, the IMF, European commission and European Central Bank.
It also contains dire economic forecasts. Greece's national debt is predicted to hit nearly 190% of GDP next year – much higher than when its second bailout was agreed in March. It also warns that Greece's long recession will continue, with GDP shrinking by another 4.5% in 2013.
Economists say the projections show that Greece cannot meet its targets without the two-year extension that Samaras has been quietly urging fellow European leaders to support.
Last week's austerity package was eventually approved by 153 of the 300 MPs in the chamber. Democratic Left, the junior partner, abstained in protest at labour market reforms. Greece faces a nervous wait for its next tranche of bailout cash even if the budget is approved, with eurozone leaders unlikely to agree on a payment date when they meet on Monday. |
Inter Milan owner Massimo Moratti has signed a deal to sell a 70% stake in the Serie A club to a group led by Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir.
Thohir, part owner of Major League Soccer club DC United and basketball's Philadelphia 76ers, heads the three-person consortium.
"The new partners' enthusiasm and pragmatism are certainly a guarantee for the future," said Moratti.
Thohir added: "Today is a truly special day in my life."
Big spenders Inter Milan broke the transfer world record in 1999 when they paid £32m for Lazio striker Christian Vieri. The Vatican called the size of the fee "disgusting".
A club statement confirmed a binding agreement has been signed to make International Sports Capital (ISC), a company indirectly owned by Indonesian businessmen Thohir, Rosan Roeslani and Handy Soetedjo, the controlling shareholder of Inter.
Moratti, who will retain a seat on the board, became Inter president in 1995 and has overseen five Serie A titles, one Champions League and a Uefa Cup.
His father Angelo Moratti was in charge of the club in the 1960s when Inter won the European Cup twice in successive years.
Inter, a loss-making club with debts of about 300 million euros (£254m), are the only Italian team never to have been relegated throughout their 105-year-long history.
"I think Inter history is going to be enriched by a new season thanks to our new international partners who, I am sure, will contribute to a continued string of successes," said Moratti.
"My family and I will continue to live this marvellous story together with Erick, Rosan and Handy granting our unchanged devotion and fondness that bond us to the club and to the Inter supporters".
Thohir said: "I am honoured that Mr Moratti has entrusted me with the responsibility to lead Inter into the next chapter, and I am excited to have him continue in the future as my partner.
"I am an entrepreneur, but first of all I am a supporter and a sports lover. I cannot wait to put our passion and international experience at the service of this fantastic club and its supporters."
Inter are fourth in Serie A under coach Walter Mazzarri. They finished ninth last season with Marco Stramaccioni at the helm and failed to qualify for Europe for the first time in 15 years. |
New U.S. sanctions on Moscow have forced Russian business chiefs to accept that Donald Trump's rise to power is not about to produce a "Trump Bump" in foreign investment.
After Trump became U.S. president, some investors said they would be prepared to contemplate new deals with Russian firms if they saw signs that U.S.-Russian ties were improving and U.S. restrictions on business with Russia were being relaxed.
But the new sanctions, signed onto law by Trump on August 2, add new measures and codify six orders signed by President Barack Obama, making them harder for Trump to revoke.
For the business community in Moscow, the message is clear - there is no immediate prospect of Washington softening its stance towards Moscow.
"Russia faces the codification of sanctions which suggests they will be hellishly difficult to take off and are likely to remain in place for the very long term," said Tim Ash, a strategist at BlueBay asset management in London.
"The mere fact that the U.S. and Western governments ... saw fit to levy sanctions on Russia sends at the least an amber light to Western business - “be careful in your dealings with Russia."
The United States initially imposed financial and travel restrictions on Russia in 2014, after Russia annexed the Crimea region from Ukraine following the fall of a pro-Moscow president in Kyiv.
The latest measures allow Congress to block any effort by the president to ease or lift the existing sanctions, tightens some of those sanctions, and imposes new restrictions in some sectors.
Executives in Russian banks and energy companies, the main targets of the U.S. sanctions, told Reuters their compliance departments were still going through the fine print of the new law to understand the practical impact.
Already clear, though, was the message about the duration of the sanctions.
"This is obviously for a long time," said a source in a major Russian oil company, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Moody's rating agency said in a note to clients that the new sanctions on Russia "are likely to further deter investment there."
The sanctions in place since 2014 directly restrict a narrow range of business dealings. Their biggest effect, according to investment bankers and corporate lawyers in Moscow, is that they create the risk of more sanctions being added.
Under that scenario, a deal signed outside the scope of the sanctions could quickly fall under sanctions. If that happened, investors would be likely to lose money and few want to take that risk.
On the other hand, if investors believe the sanctions will not be expanded, they can conclude deals with some confidence, even while existing measures remain in place.
Ship hasn't sailed
Trump's election triumph last November led many in the Russian business community to believe that the worst of the sanctions was over.
It was at this time that a long-planned deal to privatize a stake in Sovcomflot, a state-owned shipping company with a fleet of modern vessels and lucrative energy sector contracts, was put back on the government's agenda.
The fate of the partial privatization since then reflects the importance of the new sanctions to investor sentiment.
No one involved in the Sovcomflot deal has publicly committed to a date for the sale but two financial market sources told Reuters late in May that the deal was expected in early June.
The plan later changed again because of deteriorating market conditions, a source familiar with the situation said in June - the same week that the Russian stock index slipped on concerns that Washington would impose new sanctions on Moscow.
Later in June, a senior Russian government official told Reuters the deal might happen in July. But after the new U.S. sanctions, Moscow's tone on the deal became more cautious though officials declined to say whether the new sanctions would alter the government's decision about when the sale happens.
"It's clear that the USA's toughening of the sanctions regime right now will hardly make the investment climate for this asset more attractive on international financial markets," Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov told reporters on August 3.
Anton Tabakh, a Russian economist, said the main problem the new sanctions posed for Russian investment was that they increase uncertainty about what happens next.
The new measures "guarantee that the risk of the sanctions expanding will remain for a long time," he wrote in a commentary for Carnegie Moscow Center, a think tank.
The new sanctions are unlikely to trigger an immediate crisis in Russia. Business and government have adapted to living with low investment flows, and the central bank has the tools to maintain macro-economic stability. Longer-term, tepid foreign investment is likely to shave a few percentage points off economic growth, economists say. The Russian economy contracted in 2015 and 2016, and is seen growing up to 1.8 percent this year, according to Russia's central bank.
That is far below the average annual growth of nearly 7 percent on which President Vladimir Putin built high approval ratings early in his presidency.
Explaining this will be one of his challenges when, as most Russians expect, he asks Russian voters to re-elect him in next year's presidential election. |
1. You enjoy being alone a little too much. Going to the movies solo every now and then isn’t bad but you shouldn’t be that into it.
2. To get some sort of conversation in your life you’ll walk around Target asking employees questions about products that you’ve got no intention of purchasing.
3. Many guys will watch porn to fulfill their sexual fantasies but for you only romantic comedies will do it.
4. You go to the bar not caring about hooking up but just being glad to be in the vicinity of some good looking people even if you know you won’t talk to them.
5. Instead of ordering delivery you will go out of your way to pick up your pizza to have some brief human interaction outside of your house.
6. It’s common place for you to have ongoing conversations with yourself.
7. Continuously stare at your text messages hoping that the harder you stare the more likely someone, anyone will send you a message.
8. You check out any half decent girl just hoping to make eye contact with as many of them as possible. It’s a numbers game after all.
9. You can talk yourself into the prospect of dating even monsters like Jan on The Office.
10. Food has turned into your best and most dependable friend.
11. You’re a man that’s considering getting a cat.
12. You relate to Edward Norton’s character in Fight Club. Maybe you even wouldn’t mind your own Brad Pitt subconscious ordering you around.
13. Sometimes you feel like Sandra Bullock in Gravity just floating around aimlessly.
14. You’’ll often go to your parent’s house just to hang out.
15. You’re always the only person in your bed and yet you only sleep on one side.
16. Will take any small gesture by a woman as a sign of interest such as the waitress writing a heart on your receipt.
17. Watch reruns of The Office to see Jim and Pam so you can feel the emotions of a real, beautiful relationship.
18. Don’t wear headphones at the gym. No reason to do this unless you’re desperately hoping someone starts a conversation with you.
19. Ask to borrow someone’s dog. You aren’t dog sitting but instead you asked a friend if you could have their dog stay with you for a night or two just because. |
The Camorra ( Italian: [kaˈmɔrra]; Neapolitan: [kaˈmorrə]) is an Italian Mafia-type[2] crime syndicate, or secret society, which arose in the region of Campania and its capital Naples. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating back to the 17th century. Unlike the pyramidal structure of the Sicilian Mafia, the Camorra's organizational structure is more horizontal than vertical. Consequently, individual Camorra clans act independently of each other, and are more prone to feuding among themselves.
Background [ edit ]
The origins of the Camorra are not entirely clear. It may date back to the 17th century as a direct Italian descendant of a Spanish secret society, the Garduña, founded in 1417. Officials of the Kingdom of Naples may have introduced the organization to the area, or it may have grown gradually out of small criminal gangs operating in Neapolitan society near the end of the 18th century.[3] However, recent historical research in Spain suggests that the Garduña never really existed and was based on a fictional 19th century book.[4]
The first official use of the word dates from 1735, when a royal decree authorised the establishment of eight gambling houses in Naples. The word is likely a blend, or portmanteau, of "capo" (boss) and a Neapolitan street game, the "morra".[3][5] (In this game, two persons wave their hands simultaneously, while a crowd of surrounding gamblers guess, in chorus, at the total number of fingers exposed by the principal players.)[6] This activity was prohibited by the local government, and some people started making the players pay for being "protected" against the passing police.[3][7][8]
Camorristi in Naples, 1906 in Naples, 1906
The Camorra first emerged during the chaotic power vacuum in the years between 1799 and 1815, when the Parthenopean Republic was proclaimed on the wave of the French Revolution and the Bourbon Restoration. The first official mention of the Camorra as an organization dates from 1820, when police records detail a disciplinary meeting of the Camorra, a tribunal known as the Gran Mamma. That year a first written statute, the frieno, was also discovered, indicating a stable organisational structure in the underworld. Another statute was discovered in 1842, including initiation rites and funds set aside for the families of those imprisoned. The organization was also known as the Bella Società Riformata, Società dell'Umirtà or Onorata Società.[9][10]
The evolution into more organized formations indicated a qualitative change: the Camorra and camorristi were no longer local gangs living off theft and extortion; they now had a fixed structure and some kind of hierarchy. Another qualitative leap was the agreement of the liberal opposition and the Camorra, following the defeat in the 1848 revolution. The liberals realized that they needed popular support to overthrow the king. They turned to the Camorra and paid them, the camorristi being the leaders of the city’s poor. The new police chief, Liborio Romano, turned to the head of the Camorra, Salvatore De Crescenzo, to maintain order and appointed him as head of the municipal guard.[11] The Camorra effectively had developed into power brokers in a few decades.[9] In 1869, Ciccio Cappuccio was elected as the capintesta (head-in-chief) of the Camorra by the twelve district heads (capintriti), succeeding De Crescenzo after a short interregnum.[12] Nicknamed 'The king of Naples' ('‘o rre 'e Napole) he died in 1892.[13][14]
Following Italian unification in 1861 attempts were made to tackle the Camorra and a series of manhunts were made from 1882 on. The Saredo Inquiry (1900–1901), established to investigate corruption and bad governance in Naples, identified a system of political patronage ran by what the report called the "high Camorra":
The original low camorra held sway over the poor plebs in an age of abjection and servitude. Then there arose a high camorra comprising the most cunning and audacious members of the middle class. They fed off trade and public works contracts, political meetings and government bureaucracy. This high camorra strikes deals and does business with the low camorra, swapping promises for favours and favours for promises. The high camorra thinks of the state bureaucracy as being like a field it has to harvest and exploit. Its tools are cunning, nerve and violence. Its strength comes from the streets. And it is rightly considered to be more dangerous, because it has re-established the worst form of depotism by founding a regime based on bullying. The high camorra has replaced free will with impositions, it has nullified individuality and liberty, and it has defrauded the law and public trust.[15][16]
The Inquiry introduced the terminology of "high Camorra", with a bourgeois character, but distinct from the plebeian Camorra proper, although both were in close contact through the figure of the intermediary (faccendiere).[17]
From the rich industrialist who wants a clear road into politics or administration to the small shopowner who wants to ask for a reduction of taxes; from the businessman trying to win a contract to a worker looking for a job in a factory; from a professional who wants more clients or greater recognition to somebody looking for an office job; from somebody from the provinces who has come to Naples to buy some goods to somebody who wants to emigrate to America; they all find somebody stepping into their path, and nearly all made use of them.[18]
However, whether the "high Camorra" was an integral part of the Camorra proper is disputed.[16] Although the inquiry did not prove specific collusion between the Camorra and politics, it brought to light the patronage mechanisms that fueled corruption in the municipality.[15] The society's influence was weakened which was exemplified by the defeat of all of their candidates in the 1901 Naples election. Many camorristi left for the United States in the early 20th century.[19]
The Cuocolo trial in Viterbo. Most of the defendants are in the large cage. The three in front are (from left to right) the priest Ciro Vitozzi, Maria Stendardo, the only female defendant, and Enrico Alfano. In the small cage to the right is the crown witness Gennaro Abbatemaggio.
The Camorra received another blow with the Cuocolo trial (1911–1912). While the trial was about the murder of the Camorrista Gennaro Cuocolo and his wife, suspected of being police spies, on June 6, 1906, the main investigator, Carabinieri Captain Carlo Fabbroni, transformed it from a murder trial into one against the Camorra as a whole. Fabbroni intended to use the trial to strike the final blow to the Camorra.[20][21] The trial attracted a lot of attention of newspapers and the general public both in Italy as well as in the United States, including by Pathé's Gazette.[22] The hearings began in the spring of 1911 and would continue for twelve months. After a 17-month trial, the often tumultuous proceedings ended with a guilty verdict on July 8, 1912. The defendants, including 27 leading Camorra bosses, were sentenced to a total of 354 years' imprisonment. The main defendant and nominal head of the Camorra, Enrico Alfano, was sentenced to 30 years.[20][23][24][25]
The Camorra was never a coherent whole nor a centralised organization. Instead, it has always been a loose confederation of different, independent groups or families. Each group was bound around kinship ties and controlled economic activities which took place in its particular territory. Each family clan took care of its own business, protected its territory, and sometimes tried to expand at another group’s expense. Although not centralized, there was some minimal coordination, to avoid mutual interference. The families competed to maintain a system of checks and balances between equal powers.[26]
One of the Camorra's strategies to gain social prestige is political patronage. The family clans became the preferred interlocutors of local politicians and public officials, because of their grip on the community. In turn, the family bosses used their political sway to assist and protect their clients against the local authorities. Through a mixture of brute force, political status, and social leadership, the Camorra family clans imposed themselves as middlemen between the local community and bureaucrats and politicians at the national level. They granted privileges and protection, and intervened in favour of their clients in return for their silence and connivance against local authorities and the police. With their political connections, the heads of the major Neapolitan families became power brokers in local and national political contexts, providing Neapolitan politicians with broad electoral support, and in return receiving benefits for their constituency.[26]
Activities [ edit ]
Compared to the Sicilian Mafia's pyramidal structure, the Camorra has more of a 'horizontal' than a 'vertical' structure. As a result, individual Camorra clans act independently of each other, and are more prone to feuding among themselves. This however makes the Camorra more resilient when top leaders are arrested or killed, with new clans and organizations germinating out of the stumps of old ones. As the Galasso clan boss Pasquale Galasso once stated in court; "Campania can get worse because you could cut into a Camorra group, but another ten could emerge from it."[27]
In the 1970s and 1980s Raffaele Cutolo made an attempt to unify the Camorra families in the manner of the Sicilian Mafia, by forming the New Organized Camorra (Nuova Camorra Organizzata or NCO), but this proved unsuccessful. Drive-by shootings by camorristi often result in casualties among the local population, but such episodes are often difficult to investigate because of widespread omertà (code of silence). According to a report from Confesercenti, the second-largest Italian Trade Organization, published on October 22, 2007 in the Corriere della Sera, the Camorra control the milk and fish industries, the coffee trade, and over 2,500 bakeries in Naples.[28]
In 1983, Italian law enforcement estimated that there were only about a dozen Camorra clans. By 1987, the number had risen to 26, and in the following year, a report from the Naples flying squad reported their number as 32. Currently it is estimated there are about 111 Camorra clans and over 6,700 members in Naples and the immediate surroundings.[29] Roberto Saviano, an investigative journalist and author of Gomorra, an exposé of the activities of the Camorra, says that this sprawling network of Camorra clans now dwarfs the Sicilian Mafia, the 'Ndrangheta and southern Italy's other organised gangs, in numbers, in economic power and in ruthless violence.[30]
In 2004 and 2005 the Di Lauro clan and the so-called Scissionisti di Secondigliano fought a bloody feud which came to be known in the Italian press as the Scampia feud. The result was over 100 street killings. At the end of October 2006 a new series of murders took place in Naples between 20 competing clans, that cost 12 lives in 10 days. The Interior Minister Giuliano Amato decided to send more than 1,000 extra police and carabinieri to Naples to fight crime and protect tourists.[31] Despite this, in the following year there were over 120 murders.[citation needed]
In 2001 the businessman Domenico Noviello from Caserta testified against a Camorra extortionist and subsequently received police protection. In 2008 he refused further protection and was killed one week later.[32]
In recent years, various Camorra clans have been allegedly utilizing alliances with Nigerian drug gangs and the Albanian mafia. Augusto La Torre, the former La Torre clan boss who became a pentito, is married to an Albanian woman. It should also be noted that the first foreign pentito, a Tunisian, admitted to being involved with the feared Casalesi clan of Casal di Principe. The first town in which the Camorra sanctioned stewardship by a foreign clan was Castel Volturno, which was given to the Rapaces, clans from Lagos and Benin City in Nigeria. This allowed them to traffic cocaine and women in sexual slavery before sending them across the whole of Europe.[33]
Refuse crisis [ edit ]
Since the mid-1990s, the Camorra has taken over the handling of refuse disposal in the region of Campania, with disastrous results for the environment and the health of the general population. Heavy metals, industrial waste, chemicals and household garbage are frequently mixed together, then dumped near roads and burnt to avoid detection, leading to severe soil and air pollution.
The situation worsened during this period as the camorra diversified their illegal waste disposal strategy: 1) transporting and dumping hazardous waste in the countryside by truck; 2) dumping waste in illegal caves or holes; 3) mixing toxic waste with textiles to avoid explosions and then burning it; and 4) mixing toxic with urban waste for disposal in landfills and incinerators.[34]
With the assistance of private businessmen known as "stakeholders", the numerous Camorra clans are able to gain massive profits from under-the-table contracts with local, legitimate businesses. These "stakeholders" are able to offer companies highly lucrative deals to remove their waste at a significantly lower price. With little to no overhead, Camorra clans and their associates see very high profit margins. According to author Roberto Saviano, the Camorra uses child labour to drive the waste in for a small price, as they do not complain about the health risks as the older truckers might.
As of June 2007, the region has no serviceable dumping sites, and no alternatives have been found. Together with corrupt local officials and unscrupulous industrialists from all over Italy, the Camorra has created a cartel that has so far proven very difficult for officials to combat.[35]
In November 2013 a demonstration by tens of thousands of people was held in Naples in protest against the pollution caused by the Camorra's control of refuse disposal. Over a twenty-year period, it was alleged, about ten million tonnes of industrial waste had been illegally dumped, with cancers caused by pollution increasing by 40–47%.[36]
Efforts to fight the Camorra [ edit ]
The Camorra has proven to be an extremely difficult organization to fight within Italy. At the first mass trial against the Camorra in 1911–12, Captain Carlo Fabroni of the Carabinieri gave testimony on how complicated it was to successfully prosecute the Camorra: "The Camorrist has no political ideals. He exploits the elections and the elected for gain. The leaders distribute bands throughout the town, and they have recoursed to violence to obtain the vote of the electors for the candidates whom they have determined to support. Those who refuse to vote as instructed are beaten, slashed with knives, or kidnapped. All this is done with assurance of impunity, as the Camorrists will have the protection of successful politicians, who realize that they cannot be chosen to office without paying toll to the Camorra."[37]
The trial that investigated the murder of the camorrista Gennaro Cuocolo was followed with great interest by the newspapers and the general public. It led to the conviction of 27 leading Camorra bosses, who were sentenced to a total of 354 years of imprisonment, including the head of the Camorra at the time, Enrico Alfano.[38][39]
Unlike the Sicilian Mafia, which has a clear hierarchy and a division of interests, the Camorra's activities are much less centralized. This makes the organization much more difficult to combat through crude repression.[40] In Campania, where unemployment is high and opportunities are limited, the Camorra has become an integral part of the fabric of society. It offers a sense of community and provides the youth with jobs. Members are guided in the pursuit of criminal activities, including cigarette smuggling, drug trafficking, and theft.[41]
The government has made an effort to combat the Camorra's criminal activities in Campania. The solution ultimately lies in Italy's ability to offer values, education and work opportunities to the next generation. However, the government has been hard pressed to find funds for promoting long term reforms that are needed to improve the local economic outlook and create jobs.[41] Instead, it has had to rely on limited law enforcement activity in an environment which has a long history of criminal tolerance and acceptance, and is governed by a code of silence or omertà that persists to this day.[42]
Despite the overwhelming magnitude of the problem, law enforcement officials continue their pursuit. The Italian police are coordinating their efforts with Europol at the European level as well as Interpol to conduct special operations against the Camorra. The Carabinieri and the Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) are also fighting criminal activities related to tax evasion, border controls, and money laundering. Prefect Gennaro Monaco, Deputy Chief of Police and Chief of the Section of Criminal Police cites "impressive results" against the Camorra in recent years, yet the Camorra continues to grow in power.[43]
In 1998, police took a leading Camorra figure into custody. Francesco Schiavone was caught hiding in a secret apartment near Naples behind a sliding wall of granite. The mayor of Naples, Antonio Bassolino, compared the arrest to that of Sicilian Mafia chief Salvatore Riina in 1993.[44] Francesco Schiavone is now serving a life sentence after a criminal career which included arms trafficking, bomb attacks, armed robbery, and murder.
Michele Zagaria, a senior member of the Casalesi clan, was arrested in 2011 after eluding police for 16 years. He was found in a secret bunker in the town Casapesenna, near Naples.[45] In 2014, clan boss Mario Riccio was arrested for drug trafficking in the Naples area. Around the same time 29 suspected Camorra members were also arrested in Rome.[46]
The arrests in the Campania region demonstrate that the police are not allowing the Camorra to operate without intervention. However, progress remains slow, and these minor victories have done little to loosen the Camorra's grip on Naples and the surrounding regions.[41]
In 2008, Italian police arrested three members of the Camorra crime syndicate on September 30, 2008. According to Gianfrancesco Siazzu, commander of the Carabinieri police, the three were captured in small villas on the coast of Naples. All three had been on Italy's 100 top most wanted list. Police seized assets valued at over 100 million euros and also weapons, including two AK-47 assault rifles that may have been used in the shooting of six Africans on September 18, 2008. Police found pistols, Carabinieri uniforms and other outfits that were used to disguise members of the operation. During the same week, a separate operation netted 26 additional suspects in Caserta. All were believed to belong to the powerful Camorra crime syndicate that operates in and around Naples. The suspects were charged with extortion and weapons possession. In some cases, the charges also included murder and robbery. Giuseppina Nappa, the 48-year-old wife of a jailed crime boss, was among those arrested. She is believed to be the Camorra's local paymaster.[47]
In November 2018, Italian police announced the arrest of Antonio Orlando, suspected of being a major figure in the Camorra.[48]
Outside Campania and Italy [ edit ]
Despite its origins, it presently has secondary ramifications in other Italian regions, like Lombardy,[49][50][51] Piedmont[52][53] and Emilia-Romagna,[54][55] in connection with the centers of national economic power. It has also spread outside the Italy's boundaries, and acquired a foothold in the United Kingdom and United States.
Camorra in the United Kingdom [ edit ]
Scotland has had its brush with the Camorra. Antonio La Torre of Aberdeen was the local "Don" of the Camorra. He is the brother of Camorra boss Augusto La Torre of the La Torre clan which had its base in Mondragone, Caserta. The La Torre Clan's empire was worth hundreds of millions of euros. Antonio had several legitimate businesses in Aberdeen, whereas his brother Augusto had several illegal businesses there. He was convicted in Scotland and is awaiting extradition to Italy.[needs update] Augusto would eventually become a pentito in January 2003, confessing to over 40 murders and his example would be followed by many of his men.[56]
Two Aberdeen restaurateurs, Ciro Schiattarella and Michele Siciliano, were extradited to Italy for their part in the "Aberdeen Camorra". A fourth Scottish associate made history by becoming the first foreign member of the Camorra and is currently serving a jail sentence in the UK. It has been reported that he also receives a monthly salary, legal assistance and protection.[57]
Saviano alleges that from the 1980s, Italian gangsters ran a network of lucrative businesses in the city as well as many illegal rackets. Saviano said Scotland's third city, with no history of organized crime, was seen as an attractive safe haven away from the violent inter-gang bloodletting that had engulfed their Neapolitan stronghold of Mondragone. Saviano claims that before the Italian clans arrived, Aberdeen did not know how to exploit its resources for recreation and tourism. He further states that the Italians infused the city with economic energy, revitalised the tourist industry, inspired new import-export activities and injected new vigour in the real-estate sector. It thereby turned Aberdeen into a chic, elegant address for fine dining and important dealings.[57]
The hub of La Torre's UK empire, Pavarotti's restaurant, now under different ownership, was even feted at Italissima, a prestigious gastronomic fair held in Paris. The restaurant was even advertised on the city's local tourist guides. Saviano further claims to have gone to Aberdeen and worked in a restaurant run by Antonio La Torre. The Camorristas operated a system known as "scratch" where they used to step up illegal activities if their legitimate ventures were struggling. If cash was short they had counterfeit notes printed; if capital was needed in a hurry, they sold bogus treasury bonds. They annihilated the competition through extortions and imported merchandise tax-free. The Camorra were able to run all sort of deals because the local police had virtually no experience in dealing with organized crime. Although they broke the law, there were never any guns or serious violence, due to lack of rivals.[57]
However, the suggestion that the city remains in the grip of mobsters has been strongly denied by leaders of the 300 strong Italian community in Aberdeen. Moreover, Giuseppe Baldini, the Italian government's vice-consul in Aberdeen, denies that the Camorra still maintains its presence in Aberdeen.[57]
Camorra in the United States [ edit ]
The Camorra existed in the United States between the mid-19th century and early 20th century. They rivaled the defunct Morello crime family for power in New York. Eventually, they melded with the early Italian-American Mafia groups.
Many Camorra members and associates fled the internecine gang warfare and Italian Justice and immigrated to the United States in the 1980s. In 1993, the FBI estimated that there were 200 camorristi in the United States. Although there appears to be no clan structure in the United States, Camorra members have established a presence in Los Angeles, New York and Springfield, Massachusetts.[58] The Camorra is the least active of all the organized crime groups in the United States.[59] In spite of this, the US law enforcement considers the Camorra to be a rising criminal enterprise, especially dangerous because of its ability to adapt to new trends and forge new alliances with other criminal organizations.[60]
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation:
In the 1970s, the Sicilian Mafia convinced the Camorra to convert their cigarette smuggling routes into drug smuggling routes with the Sicilian Mafia's assistance. Not all Camorra leaders agreed, leading to the Camorra Wars that cost 400 lives. Opponents of drug trafficking lost the war. The Camorra made a fortune in reconstruction after an earthquake ravaged the Campania region in 1980. Now it specializes in cigarette smuggling and receives payoffs from other criminal groups for any cigarette traffic through Italy. The Camorra is also involved in money laundering, extortion, alien smuggling, robbery, blackmail, kidnapping, political corruption, and counterfeiting. It is believed that nearly 200 Camorra affiliates reside in this country, many of whom arrived during the Camorra Wars.[61]
In 1995, the Camorra cooperated with the Russian Mafia in a scheme in which the Camorra would bleach out US $1 bills and reprint them as $100s. These bills would then be transported to the Russian Mafia for distribution in 29 post-Eastern Bloc countries and former Soviet republics.[58] In return, the Russian Mafia paid the Camorra with property (including a Russian bank) and firearms, smuggled into Eastern Europe and Italy.[60]
In 2012, the Obama administration imposed sanctions on the Camorra as one of four key transnational organized crime groups, along with the Brothers' Circle from Russia, the Yamaguchi-gumi (Yakuza) from Japan, and Los Zetas from Mexico.[62]
In popular culture [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Sources [ edit ] |
2014 was packed with some outstanding games, but even a cursory glance at some of the games confirmed for 2015 shows that the next 12 months could outshine the previous year when it comes to high quality experiences. And while 2014 saw the steady rise of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 (and the quiet resurgence of the Wii U), 2015 looks like it will be the year where the new consoles truly shine and finally deliver on their promise. PCs, too, remain a stronghold for unique and amazing gameplay experiences, and will undoubtedly continue to be an outstanding platform for gaming in the new year. So which 2015 confirmed releases are the GameSpot team most looking forward to?
Evolve
Coming February 2 for PC, PS4, Xbox One
Every team-based shooter claims to require camaraderie and coordination, to the point that boasts of mandatory teamwork can often be dismissed as simple buzzwords. Evolve’s alpha test proved that “teamwork” is not just a marketing term in this case, but an inescapable need. The game’s asymmetrical, monster-versus-squad action is electrifying, and makes playing every class an absolute blast. Don’t dismiss Evolve as another been-there-done-that competitive shooter: there’s something truly special here. -- Kevin VanOrd
Bloodborne
Coming March 24 for PS4
It would be disingenuous to suggest that one of the reasons we’re so thrilled by Bloodborne is that it so closely resembles From Software’s previous games in the Souls series. Those games rose to excellence through their weighty combat, their stiff challenge, and their oppressive atmosphere. That we will be able to say the same about Bloodborne is almost certain. But we’re also thrilled by how the game so clearly makes a statement apart from the Souls games. It’s a different kind of world with different kind of weapons, and boasts a newfound fluidity of motion that makes combat newly fresh. -- Kevin VanOrd
Mighty No. 9
Without a new Mega Man game in sight and the franchise locked behind Capcom's doors, Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9 is promising to fill the void. A class-style action-platformer with colorful bosses whose power you can absorb, Mighty No. 9 is both a throwback to its predecessor and a glimpse of what can happen when fans help shape a game. Through a successful Kickstarter campaign and constant communication with its backers, those who really want Mighty No. 9 are helping to shape it, and developers are listening at every step of the way. We're excited to see this return to form for Inafune and get our hands on a game truly tailored to its fans. -- Alexa Ray Corriea
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Coming May 19 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One
The Witcher 2 planted the seed. It depicted one of the most beautiful and brutal places you can explore within the whole of games, and planted within it an intriguing political story and a vicious combat system that made shedding blood feel physically and emotionally exhausting. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s exponentially larger world and new characters would seem to bear the fruits of that initial seed. A stunning and vast landscape, filled with difficult decisions and colossal creatures, awaits us, and it’s difficult not to tremble when you imagine the possibilities. -- Kevin VanOrd
Batman: Arkham Knight
Coming June 2 for PS4, Xbox One, PC
Developer Rocksteady is back to finish off what they started with the extremely well received Arkham series. The bits and pieces of what we've seen so far of the game have been stunning, due in no small part to the increased horsepower of the PS4 and Xbox One. And the inclusion of the Batmobile seems to be more than just a neat gimmick--the Batmobile looks like it's been integrated into a lot more than just getting Batman from point A to point b in style, and seems to be useful in solving puzzles and even as a partner during Arkham Knight's brutal fistfights. I can't wait to see how the whole things blends together next year. -- Randolph Ramsay
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Coming 2015 for Xbox One
Lara Croft's rebirth in early 2013 was met with high praise. This new Lara appealed to us because she was younger, softer--still learning the skills and hurtling through the experiences that would hone her into the powerful and confident Lara we've known since 1996. Trailers for Rise of the Tomb Raider show a Lara both broken and strengthened by the experiences of the first game, and we're excited to see her character grow and the exotic locales she'll conquer in the next game. -- Alexa Ray Corriea
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Coming 2015 for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC
Though some may have only spent two hours playing through Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes' story mission, I put 10 times the hours into exploring the full range of the game's open-world stealth mechanics. I came away convinced that this is one of the most solid foundations ever for a stealth-action game. Seeing how this plays into the far more massive scale of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, along with the game's fascinating new buddy system and adversarial multiplayer base-infiltrations, is something I cannot wait to do. -- Daniel Hindes
Star Fox Wii U
Coming 2015 to Wii U
It's a new Star Fox game. What's not to be happy about? Shigeru Miyamoto's focus for the past several years appears to have been centered on Mario and Pikmin, so when he confirmed his new secret project is a Star Fox title for the Wii U, we were figuratively over the moon. Not much is known about this game yet, but as the first Star Fox appearance not in a Super Smash Bros. game since the Nintendo 3DS port of Star Fox 64, we're still excited. We'll be doing barrel rolls in anticipation until this one comes out. -- Alexa Ray Corriea
Coming 2015 for PS4, Xbox One, PC
My Star Wars excitement is swelling once again with the recent teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and that those high hopes extend to the big Star Wars game we'll be getting next year: Battlefront. DICE's reboot of the multiplayer shooter series already looks gorgeous, with brief glimpses of the ice planet Hoth and forests of Endor seen at E3 2014. But what I want to know more than anything is: how will it play? What kind of game modes will we see? Will DICE opt to include a full-fledged singleplayer campaign as well? And perhaps most importantly, will we see any new locations and vehicles from the upcoming trilogy? My S-foils are locked in anticipation. -- Daniel Hindes
Halo 5: Guardians
Coming 2015 for Xbox One
The Halo series is one of my favorites in all of gaming, and I'm eager to see what 343 Industries can pull off with its first new Halo title developed for Xbox One. On the story side, we're finally seeing a compelling new character in Agent Locke, an aggressive-sounding Spartan tasked with hunting down Master Chief. Locke will be a playable, "primary" character in Halo 5, and I'm excited to see how Locke's involvement affects Chief's saga. Best of all, though the full Halo 5 game won't be out until next fall, its multiplayer beta--which will let you try out the many new and exciting player abilities--rolls out next week. I know how I'm spending my Christmas break. -- Eddie Makuch
The Legend of Zelda Wii U
Coming 2015 for Wii U
At E3 last year, Nintendo revealed a Link in very different attire. And the recent The Game Awards presentation unveiled a breathtaking open world that makes the possible scope of the game's world looks expansive and more comparable to Western RPGs like Elder Scrolls. These brief teases make us excited to learn more. But it's Nintendo's agonizingly metered release schedule and record of releasing carefully crafted experiences that mean, whether it's the best in the franchise or just merely OK, it's the Wii U game that everyone will be talking about. -- Justin Haywald
Coming 2015 for PS4, Xbox One, PC
Ubisoft has garnered criticism this year for utilizing a very specific open-world formula across multiple genres. Thus far, Tom-Clancy-branded games have avoided many of that formula’s tropes, and The Division looks to hew more closely to the philosophies that separate Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell from the pack. There’s still much we don’t know, but if previous showings are an indication, The Division could smartly replicate the sense of joining a small band of cohorts and journeying into a devastated New York City, hoping to survive and even thrive. Destiny has popularized the dynamic-world multiplayer shooter. We’re excited to see how Tom Clancy’s The Division refines and riffs upon a soon-to-burgeon genre. -- Kevin VanOrd
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Coming 2015 for PS4
Uncharted is the series that redefined developer Naughty Dog. Previously known primarily as the creators of Crash Bandicoot, they're now the studio behind some of the most cinematic and well-paced action games on any console. It's almost a given that Uncharted 4 will continue the company's legacy of creating graphical showcases. And there's no doubt that it'll be another exciting, Indiana Jones-like adventure full of big set pieces and snappy dialogue. But if it also successfully integrates the combat refinements and nuanced, character-driven storytelling from The Last of Us, Uncharted could possibly be the developer's magnum opus. -- Justin Haywald
No Man's Sky
Coming 2015 for PS4, PC
This game with have limitless potential. That's the promise No Man's Sky seems to be making. Each and every time this amazing-looking game has been shown thus far, I'm left in awe at the sheer audacity of what it looks like it may be bringing to the gaming world. A huge, living galaxy which countless planets, procedurally generated lifeforms, and an invitation to simply explore and discover. If No Man's Sky can match even half of my expectations, then it'll be an outstanding achievement. If it can meet them all, then it'll be a revolutionary game. -- Randolph Ramsay
Persona 5
Coming 2015 for PS3, PS4
With the series approaching its 20-year anniversary and its cult following still going strong, it's hard not to get wrapped up in the hype for the next Persona game. Set to launch next year for both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, Persona 5 looks--from its sole teaser trailer--like it will take the beloved role-playing franchise into a new setting with possibly more mature characters (the character in the teaser looks to be wearing a college uniform). After a dozen re-releases and spin-offs from the last numbered title, the critically acclaimed Persona 4, fans are slavering for another adventure. -- Alexa Ray Corriea
You've seen our picks for the Most Anticipated Games of 2014, now vote for your favorite in our poll below! |
Depending on the circles you run in, you may have heard about the supposed bad news for Colorado marijuana legalization advocates. “New poll shows more Coloradans opposed to legal marijuana” said Colorado’s second-largest newspaper, the Colorado Springs Gazette; “COLORADANS NOW OPPOSE MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION” screamed Parents Opposed to Pot; “COLORADO HAS BUYERS’ REMORSE FOR LEGAL WEED” bellowed California Stop Pot 2016 triumphantly.
All over a little survey funded by an out-of-state anti-marijuana organization called Community Alliances for Drug Free Youth. Here’s the Gazette:
A poll sponsored by the Community Alliances for Drug Free Youth shows that slightly more than half of Coloradans are now opposed to marijuana legalization. According to a release from SmithJohnson Research, 51 percent of 600 likely voters in Colorado said they would vote against marijuana legalization if it came up today. The poll, which was conducted over the phone with self-identified 2012 voters, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. The survey results show a change in mood in the years since Amendment 64 was on the ballot when 55 percent of Colorado voters supported legalizing recreational marijuana sales to adults over the age of 21.
Community Alliances for Drug Free Youth (CADFY) is a California-based prohibitionist organization also known as Californians for Drug Free Youth. According to the Gazette, they are a “nonprofit organization based in San Diego that promotes state, federal and international drug policies that keep drugs out of the hands of youth.” According to their website, CADFY wants you to go on social media and warn your friends, family, and coworkers about the “dangers of marijuana and other illicit drugs.” They also provide links in their “news” section to unapologetic propaganda like “Clearing The Smoke on Medical Marijuana.”
The Gazette itself is a newspaper with an agenda. Owned by Denver billionaire Phil Anschutz, who also owns The Weekly Standard and Washington Examiner, and has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Republican and “family values” causes, the Gazette recently ran a questionable and widely-ridiculed modern day Reefer Madness hysteria hit piece entitled Clearing the Haze and written by a well-known local anti-pot crusader.
The fact is that all recent major polls run by respected pollsters with real records (try googling “Community Alliances for Drug Free Youth” and “SmithJohnson Research”) are showing the same thing: Support for marijuana legalization is up up up. Not only in Colorado–where, at last check, 89% of Colorado voters supported medical marijuana and 62% supported personal use, but also nationwide where there is clear majority support. Today a new Public Policy Polling survey shows that even Republicans in the early battleground states of Iowa and New Hampshire believe that “states should be able to carry out their own marijuana laws without federal interference.” The numbers are astounding: 64 and 67 percent of Republicans in each respective state agreed with that statement.
So why should we believe a poll sponsored by an organization that is trying to interfere with another state’s politics again? And why is Colorado’s second largest newspaper so publicly fighting such an obviously lost cause?
Photo Credit for featured image: Brett Levin via flickr Creative Commons. |
Politics aside, most energy experts agree that cheap, clean, renewable wind energy holds great potential to help the world satisfy energy needs while reducing harmful greenhouse gases. Wind farms placed offshore could play a large role in meeting such challenges, and yet no offshore wind farms exist today in the United States.
In a study just published in Geophysical Research Letters, a team of engineers at Stanford has harnessed a sophisticated weather model to recommend optimal placement of four interconnected wind farms off the coast of the Eastern United States, a region that accounts for 34 percent of the nation's electrical demand and 35 percent of carbon dioxide emissions.
"It is the first time anyone has used high-resolution meteorological data to plan the placement of offshore wind grid," said senior author Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering. "And this sophistication has provided a deeper level of understanding to the grid plan."
Beginning with 12 energetic potential locations, the engineers winnowed down the sites to four optimal sites. Total maximum capacity of the interconnected grid is 2000 megawatts, roughly equivalent to the yearly capacity of one-and-a-half conventional coal-fired power plants. Each farm would have approximately 100 turbines, delivering an individual maximum capacity of 500 megawatts.
"Two thousand megawatts and four farms are somewhat arbitrary figures. The sizes and locations could be adjusted for economic, environmental, and policy considerations," said Jacobson.
"An offshore grid as an extension of the onshore grid in this region will improve reliability, while reducing congestion and energy price differences between areas," said Mike Dvorak, the lead author of the study and a recent PhD graduate in civil and environmental engineering at Stanford.
Optimizing the grid
The optimized grid was located in the waters from Long Island, New York to Georges Bank, a shallows about a hundred miles to the east of Cape Cod. The nearshore locations take advantage of consistent sea breezes that occur naturally due to the daily difference in temperature between land and sea. The offshore farms experience stronger, though less regular, frontal storm activity. The four farms would be interconnected to help balance output across the grid.
"Until recently, large scale wind resource assessments have neglected the aspect of time. We matched peak productivity with peak demand at specific times of day and year," said Dvorak. "Our analysis matches production to demand."
Wind farms on land, for instance, tend to see daily peak output at night, when demand is lower. Seasonally speaking, demand usually spikes in the late afternoons of summer when air conditioning needs are high, but this time of year is also known for a dearth of storms and a meteorological phenomenon known as the Bermuda High, a high-pressure center that affects winds along the entire coast.
"In some areas, like Massachusetts, the Bermuda High boosts sea breezes," said Dvorak. "But south of Long Island, NY, where one offshore grid has been proposed, the Bermuda High has the opposite effect and often hinders sea breezes."
Balance of power
Beyond matching production and demand cycles, the researchers had to balance several technical challenges in their models.
"The farms had to be in waters less than 50 meters deep to allow use of bottom-mounted turbines and near urban load centers like Boston and New York," said Jacobson. "And, we wanted to smooth power output, ease hourly ramp rates and reduce hours of zero power."
The engineers took a novel approach, choosing to interconnect the offshore farms. Offshore wind farms in other parts of the world today are connected individually to the onshore grids.
"The goal is to even out the peaks and valleys in production," said Dvorak. "In our model, expensive no-power events - moments when individual winds farms are producing zero electricity - were reduced by more than half from nine percent to four by connecting the farms together."
In the final analysis, the interconnected grid was able to yield a year-long capacity factor of over 48 percent, meaning that the grid could reliably produce close to 1000 megawatts on average over the course of a year.
"Generally, with wind farms, anything over 35 percent average capacity is considered excellent," said Jacobson.
Location. Location. Location.
Among its findings, the Stanford model recommended a farm in Nantucket Sound, precisely where the controversial Cape Wind farm has been proposed. The Cape Wind site is contentious because, opponents say, the tall turbines would diminish Nantucket's considerable visual appeal.
By that same token, the meteorological model puts two sites on Georges Bank, a shallows located a hundred miles offshore, far from view in an area once better known for its prodigious quantities of cod. The fourth site is off central Long Island.
The researchers last looked at the economics of installing their offshore grid, which they said would have the advantage of sharing costs across several states, potentially increasing political support for the plan.
"This paper should be seen as a tool for energy planners to better inform their renewable energy decisions across a densely populated area," said Jacobson. "It is an opportunity to collaborate on a shared system that reduces costs while benefitting a large and important center of electrical demand in the U.S."
Source: http://soe.stanford.edu/ |
Tommy Wiseau Being Played by a White Guy Is Offensive to Whatever Alien Species He Is
Once again Hollywood has shown that it is not the diverse, progressive paradise it wants us to think it is. White washing has plagued the film industry and The Disaster Artist is no exception: the subject of the film, Tommy Wiseau, is being played by James Franco — a white man — instead of whatever mystifying alien species he actually is.
Are you kidding me?! Tommy Wiseau is not a “white man.” He is very clearly an “unknowable, possibly unkillable being” that we can only assume is not of this earth. This is unacceptable and I am SHOCKED more people and aliens aren’t upset.
Oh God, Franco’s gonna do the accent, isn’t he? That will be so uncomfortable. Tommy Wiseau has the very authentic accent of someone born on another planet where chickens don’t exist, and it’s going to be unbelievably offensive to hear Franco’s shitty imitation of it.
Sometimes it feels like I’m saying the same thing again and again, but let’s say it one more time for the people in the back and the aliens on planet Wiseau: THERE ARE MORE THAN JUST WHITE ACTORS, PEOPLE.
I’m sick of hearing, “Uh, what about the best person for the job?” It’s a reductive talking point. And I don’t want to hear about how the film industry is a business and that casting white men will appeal to an American demographic. Even by those standards, it’s wrong. Look how well the Fast and the Furious series has done by appealing to a larger, more diverse audience. The last installment features a diverse cast of white, black, asian, hispanic, men and women, and even whatever alien species Vin Diesel is.
Just as Iron Fist should have been portrayed by an Asian actor, Tommy Wiseau should have been played by a similarly extraterrestrial being that had clearly never interacted with a human being prior to acting in a movie.
On behalf of all white people, I apologize to whatever alien species Tommy Wiseau is. Especially if that alien species is the alien species from the movie species because… well, you know. |
**UPDATE** **Thank you everyone for all the information you provided. We've collected enough information and are actively working on fixing the issue** TLDR: If you're on a campus connection and can't log in...Run these commands and attach the logs to the post! (tracert 141.101.114.212) > "%USERPROFILE%\desktop\Tracert.txt" (tracert 141.101.115.212) > "%USERPROFILE%\desktop\Tracert.txt" Hey Everyone! We're aware that some players are having issues logging in to League of Legends from certain colleges/universities and are actively working with relevant parties to fix this problem. However, we could use some additional information to more quickly identify and solve this problem. But first, if you believe you're being impacted by this issue, we'd like you to check out this [article.](https://support.riotgames.com/hc/en-us/articles/201761944-Login-Issues) Secondly, you may also want to check out [this Boards post,](http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/help-support/nnKzjoMb-new-pvpnet-login-issue-and-ssl-30-102814) just to verify it's not the same issue. If you still have issues logging in through a campus or university connection, we'd really appreciate it if you could attach the following tracert's to this thread, as well as tell us which college/university you're trying to connect from! To obtain a tracert first press the **[Windows Key] (that is the key on the left side of the space bar, between ctrl and alt) + R** Type **cmd **in the search bar and click **"Ok"**. You should now see a black window with white letters. Highlight and copy this command: **(tracert 141.101.114.212) > "%USERPROFILE%\desktop\Tracert.txt"** Paste this into the cmd window (black box with white letters) by right clicking and selecting **"Paste". Do not use the Ctrl+V shortcut as it will not work!** Depending on your connection, the trace may take 5-15 minutes to complete. A text file with the Tracert log will be created on your Desktop when it finishes. Please check that the command ran properly - if **Tracert.txt** contains a single line, it did not run properly. Attach **Tracert.txt** to a support ticket. **Repeat the steps above with the following tracert** **(tracert 141.101.115.212) > "%USERPROFILE%\desktop\Tracert.txt"** Once you've collected the two tracerts, please attach them to this discussion post! Thanks for your help! :)
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SALEM, Ore. (AP) On the presumed eve of the final day of the 2013 Legislative session, Oregon lawmakers worked through the shrinking number of bills left to be addressed this year.
The Legislature agreed that people caught talking on the phone or texting while driving should pay steeper fines, bumping the maximum fine from $250 to $500. The bill now goes to the governor.
"I believe this is the next Mothers Against Drunk Driving issue," said Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, who made the bill a priority. Opponents said stiffening the fine would not keep phones out of drivers' hands.
Late Sunday night a budget committee took up a major bonding package unveiled only hours earlier. The package would boost funding for construction projects across the state, including $80 million to build a state psychiatric hospital in Junction City, Ore. It also funnels money to community colleges and public universities for campus expansion projects, and allots money for upgrades to state buildings.
A joint budget committee advanced the package to the Senate, despite complaints from several lawmakers that they hadn't had enough time to review the bill.
Other bills forwarded to the governor's desk would cap the number of permits for suction dredge mining equipment, establish a voluntary program to phase in a mileage-based road user fee for fuel efficient cars and require certain midwives to obtain a license.
Senators voted to extend several income tax credits that were set to expire. Among other provisions, the bill would increase a tax credit for film and television productions from its current level of $6 million to $10 million. The bill next goes to the House.
Not all bills made the cut.
Notably, senators rejected a much talked about bill proposed by Secretary of State Kate Brown that would have automatically registered nearly everyone with a driver's license to vote, potentially adding hundreds of thousands of newly registered voters to the state.
Debate on the bill provoked passionate testimony from lawmakers on both sides of the issue.
Sen. Jackie Winters, the first African-American Republican to serve in the Oregon Legislature, said automating the voter registration system trivializes the act of voting, a right she said her grandfather had to fight for.
"For me, voting has a very ... special meaning," said Winters, R-Salem. "I don't want to trivialize what a lot have died for, worked for (and) fought for."
Republicans and one Democrat joined her in opposition, saying people who choose not to register to vote shouldn't be forced onto the voter rolls.
Democrats said the plan would eliminate barriers to voting by identifying and enrolling otherwise eligible voters.
"This is a bill that enhances personal freedom and enfranchises every voter," said Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton.
The Senate also voted down a bill championed by House Speaker Tina Kotek that would have stopped housing discrimination against low-income Oregonians who hold federally subsidized rent vouchers.
When the session ends, all bills left in committee die. Bills that don't survive must be reintroduced in a future session.
The House and Senate have both scheduled floor sessions to take up a handful of remaining bills on Monday, when they are expected to Sine Die. Traditionally, the chambers adjourn simultaneously.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. |
New figures show that the Government is still nowhere near achieving its goal of cutting net migration to the “tens of thousands” by 2015.
A separate report by the Office for National Statistics shows that the foreign-born population of Britain has increased by 43.5 per cent since Eastern European countries joined the EU in 2004, to reach 7.5million.
Ministers insisted that their immigration reforms are starting to have an effect.
Damian Green, the Immigration Minister, said: “We are now starting to see the real difference our tough policies are making, with an overall fall in net migration and the number of visas issued at its lowest since 2005.
“At the same time, there are encouraging signs that we continue to attract the brightest and best and to support tourism in the UK.
“We will continue to work hard to ensure that net migration is reduced from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands by the end of this Parliament.”
But Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migration Watch UK, a pressure group, said: “These figures are a disappointment. Net migration remains far too high.
“Today’s numbers underline the huge difficulty of getting immigration back under control after 13 years of chaos.”
Sarah Mulley of the Institute for Public Policy Research think-tank added: “The combination of recession and immigration policy changes may be starting to have an impact but more than a third of the fall is due to a rise in emigration.
“The statistics show that the Government remains a long way from its goal.”
The ONS’s quarterly migration update showed that net migration – the number of people entering Britain minus those who leave – stood at 216,000 in the year to December 2011.
This was a fall on the 252,000 recorded for the previous year but the ONS said the difference was “not statistically significant”.
Immigration dropped slightly to 566,000 while emigration increased to 350,000.
Study remained the most common reason for people moving to Britain for at least a year but in the year to June 2012 there were 282,833 student visas issued, a fall of 21 per cent as the Government tries to cut the number of non-EU students.
The number of National Insurance numbers given to foreign nationals fell 15 per cent to reach 601,000 while work visa fell by 7 per cent to 147,385.
The number of people granted settlement in Britain fell by 33 per cent to reach 138,589, however asylum applications rose by 3 per cent in the second quarter of the year.
Most (55 per cent) immigrants came from outside the EU but the rights of free movement granted to European citizens mean it is difficult for ministers to achieve their goal of reducing net migration, despite the cuts to visa numbers.
Some commentators said it may not even be clear by 2015 whether or not the target has been reached, because the margin of error around the ONS figures means that net migration may be 35,000 higher or lower than the recorded number.
Dr Martin Ruhs, Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said: “In simple terms, the Government could miss the ‘tens of thousands’ target by many tens of thousands and still appear to have hit it. Conversely the Government could hit, or even exceed its target and still appear to have missed it.” |
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